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Sermon preached at State College Free Methodist Church
on Sunday, May 4,1997, by Pastor Chester Marshall.
*James 1:2-3*
Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations?
Then be happy, 3for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow.
*12* Happy is the man who doesn't give in and do wrong when he is tempted, for afterwards he will get as his reward the crown of life that God has promised those who love him.
*ENCOURAGING WORDS FORM GOD’S WORD*
 
*(3)  HOW TO PASS LIFE’S GREATEST TESTS*
 
            In these series of messages we are looking at the “Deadly D’s” - defeat, discouragement and today we are going to look at “difficulty.”
And we are going to study the life of Abraham, and the test that he went through.
Folks, I want to tell you - life is a series of test; and in the life of Abraham we are going to see four tests; and although your circumstances will vary, I’ll guarantee that God will test in you in the exact four areas in which He tested Abraham.
I think that those of us who have had long years of formal education have learned that it’s helpful to prepare for tests!
Teachers, you know, are downright mean!
They keep the exam questions hidden, and you enter the classroom, and there on your desk is a printed list of questions to be answered in three hours.
And you are inclined to panic for the first five minutes; and you say to yourself, “If only I could have known these questions in advance so that I could work out the answers, how much better I would perform - indeed I could be assured of getting an A!”
 
            Now that’s not the way God is - God wants you to pass His test!
In fact, He wants you to pass them so much that He tells you in advance.
There is just one thing about God’s tests - you don’t know the timing, and God specializes in pop quizzes!
So we are going to look at Abraham and the tests he went through; and as we do, we’ll discover how genuine our own faith is as believers in Christ.
*1.
The first test is a MAJOR CHANGE.*/
/  Look at *Hebrews 11:8*  By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God's call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home.
When he left he had no idea where he was going.
Circle the word “where.”
The first test of life, folks, is a major change.
God asked Abraham to pick up everything he had, and move to another place.
And Abraham asked, “Where?”
So the first test is the “”where” question.
“God, where am I going?”
And God says, “I’ll let you know.”
“How long is it going to take?”  “I’ll let you know.”
“How will I know when I get there?”
“I’ll let you know.”
Would you follow a God Who was as uncommunicative as that?
You see, this major change for Abraham was difficult.
In the first place he was 75 years old and he was ready to retire.
God said, “You are ready to aspire!”
When he was ready for social security, God said, “You are ready for social insecurity!”
When he’s ready to hang it up, God says, “Take it down and dust it off!”
When he’s to sit back and take it easy, God says, “You are ready for the biggest adventure of your life!”
Not only that.
He was wealthy, so he had a lot to move.
He had camels and cattle and sheep.
He had servants.
He was a fat cat in the Mesopotamian city of Ur.
How would you like to live in “Ur”?  “Where do you live?”  “Ur” - it sounds like you had gas on your stomach!  “Where do you live?”  “Well, “Ur…!”
And God said, “I want you to leave Ur and go to a place that you know nothing about.
Just follow Me.”
So he picked up everything, and immediately, without question, he took off.
And here’s the first test of a real believer - a real believer will follow God’s leading without knowing “where.”
Some of you are asking the “where” question right now.  “Lord, where do You want me to work?  Do You want me to make a job change?”
“Lord, where do You want me to live?” “Lord, where do You want me to retire to?” 
 
            “Where do You want me to go to college?”
And these questions all presuppose a major change, and this is a test.
God says, “Start moving and I will direct you.”
But the direction seldom comes until you make the first move.
You see, folks, if your faith hasn’t led you to take any risks, it’s surely not real faith.
So the first test is a major change - “where” question.
*2.
The second test is a DELAYED PROMISE,*  and this test causes us to ask, “When” Lord?” 
 
            Look at *Hebrews 11:9-10*  By faith he made his home in the *promised *land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same *promise*.
10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
There is a word in these verses that is used twice, and it is the word “Promise.”
Promise - is a very important word in the vocabulary of faith.
And the question that always accompanies a promise is “When?”
God said, “I’m gong to give you the promised land.”
And Abraham wanted to know “When?”
And that leads me to say this:  God wants us to base our lives on promises, not explanations.
God guaranteed Abraham the promised land,  but after he got there, there was a delay,  in fact, Abraham waited not only during Jacob - and they were still living in tents!
There’s not much more of a temporary way to live than that!
They couldn’t even settle down.
How would you like your family to live in a tent for three generations?
Can you imagine Sarah?!  Abraham, when are we going to get a real house?”  said Sarah intently!!  I don’t know about you,  but I can handle a test in life if I know there’s going to be an end to it.
But the hardest kinds of tests to handle are the tests in life where you don’t know if they are ever going to end.
A delayed promise is difficult to handle.
But Abraham never gave up.
He never went back to the security and the opulence of Ur.
And here’s the lesson - a real believer will wait  for God’s timing without knowing “when.”
Some of you are going through the “when” test right now.  “When am I going to get that job I’m seeking,  Lord?”  “When am I going to get married, Lord?”  “When am I going to have a baby?”  “When am I going to get well?”
“Lord, when are you going to solve my problems?
When are you going to save my husband, or my wife, or my child?
When are You going to answer my prayers?”
The second greatest test in life - a delayed promise.
When?
Tell me, what have you been expecting God to do in your life that hasn’t happened yet?
Abraham had to wait three generations.
What are you waiting for?
All of God’s saints have experienced delays.
Moses waited 80 years; Noah waited 120 years; Abraham waited his lifetime.
God always gives His children the waiting test.
A major change - a real believer will follow God’s leading when he doesn’t know where.
A delayed promise - a real believer will wait for God’s timing when he doesn’t know when.
*3.
An IMPOSSIBLE PROBLEM.*
Let’s read *Hebrews 11:11*  By faith Abraham, even though he was past age--and Sarah herself was barren--was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.
You  know the story.
Abraham is 99 years old, and he still doesn’t have a son by his wife Sarah, and God says that he’s going to be the father of many nations (Genesis 17:4).
That’s what his name “Abraham” means, “the father of many nations.”
And someone says, “How many children do you have, Abraham?” “Zip.”
How embarrassing!
“How old are you?”
“Ninety-nine.”
An  impossible problem.
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