The family service looked at the theme of ‘Fire’ last night.

First of all we had a quiz where we had to come up with words that included fire in them. The answers were varied, including bonfire, firelighter, fireguard, fired, misfire, ceasefire and hellfire! A number of people came up with over 20 words and received prizes:

Fire has three primary purposes, giving us heat and warmth, light and being useful for cooking. Mark spoke from Acts 2 about the fire of the Holy Spirit. God is described as a ‘consuming fire’ (Deut 4:24) and fire is often used in the Bible to describe destruction and refining (eg the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Gen 19). Jesus is described as being like a ‘refiner’s fire’ (Mal 3:2). John the Baptist told his disciples that Jesus would ‘baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire’ (Matt 3:11) and in Acts 2:1-4, we see the fulfilment of this prophecy.

On the Day of Pentecost, the people were all together in unity. There was mutual consent, harmony leading to action; they were of one mind and purpose. This unity was vital to the infilling of the Holy Spirit. There was a need for them to know God’s power and boldness to do what He wanted them to do. The results of this infilling was that they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages (which were recognised by people from other countries.) They spoke out about the wonderful works of God and as a result of this, the church grew rapidly. These disciples were transformed from scared, fearful people, hiding away because of their fears, into bold, fearless proclaimers of God’s truths.

We need the Holy Spirit’s fire within our lives. We need His gifts, not only to edify the church but to reach out to a world in need.

Mark brought little candles to represent the fire of the Holy Spirit and urged us to keep these with us throughout the coming week, as a reminder to pray and as a visual reminder that the light of God is within us.

Kevin spoke from 2 Samuel 7:1-17 yesterday morning, a familiar passage where David is contemplating building a palace for God, only to discover that his plans are not the same as God’s plans. The passage starts with a period of rest for David: “the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies.” When God touches us and gives us rest and peace, we are made whole. There are times of great joy with God, but there are also times when He asks us to wait and be patient. In our modern society, with its fast trains and planes and fast food, we find waiting difficult.

Ps 40:1-3 urges us to wait patiently for the Lord. There are times (eg Ps 22:1-2) when we feel God is a long time answering us. We need to hold on to the fact that His answers are worth waiting for and when He says ‘no’ to us, it is because He has better things in store.

David had a desire to please God and wanted to build a temple for Him. Initially, Nathan the prophet endorsed this desire. But as He waited on God, God revealed His will to him and it was not what he expected. We need to consult with God first before we act; we need His guidance and must never plough blithely ahead, pleasing only ourselves, for the Christian walk is all about obedience to God. We can’t take Him for granted and we mustn’t presume.

Why does God sometimes say ‘no’ to our requests? Why should a God of unlimited resources ever refuse His children things? Sometimes it’s because we ask amiss. Sometimes we ask selfishly. Sometimes we ask for things that are not part of God’s plan for our lives.

David was refused the request by God but he was also given promises by God in this passage, promises that his offspring would build the temple and would always be on the throne. “Your house and your kingdom shall endure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever.” (2 Sam 7:16) The answer David received from God was far more than he had expected. He was, therefore, able to accept the ‘no’ with gratitude(see verses 18-20) because he recognised the greatness of God’s plans in comparison with his own. We need to have a long-term perspective, a view of eternity, that can cope with God’s ‘no’, trusting in His ways and leaning not on our own understanding (Prov 3:5-6).

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matt 5:14-16)

These verses from Matthew have been on my mind for some time. Back in January, I heard Kristian Stanfill sing ‘Not Ashamed’ at the Passion conference, a rousting song that slows down right at the end to proclaim:
“We’ll be that city on the hill
Burning brightly
We’ll be a light to the world
Shining Your glory”
‘Not Ashamed’, Passion

In February, I heard LZ7 sing ‘This Little Light’ (‘This Little Light’, LZ7), reminding us of Jesus’s command to ‘let your light shine before others’.

More recently, I have been listening to Casting Crown’s haunting song ‘City on the Hill’, which looks at what happens when we do not obey Christ’s command but fight amongst ourselves instead:
“You see, the poets thought the dancers were shallow
And the soldiers thought the poets were weak
And the elders saw the young ones as foolish
And the rich man never heard the poor man speak.”

The song goes on to remind us that it is in the diversity of the church that strength can be found:
“It is the rhythm of the dancers
That gives the poets life
It is the spirit of the poets
That gives the soldiers strength to fight
It is the fire of the young ones
It is the wisdom of the old
It is the story of the poor man
That’s needing to be told.” (‘City on the Hill’, Casting Crowns)
‘City on the Hill’, Casting Crowns

All of these songs were in my mind as I stood at the top of Montmartre last week, looking out over the spectacular views of Paris. We had climbed the 300 steps to the dome of Sacré-Coeur and were rewarded with views like these:

Sacré-Coeur is an amazing basilica, well worth visiting in its own right. But ‘a town or city on a hill cannot be hidden’. Just as from that church we could see all of Paris, so too, the next day when we were at the opposite side of the river standing on the top of the Montparnasse Tower, the church itself could not be hidden:

These amazing buildings make Jesus’s words seem very plain. Light cannot be hidden. But we can try to hide it, squabbling amongst ourselves or hiding the light under a bowl. What we need to do is let Christ’s light shine from within so that others can see Him. Then we can be a light to a world that’s desperately in need, shining Christ’s glory.

Paul says “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Rom 8:18) There are many times when I struggle to understand what he means by ‘the glory that will be revealed in us.’ My imagination doesn’t always cope well with the vivid word pictures we find in the Bible. Revelation blows my mind with its lavish pictures! In particular, the vision of heaven which John portrays in Revelation 21 is hard for me to imagine. There we read, “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.” (Rev 21:10-11) He goes on to tell us “The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.” (Rev 21:18-21)

I have just spent the past few days in Paris, looking around lavish, ornate churches that were a testimony to man’s attempts to capture the splendour and grandeur of the glory of God in the buildings they built in which to worship Him. I marvelled at the grandeur of Sacré-Coeur and Notre Dame:

I gazed at stained glass windows like this one in Notre Dame, reflecting on the light of the world:

But what stunned me the most was the Eglise du Dôme which is part of the Invalides complex, originally built by Louis XIV but now most famous as the resting place of Napoleon’s body. This church is absolutely stunning. Even the outside is covered in gold!

The inside is so lavish that it was almost breath-taking:

The church was originally used as a place to worship God, but now this part of it is simply a mausoleum. Napoleon’s body was transferred there from St Helena in 1840 and a magnificent tomb was created within the church:

The tomb, crafted in red porphyry from Russia, placed on a green granite base from the Vosges, is circled by a crown of laurels and inscriptions, reminders of the great victories of the Empire. In the round gallery, a series of sculptures by Simart represent the main events of Napoleon’s time as Emperor. A statue of the Emperor, bearing the imperial emblems, was erected at the back of the crypt. The ornate grandeur of all this, to house one man, is almost beyond belief. Other military leaders are also buried here, such as Foch:

As I stood gazing at the sheer magnificence of this church and wondering at man’s skill in building such a monument (and quite why Napoleon should be so venerated as to merit all this!), the only thing I could really think of was that the description of heaven in Revelation 21 is so much more magnificent than what I was looking at that I simply cannot imagine it. I have looked at so many splendid things this week, things that are truly priceless. And yet God tells me that this is as nothing compared to the magnificence of His glory and what awaits us as His children. As Dave frequently tells us, ‘you ain’t seen nothing yet!’ Our imaginations need to be stretched to take in all that is yet to be revealed.

Dave preached a very challenging sermon on the theme of ‘advance’ tonight, speaking from 2 Samuel 5:12-25. God is clearly interested in the advance of His people (think of the Israelites being led out of captivity and advancing into the Promised Land or of the advance of the gospel commanded in Acts 1:8, for example). On a personal level, we are commanded to ‘grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ’ (2 Pet 3:18). There is a need for us to move forward rather than standing still, for it is all too easy for us to become stuck in the proverbial rut.

In this passage, David has finally become king – after a period of waiting which must have seemed interminable to him – and his newly found authority is being challenged by the Philistines. The way that David dealt with this challenge can teach us a lot.

1) He went to the stronghold. In other words, he went to the place where his army was the strongest and knew that if he was to win this battle, he needed to be in a place of strength to deal with the enemy. We need to go to our stronghold, Jesus, and spend time seeking Him in prayer if we are to have the strength to overcome the enemy.

2) He enquired of the Lord. He did not presume that he knew what God wanted him to do, but asked God. We need to walk according to God’s Word. Sometimes we will be required to stand still; sometimes we will be required to wait. But when He tells us to move, we need to be ready to move.

3) He followed God immediately. He was obedient to God’s command. We need to trust and obey God. The name given to God at this point was ‘the God who breaks through’. God is able to break through our impossible impasses and move in ways we cannot fathom.

4) David did not assume that the first strategy would be the same forever. He enquired of the Lord again. We can be very guilty of assuming that a strategy that has worked in the past will continue to work, without realising that God has moved on. We can be in danger of complacency, feeling comfortable, revelling in what God has done in the past without realising that there is ‘so much more to be revealed’. We need to seek God for what He wants us to do now and not settle down into a comfortable status quo.

5) When we hear the rustling in the leaves of the trees, we need to be prepared to move. When we sense God’s Spirit nudging us, we have to be quick to obey His prompting. God is moving. Can we hear the rustling? It’s time for us to advance, to move with God, to be ready to go. We need to seek Him more than ever so that we know His will and move accordingly.

Today we had a birthday to celebrate. There’s always something very special about a child’s birthday:

There’s also something very special about a homemade cake like this one!