SERIOUS ENOUGH TO LIVE IT

February 25, 2001 am
MF Blume

Hebrews 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
Hebrews 4:11-12 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

We will get to this introductory scripture later, but let us now turn to the following:

Last week we spoke of Moses at the burning bush, and the branches that God has called us to be.

People burning and on fire with God’s Spirit manifesting through their lives, and not being consumed themselves.

Exodus 3:2

And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

The same picture that John saw in Revelation, where the churches were the candlesticks/branches made of gold according to tabernacle standards.

1 Corinthians 3:11-17
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which [temple] ye are.

The reason we are going to 1 Corinthians 3 is due to the fact that Jesus Christ is seen in Revelation 1 as gold and brass, with candlesticks like branches made out of gold.

Those who are His branches, shining forth the light of Christ’s life outward to all, must be golden.

And the Corinthians, who were rebuked for envying and division, were warned that their lives are meant to consist of the things that cannot be burned.
Wood, hay and stubble speak of the carnality the Corinthians manifested.
And Paul said these things can be burned away under the fire of Christ.

When we know what the Lord says about these things, and continue on in them anyhow, we are not at all serious about God.

As Moses was pictured by the Burning Bush as a man tried by fire and who lost all of his self-prompting, to become a true deliverer for God, a branch not being burned by fire, Paul urges the Corinthians to build of their lives golden, silver and precious stones.

Moses was so self-prompted forty years beforehand, but hesitated to even speak to Pharaoh when God spoke to him to do so.
But the trials burned away all that stubble, and Moses was left like a branch that cannot be consumed for his life was now all gold, silver and precious stones, spiritually speaking.

Jesus is afire in glory.

Ezekiel 1:26-27
And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.

He is afire.

Revelation 1:14-15
His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

Jesus is afire in glory.

And those who would come close to Him will see the carnality burned away in His glory.
But to completely be comprised of fleshliness would leave one completely burned away with their carnality.
Such people cannot be branches of Christ.

Israel was bound in Egypt, and departed following Moses.

But many of the people who left did not get Egypt out of their lives.
They held on to the wood, hay and stubble of the Egyptian ways, and had no traits of faith towards God.
And in the end they were destroyed in the wilderness, and failed to pass the test.

God is preparing us to shine for eternity.

And we must bear as much fruit now as we can and become accustomed to union to the Lord.

The light and flames on the candlesticks speak of the fruit the Lord wants us to bear.

John 15:1-2
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

You cannot stay connected to Him as a branch if you are not producing fruit, because you will be burned up anyway.

John 15:6
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

Here is the same picture again.

Branches capable of bearing fruit but being hindered by other elements and in need or being purged.
Branches that never shine are in danger.
I want to shine.
I want to be purged of anything that would hinder the Lord from shining through my life.

True branches are purged to be made more fruitful.

This makes them true extensions of the Lord.
Anything that is self-prompting must be purged away.

The gold of Jesus is united to the gold of the candlesticks and branches.

John 14:10
Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

Here we read that Christ was a perfect expression of the Father.

Everything the Lord inspires someone to preach to you will push you this way, too.
And then we read:

John 14:11-12

Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

And then we get into chapter 15 where we are told to be his branches.

The picture is clear.
Being like the Lord in full obedience to the Father, is what Jesus is asking of us.
He was a perfect extension of the Father.
Let us be purged and perfected extensions of Him.

Joshua came to a place where he could minister.

After 40 years, he entered holy ground where an angel told him to remove his shoes.
He removed his shoes as Moses did.
Joshua, too, had been purged.

We all have fleshliness that must be removed.

Moses abandoned his self-prompting.
Joshua became free of the elders who doubted God due to clinging to Egyptians ways of the world, and they could not trust God.
Both these men became leaders used by God.
They entered their ministries.
When their varying forms of fleshliness had been removed, they moved into their callings.

God wants to make all of us His branches, but He must burn away our fleshliness.

Every one of us have a ministry that will shine, and perhaps has shone many times.
But there are things in your life that sidetrack you from that.
Although it is in various forms, your self-preservation is an enemy to you all.
The enemy will engineer events so that you are personally attacked.
And you will be sidetracked and cease your ministries until you abandon self-preservation and self-urging, and truly be God’s branch.
Your fleshliness will rear itself up and completely captivate your mind with the issue.
And God is robbed of using you as a means of expressing His will.

You need to get to the place where you react by letting it ride, whenever someone attacks you.

You will continue your work for God.
You realize that you are more concerned over yourself than God’s will when you react to attacks and forget completely about your work for God.

This is how hindrances block fruit from growing in the branches.

These are the things that must be purged.

New believers struggle with just trying to keep a relationship with God in existence.

They must keep in mind that the things of the world strangle the relationship with God, and the fruit they must first learn to bear is a living relationship with God.
Joshua came into branch-hood when he entered Canaan.
Joshua clung to the word of God.
When the others failed to mix God’s word with faith, Joshua and Caleb both succeeded.

Hebrews 4:2

For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

How do you know you have faith in God’s word?

Joshua’s faith was shown when he marched boldly into the land, knowing there were giants there, and threatened what turned out to be an angel!
He knew that God was in control.
He believed it and proved it by the actions he took.
He took God seriously enough until he acted upon it in real life.

How many people go to churches across the world and never once take Him seriously enough to apply what His word says to real life?

Hebrews 4 also speaks of a sword of the Word as it talks to us about entering a place of rest, as Joshua entered Canaan.

Hebrews 4:11 -12

Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

This flaming sword is going to purge you of all fleshliness that will hinder His will from flowing through your life as a branch, so that you can accomplish a great ministry for God!

Mix the word with faith, and since the word is sharper than any twoedged sword, it will purge you of all unbelief, and you will be rendered a strong believer of faith.
Be serious enough about this to do it.
Be not hearers only but doers.
Serious enough to live it.
Try it, you'll like it. It really works! God will be with you!