Skip to main content

Tongues of Fire

I will, Lord willing, continue my study on the pitfalls of Saul, but for now, I want to touch base on a subject that is of grave importance for the church.
Concerning the coming of Christ, John the Baptist once declared to the the crowds that he baptized, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11 / ESV).” Just before His glorious ascension into heaven, Jesus told all His disciples, “...for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now...But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth(Acts 1:5, 8 / ESV).” Indeed this mighty outpouring of power and holy fire would take place on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). In his book, Impossible People, Os Guinness wrote, “Jesus, the Son of God, is the Father's greatest gift to humanity, and the Spirit of Jesus is the greatest gift of Jesus to His followers and the essential requirement for living His way of life and fulfilling His Great Commission.”
Now, there are many, many other passages describing the Holy Spirit and His workings within every believer, but I want you to understand that ultimately the Holy Spirit was given to us that we might glorify Christ. True, He intercedes for, strengthens, and comforts us, but read up on John 14-16 and you will see that the primary ministry of the Spirit is to promote the teachings of Jesus and magnify His person. When He was on earth, Jesus said, “...I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things,” and concerning the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “...he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you...he shall testify of me.” (John 8:28b, 14:26b, 15:26b / KJV)
My point is that far too often Christians want to claim the power of the Spirit without understanding His purpose. Realize that the more you are yielded to the Spirit, the more He will use you to testify of Christ! Many believers claim to have the “holy fire”, but it is just emotional mumbo jumbo. When the fire of the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, they were used to boldly proclaim the gospel! What's the point of praising God in a pew, if you will not seek to reach out to a lost soul, so that all of heaven can rejoice? What's the point of “speaking in tongues”, if you are not willing to use that same tongue to be a daily witness? On Sunday, we make it seem that we're ready to “Go tell it on the mountains”, but somehow on Monday our attitude is “I shall not be moved.” What changed? Did the Spirit leave? Is He not still within our lives? Invariably, if we are truly filled with the Spirit, we will be a faithful witness. As you are led by His Spirit, you will seek to lead others to Christ. This is where the walk , produces the talk.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Complacent Christianity

We have our spiritual programs, concerts, and conferences We have mounted our doctrines, promoted our denominations, and pushed our preferences We have booked calendars, busy lives, and countless bibles We have bumper stickers about faith, T-Shirts with scripture, and a mass marketed message of the gospel Yet, there is a steep decline in church attendance, a constant scorn for holy living, and a growing disdain for one's fellow man There is confusion over identity, carelessness over eternity, and an increase of biblical incompetence Perhaps it is because Christians have sought the favor of man above the fullness of the Spirit We have heralded our denominational differences, rather than proclaim the gospel to all who will hear it We mask our fear of complete surrender by hiding in a pew and handing over a tithe We timidly wade the surface of Christ-likeness rather than willingly take the glorious dive We must come
2 comments
Read more

A Refreshing Witness

Proverbs 25:25 states,  “As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.”  Most Americans do not realize the privilege in simply having clean, cold water accessible in their home. When I fill a glass of water, to my shame, I hardly ever think about the millions of people who have died because they have no reliable source of water. Of course, in verse 25, Solomon was illustrating a bigger point than just quenching someone’s physical thirst. He revealed that “good news” can be refreshing and reviving to one’s soul. Do you remember what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman by the well? He declared, “ But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life  (John 4:14).” There are millions of lives spiritually thirsty. They are destitute of  the water of everlasting life.  They need the love and light of Jesus to quench their dry spirits
1 comment
Read more

WORLDCLASS SCRUTINIZERS

Lord willing, I will continue to post the "letters of Madam Darkshade", but for now, I am posting something I wrote a few days ago regarding criticism and scrutiny. Romans 14:1-3 , “ Welcome people who are weak in faith, but don't get into an argument over differences of opinion. Some people believe that they can eat all kinds of food. Other people with weak faith believe that they can eat only vegetables. People who eat all foods should not despise people who eat only vegetables. In the same way, the vegetarians should not criticize people who eat all foods, because God has accepted those people (GWT).” 1 Corinthians 13:7a, “Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person... (AMP)” We have lost the art of giving someone the benefit of the doubt. In today's society, perhaps even more in the church, people have become avid critics. At some point in life, we all experience both sides of the ju
3 comments
Read more