Through the Fire

 

This week, Michael writes: In the spiritual battle, there are two offensive weapons according to Ephesians 6. The first is the sword of the spirit which is the Word of truth. The second weapon is prayer. Prayer is God’s force multiplier. With God, no weapon formed against us shall stand. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but spiritual for the pulling down of the devil’s spiritual strongholds.

Though all seems lost and futile as we are bombarded with the news from Afghanistan and Haiti, where death and destruction run rampant, where violent terrorist extremists wreak havoc against the people. We whom God has called wrestle not against flesh and blood but against the powers of darkness, against the prince of the power of the air, against spiritual wickedness from on high. 

As a brother from Afghanistan prayed weeping, we pray with unbroken hearts for God’s deliverance in this life or the next. Even though our hearts break, know that you, our fellow Christians remain under the hand of our Heavenly Father. We who have gathered together underground, pray for you and beseech your prayers for God’s will to be done in us and through us to his honor and glory. The late Pastor Chuck Smith said, "God always delivers his people either in the fire, through the fire, or by the fire. The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, but God refines the heart of man. Trials and tribulation try us and refine us to reveal his character within us."

According to Jeremiah 17:6, the heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked ... who can know it? Our hearts deceive us when we think that we can stand in our own power. There is wickedness in the heart of flesh that we inherited from Adam’s fall. The people said to Jesus, didn’t we cast out demons and perform wondrous miracles in your name? Jesus said, depart from me ye workers of iniquity... I never knew thee. The heart of man deceives us into thinking that we’re self sufficient in our own self serving power. The deceitful heart cheats men into suffering the consequences of their prideful acts. He said to the Pharisees, In vain do they worship me, they draw nigh unto me with their lips, and honor me with their mouths, but their heart is far from me. Sin is missing the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Sin will have its way with us if we fail to repent of our having forsaken the Lord and the truth of His word.  

The late British Baptist Pastor Charles Spurgeon says, "the guilty sinner must cease and desist from confessing righteousness in his own doing... in the nature of his own flesh." Confession unto repentance begins with being broken before the Lord. As the Apostle Paul said, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. As Isaiah said when God revealed the greatness of his glory, “woe is me, I am unworthy.... a man of unclean lips.” Then a seraphim touched a hot coal of fire to Isaiah’s lips to purge him with God’s refining fire. Only God can cleanse us through the atoning sacrifice of His Son our Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf. For he who knew no sin was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him.  

In Romans 7 Paul said, “who shall deliver me from this dead body?” The answer is in Romans 8 ... The law of the spirit of life in Christ has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh that the righteousness of the law may be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit.

Oswald Chambers said, thank God for breaking our hearts for what breaks his. The light of Christ can shine forth only when God breaks the clay pots of our earthen vessels. For we have this treasure of the spirit in earthen vessels... in jars of clay so that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. The nature of the flesh will conceal, deny, and refuse to acknowledge the sin nature that we inherited from Adam. Sin is broken fellowship. Sin separates our hearts from God and the righteous standard of his holy word. John 3 says, He that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light lest his deeds should be reproved. However, Jesus Christ came not into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved. For he who does truth comes to the light that his deeds may be manifest that they are wrought of God. Therefore, be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. It is the goodness, the loving kindness, grace, and mercy of the Lord that calls a man to repentance.  

The theme of 1 John is our fellowship with our Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice on our behalf. 1 John 1:3 says, “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” Repentance is to turn from sin and unto the Lord. 1 John 1:7 says walk in the light as he is in the light and the blood of Jesus Christ shall cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Walking in the love of God will cleanse our hearts... the cleansing is in the walking. Sin is "missing the mark" and hitting something "wrong in the eyes of the Lord". However When we return our hearts to the Lord, we press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Jesus said, "blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall inherit the earth." Peace is available only through the Prince of Peace. Jesus said, my peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid. Peace is the result of reconciliation ... of bringing together that which has been separated. Jesus Christ’s is the one who reconciles us with God. Acceding to Ephesians 2:14-15 " For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby."

2 Corinthians 5 says, we are ambassadors for Christ. As His emissaries, we’re sent to deliver a peace treaty from our homeland in Heaven, for we are citizens of heaven. The message is the gospel message of the good news of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Jesus Christ is the one who reconciles God to man. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus...

That through his payment for sin on our behalf, we may ever live to the praise of the glory of our Father’s grace!
Your brother in Christ, Michael