(Youth and the Fires of Devotion) the Fire That Makes Bread — Denny Kenaston

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold.

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These messages are offered to all without charge by the freewill offerings of God's people. A special thank you to all who support this ministry. All right, this session we're going to be talking a little bit about the fire that makes bread.

Consecration and the Fire That Makes Bread

I guess I should explain that if you haven't figured it out already. We started the fire yesterday. We left the session yesterday morning, standing, gazing at an altar, realizing that God wants everything laid on that altar, that God wants us on that altar, and that when we do decide to lay ourselves totally upon that altar, that fire will begin to be kindled in our hearts and our lives.

And with that fire burning in our hearts, then all the rest of the week is going to make sense. If there is no fire burning in our own hearts, I can tell you already what your experience is in the Christian life.

You read your Bible, but you don't get much out of it. You go through the motions of prayer, but it doesn't do much for you. You may do all manner of service for God, but never find much fulfillment and blessing in it.

And the reason for that is you skipped the first step of the whole thing, and that is where that whole heart is just laid out before God. And I might just say by way of qualification, that's supposed to take place at the day of salvation.

But many times, through our lives, God continues to clarify and reveal to us, and therefore that consecration goes deeper and deeper and deeper. Unless, of course, we back away and say, that's as far as I'm going to go.

If you've done that in your life, then the Word of God probably doesn't mean much to you, and you are one of those who find yourself drawing inspiration from others because you don't have much of your own.

So, as we move into these areas of devotedness to God, I want us to remember that we're always coming out of yesterday's lesson and last night's message. All of the rest of them flow out of that one. So, we're going to assume this morning that you're in that place now.

There is a fire burning in your heart. There is a love in your heart for God that is motivating you on into other things in the Christian life. We're going to assume that this morning. Thus, the fire that makes bread.

The Table of Showbread and Feasting on God's Word

Now, the Bible, we're likening that bread and going from the illustration of the table of showbread. We're still in the temple or the tabernacle. We've been at the brazen altar. Now, we went into the holy place, and in there, there are a few pieces of furniture, and one of those is a little table that has showbread or bread on that, and that is the type of Jesus Christ and also the type of feasting on the Word of God in the Christian life.

And that's why I say the fire that makes bread. When there's a fire burning in your heart and you read this Word of God, it becomes bread to you. It becomes your meat. It becomes your sustenance. It becomes the protein or the strength that carries you through your days as a Christian and gives you the strength to do what is right as God calls you to do it.

Jesus said, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Now, that's quite a statement that He made. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Yesterday, we spoke a little bit about your dreams, your goals, and your desires. If you are ever going to see the reality of your goals, God's Word is going to have to become very important to you. If it is not, you will never see the dreams fulfilled in your lives.

I promise you that. You will not see them if God's Word does not become important to you. I feel very sure in my heart that I can stand here and tell you that. Ten years from now, some of you will be realizing the dreams you're dreaming now, and some of you will not.

And I tell you, what you do with this book will determine whether you realize those dreams and goals ten years from now. So, it's not a little thing. I'd like to read a few verses just to show you, to give you a little bit of a vision, if we could turn to Joshua chapter 1 and verse 8 first of all.

Meditation, Obedience, and Spiritual Prosperity

And this may sound like a little bit of a prosperity gospel this morning, but I want to encourage you, it's spiritual prosperity. I preach a spiritual prosperity gospel to you this morning. Joshua 1 and verse 8, This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein.

For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Now here, God is telling Joshua how he's supposed to go into the land of Canaan, and how he's going to find success while he's there.

But we can take some application out of this for our own lives. You want your way to prosper? You want to have good success in your life? Then this book shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate therein day and night, and not just so that you have something good to think about, but notice the second part of that statement, Why?

That you may observe to do what is written in this book. And when you find yourself meditating in the Word of God, and it's inside of your heart, and you're thinking about it day and night, and you find yourself living by what the Word of God says, I can promise you, you will find your way prospering, and you will find success in your life.

I know it, I know it, I know it. And I can assure you of that this morning. What do you want? How much success do you want? How much do you want to prosper? You can prosper just as much as you want to.

And we see here a person who's living a successful life. And we dream the same thing for every one of you. A successful life. One that is prospering spiritually. Not necessarily physically, but spiritually.

Psalm 1 and the Tree Planted by the River

Turn to Psalm 1 as we see this beautiful picture of success, just unveiling before us in Psalm 1, verse 2 and 3. Verse 1 says that the man will be blessed who doesn't walk in the counsel of the ungodly, he doesn't stand in the way of sinners, and he does not sit in the seat of the scornful, but he gives a few things that he will be doing.

This blessed man, his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law does he meditate day and night. In his law does he meditate day and night. Now look at this picture of success. Again, it's a different picture, but the same success.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Now that's quite a statement.

Yesterday we spoke about spiritual prosperity. We spoke about those people, maybe you know one like that, that it seems like whatever they put their hands to do, it prospers. It works out. It's blessed.

It has a good influence. Well, here we have that very reality being presented before us in Psalm chapter 1. We have the picture of a tree. And what God wants us to do here is to picture our lives as a tree planted by water.

There we are, planted by a river of water. Our roots have gone down into the ground. Our roots are drinking from that river of water. We have all the water we need. Come drought, we've still got water because we're by the river.

No rains falling, we've still got water because we're by the river. There we are, planted by a river of water. And we're growing. And in our growing, we're putting forth leaves. And in our season, fruit comes forth out of our lives.

And whatsoever we do will prosper. God promises that to each one of us, but He puts a condition upon that, and that condition is, but His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law doth He meditate day and night.

Now, that may seem like a great task to you at the age that you are to think, now, how can I think about the Word of God day and night? How can this be? How could God give me such a commandment as that that I'm supposed to think about the Bible day and night?

How can I do it? Well, it may seem hard for you to grasp at the age that you are, but I assure you, if you'll make the Word of God a priority in your life, you'll find that happening more and more all the time.

You'll find it to be second nature to be pondering about the things of God while you're driving somewhere, while you lay upon your bed. The more you fill your heart and life with the Word of God, the more you're going to find yourself pondering the things of God, because we think about the things that are inside of our heart.

And it will happen. Turn to Psalm 119. In Psalm 119 and verse 97, we want to read, O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day. Thou, through thy commandments, hast made me wiser than mine enemies, for they are ever with me.

Thy commandments are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts. I have refrained my feet from every evil way that I might keep thy word.

I have not departed from thy judgments, for thou hast taught me. How sweet are thy words under my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts, I get understanding. Therefore, I hate every false way.

Again, we see a picture of success, of spiritual prosperity in somebody's life. He's wiser than his enemies. He's wiser than his teachers. He's wiser than the ancients. And I would encourage each one of you and even lay the challenge before you, that if you will make the Word of God number one in your life, that there will be a day in your life when you will be the one who knows more, yea, even than the teachers who teach you.

It can be. I tell my own children, you should be able to pass me up. I started when I was 23. You started when you were born. You should be able to leave me in the dust. You should be wiser than I am.

You should be more understanding than I have, because you started when you were born. And I started when I was 23. But the key to the whole matter again is, how much importance do you put on the Word of God?

That is the key. If we put much importance on the Word of God, we are going to prosper in our lives. Everything we do will prosper. If we put a little bit of an importance on it, then you may take 20 years before you see the reality of this.

But if you'll make it very important in your life, you'll see it in your youth. I promise you that. You'll see it in your very youth. So we have quite a picture of success here as we've looked at these words in the Bible.

And that's exactly what I want to present to you. I do believe that you're a group of young people who want to be successful. And by that I mean, successful in the right things. Here's how you be successful.

Right here. The Word of God. If you're ever going to realize your goals, then you're going to have to be real Christians. And if you're going to be real Christians, you're going to have to make this Word a priority in your life.

And I'm going to clarify what that means. Right now, that's just floating around up here. A priority. What is a priority? How much of a priority? Right now, it's just floating around up here. I want to bring that down and make it some more reality to you.

But just for now, as we're teaching here, if you want to be prosperous, if you want to succeed, if you want your life to prosper, then this Word is going to need to be an important thing in your life.

Remember, we've got a fire burning in our heart now. That consecration is made. Our will has been given up to God. And there's this fire burning in here. And with this fire that is burning inside of our heart, now we're going to take this book and we're going to make it a priority in our lives.

And I'll tell you what it will do. It will stoke that fire every day. It will keep that fire burning. I challenged a couple of young men not too long ago and I asked them this question. Have you ever read 50 chapters in the Bible in one day?

Boy, that took them back. They thought, whoa, 50 chapters? And I said to them, try it sometime. And I would recommend that to every one of you. Have you ever read 50 chapters in the Bible in one day? I'll give you a little experiment.

First, make sure that the fire is burning in your heart. You're clear before your God. All is on the altar. Your heart is open. You want to go God's way. Then just set aside a day and spend the day in this book.

Fresh Bread Through Immersion in Scripture

I know what will happen to you. You'll say at the end of the day, like they who are on the road to Emmaus, did not my heart burn within me? Did not my heart burn within me? Fresh bread. Fresh bread all the time in your life.

That's what you'll get if you have that fire burning in your heart. And then you make this book a priority. You'll get fresh bread every day in your life. And that's what you need in order for your life to be a spiritually prosperous life.

Fresh bread every day. A fresh revelation from the Word of God. A fresh Rima. A fresh revelation of God's will through His Word for my life today. You do that every day. I'll tell you what, people won't know you in one year.

In just one year, you'll be so different. If I can bring out again the examples and illustrations of lives of men and women of the past, here again, I see this as a key. I see it in every one of their lives.

Not a few of their lives. Not a lot of their lives. In every single life that I've ever read about where somebody did something for God that was enough that someone else felt it ought to be written down so it could be a challenge to others who also are walking this same heavenly road, every single one of them that I know of, the Bible was a priority in their life.

It wasn't a ten-minute session every morning. It was a priority in their life. They meditated in the Word of God all the time, day and night, on their bed at night as they went to sleep, as they woke up in the morning, as they were doing their tasks early in the morning in the quiet before anyone else was around.

They were there in the Word of God. In the middle of the day in their free time, it was the Word of God. As they were driving somewhere, it was the Word of God. The Word of God will make your life prosperous like nothing else can do.

And I know this morning that I'm not telling any one of you something new that you've never heard before. I'm not giving you anything new this morning. I'm not giving you a secret to unlock the success of your whole life, some new one that you've never heard before that you can go out and try and see if it works.

It's one that every one of us knows. But it's one that I guarantee success with. The Word of God. George Mueller, maybe you know his name, there laying on his deathbed, they said, Oh, George, if you had anything to do over again, what would you do?

Oh, he said, I'd read the Bible more. I'd make more of the Word of God than I did in my lifetime. Well, Mr. Mueller, how many times did you read the Bible? Only a hundred times in my life I read it from Genesis to Revelation.

Only a hundred times. If I had it to do over again, I'd make more of the Word of God in my life. Now, G. Campbell Morgan, who is known as the prince of expository preaching, he never opened up to preach out of a book of the Bible until he read it 50 times himself.

For example, if he's going to preach on the book of Romans, before he begins to teach and preach the book of Romans, 50 times he would read it. Now, you may sit here this morning and say, you're crazy.

I'm not G. Campbell Morgan. I'm not George Mueller. I'm just John Smith, you know. I'm just nobody John Smith sitting here this morning. Well, I want to say a little about that. A little later, Jonathan Goforth of China, he had this testimony while he was in China.

He read the New Testament every month. Every month. How do you read the New Testament through in a month? It's only ten chapters a day. It's interesting to me. I was studying a little bit about the life of Catherine Booth.

She was the wife of William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army. In her young years, she was an invalid. Oh, say from the age of six up to the age of 11 or 12, she was an invalid. She couldn't get around.

She couldn't run and play like the other children could. She was an invalid. She spent her time memorizing the Bible. She memorized chapters and chapters of the Word of God. Fanny Crosby, songwriter. She wrote 8 ,000 hymns in her lifetime.

She lived to be 97 years old. One of the most powerful women that walked here in America. She was blind. She lost her eyesight when she was just a child. And her grandmother said, Fanny has lost her eyes.

I'm going to be Fanny's eyes. And grandmother used to sit and watch the sunrise in the morning and tell Fanny what it looked like. But she also helped Fanny to memorize chapters and chapters of the Bible.

Fanny Crosby, by the time she was 13 years old, she had more than 100 chapters of the Word of God memorized. Hidden in her heart. She was blind. She didn't have anything else to do with her time. And grandmother was faithful.

And in it went, and in it went, and in it went. Well, you may say here this morning, I'm not a George Mueller. I'm not a Jonathan Goforth. I'm not a Fanny Crosby. I'm just John Smith! Come on! Have mercy on me!

I'm not George Mueller! Well, do you think that God came to George Mueller and said, George, I want to make you George Mueller. I want you to get into the Bible and read it a hundred times through in your lifetime.

I think we have it backwards. I'd rather just tell you this, young people. You take this book and you make it number one in your life and you fill your heart and life with this book and you see what happens to you.

You have no idea what God would do with you. But so many times, we lack the vision and the obedience to God that we need. And we sit here thinking that we're nothing and we are nothing without God. But we sit here thinking, well, I'm nothing anyway, so I'll just read a little.

No, you have it all wrong. You have no idea what God could do with your life. No idea at all. God doesn't do it that way. God doesn't say, I'm going to make you a very special person, therefore I want you to read the Bible.

No way. God doesn't do that. God goes around the whole earth going to and fro looking for hearts who have filled their hearts with this book. And He picks them up because they're so filled with the Word of God.

He uses them to build His Kingdom. That's how He does it. So, what do you want? God wants you to be prosperous. God wants the fire of the Word to burn in your hearts. And this is a motivational message if I can say it that way, because I realized as I was getting up here, I'm not going to give them anything new.

I'm not going to tell them anything new that they don't already know. But maybe, just maybe, there will be some here today that something will click inside their heart and they'll realize eternity. God.

God's Kingdom. My life. The extension of my life. The influence of my life. Eternity. Heaven. Rewards. Souls. All those things. Maybe there will be some here today that it will click inside their heart and they'll realize this is the key right here.

And all of a sudden, their whole life's priorities will change. Could be. Just could be. God grant it. Amen. So I would recommend to you that you not worry about George Mueller or G. Campbell Morgan or Go Forth of China or any of that.

Lay all that aside and just give yourself to this book and see what God does. I wonder what He'd do. It's not an accident that God used Catherine Booth the way that He did and that she happened to know so much of the Bible.

It's not an accident that 8 ,000 hymns flowed out of Fanny Crosby's heart. Powerful hymns rich in the Word of the Lord. It's not an accident that her grandmother just happened to decide to fill her little mind and heart full of the Word of God and then God just happened to touch her life and use her.

No, it's not an accident. God is looking for vessels who are filled with the Word of God and those He uses. Why is the Word of God so important? I mean, I'm standing up here today talking like this is the key to success and if you don't have this, you're not going to make it.

And if you do have it, you are going to make it. Why is the Word of God so important? Well, number one, because the Word of God is God. The Word of God is God. Let me say that one again. That sounds too simple.

It will go over our heads real easy. In this ear and out this one. The Word of God is God. And since that's what we're all about here, I don't know about you, but I want to be filled with God. And the Word of God is God.

The Word of God as Divine Revelation

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelled among us. You see, God still wants the Word to be in flesh and dwell upon this earth.

And wherever somebody gets a hold of that and the Word dwells in flesh, God uses them. They become an influence. They have an effect. Their lives are changed. They prosper. Their homes prosper. Their families prosper.

Whatever they do prospers because when the Word dwells in flesh, prosperity comes. So, why is the Word so important? Because the Word is God. James chapter 1 says that we are to receive with meekness the engrafted Word which is able to save your souls.

That's a good reason to make it a priority right there. Paul said those very words to Timothy. If you give yourself, meditate wholly on these things, you'll both save yourself and those that hear you.

Paul carried it out a little bit further for Timothy. But, if you'll give yourself wholly to this book, you'll be in glory someday. It's able to save your soul. The Word of God. Romans says, faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

So many times young people, they faint in their hearts about faith. They fail in faith. Many times they're at the altar struggling over unbelief. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

You want more faith? Here it is. Have all you want. Take a page. Take two pages. Take ten pages. How about fifty chapters worth? I guarantee you, you spend a day alone with God, read fifty chapters of the Word of God.

I don't mean doing it because I have to do it, but I'm doing it because I want to do it and there's a fire burning in my heart and I guarantee you, you'll have some faith when you're done. You'll look at your whole life in a different perspective.

All of a sudden, those mountains will be small, the giants will be grasshoppers. All of those things will take place because the Word of God increases our faith. Ephesians 5 says that the Word of God washes.

John 15, Jesus said, Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you. The Word of God washes you. And we need washing. Continual washings. And the Word washes us. You'll notice that this week.

These concentrated times like this that we're together, I noticed I came in here last evening before the service and there was about a dozen young people in here scattered around. They had their Bibles open.

I don't know if they were reading the Bible or memorizing the lesson that Brother John put on them yesterday afternoon which blessed my heart. But I guarantee you that all the while while you're memorizing those sixteen verses that he gave you, it's just going to wash and wash and wash and wash.

And by the end of this week, you will be cleaner than when you came in here. You'll know it. You'll testify to it. I'm so clean. I feel so clear. That's what the Word will do. It will make you clean. Ephesians 6 says that the Word of God is our weapon against the enemy.

And taking the Word of God which is the sword of the Spirit. The Word of God is our weapon against the enemy. When temptations come, the enemy cannot prevail over us if we have the Word of God in our heart and then we pick it up and use it.

And every one of you, the devil has his sights set on you. Every one of you. He sees your young life. He sees the zeal you have. He knows the dreams that you're dreaming. And he has his sights set on you how he can turn you away from those dreams because he knows if you set your sights on them and you continue in it, you will see the fulfillment of them and God's kingdom will grow.

God will be glorified and Satan's kingdom will have destruction put against it. He knows that. So he's got his sights set on you. Hebrews 4 says the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword.

And that it goes on to say that it pierces down into our hearts and divides and reveals that which is of our soul and that which is of the spirit. It reveals the thought and the intent and the motives of our heart.

It brings about purity in our lives. If we'll take that Word and let it go down into our hearts, it will become a purifier to us. James 1 says that the Word of God is a mirror that it helps us to see what we are.

It helps us to see a spot in our lives. That's what the Word of God is. It's like a mirror. We walk up to the Word of God with that open heart, with that fire burning there and we open it up and we begin to read and it becomes like a mirror to us.

And we begin to look at ourselves. We see our heart. We see our needs. We see the spots that are there. And we have an opportunity to wash them away. The Word of God does that. Why is the Word of God so important?

Well, I tell you, nothing new. But only remind you again how important the Word of God is. 2 Corinthians 3 says that the Word of God reveals the glory of Jesus Christ. But we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image even from glory to glory.

Think about that. The Word of God reveals the image of Jesus Christ. And whenever you see the image of Jesus Christ in this book, when you have that heart with that fire burning in it, that image that you see in this book makes an impression upon your heart and it's stamped into your heart.

Stamp an image deep in my heart, the song says. Well, the Word of God is the way that it's done. We see Jesus in the Word of God. We see how beautiful He is. We see the gentleness of His life. We see the holiness of His life.

Even as we spoke about here earlier about non-resistance. Just the beautiful picture of Jesus and the way He lived is enough for me. As far as non-resistance is concerned, I wouldn't need any verse.

Just His life. His beautiful life. His gentle life. His sacrificial life. That's enough for me. Well, we see that in the Word of God. We see the image of Jesus and that image is stamped in our hearts.

John 17 says that the Word of God sanctifies our lives, sets us apart, makes us holy, makes us different, changes us. That's what the Word of God will do. And it will do it. And brothers and sisters, young people, it will do it sometimes and you don't even know it's happening.

You won't even know it. In the book of Psalms it says that the Word of God directs our lives. Thy Word, how does it go? Is a lamp under my feet and a light under my path. It directs our steps. You know, a lamp and a light are different.

The lamp shows you where to take the next step, but the light shines out ahead so you can see down the road. And that's exactly the way God's Word is for us. And you young people, if anybody needed a lamp and a light, it's you.

It's you. You need to see where to take the next step, but at the same time, you need to be looking down the road and see, yes, there's God's will. I can see it. It's a little bit dim. The light isn't shining brightly, but I can see down that road and I can see God's will down there for me.

And I know where I'm supposed to take the next step. God's Word, it becomes direction for our lives. When our lives are directed by the Word of God, our lives are filled with purpose. Purpose. That's a very good question for you to ask yourself.

What are the goals of my life? Many young people have no goals. In fact, you give yourself away. I like to ask that question to young people. What are your goals in life? What do you want? What are you looking ahead for?

Many times they have no goals. But if your life is filled with this book, you will have goal upon goal upon goal. You should be able to talk 30 minutes on the goals of your life. If you're the kind of dreamer that you ought to be, you ought to be able to spend 30 minutes just talking about the goals of my life.

What I want in this, and how I want this, and I want to go this way, and I want to see this in my life, and this and this and this and this. Why is the Word of God so important? Well, let's just run down through all those together and think what this person will be like.

Okay? Here's a person who has made the Word of God a priority in their life. They're filled with God because the Word is God. They're filled with faith. They're clean because the Word washes them. They're victorious because the Word is a weapon against the enemy.

They're pure because the Word reveals the thoughts and the intents of their heart. They're humble because the Word reveals the needs of their life. They have the image of Jesus because the Word reveals Jesus.

They're sanctified. They're set apart. They're made holy because the Word sanctifies them. And their life is a life that is filled with purpose because the Word gives them direction. What a beautiful picture of a young person.

Amen. Amen. And there is absolutely no reason why there can't be 85 young people with that kind of testimony. Do you believe that? Girls? Do you believe that? How about you young men? Some of you sitting there thinking, not me.

Not me. Maybe him, but not me. That's not the way it works. You can have this kind of testimony. And you can have it while you're a young person. Now, it'll grow and mature and mature. But you can have it now.

In fact, you better have it. Can we see the order of this God's plan? Can we see it unfolding? Here you are, your young people here this morning. You don't feel a special call in your life, but you love God.

You don't feel any special call, but you just love God and you just love God's Word and you give yourself to the Lord and you give yourself to God's Word and you make it a priority in your life. It becomes important.

And by the way, if it becomes important, it will become a priority and there will be a lot of other things that will fall by the wayside, but I guarantee you the cash dividends are worth it. The spiritual dividends, they're worth it.

Letting Scripture Shape a Lifetime of Service

So here you are. You're a young person and you go through this week and you hear these things and you decide, that's it. Just like Brother Aaron said, go for it. Last night. Go for it. I'm going for it.

You begin to grow. You begin to see this God fullness in your life. You begin to see this cleanness in your heart. You begin to see the reality of Jesus in your life. You begin to see your steps being directed and your life being filled with the Word of God.