QUENCHING THE VIOLENCE  OF FIRE

Publication #98.105

"Who through faith...quenched the violence of fire" (Heb 11:33-34).

The trumpet of the Lord is sounding a clear note throughout the heavens, and the ones who dwell therein are hearing it. Like bolting thunder, His word is stirring people from their slumber. It is instilling faith to move mountains and to conquer kingdoms. This faith is rising from the ashes of despair and rallying the weary to a threshold akin to the saints of old, "Who...Subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, QUENCHED THE VIOLENCE OF FIRE, escaped the edge of the sword, OUT OF WEAKNESS were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented...they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth" (Heb 11:33-34,37-38).

Many, I am sure, can see themselves in the above verses; but as the writer continued, we see there is more: "God having provided some better thing for us..." (Heb 11:40). That better thing, of course, is the Promise, the End of faith! It is Jesus Christ the glory! The patriarchs were promised all the blessings that are found in Jesus, but they died in faith without receiving them. Receiving the Promise, according to the Greek, is to carry it off. It is to possess that which was promised. And now that we are handling the Word of Life, taking it into the core of our being, we are coming alive and carrying it to victory! Furthermore, this is the life that is commanded from Mount Hermon and descends over all the nations (Psa 133:1-3). Praise God!

It costs us something to subdue kingdoms, whether inwardly or outwardly. Stopping the mouths of lions is not an easy task. It takes more than the religious activities or what man can build in his mind. It takes the faith of God — and this type of faith is always tested by fire (1 Pet 1:7).

To walk as a son of God, we can count on a deluge of assailing swords from religious leaders. There will be attacks from every quarter; but scathing words will fail to destroy the chosen. Rising out of our inabilities and human weaknesses is coming the strength of our Lord. We are enduring and waxing valiant in the fight of our lives. When it seems hopeless, we turn to flight the armies of every hardship, cruelty, disease and famine. Stonings have come in abundance; but we press on, and with eyes lifted upon high, we pray that no charge will be laid upon those who hate us. Testings of every conceivable nature have been our portion, and although stumbling at times, we have continued on by the grace of God, which is the undergirding that sustains us. We have wandered about in bloodstained vestures of humility (sheepskins). Because we refused to wear religious garments, we have been looked upon as rebellious and stubborn (wearing goatskins). Although rich in Christ, many are still destitute, afflicted, and tormented by circumstances they could have never believed would befall them. We have wandered often in dry places while others reveled in revivals and enjoyed the enraptured crowds. Being set aside, we have dwelled, as it were, in dens and caves of the earth.

Even though it would seem to everyone that we were dead, we are alive and have not lost faith. Hope is still alive, and we are pressing in. By faith we have QUENCHED THE VIOLENCE OF FIRE. Had we been in the world, or in nominal Christianity, and if such fires came upon us, then yes, we would probably have failed and would not have survived the calling. Or if we were of those who embrace the doctrine of Sonship alone — and who have not experienced the branding of God’s name in their hearts — then again, it is likely we would have lost the fight and left with the smell of smoke upon our garments. We would be downtrodden, sitting in our marked pews each week and spoon fed by the pontiffs who see, hear, and think for us.

However, no earthly man can be our bridge over troubled waters, and we are not of those who burn in the fire of violence — WE QUENCH THE VIOLENCE OF FIRE! This is not saying that we do not feel the flames when adversity comes, for we do. They are very real. When our muscles are pulling away from the bones, we feel the racking pain. We can’t help from hurting when arthritis, cancer, and heart disease ravishes our bodies. We also feel the depths of anguish with which our loved ones are touched. And the despair that rolls over us is immensurable when one of our children, a loving son, daughter, husband, or wife is torn in death from our warm embrace. Yes, indeed, we feel the violence of these flames; but praise God, by faith they are quenched! They do not work to our hurt, but to our good.

I know we can be hard-pressed to feel such things can work to our good, especially as the flames wrap themselves around our every thought and movement of every day; but let us not only hear the promise, but let us also receive it, let us carry it away:

"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring My sons from far, and My daughters from the ends of the earth; Even every one that is called by My name: for I have created him for My glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him" (Isa 43:2,5-7).

Faith is a marvelous part of our livelihood in Christ. Without it we would have no foundation with which to even hope for anything better. Nevertheless, today we not only have faith, we have the essence of God that brings forth the substance of the things for which we have faith.

Our Lord before us set the example, and not only did He have faith in His Father; but He also quenched the violent fire of His wilderness when He refused to escape it by means of the flesh. He left this desolate place without the smell of smoke upon His garments, for He did not submit to the temptations of the devil. He would not give heed to the spirit that entices men’s minds. In not giving way to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life — He quenched the violence of the fire. Regardless of its intensity, it had no power over Him.

If it had been possible for the last Adam to fall, the stage had been set. The flesh in its weakest state had been made ready, and the three most enticing temptations known to man were presented to Him. And had He listened to the cravings of His dying flesh, He would have lost everything for a moment’s reprieve from hardships and the satisfaction of earthly glory. Oh, but praise God! He did not submit to the beggarly elements of the earth, for His Spirit was from the heavens, from the Father of lights. That was where His heart was, and from the abundance of His heart victory was won. He had what it took to overcome the enticements of the flesh.

The first Adam was tempted when his flesh was strong, and he failed; while the last Adam was tempted in weakness, and He passed. In His Spirit there was neither shadow nor variableness of turning, for His mind was of the same substance. It was this from which He drew and refused to heed any spirit other than that which was from above.

The tempting voice He heard rising from the dust was not the familiar voice of His heavenly Father. He, therefore, rejected it and waited for the one for which His soul longed. Furthermore, even if that voice from on High had never come, I believe He would have died in the barren wilderness rather than to listen to the voice of death and have the smell of smoke upon His person throughout the age. For Him to have listened to any voice other than His Father’s would have been to deny Him, and He could no more do that than He could deny His own existence.

Although the record is not specific, it is clear that Jesus also quenched the violence of fire upon the cross, and He did this by faith and obedience. He had unmeasured faith in His Father, and could, therefore, be obedient and submit to Pilate’s decree. He indeed felt the awful pain. He suffered the agony of the brutal ravaging of His body. And this fire was fanned by the ultimate shame of hanging naked as a gazing stock before all. Rather than sitting upon an exalted throne, one of the things by which He was tempted while in the wilderness, He was lifted in shame upon the tree. Yet by faith He endured it and quenched the flames.

Had Jesus not known His Father, or who He Himself was, or had He not known what His Father’s will and purpose was for Him, it is possible, I suppose, that He could have failed. We won’t speculate on this; for He did know, and He also knew the glory that awaited Him, along with all those for whom He was dying. From the violent fire of the cross, and the horrid grave of death, He rose victoriously — conquering it all. In faith and obedience He quenched the violence of fire. He quenched the power of death. He suffered it to the utmost; but the violence of it, i.e., the power of it, could neither hold nor destroy Him.

Jesus declared beforehand that the grave could not hold Him, and after the passion of His death, He proved it by the resurrection from the dead. He rose with resurrection life, and it is this life that He shall impart to all creation. Praise God! This is what it is to quench the violence of fire! It is not to escape the fire, but to embrace it, render it ineffective, and allow its flames work toward our eternal good.

I can hear the whispers from the dark corridors of ignorance and the long aisles of doubt, questioning — "How can such things as the torment of afflictions and humiliating shame be of any worth to the righteous people of God?" In answer, please allow me to impart a splinter of light.

If the painful afflictions and the tormenting cross of shame is being applied to the ‘old man’, the work is putting to death that old man. That individual must die. We can see an example of this in those who were crucified with Jesus at Calvary. On the other hand, if the old man is dead, which he should be in most of those who read these pages today, and if it is the righteous who are enduring the violence — it is the ‘New Man’ who is suffering.

HE HAD DONE NO VIOLENCE

Beginning with Jesus, the righteous are void of violence, and because of this, what comes from the cross is the glorious resurrection and power of God. The power of man’s violence is exchanged for the resurrection power of God to save creation. It is written concerning Jesus, of whom we walk in His steps:

You see, it was not only due to faith and submitting in obedience that extinguished the violent flames and brought forth peace; but Jesus having no violence in Him was a contributing factor. This enabled Him to rise with no hurt to His being. Due to being void of violence, death could not hold Him. He quenched the violence of the cross. Praise God! And in doing so, it insured His resurrection from the grave with the power and grace of God to save creation. He turned the power of death into life. The violence of death that was administered to One was exchanged for the power of peace and life for all mankind. It is this principle that is handed down to us in these trying times.

Let us notice the above verses in this light, and see how it applies to the New Man of many members who are slated to reconcile the world to God: They have done no violence, neither is any deceit in their mouths. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise them; He hath put them to grief. Now that the soul of Jesus has been made an offering for sin, He shall see His seed in victory. His days and their days are prolonged, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by Christ’s knowledge shall the Lord’s righteous servants minister justification to all; for Jesus has borne their iniquities.

When the sons of God, those in Christ and void of violence, are brought forth and restore creation — "Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise" (Isa 60:18). However, before that day dawns upon man’s dark horizon, I am afraid men will wax worse, and their gross darkness will increase beyond measure. For can we not hear the answers to those crying from the storms: "Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? ...The morning cometh, and also the night..." (Isa 21:11-12).

ALSO THE NIGHT

The rejoicing of many saints today is overtaking the weeping that endured the night (Psa 30:5). They embrace the truth being sounded and rejoice in the light of Christ’s liberating life; but those who love darkness more than light — their darkness shall increase in these restless days. While the sons of God are quenching the violence of fire, the world will be brought to ashes by the flames. Many, no doubt, will cry out in repentance and come to the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, while others will not relent. Resurrection life shall rise from the ashes for those who embrace their Lord; but the self-serving souls of the world (in and out of the church) will suffer great loss, and will be made ready for the lake of fire in the age to come.

It should be clear by now that the sons of God are not immune to the violent flames by which we are being baptized. For that matter we seem to be especially inclined to them. And in this baptism of fire, let me ask — which voice do we hear and heed? Hopefully, it is the voice of the Spirit and not the flesh. If it is the Spirit, then the violence is quenched and life will spring from it. If it is the flesh, then, we might as well gird up and make ourselves ready for a long night of darkness.

DESTROYING THE DEVIL

Although Satan, our adversary, might be so close that our lives are turned upside down when he is given liberty to touch our lives — there is victory. Notice that our Lord before us destroyed him. He rendered him completely idle at Calvary. That same triumph can be known by us. Until such victory is held secure, however, we can be sure, however, to encounter the spirit which inspires the carnal mind. And that spirit happens to be called the devil (diabolos: the traducer, the one who takes spiritual truths and translates them into carnal logic and unsound reasoning).

Do you want to destroy the devil? Then quit listening and giving way to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. When your mind is no longer carnal, then your devil will be dead. He will die of starvation, for his food (the dust of the earth — carnal man) will be removed from his dining table. But as long as you look for a way out of the fire by any other means than our Father, you will never quench the violence of fire. You may escape it for a season; but the smell of smoke will follow you the rest of your life.

Oftentimes we get so involved with the fire that we fail to focus on our Lord. The flames can become extremely intense, and the lions appear so terribly ferocious that we would do almost anything to escaped them. We will lay hands on our sick bodies and demand the devil to leave in the name of Jesus. We will name and claim it until we are blue in the face. We will traverse every city in the country to have the man or woman of the hour knock us down by the power of whatever they’ve got. We will travel far and wide for someone to stir us to hilarity and laughter. There is nothing we won’t do to rid ourselves from the violence of fire when it sweeps through our homes.

These things cannot be denied. We see it happening every day; but please remember this, my weary traveler — it is neither here nor there that our God is to be found. He is IN YOU, my friend. He is IN ME, my brother and sister, where He is found. And when the time is right for you to leave the wilderness of fire, and after the voice rising from the dust is ignored — you will hear the voice of your Father descending from the heavens, and you will be made free!

For that matter, you might already be hearing His voice, and it may be coming from all the areas you had preciously searched, but only found disappointment. It may be coming from a brother, a sister, a word in a meeting, or from countless other ways; but this time it is His voice, and it will bring deliverance. Please know, there is nothing wrong with praying for yourself or laying hands upon others. It is alright to drive to another city to be prayed for, and there is nothing wrong with laughter. The joy of the Lord will bring laughter, bubbling up from the wellspring of the heart. But in all these ways it must be the Spirit that works in us to do the will of His good pleasure. When we are delivered due to the Anointing that abides in us, we step from the earth and into the ruling heavens from where our direction comes. To our own hurt, we have very often tried to manipulate divine things from the fruitless planes of the earth. We must remember, however, it is the Spirit who moves us — we do not move the Spirit. There are times, of course, when we do not hear a voice one way or the other. And whether we go or don’t go, or whether we do or we do not, it is a matter of what we choose. We have that liberty of choice when we are not being directed one way or the other, especially when our heart is always to do that which pleases our Father. But when we are being motivated by the spirit within — we should make sure what spirit it is. It is essential to have the understanding and daily experience that "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Mat 4:4).

The scriptures do not say whether Jesus heard the voice of His Father during the final hours of His wilderness journey; but we know He was hearing the voice coming from the traducer. Nevertheless, if He heard both voices, I am confident they came from the same region — from within His own mind. I don’t believe a swarthy, pitchfork wielding character, eating a greasy lambchop sat down beside Jesus and struck up a tempting conversation with Him. The voice He heard came from within, from the same place He had always heard His Father’s voice. In like manner, our deliverance from the furnace of affliction may come from the very place we could not hear it before; but this time, it is from on high and not from beneath. Deliverance comes from hearing the charged word of life proceeding from the mouth of God, not a lying wonder that builds false hopes.

SHOULD WE PRAY TO BE SPARED TESTINGS?

There were times when I asked my Father to spare me and my family from certain hardships. I have even pleaded, if at all possible, for Him to let certain bitter cups to pass from us. I would shudder at the thought of what lay ahead, not knowing if we could weather the storms. You see, if my Lord before me could pray such a prayer, even to sweating great drops of blood, I felt free to pray also. I have also been reminded of something Paul said: "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Phil 4:6).

In prayer I would, therefore, ask my caring Father to consider my plight, and if for no other reason than for my own sake, to release me from the weight of its heavy load. But do you know what — He very seldom did it the way I wanted Him to. Almost always I had to go through the fire, and it was not until I reached the other side could I see its merit. And praise God! Although a little embarrassed for trying to get my Father to change His mind in what He was doing in my life — I did not complain, become angry, or lay a charge against Him. I did not fan the flames by such an attitude — I quenched them.

We are still facing some hard things; but from what we have already gone through — I don’t think we smell like smoke, nor will we after that which lies ahead has come and gone. You would be the ones to say if smoke lingers about us, for once an odor hangs upon someone for a while, they cannot smell it themselves.

If there is nothing else we ever do, let it be this: Let us stop fretting and worrying. Let us stop worrying about who we are or who we are not, where we are or where we are not. Let us cease from having our lives revolve around our health, our wealth, or the lack of it; who our friends are or who they are not; whether we have a ministry or whether we don’t — for IT DOES NOT MATTER!

We are the handiwork of God (Eph 2:10). He has separated and called us to a particular work, which He is able to perform in us and through us. Furthermore, that which He has purposed for us, He is not only able to perform it — HE WILL PERFORM IT! To be reminded, we are "...predestinated according to the purpose of Him WHO WORKETH ALL THINGS AFTER THE COUNSEL OF HIS OWN WILL" (Eph 1:11).

Although it is not yet manifested, we have a destiny awaiting us. It is stamped out in eternity. It is formed in God as clear as a spring day in the Rockies, and this was before we ever took a breath of air. That which we are called to and chosen for is likewise engraved in us. From before the foundation of the world it was decreed and mapped out, and all He has to do is to speak the word and it will be released for every eye to see.

Let me tell you, dear brother and sister — all the fretting and worrying you can muster will neither hurry, change, nor slow the process of what God has purposed in His mind for you. And it doesn’t make one bit of difference whether you have a ministry or not. Stop lusting after a ministry! Quit lifting up and worshiping such things as gods!

Some may raise their voices in frustrated response and say, "You can say that, Brother Roach, for you have a ministry that cuts a path into people’s homes around the world. But what about us forsaken people who don’t have even one soul with which to fellowship or impart a word?" To anyone who would say that, I can truthfully say this: If I was lacking the peace of God that passes all understanding, if I was lacking the righteousness and joy in the Holy Spirit, and you possessed them — I would gladly trade any ministry I could ever hope to have for those priceless commodities of the Kingdom. It so happens that I possess them, along with the work placed into my hands; but if I had to choose one over the other — without hesitation — it would be righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. "Seek ye F-I-R-S-T the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these other things will be added unto you," as Jesus instructed in Matthew 6.33.

Notwithstanding, I believe with all my heart that every soul who possesses Christ’s righteousness, peace, and joy will not have the problem of having nothing to do or say when the time is ripe. There will be no one remaining in the wilderness, the flames in the furnace of affliction will be quenched, as the pavilions of darkness become the habitation of light. You may be lost in the great and glorious cloud of countless witnesses like yourself; but will have plenty to do. You will be out and about doing the Father’s business with your hands full and overflowing with fire. You, together with the rest of the Body of Christ, shall shine collectively with such splendor that:

"The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married" (Isa 62:2-4).

When such promises are set before us by the Spirit of revelation — how can we keep silent? My God! How can we keep silent? The glory that the watchmen are declaring is not just for the elect. It is for the whole world!

If the natural sun was alone in the void of space with nothing to shine upon but itself, it would be of little use, and likewise with the glory of the Son of God in our lives. He does not serve His purpose if there is nothing for Him to shine upon. And like the sun that shines upon the earth — bringing life to every thing upon which it casts its quiescent rays — so shall be the shining of the sons of God upon this dark and desolate world.