Pentecost: When God Adds Fuel to the Fire

By: Rev. Daniel Pesado

“Don’t add fuel to the fire.” I heard that phrase a lot growing up. When there was an argument or tense situation, the adults around me would use it to suggest that it was better to keep quiet and not make circumstances worse.

But there are areas and moments in life when it is necessary to add fuel to ignite or revive an existing fire.

A literal example is when we camp outdoors and need the bonfire for heat and to prepare food. If we don’t tend to it during the night, it will weaken or go out completely. Another fire we might need to add fuel to is our relationships. Friendships, dating relationships, and marriages need to be stoked and rekindled many times for them to endure and thrive. Or perhaps we need to revive a passion for something it’s taken a long time to finish, such as a college degree, a massive work project, or a dream that never seems it will be fulfilled.

In the spiritual sense, in order to witness true, deep revival personally and as a church, it is necessary to add fuel to our already existing fire. The embers are there, but we need to stoke them. We need to bring more wood and fan into flame the Spirit within us.

That’s why I think: How cunning is Satan that he has managed to discourage or distract us from praying for revival!

The desire for a genuine revival, a powerful and authentic move (without manipulations of any kind) of God amongst us, should be the natural and constant longing of every Christian and, of course, the Church as a whole.

Evangelism and revival, although closely related, should not be confused. Revival is an experience of the Church; evangelism is the outward result of true revival.

A revival is the context in which God, by his Spirit, manifests himself with absolute freedom and power. Why does God do it? Why should we want it and prepare for it to happen? What will make possible a revival in the church today? We find possible answers to these questions when we recall how God poured out the first revival.

What happened in the newly birthed Church on the day of Pentecost was the simple result of the presence of the Spirit in the lives of the approximately 120 gathered there. They were waiting for “the promise of the Father”. When the Spirit descended on all of them the evidence was clear, unmistakable and impossible to contain. Although they were small, fragile, persecuted, and had little resources, they would be launched out to announce what Jesus had made possible by dying on the cross and rising again. The Spirit gave them conviction, courage, and the capability to proclaim the good news. The Holy Spirit made the messengers and the message credible.

Nothing and no one can replace the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of each disciple of Jesus. Let us wait in prayer and with faith “the promise of the Father”. And let’s be willing to add fuel to the fire!