Do you surround yourself with friends or colleagues that play with fire?
Every time you turn around, fire starters are stirring things up or making things burn bigger. I realize playing with fire is often used negatively, but I'm about to change your perception.
I've always called us pyromaniacs, and I've said this because I am one of those people!
Fire is fascinating to me because, although destructive, it is also imperative for everyday life. Without fire, modern civilization would grind to a halt! So likewise, without the fire of the Holy Spirit, our walk with God would not be the same.
When utilized correctly, fire (and the fire of the Holy Spirit) is one of the most helpful tools known to man.
Five Biblical Concepts Ignited by Fire:
1. Signs of judgment:
In Genesis, we see God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah through the fire, and in Revelation, those that don't believe will be sent to the lake of fire.
2. Signs of the presence and authority of God:
The children of Israel were led by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When Elisha called down fire from heaven, it came down and caught all the wet wood on fire!
3. Fire creates energy:
The prophet Jeremiah said, "It's like fire shut up in my bones." The fire of the Holy Spirit propels our faith, walk and purpose.
4. Fire cauterizes wounds:
Have you ever seen a Spaghetti western where Clint Eastwood gets shot and then cauterize the wound with a hot blade, after taking out the bullet? First Corinthians 3:13 says, "It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person's work." We are tested, assisted and refined by fire.
5. Fire purifies and cleanses:
If you are real with me, I will be real with you; and when you are right with me, I can be right with you! Numbers 31:23 says, "everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean." So, when we are right with the Lord, fire and trials bring out our best.
In the Bible, fire is a metaphor for the Holy Spirit. So, when you look at these five things, you could say the Holy Spirit judges. He is a sign of the presence of God. He gives energy, cauterizes wounds, purifies and cleanses.
We need the Holy Spirit now, more than ever, in these last days.
At times, we need the energy to go out and cauterize the wounds of the broken people in our community. That allows them to become purified and cleansed as a sign of the presence of the authority of God, which lets them skip judgment. These are the ways the Holy Spirit works.
Let's pray daily the fire of the Holy Spirit consumes us to the point that we catch others on fire! Like the song says, "Set a fire down in my soul that I can't contain, and I can't control." 
Mikel French has challenged spiritual awakening all across America, where many celebrations extended into multiple weeks, and has conducted celebrations in France, Sweden, Russia, Romania, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia, Germany, South Africa, Malawi, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Haiti, Japan, Singapore, India and Thailand. He conducted an outreach celebration in Manila, Philippines, reaching 200,000 teenagers with the book of hope. Through the generous support of partners, he has presented the message of Jesus Christ to millions of people in the nation of Russia through televised citywide soul-winning celebrations. Mikel considers it an honor to assist in conducting the annual pastor's conference, where thousands of pastors from Russia's 11 time zones come for training, teaching and equipping. Mikel and his wife, Marsha, reside in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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