The Trial by God’s Word!

The Trial by God’s Word!

Every year, we look forward to a new promise from God’s word to carry us into the New Year. We often forget that God is the God of all seasons and He never changes.

What we must focus on is how we can earn God’s trust and confidence in us so that we can walk in intimacy with God.

God’s Word Proves Both God and Us!

When we read Joseph’s story from the Psalmist, we come across an interesting passage: “(God) sent a man before them—Joseph—who was sold as a slave. They hurt his feet with fetters; he was laid in irons. Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him” (Psalm 105:17-19).

“The word of the Lord tested him!”

God’s WORD proves both God and us – God is proven by His Word that He is unchanging, truthful, just, merciful, forgiving, loving, and powerful in finishing all that He has promised from His Word. Likewise, the trial of God’s Word in a believer proves who we are in God and what we are made up of in all our circumstances. THIS TRIAL OF GOD’S WORD IS SOLELY FOR GOD TO PROVE US TO THE WORLD THAT WE HAVE BEEN TESTED AND TRIED BY HIS WORD TO SIT AT THE KNIGHTS’ TABLE WITH HIM AS OUR SUPREME KING!

God’s Calling Includes Our Testing!

Every calling of God demands that we be tested in that calling by His Word to validate us in His calling, in our place, in our position, and in our time. The bigger the calling, the bigger God’s test to prove to the public that we are chosen by God and placed firmly in the office to which we are chosen.

There are TWO different types of trials of God’s Word involved in the proof of a servant of God:

1)     Personal Trial

2)     Public Trial

The Personal Trial by God’s Word is for our edification and qualification, whereas the Public Trial by God’s Word is for our vindication and crowing in our place as God’s servant!

In the case of Joseph, Joseph had personal trials:

a)     Joseph was given a promise from God of his prominence by the two dreams when he was 17 years old. But he had to overcome the jealousy and the envy of his brothers, who first wanted to kill him but sold him to the Egyptians. The Word of the Lord (dreams from God) sustained him in his loneliest moment of separation from his home and all that he had loved as a young man!

b)     Joseph was prosperous in Potiphar’s house but was intimidated by Potiphar’s wife. It was a personal trial Joseph had to overcome through the fear of God as the key. This was Joseph’s reply to Potiphar’s wife when tempted: “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God” (Genesis 39:8-9).

The public trial involved his shame, humiliation, prison, and it was the final testing before his validation: “They hurt his feet with fetters; he was laid in irons. Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him!”

The Testing of Our Faith!

Apostle Peter writes: “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 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” (I Peter 1:6-7).

“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!”

Our faith is tested in every trial. The trial may be small or big, but we learn to lean on God’s word to overcome every trial. In a sense, we are tried by exercising God’s Word in all our trials. We grow in our knowledge of God and in the revelation of Jesus Christ as we navigate our trials. The highest level of testing precedes our highest level of faith to PROVE OUR FAITH!

Hebrews 11 records the highest levels of testing of the leaders, followed by their highest levels of faith. God tested Abraham with the highest level of testing to offer up his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice: “Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham’” (Genesis 22:1)!

“After these events, God tested and proved Abraham and said to him, Abraham! And he said, ‘Here I am’” (Genesis 22:1, Amplified Bible).

Here is the secret – As God’s child grows strong in faith in all his/her trials, GOD HAS TRUST in them passing the test in the highest of their trial, and He offers that test to PROVE (VALIDATE) them to the world!

Examples of Those Tried by God’s WORD & Their Honor!

1)     Abraham: Tested to offer up his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. God stopped him in the last moment and offered His honor to Abraham as the Father of Many Nations: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Genesis 22:16-18).

2)     Jacob: God brought Jacob to his end when He wrestled with him. At the end of that trial, this was the honor bestowed upon Jacob: “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel (Prince with God); for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed” (Genesis 32:28).

3)     Joseph: After a public humiliation and trial by the Word of the Lord, here is the honor for Joseph: “The king sent and released him, the ruler of the people let him go free. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his possessions, to bind his princes at his pleasure, and teach his elders wisdom” (Psalm 105:20-22).

4)     Moses: Moses’ trial was “Separation from the Palace to the Wilderness of God for 40 years!” Here is the testimony Moses received as God’s servant from God Himself: “Hear now My words: if there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. Not so with My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings; and he sees the form of the Lord” (Numbers 12:6-8).

5)     Job: Job was tested and tried by Satan to a public humiliation. The testimony of Job from God to Satan before the trial: “Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns (turns away from) evil?’ (Job 1:8). Here is God’s honor upon Job after He tested his faith: “Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters” (Job 42:12-13).

6)     Jesus: No other passage than Isaiah 53 describes the public humiliation and trial of Jesus before the world: “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:3-5). No other passage than the passage of Philippians describes the validation and exaltation of Jesus through His surrender: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:5-11).

The TRIAL of God’s WORD!

Here is the Trial of God’s Word in our lives to establish our walk with God and prove us in our position to the world:

1)     Belief Without Wavering: Abraham believed God without wavering: “(Abraham) did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness’” (Romans 4:20-22).

2)     Trust Without Doubting: In his most pitiful moments of trial, Job never lost his trust in God: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him” (Job 13:15).

3)     Obedience Without Hesitating: Abraham obeyed continuously and constantly, even to the very end of laying down his son on the altars: “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8).

4)     Devotion Without Anyone Joining: Calb’s and Joshua’s devotion promoted them to the Promised Land: “Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the Lord” (Numbers 32:11-12).

5)     Fear of the Lord as the Guiding Light: The prerequisite to establishing God’s Word in our lives is the Fear of the Lord!  David attributed the fear of the Lord to the establishment of God’s word in his life: “Establish Your word to Your servant, who is devoted to fearing You” (Psalm 119:38).

6)     Surrender to The End: Jesus is our Example: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).

Highest Honor by the Trial of God’s Word!

1)     Friendship With God: Abraham became a Friend to God: “But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham My friend” (Isaiah 41:8).

2)     Revelation from God: God gave the Revelation to Joseph: “Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you’” (Genesis 41:39).

3)     Consultation with God: God came to consult with Abraham about Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham pleaded with God for the twin cities: “And Abraham came near and said, ‘Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?’” (Genesis 18:23).

4)     Intimacy with God: David’s heart for God longed for God’s intimacy: “As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness” (Psalm 17:15). “As for me, You uphold me in my integrity and set me before Your face forever” (Psalm 41:12).

Qualities of Those in Trial by God’s Word!

1)     They never question God! Abraham never did!

2)     Never complain against God! Job never charged God (Job 1:22)!

3)     Never compare themselves to others! Jacob never envied Laban’s blessings!

4)     Never hesitate to stand for God! Joseph stood for and represented God!

5)     Never stop moving forward! Caleb and Joshua kept moving forward!

6)     Never draw attention to themselves! Joseph, Daniel, and other great ones tested by God’s Word drew their rulers to their One True God, and not to themselves!

7)     They stand firm in their trials and finish strong! The leaders I mentioned in this message finished strong and received their honor.

My Prayer for the New Year!

“Heavenly Father, I love You and adore You. Your Word implies that You are the same unchanging God, yesterday, today, and forever. Help me, Lord, to receive all Your fullness in my life as I offer fully to You and Your holy Word to try and prove me in this new season. I will believe and trust You. I will obey You without hesitation. My devotion and worship are for You and You alone. I will walk in the fear of the Lord and submit to You through to the very end. Let Your Word prove me as Your servant to all those who are around me. Help me, Lord, to draw everyone close to You. In the Most Precious and Wonderful Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen! Amen!!”

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John Jeyaseelan

http://www.globalprayercenter.net