So you should be there in Hebrews chapter 12, and as Brother Ash was reading that you obviously would have noticed that it's a chapter about the chastisement of the Lord, the chastising of the Lord, the judgment of the Lord, and the fear of God that we ought to have, and that He's a mighty, He's a powerful God, and He can shake the earth with His anger, and just by speaking, He's able to change this natural world.
And if you look at just the last verse there, in verse 29, it says,
For our God is a consuming fire. For our God is a consuming fire.
The title of the sermon this afternoon is God is a consuming fire.
Not only is He a fire, but He's a fire that consumes, a fire that burns, a fire that can really destroy.
And again, the context of this chapter was about believers.
I know sometimes when we think about fire, we think about hell, and we are going to touch upon hell later on in the sermon,
but I need you to understand that the God we worship is a God that deserves fear, that deserves reverence,
that deserves honor, that deserves praise, that deserves worship.
The God that we serve is not some Santa Claus, that we can just ask for our gifts,
and if we've been naughty or nice, He's going to give it to us.
If we are disobedient to God, if we are contrary to His word, if we are rebellious against Him,
He will burn. He will cause a fire to burn, and there will be great chastisement,
and it will cause a great fear in your life.
And we need to remember this about our God. He's a great God, a consuming fire.
Now if you can, all I wanted to do in Hebrews 12 is just take that title.
For God is our consuming fire, please turn to the book of Deuteronomy.
Please turn to Deuteronomy chapter 4.
And when we think about a fire, fires can be both positive and negative, can't they?
Think about a fire, and if you're out camping, and you got fish in, you want to cook that fish,
you will set up a campfire or something, right?
A fire to cook, a fire to give light, a fire to give warmth.
Hey, fires, when they're controlled, they can be very profitable, can't they?
But then also a few years ago, we saw the dangers of fires,
and the bush fires that went throughout Australia, and the destruction that it causes.
And when fires are out of control, it's obviously very destructive, very negative.
And so we need to remember this about God, okay?
Yes, He's a consuming fire, and I'm not just saying, hey, be afraid of the consuming fire,
but also make use of the consuming fire that He is, okay?
And this fire can be both positive and negative.
Now, when it comes to, let's look at some of the negative aspects here in Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 22.
Let's have a look at God's people, and if you're saved, you are God's people here.
Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 22, God says to the Old Testament Israelites,
it says here, sorry, this is Moses speaking, he says,
But I must die in this land, I must not go over Jordan, but ye shall go over and possess that good land.
Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you,
and make you a graven image, or the likeness of anything which the Lord God hath forbidden thee.
So Moses warned them, if you go into the land, listen, don't make idols, don't go and worship false gods.
Why? Look at verse 24.
For the law of thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
You see, the jealousy of God is that consuming fire, and He's warning the Israelites, the people of God,
if you turn to false gods, He's going to consume you, the fire can be destructive.
Verse number 25,
When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land,
and shalt corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of anything,
and shalt do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, to provoke Him to anger.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land,
whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it, ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall be utterly destroyed.
And so again, who are these people? These are the people of God. These are the Israelites.
If they turn against the Lord, God says He's a consuming fire, He's going to destroy them.
And this is, you know, we've gone through the book of Jeremiah.
We saw how God, yes, was a consuming fire, removed them out of the land.
It was great suffering, great judgment that fell upon the people of God.
Now can you please go to the same book, chapter number 9.
Go to Deuteronomy chapter number 9, verse number 1.
Deuteronomy chapter 9, verse number 1.
So obviously it's not a pleasant thing to fall in the hands of an angry God.
Not a pleasant thing to have that consuming fire burn you because of your disobedience,
the destruction, the chastisement that can come.
But also, God is a consuming fire to the wicked, to the ungodly, to those that are not saved.
Because it says here in verse number 1, Deuteronomy chapter 9, verse 1,
Hear, O Israel, thou art to pass over Jordan this day,
and go to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven.
So as they go into the promised land, the land of Canaan, they're going to possess nations greater.
So these are the Canaanites. These are the ungodly Canaanites
whose time of judgment had come by the hand of God as the Israelites came and possessed the land.
Look at verse number 2.
Are people great and tall, the children of the Anakins, whom thou knowest,
and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak?
Understand therefore this day, that the Lord thy God is he which goeth over before thee as a consuming fire.
Now is he a consuming fire to the Israelites this time?
No. As a consuming fire, he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face,
so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the Lord hath said unto thee.
And so now we have the ungodly facing God as a consuming fire,
but it's to the benefit of the children of God.
As they go in to possess that land, the land that's been promised to Abraham,
that God will be a consuming fire to the enemies of God.
That God be consuming fire to those that hate God.
And this is where the advantage comes as a Christian.
Yes, sometimes we have faced the consuming fire of God's judgment because of our disobedience.
But you know, at the same time, that consuming fire protects us.
At the same time, that consuming fire protects us from the wicked,
those that might hate you because of your faith.
They might hate this church because of what we preach.
God is a consuming fire.
You can see it can both be a negative, I guess, to you if you're being disobedient,
or it can be a positive to you, just like fire.
As I said, if it's a fire that's controlled, hey, there's a lot of positive elements when it comes to fire.
But a fire that is out of control can cause a lot of destruction.
And so what I want to look at today, brethren, is five points,
five points of how God is a consuming fire.
In what sense can we use this fire for our benefit to protect us from those that might harm us?
Can you please go to, you're in Deuteronomy,
So go to Deuteronomy chapter 33.
Go to Deuteronomy chapter 33.
Deuteronomy chapter 33, please.
And in what sense is God a fire?
What's my point number one?
Well, I'm going to quickly read to you from Jeremiah 23 verse 29.
You go to Deuteronomy chapter 33.
I'm reading to you from Jeremiah 23, 29.
God says this.
He says,
This is not my word like a fire, saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces.
Brethren, this is, this word of God is a fire.
It's a hammer that breaks things into pieces.
This, God's word, is a fire.
It burns.
It consumes.
You know, we love it.
We love this fire.
Okay, why?
Because it burns and consumes our sins.
It burns and consumes lies and false doctrine and false gospels.
But, brethren, for those that are unsaved, you know, it burns and it hurts.
They're offended by God's word.
God's word is a fire.
You've been given a powerful weapon, the sword of the Spirit.
This hammer that breaks rocks into pieces God's word.
You're there in Deuteronomy 33 verse 1.
It says,
And this is the blessing wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.
And he said,
The Lord came from Sinai and rose up from Seir unto them.
He shined forth from Mount Paran and he came with ten thousands of saints.
From his right hand, look at this, went a fiery law for them.
A fiery law?
What was that?
The Ten Commandments.
As Moses came down from Mount Sinai, those Ten Commandments, God says, is a fiery law.
It burns.
Once again, in what sense does it burn?
Because they're commandments, right?
It causes us to look upon those things and realize, boy, we're sinners.
We've done wrong.
It hopefully consumes your sin.
It makes you wake up to the reality of the sinner that you are, the wrong that you've done, but it burns, brethren.
You know, the ungodly world hates God's word and I want you to understand this.
If we're going to be faithful to God's word, if we're going to preach without compromise, the world will hate this church.
You know, this church will never be, unless God blesses in a supernatural way, but this church will never be a church of thousands upon thousands.
We're not going to be the Hillsong, you know, competitive, you know, competition, because we burn, brethren.
We burn.
And please remember, as you read God's word, it ought to burn a little bit.
It ought to cause some pain because you have the old man and the old man is rebellious against God's word.
The old man doesn't like to be pointed out for his offenses and sins.
But brethren, when he burns, be thankful that you're facing the fire of his word.
Point number one, brethren, is that God is consuming fire and we have the fire of his word.
I'm going to, if you can maybe turn to Jeremiah with me now.
Please go to Jeremiah chapter 5.
Jeremiah chapter 5, verse number 12.
The next point I have for you, brethren, is that we have the fire of preaching.
The fire of preaching.
And naturally, if God's word is a fire and someone stands behind this pulpit and preaches God's word, then what's going to come forth?
It's going to be the fires of preaching, right?
As long as we are preaching God's word.
You know what? You deviate from God's word, you're going to be preaching something, but it's just going to be smoke.
It's going to be smoke. It's going to be something else.
No, God wants us to preach with fire.
The Bible says in Ephesians 5, verse 12.
They have belied the Lord and said, it is not here.
Neither shall evil come upon us, neither shall we see sword nor famine.
And the prophet shall become wind, and the word is not in them.
Thus shall it be done unto them.
Now again, for the men that are preaching.
And listen, one day, you might find yourself not part of Blessed or Baptist Church.
There's a warning here.
If you go to a church, you don't want the preacher, you don't want the prophet to become like wind.
When he gets behind the pulpit, it's just...
Oh, that was nice.
A nice little breeze.
I know, that felt really good, right?
This hot weather, wow, that's a nice little breeze.
But the idea of wind is basically hot air.
It's pointless, it's vain.
And brethren, this city is filled with churches that are just preaching wind.
It affects nothing, it burns nothing.
In fact, it's very comfortable.
It's nice, okay?
Brethren, let's not have prophets like this.
This church is not to be a preaching of wind and emptiness and nothingness.
It says the prophet shall become wind.
And the word is not in them, that's why the wind, God's word is not in them.
Thus shall it be done unto them.
Wherefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts, because you speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire,
and this people would, and it shall devour them.
Listen, God gives us so many illustrations, right?
As a pastor, a pastor is a shepherd, and the Bible says that the church is a flock,
and so part of my responsibility is to think of you as sheep that needs guidance and teaching from God's word,
leading you to green pastures.
And yes, there will be comfort.
Many times I preach the comfort of God, and it's going to be found in God's word,
and I want you to walk in his righteous past and find the beautiful comforts, the green pastures of God.
But at the same time, there are other times, brethren, where you are basically wood,
and the preaching of this mouth ought to be fire, and it's going to burn, and it's going to hurt.
And brethren, please, when that happens, please understand, it's not your pastor's heart to just upset you or offend you.
The reason I want to burn you a little bit is because, well, first of all, if I don't burn you,
I'm not using God's word, number one, but secondly, it's just to clean up your life.
We're all sinners. We've all got wickedness in us, brethren.
We can easily get offended, and I don't want you to get offended to the point where you leave church,
oh, I didn't like what that was, and you leave church because you got your toe stepped on a little bit.
The Bible burns.
If you want to be in a church that preaches faithfully, it's going to hurt.
Not only will God's word hurt, but sometimes the preacher's word will hurt.
And brethren, you know, I'm not the kind of guy that's going to pull you aside and start preaching about your personal sins, all right,
or make it so obvious that I'm actually, I'm definitely preaching about brother, brother Ramsey or something, right,
or brother Matt, you know, that's not my heart.
My heart is just to preach God's word, you know, faithfully and true,
and it should reach the heart and the soul of each one of you.
And brethren, if I do offend you, please understand it's because I love you.
It's because God says I've got to preach and take that fire out upon wood so it burns.
It gets rid of the dross and the wickedness.
This is what's wonderful about God's word.
It helps refine us. It helps us to be refined like silver or gold in the eyes of God.
Please appreciate when you get offended.
Please appreciate it when you have your toe stepped on or your face ripped a little bit by God's word.
Please go to chapter 20 of Jeremiah, Jeremiah chapter 20, verse number 7.
And we've explored Jeremiah already, but just as a reminder here, Jeremiah chapter 20, verse number 7.
You may recall in the life of Jeremiah where, yeah, he is, he's preaching hard.
He's preaching the fires. He's burning. He's burning the wood of those that are listening.
And because of that, people get offended, yes, and then they start hating on Jeremiah.
They start to persecute him.
And Jeremiah gets to a point, you may recall, where he quits. He quits the ministry.
Not for long, but he quits.
Because, yeah, I guess this can happen. Pastors, preachers can get discouraged.
When you're just trying to be faithful to God, you're trying to be faithful to God's people,
and people turn around and they hate you for it.
But it says in verse number 7,
O LORD, Thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived.
Thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed.
I am a derision daily, everyone mocketh me.
Everyone I preach to God, they just laugh in my face.
Thank God you guys don't laugh in my face.
I mean, I've got it easier than Jeremiah.
Anyway, verse number 8.
For since I spake, I cried out.
I cried violence and spoil.
Hey, this sounds like fiery preaching.
Because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me,
and a derision daily.
Verse number 9.
Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name.
I'm done. I can't do this anymore, God.
Everyone hates me.
I'm just being faithful to you.
I love these people. I want them to learn.
I'm preaching the words that you've given me, God. I quit.
It's not worth it.
But then he says,
Then he says, but his word was in mine heart as a burning fire, shut up in my bones.
And I was weary with forbearing, then I could not stay.
He says, man, when I shut up, I stopped preaching, I quit.
The words of God, they started to burn within me, I couldn't help but preach God's word once again.
You know, preachers need to preach with fire.
Preachers need to preach the word of God.
And it will burn, it will hurt.
And this is life.
You will be offended sometimes when you hear preaching behind the pulpit.
And sometimes this pastor is going to get discouraged.
When you do get offended and you take it out on the pastor.
But we're learning together, we understand God is a consuming fire.
And listen, it can be for profit or it can be for destruction.
I want it to be for your profit.
When we preach against a sin, it's not to destroy you.
It's to refine you.
It's to make you even more holier, more pleasant in the eyes of God.
Now, when you think about the fire of preaching, we had our salvation this morning.
Praise God for those that went out solving it.
You know what, again, you may not, again, stand behind this pulpit.
But when you're preaching the gospel, brethren, again, what are you doing?
You're burning the wood.
If you're using God's word, you're using the fire.
The fire to destroy.
That person's false belief that they can get to heaven on their own good works or their own good merits.
Their false belief that their false religion or their other duties will get them to heaven.
When we preach the gospel, we are proclaiming that fire.
We are burning the false beliefs that they have.
Brethren, don't forget, it's not just the preacher that's behind this pulpit.
It's those that preach the gospel to the lost.
You are preaching fire.
You are causing burn.
That's why people get offended at you sometimes at the door.
Because it burns, the truth burns.
But be thankful.
Be thankful when people get upset.
I mean, obviously, don't offend people at your ignorance and stupidity.
But if God's word offends, well, God's word offends.
God's word burns.
God has given us the fire of preaching.
Can you please turn to 2 Kings, chapter 6?
Turn to 2 Kings, chapter 6.
And while you're turning to 2 Kings, chapter 6, I'm going to read to you from Revelation 11, verse 3.
Because when I think about this idea of the fire of preaching, I think about the end times.
And you may recall in the end times, there are two witnesses that will preach for the last three and a half years.
And while obviously I'm speaking in a spiritual sense of a fire,
but these two witnesses have a literal fire that proceeds out of their mouth.
The Bible says in Revelation 11, 3,
And I will give power unto my two witnesses,
And they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days clothed in sackcloth.
So that's three and a half years.
These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before the god of the earth.
And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth and devoureth their enemies.
And if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
So I just thought that was interesting that in these last days, or in the end times,
there are two witnesses that actually, when they speak, when they preach, it literally burns.
Literally. Those that come against them, those that hate God's word,
they'll be destroyed by the fires that proceed out of their mouth.
That's a very literal sense. But again, let's not lose sight of the spiritual sense here.
Because God's word is a fire, the preacher is to preach God's word,
and it will be a fire, and it can burn in the same way.
It can cause offense and destruction in the same way.
But we're there in 2 Kings chapter 6, verse number 13.
And I really enjoy this story. I really like this story.
You know, if you ever sometimes feel that your enemies are surrounding you,
you feel like your problems are too big, you feel like you're going to have a nervous breakdown,
or you just can't deal with the issues that you're going through,
I sometimes look at this verse, or this passage, and I'm reminded about our great God.
I'm reminded about his protection.
And it says in 2 Kings chapter 6, verse 13.
And he said,
We're talking about Elisha here. They're looking for Elisha.
Verse number 14, the prophet Elisha, verse 14.
So, to fetch Elisha, we've got basically the army.
We've got the horses, the chariots, a great host, a great army,
just trying to get this one man, okay?
And it can pass the city about. Look at verse 15.
I don't know, I guess this would be similar to maybe people that are,
you know, people in the Ukraine.
Where they're seeing themselves surrounded by the Russian army, right?
The Russian forces, the Russian tanks, etc.
And they're probably fearful.
Like, there's this great host, there's a great power surrounding us.
How shall we do? What do we do?
And I love this. Verse number 16.
In what way? It's just you and me, Elisha.
What are you talking about? We're surrounded. Can't you see, Elisha?
How can you say the two of us is more than them?
I love this. Verse number 17.
Yeah, you say you already know that. No.
Horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
So you've got this army looking for Elisha,
and then around them and around all of them are horses that are on fire.
Chariots that are on fire.
Brethren, the third point that I have for you is that God also offers the fires of protection.
The fires of protection, okay?
This young man sees now, man, we do have an army on our side.
These horses, these chariots, they're on fire.
It's the heavenly host. It's the armies of God.
Verse number 18.
And so, brethren, the reason I like this is because, obviously, we think about this story,
and sometimes when we read these stories in the Bible, we think they're a one-off.
Oh, what a miracle, you know, surrounded by chariots of horses and fire.
What I'm saying to you, brethren, is this isn't a one-off scenario, okay?
Now, I don't believe for a moment that Elisha saw what the servant saw.
Elisha didn't need to. What did Elisha have? Faith.
Elisha had faith. God wants us to operate by faith.
It's faith that pleases the Lord, all right?
Now, this man was very afraid, so God did a supernatural, allowed him to see into the spiritual realm,
and when he opened his eyes into the spiritual realm, what did he see?
The protection of God's fire.
The fires of the chariots, the fires of the horses that came to protect them from the enemy, okay?
Or from the other army, from the other hosts.
And so, brethren, what I'm saying to you is if we could somehow open our eyes on a spiritual level,
I wouldn't be surprised if our church right now is surrounded by horses and chariots of fire.
I wouldn't be surprised right now if God had a hedge of protection of his heavenly hosts protecting us from the wicked.
I'm sure there are many times that you've gone through life
and there's been cause of destruction along your way.
The devil sought to destroy you, the devil sought to hurt you, the wickedness, the minister of Satan,
have sought to damage you, hurt your family, whatever it is, and you don't even know.
And you're just walking every day, a normal life, just going about life,
not knowing how God is protecting you right now, surrounded by horses and chariots of fire.
No doubt whatsoever, okay?
I mean, how can this be a one-off scenario?
Remember, Elisha didn't see it, but the servants saw it.
We need to operate by faith.
What I'm saying, brethren, that if we're faithful to God, we stay close to God, we're in the will of God,
he's going to protect us as a consuming fire, a fire of horses, a fire of chariots,
if we could just open our spiritual eyes.
But God doesn't want to open our spiritual eyes in that sense.
He wants us to operate by faith.
Do you trust God?
Do you know that God looks out for you?
Do you know that God protects you?
I have no doubt that I probably would have destroyed my life by now.
I have no doubt that this church would have closed down a long time ago,
a new life after church would have closed down a long time ago.
I have no doubt that my family would be destroyed and that I'd be, I don't know, okay?
If not for God's hand of protection.
Say, when did that happen?
I have no idea, because I can't see the horses of fire.
I can't see the chariots protecting me.
But I know by God's word they have.
I know by God's word they've protected me from people that seek to hurt me.
And it's the same for you Brevin.
If you're a child of God, God sends his host, his heavenly host,
his chariots of horses and fire to protect you from those that seek to hurt you.
Can you please go to Exodus 14.
Exodus 14 verse 21.
We have another story when God's people were surrounded by another army, Egyptian army.
Of course this is the Exodus when Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt
and they come to the Red Sea and you know they obviously can't cross the Red Sea.
We know the great miracle that God does.
He opens the waters and they're able to pass through dry land.
But don't forget what took place as well in that story, verse number 21.
And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and the Lord caused the sea to go back
by a strong east wind all that night and made the sea dry land and the waters were divided.
And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground
and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left.
But notice the next part here, verse 23.
And the Egyptians pursued and went in after them to the midst of the sea
even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots and his horsemen.
But look at verse 24.
And it came to pass that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians
through the pillar of fire and of the cloud and troubled the host of the Egyptians.
So as they're going through dry land, they're being chased by the chariots,
they're being chased by the armies of Pharaoh and God's pillar of fire and cloud troubles them.
It protects them as they're able to, because obviously they're a great host.
It's estimated there could have been two or three million of them passing through.
Women, children, cattle, it's not like they've got chariots.
They're not an army.
Obviously their progress is going to be much slower than the progress of the Egyptian army.
But God troubles them, God stops them, God protects them through that pillar of fire.
Look at verse 25.
How many times has God fought for us?
And we don't even know.
But again, no doubt, no doubt, God's got these stories in the Bible for us.
So we see his hand of protection, the fires of his protection.
God is a consuming fire.
And brethren, if we're in the will of God, we're walking his paths,
God's going to protect us with that same pillar of fire,
the same horses and chariots of fire, God's hand of protection.
Now when we think about this pillar of fire, not only was it a method of protection from the Egyptians,
if you can please go to your previous chapter, Exodus chapter 13, sorry, Exodus 13.
Go to Exodus 13.
What else was this fire for?
Exodus chapter 13 and verse number 21.
Now when you think about a pillar of fire, I just want you to get your thought.
Obviously it's a pillar.
So we think of a pillar, we think of something that is,
either as a foundation, pillars as a foundation, but a pillar is something that stands upright.
So as the Egyptians army are seeking to hurt the Israelites,
all of a sudden this pillar of fire just comes up and troubles them.
I mean who's going to pass through that fire?
Obviously going through that is going to destroy you, burn you.
But not only, as I said, when we think about fires and the profit that fires can be,
what else does fire do?
Exodus 13 verse 21.
It says, and the Lord went before them by day as a pillar of a cloud.
That makes perfect sense.
As they're going through the wilderness, the Lord is leading them.
So as they see this pillar of cloud move, they're following the cloud.
It's giving them direction.
Not only does it give them direction, I guess from the hot sun, that cloud,
like when you think about clouds on a hot day, it gives us shade, it gives us comfort.
Well that cloud obviously would protect them from the harsh weather elements.
That's during the day, but then it says this,
to lead them of the way and then, and by night in a pillar of fire, why?
To give them light and to go by day and night.
He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people.
So not only was the pillar of fire a form of protection, but it was also a form of light.
As they're travelling through the wilderness of light, obviously they don't have torches,
they don't have any way to siege in the night, but this pillar provided light.
And so they were also able to continue in their journey at night time
because of the light that the pillar provided.
And so the fourth point that I have for you brethren is God has given us a fire or a light in the night.
A fire in the night.
When we think about the night, we think of darkness.
And brethren, this is a world of darkness.
This is a strange world that we live in.
Next week, our city, our city of Sydney is going to be celebrating the LGBT,
the Gay and Lesbian, is that still called the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras?
Or do they have to add all the other letters now?
I don't know.
But it's going to be happening in our city, okay?
The weakness of Sydney is going to be this stench and it's a dark place.
It's a dark place of sin, brethren.
It's crazy.
I hate Facebook right now.
I hate social media right now.
You know what?
The weeks leading up to the Mardi Gras, I recommend just don't get on those things
because they just fill your eyes with just complete filth of this community.
Is it a community?
I don't even want to call them a community.
This filth, okay?
We live in a dark day.
We live in a dark city.
But when God provides the light, He provides light.
Light in the darkness.
And what I love about light, I'll quickly read to you.
You're familiar with this passage.
I'll be quick.
Actually, I'll get you to turn to John chapter 8, please.
Go to John chapter 8 and I'll read to you a very familiar passage, Genesis 1-1.
In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form and void.
And darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
I love this.
And God said, let there be light and there was light.
And God saw the light that it was good.
And God divided the light from the darkness.
And God called the light day and the darkness He called night.
And the evening and the morning were the first day.
What did God create on day number 1?
Light.
And He divided the light from the darkness.
Brethren, we live in a dark world, a dark city.
But we've been given the light of God.
He lights, you know, with His consuming fire,
He provides clarity of vision.
He gives us ways to walk.
He helps us understand what is wicked, what is sinful, what is righteous.
I love this about God.
You know, I love being a Christian because I know what's right.
I know what's wrong.
I know what's light.
I know what's darkness because of His Word.
I'm not confused, okay?
But here we live in a world that's all gray.
Okay, maybe dark, maybe light, but really it's just all gray.
Who knows?
That's just your opinion.
You've grown up as a Christian, so you think of that as bad.
But maybe it's good.
The Bible says in Isaiah 5-20,
Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil
and put darkness for light and light for darkness
that puts bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
And so this world doesn't know what's righteous.
They don't know.
They confuse it.
They look at darkness.
They look at wickedness.
They look at the LGBT and they go, man, this is wonderful.
This is light.
This is love.
No!
It's wickedness.
It's filth.
It's darkness.
Those people are going to burn for all eternity in hell.
They've been rejected by God.
They've rejected God.
God's rejected them.
God has not changed, all right?
I mean, we know how much God hates His sin.
When Sodom and Gomorrah were practicing this filth,
God could not even wait to send them to hell.
Hell came to them on the earth.
God rained fire and brimstone from heaven
to destroy those wicked cities.
But brethren, we've been given the light of God's Word
that we know what is true.
We know what is honest.
We know how to please God.
We know what's darkness.
And brethren, when you find yourself in darkness,
you've got to draw back to the light.
You've got to get back into the fellowship of the Lord
and not for salvation.
Salvation is a one-time believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved.
But even after we're saved, we can walk in darkness.
We often do.
You know, when we turn against the Lord,
we sin openly against Him
and we stop picking up the barb,
we stop going to church
and we stop living that Christian life,
it's very easy to fall in the darkness of this world.
But brethren, let's not be like these people
that call good evil or evil good, okay?
That put darkness for light or light for darkness.
You're there in John chapter 8 verse 12.
John chapter 8 verse 12.
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying,
I am the light of the world.
He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life.
Brethren, if you want to have the light
in this wicked and dark world,
you must follow after Christ.
You must follow after Christ.
Walk in His paths, keep His commandments,
do His will,
and God will shine a great light
in your understanding, okay?
In your path as we try to
work our way through this dark
and wicked world.
Point number 4, brethren,
is that God is a fire in the night,
a light in the darkness.
Can you now please turn to
1 Corinthians chapter 3?
Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 3.
1 Corinthians chapter number 3, please.
And we're kind of coming back to
Hebrews 12, the idea of Hebrews 12,
where, you know,
God judges us.
You know, God will look down at our works,
He'll judge us.
You know, if you do works that pleases the Lord,
He'll reward us.
If we walk in the ways of darkness,
He'll correct us, He'll chastise us.
And so point number 5, brethren,
God is a consummified in the sense that,
you know, one day we're going to face
the fires of judgment.
One day we're going to face
the fires of judgment.
I'm talking about after this life, okay?
After this life, when we are facing Christ
face to face,
we are going to face the fires of judgment.
You say, Pastor Kevin, that sounds like hell.
No, I'm not talking about that, okay?
Well, I will talk about that soon, okay?
But whether you're saved
or whether you're unsaved,
you are going to face the fires of God's judgment
after this life, okay?
And I want you to understand this.
Obviously, forget the unsaved for a moment.
I'm talking about the saved,
I'm talking about the believer.
You are guaranteed a home in heaven.
I'm not saying these fires of judgment
has any bearing on your eternal destination, okay?
I'm not talking about that whatsoever.
But God has given us a life to live, okay?
Now, yes, heaven's the future.
Yes, we're going there one day,
but we have a life to live now.
How are you going to live your life for God?
Thinking about the consuming fire that He is.
And when you think about the consuming fire He is,
it ought to cause some fear in your heart.
You know, I fear for Sydney.
I'm afraid. What's God going to do
when the city starts celebrating this filth once again?
I don't know.
You know, does God have to send another bushfire
to wake people up?
You know, what judgment does this nation
have to fall under to wake people up?
You know, I don't know, okay?
I don't know.
But brethren, we have a life to live.
God has given us salvation.
He's given us the light of His Word.
He's given us His Holy Spirit.
He's given us His Bible.
He's given us Blessed Hell Baptist Church.
He's given us the Brethren, Brothers and Sisters
and the Lord for fellowship.
And He's given us the opportunity to serve Him,
the gospel to preach, you know,
to see a soul saved from eternal judgments of fire
to go to heaven.
God's given us so many wonderful privileges.
What are you going to do for the Lord?
One day we are going to stand
before the fires of God's judgment.
Christ will stand before us and judge us
for what we've done on this earth.
Again, not for salvation,
but for what we've done on this earth.
1 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 11.
Let me stop there for a moment.
If you're saved, if you have believed in Christ,
you have been given the foundation of Christ.
Now with this pulpit,
let me just quickly, let's just pretend
that the foundation that's here, right?
This is a picture of Christ.
Christ has laid the foundation.
If you're saved, you're on this foundation for Christ.
But now that you have the foundation,
what are you going to do for the Lord?
Well, let's keep going, verse number 12.
Now if any man build upon this foundation,
does God want us to build upon the foundation?
Yes.
Okay?
What?
Gold, silver, precious stones.
Let's stop there for a moment.
I've got a gold ring, all right?
Okay, here's the foundation.
What would the gold ring represent
if we're going to build something on the foundation?
What would be works and service
that pleases the Lord, right?
Things that matter for eternity.
Things that will last forever.
Well, there's the gold
that we're laying upon the foundation.
All right, I've done some works for you, God.
I've seen some souls saved.
I've cleaned up my wickedness, Lord.
I'm trying to live that holy life
and I'm growing in you, Lord.
I'm growing in knowledge
and I'm being a blessing.
I'm serving the house of God.
Whatever it is, Reverend,
it's the gold that you're laying on the foundation.
Let's keep going.
If any man lay, verse number 12,
if any man build upon this foundation
gold, silver, precious stones,
but then it says wood, hay, and stubble.
Wood, hay, and stubble.
So there's a paper cup.
Yeah, you know what?
I'm sure my life,
you know, because I'm saved,
I have the foundation.
I'm sure in my life I have some gold.
I'm sure.
And I'm sure I have some wood,
some paper as well, okay?
What are these?
Things that we do
that have no impact on eternity.
Living on this earth,
you know, amassing.
It's not sin.
It's just stuff that we do
that just has no eternal value.
You know, things that distract us
from the work of God,
the kingdom of God,
which aren't sinful in and of themselves,
but, you know, they're placed
upon the foundation of Christ,
and one day we're going to stand before God.
God's going to see this,
and He's going to judge us with fire,
you know, for what we've done on the earth.
Let's keep going there.
It says in verse number 13,
every man's work shall be made manifest,
for the day shall declare it,
because, look at this,
it shall be revealed by fire,
and the fire shall try every man's work
what sort it is.
So one day I'm going to stand before Jesus.
He's going to bring out my works
that I've done for Him.
Here, all right?
And the fire's going to reveal what it is.
Now, brethren, if a fire passes through right now,
what's going to be destroyed?
The cup, right?
This useless, earthly stuff
that I've wasted my time on.
The fire will destroy this thing.
Like, where'd it go?
But then when the fire passes through the gold,
that's going to remain.
In fact, it's probably going to be even better.
It's going to purify whatever junk was there,
and it's going to, you know,
cause it to be even more purified,
more perfect,
because the fire's passed through.
Okay?
So it's going to reveal.
So, yeah, when I stand before God,
and I bring my work,
Lord, I've done all this stuff for you,
you know,
well, God's going to reveal it by fire.
That's all gone.
Hopefully there's a lot more of this going on
than this, okay?
For all of us,
I'm sure we have some measure of this in our life,
okay?
But it's going to reveal what's left.
Now look at verse number 14.
If any man's work abides,
so let me put that ring back there,
okay?
If that abides, which it will,
cause it's gold,
if any man's work abides,
which have built thereupon,
he shall receive a reward.
Brethren, heaven is not
a communist paradise
where everyone gets equal measure of everything.
We go to heaven,
and God says,
alright, you're all saved,
so you get all equal share
of rewards in heaven.
No.
Heaven is not communism.
You better get to work.
You better start putting some
gold and silver and precious stones
on the foundation of Jesus Christ,
because then he'll reward you.
Brethren, you can spend all your time
on this if you want.
Man, I've been really busy in life.
Yeah, a lot of this.
I've been, yeah, man,
I've been, you know,
working hard,
and I've got a huge bank account,
and, you know,
I've made a huge name for myself,
and things aren't necessarily sinful
in and of themselves once again,
but, you know,
it's all going to burn you.
You get to heaven, man.
I work so much, God.
What?
Hey, at least you made it to heaven.
Okay, but look,
if any man,
look at verse number 14.
I already read it.
If any man's work and body
was built thereupon,
he shall receive a reward.
God wants to reward us.
You know what?
We don't work for free.
Like, if you,
you know,
for the men that have jobs,
if your employer said,
look, I need you to come to work,
but I'm not going to pay you.
Who's going to work?
No, we work for the reward.
We work to get paid.
You know, God's going to pay us.
And some people say to me,
well, I don't need a reward.
I'm thankful enough that Jesus died for me.
Well, that's great.
That's your foundation, okay?
But now whatever you do for Christ,
He's going to reward you.
He wants to reward you.
He wants you to have riches
and treasures in heaven.
Brethren, please spend your time,
you know,
getting these riches
You're going to look back at life
and go,
man, I wish I did more for Christ.
I wish I laid up more gold,
silver, precious stones, okay?
Look at verse number 15.
It says here,
if any man's work shall be burned.
So let me use this illustration, okay?
So there's the foundation of Christ.
The wood, hay and stubble,
that's all going to burn, okay?
If any man's work shall be burned,
it's all burnt, okay?
He shall suffer loss.
What's he going to suffer?
What's he going to lose?
Is he going to lose his salvation?
That's not what it says.
He shall suffer loss.
Loss of what?
Well, what did the man with the gold earn?
Rewards.
So he's going to lose rewards.
You say, but if he's got no works passed in heaven,
that proves he was never saved.
No, the fire's destroyed it all.
It's all burnt, okay?
But once it burns everything,
and there's no works
that he's done for the Lord,
it says here,
but he himself shall be saved,
yet so as by fire.
Meaning that once the fire burns all the rubbish,
what does it reveal again?
It just reveals the foundation of Christ.
Brethren, your works does not prove.
Your works is not evidence of your salvation.
It's the foundation of Christ
that's the foundation of your salvation.
That's what your salvation is.
I have Christ.
I have laid the foundation.
And yes, you can be saved and have the foundation
and do nothing for God,
or you can have all wood, hay, and stubble,
and it all burns,
and brethren, you're still saved
because you're saved by grace,
through faith and all of yourselves.
It is the gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast.
But brethren, if you have some works,
some gold, silver, precious stones,
what do you get on top of salvation?
Rewards.
Treasures in heaven.
It's going to be worth it, okay?
But brethren, just remind yourself,
you will stand before Jesus Christ one day,
and I'm not trying to scare you.
Maybe.
Maybe we need a fear of God.
Boy, man, am I ready to stand before God?
What have I done for him?
Honestly, what have I done for him?
I'm 40 now.
I don't know how old you guys are.
Do you think you've really given time
and service to God the way you should have?
Can you please go to Revelation 20?
We've seen the judgment on believers,
and brethren, even if it all burns,
thank God for the foundation of Christ.
You're going to heaven, okay?
You're going to heaven.
But Revelation 20, verse 11,
some of the scariest words in the Bible here.
Revelation 20, verse 11,
for the unbelievers.
And I saw a great white throne.
By the way, these are two different judgment seats, okay?
The great white throne is for the non-believers,
and the judgment seat of Christ is for believers.
That's when we judge for the works that we've done
on top of the foundation of Christ.
But Revelation 20, verse 11,
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it,
from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away,
and there was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead.
Now, this judgment is a judgment for the dead.
Brethren, if you're saved, you're not dead.
You have everlasting life.
And even when this body perishes,
you're more alive than you've ever been before, okay?
But it says here, and I saw the dead.
So these are people that are not saved, obviously.
Small and great, stand before God,
and the books were opened, and another book was opened,
which is the book of life.
And the dead were judged out of those things
which were written in the books according to their works.
Hey, they've got works as well. Why?
Because they think they're going to be justified before God by their works.
But, brethren, their works are filthy rags in the eyes of God.
And if they're dead, are they going to be found in the book of life?
Of course not, okay?
Verse number 13,
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it,
and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them.
So if someone dies and goes to hell today,
one day they're going to come out of hell
and stand before this great white throne judgment of God, okay?
They're going to be delivered, it says here,
and for a moment you think, man, I got out of hell!
Okay, well now you stand before the fiery judgment,
the consummate fire of God.
I don't think things are going to work out well for you, okay?
Let me read verse 13 again.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it,
and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them.
And they would judge every man according to their works.
Verse number 14,
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life
was cast into the lake of fire.
You know, there are so many people that hate preachers talking about hell
or the lake of fire, a place that burns,
and people are tormented day and night forever and ever.
But this is a reality, brethren.
This is where the unsaved, this is where the lost go.
They're going to stand before God,
yes, they're going to be consumed by God's fire,
and they're going to be thrown into the lake of fire,
the second death,
because their works are not good enough.
Brethren, yes, you know what?
Even if our works get burnt up,
doesn't matter, we've got the foundation of Christ,
they don't have that foundation.
Okay, they don't have that foundation.
They think they're good enough,
they think their works will get them to heaven,
their good deeds,
brethren, they're going to die and go to hell.
We live in a community of lost, dying people,
and when this takes place, the judgment seat of Christ,
this consuming fire, it's too late for them.
It's too late for them.
But, brethren, it's not too late for them today.
Thank you for those that went out soil-wining today.
Thank you.
Okay, it tells me that you understand this reality,
that people are going to burn and go to hell.
Okay, yes, it's one thing to go and serve Christ,
and preach the gospel, and earn rewards,
but also your heart yearns for your fellow man.
You don't want to see them tormented day and night.
You want to see them come into the kingdom of God,
and hear the preaching of the gospel,
so they have an opportunity to either believe or reject Jesus Christ.
Brethren, God is a consuming fire.
Again, you know, if we walk in His paths,
we walk in His ways,
there's great profit, great protection,
great light that God offers us.
But, brethren, please understand,
if you just seek this world, you seek your flesh,
you live in weakness,
that God will chastise you as well in that fire.
But don't forget,
don't forget that one day we will stand before Jesus Christ.
And what I want, brethren,
is when that fire burns through your works,
I really want to see your face light up.
I want to see you rejoice in the treasures that you've laid up in heaven.
What a wonderful day that will be.
Not only are we going to be rewarded for our own individual works,
but the Bible also is very clear.
That we can be rewarded as well as a church.
The work that we do together,
the service that we are,
we are one body, okay?
We are the body of Christ.
We're here to serve one another.
And so, brethren, just in summary,
the five points that I had for you.
You know, we've got the fire of God's word.
We have the fire of preaching.
We have the fires of protection.
We have a fire in the night,
or the light in the darkness,
and also the fires of judgment.
Let's pray.