Podcasts religion My Utmost For His Highest Becoming the "Filth of the World" - Feb 3

Becoming the "Filth of the World" - Feb 3

Published: Feb. 3, 2017, 4:42 p.m.

b'Becoming the \\u201cFilth of the World\\u201d - Feb 3

We have been made as the filth of the world\\u2026 \\u20141 Corinthians 4:13

These words are not an exaggeration. The only reason they may not be true of us who call ourselves ministers of the gospel is not that Paul forgot or misunderstood the exact truth of them, but that we are too cautious and concerned about our own desires to allow ourselves to become the refuse or \\u201cfilth of the world.\\u201d \\u201cFill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ\\u2026\\u201d (Colossians 1:24) is not the result of the holiness of sanctification, but the evidence of consecration\\u2014 being \\u201cseparated to the gospel of God\\u2026\\u201d (Romans 1:1).

\\u201cBeloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you\\u2026\\u201d (1 Peter 4:12). If we do think the things we encounter are strange, it is because we are fearful and cowardly. We pay such close attention to our own interests and desires that we stay out of the mire and say, \\u201cI won\\u2019t submit; I won\\u2019t bow or bend.\\u201d And you don\\u2019t have to\\u2014 you can be saved by the \\u201cskin of your teeth\\u201d if you like. You can refuse to let God count you as one who is \\u201cseparated to the gospel\\u2026.\\u201d Or you can say, \\u201cI don\\u2019t care if I am treated like \\u2018the filth of the world\\u2019 as long as the gospel is proclaimed.\\u201d A true servant of Jesus Christ is one who is willing to experience martyrdom for the reality of the gospel of God. When a moral person is confronted with contempt, immorality, disloyalty, or dishonesty, he is so repulsed by the offense that he turns away and in despair closes his heart to the offender. But the miracle of the redemptive reality of God is that the worst and the vilest offender can never exhaust the depths of His love. Paul did not say that God separated him to show what a wonderful man He could make of him, but \\u201cto reveal His Son in me\\u2026\\u201d (Galatians 1:16).'