Catch the Fire is an unusual name for a church. For those of us familiar with the 1994 revival in Toronto, the name Catch the Fire is a name we can understand but for others it can be a head scratcher. I remember talking to a friend years ago, who joked about our name, asking if we were pyromaniacs. Maybe we are.
Jesus said, “I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning!” Luke 12:49 NLT
One aspect of fire is that it is unpredictable. What was unexpected in the ’94 revival was that when the Lord came, He came in a way that many did not understand. It was not what they had expected or would predict. And this caused a lot of controversy. Many critics would pressure John Arnott (the leader of CTF Toronto at the time). He lost friendships and even the church's affiliation with their denomination. John tells us that time and time again, because of all the unexpected things that were happening, he needed to go the Lord and hear His voice, asking, “Lord is this you? What about this? What should I do about this?”
Fire that Jesus brings is not always understood. We should not be surprised at this. He is the Lord. We aren’t. He does it His way. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. (Isa.55:8)
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day missed Him, because Jesus did not come as they expected. We should be on guard, each of us, that we too could miss what Jesus is doing, because we expect that when He comes, it has to look like we expect. Sadly, it has been said that the strongest critics of the current revival are those from the last revival. May it not be so for any of us. I see this in my heart. Even in our church services, I sometimes want and expect something that is different than what the Lord is doing. I must stay soft and sensitive to the Spirit.
You may have been touched by the revival fires of ’94 and onward or maybe you haven’t, but our desire is to keep the revival fires burning for all of us today. Please mark your calendars for FRIDAY NOV 1st , when we have DUNCAN and KATE SMITH with us for a revival meeting. 7 pm at St. Paul’s Anglican Church.
What should we expect? Well… Let’s expect the Lord to meet us unexpectedly!
