Bishop John Evans of the New United Bibleway Church of God in Jamaica, said Christians need to position themselves to receive the fire of the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus’ 11 disciples did when they were waiting in the upper room (Acts 2) after His resurrection.

But how does one position oneself for this mighty move of God?
“First by building an altar,” Bishop Evans told congregants on a Zoom platform recently. “An altar is a structure used in worship and a place for presenting sacrifices to God,” he explained. “Altar is a place of slaughter. In 1 Kings 18:30, we see where Elijah the prophet repaired the broken altar. In Genesis 8:20 we see where Noah built an altar unto the Lord and took some of every clean beast to sacrifice there to God. Again in Genesis 12:7, the Lord appeared unto Abram, so Abram built Him an altar to mark where God appeared to him. An altar is simply a place where you can meet with God on an intimate and regular basis,” he said.
Secondly, Bishop Evans said, we position ourselves by giving God the very best. Examples of these are found throughout the Bible, for example in Genesis 4:1-7:
(Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore [a]Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother [b]Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And [c]in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is [d]for you, but you should rule over it.”
We also see this in Leviticus 1-10, “And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish)‘. And in Exodus 19:10-11 where the very people meeting with God have to be consecrated, “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 11 and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people“. Therefore what we give to God must be the very best and given of our free will.
When we position ourselves before God, he releases onto us the Holy Spirit who is described In Hebrew 12:29 as a consuming fire (29 For our God is a consuming fire).
“The Bible describes God as a consuming fire,” Bishop Evans explained. “So it is not surprising that fire often appears as a symbol of God’s presence.”
He gave some examples of this to include the burning bush (Exodus 3:2), the Shekinah glory (Exodus 14:24; Numbers 9:15-16), and Ezekiel’s vision (Ezekiel 1:4). Bishop Evans said that fire has many times been an instrument of God’s judgment (Numbers 11:1, 3; 2 Kings 1:10, 12) and a sign of His power (Judges 13:20; 1 Kings 18:38).
How is the Holy Spirit like a Fire?
Fire was important for the Old Testament sacrifices. The fire on the altar of burnt offering was a divine gift, having been lit originally by God Himself (Leviticus 9:24). God charged the priests with keeping His fire lit (Leviticus 6:13) and made it clear that fire from any other source was unacceptable (Leviticus 10:1-2).
In the New Testament, the altar can serve as a picture of our commitment to the Lord. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are called upon to offer our bodies as “living sacrifices” (Romans 12:1), engulfed by the divine gift: the inextinguishable fire of the Holy Spirit.
At the very beginning of the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is associated with fire. John the Baptist predicts that Jesus will be the one to "baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Matthew 3:11). When the Holy Spirit began His ministry of indwelling the early church, He chose to appear as “tongues of fire” resting on each of the believers. At that moment, all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them" (Acts 2:3-4).
“Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages,[b] as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.” Acts 2:3-4)
Fire is a wonderful picture of the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is like a fire in at least three ways:
He brings God’s Presence, God’s Passion, and God’s Purity.
Presence: The Holy Spirit is the presence of God as He indwells the heart of the believer (Romans 8:9) — “But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)“
In the Old Testament, God showed His presence to the Israelites by overspreading the Tabernacle with fire (Numbers 9:15-16). This fiery presence provided light and guidance (Numbers 9:17-23).” In the New Testament, God guides and comforts His children with the Holy Spirit dwelling in our bodies- — His “tabernacle” and the “temple of the living God” (2 Corinthians 5:1; 6:16).
Passion: The Holy Spirit creates the passion of God in our hearts. After the two traveling disciples talked with the resurrected Jesus, they describe their hearts as “burning within us” (Luke 24:32). After the apostles received the Spirit at Pentecost, they had a passion that lasted a lifetime and impelled them to speak the word of God boldly (Acts 4:31).
Purity: The Holy Spirit produces the purity of God in our lives. God’s purpose is to purify us (Titus 2:14), and the Spirit is the agent of our sanctification (1 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2). As the silversmith uses fire to purge the dross from the precious metal, so God uses the Spirit to remove our sin from us (Psalm 66:10; Proverbs 17:3). Because the Spirit is a consuming fire it means that when that dross is being removed sometimes it becomes painful. Fire burns. But the result is always good.
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