Before the High Place Comes the Dry Place: Passing God's Tests

Sermon outline

God tests His children to prove them, not to break them, so pass the test with integrity, good stewardship and a thankful heart, because the dry place leads to the high place.

1. God tests you to prove you

   Becoming a Christian does not mean everything will be smooth sailing; God will personally come to you with not one test but many. Christians confuse attacks of the devil with tests of God, but a Spirit-filled believer with discernment will recognise God's hand. The Hebrew word for tested means to try, and God tries you to prove you and make you stronger, not to break or destroy you.

   Illustration: Between the dream God gives you and its fulfilment there is a walk from point A to point B, and along that walk God will test you, as He did Joseph.

   “God does not test you to break you. God does not test you to destroy you. God tests you to prove you.”

   • Genesis 22:1-2
   • Proverbs 11:1

2. The money test and the love test

   Many people fail the money test: if you cannot tithe on a thousand you will not tithe on a hundred thousand, so God will not promote you there. The love test comes through difficult people, and the hardest opposition often comes not from unbelievers but from fellow Christians, just as Joseph was thrown into the pit by his own brothers. Speaking in tongues for an hour will not pass the test if your character and words do not show the love of God.

   “He that is faithful with the little shall be faithful with the much.”

   • Luke 16:10
   • Genesis 37:24
   • Galatians 5:6

3. There is no quick fix: your character has to be proved

   Abraham waited many years for his son, and then God asked him to offer him. God would rather you make your mistakes while you are low down, because on a higher level your faults are magnified before more people. You must be the same person in public and in the dark room, and the only way to get there is to be tested and approved. Start small, even with a broom and a thousand rand a month, because small beginnings lead to a great latter end.

   Illustration: A twenty-year-old just out of school expects to earn forty thousand a month because he can do all things through Christ. Start with something small.

   “If you want to do great, start small.”

   • Genesis 22:2
   • Job 8:7

4. Before God brings you to a high place, He takes you to a dry place

   At the Jordan the Father said of Jesus, "You are my beloved Son," and a few verses later the Spirit, not the devil, led Him into the wilderness for forty days. He shares that after a recent negative experience he asked the Lord why, and was taken to Genesis 22 and Luke 4. The Lord told him that a great church needs a man who has stood strong in the fire, and that the fires He chooses are for Him to decide. The bigger the fire, the greater the promotion, and the devil raises critics against giants, not worms.

   Illustration: He asked the Lord whether it could not have been a nicer fire, and the Lord answered that He chooses the wood and the flames. Joseph went from the pit to Potiphar's house to prison before his dream came to pass.

   “Before God brings you to a high place, he'll take you to a dry place.”

   • Luke 3:21-22
   • Luke 4:1-2
   • Isaiah 45:9

5. God is with you in the fire

   When your supervisor or manager is giving you a hard time even though you tithe and love your church, remember the author and finisher of your faith, who will never leave you nor forsake you. Learn to read your seasons, because everything is not hunky-dory all the time; there are love examinations and faith examinations. Keep quiet, do not squeal or complain, and pass the test.

   “The bigger the fire, the greater the promotion.”

   • Hebrews 12:2
   • Hebrews 13:5
   • Matthew 28:20
   • Romans 8:31

6. Pick up the fragments: be a good steward of your money

   After feeding the five thousand Jesus told His disciples to gather the fragments, teaching that when God gives you a miracle you must not waste it. Be frugal: do not spend it all at the mall, carry nine credit cards, live paycheck to paycheck or compete with the Joneses. Sowing and tithing are great, but they will not make you rich on their own; have a savings plan, a retirement plan and an investment plan, think property, and start while you are young.

   Illustration: He keeps a pink piggy bank in his dressing room for loose coins and banks over a thousand rand every month or two. His first car was a VW Beetle with a hole in the floorboard, and his first Toyota lost a fender on the road, so young people should rather buy a flat than an expensive car.

   “Your wealth may be in the fragments.”

   • John 6:12

7. Develop an attitude of gratitude

   Write down everything you own and value it, and you may find you are already a millionaire in assets. Of the ten lepers Jesus healed, only one came back to give thanks. Be thankful for one suit or many, a small house or a big one, and in the pit, in a spiritual jail or in the test, because God can work with a thankful spirit. Stop focusing on who does not like you or criticises you; any person in authority will be criticised.

   Illustration: He recently listed and valued all his assets and was surprised, though it was not always like that; there was a time he did not have two sets of clothes to wear to church.

   “God can work with a man and a woman who has a thankful spirit.”

   • Luke 17:11-19