"Now we have received ... the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God" (1 Corinthians 2:12)
In our Christian fellowship two opposite dangers are to be recognized and avoided: they are the cold heart and the hot head!
For downright harmful effects the hot head is often the worst of the two.
The human heart is heretical by nature. Unless well instructed in the Scriptures and fully enlightened by the indwelling Spirit, it may confuse the fervor of the Spirit with the heat of the flesh, and mistake the scintillations of the overheated imagination for the glow of the true Skekinah.
It may be said without qualification that there can never be too much fire if it is the true fire of God, and it can be said as certainly that there cannot be too much cool judgment in religious matters if that judgment is sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Among the gifts of the Spirit scarcely any one is of greater practical usefulness in these critical times than the gift o discernment. This spiritual gift should be highly valued and frankly sought.
Human sweat can add nothing to the work of the Spirit, especially when it is nerve sweat. The hottest fire of God is cool when it touches the redeemed intellect. It makes the heart glow but leaves the judgment completely calm.
Let love burn on with increasing fervor but bring every act to the test of quiet wisdom. Keep fire in the furnace where it belongs. An overheated chimney will create more excitement but it is likely to burn the house down. Let the rule be: a hot furnace but a cool chimney!
~A. W. Tozer~
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