“And the church of Christ was born
Then the Spirit lit the flame
Now this gospel truth of old
Shall not kneel, shall not faint
By His blood and in His name
In His freedom I am free
For the love of Jesus Christ
Who has resurrected me”
King of Kings, Hillsong
“ Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. “
Acts 2:2-3, NIV
The Church can be defined as an assembly – a coming together. The older Greek roots of the word ‘church’ refers to the place where this congregation takes place – in the Lord’s House.
Christ came, showed us the way, was crucified, resurrected and ascended to the Right Hand of God. After this the disciples assembled – congregated – gathered together in the upper room and waited upon the Lord.
This last week I’ve been seeing, in my mind’s eye, wood being placed like in a fireplace.
This is what the disciples did. They came together – assembled like wood – in the fireplace of the upper room.
And the Lord sent His Spirit like a flame of fire.
And we have seen, over decades and centuries, the Lord igniting fires – and in some cases re-igniting fires. And we are in need, as the church, of a spark to set us alight again.
We need revival.
The fire was lit on Pentecost – but as with any fire, the ash eventually starts suffocating the flames.
The ashes of tradition, philosophy and bad theology have suffocated the flames of that Pentecost Fire in us – but the Gospel Truth of old will not faint and will not be snuffed out.
Under the ashes are the red hot embers of Truth waiting to be fanned into flame again.
Under the ashes are the red hot embers of a church waiting to be fanned into flame again.
Sometimes it is necessary for us to add kindling to the fire, to add fuel, for the fire to burn again.
Let us shake off the ashes that suffocate the fire – and let us present ourselves as wood in the fireplace of the upper room waiting for the Spark of His Spirit – let our hearts be the kindling, let our lives be the flame.
Let us become a people of prayer once again – let us assemble and congregate in our Father’s House and wait on Him for fresh fire.
He is faithful.
The Fire of the Holy Spirit kept the steam engine of the Church going in even the darkest times – through persecution, in the face of famine, nakedness and sword – and gave momentum to the propagation of the Gospel and expansion of the Kingdom.
The Fire of the Holy Spirit enabled the church to be a light in the darkness leading the lost back home – a source of warmth and safety to those who had been alone and stuck out in the colder fringes of society.
The Fire of the Holy Spirit is what purifies us, like silver and gold in a furnace – the Fire transforms us, conforms us more and more into the image of Christ so that we may be the light that the world needs.
Let us come together. Let us be assembled like wood in the fireplace of prayer.
Let us seek the Lord like never before.
I want to urge you to find like-minded brothers and sisters to pray with. Let our churches become houses of prayer. Let our homes become altars unto the Lord.
Let us pray together and set the world ablaze.
Prayer: Lord, come and set Your church alight. Come and pour out fresh fire. As we turn to You in prayer Lord, come and heal us. Come and restore us. Help us shake off the ashes of old and be renewed, restored and revived – so that we may be Your light in a dark and dying world. In Jesus Name. Amen.