Fire for The Lord

Welcome back OSO Youth!!

Who remembers what we talked about before we took a break this last week?

We talked about the dangers of being Lukewarm.

That when you are lukewarm you are living in your own strength while you claim Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and how when you are doing that you are serving no purpose in God’s Kingdom.

That living for Jesus is a daily choice and a daily commitment to submitting to Him and living for Him.

That is what we are going to talk about tonight.

That daily commitment that leads us to Living on Fire For The Lord.

We are gonna talk about what it means to live on Fire for the Lord and how to rekindle that fire if you have not been fanning the flame in your heart.

Now I just had a birthday, does anybody know how old I turned?

If there is anything that I have learned in my 23 years it’s that we live in a hard world. We face real struggles and make choices that bring real consequences into our everyday lives. While sometimes those choices don’t affect us in ways we can physically see but they are choices that can affect our heart, how we view the world, and ultimately how that carries over into how we live for God.

How many of you know what it’s like to fail?

How many of you know what it’s like to succeed?

How many of you know what it’s like to pursue a goal by putting in the work and the effort?

Now I know I have shared with you before that I was in FFA when I was younger, more specifically than that I showed pigs. Now when you decide to show a pig, it’s not the same as going and buying a pet, it’s not just taking it to the show where everybody else brings their pig too and you sit there and cross your fingers and hope yours is the prettiest.

NO.

You go out, in advance, pick out your animal that you think has the best build and genetics and you raise it. You make sure it gets all the right nutrients, exercise, and you put in the work.

I would go feed my pig before school and then after school I would go back to the barn,

walk my pig for hours,

feed it again

bathe it

clean its pen

make sure it was getting just the right amount of nutrients to build the right amount of muscle in just the right places.

Then, when it came time for the big show I would see the result of my work. I had been working hard all year.

Making sure it wasn’t underweight or overweight

I would make sure my pig was

all cleaned up and

hydrated and

able to walk and

present well in order to go in the ring and just hope, hope that the judge would like my pig the best.

I had a goal. TO WIN.

I had energy and enthusiasm to win this show every year. Now some years I would do better than others but I would always do pretty well but there was one year in particular I did not do very good.

Can anybody guess what was different about that year?

I didn’t work nearly as hard as I had in years before.

There were days that I decided it wasn’t important, but I still desired the reward. I wanted the ribbon or the belt buckle but I didn’t want to make the daily commitment it took to get there.

That same thing may be true for many of you in this room. Maybe you have goals, desires, dreams of what you want to achieve but you’re not putting in the work.

Is this true in you spiritual life?

Do you desire the blessings and promises of God but you lack the desire and determination it takes to live in faithfulness to Him?

Do you keep asking yourself “why do I not see God moving in my life?” yet you fail to fulfill the promise you made of living your life as a living sacrifice to Him?

Romans 12:11 “Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.”

This verse is found in a section of scripture titled ‘Marks of a True Christian’.

Saying there is a true christian means that there is also the false christian. You know who I am talking about. That one that Jesus says will say “Lord Lord” and he will answer them “depart from me for I never knew you”.

A true christian is not lazy, they work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

In other versions of the bible it uses the word ‘zeal’ which means great energy or enthusiasm. To have active zeal or passion is the opposite of that lukewarm faith. It is a consistent daily pursuit of God’s will.

When I say daily I don’t mean just when you wake up and I don’t mean just when you go to bed I mean all day every day.

It’s easy to come here on a Wednesday night, on a Sunday morning, to sit in a bible study, or to go to camp and have a fire for the Lord. It’s easy, when you’re encouraged to and when you’re surrounded by like minded people, but what’s it like when you’re the only one?

Do you stop the pursuit of God?

Do you say “eh, I’ll read my bible later” because there is no one that’s gonna know?

Do you hold yourself from praying because you decide you don’t have time or think that “it’s not that important”?

Do you become lazy because it is no longer easy because now there is work involved?

Does God have to compete for your time? Does it take putting church on your schedule to acknowledge Him?

Think back to your daily responsibilities.

How much easier is it to complete your schoolwork in the class period than when you’re at home alone.

How much easier is it to train in your sport when you go to practice than when you have to decide to get out of bed and do it by yourself.

How about worshipping God during times like this than on your own in private when only you and God know what is in your heart.

When you are alone where do your desires go to? What do you work towards? Is there spiritual integrity in your life?

Integrity means doing the right thing when NO ONE IS LOOKING.

Do you work towards the desires of your flesh or do you work towards honoring God?

You don’t have to worry about doing it on your own. I don’t know if you know this but when you desire to honor God in your life there is a helper that God has sent to empower you.

John 14:16 “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,”

That helper is the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 1:13–14 “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

God knows that we are going to need help. That help isn’t shielding you from anything that is not sunshine and rainbows but He is there waiting for you to call out to Him and ask for help and for guidance and he will give it to you.

Because you have the Holy Spirit inside of you, you will not only be led by Him and empowered by Him but you will be given a gift from Him to use for God’s glory.

Maybe you have a wonderful singing voice

maybe you know just what to say and others will listen

maybe you know how to comfort others in a time of sadness

you are athletic

you’re an artist

you’re wise beyond your years

maybe you have no idea what I am talking about.

Romans 12:5–9 “5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.”

Maybe you have never been told that you God has given you a strength, a gift, something that you can do, and you can do it well.

It’s not something everyone can do but something that makes you different, makes you unique, makes you special. It is a gift given to you to be one part of the body of Christ because when we all come together we are one body and each of us individually is just a part.

These gifts that are given to us from God can be used for God’s glory or for selfish ambition.

We see singers with beautiful voices singing about things that break the heart of the father.

Seeing professional athletes hogging the glory that should be given to God.

Sometimes we may even see people not using the gifts that God has given them and then they will eventually forget how to use them or maybe even that they have them.

2 Timothy 1:6 “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands,”

Fan The Flame

If you do not fan the flame that is in you, your fire will not grow and it will not be effective.

How many of you have built a fire before?

What does a fire need to burn?

OXYGEN

When you fan a flame it introduces FRESH oxygen to the fire and when that fresh oxygen and that fire meet it causes the flames to burn hotter and burn larger.

This takes intentional effort.

This means taking action towards things that are vital for spiritual growth and effectiveness.

That means repentance

not being trapped in sin, confessing your sin to God and even confessing your sin to others. James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

Repentance is as much about confessing as it is surrendering and being transformed the believer to be more Christlike.

2. Being surrounded by christian community

Not only because like minded people can build you up Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”

Someone else’s strength might be your weakness Proverbs 17:17 “A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.”

If you surround yourself with people who aren’t building you up then the only other possibility is they’re breaking you down. 1 CORINTHIANS 15:33 “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

3. Praying and having active communication with God

How many of you think that prayer is just about asking for things. Asking to win games, make a team, or pass a test. NOT AT ALL. Prayer is about admiring God and His holiness, his grace, and his mercy. It’s about confessing your sins and giving him your desires for things that align with His will.

4. Reading His Word

When you open your bible you are doing more than just reading words on a page but you are reading God’s word to US! You learn how to understand it and let it transform your mind and your life.

5. Using the gifts given to your His Kingdom

When you serve others and utilize your gifts or your strengths God is glorified. If you fail to use your gifts or over extend yourself you are extinguishing your flame.

What happens when you give the fire too much oxygen or fan the flame too much? You put it out

If you do more than you can handle you will extinguish your flame. You have to be intentional on how you fan the flame.

That flame is what God has given you. He has given you His Spirit. That Spirit is not a Spirit of fear but a spirit of power.

2 Timothy 1:7 “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

Spirit of Power Not Fear

We all have fears in our hearts and in our lives.

Maybe you fear

rejection

not being worthy

not being enough

Guess what? You don’t have to be those things because He is those things for you.

He is worthy, He is enough, and He has an open invitation to all who want a relationship with him.

He gave us His spirit to be empowered to live by the Spirit and to die to our flesh.

You don’t have to fear this world because this world is not our home. What is stopping you from living on fire for the Lord?

A moment of embarrassment?

Rejection from your peers?

Being disliked?

What can be done to you that was not done to Jesus Christ on the cross when He was dying so that you may live.

You have been given a spirit of power to live with courage, love boldly, and act with self-discipline.

He gave you this power so you can set aside all fears and hesitations that may stop you from living passionately for Him.

This passion you should be living with allows you to persevere.

Persevere With Passion

What does that mean?

What does that passion look like?

Romans 12:12 “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”

Rejoice in the hope that we find in Jesus Christ and the gift of our salvation by giving thanks to God all the day long and being public about who He is and who you are in Him.

In this world there will be trials and times of struggle and you have to patient. Patient in prayer, like we’re talking about on Sunday. “You may not be able to see the beach while you’re in the storm or the belly of the fish but when you look back you will know that God was with you.

Be constant in prayer and live by and in the Spirit.

With the power of the spirit comes the fruit of the spirit. Galatians 5:22–23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Continuing in these things will sustain your fire and your passion.

Make sure you’re living in true joy, not happiness; true patience not just being calm; true kindness not just being nice. May the list go on.

This world is full of distractions and difficulties.

You will be pulled from one thing to the next and if you decide to stop living by the spirit and choose to live in the flesh you will stop imitating the Spirit, you will begin to feel empty, and your flame will begin to die out.

If you do not feed the fire it will consume itself until it is extinguished. That is why you have to fan the flame through trials, through hardships.

These spiritual disciplines are the key to feeding your fire for The Lord.

I challenge you and I invite you to commit to fanning the flame, fueling your fire, because the one that is in you is greater than He who is against you.