Fighting fire with power and love

The sadness locked inside of you. The beauty of nothing. The absence of sacrifice, of pain. Fortress of solitude. burn it down. buried by arrogance. stones crumble. walls fallen from clenched fists that feel no pain. the fists that built them. Shadows of a scarred and skeleton world remain. You are still alone. nothing can protect you now. fortress of solitude. burn it down. no fortress. no fire. no flame. Birth takes a new meaning when it's into death. reinforced misconceptions. the plague of apathy that threatens to consume us all. fortress of solitude around this cold heart. burnt to the ground. afraid to face another day. still afraid to die. the fear remains. --"No Fortress, No Fire, No Flame" by Beneath the Ashes

There is no braver profession on this earth than that of firefighter.  When the flames engulf your home, you are grateful when they arrive.  You are encouraged by their presence, and you watch in grateful awe at the work they do.  It is no wonder that children want to grow up to be them.  But when they leave, you are left with charred remains of what once was yours.  The bigger the fire, the more the devastation left behind.  Last summer there were huge wildfires in different parts of the country.  Many square miles of land and homes were scorched.  The brave men and women who were called upon to extinguish the flames worked valiantly, but they were not able to restore what had been lost.

This was the result of the First Trumpet judgment in Revelation chapter 8 that we talked about last week.  The fire and brimstone that had fallen from heaven was too big to control, and it burned a third of the earth. When the dust settled, there may have been "hot spots" that firefighters simply had to let burn, so that it would burn itself out--there was no saving it.

Now, I want you to imagine a burning mountain.  In the days before air travel, mountains were seen as obstacles.  They impeded travel.  They were rocky and steep, unfit for most settlers and farmers.  So a promise like that found in Matthew 21:21 where Jesus said, "If you have faith....you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea', and it will be done" was a wonderful thought.  Nowadays we view mountains differently--we see them as beautiful scenery; and since those who went before us built roads and bridges and tunnels to make traveling through them easier, we do not look at mountains as so much of a threat.  And now that we have airplanes, we can fly above a high mountain, even higher than the clouds.  But imagine if that mountain was on fire.  Pilots would rather avoid flying through the smoke.  The beautiful plants, trees and animals would all die because of the flames, not to mention the pollution rising in the sky, blocking out the sun.  Something beyond human ability would have to intervene to stop the devastation to our environment: the fresh air lost, and the millions of gallons of water and chemicals used to control the fire.

Now that you have that image in your mind, I'd like you to read Revelation 8:8-9:

The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea.  A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures of the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

 The same supernatural force that started the fire has seen it contained on a huge mountain, and intervenes to stop it, but not without consequences.  God is like that.  When we call on Him, we are usually in a panic--we tend to forget about Him when things are going well, but when disaster strikes, we call out "Oh, my God! Help us, Father."  God Himself can stop the disaster dead in its tracks, but the scars remain.  Jeremiah 51:25 says, " 'I am against you, O destroying mountain, you who destroy the whole earth,' declares the Lord. 'I will stretch out my hand against you, roll you off the cliffs, and make you a burned-out mountain.' "

When God calls on us to evangelize the world, we often see obstacles in our path.  We see mountains in our way that loom large to us, but to God, they are nothing.  Zechariah 4:6 says, "What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground.  Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of 'God bless it! God bless it!' "  Remember Isaiah 28:16? "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed."  Paul said in Ephesians 2:20 that Jesus himself is the chief cornerstone.  When John the Baptist was met by the Pharisees, who asked if he were the Messiah, he quoted Isaiah 40:3, but we would do well to add in verses 4 and 5 to that prophecy:

A voice of one calling in the desert, prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.  And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it.

Yes, Brothers and Sisters, God will make Himself known to all people one day.  This is what the prophecy in Revelation 8 is about--God revealing Himself as more powerful than nature.  Like we said last week, there are those who worship nature instead of nature's God.  They will be shocked at the devastation that God wreaks on the earth in order to show his power.  Isaiah 41:15 says, "See, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth.  You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff." Those who grew up believing the half-truth that "God is love" will also be shocked to see Him demonstrate His power in this way.  The dual nature of God is a paradox to many, but it should not be.  1 Corinthians 13:2 says, "If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing."  God, in His fullness, can prophesy  with 100% accuracy; He can fathom all mysteries, and has all knowledge; He can move mountains (that He Himself created); yet he is the epitome of love.

So God can demonstrate His power by throwing a flaming mountain into the sea, but the consequences are that the ocean's water will be destroyed.  Like the first plague in Egypt, described in Exodus 7:17-21:

This is what the Lord says: "By this you will know that I am the Lord:  With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.  The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water."  The Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt--over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs--and they will turn into blood.  Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in the wooden buckets and stone jars." Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded.  He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and h is officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood.  The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water.  Blood was everywhere in Egypt.

Notice that it was not just the river water that turned foul--every drop of water in the streams, in the ponds, in the reservoirs, in the jars and buckets, all of it turned to blood.  The people could not drink anything until Pharaoh relented (several days later) and God allowed the water to be turned back into useful, life-giving, thirst-quenching liquid.  Similarly, in the second Trumpet Judgment, God only affects a third of all the water on Earth.  So there will be provision made for some, and other will suffer; those who harden their hearts and turn away from God will be like the third of the fish that perish, or the third of the ships that are destroyed when God throws the burning mountain into the sea.

Instead of being impressed with this supernatural event, men will turn their backs on God.  Men will curse God and die rather than believe on Him and be saved.  Would that it were not so!  It is not God's will that any should perish, but that all would come into a saving knowledge of Christ.  Which will you be?  Will you curse God for the devastation his hands have wrought?  Or will you bless him for his supernatural power coupled with his deep love for you?  This love was so great that he sacrificed His only Son that you might be saved from the devastation that is to come.  Think about it.

Our God is, a consuming fire,
A burning holy Flame, with glory and freedom
Our God is, the only righteous judge,
Ruling over us with kindness and wisdom 

We will keep our eyes on You
We will keep our eyes on You 

A mighty fortress is our God
A sacred refuge is Your Name
Your Kingdom is unshakable
With You forever we will reign 

Our God is, jealous for His own
None could comprehend, His love and His mercy
Our God is exalted on His throne
High above the heavens
Forever He's worthy... 

We will keep our eyes on You
We will keep our eyes on You 

We will keep our eyes on You
We will keep our eyes on You
So we can set our hearts on You
Lord we will set our hearts on You!