Devotions

The great temptation in Christianity today is to make our message so palatable to the masses that we lose the element of fire.  “John answered, saying to all, ‘I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose . . . [who] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire’” (Luke 3:16).

We create services filled with candy and fluff. But that will not extend the kingdom and see Jesus glorified. People cannot come to God without the fiery work of the Holy Spirit.

I’ll never forget a personal experience with God years ago when I was new to the ministry. I was praying alone before a Tuesday evening service. At that time, the church was housed in a little rundown building, and I knew we would have fewer than ten people attending that night’s prayer meeting. I had been praying that God would draw more people to the church and increase the enthusiasm of the congregation.

As I prayed, the Holy Spirit worked. He went right to my core and seemed to say, “The main problem is not the lack of people and their spiritual immaturity. You’re the one who needs to be changed. You’re lacking in compassion for the people, and you do not love them the way I want you to. In your insecurity, you’re just trying to get through another meeting.”

Talk about fire! Talk about penetration! That wasn’t easy to hear. I ended up on my face before God. I had come to ask God to help me with the problems of all the people of the church, and instead His fire penetrated to my problem.

When the Spirit works in our lives, He keeps us away from superficial excuses and the blame games we like to play. Fire burns away the false and leads us to the truth.

Jim Cymbala began the Brooklyn Tabernacle with less than twenty members in a small, rundown building in a difficult part of the city. A native of Brooklyn, he is a longtime friend of both David and Gary Wilkerson. 

As I read through the Old Testament, I find my faith greatly encouraged by the example David set. I am awed by his determination to hear from God in the midst of his perilous times.

After one battle, David and his army were making a three-day trip back home when their village was suddenly raided by the Amalekites. This fierce enemy kidnapped the families of David and his men and burned down the whole town. Imagine the scene as they returned: “So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive” (1 Samuel 30:3).

I picture these mighty men walking about stunned and bewildered, crying out in agony, “How could this happen? Why would God allow it?”

“Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep” (30:4, my italics).

This scene from David’s life shows us there is most certainly a time to weep when calamity strikes. After all, this was no small disaster. It wasn’t just the loss of homes, cattle or crops that caused David’s mighty men to weep; they would soon get over that. Rather, it was the threat to their beloved wives and children that pierced their very souls. And what followed this scene could have been even more disastrous for David: “David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved” (30:6).

Beloved, even the most godly among us can experience a trembling of heart, a sudden rush of fear, when a terrible crisis comes. At such a time, it isn’t a sin to have a moment of deep anxiety. But the Lord wants every weary, troubled heart to hear: “Fear not! Take courage, for the Lord is a Savior to His people.”

Isaiah cried, “Lord, You are our Father and we all are Your people! Reveal Yourself and touch us once more” (see Isaiah 64:8-9).

Centuries later, the same cry was heard among another remnant — the 120 believers who had gathered in a rented room in Jerusalem. It was a time much like Isaiah’s day — a period of great religious observance, with multitudes flocking to the temple from all over Israel. There was grand pageantry, and the synagogues teemed with religious people. Yet the people were going through the motions, merely observing the rituals.

You may wonder, “How could this be? This was the generation that had sat under the fiery preaching of John the Baptist. A generation that had beheld God in flesh — Jesus — walking among them, working miracles.” Yet they were lifeless, dry, empty.

Jesus Himself had wept over these highly religious people. He cried, “You have the very appearance of godliness, and you go about doing charitable things. But inside you’re dead.” They weren’t stirred by the signs and wonders Jesus performed. They weren’t moved when He cast out demons, freeing people who had suffered demonic bondage for years. And in the end, they rejected Him, turning away from God’s offer of grace.

Yet the Lord never gave up on His people. Jesus prophesied to His 120 disciples, “I am going to rain down my Spirit on all flesh.” To prepare them for this, He instructed, “Go to Jerusalem and tarry there until I come.”

Christ’s message to His followers was essentially this: “When you’re together, fire is going to fall on the whole gathering, and your hearts will melt. My supernatural fire is going to remove all mountains — in your neighbors, your fellow Jews and in all nations. Hardness and unbelief will dissolve, with thousands saved in one hour. The very mention of My name will convict and convince multitudes.”

In a time when great judgments were falling on the nation all around him, Isaiah testified that he had a double portion of peace.

The same wonderful outlook that Isaiah had in the perilous times of his day is available to us also. This promise of rest applies to all “whose mind is stayed on You” (see Isaiah 26:3).

Even though Isaiah was overwhelmed by what he saw happening in his world, Scripture reveals that he enjoyed great serenity. There were two reasons for this:

First, as judgments were poised to strike the nations, Isaiah was in constant communion with God in prayer. “Yes, in the way of Your judgments, O Lord, we have waited for You; the desire of our soul is for Your name and for the remembrance of You” (Isaiah 26:8). Isaiah was prepared for anything because he was already “praying without ceasing.”

I must ask you: As the storms rage, are you going to the Lord in prayer, as Isaiah did? If you are, then you’re gaining strength, because your mind is becoming fixed on the love of your sovereign heavenly Father, and He is continually revealing His power to you and encouraging you that you will make it through.

The apostle Paul reassures us with this instruction: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8, my italics).

In other words: “You have heard all the warnings. Now, take heed to what God’s Word reveals and to what His watchmen are saying. And, finally, fix your thoughts on Jesus and His goodness.”

The apostle Paul describes our times when he writes, “In the last days perilous times will come... But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:1, 13). Think of the 1990s when huge mortgage companies seduced and deceived the poor, the unlearned and the unemployed with subprime loans. These unwitting people were lured to sign up for mortgages they could never pay, and when payday came they were left without homes. Reputable banks failed because of the deception, but their executives bailed out with “golden parachutes” of multiple millions of dollars.

I read about one such executive throwing an expensive party, dancing the night away with liquor flowing, knowing full well his company was going down. He and others partied wildly despite knowing that hundreds of thousands of people would lose their homes. This is a clear fulfillment of the prophecy in Zephaniah 1:9: “[They] leap on the threshold [of the poor], who fill their masters’ houses.”

How long did we think God would put up with such madness, such mockery of His name? The Lord has the final word on the matter, and He says, “In the same day also will I punish [them]” (1:9). In short: “I will put them to shame.”

“Their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows [wealth] shall be broken” (Psalm 37:15). Even as I write this, two billionaires are being bailed out because their wealth vanished overnight.

At the same time the Lord is recompensing the ungodly, He will reward those who trust in Him. “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness” (Psalm 37:3).