Shortly after I was born again, I had a very big test to see if I would do what God told me to do. I owned a small business. A woman filed a court charge against me. I had brought to my mind these words, "Don't testify." I believed this instruction was from God.
At that time, I didn't even know the Holy Spirit leads us and guides us and teaches us in things of God.
I don't know how I thought that word was from God, but I did.
I had no idea my own friends would rise up against me, but they did.
This was the first of many very strong tests that I had through the next 40+ years.
We are tested along the way to see what we will do. Some test are enormously strong. Others seem minor but are not minor. Each test is important. For Jesus says, But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Mt. 24:13
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Mark 1
10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon im:
11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
12 And immediately the Spirit driveth Him into the wilderness.
13And HE was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.
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15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
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Herod kills John the Baptist because John spoke against adultery:
Matthew 14
1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him. For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.
John the Baptist spoke against the adultery of Herod.
5And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.
6But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.
8And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.
9And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.
10 And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.
11 And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.
12 And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.
And what did Jesus do when HE heard of the execution of John the Baptist?
14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.
Jesus continued doing the work assigned HIM by God.
Jesus showed HIS kingdom was not of this world. John the Baptist would be cared for by God after his death. It is not this life that we trust in but we put our trust in God and fulfill the word of God regardless of the cost to us.
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Pam Padgett was raised Catholic and then was born again and changed to a non-denominational church.
She attended the singles class at that church. A woman in that class was divorced but decided to remarry. The man she was planning to marry was also in that class at that church. Pam went to both of them and showed them scripture from the New Testament where it showed if the divorced woman remarried she would commit adultery. And the man who married the divorced woman commits adultery.
Matthew 5:32 Jesus said: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
Pam was shocked when the woman from the single's class at the church said she didn't care what the Bible said.
In telling this story later, Pam said, "But it was from the BIBLE." (never dreaming that a church person wouldn't care what the Bible says.)
This was a test for Pam. And it showed that Pam really cared about the scriptures, what the Bible said. (And there would be many other tests for Pam along the way to see what she would do when she was confronted with opposition to that which the Word of God said in the Bible.)
But everyone in the singles class at that church turned against Pam. When she tried to sit with the singles in the main auditorium at the church service, without a word, the entire class got up and moved to another area of the auditorium.
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The Word of God also comes to our minds by a thought brought by the Spirit of God.
When a young woman took me to court when I owned a small business, the following word came to my mind: "Don't testify." I believed this to be instruction from God so of course this is what I must do since it was from God.
I told my lawyer that he might not want to represent me because I believed God had told me, "Don't testify."
The lawyer said he would still represent me. He said he thought Flo's testimony would be enough for us to win the case. (Flo worked for me and witnessed the situation which was the cause of the court case.)
When Flo found I was not testifying, she became angry toward me, and said to me, "Since you aren't testifying, the burden is all on me."
I replied, "What can I do? I believe God told me 'Don't Testify', so I can't testify."
(When we believe we have heard from God, there is no other choice to be made.)
Proverbs 21:30 There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD (The Word).
The man I was dating at that time said to me, "Joan ... you aren't doing this woman any good by not testifying."
I replied, "I'm not trying to do her any good. I believe God told me 'Don't testify'. I'm just trying to do what I believe God told me to do."
Although both Bob and Flo professed to be Christians, neither understood what I was doing. And both were against me.
During the court trial, my lawyer came to me and said, "Flo's testimony didn't go as well as I thought it would but if you would testify we will win this case."
I replied, "I'll see."
I went into the ladies room at the court house and said to God, "What do YOU want me to do?"
Immediately the thought came to my mind, "Don't testify."
I returned to the court room and when my lawyer looked at me I shook my head "no".
The trial continued.
(At one point, when things looked really bad, I said to God, "I hope YOU know what we're doing. I'm going to lose this case."
We won the case, but even if we had lost I know now that God knew what HE was doing.
Isaiah 55
8 For MY thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways MY ways, saith the LORD.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are MY ways higher than your ways, and MY thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11 So shall MY word be that goeth forth out of MY mouth: it shall not return unto ME void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
Win or lose, everything is used to conform us to the image of Christ, The Word.
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Jesus did not have to die. Jesus explains to Peter.
Matthew 27
2And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.
Matthew 26
52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?
Jesus loved the scriptures even unto HIS own death.
Jesus also did what God wanted even unto HIS own death.
For each of us also, that Word given by God, must be loved above all things and above all people and we choose to follow That Word even unto our own deaths as we do what we believe God has told us to do.
This test comes frequently throughout our life time.
Matthew 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
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Abraham tested: The first test.
Genesis 12:1-3 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
The first thing Abraham had to do was to depart, from his father, from his country, from his relatives.
And when he departed he went into a land, where God showed him. He didn't know ahead of time where he would be going.
Obeying the Word spoken to him by God.
Another great test for Abraham:
Genesis 22
1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
(Abraham obeyed at once, early the next morning after he had heard the Word from God.)
9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
(Abraham was going to obey that word given him by God.)
12And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from ME.
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The Word from God comes to us. We hear, believe, obey.
Proverbs 21
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