May it please God to bless us
together this evening as we meditate in His Word. Let us turn to the
book of Psalms, and Psalm 66, and we'll read verses 10, 11,
and 12. Psalm 66, and reading verses
10, 11, and 12. For thou, O God, hast proved
us, thou hast tried us, as silver is tried, thou broughtest us
into the net, thou laidst affliction upon our loins, thou hast caused
men to ride over our heads. We went through fire and through
water, but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. I suppose we could really say
that these three verses typify the spiritual experience of every
true child of God. And it sets before us the path
that the Lord God ordains for his people. And as the psalmist
says, for thou, O God, has proved us, has tried us, as silver is
tried. Well, surely it must be and is
a great blessing to have our faith, our faith in God, our
faith with regard to our spiritual experience attested and proved. We don't want to have a false
faith. We don't want to have a false
religion. We don't want to be relying on
just mere feelings. We want to be relying upon what
God has done and upon what God has said, because that will be
a good and a sure foundation. We don't want to be found building
on what the Bible describes as a sandy foundation. And as I've
said very often, Of course, a sandy foundation in itself is not a
bad foundation. All the while, things are good
and dry, but as soon as naturally the storms and the floods come,
the sand becomes unstable and the whole building collapses. So you must surely be concerned
that our building is not founded upon such foundation and it's
very obvious, I'm sure, that to have a foundation in sand
is relatively easy. It's easy to dig, there's no
difficulty. Whereas if the ground is to be
hard like rock, it's difficult to make any inroads into it.
But there is, when a building is erected upon such a foundation,
there's no possibility of the floods and the storms moving
that building because it is founded upon a rock and of course that
brings us to the spiritual application that if our building, our spiritual
building is founded upon the Lord Jesus Christ then that is
a sound and a good foundation and it won't let us down and
it won't give way and it will be there throughout our life
and we should be very thankful then if it is so. So then the
psalmist tells us here, for thou, O Lord, has proved us. Well, we must therefore assess
from that that all of God's people's religion will be proved. Don't therefore be surprised
that there are those testing times, those times which give
us to know that We are in the right way, that we do possess
the work of God in our hearts. The Lord has spoken to us. Indeed in the terminology that
the Apostle used is when he wrote to the Ephesians, and you hath
he quickened, made spiritually alive, who were dead. Now that is the essential thing
for all of us, to know that we are spiritually alive. Because all of us, without exception,
are going to have to pass out of time into eternity. And if we have a God-given religion,
if our religion is founded upon the Lord Jesus Christ, that is
a good foundation. And we shall then go and to be
with Jesus eternally. So these things are not to be
put to one side and not to be discounted. They are very real. They are very, very important. And the Apostle Peter knew very
well the testing of his religion. And we know that there was that
time when he was quizzed as to whether he was one of the Lord's
disciples, that he denied the Lord three times, having just
A few hours previously said he would never do so. In fact, he
would die for the Lord. You see, left to ourselves, our
flesh is very weak. We easily succumb to the temptations
of Satan. But the Apostle Peter was able,
therefore, to write some wonderful truths. And in his first epistle
in the first chapter and verse seven this is what he tells us
that the trial of your faith be much more precious than the
gold that perisheth though it be tried with fire might be found
unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ
And he just fills this statement out a bit further. He tells us
this, whom having not seen, we have none of us seen the Lord
Jesus Christ physically. Whom having not seen, ye love. In whom though now ye see him
not yet, believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable. and full
of glory. And that's a great blessing.
When the Lord comes and gives us faith to believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ, that he is the one that gives us repentance
over all our sins. He is the one that forgives. He is the one that has paid the
enormous price for our salvation. And as the Holy Spirit may gloriously
apply such truths to our soul, we can understand why the Apostle
Peter then says, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. It is an unspeakable blessing
to have the evidence that you and I are born again of the Spirit
of God and to have, therefore, that spiritual understanding
that it is well with our souls. In answer to that great question,
is it well with our soul to be able to say, by the grace of
God, it is well? We don't want to just wander
on aimlessly through life, hoping that something would turn up
in the end. We want to have, by the grace of God, the blessed
assurance that it is well with our soul. As Peter goes on, receiving
the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. That's the vital thing of religion. It's good to come to chapel. My friend's chapel going would
never, in and of itself, take you to heaven. We each need a
personal religion with our God, a personal evidence the Lord
has spoken to us. and that it is therefore well
with our souls. Well, says the psalmist, for
thou, O God, hast proved us, thou hast tried us, as silver
is tried. Just quickly, silver, when it's
put in the furnace, is usually put in the furnace several times
to actually purify it. Not just a one-off work. Several
times. Sometimes we may pass through
a testing time and we may think well I've passed that test and
therefore everything will now be easy going. Well you and I
may still have a bit of rubbish in our religion to be burnt off
and therefore we may have again to go through the furnace and
perhaps again to go through the furnace. But what a blessing
it is to realise that God, because of his eternal love toward us,
brings us this way. We're not left to be at ease
in the things of God. The Lord tests the reality of
our religion. He tests his work in our souls. You know, his work stands firm. His work will not move. We read together that glorious
chapter in Daniel of those three men, Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego. Well, it's a very interesting
account and I'm sure you young people thought it was interesting.
I hope you did anyway. And there we see God wonderfully
upholding those three men. And they knew, because they had
been told very clearly, what would happen to them if they
didn't do what the king had demanded. They knew that they would be
cast into that burning fiery furnace and there would be no
possibility of getting out of it. Well, they were told by the
king what would happen if they didn't bow down. And their answer
is very positive and very wonderful. And we should note these things
because they are for our instruction. We should realize that the days
in which we live are not getting any easier, not getting any better. And the days may well come when
you and I are tested with regard to the reality of our religion. And so we're told that in answer
to the king, they said this, Oh, King Nebuchadnezzar, we are
not careful to answer thee in this matter. Now we could imagine
them being very careful and trying to be very cunning and trying
to avoid giving a direct answer. But no, they weren't careful.
And they said, if it be so, our God, whom we serve, is able to
deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace. And he will deliver
us out of thine hand, O King. We see there a wonderful confidence
in their God. and the faith that they had to
be able to declare it. But, on the other hand, we also
see their willingness to do that which God saw fit. And they said,
but if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not
serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast
set down. Well, that didn't please the
king. The king was furious that such
people should disobey his command. And as we read down, we know
that those three men were cast into the burning fiery furnace,
fully clothed. The furnace had been heated seven
times hotter than it was normally. And yet, We see that the king
rose up, and he was astonished at what he saw. And he said to
his counsellors, did not we cast three men bound into the midst
of the fire? They answered and said unto the
king, true, O king. He answered and said, lo, I see
four men loose. walking in the midst of the fire,
and they have no hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the
Son of God." Well, that was a wonderful occasion for these three men,
a wonderful revelation, and amazing that the king should be allowed
to observe it. Well today we don't expect a
physical position like that but we can expect God still to be
with us and we can expect God still to stand by us in an amazing
way. I may have told you, I think
I have, I'll tell you again anyway. Years ago I was going from Kuwait
into Iraq and I'd been there a number of times and I used
to get my visa in Kuwait because getting the visa in London was
a lengthy procedure. So I used to go to Kuwait and
the people that I worked for used to go and get my visa. and bring it back, and then I
could go through into Iraq. Well, on this occasion, I had
taken an architect with me, and we got to Kuwait, and we asked
for the Indians, who they were, to come and do this. And they
said, oh, no, sir, no, sir, no visa, no visa. And I said, well,
I need a visa. And they said, it is impossible.
For two weeks now, there have been no visas given. So I said to them, well, take
me down to the visa office. Well, you wouldn't believe how
poor the visa office was. It was just some planks and some
boxes and little cubby holes to peer through to see the people
that gave the visa. And there was a queue and I remember
sitting down and praying that God would help me and that God
would give me a visa if it was his will that I should go into
this country. So I stood up and joined the queue and the people
said, oh no, ridiculous man. No, no, no visa. So I remember
very clearly on that occasion feeling the
presence of the Lord with me and went down the queue gradually
got smaller and it was my turn to come and the chap said well
what do you want I said well I've come for a visa for me and
for my colleague and he said oh man no visa and I said well
I said look here I've come to help your country. I haven't
come for my benefit. I've come to help your country.
And I said, I'd be very grateful if you could therefore provide a visa for me and my
colleague. So he looked at me and he just
stopped for a moment and he said, you promised not to come again
like this. And I said, yeah, I promise not
to come again. And with that, he stamped my
passport and my colleagues and gave us a visa. Well, you can imagine the people standing
alongside, they said, it is impossible. It is impossible. But what I proved was, with man, things are impossible but not
with God. Well it was a very wonderful
experience and I'm very thankful that it
was so and I was able therefore to proceed and to go into Iraq
and carry on with some business And I might just follow on with
the account, because I went to Iraq a number of times. But on
this particular occasion, we got there, I think it was on
a Thursday. And you may know that in an Islamic
country, Friday is their day of rest when they don't work. So we couldn't really work on
the Friday. And we worked on the Saturday. And at the end of the Saturday,
they said, OK, we'll see you tomorrow. And I said, well, I'm
sorry, but I can't come tomorrow, because I'm a Christian, and
I obeyed your day off on Friday, and therefore I'd be grateful
if you would let me not, therefore, work on the Sunday. And they
said, oh, OK, we just have some meetings. And I said, well, no,
I don't have meetings either. Oh, very holy man. I said, well,
that is my religion. And they said, oh, OK, well,
we'll come back on Monday. And the architect who I'd taken
with me was a very nice chap, but not a Christian. And he said
to me, oh, Steve, he said, I understand what you said. But he said, I
don't quite hold your belief, and I shall work, which he did. Well, interestingly enough, it
was a big contract, and we never actually got awarded that contract. And what I learned from that
was this. He was working for me, and I
should have told him, no, you're working for me, and therefore
you can't work either. But I suppose I was a little
weak, perhaps a lot weak, and allowed him to work. Well, surely
that scripture is very true. Those that honour me, I will
honour. And those that despise me shall
be lightly esteemed. Well, there we are. You can see
how the Lord works. So I had on that journey a wonderful
blessing. and also a rebuke from Almighty
God. But isn't it wonderful the Lord
deals with us as his people and doesn't cast us aside? Well,
here we have that case of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who were
faithful and God wonderfully blessed them, didn't he? And
as we come to the end of that account in that third chapter
in Daniel, we see how the Lord wonderfully appeared for them. This is what the Lord did. Then
the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province
of Babylon. They had been blessed with living
faith, And God had stood by them in a very amazing way. And so surely this word is true. For thou, O Lord, hast proved
us. Thou hast tried us. Our silver
is tried. You see, we aren't proved unless
our religion is tested. You can't think that you're just
going to sail along on an easy road. But it's a great blessing
to know that God tests us. And if it's God that's testing
us, and God gives us that faith and grace to believe, then you
see we can be confident that there will be a good result. And indeed, there was a good
result. For thou, Lord, hast proved us. Thou hast tried us. It was past
tense. It was done, and we today should
not think that our lives are going to be different. We should
expect to face those tests in our life, at school, at college,
at work, at home, whatever it may be. There no doubt will be
those testing times, but what a blessing it is to realize that
when they come, The Lord gives us strength. Like he did to Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego. They didn't know what the outcome
was going to be. They could have easily been consumed
in that furnace. But God saw fit to deliver them. And we have to leave the issue
with God. We need to do that which is right.
Those men did that which was right. And what a blessing, and
therefore to have faith. Have faith to do that which is
right. We only have to read, don't we, in the Hebrews, in
that 11th chapter, we read about the faith given to many of God's
people. And it was, of course, wonderful
faith. We can think of God's servant
Moses, a wonderful example. And we're told, he said, we're
told of him choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people
of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. He realized the things of this
life, the things of Pharaoh's palace, were just a little phase. They'll be past very quickly. And therefore, why? be taken
up with such trivial things. And yet, you see, be satisfied
to suffer affliction with the people of God, realizing that
there was a good end. And there was a good end, wasn't
there? I know that Moses himself didn't actually come into Canaan.
The Lord took him before that, but nonetheless, the Lord's promises
which had been to Abraham years before, some 400 years previously,
that the Israelites would be delivered out of Egypt. And no doubt it was a difficult
situation for Jacob when he was told to go down into Egypt. He was told, fear not, to go
down into Egypt. The Lord was with him. He was
with the Israelites. for those 400 years, it wasn't
easy, but God was with them. And that's the great answer,
isn't it? That's the great desire. That's a great blessing to know
that God is with us. We're not promised an easy life
as Christians, but we are promised a good end. And we are promised
a glorious eternity. So what a mercy that is to be
able to think and to ponder such a great and glorious promise. And so the psalmist goes on and
the 11th verse tells us, Thou broughtest us into the net, Thou
laidst affliction upon our loins. You see, the Church of God do
not escape We might think, well, I'm a Christian, therefore everything
is going to be smooth and easy. The Christians are not promised
that. The Word of God does not encourage us in that. Thou broughtest
us into the net, thou laidst affliction upon our loins. But you see, the Lord knows what
he's doing. And what is the Lord doing? Well,
I hope we all know he's preparing his people for their eternal
home. And that's a wonderful blessing. And that's an amazing prospect
for the true Church of God. They didn't just come there.
The Lord brought them into the net. The Lord lays affliction
upon their loins. They didn't develop it themselves.
The Lord did it. And again, when we realise these
things, it puts things in a right perspective. And we can say,
it is the Lord. Let Him do what seemeth Him good. Because
we do know, as the Apostle says, all things work together for
good. To those who love God, and to
those who are called according to his purpose. And then he says,
thou hast caused men to ride over our heads. We went through
fire and through water, but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy
place. So that's the, in a nutshell
really, the life of the true Christian. The Lord allows people
to really be a problem to us. He has to ride over our heads, trample us underfoot almost,
as though we were of no consequence, rubbish. That was caused and
the Lord does it. The Lord has caused men to ride
over our heads. It's amazing, isn't it? If we
realise that the Lord is in it, the Lord is doing it for our
eternal benefit, for our eternal good. We would never ever plan
our life like the Lord's planned it. But we should realise the
Lord's way is best. has caused men to ride over our
heads. We went through fire and through water. We passed through
it. I didn't stop. They passed through
it. And that's a great blessing to
know that the Lord is indeed with us. And we read a similar
words in the 43rd of Isaiah. But now, thus saith the Lord
that created the old Jacob and he that formerly O Israel, fear
not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name,
thou art mine. When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee. And through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned. neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee, for I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel,
thy Saviour. What a comfort that is to realize that our God is dealing with
us as sons and daughters of the Most High God. And in order to
bring us safely through. He's with us. He does cause us
to walk this path. So often we think we should somehow
not have to walk this way. Somehow we might think there's
a back staircase we can creep up. But no, the Lord doesn't
allow that. Because as the Word of God tells
us, ye are my witnesses. And God's people are to witness
the Lord's dealings with them, so that he receives all the honour
and indeed all the glory. Again, in the 66th Psalm, as
we come towards the end, verse 16, the Psalmist says, Come in
here, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he has done
for my soul. Well, what a wonderful testimony.
to be able to declare that God brought us through the waters,
through the fire. He was with us to instruct us
and to be round about us. And so we can then concur with
such a statement as this. We went through fire and through
water, but that brought us out into a wealthy place. a place of spiritual feeding,
a place of spiritual blessing. And we can really look forward
and pass that to the wealthy place of glory at last. And that's the wonderful prospect
for God's children. And that indeed is a wealthy
place. And thou broughtest us out into
a wealthy place. Again, it is the Lord's work. You see, you and I would never,
never be able to organize or to plan the way that the Lord
does. As for God, his way is perfect. You may think, I don't think
that's true. Well, as you and I get to the end of our life,
I'm sure we should look back and say that is true. As for God, his way is perfect. And I can understand by God's
grace toward me that such a word as this is indeed true because
I proved it to the honour and glory of his great and holy name. Thou hast God this is no one
else thou has caused men to ride over our heads we went through
fire and through water but thou brought us us out into a wealthy
place and my friends if this path brings us into that blessed
place of fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ we will praise
God and we will Thank God for it. As you know, I refer to that
wonderful statement of the Apostle Paul when he wrote to the Philippians
and that third chapter tells us of his wonderful desire that
desire which God gave to him, not a desire which is of the
flesh. But we can be thankful for what
he says when he says, but what things were gained to me, those
I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all
things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do
countenance but done, that I may win Christ and be found in him,
not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which
is of God by faith, that I may know him and the power of his
resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings be made conformable
unto his death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection