KEEP THROWING WOOD ON YOUR FIRE

- “My fear is not that our great movement, known as the Methodists, will eventually cease to exist or
one day die from the earth. My fear is that our people will become content to live without the fire, the
power, the excitement, the supernatural element that makes us great.” – John Wesley
- Proverbs 30:15-16, “The leech has two daughters. ‘Give! Give!’ they cry. “There are three things that
are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’: the grave, the barren womb, land, which is never
satisfied with water, and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’
- Proverbs 26:20, Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down.
- It is a scientific fact; as long as you keep adding wood to a fire, it will continue to burn.
- In these verses, Solomon makes an interesting observation. One of the few things on earth that
CANNOT GET ENOUGH is a fire. We need to value and seek for the genuine fire which comes from the
altar of the Lord.”

I. SPEND TIME WITH GOD

- “Leave not off reading the Bible till you find your hearts warmed. Read the word, not only as a history,
but labor to be affected with it. Let it not only inform you, but inflame you.
- Jeremiah 23:29, Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock
in pieces?

II. SPEND TIME IN YOUR ALTAR OF INCENSE

- The Old Testament tabernacle had an ALTAR OF INCENSE – a type of the believer’s prayer life. Spend
time in your prayer closet everyday! You can’t have prayer without fire!
- Prayer ascends by fire. Flame gives prayer access as well as wings, acceptance as well as energy. There
is no incense without fire; no prayer without flame.” – E.M. Bounds
- 2 Chronicles 7:1, Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven,
and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house.

III. SPEND TIME TO FOCUS YOUR HEARTS AND MIND FOR BIGGER THINGS
- In John 13:1-7, Jesus knew that the night before Passover would be his last night on earth before
leaving this world to return to the Father’s side. All throughout his time with his disciples, Jesus had
demonstrated a deep and tender love for them. And now he longed to show them the full measure of
his love. Before their evening meal had begun, the accuser had already deeply embedded betrayal into
the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. Now Jesus was fully aware that the Father had placed all
things under his control, for he had come from God and was about to go back to be with him. So he got
up from the meal and took off his outer robe, and took a towel and wrapped it around his waist. Then
he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ dirty feet and dry them with his towel.
But when Jesus got to Simon Peter, he objected and said, “I can’t let you wash my dirty feet—you’re my
Lord!” Jesus replied, “You don’t understand yet the meaning of what I’m doing, but soon it will be clear
to you.”
- Perhaps that is why Max Lucado said, “Faith is the conviction that God knows more than we do about
life and He will get us through it.”
- While life can often be difficult to understand, there is a much bigger picture being played out than we
can see.
- Luke 17:5-6, The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” He replied, “If you have faith as small
as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will
obey you.
IV. SPEND TIME WITH GOD’S PEOPLE
- Acts 2:14, On the day Pentecost was being fulfilled, all the disciples were gathered in one place.
Suddenly they heard the sound of a violent blast of wind rushing into the house from out of the
heavenly realm. The roar of the wind was so overpowering it was all anyone could bear! Then all at once
a pillar of fire appeared before their eyes. It separated into tongues of fire that engulfed each one of
them. They were all filled and equipped with the Holy Spirit and were inspired to speak in tongues—
empowered by the Spirit to speak in languages they had never learned!
- Mark 14:53-54, Those who arrested Jesus led him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, to a meeting
where the religious scholars and Jewish leaders were assembled. Now, Peter had followed him from a
distance all the way to the chief priest’s courtyard. He sat with the guards and was warming himself by
the fire.

Conclusion:
- “Take care of giving up your first zeal; beware of cooling in the least degree. Ye were hot and earnest
once; be hot and earnest still, and let the fire which once burnt within you still animate you. Be ye still
men of might and vigor, men who serve their God with diligence and zeal.” – Charles Spurgeon