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The series titled God is a…. The Holy Spirit ministered this into my heart when I read a statement on Instagram, it reads thus…

It (The Holy Spirit) spoke about how many self-professed Christians are after God’s hand than his heart. They are after what he does than who he is. I realised that I am one of those ‘Christians’. Just being real here, unless something isn’t going as planned or if it isn’t driven by fear, I would be complacent and remain in one spot. But, it’s when issues appear that is when I want to read the whole bible or search for prayer points. All this is a no-no for God

We shouldn’t pick and choose when to serve him when he chooses us regardless of whether we would serve him or not.

Romans 5:8, KJV: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us

To add to the point, I watched a Friday programme at the HQ of my church and the man of God said if you’ve fully given your life to Christ then you shouldn’t be worried as you know that your strength and everything you believe in is rested upon God
But how can you rest in God if you don’t know who he is? How can you trust your weight on a chair if you don’t know what it’s for?

Tonight, I will start with God is a consuming fire
This is seen in Hebrews 12:29 and also Deut 4:24 and Exodus 24:17

Fire has many functions to it. It gives off light, warmth and also destroys. I also remember during chemistry we learnt about how certain metals would be purified under intense heat in order for them to separate and go back to their purest form

Hebrews 12:29 states clearly that God is a consuming fire while Deut 4:24 reminds us that God is a consuming fire and he is a jealous God
God’s glory is described as a consuming fire in Exodus 24:17

But what exactly does this mean? Should we be terrified of God? Does it mean he destroys things?

Let’s look back at

Hebrews 12:29 New King James Version (NKJV)29

For our God is a consuming fire.

The context of Hebrews 12 was to encourage the reader about their Race of faith, to remind them of God being a father who disciplines his children. In relation to Hebrews 12:25-29, Paul speaks about the importance of obedience and how it’s important for us to serve God with reverence and godly fear for God is a consuming fire.

Please note that Paul talks about godly fear. Not ordinary fear that comes from the enemy, NO. Godly fear is when you are aware of the sovereignty of God and how excellent he is.

In a way, Godly fear is evident when we actually know who God is. It isn’t when we use our limited understanding to explain heavenly things because things are different. It’s through the help of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that we are able to understand God

Back to the topic. A fire purifies anything in its way. A fire tests an object to see if it will keep its shape or if it will vanish.
In the context of Hebrews 12, from my understanding, Paul emphasises the importance of allowing God himself to shape us, if we are in regular fellowship with the one who is regarded as the consuming fire, he will refine us onto his standards

Deut 4:24 states that God is a consuming fire and he is a jealous God. If you read Deut 4 properly you will see that this is when the Israelites created golden images and started worshipping them. God was angry at this. The children he saved from the Egyptians have now returned to their past ways

God commanded that the images be destroyed and reminded them that he is a jealous God. In relation to “consuming fire” from my understanding, when fire comes in contact with another object it is set alight.

God was telling them that he is greater than the idols for he is holy and he will destroy what is unholy.

Lastly, God’s glory is described as a consuming fire in Exodus 24:17. This suggests that God’s glory is blinding. The context of Exodus 24 is when Moses goes up to the mountain to speak to God

Exodus 24:17 New King James Version (NKJV)
17 The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.

In conclusion, God is a consuming fire, one who purifies. At the core of the “fire” are holiness and purity

Anything that doesn’t meet his standard will be destroyed. In as much as we know this, we should try and be at the centre of him, so that when the enemy comes, his consuming fire will destroy everything that comes against us who are his children. But for that to be so, we must become like him