Test of Confusion - Part 2

All women know they can tell when a man has something evil in his heart or a preacher's not right. Women have intuition. Now, ladies, I don't want to lose you, but I don't buy it.

I don't buy it from the scripture. Too often it's judging outward appearance. You know, you see, the Bible says you're not to lean on your own understanding, you're not to trust it, you're not to rely on that for your judgments, not to rely.

Judge not that you be not judged, for with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged, and with what measure you're meeting out to others, it'll be measured back to you again. And hear this, and this shook me up, doth our law judge any man before it hears him out and knows what he doeth? That's James 7, 51. Doth our law judge any man before it hear him and know what he doeth? In other words, how do you judge a person until you get to know them, until you know what they're about? How do you judge them? I've heard people judge other Christians.

I said, well, how much time have you spent with them? Oh, I've never talked to them. I said, well, how do you know? Well, it's what God told me. And the Bible says, does our law, does the law of God, the moral law, the commandment, anything, does our law judge any man before you hear him out or you know what he's about? I've judged preachers.

I watched them when I'm sitting down there and I would say I like him because he's raising his hands and worshiping him I don't like. And I'm judging them all sitting up on the platform. And the guy I misjudge worse gets up and preaches and blows me away with the Holy Ghost because I trusted my own understanding.

I've got to go on quickly. One, one last thing here I want to share with you. Leaning on our own understanding leads us to misinterpret God's ways and workings in our life.

We have misinterpreted what we're going through. Now there are many of you here tonight that are going through probably the worst fiery trial you've ever had in your Christian life. Overwhelming afflictions.

You're going through it and you have stress. You have trials and you're going through it. It could be physical.

It could be spiritual, financial. I don't know what it is. Now folks, hear me please.

If you haven't heard anything else in this message, I'm not trying to be facetious or funny. I know what God said to my heart and I want you to hear it. Because many of you listening to me now, even though you laugh, even though you're in this service, you praise the Lord, you sit there right now facing some of the most incredible times of trial you've ever had to endure.

Right now sitting here in this church you're going through it. And if you listen to your own understanding, here's what you're going to hear. Something like this.

You're going through all this because you failed God. You're in a fire of affliction because God has turned you over to the devil to chasten you. That human reasoning, that human understanding will say, well God is so good and this lingers.

It has to be some sensuality. It has to be something in me that God is having to do this to me or allowing the devil to do it to me. And there's a sense that I am under judgment.

I'm under the rod of God. I'm under the wrath of God. And that will come to you in human reasoning.

Well every trial you go through, because troubles never come one at a time. Troubles come in pairs and triples and dozens. How many know that? It'd be okay if they came one at a time.

It's the fourth one, the fifth one, the sixth one and you turn around. When's it going to stop? How much more Lord? I can't take it. Of course that doesn't happen to anybody here but me.

But what is God's mind and His voice concerning the present trial and trouble? I want you to turn before I close to Psalm 66. I want you to mark this in your Bible before I close. Give me five more minutes but I want you to hear this.

6-6, Psalm 66. Let's start reading at verse 8. Oh bless our God ye people and make the voice of His praise to be heard which holdeth our soul in life and suffereth not our feet to be moved. Now folks skip down to verse 16.

The writer of this psalm says come and hear all ye that fear God and I'll declare what He's done for my soul. He's saying gather around. I've had a great deliverance.

I want to tell you, I want to testify the great things God's done for me. And you know what He's just come through? He's come through verse 9-12 which holdeth our soul in life and suffereth not our feet to be moved. He's about to go in fire and water and affliction and He's saying before anything else I was convinced that God had His hands around my feet, that the devil couldn't capture me, that I was going to go through a hard time but God had a hold of my feet.

I was unmovable. I will not be moved. I shall not, I shall not be moved.

God has hold, He's holding my soul in life during the trial I'm about to enter into. He suffers not our feet to be moved. For thou O God has proved us, thou hast tried us as silver is tried.

Now whatever you're going through Saint, the Lord is testing you. He's trying you to bring something glorious out of you. A confidence in Him is total.

Would you, let's bring you that water there please. Total confidence in His faithfulness. Now look at the next verse, verse 11.

Thou broughtest us into the net. Now how many can see that that's not the devil at work? Take a look at it. Who took him into the net? Who took him into the trial? Say it louder.

Thou broughtest us into the net. Thou laidest affliction upon our loins and you know what that means in the Hebrew? God you put such a heavy load on me it's just crushing me. It's a crushing load and God said I put it on you.

I did it. I led you into this. Now folks listen closely.

Thou has caused men to ride over our heads. In other words they're by walking on me and the real picture is the picture of a Roman emperor and he's got all of the dead bodies and all of those still alive and his chariots running right over their bodies, right over their heads, flip side right over them all. Men are riding over my head.

People take advantage of me. Thou has caused it. Thou has caused men to ride over.

Who caused it? We're always saying the devil's trying to get me. The devil's harassing me. Yes he does at times but there are times that and folks you've got to see this.

You've got to understand it. Human reasoning can't figure it out. Your human understanding will never figure it out.

You can't. You've got to believe his word only and rest on it. Thou has caused men to ride over our heads.

We went through what? Fire and through water. By the way that's not just water that's a flood. How many have to say tonight that you're going through fire, fiery trials, through the flood of affliction and you'll find that all through the scripture, all through the bible and I will turn my hand upon thee and I'll thoroughly purge away all thy dross and take away all thy kin and in Malachi the third chapter the prophet said Jesus is going to come and sit as a refiner of fire and he said who's going to be able to stand when he comes to to refine his children.

In other words nobody's going to miss the refining fire. Everybody's going to go through the fires. Everybody's going to go through the floods.

He said who's going to be left standing? Nobody but he said when he's tried me I shall come forth as gold tried in the fire. If you will stop trying to figure it out and say Lord why is this happening to me or why am I having to endure this battle and put aside your human reasoning, put aside all your trying to figure things out and say God is doing something in me. God's hand is in this.

You may not like it. It may be overwhelming but God has never left you alone. God, you know that that helps me realize, that helps me so much when I know that whatever I'm going through God has been leading me.

Even when I feel in myself that I have failed him or that there's some kind of rod at work in my life, God's behind it all. God is there all the time. You brought me into the net.

You laid affliction upon me. You caused men to ride over my head. I went with you through fire and water.

You took me through fire through water but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. Means fruitful place. God you took me through this and you brought me out and then at the end down here at verse 16, come now and hear all you that fear God.

I will declare what he has done for my soul. I cried unto him with my mouth. He was extolled with my tongue.

Verse 19, verily God has heard me. He's attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God which hath not turned away my prayer nor his mercy from me.

Hallelujah. Beloved, let me tell you what I'm to tell you by the Holy Spirit before I close. Don't try to figure out why you're in a fiery trial.

Scripture said think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing has happened to you. The scripture also says the trial that has come to try you is common to all men and he'll not allow you to be attempted above what you're able but he will with the temptation make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it. Now folks I know this.

Now many of you may not raise your hand. You may not want to admit publicly that you're going through a deep testing, overwhelming temptation, going through some great battle but I know what God told me. I know what he told me to share with you.

Stop trying to figure it out. Stop asking him why and say Lord you said the steps of a righteous man or righteous woman are ordered by the Lord. Whatever's come here has been a part of your ordered steps.

So I'm just going to rely on you. I'm going to sit back and give you my confidence. I'm going to give you my faith and God says when it's all over I'm going to bring you out into wealthy place, into a fruitful place.

Hallelujah. I don't even try to figure out. What are you going to do? You want to try to figure out well is this chastening? Is this the rod? Or is this God just testing me or proving me? And you go down all the list.

God why is it happening? Examine yourself and be self-introspective and test and probe and dig and try to get to the bottom of it all. No. God wants you to stop it all and say Lord I commit it all to you.

I commit my battle. I commit everything I have to you. I know that you'll not forsake me.

I know that you have led me up to this point. You're leading me now. Could you tell me when? You know God's been leading all this.

When did God leave you? When did he stop and say you go on. You're going through a battle. I'll wait here.

I'll see you at the other end of your battle. You're going through the fire. I'm going to go around this way.

When you come through the fire I'll be on the other side. No in the fiery furnace they found him. The fourth man.

Jesus alive in the furnace. Whatever you're going through God's in it. Whatever you're going through he's going to be with you to the end and he said I'm bringing you out to a wealthy place.

I'm bringing you out. Stand if you will please. Folks forgive the scratchy throat.

I'm not sick. I feel great. Just this bug in my throat or whatever it is.

Hallelujah. The devil's a liar and we don't have to believe any of it. We don't have to believe any of it.

Hallelujah. I don't know why God spoke so clearly to me about those going through a battle being tested and tried and sometimes I stand up here and say well only a few hands raised I must have missed it but I didn't in the main floor. I know what he said to me and I believe him.

Many of you standing here right now it's the worst trial you've ever had. I'm asking you tonight to give him your confidence. Just sit back and enter into his rest and say Jesus I don't know why I'm not going to try to figure it out but I know you're in it.

Your hand is in it all. There's nothing in the life of any believer where God's hand is not there. There's never a moment that he's not there.

So whatever you're going through it's his will. It's his step. Trust him and believe him.

He wants more than anything else. What he's testing you about, what he's proving you about is your confidence in him. That you'll not turn to somebody, get on a telephone and try to get an answer from a person.

He doesn't want you to turn to man. He wants you to turn to him. You say am I going to come out of this? Oh yes you're coming out of it.

He said I won't let you bear more than you're able. I'm with you. If that's all you heard that God's with you, that God's in it, I gave you something to take home.

I gave you something to change your life if you'll take it. Lord I pray tonight that those in the balcony, those in the main floor here and the choir wherever it may be who are being tested and tried, going through a real trial. Lord it could be temptation, it could be almost anything.

Lord Jesus thank you. Thank you that you're never far from us. Thank you Lord that no matter what the conditions are we can turn around and there you are right beside us.

You said I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. I'll go with you to the very end.

Hallelujah. Now I'm led of the Holy Spirit to give an altar call for those who are really in what the scripture describes as a fiery trial. If you're going through a fiery trial that's trying your soul, I want you to come down and believe God with me for healing.

I want you to get right out of your seat. Now if your back's slid and been cold, run to the floor. If you don't know the Lord, you come tonight and come back to your first love.

This is the conclusion of the prayer.