Preserving the Flame

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tuned into the Authentic Podcast, where we

explore the transformative power of

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embracing the reality of Jesus Christ.

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As we embark on this journey together, we

will navigate the depths of faith and

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discover the profound impact that Jesus

has on our spiritual walk.

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In this space, you will find real and

inspiring conversations about faith and

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how, as a believer, we should navigate the

Kingdom reality.

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We are excited that you are part of an

adventure where authenticity and faith

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intersect.

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Welcome to the Authentic Podcast.

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Let's dive in.

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As Griffin and I were praying about

today's meeting and what was on the heart

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of the father to share with people all

over the globe, these were the words that

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came to us, preserve your flame.

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So tonight's title is talking or tonight's

teaching is talking about how to preserve

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our flame.

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And I'll get into the definition of that.

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I have a couple of points that I want to

go over, which is defining the flame.

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laying some groundwork for the foundation

of what that is.

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I have a parable of the 10 virgins that

I'm going to be getting into, and I'm

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going to be finishing with five things

that can kind of snuff out your flame.

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And after that, it'll transition into

Griffin.

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So just to kind of give you guys the

itinerary and the flow of tonight's

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meeting.

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Yeah.

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So father, we just thank you for this

awesome time.

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This awesome word that you gave to us.

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May we just walk away refreshed and

empowered Lord Jesus.

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God, you are so good.

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We're so happy to have you as our God and

that we are your people.

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We just bless you in the name of Jesus.

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Amen.

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So I want to define the flame that we are

talking about tonight and just very simply

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put, this is our intimacy that we have

with God.

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When we say yes to Jesus, something

happens in us.

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The Bible says that we become a new

creature.

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So our

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Old ways are like totally thrown out and

this whole new thing comes and we talked a

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little bit about this last time with

identity.

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I found this really cool example or

paragraph.

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It says the Bible uses fire to resemble

God's presence, divine judgment,

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purification of believers and the

outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

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All examples of where fire is mentioned in

the Bible.

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These varying presentations carry the same

core message.

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Check this.

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Fire, while potent and destructive, can

also purify, refine, guide, illuminate,

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and testify to God's presence.

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So we see the fire is used, this flame

fire theme is used multiple times

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throughout the Bible in different contexts

and in different ways.

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God engages with us.

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Not in just one way, but multiple.

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He's holistic.

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He cares about the well -rounded holistic

Christian.

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And we were created to burn for the Lord.

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I don't know if you remember that story in

the Bible, but when the disciples were

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walking with Jesus on the road to Emmaus,

they said, man, didn't our heart burn

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while we were with him?

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And this is something that's happened with

me in my walk with the Lord.

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When I know that he enters the room or his

presence is near or he's confirming

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something, you've probably all felt this

at one point or another, just that

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overwhelming love, just that compassion,

that yes and amen if he's confirming

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something.

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Your heart burns, your chest, I can feel

them now.

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Thank you, Lord.

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I really appreciate that.

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Your chest gets warm.

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and His presence is there.

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He is the all -consuming fire and we are

created to be burning ones for Him.

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And the Word does something when we say

yes, when we read it, it does something in

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our spirit and it stirs us and sets us on

a path to become more like Jesus.

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And yes, God is an all -consuming fire.

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And that could be scary.

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Looking at that from the outside in, like,

does that mean like His judgment and fire

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and wrath?

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Well,

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If you said yes to Jesus, His wrath was

poured out on Jesus at the cross.

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So now we just get His love, grace, and

mercy, not to the point where we can just

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do what we want.

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You know, we're called to walk this thing

out.

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But on this side, on this side of Jesus,

on this side of the glory with Jesus, we

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are in a really good place and we don't

have that wrath.

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But it doesn't negate the fact that God is

in all.

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consuming fire.

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And I believe that there is a place in our

lives that we can get that we're so on

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fire for God that the flames don't burn us

and that our clothes don't smell like

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smoke.

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Why do I think this?

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Well, let's look at Shadrach, Meshach, and

Abednego.

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They were so on fire for God that while

they were in the furnace, the furnace did

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not consume them, rather they consumed the

furnace and their clothes did not smell

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like smoke.

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And who was in there with them?

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It was Jesus.

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Jesus, the Spirit of the Lord was in there

with them.

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He is an all -consuming fire.

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John 17, 23, this is Jesus praying to the

Father.

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And I'm just going to keep just drilling

down on how we can preserve our flame and

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surrounding some ideas around the flame

tonight.

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Jesus prays and he says, you know, God,

like I am in you and you are in me.

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May they be one and perfectly united with

us so that the world may know and

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definitely recognize that you sent me and

that you have loved them even as you have

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loved me." What happens as a flame is a

burning one.

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We start to shine for the Lord Jesus and

we show and carry his anointing and the

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power that is behind us.

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And just as Jesus and the Father were one,

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all consuming fire.

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They're asking and praying that we would

be one with them too, burning and on fire

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with them.

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Why?

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So that the world knows that God the

Father, just as God the Father loved

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Jesus, God the Father also loves us.

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And we can see this through how we love

one another, how we carry the name of

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Jesus Christ.

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And why is it that he wants to reveal this

love to the world?

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Why is it that he wants to set us on fire?

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It's so we can become one light.

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It's so we can become one light.

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When we're set on fire, we start emitting

light.

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Our spirit is bright.

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I've actually ran into people that were

coming out of new age and they said, and

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this is nothing that has to do with

Christian seer.

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It has everything to do with Jesus Christ

and the Holy Spirit inside of me.

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But they said, man,

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When you walked into the room, you were so

bright.

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It was almost like blinding, like you were

so bright.

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And there's something that happens in the

supernatural.

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We put off this light.

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There's this whole contrast of light and

darkness.

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And I was reading a Bible verse today and

it says like, you know, the wicked, they

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drink at night, they belong to the night,

but you are righteous and you belong to

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the day because you are light.

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And that's who we are in Jesus.

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We are set on fire and burning for Him.

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And as I was researching this out, just

some of like the science behind flames and

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fire.

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I just wanted to get a really good picture

of what we are going to be talking about

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today.

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If you think of a lighter, like you're

going to light a cigarette with or

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something, if you flick that lighter and

you turn the lighter sideways, the flame

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goes vertical.

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You could turn it the other way.

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The flame goes vertical.

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Even if you turn it upside down, the flame

tries to go vertical.

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This is just the nature of the flame.

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And that's just how God made it.

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But what's really interesting is when you

take two flames and you put them beside

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each other, what happens is what they call

a tilting flame.

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And the flame actually goes against its

nature and it goes in towards one another.

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And when that happens, the two flames join

and the magnitude at which they burn is

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now greater, it's double, and the

brightness at which they burn is double as

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well.

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And this is really cool because the same

thing can be said for us as we are

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burning, as we are on fire for the Lord,

as we are seeking him in the most intimate

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place, which is our closet, our prayer

closet with him, as we're cultivating.

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this relationship with Jesus, our flame

gets brighter, it gets bigger, it burns

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more intense.

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And then when we come alongside of another

brother, another sister, a father, a

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mother, a general in the faith, whoever it

is, just a believer in Jesus, we have the

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ability to one, set them on fire, or two,

tilt flame and join with them into a

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bigger flame.

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And this can be true with churches.

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You know, a church might be on fire, but

if we can work in unity and in unison with

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each other, imagine the flame, imagine the

light that we have over a town, a city, a

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region, a state, a continent, et cetera,

et cetera.

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And this is true in marriages.

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This is true in your own personal

relationship with friends, with brothers

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and sisters.

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So God is calling us to be burning ones.

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He's calling us to be light and to partner

in unity.

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Why?

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So that...

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The world may know that just as a father

loved Jesus, he loves us as well.

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And in unity as we work together, the

world will know that we belong to Jesus

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because of the way that we love one

another as disciples.

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Praise God.

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Matthew chapter five, verses 14 and 16.

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You are the light of the world.

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Come on.

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That's an amazing identity scripture.

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I didn't even get to the rest of the

sentence yet.

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This is what God is speaking over us.

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He says, you are the light of the world.

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I am calling you to be the light of the

world.

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A city that is set on a hill cannot be

hidden, nor do they light a lamp and put

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it under a basket, but on a lamp stand,

and it gives light to all who are in the

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house.

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I just want to encourage you guys tonight

that this is an identity scripture.

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This is something that Jesus is saying you

are.

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And whether you like it or not, it is

true.

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You are called to be the light.

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You are called to be a light of the world.

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It's the same thing with the salt.

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Don't lose your saltiness and do not lose

your light.

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You can't hide this flame.

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It can dwindle and we're going to discuss

some areas and reasons how that can

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happen.

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But when you say yes to Jesus, you are

marked in the Spirit and the enemy knows

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that you carry his name and anointing.

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And yeah, this is an identity scripture.

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So don't try to snuff it out.

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Don't hide from it, but boldly step into

your new identity as the light of the

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world.

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It's a dark world, guys, so we need to

shine bright.

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It's not the time to hide ourselves under

a basket.

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It's not our time.

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We can cultivate all the intimacy in the

world with Jesus in our prayer closet.

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But what good is it if we don't share that

love, don't share that light with other

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people?

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So go be the light of the world.

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And I also want to encourage us as well

that the magnitude.

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Well, tomorrow.

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Thank you.

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The magnitude in which we burn and the

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and the brightness in which we illuminate

has everything to do with the quality of

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the oil and the quality of the wick.

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And we're going to get into like this lamp

idea with the 10 virgins and the lamps.

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But the quality of oil is important.

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You could take old dirty sludged up car

oil.

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pour it into something and yes, it will

catch fire, but it burns slow.

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It puts off a lot of smog.

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You know, you could use paper as a wick,

but it's going to burn up really quickly

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and it's not going to be lasting.

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So when we are trying to cultivate quality

oil and cultivate quality wicks, what does

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that look like?

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Well, that looks like consistent.

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quality time with Jesus in the secret

place.

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It looks like conversing with Him and

praying with Him and listening to the Holy

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Spirit as He nudges you to step out and to

pray for people or share an encouraging

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word.

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And what would the wick be?

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How do we get a quality wick?

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Well, the wick is the Word of God inside

of us.

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This is the proponent.

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This is...

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What everything is built off of inside of

our heart, inside of our spirit, it's the

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Word of God.

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Everything was created through the words,

but it is our job to tuck away the Word of

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God inside of our hearts.

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This is what Holy Spirit breathes on.

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He never ever talks about himself, but he

brings to remembrance the things of Jesus

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Christ.

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So it is our responsibility to put a good

wick inside of us.

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That means stuffing God's Word inside of

us.

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And it's our responsibility to cultivate

quality oil.

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And that is only through a relationship

with Jesus.

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God calls us and Jesus chooses us.

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Okay, so this was never our idea.

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He looked at you, He knew you, He knew

you're good, you're bad.

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And He said, hey, I call you.

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And Jesus, He's like, I choose you.

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And the amazing part is,

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out of all of this, we get saved and we

know the amazing good news that Jesus

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Christ offers.

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But then on top of that, we receive the

Holy Spirit.

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You can have intimacy with God and have

the word tucked in your heart, but you

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need the power of the Holy Spirit to spark

the flame that is inside of you.

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This is a process, okay?

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This takes some intentionality and God

likes this.

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He's all about the journey.

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He's all about the moments.

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He's all...

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about the building, but there is a Holy

Spirit that wants to spark that flame

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inside of you and give boldness like

Stephen and give boldness like the

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apostles and the disciples to go and

proclaim the good news into all ends of

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the earth.

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My uncle has an incredible saying and I

really love this and it's important and

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allow it to sit with you, but the word

without the Spirit, you dry up.

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And the Spirit without the Word, you blow

up.

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But the Spirit with the Word, you grow up.

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It's a culmination of all of these parts

working together.

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You know, Jesus, He is the Word, right?

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And this is what we need to tuck inside of

us.

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And when He was on the earth,

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It was Holy Spirit that empowered him,

that gave him power, that rested upon him.

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When John baptized him, he fasted for 40

days, he came out in power.

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Jesus came as a man, he set aside his

divinity, right?

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So he was a man empowered by the Holy

Spirit.

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So Jesus is the word.

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And when he was on the earth, Holy Spirit

made that word alive and active.

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And we need that today, guys.

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We need Jesus and the Holy Spirit to make

that word alive and active.

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Yes, the word is alive and active on its

own, but in our lives, it takes a

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partnership.

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If we just sat on the couch and didn't do

anything or engage with God, it's going to

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sit there stale and stagnant.

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All of the potential in the world, but it

is going away is wasted potential because

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we're not utilizing it or stepping into

it.

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We need a relationship with Jesus to

produce oil and we still need that word

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tucked inside and we need the Holy Spirit

to create that spark and this is the

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importance of the baptism of fire.

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Matthew 3, 11, this is John saying, I

baptize with water those who repent of

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sins and turn to God, but someone is

coming soon who is greater than I am, so

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much greater.

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I'm not worthy to even be a slave or carry

his sandals, but he,

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will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and

with fire.

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This is how we preserve our flame.

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This is how we cultivate and stir our

flame inside is humbling ourselves and

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saying, Lord, I have your word tucked

inside of me.

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I've been reading your word so faithfully.

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God, I have a lot of oil with you.

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I've been praying to you every day.

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I go away in my secret place.

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I intentionally set a time aside from you

and I protect it and I guard it.

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If people want to come and do something, I

say, no, I'm with the Lord at that time.

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I have the oil.

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I have the wick.

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I have your word inside of me.

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But God, I need your power.

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I need your flame.

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I need your Holy Spirit and the baptism of

fire.

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This is how we cultivate our flame.

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This is how we preserve that.

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When Griffin and I were praying over the

time here today,

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The Lord gave me a vision regarding fire

and the flame and power.

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I saw a gun, a bullet being loaded into a

gun and the trigger was pulled.

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The pin hit the end of the bullet.

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This explosion happened and the bullet

just zoom projectile out of there, out of

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the gun.

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And at the end of the barrel, all this

fire came out and then it was done.

319

: 00:19:00

I'm like, Whoa, what is that Lord?

320

: 00:19:03

And he said, this is a picture of people

who come to Jesus.

321

: 00:19:08

And it kind of, if you remember the

parable in Mark 4 -8 about the good soil

322

: 00:19:14

and the sower sows the seed, it's very

similar to that.

323

: 00:19:18

This is the type of fire that somebody

gets and they're on fire for Jesus and

324

: 00:19:23

they're operating in signs, miracles and

wonders.

325

: 00:19:26

And they're just, they're on fire for the

Lord.

326

: 00:19:28

But just as quickly as it was shot out of

the gun, the flame dissipates.

327

: 00:19:34

And not even that, but it's dangerous.

328

: 00:19:36

Guns are dangerous.

329

: 00:19:38

And I even said that in my opening

statement, like, yes, fire is dangerous,

330

: 00:19:43

but it can also refine us in all of these

wonderful things that God wants to do.

331

: 00:19:48

But if we are just seeking his power,

332

: 00:19:51

our flame is going to dwindle very

quickly.

333

: 00:19:55

There is no oil that is being cultivated.

334

: 00:19:57

There's no sustenance or longevity to our

walk with Jesus.

335

: 00:20:02

And this is a dangerous place.

336

: 00:20:04

And guys, our flame is our life with God.

337

: 00:20:08

This is our relationship with Him.

338

: 00:20:11

We're talking about eternity here that is

in the balance.

339

: 00:20:15

So this isn't something to play around

with.

340

: 00:20:17

When we are building our foundation with

the Lord, when we're cultivating the oil,

341

: 00:20:21

building the wick so we can be a burning

one for God, yes, we want to burn big and

342

: 00:20:26

we want to burn bright, but the best way

to do that is in unity with other people.

343

: 00:20:31

Remember, tilting flame, burning bright

together in unison, not just one person,

344

: 00:20:37

but bringing everyone along, catching

everybody on fire.

345

: 00:20:40

But that takes a laying of a foundation.

346

: 00:20:43

And we have to be careful that our

foundation isn't shallow or small because

347

: 00:20:48

what God wants to do is deep and wide.

348

: 00:20:52

Hallelujah.

349

: 00:20:54

And then the second part of that vision

was I saw a car engine and I saw all of

350

: 00:21:00

the cylinders firing and what was

happening was the car was being propelled

351

: 00:21:06

forward.

352

: 00:21:06

Well, this is the body of Christ, guys.

353

: 00:21:08

This is a picture of churches and

believers and marriages and individuals.

354

: 00:21:12

all firing on all cylinders, working

together, synchronized and unison,

355

: 00:21:17

propelling the body of Christ together.

356

: 00:21:19

That is a healthy picture of cultivating

and preserving our flame as individuals

357

: 00:21:24

and as the corporate church.

358

: 00:21:26

We have to think kingdom minded when we

are walking with the Lord.

359

: 00:21:31

So I'm going to take us through the

parable of the 10 virgins, the oil, the

360

: 00:21:36

lamp.

361

: 00:21:37

This is in Matthew chapter 25 verses one

to 13.

362

: 00:21:42

And I'm going to give a verse and I'm

going to give some commentary behind it

363

: 00:21:48

just to give us a healthier picture of

what it looks like to, to be a lamp, to be

364

: 00:21:52

a vessel for the Lord.

365

: 00:21:55

We doing all right guys doing good.

366

: 00:21:57

Okay.

367

: 00:21:58

Praise God.

368

: 00:22:00

I, I'm, I'm not trying to go super fast.

369

: 00:22:03

I know I'm talking a little elevated, but

there's some material here and I want to

370

: 00:22:07

give time for Griffin to speak.

371

: 00:22:08

What he has is fire.

372

: 00:22:11

so this is verse one.

373

: 00:22:13

chapter 25 of Matthew, then the kingdom of

heaven will be like 10 virgins who took

374

: 00:22:18

their lamps and went to meet the

bridegroom.

375

: 00:22:22

The lamps can be thought of as our lives.

376

: 00:22:26

We are a spirit that has a vessel, that's

our body.

377

: 00:22:30

We're a spirit that has a body.

378

: 00:22:32

And at the end of our lives, when we meet

Jesus, there is nothing that we can take

379

: 00:22:38

from this earth except one thing.

380

: 00:22:40

And that is the life that we lived.

381

: 00:22:43

And that's what we'll take with Jesus.

382

: 00:22:46

When we go and we meet with him, you know,

he'll take fire to that and we'll see what

383

: 00:22:51

was pure and impure.

384

: 00:22:52

We'll see how we stewarded our lives.

385

: 00:22:56

We can't take anything from earth with us

other than the life that we lived.

386

: 00:23:01

So that's them going to the 10 virgins who

took their lamps and went to meet the

387

: 00:23:05

bridegroom.

388

: 00:23:06

Five of them were foolish, thoughtless,

silly.

389

: 00:23:09

They were careless and five were wise.

390

: 00:23:12

They were farsighted, practical,

insensible.

391

: 00:23:16

Mind you, they are all waiting on the same

bridegroom.

392

: 00:23:19

We're talking about church people here.

393

: 00:23:21

We're talking about 10 church people that

are waiting on Jesus to return.

394

: 00:23:26

Five are farsighted.

395

: 00:23:28

Five are nearsighted and foolish.

396

: 00:23:32

The five that are foolish, they never

cultivated a relationship with Jesus.

397

: 00:23:38

They weren't farsighted or practical.

398

: 00:23:40

They said, yep, I said the prayer.

399

: 00:23:43

I said yes to Jesus.

400

: 00:23:45

I'm good.

401

: 00:23:46

Or they sprung up quickly like the gun and

as quickly as their flame came, it went

402

: 00:23:53

because of their lack of intimacy.

403

: 00:23:56

They kept trying to shoot, but there was

no power behind it.

404

: 00:23:59

And they started to strive.

405

: 00:24:02

The wise, they strive to enter through the

narrow gate.

406

: 00:24:05

They live their lives in a God -honoring

way, a way that was worthy of the call on

407

: 00:24:11

their lives.

408

: 00:24:12

They had intimacy with Jesus.

409

: 00:24:15

Verse three, for when the foolish took

their lambs, they did not take any extra

410

: 00:24:20

oil with them, but the wise took flasks of

oil along with their lambs.

411

: 00:24:26

Oil, once again, is the intimacy that we

cultivate with God.

412

: 00:24:30

This is the fuel for our flame.

413

: 00:24:33

The wise spent much time with God and had

loads of intimacy oil on reserve.

414

: 00:24:41

Verses five and six.

415

: 00:24:42

Now, while the bridegroom was delayed,

they all began to nod off and they fell

416

: 00:24:47

asleep.

417

: 00:24:48

But at midnight, there was a shout, look,

the bridegroom is coming.

418

: 00:24:53

Go out to meet him.

419

: 00:24:55

I think this talks about the period of

time that the church is waiting for the

420

: 00:24:59

Lord.

421

: 00:25:00

And honestly, I think the church as a

whole for a little while has kind of been

422

: 00:25:03

asleep at the wheel, but we're just

declaring, look, the bridegroom is coming.

423

: 00:25:08

It is midnight.

424

: 00:25:09

He is here.

425

: 00:25:10

And God is calling us in this time, in

this hour to be just as ready as he was

426

: 00:25:15

2000 years ago, but he is way closer to

return than he ever was.

427

: 00:25:20

and he will come like a thief in the

night, but we will be ready for him

428

: 00:25:23

because we will have our wicks trimmed and

our oil ready.

429

: 00:25:27

And what's amazing is when it says, go out

to meet him, this directly correlates to 1

430

: 00:25:35

Thessalonians chapter four, verses 16 and

17 that talks about the rapture, but go

431

: 00:25:40

meet him also means the word encounter.

432

: 00:25:43

And that's what God wants with us.

433

: 00:25:45

He wants to encounter us through that

secret place, through cultivating that

434

: 00:25:49

oil.

435

: 00:25:49

There's not one person in the Bible who

didn't encounter God in some way.

436

: 00:25:54

He's about experience.

437

: 00:25:55

He loves to be with his children.

438

: 00:25:58

Verse seven, then all those virgins got up

and put their own lamps in order, trimmed

439

: 00:26:03

the wicks and added oil and lit them.

440

: 00:26:06

The whys are ready because they had

relationship with God.

441

: 00:26:09

They had the wick, which was the word of

the God.

442

: 00:26:12

I know I'm kind of like driving this home,

but I want to make a point.

443

: 00:26:15

And the oil, which is intimacy with God.

444

: 00:26:18

and the flame in the person of the Holy

Spirit.

445

: 00:26:20

Verse eight, but the foolish virgins said

to the wise, give us some of your oil

446

: 00:26:26

because our lamps are going out.

447

: 00:26:29

In the end of times, guys, we need to be

prayed up.

448

: 00:26:32

We need to be able to hear the voice of

God because when it's coming closer to

449

: 00:26:36

that time, there's going to be a lot of

deception and these foolish ones, they

450

: 00:26:40

didn't know how to use what God had given

them.

451

: 00:26:42

They didn't know how to hear the voice of

the Lord.

452

: 00:26:44

They didn't know to go left or to go

right.

453

: 00:26:46

But in the place of intimacy, in the place

of burning, God protects us.

454

: 00:26:51

He sets our paths straight.

455

: 00:26:53

I think it's Psalm 5522 or something like

that.

456

: 00:26:57

It says like, or Psalm 4610, be still and

know that I'm God.

457

: 00:27:01

And 5522 is like, God will never allow His

righteous to be shaken.

458

: 00:27:07

in a place where you know God and God

knows you, you are walking in alignment

459

: 00:27:11

with him and in his protection.

460

: 00:27:13

We need to be wise and prayed up and we

cannot get oil from anybody else except

461

: 00:27:18

our relationship with Jesus.

462

: 00:27:20

Verse nine says, but the wise replied, no,

otherwise there will not be enough for us

463

: 00:27:26

and for you to go instead to the dealers

and buy oil for yourselves.

464

: 00:27:31

And to finish out the parable here,

465

: 00:27:34

But while they were going away to buy oil,

the bridegroom came.

466

: 00:27:39

Those who were ready went into the wedding

feast, the door shut and locked.

467

: 00:27:43

Later, the others came and said, Lord,

open the door.

468

: 00:27:47

But he replied, I say to you, I do not

know you.

469

: 00:27:51

We have no relationship.

470

: 00:27:54

Hey guys, this is Christian, your host on

the Authentic Podcast.

471

: 00:27:57

And I just wanted to take a quick break to

say thank you.

472

: 00:28:01

Thank you so much for tuning in and being

a part of our amazing community.

473

: 00:28:06

I hope you are enjoying these episodes as

much as I love creating them for you.

474

: 00:28:12

I just wanted to let you know that there

is no editors or partners or big time

475

: 00:28:17

donors that is supporting the Authentic

Podcast.

476

: 00:28:21

I am the man behind the curtain.

477

: 00:28:23

I do everything myself to bring these

inspiring stories and insights to you.

478

: 00:28:28

And I just want to encourage you.

479

: 00:28:30

that if you found value in our content,

please consider supporting the podcast

480

: 00:28:36

with a donation.

481

: 00:28:37

Your generosity helps keep the show

running and allows me to continue to share

482

: 00:28:44

these incredible journeys with you.

483

: 00:28:46

You'll see a donation link on the screen

or in the show notes or description below.

484

: 00:28:51

And if it isn't a monetary donation, like,

shares, comments, subscribes, all of that

485

: 00:28:57

goes in an immense way.

486

: 00:28:59

Thank you so much for your support.

487

: 00:29:01

I call you blessed in the mighty name of

Jesus.

488

: 00:29:04

Remember to keep dreaming with God.

489

: 00:29:07

All right, let's get back into it.

490

: 00:29:11

And the last verse, therefore be on alert,

be prepared and ready for you do not know

491

: 00:29:15

the day or hour when the Son of Man will

come.

492

: 00:29:19

God is saying, listen, there is going to

be a time period where you all fall asleep

493

: 00:29:23

and we're coming up out of that guys.

494

: 00:29:25

And some of you will wonder, are you

returning?

495

: 00:29:28

Are you coming back or not?

496

: 00:29:29

But regardless if we are awake or asleep

when Jesus comes, we have all been charged

497

: 00:29:34

to be ready and to be in intimacy with the

Lord.

498

: 00:29:40

So to reiterate, the lamp can be thought

of as a vessel, which is your life, that

499

: 00:29:46

contains your intimacy with God.

500

: 00:29:48

And the oil is the intimacy we cultivate

with God.

501

: 00:29:51

The wick is the word of God in us that the

Holy Spirit can activate.

502

: 00:29:56

And the flame is the power that comes

503

: 00:29:59

out of us is light, which manifests heaven

on earth.

504

: 00:30:02

I hope this is making sense.

505

: 00:30:04

And I'm just trying to give examples from

the Bible to show us like the importance.

506

: 00:30:08

And I know we all know this, but it's

really important.

507

: 00:30:11

And these are some, these are ways that we

can cultivate and preserve the flame that

508

: 00:30:16

God has given us and called us to walk in.

509

: 00:30:19

But I do want to transition into my last

portion here, which are five things that

510

: 00:30:25

prohibit.

511

: 00:30:26

the growth of your own personal flame.

512

: 00:30:30

Number one, and this is a really tough

one, people try to take your oil.

513

: 00:30:36

Remember in the parable with the 10

virgins, so like, give me your oil.

514

: 00:30:41

You know, we're going to run out.

515

: 00:30:42

People will try to, we were just talking

about this in home group on Sunday.

516

: 00:30:48

It's like, we have this vampire culture

where people are trying to stick their

517

: 00:30:53

straws into other things or people and

518

: 00:30:56

suck life out of them.

519

: 00:30:58

People try to put their straw in you,

people try to put it in drugs or alcohol,

520

: 00:31:02

they'll try to steal your oil, but you

need to encourage them that you are not

521

: 00:31:09

their savior and you have no oil of your

own to offer them, but it is their

522

: 00:31:14

responsibility to seek the savior and

cultivate their own oil.

523

: 00:31:18

This is the importance of being in a

spirit -filled community.

524

: 00:31:24

Number two out of five, the enemy.

525

: 00:31:27

The enemy will try to snuff out and stifle

your flame.

526

: 00:31:32

If you think of Elijah and Jezebel, Elijah

had this big showdown with the prophets of

527

: 00:31:38

Baal called fire from heaven.

528

: 00:31:40

It was an incredible miracle what had

taken place there, but he ran because he

529

: 00:31:45

was deceived.

530

: 00:31:46

He was believing lies.

531

: 00:31:48

He was isolated, depressed, put into...

532

: 00:31:51

a cave and even though he had angels

ministering to him and even though the

533

: 00:31:56

voice of the Lord was speaking to him,

there was a recovery process because he

534

: 00:32:01

had allowed the enemy to speak to him in a

deceiving way.

535

: 00:32:05

We need to preserve and protect our flame.

536

: 00:32:07

We need to know the truth and we will only

know that by being with the truth, Jesus

537

: 00:32:13

himself.

538

: 00:32:14

Number three, this one's going to be

pretty obvious, but this number three in

539

: 00:32:20

the way

540

: 00:32:21

that it can prohibit the growth of our

flame is our lack of intimacy.

541

: 00:32:26

No intimacy, no oil.

542

: 00:32:30

Pretty simple.

543

: 00:32:31

Number four, the lack of the baptism of

the Holy Spirit.

544

: 00:32:36

And I'm not saying that you need to speak

in tongues to be saved or to receive the

545

: 00:32:42

baptism in the Holy Spirit.

546

: 00:32:43

I am not even talking about tongues right

now.

547

: 00:32:45

I am talking about...

548

: 00:32:47

what goes beyond receiving the Holy

Spirit, but being baptized in the Holy

549

: 00:32:52

Spirit and fire.

550

: 00:32:53

This is what Jesus, remember back to John

the Baptist, he says, I'm not worthy to be

551

: 00:32:58

a servant or to carry his sandals, but the

one who's coming will baptize in the Holy

552

: 00:33:02

Spirit and fire.

553

: 00:33:03

This is the flame.

554

: 00:33:05

This is the power that is promised and

given to us in Jesus.

555

: 00:33:09

And it's tough to burn when you don't have

it.

556

: 00:33:12

And we're going to be believing for that

today in today's teaching.

557

: 00:33:16

So stick around to the end so we can play

pray for you.

558

: 00:33:20

But the lack of the baptism of the Holy

Spirit is something that can prohibit the

559

: 00:33:25

growth of your flame.

560

: 00:33:27

You can have the word, you can have the

oil, but you need the flame to spark it.

561

: 00:33:34

Number five, doubt, doubt, doubt, doubt,

doubt will prohibit you from growing.

562

: 00:33:41

your flame and preserving it.

563

: 00:33:44

You know, Jesus calls you the light of the

world.

564

: 00:33:47

But if you have trouble believing that or

accepting that, there is a lie there and I

565

: 00:33:52

break it in Jesus name.

566

: 00:33:54

Because doubt is an enemy.

567

: 00:33:56

Doubt means double mindedness.

568

: 00:33:59

And not believing who you are in Christ

will never allow your flame to get to the

569

: 00:34:05

potential that God has created it to be.

570

: 00:34:08

You know, in Philippians chapter two,

verse five,

571

: 00:34:11

It is a knockout passage.

572

: 00:34:13

I'm not going to go through all of it

because of the sake of time.

573

: 00:34:17

But in the first verses, it says, have

this attitude in yourselves.

574

: 00:34:22

Have this attitude in yourselves, guys.

575

: 00:34:25

That which was also in Christ Jesus.

576

: 00:34:27

So Jesus had this and we're being

encouraged to have it also.

577

: 00:34:31

Who, although he existed in the form of

God, did not regard equality with God a

578

: 00:34:38

thing to be grasped, but emptied himself.

579

: 00:34:41

taking the form of a bond servant and

being made in the likeness of men.

580

: 00:34:46

Jesus, he didn't claw or strive or fight

for his divinity.

581

: 00:34:52

He knew who he was in Christ.

582

: 00:34:55

And that's the mindset that we need to

have.

583

: 00:34:57

We need to know who we are in Christ.

584

: 00:34:59

It's not something we can earn or strive

for or work hard enough to get.

585

: 00:35:04

We simply get it as being sons and

daughters.

586

: 00:35:08

in Jesus and being a son of the throne and

a co -heir with Jesus Christ.

587

: 00:35:14

So let's not doubt.

588

: 00:35:16

Let's chase after the baptism of the Holy

Spirit.

589

: 00:35:19

Let's not lack in intimacy.

590

: 00:35:22

Let's not allow the enemy to speak lies

and do not allow people to steal your oil.

591

: 00:35:29

Do not throw your pearls before swines,

guys.

592

: 00:35:34

So Father, I thank you that

593

: 00:35:36

that your word says that you will baptize

us in the Holy Spirit and in fire.

594

: 00:35:41

Lord Jesus, I thank you for all of those

faithful brothers and sisters who have

595

: 00:35:45

been cultivating that oil with you.

596

: 00:35:47

They were primed.

597

: 00:35:48

They have pure oil that is ready to burn.

598

: 00:35:51

They have been tucking and hiding the word

of God, the wick inside of them, and all

599

: 00:35:56

it needs is a spark.

600

: 00:35:57

And we are just believing right now, the

Holy Spirit, that you would just touch

601

: 00:36:00

them and that you would just set them on

fire, that you would just baptize them in

602

: 00:36:04

fire with power.

603

: 00:36:06

with your spirit right now, right where

they are sitting in their homes, that you

604

: 00:36:10

would just increase their flame if they

have one, that you would spark it right

605

: 00:36:14

now if they don't, that you would just

fill them and empower them completely in

606

: 00:36:19

their surrendered lifestyle to you, Lord

Jesus.

607

: 00:36:22

God, we give our lives to you and we thank

you for this something, this flame that is

608

: 00:36:27

inside of us.

609

: 00:36:27

God, we will steward it with our life and

cherish you and honor you and bless it.

610

: 00:36:32

So we thank you for your power in Jesus'

name.

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