This morning actually begins our three church revival. Brother Ron, Brother Buddy and myself are excited at this opportunity to see just how God can use these three Churches to come together not only to revive ourselves but maybe even our own communities.
The theme we chose is fire. You know when people are shipwrecked or maybe the power is out for an extended time period because of a hurricane or tornado, One of the most prized possessions becomes fire. We need it to stay alive as that includes our spiritual loves as well.
I want you to listen to the words spoken by A.W. Tozer in the 1950’s. “If Christianity is to receive a rejuvenation, it must be by other means than any now being used. If the Church in the second half of this century is to recover from the injuries she suffered in the first half, there must appear a new type of preacher. The proper, ruler-of-the-synagogue type will never do. Neither will the priestly type of man who carries out his duties, takes his pay and asks no questions, nor the smooth-talking pastoral type who knows how to make the Christian religion acceptable to everyone. All these have been tried and found wanting. Another kind of religious leader must arise among us. He must be of the old prophet type, a man who has seen visions of God and has heard a voice from the Throne. When he comes (and I pray God there will be not one but many), he will stand in flat contradiction to everything our smirking, smooth civilization holds dear. He will contradict, denounce and protest in the name of God and will earn the hatred and opposition of a large segment of Christendom. Such a man is likely to be lean, rugged, blunt-spoken and a little bit angry with the world.
He will love Christ and the souls of men to the point of willingness to die for the glory of the One and the salvation of the other. But he will fear nothing that breathes with mortal breath.”
Now to be honest there are some harsh words in there to be certain. But there is also much truth. Especially the part where he hopes there will not be just one type of preacher but many. Listen to me my brothers and sisters you are the many.
Okay if you have your Bibles with you please turn to Hebrews 12:29, again that is Hebrews 12:29 and when you find it please stand for the reading of God’s Holy word: For our God is a consuming fire.
I hope and pray that none of you have ever lost a house due to a fire. I do know of one of our members that however recently did. And if she were here this morning she would attest to the fact that fire does indeed consume everything in its path.
How many of you have ever heard someone say boy she or he is sure on fire for the Lord. The truth is many of us at some point were on fire for the Lord, but somehow that fire is barely a glowing ember today. The good news is embers can be reignited and can be turned into flames once again.
So how can we be on fire for the Lord?
It’s actually pretty easy. All we need to do is practice. You know we have people here in Church who are athletes, musicians, teachers and at one time we even had a pilot that was a member. So how did or do they keep up there skills? They Practice.
So let’s take that word practice and turn it into an acrostic of we can rekindle our ember into a burning fire.
You already know what I am going to say for the P doesn’t you? That’s right pray. I want to go straight to the words of Jesus on this one. Listen to what he says in Matthew 6:5-8: And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
Jesus began his teaching on prayer here by saying how not to pray: He is telling us not to show off. Synagogues were places of worship where many people gathered to pray. Jesus spoke against those who prayed loudly just so they could be seen and praised by others. He called such people hypocrites. He also told us not to use a lot of meaningless words.
Jesus said that prayer should be a private time between God and the worshipper. Jesus does not mean that it is wrong to pray with others, but the prayers should be sincere and for the right motives. When we pray that way we know He hears.
Can you guess what the R is for? Yep that’s right we need to read, and I am not talking about John Grishams latest novel I am talking about reading God’s Holy Word. Consider Deuteronomy 17:19-20: And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.
If we fail to read we fail to hear from God. When we read our embers continue to flame.
If we want to keep our coals burning we need to attend church regularly. We can’t come just every now and then and expect that our fire will stay hot. It’s in Hebrews 10:25 we read: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Yes by faithful attendance we help to keep the fire’s burning. There is much truth to the saying that there is strength in numbers.
As we continue with our acrostic we arrive at the letter C. If we want are to remain on fire we need to care. And not just for ourselves but others as well. Consider Paul’s words to the Church at Ephesus in Ephesians 4:32: And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. You know it’s hard to be cold when you care.
The T is for teamwork. Stop and think about it for a minute, even Jesus had a team. Jesus himself teaches us that we need one another to strengthen and build one another up. We also have Acts 2:42 that says: And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Did you notice that it said they? Listen were the hottest when we work as a team. ( I also added the tithe. If you are faithful to the tithe your heart will be on fire.)
You might have thought that the I would have been a hard one to come up with, but in all actuality it was one of the easiest. You see we can turn that flickering ember into a bright flame when we become an image bearer of Christ. Colossians 1:15 reminds us that: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. And remember that in Genesis we are told that we were made in the image of God. When we become an image bearer of God our fire burns all the more.
The second C is for compassion. We will stay with Paul’s letter to the Church at Colossae here. Consider what Paul’s writes to them in Colossians 3:12: Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,. When we are compassionate, the world notices and pays attention to our character.
And that brings us to the E. The e reminds me that we need to be an encourager. It’s in 1st Thessalonians 5:11 where we read: Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing. If we are in the habit of encouraging one another, of building one another up than the flame continues to burn.
So once again let me remind you that if you have begun to notice that you’re not on fire the way you used to be, than you need to practice.
You need to Pray, Read, Attend, Care, be part of the Team, become an Image Bearer, show Compassion and Encourage one another. When you do your Flame will burn the brightest.
Pray as led.
