Árdís - 01.01.1964, Page 8

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ÁRDIS
angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with
us went to the tomb, and found it just as the women had said;
but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “O foolish men,
and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and
enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the
prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things
concerning himself.
So they drew near to the village to which they were going.
He appeared to be going further, but they constrained him, saying,
“Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far
spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table
with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave
it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him;
and he vanished out of their sight. They said to each other, “Did
not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road,
while he opened to us the scriptures?” And they rose that same
hour and returned to Jerusalem.
My dear friends, the greatest need of the hour is burning hearts
—hearts set on fire by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Why move the
chariots of God so slowly? Why this deadness and apathy in the
Church? Why aren’t people converted by the thousands? On the
Day of Pentecost, three thousand souls were converted by one
sermon. Now it seems to take about three thousand sermons to
convert a soul.
We need more hearts aglow with love for Christ and love for
the souls of men. Burning hearts are necessary for Christian service;
burning hearts can be secured; and burning hearts manifest them-
selves in speech and action.
It is not merely what a man says and does, but it is the spirit
in which he speaks and acts that gives him power. It is the man
behind the words who gives irresistible force and power. It is said
that every word of Webster’s speeches weighed pounds. Richard
Sheridan said: “I often go to hear Rowland Hill because his ideas
come red-hot from the heart.”
The love of Christ in the heart burns up the dross of selfish-
ness; melts the ice of worldliness, and quickens the deadness of
indifference in every true believer. This love will manifest itself
in words and action.