Combustible Christianity

Dan Adkins tells a story about the meeting house of a village church catching on fire.

It was after mid-night and the building was going up in flames. A large crowd had gathered. As the preacher pulled into the parking lot, seeing many in the community who  had never been to church, he walked to the front of the crowd and his voice thundered.

“This is the biggest meeting this church has ever had. Most of you have never been here before. Why did you wait until now?”

A hush fell over the crowd, then one man cynically hollered out, “We’ve never seen this church on fire before.”

The story reminds me a quote by G. K. Chesterton who said, “You never have to advertise a fire. Everyone comes running when there’s a fire. Likewise, if your church is on fire, you will not have to advertise it. The community will already know it.”

In Phillip Shumake’s class book, “Lifelong Zeal: How To Build Lasting Passion For God,” he employs a familiar analogy used by numerous authors–”The Fire Triangle” to illustrate how to be on fire spiritually. A fire requires three elements–heat, fuel, and the right environment, oxygen.

The metaphor is not a stretch, because the Bible word translated “zeal” is the Greek word “zealous” which means, “to be hot, or heat.”

With that in mind consider how we can be on fire for the Lord and set the church on fire.

#1 Rely on God as your heat source.

As noted in last week’s post, God has a passion for His people. For us to ignite the zeal He desires we must develop a relationship with Him. Mere ritualistic observances, following human traditions, or relying on our own wisdom will not spark that zeal.

The Bible says the wicked sons of the prophet Samuel “did not know the Lord.” I’m sure they knew the names for God like Elohim, El Shaddai, or Yahweh. No doubt they had attended Sabbath services. And it seems likely Samuel taught them about the nature, character, divine qualities of God.

Yet, they did not know Him. They didn’t develop a relationship with Him. There wasn’t a closeness, or a love for the Lord, and His Word. Thus, they were not zealous for His work and His ways.

Phillip was right when he wrote, “Lasting zeal is always deeply connected to God and His perfect love. Drawing closer to Him will ignite and intensify your spiritual fire.”

#2 Emulate the character of Christ as your spiritual fuel.

The Bible commands Christians “to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). One version renders this “to become like His Son.”

Think about the character traits of Christ. Humility. Servitude. Mercy. Forgiveness. Compassion. Courage. Kindness. Wisdom. Energy. Diligence. And, of course, love. Think of each of these like a log you put on a camp fire. The more logs you add, the greater the blaze.

Likewise, as we more closely copy Christ in character, the greater our zeal will become. I wonder, if the reason so many Christian seem to be lukewarm, or even cold, is because that haven’t truly become conformed to the image of Jesus?

#3 Create an environment of purity in your daily life.

When God created the world and its inhabitants, he gave the animals a protective covering where they could blend in with their environment. But He gave mankind something infinitely greater–the ability to change his environment. To rise above his environment. To purify his environment.

The Patriarch Noah lived in a wicked world, but he walked with God. He was righteous, just, and blameless in his generation. He also created an environment for his wife, sons, and their wives to also remain pure. That’s our challenge today.

Evil companions, sinful influences, and ungodly entanglements will either dampen our zeal for spiritual matters or completely extinguish it.

While there are many challenges the church and Christians face today, a failure to be zealous may be our greatest problem. In his book Hallmarks, Sewell Hall wrote, “Actually, our most debilitating handicap is a lack of zeal. Once zeal is stirred, love will find a way to overcome all obstacles.”

–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman