Ablaze with Passion
If the resurrection is true, then the word of God is truth. If the word of God is truth, my challenge is to align the purpose of my life according to the word of truth. Men often think that they can rest in their own accomplishments and their own laurels. However, our life is not our own… that which endures is that which counts, not for this moment, but for eternity. Only Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life… without him there is no life. God doesn’t want your promises and your praise… he wants your heart and your life demonstrated by obedience to his word. In the midst of the crisis, God expects his men to rise to the occasion. EM Bounds in “A Fiery Church” says that God expects us to be on fire, white hot with zeal about our God given faith. According to John Wesley, If you set yourself ablaze for Jesus Christ, men will gather from miles around to watch you burn. In Revelation 3, the Laodiceans were neither hot nor cold. They were tepid, lukewarm and ineffective… a double minded man is unstable in all his ways. However, the effectual, fervent, white hot and passionate prayer of a righteous man availeth much. A fiery soul is the soul who conquers in the day of the spiritual battle and besieges the strongholds of evil with unshaken zeal.
What is your mission statement? What’s your goal in other people’s lives? For what are you passionate? Love is kindled in the flame and passion for our Lord. Therefore quench not the holy spirit. For we have this treasure of the holy spirit in an earthen vessel that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. To fan the flame of the spirit of God in Christ in us, we must link with likeminded men who walk in the light as he is the light. You are most like those with whom you associate. Who are your three and who are your twelve? With whom are you your best… I’m here because you make me want to be a better man. For our fellowship is with our Father, his son Christ Jesus, and one with another in the household of faith. We associate with our Band of Brothers so that we can run the race and choke in the dust of those in hot pursuit of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Passion is the soul of prayer. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night. Prayer is energized by the holy spirit as we set our affections on things above. Our culture says that man is basically good. However, according to Romans 3, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. In my flesh dwelleth no good thing. Righteousness can only be evaluated according to God’s righteous standard of his Word. Jesus Christ is the Word of God revealed. Our righteousness is not in our flesh, but only in him. Without Christ, we are men of unclean lips. Jesus Christ who was without sin became the perfect sin sacrifice on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him. In him we live and move and have our being.
Jesus said unless you have the meekness of a little child, you cannot see the kingdom of heaven. When the rich young ruler said, “what must I do to be saved?” Jesus said, “you’re still lacking something even though you keep the law of the law of the ten commandments… you must sell all your goods, give the proceeds to the poor, and come and follow me.” You cannot serve two masters. Jesus understood that the rich young ruler lived for his riches and his possessions. He had another god than the one true God. The first and great commandment is “Thou shalt have no other goods before me.”
Every moment is a moment of decision. For the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary the one to the other so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Every moment is a “come to Jesus” moment. Disappointment is the result of missing our divine appointment to walk in fellowship with him.
Ye are slaves to whom ye obey. There is a difference between a regular slave and a bond-slave. A regular slave is bound by the law to serve his master by obligation. However, a bond-slave serves his master by the bond of love. Why do you do what you do? Is it because of the law of obligation… is it because you fear the consequences? If this is the motivation then you are a slave to the flesh and the spirit of fear. However, there is no fear in love for perfect love casteth out fear, for fear has torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. To serve the Lord from a heart of love, we must take up our cross and follow him. Love is not a fleeting feeling. Love requires deliberate, intentional, and purposeful action. Do you say that you believe the first and great commandment to love God above all? Jesus said, in that ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me. Therefore, be ye kindly affectioned one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you. God has set us within the body of Christ as members in particular, harmoniously fitted together to serve one another to the building up of the body in love. Jesus said, a new commandment have I given you, that ye love one another.
God commands us to delight ourselves in the Lord. When our delight is his delight, only then he will give us the desires of our heart. When our passion and good pleasure is aligned with God’s, then it is God that worketh in us to will and to do of his good pleasure. Therefore, according to First Thessalonians 5, Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks for this is the will of God concerning you. Quench not the spirit… set yourself ablaze with the power of the holy spirit… let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
May God richly bless you,
Your brother in Christ,
Michael