THIRD QUARTER 2022
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #2
JULY 9, 2022
“THE CRUCIBLES THAT COME”

 

The purpose of each crucible that comes, allowed by God for the purpose of purification, is to test our faith and make it more valuable than fine gold. This is of course a key feature of the Laodicean message. Are we willing to approach each test in Christ? To sup with Him is to enter into the crucible with Him and experience His victory. He is never surprised by the tests that come our way, whether from Satan, sin, death to self, or dealing with disappointments which expose our weaknesses. His faith is our victory!

 

From A.T. Jones:

 

“Let me say to you, my brethren and sisters, the trial of your faith, I care not how weak it may be, is more precious in the sight of our Wonderful Counselor, is more precious in the sight of God, than all the gold and jewels in all the safe deposit vaults that are on earth.

 

“Do not be afraid that He is going to forget it. What does He call it? More precious than gold that perisheth. Who is it that says that? The Wonderful Counselor, the Lord Himself. Let us then thank Him that He regards our weak, trembling faith like that. Well then, brethren, haven't we right there one of the greatest possible encouragements that the Lord can offer? Why people bewail their weak faith, I do not know. Sometimes you say, 'I haven't any faith.' Well, the Lord says you have, and I say, Thank Him for what you have. I do not care how little you have, though it be like the mustard seed, thank Him that you have it and thank Him that it is more precious to Him than all the gold and wealth of this earth. That is the way the Lord regards your faith.

 

“You are not to question whether you have faith or not. God says you have it, and it is so. “Let us read Romans 10:6-8: 'But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach.’

 

“Then it is right to bewail and wonder whether we have faith or not? Not so. God has planted faith in every heart that is born into this world, by that Light which lighteth every man which cometh into the world. God will cause that faith to grow exceedingly and He will reveal His righteousness unto us as it grows, 'from faith to faith.' Where does faith come from, anyway? God gave it to us. Who is the Author of faith? Christ, and that light which lighteth every man which cometh into the world is Jesus Christ. This is the faith that is in every man's heart. If each one uses the faith which he has, he will never have any lack of faith, but if he will not use the faith that he has, how in the world is he going to get any more?

 

“Then we have faith, have we not? And the trial of your faith is 'more precious' than all the gold that ever was on this earth. Mark you, it is more precious in the sight of God. Not that gold is precious in His sight--that is not the thought at all. It is more precious in the sight of God than all the gold would be in the sight of a man. How precious would all the gold be if a man had it all? Would not he think himself rich? would not he pride himself upon it wonderfully? Then do not forget that the trial of that faith which you have--no matter how small it may be--is more precious in the sight of God than all the gold of this world would be in the sight of a man. So then 'the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold which perisheth, though it be tried with fire,' is precious in the sight of God. Who is the most interested in that process? [Congregation: 'The Lord.'] Assuredly! For I cannot express how precious it is in His sight. My idea of how precious it is in His sight is just as far from the reality of it as my thoughts are from His thoughts.

 

“Consequently, He is the most interested person in all the universe in the trial of our faith, in the working of our faith, and all the process of it. Isn't it a gift from Him? Isn't it to His interest? This is the true light, in which we should view this matter.

 

“Then we read further: 'Though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, Whom having not seen, ye love.' Do we not? He says we do, and it is so. 'In Whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.' Is not that so? Assuredly it is. But, brethren, I often think of that verse 'Whom having not seen, ye love,' and believing it is so, I wonder what in the world it will be when we see Him? And the blessedness of it is, we will not have to wait long for that now. [Congregation: 'Praise the Lord.']

 

“There is another passage I will refer to, found in the 12th verse of the 4th chapter of 1 Peter: 'Beloved.' Who? 'Beloved.' Is that so? Why, brethren, how can we be anything else than the gladdest people on the earth, when God talks to us like that? He comes and makes Himself the Wonderful Counselor and wants to counsel and talk with us and the first word He says is, 'Beloved.' Now we have thought many a time that when the angel came to Daniel directly, and said, 'O man greatly beloved,' that that was quite a personal statement. It can be no more personal than this is to you and me. He comes Himself and says, 'Beloved.'

 

“Then, 'think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.' The word to us now, brethren, is, 'beloved.' Let us use the word in that way. Beloved, we are to treat the fiery trials as strangers henceforth? There is nothing strange about it. Then it will not surprise us when we meet them. You know a great many people are somewhat diffident and bashful and when they meet a stranger suddenly face to face, they are quite out of countenance. Now if you and I are going to be diffident and bashful about the trials--we are going to come face to face with some of them one of these days, a brawny one--and then if we are diffident and bashful at all, we will be put out of countenance. But just as certainly as anybody is put out of countenance by a trial, just so certainly the enemy has got the victory there. That is the way he wants to catch us off our guard, so that we will be startled and put out of countenance for even a moment, and he will get in his fiery darts and wound us.

 

“The Lord comes and counsels us like this: 'Think it not strange.' So then when we meet these fiery trials, we are not going to meet a stranger. Do you see? We will be acquainted. We will know them. I do not care how bashful or diffident a person is, when he meets an acquaintance, he is not astonished at any sudden meeting. He will not be put out of countenance, but he is glad to meet his acquaintance. Then the Lord wants us to be so well acquainted with fiery trials that, no matter how suddenly we meet them, we can say, 'All right, glad to meet you, sir. I know you, come along.' Then when he tells us this, let us not think it strange concerning the fiery trials 'as though some strange thing happened' unto us. We are not to meet them and deal with them as strangers, but as acquaintances. Not only that, but we are to meet them as helpers on to Zion.

 

“James told us long ago, 'My brethren, count it all joy' when we fall into divers temptations. What did he call us there? 'My brethren.' James 1:2. He calls us 'My brethren' here, and other places we are called 'Beloved.' What does 'divers' mean? Different. What does Peter call it? 'Manifold.' Then, my brethren, count it all joy when we fall into 'divers,' diverse, different, and various kinds of temptations. So, we see by these different definitions that the thought is, count it all joy when we fall into all kinds of temptations, and we will count none of them strange, because we are to regard them all as acquaintances.

 

“We read further: 'But rejoice, inasmuch as ye'--shall be partakers? Oh no, but 'rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings.' That is the point. In James he says, 'My brethren.' Now let us read a text that will connect both of them. Hebrews 2:10-12:

 

“'For it became him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.'

 

“This is why he calls us brethren, and why we are to count it all joy when we fall into divers temptations; for He has been there. He has met every one of them. He has met each temptation to its fullest extent. He has passed through all these things for us. Then He comes back and says to us, I will pass through them with you. He passed through them alone for us first; now He passes through them with us. 'I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the people there was none with me.' But thank the Lord, God was with Him, for 'the Father hath not left me alone.' Thank the Lord that He had the royal courage to do it alone, trusting only the father to be with Him. And oh, how good He is, not to ask us to try it alone. No. He comes and says, I will go with you through all these trials. My brethren, He will go with you. So, then this is why we are not to count them strange. He calls us His brethren, and He has passed through every one of these trials and is well acquainted with them, and therefore we are not to count them strangers.

 

“Is Christ a stranger to trials? No. How many trials did He meet? All. How many trials that you will ever meet, did He meet? Every one of them. To what extent did He bear the contest upon each one of the temptations? To the fullest extent on each point. With whom was He contending on these things? Satan. Satan knows more tricks and trials and temptations than any man would ever be obliged to meet alone, doesn't he? And he tried every one of them on 'my Brother,' did he not? He tried every temptation on Jesus. To what extent of his effort did he have to try each of them on Jesus? To the fullest extent. Did he not have to exert all the power he knows on each single point in the temptations and trials of Jesus? He did. Did not Satan try everything that he knows in every way that he could possibly invent, on Him? And did not he try it to the fullest possible extent that he could try it? Yes. Well, then, has not all his reservoir of trickery, of temptation, and trial, been exhausted on Christ? And has he not exhausted all the power that he has to use in any of these trials and temptations? Yes. Well, then, when I am in Jesus, and when He is in me, how much power has Satan left to affect me with? [Congregation: 'None.'] How many remaining tricks does he know to play on me? There are none. Do you not see, then, that when we are in Christ we have the victory; we have it now.

 

Victory is not the only word; we have the triumph, and we have it now.

 

“Now 2 Corinthians 2:14: 'Now thanks be unto God.' When? Now. 'Which always causeth us to triumph.' When? Always. Is that so [Audience: 'Yes.'] 'Always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge.' How? By us. Is that so? And maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us.' Where? [Audience: 'In every place.'] Think of it. When is it? Now and always, that is when. How? By us. Where? Everywhere. Then I would like to know what in the world is the reason we have not the victory in Christ. I would like to know what in the world is the reason we are not conquerors now. 'This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.' Is it? Yes, that is the victory. Christ is our victory. His victory is my victory, isn't it? Yes. Well, then, when we are in Him we are perfectly safe, are we not? Are we safe as long as we are in Him? Yes (February 9, 1893 ATJ, GCDB 202-4).”

 

~Todd Guthrie