I recently read a true story about a Mr John Jones. Mr Jones was a compulsive collector of rubbish. Police investigators believe he died when the 4000 kg’s of rubbish he had collected in his bedroom, collapsed and fell on him. That was just the rubbish in his bedroom! Mr Jones' house in Aberystwyth, England, was so full that he built a network of tunnels so he could move around in it. When he passed away, his house was so jam packed they had to take his body out through a window.
In the words of Bob Dylan...
You may be an ambassador to England or France,
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance,
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world,You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody, Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.
My own addition to that song would be: 'You may collect garbage, all day long. But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed'
I love that I can be passionate about Jesus and His Cause, and give my life to serving the most exciting, amazing and awesome God! What else could I possibly live for!
On that note - here a few thoughts on passionate people.....
1. Passionate people have a purpose
I recently preached a message called ‘God works through willing people’. While preaching, I shared the story of William Wilberforce. Wilberforce was persuaded to lobby for the abolition of the slave trade and for 20 years he regularly introduced anti-slavery motions in parliament. After years of discouragement, in which pleas for abolition were scorned or ignored, the motion was finally passed in 1807 by an overwhelming vote of 283 to 16.
William was once quoted as saying:
“The grand object of my parliamentary existence is the abolition ofthe slave
trade. Before this great cause all others dwindle in my eyes.If it pleases God
to honour me so far, may I be the instrument of stoppingsuch a course of
wickedness and cruelty as never before disgraced a Christian country.”
Passionate people have a cause or a purpose that drives them.
Jesus himself was passionate! He was passionate about God and His kingdom. One of my favourite examples is found in Matthew chapter 21:12. The Bible says that, “Jesus entered the temple area and drove our all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves”
As we connect our life with Jesus, it is He who inspires us to remove anything that may hinder us from walking in a personal and powerful relationship with Him. It is Jesus who helps us to ‘overturn’ those things in our life that may distract us from ultimately fulfilling our own purpose and potential.
2. Passionate people are attractive
When ‘Crocodile Hunter’ Steve Irwin passed away only a few months ago, millions of people around the world tuned in to watch his funeral, Australian’s and people from nations across the world were devastated. Irwin's exuberant approach to life, people, nature conservation and the environment won him a global following. (We miss you Steve!)
Passion is attractive!
People can be interested in something, or be passionate about something. They are two completely different things. Jesus tells us in John 3:14-15 that He must be lifted up so people can see and believe in him to have eternal life.
As we grow more in love with and passionate for Jesus – we actually lift him up in our life so others can see him working in and through us, therefore leading people to Christ!
That is why I love to work passionately, worship passionately, give passionately, pay my bills passionately, live passionately and help others passionately – ultimately I am helping lead people to Jesus! What an awesome opportunity!
3. Passionate people don’t take ‘no’ for an answer
My wife Emily is probably one of the most passionate people I have ever met. Emily has represented Australia for gymnastics and sport aerobics on several occasions, including two world championships. Emily once broke her wrist quite badly, only three weeks out from the Australian National Gymnastics Championships. Her coaches and other friends advised her it would be best not to compete; however, that wasn’t what Emily wanted to hear.
As usual, Emily found a way, she met up with a doctor and physiotherapist who both were willing to work a recovery plan with her and support her throughout the competition. For obvious reasons, she was unable to train properly right up until the championships. Her warm up routines on the morning of the competition were the first time she had used her wrist since breaking it three weeks earlier.
One the day she competed courageously, working her way through the routines and performed extremely well. Emily managed to win 3rd place overall at Nationals, meaning she just scraped into the Australian team. Five weeks later she went on to represent Australia against New Zealand and won gold.
Had she accepted the original advice given to her to sit out, she wouldn’t have had the opportunity to win medals for both Queensland and Australia. It can be the same with us. As we continue to hold onto the promises that God has given us, courageously sometimes, refusing to accept what the enemy throws at us. We read in 1 Peter 5:8-10:
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring
lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith,
because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same
kind of sufferings.
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal
glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore
you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
There will be challenges in life, but as we commit to growing more and more passionate for Jesus and his Cause, we can live confidently in knowing that it was Jesus who was first passionate about us!
