Monday, May 24, 2021

Serving God Passionately

Brethren, we are re-sharing this message which we shared during 2019, as a family, we are still praying and meditating on the love of God for us after He brought our beloved daughter Claudia back from death as we shared in our last article. Thus, by the grace of our Heavenly Father we will work on a new article in the next week, God willing. Thus be blessed as you read in Jesus' name.

Vision to Charis 11 October 2019 (Muslims Are Faithful and some Christians are greedy)

I had a vision about a Christian man who was helping a homeless girl. This Christian father was not kind towards this girl. He was treating her not like his own children with love and respect but harshly. I then saw the girl asking for help from members of the Muslim community who were eager to help her with a place to live and with food. I heard a Muslim man explaining to his wife saying, "As Muslims, we need to help those in need. Because we are obligated by Allah". At first she was not eager to help but after the explanation above she seemed to have understood the bases of their teaching.

After seeing this, I heard the LORD saying, "Christians are very greedy when they do something for other people they show off and when they do things for others they should do it from their hearts and for Me (1 Corinthians 10:31; Matthew 25:40).  Muslims are worshiping another god and yet they are faithful. When they help people they do it from their hearts and for their god". END!

Are You God Conscious? 

Well, before answering that question it would be wise to first evaluate your relationship with God and the test is simple. Are you born again, having repented of your sins and living a holy life? (John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:23) Do you read your Bible every day as God commanded? (Joshua 1:8) Do you have a love for the Word of God, above all other reading materials or visual programs (TV, Internet, etc.)? (Psalm 119:20; 119:97). Do you often spend time praying or are you too busy with life? (Daniel 6:10). Are you about our Heavenly Father’s business by witnessing and winning souls or are you indulging in lustful and worldly pleasures? Is your company pleasing to you or to God (Hebrews 10:25; 1 Corinthians 15:33; 2 Corinthians 6:14; Luke 2:49; Proverbs 11:30). Answers to these questions are a basic foundation to our relationship with the Lord, and being so involved with Him will lead people to say “…these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13 NIV).

If we are consistently passionate, doing all of the above daily to please God, our attitude would be less abrasive and people would notice the hope in us (1 Peter 3:15-16). We would not take offense to people’s hurtful opinions; we would instead forgive them (Matthew 6:14-15). Therefore this kind of consciousness can best be described as living in God and God in us (John 17:23; Acts 17:28). Undoubtedly, the reason why so many of us have such bad attitudes is due to excessive self-consciousness.

Causes of Lost Passion

The Lord told us that most ministries fail because they have lost their passion or first love for Him, and as a result many people consider His work to be burdensome (Revelation 2:4). Jesus Himself invites us with a bold declaration: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). Furthermore, loss of faith in Christ is also largely due to a lack of passion for the Lord Jesus. When we walk out on our family and fellowship group in Christ, we have lost our passion and our love has grown cold and the danger of cold love yields hatred and grudges.

In the early 90’s, I lost my passion for Christ, with the principal cause being sin. I started spending more time in the night club than in church. Instead of turning to the Bible and the Lord for answers to my pressing problems, I turned to ungodly people, books and magazines. In addition, the company of the unsaved became more accommodating because their "innocence" to my hurting conscience served as a mask. Once our passion for the Lord has faded we adopt a new passion, which is often some kind of an addiction, as a replacement for our lost love to God. As it is, in this backsliding state the latter part of our lives becomes worse than it was before we knew The Lord (Luke 11:26).

Equally dangerous is when people who lose their love for Christ turn to idols, false religions, and worldly living (2 Timothy 4:10). As history has shown us, historically, most of the men who founded sects within Christianity lost their passion for Christ and pinned their hopes on the observance of certain doctrinal positions. The Lord made it abundantly clear when He said, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).

The word "hate" in this context from the Strong’s Greek concordance simply means ‘miséō, i.e. to love someone or something less than someone (something) else, or to to renounce one choice in favor of another, which denotes a moral choice. It does not refer to a literal hatred as in ‘misos’ (to hate). In other words, we should love The Lord more than anything or anyone else.  Therefore, we cannot love our lives, churches, pastors, parents, wives or anything more than Christ; if we do that, then we have lost our passion for Him (Luke 9:24). Our Lord Jesus Christ is a Real Living Person (and to the unbelieving I have seen Him) and our passion for Him must be above everyone or thing. He should be the reason, purpose and cause why we go to church and engage in various ministry work. Our love for church and the people in the church people should be secondary to our love and passion for Christ. If we are ashamed of Him and afraid to witness, don’t we show a lack of passion?

How to Keep the Passion Alive

When the Lord commanded my wife to start a women's prayer group, some of the sisters who had started praying with her came up with various excuses and did not show up. There came a time when my wife was just with one person, and her passion turned into discouragement. However, The Lord being faithful encouraged her and said that one person can pray for a thousand (1000) people. It's been more than four years now, and that same passion to see people saved and delivered is still driving them. The question is: which passion is driving you? The one you follow or the things you are most passionate about shows what you treasure! (Matthew 6:21).

Passion for The Lord is fueled by our abiding in His Presence without ceasing (John 15:7). We abide in The Lord’s Presence through worship, praying, fasting, Bible reading, being involved in ministry work, and fellowship in The Lord with those who call on Him (2 Timothy 2:22; Luke 2:37; Psalm 27:4; Deuteronomy 17:18-19). It is not just good to have a Bible; we must read it daily and obey it, so that our love may remain hot for Christ (Matthew 24:12). It serves as firewood, burning away all lusts and worldliness (Jeremiah 23:29), anchoring us in truth, and keeping us free from deception and slavery (John 8:32; John 17:17). As it is, Christ being the author and finisher of our faith commands us to set Him above doctrine, church and family (Colossians 2:17; Hebrews 12:2; 1 Peter 3:15). Furthermore, some of us go to great lengths to pursue a doctrine of faith or a religious belief like some sects in Christianity; such an attitude shows no passion for Christ, but only passion for the doctrine, denomination or position of faith. Remember to  "keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you" (1 Timothy 4:16 NLT).

Finally, fellow believers in the Lord Jesus, "...walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want (Galatians 5:16-17).

Vision of a Lukewarm Church

I received a short vision from The Lord this morning (December 8, 2014) just before I woke up. It was a vision within a vision. I saw myself walking into a beautiful building, and while walking I saw another vision behind me. Although I was looking ahead of me, I could still see the scene of the vision. I saw a large group of people whose faces were blurred in a church.

There was someone who was preaching to these people, urging them to worship The Lord. The person was trying to kind of "revive" the people through his urging and encouragement, but they were just standing there cold in their hearts towards the Lord (I was allowed to feel that their hearts were far from The Lord). I saw The Lord dressed in white light in their midst, without them even being aware He was Present. As I was about to climb a stairway, I heard a voice of someone who was standing there saying loudly: "I LOVE THE LORD WITH MY WHOLE HEART!" This was the end of the vision.

Interpretation:

The Lord explained to me that He is faithful to all His promises and that He is present where two or three gather in His name just like it was in this lukewarm church (Matthew 18:20). However, people's hearts are far away from Him since they are focusing on or thinking or of their lustful pleasures. The people in the vision reflect today's situation in the church, with people showing no passion or love for Him in His Presence. People lack enthusiasm and excitement in the church, and that is why the pastor or worship leader was trying his best to "revive" or "wake up" the people with encouragement. Brethren, let us show passion in the Lord's Presence as an expression of our love to Him, like the voice of The Lord's witness said. The Bible indeed encourages us to "...love The Lord your God with all your heart..." (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27), and praise/thank Him likewise with our whole heart (Psalm 9:1).

So, have you forsaken the love you had for Jesus Christ at first? Have you been spending more time with people, teachings, and activities that don’t encourage passion for Christ in your heart? If so, please repent. If you would like to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and start a life full of love for God, here is a Prayer of Sincere Repentance to get you started. For any questions or comments on this article or our ministry, please contact us.

Grace to you in Jesus’ name,
Brother Glenn.