I could not even possibly attempt to put all of my main points in a blog for tonight's message, but I just wanted to leave a few thoughts with you.
The passion which defines us, enables the gospel to be seen, and unites us with God's purpose, is a passion that must be ignited by the Holy Spirit. We are out to reach a generation who has a love for the world. The love of the world can't be removed simply by us demonstrating to them the world's worthlessness. As Thomas Chalmers, an 18th century Scottish preacher stated, "The only way to dispossess the heart of an old affection is by the expulsive power of a new affection." This is exactly where the fiery nature of passion kicks in.
During Desert Storm, Saddam Hussein lit many oil wells on fire. No amount of water could be used to put these fires out, nor did anything else work. These massive fires were eventually consumed by another fire created by dynamite. the dynamite literally licked up all the oxygen, suffocating and ultimately destroying the once-thriving fire. A greater fire overtook the lesser fire.
The passion and love of the world can only be overcome by the supreme passion for the Lord Jesus Christ. The greater fire overtakes a lesser fire. John Wesley was once asked about the secret of his ministry. He responded, "I ask God to set me on fire and then I let people come watch me burn."
Let's get set on fire.
pcraig
3 comments:
So many people say that they are passionate about at least one thing in their life, including myself. However, after hearing a message on message on passion it made me really want more. Ask yourself: What's my passion? Or even what's my zeal? This is probably my second favorite word in the dictionary. How much do you want of something? The first thing I think as Christians we should be passionate about God and our relationship with him. ALL Christians should have a passion about winning the lost for Jesus. Something was said during this message that really stood out to me. The Pastor said, "We must have a gospel that is seen. It cannot simply be heard. It can be seen in our passionate pursuit for the things of me." --Pastor Craig
Take a look at what God's passion was for us...Jesus was born to die.
Great post, God is a "Consuming Fire" we just need to step into it.
A bit new to the site, but blessed to be a part of the "blogness". As I sit in my classroom continually praying over my day and soon to be union, I recieved an email from a very good friend of mine with words of encouragement that really touched my heart. Passion. The first thing I did when I saw the word was typed the word into the Google search bar. It brought me to a list and I clicked on the first link I saw. It brought me to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary site and gave me this definition:
Passion- often capitalized a: the sufferings of Christ between the night of the Last Supper and his death b: an oratorio based on a gospel narrative of the Passion.
This brought joy to me in that, living in a world of worry and panic, God is still God.
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