His Fire Remains

In all of our Christian walks, we have gone through many different trials and testing moments. Collectively, as the God’s church, we go through these seasons as well. After particularly difficult times, some would even describe it as if we have walked through a fire itself. It’s compelling that this scripture says that God desires to not only baptise in His Holy Spirit but in fire.

Fire is a purifier, a refiner, a powerful force that can be both incredibly destructive but also life-giving. In order to step into new horizons, God desires for us to allow His fire to come and remove, purify, and refine what isn’t of Him so that only His fire in our life remains.

His fire removes, so that only His fire remains.

We have found in our journeys that God’s fire has always moved towards the roots. He isn’t interested in simply scratching the surface, only ever dealing with the fruit of our lives. He desires for us to allow His fire to come and deal with the root of the issue. To not go another year dealing with that insecurity, pain or heartache, but allowing Him to minister powerfully into the depths of our hearts and lead us to true freedom.

This passage in Matthew speaks about His fire being the great separator. It’s as if He is the great gardener who carries a winnowing shovel in His hands, separating everything Holy in our lives from what is unfruitful. Although it has been around for thousands of years, threshing is still a process used by farmers today to separate the seeds they are looking to harvest from the roots.

In our lives, we can’t just focus on the weeds, but must allow Him to focus on the roots. For some of us, we can’t focus on the relationship issues, we have to focus on the insecurities that are causing them. For others we can’t focus on the addictions, we have to focus on the reason we are trying to escape into false realities. And even for some, we can’t focus on our confused identity, we have to focus on letting God heal our painful past.

For God knows, if He only ever deals with the weeds, He will never get to the seed.

There is a seed placed inside every single one of us that has the capacity to change the world. We may be designed to create never-before-seen technological inventions that revolutionise the world, or to find the cure to cancer. We may carry relational wisdom that can change generational patterns or be designed to communicate in a way that reveals God’s love. These gifts come from God Himself. He is deeply interested in the roots because He longs for you to bear much fruit. Yes, God's fire, if we allow it, is trying to uncover the seed of hope and purpose that He has instilled in our lives to lead us to a new horizon.

Pray With Me

God, I thank You for all You have done in my life and that in this next season You would continue to work in me. I thank You that as I lean into Your Spirit, Your fire would remove all that is not of You, so only Your fire would remain in my life. I ask that You set me on fire, Lord, for the life You have called me to, and that You give me the courage to boldly confront anything that needs to change in my life in order for me to look like You in my everyday life. God would Your fire fall afresh on my life, my family, my community and my church in this next season so that we can be led by Your Spirit into new horizons. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Key Memory Verse

MATTHEW 3:11-12 (CSB), "I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove his sandals. He himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn. But the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.”

Written by Chris & Shannon Hodgman, Team & Development Pastors, Citipointe Church Brisbane