God’s New Math: Addition Through Subtraction

This morning our Pastor’s sermon was on sanctification and his title was the same as this post.  He preached from two texts, which I quote:

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, ¹² training us to renounce ungodliness andworldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, ¹³  waiting for our blessedhope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ¹⁴  who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.  –  Titus 2:11-14

23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.  –  1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

The best part of the sermon though was the illustration, which was about the purifying of silver.

Silver is mined from the ground in the form of silver ore.  The ore is pulverized into powder and then put into a pot or cauldron where it is heated to over 900 degrees Celsius.  As the silver melts, it sinks to the bottom, being heavier than the surrounding ore.  Once all of the silver is melted, the slag, or dross, is left on the top where it is scooped off and disposed of.  When the process is almost complete, the refiner will stir the molten silver to make sure that there are no pockets of slag remaining under the surface.  As these pockets are loosened, they too float to the top, where they can be disposed of.

The refiner knows the process of purification (or in human terms, sanctification) is complete when he looks into the surface of the silver and sees his own image reflected without blemish.

The analogy of God purifying His saints is perfect.  As God subtracts the sin from our lives, He replaces it with His holiness.  His work in us is complete when He looks into our being, and the reflection He sees is His own, perfect in holiness.

 

My daily prayer:  Lord, I ask that You remove from my life anything that displeases You, until all that You see when You look at me is You.

Take My Life

Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.

 

Take my voice and let me sing
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every power as You choose.

 

::Chorus::
Here am I, all of me.
Take my life, it’s all for Thee.

 

Take my will and make it Thine
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart it is Thine own
It shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord I pour
At Your feet it’s treasure store
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.

 

Here am I, all of me.
Take my life, it’s all for Thee.

 

Here am I, all of me.
Take my life, it’s all for Thee.

Revival Is Our Only Hope

Having grown up in a home that was politically active,it is second nature for me to cast a watchful eye towards America’s political landscape and the political, social, and economic problems we now face.

But as bad as Americas problems may be, or the problems being faced by other nations for that matter, I am thoroughly convinced that answers  are not to be found in the political, social, and economic arenas.  The reason for this conviction is simple.  America’s, or the world’s, woes are spiritual, and offering solutions in these arenas of human endeavor will only add to and extend the problem.