LESSON 34

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Strange Fire

 

We don’t need the appearance of a move.  We need a true move of His Spirit.

 

2 Cor. 3:17    Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

 

There's a change where the Spirit of the Lord is.  There's a transformation of the image they are, into the image of Christ. 

 

2 Pet. 2:1-2  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bringing upon themselves swift destruction.  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of the truth shall be evil spoken of.

 

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The Antichrist is the one who denies Jesus. 

 

1 Cor. 10:32-33  Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: Even as I  please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the [profit] of many, that they may be saved.

 

This does not mean that you dress like the rocker in order to reach the rocker.  Research shows that if you dress and talk like the rocker, they will buddy up with you but they will not respect you as an authority. 

 

2 Pet. 2:3    And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgement now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

 

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The Antichrists will put out their arguments, defending their "instead of anointing."  Many will use the spirit of the Antichrist "to relate". 

 

When did the anointing stop relating?  Because we don't see the miraculous, we have allowed ourselves to be swayed by an instead of. 

 

2 Pet. 2:10-12  But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.  Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusations against them before the Lord.  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption.

 

The two main sources we are using to reach young people are concerts and sport stars.  Many of the Christian bands are not being promoted by men of God, but by men motivated by greed.  They come in to make money. 

 

We would not allow a preacher to do the things we permit a musician or singer to do.  They are no less of a minister because they minister in song, than the preacher is.  Nor should they be held any less accountable. 

 

When the supernatural power hits young people, they will come.  They will get addicted to the presence of God.

 

2 Pet. 2:15,17-19   Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam [the son] of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; ...  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest: to whom the mist of darkness is reserved forever. For, when they speak great swelling [words] of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them that live in error.  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are servants of corruption; for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he  brought into bondage.

 

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They go after the new converts and promise them freedom. 

 

2 Pet. 2:20-22    For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the last end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog turned to his own vomit again, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

 

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They were in the church and got a hold of the truth.  Then they turned away from the truth and preyed on the new converts, which are primarily the youth. (95% of those that get saved are under the age of 25.)  They say, "Follow us; this is freedom."  They introduced strange fire instead of the anointing. 

 

It's the anointing that will destroy the yokes of bondage off this generation.  The reason we couldn't keep the youth in the first place is because in so many churches we lost the anointing.  We became so busy doing our forms and fashions; we weren't willing to pray or pay the price. 

 

There is a pattern that Christ gave to us to reach the world.  That is to demonstrate and manifest His love, power, presence, grace and mercy; to bring deliverance to the oppressed, healing to the broken-hearted and recovery of sight to the blind.  

 

We don't follow Christ's pattern and because we are too lazy to pray and pay the price, we begin to search for an instead of.  Then we rank ourselves not by the transformation of people's lives, but by the numbers we have. 

 

God says He will bless us by His supernatural provision.  If we leave our dependence on God and start to create our own ways, we operate in greed.  When it's God's way the miraculous will be infused through it. 

 

The release of the miraculous to change people's lives, with the result of drawing a crowd exemplifies the anointing.  We must get back to the anointing.  Many of us are so frustrated with our inability to penetrate when we are in a dry season, that we will resort to gimmicks. 

Let's get on our knees to pray and pay the price.  We don't want "instead of".  We want the real anointing. 

 

Guard against the strange fire.

 

In Review:

1.  What are the two main sources of reaching young people used in the church today?  ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

2.  What does the spirit of the Antichrist promise a new convert?  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3.  Why is the church resorting to an “instead of anointing”?  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4.  Spend some time this week repenting on behalf of the Body of Christ for participating in a strange fire?

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