828 - Keeping the Passion

March 21, 2010
Sermon #828

"Keeping the Passion"

INTRODUCTION

• PASSION CREATES
  
  • Nothing in life is accomplished without passion
    
  • Nothing great is sustained without passion
    
  • Passion makes the impossible possible
    
  • Passion motivates people to pursue outrageous dreams – the moon
    
  • Passion gives you the stamina, persistence, endurance to keep on going
    
  • Turns a dream into reality
    
  • Turn average into exceptional
    
  • A scientist to seek
    
  • A doctor to create cures
    
  • An athlete to break records
    

 

• RESULT OF LACK OF PASSION
  
  • Without Passion, life becomes boring
    
  • Our work becomes meaningless, our energy ceases
    
  • Our motivation is lost, our forward momentum stills to a stop
    
  • Our tasks become monotonous – purposeless, unfulfilling
    
  • Every task deems from us greater effort than we have to give
    

 

As passion is the essential element that brings fulfillment, satisfaction, and purpose in one's life, The lack of passion makes everything seem like a task. Passion makes great tasks seam effortless, providing an unending resource of energy.

 

• JESUS SPOKE ON PASSION
  
  • "Man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that proceeds forth from the throne of God." -- You could have placed there "passion"
    
  • The word does not work without Passion "faith
    
  • Prayer does not work w/o passion –"the fervent prayer of the righteous avails much..."
    
  • Jesus was moved with compassion and healed them all...
    
  • Jesus was moved with compassion and fed the 5,000.
    
  • Jesus is moved, God is moved, the word is moved and we are moved by passion.
    

 

In Mark 4:30 one of the teachers of the law asked Jesus, "What is the most important thing in all of the word of God? Pertaining to God and the law? Jesus responded "Love God with all your heart, all of your soul and all of your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself."

 

 

 

• if we don't sever ourselves from them. and then before long, we find ourselves, dragging on the ground.
  
• As time goes by we can begin to lose our momentum, our flight, our vision, our passion. That's what we're going to talk about today…
  
• How Can we Protect ourselves from the things that rob our joy, our passion, energy, vision and purpose. "THE PASSION KILLERS"
  
• We're going to look at 7 Passion Killers. I want you to use this as a check list because God knew how your passion would be challenged. Therefore he sent His word to help you and I learn what we have to do to "keep our passion."
  

 

7 PASSION KILLERS

 

1.    AN UNBALANCED SCHEDULE

* Overworked or underworked

* You need both rest and work

* Not enough rest will exhaust your resources

* Not enough work will make lazy your resources

* Too much or too little will cause you to lose your passion

 

Psalm 127:2 -- "It's senseless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, fearing that you're going to starve to death; for God wants His loved ones to get their proper rest." … "In vain you rise up early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves." (NIV)

 

OVERWORKED

* For some of you the problem is, you're always giving out; you're always helping, sharing, serving—you're always working—being generous. And you never take time to recharge.

 

• If you never take time to recharge, you'll be unbalanced on the ministry side, on the work side…eventually you're going to get compassion fatigue.
  
• What is compassion fatigue? You just stop caring.
  
• You don't care about God anymore
  
• You don't care about people anymore
  
• You don't care about anything anymore
  
• Why? Because you're burned out from too much work.
  

 

UNDER-WORKED

• Others of you here are the exact opposite.
  
• You're always taking in, but never giving out.
  
• You are constantly being fed: Bible studies, seminars,
  
• You don't have any part in any ministry, you don't have any mission
  
• You're not really helping anybody
  
• You're not using your life to witness or share your faith…
  

 

Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 -- ²⁴"A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God. For without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? ²⁶To the man who pleases him, god gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God."

 

THERE IS AN ANSWER

 

1. Worship daily.
   
2. Befriend people who have a passion for God and the things of God.
   
3. Daily read God's word – and apply it to your life so that you can grow.
   
4. Be a part of ministry
   
5. Share your faith
   

   
    

• If you don't keep a balance in these five areas, you will inevitably lose your passion at some time or another.
  
• You're going to say, "How come I don't feel as close to God as I once did?
  

Because you're out of balance. That is the #1 reason.

 

 

2.    AN UNUSED TALENT

An unused talent will cause you to lose your passion for life, and your passion for God.

 

I Peter 4:10 -- "Each of you has been blessed with one of God's many wonderful gifts to be used in the service of others. So use your gifts well."

 

• Those gifts, talents, abilities, that God has blessed you with are not solely for your own benefit. They are also for you to bless his kingdom with and to bless other's lives with.
  
• My gifts are for your benefit, your gifts are for my benefit. Our gifts together are for God's benefit.
  
• God wants you and I to make a contribution with our lives. Not with something that we don't possess, but with that which we are. What we do possess.
  

If you don't lose your talents, you're going to lose your passion.

 

An unused talent in the Work-force

• If you're in a job right now that used 30 percent of your talent, that's going to give you a 70 percent boredom factor. You are bored because you are not using the talents God gave you.
  
• A lot of people are stuck in jobs they hate. They simply bring home the paycheck. They don't feel any purpose or self satisfaction in what they do.
  
• Many people job hunt virtually all the time. Looking for something new.
  
  • More $$ = more happiness    * Expectations of parents
    
  • Responsibility            * Expectations of spouse
    
  • Dissatisfaction
    
  • Bored / lack of purpose
    

  
  What about this thought: Finding what we love to do, and getting paid for it?
  

  
   

• God doesn't want us to waste life.
  
• He gave us life as a gift.
  
• God created you with emotions to have passion in your life. He wants you to live a passionate life.
  

 

Revelations 3:15-16 -- ¹⁵To the church of Philadelphia, I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

 

3.    UNCONFESSED SIN

    Unconfessed sin will take out our passion and turn us from purposeful to purposeless.

    See Psalm 32.

    

• Robs us of love, joy, confidence and passion
  
• Like a virus crashes a computer, so sin crashes our human system
  
• Christ wants us to RUN TO HIM
  

 

Psalm 32:5 -- Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord." – and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

    

I John 1:9 -- If we confess our sins He can be trusted to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

 

4.    AN UNRESOLVED CONFLICT

• Conflict drains the passion right out of you
  
• You cannot control people's behavior
  
• You cannot control circumstances
  
• You can control your response in the midst of conflict
  
• You must learn how to establish within your soul a preservation for your passion
  
• 3 emotional barriers
  
  • Resentment
    
  • Jealousy
    
  • Prolonged anger
    
• Remedy: Forgiveness, let it go
  
  • You make a decision
    
  • You choose to let it go
    
  • Put it in God's hands (person/situation)
    

  
   

You must forgive, and learn how to guard your soul, guard your heart and not allow these emotions to continue to manipulate, control or effect your passion, your destiny, your purpose, or your motivation in life.

 

Job 18:4 -- Resentment destroys the fool and jealousy kills the simple. Proverbs says "Anger rests in the bosom of a fool."

 

 

5.    AN UNSUPPORTED LIFE-STYLE

• You lose passion for God spending time around people who don't have a passion for God.
  
• They will bring you down to their passion level
  
• If you mix cold liquid with Hot liquid, you get lukewarm.
  

 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 -- Two are better than one…because if one falls down his friend can help him get back up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

 

• We need each other
  

 

1. UNCLEAR PURPOSE
   

• When you forget your purpose for your life, that is a sure way to kill your passion for life, and for God.
  
• When you lose your purpose you ask "why bother?"
  
• Why get up in the morning?
  
• Why put forth the effort?
  

 

Maybe you've felt like Isaiah, when he stated (Isaiah 49) "I've labored to no purpose and I've spent my strength in vain and for nothing."

 

• Passion and purpose go together
  

 

7.    AN UNDERNOURISHED SPIRIT WILL KILL YOUR PASSION

• You're going to get up tomorrow, next week, you're going to experience distractions and discouragement.
  
• You're going to have conflicts, you're going to have changes and problems and pressures.
  
• You're going to have frustrations, fear, failure, fatigue. These things are a part of life.
  
• You must intentionally nourish your spirit. "David encouraged himself in the Lord"
  
• If you don't do it nobody else is going to do it for you.
  
• If you don't take the time to do it, you are going to be effected greatly.
  
  • You won't have patience
    
  • You won't be filled with love for others
    
  • Joy in your heart, instead of contention or depression
    
  • Peace in your soul to take the place of anxiety
    
  • Wisdom needed for the day
    
  • To make your day go smoothly
    
  • You will not be efficient enough
    
  • You will not be enough
    
  • You will be overcome by pressures, depression, temptation, the soulish iniquities (weaknesses) of your own heart & character will become more evident; they will take over and reign:
    
    • Putting yourself first rather than others first
      
    • Being short tempered in stead of self controlled
      
    • Addictions: Taking that drink rather than going for a Sprite
      
    • Overeating rather than controlling your eating
      
    • Self preserving rather than self sacrificing
      
    • Counting your sacrifices rather than, a living sacrifice
      
    • Criticize rather than Encourage
      
    • Faithless vs. faithful
      
    • Agitator vs. peacemaker
      
• If you do not recognize the symptoms you could fall out of the race. Young believers and young leaders can push themselves and their teams too far, causing injury rather than growth. (example -- Merriam and track)
  

  
   

How do I do that? How do we keep plugged into God to keep our spirit strong?

1. Remember how God feels about you – how passionate God is about you!
   
2. When we forget how much God loves us, and what he's done for us, it's easier for us to blow him off.
   
3. He made you to love you. The reason you live is because God wanted to LOVE YOU.
   
4. When we are unaware of all that he has sacrificed for a relationship with us, we easily walk away.
   
5. He's so passionate about you and me that he would rather die than to ever be without us.
   
6. Then what must we do?
   
   1. Repent
      
   2. Priorities
      
   3. We worship Him daily
      
   4. Read the Bible, and apply it to our lives
      
   5. We stay connected with others with a passion. That feeds your passion.
      
   6. We become a part of ministry
      

We make appoint to share our faith with others.