He Shall Purify!!!
“Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
“But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:
“And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
“Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.
“And I will come near to you to judgement; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and those that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.
“For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”
Malachi 3:1-6
God has called His people, the church, to holiness, to be holy, set apart from the world. This requires separation and repentance from all compromise with the world.
The church doesn’t need to see a church that is like they are. We won’t be effective witnesses to the Life, Light and Power of God by trying to “relate” to the world, by looking, acting or sounding like them, or by telling them what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear. That is a compromise of His Word. His Word mixed with anything else is compromise, is not pure, and is an abomination to God.
John 2:15-17
15“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17“And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
And in Revelation 18:1-8, some very strong words:
1“And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
2“And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
3“For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
4“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her 4plagues.
5“For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
6“Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill her to the double.
7“How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
8“Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.”
The more we are like Jesus, look like Him, act like Him, see with His eyes, and speak with His words, not our own, the more the world will either be drawn to us, or move away from us. Those that are inwardly desperate to know Him, who are desperate for an answer for their lives, need to see Jesus in us. They need to see a distinct and clear difference! They need to see a demonstration of the Life and power of God in us today!! If we look and act like the world, make decisions according to the natural mind like the world, we will be just like the world, and will ultimately fall into sin.
The way to look like Jesus and be like Jesus is the narrow way.
“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matthew 7:14
It is not the easy way, and is uncomfortable to the flesh! It will cost us. It will cost us our lives!!
“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” Matthew 16:25
All that is not like Jesus must be removed, burned off. In the heat of His presence, the Fire of God cleans us up, and we will be transformed into His image, the image of Jesus! We will be like Him! It is a painful process that takes a lifetime, but the results are eternal!!
Ask God to send the Fire! He will!!
Psalm 139:23,24
23 “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24 “And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
This is the way I have chosen. I love the refining process, because I love the Refiner. I love who He is, even Jesus, the One who redeemed me, pulled me out of the world, saving me from destruction, and setting me free from the bondage of sin!!
We have a choice: to follow Jesus, or not to follow Jesus. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!!
Joshua 24:14,15
14 “Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.
15 “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Photo by BÜNYAMİN GÖRÜNMEZ on Unsplash
Bethel Creations 