Be On Fire - Zeal
Leviticus 6:12a
The fire on the altar must be kept burning and never allowed to go out.
Proverbs 39:3
My heart grew hot within me as I meditated and the fire burned...
Romans 12:11
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 5:19a
Do not put out the Spirit's fire.
2 Timothy 1:6
...fan into flames (make it stronger, brighter, hotter) the gift of God, which is in you...
St. Augustine upon hearing "Tolle, lege. Tolle, lege!" and reading Romans 13:13-14
I would read no further, for I needed not; for when I had read to the end of this sentence, all the darkness of doubtfulness vanished away, as if some clear light of security were poured into my heart. It was as if it had been said, "O man, acknowledge your misery, you are naked; cover your filthiness: put upon you Jesus Christ!" And forthwith I felt a fire within me. My heart was lightened, the scales fell from my eyes—I was able to see!
St. Augustine
To my God a heart of flame;
To my fellow men a heart of love;
To myself a heart of steel.
George Gilfillan, Martyrs and Heroes of the Covenant
http://www.thereformation.info/covenanters1.htm
(The Scottish Covenanters) were terribly in earnest. The passion that was in them, like all great passions, refused to be divided. Their idea possessed them with a force and a fullness to which we find few parallels in history. It haunted their sleep, it awoke with them in the morning - it walked, like their shadow, with them to business or to pleasure - it became the breath of their nostrils and the soul of their soul.
Samuel Chadwick
Destitute of the Fire of God, nothing else counts; possessing Fire, nothing else matters.
Samuel Ward A Coal From The Altar, To Kindle The Holy Fire of Zeale
http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/bible_books/?view=book&book=631
The true zealot is fervent in the Spirit, not in show; in reality, not in form; for God and not for himself. Zeal is guided by the Word, and not one's own fancy.
George Whitefield, following his conversion in the spring of 1735 after Charles Wesley had given him a copy of Henry Scougal’s The Life of God in the Soul of Man
http://www.ccel.org/s/scougal/life/cache/life.pdf
O when shall I begin to live to him, as I would! I want to be a flame of fire.
Oliver Wendell Holmes “Lord of All Being”, 1848
Lord of all being, throned afar,
thy glory flames from sun and star;
center and soul of every sphere,
yet to each loving heart how near!
Grant us thy truth to make us free,
and kindling hearts that burn for thee,
till all thy living altars claim
one holy light, one heavenly flame.
J.C. Ryle Practical Religion, "Christian Zeal"
Christian Zeal by J. C. Ryle (biblebb.com)
(The zealous man) burns for one thing; and that one thing is to please God, and to advance God's glory. If he is consumed in the very burning, he cares not for it - he is content. He feels that, like a lamp, he is made to burn; and if consumed in burning, he has but done the work for which God appointed him.
C.H. Spurgeon
If we want to be thoroughly hot with zeal, we must go near to the furnace of the Saviour's love.
Lectures To My Students, “The Necessity of Ministerial Progress”
Be consumed with love for Christ, and let the flame burn continuously, not flaming up at public meetings and dying out in the routine work of every day. We need indomitable perseverance, dogged resolution, and a combination of sacred obstinacy, self-denial, holy gentleness, and invincible courage.
G. Campbell Morgan "The Burning Of Heart"
A.B. Simpson
It is much easier to keep the fire burning than to rekindle it after it has gone out. Let us not have to remove the cinders and ashes from our hearthstones every day and kindle a new flame; but let us keep it burning and never let it expire. Let us keep the heavenly flame aglow upon the altar of our hearts.
A.W. Tozer
What we need is a zealous hunger for God, an avid thirst after righteousness, a pain-filled longing to be Christ-like and holy. We need a zeal that is loving, self-effacing and lowly.
The average Christian is so cold and contented with his wretched condition that there is no vacuum of desire into which the blessed Spirit can rush in satisfying fullness.
To Paul there was nothing dull or tiresome in the religion of Christ. God had a plan which was being carried forward to completion, and Paul and all the faithful in Christ Jesus were part of that plan. It included predestination, redemption, adoption and the obtaining of an eternal inheritance in the heavenly places. Gods purpose has now been openly revealed (Ephesians 3:10 “That the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.").
It was the knowledge that they were part of an eternal plan that imparted unquenchable enthusiasm to the early Christians. They burned with holy zeal for Christ and felt that they were part of an army which the Lord was leading to ultimate conquest over all the powers of darkness. That was enough to fill them with perpetual enthusiasm.
J.I. Packer Rediscovering Holiness
We are required in all circumstances to be honest, godly, single-minded, energetic, passionate persons who behave in a Jesus-like way, with hearts aflame, heads cool, and all our wits about us.
F.B. Meyer
O Christ, who baptizest with fire, kindle in our hearts the flame of Thy love, that we may not be lukewarm or cold. We would not trust in the force of our emotions, lest they fail us, but in the power of prayer and of Thine intercession for us.
Cardinal John Henry Newman
Nothing would be a trouble to me, nothing a difficulty, had I but fervor of soul. Lord, in asking for fervor, I am asking for Thyself.
Enter my heart, and fill it with fervor by filling it with Thee.
Charles Wesley
O thou who camest from above
the fire celestial to impart,
kindle a flame of sacred love
on the mean altar of my heart!
There let it for thy glory burn
with inextinguishable blaze,
and trembling to its source return
in humble prayer and fervent praise.
Jesus, confirm my heart's desire
to work, and speak, and think for thee;
still let me guard the holy fire,
and still stir up the gift in me.
Ready for all thy perfect will,
my acts of faith and love repeat;
till death thy endless mercies seal,
and make the sacrifice complete.
CAUTION
Proverbs 19:2
It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.
Galatians 4:18
It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good...
John Wesley
A fanatic is one who seeks desirable ends but ignores constituted means.
("Constituted means" refers to God's normal order as revealed in Scripture. We should not ask for a miracle when God has placed the resources before us to accomplish the task...with His grace AND effort on our part.)
G. Campbell Morgan "The Burning Of Heart"
I am not pleading for anything like an attempt to manufacture passion which is not real. Painted fire never warms anyone. There may be a great deal of noise, which is not significant of power. There may be a great deal of protestation of love, while the overwhelming and majestic passion is absent.
A.W. Tozer
Though all godly persons are zealous, not all zealous people are godly. The zeal that accompanies sanctity is rarely boisterous, over-bearing, or noisy.
Our zeal must be a balance of heat and light.