Sifting, Shaking, and the Glory of God

Greetings,
This may be a rather lengthy message, but please bear with me. I have been sharing these things at church and believe the Lord would have me put them out to a wider audience.
Matthew 7:13-27
13. "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
14. "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
15. "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
16. "You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
17. "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18. "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19. "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20. "Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
21. "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22. "Many will say to Me in that day, `Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'
23. "And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'
24. "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
25. "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26. "Now everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:
27. "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.''

The above passage begins with Jesus stating truth regarding two gates - a narrow one and a wide one. I believe this goes right along with the rest of the passage where He speaks about false prophets, bad trees, bad people and bad foundations.

Now it is fairly easy to enter into a certain area where there are no constraints or boundaries. It is easy to be known as a prophet if there isn't any "test". If no one tastes your fruit, or if no one has ever tasted GOOD fruit, it would be impossible to know if the fruit is BAD. Also, just saying "Lord, Lord", or doing things that Jesus' people do, does not assure you the place of fellowship and intimacy with Jesus...and hearing and building a religious looking life will not keep your life from falling apart WHEN THE TEST COMES.

God has always tested people before He removes His "limits". He has stated in His word that "everything that can be shaken will be shaken so that the things that cannot be shaken may remain". God builds on the "remains"; the things tried and true, the things that can't be shaken. He builds with and has intimate fellowship with those who "can fit in the narrow gate". People who conform themselves to the width of the gate - and don't expect the gate to accommodate them. People who take the time and effort to know and do truth will not be deceived by what is false, regardless of how well the false is packaged. And the Lord says that people who hear AND DO what He says will have something that remains (that He will build on) AFTER the winds, rain, and flood.

We must understand that the Lord has NO PROBLEM exposing our weaknesses. That's why He has certain requirements for anything that is of eternal value. The "requirements" indicate an area that we must trust because we cannot do anything of eternal value without His help. Requirements such as "enter in the narrow gate", or "hear and do My sayings", indicate faith AND obedience. Hebrews states - "without faith it is impossible to please Him..." and how much faith we have is indicated by the extremes we will go to OBEY Him.

EVERYTHING that can be shaken will be shaken - because the Lord is going for the "remains". He will reveal His Glory through the life of someone whom He has sifted, shaken and stripped of their own strength and wisdom. This is where the Body of Christ is now; especially in America.

The Church in America has not had to rely on God - and therefore hasn't. Oh, we say "Lord, Lord" but if we really relied upon Him, we would see His Glory. But that is going to "CHANGE". We are going to find out what it takes to see God really show Himself. He hasn't changed nor will He, but He is sure going to get us to change - or be ruined. The sifting, shaking, and stripping away of our "independence" will bring us to one place - TOTAL DEPENDENCE UPON HIM - or we will turn and go our own way. Once again, we must understand that the Glory of God comes AFTER the preparation. ALL gold is tested, purified by fire, before it is used. Malachi 3 states the Lord is coming TO His people before He comes FOR them. Haggai 2 speaks about Glory coming to the Temple AFTER He shakes all things. Acts 15 and Amos 9 tell of the Work of God being rebuilt AFTER a sifting - and then NATIONS come to God! Revelation 2 and 3 speaks of Jesus INSPECTING the churches - and that for those who have an ear to hear the Spirit, and thus OVERCOME, they will witness NEW LEVELS OF GOD'S GLORY!

There is NO GLORY without the sifting, shaking, and stripping away of all that indicates man's strength and wisdom. 1 Corinthians 1 reveals a special truth we must embrace - the weak things, and the things people count as nothing, will be the things the Lord will use to REVEAL HIS WILL and POWER.

What's the bottom line for you and I? 5 things:

1. We must let ourselves become weak in our own strength and wisdom - learn to rely upon His.
2. Release to God our "rights and privileges" and take up His "responsibilities and pursuits".
3. Understand that "inspection" isn't a bad thing, but necessary to reveal the Glory of God
4. The coming days will not be "easier", but more PROFITABLE for the Kingdom of God
5. The line of demarcation has been drawn and will become clearer and clearer. The Lord is telling me "that as it was when Israel was in the land of Egypt (the best of the land), as long as they stayed in Egypt they were far away from the Promised Land. And they weren't about to leave until they were forced to. And as it was for the church in Acts; they were instructed to go into all the world but wouldn't go until they were forced to; so it will be and now is, that the Lord is allowing a "squeeze" to take place - a sifting, shaking and stripping - so that those who will embrace the Lord, His Word, His Work, and His people, ABOVE ALL ELSE, will see the manifest Glory of God. The Glory of God will come and abide until the Kingdom work is finished - and then we'll leave!"

Many of us had our hopes dashed when McCain wasn't elected President. Others were filled with joy when Obama won. But the "HOPE" for mankind can never be in an elected official.

Yes, this is the day of sifting, shaking, and stripping...and revelation of the God of the Ages!

Pastor Jan