The writing style of Apostle Paul often embraced punchlines. The text before us today is one of such one-liners. Before this, he had admonished the believers on a wide variety of subjects including love for one and another and preferring others. Our text is all the more pungent when read from the Amplified version. “Never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavour; be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord.” Paul seemed to be pointing the believers to the church as it once was. The first-century church was truly “aglow and burning with the Spirit”. Beginning from the day of Pentecost, we noticed that “they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). Sequel to that infilling were the powerful soul-converting messages and miracles.

A critical question to ask is whether the present-day church is excluded from such privileges and experiences. The answer is no; we are not excluded. Hear what F.B. Meyer said: “Pentecost was meant to be the specimen and type of all the days of the years of this present age, and we have fallen far below this blessed level, not because of any failure on God’s part, but because the Church has neglected its privilege”. The problem with today’s crop of believers is the neglect of our privileges in God. If we are to add anything to that, it would be that we are often caught hungry for the wrong things. We satiate so easily in our quest for spiritual things. Ironically, the things we give our focus to will be mere additions if only we get to the “boiling” point in the Spirit. Once you begin to experience the boiling dimension of the Spirit, the flames generated will melt certain elements; the problems that hold you down will snap as cords before the fire.