Reigniting Your Passion for God

Reigniting Your Passion for God

Come on baby light my fire…

Scripture List:

Master Text:

Mark 12:30

Romans 12:11

Revelation 2:1-7 first love

Revelation 3:14-21 lukewarm

Mark 12:29-31

29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

KJV

Mark 12:29-31

29 Jesus said, "The first in importance is, 'Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; 30 so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.' 31 And here is the second: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment that ranks with these."

(from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)

Rom 12:11

11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

KJV

Rom 12:11

11 Never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor; be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord.

AMP

Passion killers:

1. Unbalance life

Psalm 127

Ps 127:1-2 Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

KJV

Ps 127:1-2

1 Unless the Lord builds a house,

the work of the builders is wasted.

Unless the Lord protects a city,

guarding it with sentries will do no good.

2 It is useless for you to work so hard

from early morning until late at night,

anxiously working for food to eat;

for God gives rest to his loved ones.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

1 Timothy 4:7

Mark 11:29-30 His yoke is easy and his burden is light…

Life is made up of seasons Eccl: 3:1-10

Eccl 3:1-11

3 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?

10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.

11 He hath made everything beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

KJV

Rhythm of Life

Night and day…God made cycles for us to work and rest.

Gen 8:22

22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

KJV

Burned out or bored

Two much work or not enough…

We need input and output…

Always giving out and not taking time to recharge…compassion fatigue sets in and burn out…you stop caring…

Others take in and take in but never give out…just spiritual junkies that never give out of your treasure…fat, lazy, bored, so fat we have to roll you down the aisle…holy roller

Dangerous to study all the time and not do. James 4:7

Take the time to stay fit spiritually. Balanced diet and exercise. I Timothy 4:7-8

1 Tim 4:7-8

7 But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.

8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

KJV

1 Tim 4:7-9

7 But refuse and avoid irreverent legends (profane and impure and godless fictions, mere grandmothers' tales) and silly myths, and express your disapproval of them. Train yourself toward godliness (piety), [keeping yourself spiritually fit].

8 For physical training is of some value (useful for a little), but godliness (spiritual training) is useful and of value in everything and in every way, for it holds promise for the present life and also for the life which is to come.

9 This saying is reliable and worthy of complete acceptance by everybody.

AMP

Learn moderation and self-control

Learn to rest and take it easy at times

Take responsibility for your spiritual needs and feed on the word, worship God, Pray.

Take responsibility to give out of your gifting…

Bring balance into your life.

Time With God

Time in the Word

Time in worship

Time with others

Time Ministering to others

2. Unused gift or gifts/talents our work our calling.

Do something you love, and you will never work a day in your life. If you don’t you will lose your passion…your fire for life your fire for God.

Your job, your ministry in the church, and to others…if you are not using your gift you will lose your passion and fire. Not just about making money, but using God’s talent in our life. Your job will only use a portion of your talent, you must find a ministry. You need to discover, develop and deploy your ministry. That is the church’s responsibility and the pastor and other 5 fold ministry gifts. Perfect you for the work of the ministry…The reality is you’re never going to find a job that uses 100% of your talent. You’re never going to find a job that is 100% fulfilling. Why? Because God never meant for you to find 100% fulfillment through your job. Your life is more than your job. He wants you to have a ministry. That’s why you need a ministry in your church to use the talents you’re not using in your job. Because no job could possibly use all the talents God has given you. So you need a job but you also need a ministry that expresses what you’re good at. That’s why we here at Trinity encourage everybody to find a ministry.

1 Peter 4:7-12

7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging.

10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

KJV

Rom 11:26

29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

KJV

Rom 12:4-11

4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; KJV

Matt 25:13-30

13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.

15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.

17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.

18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.

19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.

20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.

23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:

25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.

28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.

29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

KJV

1 Tim 4:14-16

14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.

15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.

16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

KJV

2 Tim 1:6-9

6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

KJV

a. We all have been given gifts…God given so we really can’t take credit for it.

Know your gift, what’s in you and stick to it

b. Not for us for others, but to be employed for others- give it away…and will produce reward

c. We must be good stewards of them unto God. It comes from Him and he expects us to use it or lose it.

Don’t neglect your gift

Stir it up

How to know your gift…discover, develop, deploy…

1. What are you good at…if you can’t sing, or play the piano…not called to music ministry. If you can’t teach, or preach. If you can’t relate to kids, or youth

2. What frustrates you

3. What does the Holy Ghost witness in your spirit and where does the anointing work in your life

4. Confirmed by others

5. Pray it out…be humble, and have a submitted attitude toward God.

6. It flows out of the love of God that is in us…

Develop

1. Study and prepare

2. Hang out with people that know more than you and listen and ask questions…mentoring and discipleship.

3. Let you gift make room for you.

Deploy

1. Find something to do, start where you’re at. Make your bed…

2. Do a good job, not halfhearted but passionately, and with the spirit of excellence.

3. An Unconfessed sin-very big passion killer

Ps 38

38 O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.

2 For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore.

3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.

4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.

5 My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.

6 I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.

7 For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh.

8 I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.

9 Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.

10 My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me.

11 My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.

12 They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.

13 But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.

14 Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.

15 For in thee, O Lord, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.

16 For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me.

17 For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me.

18 For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.

19 But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.

20 They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.

21 Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me.

22 Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.

KJV

Ps 38:4-6

4 My guilt has overwhelmed me

like a burden too heavy to bear.

5 My wounds fester and are loathsome

because of my sinful folly.

6 I am bowed down and brought very low;

all day long I go about mourning.

NIV

1 John 1:9

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

KJV

Ps 51:1-12

51 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

KJV

John 8:4-12

4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.

5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?

6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.

9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?

11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

KJV

You can’t be passionate when you have guilt working against you.

This is a big one. Few things rob us of joy, rob your confidence, rob your passion, more quickly than guilt. Here’s how it works with us with guilt, the sin in our lives. We don’t walk around thinking, "I have a sin in my life. I am a guilty person." No, we rationalize it consciously. Consciously we think, "It’s ok. Everybody’s doing it. It’s no big deal." But subconsciously it gnaws at us. Subconsciously whenever it gets quiet that guilt pops into your mind. Subconsciously right now as I’m talking about it, it begins to pop into your mind.

Here’s the truth about us as human beings. We cannot feel enthusiasm and guilt at the same time. You can’t feel guilt and passion at the same time because guilt by its very definition robs you of passion. Psalm 38:4&6 "My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear... I am bowed down and I am brought low."

1. Guilt

2. Robs Fellowship with God

3. Creates a resentment toward others

4. Causes us to walk in darkness and have lie to ourselves and God to rationalize our sin, can’t be fixed if you don’t acknowledge it.

5. There are dangerous consequences to not dealing with it and confessing it. Wages of sin and sowing to the flesh are destructive and will catch up to us.

Rom 6:23

23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

KJV

Rom 6:23

22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

KJV

Jesus paid the price for our sins but we must apply it and deal with it…

Confess it agree with God, Acknowledge it and deal with it…

Don’t carry guilt if robs you of your passion for God and your purpose on earth…

4. An unresolved conflict

Conflict just drains the passion right out of you. Do you ever start a day and it’s going to be a great day -- you know it. You just fly out of bed. You’re awake from the moment you get up. You’re ready for the day -- shower, breakfast -- you’re ready. You’re on the way out the door and you have a fight with your husband or your wife. All the zip goes out of your doo-dah. It’s like the air going out of a tire when the conflict comes. That’s what conflict does to us. It takes all the passion out of our lives. Your attitude all of a sudden just goes flat.

Let’s be honest about this. Some of you, you’re in situations at home or at work where the conflict is constant. Maybe you’re even doing all that you can to minimize the conflict. But it’s coming from the other person. How do you keep your passion in a situation like that?

You decide to protect yourself from the three passion killing emotions that can come into our lives in conflict. You cannot control the other person always. But you can control the kind of emotions you have in the midst of the conflict. The three emotions that kill our passion in the midst of conflict are resentment, jealously and prolonged anger.

These next verses talk about them. Job 5:2 "Resentment destroys the fool and jealousy kills the simple." Circle "resentment" and circle "jealousy." Passion killing emotions.

Job 18:4 "You are only hurting yourself with your anger." Circle "anger." It only hurts you.

You make the decision when it comes to resentment and jealousy and prolonged anger to let it go. This is why forgiveness is so important. God who knows us, who made us, who created us knows that we can’t carry resentment. So He says here’s a way to let it go. Even logically we know that the resentment that we have in our lives it’s not hurting the person we’re resentful against. They don’t even know you’re resentful. It’s hurting us. The anger is hurting us.

If you want the passion to be restored in your heart, in your life, you have to forgive. You have to let it go.

I know what some of you are thinking. "Let them off the hook? How can I do that?" I’m not telling you to let them off the hook. I’m telling you to put them on God’s hook. Let them off your hook. Just put them in God’s hands. Just say, "God, I can’t handle this. You can. I forgive them and I leave it to You." If you don’t then that unforgiveness is going to kill the passion in your life the rest of your life. If you do not then the resentment that you have for that person that resentment is controlling your passion and by that it’s controlling your life. And you do not want them to control your life. So you forgive and you let it go. That’s how you resolve the conflict in your heart.

1. Can’t control other people but you can control yourself…control your emotions that kill your passion. Anger (prolonged anger), jealousy, resentment…

2. Put them on God’s hook and take them off yours. Forgive them and pray for them.

3. You don’t have to like them but you do have to love them. And that means be kind to them. It’s possible to not like someone and still be kind to them. It is what they do or done.

4. Don’t hurt yourself…

5. An unsupported lifestyle

Sometimes you lose passion for God because you’re not spending time around other people who have a passion for God. You’re not spending time around other Christians. You’re not getting any fellowship. I love this incredibly practical verse in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, just common sense from the Bible. "Two are better than one... because if one falls down his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!" We need each other. We all fall sometimes. We all stumble at times. So we all need people to help us up in our lives.

. A cord of three strands is not easily broken. 9 Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. 10 For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. 11 Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm?k 12 And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him

You’re not going to have time to get in a group then. We all fall sometimes. We all go through crises in life. So you find a small group. You get the support system in your life so you can keep the passion alive even during the difficult times.

It’s not only for the difficult times. It’s also for the good times. Human beings were made for relationships. We’re made to live that way. In a prison, when they want to give somebody the ultimate punishment in a prison, where do they put them? They put them in solitary. Solitary confinement. Because we were made to be around other people. That’s how God created and made us. Whether you’re married or single you need relationships with others. Others who are trying to live with passion for God in their lives, to keep that passion for God real in life.

Having been a pastor for a while now, I’ve seen a lot of people continue with their passion for God and a lot of people lose their passion for God. Those that lose their passion for God there’s a predictable pattern. You can see it the same way almost every time. I’ll tell you where the pattern begins. The first thing that happens is the person stops coming to church. I’m not talking about the ritual of coming to church. I’m talking about they draw back from the relationships of being around other believers. There’s a lot of reasons we tell ourselves that’s ok. Summer... I’ll watch it on the internet... I’ve got other things to do... I’ll get back to it soon... but whatever the reason you start not spending time with other people who have a desire to have passion for God.

The next thing that always happens is your heart starts to turn cold. You start to feel far from God. You start to feel like God’s far from you. What you really need is to be around other people who can warm up the love that you have for God in your life. It’s a need in all of us to be around other people to have this passion for God. If you have no inspiring contact with other believers your heart wills grow cold. It’s inevitable.

24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,

25not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

ll admit it. I’m weak. I’ll admit it. I need relationships with other believers to grow. For better or for worse the only reason I’ve grown as a believer is because I’ve been around other people who are growing as believers. That’s how God made all of us. We need relationships in order to grow. That’s what makes it happen.

Hebrews 10:24-25 "Let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds. Let’s not give up meeting together and let us encourage one another."

6. An unclear purpose

When you forget the purpose of your life that is a sure way to kill your passion for life and for God. If you don’t know the purpose for life, why bother? Why get up in the morning? Why put forth the effort? Why get out of bed? Life without purpose is activity without direction. It’s motion without meaning. Life without purpose is trivial, petty, and pointless.

My guess is that the people at Saddleback church know more about the purposes of God than probably any other church. We talk about it all the time. But even still it’s easy to forget why we’re here on earth. We get distracted by budgets and bills and babies and baseball and all kinds of other things. We forget the five reasons God put us here on earth. Whenever you forget why God put you on earth you’re going to drift toward apathy and lethargy. Who cares? Why get out of bed if there’s no meaning, if there’s no purpose to my life. Maybe you’ve felt like Isaiah who said in Isaiah 49 "I’ve labored to no purpose and I’ve spent my strength in vain and for nothing."

Passion and purpose go together. When you have a clear purpose it’s going to give you a lot of passion. But it’s got to be God’s purposes for your life. If you’re only living for yourself, that’s a pretty dinky purpose. That isn’t going to make you very passionate. In fact it’s pathetic. "I’m living for me." That’ll give you a lot of energy to get out of bed in the morning! You need a cause greater than yourself. That gives life significance and gives life meaning. The more you understand God’s purposes for your life and the more you live those purposes the more passionate you’re going to be.

Hobbs wrote this about passion. He said, "Passion is waking up in the morning wherever you are and bounding out of bed because you know there’s something out there that you love to do, that you believe in, that God made you for and you’re good at, something that’s bigger than you are and you can hardly wait to get at it again. It’s something that you’d rather be doing than anything else and you wouldn’t give it up for money because it means more to you than money."

Nothing matters more than knowing and living the five purposes that God put you on earth to fulfill. Nothing else can compensate for not living those. Not fame, not wealth, not success, not pleasure. Nothing can compensate for life without meaning. So whenever your purpose gets unclear and you tend to forget why we’re here in the first place you’re going to lose your passion.

It might be good idea this summer to go reread Purpose Driven Life. I know we’ve all gone through it before but it’s easy to forget, what on earth we’re here for. And an unclear purpose will kill your passion.

7. An undernourished spirit will kill your passion.

Every day you face all kinds of circumstances that conspire to shrink your spirit and shrivel your heart. You’re going to get up tomorrow morning. You’re going to have distractions and disappointments. You’re going to have conflicts and you’re going to have changes and challenges. You’re going to have problems and pressures. You’re going to have frustrations and fears and failures and fatigue. All of these things fall in on you to shrivel your heart and shrink your spirit. So you must intentionally nourish your spirit. If you don’t do it nobody else is going to do it for you. Nobody else is going to nourish your spirit. So if you don’t take the time and trouble to do it, it’s going to shrivel up.

How do you do that? Through the five purposes. You need times of worship with God everyday, where you get to know Him -- private worships. You need fellowship with other believers. You need to read God’s word and grow to be more like Christ. You need to have a ministry where you’re using your talents to help other people. And you need a mission in the world where you’re sharing your faith. If you just choose one of those purposes and forget the others you’re going to be imbalanced and you’re going to lose your passion. You need them all.

So how do I do it? How do I plug into God? How do I have this living, vital, daily relationship with God that keeps my spirit nourished?

The starting point is to remember how God feels about you. You know it but you forget it. Did you know that God is hopelessly in love with you? The reason that you’re not passionate about God is you have forgotten how passionate God is about you.

Exodus 31:14 "You must worship only the Lord, for He is a God who is passionate about His relationship with you." Did you know that? Did you know that God is passionate about you? He’s got going, "Oh, yeah, annother one of My creations... next!" No, He is passionate about you. He made you to love you. You were created as an object of His love. The more you understand how God is passionate about you, the more passionate you’re going to get about God. When you forget how much God loves you, you start blowing Him off and going, "Forget it! I’ve got other things. There’s a good movie on TV tonight."

How do we know that God is passionate about us? The proof is the cross. Jesus stretched out His hands and they nailed Him to the cross and He was in essence saying, "I’d rather die than live without you. That’s how passionate I am about My creation. I made you. I love you. And I’d rather die than live without you."

In fact, the suffering of Jesus on the cross- His Passion. You’ve probably heard about communities or towns that have Passion plays. What is a passion play? It is drama that depicts the suffering of Jesus Christ. Jesus never wanted us to forget what He did for us on the cross. So He gave us the symbol of communion. He said, "When you take communion I want you to remember My passion. I want you to remember how passionate I am about you."

Acts 1:3 says this "Jesus showed Himself alive to them [the disciples] after His passion by many demonstrations: for forty days He continued to appear to them and tell them all about the kingdom of God”