Fire On Your Head

Just a couple of days ago I got the privilege of preaching to my third year class in bible college. I felt like God put this theme on my heart from 1 Thess. 4:1-12 and so I wanted to put up some of my notes up on that.

(Read the passage of 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12) if I could encapsulate this passage in one phrase it would be this “the gentle revolution” I can’t remember ever hearing much about this passage or even thinking a lot about it. But as I read it yesterday I was gripped with something. This is the lifestyle of a radical christian is just as much a burning revivalist proclaiming the gospel to thousands as a faithful housewife praying for her children. This is the place of obedience when no one is looking. The vast majority of the church and even many in this room won’t be  in the pulpit or holding the attention of millions for most of their lives. Most of us are called to be faithful and live simply, love radically and change the world.

a gentle revolution is to possess by faith that which the world doesn’t have
it doesn’t come loudly because it’s an inner work
you can see it taking place in the actions of their lives.
Precious few are the saints that have really given themselves to sanctification. (Sanctification is this: We have the daily responsibility of devoting ourselves more and more to God so that in body, soul, spirit (5:23) we completely belong to Him.)
What’s the key to our sanctification? It’s right there in verse 7 and 8 God has called us and he has given his holy Spirit to you. The very fact that God called you assures you that he will accomplish his purpose through you because God does not fail. All we need is a heart of surrender.
you possess it by faith. Learn to possess your vessel by faith and not your feelings or lusts.
The world knows that they are different from you. Let your life kindle their curiosity.
A generation is seeking something that they have not seen, will you show it to them?
A gentle revolution starts in the heart, in your own heart and it continues affecting the hearts of those around you.
life is more amazing than death and as we take off these garments of death and clothe ourself with the garments of light the world will know that there is something so beautiful so godly inside of us that they will be compelled to either hate the conviction this revelation brings or seek after the light inside of us.
When we forget the life that he saved us from, our salvation loses it’s lustre and excitement. Let us remember the mighty works of God and let them propel us onward to even greater levels of freedom.
There is no bondage of the flesh that is stronger than the gentle loosing power of the Spirit. I declare right now that there is a mightier freedom available to each of us than we can even imagine.

The Final Quest Quote
At one point the Lord looked toward the galleries of thrones around Him.  Many were occupied by saints, and many were empty.  He then said, “These thrones are for the overcomers who have served Me faithfully in every generation.  My Father and I prepared them before the foundation of the world.  I looked at the thrones.  I looked at those who were now seated.  I could recognize some of the great heroes of the faith, but most of those seated I knew had not even been well known on earth.  Many I knew had been missionaries who had expended their lives in obscurity.  They had never cared to be remembered on earth, but only to Him.  I was a bit surprised to see some who had been wealthy, or rulers who had been faithful with what they had been given.  However, it seemed that faithful, praying women and mothers occupied more thrones than any other single group. (this quote rocked my world and changed my whole paradigm of the way God views us).

The Christian’s behavior is compared to a walk for several reasons: (1) it demands life, for the dead sinner cannot walk; (2) it requires growth, for a little baby cannot walk; (3) it requires liberty, for someone who is bound cannot walk; (4) it demands light, for no one wants to walk in the dark; (5) it cannot be hidden, but is witnessed by all; and (6) it suggests progress toward a goal.

“how to please God” verse 3 this is the basic way to please God. That is incredible. Like Bobby Conner says “You don’t want to spend your life baking God apple pie only to find that he doesn’t like it”.  Pleasing God means much more than simply doing God’s will. It is possible to obey God and yet not please Him. Jonah is a case in point. He obeyed God and did what he was commanded, but his heart was not in it. God blessed His Word but He could not bless His servant. So Jonah sat outside the city of Nineveh angry with everybody, including the Lord! Our obedience should be “not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart” (Eph. 6:6).
What’s the will of God? Your sanctification. That’s it. That’s what God really cares about. So many people are wandering around trying to find the will of God when that is it. Of course God is concerned about the destination and stuff but you concern yourself with this the main thing and he will faithfully show you the little things like career and destination.   If spiritual leaders cannot rule in their own homes, how can they lead the church? If we glorify God in our bodies, then we can glorify Him in the body which is the church.
aspire to live quietly: literally means “Be ambitious to be quiet.” In many church environments the passionate loud ones get exalted. aspire to live quietly: Why does God say that? What’s his purpose in this? aspire to live quietly. To be honest, that’s more who I am. I love to encourage people behind the scenes, to just worship alone. but I’ve felt a lot of pressure to act a certain way, to be an aggresive evangelist. I don’t mind at all sharing my faith on the streets but I’m not naturally a really confrontational kind of person.
God really wants his people to be a shining light to a generation. Be dependent on no one. Can you imagine what a counter-cultural example it would send if no Christians were in debt because they were hard-workers that saved their money and didn’t buy things they couldn’t afford? They were the lenders and not the borrowers. One of the main images of Christians that people have is preachers on TV asking for money. Churches asking for money, missionaries asking for money. Can you imagine what a message it would send if more believers were like George Mueller and Hudson Taylor only asking God for money? It would tell the world that we don’t need to depend on anyone but God. I think that’s a pretty good message to send. A life like that can’t be explained except by the power of God. It is not necessary to live like them but I think they left a powerful example.
Have you noticed that animals do instinctively what is necessary to keep them alive and safe? Fish do not attend classes to learn how to swim (even though they swim in schools), and birds by nature put out their wings and flap them in order to fly. It is nature that determines action. Because a fish has a fish’s nature, it swims; because a hawk has a hawk’s nature, it flies. And because a Christian has God’s nature (2 Peter 1:4), he loves, because “God is love” (1 John 4:8). “no one need to teach you to love.”