Send the Fire
“I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! ~ Luke 12:49
Fire is an element that is fascinating on earth. It consumes anything that stands in its path and leaves a visible trail wherever it goes. Fire also purifies whatever it touches.
Throughout the Old Testament, we see the Lord recognize Himself with fire. When He appeared to Moses (Exodus 3:1-2), it was as the burning bush He led the children of Israel through the wilderness by a pillar of fire by night and pillar of cloud by day (Exodus 13:21). When confronted by the prophets of Baal, Elijah called down fire from God to show that He was serving a living God (1 Kings 18:24). In the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews states that our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29).
When He was still on earth, Jesus Christ said He had come to bring fire (Luke 12:49). What is this fire supposed to do? Jesus explains that the fire is there to bring about division. Our God is jealous, and He will have nothing stand in His way of possessing a soul. We can learn from Abraham the Patriarch in this regard. In other words, whoever decides to surrender to God, can be sure that He will come upon them as a consuming fire until all dross be consumed. It won't be an easy process, but you can rest assured that the Lord will be with you throughout, just as the refiner of gold will be present during the process of refining gold until his image is perfectly reflected.
"John the Baptist," in Luke 3:16-17, said Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire and burn with unquenchable fire the chaff. Here there are two folds of the fire of our Lord. One is to refine, and the other is to consume. There are two types of people here: those who will yield themselves to the Lord so that He can refine them and those who will resist this refining fire and become consumed. Either you become refined, or you become consumed.
That the Lord will send His fire upon His church to cleanse the worldliness that has crept into it, the church is supposed to reflect the image of Christ to the world, but it has become tainted with the world's image. Therefore, the church needs fire, and I believe that the Lord will send it. The question then becomes, will we come out refined or burned?
Jesus is coming back again!! He is not coming back as the lamb of God. Jesus has laid a foundation for us to build on. He also sets before us a choice, either be refined or consumed. He is coming back as a consuming fire, and there will be a great separation on that day. The wheat will be harvested into the barn (representing those who will enter eternal bliss) and the chaff consumed with unquenchable fire (those who will spend eternity in darkness).
Oh beloved, pray that the Lord will send His fire upon you now to refine you and set you on the path to becoming His possession because only those that are His possession will be with Him in eternal bliss.
Here is a prayer from William Booth the founder of the Salvation Army:
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