Ablaze For God

//Craig Hagin

Nowadays it's not uncommon to hear about wildfires. With so many places experiencing drought, it doesn't take much for a fire to start. When the ground is dry and conditions are right, the smallest spark can start a fire that quickly becomes an uncontrollable blaze. And anything in its path is engulfed in flame.

Spiritually speaking, there's a lot of dry ground throughout the earth. There's a world full of people who don't know the Lord and who never think about God. They don't know how much He loves and cares for them or that He wants to help them in whatever they're going through.

One way to change this is for the Church to be on fire for God and burn so brightly that its flames consume
everything it touches.

 

Kindling Your Fire
A lot of Christians think they're on fire. When the power of God hits them in church, they can't contain it. They'll run, dance, and maybe even do cartwheels! But when they get home and reality hits, their fire is quickly snuffed out.

Reality, however, is that God is always with us. Jesus said that He would never leave nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5). And because He's with us, we can be victorious in everything we face.

Instead of letting their light shine in dark places, many Christians are waiting on God to show up. They're waiting on Him to send the fire. They want God to do something. But God is waiting on us. He wants us to stir up the gift that's already in us. He wants us to show His love to those around us and demonstrate His power to a lost and dying world.

The 10 Spy Doctrine
Because people focus on their talents and abilities, they often feel inadequate to demonstrate God's power. It's not about us, however. It's about who we are in Christ. Everything we are, we are in Christ. And anything Jesus did, we can do also, because the Greater One lives inside us.

The reason Christians aren't on fire for the Lord the way they should be is that they follow the doctrine of the 10 spies. In the Book of Exodus, we see that Moses sent 12 men into Canaan to spy out the land. When they returned, 10 of the spies said, "The people that inhabit the land are giants. They're warriors. They have walled cities. There's no way we can conquer this land."

Those men weren't looking to the God Who brought them out of Egypt. They forgot how He led them and sheltered them in the desert, and how He provided water and food for them. They saw their situation only through their own strength and ability.

This is where many of us are today. The Bible is filled with promises that cover every need or problem we will ever encounter. Promises for provision and health. Promises for wisdom, peace, and safety. But like the 10 spies, too many believers are saying, "It's too hard. The economy's too bad. The gas prices are too high. This disease is incurable. There's no way!"

But when the fire of God is ignited in us, we will be like Caleb and Joshua, the only two of the 12 spies whose trust was in God. They knew that with His help they could possess the Promised Land. After the Israelites had wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, Caleb and Joshua were the only two spies who crossed over into Canaan's Land.

When we trust God the way Caleb and Joshua did, we can possess everything God has promised us in His Word.

Fellowship With God Keeps Us Strong
Unfortunately, too many Christians don't know what God can do. They don't know who they are in Christ and the power that is already in them. As a result, they're not on fire. And the people they come in contact with don't come close to catching on fire.

The devil is always trying to put our fire out. It's easy for him to do that when we try to live in our own strength.

But when we stay in fellowship with the Lord, our perspective changes. Through our fellowship with our Heavenly Father, we become grounded in who we are in Christ. We get excited about God and about Him living in us. We are able to stand strong against the enemy's attacks. Then, whenever life happens and we get knocked down, adversity won't be able to put our fire out.

Fellowship, however, is a two-way street. And this is where many of us miss it. We're not talking to our Heavenly Father or listening to what He says to us. If we want God to shine through us, we have to spend time with Him.

Follow Paul's Example
The Apostle Paul faced a lot of hardship in his life. But no matter what he experienced, he stayed on fire for God. From his life we can see how the power of God can flow through us in any situation.

1 CORINTHIANS 2:1–4 (NCV)
1 When I came to you, I did not come preaching God's secret with fancy words or a show of human wisdom.
2 I decided that while I was with you I would forget about everything except Jesus Christ and his death on the cross.
3 So when I came to you, I was weak and fearful and trembling.
4 My teaching and preaching were not with words of human wisdom that persuade people but with proof of the power that the Spirit gives.

Whenever Paul ministered, he never tried to woo the crowd with fancy words or impress them with his wisdom. In fact, he said he didn't feel like he was adequate to minister. Instead of trusting in his abilities, Paul always relied on God's power to manifest wherever he was and in whatever situation he faced.

Likewise, we need to forget about ourselves and look to God. When we do, His power will flow through us.

Let's rely on God in everything, and allow His fire to be kindled in us. Just imagine what will happen when we all bring our personal fire to church and worship God in one accord.

But remember, the Church is more than a building. Every member of the Body of Christ is the Church. We carry the fire of God with us wherever we go!

So let's let God's power flow through us. Let's let His love and compassion flow through us to the lost. It's time to be ablaze for God and light up our world with His love, compassion, and power.