What do we know about fire? We know that it is hot and provides heat. We know that it will burn up and destroy whatever is put into it or is in its path. In metal working, we know that it will soften the metal to make it pliable so that it can be shaped. We know that it will burn away imperfections and make something clean. Fire will purify.
Exodus 24:17: To the people of Isra’el that glory of Adonai looked like a raging fire on top of the mountain. Moses had ascended the mountain to receive God’s word in the form of the stone tablets, the Torah and the mitzvot (commandments). God’s glory came down like fire as He gave them the first written format of His Word.
Generations later, Solomon built the temple. Where the tabernacle traveled with them, the temple was built to stand, and the people would come to offer sacrifice and to worship. After the completion of the temple, Solomon prayed, “Now go up, Adonai, God, to your place of rest, you and the ark through which you give strength. May your cohanim (priest), Adonai, God, be clothed with salvation; may those loyal to you take joy in good. Adonai, God, don’t turn away the face of your anointed one; remember the mercies of your servant David.” 2 Chronicles 6:41-42. What happened next is nothing short of extraordinary. 7:[1] When Shlomo (Solomon) had finished praying FIRE CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of Adonai filled the house, [2] so that the choanim could not enter the house of Adonai; because the glory of Adonai filled Adonai’s house. [3] All the people of Isra’el saw when the fire came down, and the glory of Adonai was on the house; they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the flooring; prostrating themselves, they gave thanks to Adonai, “for he is good, for his grace continues forever.” God send down fire from heaven at the dedication of Solomon’s temple.
Acts 2: [1] The festival of Shavu’ot (Pentecost) arrived, and the believers all gathered together in one place. [2] Suddenly there came a sound from the sky like the roar of a violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. [3] Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire, which separated and came to rest on each of them. [4] They were all filled with the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) and began to talk in different languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak. Here we have a third instance of fire in relation to God’s Word and His temple. The disciples were commanded by Jesus not to leave Jerusalem, they were to “wait for what the Father promised, which you have heard about from me. For Yochanan (John) used to immerse people I water; but in a few days you will be immersed in the Ruach HaKodesh!” Acts 1:4-5.
We first see the fire of God’s glory in the first representation of the temple, when God gave His Word to Moses at the time of the Tabernacle, the second at the dedication of Solomon’s temple, and the third on the day of Pentecost with the Spirit poured out onto a group of people, each on individually, waiting in the upper room. It was not the room, or the place, it was the people who were now the temple. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 reads “Or don’t you know that your body is a temple for the Ruach HaKodesh who lives inside you, whom you received from God? The fact is you don’t belong to yourself; for you were bought with a price. So use your bodies to glorify God.
When Jesus gave His life, He changed everything. There was no longer a need for people to make sacrifice because He WAS the sacrifice. He eliminated the need for animal sacrifices. In turn He made it to where no longer do we have to go to the temple in Jerusalem to worship, because we are now individual temples for the Father. Spirit and Truth. It is how Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that the Father wants to be worshiped. In Spirit and in Truth. (John 4:22-24) This does not mean we should not be amongst other believers, because the Word says to not forsake the assembling of yourselves together and that where two or more are gathered in His name, He is there with us. (Hebrews 10:24 and Matthew 18:20) This means it is not about a building, it is about people.
Come, Holy Spirit, I need You
Come, Sweet Spirit, I pray
Come, in Your Strength and Your power
Come, in Your own gentle way
(Come Holy Spirit by Bill and Gloria Gaither)
Jesus promised the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, He came from Heaven like a violent wind, announcing His presence to all those in the upper room, then bringing the fire from heaven and baptizing them in Spirit and Truth. The beautiful thing is, He wants to do the same with us. He wants to breath a fresh wind and the fire of purification into us. He wants to purify the temple so that the glory of God can be seen in it. When that heavenly refiner’s fire does its work in you, you walk away changed. He burns away the old and creates new within you. Paul wrote, [22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] humility, self-control. Nothing in the Torah stands against such things. [24] Moreover, those who belong to the Messiah Yeshua have put their old nature to death on the stake, along with its passions and desires. [25] Since it is by the Spirit that we have Life, let it also be through the Spirit that we order our lives day by day.
The Holy Spirit is not fire. The Holy Spirit is not speaking in tongues. The Holy Spirit is not a goosebump you get when you visit a charismatic church. The Holy Spirit is a very real member of the Godhead. He IS God, just as the Father and Jesus are. He was at the beginning of creation, just as the Father and Jesus were. He is powerful, precious, and beautiful and He wants to be involved in our lives every single day. He wants to work through you. He wants to work through me. He quickens the heart, and He reveals Himself to us through the Word. He brings comfort, just as Jesus said He would. He is not an afterthought or less in any way. He is mighty and life changing. In Psalm 51, David poured out his repentance to God after his affair with Bathsheba and in verse 11 he cried, “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.” We should crave to be in His presence, and to spend time with the Holy Spirit. I hunger for His presence in my life. I speak with Him just as I speak with the Father and with Jesus. He is just as important to me. And like David, the thought of being without the Holy Spirit is horrific. I don’t want to spend a day without Him, nor do I want to spend a day that He does not bring His holy fire from heaven that purifies this temple, so that like Galatians 5:16 says, “Run your lives by the Spirit. Then you will not do what your old nature wants.” Come, Holy Spirit, we need you!
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