WHY ARE YOU POOR?

All over the world we see poor people. In the Philippines, more than half of the population is poor. This has been the perennial problem since time immemorial, poverty. All our leaders from all times have often vowed to work and defeat poverty but all to no avail. People are still poor.

Asian neighbors are all progressing while the Philippines remain the same as she was more than 20 years ago. We may attribute this failure to the failure of our leaders, but I would say also that more often than not it is more on the people's mind set that more likely affects the direction of this country. The fate of this country is highly dependent on the people's state of mind.

From our leaders down to the lowest ranking individual, we need a total overhaul of paradigm. Paradigm shift, a change of mindset is what it is all about. Ask anybody from the Philippines on how they are, and you often will get an answer that they are alright. Nobody will even dare to tell you that they are great; they are progressing or have become richer. You will even see someone who used to commute in going to work and you meet him 10 years after already driving his own fancy car, and you ask him how he is, he might just even tell you that he is the same as before.

You will meet an acquaintance and greet him, then appreciate his shirt, instead of answering thank you for the appreciation, he will say that his shirt is cheap; he bought from a small bazaar which he got on sale.

Humility has its good side and bad side. It is always best to be humble all the time, as best practice. But the humility that you might have, referring to the preceding paragraph may just be falls humility. A false humility which is often said in response to an appreciation which honestly waits opposition so that what he really wants to say will instead be said by the one who appreciated him. It is like asking the person how he is and he responds I am the same then you say, no you look richer now! You tell him exactly the opposite of what he is humbling about and he grins at you with pride.

I am not going to speak about humility here anyway, so there is no problem if their humility was authentic or not. What I am saying is that when you do not stand to where you are suppose to stand then definitely you will never be able to proceed to where you are supposed to be heading. You have grown to be rich and yet you remain to be poor in your belief, then definitely you will always be acting as if you are poor. When you act like poor, you will be like poor and anybody who thinks they are poor though they are rich will always be poor forever.

Similarly, our leaders have the same shortcomings. Other nations are looking at inventions and high technology applications for energy and power, yet we are still left to bank on sending workers abroad, espousing on business process outsourcing to serve for the technology needs of another nation and never did they think of creating something of our own to at least raise the standard of living in this laid back nation.

Little does the government encourage entrepreneurship among its constituents. When you apply for a business license in the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), it is not only a long queue of disorganized applicants will you be facing but a set of impolite personnel whom I would also be thinking to have been tired of doing the same thing over and over again with little hope of a brighter tomorrow.

The government has always been ecstatic about its achievements to have created millions of jobs for the Philippines, only to find out that these jobs are for call centers where our skilled engineers fall to answer calls and help callers instead of them being assigned to create products for progress. Ask some of our graduate what they intend to do, they want to pursue business but there is no help from the government. We have a lot of inventors who could create solar powered cars, wind energy, high technology robots, but the government just ignores these potentials.

It is said that your mind dictates your destiny. The bible tells us to be careful about what we think because our life is being shaped by our thoughts, if this is true then it must be your mind who tells you what to say, and if you keep on saying that your circumstances are bad, terrible or miserable, then most likely it will come to pass as it is.

Now therefore, if you start saying to yourself that you are rich, although you are poor, coupled with hard work and enthusiasm then who knows you might just get everything you have been confessing about. Look at yourself, determine for yourself what you see on that image, which will also tell you the kind of outlook you have right now in you. If you see a beautiful image in your own picture, so is it...if it is not, then it probably is. Look at the glass image above, you are a positive person with a brighter tomorrow if you see a half full glass compared to those people who sees it as half empty.

How God Tests Our Faith

Pastor Tom and I want to talk to you about, How does God test our faith?

The Bible says in Matthew 9:29 "According to your faith it will be done unto you." That’s one of my favorite verses in the Bible. What are you expecting God to do in your life? This is the law that God has established. It’s called the Law of Expectation. The fact is, we tend to get what we expect out of life. We tend to see what we expect to see. We tend to hear what we expect to hear. We tend to feel the way we expect to feel. We inevitably accomplish what we expect what we’re going to accomplish. This is the law of faith. God says you get to choose. Because "According to your faith it will be done unto you."

Another important verse on faith in the Bible is Hebrews 11:6. "Without faith it is impossible to please God." How many of you are parents? How many of you are pleased when your children trust you? God is the same way. God is our heavenly Father and God is pleased when we trust Him. That’s why the Bible says without faith it’s impossible to please God.

You can obey God. You can do the right thing and still not be pleasing God because you’re not doing it in faith. So it’s important to learn how to live expectantly as you learn to live by faith.

"Whatever is not of faith," the Bible says in Romans 14, "is sin."

Because that’s true we need to talk tonight about how do we grow in our faith. In Luke 17:5 the apostle said to Jesus, "Lord increase our faith." How do you do that? I’d like to have more faith. I know you’d like to have more faith. If that’s what pleases God then I want to have more of it. The question is how? If faith is what makes my life rewarding and fulfilling and confident how does God build my faith?

Let me ask you this: do you take vitamins for it? No. Is there some kind of therapy you go through to have your faith built? No. Is there some seminar that’s going to build your faith? No, not really.

Here’s the secret. And it’s not really something you’re real excited about when you first hear it. But the truth is God builds your faith and my faith by testing it. He builds our faith by putting it to the test, by trying it. Faith is like a muscle and when it’s stretched and it’s pulled then it develops. When you test your muscles against weights then your muscles develop. And your faith develops as it is tested.

You don’t develop your faith just setting on your blessed assurance in church. James 1:3 says this "The testing of your faith [circle this] develops perseverance [circle "develops perseverance"] so that you may be mature and complete." He says the purpose of these tests is that our faith, our perseverance will grow and will be mature and complete.

Job says the same thing speaking from experience in Job 7:17-18 "What is man that You make so much of him and that You give him so much attention and that You examine him every morning and test him every moment." Circle "test him." Did you realize that God is testing you every moment of your life? In the Purpose Driven Life book I talk about how life is a test and it is temporary assignment and it’s a trust. These are the facts of life. Every moment of the day your faith is being tested. In fact all this past week it was tested and all this next week your faith is going to be tested.

Every day you have faith building opportunities. The problem is most of us don’t recognize them when they’re there. We flunk the test because we don’t even realize it is a test and that God is trying to help us grow.

So if God wants me to live by faith and if God builds my faith by testing it then the natural question is how does God do it?

I want to give you the four ways that God tests our faith so that you’ll be aware of them. Actually there are more than these but I just want to cover the most common. These are the four most common ways that God tests and builds our faith. You’ll probably get tested on every one of them this week. Count on it. In fact you’ll probably have them sometimes in a day.

1. God tests our faith through difficulties.

That’s trials, problems, pressures, tough circumstances. All the stresses of life. 1 Peter 1:6-7 "For a little while you have had to suffer great and all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." That’s a very powerful verse. The trials and the problems and the difficulties that come into your life come to test your faith and to prove your faith.

Nothing ever happens by accident in the life of a follower of Jesus Christ. Everything is Father filtered. Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that God plans all the bad things that happens to you. He doesn’t have to. We live in a broken world. A lot of problems we bring on ourselves and things like that. A lot of problems other people bring on us and we’re innocent victims.

What I am saying is that nothing comes into your life if you’re a child of God, nothing comes into your life without God’s permission. It couldn’t happen without God’s permission. There are no accidents in the Christian life. There are accidents in life. Of course there are. But God uses them and our disappointments are His appointments.

Sometimes God has to custom make a problem to teach you faith, to test you.

Jonah had a custom made problem. It just swallowed him up and got his attention. Sometimes God creates problems that swallow you up. You say, "There’s nothing else to look at except the Lord." And I’m sure that’s the way Jonah felt. In fact in Jonah 2:7 the Bible says, "When I lost all I once again turned my thoughts to God."

God uses these kinds of things to test our faith. Notice it says "all kinds." If life were easy then it wouldn’t require any faith. If you could feel God all the time then you’d just go by your feelings. Sometimes God removes His feelings -- the feelings of His presence -- just so you learn to trust Him in the difficulties.

Here’s a great verse when you’re going through tough times. Isaiah 48:10 "I have refined you though not as silver. I have tested you in the furnace of affliction."

What is the furnace of affliction? You’ve been there. It’s when the heat’s on. When the heat’s on it’s a real test. How are you doing in the furnace of affliction? Are you feeling the heat right now? Have you felt it this past week? Are you under pressure? Is it getting a little hot under the collar? The Bible frequently compares our problems and difficulties

to a furnace. The furnace of a refiner’s fire who heats it up so high that the gold and silver melt and all the impurities are burned away.

I heard of an old silversmith who was once asked, "How do you know when the impurities are burned away in the silver?" He said, "When I can see my reflection in the silver." When God can see His reflection in you then He knows that the impurities in your life have been burned away. That’s a test.

So what should I do when I’m going through difficulties? How should I respond?

The Bible tells us. When the problems come that God’s trying to test my faith James 1:2-3 "Consider it pure joy... whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." He says when you’ve got a problem relax. In fact he says, rejoice. Take it easy. Thank God. Praise God. Why? Because I know that God is with me. God has a plan for me. He has a purpose for my life and He’s going to help me through it. God’s purpose is greater than the pain or the problem or the difficulty I’m going through right now.

This is the first lesson. If I want to learn to live by faith I must learn to rejoice continually. James says "Consider it all joy when you go through problems." Notice he doesn’t say be thankful for the problems. God doesn’t expect you to thank Him for bad things in your life. Like if you get cancer you don’t say "Thank You God, for this cancer." Of course not. It says, be thankful in the problem." I must learn to rejoice in the situation continually if I’m going to learn to live by faith.

I want you to evaluate yourself on each of these four tests of faith. From one to ten. How quickly do I praise God when things go wrong? If you say "never", you rate yourself down at the bottom -- "1" or "0". If you say "Sometimes I thank God, I praise God in the problem," you get a "5". If you say, "I always do it. It’s my habit to continually rejoice when I’m dealing with a difficulty because I know God will help me." You get a "10."

The Bible says "Rejoice in the Lord always [That means all the time] And again I say rejoice," because God uses difficulties. And He tests our faith and He builds it not in the easy times of life but in the difficult times.

Tom’s going to talk about the second test of faith.

Tom: Here’s the second test of faith.

2. God tests our faith through demands.

He asks us to do things that are seemingly impossible. There are, in just the New Testament, 1050 commands for believers to obey. Of all these commands, some of them seem unreasonable. Some of them seem inconvenient. Some of them seem downright impossible. So what do you do when you have an impossible command that feels like a demand?

They are there, you realize they are there to test our faith.

When you have a command and it seems like I can’t do that, the issue at that moment is, Who am I going to believe? Who is it I’m going to trust? Am I going to believe what God says to do or am I going to believe what I think is right to do? All of the promises, all of the commands are there to test us. Some of them may seem simple at first but when you look at them that is demanding.

A command like "Don’t worry about anything." Anybody struggle with that one? That can be a tough one. Or a command like "Do good to your enemies. " Or "Forgive other people." Or "Be thankful in everything."

Every time. Every time God gives us a command in the Bible it is a demand that is placed on our life and it’s a test. Like "Confess your faults to one another." That’s a test. The test is am I going to trust what God says to do, what He says is right. Or am I going to trust my own opinion, what I think is right in my own eyes?

There are literally hundreds of examples in the Bible of people that God said, "Do this" and they trusted Him, they had faith, even though it didn’t make sense to them, even though it seemed impossible to them.

The people of Israel on their way from Egypt where they had been in captivity to the Promised Land. God put a demand on their life, something called manna. It was a command. Manna you might remember was the bread like substance that fell from the sky, flaky stuff. They had to go out each morning to gather enough to eat. God said here’s the command. All you can get is enough for that day.

Exodus 16:4 "The people are to go out each day and gather enough manna for that day. In that way I will test them [circle "test"] and see whether they will follow My instructions." There were all kinds of reasons why that command didn’t make sense. "Just enough for today? Why can’t I gather enough for the week? It’d be more convenient that way. It’d be a better use of my time that way. Just enough for one day? What if I get sick tomorrow? What if I trip and hit my head on a rock and a snake bites me? There’s all kinds of reasons why I need at least two days worth, God."

But that wasn’t the point. The point wasn’t does it make sense to you. The point was I want to test you so that you’ll trust Me in a day to day way. Follow My commands. I want to grow your faith. That was the point.

Often God asks us to do the impossible. Why? He wants to grow our faith.

A guy by the name of Abraham. You remember his story. He was seventy-five years old. He was about to hang it up and God said I want you to take it down. I want to take you out somewhere to make a difference in this world. I want you to go somewhere where you’ve never been, you don’t even know where you’re going. Abraham says, "Where exactly am I going?" God says, "I’ll tell you." "How am I going to get there?" I’ll show you. "How will I know when I get there?" When you get there I’ll tell you that you’ve gotten there.

How would you do with a command like that? We might say, "God, could I Google that first? I’d like to check it out. I’d like to get on MapQuest and get a point by point direction. Then I’m ready to follow Your directions."

Faith is often a risk. When it’s a risk it means you can’t understand it all in advance. Why would God do that? He’s not just interested in making us comfortable, helping us to see all the directions and points on the map. He’s wanting to test and grow our faith.

So the Bible says in Hebrews 11:8 "By faith Abraham obeyed and went."

A guy by the name of Noah. God comes to Noah one day and says, "Noah, I’ve got a demand. I want you to build an ark." Remember Noah lived in the middle of a desert. And God says I want you to build an ark because there’s going to be a flood. The Bible says that until that time it had never rained. Water came up from the ground, a mist. It had never rained. And God says, "Noah, I want you to build an ark because it’s going to rain."

Would you build an ark in the middle of a desert when you’ve never seen rain and never seen a flood just because God says so? Noah did. The Bible says, "By faith Noah built an ark."

God tests our faith. He does it through difficulties. But He also does it through demands. These demands that He make on our lives. I do it just because I trust Him.

What’s the lesson with this one? If I want to learn to live by faith I must learn to not only rejoice continually. I have to learn to obey immediately. Obey immediately. When God says it, I do it. Whether I understand it or not, I do it. Whether it makes sense to me or not, I do it. Because I know it’s what God has asked me to do. That’s the test of faith. When God tells you to do it in the Bible then you do it.

This is where you hear what God says to do -- in the Bible. There’s a lot of people who want to speak for God. Have you noticed that? God’s voice in your life. No, you hear Him in the Bible. When God says to do it, you hear it clearly in the Bible then you act on it, you obey immediately.

How are you doing on that one -- one to ten. Evaluate. Circle one. How quickly do you do what God tells you to do? That’s the question. Do you do it just when it’s convenient? Give yourself a "1". Do you struggle with it maybe a while? Maybe quite a while and then do it? Give yourself a "5." Too often I get a "5". Or maybe you’re learning more and more to do it instantly, to do it unquestioningly. Then give yourself a "10."

Rick’s going to join us with a third way God tests our faith.

Rick: God says He tests our faith first through difficulties. Second through demands.

3. God tests our faith with dollars.

I’m talking about money. Did you know that money is one of the greatest tests of faith in your life? Few people understand how God uses our material possessions as a test of character and a test of faith. For many people finances are the greatest of all. They have no idea that God is actually testing them when they get into debt. When they’re going through problems. When they’re asked to give. All of these things have to do with faith.

Luke 16:11 Jesus says this, "If you haven’t been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, [That’s dollars, that’s money] who will trust you with true riches?"

What is Jesus talking about here? He’s giving a truth that’s taught all through scripture that there is a definite, direct relationship between how I handle my money and the spiritual depth in my life. There is a direct connection. In fact Jesus says if I’m not faithful in handling material wealth He will not trust me with spiritual wealth. If I’m not faithful with my possessions He will not trust me with spiritual power. Money is a test. I can check out my checkbook to find out how I’m doing.

The fact is what I do with my money really does determine how much God can bless my life. You may have never thought of it but it has a real impact on it. This is taught all through scripture. I have learned it after walking over forty years with the Lord that God determines how much He can bless my life by how faithful I am with what He’s put in my hands. Every time I set down and write out a check for my tithes -- ten percent of my income -- knowing

that I could be using that money to pay bills, is that a test of faith? Of course it is.

In fact, it was a huge test of faith in the early years of our marriage when I had so little money and we were working on one income. I hadn’t written any books. Knowing that when I was writing that check, that ten percent could be used to pay bills. It was definitely testing my faith.

When I’m willing and ready and able to generously give the Lord knowing that this money could be spent for other things it is a test. Just like God uses difficulties and delays and demands He uses dollars.

I sat down this morning and I pulled out three testimonies and I nearly started crying. They were testimonies of sacrificial giving in the past in our church.

One family was selling their large home and moving into a smaller one so that they could help buy the land that we now set on. That’s what I call sacrifice.

I read about several families who were postponing or remodeling room editions in order to give to the current campaign.

I read about a lady who returned an expensive dress that she had bought for a party. She wore an older dress instead so she could give more money to help on the giving campaign.

I heard about a guy who gave up smoking. And on and on.

So many illustrations of this over the years. That motivates me. That moves me. These kinds of stories are stretching my faith. Yet there have been stories like that told for thousands of years.

All the way back in the New Testament Paul wrote this in 2 Corinthians 8:7-8 "...Excel in the grace of giving. I’m not commanding you but I want to test the sincerity of your love..." That could have been sincerity of faith too. But giving tests both our love and our faith. He says I want to test it by comparing it with your earnestness of others.

Did you know that Paul compared the giving of the Corinthians Christians with the giving of the Macedonian Christians? Then he challenged then. He said I want you to look and see what the Macedonians are doing. Look at their sacrifice. Look at what they’re giving to help the poor. Look at what they’re giving to serve the Lord.

This verse says that giving not only tests my faith it also tests the sincerity of my love. How much I really love God. Do you put your money where your mouth is? God challenges us to compare out sacrifices with others. If you’ve got a problem with that you’ve got a problem with the Bible. In fact, the only people that ever get upset about verses on giving is just people who don’t give. Givers don’t get upset about it.

You can’t ignore these verses. The fact is every time I give to God my faith grows. Every time I give it breaks the grip of materialism in my life. Every time I give I grow in love. I grow in hope. I grow in faith. I grow in maturity. It builds my life

In 1 Chronicles 29, that’s over in the Old Testament, the Bible tells us how David and the people of Israel raised the money to build the temple. In that one single offering they actually raised over four hundred million dollars in today’s terms -- the most successful building campaign in history. When people say God doesn’t need a building they haven’t read 1 Chronicles 29. God told them to raise the money and they gave sacrificially.

What I love abut that whole story is verse 14. 1 Chronicles 29:14 David says this after they’ve all given as a test of their faith. He says, "Who am I, and who are my people that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from You and we have given You what comes from Your hand. O Lord our God for all this abundance that we have provided for building You a temple for Your Holy Name, it comes from Your hand, and it all belongs to You. [In other words, it’s all God’s in the first place] I know, my God, that You test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things that I have given willingly with honest intent and now I see, with joy Your people who are here have given to You."

David says in this passage that giving not only tests my faith, it not only tests my love, it is the test of my heart, the integrity of my heart. Is Jesus Christ the Lord of every area? God wants to be Lord of the difficulties. God wants to be Lord in the demands of life. God wants to be Lord in the dollars of life.

The lesson is if I want to grow in faith I not only have to rejoice continually, I have to obey immediately and I must give generously. That’s the third way that God tests our faith.

I want you to evaluate how much faith your giving reveals. Get gut level honest right now. If God looked at the giving that you give to Him would God say that you really trust Him? Or have you been afraid to do what His word says?

It’s interesting that in giving God not only tests our faith but the Bible says in Malachi that giving tests God. Malachi 3, God says, "’Test Me in this,’ says the Lord. ’Bring all your tithes into the storehouse [that’s the place you worship] and test Me in this. See if I will not provide for you, throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing that you won’t even be able to handle.’" In other words, I’m going to play a game with you. You give to Me and I give to you and we’ll see who wins.

Giving not only tests me, it actually tests God. I dare you to test God. I dare you to put Him to the test to see that He will keep His promises.

I have to say that personally I have grown more in faith in this single area than in any other area of my life. Yes, I’ve learned through difficulties. Yes, I’ve learned from obeying commands and demands that God said to do that didn’t make sense. I’ve learned to grow in faith in many other ways. But in this area of giving the most sensitive nerve in the human body goes from the wallet to the heart. And God says I want all of you. I want what it represents.

Tom’s going to come back and he’s going to give us the fourth test of faith.

Tom: Here’s the fourth test of faith.

4. God tests our faith through delays.

If every prayer were immediately answered, if your every need were automatically met, if every problem were instantly solved you wouldn’t need faith and your faith wouldn’t need to be stretched. But it is not that way. We have to wait on things. It is human nature that we hate to wait. I hate to wait. I hate it!

Do you do this? You’re driving up to a red light and there are two cars there one in each lane. As you’re driving up you’re figuring out, which one is going to get off faster. I’m going to get behind that one now. Do you do that? We hate to wait. We hate waiting lines. We hate traffic. We hate everything about waiting. Doctor’s offices. Yet a large percent of your life is spent waiting. If you and I can’t learn how God wants to stretch and grow our faith during times of waiting we miss out on much of the faith lessons that God wants to teach in our lives.

I was doing my devotions last week. The encyclopedia of how long things take. A lot of waiting is the little trivial things. So if you want some trivia for the day here is some definite trivia.

It takes six seconds to fold a terry cloth towel. Think of how much of your life you spend folding terrycloth towels.

It takes ten seconds for a slinky to tumble down a flight of stairs.

It takes ten minutes for a snowflake to form.

It takes one hour and forty-seven minutes to watch the movie Ishtar. Wasted minutes in your life.

It takes thirteen hours for weekly food preparation for the average American family.

It takes twenty-four hours for plaque to colonize on your teeth. Aren’t you glad to know that?

It takes eighty hours and forty-two minutes to complete the household tasks in a family who have children under twelve. No wonder you’re so tired.

It takes one week for bacon to lose its freshness in a refrigerator at thirty-two degrees.

This is profound life changing stuff. Wouldn’t you agree? These are the kinds of waiting things, the trivia of life, the irritations of life. Yes, God can grow us through those irritating times of waiting no doubt about it. But the times He really grows us through waiting is the times they’re life tests. Waiting for something you never wanted to wait for.

A good example of this again is the people of Israel in the Old Testament as they’re on their way from Egypt to the Promised Land. Going from Egypt to the Promised Land -- they could have made it - they could have traveled that distance in two or three weeks. But it ended up taking them forty years. Why all the wasted time? Because the Bible said God led them in their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. Why all the wasted time? Because God was more interested in developing their faith than in getting them from point A to point B the most quick way, the fastest way. So it took forty years.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 8:2 "God led you all the way in the desert these forty years to test you in order to know what was in your heart." That’s what happens in times of waiting. We get to see God gets to see what is in our heart.

Do you ever find yourself in situations -- I’ll bet we all have -- where you feel like you’re in a hurry and you get the definite idea that God is not in a hurry. Anybody else feel that way? It happens all the time. Why does that happen? Because God is more interested in growing our faith than anything else.

So we start asking the ’when’ questions while we’re waiting. When is my marriage going to get better? When is it going to turn around? Or if you’re single, When am I going to find that right person and get married? Or, How long is it going to take until I get well? Or, When are we going to have a baby? Or, When am I going to find just the right job?

I’d say that it’s in this area, this area of waiting that God has worked to develop my faith more than any other area. He’s tested me again and again in this area of waiting and used it to develop my faith.

The most difficult time of waiting in our marriage was Chaundel and I waiting for children. We waited years longer than we wanted to wait to have children. In fact the doctors told us we weren’t going to be able to have kids. It was a tough time of waiting. Especially tough was right in the middle of all that Chaundel became pregnant but then had a miscarriage. It was what we thought was our only hope to ever have a child.

As tough as that time of waiting was did God develop our faith during that time that would have never been developed? Absolutely! Even with the difficulty of waiting God was developing our faith. God by His grace eventually did give us three children. That is simply by His grace. We look at our kids and say, Look at what God can do! That’s not what we think every time we look at our kids but most of the time we think, Look at what God can do. They’re almost grown now except for Luke who’s still in high school. It’s really incredible to see what God can do. Even as we wait.

Some of you are waiting on something right now. Maybe you’ve been waiting a long time. While you’re waiting God is there. He does not leave you alone. It just may be a test. Because God does use difficulties and demands. He uses dollars. But He also uses delays to build your faith.

Look at what God does, Isaiah 64:4 "God acts on behalf of those who wait for Him." It pays to be patient. Just remember this: while you are waiting God is working. You’re not waiting alone. Waiting in faith God is working. God is doing things behind the scenes, in your heart and other people’s hearts that you cannot even see.

So what’s the lesson on this one, the faith lesson? If I really want to learn to live by faith I’ve got to learn to rejoice continually. I have to learn to obey immediately. I have to give generously. And then this one: I must learn to wait patiently.

If I’m really going to grow in faith I have to wait patiently. Because God is not going to snap His fingers and give instant answers to my every prayer. Why not? Because He wants you to grow in faith.

How are you doing on this one? If after the first few minutes or the first few months you find yourself giving up then give yourself a "1" on this one. "I don’t wait at all. I give up." If you’re one of those people, you wait on God but you grumble and complain the whole time then you get a "2". That’s all you get for the grumbling and complaining. But if you’re learning to keep on believing. You find yourself living expectantly in waiting on God, give yourself a "10."

Before we end I want to look again at the verse at the beginning. Go back to the first question that Rick asked us, Do you really want God to increase your faith? The apostle said in Luke 17:5 "Lord increase our faith." Are you willing to pray that very dangerous prayer "God, increase my faith." If you are then let’s get practical about it. Which of these four areas that we talked about do you need to specifically pray for God to increase your faith?

Many of you need to pray, "God, I need You to increase my faith even through the difficulties of life, the struggles of life." Maybe that’s the area God is working to increase your faith right now.

Some of you are going through incredibly tough times right now. You’re not alone. If you’re going through that kind of a time then you need to pray, "Father, help me to learn to rejoice continually because I know You’re in control. I know that I’m not alone. I know that You have a purpose and I know You will give me the strength to make it through." So I’m going to rejoice continually not that this is happening but in this is happening because I know You’re with me.

Maybe God’s testing your faith right now through demands. Let me put that in another way. Let me put that as a question. What is it in your life that you know God has told you to do but you haven’t done it yet? That’s the place to put faith. Maybe it’s get in shape. Maybe it’s be baptized. Maybe it’s start reading the Bible. Maybe it’s to forgive a person you hold a grudge against. Maybe it’s something I haven’t mentioned but you know what it is. It’s in your heart right now. What is it that you know God has told you to do but you haven’t done it yet? And you pray, "Lord, help me to obey immediately. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Today. Give me the faith to do that."

Maybe God’s testing your faith through dollars. You can hardly make ends meet and Rick talks to us today about what the Bible teaches about tithing. Give ten percent of your income to God as a sign of your faith. You’re thinking, "But God! Don’t You know what I make?" And God would say, "Yeah, I know what you make. I know what everybody in the world makes. That’s not the point. That’s not the issue. The issue is your faith. I want to test your faith." Why is it that God touches this sensitive financial nerve in our body? Why does He do that? Because He wants to see how we’ll react. When He touches it do we get mad? Do we run away? We get bitter? Do we get angry? Do we get afraid? Or do we turn to Him and in generosity give and say, "It all came from You in the first place." Maybe that’s the test you’re facing right now. We’ve all faced that one.

Maybe you’re facing the test of a delay. What is it that you’ve been expecting God to do in your life and it just hasn’t happened yet? You’re thinking, God when? God, how long? God, why hasn’t it happened yet? God, why haven’t You answered my prayer? There’s this test of a delay.

God’s encouragement to you again and again in the Bible is, Don’t give up. Don’t give up. Look up to God. And realize that He is with you. As you and I wait on Him He not only increases our faith but He works out His plan. So pray, Lord, help me to wait patiently.

As we end I’d like to give you the chance to personally have a few minutes with God and talk to Him.

Prayer:

The question again is do you want to live by faith? Are you willing to pray? I want to encourage you to pray that dangerous prayer, Lord, increase my faith. It’s dangerous because the way God increases our faith is by testing our faith. All these ways we’ve talked about this morning and many others. But if you’re willing to pray with courage, that prayer, just say it to God right now. "Lord, increase my faith."

You might need to pray specifically, "Father, by faith I’m going to begin rejoicing continually no matter what happens because I know that You’re in control." Or you might need to pray, "Father, my faith, I’m going to begin obeying immediately. When I see something in your word, when I hear it in church, or a tape and You speak to me and touch my heart, I’m going to do it. I’m not going to procrastinate by faith I will act." Maybe you need to pray, "Father, by faith I’m going to begin giving generously. I realize it all comes from You in the first place." Or maybe your prayer needs to specifically be, "Father, by faith I’m going to begin waiting patiently. I don’t know when the answer is going to come. I don’t know when the miracle is going to happen, I don’t even know how You’re going to work it all out. But by faith I do know I can trust You. So by faith I’m going to begin waiting patiently."

If you prayed that prayer of faith just now God’s smiling on you. Because the Bible says He is pleased whenever we trust Him. Without faith it is impossible to please God but by faith we please the heart of God. So today He’s smiling on you. And Father, together we thank You. We thank You for Your word that builds our faith. We thank You, Jesus, for Your unconditional love for us. Thank You that we do not have to earn Your love. That just in faith we can receive it. Lord, I pray that we would trust You to use these tests in our lives to make us more like You.



by: Rick Warren

TRUTH ABOUT TRIALS

The Christian does not have to be a victim of his circumstance, but can have victory even in times of trials and testings.

Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm, Word Publishing, 1991, p. 11.

Chippie the parakeet never saw it coming. One second he was peacefully perched in his cage. The next he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over. The problems began when Chippie’s owner decided to clean Chippie’s cage with a vacuum cleaner. She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage. The phone rang, and she turned to pick it up. She’d barely said "hello" when "ssssopp!" Chippie got sucked in. The bird owner gasped, put down the phone, turned off the vacuum, and opened the bag. There was Chippie -- still alive, but stunned. Since the bird was covered with dust and soot, she grabbed him and raced to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held Chippie under the running water. Then, realizing that Chippie was soaked and shivering, she did what any compassionate bird owner would do . . . she reached for the hair dryer and blasted the pet with hot air. Poor Chippie never knew what hit him. A few days after the trauma, the reporter who’d initially written about the event contacted Chippie’s owner to see how the bird was recovering. "Well," she replied, "Chippie doesn’t sing much anymore -- he just sits and stares." It’s hard not to see why. Sucked in, washed up, and blown over . . . That’s enough to steal the song from the stoutest heart. “Sucked in, washed up, and Blown over” That about sums up how many of us feel at times isn’t? It describes the certainty of trials and feelings of powerlessness that trials bring. An Army Chaplain had a sign on his door that said, “If you have troubles, come in & tell me all about them. If you don’t have troubles, come in & tell me how you do it.” James reminds us of the reality that even in the Christian life, there are trials and temptations. However, the Christian does not have to be a victim of his circumstance, but can have victory even in times of trials and testings. James tells us No matter what the trials on the outside, we can experience victory through faith in Christ. How do you respond when Life Deals You A Lemon?……..

There are four essentials for victory in Trials:-

Count - A Joyful Attitude James 1:2

Know -An Understanding Mind James 1:3

Let - A Surrendered Will James 1:4, 9-11

Ask - A Heart that Wants to Believe James 1:5-8

1.Count - A Joyful Attitude James 1:2

Count or consider is an accounting term. It means to take stock of. Consider carefully. Investigate fully. Line up all the numbers them add them all up. What are the things we are to consider?

A. Consider the facts about trials: James does not say if trials come, but when they do come. Expect them! Do not hide your face in the proverbial sand. Notice that just because you are a believer, you are not exempt. The Proverbs tell us that rain falls on the just and the unjust alike. Satan fights us, the world opposes us and makes this life full of battle!

B. Consider many different trials: James says we face trials of many kinds. This can refer to two things. Firstly, it can refer to types of trials. Emotional trials, trials at work, physical trials etc. Or it can refer to the source of trials. Trials generally come from one of two sources. There are the trials that we experience as a result of living the Christian life. In fact this is probably what James had in mind as he wrote this letter. His audience was the “twelve tribes” scattered throughout the earth...” He was addressing those believers who had been uprooted from their homes and families just because they were believers. There are still many in our world who are experiencing persecution for their faith. Christian World Report, says that in China alone, 1100 people are executed monthly just because of their Faith. In some restrictive Nations in the middle east, to become a believer is an automatic death sentence. We need to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are experiencing such trials. It is a reminder to us to be thankful for our momentary window of freedom we presently have to worship God without restrictions, and to be ready for when the door might one day be slam behind us. For the most part, we have it pretty good on the western world. Our trials come from another source. They are the unknown, unexpected experiences of life. For the most part people do not have control over such experiences. No one could have predicted or controlled the hijacking of four air planes by some crazed, deluded, terrorists and the subsequent destruction of the Trade Centre with its unbelievable loss of life. These kinds of trials are unexpected. They find you, you don’t need to make your own trials.

C. Consider your response to your trials. James says Count it joy when you face them. The Apostle Peter also says, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through as if something strange were happening to you. Instead be very glad (rejoice) because these trials will make you partners with Christ in His suffering, and afterward you will have the wonderful joy of sharing his glory when it is displayed to all the world.” Warren Wiersbe made this observation that the trials of life are not all alike. They are like multicolored yarn that the weaver uses to make a beautiful rug. God arranges and mixes the colors and experiences of life. The final product is a beautiful thing for His glory.

Evaluate your goals and priorities –– old & new

Live for the things which matter the most.

Our values determine our evaluations

If you value comfort more than character, then trials will upset us.

If we value the physical and the material more than the spiritual, we will not be able to count it all joy.

If we live for the present and not the future, then trials will make us bitter, not better.

Job 23:10 When God has finished with me, I shall shine as gold. When trials come, don’t pretend, don’t try self hypnosis, simply look at the trial through the eyes of faith. Outlook determines Outcome –– to end with joy, begin with joy! But how is it possible to rejoice in the middle of trials?

2. Know - An Understanding Mind James 1:3

What do we as believers know that makes it easier to face trials and benefit from them?

A. Faith is always tested –– to increase our faith! God tests to bring out our best, Satan tempts to bring out our worst!

B. Testing works for us, not against us! (1 Peter 1:7 –– the testing of your faith) - the approval of your faith –– it is genuine, proven. These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold and your faith is far more precious to god than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tested by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day Jesus is revealed to the whole world. A gold prospector brings his ore sample into the assayers office to be tested. The sample itself may not be worth more than a few dollars, but the approval, the official statement about the ore, is worth millions. It assures the prospector that he has a gold mine. God’s approval of our faith is precious because it assures us that our faith is genuine. God’s approval of our faith is precious, because it assures us that our little faith is genuine faith. Trials work for the believer because God approves of our faith when we trust Him through the trial.

C. Trials rightly used help us to mature How does God spell maturity? –– patience, endurance - the ability to keep going when it’s tough to keep going!!!! Kids on a long trip to wonderland –– Are we there yet? How long? Too Immature to understand the journey. Immature people are often impatient –– they want the blessings of maturity without walking the road of growth. The only way God can develop patience and character in our lives is through trials! (not reading, prayer, sermons) When we go through trials, when we trust God and obey Him, the result is patience and character. This is how we can face trials with a positive attitude –– we know what trials will do in us & for us –– that the end result will bring Glory to God.

3. Let - A Surrendered Will James 1:4, 9-11

God cannot and will not build our character without our cooperation. He is a gentleman and will not push, prod, pull or drag us against our wills. If we resist him, the natural consequence will be His chastisement. However, when we submit to him, then He can accomplish His work. God’s goal for our lives is maturity. It would be tragic if our little children remained little babies. We enjoy watching them grow through the various stages of life. There are times when naturally we want to shelter our kids from the dangers of life. But we can’t. Many Christians make the mistake of trying to shelter themselves from the trials of life, and as a result never grow up. How can you tell? Because they keep experiencing the same trial over and over again.

God has three tasks to complete in our growth:-Eph. 2:8-10

A. For us –– this is salvation. Jesus completed his work on the cross.

B. In Us ––We are His workmanship or literally his masterpiece. This is sanctification. God builds our character and we become more like Jesus.

C. Through us –– This is service. He has created us anew s that we can to the good things he planned for us long ago.

God doesn’t work in us without our consent –– we must surrender our will to His! If we face trials without a surrendered will, we will remain immature infants. James 1:9-11 explores this truth with two classes of Christians –– the poor and the rich. God’s testing has a way of leveling us all. It is not our material resources that are going to get us through the trials of life, but our spiritual resources. Sometimes God uses a trial to pose the question –– “Which do you

love more - this or Me?” (immaturity)

4. Ask - A Heart that Wants to Believe James 1:5-8

When the unexpected trials of life land on our doorstep, How are we to respond? How are to pray –– what should we ask God for? James gives the answer, Prayer for WISDOM> Wisdom is more than knowledge. Someone has said that knowledge is the ability to take things apart, while wisdom is the ability to put them together. Wisdom is using knowledge rightly. Why do we need wisdom when we are going through our trials? It is popular in charismatic circles to want to pray for more power or strength or deliverance. We need wisdom so we will not waste the opportunities God is giving us to mature. Wisdom helps us to use these circumstances for our good and God’s glory. One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey So he invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed, as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!

Moral: Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up! Don’t waste the opportunities God gives you to prove Himself.

James tells us what to pray for –– wisdom

He also tells us how to pray ––

• confidently,

• specifically,

• and unwaveringly in faith.

When we do God promises to answer

• generously

• to all

• without finding fault.

No need for fear –– God is anxious to answer. No need to doubt –– God is faithful to His promises

Conclusion:

So what’s in it for me? –– James 1:12

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

When a Christian endures trials, there is compensation both now and ahead:

a. Now –– Character, Endurance, Patience

b. Ahead –– a Crown of Life God doesn’t help us by removing the trials, he makes them work for our growth and maturity Satan wants to use these trials to tear us down, but God uses them to build us up. (Who are you letting control your growth in trials?)

What motivates me to act in this way? James identifies the response as Love (James 1:12)

- Love motivates a joyful attitude –– We love God, God loves us and will not harm us.

- Love motivates an understanding mind –– God teaches us through the trials, and we grow.

- Love motivates surrender of my will –– when love reigns, we can surrender and obey

- Love motivates belief –

- Love and belief go together. When you love, you trust and ask for help.

Where is your love found? –– God or the world.

What are you trusting in trials –– will it get you through?

God wants us to grow when trials come.

In love to Christ - count, know, let, and ask.

by Ralph Juthman