Fire and Righteousness
(week 46/03)
Olubi Johnson
God is on the verge of visiting His church with a fire of judgement that will purify the church so that she can receive the ‘rain of righteousness’.
Malachi 3:1-3 (NKJV): “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me.And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the LORD of hosts. “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire And like launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver,
That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness.
This fire of judgement is necessary to purge the church of its filthiness so that she can be a ‘branch of the Lord in the earth that will be beautiful and glorious’:
Isaiah. 4:2-4 (NKJV): In that day the Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious; And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing
For those of Israel who have escaped. And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy–everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. 4 When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning,
It is this fire of judgement that will cause us to learn righteousness unto perfection:
Isaiah 26:9-11 (NKJV): With my soul I have desired You in the night, Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early; For when Your judgments are in the earth, The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. Let grace be shown to the wicked, Yet he will not learn righteousness;
In the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly, And will not behold the majesty of the LORD. LORD, when Your hand is lifted up, they will not see. But they will see and be ashamed For their envy of people; Yes, the fire of Your enemies shall devour them.
After this fire of judgement God will now rain righteousness upon the Church and she will receive and bring forth the fruit of righteousness.
Hosea. 10:12-13 (NKJV): Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.
So now how do we prepare for this fire of judgement?
We do this by becoming vessels of gold and silver (2 Timothy. 2.20-21) by partaking of the 2nd. Circumcision which involves making the decision to walk daily in the fear and love of God by the grace and mercy of God through the power of the Holy Spirit and following that decision with the action of daily practice of the same as a habit.
This is because fire will not destroy gold or silver, rather it will refine them but fire will destroy wood, hay and stubble:
1 Corinthians. 3:11-15 (NKJV): For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
Without the 2nd. Circumcision you cannot be a vessel of gold or silver, so right now it is vital to partake and be healed of the 2nd. Circumcision by making the decision to walk daily in the fear of God and the love of God by the power of the Holy Spirit who releases the grace and mercy of God into our lives.
