Faith on Fire

Do you have just enough of the Holy Spirit to feel like you are surviving? Do you want to go on into all that Jesus has for you?

I believe that many believers have that deep, deep desire to be moved greatly and to hold to a zealous passion for God. We want the fire of God to fall on us and make us into disciples who will whole-heartedly and ambitiously give to Jesus in order to make his glory known to the masses.

Church should be the place that makes real disciples who reach the masses and change a society. Isn’t that a simple way to think about church? Faith-on-fire disciples are going to go out into the world just like Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8, ESV).

Much of this fanning of the flame in our generation has been greatly diminished. It has moved from what was once a central focus on Jesus into more of a “To Do” list. “I pray. I read my Bible. I fast occasionally. I give at church. I go on missions trips. I belong to a small group. I have an accountability partner.”

If we can check off some of these boxes, we feel like we’re doing well as a disciple, but I want to say to you that none of those things make you a disciple. Mormons can do that. Jehovah’s Witnesses can do that. Pagans can do each and every one of those things and not even know Jesus Christ.

A disciple is not defined by the things that you do. A disciple is defined by the person that you know. It’s defined by a knowledge and revelation and a deep, deep work of God called salvation, not a man-centered work. The man-centered activities that come follow the work that Jesus has done in our hearts.

None of those things make a true disciple. A disciple is not one who keeps his life in moral decency. It’s not one attends regular religious activities or does religious services. A disciple will do all those things as they follow Christ, but at the heart of a true disciple lays one who has fallen deeply in love with Jesus.