Set Us On Fire!
I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Matthew 3:11)
A pastor was visiting a friend’s church and came across a beautiful red and orange banner hanging in the hallway. It pictured a fire burning brightly with the words, "Come Holy Spirit. Set us on fire!” But whoever hung the banner failed to notice they had put it right next to a sign that read “Fire Extinguisher Inside.”
Which is it going to be in our churches? Set us on fire, or fire extinguisher inside?
We’ve been hearing a lot the last couple of weeks about the outpouring of God’s Spirit at Asbury University in Kentucky. It has been incredible to read the accounts of how God moved as these young people fell on their faces before Him.
It has also been fascinating to watch the reactions throughout the church in America. Some have critiqued the outpouring at Asbury, some have rushed to get there, and some have tried to duplicate it in their own settings. But mostly people have posted about it on social media and posted about it and posted about it and posted about it and posted about it and posted about it…
God didn’t move at Asbury University so we could fill up our Facebook feeds with cool stories and pictures. God moved to bring the fire of His Holy Spirit….a fire that lights up darkness and, at the same time, consumes what needs to be burned away.
My prayer is that Asbury is only the beginning of this fire. What if the embers of Asbury started blowing toward the West Plains Conference? Would we embrace the fire or reach for the fire extinguisher? I would like to challenge us this Lenten season to pray daily, “Come Holy Spirit. Set us on fire!” Let’s invite Jesus to set us on fire with a renewed passion for Him. Let’s invite Him to burn away what needs to be burned away in our lives.
I leave you with this thought from Andrew Murray, “A true revival means nothing less than a revolution, casting out the spirit of worldliness, making God's love triumph in the heart.”
P.S. One of the best articles I have read about the Asbury outpouring was written by a New Testament professor at the college. You can check it out here.
-Mike Schafer
