On Pentecost, like at Mt. Carmel, the fire of God fell. In both cases the Lord gathered the people called by His name together and demonstrated His power by sending fire on an unlikely place in order to bring them to a point of decision. That they might be holy and purge out the evil among them. When the Israelites saw the fire fall on Elijah’s altar, they executed the prophets of Baal. When the Israelites gathered for Pentecost heard Peter’s sermon, they repented of their sins and were saved, as Peter says, from the crooked generation.
This is an exhortation to zeal. Consider the logistics of Mt. Carmel: Elijah personally, it seems, slaughtered four hundred men in his zeal for the Lord and His holiness. But similarly impressive is the mass baptism after Peter’s sermon: three thousand baptisms. Which I’ve heard as an argument for sprinkling as opposed to immersion, but that’s neither here nor there. But regardless, in each case, the people hear and rush to obey.
The Devil would have us delay, slow down, don’t rush into anything, Consider all the implications of your actions. In general, while zeal without knowledge is bad, we are commanded to be zealous for holiness and more often than not caution is not a mark of the Spirit’s presence. Our inclination is to hold back, to not commit ourselves, to delay obedience to a more opportune time, but God requires us to take the prophets of Baal down to the Kidron valley and slaughter them as soon as we know them for the treacherous snakes they are. We must seek cleansing as soon as we know our sins for the cancerous blights they are.
When the Spirit’s conviction falls on you like fire, illuminating and purifying, know that fire goes on altars, i.e. things that are holy. So when the Spirit’s conviction falls on you, know that it is because you belong to God, and obey.
Joshua Edgren – May 19, 2024
