I’m concluding the There is Freedom! series with the message, “Free to Be on Fire!”
Remember, 2022 is our year of breakthrough. See, there’s freedom in breakthrough. If you’re in a prison cell, there’s no freedom because you’re contained, but when you break through the cell, there’s freedom. God’s trying to get us to understand that the freedom we have has already been paid for and purchased, and it’s time to step out in that freedom.
The definition of breakthrough is “a bursting forth or an outburst.” For something to be OUTburst, it had to first be an INward thing. I think when we hear “breakthrough”, we automatically look at things on the outside (our finances, our health, etc.) – waiting for God to break through that – as if God’s got to break through those things to get to us.
But God’s trying to get something revealed on the inside of us that bursts through all of that to get to more of Him!
Sometimes we get so caught up in this natural world that we forget we are spiritual, supernatural beings. If we’re born again, we have power on the inside of us; one third of us is God…just like God. One third of us is wall-to-wall Holy Ghost. Our spirit looks just like Jesus, has the same DNA from the same gene pool as Jesus. So, everything Jesus had now is residing on the inside of us in the Holy Spirit as one in that seamless union with our spirit.
Because Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one, and our spirit and His Spirit are one, everything Jesus did and had has been entrusted to us.
There’s freedom to be on fire: there’s freedom to break through all the wrong thoughts, all the misconceptions, all the things we’ve thought about ourselves and that people have told us we are. There’s freedom to break through and be on fire for God.
Let’s look at our core scripture –
“Now, the ‘Lord’ I’m referring to is the Holy Spirit, and wherever He is Lord, there is freedom.” – 2 CORINTHIANS 3:17 (TPT)
Remember, if God’s not Lord an in area, there’s not freedom. So, we must purpose in our hearts to make Him Lord in every area. “Well, I really like doing certain things…” Is that okay? Are you experiencing freedom in those areas of your life? If not, then it’s probably not okay because He’s not Lord of that area (so there’s no freedom).
What’s It Mean To Be On Fire?
I heard a conference speaker once say, “When God sets something on fire, it isn’t consumed; He uses it to reveal His will.” We think if we get on fire for God that it’s going to destroy our relationships with people. “People aren’t going to want to talk to us or be our friends…” I’ve got news for you: They’re probably not your friends anyway. They don’t want what’s best for you! The “friendship” they have is a selfish one because now you’re fulfilling something they need in their life.
If they’re truly your friend, truly love you, they’ll want what’s best for YOU. If that means you get closer to God than they are, they will want that for you. When they see that, they should want to be pulled in closer as well.
It’s about being on fire, so that it reveals God’s will for your life and for your situation.
“And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So, he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.” – EXODUS 3:2 (NKJV)
This is when Moses had left Egypt and been out in the desert for 40 years. While out there, he looked and saw that a bush was on fire. There are natural reasons why a bush could be on fire (lightning strike, for instance), but then he noticed that the bush wasn’t being consumed.
What God catches on fire – what He places His fire on – isn’t consumed; it’s used to reveal His will. The Spirit of God (the Fire of God) is burning and alive. It doesn’t need to consume it because it doesn’t need an additional energy source; it’s its own energy source! It was telling Moses, “I’m going to hang out on this bush so you’ll notice that this is something supernatural.” The Spirit of God was not consuming the bush but was using it to reveal God’s will for Moses and the people of Israel.
“And the LORD said: ‘I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.’” – EXODUS 3:7 (NKJV)
That reminds me of Isaiah 53:3-4, a prophecy about Jesus. It says, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: And we hid, as it were, our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely, he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.“
From the beginning, Jesus knew the sorrows mankind had. He knew that when you’re separated from Him – from the Source of life – there’s nothing but sorrows and grief. Another translation says, “And we thought His troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for His own sins! But He was pierced for OUR rebellion, crushed for OUR sins. He was beaten so WE could be whole.” He was whipped so WE could be healed.”
God knew our sorrows. So, what was the solution for that? Freedom! Verse 8:
“So, I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey…’” – EXODUS 3:8 (NKJV)
God saw people in their sorrow and despair, ashamed and full of grief…He saw that the people didn’t know how to set themselves free. How many of us have been in that situation where we’ve tried to set ourselves free? We can’t do it on our own; we need a Savior! Jesus was saying, “I’m going to be the Savior that Israel needs.” Compare with today: Israel is the Christian world – people who believe in God; Egypt is a representation of the world. Apply this today…God says, “I see My people (Christians)…they’re still in sorrows because they’re not believing what’s been done at the Cross.”
Jesus delivered through the old covenant, He did it on the Cross, and He continues to do it every day through the work He did nearly 2000 years ago because of the authority given to us by Him.
The Fire of God revealed His will for His people. It revealed His will that He wanted His people free and to prosper, to set them up in a land flowing with milk and honey. That’s not just nice…it’s everything in abundance that you have need of. You’ll always have more than enough for every good work.
It’s the land that we NOW reside in spiritually; we can now apply that spiritual truth and call it forth, by faith, into this natural world.
The Fire of God Will Not Compete
When you’re on fire for God, you don’t care about anything else going on; you care about what God said and who He said you are, so you can step forth into who He’s made you to be in your spirit. That also applies to who you are in your soul – your mind, will and emotions – and in your body. We step out and say, “My spirit is who I am! My spirit is the truth! My spirit is one with the Holy Spirit so I have what He say I can have!”
THAT’S what it means to be on fire for God: You don’t care what the world says when it tells you, “You should be burned up and consumed; you’re kind of weird; you’re too much for us.” Well, maybe we’re too much for them, but we’re not too much for God.
Personally, I’ve only begun to scratch the surface of who I am in God and what He’s empowered me to do, and I plan on scratching a whole lot more. How about you? Do you want to live in that resurrection power 24/7?
We’re not held back by the situations in life or circumstances; we are only held back by what we believe. I believe God’s Word, so now I’m not held back by anything.
Realize, the Fire of God will not compete against our need to satisfy our own desires. What if our attitude is that we’re willing to give God certain areas of our life, but not other areas? “Gee, God, I REALLY like doing THIS, so You can’t have THAT area.” The Fire of God will not compete…He didn’t light up half the bush; He lit up the whole bush. He wants the whole person. That’s spirit, soul and body.
Jesus died on the Cross, took on a beating on His physical body, took on the emotional and mental turmoil (you could see that in the Garden of Gethsemane when He sweated great drops of blood) manifested in His physical body.
He was beaten so we could be made whole; He was whipped so we could be healed. He did it all not for the fun of it, but so that we could live in the freedom of it! Jesus was on fire for God to the point that He didn’t care what happened to Him…He wanted to set people free!
So, what about us? We get set on fire by God not so we can just be happy and run around in circles and do somersaults; no, it’s so that we can help people experience His freedom in their lives and they can live out who God’s called them to be.
The Fire of God’s not going to compete, so you might as well surrender…give it all.
In Mark 10:17-22, Jesus was approached by a rich young ruler. The man asked Jesus, “What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? I’ve followed the Law since my youth; I’ve done all these things…” Jesus said, “Sell everything, give it to the poor, and follow Me.” The man walked away sorrowful.
“Well, God, you can have everything else EXCEPT all my possessions.” Notice, Jesus didn’t chase the man down and beg him to do what He said. He’s not going to compete if you’re not willing. He’ll keep making offers to you and showing you truth, but YOU have to step out into it and yield to what He knows because His way is better.
The Holy Spirit will lead and guide you; He won’t push and shove you.
On the Threshing Floor
Jesus came to reveal the will of the Father and to release the Holy Spirit to all believers so that all believers could be on fire (have the Fire of God residing on the inside of them), burning up everything that they don’t need.
Look at Luke 3: People were asking John the Baptist if he were the messiah and he said, no…
“16 John answered, saying to all, ‘I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.’” – LUKE 3:16-17 (NKJV)
That sounds intense! We like reading the first part, but then we get to the second part and we groan!
I’ve heard it taught that the wheat represents believers and the chaff represents unbelievers and that God’s just going to burn up the unbelievers and get rid of them (they’re going to Hell). I don’t believe that’s what John the Baptist was referring to. Remember, if God sets something on fire, it’s not to consume but it’s to reveal His will!
2 Peter 3:9 (NLT) reminds us, “The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”
Since Jesus’ ascension, the Church has been proclaiming that Jesus is coming back again. It’s a 2000-year mission and declaration. But the Lord doesn’t want anyone to be consumed. The word “repent” there means to have a radical mind shift to see things the way God sees them; it doesn’t mean to beg God to forgive you of any sin you’ve ever done. It’s that you see yourself as changed by God from death to life (from a slave to sin to a child of God).
In fact, the wheat represents God’s truth and our redeemed identity (who we really are). He’s going to gather up the truth of who we are in His sight. The chaff represents all the false mindsets, wrong thoughts, and religious ideas that have tried to make us think there’s no way to God except by our own performance.
All the lies we’ve heard in our life are going to be burned away until only truth is what’s left!
The Fire of God reveals His will: “YOU are My child! YOU are a son of God! YOU’VE been made whole! YOU’VE been healed, redeemed, justified, made righteous, made prosperous!” We need to bring that into our storehouse so we can apply it in our lives. We need to KNOW it. Remember, it’s only the truth you KNOW that sets you free.
Unquenchable Fire
The word “unquenchable” in Luke 3:17 suggests that at no point in time will the Fire of the Spirit be ineffective! The Holy Spirit will ALWAYS reveal who you are in Christ. There’s never a time when He’s “on break.” He’s never quenched.
If you pursue the Holy Spirit and the truth of the Word – you get into the Word of God – He will always and continually show you more and more truth of who you are. The challenge is, do we believe? Are we going to live out our lives for Him?
When you talk about being on fire for God, the best place to look is in the book of Acts. You see a group of people: The month before, they were scattered in chaos. Their Savior had just died and they didn’t know what to do; then, Jesus rose from the dead and met with them! Now, you see them rallying: “Okay, we’ve got 120 people…let’s get together.”
Notice, when Jesus appeared to them, the believers are were so carnally-minded that they didn’t understand what the resurrection of Jesus was all about. That’s because that unquenchable fire hadn’t been birthed in them yet. They still had a religious idea of what Jesus was supposed to do.
“So, when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, ‘Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?’” – ACTS 1:6 (NLT)
The apostles KEPT asking Him. They were so concerned with the natural – Israel being freed from the Romans – and having Jesus be their messiah and leader who would destroy all their enemies. They were concerned with THEIR OWN desires, THEIR OWN wants, THEIR OWN thoughts. After the Holy Spirit fell, you never hear the apostles ever mention or pursue the kingdom of Israel being made great again. See, when you’re on fire for God and there’s freedom to be on fire, your desires just get burned away.
Jesus was, “It’s about THE Kingdom…not A kingdom, but THE Kingdom.” (What kingdom are you pursuing? What kingdom do you want restored in your life?) When God’s fire hit them, it burned all that away.
“2 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! 3 Then all at once a pillar of fire appeared before their eyes. It separated into tongues of fire that engulfed each one of them. 4 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!” – ACTS 2:2-4 (TPT)
When the power of God hits you – when you’re so in tune with the Holy Spirit and you’re reading God’s Word – it’s like nothing else is even going on. You’re only in union with Him. Notice, the people were engulfed in fire. As the bush was with Moses, they were not consumed. It revealed God’s will for their lives. They were filled and equipped with the Holy Spirit, for them to live a Spirit-led life.
If you keep reading in Acts 2, right after this the people went outside and started preaching the Gospel, not the restoration of the kingdom of Israel, but the restoration of the kingdom of God! Because their motives had changed – their desires had died and been burned away – they went out and got thousands of people saved and brought into the kingdom.
It’s not about just you being on fire; it’s about the impact you can make in someone’s life! God is all about saving you WITH A PURPOSE; it’s not just hanging out to wait until you get to go to Heaven for eternity. You are to make a difference here on this earth in someone’s life.
To watch the entire August 28, 2022 message on which this post is based, CLICK HERE.
