TRUE FELLOWSHIP

I am looking for the fellowship of the burning heart – for men and women of all generations everywhere who love the Savior until adoration becomes the music of their soul until they don’t have to be fooled with and entertained and amused. Jesus Christ is everything, all-in-all. A.W. Tozer

As I look at this quote, which has long been a favourite of mine, it brings me back to the great loneliness that many feel, even in the midst of the crowd and the events that are taking place around us.

Where are the burning hearts? Are they feeling alone and isolated simply because their hearts continue to seek only for true fellowship with Jesus Himself. They are not comforted by the words of man, or the worship that entertains and soothes the soul - no, their spirits are constantly searching, seeking, longing, for something that this world cannot provide.

In Luke 9:27 Jesus made an astonishing statement: I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Kingdom of God."

Perhaps those with the burning hearts are those He would say that same thing to? Perhaps they are those who long for the mountain experience with Jesus where He opens up things eternal before their eyes, and with their own ears they hear the voice of God the Father speaking about His Son.

The wonderfully exciting thing about Luke 9:27 is that in this moment we meet Prophecy Himself speaking, Jesus THE Prophet speaks of what is ahead, and yet what exactly it meant was probably not clear to any of those present.

Luke 9:28 goes on to tell us About 8 days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. I guess they had been on mountains to pray with Jesus before, and this would have seemed like another such occasion as they set out.

Luke 9:29-35 tells us what took place on the mountain top and it is amazing to read - the wonder of Jesus' whole appearance changing as He stood in the presence of the great prophets and the cloud of His Father's presence.

In these passages we also see that what Prophecy Himself prophesied came to pass as the disciples were there with Him and were enveloped in the cloud of God's presence - they saw His glory, and Moses and Elijah standing with Him.

An eternal kingdom was opened up before them on the mountain, a kingdom where God still was with Moses in the cloud, and meeting with Elijah on the mountaintop! A kingdom where the glory of heaven is seen and wondered at.

Will those with the burning hearts be forever dissatisfied until they themselves have also seen this Kingdom? Are they those who live their lives longing for that which is to come in order that it will come, and perhaps are they those that Prophecy Himself has chosen to take with Him on a very specific journey?

Peter, who was there on the mountain top with Jesus, speaks to us out of this experience in 2 Peter 2:16-21 and gives us wonderful advice that resounds through the ages since:

2 Peter 2:19-21 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Lord let our hearts burn with a longing for Your Word, Your Truth, and to be 'carried along' by Your Holy Spirit.