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Christian Sermons
Handling Anger Constructively

INTRODUCTION:

Please turn to (Mt. 5:21-26).

Before we study this passage, I need to briefly explain the setting that prompted Jesus to teach on the subject of anger.

In (Mt. 5:20), Jesus said, For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Imagine for a moment how disturbing that statement must have been for the Jewish citizens of that day. In their eyes, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were the most spiritually minded people of their day. They were looked up too much like Ministers, Elders, and Deacons are in our day.

They were the spiritual leaders. They were the shepherds of the people of God. Everyone looked up to them for guidance in the laws of God.

However, Jesus said to the people, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

The people who heard Jesus say that must have been wondering, How can we possibly become more righteous than the Pharisees and the teachers of the law?

Well Jesus answers that question in (Mt. 5:21-5:48). In the following verses, Jesus outlined some examples of the how. Six times he will say, You have heard it said but I say to you.

With these words Jesus shows the true intent of Gods law. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law lived and taught one way, however Jesus points out that they didnt go far enough. They obeyed the laws outwardly, however, Jesus wants His disciples to obey them inwardly as well. Not only does God measure our actions by His Word but also our attitudes. Not only are there external measurements but internal measurements as well.

IF WE WANT OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS TO SURPASS THAT OF THE PHARISEES AND TEACHERS OF THE LAW, AND IF WE WANT TO ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, THEN WE MUST LEARN HOW TO HANDLE OUR ANGER.

THIS MORNING, WE WILL LOOK AT TWO POINTS ON THE SUBJECT OF ANGER.

FIRST, AS CHRISTIANS, WE MUST BE AWARE OF THE SERIOUSNESS OF UNRIGHTEOUS ANGER.

In (Mt. 5:21-22), Jesus quoted (Ex. 20:13) to show us that murder is a series offense. It is an ungodly act of violence that is totally against the will of God.

If Jesus had stopped right there, all of us would probably clap our hands and cry out, Amen, thats right, murder is wrong. Show no mercy to those who take innocent lives."

But when Jesus went on to suggest in (v. 22) that being angry with your brother is just as serious as murder, our amens would soon stop because each one of us just became guilty before God.

Killing is a terrible sin, but unrighteous or unjustified anger is a great sin as well because it also violates Gods command to love.

Before I move on, I must tell you that righteous or justified anger is not forbidden in the Bible.

For example, Jesus in (Jn. 2) became angry with the dishonest merchants who were polluting Gods temple. However, in His anger, He did not sin.

(Eph. 4:26) In your anger do not sin

When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai and saw the people worshipping a golden calf, he had every right to be angry.

When Jonathan became angry with his father Saul for treating David shamefully (1 Sam. 20:34), he had every right to be angry.

Some anger, brethren, is not wrong. If we have valid reasons to get upset, then our angry feelings are not immoral. On the other hand, some anger is wrong and destructive.

ANGER THAT IS UNJUSTIFIED IS WRONG.

For example, When Abel offered a better sacrifice to God, his brother Cain became angry. His anger was prompted by his jealousy. That is unjustifiable anger.

ILLUSTRATION:

In Dadeville, Alabama, a man shot and killed another man because he was a better Bible quoter. They were arguing over a subject, and one man became so jealous and angry because he couldnt keep up scripturally with the other man, he shot and killed him.

ANGER THAT PROMPTS US TO SAY HATEFUL THINGS TO OTHERS IS WRONG AND MANY TIMES DESTRUCTIVE.

Jesus in (Mt. 5:22) warns us of the awesomely destructive potential of words.

But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, Raca, is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, You fool! will be in danger of the fire of hell (Mt. 5:22).

When we are angry and say hurtful things to others, we are sinning.

We need to be very careful with the words that we offer to others.

We must remind ourselves daily that angry outbursts of lethal words can damage self-concepts and destroy personal relationships.

ILLUSTRATION:

In his book The Power Zone, Dr. Larry Calvin wrote this article that can help us understand that words can damage people.

He wrote, several years ago, a young lady walked into my counseling center. She was 25 years old, five foot two inches tall, and weighed well under a hundred pounds. When she was asked to describe herself, every word she used was a fat word.

While we were thinking she needed intravenous feedings, she was seeing herself as fat. Her daily diet was three grapes and a teaspoonful of Grape Nuts, and after eating that, she felt bloated.

In the process of treating her, we learned of the verbal abuse she endured as a child. She recalled one incident that occurred when she was about eleven years old. She had sneaked off one Saturday to go to the mall to meet a boy her age. Theyd had a coke and walked around holding hands in the mall looking in store windows. Her brother had ratted on her, so when she got home her dad started yelling at her.

Among other things her dad said that day was one sentence she has never forgotten. Her dad said, I dont see what the boys see in you anyway, as fat as you are. Every time she looks in the mirror, she hears that sentence and sees a fat nobody.

Brethren, in the heat of our conflicts, we must avoid saying things that can do absolutely unbelievable damage to both the self-concept of the person we are talking to as well as the relationship itself. Angry words can cause serious damage.

Parents be very carefully with the words you use when you are disciplining your children. Angry words can effect them for the rest of their lives.

Husbands and wives, be very carefully with the words you say to one another.

Christians, be very careful with the words you say to your brothers and sisters. Angry words can destroy relationships and cause others to abandon their faith.

We need to take the advice of (Jam. 1:26). If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

ANGER THAT IS NOT RESOLVED AND STILL LINGERS IN OUR HEARTS IS WRONG AND SINFUL.

(Eph. 4:31) "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice."

If we have anger lingering in our lives, then we have sin reigning in our hearts.

If we add a d to anger we have the word danger. We are in a dangerous situation if we have anger stored up in our hearts.

SECOND, AS CHRISTIANS, WE MUST LEARN HOW TO HANDLE ANGER CONSTRUCTIVELY.

At this time, I will offer three principles that we should consider in order to handle anger constructively.

FIRST, BEFORE WE GET ANGRY, WE NEED TO ASK OURSELVES THIS QUESTION, "DO I HAVE A VAILD REASON TO GET ANGRY?"

If we do not have a valid reason to get angry, then we must drop it!

(Prov. 17:14) Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.

(Prov. 19:11) A mans wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.

SECOND, IF WE HAVE A VALID REASON TO GET ANGRY, THEN WE SHOULD VERBALIZE OUR ANGRY FEELINGS.

When anger strikes, we should not suppress it which means to hold it inside or deny it exists.

When anger strikes, we should not explode and say things that we will later regret.

Instead, we should verbalize it in a positive and gentle way.

(Prov. 15:1) A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Go to the person you are angry with and tell him or her your feelings. Do this in a loving way.

(Mt. 5:23) Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

Some of you may think that the best way to resolve anger is to go exclusively to God and ask Him to work it out. But God is saying that if we truly want to work out our anger then we must go to the person we are having trouble with first and get it all worked out, and then come to Him.

LASTLY, FORGIVE THE PERSON WHO MADE YOU ANGRY.

(Mk. 11:25) And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.

(Mt. 6:14, 15) For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Forgiveness means that you pardon the person of his or her offense; you give up all feelings of getting even; you let go of all the hurt that he or she has caused; and you keep no records of wrongs. Forgiveness means it over; it is complete; it is finished.

If we have anger in our hearts then we better forgive before it is too late.

CONCLUSION:

This morning, from the Sermon on the Mount, we learned several principles.

Unrighteous anger is a serious offense.

Anger that is unjustified is wrong.

Anger that prompts us to say hateful things is sinful and many times destructive.

Anger that is not resolved and still lingers in our hearts results in spiritual sickness.

Justified anger is not necessarily wrong, especially when we learn how to handle it constructively.

Before we get angry, we need to ask ourselves this question, "Do I have a valid reason to get angry?"

If we have a valid reason to get angry, then we should verbalize our angry feelings in a gentle and loving way.

We must forgive people when they make us angry.

This morning, if you have some anger in your heart, then please get rid of it. Go to the person you have hard feelings with and work it out. Do it today, before it is too late.

Bible Center

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A sermon Preached from Grief and Victory 

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LET GO AND LET GOD

By Dr. Ron Ostten

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." Second Corinthians 1:3-4

By way introduction to this article let me give you dear readers a background on the recent problems that the Ostten family has experienced and is experiencing. What God has done for us and is doing for us may help someone through some bad times.

On August 29, 1999 Sandra Kay Ostten McKenney, our oldest daughter was killed when the vehicle she was driving stalled on a railroad crossing and was hit by a train. The vehicle was pushed 1,100 feet down the track, exploded and burned up. We believe she was dead on impact and did not suffer in the fire. On September 1, 1999 at 10:00 in the morning we held her funeral and that morning a 1:00 A. M. my father, Walter Lee Ostten, Jr., died. We buried him September 3, 1999 beside his oldest granddaughter Sandra. Needless to say the Ostten and McKenney family have been in the fires and trough the fires. We do not need your sympathy, but do covet your prayers.

In this time of troubles, tragedy, and trials we have individually and as a family experienced the comfort of God. The blessings of knowing where your loved ones are cannot be emphasized too much. We know that dad and Sandra are in heaven and they are not suffering any pain or troubles. Thank God for His great salvation.

We, the family, are all involved in the work of the Lord. Sandra's husband, Bro. Danny Mckenney, is the pastor of an independent Baptist church, her two oldest brothers, Ronald Lee Ostten, Jr. and Steven H. Ostten are pastors of independent Baptist churches, her sister Hope Ostten Curtis is the wife of Bro. Vance Ray Curtis, Sr., associate pastor of Bethel Bible Baptist church, of which I am the pastor. Her youngest brother, Jean-Paul Ostten, is finishing up his Bible College work and is serving the Lord in our church. Her mother, Mrs. Jean Marie Granger Ostten, my wife, is a great preacher's wife and is a great servant of the Lord. We all have access to the grace of God and the comfort of God because we are the children of God. Born again by the blood of Jesus Christ.

When this happened we all went into shock at the offset but we soon realized that we had resources that the lost did not have and that the back-slidden child of God did not have. We then began to draw on those resources. We have the Saviour, the Scriptures, and the family of God to help us through these great trials. We quickly turned to all these sources of help and are receiving great comfort. DON'T GRIEVE FOR US, PRAY FOR US TO BE USED BECAUSE OF THIS GREAT TRIAL!

Many people have sent us literature and notes to encourage us; this has been a great encouragement. Don't count it lightly concerning the notes you send to a grieving family or person. The notes, cards, phone calls, and e-mail have been a great comfort in many ways. But the great God of Heaven has been our greatest source of comfort. I am going to share with you the things that God has given us.

When a trial, tragedy, troubles, and testings come in life, here is what one must do to go on to a higher plane of service and spiritual warfare.

I. TURN TO THE LORD, OUR GREAT GOD.

We hear some folks say, "When you get to the end of your rope then tie a knot in it and hang on." But this is not what one should do for one will never move on if they hang on to the rope. One must turn loose and let God have his way in their life. When we turn to the Lord and allow Him to minister to us, to show us His grace and to comfort us in the time of trials, then we can see that He is working all things out for our good and for His glory.

Mat 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

When one does not turn loose and allow God to have His way the pain and suffering will not begin to be healed and will not be eased. We still have tears and sometimes we miss Sandra and my dad, but we are seeing how God is working in our family, church and friends through all this trial. To God be the glory He doeth all things well!

II. TRUST IN THE SAVIOUR AND HIS PRECIOUSE WORD.

One of my preacher friends, Bro. Bill Haag, said, "When something happens in my life, some trial or something I do not understand, then I ask myself this question, 'What does the Bible say about that'?" The Bible has the answer to all our troubles, trials, tribulations, and testings. It has the all the answers we need. Human physiologists, human reasoning and human philosophy does not have the answers, but the word of God has the answers.

God is the sovereign God of this Universe and of our life therefore He is working everything out according to His will for our life. Nothing happens without His direction, control and authority. THERE ARE NO ACCIDENTS WITH GOD!

Heb 13:21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

When we turn to the Lord and trust in Him and His word then we can rest assured that He has our best interest at heart and that He is working out His will in our life.

We do not know what all these testings are going to produce in our life but we know that if we pass the test and trust in our dear Lord then He will show us what He is doing in our life. We may not know all of what He is doing in this life but we will in the life to come.

III. THANK HIM FOR WHAT IS HAPPENING AND WHAT HE IS DOING.

The hardest thing in the world is to thank God for the trials when you are going through the trials, but that is what we must do. We do not know what the future holds but our great and gracious God knows what will come to pass and He knows the way through the wilderness. We need to remember that "Joy cometh in the morning."

Your may think that you cannot give God thanks for that trial but you can let go and let God have His way in your heart and then He will give you the grace to thank Him for the trial. He wants you to be grateful for all that He is doing in your life. It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance.

1 Thes 5:16 Rejoice evermore.

1 Thes 5:17 Pray without ceasing.

1 Thes 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

It was and is the will of God that we experience this great trial and burden, therefore we must give Him thanks for what has happened and is happening. When we do not get to the place in our life where we can and will give Him thanks for the trial then we will become bitter or we will never get past the suffering. We must, to grow in grace and not have to take the test again, give Him thanks and do it from a heart trusting in Him.

Some people say that God puts His children through tests and trials to see what they will do. That is an unscriptural and ignorant statement, for God is all knowing and sees the future as well as the present. He knows what one will do before they do it. He does not allow trials in our life to see what we would do, but so we can see what we will do during that test. HOW HAVE YOU DONE IN THE TEST?

IV. TESTIY ABOUT THE GRACE OF GOD IN THE TRIAL.

One of the problems people have during trials is that some want to hold their feelings in and do not want to talk about the problem or do not want to testify about the trial. When we begin to talk about what has happened and is happening we begin to see the grace of God in the trial then we can allow God to have his way in our life and heart. My wife and I begin to talk to each other about what happened, about what was happening and what the future might hold. We spent some time talking to each other about Sandra, about daddy, about our other children, our daughter-in-laws and son-in-laws are our children, about our grandchildren, about my mother and about what this trial would do if we allowed God to have His way.

We spent time in prayer talking to God and thanking Him for all the things that He has done in our life. We are so grateful that we know Sandra and dad are in Heaven and we are so grateful that we know we can go to meet them one of these days. GOD HAS BEEN GOOD TO THE OSTTEN FAMILY!

Psa 77:11 I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.

Psa 77:12 I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.

It is God that is working in our life and it is God who has the reins to our well being. We must turn to Him, trust Him, thank Him, and testify of what He is doing in our life. In conclusion let me encourage each of you dear readers to turn to God in your trials and you will know that God's grace is sufficient for any trial or trouble that you are going through or are going to go through. Remember these great truths found in our text.

2 Cor 1:3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

1. God is the source of all comfort.

2. God will comfort us in all our tribulation.

3. God is making us able to comfort others.

4. We can comfort others with the same comfort God has comforted us.

Dr. Ron Ostten

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Passion part 2 (Finding Passion) 2-02-03

Last week we identified one of the great needs of mankind, passion. We could see that the Enemy of our soul would rather we were apathetic, as this is the one thing God cannot stomach. A life that is passionately worldly will find the emptiness and meaninglessness of that kind of existence and be challenged to find real meaning. It is the apathetic life that does nothing and goes nowhere that is most disastrous for any culture. It silently draws multitudes toward oblivion without God.

How do we find passion that will motivate our life to rise above this mediocrity to make a difference for the Kingdom of God? How do we find a vision of what God really intends for our life? First you have to have the desire to rise above mediocrity. You may have heard of the young student that went to Socrates asking for wisdom. Socrates took him out into the ocean. He asked him to remind him what it was he wanted. When the young disciple asked again for wisdom, Socrates pushed him underwater and held him there for about 30 seconds. When he let the young man up he asked him again, “What is it you seek?” The young man replied, “Wisdom, oh wise master, wisdom.” Socrates held him under a little longer each time until the student finally cried out, “I want air!” Socrates replied, “When you desire wisdom, like you want air, you will learn wisdom.” We could say the same for passion. It takes a continuous effort and intense desire on your part rise out of apathy.

We see passion in the life of Jesus. He resolutely set out to go to the cross (Luke 9:51) because of His passionate love for you. We saw in our study of John, Wednesday evening, how his whole ministry was focused on the time in which He would pay the price for our sins. Though He did not have a sin nature, He was tempted in everyway that you and I are. We would readily point to the fact that He is God and so excuse the indifference in our lives. But the fact is, He was all man, even though He is all God. He woke up tired and sore just like you and I do. He had to find passion to live only for His Father just like you and I do. So where did He get it?

The Scripture doesn’t tell us specifically, but it draws some strong inferences. Allow me to speculate just a bit on where the LORD found His intense passion to live only in obedience to the Father. He knew the Word. As a boy he must have studied with all the other children at the local synagogue. He memorized passages from the Scriptures in Hebrew. Most of the children would memorize the first five books of the Bible, the books of Moses, and many of the psalms. We can assume that Jesus did also because He often quotes from them. Though Jesus memorized, that alone did not make a big difference. Many of the other children did too, but we don’t read about them. The difference was Jesus’ application of what He memorized to His life. It wasn’t just letters and rules in a book. To Jesus, the Law was a light for His path. It showed Him what to say, how to act, and how to interpret His circumstances. He allowed it to be such a guide to His life that when Satan came to tempt Him, He immediately turns to Scripture to answer. It wasn’t a rulebook but a guide for Spirit filled living, revealing the heart of God.

Is that how you see Scripture? We must be honest about our attitudes toward the Word or they will never change for the better. Is the Word really the final say, the authority that reveals the will of a loving God? Then we should turn to it every moment of life. If we aren’t doing so, we need to consider what our real attitude is. Sadly, many see it as the back-up manual for when things go wrong, or worse yet, a resource to back their opinion. It should be the source of your opinion. The Pastor spoon-feeds it to us, but we can’t really get direction from those words ourselves, can we? YES! You can! If you will give it the place of authority it should have it will speak to your daily circumstances. The Word was alive to Jesus. He interacted with it continually. That interaction will help kindle the flame. The more I read the Old Testament, the more I see it was the seed thoughts for Jesus’ parables. It was a revelation of the Father’s will and heart. Is that what it means to you? Is that how you interact with it?

As we read the Gospels we find that this was not the only thing that stoked Jesus’ fire. He would rise before dawn and spend time with His Father. (Mark 1:35) Prayer was the place where Jesus communed with God, hearing His instructions for the day or the decisions that lay before Him. Before He chose the 12 he spent all night in prayer. (Luke 6:12) When faced with His betrayal and the cross, He spent His last free hours in prayer with His Father. To Jesus, prayer was the source of direction and comfort. It was where He connected with all wisdom and strength. It was where He got His marching orders as He went forward into battle against the Prince of Darkness. Looking past this world and into the heavenlies, He was filled with the passion of that realm. His Father kindled a fire of purpose and vision there in that secret place. No threat in this life could extinguish it. He did what the Apostle Paul instructs us to do in Colossians 4:2a. Devote yourselves to prayer…

There is at least one more thing that stoked His fire. As He walked in obedience to the Father, He exercised the gifts the Father had given Him. The Apostle Paul told Timothy to, “Fan into flame the gift of God …” (2 Timothy 1:6-7) That takes some work. The picture in these words is to use a bellows. God will put the spark in us through prayer and His word. Then we have to do something about it. We have to make the effort to stoke it, force air over it, until it erupts into a flame. If it should die down, we need to throw on some more fuel of the Word, either written or spoken to us in prayer. Then we stoke it some more. Passionate people make the effort to fan into a flame the gift that God has given them.

I can tell you that after most Sunday morning services I am exhausted but the fire is burning. He answers my prayer to anoint and speak through me, and when I feel His pleasure! Wow! The fire stoked even more. Use your gifts, see God working and the very thrill of being used of God will fan it into flame. When Jesus had taught His disciples how to evangelize and they returned with testimonies of victory, it sure sounds like His fire was stoked. “I saw Satan falling like lightening from heaven.” (Luke 10:18) When the sick were healed and the dead raised, when a man’s sins were forgiven and people saw the light, you know the fire burned in Jesus. In Jesus’ life we see the Word in His mind and heart, prayer that kept Him in communion with God, and the exercise of His gifts kept His fire burning. It will do the same for you!

Jesus’ glorified appearance is like fire. Consider this vision Ezekiel had of the Lord. Ezek 1:27 (NIV) I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. The burning bush that Moses saw was a picture of Christ, the physical on fire but not consumed. Get close to Him and you’ll catch on fire too! Let Him change you into His image – full of passion!

There is more than one kind of fire. In the book of Leviticus there is one of the more unusual stories of the Bible. Some that do not understand the character of God have a hard time with this passage. In Leviticus 10:1-3 the sons of Aaron decided they would use some other (strange) fire than that which God had given. God had lit the fire of the altar with fire from heaven. The fire for the incense was to come from the God given fire. But in disobedience to God, they decided to do it their own way. “We’ll do the God’s thing, but just do it our own way.” Maybe it was easier, or maybe they were experimenting, I don’t know for sure, but I do know God continually has grace upon our rebellion. If at anytime He chooses to exercise judgment because of our bold and arrogant rebellion, He is perfectly just in doing so. Fire came out from the altar and they were struck dead. Aaron wanted to complain, but Moses reminded him that God had warned them that to whoever approaches Him, He would show Himself as holy. He didn’t say merciful, but holy! Arrogant disobedience in the most sacred things of God brought about judgment that caused others to have a healthy respect and fear of God.

I think there is a spiritual picture there of doing God’s work man’s way. We can get a natural kind of emotion and excitement that is very similar to this strange fire. You see men that rant and yell, and yet you sense very little of the anointing of God. They have fire, just not the fire of God. Two days later you’ve forgotten what all the hype was about. Passion is not about volume or gestures or expressions. It’s about a passionate heart for God. Jonathan Edward’s was one of the pastors of the Great Awakening. He was nearsighted and had to keep his face about ten inches away from his sermon to read it. But He had a holy fire. People clung white-knuckled to the pews for fear of falling into hell. It is not about an outward expression but often manifests itself outwardly. The issue is really what is happening in the heart. God’s fire is a work of God, not of man, though man must cooperate and work with Him.

Let me tell you the stories of some men that made the effort to fan the fire of passion into a flame. John Welsh kept a coat by his bedside at night. When the Lord would awaken him he’d drop to his knees, throwing his coat around him, and begin praying. His wife would often say to him, “Honey, you better get your rest. You’ve got work a full day of work to do tomorrow.” He’d answer, “Dear, I have many souls in my charge and I do not know how it is with them.” While on his knees before God the fire burned within him.

Bishop Asbury was on his face every morning between 4 and 6 a.m. You know that as he met with God that embers were fanned into flames. Payson prayed in the same place so regularly that his knees wore groves in the hardwood floor where he knelt and talked with God.

John Wesley was a passionate man. Several times he told his secret. “I just set myself on fire and people come to watch me burn.” What fueled the flames in John Wesley? He spent 2 hours every morning with His God. Benjamin Franklin confessed that he often went to hear Whitefield preach just to watch him burn before his very eyes. That man of faith and prayer, David Brainerd, said, “I love to be alone in my cottage where I can spend much time with God in prayer.” No wonder he was such a man of faith. While he prayed the fire burned. He was a missionary to the American Indians. Listen to one of his written prayers and feel the fire. “Oh, that I might be a flaming fire in the service of the Lord. Here I am, Lord, send me; send me to the ends of the earth… send me from all that is called earthly comfort; send me even to death itself if it be but in Thy service and to promote Thy kingdom.”

Bishop Andrews prayed five hours every day! No wonder the fire of God was in his bones. Adoniram Judson saw his wife die in jail, had to beg nursing mothers to feed his starving infant, was forsaken by his supporters, but he never quit evangelizing. What caused the fire to burn so strongly that children on the streets of New York called him Old Glory Face? Seven days a week he spent 2 to 3 hours a day in prayer with God. He met with God at 6a.m and then again at 9. He met with God at noon and then at 3p.m. and 6p.m. He met with God at 9p.m. and again at midnight and at 3a.m. He left behind dozens of churches where the Gospel had previously not been preached.

Duncan Campbell hungered for the presence of God more than anything. At times Jesus was more real to him than his earthly friends. He was known to spend the whole night in prayer with God before a meeting was to begin. People remarked of seeing the Shekinah glory of God on his face. Islands where he ministered fell so under the power of God that visitors, after setting foot on the island, would seek out a church to find salvation.

These are men who were enthusiastic. The very word means in (en) God (theos). When God gets the fire of His Holy Spirit in us we have a supernatural enthusiasm. The passion and power of heaven come with the Holy Spirit.

A traveler was anxious to see where the Scotsman, Robert Murray McCheyne, preached. He went to his church and was met by an old gray haired deacon. He was led into McCheyne’s study and invited to sit in his chair at McCheyne’s desk. With a bit of reluctance but great excitement the traveler sat down. There on the desk in front of him was an open Bible. The old deacon said, “Now drop your head there on that open Bible and weep. That is what our minister did every Sunday morning before he preached.” The presence of God was so manifestly present upon McCheyne that before he said a word, people would begin to weep.

Was it passion that drove them to prayer or was it prayer that fired their passion? They got close to Jesus and He caught them on fire! One thing you can say for sure, they refused to leave their first love. When Paul wrote to the Ephesians he mentioned their love several times. Just a short 30 years later Jesus wrote the same church a letter through John the Beloved. He warned them that they had abandoned their first love. It seemed like they had everything else right, but without that first love, everything else meant little. Jesus warned them that they had fallen from a great height.

Everyone that I mentioned had an intimacy with God that kept their first love a flame of fire. You need a flame from God first and foremost. John the Baptist said that Jesus had come to baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. The flame must be allowed to burn up all that supercedes Him, and only then it can set your very soul ablaze. Then you need to fan the flame and care for it with communion with God as Jesus and these men demonstrated with their lives. The results are quite visible.

The founder of the Salvation Army, General Booth, warned his ranks, “The tendency of the fire is to go out; watch the fire on the altar of your heart.” One of the jobs of the Old Testament Levites was to be sure that the altar fire never went out. We must always guard our old nature from taking the way of the Ephesians. We are in constant need of recommitment and renewed consecration. We all need revival again and again. We are warned in 1Thessalonians 5:19 to not put out the Spirit’s fire.

But please don’t misunderstand. “ No one is more zealous than a deceived fanatic. There is an infinite difference between the zeal of the sinful nature and the passion born of the Holy Spirit. Self-born zeal is self-conscious. Passion for Christ and for souls is a consuming fire that so possesses the Spirit-filled Christian one is almost unaware of it.” (Wesley Duewel) Strange fire brings death to you and to other with whom you share it. The fire of God brings death to self but life to those it comes in contact with.

I find my passion in looking afresh at the passion Christ had for me to go to the cross. There has never been a greater display of passion. While I was still a rebel against Him, He displayed the ultimate expression of love; He laid down His life for me. Taking on the sins of the world and the onslaught of hell was so horrific; we will never understand the utter darkness of it. He knew how horrible it would be and asked if there was some other way, if there could be found any other means to make you and me right with God, to please go for plan B. There was no plan B that could satisfy the justice and righteousness of God. When He saw that was the only way, as horrible as it was, He looked at eternity future with us redeemed and forever seated at the right hand of God in Him, and He said, “Yes! I will do it. To please the Father and to save them from destruction, I will pay the price, endure the horror.”

Love begets love. When we see His love that was displayed on the cross, when you are willing to not turn your head but to stare there and drink in all you can perceive, how can your heart not overflow with love in return. The love of God has been made visible to us, right there. Love that doesn’t cost anything isn’t worth much. Love that costs everything is priceless. That is where I find my worth, my meaning, my purpose, my life, my passion, and my all. What does our little squabbling about the inconsequential mean in the light of the cross? It makes me want to throw everything else aside and just live in the shadow of it. That is passion!

But go on a little further. He redeemed you to live through you. You have a divine purpose in life. Once you get the vision that your life has purpose that affects all eternity, you marvel that God would be willing to use the little insignificant rebel, you. Who but God could turn a traitor into a hero? But He does that so that He gets all the glory, and yet, He will share that glory with you, if you are willing to suffer with Him. What an honor and blessing and wonder that the God of all creation would want to include us in what He does, but that is what co-laboring is all about. He delights in working with us. That just makes my head spin. It just shows how mighty He is. And if fans my flame of passion! As you see Jesus’ passion for you in the Word, in prayer and in the use of your gifts, your passion should increase.

Do you really desire passion? If not, you need the fire of God. Ask Him for it! If you do, you probably have that ember of fire from the Holy Spirit. Now you just need to fan and fuel it! If you really want passion, you will take the time to fuel it by drawing near to Jesus in His Word and in prayer. You will exercise your gifts at the leading of the Holy Spirit. You’ll pump the bellows by taking time to have intimate communion with God. You are going to leave here this morning in continued apathy, or with a decision to fan into the flame the gift of God in you. It will probably take a reprioritizing of your time. How strongly do you want to be a passionate person? You will leave here this morning quenching the fire or determined to fan it into a flame. It is your decision, and it will affect the outcome of your life.

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Passion 1-26-03

Revelation 3:19; Romans 12:11

One of the most attractive qualities a person can have is passion. Great leaders in every area of life, both villainous and heroic, are people with passion. It draws like a magnet. Hitler is said to have mesmerized people with his speeches because of the passion with which he spoke. Dwight L. Moody had the same affect on people. One affected the world for evil, and the other for good, but they both had the quality of passion that made people pay attention.

What is passion? John Maxwell says, It is the energy of the soul. One of Websters definitions is, A strong liking for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept. The Old Testament idea of passion was often applied to God as the One who was jealous for His peoples heart. It is likened to a consuming fire. Song of Songs 8:6 (NIV) 6 Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.

It was this zeal of God for His people that destroyed their enemies. But it was the same zeal that sent them into captivity when they were unfaithful. It was this passion that restored Israel after captivity. (Isaiah 42:13) The same passion that God has for His house to be clean and holy. (Psalm 69:9) It is the same passion that would send a Savior who would be clothed in zeal. (Isaiah 9:7, 59:17) Using Websters definition of a strong liking for or devotion to Jesus would have to be the most passionate man to ever live. He did not do or say one thing without the approval of His Father. We will never see a more passionate life than that of Jesus. It was a life consumed with pleasing the Father even unto death.

The Great Commandment was for them to love the Lord their God with ALL their heart, soul, mind, and strength. You could say that God asked them to be as passionate about Him as He was passionate toward them. This is not a superficial emotion! It is a state of being totally involved, wrapped up in, enamored with the one on whom it is placed.

We can be passionate about the wrong things. Romans 10:2 (NIV) 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. The Jewish leaders, at the time of the early church, were zealous for the letter of the Law. They wanted to be perfect at keeping their definition of the rules, while God was looking for changed hearts. Paul said he was so zealous for the Law the he persecuted the church. (Philippians 3:6)

The good kind of zeal is a zeal that is relational, like Gods zeal is for us. That overflows into being zealous to do good works. (Titus 2:14) Just like a when a husband is passionate about his wife, he wants to do things that please her. Men, if you are passionate about your wife, you will not have trouble saying no to the temptations that will come your way. In the same way, if we are passionate about God, about our personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the world will have little sway on us. Why? Because you have a love that far surpasses all others!

Have you met someone that you would say had a passion for a hobby? Some men have a passion for football. This is their Great High and Holy Day Super bowl Sunday. They've followed both divisions all through the year. They can quote stats like you'd love to quote the Bible. They are serious about it. They know every quarterback, his back up, his number, and details about his family. They always have their favorite team that they are extra passionate about. And if that team gets in the Super bowl, Lord help us all. Hes got the team jacket and pennant flag, the mug and T-shirt and if he can, hell mortgage his house to get seat in that stadium. It is a little annoying being around him, but at the same time, it is exciting. Why? Hes alive! Hes got something to live for even if it is a bunch of grown men banging into each other over a pigskin full of air.

Tony Compolo wrote that, We are caught up in a particular stage in our national ethos, in which we are not only materialistic, but worse than that, were becoming emotionally dead as a people. We dont sing, we dont dance, and we dont even commit sin with very much enthusiasm.

Were becoming a nation of self-satisfied couch potatoes. We have what we need. We dont want to be bothered. Just let us go to sleep in our stupor of sufficiency. YAWN! One of my greatest struggles in teaching High School youth is to get them beyond apathy. I hear over and over, What difference does it make. They dont say that to me anymore, because I launch into a passionate explanation of the difference it makes.

Kirkegard wrote, Age will die not from sin but from a lack of passion. If the enemy of our soul can just lull us to sleep in our satisfied, unconcerned, do nothing deadness, we are of no threat to the realm of darkness. Max Lucado put it this way, The poison of the ordinary steals the magic of the moment. What has happened to us?

It reminds me of the church of Laodicea. God just wanted them to be passionate one way or the other, anything but lukewarm. Jesus personal warning for those without passion, who were self-satisfied, not realizing they were desperately in need, went like this, Rev. 3:19 (NIV) 19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Be earnest! In Greek that means to boil! In a negative sense, boil with anger, or with jealousy. In a positive sense, it means a zealous pursuit of good, or to exert yourself for something, in this case repentance. Are you boiling? The command from the lips of Jesus is, Be boiling! Change the way you think!

That lukewarm spirit is a spirit of apathy. That is an interesting word in the Greek. A as a prefix in Greek means without. The last half of the word is pathos. It means feeling or emotion. Apathy then means to not have feelings or emotions. You just really dont care. God says that is the one thing He cant stomach. Be cold or boiling, but dont be in between.

The Apostle Paul admonishes us to (Romans 12:11 (NIV)) 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Zeal is from the Greek word spoude spoo day. We have a family in town with that last name. It means to be diligent, earnest, to hurry, with effort. We are never supposed to be anything less than diligent and in earnest. Fervor comes from the same root word we looked at in Revelation (zeo), to boil with heat. Dont simmer! Dont be lukewarm, but keep passionately boiling! Keep your spiritual fervor. So an expanded translation would be, Never be anything less than diligent, earnest, making an effort, but keep on boiling as you serve the Lord!

Would you say you were walking in the fullness of the Apostles instruction?  I can tell you I'm not, but I intend to by the grace of God. Forgive me for not being more passionate. One Gallup pole said the number one factor in people choosing a church is the passion of the Pastor. It ought to be the leading of the Holy Spirit. This deciding factor of a passionate pastor is intricately connected with our cultures search for relevance and meaning. We see passionate people as having found a reason to live, something to strive for. What do your neighbors and acquaintances see in you? Has your passion for the good caused them to wonder what you've found?

Why do we lack passion? I think one reason we lack passion is our dullness to the wonder of all that God is doing for us. We allow our hearts to get calloused toward His display of love. Enough of the tears, I just want to enjoy today, and I dull myself to the magic of the moment. I let busyness fill my mind and numb my heart. The wonder of His interaction in my life, I come to expect as routine, instead of letting my heart be gripped by it. My eyes of faith close as I fix them on the world and troubles around me. And as my eyes of faith close, the realization of Gods great love for me begins to fade.

Passion makes us stand out and be noticed, and we feel more comfortable just fitting in. Lets face it, no one likes the person that makes waves and challenges the status quo, and that is what passionate people are always doing. Their passion challenges every lukewarm person they contact, and just like in Jesus world, they will love or hate you for it. Its so much easier just to blend in. One reason Peter, James, John, and Andrew are mentioned first is their passion. Passion pushed them to the front and opened their mouths. James and John were so passionate they were called the Sons of Thunder. Peter needs no explanation. His passion is his testimony! Andrew was the one that went around recruiting disciples, We've found the Messiah!  We've found the Messiah!

Another reason for the lack of passion is we haven't seen the purpose God has for our lives. We havent grabbed hold of His vision for us. Self is our little tiny goal, and that is not very exciting. Then there is the problem of these physically aging bodies. How can we be boiling when our body is declining? Apathy tends to increase with age. John Maxwell says, Wise young believers are as rare as zealous old believers. The older we become, the more set in our ways and desirous of the status quo we usually are. It doesn't have to be that way, but that is the tendency of man.

Oh but what a difference when we reject the natural tendencies of man and walk in the Spirit! Your willingness and desire for the fire and passion of God are going to be proportionate with how God uses you. Think of it like this: The person with little passion has little vision and little hope of God accomplishing great things. According to your faith, it will be done unto you. Passion is an ingredient for a life that makes a difference. Passion will increase your will power, your self-discipline, raise the level of your goals, and give you a vision beyond that of ordinary man. Apathetic people put as little on their schedule as they possibly can. Passionate people have schedules that are packed and carefully planned in wisdom to accomplish the most they can possibly do.

Passion touches lives but it also changes you! Augustan said that unless you had something to die for, you haven't begun to live. When I do a word study, I always want to find out how God uses the word in Scripture. When we took a look at the way God used the word love, we found that it was almost always defined by a willingness to die. That is passion. That is love that goes beyond reason, beyond intellectual thought. Have you found something you are willing to die for?

The very first definition in Websters for passion may surprise you. It is the scene that ultimately defines passion. It is the suffering of Christ. That is why we have Passion plays, Passion week. We describe passion by Christs display of His passion to free us from our sin by dying in our place. The more man abused Him, the more passion He displayed for us. He could have just gone over the hill where the Garden of Gethsemane was and kept on going. Why stay and sweat drops of blood thinking about our sins being placed upon Him? Ill tell you why. He passionately loves you. He could have revealed His glory in that Sanhedrin trial, and they would have all been crying out for mercy. Why didn't He? It was His passion to see you right with God. He could have answered every accusation with such wise clarity that Pilate would have been ashamed not to let Him go, but His passion held His tongue. At any time during His scourging and crucifixion, He could have called a legion of angels to destroy His enemies. Why didn't He? You know the answer. Passion!

In every revelation of God through Jesus we are called to be like Him. You've probably noticed that I use the word Christ-likeness in nearly every sermon. It is God's passionate vision for you. If God is so passionate about us, how should we be toward Him?  Have you ever seen a one sided relationship where the wife is so in love with her mate, but the husband is nonchalant? Don't you just want to smack him upside the head and say, Hey, the girl is head over heals for you! Don't you get it? Don't you appreciate it? I think we could all look at the cross the Passion and slap ourselves. Get over the numbness, the callous attitude, and get some passion!

What are we about? What is Wayside here for? Are we just being comfortable and happy till Jesus comes for us? That is how you spell APATHY. So what would a passion that reflects the passion Jesus has for us look like? How would it express itself in your life? There is not one answer for all of us. We can generalize, but there is a specific answer for you. Only a passionate heart, willing to behold the cross, will lead you to that answer!

I can wind you up, but I cant give you passion. No one can! Jesus isnt going to hand it to you on a silver platter. He handed it to you already on a bloody cross. You've got to take it and let it heat you up until you boil. What is burning on the inside will manifest itself on the outside in your daily life. It will manifest itself in an intense love for God that will keep you from sin. I'm not saying you'll never make a mistake, but when the question is clear, you wont have to sit down and figure it out. Your passion will have already made the decision. Passion results in a radical commitment the kind that is willing to not only stand out, but die for the passion you've found. It will affect your work, you leisure, your worship, your home, and every area of your life. It will include the all of the Great Commandment, all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength. It will cause a hatred for sin and love for the things of God.

Passion is contagious. (2 Corinthians 9:2) Those who don't run from you will end up being more like you as you become more like Jesus. Why is passion so powerful? God is passionate, and the angels are passionately praising God! The departed saints are passionately worshiping God. All heaven is passionate. Maybe people are getting a glimpse of eternity when they see godly passionate people. The world doesn't see enough of them. It saw a dozen passionate men in the first century, and the world was never the same. Christians have every reason to be the most passionate people on the planet.

How do we find passion?  How can we let our hearts boil?  Where do we catch the fire of God? You'll have to wait till next week for part two, but you don't have to wait to start passionately responding to His love for you.  Be praying for a willingness to become a more zealous person because of His passion for you.

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