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 - The Seeker
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. - Matthew 5:6 ESV
At last, we’ve entered the courtyard. We are on the temple grounds. All around are monuments to the great things the Lord has done. Music, both peaceful and compelling, fills the space between excited shouts of joy and laughter.
There are thousands upon thousands of people in the courtyard, but it doesn’t feel crowded. In fact, it feels familiar, like a family gathering. Some of them are huddled together, talking excitedly about the new things they’ve discovered now that they are at the temple. Some visitors have even climbed up on boxes and platforms to speak to others about the things they now believe.
As we walk through the courtyard in the direction of the temple, the light around us, already bright, grows stronger. A steady sound, like rushing wind, grows louder. The air around us becomes warmer.
We are approaching the altar fire.
It is a magnificent, holy fire, with flame that burns the purest white. There is no smoke; what this fire burns, it burns completely. It stands about fifteen feet wide and extends about forty-five feet back from where a man stands, arms crossed, pacing back and forth.
There, silhouetted against the flames, is our fifth visitor, the Seeker. As we approach, we can see a puzzled and forlorn look on his face.
To understand the Seeker, I want to put you, the reader, into the story. You are now the priest; it’s your job to help the Seeker move to the next stage of his journey towards the Lord.
You pause for a moment to take in your surroundings. You are wearing soft, comfortable robes bound with an embroidered sash. You feel the weight on your shoulders of an ornate breastplate beset with jewels. Your feet are bare, but the ground is soft and clean. Upon your head is a turban, with a gold plate on the front that says, “HOLY TO THE LORD.”
You feel ready. There is the Seeker.
You walk up to the young man and start a conversation.
At the Altar Fire
“Hello,” you say. “Quite an impressive fire, isn’t it?”
He nods. “It is, indeed.”
“Are you enjoying your journey through the temple?”
“I was,” he says. “I mean, I am. I mean… I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
The Seeker sighs and turns to face you. “I came to the temple to meet with God,” he begins, “and when I finally made it to the courtyard, I was so excited! I made new friends. I learned new songs. I wandered all around the courtyard reading the histories and scriptures carved into the monument stones.
“But I’ve been here for ages, and I still haven’t met God. At one point I got so wrapped up in all the singing and celebrating that I almost forgot what I was here for. Then I remembered, and I started searching the courtyard for Him again. But it feels like I’ve searched everywhere, and He’s not here.”
“Yes, He is,” you say. “His Spirit lives in the hearts of all those who believe. The light around you comes from Him, shining from the hearts of His people. He is alive inside of my heart, and yours.”
“I know,” he answers, “and I believe that. I’ve felt His presence among the people. It’s just… There has to be more. I want to know what it’s like to really know Him. I want to see Him with my own two eyes. I want to hear His voice.”
You pause for a moment, considering the flame.
“You’re right,” you say. “There is more. This is only the courtyard. The temple goes much deeper. But why do you want to meet Him? Is it only for the experience? For what you get out of it?”
The question takes him by surprise. “I… well…” He sighs. “To be honest, yes, that’s part of it. All the monuments and speakers in the courtyard say He is the source of joy and peace. They say He is the truth; that if we want to know who we truly are, we have to enter into His presence and let Him reveal that to us.
“I believe them,” he continues, “and I want all those things. But there’s something else, something inside my heart driving me to press on, into the temple.”
“What is it?” you ask.
“I’m not sure,” he says, “but I think it’s love. His love. You don’t know how bad it was in the wilderness, before the cross. I wasn’t just broken; I was a rebel. When I saw Jesus on the cross, I knew it was my sin that put Him there.
“The fact that He would die for me, to bear my punishment… and then that He would bring me here, to this place? I’m not worthy of it. I should be dead, not celebrating in the courtyard with God’s people.”
“I see,” you say, nodding your head.
“He has been so kind to me,” he says, “even though I don’t deserve it. I know I owe Him everything. I wish I could thank Him in person.”
“That’s good,” you say. “The feelings you have come from the Holy Spirit. He is changing the desires of your heart. Those feelings mean He wants to meet with you.”
He gives you a pained smile and nods his head, appreciative of the confirmation.
“So why have you stopped here?” you ask. “Why haven’t you gone farther?”
The man sighs and looks down, then he lifts his head and gestures towards the altar fire.
“It’s this flame,” he exclaims, frustrated. “I can’t get past it! I can see the inner temple, right there, past the fire. But every time I try to walk around, the fire moves. I’ve tried and I’ve tried, but the flame blocks my way every time.”
He sighs, tears forming in his eyes. “Maybe I’m not good enough.”
Compassion moves your heart. You put an arm around his shoulders.
“That’s exactly why the fire is here.”
He looks up at you, startled, with pain in his eyes. “Because I’m not good enough?” he asks.
“Yes,” you say, “and no. It’s not here to keep you out. It’s here to refine you, to test you and transform you.”
“So I just have to keep trying to find a way around?”
“No,” you say. “This is God’s altar fire. It’s where we bring our offerings.”
“But I already left all my sin outside the gates,” the young man says. “I can’t go back and get it. It was nailed to the cross.”
“Oh! No. We don’t offer sin here.” You smile at the young man. “You did right to leave your sin at the cross. If you hadn’t done that, you would never have made it this far.
“The altar fire,” you explain, “is where we bring our best.”
“But what do I have to give?” he asks. “I’ve already given Him everything.”
“Not everything,” you say. “Look over here.”
You gesture to a large stone pillar near the fire.
“A monument!” He exclaims. “How did I miss this before?”
Together, you walk over to the stone. There, carved into the surface, are the eternal words of scripture:
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
— Romans 12:1
“The altar fire,” you repeat, “is where we give our best. You’ve already given up your sin to Jesus at the cross. Now it’s time to give Him everything else.”
His eyes grow wide. “You mean…”
“Yes,” you say. “The only way past the fire is to walk through it.”
“No. No, no, no.”
He begins to back away, shaking his head. “Are you crazy? It will kill me. It will burn me up. There will be nothing left!”
You smile reassuringly. “I had that reaction, too, when I walked through the fire.”
That gets his attention. “Wait. You’ve walked through it?”
“Yes,” you say. “I started this journey in the wilderness, just like you. I was lost. Then I heard about the temple. Someone pointed the way. I knelt at the cross and let go of my sin. Then I walked through the gates of thankfulness and praise. I spent time in the courtyard, just like you. And when I finally made it to the altar, I hesitated.”
He takes a cautious step forward. “But you made it through?”
“Yes, I made it through. And on the other side? Wonders. Reflection. Provision. Guidance. Remembrance."
You look him in the eye and smile. “The presence of God.”
He walks back to stand beside you. “How did you make it through?”
“Trust,” you answer. “Trust in who God is. I was scared of the fire at first, but then I remembered God is good. He loves us. He took our sin from us. He taught us to be thankful. He brought us into His beautiful courtyard and gave us a family. He wouldn’t do that just to kill us.
“The fire transforms us. When we offer up our best—when we totally surrender—the fire purifies us and refines us. There is heat, and there is pressure, to be sure. But as the best we have burns away, it gets replaced by something better.”
“What?” he asks. “What do we become?”
“Not what, but who,” you say. “Our best was never good enough, and it never could be. But when we offer it anyway, God calls it holy and acceptable. He takes our gift and gives us something better in return: transformation.
“We become reflections of Jesus. The goodness of Jesus is good enough. The righteousness of Jesus is righteous enough. When we become like Him, His goodness and His righteousness see us safely through the flame.”
Nervously, the young man looks into the fire. Then he closes his eyes. “I want to trust you,” he whispers, a simple prayer to Jesus. “But I’m scared.”
Hearing his prayer, you stretch out your hand. “Walk with me,” you offer. “Walk with me through the fire of surrender. Step where I step. Be an imitator of me. And as soon as you can, look up towards Jesus. He will be walking ahead of us, leading the way.”
“But isn’t He on the cross?” the young man asks.
“He was resurrected, remember? He is alive. He will be with us in the fire. Will you take my hand?”
The young man doesn’t speak, but in his eyes, there is resolve. He reaches out, takes your hand, and grips it firmly.
“Let’s go,” he says.
With that, you step into the flame.
Into the Fires of Surrender
What does it take to walk through the fire? What does it take to surrender?
It takes faith founded upon remembrance of what the Lord has done. It takes trust in who the Lord is, even when we don’t understand what He’s doing. It takes hope in what the Lord will do; that every step in obedience to Him is one step closer to the fulfillment of His promises.
It means believing that what He says is true, and that He is faithful to do what He promised. It takes courage to not only see where He leads, but to follow after Him, knowing the next step might involve pain or sacrifice.
It means assuming the posture of a servant and praying, “Not my will, but yours, be done. May it be done to me according to your will.”
This is true baptism.
I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. - Matthew 3:11 ESV
When we are water baptized by man, it is an outward washing; a symbolic statement of faith; a declaration that we follow Jesus.
But when we are baptized by Jesus, it is a baptism into His death and resurrection. It is the true baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire.
Ephesians 4:4-5 speaks of one baptism, saying, “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism…”
This one baptism is the baptism of complete surrender.
It is the true test of faith in what we believe. Romans 10:9 says, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Do we believe in the Lordship of Jesus so much that we are willing to lay down our lives to follow Him?
Do we believe in the power of His resurrection enough that we trust Him to revive us if we are consumed by the flame?
This is the mark of true believers—that they love not their lives unto death. That they follow Jesus, even through pain and suffering, even through loss, even through martyrdom.
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead... - Hebrews 11:17-19 ESV
This is the faith God requires—that even if our bodies burn, our God is the Lord of Life. He will rescue us. He will revive us.
When we choose to follow God no matter what, we receive the baptism of Jesus.
When we choose to put faith in His word instead of believing the lies of the world.
When we choose to obey God rather than bend a knee to social pressure.
When we choose to abandon our possessions rather than hold onto things that tempt us to wander off the path.
When we forsake all others and all the temptations of the world.
When we choose to abandon all in favor of the One who gave it all.
When we leave everything behind and never look back.
Then, and only then, are we truly baptized.
And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. - Exodus 3:2 ESV
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” - Luke 9:23-24 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. - Isaiah 43:2 ESV
Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought… Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? …if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar… our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. Because the king's order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.” - Daniel 3:13-28 ESV