Until He Comes Podcast

Tongues of Fire - Part 11

Religion is ritual, but faith is fire! The psalmist said God “makes his ministers a flaming fire” (Psalm 104:4). Greg explains that as we obey Peter’s admonition to “sanctify the Lord God in your heart” and “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks” you about the hope you have (1 Peter 3:15), we are spiritual incendiaries – igniting faith-fires in previously cold hearts that have never glowed with ardor and zeal for Jesus. And since, as James teaches, a little spark often spreads into a great fire, who can tell how hot and far the faith-fires God ignites through you will go? Perhaps to the ends of the earth. You may be speaking to the next Dwight L. Moody, John Wesley, or Billy Graham. Is Jesus set-apart in your heart today? Are you ready to spread the fire?

Tongues of Fire - Part 10

Greg gives more information on the light that came with the “tongues of fire.” Specifically, the light-filled life, the amazing ability to “walk in the light, as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7) – something impossible before we received Jesus and His Spirit. To live light-filled lives, we must root out all spiritual darkness, including our old, prideful habit of judging others’ perceived faults while ignoring our real faults! We then examine the eternal implications of walking in darkness or light in this world. Ultimately, we will make our eternal residence inside New Jerusalem (inner light) or outside it (outer darkness) somewhere on the new earth. If we “walk in the light” consistently now, we will live in the light of New Jerusalem then. But if we habitually walk in darkness (sin, self-will) now, we will inevitably experience some measure of “outer darkness” then. How much we cannot tell. But why risk it? Why not rather walk in the light now and know where we will live forever!

Tongues of Fire - Part 9

In this episode, Greg explains that all fire produces light! Similarly, when “tongues of fire” suddenly appeared in the Upper Room, light came with them. Spiritual light! Supernatural light! Divine light! Unconquerable light! Specifically, that light was the light of truth – which frees us from all deception; the light of the Father – making known to us in terms we could understand exactly who and all the Father is; the light of salvation – definitively answering for us the most important question in life, how we may be eternally saved and not lost; the light of divine guidance – the immense privilege of having God Almighty personally guide our steps in life by His Holy Spirit, who always marks out a path for us with consummate love and wisdom. Listen and learn, and then let this light enlighten your heart, your life, and your legacy so it will shine the message and way of the Light of the World brightly to all who follow you.

Tongues of Fire - Part 8

Ah, fiery passion for God . . . the proverbial burning heart . . . red hot coals of burning zeal for Christ, isn’t this the ideal? The way it should be? So we never fall into the terrible spiritual and moral lukewarmness Christ condemned in the Laodiceans twenty centuries ago? For this, we must answer some key questions. Will fire continue burning hot, or even warm, if not attended? Or do we simply light a fire and that’s it? Is fire indeed self-sustaining? Well, as in nature, so in grace, our heart fires of devotion to Christ, after being initially ignited, will not burn hot with love for Christ and the things of Him ad infinitum. No, not at all. We must feed, nurture, and sustain the fires of devotion that burn in our hearts. In this segment, Dr. Hinnant explains when, how, and with what we feed the wonderful fires of devotion to our Lord that were lit the day we received Him as our Lord and Savior; and lit again when we received from Him the mighty Baptism with the Holy Spirit. Linger, listen, and learn the secrets of the perpetually burning heart.

Tongues of Fire - Part 7

When strange flames of fire manifested over the heads of those gathered in the Upper Room, they were forever changed. Oh, they loved and believed in Christ before that electrifying visitation, but afterwards their lives were radically changed by the full infusion of the Spirit. Those tongues of fire ignited their passion for Christ and thereafter they were blessedly driven the rest of their lives with a glowing loyalty and enthusiasm for the Nazarene. No one and nothing could quench their devotion. Trouble, reproach, threats, even bitter persecution! Were these fires of devotion self-sustaining? They were of divine origin – sent straight from the hand of Jesus – so did God design them to steadily burn regardless of how the believers lived their lives? Or was some kind of daily maintenance needed to keep the inner burning strong, hot and full of irrepressible power and joy? And did their burning hearts change their attitude toward Christ’s prophesied return to earth? If so, how? Oh, my friend, you don’t want to miss this episode!

Tongues of Fire - Part 6

In this episode, Greg outlines the diverse spiritual fires that began spreading out into the world from Jerusalem after the amazing, Christ-designed-and-executed outpouring of the Holy Spirit as tongues of fire: fires of devotion, of light, of rapidly spreading faith, and so forth. Was this New Testament fire something new? Or was it like previous fires manifest during the period of Law? Was it "strange fire"? Or was it the same fire that burned in the bush which Moses gazed upon and to which, captivated with wonder, he drew near? Was it the same fire that was enveloped by the cloudy pillar Israel followed in the wilderness? Or was it the very "consuming fire" of God himself? Whatever it was, it created an unrelenting intense zealousness in the apostles and the rest of the 120 who were filled by it. Download, listen, and learn. Then live what you learn!

Until He Comes - Tongues of Fire - Part 5

In that upper room two millennia ago, the mighty Holy Spirit fell on the church with strange-yet-dynamically-productive tongues of fire. As a result, when those first believers exited that famous ecclesiastical birthing chamber, they burst out into the world on fire! It is indisputable that the source of that unquenchable spiritual burning was the "Baptism with the Holy Spirit." What is this experience? Why don't we hear more about it? Does it occur when we are water baptized? Or born-again? Or when we go through confirmation as a youth? Or receive the elements of the Lord's Supper? In this episode, Greg answers these and other crucial questions. It's time for the church of Jesus Christ worldwide to awake. Will we awake, as the first Christians did, filled with spiritual fire? Or merely a pile of old, cold, religious ashes? Listen, and make up your own mind.

Tongues of Fire - Part 4

Jesus, John the Baptist, and Luke (Acts) heavily emphasize the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. It appears at the beginning of Church history (Acts 2), continues throughout Luke's record of the church's first thirty years, and was valued and ministered by the apostle Paul. Yet, strangely, many evangelical and liturgical Protestant organizations ignore or oppose the experience. Greg uses scripture to establish the fact that both Father and Son promised true believers could, and should, receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit. The artesian well (Gihon, or gusher) of the Spirit's "living water" (John 4:10-14). Or the "rivers of living water" Jesus promised on the last day of the Sukkot Festival (John 7:37-39). If the Father and Son are for this experience, why should any of us be against it? An enemy has done this. Let us rise above this opposition, study this special Baptism, pray for full insight, and prepare to receive this second blessing!

Tongues of Fire - Part 3

In John 14:21, 23, Jesus established that if we love Him we will obey His teachings. All of them! If we are selective in our obedience—obeying some of His teachings but rejecting others—our love is lacking. True devotion to Christ accepts everything of Him, from Him, and by Him. Greg shows by scripture that the "tongues of fire" at Pentecost were connected with the "Baptism with the Holy Spirit." In all four gospels, John the Baptist emphatically identifies Jesus as the Baptizer with the Holy Spirit. Every experience of this crucial infilling, heavily emphasized in Acts (chs. 2, 8, 9, 10, 19), was Christ's personal work. How may we be sure? He, and no one else, is the Baptizer with the Spirit! If we reject this life-changing experience, we will answer directly to Him for doing so at the Judgment Seat. No excuse will excuse us: Christ and His Word have spoken on this subject. Plainly. Repeatedly. And all for our good! If we have not received this Spirit-baptism, we should at the least respectfully study it until we are ready to receive it. For our full empowerment, the church's growth, and Christ's glory. 

Tongues of Fire - Part 2

Greg continues teaching on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and tongues of fire that appeared at the birth of the church on Pentecost Day. Did Jesus promise or prophesy any of the things that occurred during that dramatic and dynamic experience? Were the tongues of fire a divine sign of things to come or a passing anomaly? And more importantly, were the things that occurred in the Upper Room linked to the risen Christ? Or were they simply things that His followers experienced, yet had no direct connection to Him? Greg answers these questions, and more, in this episode, and reminds us of this vital maxim: we exclude Jesus' opinion on any revelation, doctrine, or practice at our own peril!