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MEETING GOD IN THE FIRE: Fighting Fire with Fire


There are people whose job is to study fire. All the rest of us just take these naturally occurring things, like air, water and fire, for granted. What’s to know? Apparently quite a lot. Studying the physics of fire is important to firefighters. For them to fight fire, they need to know how fire is created and how flames advance.  
For fire to advance, three ingredients are necessary. First is combustion, which is the chemical reaction of a fuel with oxygen that results in glowing, flaming, and heat release. Then there’s a transfer of energy by radiation (the release of heat) or convection (the movement of hot gases or fluids). The third ingredient is the ignition of new fuels that are encountered by the released energy. Got that? No? Me neither so we turn to one of our resident scientists, Dr Shane Kelley, for an illustration.[1]
Scientist have something called “The Fire Triangle” that illustrates the three ingredients of fire – oxygen, heat and fuel. To aid in our understanding of fire, Dr Shane compares the fire triangle to The Holy Trinity. God, the Father, is the fuel. He decides the size of the flame and the amount of time it will burn. Jesus, the Son, is the oxygen. Without the oxygen, the reaction will not proceed, and we cannot have combustion. The Holy Spirit is the heat. Unless we have a spark, a flame will not occur. We MUST have all three parts of the triangle, the Trinity, for our true fire to come to fruition.[2]  

“From the first pages of the Bible to the last chapters, people meet God in the flames of His transforming presence.”
– Fred A Hartley III, Prayer on Fire.

If we are going to fight the fires that come our way in life, we, too, need to know the physics of fire. We need to fight fire with fire. We have believed in God, the Father, and accepted the saving sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, for the redemption of our soul. To ignite the real fire, we add the flame, the heat, of the Holy Spirit living within us. The Heat within us is transferred to those around us and, BOOM, a fire is ignited in them and the fire is spread! And you thought science was boring.


The Decision
Read 1 Kings 18:20-40.

We love a good competition to settle a debate about who is the greatest. Let’s review what we learned about fire. Fire is composed of fuel, oxygen and heat. Elijah supplied the fuel (the wood and the bull) and even soaked the fuel in water. Oxygen was present in the atmosphere but, without the heat, there could be no fire. Elijah was counting on God to bring the heat. And did He ever! The fire burned up the fuel as well as the stones, the dirt and the water.
The God who answers by fire, He is God. – 1 Kings 18:24 ESV

The Desire for Fire
Many of us have the fuel and the oxygen, but we lack the heat. We have a passion for God and Jesus, but we lack the power of the heat of the Holy Spirit. Our passion is powerless. The prophets of Baal were passionate but lacked the power. There is no fire without the flame. We desire the Holy Presence to restore true worship and power to our lives.

Questions to Discuss:


What was the issue with the people of Israel that Elijah was confronting?
Why was it crucial for them to decide this matter?
How confident was Elijah in God’s power?
Why does it matter how much we desire His Presence?
What are you willing to do to experience God’s Holy Presence?


The Dedication
Read 1 Kings 18:41-46.

Elijah was determined to restore true worship to Israel. He had a personal, intimate relationship with God, and was willing to put his reputation on the line to prove, once and for all, that the God he served was the One True God. His desire was for the people of Israel to worship only God. Elijah was so confident of the power of his God that he had them soak the sacrifice in water, not once, but three times. Those twelve jars of water were precious since the land was experiencing a severe drought. The extreme waste of the scarce resource raised the stakes for the competition. When the people of Israel saw the True Fire fall, they fell on their faces and worshipped. 

And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’” – 1 Kings 18:44 ESV


Questions to Discuss:



Why was Elijah willing to sacrifice their most valuable commodity?
What was the people’s response to seeing God’s power?
How did Elijah know it was going to rain before he saw it?
What is your most valuable commodity?
How confident are you of God’s provision and power in your life?



Prayer:


Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit living in my life. Without the power of Your Spirit, I struggle with temptation and doubt. Ignite my life with the Holy Heat of Your Presence. Start a fire in me that those around me can see and feel. Amen.



[1] “Fighting fire with fire,” Physics World, 06 Jul 2017, Accessed online July 3, 2019.
[2] Dr Shane Kelley. Email July 14, 2019.

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