Strange Fire- The Burning The Lord Has Kindled

The Cross and Strange Fire - Part Two

The fires of true worship must come from the brazen altar, a type of the Cross of Christ, and no other source. The Cross itself is a place of judgment where the power and penalty of sin was broken. Is it any wonder Paul said, "I GLORY IN THE CROSS?" Were it not for the Cross there would not be any world today; God would have already had to have destroyed mankind.  The only thing that has stopped the judgment upon man is the cross because the judgment on sin came upon God's only begotten son. That is why the false doctrine that is so rampant in the church today is so hellish. It's man's effort to devise another sacrifice so he does not have to come under the rod and sentence of the cross which says "all have sinned." The cross is an OFFENSE to the world and sadly, an offense to the modern church. Because of religious pride, Men always reject the cross, not on theological grounds, but on moral ones. This is the real reason and problem Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, died at the base of the door of the tabernacle. Their rebellion, unbelief and ignorance led to this tragedy that faces us unless we repent and repent quickly.

By Chris McDonald

Leviticus 10:1-6  - And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. [2] And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. [3] Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spoke, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace. [4] And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp. [5] So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said. [6] And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord hath kindled. Leviticus 10:7  And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses.

        The judgment of God is a forgotten subject in the church world today. There is little fear of God in the church, and as a result, little fear of God in the world. The thoughts of God's anger against rebellion and sin are considered by some to be unhealthy, even the cause of total rejection of truth by the "seeker-sensitive" nature of churches today. There is a feeling that only the love and forgiveness of God need be stressed and any talk of judgment is not "healthy" for a growing body.

        Some 30 years ago, Gordon J. Wenham wrote this:

In many parts of the Church the biblical view of divine judgment is conveniently forgotten or supposed to be something that passed away with the Old Testament. Heine's famous last words, 'God will forgive me,  That's his job,' have become the unexpressed axiom of much modern theology. This short story is therefore an affront to liberal thinkers. It should also challenge Bible-believing Christians whose theological attitudes are influenced by prevailing trends of thought more often than they realize."

        What Mr. Wenham wrote probably seems archaic to some, especially in these modern times, but it strikes at the heart of why we are not experiencing a true move of God on Planet Earth. I must tell you that as I look at the many number of ministries out there today and see the multitudes of people who flock to them I ask myself many times, "well if all these people are coming Lord, it is certainly a sign of blessing right?" I question myself many times and my own heart to make sure I'm not just "preacher-bashing," or condemning a ministry actually being used by God to bring good. Let me tell you this about numbers. Numbers are very very deceiving. Jesus many times drew multitudes to Him but He was never swayed by the QUANTITY of those who came. In John 6, when such a crowd came to Him He frankly turned to them and said, "You're not here because of ME, you're here because of the miracle."

John 6:1-2, 26  - After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. [2] And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. 26 - Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. [27] Labor not for the meat which perishes, but for that meat which endures unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

        It was at this point where the Lord began to weed the crowd down to those who truly believed in the work He had come to do. His message got so hard that it got down to 70, then to 12. When He made one statement about total commitment to the purpose of what HE came to do, many never walked with Him again:
 

John 6:52-66 - The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? [53] Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. [54] Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinks my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. [55] For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. [56] He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. [57] As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. [58] This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. [59] These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. [60] Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? [61] When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? [62] What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? [63] It is the spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. [64] But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. [65] And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
[66] From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

        It was then He turned even to the 12 and said, "will you also go away?"

John 6:67-71
Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? [68] Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. [69] And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. [70] Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? [71] He spoke of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.


        Thank God for Simon Peter, who declared, "Lord, to whom shall we go?" Hallelujah, Praise God. "To whom shall we go, Lord????" I believe the Lord is asking His church that exact same question today. If we are not willing to preach His cross and Him crucified, to WHO and WHAT will we point people for their deliverance and salvation? Even within the 12, there was an inner circle of three who pushed in a little closer than the rest into the purposes of Christ - Peter, James, John. Then out of the circle of three came one who stood there the day He was crucified and never left even to the end - JOHN. John was called the "beloved disciple." He stands as a rebuke to this half-hearted, cynical Christianity we see today. He stands as a rebuke to the watered down gospel that no longer preaches a Christ that was crucified for our sins, but a Christ that can give you anything you want or say without a thought of obedience and submission to Him. John stands as a rebuke to this thinking today that we have "rights," and can command God to do anything we say because we're "little gods." GOD HELP US. John witnessed the most powerful event and glorious moment in all eternity when the Lord died and paid our debt. He himself wrote that he "had touched the glory of God and had HANDLED the Living word."

John 1:1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] The same was in the beginning with God. [3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

1 John 1:1-3
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; [2] (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) [3] That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.  [5] This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. [6] If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: [7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
 

John 1:14
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

        I want to look again at a horrible tragedy in Israel's history, actually three horrible tragedies, in this second part of the journals we are presently writing on "The Cross and Strange Fire." The tragedy of Nadab and Abihu exposes man's long and sordid history of pride and self-righteousness in approaching God. Prior to this offering up of strange fire by Nadab and Abihu, the glory of God's holy presence had just been revealed to all the people. The glorious day of dedication - the dedication of the people and the Tabernacle - had just occurred.  Then all of a sudden, two of Aaron's sons who had just been ordained as priests rejected God's clear commandment. They disobeyed God in approaching Him in their own way, as THEY wished, not as the Lord wished and said. They rejected the way of approach appointed by God and determined their own way to be better. In other words, they chose another sacrifice.

        They took two censors or fire pans and put the hot coals of some convenient fire in them. They then laid incense on the coals and went into the Tabernacle, placing the burning incense on the Altar of Incense. What was wrong you may ask? Why such anger from God over this?

        One, it was "strange fire," as the Holy Spirit wrote through Moses, in Leviticus 10. It was unauthorized fire. As we stated in part one of this journal, the term "strange," in Hebrew is tied into "unfaithfulness," and/or "adultery."  God had commanded that any coals that were placed on the altar of worship must come from the altar of burnt offering, or the brazen altar, and NEVER from any other source.

Leviticus 16:12
And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail:

        The live coals that were to be used to start the Altar of Incense were to come from the altar of burnt offering. The brazen altar symbolized many things but in essence to sum it into one main thought - it symbolized the CROSS, and man's need for atonement and reconciliation with God, whereas the Altar of Incense typified man's worship and prayer with God. But prayer and worship must ALWAYS be based upon the atonement, upon a person's being reconciled to God through the atoning sacrifice of the burnt offering.

Psalm 66:18
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

        A person has to been cleansed from sin through the atoning sacrifice of Christ in order for God to hear their prayer and honor their worship. Worship, true worship that is, is based upon the atoning sacrifice of the burnt offering - a type of Christ and Him crucified. In light of this, the two sons of Aaron committed a serious, fatal sin and confused the very meaning of worship as we do so tragically today in many church circles today - and yes even in the Pentecostal and Charismatic arenas.

Faulty Worship

Leviticus 10:3
Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spoke, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.
 

        Faulty worship is any worship that fails to approach God exactly as He commands and says. The altar of incense was the altar that typified exactly how God was to be approached in this manner. Worship was to always be based upon atonement and sacrifice. Not just any sacrifice, but by the sacrifice of Christ, which was foreshadowed in the burnt offerings placed on the brazen altar.  Jesus is the WAY of worship to us, the TRUTH of worship to us, and the LIFE of worship to us. It's not about US it's about HIM. It's not about our church, it's about HIM. It's not about our denomination, it's about HIM. It's not about our theology, it's about HIM. It's not about even winning souls, as grand as that is, it's about HIM. When HE becomes our focus, all things come into REAL focus, including winning souls. He's the one who must do the work in us. He's the one who must receive glory and honor. God has given us His revealed worship plan which in fact is His revealed will.

John 4:22-24
Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. [23] But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. [24] God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Acts 4:12
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

1 Cor. 3:11
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

        And when we offer strange fire and false worship there will be judgment upon us.  Aaron's sons died as a result of this faulty worship and our SONS and DAUGHTERS will die as well because of the false worship in the church arena today. I remember well the year 1987 when I was given my first real responsibility as youth pastor at a small church in southern Georgia. I was without a doubt not very wise and had this arrogance about me that I knew it all to be sure. Having said that I did see a new trend in the church back then that I did my best to keep out of the one I was at - contemporary Christian music and Christian rock. Artists like Sandy Patti, Amy Grant, Stryker and others were on the rise with their "brand" of music that kept the tone and beat the same, just changed the lyrics for religious purposes. I didn't really understand then why it was wrong, but I did everything I could to not allow it in with our young people.

        As a result, I probably hurt many of the kids under my care. I caught unmitigated hell from those who said, "there's nothing wrong with it because this type music ministers to the youth on a level normal worship music can't." I heard others say that as long as there were lyrics in the songs about Christ, they saw nothing wrong with the type music it was either. It always came down to the lyrics, not about the spirit and sensuous demons behind it, nor the blatant exaltation of self, and not Christ. I was a young snot-nosed kid preacher at the time and, to be sure, didn't handle this the right way in love and understanding as I should have. But 17 years later I can tell you that the same spirit that was creeping into the Body THEN, pervades much of our worship NOW, and it's having the same deadly effect on our youth today as it did then.

        Listen to me. I'm not trying to tell you what type music to listen to or not listen to. If you want to drag your kids to the local church and let them see people rocking out like they do in a juke joint on Friday night with all the smoke, Hollywood-type gimmicks, etc. and because they're doing it "for Jesus," feel it's ok - that's your business. I'm not your judge and you're not mine. There is only one judge. But music that does not have CHRIST as ITS FOCUS and PURPOSE is STRANGE FIRE and it will generate faulty worship which will lead to death. The modern church worships SELF today, not the Lord. Most church worship services are performances, not worship services. The Holy Spirit is grieved by our self-exaltation and seeks to get in, yet is always ultimately pushed out. I've seen both ends of this spectrum.

        We can make a "god" out of hymns, just like we can the "choruses." We can make a religion out of "Worship" itself. If you don't believe me, drop by your local Christian book store one day soon and see the # of artists today making contemporary Christian music. I don't mean to be blunt, but as they say, "this is my web site and I'm paying for the space so I guess I can say it." It's OF THE DEVIL, it's a STRANGE GOD that we have placed in the temple of God and until it is brought down and TRUE WORSHIP OF CHRIST returns to our fellowships there will be no life but DEATH TO OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS!

        I know a local church in our area here that specializes in these type concerts and they pack the place out each time they do one believe me. You drive by the church on a night of a local concert and the line is close to a mile long. People in this day and age want to be entertained, not worship. Worship is NOT entertainment. Worship is NOT singing the latest "fad" songs and thinking God is "in" that. He's not. God is not impressed with our "cutting edge" mentalities that think we have arrived and are on the "edge" of ministry now. THAT IS PRIDE IN THE WORST FORM and it stinks in the nostrils of almighty God.

        Let me tell you this. When TRUE worship takes place, people are not clapping their hands, even though clapping hands is scriptural and some of you reading this haven't done it in so long, you need to be delivered from that religious demon holding you down; NO!, true worship will not have us with our heads high as a peacock, it will have us on the ground in humble adoration to the KING. True worship in SPIRIT and in TRUTH will cause us to see our condition before Him and realize that we have so terribly much to be both thankful for and repentant of. ANY MUSIC that elevates MAN instead of CHRIST is STRANGE FIRE and it will be judged by God in the end.

        You say "well you can't know people's motive." That to be frank is very true, I can't and you can't. But the FRUIT of what they are doing is open for ALL to inspect and the FRUIT of these contemporary Christian artists is self-promotion and MONEY. And child of God when you put your money into their pockets you are in essence putting the strange coal of fire on the altar of incense with them. This is strong but I feel anger in my heart right now at how far we have drifted from true worship in the church. I'm not advocating a mausoleum atmosphere either. You don't have to be DEAD to have true worship. GOD HELP US. When we get in tune with the HOLY SPIRIT - who will ALWAYS bring the coal from the CROSS OF CHRIST - we will have GLORY in our churches and things will happen that are of eternal substance, not just a temporal "buzz" as most seek after each week.

        True worship doesn't require you to go to seminars to learn it. It's from the heart of one whose life is hid in God through Christ and has "DIED" to the sin nature. They are born-again, spirit-filled believers in love with JESUS with ALL their hearts, soul and mind and have no motive other than to "worship" HIM, to "LOVE" HIM, to "ADORE" Him, to "THANK" HIM, to exalt HIM, to lift HIGH the name of Jesus Christ and bring God's seal of approval down upon us in signs and wonders.

        True worship always acknowledges God's holiness and our own unworthiness. He must be acknowledged as being the only GOOD that is in us. To hear some preachers preach it today it's wrong for Christians to confess they are sinners. The word of God says differently:

1 John 1:6-9
If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: [7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. [8] If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

        John lays it out pretty plain. IF WE SAY WE HAVE NO SIN, we deceive ourselves. Peter says in 2 Peter 1:13 that if we have this type attitude, we are "blind," and no not that our sins have been purged. In other words, when we are so smug and self-righteous as to think that worship centers around "us" and "our talents," "our ability," "our musical giftings," then we are BLIND and we are offering up STRANGE FIRE.

 

        The person who worships in SPIRIT and in TRUTH is one who recognizes how sinful and short man is. When a person does this, He willingly listens to God and says "the only way I can come to you is through the blood of the CROSS." That person CONFESSES he/she is a sinner and that he has no access into God's presence - NO RIGHT whatsoever to approach God - except as God dictates. And the way God dictates we come is through the BLOOD OF CHRIST that was shed on a bloody tree 2,000 years ago on the hill called CALVARY. Any other type worship is FALSE and is STRANGE FIRE and will bring about DEATH:

John 3:19
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Isaiah 64:6
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Jeremiah 17:10
I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
 

Shed Not A Tear For Nadab and Abihu....Lest Wrath Come Upon The People

Leviticus 10:4-8
And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp. [5] So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said. [6] And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord hath kindled. [7] And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses.  [8] And the Lord spoke unto Aaron, saying,

        The statements by Moses sound cold but it shows us the nature of God concerning faulty worship. God directed these instructions first to the PRIESTS; they must make absolutely sure that they approach and serve God exactly as He says. As stated, these are essentials that are applicable to every believer, but priests here are a type of the ministers of the Lord. We are MORE responsible to obey these instructions - more because we must teach these to those under our care.

        Aaron was not allowed to take care of his two dead sons. Priests were forbidden to touch or go near a corpse. Why? Because death symbolized defilement and uncleanness, corruption and decay. Those things disqualified a priest from performing service for God. Aaron was forbidden to touch the two dead bodies despite the fact that they were his sons. Moses had the two nephews of Aaron remove the dead bodies outside the camp. In addition, Aaron and his sons were not allowed to grieve over the death of the sons but over the judgment of God upon Israel for the sin itself.

        There is a huge lesson here I want to address. The priests had to show that they fully agreed with God's judgment against sin: they did not condone sin.  Aaron's sons had just been struck dead by the holiness of God and God wanted them to bewail that. We need to return to bewailing the "burning" the Lord has kindled. We have a ton of remorse in the church world today but we have very little true regret over our condition. There is a difference. People who willfully disobey God always pay a price and that price is usually not very pretty. There is a great need for us to return a heart-felt repentance and bewailing over who we ARE, not so much what we do. We're good at crying over what we do and don't do, but there is NO remorse over who we are. God is far more concerned with WHO WE ARE and it doesn't impress Him in the sense of the flesh. He is only impressed with CHRIST in us and the only way CHRIST is formed in us is through the work of the HOLY SPIRIT working within the legal parameters of the finished work of Jesus.

        When strange fire is in our midst we always see an emphasis on "acts" of sin instead of our overall condition. False worship points to "dos" and "don'ts" instead of pointing us to the CROSS where man is judged sinful AND RIGHTEOUS at the same time. Glory to God. That is true worship. Nadab and Abihu's death had to be painful for Aaron; they were his sons. Any father would have been heart broken. But the seriousness of what they did caused God to command Aaron to not rend his clothes or show sorrow. It says "Aaron held his peace." Neighbor, a time is coming that if we don't return to true worship in the church it'll be too late to speak up and we too will be "holding our peace."

        Their death was brought on by their inability to discern between the common and the holy. The fire in the Tabernacle was counted as holy fire; whereas; all other fire was counted as common fire. The point is this: we as God's ministers must discern between the holy and common, between the clean and unclean. In laymen's terms we must discern:

• between right and wrong

• between what God has said to do and said not to do

• between what is allowed and what is not allowed

• between how to serve God and how not to serve God

• between what is holy and pure and what is unholy and unpure

        The discernment of these will keep us from falling under the judgment of God and death coming to our lives, churches, homes and families as a result of strange fire.

Hebrews 12:12-14 - Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. [14] Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

1 Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
 

The Anointing Is On You


Lev. 10: 7-8 - And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses.  [8] And the Lord spoke unto Aaron, saying,

        The anointing of the Holy Spirit is the only thing that will cause us to discern good from evil in these last days.

1 Cor. 2:14
But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

1 Kings 3:9
Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

Isaiah 11:2-4
And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; [3] And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: [4] But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
 

            We must avoid drunkenness and being in a state of stupor to allow that anointing to come upon us:

Luke 21:34
And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

Romans 13:13
Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

1 Cor. 6:9-10
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, [10] Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

            As we close this journal, let me bring home the real message in these two journals on strange fire. The Spirit of God dwells in us so He can lead us into all TRUTH. John said we have an anointing that abides in us so that we have no need a man teach us, but the Spirit teach us. That simply means that whatever we are listening to by the five-fold ministry gifts of teachers, pastors, evangelists, etc. that the Spirit must always be our GUIDE and director. He will tell us if what we are hearing is heresy or truth. What is right and wrong cannot be discerned through the flesh or a carnal heart. To be frank our hearts, even as Christians, are so deceitful sometimes that we can be swayed very easily at times. Such is the nature of man and the result of the fall. But there is a place we can come to where the HOLY SPIRIT becomes our teacher in all things, as He receives from Christ and brings it to us.

1 John 2:20-21
But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. [21] I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
 

1 John 2:27
But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

        What the Spirit teaches us is TRUTH and is NO LIE. NO lie is even OF the truth, John says. In other words, when false preachers and teachers and leaders seek to lead a body into worship that is false and strange fire is offered on the altar, they are never doing it "of the truth." The connotation is that if they knew the truth they would not be partaking in such foolishness. We need to examine our hearts daily to make sure we are grounded in the truth!

Ephes. 3:16-18 - That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; [17] That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, [18] May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

        We must return to true worship and a love of Jesus that is rooted in love. He must dwell in our hearts by FAITH. FAITH must be in the finished work of Christ, nothing else. We must have it anchored there for in anchoring it there we will be able to discern what is false and what is real. In these days of apostasy neighbor, it's imperative you know the truth. You and I need a touch to be sure, but we need the TRUTH a whole lot more. The truth will be what sets us free.

John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

        Worship HIM today in SPIRIT and TRUTH. Forsake and flee strange fire. I don't care if you attend the largest church in the city; if they are offering strange fire - FLEE it like you would a diamondback rattlesnake. You say, "well we have tons of people coming, the Lord is growing the church." I'm going to leave that between the church and the Lord. What I will say is this. Paul warned us in the last days that men would "HEAP" unto themselves teachers having itching ears, the connotation being that the greater tickle we give people, the larger the crowds will be. Jesus never worried about crowds, He cared about true worship coming from a true heart. Should we not be concerned about the same today? Worship Him and be blessed. Blessings.

Heavenly Father we Love you today. Touch through us today Holy Spirit to a lost and dying world. Allow your healing touch to flow like a river down the hearts of those around us. Forgive your church for offering strange fire and not exalting YOU in these last days. Forgive us for worshipping and exalting the flesh of men, instead of allowing the Spirit of God to exalt CHRIST in our midst. Forgive us Lord Jesus for making you a "part" of our service, instead of You being the entire REASON for our service. Help us Holy Spirit know the truth through the anointing.

In Jesus Name,

AMEN.