This Life is a Test Given by God--Part 2 (New Testament Application)--8/29/2021
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
1. Last week, we discussed the purpose of God’s testing through the Old Testament.
A. This is demonstrated in many different Old Testament examples.
1. Adam and Eve and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
2. Cain and Abel and the sacrifices they offered to God.
1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
3. Noah and the Ark.
13 And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 15 And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.
4. Abraham and the promise (Gen 12-25).
5. Lot’s wife turned to salt (Gen 19).
B. This pattern continues through Genesis to Malachi.
1. At the end of Genesis, we have Joseph sold into captivity and being tested and God working through this to bring His people to Egypt to avoid perishing because of the famine.
2. In the book of Exodus, we have the children of Isreal in Egyptian captivity and God working through Moses and Aaron in order to bring them out of Egypt, using plagues to test both Isreal and Pharaoh.
3. In Leviticus, God tested His people by the giving of the Mosaic Law.
4. In Numbers, God tested His people in the wilderness.
5. In Deuteronomy, He tested them by reminding them of the law He made with them.
6. In Joshua, God tested them by having to take and live in the promise land without the leader they were accustomed to.
7. In Judges, God tested Isreal with learning how to live faithfully in both the good times and the bad.
8. In Ruth, God tested His people with how they treat one another.
9. In 1 & 2 Samuel, we have God testing His people as they begin to live in a monarchy, as the other kingdoms, primarily through the lives of the first two kings.
10. In 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles, we have God testing His people through both the united and divided kingdoms from the beginning of the kings to the beginning of the exile.
11. In Isaiah and Jeremiah, we have God testing His people through the struggles of the divided kingdom with two different kings governing His people to the time of His people being carried away into Assyrian/Babylonian exile and with this exile, the testing switched to the oppression of His people and their way of life to the hope of the return from exile.
12. In Lamentations, we have God testing His people through the heartfelt lament of Jeremiah because of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple and the pain of His people in Babylonian exile.
13. In Ezekiel and Daniel, we have God testing His people while in Babylonian exile through pain, sufferings, and hope of a better time to come.
12. In Ezra and Nehemiah, we have God testing His people as they return from exile.
13. In Esther, we have God testing Esther’s and Mordecai’s faithfulness in taking care of His people.
14. In Psalms, God is testing His people to learn how to pray!
A. There is a lot that we can learn, especially in the aspect of prayer from Psalms.
15. In Proverbs, God is testing His people to get understanding and to learn wisdom.
16. In Ecclesiastes, God is testing Solomon with being both the richest and wisest person to ever live and still remaining faithful.
17. In Song of Solomon, God is testing Isreal with understanding the relationship of a husband and wife.
18. In the twelve minor prophets, God would test nations by His pending judgments that would befall unfaithful nations.
C. This process translates into the New Testament in three applications.
1. God puts our hearts to the test.
2. God puts the sincerity of our love to the test.
3. God puts the genuineness of our faith to the test.
Body:
1. God puts our hearts to the test.
4 But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.
A. There are four heart conditions that God puts to the test.
1. Of these four heart conditions, three fail the test.
A. The wayside heart.
4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.
1. The wicked one snatches seed of the gospel that was sown in his heart; thus, he fails the test.
19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.
B. The stony place heart.
5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.
1. Because of the stony soil, the seed sown in his heart has no place to take root and thus, he fails the test because of persecution and tribulation, he withers away and thus, he has failed the test.
20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
C. The thorny ground heart.
7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.
1. Because of the thorny soil, the seed is choked by the thorns of deceitful riches and the seed cannot be fruitful and thus, he has failed the test.
22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
2. Of these four heart conditions, one passes the test.
A. The good soil heart.
8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
1. Because of the soft, malleable, nutrient-rich soil, the seed yields a crop and is fruitful, because he hears and understands the word and thus, he passes the test.
2. God puts the sincerity of our love to the test.
8 I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others.
A. God puts the sincerity of our love to Him to the test in keeping His commandments.
15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.
1. The sincerity of our love is tested, because His commandments are not burdensome.
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
2. God puts the sincerity of our love to the test by our actions and not our words.
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
3. God puts the sincerity of our love to the test when we choose to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
B. God puts the sincerity of our love to the test by the diligence of others.
12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
1. God tests the sincerity of our love, not in that we claim to be the church, but that we truly love one another.
13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!
3. God puts the genuineness of our faith to the test.
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
A. Our faith is made pure by this process.
10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
Conclusion:
1. God is putting us to the test, the same as He tested His people of the Old Testament.
A. Thus, we had better examine ourselves to see whether we are in the faith.
5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.
B. Are you passing the test?