John the Baptist and the Fire of God # 2

John the Baptist and the Fire of God # 2

Repentance is more than saying, "I'm sorry." Repentance is mental. It's something in my mind. I'm going this way and I turn that way. When I'm going this way I'm saying, "God is in the wrong and I am in the right." When I turn around and say, "God is in the right, if He send me to hell He is in the right.

That is repentance. It's not just repenting for the sin I've done, it's repenting about the motive that made me do the sin. It's going past the fruit of the root because if the root of corruption is there, there is going to be fruit coming out that is wrong. Romans 6 talks about having your fruit unto holiness and its' talking there to regenerate people, not people that claim to be filled by the Holy Spirit.

John goes out, stands and ministers there. And they  come to him. He is a success any way you count it. Geographically - they come from the North and South and East and West. He is a success socially. They came from all levels of society. He said to the multitude that came to be baptized, "you generation of vipers." Isn't that pleasant? Do you know anybody who would dare stand up in the First Baptist or the Last Baptist Church tomorrow morning and say, "You generation of vipers!. I'm sick of talking to you." Uh? They would sure take a love offering for him, wouldn't they? To get him out of town! "Oh generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" He was not only condemning their sin, he was saying, "there is a gate, and when you get through it, it is eternal wrath from God."

We have forgotten about the wrath of God. A friend saw a bumper sticker and you know what it said on it? "Jesus is coming and He is as mad as hell." Sacrilege? No. 2 Thessalonians 1 says, He is coming in flaming fire in judgment on this world. In other words, He's as mad as hell. May be it is a bad way of putting it, but it's the truth. You see, we are all looking for "gentle Jesus meek and mild." The attitude of the average Christian today is relax and be raptured. But He is coming with flaming vengeance on this world. There is a time when His Spirit's forbearance runs out. There is going to be day of the vengeance of God. And when God get angry you've no idea what it is. Like a thousand volcanoes exploding. He has appointed a day in which He is going to judge the world and the poor blind world doesn't know much about it, and the poor blind church doesn't think much about it now.

Let me look at this in Exodus 32. "Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp. And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle. And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle the cloudy pillar descended." It was a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.

If you were in London going past where the queen lives and somebody says, "The queen is at home," you would wonder how does he know. Well, because when she is at home the flag is flying, when she is not at home its not there. I believe the sign of God's presence in a sanctuary is the pillar of fire. It's the living vibration o an Eternal God who stands in the midst and does something you can't explain. God is beyond definition. I cannot explain Him. I can experience Him. I know when He touches me as I am alone in the night, two or three o'clock in the morning. I know when His Living Presence comes into my office in a special wave of anointing. But notice He did not come until they went outside the camp!!

There are very, very, few occasions when God Almighty has revived dead denominations. The men who stirred generations had to go outside the camp. Doesn't it say in Hebrews 13:12 that "He went outside the camp?!" That's fine, but when it comes to verse 13 you go outside the camp and bear His reproach. Maybe before long God will bring a cleavage somewhere to this city, I hope He does. And you will have to get outside of the camp. You will have to leave your group, and you will have to go join a people who have the anointing of God. They may be poor, and have no stained glass window, and beautiful choir...

I am impressed with this, you may not be, but I am. Verse 9: "It came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle...And all the people saw the cloudy pillar." Wouldn't it be wonderful...? Imagine if you could answer you child as one of those Israeli mothers would. Her little boy wakes up at night and says, "Mommy, sometimes I think of those days we were in Egypt, I think about that terrible journey we made and I wonder what's going to happen." She puts her arms around him and says, "Darling, you see that? That pillar of fire over there? That's the holy place. Our Holy God brands it with his presence of fire."

Doesn't it say in Hebrews that God makes His angels ministering Spirits, and His ministers flames of fire? We've got snowmen in the pulpits with icicles hanging all around. If ever the fire comes there'll be some melting!

~Leonard Ravenhill~

(continued with # 3)

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