Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth; yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, says the LORD. For surely I will command, and will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve; yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground. (vs8-9)
God brings judgment upon the world and chastens the church, but He NEVER destroys one of His own. Everyone for whom Christ DIED shall be saved, because justice won't allow us to perish. We will be chastened for our sins and scattered, but we will not be cut off. Many will die in sin, hypocrites will be unmasked, and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, but no one who really believes will be destroyed, even though we're sifted and humbled over our sin.
God chastens to SAVE His people, not destroy. He says, “For surely I will command,and will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve; yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground”. He destroys to build, and He wounds to heal (Jer 29:11)! Bless Him for the assurance of the gospel, that it will be well with those who believe God, even if we've failed miserably in sin.
I'm thankful that my future is not bound by what I deserve, but rather, Christ's DEATH for me has secured a BRIGHT and shining future that I could never deserve. He has earned the grace that keeps me, changes me, and then rewards me. He has earned my heaven, and I'm not being dealt with after my sins, but according to His purpose of grace.
He is a saving God who saves people that He's rightfully troubled, so you and I don't have to despair as if pain and hardship mean the end. If we will repent and be turned, if we'll improve,then forgiveness and promises are ours. He says, “On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old” (Amos 9:11). He told the five churches to repent, or else, but if they repented, it would be well. He says again, “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the tgreader of grapes him who sows seed”, so that the harvest is so plentiful with fruit that the planters overtake the reapers. He continues, “the mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it” (vs13). Jesus saves us from unbelief, gives the repentance, and He makes us into the corn that will never fall away to destruction, the kernel that He cherishes for Himself.
It has been the same with you. All around, hypocrisy is leading men to hell, and we were on that road, and He shook us, but not to death; it was unto life. He troubled us to PRODUCE a change, removed self-confidence, and He gave us faith when we had no where to turn but to Him. Grace SAVES and gives us a glorious end. He says, “I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; they shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them, says the Lord your God” (vs14-15). The heaven you DON'T deserve will be a shining example of God's greatness, as you enjoy what He's chosen to give you forever (Eph 2:7).
You were His before you knew Him, and knowing Him is ASSURANCE that He'll be yours to the end, “For surely I will command, and will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve; yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground”. Do you believe that you shall not die in sin? Do you believe that He hurt to heal? Then you will enjoy the salvation.
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