The Flame

Below is an excerpt from the sermon...

Alright. Proverbs 16: 32. Proverbs 16:32 says he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty And he that rule with his spirit than he that take the city.

And we’re also going to read Proverbs 25:28. I can go ahead and read it for you if you like. Um, he did have no rule over. His spirit is like a city that has broken down and without walls.

And then, the last little verse we’re going to read is in 1 Thessalonians 5:19. It’s only four words: "Quench not the spirit."

Let’s pray, Heavenly Father, I just want to thank you, Lord, for always being so good. Thank you for the excitement that lies ahead. No matter, no matter what, comes our way. We know that Heaven’s our home and that we’re in a battle and we’re on the winning side. And, Lord, I’m just thankful, Lord, that we have Your Word and Your Spirit to guide us. And, Lord, I need both of those things tonight. I pray, Lord, that You would help me to speak on things that are uncomfortable for me. Tonight I know, Lord, that, this is what You would have me to speak on. I pray, Lord, that You would just do the speaking tonight. I love you. Thank you. And ask this in Your precious name. Amen.

Well, I’ll be honest with you. I’m not really sharing a message with you tonight. I’m sharing a meditation, and it’s something that that I’ve had to chew on a lot. And, just being real transparent with you, it’s something that I struggle with, but I figure that if I struggle with it, then there might be some other people struggling with it. So I’m just gonna, if it’s all right with you, straighten this guy out. And if it helps you, well, then, Amen.

Yeah, it feels like we’re living in a hurricane these days with everything that is swirling around us. No schoolwork, no work quarantine, no church quarantine, no church but on livestream. Everything’s just buzzing around us. We’ve got what’s going on politically in our country. We got what’s going on personally in our own lives. It just seems like there’s a hurricane going around, and even though the winds are invisible to our eyes, I still see the effects, and I still feel the effects of the wind. I feel it hammering me.

And so in honor of our pastor, I just want to bring out an illustration. And I want to basically, illustrate this little truth here. And that’s this: When you strike a match, if you don’t protect it… Okay. So what? I want to say tonight is this: the flame needs protection when you strike a match. Hope I don’t set the sprinklers off. What you gotta do is cupping. You’ve got to protect it and guard it. Why? Because the winds are strong. The you got to protect it from the rain. You got to protect it from the elements. A flame needs protection if it’s gonna stay lit, if it’s gonna stay burning, a flame needs encouragement.

Did you know that a flame will not burn unless there’s oxygen? And it needs fuel as well. There’s gotta be something to burn, whether it’s this candle right here. It’s burning because there’s paraffin in wax and, there’s fuel there. There’s oxygen there so the flame can burn. But if the wind comes up, that’s what it does.

And I just want to say this: the miracle of our salvation is knowing God, knowing full well who we are and what we are and how we are. It is a total miracle that He would want to save us at all. It’s an even bigger miracle that God would want us to end well. But He does. The Holy Spirit moves into our heart at salvation. He quickens our dead spirit, which makes it come alive. He’s, He’s like a lit fire for God in our heart.

And the work of the Holy Spirit… His name means “Paraclete,” which means alongside of. He comforts us. He teaches us. He leads us. He convicts us. He directs us. He corrects us. He empowers us. He illuminates us. He points us to Jesus, and He gives all the credit to Jesus. He is so important in our lives.

We need the Holy Spirit working in our lives, especially in this day when the winds are blowing so hard and so heavy trying to extinguish it.

Okay, well, if the Holy Spirit does all those things in our lives—leads us, teaches us, empowers us, and points us to Jesus—if He does all those things in our lives, then I got a question: How come there’s times in my life when I feel so alone? How come there’s times in my life when I feel so lost? Not eternally lost, but times when I feel like what in the world happened to me today? I started out so good. Where did He go? I know He said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. And that is the truth. You know I don’t get it. See, I started out right. I started over here in the morning early, reading my Bible and spending time with the Lord, and in my little heart—I’ll tell you what—It was on fire when I left this morning. But as I got out there getting somewhere along the way of my day, right? What happened?

You know what. I’m in the word every day. I’m just telling you, I can count on my hands the days I have not spent time with the Lord in the morning. Every day. And I get in there in the morning. I love it. My little heart gets on fire, and then I take off and go about my day. [blows out the candle] You ever feel like that? I know. I’m the only one. I’m the only one. Why is that? Because his flame needs protection from the elements. The wind, the outside pressure of this world swirling around us. The rain, the negative circumstances that dampen our spirit and put the flame out and stop it from burning.