Bearing Fruit - Part 4 — Keith Daniel

And I meant it. And brother, sister, in case you're sitting there and thinking this man is going to bring out his negative this year, today, there comes the positive, okay? So grab it. There's always the end of a storm, brother, sister in Christ.

Trusting God Through the Fire

Don't ever, ever doubt that. There is no such a thing as God allowing you to be destroyed through the fires. Trust Him. I don't care what you're going through, financially, physically, persecution, there is no such a thing as God just letting it destroy you.

There's a marvelous God in His perfect understanding of the soul, in His love that made Him let His blood flow for you to win you. There's a marvelous God looking at you, who He redeemed, who He bought with a great price.

Refinement Through Trials

There's a moment of the fire, with the gold being refined by the fires. Nothing refines gold but fire. And all the dross is coming up, you know, all the rubbish. Only the fires bring the rubbish out of gold and purify gold.

That's all that God was doing to me. Rubbish was being dealt with in my life. I wish I could call it better words, you know, to pacify why God is doing these things to you and me, but I want to be utterly honest, He was dealing with the rubbish that was still in my life, even though I was a preacher for years.

God's Sovereign Limit on Suffering

And the only way He knew how. There's a moment, there's God looking at the gold being refined, the fires, there's a moment with the fires heating and the purifying process that God in His wisdom says, enough!

Enough! Satan, demons, and evil people cannot touch you from the moment God says, enough! All Satan's powers stop that moment, and God will never, ever, ever be too late. Though you think it is, though the devil tells you it's too late, no!

Trust God about that. Enough! And then God lifts you up, and everyone knows God's lifted you up. That's precious, you know. Oh, that moment when God lifted me up, I'll never forget it. Suddenly, you can't get up anymore.

Brokenness and Dependence on God's Grace

Have you ever been in that situation? Does God want to do that to you, that you cannot get up in your own strength? You know, I used to get up in my own strength before that. Many times, whatever the devil did, I would get up and I'd charge back into the battle with a vengeance, you know.

But yet God brought me and I couldn't get up. Why does God do that? That everyone in the whole world knows, when you get up, that God's grace alone lifted you up. Oh, it's something when you know you can't get up unless God lifted you up, when everyone knows that nothing could ever happen again unless God stepped in.

Have you ever stood up simply because the only capability, the only ability you had to stand was God lifted you? He lifts you up. Oh, it's so different when a man gets up, lifted up by God, when he can't lift himself up.

It's so different. He can't touch the glory from then onwards, you know. Man can't touch the glory from then onwards. No one allows you to. God lifts you up broken. Does God want that of you, young man?

Brokenness Removes Confidence in Self

Oh, yes, and trust me, it's coming if you want God, boy. It's coming if you're going to let God have His way, sir, lady. Brokenness. Brokenness of confidence. Things I wouldn't think are sin you might think is an attribute to Christianity or to serving God.

Things you and I don't realize God wants out the way that no fresh can glory because in weakness my strength is made perfect. It's only then God will come. When mercy suddenly lifts you up, suddenly lifted me up, suddenly everyone was conscious.

Grace Restores the Shamed and Weak

God lifted me up. No one condemned me. When God lifts you up, sir, when no matter how much you were down in the dust, grappling in shame, as it were, in weakness has shown that you're nothing, absolutely nothing, but the grace of God now could possibly ever restore this man to even stand again, let alone take a step.

Ministry Entrusted to Those Lifted by Grace

Oh, suddenly God took within moments. I was in the pulpits, the greatest pulpits of my land, and soon some of the greatest pulpits in the whole world. Suddenly us, this poor man, from the jungle to suddenly.

Why? I'll tell you why. Because God never could trust me before. I would have touched the glory. He couldn't trust me with those pulpits. But now God could because he knows that I know and everybody else knows this man is nothing but for grace.

He would never have got up again. You're so different when you stand up by grace and grace alone. And trust me, young boy, that's what God wants. That's what God wants you to be. But everyone knows and only God can be glorified if you do anything for him from then onwards.

Letting God Remove Self to Bear Fruit

And there's so little of self left, God wants to take it all out. That's not a bad thing, young man. If he's going to break you, let him. It's beautiful. It's precious what God's looking for. Let him have his way.

And if the only way is what he's doing right now in your life, let him. Trust him. He's not going to destroy you. It's the fruit he wants. I'll never forget, you know, looking at my wife, my darling wife.

A Testimony of Christlikeness and God's Perfect Work

Forgive me for calling her my darling. Men don't use that word these days, the fear of not being looked upon as men. She's my darling in life. I don't know anyone alive that's more Christlike than my wife that I personally know.

And I say that under the blood of Jesus. And I say that with a grateful heart. I hope you can say that about your wife soon. But I have to say it. I think God would rebuke me if I didn't acknowledge that he gave me what I know to be the godliest person alive right now in my life.

And I've met godly people. But I'll never forget when God lifted me up and suddenly the whole world didn't condemn. They just stood knowing God's lifted me up. And I looked at my wife one day and I said, Jenny, why did God do this?

I endeavored to serve God with every breath in my body. You know that the children know that the world knows that. Why did God allow all this on me, Jenny? And I'll never forget what my wife said for all eternity.

I shall never forget what my wife said. She looked at me and tears came down her face as she looked at me asking her this question. She said these words, Keith, I wish I had all the answers, but I don't have all the answers.

But this I do know, Keith, God was right. God was perfect in what he's done to you and what he's allowed to come on you, Keith. Do you know why, Keith? Because I see something in you now that I've never ever seen before in truth, Keith.

I see Jesus. You know, when my wife said those words, I stood there and I trembled. I began to weep.