Luke 9:51-56 says, “51And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, 52And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. 53And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. 54And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? 55But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. 56For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.”

 

 

It was drawing near time for Jesus’ ascension, and He was determined to go to Jerusalem. He had sent messengers, who would more than likely be some of His disciples, to go to a village of the Samaritans, who were a mixed race of Jews and Gentiles, to prepare for His arrival. However, instead of accepting Him, they rejected Him because He was going to Jerusalem, a city filled with Jews who despised Samaritans. The disciples were so infuriated by this move that they asked Jesus if they should call fire down from heaven as Elijah did! The amazing thing about this is that they were so confident in who they are in Christ that they believed they could cast judgment on someone. We cannot even make it to this point! Why are we not using our authority in Christ to reap havoc on the enemy’s territory? I am not talking about calling natural fire, or lightning, to strike and destroy a city, but I am talking about calling the baptism of fire from heaven to fall upon an entire region to consume them! We must use our authority in the kingdom the right way instead of abusing it.

 

Jesus’ rebuke was because He did not come to destroy lives but to save them. We have allowed our offenses to form bitterness in our hearts when we need to maintain self-control in the ministry. If we do not bear the fruit of temperance, we can allow our anger to form biased judgment, cursing people instead of blessing them. Our mission is not to condemn and judge people out of heaven, but with God’s love snatch them out of hell’s flames and fury! And if someone does not receive the gospel, we must dust our shoes off and move forward to the next city, village, place or location in which God wants us to go to bring revival because regardless of who rejects it or how you feel, someone needs what is inside of your heart and spirit!