Dross Removal
God's process of removing dross from our hearts may be unexpected, but it's necessary for our transformation and sanctification.
A.W. Tozer emphasizes that God's process of transforming us into extraordinary Christians often involves painful and challenging experiences, akin to a sculptor using harsh tools to shape marble. He explains that God may remove our most cherished possessions and trusts, leaving us with emptiness, but this is not about promoting poverty; rather, it is about spiritual refinement. God allows us to have these things but restricts our ability to find joy in them, ensuring they do not harm our spiritual growth. The ultimate goal is to create beauty and holiness within us through this dross removal process.
Text
If God sets out to make you an unusual Christian He is not likely to be as gentle as He is usually pictured by the popular teachers. A sculptor does not use a manicure set to reduce the rude, unshapely marble to a thing of beauty. The saw, the hammer and the chisel are cruel tools, but without them the rough stone must remain forever formless and unbeautiful. To do His supreme work of grace within you He will take from your heart everything you love most. Everything you trust in will go from you. Piles of ashes will lie where your most precious treasures used to be. This is not to teach the sanctifying power of poverty. If to be poor made men holy every tramp on park bench would be a saint.
But God knows the secret of removing things from our hearts while they still remain to us.
What He does is to restrain us from enjoying them. He lets us have them but makes us psychologically unable to let our hearts go out to them. Thus they are useful without being harmful.
Sermon Outline
- The Process of Dross Removal
- God's methods may be unexpected
- The sculptor's tools are necessary for transformation
Key Quotes
“To do His supreme work of grace within you He will take from your heart everything you love most.” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- Be prepared for God to take away things you love, as it may be necessary for your spiritual growth.
- Don't rely on external circumstances, like poverty, to make you holy; focus on God's work of grace in your heart.