Scripture: Acts 2:1-21; Genesis 11:1-9 and Luke 16:19-31
Theme: Holy Spirit Fire or Hell Fire
Proposition: One of the greatest images of Pentecost is the image of Fire.
Today we can choose between the Fire of Hell or the Fire of Heaven. 1. The Fire of Hell points to a Failure while the Fire of the Holy Spirit brings a Fullness. 2. The Fire of Hell points to an experience dominated by painful Remembrances while the Fire of the Holy Spirit brings to our souls continual Renewal 3. The Fire of Hell points to an eternity of decay, damnation and death where the Fire of the Holy Spirit brings one to experience everlasting growth, agape love and eternal life.
INTRO:
Grace and peace this morning from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
Today we can all celebrate Pentecost! Today, we can celebrate the coming of God's Holy Spirit and the beginning of the New Age in Christ Jesus our Savior and Lord! Today is the day that approx. 2,000 years ago the Lord fulfilled what the prophet's of old had foreseen and preached. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and many others had hungered for the day when the LORD would pour out His Holy Spirit upon all His People.
Today is the day when the Church of Jesus received the mantle of being the witness and bearer of God's Spirit. It is the day when the Church began sharing the message of everlasting salvation and sanctification through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the day when everyone who calls upon on the name of the LORD (Jesus) will receive immediate and full salvation.
Luke tells us that 2,000 years ago Pentecost was a day complete with amazing signs and wonders. There was no doubt that something new was happening. The coming of the Holy Spirit was both audible and visible. Luke writes about the rush of a violent wind heard by those in the Temple. He speaks of the tongues as of fire supernaturally appearing over the heads of 120 of Jesus' most ardent disciples. And he writes how everyone was amazed to hear the message of Jesus spoken in their native language.
Not since the time before the Tower of Babel had humanity been able to understand each other as clearly as they did that day. God's Holy Spirit was reaching out and reversing the curse of separation and confusion. Through the Holy Spirit we today can experience unity and understanding. The supernatural signs we read about here in Acts chapter 2 would be only the first of many wonders that would accompany the breaking in of the New Age.
Let's take some time and focus in on verse 3 where Luke writes about the tongues of fire. Let's see what the Holy Spirit wants to reveal us about God's Holy Fire in our hearts and lives this morning.
The image of fire, perhaps more than any image reminds us of the events surrounding Pentecost. Maybe, it's because there is something about fire that intrigues and captivates us. There is something about fire's ability to bring warmth, its ability to cleanse and its ability to consume things that fascinates so many of us today.
For a few minutes, let's look at this image of fire. But not just the fire of the Holy Spirit but also the Fire of Hell. In our reading found in Luke 16 we see the Parable of the rich man who is suffering in the fires of Hell. In contrast to the unity and understanding that comes with the fire of the Holy Spirit we see here that the fires of Hell separates, inflicts torment and everlasting punishment. The fires of Hell are ones that no one today wants to ever experience.
God's Word tells us that one of those fires is in everyone's impending future - the Fire of the Holy Spirit or the Fire of Hell. All of us will either ask for the cleansing, infilling and empowering fire of the Holy Spirit or we will suffer the tormenting and agonizing fires of Hell.
And while the latter may sound offensive and not be politically correct or seeker sensitive it is nonetheless an eternal reality. Somewhere out in our imminent future every human being will either continue to enjoy the cleansing and purifying fire of God's Holy Spirit or they will be cast into the tormenting and consuming Lake of Fire called Hell forever and ever.
This morning I would like to draw our attention to each of those fires and show how much they contrast one another.
I. The Fire of Hell points to a Failure whereas the Fire of the Holy Spirit bring a Fullness into our Lives
God's Word tell us that any who will be cast into the Lake of Fire go there because they failed to receive the Lord's plan of salvation. They failed to repent and surrender their lives to Jesus as Savior and LORD. They go there because they rejected the cleansing and transforming fire of the Holy Spirit.
People do not go to hell because of fate or because of some cosmic accident. They don't go to Hell by mistake. Everyone who ends up in Hell will be there because they have chosen to not to have their names written in the Lamb's Book of Life. They have chosen to not accept Jesus as Savior and LORD of their lives.
In His parable, Jesus tells us that the Rich Man died and found himself suffering in fires of Hell. Jesus reminded his listener that Hell is a place of everlasting pain and torment. Hell is a place of everlasting agony and misery. It is a place where the rich man wanted to desperately escape but where he realized that there is no escaping Hell after death. The only time to escape Hell was while he was alive here on the earth. He now understands that his eternal fate is sealed.
Please understand this morning that God's Word clearly tells us that Hell was never created for humanity (Matthew 25:41). God created the Garden of Eden for humanity. God created a beautiful paradise for mankind to live and enjoy. It was God's design that man would create the whole earth into a Garden of Eden.
Hell is a place for the Devil and his fallen angels. Hell is the place that they want to live. Hell was not so much created as it is what happens when a place is void of God's presence and holiness. Without God all that is left is for a place to turn into Hell. Without God all that is left is a place of hate, malice, torment and anguish. Hell is what is left when there is no God, no Holy Love or Holiness.
John 3:16 makes it as clear as crystal that the LORD has done everything divinely possible so that no human being would ever have to experience the fires of Hell. That is one of the reasons God sent His Holy Spirit to convict, to teach and to guide us into the way of salvation. God has provided for all of us the opportunity to experience the fullness of His Holy Spirit. It is the Lord's desires that we not experience the failures of Hell fire but the fullness that comes with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit desires to make us whole - emotionally, socially and spiritually. Through the fire of Holy Spirit we can enjoy a right relationship with God, with ourselves, with others and with all of creation. Through the fire of the Holy Spirit we can experience a restoration of that which was lost in the Garden of Eden - the image of God. Through the Holy Spirit we can experience what it means to be a genuine human being.
In His High Priestly Prayer (John 17), Jesus prays for all his followers to possess certain characteristics. He prays that his followers will have wisdom and knowledge and a spirit of perseverance. He prays that they will experience great joy, live under God's protection and experience sanctification. Jesus prays for humanity to be one with the Father and with one another. All of this Jesus tells us will happen through the infilling presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's fire will have the ability to make us whole. The fire of the Holy Spirit will be able to cleanse us and transform us and fill us with God's agape love.
So, this morning, instead of having to experience a life of failure and a future of everlasting torment in the fires of Hell we can choose to experience a life of fullness through the fire of the Holy Spirit. We can choose today to ask the Holy Spirit to come into our lives and bring us the fullness of the New Birth. We can surrender our hearts, our minds and our souls over to the Holy Spirit and be filled with the fire of His Holy Presence. We can chose to live a life of salvation and sanctification.
Have you ever felt apathetic or low in your spiritual walk with the LORD? Have you ever found yourself sliding backwards in your relationship with the LORD?
The antidote for apathy, indifference and lack of power in our lives and in the life of our churches is not more organization or more programs. It is not better music or even better motivational message. It is not becoming more emotional. The antidote is very simple - it is the fullness of the Holy Spirit. The antidote is asking the Holy Spirit to unleash His holy fire into our hearts and lives. The antidote is get down on our knees and pray for a new anointing of the Holy Spirit fire in our lives.
II. Secondly, the Fires of Hell points to an experience dominated by painful Remembrances whereas the Fire of the Holy Spirit brings to our souls continual Renewal
The saddest part of Hell has to be the ability to remember. The rich man was able to remember how pleasant his life was on earth. He remembered his family and he even remembered his opportunity to pray and worship. However, remembering was all he could do in Hell. He no longer had the opportunity or the power to change anything. He could do nothing to ease his pain and suffering.
Are you aware this morning that some of the most mission minded people are in Hell? Did you know that some of the people that are most concerned about the salvation of souls here on earth are suffering right now in Hell. That is one of the things this parable teaches us. Look again at the deepest concerns of this rich man and you will see what I mean. Here he is in Hell and aside from his own torment he is deeply concerned about his family and friends.
He attempts to pray and intercede for them. He wants the LORD to do something to help them not to end up in Hell. This Rich man doesn't want anyone to join him. He knows the realities of Hell; the pain, agony and the torment.
Recent studies state that over 40% of Americans today do not believe that there is a literal place called hell (Pew Report - November 15, 2015). They believe that Hell is a myth; a made up story. However, a great many do believe in a place called Heaven. They refuse to believe in Hell but they passionately believe in a place called Heaven.
How does that happen? How can people believe in Heaven but not believe in Hell? It's because people are not reading God's Word. For as marvelously as there is a place called Heaven, sadly and regrettably there is also a place called Hell.
No one had to convince this man in our story that Hell exists. He was experiencing it firsthand. He knew the pain of suffering, of loneliness and pain. He was feeling the fires as they licked around his spiritual feet and body. He was in Hell and was praying that none of his family or friends would join him. However, the best he could do was to remember; to remember all his lost opportunities and all that he had lost by not receiving the LORD.
Thank God, we do not have to experience that pain. Instead, we can live a life of renewal through the fire of the Holy Spirit. We can experience a life of newness. The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 6:4 that: We were buried with Him (Jesus) through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. We all can walk in newness.
Most of us love getting new things. It isn't because we don't appreciate the old things but there is something exciting about getting something new. It's like when you get a new car, a new outfit or even a new cell phone.
I remember the times when Rebekah and I have gotten a new car. There was always an excitement and a joy that comes along with getting into it and driving it off the lot. Each one came with all kinds of new technologies and abilities. They drove better, the radio work better and the creature comforts were better.
In High School I had a 1968 Ford Mustang. It was a great car but looking back it didn't have great air conditioning and the radio wasn't the greatest. You could fly around the curves but it didn't get the greatest gas mileage nor was it totally comfortable to drive. The power steering was good but not great. At the time I thought it was the greatest car of all time. But since then I have had some newer cars with better features.
Today, my little 2013 Nissan Sentra doesn't have all the charisma of that Mustang but it does ride better, it gets better gas mileage and the air conditioner works a whole lot better. Even the radio plays better. Now, it doesn't mean that I don't appreciate that '68 Mustang but I am now use to driving a better car. And in the future I will look back on that Sentra and appreciate it while I am loving an even better car.
It's the same with clothes, with cell phones and with most everything else. It is the same with the Holy Spirit. When we receive the Holy Spirit it's like we get a whole new and better life each and every day. We wake up, we spend time with the LORD in the Word and Prayer and we receive a new Holy Spirit anointing in our lives. It never has to get old or stale. The Holy Spirit keeps us refreshed and renewed.
There is a song entitled "EVERYDAY WITH JESUS" written by Robert C. Loveless. Listen to the words of this song:
Every day with Jesus
Is sweeter than the day before
Every day with Jesus
I love Him more and more.
Jesus saves and keeps me
And He's the one I'm waiting for
Every day with Jesus
Is sweeter than the day before
The words of that song can be ours through the power and presence of the fire of the Holy Spirit. We can continually be in a progressive walk with the LORD. Nothing with the LORD needs to ever get old and stagnated.
Thomas Merton reminds us: "By reading the scriptures I am so renewed that all nature seems renewed around me and with me. The sky seems to be a pure, a cooler blue, the trees a deeper green. The whole world is charged with the glory of God and I feel fire and music under my feet."
III. Finally, this morning God's Word tells us that both the Fires of Hell and the Fire of the Holy Spirit are Everlasting
Sadly, there are no hotels or motels in Hell. There are no resort locations in Hell which people who want to leave can simply get up and leave. Hell is not a place for visitors, it is only for eternal residents. There are no weekend stays where people can just go down and check out the place and decide Hell is not for them. There is only a one way ticket. Once you are cast into Hell you will be there for all eternity.
All of us have gone somewhere and looked forward to the time it was for us to leave. We have stayed at a motel or hotel that we made up our mind to never stay in again. Hell is different. Jesus tells us that the rich man wanted to leave but he couldn't. Even Father Abraham did not have the ability to help him leave. Hell has no exits, no ladders or elevators. The only way to get out of Hell is not to go there in the first place.
I cannot fathom what it would mean to be in an eternal state of decay, destruction, damnation and death. I cannot fathom what it would be like to be in a place of pain, aguish and punishment for all eternity. I cannot fathom what it would be like to find oneself forevermore to be in a place of sorrow and gnashing teeth. It's not pleasant for us to think about this morning is it. We don't want to think about it. No sane person would ever want to think about spending eternity in Hell.
And the Good News this morning is we don't have to think about it. Through the fire of the Holy Spirit all of our sins can be burned away. Through the fire of the Holy Spirit our hearts can be cleansed and we can be like Paul said in Philippians 3:20 - "citizens of Heaven."
Heaven is a place of everlasting peace, comfort and love. Heaven is a place where we can live the life that God planned for humanity back in the Garden of Eden. Heaven is a place of continual redemption and renewal. Heaven is a place where God reigns and where the currency is Agape Love.
All of this can be ours simply for the asking and receiving. Pastor Ron Cantor in a recent article entitled THE KEY TO SPIRITUAL POWER (Messiahsmandate.org) writes about his recent adventure in Israel. On this particular trip he noticed how some people sought to receive a special blessing by visiting the grave of a famous rabbi. They believed that their graves held spiritual power. He talks about how one man traveled thousands of miles just to visit a grave in hopes that it would bring him healing and wholeness.
Ron goes on to share that he went to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which tradition marks as the place where Jesus was crucified and buried. Inside the Church there is this stone called the "Stone of Anointing." It is thought to hold great spiritual power.
Ron was amazed as people would stopped and weep over the stone, touch it and believe that it could transform their lives. They would even rub a piece of cloth over it hoping that later that cloth would hold some supernatural power. There was even an advertisement that for $14.99 a candle could be lit on your behalf. To commemorate the occasion you would be sent via email a photo of the actual candle and prayer read on your behalf.
Finally, Pastor Ron writes about his visit to the Western Wall. He was amazed how many people believed that writing their prayers on a piece of paper and placing it in the wall would assure its immediate answer. They believed that the Wall had a special connection with God that other places did not possess. A prayer said before the wall would be more significant than praying elsewhere.
Ron ends his article by reminding us that it is not in stones, it is not by visiting graves or praying in historical places that leads us experiencing God's presence and power. Lighting a candle or visiting a dead rabbi's grave will not necessarily bring about a revival in your heart and life.
If we passionately desire renewal, fullness and the joy of salvation we must turn to the fire of the Holy Spirit. Our Lord will graciously infill us and empower us with His Holy Spirit. Remember the words Jesus shared in Luke 11:11-13:
"Which of you fathers, if you son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!".
All we have to do today be open and receive the fire of His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will lead us to everlasting life in Christ Jesus.
Today, there are two fires that are burning brightly this Pentecost Sunday. There are two fires but each of them is vastly different.
Sadly, many of the people in our world are facing the Fires of Hell:
+Fires that burns because of their failure to accept the LORD as Savior and King.
+Fires that will remind them of all that they have lost
+Fires that are everlasting
+Fires that only bring separation, agony and torment
Thank the LORD there is another fire. It is the fire of the Holy Spirit.
+It is a fire that will bring the fullness of the LORD in our hearts and lives
+It is a fire that will constantly and progressively bring about Revival and renewal into our lives each and every day
+It is a fire that will save us, sanctify us and allow us to enjoy everlasting life with the LORD
This morning as we bring our service to a close let us invite God's Spirit to come and speak to us.
+ Which of these two fires is in our future and in our present - the Fires of Hell or the Fire of the Holy Spirit
+ Have we opened our heart and life to experience the fire that comes with the baptism of God's Holy Spirit?
+ Are we enjoying the fire of the Holy Spirit?
+Are we enjoying the fullness of God's Holy Spirit?
+Are we enjoying the renewal of His Holy Spirit in our lives this morning?
As we sing our closing hymn - this morning if you have not allowed God's Holy Spirit to come into your heart and life our altars are open. Today, invite the Holy Spirit to make Pentecost a reality in your heart and soul. Know today that the LORD saves and sanctifies you through and through. Come and receive the fullness of salvation into your heart and life.
As we sing our closing hymn - how is it in your heart and life? Is the fire of the Holy Spirit burning brightly or have you been living on the coals? Do you find yourself apathetic, lethargic in your walk with the LORD? Have you allowed something to take the relish off your walk with the LORD? Are you enjoying a life of fullness and renewal? Are you enjoying a progressive walk of holiness?
This morning, if you need an anointing of His Holy Spirit today our altars are open. Only Jesus can bring renewal, only Jesus can bring His Holy Spirit and ignite His Fire.
Traditional Hymn: Cleanse Me by J. Edwin Orr
Contemporary: "Holy Spirit" by Kari Jobi or "Fire Never Sleeps" by Martin Smith, Nick Herbert
