As we continue our thoughts on the subject of ‘Passion’, let’s remind ourselves of the definition: ‘the emotions as distinguished from reason; intense, driving, or an overmastering feeling.’ Some synonyms for ‘passion’ are: ‘zeal’ and ‘fervor.’ I suggested last time that what the Church needs is a transformation of passion. We don’t need more passion because we already have it – unfortunately, it’s just misdirected towards temporal things. In fact, I’ll go one step further and suggest that we are all born with passion – the passion to live. It’s what makes a newborn baby scream and cry when they come out of the womb. They want to LIVE. It’s passion at its core. We were all created with this passion and psychologists say that when a human being loses their desire (or passion) to live, they have begun their first steps toward dying.  This is why you see some people living life to the fullest up to their last breath and others just exist in this world with no direction. I bring this into our conversation to point out that if you are not demonstrating a passion for life, you have turned the corner and have given in to the process of dying. I believe that it is when we fully embrace who we are in Christ and get a passion for living that out that we finally begin to walk in the freedom God wants us to dwell in. The antithesis of this is when you have misdirected passion and you find yourself living in bondage. Misdirected passion gives the illusion of life and freedom, but brings pain, trouble and ultimately death. Paul said in Galatians 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” Clearly Paul is repackaging the words of Christ Who said, “If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed” (John 8:36).  Of all the things that our Savior came to this earth to do, the #1 purpose He had was to set you and I free. And the vehicle He gave us to live out that freedom is our God-given passion for the Him and the things of heaven.

We see how to get it wrong over and over again in the story of the Children of Israel.  They were led into slavery then into freedom over and over again. Friend, God didn’t create you to waver or become apathetic. He created you with a vibrant passion to LIVE and then when you were saved, He placed inside of you a vibrant passion to LIVE for HIM! It is when we ask Him to revolutionize and transform the passion that He has already given us that we learn to celebrate the freedoms we’ve been given and live the abundant life.  And that passion for His Kingdom will always be demonstrated with a willingness to die to yourself so that He may be glorified. Earlier we reviewed the definition of ‘passion’ according to Webster. The other entry for the word ‘passion’ is the unusual definition that describes the suffering the Christ – also known as “The Passion.” See, the cross points to everything that Jesus is passionate about! Jesus passionately hates the way sin destroys you and your home. And He hates it so much that He was willing to die to beat it. Also, He loves you and I so much and wants to be in a relationship with us so deeply that He was willing to lay down His life to bring us into the family. Hmm…sounds like maybe we have a real-life passion indicator here…so let me ask you: “What are you willing to die for?” Because if we use Jesus as our example, then clearly what we can honestly say we’d be willing to die for is what holds our passions and zeal. When we can say that our lives exist for the Kingdom of God and we will passionately live out our lives to bring God glory through our lives, then we can join with David when he said in Psalm 119:32, “I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free!” Run. Not walk. Not sit. Not apathetically stroll. Run. It is through living a life of directed passion that freedom can be found. Isn’t it about time you laced up your running shoes?

Pastor Jeff
pastorjeff@lwwconline.com

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the lack of passion I see in the Church today. Please note that I didn’t say there was a lack of activity, volume or dazzle, rather, I have noticed there is a lack of passion. But I guess to get this started on the right foot, we may need to define the word and then see how it used in the Scriptures. Passion: ‘the emotions as distinguished from reason; intense, driving, or an overmastering feeling.’ Some synonyms for ‘passion’ are: ‘zeal’ and ‘fervor’ which means: ‘energetic and unflagging pursuit of an aim or devotion to a cause.’ It seems like there is a spirit of apathy that has rested upon the Church today that has seemingly zapped Christ followers of their passion and fervency and left them to be an empty shell of a cultural Christian. And one of the most common reasons I’m given when speaking about this is the classic excuse of, “Well, that’s just not my personality.” And 100% of the time, these same people have demonstrated a passion for something else in their life that rivals most church-goers I know!  The truth is, the problem is a little more complicated than can be described by my blanket statement that there is a ‘lack of passion.’ more accurately, there’s not a lack of passion, there’s an abundance of misdirected passion. In the Bible we read verses like Mark 12:30(MSG): “So love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.” Or Romans 12:11(NIV): “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” The word ‘fervor’ here literally means ‘to be extremely HOT; to boil.’ When referring to Apollos, the Bible describes this man as a person that is FERVENT IN SPIRIT (Acts 18:25). And at one point, Paul was commending the Church at Corinth and said he rejoiced when he heard of their “FERVENT MIND toward me…” (2Corinthians 7:7). So, I can safely say that we need passion, fervency, zeal and a fire that burns inside of us to such a degree that people will want to be around us just to see our energy, creativity and well….passion for the things of God as we live that out every day of our life. Ahh…but deep inside of this truth lies a problem that has crippled the remnant today. We think we appear more spiritual when we’re more reserved, unmoved and even-keeled. And the reason this is a characteristic of the Church is because the Church has taught it this way.

In Romans 7:5 we read, “For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death.” What Paul is saying here is that we do what we desire because it is our passion to do so. And when it comes to sin, we do it because we enjoy it.  The fuel of the destructive patterns in your life is passion. Period. You have a PASSION for the pleasure that sin brings you so you sin. This doesn’t mean that the passion is wrong, it means we need a revolution to take place in our hearts, souls and minds that transforms our passion to be in alignment with the things that God is passionate about!  Paul explains it in Galatians 5:24, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.” Simply put, our old passions must die. The problem is that this is where the majority of Christians stop – they’ve killed their passion. Murdered it. Eradicated it. Eliminated it. It’s gone. But did you realize that when you find yourself without passion, you are closer to being a Buddhist than you are a Christian! Buddhism teaches that the goal is to reach a place where you have eliminated all of your passion and desire. But this is clearly not God’s plan for His followers!

Friend, it’s not God’s desire that you live an apathetic life, rather He wants you to live a full, abundant, PASSIONATE life for Him! As we start this study on passion, I’ll ask you these questions: How excited do you get when you are talking about the things of God? What do you spend the majority of your time thinking about? At times do you find yourself unable to contain your excitement and fervency of spirit during worship and praise? Are you as interesting to talk to about Bible subjects, Jesus or other God-related things as you are sports, hunting, your job or your problems? Perhaps you need a revolution to take place as you receive a transformation of your passion!

Pastor Jeff Burke
pastorjeff@lwwconline.com

I would like to continue our thought about how that through Christ, God has carefully knitted us together and we are intertwined in a community of faith. Early in this series I used the illustration of the huge redwood trees in California that are the largest living things on earth and the tallest trees in the world. Many stand more than 300 feet high and are 2,500 years old. You would think that trees that large would have a tremendous root system that reached down hundreds of feet into the earth. But that is not the case. In fact, redwoods have a very shallow root system. The roots of these trees are, however, intertwined. They are tied in with each other; interlocked. This is what enables these giants to stand tall through the storms and winds that beat against them year in and year out. So it is with our relationships with other Christ followers in a local assembly. With an interlocking root system we support and sustain each other. The great psalmist David understood this because we read in Psalm 61:2: “I call to You…as my heart grows faint..” He was clearly overwhelmed and feeling a bit weary. BUt just three verses later he declares: “You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.” God had strengthened his faith and empowered him, but He chose to do it through fellow believers.  But being involved and participating in a community of believers is more than just fulfilling a need for a support group, rather, it also the outlet, vehicle and spiritual hub for our ministry opportunities. It is when we’re functioning as a body with and around other believers that we not only get to absorb God’s love, we get to reflect His love onto and into each other. It is part of our total assignment given by God Himself that we love, minister to and serve our brothers and sisters in Christ. We know this because it was a major part of the function of the early, New Testament Church. Let’s revisit Acts 2 – “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need” (V44-45). And before you thing I’m only referring to the meeting of tangible, temporal needs I draw your attention to the fact that the Scriptures also teach us that we need our fellow believers to help to guide us and lead us in the hidden ways of God.

Consider Ephesians 3:10, “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.” See, our communion, worship, fellowship and counsel with other totally committed Christ followers allow us to get revelation from the Lord that will impact the nations for His glory! God wants to guide us and many times He chooses to do it through His people in a community of faith. We get knowledge and wisdom for this adventure called life as we study His Word and pray together. As we share life together, God counsels us with advice that improves our relationships with Him, our mates, our children, our neighbors, etc. In Hebrews 3:13 we read: “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Do you see it? We must encourage each other and allow others to encourage us so that we won’t fall into sin! And we’re admonished to do it TODAY. Have you ever thought of how deceitful sin is? Furthermore, have you ever thought about how deep in sin you’d be were it not for your connection in a solid, Spirit-filled community of faith – intertwined with other believers?

Today I encourage you to stop for a moment and think about your involvement in your local Church. I didn’t say your attendance, your giving amount or the volume at which you sing to your Creator. Rather, I want you to stop and think about how plugged in you are (how intertwined you are) with the brothers and sisters that sit around you every week. They need you. You need them. We need each other. Isn’t it about time you linked up with them?

Pastor Jeff
pastorjeff@lwwconline.com

Last week we started thinking about how God has carefully knitted us together as His Church which is the body of Christ on earth. Through Christ we are intertwined in a community of faith. Through Christ, God has made us a family and this is our God-given support system. I’ll also go on record saying again that I believe the local church or “community of believers” is essential to our spiritual well-being. A beautiful picture of this is found in the Church described in Acts 2. They operated as a ‘family’ and they met together and had one mind, one heart and one agenda. They were united in Christ, consumed by the Holy Spirit and they possessed the mind of Christ. Consequently, God used this community of faithful, totally committed Christ followers to do some powerful things in the lives of countless believers that were living in a pagan, self-centered world. Surprisingly enough, God’s plan hasn’t changed. He still desires to use His Church to do some powerful things in the lives of those that He called our ‘neighbors.’ Of course, as soon as we all say “Yes” to this assignment and rally around this truth that we are to function as a ‘team’ or a ‘family’ in order to see heaven come to earth, the enemy calls his demons together and starts planning his attacks to try to discourage, disable and disconnect. When this happens (and it will!) we need to realize we need each other more now than ever!

As we face trials, troubles and tragedies, God intends that we be supported, strengthened, encouraged and empowered through our community of believers. It is when we stand together, intertwined at the very root that we receive the strength we need to stand and fight. The Psalmist, David understood this. He certainly knew his share of difficult times that tested his faith and warred against his soul and spirit. In Psalm 61:2 he says: “I call to You…as my heart grows faint..” He was clearly overwhelmed, but he called out to God for help and strength. And just three verses later we read: “You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.” God had strengthened his faith and empowered him, but He chose to do it through fellow believers. During the times when we are overwhelmed by the heartaches and burdens of life, when we wonder if God really cares for us, this is when we need to lean on the people of God. I can’t tell you how many times God has come to me and lifted me up, but did it through another Christ follower. Through other believers we can sense and know God’s love and care. That is why we cannot afford to try to stand alone or try to go it on our own. We need each other – we need the community of faith – we need THE CHURCH!

In a past issue of Leadership Magazine, Carl Conner writes about the dangers of standing alone. He writes: “A few winters ago, heavy snows hit North Carolina. Following a wet, six-inch snowfall, it was interesting to see the effect along I-40. Next to the highway stood several large groves of tall, young pine trees. The branches were bowed down with the heavy snow – so low that branches from one tree were often leaning against the trunk or branches of another. Where trees stood alone, however, the effect of the heavy snow was different. The branches had become heavier and heavier. Since there was no other trees to lean against, the branches snapped. They lay on the ground, dark and alone in the cold snow.”

Please hear my heart, friends. God has burdened me deeply with the reality that His Church is too divided, too distant and much too independent. The closer we stand in community with each other, the more we will be able to hold up. Throughout our lives (especially during tough times) God desires to strengthen and empower us through the local Church. This is why we need to be an active part of a community of faith. We need others and they need us. I implore you…consider your involvement, loyalty and participation in the Church. If you’re not an active part of a local, Christ-centered body of believers, please consider actively searching for the place God would have you worship and serve. And if you don’t think you need it or need us – please understand…we need YOU.

Pastor Jeff
pastorjeff@lwwconline.com

The huge redwood trees in California are amazing. They are the largest living things on earth and the tallest trees in the world. Some of them are 300 feet high and more than 2,500 years old. You would think trees that large would have a tremendous root system that went down hundreds of feet into the earth. But not so with these monsters. In fact, they have a very shallow root system. But they survive because the roots of these trees are intertwined together. They are tied in with each other and interlocked. Then when the storms come and the winds blow the redwoods still stand. With an interlocking root system they support and sustain each other. They need one another to survive. Yeah…you already see where this is going, don’t you? We need the same thing!  And because God in His infinite wisdom knew this, He has given us His Church which is the body of Christ on earth. Through Christ we are bound together – or intertwined – in a community of faith. Now
I know that if you’ve been around any progressive church in the last eight years or so, you’ve heard all the new buzz words – the most frequently used one is the word: “Community.” But this time, it’s a buzz word that is actually correct in the vision Christ had when He established His church. See, when we belong to Christ we belong to each other. Furthermore, fellowship with Christ means fellowship with each other. Through Christ God has made us a family and this is our God-given support system.

How do I know this was Christ’s plan and design for His Church? Mainly because Acts 2:44 says plainly that “…all that believed were together.” This tells me that the very first community of believers gathered together on a regular basis for worship, prayer, study and fellowship. It wasn’t easy to follow Christ in the first century. Times were tough and persecution was real. The early believers were bound together into a fellowship (or community) because they needed each other. Their desire to be together wasn’t so they could have “The Largest Church” or “The Fastest Growing Church” added to their credits, no, they stayed together because they knew they needed each other. They understood that there is strength in numbers. So it is with us today in our Westernized, American Church. We struggle with discouragement, temptation, sin, apathy, failure, materialism, doubts, etc. But praise the Lord, He has not left us on our own to run the race and fight the
battle. He has given us each other! But what are we to do? How are we to function together? Act 2:42 tells us: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” What a great focus to have as a community of believers: devoting yourself and applying the teaching you receive, enjoying fellowship and food with one another and spending time in prayer.

Author Randy Frazee writes in his book, “The Connecting Church”: “The experience of authentic community is one of the purposes God intends to be fulfilled by the church. The writings of Scripture lead one to conclude that God intends the church, not to be one more bolt on the wheel of activity in our lives, but the very hub at the center of one’s life….” And to that I say, “AMEN!”  The local church or “community of believers” is essential to our spiritual well-being. In the New Testament there are no “Lone Ranger” Christians. Rather, believers needed each other and God expected them to be there for each other. But you might say, “But I don’t fit in. No one ‘gets’ me.” Or perhaps you think you have nothing in common with anyone at your church. Might I suggest to you that feel that way a quote by Henri Nouwen that says: “We are unified by our common weaknesses, our common failures, our common disappointments and our common inconsistencies.” I
think I can safely say that we all can relate to these characteristics.

So let me ask you, are you intertwined with your brothers and sisters? Is your root system so fused together with those around you that you help each other stand when the storm rages? Or are you just standing on your own trying to see how tall you can grow with no regard to those around you? Might I remind you…you are the Church.

Pastor Jeff
pastorjeff@lwwconline.com

As we bring our discussion about “Love” to a close, I want to look at one final aspect of this amazing thing called “Agape Love.” We’ve already established that the love that God has for us is an unconditional, unending love that He pours out on you and I even when we don’t deserve it. John 3:1 says: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” We’ve also investigated the truth that this love is a love that sees our potential even in the midst of our failures and cheers us on to keep trying even when we don’t have the energy, attitude or courage to continue. Next we learned that this indescribable agape love causes our Creator to delight in us! I’ll remind you again of a verse that still amazes me: Zephaniah 3:17: “The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” This God that holds the universe in the palm of His hand delights in you and rejoices over you with singing. Go ahead….try to wrap your mind around that. And last, but certainly not least, I’ll ask you to consider the fact that this agape love is a love that gives to and serves the one loved. Agape love is a VERB.

You know when you’re really hungry and you can’t wait to eat something to satisfy the longing that is in your stomach? That’s what giving and serving is to agape love – giving is how love satisfies itself. Notice this verse God brought to my mind just the other day in 1John 3:16, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” Without service, agape love has no legs to stand on and will fail. You can’t say you have godly, agape love and not be giving, serving and sharing. It’s impossible. “Eros” love finds giving easy at first. If you’re married maybe you remember when you first met your mate and you felt that strange feeling for each other inside of your heart that usually translated into butterflies in your stomach when you knew you were going to see each other? Maybe he or she would bring you cards or flowers and when you were out they would shower you with whatever you wanted. Giving seemed natural and gifts would flow effortlessly. But the truth about “Eros” love, is that eventually the giver expects to get back. Not so with “Agape” love. Agape love is always focused on giving even when it is costly, painful, inconvenient and will never be returned. This is why the only love that works in a marriage is “Agape” love. Any other love that is demonstrated in a relationship will soon fade and you’ll find yourself empty, needing and looking for a way out. But when we learn to love each other the way God loves us – sacrificially – we take the focus off of ourselves and place it on the one we love.

Pastor Jeff
pastorjeff@lwwconline.com

We’re talking about “Love.” The love God has for us and we are commanded to have for others. “Love” is the main theme of the Scriptures and is overwhelmingly demonstrated by God when He sent His Son to take on our sin and die in our place on the cross.  God is passionately in love with His people even though we’ve proven time and time again to be unworthy, unappreciative, untrustworthy and unthankful. John 3:1 says: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” This is the “agape” love that is undeserved and sacrificial.  Webster defines love as: ‘a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties; affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests; warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion; unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another; etc.’ But friend, the agape love of God is so much more than that. Not only was it a love we didn’t deserve and could never repay, it is a love that sees our potential when all we see is our failure. What a beautiful picture it is to envision our Creator not only going before us making it possible for us to be successful, but also cheering us on while we run the race! God has freed us to be all that we can be and has empowered us to accomplish all He has set before us to accomplish. What a love our God has for us! And it is this same love that we should be lavishing on those around us. What have you done recently to ensure the success of someone else even though your actions will bring you no recognition?

But not only does God’s agape love desire to see us successful in the Kingdom, it also delights in us! Think about it, God actually enjoys being with us! A verse that still humbles me and takes my breath away even though I’ve read it dozens of times is Zephaniah 3:17: “The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” This God that holds the universe in the palm of His hand delights in you and rejoices over you with singing. Think about that: while you’re singing to God this Sunday during our worship experience, He’s singing over you! God doesn’t just love you because He has to – He loves you unconditionally because He delights in you! You bring Him joy! Of course this doesn’t mean that He delights in everything we do, but God really likes to love you and me! In Psalm 17:8 David says, “keep me as the apple of His eye.” This little phrase “apple of the eye” could be translated as “the little man of the eye,” or “the daughter of the eye.” It is based on what happens when you look a person straight in the eye. When you do this, you see an image of yourself reflected in the eye of the other person. Applied to your relationship with God this means that if you were able to look God in the eye, you would see yourself reflected in His gaze. You are “the apple” of God’s eye! His eyes are always fixed on us because in all of creation we are His favorite things to look at. This is why we’re never more like God than when we are generously, lavishly loving someone that doesn’t deserve it. When we commit to love one another as God loves us we are really being willing to let God help us see others from His perspective. We learn to see the good in people that is often buried beneath their behavior, our bitterness and society’s labels. And we can only do that with the agape love of God.

Pastor Jeff
pastorjeff@lwwconline.com