Bible Study
Fire of the Holy Spirit
God has called us to experience the adventure of life in the Holy Spirit. We all need His fire burning in our hearts. In fact, Ephesians 5:18 urges us to be constantly filled with the Spirit.
So if you hunger for more, you will be blessed by this teaching, “Fire of the Holy Spirit.”
The Holy Spirit is not an “optional extra” for Christians. He is the very essence of our relationship with the Father and the only way we can accomplish what God has called us to do. Our nation needs a move of God, and you can be part of it. We have generations of people who have never experienced the Holy Spirit, which is heart-breaking to me. However, ordinary people filled with fire can make all the difference, opening the door for others to enter the Spirit-filled adventure of life in Christ’s Kingdom.
For over four decades our ministry has seen the Holy Spirit radically transform people’s lives, bodies, relationships and circumstances. We’ve seen millions set on fire from above, and we want to see that same fire released in you.
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”
“So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
Exodus 3:1-4 and 10-12
Your Wilderness in Life – the Perfect Conditions to Catch Fire
Notice Moses’ location when he encountered God’s fire. It doesn’t say that Moses encountered the fire as he lay next to a lush green pasture near a cool bubbling brook of water surrounded by lilies. Nor does it say he encountered God’s fire while sitting in a five-star resort getting a massage. The Bible says that when Moses encountered the fire of God, he was in the desert. The desert is a dry place, the desert is a thirsty place, the desert is a lonely place. Yet that is exactly where God chose to reveal himself to Moses through the burning bush.
We all go through difficult times; we all face trials. Maybe even now, as you read this teaching, you feel alone without God’s presence. Perhaps you’re going through the most challenging wilderness you’ve ever experienced. I have good news for you: the drier the wood, the quicker it catches fire. God’s fire burns the best during desert seasons.
The Fire Comes First
Notice something else about this story. Moses’ encounter – in the driest, loneliest place – was the launching point for the greatest story of God’s deliverance and supernatural power ever recorded in history, before the cross. God was calling Moses to represent Him, confront Pharaoh, unleash the ten great plagues and transform the Hebrews from a nation of slaves to a nation of priests. And it all started right here – at a bush burning in the desert.
I see an enduring principle here. Before God sends you to “Pharaoh,” before He launches you into your destiny, before He releases you into the calling for which He made you – He first sends you to the fire.
The fire always comes first. That defining encounter with God’s presence in the wilderness always comes first. Before His ascension, Jesus commanded His disciples to go to Jerusalem – and do what? Wait.
Think about this for a moment. These twelve men were now the most experienced, trained and qualified men in things pertaining to Jesus Christ that have ever walked the earth. Who else spent three-and-a-half years, day and night, with Jesus? Yet He still told them to wait. And wait for what? “The promise of the Father.” And what had the Father promised? The outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Jesus knew that those men, if they were really going to make a difference in the world, needed the power of the Holy Ghost. Though their training was crucial, it was not enough to fulfill their mission. They needed the power of God’s fire.
I am convinced that one of the main ingredients for getting filled with the Holy Spirit – if not the main ingredient – is hunger. Just hunger! You can be as full of God as you want to be! Do you want Him today? Are you hungry for Him today?
Lasting Fire of the Spirit
I remember when I was first filled with the Holy Spirit as a teenager. That was over 20 years ago. But I have good news for you. I’m burning brighter today than I was back then. And I believe in another 20 years, I will be burning even brighter. The fire of the Holy Ghost never goes out! Someone may ask me, “How do you keep the fire burning?” But that’s the wrong way round. The fire keeps me burning.
The Lord spoke to Moses when He saw him turn aside to see the fire. People ask me all the time how I hear God’s voice? Notice that the burning bush didn’t start shouting to Moses as he was walking by on the path taking care of his sheep. It just kept burning until Moses turned aside. The Holy Spirit is patient; He can wait for a long time. What is He waiting for? He’s waiting for you to turn aside and listen.
So Moses turned aside, and the Lord spoke to him. I don’t know how many bushes there were in that wilderness. I assume there were many. But one thing I do know – there was only one bush burning with the presence of the living God.
What is the world looking for? Are they looking for us to build nicer buildings? Are they looking for us to have more eloquent preachers? Are they looking for us to have better music? Or better marketing programs? What is it they want? What we think is relevant to the world is completely irrelevant. The church has tried to reach the world by becoming like the world. We too often refuse to be distinguished by God’s holy fire. We won’t confront people for fear we will offend them. So we try to win them by becoming like them. But God did not draw Moses to Himself through a bush that looked like all the other bushes. He called Moses through a bush that burned with the fire of His presence.
What Are You Burning For?
Some of us are way too dignified, often caring more about what people think or how we look than what God is doing. But if you care more about how you look to the world than receiving the Holy Ghost, then you are not hungry. A hungry man doesn’t give a flying leap what anybody else thinks. He has one agenda: to get food into his empty stomach. And when you’re hungry like that for the Holy Ghost, everything else in your life will fade into a distant second place. You will desire Him more than the air you breathe, more than food, more than dignity, more than your reputation, more than your ministry – more than anything!
Reach out and expect a new touch of the Holy Spirit. Ask Him again for His fire and allow Him to set you aflame.
He is waiting for you...
Daniel Kolenda
