CHRISTIANS WHO ARE ON FIRE DO NOT NEED TO ADVERTISE!
Stealth burners...


In Chennai we had times set aside for Fasting and Prayer, these thirty day periods prayer would be in the church and people would come as possible during the times set. As I walked through the door, the power of God came over me. What was going on here? There was almost no one in the church except for a man, Pastor D. Mohan, who was praying at the front a few women and one other man in prayer. As I listened to this man pray, I realized what had happened. Even though I had heard countless messages on prayer before, it was hearing this man actually pray that challenged me more than any sermon ever had. I kept thinking: this man knows God and has a relationship in prayer that I desperately need.

As Jesus was walking with two of the disciples to Emmaus after his resurrection, he did not grab them and shout: "Hey, it is me!" He just talked to them. Later they said: "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road?" (Luke 24:32)

When I was growing up, my mother often said to me: "Jim, when you get out into the world, always remember the wheat heads. The ones that stick their heads up the highest are always the most empty. The same goes for people!"

Are you trying to get the recognition of people?

It is not you, but Christ in you the hope of Glory! Let us burn for HIM!

"To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Col 1:27 NIV)

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR FIRE.
Don't find out when its too late!

Christians who are on fire do not accept the devil's substitutes!

As we entered the room, I was introduced as "the missionary from India". As soon as this young lady of about thirty-five years heard "India", she started sobbing and crying out loud. She looked at me with desperation in her eyes. Full of emotion, she told me: "God has called me to India! I have had a consuming dream of going and ministering to the people of India!"

This young lady was dying from cancer. She could no longer walk upright due to the pain. She had spent her life partying and living for pleasure, until cancer had put an end to that way of life.

The question that continues to haunt me is this: “why do people only start to think about their Godly calling and their life's purpose when they are dying or when the devil has so consumed them and ruined their lives.” My nephew has had a call on his life to Yugoslavia as a teenager in high school. Now after a divorce and addiction to alcohol is it still possible to answer the call? The devil will give you almost anything you want, just to keep you occupied.

What is your purpose and what is God's calling for your life?

Do not wait until you are faced with death before starting to seek God to find HIS purpose for your life.

Ps 139:23,24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (NIV)

No Offering- No Fire

Burning for Jesus
No Offering, No Fire
Christians who are on fire- put everything on the line! In the natural a fire needs fuel. In fact I believe that missions is the fuel of the fire of the church. No fuel and there is no fire.

On July 11, 1972, he wrote to his parents: "You will not see me again!" He knew that the communists would kill him. A few days later, the broken body of Ivan Moiseyev, a 20-year-old Russian soldier, was returned to his family. He had been forced to stand outside in freezing temperatures, was severely beaten and stabbed six times around the heart for his Christian faith. When despite all this torture they still could not get him to deny Christ, they finally drowned and killed him. Colonel Malsin, his commander, said: "Moiseyev died with difficulty. He fought with death, but he died as a Christian." (read the whole story) at
http://www.mcf-canada.ca/site/Stories_Archive/StrengthAngels.html

Paul urges us: "brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship." (Rom 12:1) We may not have to pay the ultimate price, but there has to be an offering on the altar, before the fire of God descends. There has to be a point in our lives where we make a conscious choice for Christ and against the ungodly systems of this world.

Are there areas of your life that you have not yet surrendered to Christ?

"Most" or "a lot" is not enough: The boiling point of water is 100°C (212°F) at standard pressure. If the water is at 97°C, it will not boil.
For the fire to be hot, there is a need for fuel!

Fire- Out of Control

Fire! Out of control!!!!

A missionary friend from Africa told me of his encounter with fire, it went like this:

Flames eagerly climbed up the trees, consuming their dry branches. The whole yard sent heat waves up to the sky. I was about 7 years old at the time. Our neighbors in Africa had not cut their grass for the longest while. We were in the dry season, so the grass had dried up and the whole yard looked really terrible. I decided to be a good neighbor and help them out. I grabbed some matches and went over to their yard. I thought to myself, if the fire spreads to where it should not go, I'll just stomp it out before it gets too big. This time though, stomping was no help! The fire spread so fast that I had to rescue myself from the flames. It took the cooperation of the whole neighborhood to put out the massive flames (there was no dependable fire department).

Have you felt as if things have gotten out of control? People often think that they can stop sinning at any time. The devil would like us to believe that we are in control. However, small sins grow quickly and, like a fire, can get out of control.

What area of your life could cause a potential wildfire?

1Pet 5:8, 9 - "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings."

Another fire story:
Two things….the fire story reminded me of when I was about 10 or so. We lived out on the edge of Yakima, Washington near the tracks. We used to burn our garbage. Dad was away for the day and told me not to burn the garbage. But, unfortunately, I did. Well, it was windy….I put too much garbage in the big metal drum and started burning. Well, it was very windy (we were not supposed to burn it in the wind, too) and the wind blew the flames out of the bin and the fire got on to the grass and headed towards the weed filled field that separated us and our neighbors and the railroad tracks. Well, mother called the fire department and though it didn’t take but a while for them to get to our house, I was “dying” knowing that the fire was heading towards the property of others that now I had no control of. Praise the Lord they got the fire out without a whole lot of damage, except to our apricot trees and our back yard. They also kept the fire from getting to our house. Needless to say, that night when my dad got home….shall I say, I didn’t sit for a day or two!

We should learn from our mistakes, and it may be obvious that we don’t always do that. As a boy, my brother Rocky was always ahead of me. He was my big brother that I followed. I had the best of brothers. One day however we were in that same field and Rocky and some friends of ours had some big firecrackers- M80’s and I don’t know what all. The issue was, “how far in the sky would a gallon can go if the firecrackers were lit at the same time?” That burning question resulted in the dry weeds surrounding the launch site catching on fire. It was the sixth or eighth time running from the site to the house to call the fire department or come back and fight the fire, and trying to put out the fire that finally we decided that though we didn’t want to, we needed to call the fire department.

When they came it was only but a moment when the fire was put out and all was well- almost. The firemen asked to talk to our Mom. When we got Mom, the fireman in charge asked about us setting the fire. Mom confidently said, “I can vouch for these boys, they are good boys!” The fireman said, “Yes, but these good boys set the field on fire.” Indeed we had. Roger, Jerry, and Marvin, Rocky and I were all regular church attendees, but that day, we had set the field on fire. We needed the fire department.

There are times in our lives that we are out of control. The issue may be that we thought we could control the situation or the activity. Please be aware that we each may have the need for the Lord to help us, to enter our existence and put out the Fire!
Call on me and I will answer you saith the Lord, I will show thee great and mighty things. Jeremiah 33:3. It may be that we are waiting to see how we fare against the issues of life on our own. We need the Lord! He is able, He is Mighty, He can when we cannot, He is the deliverer, and he is the one we can rely.

No Encounter- No Fire...

No Encounter- No Fire...

Christians on fire have had an encounter with God!

Dense fog enveloped the valley of the beautiful Mountain. I was alone on the cold, deserted mountains, fasting and praying - so hungry for God! I started the day reading through the Bible. As I got to Luke 13, it was as if God himself came into the room of that little mountain cabin. The power of God fell on me as I read the words: "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to." (Luke 13:24). All of a sudden, I had a vision of people from my church standing in front of God's door, pleading with tears running down their faces: "God, please, please let me come in!" But the door was forever closed. As I watched them, I began to weep, as a heavy, almost unbearable burden came upon me. God had given me a small glimpse of reality that shook my world, and I was never the same again. These people were not ready for eternity! This experience showed me the earnestness of the Gospel message and has kept my heart burning over the years - God planted something new in my heart that day.

If you look at the scriptures, you will see that most servants of God had a visitation from God in one way or another. (Moses had the burning bush, Gideon the angel of God, and even Jesus had the Father say, "this is my beloved son..." just to mention a few.) You can only start fire with fire! You cannot give what you have not received.

Have you had an encounter with God?

I will bring him near and he will come close to me, for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?' declares the LORD. Jer 30:21