Hebrews 12:12-17 Reignite the Fire
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Intro: Seven steps to Reignite the Fire
We had a great Elders retreat
The theme I came away with was Clarity
Clarity about our direction and clarity about what needs to be done to accomplish that
I hope you will join us this Wednesday for our Equipping dinner
I have a love/hate relationship with building fires
Before the oak tree fell in my backyard I would struggle to get fires going
Since then I’ve had no trouble whatsoever
You would think it would be the 8 cords of wood that I split, but you would be wrong
I’ve always had oak wood to burn
The key to making the fires take off was all of the kindling
I have three massive piles of little bits of dry oak wood that it will take me the rest of my life to work thru
Kindling is the middle stage of fire building
You start with a fire starter like cardboard, then you lay a pile of kindling, then you put the big pieces of oak on top.
Douse it with some diesel and hoila’ you have a raging fire
Today we are going to look at what it takes to reignite the fire of your faith
Read Hebrews 12:12-14
Read Hebrews 12:12-14
Transition:
The last portion of the book of Hebrews is an encouragement from the author to stick with it
They were worn down
They wanted to give up
They are challenged to reignite the fire that was in them when they first followed Christ
It is in our nature for the fire to wane
The believers in Ephesus
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
If we don’t stoke the fire we run the risk of the flame extinguishing
In this section of Scripture we how to reignite the fire of our faith
This morning I’m gonna share with you seven steps to reignite the fire in your heart
I encourage you to write these down
You may need to do all seven steps, you may need to do only a few
This is not a progressive path
Renew You Strength vs. 12
Renew You Strength vs. 12
The first step to reignite the fire is to renew your strength
The writer of Hebrews references a verse from Isaiah
Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”
God is talking about the future glory of Israel
It is a timely message for all of us
Feeling weak spiritually?
Have a heart full of fear or anxiety?
Come to Jesus and He will strengthen you
One of the first signs that our spirit is becoming worn down is that we don’t feel like we have the strength to go on
Much of that is because we are trying to do things under our own strength
It could also be that we are focusing on the wrong things
But there are times when we are drained and beaten down and we haven’t been renewed
We can take a time of rest, but I am almost certain that won’t do the trick
We have to renew our mind and heart
Paul tells the Romans how to renew their minds
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
We need to remove the influence of this world
Then we need to renew our mind by filling it with the word of God
A daily diet of God’s Word will push out the lies of our times and replace it with truth and wisdom
We can’t stop at our minds
We also need to renew our hearts
In fact, our hearts are the most important
Paul told the Ephesians how to renew their hearts
that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
Only the Spirit can renew our strength in the place where matters most … Our heart
Inner being is another term for your heart which symbolizes your spirit
Your spirit can trip you up and give you the feeling of defeat faster than anything
Paul tells the Ephesians that he gets on his knees and and prays that they will be strengthened by the Power of the Spirit
You need to come an have one of our altar workers pray for you heart to be renewed
Straighten Your Paths vs. 13
Straighten Your Paths vs. 13
The second step to reignite the fire is to straighten your paths
The phrase “Straighten your paths” doesn’t mean the shortest distance from point A to Point B
Your spiritual path may seem like a twisty maze
To straighten means to remain on the path God has for you
You don’t want to be traveling in the weeds or end up in a ditch
Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.
Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.
Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.
It also means to level the path
Remove the obstacles that prevent people from finishing
Pursue Peace vs. 14a
Pursue Peace vs. 14a
The third step to reignite the fire is to pursue peace
There is a passage in Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring in which God-fearing elves join with God-fearing dwarves to oppose the Dark Lord.
But immediately they begin to quarrel, calling down plagues on each other’s necks.
Then one of the wiser of the company, Haldir, remarks, “Indeed in nothing is the power of the Dark Lord more clearly shown than in the estrangement that divides all those who still oppose him.”
Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
Our experience tells us that though we may have peace with God, we do not always have peace with all men and women.
Commitment to Christ incurs the enmity of the world.
“If the world hates you,” said Jesus, “keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18).
If we follow Christ, we must expect conflict.
But how unexpected and disheartening it is when conflict is encountered in the church!
Conflict in the church brings glory to Satan and disgraces our God.
Few things will grieve God more and impede the great race more than conflict in the Body of Christ.
In fact, conflict in the church—and the failure to pursue peace—is the most public reason so many never finish
So as we run the race we must pursue peace with “all men”—both Christians and non-believers alike.
Run Towards Holiness vs. 14b
Run Towards Holiness vs. 14b
The fourth step to reignite the fire is to strive for holiness
Grace over Bitterness vs. 15
Grace over Bitterness vs. 15
The fifth step to reignite the fire is to choose grace over bitterness
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Sexually Pure vs. 16
Sexually Pure vs. 16
The sixth step to reignite the fire is to remain sexually pure
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
Repent vs. 17
Repent vs. 17
The final step to reignite the fire is to repent of your sins