TITLE: How To restore Your Passion
Text: rev. 2:1-8: Romans 12:11
Theme: Church, renewal,, spiritual growth
P.S. A healthy church begins with a consuming passion for God.
Introduction
In my last message, I said that the real issue of church growth is not how fast or large is the church growing, but how healthy is that body.
Rick Warren states, and I agree, that the key issue for churches in the 21st Century will be church health, not growth. Because when a congregation is healthy it will grow.
All living things grow if they’’re healthy. You don’’t have to make them grow. The same principle is true for the church. Since the church is a living organism, it’’s natural for it to grow if it’’s healthy. The church is a Body, not a business - an organism, not an organization. It’’s alive. If a church is not growing, it is dying.
If a healthy church is a growing church, than it stands to reason then a church will only be as healthy as its individual members. A church will only grow as each member is growing in his or her faith. So you and I need to ask ourselves, how healthy am I spiritually? How do I know if I am not growing in my faith?
Illustration: The pollster George Gallop did a survey of 13000 people in 130 countries. It is the only time he has taken a survey that could be considered more or less worldwide. It was a survey of people who used to go to church but no longer do. There were a number of questions in the survey. One of the questions asked, What would need to happen for you to return to church? The number one answer was “Passion in the lives of the members and leaders.” What people wanted to see was a fire. A zeal. An enthusiasm among Christians that made going to church meaningful.
A. WHAT IS PASSION: A healthy church begins with a consuming passion for God. John 2:17 says, “ Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: "Passion for God’s house burns within me”. (Jesus is speaking of passion for God and His presence in my life, not a buildingor church structure)
Do you have passion in your life? What is passion? The dictionary says that passion is, “an intense emotion., strong feeling, a great devotion and intense conviction which fuels or motivates us toward compelling action.”
If you have a passion for something, you love doing it. For example,
• ‘Our teacher is very good because he has a passion for teaching.
• Dexter is the best student in his class because he has a passion for learning.
If you want to be good at something, you have to do it with passion.
Passion is the difference between enthusiastic action and simply going through the motions. Passion is the fire in your belly that causes us to get up in the middle of the night thinking about what needs to get done the next day.
As I did a word study this week, I found that the word the Bible uses for passion is ‘Zeal.” The Greek word is zealos and means, “a fervent devotion to a cause” It is also closely related to the word translated fire, enthusiasm, jealous, earnestness.
A person who possesses zeal, has a fire in his bones that cannot be easily quenched. The following passages tell us about how zeal can be used positively and negatively in a persons life:
• Romans 12:11; Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically
• Rom.10:2 I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal.
• 2Cor.7:11- Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish the wrongdoer. You showed that you have done everything you could to make things right.
• 2Cor.9:2 For I know how eager you are to help, and I have been boasting to our friends in Macedonia that you Christians in Greece were ready to send an offering a year ago. In fact, it was your enthusiasm that stirred up many of them to begin helping.
• Phil.3:6 And zealous? Yes, in fact, I harshly persecuted the church. And I obeyed the Jewish law so carefully that I was never accused of any fault.
• Col.4:13 I can assure you that he has agonized for you and also for the Christians in Laodicea and Hierapolis.
illustration: Man proposing marriage to girlfriend. What would you think would happen if the girl responded by saying non-chalantly, “Oh, thats nice, but couldn’t you get me a bigger ring?”
What is the difference in the two responses? The first response was one of acceptance with passion.
We get excited about all kinds of things.
• We are passionate about work
• We are passionate about possessions
• We are passionate about how the Senators whumped the Toronto Maple Leafs 7:1
So why is it that so many Christians are apologetic about being passionate for Jesus? If God were to say to you, “Name, if you had one gift to give to the church before you leave this earth what would it be” I think the gift I would like to leave would be PASSION!!!.
B. WHY DO CHRISTIANS LACK ZEAL? Why do we(I) not have the passion that I ought to have? Let me suggest to you 4 reasons:
1. Because they have allowed something precious to become familiar, to become ordinary, everyday, common.
Illustration: marriage that has gone dry because one or both couples have allowed the preciousness of the relationship to wallow.
The greatest weapon the enemy uses against our relationships is “tomorrow”. Tomorrow I’ll take my kids to the park: tomorrow I’ll take my wife our for a date; Tomorrow I’ll take my son fishing.... Don’t let the unknowns of tomorrow steal the preciousness of today and now!
2. The need for approval. We all want to be loved and we all want to be needed. We all want to be accepted by others. If you want real passion you need to recognize that while passion draws some people it will also repel some others.
A desire for popularity pours water on the fire of passion for God. Without thinking about it, we turn the fire of passion down. We trade passion for approval.
3. Apathy: The word means, “without love”. People have lost their love. What once caused our hearts to beat faster now barly affects our pulse. We fall into routine or ruts. Do you know what a rut is don’t you? A rut is a grave with the ends knocked out!
You see we become routine about our faith. We become routine about going to church. We don’t deny Christ, we just demote Him to the common place. Apathy is not a state of mind it is a condition of the heart.
4. People will affect you: You have heard the expression, birds of a feather flock together. Well it is the same with people. My mother had a saying when we were growing up. “You are who you hang with” It was a saying reminding us to be careful who we spend our time with because it will affect our walk with God.
When you take a red hot poker out of the fire and throw it on the cold concrete floor, what happens? It slowly loses its red glow. What happens when we lose our passion for Christ? Turn to rev.2:1-7
c. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PASSION IS LOST?–– Revelation 2:1-7
• This church was a serving church: “I know your deeds...”
• This church was a sacrificing church. “...your hard work...”
• This church was a steadfast church “...and your perseverance...”
• this church was a sanctified church “...you cannot tolerate wicked men...you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not...”
• This church was a suffering church “...you have persevered and have endured many hardships...”BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now wait a minute. According to todays standards, this was a church of the NOW generation. It was a happening place. It had all the right STUFF!!! What could God possibly see something wrong with this church? It seems the Ephesian church had the fire once, but they had let it grow cold. They left their first love.
Service is not the same as passion. It is possible to serve God without passion. Serving God out of a sense of duty is draining. Living for God out of legalism will sap the passion out of your life. Service alone will not produce passion.
D. HOW DO I RESTORE PASSION TO MY LIFE? The word of God repeats over and again the importance of maintaining a spiritual fire. In 1 Thessalonians 5:19 warns the believer “Do not put out the Spirits fire” We all want to be on fire for God. How do we do it? By following the strategies for keeping the fire burning.
1. Make Sure You Have A Fire Place: In 1 Tim.2: Paul exhorts the young pastor Timothy “to stir up the gift of God that is in you.”Everyone knows that a fireplace equals a safe place to have a fire. It’s a place where you can put logs together and they share each others heat. Christians need a place where their passion can burn brightly, where their passion is encouraged, and where the passion of one person can enflame the passion of another. The church is Gods gift of a fireplace to passionate Christians.
He gave us the church as a fireplace as a safe place to burn. Christians who are living with a passion for Christ, in a world that resists that passion need the church, the church where love for Christ is openly expressed.
2. Focus Your Fire: Rom.10:2 I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. Paul here is talking about the Jews who had yet to receive Christ. They had a passion for God, but it was misdirected.
One thing that I have noticed about passionate Christians is they like to have their hands in a lot of pies. The problem is when passion is spread thin it does not make a great difference anywhere.
Illustration: If you think of a flashlight, hold a burning light unfocused. It makes little difference. But take the reflector, like you would find in a flashlight and focus the lights energy in one direction, and the difference it makes is bright and clear. We need to focus our limited light in such a way that it makes a great impact and influence;
3. Fire Consumes: You will have to wrestle with weariness
Whether we like it or not, the fire God has placed within us and as God uses us to make a difference in this world, we are consumed. I think that is what Jesus had in mind when he quotes Psalm Psalm 69:9, "Passion for God’s house burns within me. David makes it more clear in Psalm 119:139 when he laments, “”My zeal wears me out...”
Passion like fire consumes, therefore as Christians we need to fight the weariness that results from God given passion. The word of God gives a clue as to the cure in Isaiah 40:30,31
Even youths will become exhausted, and young men will give up. But those who wait on the LORD will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
(In his book, Restoring Your Spiritual Passion”, Gordon MacDonald outlines 6 habits that help us maintain our energy and focus, our passion for the Lord.)
4. Fire needs to be stoked from time to time: Practise the habit of re-evaluation
The Habit of Re-evaluation: This is the simple practise of stopping at the end of our work and recognizing the value of your accomplishments. At the end of each day, the completion of each assignment, take a moment to look at what you have accomplished before attending to the next task.
Thank God for giving you the creativity and strength to accomplish your work in His name.
5. Tending fires is exhausting- Take the opportunities to rest. After a strenuous day of ministry, Jesus gave a somewhat peculiar invitation. He said, “Come up to the mountain and rest awhile.” This is important to remember because passionate people have a tendency to think that it is somehow more spiritual to burn out for Jesus. Rest and passion are not incompatible. Rest is essential to maintain a healthy spiritous, physical and emotional lifestyle.
6. Fires changes its surrounding environment: Determine that passion makes a difference. A Christian without passion is like a river without water. Passion energizes the Christian life. Passion gives us additional focus in life. Without the passion of God in our lives we will lead dull and draining existence. Passion is one of the ways that God empowers our lives. Romans 12:11 says; Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically
Passion for God protects me from wrong doing. My passion to please Him causes me to say no to temptation. My passion for what God wants to happen in my life causes me to instantly recognise any departure from that.
7. Associate with Passionate people: Fire needs to be fed in order to keep growing. If it is true that people affect how we live and walk, then it is true that if we spend time with people who are passionate about the Lord, it will cause our hearts to grow brighter. Paul reminded his young apprentice Timothy about the power of people to affect his own flame. In 2 Tim.1:5, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois, and in your mother Eunice and I am persuaded now lives in you.”
8. Pray for Passion: God’s fire is a gift: 2 Tim.1:6 “Fan into flame the gift of God which is in you...” How would Timothy do this? Prayer! Colossions 4:2 says, “continue earnestly in prayer being vigilant about it.”
Earnestly, fervently, vigilantly. These words speak of passion. Anything worthwhile, any good thought, any inspiration for songs, poems, music, any concern for people comes from this. PRAYER
Prayer is the key to restoring passion in your life, ministry, and marriage.
John Wesley was once asked the secret about his ministry. He said, “I ask God to set me on fire and let people watch me burn.” My prayer for you, this church, my life and family is to ask for Gods Holy fire. Let it burn in your soul setting you on fire for his kingdom.
