5 Smooth Stones

Chapter Twenty-Two

PITFALLS AND POLISHING

W hen it comes to functioning in proven ministry, there must be testing, or “polishing,” as an analogy. Polishing takes time and e ff ort and cannot all be preplanned, yet it is part of the greater plan to make a mature minister or leader. One can go to a school and pass some tests, be awarded a degree and even receive an ordination or “papers,” and still not be proven in ministry. The Bible says, “The words of the Lord are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Puri fi ed seven times.” (Psalms 12:6). Using the analogy of silver being puri fi ed by processing seven times, the scripture speaks of itself as being puri fi ed. A precious metal, like silver or gold, is tried or puri fi ed by being heated up until it is molten. Once this happens any impurities, called dross, will fl oat to the top and can be removed. If this is done one time it will be considered pure. The US mint does this and certi fi es that gold and silver coins or “Eagles” are .999% pure. Some other precious coins are subjected to additional proving (reheating and removal of any impurity) and are considered .9999 pure. This is about as pure as anything on earth will be, and so it is with ministers. While a minister may have information and even gifting, which gives him or her the proper precious metal, yet there is going to be some natural dross which will need to be removed through trial or proving. Scripture says that God does not tempt us (James 1:13) yet He allows us to be tempted by the tempter in order to test us. Once Jesus was ready to enter His ministry, which all of creation had been anticipating since the fall of mankind, He fi rst was taken into the wilderness by the Spirit of God to be tested by the devil (Ma tt hew 4:1). There is much that can be gleaned from this testing of Jesus by the minister or disciple of the Lord. First we must consider if Jesus, the perfect man, was fi rst tested and proven before He was set into His full-time and prophesied ministry, do any of us think that we can bypass this portion of ministry calling?

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