The God Who Answers By Fire

Preacher:
Date: September 30, 2024

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).

 

The problem, simply put, is that the world’s understanding of God is based on what they see of Him in His people, and altogether too often, they see very little evidence of His presence. The result: they see a very weak, often disinterested God who is too tired, too busy, or too withdrawn from the field of battle to be of much value.  Frankly, they aren’t much impressed by what they see.

It’s the story of the scrawny kid who was hard up for a summer job and agreed to take a job at a carnival one summer selling the miracle medicine that was touted to make your muscles as hard as steel and give you the strength of Hercules.  One Saturday afternoon, a brawny farmer listened to his pitch and then asked, “Boy, do you take that stuff?”  “Oh, yes sir!” replied the skinny lad.  Whereupon the farmer said, “If you take that stuff, I don’t want it!”

So a skeptical world looks at the lives of a lot of those who call themselves Christians and say, “If that’s what your faith does for you, I can’t see how it will help me because you’re in pretty bad shape yourself!”

For centuries it has been that way.  When Daniel survived his night in the den of lions, King Darius issued a decree saying that Daniel’s God “is the living God and he endures forever” and commanded the people to serve Him (Daniel 6:26).  When Elijah met the false prophets on Mount Carmel, he threw out the challenge:  “You call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire–he is God” (1 Kings 18:24).

The problem is we haven’t much fire in our lives.  Subsequently, when our neighbors, our friends, our office mates, and sometimes our skeptical family members look at us, they don’t see even a wisp of smoke that would really tell them we have been touched by the God who “answers by fire!”  Subsequently, they don’t have a very high view of our God.

It’s a rather scary thought that the world does judge God by what they see of Him in our lives, and it often causes us to recoil with feelings of inadequacy and failure.  We think, “Something is wrong with me,” and at times that fear has foundation.  What’s wrong is that too often we are afraid to let this awesome God touch too much of our lives, fearful that His fire would burn up some of the old treasures we hold onto, treasures from Egypt that need to be consumed by His fire.

If you really believe that God is a good God and that He wills only goodness and blessing for His children, the fear of what He might do in your life rapidly dissipates.

To be very candid with you, I have met thousands and thousands of men and women who have heard the voice of the Galilean and turned to follow Him.  I have found them in humble cottages, in the mansions of the great, in taxis and limousines, in back storerooms and in corporate board meetings, yet I have never met a single person who said, “I regret letting God invade my life.  I’ve missed so much following Him.  Big mistake!”

But I have met all kinds of people who have said, “The best thing I ever did was to follow the Lord.”

Question: Looking at your life objectively, what’s the evidence of God in your life?  If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?  Remember, He takes over in your life only as you yield to Him and allow Him to invade your thoughts, your habits, your attitudes, and your heart.  It’s something to think about. You’re a better person when you open the door and say, “Come on in. Be at home!”

Resource reading: 1 Corinthians 6.

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