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1981

Tried By Fire – But!! – Preserved!
(A Tribute to Apostle Lobias Murray)

1.You labor in the fire and in the waters, too,
Because there is YET much work to do.
For souls are crying in distress and in woe,
And you wonder, “Lord, who will go?�

2.You seek and you search for answers great,
And sometimes, the Lord quietly says, “Wait!�
Wait on God! It’s already yours!
No matter how the billows roll!

3.You have trusted God so many times,
Not questioning His counsel or His mind.
So now, God gives you that courage to wait
And to strengthen His flock to walk Holy and straight.

4.Often you wonder, “Why is it so,
That the people so easily come and so easily go?�
But then you watch and it’s just a few.
Multitudes and multitudes yet love you TRUE.

5.A life is precious! A soul means more!
If we leave you, where can we go?
Sometimes as trials press us sore and we are pained,
You give us strength to rely on Jesus’ name.

6.No other one can make it right,
When adversaries roar and fight.
God said that He would be “there�, no matter what,
And so God strengthens us for suffering’s cup.

7.You may not know all that you have done
To teach us to be patient and to hold on,
But yet you remain faithful, true, and real,
And minds, souls, and bodies are healed.

8.I think of Micaiah, the “remaining� one:
He stood boldly with his convictions strong.
So yet do you, God’s leaders for this hour,
Faithful to God’s great power –

9.A power that now draws people from near and from far,
Because God knows how faithful you are.
Through your lives the way could be made
For many to be TRULY saved.

10.God trusted many, but you held firm.
When others compromised, your lights yet brightly “burn�.
No, it does not always bring comfort and joy,
But look at THE SAVED – that young girl and boy.

11.Hearts praise you, though not aloud,
For how you have strengthened in great trials.
“THE LAND became Pharoah’s!� the Scriptures say,
Because Pharoah preserved their lives in the evil day.

12.They willingly offered their very souls
To “offer� thanks to Joseph’s God whose wisdom showed
How that Joseph accepted a great call and stood.
It was God’s love that brought them good.

13.Patience and prayer – and you have rescued many.
So labor on! Heaven is beautiful! We’ve got to enter!
Tears are shed and hearts are torn,
But of you, holy souls are born.

14.Don’t be tired or even fret,
When in the midst of tribulations you are “set�!
You are “set� to defend God’s truth.
God never –NEVER!! – will fail you!

15.Just look at how God has blessed—
With a flock who stands with you through many tests.
Of the years that have passed and gone,
When you have suffered strife and scorn--

16.Even now hearts remain faithful, struggle and fight,
Because you endured through the darkest night.
Your words have been a buckler and a shield.
REMEMBER??!! – How many sick bodies have been healed?

17.The word “ALRIGHT� says so much.
It says, “Be firm and hold your head up!�
So preach the word, our hearts always ask.
It is what makes us labor and last.

18.Sometimes the words I say ring empty and loud,
Saying, “Preach the truth!� and my heart seems so proud,
But, as the fishing net, the heart does receive.
If only one word, please don’t cease!

19.Often the flesh flinches in pain,
But we must! We’ve got to! BE BORN AGAIN !
That fire is great and terrible, don’t you see!
I cannot live there eternally!!

20.Step by step your words take hold
To present to God a clean soul.
It is because you labor and you care
That we, too, seek God so we can bear –-

21.For the Word of God cleanses deeply as it should.
It removes the bad and brings forth good.
Please believe our hearts when we say:
PREACH THE WORD!! – so we won’t stray.

22.The Scriptures say: “The word is sharp and it cleans as well.�
I don’t want to go to Hell!
Sometimes I understand “slow�,
But through this, God lets me know,

23.That your guidance is what I need.
Please! – Please! Continue to intercede.
There are “wounds� that heal, day by day,
Because you are faithful to preach what God says.

24.I cannot express it all,
To say, “CONTINUE TO STAND TALL!�
That bridge – that “cross� which you became,
Through Jesus has brought us from sin and shame.

25.Just to encourage you – It’s worth it all!
Your words will not diminish nor fall!
You care deeply; this I know,
And -- WE FIGHT! WE CONTEND! – All to show –

26.It’s worth it! It’s worth it! – LABOR ON!!
Thank you for being faithful and strong!


And I sought for a man among them
that should make up the hedge and
stand in the gap before me
FOR THE LAND,
that I should not destroy it . . . .�
(Ezekiel 22:30)