Thursday, August 20, 2009

The Fire Within

A Wall of Fire Without

 

“Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein: For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her. . .he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. . .Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee. And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again” Zec. 2:4b,5,8b,10-12.

Although these scriptures speak of the forthcoming kingdom age, yet this is but a continuation of the mercies and grace of an all consistent, all sufficient God. What greater example of this than that of the three Hebrew sons, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego?

Upon their refusal to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image, they were cast into the infamous fiery furnace which was heated upward to seven times above which it was designed. They were cast into the furnace; they fell down. Was it because they were bound; or did they fall in worship to the True God? They would not bow to the image, but they would bow to the Eternal Son of God in worship! Of course, “the Son abideth forever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” John 8:35,36.

The king, in astonishment 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” Dan. 3:25. (Well, he almost had it right! The form he saw was the Son of God!)

What a privilege! They fell at His feet in worship, now were they walking with Him - even though they were still in the midst of the fire. Perhaps we should consider following their example?

They were in the fire? Yes! “and they have no hurt” said the king. Why could the fire around them, not hurt them? “For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her!” Zec. 2:5. Was the Lord, the glory of Zion, not in the midst of these children of Jerusalem? Was He not a wall of fire round about them, that separated, protected them from the king’s furnace of fire? The Fire within was greater than the fire without!

“And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” I John 4:3-4.

The Fire within is greater than the fire without!

In his Book of Martyrs (1563), John Foxe tells the story of the tragic events that took place from 1554 to 1556. The bloody Queen Mary Tudor ruled England, and for those committed to biblical Christianity, they were troubled times. Three bishops - Hugh Latimer, Nicolas Ridley and Thomas Cranmer - found themselves charged with heresy and placed on trial in the university church of St. Mary’s. Among the reasons for the trial were their commitment to the belief in the sole sufficiency of Christ’s atoning death for salvation and their refusal to compromise with the Catholic traditions and beliefs of the Queen. Eventually, Latimer and Ridley were punished together, while Cranmer’s trial and martyrdom came later.

According to Foxe, Ridley arrived at the place of execution first. When Latimer arrived, the two embraced, and Ridley called his friend to practice great faith in a terrible time. He said, “Be of good heart, brother, for God will either assuage the fury of the flame, or else strengthen us to abide it.” They both knelt and prayed before listening to an exhortation from a preacher calling on them to recant before death.

After the sermon, one of the officials pleaded, “Mr. Riley, if you will revoke your erroneous opinions, you shall not only have liberty so to do, but also your life.” “Not otherwise?” said Ridley.

If you will not do so,” replied the official, “there is no remedy: you must suffer for your deserts.”

“Well.” concluded Ridley, “so long as the breath is in my body, I will never deny my Lord Christ and His known truth. God’s will be done in me.”

The blacksmith wrapped a chain of iron around the waists of Ridley and Latimer. When the wood about Ridley’s feet was lit, Latimer said, “Be of good comfort, Mr. Ridley, and play the man! We shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust never shall be put out.”

As the fire rose, Latimer cried out, “O Father of heaven, receive my soul!” and he died almost immediately. Ridley, however, hung on, with most of his lower body having burned before he passed away. Such faith! Such deep faith in deeply troubled times!

(Used by permission. Oxford Sermons Vol II, Triumphant Faith For Troubled Times, pages 68-69, Dr. Stephen D.C. Corts)

“Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ” II Cor. 2:14. “Yet, not I, but Christ” Gal. 2:20. (Christ Himself is the (sole) object of our faith; likewise its source. Any other ‘faith’ is not faith at all.)

May we say again, The Fire within them was greater than the fire of the governing powers without! There was a Fire, an intense Fire, an Abiding Fire within their bosom. The fire without could burn the body but it could in no wise burn the Fire within! “For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her” Zec. 2:5.

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. . .”

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