We Need The Fire

Intro:

It has been said that: "Today is the first day of the rest of your life". And if that is true, then today is a day that God has ordained that there may be an encounter with Him that can forever change the way that you live for God!

Depending on how you came to this service and what you came for will be the determining factors on how you leave here, and to what extent that you will be affected! Because God’s promises to His children are not for a few special people, but they are for every hungry soul that longs to be a part of the Kingdom of God!

Opening Text: “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:“ (Luke 3:16)

Prayer: Lord baptize us with the Word tonight, we need the Fire of God to guide our lives.

Can I just talk to you for a minute or two about fire?

When I was in the boy scouts we had to learn a lot about fire safety. We had to learn how to stop fires and how to start them safely. We even got a card that proved that we were allowed to work with fire; this merit badge-like card is called the Firem’n Chit. I still have mine at home…..somewhere.

The first thing we would do when building a fire is start with tender. Tender is anything that can catch a flame quick and make a big flame, such as paper, saw dust, twine, hay or even dry moss; basically anything that burns clean. Then on top of that you would have to have some kindling, which is twigs and branches that you can add on gradually to make the fire larger if needed. And finally the most important thing to have before starting the fire is fuel. Fuel can be logs or branches in varying sizes, depending on how large your fire is. It is extremely important to always have a sufficient amount of fuel already stocked up so that you never have to leave the fire unattended. But most importantly about fuel is to use caution and not get in a hurry and place fuel that is too large on the fire, it may go out. You must be patient and allow the fire to grow in size very slowly. This is why the Bible says “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little,” we too need to grow gradually little by little growing in the Lord and always maintain a supply line with the source, which would be a daily devotional time with God.

According the encyclopedia, fire can destroy if not properly used. If you douse a campsite with gasoline, you will definitely get a fire really quickly, but you will also risk destroying the ecosystem by consuming all of its recourses with this wild fire. Now I won’t dwell here very long, but there are some wild fires out there in the so-called church world on tv, radio and even in local assemblies that are not using the right source….. they have fire but its not fire from the Lord its strange fire, and they are consuming “resources” as well, and destroying faith by spreading doctrines and traditions of men. We need to “study to show ourselves approved unto God a workman than need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.” Now I’m not teaching against the Word, I’m trying to remind us that we NEED the Word of God to fulfill our lives and to further His kingdom and a little fire safety so that we don’t letting the fire go out of our lives and that we don’t get burned in the end. Let me show you a little about the positive side of fire.

When used properly it can be a source of power or warmth and a purifying agent. Almost every type of power we have today is based off of some form of fire, from the coal industry to the gas and electric company, fire is a key element to bringing power to the masses. If we are going to ever have power as a saint of God, we must and I say MUST have the fire of the Word in our lives, it is what powers us; IT IS OUR PASSION and what will drive us to victory. Jesus said to the devil “It Is Written,” we need the Word of God to be able to defeat the enemy. It’s the Word of God that teaches us to Love our neighbors as ourselves and to show ourselves friendly. It’s a proven fact that when the Word is in our hearts like it should be we will have God’s warming love. Natural fire is a purifier. You put gold through the fire and it will come out the other side with less additives. You see the heat of the fire eliminates other elements that aren’t supposed to be in the gold, bringing it closer to the state of perfection. God’s Holy Fire puts us through the test as well, the Word makes us look at our lives to see if we measure up and it will weed out the things in our lives that are holding us back from a closer walk with God. It’s the Word that gets rid of all the ungodly thoughts from the inside and even the ungodly forms of entertainment from the inside. It’s the Word that shapes and molds us into being the vessels that God has called us to be. Never should we try to live our own ways making the Bible apply only to what we want it to, but we should always strive to make our own lives a living testament to the Word and make our lives line up with the Holy Writ. For if we do not live by the Word now, we will be judged by it later.