"The coming revival
is not about sermons and information; it is going to be about worship and
Impartation" - Tommy Tenney – God's Favorite House
What is the kind of worship
that God desires from His people?
Paul explained it in
Romans 12:1-2, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy,
to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is
your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern
of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will
be able to test and approve what God’s will is–His good, pleasing and perfect
will."
The Old Testament (2
Chronicles 7:1-2) explains that “When Solomon finished praying, fire came down
from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory
of the Lord filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the
Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it.”
Today, our bodies are the
temple of God and before God can rest His manifest presence (Glory) in our
bodies. He has to cleanse and purify His temple, according to
Matthew 3:12- "His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear
his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff
with unquenchable fire."
"Glory is the
manifested presence of Jesus. Revival is filled with stories of His manifest
presence resting upon His people. He lives in all believers, but the glory of
His presence comes to rest on a few" - Bill Johnson
Malachi 3:2-4, “But who
can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be
like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and
purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and
silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness,
and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in
days gone by, as in former years.”
How will God cleanse and
purify His temple?
Zechariah 13:9,
"This third I will put into the fire; I will refine them like silver and
test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will
say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.'"
Matthew 3:11, “I
baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more
powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with
the Holy Spirit and with fire."
What is the purpose of the
Baptism of Fire?
God is a consuming fire
(Exodus 24:17, Deuteronomy 4:24, Hebrews 12:29). The presence of His
consuming fire (Malachi 3:2-4, Zechariah 13:9) will consume you to:
·
make you a new creation
burning away the old self (2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone
is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come")
·
cause you to manifest
Jesus - Christ in you (Colossians 1:27, "Christ in us, the hope
of glory"). As in Isaiah 60:1-2, “… but the Lord rises upon you and His
glory appears over you” and in Verse 5, “Then you will look and be radiant,
your heart will throb and swell with joy.”
·
burn away the dross in your
lives
·
make you a pure perfect
vessel
·
clear up the bondages of
your disobedience, resistance, doubt, unbelief
and fear.
·
bring fire to break down
the mind
·
clear up your works and
motives that are contrary to God’s purpose in your life.
·
burn the dross of wrong
purposes and motivations, leaving behind a concentrated focus on the things of
God.
·
burn away unnecessary
desires of life, leaving behind the one burning desire that God wants you to
accomplish as you serve Him.
·
fight the resistance that
the enemy puts in your way that prevents you from proclaiming God’s message.
The fire of God will
transform believers from being lukewarm to on fire for Him and to draw our hearts back to the first love
- Jesus.
·
In Matthew 22:37-38,
Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.'
·
Revelation 3:15-16- 'I
know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were
either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am
about to spit you out of my mouth.'
The refining fire is to
prepare us to work with Him in unity and in perfect union (John 10:37-38,
14:11)
Only after going through
the refining and purifying process, can God then fill us with the fullness of
His power and glory.
David Herzog wrote, "If you try to cast away darkness but you yourself are not
full of light, chances are it will take a long time to do it. When you are full
of the glory of God, often one word from God will expel the darkness."
Matthew 8:16
"When evening came,
many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits
with A WORD and healed all the sick."
The Fire Baptism is a
very precious gift from God. Many of us are baptized with the Holy Spirit, are
able to speak in tongues and lay hands on the sick. Unless you experience the
Fire baptism, you may take a very long time to reach the fullness of the power
and glory of God, which is His DNA - the likeness and image of God. We need to
be baptized with Fire so as to allow God to refine and purify us
(Matthew 3:11-12, Luke 3:16-17)
You will be amazed at what the Fire of God can do to transform a person’s life.
