Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13
Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Romans 12:9-12
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
“The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to Him.”
—
D. L. Moody
Spiritual passion does not stay alive accidentally — fire must be fed intentionally.
I. Spiritual Fire Must Be Intentionally Fueled
Romans 12:9-12
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Leviticus 6:12-13
The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. 13 Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.
Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Acts 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
John 15:4-5
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
“A neglected fire will soon become only ashes.”
—
Charles Spurgeon
I. Spiritual Fire Must Be Intentionally Fueled
II. Spiritual Fire Is Rekindled Through Intentional Stirring
2 Timothy 1:6-7
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
Stir the Fire By:
A. Returning to God’s Word
B. Returning to Prayer
C. Returning to Worship
D. Returning to Obedience
Stir the Fire By: A. Returning to God’s Word
Jeremiah 23:29
Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
Stir the Fire By:
A. Returning to God’s Word
B. Returning to Prayer
Luke 5:16
But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
Stir the Fire By:
A. Returning to God’s Word
B. Returning to Prayer
C. Returning to Worship
Psalm 63:1-4
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
Stir the Fire By:
A. Returning to God’s Word
B. Returning to Prayer
C. Returning to Worship
D. Returning to Obedience
James 1:22
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Stir the Fire By:
A. Returning to God’s Word
B. Returning to Prayer
C. Returning to Worship
D. Returning to Obedience
I. Spiritual Fire Must Be Intentionally Fueled
II. Spiritual Fire Is Rekindled Through Intentional Stirring
III. Lukewarm Faith Is Dangerous
Revelation 3:15-16
I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.
Signs of a Cooling Fire:
• Worship becomes routine
• Conviction becomes muted
• Prayer becomes occasional
• Scripture becomes optional
• Sin becomes tolerated
• Service becomes inconvenient
Matthew 23:12-13
And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Hebrews 2:1
Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.
“To be almost saved is to be wholly lost.”
— Matthew Henry
I. Spiritual Fire Must Be Intentionally Fueled
II. Spiritual Fire Is Rekindled Through Intentional Stirring
III. Lukewarm Faith Is Dangerous
IV. Perseverance Keeps the Fire Burning
Romans 12:9-12
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13
Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Paul Gives Three Anchors: A. Rejoice in Hope
Hebrews 6:19
We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,
Paul Gives Three Anchors:
A. Rejoice in Hope
B. Be Patient in Tribulation
1 Peter 1:6-7
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Heat doesn’t destroy real faith— it purifies it.
A refiner’s fire is the process that we go through when God is testing us to see what is in our hearts. The change in us comes when we acknowledge there needs to be a change. However, it is not punishment; it is testing, and then the purging begins.
Robin M. Bertram from “No Regrets: How Loving Deeply and Living Passionately Can Impact Your Legacy Forever”
Paul Gives Three Anchors:
A. Rejoice in Hope
B. Be Patient in Tribulation
C. Be Constant in Prayer
Ephesians
6:18
…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
1 Peter 5:7
…casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:6-7
Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances.
“Faithfulness is not spectacular heroics but daily obedience.”
