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THE MAKING OF GOD’S SPARKLING JEWELS (PART I)
We are New Testament believers. God created us for good works. We have access by the Spirit of God through Jesus to God. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Father and the Son dwell in us. We are the carriers of His glory, we have the mind of Christ, as heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ we are seated in heavenly places with Christ and God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
If the Father of Jesus Christ, who gave us the Holy Spirit by whom we cry Abba Father ( John 20:16, 17; Romans 8 : 15, 16; Galatians 4 : 6) is truly our Father - a very wealthy Father, we know by experience and by His dealings with us, believers should be Sparkling Jewels and not live like beggars who suffer from acute power failure and are unable to connect God in order to access and bring down their blessings in the heavenly places - inheritance of the Saints in the light.
This discourse divided into two parts presents us with Twelve Essential Principles we need to know and live by in order to receive our God -given inheritance of the Saints in the light and truly live as sons and daughters of God who owns the earth and all its fullness and "every beast of the forest and the cattle on a thousand hills" ( Psalm 50 : 10, 12). Here we go!
TEXT: MALACHI 3:16-18, 2 COR 8:9
We are in the season set aside in God's calendar to make sparkling jewels out of those who wait on Him, who fear and think in his name. As His saints, God is transforming us into gems (God’s Special Treasure, Exodus 19: 1-6). God began with Israel (Deuteronomy 7:6) but they couldn't enter’t into the Promised land except Joshua and Caleb "For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people to Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth" (nkjv). In this season, God is inviting us to be that special people to Him (1 Peter 2:9-10) “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who were once not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but have now obtained mercy” (nkjv).
God is determined to make a difference between us who serve Him and the wicked who serve Him not. He is a rewarder. On this the book of Hebrews says “But without faith it is impossible to please Him (God), for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (nkjv) and we cannot afford to treat His reward casually, knowing that reward is spiritual. We should balance expectations (faith) with the discipline of delayed gratification (patience) (Hebrews 11:24-26.
“It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up ,refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.”(nlt)
Again the book of Hebrews tells us: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witness to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this in keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith, Because of the joy awaiting Him (Jesus), He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor besides God’s throne” (Hebrews 12:1-2 nlt)
How we manage our expectations and appetite for reward is vital to who we are becoming. It separates the noble person from the crooked. (1Samuel 25:4-11) " When David heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep, he sent ten of his young men with this message for Nabal "Peace and prosperity to you, your family, and everything you own! I am told that it is sheep -shearing time. While your shepherds stayed among us near Carmel, we never harmed them, and nothing was ever stolen from them. Ask your own men, and they will tell you this is true. So would you be kind to us, since we have come at a time of celebration. Please share any provision you might have on hand with us and with your friend David. David's young men gave this message to Nabal in David's name, and they waited for a reply.
"Who is this fellow David? " Nabal Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I've slaughtered for my shearers and give to a band of outlaws who come from who knows where?" (nlt)
Points To Ponder
1. The Jeweller who makes the Jewels for God is the Lord Jesus Christ. The bible tells us in the Book of Malachi "Look! I am sending my messenger and he will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to His temple. The Messenger of the Covenant who, you look for so eagerly is surely coming, says the Lord of Heaven's Armies.
But who will be able to endure it when He comes? Who will be able to stand and face Him when He appears? For He (Jesus, the Lord) will be like a blazing fire that refines metal or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes. He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord. Then once more the Lord will accept the offerings brought to Him by the people of Judah and Jerusalem as He did in the past. At that time I will put you on trial…. witness against all sorcerers....adulterers … liars… speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows. ..orphans or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear Me" says the Lord of Heaven's armies" (Malachi 3: 1,5 nlt).
2. He takes us through the furnace and purges us, making us as silver and gold.
3. As gold and silver, we are to reflect God’s image and shine for God. Going through the fiery furnace will not be easy but at the end, we will look exactly like Jesus.
If the Father of Jesus Christ, who gave us the Holy Spirit by whom we cry Abba Father (John 20: 16-17), is truly our Father- a very wealthy Father, we know by experience and by His dealings with us, believers should be sparkling Jewels and not live like beggars, who suffer from acute power failure and are unable to connect God in order to access and bring down their blessings in the heavenly places. They are misrepresenting Jesus, for example, apostle Paul told the Corinthian church "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor that you through His poverty may become rich" (2 Corinthian 8 : 9 nkjv).
And again in the book of Revelation apostle John in the Island of Patmos tells us "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing !" (Rev.5:12 nkjv)
To overcome this challenge and avoid the disaster of the prevailing global famine that defy logic, here are Twelve Essential Principles that we need to know and live by as sparkling gems.
If we embrace them, we can receive our God given inheritance of the Saints in the Light.
The Twelve Essential Principles are here discussed. In this Part1 we discuss six of these principles.
1. God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Heavenly places in Christ.Ephesians 1:3 tells us “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (nkjv). Clarifying this further, in the New Living Translation of the bible, Paul tells us in the same scripture, Ephesians 1:3 “All praise to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ” God is not about to do it. He has done it.
2. The exact location in the Heavenly Places where Christ is seated with our blessings is far above principalities, powers, might, and dominion and every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come.(nkjv) In the New Living Translation we have it "...far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else - not only in this world but also in the world to come" Ephesians 1:13-23 especially verse 21 (nlt). Our blessings are beyond the reach of our enemies.
3. To access this level where there is no devil, we must receive the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ so that our eyes of understanding would be enlightened to locate, access and appropriate our spiritual blessings in the Heavenly Places.
4. Our blessings in the Heavenly places are also called the inheritance of the saints in the light, therefore God qualified us for those blessings by translating us from the kingdom of darkness and conveying us into the kingdom of the Son of His love (Jesus) so that we can be partakers of the same (inheritance of the saints in the light). Colossian 1:12-14 ..."always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to His people who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins” (nlt).
5. As the entrance of God’s word brings light and understanding to His people, it also eliminates darkness so that our translation into the kingdom of Light makes us completely unreachable to Satan and his allies"...So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the gtory of the Lord. And the Lord- who is the Spirit- makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image” (2 Corinthians 3:18 nlt). We are going to shine just as He shone. Praise God!
6. God has by His grace made us alive while we were dead in trespasses and has raised us up to sit together in Heavenly Places in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:4-6) “But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!). For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavily realms because we are united with Christ Jesus."(nlt). It is from this vantage position that we have access to Heaven's perspectives and therefore we can laugh at barrenness and famine. The Psalmist says: “Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever. They will not be disgraced in bad times, even in famine, they will have more than enough” (Psalm 37:18-19 nlt). We also laugh at destruction, or when Satan or any of his allies shows up as Hannah testified in I Samuel 2:1 “My heart rejoices in the Lord ; My horn is exalted in the Lord, I smile at my enemies, Because I rejoice in your salvation” (nkjv). And the Psalmist again in Psalm 2:1-4 declares “Why do the nations rage, And the people plot in vain?The kings of the earth set themselves-and the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed saying;
“Let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us”
He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The lord shall hold them in decisionb (Psalm 2:1-4 nkjv).
Question to engage our hearts and meditate on:
1. Do we believe we are in the season that God is transforming us His Sparkling Jewels ?
2. What should we do to look, smell and sound like God and reflect His Image?
What can we say to these! When we, the Jewels of God offer to Him offering of righteousness, judgment falls upon sorcerers, adulterers, perjurers and exploiters who plunder and rob us.
Isaiah the prophet iis firm on this.
“Listen! The armies of many nations roar like the roaring of the sea, Hear the thunder of the mighty forces as they rush forward like thundering waves But though they thunder like breakers on a beach God will silence them, and they will run away They will flee like chaff scattered by the wind Like a thimbleweed whirling before a storm.
In the evening Israel wait in terror but by dawn its enemies are dead.
This is the just rewarded of those who plunder us, a fitting end to those who destroy us.” (Isaiah 17:12-14 nlt).From Israel’s prophecy these plunderers and robbers will face their due reward. They will not escape the fierce and severe judgment of God. So, as we see many elevated, we will also see the downfall of many. This is the destiny of Jesus Christ.
“Jesus' parents were amazed at what was being said about Him. Then Simeon blessed them, and He said to Mary, the baby’s mother “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall but He will be a joy to many others. He has been sent from God but many will oppose Him." (Luke 2:33-34 nlt). That judgment began recently in some nations and many others and it will not stop until such plunderers are completely uprooted and neutralized. Other nations harboring such wicked people will have to contend with the fulfillment of this prophetic word.
PRAYER
Lord grant us the grace to walk in these principles and access our inheritance in Jesus' Name. AMEN.
In part 2 of this message we will discuss the remaining Six Principles.
PEACE TO YOU, PEACE TO YOUR HOUSE AND PEACE TO ALL YOU HAVE AMEN!