“For our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:29
A weapon of warfare that we want to discuss here is the Fire of God. It is a terrible ‘Weapon of Mass Destruction’ that God has provided for Christians against the enemy. It protects, guides and fights for the Christian. But unfortunately, the church is not making adequate use of this spiritual lethal weapon. Yes, I call it ‘Weapon of Mass Destruction’ (W.M.D) because it is deadlier than any nuclear, atomic, laser and hydrogen bombs of this world.
You cannot relate with God for a reasonable period of time without noticing that fire is an indispensable attribute of His presence and actions. In the bible, you will always see fire associated with the presence of God. For example, Leviticus, Chapter nine and verse twenty-four says “Fire blazed forth from the LORD’S presence and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar.” The book of Revelation, Chapter four and verse five also said that from his throne come flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And that in front of the throne are seven lampstands with burning flames.
There is always a constant emission of fire and power from the presence of God. You will be right to say that you cannot separate fire from His nature, essence and manifestation. At his throne, there is a constant emission of lightning, thunder and flames. When He is happy and wants to receive your sacrifice, He descends with fire. When He wants to manifest to his people, He shows up in fire and smoke. When He wants to lead them out of slavery, He protects them as the pillar of fire and cloud. When He wants to fight for them, He comes with chariots of fire. My God!
When He decided to anoint the disciples with the Holy Spirit, He also came with tongues of fire. When He wanted to give assignments to his prophets, He came as a burning bush – fire burning without consuming the leaves. And when He gets angry with his enemies, He consumes them by fire and sulfur. God told the Old Testament priests to make sure that the fire in the tabernacle doesn’t go off. So, part of his nature is combustion.
Now, God protects his people with fire. When the Israelites were coming out from Egypt, we are told that the pillar of fire led them in the night and it also turned to a pillar of cloud during the day. When the Egyptians came dangerously close to apprehending them on the way, the same pillar of his presence retreated to the back, forming a barrier between his people and the attackers. This protected the Israelites as it made it impossible for their pursuers to come closer. Listen: “Then the angel of God, who had been leading the people of Israel, moved to a position behind them, and the pillar of cloud also moved around behind them. The cloud settled between the Israelite and Egyptian camps. As night came, the pillar of cloud turned into a pillar of fire, lighting the Israelite camp. But the cloud became darkness to the Egyptians, and they couldn’t find the Israelites.” Exodus14: 19-20.
God will use his fire to fight for you from today, in the name of Jesus. He will cause great, thick darkness to come upon your evil pursuers. They will surely grope, stumble and fall for your sake! They will look for you and will not be able to find or reach you again.
The Fire of God was ready to protect the children of Isreal day and night. It transmutes according to the time, circumstance and situation. But the assignment remains constant – to protect God’s people. Look at what happened there; immediately it sensed danger, it automatically turned into fire from the cloud, and the angel of God that had been visibly walking with them also retreated to the rear. All these instant, supernatural configurations and realignment, successfully blocked, blurred and incapacitated their enemies. This is what God will begin to do for you. Praise God!
Do you remember the spectacular experience of the servant of Prophet Elisha? He was overwhelmed and caged with fear until God opened his eyes to see the impregnable wall of divine defense around him and his master: “So one night the King of Aram sent a great army with many chariots and horses to surround the city. When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere.. ‘Ah, my lord, what will we do now?’ he cried out to Elisha. ‘Don’t be afraid!’ Elisha told him. ‘For there are more on our side than on theirs!’ Then Elisha prayed, ‘O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!’ The LORD opened his servant’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.” 2 Kings 6:14-17.
Yes, there are horses and chariots of fire surrounding you now. Don’t be afraid! Always ask God to send his fire to protect and fight for you, your family and the church. They that are with us are greater and stronger than those against us! We will continue. Share this important message with others.
The protection of God over his people is very strong, total, constant and impregnable. He makes sure that the enemy does not destroy his children at will. Otherwise, Satan would have wiped away mankind. Now, one of the ways God does this is to build a hedge of fire around believers. Yes, there is divine protection, a wall of fire around you. The agents of the kingdom of satan know this very well. They often confess that ‘strange’ fire often blocks them from having access to Christians, especially the serious ones. God knows how wicked Satan and his agents are, hence, he already put in place a formidable defense in the form of blazing fire around us. Most Christians, like Elisha’s servant, don’t realize this until God opens their eyes to see it. Whether you see it or not, it is always there, it is active and constant; ever-ready to protect you. In Zechariah 2:5 God says, “For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.”
This is the promise of God to his children. The bible also tells us that God spoke in the midst of fire and fire came out of his mouth – He answers by fire and is a consuming fire. If believers appreciate and appropriate this truth, then satan and his dark agents will always be on the run. No agent of the kingdom of satan (or satan himself) can withstand the Fire of God. It devastates. It melts. It liquidates. It destroys. It incapacitates. It demolishes. It consumes. It causes irreparable damage. And that is why they will always scamper for safety at its sight.
We must regularly use this weapon in our prayers and spiritual warfare. Always ask the Fire of God to come down whenever you are in a battle (especially a spiritual battle). Psalm 104:4 says that he is God: “Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire.” We are flames of fire! Jesus! People that are involved in deliverance ministrations will better appreciate this. They will often see and hear demons shouting, begging and running away each time the Fire of God comes down. You will hear them lament that they can’t withstand the heat of the fire. The devil is also always scared of the Fire of God because it reminds him of his final eternal place in the lake of fire. He hates to hear or to be reminded of this irrevocable, self-inflicted, eternal and painful doom that awaits him, his demons and his followers.
Now, the Bible already told us that we shall receive the baptism of fire from Jesus. Jesus himself also supported this when he said that he came to bring fire to the earth in Luke Chapter twelve, verse forty-nine. From today, let’s begin to use this deadly weapon of mass destruction that God has made available to us. He knew we will always need it to battle these wicked and determined forces of darkness.
God bless you!
Gabriel Agbo is a member of the Assemblies of God, Nigeria and the author of the following books/audiobooks: Power of Midnight Prayer, Receive Your Healing, Breaking Generational Curses: Claiming Your Freedom, Never Again!, I Shall Not Die, Move Forward, Power of Sacrifice and many others https://www.amazon.com/Power-Midnight-Prayer-Gabriel-Agbo/dp/1475273738
