Prepared - Burning

I. Introduction

A. Series - Are we prepared for the arrival of Christ.? We have talked about watching with expectation and being dressed for service. Today we will talk about burning for Jesus!

B. Luke 12:35-40

C. We were made for Eden and the expansion of it world-wide. We weren’t made for a fallen world of sin, division, and death.

D. The kingdom is coming and has come. We are in the process of Jesus restoring and renewing everything.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) - “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” The process of renewal starts with us and expands to the world!

Sometimes if feels like a slow process but there will be a day it will come in a moment. We should long for that day.

Revelation 21:5 (NIV) “He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

II. Burning

A. The Burn - Being on fire for God

We are lamps. Luke 8:16 (NIV) “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.”

The fire of God is contained in you to bring light to the path of Jesus. Bridesmaid would line up and light the path for the bride to groom.

How do you get the fire? Luke 24:32 (NIV) “They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” You have an encounter with Christ.

Most of us know what a burning heart for someone feels like; for a spouse, child, grandchild, friend. It’s a fire that can’t be hidden. (flashlight vs floodlight)

Jeremiah 20:9 (NIV) “But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”

Christian service is not meant to be a formality burdening the mind, but a fire burning in the heart.

John Blanchard

B. The Fuel - The Oil of God. - Read Matthew 25:1-13

Burning is not just an emotional connection with God. It includes includes emotions but it not sustained by them. Faith refined in fire is the only fuel the burns pure.

Oil came from olives - Olives are no good straight from the tree. Cured to eat or pressed for oil. (Picture of Press)

Exodus 27:20 (NIV)  “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning.” Only a life pressed has faith fuel to burn.

The fuel for our passion comes from our sacrifices and hardships. It’s the faith from the crucibles of your life.

James 1:2–4 (NIV) - “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Did the pressures of life make your faith bitter or better. Heartache becomes fuel for the burn. (Shannon and I have had 30 years of pressure in less than decade. It has bonded us and made the fires burn more, not less)

Do you feel the pressure of hardships and difficulties? Take heart the result will be faith fuel that will keep your burning for Jesus all the way until His return..

C. The Cost of Fuel - All In

Again we see the picture of us buying to be prepared. In this case the oil. How have you used your resources to buy fuel to make sure you stay burning.

There is no difference in the bridesmaids except half weren’t prepared enough for an extended wait. Both had come with oil, some just bought more.

The difference is some hold back and some are all in. Are we all in or are we holding back with just enough?

Revelation 2:4–5 (NIV) - “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”

The church in Laodicea wasn’t dressed in service, the church in Ephesus wasn’t burning with love. Jesus threatened to remove the lamp, the source of burning.

Has our burning love for Christ diminished? Do we love more than we did at first, not less? Are you all in with your resources?

III. Conclusion

A. Hebrews 12:29 (NIV) “for our “God is a consuming fire.”  My counsel to you is to let the fire of God consume you and light you up until the end of time.

B. You were made to burn, not to smolder. Are you burning and ready for the second coming?

C. Read Revelation 22:20–21 (NIV) “He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”