A Life of Passion
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Introduction: when I use the word “Passion,” what comes to mind?
Romance.
We’ve seen movies, so we know what romantic passion is like.
The heart pounding.
“You’re all I think about.”
“I’ll DIE without you!”
But passion does not have to just be a romantic emotion.
You can be passionate about a cause, such as protecting the rain forest.
You can be passionate about a certain hobby, career, or ambition.
When I lived in Nashville, I knew guys who would work part-time jobs delivering pizza.
That way their time was free to devote to their ambition of becoming professional musicians.
If they got hired to tour with a band, they would quit their pizza job immediately.
Back in Croatia, in the city of Osijek, they have an annual competition of extreme sports.
People from literally all over the world come to this place, no bigger than Cape Girardeau, to compete in the Pannonian challenge doing all kinds of crazy stunts on bikes, skates, and skateboards because they love the challenge. Some just come to watch!
Certain words get associated with passion:
Hot
Fiery
Burning
Passion is not some weak emotion. The very nature of passion is that it is powerful.
When you experience passion, it is all you can think about.
When you are passionate about something or someone, you will make any sacrifice for the sake of that passion.
Passion is a force that drives us to action.
It is the source of all great art.
If we are ruled by our emotions, passion can lead to a lot of trouble, because we will act out of feeling rather than wisdom.
But we also have to remember that God created us as emotional beings. God made us to experience passion.
In Matthew 22:36-38, Jesus was asked a question:
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.
Another way to say this is that God wants us to love him to the fullest extent of our emotions, with all your will, and with all your intellect.
God want us to love him PASSIONATELY.
Now the world does not have a problem with passion.
It is ok to be passionate about your love-life, your career, hobby, even your favorite sports team.
We don’t think anything of it when we see some teenage girl crying over her favorite movie star or rock star.
We can be passionate about food, animals, even Barbie dolls (photo)!
But the one thing the world cannot stand is being passionate about God.
If I jump up and down at ball game, people will appreciate what a devoted fan I am.
If I jump up and down during worship at a church service, then something must be wrong with me!
Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
Does this sound like God wants us to treat him casually, or does he want us to be passionate about our relationship with him?
Notice how the language in this verse is active. It implies that you must make an effort to be passionate about God.
Our human nature is not automatically passionate about God.
This world works to distract us from our relationship with God.
Satan certainly does not want us to be passionate about God.
We must make the decision to embrace God with all our strength.
And as we discussed in last week’s message, we must depend on the power of the Holy Spirit to keep our eyes focused on Jesus.
Why Passion?
Why Passion?
Why is it so important to be passionate about our relationship with God?
First of all, we are created to live forever. Everything else in this world is temporary.
Human relationships come and go.
Human strength will someday fail.
You can become disappointed or lose interest in people and things.
If you are going to be passionate about something or someone, shouldn’t it be something that you can stay passionate about forever?
Secondly, look at how God loves us.
He constantly demonstrates to us how passionately he loves us.
If he never did anything else, the fact that he sent Jesus to die for us demonstrates how important we are to him.
The story of the Good Shepherd demonstrates the passionate search of the shepherd to find ONE LOST LAMB!
Doesn’t someone who loves you that passionately deserve the same kind of passion in return?
Furthermore, God’s love for us is perfect. It is the kind of love we have always wanted, and the kind of love we should demonstrate to everyone else.
How can we truly love other people the way they deserved to be loved if we do not first completely fall in love with God?
I am not talking about love as an emotion, but as a choice to act lovingly and with complete devotion.
When you act lovingly, and fully commit to it, the emotion of love will follow.
Think about it:
When you are passionately in love with someone, you care about the things that are important to that person.
If I am completely in love with God, then the fact you are his creation is reason enough to love you.
Jesus loved you enough to die for you. Therefore, out of love for him, I will treat you with the utmost respect and affection.
This applies to all human relationships.
Family
Neighbors
Colleagues
Friends
And especially romantic relationships
Your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife must come second compared to your love for God.
And you need to be with someone who loves God more than he or she loves you.
This is the only way to have a love that is unselfish and pure.
Most importantly, whatever you are most passionate about will become your god.
It is the thing you will sacrifice for.
If God is not your greatest passion, he is not your God.
I do not say this to beat you or condemn you.
The fact is that God is full of grace, and he loves you.
King David was a man who was passionate in his relationship with God.
David also made many mistakes in his life where he put his human desires first.
But David desired to grow in his love and service to God.
He prayed this prayer: Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
That is the prayer of someone who is determined to make God his first priority.
Are any of us here brave enough to pray that prayer and let God show us the things in our lives that offend him?
Finding Passion
Finding Passion
So how do we develop a passion for God?
First of all, we ask God to show us how much he really loves us.
It is hard not to love someone who loves you.
Second, remember that passion grows from intimacy.
If you want to be passionate about God, you have to spend time him.
We all know we should set aside time to be alone with him.
We should also invite him to take part in our time at work, at play, with friends.
Third, emotions follow actions. Commit yourself to following God passionately, and ask God to empower you to do that.
Simply, make God the most important person and thing in your life. Believe it or not, you can CHOOSE to make God the most important thing.
If your schedule does not give you time to spend with God, rearrange your schedule.
If your relationship with someone else is more important to you than your relationship with God, inform that person that things are about to change.
Eliminate anything that distracts you from getting closer to God.
Even doing Christian service can become a distraction, so you want to be careful not to always be so busy that you do not have time to rest.
When you are exhausted, you do not think clearly.
It is easy to start believing that God only cares about the things we do.
We end up pulling away from God rather than becoming closer to him.
Remember that our actions should flow from our relationship with God. They are not a replacement for a relationship!
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
A Life Worth Living: Passion
A Life Worth Living: Passion
God created us to be emotional. He made us to be passionate and care deeply about certain things and people.
Life without emotions and passion is very empty.
But we need to be careful what we are passionate about.
The one thing we are supposed to be most passionate about is our relationship with God.
This world does not want God to be first in our lives.
But unless God is the most important thing in our lives, everything else in our lives will be out of proper perspective.
When I passionately love the Creator, then I have a deeper appreciation for everything he has created.
I look at you and I do not just see nice people and good friends. I see people that my beloved Jesus died for. That makes you even more important to me.
If we are going to be passionate about God, we have to make the choice to do so.
Because God loves you, he will not force you to make him first in your life.
It is as Paul says in Philippians 3:13-14
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Put EVERYTHING you have into growing closer to God. Make him your passion.