The God Who Answers By Fire
"For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. Deuteronomy 4:24
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:3
The Lord our God is a consuming fire and a jealous God. He appeared to Moses in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai as the Angel of the Lord was jealous and upset that the children of Israel were captives in Egypt. The same angel of the Lord that Moses talked about to the Children of Israel when they came out of Egypt and said:
"Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. "Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. "But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. "For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off.
"You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars. "So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. "No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.
"I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. "And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you.
"I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beast of the field become too numerous for you. "Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land. "And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. "You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. "They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you." Exodus 23:23-33
Now fire is a very strong element it burns and consumes things. It can be very productive but it also can be very destructive. Fire is not something that is not to be played around with or taken lightly. The same with God in Jesus Christ.
To those who obey His Voice and serve on Him, God has promised He will bless their bread and their water and take sickness away from their midst. He will also send His fear before them and will make their enemies turn their backs to them. He will do great and wonderful things for them.
But if His people turn from Him and serve others gods, God has said He will not pardon them. He will curse and not bless them but judge them. It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God and God’s word is true:
For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:26-31
Many Christians underestimate the vengeance and judgment of God even against His own. Now the fire the fell from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed it totally and completely. But fire the came from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the all the disciples on the day of Pentecost blessed them. It was the same God who just manifested His fire in a different way.
Some preach that prayer will convert anybody. But that is not true. Elijah, the greatest prophet before Jesus came, called the fire down from heaven at Mt. Carmel and God turned the hearts of all the people back to him. But it did not do evil and King Ahab who was there any good. For Queen Jezebel only wanted to take the life of Elijah for killing her false prophets of Baal.
It is a fact that God does not convert false ones like those at Sodom and Gomorrah where a lot prayer went up and God's fire of judgment comes down as an answer. God does not forgive and convert all people in answers to the prayers of His children. Some He judges and destroys like he did to the nation of Israel, and the city of Jerusalem at 70 AD; even though Jesus prayed on the cross and said Father forgive them for they know not what they do!
Apostle John was in the Spirit and He saw God in Jesus Christ in a way that most people do not imagine Him to be. Typically Jesus is portrayed as the Shepherd holding a lamb in His arms but not the terrible Warring King and the Judge of the whole earth that John described:
Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.
And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. Revelations 1:12-18
Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Revelations 19:11-16
Here the word of God gives a clear picture of Jesus a Judge and a Man of War who is very vengeful and fierce and wrath. The same Jesus who made a whip and by force drove moneychangers out of the house of God swearing and cursing at them. So why do people imagine that Jesus will not judge them and fight against them even in the current time of life? Because men see and believe what they want to see and believe and not the truth!
Now fire seems to play an important element with God. Something that many people take very lightly. But God’s word tells us that He consumes His enemies by fire and throws them into a lake of fire:
Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelations 20:7-15
There is something about this God who answers by fire especially when He judges people that we ignore when it is not to be ignored. For God has promised a blessing to those who are beware of Jesus Christ and obey His voice or a curse to those who provoke Him. To such as these God has promised that He will not pardon their transgressions His name is in Jesus Christ..
Well Elijah at Mt. Carmel said to the people, "I alone am left a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. "Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. "Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God." So all the people answered and said, "It is well spoke 1 Kings 18:22-24
When God is put to a test He will answer by fire. Elijah and the people of God were blessed but the four hundred false prophets of Baal word destroyed. Many people have been praying for revival but they fail to understand and appreciate that in a true revival by God’s Holy Spirit hypocrites and false ones will be destroyed.
Some people pray for revival and only seem to find more trouble and difficulties. It could be that God is trying to tell them something that they are false. That if He really moves in answer to their prayers they will be destroyed. Something that many need to consider even this day. It is sometimes God’s grace that He does not send a revival because with it also comes judgment.
"For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. Deuteronomy 4:24
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:3
The Lord our God is a consuming fire and a jealous God. He appeared to Moses in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai as the Angel of the Lord was jealous and upset that the children of Israel were captives in Egypt. The same angel of the Lord that Moses talked about to the Children of Israel when they came out of Egypt and said:
"Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. "Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. "But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. "For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off.
"You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars. "So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. "No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.
"I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. "And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you.
"I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beast of the field become too numerous for you. "Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land. "And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. "You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. "They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you." Exodus 23:23-33
Now fire is a very strong element it burns and consumes things. It can be very productive but it also can be very destructive. Fire is not something that is not to be played around with or taken lightly. The same with God in Jesus Christ.
To those who obey His Voice and serve on Him, God has promised He will bless their bread and their water and take sickness away from their midst. He will also send His fear before them and will make their enemies turn their backs to them. He will do great and wonderful things for them.
But if His people turn from Him and serve others gods, God has said He will not pardon them. He will curse and not bless them but judge them. It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God and God’s word is true:
For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:26-31
Many Christians underestimate the vengeance and judgment of God even against His own. Now the fire the fell from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed it totally and completely. But fire the came from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the all the disciples on the day of Pentecost blessed them. It was the same God who just manifested His fire in a different way.
Some preach that prayer will convert anybody. But that is not true. Elijah, the greatest prophet before Jesus came, called the fire down from heaven at Mt. Carmel and God turned the hearts of all the people back to him. But it did not do evil and King Ahab who was there any good. For Queen Jezebel only wanted to take the life of Elijah for killing her false prophets of Baal.
It is a fact that God does not convert false ones like those at Sodom and Gomorrah where a lot prayer went up and God's fire of judgment comes down as an answer. God does not forgive and convert all people in answers to the prayers of His children. Some He judges and destroys like he did to the nation of Israel, and the city of Jerusalem at 70 AD; even though Jesus prayed on the cross and said Father forgive them for they know not what they do!
Apostle John was in the Spirit and He saw God in Jesus Christ in a way that most people do not imagine Him to be. Typically Jesus is portrayed as the Shepherd holding a lamb in His arms but not the terrible Warring King and the Judge of the whole earth that John described:
Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.
And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. Revelations 1:12-18
Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Revelations 19:11-16
Here the word of God gives a clear picture of Jesus a Judge and a Man of War who is very vengeful and fierce and wrath. The same Jesus who made a whip and by force drove moneychangers out of the house of God swearing and cursing at them. So why do people imagine that Jesus will not judge them and fight against them even in the current time of life? Because men see and believe what they want to see and believe and not the truth!
Now fire seems to play an important element with God. Something that many people take very lightly. But God’s word tells us that He consumes His enemies by fire and throws them into a lake of fire:
Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelations 20:7-15
There is something about this God who answers by fire especially when He judges people that we ignore when it is not to be ignored. For God has promised a blessing to those who are beware of Jesus Christ and obey His voice or a curse to those who provoke Him. To such as these God has promised that He will not pardon their transgressions His name is in Jesus Christ..
Well Elijah at Mt. Carmel said to the people, "I alone am left a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. "Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. "Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God." So all the people answered and said, "It is well spoke 1 Kings 18:22-24
When God is put to a test He will answer by fire. Elijah and the people of God were blessed but the four hundred false prophets of Baal word destroyed. Many people have been praying for revival but they fail to understand and appreciate that in a true revival by God’s Holy Spirit hypocrites and false ones will be destroyed.
Some people pray for revival and only seem to find more trouble and difficulties. It could be that God is trying to tell them something that they are false. That if He really moves in answer to their prayers they will be destroyed. Something that many need to consider even this day. It is sometimes God’s grace that He does not send a revival because with it also comes judgment.
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