In our previous message (please first read it if you haven't yet) we have mentioned the messenger of the covenant who “will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years,” (Malachi 3:2-4).
The Lord wants to wash those, who desire to be refined, with His Word (John 15:3) so He could have men and women who can bring offerings in righteousness. Just stop reading for a moment and think prayerfully about this passage. Can you feel the Lord’s heart in here - His passion? I sense almost an ‘at last’ - once the purifier has done his job the Lord will at last have people who will bring offerings, acceptable to Him, in righteousness.
When you bring your offering, what is it you bring? Do you bring yourself as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2)? Do you bring whatever you bring in righteousness? What is your true motive why you serve the Lord? We may be able to deceive thousands of people, but we cannot fool the Lord. Our charisma can bring us far where people are concerned and open many doors for us, but what does our treasure in heaven consist of? What is the basis of our hearts on which the Lord rewards us?
The messenger of the covenant “will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.” Gold is purified when the ore is put through extremes of chemical and heat treatment, until the gold is separated from the impurities. Why does the Lord compare the purification of the saints to that of gold? Gold is a precious and eternally lasting metal. It cannot be corrupted, rust or decompose. This is what those, whom the Lord loves, should be to the Lord and they should yield to the purification process.
As I prayed about today’s message the Holy Spirit reminded me of a precious rhema word I’ve received; “Therefore thus says the LORD: "If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth,” (Jeremiah 15:19) and the following question came to heart: To what would we be restored to? In pursuit of the answer I asked myself where we originally came from. We came from Adam. How was his relationship with the Lord before he sinned? They walked together in intimate harmony, with total transparency and absolutely nothing to hide. How does the second Adam, Jesus, walk before God? He has all authority on heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). This is the Lord’s dream for us – a relationship consisting of intimacy and victory.
As I pondered over this rhema, I heard the Lord saying that in every area in which we need restoration, we need to pass the tests before we can move on to the next level. How does it work? We read in the logos (the written Word) what is expected of us. The more we read it, the better we know it until it becomes part of us. This does not mean it has changed us yet, but it leaves in us material which the Holy Spirit can use to test us on. Using this word inside of us, He now gives us rhema revelation to guide us, and then He creates test situations for us to see how we progress.
If e.g. the rhema told you: ‘So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God’ (Isaiah 41:10), situations will be brought to you to test whether you will trust the Lord or whether you will fear. If you pass the test, you are restored and are more refined in that area. For those who mean business with the Lord this should become a lifestyle – being refined by the Word.
Lord, please test and restore me.
Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.
Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.
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