Jesus the Silversmith

Reading: Matthew 11:28-30

Introduction: Jesus’ exhortation to His hearers was in the language of farming and the yoking of animals. He promises that the burden or yoke that He will place upon us will not be more than we are able to carry. Let us examine three areas of our life today where we may be tempted to believe that things could get too much for us, but where God has promised it will never be so.

1. Personal Pressures: Malachi 3:3.
The promise of Malachi is that the silversmith sits and watches the metal he is refining by fire and will never allow the silver to be destroyed. He does not have this happen unsupervised and is sure to never let the process go too far and damage the metal. The Apostle Paul understood how this principle applied to the disciples' life when he wrote, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). It is written of Jesus Christ that “a bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out” (Isaiah 42:3 and Matthew 12:20). Our responsibility is twofold: (a) To build our own lives on the rock of obedience, ready for life’s storms (Matthew 7:24-25); and (b) To cast these daily cares onto Him through prayer, in the sure knowledge that He cares for us (Psalm 55:22; 1 Peter 5:7)

2. Personal Temptations: 1 Corinthians 10:13
While Christian experience may be that personal temptation can be very powerful at times, Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 10:13 is clear. God is ultimately in full control and will not allow us to receive a temptation that we cannot bear. 2 Peter 2:9 says, “the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials” and Jude promises that God is “able to keep you from falling and present you before his glorious presence without fault” (verse 24). If this is true, then why is it then that Christians fall into sin? It is because they do not take the “way of escape” (1 Corinthians 10:13) that God provides. The prophet Joseph, King David and Samson the judge were all faced with sexual temptation (Genesis 39:7; 2 Samuel 11:2-4; and Judges 16:4). While David and Samson fell, Joseph took the escape route (Genesis 39:11-12). He escaped the sin merely by fleeing and we should follow in his example! God will always be faithful to us as we run.

3. Personal Ministry: John 15:16
Almost all of those who God called in the pages of the Bible were people who we might have even given an interview! Who would have chosen Peter or Thomas as Apostles; or the child Jeremiah and unclean Isaiah as a prophets? Everyone who served God contained one or more of the following traits:

(a) They were people were felt totally inadequate
(b) They were usually quite unqualified for the task
(c) All of them had characters flaws and/or issues they had to deal with

However, as the Apostle Paul understood so well, the treasure of the Spirit’s ministry is always contained within “jars of clay” (2 Corinthians 4:7). If Jesus has chosen us, we can do all things! Our part is not necessarily to feel totally able but rather to be wholly available. "It isn't silver vessles or golden vessels that He is looking for, but yielded vessels" Kathryn Kuhlman.

Conclusion: The silversmith only knows that the right time has come to remove the metal when he can see his own reflection shining back at him. Whatever refinement of our lives or character that God allows to come upon us, in order to make us ‘look’ more like Him, we need not fear the fire. The silversmith will not leave His work unattended. He is watching over us to ensure that we do not face more than we can cope with. Let's put our faith and our trust in Him!