Sunday Morning Worship Service , July 14 | Pastor Anthony “Revealed in the Fire!” 🔥
by Anthony McCool
First Apostolic Church of Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Exodus 3:1-6, Job 23:10, Isaiah 61:3, Psalm 97:6, Isaiah 9:2, 2 Samuel 12:20, Hebrews 11:17-19

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/anthony-mccool--sunday-morning-worship-service-july-14
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

------------------------------------------------------------
keep that same Spirit as you make your way back to your seats and you can be seated across this house I welcome each and every one of you to Sunday morning worship service here at First Apostolic Church of Knoxville we believe in miracles of the past we believe in that God is going to direct our steps and provide for tomorrow but we believe in the right now God as the praise team sang about and we believe that God can move in your situation today we believe that God can move in your situation before you leave this building this is the faith that we have that I iron that sharpeneth iron when we come together when one person receives Deliverance like Paul and Silas in the prison cell in the Midnight Hour when they begin to sing praises to God in the midst of their prison cell it wasn't just their jail cell that was open but everyone in the prison when the disciples woke up Jesus on the boat in the midst of the storm the Bible says there were other little ships on sea that day when they received peace everybody in the see that day received peace and we believe today when Victory comes over here in this section to this individual that Victory is going to come over here to this section to this group of people and my victory is your Victory and your success is my success and when God begins to move and God begins to heal he can do it through the entire body and my faith is built through the testimony and the greatest sermons ever preached and that great sermon is not behind this Podium but it's by your life we had the great privilege here at fac over this past Friday evening to host the Police Academy graduation for the Knoxville Police Department and it was such a touching ceremony as you saw the families of each one of those now officers that had been sworn in just hug them and send them off and congratulation it just continues to remind you of the the great task that they take on in protecting and serving our communities and we're only reminded as of yesterday evening of the great threats that can take place uh to anyone at any time and we certainly pray for our nation as Bishop spoke about this past Wednesday night and I would invite you to listen to that sermon we know what that answer is and as I reiterate that answer is this word of God and that answer is this word of God being manifest through the love of his people and what that means is every interaction every conversation you us we are the greatest sermon that could ever be preached and that's by the interaction of his people out in this world on the every day and I'm thankful to be with this great congregation who embodies that love and uh makes the invisible God visible in the hands of feet if you've got your Bibles this morning turn with me to the Book of Exodus chapter 3 and we're going to read verse 1-6 and we're also going to read in job 23 and Isaiah 61 Exodus 31 and6 States now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law the priest of Midian and he and the led the flock to the backside of the desert and came to the Mountain of God even to Horeb and the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush and he looked and behold the B Bush burned with fire everybody say fire fire and the Bush was not consumed and Moses said I will now turn aside and see this great sight why this bush is not burnt and when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see and God called him out of the midst of the Bush and said Moses Moses and he said here am I and he said draw not nigh hither put off thy shoes from off thy feet for the place whereon thou standest is Holy Ground moreover he said I am the god of thy father we see the reiteration of This covenantal Promise the god of Abraham the god of Isaac and the god of Jacob and now I'm your God Moses and Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look upon God job 23:10 a verse commonly known to all of us but he knoweth the way that I take when he hath tried me I shall come forth as gold Isaiah 613 I'll read a portion of this scripture to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion to give unto them Beauty for Ashes I want to speak to you for a few moments this morning and I would beg your uh beg you to overlook the inadequacies of the speaker and let God's word sink deep into our hearts on revealed in the fire revealed in the fire let's pray one more time just right where you're sitting Heavenly Father we thank you this morning for the opportunity to assemble together to worship together to lift up your name your word says where iron sharpeneth iron and Lord my faith is built because of my neighbor's faith my testimony is built because of my neighbor's faith and Lord when we collectively worship together when we pray together when we give together we know that you have a special blessing for us a blessing that you said there's not even room enough to receive and Lord we know that we don't keep this blessing to oursel but you give it to us to extend out to others that need it in jesus' name we pray amen and amen revealed in the fire in the beginning God existed alone in the vast eternity until he decided to create God created immense and Splendid Universe with millions of galaxies drifting stars and orbiting planets not only has he created the cosmos but he maintains every function Heavenly Bodies emit light and follow their courses animals obey their Natural Instincts plant life flourishes the natural world comes from God and Witnesses not only his existence but his ever abiding presence God ordained a higher level of existence for Humanity a fact made evident when God fored man from the dust of the earth and breathed in him the nostrils of life and from the beginning humans have been special creatures living in a higher Dimension than other biological creatures not with the intent to exude dominance but dominion and proper stewards over what God has given them and we possess both self-awareness and God Consciousness we have the unique potential for fellowship with God he did not hold himself aloof and unapproachable but he offered and initiated a relationship with humanity and over time as you start in the book of Genesis God has revealed himself incrementally beginning with a general Revelation through creation we see and sing the glory in the Book of Psalms the heavens declare his righteousness and all the people see his glory and there's no doubt for each and every one of us when we look up either in the daytime or over the vast horizon or at night time when we can see the stars if we get out of the smog of the city and uh see the Moonlight coming down there's no doubt that we were created by God and we see the vast heavens and certainly as the psalmist said we can agree with and know that it declares truly his righteousness and His glory and considering the vastness of the universe its variety complexity interdependence balance symmetry Beauty and mystery compels us to believe when God created the heavens and the Earth he said it was good and this word in Hebrew Tov to is certainly only an indication as we understand it today and absent of evil and pure but it also had uh a greater context of meeting in the Hebrew it meant systematic it meant order it meant function it it was good because one thing relied off of another there was a a sense of mutualism and we see this order in the creation and it was good and when he created Humanity he said it's very good and we see this played out through the creation story God prepared a unique habitat and the independent solar system of which Earth is a part and governed by natural laws in which we can live and Thrive the seasons the regenerative water cycle the atmosphere the vegetation reveal the grandiose and the superiority of God and through Adam and Eve we're reflected and says we're created in His image you and I are image bearers of God you are created in His image again you yourself the living Temple bringing glory to God although limited we possess Godlike attributes even though they fall short of God's perfect model but we have life and personality wisdom capacity to perceive truth to capacity to love the ability to achieve Holiness and the ability to determine Justice and through the call of Abraham approximately 2,000 years after the fall God called Abram from Mesopotamia and gave him many promises including the land of Canaan as a home for the Hebrew people and this call initiated we see this relationship this intimate bond between God and his people this inherent in the bond was the principle of faith in God's promises as a covenant as a requirement for inheriting the promises and rewards in store for the faithful he called Abraham and said if you can count the Stars if you can count the grains of sand then that is what your blessings are going to look like and we see this same language when he meets Moses out in the desolate area with the burning bush on fire he reiterates this covenantal promise to him I'm the same God of Abraham I'm the same God of Isaac I'm the same God of Jacob you are my IM image Bearer and the same blessings that they had the same promises that they have are for you as well if you have faith I am the same God I'm the I am and through the revealed names of God as we look through the Old Testament after God promised to make Abram the father of a multitude it changed his name to Abraham names became a communication tool and a description mechanism a way to describe how God was revealed revealing himself and we know all of these names Encompass are embodied in the name that is high and lifted up above every name Jesus but throughout the Old Testament we see these characteristics of how God revealed himself in a variety of different circumstances and names became a method of communication and a way for God to reveal himself to humanity he uh revealed himself also as the lamb and when we think about that description and the characteristic ICS of a lamb it's why we have such an affection for uh animals even in our own lives that is if you have a soul you know or cats and dogs or whatever the case may be because God put this uh relationship inside of us and he uses the symbol of a symbolism of a lamb because it's something we can understand it's something that we can show affection to it's something that we can identify with we serve a great big God and there's a a ton of Mystery it's a lot to comprehend and you know how it is it's incomprehensible when you look up into the heavens and God said I'm going to show you how I love and what sacrifice looks like by putting a lamb in your life and we see that is a method of communication he also revealed himself by names of elai meaning the Abundant one and with many compound names he revealed his nature and character Jehovah Gyra the Lord will provide a sacrifice Je Jehovah Rafa the Lord our healer Jehovah nii the Lord is our banner and we know who's fighting on our behalf the Jehovah Shalom uh we know he is the God of Peace that no matter what storm or trial I'm going through Jehovah Shalom he's going to keep me he's going to protect me I'm going to find soulless through him Jehovah Rah the Lord my shepherd Jehovah sedu the Lord is righteous Jehovah shama the Lord is present his omnipresent there's not a place that I can go or find myself in or even if I'm all alone in every single individual in my life has turned themselves away from me I have a God who will never leave me for forsake me Jehovah shama but today's lesson involves God's self-revelation not by means of a lamb not by means of a communication tool such as a description or the a particular name and a given circumstance but God's revelation by fire this combustive energy Humanity has used since the beginning archaeologists have found evidence of fire in the earliest civilizations and for thousands of years people used fire to cook food provide heat give light and communicate with one another they used fire for religious sacrifices cremations and ceremonial bonfires there's something about viewing fire although its use was widespread fire remained a mystery for thousands thousands of years ancient people had not yet discovered the science behind what makes fire work and the complex chemistry of combustion of fuel and oxygen that produces heat and light yet fire ignites the imagination and it arouses curiosity when we see it and the darkest of nights and you see fire Illuminating there's something so fascinating behind it there's something I would say spiritual even when you see it because that area around it is illuminated even when nothing else is visible and people never lost their Fascination this flickering yellow flames Rising Sparks crackling and popping sounds as Thick Smoke EV evoked feelings of Mystique and inspired ideas about the supernatural there's something about us in our human nature none of you pyrro out there today going and kids they're not in here don't go home and start lighting matches this this gives you some kind of precedent but there there's something amazing about fire and we continue to use fire as an instrument of communication and ceremony often academic seals and crests and logos have a flame Insignia uh in them representing knowledge and Enlightenment uh in a few I guess next month the Olympic torch uh in Paris France they'll go with that with a torch with a a flame that's supposed to represent the uh Olympics for 200 24 kicking off and it's as if all of these people are coming together all of these different streams from all of these different countries now coming into one River coming into one flame and this flame represents uh Unity of everybody together competing and having this camaraderie at this given time if you go down on the University of Tennessee campus one of the most famous I guess landmarks on there is the torch Bearer and it's that torch that flame is supposed to never go out because it represents power knowledge and we see this even in the Old Testament God represented on himself his presence on the altar by means of fire there wasn't a bodily form but it was God's Presence by means of fire he said never let it go out because when you see this fire this Divine fire you're going to be reminded of my Mercy you're going to be reminded of my grace and as the praise team sing when you when you're kind of down and out and you you see this fire you're going to be reminded of those ways when I made a way when there was no way you'll be reminded how I used fire to lead you through the Wilderness and you'll be reminded how I used fire in so many different capacities and Moses record became a Divine textbook for the Hebrew people to learn about God how do I have a relationship with God how can I have that same God in my life that Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Moses that same power in my life merely knowing about God and what he required did not bring the Hebrews in relationship with him but in order to become the people of God they needed to know and love him and only God can initiate the relationship and redeem the life and draw the individual closer to himself and Humanity needs God's self-revelation in order to know him and Humanity can remain in the dark unless God Reveals His light to them Isaiah 92 tells us the people walked in darkness and have seen a great light they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death upon them the light has shine if God does not reveal himself there's no Revelation if God does not reveal himself in your life then there's no Redemption there's no reconciliation stay with me for a moment and as the self-existing one God stands outside and Beyond Humanity as a threal transcendent being unknown and related to humanity and God could have chose to remain outside of human relationship but his loving nature and his craving for companionship would not allow him to do so God approaches humanity and reveals himself like a massive ocean liner approaching a duck growing from a tiny Speck outside but becoming more visible and more magnificent and more distinct with each Revelation no person can find God by waiting into the waves on his own the ocean is too vast and it's untameable but God approaches first and then he draws the repentant toward himself Moses LED his sheep through the backside of the desert and Came Upon a fire a burning bush on a rugged slope of Mount Horeb Moses had seen burning bushes before and he had watched and viewed as their branches would begin to wither away but this time this time would be different this fire would burn but not consume the bush he took a step near and was startled when he heard a voice call for him in the midst of that fire it said do not take one step closer and take your sandals off until you take your sandals off because the feet this ground that you stand on this is Holy Ground he said I am the god of your father I I have the same blessings and I have the same promises for you but this fire that you have encountered out in the wilderness this fire that you have come upon out in this desolate mountainscape where your life is on the run and there's great allegations against your life there's great uncertainty of what your next step is Moses oh we know the great story of Moses we can read this Divine textbook about how he went into the most powerful Empire to ever exist at that time and said Let My People Go and all of the plagues and all of the obstacles and all of the diplomacy with the people walking by faith and leading them across the Red Sea by God's hand of division if you will and provision and leading them through the Wilderness on into the promised land and we've got the five books the pentat and we read them and we know the outcome of Moses but at this time at this point in Moses life he's out in the middle of nowhere with nothing to his name and he comes up on a fire that he has no idea what's going it was a supernatural fire and he hears this voice that says don't you take one step closer and tell you take your sandals off because this is Holy Ground this fire that you've encountered Moses is not for your destruction it's for your discernment this fire that you've encountered Moses this this is not a fire for your Annihilation but this is a fire for Revelation show don't get confused this fire isn't here to take you out this fire is going to hurt a little bit this fire is going to try you a little bit this fire is going to burn some things away in your life but don't get it mixed up this Fire's not here to destroy you Moses this fire is here to take you to even greater Heights God manifested himself in fire on a number of occasions as I mentioned earlier by means of Leading the People through the Wilderness it was the fire on the altar it was fire fire that Elijah called down on to represent God's power in the midst of pagan worshippers God reveals himself in fire but we've got to understand the differences between fire represented in relation to God because we can become entrapped and we become become guilty of only talking about fire when it's talking about damnation or only talking about fire when we're talking about eternal etal punishment for actions and are those things true absolutely but God came sent his son into this world God manifested himself and came to this world not to damn his people but to save his people he said I I I didn't come for damnation I came for salvation and sometimes in our life we can be met with fire and the trial of a circumstance and we can automatically think that this is God punishing me in this situation God Answers by fire and judgment certainly we have the president of Sodom and Gomorrah and the Earth will be destroyed by fire and hell is with fire and brimstone but when I see flames and when I See Fire it shouldn't invoke fear it should invoke voke that God is working on my behalf in some capacity I I might not understand it it might make me uncomfortable it might make lead me to some Orthodox things but God is revealed himself in a way that's going to take me to Greater Heights does not fire does not only represent judgment but it also represents salvation and the consuming fire of the Holy Spirit purges The Sinner of his iniquity and empowers him as we talked about at the onset of the sermon with Supernatural strength the Messianic Mission John the Baptist Proclaim I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance but he that cometh after me is mightier than I whose shoes notice the language there I I'm not worthy enough to Bear he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire it's a holy fire sometimes it's going to lead me outside of things that is comfortable with my flesh sometimes it's going to lead me to areas of uncertainty where the only answer I'm going to have is to live by faith but I must trust I must have faith I must worship I must realize that the fire in my life is a holy fire job tells us in 23:10 that when we come up on the fire in our lives sometimes it's un clear in our flesh if it's for our Annihilation or it's for our destruction because often times when we have that imagery of fire we think of Destruction and Damnation when really we as Believers should view fire as salvation as Redemption as empowerment job 23:10 says but he knows the way that I take and when he has tried me I shall come out I shall come forth as gold job is basically asking in the pretext of this chapter where is God I want to speak to God I want to hear from God I I go and worship your name I go and lift my Praises with your people but where are you God I I don't hear you in this certain trial that I'm facing I don't hear you in this circumstance that I'm in oh I believe that you're the captain of of the Heavenly Army but I don't feel like anybody's fighting for me why right now I've been faithful to you Lord but nothing seems to be happening I've been raised my kids in the way that they should go but mistakes have been made and I things are getting out of my control and I don't understand why this is happening to me I just want to see you God I want to see your glory revealed I want to hear from you but where are you at God and job continues on he he says God knows everything about my life and God's led me to this point and I can look to previous victories and I can look to previous points in my life where you revealed yourself and forged yourself in Fire and job's telling these so-called friends around him he said only God knows if what I'm resulting what I'm experiencing is a result of my wickedness or my blamelessness what he's saying is I might experiencing some fire in my life because of some bad decisions that I made or I might be exper experiencing fire in my life because I'm blameless and God's going to need to elevate me to another place of Purity but only God knows only God knows the way I can take but whether I'm here at this fire because I'm blameless or whether I'm here in this fire because I've made some bad decisions whatever the case I'm going to come forth as gold he said I'm going to be forged in fire if you will and we see this expression in our language that's a metaphor to describe someone or something who has been through a difficult or challenging experience but out of this experience and out of this difficult season it resulted in a great deal of strength it resulted in a resilience that wouldn't have been obtained other than by the trial that they previous faced oh they've been shaped they've been tested they now have exceptional qualities they now have a testimony to to know that I'm still here and there's nothing else I'm going to face in my life that's going to be anywhere comparable to that I'm still here and I can share my life with somebody else and just as metal is strengthened through the process of being heated just by as metal is strengthened through the process of being hammered and forged in a great deal of stress and forged in a great deal of heat and forged in a manner of uncomfortability that I wouldn't myself particularly want to go through through that trial through that stress through that circumstance something great came out of it there was a particular strength that was revealed that wouldn't be revealed any by way else and through those ashes and through that burning down to the ground something magnificent and something great came out and it's this wrestling of the faith that job knows that even in his flesh when he's saying some stuff to God about where are you whether I'm here because I made some bad decisions or I'm here because I'm blameless I'm stealing the fire no matter what so I either have a choice to surrender or give God praise I either have a choice to quit or lift up my hands and quitting and surrendering and giving up is not an option so regardless of how I got here even if it's because of some mistakes I made I'm still going to give give you glory god because I know you're going to talk to me I know you're going to reveal yourself and when I get out of this fire I'm going to come forth as gold I'm going to come forth as a different person I'm going to come forth a little stronger I'm going to come forth a little more resilient I'm going to come forth with a little more perseverance I'm going to come forth with a greater testimony I'm going to come [Applause] forth with God getting the glory would you clap your hands to him I know that you're the defender I know that you're the Redeemer oh I try to place my intellect on God how could have I have arrived at this moment it couldn't be because of the decisions that I've made I've made sound logical fact based decisions up to this point and why would you invite me to undergo this fire in my life Lord because of this I've been so great and so holy I'm your Chosen One my going to let my faith wne and I'm going to turn away from you and I'm going to quit no or the enemy will whisper to us and say you know you know what you're guilty of you know what you've done you know the sentence you've served you know the stuff you've been addicted to this fire that's now met in your life that's God's way of saying you've been some dumb stuff and now I'm going to punish you that's an absolute Lie from the enemy God's placed a fire in your life and if you'll listen if you'll recognize that it's Holy Ground and sometimes we think of recognizing that it's ho the ground that oh I just immediately I've got all things together and I've got all this empowerment and I know how to walk and I know exactly what to do we read that Moses HD his face in fear when you begin to hear from God there's a that repentant heart there's a humility where you say you know what I might not know what the next step is I might not know what to do next but I if I can just get into his presence yeah I I I know I've made some mistakes and I oh if there's there's some things in my life I that I wish I could go back and undo but God I believe you're going to speak to me I believe you're going to talk to me oh I know it's going to be uncomfortable I know I'm going to feel the heat but something amazing and something great is going to come out of this he said I'm going to turn Beauty for ashes those ashes that burnt that lay on the ground of your life where the devil says that every single thing's over you're never going to be able to minister you're never able going to have the life and the covenantal promises that God gave to you because of a mistake that you made in your life that is an absolute Lie from the very depths of hell because he can take the ashes he can take the ashes of your life and bring and breathe into them in 2 Samuel we read of where David had killed a man had a man conspired to have a man killed and he took his wife and as punishment God took the child and leaning up to that birth we read that David mourned and fasted and wept and prayed for the decision to be reversed and covered himself in ashes but then the baby was born and inde deeds God's punishment taken place but verse 20 says then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself changed his apparel get the ashes off and came into the house of the Lord and worshiped and then he came to his own house and when he required they set bread before him and he did eat and the servants and the people around him begin to ask him said David wh while you were waiting for this decision you you mourned and you you you were in ashes and and you fasted and you and you wept and you welled and you you cried out and now that the punishment has taken place and now that the decision has been made now we see you changing your clothes and going into the house of God and worshiping and and cleaning yourself up and anointing yourself and now it's like you're feasting he he said what's done is done I I prayed but that season of my life is over there's nothing else left I can do I've got to take a Next Step from the mistakes that I made did I make mistakes I absolutely what I'm doing right now is not a lack of empathy it's not a lack of recognition but God still has something greater for me I've got to change my clothes get up out of the ashes yeah I might have met a fire because of the some decisions I made sure if I could go back and change them I would but what's done is done and there's not a thing I can do about it but God forgave me I I I gave God my heart and I repented of my sins and I'm going to step back out of that old life all my friends can't come up to what happened to you there's been a transformation I can't go and undo that but now I've anointed myself now I've changed myself now I'm going to step into something new and we read that he went in with his wife and they birthed Solomon Solomon would become the next king of Israel the great Solomon and what this tells us is there is something still ready to be birthed in your life no matter what you've done no matter what sentence you've served no matter what you've been addicted to no matter what problem you've had in your marriage there's nothing that the mercy and grace of God can't overcome he can take those ashes and put life back in them and there's going to be something even greater but sometimes when you make that fire in your life the miraculous isn't God coming down and putting out a golden carpet in front of you to walk on you got to have a decision made that that life is over I'm changing myself I'm washing myself I'm now anointed and I'm going to birth something new I might have failed in the previous but now there's success I might have been defeated but now there's Victory oh I got a bad report I've prayed and I've mourned but now I'm stepping out and I'm worshiping and I'm believing God's going to make a way God's going to remain faithful God's going to answer me your life's not over that fire is not for your damnation it's for your salvation that fire is not ready to take you out out it's ready to show you the next step musicians and praise himam come forward he said there's going to be Beauty for Ashes across this congregation today each and every one of you could profess and testify of a testify of a great fire that's taking place in your life right now a fire that you've been met with where the enemies told you well this is the this is probably the one that's going to be the end of my family this is the one that's going to be the end of my health why am I having to do this and then guilt and shame begin to creep in and you see that fire in your life and my family's having to go through this because of some decisions I made or my friends having to go through this because of something I did and we start trying to place our human reasoning and our logic of why we're having to experience this fire and we're viewing fire through the prism of damnation and viewing fire through the prism of punishment when all the time God's saying take off your shoes I know you don't have it all together I know you feel like hiding your face I know you're weary I know there's a great deal of uncertainty but this is a holy fire it's not a comfortable fire it's not a comfortable place you find yourself out in the middle of nowhere but if you listen no matter what the reason was as job talked about no matter the reason why I'm here I'm going to come out of this as gold I'm going to come out of this with God getting the Victory and I want you to know today if you're in this congregation there's great saints of God Pastor mul could tell you that their marriage personified would be the greatest description would be ashes on the ground but here you look around celebrating 20 years 25 years there's individuals here today with a testimony who's children their lives ashes but then you look on down the road sister flry but brother flry preach that sermon the other side of the altar you see that other side side we know the story of Moses now but at that moment in that season he didn't know and there's testimonies across this house of healing and restoration and Reconciliation and I ask each and every one of you this morning whatever fire you're facing don't surrender don't quit don't let doubt creep in have that determination that regardless of the reason why why I'm here if it's because of mistakes that I made or because God's wanting to refine me I I'm not into the into the business of uh prophesy we we see this with the miracles of Jesus they ask him who sinned him or his parents the reason he's going through this infirmity it's our human flesh to think like that but the point is no matter how we got there there's still a fire there's still a fire and you have the opportunity today to determine like job and have the faith and the covenantal promise stand with me to say that I am going to come forth as gold when we look at the faith of Abraham the father of the multitudes Hebrews tells us when he was tried he offered up Isaac ISAC and he that had received the promises had offered up his only begotten son of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed be called accounting notice this and thank you Pastor Whitley for pointing this out to me accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead from whence also he received him in a figure he was is going to sacrifice his son and when we think of Resurrection we think of a body with life being breathed back into it and then coming back but give me a little bit of latitude this morning as I ask you this question I don't think Abraham had ever experienced a resurrection and when you study at what takes place with a sacrifice that sacrifice is burnt by fire to ashes but Abraham if you will had the faith before the provision took place that even if it was down to ashes even if all hope was lost if if it was down to absolutely nothing because we try to place a hierarchy of Miracles of of you know this one could potentially happen but this could happen there's no hierarchy on the supernatural the Supernatural is the Supernatural come on but he had the faith that even if it's in ashes I serve a god who's going to provide and I tell you this morning even if your marital relationship is in ashes even if your life is in ashes even if there's a situation uh with your with your family family that seems like it's in ashes or you're struggling with something maybe you're struggling with an addiction that you got some victory over but then you something happened again where you took a step back keep taking steps forward anoint yourself wash yourself off don't listen to the words of the enemy that fire is not here to take you it's here to save you everyone bow their heads right now I'm about to open up this altar but it's going to take boldness because all of us have different fires that we experience in our life and it's tough to discern that why is this coming to me God are you you're trying to punish me no but he might be trying to get your attention and it's those times in our lives where we want to throw in the towel and we want to quit and we say God you've been unfair or God you've been unj unjust or on the flip side we say God we're not worthy God I know I did this there's no way that I can take steps forward back like this Moses said I can't speak to the people I'm not able to communicate with them there's no way I could go into the highest court in the land and communicate with Pharaoh but that fire is not to annihilate you it's to reveal myself to you oh it's going to be uncomfortable and you're going to feel the heat but even if the situation is down to ashes this is a holy fire this is a holy fire and life is going to come out of it beauty is going to come out of the ashes the ashes are going to be traded for Life ashes are going to be traded for beauty Lord as your word has gone forth this morning Lord I ask you as on the day of Pentecost to prick our our hearts let us be sensitive to your word Lord if I'm struggling with a fire in my life whatever it may look like Lord let you reveal yourself to me in the midst of it I don't understand why I got here I've tried to play place Logic on why it happened like it did but the point is all that stuff is a waste of time because regardless there's a fire but I believe like the three Hebrew boys that I'm not going to quit and I'm not going to bow down down that if I step into that fire that you're going to be with me I'm going to hear from you you're going to refine me you're going to purify me and I believe on the other side of it I'm going to come forth as gold and something beautiful is going to come out of the ashes I invite you this morning to this altar if you got boldness to take a step out and say I'm anointed I'm changing my clothes I'm going to eat I'm going to worship I'm made some mistakes but I'm stepping out of there oh I've made some bold public professions and I've taken some step back at times but I'm still anointed God's mercy and Grace is still new and fresh every single morning all maybe you face a fire today and you have no reason to understand why you got here you've been doing everything you supposed to regardless of why I'm here I'm going to Worship You Lord I'm going to listen to you Lord Lord I'm going to see you get the glory yes [Music] Jesus if you've been through a fire on your own why don't you put your hands on somebody else as appropriate and say it's going to be all right it's going to be all right it's not here to take you out it's here to refine you it's not here for damnation it's here for your salvation would you minister to somebody would you minister to somebody right now and say it's going to be all right it's going to be all right there's going to be Victory there's going to be Victory God is doing something now now is would you step out and pray for somebody would you say it's going to be all right God's working God's moving I don't understand I don't understand how we got here I'm going to remove my flesh from the equation but I'm just going to take my shoes off and say whatever I'm facing right now I'm going to Worship You Lord this is Holy Ground this is Holy Ground yes I'm uncertain yes there's fear at times but God I'm trusting in you I'm believing in you you're going to turn it around yes Jesus yes Jesus God gave you a promise [Music] as you worship today and lift up your hands and pray of that fire that you're experiencing I want you to know that as God speaks to you he's saying the god of Abraham the god of Isaac the god of Jacob the god of Moses the god of David on down through this lineage is the same God that you serve the god that manifested himself in flesh and revealed to us in all of those human characteristics all of those descriptions all of those natural elements all of that creation power everything encapsulated in one name above every other name and that name is Jesus and that's why we get baptized in that name when we turn away from our sins and he puts this fire down inside of us and as you pray you it says you have a promise so when you think about that promise under understand when you focus on that promise God promised me life God promised me healing God promised me restoration God promised me deliverance and let that promise be assurance that the current situation you face is not going to take you out because there is a promise for the future and if you'll focus on that promise with your hands lifted high this isn't a time of mourning this isn't a time of weeping this is a time where I'm saying man I'm going to anoint myself I'm going to change and put a Garment of Praise on that even in the uncertainty I'm going to lift up your name Lord I know that you're speaking to me this is Holy Ground and right there in the midst of my trial I wonder if somebody could dance right there in the midst of this trial as to say this is Holy Ground this is Holy Ground I don't understand it I can't place words to it I can't place logic to it but God God I know I have a promise and I believe you're going to reveal yourself to me right now and because I have that promise I know that whatever I'm facing right now it's not going to take me out it's not for my damnation it's for my salvation yes Jesus yes Jesus Jus through will come in the [Applause] all of my my is in the name the name of Jesus the great will come come in the name the name of Jesus God turn it around God turn it around God turn turn it around God turn it around God turn it around turn it around make way way God turn it around God turn it around God turn it around turn it around turn it around could you give Jesus another praise for just a moment could you thank him for the experience of going through the fire Hallelujah Glory Glory not with fear nor dread not a consuming fire but a purifying fire a tempering fire a delivering fire