TIME TO BE PURIFIED – PART II

The following is the second part to TIME TO BE PURIFIED. (Sorry t took so long) DISCLAIMER: I understand that it is lengthy, but I had to put it all in so I wouldn’t have to do a part three. I believe that there is a call for God’s people to begin to walk in HOLINESS and RIGHTEOUSNESS. So I hope you enjoy, but most of all I hope that it challenges you to run into ALL that Christ Jesus has for you and I.

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Zechariah 13:1-9

1 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. 2 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land. 3 And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth. 4 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive: 5 But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth. 6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. 8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. 9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God. (/i>

Looking at this text we can see the following:

I. GOD WANTS TO CLEANSE US (v. 1-6)

I once knew a boy who hated to take a bath (ME!). I would go for days without soap and water, except for a a splash every now and then. I would go into the bathroom and I would turn on the water, rub some on the soap, and then turn it off and wait for a reasonable amount of time before my exit, declaring that I had taken a bath—even though I never even took off my clothes!

But how do you clean up the inside? Zechariah tells us in vs. 1-6.

First, he explains God provides the water for our cleansing.. This is no man-made means fountain—God provides the water for this bath.

But also notice the fountain is the means of cleansing His people from sin and uncleanness. This fountain is not just for decoration—it’s for removing the dirt of guilt, and the filth of sinful desires.
Both of these ideas tell us that God desires to cleanse His people from anything and everything that soils their souls. He is not satisfied with people who walk around with dirty hands, dirty hearts, dirty minds. He wants them clean. But He also provides the water that will cleanse them.

Zechariah goes on to describe what happens when His people come to the fountain for cleansing in vs. 2-6: they will get clean. In vs. 2 He specifically mentions 2 specific areas Israel would be cleansed: false religion and filthy hearts.

Idolatry was rampant, prophets claiming to speak for God were everywhere preaching lies. But in that day the idols would be forever forgotten (I will cut off the names of the idols from the land), and false prophets would become extinct (through drastic means, if necessary, read vs. 3, where parents execute their own kids, vs. 4-6 where they’d rather be a farmer than a prophet !).

God is not pleased when our lives are full of uncleanness—hearts full of lust, greed, jealousy, pride. He desires purity in our hearts. Pure devotion to Him, not the idolatry of worshiping money, or pleasure. Pure devotion to His truth, not allowing false teaching to corrupt our thinking. That may seem almost impossible to you. God desires purity.

God offers us His cleansing power. God offers us the means to live clean lives. He has opened the fountain so you and I can be cleansed from sin and uncleanness.

We have the fountain of Christ’s blood to cleanse us from the guilt of our sins.

1 John 1:9- If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

There is no sin you have committed or will commit that God has not provided cleansing for through Christ.

We also have the cleansing power of God’s Word.

Ephesians 5:26-27 – 26that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

As you and I fill our minds with God’s Word, obey His Word, He cleanses us from sinful habits and attitudes. Memorizing God’s Word is one of the best ways to defeat temptation in your life. The more you will your mind and heart with God’s Word, the cleaner your heart, mind, and life will be.

Psalm 119:11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

But we must want to be cleansed. Many people are just like me when I was younger when I never wanted to take a bath—they live dirty lives. They may spray on a little extra deodorant to keep the smell down, or wash their hands every now and then, but their lives are grimy with guilt, sinful habits and attitudes.

2 Corinthians 7:1 – Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Do you need cleansing?

II. GOD WANTS TO REFINE US (v. 7-9)

One day a missionaryl, who devoted her life to minister to young girls in India took some of her children to see a goldsmith refining gold. The man sat beside a small charcoal fire. On top of the coals lay a common red curved roof-tile, and another tile over it like a lid. This was his homemade crucible. He dropped a lump of ore into the blistering mixture and let the fire “eat it.” After awhile, the man lifted the gold out with a pair of tongs, let it cool, and studied it. Then he replaced the gold in the crucible and blew the fire hotter than it was before. This process went on and on, the fire growing hotter and hotter. As the children watched the gold being purified in the fire, someone asked the man, “How do you know when the gold is purified?” The man’s answer: “When I can see my face in it [the liquid gold in the crucible], then it is pure.”*

If I could sum up what the Lord Jesus Christ is doing in your life, my life, the life of every one of His children, this would be it: He is working to refine us until we reflect back His image.

The NIV translation puts it like this in

2 Corinthians 3:18 – But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

But how does He accomplish this refining?

Zechariah mentions some very interesting means of God’s refining.

Through the stricken Shepherd. In some way, the death of the Shepherd is part of the refining process. Another element of refining is Through the remnant. 2/3 of the people will die, leaving only a remnant to survive. In some way God’s refining process involves not multiplication, but subtraction.

Through restoration of the relationship. The result of the refining will be a restoration of a right relationship with God. They will call—He will answer. He will call them His people—they will call Him their God.

what vs. 9 is all about: I will…refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested…God’s refining involves turning up the heat of suffering, removing everything except for our faith in Him, bringing us back to the place where our faith in the Lord is purified, where all the dross is removed, and our relationship with Him is made stronger—until He sees His reflection in your heart and in your life.

1 Peter 1:6-7 6 – In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

All of God’s saints go through periods of refining. Abraham had his time on the mountain, holding a knife above his only son, ready to sacrifice him to the Lord. Joseph was refined in a pit, as a slave, then as a prisoner of Pharaoh. We all know about the fiery refining of Job, and the suffering of Peter and Paul.
Now it’s your turn. God wants to refine us. The question is: do we want Him to refine us?

If you think like me you say to God—I don’t like to hurt.

I don’t like the idea of losing anything or anybody I have-much less everything I have.

My flesh is to try and avoid as much fuss and bother and pain as possible.

I have no idea how expensive it is for gold or silver to be refined. I do know that until the metal is refined, it’s not much use.

It cost God a lot for our refinement. His Shepherd had to be struck–His Son had to die. It will cost you a lot to allow God to refine you, but always remember -

“It’s good for us to remember that God is not an arsonist; He’s a refiner.”

What’s the difference between an arsonist and a refiner? An arsonist uses heat to destroy; a refiner uses fire to purify. God does not use pain or hardship to destroy you, but to refine you- to purify and refine you until He sees His reflection in your life.

Purity is important to God. Is it that important to you? Are you willing to pray for God’s cleansing, for God’s refining in your life? Are you willing to ask God to purify you, and continue to purify you all your life?

God desires for us to be pure; we ought to desire to be pure.