25. Fire in the Earth

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We must deal with this fact. Everything of God, everything of our Salvation, all completion now, came into the Church with the Lord Jesus on the Day of Pentecost. From that moment until now, nothing has been missing. Even more, from the moment you and I were born again, it has been our right to be a manifest son of God now, setting all creation free.

What is missing? – Nothing! This is a big problem.

God’s word to me, “I have loved you, Daniel, with an everlasting love,” and my response, “God, You answer me,” fill a hole inside my soul that has always been empty.

Jesus’ Task. I asked Jesus into my heart when I was seven years old. It is now nearly sixty years later, and for the first time in all these years, the hole in my soul is filled with Love. I have written nothing before now because I knew God, but because I wanted to know God. So what kept that hole in place all these decades? The answer is simple: I did not believe that Jesus loves me.

Jesus has been given the task of redeeming us, that is, of convincing us of His Love for us, that we are REDEEMED. Only now do I understand just how difficult this task is for Him. We Christians have fought Him at every point.

A Determined Savior. My empty soul, now, for the first time, filled with Love, is no achievement of mine. It is, rather, a demonstration of the determination and the success of my Savior. For our God is a consuming Fire.

I want to give the Bible picture first, and then explain directly my point in this lesson, before going into the specific reasons Christians refuse to know Jesus’ love, things that only FIRE will remove. – Then the angel took the censer and filled it out from the fire of the altar and cast it into the earth; and there were thunders, noises, and flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

Saved through Fire. For of Christ we are a fragrance to God inside those being saved, and inside those still perishing; to one, indeed, an aroma out from death into death [always the one death of Christ], to the other an aroma out from life into life (2 Corinthians 2:15-16). – The work of each will become visible; indeed, the day will make it clear because it is unveiled inside of fire; and …the fire itself will prove… – …saved, yet as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

The Fire of God, His REBUKE, comes to every Christian in order to remove from them their war against the love of Jesus for them, that is, against Redemption.

From Annie Schissler: “A Vision of Purity.” The inferior condition of the new ones was detectable not by their appearance, but by their relationship with God. Those who walked above the storm had a very intimate relationship with Him, characterized by a great intensity, as if they were linked with the same fires and torrents of the divine nature. When the new ones took abundant blessings from God, it was due to the fact that they rebounded from His chosen ones. The blessing of one had an impact as a blessing for another one.

The ones who were under the storm, though they received great provision of light and life that God shed, nonetheless they were allowed to be moved, shaken and buffeted. However, through this, it would be provided the way in which the Lord would mold, transform and develop them.

Fire Clears the Path. Our immediate goal is 100 million or more believers in Jesus alive today, being clothed with the Lord Jesus Christ, loving one another with pure hearts fervently, and bringing forth the full knowledge of all Salvation now. In our way, preventing this goal at every hand, is the ten thousand ways in which Christians refuse to know the love of Jesus for them, that is, to be redeemed.

God’s answer is Fire, but Fire that always comes with water, that is, rivers of living water. It is the Life and Love of Jesus entering into the knowing of this one, after all; the Fire just clears out His path.

A Psychotic Falseness. I hope you see ever more the extent to which the fantasy of a good and evil creation, the imagination of “go to” heaven or “go to” hell someday, has twisted the meaning of everything God speaks in the Bible into something God never meant. Then “grace,” and even “union with Christ,” comes along inside this false paradigm of thinking, and says against all the warning verses of the Bible, “What’s the big deal? God has forgiven all. Everyone “goes to” heaven when they die.”

Inside this psychotic falseness, God’s true Redemption, the determination of Jesus to cause you to know the Father, and God’s true Salvation, God as Love through you into all creation, is not known and is even considered “heresy.”

A Powerful Spell. Every Christian is fully redeemed. They just don’t believe it. Every Christian lives fully inside of heaven now; they just refuse to see it. Yet that is not the full problem, for in place of Redemption, they believe that God is against them. And in place of heaven, they dwell now inside of hades, inside of wrath.

When you warn your brother or sister concerning falseness, all they hear is “God is against me.” They do not hear the love of Jesus through you seeking to set them free. This is a powerful and overwhelming demonic spell. Yet they are always free to receive Jesus and to refuse the false.

A Fire Devours Before Him. In order for any human to KNOW the love of Jesus for them, that person MUST step out into the light. To every human hiding from God in any way, that light appears to them as FIRE.

Consider these descriptions of God, from the NIV. Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages. – Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side (Psalm 50:3 & 97:3). – A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened (Daniel 7:10).

Penetrating and Judging. Let’s now bring this same picture into the gospel.

For the Word of God is living and energeoing and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating through as far as the dividing of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and is capable of judging the pondering and purposes of the heart. And there is no created thing unseen in His presence, for all are uncovered and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom is our word of account [our story of self] in return (Hebrews 4:12-13). – That every mouth might be closed, and the entire cosmos brought under judgment before God (Romans 3:19).

God alone removes any human sin, but He cannot speak Love to a Christian who is lying to Him.

The Altar of Incense. Christians live in hades right now inside the pretending and unbelief of their own souls. Yet everything they imagine inside their self-induced hades is untrue.

What does it mean, then, that we cast the coals of fire from the Altar of Incense into our Christian brethren, those who are hiding from Jesus inside of falseness? The only “fire” that is God is that which comes through the Altar of Incense out from the Holiest. It is a Fire that comes through prayer. And when we say, “prayer,” we mean, out from a son of God who takes every step with Father for the sake of others.

Reciprocal Love. Nicene Christianity says that no one is fully saved until they have died and gone to heaven. The gospel of Jesus Christ, that is, Paul’s gospel, says that no one is fully saved until they are a committed member of a local Church, loving one another as the Lord Jesus. Most Christians avoid reciprocal love like the plague; they do not consider it to be essential. Most pastors oppose reciprocal love, because if they allowed it in their church, they could no longer be “the pastor.”

The goal of the gospel, age-unfolding Life, is to know God. To know God is to live inside of loving one another forever.

Fire, then Water. That which opposes reciprocal Love, inside of commitment to walk together daily, opposes God and God-Made-Visible. But that which opposes reciprocal Love, that is, God’s Salvation, first opposes the Love of Jesus for them, that is, knowing Redemption.

The Fire of God comes to you for one purpose only, and that is to remove that which keeps you from knowing the Love of Jesus already inside of you. And here is what I have learned through a life-time of being stupid, the moment you say, “Yes, Lord,” to the Fire, instantly the Fire becomes the Water of the Spirit in life and love, joy and peace.

What Things Oppose? So, what common human reactions, knee-jerk responses against the Love of Jesus or against loving one another, oppose the knowledge of God? What specific things, common in all Christians, must the wondrous Fire of the Altar of Incense burn away? And remember, this Fire comes through our active interaction with God as our prayer.

There is one large thing that can oppose the knowledge of God in a Christian, followed by several smaller things. Typically, the larger thing must be dealt with first. The big Love-killer is – rebellion.

The Ministry of Fire. Now, my purpose is not to go into the ins and outs of human psychosis and all the lying Christians customarily practice, especially to themselves. Our concern is with this ministry of Fire, that it be utterly of God and that it accomplish God’s purposes. The task of the witnesses of Christ includes a ministry of Fire.

My own life is a useful example of God-Fire. I was a rebellious young man. When God planted “give thanks” into my heart at age 15, He planted it into a heart filled with rebellion. His grace lasted a few weeks, and then I turned my back against God and against giving thanks.

Being Saved from Rebellion. Thus the story of my life, from the summer of 1972 until the summer of 1996, 24 years, was defined by the work of Jesus to SAVE ME from rebellion without losing me. And the most important thing Jesus gave me inside this desperate and terrible work was the little book, A Tale of Three Kings, by Gene Edwards.

If you have not yet read A Tale of Three Kings, buy it and read it. But read it as a cautionary tale, as God contending with you, that you would receive Jesus’ Love for you, no matter how much it burns you up. What do you do when someone throws a spear at you, especially when that someone is anointed of God?
 
Saved by His Life. What was it that saved me from the death of rebellion? – For if when we were hostile, we were reconciled, that is, exchanged – life for life, to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been exchanged, we will be saved and made whole inside of His life (Romans 5:10).

From the age of 19 on, when God first spoke to me two words, “My son,” I have contended with God face to Face and eye to Eye. I fought against Him – in rebellion – every step of the way, but it was against God that I fought, not against other people. It was always LIFE, the life of Jesus rising up by His Spirit inside of me that saved me.

God Himself Removes It. The critical moment came in June of 1996, when God said to me, “Son, you have a sectarian heart.” At this point my heart was no longer rebellious, and so I did one thing only, I agreed with God. I justified God and found Him right and true, and I was silent regarding all else. I placed myself, in all of my folly, into His Hands alone. When I rose up from there and entered into the greatest test of my life, there was no rebellion to be found inside of me, for God Himself had removed it.

There is a huge problem, however, for so many want to be “anointed of God” so that they might manipulate others.

Finding the Altar. Placing your neck under false authority will block you from knowing the love of Jesus for you just as much as abusing others “in the name of God.”

This is why David is so very, very, very important to us. Whether it be one who is anointed by God, but is also rebellious, like Saul, or someone who is not anointed by God but looks like he ought to be, like Absalom, David did not rebel. Instead, he closed his mouth and walked away. David found a place (inside the presence of God) and there he wept – the Altar of Incense.

Strange Fire. There is a strange fire that comes, looking like “God’s Fire,” except it’s not. There are twice as many Saul’s and Absalom’s in Christian circles than there are David’s.

Strange fire uses all the warning verses in the Bible, but out from a theology of “God is against you.” Strange fire carries a personal element of manipulation and control, “Submit to me or you are in rebellion against God.” Strange fire preaches “Christ,” but as part of itself, not part of its target. It presents an awful “Jesus.” And strange fire leaves its victims without hope, yet often carrying the same contempt for others as the abuser.

A Dance of Faces. Those things are the outward face of strange fire, but it also has an insidious aspect to it found in those who receive it. You see, in a sense, the one who receives strange fire, though outwardly a victim, yet inwardly is caught in the same stupid rebellion, that is, in refusing Jesus’ love. And so the “victim” learns to negotiate with the abuser, to manipulate, to whine, to nurture a similar hatred inside, on and on. It becomes a “dance of faces,” like against like.

There is only one approach if you find yourself engulfed in strange fire all around. First, justify God, finding Him true, be silent outwardly, and then, at the opportune moment – TURN your back and walk away, even while giving thanks. There is no greater rebuke than to walk away without hatred.

God’s Fire. God-Fire, even while using the same warning verses from the Bible, is different in every way. First, it looks like Fire only to those who do not place themselves into the light, into the love of Jesus personally for them, those who will not say, “Yes, Lord.”

Here is my experience. I fought against God because I imagined that “Fire” was loss. But when I gave up and said, “Yes, Lord,” I woke up into a reality of joy and goodness, only to discover that what I had imagined never was. God-Fire always affirms Christ in you, carrying you. It always sets you free; it never binds you to someone else.

Relentless. And when those who refuse to say, “Yes, Lord” (to God, not to the brother or sister whom He has sent), begin to speak against the one who has rebuked them, all they will hear is one form or another of, “You are as Jesus to me.” And then they hear no more, for the one who bears God-Fire has turned their back and walked away.

These things are the outward face of God-Fire, but there is an inward quality as well, two inward qualities, in fact. First, God-Fire is relentless. It never negotiates, it never backs down, it never stops until the one to whom it comes either yields in grace, OR – hardens their heart against God.

Not Allowed. But the other quality of God is found in the one who is zealous for the Lord Jesus, that He be honored inside this one for whom He died.

You see, a true witness of Christ will speak Christ into you in hope and joy, through all sorts of your human bumbling and foolishness. Yet there are two things that are not allowed. You will not lie or practice pretending to manipulate others. And you will not hurt and bully others for your own satisfaction. Gentle counsel will come first, but if the practice continues, there will come a piercing rebuke from God. – You cannot hurt other people without repentance.

For Your Sake. Again, that is the outward face of God-Fire. But what you do not see outwardly is the Altar of Incense.

This one whom God sent to you, whom you have refused, carries you on their heart before God. He or she prays for you, with travail you do not know, paying a price you have never considered inside of Jesus for your sake. As Moses did, when he went back up the mountain, they pray for you, that God will bring you to Himself, regardless. It might be years after you finally come to your senses and say, “Yes, Lord,” before you discover that you are found inside of Jesus now, only because of the price that one paid in God for your sake.

Other Things. Rebellion is typically the central issue in the war against knowing the Love of Jesus and the totality of His redemption. But there are other things that accompany rebellion. A close second is the love of this world, something that takes on many forms and that comes wearing many masks. In fact, let’s create a simple list of things that block Love. They include (1) rebellion, (2) loving the world, (3) holding onto hatred, (4) pretending, that is, lying to self and others, (5) being busy with temporal things, (6) being satisfied with cursing and unthankfulness.

What Do You Want? Nurturing hatred and bitterness against another individual, refusing to forgive, is a killer of Love, that is, a mighty blockage against knowing the Love of Jesus. It is a choice. “Hating this person is more important to me than knowing Jesus Love for me.”

It always boils down to “What do you want?” Because I always wanted to know God, regardless of all my stupid rebellion, I never realized that many Christians around me simply did not. It’s not that they want to lie and pretend or busy themselves with useless things or enjoy muttering curse, it’s that they did not Value knowing God, they did not fear Him.

Death versus Life. I don’t want to go any further in describing the things that God-Fire comes to remove out from the path of Redemption. We all understand our own foolishness. Again, it is the ministry of Christ, His witness in the earth a second time, that we want to KNOW.

– For of Christ we are a fragrance to God inside those being saved, and inside those still perishing; to one, indeed, an aroma out from death into death [always the one death of Christ], to the other an aroma out from life into life (2 Corinthians 2:15-16).

Death is not knowing God; knowing God is Life.

The Ministry of Christ. The ministry of Christ, that is, “David,” rebukes as Fire because they love and without any obligation to themselves. Their only desire is to see this one free inside of Jesus, and joined to the Father in all joy and liberty.

The Fire from the Altar, coming through them, is come to enclothe you with the Lord Jesus Christ, so that the wondrous glory of the knowledge of God might come through you into this world, that you might be joined together with your brethren inside of Love. Receive the Love of Jesus for you; be the Salvation of God as you love your brethren reciprocally and for real.

Reading for Next Time. The next lesson is titled “The Measuring Rod.” This is an introduction to Revelation Chapter 11, so read that chapter a couple of times.

The topic of “The Measuring Rod” is closely related to the coals of fire from the Altar cast into the Christian Church. There is a separation that must come in the present time, this fulness of times in which we live. It is a simple and clear dividing line, entirely in the hands of each individual person for themselves. It is the line between those who draw near and those who draw back. – My soul has no pleasure in those who draw back (Hebrews 10).

Our Prayer. I have increased the length of this prayer a bit because I want us to be together the Alter of Incense for the sake of our fellow Christians, even for those who are yet rebellious.

On our way into knowing God, the aroma of the incense is our complete surrender to Jesus as He carries us into knowing that He has already come into union with us. But now, as we are seated upon Mercy, stepping forth with God in every moment, it is as if we breathe the Spirit across those same coals of fire, burning the incense, sending the aroma of Christ into the Church.

That Fire, then becomes the death of Christ for the present to those who refuse but life to those who receive. Yet we carry even those who refuse inside of the same Fire.

Let’s Pray Together. “Inside of the name of Jesus, we pray, Oh God, for our Christian brethren all across the earth, and for those believers in Jesus with whom we are connected.

“Father, we give ourselves to You for their sakes, for we know that Your Way of Redemption is perfect. We know that You require a passageway through the willingness of our hearts in order to be known inside our world. God, our Father, You are inside of Jesus inside of us, reconciling all of our brethren to Yourself through our confidence in You. Father, we give our lives to you without reservation, entirely inside the Sacrifice of Jesus, that You might win the Desire of Your Heart.

“Father, we know from long years of foolishness that Your overwhelming Love appears as if it is Fire to those who do not receive You as You are, even our Christian brethren. You are a consuming Fire, Oh God, and Your Fire comes to remove all that opposes the knowledge of Your Redemption, that we are redeemed. Your Fire comes so that brotherly love can continue.

“Father, we would not draw back from Your Fire, for we know that Your judgments are pure and True. Even as Your Fire flows through us to purify Your Church, keep us from sending forth fire that is not of You. God, we place our face upon the ground before Your Devoted Fire, let it burn away all that opposes You in all our Christian brethren upon this earth.

“God, our Father, let ‘Yes, Lord’ be the only response to Your Fire in the hearts of all Christians on earth. Cause them to justify You in all things and to be silent in every other direction. Bring them to no sufficiency in themselves. You alone remove our iniquities from us, Oh God; You alone cause us to be devoted to You. We place all who believe into Jesus before You inside of our hearts. We come to You with our brethren and in no other way.

“God, our Father, light Your Church on Fire, clothe her with the Lord Jesus Christ, turn her around inside of Your Mercy that she might be Your Salvation into all creation. Cause Your knowledge to go forth from Your people into the knowledge of all.

“God, You have answered us.”