The Spirit As Fire Series

Introduction:

A. This past week, our nation has watched in horror as parts of the city of Los Angeles were destroyed by wildfires.

1. As of the writing of this sermon on Thursday…25 people had died in the fires, 12,300 structures had been destroyed, and 100,000 people had been evacuated.

B. It is sad to acknowledge that destructive fires are not new to human existence.

1. The most famous fires in history include these four.

2. First, the fire that burned the great library of Alexandria, Egypt in 283 B.C.

3. Second, the great fire of London raced through the city in 1666 destroying 13,000 homes and leaving 100,000 people homeless.

4. Third, the great fire of New York City occurred in 1835 and leveled 17 city blocks and set ablaze the East River as turpentine leaked from storehouses into the river.

5. Fourth, the great Chicago Fire of 1871 that destroyed a third of the city, left 300 people dead, and over 90,000 homeless.

a. One of the songs we sing at our silly campfires at Camp Hunt is about the Great Chicago Fire and goes like this…

One dark night, while we were all in bed.

Miss O’Leary left the lantern in the shed.

And when the cow kicked it over, she winked her eye and said,

“It’ll be a hot time in the old town tonight. Fire, Fire, Fire.”

b. We sing it as a round and it is lots of fun.

6. But as funny as it is to sing the song, there is nothing funny about an out of control fire.

C. God describes His nature in Scripture using all kinds of physical imagery; including, mountains, thunder and lightning, and many other things.

1. In this series on the Holy Spirit, we have seen that the images of the dove and the wind have been employed to describe the Holy Spirit.

2. Today, we want to explore the image of fire and how the Holy Spirit is like fire.

3. The Bible describes God as “a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29), so it is not surprising that fire often appears as a symbol of God’s presence and work.

4. Let’s do a brief biblical survey of the times God employs fire as a representation of Himself.

I. Biblical Uses of Fire to Represent God

A. Our survey begins in Genesis 15 where God confirms His covenant promise to Abraham that he will have a son in his old age.

1. God tells Abraham to take some animals, cut them into two pieces, and place them on the ground opposite each other to form a path.

2. Then Abraham goes to sleep and God passes between the sacrificial pieces as a flaming torch.

3. This was an ancient sign of a covenant agreement – usually both participants in the covenant would walk between the animal pieces, but because God was the maker and controller of the covenant, He went between the animal pieces by Himself in the form of a torch.

B. The next time God reveals Himself as fire happens with Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3.

1. Moses is drawn to the bush that is burning but is not being consumed and when he draws near, God speaks with him and commissions him to return to Egypt and set free God’s people.

C. After God worked through Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and bring them to Mt. Sinai, God made His covenant with them there.

1. Exodus 19:16-19 describes the event in this way: 16 On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning, a thick cloud on the mountain, and a very loud blast from a ram’s horn, so that all the people in the camp shuddered. 17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke because the Lord came down on it in fire. Its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently. 19 As the sound of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in the thunder.

2. All that must have been thrilling and terrifying at the same time.

D. Moving forward from there, the Israelites were led by a pillar of cloud during the day and by a pillar of fire by night. (Ex. 13:21)

1. It must have been both comforting and terrifying to see the pillar of fire hovering in the air above the tabernacle and then moving ahead of the procession when God decided to move.

2. For obvious reasons, fire was important for the Old Testament sacrifices that God required.

3. The fire on the altar of burnt offering was a divine gift that was originally lit by God Himself as fire came from the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. (Lev. 9:24)