Purified by Fire

Revelation 3:14-22 -

"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."

If God wore a watch, the world would be its face and the Israel & the Church its hands.

God lives outside of the limitations of time and space; however, He created both as boundaries to govern our lives - and we here at Watchmen of the Wall Ministries have been strongly urged by the Holy Spirit to use what time we have left to prepare the Body of Christ for these last days.

"See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is." - Ephesians 5:15-17.

The last few devotions posted on this blog have been deemed as "warnings"; but perhaps a better term to use would be "announcements". Announcements concerning the events soon to unfold that will usher in the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. We believe the "Trumpets Judgements" declared in Revelation concerning the time known as the "tribulation" are about to begin. We also believe that the Church will, by necessity, be present and participant of at least part of this "time of sorrows".

Why is it necessary? The scriptures stated above are the last of the letters the Lord instructed John to send to the seven churches that were present in his day. However, those seven letters also describe the seven prophetic "ages" the church would reflect throughout human history up until the glorious return of Jesus - the last church age being the Laodicean Church - the condition the church is currently in today. The Word of God declares that the Lord would return for a bride that has made herself ready for her groom.

"And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." - Revelation 19:6-8.

It doesn't take a prophet or spiritual giant to realize that the present day church is not ready for the return of her bride. That is where the "fire" comes in. John the baptist prophesied. "He shall baptize you(the church) with the Holy Ghost and with fire". Beloved, God is determined to have a bride fit for His Son; and gracious enough to make her that way!

This may be hard to accept, but the purpose for the period known as the "tribulation" is not to redeem the world....its purpose is to redeem the Church! Redeem us from the cold-hearted, sin-infested, luke-warm, compromised state we have allowed ourselves to get in. Redeem us back to the spotless virgin bride we were the very first day we were saved. And how will He do this? Baptized, purified, and tried by fire!

Beloved, this will sound like a complete contradiction, but it is actually the Grace of God that will permit the Church to remain here the tribulation. It is His Mercy that we are purified by the fire of persecution so that we are able to withstand the fire of His holy presence!

"For our God is a consuming fire." - Hebrews 12:29.

Watchmen of the Wall Ministries is attempting to do our best to be the friend of the bridegroom and "announce" to those who will hear and receive that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand...prepare to go forth and meet the bridegroom. And we are going to do what most ministers, prophets, and preachers fail to do.....tell you how to prepare yourself.

Beloved, the only way to prepare yourself for the events that lie ahead is "acceptance and reservation". You must accept the fact that the period know as the tribulation is going to be used by God to prepare the Church for the return of the Lord. You must be willing to let go of the idealistic theology of "escaping" and determine in your heart to accept the realistic theology of "embracing". You must reserve yourself to fire that is meant to purify you...try you...and ultimately glorify you.

So....who will believe our report? Will you yield yourself to the potter's hand? Will you submit willingly to your faith being hammered on the anvil of God? Will you commend your heart, soul, and spirit to the refining fire that will purify you as gold? If so....then you will soon be able without reservation to proclaim the same words that John did....

"Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."