The first church was established in the upper room and this was a church that was birth in the power of God and with the fire of God. Acts 2: 1-4 tells us what happened on the day of Pentecost, ‘1 and when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance’
This fulfilled the prophecies that went ahead in Malachi 3:1-3 where the prophet talked of the day when the refiners’ fire will eventually appear in the temple of God. ‘
1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. 2 But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: 3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
And like Malachi puts it, suddenly the fire of God fell in Acts 2, and from then on the church was born of fire and the fire they carried consumed their world. From Peter’s sermon in Acts 2, 3000 souls were added to the church. Luke reported it here in verse 38-42.
‘38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, save yourselves from this untoward generation. 41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls’
The report was succinct, ‘the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls’, a stark contrast with what many of our present-day churches experience today: 3000 messages for 1 soul! For the apostles it was 1 message for 3000 souls, the difference was in the fire content of their message! Was it John Wesley who said that when a man of God is on fire the whole world will gather to watch him burn. The same can apply to the church: when we are born of fire we will burn with fire and the world will watch us burn and they will not just watch us burn, they will be consumed as well refined and change by the fire of God!
Today we make lot of impressions with our magnificent buildings, indescribable lightning’s, excellent music and administrative capabilities in running our churches, these are all good. It tells the world we are not crude, but excellent in our mind, organizational and management skills! Great impressions we have made but that will never be enough to secure conversion to the Lord. It is conviction by the fire of the Spirit that brings people to the Lord!
Read full message here A CHURCH OF FIRE, A CHURCH ON FIRE!
And my free ebook KEYS TO POWER: A 30 DAYS DEVOTIONAL WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT is a book that will set you on fire and a must have in your library as you seek to develop a deeper walk with God and His Spirit, download it for free here Keys To Power Devotional
This fulfilled the prophecies that went ahead in Malachi 3:1-3 where the prophet talked of the day when the refiners’ fire will eventually appear in the temple of God. ‘
1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. 2 But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: 3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
And like Malachi puts it, suddenly the fire of God fell in Acts 2, and from then on the church was born of fire and the fire they carried consumed their world. From Peter’s sermon in Acts 2, 3000 souls were added to the church. Luke reported it here in verse 38-42.
‘38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, save yourselves from this untoward generation. 41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls’
The report was succinct, ‘the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls’, a stark contrast with what many of our present-day churches experience today: 3000 messages for 1 soul! For the apostles it was 1 message for 3000 souls, the difference was in the fire content of their message! Was it John Wesley who said that when a man of God is on fire the whole world will gather to watch him burn. The same can apply to the church: when we are born of fire we will burn with fire and the world will watch us burn and they will not just watch us burn, they will be consumed as well refined and change by the fire of God!
Today we make lot of impressions with our magnificent buildings, indescribable lightning’s, excellent music and administrative capabilities in running our churches, these are all good. It tells the world we are not crude, but excellent in our mind, organizational and management skills! Great impressions we have made but that will never be enough to secure conversion to the Lord. It is conviction by the fire of the Spirit that brings people to the Lord!
Read full message here A CHURCH OF FIRE, A CHURCH ON FIRE!
And my free ebook KEYS TO POWER: A 30 DAYS DEVOTIONAL WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT is a book that will set you on fire and a must have in your library as you seek to develop a deeper walk with God and His Spirit, download it for free here Keys To Power Devotional
