more fire

The Holy Spirit is a holy fire; He is a creative, life-giving force and a rushing mighty wind; He is the Comforter and He is Christ’s gift; the Holy Spirit is the Oil of Gladness; He is the third Person of the Trinity and the breath of Jesus; The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Living God.

The fire of the Holy Spirit represents Christ’s mission more than any other symbol. Many people associate Christianity with the cross, but it is the fire that exemplifies Christ’s mission. The cross represents the death, and the fire represents the victory. In Matthew John the Baptist said about Jesus: “I baptize you with water for repentance. But He that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

When Christ, who is pure and holy, was baptized in the River Jordan the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove. But, because we are sinful, the Holy Spirit must come to us as a blazing fire so that we might be made holy. It is the fire of the Holy Spirit that convicts us of sin. It is the fire that brings to light the darkness. And it is the fire that burns out the impurities of sin and beckons us towards holiness.

An altar without fire is a temple without God. The fireless altar signifies a ruined temple. We must allow the fire to continue its work in us. We must preach with fire, pray with fire, and worship with fire.

After Christ “baptizes [us] with the Holy Spirit and with fire” we must continue to pray for more fire so that the altar continues to blaze for the glory of God. There is only one baptism, but a continual filling. The more He fills us; the more He breaks us; the more He sets His fire upon us; the more we become like Him.

An altar without fire is a temple without God. The fireless altar signifies a ruined temple. We must allow the fire to continue its work in us. We must preach with fire, pray with fire, and worship with fire. For fifty days after Christ ascended to the right hand of the Father there were no conversions. Then during Pentecost, which is the Jewish feast of harvest, the fire came and 3,000 people were transformed into believers. That is the power of the Holy Spirit fire.

Be like the bush that burned with the glory of God but was not consumed. Be like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who went into the furnace but were not burned. Be like gold and silver whose quality improves by prolonged contact with the fire. Blaze, but don’t be burned. Be fireproof. Be like the deep things of God which are brought closer to Him by His fire. Sin grieves the Holy Spirit and quenches His power among the believer. Yield to the Holy Spirit and do as the Lord commands, “Be holy, because I am holy.”

The Holy Spirit has incredible purpose in the life of every Christian believer. He reveals Christ to us and through us to others. He gives power to the believer. He teaches us to pray and He prays for us. He searches our heart and convicts us of sin. He brings to attention scripture and its meaning in time of need. He is the Master of the house, which is our body. He baptizes the believer. He gives us faithfulness to serve and boldness to testify to the work that God has done in our lives. He fills us with the fullness of God and He anoints us for service. More fire.

Here is a short (about 30 seconds) video of a baptism. I shot this with my digital camera at the end of summer. The person entering a new life in Christ is someone very special to me. Hope this video reminds you the viewer of God’s power to tranform lives. Be blessed.

I first met Hammer John this summer after moving into my new apartment. He lives in a crackhouse a few buildings down from me.

I should mention that I live in Brooklyn, NY in a neighborhood called Bedford-Stuyvesant (”do-or-die-Bed-Stuy”). Although Bed-Stuy has a history of drug- and gang-related violence the neighborhood is gentrifying due to the ever-expanding Hasidic community and due to the influx of hipsters who can’t afford to pay the steep rent in trendier neighborhoods such as Williamsburg or Park Slope. Rapper Jay-Z grew up in the Marcy Projects (located one block from my apartment) and the TV show “Everyody Hates Chris” takes place in Bed-Stuy circa 1982.

Hammer John first approached me when I was on my way to work. Waving a crumpled pink slip of paper he said, “I need to get downtown to pay this ticket. Can I have a couple bucks for train fare?” I don’t mind giving money to those in need, but I also don’t want to make a habit of giving money to an addict who lives on my block. I suggested that he walk downtown since it only takes 30 minutes (I’ve done it many times). He kept waving the pink slip erratically and reiterated, “I need to get downtown quick to pay this fine.”

I asked, “How are you gonna pay your fine if you don’t even have train fare?” It was then that he realized that I knew that he was trying to hustle me. He became quiet. His friend snickered. And I continued on my way to work. Since our initial meeting I’ve had several encounters like that with Hammer John.

The other night, on my way to prayer service, I ran into Hammer John. His face looked tired. Hammer John leaned in, as if to tell me a secret, and said, “Look, I’m trying to buy a crack rock.” There was no facade. No fine to pay. Just a desperate plea.

Instead of sensing his desperation, I felt disgust for his situation. I callously said, “Sorry, can’t help ya.”

He said, “I’m just saying that if you want to buy a washing machine I’ll give you a good deal.”

I walked away. At the prayer service the Lord laid it on my heart to pray for Hammer John, but then I realized that the Lord was laying it on my heart to pray, not just for Hammer John, but for my relationship with Hammer John. The Holy Spirit was convicting me. I thought to myself, “Why am I feeling disgust and reproach rather than love and compassion for someone obviously suffering so much?” I prayed that the Lord have mercy on me so that I might love others like Christ loves us.

I also prayed that God would break the hardness of my heart and give me a heart of flesh. I then called on the name of the Lord that He’d do a miraculous work in the life of Hammer John, that He’d heal him of his addiction, and that Hammer John would come to know that God loves him and wants to change him for His glory. During that prayer service I learned that sometimes God has to reveal the weakness of the person praying before their prayer can be effective.

Ezekiel 36:26: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

Christ never commanded His followers to organize politically, take up arms, rail at homosexuals, or curse unwed mothers, but that is what many who call themselves Christians have chosen to do. The body of Christ is being co-opted, infected by politics and greed. Politically-motivated Christians are busy patting themselves on the back for being good citizens while Christianity is being perceived as an increasingly hostile and judgmental religion.

Sinners ran to Jesus, but they are running from the church (which is the body of Christ). People are afraid they’ll be judged in church rather than saved. Prostitutes, tax collectors and other sinners were attracted to Jesus, but today many parishioners would rather keep the “filth” out of the church than to let them enter in and be washed by the blood.

Politically-motivated “evangelists” have chosen to mobilize Christians around issues rather than to encourage believers to bleed for people.

In John 8, some of Jesus’s opponents among the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus into speaking against the Law of Moses. They brought Him a woman caught in the act of adultery and asked, “In the law Moses commanded that she should be stoned to death. What do you say?”

Jesus, drawing in the dust, said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” The Pharisees left, being convicted by their own conscience. Jesus looked up and asked the woman, “Where are your accusers.” She told Him they had left. He then said to her, “Neither do I condemn you: go, and sin no more.”

What these Pharisees failed to understand is that Christ came not to condemn, but to save sinners. Christians are not called to judge those outside the body of Christ, but are called to love and suffer for others so that they might come to the throne of grace and be saved. Christians who have never held the hand of a woman considering abortion, but are quick to vote to criminalize these troubled women should repent because they have just taken sides with the stone-throwing mob of Pharisees rather than with their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Many politically-motivated evangelists (and their followers alike) have tried to use the law to justify their own own supposed morality, which is founded, not in God, but in their own will. These “evangelists” are trying to mobilize Christians around issues rather than encouraging believers to bleed for people. These so-called “evangelists” have made a second, inferior image of the body of Christ and that image is deceiving the mass of people who need salvation.

Christians who have never held the hand of a woman considering abortion, but are quick to vote to criminalize these troubled women should repent because they have just taken sides with the stone-throwing mob of Pharisees rather than with their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Christians need to have mercy on the unsaved as Christ had mercy on us. Christians need to start living more like Christ than like a Pharisee, a Roman, or an American. We need to identify with Christ before even considering our national, ethnic or economic identity. We need to ask ourselves if we are quicker to bleed for others or quicker to throw stones.

We have been given a Kingdom of God agenda, not a political agenda, and we must let Christ love others through us. We must love the mother as much as the unborn child. A woman considering abortion might not have heard the gospel from a person dependent on the Spirit of God. And if a person, led by the Spirit, would hold the hand of a young woman considering abortion rather than endorse a political strategem that mother might come to know Christ and the baby might have a chance. Christians are not called to rally around pro-life or any other issues. Christians are called to be faithful witnesses and to bring lives to the throne of grace so that souls might be transformed into the image of God. More fire.

Compared to the politically tumultous time in which Christ lived, Americans, even in the aftermath of 9/11, live in relative peace and prosperity. The American political system is a two-party system, and the two parties (Democrats and Republicans) have a similar agenda: national security, free market, individual rights. During the life of Christ, Israel was in a state of complete cultural upheaval. It was controlled and occupied by Roman forces and it hadn’t been an independent state since the Maccabean revolt (165 BC - 63 BC).

Within the Jewish community in Israel there were several factions, which opposed one another politically and religiously, often violently. Among the many factions were Pharisees (priestly, more democratic class), Saducees (priestly, wealthy aristocracy that collaborated with Rome), Zealots (violent insurgent group bent on Israel’s independence), and Essenes (desert dwellers awaiting the imminent arrival of the messiah), and within these factions there was greater division. Amidst this intense political background, Christ chose to refrain from discussing topics of a political nature.

Christ didn’t come to wage a political war. Neither did He come to rule within worldly governments. He came to wage a spiritual war. He came to establish the Kingdom of God so that all might be saved through Him.

Many (including some of his own followers) believed that the messiah would come bearing the sword. They didn’t understand that the Kingdom of God extended way beyond political boundaries. Christ didn’t come to solve the political problems of the world. If He had come for political power He would have succumb to Satan’s temptation in the desert. That is, He would have worshiped Satan in exchange for authority over all the kingdoms of the world.

But Christ didn’t come to take over worldly governments. He came to establish the Kingdom of God. Whenever a person tried to trap Jesus into answering a contentious political question He responded with an answer straight from His Kingdom.

In Matthew 22, some of Jesus’s opponents among the Pharisees sent people to trick Jesus into saying something that would provide a pretext for His arrest. The Pharisees believed it was idolatrous to use a Roman coin because on it was Caesar’s image (it also had on it the inscription”Divus” - “God”).

The spies asked Jesus, “Are we permitted to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor?”

Jesus asked them to pull out a coin and then asked, “Whose image is on it?”

They replied that it had Caesar’s image.

Christ said, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s.” He could have given an easy answer (either “Yes, pay your taxes” or “No, don’t pay your taxes”), but He chose to respond to a politically-motivated question with a radical, godly answer. Jesus Christ is commanding that we submit our whole selves to God since we are made in His image.

Christ’s Kingdom is not of this world, so His commandments (which emphasize “power under” as opposed to “power over”) seem foreign to those whose eyes are closed to the gospel. While worldly governments employ violence (military, police) to control the people, Christ commanded us to love and suffer for others so that His Kingdom will be further established.

Christ’s Kingdom is not of this world, so His commandments (which emphasize “power under” as opposed to “power over”) seem foreign to those whose eyes are closed to the gospel.

By no means am I suggesting that Christians should disobey their government. Romans 13 says, “Be in subjection to governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God.” And I am not suggesting that there need be no wars. Romans also says that governments “do not bear the sword in vain.” I am saying that if we call ourselves Christians then we must be like Christ. That does not mean we should be like Old Testament judges or even like the faithful centurion in the New Testament. It means that we must be like Christ. He commands us to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (emphasis on “harmless as dove”) Matthew 10:16.

Whereas governments mobilize armies to defeat their enemies, Christ rescued the poor through charity, healed the diseased and demon-possessed by the power of the Holy Spirit, and suffered on the cross so that we might be saved. He came to save widows and orphans as much as he came to save prostitutes and transexuals. Christ came to save the dregs of society, the ones who have been forgotten by the political and intellectual classes.

Christ didn’t come to wage a political war. Neither did He come to rule within worldly governments. He came to wage a spiritual war. He came to establish the Kingdom of God so that all might be saved through Him. More fire.

Wait on Him in the orchestral chamber. Be His, continually allowing Him to tune and polish you. Even if you don’t feel like you are in His presence continue to trust Him and wait and pray on Him fervently. Keep clean and in tune so that when He comes you will be ready to serve Him.

Every instrument has its purpose, but not every instrument performs in every concert. A harp will sound out of place in a bluegrass band and a harmonica has no place in a symphony orchestra, but both instruments have purpose, and when placed in its proper genre, have the ability to uplift and edify its listener.

God uses all His instruments, but not necessarily at once.

(Inspired by 2 Chronicle 29)

Recently I’ve been concerned with the unsavory relationship between politics and religion in America, especially since we are in the midst of an election season and all the (political and religious) peacocks have their feathers flared. (i.e. Last year Pat Robertson made a death threat to a foreign leader and Jerry Falwell is still condemning unsaved sinners). As far as I can remember, Christians are not called to judge those outside the body of Christ. We are called to suffer for them and to be willing to lay down our lives for them as Christ did for us.

Christians are citizens of the Kingdom of God and subject to Him. Basically, we are foreigners in this world. We’re here for only a season and we are supposed to obey the laws of this country just as we would obey the laws of any country in which we are a visitor. But, regardless of a nation’s laws, we must remain faithful to God and, even if we are persecuted, we must pray for the heads of nations just like Paul did in prison and Christ did on the cross. A follower of Christ must believe that prayer is more powerful than voting.

Like Christ, we must chastise the pharisees, false prophets and those that cause division in the body of Christ. Like Christ, we must love the sinners of the world so that they might come to the throne of grace and receive God’s mercy.

We are not called to be political provocateurs. If we do become involved in the politics of this world we will (to put it in King James jargon) be unequally yoked. Christians are not called to spread democracy or any other type of worldly government. Nowhere in scripture does it say Christ was pro-democracy, pro-socialism or pro-communism (let alone a Democrat or Republican). Christians are called to further establish the Kingdom of God by allowing Christ to love others through them. Instead of voting to criminalize unwed mothers who are considering abortion, we are called to love them, even bleed for them. Instead of cursing gay marriage, Christians should work to sanctify their own marriages. Instead of donating money to right wing political causes, take a homeless person to lunch and if he asks why you did this for him tell him “Because God loves you.” Pray for peace in Jerusalem, but also pray for peace in Beirut, Baghdad and Pyongyang.

We must stop calling ourselves conservative Christians and take up the radical charge Christ has given us. Christ was not a conservative. It was the conservative establishment that crucified Him. He was, in actuality, a radical, a real revolutionary. As citizens of the Kingdom of God we must abide by the radical laws that God has ordered us to follow. Christ said to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself (Matt 22: 36-39). If we really obeyed this commandment we would see revival not only in our churches but in our neighborhoods and across nations.

Nowhere in scripture does it say Christ was pro-democracy, pro-socialism or pro-communism (let alone a Democrat or Republican).

In regards to worldy politics, I’m unable to find Christ’s agenda in scripture. In fact his only agenda was to bleed for others. Simon the Zealot (who, it is assumed because of his title, was part of a guerilla terrorist group that tried to reclaim Israel by force) and Matthew (a tax collector and pawn of the Roman state) were both Christ’s apostles. They came from complete opposite ends of the political spectrum. In fact, the Zealots sometimes assassinated tax collectors to make a political statement. But Christ called them both to follow Him and to spread the Good News. And never in scripture do their political differences come up. Praise God that we have a merciful saviour who loves us regardless of where we come from.

This world, polluted by Satan and our own sin, encourages arrogance, sexual immorality, and contention. Vanity is emulated in the media and blasphemy is considered a common part of the English vernacular. God’s commandments are stricter than the world’s social norms. 1 John 3:15 says that if you curse your brother, you’re a murderer. And in Matthew 5 Jesus says that if you lust after a woman you’ve already committed adultery in your heart. In the same chapter Jesus commands “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” This is a far cry from making death threats against your enemies and judging those lost in sin.

Like Christ, we must chastise the pharisees, false prophets and those that cause division in the body of Christ. Like Christ, we must love the sinners of the world so that they might come to the throne of grace and receive God’s mercy. More fire.