This sermon is one of my oldest "Ukrainian sermons". Back when I could hardly speak Russian and when I was traveling almost every weekend to village churches together with my friends Vova and Pasha, I would often preach this one, with Vova interpreting. It's a topical sermon, on the general idea of the positive nuance of the "fire" metaphor in Scripture as related to personal spiritual experience. I must acknowledge the Catholic writer Thomas Merton for the metaphor of the wax and seal. That's what "got me thinking" and led to the broader reflections constructed around that central image.
The Bible has very interesting things to say about fire. Usually we think of fire in connection with hell, with eternal punishment. "Fire" has a negative, frightening connotation. We mustn’t overlook the positive connotation of "fire" in the Bible, though. The Bible clearly tells us that fire is not only for punishment. No, “fire” is part of the believer’s daily experience….
Matthew 3:11 says, "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." Here, John the Baptist is predicting the ministry of God's Son. He’s telling the crowd gathered by the water’s edge, "You’re going to be immersed by the Messiah into God's Spirit – and into fire!" The people must have been wondering, “What can he possibly be talking about?” We can well ask the same question today. Perhaps John intended to present God’s Spirit as fire? There’s truth in that, to be sure; the scripture says, "our God is a consuming fire." Or maybe John meant to depict the work of the Holy Spirit as a “fire” that burns away everything that displeases God, whatever isn’t of eternal worth. That could be, too. The apostle Peter spoke of very much the same thing. He said that our faith must be purified just like fire purifies gold - but the purification of faith is of far more lasting worth; even earthly gold, no matter how pure, will ultimately pass away, while faith purified in God’s spiritual fire is of eternal value.
The scriptures also tell us that we’ll be tested by fire on the last day. That is, the quality of our life and ministry will be tested. Paul tells us "that Day will appear with fire and the fire will test everyone's work to show what sort of work it was."
Therefore fire is inevitable, even for the believer. Not only is it inevitable, it’s to be desired. Why? Because it's God's will! And God's will is always perfect. You remember how Jesus said with deep emotion, "I came to set fire to the world, and I wish it were already burning!" Jesus' fire is the fire that changes lives. It’s both a wonderful and terrible fire. It purifies life – I mean real life, by destroying the false “life” that hangs on, even in believers. That’s definitely painful. But the pain is necessary, even blessed. If we resist this fire, we resist God Himself, to the detriment of our own present and future fulfillment.
Let me make an important clarification: when I talk about fire, I don't mean emotion! I don't mean our own zeal or anything that comes from ourselves. I'm talking about the work of the Holy Spirit. I don't mean feelings; I mean the tests of life – the troubles, the persecutions, the temptations, our battle against sin and the flesh. I believe God can use all of these like fire, to purify us for His holy purpose, for His glory on the day of His appearing. His Spirit will wrestle with us and use the circumstances in which we find ourselves as His means for sanctification.
No one is exempt from this fire. Jesus said, "Every person will be salted with fire." Isn't that a strange picture? Imagine shaking a salt shaker, and out of the shaker comes… not salt but fire! That wouldn’t add much in the way of flavor to your mashed potatoes! But the fire of God adds the wonderful “flavor” of holiness, of Christ-likeness, to our lives.
That's the purpose of God's fire: to make us like Him, children who manifest a resemblance to their Heavenly Father. This work must advance in us. The apostle Paul warns, "Don't extinguish the fire of the Spirit!" (1 Thess. 5:19), because, if you do, you’re extinguishing your own true fulfillment, the joy for which God created you and redeemed you.
Our lives need to be like wax in the fire of God. By His fire we are softened, so that God can easily impress His nature into us. What happens if you take a seal and press it into cold, hard wax? It doesn't work. The wax can't receive the impression. What's more, the wax will probably crack and break. But soft wax is ready for the seal; and by receiving the seal, the wax receives a new identity. A believer needs, at the core of his being, to be like that wax, softened by the fire of God's Spirit, ready to fully receive his new identity.
And what is that new identity? The apostle John says we don't know yet what we will be, but we know that we will be like Him… why? "Because we shall see Him even as He is." In other words, our lives will be like soft wax, ready to completely receive the image of Christ, ready to identify with Him in perfect love. Perhaps an earthly analogy is the way that lovers see themselves in each other’s eyes....
In the book of Revelation, Jesus Christ himself advises us to buy gold that has been purified in fire. This gold is the holiness of a devoted life, and it comes only by fire. What a high and difficult calling! Yes, of course it's difficult! Jesus himself said that the way was narrow and few would find it. But, this way is also the only way worth going: the way of faith, of endurance, of suffering, of victory, the way of fire and cleansing. The Way of Christ.
In Revelation, Jesus Christ promises a new name to all who endure. And here’s something very interesting: "No one knows this new name except the one who receives it." Maybe you thought that in heaven there's no private property? That everything belongs to everybody (like an ostensible communist paradise)? Not at all. In God's kingdom your name is yours alone, and nobody else has a right to it. No one else even knows it! Why? Because your new name is you yourself, it is what only you can be for God. It is the fullness of who you are. Remember what it says in Ephesians? We are God's "workmanship". One day the Lord will put His seal of approval on the final, finished, perfect product – you! And that seal of approval is your new name. Your new name is the expression of an idea – a perfect and beautiful idea, an eternal idea, an idea which originated in God Himself when He created you. You are that idea.
Allow God to continue bringing that idea to perfection, even through fire. Willingly accept the fire that purifies. Understand that this is God's loving work. That will help you to give thanks and endure. God is faithful and He will complete His good work in you.
