The Lord’s Message:  The Fire of God Comes

The Lord’s Message:  The Fire of God Comes
Date:  May 24, 2026
Scripture Reference:  Acts 2:1-11

            Today we celebrate Pentecost.  Pentecost occurs 50 days after Passover.  This is one of the three religious celebrations that God called all men to attend in Jerusalem.  Those three religious celebrations are Passover (Pesach), Pentecost (Shavuot), and Feast of Booths or Tabernacle (Sukkot).  At the time of Jesus, Israel was still an agrarian nation.  Passover would be celebrated at the beginning of the barley harvest.  Pentecost would be celebrated at the beginning of the wheat harvest.  Feast of Booths or Tabernacle would celebrate the final harvest and the end of Israel’s 40 years of wandering in the desert.  Since, Israel has moved past being mostly an agrarian nation, Pentecost is celebrated as God giving the Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai.

For us as Christians, Pentecost is the beginning of the church.  The church began with God sending the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.  Kathy just read to us that Holy Spirit coming was marked with fire.  As we celebrate Pentecost today, I want us to look at how we use fire, what is the spiritual significance of fire, and how we can be rekindled by the fire of God. 

            Let us pray.

            How do we use fire today?  Fire is used in many ways:  cooking, heating our homes, businesses, and churches, industrial manufacturing, transportation, and power generation.  Sometimes fire is used in controlled burns to burn the undergrowth to control wildfires.  Fire can be good, and it can be harmful. 

Let us look at the spiritual significance of fire.  In the Bible, fire is a symbol of God’s Holy presence, God’s guiding presence, God’s purification, and God’s righteous judgment.

Let us look at examples in the Old Testament of the spiritual significance of fire.

Fire as God’s Holy presence is found in Exodus 3:2-5.   Moses has fled Egypt and has settled on Mt. Horeb with the Priest of Midian, Jethro.  He is out tending his father-in law’s sheep and comes across a strange sight:  a bush on fire, but the fire was not consuming it.  He goes to see the bush and he hears the voice of God.  The Holy presence of God is in the fire. 

God’s guiding presence is found in fire.  When the Israelites left Egypt, it was God’s guiding presence that was leading them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, Exodus 13:20-22. 

Fire is used by God for purification in Isaiah 6:6-7.  An angel comes down and uses fire to purify the lips of Isaiah after he declares that he is a man with unclean lips.  It is also used for purification of sacrifices.  In Leviticus 1:7-9, God gives instruction on how the priests are to prepare the sacrifices including the arranging of the wood on the altar for burning.

God’s judgment can come by fire.  In Genesis 19:24, God sends down fire on Sodom and Gomorrah to pronounce judgment on them for their wicked ways. 

Now, let us look into the New Testament for examples of God using fire.  First off in Luke 3:16, John the Baptist says that he is baptizing with water, but one is coming after him will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  In the New Testament a sign that the Holy Spirit has come upon the person is the spiritual fire that is kindled inside of them, such as the fire lighting on the heads of the disciples of Jesus gathered in the Upper Room. 

In Hebrews 12:29, the author describes God’s presence as an all-consuming fire in the believer.  The glory of God being manifested in the person’s life.  I can feel that when I am around some people, it is as if the glory of God is radiating out of them.  That all-consuming fire of the Holy Spirit is being revealed. 

God’s guidance by the Holy Spirit is like a fire in our souls.  In Luke 24:32, two disciples are walking home from Jerusalem to Emmaus after Jesus has died and been resurrected.  They are discussing this, and a man walks up to them.  They do not recognize this man as Jesus.  Then Jesus starts to explain to them, through the scriptures, why He had to die and be resurrected.  In verse 32, they said that when Jesus talked “their hearts were burning within us.”  Fire from the Holy Spirit was guiding them through God’s plan of salvation. 

God’s purification by the Holy Spirit.  Just as a silversmith uses fire to purge the dross from the precious metal, so God uses the Holy Spirit to purify us by removing our sins.  In Titus 2:14, the author says that God purified us to be a people for His own possession.  Paul describes us in Romans 12:1 as “living sacrifices” engulfed by the inextinguishable fire of the Holy Spirit. 

God uses fire for Holy judgement.  In 2 Peter 3:7, Peter links the final judgment of earth to be the result of fire.  This judgement will come because we have rejected the Holy Spirit that is teaching us to surrender our lives to God by believing in Jesus as the Son of God.  John writes in Revelation 20:14-15 that the lake of fire with be the final doom of those who are not written in the Book of Life. 

The Church of Jesus Christ is born of fire of the Holy Spirit.  At Pentecost, tongues of fire (the Holy Spirit) came upon the disciples.  They started to speak in other languages with no fear and boldness.  Picture this.  These disciples just several weeks back were hiding in fear of their lives.  Now, they are going out into the crowds and preaching the word of God in languages they had never spoken.  There is a fire in their soul that will not let them be quiet. 

My sisters and brothers in Christ, we need to have that same fire in our soul.  We need the Holy Spirit.  We need God’s presence in our lives.  We need God to guide us.  We need to be purified by God.  We need to understand the judgement of God that is coming so that we have a burning desire to tell other people about God’s love for them.  We need to be set on fire by God’s Holy Spirit. 

For those that are in agreeance with me.  Join me in saying: “Come Holy Spirit fill my life with the fire of God’s love.  I need to feel the presence of God.  I need for God to guide me and purify me.  Place a burning desire in me to share the Good News so that others will avoid the judgment to come.  May I be one in You as You are in me.  In Jesus’ Name I Pray.  Amen.”