Gold must Grow: The Beauty of a Faith that is Tested and Tried
Purity 469 07/13/2021 Purity 469 Podcast
Good morning
Today’s photo of golden fields of wheat with a top of a green tree just
cresting over the horizon comes to us to from a friend who loves to enjoy God’s
creation and goodness and loves to share what they have learned about God with
others.
Although we are months from harvest time, my friend’s photo caused me to
ponder the finished product of the harvest and what transpires to bring a crop
to the point that it is fully grown and ready to be collected and used.
Harvested crops really are the product of hope and endurance. A farmer prepares the ground by clearing any
remnants of the previous year, fertilizing the land, and then plowing it, and
planting the seeds. Farmers continue to
tend to the crops and monitor their progress and do their best to make sure
they are provided for and free from pests or other hindrances to their growth. They may be able to irrigate the land to make
sure the crops are watered but that is all they can do. The crops rely on sunshine and the miracle of
growth that is put inside the plants by God.
God and man set the conditions for the crops, but the crops are left in
the field to wither and die or to grow and flourish.
Lately in upstate NY, we have had a mix of days with blistering heat and
sunshine and other days with a series of thunderstorms, high winds, and rain
that have torn up parts of the countryside causing trees to be broken, with
some being ripped out of the earth by their roots.
In the fields, crops are left exposed to the elements and have had to
endure hot weeks without rain where those without enough water begin to wither
and fade. During the rain and storms the
winds rip through the rows of the crops, blowing past and around some plants, causing
others to break. The changing conditions
can cause some of the crop to become weak and die or the adversity of the extreme
weather conditions can cause the crops to become firmly rooted and to be
stronger from their experiences. The
crops who endure will produce fruit and will grow golden at the end of their
cycle and eventually be harvested by the farmers who placed their hopes in
them. The golden harvest doesn’t come
over night and it doesn’t come easy. The
gold must grow.
Sometimes on our walk on the path of Christian Discipleship, certain
themes come up from multiple sources and you get an idea that the Lord is
seeking to encourage or comfort us. One theme that has come up lately, and that
is appropriate for all times and seasons, is that of suffering trials and going
through them by walking by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit.
I’m currently in 2 Thessalonians in my morning Bible study and consult Warren’s
Wiersbe’s commentary for further insights and understanding and today’s study
was full of nuggets of truth regarding dealing with the adverse conditions of
life and how our faith is an anchor that can ground us to endure the blowing
winds of adversity and that can grow and become mature through the process of
trials.
The following are some “highlights” from Wiersbe’s commentary. The list I
present may seem simple or random, but I assure you that there is profound
truth in these insights that have the fruit of experience and God’s wisdom
behind them.:
“Not only does prayer change people and situations, but so does praise….
One of the best weapons for fighting Satan is praise.” - We are to pray through our trials and thank
God for what He has provided and for His presence. “Praise works!”
“A faith that cannot be tested cannot be trusted. New believers
must expect their faith to be tried, because this is the way God proves whether
or not their decision is genuine. Faith, like a muscle, must be exercised to
grow stronger. Tribulation and persecution are God’s ways to strengthen our
faith.[1]”
The Christian life is not always easy. Christ told His followers
that the world would hate them like it hated Him. The suffering and persecution that we go
through will cause our faith to be exposed as false or it will cause us to
depend on God more, which will cause it to grow.
“…God never wastes suffering. Trials work for us, not against us (2
Cor. 4:15–18; James 1:1–5). If we trust God and yield to Him, then trials will
produce patience and maturity in our lives. If we rebel and fight our
circumstances, then we will remain immature and impatient. God permits trials
that He might build character into our lives.[2]”
“When a person in difficulty forsakes the Lord and the church, he
shows that either he has never been born again, or that his spiritual life is
very weak. A true Christian who is growing will be faithful, come what may.[3]”
Our Christian faith and the path of Christian Discipleship is
fueled by our decision to be faithful. We are to trust the Lord and practice
our faith through prayer, praise, Bible study, good works, and service to God
come what may.
There was more wisdom presented then I have space to share today but
I will conclude with Wiersbe asking and answering one of those tough questions regarding
our faith.
“Why
live a godly life if your only experience is that of suffering?
As
Christians, we must live for eternity and not just for the present. In fact,
living “with eternity’s values in view” is what makes our Christian life
meaningful today. We walk by faith, and not by sight.[4]”
Our lives are not only defined by our existence here on earth. We have the hope of the return of Christ, our
eternal destiny of living in His kingdom, and the promise of a new heaven and a
new earth.
With this in mind, we can endure the trials of this life and when
we stay in communion with the Lord by living by faith, He gives us the strength,
wisdom, and love to not only persevere but to serve as an example of His
goodness and grace.
With Him, we can make it through and even while we are in the
midst of uncertain times or the deep pain of trauma, we can stand in His love
to find comfort and offer that love and comfort to others.
Those trials in life that we face will cause our faith to grow. The blistering heat of persecution or the
storms of adversity that we suffer through will help us to be strong in our
faith and will result in a life in Christ that shines forth like gold and cause
us to be harvested for use in God’s eternal kingdom.
This morning’s meditation
verse is:
Romans 2:4 (ETRV)
4 God has been kind to you. He has
been very patient, waiting for you to change. But you think nothing of his
kindness. Maybe you don't understand that God is kind to you so that you will
decide to change your lives.
Today’s verse makes no bones about it. God has been kind to us and given us new life
through faith in Christ to help us to change our lives.
God has been very kind to all of us. Through Christ, He has forgiven us of all our
transgressions and adopted us into His royal family. His kindness, mercy, and grace has taken us
from the kingdom of darkness and our fate to suffer God’s wrath to grant us
reconciliation and peace with God and given us entrance into His kingdom where
we no longer need to fear death.
God also has been patient with us, allowing us to live our
lives without Him to see just how foolish, hopeless, and futile the ways of the
world are. He allowed us to live our
lives independent of him and to suffer the consequences of our own poor
choices. When the time was right, and I’m sure we all wish it had been sooner,
the Lord saved us from ourselves.
But today’s verse tells us that it wasn’t just for our
salvation that the Lord called us into relationship with Him. He calls for us to be conformed to the image
of His Son. He wants us to be holy for He is holy. If we are sons and daughters of God, we
should endeavor to change our ways to God’s ways to start showing that family resemblance.
When we come to Christ, no matter who you are, there is a
lot to work on. Before Christ we were
trained and programmed to live according to the world’s ways. Unfortunately, Satan influences the world
system to perpetuate some really ungodly philosophies and attitudes. Satan’s
influences can be seen by obvious immorality but also are revealed by subtle
things like pride, selfishness, self-righteousness, and independence of God.
So when we come to Christ, God draws us and encourages us to
change. For some, what needs to be changed
is obvious as some besetting sins have plagued them all their lives. For others,
offenses of the heart need to be addressed as God calls us to be kind,
forgiving, and loving.
Often believers go about changing the wrong way. They try to
do it in their own strength by whipping themselves into submission by the power
of their own wills. But while that may work for some, that’s not the way that
God wants us to do it.
We were saved by faith and that is the way that God provides
for us to change too! While changing our behaviors and thoughts will require some
exercise of our wills, the way that God wants us to overcome is by activating
our faith, by believing that God has already given us the victory over our
struggles and by believing that all the power and strength that will need to
overcome has already been given to us.
So don’t think nothing of the kindness that the Lord has
shown you, instead understand that God’s kindness and love was purposeful. God wants you to enjoy an abundant life that
is free of all the mistakes and troubling thoughts and emotions that you have
suffered from before coming to Him. He loves you enough to not only want you to
change but He also gives you all that you need to change.
So take a look at yourself, choose one thing to give to God,
believe that He will help you to surrender it to Him and follow where the Lord
leads you to go. If you continue to have
faith in your victory that is given to you by God and continue to walk with
Him, somewhere down the road you will discover that your besetting sin has been
set aside. You will rejoice of course but show the Lord that you understand His
kindness by giving Him even more of you to change.
Our relationship with the Lord never ends. So why not use
what He given us to experience all He wants us to have.
As
always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from
prominent Christian counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with
their walk.
Today we continue with Dr. Neil Anderson’s Victory
Over the Darkness, continuing Chapter 7.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage all to purchase Dr. Anderson’s books for your own private study and to support his work. If you need this title you can find it online at several sites for less than $15.00:
Wrong
Responses to Those Who Frustrate Goals
If our goals can be blocked or
uncertain, how do we respond to someone or something that threatens our
success? We may attempt to control or manipulate people or circumstances who
stand between us and the achievement of our goals.
For example, a pastor's goal is to
have the finest youth ministry in the community. However, one of his board
members attempts to block his goal by insisting that a music ministry is more
important. Every attempt by the pastor to hire a youth pastor is vetoed by the
influential board member who wants to hire a music director first. The pastor's
sense of worth and success in ministry is on the line. So he shifts into a
power mode to push the stumbling block out of the way. He lobbies his cause
with other board members. He solicits support from denominational leaders. He
preaches about the importance of youth ministry to gain congregational support.
He looks for a way to change the opposition's mind, or remove him from the
board, because he believes his success in ministry is dependent on reaching his
goal of having a great youth ministry.
Suppose a mother believes that her
sense of worth depends on how well her children turn out. Her goal is to raise
perfect little Christians who will become doctors and lawyers. As her children
reach their teen years and begin to express their independence, however, their
behavior doesn't always match her ideal. She is heading for a collision course
because her children want their freedom and she wants to control them. She must
control their behavior because she believes her success as a mother depends on
it. If they don't attend the functions she wants them to attend, they can't go
anywhere. If they don't listen to the music she expects them to listen to, they
lose their radio and TV privileges. Somehow she never heard that parenting is
an 18-year process of letting go, and the fruit of the spirit is self-control,
not child control.
It is not hard to understand why
people try to control others. They believe their sense of worth is dependent on
other people and circumstances. This is a false belief, as evidenced by the
fact that the most insecure people you will ever meet are manipulators and
controllers.
People who cannot control those who
frustrate their goals will probably respond by getting bitter, angry or
resentful. Or they may simply resort to a martyr complex, which I perceived in
the woman whose husband wouldn't come to Christ. She had been unsuccessful at
getting him into the Kingdom and her faith and hope had shriveled to
depression. So she resigned herself to bear her cross of a hopeless goal and
hang on until the rapture. Unless she adjusts her goals, she will live the rest
of her life in bitter defeat.
Victory Over the Darkness: Realizing the Power of Your Identity in Christ.
---------------------------more tomorrow------------------------
God bless
you all!
Join our “Victory
over the Darkness” or “The Bondage Breaker” series of Discipleship Classes via
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encouraged.
Encouragement for the Path of Christian
Discipleship
[1]
Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary
(Vol. 2, p. 192). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2]
Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary
(Vol. 2, p. 193). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[3]
Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary
(Vol. 2, p. 193). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4]
Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary
(Vol. 2, p. 194). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.