Put Your Passion In It's Place

Start of a series…

There were seven letters that Jesus wrote to these 7 prevalent churches...

(NLT) — 1 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands: 2 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. 3 You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. 4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. 6 But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do. 7 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.

GOAL- STUDENTS GETTING THEIR PASSION BACK.

Ok this is still a test.

I want to talk to someone here tonight who needs to be reminded of their passion…

I want to let someone know here tonight that as you walk into 2018 there is something to be passionate about…

POINT- Passion matters.

ILLUSTRATION-

Preaching my first message in CrossFire… I was only supposed to go 25 min… I used up all my notes in 8 min… But I had passion.

First sermon

First magic show in pumkinville

Starting that business out of high school.

KEY- You can push through a lot of things when you have passion.

(NLT) — 6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

RESTATE POINT- There is a lamp and a stand in all of our hearts. There is a passion that God desires to have burning.

Light Candle.

KEY- The church in Ephesus had something that they lost. There was something they were doing at first that they stopped doing…

ILLUSTRATION- Running out of gas.

My first car, the Volvo that ran out of gas because of the broken gage. At first I filled it up every other day, I tracked how many miles to see how much gas I used, but I slowly grew complacent…

One Thought.//

Draw out that Ephesus use to be small but had passion, but they lost something when they got big.

— CHALLENGE- Challenge your passion. Is your passion less now than it use to be??

Did you have something when you were small that you have lost when you got big?

KEY- Understand that Ephesus was huge, the church was not always this big…

God sends Paul to Ephesus before there was even a church… It was the 3rd largest city of that time. 300,000 people lived in Ephesus…

Paul would preach powerfully and miracles happened but some people did not like this and began to persecute Paul, but the church grew…

Paul would preach in the temple and they kick him out, so he’d go to the street there were some riots,

NOTE: Here is how passionate they got. The people of Ephesus began burning their books of witchcraft because they desired more of God…

And the church began to grow…

KEY POINT- They had something when they were small that they lost when they got big?

— CHALLENGE- What have you lost? Where was your passion when you were a young nobody and what is it now?

KEY POINT- It’s not enough to just be good at things, it’s not enough to just be successful. It’s not enough to just go to church, help out sometimes

God says I see the good things you do, I see how you strive to do what is right, I see how you don’t act like everyone else, I see how you can encourage people, BUT WHERE IS YOUR PASSION? You don’t love me like you used to.

…You don’t cry out like you used to.

…You don’t want more like you used to.

… What happened to the days when you wouldn’t miss a preservice prayer time. (Camp preservice prayer)

…What happened to your worship.

…What happened when you put other’s needs before yours

You see I’m here tonight to give notice to complacency and declare not in this generation...

There are a lot of passionate people, but their passion is in the wrong place.

KEY- Passion is important, but it needs a place.

ILLUSTRATION- You had no problem when I lit this candle on the wick, that was fine, but if I took this lighter and brought it up to your hair, you might have a problem with that.

MAIN POINT- For those who feel like you have lost your passion I have good news for you, it’s not gone, its just not in the right place. Passion is important, but it needs to be put in it’s place.

HOW DO I PUT MY PASSION IN ITS PLACE?

1. Practice Your Passion

(NLT) — 4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!

(NLT) — 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

CHALLENGE- Stop praying to get your passion back. You don’t pray to get your passion back you practice to get your passion.

ILLUSTRATION- Being at a youth conference feeling like I had grown complacent praying Lord give me my passion again and he said its there just use it.

(NLT) — 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

(NLT) — 23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

KEY- You put your passion in it’s place when you use it.

POINT- The biggest enemy to your passion will be complacency. The act of not doing what you’re created to do.

KEY POINT- Passion is not a personality type.

“Some people say well I’m just a passionate person…”

Yeah but you had no problem getting mad…

Same Thought…

God mentions how you have this going for you, you hate these evil deed that are going around your area.

DEFINE- The word hate in the text is the greek word miseo which means to dislike intensely and passionately.

DEINFE- The word love in the text is the greek word aggape which means a strong passionate affection and regard for a person and their good as understood by God’s moral character.

TRANSITIONAL- But when you stop practicing your passion your passion begins to loose it’s place. It starts to get misplaced...

“In the time when kings normally go out to war...”

BIB ILLUSTRATION- . In the time kings go off to war David stayed home.

When you stop practicing your passion you will find yourself in places you were never ment to be… Passion is not about how high you can jump but how strait you can walk…

It’s time for a young person to understand that if God could practice his loving passion in saving your life you can practice your passion for loving God.

I’m here to challenge someone to plead with someone practice that passion, don’t loose that first love. If you never had this type of passion for God I’m here to tell you there is something to be passionate about.

POINT- Practicing your practice requires motivation. While we were still sinners Christ died for us…

KEY POINT- Passion is not a sensation it is a decision.

CHALLENGE- It is not enough to have passion you need to use passion.

HOW DO I PUT MY PASSION IN ITS PLACE?

2. Persevere Your Passion

(NLT) — 4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!

There was something there at first, but it has run out…

KEY POINT- Proof of passion is perseverance.

(NLT) — 3 When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those whose teaching is contrary to the truth.

KEY- You don’t have to tell someone to keep doing something they want to keep doing.

KEY- Understand that though the church grew into a mega church a lot of the struggles were still there in Ephisus… They let the day to day struggles get to them.

POINT- Are you fueling your passion? You fuel your passion with purpose, when you stop giving passion purpose you start drifting.

Don’t just serve God when it is convenient for you.

BIB ILLUSTRATION- Elijah’s passion persevered through convenient and inconvenient times…

Some of you come back from a camp with so much passion, you come back from conference with so much passion, you walk away from that altar with passion, but somewhere it get’s lost.

CHALLENGE- Don’t let your passion fade with your goosebumps.

POINT- Your greatest victories will be in the moments when you almost quit but didn’t.

ILLUSTRATION- Seeing that Derik got saved…

3. Pilot Your Passion

(NLT) — 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.

KEY- Some of the worst advise you will ever get is when someone tells you, “Just follow your passion.” — These people mean well, but they are misguided.

What they are trying to say is do the things that get you excited, but the problem with this is if you only do the things that get you excited you will never do the hard things in life.

You will confuse preference for passion

You will confuse feelings for faith.

POINT- I’m not going to let me my passion tell me where to go.

ILLUSTRATION- Trying to lead a friend through Philadelphia from behind.

ILLUSTRATION- If I tried to follow the camera instead of the camera following me.

!!!!!!!No you need to follow me, not the other way around!!!!!!!

POINT- Tell your passion to follow your purpose. And if your purpose is ministering in a town like Ephisus where there is persecution you tell your passion get behind me…

And if your purpose is to make a difference in your school, do it when it’s popular and do it when it is unpopular

And if your purpose is to work in the background work regardless if someone sees you or not.

And if your purpose is to stand in a spot light point it back to Jesus.

KEY- God told them to repent, this word literally means to turn the other way…

It’s time for this generation to put a misplaced passion back in it’s place. You can point your passion at your purpose…

What good is a gun you can’t aim, what good is passion you can’t direct?

(NLT) — 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.

KEY- God is saying direct that passion, pilot that passion…

NOTE- God doesn’ say regret where you are he says remember where you were.

4. Protect Your Passion

(NLT) — 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.

Don’t allow your passion to be unprotected…

(NLT) — 23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

KEY- The enemy would love to steal the deposit God makes in you.

ILLUSTRATION- Protecting the things that we love… Espresso machine, Guitar case, book bag for computer…

KEY- The only way you can protect your passion is by putting in the place where it is safe. The place it belongs

We all have a lamp and a stand in our hearts… Jesus makes mention of it…

CONTEXT- In the churches and buildings of that day they would have candles and stands they put them on, it was how they had light. The stands were typically very tall so they provided light in the room even if you stood right in front of it. Often times the lamp and the lamp stand would be a set decorated together in a matching way.

ILLUSTRATION- Car getting mistakenly towed and my reaction…

KEY- The lamp the candle represents your passion, and it’s stand represents your purpose.

If you want to put your passion in its place if you want to protect your passion you need to put your passion on top of your purpose.

Get your passion off the floor, get it off of the undignified places of your life, get it out of your arguments and relationships, and put it up high on your purpose.

Off the floor

Off the undignified places

Off the arguments

Off the bad relationships

Off the complaints…

Conclusion…

Passion is important, but it has to be put in the right place.

We all have a lampstand and a lamp, is your lamp on your purpose?

(NLT) — 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.

Jesus says that when your passion is not on your purpose you will have no more need for your purpose.

When J

If you remove the lamp from the lamp stand you have no need for the lamp stand any longer. If you remove passion from purpose you end up not needing purpose.

No one in this room

Some of you have never been able to put your passion on your purpose because you never realized what your purpose was… Your purpose starts with a relationship with Jesus…

Salvation call…

If you are here tonight and you are saying walking in to 2018 I want my passion to be on top of my purpose…

Altar Call…