If You're Experiencing This, The Holy Spirit is Purifying You

There may be frustration in your life because of where you are spiritually. Maybe you're struggling with a habitual sin. Maybe you're dealing with a certain mindset. Maybe there's something in your character that you know is not Christlike, and you are asking the Holy Spirit to help you be delivered from that brokenness. So I wanna talk to you about how the Holy Spirit helps you to fix even your biggest flaws. Let me show you a portion of scripture here. You might identify with this, Romans chapter 7, Verses 15 through 17. I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I'm doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong, it is sin living in me that does it. Now here, Paul the Apostle is not saying that he's not responsible for the sins that he commits, nor is he saying that the believer is free of consequence if they should make a mistake or sin. Rather, what's being communicated here is that we ought not to identify with the sin nature. If you are ready to be purified, if you're ready to cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit in your life, that you might overcome even your most stubborn flaws, and I want you to type in the comment section right now, 2 simple words, purify me. Let that be a declaration. Let that be a public prayer. Let that be your heart's cry. Lord, purify me. Make me more like Jesus. I know what it's like to read through the scripture. I'm sure every believer does. And as you're reading through the scripture, especially when you study the life of Jesus, you're saying, there are so many ways I'm not like the Lord. There are so many things in me that need to be conformed to the image of Jesus. And there's this cry in our hearts to be purified. There's this cry in our hearts to be completely set free from sin. There's this cry in our hearts to have that new nature manifest within us as we cooperate with the Holy Spirit. Now, the Bible says in Malachi chapter 3, I'm gonna read verses 1 through 3. The Bible speaks of this refining fire. God will purify you. Behold, I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in. Behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap. And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. And he shall purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Here the scripture is talking about the purifying nature of the Lord. He is like a refiner's fire, fire that purifies gold, gold under the heat, having all of its impurities removed. The scripture also mentions about how this process can be repeated in the life of the one who loves God. Psalm 12:6 says this. And the words of the Lord are flawless. Like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined 7 times. And as we receive that word, likewise, we are purified continually by the word of God. Now, when a refiner would go to purify gold, that fire would be used to bring the gold to a high temperature that only gold could withstand and not the impurities within it. Think about that. As believers, we are spirit, we are children of the Most High God, yet there are still certain contaminations in the flesh, in the sin nature, I should say. But as that fire purifies, spirit remains, flesh is removed. The character of Christ remains and the character of the old man is removed. It's the process of sanctification. We're being transformed into his image from glory to glory, becoming more and more like him as we behold him. Now, the refiner would understand that the gold was purified, that the impurities were removed when the gold was so pure that it was reflective. In other words, the refiner knew that the gold was done with purification when the gold caused his image to be reflected. In the same way, the believer as he or she is purified, reflects the nature of Jesus more and more. I wanna be a reflection of that light. When people look at me, my heart's cry is that they would see Jesus. Yes, I'm far from it. No, I have not arrived. No, I'm not perfect. But my heart's cry is that when I speak to someone, they hear Jesus. That when I interact with someone, they sense the love, the peace, the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. I know that's your heart's cry too. Amen. And so we have this standard. We have this measure to which we aspire that is the character of Christ. We wanna be like him. We wanna be patient like he is patient, loving like he is loving. Think about the fact that when someone would interact with the Lord, that they would walk away with this sense of profound transformation. They knew that there was something different about him. They knew that their life was altered from just one interaction. That's what I pray, Lord, Shine through me so brightly. Let me carry your glory in such a way. Let me host your presence in such a way that the mannerisms, the words, the thoughts, the way I speak and treat people, let that bring transformation to those around me, knowing it's not me, but it's you working through me. That's your heart's cry, I know it. Why? Because you're watching this, because you're listening to this, and you're saying, I want my biggest flaws purified. I want to be more like Jesus. And again, we come to these places of frustration where we're saying, why am I doing this? Why am I thinking that? Lord, help me, deliver me, set me free, cause me to be refined, cause me to be purified. Matthew 3:11, the fire that the Messiah was to bring was the fire of the Holy Spirit. Watch this, Matthew 3:11, I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming who is greater than I am, so much greater that I'm not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Here's a quote from my book, Encountering the Holy Spirit in Every Book of the Bible. It's a commentary on this particular verse. Actually, it's a commentary too on Malachi 3. The more time we spend with the Holy Spirit, the more refined we become. He burns away the flaws of the flesh and rids us of our unhealthy habits. The Holy Spirit Above most other things, desires to conform your character to the character of Christ. Each moment you spend with the Holy Spirit is a moment in the refiner's fire. For every second you spend with him, you are being transformed. He purifies your conscience. He purifies your motives. He purifies your mind, your actions, and your speech. Fire burns. Fire brings discomfort, but fire ultimately purifies. Let the Holy Spirit consume you and refine you to be more like Jesus. Allow him to refine you. The Holy Spirit is the refiner's fire. Now, there are many ways that the Holy Spirit brings purification. There's conviction, of course. He sends godly influence to us. Of course, of course, also he works through the word. As we read the word, we are purified. There's prayer, there's worship. There are many ways that the Holy Spirit puts us under the refiner's fire. But I wanna focus on one of the ways that the Holy Spirit fixes our biggest flaws. And it's something that's not really talked about that often. In fact, it's not necessarily going to be the most sought-after message. People don't wanna hear about this, but it's still a truth we see in Scripture. I wanna talk to you about how the Holy Spirit uses trials to make you more like Jesus. Now I understand that God favors his children. God, yes, is a good Father. He desires to bless you. He wants to bless you in every possible way there is for you to be blessed. We understand that as we read Scripture. But we can't ignore the fact that the life of the believer is going to be filled with trials, never spiritual defeat. Spiritual defeat is that inner defeat, that lack of peace, lack of joy, lack of love. Rather, we are to have love, joy, and peace even in the midst of trials. And in fact, these trials under which we are placed, this fire in which we are put, refines us. Trials make you more like Jesus. Trials refine us. represent the fire of purification. And all too often we try to fight trials. And even in the church, we have certain types of lingo that we use, and we wrap entire mindsets, theologies, doctrines around lingo without basing things on scripture. I'll give you an example of what I mean. Many believers think the word breakthrough means the day I never have another trial again, and everything is exactly as I want it to be. And often as believers, we imagine that if we keep praying, we keep worshiping, we keep living holy, that eventually we're gonna get to this place in life where we have everything exactly as we want it to be. Well, that's not breakthrough. Breakthrough isn't code word for the day I never have any troubles again. Breakthrough isn't a code word for the day I have everything that I want and nothing is ever taken from me again. We'll never reach that. And we have to stop, please hear this, we have to stop putting off our joy and gratitude, waiting for the ideal situation to present itself. In other words, we're constantly looking for more before we have joy. We're constantly looking for the transformation of outer circumstances before we can say, okay, now I'm gonna worship. Now I'm gonna become who God has called me to be. In fact, it's the opposite. It's in the trials that we become more like Jesus. Of course, God can use seasons of blessings and rest, and there are seasons of blessings and rest, but we cannot ignore, please hear me now, and this is me trying to balance some of the mindsets that we have. We cannot ignore that there is a component that needs to be in the life of the believer, and that component is trials. We must learn to endure trials. Not to try to bypass them, not to try to rush through them, not to live our lives in such a way where we avoid them, not get angry with God and feel abandoned and feel like he didn't keep his promises and feel ignored just because we face hardship, but rather to face that hardship, to be placed in those trials, and to allow the Lord to use those trials to purify our nature, our motives, our mindsets, our attitudes, everything about us. Now, trials again, aren't the only way that God purifies us, but it is one of the primary ways that God purifies us. So let's bring this statement to a balanced place again. Yes, God desires to bless you, but that doesn't mean that there will never be seasons of trials. And yes, you will go through trials, but that doesn't mean there will never be seasons that we would call seasons of blessings. I mean, technically, biblically speaking, Every season is a blessed season. But most often when people use the term blessed season, what they mean is where everything seems to be going right and just the way they want it. And that's not always going to be the case. And in fact, many believers put off their joy. They say, okay, I won't feel that joy and peace yet. Let me wait until everything about my situation changes. And then once I get into that ideal situation where everything's good in my finances, relationships, business, ministry, mind, emotions, health, everything, then I'll start to have joy, then I'll start to have peace. And the problem is life just doesn't work that way. I can't tell you how many believers I've spoken to who tell me things like, Brother David, I've been under a curse for 20 years and I can't break it. And they prayed all the prayers, they went to all the deliverance sessions, they read all the books, they came to our meetings too, and they come back and they say, David, I'm still under attack. And I say, wait a minute, let me ask you, are you confusing trials for curses? Just because something is going on in a non-ideal way in your life doesn't mean you're under the power of Satan. We're gonna get more, we're gonna cover more on that in a moment, but we have to stop confusing trials for demonic attack or trials for a curse. Because what happens then is you learn, and this is gonna help deliver somebody right here. You learn and you're programmed now to go through life focused only on the things that are not going the way you want them to go. And you therefore miss the blessing of God in every season. Every season. Every season has something for which you can be grateful. Every season, there's a reason for you to have joy and peace. Every season, there's an opportunity for you to grow in love. Every season, God is near. So why wouldn't every season be a season of joy? Again, we think that the outer circumstances should dictate to us how we feel in the inner man. When the inner man, who is always in fellowship with God, should dictate how we perceive these outer circumstances. So believers tell me all the time, 20 years, nothing but trials, 20 years, nothing but demonic attack. Oh, when is it gonna end? When will it finally stop? When will God finally come through? Why did he abandon me? Why isn't he keeping his promises? Why does God ignore me and not answer my prayers? And I say, has this been 20 years of God abandoning you? Or has this been 20 years of you perceiving life as a completely negative thing? In other words, are you choosing to just focus on what's going wrong or what's not happening or what's not aligning to your ideal circumstance? Because in every season, there's something you can focus on and say, I'm thankful for this, I'm grateful for that, I'm blessed because of this reason or that reason. So you have to decide what kind of believer you're going to be. Are you gonna be the kind of believer who faces trials and says, well, this must be the enemy. So God's abandoned me, God's rejected me, God's ignoring me. He answers everybody's prayer but mine. So we go into this place of self-pity, self-loathing, and even we begin to try to manipulate God by saying things like, why are you ignoring me? And we don't realize that he doesn't respond to that sort of emotionalism. He responds to faith. Or you can be the kind of believer who faces a trial and says, even in this trial, I have joy, peace, love, and grace because of the presence of God within me. We have to decide. Otherwise, you're gonna go another 20 years thinking you're in bondage when really you're just living life. Did you hear what I said? Please, that's for somebody. Otherwise, you're gonna go another 20 years, another 10 years, another whatever it may be. You're gonna go another whole season of life thinking that God's abandoned you, has abandoned you, instead of just realizing that's just life. comes with negative circumstances. Jesus said, in this world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. So in other words, he's saying, look, you're gonna have trials, things are going to go wrong. You're living in a broken, fallen world. There's nothing we can do about that. But even in the midst of the brokenness, even in the midst of the fire, we can choose to see through the perspective of the Spirit rather than the perspective of the flesh, rather than the perspective of circumstance, rather than the perspective of emotionalism and self-pity. And we can say, even in this circumstance, I have victory. Even in this trial, I'm stabilized within by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Even in this unideal circumstance, I have love, joy, and peace, and the character of Christ is being developed in me. Every Bible figure you read of had trials. Paul the Apostle, From all the way from Adam and Eve, boy, did they have trials, all the way down to modern day, every believer has had trouble. Jesus himself was crucified. You think that, you think that in his mind was a season of comfort? Well, why do you think he was praying with such anguish that he began to bleed in the garden? Because of the anguish that was coming upon him from the crucifixion. Think about all of the martyrs. Think about the early church, how the government pressed against them and tried to shut down the gospel message. Think of every apostle and the trials they went through. Do you think they went, oh my goodness, Satan's attacking me. Oh my goodness, I'm under a curse. Oh my goodness, God's abandoned me. No, they said, even in the midst of what's happening, I know who I am. Even in the midst of what's happening, I have things for which I can be grateful. And I'm not saying to you that you can't experience sorrow or have emotion, by no means. Of course, trials are gonna bring with it negative emotions. Of course, You will face heartache. People, believers face very real problems that invoke very real, very strong emotions. You lose a loved one, you're gonna feel that. You're gonna feel that. You lose a business, you're gonna feel that. You lose a ministry, you're gonna feel that. People turn against you, you're gonna feel that. I'm not saying we are not to feel the emotions of the trials. I'm saying that even with the pressure of those emotions, Even with the pressure of those trials, even with the feelings, the sense of betrayal, the sense of abandonment, the sense of sorrow, even in the midst of those things, there's a more powerful sense within us that is the Holy Spirit with love, joy, and peace overflowing, and that pushes back the darkness. Now you can feel the emotion of a trial, but that doesn't mean you have to live in the emotion of that trial. Let me say that again. You can feel the emotion of the trial, but that doesn't mean you have to live in the emotion of that trial. Rather, we turn our mind to the things of heaven. We fix our eyes on the things above. We see from the perspective of eternity, not from the perspective of the here and now. Again, every biblical figure you will read of all throughout scripture, Old and New Testament, they faced hardships. And in those hardships, God was near. In those hardships, they sense the presence of the living God. And that same living God is with you in every trial. Again, we often mistake trials. Now I'm not saying the devil doesn't attack, of course he does, but sometimes life is just happening. And as you go through those issues, if you think that every time something bad happens to you, that you're under the power of the enemy, my goodness, you're gonna always think you're under the power of the enemy because bad things constantly happen. But you have to decide again, and this is a point I really wanna drive home with you. You have to decide, am I gonna go through this life clinging to every negative thing and saying, woe is me, this is why I can't serve God, this is why nothing ever works out for me, this is the perspective through which I'll see all things? Or are you gonna cling to the goodness of God? And when you face the trials, you can still have a victorious mindset because of what you're facing. I'm not just talking about positive thinking. I'm talking about a heavenly perspective. I'm not saying you can't feel emotions. I'm saying that despite those emotions, you can still have joy and peace. I'm not saying that you can't be realistic about your trials and your struggles. I'm not saying that you won't sometimes need encouragement. I'm saying you don't have to live in the identity of the struggle. You don't have to live in the circumstance. You don't have to live from that perspective of defeat, because in all things, as we'll read in a moment, we are more than conquerors. Trials, come naturally because of the world's brokenness. Trials are a part of life. And if we keep seeing trials as a sign that we're abandoned by God, if we keep seeing trials as a sign that the devil gained some power over us, then we will always think we're defeated because trials will always be there. It's not until we go home to glory, guys, that we're gonna finally be free from all of these things and have our rest. Now, this doesn't mean we live a miserable life. This just means there's seasons of both. Now, as I was saying, trials can come naturally, but they can also come as a result of foolishness. You know, your new nature that God gave to you when you were born again, that new nature is gonna come through. If you're a child of God, what's in you will eventually come out. There's no avoiding it. Even our own acts of foolishness backfire on us. Think about this. The flesh is constantly warring for more influence. Now, when you give the flesh control, when you submit your life to the flesh through acts of disobedience, you of course give the flesh more influence. But watch this now. This is how powerful the new nature in you is. This is how profound the transformation was, that even when you commit a sinful act of foolishness, the flesh causes consequence, and those consequences come back as correction, so that even acts of foolishness ultimately get turned around back onto the flesh. So you commit an act of foolishness, You commit an act of sin, you commit an act of disobedience, yes, there will be trials because of that. Now, I'm not saying that all trials come as a result of sin. We're gonna talk about naturally occurring trials in a moment. But I'm talking right now about the acts of foolishness that bring upon us trials that would have been unnecessary. I'm saying that the new nature in you is so powerful that even when you surrender to the flesh, the new nature will gain influence to the consequence that comes from those acts of foolishness. I'll show it to you. Hebrews 12:5-13. And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, my child, don't make light of the Lord's discipline and don't give up when he corrects you, for the Lord disciplines those he loves. Wow. Let me read that again to you. The Lord disciplines those he loves and don't give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child. As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Whoever heard of a child who was never disciplined by its father? If God doesn't discipline you, as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn't we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits and live forever? Shouldn't we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how, but God's discipline is always good for us, So that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening. It's painful, but afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in his ways. So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall, but become strong. So even when you commit an act of foolishness in the flesh, even when you commit an act of disobedience, that action will cause consequence, which is the Lord's correction that ultimately pushes back on the flesh in the first place. Is this not the mercy of God? Is this not his grace? It's like Jonah who ran and God destroyed his ship. He destroyed his means of disobedience. So as a believer, If you become rebellious, God brings correction and destroys your means of disobedience. This is not the removal of your free will, because remember, we already surrendered to him. We already asked him. We already made him the Lord of our lives. We already believed and put our faith. We chose to place our faith in him in response to his calling. And so now that you have this new nature, this new nature is going to gain influence one way or another, so that even when you act in the flesh, The consequence that results from foolish living is the correction of God, so that not even the flesh can gain the upper hand in the long run. Somebody say, thank you, Jesus. That's the grace of God. So you may be discouraged saying, well, I did this and this, and now God's punishing me this way. His correction is not his rejection. His correction is purification. I wanna say that again. That's gonna set somebody free, 'cause you're living in guilt and shame, and you feel like you've gone so far off track. His correction is not his rejection. His correction is purification. That's the mercy of God. That's the grace of God. So that even as believers, when we make mistakes, the consequences of those mistakes bring on purification. And it doesn't always necessarily have to be very severe. Sometimes it could be as simple as being convicted. You do something, a little compromise here or there, not that there's any such thing as little compromise, but I think you know what I mean. We make these little compromises, and then we sense the conviction in our spirits. And that conviction is enough to cause us to go, let me correct that. I don't wanna do that again. That's the correction of God. And sometimes it's a little more severe because the decisions we make are a little more foolish. But here's the thing, God will keep you. So if your trials are a result of your own foolishness, that's still purification. We can thank God for that. What mercy he has. Now, sometimes, as I was saying, a moment ago, trials are also a result of just existing in this world, being a Christian. Persecution comes against us. People misunderstand us. People slander us. People hate us. Why? Because we're his followers. So trials can come as a result of your own foolishness, yes, but trials can also just come. And so instead of obsessing over the idea that you may have done something wrong, biting your nails going, God, what did I miss? Where did I go wrong? Look, if you did something wrong and he was punishing you for it, and you asked him, Lord, what did I do wrong? He would bring to your remembrance what you did wrong and then be over with. God is not immature. He's not gonna fold his arms and say, well, you gotta figure out why I'm mad, or you gotta figure out the problem. I'm not gonna tell you, you should know why. No, you say, Lord, what did I do? He'll reveal to you what you did. And if he doesn't, then it's just a trial that came about as a result of existing in a fallen world. And we have to acknowledge that sometimes that's just the case. And some of us are bound by the obsession of trying to solve the mystery of what we did wrong. Some of us are bound by the obsession of trying to solve the mystery of what we did wrong, not realizing that if it was a punishment for something that we did directly, God would make that clear by the Holy Spirit. So nevermind with this idea that God's keeping some secret from us because he's being petty and angry and he's mad and, well, you figure out why I'm punishing you. Well, you should know why I'm upset with you. No, God doesn't do that. Why? Because when he brings correction, it's very clear. God's correction always comes with clarity. He'll tell you why he's doing such things. You'll know why there's punishment. But if it's not punishment, if it's just a regular trial, then stop obsessing. Stop saying, what did I do wrong? God, why did you punish me? God, why are you distancing yourself from me? If he wants you to know, he'll tell you. But you endure these trials the same way you would endure any trial. And that is just to keep your eyes on Jesus, Keep moving forward, keep the perspective of the faith, see things from the perspective of eternity. James 1:2-4 says this, dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow. For when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. Sometimes trials just come about as a result of living in a fallen world. And what does the Bible say to do? Obsess over the origin? The paranoid Christian? Oh my goodness, what did my ancestors do that's allowing this? Please, you can't curse whom God has blessed. Oh my goodness, what did I do that I forgot about that God's not telling me for some reason? And they're fretting, they're fidgeting. Oh my goodness, I have to figure this out. Or you can just repent of any sin that you've done, realize that God is a merciful God who communicates with us, who gives us conviction over our wrongdoing if there's something specific, and who gives us strength for every trial. So when you're going through a trial, instead of fretting, rejoice. Now that's easier said than done. I'm gonna be honest with you. I haven't fully mastered this. I know that doesn't surprise you, but I wanna be honest. I haven't fully mastered this. I'm not rejoicing in every trial. I try to. Every trial that comes my way, I try to keep that perspective. I'm gonna rejoice in this. Amen. I'm gonna have peace. Thank you, Jesus, for giving me an opportunity to be more like you. Thank you, Jesus, for giving me an opportunity to trust you when I don't understand. What an opportunity that is indeed, that he would give us this, this way of becoming more like him. How can we possibly ever grow in strength without wait? How can you ever develop patience without waiting? How can you ever develop, truly develop unshakable peace without shaking? How can you develop unconditional love without giving? How can you ever develop unconditional love without being put through some conditions? How can you have peace beyond all understanding unless you go through some trials for which you have no understanding? It's under the weight that the muscle grows. It's under the pressure of the trial that faith grows. That resistance brings strength. That resistance brings training and conditioning. And as you become conditioned, as you become trained, your faith grows. Your ability to have peace is strengthened. Your ability to show unconditional love is strengthened. Your ability to have joy overflowing in the midst of sorrowful trials is strengthened. You cannot have development and growth without resistance. Philippians 1:6, and here's where we can definitely rejoice. Philippians 1:6 says this, and I am certain that God who began the good work within you will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Jesus Christ returns. He's gonna complete it. He's faithful. You see trials as God's abandonment. You should start seeing trials as God's involvement. He's using, he doesn't cause them necessarily, but he uses them to make you more like Jesus. Well, didn't you pray, make me more like Jesus? You pray for patience, God will give you tests. You pray, Lord, teach me to love like you love, he's gonna send you some difficult people. You pray, Lord, teach me to have peace in every situation. He's gonna give you every situation. You pray, Lord, teach me to trust you. He's gonna put you in situations where you don't understand what's going on. Because only when you lack that understanding of what's going on can you truly say, I'm fully trusting in God. God, I don't understand, but I trust you. That's the only way to be happy in Jesus, as the old song goes. 2 things, trust and obey. Just trust and obey. You're going through it, trust and obey. No, it hasn't been 20 years of God's abandonment. It's been 20 years of a bad perspective. And we need to fix these things. Isaiah 64:8-9 says this. And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand. Don't be so angry with us, Lord. Please don't remember our sins forever. Look at us, we pray, and see that we are all your people. You are the potter, I am the clay. Say that to the Lord. Lord, you are the potter, I'm the clay.