Passion

Passion is the fuel of life.
It is the great source of energy and drive. It makes us explore new vistas, develop new relationships, and seek solutions to perplexing problems.

S- Spiritual gifts
H- Heart
A- Ability
P- Personalities
E- Experience

Passion is defined as the investing of time, energy and resources so that at the end of your life you will find fulfillment.

We are shaped for great ambitions and purpose. You can have talents, you can have gifts, but serving and ministering comes from the heart. Spiritual gifts are given to us for the church. But in order to know how and where you fit, you have got to have passion. You have to identify your passion. Your heart is what matters. Letting your heart beat for God is something you will never regret.

Some people might have found their passion but have lost it. Some people do not know their passion and do not pursue them. Others know what they are passionate about but are simply not pursuing them.

Do you know your passion? If you don’t, you are likely to be fulfilling somebody else’s passion. You can never be fulfilled when you are not passionate about what God created you to be passionate about.

Some people have suppressed their passion. This might be because of negative comments from people, but the thing about passion is that it is hardwired in you, it’s like a ball under water; it always surfaces.
Rediscover your passion. Fan it into flame.

One day we’ll have to answer to God for what we have done with our lives. We have to take responsibility because we were called to minister.

But still, it’s one thing for you to be passionate and another for you to do something about it. There are 5 principals that we need to have in order for us to make a difference.

1) We must know what drives us.
For some of us, we are driven by recognition, acceptance, our parents, and our own ambitions and desires. But God should be the One who drives us.

2) We have to know who we care about.
People are created differently; some people are created for teenagers, others for little children, some for the old, some for the poor and the helpless.

3) We have to know the needs we will meet.

4) We have to know the cause we will help conquer.
God wants to use the church the change the world. We have to be the hands and the feet of God. We have to realize that the world is our ministry, not just in the church. We have got to be a church without walls.

5) We have to know that our dream for the kingdom of God will be one beyond ourselves.
Our generation can afford to travel and to think global. That’s not for nothing, that’s for God to use us.

There are different areas we can focus on.
-Meeting spiritual needs
-Meeting physical needs.
-Meeting relational needs
-Meeting emotional needs
-Meeting educational needs
-Meeting vocational needs.

Exodus 4: 1-3
Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, and ‘The Lord did not appear to you'?"
Then the Lord said to him, "What is that in your hand?"
"A staff," he replied. The Lord said, "Throw it on the ground."
Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.

2 Kings 4:1-5
The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves."
Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?"

"Your servant has nothing there at all," she said, "except a little oil."
Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side."
She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring.

When all the jars were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another one."
But he replied, "There is not a jar left." Then the oil stopped flowing.

John 6:5-12
When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
Philip answered him; "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!"
Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"

Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted."

The thing that runs through the 3 stories is that God will use whatever little you have and multiply it. Would you bring what little you have to God?

In the beginning, God created something out of nothing, but that was the last time. Man was created out of dust, fishes out of the sea, and woman out of a rib from man.
God is the beginning and the end. God is everlasting. God is infinity.
But infinity multiplied by 0 is still 0!
You see, the point is this; you have to have faith, albeit a little, for God to work in your life.

1 Kings 18:41-45
And Elijah said to Ahab, "Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain."So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. "Go and look toward the sea," he told his servant. And he went up and looked.

"There is nothing there," he said.
Seven times Elijah said, "Go back."

The seventh time the servant reported, "A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea." So Elijah said, "Go and tell Ahab, 'Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.'" Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.

Go back if what you see isn't what you hear from God. Go back to the word of God.

Romans 10:17
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

We walk by faith and not by sight. Don't let your passion die.

Spiritual gifts (Part One)

Corinthians 12:1
Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.
The word "ignorant" here does not mean stupid, but rather uninformed. We cannot be uninformed about our spiritual gifts as knowing our gifts points us to the direction of our destinies.

We are wired to have the desire to be useful. God have us different and unique gifts for us to be able to share His love effectively
God has a unique purpose for your life.

Psalms 33:13-15
From heaven the LORD looks down
and sees all mankind;
From his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth- He who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.

Every single baby is a brand new idea from God. He made you and broke the mould, and there is no other you. That is why you have to be you! You have got to be in your designated role.

Three things that spiritual gifts are not:

1)Personality traits.
2)Natural talents
3)Fruits of the spirits.

Let us consider the difference between talents and spiritual gifts. Talents have to do with techniques and methods, while spiritual gifts with spiritual ability. Talents are natural powers while gifts come from spiritual endowment.
At birth we get natural gifts, at rebirth, supernatural gifts.

What then is the difference between the fruit of the spirit and spiritual gifts?
Fruits of the spirit reveal Christs's contribution to our character, while spiritual gifts reveal the contribution we make to God's kingdom.

1 Peter 4:10
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.

What is the purpose of such spiritual gifts? It is stewardship, it is to serve, not selfishness.

1 Corinthians 7:7
I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.
God has given us each different and unique gifts, which is why we should not look over our shoulders to be envious of the gifts of another, we should rather be realizing our own gifts and utilizing them.

You have to accept who you are in God, and by faith, do extraordinary things for Him.

Worship

Luke 7: 36-50
Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman
Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner."
Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you."
"Tell me, teacher," he said.
"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"
Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."
"You have judged correctly," Jesus said.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."
Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."


Now, this is a picture of true, extravagant worship. We have to be like this woman and love Jesus extravagantly because He forgave us.

There are two kinds of people in this world. The first being hard-hearted, proud, arrogant and judgmental like the Pharisees, indifferent to the presence of the Son of God. The second being grateful people who lavish their worship on God.

We can be either of the two at any time. We have opportunities to choose between judging and worshiping God with the whole of our hearts, every single day. Which choice do you want to make? Who do you want to be?

We have to keep in mind that we do not deserve to be in the presence of God. We are not doing God a favour by going to church, or attending cell-group. God doesn't need anyone of us; He is God! But God chose to give us the privilege of going into His presence. It is, in fact, God who is doing us a great, great favour by listening and responding to us.

Therefore, we cannot be arrogant, because a heart of arrogance is the opposite of a heart of worship.

Let us again look at the story of the sinner who anointed Jesus. This sinful woman had nothing to offer, nor any barter to pay for her sins, but she offered to wash his feet, which is sign of ultimate respect and adoration. But Simon showed no such appreciation and he was able to do all those things that the sinful woman did, He was arrogant. We have to be completely humble in worship to God.

But there are also people who are filled not with arrogance, but instead are filled with guilt, like the sinful woman we have read about. But we have to know that guilt can be turned into the greatest instigator of worship. Because the sinner woman was so faithful to Jesus, he had forgiven her sins and allowed her to go in peace knowing that she no longer has to carry that burden.


But all this would not have happened if she were not bold enough to come to Jesus. Therefore, it is important for us to know that true worship is activated by a bold initiative. In those days, women were not supposed to speak with Rabbis. They would only be allowed to do so if they were beggars. This woman probably acted like a beggar to be able to go to the feet of Jesus. But instead of asking for scraps, she lavished her perfume on Jesus.

That is bold. We have to be like her in expressing worship for God boldly, both inside and outside of church. We're not talking about going around telling people that they'll burn in hell, or wearing a sign that says "Jesus freak". We're talking standing for what we believe in even if it's contrary to the world's beliefs, even when we face persecution.

Also, true worship is demonstrated by a costly sacrifice.
Alabaster, the perfume poured upon the feet of Jesus, was worth a year's wages. It could have provided her a chance for her to get married, a way out of poverty into a better future. Yet she poured it all out on the feet of Jesus, she was literally pouring her life away. But this was how much the sinner loved God.

What have we to offer God? All of us know what God has done on the cross for us, and what then, will be our response to Him?

Well, worship is not just a song, or the lifting up of hands. No, that's not all there is to it. The only response to such mercy, such grace, is to offer up everything. Undoubtedly, worship involves sacrifice, costly sacrifice.

Let us look at the following definition of worship.
"It is our response, both personal and corporate, to God for who He is and what He has done, expressed in and by the things we say and the way we live."
What we say most certainly has to be backed up by the way we live.

"When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them."

This sinner chose to use her tears, and expensive perfume to wash the feet of Jesus. She chose to give Jesus everything that she could offer.

"But King David replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing."
1 Chronicles 21:24
An offering to God will cost you.

Lastly, true worship flows from a grateful heart.
"Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."
It is only those who are fully aware of the scope and the depth of His forgiveness that can love much. If we can just comprehend a little bit of His forgiveness, there would be no initiative too bold, no sacrifice too costly. The sinner woman experienced great mercy from God and is therefore able to present the most heartfelt worship to him.

We have all experienced this great mercy, and thus we also ought to present our worship to God in humility and awe and thankfulness.

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