Pentecostal Fire or Hell's Fire

Rev Gideon Lee

This morning is Pentecost Sunday. Pop quiz, what is Pentecost Sunday? The promise from God, which was the Holy Spirit, was fulfilled this day. What does it mean to you? This morning we will learn more about this.

This is one of the Christian calendar where we commemorate. Like Christmas and Easter. Being an AOG church, we are part of the Pentecostal denomination. And the word Pentecostal comes from Pentecost. You'll never get a card for Pentecost. Christmas and even Easter possibly but do anyone greet you on Pentecost day? No? But it's actually very significant.

It is the beginning of the church. It's actually the church's birthday. The Jews celebrates it differently. Christmas is the time when the most cards are being sent, then Valentine's Day, Mother's Day etc. But there are no cards for Pentecost day. Women purchased about 80% of all cards. That's the statistics.

This is the festival of the first fruits by the Jews. The Beginning of Harvest season and they bring their Harvest as an offering to God. Like their tithes. They'll also be the giving of the Torah. But for us it's the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of the church. Where God wrote his laws on men's heart instead of on tablets of stone.

It gives us the imagery of fire.

Acts 2:1-4

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Acts 2:5-12

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

Here we see 120 disciples that were gathered here in the upper room. In one accord and they were praying. Then a mighty wind that came and shook the room and a fire descended upon them and they spoke in tongues. In Exodus 19, Mt. Sinai was enveloped by fire. John the Baptist said there will come one who will baptise you in fire. Fire is neutral but these are good example but there are also bad examples like hell where the fire never quenches. Jesus described it as a fiery furnace. So fire can be good or bad. That's why I titled my message Holy Spirit fire or hell's fire.

The first thing I want to talk about this fire is this.

1. One fire points to a failure while the other points to a fullness.

The fire of hell points to a failure. A failure in accepting the amazing grace of our Saviour. The fire of the Holy Spirit speaks of fullness, with God and one another. The Bible says hell was built for the devil and his angels.

God has done everything possible to keep us out from this place. As mentioned in John 3:16. We always think the devil is king of hell. Actually the devil is prisoner in hell. In Greek mythology, we think that hades is being ruled. We think Satan is in charge of hell but it's not true. In fact God is ruler over all.

We have this idea that God cannot be in hell but God is ruler over all. God does not want to send us there so he's asking us to make a choice. You may say I have not chosen yet but your indecision is already a choice. The truth is he'll exist even if preaching it is not popular. If we reject his love, then there's no other place but hell.

We are complete. We have life abundance if we receive his grace. And we can celebrate Pentecost Sunday because we have received his grace.

Acts 1:6-9

6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

God has empowered us. You may have stepped into church many times, but you have not made a decision for God. That you will choose wisely.

2. One fire focused on I while the other is on others.

Luke 16:19-31

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

This rich man only thinks about himself. Never thinking of others like Lazarus outside his gate. The rich man did nothing whatsoever. Even the dogs came to lick his sores. But the rich man was not willing to help. He lived his life only to please himself. When he passed away he found himself in a place of torment. If we live just for ourselves we will end up in hell. God calls us to be witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea and to the ends of the earth. Jerusalem is where you are, and Samaria is those towns near to Jerusalem and then to all over the world. We first have to be witness in Penang, then the neighbouring states and Malaysia before the rest of the world.

If you talk about living only for I, you'll end up in the lake of fire.

Why the rich man asked Lazarus to dip his finger to quench his thirst? Why not ask Abraham? Then he asked Lazarus to go tell his other family members. He should have done it when he was alive.

I pray we will choose Pentecostal fire, a life that will care for others.

3. One fire focuses on the past, the other focuses on the future.

You can't take anything with you once you die. It was said Alexander the Great gave instructions  on how he was to be buried. He wanted the best physicians to carry his coffin. And he wanted his coffin to be open and his hands outside. He wanted to say that when you die even the greatest physician cannot save you and you take nothing with you.

This rich man lived only for himself but at death none of his riches can help him. I pray we will choose the path where it will count for eternity. That we will invest in the eternal. To look at the future. That it will count towards eternity. 

On Pentecost, God empowers us for a reason. The Bible says the gospel is foolishness. Why would anyone follow a God that died on the cross? But we all know Christ rose again. We believe in the eternal.

When we choose the fire of God we must know what to invest on. We don't just invest on things temporal. Your choice is important. We choose the eternal, heaven.

Both fires are everlasting.

One of the saddest thing about hell is that it's permanent. There's no rental or second chance or u-turns. Same goes for heaven. It's also permanent. But here's the difference. When you get to hell, it's a place you want to get out. Where else heaven is a place where you want to stay. It's a place you don't was to leave.

I want to close with this story. I serve at the Royal Rangers. We have camps with 800 - 1,000 attendees. One of the thing we do is when we take the children out for camping.

We will purchase tents, cook food and enjoy nature. But during the night time we have a camp fire with no distractions. No handphones. Anyway there is no line. Here they are very receptive to you and we use this time to share the word of God with them. When they are there their attention is on you and listened to you.

They always say they'll always remember the counsel at camp fire. I was also with the Scouts. And we also have camp fires but they tell ghost stories during those camp fire. You see we can use that fire to input into people's life or share ghost stories.

What are we doing with the fire of the Holy Spirit? Are we making it count for Jesus? Are we his witnesses? I want to challenge us, like that rich man, I still have 5 more brothers. I hope we don't get until there before we think about our brothers. We should think of them now. Do your best to share with them. Save them from the hell fire. Amen?