Hope & Responsibility Part 2

[00:00:01] and this is the second part of our series entitled Hope and Responsibility. Last time in our broadcast, I began to consider First Corinthians 10-13. It's a great promise in God to His children

[00:00:38] to those who know Him as their Savior. Now to promise to everyone, but surely, a promise to Christians. Listen to that promise again, no temptation or that might be translated trial

[00:00:52] or test. All those words are bound up in this one. Word, no test has overtaken you, but such as His common to man and God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted or tested

[00:01:07] beyond what you are able. But with the test, we'll provide the way of escape also that you may be able to endure it. Now in this promise, we saw first of all that God says there is

[00:01:20] no unique problem that others somewhere somehow, many, many others who have come to know Christ have gone through the same trials that you are going through and have found that God enable them to go through successfully. That brings hope and responsibility. Hope that if

[00:01:41] others can go through it successfully with Christ, so can you. Responsibility in which you say, well, you just don't know my problem. No, you can't say that. In which you must say, yes, God

[00:01:55] does know my problem. And therefore, if He tells me that I can meet it successfully as others did, then He holds me responsible to do so. There is no unique problem which can use as an excuse

[00:02:11] to get out of your responsibility to face the problem properly before God. Now, there's a second part of this verse that brings another very important element into the picture. That only does he say that no test is overtaken you, but such as his common demand,

[00:02:27] others have faced your problem before you successfully with God. But listen to this tremendous fact and God is faithful who will not allow you to be tested beyond what you are able to bear.

[00:02:42] Did you hear that? Do you believe that? Many of you out there listening to me don't believe that. You say, I can't handle this problem. I can't face it. It's too much for me. It's beyond my ability

[00:02:55] to handle and you whine and you cry and you mone over it. Did you hear what God said? Listen child of God to what He's telling you there's no place for whining. There's no place for

[00:03:08] complaining. There's no place for saying it's too much for me. There's no place for excusing your behavior. There's no way to slide out from underneath of it all. We read God is faithful who will not

[00:03:22] allow you to be tested beyond that what you are able to bear. God says that while there are no unique problems nevertheless he knows you individually, uniquely where you are, what you are,

[00:03:35] what your strengths are, what your abilities are and even though no problems are unique every problem comes uniquely suited to each believer in time, in circumstances, in intensity, in its situation and its manner of coming and so on. Even though there are no unique problems

[00:03:55] the problem you have is uniquely fashioned for you by God himself. He will not allow you. He says to be tested beyond what you can bear so you can't say, can't. You dare not say I have no strength

[00:04:09] or ability to handle this. This is too much for me. You can't talk that way. What you've got to say is if I'm not handling it then it's my fault, not God's because you see he doesn't promise that

[00:04:25] you can handle that problem your way of course. You may have been failing to handle it all right but that may be because you're taking your own way in handling it and you're taking the advice

[00:04:37] of some unbeliever or some Christian who's given you false advice about the matter. Oh, of course God doesn't promise you that you will be able to handle that problem and be able to endure it

[00:04:49] and bear up under it if you use the wrong means but if you handle that problem his way he promises that he will not allow you to be tested beyond what you are able to bear. That is a fantastic promise

[00:05:07] that is a tremendous assurance to know that God will never let anything come into your life beyond that which if you use his way of handling it, you can bear. Yes, you can take that husband longer than you have. Yes, you can continue to endure with that child

[00:05:23] and that problem with that child. Yes, you can go on with that boss or that employer who is like that. Yes, you can bear it even though you tell yourself 100 times a day. I can't. I can't.

[00:05:36] I can't stop using that language. God says you can. In Philippians 4, Paul says, I can not. I can't. I can do all things that is everything that God requires of him. I can do all things that God requires through Christ, who strengthens me. You see,

[00:05:57] that's what God promises. You say, well, I don't feel the strength. I don't feel strong enough. Well, let's examine that for a moment. You're probably not doing what God tells you to do about it.

[00:06:10] First, you have to seek the answer in the Word of God and having found that answer then by prayerfully obedient action, do what God tells you to do where the field of strength are not.

[00:06:26] So often the strength comes in the doing, not necessarily the feeling. God doesn't promise the strength beforehand before you need it. Before you actually go to the situation and go into

[00:06:39] the pit and have to grapple with the lion. Dying strength comes to people who are dying, for example, not to those who are living. We can't expect God to provide what He promises before we are

[00:06:52] willing to step out and put ourselves into this situation where that is needed. Well, you say, I don't know about that. You sound to me as if you're making too obsolete, much too sure,

[00:07:05] much too certain. Well, I'm not making it that way at all. That's what this verse says. God is faithful who will not allow you to be tested beyond what you are able. Just listen to it,

[00:07:18] read it and learn it. There must have been a lot of people who thought just like you. There must have been a number of people in Corinth who also doubted whether that was really true. That's why

[00:07:30] Paul has to add these three words at the beginning. God is faithful. You wouldn't have to add those words if it were easy to accept this promise. God knows that you, of course, thank otherwise. So he

[00:07:44] wants you to really get the import of this verse and he wants you to know that he is sticking his own faithfulness on his word. If what you have received in your life is more than you can handle,

[00:07:57] and if you are truly a child of God, then the very faithfulness of God is in question. But you see the faithfulness of God cannot be in question because God is faithful. And when he tells you something,

[00:08:12] He keeps faith with you. You can believe his word because his word never fails. He gives his word and he keeps his word. And he is giving you his word about this and he is promising to keep his

[00:08:26] word about this toward you. Isn't it wonderful that God has gone on record to say this to every Christian believer? Isn't it wonderful that he brings this hope and also demands this responsibility of you?

[00:08:39] Isn't it marvelous to note the fact in the trials of life when they begin to get so bad and so difficult and so hard to bear that you don't know how to bear up underneath them, to know that he will

[00:08:53] not allow anything to come into your life that's beyond your ability to bear as he will give you that ability when you do his will prayerfully in his way. Job found it to be true and so can you.

[00:09:07] Or help your children who are struggling with great trials today to really take your word to heart, to believe it, to follow, to really trust it. We know you are faithful. This is a great grace name I'm in. So stay tuned for the third and final episode addressing

[00:09:25] these issues of hope and responsibility. I think you're going to enjoy it.