So what is our classroom?

In church services, in our personal time with God in the Bible and in prayer, where we’re learning the word of God, learning what belongs to us, learning what we’re equipped with, learning about our assignment is the classroom where God’s teaching us. But as soon as we walk out of the door, that’s our mission field. In our church, at the doorway, there’s a sign that says “Entering your mission field”. So there’s going to be different trials.

There are two types of tests/trials from two different sources. One of them is always from the enemy. It’s the Greek word “peirazō ” which means to try whether a thing can be done or not and it’s also a test in order to cause something to fail or break. An engineer will try to do this with a metal piece of rod or beam and put it through pressure test to try to find the breaking point and so that’s the enemy’s test. He’s going to try to break you. He’s going to try to get you to fail. He’s going to discredit you and try to see what he can get away with. He’s going to see if it can be done. He’s a thief (John 10:10) that comes to steal, kill and destroy. So the enemy, first of all, he’s going to try to steal, e.g. by coming into a Christian life and try to take something of small value and see if you’ll take your authority and see if you’ll stand against him but if you don’t and he gets away with it, he’s going to come back and keep taking things and so he’s going to take bigger and bigger things and often times Christians don’t stand against the enemy until it gets pretty serious, until he’s taking the refrigerator out the door. So we need to take our authority, the thief is trying to go in where he doesn’t have authority. So the enemy tries to get something to see if he can get away with it but he’s also going to try to break you and try to cause you to fail or to sin. So God never sends those tests.

The second tests is from the Greek Word “dokimazō”. This test is to test the quality of something, to determine its genuineness, and so you can use it in a greater way. This test is like a refiner of gold and so they’re going to put something that looks like gold and puts it into the fire and see if it comes out as true gold and prove if it’s genuine gold. But the whole purpose of it is you want to use it in a greater way. E.g. you fashion a wedding ring and it’s much more precious and valuable and so you can take it through that test.

Does God test us and does God put us through trials? Well, it depends on which one. If its “peirazō”, no. God never ever tests us to break us, never tries us to find the negative side of our life. God never tests us with the testing in James 1: 13 – Let no man say when he is tempted (peirazō), I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth (peirazō) he any man. God’s never going to try to get you to fail, to get you into sin, to try to do something negative, or to break you. That’s not God, He doesn’t do that.

But God does test us with the second type of testing in 1 Thessalonians 2:4 But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests (dokimazō ) our hearts. How does God test us? With blessings. He’ll give us opportunities, He’ll give us blessings to see what you’re going to do with it. If you’re going to use it well, and use it right, and we’re faithful with the little that He gives us then He can bless us, and trust us and promote us so He can give us greater. So that’s really the parable of the talents in Matthew 24:14-29. The master in the parable comes back and holds the servants accountable for the blessings He gave them. Matthew 25:29 says For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. So this is the kind of test that we’re going to go through but God tests us to approve us and to promote us, always.

Sometimes these two tests are going to come together. The enemy is going to come and do a peirazō on you. He’s going to try to break you, He’s going to try to get you to fail and it’s from the enemy and the enemy is going to come to you. But God’s going to say, okay well you want to do this, I’m going to turn this around and use it against the enemy and He’s going to dokimazō . He said “Okay you’re going to come against My child, okay well I’ve already given them my faith, I’ve given them my armour, I give them my Word, I give them my promises and all that’s genuine”. So when the fire hits, it’s not really testing you. It’s going to test God’s word. It’s going to test the faith He’s given you and so it’s all from God and it’s going to come through. So guess what? When you come through the fire successfully, God’s going to promote you in a greater way than you would have never been promoted before. God is a master judo master, in that He takes the momentum of the enemy against them. God’s going to use the enemy and He’s gonna put him in the ground. So we see these two types of trials working together. In James 1:2 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials (noun of peirazō– peirasmos)” so the devil gives you various trials to break you. But in James 1:3 “knowing that the testing (noun of dokimazō  – dokimion) of your faith produces patience.” So the enemy’s going to come out and try to break you and God says okay, you’re going to do that, I’m going to use this and turn this around as a judo master and I’m actually going to prove that what I’ve given them – their faith – is genuine for me and I’m going to promote them on the other side, greater than if they had not gone through it and they use it against the devil.

1 Peter 1:6 :7 says “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials (noun of peirazō – peirasmos), that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested (dokimazō ) by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” When the devil starts messing, God’s going to start blessing and He’s going to promote you. But it’s the faith you use in the trial. It’s not just going through a trial that’s going to cause you to be promoted. It’s actually the faith you use in the midst of the trial and your faith is from God. If your faith is genuine, it will carry you through. This is the victory that overcomes the world – even our faith (1 John 5:4). So our faith is going to be tested, but we’re going to come out shining.

Excerpt from Rick McFarland’s teaching at Charis Daily Live Bible Study on 28 Feb 2022