CLEANSING-2
Jeremiah 48:11. The message here is taken from the process of wine making which is used to refine wine from its lees (sediment).This method has been used since ancient times.
It is assumed that the distilled wine is standing in its vessel with the lees at the bottom of the vessel. But for wine to lose the taste of its sediment a refining process is necessary-that of emptying from vessel to vessel. In this way the wine is refined to achieve its fine taste and quality. This process speaks of patience and skill-Jer.18:1-6.
It is the way our Heavenly Father works in our lives to shape us into Christ's image and prepare us for Heaven. The taste of the world in us has to be eliminated if we are to be of pure quality and value.
What are the Lees? The sediment, the impurities when wine is produced and left in a vessel. If left to stand for a length of time, the wine will acquire the taste of its sediment and thus be of impure taste.
In the same way our lives will be affected by the impurities of the world and sin, after Salvation. There will not be any purity of life and character in us, thus affecting us and producing a low quality of Christian life-1 Cor.5:6-7.
What are the vessels? Bottles or containers of various kinds and shapes the winemaker uses for the refining process. We are the wine, not the bottle, here.
Similarly, God uses various methods and ways to shape us and purify us. His skilful hand takes us through trials and temptations and He watches carefully over us all the way-Matt.28:19-20.He knows how much we can take and how much pressure to apply upon us and what ground we stand on. Patiently, step by step, He continues to empty us of the impurities in our lives, whether of sin, faults of character or imperfections. Job, at a crisis in his life cried, 'When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold' Job 23:10. John Newton in his wonderful hymn Amazing Grace writes, 'Through many trials....tis Grace that kept me safe thus far'.
When the emptying process is finished the winemaker is then satisfied that he has a product of good quality. The many hours and patience were worth it all, and so it is with us when we look back at the trials and temptations that have hit our lives like storms.
Jeremiah 48:11. The message here is taken from the process of wine making which is used to refine wine from its lees (sediment).This method has been used since ancient times.
It is assumed that the distilled wine is standing in its vessel with the lees at the bottom of the vessel. But for wine to lose the taste of its sediment a refining process is necessary-that of emptying from vessel to vessel. In this way the wine is refined to achieve its fine taste and quality. This process speaks of patience and skill-Jer.18:1-6.
It is the way our Heavenly Father works in our lives to shape us into Christ's image and prepare us for Heaven. The taste of the world in us has to be eliminated if we are to be of pure quality and value.
What are the Lees? The sediment, the impurities when wine is produced and left in a vessel. If left to stand for a length of time, the wine will acquire the taste of its sediment and thus be of impure taste.
In the same way our lives will be affected by the impurities of the world and sin, after Salvation. There will not be any purity of life and character in us, thus affecting us and producing a low quality of Christian life-1 Cor.5:6-7.
What are the vessels? Bottles or containers of various kinds and shapes the winemaker uses for the refining process. We are the wine, not the bottle, here.
Similarly, God uses various methods and ways to shape us and purify us. His skilful hand takes us through trials and temptations and He watches carefully over us all the way-Matt.28:19-20.He knows how much we can take and how much pressure to apply upon us and what ground we stand on. Patiently, step by step, He continues to empty us of the impurities in our lives, whether of sin, faults of character or imperfections. Job, at a crisis in his life cried, 'When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold' Job 23:10. John Newton in his wonderful hymn Amazing Grace writes, 'Through many trials....tis Grace that kept me safe thus far'.
When the emptying process is finished the winemaker is then satisfied that he has a product of good quality. The many hours and patience were worth it all, and so it is with us when we look back at the trials and temptations that have hit our lives like storms.
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