Seattle, June 15, 2005. (18)
THE NATURE OF THE LORD IS REVEALED IN THE FIRE. Isaiah called it the spirit of burning. Isa. 4:4 It is evident in this verse that there is a process of cleansing taking place. It is a wonderful work of the Lord whereby He is cleansing His church. His purpose is that she might be made fit to be His Bride. She is named Zion, that identifies her as the true spiritual Sion of the Lord. She is the city of the living God. The heavenly Jerusalem. Now, which city do you think is most important to the Lord? Heb. 12:22 The spiritual city has a true foundation, the chief corner stone, the Lord Jesus Christ. Only that which is built on Him and by Him will stand. 1 Peter 2:6 He will stand on Mount Sion with a special group of saints. So the Mountain is His.Rev. 14:1.
THE CLEANSING OF THE SANCTUARY. A work of purification that will bring the church to an immediate and eternal decision, to be or not to be holy. There will no longer be a middle road of compromise. The Lord will wash away all filth from His people, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning. Isa. 4:4 Any real revival will have these two elements in it. A conviction of sin for the church member and a purification by the Holy Spirit and fire. The fire of the Spirit is most pleasant but the burning of the flesh, the sanctification of body, soul and spirit, may be just that a burning, a destruction of our wants and ways. His presence is as the refiners fire and like fullers soap. Strong stuff, but it gets the job done. As a refiner increases the heat until he has pure silver and gold, so the Lord will use the fire of the Spirit, or firey trials, to purge the church. The precious metal will stay in the fire until all impurities are removed. Are you in the fire? Praise the Lord He is sanctifying, that He might receive an offering of righteousness. See it in Malachai 3:2-3.
AND WITH FIRE. The fire is to purge, to cleanse, to destroy all of that which is superfluous. Today, we seem to have dismissed the words of John found in Mt. 3:12 When speaking of the Spirit baptism, he recognized its sanctifying powers. The Lord Jesus holds the fan and will completely, thoroughly cleanse His threshing floor. We are living in harvest time. The chaff will be separated from the wheat and burned in the unquenchable fire. It becomes a matter of letting the Spirit of the Lord work a separation from the flesh, now, or if we wait, then it becomes a fire of judgment. Lord please send the fire, now, today.