Isaiah 64:1-2:
“Oh that Thou wouldest rend the heavens, that Thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at Thy presence, as when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make Thy name known to Thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Thy presence!”
More than any other time beloved, we need the fresh Fire of the Holy Ghost upon our lives today. Nothing can answer the confusing questions that the enemies are raising today, than the Fresh Fire of the Holy Ghost. When that Fresh Fire falls, the waters will boil. The Bible says: “Out of your belly shall flow rivers of Living Waters” When this water is flowing in you and the Fire of God falls upon it, it will boil and the Name of the Lord will become known to His adversaries and nations will tremble before Him.
This is the secret of the lives of the Apostles; they had fresh fire in them and every prayer meeting was an opportunity to get refreshed and filled again. There was power and fire in the way they moved, in their evangelism and ministrations, and in everything that they did. No wonder they were accused of turning the city upside down. Would to God that we too, can be accused of turning the world upside down for Jesus.
If you want the Fresh Fire of God upon your life, you have to allow the Living water in you to boil. You have to be on fire at all times. The enemy will not come against you when you are on fire; he will only come when the fire goes down. That is why he is always trailing the children of God, so that he can get hold of them at the unguarded hour. When you find out that as you are praying, you doze off and you wake up as your Bible is slipping off your hand, you can only spend a few minutes before the Lord, or you find out that you can hardly sit to read the Bible, or you find out that you hardly witness to people, it means that the enemy is round the corner and you must be careful; the enemy wants to box you to a corner and you must not allow it. If you do not set yourself loose, the enemy will take advantage of you.
Keys to receiving the Fire of God
1. Hunger and thirst for the word of God.
When a person is hungry or thirsty and he or she sees food or drink, the person grabs it with speed, and would almost finish it, before he or she realises it. Both hunger and thirst are feelings that will insist on being satisfied before they leave a person in peace. A Christian cannot get very far with the Lord, if all that he or she does, is read a verse of Scripture per day and if what the person read, is not even understood and digested.
Deuteronomy 8:3:
“And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that Man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth Man live”.
Luke 4:4:
“And Jesus answered him, saying: “It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God”.
Some people are depending on what they learnt in the Sunday School, when they were young. Many claim that their brain is getting old and cannot retain anything. It is a pity that God will not take such excuses from anyone. At the same time, the devil will take advantage of their ignorance of the word of God; to deal with them Some are not even bothered. Many people feed their body with all kinds of nourishing food; but when it comes to feeding the spirit with the word of God, they start to slow down. Some people do not even read the Bible; all that they read, is a pamphlet that talks about Bible stories daily. Many Christians are lazy when it comes to reading the word of God. They prefer watching movies that will not help them in any way. Some of the movies or television programs that they watch, were produced by some people who have openly declare that they are not in God’s camp.
The devil knows that the more of the word of God that you have in you, the more powerful you are. He knows that there is power in the word of God and he can weigh a person’s word-level. A pastor used to tell those who find it difficult to sleep at night, to take their Bible and read; before long, they would be fast asleep. It works as sleeping drug for those people because the devil does not want them to read the word of God in the first place. When you are hungry and thirsty for the word of God, there is an indication that things will get better. Some people do not have a complete Bible; all they have is a small collection of the New Testament, which they carry about without reading. When such people get to the church with their incomplete Bible, they are lost when the sermon is taken from the Old Testament. It also means that they cannot examine what they were taught at home. Those who were serious with the Lord as we were growing in the Christian faith are doing something tangible for the Lord now. Those who just attended fellowship for the sake of it, and had no time for the word of God, are still patching up with life today.
2. Become a prayer addict
The Bible says: “Pray without ceasing”. Prayer is the means by which we communicate with God and He is never tired of listening to His children. Even though He wants us to avoid vain repetitions, He does not want us to stop praying. Prayer is power. The Bible says: “Ye, who remember the name of Jehovah, give Him no peace until He establishes Jerusalem and makes it a spring in the earth.”
3. Live a life of holiness
The Bible says: “Without holiness, no man can see God” Live a sinless life, in words thoughts and deeds.
4. Complete obedience to God
Whatever God asks you to do personally or through His words, must be done without questioning. Do not argue with God, for or against, when He asks you to do any thing. It might not sound logical; do it.
5. Have a great desire for the return of the Lord
1 John 3:1-4:
“Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law”.
You have to be expectant of His coming that He could come back at any time; by so doing, you will not mind the things of the world, you will not do any thing that would displease the Lord.
6. Have violent faith in God
Take God for His word. Do not be the kind of Christian that would grumble and cry whenever there is a problem. The Apostles knew God and took Him for His word.
7. Love sacrificially
Love everybody it is an act that depicts our adherence to the Lord. He says: “By this shall men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love, one for another.”
With these keys, we should be able to walk towards the fresh fire that is needed in these Last Days. God Himself has called us; however, the extent to which He uses an individual depends on the extent to which the person yields himself or herself to God. The reason we are reading about the apostles today is because they yielded their totality to God. The space that you give to the Holy Spirit is the space that He will occupy. Instead of asking what they can do for God, they are more interested in what God can do for them. They have turned God into ‘a big errand boy’, who is to give this, or bring that. If we seek God first, and allow His Fresh Fire to get into us, things will work out well for us and the Lord will do more than we can ask or expect from Him; that is what the Bible says. All we need do is put ourselves in the centre of the will of God. That is why we need the Fresh Fire of God.
The truth of the Bible is that when God sets out to do something, nothing and nobody can stop Him. He will do what He wants to do. You may ask Him for anything, as long as you have faith, He will do it. However, you have to set your priorities right. What you want might not necessarily be what you need. The Bible says that God showed His works to the children of Israel but He showed His ways to Moses. God spoke to Moses face to face. When God wanted to talk to the children of Israel, they sent Moses to be their interlocutor. They said he should go to God and hear what He has to say, and then transmit it to them. They lost the opportunity of hearing God directly. God wants to talk to us as individuals but the choice is ours.
The prodigal son got his inheritance, lavished it and came back. He satisfied himself and was taken back into the household but he did not really know his father. I am exposing these things because you need to re-organise your spiritual priorities and allow God to do the main thing in your life. It is possible to claim every thing in the Bible and even have it but one should first ask what God wants one to heave and then be sure that it is used to the glory of His Name. Ask where He wants you to go, rather than just claim the word that says: “He shall give you any where that the sole of your feet shall tread.” Do you know where He wants you to tread in the first place? Do you know that it is possible to obtain from God, what He does not really want from you? It is possible, if you do not allow Him to have His way in your life. It is possible when you squeeze it out of His hands. However, it is better for you to wait for God to give you that which pleases Him, that which He knows is good for you at the right time and to the glory of His Name. You need His Fresh Fire, to be able to know and remain where He wants you to be.
Psalm 106:13-15:
“They soon forgat His works; they waited not for his counsel: but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. And He gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.”
The last part of this text is sad but true. Many people go about consulting herbalists and when they see that they are not making a headway, they will now go to the church and instead of waiting on the Lord, they want to use Him as a more powerful fetish. That is why you will see some people who are living in sin but have ‘holy water’, anointing oil, and even their Bible under the pillow, for protection. Such people want the gift of God but are rejecting the Giver Himself. There was a herbalist who recommended MFM stickers to motorcyclists. He asked them to stick it on their machines that they would make good sales and would not be involved in accidents. Of course it will work for them but he is out there, not accepting Christ into his life but he is serving as signpost; pointing the way out and not getting out himself.
It is possible for a person to perform wonders without being pure. The Bible says that many people will get to the gates of heaven and they will say that they prophesied and worked miracles in the Name of the Lord but the Lord will turn them down and call them workers of iniquity. It is possible to see visions without wisdom, experience the manifestation of God’s power in a gathering, without having a penetration of heart. It is possible to seek popularity, without having a depth in the things of the Lord. All these amount to nothing without you having the Fire of God in your life. It is possible for a person to have anointing but without character, it amounts to nothing. Character is who you really are in the depths of your inner being, in the dark. It is possible to listen to different messages and different preachers but if you do not obey what the Lord ministers to you through those messages, it is a waste of time. It is possible to sing about the power of God but the most important thing is to get that power in you.
Hindrances to receiving Fresh Fire
1. Pride
It is the first sin. It made Lucifer fall from heaven. It is the exaltation of self. The focal point is ‘I’, ‘Me’ that is why the Bible says we should not seek great things for ourselves. Seek what God wants you to be and be content with it. You will see that things will begin to happen. The Bible asks why a person should be proud, when what he has, is not even his but it was given to him.
Romans 12:10:
“Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another”
Romans 13:7:
“Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour”.
Many workers in the church are proud; they do not see their work in the church as a privilege to serve the Lord but they are seeing it as an opportunity to suppress others, seeing themselves as being superior. The Bible says we should have respect, one for another; the fact that you are a leader does not mean you should denigrate other people. In John 13, Jesus did something outstanding, that we need to emulate: He washed the feet of His disciples. He demonstrated love in all humility. He, the Creator, the Master took up towel and basin and washed the feet of His followers. God is not looking for bosses; He is interested in those who will serve Him in all humility. That is why we always pray in MFM, that God should provide ministers that would help to tend the flock, those who will see their positions as an avenue to serve and not those who will see themselves as being better than every other person.
Many people have invited trouble into their lives, by not being the servants that God wants them to be. Many, through pride, have missed out on their calling. They forget that God is able to raise stones to replace anyone who refuses to serve Him. God does not tolerate any vacuum at all. If you are one of those who do not want to do anything in the house of God, just because they have not been made the leader of the place, you had better repent now, before God replaces you with a stone. It is pride that leads to boasting. It drags down power and quenches the Fire of God in the life of a Christian.
2. Lack of love
The Lord likens the house hold of God to a flock of sheep. A sheep behaves like a little child, who is simple-hearted, loving and obedient. A sheep does not criticise, but could make suggestions. Instead of criticizing, why do not you pray for that person?
Titus 3:2:
“To speak evil of no man; to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men”.
Do not become ‘old wine in new skin’ be transformed; change and let God remold you. It is change that brings progress.
2. Lack of dedication
When you are not committed to the cause of God, He cannot confide anything into your hands.
Galatians 6:9:
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
Many people are not patient enough, to see what God wants to do in and through their lives, when they get to a gathering. They are quick to drawing conclusions and giving up. If you notice that some things are not going on the way they should. The best thing to do is pray; it is not the time to give up and leave.
3. Not seeking the Glory of God
Isaiah 42:8:
“I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images”
There was a misunderstanding in a church group and the leader said he was leaving. The man with whom he had the controversy got up and bid him good riddance and encouraged the others that he would now be their leader. As the former was leaving, he came to the window and told the latter that he would not sit on that seat of leadership. He thought it was a joke, until the following day when he could not get up from his bed. He was paralysed. Someone brought him to MFM for prayers and I asked him why he was that confrontational. I asked him if he could be a leader in a paralysed state. If we are seeking the glory of God, there will be no leader-ship struggle. it will not matter if it is A that leads or it is B. God could stand aloof and watch, when people want to share His glory with Him.
One of our father’s-in-the-Lord told us that he went to a church and met the people at a meeting. There was a hot argument and when he could no longer bear it, he asked them to excuse him for a while. He asked them to open their Bible to the book of 1Corinthians 10 verse 31, which says: “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God”. He asked each of them to read it out loud and then said they should continue their argument. They could not. That marked the end of the hot argument.
3. Unclean life and secret sin.
Psalm 66:18:
“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me”.
God sees the heart and knows it. He knows who is faithful to Him and who is not; He works through the heart. The kind of fire that God wants us to carry about, is such that no witch or wizard will be able to withstand; they should not even be able to pass through our environment, to attend any witchcraft meeting.
One night, a vigil was going on in MFM and suddenly, a woman landed in the compound. When the prayer warriors moved close, she told them that she was flying across the premises in form of a bird but was arrested by the fire of God and she dropped and turned back into a human being. She was told that having seen the power of God, would she surrender her life to the Lord Jesus Christ? She said she had gone too far with the devil, that she could not surrender her life to Christ. The fire that we should have should be such that when an occultist person shakes our hand, they should be electrocuted. A brother thought he had a lot of problems and a friend said he would take him to an elderly man who would look into his matter. The bother was born again but he had come to his wit’s end. He wanted someone who could see visions. When they got there, he discovered that the elderly man was a herbalist. As soon as the herbalist shook his hand, he asked him what he wanted; that he had that ‘Thing’ in him. The brother asked what the ‘Thing’ was and he got to understand that it was the Holy Ghost. It was ridiculous to discover what he had, in the house of a herbalist.
There was a woman who knew who she was. One day, she was going to the market and she bumped into an occultist man who harassed her and threatened to deal with her. She said she was sorry but he said he would show her his power. People around were afraid because the woman was pregnant and they thought she would die. The occultist man started to chant incantations and fire came out of his mouth. The woman commanded the fire to quench in the Name of Jesus and it did. People were amazed and the occultist man prostrated, rendering homage to her. She told him that her own power was not occultist but that she had Jesus in her. That is the kind of Christian that God wants each of us to be. I know that some sisters would have run away, frightened and could even decide not to ever go to that market again. They would have been looking for their Pastor or General Overseer, to pray for them.
Today you will have to pray for the Fire of God to come into your life. If God calls you, He will empower you to do that which He wants you to do. It is good for people to see you and give glory to God. The Lord is the One, of Whom the Bible says every knee shall bow at the mention of His Name. Every knee, whether in heaven or on earth or underneath the waters; must bow at the mention of the Name of Jesus.
Take these prayer points beloved:
- 1.O Lord, baptise me with Fresh Fire from above, in the Name of Jesus.
- 2.O Lord send Your Fire just now and baptise me in the Name of Jesus.
- 3.O Lord, turn me into untouchable and unquenchable fire in the Name of Jesus
- 4.Let the chariots of Fire; pursue the enemies of my soul into the ‘Red Sea’ in the Name of Jesus.
- 5.Let the chariots of Fire pursue the enemies that are like the sun, like the moon, like serpents, like scorpions, like dragons into the ‘Red Sea’, in the Name of Jesus.
