What does your church need? More laborers? More tithers? More space? More baptisms? Better preacher? New pews? High-tech equipment?
"...The need of the hour is that we see ourselves as we really are. For no man will change until he sees what he really is. No sinner is ever saved until he sees himself a sinner. No saint ever goes from victory to victory until he sees himself in light of God's glory...
Dear friend, the church today needs to experience the kind of purging by fire that brings her to the point of brokenness and submissiveness before the Lord so that when people see her, the only explanation for her is God. Gold has had all the impurities burned out. Buy gold when people come to your door, they will find the wealth that will meet their need. They'll find a flexible, submissive saint of God so yielded to the living Lord that nothing gets in the way of their being touched by the Master's hand. Oh that peple might say of us that there is no explanation for our lives, there is no explanation for our ministries, our churches, other than the presence, the power and the glory of God." MANLEY BEASLEY: Man of Faith--Instrument of Revival, by Ron Owens.
This quote is a snippet from the tapestry of testimonials collected by Ron Owens in his accounting of Manley Beasley. These particular words are but a portion of Beasley's sermon based on Revelation 3:18. "Therefore I counsel you to purchase from Me gold refined and tested by fire, that you may be [truly] wealthy, and white clothes to clothe you and to keep the same of your nudity from being seen, and salve to put on your eyes, that you may see." Amplified.
"Before gold is sold on the market it has to go through a purification process. This process is quite complex and dangerous. It needs to be done under the right circumstances and with the utmost care in safety precautions. It is not recommended to try this process unless you have experience working with harmful chemicals..." Chris Sherwood, How to Purify Gold
Perhaps we wonder why Christianity is being attacked from every side of the world. Pehaps we wonder why saints of God are walking more and more with the world and accepting the culture without reserve. Perhaps we wonder why our churches do not have much influence on society as a whole. Could it be us? Could it be that God is placing us in the furnace of purification? Are we satisfied with less than the glory of God in our own personal lives, and thereby building our churches with bronze instead of Gold? selahV
