We are stepping into a new season. One that rises from everything the last sixty days have built in you. The past weeks have stretched you, strengthened you, refined you, and taught you discipline, consecration, devotion, and consistency.

Every day has pulled something out of you and poured something into you. There were moments of breaking, realignment, repentance, and awakening, as well as moments of joy, renewal, clarity, and boldness. And now the Lord is drawing your attention to something that has been present all along but is about to become your consciousness in a new way: the fire of God that lives within you.

The first time we see this kind of fire revealed is in Exodus.
Exodus 3:1-3
New King James Version
1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

2 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.

3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”

This was not a natural fire. Natural fire consumes. It destroys. It reduces everything to ash. But the bush was burning and yet it was not consumed. This fire did not destroy; it preserved.

Moses didn’t just see fire; he saw the presence of God in a form he had never known before. And because God’s presence was there, God told him to remove his sandals. The ground became holy simply by reason of who was there: God, because this fire sanctifies.

This is our first introduction in scripture to Brilliant Fire. A fire that does not consume but transforms. A fire that does not destroy but reveals the presence of God.
A fire that turns ordinary places into holy places and ordinary men into instruments of God.

We see this pattern again in the book of Acts.
Acts 2:1-4
New King James Version
1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Again, we see fire that does not burn the flesh. Fire that does not destroy. Fire that marks the arrival of the Spirit. What they saw was fire; what they received was the Holy Ghost. And from that moment, their lives bore witness to this truth: the fire of God changes men.

It turned fishermen into witnesses, timid men became bold preachers of the gospel, wanderers became apostles and the ones who denied the faith became its defenders.
We see through the Bible the consistent use of fire as a metaphor to speak of God’s presence. 

Exodus 13:21
New King James Version
21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light…

In Exodus 19:18, Mount Sinai shook when the Lord descended:
Exodus 19:18
New King James Version
18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire…

In 1 Kings 18:37-38, Elijah called Him the God who answers by fire:
1 Kings 18:37-38
New King James Version
37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God…

38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust…

Jesus continues this theme in Acts:
Acts 1:8
New King James Version
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me…

This is why we confidently say that the believer carries fire because we carry the Spirit of God.

By the Spirit, fire shows up in manifestations. Paul said in: Corinthians 2:4
New King James Version
4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power

Wisdom by the Spirit is fire. Boldness is fire. Prophecy, tongues, healing, discernment, revelation, transformation; these are all expressions of that fire.

Paul warns in 1 Thessalonians 5:19:
1 Thessalonians 5:19
New King James Version
19 Do not quench the Spirit.

You only quench what is burning. Meaning the Spirit’s influence can be hindered, resisted, or suppressed. But if it can be quenched, it can also be stirred.
This is why Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:
2 Timothy 1:6
New King James Version
6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

The phrase “stir up” comes from a word meaning “to kindle a fire again,” “to fan into flame,” “to make something living burn hotter.” God put fire inside you by His Spirit. But you have a responsibility to awaken it, to fuel it and to intensify it.

Everything you have done and experienced in the last sixty days has prepared you for this. Your discipline has prepared you. Your prayer life, renewed hunger, broken cycles, alignment with the Word, your consecration and devotion to God in this time have prepared you and you have caught fire!

Now, be conscious of the fire you carry.
You must discern that this is a new phase for you and are not entering it empty. You are entering with fire! With a brilliantly burning fire!

Prayer point
Father, as I pray, I awaken the consciousness of Your Spirit within me. I stir up the fire on my inside. I fan to flame every gift, every grace, every deposit that I have received in these past days. This brilliant fire of God makes me a better man.