A night with an old Saint
We recently had the privledge to spend a few hours with Arthur Burt. Arthur is from Wales. He has been walking with the Lord since he was 15 and is now 95. An 80 year relationship with Jesus...wow. He came to Deland and met with about 50 of us.
I loved his style. He would simply spit out these one liners or occasionaly tell a story/parable. These things were easy to remember and are deep and rich in truth. He wasn't heady at all. As a matter of fact he spent much of the night talking to my kids and they were tuned in virtually the whole time.
Here are lines that I can remember. If you were there and see something that I forgot or have a comment please post it here!
-"The fire of God never falls on an empty altar." He repeated this probably 10 times. "are you getting it?" What are you putting on the altar?
-"God is waiting for you." We often gather and say come Lord we are waiting on you come fill us but in reality it is God who is waiting on us. "the last time God spoke to you did you answer? Who is waiting for who?"
-"We have to go back to the beginning to find the problem. 'who told you?' Where did you get your information from? Right in the beginning- God spoke"
-"The whole gospel can be summed up, 'God had mercy on a wretch like me'".
-"The love of God didn't start with my birth and it doesn't end at my wretchedness". Possibly my favorite.
-"In order to get what you want you have to buy what you don't want." See the parable in Luke 15 of the treasure in the field. The man didn't want the field he wanted the treasure in the field but he had to buy what he didn't want in order to get what he wanted.
-"You put in the shop window what you want to sell" Numerous times Arthur would give a truth that had both a negative and positive meaning. This was such a line. He went on to say, "God has yet to create the man who can do nothing." "If you are a foot the only effective ministry you will have is in your boot. All life is sacred."
-"Is there anything more scary than that God would allow us to have what we want? (God wants to be King but Israel wanted their own King so he gave it to them). God will allow us to have our own way.
-"We talk about obedience but we have never done what Jesus prayed. That we would all be one just as Jesus is one with the Father." "It will happen though because Jesus prayed it!" I loved this one.
- "The spending power of the Father depends on what you want." Talking about the story of the prodigal son.
-"David didn't kill Goliath with a rock. He stunned him with the rock. He killed Goliath with Goliath's own sword. The enemy's weapon is how he will be defeated." I've already had lots of conversations around this truth.
- He finished by saying this to a small group of us, "If you forget everything else I said tonight remember this, 'Satan was defeated and his power was totally stripped at the cross. It is up to us to keep it that way'".
-Arthur was asked what he would say to a person who just gave their life to Jesus. His response was, "it's not what but why." "It's not what you do for God that matters but why you do anything. Do everything for the Glory of God. If there is something that you are doing that is not for the Glory of God stop it immediately."
I loved his style. He would simply spit out these one liners or occasionaly tell a story/parable. These things were easy to remember and are deep and rich in truth. He wasn't heady at all. As a matter of fact he spent much of the night talking to my kids and they were tuned in virtually the whole time.
Here are lines that I can remember. If you were there and see something that I forgot or have a comment please post it here!
-"The fire of God never falls on an empty altar." He repeated this probably 10 times. "are you getting it?" What are you putting on the altar?
-"God is waiting for you." We often gather and say come Lord we are waiting on you come fill us but in reality it is God who is waiting on us. "the last time God spoke to you did you answer? Who is waiting for who?"
-"We have to go back to the beginning to find the problem. 'who told you?' Where did you get your information from? Right in the beginning- God spoke"
-"The whole gospel can be summed up, 'God had mercy on a wretch like me'".
-"The love of God didn't start with my birth and it doesn't end at my wretchedness". Possibly my favorite.
-"In order to get what you want you have to buy what you don't want." See the parable in Luke 15 of the treasure in the field. The man didn't want the field he wanted the treasure in the field but he had to buy what he didn't want in order to get what he wanted.
-"You put in the shop window what you want to sell" Numerous times Arthur would give a truth that had both a negative and positive meaning. This was such a line. He went on to say, "God has yet to create the man who can do nothing." "If you are a foot the only effective ministry you will have is in your boot. All life is sacred."
-"Is there anything more scary than that God would allow us to have what we want? (God wants to be King but Israel wanted their own King so he gave it to them). God will allow us to have our own way.
-"We talk about obedience but we have never done what Jesus prayed. That we would all be one just as Jesus is one with the Father." "It will happen though because Jesus prayed it!" I loved this one.
- "The spending power of the Father depends on what you want." Talking about the story of the prodigal son.
-"David didn't kill Goliath with a rock. He stunned him with the rock. He killed Goliath with Goliath's own sword. The enemy's weapon is how he will be defeated." I've already had lots of conversations around this truth.
- He finished by saying this to a small group of us, "If you forget everything else I said tonight remember this, 'Satan was defeated and his power was totally stripped at the cross. It is up to us to keep it that way'".
-Arthur was asked what he would say to a person who just gave their life to Jesus. His response was, "it's not what but why." "It's not what you do for God that matters but why you do anything. Do everything for the Glory of God. If there is something that you are doing that is not for the Glory of God stop it immediately."
posted by Mike Rea at 8:34 AM
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