FIRE SCHOOL MINISTRIES BLOG
FIRE SCHOOL MINISTRIES BLOG
Houses of Prayer
Many years ago, I bought and read every book written by Leonard Ravenhill. I’m not certain that Ravenhill would be welcome in many of our churches today. His passionate call to prayer wouldn’t sit well with those who don’t burn for revival. I was convicted by this picture above found in his book Revival God’s Way. Ravenhill likened the Church to a sleeping sentry, because after being charged with the task of guarding our citadels we fell asleep on the wall. I had the privilege of hearing him speak and his message was as convicting as his books. He described a vision that he had of large billows of smoke rising from the earth into the heavens, but contrasted that with a small wisp of smoke rising to the heavens. The Holy Spirit spoke to Ravenhill and said, “The large billows of smoke represent the amount of sin, immorality, and iniquity that is rising up from the earth. The small wisp of smoke is the amount of intercession being lifted to the heavens by the Church.” It’s little wonder then that the enemy has crept into our cities, churches, families, and homes. I’m reminded of Paul’s words, “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead” (Eph. 5:14).
Good Ideas vs. God Ideas
Spiritual assumptions scare me. People assume things, or they presuppose God will endorse their good ideas. The kingdom of God is never established on good ideas, but "God" ideas. Spiritual assumption is the height of arrogance and sure proof of our lack of intimacy with Jesus. Jesus never made spiritual assumptions, even after a "successful" night in ministry. While most people would have assumed another evening of like ministry, Jesus left for another town only after one night. The reason is He only functioned in the Voice (see Mark 1:32-38). Let's only move under the impulse of the Spirit; don't make spiritual assumptions.
Removing the Veil
Revelation in the New Testament means removing the veil from our eyes; it means exposing a truth that we have not yet seen. Paul prayed for the church in Ephesus to have a Spirit of wisdom and revelation (Eph 1:17). I deeply desire for the Spirit to pull the veil back and disclose to me more about God, His ways, and His kingdom. There's a bit more insight about this in 2 Corinthians 3:16. It indicates that whenever a person "turns" to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Think of a bride when she turns to her husband on her wedding day, and he removes the veil. So we, out of love and intimacy, turn to Christ; we look upon Him, and He removes the veil. Revelation is the byproduct of intimacy with Christ. Insight about Jesus comes to those who look only unto Him, the author and perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:2). Who or what are you watching? Let's turn to Jesus; let's keep our eyes on Him.
The Presence of Jesus
There is no greater blessing than being in the "manifest" presence of Jesus. It's like taking out a magnifying glass in the sunlight, it intensifies or concentrates the sunlight in one spot. Things heat up! Jesus says that if we keep His commandments, literally His prescriptions, it indicates that we love Him. And the Father returns that love, along with Jesus. How? Jesus comes and discloses Himself to us; He manifests Himself. It actually means Jesus reveals Himself in greater ways; His presence is on display (see John 14:21). Jesus abides with us always, and He will never leave us or forsake us. But I'm talking about something more than His abiding presence, I'm referring to His "manifest" presence. And that's when things really heat up. I desire for deeper encounters with His presence. I long for moments when He discloses Himself to me. As I said, there's no greater blessing than being in the manifest presence of Jesus
Walking in the Spirit
There is no greater joy than walking in the Spirit every moment of every day. Each day becomes an adventure. Paul says, "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit" (Gal 5:25). The word "walk" is an interesting verb that means to march in alignment. It carries the idea of walking in prescribed steps. In others words, when we walk in the Spirit we are actually walking in agreement with Him. We never have to be out of alignment with Holy Spirit; every day can be immersed in His presence...every step can be in Him. That is the way Jesus walked. He could do nothing unless He saw the Father doing it (John 5:19). His life was a step by step demonstration of the Father's will; every moment of Jesus' life was saturated in the Spirit's activity. The challenge for today, for this week, for the rest of your life, is to walk in total alignment to the Spirit. Do nothing that the Spirit isn't doing; say nothing that the Spirit isn't saying. Think how much trouble you will avoid in your life! On the other hand, think how spiritually effective you could be if you only moved on His impulse. May each day of your life be a day where you speak, pray, act, walk, and live by Holy Spirit. We just might transform people's live...just like Jesus did.