Is God Our Passion? Part VII

¹² But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, ¹³ so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; ¹⁴ and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
¹⁵ Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: ¹⁶ The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; ¹⁷ but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.

  
¹⁹ For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, ²⁰ according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²² But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. ²³ For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. ²⁴ Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. ²⁵ And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, ²⁶ that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.

  
²⁷ Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸ and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. ²⁹ For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, ³⁰ having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me. -Philippians 1:12-30

Paul was beaten, stoned, chained, incarcerated, spat on, slapped, falsely accused, and rejected by those he had lived among. He had been a well respected member of Jewish society. He had enjoyed the fruits of his labors and then he met Jesus. He abandoned everything that he had enjoyed to follow the Messiah. In verse 21 of  this passage, Paul simply states his attitude;  “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

The question we have to ask ourselves, “is God my passion?” We can look at our own lives and get a good idea. I heard a man say that he could tell what you cared about most by looking at your checkbook. If we pray, and ask God to show us, He will.

1st John is a good place to read how we can judge ourselves, whether we love God or whether we deceive ourselves. I believe most of us are so consumed with “us,” that we rarely think about where God fits in our lives. We may believe because we sacrifice Sunday that we are worshipping Him. If that is our attitude, I can safely say we have missed the mark. We should gladly gather together to worship our Creator and Savior.

We should gladly share Him with others. We should anxiously seek time in prayer and the reading of His word. We should demonstrate the love for others that He has for us.

Dear friend, I do not speak in judgment, but rather in love. Please spend time talking to God about this. My earnest prayer is that our Lord would be our passion.    

Is God Our Passion? Part VI

¹ Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, ² being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. ³ And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. ⁴ However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

  
⁵ And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, ⁶ as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 

⁷ And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?”

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: ⁹ If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, ¹⁰ let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. ¹¹ This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ ¹² Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

¹³ Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. ¹⁴ And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. ¹⁵ But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, ¹⁶ saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷ But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.” 

¹⁸ So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. ²⁰ For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” ²¹ So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done. ²² For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.

  
²³ And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. ²⁴ So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, ²⁵ who by the mouth of Your servant David have said:

      ‘ Why did the nations rage,
      And the people plot vain things?
       ²⁶ The kings of the earth took their stand,
      And the rulers were gathered together
      Against the LORD and against His Christ.’^[ Psalm 2:1, 2 <sup>]

27</sup> “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together ²⁸ to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. ²⁹ Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, ³⁰ by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” -Acts 4:1-30

Here, Peter and John are arrested. They are put on trial and told to stop preaching.

Peter, who before had sworn he didn’t know Jesus when confronted, not only professes Jesus, but boldly tells the religious leaders that he will not stop preaching Christ. Peter went on to preach for the remainder of his life, and was finally put to death. Tradition states that he was crucified upside down because he felt unworthy to die as his Savior.

With the exception of John, who died an old man in exile (and Judas who hung himself), all of the apostles were martyred (killed for their faith). They willingly died for their Lord.

Is God Our Passion? Part I

Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”                      -I Samuel 17:26

³² Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” ³³ And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” ³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, ³⁵ I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” ³⁷ Moreover David said, “The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!” -I Samuel 32-37

David’s confidence was born out of the experience of the Lord’s previous deliverances on his behalf. Further, since God would not allow His reputation to be damaged by this Philistine, David was certain that God would again deliver him in this trial by conflict. 

David had a great passion for God even though he was so young.

¹² Now it was told King David, saying, “The LORD has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness. ¹³ And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. ¹⁴ Then David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. ¹⁵ So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. ¹⁶ Now as the ark of the LORD came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart. ¹⁷ So they brought the ark of the LORD, and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. ¹⁸ And when David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts.  -II Samuel 6:12-18

The moving of the ark was accompanied by sacrifices, pomp, and great rejoicing. David’s dancing or whirling about was expression of spiritual joy. 

 ¹ LORD, remember David and all his afflictions; ² How he swore to the LORD, and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:  ³ “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, or go up to the comfort of my bed; ⁴ I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids,  ⁵ until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”  ⁶ Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah; We found it in the fields of the woods. ⁷ Let us go into His tabernacle; Let us worship at His footstool. ⁸ Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength. ⁹ Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let Your saints shout for joy.  -Psalm 132:1-18

Are we this excited about worshipping and being in the presence of God? Do we rejoice at the thought of praying, and reading His word? My sincere prayer is that we would find delight in the thought of meeting with God.