SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
Scripture: Exodus 9:23-29

                Since we have all grown up on Jesus the Priest, the thought of Jesus the King is really very unusual to many in the church world today.  That is the fault of every one of us who stand in the pulpit, because by choice, we have ministered things that people want to hear.  Very few want to hear about the Jesus who returns with fire in His eyes.  To cut that out of the Bible is to be dishonest with people and to not prepare them for the encounters that are coming.  Exodus 9:23-29 states, “And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail struck throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.  And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, ‘I have sinned this time. The LORD is righteous, and my people and I are wicked. Entreat the LORD, that there may be no more mighty thundering and hail, for it is enough. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.’  So Moses said to him, ‘As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is the LORD’s.’”  The fire mentioned sounds like lightening.  If so Zechariah 10:1 is a parallel passage for Revelation 11:1, “Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain and He will give lightening!””  (King James Version.)  When Moses stretched out his rod, hail and fire fell.  When Moses stretched it out again and prayed, the hail and fire stopped.  That tells us that the church has a part to play in the fire of God falling.  When we find that the circumstances in our culture reach the level that qualifies for fire according to the New Testament standard of Romans 1, then it is incumbent on us to ask for fire.  It would certainly appear from the book of Revelation that the God of fire is alive and well, that He has not changed a bit and that He will visit the unruly, the rebellious and the abominable.  If we really love them, we will warn them.  Do not tempt the God of fire!  One visit can push us into eternity.