The oil & the fire.

Last week we learnt how the Holy Spirit is our beautiful engagement ring which is why He is vital to our readiness for Jesus. This week we are going to look at how we need to live in relationship with the Holy Spirit as we wait and prepare for our bridegroom to come get us.

1 Thessalonians 5:19 says, “Never restrain or put out the fire of the Holy Spirit.” Another translation says, “Do not quench [subdue, or be unresponsive to the working and guidance of] the [Holy] Spirit.” Isn’t it fascinating how the Holy Spirit is oil in Matthew 25 and fire in 1 Thessalonians 5. We cannot do the God journey on our own. We cannot prepare for Jesus on our own. We need the Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit is at the centre of our being the Bride of Christ. Jesus did not expect us to figure things out on our own until His return, this is why He gave us the Holy Spirit. We are to live in union with the Holy Spirit because He is the only one who can get us ready for Jesus. If we want oil in our lamp and our lamp on fire when Jesus returns, we have to hang on to Holy Spirit.

God doesn’t want just any kind of fire. As long as I’m on fire its all good. No. The wrong oil produces the wrong fire. Holy Spirit oil produces Holy Spirit fire. God wants the right kind of fire. The right kind of passion that comes from Him, not from our human effort. We know this from Leviticus 10:1-2 which says, “Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu put coals of fire in their incense burners and sprinkled incense over them. In this way, they disobeyed the Lord by burning before him the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded. So fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and burned them up, and they died there before the Lord.”

God takes our fire seriously. Remember our verse from Revelations 3:15-16 where God told us that if we are lukewarm He will spit us out? There is a right fire and a wrong fire. The wrong kind of fire leave us lukewarm, and God will spit us out. What God is asking of us in Matthew 25 is for us to have the Holy Spirit living in us as oil filling our lamps, our bodies. Holy Spirit needs to be living inside of us, of course He is joined to our spirit but our spirit needs a home, which is our body.

Do you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you? Have you been filled with the Holy Spirit? Is your lamp full of oil? Do you have the Engagement Ring?

What Leviticus 10 shows us is what happens when we restrain, quench, subdue or are unresponsive to the working of the Holy Spirit in us. Holy Spirit is not just here to make us look good. Holy Spirit is here to do a work in us. We need to submit ourselves to the outworking of the Holy Spirit in us as He molds us to be more like Jesus.  

We may think any kind of fire will do, “As long as I am on fire, I am just going to do me.” Bible never said just do you or what feels right to you. You hear people say things like, “Jesus knows my heart”, like that is a total defence to their bad behaviour. But the Bible says out of the heart flows the issues of life, if your life is a mess, yes Jesus knows your heart but everyone around you is seeing the fruit of it and it ain’t pretty.

We have to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us so we can grow and mature and produce the fruit of the Spirit that Galatians talks about. When we are submitted to Holy Spirit, we have His oil flowing through us and we can produce a holy fire that is pleasing to God.

You gotta have the oil and the fire to be able to see the bridegroom. No oil = no fire. You quench the Holy Spirit, treat His voice like it doesn’t matter, He will step back and let you do you. God is not one to force you into submission. He says this is how I want things done, but it’s up to you whether or not you do them. When we are living in disobedience to God, we are quenching the Holy Spirit. The more we do that, the less of Him we have operating in our lives, the less oil we have. The less oil we have, the less we are able to get the fire going. Before we know it, we are lukewarm, just like the five foolish virgins.

When Jesus comes back, He is looking for people who not only have oil but who have fire. The right kind of fire, the Holy Spirit kind of fire burning on the inside of them. The lamps in Matthew 25 speaks of spiritual things in normal terms. But one thing that is true both spiritually and naturally is that you cannot hide fire. Holy Spirit fire has evidence. It’s called the fruit of the Spirit. People can see that you have God living in you by what you do.

How do we make sure we are not lukewarm when Jesus comes back? We make sure that we obey the Holy Spirit. We make sure that we lean in to hear His voice and we follow Him. Holy Spirit is our oil, and He is our fire. He is our Engagement Ring, the One getting us ready for the day our Bridegroom comes back to get us.  

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano