COMMENTARY --By John

LET US ASK A FEW QUESTIONS AND MAYBE WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHY WE

GO THROUGH SOME HARD THINGS IN THIS LIFE.

1. DO YOU EVER SAY, WHY GOD? THEN THIS MEANS THAT YOU ARE LOOKING

TO HIM FOR THE ANSWERS. THAT'S GOOD! THE WORLD OR THE KNOWLEDGE

FROM THE WORLD DOES NOT HAVE THE ANSWERS TO THE PURPOSES OF GOD.

2. HAVE YOU EVER ASKED JESUS CHRIST BY HIS SPIRIT TO COME INTO YOUR

LIFE? I HOPE THAT YOU HAVE. THE BIBLE SAYS THAT OUR MIND IS THE

ENEMY OF GOD. BY CHOOSING CHRIST, OUR MIND CAN BE CHANGED AND

BECOME FULL OF WHAT GOD'S PURPOSES ARE INSTEAD OF OUR OWN. WE ARE

CHANGED FROM VICTORY TO VICTORY AS WE SUBMIT TO HIM. (LIKE PETER)

3. HAVE YOU BEEN WONDERING WHY THESE HARD THINGS HAVE BEEN

HAPPENING IN YOUR LIFE? HAVE YOU LOST HOPE? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR JOY?

HAVE YOU LOST YOUR PEACE? WELL MAYBE YOUR HOPE, JOY, AND PEACE WERE NOT BASED ON THE PURPOSES OF GOD'S PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE. ASK GOD WHAT HIS

PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE IS, AND WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT HIS PURPOSE IS, YOU WILL HAVE HIS JOY, AND PEACE. THE WORLD OR MAN'S ANSWERS (CARNAL MIND) CAN NOT GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT CONFUSION AND JUDGMENT.                           

REMEMBER GOD IS LOVE, AND ANY AMBASSADOR OR REPRESENTATIVE OF

GOD'S KINGDOM SHOULD BE FULL OF GRACE AND MERCY CONSIDERING

THEMSELVES WHO WERE ONCE DECEIVED AND CONFUSED. "REMEMBER!!"

IT IS OUR HOPE THAT THE WORDS OF THIS WRITING WILL HELP YOU

UNDERSTAND WHY THESE THINGS HAVE HAPPENED TO YOU. DIDN'T YOU ASK

FOR HIM TO BECOME THE LORD OF YOUR LIFE? DID YOU NOT ASK HIM TO CLEANSE YOU FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS?

MAY THESE WORDS GIVE US THE ANSWER OF "WHY", THAT WE SO OFTEN

ASK WHEN WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING TO US. WE ARE

INSTRUCTED TO FIND COMFORT IN THE SCRIPTURES. IF WE ARE LOOKING

SOMEWHERE ELSE FOR COMFORT WE ARE DECEIVED AND WE CAN EXPECT THE WRONG ANSWERS.  READ TRIAL BY FIRE BELOW.

                                  TRIAL BY FIRE   

FROM THE BEGINNING OF TIME, FIRE AND WATER HAVE BEEN TWO OF

MAN'S MOST ESSENTIAL NEEDS. HE CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT THEM, BUT THEY

CAN BE TURNED INTO HIS WORST ENEMIES.

IN  CALIFORNIA RECENTLY THERE WAS A RAGING FOREST FIRE. IT DESTROYED DOZENS OF BEAUTIFUL AND EXPENSIVE HOMES. AS THE PEOPLE BEGAN TO CLEAR THEIR PROPERTY AND MAKE PREPARATION FOR REBUILDING, THEY BECAME AWARE OF A NEW DANGER - WATER. THE PRICELESS WATERSHED HAD BEEN DESTROYED AND WITH THE COMING OF THE WINTER RAINS, WORSE DAMAGE THREATENED. IS ANYTHING MORE DANGEROUS THAN FIRE AND WATER? IN DESCRIBING THE TRIALS OF THE SAINTS OF GOD, THE BIBLE USES THESE TERMS: "WE WENT THROUGH FIRE AND THROUGH WATER; BUT THOU BROUGHT US INTO A WEALTHY PLACE" (PSALM 66:12). THE WORD "WEALTHY" MEANS ABUNDANCE, A WIDE PLACE, RECOVERY, OR REFRESHMENT. GOD DESCRIBES THE TRIALS, TROUBLES, AND AFFLICTIONS OF HIS CHILDREN AS "FIRE AND WATER" INDICATING THAT THEY ARE VERY SEVERE. AT FIRST THIS WOULD SEEM TO BE DISCOURAGING, BUT THE JOY, THE VICTORY AND THE COMFORT IS WRAPPED UP IN THAT WORD "THROUGH.

A CHRISTIAN IS NEVER SUBMERGED IN THE FLOOD AND HE IS NOT CONSUMED BY THE FIRE; HE ALWAYS PASSES "THROUGH." EVEN AT THE END OF LIFE THE PSALMIST DECLARES, "THOUGH I PASS THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH." THESE METAPHORS DO NOT NECESSARILY REFER TO

DIFFERENT TYPES OF AFFLICTION, BUT TEACH THE SAME TRUTH REGARDING

GOD'S HAND UPON US. SO WE WILL CONSIDER THE TRIAL BY FIRE

.

                                            JOBS TRIAL 

JOB COMPARED HIS AFFLICTION TO BEING CAST INTO A "FURNACE."  "WHEN HE HATH TRIED ME I SHALL COME FORTH AS GOLD," (JOB 23:10). NOTE THE TRIUMPHANT WORDS " I SHALL COME FORTH" ("THROUGH THE FIRE"). IT IS ONE THING TO TESTIFY AFTER YOU HAVE PASSED THROUGH THE FIRE, BUT JOB IS STILL IN THE FURNACE. THE HEAT IS ON, HIS BOILS SHOOT FLASHES OF HOT PAIN THROUGH HIS BODY, FEVER PARCHES HIS LIPS, HE SCRAPES HIS OOZING BOILS WITH BROKEN PIECES OF POTTERY. HIS HEAD THROBS WITH PAIN AND HIS FRIENDS FALSELY ACCUSE HIM, BUT HE LOOKS BEYOND HIS PRESENT FIERY TRIAL AND SHOUTS IN VIBRANT, REASSURING FAITH, "I SHALL COME THROUGH  JOB SAW HIMSELF "AS GOLD" IN THE FURNACE. DAVID SAW THE CHILDREN OF GOD "AS SILVER" IN THE REFINER'S FIRE. "THOU HAST TRIED US, AS SILVER IS TRIED" (PSALM 66:10). MALACHI LINKS BOTH METALS TOGETHER IN EXPLAINING DIVINE CHASTENING (CORRECTION). "AND HE SHALL SIT AS A REFINER AND PURIFIER OF SILVER... AND PURGE THEM AS GOLD AND SILVER," MALACHI 3:3. WHY ? HERE IS THE ANSWER, "THAT THEY MIGHT OFFER UNTO THE LORD AN OFFERING OF RIGHTEOUSNESS." THE DIVINE METHOD -- "FIRE" THE DIVINE MOTIVE -- TO "PURGE" AND "PURIFY" THE DIVINE OBJECTIVE --RIGHTEOUSNESS = (GOD'S STANDARDS NOT OURS) 

                                            HE CARES

HE SHALL.... "PURGE THEM AS GOLD AND SILVER" (MALACHI 3:3).

NEVER LET SATAN INJECT A DOUBT INTO YOUR MIND REGARDING GOD'S LOVE

FOR YOU. SATAN WOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR PRESENT TRIAL AND GRIEF TO WHISPER IN YOUR EAR THAT "GOD DOESN'T CARE." BUT HE DOES AND YOU ARE PRECIOUS IN HIS SIGHT THAT NOTHING BUT THE TERMS "GOLD AND SILVER" CAN DESCRIBE HIS CONCERN. IF "GOLD" AND "SILVER" ARE PRECIOUS TO THE REFINER, HOW MUCH MORE PRECIOUS WE MUST BE TO GOD. HE PAID A PRICE FAR MORE THAN "SILVER AND GOLD" FOR OUR REDEMPTION. IT COST HIM THE BLOOD OF HIS BEGOTTEN SON. BY COMPARISON HE REFERS TO "SILVER AND GOLD" AS CORRUPTIBLE. GOD GAVE ALL HE HAD, THE ATONING BLOOD OF HIS PRECIOUS SON TO PURCHASE OUR REDEMPTION.

WHAT A COMFORT THIS SHOULD BE! WE ARE HIS MOST PRIZED POSSESSIONS

AND HE WILL ALLOW NOTHING TO HARM US. THAT THING THAT HAPPENED TO YOU IS HIS MEANS OF INCREASING THE VALUE OF HIS PRECIOUS PROPERTY. THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED BY INCREASING ITS BEAUTY AND PURITY. IF WE WERE WORTHLESS OBJECTS, WE WOULD NEVER KNOW THE HEAT OF THE REFINER'S FIRE OR THE TOUCH OF HIS SKILLFUL HAND. BELOVED THE NEXT TIME YOU FEEL THE HEAT OF A FIERY TRIAL, THANK GOD. IT IS PROOF OF YOUR PRECIOUSNESS TO HIM . YOU ARE HIS BLOOD BOUGHT CHILD, YOU BELONG TO HIM, YOU MAY BE SURE THAT HE CARES FOR HIS OWN.

                   HE CLEANSES

HE SHALL SIT... AND PURGE THEM.(MALACHI 3:3) EVERY CHRISTIAN WHO HAS EVER BEEN DRAWN NEAR TO THE LORD KNOWS SOMETHING OF THE

SINFULNESS OF HIS HEART AND THE IMPURITY OF HIS LIFE. THE CLOSER WE

ARE TO HIM, THE MORE CONSCIOUS WE BECOME OF OUR SINFULNESS AND OF

OUR UNWORTHINESS.

PAUL CALLS IT THE "FLESH"(ROMANS 7) AND "THIS BODY OF DEATH."

IT IS THE SELF IN OUR LIVES, THE CARNALITY, THE UNHOLINESS, AND IT

DOGS OUR FOOTSTEPS ALL ALONG THE CHRISTIAN PATHWAY. CHASTENING IS A DIVINE MEANS OF ANSWERING OUR PRAYER FOR CLEANSING. DID YOU NOT

PRAY TO GOD TO CLEANSE YOU?  HE ANSWERED BY PUTTING YOU IN THE

FIRE. HE IS CLEANSING AS "A REFINER AND PURIFIER OF SILVER." THE

"DROSS" IN OUR LIFE IS BEING BURNED IN THE FIRE OF AFFLICTION.

SPEND A MOMENT IN SOLEMN REFLECTION. WHAT IS THE "DROSS" IN

YOUR LIFE THAT NEEDS TO BE PURGED?? IT MAY BE ARROGANCE, PRIDE,

LOVE OF PRAISE, LOVE OF ATTENTION, SELF-WILL, STUBBORNNESS, AN

UNTEACHABLE SPIRIT, PEEVISHNESS, IMMATURITY, JEALOUSY, ANGER,

IMPATIENCE, LOVE OF MONEY, SELFISHNESS, OR AN UNFORGIVING SPIRIT.

ALL SUCH "DROSS" GRIEVES THE HOLY SPIRIT WHO DWELLS WITHIN US, AND

SO WE MUST BE "REFINED" AND "PURGED." THIS MEANS WE MUST PASS

"THROUGH THE FIRE," BUT THERE IS SOME COMFORT FOR US HERE. THE

REFINER HAS A PURPOSE--IT IS NOT TO DESTROY HIS PRECIOUS GOLD AND

SILVER, BUT TO CONSUME THE "DROSS" AND BRING OUT THE BEAUTY AND

PURITY OF THE GOLD. FIRE CAN NOT DESTROY THE GOLD; IT ONLY MELTS IT.

O'H HOW WE NEED TO BE MELTED BEFORE GOD!! WHEN THE GOLD IS MELTED,

THE "DROSS" FLOATS ON THE TOP AND IS EASY FOR THE REFINER TO SKIM

OFF. HOW LONG SINCE WE HAVE BEEN MELTED??

THE THREE UNYIELDING HEBREWS WERE CAST INTO NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S

FIERY FURNACE. IT WAS SEVEN TIMES HOTTER THAN USUAL. THEY WENT INTO THE FURNACE FULLY CLOTHED AND SECURELY BOUND, BUT WHEN THEY CAME OUT THREE THINGS WERE APPARENT. NOT A HAIR ON THEIR HEAD WAS

SINGED. MORE THAN THAT--THE FIRE BURNED OFF THEIR BANDS AND MORE

WONDERFUL STILL--THE LORD WALKED WITH THEM IN THE FIRE.

THE SAME THREE THINGS HAPPEN TO CHRISTIANS IN THEIR FIERY

TRIAL.

1. FIRST, HE IS NEVER HARMED BY THE FIRE. CAN YOU TELL ME THAT

YOU WERE EVER HARMED BY GODS CHASTENING (CORRECTION)? OH, THIS

DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT DOESN'T HURT, BUT THE HURT IS ALWAYS FOR OUR

GOOD.

2. SECOND, THE FIRE SETS US FREE FROM THE SHACKLES OF CARNALITY THAT HINDERED. THE MOST RADIANT CHRISTIANS ARE THE ONES WHO HAVE SUFFERED MUCH.

3. THIRD, GOD'S PRESENCE IS VERY REAL AND PRECIOUS IN THE FIRE.

 THE NEXT TIME YOU FEEL THE HEAT FROM THE FIRE OF AFFLICTION,

"THANK GOD," THAT HE IS CONSUMING NOT YOU, BUT THE "DROSS" OUT OF

YOUR LIFE, AND YOU SHALL COME "THROUGH THE FIRE" PURIFIED AND

CLEANSED.

                                      HE COMFORTS

AND HE SHALL SIT AS A REFINER. (MALACHI 3:3) THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL AND COMFORTING PICTURE. THE REFINER NEVER LEAVES HIS PRECIOUS METAL, BUT HE SITS BY THE FIRE AND WATCHES CLOSELY. HE WATCHES FOR THAT MOMENT WHEN THE HEAT IS SUFFICIENT TO BURN THE DROSS AND THE METAL BECOMES PERFECT. HE KNOWS JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF HEAT TO APPLY AND HE APPLIES IT JUST THE RIGHT LENGTH OF TIME.

HAVE YOU EVER FELT LIKE CRYING "I CAN'T STAND IT" OR "ITS MORE THAN I CAN BEAR"? NO, ITS NOT MORE THAN WE CAN BEAR. REMEMBER,"HE SITS BY THE FIRE"---HE KNOWS. SO WE CAN STAND IT. AT A TIME LIKE THAT REMEMBER HIS PROMISE IN  1 COR. 10:13, "BUT GOD IS FAITHFUL,  (HE SITS BY THE FIRE) WHO WILL NOT SUFFER YOU TO BE TEMPTED (TESTED) ABOVE THAT WE ARE ABLE; BUT WITH THE TEMPTATION (TRIAL) ALSO MAKE A WAY OF ESCAPE, THAT WE MAY BE ABLE TO BEAR IT." SO WE CAN BEAR IT. NEVER FORGET HIS PROMISE "MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU."

                                      HE CONTROLS

AND HE SHALL SIT... AND PURGE THEM AS GOLD AND SILVER" (MAL.3:3)

IN OUR FORMER PICTURE OF THE REFINER SITTING BY THE FIRE, WE FOCUS OUR ATTENTION ON THE FACT THAT HE IS CONTROLLING THE FIRE. NOW LET US EMPHASIZE THE FACT THAT "HE SITS BY THE FIRE" TO GUARD, PROTECT, AND CARE FOR HIS PRECIOUS METAL. FIX YOUR EYES UPON THE ONE WHO "SITS BY" THE FIRE. HE IS THERE. "WHEN YOU PASS THROUGH THE WATER AND THROUGH THE FIRE, I WILL BE WITH YOU (ISAIAH 43:2). NO, BELOVED, GOD NEVER THROWS HIS PRECIOUS ONES INTO THE FLAMES AND FORGETS THAT THEY ARE THERE - HE "SITS BY THE FIRE"  "I WILL BE WITH YOU. THE AGED APOSTLE PAUL WAS IN THE DUNGEON. HE KNEW THAT HIS LIFE WAS SOON TO END. MANY FRIENDS HAD DESERTED HIM. THE LOYALTY OF OTHERS WAS QUESTIONABLE, BUT THERE WAS A NOTE OF VICTORY IN HIS LAST LETTER TO TIMOTHY, "NOT WITHSTANDING THE LORD STOOD WITH ME, AND STRENGTHENED ME" (2 TIMOTHY 4:17).

ARE YOU EXPERIENCING THE TEST OF FIRE AND AFFLICTION? THANK GOD THAT HE IS THERE. "HE SITS BY THE FIRE." HE IS THERE TO COMFORT,

STRENGTHEN, AND TO ENCOURAGE. REACH OUT BY FAITH AND GRAB HIS HAND. LOOK UP TO HIS RESURRECTED LIFE AND LET HIS PRESENCE REASSURE YOU.

                                         HE KNOWS

AND HE SHALL SIT AS A REFINER AND PURIFIER OF SILVER!!(MAL:3:3)

YOU SEE, HE KNOWS WHEN THE WORK IS DONE. HERE WE HAVE THE KEY

TO THE ENTIRE FINISHING PROCESS. SOMETIMES WE THINK THAT THE FIRE

IS TOO LONG, THAT INSTEAD OF PURIFYING IT WILL DESTROY. HOW DOES

THE REFINER KNOW WHEN THE FIRE HAS DONE ITS PERFECT WORK ?

AN OLD REFINER WAS ASKED THAT QUESTION BY A VISITER. HE ANSWERED, "SEE HOW I SIT BY THE FIRE" THE STRANGER ANSWERED,"YES." THEN HE SAID, "SEE HOW I BEND OVER THE POT?" AGAIN THE STRANGER SAID, "YES, BUT HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN THERE HAS BEEN JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF HEAT?" THE OLD REFINER LOOKED UP AND SAID, "WHEN I SEE MY OWN REFLECTION."

GOD'S PURPOSE IN CREATION IS REVEALED IN GENESIS 1:26,"LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE." BUT THE IMAGE WAS MARRED BY SIN SO GOD REDEEMED US BY THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST AND IT IS ONLY IN ONE IN WHOM THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLS THAT THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD MAY BE REFLECTED. THIS IS GOD'S GREAT AND ETERNAL PURPOSE FOR HIS CHILDREN, "TO BE CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON" (ROMANS 8:29). "AND AS WE HAVE BORNE THE IMAGE OF THE EARTHY, WE SHALL ALSO BEAR THE IMAGE OF THE HEAVENLY" (1 COR.15:49). GOD'S WILL IS THAT EVERY FOLLOWER OF CHRIST MIGHT BE "CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON."

THIS IS THE PROCESS IN THE LIFE OF EVERY BELIEVER. "BUT WE ALL

BEHOLDING AS IN A GLASS THE GLORY OF THE LORD, ARE CHANGED INTO THE

SAME IMAGE FROM GLORY TO GLORY , EVEN AS BY THE SPIRITOF THE LORD" (2 COR 3:18)(GLORY AS AVERB IS TRANSLATED TO VICTORY! 

CHASTENING (OR CORRECTION) IS GOD' MEANS TO THIS END. THE CHRIST LIKE LIFE CANNOT BE PRODUCED APART FROM SUFFERING. IF YOU WANT TO BEAR HIS IMAGE , NEVER SHRINK FROM THE REFINER'S FIRE. I THINK THAT WE ALL OFTEN WANT THE RESULTS WITHOUT PAYING THE PRICE. PAUL KNEW THE PRICE. HE SAID,"THAT I MAY KNOW HIM AND THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION AND THE FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SUFFERINGS BEING MADE

CONFORMABLE UNTO HIS DEATH" (PHILIPPIANS 3:10).

ARE YOU SICK AND DISCOURAGED, WEAK AND WEARY, FACING TRIALS

AND TROUBLES THAT SEEM MORE THAN YOU CAN BEAR? THEN REMEMBER THESE FIVE GLORIOUS FACTS.

1. HE CARES - YOU ARE PRECIOUS TO HIM "AS SILVER AND GOLD."

2. HE CLEANSES - THE FIRE PURIFIES AND "AND PURGES THEM."

3. HE CONTROLS - YES, THE FIRE IS UNDER CONTROL."HE SHALL SIT AS A

REFINER."

4. HE COMFORTS - HE'S WITH YOU IN THE FIRE. "AND HE SHALL SIT AS A

REFINER."

5. HE KNOWS - BE ASSURED HE KNOWS WHEN THE WORK IS DONE. HE LOOKS

FOR HIS IMAGE. CLIMB UPON THE PINNACLE OF FAITH WITH JOB AND CRY,

"WHEN HE HAS TRIED ME, I SHALL COME FORTH AS GOLD."

                      MAY GOD'S RICHEST BLESSINGS (TRUTH) BE YOURS

                                              LOVE, JOHN & DARLENE

Author

J. Brumfield