Keep the Fire Burning
Notes
Transcript
Good morning - Today as we get started, I want to talk about the idea of being on fire......Many times you hear someone say, “That church is really on fire.” Or, maybe they say, “That person is really on fire for the Lord.”
And invariably when we talk about that, when we say that we know that’s a good thing
So turn with me if you will to Leviticus Chapter 6 and I want to read a few verses here
Turn to Leviticus 6. We will look at three verses in this chapter – 9, 12, & 13.
“Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering. The burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it.
The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.
We Must Keep the Fire Burning
We Must Keep the Fire Burning
It should be our prayer that this church, other churches in our area, and all churches around this world that stand for Jesus Christ be on fire for God. May it be that we are on fire more than we have ever been before. May it be that when a lost person comes by, they might say, “I don’t know why I’m here. I just felt that something was persuading me to come in here and see what’s going on.” May it be that this church is so on fire that people in this community say, “There are wonderful things happening at that church. Things that can’t be explained. Things that only God can do.” We have to keep the fire burning in our church.
Remember our key text today
“Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering. The burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it.
A pastor received a phone call late one night and he was informed that there was a fire at his church. He quickly got dressed and drove to the church. When he arrived he discovered that the church was engulfed in flames and was a total lost. He stood with other members of the church as the cried, hugged, and prayed.
He glanced around and noticed a certain gentleman standing on the corner observing all that was taking place. This was a man that the pastor had visited many times and had invited to church. However, the man had never stepped one foot in the church building. The pastor was a bit taken aback. He walked over to the gentleman and said, “Well, I never saw you in the church.” The gentleman replied, “Well, the church had never been on fire before.”
Now, this is not the kind of fire we would ever wish for our church. But we should be praying for the fire of the Holy Spirit to consume this place. And that it happen in such a way people will be drawn to this place.
But if we want to have the fire of the Holy Spirit in this place (point at building)....it starts with having the fire of the Holy Spirit in THIS place(point at heart)
We have to ensure that we have the fire of God living on the inside of us, the fire of the Holy Spirit down on the inside of us
Whose Job Is It to Tend the Fire
Whose Job Is It to Tend the Fire
Let’s go back to our text for today?
The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings.
Here in Leviticus its clear that it’s the priest’s responsibility (v 12). So, it’s the pastor’s responsibility. It’s the responsibility of the church staff. You might say it’s also the deacons’ responsibility. You might even say it’s the responsibility of the Sunday School teachers.
But, as New Testament Christians, we must remember what Paul said in 1 Peter 2:9,
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Every Christian is God’s priests. It was the responsibility of the priests to carry men to God and to carry God back to men. Take men to God through prayer and take God to men through His Word. And it is our responsibility then to be God’s priests. We are to pray for our neighbors and our coworkers and our family. And we are to take God to our neighbors and coworkers and family by sharing His Word.
Whose responsibility is it to carry the fire? Its mine, its yours and it’s the responsibility of us all to carry this fire and to keep it burning. Because we are all priests.
Have you ever heard anyone say, “Oh, our church is just so cold. I just don’t feel anything there anymore.” Listen folks, if you feel your church is cold, then you go in on fire and heat up that place. It doesn’t have to be cold if you’ll set it on fire. It only takes a spark to get a fire going. You warm up somebody else and let them warm up somebody else and soon your whole church will be on fire for Jesus.
Whose responsibility is it? It’s all our responsibility.
And people can tell as soon as they walk in a church if its on fire or not.
How Do We Fan the Flame
How Do We Fan the Flame
Anyone who has ever worked a grill or a smoker, or tended a fire in a fireplace will tell you that it’s not enough to build the flame....you have to tend the flame if you want it to stay on fire
The word of God tells us a few things about that
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,
I think there a couple of important things here in this verse......first thing I want to note here is who this instruction is given to.....YOU
It says I remind you that YOU need to fan into flame the gift of God. See God has placed into each one of you a spark of the fire of God. You have that spark of Holy Ghost fire down on the inside of you but have you ever wondered why some people seem to have a fire raging on the inside of them and some people have a flame that wouldn’t toast a marshmallow.....it’s because some of you have fanned your spark into flame until it burns up everything in you for the Glory of God!
The other thing that I want to point out is that sometimes you need to step out in faith and get an extra dose of the fire of God through the work of the Holy Spirit. While it says here the laying on of my hands….the emphasis and focus is not and should never be on the person but on the action. See you may be in a place and you feel like you are in need of a little extra fire…..you should always know that you can come to the altar of God, and come to the house of God…and I will lay hands on you, or other men and women of God will do so….and you know what, it doesn’t matter who the vessel that God is using is, because when you come to the altar to get that fire rekindled, the Holy Spirit will always meet you there. But you have to take the initiative.
God will do a work in you that
Keep the Fire Burning
Keep the Fire Burning