"A" - "B"- "C"!

If one really wants to draw close to Christ, walk with Christ, hear from Christ, and do for Christ, then one has to be prepared to experience a “baptism of fire” –  the fire of God which can consistently come to His serious and seeking disciples.

John the Baptist said in the beginning of his ministry and is applicable today….. 

But He Who is coming after me is mightier than I,

Whose sandals I am not worthy or fit to take off or carry;

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

The “baptism with the Holy Spirit” is for power to testify and witness Christ and His Cross and Resurrection (Acts 1:8).

 It is His anointing and power to go forth and be good soldiers of Christ “fighting the good fight of faith” (1^st Timothy 6:12). The “good fight of faith” is progressing in faith in Christ and what He accomplished on the Cross, persevering in faith, and sharing faith with others.

The “baptism with fire” is the cleansing, purifying, and purging or removing agent of the self-life and sin which is a life-long process.

The “baptism with the Holy Spirit” is only effective to the degree that the disciple of Christ submits to and embraces the “baptism with fire” from the hand of God in order to create,  mold, and sustain a  godly character of faith integrity, righteousness, and obedience in His disciples.

But what does the “baptism with fire” of God involve.  I believe it can encompass “A” – Afflictions, “B” – Breakings, and “C” – Crushing’s.  It seems that most if not all of the biblical characters from Abrahram, Isaac, Jacob, and David and the prophets in the Old Testament to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, and John in the New Testament experienced the hand of God taking them through these “A” ’s, “B” ’s, and “C” ’s. 

 These “A” “B” and “C” conditions are different in kind, intensity, and duration for the serious disciples of the Lord and His Christ.  

Yes, these conditions will include different degrees of sufferings for the cause of Christ.  Note Apostle Paul’s two comments on suffering as translated in the Amplified Bible:

For you have been granted

 [the privilege]

 for Christ’s sake not only

to believe in

 (adhere to, rely on, and trust in)

 Him,

but also to suffer in His behalf.

(My comment: “to suffer”….to the point of giving away your life for Christ)

Philippians 1:29 (AMP)

But whatever things were gain to me,

those things

I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

More than that,

I count all things to be loss

 in view of the surpassing value

of knowing Christ Jesus my

Lord,

for whom I have suffered

 the loss of all things,

and

count them but rubbish

 so that I may gain

Christ,

(My comment: Let me repeat - Apostle Paul gave his everything away for the cause of Christ – his everything - he held back nothing in serving the Master).

Philippians 3:7–8 (NASB95)

 To avoid the “A” “B” and “C”’s  or discount them is to deny the operation of the discipline of God to bring His disciples into a greater supernatural experience of sharing His Word with confirmations of signs, wonders, and miracles which represent the fulness of the Gospel of Christ.

  The Christian journey here on earth is not a walk in the park or a side thing attached to one’s existence. 

The requirements of being a follower of Christ go way beyond attending Sunday and Wednesday night church, Bible class, serving as an elder or deacon, appearing on TV, writing books, or any number of institutional church programs and activities. One cannot substitute performance for relationship with Christ. 

Being a Christian is extremely costly in terms of giving your life away to the Lord and to those He calls you to love and serve.  But you would never know it by observing the modern church who is rapped away in a humanistic Christianity or churchianity of little pain, suffering, sacrifice, and denial of the ways of the world, the flesh life its lack of laying down its life for the Christ of the Cross as well as for one another. 

Jesus told His disciples…..

…..If anyone desires to be My disciple,

(My comment: It is not possible to be a disciple of Christ and follow one’s own way.  This would be a pseudo-disciple of Christ. If one “desires” to be His true authentic disciple, then…..)

let him deny himself

[disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests]

(My comment: 1/10 perhaps live the denial of self to the point of pleasing Christ and laying down their lives for others).

 and 

take up his cross

 (My comment: –  throw-away self-ambitions, abilities, talents, accomplishments, degrees, trophies, pride in self, etc., as well as to take up the Cross of Christ which will mean walking in the baptism of fire of the “A” “B”, and “C”’s mentioned above).

 and

 follow

Me

 [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform

wholly to My example in living

(My comment: “Wholly” meaning to be like Him, to obey Him, to seek Him, and even to suffer and die for Him).

and,

 if need be, in dying, also].

(My comment: To follow Christ can be a deadly proposition for the disciple of Christ.  It is not fun and games and coffee and donut time when the world is on fire and Christians are being hunted, murdered, and behead in many countries of the world including America..

Matthew 16:24 (AMP)

And he who does

 not take up his cross and follow Me

(My comment: Every follower of Christ has the option to avoid His Cross and not follow Christ – the pseudo-Christian).

 [cleave steadfastly to Me, conforming wholly to My example

 in living and,

if need be,

 in dying also]

is not worthy of Me.

(My comment:  Quite an indictment – “not worthy of Me.”  Christ told the Laodicean church that because of their “lukewarmness,” he would spit (vomit) them out of His mouth (Revelation 3:16).

Matthew 10:38 (AMP)

The next time you experience afflictions of the body and soul, breakings of the flesh life, and/or crushing’s of your life, know that these things are part of Christian living and witnessing of Jesus and His Cross.

So, welcome to Christianity and embrace all that it has for you – blessings, afflictions, breakings, and crushing’s to form you into the character of Christ and preparation for taking His Gospel to the corrupt and broken world.

          When I finished this oracle, the following came to me with a prophetic word at the end.

Where is the Fire of God in the Church!

Can you image

the church on fire for the

 Lord and what it can accomplish!

Can you image

church leadership on fire for the Lord

and

 becoming burning torches

 for the Lord –

submitting and loving one another?

Can you image

accepting the burning fire of the Lord

to burn out all the dross in our lives

and

becoming extraordinary disciples

moving

in the supernatural power of the

Lord on a daily basis

where the

supernatural becomes the

new normal which

trumps the normal?

Can you image

the church opening the

door to Christ to come in and

 He says,

“I have come to bring the

fire of the Kingdom

 into your midst”

and

from that point on that

which was religious

is now replaced with that

which is spiritual and

 true to His Word?

Can you image

the church

Baptized in the Holy Spirit

and

with fire as Luke said

in Matthew 3:11:

 indeed, baptize you

 in (with) water

because of repentance

 [that is,

because of your

changing your minds for the better,

heartily amending your ways,

with abhorrence of your past sins].

But He Who is coming

after me is mightier than I,

Whose sandals I am not

worthy or fit to take off or carry;

He will baptize you with

the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Can you image

those in the church refusing

to submit to the fire of the Lord

and

dropping out for the fear of the

heat of His fire will burn up their

wood, hay, and stubble

or chaff which produce

no fruit for the Kingdom of God?

Didn’t Luke say:

“He (Christ) will burn up the

chaff with unquenchable fire?”

(Luke 3:17)

and

“…..every tree that does not

bear good fruit is cut down

and

thrown in the fire.”

(Luke 3:9)

Can you image

the return of the

“tongues of fire”

in Acts 2:3 once again

coming to the

corporate church as it did

to those 120 in the

upper room which

affirmed their being

Baptized in the Holy Spirit

preparing them

and

supernaturally energizing them

to be powerful witnesses

of Christ’s Kingdom?

Can you image

the church without

 the fire of God?

Christ is now knocking

on the door of the church

to come in

 and

 burn out the dross

and

put His holy fire into

the hearts of those willing

to be bright

and

burning touches for Him.

Here is the personal word I receive for my personal life and for those who desire the fire of God in their lives. 

Submit to My Fire!

The Lord said to me:

I wish to come

and

 remake you

from what you have been to

what I want you to be.

I desire to pour on you

 My fire from

above which is the

 purifying agent

of My hand causing

 you to speak

with a holy boldness,

walk in powerful ways,

seek me with pure motives,

and

sacrifice out of love

rather than for gain.

It is My fire which will

cleanse you from the

impurities of the world

which have attached to

you at times

and

caused you to

to not hear

 when I speak to you.

It is my fire which will

set you free from self

and

distracting ways

which robs you of

 time with Me.

It will by My fire which

will come upon you

 when you say,

“Lord,

let your fire fall all

over me

 and

 in me

bringing me to

 new areas

of brokenness

 and

 sacrifice

for You.

Let me not walk with You

without Your fire

 burning in me

to walk away from self

and

dwell with Your Spirit.”

Oh,

My Son,

how I wish to take you

into my inner chambers

and

speak to you

of the things I want you

to know and do.

As I spoke to you,

and

as you have learned

from

David,

 my servant,

it will be

My fire on your heart,

bones,

and

 soul which

which will bring you

into a greater

service and anointing

I have planned for you.

The flow stopped here.

Rich Arnold

Servant of the Lord

311 Adelaide Ave SW

Hartville, Ohio 44632

330-704-9306

richarnold3@gmail.com