LET THE FIRE BURN

Scripture: Luke 12:49 "I came to bring fire upon the Earth."

INTRODUCTION:

1. 	All four Gospels tell us about Jesus' miracles, his preaching, his sinless life, 
	his sacrificial death, and his victorious resurrection.

2. 	Only Luke tells us of this saying, "I came to bring fire upon the Earth."

1. 	Luke tells us in his gospel how the fire started in Jesus

2.	He tells us in Acts how it kindled in the Disciples on the day of
Pentecost, Acts 2:3,4 "there appeared unto them cloven tongues like 
as 		of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the 	
	Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues..."

3. 	He continues to tell us how the fire spread across the Roman empire.

3. 	The fire died out in the 4th century. Throughout history fires were kindled 
	sporadically here and there.

4. 	In the 18th cent. the Methodists traversed the country preaching anywhere
and everywhere while the Episcopalians, Lutherans, etc. sat in their
comfortable churches. It was said ,"The  Methodists have the fire, but the
Episcopalians have the fireplace."

You have probably heard me say more than once, 

“That once you been in the fire, you won’t settle for the smoke.”

The point I wish to emphasis in this message is that, 

“We now have a fireplace, but we need the fire, and that we need God once again, 
to give us the fire.

Fire is used throughout the Bible as a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

I.	FIRE REPRESENTS THE PRESENCE OF GOD

A. 	God was first represented as fire in Gen.15:1-21. Abraham was talking with 
	God. "And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? 
	And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat 
of 	three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young 
	pigeon"(vv.8,9)

1. 	Abraham cut the animals in half.
2. 	After dark God's presence came down in the form of a fiery torch.
3. 	Gen 15:17 "behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that 		
	passed between those pieces."
4. 	This was done to signify a covenant. The Lord is a Covenant God.
5. 	Acts 2:3 "and there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as 		
	of fire, and it sat on each of them..."

- They knew the fire represented the New covenant
- The Disciples knew it was God's presence. 
- When the fire of the Holy Ghost gets in you, you will know it is 
God.

B. 	Moses met God in the burning bush. 

Ex.3:2 "And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the 
midst of a bush; And he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the 
bush was not consumed."

1. 	Ex.3:5 "...the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."
2. 	When the fiery tongues came down at Pentecost the disciples 		
	knew they were having communion with God almighty.
3. 	They knew it was holy Ground.

C. 	The Israelites knew God as a pillar of fire. 

Exodus 13:21,22 "the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead 
them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and 
night; He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by
night, from before the people."



1 	The fire gave light! Guiding them!

2 	Philip knew what it meant to be led by the Spirit. 

Acts 8:29 "Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this 
chariot."

3 	Paul and Silas knew also. In Acts 16:6,7  Paul and Silas were 	
		"forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, After 		
	they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia; but 		
	the Spirit suffered them not..."

4 	Romans 8:14 "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they 
			are the sons of God." God's people are preceeded by a mighty 	
		pillar of fire.

II.	FIRE REPRESENTS CLEANSING FROM SIN

A. 	Isaiah 6:5-7 "Woe is me! for I am undone...Then flew one of the seraphims
unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs
from off the altar; And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath
touch thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged."

1. 	We do not achieve purity of ourselves; God touches us with fire.

2. 	Matt.3:11 "...he shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost and with fire."

3. 	The Holy Ghost will make us pure. Where do we get the word 
"pure?" 		The Greek word for fire is PUROS. Fire is a purifier.

B. 	Clay is molded into the shape of a beautiful vase.

1. 	The clay is soft and pliable. When it dries is is stiffer, but still it is not 
strong.

2. 	When the vase is heated in a kiln it becomes hard.

3. 	The vase gets harder as the fire gets hotter. The fire burns out the 	
	impurities.  China is heated hotter than common pottery.

4. 	The fire of the the Holy Ghost burns out the impurities in us.


C. 	In the Old Testament the Fire is used to consume sacrifices.

1. 	Lev. 6:13 "The fire on the altar shall never go out"

2. 	Rom.12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, 	
	that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto 	
	God, which is your reasonable service."

D. 	Various things were burnt as a sign of total consecration.

1. 	Ex.32:20 "And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in 	
	the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water..."

2. 	We must let the fire of God totally destroy sin and self.

3. 	In the New Testament we are told that the Holy Spirit sanctifies.

2 Thess.2:13 "...God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through 
sanctification of the Spirit..."

1 Peter 1:2 "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through 
sanctification of the Spirit..."

Rom.15:16 "...being sanctified by the Holy Ghost."

4.	Our Dec.of Faith says,"6- We believe in sanctification subsequent to 	
	the new birth, through faith in the blood of Christ, through the Word, 	
	and by the Holy Ghost."

III.	FIRE REPRESENTS JUDGMENT

A. 	Those who will not submit to the fire of cleansing will face the fire of judgment. 

 	The fire is life to some but death to others.

B. 	"For our God is a consuming fire."  Heb.12:29 

C. 	Lam.2:4 The Word said, "He poured out his fury like fire."


D. 	Gen.19:24  "Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah 	
	brimstone and fire from the Lord out of Heaven;"

E. 	2 Ki.1:10  "And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a 
man 	of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy
fifty, and there came down fire from heaven..."

F. 	Jesus said when the Holy Ghost is come "he will reprove the world of sin,
and of righteousness, and of judgment."

G. 	2 Thess.1:8 "In flaming fire taking vengence on them that know not God,
and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ..."

H. 	2 Peter 3:10-12  "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in 
	the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the
elements shall melt with a fervent heat; the earth also and the works that
are therein shall be burned up....the heavens being on fire shall be
dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat."

1. 	An Atomic blast is the hottest man-made fire. It vaporizes metal
2. 	The entire world will be cleansed with fire
3. 	2 Peter 3:13 "...a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth
righteousness."

IV.	FIRE REPRESENTS THE POWER OF GOD

A. 	God came down as fire on Sinai. Ex.19:18 "And mount Sinai was altogether
on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke
thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked
greatly."

1.	The Jews remembered Sinai and the giving of the law  during the 
Feast 		of Pentecost.
2. 	Just as fire fell on Sinai, fire fell on the Day of Pentecost.
3. 	This signified that that God was giving a new law, and making a new
covenant with his people.
4.	Jer.31:33 "This shall be the covenant that I will make with the house 
of
Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their 	
	inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God..."

B. 	God came down as fire on Mount Carmel.

1. 	Elijah said in 1 Ki.18:24, "...the God that answereth by fire, let him
be God." He knew that fire stood for power.
2. 	1 Ki.18:38 "Then the fire of the Lord fell..."
3. 	What was the result? The people recognized the power of God. "They 
		fell on their faces; and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, 
he 		is the God"(18:39).

C. 	We need the empowering daily.

D. 	History is full of people and churches who were once on fire.

E. 	In 2 Tim.1:6 Paul said to Timothy "Stir up the gift of God that is in thee..."

 	The words "stir up" [Greek, ANAZOPUREIN] mean to fan a flame.

F. 	In Rom.12:11 we are commanded to be "fervent in spirit."

1.	The word "fervent" [Greek,ZEONTES] means "burning."

2. 	In  Acts 18:25 we are told that Apollos was "fervent in the Spirit."

G.	Jesus himself was filled with the power of God.  Acts 10:38 "who anointed
Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and power, who went about doing 
	good, healing all who were oppressed of the Devil, for God was with him.

H. 	We are promised power. Act 1:8 "Ye shall receive power..."

CONCLUSION:

Matt. 3:11 "I indeed baptise you with water unto repentance, but he that
cometh after me...shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost and with fire."

Do you have the fire?
Like the disciples, which said; "Did not our hearts burn within us...?  Luke 24:32
Like David,  who said; "While I was musing the fire burned."  Psalm 39:3
Like Jeremiah, who said; "It was like a burning fire shut up in my bones"  Jer.20:9

LET THE  FIRE BURN!!!!
April 26, 1998  FIREBURN.WPD


Pastor Danny Barker
Abundant Life Church of God 
Covington, LA 70433
E-mail dannyb@nternet.com