John Bevere - A heart ablaze : igniting a passion for God

A HEART
ABLAZE

A HEART
ABLAZE
IGNITING A PASSION FOR GOD

JOHN BEVERE

1999 by John Bevere

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Scripture quotations noted NKJV are from THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION. 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.

Scripture quotations noted AMPLIFIED are from THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE: Old Testament. 1962, 1964 by Zondervan Publishing House (used by permission); and from THE AMPLIFIED NEW TESTAMENT. 1958 by the Lockman Foundation (used by permission).

Scripture quotations noted CEV are from THE CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH VERSION. 1991 by the American Bible Society. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations noted KJV are from the KING JAMES VERSION of the Bible.

Scripture quotations noted NASB are from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE . The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations noted NCV are from The Holy Bible, New Century Version, 1987, 1988, 1991 by Word Publishing, Dallas, Texas 75234. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations noted THE MESSAGE are from The Message: The New Testament in Contemporary English. 1993 by Eugene H. Peterson.

Scripture quotations noted NIV are from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION . 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations noted NLT are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bevere, John.
A heart ablaze : igniting a passion for God / John Bevere.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-7852-6990-8 (pbk.)
1. Spiritual lifeChristianity. I. Title.
BV4501.2.B437 1999
248.4dc21

99-39348
CIP

Printed in the United States of America

08 09 10 11 12 QW 31 30 29 28 27

I DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO
TWO GODLY MEN:

F IRST, TO P ASTOR A L B RICE :

You have cared for Lisa and me as if we were your own family. You have esteemed the ministry God has entrusted to us as ifHe had entrusted it to you. You have prayed for us as if you were praying for your own needs.You have shown us a selfless love that only our Savior can give. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. (1 Sam. 18:3 NKJV) Thanks, Al, youre a true friend. Almost twenty years of friendship, and we have all eternity to go!

S ECOND, TO M R . L ORAN J OHNSON:

You have labored with Lisa and me in this ministry and expected nothing in return.You have rejoiced with us in victory and prayed diligently for us in our time of need.You have loved us as a father. A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need. (Prov. 17:17 NLT) Thanks, Loran, youre a true friend.

CONTENTS

My deepest appreciation to...

My wife, Lisa. Thanks for being my best friend, most faithful supporter, wife, and mother of our children. You are truly Gods gift to me, and I value and treasure you. I love you, sweetheart.

Our four sons, Addison, Austin, Alexander, and Arden. All of you have brought great joy to my life. You are each a special treasure. Thank you for sharing in the call of God and encouraging me to travel and write.

My parents, John and Kay Bevere. Thank you for the godly lifestyle you live before me. You both love me not only in word but also by your actions.

Pastor Al Brice, Loran Johnson, Rob Birkbeck, Tony Stone, and Steve Watson. Thank you for serving on the advisory board of our United States and European ministry offices. The love, kindness, and wisdom you have selflessly given have touched and strengthened our hearts.

The staff of John Bevere Ministries. Thank you for your unwavering support and faithfulness. Lisa and I love each of you.

David and Pam Graham. Thank you for your sincere and faithful support in overseeing the operations of our European office.

Rory and Wendy Alec. Thanks for believing in the message God has placed in our heart. We treasure your friendship.

Victor Oliver, Rolf Zettersten, and Michael Hyatt. Thanks for your encouragement and belief in the message God has burned in our hearts.

Brian Hampton. Thank you for your editing skills in this project. But most of all thanks for your support.

All the staff of Thomas Nelson Publishers. Thanks for the support of this message and for your professional and kind help. You are a great group to work with.

Most important, my sincere gratitude to my Lord. How can words adequately acknowledge all You have done for me and for Your people? I love You more than I am able to express.

T his book is a journey toward truth. Many long for truth, yet when confronted by it, they reject, ignore, or twist it for their own benefit. This condition has created desperate problems for our generation, resulting in a society bathed in deception. Jesus repeatedly warned the children of our day against this very thing.

Deception poses a major problem because those in its grip believe they are walking in truth. Paul described the latter days to Timothy: For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables (2 Tim. 4:34 NKJV). One definition of the Greek word for fables in verse 4 is falsehood. If falsehood is represented as truth long enough, many will stand by it with their very lives.

When the actual truth is revealed through Scriptures, it will be rejected as heresy. Paul warned that they will not endure sound doctrine. I heard one speaker say, Unsound doctrines taught in our churches are not messages from the phone book. They are messages taught from Scriptures. He was warning that these are doctrines derived from the Bible and therefore widely accepted, even though they are unsound.

The writer of Proverbs foresaw this situation and wrote, There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filthiness (Prov. 30:12 NKJV). We will learn through this book that the generation is ours.

If truth was pleasant to our senses and easy to embrace, the entire world would knock at its door and enter. However, Jesus made it clear that is not the case: Everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God (John 3:2021 NKJV). Only those who fear God love truth.

This day and this hour bring with them difficult questions. Why do so many in the church lack passion? Weve invested billions of dollars in media, buildings, advertisements, and countless other venues to propagate the gospel, yet why do so many in the church still wrestle with lust and the desire for the pleasures of this world? Why do more than 80 percent of our converts wander back into a world of darkness? How can sinners claim a new birth experience yet remain unchanged? I believe an answer to all of the above can be found in: a lack of the fire and passion of God.

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