I have been around a while and the hardest thing for me to watch is Christians who get taken out by the enemy. Over the years we have had friends and/or colleagues who started well only to make some really poor choices. These choices have lead to everything from the loss of jobs, removal from ministry and divorce. It is not always how well you start that determines the outcome but how well you can navigate the pitfalls of life that will determine if you are around later.
Many people get fired up but less than all know how to keep the fires burning. The Lord is always the one who starts the fire. In the book of Leviticus, it is the Lord who lit the fire but the priest were the ones who had been given the responsibility to keep it burning. There are a few things that might help you in this task if you will allow me to point them out.
1. You have to bring oil for you lamp. Believe me when I tell you this, it is your job bring the oil. What? You thought it was the Lord's job? Of course you did. If that was the case then the Lord has not been doing a good job for many believers. He is the one who pours out the oil but it is your job to go and get it. This is found in the wonderful parable of the ten virgins.
Matthew 25:1 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Matthew 25:2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
Matthew 25:3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,
Matthew 25:4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
Matthew 25:5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
Matthew 25:6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’
Matthew 25:7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.
Matthew 25:8 And the foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
Matthew 25:9 But the wise answered, saying, “No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’
Matthew 25:10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
Matthew 25:11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’
Matthew 25:12 But he answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
In the 1st book of Samuel 3:3, the lamp of the Lord was about to go out. It is our job for sure and that can be unsettling for some. We tend to want the Lord to do everything for us but that is not often the case. Many of the things that He has given to us are now up to us to bring both increase and fruit.
2. You must go into the presence of the Lord to tend to the lamp. One of the things the priest had to do was trim the wick. This represents the removal of the old things that have burned off. Too many times I watch Christian dealing with stuff from the past that hinders their future. I have lost partners in ministry because they got overly focused on things that happened forty years ago. When you burn for God you will find that these things tend to burn away but you have to decide to remove the dead remains yourself. Don't put them in a jar, just get rid of them.
3. The priest had to come in before God to tend to the lamp. You cannot keep the fire burning int he outer court. You must spend time with the Lord. There is no other way about it. I have known people who have gone from hot to cold so quickly it would make your head spin. Life has a way of attacking the flame. That is why you need to get in the Secret Place with the Lord and hide out. All the cares of the world can choke out the flame. Let me paint a picture.
I had a paper shredder that got clogged and so i did not have a way to shred paper. So I lit a fire in the fireplace (it was winter) and after it was going good, i through some papers in. If I put them in at the right pace all was fine. Yet when I through in too many at once it choked the fire. The papers represent life. Too many people wait too long before praying and so by the time they try to go and pray, it is too late. Their fire does not have the intensity to handle that much. So prayer becomes a flame out instead of a flame up. It is too late. The only way people in this situation think they can get out of it is to remove themselves from the situation and retreat. Then try to relight the fire and go again. They often will repeat the process many times because they have not learned the important thing. That it is their job to keep the fires burning. So in the next event of life the pattern repeats.
4. Wood burns best with other wood. Fires with one log don't last long. You need to be around other on fire for God people. Many times people will withdraw because they don't like feeling. Others are on fire and they think it will expose them. Fire is contagious though. If you get around fire you will burn with them.
These are just a few of the things to help you. Stay the course and keep the fires burning. Life is a lot more fun when you a blazing trails.
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