This Is Only A Test The Pressure Test by Shane Idleman

Devotional

Day 1: When Pressure Reveals What’s Inside

Pressure tests expose hidden weaknesses and hidden strength. Like construction lines tested under 180 PSI, believers face crushing circumstances that reveal their true spiritual condition. Trials strip away pretense, exposing pride, fear, or resilience. Paul’s stoning in Acts 14 shows how crisis clarifies purpose—even when battered, he rose to keep preaching. God allows pressure not to break us, but to rebuild us. What leaks out under strain becomes an invitation for His repair. [04:09]

But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. (2 Thessalonians 3:3, ESV)

Reflection: What recent pressure exposed an area in your heart needing God’s repair? How might this trial be an invitation to deeper dependence on Him?

Day 2: The Stones That Refuse to Silence

Persecution confirms faith’s authenticity. When Paul was stoned and left for dead, his attackers expected silence. Yet he reentered the city—bloodied but unbroken. Like Polycarp’s defiant “86 years I’ve served Him,” true faith persists when mocked, marginalized, or physically threatened. Modern “stones” may be ridicule, canceled relationships, or cultural hostility. Yet each blow becomes a megaphone for unwavering allegiance to Christ. [06:31]

They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing he was dead. But when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and entered the city. (Acts 14:19-20, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you been tempted to compromise your faith to avoid conflict? What one truth about Jesus gives you courage to stand firm?

Day 3: The Unlikely Fuel of Thankfulness

Adversity ignites gratitude’s refining fire. Paul and Barnabas strengthened persecuted believers not with platitudes, but with the hard truth: “We must endure many hardships to enter God’s Kingdom.” Thankfulness in trials isn’t denial—it’s defiance against despair. Like Horatio Spafford writing “It Is Well” after losing daughters at sea, gratitude anchors us in God’s character when circumstances scream chaos. [10:14]

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18, ESV)

Reflection: What current hardship makes gratitude feel impossible? Name one unchanging truth about God that can fuel thankfulness today.

Day 4: The Gospel That Offends to Save

Bloody crosses and repentance sermons unsettle comfortable crowds. Paul’s message provoked stonings because it stripped away religious pretense. Modern attempts to sanitize the gospel—avoiding blood, sin, or judgment—neutered its power. True preaching confronts like a surgeon’s knife: painful but healing. The gospel’s offense isn’t cruelty—it’s the scalpel that removes the cancer of self-righteousness. [30:41]

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18, ESV)

Reflection: When have you watered down the gospel to avoid awkwardness? How can you winsomely share its full truth this week?

Day 5: The Judgment That Makes Mercy Sweeter

Eternal stakes amplify earthly trials. Paul’s urgency came from seeing life through heaven’s courtroom—where Christ’s blood alone satisfies justice. Judgment isn’t a threat to weaponize, but a reality that makes grace breathtaking. Like Joseph’s prison years testing his destiny, our trials prepare us to declare God’s faithfulness before kings and accusers. Every pressure test rehearses us for the final “well done.” [35:58]

It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment. (Hebrews 9:27, ESV)

Reflection: How does eternity’s reality change how you view today’s struggles? What legacy of faithfulness do you want your trials to forge?

Sermon Summary

Acts 14 speaks straight: the road into the kingdom runs through pressure. Luke lays that line down with, We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God, and then shows it in Paul’s battered body. Tribulation means pressure, the squeeze that exposes what is inside. The image of a pressure test carries the point: a line, a tank, a life must be proven under load. Under stones and slander, Paul rises, goes back into the city, and keeps heralding Christ. The Spirit, not grit, sustains that kind of resilience.

Acts then puts a bright line around gospel clarity. The apostles preach the gospel and make many disciples, because they refuse to dilute repentance, judgment, and nothing but the blood. The text insists that the church must tell the truth about truth. When the cross is softened and sin is renamed, the Spirit’s convicting power is forfeited. But where the word is honored, hearts are cut and lives are changed.

Persecution does not disprove faith. It often confirms it. Genuine believers persevere because genuine conversion places the Spirit within. Submission increases boldness, while carnality chokes courage. The church’s resolve is anchored in the lordship of Jesus. Caesar cannot be bowed to when Christ is King. Polycarp’s witness, 86 years have I served him, becomes a living illustration of lordship loyalty.

Scripture also frames the pressure test by time. Joseph’s promise is tested before it flowers. Job’s confession holds both hope and surrender. Paul’s thorn remains so that grace will be sufficient and pride will be slain. Name it and claim it cannot live here. Faith believes both texts at once, praying for deliverance and bowing if God says no.

The squeeze reveals what is really there. Pride surfaces, fear flares, and the heart is invited into repentance, gratitude, and compassion rather than relapse into old sins. The only safe way forward is to fix the gaze on God, not just quoting Scripture but believing it until thoughts are re-established. Acts closes the scene by appointing elders with prayer and fasting, a sober structure for a pressured people.

Finally, the gospel is good news because the bad news is real. Judgment is certain. The cross is God’s answer. Propitiation is not a footnote but the center, as the Son absorbs wrath to free sinners from it. Jesus returns in judgment, so today is the day of salvation. The text calls the church to hold the line.

Key Takeaways

1. Tribulation is the pressure test The squeeze is not random cruelty but God’s proving ground. Pressure exposes what a disciple trusts, reshapes character, and aligns a heart with God’s will. Without the test, faith remains untried theory. With it, hidden fractures show and can be healed. [04:09]
2. Gospel truth includes hard edges When repentance, hell, and the blood are muted, the church trades power for polish. The Spirit rides on truth, not on spin, and conviction follows clarity. Telling the bad news gives the good news its weight, like a pardon only prized by the one who knows the sentence. [08:35]
3. Perseverance flows from real indwelling A genuine believer endures because the Spirit anchors the soul. Submission increases filling and boldness, while a lukewarm life quenches courage. Perseverance is not bluster but the Spirit’s quiet insistence that Christ is worth any cost. [12:39]
4. Submission unlocks sustaining power Strength arrives where surrender is real. The disciple who yields thoughts, fears, and outcomes to God finds fresh empowerment to face the day. Anxiety shouts, but the Spirit steadies the heart that says, Use me as you want. [16:48]
5. Judgment magnifies the cross The certainty of judgment gives the cross its blazing mercy. Propitiation means wrath truly fell and was absorbed by the Son, so the guilty can be truly free. Urgency is rightful here, because delay is deadly and today is a gift. [33:42]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:31] - This is only a test
[01:16] - Forewarned for warfare, not ease
[02:41] - Tribulation means pressure and squeeze
[05:38] - Paul stoned and sustained by God
[07:57] - Preaching the gospel without dilution
[10:14] - Strengthening souls with sober encouragement
[12:39] - Perseverance of the genuine believer
[15:55] - Lordship loyalty and Polycarp
[18:12] - Joseph and the testing word
[19:37] - Grace sufficient over easy answers
[21:59] - Touching the hem, trusting Christ alone
[26:01] - Fixing the gaze and believing Scripture
[27:35] - Elders, fasting, and preparing for pressure
[33:42] - Propitiation at the cross and judgment

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Acts 14:22 (ESV)
...strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

Psalm 105:19 (ESV)
Until what he had said came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him.

2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Observation Questions

According to Acts 14:22, what did Paul and Barnabas emphasize to believers about entering God’s kingdom?
In the sermon, how does Paul’s experience of being stoned (Acts 14:19-20) illustrate the idea of a “pressure test”? [05:38]
Psalm 105:19 refers to Joseph’s testing. What does the phrase “the word of the Lord tested him” suggest about God’s promises and timing?
How does 2 Corinthians 12:9 redefine the purpose of weakness or suffering in a believer’s life?

Interpretation Questions

Why might tribulation be a necessary part of entering God’s kingdom, rather than a sign of His absence?
The sermon states, “Persecution does not disprove faith—it often confirms it.” How does Paul’s response to being stoned (returning to preach) support this idea? [05:38]
Joseph’s testing (Psalm 105:19) involved waiting for God’s promise to unfold. How might prolonged trials reveal whether someone truly trusts God’s character versus merely wanting His outcomes?
How does 2 Corinthians 12:9 challenge the belief that God’s strength is only evident in overcoming hardship, rather than enduring it?

Application Questions

What current “pressure test” in your life is exposing areas of pride, fear, or self-reliance? How can you invite God to reshape those areas? [04:09]
Are there parts of the gospel (e.g., repentance, judgment, the blood of Christ) you feel tempted to downplay when sharing with others? Why? [08:35]
Reflect on a time when God’s answer to your prayer was “no” (like Paul’s thorn). How did that experience deepen your reliance on His grace?
Polycarp’s declaration, “86 years have I served him,” reflects lifelong loyalty to Christ. What daily habits or choices could strengthen your resolve to persevere in faith? [15:55]
When adversity strikes, do you tend to revert to old sins or draw nearer to God? What practical step could help you choose dependence on the Spirit next time? [24:42]
How might fixing your gaze on God’s character (rather than circumstances) change your response to unanswered prayers or ongoing trials? [26:01]
The sermon warns against “name it and claim it” theology. How can you cultivate a faith that trusts God’s sufficiency even when He doesn’t remove your hardship? [19:37]

Sermon Clips

A genuine believer, here's here's how this works. A genuine believer genuinely has the Holy Spirit. Correct? We can all agree on that. So, you have the Holy Spirit. You have this internal witness. You have you have the spirit of God in you. So, that that keeps you anchored to the faith. Now, the more you submit to his work, the more you follow him, the more you seek him, the more filled you will be, and the more the more bold you will be in the face of persecution. [00:12:54]

Because when you have that promise from God or you're you're just having faith in God that there's a te it doesn't happen right away. It's part of the testing. And you get to the point where and that's why I love quoting Job. Though he slay me, yet will I trust him. You get to the point like those three Hebrew boys, our God will deliver us, but even if he doesn't, we will not bow. That's to me that's sanity. That's how I keep my sanity because you don't you don't know what God's going to do. [00:19:04]

words, they encourage them to continue in the faith, saying, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of heaven." And you guys, this church has been a great encouragement to us this this these last four or five months. It's been encouraging to hear people um just encourage in the faith and to and to say just just keep walking that path because words carry weight, don't they? They carry a lot of weight. They either motivate or discourage. [00:10:14]

And it it that pressure seems to to increase. And it's really forming and building and shaping your character because as you're squeezed, what's inside comes out. And then that's an opportunity to say, "Lord, help me in this area. I didn't realize I had so much pride." I didn't realize I had so much anger and frustration [snorts] and uh fear, anxiety that when like wow Lord this is this is really coming out of me and allows you to fix those areas. [00:04:52]

Stephen was stoned the very first disciple. One of them, I mean, one of them first, James was killed and now Paul is assaulted. Yet, we think we're going to have this glorious, wonderful, carefree life. But it does beg the question, why? Why do Christians why do Christians persevere? Why do they? Well, number one, genuine Christians persevere because they're not fake. [00:12:20]

It's it's it's absolutely amazing. And that's why it says Jesus returns in judgment. Did you know that? Everybody's got this nice view of him. He's returning in judgment. The gospel frees us of judgment. And God poured out his judgment upon the cross. All throughout human history, [snorts] God would judge. And God wins, by the way, doesn't he? [applause] [00:34:08]

my point is you can't trust you cannot trust in alternatives and conventional and physician. You cannot trust in that God may use them. You have to trust in him and him alone. There is no plan B. There is no backup. He is the plan. But sometimes he'll take you to the depths of despair. And will you hold on to him even when everything is collapsing? [00:22:42]

When we honor God's word, he does something amazing. And that's why we we built this church. One of the foundational pillars was the desperate need for absolute truth. There is an absolute truth. And so after they made many disciples because they preached the truth, they returned to Lististra, Iconium, and Antioch strengthening the souls of the disciples. [00:09:41]

And as Christians, and there's nothing wrong with this, we want to undo the squeeze. We want to ease the pain and we want to relieve the pressure. And the reason, I think, for the pressure test is what's really inside comes out. Because when there's pressure, do do you hold the line? Are you is your faith genuine? [00:03:50]

That God will sustain you as long as you trust in him. As long as you rely on him and turn to him and wait upon him. That's that's where the sustaining power comes from. It doesn't come from you or me inside. It comes from relying on the spirit. And that he sustains us as believers. [00:07:15]

Don't you wish when you came to know the Lord it was like kind of heaven now? That would be pretty glorious, but it's warfare now. Uh, life is a play life is a battleground, not a playground. Awtoer said in the 1960s and boy did have we learned that lesson. But what I like is to be forewarned is you're forearmmed when you know what to expect. [00:01:10]

hydrants. You know, does it can it hold I don't remember now 180 PSI and under pressure and or is it going to start leaking and and and we would we would pressure test tanks and and different things because can it hold the weight? Can it hold the pressure of what's going to come upon it? And God often will use these pressure tests in our lives. And usually it's it's a little bit easier when you're a new believer and younger. And it it that pressure seems to to increase. [00:04:16]

to be outside of his will and experience an abundant fun life and to be really on a on a collision course to judgment. And God's got you. He's hold and it's hard to explain even in the midst of adversity and testing when the Holy Spirit really grips your heart in that relationship with God. It's it's it's you wouldn't you wouldn't trade that in. It's what I've told you before like Lord take this from me but don't take this from me. It's that it's that it's that dichotomy of the of the Christian faith. [00:02:21]

It's like these people that we we we we look to, we read about, they've been to hell and back. They passed the pressure test. That's really the key. And I shared this on a Wednesday night, but I want to share it here. Psalm 105:19. Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him. Now, this is of course of Joseph. And God said, "You will be a ruler." Can you imagine Joseph, this young man, probably teenager, you know, [00:18:02]

Sometimes he messes up a lot of things too to to conform our our character to his image. And I think just letting people know that that it helps prepare them because the road to following Jesus is not only narrow, it's also difficult. It's challenging. Well, then why would I choose it? Because it's better to be inside of God's arms and his will than [00:01:16]

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