After a period of “acute disillusionment” early in his adult life, Richard Halverson, former Pastor and Chaplain of the United States Senate had an amazing life changing encounter with God. In his desperate condition, he pled with God for direction. While attending a conference in Southern California, he stumbled upon an impromptu prayer meeting after an evening session. It was here that God spoke to him about what became known as “The Fellowship of the Burning Heart.” God had spoken to Dr. Halverson about the condition of his heart and the commitment that would be required if he were to position himself to live out the incredible plan God had intended. He thus wrote down the four commitments of “The Fellowship of the Burning Heart.” They sum up the kind of discipleship required of every follower of Jesus Christ.
After recently reading this in They Found the Secret by Raymond Edmond, I thought it would be something worth passing on to you over the next 4 blogs. I suspect that God will use it in your life as he has mine. I believe it will be like pouring spiritual kerosene on the hot embers that surround your passion to know God. Get ready to get burned. As you live out these commitments, prepare to acquire a hot heart for God.
“The Fellowship of the Burning Heart”
“Having come to a personal belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and realizing that the urgency of the hour in which we live demands the highest type of Christian Discipleship. I wish to unite with a band of young people offering themselves as expendables, with a vision of evangelizing the youth of the world for Jesus Christ in the shortest possible time.”
COMMITMENT #1
“I AM COMMITTED TO THE PRINCIPLE that Christian discipleship is sustained solely by God alone through His Spirit; that the abiding life of John 15 is His way of sustaining me. Therefore I pledge myself to a disciplined devotional life in which I promise through prayer, Bible study, and devotional reading, to give God not less than one hour per day.
Psalms 1:1-6 (NASB) How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.
KEY PHRASES TO CONSIDER WHEN EVALUATING YOUR HEART:
“ "URGENCY” – Time is short…am I putting off what needs to happen now
“
"EXPENDABLES” – Am I willing to offer everything I have and am to Jesus?
· “DISCIPLINED DEVOTIONAL LIFE” – Will I do what’s necessary to learn how to abide in Him?
Richard Halverson (1916-1995) was a minister of the former United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America and served from 1958 until 1981 as the Senior Pastor of Fourth Presbyterian Church, Bethesda, Maryland. He served as the Chaplain of the United States Senate from February 2, 1981 until December 31, 1994. He was an associate of the National Prayer Breakfast movement starting in 1956. Halverson also was a member of the Board of World Vision, from 1956 to 1983, serving as chairman from 1966 to 1983. He was the President of Concern Ministries, a charitable foundation in Washington, D.C.
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1 comments:
Amen, I pray God gives me and my family the grace to do this commitment.
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