Many who were once vibrant soldiers, today languish in a shadow existence. They are out of church, disconnected from their former passion and sick in body and soul. The ongoing political debate and demonstrations have only added to the crisis. The conflicting opinions of church leaders leave the army of God baffled and vulnerable.
The problem is, with all the anger, division, loud perversion, and persecution, Christian teachers find their instructive messages woefully inadequate. What happened? The answer is…life. Life happened, and it is gripping believers with fear. This is a new kind of fear coming from the screaming villains, who now have an out-sized influence.
The church in America needs a terrifying collision with the Glory of God. But right now we are awash in ‘advisory sermons.’ The titles are similar and predictable: “How to handle fear, uncertainty, finances, relationships, marriage, and children.” We are drowning in whiteboards, blackboards, statistics, PowerPoint Presentations, props, and illustrations.
We’ve been taught to death. We need to pour gasoline on what we’ve been taught and light it on fire.
Happy-face sermons do not give believers the power they need to overcome in a time like this. What is happening now runs clear off the over-optimistic maps drawn in pulpits. Tragedies can uproot neat formulas like a palm tree in a hurricane. Hip theories will collapse like a brick house in an earthquake.
Leaders have brought a lot of this on themselves. The culture has changed dramatically in the last few months—but the American pulpit has not.
Why are we surprised that modern believers suddenly need more? The power that could answer a thousand questions and extinguish a myriad of personality ills has been ushered out of church.
Closing the altars, ordering people to tone it down, and focusing on recovery programs indeed brought in a crowd. However, what is the end game if the crowd leaves as weak as they came—and in some cases weaker—without power to face the culture of a nation gone berserk?
Paul’s cure was simple: an undeniable encounter with the fire of God…”that your faith should not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:5).
The answer for conquering fear today is to burn it out! Just for shock value, I’ll use this phrase…perfect love casts out fear but so does perfect fear. No doubt many will think it is crazy to take a wonderful verse like 1 John 4:18: “perfect love casts out fear” and mess it up. But I am not messing it up I am fulfilling it!
PERFECT FEAR DOES INDEED CAST OUT FEAR! We have downplayed and even banned something that Christians desperately need…A TERRIFYING COLLISION WITH THE GLORY OF GOD.
Go back with me to 758 B.C. Isaiah the prophet enters the Temple in fear for his life. The tide of public opinion has turned against him. The death of his friend and protector King Uzziah has put the finishing touch on 5 years of ministry that seemingly had no impact on Israel, and Isaiah felt like he had just been treading water. His despair is now complete. He enters the Temple looking for comfort from God.
He kneels in prayer, resting his elbows on the altar seeking solace from the storm. Instead, the building starts quaking, knocking his elbows so that he is now punching himself in the face.
He looks up and sees Seraphim: Angels of fire, fire that burns hotter and brighter than any sun. They tower over him from either end of the altar.
Their voices roar, vibrate, boom and dislodge the mighty beams of the Temple! “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, IS THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. THE WHOLE EARTH IS FILLED WITH HIS GLORY!” Back and forth, again and again, they blast this mighty proclamation until Isaiah could not bear the fright!
The mighty God Himself stands before Isaiah unfurling the indescribable train of His Glory! The prophet convulses beneath the weight of glory. From the very core of his being came an all-consuming cry… “WOE IS ME!”
The startling effect of the Glory of God—a wonder-working fear—overrules human fear.
No threat matters now. This demonstration of Glory conquered his suffering. Isn’t this exactly what Paul meant?: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). Of course, Paul is speaking of the final GLORY…but it is a part of our birthright to have earthly collisions of glory: “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all” (1 Corinthians 12:7). An overarching, fear-destroying encounter is the legacy of every child of God.
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.”
The twelve disciples were in a boat out on the Sea of Galilee, gripped by fear of the storm. But when Jesus rebuked the storm their fear of drowning was replaced with an awestruck wonder. They exclaimed: “what manner of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey Him!?”
We are told that General Patton won battles because his men were more afraid of him than the Germans. Again, ours is not a negative fear, but the holy awe born from the manifestation of God’s glory.
This truth reinforces the fact that “Perfect love casts out Fear” because love disciplines, love gives us what we need… and what we need today is not a subtle pat on the head. We need a fear-killing encounter! Solomon said in Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
Why are we blocking people from experiencing the fire of God? Why would we keep this miracle from people? I am talking about fire—fire that keeps them from the evil one—fire that forges a reverence, and turns them into your best soldiers
We should have made room and time for people to be so filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit and fire that they are equipped to prevail against all enemies. If we had, we would not be nursing hordes of Christians on life support. We would have an unstoppable army!
There is still time to reverse course. If you have never been drenched by God then obey Him and seek to be overcome by His Glory. If you have received a filling of the Holy Spirit in the past, now is the time to receive FRESH FIRE!
Dear Mario…
I receive this word from you this morning! FRESH FIRE!!!!!
It’s for this reason (the reasons you mentioned) that I don’t even bother with watching the so called news anymore. It’s disheartening – and tends to distract from what God has for our lives. (Although I do always keep our President Trump and his family in my prayers, because the horrible, demonic assaults never takes a breather from harassing him and his family.)
I was just recently watching on You Tube, the Azuza Street Revival led by William Seymour, and I thought to myself, “Oh that we all could know God in this way!”
In my heart of hearts I know we can, but are we, as a church willing to be in our knees in prayer for as many hours as Mr. Seymour was?
I remember reading in the Word as God spoke through one of His prophets, “These people give me lip service, but their hearts are far from Me.”
My prayer is that ‘the cares of this life’ does not consume me.
God Bless and thank you for your service to the Lord.
It is my witness we’re spiritually walking along side Jeremiah the Prophet this season of 20/20, Due to Jeremiah telling the truth to power, when he found himself pummeled and locked up by Pashur the priest and chief officer of the House of God, as all these associates of Pashur who were in charge of the House of God were going with him, to be exiled, die & be buried in Babylon, just as Jeremiah prophesied.
(From Jeremiah 20: 8, 9, 11)
“Whenever I speak, the words come out in a violent outburst. “Violence and destruction!” I shout. So these messages from the LORD have made me a household joke.
And I can’t stop! If I say I’ll never mention the LORD or speak in His name, His word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am weary of holding it in!…
But the LORD stands beside me like a dread Champion.? Before Him they will stumble. They cannot defeat me. They will be shamed and thoroughly humiliated. Their dishonor will never be forgotten.”
Carolina, the words of Micah 3:8 burn in my soul, “But I am filled with power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgressions and Israel his sin.” We are seeing an unbelievable harvest of souls as the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, as the Father draws the lost to His Son, and as Jesus seeks and saves that which was lost. As I prayed this morning, the very words you quoted were part of my prayer. His word is like a fire in my bones, and how I want it to be a consuming fire! So many of us who read Mario have had it with dead religion, dead churches, and self help classes. I am all for giving a person the support and help they need. But demons need to be recognized, and then cast out by the power of the Holy Spirit. Freedom and deliverance are way better than living life by precariously trusting in self help crutches for the rest of your existence. Those whom Jesus sets free are free indeed!
Amen to Mr Mark Stripling!!!??♀️
An Awesome message much needed in today’s culture !
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Amen & Amen!
We followed your Ministry years ago and was so greatful to find you again as we were watching Sid Roths “Its Supernatural.” Thank you for keeping on and encouraging and rebuking the church. My husband and I are Pastors from Pennsylvania. We are refreshed that someone is still fiery preaching the Word!
There is a young fire ball evangelist that I heard a few weeks ago say, “Pastors are always trying to get me to change my message because I sound like the preaches fifty years ago.” His preaching brings the old time fire which the churches don’t want in their pulpits.
Dear Mario: Agree totally we have been taught to death. Problem is if what has been taught is ineffectual, then what?Pour all the gas you want on soaked wood and you will get a flame…….and a flame out. My question is, why are pastors afraid to offer a prayer of support to president Trump, how about a prayer thatall this impeachment garbage is put to a quick end? Is that not allowable? Recently a church superintendent came to our church to preach a sermon. He bewailed the fact that 40 churches in his district did not have one new convert to report in the last year. Then it hit me, excuse me sir, the last time I checked, your church brought in a new church program for growth. I wanted to desperately join and become a part of it, but when I checked out all the “groups” to join, I could not find one group that focused on evangelism, not one group on …how to win souls, not one group on ….being an effective witness or believer in the workplace.Instead I found….a grief support group, a Toastmasters group, a ballroom dancing group? So as I see it, the onus is on you, Mr. Superintendent. Blessings and have a happy new yearJerry
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AMEN, Mario!
Love, Love, LOVE your book FRESH FIRE❣️
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I loved this word. This is the experience I had several years back. A friend of mine had received quite a supernatural experience with God during the time she was grieving for the loss of her husband. When she told me about it, I said that was what I needed because I was also going through a very difficult time. I began to tell the Holy Spirit over and over again that I needed Him. He answered my prayer in such a profound way, it would take pages to put it all down on paper. I know for sure..He who seeks God will find Him when they seek Him with all of their heart.”
Praise God! Mario, in church circles and among my church friends I have felt like a warrior who’s been gelded, who’s been hindered, who’s been held back from battle…but I can see it through the fence! I’m made to feel too emotional, too aggressive, too feisty. The battle rages and I’ve been sounding a cry to Christians around me and they all seem to turn away and go back to being ineffective and irrelevant. Souls are dying and believers don’t have God’s heart for them. “Compel them,” he says! I’ve been treated as a troublemaker, angry, dissatisfied somehow. But your post has made me realize that I am! I am because God’s troops are called to war but won’t get up, won’t grab their weapons, wont use their weapons. The battle is waging around us and too many want to play church and then go home for lunch. I thank God for you and your ministry. Thank you for your obedience!
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