Strange Fire!
Leviticus 9:22-24, "And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces."
Leviticus 10:1-3, "And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace."
Leviticus 10:7, "And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses."
Aaron and his sons were the chosen priests unto God in the tabernacle
Moses’ brother Aaron was chosen as the chief priests in the early tabernacle.
Aaron’s family would be called and chosen by God to serve in the temple as priests for all of Israel.
Every day, while the tabernacle was set up and the cloud or pillar of fire stood over the Holy of Holies where sat the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat, the Levites would go about their duties of making sacrifices unto the Lord upon the Brazen Altar.
One of Aaron’s jobs as the chief priest was to offer the annual sacrifice for the “sin offering” for all of Israel. This was the day of that offering.
Just as Aaron and the Levites were chosen priests unto God, you and I are chosen as priests to our nation, our world and our own families.
Every time we come together, it is to minister unto the Lord and to each other.
Jesus is here to meet the needs of the people, to hear our heart’s cries and deliver us from the bondage of Sin. He has made the sin offering for us and now we are to offer forgiveness for one another.
When we come together and offer our sacrifice of praise and offer the sacrifice of our living bodies unto His service that’s what we should so.
God is so good. He meets with us here in our services!
Prophecies that include not only promises of future blessings to each of us and to our church as a whole are spoken as the Lord gives us the anointing to do so.
Messages in tongues and interpretations go forth again as the Holy Ghost moves upon us to give them.
The Word of the Lord goes forth and the Spirit of the Lord touches us with His Word to help us to be edified and encouraged for the journey ahead.
ALL OF THESE ARE GREAT AND WONDERFUL!
ALONG WITH THESE BLESSINGS COMES THE WARNING OF DANGER
Nadab and Abihu were also members of the Levitical Priesthood, they were the very sons of Aaron the High Priest of Israel.
These men were authorized and anointed by God to perform duties on behalf of the people of Israel.
Their calling and election was sure, they were among the chosen few, and yet, they would die before the altar of God.
What happened to Nahab and Abihu can happen to any Child of God if we are not careful of our steps in the service to God.
What can we learn from them to avoid spiritual rejection and maybe even spiritual death and missing God’s will?
They PRESUMED UPON GOD:
Nahab and Abihu had been before the altar many times before. They had seen the methods and ceremonies that must accompany the sacrifice upon the altar before God could accept it. They knew the dangers of not following God’s ordained plan and yet, it seemed, that for one brief, terrifying, deadly moment in the course of their service, they forgot how Holy and Righteous God is and how Terrible God’s judgments can become.
When we come together to serve God and to offer sacrifices unto Him, let us never presume upon the holiness and righteousness of Almighty God.
We must enter in through the gate of the Lord Jesus Christ, prepare our heart and mind for his service and be certain of every step we take. God is a holy God and will not tolerate sin or disobedience. Neither will the Holy Spirit tolerate our acts of self gratification in trying to make something happen that isn’t what God wants or instructs us to do.
They THOUGHT THEY KNEW THE WILL OF GOD:
Nahab and Abihu were priests unto God. Their job was to prepare sacrifices, apply the blood to the altar and lead the people of Israel to God in worship. They knew their job and were faithful to the best of their ability to follow every procedure that had been given by the Lord in establishing the ceremonial law.
All too often we run under our own knowledge and ability. If we are not careful we will overstep the bounds of where the Spirit is leading and step off into our own knowledge and understanding and attempt to force the moving of the Spirit, so that it appears that God is moving in our midst in ways that He is not.
Never go where God has not led you, don’t step off into ministering to people, or giving an interpretation, or preaching a message, or going to anyone with a “word from the Lord”, without first searching the will of God and hearing His voice as He tells you what to do or what to say.
They WENT BEFORE THE LORD WITH STRANGE FIRE!
These two men knew the proper procedures, they knew better than to assume their sacrifice would be accepted because they hadn’t obeyed the law in its offering.
They wanted the praise of the people and they wanted to force the presence of the glory of God. They liked the manifestation of the power and glory of God and wanted it to stay. But they did so in a manner that had not been ordained by God, walking in the flesh, they approached the altar with strange fire with the intent of forcing a move of God.
In so many of our Pentecostal Churches, and sad to say, even in this church, and in some of the other churches that I have attended, I have seen this very thing happen.
In our zeal to see the glory of God move in our midst and to feel the awesome power of God as it moves upon our soul, we have at times, come very close and in a few instances, overstepped the boundary between that which God wanted and what we wanted.
We should bask in the glory of God when He comes in power to meet with us, but we should never be found guilty of trying to force people to worship or to force a message of tongues and interpretation or force a shout or fall on the ground just because someone pushes on us or any such foolishness.
IF GOD DON’T KNOCK YOU DOWN, DON’T LET ANY MAN DO IT!
If God doesn’t take your feet and make you dance, then you are moving in the flesh!
When the Holy Ghost moves on you to pray for someone, be considerate of their feelings and their condition and don’t try to knock them down, beat on them or scream in their ear – that’s not God!
I BELIEVE IN THE SHOUT AND DANCING IN THE SPIRIT AND BEING SLAIN UNDER THE POWER OF GOD, BUT IT HAD BETTER BE GOD AND NOT SOME SELF MADE UP THING!
We should never think that any ability, or any power that we have can be a substitute for God in our midst.
We must learn to listen, hear and then move and never get that out of order.
WE WILL FACE THE WRATH OF GOD AND THE JUDGMENT OF GOD JUST AS NAHAB AND ABIHU AND THE GLORY OF GOD WILL DEPART AND LEAVE US TO OUR OWN DEVICES!
If we presume to give a our own “message” – that’s offering STRANGE FIRE
If we presume to pray for someone without the leading of the Spirit – that’s offering Strange Fire
If we preach a message that hasn’t come from God – that’s offering Strange Fire
If we try to force the worship, or fake the shout, or move in the flesh – that’s Strange Fire
We all know and believe and have seen the real glory of God as He moves in our midst.
We have all sensed those times in our services when the flesh was in operation too, and believe me, if you are in tune with the Spirit in our services, there is a vast difference in the two.
I want to give fair warning to all of you who are a part of this ministry, and especially those of you who are called to a position of leadership or pulpit ministry.
If I ever sense that the flesh has taken over, and that you are trying to force the appearance of shouting, or force the appearance of a move of God, or fake the anointing in your time of ministering - I WILL CALL YOU DOWN in front of God and the congregation because that’s my duty as your Pastor to watch over the flock and not allow false “spirits” to enter our services.
If anyone is ever so bold as to cause offense in an open congregation then be prepared for correction before the whole congregation.
The souls and hearts of people, and of this congregation are too important for me to allow anyone to offer strange fire and face possible judgment from the Lord, or to grieve the Holy Spirit in our services.
One of the first problems that arises out of moving in the flesh is CONFUSION among the saints in the service.
God is never the author of confusion.
There will be those times when we have a shouting service, where the Holy Ghost is really moving and there will be those in the congregation who are not saved or who don’t understand how the Spirit moves, but that isn’t confusion, that’s questioning.
Confusion is when those who know the Lord and understand the moving of the Spirit will call me or say to me after service, “I felt uneasy” or “Was a certain thing really of God?”
Most of the time, you can count on the fact that someone got out of the will of God and began to minister in the flesh – in effect offering Strange Fire!
If we remember that we must stay close to Jesus and listen to his voice we will have less trouble.
We must never be found guilty of airing those things before the whole congregation that should be spoken in private.
THE SPIRIT OF THE PROPHETS IS SUBJECT TO THE PROPHETS!
That means, that if God has truly given you a word for someone, then it will just as good for them after you lay down the microphone as it was while you held the mic.
The Holy Spirit is a perfect gentleman and will never condone shouting the sins, or the troubles, or the word meant for private ears to be shouted out for all to hear.
If God impresses on you a word for someone, or to go and pray for someone, then call them forward or go to them and turn off or lay down that microphone and speak directly to them.
Too many times, in some circles, I have seen the minister hold the microphone and “prophesy” over someone where everyone could hear. I don’t believe that’s God speaking, that’s the flesh. That word was for one person and not for all to hear. I BELIEVE THAT’S STRANGE FIRE!
In the last verse of our passage we are warned not to step outside of the door of the Tabernacle lest we die for the anointing is upon us.
The door of the Tabernacle is Jesus Christ.
If we step outside of Jesus at any time in our ministry and we step into the flesh – we die.
We may not get burned to a crisp immediately as did Aaron’s sons, but the anointing that is upon us is gone, and the Holy Spirit departs, and we will suffer the consequences of our own actions because we step outside of the “DOOR”!
We all love the anointing, we love the move of the Spirit in great ways, we love the shout and praises of God that come from deep within and we can’t seem to control our emotions, and we love to God bless around our altars and see people truly slain in the spirit.
BUT THE ANOINTING ISN’T THERE WHEN FLESH DOES THOSE THINGS!
I have seen people who were “slain in the Spirit” – looking around to see if everyone else fell too
I have seen those who were “shouting” just to get something going
I have seen those who began to move under a heavy anointing to minister to people and because they loved that feeling and that anointing, they kept on even after the anointing left!
FOLKS, THAT’S STRANGE FIRE BEFORE THE LORD AND DANGEROUS GROUND!
There are many weak or baby Christians who may never get to know the real from the fake if that is allowed to continue.
There are even many who may become so confused and filled with doubt that they cease from serving the Lord or quit coming to church because they can’t get a grasp on what’s happening but they sense something is wrong.
WE WON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT BUILDING A CHURCH IF WE ALLOW STRANGE FIRE IN OUR SERVICES – VICTORY TEMPLE WILL CEASE TO EXIST!
WE ALSO DON’T HAVE TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT OUR CHURCH GROWING IF WE ONLY ACCEPT AND MOVE UNDER THE PERFECT ANOINTING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT – BECAUSE PEOPLE WHO ARE HUNGRY WILL BE DRAWN TO OUR CHURCH LIKE BUGS TO A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS.
This is both a warning to keep out the Strange Fire and an admonition to move as the Spirit of God anoints you to move so that all can be blessed by His presence.
But, in closing, I want to make one last statement:
It would be better to not do something that God wanted you to do for the church’s sake than to offer strange fire that God did not instruct you to do!
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT STATEMENT?
The sins of Israel may not have been forgiven, and the priests would have failed God in their duties.
If the sacrifices were not done according to the ceremonial law and no sacrifice was given, Israel would live in their sin and disobedience but at least they could have the chance to make the sacrifice later on.
WHEN THEY OFFERED STRANGE FIRE, THERE WAS NO SECOND CHANCE – THEY DIED!
Neither option is good but I would prefer for you to miss God by not ministering to someone and let God give you another chance or even give the message to someone else to deliver, than for any of us to say or do something that God would call Strange Fire, and cause the loss of that soul or bring more confusion into their life.
WE MUST BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL NOT TO OFFER STRANGE FIRE – BUT TO ONLY DO THAT WHICH IS ANOINTED BY THE HOLY GHOST – AND TO STOP WHEN HE STOPS!
Ephesians 4:29-30, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."
