Five tests you will have to pass before you step into your calling or before you step into
the fulfillment of God's word for your future. Now you might not take these tests all at once,
and it doesn't mean you take them at a particular time of your life. They will never reappear in
your life, but I've noticed this, and this is in the Bible as well as I've seen it in my own life,
where you will have to go through these tests to be able to step into the fulfillment
of your purpose. Psalm 105, verse 19, in the New King James version, says
until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him. Do you see
how before God's word comes to pass, before God's purpose, God's dream comes to pass,
this dream, this vision, this word of God passes you, meaning, it tests you, you have to pass the
test before you can see the word come to pass, I believe everything in your life is either a test
or a reward, your faith cannot be trusted until it's tested. God tested Abraham, God tested Israel
and God tests our faith, we see there's an hour of testing, we see the tithing test, God we see that
we even have to test ourselves, we see that we have to test the spirits, we know that vehicles go
through about a thousand smaller big tests before they hit the market test is just part of life, and
in fact you wouldn't want to have anything that has not been tested, a lot of people step into
ministry, they step into their calling and they have not been tested, in fact they've been tested,
they just failed those tests, here are five tests I believe you will be taken and some of you,
you are taking them right now, and i will give you also an encouragement on how to pass those tests,
the first test is the test of time, this one teaches you patience, you see God's tests are not
only revealing something about you, they're also refining something about you, so not only they're
revealing are you impatient, but at the same time they're actually refining you, they're
building patients, the first test the test of time teaches patience, see patience is more than
bearing affliction, it's standing fast under pressure, turning problems into opportunities,
impatience is the first thing that brings emotional immaturity, referencing to the
time of Joseph when Joseph received the dream, it didn't came true right away, it took years,
some people people say even decades before that dream come to pass, same thing with David,
same thing with a lot of promises of God, they don't come to pass right away, which builds
our patience and patience is important because patience helps to build endurance, and endurance
helps to build our character, and character gives hope, according to Romans chapter 5 verses 3
and 4. The second test that I believe every person will have to pass and is the test of
faith. The test of faith is when you have to learn to trust in God's word, not in your feelings; this
test will expose how little you trust, and it will also refine your trust by building within you a
faith that trusts in God's word, not in your mood, not in how you feel, see the problem with our
struggles or with the delay discouragement is that it tends to make us feel like God is not with us,
the presence of problems sometimes feels like it's an absence of God, God's silence
feels like it's God's absence, and that's a test you're being tested when the teacher is silent in
the classroom, most likely you're taking a test so what do you do when you don't feel God's presence?
What do you do when you feel like God has left you? You have to feed on God's word
and live by what you know, not by what you feel blind. Bartimaeus couldn't see Jesus, but he
could hear Jesus, in Mark chapter 10, verse 47, so when you don't feel him, when you don't see him,
hear his word because faith comes by hearing, build your faith, when you're being tested,
when your feelings are not there, when it seems like the presence of God is not there strengthen
your faith don't give up on God's word, know that he is with you even when you don't feel like it,
the third test is the test of purity, Joseph had to be tested in this area as well because he was
presented with a temptation, he had every reason not to flee temptation, but to flirt with that
temptation, this test teaches us to flee sin, not to flirt with sin, if you don't want to fall into
sin you have to flee sin so many people they fight sin instead of fleeing sin, there are sins you
have to fight, but we have to run from sin see, especially when your destiny is not there, where
it's supposed to be the calling of God has not you know reached its fruition you have not been
stepping fully into what God called you to do, you will be tested in the area of purity, and purity
is making a decision to put your flesh through the prison before you're led to the palace, so many
people want to know how do I get to my calling, how do I get to my purpose, it's very simple,if
you follow God's way, if you follow God's will for your purity, you will find God's way for
your purpose, if you don't know God's will in this particular situation, let me tell you God's will,
you can find it in God's way of purity, purity is the path to your purpose.
1 Thessalonians, chapter 4, verses 3 to 5, says, this is the will of God, you want to know
God's will, your sanctification see this test of purity, actually puts you on the path of purpose,
if you're not passing the test of purity, I'm not saying you will not reach your purpose. Still,
you will take a lot of detours before you reach your purpose, and you can delay your purpose.
Test number four and is the test of forgiveness; it teaches us not to hold on to our offenses;
you cannot enter into the destiny God has for you, you cannot be fruitful until you learn to forgive;
see, when you learn to let go of those who hurt you, let go of the hurt, you embrace your future,
the offender can no longer hurt you if you shake off the shackles of bitterness,
and offense forgiving somebody is not overlooking, it's not excusing, minimizing, or taking the blame
for the wrong that they did, it's not even waiting for the apology, it's a command to forgive,
it's not an option, Jesus clearly commands us to forgive. Joseph had to go through that
because not only his brothers they betrayed him, not only his father didn't necessarily believe
in his dreams, but we also see Potiphar's wife cooked up a story about him, the guy he translated
the dream in the prison forgot about him, it seems like everywhere Joseph went, he picked up a fence,
a fence not in the sense that he held on to offense, but he had reasons to be offended,
he didn't stay offended, you can have a reason to be bitter, but you have even greater reason
to get better by forgiving those people, every unfortunate situation that has happened to you is
like a knife, you can take it by the handle, that is when you forgive you can take it by the blade,
that's when you hold on to unforgiveness, you will not step into your destiny,
if you hold grudges, bitterness, offense against people that have put you in a very painful place,
they might have put you in the painful place but your unforgiveness keeps you there, so I want to
challenge you, shake off the shackles, release those people, forgive those people, why?Because
your future is greater than your past, the promise of God is greater than the pain you're feeling,
and you will never step into that promise; if you're holding on to that pain, release it,
let it go, and pass the test, test number five, the final test and that is the test of hard work,
this one teaches us not just to go through life, but to grow through life, see
we see this in Proverbs 14:23, that in all labor there is a prophet, now,
I am going to read you a verse about Joseph that really spoke to me, and that is in Genesis
49 verses 22, it says, Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring whose branches
climb over the wall, that's the NIV translation. Now think about Joseph. Joseph, in every area,
exhibited excellence. He was hard-working; Joseph was not a lazy couch potato;
Joseph was not waiting to get out of prison to begin to practice his management skills.
He didn't wait to get his freedom from slavery before he ran the house of Potiphar. I love
this about Joseph because God didn't just supernaturally sprang him into the palace;
he actually climbed into the palace. The Bible says in Genesis that Joseph is a fruitful vine,
meaning he decided to be effective, fruitful, and successful in every area he was in. Then
he was near the spraying... he trusted in God, his faith was in God, he had this wall, this obstacle,
he was a slave, he was rejected, his family had a death certificate, he was also betrayed,
and then he became a prisoner with a very terrible reputation, if somebody had an obstacle,
this was Joseph, but he had a well next to him, it was his faith, it was his character, it was
choosing to walk with God and guess what happened? Because he had a well, he became a vine, see your
character makes who you are, and then his branches started climbing over the fence, the wall, and the
obstacle; How did that happen? On a practical level, he worked out of that situation; now,
I am not saying Joseph was a workaholic. I'm not trying to make you grind through life. That is not
what I'm encouraging you, but this test will test you, will test you in your difficult situation;
still, read your Bible, still serve in your local church, still work on your strengths
and your gifts, still minister to people that need you. Joseph ministered in the Potiphar's house by
being a good manager in the jail; he translated the dreams of the guy who had a dream. Now
remember Joseph's dream is delayed, and this guy had a dream, and Joseph could have been like,
ah, forget about your dream, dreams don't work like I used to dream, dreams and like look what
happened to me, so bro, forget about your dreams. Joseph allows God to use him and translates
the dream of another person, and it's crazy; this guy's dream comes to pass in three days,
and Joseph's dream is still on hold, see Joseph didn't wait, he was getting his roots were getting
nourishment from God, and then his branches were climbing over the wall slowly. Two years later,
this guy remembers Joseph. Joseph gets a call, Pharaoh needs a dream to be translated,
and Joseph translates the dream and right away adds himself into that explanation interpretation
of the dream by saying: Pharaoh, you need a person who can run this whole thing, and uh,
pretty much by the way I can apply for that position, he created a position and then he got
hired for that very position. Joseph didn't get rescued or get just amnesty from jail,
and you know, somebody fought his case in the court and stuff said, no, he pretty much worked
his way into the palace, and he stayed in the palace because he right away applied
for a job that he created. Pharaoh didn't even need that position until Joseph came,
and Joseph worked all his life. I really am for a person to draw their nourishment from God,
pass the test when it's hard and you don't have motivation, you don't have a desire,
instead of watching Netflix, instead of watching movies, and tv shows, instead of scrolling
aimlessly through tik-tok, and facebook, do not waste your wilderness. Paul wrote a lot of the New
Testament in jail. Joseph developed his spiritual gifts in a very difficult season of his life,
and that's when you're going to be tested. That's when you have to pass the test of being diligent,
being effective, working on your excellence, and developing skills for the glory of God,
but remember, we're not workaholics; we are worshipers, and we draw our source from the well,
and it gives us the power to overcome the wall. Which test are you facing right now?
One out of five, or maybe you're facing all of these five tests. Are you passing them? Let me
know in the comments below if this video brought encouragement and blessing to you.
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