Spiritual fervour – Keeping the fire lit
Please read Leviticus 6: 8-13, Acts 8: 1b – 8 and Romans 12:11, and then pray: Almighty God, as I come before your Word, kindle within me a continuous burning passion for your glory, honour, and praise. Amen!
As we continue our teaching series on Romans 12 and focus on what practical Christianity means and involves, we will be focusing our attention on just one verse today because of its great importance:
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. (Romans 12:11)
Leviticus 6:13 and its teaching concerning the fire on the altar will also be very useful not only to our understanding but also to our application of Romans 12:11;
The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously: it must not go out.
We have before us today the apostle Paul’s great exhortation for Christians to live with zeal and passion for God. Our first question must be this. What is zeal, and what is Christian zeal? Zeal refers to two things. Firstly, there is “fervour in advancing a cause” and in the case of the Christian, the advancement of the Kingdom of God throughout the world to the glory of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Secondly, there is the “offering of service,” the enthusiastic and diligent use of gifts given by the Holy Spirit for the building up of the Church and the expansion of God’s Kingdom.
Fervour in advancing God’s Kingdom (1) and passion for serving the Lord Jesus with our God-given gifts. (2) Notice that this exhortation from Paul to display zeal follows on from his strong encouragement to use the gifts that God has given each member of the Church. (Read 12: 4-8) This is why our text ends with the words serving the Lord. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. Serve the Lord through the diligent use of your gifts!
The great Bishop J.C. Ryle in his book “Practical Religion” gives this helpful definition of Christian zeal.
Zeal in Christianity is a burning desire to please God, to do his will, and to advance His glory in the world in every possible way.
Notice within the quote, the introduction of the idea of heat, temperature, warmth, fire; zeal is an internal burning desire which stirs the Christian into serious action and work for the glory of God. Zeal engages and stirs the emotions, the affections, and the actions! It is the fire which warms the Christian heart and spirit. Leviticus 6:13 – “The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.”
Maybe we can compare zeal to fire? Fire can be both good, very good, but is can also be dangerous and problematical. Zeal can be seen in both positive and negative light. Being zealous, or at least overly-zealous is often pictured as a bad thing today, especially where religion is concerned. Being referred to as a zealot/fanatic is never seen as a compliment. One of Jesus’s 12 disciples was known as Simon the Zealot. Before he began to follow Jesus, he was a member of the party of Jewish political zealots who were passionately nationalistic, hated Rome, Roman oppression, and occupation, and they were a group that were willing to incite violence. Sound familiar?
The reason we read from Acts 8 today, was for the purpose of illustrating bad and damaging religious zeal. Saul of Tarsus, who later became the apostle Paul was violently and zealously opposed to the new Christian faith and all followers of Christ. He presided over the martyrdom of Stephen. He went on a mission to destroy the Christian Church in its infancy. Just as King Herod had desperately wanted to kill the baby Jesus, so Saul wanted to stamp out the young Church. When sharing his testimony with the Philippians, the apostle Paul wrote: “as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.” (Philippians 3:6). But from being a dangerous and infamous persecutor of the Church, he became the Church’s greatest evangelist and apostle – and he then became zealous for Jesus and for the Kingdom of God. But his zeal and its primary focus changed. (Galatians 1: 23-24) The passion was now ignited and controlled and directed by love. Christian zeal is a zeal that is coated and controlled by love; love for Jesus, love for the Church for whom Christ died, love for all neighbours, even love for enemies. That is the difference. That is the unique dynamic of true Christian zeal. Passionate love! This is shown in Romans 12 itself. (Read Romans 12:9, 10, 14, 21, 13: 8-10)
Philip (in Acts 8) shows positive Christian zeal. He is an evangelist. He demonstrates love and uses his gifts to advance the Kingdom – and the result is great joy. (Read Acts 8: 4-8). At the heart of Christian zeal is the great commandment to love God with a passion for his glory, to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength – and to love our neighbour as ourself. Christian zeal works from a base of love and is driven by the goal of love. Is that how you see and understand Christian zeal? Our zeal must be wrapped up in love!
Try to see Christian zeal in this way. See it as an enduring passion and a deep and strong desire to see God glorified as you love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and as you love your neighbour sincerely. Love must be sincere. (9) And remember what I said in my last sermon. For love to be sincere, you must also hate evil with a passion. This is why Jesus in his zeal for goodness and righteousness cleansed the Temple from all corruption and greed. Zeal for God’s house consumed him. (John 2:17) Jesus’s zeal was for the Father’s glory and for the Father’s will to be done – our zeal/passion must be set on the same priorities. God’s glory and God’s will. Your will be done! Your Kingdom come among us!
Never be lacking in zeal – in passionate love and care for God’s glory. Are you lacking in zeal right now? Has the fire to love died down within your spirit? Has your love for God grown cold? Have you fallen victim to the sin of being lukewarm? Neither hot nor cold. (Revelation 3:16) Have you become satisfied with tepid Christianity? Paul realised Christians can lack zeal and must be encouraged to stoke up the fire, to rekindle the first love and passion, to recapture that simple but pure love for Jesus and his glory and praise. As the American Presbyterian Minister Albert George Butzer exclaimed: “Some Christians are not only like salt that has lost its savour, but like pepper that has lost its pep.” And referring to the clergy of our generation, Vance Havner observed: “Never before have we had so many degrees in the Church and yet so little temperature.” I hope you agree with the founder of the Salvation Army, William Booth who remonstrated; “I like my religion like my tea – hot!” Lukewarm Christianity is a waste of time. Never be lacking in zeal!
The next part of the verse is obviously linked. Keep your spiritual fervour. Keep your spiritual fire alive. As the fire and intensity of love needs to be vigilantly kept alive within a marriage, so the fire of love for Jesus must forever burn brightly. This part of the verse has been translated – be aglow with the Spirit or be ardent in spirit. The biblical scholars agree that there is reference to the spirit here – but is it the human spirit or the Holy Spirit. I believe Paul is thinking of both. It is the Holy Spirit (Divine fire) who fires up the human spirit with passion and zeal for Jesus and His glory. Remember how the Holy Spirit came down of the day of Pentecost. Wind and fire! A flame came upon the head of each disciple. But a flame of hope and love was also lit within their hearts as the Spirit filled them. The disciples became like gas cookers. The gas hob and oven were switched on. The anointing and the fire were upon them and within them!
“Keep your spiritual fervour” writes Paul. Now to Leviticus and the fire on the sacred altar. This passage focuses on the what was referred to as “the burnt offering.” The most striking thing about the text though is the repeated instruction to the priests to keep the altar fire burning. (verses 9, 12-13) The priests would be under no illusion as to the importance of maintaining that fire. It was a key responsibility and one which had to be fulfilled with the utmost seriousness. The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out.
Now, lets us think of this in New Testament/Covenant terms. Let the altar signify the heart of the Christian believer. Let the fire be the spiritual life and fervour of the Christian. This is how this has been seen by many bible teachers. This is how the great hymn writer and teacher Charles Wesley approached the matter. Think about that amazing hymn we sang together earlier. This is a masterstroke of intelligent and perceptive theological and biblical hymn writing;
O Thou who camest from above
the pure celestial fire to impart
kindle a flame of sacred love
on the mean altar of my heart.
There let if for Thy glory burn,
with inextinguishable blaze,
and trembling, to its source return
in humble love and fervent praise.
Fervent praise. Zealous for the glory of God. Passionate about His praise and honour! Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour. Keep the fervour and the fire burning. As the well-known chorus puts it; Give me oil in my lamp keep me burning.
Now two key things to note and understand about the fire on the altar in the OT and the fire on the altar of our redeemed hearts. The first is this? Who starts the fire? The answer is God. The fire on the altar was initially started by God, by His powerful intervention. (read Leviticus 9: 23-24) It was then, and only after then, that the priests were admonished to keep it burning – to keep it lit continually. It is the same with us – with the altar of our hearts. The fire within us starts with God. God sends His Spirit, His fire, to set our hearts on fire with love and passion for God and His glory. Pentecost was about God sending the Spirit, pouring out and pouring down the fire! God lit the fire in your heart and mine by His grace and power. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:6
For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
And from Romans 5: 5: And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
God sets our hearts ablaze by and with the gift of His Spirit, but just as the priests had the sacred responsibility of keeping the fire on the altar burning, we have the responsibility to “keep our spiritual fervour.” (Romans 12:11) Keep your spiritual fervour – serving the Lord. You – keep it burning! You – keep it going. Do not allow that fire to die down too much or to die out. Christians must take responsibility for maintaining their own spiritual fervour and the fire on the altar of their hearts. Were you aware of that? Do you take your priestly responsibility seriously? What are you doing about keeping the fire going inside of you?
Listen again to Leviticus 6: 12-13. (Read) Every morning the priest was to add firewood….
The priest had to do it. The wood had to be ready to put on the fire and the priest had to then put it on the fire. You and I must put wood on our fire – on the altar fire of our hearts. What is the wood that we are meant to use regularly? Daily? Often?
Let me suggest some of the very best firewood available to you and I. Here it is! Remember, this about spiritual things because we are concerned with “spiritual fervour”. If you are not interested in spiritual things, then the fire will have gone out long ago. Here is the firewood. Take it and apply it.
• The best wood is related to Word of God (the bible) and personal and corporate prayer. Hearing and responding to the Word of God and the voice of the Spirit through the bible, is what got the fire going in the first place – but you then you must continue to read, meditate upon, and study the bible for yourself and with others – and then you add logs to your fire.
By starting the day with God and his Word, you are immediately throwing a log on the fire. Every time you pray or are prayed for – a log is placed on the fire. Personal bible study and being part of a regular study group is fuel for the heart and soul. It enables and encourages the stirring up of the fire.
• Fellowship. Being with other live coals helps and enables you to burn brightly. As I have said before during this sermon series, the fire has not really got much of a chance unless you are committed to a local body of believers in a Church, and one where the bible and prayer are held in high honour. True Christian fellowship fans the flames of spiritual fervour.
• Read excellent Christian literature, especially Christian biographies of outstanding saints, saints who themselves were on fire for God. Many a time this has helped to stoke up the fire on the altar of my heart. Just reading a short article about George Whitfield recently gave me a spiritual boost and caused me to fall on my knees and pray for more fire.
• Attending large or small Christian gatherings and conferences, such as Spring Harvest or the Keswick Convention will add many logs to your fire. Often Christians will come away from Spring Harvest with enough logs to keep their fire going for months. My time at the Baptist Minister’s Spring School earlier this year provided good fuel for my fire, and I will be attending a “Refreshing Your Ministry” Conference in October. I am sure, there will be a lot of excellent fire wood. I will be picking up as much as I possibly can.
• Serving the Lord with the gifts he has given you! Active, obedient service throws lots of logs on the fire! Fanning into flame the gifts God has given you – stokes up the fire. This is why Paul earlier in Romans 12 insists that we use every gift God has given to us and the Church. Take an example from my own life. Every time I write a sermon (like this one) and every time I preach a sermon with the aid the Spirit – the fire within me starts to grow. The fervour is re-ignited. I am using the gift and anointing of the Lord. The fire flames into new life. But it is the same with any gift. Serving God and being served by others stokes up our fires. If what I am doing right now is not stirring up your fire – then I am failing! Listening to biblical preaching under the anointing of the Spirit – is one of the biggest ways to add fuel to your fire! This is why the importance and place of preaching always increases during a true revival of religion. C.H. Spurgeon once asked: How do we start a revival? And the answer: Put a fire in the pulpit.
Paul wrote these words about his preaching to the Thessalonians, and how vital they are; Our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. Paul’s preaching set the place on fire. But if you read Thessalonians, Paul is telling them how to keep the fire continuously burning amid persecution and significant struggle.
Let us pause for a moment. What are you doing to make sure that you keep and maintain and grow your personal spiritual fervour? What can we do more as a Church to encourage greater zeal, greater passion and love for God and a world in desperate need? Can we endeavour to see that everyone here is using their spiritual gifts and fanning into flame the gifts of God? (2 Tim 1:6) Is it time for you to seriously return to gather firewood from the Word and prayer and lively Christian fellowship? Do you need to begin reading good and inspiring Christian literature? Do you need to arrange a trip to a Christian convention or to an uplifting Christian festival of worship and word? Do you need to go on a prayer-filled/directed retreat?
Let me close with this. When I was ordained into the ministry of Word and Sacrament decades ago and gave my life to preaching, teaching and Church leadership, I was asked a series of questions by a serious looking Moderator, which I had to answer whilst looking directly into his eyes. Here was just one of the key questions I had to respond to before hands could be laid upon me at the ordination service.
Is zeal for the glory of God, love for the Lord Jesus Christ and a desire for the salvation of men and women, so far as you know your own heart, the chief motives which lead you to enter this ministry?
They are – was my answer.
Zeal cannot be a bad thing can it – if I was asked if I had it before stepping out to become a Minister of this glorious gospel? And I could ask you all of you the exact same question. Is zeal for the glory of God in your heart and are motivated by it? We are all ministers and priests according to the NT. Is zeal and love for Christ the driving force of your life and service? Do you possess the spiritual fervour Christ calls you to have and to know you have? Will you seek to serve and love the Lord God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength?
Thank God the apostle included this in Romans 12. Thank God he was inspired to remind us all about zeal and spiritual fervour as we seek to live out this wonderful Christian faith and life.
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. (Rom 12:11)
The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out! (Lev 6:12)
And to our great, holy, awesome, sovereign, and majestic God, Father and Son and Holy Spirit – be all glory, honour, power, and praise! Amen!
(Revd Peter J Clarkson 7.9.25)