Experiencing A Revival of the Fire of God Isaac Gutierrez. (also available in podcast)

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Frederica Rice
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1 Experiencing A Revival of the Fire of God Isaac Gutierrez (also available in podcast) The difference between nature fire and God s fire is that natural fire is destructive but God s fire consumes us but does not burn us. Exodus Isaiah 64:2 It is the same supernatural fire that fell on the Day of Pentecost when there appeared unto believers "...Cloven tongues like as offire...and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost...(Acts 2:3-4). The fire refers to the fire of God the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist also referred to the fire of God. Notice that the fire accompanies the baptism in the Holy Spirit. John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff He will burn with fireunquenchable. (Luke 3:16-17) Actually, John the Baptist was looking into the future when he said this. He was seeing the day of the New Covenant when Jesus would baptize believers with the Holy Spirit and fire. John was referring to what would happen on the Day of Pentecost. The Fire of God Burns Off the Chaff So the blood of Jesus redeems us, and the glory of God brings in the miraculous, but what is the fire for? John the Baptist said in Luke 3:16-17, "...He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable." In the Old Testament, a fan was an instrument like a pitchfork that was used to throw the wheat into the air. The wind separated and blew the chaff away so the wheat could fall back to the ground pure. They would then put the wheat in the barn and burn the chaff. John the Baptist was saying that the day was coming when the anointing or fire of God would separate the wheat from the chaff so our lives could be pure before God. The fire of God refines us. It burns off all the chaff and gets us ready for the glory. In the natural, farmers burn the chaff and keep the wheat. That's what God wants to do in our lives burn off the chaff, the "excess baggage," so we can get over into the glory. By the chaff or excess baggage, we don't mean outward sins like smoking, drinking, or immorality, although people have been delivered from these bondages by the manifested presence of God. But there is more chaff that needs to be burned off the Body of Christ than just sin. God wants to burn off anything that holds us back from doing His will whether it's oppression, depression, sickness,

2 or disease. In the Bible, God calls those "weights." Weights slow us down in our spiritual walk so it's hard to make any progress. Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us..." (Heb. 12:1) The Fire of God Changes People The fire of God changes us so God can use us to His glory. Peter is a good example of someone who was changed by the fire of God. He was the best disciple Jesus had: the best trained, the most mature, and the most dependable, yet Peter denied Jesus three times. Why? He was too timid to witness. He needed some chaff burned off. When the Holy Spirit and fire came into that Upper Room, it changed Peter's life. After that he went into the streets and boldly preached the Gospel. On the Day of Pentecost when the fire of God fell and believers spoke in tongues, the devout Jews stood up and said, "What does this mean?" (Acts 2:12). Peter said, "I'll tell you what this means: These people are not drunk, but this is the outpouring that you have been looking for. You just didn't recognize it." Then he preached about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, and 3,000 people were born again in his first altar call (Acts 2:41). The fire of God transformed Peter from a spiritual weakling to a powerful preacher. The Fire Changes the Course of a Life Moses was another person who was dramatically changed by the fire of God. In fact, the whole course of his life was changed when he came into contact with God's fire. When Moses was in Egypt, it came into his heart to be a deliverer of his people. But he tried to do it in his own strength and killed a man. Moses ran for his life and spent 40 years in the desert. He was on the backside of the desert when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a burning bush. Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of Fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, The bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. (Ex. 3:1-2) When Moses came into contact with the fire of God, it changed the course of his life. God equipped him with signs, wonders, and miracles and said, "You tried to be a deliverer of your people before, but now I am sending you to be a ruler and deliverer of My people." God sent Moses back to Egypt a changed man. After his encounter with the fire of God, Moses, who was now powerfully anointed by God, brought approximately three million Jews out of bondage into freedom. It was the fire of God that changed Moses from a shepherd on the backside of the desert to a deliverer of a nation. Once we have an encounter and experience with God fire and power, your life is never the same. I have been a minister of Jesus Christ for many years but to be honest with you I really never had an ignited passion for souls that I have now. I had a supernatural encounter with the holy fire of God and my body literally now burns when I think about the harvest. It as if the fire was rekindled and it cannot be stopped. When this fire comes upon you it

3 will not allow you to stay complacent any longer. It will compile you to preach the Gospel with a fervent zeal and passion; a fiery passion. What I believe has happened to many believers is that their fire has died out. We have allowed our oil to dry up and the fire to die out. But God is igniting the fires of Revival to burn once again. It s time to rekindle that fire. We have been told that winning the lost is an impossible task. The truth is the reason why it s impossible task is because our programs, our methods, and our ideas are not effective. We can t have a passion for something unless it is burning within us. In order for the church to burn with fire of revival it begins in the pulpit. Some many preachers and pastors are preaching the Gospel without the fire and anointing of Holy Spirit. No wonder the people are dry and dead. The preachers need to be ignited. Without the anointing a sermon becomes another lecture. Lectures do not change people the anointing is what changes people. Psalms 104:9; Hebrews 1:7 Jeremiah 5:14 Jeremiah 20:9 Micah 1:4- Fire of God melts the hills like wax Ministers a flame of fire: When you minister without the fire of God then there is no conviction, repentance, and desire to turn from sin. God s people should be torches a blazed. Not just the laymen or clergy in the pulpits and church staff but the entire congregation is called to this. We are living in the times when the body of Christ has to be activated or it will die out. The Fire of God activates us into Power Evangelism and Soul Winning. It s amazes me that we live in county that has more churches than in any other country in the world yet most of the churches never evangelize or tell others about Jesus. It s became social gathering of Christians only. Revival ignites evangelism which leads to discipleship. It s not only about winning souls but keeping them. Revival is not only for us but we must release what we received. Revival comes to set us on fire. So that we may also set the body of Christ also on fire. A revived church has been set on fire with a passion for the harvest. When the body of Christ loses the focus on why we have the fire then we become cold and lifeless. We become lukewarm and unconcerned about the sinner. That s when we need to check ourselves to see if we really are disciples or just a fan of Christ. Many of God s people have lost their fire, their passion, and love for evangelism, preaching the Gospel to lost and dying world. The Gospel is a fire lighter and without fire there is no Gospel. Until fire falls evangelism and church activities can become so routine. That is why we can turn church into a ritual instead of an experience. Last night I was invited to a bible study at my brother s house. I wrestled with going because I was not going to speak but nevertheless God said go. I no longer argue with God about going somewhere because little did I realize that people were going to have a fresh refilling of God s Holy Spirit and Fire. It wasn t until after the meeting was dismissed that God begin to prompt to pray for those who desired the baptism of the Holy Spirit and Fire. I begin to pray and I sense the atmosphere shift and the fire of God begin to consume me. By the time I finished praying more than two hours later. God holy fire had fallen in that home.

4 Everyone that wanted to receive was ignited with a Holy Fire. This led to four salvations, 3 rededications, words of prophecy, laying on of hands for healings; Word of revelation began to flow. I came for the purpose of activating those who have been sitting on the sidelines by rekindling the fire inside them to burn once again. The atmosphere was so heavy with the presence of God that I believe that home will never be the same again. Whatever I had experienced was released and I literally felt the fire of God all over my body. As I am writing this I still feel this fire. God has awakening something that has been asleep and now it s been awakening. That s what the people of God need we need an Great Awakening. There are certain elements essential to a move of God from on high. We need revival. Revival is not for sinners; it s for God s people. It s a turning back to Him with ALL our heart, our soul and our being. We can become mission s conscious, community conscious, and church conscious and even soul conscious BUT ONLY GOD CAN PRODUCE A REVIVAL WHERE WE BECOME GOD- CONSCIOUS. We need to get on our face before God and regain our passion. Revival is a return to PASSION. Passion is a fire that burns inside one s soul to the point that sleep becomes just a necessity, meals are missed, the television is not turned on for weeks and our plans for everything else is put on a shelf for one purpose TO PURSUE GOD. I awoke at 4:00 am in the morning and have not been able to go back to sleep. This fire of the Holy Spirit continues to burn inside of me. It s is compelling me to tell others and bring those who desire it into an experience with the Fire of God. Everything pertaining to the Gospel and Jesus Christ should burn. In human experience God s fire translates into passion. It is an area that is has been lacking in the body of Christ. God is stirring the fires of revival once again. Revival is not for the world, it s for the church. What we need is God to light a fire in the pews to get the saints off their behinds. Once you encounter the Holy Fire of God and it consumes you, you will never be the same. The Prophet Jeremiah said that it was like fire shut it in his bones. Jesus declared in Luke 12:49- Jesus came to start a fire and bring that fire to the earth. Leviticus 6:13-It was that same fire that was lit in the tabernacle and was not to go out It s time for the altars to be ignited with fire. When the fire of God comes, it burns up all the impurities, the habitual sins in our life, the complacency, and gives us zeal for the things that God loves. There are few to many churches that have no fire. There meetings are ice cold. There are few too many believers who are ice cold they have no passion for the lost. The church of Jesus Christ is a go church not a sit church. Few too many Christians are sitting in the pews watching the pastor and the leaders do all the work. We are content to get a little touch from God as long as it doesn t cut into our daily lives.

5 Jeremiah 23:29 Psalm 39: Fire in the truth we preach. Fire of God brings change and conviction. It turns us away from sin and lukewarmness. Isaiah 64:1 The Fire of God causes the water to boil. You must have the fire of God burn in you. The spirit of the Gospel must burn within you or it will be quenched by the spirit of the age. There are two reasons why people don t go to church. 1. They don t a Christian 2. Or they do know a Christian Stale and stagnant water begins to stink if it s not moving and there is no current. Let God stir the water when the fire of God touches the water- Water begins to boil. Fire not only consumes sin the fire of God brings passion and love for the lost. We have failed to realize that there is a harvest to reap here in our own country. We need to have a missionary mindset for America our philosophy said be, Winning the lost at any cost. The church does not exist for itself but for the world. The church has to decide they must be a light to the world instead of compromising with the world. Revival comes to pour fresh fire upon the fire of our hearts. It causes us to burn with zeal and passion. The Devil wants to put our fire by pouring his flood of lies but God s water His Word ignites the fire and it rises even higher and stronger when it mixes with the Holy Fire of God. It s time to receive the oil of Fire that our lamps will continue to burn. God is concerned about our fire burning out. Matthew 25: Five Foolish Five Wise Could it be that the Five foolish lost their zeal and fire for Christ and feel complacent asleep and could care less about the harvest? Bill Bright, Founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, when asked what motivated him for evangelizing the world, responded: The filling of the Holy Spirit and knowledge that the harvest is not forever. It will soon past. It s time for the body of Christ to develop a harvest philosophy that excited believers into sharpening their sickles and preparing for the greatest harvest ever reaped in history.

6 This results in deep intercessory prayer: Hudson Taylor, the great missionary to China, stated We have given too much attention to methods and machinery and to resources and too little to the source of power, the filling of the Holy Spirit. It s in the times of revival for the Holy Spirit is poured out in greater measure. While are others are saying that America is doomed and it s hopeless to reach others, many are rising up and see that the fields are white and ready to harvest. When the churches stop reaching out to the lost then they will dry up and die because they are not yielding any fruit Matthew 9:37-38 The sign of the last days before the return of Christ will be an end time harvest of souls before He returns. Before the global judgment comes upon the earth, the end-time global harvest will be first. It s now that God is calling his people to go into the mission field. Not only in other parts of the world but here in America. Churches that are not giving to soul winning are dying on the vine. The right arm of the church is withered like the man who Jesus healed in the bible in Luke 6, the reason his arm was withered because of lack of use. Jesus said stretch forth your hand that is outreach stretching and reaching beyond your reach. A church that is passionate about outreach is a soul winning church. The right arm of the church needs to be outreaching reaching out. Churches that don t have evangelistic outreach have signed their own death certificates. The Kingdom of Heaven is not materialistic but eternal and souls are the currency of Heaven. When you are about winning souls then God will take care of your finances. You have the antidote the medicine to for that patient to withhold the Gospel is to withhold the medicine for the dying. Ezekiel 47:9 speaks about a river of healing where multitudes of fish are. Fish in the Word of God also represented souls. This is happening because there is a great awakening happening where the church is preaching the Gospel in the streets, the parks, the malls, at their workplace, their schools, business, and wherever there are fish gathered. Matthew 4:19- Jesus will make us fishers of men. Fishing: Soul winning going fishing: The water has to go there. The water represents what God has deposited with us. The living water- out of belly will flow rivers of living water. John 7:38. This is what God is referring to in Ezekiel.

7 The living water of Christ flows in us and through us. When that water is stagnant it begins to smell and it no longer has life. Just like the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is inanimate because nothing flows out of it. There are a lot of Christians that have received touch after touch of God, great teachings, they are full of things of God but they never share their Gospel and everything is centered around them. There is no current of living water flowing out, why? Because nothing that God gives them ever flows out of them. It s time that we spring a leak so that whatever we get flows out to others so we can be refilled again and again and again. So it goes on to say that they have become marsh and swamps. This is a place where the water it gets stuck. So many churches are in swamps and marshes. This is where the church bodies turn inward and cease to have purpose beyond self and individuals stay in a perpetual state of recovery. When the water it stuck it turns into salt no good salt but bad salt. Either we become the salt of the earth or the salt of the dead-end sea. Nothing can survive in that kind of salt. Hebrews 12:29 God Acts 2:3- Tongues of Fire Matthew 3:11-12

THE HOLY SPIRIT ASSOCIATED WITH FIRE

Lesson 18 Sabbath, 2 May 2015 THE HOLY SPIRIT ASSOCIATED WITH FIRE The Lord knows the thought and purposes of man, and how easily He can melt us! How His Spirit, like a fire, can subdue the flinty heart!