What a great need we have today for fiery men and women in the Church who serve the Lord with fire and joy. Lukewarmness and passivity have become commonplace in the Church. Anyone who has zeal stands out. Christians have to be begged for everything, including prayer. The needs of God's work are not their concern. The fire of God is the antidote. It annihilates all resistance to God's will and produces men who yearn for God and are passionate about His work.
Mother Shepherd
Mother Pamela Shepherd is an example of someone who received the fire and her life was changed forever. She turned her life around and embraced God's vision. She had come a long way. I discovered her uplifting and extraordinary story while studying historical revivals. She was one of the pioneering women preachers of the 19th century.e century. Her father, though from a respectable family and himself intelligent and promising, had sunk into alcoholism through political disappointment. She had thus grown up in poverty despite the efforts of her pious mother to protect the family.
Having married young, she found herself alone in London when her parents returned to their native Wales and her husband was incarcerated. She was desperate. She had decided to end her life and those of her two daughters when, on the way, she met an acquaintance of her mother whom her mother had asked to watch over her. A coincidence undoubtedly orchestrated by God, which saved her from suicide and infanticide.
She took her in and shortly after she converted.
Romans 12:11 11 Be diligent, not lazy, but fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.
Baptism of fire
She had an extraordinary revelation from God while she was sorting through old clothes. She heard the words of a song
Yes, I believe, I will believe
That Jesus died for me
That on the cross, He shed His blood
To free myself from sin
She realized the truth and was so moved that she fainted. One source called this incident her 'baptism by fire.' From then on, she worked tirelessly for ten years for the cause of Christ within the Salvation Army. Incidentally, those who sang this song did so in mockery, but God, immense in power, used it to touch her.
When William Booth decided to send her to South Wales, she felt unqualified because she wasn't a preacher. But she accepted. A single mother with four children, she left. She left her two youngest children with family members. Following instructions to rent the largest hall she could find, she rented a 1,500-seat hall and began calling out to people on the street to invite them. Her two daughters, aged 14 and 16, served alongside her. Despite the many challenges, she persevered, and the work flourished.
Kate Shepherd
Some time later, his 16-year-old daughter, Kate, was sent by General Booth with other young women to start a work and also enjoyed great success. In the Rhondda Valley, it was unheard of to see such a young girl and her companions proclaiming the Gospel. But she had been well trained, like the other members of the Hallelujah Lassies company, by Catherine Booth. Revival spread throughout the valley and thousands of people were converted.
The sequel
Mother Shepherd then served as an evangelist in several locations across the United Kingdom. Later, she returned to Aberdare where she continued her work. She worked extensively in social work and with the police to help people in trouble with the law. She was actively involved in the Welsh revival with Evan Roberts. Even at an advanced age, she continued to actively serve the Lord. Upon her death, her funeral was attended by hundreds of people, so recognized was her contribution to her community. She lived her entire life for God's vision.
Let it be said of us. We need the fire of God. It sweeps away reservations, sets hearts ablaze, and transforms us into men and women useful to God!
The fire of God shows us God's vision in its clarity and makes it an obsession, because the kingdom of God is a family affair. We live for more than solving our problems; we live to be an agent of solution to the problems God wants to solve. When we are on fire, we are passionate about the kingdom of God. His Church is important to us, and so is the salvation of the lost.
This article is an excerpt from my upcoming book, Fire of God, Men of Fire, where I explore the meaning of the fire of God by reading the Bible and discussing testimonies of people in church history who burned for God.
(Click to see my latest book Call into Existence; a book of meditations, prayers and prophetic declarations.
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