In case you haven't hung out with me alot, you should know that I am infatuated with old things. I mean doesn't a 1965 Gibson (see picture)
sound better than a cheapo guitar (see picture)! 
The Grand Canyon is more fascinating to me than the latest shopping mall. The 2000 year old Redwood intrigues me more than ipod's do. Give me Atari over wii any day of the week. Give me Tozer over most contemporary authors. Give me the stouthearted faith of William Tyndale over the mediocrity of many modern day church leaders. Hopefully, you get the point. I love old things. But, I am also a staunch believer in the effectiveness of old truths to modern day life. For instance, I have a fairly extensive hymnal collection. I have Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopalian, national Baptist, Southern Baptist, Charismatic, Korean, Catholic, Presbyterian, and many others. My oldest one is from like 1930...and it is filled with songs I've never heard of before! It's a shame that we have lost much of the rock solid truth that men and women of great faith like, Charles Wesley, Isaac Watts, John Newton, Martin Luther, Fanny Crosby, James Fillmore, Maltbie Babcock, William Bradford, John Branard, and so many countless others!
However, one hymn has stopped me dead in my tracks from the first time I heard it at church, years ago. It is entitled "Thou Whose Purpose." For the next 6 weeks, every monday I will post a verse and some thoughts on this song that pulls no punches. Let us commence on a journey into antiquity which heretofore will be called, "Roused." The meaning of which will become clear shortly, but mystery always breeds interest! So, here's the first verse, (make sure you're sitting down, otherwise you'll get knocked off your feet):
Those lines grabbed me from the very first time I sang them at church one Sunday probably 4-5 years ago. The thing that brought my attention to the power of these words was the lack of conviction with which they were sung, by the praise team and congregation. It astounded me that we sang an invitation to God, and asked Him to burn, ignite, kindle US! Let these words not simply pass by you as convenient "moral" thoughts. Let them do the work for which God inspired the songwriter.
God has purposed that His bride be kindled. His purpose for the church is not to sit in our happy box churches. It isn't to have a chill up our spine when the worship band "nails it." His purpose is not to have us sit in a living room with ambient candles lit and absorb "good morality." It saddens me that the church has little to no awareness that God's purpose is to kindle His people to God-honoring lifestyles. Realize this in your heart, and let it sink deep.
Thus, we must respond, "Lord, since you are purposing to kindle, and we've prayed 'Thy will be done,' now ignite us with Thy fire." The heart that is kindled by God, must allow God to also ignite the kindling. When this happens, we no longer seek comfort from anything but our Refiner, our Consuming Fire. Do not assume that one "spiritual experience" is enough to satisfy Almighty God. Nay, he demands a life that is yielded to His fire.
As a result to God's kindling and our yieldedness to His ignition, the world will now await the burning. 2 Peter 3:12 says, "Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat..." God is preparing for a bonfire, and only what is true will remain, His son is Truth, therefore only what is His son's will last. Therefore, this burning church set's fire to the world and only those who are set on fire by Christ will survive that coming day. Let us not be caught off guard when the Lord's fire is set to the nations. Rather let us be yielded to wherever this Fire leads us.
What is the inspiration for such a yieldedness? Where does a life set on fire for God come from. And more importantly, you may be asking, "I've been 'on fire' before, but it never seems to last more than a few days after the camp/retreat/conference/sermon/book/etc." The last line is the only way a believer can sustain the fire of God in regularity. "With Thy passion, us inspire." Hence, the passion of the Christ must be forefront on our minds in order for us to be kindled, ingited and torches to the world. The bloody Cross must be a constant reminder of the insatiable desire God has for His glory and the extent He will go to rectify all things to His glory. It is the passion of God that enables a martyr to sing in the arena, the imprisoned believer to rejoice, the unjustly plundered Christian to be glad, the poor in spirit to know God.
Let the words of another century stir inside you a passion for Christ's passion, and be ignited by His kindled fire. He remains the God of the fire that fell on Elijahs offering on Mt. Carmel. We must now become that same type of offering.
sound better than a cheapo guitar (see picture)! The Grand Canyon is more fascinating to me than the latest shopping mall. The 2000 year old Redwood intrigues me more than ipod's do. Give me Atari over wii any day of the week. Give me Tozer over most contemporary authors. Give me the stouthearted faith of William Tyndale over the mediocrity of many modern day church leaders. Hopefully, you get the point. I love old things. But, I am also a staunch believer in the effectiveness of old truths to modern day life. For instance, I have a fairly extensive hymnal collection. I have Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopalian, national Baptist, Southern Baptist, Charismatic, Korean, Catholic, Presbyterian, and many others. My oldest one is from like 1930...and it is filled with songs I've never heard of before! It's a shame that we have lost much of the rock solid truth that men and women of great faith like, Charles Wesley, Isaac Watts, John Newton, Martin Luther, Fanny Crosby, James Fillmore, Maltbie Babcock, William Bradford, John Branard, and so many countless others!However, one hymn has stopped me dead in my tracks from the first time I heard it at church, years ago. It is entitled "Thou Whose Purpose." For the next 6 weeks, every monday I will post a verse and some thoughts on this song that pulls no punches. Let us commence on a journey into antiquity which heretofore will be called, "Roused." The meaning of which will become clear shortly, but mystery always breeds interest! So, here's the first verse, (make sure you're sitting down, otherwise you'll get knocked off your feet):
Thou whose purpose is to kindle
now ignite us with Thy fire
While the earth awaits Thy burning
with Thy passion us inspire
Those lines grabbed me from the very first time I sang them at church one Sunday probably 4-5 years ago. The thing that brought my attention to the power of these words was the lack of conviction with which they were sung, by the praise team and congregation. It astounded me that we sang an invitation to God, and asked Him to burn, ignite, kindle US! Let these words not simply pass by you as convenient "moral" thoughts. Let them do the work for which God inspired the songwriter.
God has purposed that His bride be kindled. His purpose for the church is not to sit in our happy box churches. It isn't to have a chill up our spine when the worship band "nails it." His purpose is not to have us sit in a living room with ambient candles lit and absorb "good morality." It saddens me that the church has little to no awareness that God's purpose is to kindle His people to God-honoring lifestyles. Realize this in your heart, and let it sink deep.
Thus, we must respond, "Lord, since you are purposing to kindle, and we've prayed 'Thy will be done,' now ignite us with Thy fire." The heart that is kindled by God, must allow God to also ignite the kindling. When this happens, we no longer seek comfort from anything but our Refiner, our Consuming Fire. Do not assume that one "spiritual experience" is enough to satisfy Almighty God. Nay, he demands a life that is yielded to His fire.
As a result to God's kindling and our yieldedness to His ignition, the world will now await the burning. 2 Peter 3:12 says, "Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat..." God is preparing for a bonfire, and only what is true will remain, His son is Truth, therefore only what is His son's will last. Therefore, this burning church set's fire to the world and only those who are set on fire by Christ will survive that coming day. Let us not be caught off guard when the Lord's fire is set to the nations. Rather let us be yielded to wherever this Fire leads us.
What is the inspiration for such a yieldedness? Where does a life set on fire for God come from. And more importantly, you may be asking, "I've been 'on fire' before, but it never seems to last more than a few days after the camp/retreat/conference/sermon/book/etc." The last line is the only way a believer can sustain the fire of God in regularity. "With Thy passion, us inspire." Hence, the passion of the Christ must be forefront on our minds in order for us to be kindled, ingited and torches to the world. The bloody Cross must be a constant reminder of the insatiable desire God has for His glory and the extent He will go to rectify all things to His glory. It is the passion of God that enables a martyr to sing in the arena, the imprisoned believer to rejoice, the unjustly plundered Christian to be glad, the poor in spirit to know God.
Let the words of another century stir inside you a passion for Christ's passion, and be ignited by His kindled fire. He remains the God of the fire that fell on Elijahs offering on Mt. Carmel. We must now become that same type of offering.
Thou whose purpose is to kindle
now ignite us with Thy fire
While the earth awaits Thy burning
with Thy passion us inspire
now ignite us with Thy fire
While the earth awaits Thy burning
with Thy passion us inspire
"see" you next week for Roused part 2.
For His renown,
BenZ
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