Jesusmania

James White

Crossroads New Life Tabernacle

www.crnlt.org

Heb 12:1-2

12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

KJV

I want to bring your attention to the first three words in verse 2. Looking unto Jesus!

Jesusmania

As a young boy I use to visit my grandma’s and grandpa’s house every Sunday morning to watch WWF. They would have this grand event called Wrestle Mania where the best of the best would come to the wring and put on a spectacular show.

Wrestle Mania was put on pay per view as a money making event because it was the event of all events for wrestling fans. The fans would pay big money for tickets to this grand event because they were so consumed with it.

If you have ever met a real wrestling fan, then you know why they call in Wrestle Mania. Don’t dare tell a wrestling fan, that what’s happening in that ring is not real, because they will begin to get this crazed look in their eyes and say something like, “YES IT IS!”

The wrestling fans are consumed with Wrestle Mania.

The word Mania comes from the word passion. Visuworks an online graphical dictionary says “to have warm affection or devotion to and to have an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action”. If you have ever met a real wrestling fan you will know why they called it Wrestle Mania.

When I put the word passion into the graphical dictionary, it gave me words like

• Pyromania – an uncontrollable desire to set fire to things

• Egomania – an intense and irresistible love for yourself and concern for your own needs

• Dipsomania – an intense persistent desire to drink alchoholic beverages to excess

• WrestleMania – Intense desire to watch guys act like they are beating each other up.

You can have all of these manias and so I thought for a moment that out of our passion for Jesus it would make sense that we could have what I want to call Jesusmania!

Jesusmania – an intense desire to be like Jesus!

Years ago I began a youth Rally called Youthmania and we had a slogn that was put on t-shirts. It was “Maniacs for Jesus.”

A Maniac is a person who has an obsession with or excessive enthusiasm for something.

Tonight I have come to preach that we must be like Jesus… Are there any Jesusmaniacs in the house!

If we want to make the race, and win the race that we have been running as Christians, we can not do it half-hearted. It can’t be with anything less that an intense desire. If we plan to win, then we must LOOK TO JESUS, the author and finisher of our faith!

The author of Hebrews was telling the church you can run the race. You can lay down everything that gets you off balance. You can win, but it won’t be without an intense desire to see Jesus.

Prayermania – Intense desire to pray.

You can’t be a prayermaniac until you become a Jesusmaniac. We pray because we know that He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think…

James 5:16-17

16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

KJV

I am a firm believer that if we are going to be like Jesus, then we must have the passion of prayer…

The apostles were continuously praying…Elias was a man with the same passions that the Apostles had…Pray and see the Miracles of God..

If Elias can shut up the heavens with prayer, then we can open up heaven with prayer. We need some prayermania going on around Crossroads New Life Tabernacle.

If you want to see the power….Prayermania

If you want to see the supernatural…Prayermania

If you want to see the glory…Prayermania

If you want to see the strongholds broken in your life…Prayermania

If you want to see deliverance in your family…Prayermania

I have come tonight to preach that we must have prayermania going on around her to see the things of God in our lives, our church, and our homes.