HOLY FIRE OR STRANGE FIRE?

HOLY FIRE OR STRANGE FIRE

                John the Baptist was preaching by the Jordon River one day and he was saying: “AS for me, I baptize you in water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I and I am not even fit to remove His sandals; He Himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Mt. 3:11

                “And it came about that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper country came to Ephesus and found some disciples, and he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.”

                And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is in Jesus.” And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.” Acts 19:1-6.

                Based upon the two above texts, how would you define a true Christian? Would it be:

1.       A Christian that has been baptized in water for repentance of sins?

2.       A person who has been baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire?

3.       To me it is so amazing how many denominations in the world today that will look at these texts and then say: “Let’s just baptize them in water for repentance. It will be enough.”

                People often talk about having the power of the early church, or a revival of primitive godliness, or some other reference to the early church, but they completely ignore that which gave them their power.

                According to this text, (And others throughout the book of Acts and more) Paul baptized them in the name of Jesus and then he laid hands on them and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy.

                There is one thing we must establish today:

                                                THE CHURCH IS INTENDED TO BE SUPERNATURAL!!!

                                We don’t just accept a list of creeds and doctrines and then merely join the club.

                Yes, we must repent and be baptized for the remission sins, but that is only half of the equation.

                The rest of the salvation equation involves being baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire as being received by the laying on of hands.

                We are to live supernatural lives, having received the Holy Spirit and fire and it is this supernatural life that we pass on to others by the laying on of hands. Anything less than this is not true Christianity. We are crucified so that Christ may live in us and that is what baptism is. It represents our death and resurrection. But what do we do next? Do we just park ourselves on a church pew and call ourselves Christians, or do we receive power from on high so that we can finish what Jesus started in the world?

                We tend to satisfy ourselves with doctrines and formulas, most of which have very little to do with salvation and yet we avoid the one thing that makes us real Christians. We avoid the Holy Spirit and the fire. So tell me this: can any so called Christian denomination lay claim to being the true church if they do not have the Holy Spirit and fire? Can they really say” My formula is better than your formula, my doctrine is superior to yours and my creeds are better, if indeed we do not have the very spark of life that makes a person a true Christian?

                Those who received the Holy Spirit and fire immediately began to speak in tongues and to prophesy. Take your pick. There are 9 gifts of the Spirit, but the way it looks to me is that Jesus called us to replicate His life and work in the world and so He sent us the equipment to do what He had done. This equipment comes in one of nine spiritual gifts of the Spirit and at least one of them belongs to each one of us.(Sometimes more than one.)

                In His parable of the talents, Jesus talks about giving each of them a sum of money to invest for Him. And when He returned, He asked each man to give an account of what he has done with the money.

                But when it comes to us as Christians today we are even worse than the slothful servant that buried his talent. We outright reject the gift altogether… and then we don’t expect that Jesus will judge us in het end for what we could have done if we had gladly received and operated in the gift that He had given?

                We are living in the last days at a time whim Bible prophecy is being fulfilled faster than most can keep up with it. It is time to tweak our value systems and our priorities. We have been satisfied to sit in our self- made halls of academia and to pontificate over our many formulas and doctrines, even as we reject the Holy Spirit and fire, that Jesus came to bring us.

                Should we not begin to probe into these things deeply and with some urgency? If the Holy Spirit and fire is passed on by the laying on of hands, should we not them find someone who has the Holy Spirit and fire and there receive that which Jesus so badly wants us to have?

                As time goes by it is only going to become more and more difficult to discern between the Holy Spirit and fire of Christ and the strange fire of the antichrist. There are many churches, denominations and stadium sized mega churches that are falling away and joining with Rome and its global government of the beast.

                These too will become supernatural for we are told that the antichrist and the false prophet will work with lying signs and wonders so as to deceive even the very elect if possible. Mt. 24:24 At this point it is somewhat easy to tell who is falling away and who is not. Those that rare falling away are  rejecting the fundamentals of the Gospel and the infallible Word of God. They reject sanctification and obedience and separation from the world system. They are living in the flesh and not in the Spirit… they hate Bible prophecy… they often hate the Jews  and often have no regard for God’s ongoing plans for both Jews and Gentiles as described in Romans 11 and Ephesians 2.

                I could go on and one, but I won’t and I am not going to tell you where to find the Holy Spirit and fire. I can only tell you that it is an essential ingredient in being a true Christian and Jesus promised that if we ask Him for the Holy Spirit He will not give us a snake. Mt; 7:7-11, Acts 2:4.

                Is it not likely that all Christians who do not have the Holy Spirit and fire are at the very least, lukewarm? A part of Laodicea? The Holy Spirit has not lost His power or His purpose in these last days. Peter told us on the day of Pentecost: “Repent and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Then Peter said: “THIS PROMISE IS FOR YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN AND FOR ALL WHO AER AFAR OFF, AS MANY AS THE LORD OUR GOD SHALL CALL TO HIMSELF. Acts 2:38, 39.

                Even in Pentecostal circles the fire often burns dim. It is therefore time for the people of god to rise up and to take hold of that which God has called us to. To secure the weapons of our warfare as in Ephesians 6 and to be armed with the gifts of the Spirit and clothed in the fruit of the Spirit so that God can make us into a mighty army of the King.

                We are being offered a choice between Holy Fire and strange fire today. If Jesus is our Savior and our Lord, He will also be our Provider and He will pour out His Spirit upon us as promised. But in preparing for this coming battle, we are not told to sit and wait, but to pursue it like the pearl of great price. The Holy Spirit is given to those who ask and who seek and knock. Mt. 7:7