Let the Fire Fall

"He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire."   Matthew 3:11c

In the summer of 1872, the owners of the Glacier Point Hotel in Yosemite National Park started a new event that lasted for almost a century. It was called the Yosemite Firefall. At 9:00 each evening, in Curry Camp, a crowd would gather below the three thousand feet cliff called Glacier Point.

On top of the mountain, a fire would be lit. History has it that David Curry, founder of Camp Curry, would stand at the base of the mountain and yell, "Let the fire fall!" A faint reply could be heard from the top of the mountain, and then a great bonfire of red fir bark would be pushed over the edge of the cliff. It appeared to the onlookers below as a glowing waterfall of sparks and fire as it cascaded down the mountain.

This Sunday, May 23, is Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost is the day when Christians celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, as recorded in the Book of Acts.

Before Jesus ascended back to heaven, He commanded His followers to tarry in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. The 120 that prayerfully waited in the Upper Room had an encounter with the Holy Spirit that changed their lives and empowered them to take the gospel through Judea and Samaria to Antioch, Asia Minor, Greece, and finally to Rome.

The word "Pentecost" means " the fiftieth." In the Old Testament, Pentecost occurred fifty days after Israel left Egypt. In Acts, it occurred fifty days after Christ rose from the dead. In the Old Testament, this day was a celebration of the birthday of Israel. In Acts, we celebrate the birth of the New Testament church. For Israel, Pentecost was a celebration of the harvest of grain. For the church, Pentecost is supposed to be a harvest of souls.

When the Holy Spirit came, His arrival was sudden. The Christians sitting in the house heard the sound of a rushing, mighty wind. They also saw a phenomenon that Luke described as cloven tongues of  fire  that sat upon each of them.  Acts 2: 1-4

Fire symbolizes the power of God. Fire transforms, refines, and purifies. Fire changes whatever it touches. On the Day of Pentecost, the fire of the Holy Spirit fell upon those men and women, transformed them, and they, in turn, changed the world!

A woman's watch had stopped working, so she took it to a jeweler to be repaired. He disappeared into a back room and soon returned with the watch running perfectly. The surprised woman asked how he fixed it so quickly. He told her it only needed a new battery. The woman responded, "A battery? Nobody told me I needed a battery. I've been winding it up every morning!"

That's a good illustration of the modern-day church trying to operate without the fire, the power of the Holy Spirit. For too long, we have depended on training, education, talents, and abilities. Your knowledge may impress people. Your talents and abilities may bring people enjoyment, but without the anointing power of the Holy Spirit, they will not be effective in changing lives.

It's time we stop winding ourselves up! It's time we begin crying out to God to endue us with power from on high. O Lord, let the fire fall!

On April 9, 1906, William Seymour and seven men were gathered on Bonnie Brae Street in Los Angeles, California. These spiritually hungry men were praying and waiting on God. Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, the fire of the Holy Ghost fell upon them, and they began to speak in tongues. Word spread, and the crowds grew until they had to move to a bigger building. These meetings became known as the Azusa Street Revival that lasted from 1906-1915. Today, historians considered the revival to be the primary catalyst for the spread of Pentecostalism in the twentieth century.

In the 1970s, the Charismatic Movement burst on the scene. A new wave of the Holy Spirit swept through Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Baptist churches. Many of these denominations were steeped in the belief that sign gifts and the extraordinary manifestations of the Holy Spirit ceased with

the end of the Apostolic age. Pastors, priests, and church leaders found themselves struggling to explain this new wave of the Holy Spirit in their midst.

We now come to the church in 2021. For the most part, it is a well-oiled machine. We have learned how to " do"  church. In many congregations, the Holy Spirit departed a long time ago, but no one has noticed.

At the last Yosemite Firefall, the official park bulletin proclaimed, 

      "The Firefall, a fancy of James McCauley that caught on and was popular for almost a hundred years, died Thursday, January 25, 1968, in a blazing farewell.

      "It was a dandy Firefall, fat and long, and it ended with an exceptionally brilliant spurt, the embers lighting the cliff as they floated slowly downward."

 There weren't many people around to watch. Maybe fifty. Hardly any congestion at all.

The parking lots and sanctuaries of most local churches are not congested in 2021. But, for many churchgoers, the Coronavirus has given them a perfect excuse to leave the house of God. Some have returned; many never will. We are living in very dark, perilous times. People are hurting financially, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. What we are experiencing in this nation cannot be fixed by Washington; man cannot fix it. We need God to rend the heavens and come with a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon His people.

Several years ago, on New Year's Day, a beautiful float suddenly sputtered and stopped in the Tournament of Roses. It was out of gas. The entire parade was held up until someone could get a can of gas. The embarrassing thing was that the float represented the Standard Oil Company. With its vast oil resources, its truck was out of gas.

In the Old Testament tabernacle, God gave instructions that the fire on the altar should never be allowed to go out.

"The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out."    Leviticus 6:13

Is the fire still burning in your church, your life?

Jesus told His disciples,  "But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you."  Acts 1:8a   He has equipped us with all we need. The power of the Holy Ghost and the vast resources of heaven are at our disposal. How it must grieve His heart to see how powerless much of the American church has become.

We represent Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Are we willing to let His Name be put to shame because we have allowed the fire to go out?

My fellow Pentecostals, it's not enough to trace our roots back to the Azusa Street Mission. It's not enough to talk about past experiences.

The crucial questions are, "Is the fire of the Holy Ghost burning within me today? Am I living a Spirit-filled life based on the Word of God?"

Do you want to see souls saved? Do you desire to see revival in your home, community, and your church?

If your answer is yes, then this coming Sunday, let's all raise our voices in churches across this nation, crying out to God for a fresh Pentecost!

O Lord, Let the fire fall!