MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD

PSALM 19:7-14

King James Version (NKJV)

⁷ The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
⁸ The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
⁹ The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
¹¹ Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.

¹² Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
¹³ Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

1 PETER 1.3-7

New King James Version (NKJV)

A Heavenly Inheritance

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵ who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
⁶ In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

The story of a couple who went to buy a souvenir for their home (cup)

Gold:-

-Is the most noble of the noble metals.

-Great human achievements are frequently rewarded with gold in the form of gold medals and golden trophies and other decorations.

-Winners of athletic events and other graded competitions are usually awarded a gold medal.

-Many awards such as the Nobel Prize are made from gold as well.

-Gold is further associated with wisdom of aging and fruition.

-The fiftieth wedding anniversary is golden.

-Similarly gold is associated with perfect or divine principles, such as in the golden ratio or golden rule.

-In Christianity gold is associated with both holiness and evil.

-The golden calf is a symbol of idolatry, while in the book of Genesis, Abraham was said to be rich in gold and silver, and Moses instructed to cover the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant with pure gold.

Gold is measured in Karats

Karat is the measure of purity

One karat is 1/24 purity by mass.

1 gram of gold 24k {gold karat}   3,452.09 kshs

1 gram of gold 10k {gold karat}   1,438.37 kshs

In popular culture, gold holds many connotations, but is most generally connected to terms such as good or great. E.g. “has a heart of gold’’, “that is golden”, “golden moment” like the one Kenya rugby team enjoyed on Sunday 30^th June, 2013 and Tuesday.2^ndJuly, 2013 as they road in 4 limousines from JKIA.

The wise weigh the thoughts on a scale of gold

Gold medals aren’t really made of gold; they are made of sweat, determination and a heart to find alloy called guts.

LOVE IS THE ONLY GOLD –Alfred Lord Tennyson

It is the health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold or silver, Mahatma Gandhi

For gold is tried in the fire and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity, George Santayana

Refining with flame is one of the oldest methods of refining metals

Even in the bible refining by fire is the preferable method for larger quantities of gold.

In ancient times, this form of refining involved a craftsman sitting next to a hot fire with molten gold in a crucible being stirred and skimmed to remove the impurities or dross that rose to the top of the molten metal with flames reaching temperatures in excess of 1000˚c.

This job was definitely a dangerous occupation for the gold refiner, but he had no option.

Psalm 19:17-14

To be made pure than gold is a process:

It starts by:-

1.   Verse 7 accepting and taking the Lord’s instructions

Whoever negative it may sound or appear to be

And the result is the reviving of one’s very being.

Revive means:-

I)            To bring back to life or consciousness, resuscitate

II)         To impart new health, vigor or spirit

III)       To restore from a depressed state

IV)        Regain life

V)          To become active or flourishing again

VI)        Quicken

2.   God’s regulations and commands are adhered to

And when you do this something else follows

It is the desire to command wisdom and follow God’s law.

In need of a heart looking forward to joy, the recipe is simple

Use the Lord’s regulations.

These regulations I may not like or love them but you know what?

They are always right!

And His commands are the source of purity.

I know you have been praying that he gives you a pure heart

These being the case, then, listen to this good news!

Stop complaining, murmuring and whining of how hot the furnace is!

You know what?

He, YWH, is right there in the furnace with you

He is turning you round for well rounded and total refining.

Friend you are becoming more precious than gold.

It is not instant:-

-there is heat to withstand

-it is breathtaking

-you will struggle to catch breadth

But I love it for Endurance has to come into play

Perseverance is a key requirement

I may not like the process now, but do not envy my quality later.

That admiration later is worth withstanding now.

When you hear me praying fluently over a long period of time realize it has not been all that rosy

It was not instantaneous like popping a can open.

I cost God to contain me in the furnace

This is what excites me most, that through this rugged process the Lord is with me

He follows his word to fulfill it i.e. He will never leave me or forsake me

Despite what is happening, God is achieving in me His eternal plan

Though I may not enjoy it right now, I will still myself in his presence that his will in me be brought to fruition.

I love it for LOVE is the only gold.

You may frown on me that I do not look the way you would like me to

But inside me, I am being made more precious than gold

God is not interested in the short term,

It is the final product that interests me however; long I stay in the furnace.

3.   To be more precious than gold calls for desire to be so.

The desire has to be stronger than the process

There will be heartbreaks for sure

Times are coming when jumping from the furnace will appear to be a wise idea

But allow me counsel you beloved of the father

Dear saint realize this:-

Character is given of God

He knows everything about us

He knows how I feel when I look myself up in the mirror

What I am thinking when nobody is around me

Character is built when we have choices.

Psalm 139:7 “When can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence’’?

Romans 5.3-5

“Rejoice/ glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulations produce perseverance, and perseverance character and character hope. Now hope due to suffering does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us”

The refining process brings about Beauty and Quality

Na kuvumilia nakwo?

Isaiah 48:10

Gold comes in ingot bars or scrap gold and is re-liquefied in a furnace

Other things, (soda ash and Borax) is added to the molten metal, which separates the pure gold from the other precious and less precious metals.

A sample is taken to a lab for tests.

This measures the gold content

In most cases, the gold is 99.9% pure

My beloved, we have come here in the Lord’s house outside there we encounter challenges that act as our spiritual thermometers is not spiritual furnace.

The bible declares in Proverbs 17.3

“The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold. But the Lord tests the heart’.

Allow the Lord to meet you and cast off the ill thoughts and shed off the sin that so easily clings to our hearts and entangles us!

He is the one who adds diverse challenges, lack, inadequacies or even locks the wombs only that we may allow him put us in the furnace of his word for refining.

His, God’s desire is that you are mixed with the fruit of the Spirit, worship, adoration and praise to come out 99.9% or even 100% pure.

It is important that you mix the word with your faith, Hebrews 4.2

Refining:-

        Reduce you to a pure state. Note the word REDUCES

        Frees you from moral imperfection

        Improves you by pruning (John 15:1-4)

        Frees all the coarse areas in my life

• Consider Abraham, he waited for a son fro a couple of years and after the blessing had come through God required that the same be the perfect sacrifice

You wonder how God can be so un-considerate and cruel

But this is just the process of being made more precious than gold

Know what all that you have, name it belongs to God.

•Job was another one

Trusted God so much that he could not take chances when his children were out alone to offer sacrifices on their behalf!

This God realized could be an avenue for him to start chest thumbing that he was righteous. Next course of action, God came down to prune him by removing everything he could have cast his trust upon.

And you ask God is this real fair?

The answer, the process of becoming more precious that gold has a price cap on it!

And the price is very dear!

I dare say, the price is not for the faint hearted.

• David in the sight of Bathsheba, his captains and soldiers, and prophet Nathan went down on his knees to confess his sin of adultery.

When the Lord decides it your time to become more precious than gold, it does not matter your position, where you are and whoever you are with.

Details to Him the maker of heaven and earth are inconsequential

•Jesus

His Gethsemane experience was the most unexpected and un-likeable

But God did not avoid it because He was His own son

Rather God looked at the bigger picture

The future

Jesus was achieving for me the fete of being more precious than gold.

The lord purified Jesus to achieve in me righteousness!

Halleluyah to the Lamb of God!

Geoffrey can stand here this day and minister to you the love of the cross that testifies of the precious gold he is being made into

It has not been smooth sailing but I thank God I have learnt that there is no GAIN without PAIN!

•Paul

His encounters all point to one cardinal truth, TRIUMPH ONLY COMES AFTER A HARD FOUGHT BATTLE.

Child of the Most High, are you in the furnace?

Only you can tell what furnace you are being turned in.

Marital, financial, lack of employment, difficult mates, envy, strife, hatred, etc you know it

Now is the time to reflect, and take the necessary course of action,

Thanksgiving, praise, petition, strengthening, adoration or even just resting in the presence of Jehovah

God’s desire is for us to go to the next level

You cannot go to the next level by maintaining the status quo

The Lord is waiting for us to start offering the offer of RIGHTEOUNESS, Malachi 3:2-4 woe unto you is you are slow to act

As we rise up it is time every one of before the father

With bended hearts reflect on our hearts

Which stage are you in?

Are you like purified silver that is pure and clearly reflects the image of God?

Or, is you silver clouded by impurities that the world has contaminated it with?

Remember, if the heart is turned up in your life, it could possibly be for your good, for the clarity of the character of God in you

Psalm 66:10 “For you, O God, have tested us: You have refined us as silver is refined”

Include worship song, prayer and then praise song as we celebrate the doing of God.

Believe it, Act it and Live it in Jesus' name.

Blessings!