TRIED IN THE FIRE SEVEN TIMES
Ps. 12:2-4,6
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. A mother was teaching her 3-year-old the Lord's prayer. For several evenings at bedtime she repeated it after her mother. One night she said she was ready to solo.
2. The mother listened with pride as she carefully enunciated each word, right up to the end of the prayer. "Lead us not into temptation," she prayed, "but deliver us from E-mail, Amen."
B. TEXT
“Everyone lies to their neighbor; they flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts. May the Lord silence all flattering lips and every boastful tongue—those who say, “By our tongues we will prevail; our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?” [But] the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times” Ps. 12:2-4,6
C. THESIS: THE WORD IS ALIVE!
1. The Bible is NOT like any other book in a bookstore. The words of this Book are ALIVE! They are divine in origin. Heb. 4:12 says, “For the Word of God is alive and active….”
2. Paul said, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” 2 Tim. 3:16, KJV. The Bible was given to correct our lives and show us how to live. It’s God’s instruction book for mankind.
3. In today’s verses, David compared God’s words to the purest gold, once it has finished going through the smelting process. This comparison contains a number of revelations about the Word.
4. The title of tonight’s message is “Tried in the Fire Seven Times.”
I. GOD’S WORDS REFINED
A. STEPS OF ANCIENT SMELTING
Ancient writers [Pliny, Theophilus, Agricola] outlined five steps to refine gold:
1. The ground up ore is combined with a flux, and lead, and heated to 1450° to 2000°C. [Fluxes are substances which promote fluidity, like limestone, silica, dolomite, lime, borax, and fluorite.]
2. Once liquefied, the liquid materials are poured from the crucible into a mold. The denser, heavier metals will pour out first and accumulate at the bottom of the mold.
3. After cooling, the metals (lead, silver, and possibly gold) at the bottom can be broken from the slag on top with a hammer.
4. The next step is to separate the lead from the silver and gold. For this, a special cup is made of compressed ashes. As it is heated to 900°C, the lead melts first and is absorbed into the cup, leaving only the silver and gold.
5. Next the silver and gold are dropped into a strong acid – nitric acid – which dissolves the silver, leaving only the gold. [Therasia von Tux, Brief Description of Smelting of Sliver/ Gold.]
6. So gold must pass through incredible heat, separations, burning and strong acids – all to get a tiny particle of gold!
B. THE SMELTING OF GOD’S WORDS
1. According to David, the Hebrews had seven steps to refine gold into its pure state.
2. David said that the refining process that gold passes through is similar to the process which God’s words pass through before God utters them!
3. There are 4 similarities between God’s Word and gold that reveal powerful truths about the Bible:
II. 4 SIMILARITIES BTW GOLD & GOD’S WORD
A. GOD’S WORD IS TRUSTWORTHY
1. Ps. 12:2-4 contrasts God’s words and human’s words:
HUMANS GOD’S WORDS
“Lies” “Truth”
“Flatter” “Accurate, Honest”
“Boastful” “Sober, Integrity”
2. Today in schools, atheists commonly declare that the Bible is primitive, full of contradictions and errors, etc. The truth is the Bible is the Word of God -- Divine, inerrant, eternal, unequalled, and is God’s Word to humanity. How do we know?
3. Archaeologists who once doubted the Bible have been convinced of its accuracy. Sir Wm. Ramsey, an atheist archeologist, of atheist parents, went to Asia minor to disprove the Book of Acts. He discovered and verified the names and locations of 32 countries, 54 cities, and 9 islands, exactly as the Bible stated. Convinced of the Bible’s truthfulness, he became an outstanding Christian.
4. Archeologist Nelson Glueck summed it up very well: “It may be stated categorically that no archeological discovery has ever controverted [disagreed with] a single biblical reference.”
5. ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE
a. Ancient Egyptians believed that the earth was supported by 5 marble pillars. Greeks believed it rested on the shoulders of the god Atlas. Hindus believed earth rested on the backs of elephants, which stood on the back of a huge tortoise, which was on top of a coiled serpent in the midst of a cosmic sea!
b. The Bible says, “He stretches out the north over the empty space, and hangs the earth upon nothing” Job 26:7. When medieval people thought the world was flat, the Bible had long before said, "It is He who sits above the circle of the earth...” Isaiah 40:22. This Hebrew word "circle" means “spherical. The Bible never promoted a flat earth!
6. PROPHECY. Of the Bible's 31,124 verses, 8,352 contains predictive material (27%). 81% of its prophecies have been documented as being fulfilled. The remaining 19% deals with the events yet future. God Almighty says, "I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come" Isa. 46:10.
B. GOD’S WORD (LIKE GOLD) IS INDESTRUCTIBLE
1. Pure gold has endurance to it; it’s indestructible. Just as pure gold suffers no loss by the fire, so the promises of God suffer no loss when they are tried, but prove a solid foundation to us in our greatest troubles.
2. Pure gold is indestructible; it will not corrode, rust or tarnish and cannot be destroyed by fire. Gold is and always has been recycled. All the gold excavated from the earth during all of recorded history is still being re-melted and used again and again.
3. The gold you own and wear today may once have adorned King Solomon's Temple, or been worn by Cleopatra or have been carried to Bethlehem by the wise men. It’s used over and over again.
4. That’s just like God’s promises – they’re always good no matter how many times you’ve used them. They can’t fail or expire; they are as enduring as the universe.
5. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” Mt. 24:35. Praise God! That’s something you can build your life on!
6. HUMOR
a. Two old friends met one day after many years, one rich and the other in debt. The indebted one asked the successful one, "How in the world did you make so much money?"
b. "I got my direction from the Bible. I stood my Bible on edge & let it fall open. I waved my finger in the air & it fell on
the word “oil.” So, I invested in oil, and boy, did the oil wells gush. Then another day I dropped my finger on another word, and it was “gold.” So, I invested in gold and those mines really produced. Now, I'm as rich as Rockefeller, all because of Bible."
c. The indebted man was so impressed that he rushed to his hotel, grabbed a Gideon Bible, flipped it open, and dropped his finger on a page. He opened his eyes and his finger rested on the words, "Chapter Eleven."
C. GOD’S WORD IS FLAWLESS/ PURE
1. Every Word of God has been Tested. In verse 6 David makes allusion to the most severely purifying process known to the ancients, through which gold was passed to obtain the greatest possible purity. The dross was all consumed, and only the bright and precious metal remained; it was free from all alloy of error or unfaithfulness.
2. The Holy Spirit can’t bear that falsehood should be mingled with the truth. That’s why He is called the “Spirit of Truth” and His job is to teach us the truth. So the Word of God is PERFECT, there’s not a single defect in it.
3. Verse 6 says, “like gold refined seven times.” There’s a mystic meaning in the expression "seven times." It’s used to describe the seven periods of the church, to the seventh day, seven trumpets, seven angels, seven Spirits, etc. It’s the number of completeness or of perfection.
4. The word “pure” is used 81X in Bible, mostly of pure gold. ALL other things aren’t pure enough. Job 15:15 says, “If God places no trust in his holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes….” Job 25:5 says, “If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his eyes….” Even the angels and flaming orbs of suns are not pure in God’s sight! The Bible is the “PURE” Word of God; there’s no leaven of other men’s thoughts in it.
5. Some try to say the Bible’s “concepts” are inspired; others claim only the direct words of God in it are inspired. But Jesus said it’s inspired down to the very words! Matthew 5:18, “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
6. PERFECT IN FULFILLMENT. God said in Isa. 55:11, “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” “Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave…” 1 Kgs. 8:56. You can have absolute faith in it!
D. LASTLY, GOD’S WORD IS VALUABLE
1. The purest gold can be is 24 karats. Most jewelry 18k (18/24), 14k (14/24), or the lowest, 10k (10 parts gold/14 parts other metals). The higher the purity, the higher the price. Purest gold is so soft that it can be molded by hand, so jewelry made with it would easily be scratched or bent. So jewelers combine the gold with others metals to make the jewelry more durable, which explains the different concentrations of gold.
2. David said that God’s Words are valuable like gold; Psalm 19:9-10, “The decrees [commands] of the Lord….are more precious than gold, than much pure gold.” Ps. 119:127-128; “Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path.
3. The word “precious” also means “RARE.” During the time of the Judges, there wasn’t many open communications from the Lord to His people. 1 Sam. 3:1 says, “And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.”
4. It’s terrible to live without God’s Word. It is our COMFORT, our ASSURANCE, it gives us HOPE, it FEEDS us with heavenly manna, it heals us. Psalm 107:20 says, “He sent his word, and HEALED them, and DELIVERED them from their destructions.” How we need the Word of God!
5. The Scriptures tell of a time when “People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it” Amos 8:12.
6. How tragic that so many people have the Bible but don’t bother to open it! Maybe we can make a new commitment to value the Bible above silver or gold!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. In the year A.D. 303, the Roman Emperor Diocletian issued a decree to stop the spreading flames of Christianity: the seizure and destruction of the Christian Scriptures.
2. Officials enforced the decree in North Africa. One of the targets was Felix, Bishop of Tibjuca, a village near Carthage.
3. The mayor of the town ordered Felix to hand over his Scriptures. Though some judges were willing to accept scraps of parchment, Felix refused to surrender the Word of God at the insistence of mere men.
4. Resolutely, he resisted compromise. Roman authorities finally shipped Felix to Italy where he paid for his stubbornness with his life.
5. On August 30, as the record puts it, "with pious obstinacy," he laid down his life rather than surrender his Gospels. [Christian Theology in Plain Language, p. 41.]
6. Whether you agree with his wisdom, you have to admire His overwhelming love and respect for the Scriptures.
7. May God give us such a fear of God and love for His Word that we likewise hold it in highest regard.
B. THE CALL
1. So the Word of God, like gold, is Trustworthy, Indestructible, Flawless, and Valuable. Moses said it’s your “life.” “They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing [the Jordan] to possess” Deut. 32:47.
2. The Bible is our Guidebook – it will get us through to Heaven. Can we make a new commitment to read it and put it into practice?
3. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the words of Christ” Rom. 10:17. The words of the Bible, if you trust them, will save your soul. How many of you want to trust Jesus as your Savior tonight? Prayer.
