To burn bullocks of idolatry, incinerate fifties of arrogance, and dance blessings of fire on heads of prayer.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, and for His wonders to the sons of men! Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of His works with joyful singing. Psalm 107:21-22
For more than ten years of this present great outpouring of the Holy Spirit, there has been a revival of worship. We have learned to give thanks to God and sing His praises. This has been right and has felt delightful, both for us and, I’m sure, for God Himself. We need to continue, and are commanded to do so.
But there are several words about purification I believe the Lord would have us hear. This is the time of Elijah, prophesied in Malachi 3:1-3;
"Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap. And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness (emphasis mine).
This is the time of intimacy. Truly the Lord is suddenly coming to His temple. That’s great; but I wonder if we have yet counted the cost. Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart…(Psalm 24:3). Unfortunately, even some of the foremost advocates of intimacy are not pure in their living style, much less in their hearts. Somehow, all this fervency of worship and adoration has not yet affected the way too many live. Malachi has signaled that the coming increased intimacy with the Lord carries with it such purifying fire that, “who can stand?” The warning: if the blessings we are experiencing in the Lord’s presence in worship are to continue and increase (and how I pray that they may!), fullness of repentance and change must increase, until all our living manifests not our but His nature. Like the people of Isaiah's time, if we don’t repent and change, we may hear the Lord say, What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me...? Who requires of you this trampling of My courts…? Bring your worthless offerings no longer… Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil. Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless; Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow (Isaiah 1: phrases from 11-17).
Probably, most who read this are trying their best for the Lord. I may be “preaching to the choir.” But the ways of many do not much resemble the Lord’s. In a 2002 survey by Christianity Today, 53% of pastors admitted to viewing internet pornography “a few times” in the previous year. Many pastors are notorious for having “lead feet” while driving, actually flaunting civil laws, though to do so is an expression of the antinomian heresy ( to live as though Christians are above law and don’t have to obey it). Gossip and criticism run rampant in most churches. The rate of pastors and leaders falling into sexual sins is appalling. A great portion of the Church has swallowed the lies of fleshly magnanimity of mind—for instance, that we can be kinder than God, excusing and affirming the lifestyle of homosexuality. And so it continues. I don’t want to spend the remainder of this space negatively cataloguing how far we are as a people from having clean hands and a pure heart.
Let's check ourselves as individuals: “Seek Justice.” Do we? Do you contribute to such organizations as Judicial Watch, The American Center for Law and Justice, The Rutherford Institute, etc.? (these are a few of the many legal organizations fighting for law and order and for the return of our nation to its Christian foundations). “Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.” Do you give to organizations such as Feed the Children and Mercy Home for Boys and Girls? What about donating to Native American causes—Running Strong for American Indian Youth, Red Cloud Indian Relief Fund, etc. Seeking justice, defending orphans and pleading for widows are the very actions Isaiah lists as true righteousness. Do you sport a bumper sticker that says, “Support Our Troops?” Is that merely a sticker, or do you actually give to organizations like Help Hospitalized Veterans, Help Disable Veterans, or other veteran relief funds? What do you do that actualizes the message, “Support Our Troops?” Are these mere words?
So much for measuring the quality and quantity of our giving. What about visiting the sick and praying for them? Do you call in hospitals and pray for patients? Remember that Jesus said, I was sick and you visited Me (Matthew 25:36). When? Whenever you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them (vs 40). Do you pray for and with people, aloud?
Do you get the point? If we aren’t serving here and there with whatever our hand finds to do, what is our praise if not hollow? We are fond of singing, “We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord.” Sacrifices cost something—even death. What are we costing ourselves that we can justly sing that we bring a sacrifice into the house of the Lord? Our entire culture and society has been rife with self and self-serving. The purpose of this "Drops of Fire" is to awaken us, to expand our awareness of what righteousness truly is. It is to call us into the dual purifications of repentance for sin and sacrificial giving and serving. That is the true holiness that ascends the hill of the Lord for His sake, to give Him the glory He deserves.
Check yourself. How well do you measure up? Has Malachi 3 found fulfillment in you? What are you doing regularly that the prophet would call “righteousness?" If not much, it’s not too late!
Praising God is not merely words; it’s who we are, expressed by what we do.
