Saturday, May 16, 2009

Part 4 Taken, Blessed, Broken and Given: The Baptism of Fire Part 4



“We do not live in a butterfly world!... You are a caterpillar. So am I.
Just as caterpillars are in metamorphosis,
we are in-process people.
This is what we are intended to be.
This is what we will always be.”
Sandra Wilson Released From Shame Page 10


Taken, Blessed, Broken and Given: The Baptism of Fire Part 4

Something must be broken
for the fragrance to be released.
“A woman came up to Him
with an alabaster flask of very precious perfume,
and she poured it on His head as He reclined at table.
And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying,
For what purpose is all this waste?
For this perfume might have been sold for a large sum
and the money given to the poor.
But Jesus, fully aware of this, said to them,
Why do you bother the woman?
She has done a noble (praiseworthy and beautiful) thing to Me.
For you always have the poor among you,
but you will not always have Me.
In pouring this perfume on My body
she has done something to prepare Me for My burial.
Truly I tell you,
wherever this good news (the Gospel)
is preached in the whole world,
what this woman has done will be told also, in memory of her.”
Matthew 26:7-13

Whenever we allow ourselves to be broken for God
and do so with the right attitude/ spirit
we become a sweet fragrance for Christ.
Jesus said:
“I have told you these things,
so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence.
In the world you have tribulation
and trials and distress and frustration;
but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]!
For I have overcome the world.
[I have deprived it of power to harm you
and have conquered it for you.]”
John 16:33 Amp

When we are being broken
often our reaction is to turn and run away from God

When our brothers and sisters in Christ are being broken
we often turn our backs on them as well
focusing on their perceived sin or failure

Indeed, the Word instructs us to walk circumspectly and in gentle love:

“ Brethren, if any person is overtaken in misconduct or sin of any sort,
you who are spiritual [who are responsive to and controlled by the Spirit]
should set him right and restore and reinstate him,
without any sense of superiority and with all gentleness,
keeping an attentive eye on yourself, lest you should be tempted also.
Bear (endure, carry) one another's burdens and troublesome moral faults,
and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of Christ (the Messiah)
and complete what is lacking [in your obedience to it].”
Galatians 6:1-2 Amp
i.e.
Love God completely…
Love your neighbor as yourself…
(paraphrase) Matthew 22:37-40

We are all in this process, this training school of the Spirit.

This process is a cyclical one…
Times of being TAKEN
Times of being BLESSED
Times of being BROKEN in the fire of God’s presence
Times of being GIVEN to others

As Christians we will suffer

Suffering is not always a demonic attack

Such trials may be the loving hand of our Father squeezing….

The first squeeze – virgin olive oil

God proclaims:
“I form the light and create (mold) darkness,
I make peace [national well-being]
and I create (mold) [physical] evil (calamity);
I am the Lord, Who does all these things."
Isaiah 45:7 Amp

God will allow afflictions to come to the righteous… (again Psalm 34:19)
It is part of our baptism of fire… (again, Matthew 3:11)

If we understand this,
and walk through the testing with the right heart’s attitude
then we can be certain that:

“We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor]
all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good
to and for those who love God
and are called according to [His] design and purpose.”
Romans 8:28 Amp

Afflictions and the fire of God
are allowed into our lives
to mold us and transform us into the image of Christ Jesus

“His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints
(His consecrated people),
[that they should do] the work of ministering
toward building up Christ's body (the church),
[That it might develop] until we all attain oneness in the faith
and in the comprehension of the [full and accurate]
knowledge of the Son of God,
that [we might arrive] at really mature manhood
(the completeness of personality which is
nothing less than the standard height of Christ's own perfection),
the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ
and the completeness found in Him.”
Ephesians 4:12-13 Amp

End Part 4

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