Purging

The Fire That Cleanses

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“And think not to say within yourselves, ‘We have Abraham to our father:’ for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: whose fan is in His hand, and He will throughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Matthew 3:9-2

The sins and need for the light of God to shine so that the people of Israel, and the Gentiles might know the true God.  That is what John the Baptizer is addressing.  To the Jew first, and then to the nations of the world.

John is bold in addressing the sin of the religious leaders calling them a “…generation of vipers”, and asking them, “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”  These were the Sadducees and the Pharisees; and they did not care for John, who unrecognized by them, was God’s messenger sent by God to prepare the way for God’s Messiah.

Notice that John has great respect for the One he is declaring to the people who come out to  hear him that he is not worthy to loosen His shoes.  Of course he is speaking of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

The prophet says, “He is mightier than I,” “He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire,”  then John takes to a threshing floor where the grain is separated from the chaff, and shows us what happens to the chaff after the threshing.  The chaff being good for nothing is cast into the fire, and burned up.

Fire is a destructive power when not used properly.  It can be used to destroy.  It can be used for purging the land.  The fire John is speaking of is completely under control and purges the hearts of God’s people so that we might live a righteous, and holy life for Him, and produce more fruit for His glory.

Jesus will separate the wheat from the chaff, and save the wheat, and burn the chaff to have a cleansed floor.  The invitation is “Call on Me and I answer you, and will show you great and mighty things which you do no know” (Jeremiah 33:3).  Will you call on Him.  Surrender your life to Him, and just watch Him work on you and in you.

The True Vine and His Branches

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I am the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman.  Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.  Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.  Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.   If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.   If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.  Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples.
John 15:1-8

Jesus is the source of our strength, and the the source of any spiritual fruit we might bear.  What is the fruit of the Spirit?  The apostle Paul tells us in Galatians 5:22-26

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Those branches which bear no fruit are cut away, and is eventually cast into fire for burning.

The branches do not bear the fruit of the Spirit, except they will  abide in the Vine.  Jesus is the vine, the true vine, and the branches which bear fruit are those who continue abiding in Him.  Living in Him bearing the fruit, because He is worthy of our abiding in Him alone.

Let us remain in the vine, Jesus Christ.  He died for our sins, was buried, and He rose again the third day.  Believe Him.   He also said, “I will come again…”  Believe Him.

Purging Of All Our Transgressions

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Praise waiteth for Thee, O God, in Sion: and unto Thee shall the vow be performed. O Thou that hearest prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come.
Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, Thou shalt purge them away.
Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest, and causest to approach unto Thee, that he may dwell in Thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house, even of Thy holy temple.  By terrible things in righteousness wilt Thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea: which by His strength setteth fast the mountains; being girded with power: which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.
They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at Thy tokens: Thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice. Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: Thou preparest them corn, when Thou hast so provided for it.  Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: Thou settlest the furrows thereof: Thou makest it soft with showers: Thou blessest the springing thereof.  Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness; and Thy paths drop fatness.  They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side.  The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.

Psalm 65:1-13

The Old Testament believers were saved by grace through faith in their coming Messiah.  That Messiah is Jesus Christ which means Jesus the Messiah, and He is the Son of God.  God says of Noah, “But “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” (Genesis 6:8).

I say that because the only purging of sin that is done is done by the perfect sacrificial Lamb of God who came to take away our sin.  That Lambs name is Jesus.

“He will baptize you…”

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I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: whose fan is in His hand, and He will throughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.  Matthew 3:11-12

Abide in Me

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“I am the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.
If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”  John 15:1-7

The People in Expectation

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“And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; John answered, saying unto all, ‘I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: whose fan is in His hand, and He will throughly purge His floor, and will gather the wheat into His garner; but the chaff He will burn with fire unquenchable.’
And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.”   Luke 3:15-18  (KJB)

In the days preceding the days of the appearance of the Christ there was a longing, a strong desire and passion for the coming of Messiah.  The prophet John the Baptist was to be the last of the Old Testament prophets.

A new Man was coming on the scene.  People and things were about to change.

I do not know about you, but I can almost see and hear these words the people said, and asked.  Maybe some were direct and asked, “John, are you the Messiah?”  There was much chatter.  There were probably many questions.

The prophet John, like the prophets before him were preachers, forth tellers of the word of God.  They said what God put in their hearts and minds to say, by the power of the Spirit of God.  They spoke without fear or favor of men.  Like those prophets he spoke of another mightier than himself.

The people were in expectation.  They were looking for hope, for deliverance, for salvation from the Roman conquerors, their accusers and abusers.  That is not unlike people of 2019.

Many of us are looking again for the reappearing of our Lord and Savior. He is the One whom John preached about.  He is the One whom John said,

“…One mightier than I comes, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire: whose fan is in His hand, and He will throughly purge His floor, and will gather the wheat into His garner; but the chaff He will burn with fire unquenchable.”

John spoke of Jesus, the Christ.  He was about to appear.  We as Christians today are to be proclaiming the coming of our Lord.  We are to watch and pray and preach; preach Jesus.  Preach the death of Jesus on the cross to redeem us from our sins.  Preach that He was buried and carried our sins away, leaving them in the depths of the earth never to be held captive by them again; and that He rose again from death and the grave; and that He is alive.

He is coming.  He said He would (John 14:1-3).

Through the Bible in a Year – e091513

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A Time For Repentance

Isaiah 22:8-14 (KJV)

1.  A CITY WARNED (vv. 1-7).

2.  REMINDER OF THE BLESSINGS OF THE CITY (vv. 8-11).

3.  GOD CALLS THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY TO REPENTANCE (v. 12 – 13).

4.  THE PURGING OF INIQUITY IS DEATH (v. 14).

-Tim A. Blankenship

Day 79 – Sin in the Church

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There is probably nothing more sure and clear than the title of this post.  “Sin in the Church”.  To ask, “Is there sin in our churches?” is a very unnecessary question.  Where there is a church without sin; it is of their own confession; and not the truth.  Besides where there is people there will be sin.  By that statement I do not mean to lessen the gravity and seriousness of sin in the church.

In my reading this morning of 1 Corinthians 3 – 12 it was quite apparent that the apostle is writing this church to confront a major problem they have.  First of all they seem just a bit proud of their “Spirituality” and “love” since they have tolerated an adulterous affair to continue to go on in their midst (chapter 5).

The apostle addresses their immaturity at first,

“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”  1 Corinthians 3:1-3 (KJV)

We see there are other problems of sin within the congregation as well, “strife and divisions”, arguing and debating over who is the best preacher, and probably other things.  Too many times in today’s society Christians “wear their feelings on their sleeves”, are easily puffed up, easily knocked down,  and easily offended.  That is the height of immaturity.

Paul’s intent for writing this letter is not to shame or offend this people,

“I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.  For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.  Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.”  4:14-16

We live in a time where “Tolerance” is king.  At least much of laws are written with tolerance in mind.  What is the idea of tolerance?  The MIRRIAM/WEBSTER DICTIONARY defines “Tolerance” –

1. the act or practice of tolerating; esp. : sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from one’s own  2: capacity for enduring or adapting (as to a poor environment) 3: the allowable deviation from a standard (as of size).

Today’s tolerance police would be proud of the Corinthian church.  They loved this couple so very much, and were so very tolerant they were about to bring the wrath and judgment of God upon themselves, and the whole church.  The apostle was not pleased when he heard of this, and this very well could be the main reason for writing this letter; the “straw that broke the camel’s back” so to speak.  Hear what Paul told the church to do with the man:

 “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.  Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”  5:4-8

If you will notice Paul’s concern was at least  in part for the man to be delivered from this grievous sin.  He was also very concerned with what it was doing and would continue doing if the rebelliousness and evil were not dealt with.

There is much to learn and hear for the guidance of the post modern church.  There is sin in the church today that needs to be dealt with.  I hear of adulterous affairs going on between couples within some local congregations; and if these sins and others are not dealt with then those churches will fall.

The first step in dealing with sin in the church is for each individual to keep their accounts short with God.  Read the Bible daily, hiding the word in your heart that you sin not against the LORD.  By taking heed to the Word of God their is cleansing and forgiveness.

To tolerate sin in one’s own life is not love; that is arrogance.  To tolerate sin within the church is not love, nor is it spiritual; it is pride and rebellion.

-Tim A. Blankenship

Hot Coals; Clean Lips

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Prophet’s Possible Perspective

I realized that I was an unclean person; especially when in the presence of the Divine and Holy One of Israel. Unclean as the leper who must go among the people crying “Unclean, unclean, unclean” and with their lips covered so no spittal will fall on anyone else.

O, the glory of the presence of the Holy One. When you are in His presence there is such a view of Him as to see Him in His beauty, power, glory, and the heart is to praise and glorify Him; and realize that in His presence no one can stand.

“Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:  And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” Isaiah 6:6-7 (KJV)

As I was in the presence of this holiness I knew there was something special and more than special about it. I was being prepared for service to God; unlike anything I had ever seen or experienced before. God was getting ready to use me in a special way, and yet I was awed by His presence – the presence of His glory.

This preparation was painful. Fire from the altar touched my lips, and yet it did not mar the physical appearance, but cleansed the “unclean lips”, and the Word of God came in clearer than ever before. By this burning coal, all my iniquity was taken away, and all my sin has been atoned. I now have a view of God I had never seen before.

God, the LORD of hosts, the King of Glory has purged every sin, cleansed every stain, and now He can use me. Blessed be the name of the LORD.

-Tim A. Blankenship