In this sermon, the preacher focuses on the topic of the altar and the fire of God. He emphasizes that the only answer to the needs of the world is fire, as Jesus himself said, "I am come to send fire on the earth." The preacher draws parallels between the burning bush that Moses encountered and the fire of God's presence. He also highlights the importance of keeping the charge of God in order to experience victory. The sermon concludes with a challenge for individuals to consider if they are willing to be vessels through which God can send fire on the earth.

Those of us that were together last evening will remember that our subject was the altar and the fire of God. I want to continue in that strain tonight for, as I have been, as I said last evening, I have been for a long time dwelling in my heart and in my thought around this great topic. For I am convinced, even as the Lord Jesus Christ himself was convinced, and said that the only answer to earth's needs is fire. For he said, I am come to send fire on the earth. Now that's a tremendous thing because the prophets of old said that he was going to pour water on the earth. You will remember, I will pour water on him that thirsteth. And I will send floods on the dry ground. Do you remember that? And you will know that that same blessed prophet, he said that the whole earth was going to be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea. And they lived very much in that element. It's very necessary for us to understand the great truth. But Jesus said, now I have come to send a fire on the earth. I think you will agree it's a rather different element. So then, let us by God's grace get into this great thing that God has to do. He has to do it, he's promised to do it. The thing that I have to decide for myself is this, and I pose the question to you. If God wants to send fire on the earth, do you think he dare risk sending you? Have you answered the question to yourselves? This may be the answer why so few are sent. Although the position still remains the same, God into all the world. But side by side with the command to go, he says, I only send fire. And here then is a great and balancing position for us to understand. You will recall, I trust, that this was a question that I had to answer for myself before God. I invite you to do the same. For you and I have to remember that God has not got a double standard. He only has one. He hasn't got one standard for himself and another standard for man. If you and I think that we can scrape through on some kind of lesser thing, we have sadly missed the whole truth that God came to reveal. God has one standard and one standard only. He's not double-minded, so he's not unstable. He hasn't got a double standard, and so he's not a deceiver. Praise the Lord, he doesn't go in for double talk either. So then we, receiving the truth of God into our hearts, should lay ourselves before him and let him speak to our hearts again, each one of us. If I may say, as he did last evening. All right then, in the great theme of The Altar and the Fire, I want to read again in the second book of Chronicles. If I may be allowed to recap, we were sinking between chapters one and seven of Second Chronicles last evening. We saw how this great man Solomon built the temple of God, something which his father David longed to do and from which he was prevented by the Lord. Nevertheless, David pointed out the place for the foundation of the temple when the day that he found mercy of the Lord on Mount Moriah, called at that time, seeming to have lost its former identity, the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. And that is the place where you remember he and all Israel found mercy of the Lord. For the angel stood there with his sword outstretched, ready to fulfill the deserved and threatened punishment, that God was merciful. And it says, God repented him of the evil that he had sought to do unto Israel and then God commanded Gad to go to Solomon and tell him to build an altar there in the threshing floor and David's heart soon forgiven and how wonderful it is. Let it be an illustration to us that once a true man that wants to be sincere with God, are you this man, if you're listening to me tonight, are you this kind of woman that's listening to me tonight, that as soon as a true man gets right with God, instantly that which was broken off between his soul and God is restored. And on the day of his obedience, there in the threshing floor, he found complete restoration and he had a revelation that this was to be the very foundation of the temple of God. Amen. And so Solomon comes along and he builds the temple at the very spot where David had built the altar and God had answered him in fire from heaven. What a tremendous thing this is. And when Solomon had completed the temple, not being content with the glory of the Lord coming to fill the temple, he prayed beside the altar until he had what he knew must come and that is the fire of God upon the altar. That was the testimony in ancient Israel that God was there upon the mercy seat in the holiest of all. For you will remember that sometime though we are not quite clear nor because we are not told in the scripture, sometime after Israel was established in Israel, in Canaan, of course it became Israel, the pillar of fire that was the sign of God's presence removed. We don't know when it happened, but it happened. It was there to guide them across the wilderness which God of course had determined to be only a short trip but you know it was prolonged through disobedience. Here again is mercy extended to disobedient souls. And then they went into the promised land and sometime after this the pillar of cloud and fire passes out of scripture and not the presence of the pillar of fire and cloud was the determining factor of whether God was there or not but the pillar of fire on the altar. Amen. And so, beloved, we've all got to come to this conclusion. Those of you who were here last night, bear with me just a minute or two more. We have to come to the conclusion that unless the fire is there, neither is the glory. And we better not deceive ourselves and if the glory isn't there, then neither is God. In the way that he intends to be there and filling everything. I know that we can theologically argue that God is everywhere and everywhere God. That's the imminence of God. It's a theological proposition. So you see, he's in the pubs and in the brothels and in the gambling dens tonight. He's there. And he's God there. He's not there in the way he wants to be there. Here then is the great thing for us to understand. So we come off near doctrinal concepts and arguments and pass into reality. For God isn't a doctrine, he's God. And the doctrine of God doesn't mean that we know God at all. But to pass in without any knowledge of doctrine and know God is above all. So the Lord wants us to move in this great realm. Now on this line, let us start to read tonight in the great 13th chapter. I think I call all the Bibles, Bible great. So if I keep using this word great, it's because I love the Bible. Alright, 2 Corinthians chapter 13. 2 Chronicles 13, I beg your pardon. 2 Chronicles 13. Though you wouldn't mind reading that chapter in 2 Corinthians, I'm sure. Alright, verse 1. In the 18th year of King Jeroboam began Abijah to reign over Judah. By this time the kingdom had been split. Schism had come. Division had come. And he reigned 3 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Micaiah, the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. And Abijah set the battle in array with an army of valiant men of war. Even 400,000 chosen men. Jeroboam also set the battle in array against him with 800,000 chosen men being mighty men of valor. 2 to 1. That's what it was, 2 to 1. And Abijah stood up upon Mount Zemoreh which is in Mount Ephraim and said, Hear me thou Jeroboam and all Israel. Ought ye not to know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David forever even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt. Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat the slave of Solomon the son of David is risen up and hath rebelled against the Lord and there are gathered unto him vain men the children of Belial and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon when Rehoboam was young and tender hearted and could not withstand them. And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David and ye be a great multitude and there are with you golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods. Had ye not cast out the priests of the Lord the sons of Aaron and the Levites and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams the same may be a priest of them that are no gods. But as for us the Lord is our God and we have not forsaken him and the priests which minister unto the Lord are the sons of Aaron and the Levites wait upon their business and they burn there it is. Now you will remember that this was the whole reason that is if you were here last night if not there is a tape available I dare say you will remember that Solomon gave this as the very reason for building the temple. He said who am I that I should build a temple unto the Lord save only to burn before him. That was the purpose. And here is this man what a tremendous thing it is Abijah got hold of the same thing the revelation had come to him clear he said they wait upon their business and they burn and so obviously we see this great truth the business of the Levites was to burn unto the Lord alright hope you got this great truth fixed in your heart if we read right down to the end of this verse this is what we read they burn unto the Lord every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense the show bread also set they in order upon the pure table and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof to burn every evening for we keep the charge of the Lord our God hallelujah that then was the charge glory be to the name of the Lord you ever received it have you ever received from the Lord the charge so that as though you were facing the Lord tonight he says now I charge you to do this what a glorious thing it is he ran the charge from God I wonder how many of us tonight have ever received the charge from God when we all understand what it is that I'm talking about the charge from God Wesley has a singing you know a charge to keep I have a God to glorify a never dying soul to save that's his own he's talking about and fit it for the sky why? how? by keeping the charge now my beloved brothers and sisters I fear that there are so many people have never been in this place where they've received a charge from God and they've received blessings from God they've had promises from God they love promises they talk about living in the promises I hear people shouting about living in the promises keep the promises they seem to forget that God gives commandments and charges as well as promises they want the promises they want the blessings they want everything else but oh to be a faithful man before God someone upon whom God can rely someone who's got truth and honesty and righteousness in them who received from God this great commandment oh beloved you can see these kinds of people we'll just take the great apostle Paul he's found saying in the scripture when he wrote to the Corinthians for instance that God had committed the gospel to his trust I've been, we've been put in trust with the gospel glory be to God has God ever been able to put anything in trust with you you remember when he wrote to the Galatians he said I went up to Jerusalem you must find it in the second chapter and he said we didn't allow this I'm using colloquialisms now you must read it for yourself didn't allow this we didn't give in to that and why? so that the truth of the gospel should continue with you and he wrote to the Corinthians and to remember he says woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel the man was under charge from God he'd been put in trust with something and this is precisely what had happened to the Israel nation they'd been put in trust and God had charged them and the charge that they had was that they were to burn before God all the time as a nation this is why the Levites and from the Levites the Aaronic family were selected so that they in the name of all Israel because all Israel couldn't go swarming into the tabernacle or the temple there were millions of them that in the name of all the people they should keep the charge of God not as individuals but as Israel standing for the whole of the people blessed be the name of the Lord do you understand this? and that's what they did and that's why Israel tithed to keep the priests that's why Israel gave up their substance to keep the priests so that the priests should represent them to God that's right now we know that system has disappeared and when we come into the New Testament hallelujah when we're born of God we're all born to be priests of the Lord to come into the great family and household of Christ you must read the Hebrews letter which as we were thinking last night is the great priestly letter of the New Testament and you know beloved this is your job your job on the earth is not just to serve the governor who gives you your week's money or whatever it is you are to serve him and you're to serve him as though you were Jesus serving him if you can't serve him as Jesus get out you see that's not your first calling your first calling isn't to be this a servant of the country or a servant of the society or a servant of somebody else of some party a slave of this that or the other your calling once you are born of God is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ live or die for it that's your first calling and you and I are to see this and we're under a great charge from God hallelujah now God showed us immediately when he instituted that great second covenant the new covenant through the blood of the lamb on the day of Pentecost when he instituted the new covenant it was fire on the day of Pentecost you will remember that they were all gathered together in that upper room the whole 120 of them and suddenly you are familiar with these words the same as I am suddenly they heard a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled all the house where they were sitting and there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire and it sat upon each of them hallelujah and here you have the great reason for the sound of the rushing mighty wind I don't know whether you've ever been to one of these great conflagrations whether you've ever been to a great fire have you? when great buildings or warehouses or what it may catch fire and whenever you go to them you will hear this sound of the great rushing mighty wind why? because the fire is there the oxygen is rushing in to take the place of the oxygen that the fire is consuming that's what gives the sound of the roaring when you say, you hear the roaring so the roaring the noise is only the sound of the coming of the fire amen hallelujah the important thing was not that they were speaking in tongues though there was speaking in tongues and glory be to God and it's here to this day but is the fire here today? you who speak in tongues is the fire there? that's the great thing the fire came glory be to the name of the Lord for you who don't speak in tongues is the fire there? what a tremendous thing God is saying to us bless the name of the Lord the charge God encrusted men and women with a fire and you only have to read your New Testament you read right through from Acts 2 right on through and you read fire oh it doesn't talk about it but if you've got eyes to see that's what you see a people that just lived and burned together for God oh glory be to the name of the Lord there was a time when God opened my eyes to that great verse in James chapter 1 which says this that in Him there is no shadow of turning and He showed me that as He started on the day of Pentecost in His great covenant so He meant to go on He's not turned from it He's not turned from it it's exactly the same now as it was then God is doing mighty and wonderful things beloved and He wants you, He wants you completely He wants to consume and consume in you until there's nothing left in you but what is of God and for God and for His kingdom and for His glory for you will notice that they talked about in this story that we read they talked about the kingdom of God in the hand of David if you've got the kingdom of God in your hand you can have the kingdom of God in your hand blessed be the name of the Lord who has the kingdom of God in their hands the people that burn and keep the charge they have the kingdom of God in their hands God has given it in a covenant of salt that's what they said blessed be the name of the Lord and in Mark's gospel you may have read this verse and wondered what it was all about at some time where it says that every sacrifice has to be salted with salt that's what it said because it's the salt of the covenant it's always a reminder that the sacrifice is in the covenant of God and you shall be salted with fire said Jesus in that same verse in Mark the salting is the fire no fire no salt no fire no glory no salt, no covenant unless my reasoning faculty isn't right so beloved you and I see the importance of this I'm not here tonight to appeal for one special person as though he was some Aaron or Aaron's son some named Adam of Bayou or who they may be one in a multitude a handful out of a nation that's what it was in olden times God as a nation of priests this is what he says let me turn you to him go back with me into the book of Exodus glory be to the name of the Lord it is written here so large that only those who won't see do not see it and in the 19th chapter of the book of Exodus we read this in the third month when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai verse 3 Moses went up unto God and the Lord called unto him out of the mountains saying thus shall I say to the house of Jacob and tell the children of Israel you have seen what I did unto the Egyptians and how I bear you on eagle's wings and brought you unto myself now therefore if you will obey my voice indeed now listen to this he didn't say if you will obey the ten commandments indeed in case you may have got it into your mind about legalism the sort of words that are being banded about in these days when people want to grant you liberty to live in the flesh he says if you will obey my voice amen now get this clear obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people for all the earth is mine and you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests he didn't say there will be a few priests in my kingdom he says you all shall be a kingdom of priests and an holy nation these are the words which thou shall speak unto the children of Israel hallelujah there will be a kingdom of priests he borne them on eagle's wings to himself that they shall be in the land that he had reserved unto them that they should be a whole kingdom of priests but as I have already said they were so many in number that the tabernacle wouldn't have contained them if all had to go there so God selected just this family a representative family hallelujah but the whole kingdom was a kingdom the kingdom of God in the hand of David the kingdom of priests and their charge was not to conquer the earth particularly not to kill the giants abundantly not to go wonderful great vines and have marvelous pomegranates and great big herds and floods of milk and hives of honey it was to keep the charge to burn unto God that was what it was all about a kingdom of God is a kingdom of fire oh bless the name of the Lord oh God keep me burning Lord I want the fire I don't know what you want the fire you see God is so keen about this let's go back again into that exodus or if you like on shall we in that same exodus chapter book we read in chapter 20 you know God spoke all these words now this will date you I don't suppose it happens like this in schools today all you school moms and masters that are here and I don't know what lecturers whoever you may be this will date you you don't teach your class the ten commandments today do you but when I went to school I learned the ten commandments at school they don't teach them that now they teach them how to commit fornication and watch the television that's what they do but when I went to school they taught them not to commit adultery hallelujah they turned me they taught me the ten commandments did they teach you when you went to school if I said put your hand up I wonder how many just a few you see all the old fogies like me for instance alright well here is the chapter that contains the first utterance of the ten commandments of God now you know them I hope so well so I'm going to catch on from verse 18 and God and all the people saw the thunderings and the lightnings and the noise of the trumpet and the mountains smoking and when the people saw it they removed and stood afar off and they said unto Moses be thou with us and we will hear but let not God speak with us lest we die and Moses now note this verse said unto the people fear not for God is come to prove you and that his fear may be before your faces and look at these next four words that you sin not glory be to God right back there you see in the old testament that you sin not you're not surprised then when you meet the Lord Jesus in the new testament that you find him saying to a man and to a woman go and sin no more blessing be the name of the Lord this is why the ten commandments were given beloved to keep people from sin that you sin not how many of you have received that glorious word deep down into your heart that you sin not that you sin not hallelujah they were restrained from sin but now let's go on Moses says to the people oh sorry the people stood afar off twenty one and Moses drew near into the thick darkness where God was and the Lord said unto Moses thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel you have seen that I have talked with you from heaven you shall not make with me gods of silver neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold and here listen the next thing he's talking about is an altar he goes straight from the ten commandments and telling them they mustn't sin and then the altar there it is an altar of earth thou shalt make unto me and shall sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings and so on here it is God the people and the altar plain isn't it no instructions yet about building this or making that if you can't build me an altar don't build me a house I will not live with people who will not burn upon the altar that's what the implication of it is but if a man or a woman will build the altar and will keep the altar under the Lord he'll live with them he'll say make me a house that's where I want to live I'll record my name there you must read on through this chapter my name will be there you will remember that Solomon said he was going to build a magnificent house because it was going to be a house under the name of God that's what he said glory be to the Lord he wants to be associated with the altar that's what he is associated with with the fire the clearest dearest representation of God in Israel, visible representation was the altar the altar and the fire on it amen amen you know the question I'm going to ask you now don't you is that what people see about you God's here God's in this man God's in this man they are afraid of God they have fire for God hallelujah there lays he there now beloved this great charge from God your commission is to burn if you don't burn for God you'll burn for someone else and something else it is totally impossible for men and women to live without burning you'll burn for sin, you'll burn for a man or you'll burn for a woman or men or women that's what you'll do you'll either burn with God or you'll burn with lust one of the two it's impossible to live without burning hallelujah the sign that you're dead one of the great signs that you're dead is that you grow colder than cold as well as stiffer than stiff the coldness of death the fire's gone the warmth has gone from you you're not alive you're not hot so you're not alive you're not hot so you're dead hallelujah now may God write this thing so clearly in all our hearts beloved that we may know exactly what he's saying to us praise the name of the Lord to burn for God is the whole thing and to burn constantly, this was another great thing, so far as God was concerned, now you will remember that soon after this that we read here in the 20th chapter of Exodus if you don't know it, well just keep reading your bible and then you will it's very easy to know you just read it and see and when you're reading the bible, buy the truth buy it, buy it man if you buy it with your blood buy it with your concentration man, woman buy it with all the powers and the cost of your being buy the truth when you read the bible sell the night hours for it if necessary sell your pleasures for it, sell your television for it if you've got one buy the truth and don't sell it once you get it that's what the bible says you read it through when you get to chapter 25 you will find that God commands Moses to build the tabernacle one of the pieces of furniture was the altar praise the name of the lord and well it was made and then when you get to the book of numbers you know Moses wrote all the first five books of the bible when you get to the book of numbers which is the fourth book in the bible the you will find that the lord gives you an account of the journeyings of the children of Israel and you will see how the pieces of furniture have to be transported glory be to God alright so then here was the tabernacle set up and the great services went on but then when God decided to move the tabernacle what happened to the fire on the altar it went out it went out they had to put the fire out this was one of the great purposes of God in getting this thing made perfect the altar was to be built and Solomon built it and he put it there and that's why he was on his knees praying for the fire to come down that the fire was going to come down on that altar and by the grace of God it would never go out never isn't this like some people you know they are burning for a week burning for a month and then it's out like so many people's experiences who they say had a mighty experience wonderful baptism and I don't know what and then it's out then of course they have a sort of revival they go to a conference or something or they go to some sort of healing campaign or you know something like that and then the fire is all stoked up again and then out am I talking about your life blow hot blow cold one of the great purposes of God in having that temple built was that the great altar of God should stand there and the fire should come down on it bless God for this man Solomon Hallelujah keep burning burning burning burning burning it went on beloved for generations burning burning burning burning oh glory be to the name of the lord Solomon reigned a good long time but burning all through his lifetime wouldn't it be wonderful how many of some of you people how long have some of you people been born again of God a great fire came down and started to burn in you eh? and is it still burning is it burning in your heart now does God believe it is does the church know it is burning in you Hallelujah Hallelujah oh not with a false zeal of human fire not with carnal appetites and basic lusts but clear and pure and burning as sweet and as powerful as ever in your life to charge from God charge from God we are keeping the charge they said we are keeping the charge God for a vital blessing he was Solomon's grandson he would have gone down as a third generation Hallelujah still burning praise him we keep the charge of the lord he said we keep the charge of the lord don't you think it would be marvellous beloved if you could rise to your feet now and stand as a by just stood before the enemies of the lord hey we keep the charge of the lord challenging the enemy look at you he said you have got God look to Jeroboam the son of Nebuchadnezzar he said he said anybody can be a priest in your lot oh they had false fire because they had false gods this sometimes I fear is the thing that one hears in people a false fire that's there instead of the real glorious fire of God not consuming them you always know when the fire of God is consuming a man or a woman their life is wholly taken up for God then something that flares up in a meeting and then goes dead something that burns steadily constantly he said we keep the charge of the lord we burn night and morning we burn he said it's the same with us all through the day hallelujah do you burn for the lord Jesus in your home in your office in the place where you work in your school in that hospital do you burn for the lord hallelujah hallelujah oh lord is there a great fire in you for the lord you love the lord you seek the quiet place you're going to burn for Jesus do you oh God you know how about those enemies out there outnumbered 2 to 1 is a man full of confidence this is the way to victory burn keep the charge that's the way to victory laugh at them keep the charge of the lord he said this is why so many people keep going down to defeat they don't keep the charge it's plain you keep the charge of God and you'll be the devil's master you'll win the victory every time how confident was this man Abijah let's look at him again for I see by my watch I must soon stop preaching verse 11 chapter 13 they burn under the lord 2 chronicles 13 verse 11 they burn under the lord every morning and every evening burns sacrifices and sweet incense hallelujah you know that place was all fire wasn't it the track of the priests was one they moved between 2 altars there was the altar at the gate on which the animals were hid hallelujah and they who had to lay down their life were put on that altar and they lived again in the flames hallelujah being consumed under God and the priests used to move between that altar and the altar in the holy place for in the holy place just before the veil there was another altar a golden one on this beloved no great carcasses were laid no blood came there on there they had to put the incense now had we time tonight and we haven't of course but you can read it in the book of Exodus because I want to tell you what chapter why should I? I'm not your concordance you must know for yourself you will find how God gave instructions for spices to be taken and they had to be pounded down in the mortar with the pestle until it was down to dust ground down mixed with the art of the apothecary it was a perfume sweet incense none must be made like unto it in all Israel no false fire the fire had come down from heaven no false incense either and that had to be put there on the altar and there in that golden altar not with great flames for soon it would have melted the gold the altar of brass could withstand the great leaping flames but there beloved on that little golden altar the incense was put and there was fire in the holy place smouldering burning no flames exposed but fire there and this time beloved it was the sweet glorious smell of what was being burned up there on the altar it was if you like transcribed transposed transformed transformed from the big altar and the meaning of it was there burning before God who was living just behind the veil a sweet smelling savour under the Lord burning night and day is that your line? sweet there is that which men can see the great leaping flames the fat being consumed the fire rising high from the altar everybody knew in the flesh that God was there and inside there in the soul of the place in the inner sanctuary there just a sweet glorious constant controlled heat and fire ascending after God hallelujah he could smell this sweet savour glory be to God a light that smelled right for God without the fire you speak and so do I that's what it's all about by now he stinketh they said to Jesus of Lazarus who had been if I may use the past tense just for a moment had been his friend our friend Lazarus sweet stinker by now he stinks for they were thinking he was not Jesus' friend anymore because they said he was dead because the heat had gone out of him the fire had but you know of course Jesus raised him from the dead and they said he stinks but isn't it plain you stink if you're dead you're dead if you haven't got the fire make claims as much as we will hallelujah I see the church of God I see it clear in the acts of the apostles God help me if I've got any more scales on my eyes nor remove them I want to see this clear I want to understand that God began as he intended to go on there's no shadow of turning in God none he doesn't intend to do for us and allow in us things that he didn't do for and allow in those early people glory be to his name let's not cry to God to lower his standard and treat us as though we were to be looked on with pity for we're like crawling worms oh God he's the same his spirit is the same his life is the same his power is the same his glory is the same he's the same God and his church is the same the true church is it cannot change glory be to his name where are the men of fire if I was looking and ready for men and women of fire would I come to your house tell me and tell God these are the big things would he have said I'll go to that meeting there at this whatever school it's called white knight school I'll find the fire there do you think he would have come to find the fire oh God let's have the fire let's take away the substitutes let's have reality praise God if there's no fire there's sin in the life for you will know that that moldering fire was in the holy place it was the nearest they could get what would be the naked uncovered fire of God behind that veil glory dwelling there high you know we call it as close as they could get it they put that altar of gold there out there we offer it brazenly in there you offer it in gold to God out there we burn amongst men in the flesh with leaping flames and crackling fat in there we say God smells the sweet savour that's what he's got to smell they burn night and morning glory if God should bow over your bed this night and say I can smell Jesus fire's burning there what are these moldering flames that burn away in here what is this great amalgam of mind and imagination and memory this personality here burning unto God oh glory be to the name of the Lord it was all fire in there everything was fire if we read our verse again here it is let's read it they burnt sacrifices sweet incense there was the show bread set in order upon the pure table and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof to burn everything was fire everything spoke of fire in there that was the thing they had to understand as Israel approached that gateway the first thing they saw was the altar as they got into the outer court and could look beyond the order of flames they could see into the very sort of heart or soul of it all and there was the golden altar on one side was the table of show bread on the other the seven branch lamps there all was fire glory fire that was burning now not even smoldering the light that comes up from the oil that was being consumed before God hallelujah not the fitful flickering flames of the altar now outside there the one steady lamp trim listen by the high priest himself no priest was allowed to touch that just the high priest the tending of this in your heart and mine that it may burn clear in the soul glory that you may see beloved outline there upon the inner veil of glorious cherubim like the angels of the Lord guarding us all hallelujah is this your life burning consuming in light under God and on the other side throwing light on that too there is the altar of the cherubim you know twelve laurels were baked they were put on the fire they represented Israel God's bread and God said I'll only eat you your own and mine if you be to the fire that's what he said I'll eat you if you be to the fire that's what he said glory be to the name of the Lord your eyes open to truth are they do you know why first of all and primarily they spoke of Jesus Christ all these things because they should speak of you in Christ by the mighty baptism and Christ in you Christ is the Christ wherever he is he is unchanging he lives in you he changes you into a Christ person a man a woman a father hallelujah he has no other intention beloved that you should burn and consume under God and until men and women make it their prime concern there is no hope none at all your prime concern it doesn't come after your wifehood or your husbandhood it doesn't come after your motherhood or your fatherhood it doesn't come after your brotherhood or your sisterhood or your childhood comes for us hallelujah to burn burn under God everything that God won't include has got to go out of your life everything hallelujah it's got to go why I heard only this day so I'm rather glad this day has come and I store up the little bits I gather every day and I heard this day that a certain person was saying preaching or whatever it was teaching in a certain church that you can only ever be 90% as good as Jesus Christ I mean in his teaching of Christian perfection this was what they were against they were always against this great truth of Christian perfection you can only be 90% I'm glad I've come to this day and heard that blessed be the name of the Lord why did the farmer sow his seed? he wants 100% at least 100% shall God break the very rules of nature or shall he let them speak to us he'll let them he'll make them speak to us that's what he'll do hallelujah that your life must burn and burn and burn with God I understand how Moses could write these things I know how it is that Moses could be the mouthpiece of God and God doesn't work concrete to eternal principles I know don't you because out there at a place on the back side of the desert one day while he was doing a job of work for his father involved he saw a bush and he went up to see what it was and when he got there wondering why the bush wasn't burned and consumed a voice spoke to him out of the fire and in the end that voice said to him I am that I am and for the first time in this great fire not seeing any form but seeing fire looked upon God as he was pleased to appear as fire so when he came to redeem his people by the blood he came as fire fire fire I see him again not in a bush but in a man I see God in him he's Jesus he's fire before ever he redeemed us with his blood he was fire in Israel fire wasn't he fire blessed be the name of the Lord I know what I learn as I go back to see that bush I bless God that these things are recorded in the scriptures so that I might go where Moses went the same as I might go where those went who stood around the cross and went into a tomb and saw he wasn't there I can go too that's why the bible's written that you should tread in these same people's footsteps to go there and I see and I'm sure that Moses saw it I see that the bush burned with fire and wasn't consumed so that Moses should learn that was him and that's what Moses became until he was 120 years old that is 80 years he burned with the fire of God and was not consumed burned with the fire of God and because he was burning with the fire of God inwardly he could go up into the mountain of fire God said come up here and the whole mountain was on fire he went up into the fire and he wasn't burned anymore than the three evil children were burned not a smell of burning upon them they lived with the eternal fire did you see it? come down he's a man of fire glory amen he saw the fire and then he went into the fire and he came down and commanded fire upon the earth and he only ministered the old covenant and we are the people of the new we don't depend upon golden olive oil we don't depend upon carcasses we don't depend upon anything save our God who sat with us he who dwelt upon that mercy seat in us do you really believe that? I repeated to someone today what I said to somebody only the other day you know good things are always worth repeating it was this do you really think I'm talking to you individually do you really mean to tell me that you think Christ is living in you do you really think that? do you really think that? the world would say he thinks Jesus Christ is living in him do you really believe that? about yourself you sure you aren't just resting upon what you might believe to be scriptural terminology and not living in the reality of it that is Christ living in you where's the fire tell me you believe in Christ that's marvelous do you believe what the bible says now prove it to me let me see the fire where is this Christ you speak of oh glory fire got the charge we keep the charge of the lord we burn you people out there don't care if you're fifty to one I don't care if you're a million to one we keep the charge of the lord that's what you have to do where have you been keeping do you know what those people did on the day of Pentecost when the fire came in the early church I mean besides speaking in tongues and all that sort of thing let's just read it and then I think I'm going to stop speaking at least with a comment or two verse 37 chapter 2 Peter has given his prophetic ministry he tells them verse 38 repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost for the promise is unto you and to your children and to all that are far off even as many as the lord our God shall call and with many other words did he testify and it's thought say save yourselves from this untoward generation then they that gladly received his word were baptized and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls now see what the fire does and they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers and fear came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles and all that believed were together and had all things common and sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men as every man had need and they continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart praising God and having favor with all the people and the lord added to the church daily such as were being saved strange fire was it no that was the genuine fire the strange fire is what's passing for it today hallelujah it's fire it's fire singleness of heart that's right they did what they did after that they received what they had received with the intention of continuing to do what they had done they only had a single heart they only wanted to do one thing they only wanted to be one thing glory be to the name of the lord now beloved when you sing let the fire fall let the fire from heaven fall what's in your mind what for what for or send the fire send the fire i find myself singing this this morning and the word that kept going over in my mind i was making my bed at the time i don't know what ladies do when they make beds but occasionally men make them they should do it if they make them untidy and haven't got a wife to look after them or something but then i was making my bed and this was the line that kept going through my heart i thought i was humming it to my mind and then i stopped and i thought send the fire make me fit to live or die you're not fit to live or die if you haven't got the fire so thought the early salvationists and sang it they said we're not fit to live lord without the fire that's what they thought lord we're not fit to die without the fire oh god our gods are consuming fire can you live with the eternal burnings can you live with the eternal burnings how do you know if they're burning in you now that's how you know and that's what the great baptism in the spirit is primarily about for unto in what it consists fire for the mighty rushing wind was nothing else than a fire consuming even the very oxygen in the atmosphere but hallelujah now may god move upon us beloved i think that tomorrow night i'm going to talk to you some more about the fire and the altar i think so cause i'm only stopping now i haven't finished so unless the lord changes my heart on it that's what we'll be doing tomorrow night oh lord but don't come just to listen come to enter in beloved god will revolutionize this church and god will revolutionize the church you may have come from and god will revolutionize all sorts of things it gets in you as burning burning burning burning burning and never go out but burn hallelujah now let's pray