Focus: The Fire of the Holy Spirit

Text: Mt.3:11

"He shall baptize you with the HOLY GHOST and with FIRE."

Our God is the God of fire. Remember the Burning Bush that Moses encountered at the backside of the desert? Remember the Pillar of fire that followed Israel by night in the desert? Remember the fire of the altar that burned unabated? Remember the two disciples on their way to Emmaus? They said, "Did not our heart BURN WITHIN US while he talked with us by the way..." - Lk.24:32. Fire burns, and the fire of Christ burned inside them as He explained the Scriptures to them.

John's words came to pass on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came with fire upon the disciples. "And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them" - Act.2:3. The Spirit's fire sat on each of them. That is fire for all, not just for one. Every believer in Christ needs to possess in him the fire of the Spirit. It is not meant for a selected few, but for all.

We need the fire of the Holy Spirit once again in our lives. We need to burn for God and light up our world. Jesus describes John as "a burning and a shining light" for all to see (Jh.5:35).

We need the fire of divine love. Solomon says, "Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it..." - Song of Sol.8:7. Peter says, "See that ye love one another with a pure heart FERVENTLY" - 1Pet.1:22. And again, he says, "And above all things have FERVENT CHARITY among yourselves" - 1Pet.4:8. For Peter, real love comes with fire. Divine love generates heat. The fire of unfeigned love.

James talked about the "FERVENT prayer of a righteous man..." - Jam.5:16. That is prayer on fire. That is, firing up prayer. Energetic prayer or the fire of divine energy in prayer.

Paul talks about the fervency of spiritual service - "fervent in spirit; serving the Lord" - Rom.12:11. He tells Timothy, his son in the faith, "Stir up the gift of God, which is in thee..." - 2Tim.1:6. The Greek for 'stir up' is anazopureo. That is a compound word - ana, zoon, pur. 'Pur' is Greek for fire. Paul is saying, 'Fan the flame of the gift of God that is in you. Don't let the fire of God's gift within you go off. Keep it burning. Let it sizzle, not fizzle out.'

The Spirit's fire purifies and energizes. It puts passion in your soul for divine pursuits. It wards off lethargy and apathy. The Spirit's fire warms us with pure love and arms us with fiery strength. Amen.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter