In this sermon, the speaker discusses the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal from the Bible. He emphasizes the importance of having a life built on a sure foundation, represented by the stones Elijah used to build the altar. The speaker also highlights the need to let go of desires for vengeance and judgment, instead embracing mercy and love. He concludes by expressing a longing to see people set free from sin and darkness, and encourages listeners to have a heart that God can use in these last days.

This message is one of the Times Square Church Pulpit series. It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City. Other tapes are available by writing WORLDCHALLENGE, PO BOX 260, LINDALE, TEXAS 75771 or calling 903-963-8626. None of these messages are copyrighted and you are welcome to make copies for free distribution to friends. The book of Luke. Luke, chapter nine. The message is entitled Calling Down Fire. Calling down fire. I'm going to. The Lord is just sharing lately some really precious truths with me. And I want to share it with you, and I believe that it's going to be a change of produce a change of heart in many, many are here this morning. I want to talk to you about the type of a heart that God's going to use in these last days. Oh, precious Jesus, I just thank you for your mercy and your grace. Holy Spirit, I thank you for your strength. I thank you, Lord, that you chose me because I'm weak. You chose me because I have nothing and no skill, no talent. I need you every breath I breathe. I need you now, Holy Spirit. Lord, I'm asking that you would flow through my life today and give life to the words that you put clearly upon my heart to speak to this congregation this morning. Bring life, bring life, bring liberty. Let there be an absolute change of heart. I ask for a shout of joy to come into the hearts of those who are able to comprehend and who desire to walk the pathway that you're going to show us through your scriptures. I thank you for this, Father. In Jesus name. Amen. Luke chapter 9, beginning at verse 51. We're looking at the time when Jesus was setting his face to go to Jerusalem to ultimately fulfill the call of his father upon his life. And it came to pass when the time was come that he should be received up that he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem and set messages before his face and they went and entered into a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him. And they did not receive him. Now, these are the Samaritan people, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them as Elias or Elijah did? But he turned and rebuked them and said, You know not what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went, in other words, they just moved on and they went to another village. Now, after Assyria, the king of Assyria invaded Israel. After Solomon's reign, you remember that the kingdom of Israel was divided into two parts. And the northern part was later invaded by Assyria. And they resettled the northern part of Israel with their own people. Because of that resettlement, a mixed race of people resulted that became known as the Samaritans. Now, they were a mixed people and the purebred Jews hated these half-breed Samaritans and vice versa. There was a tremendous hatred in Israel at this time. The hatred was so intense that often Jews traveling from Galilee to the south part of Israel would go around Samaria rather than go through it. Of course, Jesus did not hold to the same prejudice as the people and he sent messengers ahead of him to prepare to receive him in a Samaritan village. We know from this particular story that the people were not prepared to receive him because he set his face to go right through their midst and go right to Jerusalem. And because of that, they rejected him. You see the two disciples angry because the message, the messenger was not received. And so they said, can we call down fire? Can we just burn them, consume the whole works of them? Because obviously their hearts are not where our hearts are. Their ways are not your ways, Lord. They're a mixed people. You can just consume them with your fire, destroy them. And that's the attitude of heart very often that you'll find in all of us when we encounter people who think differently than we do. Maybe are captivated by things that we have been set free from. Maybe their direction, the place where they're dwelling at the moment is not quite the same as us. And especially for those who are going through and wanting to give all of our lives to Christ. We're wanting to lay our lives down as a living sacrifice for God. Sometimes so hard to understand, especially those in the body of Christ who don't share the similar type of heart that God has given to us. Now, the people of the village didn't receive him because he had a plan to press on to Jerusalem. And it was in Jerusalem that he was going to lay down his life for the purposes of God. Now there are many, many Christians today, many of God's people are hearing the call of laying one's life down for the purposes of God. If you're hearing anything in this church, in this last season of the Word of God, I hope that you're hearing this truth. That Jesus is coming soon. He's coming for a bride. He's coming for those whose hearts are His. He's coming for those who have laid down their own purposes and plans and are saying, Lord God, send me anywhere that you want me to go, God, I will go. Whatever you want me to do, Lord, I will do. Move through my life that others can come to know you as Lord and Savior. These people are heading, as Jesus did, for Jerusalem. They have oil in their lamps, thank God. They're heading out. There's nothing but dark days ahead for almost all of society. But I thank God for those who know Christ. There's an ever-increasing presence of Jesus. There's an oil. There's a joy. There's an expectancy. Even in the midst of all of the things happening around us, there's a bride that's lifting up her head and hearing that words, Our redemption draweth nigh. Come, Lord Jesus. The Spirit and the bride say, Come, Lord Jesus. They're determined to fulfill His will and to bring honor to God through their lives. I hope that that's your determination. If it's not, it can be an awful miserable thing to sit in the house of the Lord and hear these types of words if really that's not where your heart is at. The psalmist said in Psalm 40, verse 7, Then said, I lo, I come. In the volume of the book, it is written of me. I delight to do thy will, O my God. Yea, thy law is within my heart. In the volume of the book, is your life written there today? Do you really delight to do His will? Do you want to fulfill the call of God upon your life? Revelation 12, 11 says, They overcame Him by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death. I know that's going to be written by the power of God, by the grace of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit. I shall stand and be among those on that last day that overcame Him, overcame the accuser, overcame all the lies of darkness by the blood of the Lamb, had a word of testimony that brought life to those who sat in darkness and loved not their own lives unto the death. However, as we head out to serve the Lord, along the way as Jesus did, we encounter people who are living in a different place, they have different plans, and they have a totally different focus than we do. Sometimes it's friends and family. We understand that. We go out into the world, and we see people and groups that have a different philosophy. They have different theories of life. They have different perspectives of eternity. And sometimes it can be a painful experience to go to them and be rejected by them. If you truly love Christ, there are very, very many here today that you've known what it is to be rejected by friends, and you know the pain of the rejection by family. And the most difficult of all, though, I feel is that when we encounter along our journey Christian brothers and sisters who are living in a place of mixture, like the Samaritans were, they're half in the church, and they're half in the world. We talk to them about giving our all for Christ, but they're living in another place. We go to them and we try to share with them how the plan of God goes forth through those who are surrendered and absolutely abandoned to Him, and yet we see the scoffing and hear the scoffing. I know what I speak about, for I've spoken in a convention like this, of gatherings of churches that were really not there for the plans of God. They were living in a place of mixture, in a different place. And we're dumbfounded at their blindness to the only pathway that leads to victory. The pathway that leads to victory is not a lust after the things of the world, it's not a lust for power or prestige among men. The pathway that leads to victory is a humble path, and it's a path of absolute surrender to the purposes and plans of God. Jesus was heading down that path, and it was because of that that the Samaritan people, the people living in mixture, if I can draw that analogy, rejected Him and wouldn't have Him dwell in their midst. And likewise, there are very, very, very many people who are gathered together professing to know Christ in this generation, but yet, when He comes into their midst, and His plans and His patterns and His call is revealed to them, there's a deep-seated rejection of Him that comes into their hearts, and they push Him out of their coast and say, we don't want you dwelling in our midst. We have found a place of mixture and we like this place and we want to dwell here. They reject self-sacrifice, and for those who really know the heart of God, I feel that there's more to learn, but I feel in my own life that I've really begun to understand His heart. And brothers and sisters, I want you to know something. There is such a joy in abandonment. There's a joy in living for God. There's a joy in saying, Lord, I'm not even going to try to do it to my own strength. Holy Spirit, You come and abide in me and work out the life of Christ in me. Love the people through me. Minister to them through me. Touch through my life. Speak through me, Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, give me the victory over anything and everything that this flesh, this natural body wants to do that's contrary to the will of God. Give me the absolute victory. There is a joy in this kind of an abandonment. The Scripture says the secret of the Lord is revealed to them that fear Him, that love Him. And it's like God begins to speak secrets into your heart. And even in the midst of knowing that maybe you're going to travel a path that's not necessarily going to be easy. There's a joy. Doesn't that say in the Scripture about Jesus? Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame that is now set down at the right hand of the Father. Oh, everything is in subjection to Him now. And He's the one that we've come to love. And He's the one that we talk about. He's the one that is our hope. We begin to understand His heart. As Christ is formed in us, our eyes open. Like blinded men, we begin to see. We look around us and we see people captivated by darkness. Captivated by sin. We understand their future. The horrible torment that awaits those who reject God and the call of God. And there's a longing, a yearning that comes right from the heart of God that comes into our heart to see them set free. To see them loose from the power of sin and darkness. But, oft times, encountering these types of people, we see them rejecting self-sacrifice. Now, I'm speaking now specifically about those who profess to know Christ. We see them living in a way that amounts to nothing less than treachery against the Holy God. We are living in a generation when many of those who profess to know Christ are really living in treachery against the Holy God. James 4.4 says, Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whosoever will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. And so, we see people literally, even in the name of Christ, whole churches, whole church movements that are captivated by the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. They somehow think that what they're believing and preaching is the gospel of Jesus Christ. And yet, there's a treachery. I've been in services over the years where I wanted to jump to my feet and just yell, treachery, treachery against the Holy God. How can you do this? How can you live this way? How can you say that you have the heart of God and go out of the doors of His house and live for houses and live for cars and live for lands and live for reputation and live for fame? And even worse, live for yourself. How can people say that they love God and go out and so easily befriend His enemies? The things that are the enemies of God. And yet, I found that there was an attitude in my heart that was not the attitude of the heart of God. Just like the people of the day who caught the woman taken in adultery. I was tempted and not only tempted, but in my words over the years I've done it, to lean down and pick up stones and bring these people before God and say, here they are, Lord. Adulterers and adulteresses, friends of the world. I caught them right in the very act. I know how they live and I've seen what they've done. Taking the stone in my hand and being willing to throw it at them. Just like the disciples said, Jesus walked into Samaria, the place of mixture rejected Him. And James and John had an enragement come into their heart. How could they reject the Lord? How could they turn from such a love? How could they not understand the call? And they said, Lord, they turned as they walked away from the city, will you permit that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them? Just as Elijah did. And you see, the natural man takes over. The natural heart takes over very often when we walk into a place where we see perhaps some things that other people don't see. But you know, true humility comes when we begin to understand that other people see things about us that we don't see about ourselves either. And those that are farther down the road are equally as justified. God began to speak to my heart the last few weeks. He said, there were times through your life in ministry as a Christian that there were people ahead of you that saw things in your life that could justifiably have picked up stones and thrown them at you. And could have called down fire from heaven to consume you. But it was not, I thank God that God kept those types of people away from me. And it was people who had a different heart. They saw, but yet they saw something else. They saw the mercy of God. They saw the long-suffering of God. They saw the desire of God through Jesus Christ that it was not His will that any should perish but that all should come to repentance in the knowledge of Christ. Your ways are not my ways, saith the Lord. Your thoughts are not my thoughts. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways. And my thoughts are higher than your thoughts. And Jesus was saying these words to James and John. He said, you don't understand what manner of spirit you are of. He said, the Son of Man didn't come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they just moved on from that place and went to another village. Jesus had the power to call down fire and to consume them. But He had come to seek and to save that which was lost, even that which was living in a place of mixture. We must beware in our quest to serve God in truth that we don't develop a vengeful heart. Towards those who have stopped somewhere along the way and begin to inwardly desire their harm rather than their freedom. Brothers and sisters, it can happen. Think of the boss at your workplace. Think of your neighbor next door. We encounter people continuously in society that disagree with us. I'm not talking just about the church. That just seems to be what God spoke to me about. But we encounter people continuously and as we walk away from the door and they've rejected the truth or maybe just rejected us. And in that misunderstanding we walk away and sometimes it's in the heart to say, oh God, send fire. Oh God, send fire. There are people that put on parades and exhibits and marches in the city and around New York City that I don't agree with their philosophy, obviously. I don't agree with their lifestyles and the things that they do. But I don't stand on the corner desiring fire to fall upon them. God is giving me new eyes and I look at them and say, Lord, You died for them. They're captivated in sin just like I was captivated in sin. But God, You were merciful to me. And You saved me. And You pulled me out. God, mercy, mercy, Lord. Mercy triumphs over judgment. God, I ask You to send mercy on them. Not fire. Mercy. There is a day. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. There's a day coming when the judge of all the earth will do right. There's a day when every man's work is going to be made manifest. It's all going to be made known. It's all going to be over. But till that day, mercy is still triumphing over judgment. And God is looking for people who understand that in their heart. Mercy. That we're not standing gritting our teeth and clenching our fists and saying, God, send fire on these people. But it's all Lord sending mercy. Mercy, Lord. Mercy. If it were not for You, I'd be there. If it were not for You, I'd be doing this. If it were not for You, Lord, I'd be a pro-lifer and pro-abortionist and all the rest. If it weren't for You, Lord, in my life, I would be doing just the very same thing that these people are doing. Now, I want you to take a look with me in the book of Genesis chapter 13 quickly at a different heart. The heart of a person that God can use for His glory. And I also believe it's the heart of a person that will receive the promises of God. Genesis chapter 13. Now, this is Abraham. Abraham is called of God. You know the story. He's called to leave his land and to go to a place of promise. He leaves and on the way turns into Egypt and he's got with him his nephew Lot and his family. And in Genesis chapter 13, now Abraham gets up and leaves Egypt and Lot, his nephew, is with him. In Genesis 13, it says, Abraham went out of Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had and Lot with him into the south. And Abraham was very rich in cattle and silver and in gold. And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel and to the place where his tent had been at the beginning between Bethel and Hai. Unto the place of the altar which he had made there at the first. And there Abraham called on the name of the Lord. You know, that's really the sign of somebody who truly is born of God. There's a continuous calling on the Lord for direction, a calling on the Lord for strength, a calling on the Lord for the fulfillment of His promises. And Lot also, now this is verse 5. Lot, his nephew, which went with Abraham, had flocks and herds and tents. The land was not able to bear them that they might dwell together for their substance was great so that they could not dwell together. So Abraham and Lot are journeying together to the land of promise. And when they get there, there just doesn't seem to be room for the two of them to dwell together. So Abraham having a heart, I believe is pleasing in the sight of God. Not that Abraham was perfect, but there were aspects of the heart of Abraham that you and I can draw from and understand why God so desired to bless this man. Abraham said to Lot in verse 8, he said, don't let there be any strife between you and me. Abraham took the lower path. I pray thee, he said, is not the whole land before thee? Verse 9, he said, separate yourself. If you'll take the left hand, I'll go to the right. If you go to the right, I'll go to the left. And so here's Abraham saying, you choose, you go whatever way you want to go and I'll take what's left. And in verse 10, and Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan that it was well watered everywhere before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord like unto the land of Egypt when you come to Zohar. Lot chose all the plain of Jordan that Lot journeyed east and they separated themselves one from the other. Abraham dwelled in the land of Canaan. Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent towards Sodom. Now, Lot chose the way of visual prosperity. In verse 10, he lifted up his eyes He didn't lift up his eyes to the Lord. There was a difference between Lot and Abraham. Lot lifted up his eyes and Lot was a man who was led by the lust of his eyes. He was led by the desires of his own flesh. He didn't lift up and say, Lord, which way is it that you would have me to go? He lifted up and looked and pursued the things that he saw. So Lot really walked the way of visual prosperity. There is a whole segment in the church today, the body of Christ, that is walking the road of visual prosperity. They're looking to the things of this world to satisfy the longings of the heart. They're not looking to the ways of God. And subsequently there is a separation between those who are walking in the promises of God, the true promises of God, and those who are lifting up their eyes and walking a pathway of visual prosperity. Abraham walks the road of humility and chooses Canaan. Canaan is God's place of promise. Abraham chose to walk by faith into the places of God's promises which really are impossible to see with the natural eye. You can only understand them when your heart is fully embracing the Lord. Now Abraham knew what was in Lot's heart. He knew it. Abraham was not a foolish man. He knew that this man, there was something wrong in his heart. And we know what Lot did. He took his family to Sodom and Gomorrah to buy and to sell and to get gain in that society. And maybe Lot thought that his faith was strong enough to withstand the influences of that society. But he made a terrible mistake. You see, his wife and his children were not strong enough to withstand it. And he placed them in that position of compromise with the things of the world. And the devil came and snatched them. His wife turned around when the angels delivered them out of the city. She turned into a pillar of salt. His two daughters had no moral value at all. They had seen so much immorality in the place where they lived that they turned to an ancestral relationship with their father. And they bore children Moab and Ammon that became ultimately some of the enemies of Israel. Abraham knew what was in Lot's heart. However, we go on to chapter 14, verse 12, And there came a time when some kings came and warred against Sodom and Gomorrah. And Lot was taken captive. And verse 12, it says, And they took Lot, Abraham's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. And verse 13 says, And there came one that escaped and told Abraham the Hebrew, for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre, the Amorite, brother of Eshol, the brother of Anar. And these were confederate with Abraham. And when Abraham heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. He divided himself against them, he and his servants by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. He brought back all the goods, and he also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women, and the possessions, and the people. Abraham went and pursued him. You know, it could have been in Abraham's heart to say, Well, Lot gets what he deserves. He chose that place of prosperity. And in that place of seeking the things of the world, we know that justifiably he was captivated in that place. And Abraham could have said, Well, good for Lot. Let the fire of God come down and fall on him. But that wasn't what was in Abraham's heart. Abraham got all his men together that were raised in his house, at the risk of his own life, at the risk of his own household, his own family. Abraham, I can see him mounting on whatever animals they used at that time, and going, and pursuing Lot. Because it was in his heart to rescue him. It was in his heart to see his brother safe from harm, and safe from evil. And it was later on, when he came back, after recovering Lot, that Melchizedek, in verse 18, the king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, because he was the priest of the Most High God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abraham of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth. So Melchizedek, who is a type, he was an actual king or priest in that day, but he was a type in shadow of Christ. Melchizedek came out, and he blessed Abraham. Not only because Abraham was called by God, but Abraham was walking the pathway of the Restorer, who was Christ, who had come to seek and save that which was lost. God was saying through Melchizedek, I am pleased with you, Abraham, because I see something in your heart. You're not a vengeful man, Abraham. You have a heart for people, Abraham. My heart is being formed in you. And Abraham went out to pursue that which was lost, and brought it home at great cost to himself. Even pursue a man perhaps that he didn't agree with. And again in chapter 18, if we go ahead to chapter 18, verse 21, now this is just after the Lord has appeared to Abraham, and come down and told him he's going to have a son that would be heir. And we'll see now again the heart of Abraham. In verse 21 in chapter 18, the Lord says, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it which is coming to me, and if not, I will know. And the men turned their faces thence and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. Abraham drew near and said, Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city. Will you also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? Now Abraham knew, and God had said earlier, Will I hide the thing that I'm about to do from Abraham? Abraham was a friend of God. Isn't it wonderful to be walking in a place where God doesn't hide from you the things that he's about to do? He shares them with you, because he saw something in the heart of Abraham. And it's wonderful that the Lord sends the two with him on before, and he stays back to talk with Abraham. And Abraham begins to reason with God. Sodom is an ungodly city. It's a horrible city. But yet, Abraham begins to reason with the Lord. He knows that fire is about to fall on that city. But he says, Maybe there's fifty righteous. Maybe there's fifty. Will you destroy the city if there are fifty righteous still in it? And Abraham says, That would be far from you to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that the righteous should be as the wicked. Let it be far from you. Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? Here's Abraham, the friend of God, now reasoning with the Lord. And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, I will spare it. And I love this passage of Scripture, because Abraham said, Now behold, I've taken it upon me to speak to the Lord. I'm but dust and ashes. But peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty. Will you destroy all the city for lack of five? He said, If I find forty-five, I will not destroy it. He said to him, Well, peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty. And he said to him, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Peradventure there shall be found thirty. He said, I will not do it if I find thirty. And he said, Behold, now I've taken it upon me to speak to the Lord. Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. He said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. And Abraham presses in even more. He said, Oh, let not the Lord be angry. I will speak yet this, but once perhaps there be ten there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake. And the Lord went his way as soon as he had left commuting with Abraham. And Abraham returned to his place. Abraham is pleading for an ungodly city. This is a type and shadow of the intercessor. Abraham was interceding, just like Christ is at the right hand of the Father, continuously interceding for you and I. And Abraham was there and said, O God, if there's fifty, forty, thirty, twenty, ten, will you spare the city? Will you spare it, O God, for the ten righteous that are in this city? This is the end of side one. You may now turn the tape over to side two. We see what society deserves in this generation. We're living in a wicked and an evil time. But those that God will use in this last generation are not the ones who are delightful in calling down fire upon the city, but saying, O God, there are children out there that have not heard You. They've not heard of the name of Jesus. There are young ones, Lord. There's moms, there's dads. There are people, O God, per adventure, fifty will receive You, Lord. Per adventure, forty, thirty. Per adventure, ten will turn to You in the coming days. God, for the sake of ten, shall not the judge of all the earth do right. Lord, would You not hold it back just for a season, O God? Send Your mercy into the city, Lord, before judgment comes, because mercy triumphs over judgment. That's the heart of the intercessor. The true intercessor doesn't call down fire upon a city. The true intercessor calls for the mercy of God. The true intercessor has the very heart of God burning within him. Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, be merciful. Remember, God, You were merciful to me. Remember, You saved me. I didn't deserve the salvation I have. Lord God, I didn't deserve one ounce of Your mercy in that You were merciful to me. Lord, be merciful to the people. If they reject You in knowledge, then let their damnation be just, O God. But Lord, Lord, touch them. That's got to be our cry for this city. That's got to be our cry of the Holy Spirit through each one of our lives for our friends and our neighbors, the places where we live. Oh, hallelujah, hallelujah. I believe God wants to do a marvelous thing through His church in this last hour that we're living in. There are approximately, I suppose, 6,000 or so people that attend Times Square Church. Can you imagine if everyone, every year, were able to touch 10 lives? Could you imagine if they were so infused with the Holy Ghost that those 10 lives were able to touch, in a year or two, another 10? If you will sit down and work it out on paper, you'll see we're not on the losing side at all. We're on the winning side. If truly it's His body, we can lay hold of the very heart of Jesus and begin to move in the power of His Spirit. And the disciples, James and John, saw this and said, Lord, will you command fire to come down from heaven and consume them as Elijah did? Now they were referring to 2 Kings 1. Please don't turn there. It's when the king of Samaria tried to have Elijah forcefully taken after he had rebuked him for sending messengers to inquire of Beelzebub concerning an illness he was suffering. Elijah was sitting on a hill and the king and some soldiers came, some soldiers and men of authority, and they were going to take him for an unrighteous purpose. And he said, if I be a man of God, let fire come down and consume you and your 50. Now this happened more than one time. And fire came down and consumed those that were unrighteously trying to captivate Elijah. And this is what James and John were referring to. There was a fire of vengeance, but there's also a fire of God's mercy. There was a second fire, which Elijah had called for, but this was not yet formed in their hearts. They didn't yet understand this. Go to the book of 1 Kings, please, chapter 18. 1 Kings, chapter 18. Hallelujah. The whole nation of Israel virtually was captivated, living in mixture of prophets of Baal, leading the people, building false altars, teaching doctors they shouldn't teach to the people. And finally there was a man that God raised up called Elijah. And Elijah built an altar. And he told them, he said, you build your altar. And he said, I will build an altar. And he said, we'll dress the bullock and lay on the wood, but put no fire under it. And in verse 24 in 1 Kings, chapter 18, he says, and you call on the name of your gods and I will call on the name of the Lord. And the God that answers by fire, let Him be God. And the people answered and said, it is well spoken. And so the prophets of Baal built their altar and they made their noise and they hooted and hollered and did all the things that we see even much of religion doing today. But the true fire of God didn't come down upon this altar. Then in verse 31, we see Elijah now repairing the altar of the Lord. The scripture says, Elijah took 12 stones according to the number of the tribes of the son of Jacob unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name. And with these stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord and made a trench about the altar as great as would contain two measures of seed. He put the wood in order and cut the bullock in pieces and laid him on the wood and said, fill four barrels with water and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood. Now I see this as a type and shadow of the type of life that God wants to use in this generation. Please, if you've ever heard me before, hear what God's put on my heart this morning. The stones represent a life that's built on a sure foundation. He took the unsure foundation. The prophets of Baal, the people living in Mixture, are building their lives on a foundation of Mixture and it can't stand. And Elijah took 12 stones which represented the way, the word, the will of God and built that altar on a sure foundation. And we've got to be a people who build our lives on this book. No matter what our own hearts say. No matter what our own desires project. We've got to build our lives on the word of God. What's written, the written revealed word of God in this book for us. And then, with those stones, he built an altar. He had a place of sacrifice. It's a place of devotion. It's building our lives on truth and saying, God, oh God, I dedicate my life to Your purposes. All the rest of my life. Everything I have, everything I am. Lord, I dedicate it to You. And he put the wood on the altar and that wood represents the cross for you and I. Those who are willing to embrace the cross of Christ and all that that cross represents. Dying to ourselves that Christ may live in us. Walking through the places of misture. Not casting down fire upon them. But bringing the love of Almighty God to all who need His love in this generation. And saturate that altar, he said, with water. That, to me, represents the word of God. These are vessels that are willing to be cleansed. Willing to be washed. Like many this morning have an open heart to be able to hear from the Lord. And say, Lord, change me. Lord, cleanse me. If I have vengeance in my heart towards anybody in society, oh God. Towards anyone in your house. Lord, take that vengeance out of my heart. Then Elijah stood back in verse 37. He says, hear me, oh Lord, hear me. That this people may know that Thou art the Lord God and Thou hast turned their heart back again. You see, that was Elijah's only purpose for calling down the fire of God. That God would turn back the hearts of the people that were captivated again. Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice in the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces. They said, the Lord, He is God. The Lord, He is God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. The heart's cry that God has put within me is, Lord, build my life on a sure foundation. Whatever is not of You, take it out of my life. Take it away from me, Lord. Attitudes of heart. Directions that my feet are walking in. Thoughts that I'm thinking. Places my eyes are looking. Anything that's not of You, Lord, take it out of my life. Just do whatever you have to do, God. Take it out of my life. Let my life be built on a sure and a strong foundation. Lord God, on this foundation, I present my life to You as a living sacrifice. Holy and acceptable unto God, which is my reasonable service. And I ask, oh God, as I embrace Your will, as I embrace Your plans for my life, that You would send the fire of the Holy Ghost upon me. Send the fire of the Holy Ghost in my life. And God, make a difference. Lord, send the fire of the Holy Ghost. The man played that just before I came up to speak. And what a confirmation in my heart from the Lord. Oh Lord, let the fire come down. God, as we build our lives on truth, once again in this last generation, may we not be casting off our brethren who are captivated in other places, especially in the household of faith. But oh God, send the genuine fire of the Holy Ghost. Send the fire, oh God, of Your Spirit upon us as Your church. Lord, that the people who live in places of mixture may turn away from those places and say, the Lord, He is God. When they saw the fire, when they saw the fire, these brethren in North America, they're running around the Western world looking for signs and wonders. And many of them are hungry for God. Many of them are misguided, but there's many, many that are hungry for God. And they're running and looking because there's a hunger in their hearts. And those whose lives are built on the true foundation of God, we've got to come out of all places of mixture, out of places of self-seeking, build our lives on an altar of truth and say, God, send the fire of Your Holy Spirit upon me and let my life make a difference. Let my life make a difference. Let people turn to You because they see the holy fire of purity and true devotion upon my life. Hallelujah! That's what people are looking for. When they see the truth, they will flee from the things that are false. But firstly, God has to find a people who don't secretly desire vengeance on those who are living in other places. People with a heart like Abraham, a heart like Elijah, a heart like Jesus. He said, you don't know what spirit you are of. I didn't come to send fire, I came to save those that were lost. And they went through to another place. These are people that walk through difficult places and instead of leaving a curse, they leave a blessing behind. They leave the Savior of Christ. Maybe those who reject them would say, when trouble comes, when difficulties come, they will remember there was somebody that passed through that seemed to have the presence of Christ upon their life. Your neighbors may reject you when you go to them and do acts of kindness and talk about the ways of God, but there will come a time. Maybe some of your friends and relatives are caught in some of these success and prosperity movements that are so gripping the hearts of the church in North America. But our hearts are not to call down fire upon them. The heart of Christ is that they might be taken out of that place of captivity and restored to Almighty God. That's the heart that the Lord can use. That's the heart. It's a heart that will go where nobody else will go. The disciples would have chosen to walk around Samaria, but Jesus didn't share their heart. He said, no, we're going to go right in the midst and see yet if they're ready to receive us. Now go to the book of Acts, please. We'll conclude with that. Acts chapter 1. John the Baptist said in Matthew 3.11, I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but he that comes after me is mightier than I. Whose shoes I'm not worthy to bear, he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Hallelujah. Now I want to show you the purpose of the fire. Acts chapter 1, verse 5. Jesus said, John, truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence. And in verse 8, he says, you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and where? And in Samaria, unto the uttermost part of the earth. Hallelujah. This is the fire, Jesus was saying to the disciples, that I am going to send. I'm going to send the fire of my Holy Spirit upon you. And you're going to go back to Samaria. I'm going to take the vengeance out of your heart. You're going to retrace your steps and go back into places that you once were before, but you're going to be a different man, James. You're going to be a different man, John. You're going to have my love within your heart. And you're going to love these people the way that I love them. Some of them are not going to make it, but it's not up to you, James and John, to decide who that is. You're going to go and tell them that I so love them, God so loved the world, that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Would you please stand? Oh, hear. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Do you have someone that's rejected you because your direction is different from theirs? The question that the Lord would ask this morning is how have you responded to them? How have you responded to those who reject you? It's not an easy thing to be able to say, Lord, I have harbored vengeance in my heart. The simple fact that you might desire the judgment of God to fall on anybody is an indication to that degree you don't share the heart of Jesus Christ. In this moment of time. Judgment will come, but mercy, we're in a season of mercy and grace right now. God's looking for people that He can use. But you have to have His heart, I have to have His heart, that He can use us. It doesn't mean we agree with the Samaritans, but we walk into their midst in agreement with Christ. Not that they should perish, but that all should come to the saving knowledge of Christ. I want to open this morning, and it may be a hard altar call for many here, but if you'll humble yourself, I believe that God will change your heart. He spoke it to me this week. He will change your heart. He's moving in my heart, and it's really a way to ask if you're here today and there's a desire for vengeance in your heart. Maybe it's a family member. Maybe it's somebody who has done wrong to you. And in your heart, there's a desire. You've got to let that thing go. That's not the heart of Jesus. You know, we have so-called Christian people walking into abortion clinics and shooting receptionists, thinking they're doing it in the name of God. They don't realize that they're of the spirit of James and John before they were converted. They wanted fire. They wanted judgment. They wanted it now. That's the carnal heart at work, masquerading as God. God's going to do a marvelous thing in many hearts here today. I know that in my heart. If you'll have the courage to say, Lord, I've desired vengeance. But Lord, I want You to give me Your heart. The fire I want is the fire to come on my life. I want the fire of the Holy Ghost to come upon me. Lord, I want You to use my life. Send me places I normally wouldn't go. Send me to people I don't like. Send me in situations that I'm not fond of, that I may, through Your power, through Your Spirit, bring the love of Christ. And some will get set free because they see the power of the risen Christ within me. Jesus baptized me with fire. Baptized me with fire. Hallelujah. Up in the balcony, you can go to either aisle and come down to the main sanctuary. You can slip out of wherever you are and come to this altar, and we're going to pray and believe God for a miracle, a change, an absolute change of heart. The Holy Spirit is speaking to many right now, many all over this sanctuary. You know what that means? That means you've got to love other races. That means you've got to forgive, because it would be hypocrisy to come here and say, Lord, do this to me. You might be of one race and God's going to send you to another. It means that God may send you to speak to some people that will laugh at you and reject you, even in the Christian church, because they don't understand the ways of God. My heart's cry is, God, give me that heart that Abraham had. Give me that heart that Elijah had. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. The Lord sees your heart this day. He sees your heart. There are still people coming. The Holy Spirit is speaking to you. As the Holy Spirit speaks to you, Oh, Father, thank you. Thank you, Lord, that you are raising a church, a true representative of your heart in this generation. Oh, Lord, thank you. Thank you, Father. Thank you, Father. Hallelujah. Lord, send the fire. As we build our lives on truth, as we embrace your heart, your will and your ways, send the fire. God, I ask that you consume me. I ask for my life. Consume me with your presence, Lord. I want to make a difference. Lord, I don't like the fact that people are captivated in your house. Many of them are captivated. It's just because they've never seen the true fire. God, I ask that somehow make a difference, Lord. Make a difference. Use my brothers and sisters, Lord. Use this church and make a difference in this generation. Lord, we ask you for the fire. The true fire of the Holy Ghost. God, that's all. That's the only thing that will make a difference in this city. There's nothing else, Lord. Nothing else. Everybody has an idea. Everybody has a religion, a philosophy. We're living in an age of endless, endless talk. But, Lord, you're the only one that can send the fire. God. Oh, God, as we build our lives on truth, Lord, send the fire of your Holy Spirit and use our lives to make a difference in this generation. God, use our lives. Send us into the highways and byways. Send us to the Samarius, Lord, that are in your church. Send us to the Samarius in society, oh God. Send us, Lord, even to places where they'll reject you, Lord. God, send us to those places that we may bring your love to those who sit in darkness. God, send revival, Lord, in this last hour of time. Send revival, Lord. Send revival. Send the power of your Holy Spirit. Those that have come to the altar, please just pray with me. Lord Jesus, forgive me for desiring vengeance on anybody. I'm going to ask you to name the people. Just name it to the Lord. Between you and God. As I'm speaking, name the people that you've desired vengeance upon. Name those people that harmed you and have wronged you. Certain classes or types of people. Certain sinners that you desired the fire of God to fall. That's not the heart of Christ. Jesus said you don't know what spirit you're of. Now, let's pray. Father, forgive me for desiring vengeance on anybody in society. Lord, use my life and send me even into places where I naturally wouldn't go. I trust you for the love. I trust you for the power. As I build my life on truth, let the fire of the Holy Spirit be the only fire that's in my life. Remove from me forever any desire for vengeance, any desire to see judgment. Let mercy be the cry of my heart. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Father. Hallelujah. This is the conclusion of the tape.