FRESH FIRE

09/21/2023

"Men that have given their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 15:26).

Whenever I read about the testimonies of the men and women of faith listed in the Book of Hebrews, I ask myself, "Are you going to the same Heaven as these folks?" I mean, their lives communicate what the power of God can do in and through anyone willing to submit to God. I read about a great man of God, so full of the Spirit and power of God, that he brought the dead to his meetings and laid them right in front of the altar where he ministered, and without getting distracted from his message, the dead would get up and walk away. It is recorded that on one occasion, while he was praying in the forest, a python crawled on him, yet he did nothing to get the python off of him. However, he got up after his prayers and found the python dead by his side. These are the kinds of occurrences we should expect with the Holy Spirit in us, and when we don't see them, we ought to cry for mercy and retrace our steps to the place of reverence for the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:6, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." Hunger in this Scripture means to desire earnestly. Yet, hunger for God is one thing that our generation lacks. In the history of the church of Jesus Christ, our generation is the most distracted and the most desensitized to the Holy Ghost. We know little about having a rich fellowship with the Holy Ghost. Our version of Christianity, in my opinion, is an abuse of the resurrection of Jesus. Only in this generation would you see a Christian skip a church service to watch a football match. Only in this generation would you hear a Christian say, "Jesus is my pastor," or, "I don't go to church because the church is in my heart." Or complain that attending church services twice a week is excessive. How did we get to this place of lukewarmness? And why are we so comfortable living life without the fire of God?

Let me remind you that heaven is not for the lukewarm. Jesus said, "So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of My mouth" (Revelation 3:16). The desire of the Spirit is for each one of us to be on fire for the Lord. In Romans 12:11, the Scripture says, "Let us not allow slackness to spoil our work and let us keep the flames of the Spirit burning, as we do our work for God." In other words, we are each called to be a fireplace of the Holy Ghost. We are to be hungry enough for God that we are willing to remove anything that hinders the flame of the Spirit in our lives. 

Jesus paid too much for our destinies; the least we can do is to seek and burn for Him passionately. Child of God, you must fan the flames of the Spirit in you. Do not lose the fire of God in you. Fight with your last breath if need be. And if you have fallen short and tolerated lukewarmness, repent now and ask the Lord to fill you again with the fresh fire of His Spirit.

God bless you.

Faith Filled Confession:

I refuse to succumb to the rudiments, corruption, and destructive influences of this world of darkness. The life of God shines in and through me, dispelling every force and negative impact of darkness around me in the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.

Prayer Points

Pray and declare that the Global Day of Praise shall be a day of encounter, healing, salvation, and demonstration of the Spirit.  

Pray that our ministry will be received by those whom we are sent to. Romans 15:30-31

Let's continue to pray that God's people will live revived, broken, and awaken to God's will, grace, instruction, and correction in righteousness.

Let's continue to pray that God's people will live undistracted by the pleasures of this world. Also, pray that none of us will yield to the demand of the flesh and the devil.

ONE-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Ecclesiastes 10-12; 2 Corinthians 11:16-33