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Be Passionate

Published: December 12, 2008 - By: Danielle

Think of a time when you were ecstatic, happier than you have ever been before.

Chances are that during that time you were doing something that you enjoyed, something you were passionate about?

Passionate.

Passionate?

Passion comes from the Latin word paserre which means “to suffer.” So, if you are passionate for something you are willing to suffer for it. If you are not willing to suffer for something you aren’t passionate about it.

What does it really mean to be passionate? Jesus and passion go hand in hand. But why? What was He passionate for? He was passionate for YOU! We are the objects of His burning desire. His suffering and torture on the cross, that was a symbol of His passion for you. He was passionate for one thing and one thing only, for us to know Him. To know that He loves us. To know that there is a place in Heaven for us. His passion was and is for anyone and everyone that calls on His name can experience the glorious presence of God.

John 17:3 - Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

Passion is born when you are willing to die for something you can’t live without. Jesus could not bear the thought of living for eternity without. So He he suffered. He endured excruciating physical, emotional, and mental pain and anguish for you. He went to the extreme and gave His Life on the cross, the most excruciating form of torture. In fact, the term excruciating is derived from crucifixion.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. He gave His one and only Son. Can you imagine what He went through as He saw Jesus on the cross in excruciating pain? He wanted more than anything to save His son from that pain, but He knew it was the only way to save you and I.

Is it so much to ask for us to love the world. Why can’t we love the world so much that we suffer to fulfill the Great Commission? Is it really so tough that we can’t even tell someone about Jesus? So hard that we can’t seek Him with zeal and let others know what we live our lives for?

Ok, so what AM I supposed to be passionate about? How do I fit into this Great Commission?

We have been given instructions and we have been shown an example. Our instructions? Our Bible.

1 Corinthians 15:58  - Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain

How do you know the work of the Lord if you don’t know Him? And how can you know Him if you don’t talk to Him? And who are you going to talk to Him without a passion for prayer?

Our example? Jesus. He didn’t just talk the talk. He walked the walk.

The following is an expert from Jaeson Ma’s book The Blueprint: A Revolutionary Plan to Plant Missional Communities on Campus.

He showed us that this passion to pray is crucial. We approach the throne and enter into the presence of God when we pray. We have confidence in His grace that He will not turn us away but will embrace us with mercy. Jesus began His ministry in prayer and fasting.

Luke 3:21 - When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as He was praying, Heaven was opened.

Mark 1:35 - Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.

Luke 5:16 - But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

Jesus prayed often through the day, through the night and early in the morning.

Luke 6:12 - One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.

Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethseman before His death on the cross.

Mark 14:32 - They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”

Jesus prayed while He was on the cross.

Luke 23:34 - Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up His clothes by casting lots.

Jesus is still praying right now at the mercy seat of God for the souls of mankind.

Hebrews 7:25 - Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them..

Jesus prayed and He continues to pray. His passion was a passion for prayer. Why? Because prayer was the channel that brought Jesus into intimacy with the Father. Jesus knows it is only prayer that will bring us into intimacy with the Father as well.

End Excerpt.

So a passion for prayer begets a passion to know Him. And a passion to know Him begets a passion to do His Will. And a passion to do His Will begets a passion for what He has a passion for. And His passion is a passion for everyone to know Him. He wants everyone to know of the gift of eternal life.

So Jesus is a good example, perfect in fact,  but He is the Son of God! How do we compare? How do we measure up to those standards?

In 1904 there was a man who did something about His passion for prayer. Evan Roberts woke up one night and had a meeting with God. This was a recurring event and after a month’s time he had a burning desire to share it with his church.

Being just a student, the pastor would only let him speak after the service. Evan was just eager to share his passion, so after the service him and the 17 other youth that stayed cried out to God for a revival in Wales. Within a short period of time the entire nation was changed. Hundreds of thousands of people gave their lives to Christ. Alcoholism stopped, bars shut down, crime rates were low, and even the profanity ceased. (I encourage you to look up some of the testimonials of the people involved in revival!)

You have been called to serve the Lord with zeal and fervor.

Romans 12:11-13 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

What are you going to do with this call?

You have been given a choice. In Romans 6 Paul talks wrote about being dead to sin and alive in Christ. Its where you reject the ways of this world and you wholeheartedly obey the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. It implies a choice. We can do it if we want. God wants us to be passion for Him and His Kingdom. But He has given us this choice and what He asks is that we are either hot or cold. He asks that we are passionate about something.

Revelation 3:16 - Because you are lukewarm neither hot nor col - I am about to spit you out of my mouth!

If you don’t have a passion worth dying for, you don’t have anything worth living for.

Think back to what you were thinking about before. That exciting moment in your life. Was it about something you were passionate for? What are your passions? Are you willing to suffer for them? Are you willing to fight for them? Suffer for them?  Die?

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Romans 1:17-

"And Jesus said unto them ... , If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to younder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you."