The day of Noah’s and Lot’s Baptism 

[Study Aired August 25, 2020]

Luk 17:20-37 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

In our last study we saw that Noah’s name means “rest” and rest is what we are seeking to enter. We saw that we must first go through a water baptism so that the new man can be saved. Noah entered the ark with his family, saving eight souls. Along with the eight there were the beasts two by two, clean and unclean. These beasts were at peace during the time in the ark. Tonight, we will focus on Lot and the baptism of fire. 

Tonight’s study will focus on the following verses. We will search out the meaning of “Baptism by fire”.

Luk 17:28-30 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

Lot separated from Abram and dwelled in Sodom. This represents us leaving the world and moving into the churches. Sodom was full of evil men. These evil men represent the false teachers and their doctrines of the world churches.

Gen 13:5-13 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

According to Hitchcock, Jordan means “the river of judgment”. This gives us a clue to the meaning of this story Christ is referencing. Lot journeyed east, which is toward the Lord. Looking east is looking toward the morning sun.

Psa 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. 

Rev 22:16  I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

Here is the story of Lot and Sodom.

Gen 19:1-29 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.  And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door. And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law. And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD: And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

The cities in which Lot dwelled and all the inhabitants were destroyed by fire and brimstone. This is symbolic of our baptism by fire.

Mat 3:11  Truly, I give baptism with water to those of you whose hearts are changed; but he who comes after me is greater than I, whose shoes I am not good enough to take up: he will give you baptism with the Holy Spirit and with fire: 

Psa 11:4-7 The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright. 

What is the “fire” with which we will be baptized? Fire is the “Word of God”.

Deu 4:11-12 And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.

Deu 4:23-24 Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.

Deu 4:35-36  Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him. Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire. 

Deu 9:3  Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee. 

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

The words of the Lord our God are a consuming fire. The Lord has given His words to His witnesses.

Rev 11:3-6  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. 

We must first endure the baptism of fire in order to become the witness of Christ. Christ uses Satan, the leviathan, and his angels to perform this task with false doctrines. We are all first of our father the devil. We offer strange fire because we believe the lies of Satan. However, through our baptism by fire we are saved.

Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Lev 10:1-2 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. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

Job 41:1 Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?……Job 41:19 Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.

1Co 5:4-5 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

1Co 3:13-15 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. 

1Co 5:4-5 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

We must first endure the baptism of fire in order to become a faithful witness of Christ. Christ in us is that faithful witness.

Pro 14:5 A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.

Rev 1:4-6 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Christ gives us the ability to endure this baptism. Christ will give the elect the ability to endure until the end of the ages.

Isa 33:14-16  The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

Mar 13:13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

The Son of Man is revealed through our baptisms of water and fire.

Luk 17:26-30 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.  Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

I will end tonight’s study with these encouraging words from James 1.

Jas 1:2-18 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 

Here are next studies verses.

Luk 17:31-37 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

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Awesome Hands – Part 117

"Strange Fire"

June 23, 2017

As we all know, life can be demanding at times. Of course, we know it is the Lord working all of the details out, and one of the most fulfilling feelings is knowing the Lord is WORKING WITH US, as the body of Christ, to fulfill His will in the kingdom of God.

As with all emotions and feelings however, we must bring them into subjection to Christ and make sure that we are not offering strange fire to the Lord in our exuberance to serve Him.

During this study, we are going to examine just how it is we can and do offer strange fire unto the Lord, and how and why we want to avoid doing so.

Do and Don’t

You’ll have to forgive me for the lengthy introduction of the verses for consideration today, but I want to read all of the surrounding context of the verses so that we can set the stage for the verses we are considering.

Our verses today are found in Leviticus 9 and 10. We have covered in length the various commandments given to the Israelites and the priests concerning the offerings to the Lord. Now, we are going to see these offerings in full swing as Aaron and his sons participate in the holy commandments of the Lord.

Lev 9:1  And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel;
Lev 9:2  And he said unto Aaron, Take thee a young calf for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD.
Lev 9:3  And unto the children of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a kid of the goats for a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, for a burnt offering;
Lev 9:4  Also a bullock and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD; and a meat offering mingled with oil: for to day the LORD will appear unto you.

Here we see confirmation that when we do what the Lord commands, we will be in the very presence of the Lord. What a glorious position to be in. At this point, we aren’t without faith questioning whether or not the Lord will make Himself known to us. Rather, this is a time in our walk and life where we know the Lord is working with us.

Lev 9:5  And they brought that which Moses commanded before the tabernacle of the congregation: and all the congregation drew near and stood before the LORD.
Lev 9:6  And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commanded that ye should do: and the glory of the LORD shall appear unto you.
Lev 9:7  And Moses said unto Aaron, Go unto the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt offering, and make an atonement for thyself, and for the people: and offer the offering of the people, and make an atonement for them; as the LORD commanded.
Lev 9:8  Aaron therefore went unto the altar, and slew the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.
Lev 9:9  And the sons of Aaron brought the blood unto him: and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar:
Lev 9:10  But the fat, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver of the sin offering, he burnt upon the altar; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Lev 9:11  And the flesh and the hide he burnt with fire without the camp.
Lev 9:12  And he slew the burnt offering; and Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled round about upon the altar.
Lev 9:13  And they presented the burnt offering unto him, with the pieces thereof, and the head: and he burnt them upon the altar.
Lev 9:14  And he did wash the inwards and the legs, and burnt them upon the burnt offering on the altar.

We’ve covered these details in various other studies, so I will not cover them here. The thing to take note of is that these verses have been written so that we can see that Aaron and his sons ARE PERFORMING the commandments of the Lord as they have been instructed. Nothing more and nothing less.

Continuing:

Lev 9:15  And he brought the people's offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and slew it, and offered it for sin, as the first.
Lev 9:16  And he brought the burnt offering, and offered it according to the manner.
Lev 9:17  And he brought the meat offering, and took an handful thereof, and burnt it upon the altar, beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning.
Lev 9:18  He slew also the bullock and the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings, which was for the people: and Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled upon the altar round about,
Lev 9:19  And the fat of the bullock and of the ram, the rump, and that which covereth the inwards, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver:
Lev 9:20  And they put the fat upon the breasts, and he burnt the fat upon the altar:
Lev 9:21  And the breasts and the right shoulder Aaron waved for a wave offering before the LORD; as Moses commanded.
Lev 9:22  And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings.
Lev 9:23  And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people.
Lev 9:24  And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

It is at this point that we must pause and wonder upon the work the Lord has done in the lives of all the people of God, specifically the Israelites whom we are reading about today and spiritually the Jews inwardly whom we all consist of.

We are reading about the culmination of the work of the Lord up until this point, of calling a weak and beggarly slave nation to be His people, giving them His commandments, and the Lord making His presence known and felt to all those to whom He has freed.

I am sure every one of us relates to this happening in our lives or else we wouldn’t be participating even now in the body of Christ. Indeed, the Lord is good to us!

Isn’t it funny how fast a wonderful breeze on a hot day comes and goes?

All the people have just been given another miracle by the Lord of a miraculous fire coming to consume the offerings the Lord says are necessary for us to be His people, and ALL the people saw it and fell on their faces in worship!

Isn’t this what we all sincerely hope and pray for? To be His people and to feel His love in presence of this being the case? Sure it is!

I am here to tell you all today that this is the EXACT moment we must be on FULL ALERT. Why? Because your flesh in the way!

Yes, that is right. YOU and your old man carnal thinking are in the way of the VERY THING you spiritually long for. The fruit of your flesh WILL cause the Lord to depart of you if you are not aware of what can potentially happen as you are on the peak of a spiritual mountain with the Lord.

Now enters your fruit which must be dealt with.

Lev 10:1  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.
Lev 10:2  And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

Nadab and Abihu are the first sons mentioned as being born to Aaron, so I am going to mention them the same way. From what we know of the old man, this two represent the old man in all of us who exuberantly want to serve the Lord in our own way and style.

It’s quite revealing to see how Nadab and Abihu react following the Lord’s fire working for all to see. Their flesh wants to be part of the show! What better way to be a part of the show than to show that we too can present fire for all the people to see? We’ll just “offer it to the Lord” and the Lord will accept it, right?

Wrong!

The answer of the Lord is swift and immediate. The Lord will have NO FLESH glory in His presence.

1Co 1:28  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29  That no flesh should glory in his presence.

In the sense of “pecking order”, Eleazar and Ithamar are younger and waited for instruction before doing anything. Of course, that is rather easy when you see your two brothers struck down before you for not listening and doing against the commandments of the Lord.

Lev 10:6  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.
Lev 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.

What then is the lesson we should take away from this story? On the surface, it is easy to conclude that we do not want to offer strange fire to the Lord else we will be put to death. Underneath the surface however, what exactly DID Nadab and Abihu do that caused the Lord to devour them?

Notice, they offered strange fire and it was FIRE of the Lord that devoured them.

Lev 10:2  And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

So, it is incumbent upon us to learn about what they did so that we can avoid it.

Here is the definition of the “strange” fire offered to the Lord:

Strong’s Concordance:

H2114
zûr
zoor
A primitive root; to turn aside (especially for lodging); hence to be a foreigner, strange, profane; specifically (active participle) to commit adultery: - (come from) another (man, place), fanner, go away, (e-) strange (-r, thing, woman).
Total KJV occurrences: 77

Brown-Driver-Biggs:

H2114
zûr
BDB Definition:
1) to be strange, be a stranger
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to become estranged
1a2) strange, another, stranger, foreigner, an enemy (participle)
1a3) loathsome (of breath) (participle)
1a4) strange woman, prostitute, harlot (metonymy)
1b) (Niphal) to be estranged
1c) (Hophal) to be a stranger, be one alienated
Part of Speech: verb
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: a primitive root

Deu 32:16  They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.

Pro 5:20  And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
Pro 5:21  For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.
Pro 5:22  His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.

Isa 1:4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

There are many more examples, but these are examples of the same word being used in other verses.

To use strange fire was simply the act of committing adultery against the Lord. It’s the same as being with a strange woman, a prostitute or harlot and therefore becoming alienated from the Lord through these actions.

How can we, as the people of God, avoid offering fire to the Lord that will be “strange fire”, adulterous fire, so that we can have Life remain within us?

It may seem completely contradictory, but we ourselves CANNOT avoid offering strange fire unto the Lord. However, we can be comforted knowing the Lord is working with us and we are avoiding strange fire when we ONLY use His fire.

What exactly am I talking about? We need not go any further than scripture to understand this whole concept and to remain confident we are in the presence of the Lord.

How do we know we are in the presence of the Lord?

Deu 4:24  For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.

Heb 12:29  For our God is a consuming fire.

Jesus was asked to show the disciples the Father and what we His reply?

Joh 14:5  Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
Joh 14:8  Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
Joh 14:9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
Joh 14:10  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
Joh 14:11  Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.

See, the Words of the Lord are not His own as are the Words we carry to others because we do not carry our OWN Words. We carry the Words of the Lord and those Words are the works of the Lord.

If they are our words and our works, then they are as “FILTHY RAGS” and are represented us unrighteousness.

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

How can we ourselves KNOW that we are not presenting strange fire to the Lord? God is a consuming fire. We need to be presenting non-strange fire, i.e. the fire of the Lord, to the Lord, so how can we KNOW for sure that we are doing this?

What is the CONSUMING FIRE of the Lord?

Isa 33:14  The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15  He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

Joh 12:35  Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

To be in the presence of the Lord is to understand WHO the Lord is and WHERE he is.

Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Mat 25:35  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Of course these words have physical applications to our lives, but they are so much more applicable spiritually to us who have eyes that see and ears that hear that what we are really doing when we offer Fire unto the Lord, is FEEDING the Lord IN OTHERS with the Words of Life! We are healing the sick with those Words, we are feeding the hungry and thirsty with those Words. We are smashing down walls and slaying giants in the lands of others WITH those WORDS!

This may seem very presumptuous of me to say, but it is true nonetheless because the Words are NOT my Words and the Works are not MY WORKS. If they are, then I will be DEVOURED with the Fire of the Word because out of my own mouth I will be judged.

God is a consuming Fire. This simple concept takes on a whole new meaning when we know what the Lord is using us, His faithful and spiritual kings and priests (all of His body), to do within His Kingdom!

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Luk 17:22  And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.

Here is what it means to present the Fire of the Lord to the Lord as an offering in the presence of the Lord.

Deu 9:1  Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven,
Deu 9:2  A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak!
Deu 9:3  Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee.
Deu 9:4  Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee.
Deu 9:5  Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Deu 9:6  Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.
Deu 9:7  Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD.
Deu 9:8  Also in Horeb ye provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was angry with you to have destroyed you.
Deu 9:9  When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water:
Deu 9:10  And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.
Deu 9:11  And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant.
Deu 9:12  And the LORD said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image.

These verses should be a sobering reminder that we are who we are due to the Lord’s will in our lives. It is nothing of ourselves and all of Him.

With that being said, I want to challenge everyone who reads or hears the following words to remember them forevermore.

What day are you living in right now if it is not the very day of the Lord? Can you be present with me either physically or spiritually and SHOW me yester day?  I conclude you cannot. Can you show me to morrow? I submit to you that this is impossible with men.

However, you can show me today as I, too, can show you today. When you lay your head down to rest at night, you are doing so NOW, today. When you awake in the morning and begin to live another day, the day you are living is, in Truth and fact, today.

So, I submit to you that TODAY is the day of the Lord. The Lord is present with you today!

“Thou are to pass over the Jordan THIS DAY” is not something that only happening to the Israelites a very long time ago. In fact, it happens to us all each and EVERY “to day” that we are given.

When you look in the mirror you will recognize that what I say to you is the Truth. So, what are you going to do with this information?

Jas 1:22  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
Jas 1:23  For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
Jas 1:24  For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
Jas 1:25  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

When we look in the mirror as Christians we should be seeing TWO MEN because that is INDEED what we are looking at. We are the reflection in the mirror made plain as day by the Lord so that we can REMEMBER who it is we ourselves are. However, then there is the man who will walk away from the mirror and continue to live in the world on a DAILY BASIS.

When you look in the mirror, remember that it is not you who had anything to so with you being where you are now with the Lord, but do NOT let that dishearten you. Rather, also reflect that you are a Son of God NOW.

What does that mean as it pertains to our study today about strange fire?

The Lord is always present today within all the situations, experiences and interactions we have will EVERYONE around us. We should be living our lives, doing all that we are doing, to glorify the Lord.

There are many days where we FALL and fail at glorifying the Lord, but not because we ourselves do it. Those days are written in our books before we were ever born.

Rather, how we view and then proceed from those days of falling is HOW we glorify the Lord EVEN in those moments. We MUST always have lips of thanksgiving knowing that the Lord is working it all for good.

Let’s now “go out to the Jordan” of the world we live in and conquer the giants the Lord has put in our way to slay. Believe you can do it because you can with the Lord doing the works in you.

Otherwise, you wouldn’t SEE the giant that needs to be slain! Also know that you are the Light of the world to all those around you, and you are being sent before them to ACT and LIVE the Words of Life the DWELL within you.

Truly, today is the ONLY day you have left because tomorrow is not promised. Live accordingly.

1Co 10:31  Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Exo 24:17  And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.