Living Fire

[Kokavkrystallos]

08-20-03 "There are too many ministers that seem satisfied to teach the same fundamentals of the faith year after year, strangely unaware that there is no manifest presence in their ministry, nor anything unusual in their personal lives. There is a continual absence of fire. They minister constantly to believers who feel within their breast a longing which their teaching simply does not satisfy"~ A.W. Tozer, from the Pursuit of God. "The hungry sheep look up, and are not fed."~ Milton This is the present situation here, as well as in many other churches. The word being taught in services many be true, but it is not alive, rather, it is the dead letter, spoken without anointing , as if it were formatted into a program. In a sense, secularized Christianity and nothing but a speech. Since there is no fire, no life, and no Spirit backing the Word in a continual presence, there is no overwhelming conviction. Eyes are not enlightened, ears remain deaf to the truth, and lives unchanged. It is like observing The Falls from atop the trail from a distance. You can see it and hear it may even notice its a beautiful thing, but you do not experience it! Yet go down to the falls itself and sit at the pool below the upper falls. ----You can feel the power, the earth lightly trembles with energy, and a mist covers you. This is experience, whereas the other is only distant observation. One event touches you deeply, the other does little but look nice, a pretty thing in the distance that can never touch the inner soul. No wonder most people grope in darkness. There's no living power being manifest by the preachers. It becomes a dull monotonous drone Sunday after Sunday, without fire, lifeless, and dead as the church of Sardis who had a name it lived, but was dead. (Revelation 3:1) And all too often man in his programs wants to make repentance a complicated issue, masking it under disguising words like "Recovery"~ nothing but a catch word borrowed from modern psychobabel! Its sad when the church starts molding its teaching from secular self help programs~ ones that do nothing to aid the soul or spirit! What ever happened to the word being ALIVE and POWERFUL, sharper than a two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the bones and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of heart?~ (Hebrews 4:12) Instead, the living Word has been bound and caged by teachings and traditions of men! It becomes of little effect, and lives remain untouched. Dead religion is the result, and the final doom of the sinner is the consequence, for few can be truly born again in such an atmosphere. "He that has my word, let him speak my word faithfully--Is not my word like as a fire? Saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in peices?" ~ (Jeremiah 23:28-29) "In great sections of the church the art of worship has been lost entirely, and been replaced by that strange and foreign thing called "The Program." This work has been borrowed from the stage and applied with sad wisdom to the type of public service which now passes for worship among us."~ A.W. Tozer, the Pursuit of God. Programs literally kill the life of spirit in an individual church where they are adapted. "Quench not the spirit. Despise not prophesyings."~ (1 Thessalonians 5:19-20)~ "And grieve not the Holy spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." ~ (Ephesians 4:30)~ "God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship in spirit and in Truth"~ (John 4:24) When the disciples of Jesus were filled with The Holy Ghost in Acts 2:2-3, it says there came a sound from heaven as a rushing mighty wind, and there appeared cloven Tongues of fire that sat upon each of them. Peter preached and prayed that God, "Grant unto they servants that with all boldness they may speak thy word, by stretching forth thine hand to heal, and that signs and wonders be done by the name of the holy child Jesus." ~ (Acts 4:29-30) How opposite is this to much of our modern day dead Christianity, the dying drone of the Sunday sermon that oft lulls people to sleep rather than to impart life to them? Messages are compiled by study of text and the joining together of verses, given to the people in the format of a speech or a catchy 3- point sermon limited to a time slot. Anointed preaching is fueled by the live fire of the Holy Spirit, inspired by a spark, an idea, then unfolding in a message of power, with little chance for the mind to interject its own limits and opinions. And with this "Live Fire" there often may come spontaneous miracles, signs, prophesies, healings, manifest for the benefit of all in they church. You simply will not get this from a sermon rigidly constructed from head knowledge and delivered in a controlled speech format. The teaching may be true doctrine, but it is the dead letter instead of the living word spoken of in Hebrews 4:12. Paul said, "my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of mans wisdom, but in the demonstration of the spirit and of power, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."~ (1 Corinthians 2:4-5) Let us pray for that live fire to be kindled, and for all ministers to open up to the living spirit of God, so they may become fire themselves, for the scripture says the Lord, "maketh his Angels spirits, and his ministers a flaming fire."~ (Psalm 104:4 and Hebrews 1:7)

 

[Maria Billingsley]

08-20-03 "There are too many ministers that seem satisfied to teach the same fundamentals of the faith year after year, strangely unaware that there is no manifest presence in their ministry, nor anything unusual in their personal lives. There is a continual absence of fire. They minister constantly to believers who feel within their breast a longing which their teaching simply does not satisfy"~ A.W. Tozer, from the Pursuit of God. "The hungry sheep look up, and are not fed."~ Milton This is the present situation here, as well as in many other churches. The word being taught in services many be true, but it is not alive, rather, it is the dead letter, spoken without anointing , as if it were formatted into a program. In a sense, secularized Christianity and nothing but a speech. Since there is no fire, no life, and no Spirit backing the Word in a continual presence, there is no overwhelming conviction. Eyes are not enlightened, ears remain deaf to the truth, and lives unchanged. It is like observing The Falls from atop the trail from a distance. You can see it and hear it may even notice its a beautiful thing, but you do not experience it! Yet go down to the falls itself and sit at the pool below the upper falls. ----You can feel the power, the earth lightly trembles with energy, and a mist covers you. This is experience, whereas the other is only distant observation. One event touches you deeply, the other does little but look nice, a pretty thing in the distance that can never touch the inner soul. No wonder most people grope in darkness. There's no living power being manifest by the preachers. It becomes a dull monotonous drone Sunday after Sunday, without fire, lifeless, and dead as the church of Sardis who had a name it lived, but was dead. (Revelation 3:1) And all too often man in his programs wants to make repentance a complicated issue, masking it under disguising words like "Recovery"~ nothing but a catch word borrowed from modern psychobabel! Its sad when the church starts molding its teaching from secular self help programs~ ones that do nothing to aid the soul or spirit! What ever happened to the word being ALIVE and POWERFUL, sharper than a two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the bones and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of heart?~ (Hebrews 4:12) Instead, the living Word has been bound and caged by teachings and traditions of men! It becomes of little effect, and lives remain untouched. Dead religion is the result, and the final doom of the sinner is the consequence, for few can be truly born again in such an atmosphere. "He that has my word, let him speak my word faithfully--Is not my word like as a fire? Saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in peices?" ~ (Jeremiah 23:28-29) "In great sections of the church the art of worship has been lost entirely, and been replaced by that strange and foreign thing called "The Program." This work has been borrowed from the stage and applied with sad wisdom to the type of public service which now passes for worship among us."~ A.W. Tozer, the Pursuit of God. Programs literally kill the life of spirit in an individual church where they are adapted. "Quench not the spirit. Despise not prophesyings."~ (1 Thessalonians 5:19-20)~ "And grieve not the Holy spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." ~ (Ephesians 4:30)~ "God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship in spirit and in Truth"~ (John 4:24) When the disciples of Jesus were filled with The Holy Ghost in Acts 2:2-3, it says there came a sound from heaven as a rushing mighty wind, and there appeared cloven Tongues of fire that sat upon each of them. Peter preached and prayed that God, "Grant unto they servants that with all boldness they may speak thy word, by stretching forth thine hand to heal, and that signs and wonders be done by the name of the holy child Jesus." ~ (Acts 4:29-30) How opposite is this to much of our modern day dead Christianity, the dying drone of the Sunday sermon that oft lulls people to sleep rather than to impart life to them? Messages are compiled by study of text and the joining together of verses, given to the people in the format of a speech or a catchy 3- point sermon limited to a time slot. Anointed preaching is fueled by the live fire of the Holy Spirit, inspired by a spark, an idea, then unfolding in a message of power, with little chance for the mind to interject its own limits and opinions. And with this "Live Fire" there often may come spontaneous miracles, signs, prophesies, healings, manifest for the benefit of all in they church. You simply will not get this from a sermon rigidly constructed from head knowledge and delivered in a controlled speech format. The teaching may be true doctrine, but it is the dead letter instead of the living word spoken of in Hebrews 4:12. Paul said, "my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of mans wisdom, but in the demonstration of the spirit and of power, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."~ (1 Corinthians 2:4-5) Let us pray for that live fire to be kindled, and for all ministers to open up to the living spirit of God, so they may become fire themselves, for the scripture says the Lord, "maketh his Angels spirits, and his ministers a flaming fire."~ (Psalm 104:4 and Hebrews 1:7) ​ ​

FYI. His Holy Spirit is " Living Waters". Many miss the boat on this as fire is always judgment.
Be blessed.

 

[Kokavkrystallos]

FYI. His Holy Spirit is " Living Waters". Many miss the boat on this as fire is always judgment.
Be blessed.

I know the Holy Spirit is living waters; however, fire is also an attribute of God, and while it certainly is used as a judgment, especially the final judgments, it's representative of the Word that purifies. OK, in a sense it's dealing with judgment of sin by burning off the dross, and revealing the filth...but it's a healthy fire in this regard, and there's other examples such as the cloven tongues like as fire, the pillar of fire, etc..

Matthew 3:11 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:"

Jeremiah 23:29, " Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

Acts 2:2-4, "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

Exodus 13:31, "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:"

Exodus 3:2-5, "
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."

Jeremiah 20:9, "Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay"

 

[Maria Billingsley]

I know the Holy Spirit is living waters; however, fire is also an attribute of God, and while it certainly is used as a judgment, especially the final judgments, it's representative of the Word that purifies. OK, in a sense it's dealing with judgment of sin by burning off the dross, and revealing the filth...but it's a healthy fire in this regard, and there's other examples such as the cloven tongues like as fire, the pillar of fire, etc..

Matthew 3:11 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:"

Jeremiah 23:29, " Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

Acts 2:2-4, "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

Exodus 13:31, "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:"

Exodus 3:2-5, "
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."

Jeremiah 20:9, "Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay"

Yes, purification in the sense of wheat and tares. Not to be misunderstood as a way to burn off sin but rather living waters washes sin away through His blood and His Holy Spirit enters the believer. . It's sorley misunderstood but probably not a big deal other than it's egregious misuse in hyper Charismatic circles.

 

[Kokavkrystallos]

Yes, purification in the sense of wheat and tares. Not to be misunderstood as a way to burn off sin but rather living waters washes sin away through His blood and His Holy Spirit enters the believer. . It's sorley misunderstood but probably not a big deal other than it's egregious misuse in hyper Charismatic circles.

I do agree there is misuse within hyper Charismatic circles, as are many other things.

There is also the Song of Solomon reference to fire, this is quoted from one of my previous messages, The Perfecting of the Saints:

"as Song of Solomon 8:6, "Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame." The word used for "Most vehement flame" is "ShalhevetYah" שלהבתיה - The Flame of Yahweh. It's the burning, blazing, vehement flame of YAH. That Holy Fire must get down in your heart, and burn as the flame of the Word, as in Jeremiah 23:29, "Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD...?"
I tell ya, if you're a busybody always more concerned with what others are doing, or have envy, or any other thing contrary to godliness, you will not grow in grace: you shall be among thorns and thistles, and pricks that offend as Saul was kicking against the pricks: those sharp goads: a vain, perilous, and ruinous resistance. Why dost thou resist the Holy Ghost, if ye be walking contrary to Him? Be jealous for the LORD as He is jealous for you, for Yahweh "the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God" (Exodus 34:14)"

 

[Maria Billingsley]

I do agree there is misuse within hyper Charismatic circles, as are many other things.

There is also the Song of Solomon reference to fire, this is quoted from one of my previous messages, The Perfecting of the Saints:

"as Song of Solomon 8:6, "Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame." The word used for "Most vehement flame" is "ShalhevetYah" שלהבתיה - The Flame of Yahweh. It's the burning, blazing, vehement flame of YAH. That Holy Fire must get down in your heart, and burn as the flame of the Word, as in Jeremiah 23:29, "Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD...?"
I tell ya, if you're a busybody always more concerned with what others are doing, or have envy, or any other thing contrary to godliness, you will not grow in grace: you shall be among thorns and thistles, and pricks that offend as Saul was kicking against the pricks: those sharp goads: a vain, perilous, and ruinous resistance. Why dost thou resist the Holy Ghost, if ye be walking contrary to Him? Be jealous for the LORD as He is jealous for you, for Yahweh "the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God" (Exodus 34:14)"

Just stick to Living Waters. Be blessed.

 

[Oseas]

I do agree there is misuse within hyper Charismatic circles, as are many other things.

There is also the Song of Solomon reference to fire, this is quoted from one of my previous messages, The Perfecting of the Saints:

"as Song of Solomon 8:6, "Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame." The word used for "Most vehement flame" is "ShalhevetYah" שלהבתיה - The Flame of Yahweh. It's the burning, blazing, vehement flame of YAH. That Holy Fire must get down in your heart, and burn as the flame of the Word, as in Jeremiah 23:29, "Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD...?"
I tell ya, if you're a busybody always more concerned with what others are doing, or have envy, or any other thing contrary to godliness, you will not grow in grace: you shall be among thorns and thistles, and pricks that offend as Saul was kicking against the pricks: those sharp goads: a vain, perilous, and ruinous resistance. Why dost thou resist the Holy Ghost, if ye be walking contrary to Him? Be jealous for the LORD as He is jealous for you, for Yahweh "the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God" (Exodus 34:14)"

Speaking of soungs and of GOD's people in heaven-Ephesians 1:3-8, here's a video:

Service held at the Temple of the Assembly of God - São Paulo - Brazil

Hymn sung by the Church - Aspiration for communion with GOD
Hymn: --> Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross - The Baptist Hymnal No. 280

In Portuguese language: "Ao pé da cruz" - Christian Harp - Hymn 289

Here goes the video:

May our Lord GOD bless and keep His Church, His people, and give us His protection
Amen

 

[rocknanchor]

“The Church was never intended to be a natural and intellectual organization, but a supernatural instrumentality wholly dependent upon the power of God.”​

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“That the Church did not … perish was due entirely to the miraculous element within her. That element was supplied by the Holy Spirit who came at Pentecost to empower her for her task.”​

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“In brief, the teaching of the New Testament is that the outpouring at Pentecost was the historic beginning of an era which was to be characterized by a continuous outpouring of the Holy Spirit.”​

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“Pentecost did not come and go—Pentecost came and stayed. Chronologically the day may be found on the historic calendar; dynamically it remains with us in all its fullness of power.”​

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― A.W. Tozer, Tozer on the Holy Spirit: A 365-Day Devotional​

I have such an appreciation of Tozer’s many insights, but like soo many in handling the subject of the Holy Spirit, their core is in folly. Tozer’s premiere statements on the Holy Spirit are beautiful and true, yet eerily portends to speak for the forbidding remnant. I love all who call on His name, but for this remaining to be so inconvenienced to adopt a vigilant confirmation of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, with either sudden or patient evidence of full-Gospel gifts, really, is there time for such refusal to commit it to deliberation at some later time?

From Tozer’s nearly 300 entries from the above ‘Devotional’ and our being impacted by the Holy Spirit, , came a ‘deeper life’, ‘rapturous worship’, ‘joyous surrender’, for Tozer, it appears quite certain in refusal too. As the extent of being fully empowered for Tozer is “Even the Holy Spirit does not, , yield ourselves to any hypnotic influence.” Instead for him, the height of spirituality is “its very essence is the indwelling life of Christ Himself”. It simply is not within him to confirm a single un-forbidden gift.

He penned it as though he were speaking for the whole wing of the rebellious flock. As they can say right along with him in this conditional statement: “Pentecost came and stayed” for the rebellious, "stripped of His un-forbidden "gifts"!!

The surprising thing with Tozer is, with all that insight, he still gave "gifts" out as an option (at best).