The fruit of the Flame
Posted by appolus on April 12, 2016
The fire in the furnace reveals Christ in the midst of His people…………….The revelation of God is the fruit of the flame.How many times have we missed the fragrance of God’s presence because we resist the furnace and the tribulation and the suffering before us……We want to be coddled on our way to heaven and have the easy life. We want to make sure that we are going to go to heaven when we die but in the meantime we want to enjoy the pleasures of this world.
There is no revelation of God in following that path. There is no experiencing the fragrance of God’s presence. There is no burning of the bonds that the world has imposed upon us, setting us free to follow the Lord. Yes we walk by faith. But occasionally there are some glorious moments in which God reveals Himself to us. I tell you, this is holy ground. This is an area of sacredness incomparable to anything else this side of glory. (A.W.Tozer)
Has this been your experience? Have you experienced incomparable sacredness and the beauty of Gods holiness as you stood there on Holy ground, or lay there on Holy ground? You see, holy ground is to be found in the midst of the fire. Moses was told to kick of his shoes for he stood on holy ground, the presence of God being right there in the fire. It’s in the fire that Christ comes gloriously to His people in a way that is beyond all comparison. He reaches into the very depths of who you are and He changes everything.
Now not all fires produce this. The fires that produce this kind of change is the fire that is yielded to. In the yielding and submitting to God in the midst of the furnace of our afflictions, the bonds of this world are burned off and we are freed to fly to the throne room of God. It is in the depths of this experience that we are truly changed in the most dramatic of ways. Sanctification, being separated from this world is a yielding voluntary process. When the flesh screams out for justification only yielding to the revealed will of our Lord brings us deeper into sanctification.
There is a reason why the narrow path, the deeper walk is to be found in so few people. Yes,many will be saved but by fire in the end, but those who choose to yield to the fire in the here and now are those whom God truly uses. It is through them that the Lord shines His light which has illuminated the narrow path for 2000 years. Maybe you are a yielder and you have experienced the depths of Christ in your innermost being and it has changed you forever. Yet you look at your life and it seems you have achieved very little. You do not have a large ministry. You are not a preacher nor an evangelist. Your just little old you. You don’t have an easy life and you seem to go from one trial to another. Can I tell you something saint? Inside your broken vessel is the light that shines forth from the darkness of your trials. This is the light of the world and it illuminates the face of Christ to a lost and dying people.
You see, your life of trials and troubles and fires have brought you or is bringing you to a place where you are found to be content no matter what the circumstances. You may be surrounded by troubles on every side but you have learned not to be distressed because you have learned by your multiple fires that God is with you and because He is with you , you shall not burn, you shall not drown, you shall not be crushed, you shall not be overwhelmed. Do you hear me saint? Can you hear the voice of God say to you this day that you will stand because He stands for you in the midst of it all.
Now this is treasure. This knowledge, this intimacy that you have ” learned,” by walking through the fires with God right beside you is what the Lord can truly use. This treasure is the heavenly treasure that has been refined in the fire and it is eternal.
If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
(1Co 3:14-15)
You see the two categories of people above? Where do you want to be? Do you want to be the person who suffers loss in the fire but is saved, or do you want to hear the words of our Savior say ” well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord.” If we are willing to yield now to the “loss”” in the fires of affliction then we are gaining an eternal weight of glory. And when we count it as all joy and yield to God in the midst of our fires we get to taste something of that heavenly glory here in earth right now. Too many people want the benefits of Calvary but are not willing or resist entering into the sufferings of our Lord.
I am convinced that those who will read this are those who have set upon the path of dying to oneself. Be encouraged brother or sister, be encouraged dear saint. Every single trial you have willingly surrendered to has had and will have an eternal effect in the Kingdom of God. There is a purpose in the things that you have suffered. The very comfort and strength you have found when you came to the end of yourself God uses to comfort others. This gold and this treasure is eternal and will forever be part of the eternal Kingdom. Stand fast saints for our Lord is at the door.
A Call To The Remnant 
Becky Johnson said
Frank, this has been my experience the last month or so specifically in a vast array of places in my little ol’ world. One specific ‘fire’ if you will was with my three-year old grandson whom I care for while my daughter and son-in-law work. He began experiencing horrendous meltdown/tantrums just a couple of weeks ago. One day in particular for he and I was awful, just awful. And I handled it well until I didn’t. I went home that day, my spirit prostrate before the Lord. Oh there is no good thing in me. I know this. Aside from Christ in Becky, and my yielding to Him, I am no good. A weekend separated that day and the next day I would spend with him. Still more meltdowns, but this time I was unaffected. Oh, it was a bother to be sure. His screaming and stomping, almost possessed-like (though I am making no such claim that he was). But what difference it made to know that I was aware of and accepting that this circumstance (gosh, along with so many others presently) is being used of the Lord to burn off the dross of my flesh. It was a different day. The next day yet another meltdown and his mom, my daughter, apologized profusely feeling so bad that I was having to deal with it. And from my core I told her it was okay, for there were things I was learning to let go of in this midst. There was nothing ‘spiritual’ about this, though it was rich with spiritual lesson. Such is life, yes?
appolus said
Such is life indeed sister. Nothing glamorous about your situation but your knee deep in the fire sister and God can teach us so much from our own weaknesses when we dare to see ourselves. And when we do see ourselves we know that we have to look beyond ourselves to get us through situations, beyond ourselves and unto the Lord. May the Lord give you strength sister. They say its the terrible twos but the wise among us know its the terrible threes that can bring us to our knees. In everything it is by His strength……….bro Frank
immo51 said
Brother Frank,
Thank you brother! Your Spirit-filled words are beautiful and just what I needed at this time with my walk with our Abba Father. This may sound odd, especially after being a “church-goer” for over 55 years, but the Spirit laid something on my heart last week that has changed my walk with the LORD. In John 16:7 Jesus told His disciples, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” God, the Creator of everything known and unknown to man wants to live with me, to dwell inside of me, to be my “Helper!” Imagine, God wanting to dwell with us, to help us, to guide us, to nourish us, to take care of us because He knows we cannot do anything of value to Him without Him dwelling in us. I know this sounds pretty goofy! But, I never really gave this much thought. I heard this verse a thousand times, it’s one of my favorites, but I never truly took it serious! It is only when God is dwelling in us, that we can do His will! When you have the Creator of the Universe, whose agape is beyond human understanding, whose agape is so deep that He died for us a horrible death, you take this whole thing a little more serious! God calls His people out, not to be of this world, and only through His Spirit dwelling in you can you begin to understand the depths of His agape. Jesus was obedient unto death, and we are called to be as obedient and do the will of our beautiful heavenly Abba Father whose agape should be all we need to “pick up our cross and follow Him daily.” Right now my wife and I are having such an amazing wilderness experience as we leave the “man-made” stuff of this world and rely only on our LORD and SAVIOR as He intended. John 4:23-24 says, ” But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Your writings glorify God and bring comfort to us who are seeking a closer relationship with God brother, and I appreciate your walk with our LORD. Praise God!
appolus said
Praise the Lord bro Immo. As I read what you wrote it made me think of a teaching the Lord laid on my heart a couple of years ago. May this bless you and your dear wife https://acalltotheremnant.com/2014/03/12/i-have-prepared-a-place-for-you-light-shines-forth-from-darkness/#comments ………………bro Frank
Saturated In Seattle said
I LOVE this! What comes to mind is Hebrews 13:8, where it speaks about God being the same yesterday and today and forever. I have come through trials. I have stood on holy ground. I have felt His mighty hand leading me through the storms of life. I have heard His encouragement and love for me each step of the way. Because of this, I know that this trial and the next trail and the one after that, He will continue to be by my side. He is so good. His character does not change, even when ours is tested. I trust Him with my life. I can rely on Him and know that even when the pains of this earth are too much, He will walk through the fire carrying me. Hebrews 13:5 (guess, I’m loving that chapter today) says that He will never leave us or forsake us. He’s got us—always! What a beautiful place to be! Fixing my eyes on Him each morning is key to living a life of peace. Sigh. So good Bro Frank! So good!
appolus said
Amen sister , what a great testimony of God’s faithfulness!!…..bro Frank