COL 3:1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
We have all heard about the Passion of the Christ. There was a movie made about it, there are several plays around the country (Glen Rose, Eureka Springs, Ar) that speak to this subject. Today, I want us each to ask ourselves about our passion FOR Christ. Do you have it? Are you showing it? And are you true to yourself about it?
Our text begins with the word If! "If ye then be risen with Christ," means that those things you seek, those things that occupy
your affections, are the best evidence of whether you are spiritually dead or alive. This chapter speaks of the need to mortify the flesh; "For ye are dead, and your [spiritual] life is hid with Christ in God." In what way are we dead? He means we are dead to self, dead to the world, and dead to sin. We crucify the old man of sin, take up our cross, and follow Christ. If we have not taken up His cross then we will not "be risen with Christ" above the things of this world and sin.
What does the word passion mean to you? What are some of the things you feel passionate about? There are things in life that you might have opinions about....but are you passionate about it? Websters offers some of these definitions: : intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction : a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept : an object of desire or deep interest. Here are some synonyms for PASSION: FERVOR, , ENTHUSIASM, ZEAL and they all mean intense emotion compelling action. I would like all of us, again to question our passion FOR Christ!
God has endowed the soul with two main faculties: the understanding (whereby we discern, view, and judge things) and the affections (whereby we are inclined toward the things that we perceive and view). We have been given a sound mind, which means that we can understand the difference between right and wrong and can pass judgment. Our affections incline us to do or not do. Our affections control the puppet strings of our hearts, which direct our actions, thoughts, and traffic of the mind.
To set our affections on things above, we must stop meditating on temporal things. Where our hearts are, there our conversation is. Whatever is most important to us, whatever our priorities are, is that which traffics our mind. In other words, whatever you continually think about, that becomes your passion. So what does the Bible tell us? Let’s read on......
COL 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Our affections incline our minds and wills. They can also be considered the desires of the heart. The Lord says, "Son, give me
thine heart." What is your heart set upon? What is more decisive of whether or not you have been risen with Christ than that you
have become dead to this world and have been risen unto a newness of life?
The scripture says we are to "seek those things which are above...set your affection on things above," consists in vigorous and lively
actions through the inclinations of the soul or exercises of the heart. We must examine our hearts for those inclinations. Have we
been raised with Christ above the things of this world? Do our hearts still linger after the things of this world? Are we like
Lot’s wife, looking back over our shoulders because we do not want to give up what lies behind? Where are our affections?
The Lord calls for a fervent Spirit in serving Him. He does not want a lukewarm or indifferent spirit. He does not want a selfish
spirit that wants sins pardoned while still loving the world: "I want to watch R-rated movies [with all the cruelty, slander, and
blasphemy] and still be saved from hell." The Lord wants our hearts. If we can enjoy that which displeases the Lord, then where
are our affections? He wants us to serve Him with godly fear. The Lord is not pleased with indifferent, halfhearted service.
DEU 10:12 And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
The work of regeneration, which is called the power of godliness, breaks the power of sin,. Those who claim salvation without having the power of sin broken have only a form of godliness. 2TI 3:5 tells us, "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." You are denying that power when you are unpassionate about the things of Christ!
2TI 1:7; "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." That is the power of godliness. That is the power of godly affections. That is the work of regeneration. You have been "risen with Christ" when your affections been changed and you have received a new heart and a new desire.
Why is it called the Passion of the Christ? Don’t you understand the passion for which Jesus carried out His mission? Don’t you know that there had to be unparralled passion and love and desire in His heart for you in order for Him to do the work on the cross.....for YOUR salvation? He was, and is, PASSIONATE about you! Why shouldn’t we be passionate about Him? Many of us just kind of "work Him in" our daily lives and schedules on an "as needed" basis. That is NOT passion!
Multitudes have had the riches of Christ preached unto them yet remained totally unaffected. Not until it takes hold of their affections is there any action. Multitudes are often brought under the outward call of the gospel when they hear about the precious things of Christ, God’s wrath upon sin, and the call to repent, yet remain as they were before because they were not affected by it. When the Holy Spirit comes into the soul with the effectual call of the gospel, He works through the affections, giving new desires and a new
heart.
As long as the heart remains unaffected by the renewing of the Spirit, it will never be engaged in earnest cries for wisdom, nor
will it lift up its voice for understanding. Until there is a desire, until there is a hunger and thirst for Christ, there will never be a lifting up with earnest cries for wisdom (for Christ is wisdom), nor will there be any desire for spiritual understanding if the affections are not there. This church should be FULL on Wed nights (Bible study) with christians eager to learn God’s word....PASSIONATE with desire! If I’m stepping on your toes, then question God’s word about it, not me!
Those who love God show it by their hatred for evil. PSA 97:10 says, "Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked." You cannot say you love the Lord if you do not hate evil. Too many christians are getting into bed with evil, and God is NOT pleased!
Psalms 101:1 I will sing of your love and justice; to you, O LORD, I will sing praise. 2 I will be careful to lead a blameless life—
when will you come to me? I will walk in my house with blameless heart. 3 I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me. 4 Men of perverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with evil. 5 Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, him will I put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart,
him will I not endure. 6 My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; he whose walk is blameless
will minister to me. 7 No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence.8 Every morning I will put to silence all the wicked in the land; I will cut off every evildoer from the city of the LORD.
Is that how you live your life? Or have you lost your passion for these things of God? Another affection that must be set on things above is our delight, which is an effect of the thinking of the mind and the affections of the heart. We experience joy, grief, and anguish, but delight is one of the effects of our mind if our minds are truly set on the Lord. PSA 37:4 tells us, "Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." The Lord is pleased, when we delight ourselves in the Lord, when it is our pleasure to do His will, not grudgingly or for fear of hell, but because we love Him.
We always speak of the promise that God will "give us the desires of our heart" but remember, desire is a word for passion, and what we need to understand here is that YOUR desires need to line up with His! Look at the first part of that scripture..there is a provision....."Delight thyself also in the LORD:and then....he shall give thee the desires of thine heart
Do you delight yourself in the Lord? Or do you look at your christian life as a "burden" on your life? Think about that for a minute! And to thine own self be true...God already knows the answer!
These spiritual affections are called the fruits of the Spirit in GAL 5:22; "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long- suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith." These are the holy affections of true godliness. And if your "passion" is where it should be, then these are the fruits that are growing in your life.
GAL 5:24 says, "And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." If you have never crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts and received new desires, then you are not Christ’s. A tender heart, which is affected by a desire to do God’s will, is a pleasing sacrifice unto the Lord.
The Lord looks upon the affections of the heart. Where are yours today? Are you "passionate" about the Christ? He is passionate for you!
