THE HOLY SPIRIT AS FIRE

The Holy Spirit has been symbolized as fire, river or water, dove, wind, seal and
oil, depending on His activities at a particular time. In Jesus' baptism, we see the
Holy Spirit as Dove, representing His gentleness and peaceful nature. In the Old
Testament, we see the Holy Spirit as oil being poured on chosen men. In Leviticus
10:2, we see the Holy Spirit as consuming fire. But in Acts 2, we see the Holy
Spirit as a mighty rushing wind and a fire that does not consume but brings power.
They show the various dimensions of the activities of the Holy Spirit in the life of
the believer. This tells you that although the Holy Spirit is gentle and peaceful, He
can also behave like a mighty rushing wind that carries everything along its path.
Although He is a peaceful fire in you, He is also a consuming fire of judgement.
When Christ was leaving the earth, He told His disciples that He would give them
another Helper, who is the Holy Spirit. He is the one who helps us to live the
Christian life. But strangely enough, the emphasis on the Holy Spirit is becoming
lesser and lesser in the body of Christ. And Christians know so little about the
activities of the Holy Spirit. No wonder we keep on struggling and struggling to
live the Christian life. Jesus saw the power of the Holy Spirit as so critical to the
ministry of the disciples that He warned them not to leave Jerusalem until they
have received Power from on High. And in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit appeared on
their heads like divided tongues of fire. And we want to look at the Holy Spirit as
fire in the life of a believer.
When the disciples received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they became men of
power, men of influence, men of signs and wonders, courageous men who were
ready to storm the ends of the earth with the good news. Pentecost lit a flame in
their hearts which forever kept burning. Anybody who calls Himself a Christian
cannot accomplish much without keeping the Spirit of Pentecost, which is the fire.
The Apostles caught that flame in their hearts and in their Ministry and they
conquered the world. Persecution could not quench their fire, it only served to fan
the flames.
The fiery ministry of the Holy Spirit
1. Fire Reveals
Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it
shall be
revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 1
Corinthians 3:13.
2. Fire Consumes

Let us note Ezekiel's striking parable of the boiling pot, symbolic of Jerusalem:
Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it way be hot, and may
burn, and
that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.
Ezekiel 24:11.
3. He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap [soap for the outside, fire for
within] and He
shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. And He shall purify the sons of Levi, and
purge them an gold
and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Malachi
3:2,3.
4. Fire Purifies
Water cleanses, but not as fire. Fire is pre-eminently the cleansing element. It
purifies internally
and intrinsically, filling every fiber and particle of matter with its own, element.
The filth on the outside of the gold, water can remove. But that which is on the
inside must be cleansed by fire. A nearsighted man was industriously engaged in
washing a window. He rubbed and rubbed, and washed at the windowpane, but he
could not get it clean. A friend, passing by, saw the situation, and said to him, It is
dirty on the inside! That is the trouble with us. We are unclean on the inside, in the
heart.
It is the fire of the Holy Spirit that separates the precious from the vile. We cannot
get sin out of
the heart with the hammer and chisel of our own endeavor. The fire of God alone
will do it. When that holy fire burns, it will consume the dross of our pride and
vanity; the rags of our self-righteousness will perish, the leaves of empty
profession will be consumed; the stubble of our questioning doubts will pass; the
sham of unprofitable labor will go. The thorns of our prickly tempers will be taken
away; the roots of bitterness, the straw of pretentious unreality, and the refuse of
unprofitable talk will be devoured. All these unlovely things will be consumed by
the Spirit of God, until the great Refiner can see His own image reflected in us, as
the earthly refiner sees his own face in the glowing metal. We must go through the
fire, either now or when He comes as a consuming fire.
I will . . . refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they
shall call on

My name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is My people: and they shall say, The
Lord is my God.
Zechariah 13:9.
Fire purifies by consuming. Hear it in these words:
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and
I dwell in
the midst of a people of unclean Ups: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord
of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand,
which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he laid it upon my mouth,
and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips. And your iniquity is taken away, and thy
sin purged. Isaiah 6: 5-7.
The sin of which Isaiah was conscious was lip sin. And, oh, my sin, too, and the
sin of my people, is too often lip sin! You will note that in the reference to the
translated company of Revelation 14:5, who shall follow the Lamb as His
bodyguard through eternity, emphasis is placed upon the mouth: In their mouth
was found no guile. May God cleanse and purify us from lip sin. For there is no
member that sins so readily, and needs to be purified so completely, as the tongue.
There is the thoughtless tongue of hasty speech. There is the proud tongue of selfinflation. There is the gossipy tongue of unholy exaggeration, and the unclean
tongue of filthy allusion; the unkind tongue of unjust reflection, and the malicious
tongue of prejudice and passion. All around us we can see the effect of lip sin. We
need to have our lips cauterized, as were Isaiah's.
You shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean, we are told in
Numbers 31:23.
5. Fire gives energy. Fire empowers.
Romans 12:11 urges, "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor."
The RSV states, "Be aglow with the Spirit." and the Message Bible says Don't burn
out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. The fiery Ministry of the Holy Spirit
revives your spirit, fills you with abundance of life, love and zeal, and sets you
aglow so that you manifest the vibrant, radiant life of God. His fiery ministry will
revive your devotion, keep your prayer life alive, accelerate your obedience, and
fan your zeal. The need for this spiritual glow and zeal is emphasized by the
condition of the church in Laodicea which had grown lukewarm (Rev. 3:1516).General Booth urged his people, "The tendency of fire is to go out; watch the
fire on the altar of your heart." Our constant danger is to cool off spiritually, to lose
our fervor, and to slow down in zeal. Personal revival comes through renewed

commitment and reaffirmed consecration. Everyone needs such personal revival

again and again.
We have the great gift of God, the Holy Spirit, but we need to hunger more for the
manifestation of His presence, and open our hearts constantly in faith's expectancy
for His working, His empowerings and constant enablings in our life. God gives us
capacity and the Spirit wants to imbue our whole being with His reality, making us
His channels of expression that His holy fire may be constantly visible in us. We
must choose whether we will neglect the Spirit, quench the Spirit, or fan into flame
the Spirit's presence.
We are spiritually most blessed, most victorious, most usable when we are ablaze.
We are most Godlike when we glow with holy flame--the flame of the indwelling
Spirit. The fire of God gives an unforgettable attraction to the personality of God's
messenger and to the content of his message. It imparts a sacred authority that
cannot be counterfeited by human efforts. Whatever the cost, we must keep the
flame of the Spirit burning on the altar of our hearts. Our cooperation with the
Spirit is essential to consistency of flowing ardor, spiritual radiance, and flaming
zeal. Our constant danger is to cool off spiritually, to lose our fervor, and to slow
down in zeal. Everyone therefore needs personal revival again and again. Personal
revival comes through renewed commitment and reaffirmed consecration. We have
the great gift of God, the Holy Spirit, but we need to hunger more for the
manifestation of His presence, and open our hearts constantly in faith's expectancy
for His working, His empowerings and constant enablings in our life. God gives us
capacity and the Spirit wants to imbue our whole being with His reality, making us
His channels of expression that His holy fire may be constantly visible in us. We
must choose whether we will neglect the Spirit, quench the Spirit, or fan into flame
the Spirit's presence.
The Holy Spirit as Wind
Like the wind, which is invisible, yet the effects of which are plainly seen and felt,
is the Spirit of
God in its work upon the human heart (John3:5-8)
The operation of the Spirit caused Job to say, I am vile (Job 40:4), and David to
cry, I am a worm. Psalm 22:6. It led Isaiah to protest, I am a man of unclean
lips (13:5), and Paul to say, I am carnal (Romans 7:14), and Peter to, confess, I
am a sinful man. Luke 5:8. But it blights and withers only that it may bless and
ennoble. It humbles that it may exalt, and brings low that it may ultimately lift
high.

We do so many things that later brings judgement upon us. The Bible says that the
Lord is a consuming fire. But we are crying that even in judgement, Lord have
mercy.
We praying for the fire of His presence.

The River of God.

a.
Ezekiel 47.
b.
Revelation 22.
1.
Notice that the river life brought forth the tree of life which yielded fruit.
2.
Are you barren? (un-fruitful)
a.
A barren church is a dry church.
b.
A barren church is a boring church.
d.
c.
d.
e.
f.

A barren church is in need of an interruption.

Revelation
The river flows for you and this church.
The river flows to you and this church.
The river can flow from you and his church.

III. The Fire of God.

a.
Ezekiel 38.
b.
The Spirit, like fire, melts the heart, burns up the dross, and kindles pious
and devout affections in the soul; in which, as in the fire on the altar, the spiritual
sacrifices are offered up.
c.
Fire is the presence of God.
d.
Fire gets you moving.
e.
Fire gets you motivated.
f.
Fire gives you manifestations.
1.
Read 1 Corinthians 12:7-11.