REFINEMENT
BAPTISM OF FIRE RETREAT • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
REFINEMENT
REFINEMENT
Malachi 3:2–3 (NKJV)
“But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire And like launderers’ soap.
He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the Lord An offering in righteousness.
2 STAGES TO THE BAPTISM OF FIRE
2 STAGES TO THE BAPTISM OF FIRE
REFINEMENT
PURIFICATION
Isaiah 6:1–9 (NKJV)
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.
Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”
And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.
And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.”
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
REFINMENT PROCESS
The refiner breaks up and crushes the hardened ore, revealing the gold and silver inside, so the potentially precious metals can be exposed to heat.
The refiner puts the broken and crushed ore into a crucible, otherwise known as a melting pot. The melting pot is placed into a furnace.
The refiner removes the layers of dross exposed by the heat.
The refiner raises the tempreture to higher and higher levels, extracting the dross each time.
BROKENESS
BROKENESS
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.
When you get saved you are like ore that has been cut out of the rock. We become broken and realize we need a Savior.
Discipleship pulls the hidden silver and gold out of you.
If we do not allow ourselves to be broken (humble) we cannot enter this process.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
“Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
Possibly....
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
THE CRUCIBLE
THE CRUCIBLE
The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the Lord tests the hearts.
Psalm 66:10–12 (NKJV)
For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined.
You brought us into the net; You laid affliction on our backs.
You have caused men to ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water; But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.
Daniel 3:15–28 (NKJV)
Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.
But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.
And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego.
And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”
“Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire.
And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.
Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!
REASONS FOR THE CRUCIBLE
REASONS FOR THE CRUCIBLE
God will allow you to be placed in the melting pot and tested in the fire to see if all your idols are out of your heart.
Your reaction to the firey furnace can affect your destiny. Many Christians will lose out on heavenly rewards because they resisted the fire.
Spirit of burning.
The bush was burning but not consumed. Holy Spirit the fire burning the tree (you).
The dross is revealed in the furnace.
Joseph, the wilderness was the furnace he was being prepared in.
THE DROSS
THE DROSS
Take away the dross from silver, And it will go to the silversmith for jewelry.
And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.”
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FURNACE
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FURNACE
The impuries, the dross, rise to the top to be skimmed off by the refiner.
In the fire, everything is amplified, including your sin and flesh.
Isaiah saw God in all His glory, conviction instantly came.
When God is preparing you to be sent, the things that would not have mattered for someone else will be amplified to you.
Ambassadors of His Kingdom need to look like Him. John the Baptist said let me decrease and He increase.
For heaven to approve you, there needs to be a cleansing that takes place.
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,
that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
When these things are amplified to you, your getting closer to God not further away though it may feel that way.
For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
Godly sorrow will lead you to become of no reputation. Having integrity towards God will become more important then your image.
but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
Godly sorrow will cause you to go reconcile with that person you offended, gossiped about, did wrong, or caused hurt even if they were wrong and you were right. Churches you left wrong etc...
Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Yes God has forgiven you and it is in the past. But could it be your trying to save your own reputation instead of giving it to God? Could it be that your too prideful to admit your wrong to someone? Could it be that you care more about you being right then someone else’s heart? Could it be your fearing what will happen to you if people know the truth?
Love never brings up someone’s past wrong doing.
When you become broken you become a vessel of love.
REFINING FIRE
REFINING FIRE
The refiner skims off the dross and places the melting pot back in the furnace at increasingly greater tempretures, as the heat extracts the dross. The refiner knows the exact heat required to extract the dross in the refining process.
Psalm 12:6 (NKJV)
The words of the Lord are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times.
This is a process that comes in layers. 7 means completion. Hebrews 12:2 the author and finisher of our faith. (founder and perfecter).
A TESTIMONY
A TESTIMONY
And the natives showed us unusual and remarkable kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed and received us all, since it had begun to rain and was cold.
Now Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and he was laying them on the fire when a viper crawled out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.
When the natives saw the little animal hanging from his hand, they said to one another, Doubtless this man is a murderer, for though he has been saved from the sea, Justice [the goddess of avenging] has not permitted that he should live.
Then [Paul simply] shook off the small creature into the fire and suffered no evil effects.
However, they were waiting, expecting him to swell up or suddenly drop dead; but when they had watched him a long time and saw nothing fatal or harmful come to him, they changed their minds and kept saying over and over that he was a god.
Think of a forest fire, fire causes the critters that were hidden in the bush to be exposed and driven out.
The fire causes the hidden snakes to be exposed and forced out.
Sometimes in deliverance it feels worse before it feels better because the snake that got exposed has latched onto your hand and is making a last ditch effort to take you out.
They expected him to fall down dead but he shook off the snake and carried on as normal. They thought he was a god, because they saw God in him.
And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him.
So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed.
They also honored us in many ways; and when we departed, they provided such things as were necessary.
Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.”
The bite that was meant to take you out will be such a testimony. It will counfound others. It will glorify God. It will cause others to be saved. It will cause others to be healed. It will cause others to be delivered. As the glory of God is shown through your life.
His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;
He is the fourth man in the fire.
When you resist the furnace you turn around and walk back into the world. Your promotion was in the furnace. We meet Jesus in the furnace. Your encounter is there.
Meaning He is with you in the furnace. The firey trial. He is with you in the wilderness. He is with you in your mess. He is with you when the serpent strikes.
Not only this but:
though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Meaning on this earth He was tempted by every sin, He was tested by the devil, refined in the fire for you. He didn’t do it for Him. He did it for you.
Walk through what Jesus did, all for you.
But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.
For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
Daniel 3 the smell of smoke wasn’t even on them.