Passion Lives Here

The 2006 Olympics in Torino began a few days ago, everywhere you go in the city there are TVs setup and people gathered watching the Olympics. Does anyone know what the slogan is?

"Passion lives here" it’s written on the walls throughout the Olympic village. As you watch skiers, skaters, and curlers, this phrase is there in all the arenas.

There is no doubt as you watch those in the Olympics that they are passionate. They love their sports so much that it dominates their lives. Everything that does not further their goal is stripped from their schedule so they can obtain that medal.

1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run (all skiers, ski), but only one gets the prize? Run (ski) in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. NIV

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.
They do it to get a crown that will not last;

But we do it to get a crown that will last forever. The Olympians pour all their passion into a medal that will fade away. Years from now, few who win will be remembered. Others will take their place with new records. But Paul challenged us to pour all our passion into a reward that will never fade away—living for Christ and his kingdom.

Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.
I beat my body and make it my slave (discipline and keeping the passion)

so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize
If my body dictates my life can ruin my testimony and lose my passion.

All of us need passion in life. Without it, we become apathetic and unproductive. We were made to dream big.

That's probably why we get so excited about the Olympics.

I'm amazed that I am interested whether a person I do not know wins a medal or not.
It affects me when someone who has trained long and hard has a bad run and misses his or her chance.
I'm excited when another person achieves his or her long-awaited goal.

Why does it matter? I think we all are thrilled at seeing their passion.

The apostle Paul understood this underlying need for passion,

It's easy to feel the passion momentarily; it's another thing to make it a way of life. Most of us come to Christ passionately, but have trouble sustaining it.

How many of us have started something, like piano lessons, or a sport, or something else with the dream of being the best. On stage, the super bowl, the Olympics?

The key for Olympians has to be more than just the recognition they get for a medal. The medal may drive them, but it probably doesn't sustain them. Instead they need a deep, abiding love for the way of life their sport has led them into. Without that, the hope of a medal will grow dim. Some people look at heaven this way. Heaven is not enough! (It is but as a motivator it seems to fall short)

Galatians 5:7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? NIV

Something gets between us and our goals. Discouragements, failures, unplanned pauses, injuries…

So how do we sustain a passion that will carry us through life the way the apostle Paul lived? There are probably as many ways as there are people. What motivates me will probably not motivate you and vice versa. But there are some universal concepts that will help all of us.

1. Find Your Passion in Christ Alone
the Christian Olympian must find satisfaction in Christ above all else. As basic as this is, Christians seem to lose sight of this too often.

What many times happens is that Christians try to find satisfaction in something that is “Christian” but is not Christ.

§ For example, many find satisfaction in church responsibilities, acts of human kindness, knowledge of Scripture, or close fellowship with other Christians.

§ All these things are good, but none of them can ultimately satisfy.

§ The problem being something can go wrong with all of these and then many lose their walk with Christ.

· The Church can change its direction; people can betray or hurt you, you feel unappreciated, after that people often walk away from the thing that they are dissatisfied with and with it “CHRIST”. (baby with the bath water)

John 6:56, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life." He wasn't talking about communion in this passage. He was talking about making him our passion in life. When he said this, many turned away from following him. He asked the twelve if they were going to leave too. Peter said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68).

Having Jesus as our passion means that we know there is no other place to go for our satisfaction.

2. Realize Passion Only Comes from God
The trouble with passion is when we try to manufacture it. An athlete who must constantly manufacture passion is never going to make it to the Olympics. It must be an integral part of his or her life.

We seek that next great experience that will take us to a higher spiritual level. We search for the teacher that will unlock all mysteries to us. We throw ourselves into service, expecting the passion to come with it. Sometimes those things work—for a while. But rarely do we keep the passion for long.

Only when we realize that God wants to create a passion in us, will we be able to avail ourselves of it. We can't manufacture it; we can only admit we need it. As we confess our shortcomings, we find joy in the fact that he will fill those gaps with his sufficiency.

Making Christ my passion is a mysterious melding of self with Christ. I do my part in consciously surrendering to him, and he does his part in transforming me with his passion—the very passion that allowed him to faithfully represent his father to the bitter end of the cross.

Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy (passion) set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Find Passion in Prayer
Prayer becomes flat when it becomes only a list of needs we lay before God. Instead of seeing a holy, magnificent God, we see problems piling up. Our prayers can become so burdened that we leave prayer heavier instead of lighter.

If Olympians only focused on the problems, they would never overcome their obstacles. They have to have their eyes on the greater goal.

Prayer that is vital when it is God-focused. My prayer life revives when I learn to focus on God instead of my needs.

So instead of praying, "Lord, heal Aunt Judy of her illness," pray, "Lord, help Aunt Judy to see your glory, and power. No matter what's going on in her body, let her know your goodness and greatness." Such a prayer not only transforms Aunt Judy, it transforms me.

I leave such a time of prayer encouraged in my relationship with God rather than devastated by Aunt Judy's troubles.

Find Passion in God's Word
Until we love God's Word because it's our primary source of knowing God, we will not find passion. Olympians know their sport backward and forward. They've studied every angle and aspect. (I was watching the ski jumping, how technical it was, people had to the second reports of the weather, wind measurements, highly tunes skis, suits, they talked about the wind resistance of a persons long hair, etc…)

Until we have the same kind of hunger to know God through his Word, we will never live with Olympian passion.

It amazes me that some have been in the church their entire lives but have no first-hand knowledge of God's Word.

Find Passion in Proclamation and Giving
you wouldn't be around Olympians long before you realized they were consumed by their sport.

All their energy and resources flow into it.

i. Revealer of what is being spent in our lives.

What is flowing out reveals what is inside, our passion.

i. It consumes their time, interests, I am sure it is the topic of their conversations too.

1. True evangelism is the overflow of your passions.

2. Jesus said it another way “ out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt 12:34) and “where your treasure is, that is where your heart is”(Matt 6:21)

· How about your relationship with Christ?

· Do those around you realize that Christ is your passion?

· Can they see that all your energy and resources go into your relationship with him?

· Let your life be one that proclaims, "Passion lives here."