Brother Bob Sunday School 9/2/12

Brother Bob Sunday School 9/2/12

Trial by Holy Fire:  We are privileged to face trials by holy fire.  The devil has a destroying fire; that is different.  The holy fire perfects.

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

The end result is exceeding joy.

1Pe 1:6  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

We will all face trials by temptation.  If we have not recently suffered correction from God, we need to take note.  Where are we?  The word teaches that He chastens and corrects His children.  We have not arrived, we are in route.  Paul says Press on.

Num 14:11  And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?

We don’t want to become dull of hearing or have our faith to become dull.  We want to be believing.  We don’t want the things of God to become common to us.  It is up to us to keep our love to God fervent.  We have an adversary and his number one tool is unbelief.  He works to put the fire out with unbelief.

We don’t want to be caught up with unbelief and murmuring and complaining like the Children of Israel were.

1Co 3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

1Co 3:13  Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

1Co 3:14  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

1Co 3:15  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

hihi

There is no other foundation that can be laid than Jesus Christ our perfect example.  We measure to Him, not to ourselves.  Thank God for the Holy Fire.  We haven’t attained.  We are being perfected today and every day.  his

Gold, silver, and precious stones vs. wood, hay, and stubble:  The wood, hay, and stubble are not lasting.  God shows us things in our life through His Word that would be a hindrance to us.  The Holy Fire burns it up.  Let them go and let them burn. 

We have all been there and we will all be there again.  God is faithful to show His people what the wood, hay, and stubble is.  If we hang onto those after God faithfully shows them to us then we will be burned too. 

We are the temple of God and the Spirit dwells in us.  God will not dwell in an unclean vessel but only in a vessel that has been purged by the holy fire.  So if God shows us something then let it go.  Stay in the Spirit of God. 

All the wood, hay, and stubble are a part of the carnal nature and they are things that are against the Word of God.  God is faithful to show us our needs.

1Pe 4:14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

1Pe 4:15  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.

1Pe 4:16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

1Pe 4:19  Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Not everybody will agree with us; we cannot let that effect us in our walk with God.  God must have first place in our lives.  Things will not always be easy or go like we’d like them to go, we must go on serving God. 

The Spirit of Glory and God rests upon you: if you be reproached for the things of God then happy are you.  The world is at enmity against the things of God.  We cannot let that hinder us.  Our relatives and even our own children turn against us.  When these things happen, the Word says, happy are ye for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

If you stay in the spirit and return good for evil, loving them anyway, then it will win them.  God will not beat any into submission; the way to win souls is through the love that God gives us. 

I thought I knew about love before I got saved; God’s love is so different.  I found I knew nothing about love. 

Busy body in other men’s matters is listed right with murderers and evil doers.  We have a busy time keeping care of ourselves; we need to stay out of other’s matters.  The only thing that really matters is staying in the Spirit of God.  If we get in the flesh then we are in the same boat as the sinner: lost.  We cannot get in the flesh; we must stay in the Spirit. 

We are not ashamed of Christ or of the Gospel.  It takes a stalwart soldier of the cross to lift up Jesus to those that are scorners and to love those that are hateful.  It takes a real man and woman of Christ to stand in the battles like that.

This hindered me before I got saved.  I looked upon the so called Christians in the world and saw that I lived a better life than most of them.  They used their religion as a crutch. 

God opened His word and showed me that there was nothing wrong with the Word of God.  We need to take every word and live by it: by the Word and the Spirit.

Judgment must begin with us.  If we don’t accept the Judgment of God then we will be wood, hay, and stubble, and we will be burned up in the end.

We will be lost if we don’t: what shall become of them that don’t?

If the righteous scarcely be saved where shall the sinner be?

Keep on in well doing, be encouraged and rejoice when the holy fire comes.  It perfects us and makes us more like Christ.  We give all our heart to Him and He is able to lead guide and instruct us. 

After I got saved, some of the things that I had been taught as a child were still in my mind causing my mind to be against God.  Some of the things that I thought were ok, God showed me were not.  God showed me that He leads by the heart and not the mind.

Don’t be discouraged, trials will come to all of us, let the Word and the Spirit burn up the wood, hay, and stubble.  Don’t be weary in well doing. 

This holy highway is an upward road.  It is not always easy going uphill, the prize is worthwhile.  If you are just coasting along and things going easy, then you are going downhill.  Take warning.  You must press to go uphill

Mat 5:9  Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

The saints are peacemakers.  They are not into strife.  Strife and contention only come by pride and God hates pride. 

Pro 4:20  My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.

Pro 4:21  Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.

Pro 4:22  For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

Pro 3:3  Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

Keep them in your heart!  They are life and health.  Bind them about thy neck.

We keep track of the Word that way and those around us can see it too, in our lives.

Deu 6:8  And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

Deu 6:9  And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

We know them by their love one for another.  This is shown not only among the saints, but our love to our neighbor.  Let’s be careful to walk humbly with everyone.