SIFTED LIKE WHEAT
WHAT IS, THE “GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH”??? 6
THE STRUGGLE
“Simon, Simon, SATAN HAS ASKED TO SIFT ALL OF YOU AS WHEAT.
But I have prayed for you, Simon, THAT YOUR FAITH MAY NOT FAIL. And when you have turned back,
strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22
“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all
he has for his own life. But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and
bones, and HE WILL SURELY CURSE YOU TO
YOUR FACE.” Job 2
WE
MUST PAY THE MOST CAREFUL ATTENTION, therefore, to what we
have heard, SO THAT WE DO NOT DRIFT
AWAY. For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every
violation and disobedience received its just punishment, HOW SHALL WE ESCAPE IF WE IGNORE SO GREAT A SALVATION? Heb. 2
But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house.
And we are his house, IF INDEED WE HOLD
FIRMLY TO OUR CONFIDENCE AND THE HOPE IN WHICH WE GLORY. See to it, brothers and sisters, THAT NONE OF YOU HAS A SINFUL, UNBELIEVING HEART THAT TURNS AWAY FROM
THE LIVING GOD. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called
“Today,” SO THAT NONE OF YOU MAY BE
HARDENED BY SIN’S DECEITFULNESS. We have come to share in Christ, IF INDEED WE HOLD OUR ORIGINAL CONVICTION
FIRMLY TO THE VERY END. As
has just been said:
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you
did in the rebellion.”
Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those
Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not
with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? And to whom did
God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? SO WE SEE THAT THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO ENTER,
BECAUSE OF THEIR UNBELIEF. Heb. 3
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THOSE who have once been
enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy
Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the
coming age and WHO HAVE FALLEN AWAY,
to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of
God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Land that drinks in
the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom
it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and
thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. IN THE END IT WILL BE BURNED. Heb. 6
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter
the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for
us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest
over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and WITH THE FULL ASSURANCE THAT FAITH BRINGS,
having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having
our bodies washed with pure water. LET
US HOLD UNSWERVINGLY TO THE HOPE WE PROFESS, for he who promised is
faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and
good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,
but encouraging one another—and ALL THE
MORE AS YOU SEE THE DAY APPROACHING.
Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when
you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed
to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who
were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted
the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had
better and lasting possessions. SO DO
NOT THROW AWAY YOUR CONFIDENCE; IT WILL BE RICHLY REWARDED
YOU NEED TO PERSEVERE so
that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” And,
“But my righteous one WILL LIVE BY
FAITH.
AND I TAKE NO PLEASURE IN
THE ONE WHO SHRINKS BACK.”
BUT WE DO NOT BELONG
TO THOSE WHO SHRINK BACK AND ARE DESTROYED, BUT TO THOSE WHO HAVE FAITH AND ARE
SAVED. Heb. 10
His divine power has given us everything we need for a
godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and
goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises,
so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped
the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
FOR THIS VERY REASON, MAKE
EVERY EFFORT TO ADD TO YOUR FAITH goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control;
and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual
affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these
qualities in increasing measure, THEY
WILL KEEP YOU FROM BEING INEFFECTIVE AND UNPRODUCTIVE IN YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF OUR
LORD JESUS CHRIST. BUT WHOEVER DOES NOT HAVE THEM IS
NEARSIGHTED AND BLIND, FORGETTING THAT THEY HAVE BEEN CLEANSED FROM THEIR PAST
SINS.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO CONFIRM YOUR CALLING AND ELECTION. For if you
do these things, YOU WILL NEVER STUMBLE,
AND YOU WILL RECEIVE A RICH WELCOME INTO THE ETERNAL KINGDOM OF OUR LORD AND
SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST.
So I will always remind you of these things, even though
you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I THINK IT IS RIGHT TO REFRESH YOUR MEMORY
AS LONG AS I LIVE IN THE TENT OF THIS BODY, because I know that I will soon
put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. (The Apostle Peter)
Then Job replied to the Lord: “I know that
you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is
this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did
not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. “You said, ‘Listen now,
and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had
heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and
repent in dust and ashes.”
The Lord blessed the latter part
of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six
thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. And he also
had seven sons and three daughters. The first daughter he named Jemimah, the
second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. Nowhere in all the land were there
found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an
inheritance along with their brothers.
After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his
children and their children to the fourth generation. And so Job died, an old
man and full of years. Job 42
Neither Job nor Peter nor
Paul fell into apostasy through unbelief while being “sifted by Satan”!
They ALL “kept the Faith”!
Now it is our turn to “keep
the Faith” to the end!
(Next: The Cosmic WWF)
