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Posted: 05/04/2011 at 2:12pm
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The Fire of Awakening is Here - To Baptize Millions of Souls I see a fire that has begun! It has been ignited in the nations and it will not be stopped. It is the fire of awakening. I'm sensing this firefall is a cascading move of God that will usher in a mighty baptism of fire for millions and millions of souls
throughout this needy planet. It is not a revival centered around the
anointed preacher, for when that preacher leaves the fire would go out.
It is not a revival that is centered merely in one local church. It is a revival of cities, regions, and nations – coming alive with the fire of awakening! I want to put before you a summary of this prophetic message God has spoken to me.
Allow God to ignite this flame inside your being. God is asking: "How
hungry are you for My fire, for the fire of My presence? Show me how
much you want it!" Moses turned aside to see the mystery of
fire...will you turn aside from your busy life, your many duties and
distractions to gaze upon the Source of this eternal flame? How badly do
you want it? Our God is a consuming fire.—Hebrews 12:29 We
know that God is love, God is light, God is life, and we gladly embrace
those realities, but so must we embrace with equal certainty and
security the reality that God is an all-consuming fire! Do you want to
know God? He is a consuming Fire! To know God is to embrace the fire! There
are three things that are never satisfied – no, four that never say,
"Enough!": the grave, the barren womb, the thirsty desert, the blazing
fire.—Proverbs 30:15-16 There are
some things that never get finished, that never say "Enough!" This means
there are some things God is never finished with. He never reaches a
point where He says, "You're holy enough, spiritual enough, disciplined
enough, cleansed and purified enough." There is a fire that will burn in
you that will continue to burn long after the meeting, long after you
encounter this raging blaze. Until you are consumed, this fire will
never say, "Enough!" God's determination for your life and mine is not just to touch us, but to consume us with His fire.
The devouring fire of holy jealousy surrounds. He will not share us
with another. He created us for Himself and longs to possess every part
of our lives. So, fire that never says enough is burning in me! And none of us who want to be close to God can escape the heat! God is so supernatural and powerful that He lives among the flames. Here are the components of this all-consuming fire of God: 1. It is a Fire that Jesus Released to the Earth When He Walked Among Us! "I
baptize you with water. But One more powerful than I will come, the
thongs of Whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and with fire...—Luke 3:16-17 There is a sacred fire that is falling from Heaven. It is a baptism of fire the Lord wants to impart to His Bride.
It is the fire of holy love for the Bridegroom, a fire of purity and
holiness, the very spark of Divine fire that is the burning essence of
God. Heavenly fire is being poured out upon the sacrifice and the altar.
Moses stood before a sacred shrub burning with glory and holiness. He
lingered before the burning presence until he became a burning bush! God's plan is to light you on fire and for you to burn – for the entire world to see. The fire of the Tabernacle in the wilderness was holy fire.
It came from Heaven to earth as Moses and Aaron prayed at the gate of
the Tabernacle. In one moment, suddenly, the fire fell and burned on the
altar where sacrifice was made. "The fire on the altar must be kept
burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add
firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire... The fire must be
kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out" (Leviticus 6:12-13). The fire came from God; maintaining the fire was the duty of man. Only God can send the fire. But God did not come down and tend the fire, keeping the flame from dying; this was the responsibility of man. THE FIRE IS TO BE KEPT BURNING CONTINUALLY – IT SHALL NOT GO OUT! Every
morning wood would be added to the fire to keep it burning, prepared
for every new sacrifice. Every morning a new sacrifice was to be placed
on the altar and consumed with this fire. The slain lamb must be put on
the altar where the living flame would transform it and consume it and
lift it in beautiful colors Heavenward as a sweet-smelling fragrance to
God. It is for this reason the Baptism of Fire is given to you and I!
Where fire burns within us, our whole being is ignited, consumed, making
it an acceptable sacrifice. The fire turns everything into flaming
love! Every conflict... Every failure... Every sacrifice... Every gift we offer... The fire makes it sweet to God! Everything you throw into this fire will become love on the other side.
It will be ashes, but it will become beauty! What you cling to and
refuse to throw into the raging flame will become worthless to you one
day. It is the fire burning continually that makes our life a living
sacrifice. Every moment is sacred, every duty is delight, every thought
and word surrendered to Heaven. The path to love is the path of
surrender to this fire! 2. The Fire of God in Holiness It
was in the year King Uzziah died, that I saw the Lord. He was sitting
on a lofty throne, and the train of His robe filled the Temple.
Attending Him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two
wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and
with two they flew. They were calling out to each other, "Holy, holy,
holy is the Lord of Heaven's Armies! The whole earth is filled with His
glory!" Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire
building was filled with smoke.—Isaiah 6:1-4 NLT Isaiah
saw the Lord lifted high and exalted with these singing seraphim flying
around His throne. You see, they flew so close to the fire they caught
on fire! That is what the holiness of God will do to you. If you get
close to holiness, it will purify and ignite your soul. The seraphim are
actually Angels of Fire! Their name, seraphim, means "burning ones." "At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook (NIV)."
A violent concussion hits like a bombshell and a tremendous shaking
burst forth in the Temple of Holiness. Everything began to quake. Walls
and posts and doors. "And the temple was filled with smoke (NIV)." The glory cloud moved in and covered the entire scene. The fragrant incense of praise offered to God became a cloud of glory! Then
I said, "It's all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have
filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen
the King, the Lord of Heaven's Armies." Then one of the seraphim flew
to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of
tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, "See, this coal has touched
your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven."—Isaiah 6:5-7 NLT The
prophet of God was taken into the Most Holy Place of the King's Throne
Room, and there he witnessed firsthand the unveiled Holiness of God
Almighty. Isaiah's response to all this was pronouncing his seventh woe –
"Woe to me!" No one comes before the fire of the holiness of God
without devastation. What a shocking experience for God's prophet! It is
the duty of a prophet to make declarations and announcements on God's
behalf. Isaiah must be humbled and shattered by the revelation of
the King. Isaiah was one of the best of God's people – with anointed
lips he had brought messages from God to the people. Yet he declares, "I am ruined"
(in Hebrew, "finished, cut off, and pierced through, devastated,
destroyed, doomed, undone and ruined"). He not only saw God, he saw
Isaiah. One glimpse of God's holiness and he became a wretch in God's
eyes. Expect the fire of holiness to burn you until you see what Isaiah
saw! The Lord opened the Heavens and He opened the prophet's eyes.
Vision brings hope. True vision brings true hope. We will never feed
people from the Tree of Life, giving them the water from the satisfying
River of God, until we see the Lord high and lifted up. Most
of us think revival is the roof blowing off, but in fact, it is the
bottom falling out. Revival will come not with just a WOW, but a "Woe to
me!" "My eyes have seen the King!" The majesty
of this King left him undone and shattered! When you see God seated on
the throne all you can think about is your uncleanness. "Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar."
Instead of ushering Isaiah out of the Holy Place and throwing him out
on his ear, a provision was made for his cleansing. One of the burning
ones took a live coal, "a burning coal," and brought it to Isaiah. Visions of glory will turn to visits of grace. God's prophet was cleansed by the burning coal. This
"burning coal" from off the altar speaks of the SACRIFICE of Christ
which takes away our sins! The coal is a living flame, which points to
Christ's resurrection life that continues to burn in us with jealous
flames! The Cross is the live coal that touches our lips in purging fire. Jesus became the sacrifice that endured the judgment of God for our sins. 3. The Fire of God in Power What
happens when the Holy Spirit baptizes us with fire? What happens when
the power of the Holy Spirit comes upon us? It is more than we expect
and it is different than we expect. It will make us witnesses for Christ
willing to go anywhere, even to the ends of the earth with the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. It will give us great power to confirm the message of
Christ's death and resurrection with signs and wonders. God Himself will
work with us in demonstrating His power to confirm His Word. "God makes His angels become like winds. He makes His servants become like flames of fire."—Hebrews 1:7 NCV The
fires of God are needed to ignite our passions to love Him and lay our
lives down for Him. Without fire all we have is dead religion and
Christian cliches. This intense God wants an intense love relationship
with us. Imagine, the most awesome, intriguing, mysterious, and
fascinating Being in the Universe wants us to experience Him and meet
with Him in the fires of holiness! This is what is meant by
all-consuming fire. It is a fire that attracts, fastens onto the soul,
and devours everything that gets in the way of holy love. 4. The Burning SEAL of FIRE Upon Our Hearts! This
is the fire of intimacy! It is the burning heart that cannot live apart
from love. The love of Christ now becomes the fuel for the flame of
God. The raging furnace of love is carried upon our lives every moment.
Jesus must be glorified! Jesus must be the center of attraction. Jesus
must be released by our passionate praises. This burning seal is the mark of the Christ. Many are concerned about the mark of the beast, but I have become fixated with the mark of Christ, the brands of His love that burn on my heart.
Undistracted devotion to Jesus will brand the heart with burning
passions. Nothing can be compared to this love. Intense, unyielding,
blazing fire... This is the seal He invites you to place over your
heart! It is a seal that will brand you for life, forever changed by
that love. It will consume your shackles and chains of emotional
bondage and pain. It will unravel your clever ways and break the
self-confidence that has been a part of your life. It is an unquenchable
fire that will not rest until you are fully His. Regardless of your sin or failure, this relentless love that consumes like a forest fire will defeat it!
It is a tenderizing fire that will leave us responsive to Him, craving
more. You are about to become His burning bush of fire (Exodus 3:2)! "Many waters cannot quench love..." (Song of Solomon 8:7).
These waters are floods of obstacles and pressures. Nothing can put out
the eternal flame of Divine love burning within the Bride. Water puts
out fire, but many waters cannot quench this love! Even rivers of
persecution cannot do it. Rivers of misunderstanding, heartache,
disappointment, or pain cannot quench His love. Rivers of accusation,
condemnation and rejection cannot put out the sacred flame.
Joseph felt temptation, Peter denied our Lord Jesus, Saul of Tarsus
persecuted the saints; but nothing could extinguish Love's jealous
flames. This supernatural fire fell from Heaven, consuming the
living sacrifices of the Bridal company. It will not go out. Sickness,
failure, divorce, shame and guilt... none of these can quench the love
of God. He will never put out the fire that burns in our hearts. You can
be fired from your job or rejected by those you love – the strongest
rivers of difficulty cannot put out this blazing fire (Revelation
12:16-17)! His love is the seal, and the source of this love is God Himself. Our
ability to claim this love has nothing to do with our temperament or
personality, how we have treated Him or what we have done to mess up our
lives. His love is the seal over our hearts, not our performance, not
our devotion! His fire is greater than the illegal fires of any
sin or addiction. His fire will not be put out by your failure to walk
perfectly before Him. His love is the seal, not your secret failures and
shameful history. This love will prevail, it will conquer you in the
end – you will be consumed in its flames! Love conquers all (I
Corinthians 13:8-13) and never fails. When you fail, love doesn't. Listen to the Passion Translation of Song of Songs 8:6-7: "Place Me now as a seal of fire over your heart forevermore. This living, consuming flame of fire will seal you to be Mine Until you become my prisoner of love! My love for you will be stronger than the chains of death and the grave. My love for you will be consuming as flashes of fire From the burning heart of God. Place this fierce, unrelenting fire over all your being Until you are consumed! Rivers of persecution and pain will never extinguish this flame. Even floods will be unable to quench this raging fire! Everything will be consumed, It will stop at nothing! Surrender everything to this furious fire— Until it won't even seem to you Like a sacrifice anymore!" All
I can say is there is coming to you a fire that will consume everything
you yield to God. When you and I have surrendered EVERYTHING to this
flame, it won't even seem like a sacrifice anymore! Love you my friends, Brian Simmons Apostolic Resource Center (ARC) & Stairway Ministries
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Topic: The Fire of Awakening is Here by Brian Simmons
