Call 911 The Fire is About to Fall
By Pastor Jim May
Deuteronomy 4:24 says, “For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.” Did you know that God is jealous over you? God’s jealousy over you is two-fold. 1) He is jealous over your purity and commitment to Him as your God. Love is a powerful force and when the bonds of love are threatened through unfaithfulness, the power of passion surfaces to defend that love.
2) God is jealous over you in different sense that can only be described as having an intense interest in seeing that you honor Him, and in return for your honor of God, he desires so greatly to prosper you.
I believe that the Apostle John felt this jealousy over those that he had ministered to and led to Christ in the church. He said these words to some of those that he had seen converted in 3 John 1:2, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” John’s great jealousy over his flock was learned while he sat at the feet of Jesus and felt the very heartbeat of God’s Son as He walked this earth.
Everywhere that Jesus went his jealousy over the human race, and especially the people who He adopted as his chosen nation, the Jews, could be seen in everything He did. Jesus wanted the Jews to prosper, not only in their knowledge of God, but in their service to Him; and if they would only prosper in that fashion, then their nation would bloom, and their health as a people would be so great that it could have been the example to the whole world of what the blessings of God can to for a people.
Paul told us over in Acts 10:38 that, “…God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil…” God’s jealousy over His chosen people to prosper and be in health was so great that He could not see them suffer without helping as many as came to Him.
In Matthew 12:15 we are given a picture of the jealousy of Christ over His people, "….and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;"
We are living in the last days. God’s passion for His people is about to come to its greatest moment when He finally gets enough of their unfaithfulness and begins to divide the sheep from the goats. The day is coming; and indeed, I believe it is now upon us; when we are going to have to make up our mind once and for all, whom we will serve.
God’s great love for His people; His passion for those who are called “The Bride of Christ” is not going tolerate His people playing around with the world. The convicting power of the Holy Spirit is starting to burn ever brighter and ever hotter. God is starting to burn every bit of the worldliness out of his church.
Jesus is coming back for a Bride; and that Bride must be perfect; unspotted from the world; unblemished from living among the harsh environment of sin. He’s coming after a Bride that has made herself ready; spent time preparing her face in the mirror of God’s Word, washed herself clean by the Blood of the Lamb; and clothed herself in the wedding attire of Righteousness in preparation for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
As it was in the days of Elijah, we are going to the see and feel the purifying fire of God fall again. I know that the day will come when the fire of God’s wrath will be poured out on this world, to fully consume all that is evil and purify it, re-create it if you will, into a place of perfection for the sake of His people. But before the fire of God’s wrath falls, I’m looking for the Fire of His Passion to fall much like the passion of a jealous spouse who has found their partner to be unfaithful.
When unfaithfulness comes in a marriage, the first emotion to be felt is one of great pain and agony, a wounded heart, and a wounded spirit; agonizing over what could have been wrong. What caused this to happen? Is it me? What could I have done different?
You can see this pain in God’s heart at the unfaithfulness of His people as they were unfaithful in their worship to heathen gods in Micah 6:3, "O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me." (Come on, tell me what I’ve done to cause you to be untrue. What went wrong? Did I do something to make you want another god? Come On – tell me the truth. Face up to the facts. Be honest.)
Our God is a jealous God; jealous because of His great love for His Bride and he will not tolerate unfaithfulness. How can a man marry a bride to be that has proven unfaithful over and over again? How can a woman marry a man who is proved to chase every woman around? We couldn’t see that in the natural realm so what makes the Bride to Be of Christ think that we can get away with it in the spiritual realm? Unfaithfulness in serving God is dishonoring to His holiness and His great love for us. Chasing after things that become idols to replace Him in our lives is nothing less than spiritual fornication and adultery. A jealous God will not tolerate this for long; judgment for sin will surely follow.
If we don’t seek forgiveness and turn back to God with all of our heart, we will face the fury of God’s wrath as an unfaithful Bride to be and God’s anger will be poured out forever in the Lake of Fire against those who refuse to honor His love.
The same question still hangs in the air today that was spoken by the Prophet Elijah so many years ago as he stood on the hillside of Mt. Carmel in 1 Kings 18:21, "…How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.” And, like the unrepentant, idol worshipping Children of Israel, the unfaithful Bride of Jesus hears the Word of God; sees where she needs to fall down in repentance for unfaithfulness, “…And the people answered him not a word."
Israel didn’t answer because they enjoyed serving Baal too much. They didn’t answer because the Queen of evil, Jezebel had them convinced that she was stronger than God’s prophet. They didn’t answer because the prophets of Baal far outnumbered the man of God, 400 to 1. That many prophets can’t be wrong. Look at how the Temples of Baal are growing and prospering. They are decorated with beautiful groves and gardens and fine structures adorned with gold and silver. They have to be doing something right or God wouldn’t be blessing them, would he?
God wasn’t blessing them – the devil was. Satan’s deception works wonders in the hearts of people who refuse to serve the Lord faithfully, even while they stand in the very presence of God. They can look upon a curse and think of it as a blessing.
But there is a remnant, just a few of those who are going to be a part of the Bride of Christ. 1 Kings 18:22, “Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD…” Later on we find that there are many more besides Elijah that are staying faithful to God. 7,000 people, out of a nation of well over a million people remained faithful. But on that day, it was Elijah and he alone that stood against the power of the devil on Mt. Carmel.
Let that be a lesson to each of us that we will have to take a personal stand for Christ. It’s easy living for God while you’re at church, but what about when you are alone; just you and God against the world?
There is coming a showdown in your soul, and in the heart of everyone who claims to be a Born Again Christian. We are in the days when you will have to stand up and be counted, or you will fall into the traps of the devil. We are in the days when we must know the Mind of Christ and when we must learn to listen for His voice.
There are many voices out there who claim to have the truth. There are many who say that they are right. There are talking heads everywhere. The day is upon us when you have to have spiritual discernment, and you need to be rooted and grounded upon the Word of God; and you need to know what the Lord is saying to His church.
Notice something here with me if you will. When Elijah and Prophets of Baal prepared their altar for worship, they both used the same thing. Both of them sacrificed a young bull on the altar. Both of them put the sacrifice on the wood. Both of them used the same altar. Then both of them called upon the name of their god in supplication, prayer and in worship. Also notice that long prayers, and fleshly sacrifice of their own bodies, did not bring the answer, for it never comes through the demonstration of the flesh.
And Elijah wasn’t politically correct either. He made fun of their gods saying that maybe he was talking to someone else and didn’t hear them; or maybe he was too busy doing other things to care what they were screaming about; or maybe he’s on vacation somewhere; or maybe he’s taking a long nap and you have to wake him up. Scream louder. Prophesy, and maybe he’ll hear you and bring it to pass.
God wasn’t in the loud noise; the show of the flesh; or the long praise and prayer service. God isn’t in anything that isn’t true praise and worship. Talented musicians, expensive instruments, sound systems that will blow your eardrums out, video and flashing lights aren’t a sign of spirituality – they are a show of the flesh, meant only to appeal to the eyes and draw attention away from the lack of true worship.
When they finished their praise service, the sacrifice was still there, the wood was still there and the altar was broken down from all of the show of the flesh that went on.
Then steps up the Man of God, one Prophet, all alone with God and begins to lead the people back into a place of true worship.
In 1 Kings 18:30, “And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down.” Then he dug a trench around it to allow the water to collect in it. He put new wood, for the old wood was for the worship of idols. He prepared the sacrifice. Then poured water everywhere, filling up the trench and flooding the altar. He did this three times.
Then in 1 Kings 18:36 we are told, “And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.”
This wasn’t for Elijah’s recognition, but for the honor of Almighty God that all of the preparation was made. You see, all of your prayer, praise and preparation really doesn’t save you, it only prepares you to honor the Lord. It’s all about Jesus, not about us.
What were those preparations of the sacrifice, the altar and the water all about? It is a picture of what must happen before any of us can turn to God in true worship. The sacrifice, of course, can only point to the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross. By design this sacrifice happened at the exact time of day that the crucifixion happened; at the time of the evening sacrifice in the Temple. The wood represented the Cross of Christ and there could only be one cross that would count, that’s why the wood had to be changed. Of course the altar being repaired is a symbol of us coming back to God in true repentance for sin; in returning to Him in faithfulness and commitment; and in doing our first works over again to make Him the Lord of our lives. The water being continually poured and thoroughly soaking everything was a symbol of the washing of the water by the Word of God that continually flows into, through and out of our hearts and minds, purify and cleansing us from the things of this world that are unsanctified.
And finally, there is the full commitment and acknowledgement that it is God that must bring it all to pass. Without the anointing, without the sacrifice, without the cross, without the altar, God will not move. But when all righteousness and obedience to the Word of God has been fulfilled, then shall the fire fall.
1 Kings 18:38, “Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.”
That’s why I said, call 911, the fire is about to fall. When God’s people will prepare themselves for the coming of the Lord and Jesus comes back to take His Bride away, then shall the wrath of His jealousy be revealed upon a world that caused so many of His people to fall away and become unfaithful. God’s jealousy will be fulfilled in the fires of His wrath.
The fact that everything was consumed points to the fact that nothing shall remain of the sin and evil of this present world. It will all be consumed by the fire of His jealousy. The fact that the water was licked up completely points to the fact that not Word of God’s Word shall fail but that all will be fulfilled.
Finally, when it was all over we read in 1 Kings 18:39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.
You see, there’s coming a day when every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. It doesn’t matter what they shout now. It doesn’t matter what they believe now. In that day, none will doubt, but it will be too late for most. Their belief will only serve to condemn them further.
What will be the final outcome? Look at 1 Kings 18:40, “And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.”
This is a clear picture of the culmination of the fires of God’s jealousy falling upon sinful man and upon Satan and his demons at the end of time. Every soul that defies God, denies God, or is unfaithful will be destroyed in the eternal flames of God’s wrath. Not one will escape, every one will be brought down and cast in, never to come out again.
But it’s not over yet. Do you remember the other part of God’s jealousy? God wants you to prosper as your soul prospers if you are a faithful part of the Bride of Christ. God’s jealousy for your prosperity will culminate in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb where those who are faithful and true will reign with Him forever in the glories of Heaven. You will receive a Crown of Life, a Crown of Righteousness and a Crown of Glory as you enter Heaven’s gates as an Heir and Joint-Heir with Christ, there to live forever with Him. As your soul prospers, you will eternally prosper in the very presence of God.
What a day that will be! I think it’s time to call 911. The Fire of God’s jealousy is about to fall. Are you ready for that day? Have your garments been washed in the Blood of the Lamb? Are you clothed in the Righteousness of Christ? Have you been to Jesus for that cleansing power?
