ALL FLAME | RUSTY NELSON
KEEP THE FLAME BURNING
REVELATION 2:1-7 ESV
“The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands… I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance… But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”
WE ARE PRIESTS TO GOD
Right Ear – Anointed to Hear
Right Thumb – Anointed to Work
Right Big Toe – Anointed to Walk
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood…”1 Peter 2:9
God gives the fire. But we steward it.
THE CITY OF EPHESUS
3rd largest city in the known world — the NYC of its day
Major seaport / economic center
Famous for immorality & idol worship
Temple of Diana — one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World
THE CHURCH AT EPHESUS
Paul planted it — Timothy pastored it — John the Beloved poured into it
Greatest revival in Acts — Paul stayed 3 full years
$5 million in books burned — 25,000+ members
Acts 18-19: Grew • Ephesians: Encouraged • 1&2 Timothy: Challenged • 1,2,3 John: Rebuked
Revelation 2: Jesus addresses them directly
THE MESSAGE FROM JESUS — Revelation 2:1
“I hold you in My right hand. I am walking with you.”
He walks among them as the High Priest tended the menorah — inspecting, present, watching
HE AFFIRMS THEM — Revelation 2:2-3
I know your work • I know your labor • I know your perseverance
You tested false apostles • You did not faint
They looked like a model church.
ONE THING WAS THE MAIN THING — Rev. 2:4
“But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”
Your love — the first one — you have let it slip through your fingers.
“Left” = lose your grip on, not abandon
Not a dramatic rebellion — a gradual loosening
Reduced to routine… doing, doing, doing — the passion LOST
“You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” — Matthew 22:37
JESUS CALLS OUT — Rev. 2:5
REMEMBER — let your heart race again
REPENT — not emotion, decision
RETURN — do the first works
“If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand.”
THREE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PRIEST
Keep the Oil Flowing
Keep the Wicks Trimmed |
Keep the Fire Burning
KEEP THE OIL FLOWING
Oil = The Holy Spirit • Intimacy • Fresh anointing • Divine supply
The fire only burns where oil is present.
Samson: still had movement and history — but the oil had lifted
“He did not know that the Lord had departed from him.”— Judges 16:20
You can lose sensitivity before you lose activity.
“Take not Your Holy Spirit from me.”— Psalm 51:11
Prayer — intimacy, not discipline
Worship — surrender, not performance
The Word — encounter, not information
Obedience — blocked obedience = blocked anointing
Intimacy over performance — Ephesus’s fatal trade
The priest never manufactured oil. He maintained access to it.
KEEP THE WICKS TRIMMED
The wick becomes charred over time — smoke increases, light decreases, fire weakens
The flame still exists… but clarity is lost.
Wicks represent: pride • offense • bitterness • distractions • fatigue • wounds • compromise • self-reliance
These don’t extinguish the fire — they distort it.
1. More smoke than light — activity without clarity
“Having a form of godliness but denying its power.”
— 2 Timothy 3:5
2. The flame becomes unhealthy — instability, exhaustion, loss of discernment
3. Others struggle to see — a smoky flame affects the whole room
“Every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
— John 15:2
Pruning is not punishment. It is preparation.
Old wicks • Old pain • Old offenses • Old methods • Old ambitions
“Trim the wick.” Not to diminish your flame — but to strengthen it.
KEEP THE FIRE BURNING
“The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.”
— Leviticus 6:13
Not occasional fire. Continual fire. Grk. ‘TAMID’ — Unceasing.
Fires go out slowly: neglected prayer • untrimmed wicks • no fresh oil • familiarity • spiritual drift
Somewhere — maintenance stopped.
Nadab & Abihu: had the ritual, the incense, the form — not the fire of God (Lev. 10:1-2)
God never asked for manufactured fire. He desires maintained fire.
Fresh oil — Spirit-dependence
Trimmed wicks — honest repentance
Holy fire — God’s presence moving freely
You cannot shortcut to the third without the first two.
WHERE AM I?
Where has the oil stopped flowing? — Prayer? Hunger? Intimacy? Obedience?
What needs trimming? — Habits? Attitudes? Hidden compromise? Wounded places?
Is the fire still burning brightly… or am I surviving on smoke and memory?
The priesthood’s job was never to admire the lampstand — they had to tend it. Daily. Faithfully.
Keep your ear consecrated • Keep your hands surrendered • Keep your walk straight
Keep the oil flowing • Keep the wicks trimmed • Keep the fire burning
The world desperately needs the light.
It can burn again… YOU can burn again!
He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
