"Burning Hot or Cold for Christ!

Holy Prayers from Holy People in Holy Places Buring Hot for Christ!!

      I was in church a few Sundays ago and one of the hymns we sang was entitled “In Thy Holy Place.”  This short line caught my eye and my spirit jumped within me. 

“While golden censers a glow with the fire of sacrifice.”

I believe it was the Holy Spirit which prompted me to write down that the “golden censers” represented the prayers and intercessions of God’s born-again people on fire for Christ. 

They are a people who desire to walk in holiness and worship and praise from a position of holiness. A people who wishes to be in a holy place offering up their lives to the Holy One – Christ Jesus. They are willing to catch the fire of the Holy Spirit and be consumed by it.

Apostle Paul and Peter would say “Be holy and blameless before Him and in your behavior, conduct, and godliness” (Ephesians 1:14; 1^st Peter 1:5; 2^nd Peter 3:11).  Part of Jesus’s last words were “….the one who is holy, still keep himself holy” Revelation (22:11).

The word “golden” stands for “faithfulness’ attached to the prayers and intercessions.  These prayers and intercessions came from faithful, on fire, and consecrated hearts of Christ’s holy disciples reaching out in prayer and intercession to the Lord to address and answer.

Aglow with the Fire of Sacrifice!

The “golden censers” – the faithful and consecrated prayers and intercessions were “glowing” meaning they were “hot” with the fire of the Holy Spirit because these born-again Holy disciples were sacrificing themselves for Christ of the Cross. They were not Sunday only Christians but 24/7 extraordinary disciples serving the Lord of lords and King of kings. 

They were on fire for Christ. Their hearts burned “hot” within them to know Him, to walk in His Word, move in His supernatural power, and carry-out His assignments.

This attracted the Holy Spirit’s fire to consume them because their petitions were reaching the Throne of God.  

When prayers from holy and “glowing hearts” on fire reach His throne, He acts supernaturally as He did in Acts 2:3 and in other places in the Book of Acts which become the model for the last day church.

Prayers and intercessions which spring from sacrificing hearts on fire for Christ will catch the attention of the Father and Christ and will secure their answers to their prayers and intercessions offered up in holy places.

As a result, revival and restoration spring forth fostering healings and deliverances from demonic powers like as what took place in the first century church. The holy ones in the first century church found the secret of spiritual strength and walked in it and lived it.

The Secret of the Strength!

This brings me to a book I just completed entitled “The Secret of the Strength:” What would the First Anabaptist Tell This Generation.”  The book is so powerful that I am now reading it for a second time. It is life changing for it presents authentic Christianity unlike we are experiencing today in the modern church.

I quickly discovered that these Anabaptist were people of holiness who stood in the Holy Place for the fire of the Holy Spirit burned holy "hot" in their commitment to Christ regardless of the tremendous costs they encountered in their witness and testifying of Christ in the midst of a 16^th century society and a reformed protestant religion as well as Catholicism.       

They sacrificed everything for Christ – houses, families, possessions, reputations, social standing, and their lives.  They were severely persecuted, burned at the stake, beheaded, tortured, drowned all for the cause of Christ. 

What is sad is all of this came deadly persecution came from the leaders of the Protestant Reformation – Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli, and John Calvin who endorsed the murder and killing of the Anabaptist.

The Anabaptist were not concerned with ordinary Christianity but were exploding in their spirits to walk in holiness and possessing an extraordinary relationship to Christ’s commandments. Jesus was everything to them.

And sadly, as mentioned above, they were persecuted for their thirst and hunger for Christ by the religious establishment.

But nothing would detour them from the calling of serving and sacrificing for Jesus. They held nothing back for their pursuit of Jesus was all consuming. 

They truly were the holy representatives for the Kingdom of God, and they paid a heavy price for their loyalty to their Master (Jesus).  And now they stand and bow in their worship of Him in the Holy Places in the heavenly chambers of New Jerusalem.

Burning Embers!

I often ask - Are we losing this "holy fire" and “holiness” by being consumed with other things of this life which can cause us to be just "burning embers" going through the motions of Christianity but somewhat detached from Him?  Have we truly lost the meaning of “Holiness” and being in His Holy Places?

Have we deceived ourselves in thinking that everything is O.K. because we go to church, sing in choir, teach Sunday school, attend committee meetings, listen to the Sunday sermon, drink our hot cup of coffee as we enter the sanctuary, or any number of “Churchie” things which comfort the flesh more than the spirit?

 Have we become “lukewarm” like those in the Church at Laodicea who did not answer the knock of Christ on the church door as Jesus addressed this church when He said…..

For you say,

I am rich;

I have prospered and grown wealthy,

and

I am in need of nothing;

and

you do not realize

and

understand that you are

 wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

(My comment: Did the Church at Laodicea deceive itself in believing that everything they were doing was O.K. when in truth they were called to repent which met they were not O.K.?  There was not holiness in this church nor would the people in the church willing to sacrifice everything for Christ for they were well satisfied with their riches and wealth and had no need to hear from Christ.  Thus, it seems no one went to open the door for Him to come in. They may have professed to know Christ, but they lacked one  thing – their love for Him was “lukewarm” heading to “coldness.”

Revelation 3:17 (AMP)

Has our modern lifestyles of mammon and materialism desecrated our yielding and surrendering everything for the sake of Christ as Peter Hoover in His book “The Secret of the Strength?” describes the Anabaptist call to walk along side of Christ to serve, sacrifice, and suffer?

Have we become deaf to Jesus knocking on the door of the modern-day church which could easily mirror the Church at Laodicea? Or are we deaf to Jesus knocking on the door of our wicked hearts where we have have tucked away things which He is after to expose to His Light and asking us to forsake these things?.

Have we come to the point of asking why am I not seeing my prrayers answered or the moving of the the Holy Spirit in dynamic ways in my life, or questioning why I am not receving the revelation from His Word like I used to? An I more "lukewarm" than burning "hot" for my Savior?

Am I crying out to the Lord to move upon me and root out the dross of living more in the flesh life rather than living in the Spirit life of Christ Jesus? Is He now beginning to knock at your door? Are you going to let Him in to begin to do spirirtual surgery which you need done to once again begin to burn "hot for Him?

O God, help me to have Your fire in my heart fostering a continuing moving of the Holy Spirit in fresh and challenging ways.  Help me to walk worthy of Christ and the Cross in these closing days of this age.  Help me to find Your truly Holy Place and Holy people who live the Gospel 24/7.

Help me Lord Jesus to fan the flames of Your fire in my life for without Your fire of holiness burning hot within, I am just a "a burning ember” of little value to You and Your Kingdom.

In Yeshua’s Name, Amen.

Rich Arnold

Servant of the Lord

311 Adelaide Ave SW

Hartville, Ohio 44632

330-704-9306

richarnold3@gmail.com