The Trying of Your Faith

PART A: GROWING UP

In a previous lesson, I acknowledged the difference between the chastening of the Lord and the trying of your faith. As I stated before, the church, is confused concerning this issue. The chastening of the Lord is the making and training process of our childhood in Him. Yes, along the way, we may have been developed in some areas that allowed us to be tried in the faith. But basically the trials we experienced were nothing more than situations that were set-up to reveal the disposition of the heart, bring it under submission, and reveal the power of love in the process.

Most of the trials we experienced were a result of the mandatory change in our lifestyles. Our desires, goals, motives, and emotions changed. This change was foreign to us and we often chose to rebel. The enemy also launched a campaign to remind us of the past pleasures we once experienced in sin. These reminders purposed to restore the effect of the memory of sin. Therefore we fought the fight of faith to stay on course with God.

This fight of faith however, was not really with the devil. It was with our own sinful thoughts and desires inspired by our memories of past pleasures and suggestions of new ones. We have been fighting against the motions of sin that enter through our thoughts. We have battled the contents of our imaginations. Our fight has been to do the right thing in the midst of an offense. In other words, we have been fighting against the memory of sin, not Satan. There is a difference.

The battle we have fought up to now produced the pains of growth. The heart is being denied the things of the world more and more. The mind is being more and more restricted in its thinking pattern. The entire being is being disciplined as the soul submits to God. This has been a tough fight. Thank God we are beginning to win.

Our good fight of faith has been to bring ourselves into the mind and heart of the Father. We have in all of our negative experiences, learned Christ. We have seen the power of love, and realize that it is impossible to please God without it.

SPIRITUAL TRAINING ALWAYS RESTRICTS SINFUL ACTIVITIES.

We were children, not knowing the way of the Lord. He had to train us in His thoughts and ways. This training is His chastening of our soul which is the command centre of the body. The content of our soul is expressed using the body. Spiritual training always restricts sinful activity from the thought of the heart to the deed the heart uses the flesh to execute. Therefore, certain experiences were allowed by the Father to bring us to the place of walking in the Spirit.

What good Father would send his underdeveloped children out to do battle with an enemy as formidable as Satan. We can't even live holy, so how could we defeat the devil in the lives of others, when he has strongholds in us? Jesus was able to overcome the enemy because he had nothing in him. Up to now, we did not have that testimony. The devil has had strongholds in our minds. He has set up his abode in our imaginations, simply by suggesting to us our thoughts.

The Lord allowed trials to come in our lives to reveal the contents of our heart. He allowed personal, financial, emotional and physical distress to teach us how to live out of our Spirit. We were not equipped to do battle with the enemy for the salvation, healing and deliverance of others. We were caught in the snare of ourselves.

The Lord taught us how to discern our experiences. This was the beginning of our spiritual growth. He poured out more and more grace, containing the wisdom necessary to comprehend the purpose of our trials.

That is why the courses, Thought War I & II, Developing the New Man, Comprehending the Length and Faith Is, are so important. These courses helped us to identify the workings of our own mind. They pinpointed our spiritual location and challenged us to move forward. They identified the mind of God and showed us how to obtain it. These courses were our guides through the wilderness of training.

We have discovered that the sin issue must be dealt with before the Lord can trust us with true ministry. The battle with personal sin must come to an end. This does not mean that we will never be tried with sin. However, it does mean that sin must not be a temptation for the chosen of God.

The mind must be free of sin to serve the Lord. It is with the mind that we serve him. The mind is the control center for the body. It must come into agreement with the will and way of God or the body will never serve him in righteousness. The word the Lord has already given us is enough to bring us to the place of holiness and godliness. We must simply apply it to our lives.

There are those that have heard the Word and will come into the power of Christ. There are those of us that are fully committed to the way of God. Yes, we have failed in the past, but at least now, we are not making any excuses for our failure. We will reach the mark of perfection. We have matured in the truth. We know how to walk in the spirit.

We are just going to do it. Our own minds will not deceive us. We have endured the chastening of the Lord. We are preparing to serve in the Jesus ministry.

PART B: FAITH ON TRIAL

Maturity is the ability to walk in the spirit without fulfilling any sinful desires one could create in the heart. It is to give oneself to the purpose of God for his life. The matured saint is no longer wrestling with sin. The sin issue is settled. The mind and heart are fixed and focused on the will of God. Now that we have reached a level of maturity, our faith can be put on trial.

TO TRY - Means to prove or examine; to test.

The trying of your faith is to prove it, or test it inside of life's situations. It is here that your faith is examined for its authenticity, its character and its power. In the trying of your faith is where you will come into direct or indirect confrontation with Satan and/or satanic works.

The principles involved in the testing are: Satan, the Word, purpose and you. This testing goes beyond the chastening of the Lord. This is a battle against the call of God in your life. Satan is going to war against the ministry of reconciliation given to you by the Father. He is going to contend with you for the souls of others. The trying of your faith is a direct attack on the purpose of God for your life. He does not want you to fulfill that purpose. He will fight you all the way. This battle will only end when the Lord returns.

There will be no relief. You may never have a season of rest. He will offend, afflict and persecute you until your master returns to the house. Nevertheless, you must stay true to the call. You must set yourself in defense of the faith. Remember, you are the hope of those that are lost and out of the way. You have been entrusted with the words of life. The devil is going to oppose you in your endeavor to deliver those words to a dying world. Be comforted in the fact that the footsteps of the righteous are ordered by God.

THERE WILL BE MUCH SUFFERING FOR YOU IN THE TRYING OF YOUR FAITH.

This is where the baptism of suffering takes place. It is more than just the inconveniences of life that we experienced in the chastening of the flesh. The trying of your faith subjects you to the perils of death. This suffering in the flesh is designed to expose the power of the spirit.

1 Peter 5:8-10

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

The devil desires to destroy you. However, you must be sober minded and steadfast in the Holy Ghost. There are those in the world, that do not know the Lord, whom the devil is imposing the same afflictions upon. But you are not without hope. You know the Lord. You have been given the comfort of the Word and the Spirit. You know that in the end, after the suffering is over, the Lord will establish you and reward you with the promises of an everlasting inheritance in Him.

The Lord has given us enough grace to stand against the devil in the ministry. Though he walks about seeking whom he may devour, remember that you work for the Lord. You have been given a time and a season to perform the works of righteousness. You have a course to finish. The enemy cannot destroy you until that course is complete. That is, if you remain on the course.

THE WORK OF THE MINISTRY IS THAT OF THE HOLY GHOST.

He is the power. You are the vessel he will use. This is why you must not be in a struggle with sin. You must be set like a flint to contend for the faith. You should have already placed your body on the altar as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God. If this is not the case, then He will not work through you.

PART C: THE EFFECTUAL WORKING POWER

The trying of your faith is effectual. It has a tremendous affect on you and your ministry. It is indeed essential to ministry.

St. James 1:2-8

2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptation; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

3 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

4 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

5 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.

6 For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

We are instructed to find joy in the midst of persecution, afflictions, offenses and any other abuse to our body or reputation. Our joy comes from the knowledge that each trial of our faith worketh patience in us.

I really want you to see this. When you are ordered to do a work for the Lord, the Holy Ghost will lead and guide you in that work. He will determine where you are to go and what you are to say. He is the one that will reveal to you the mind of the Lord.

Therefore, if it be the will of the Father for you to do a thing, and the enemy opposes it, then the Lord too, will make a way for you to accomplish that which he has ordered. Doesn't this make sense? All power is in His hand. The hindering power of the devil is not able to stop the plan of God. He is not even able to alter it.

Therefore, whatever Satan does to hinder you is contained in the purpose of God for you. Peter explains it very well. The trying of your faith will work patience in you. How is this possible, seeing how every satanic hindrance may bring about physical suffering on your part?

Inside of every trial the grace of God is poured out of you. In the trial, the flesh may be rendered helpless. However, the spirit is alive and well. The flesh's only responsibility was to bring the spirit on the scene. Now out of your belly can flow a river of living water, for all those that will to drink. The method the Holy Ghost uses to get you to a determined place is not the issue. The environment you are placed in is not the issue. The issue is, that after you have arrived, the river of living waters begins to flow.

Now this is a powerful experience for you to discern. You become a first hand observer of the power of God. This in itself is making an impression on you. The impression is one of growing patient. Patient to wait on the Lord. Patient to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the desires of the flesh. Patient to serve Him continuously without complaint or wavering.

WAVERING IS A SIGN OF IMMATURITY.

It reveals the fact that one has not committed himself to God or godliness. Wavering can come from fear or deception. If the heart is not constantly monitored for any possible breaches or sign of compromise to evil influence then even the blessing of ministry can exalt you in pride. Exaltation of one's self or personage will cause you to waver in your commitment to God.

Wavering will stop the supply of grace. Note that James says, if a man lacks wisdom, which is the ability to operate the knowledge he received, let him ask of the Lord. However, let not a double-minded, wavering or doubting man, think that he will receive anything from the Lord. Therefore, the Holy Ghost will cease to work through those who have doubts concerning the work or way of the Lord.

In the lessons to come within this series, we will take a closer look at the suffering of the called. This is the baptism that is a "need be", for those of us that will work the works of righteousness. We are the called of God. The Chosen. We carry the banner of love and righteousness. Without us the world is lost. We are the deliverers of this generation. We are the only light in this world. We are the sons of God. We are appointed to suffer.

Be encouraged. Jesus has already overcome the world. The trying of your faith is precious. It is the revealing of the power of God in you. The situations created to test your faith will diminish the power of one's own iniquitous desires of the heart and increase the power of God. It will prove the presence of God in the earth. You must suffer in order to save others.