CHURCH ON FIRE
LEVITICUS 6:8-13
Intro. There was a church in a small town out in rural America. One night the church building caught fire and burned down. While the building was burning, many of the town folk were standing around and watching it burn. The pastor had been called and as he drove up he noticed that there were many people there who used to attend the church. Seeing one of them he commented that he hadn’t seen this man for quite some time at the church and wondered where he had been. Sarcastically the man responded to the pastor saying “ that’s because I haven’t seen this church on fire in a while.” [sermon central]
. While this may be humorous, its true. It seems that churches just like individuals get in a rut.
. We get into a routine of just going through the motions, patting ourselves on the back telling ourselves how good and faithful we are because we come and gather together every Sunday and do what everybody expects us to do.
. Our scripture this morning talks about keeping the fire going in our churches and in our lives.
. That’s the real problem facing our world today.
. It seems that many Christians have let the fire that they had when they gave their heart and life to Jesus Christ burn down to where its nothing but a smoldering coal of the fire that we should have.
. When we as individual Christians allow this to happen, our churches can’t help but become places where there is no fire for God.
. Folks we, the church, must rekindle the fire for God and never let it go out.
. We must become a church on fire.
. Lets look at our scripture.
.Leviticus 6:8-13
. Then the LORD said to Moses,9“Give Aaron and his sons the following instructions regarding the burnt offering. The burnt offering must be left on top of the altar until the next morning, and the fire on the altar must be kept burning all night.10In the morning, after the priest on duty has put on his official linen clothing and linen undergarments, he must clean out the ashes of the burnt offering and put them beside the altar.11Then he must take off these garments, change back into his regular clothes, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean.12Meanwhile, the fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must never go out. Each morning the priest will add fresh wood to the fire and arrange the burnt offering on it. He will then burn the fat of the peace offerings on it.13Remember, the fire must be kept burning on the altar at all times. It must never go out.
. If we are to be a Church on Fire, we must first PREPARE for the Fire.
. Here in verse 8 God tells Moses to prepare Aaron and his sons to receive the fire.
. Gods says this is what you are to do in order to offer the burnt offerings.
. We need to realize that what we are reading here are instructions that Moses is receiving from God.
. The system that God is putting into place has not started yet.
. Yes there have been offerings given up to God but God was laying out for His people how he wanted it done in the Tabernacle.
. This was how they were to prepare for the Lord to bless their offerings.
. We actually see the institution and the ordination of the priesthood over in chapter 8.
. God was preparing His people to be who and what He wanted them to be.
. Folks, to be a church on fire, we must prepare for the fire.
. There are things that must be done in order for God to bless what we are doing.
. The fist thing is that we must get ourselves in the proper fellowship with God.
. God is not going to bless our efforts if we are not in fellowship with Him.
. We can’t do that by attending church on Sunday and then not thinking about God until the next Sunday.
. God will prepare us to be a church on fire as we build our relationship with Him.
. We need to get ourselves right with God. Then He can use us and His Church to bring people unto himself.
. We need to set an example for people to see so that they will seek out our God.
. A letter was written by a relatively new Christian to the person whose life had influenced hers so greatly. She actually lists about a dozen qualities she found contagious in the life of this older Christian. Listen to some of what she wrote: You know when we met; I began to discover a new vulnerability, a warmth, and a lack of pretence that impressed me. I saw in you a thriving spirit - no signs of internal stagnation anywhere. I could tell you were a growing person and I liked that. I saw you had strong self-esteem, not based on the fluff of self-help books, but on something a whole lot deeper. I saw that you lived by convictions and priorities and not just by convenience, selfish pleasure, and financial gain. And I had never met anyone like that before. I felt a depth of love and concern as you listened to me and didn’t judge me. You tried to understand me, you sympathized and you celebrated with me, you demonstrated kindness and generosity - and not just to me, but to other people, as well. And you stood for something. You were willing to go against the grain of society and follow what you believed to be true, no matter what people said, and no matter how much it cost you. And for those reasons and a whole host of others, I found myself really wanting what you had. Now that I’ve become a Christian, I wanted to write to tell you I’m grateful beyond words for how you lived out your Christian life in front of me. Basically, she was saying, "Thanks for being a Contagious on fire Christian." [sermon central, ouch that hurts, Strickland]
. Folks, we must prepare our selves to be this example.
. If our church is to be a Church On Fire, we must first prepare ourselves for that task.
. We do that by developing a deeper relationship to Christ.
. Next, we see that in order to be a Church on fire, we must realize just who the PROVIDER of the fire is.
. As we look at our scripture this morning, we see that God tells Moses that the fire must be kept burning. We will talk about that more in a minute.
. What we see is that these instructions are for a fire that is already burning, not how to start the fire.
. If we look over in chapter 9 when the process of what God had prepared them for has started , we see just who provided the fire.
. 9:24- Fire blazed forth from the LORD’s presence and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When the people saw this, they shouted with joy and fell face down on the ground.
. Moses had prepared the Priests and the people for what God wanted them to do. We see the ordination of the priests in chapter 8 and the presenting of offerings that God had wanted Moses to sacrifice during this ordination and then vs 22&23 tell us that the initial preparation was complete with the sacrifices on the alter and then we see in vs 24 that God Provided the fire indicating that He was pleased with their offerings and would bless them.
. Folks, when we prepare ourselves and do what God wants us to do, we don’t have to worry where the fire will come from.
. God will provide the fire.
. He will do this through the empowering of the Holy Spirit to do things that we never thought possible.
. We see the Holy Spirit depicted as fire on the day of Pentecost over in chapter 2 of Acts.
. 1On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place.2Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.3Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.4And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other clanguages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
. Jesus had spent approx. 3 years preparing them and then when He left, He provided the fire of the Holy Spirit to empower them to do things that were absolutely amazing.
. Folks, we can have programs for this and programs for that but if we depend on ourselves for the fire, we will be disappointed.
. God will provide the fire, we just need to prepare ourselves for it and allow Him through the power of the Holy Spirit; to set His Church on fire.
. If we prepare ourselves properly, God will provide the fire.
. Notice here what God told Moses three times.
. God told Moses that they should never let the fire burn out.
. Once it’s started this fire is to be a PERPETUAL fire.
. Notice that in vs 9,12 &13, God told Moses that the fire was to never go out.
. They were to be vigilant in their duties and always keep the fire going.
. Keep the fire burning, keep the fire burning, keep the fire burning, God told Moses.
. He tells them to make sure that the burnt coals are disposed of and to keep wood on the fire.
. That sounds easy doesn’t it?
. What we need to realize is that they had to take this perpetual fire with them as they traveled and went about their business.
. This alter was part of the tabernacle and the fire was part of that.
. The tabernacle had to be torn down and moved whenever the people broke camp.
. When they camped again, the tabernacle would be reassembled. This was part of the job of the tribe of Levi.
. If you read over in Numbers 1 where there was a count of all the able bodied men available for fighting, the tribe Of Levi wasn’t in the mix. Their job was not to fight the battles, their job was to take care, guard and be the priests in the Tabernacle. They carried the fire for the alter with them wherever they went.
. That was their job, their responsibility.
. A church on fire has to have this perpetual fire and it must be carried with it’s members everywhere they go.
. Just like the Levites, we are priests of god and we are charged with carrying the fire of God with us at all times.
. In 1 Peter 2:5 Peter writes that; And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.
. Folks we are priests of God. Just like the priests of the Children of Israel made sacrifices to God, we too offer spiritual sacrifices to our God.
. Just as the priestly tribe of Levi was charged with keeping the fire burning on the alter, we too must keep the fires burning.
. A church on fire keeps the fire burning.
. We don’t just start a fire on Sunday morning and then let it die out when we leave.
. A church on fire takes the fire with them wherever they go.
. A church on fire realizes that the fire must be a perpetual fire.
. We cant start a huge bon fire to attract everyone’s attention and then let it dwindle out.
. A church on fire is not a church that is in a sprinting contest, it’s in a marathon. They keep the fire burning at all times.
. Folks, we are in a marathon and the finish line is when we close our eyes for the last time here on earth and open them in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.
. Until then, we are to keep the fire burning on the alter of the Lord.
. We are to be a Church On Fire.
. We do this by Preparing for the fire, realizing who Provides the fire and insure that the fire is a Perpetual fire.
. Have you prepared yourself for the fire this day.
. Have you given your life to Jesus?
. Has the fire gone out in your life Christian?
