NEW FIRE
Notes
Transcript
Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Responsive Reading: Acts. 2: 14-21.
Introduction: the need for a new passion
One of my favorite movies of all time is, Field of dreams. Iowa farmer Ray (Kevin Costner) hears a mysterious voice one night in his cornfield saying "If you build it, he will come.” Why build a baseball field in the middle of nowhere? People think Ray is crazy. He builds a baseball diamond on his farm, supported by his wife, Annie.
Afterward, the ghosts of great players start emerging from the crops to play ball, led by "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. One of the players who shows up is his father, John. People came from everywhere to see baseball played in a field of dreams.
This field of dreams is about much more than bringing former baseball greats out to play. It’s about getting your passion back. If you catch on fire, people will come from everywhere to see you burn. Jesus said, “I will build my church.” People came from all over Jerusalem to see these people on fire.
Pentecost was the church’s ground breaking ceremony.
On the holiday of Pentecost, 50 days after Passover, when all the God-followers gathered in Jerusalem, the remaining followers of Jesus were all in one place.
They were isolated in the upper room to avoid arrest and persecution. Without warning or announcement, a mighty wind blew and filled the whole house while they were praying.
They saw a pillar of fire divide and rest on each one of them. They all started speaking in languages none of them had learned.
The Bible is an amazing and mysterious book with one main message. It is found in verse 11.
Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”
All of life and humanity will glorify God. Give God the glory and LEAVE THE REST TO GOD!
The core group was small-120. The Lord does not need a large group to do his will; a small group with a clear mission can do it. Our mission is, “help every person believe in God and every Christian grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.”
God often moves at your lowest point. The church was at its lowest point. Jesus fed 5000 people before and the multitudes followed him. How many were left after the crucifixion? 120 faithful souls. God set them on fire.
What is New fire?
Let’s begin by understanding the symbolism of fire.
The Bible often depicts fire as The Presence of God.
The Lord appeared to Moses as fire.
There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.
The Lord came closer to his chosen people. Yahweh led them in the wilderness by fire.
Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning.
The Lord of Hosts often appeared to Ezekiel in both wind and fire.
I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal,
John the Baptist said, “There is one coming after me who will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.”
The fire of God is the power and presence of God upon resting you. Let me stick a pin here.... No one could see the power of God on the early church until God manifest. The Holy One made it known to all Jerusalem, and he would make it known to the whole world.
You don’t wear spiritual power on the outside. Spiritual giants look ordinary. Some of God’s greatest servants are low key. The power of the Holy Spirit cannot be seen in your clothing or in the way you walk. It’s not the way you wear your hair, or the way you eat dinner. Know one will ever know the fire burning in you by looking at you.
Every fire needs fuel.
Every fire needs fuel.
The fuel was Pentecost- the holiday of first fruits.
All God worshippers in Israel brought to the Lord The First fruits of Harvest. The early church became the first fruits of Jesus Christ. They were the sign of what God would do forever. The church manifested by three signs.
Tongues of Fire: Tongues were languages of all the known world and fire was the presence of God
The Power of the Spirit: The Holy Spirit gave them all boldness of faith.
Peter’s powerful message: 3,000 believers turned to the Lord Jesus as Savior.
Peter declared, these people are not drunk, since it is early in the day. This is a fulfillment of prophecy.
“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
How do I get this new fire?
How do I get this new fire?
You may say to yourself, I come to church each Sunday, I read my word and pray. Nothing changes. I was on fire once. How do I get on fire again?
1. Being in agreement with God. You do not have to make plans or set goals or go to a conference. Just be in agreement with God. Then, You are actually cooperating with God. You are God’s instrument. God is using you to do his will. You are God’s weapon against the powers of darkness; You will receiving the benefits of that agreement.
The Lord told Abram,
Genesis 15:1 (NIV)
“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
2. It is believing what is possible. Your doubts and fears become small. Your dreams, goals and aspirations are not so far away. You sense God is moving. God was always moving but your troubles clouded your view. Now you see the hand of God upon your life giving you a new desire, a new passion to believe in miracles and opportunities and grace to do great things for the Lord.
3. It is divine sanction: This was a Day of consecration. The upper room became the Throne Room of God. El Shaddai came into their midst. His presence sanctioned them to go into all the world. He verified this by giving them all the ability to speak in language none of them knew.
The Savior sanctioned you when he saved you. He consecrated you to know Him. He put a vision in your spirit. NOW IS THE TIME.
New fire is an act of God.
New fire is an act of God.
Luke 24:49 (NIV)
I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
The first Great Awakening was in the 1730s. The moral fabric of the new world fell apart. God sent Whitfield with a new passion for Jesus Christ. Millions came to the Lord in New England.
The Second Great awakening occurred in the 1850s, after the civil way and the end of slavery. God used Charles Finney to set the world on fire.
Azuza Street broke out in an old wooden church in Los Angeles in the 1900s. Wm. J. Seymore, a student of Charles Parham, was the match at Azuza St. Rivival hit all of America and put a dent in Racism in America. 8 pentecostal denominations were born.
Look at the footprints of history. Discontent comes before any great move of God. The early church came back from persecution; we come back since COVID.
People are getting tired of our current ways. I hear the sound of an abundance of rain. The Lord will pour out his spirit on all flesh.
Can we catch fire?
Can we catch fire?
We can claim any event in church history as our own. We are the church and we believe. Today is The Day of Pentecost for us. We all do not need to speak in tongues, but we all can be filled with fire. I CLAIM THIS DAY BY FAITH AS THE DAY OF CONSECRATION WHERE GOD IGNITES A NEW FIRE IN OUR MIDST.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
A new day is here. Forget the former days. Look forward to the day of the Lord. Miracles will occur in dry places and dead things will come back to life. I speak it by faith. What happened on the Day of Pentecost was a new move of God manifested by fire.
One Person can make a difference.
One Person can make a difference.
I’ve only seen something like this happen one other time in the Bible. The Lord tok the spirit that rested on Moses and gave it to 70.
Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but did not do so again.
Moses made the difference. You can make a difference.
Illustration.
I read a story about the power of one person. In the 1920s, a sociology class at Johns Hopkins University made a study of children in deprived neighborhoods in Baltimore. They identified two-hundred children who appeared doomed to spend years in prison.
After twenty-five years, another study was made to discover what had happened to those particular children. Surprisingly, only two were incarcerated. As these men and women were interviewed over and over again came the name of their teacher, “Aunt Hannah.” The sociologists discovered, by all indications the children would be dregs of society; but one person made the difference, an elementary school teacher in Baltimore called, Aunt Hannah, loved them.
Just one person can make a difference.
One person makes all the difference. One person loves you. One person died for you. One person will put a new fire in your belly. One person can send the holy Spirit. His name is Jesus. He loves you enough to set you on fire for him.
Jones, G. Curtis. 1000 Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching. Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1986, p. 186.