Deuteronomy 4:24 For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

Some say that the name of God is Consuming Fire. Some say this is but a title. But in either case, God is clearly represented as a Consuming Fire in both Old and New Testaments.

By the end of this sermon we will together memorize a Bible verse, Hebrews 12:29

For our God is a consuming fire

If you have ever been camping, you have seen a camp fire. The camp fire provides heat and light when all around us is night. Fire is light. Fire is heat. Fire is not cold, nor is it lukewarm. Fire consumes wood as it burns.

Our God is first identified as Light in the Bible. The first command God gave was:

Genesis 1:3 …. Let there be light: and there was light.

God and man were to walk together, but you cannot walk with God in spiritual darkness. God made light. He didn’t make the sun and moon first – He made Light. Spiritual light. Physical light. The ability to see.

God created and walked with man in the Garden. God warned Adam against the darkness. “Eat of any tree, but the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil you will not eat. If you eat it, you shall in that very day die!” (Genesis 2:16-17). Adam did as we do today. Our God is a Consuming Fire. He is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). Adam sinned, and though God covered man’s sin with the blood of the Lamb, He did not allow Adam to stay in Paradise. But the Bible tells us that:

Genesis 3:24 {God} drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Until the Lord led me to preach this sermon I always thought that God stationed Angels (that’s what Cherubim are) with flaming swords to keep man from the Tree of Life.

I’ve read Bible stories that have had illustrations showing the Angels holding swords. But that is not what the Bible says. There are Cheribums AND A flaming sword. What is this “Flaming Sword”?

Our God is a Consuming Fire. Sin cannot remain in His Paradise.

1 Our God Is A Consuming Fire. God came to Moses as he tended sheep on Mount Horeb.

a Our God Is A Consuming HOLY Fire. A man named Moses tended sheep for his father in law in the desert of Midian. Coming to Mount Horeb – the Mountain of God – Moses sees something fantastic.

Exodus 3:2-5 (ESV) And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Our God is a Consuming Fire. The fire burned, yet it was not consumed.
God does not destroy His Children, but approaches them in Light.
God is holy – we approach Him reverently.
When we come to Him He changes us. We are in His light!

He is the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (James 1:17). God calls His Children out of darkness and into the Light. Moses is not the same anymore. He is set apart by God, just as every believer is set apart by God. He now has purpose. Our God changes us.

Psalms 107:14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.

1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:

God has Children, sons of God who He calls out of darkness and into His light.

OUR God is a Consuming Fire.

When Moses went up into the Mountain of Sinai to receive the Law of God – a Law given because of the unbelief of Israel – the Bible tells us that

Moses went up but God went down

Exodus 19:16-18 (ESV) On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.

Moses went up the mountain but God went down! God always has to lower Himself to approach us. And we have to rely on the Grace of God to approach Him. Our God is a Consuming Fire. The Law of God caused man to tremble. The LORD descended on the mountain in fire!

The holiness of God is no laughing matter.

The Law was given to show that we were as far from the Light of God as the east is from the west. Those who tried God in the Law were punished for that foolishness. Abominations were subject to death.

b Our God Is A Consuming Fire. He Judges Sin. The Altar of God did not operate without the Fire of Judgment. Every animal killed to make atonement for sin was subject to the fire of judgment. Sin is no trifle. God’s holiness is no trifle.

The Burnt Offering Was A Reminder That God Judges Sin

After the Burnt Offering was made the Priests were to take fire from that Offering and put it in the Golden Altar of Incense. Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu thought that God was NOT a Consuming Fire. The Bible says:

Leviticus 10:1-2 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. [2] And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

God Does Not Wink At Sin. He burns off sin. He is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all. Fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

God loves us, and we should love God.
But do you know the phrase “fear of the Lord” is found thirty times in Scripture?

Psalms 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.

Proverbs 14:26 In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.

Proverbs 14:27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

Proverbs 16:6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.

Acts 9:31 Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.

In America today it is popular to think that God is Love. And God is love. But our God is a Consuming Fire. He is not a man like we are. When He took upon Himself manhood – being born of a virgin – He was still no ordinary man.

God in human package, He is still a Consuming Fire

Jesus is Immanuel, God become Man. Jesus said – heed His words –

Luke 12:49-53 (KJV) I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? [50] But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I {distressed} till it be accomplished! [51] Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: [52] For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. [53] The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

The Gospel that Jesus brought is a Gospel of Light,
A Gospel from a God Who is a Consuming Fire.
The Gospel does not save a man IN his sins, but FROM his sins.
God does not want PART of your love, but ALL of your love.
There is a “Gospel Lite” (L-I-T-E) and a Gospel Light (L-I-G-H-T)

The two are not the same.

In many places and many pulpits today it is preached that there are many ways to God, and God loves everyone just as they are. You can come to God a Gossip, a Troublemaker, a Sexual Pervert, a Thief, a Liar, a Drunkard, a Murderer, and God will save you and make you a better Gossip, Troublemaker, a better Sexual Pervert, a more exquisite Thief, a slick Liar and manipulator of the truth, a smooth Drunkard and a more expert Murderer. This is not true. Our God is a Consuming Fire. Where His Gospel is preached fires are started. Fire brings light and heat, and Satan with his followers do not care for either light or heat.

2 The Church Began When Our God – Who Is A Consuming Fire – Set It On Fire. The God-Man Jesus Christ had resurrected Himself from the grave. The Tomb was empty, and both Rome as well as religious Israel were upset and could do nothing about it. Jesus walked and talked among the people for 40 days.

Forty Days
Forty Days God brought rain on the earth, destroying all but eight
Forty Days Moses was in Mount Sinai receiving the Law (Exodus 24:18)
“Yet Forty Days and Nineveh will be overthrown” preached Jonah (Jonah 3:4)
Jesus fasted Forty Days and nights in the wilderness after His baptism (Matthew 4:2)
Jesus preached 40 days following His resurrection (Acts 1:3)

Before He ascended to Heaven Jesus told His disciples…

Acts 1:4-5 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. [5] For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

Our God is a Consuming Fire. When Moses went up into the Mount when he came down his face shone with God’s fiery light. The light from his face so frightened the people that Moses wore a veil (see Exodus 34:33-35) on his face.

Meeting the God Who is a Consuming Fire changes you

Jesus told His disciples “Go and pray. Wait for the Promise, the Holy Spirit.” They cannot do His work who are not empowered by His Spirit. So they went into the Upper Room and prayed. And on the Day of Pentecost the Bible tells us that:

Acts 2:1-6 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. [2] And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. [3] And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. [4] And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. [5] And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. [6] Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

Oh how this text has been maligned and misused by our Pentecostal Brethren.

1 Corinthians 14:33 tells us that God is not the Author of Confusion, but of peace.

The Devil is the author of confusion. Humanity is often the author of confusion. But not God. God is a Consuming Fire. On the Day of Pentecost there were people of all nationalities, of all tongues, in Jerusalem that day. These were all people that Jesus Christ gave His life for.

Red and Yellow, Black and White
They are precious in His sight,
Jesus loves the little Children of the world!

There is a man from India. There is a family from France. Here are Italians. There are home grown Jews. These people are all of Israel, but an Israel that has been scattered because she forgot that our God is a Consuming Fire. God took Israel and through a series of exiles has scattered His nation all over the world. The displaced Jew has been displaced so long that many do not speak but the language they are in. How to share the glorious Gospel of Christ with them? Shall we build a United Nations? Shall we hire translators who will hear and tell them in their own language?

No, God shall make a way.

Our God is a Consuming Fire. He grabs hold of His people that day. Fire like cloven tongues rests on every person praying. And these 120 people go out and share the Gospel. And Fire consumes the darkness. Three thousand (that’s 3,000) people receive Christ as Lord and Savior that day. The Church grows. Our God is a Consuming Fire.

The Church of God is to be consumed of God!

The Gospel sets people on fire. It does not lull to sleep, nor does it justify sin. The Gospel of our God Who is a Consuming Fire divides light from dark. Those who are in the dark and wish to remain in the dark will hate the light of His fire. Our Lord Jesus told Nicodemus, a Rabbi who was seeking God:

John 3:16-21 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. [17] For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. [18] He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [19] And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. [20] For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. [21] But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Those who wish to rest in the darkness do not belong to God. Jesus said “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light, LEST HIS DEEDS BE REPROVED”. Our God is a Consuming Fire. You cannot be with Him and be in darkness. So the Lord demands a choice from every person.

Repent from sin and come to Me to be saved, or
Remain in darkness.
For our God is a Consuming Fire. He is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all.

1 John 1:5-7 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. [6] If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: [7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Those who are saved walk in the Light.
They do not walk in darkness, secretiveness, and murmuring.
They walk in the Light.
They have fellowship with one another.
They are bound together in love for God and love for one another.
They are bound together despising sin, and rejecting worldliness.

3 The Light Of God And The Darkness Of The World Will Always Be At War – But Light Will Always Beat The Darkness. Our God is a Consuming Fire. He calls whosoever will to receive Him as Savior and Lord. God is a Consuming Fire, and God is the Gospel. We read in Hebrews:

Hebrews 12:25-29 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: [26] Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. [27] And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. [28] Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: [29] For our God is a consuming fire.

God will win in the end. Are you standing with God? If not, you need to remember our God is a Consuming Fire. We who are his “are receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved”. God’s Kingdom cannot be moved, nor will it be moved. God will, through Christ, triumph.

Let us have Grace

We have Grace so that we can serve God ACCEPTABLY. Not as we think is acceptable, but as God thinks is acceptable. We who are His are to serve Him in a way HE considers best.

The other day I and Sherry went to Legends to eat lunch. We love that place – it’s a great place to eat. When we sat down the waiter came and took our order, brought our drinks – and we didn’t see him again. When our fruit tea drinks ran out I had to get up and go refill them. I didn’t see him even when he brought the bill – he dropped it on the table as he passed. Other customers received rolls and cornbread with their meal. We received the cold shoulder. Finally I flagged him down long enough to get him to take the check and our payment. When he brought the

“Have a blessed day”

You may disagree with me, but I didn’t leave a tip for that young man. A tip is not a welfare payment. A tip is a reward given for good or acceptable service – ACCEPTABLE according to the customer’s standard. If you belong to God you are to “wait on Him”.

Isaiah 40:31 (KJV) But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.

If you are the waiter, and God your Customer – are you living acceptably according to HIM? Are you pleasing HIM? God is not our Waiter, we are His. Our God is a consuming fire. Please Him. Serve Him. Read His Word and seek His Face daily.

Our God Is A Consuming Fire!