Igniting your Passion

            As we look upon the moral decay that runs rampant in our society, …as we see the confusion and compromise that afflicts so many Christians, …As we witness God's progressive judgment on the world and the church, …What do we do? …How do we respond?

            In Romans 10:2-3, Paul says, " I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. They don't understand God's way of making people right with himself. Instead, they are clinging to their own way of getting right with God…"

            God has a unique call and purpose for all of our lives. He wants us to break out of this mediocrity, …in order to step into a life of purpose and vision, …fulfilling the task he has set before us.

The time has come for us to recognize that we are in a spiritual battle with the forces of darkness, who want nothing other than to steal, kill, and destroy us. We need to rise up, …reject the discouraging words of Satan, …and acquire the enthusiasm to go out into the world and make a difference in someone else's life.

God can help ignite our passion, but it's up to us to keep the flame lit.

We can ignite our passion by not being "Normal".

            Normal Christians are those who go through the routine of church. But, in order to ignite our passion we have to become radical in walk.

When we become radical, there will be a difference in the way we worship, the way we speak, the way we act, the way we think, and the way we pray.

Being passionate means being Persistent in our faith, having a positive Attitude, Seeking God through our prayer and the reading of his word, practicing Servant hood, showing Integrity, being Obedient to the word of God, and not being Normal Christians.

When we're Persistent in our faith…God will help us become passionate.

When we have a positive Attitude toward our Christian family and for the lost… we're being an encouragement to them, by showing them how much we care.

When we Seek the face of Almighty God…how many of us know that we become so close to God that we can accomplish anything that we set our minds to?

When we Serve the Lord with enthusiasm …God will give us the heart of a servant. When he gives us a heart of a servant, we will be able to accomplish many great things for the kingdom of Heaven.

When we truly become individuals of Integrity… we can expect to do all of the wonderful things God has called us to do.

           When we're Obedient the word of God…God pours out so many blessings on us. Not only that, but without obedience to the word of God, we couldn't be persistent, have a positive attitude for those around us, seek the face of God, be a servant, or be someone of integrity.

And when we quit being Normal Christians… we can accomplish much more for the kingdom of Heaven than before.

The Apostle Paul begs us in Ephesians 4:1-6,  "Lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowances for each other's faults because of your love. Always keep yourself united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourself together with peace. We are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have been called to the same glorious future. There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and there is only one God and Father, who is over us all and in us all and living through us all."

When we ignite our passion, we will be able to live a life worthy of our calling.

Another way we can ignite our passion is if we stop being so negative all the time.

If all we do is complain, complain, complain…we are just going to keep going nowhere that much faster…because those with negative attitudes won't go anywhere in their walk with Christ.

Negativity robs us from our blessings. If we keep letting the things of this world hinder us, we won't be able to take the next step in our faith.

We need to ignite our passion so that we can always be a positive example for someone to look up to.

Ladies and Gentlemen: we need to follow the example Paul has shown us and ignite our passion for God.

We need to ignite our passion so that when the time comes, we won't be hesitant and procrastinate on what God has called us to do.

James 4:14 Says, "How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning fog--it's here a little while, then it's gone."

           We only have one life to live and it's time to ignite our passion, for we may only have one chance to let our light shine for some individuals.

A missionary named John Greddie ignited his passion by spending twenty-four years evangelizing in a foreign country. His tome stone reads, "When he landed in 1848 there were no Christian, when he left in 1872 there were no heathen."