Dear Ones:
In the Biblical message of God’s dealings with man, fire has always played a very significant role, in its meaning, and in its application to the lives of men. We see this revealed in the Genesis account of God’s dealings with Abraham, his sacrifice, where there was, “…a smoking furnace, and A BURNING LAMP that passed between those pieces…” (v.17). In the Exodus account of the deliverance of the Israelites, again we are confronted with the issue of fire: “…And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them the way,: and by night in A PILLAR OF FIRE, to give them light: to go by day and night.” (13:21). We begin to see unfolding the revelation of God, of His nature, and thus, his dealings with men. It will come about during the ministry of Elijah, when the children of Israel were gathered, along with the prophets of Baal, to Mount Carmel, that Elijah would make a most extraordinary statement: “…and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth BY FIRE, let Him be God.” (1 Kings 18:24) He would go on to pray, “Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that Thou hast turned their heart back again. Then, THE FIRE OF THE LORD FELL, and consumed the burnt-sacrifice.” (v. 37-38) What we begin to see by these examples of God, and specifically, the fire of God, is that He reveals Himself as a “consuming fire.” Scripture tells us that Moses saw a burning bush (on fire), but was not consumed. We are told also that, “…the Lord, my God, maketh his angels spirits, His ministers A FLAMING FIRE. (Ps. 104:4)
Now, we might think that a study on the nature, and revelation of God, by fire, just belongs to the Old Testament, in these accounts and many others. But, let us remember that on the day of Pentecost, when Christ sent the Holy Spirit in His power and authority, “…there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the room where they were sitting, and there appeared unto them cloven tongues LIKE AS OF FIRE…they were filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:8) Lastly, in John’s vision of Christ in Revelation 1:14 (remember that the vision was destined for all the churches to know…), he writes “…His eyes were as a FLAME OF FIRE…” Why then is there this revelation of God BY FIRE? It is so that we may understand, and grasp the reality, that He is holy, and that we must, as Moses was commanded, to “…put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” (Ex. 3:5) We are called upon to recognize and to live in the reality that God holy, and that this same “FIRE” is in us by the Spirit. We are to BE holy BY HIM. Christ IS our holiness.
So, in light of such a brief treatment of such a vast subject, what are we to do? What is to be our reaction? How are we to pray? I can think of no greater, and applicable prayer, than that of Wesley who wrote: “Come Jesus, Lord, with holy fire, Come, and my quickened heart inspire, cleansed in Thy precious blood: NOW to my soul Thyself reveal, Thy mighty working let me feel, since I am born of God.”
The measure in which we are truly earnest in praying this prayer, may very well be the measure of God’s intervention in the heart and life. I say, may very well be, since He often does the exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think. Has He not promised that for those who seek, they will find? Indeed, Jeremiah writes, “…And ye shall seek Me, AND FIND ME, when ye search for Me with all your heart. And I WILL be found of you.” (Jer. 29:13-14)
Love, Dad