Fashioned in the Fire
The sermon highlights the transformative power of suffering in shaping our faith and character through God's grace.
Charles E. Cowman preaches about the valuable lessons learned through suffering, emphasizing that God's school often teaches us through tears and challenges. He encourages believers to endure hardships with cheerfulness, knowing that the trials we face on earth are temporary compared to the eternal glory awaiting us in Heaven. Using the analogy of fine china being refined through fire multiple times, he illustrates how our trials shape and beautify us by God's grace, leaving lasting colors of strength and faith in our lives. Just as Earth's most beautiful flowers grow in the aftermath of upheavals, God's healing and restoration follow our deepest struggles, nurturing us like tender plants tended by angels, ready to be gathered by the Beloved at dawn.
Text
"Unto you it is given . . .to suffer" (Phil. 1:29).
God keeps a costly school. Many of its lessons are spelled out through tears. Richard Baxter said, "O God, I thank Thee for a bodily discipline of eight and fifty years"; and he is not the only man who has turned a trouble into triumph.
This school of our Heavenly Father will soon close for us; the term time is shortening every day. Let us not shrink from a hard lesson or wince under any rod of chastisement. The richer will be the crown, and the sweeter will be Heaven, if we endure cheerfully to the end and graduate in glory.--Theodore L. Cuyler
The finest china in the world is burned at least three times, some of it more than three times. Dresden china is always burned three times. Why does it go through that intense fire? Once ought to be enough; twice ought to be enough. No, three times are necessary to burn that china so that the gold and the crimson are brought out more beautiful and then fastened there to stay.
We are fashioned after the same principle in human life. Our trials are burned into us once, twice, thrice; and by God's grace these beautiful colors are there and they are there to stay forever.--Cortland Myers
Earth's fairest flowers grow not on sunny plain,
But where some vast upheaval rent in twain The smiling land . . . .
After the whirlwinds devastating blast,
After the molten fire and ashen pall,
God's still small voice breathes healing over all.
From riven rocks and fern-clad chasms deep,
Flow living waters as from hearts that weep,
There in the afterglow soft dews distill
And angels tend God's plants when night falls still,
And the Beloved passing by that way
Will gather lilies at the break of day.--J.H.D.
Sermon Outline
- I points: - Understanding suffering as part of God's plan - The significance of trials in spiritual growth - Examples of historical figures who embraced suffering
- II points: - The metaphor of fine china and the necessity of fire - How trials shape our character and faith - The beauty that emerges from enduring hardships
- III points: - The role of God's grace in our suffering - The promise of a richer reward for perseverance - Encouragement to face challenges with a positive spirit
- IV points: - The transient nature of earthly trials - The eternal perspective on suffering - The hope of graduation into glory
Key Quotes
“O God, I thank Thee for a bodily discipline of eight and fifty years.” — Charles E. Cowman
“The finest china in the world is burned at least three times.” — Charles E. Cowman
“Earth's fairest flowers grow not on sunny plain.” — Charles E. Cowman
Application Points
- Embrace your trials as opportunities for growth and transformation.
- Remember that enduring hardships can lead to a deeper faith and a richer reward.
- Seek God's grace to help you navigate through difficult times with joy and hope.