Flames leaping from the altar of our hearts
Please read 2 Kings 4: 8-17 and 1 Peter 1: 3-9 and Romans 12: 12-13, and then pray: May the Word of the Living God strengthen and inspire me to live a life which shines with hope, joy, generosity, and love, to the glory of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen!
(This message, weak and poor as it is, is dedicated to the memory of Charlie Kirk 1993-2025)
Last week we spent much time considering the subject of true Christian zeal and spiritual fervour which Charlie Kirk epitomised. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour serving the Lord. (12:11) I compared spiritual fervour within the believer’s heart to the fire on the altar that must never be allowed to go out. (Leviticus 6: 12-13) Our zeal and fervour for God’s glory, for God’s will and for the coming of God’s kingdom, must never be allowed to go out. We must maintain the fire of love for God, the Church, our neighbours, and our needy world – and I suggested some of the firewood that we can regularly use to encourage the fire to burn brightly and effectively within us. Today we will consider some of the flames which will leap up from the fire of the Spirit within us. Paul lists 5 of these flames which will be evident in lives of Christians and Christian communities whose hearts are enflamed by the Spirit of God and inspired to serve the Lord with godly fervour/fire.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practise hospitality. (Romans 12: 12-13)
Five flames which leap from the fire on the altar of our hearts. Five attributes which provide and project warmth, light, and love. Five marks of grace which demonstrate true spiritual fervour. Five things that should mark our Christian life and service and characterise the Church. They are:
1. Joyful hope
2. Patient endurance in times of affliction and trial.
3. Faithful, persevering prayer.
4. Generosity and kindness to Christians and to people who have material needs.
5. A warm hospitable nature.
Before we examine each of these “flames of faith and service,” we must note the decisive part played by the Holy Spirit who lives within the believer. The Spirit lights the fire, and then the Spirit works through the fire touching and blessing the lives of those around us. The Spirit does this through refining us, burning away the dross of selfishness and sin, and replacing it with the fruit of His presence and purpose. Let us recall the blessed fruit of the Holy Spirit. (Galatians 5:22) Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
I am struck by the obvious connection Paul makes to the fruit of the Spirit in Romans 12: 12-13. You have joy-filled hope; patience during times of affliction, and faithfulness in prayer. But you also have a combination of kindness, goodness, and love with the references to service to Christians with material needs and the ministry of hospitality. As we consider these five flames of faith and love together, we are in effect looking at the true work and witness of the Holy Spirit through Christian believers and the Christian Church. So, let us now consider these flames of fervour together and so test and measure our own spiritual fire and fruit. We begin with the challenge to be joyful in hope.
The Christian faith is a faith which is ablaze with hope! Hope dominates the Christian faith. We have a hope that is steadfast and sure, which acts like a great anchor within our hearts and souls. (Hebrews 6: 18-19) Paul refers to the great trio of faith, hope, and love very often. (1 Corinthians 13:13, Colossians 1:5) That hope is entirely anchored in Jesus. Jesus is our hope and the hope of the world for which he died – a hope this world desperately needs – a real living hope – a solid and secure formidable hope. Jesus gives this hope in 3 ways, to us as well as to those Christians in Rome 2000 years ago.
Firstly, through his mighty resurrection from the dead and his destruction of our last enemy – death. Jesus conquered death, and those of us who are “in Christ” will also be raised with Him. Christ died and rose again for us – and in Him, we know for certain that death has now lost its grip, power, and sting. (1 Corinthians 15: 54-57) In and through Jesus, we have the sure and certain hope of eternal life and our personal resurrection to eternal life. We know, love, and follow the Resurrection and the Life!
Secondly, if Jesus’s resurrection is the mighty rock of our solid hope, His second coming into the world is a second mighty and immovable rock. He will come again. This is written into God’s eternal script and promises. His Kingdom will come and reign. There will be a new heaven and a new earth. Full redemption of all things in heaven and on earth through Jesus. He is Lord of all, and there is a day coming when this will be demonstrated to all, His friends, and His enemies. His second advent is the great hope of the Church community. Easter celebrates the resurrection. Advent, His coming again.
But the Christian hope is not just about the future, because the Lord Jesus who rose from the dead and is coming again in glory and power, even now presently lives in the hearts of all His people. He dwells in us and with His Church. “Christ in you – the hope of glory.” And because Christ is in us, really in us, by the presence of His Spirit, hope reigns in us, heaven is in our hearts, the kingdom has come and resides within us right now, in this life, with all its uncertainty and apparent lack of hope. (Colossians 1:27) Jesus, who is eternal hope, lives in us! Hallelujah! Someone has rightly stated that “hope is biblical shorthand for certainty.” Christ in us by His Spirit gives us a certain hope for all good things to come!
This sure, steadfast, and secure inner living hope gives us deep joy. Such hope leads to what the apostle Peter describes as an “inexpressible and glorious joy.” It is a living hope, based on the resurrection, the certainty of the second coming, and the presence of the Spirit in our hearts. (Read 1 Peter 1: 3-5, 8) The Christian community, our community here, should therefore be a community that overflows with hope and joy. Is that true of us? Was that true in Rome? This was/is Paul’s challenge. Strangers walking in here should quickly sense and be aware of a peaceful joy which fills our lives and permeates our worship together. This is a flame which leaps from the altar of our fervent hearts, and what a flame. Be joyful in hope! (Romans 12:12) Rejoice in the Lord always and I will say it again. Rejoice! (Philippians 4:4) The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, and peace. (Galatians 5:22)
We move on to a second wonderful flame. Patience in afflictions. Afflictions here can refer to any kind of trial, but Paul would certainly be thinking about persecution which would eventually explode in Rome and around the Empire. The apostle Peter was addressing this very issue in his first letter. But notice two important issues relating to this second challenge. Firstly, the fact and the inevitability that Christians will face afflictions in this life. Facing affliction is unavoidable. It is part of life – and Christian living. Secondly, and this really is important; these afflictions may last for some time and hence the need for patience or patient endurance. Paul would not be calling for patience, if the afflictions were going to be gone soon, or after the first offering of prayer to God. When faced with a trial, do not assume that God will bring the trial to an end quickly. God may not choose to do so. God may want to develop Christian endurance, perseverance, character, and faith within you and His Church. That only happens if faith is tested over a period. (Read 1 Peter 1: 6-7, 5: 8-11) John Calvin wrote: “There is no place for faith if we expect God to fulfil immediately what he promises.” (Read also Romans 5: 3-5)
“The little while” here referred to by Peter may refer to a period of several or even many years – and during such a period the Christian needs to learn patience, ongoing trust in God amid trials, along with faithful prayer. In other words, the Christian patiently and faithfully learns to live and abide under the shadow of God’s wing. Psalm 57: 1 is helpful. “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge under the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.” Exercise patience with the help of the Spirit – and live under the “shelter of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1-2, 90:1) The Christian community must be a community of support and prayer when the going gets tough. Can you and I accept this challenge to be “patient in affliction?” If we can, this will prove not only to demonstrate the authenticity of our faith, it will prove to be a tremendous witness to people around us, who will often question and want to know, why our faith can remain strong under painful and difficult pressure and circumstances. Tested and tried faith proves to be attractive faith. People are looking for a faith and a hope that endures through difficulties. Is the Christian faith such a faith? It is. It should be. Do we ourselves display such patient and persevering faith?
The apostle Paul himself was called to exercise great perseverance under trials. He tells us in 2 Corinthians 12 about having to wrestle with God three times concerning a painful thorn in the flesh. God chose not to take away that thorn, but instead gave Paul extra grace to triumph in and over that trial. My grace is sufficient for you. And God’s grace will be sufficient for us also. Be patient in affliction.
Thirdly, be faithful in prayer. Prayer is practical. It is communion with God, and we pray amongst other things about the trials and afflictions we face. We seek God’s “amazing grace” through prayer. We seek His favour. We seek His protection. We seek God’s strength and power. But the call here is for the Church to keep on praying, even when the prayers do not seem to be answered. As Jesus taught his disciples – persevere in prayer. Stick at it! Keep on asking, seeking, and knocking. (Luke 11:5-10). The flame of perpetual prayer must always burn in the Christian community. (Philippians 4: 6-7, Colossians 4:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:17). We are in a battle, just like the Church in Rome was. The Church is up against determined spiritual enemies. Prayer is our powerful weapon and source of courage and grace. In Ephesians 6 after writing about our battle and the armour of God, Paul continues by calling us to pray continually and faithfully:
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and ALWAYS KEEP ON PRAYING for all the saints.
In the Christian community where the flame of the spirit of prayer ignites and burns, people can always be supported and encouraged and strengthened through loving prayer and encounter with God’s presence and power. We intercede for Christians undergoing trials; Christians battling with ill health; Christians who have experienced bereavement; Christians stepping out in new ventures of faith and mission; Christian children and families who need prayer; Christian marriages which are under pressure; Christians under severe pressure at work; Our prayer flame can never be allowed to die down. We pray faithfully for all aspects of our mission.
In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul speaks about his indebtedness to people of prayer, to those who stood by him and his work and mission with resolute prayer. The prayers of the church got him through the toughest of times and challenges. He even felt the sentence of death, such was the seriousness of his situation because of persecution, but prayer and the Spirit pulled him through. (Read 2 Corinthians 1: 8-11). Can you understand why Paul urges the Roman Christians to be “faithful in prayer.” He knew the benefits that emerge from a praying community. He had experienced the blessings and specific times of deliverance. O God, I want this flame of fire to grow in our community. O Lord, hear my prayer.
Flame number four is the flame of genuine sincere love. Share with God’s people who are in need. Rome like some many Churches at that time would have consisted of many people who were poor. There were servants and slaves, common workman and tradesmen. It was important to make sure that none went hungry, and all were properly and adequately clothed. There would be a call and obligation on the wealthy Christians to not only open their homes for fellowship meetings, but open their pockets and provide resources for the less well off. No-one in the Christian Church should go to bed at night with an empty stomach. This was the Way of the people of The Way. (Read Acts 2: 42-47, 4:32-36) We are in fact back at Romans 12:9 – Love must be sincere; love without hypocrisy. Consult the sermon I preached on this a few weeks ago. It was then that I referred to such Scriptures as 1 John 3:17-18: If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need, but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth.
As we live in a relatively comfortable area of Gloucester financially speaking, we may not have to spring into action with members of our own Church very often. But poorer communities and Churches where many people are surviving on State benefits face regular challenges and tests of faith. I have been blessed as I have visited poorer communities in this country and in countries like Jamaica and Cuba and seen how the Church reveals this flame of the Spirit’s love and generosity as they regularly share with God’s people who are in need. We can and we must support our local Foodbank. The Church I originally come from, and where I found Jesus and his love, is based on a very tough Council Estate in Bradford. I am glad I had the privilege and joy of seeing this flame touch many lives with warm and kind practical love, often leading them to open-up their lives to Christ who preached good news to the poor. Are you and I good news to the poor? Across Gloucester, is the Church good news to the poor?
The fifth and final flame is the flame of warm hospitality. Practise hospitality. It is true to say that this would be better translated pursue hospitality. In other words, have a personal vision to be a hospitable person and part of a hospitable Church? The NLT translation opens-up this verse and brings its challenge down to a clear practical level. And get into the habit of inviting guests’ home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night.
We see this very special gift of hospitality in operation throughout the bible. Sometimes the biblical heroes are hospitable themselves, like Abraham and Sarah who welcomed the three angelic guests who visited them with some good news. (Genesis 18). On other occasions, the hero receives hospitality and is blessed by the way God provides through a particular individual or family – as in the wonderful case of the dear and kind Shunammite woman. (Read 2 Kings 4: 8-10) She blesses and cares for a leading prophet of God, and is in turn mightily blessed because of her care for this exceptional servant of the Lord.
In the NT, Jesus taught this: “Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive and righteous man’s reward. (Matthew 10: 40-42) Jesus benefitted from the warm hospitality of certain people. We know that the blessed Martha and Mary “opened up their home” to Jesus on several occasions. (Luke 10: 38). Lydia opened her home up to Paul and his companions as they spent time preaching the gospel in Philippi. She opened her home to missionaries and her heart to Jesus, and the home of this wealthy business woman became the base for the new Church. (Acts 16:15, 40)
In my time as both a Christian Minister and earlier as a travelling speaker for Scripture Union, I can say that one of the biggest blessings of my life has been my many encounters of and experiences with kind and warm Christian hospitality. Julia and I have been enormously blessed by the way people have fed us and accommodated us, often going to great lengths to add special and kind touches to our stay at their Church and in their home. I have come to see the gift of hospitality as a very significant gift which God uses to bless countless numbers of his children, both givers and the receivers.
In the NT era, the challenge would be to provide accommodation and good food to travelling evangelists and teachers like Paul and his team. Sometimes people would be entertaining visitors they had never met before. Sometimes, like the Shunammite, they would provide for a prophet who would regularly pass their way. John’s 3rd letter (3 John) is largely about exercising this ministry of hospitality. (3 John: 5-8) As I have been a receiver, I now also wanted to be a giver. What about you? How warm and common is your hospitality towards friends and strangers, new people just coming into the Church? I am so grateful to our brilliant and highly motivated hospitality team. Your ministry is vital and blessed in the eyes of God. Can we as a Church prioritise this call from the apostle to pursue and practise hospitality? Do you feel drawn towards this ministry and using this gift. How might you “open-up your home,” the home God has so graciously and kindly blessed you with? Lesley Rams and Gay Courtney will aim to begin a new ministry of hospitality on behalf of Christchurch next year? Could you be part of their team? “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (I Peter 4:9) As Christians exercise this gift, they may inadvertently end up “entertaining angels.” (Hebrews 13: 1-2)
So, these are the five flames of spiritual fervour that can leap up from our hearts and the heart of Christchurch – five flames of the Spirit’s work that blaze within and from our Christian fellowship and missionary community. Will you be part of encouraging such flames? Will you add logs to this altar of faith? Can we at Christchurch seek to be a Church which glows with joy-filled hope! A solid hope which is founded upon resurrection and redemption promises and realities, and which encourages and demonstrates patient endurance through trials and times of testing; a Church which is absolutely committed to faithful prayer and the belief that nothing is impossible for God; a Church which has a clear vision and sincere desire to meet the needs of any struggling members, and a Church which is known and talked about because of its warm and generous hospitality to friend or stranger.
As one song expresses this message so, so well;
So light up the fire and let flame burn, open the door, let Jesus return.
Take seeds of his Spirit, let the fruit grow, tell the people of Jesus, let his love show.
And to our God be all the glory within the Church, and through each of our lives. Amen!
(Revd Peter J Clarkson 14.9.25)