A DIFFERENT KIND OF HEART-BURN
June 5, 2020
Averine Pennington
Word received by Averine Pennington, June 5, 2020
The Lord is frequently awakening me in the early morning hours with short little phrases that silently scream . . . FIND ME, FIND ME! They are often just little snippets of obscure phrases hidden within His Holy Word . . . little mysteries He wants me to solve. I will often spend hours in Bible study chasing down the significance of each little phrase He gives me. You see, He knows me well. He knows I like puzzles of almost any sort. In my previous life . . . before being brought out of my coma by the Holy Spirit, when I thought I had time to waste . . . I would spend hours working crossword puzzles, or sudoku, or even jigsaw puzzles. I also loved reading. More often than not my head would be buried in a mystery novel. Not so anymore, there is no time left for such frivolity. Time is so short, my brothers and sisters, that we all must now be about our Father’s business. We must make every moment count for the kingdom!
I was just remarking to my husband last night that I have not written anything for the Lord lately. Back in January when everyone makes New Year’s resolutions, God impressed upon my heart that 2020 would be the year I would WRITE for Him again. Writing had once been a passion of mine but due to life circumstances and, honestly, lack of motivation of my part, that talent had been placed on the back burner. Well, I am more than willing to be obedient and write, but anything I do must be under the guidance of My Shepherd. It must bring honor and glory unto Him and be useful for His kingdom work. A couple of questions came to mind: 1) What would the Lord have me write about? 2) If I write it, who will read it? I have given this introduction so you may know what my thoughts were as I laid my head upon my pillow last night. Now the Word which was given this morning:
“Did not our heart burn within us?”
(Just out of curiosity, does anyone else receive these little snippets or am I the only one?)
Amazingly enough, I knew where to look for this one! It was spoken by the disciples to whom Christ appeared on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection. The story is found in Luke 24:13-26:
13) And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs (7.5 miles). 14) And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15) And it came to pass, that while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. 16) But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. 17) And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? 18) And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? 19) And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: 20) And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. 21) But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to-day is the third day since these things were done. 22) Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; 23) And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. 24) And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. 25) Then he said unto them, O fools, and show of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26) Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 27) And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. 28) And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. 29) But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. 30) And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. 31) And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. 32) And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? 33) And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, 34) Saying, The Lord is risen indeed and hath appeared to Simon. 35) And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. 36) And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
After reading the entire story, I focused my attention more fully on the phrase the Lord had given to me. I knew from past experience, He wanted me to dig deeper. You see, the Word is somewhat like an onion . . . it has different layers. If we read the scripture, we certainly have the story, but perhaps we have not yet grasped the deeper meaning the Holy Spirit might want us to see that is applicable to our own daily lives.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says: 16) All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; 17) That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Okay, Lord. What instruction are you trying to give me? When I study I am somewhat like Thumper (bunny rabbit character from children’s books). I just follow my nose, or any little rabbit trail that may look interesting. The first thing that I saw was that even though these two disciples did not recognize Christ while they were walking with Him and He was expounding the scriptures to them, already their hearts were stirred. Think about it. Christ himself was walking beside them! Do you not think that if you had been walking in their sandals that your inner man, your spirit, would not have been leaping for joy? Your flesh may not have understood why, but there would have been a heightened awareness in your spirit. These were not men who did not know him. They were in the group who were His followers. They had just left Jerusalem, and had been with the eleven disciples when the women had announced they had found the tomb empty and the angel had told them, “He is risen.” They just had not believed and had gone their way to Emmaus, probably thinking all hope was now lost.
Notice also that Christ did not say who He was, but revealed himself through his actions. What happened when the two disciples recognized who Jesus was? Jesus vanished out of their sight leaving them to decide what they would do with the information they had just received. Verse 33 says they rose up the same hour and returned to Jerusalem to share the good news. Keep in mind, that even before they had eaten a meal with Jesus, it was already toward evening and the day was far spent. So it was possibly already dark or almost. They had just walked 7.5 miles and were willing to walk another 7.5 miles back to Jerusalem, possibly in the dark with not flashlight, no nice Nike walking shoes, no cell phone in case they ran into danger on the way. Gee, do any of you feel like you would be up to this? Personally, I’m a little squeamish of creepy crawly things in the dark, especially if I’m wearing my flip-flops! I may be wrong, but I don’t think they had street lights between Jerusalem and Emmaus. But I digress.
The mystery I believe the Lord wanted me to see was this truth. He wants me to examine myself. What will I do with the good news He has given to me personally for this time in the storyline of history? The Lord has told me many things in the last year and given many warnings that time as we have known it is no more. He is coming for His bride very soon. He has told me that the “culmination of all things is here!” He has told me that “we are the last generation.” He has told me that “the fields are white to harvest.” What will I do with this information? Will I sit on it until tomorrow hoping things will look better then? Or will I lay aside EVERYTHING, n-o-w, to reach just one more person that needs to hear about the salvation that Christ has to offer to all who will believe on Him. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want anyone to spend eternity in torment. Time is so short. The message is repent or perish! The kingdom of God is at hand!
I forgot to mention that if you finish reading Luke 24, you will come across vs. 47) And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations beginning at Jerusalem.
The companion to this story can be found in Mark 16:9-20. Verses 12 & 13 are about the two disciples that Jesus appeared to on the road to Emmaus. The end of that chapter also includes the great commission. Folks, I don’t think that command has ever been revoked. It is still an active command. If you are a soldier of the cross as I am, we have our marching orders.
Paul did not profess to be an eloquent speaker (1 Cor. 2:4), but he was a gifted writer. So much so, that God included Paul’s epistles in His Holy Word. I also have trouble standing before a crowd and speaking coherently. I fumble over my words and lose my train of thought, I’m just a mess just trying to string a few sentences together. But I hope the words I have written for you today have been thought provoking. I hope they have encouraged all who follow Christ to let the Holy Spirit ignite His Holy Fire in your heart. Let’s get excited about the good news we have to share. As we walk with the Lord on this last leg of our journey may we also proclaim, “Did not our heart burn within us!”
[pdf-embedder url=”https://444prophecynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/HEART-BURN_6-5-20.pdf”]
