Buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich...

 

Luke 8:3-8 (LB), “A farmer went out to his field to sow grain.   As he scattered the seed on the ground, some of it fell on a footpath and was trampled on; and the birds came and ate it as it lay exposed.  Other seed fell on shallow soil with rock beneath. This seed began to grow, but soon withered and died for lack of moisture.  Other seed landed in thistle patches, and the young grain stalks were soon choked out.   Still other fell on fertile soil; this seed grew and produced a crop one hundred times as large as he had planted. (As he was giving this illustration he said, ‘If anyone has listening ears, use them now!’)”

We live in abundance.   Our biggest struggle is not typically that we don’t have enough to get by.   Rather it is that we have so much and get distracted.   There is option after option available.   When we look at these verses from the overflow perspective we live in, what we hear is that, while our hearts have multiple soils, the good soil will produce good fruit.   We can view this and think to ourselves that partial transformation is better than none.

Yet, the folks hearing this at the time were farmers who were depending upon their crop for survival.   They would hear this and think to themselves, ‘Who would sow good seed in soil that is not prepared?’  The farmers took great care to cultivate the soil and prepare it for the seed.   They would have removed the rocks, tilled the shallow soil and fully prepared the ground to receive so that the crops would abound. They would watch over with great care that weeds did not choke out this crop.  It was a waste to spread seed on unprepared soil.

One author writes about revival, “We are often guilty of thinking that God will just miraculously produce revival.  While He is capable of doing so, we should cultivate a spirit of revival in our own hearts…To reap the harvest of revival, we must prepare by breaking up the hardened soil of our own hearts.  That may not be attractive, but it is an absolute in the soil and in the soul.”

We need to break up follow ground, remove stones and pull up the things that choke out the word in our own lives so that our hearts are prepared and ready to receive the seed in a way that bears fruit in our lives.  

When I hear this, being performance oriented, I often think of my part and all that I can do. I think to myself, ‘What can I do to get it right and do things better?’  Yet, when I was praying for someone yesterday about performance as a stronghold, I told them, ‘You can’t perform your way out of performance.’    Surprised that this came out of my mouth as it hit me profoundly at the same time.   

A rock in my life is wanting to get it all right.  Yet, in trying to get it all right, I am operating out of performance and my own strength which is exactly what I need to root out.   It comes out of the wrong place of living – in my own self-sufficiency.

There was someone like this in the Bible.   He was a rich young ruler.  He asked Jesus, “Good rabbi, what should I do to obtain eternal life?”  The Lord first corrected Him on calling Him good.  He said, “No one is good except God!”

Jesus, while being without sin, refused to allow Himself to be labeled by His performance as good.  He was saying, let’s start by not defining ourselves or others by good or bad because only One is good.  He pointed the rich young ruler back to God.

The Lord brought this young man’s performance to the surface by answering his question by telling him the commands that none can fully uphold.  They are commands are meant to drive us to God rather than perfection.   Having deep love for him even in his delusion of his ability to maintain performance in his own strength, the Lord tells him to sell all he has and give it to the poor.  

Here is the dividing line that he couldn’t cross—giving himself away freely and fully.  Why? His performance wasn’t rooted in love. It was rooted in self-sufficiency.  Performance will always fall short as it is rooted in our own sufficiency.  

 Ecclesiastes 7:16-18 (CJB) says in wisdom,  “So don’t be overly righteous or overly wise; why should you disappoint yourself?  But don’t be overly wicked, and don’t be foolish; why should you die before your time?   Don’t grasp just one of these rules, take hold of the other as well; for he who is in fear of God will live by both of them.”

He is saying, don’t put all your energy into getting it right.  While you try to walk according to the commands, give ourselves grace as we ask for help.  Let the commands bring brokenness and abandon in doing our best to glorify God with our lives.

But outside of this, for someone we deeply love like our child in need, wouldn’t we sell all we have if it was needed to care for them?  Giving ourselves away freely comes from a place of love.  We don’t perform our way into it but love our way through it.

In Luke 9:48 (LB) Jesus says, “Your care for others is the measure of your greatness.”   When we break-up our hard ground, rather than gritting teeth to get it right, God is calling us to a deeper place of love.   A place of love of Him and out of this, a love for others.

I love the way that each of the gospels start in the Living Bible.  I am in Luke that starts with, “Dear friend who loves God.”  Isn’t this what it is all about to live out a holy life before God? We love Him and then let it influence everything we do in our lives toward love.

I’ve been reading in 2 Kings 22-23 and 2 Chronicles 34-35 about the revival brought through Josiah and his reign.   Josiah had a sensitive heart towards God and was led by His Spirit.   He created room for God by honoring Him.  It says that as he started out his reign “he began to search for the God of his ancestor David” (2 Chronicles 34:3) removing heathen idols, and restoring the temple for worship.

It wasn’t long into this work of restoration when they found the scroll of God’s law.  As it was read, he was immediately convicted and repented and pleaded for himself and the people.  Out of his passionate pursuit to set things right, the king opened up the law to all the people to bring conviction and repentance and then began to set things in order in a way that honors God.

Josiah started his ministry at 8 years old.  He was a rich young ruler who followed the Lord, obeying the Lord in all that he did.  It says that he “followed in the steps of his ancestor King David, obeying the Lord completely.”   Yet, he didn’t walk away sad.  He experienced a powerful revival for himself and all the people.  The Kingdom of God was established in powerful ways as it spread throughout the community.

Isaiah 57:15 says, “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

A contrite and humble heart is one that has been crushed and oppressed – not one that has got things all right.   I frequently see this at my work.  Out of the people who have so failed and struggled, the Lord brings such power of the Kingdom and fruit from their brokenness.  

It was Josiah’s poverty, repentance and brokenness of the people that brought the kingdom forth.  The Lord goes on to say in Isaiah 57:18 about the repentant ones, “I have seen what they do, but I will heal them anyway!  I will lead them and comfort them, helping them to mourn and confess their sins.   Peace, peace to them, both near and far, for I will heal them all.”

While repentance and humility, genuinely seeking the Lord brings the power of God to revive the people and change them, revival will bring a deep desire to exalt Christ, fear of the Lord and a reprioritization of our lives around Him.  It will also bring a sharing of His heart for His Kingdom and people to not only know Him but live for Him. 

Coming back to the rich young ruler, how we define riches will define us. Proverbs 11:24-25 says, “It is possible to give away and become richer! It is also possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything. Yes, the liberal man shall be rich! By watering others, he waters himself.”

Lord, give us hearts that hunger for true riches and are willing to sell all that we have to buy true “gold refined in the fire.”  Give us broken and contrite hearts that are ready to receive—longing and waiting for the fullness of Your Kingdom to come.