Heart Tracks - Fire Never Sleeps

"When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple. The priests could not even enter the Temple of the Lord because the glorious presence of the Lord filled it. When all the people of Israel saw the fire coming down and the glorious presence of the Lord filling the Temple, they fell face down on the pavement and worshiped and praised the Lord..." 2 Chronicles 7:1-3...."Fire never sleeps." Martin Smith

I heard Martin Smith speak those three words, "Fire never sleeps," before the beginning of a song with the group Jesus Culture. Somehow, they immediately resonated with my heart. We spend so much time talking about seeing revival come, about God's consuming fire coming upon His church, or, like the old hymn, about how we will "never forget how the fire fell." Somehow, we think that His Holy Fire is something that has an on and off switch, operated by the Father Himself. Smith's words remind me, us, that His fire is always there, always available. God is a consuming fire, but do we really wish for His fire to consume us? 2 Chronicles 7 tells us that His fire flashed and burnt up the offerings and sacrifices. Completely burned them up. Are we desiring that His fire completely burn us up?

I finished an article by John Burton recently where he wrote of his burning desire to see a spiritual awakening, a reformation take place in the church of Jesus Christ. I was struck by something he wrote concerning the usual worship service in even the "best" of our churches, whether evangelical or charismatic. He wrote of the order of what constitutes our weekly "great" worship times.....

Be welcomed by greeters, friends and maybe the pastor.
Acknowledge the refreshing presence of the Holy Spirit while worshiping for 30-40 minutes or so.
Shift into a time for the offering and announcements.
Listen to a decent message.
Possibly spend some time at the altar as God touches your heart.
Shake some more hands and then head out to lunch.
Repeat next Sunday.

This may seem to be oversimplifying, but is it? How many of us come to worship expecting those very elements to be present. Quality worship in music and song. Warm and friendly atmosphere. Preaching that touches, even stirs us, and even some quality time at the altar of prayer.....and then we "head out to lunch." Then we spend the week preparing for, expecting more of the same next Sunday. All this may constitute our idea of what a good worship service is, but does it constitute His?

Burton coined a term from 2 Chronicles 7 that speaks to me as well. He said we need to become "pavement people." This refers to verse three where it says the people fell to the pavement in worship as they saw His fire fall upon the gathering. It was all they could do. It was, I think, all that He wanted from them. Could we risk such a happening in our worship? Could we risk the loss of our program, our order of service, our agenda, that all we could be was "pavement people," on our faces before Him? Would we tolerate such a time keeping us from heading out to lunch. I don't just ask you. I ask myself as well.

Fire, His fire, never sleeps. It is everywhere before and around us. Will our desire for that fire falling upon us, upon His church, be so strong that we will offer ourselves upon His altar that His fire might fully consume us? Are we willing, deeply desiring to be pavement people? Or, will we be heading out to lunch....this week, and next, and the next, and.....?

Blessings,
Pastor O