God wants us on fire for Him! He Himself is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29), and He wants His representatives to be fiery witnesses for Him. "Who maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire" (Heb. 1:7).
Fire does not argue with trash or try to soothe it or to excuse its existence. No, fire burns up trash! When filled with God’s fire, trashy thoughts, foolish things, trifling, impudent things are burned to a crisp. They wither. They are consumed. They vanish in smoke and ashes and are no more.
When we get to feeling self-satisfied – take heed! It is good to be satisfied with God, to be witnesses of what HE has done and is doing for us and through us. But we ought never to be satisfied with ourselves. "He satisfieth the longing soul" (Psa. 107:9). It is God Himself who satisfies the soul!
"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing: and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind and naked. I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent" (Rev. 3:15-19).
"He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire" (Matt. 3:11). This was John the Baptist’s testimony of one thing that the Lord Jesus Christ will do for us. This flaming baptism of the Holy Ghost consumes the dross in our souls, burns up half-heartedness, withers and destroys all compromise with the world, the flesh and the devil.
Flaming love for God and for souls is shed abroad in the heart (Rom. 5:5). Love for God, love for souls, love even for our enemies – all of them, the worst of them – is "shed abroad" in our poor hearts when this fiery baptism descends upon us and burns its glorious way through us body and soul!
"Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" (Matt. 5:44).
"Be Filled with the Spirit"
This verse (Ephesians 5:18) contains two commands: "Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit." Some professing Christians never have been known to be drunk with wine, but they are not filled with the Holy Spirit. Therefore they are guilty before God! They have obeyed the negative part of the command – and have utterly neglected the positive command – to be filled with the Spirit.
"Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 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" (Acts 2:38-39). Note that "the promise is unto YOU!"
What have you done with God’s great promise? Jesus designated this fiery Holy Ghost baptism as "THE promise of My Father" (Luke 24:49). What have you done with this special promise? Have you received the "gift" of the Holy Spirit? God’s Word says, "Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:39).
This is an individual matter. Some seem to think that since the Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2nd chapter), there is no need of praying to be filled with the Spirit. But after the day of Pentecost, when a revival started in Samaria under the preaching of Philip, Peter and John went down and prayed for them "that they might receive the Holy Ghost" (Acts 8:14-17). They did not pray at that time for the salvation of those converts, but that they might receive the Holy Spirit!
Harvesting the World for Jesus!
We pray for and expect a great Holy Ghost revival in these closing days, but we need to be individually filled with the Holy Spirit in order to pray effectively for this mighty coming revival. "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" (Rom. 8:26).
That we might reap in the great white harvest fields of the world, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit, for it is: "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts" (Zech. 4:6).
"Be filled with the Spirit" (Eph. 5:18). This is as much His command as that we do not kill, and that we do not commit adultery. Are we obeying the Lord?
Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church (Eph. 5:22-27). He told His disciples to go and teach all nations…"teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:16-20). One thing that He commanded the disciples to do was to "Tarry ye…until ye be endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:49).
"Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till He come and rain righteousness upon you" (Hos. 10:12).
Jesus says, "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive…)" (John 7:37-39).
"Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst" (John 4:14). Notice that the word is "drinketh." We need to drink and to keep on drinking of the Spirit of God!
"The tree is known by his fruit" (Matt. 12:33). "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Gal. 5:22-23).
"Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His face continually" (1 Chron. 16:11).
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