PORTERVILLE POST | The Right News at the Right Time

| Forged(?) or Forging and Being Forged?
The Right Word^© - Dec 08, 2024
with Brother Scott : scott@portervillepost.com

† Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

One of the several aspects of becoming a Christian and disciple of Jesus that is almost always neglected to be informed of and understood to be part of one’s commitment before God as part of being forgiven and born again is the requirement of being transformed into the likeness of Jesus Himself.
Being “saved” is not just coming to believe on Jesus Christ, being forgiven and washed from one’s sins by the shed blood of Christ, promised eternal life—and then resuming your former life with no thought of what all that is supposed to mean and help the believer become.
Many today have done that and continued their lives with nary a thought of God and His ways, ways that are to become our ways—ways of righteousness and a holy life. We are to restrain ourselves from sinning, we are to come to love God more than all others and anything else, we are to forgive others, and we are to become dedicated disciples of Jesus and students of the written Word of God for all the remaining days of our human lives.
Does the Bible Support What I’ve Just Said?

† Matthew 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

† 2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth (presses upon, compels) us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

† Luke 14:25 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, 26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. . . 33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

And So I Ask This Seemingly Strange Question
As one that considers yourself a Christian, are you forged or are you forging and being forged? Put more succinctly, as one believing yourself to be a Christian (a believer in and follower of Jesus Christ) are you a forgery (a counterfeit, a fake) or are you forging ahead and being forged (shaped and molded) into the likeness of the One you say you follow, which is the plan of God for all ones born again from Heaven?

Forged, or forging and being forged? The word has 3 different definitions:

Forged: ¹A fraudulent copy [a forgery], ²to move forward in a determined way although the process is difficult, ³formed (made into a desired shape) by pressing {a pottery vessel} or hammering [often using heat {iron}]

† Isaiah 29:15 Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? 16 Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?

† Jeremiah 18:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. 3 Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. 4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Some Of Us Have Hearts Of Clay
Some of us have hearts of clay, easily reshaped and molded by His hands into that which pleases God—and some of us have hearts of iron that require the heat of the fires of hardship and troubles, which are the beating of the blacksmith’s hammer to remove rough edges, twists and bends, and the contortions of our sinful ways and methods.
I repeat my question: As one claiming to be a Christian, are you a forgery or are you forging ahead and being forged into the likeness of Jesus, which is the plan of God for those being redeemed? Why do I ask the question? The Bible tells us that is precisely what God wants of those (of us) that accept His free gift of forgiveness and promise of eternal life in His kingdom. Your and my past character (who we were, how we thought, what we said and what we did), who we were when we were born again is to be forged (transformed) into the likeness of Jesus Himself. Again, hear what the Word says about this:

† Romans 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed (Gr. syn-morphe: shaped + in union with; fashioned like unto) to the image (likeness, a copy of) of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

† 1 Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [Jesus] was made a quickening spirit. 46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear (wear) the image (likeness, resemblance) of the heavenly. 50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

† Ephesians 4:22 ...put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

† 2 Corinthians 3:18 [Similar to Moses beholding the glory of God and his face shone:] But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Now I do understand that voluntarily submitting yourself to the process of a complete changeover of who you have been to become someone that is just like Jesus is not easy; for many years of my born again life I didn’t know these things and I resisted what the Lord tried to do. But for us to be changed is the plan of God for each of His children and change must come.

Let Me Offer Two Examples Of Why This Is So
And why you and I must be changed from the old to the new
• A large and beautiful diamond on a woman’s finger didn’t come out of the ground that way. It was mined from its burial place from deep underground, sent to a gemcutter (a lapidary) to be chiseled, shaped, polished and made suitable for a ring, a necklace, earrings or a bracelet. I have read that in the hand of the cutter, if a significant piece of the stone breaks off, the lapidary does not toss the sum of those parts in the trash and move on to the next raw stone but starts over again with that same piece in the hopes that the rock can still be shaped into a treasured possession for someone—it’ll just be a smaller diamond. The longer we put off allowing the Holy Spirit to do His work on our minds and hearts, the smaller a raw gem we have become in His hand, yet still loved and valued.

† Roman 12:1 … present your bodies a living sacrifice… 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

† Ephesians 4:22 ... put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

• A less elegant metaphor but perhaps more apropos is a person that is young, lacks discipline and experience and enlists in the military (or even more demanding, goes away to a military academy to be trained as an officer). If he or she will not submit to the demands of boot camp, or the extreme rigors of the plebe year at the officer training academy, that person will never become useful in that realm. I have known of more than one that were actually discharged from the military because of their refusal to be forged by the bending, hammering and training needed to become a useful and disciplined military asset. Once being born again, in a sense, we are to report each day to the school of the Spirit for our lessons or we get behind in the course of training set forth for us by God our Father. Skipping the lessons that God has arranged for us to learn has consequences both in this life and as we enter eternity.

† 2 Timothy 2:3 ...therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

† Hebrews 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement (tutorage, education, training, disciplinary correction), whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. 12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

† Job 34:31 Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more: 32 That which I see not teach thou me: if I have done iniquity, I will do no more.

A Great Shaking Is Coming Upon The World
Many in our country today thinking themselves to be followers of Jesus Christ are Christian forgeries, a fraud in the eyes of Heaven that believe they can get something for nothing.
A great shaking is coming upon the world that will sort out the tares from the wheat; such people and many in the church will be faced with the truth and by their choices will stand or fall.
The pretenders will fall away from the sincere, and all counterfeits will quickly fade away from among those being formed into the likeness of Jesus by Divine forging. (You and I may be surprised at who will not stand.)
For all of us, the shaking will be a work of the Holy Spirit to rouse the spiritually sleeping (who can be), to call forth to salvation from being backslidden or lukewarm one last time, and to finally set forth the people that do know their God to walk in the power of Jesus Name doing exploits.

In Preparation For The Near-Time Before Us, The Word Is This:
“Forge ahead in spite of tribulation, My true disciples, and let Heaven’s blacksmith harden your resolve and Its master jeweler polish your faith and walk with the Lord Most High.”

† Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

† 1 Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

† 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

† Hebrews 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. 27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29 For our God is a consuming fire.

( Forgeries Are Eventually Exposed )
Forgeries are eventually exposed and rejected but genuine followers of Jesus, those that forge ahead through the process of being transformed (fashioned and shaped) into a likeness of Jesus, will have great reward. I urge you, let God chisel and sand and polish you into a jewel of great value.

† Malachi 3:13 Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee? 14 Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts? 15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered. 16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. 17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.