Read more in this series: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12
As temples of the Holy Spirit, we exist to glorify God while we welcome people into His presence. Every choice in our lives should conform to this purpose.
In this series we are exploring what it means to be temples of the Holy Spirit. We’re looking at the nine types of people who visit temples so that we can understand their motivation. If we understand what drives them, we will better understand how to help them on their journey towards the Lord.
The Fifth Visitor, Part 2 - Through Holy Fire
In the previous article, you were the priest guiding others through the temple. You helped the fifth visitor, the Seeker, step into the fire of surrender.
Before we can meet the next visitor, we have to understand what happens in that fire. For just a moment, I’d like to take you into the perspective of the Seeker as he walks through the flame.
“For our God is a consuming fire.”
—Hebrews 12:29 ESV
The fire is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. Overwhelming heat seems to press in on all sides, yet you are unharmed. The light is so bright it should be blinding, but instead it lets you see clearly for the first time, as though all the world before was covered in shadow.
At first, it’s hard to move. You want to walk forward, but your feet won’t budge.
The priest walking ahead of you is moving freely in the flame. “Why is this so difficult?” you ask. “Why can’t I move?”
“You can only move forward by surrendering,” the priest explains. “If you’re having a hard time, there might be something you’re still holding onto in your heart, some part of your past life that you don’t want to let go of.”
“Like at the cross?” you ask.
“Exactly,” he says. “Try this: close your eyes, pray, ‘I surrender,’ and then try to take a step.”
You’re tired, and your feet feel like lead weights, but you didn’t come this far just to give up. You close your eyes and pray, “Lord, I surrender. Please help me walk through the fire.”
Then you try to take a step. To your surprise, your feet come unstuck. You take one lurching step, then another. “I surrender,” you repeat. “I surrender. I surrender.”
You’re almost walking now, eyes closed, lips moving in prayer. Suddenly, a thought occurs to you: with your eyes closed, how will you know which way to go?
You don’t want to stray off the path. Reaching forward, you feel about until you grasp the hand of the priest leading the way. You hear a kind voice say, “You’re doing well. I’ve got you. Let’s take another step.”
The gentle reassurance gives you comfort. Carefully, you open your eyes once more, and behold wonders.
First, you notice your outstretched arm. Black flakes like dried mud are forming on your skin. As fast as they appear, the fire burns them away. As each flake disappears, the skin underneath seems to glow.
The kind voice explains, “The black flakes are darkness leaving your heart. The fire is the Holy Spirit. With each step of surrender, you become more pure.”
You look up, expecting to see the priest. Instead, you are met with His face.
The face of Jesus.
Surprised, you stop suddenly, not knowing what to do. Words and rational thought seem to have left you.
“Hello,” He says, smiling. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Tears form in your eyes. The fire doesn’t burn them; neither do they quench the flame.
He wipes them away. “I love you,” He says. “Let’s keep moving.”
With a gentle pull on your hand, He encourages you to take a step. You start walking again, more easily this time, following where He leads.
"Where is the priest?” you ask, not knowing what to say.
“I asked him to go ahead of us,” He answers. “He’s waiting beyond the fire.”
He squeezes your hand reassuringly. You look down to where His hand holds yours.
“I know you told me, but what are these black flakes?”
“Iniquity,” He says. “You are being made new from within.”
"But I thought I was made new at the cross?”
He smiles. “You accepted my forgiveness at the cross and left your sin there, yes. In that moment, you became part of my family, and the Holy Spirit entered your heart. In that moment, you were born again, but…”
He stops and turns to face you, a compassionate look on His face. “Sin leaves stains, impurities, and even dormant seeds that can grow into new sins if they aren’t removed. Even though you left sin behind at the cross, you’ve still been carrying the harmful side effects of sin with you.
“You let go of sin at the cross. You invited my Spirit into your heart and became obedient. But there were parts of your heart that you kept hidden. Doors you kept closed to hide the damage sin left behind.”
You nod. You know exactly which doors He’s talking about.
He smiles. “When you walked into the fire of surrender, you opened those doors. The fire of the Holy Spirit is alive inside you, and as you invite Him into those damaged places, He makes them new. The more His fire fills you, the more He pushes out what doesn’t belong. He is making you holy.”
It reminds you of the prayer you prayed before stepping into the flame. “Search me, O God, and know my heart” you say. “Try me and know my thoughts. And see if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Jesus smiles. Then He turns and resumes walking, leading you by the hand. You are walking at a comfortable pace now.
“In the wilderness,” He says, “when you desired to stop sinning, it had to do with pain. You didn’t want to suffer, and sin was hurting you. So you turned to me, and I forgave you.
“When you walked through the gates, you learned how to be thankful for freedom and blessings. When you spent time searching in the temple courts, you learned how to avoid sin and how to do good works.
“While you were there, spending time around my other children, your heart changed. You began to pursue me, even at great cost to yourself—not out of fear or a desire to see miracles, but out of love. You began to truly love me, and you longed to be holy as I am holy, as a way to express your love.”
“You offered your best on the altar, and in doing so, you asked me to search your heart and to lead you in the way,” He smiles. “So I came to meet you, to guide you through the fire of surrender.”
You can barely hold back the emotion. “Thank you,” you manage.
“You’re welcome,” He says.
For what seems like an eternity, the two of you walk together. It’s not hard to move now. Every step of surrender brings more darkness to the surface to be burned away, but the more you walk, the less dark flakes there seem to be, until finally you forget all about them. You’re simply walking through the fire with Jesus, appreciating the time together and trusting Him to lead.
Finally, you reach the edge of the flame. “We’ve arrived,” He says. “I’ve enjoyed walking with you.”
“Thank you,” you say, as you give Him a hug. “Thank you so much.”
He hugs you back. “You’re welcome,” He says. “I love you. My priest is waiting for you here, to help you on the way.”
“Are you leaving?” you ask.
“I am going ahead to prepare a place for you. For a time it may seem as though I’m far away, but my Holy Spirit shines bright within you now,” He says. “He will guide you and make all things known from this point forward.”
Then He smiles at you one last time. “Though you may not see me, remember: I will be with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Spiritual Refinement
Every single person will experience fire; it’s only a matter of when and how.
Christians who live fruitless lives will barely make it through on the day of judgment.
1 Corinthians 3:13-15 ESV - Each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
Those who reject Christ will be caught up in fire for all eternity.
Matthew 25:41 ESV - Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Revelation 20:15 ESV - And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
But those who surrender, who walk through the baptism of fire willingly, experience transformation.
2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV - And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
This transformation is called refinement. When we surrender to the Lord—when we finally stop holding back and let Him have His way—He purifies us. Our masks of identity are consumed, and instead we become known by the fire of the Holy Spirit alive inside of us. We become more real, more true, and more of who we were created to be.
Jesus doesn’t just want to forgive us for our sins. He wants to transform us and free us from the brokenness in our hearts that drove us to sin in the first place. The more we surrender to His Lordship, the more we allow Him to transform us from the inside out.
Every refining process in the natural world brings the impurities to the surface where they can be disposed of. Spiritual refinement is no different. When we ask the Lord to search our hearts, He brings our spiritual impurities to the surface through the heat and pressure of circumstances and conviction.
It starts on the inside when we recognize that the love of God in our hearts is at war with the impurities of our flesh.
Romans 7:22-24 ESV - For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
We ask the Lord to do what only He can do: to seek out the impurities and remove them.
Psalm 139:23-24 ESV - Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
When we call upon His name, He is faithful. He will draw out the impurities within us and reveal them so that they can be disposed of.
Mark 7:20-23 ESV - And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
At this point, we have a choice:
We can defiantly hold onto those things and remain impure;
We can shamefully embrace those things by mistakenly believing they define us;
Or we can allow those things to be disposed of through humble surrender.
The last choice is the right one. When we trust that God works all things out for the good of those who love Him, we should trust that He works all things out. Out from the center. Out away from us. Out into the fire, until all that remains within us is made pure by the Holy Spirit.
2 Corinthians 4:16 ESV - So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
Trust in the Lord. Surrender to Him. Ask Him to search your heart. Take courage when he draws the impurities out of you. Confess those things, surrender those things, and let them be burned. Hold the hand of Jesus and follow in His way, and He will see you through.
Isaiah 43:2-3 ESV - When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.