Oh! My God, Where is the Fire?
Dale Carter Sr.
Harvest Fellowship Community Church
1 Samuel 3:1-10
1. And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.
2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;
3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;
4 That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.
5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.
6 And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.
8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child.
9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.
1. The child Samuel, though but a child, ministered unto the Lord before Eli. It aggravated the wicked sons of Eli. The holiness and righteousness of the child Samuel shamed them. They rebelled against the Lord, but Samuel ministered to Him with all that he had. They had no respect for their father nor did they regard any of his counseling and warnings. Samuel kelp an eye on them and saw their wicked ways, but did not let them influence him in his ministering and his relationship with Eli and God. Samuel would not be deferred from what God had appointed him to do but he grew in the Lord and went on and achieved his destiny. On his way to destiny, over-coming the trials and battles, God was preparing him for a far greater encounter with far greater honor and rewards that God intended him. Matt 25:21. ….thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. KJV.
2. Prophecy was a scarce thing during this period of time. The Word of the Lord was precious in those days. Being almost void of a Word from God, made the call of Samuel to fill the office of a Prophet and Judge for Israel. During this period of silence from God, now and then God would send a man with a specific Word of warning as was recorded in Chapter 2 verse 27 of this book. There was no prophet, nor from whom they might expect hear of the divine will of the Lord God of Israel. And the rarity of prophecy made it the more precious. There was no open vision, that is, there were none that were publicly known to have visions.
No doubt, the impiety and impurity that prevailed in the tabernacle, had corrupted the whole nation, and had provoked God. To express his displeasure, He withdrew the Spirit of prophecy, till the decree had gone forth for the raising up of a more faithful priest. As Hanna had waited so long for a son, Israel had be waiting for a prophet of God. I can’t help but wonder if Israel knew or even cared about what was going on. But like God does on many occasions He was working behind the scenes and raising up Samuel who would be one of the greatest ever.
Why Am I referring to this period of time when I asked the Question, Oh! My God Where is the Fire? The lamp had went out in the Temple of the Lord. The Lamp was exclusives of the fire in the Temple of God. Jerimiah pronounced.. His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, KJV
Fire purifies:
Num. 31: 23. Everything that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: He’s talking about burning out the impurities, much like a silversmith or a goldsmith putting the precious metal on the fire. As the gold melts and loses its own form the impurities float to the top and the goldsmith can remove them leaving the grade of the gold much more pure and valuable. Much like when you accept the Fire of the Hold Ghost to transform your/our lives. Sometimes we have to go through the fire.
Rev 3:18
18. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich;
Gen. 22... God told Abraham, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” KJV They arrived at the location, and Isaac still did not realize that HE was going to be the sacrifice. Isaac knew there had to be 3 things to have a sacrifice: wood, fire, a lamb. Abraham may have been holding the fire in his hand but I believe he was burning inside, knowing that he was about to take the life of the most precious thing in his life, his son his only son that he had waited for almost a hundred years. We can truly say that Abraham was buying of God gold that was being tried in the fire.
Vs. 7. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb?
4,000 years later, as we look at most churches around us, we can invert the question and ask, we have the wood, we have the lamb, but where’s the fire? “Wood” the Cross of Calvary. But, where is the fire? The “Fire”, was in the hand of Abraham. “Lamb”, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. On that day the sacrifice was hidden in the bushes. Today the Lamb is in the hearts of man but the fire is still in the hands of man. The works of God will be done and only with the hands of man. Our hands must be endued with the Fire of God if we are to accomplish His works. I believe that soon and very soon God will set the bush on fire once again the church will be anointed with eye salve and they will see the fire of God. Then the Spirit of the Lord will speak unto the Church and the people will hear the Voice of God and the Word of the Lord will burn deep into the most inner parts, cleansing and purifying and then their ears will hear what the Spirit has to say not only to them but to the Churches.
To make my point in the lesson let me change a little bit in the order it was said. Isaac said to his father, I see the wood. Isaac saw the fire, but my question for us today is, where is the Fire now? Well Luke recorded in the Gospel named after him, Johns’ response concerning where the Fire is.
Luke 3:16. John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:
Now Luke told us in his gospel, where the Fire is to come from. In his first Epistle, the Book of Acts, he informs us who the Fire is for and its’ purpose which is power.
Acts 1:8: But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
We are past Calvary. We have experienced the Sound from Heaven. We have felt the Wind of the Holy Ghost as it has filled the whole house in past times. The Fire was sent as cloven tongues of Fire for every saved person, so now where is the Fire. Remember, people will follow the fire truck so they can find the source of the Fire.
Acts 2:1-6: And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Fire Energizes:
Question: Would people say you are on fire for God? If not, maybe you may need to ask God to re-ignite you fire so you can put more wood on it. And send the wind of the Holy Ghost to fan the flames of the Fire that burns within me. Energize me oh Lord, that your flame will be seen and your warmth be felt and in that, people might follow me to the source of the fire.
Fire Spreads:
It should all start with the Pastor. If the Pastor is not on Fire, how can he ignite anyone? The first person a pastor should be able to set on fire is his wife. The pastors’ fire should spread to the wife as they both share the same purpose. You can always know that they share the same vision and you can see the fire that drive them.
John Wesley said, let the preacher get on fire and people will come to watch him burn!
Some say, what we need is some new converts, that’ll set the church on fire! And I have been praying that God would send new people. But what if they come and there is no Fire? So I now say and believe that what we need is more people that are on fire. People are enticed by a fire and the sound of a fire truck and many will follow or chase after a fire truck as they are lured to see what is burning. Many people stayed home on this beautiful Sunday simple because the lamp has gone out in the Temple of God and that is the people not the building!!!
Why aren’t most churches seeing people saved? The answer is found in another question: Can God entrust them with new converts? Charles Spurgeon said and I quote: “To put new converts into most churches is like putting live chicks under a dead hen.” (Unquote) They need the warmth of “the Fire!” When people come to a church, new converts or old members, all the people need to find the warmth of God’s Love. That Love, is generated by a church that is on Fire.
R.W. Schambach told the story of a church that was on fire. He said that the fire of God was so powerful in the church one night fire walked the ridge of the roof in blue flames. Some neighbors saw it and called the fire department when the fire truck arrived with several people following, they saw streaks of blue flames dancing up and down the ridge of the roof but the roof was not consumed.
A church that’s on fire for God is endued with energy and power. The pastor and the people. A fire cannot be maintained with only one stick. We need power to fulfill God’s purpose…we need God’s power. We can accept no substitute. We cannot depend upon man-made excitement to get the job done. Programs, promotions, publicity/repetitive, empty, full of fluff worship choruses to stir the people into some kind of emotional high. None of these things can substitute for the power of the Holy Ghost within a church.
I Cor. 2:4-5
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Paul says, I’m not depending upon my wisdom, flamboyant sermons, tear-jerking illustrations, incredibly funny jokes... (These don’t hurt, unless they’re mistaken for God!) But what we need is a demonstration of the Fire of God.
So my question of this lesson today Oh My God, Where is the Fire? All, everyone must understand, “The Fire is in You” Are you burning with flames or just a warm ember or has the fire went out completely?
As we close this service today, do you need to be re-ignited? The answer lies with you.
