Church, Where Is Your Passion?
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· 135 viewsHave we lost our reverence and desire, our PASSION for the word of God in the church?
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Let me start off this morning with a question. “What does the word PASSION mean to you?”
Let me start off this morning with a question. “What does the word PASSION mean to you?”
That is, when I say the word, “PASSION”, what do you think of?
I asked my wife, Desirae, yesterday what she thought of when she hears the word “PASSION” and I was shocked at her answer!
I was expecting her answer to be you, “You dear”!
Instead, what she said was, “I think of LOVE”!
Which in truth, for today’s message, is very astute and spot on!
So, what does the word PASSION, actually mean?
Well, one dictionary says the following with regard to the word PASSION:
any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.
strong sexual desire; lust.
a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything:
violent anger.
the sufferings of Christ on the cross or His sufferings subsequent to the Last Supper. (the narrative of Christ's sufferings as recorded in the Gospels.)
In fact, the roots of the word that we call, “PASSION”, actually go back to the Greek and Latin words that literally mean, “suffering”!
This is why we refer to the PASSION of Jesus, in terms of the last week and more specifically, the last night and day of His life; because of His SUFFERING!
I am not going to talk specifically about the PASSION of Jesus Christ this morning, that is, His suffering on the cross for us.
But, I am going to talk about the word “PASSION” this morning, and of its meaning of being, “an intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction; a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept; an ardent affection : LOVE.”
There is, in the literal sense, the PASSION of Jesus (that is, His sufferings that He underwent for our sins), but then there is also, the PASSION of Jesus that led Him all the way to the cross and to the grave and to His glorious resurrection!
And this PASSION that led Jesus Christ to the cross and to His immense suffering for our sins, was His ENORMOUS, INTENSE driving conviction and love and desire to honor and fulfill the will and the words of His Father, almighty God!
And it’s this meaning of the word PASSION, which is our primary focus this morning.
The title of this message is, “Church, Where Is Your PASSION?”
And the reason that I used the word “WHERE” in this title, versus “WHAT Is Your Passion” is for the simple reason that it is easy, as a church goer, to make a statement about what we hold as passionate.
In other words, if I ask someone in the church, in most any church around, “WHAT is your passion”, then they will respond with what sounds most appropriate for a follower of Jesus to answer. Their answer will sound much like an automated robotic answer, “MY PASSION IS TO DO THE WILL OF JESUS. TO FOLLOW HIS COMMANDS AND THAT OF ALMIGHTY GOD!” (Almost like the are reciting a creed or a mantra!)
We know, from any small amount of sound Biblical teaching, that Jesus said that we are to follow all of His commands for us. And so, it is easy to fire off an answer like I just gave, as to the description for “WHAT is your Passion”.
BUT, when I ask for “WHERE Is Your Passion”, now I am making you become more accountable and give more specific detail about what you say that you have.
If you are accused of a crime, you can say that you have an alibi that exonerates you and clears you from any implications.
Well, that sounds good to say that you have something that can remove you from any guilt of the crime, but the real question is not what you say you have, but the burden of proof is of showing WHERE this alibi is, for validation!
The judge is not going to settle for your statement of, “I have a guy who can vouch for me your honor”, but instead, the judge is going to say to you, “Don’t tell the court you have an alibi, show us this alibi !”
So Church, were is your, “intense, driving, or overmastering feelings or convictions; your strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept; your ardent affection and LOVE (as the dictionary states); i.e. YOUR PASSION?!
Jesus said, “WHERE your treasure is, there your heart will be also!”
This morning, I am asking each one us, “WHERE Is Your Passion?”
It is no mystery, as I have stated many times over, that there are numerous things in this world which serve to distract us and hold and fight for our attention and capture our hearts.
It is no mystery, as I have stated many times over, that there are numerous things in this world which serve to distract us and hold and fight for our attention and capture our hearts.
And all of these things have a different value structure, that is, they are looked upon in our hearts with different amounts of value and are prioritized differently.
What are people PASSIONATE about?
One small indicator can be found, just looking at the top 10 Google searches of the past year.
READ TOP GOOGLE SEARCHES LIST.
And the things with which we find the most value, are the ones in which we devote the most of our time and talents and attention and our affection.
These are the people and things that we truly WORSHIP........these are the people and things which hold our PASSION!
Church, Where is your PASSION?
For what, or for who does your soul burn with love and desire and PASSION?
French Military Strategist Ferdinand Foch said, “The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.”
For what, or for who, does your soul passionately burn?
You and I have many things in this world that pull at our time and attention for brief periods, but then there are also the things in our lives which completely grasp and hold our hearts and our minds hostage!
These are the things which Jesus was speaking of when He said, “WHERE your treasure is, there your heart will be also!”
It’s in these places and within these areas, that your PASSION lies!
I want to read to you at this time, a passage which I read this past Wednesday evening to those who were here for the prayer and fellowship. And it is in fact, this very passage which brought me to the question that I ask you this morning about our PASSION.
I want to read to you at this time, a passage which I read this past Wednesday evening to those who were here for the prayer and fellowship. And it is in fact, this very passage which brought me to the question that I ask you this morning about our PASSION.
If you have your Bible with you this morning, I want to ask you to please turn with me to the book of , and then ,
1 all the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given for Israel to obey. 2 So on October 8 Ezra the priest brought the Book of the Law before the assembly, which included the men and women and all the children old enough to understand. 3 He faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law.
5 Ezra stood on the platform in full view of all the people. When they saw him open the book, they all rose to their feet. 6 Then Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people chanted, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
1 all the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given for Israel to obey. 2 So on October 8 Ezra the priest brought the Book of the Law before the assembly, which included the men and women and all the children old enough to understand. 3 He faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law.
1 On October 31 the people assembled again, and this time they fasted and dressed in burlap and sprinkled dust on their heads.
1 On October 31 the people assembled again, and this time they fasted and dressed in burlap and sprinkled dust on their heads.
3 They remained standing in place for three hours while the Book of the Law of the Lord their God was read aloud to them. Then for three more hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the Lord their God.
Now here is what I mentioned this past Wednesday evening.
A recent study done this past year, said that about 1/2 of Americans are “Bible users”; well this sounds great on the surface, right? I mean 1/2 of America uses the Bible!
Then the study explains what they mean by Bible users. It means they engage with the Bible on their own, by using, listening to, watching, praying or using Bible text, at least 3-4 times/year!
So, about 48% of Americans engage the Word of God around 3-4 times/year!
Within this percent of the population, about half of these users are looking up and searching the Bible for passages, via their smartphones. And while this isn’t in and of itself a bad thing, it does feed into an American trend that has captured this nation; and that is, being a “microwave society”.
A convenience based society, quick access, society!
This is what I mean. Instead of getting to the Word and digging and reading for any period of time, we now just Google a phrase, or a word or a verse and let Google show us what we are looking for and then we feel complete and move on.
And while it is great to have quick access to a passage which you cannot remember its location within the Bible and be able to shows this verse to someone, the other side of this, is that far too many people stop with the Google search and don’t go into the word and read deeper!
Is it any wonder, why this nation, when people are only getting into the Word of God, 3-4 times/year, is now witnessing the moralistic struggles that we are having?
And, is it any wonder, why, in a Gallup poll done 2 years ago, that only 24% of Americans, across the board, stated that they believed that the Bible is the “literal” word of God and can be taken, word for word as accurate?!!!!
This is the first time in the 40 year history of this particular poll, that the biblical literalism has not surpassed biblical skepticism, as 26% of the people say that the Bible is "a book of fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man."
And if you’re wondering about the other half of the population, they fall in the middle, saying the Bible is the inspired word of God but that not all of it should be taken literally.
This is so sad, because from the mid-1970s through 1984, close to 40% of Americans considered the Bible the literal word of God!
What happened? Why the decrease in the people’s belief in God’s word?
Because they lost their PASSION for God and His perfect and Holy Word!
Look at what happened in the account that we just read from the book of Nehemiah.
These people stood for about 4 hours on the first day and listened to the Torah being read and then worshipped God and wept from brokenness.
Then, in the second reading, they stood and listened for 3 hours and then for another 3 hours, they did nothing but repent and confess their sins before God and then went into a time of worship of Him!
For six hours, they read, and prayed and worshipped the Lord God almighty!
And the point that I made Wednesday evening and the thing that I believe the Lord is stressing to us today, is that we must get back to such a PASSION and spiritual hunger for God’s Word, that nothing or no one can satisfy our hearts!
When I hear people telling me now that we need to alter and change the way that we conduct our church services and try to accommodate the wants of the people, because the average adult has an attention span of around 15-20 minutes, tops, I about explode!
When I hear people telling me now that we need to alter and change the way that we conduct our church services and try to accommodate the wants of the people, because the average adult has an attention span of around 15-20 minutes, tops, I about explode!
Talk of people at football games, poetry readings, movies and famous author readings.
My point is that, as I said earlier, the things that you value the most, you will pour yourself into the most and invest the greatest amount of your time in; in other words, these things are where your PASSION lies!
Jesus said in , “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”
Whether it be money, or other people, or a job, or a hobby, or anything or anyone else, you cannot serve the two masters equally.
And only one of the two masters deserves your PASSION!
Just as I mentioned a week ago, where Jesus said that anyone who loves any other relationship more than Him, is not WORTHY of Him.
Jesus was stressing then and is stressing to us now, that we are to be most PASSIONATE about our relationship with Him and no one else or nothing else!
And as to the church in America and how and why people will attend a part of the Body of Christ on any given Sunday, let me mention a couple of things here.
Jesus said to His disciples in , “and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
What was the rock that He was going to build His body upon?
The revelation that Peter had just been given from God, that Jesus is the Christ!
So, Jesus was saying that “My body is going to be built upon the true foundation, that I am the Messiah, the Son of God and no other foundation.
And if the church is built upon this foundation and no other, then the power of the enemies kingdom will not prevail against it!
Well when the church’s PASSION becomes more about entertainment and pleasing the people to draw and hold onto them, versus teaching the Word of God and worshipping Him, you then have a different foundation that you are building upon, other than the revelation of Jesus being the Christ.
And the power of the enemy will begin to prevail against such foundational structures.
Even what many are calling the “Praise and Worship” of God in their services is leading to a false sense of His presence in their buildings and in their lives.
When the music volume during the praise and worship stays at or above a certain range (say above 90 db) you can actually begin to accomplish a false euphoria in people.
Did you know that once the music hits 90 db, your inner ear has a little device called a sacculus that is directly connected to the pleasure centers of your brain and at this volume level, it begins to trigger the release of endorphins into the body, which bring pleasure.
And when this process starts and the endorphins and the dopamine is flowing through our bodies and we are into the P&W song that we love and we are anticipating one specific part of the song that is getting ready to happen, we might get chills and say that it was Holy Spirit moving. (Research shows that flooding of the dopamine and chills that we feel at the right anticipated moment is called “frisson” and it is stimulated from the louder music and the endorphins being released It is in fact, a physiological response to the louder db music).
And taking into account the known fact that louder music is a stimulant, much in the same as caffeine, or cocaine or alcohol and exercise, to get the heart rate up, you can get a very interesting phenomenon within the church service.
The people come into the modern church building and are greeted with with modern relaxing decor, soothing soft jazz music being played overhead and a nice plush coffee bar and sitting area (nothing wrong with nice atmosphere, don’t get me wrong, but I’m building to a point here).
The new comers are given a tour of the church before hand and shown that the church offers a workout center, a pool, a rock climbing wall and a theater.
Then off into the main sanctuary, where the P&W band delivers an amazing 45 minute performance with the volume peak levels (many of which exceed the volume levels of some early rock concerts years ago) controlled to deliver the right punch for the right effect, along with the special lighting and fog machine and the listener has the euphoric feeling that they are being moved by Holy Spirit because of the sensations that they are feeling.
Then you top it off with a very eloquent orator who comes out at the right time and delivers a short but stimulating message with some witty comments, a gripping story and the Bible passage to back it up and the listener leaves that service, convinced that they had an encounter with almighty God because of how they felt.
And they will most definitely be back for more of the same!
These people wouldn’t know a move of God, if it slapped them in the face, because they only recognize the man-made scenarios.
It’s exactly as Paul warned us about, in ,
3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.
CHURCH, WHERE IS YOUR PASSION?
Listen to this description of the Body of Christ and see how it compares to what I just described of many of the modern churches.
Listen to this description of the Body of Christ and see how it compares to what I just described of many of the modern churches.
,
41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
It is God and His Spirit alone, who adds to the church and convicts and draws, not man’s efforts of altering and changing whatever needs to be done, including the very purpose of worship of God, itself and the teaching of the gospel message in its entirety!
I wonder if Jesus were to walk into many of the modern churches of today and witnessed the hearts of the leaders and pastors of some of these churches, if He would be found making a whip of cords and turning over the tables and running the people out, saying, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
Listen to me church, we must get back our PASSION for the hearing and the reading of the Word of God!
When was the last time that you heard the Word being read aloud and it captured your heart and mind and you felt a sense of awe come over you, because you knew in your heart and soul, that voice of the Creator, Himself, was speaking to you through that written word?!
When was the last time that you sat down and began to read in the Word of God and it convicted you for the lost of this county and of this nation and it broke your heart and you wept as you read the words and it prompted you into a time of prayer and intercession?
And this next question, convicted me this morning as I was writing this, “when was the last time that you sat down with your spouse and/or your children and read from the Word of God together?”
CHURCH, WHERE IS YOUR PASSION?
The Apostle Paul said that we are to be like a soldier, because the soldier doesn’t get entangled with the cares of the world, but only of doing what is pleasing to the one who he is enlisted under. He said that we are to be like an athlete, who trains to run the race and bring our natural bodies into submission and to strive to win the race, not to just enter it.
The Apostle Paul said that we are to be like a soldier, because the soldier doesn’t get entangled with the cares of the world, but only of doing what is pleasing to the one who he is enlisted under. He said that we are to be like an athlete, who trains to run the race and bring our natural bodies into submission and to strive to win the race, not to just enter it.
And in speaking of Paul, you are talking about a man who was, at one time, zealous and PASSIONATE about destroying the church of Jesus Christ.
But upon having an encounter with the Christ, Paul exchanged his PASSION for destroying the church, for a PASSION of growing the church!
Are there some PASSIONS that you hold today that you need to lay down, so that you can become PASSIONATE for Jesus and His Word?
Paul said to the church of Galatia, in ,
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
Can you say that today, that you have truly nailed the PASSIONS and desires of your sinful nature to the cross and crucified (which means to leave them to die there) on that cross and walked away and that you are living by and being led by Holy Spirit in EVERY part of your life?
Listen to me church the greatest reprimanding of the church and its loss of PASSION for Jesus and His words, comes not from any of the epistles, or any MAN, but from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Listen to me church the greatest reprimanding of the church and its loss of PASSION for Jesus and His words, comes not from any of the epistles, or any MAN, but from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
In , this is what Jesus says to the church of Ephesus and ultimately to every church around the world, he says,
2 “ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
A good-looking society woman was invited to an expensive fund-raising dinner in New York City. She was seated next to a wealthy lawyer. During the meal, they had a chance to get to know each other and were having a good time. When the meal was finished, the lawyer leaned over and asked the woman if she would spend the night with him for $10,000. The woman blushed but said that she would. The man then asked her if she would spend the night with him for $10. The woman was shocked and said, “What kind of a woman do you think I am?” The man responded, “My dear, we have already established that. Now we are merely deciding on the price.”
Listen to me church, when the enemy of your soul comes and tries to seduce you away from your conviction and your relationship with Jesus, will you begin to compromise and yield, or will you stay true to your PASSION for Jesus?
CHURCH, WERE IS YOUR PASSION TODAY?