Under Pressure | How God Uses Testing to Shape You

What the enemy means to destroy, God uses to develop. What the enemy means to destroy, God uses to develop. The enemy tries to destroy, but God uses it to develop us because all things work together for good. I want you to write in the chat as we close today. All things work together for my good. That includes my testing. That includes the temp things that try to tip me. That includes the things, the storms that come my way to try to reveal something in me, it's all gonna work for my good. [00:43:00] (53 seconds)  #AllThingsForMyGood

The enemy's access to us, to test us is limited to what God will allow. No temptation has sees you except what is common to man, but God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. [00:38:10] (22 seconds)  #GodLimitsTemptation

I want you to to open up if you can flip further over in Job chapter 23 verse number 10. Chapter 23 verse number 10 says this, but when he knows the way that I take, when he has tested me, [00:17:50] (20 seconds)  #Job2310

No matter what you're going through, no matter what test is coming, there's a way of escape. The the the growth edge is to look for it. So when people come at you crazy, talking at you at and talking to you out the side of the neck, you look for the way of escape. Sometimes the way of escape is to let them talk and then change the topic. One of the greatest ways, and I give you this as a as a practical tool, one of the greatest ways to disarm the adversary is not to respond. [00:20:59] (31 seconds)  #FindTheWayOfEscape

The devil gets so mad when he tries to tempt you and you ignore it. I remember some situations that I was in and dealing with some things, and and somebody tried to get me to go somewhere, and I just didn't say nothing. Jesus is is arrested, and they look at him and say, you're not gonna answer? And he says nothing. Because whenever you're fighting temptation, I want you to write this down, I want you to remember this. Whenever you're fighting temptation, whenever you're in a test, whenever you're going toe to toe with the adversary, [00:21:31] (32 seconds)  #SilenceDisarms

Some tests are designed to get you to take yourself down from where God has elevated you and bring yourself down to the gutter so that you do something that will cause you to have to go say, I'm not who God created me to be. I'm not as mature as I thought I was. And we have to be aware of that in such a way so that we don't take the bait and we find the way of escape because there's always a way of escape. [00:20:24] (36 seconds)  #DontTakeTheBait

Don't be so prideful in who you think you are that you are not willing to do the work to become who God wants you to be. Don't be so prideful in who you think you are that you are not willing to do the work to become who God wants you to be. Remember, new life is a declaration that has been granted us because of our acceptance as Jesus as savior. [00:26:51] (32 seconds)  #HumbleToBeRefined

The lord will allow us to be tempted. The lord will allow us to be tested. The lord will allow us to go through. The conversation between Satan and god here, God says, you can mess with Job. You can get close to him. You can't you can't hurt him, but everything he has is fair game. You can see what he's made of. Sometimes our testing, sometimes our temptation reveals to us what we're made of, how how strong we are. And Job now is getting ready to go through and has to endure because he's been living right. [00:13:37] (50 seconds)  #LordAllowsTesting

Job, a righteous man. Job, a man who did everything right. If we could contemporize it a little bit, Job, who was living right, was serving, was a part of the kingdom, was coming to church, had a title. Job checked all the boxes, and even Job had to go through something. Sometimes it's difficult for us to reconcile how we've been living and how we've been doing things what we think is right with the fact that we have to go through difficult situations. [00:11:40] (36 seconds)  #JobWasRighteous

Sometimes you go through because you're living right. Alright. Get in trouble. Get in trouble, preacher. Get in trouble, preacher. We often think we go through in spite of us living right, but sometimes we go through because we're living right, because our testing has a greater purpose beyond the moment. I want somebody to write in the chat, my testing has a purpose beyond the moment. It is in the testing, the temptation, the the valley seasons that our character is built, revealed, and refined. [00:14:23] (50 seconds)  #TestingHasGreaterPurpose

Let's break that down. Our character is built in the testing moments. Sometimes you have to get in a test to see what you're made of and to have the opportunity to be made of something. You don't become resilient just because you say I'm resilient. I'm resilient. I'm resilient. You become resilient because you go through things and you learn to bounce back. A team in in sports does not become resilient just by saying it and putting it up in the locker room. They come re become resilient by being down in a game with their backs up against the wall [00:15:13] (37 seconds)  #CharacterBuiltInTrials

and learning how to execute under pressure. And as they do that time and time again, they are built their character is built because sometimes the testing builds the character. But sometimes our testing reveals our character. There's some things in us that we don't know. One of the lessons I have learned in ministry, especially in pastoral ministry, that is that there were things in me that I did not know they were there until I was in a test for them to reveal themselves. [00:15:49] (41 seconds)  #ExecuteUnderPressure

But it was in that test that I saw revealed in me strengths of my character and traits of my personality that I did not know were there, but the test was sent by God to reveal it not just and this is the important thing. Not just to the people around me, but also to me. Because our testing sometimes God sends it to reveal to us what we are made of. I want somebody to write in the chat, my test reveals to me what I'm made of. [00:17:12] (38 seconds)  #TestRevealsYou

God wants us to see we are made of more. There is more to us. We really are who we have desired to be, but we can't see that until we're tested. We can't see that until we go through. We can't see that until we're in a situation that requires for it to come out of us. I want you to to open up if you can flip further over in Job chapter 23 verse number 10. Chapter 23 verse number 10 says this, but when he knows the way that I take, when he has tested me, [00:17:50] (44 seconds)  #MoreIsInYou

Some tests are designed to get you to take yourself down from where God has elevated you and bring yourself down to the gutter so that you do something that will cause you to have to go say, I'm not who God created me to be. I'm not as mature as I thought I was. And we have to be aware of that in such a way so that we don't take the bait and we find the way of escape because there's always a way of escape. [00:20:24] (36 seconds)  #DontLowerYourself

No matter what you're going through, no matter what test is coming, there's a way of escape. The the the growth edge is to look for it. So when people come at you crazy, talking at you at and talking to you out the side of the neck, you look for the way of escape. Sometimes the way of escape is to let them talk and then change the topic. One of the greatest ways, and I give you this as a as a practical tool, one of the greatest ways to disarm the adversary is not to respond. [00:20:59] (31 seconds)  #DisarmByNotResponding

The devil gets so mad when he tries to tempt you and you ignore it. I remember some situations that I was in and dealing with some things, and and somebody tried to get me to go somewhere, and I just didn't say nothing. Jesus is is arrested, and they look at him and say, you're not gonna answer? And he says nothing. Because whenever you're fighting temptation, I want you to write this down, I want you to remember this. Whenever you're fighting temptation, whenever you're in a test, whenever you're going toe to toe with the adversary, [00:21:31] (32 seconds)  #PracticeSilence

But to live this life, it requires us to do the work. Want somebody to just write in the chat, put in the work. We gotta do the work. And sometimes the temptation reveals the areas of us that need to be refined, that need to be polished up, that need to be worked on so that we become stronger, we become better. If there are areas in your life where you keep falling to temptation, you gotta shore it up. You gotta do the work. You have to as as I like to say, you have to find what are the buttons you have that people can push and things can push, and you have to do the work that says, I am cutting the sensor to this button so that when it's pressed, nothing happens. [00:27:37] (47 seconds)  #CutTheTriggers

One of and I'll I'll give I'll give away a a little trick that I've done used over the years. In video games, oftentimes, remember growing up and there'd be times where there may be a a younger child around, a younger kid around that would wanna play the video game with me, and they didn't know how to play. And and back in those days and even in days like today, yeah, having somebody wanna control the pressing buttons would mess the game up. And so I would give them a controller that was not connected so that when they pressed the buttons, nothing happened. [00:28:24] (36 seconds)  #UnplugTheController

We have to do the work so that when temptation, when situations press our buttons, nothing happens. It is not and and now let's let's let's get in trouble. Let's get in trouble. Somebody say, let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's let's go. It is not a badge of honor to be a Christian, but still be able to be set off. It's not a badge of honor to walk around saying, you know, I'm a Christian. I serve in church. Let's let's go. Let's go. I'm a I'm a leader of a ministry. I have a title in the church. I'm a deacon. I'm a trustee. I'm a minister. I'm a on staff to have a title in a church, but still say, well, you know if they come at me, I'm always gonna take care of them. [00:29:00] (48 seconds)  #PressesDoNothing