This is an excerpt from a message given at the Pembroke Fellowship Church Mother/Daughter Banquet in May. To read the first two parts, click on the links below.
The Refiner's Process
The Refiner's Process: Formation
Once a diamond or a precious stone has been mined, it has to be
refined. Refinement is defined as: The process of removing impurities or
unwanted elements from a substance. To improve or perfect by pruning or polishing; to free
from what is coarse, vulgar, or uncouth; elevate.
The value of a diamond is determined by
the 4C’s--color, clarity, cut and carat.
Color—Diamonds come in every color and
shape and so do God’s precious gems. You don’t have to be a size 2 with hair
flowing down your back to be beautiful and brilliant. God made each of us
beautiful and unique in our own way. You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Clarity—The clarity of a diamond is its purity. How many
flaws or imperfections are in the stone. We’ve all been marred by sin. Sin
clouds us. Sin is impurity. Un-confessed sin blocks intimacy with God. If you’re
going to shine, you have to remove the sin from your life.
If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Cut— Diamonds as we know them sparkle because of the facets
that are cut into them while shaping them. Natural diamonds that haven't yet
been mined don't sparkle because they haven’t been cut. Because a diamond is
the strongest material in the world to our knowledge, it can withstand great
forces, pressure and highest of temperatures, therefore it is cut using a
laser. Laser cutting also means that each cut is the smoothest, ensuring a
greater amount of light reflection due to a smoother surface.
The laser that
God uses to cut us is the Word of God.
“For the word of
God is alive, active and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged
sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes
our innermost thoughts and desires.” Hebrews 4:12
“All Scripture
is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us
realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and
teaches us to do what is right.” 2 Timothy 3:16
When we want to
do wrong, the word cuts us. When you want to cuss somebody out or get revenge
when someone has done you wrong. I can’t stand them. The word cuts you.
“Do not let any
unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building
others up according to their needs. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling
and slander, along with every form of malice.”
Ouch that hurts
Lord. But they did me wrong. “Forgive as you have been forgiven.”
You want to please
your flesh. “Do you not know that your bodies are
temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You
are not your own; 20 you were bought at
a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
Carat— This is the weight of a diamond. A diamond’s
weight is measured in carats. As the carat weight of a diamond increases so
does its rarity and therefore its price.
What produces our weight? What makes us heavy? Paul tells us right in 2
Corinthians 4:7:
“For our light
affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory”
That word for glory is doxa. Our affliction
produces doxa. Weight. Glory. God’s glory.
In the 70s we
used to say something is “heavy” and that gives you the sense of this word.
When somebody said something was “heavy” that meant it was so powerful or
amazing that you just needed to contemplate it. “That’s heavy man!” God is
heavy like that. He’s so amazing, so powerful, his ways are so far above our
ways, that we can’t begin to comprehend or understand his greatness. God is so
heavy that He spoke and the universe came into existence. Since God is so heavy, our afflictions are
light. But he uses those afflictions to produce his glory.
God works through affiction. God refines
us in the furnace of affliction. (Isaiah 48:10) Affliction means something that
causes pain or suffering. I don’t know how He does it, but that’s what he uses.
Even Jesus suffered. He suffered bled and died on the cross. He was wounded for
our transgressions, bruised for our iniquites, (our flaws, our imperfections)
The chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes, we are healed.
Sharing Christ suffering transforms us.
It’s part of God’s process of making us more like Christ. When we suffer, we
become more like Jesus. Through suffering we get to really know Jesus.
Philippians 3:10
says: That I may know him (progressively become more deeply and intimately
acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders
of His Person more strongly and more clearly), and the power of his
resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto
his death.
Next: The Conclusion
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