Making Diamonds out of Black Coal

October 30, 2005

Sunday Morning

Rev. James R. Reynolds Sr.

"Making Diamonds out of Black Coal"

We will be reading from the epistle of Paul to the Ephesian believers, the second chapter. I'll be reading from verse one and I'll conclude my reading in verse 10.

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Making diamonds out of black coal.

Grace is so abused today. Grace is an unlimited power because it is God's power. Grace is God's power manifested for humanity. We understand that Grace is unmerited: unmerited favor, unmerited kindness, and unmerited mercy. You don't deserve it. I don't deserve it, but God shows grace and made the provision.

Now, the Bible says here that God takes the ungodly and makes them godly. God doesn't take that which is godly and just blesses it, but God takes that which is ungodly, evil, and wicked. Notice what he says in verses one through three: And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world. You were a part of the social activities of the world. You must understand that this world is wicked.

Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air. He is referring here to lucifer, known as the god of this world. He controls men's minds and thoughts ultimately trying to control their actions with the final intent to destroy them.

According to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. How many realize that we have a disobedient generation on our hands? Most don't realize how effective the Bible has been in the minds and lives of children. Even though they never committed their lives to Christ they lived differently. But, our intellectual government men decided in the courts that the Bible should not be read in our public schools. You say, "That's too simple." No. That's the reason why you have so many hellions and so much rebellion and murder. Crime is at a high rate today because they pushed God out of society along with the truth that could've changed the lives of men and women.

Among whom also we all had our conversation, or manner of living. The word conversation in that verse comes from the Greek and also from the old English. Conversation is not a matter of verbal expression, but a life lived.

Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath. This is the product that God chose to transform. You hear people say, "Well, I wasn't too bad." You were filthy, dirty, ungodly, and wicked. Preachers will stand and tell sinners that they are all right, but I don't see how a preacher can go to heaven with blood on his hands.

Looking at the background here, and seeing the product that God chooses. Paul says in verse four, But God, Who is rich in mercy. God takes that which is ungodly, uncouth, evil, and wicked and shows mercy.

In verse five, he says, When we were dead. Now, most people don't like to think that they are dead, but you were dead to God, dead to spiritual life. We were all that way. I was that way. I didn't even understand it. I had no comprehension of what being a Christian meant. I thought my Christian mother just wanted to go to church, and that it was her choice and that I simply wasn't a churchgoer. I didn't realize that God makes a difference in a person's life. You were dead. I was dead. When I walked into the church January 14th, 1952, (that was a couple years ago.) I was dead. I had no comprehension of what this life was all about, but I saw something real in my brother's life and I wanted that. When I got to that altar and asked God to forgive me of my sins and wash them away in the blood that was spilt on Calvary's cross, I got up from that altar a different man. I was no longer dead; I was alive to God. Somebody turned the lights on.

Verse eight says, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Did we earn it? Did we merit it? God paid a tremendous price to ransom our souls.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. We are not saved by works; we are saved to work. That is why I want you to understand that it is a perverted grace that is being preached today across our pulpits, over the television, over the radio, and in the magazines that are sent out. There is a lot of perverted grace today that says a man can live as he wants and still make heaven. God saves us for a reason. God saves us to be different: to walk different, to talk different, and to look different. How many know a person looks different when they are saved? They do not have that crazy gleam in their eyes. Go down the street and watch some of those people. Looked at the expression on their face. They look like they hate everybody; they hate the world and themselves. Take that same person and watch them be touched by the grace of God and their eyes sparkle. Life comes. Their countenance changes. Everything about them and their life is changed. I remember as my daughter stood when we prayed for her and she looked out the door and said, "Momma, things look different." Why certainly things look different; that is because we are different.

Finally, verse ten says, For we are his workmanship. God doesn't make any mistakes. God doesn't make any bad products. We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works. The only works we could perform before that were evil. Paul made it very plain that before his conversion his works were only evil. He said, "When I wanted to do right, evil was present." We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we. Who are the we? We that are saved. We that have been washed in the blood. We that have been changed. You cannot expect a sinner to live like a Christian. You might dress him up. You might put him in the choir. You might put a robe on him, but he is still lost unless Jesus comes into his heart. Except a man is born again he can not see the kingdom of God. How many know that that is the Word of God? That we should walk in them.

Now, go back to verse seven. (I think that is so beautiful.) That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. He's going to put on display those that have been changed by His grace. How is he going to show the exceeding riches of His grace? He's going to show the grace of God that has worked. Remember how Barnabas came into a city and saw the grace of God? How did he see the grace of God? Can you see the grace of God flying through the air? No, you see the grace of God working in someone's heart. God is going to display the riches of His grace in the lives of His people. What a day that will be when God shows what He can produce out of a product that is evil, wicked, and ungodly! He is making diamonds out of black, ugly coal.

It is generally understood that coal and diamonds consist of the same basic carbon compounds. The difference is said to be that diamonds are formed under conditions of extreme heat and pressure for some period of time. Coal has significant impurities, decayed organic material, clay minerals. Coal also contains water with impurities.

Coal is made by the compacting of dead vegetation near the surface of the earth. That is where a lot of our trouble is: we live so close to the surface. Diamonds are formed at least 100 miles (some say even more) beneath the surface by extreme heat and pressure. If coal that it is near the surface was transported to the earth's mantel, some of it may be transformed to diamonds. I thought about Zechariah speaking about the high priest before God and the devils standing accusing him. Zechariah the third chapter in the second verse God says, a brand plucked out of the fire. We are headed towards fire, but we were headed towards fire in fire. Sin was already consuming us; sin was destroyin. Some of you don't realize how horrible and how terrible sin is. I've had people say, "Oh! That's just a little sin." A little sin will split hell wide open. God took this brand and made a diamond. Verse four says, Take away the filthy garments from him. He was arrayed in filthy garments (this was seen in the spirit.) Were the garments of the high priest dirty? No. He's talking about the sinful condition of a man without Christ. You say, "My clothes aren't dirty." Well, you don't know how filthy dirty you are. You are a stench in the nostrils of God without Christ. He says, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. I turned in my old tattered garments, and He gave me a robe of pure white! How many are glad for that? Not only changed as far as a garment, but He changed our whole being.

We are dealing with the thought of God making diamonds out of black coal.

As I said before, coal has the same basic ingredients as diamonds, but coal has a lot of mixture. They say it even has mud, and decayed organic things: vegetables and animals. Coal has a lot of impurities. We had a lot of impurities when God found us, and by His grace He takes that which is ugly, black, and dirty as coal and transforms it into something beautiful. God can do that. You say, "I've asked God to make me something and I have not changed." It takes a surrender of your will. God is not going to make you something against your will. He gave you a will, and He will never force you. You have to come to the point where you say, "God, I surrender. I want You to take me as I am and make me what You can make of me.

To make a diamond out of coal it takes extreme heat. Hello. Do you want to be made a diamond?

I was teaching in the Adirondacks back several years ago on a different subject, but pretty much the same thing--.transforming a life. I was preaching how that God made in the kingdom around us and life itself. a lot of illustrations. I was talking about the little caterpillar that is a ugly looking worm.. I mentioned how a caterpillar wraps itself in a cocoon and eventually, it breaks forth out of that cocoon after a period of time spreading its wings as a butterfly. One of the gentlemen that was in the congregation jumped out and hollered, "Make me a butterfly!" God can do it.

Thou worm Jacob. He can take you, as you are, if you are willing and if you can stand the heat. Most throw up their hands in frustration. They want God to do something with them and for them, but when God turns up the extreme heat and extreme pressure they are confused. I say to you today, if you can stand the heat and you can stand the pressure He'll make a diamond out of you. I can remember one of our faculty members at the Zion Bible Institute used to say, "Students, if you can stand the pull, God will pull you through."

Sometimes the hole gets awfully small because God wants to get out of you all of the impurities. How many know that even when you were saved, you didn't leave all behind? Yes, He put life into us, but there was a lot of mixture and to get those impurities and that mixture out it takes extreme heat and extreme pressure.

Diamonds are produced under temperatures ranging someplace between 900°C and 1300°C (1652°F to 2372°F.) That's pretty hot stuff! You say, "Well, I can't take it!" Then do not expect to be a diamond. You were nothing but a piece of cold, dirty, black, filthy coal, but God can take that, if you're willing, and He'll form something beautiful.

They say it takes pressure someplace around 45 to 60 k-bars. Now, 45 to 60 k-bars doesn't mean a whole lot to most people but translating that into pounds, which we understand, is about 1,500 pounds per square inch. I have no idea how much pressure I can put on, but I can make you feel uncomfortable. How would you like to have God put you into a vice 1,500 pounds per square inch? What is He doing? He is making something beautiful out of you. We have a hard enough time with the heat; how are we going to stand the pressure?

I remember one time when I was going through a trial back in the early part of the 60s. I had no idea what God was trying to do in my life. I didn't understand a lot of things I didn't understand what was happening around me and to me. I knew what it was to eat salty tears. I knew what it was to hurt, and I know what it was to be in confusion. I thought I knew God, but I didn't know Him, and I didn't understand His ways. I recall, at that time, laying on the floor and weeping like a baby for hours and hours and hours. I laid in bed for three days, and I wasn't able to close my eyes and sleep. Have you ever found yourself in bed trying to get comfortable and you pull at the sheet this way and pull that way? I remember one time I was overtired, and I was trying to get comfortable, and I'm rolling back and forth and my wife asks, "What is the matter?"

I say, "I can't get to sleep."

She says, "If you would just quiet down, you would go to sleep."

It's a whole lot easier to tell somebody to do it. Things were going through my mind, my mind was racing, and I needed rest. I needed to rest because my body was so tired , but for three days I went through that. I felt just like somebody had turned the heat up. I remember sitting up in bed that third day morning and I looked up to God, and I said, "God, I can't take it anymore!" When I said that to Him, it was just exactly as if there were valves to a gas stove and God reached down and turned them off. And I sat up in bed, and I said what was that all about? He shut the fire down, but I lived to regret it because I had to go back through it again. And the next time, I said, "God, don't look at my tears. Don't look at my crying. Let the fire consume what needs to be consumed. Let it burn."

God took a man called Abram and made him Abraham. Taking him from Abram to Abraham, there were some hard experiences that Abram had to go through. Talk about heat and pressure. How would you like to have God ask you to take your child, your only child, and go to a mount and offer him driving a dagger through his body? Talk about heat. Talk about pressure. But God made a diamond out of Abram and made him Abraham. That is why God will fight for Israel. Because He made a covenant with Abraham, Israel will not be driven into the Mediterranean Sea as the Arabs like to say and will not be driven off the map as the Iranians say. God will stand for Israel. No one else owns that land; it belonged to God and God gave it to Abraham and to his seed not to Ishmael, and not to Esau. They will learn a hard lesson.

[Editor's note: complete the editing of the this document below.]

In the New Testament, we find a man by the name of Peter, Peter's first meeting with the Lord was signed. He didn't have to have a formal introduction, they brought Peter to the Lord in the Lord looked at him and said to him. Our excitement Simon, thou shalt be called sequence. Your like to read you below whichever way the wind blows, whichever way society is going. You remember Peter fled just like the rest of the more they drew swords to Christ and apprehended him arrested him to come to the courtroom. Peter left when faced with the question. Are you one of his? Not me, I don't even know them and respondent for the third time he cursed and swore I don't know them and. But remember Jesus said, thou Art Simon the like are we going I get through it you how make you a rock and make a gem the view is that what they called diamonds rocks? Yes he faced extreme heat he faced extreme pressure. Oh got to and who is called solid cars is closer to who lived in the strict observance of the law in touch with the law he said was outwardly blameless. He could throw shoulders back and say I'm a Jew of the juice as heresy of the Pharisees from from Benjamin try, what more can you get it then to be Jewish, but he was a blasphemer. He was a persecuted, he was an ungodly man by his own testimony, and got stopped them on the road to Damascus in 61. If you'll let me I'll make something beautiful out of you. You and you find in him in the second book of pins in the 12 chapter saying Ford removed this thing from me. I can't stand the pressure I can't stand the heat. And God says, now, my grace is sufficient for you. I am going to make something beautiful, and he out of you, don't tell God Ito listened to what he says in the first Corinthians 1522 by the grace of God, I am and I am, what are you Paul? He says, whatever I am, I am by the grace of God. God is made me what I am till he was a blasphemer, though he was responsible for killing the Christians. Yet God took a need something beautiful. Is anyone listening? God can, I don't care where you come from. I'm tried to tie you that God can take you and me something beautiful, if you surrender some bed and you come amid all to him. Yes there may be some fire, and maybe some heat, because he wants to make you like himself. God's original intent was to let us make man in our image in our likeness in Sindh destroyed that a look at those first few verses in Ephesians walked according to the course of this world. The last of the flash and controlled by the God of this world. The spirit of the world. Oh yeah, by the grace of God in one day, can you imagine the Lord brings out all of his diamonds and say, look at this will he wasn't a solitary raised idolatrous home. You see Abraham came from a land of idolatry, and God took Ken changed and transformed him yes to used a lot of pressure used a lot of heat, but can you see it or we stand at their realm the throne got displays a what a diamond are we worthy to be amongst them? Oh. It is not a matter of what Abraham didn't know what God does. We are not worthy by what man does we worthy, the God did. He John and that was known the Scriptures as a son one to to a town and he said God shall be called on fire and consume this bunch. They won't listen to us? Can we call down fire me to get rid of this crazy bunch, disobedient and Jesus said hey John. I didn't come to destroy life. I came to save it. But when you see the end results. God took that son of thunder, and made him one of the most loving kind tenderhearted individuals. He is known as the son of love, God can take you not against your will for by grace to ardently saved through faith, faith has to do with understanding God's purpose in a submitting to that believing in, how many want God to make a diamond out of you?

He can do it now. I have people say to me all but a Reynolds, gods not to do that he here. He'll do that later in the read just one passage of Scripture before we close Titus the second chapter verse 11 says for by the grace of God that bring us salvation hath appeared on to all men, why don't all men receive it? Teaching us that denying a godliness and world the less we should live soberly righteously and godly in the world to come. What's that? Oh that's not until we get to heaven. The grace of God working in our lives, changing us into that which he wants us to be teaching us that denying a godliness and world a less we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world. Don't expect to be there, if you don't live it here. Yes we are saved by grace, but is gone to take a whole lot of grace to help you to limit, because Goddess will put on some pressure on hill to the heat because he wants to make something beautiful out of you press enter percent or

If you've never begun the race, if you've ever gotten into the Christian life. This would be a good time is right your life is a Jesus. I don't want to be lost to want go to hell. I want to make evident. You can only do that friend, as you of Christ in your life can go to the center all your life and still go to hell. As he set a while ago hell is filled with good people, and that is the attitude of a lot of people, all, I don't do this. I don't do that surely I'll go to heaven no on my cement is born again. He can now he cannot, that is the Word of God. Jesus said, I am the way the truth in the life no man comes under the Father but by me. You cannot come by religion. You can come by a church. You cannot come by a ministry to come to God to Jesus Christ. Find a place to pray in you that want God to make something beautiful out of your life want him to take your life that has a lot of impurities in you want God to make a diamond out of you surrender your life completely totally on to him