Fire of God-Part Five
How to Minister

Needless to say, when a person is experiencing the fire of God, whether it is the fire of judgment or the refiner’s fire, it can be a painful experience. As a follower of Christ we should be willing to be an encouragement to those who are experiencing the fire of God. The following are some suggestions on how we can best minister to those who are feeling the heat.

1. Never make the assumption you know what fire the person is experiencing. Things are not always as they are seen on the surface. We need to ask the Holy Spirit what is taking place in the individual’s life. Also, listen to what the person is saying and how they are handling their situation.
2. Regardless of the type of fire, there is no place ever for shame, condemnation, speaking judgments, or putting down a person. None of these actions bring change.
3. When a person is going through the fire of judgment, we need to be careful that we do not try to pull them out of the fire. We should not try to rescue them. If we remove them from the fire of God, we postpone the work that God wants to do. Yes, they may suffer consequences for their actions. That may be the very thing they need to do in order to not want to go back into the very thing that has brought the judgment of God. This does not mean that we don’t love them, encourage them, or be a support to them, but we need to not put a fire extinguisher on the fire that comes from God.

Example: A person is out of work because they are an alcoholic and have very poor work habits. Some well meaning Christians are praying and helping the person get a job. A job may be the worse thing for the person. What they may need to see is that because of their alcoholism they cannot hold down a job. When they come to that realization, they can get help with their alcoholism so they can hold down a job.

4. Don’t be too quick to blame the fire on the devil. When God brought judgment on the nation of Israel it was God, not the devil that brought the judgment. God never does evil, but He does allow evil events to take place at times.

Example: If the fire was brought on by God, we can come against the devil all day long and it won’t stop the fire-repentance is what stops the fire of judgment.

5. When we know a person is experiencing the refiner’s fire, we need to remind them that God loves them and that He is using their experiencing to build character in them-He is not displeased with them. In fact, He loves them so much that He is helping them to become more like Jesus.

“And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; [4] and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; [5] and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:3-5

Are you experiencing trials, tribulations, struggles? Are you going through the fire? Instead of running from the heat, embrace it, and allow God to do what He wants to do your life. You are not going through the fire right now? Be assured the fire will come, let’s make sure it is the refiner’s fire and not the fire of judgment.

Copyright © 2003 Richard D. Dover. All rights reserved.
This material can be used without written permission if it is not used to make a profit, all comments are quoted in context, and this copyright tag is included with document. You must include the URL.
http://www.inhisstepsministries.org

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations used are from the New American Standard Version (NASB).

Richard D’Andrea Dover
In His Steps Ministries

Previous Nuggets

To the world, you may just be somebody...but to somebody, you may be the world.
Bill Wilson, Metro Ministries