Buy gold refined in the fire

Sunday service, Detlef Stegen, 09 Sep 2018

Rev 3:18-19

18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

The Lord Jesus wrote this letter to one of the churches, the church of Laodicea. This was His verdict of that church. Jesus yearns for His church to be glorious, His spirit to be at work in the individuals of His church. Are you part of His church where you can hear Him speaking?

These words are so direct, they should cause us to open our ears and hearts that they can sink in and change us.

He also says that those whom He loves He reproves and disciplines. When last has He reproved you and you taken it to heart? Do you know His reproof? Do you still experience His love?

This was His church. These were not unconverted people. This church was even recognised in heaven. And He calls for urgent repentance. The life of a Christian should be worth gold. What robs you of that gold? Are you still clothing yourself with white garments? When you react carnally you will lose your spiritual authority in your home.

Do you allow Jesus to shake you, or do you reject His reproof and instruction?

Children, as soon as you start hardening your heart and know better than your parents or your teachers, you will find that rebellion against God’s word will grow in your heart. You won’t be one with your brothers and sisters in the Lord anymore. You will become a hypocrite, a clever devil.

Remember the Romanian boy, David.
How he was a hypocrite, flirting with girls, while still attending church and telling his pastor, Rev Hans that all was fine. One day Jesus intervened and disciplined him. He drove with his motorcycle into a concrete pole at a high speed, breaking almost all his bones and cracking his skull. Then He woke up in hell and also saw his friends there. Then his pastor, who was in South Africa, changed his plans and flew back to visit him in hospital and pray for him, while he was dying. Jesus heard the prayers and healed his bones.

Remember the prodigal son who ended up among the pigs. How he came to himself and said, I will go back to my father and say to him, I am no longer worthy to be called a son, make me as one of your servants. However, his father saw him from afar, ran to him and embraced him. He wanted a garment for his son and a ring put on his finger. Do you now understand this word, I counsel you to buy gold from me? The prodigal son brought joy to the father. He realised how wretched he was.

Will you bring joy to your Father in Heaven?

Buy gold refined in the fire from Him, so that you may be rich in His sight, washed in the Blood of the Lamb.

Choir



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