Luke 24:31-32 (NASB)
31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.32 They said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?"
I love this story. The part I love most is when these two said, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking..." A.W. Tozer called this the fellowship of the burning hearts. He meant people who were a part of an uncommon passion and love for their LORD.
We sit with other worshippers week after week hearing the scriptures expounded. Does that make our heart burn within? Do we see others with hearts burning with zeal? The word burning means to be inflamed deeply, set on fire, and kindled. Can we say our private encounters studying scripture make our hearts ignite with new passion and inflamed deeply with new fervor? We may meet God for Bible reading in the secret place and gather with others for public worship and never even get a spark. We used to sing a little song, "It only takes a spark to get a fire going..." By the lack of burning hearts in our fellowships, it could me surmised that few sparks are ever kindled.
Maybe the key to have a burning heart is found in verse 31. Perhaps what we really need is for Jesus to open our eyes. To give us new revelations of who He is. One such encounter would do more for us and in us that years of reading the Bible with no Holy Spirit inspired revelation.
One thing for certain about fire is that it is contagious. Several years ago, in Paradise, TX on a dry, low humidity, windy day a wildfire started. What started as a little spark soon spread consuming seven homes before the flames were contained and eventually put out. Fire spreads. It burns whatever gets in its path. I saw burned home structures, destroyed barns, shops, burned vehicles, scorched grass and trees.
What if today just one of us had our eyes opened to the truth in scripture so much it inflamed our hearts? Suppose that flame spread to other hearts we came in contact with throughout the day. What if the hearts set on fire went from person to person in a congregation and then out in the community? That would be revival.
That is exactly what God did in the mid 1700's with a group of men who met together for prayer called the Holy Club. One night they were praying in a home on Fetter's Lane when the presence of God overwhelmed each of them and made their hearts burn. Three of those men were brothers John and Charles Wesley and George Whitfield. God opened their eyes in that prayer meeting. History tells the rest of the story.
Conditions in England were horrible at the time. Ungodliness and wickedness were rampant. After God set those men's hearts on fire, they began evangelistic work around the country. Their burning hearts were too much for the religious establishment to handle. They shut their doors of their churches to the Wesleys and Whitfield. That did not deter them. They started preaching in open fields and God brought the crowds. Hundreds initially. Then thousands came to hear the burning firebrands of God. In time, tens of thousands came to hear these burning men of God call sinners to repentance. Some stood mesmerized. Others sat on horseback. Many remained in their carriages listening intently. It is reported that little white streaks appeared on the faces of the coal miners as tears washed their sooty faces in repentance. God turned the whole country around.
Eventually Whitfield made several trips to America where God did the same thing in the new country. Whitfield burned so much he got a nickname. People called him the "Fire Bringer." There was a cost to pay. Rebels threw rocks, rotten eggs and once even a dead cat at him. John Wesley said someone threw dung at him while preaching. There is a cost for revival.
O that God would open our eyes and make our hearts burn. O that this stammerer would be so touched by the power of God that they would call him a "Fire Bringer." May we all long for the fire of God to fall fresh on us like it did the Holy Club on Fetter's Lane.
- How would you describe the condition of your heart? Cold as ice, lukewarm, or burning?
- Ask God to open your eyes to who He is today.
- Plead with God to cause your heart to burn for Him. Persist in this prayer as long as it takes for weeks or months until the fire comes.
- Commit when the fire comes, you will spread the flame to others.
No comments:
Post a Comment