ON FIRE
This short, but very powerful, statement is one of the most commonly used phrases in the sports world. It is used to identify an athlete that has become crazy hot in the utilization of their gift.
Whether it is a shooter hitting shot after shot, a hitter crushing ball after ball, or a QB connecting on pass after pass, when an athlete is “ON FIRE”, it is a true pleasure for fans to witness. Even if it is your hated opponent’s best player, there is a level of awe and respect that goes through your mind watching someone like Tom Brady do what he has done for so many years.
What is hidden behind most of these athlete’s ability to reach this “ON FIRE” zone? There is no magical equation. The answer is hours of discipline and hard work when nobody else is watching. When most are asleep or enjoying another movie, these athletes are spending time with what they love and adore. Early mornings, late evenings, pain, suffering and sacrifice are always part of the formula that equals “ON FIRE”.
My question for everyone that longs for and desires to share in the ecstasy of enjoying a stretch of being “ON FIRE” is, “What are you willing to suffer and pay to experience this yourself?” You are free to watch others and rival in their accomplishments, but are you willing to sacrifice to reach this destination on your own?
I know, in athletics, the level of competition that you are capable of reaching is at some point limited by your genetics. If you would have made my next statement to me prior to age 23, I would have rolled my eyes and not given you a minute more of my time. Life is so much bigger than sport. If it is your God and sole goal, your first love, then you ship, no matter how majestic, is headed to the same ship graveyard as the Titanic.
The awesome truth is that you can become “ON FIRE” in nearly every single action on earth. You can become “ON FIRE” in writing, singing, playing an instrument, inventing, and even and more importantly in serving others.
So, with that said, let’s break “ON FIRE” down on a Biblical Level!
The common Hebrew word for fire is אֵשׁ (esh). Digging in a deeper you find out that (Lilho) refers to Burn, to Blaze, or be Lit, while (Shalheve) refers to Flame or Tongue of Fire.
Since we focus on the Spirit of YWH on Spirt Led Coach, I adore the fact that (esh) is one of the root words of the Holy Spirit in the Hebrew. (Ruach Ha Kodesh) identifies the Spirit of YWH, the Holy Spirit. Rûaħ or ruach, a Hebrew word meaning ‘breath, spirit’. The word קדש is transliterated as (kodesh) and means “holy” or “set apart.” When God places these powerful pieces together, Ruach Ha Kodesh is the result.
What an incredible break down of the FIRE that God created in Adam and Eve. Sadly, that Holy Spirit had to leave Adam and Eve when they chose to sin. That sadness was redeemed when Jesus, in a Love that we can’t even begin to understand, came and endured the crucifixion and the cross, so that He could return that Fire to where He designed it to exist, inside each and every one of us.
The GOSPEL TRUTH is that you don’t have to earn or pay a single penny to be “ON FIRE” in the one area that truly matters. The price was paid on the cross! The resurrection power that brought Jesus out of the grave is free and optional for ALL! John the Baptist prophesied that ONE would come after Him that would Baptize in Fire. Jesus explained in detail that He must return to the right hand of the Father, so that the Fire could return on Pentecost for All who desire His Glory, Presence, Power, and Peace to consume them. This gift from the Father, be way of Jesus, is available for each and every believer. Jesus even made the unimaginable statement in John 14:12, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even GREATER WORKS, because I am going to be with the Father.”
If that is true, and yes Jesus doesn’t lie, then what are you waiting for? So many are under the false understanding that the power of the Holy Spirit, the only “On Fire” that will count on Judgement Day, was only available for the disciples to perform miracles, signs, and wonders. That same “ON FIRE” power is available for you at this very moment.
“This is the law of the burnt offering. The burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it.” (Leviticus 6:9)
In the original Hebrew, the word for ‘hearth’ is ‘Moked.’ {מוקד} This rare Hebrew word appears in this form ONLY in this verse. But the root of this word Y-K-D {י-ק-ד} keeps repeating in the following verses and is even in the quoted verse (the words ‘kept burning’ appear as ‘Tukad’ {תוקד} in the original Hebrew, which is a verb form of ‘Moked’ {מוקד}).
The original usage of this biblical Hebrew word (‘Moked’) was connected ALWAYS to fire and it literally means ‘the place of the burning fire’. OH LORD MAKE ME THE PLACE OF YOUR BURNING FIRE! Over the years, the term for the ‘place of the burning fire’ became simply a synonym for ‘center’ as can be found in both Hebrew (the biblical word ‘Moked’ is used in Modern Hebrew as another word for ‘center’),
The Truth is that we are called to remain “ON FIRE” for God, who is identified as a Consuming Fire. We are to be Burning Bushes, that are contagious and are waiting for the wind of the Holy Spirit to blow to spread God’s love like wildfires to the lost all over the world. That begins with your next door neighbor or the person reading your social media post. How unbelievable sad is it that 96 percent of professing Christians have never led one single person to Christ. That hit me like a wrecking ball. That is the equivalency of a basketball player going through their entire career and never scoring a single basket, but still going around calling themselves a legit so-called basketball player.
I will finish this post with one more very intriguing truth about fire. This truth has a direct connection with fire to you. Derived from the two letter parent root (esh) is the three letter child root איש (iysh) meaning “man”. Not only are these two words related by their letters, they are also related in meaning. To re-discover this relationship between fire and man let us begin by seeing the “creation” of fire from the ancient Hebrews perspective.
In ancient times, before the invention of lighters and matches, fire was made with a “bow drill” and tinder. The tinder is any fine organic material such as dried grass or inner bark fibers. The bow drill consisted of four parts, the fireboard, bow and string, rod and handle. The fireboard was made of a flat board with a v-shaped cut at the edge of the board. The bow and string is constructed similar to an archers bow. The rod is a round stick pointed at one end and rounded at the other. The handle is a flat round board.
Fine tinder, compressed into a ball, is laid on the ground. The fireboard is placed on top of the tinder with the v-shape cut over the tinder. The string of the bow is wrapped once around the rod and the pointed end of the rod is set on the fireboard over the v-shaped cut. The handle is placed on top of the rod. One hand holds the handle while the other hand moves the bow back and forth in a sawing motion. This action causes the rod to spin back and forth on the fireboard.
As the rod spins on the fireboard fine wood dust is shaved off the rod and deposited in the v-shape cut on top of the tinder. The friction of the two woods rubbing also create heat causing the dust to become very hot. After a short time of working the fire drill back and forth, smoke will begin to rise from the heated dust. The fireboard is carefully removed leaving the pile of smoldering dust on the tinder. The tinder is picked up and enclosed around the dust and the fire maker blows on the dust increasing the heat. The dust then ignites the tinder creating fire. Just as you can take heated dust, tinder, and your breath and create Fire, GOD took dust, His Fire, His Ruach (Breath) and created Adam.
We were created to be “ON FIRE”, to host the Fire of the Holy Spirit in Us! I have always came up with my own terminology. Not saying it is intellectually impressive, but that has never stopped me. I am introducing a new phrase called “Spiritual Pyromania”. For short, let’s call someone functioning in area a “A Spiritual Pyro”. Someone intentionally “ON FIRE”. Someone who has a yearning and crazy desire to repetitively set and spread the fire of the Holy Spirit.
I know it is vital that we align all of our thoughts with scripture. Feel free to read the entire chapter yourself, but below I take a few verses from Isaiah 64 as a reminder of exactly the Fire of the Holy Spirit that God placed in each and every one of us when He created us.
“Oh that you would rip open the heavens and descend, make the mountains shudder at your presence. As when a forest catches fire, as when fire makes a pot boil, to shock your enemies into facing you, make the nations shake in their boots!…. Since before time began no one has ever imagined, No ear heard, no eye seen, a God like you, who works for those who wait for Him… Still, God, you are our Father. We’re the clay and you’re the Potter: All of us are what you made us.”
I Believe God made each and every one of us to be “ON FIRE” for Him daily, a burning bush that the lost can’t help but notice and be drawn to.