On Fire for GOD By RANDALL J. BREWER

“ON FIRE FOR GOD”

BY

RANDALL J. BREWER

We all love the story of David and Goliath. One thing we must all understand

about this remarkable story is that David was able to kill the giant and go on to rule all of Israel because he was anointed by God to perform these tasks. The anointing of God came on David when the prophet Samuel called him in from the field and poured oil upon his head.

The anointing of God, symbolized by the oil, is the power of God on flesh doing what only God can do. It is the very presence of God Himself. When you are anointed God is with you, in you, and working through you.

God will never call on us to serve Him without first giving us the power to do so. In other words, where God guides, God provides. All heavenly callings that originate in the heart of God will require His help, strength, and power to bring about it’s fulfillment. If you can fulfill your vision with your own strength and ability you can know with certainty that the call was not from God.

Before His ascension Jesus said in Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witness to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” The power of God is the ability of God and it is given to those who are committed to do the work God gives them to do.

One of the most common excuses for not becoming a servant of God is the fear of failure. This objection neglects the truth that God provides the power to do that which He calls you to do. Where God guides, God provides. However, living our lives with the power of God at work in us must not be thought of as simply allowing God to take control while we do nothing. We are not robots or a puppet on a string. No, God needs our cooperation.

Saul was anointed to be king (1 Sam. 10:1) but his willful disobedience prevented him from fulfilling the work he was called to do. He thought he could rule over the people with his own power and might and refused to tap into the power of God that was readily available to him. This is what brought about his downfall.

Wounded in battle he took a sword and fell upon it thus taking his own life. When you don’t flow in the anointing, like Saul you will fall flat on your face. Literally.

Even Satan was anointed. As Lucifer he was called “the anointed cherub” (Ezek. 28:14) and he was perfect in all his ways until iniquity was found in his heart (vs. 15). “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor…”

Pride entered in and this is when he was kicked out of heaven and became known as Satan. This also was the great sin of Goliath. When you are so prideful that you think you don’t need God, you can lose your head. Literally.

David, on the other hand, was a humble man. We read in Prov. 16:19, “Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud.” A stern warning is given in the verse before this one. “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall” (vs. 18). This is what happened to Lucifer and Goliath. They fell.

Pride is the direct opposite of humility. Pride is the act of being self-centered and puffed up with one’s own greatness. Humility, however, is believing that you are “strong in the Lord” (Eph. 6:10) and not in yourself and has an attitude of giving God all the glory.

A prideful man has a conceited belief in his superiority over others whereas one who is humble will “esteem others better than himself” (Phil. 2:3). Through pride a person will exalt their plans, purposes, and desires above the will of God but a humble person adopts with all his heart the plans and goals of the one to whom he is submitted.

A humble person will faithfully follow the instructions of Phil. 2:4, “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests but also for the interests of others.” Humility, like love, always puts others first, especially their beloved Savior. Paul says in Rom. 14:8 says, “For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”

We read in Phil. 1:6, “being confident of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” This verse is telling us that if we submit our will to God and cooperate with Him then the anointing will flow and the work will be completed. The Message Bible says it will come to a “flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.”

The key is to get your heart and mind focused on Him and that which He has called you to do. Matt. 6:33 says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” In order to do this you must humble yourself and be dedicated to God and His people.

Loyalty is the price you will have to pay. Without it your life will fall apart. Your family and your job demand your loyalty and so does God. Like love, loyalty can only be seen in action. It means you’re faithful and devoted, that you will do whatever it takes to get the job done. It means to diligently follow in the foot-steps of Jesus.

Rom. 8:13 says, “if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” It is you who are to put to death the sinful deeds of the body, but you are to do it through the power that God makes available to all of us. The believer who struggles in his own strength to serve God and live the Christian life will fail.

We must by faith appropriate daily the power of the Holy Spirit that God so generously gives to us. Described practically, this means that the believer trusts God to empower him with His Spirit in specific instances such as sharing his faith with others, resisting temptation, and being faithful to fulfill the call given by God. There is no secret formula that makes the Spirit’s power available. It is simply a reliance on God and His Holy Spirit to help.

After Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan and spent forty days fasting in the wilderness where He was tempted three times by the devil, “He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.

"And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.’

"Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’”

The anointing is given not for you to “know” something but rather for you to “do” something. Jesus was not anointed until He was ready for ministry. In Acts 10:38 Peter told “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, Who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”

The devil is a thief who comes to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10) but Isaiah tells us, “It shall come to pass in that day that his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, and his yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil” (Is. 10:27). Jesus was anointed to destroy the works of the enemy.

The word “Christ” means ‘the anointed One and His anointing.’ The anointing is a weapon used in battle and this is how David was able to defeat the giant Goliath. Prov. 28:1 says, “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.”

David writes in Ps. 23:5, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.” When does the anointing come and where? In the presence of our enemies! The anointing comes on us so we’ll know how to confront the enemy and what it is we’re supposed to do.

As we abide in the anointing we’ll receive direction from God and revelation knowledge will come. The anointing will make you bold and aggressive. David grabbed the beard of the lion and slew the beast. He later ran toward Goliath. It will make you “strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Eph. 6:10).

Paul writes in Eph. 6:14-16, “for this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from Whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man.”

The Message Bible says, “God is strong, and He wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the devil and all his angels.”

The anointing is the “Spirit of might” and it allows you to do what only God can do. It will set your heart on fire for God. 2 Kings 8-10 show us what the characteristics are that dominate the thoughts and actions of a person who is on fire for God. These chapters describe the exploits of a man who had a “zeal for the Lord” and much can be learned from his life.

Picture in your mind the perfect warrior, a man born and bred to fight. Demanded of him would be an extreme loyalty to his Master and a willingness to die for the cause for which he fought. A restless, flame-like emotion derived from an intense devotion to his beliefs will compel him to display vigorous and untiring activity in it’s support.

He would have to be a leader of men, a skilled marksman, fervent in spirit, and most important of all, he would have to possess and maintain an excessive zeal for whatever undertaking he was engaged in. Such a man was Jehu, the son of Nimshi. He drove his chariot with vigor and speed, he was an expert with the arrow and bow, and he was a naturally born leader who commanded the respect of his loyal followers.

One day Jehu was gathered together with the captions of the Israelite army when a messenger sent from the prophet Elisha came to him at Ramoth-gilead. After taking this fearless warrior into an inner room the messenger, one of the sons of the prophets, poured oil on his head and said, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘I have anointed you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel!’”

Next was spoken the mission for which Jehu was to accomplish, ‘“You shall strike down the house of Ahab, your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish.’” Here was a man anointed by God who was given the power to do what only God could do. Watch what happens next.

A fierce and passionate fervor rose up in the heart of Jehu as he immediately set out to obey the orders just given him. His first destination was Jezreel, the home of the evil Jezebel and her equally wicked son Joram, the ailing king whom Jehu has replaced. After piercing his wicked predecessor in the heart with a perfectly aimed arrow, Jehu gave the order to the servants of Jezebel to throw their treacherous and sinful queen down from a balcony on which she sat.

When they did, Jehu drove his chariot over her body and shortly thereafter a prophecy spoken by Elijah was fulfilled when wild dogs tore her body to pieces. After this, Jehu had every member of Ahab’s family put to death along with all his close acquaintances and priests. Jehu boldly proclaimed that he was doing this because Ahab’s people had served the false god Baal whereas he wanted to honor the Lord.

More killings followed as Jehu faithfully continued in his pursuit of fulfilling the assignment bestowed upon him. One day a messenger named Jehonadab met the anointed king on the roadway and after learning of his favorable intentions, Jehu invited him to climb up into his chariot so they could ride together.

Jehu then made a unique invitation to his new passenger, “Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord.” Shortly thereafter Jehu uncharacteristically made one of the greatest turnarounds ever made by a king anointed by God. Or so it seemed.

After killing all that remained to Ahab in Samaria, Jehu announced that God was no longer his Lord and that he had decided to follow and worship Baal, the god of Ahab and all his followers. He boldly declared to all the people, “Ahab served Baal a little but Jehu will serve him much.”

He then arranged for a great feast and sent for all the worshippers of Baal to come to a temple and make a great sacrifice to their god. People came from all over the kingdom and the temple was filled from one end to the other. After clothing them with royal vestments, Jehu ordered his men to “search and see that no servants of the Lord are here, but only the worshippers of Baal.”

When this was completed, Jehu commanded his soldiers to surround the temple and to kill every Baal priest in the place. Afterward they went out and destroyed every idol throughout the land and only the worship of the one true God was allowed.

This great slaughter was carried out because Jehu had a “zeal for the Lord.” His aggressive actions may appear to be gruesome to those of us living under the new covenant but nonetheless Jehu carried out precisely the orders given him to do so. And he was anointed to do so!

Jehu was a warrior to the utmost and zeal is a weapon used in warfare. It creates in you a deep desire and willingness to be used by God to help destroy the works of the enemy. Eccl. 9:10 says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with might…”

Also, Col. 3:23 tells us, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men.” Zeal births in you an intense enthusiasm and eagerness to do what is good and it gives you the confidence to complete whatever you begin.

The story of Jehu reveals that zeal was an every day part of his life and this great legend of a warrior personified the words of Deut. 30:20a, “that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him…”

This verse describes perfectly the three main attributes of having a “zeal for the Lord.” First and foremost, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37).

Next, you will obey His voice with no reservation or doubt. 1 Sam. 15:22 says, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice.”

Finally, we are to cling to Him. Jesus tells us in John 15:4 to “Abide in Me, and I in you.” James mirrors this sentiment when he writes, “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8).

Under the old covenant zeal was used by people such as Jehu to help destroy the physical enemies of the people of Israel. Today our battles are in the realm of the spirit as we war against the devil and his cohorts. As Christians we are all called to be warriors for the Lord. Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword” (Matt. 10:34).

Zeal is an expression of our faith in Jesus as our military commander and since faith is an action so then must zeal lead us to action. After all, that’s what the anointing is for. Tell your Heavenly Father that you are ready and willing to be used by Him to destroy the works of the enemy.

Stand tall and follow the words of Moses recorded in Deut. 31:6, “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One Who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Follow in the footsteps of Jehu and be aggressive and determined as you set out to fulfill your calling from the Lord. Be like Jesus Who “was clad with zeal as a cloak” (Is. 59:17) and be consumed by your desire to please and serve Him. Develop in your life a zeal for the Lord and get on fire for God. You won’t regret it but the devil will.

PRAISE GOD
BLESSED BE THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD