Tried In The Fire Seven Times

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!