Keep the Fire Hot

1 Thessalonians 5:19 Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; 20 do not treat prophecies with contempt.
 
LET’S consider the Holy Spirit’s fire in two passages. The first is Cleopas’ and his friend’s response to talking and walking with the resurrected Jesus on the road to Emmaus: Luke 24:32 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?” The Spirit’s power touched their hearts as a fire. They experienced an unexpected connection with God. They did not want to let Jesus leave them.
   The second passage is the Spirit igniting the church on the day of Pentecost: Acts 2:3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. The Spirit anointed the apostles to proclaim the gospel. The apostles did not anticipate this or even desire it. Once anointed, though, each would not be stopped. So then, if the Spirit comes with unrelenting power in the Father’s will to convert people into a personal, powerful relationship with God, how then is it possible to quench (extinguish) the Spirit’s fire. How will anyone anointed treat prophecies with contempt? In other words, how can anyone anointed with the Spirit’s fire reject the preaching and teaching of God’s Word?  
   In short, we quench the fire when we disregard what we experience. How often have people been moved by the preaching to answer a call to confess Jesus as the risen Lord and Savior? Hundreds can “come to faith” in a special worship. But how many come back on Sunday? How many come for six months? Nearly 80% of those who “confess Christ” will disappear back into the culture. They have extinguished the fire that was burning within their hearts at a particular time. The once-impassioned hearts allowed old habits and desires to cool the flame.
   Regular church goers can cool the flame with a casual response to worship. The preaching, music and prayer can be widely accepted, enjoyed and praised at the moment. But what happens when one goes home? Does the church give a second thought to what they’ve heard and experienced? Putting our church experience into a one-to-three-hour time slot each week without further thought will keep the embers cool.
   Let’s consider, too, do you live into your spiritual gifts? The fire grows cold when it lacks the fuel of knowing and using the Spirit’s gifts. Realize what special ways such as teaching, music, prayer, encouragement, finances and administration God has given you to help his church. This is God’s way to fuel your faith fire.
          From the time God first raised his fiery pillar in the Exodus desert, he has revealed his will for a powerful, personal intervention with his chosen people. Israel needed to follow God’s fire then. The church must follow God’s fire now. There is no way to go forward into an effective faith if we neglect or minimize God’s gracious gift to ignite our souls to his salvation.