Flash Point: Ignite or Fizzle
Matt 3:11
11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
I. Introduction
Alvin Toffler once said, Change is not merely necessary to life, it is Life.
Now in firefighting lingo, there is a phrase that is used to express a very critical moment in the beginning stages of a fire.
It is when the temperature gets to a certain level to which everything combustible in a room spontaneously bursts into flames, spreading the fire immediately and instantaneously.
This phrase is simply called “Flash Point”. It is the point in which everything that can burn will burn.
***Explain the Striking of a match: “And Introduce Title”***
Let me just say that Burning is a Good thing when it comes to the kingdom of God. And our text says: he Who? Jesus shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
Separating Holy Ghost and fire in the spiritual life of a person, would be like trying to separate the soul and spirit of a person, and only God can do that.
My point being, if you have every experienced the Holy Ghost, then you have also experienced the fire.
Let’s take, for example, a house that catches on fire. At first, the fire is grasping for everything that it can burn. The substance in the house becomes the fuel for the fire.
But their comes a point to where the fire has affected the temperature of the house so much so, that it has brought it to a flash point and something powerful is fixing to happen.
Someone once asked Jean Cocteau, the French writer, artist, and film director, what he would take if his house were on fire and he could remove only one thing. His reply was absolutely astounding.
He said, “I would take the Fire.” I would take the fire.
Now, in one sense, Cocteau’s answer seems to be an obvious, almost practical solution.
If you take the fire from a burning building, then the building will no longer burn. But I think he meant it in another way.
As a writer and an artist, he knew that fire—passion—is an indispensable ingredient in the creative process. And if he could have one thing, he would choose fire every time.
Passion—that fire in the belly—is the catalyst of every believer that wants to be a receiver. And the level of passion for God can be typed with the temperature of a fire.
It’s the fire of passion that changes a life, and one passionate life can absolutely change the world!
It yesterday that I was witnessing to this waitress where we were eating and I asked her about her church. She said it was non-denominational. I said, is that kinda like Charismatic?
She said, well, not really, it’s kinda uh uh, and I said, “Laid back”? And she swiftly replied yes.
At that moment this message was born. I began to think, when and where did this idea of being saved without the fire of the Holy Ghost begin?
Who was the instigator? Who was the fighter of this fire? Surely not just one person was powerful enough to put out the fire in churches all over this world.
It was then that the Lord showed me, The Fire, the passion Starts in the Home. Your Passion for God is what gets you to church. It is at that point that things can get dangerous.
Any firefighter will tell you that fire is predictably unpredictable. Under the right circumstances even a small fire can pose a great danger. I like it!
If a blaze reaches the flash point, sometimes called flashover temperature, every bit of combustible material in the room—wood, paper, carpet, drapes, and furniture—will explode into flames.
And they say that there comes a point that the fire doesn’t even half to touch anything to spread! Now are you with me?
The fire gets so hot that it actually spreads by heating up everything around it. A confined blaze will heat the atmosphere in the room until everything in the enclosed space spontaneously ignites.
At this point, if it can burn, at flashpoint it will.
If you follow your passion for God, it will get you to a spiritual flash point, and at that point, you will either Fizzle or Ignite.
Now, if you want a watered down gospel, you will fizzle. But if you want the same fire that John the Baptist was preaching about, then you must be willing to catch on fire and burn.
When did this fire begin? When did this fire start? When did this thing called the church ignite? Was it explosive back then. Or was it a laid back atmosphere, as the young lady’s church from yesterday?
Let me stop and say, it’s a package deal, you can’t have the Holy Spirit inside of you and not have fire, passion. If you can go through a red hot service and not respond, chances are, your fire has gone out.
Or maybe, you are right where the 11 apostles were on that great day of the feast, the day of Pentecost.
There were actually 120 all together that day gathered together in John Mark’s Mother’s house. There were many differences between these 120 on that day, but there was one thing that they all had.
They had:
1. An Expectancy
And the neat thing about it, is they didn’t even know what to expect. Personally, I think it’s best that way.
I love to see the Holy Ghost side swipe someone right off their feet and they didn’t even know it was coming.
All they had was a Word from the Lord. You don’t need a word from some goo roo prophet out there that can call out your driver’s license number, you just need to hear the Word of God.
If you’ll let God’s Word be the Fuel to your passionate Fire, and not some phony Boglony, You will soon ignite.
Excuse me visitors just for a moment. It’s not the choir singing their best that’s gonna set this house on fire, it’s not even the preacher preachin his best, it’s when the people of God begin to expect it to happen.
And when you expect something, you know it’s just a matter of time.
It is our responsibility to create an atmosphere in our intense worship and praise that will make sinners combustible as soon as they walk through those front doors. Hello?
I’m talking about a fire that supercedes that of Colorado’s recent fire. I’m talking about a Blaze that cannot be quenched. A blaze that is absolutely unquenchable.
No more, I just don’t worship out loud mentality!
No more, I have never shouted or danced and that’s just not me….Exactly, and as long as you are you, you will never be combustible to the point of igniting and burning for the Lord Jesus.
I want a real Genuine Fire to Break out like it did on the day of Pentecost.
And you say, but we don’t want to scare our visitors, Oh yea, well, they didn’t seem to worry about that back then. In fact, people came from all over to watch them burn in the upper room that day.
Here’s what happened! The Bible says that they had been tarrying, waiting for the Spirit to come. They had a expectancy.
They knew that something was going to happen. They were creating an atmosphere for spontaneous Combustion. And boy, did they ever get it.
And When the Day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place, and Suddenly, That’s what happens if it’s real. There came a sound as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled all the house where they were sitting. I wanna hear something today Lord! I want to hear that same sound!
There was no quenching the Spirit on this day. They were ready to burn. And because of that…
Then there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it (the fire) sat upon each of them, There’s the fire, so the Holy Ghost must be right around the corner….And they were all filled with the Holy
Ghost and began to speak in other tongues as the SPIRIT gave them the utterance.
Would to God that a fire like that would break out in our midst today. Set me on Fire Lord? Ignite me Jesus!
Acts 10:25-48
25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. "Stand up," he said, "I am only a man myself."
27 Talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people.
28 He said to them: "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.
29 So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?"
30 Cornelius answered: "Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me
31 and said, ’Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor.
32 Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’
33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us."
34 Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism
35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.
36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
37 You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached-
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
39 "We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree,
40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.
41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen-by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.
43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.
45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.
46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.
Then Peter said,
47 "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
If Jesus really meant what he said, Greater things in the last days, get ready, cause I feel like an explosion is about to take place.
Were people literally burning with passion so much so, that their souls caught on Holy Ghost fire?
I have said it before, everybody’s gonna burn, but you choose when you will burn. You will either burn now or you will burn later.
Choir Sing: “I wish somebody’s soul would catch on fire!”
