Passionate Pursuit
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Its is an awesome thing when someone pursues something to finish it....
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
the active pursuit of something in life is absolutely necessary if a person wants to accomplish the goal.....
it is even more awesome and effective when someone pursues something with passion......
passion is the ultimate tool for accomplishment and is the driving force behind it.
passion, more or less, gives us a stronger assurance of completion.
definition of passion:
intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction
ardent affection : LOVE (Ardent=characterized by warmth of feeling typically expressed in eager zealous support or activity
an object of desire or deep interest
The cross is often referred to as the “passion of Christ”
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
if we wanted to zero in on this point it would be this:
a successful walk with God is the result of an effectual, fervent and passionate pursuit.
the main reason we passionately pursue something is because it “availeth much”
It is much more likely to accomplish a desired result
not only that, but it is the passion for something that drives us to excel.
Quote: someone once said
Once something is a passion, the motivation is there. (Michael Schumacher)
a person might say.....why does there need to be such a passion?
Passion drives us to:
seek God with all our heart
to be obedient to his word
to present ourselves a living sacrifice
drives us to be a better witness
one good reason we must pursue God in this manner is because his word says that we should.
it is the first commandment
30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
this sounds pretty much like a passionate pursuit......
when we try and witness to someone they can feel our passion or lack thereof.......
what causes someone to want to look into something or check it further is the excitement of person
why would someone want something that sounds boring??
Passion can be an indicator of what is in someones heart…
14 Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.
15 And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows.
16 And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands.
17 And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them.
18 And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed.
19 And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.
the problem in this story is that Jehoash (king of Israel) did morn the death of the prophet but he lacked passion within himself.
Jehoash was not concerned about the loss of the voice of God; he just felt some sense of security by having the man of God around
we see this all to often today:
There are many today who want the presence of a priest or a pastor, but they have no real interest in truly hearing from God or obeying the voice of God.
They lack a sense of passion in their walk with God, Just as Jehoash lacked passion.
therefor, Jehoash’s real problem was his lack of passion for the things of God.
the question is this: Is our relationship with God subject to the pastor or certain saints in the church??
It is great that we love the messenger and the saints but we need a passionate love for the truth at the very foundation of our spiritual walk.
Hungering after the things of God
Hungering after the things of God
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
what does it mean to hunger and thirst??
Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:6 were especially meaningful in that desert country.
British troops learned this Bible lesson on hunger and thirst during WWI as they fought their way across the Holy Land.
“Our heads ached and our eyes became bloodshot and dim in the blinding glare. . . . Our
tongues began to swell . . . our lips commenced to swell; they turned a purplish black and
burst. . . .
Some of the men went temporarily blind from the glare of the sun, the sand, and the lack
of water, a few fell out by the wayside, and these we never saw again. . . .
We all knew of the wells Sheria contained, and that, unless we captured the place before
nightfall, many of us would die of thirst. . . . We fought that day as men fight for their lives. . . .
We entered Sheria Station practically on the heels of the retreating Turks. The first objects
which met our view were the great stone cisterns full of cold, clear drinking water. . . .
It took four hours before the last man had his drink of water. . . .
I believe that we all learned our first real Bible lesson on that march from Beersheba to
the Sheria wells” (Gilbert 1923, 90–93).
It is that kind of thirst for God and for righteousness that will result in a necessary passion in our lives
A Christian Must Remain Continually Hungry and Thirsty
1. Moses
18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
2. David
1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, So panteth my soul after thee, O God.
2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: When shall I come and appear before God?
1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: My soul thirsteth for thee, My flesh longeth for thee In a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
3. Paul
10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
This kind of passion is the kind that leads to a passion for souls.
After his conversion, Paul became a passionate crusader for the gospel message.
14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.