Test of Confusion - Part 2 — David Wilkerson

Judging by Outward Appearance and Human Intuition

All women know they can kill 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 judgment. 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 watch 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 last thing here I want to share with you.

Misinterpreting Trials Through Human Reasoning

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 laughed, even though you were in this service, you praised 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. What is God's mind in his voice concerning the present trial and trouble?

Psalm 66 and God's Purpose in Fiery Trials

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.

O 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 round. 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 hard times, 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, he's holding my soul in life during the trial I'm about to enter into. He suffereth not our feet to be moved. For thou, O God, hast proved us.

Thou hast tried us as silver is tried. Now, whatever you're going through, saints, the Lord is testing you. He's trying you to bring something glorious out of you, a confidence in him, a total. Would you bring me 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 hast 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, slipshod right over them all.

Men are riding over my head. People take advantage of me. Thou hast caused it. Thou hast 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 hast 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 the 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 porridge away all thy dross and take away all thy tin.

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 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.

Trusting God's Work Instead of Seeking Explanations

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 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 broad 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 hath 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.

The Biblical Perspective on Fiery Trials and Temptation

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 tempted 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, a 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 a wealthy place, into a fruitful place.

Hallelujah. I don't even try to figure out. What are you going to do? You're going 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 you 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 this scratchy throat. I'm not sick. I feel great. Just this bug in my throat or whatever it is.

Confidence in God's Presence Through Every Trial

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.

Sometimes I stand up here and say, well, only a few hands raised, I must have missed it. But I didn't. I'm on 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, and 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. And 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 the telephone, and try to get an answer from a person.

He doesn't want you to turn to Matt. 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, in 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.

Altar Call for Those Enduring Fiery Trials

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 you're backslidden, been cold, running from the Lord, if you don't know the Lord, you come tonight and come back to your first love.