This is the Truth Network. When the tongues of fire fell on the heads of those at Pentecost, it was a message to the church that the faith they had would spread throughout the Mediterranean world like a raging wildfire. Is that fire still burning today?
Well, stay with us, listen, and learn. You're listening to Until He Comes, a blend of prophetic and practical biblical studies with Dr. Greg Hinnett, author of The Second Coming of Christ, His Appearing, His Return, Our Preparation. And now, author and teacher Greg Hinnett. Welcome to the broadcast, my friend.
Today we're continuing our discussion of the tongues of fire that fell at Pentecost and what they meant. What was the message God was sending?
Well, one of the things he was saying was that the faith of Jesus Christ was spread throughout the world like a wildfire.
So today we're going to talk about the fire of rapidly spreading faith. You know, every one of us should aim and make a conscious effort. to ignite in others the same fires of faith that glow in our own hearts? 1 Peter 3, 15 says, Speaks about this. The Apostle writes, But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer.
To every man that ask you a reason of the hope that is in you. with meekness and fear. When someone comes up to you and says, you know, there's something different about you, you seem to be. joyful all the time or? much of the timing.
Why is that?
Well, then go for it, my friend. Go ahead and tell them everything you know about Jesus as long as they're Willing to listen. If you see that they're Becoming resistant, just let it go and try. Trust that what God is giving you to say will help them. But notice the first part of this verse, Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.
If we're going to be ready to share the gospel with every man who asks us about it, Then we need to be sanctified and to have Christ set apart in our heart. As great as he is. Generally today our view of Christ is too low. in the American churches. Jesus Christ is not coming back as a suffering servant.
He's not coming back as a carpenter. He's coming back as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the general of heaven's armies. The Lord of Sabaoth he's coming back as the judge of all, the quick and the dead. Do we know that Jesus? Do we know the Jesus that's about to come?
He's the same Jesus, of course, but he's coming in a different role. He's coming in power and glory instead of meekness and humility.
So that's the Jesus that you and I will see next. We should sanctify him in our hearts and see how great he really is, and if we're really thinking about how great he is. They were going to be telling people about him all the time. And also if we realize that eternity is a reality, hell is a reality. Those who do not receive Jesus are bound.
Death. If that doesn't stir something in your heart, I don't know what will.
So when someone asks you about why you seemed to be different. Telled him why. Ask them if they are a Christian. Ask them if they know. Jesus Ask them if they're born again.
That's the Litmus test. If they're just a religious professor, they'll hesitate or say, Well, I go to this church or that church or the other. then you know you need to share the gospel with them.
Now, friend, let me remind you too: the first word of the gospel is not believe, but repent. That's the first word. Repent. I had an interesting situation occur just last week. I was at a hotel in Greensboro where we're going to hold a conference on the book of Revelation in September of this year.
I was making arrangements there. And when I got through, I noticed a young man while we were washing our hands in the bathroom, and I said, What's your name? And he told me his name. His name was Fraule. And I said, that's an unusual name.
I said, what are you doing? He said, well, I'm a salesman. I'm here on business. And then he asked me, What do you do?
So I told him. I said, Well, I'm a Bible expositor. I've taught with the Bible school for twenty five years, and I'm here to make arrangements for an upcoming conference we're having in September on the book of Revelation. When I said that He just stopped. He almost stepped back.
And he said, I've got to talk to you. I said, Well, okay, let's talk.
So we went outside in the lobby, We sat down. We talked for about twenty minutes straight. And during that time he was telling me. how he had been raised, he was an Ethiopian. And he'd been raised by Two godly parents, who taught him and prayed for him.
And he was under conviction because he knew he was not walking the walk. He was not living with Christ as they were. And so, as we talked, I just stopped him and I said, look. Froud. Have you been born again?
He said, No, I have not. I said, Would you like to be? He said, Yes, I would.
Well, immediately I realized this was the divine appointment. My friends, could I encourage you to pray for divine appointments? Pray for God's initiatives in your life. And he will respond to that prayer. And then he said, He said, I asked him, I said, Would you like to pray right now?
And he said, I certainly would.
So we prayed right there in the lobby. We were sitt seated in the lobby of the Wyndham Hotel. and we prayed a very simple prayer. But the first thing I asked him, I said, Now, are you willing to tell the Lord that you're a sinner and that you've sinned against him? He said, Yes, I am.
So we begin with the first word of the gospel again, which is repentance, not believe. And then he made a confession of faith in Christ. And asked Jesus to come into his heart. He surrendered. He capitulated to the Lord.
And that young man was born again. After we got through, I realized that just that morning One of my associates in the ministry here who helps me quite a bit. She had put a book in my car uh several books. That I was going to take to someone else. It was my book, Walking in His Ways.
It's a book that helps you learn about the spiritual disciplines of the Christian life. It's an excellent book to give to. Um young believers or really any believer because it Talks about discipleship.
Now, and so I had that. It just came to my mind that I had that.
So I said, Frowl, I've got a book for you.
So we went out to my car and I gave him that book. He was very excited because he's a reader. And I ask people before I give him a book, I say, Are you a reader? Because I'm not throwing books away. If people don't read, there's no need to give them a book.
But this young man said, I'm a reader. And while I was giving him the book, he saw another book there that was in my automobile, and he said, That's spiritual truth for overcoming adversity. He said, What's that about? I said, Well, you don't need that because I'm sure you don't have adversity in your life. And he laughed.
He said, I like that one too.
So I said, It's yours.
So I gave in that. We prayed again. I prayed for the Lord to committed him unto the Lord to guide him and keep him. I told him he needed to get in a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. And he said he would.
We hugged. Told him I loved him. And sent him on his way. That was a divine appointment. Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, said Peter, and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope.
That is in you. with meekness and with fear. Francisco. That kind of an experience. can be yours.
At any moment.
Now The reason that happened was not for me, it was for him. It was for this young man named Frau. And if you're hearing this to day, I would encourage you to pray for this young man. Pray for God to keep him and continue to raise him up as his disciple, so that he will fulfill the purpose of his life. and fulfil his divine destiny.
By the way, that's what I told him he was. I said, Look, you're called. God's hands on you. How can I say that? Because God's hands on everyone who will turn to Him.
Everyone who was under conviction got chants on them. And I encouraged him. To seek the Lord and to follow Him closely, and then He would discover the purpose of His life. and why he was born again.
So We parted ways. And I praised and thanked the Lord and our intercessory prayer group is praying for Frau. Today for him to be kept. I want to ask you one more question. Have you learned to ask people?
Is there something that I could pray? About. For you. Almost everyone Has something going on in their life. And if you will ask them if you can pray for them, most people will say yes.
Some will say no, no, thank you. When they do, you say, all right. You can go your way. But many times you'll get to pray for someone about a need in their life, and that will open the door for you to talk further to them about Jesus.
Now Psalm one oh four verse four gives us another key thought. It says here, beginning with the last phrase in verse three, Our speaking about the Lord in this passage, that the Lord makes His angels spirits and His ministers of flaming fire. Think about that. God makes His ministers of flaming fire.
So their message and zeal make them spiritual incendiaries.
Now an incendiary is a device which starts a fire. There were incendiary ordinances that were dropped. by our bombers, In the Second World War. Bre Dresden, Germany was burnt to the ground. Terrible, terrible situation.
and Tokyo was completely burnt up.
So that's incendiaries in the Theater of War. But spiritual incendiaries are different. That is, your life and mine, if we have Jesus glowing in our hearts, and that's a big if. 'Cause if you don't, you can't spread anything you don't have. But if Christ is living in your heart and you're stoking those fires every morning by getting before the Lord and worshiping Him and thanking Him and singing unto Him and poring over His Word and feeding on Him and studying it, Then your life is glowing with the fire.
The same fire Listen to me, friend, that that burned At Pentecost. The same tongues of fire that sat on the heads of those present is There in your heart and it is growing every day. And the purpose of that It's so that you will spread that fire to others. It has been said Religion is ritual. Faith is fire.
Oh, what a wonderful statement. That's right. That's what it is. Our faith is full. Fire.
All of us can spread the fire of faith. In Jesus You note that the tongues of fire in Acts 2, verse 3. rested upon quote each of them end quote. Not just the apostles. You know, some of us say, well, I don't want to spread the gospel.
That's my pastor's duty. Yeah. That's a cop-out, and for you young people, that phrase means that's an evasion of responsibility. This month, for a gift of any amount, receive Dr. Hinnant's book, Precious Pearls from the Proverbs.
This book is an in-depth examination of 33 wisdom sayings from the book of Proverbs. They will enrich your spiritual walk with practical and spiritual pearls of truth.
Some of the topics addressed are attitudes, motives, speech, parenting, mercy, faithfulness, leadership, laziness, and many others. Give and get your copy today. For a gift of $60 or more, we'll send you the complete four-volume Hinnant End Times Prophecy Collection: The Second Coming of Christ, The Tribulation Story, Revelation Notes, a verse-by-verse commentary on Revelation, and the Day of the Lord commentary, which interprets all Old Testament prophecies and foreshadowings of the end times. And if you are a Logos Bible software user, you may purchase all four. These books from the Logos Online Bookstore.
You may give your gift today by visiting the donation page at greghinnantministries.org or sending your checks to Greg Hinnant Ministries, P.O. Box 788 High Point, North Carolina, 27260, or by calling 336-882-1645.
Now again, Dr. Hinnant. But of course, the pastor's job is to spread the gospel, but you and I, every other person in the body of Christ. Who's been born again, who has this fire of faith glowing in the heart, is responsible. to spread that fire.
far and wide. You know, John Wesley Reportedly said, although some Wesleyan scholars uh say they can find no record of it. He said, I set myself on fire, and the people come to watch me burn.
Some have said that was inaccurate, and he actually said, Light yourself on fire with passion. and people will come from mouths to what you burn. What is he getting at? People are drawn to someone who is zealous about something. Because they see they're willing to commit their life to it.
In our case, we commit our life to a person, not to religion. not even to the church, but to a person. Jesus of Nazareth, The Christ the Anointed One. King of Kings and Lord of Lords, our Saviour and our Personal Lord. He is the one we commit our lives to.
You know, none of us know how far just one spark. may fr may spread. Just one spark. how far that could spread The Great Chicago Fire in the eighteen hundreds was reportedly. Started.
when Miss O'Leary's cow knocked over The oil lamp I hate to slander misses O'Leary's cow. not knowing her or her cow. It may have happened that way, or it may not, but the point is, Chicago. was nearly entirely burned up. And one little spark started it.
Now let's turn that around and and use it in a good way. the using the fire of faith is our example. When Philip was sent out into the desert, By the Holy Spirit? He didn't know what he was going to do, or who he'd find, but he found the Ethiopian eunuch. And the man.
Was reading Isaiah. And so Philip. was told by the Spirit to go near. And he drew near and he asked him what he read. The eunuch told him And then he preached the gospel until the man was saved and he was baptized in water.
So You and I need to be ready to do this because it's reported that Ethiopian eunuch who was a high government official. Went back to his nation. and started the church there. There's still a strong Ethiopian church today.
So you and I don't know how far faith will go. When We speak Jesus to someone every morning. One of my prayers is that the Lord would grant divine initiative to speak Jesus to someone. If they're unsaved, to talk to them about salvation, and if they're saved, to talk to things of God. You know, it's good to ask people Do you know Jesus is coming back soon?
Many people know that times are quite different. They recognize that something is going on. But they don't know what.
So frequently I'll ask people Not only if I could pray for them, or if they're born again, but do you know Jesus is coming back soon? It almost always sparks. a meaningful conversation.
Now Let's look at something else. You know, when I was a young man, in nineteen seventy two. attending High Point Central High School. I was on the football team there and we were having a pregame meal and afterwards I came out and I noticed there were three young men. Two of them had guitars, I believe.
They were singing some, singing some songs, and they were talking about Jesus to a group of students who had gathered round.
Well, as you know students do, they were kind of razzing them, see if they could get a rise out of them. Poking them. verbally to see if they could uh provoke them. But these guys were pretty cool. They were different.
They didn't get rattled. And I thought to myself, you know, these guys are different. I've never seen anybody like this. I didn't know what was going on, but the Holy Spirit had gripped my attention. To these young men.
because they were on fire. for crushed. Just as those in the upper room.
So they invited us to come to a meeting the next night at a small church in High Point. Very small church. And uh in fact it was in one of the worst sections of town.
Now I was going to a large church, a United Methodist church at that time, Very large church.
So large we called it the Vatican City. Is not the name, of course.
So I went that next night. I was seventeen years old. Went to the meeting, heard the gospel, and I was radically saved.
Now the next day I went outside and the sky was a different kind of blue and the grass a different depth of green.
Something had happened. It was awesome. It was real. It was miraculous. I had been born again.
of the Spirit of God. I was so caught up with this I began to read my Bible. The next weekend I went to Atlanta, borrowed my dad's car and went to Atlanta. to listen to these guys and the evangelists that was over their team. Preach.
at another church. Actually uh actually um lodged with them. Then I came home.
Well, long story short, many years passed, almost fifty. And a few years back I ran into them. One of them Mike Shreeb. I asked him about the other two, and both were still alive. But and one was still in ministry.
But Mike Shreve had been in ministry and he had gone quite a ways in the service of the Lord. He was an author, he's a speaker, he's an evangelist, he's a teacher. He too has a course with the Bible school. And um He actually ended up asking me to write a book for his company, which I did, It was an expose of Masonry. Freemasonry.
So it was quite a reunion. And we Conversion. Work together. And it's just amazing to me now that I think about it because. That day back in the fall, of nineteen seventy two.
at that little church. In the worst section of town. The fire in Mike Shreve's heart and Kent Sullivan and Pat Hayes, that they were the three. was transferred to my heart. How did it happen?
Why did it happen?
Well, I guess it was preordained, obviously. But my mother was praying. My mother was fasting for me to be saved. And I was radically born again, and that fire began to burn in my heart. And you know, as the years passed, God led me into the ministry, made me a writer, a teacher, etc., etc.
And now I teach and travel in ministry and churches and conferences.
Now my concentration is on the coming of Christ and how we prepare for it and Biblical Prophecy Old Testament and New. And the fire is burning in my heart every day. And by the grace of God is spreading to others through me. Because One day A young man spoke the gospel and set my heart aflame. Friend, I want to courage you to day.
I don't know where you are. You might be driving in a truck. You might be in the Walmart listing with earbobs. You may be out camping. You may be You may be listening through Starlink, I don't know where you are.
But let me encourage you that at this very moment If the fire of faith burns in your heart, take Peter's counsel to heart. Be ready always to give an answer to every man who asks you about your faith, and be ready to ask them. About their faith, if they're saved, if they're a Christian, if they're born again, do they know Jesus? Do they know Jesus is coming? Can you pray for them about something?
And then the Lord will fulfill Psalm 104. Verse four. He will make you, His minister, a flaming fire. fire.
Now, does that mean you have to be emotional? That you have to shout and raise your not at all. No. This is an inward fire. And it will spread when you just tell others about Jesus.
As you know how to. And you say, well, you know what? I'm not really a speaker. I'm not really one who's well-versed in talking to people about the gospel.
Well, you don't have to be. Just speak to them from your heart. The Holy Spirit will help you. And I would say, ask him. to help you.
He is there as your pericletos. The one who is called along to help you.
So ask him for his help.
So see how far. How great a fire may be started by one little spark and you may speak that spark into some one's heart. You never know. What God can do through a soul. You know, there was a shoe salesman who Edward Kimball, I believe his name was, who Spoke to a young man in Chicago one day, and he was an ignorant man, very ignorant young man.
I'm not speaking of Mr. Kimball, but this young man. In fact, he uh Kimball said later that this young man seemed to h to him to be the least likely candidate. To To go anywhere, if I have anything done. That man was Dwight L.
Moody.
So when Kimball spoke the word to Moody, he didn't know, but he was starting a a spi a fire, a fire that would burn and bring thousands, tens of thousands to Christ in America. and in the United Kingdom.
So, you never know how God is going to use you or the people who are touched through your life. This gospel fire is still burning today. It's burning all over the world. I went to India a few months ago and the gospel fire is burning there and I helped stoke the fires of pastors in a conference on the second coming. The fire is burning in Israel.
I went to Israel in late February. I was there when the war broke out. There with a group of about twenty three other Americans, my wife Edie and I. And we were in bomb shelters, while the missiles were coming down, we were praising God, we were taking communion, we were breaking the word of God, And worshiping. and breaking the word of God.
to each other. Talking Jesus to people who would listen, including Israeli soldiers.
So we were spreading the fire in Israel. went to Mexico last month an' spread the fire. in Hild Hildago. Down in the southernmost part of Mexico. In ministers' conference again to talk about the second coming of Christ.
We're going to be spreading that same fire in Greensboro, North Carolina. In September, here in 2026, at the Wyndham Hotel. We will put out news about this and you will know about it. We're going to spread the fire of the knowledge of Christ coming and how to prepare for it. over a two-week period.
Ten sessions in five days. It will also be live streamed in case you are so far away you cannot come. But we're going to be talking about some very important things.
So, our intention is to spread this flaming fire that appeared on the day of Pentecost, this faith. That changes people and sets them on fire for Christ, and only God knows what will happen. Eventually. to the person you talk to. Yes, you, my friend.
So, be ready to give an answer to every man who asks you a reason. of the hope in you. If this message has blessed you, tell your friends and please consider helping us stay on the air by sending your tax-deductible donation to Greg Hennett Ministries. Also, remember, you may download the Until He Comes podcast from your preferred podcast app. May you walk closely with Christ and trust and obey Him in your daily tests of faith and patience until He Comes.
This is the Truth Network. Uh
