2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
All along, the Lord has been prompting me to be reminded that the challenges we must face are designed by His wisdom to allow us opportunities for personal spiritual growth. This is one way He reaches our greatest vulnerabilities to perfect us in preparation for us to “meet Him in the clouds.” It is difficult however for us to always keep a Godly perspective on these challenges in mind when they lead to persecution or even to martyrdom. In hard-nosed human terms, one might say, “Well, you when into this faith in Christ thing with your eyes wide open.” Yes, that may be true, but we might not have realized the pain, inconvenience, and outright disruption to our lives that we might have to suffer. Still, that is no reason to be afraid to make the commitment to Christ or to live it out. We can trust that even under the worst of circumstances, “nothing will separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord” [RO 8: 38-39]. This is the form of the Refiner’s fire He wants me to discuss today.
The Jews, Christ Himself, the disciples, and all of us have been subjected to the Refiner’s fire. The only One Who didn’t need it for Himself was Christ. He went through it for the sake of our salvation. Let’s look at some of the Scriptures that clarify God’s perspective and demonstrate that we are not alone in having the courage of our faith tested. ZECH 13: 7-9 is a passage of this second to the last book of the OT about the command to kill God’s Shepherd. “The Lord Almighty says, ‘Wake up sword, and attack the Shepherd Who work for Me! Kill Him and the sheep will be scattered. I will attack My people and throughout the land two-thirds of the people will die. And I will test the third that survives and will purify them as silver is purified by fire. I will test them as gold is tested. Then they will pray to me, and I will answer them. I will tell them that they are My people and they will confess that I am their God.” The last sentence of this citation tells the whole story. It has always been God’s purpose for putting people through the Refiner’s fire from the beginning. This prophecy not only speaks of the crucifixion of Christ, but it also foreshadows the Tribulation still in our future. By the way, that one-third mentioned here is the Jewish “remnant” who will remain faithful and will take up God’s command to be a “light to the nations.” Now, this loss of two-thirds may seem awfully harsh, but keep in mind that each one of the lost has been given the opportunity to come to faith and has rejected it. To demonstrate His righteousness, God cannot let that final decision go unpunished. Our God is no hypocrite. He is consistent, fair, and immutable.
The temptation that the Son endured at the hands of Satan is depicted in MT 4: 1-11. MT 4: 3-4, “Then the devil came to Him and said, ‘If you are God’s Son, order these stones to turn into bread.’ But Jesus answered, ‘The Scripture [DT 8: 3] says, ‘Man cannot live on bread alone, but needs every word that God speaks.’ “ Please believe that every word of the Bible is essential spiritual nutrition given to us by the grace of God. Not one word is either unnecessary or inconsistent with any other. Ordering Christ to perform a miracle that wasn’t first okayed by the Father has been shown in a number of places in the Scripture not to work. You will remember that the Pharisees tried to order Christ to perform a miracle in MT 12: 38-39. Christ never does anything that God doesn’t ask Him to do; that’s how close the connection between them is. In MT 4: 6-7, the devil tempts Christ to jump off a high place overlooking Jerusalem, claiming God’s angels will break his fall so He isn’t hurt on the stones. In (7) Christ’s answer is a great lesson for us when we face trouble, ”But the Scripture [DT 6: 16] says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ “ Testing God is an arrogant usurpation of His sovereignty. That’s a good reason for not doing it.
Christ was very honest with His disciples when He asked them to “come follow Me.” He tells them about coming persecutions in MT 10. (16) “Listen! I am sending you out just like sheep to a pack of wolves. You must be as cautious as snakes and as gentle as doves.” As I have said so many times before, our Lord never gives us a command that He doesn’t also equip us to carry out. (19-20) “When they bring you to trial, do not worry about what you are going to say or how you will say it; when the times comes, you will be given what you are to say. For the words you will speak will not be yours; they will come from the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” And, how is this for honesty and openness? (22) “Everyone will hate you because of Me. But whoever holds out to the end will be saved.” For more on persecutions of the ministry, read 2 COR 6: 3-10 and 2 COR 11: 21b-33 which I don’t have space to write out here.
God’s point about why this Refiner’s fire is necessary is really made in 2 COR 7: 10. “For the sadness that is used by God brings a change of heart that leads to salvation-and there is no regret in that! But sadness that is merely human causes death.” The sadness that Paul is referring to here is that which is brought on by our adverse circumstances and which tests our faith forcing us to work through them. These troubles are not over yet. REV 18 tells of the fall of Mystery Babylon, that evil system that will be in force for the seven years of the Tribulation-the one I suspect might be in its infancy in our own time. That is an eloquent argument to my way of thinking for us to pay rapt attention to LK 9: 23-24. “And He [Christ] said to them all [His disciples], ‘If anyone wants to come with Me, he must forget himself, take up his cross every day, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his own life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.”
PRAYER: O Lord, there are times when our faith is being tested and we can’t see the justice in it. Yet, Your love for us is so great, that you allow us to be tested this way to carry out Your will for us to be perfected. Help us to have the courage of our faith to survive the test with it strengthened. Let us never forget that Your will is that as many of us as possible can enjoy the joy and fellowship of eternal life with You. Our faith in You gives us the hope to soar like baby eagles on their first successful flight, knowing that You are our Protector. Thank You for loving us that much! In Christ’s name, amen.
RO 5: 3-4 reminds us to take joy in our tribulations which build personal character and endurance and lead to hope. Keep in mind the love that our Lord has for us, for it is the power to survive the Refiner’s fire. When we recognize that our trials bring us a superb opportunity for personal and spiritual growth, we won’t feel so quick to complain about them. We must never forget how much our Father in heaven loves us. We never have to feel alone in coping with the Refiner’s fire, for our loving Abba and the rest of us are right here, encouraging us in our faith. God loves you, and so do Peter and I.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn