Pastor Ray…
Holy Spirit, thank You again for a fresh stirring and infilling this morning. Thank You for Your presence in us and working through us today. We open our hearts and welcome You. We want more and we know that You do too. Thank You for it in Jesus’ name.
Scripture focus…
11) I indeed baptize you in (with) water because of repentance [that is, because of your changing your minds for the better, heartily amending your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins]. But He Who is coming after me is mightier than I, Whose sandals I am not worthy or fit to take off or carry; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Matthew 3:11 (AMPC)
15) As the people were in suspense and waiting expectantly, and everybody reasoned and questioned in their hearts concerning John, whether he perhaps might be the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
16) John answered them all by saying, I baptize you with water; but He Who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of Whose sandals I am not fit to unfasten. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Luke 3:15–16 (AMPC)
The following excerpt was taken from “Taking Action” by Reinhard Bonnke:
A church that burns is not normal. It is spectacular, and people stop to look. Some who stop will be like Moses and hear the voice of God, though others will be deaf. However, that is where God separates the people of the future. The past spelled Egypt, bondage. The fire spelled freedom, adventure, and life. People are not seeking perfection but fire, warmth, and passion.
Fire made the bush the most famous bush that ever grew. Only Moses saw it, but nobody can forget it. Fire made it what it was, and it made Moses who he was. He was learned in all the wisdom of Egypt, but for all that, he would have died a nobody, a dusty mummy in Egypt. Yet he met the God of fire in the wilderness, and he matters today very much. Similarly, the disciples were unknown, fishing workers, until the tongues of flame rested upon them, and soon they had turned the world upside down. They did not know themselves until the fire transformed them. Their fervor brought them persecution and plenty of verbal abuse, but they are remembered, and their persecutors are lost in oblivion. If any preacher hopes to be noted and remembered, let him be a burning bush.
The divided tongues brought an end to division.
I like that. The divided tongues brought an end to division. And if we say that and believe for that for America, an awakening to the things of God in America, that will take care of the division in America.
Even when they were following Jesus, the disciples vied with one another to see who should be greatest. After Pentecost, however, we read that they “devoted themselves. . .to the fellowship. . . All the believers were together and had everything in common. . . They broke bread in their homes and ate together” (Acts 2:42–46 NIV). One fire was divided into many flames, yet each was the fire of God. They did not need two flames for double power. Those divided flames created a new breed of men—not clones of one another but one new race, a new people. One flame represented the entire fire of God. Andrew’s flame burned with a different color than Jame’s fire. John was still John, but he became a flame called John. Thomas became an on-fire Thomas. Flame people! People who have dwelt with the everlasting burnings cannot stand smoldering smoke. The disciples were called when they were like black candlewicks, but the love of Christ lit them. Candles in a box, tossed into a corner—but taken out and set alight, they lit up the world!
Make no mistake about, if the fire of God touches us, it is to make us witnesses to the very ends of the earth. The baptism in the Spirit is not heavenly candy handed to you by a doting Father, a sugar lollipop, but it is spiritual muscle, fiber, and stamina to set you up in business for God, a soul-saving business. The Church is not a social club but a blazing chariot of God.
The Bible too is our fire guide. God did not provide a textbook for scholars. On the other hand, Bible study is not meant to be a hobby, like learning a language or a pleasant read on a quiet Sunday afternoon. It is always about deliverance and to set us on our chief business. God is on fire to save, the God of salvation. His plan in Pentecost is for us to burn as He burns, burning to bring salvation to the world. God does not come from heaven as an emotional stimulant to warm us a little, give us good meetings, and send us home happy. The Spirit is not concerned with our feelings but with the state of mankind. We may be affected emotionally by His presence, perhaps enraptured, but that is incidental. The purpose of God’s Spirit coming in among us is to send us out.
Pastor Ray…
Remember when Pastor Lynne asked the Lord, “How many people should I ask to be saved in Minneapolis and St. Paul?” What did the Spirit say to her? “Ask for them all.” Every man, every woman, every child, that’s His plan, that is His purpose, and that’s why we need the fire. We need it.
And you know when you are not on fire. You know when your flame is low.
The Word of God is life to us. It’s like throwing logs onto a fire to get it burning hotter so that we will say things or do things or go places maybe that we absolutely would not if we didn’t have the fire of the Holy Ghost. Hallelujah!
Can that just be our prayer, Capital M, capital F—More Fire, Lord! (Tongues)
The fire that burns bright, the fire that shows us in that light, the ways to go. The fire that illuminates what He wants to illuminate in us, to go through us. the fire that will bring out words of power and words of might and words of faith and words of strength! Hallelujah! More fire in Jesus’ name. Hallelujah.
You know there is joy in Spirit-given fire. It’s not just you and me, it’s the Holy Spirit in you and in me, to change things. Hallelujah. We want more. We’re hungry. We’re thirsty. Thank You, Lord, for a fresh fire today. Hallelujah.
Annie led us in singing All Consuming Fire
Ms. Annie. . .
What we had in the past is great and it’s carried us to this moment, but my soul is crying out with all of you and all of creation, “Father, send Your holy fire and make me a living flame to burn for you!”
Pastor Ray…
His fire at different times in our lives, when it really burned super-hot by the Holy Spirit… Or we could say, His presence came in such a way that it burned in us and it got us to the next season. I just want to stay on fire all the time.
Ms. Annie. . .
Fire spreads, unless you’re pouring something cold on it. So, if we’re always on fire, we’re going to ignite Jesus around us. That’s why we have to always stay on fire!
Pastor Ray…
The cold things can’t shut us down. We just keep burning. The disciples had a lot of persecution. The fire came on their heads and they were on fire.
Ms. Annie. . .
The fire of God changed each one of us. And we are carrying it now. But what I’m feeling is, the world around me needs to get ignited and burn up all the chaff and have the holy flame of the love of God burning in our earth.
When we are weak, He is strong. Then does the power of Christ and of God rest upon me.
Paul said, “I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses (and my frailties and my lack of feeling like I’m on fire) Because when I’m weak He is strong, and then the power of God rests upon me.”
By faith we take that, Father. We take that fire. We say ignite us. Burn in us, Lord, in Jesus’ name.
“He who is coming after me will baptize you in the Holy Ghost and fire.” That’s a promise. We take it! We take it! We receive it, Lord, more of Your fire!
We pour the fuel of our hunger on the fire that’s in us. We pour the fuel and our thirst for You on the fire that’s in us, Lord. Let it burn bigger, bigger, bigger, bigger, and never go out in the name of Jesus.
Samuel was in the temple as a little boy and there was wickedness in the nation. The scripture says, the fire of God had not gone out in the tabernacle. I see that we are the fire of God and the fire of God has not gone out in the world as long as we’re here! No matter what wickedness is going on, as long as the fire of God is there in us. let’s burn brighter, Lord! More and more and more and more of You, that’s what we need!
We long for more of You. And we pour the fuel of our hunger and of our heart cries on the fire in us, Lord! Let it explode with atomic love, atomic holiness, and fervor in Jesus’ name.
Oh, Jesus, we need You more and more and more. You said blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, they shall be filled. We are filled now with You in Jesus’ name. Hallelujah, glory to You, Lord.
Annie led group in worship…
Pastor Ray…
There are steps that we take that bring us up and bring us into the very presence that we might speak things that absolutely bring about change, straight out of our hearts.
In every single church that I have attended before and most of them that were denominational churches, there was always somebody that stood out. People that have their flame burning bright. They were like magnets. When it’s like that, He draws people to Himself.
There are things we have to do and get to do to stay burning bright.
We want more. That’s why we’re singing. We are asking for more. That’s for you who are tuning in. Be the light. It’s not a difficult thing. He’s not hiding Himself from us. He wants more of us too. Hallelujah.
There’s joy that comes from being on fire of the Holy Ghost. There’s joy with it. Maybe some people will think you’re from another planet. We’re just temporarily visiting this one. It’s not our home (ha, ha, ha).
When we desire more, we receive more. When we ask for more, we receive more. When we experience more, we will experience more if we believe and if we will receive. Thank You, Father. Thank You, Lord.
Let’s take the steps that are needed. Let’s always take what we see is right, because the Spirit of God is living within us, directing us, and getting us to go, turn, change, stop, be re-arranged.
Lord, we’re asking. We want more of Your fire!
He’s never called us to be behind in any good thing. I know that, Lord. You have called us up and You called us through. You made a way where there was no way. Father, when You sent Jesus on that Cross for us, He made the way for us, today. Over 2,000 years later, the way has been made clear. Every high place lowered and every low place lifted up.
Thank You today that by experiencing Your precious Holy Spirit, we will make a way for others.
We lift up those that have never taken the turn, those that have never been awake. And we pray for eyes to be opened to You this morning in Jesus’ name.
They already have heard You say something. Because You’re speaking! And some of those that have been in darkness, they’ve heard words that have seemed different. Thank You, Father, that their ears have been opened up to hear things that they need to hear.
Like we read right at the beginning, Moses was changed because of the burning bush. There were others that did not change. But he was changed. His life was changed forever. Our lives are changed forever because of Your precious holy fire burning within us.
We lift up and hold up Your whole body, Lord. We pray over Your precious holy body, everyone that calls upon Your name, Jesus. Everyone that knows who You are – that have received You into their hearts.
We do not lean unto our own understanding but just what You want, Your will, what you set out before us to walk into. Hallelujah. We believe not to miss one step and everything that You have predestined for us to walk into, for a greater measure of Your presence, for an even hotter burning within us to do what You’ve called us to do. Yes, there’s strength in that.
Like Reinhard Bonnke said, “It brings an end to division.”
Where there has been division, we pray for a Holy Ghost fire to burn brighter than ever before. We pray over ministers and ministries to rise up in these days and call things by faith and declare, this is the way it shall be, this is the way it shall come.
Things are changing. There’s more on fire today than there was yesterday in Jesus’ name. Thank You, Father, thank You, Lord.
