I remember after graduating high school I kept having this dream that I kept
taking the final test. I had to take it. The pressure was on but I did not,
I had not prepared. How traumatic! Have you ever had that dream? A dream where you
had to take a test but you were not prepared for it?
And it shows you how traumatizing it was. And I'd wake up in a cold sweat.
And it would hit me that there's no more tests. There's no more school. No more death.
No more sorrow. I'm in heaven. I remember the incredible joy, you know,
that I wouldn't have a test again, at least after college I wouldn't have a test.
But life here ... it's not just school. Life is filled with tests.
After you graduate, well first of all before I get into what ... God has to do with this,
there are tests throughout your life. You graduate from school.
The government tests you, to obtain licenses. ... there are tests in careers,
about advancing. Tests are crucial. But God also uses tests for your life.
They are crucial for your walk. And it's crucial to know that you're being tested,
and passing the tests. Imagine if you're in a school. You're being given a test,
but you never know it's a test. So you never study, you never prepare. You'll never do well.
Most believers ... they go through tests with the Lord, and they never study for it,
never prepare for it and never even know it's a test. We need to
understand what God does and by doing that looking back at what happened in
our school days. It's actually gonna give us revelation about what happens in our life right now.
God gives us tests. And we say, why Lord?
... things are happening you know, and we don't even know it's a test ...
Why Lord? Why did you let that happen? Why? Everything was going fine.
Why did that have to happen? Why? Why does God, why does He do that? Why does he test you?
You know, we all go through problems, conflicts, crises, sorrows.
But God tests us. He doesn't test us through the good times. He does test us through the crisis.
Why? Because number one, God is your teacher, it says.
Messiah is called what? Rabbi. Rabbi is a teacher. It says in the Bible
that God is our teacher. Jesus Messiah Yeshua, He taught his disciples.
He's always teaching. But there's no teacher who doesn't test. He taught them.
The word disciple in Hebrew, talmudeen. Try it. Talmudeen.
Talmudeen literally means, that's what they were called. ... they were weren't ... didn't call
themselves disciples because they didn't speak English. But they called themselves talmudeen.
Why? Because they were, it means the learners. They're learning.
Every day they would be learning of Messiah. Every day, in the same way, you, if you're born
again, you are a talmudeen. You're a disciple. And every day He is teaching you.
Whether you're receiving it or not, He's teaching you. He's trying to.
It's free. It's the greatest course. He's using everything in your life to teach you.
So you're not on earth just to hang out or just to survive. We're here to learn.
We're here to be disciples, to change, to follow the Rabbi, follow the Teacher.
Every day we're to be changing, learning growing, progressing. So why, what teacher doesn't test?
Well that's why the Lord tests you. If you've gone through a test,
why were you tested in school? Because if this is the heavenly version, why were
you tested in school? Why does God test you? Number one, same reason,
but on a cosmic level. Number one, to show what's inside you.
God is interested in reality, not appearance. We can be a certain way. We can, we can all
put on airs, we can all pretend. But the test brings out the real.
Some people talk all, a very great talk, but when the test comes, that's where it
shows where they're at. And that's where it shows where you're at. It's easy to
preach about patience. It's another thing when you're in your car and you get cut off,
and you're in that traffic jam. That's the test.
But that brings out the real thing, not the words. It's easier to talk about peace
but when you get a letter from the IRS how do you react? That's your test.
The test shows you the real thing. It shows you where you really are at.
The real picture. God knows all but he chooses to manifest it. Messiah, when He was with
the woman with a daughter and she says, heal my daughter, and He says I can't
because I only came for the Jewish people. And why should I give the bread for
the children to the dogs? And it seems very cruel, and very harsh. And then she,
then she responds, she should have walked. You know, again I bring this up because
if this happened in our life when we went up to a minister and that's what he said
to us, we would have walked away. Most of us. Ninety-nine percent of us would have
stormed out and said that, this guy is a phony. But she does it. She passed the test.
We might not have. She passed it. She said, but even the dogs eat the crumbs.
And then he says, oh woman, great is your faith. And he heals her, her daughter.
Why did he do that? It was a test. It wasn't because he was mean. He's not mean. He was,
wasn't cruel. He wasn't prejudiced. But he was testing her. Are you gonna give up now?
Are you gonna let that ... or are you gonna believe
to push through this. And sometimes doing it, in the same way, and a test in your life
it might seem that God is cruel. But He's not. It's a test.
It may seem like, it may seem like He doesn't care. It seemed to her like He
didn't really care. He did care. But it's, sometimes in your life you know, the test.
Because it seems like He doesn't care. But He does. Are you gonna hang in there?
Are you gonna believe no matter what you feel? Believe even though you don't see it?
Are you still gonna believe? That's your test. The test reveals the disciples of God.
Why does God test? he also tests us -- this is gonna sound very weird, cosmic.
But it's true. He also tests us for the sake of the angels.
It says the angels are watching, watching.
They're watching. And God manifests before the, all creation what ...
the miracle of salvation in your life. As with, say Job. When Job is going through
all those things, heaven is watching. But I'm gonna show you a man of God.
To manifest the light when there's darkness all around you and you manifest
the light, God says, look there. It's one thing when everything is fine.
That's not a test. And that doesn't show what's inside you. But when everything's dark then
the lights there, that shows what's inside you. How can you show the light with
light all around? But when there's darkness, that's when the light is shone.
So with your life. Don't despise dark ... Don't despise the dark times.
Because it would be, it's as silly, as crazy as a candle despising the darkness.
You shine into it. That's your test. You manifest who you are.
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