 Don't ever let that fire on the altar go out. You keep it burning continually. That's your responsibility Your responsibility is to protect the fire. You're the keepers of the flame That's what we are as believers. We're keepers of the flame Leviticus 6. I'm gonna read verses 12 and 13 Meanwhile the fire on the altar must be kept burning. These are clear instructions from God to the priesthood The fire on the altar must be kept burning. It must never go out Each morning the priest will add fresh wood to the fire and arrange the burnt offering on it He will then burn the fact of the peace offerings on it Remember the fire must be kept burning on the altar at all times. It must never go out Now Steve and I took a trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma a few years ago Yep, and we had the joy of visiting Oral Roberts University We were given a tour of the place by some of the people there and they were showing us all of the symbolism around campus I mean you can't go hardly anywhere without scriptures or biblical symbolism being built into the place It's built into the university One of the things that really caught my attention was the fact that they kept this fire burning this flame burning on This tower that could be seen from almost any point on campus and they told us that that fire Never went out. They kept it burning constantly to act as a reminder to the students about the presence of God Day or night in every season the presence is there The fire doesn't go out and it reminded me of what was happening here in the book of Leviticus where the priests were told Don't let the fire go out. Those were God's instructions. You keep the fire burning. It was their responsibility To steward the fire, but it wasn't their responsibility to start the fire watch this now Leviticus chapter 9 I'm gonna read verses 22 through 24 After that Aaron raised his hands toward the people and blessed them Then after presenting the sin offering the burnt offering and the peace offering he stepped down from the altar Then Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle and when they came back out They blessed the people again and the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole community Fire blazed forth from the Lord's presence and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar When the people saw this they shouted with joy and foul faced down on the ground So God told the priesthood you keep that fire burning Don't ever let that fire on the altar go out. You keep it burning continually. That's your responsibility Your responsibility is to protect the fire. You're the keepers of the flame. That's what we are as believers We're keepers of the flame. We're given that fire We're given that presence and we are to cherish that presence We are to keep giving that presence influence in our lives But only God can start the fire notice that the fire blazed forth verse 24 fire blazed forth From the Lord's presence and consumed the burnt off the fire came from the presence of God You want to receive the fire of God? You need his presence. I can't tell you how important that first season of prayer in my life was for me It was out of that first season It was out of that first encounter That everything you see God doing in this ministry was birthed and it was really it's his ministry And I just surrendered to it at a young age You can probably look at your life and Pinpoint key moments in your walk with God on the timeline of your spiritual journey. There are spiritual markers Certain events and instances and encounters that stand out to you and those Encounters will mark you for the rest of your life and as you move along your spiritual journey You can often look back at those moments and remember with joy the things that God did in you, right? It was out of the encounter with the presence of God that the fire was born Fire is found in the presence Yes The fire is the person of the Holy Spirit But that fire does produce passion. So the fire of God is not just passion as I said, it's not just revival It's not just a feeling It's not just the desire to do things for God, but that presence the fire of the Holy Spirit himself That can produce those things in your life That can produce passion that can produce personal revival which results in corporate revival and then Regional and then national and then global revival That produces the results from within but it begins in the presence Now this is why Nadab and Abba who were destroyed because they didn't honor the protocol to how God wanted to be worshiped and served Leviticus chapter 10. I'm gonna read verses 1 and 2 Aaron's sons Nadab and Abba who put coals of fire in their incense burners and sprinkled incense over them In this way, they disobeyed the Lord by burning before him the wrong kind of fire Different than he had commanded So fire blazed forth from the Lord's presence and burned them up and they died there before the Lord You can't accomplish spiritual things by carnal means If it's going to be sustained by the Spirit, it must begin in the Spirit The Holy Spirit will not sustain Carnality The Holy Spirit will not sustain carnal efforts Eventually carnal efforts will fall upon themselves Eventually efforts in the flesh will weaken over time Eventually what we do on our own strength will collapse Yeah Only what we do in the Spirit can be sustained by the Spirit so Nadab and Abba who Burned a different kind of fire a strange fire a fire the Lord did not want and Therefore the fire that was supposed to bless them consumed them Because they walked in disobedience. So we don't want to produce Things by our own nature or by our own power or our own efforts or our own charisma or personality or talents We want to do things by the Holy Ghost. So how do you do that? Well, it begins in the presence This is why I say that all true ministry is just an overflow of your relationship with the Holy Spirit All true ministry is an overflow of your prayer life All true ministry of the word is an overflow of your own personal time in the word And if it's not an overflow, it's not true ministry. Wow, if you're a born-again believer according to Romans 8 and Ephesians 1 you have the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit dwells in you You're you're called of God. You're a child of God. The Holy Spirit dwells in you That's a fact and so we must learn to surrender To the fire of the Holy Ghost within our hearts. How do we do that number one? Ask invite the influence of the Holy Spirit in your life now Remember that only God can set your soul ablaze only God can give you a love for Christ Only God can give you a love for one another Romans 5 5 says the love of God is shut abroad in our hearts how by the Holy Ghost come on Luke 11 13 says And this is Jesus speaking So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children How much more will your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? Now, of course, we've established that the believer has the Holy Spirit But we can also ask for the influence of the Holy Spirit in our lives Now whenever we use language like God needs you to let him or God is waiting on your permission or We must allow the Holy Spirit to move This is not an attack on the sovereignty of God God's gonna do what he wants to do regardless of our participation and he doesn't need our permission God does not need our participation or our permission to be God. He's God all on his own Rather when I talk about our participation or permission I'm talking about Surrendering to what the Holy Spirit is doing and so when we invite the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives We are talking to a very real person who will respond to such requests You can say to the Holy Spirit Holy Spirit. I want you to give me a greater love for the Lord You can ask him for greater passion for the things of God You can ask him to help you to give yourself to prayer and the word all of that is birth out of his presence Remember the fire of God is found in the presence of God But first you must ask him to do it. You must invite that influence. I'm not just talking about speaking it aloud verbally I'm talking about asking him by way of surrender I'm talking about inviting him by humbling yourself before him and making room for him to do what only he can do Number two acknowledge acknowledge God's presence in your life. Remember this if you're thinking isn't on fire Your actions won't be either second Corinthians chapter 10 verse 5 says casting down imaginations and every high thing that Exalted itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity Every thought to the obedience of Christ. This is talking about coming against those things in our mind That contradict the word of God whenever a thought enters my mind that goes against what the word of God says It's my responsibility To grab hold of that thought because you can choose your thoughts thoughts are the actions of the mind You can pull that thought down by Assaulting that deception with the truth of the word of God I'll give you an example if a lie comes to your mind that says God has abandoned me Then you take the truth of God's word He'll never leave me nor forsake me and with that truth you disarm The deception right disarm deception through assaulting it with the truth And so it's difficult to be on fire for God when you're stifling that fire with thoughts that contradict the truth I Would say one of the main reasons why believers struggle in their spirituality Is because they don't know how to discipline their mind They don't know how to discipline their thoughts and they think that someone's gonna come and lay hands on them and discipline their minds for them You have to realize that your thoughts are your responsibilities Your thoughts are your responsibilities. You choose your thinking whatever comes into your mind is your responsibility Now you can try to blame Those around you for your thinking you can try to blame your circumstances for your thinking you can try to excuse yourself from that Responsibility, but the responsibility will always come back at you Now God gave us the tools that we need to overcome certain thought patterns But we must choose to use what God has given us to combat deceptive thoughts So most believers are so wrapped up in themselves They're so wrapped up in emotions. They're so wrapped up in their past They're so wrapped up in how people offended them that they just can't get their thinking right Hmm and until you allow yourself to take responsibility for your thinking you'll never escape the cycle of self-defeating thoughts It will be a constant battle for you Sometimes we overthink and it just becomes a bondage Right, how can you be on fire for God when you're still waiting for someone to confirm to you that you're forgiven for something? Very specific that you did ten years ago How can you be on fire for God when you're still waiting for someone to tell you in your specific story and scenario? That God still loves you and is still with you Stop waiting for someone else to confirm what the scripture told you Stop waiting for your feelings to catch up to with the Bible already teaches Stop looking for someone to validate your obsession get ultra specific with you on all these little things that don't matter and Just get hold of your thoughts. It's a discipline grab them with truth cast down those Imaginations so that you might think in a way that's liberated and therefore not Stifling to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life if your thinking isn't on fire Your actions won't be either you can't serve if you're battling guilt You can't worship if you're battling doubt Now I understand that we can serve and worship through these things But I'm talking remember about doing these things with passion with momentum with life right strength with vigor You can't do that. You'll get tired and in two three years. You'll you'll leave the church Why because you were so weighed down by your thought patterns You were so fixated on religious obsessions that you weren't able to break free from it How can we expect to be on fire getting into God's word? Reading God's word thinking God has already condemned me. I'm one of the ones chosen for wrath How are you supposed to receive God's word that way? How are you supposed to serve in a ministry just constantly thinking you're not worthy of serving? Hmm or that people don't like you or that God overlooked you these lies will keep you From receiving the influence of the fire of God. Come on. Don't overthink just acknowledge God's presence is in me Don't be distracted. Just acknowledge God's presence is in me Don't believe the lies of the enemy. Just acknowledge God's presence is in me and Once you've come to embrace this truth the truth will set you free But you have to start thinking according to the truth You have to acknowledge that God's presence is in you number three act act in faith Do something with what he gave you James chapter 2 verses 14 through 17 says what good is it? Dear brothers and sisters if you say you have faith, but don't show it by your actions Can that kind of faith save anyone Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing and you say goodbye and have a good day Stay warm and eat. Well, but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. Hmm. What good does that do? so you see faith by itself isn't enough unless it produces good deeds it is dead and Useless faith without works is dead There's something to be said of action And I'm not talking about faking it till you make it. That's not a healthy way to live You have right you have to find true Peace with God you have to find true breakthrough spiritually inwardly. I'm not talking about faking it till you make it But I am talking about the effect that inaction can have on inviting the influence of the Holy Spirit in your life You would be amazed at how on fire you would be if you just listened to God You'd be amazed at how on fire you would be if you just listened to God Just obey God Thank you for watching Encounter TV Don't forget to subscribe and click the notification bell Also, help us spread the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit Make a one-time donation or become a monthly supporter by clicking on the donate link now