Keep the Fire Burning
A Christian's marching orders, after salvation, is to win souls and be active in evangelism. In a consumer-driven form of American Christianity, however, many have become passive-duty soldiers. To keep the fire of God burning, followers of Jesus are charged to return to a fervent, action-oriented, leading the lost to a loving Savior.
In the sermon titled: “The Fire of God Explained” Pastor Mike Signorelli emphasized that every follower of Jesus should take personal responsibility in evangelism. The apostolic leader makes the argument that the central purpose of the church and individual Christians, is to win souls for Christ.
"We are going to be a church that leads the lost at any cost to the cross,” he declares over V1 Church. “That is the reason for our very existence; that's the reason why you're alive right now. The harvest is vast, but the laborers are few."
Christianity that is focused on personal comfort, entertainment, and mere intellectual agreement, rather than active engagement in sharing the Gospel, is just consumerism. People would not have time to criticize others if they were out winning souls. Pastor Mike said he is not concerned with one's level of seminary degrees, he wants to know when's the last time a soul was led to Jesus.
Evangelism Is a Personal Responsibility
Evangelism is the act of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with others in hopes that they would, in turn, accept Him and give their lives to Him. Leading the lost to Christ is not solely the responsibility of pastors or church leaders but is the duty of every believer (Mark 16:15, Luke 14:23, Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15-16). We all can identify the people in our lives who need to hear the Gospel. Every believer should want to actively share their faith with those people.
A study of Leviticus 6:13, the fire was to be kept burning on the altar continuously. It was the priest’s job every morning to add new firewood and keep it going. In the New Testament, Jesus becomes our high priest, and we see He kept the fire burning in Himself as He prayed every morning too (Mark 1:35). Pastor Mike insists that every person is keeping a fire burning, it’s either a demonic fire or a holy fire.
Believers are empowered by the Holy Spirit to be witnesses for Christ (Acts 1:8). The presence of God is the holy fire that will ignite us. Without the Holy Spirit, however, we are trying to make a fire without gasoline, which is very difficult. For that reason, we see many people not having the time to read their Bibles, but they do have time to scroll on social media.
Maturity in God
In 2 Timothy 1:6 the Apostle Paul urges believers to fan into the flame the gifts of God that will be instrumental in leading the lost to Christ as the days get darker. The world is entering a period of increasing darkness, making the task of evangelism more urgent than ever. "The bad news is it's going to get darker, it is not going to get better, it's going to get worse,” Pastor Mike warned. He calls believers to be like the wise virgins with oil in their lamps, shining their light in the darkness.
From reading Leviticus we learn that we can not give a Holy God what we want to give Him, we must give Him what He demands. Anyone who tried to do their own thing in scripture never pleased God, from as early as Cain and Abel.
True maturity in God is winning souls. “He who wins souls is wise,” Proverbs 11:30 states. It is not about theological knowledge, prophetic gifts, or outward displays of spirituality, but rather about sharing Christ with a dying world.
There is a difference between fleeting emotions from a church service and the sustained fire of God. The holy fire is fueled by engagement with God and actively sharing the Gospel. Stay on task with the main mission and by the power of the Holy Spirit in you keep the fire burning!
About the Author
Jeannie Ortega Law is a chart-topping singer, evangelist, media personality and author from New York City. She can be reached on social media: @JeannieOrtega or emailed at Info@JeannieO.com
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