Are You Fanning the Flame?
What does it mean to be countercultural? How does God tell us to enact this? In order to answer these questions, we must look at Romans 12:1-2 NIV:
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Caleb taught us this week that the job of a priest in the New Testament was rather important. Each morning, they would rise before dawn in order to start the fires at the temple for the sacrifices coming that day. Throughout the day, they would have to keep those fires hot as various sacrifices poured in hour after hour. It was a lot of work. Day in and day out. But it was worth it. Because the priests knew that people would show up every single day expecting God to show up there. And He did.
This scripture from Romans reminds us that in order to be countercultural, we must come to Him expecting and fanning the flames of the Holy Spirit within us. We no longer need the temple to worship Him; we are the temple. People should see the Holy Spirit in our lives when they encounter us. That’s how we become countercultural. So, this begs the question:
How do you fan the flames of the Holy Spirit in your life?
Below are four ways that we can fan those flames and truly be countercultural in our day-to-day lives.
1. Renew Your Mind
“…Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” Romans 12:2 NIV
It is often quite easy to get caught up in the patterns and traditions of this world. We subscribe to selfish mentalities and conform to behaviors that are less than holy. But if we are truly walking in the calling of the Holy Spirit, then we should be working to listen to his gentle whisper each day as He guides us down a path of righteousness. We are new creations. We are no longer slaves to sin. Jesus died for our sins and gave us the Holy Spirit to renew our minds and become more like Him. We do this by taking the time to remember and reflect on all the mercies God has shown us in our own lives. When we reflect on this and share it with others, we become a living testimony of God’s mercy and love. If we lean in and listen, we begin to see our lives change as we live more for Him and less for ourselves. We die to ourselves and seek to grow His kingdom. Ultimately, we are fanning that flame of the Holy Spirit within us and saying “Lord, I trust you. I love you. I’m listening.”
2. Know Your Identity in Him
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV
When you accept Christ into your heart, you no longer identify as the person you once were; you are a new creation through Christ. The chains that once held you down and entangled you do not have power over you anymore. Instead, you are a child of God. You are chosen. You are loved. You are worthy. You are light. By embracing these qualities, we choose to see ourselves as God sees us. We choose to see ourselves as no longer broken individuals, but whole through Christ. Our culture today preaches a message on self-love because they are a people broken beyond repair. They have no hope in anything but their own power to change. But we know better than that. We can demonstrate God’s glory and goodness by finding peace in the storm, by seeing ourselves as whole and not broken, by choosing to be the new creation God has made us to be. If we all cling onto the identity that Jesus died for us to have, we could shift our culture in monumental ways.
3. Do Everything Unto Him
“And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:17 NLT
Unlike the Israelites, we do not have to provide animals as sacrifices to our God in order to be forgiven for our sins. Jesus—the one true sacrificial lamb—died for all of our sins and paid our debts. However, Paul still calls us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to the Lord in all that we do. Every action we take, every choice we make should all be with the mindset to bring glory unto God. It is about taking the time to consider what our Heavenly Father would have us do instead of acting on behalf of the culture around us. We may look different in doing so, but it will ultimately be pleasing to Him.
4. Get to Know Him
“My aim is to know him, to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death” Philippians 3:10 NET
The best way to change our culture and to stand out from it is to truly get to know our one true God. Paul clearly demonstrates in Philippians the passion we should all have as we pursue the Lord. If we do not truly know Him, then we cannot truly embolize who he is in our day-to-day lives. In this way, we must be diligent to set aside time to pray and get in the Word with Him each day. Our prayer should be asking to know Him more today than we did yesterday and more tomorrow than we do today. If we do this, He will be faithful to your prayers for wisdom.
Culture cannot change without Him, but we must remember that He is within us, thereby giving us the power to invoke change. So, don’t shy away from leaning into who He is. Get to know your Father because He wants so desperately to show you.
