PENTECOST: THE ALL-CONSUMING FIRE OF GOD.
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 3 viewsNotes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION:
INTRODUCTION:
G-Morning LC! / Today is Pentecost Sunday! The Sunday we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit onto the Church of King Jesus.
What is this day all about?
In Acts 2 we see an odd story of tongues of fire resting over the disciples, a sound like a mighty storming wind, and then the people are filled with the Spirit and begin to speak ing languages not known to them.
Preaching the Gospel in at least 40 different languges and dialetcs.
This day is about more than Speaking in unknown languages.
This day is about more than Speaking in unknown languages.
I know this portion of scripture can seem strange to our modern / scientific / de-enchanted minds.
TONGUES OF FIRE?
SOUND LIKE A MIGHTY WIND?
Some of you may be thinking what is this craziness and how does this help me submit to Jesus and live as a citizen of the Kingdom of God?
MY GOAL TODAY IS TO US CELEBRATE THIS DAY AND TO HAVE OUR MINDS RE-ENCHANTED BY THE FIRE OF GOD.
MY GOAL TODAY IS TO US CELEBRATE THIS DAY AND TO HAVE OUR MINDS RE-ENCHANTED BY THE FIRE OF GOD.
THERE IS SO MUCH I COULD TEACH ON TODAY BUT I AM GOING TO LIMIT THIS TO
1 WILD O.T. STORY
A FEW PASSAGES TO HELP US GRASP THIS DAY
AND GIVE YOU THREE WAYS THE HS HELPS US LIVE A HOLY AND SUBMISSIVE LIFE TO JESUS.
——————————————————————————
CRAZY STORY
CRAZY STORY
Bad King of Israel - Ahab and his wife Jezabel.
Led Israel into idolatry or worship of a demon false god - Baal.
Elijah the prophet of Yahweh calls the people and the false prophets to Mt Carmel for a test.
Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word.
Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men.
“Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it.
“Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people said, “That is a good idea.”
Prophets of Baal danced, chanted, cut themselves, all day from morning to early evening.
The Elijah makes fun of them -
It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.”
False prophets continue until early evening with no fire from the demon, false god.
Elijah builds an altar of 12 stones / places the protein offering on the altar.
Digs a trench for grain offering and asks for 12 large pitchers of water to be poured out on the altar.
Water covered the altar and filled the trenches
Elijah prayed and then - fire from heaven consumed the offering, altar, and burnt up all the water.
Then Elijah had all the false prophets killed
FIRE / BURNT UP OFFERING AND ALTAR / SO HOT ALL THE WATER IS CONSUMED / FALSE PROPHETS KILLED
———————————————————————-
GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE -
GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE -
“For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
Sinners in Zion are terrified;
Trembling has seized the godless.
“Who among us can live with the consuming fire?
Who among us can live with continual burning?”
We like to think of the Triune God is:
We like to think of the Triune God is:
nice, tame, domesticated, a God we can get to do our will, a God who will play nice with our idols, our sins, our apathy.
But God is not nice or domesticated. He is kind, He is loving but he is not domesticated.
He is an all-consuming fire!
—————————————————————————-
PASTOR WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE WILD STORY IN ACTS 2?
PASTOR WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE WILD STORY IN ACTS 2?
When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning,
O.T. Spirit is often depicted as fire
Fire consuming the offering and altar - HS
Pillar of fire leading the Israelites from slavery to Promised Land - HS
OT Saints expereinced the HS but the Spirit never made His home in them.
The Spirit consumed / Spirit gave light and direction / Spirit inspired and Empowered
But the Spirit never resided in the hearts of the people.
————————————————————————-
THE PROPHETS OF OLD PROMISED A DAY WOULD COME WHEN THE SPIRIT WOULD MAKE HIS HOME IN THE HEARTS OF GOD’S PEOPLE.
THE PROPHETS OF OLD PROMISED A DAY WOULD COME WHEN THE SPIRIT WOULD MAKE HIS HOME IN THE HEARTS OF GOD’S PEOPLE.
“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
“I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
THEN JOHN THE BAPTISTS PROMISED ONE WAS COMING THAT WILL BAPTIZE US WITH THE SPIRIT
“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
THEN AFTER JESUS ASCENDED TO HEAVEN HE DELIVERED ON THE PROMISE.
“Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.
The Same Spirit that consumed the offering of Elijah and empowered the destruction of the false prophets
Is the same Holy Spirit poured out in Acts 2
The same raging fire leading Israel out of bondage into the promised land is the same Holy Spirit poured out in Acts 2
The kind but not safe God has made His home in the hearts of His people through Jesus.
The ALL-CONSUMING FIRE – Has been poured out on the Church of Jesus.
The same Spirit that hovered over the formless world in Genesis 1 lives in the hearts of the Jesus people.
The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, now gives life to the mortal bodies of His Church.
——————————————————————————-
I WANT TO END BY SHARING THREE WAYS THE ALL-CONSUMING HOLY SPIRIT IGNITES THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS.
I WANT TO END BY SHARING THREE WAYS THE ALL-CONSUMING HOLY SPIRIT IGNITES THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS.
ONE, THE HOLY SPIRIT ENLIGHTENS OUR MINDS AND HEARTS TO THE PERSON OF GOD.
ONE, THE HOLY SPIRIT ENLIGHTENS OUR MINDS AND HEARTS TO THE PERSON OF GOD.
do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
TWO, THE HOLY SPIRIT EMPOWERS HIS CHURCH TO PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS TO AN UNBELIVING WORLD.
TWO, THE HOLY SPIRIT EMPOWERS HIS CHURCH TO PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS TO AN UNBELIVING WORLD.
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
THREE, THE HOLY SPIRIT CONSUMES THE IDOLS OF OUR HEARTS AND REFINES OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
THREE, THE HOLY SPIRIT CONSUMES THE IDOLS OF OUR HEARTS AND REFINES OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,
idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,
envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
WE HAVE TO YEILD TO THE SPIRIT
THE SPIRIT IS LEADING US AWAY FROM DEATH BUT WE MUST YEILD.
——————————————————————————
WHEN WE YEILD TO THE HOLY, ALL-CONSUMING FIRE OF THE SPIRIT, WE BECOME A DIFFERENT KIND OF HUMAN.
To God we become beautiful – made in the image of Jesus
To the world we become a mirror of Jesus and our lives become offensive.
To God we become a sweet and pleasant odor
To the world we smell like death.
THE FIRE OF GOD DIVIDES BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH
BETWEEN SIN AND RIGHTEOUSNESS
BETWEEN A WORLD BENT TOWARDS DEATH AND SIN AND A NEW PEOPLE BENT TOWARDS LIFE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS.
TODAY WE CELEBRATE – THE OUTPOURING OF THE FIRE OF GOD – THE HOLY SPIRIT
TODAY WE CELEBRATE THAT THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT OUR RESURRECTION HAS BEGUN.