Power Of Solid Gold

Key Scriptures:  "Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of His victory." 1 Peter 1:7, The Message

Power Point:

    In the "olden" days, (even before me!), gold was pure, and valuable, and expensive.  Pure gold was SOLID Gold.  Eventually, jewelers learned how to coat inexpensive metals with gold and the cost came down significantly.  Unfortunately, so did the value. 

      One of the processes to refine gold, which the Bible speaks about, involves the craftsman sitting next to a hot fire, (1000 degrees Celsius or greater) beside a crucible containing the gold.  He constantly stirs and then skims the dross, which rises to the top to remove the impurities from the gold. Eventually he is rewarded with pure gold.

    When you think about it, God promises to keep refining us until the end result is solid, pure gold. I guess you could say, that Jesus, as the Author and the Finisher of our faith, is seated right next to the fiery trials that we face and He continually stirs and skims off the impurities that rise to the top.  He is quite oblivious to the heat of the fire because He knows that the end result for us will be a solid gold faith, and that faith is the currency of the Kingdom of God.

     In the last few years, I've been in the fire-a LOT! Jesus remained unperturbed.  As the dross has risen to the top, He has allowed me to see some of the impurities in my faith.  I must say I was usually surprised! I thought I was perfect enough the way I was.  (Smile). 

     A few weeks ago, my grandson, JD, asked me to tell him what I believed about the

Tribulation. (He's TWELVE!)  Was I Pre-Mid- or Post?  My early position was Pre-Trib.  I liked that option better.  Honestly, I hadn’t thought about it for a long time.  As I prayed and asked for the Holy Spirit's wisdom on this one, I began to think about the purpose of the church.  It's our job to represent Christ to the lost and perishing.  It's our job to overcome evil.  Is it just slightly possible that the most important job we have ahead is doing that in the beginning of the End Times? Could it just be possible that the refining of our faith now is to prepare us to be solid gold warriors then? Is Jesus preparing warriors who have all the impurities strained out of their faith so that they can go to war against evil and bring heaven to earth?

     Would you say your faith is solid gold or gold-plated?  Would it be easy to scratch off the surface and find more gold underneath or is the covering easily removed to reveal a less valuable base?  Beloved, Jesus did not come to earth simply to provide us with a cushy seat in heaven.  He came so that we could share the seat of His authority and release that authority through our faith on earth.  When you face the trials of your faith here, they're never meant to defeat you but to allow you to see where your faith is now and where Jesus intends for it to finish up-with a flourish!

     Solid gold faith is the result of faith that has been tested and purified.  It doesn't happen easily or quickly. It involves perseverance and endurance and believing in what God has promised you. It is polished through the tests and comes out shining through and through.  Solid gold faith is what we all long to have, and it is what Jesus plans for us to have. He's no quitter.  You are on your way to being pure gold, solid to the core.

Power Declarations:

In every trial, I come forth shining like gold.  Jesus is polishing up my faith so that it gleams in the Light. I am kept by God's power, in God's power. My faith shines brighter every day.  It is a valuable commodity with great dividends.

 Copyright ©, 2015, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work