Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Hearts On Fire

Luke 24:13-35

John Wesley had a heart for God…but only after God stirred his heart – turned his heart – changed his heart. Wesley said it like this: “I felt my heart strangely warmed…” He said he had gone unwillingly to a church service…and as someone began to read Martin Luther’s preface to the book of Romans, he felt his heart changed. He said, “I felt I did trust in Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins and saved me…”

There’s nothing like a heart burning by the very presence of God. This burning is not always comforting – it is most often convicting… It is often an uneasy feeling as God is showing us something we need to see – telling us something we need to hear – leading us to do something we need to do – calling us to trust Him in a way we’ve never trusted Him. It is God getting our attention…

• A Burning Heart can be a Fearful Heart… Anxious about the future…Worried
about the present…Sleepless over things beyond your control. People live in fear – Fear that they will get sick or not get well. Fear that their children will be hurt or do something crazy. Fear that they will lose their job, lose their home, lose everything they worked for. Our hearts burn with worry and fear. Martha and Mary are examples of this as they dealt with the death of Lazarus, the absence of Jesus, and uncertainty about the Future.
A Burning Heart can be a Foolish Heart… Regretting spur of the moment
decisions… Reaping what was sown in haste… Wishing you could change the way things are. For a year or month or week or day in your life you did what you wish you had never done. You sinned. You forgot God. King David is an example of this as he sinned with Bathsheba, was then confronted by Nathan, then faced the death of the child.
• A Burning Heart can be a Faithful Heart… A heart yearning to know God as
much as possible… A heart seeking to know God’s will… A heart hungering to know God’s word. The women in Luke 24 are examples of this as we read about what they remembered, what they believed, and what they hoped for.

1- Their Eyes Were Opened v31 They had watched...but had never seen. Like many of us who’ve done everything religious – but knowing Jesus seems out of reach or maybe just a little far fetched… We might ask, "Where is God in all of this?"

2- The Scriptures Were Opened v32 They had listened...but had never heard. I wonder how many sermons we’ve listened to but never heard…how many Bible studies…how many devotionals…yet we have never heard – Our heart has never turned?

3- Their Understanding Was Opened v45 They had thought...but had never understood. Ephesians 1:18 “...that the eyes of your understanding may be opened...” How does that happen? How are the eyes of our understanding opened? God does it through the Word of God – and the work of the Holy Spirit. Our understanding is darkened – we’re spiritually blinded by strongholds – and then the Power of God begins to break strongholds… How? Listen to 2 Corinthians 10:5… “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ…”

Is your heart burning within you – in much the same way as we read in the Bible? Burning because of sin – worry – or wanting to be closer to God? Jesus opened their eyes, the scriptures, and their understanding – and if you’re interested He will do the same for you. M