ON FIRE FOR GOD
Part 1


JEREMIAH 20:7

A. A MOST REVEALING PRAYER
  1. About a very difficult ministry:
    1. The call - Jer. 1:4-10
    2. The people's attitude - Jer. 18:18; 20:9
  2. A very discouraged preacher:
    1. ". . . I will not make mention of him, nor speak in his name." - verse 9
    2. That is what Jonah attempted to do - Jonah 1:3-17
    3. Elijah, too, became discouraged - 1 Ki. 19:4
    4. Even John the Baptist became discouraged; he was a very disheartened preacher - Matt. 11:1-5
  3. But the fires within those mighty men of God kept them aglow: "his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones"
    1. Said the Psalmist, "My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue" - Ps. 39:3
    2. This, dear friends, is the great secret of successful preaching - EXAMPLES -
      1. John Wesley, one of the church's greatest revivalists, was on fire for God to such a degree that all England seemed to be on fire.
      2. A. B. Earle, that famous evangelist, is reported to have traveled 325 miles in the United States and Canada to preach Christ.
  4. Our text shows that the Word of God is the divine power which sets a life on fire for God:
    1. There is a great difference between a "head" message and one that comes from the "heart".
    2. Said the two disciples about our Lord's conversation with them, "did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" - Luke 24:32
    3. Consider the power of the simple sermon by Peter on the day of Pentecost - Acts 2
    4. May God grant to us this experience to be more effective in witnessing for Christ.
B. THE LIVING WORD IN THE HEART IS A CREATIVE FORCE WHICH WILL
  1. Free God's witnesses from all human impediments, and make them without favor of fear:
    1. That was true of Stephen, who lost his life because of preaching the truth - Acts 7
    2. That was true of the unlearned disciples on the day of Pentecost - Acts 2:7, 8
    3. That was the secret of Peter and his fellow worker to defy the threatenings of Jewish leaders and preach the truth - Acts 4:29; 5:19
  2. It will create an unquenchable passion for perishing souls:
    1. That was true of Paul - Rom. 9:1-3
    2. That was true of Moses in behalf of his nation - Ex. 32:32
  3. Let us note, briefly, some of the forces that set a person on fire:
    1. The baptism of the Holy Spirit - Matt. 3:11; Isa. 6:6-11
    2. Much secret prayer. More prayer, more souls; more souls, more passion to save souls.
    3. Said a certain believer to a woman who sought to win him for Christ, "Your man must be very thick with the Almighty; that is why he is so mighty."
    4. The study of the Word of God is a must to be mighty in our preaching -
      1. Ignorance of the Word of God is one of the reasons why so many sermons are empty and useless.
      2. It is the sanctified knowledge of the Word of God that gives power in our preaching.
    5. Living the truths that we seek to bring to others is a must to be effective in our preaching.
    6. That was the weakness of the Pharisees and scribes; they knew the Word, but failed to practice it - Matt. 23:1-5
    7. Friends, our time demands of us to be on fire for God.


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