ON THE VANGUARD

BURNING HEART
“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying the gospel of God’s grace.”
Acts 20:22-24

Keeping in line with this week’s theme of fire, I want us to travel to the jungle of Ecuador, or more specifically to the area of the Auca Indians. It was on October 28, 1949, that the following words were penned in the journal of Jim Elliot. “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” With a desire to share God with those who did not know Him, Elliot found his wife, friends, and himself fulfilling the call of taking the Word to the remote jungle people. As this calling increased in passion in his heart, the missionaries made plans to make contact with the tribe. In their first attempt, they flew low over the village, speaking through a loudspeaker, and offering a basket of gifts. Months later, the men built a base camp a short distance from the Indian village, along the Curaray River. It was here that they were approached by the Indians, which then opened the door for them to visit the Indian village also. However, although progress seemed to be being made, January 8, 1956 proved fateful. The arrival of a large band of warriors from the tribe attacked the five men on one of their visits, killing them all.
What was it that burned so deep in the heart of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Pete Fleming, Ed McCully, and Roger Youderian? What was it that drove them from their homes in America to a remote people group miles away? What was it that caused them to put their lives on the line? It was fire. These men had pledged their allegiance to God that they would go where He said go, and do what He said do. It wasn’t just words to them, but a pledge they walked out. They laid it all on the line to follow what God had placed in their hearts, not knowing what lay ahead.
This is the same fire and passion that compelled Paul as he set out for Jerusalem in Acts 20:23-25. He was warned by the Spirit that danger lay ahead, yet still inside him was a burning to move forward in the mission God had placed in his heart. The King James Version reads that Paul was “bound in the spirit” to go to Jerusalem, meaning that he was fastened in his decision, he was chained to his choice, and forbidden to go a different way. When God knocked him off his donkey, He instilled a renewed purpose in his heart, and Paul could not run away from it. Furthermore, hell could not keep Paul away from it. Paul didn’t let one knock down keep him down, or one knock out put him out. He continued to race till the end, caring only for the purpose God had given him and not for the details of his life. He, like Jim Elliot, was single minded in the calling burning in his heart.
Are we? Has God given you and me a mission that burns so hot inside us that we feel we will explode if it doesn’t become fulfilled? Then what are we waiting for? What are we doing to prepare for this task? Are we being frightened by the fear of the unknown? Sure, the end result may be death, but is that not the highest prize? Read again the word of Jim Elliot, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” We cannot live forever, but while we live we are given a purpose. Eternal life cannot be taken from us even when physical life can. But let us not throw our true passion and fire to the side simply because we fear death.
Within me is a fire. Within me is the calling to bring others to Christ and to strengthen those who have accepted Him but need a little encouragement. It may cost me my life to do so, but I will not back down. I am compelled by the Spirit in my mission and I cannot quench this fire in my heart. I pray the same is true of you. But moreover, I pray that you also will step out in the passion that burns in you.