Dear Friends,
What a mighty God we serve! He is the God who will give us the victory in 2010 as He has done every year until now. May you prosper even as your soul prospers in this New Year!
I have been hearing the Holy Spirit whisper one specific scripture in my spirit over the last month or two and, as I have continued to seek Him for His wisdom and understanding, He has been making it increasingly clear. As we begin this New Year, all of the encouragement and exhortation I have received from others around me has pointed back to the same thing, Proverbs 17:3: “The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart.”
Now, some of you may ask, “What exactly does that mean?” Great question – I asked the same thing when I first heard it! And so I have been asking the Lord. And, though there is still more revelation to be received, He has been bringing me to a greater understanding of this scripture as He parallels it with the rest of His word. Proverbs 27:21 (NKJV) says, “The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, and a man is valued by what others say of him.” 1 Thess. 2:4-6, “On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.”
So what does this say? To me what is resounding in my spirit is that the flesh and it’s selfish desires must die! In 2010, God is looking at our hearts. Now before you groan, let me reassure you of the great excitement in this process! Our Heavenly Father, the Gardener, only prunes the branches so that they will bear MORE FRUIT (John 15:1-2). So, guess what? It’s harvest time! Time for abundant life! Time for His kingdom to come and His will to be done! The Holy Spirit administers to us the life that comes through Jesus Christ (John 6:33). The Kingdom of God is LIFE. But we cannot have that life without the Holy Spirit, and we cannot receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit if we are living and walking in the flesh. So, where there is flesh still active, the kingdom is being hindered in our lives. “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.” (Rom. 14:17-18)
If we walk in the flesh and try to please man, when God tests our hearts (yes, I said WHEN not IF), not only will He not find us pleasing, but we will not end up receiving the kind of praise from others that is approved by Him. Like we saw in Proverbs 27:21, one of the ways Almighty God tests us is by what others say of us. Just because men praise us doesn’t mean that we are acceptable to God! Even Satan receives praise from His followers and from the demonic forces that he rules over. There are two types of praise we can receive from men – praise from those who are corrupt and are approving us for walking as they are, and praise from those who see the light and love and kingdom of Christ being reflected in our lives. I don’t know about you, but I would certainly prefer the latter type of praise! But if we are living for the praise of men, we will receive that same type of praise from that same type of people – those who are living to be approved by the world’s standards rather than Christ’s.
What’s the good news then, fellow prayer warriors? When we put to death our flesh, walk in the Spirit, and serve Christ’s kingdom, we will receive praise from both God AND men! Maybe not ALL men, but the men whose praise is acceptable to God. When we live in a way that represents God’s kingdom, we will prove valued by both God and man. Though we may feel like we have been heated in the furnace or melted in the crucible, we will pass the Lord’s testing of our hearts!
So, friends, as we launch into this New Year ahead and heed the charge to “Go it again in 2010”, let’s remember and reflect on those times when we, and many others before us, laid down our flesh for the sake of Christ’s kingdom and for His praise and honor, and the great rewards it yielded for His glory. Let’s prepare ourselves once again for the Lord to test our hearts; let’s give ourselves fully over to Him, showing ourselves approved unto Him. As together we take time to pray through our CIP January Prayer Guide 2010 and walk through the book of Proverbs, let’s ask God for the wisdom to die to our flesh and allow Him to mold our hearts according to His standard, that we might bear much fruit and walk in the abundant life that He has destined not only for us, but for all whom He has called and chosen to come into His kingdom through our prayers and witness, for such a time as this!
For the Praise of God,
