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Close But Not Consumed

June 4, 2023 · Centerpointe Apostolic Church (Murfreesboro, TN)

Transcript of a published sermon by Taylor Little, transcribed from YouTube. An attributed primary source — not Acts 2:38 Life doctrine text.

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Summary · Transcript · Scripture Index · Download transcript (.txt)

Summary

Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.

The Cliff Notes: Half the Message Set Aside

  • Because of what God was already doing in the service, he announces that he is cutting about fifty percent of his prepared message and giving the church the Cliff Notes version instead.
  • His subject is the Holy Ghost and fire: John the Baptist introduced the Messiah as the one who comes after him, mightier than he, who would baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
  • There is a divine link between the moving of God's Spirit and the fire of God; the two cannot be separated, as they were not at the day of Pentecost.

Why the Fire?

  • The Holy Ghost was given for the empowerment of our spirit, to make us witnesses to a lost and dying world.
  • The fire was given to burn out the flesh — to shake off the pride and the ego that we struggle with and to make us release the things that hold us back.
  • Our greatest enemy is not the devil, not the church, and not the world; it is the flesh we wear, which speaks to us constantly.

Hold the Traditions Taught

  • Paul writes that God called us by the gospel to the obtaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, and charges the brethren to stand fast and hold the traditions they have been taught, whether by word or by epistle.
  • An epistle is a living example of how the word of God is supposed to live, act, and breathe.
  • He points to men of God whose lives are such written epistles of the Holy Ghost and fire — a missionary known for responding when the Spirit moved among a crowd, and a regional director who danced before thousands of ministers when the fire fell.
  • Apostolic shouting must not be lost from the church's arsenal, and the fire of the Holy Ghost is this church's DNA, going back to a signature 'Crazy Praise' message preached in 2003.
  • Doing all things decently and in order does not rule out the fire falling; sometimes it is in order to step outside ourselves a little.

Scriptures: 2 Thessalonians 2:14-15

The Fire Burns Out What Binds

  • The fire of the Holy Ghost can burn out depression and anxiety in a moment.
  • His own testimony: for twelve months he was severely depressed and hated waking in the mornings, until in one apostolic service, while others worshiped around him, the fire of the Holy Ghost hit him; the next morning he woke delivered, seeing God's mercies new every morning.
  • To the person under the sound of his voice who battles extreme issues of self-worth: God will send His fire to you, and if you submit to it, He will loose you from it today.
  • To the believer who has prayed, fasted, sought God, and sought counsel and is ready to give up: submit to the fire of the Holy Ghost.
  • The number one lie the flesh tells when the fire starts to move is 'I don't want to make a scene'; the truth makes us free of that lie — no one is making it about themselves; we are only responding to the fire.

Let the Fire Fall

  • He calls the church to lift its hands and give itself to the fire already present in the room, confident that tangible miracles are going to happen before the service ends.
  • If the fire impresses you to pray for somebody, get down to the altar, or take a lap around the sanctuary in the name of Jesus, listen to the fire and obey it.
  • Anointings and callings are being released, and joy and dancing are where the fire leads.
  • The capture ends during this closing ministry response, as the appeal continues.

Scripture index: 2 Thessalonians 2:14-15.

Transcript

all right I'm going to stretch some of you a bit but someone just needs to lay their hand right on their head and say God I receive it God I loose it over my life right now God let the holy anointing of God follow me God I want it I receive it and I loose me in the name of Jesus foreign let's work together in this I'm about to cut out 50 of my message because there is no point in going through fifty percent of what I felt like going through so I say let's just hop right into it why don't we just stay right where we're at and I'm going to tell you what I felt like the Lord wanted me to preach on today and that was the Holy Ghost and Fire I mean

it was the Holy Ghost and Fire and I don't know what else needs to be said because what's fallen in this place is the Holy Ghost and higher that's it it's the Holy Ghost I have fire let me preach this a little bit I just look if you need to sit please be seated but I'm telling you I'm fixing to just give you Cliff Notes version of what God spoke to me and we're going to stay in this environment I know for a fact that there are tangible Miracles that are going to happen in this place before we leave I know it I know it's going to happen John the Baptist introducing the Messiah said he that comes after me is mightier than I and what he's going to do is he's going to baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire and what we see in scripture is there is a Divine link between the moving of God's spirit and the fire of God you can't separate it you can't unlink it it happened at the day of Pentecost When the Spirit came

they were baptized with the Holy Ghost and Fire the purpose of the fire why couldn't he have just said baptize them with the Holy Ghost why did we need a description why did we need a comma why did we need an addition to the Holy Ghost the Holy Ghost would have been enough what was the purpose of the fire now listen I have a lot of scriptures okay but if y'all just trust me and I think my pastor's okay with me because I talked to him about what I was preaching this morning so he knows my scriptures but if you'll just stay with me the fire was given to burn out flesh quite simply that's why he said the Holy Ghost and Fire Holy Ghost was for empowerment of our spirit and to be witnesses to this lost and dying world but the fire was to burn out this flesh it was to make you look silly every once in a while when the Holy Ghost hits you because it's the Holy Ghost and Fire bahaya is to shake off that Pride that gets on

us and to shake off that ego that we struggle with and the Fire Hits us it says forget about it all the Holy Ghost and Fire and now what I was going to say this morning was that we can't afford to lose Apostolic shouting from our Apostolic Arsenal because all of Christendom is coming this way they're worshiping like us now they're speaking in tongues like us now they're crying in altars like us now but one thing they haven't tapped into one thing they haven't tapped into yet is when the fire falls and we begin to shout oh it's the fire of the Holy Ghost with the fire of the Holy Ghost if we'll submit and we release the things that hold us back listen the greatest enemy we have is not the devil it's not the church it's not the world it's this old nasty flesh we wear that speaks to us constantly and there's nothing like the baptism of the Holy Ghost to shake us out of our flesh well you got any scriptures for that I cannot tell you that I can go

to a place in the New Testament where I can say lose your mind when the spirit comes and everything will be all right I can't tell you that here's what I can tell you in second Thessalonians 2 and 14. it says where unto he called you by Our Gospel to the obtaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ therefore brethren Stand Fast all right y'all stay with me hold the Traditions you have been taught whether by word or our epistle epistle was a living example of how the word of God was supposed to live act and breathe so I can't take you to a written place but I can point you to men like Steve Willoughby who was a missionary and used by God and one of his signature things is when he was in the middle of a bunch of people that's what he would do right there that's an epistle that's written brother Jerry Richardson I didn't know you were going to be here today I did not know 2010 because of the times they're having a shouting service Spirits moving God's

moving and the leader of that conference Anthony Mangan said brother Richardson get up here and show us what y'all do in Africa when God's spirit begins to move and the regional director of Africa at that time stood before thousands of ministers and he began to dance before thousands of ministers and it was a written epistle that this is the Holy Ghost and Fire come on hey we got him here Among Us we got him here Among Us see that general of the faith right there boy if there's anybody in this church you want to pray for you it's Bobby Allen he's a general of the faith he's a hero of the faith and you show us what the fire looks like you show us brother Alan what the fire looks like well you're just making it all about looking silly no I'm not it's not all about looking silly but it's not all about looking dig to fight either it's both end it's both and it's doing all things decently and in order and sometimes it's in order for us to look outside of ourselves

a little bit sometimes it's okay to let that fire fall on us and let it burn out the works of the flesh come on let's raise our hands right now that fires in this place already it's not just coming it's here right now Messiah January 12th 2003 20 years ago Bishop stood in that Sanctuary over there and preached a signature message called Crazy Praise and if you want to know what that was it was where the fire fell and that's what this church is made of it's the fire of the Holy Ghost it's in our DNA it's what we're made of yeah that's how we respond that's how we respond to the Holy Ghost and to the fire come on lift your hands right now come on let the Holy Ghost hit you right now come on let's get comfortable with this is what we're going to do for the next five or six minutes that's it brother Robert that's the Holy Ghost in fire foreign it burns out depression in a moment it can burn out anxiety in a moment I was severely depressed

for 12 months didn't know it I hated waking up in the mornings I couldn't stand waking up in the mornings never saw help but I was in an Apostolic service one time I wasn't even worshiping people were just worshiping around me and they were lifting up the name of God and I didn't even feel anything coming on I didn't but all of a sudden out of nowhere something hit me and it was the fire of the Holy Ghost and I didn't know what happened until the next morning I opened my eyes and it's like I saw the scripture your mercies are new every morning and the Depression had robbed me of God's mercies for 12 months but one good dose of the fire of the Holy Ghost delivered me it delivered me tell you a few things the Lord spoke to me one there is someone under the sound of my voice that deals with extreme issues with self-worth you have a hard time believing that you're worth anything that God cares about you and anybody else cares about you but God spoke to me

and said he's going to send a fire to you and if you would just submit to that fire he's going to loose you of that self-worth today somebody's been stagnant in the spirit you've tried everything you know how to do you've prayed you've fasted you've sought God you've sought counsel and you're about ready to give up because you don't know what else to do I'll tell you what to do submit to the fire of the Holy Ghost submit to it what's your flesh will never tell you because here's the number one lie we face when the fire starts to move on our flesh is that I don't want to make a scene I don't want other people to think that I'm trying to make it about me that is the favorite lie that our flesh likes to use when the fire falls so how about this the truth makes us free so let's just be free of that lie right now I'm not trying to make it about me and you're not trying to make it about you we're just responding to the fire please

kindly one more time can we lift up our hands and begin to Let the Fire Fall because I know what's fixing to happen right now the Lord spoke to me keep praying keep praying keep praying the Lord spoke to me said he was going to send his fire to five people to start and if five people would obey the nudging of the fire he was going to lose Miracles oh oh one two three four five six is coming the fire's coming Miracles miracles signs wonders Jesus is Lord Jesus is Lord Jesus is Lord that's it that's it come on that's this is the fire this is what we're here for give yourself to it right now give yourself to it right now that's it revivalists how Pearl brother Hank Revival of Southboro brother Hank Let It Come Lord let it come Lord now I'm not nudging anybody to do anything else I'll tell you this if the fire is impressing you to do something right now to go pray for somebody to get down to this altar to take a laugh around this sanctuary in

the name of Jesus you better listen to the fire I wish I had about five people that would come get with Hank Hayes I'm telling you Revival is fixing to break out in Southborough come on I need five brothers to get over here and Shout with Hank Hayes for a reliable oh yeah it's coming what we need is a good shouting service today what we need is a good submission to the fire of God's spirit you want to know why people are safe want to know why that young man right there is in the altar because the fire is here they want the fire they want the fire they want it there are anointings and callings coming right now in the name of Jesus thank you foreign come on you need Joy you need to dance right now this is where Joy comes from right here

Scripture references as spoken: 2 Thessalonians 2:14-15.