The fire of God comes from God. You cannot produce fire by yourself.
No. 1, you must understand that the fire of God cannot be replicated. It is not something that comes from you. God is the one who provides the fire: the fire of His presence. The zeal. The passion. The desire for Him. The desire for souls.
This is not something you can muster up. It is not something you can make happen. It is not something you earn. Rather, it is something that is cultivated.
There is a difference between trying to earn something and trying to cultivate something. Cultivation is different because cultivation implies that you are doing your part to cultivate and till the soil. But the increase and the growth come from God.
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Let me put it to you this way. In my backyard, I have lots of flowers, fruits and vegetables. But what I have come to realize is that the seed is not mine. The seed comes from God. My part is to till the soil, cultivate the seed in the ground and water it. But the one who plants and does the watering for it is not anything. The one who brings increase is God. I cannot make a plant grow. I cannot make a plant spring to life. But what I can do is yield to the laws of cultivation, that if I cultivate and I sow, and I water, and I wait and I trust the process., the growth will naturally occur because it is God-given.
How does that relate to the spiritual life? How does that relate to the things of God? Much and in every way. The Scripture calls us to sow to the spirit. “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Gal. 6:8, KJV). Those who sow to the spirit will reap the life of the Spirit in them.
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You see, the ground is your heart. The cultivation, the breaking up of the fallow ground and the watering of the seed is your part. The seed is given to you by God. But your part is to yield and to cultivate. Your part is to prepare your heart, water and till.
What does that look like spiritually? My job is to offer my life daily and continually before the presence of God. My job is to yield to the gospel. To yield to the Holy Spirit. To yield to what God wants to do by offering myself daily as a living sacrifice. This is not work. This is cultivation.
The work is done by the Spirit, and the Spirit does the work. The Spirit is the one who produces the yield of the fruit of the Spirit and the fire of God in your life. Your job is to yield, and the way you yield is by preparing your soil. You must take the step to prepare and till the ground. You must cultivate your garden.
There are two things that go hand and hand in your spiritual life: dependency and discipline. Let me explain. Discipline is you doing your part and being consistent in doing your part. Dependency is relying on God for that. The spiritual things feed off those two realities. If you do not pray, you will not learn dependency, and if you are not learning dependency, you will not learn to be disciplined on how to pray. They come together; they feed one another. This is why the Scripture says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you’ (James 4:8a, NKJV).
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There is a part that God has already done. That He has already accomplished. That He has already established. But now He is waiting on you to yield to it. Just as we read in Exodus 3, where it says that Moses is near the mount where he sees the fires that are not consuming the bush. The Scripture says the Lord was waiting for him to turn. When he turned, God began to minister to him. The Lord began to speak purpose, destiny and fulfillment of His purposes, plan and destiny for Moses and for the people of God.
I find that interesting that the Lord waited for him to turn. God did His part. God provided the fire. God provided the bush. God provided that moment. But God waited for Moses to turn. Why? Because God did His part—and now Moses had to do his part.
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Chris Garcia is the founder of Father’s Glory International. Father’s Glory is devoted to promoting God’s manifested presence and power through the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is Father’s glory, and it is through the unveiling of the Son that lives are transformed. Chris is also a revivalist with a heart for the local church and serves as the lead overseer at House of Glory in Fort Smith, Arkansas. House of Glory is a Spirit-filled, fivefold apostolic revival hub that exists to cultivate the presence of God and the power of the gospel regionally and internationally. God is looking for those who will give Him a place to rest and allow His people to interact with His presence, power and glory. Second Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all, seeing the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, as in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord.” It is for His glory that we proclaim His name. Chris and his wife, Zuly, reside in the Fort Smith area with their three children. His new book, “Fresh Oil,” releases Tuesday, Nov. 5, and is available for pre-order now on Amazon.
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