Sermon

Ep 461 | Passion For God - Elias Rodriguez 6/24/22

Church of Christ - Bakersfield, Ca

Open publisher episode ↗

Publisher transcript

Transcript

View source ↗
  1. I want to say that is my pleasure to be.

  2. Here and be part of this weekend.

  3. Meeting that would you prepare as a Kang gradation here in

  4. Bakersfield? And it's an honor in underserved

  5. privilege to stand before you and be your preacher during this

  6. weekend meeting, we hope and pray that what we're going to

  7. study these three days will help us to be the kind of Christians

  8. and children of God that we are To be that is our goal or

  9. challenge that we have to face in a daily basis.

  10. Tonight, we're going to talk about passion.

  11. Yes, we need to be passionate people.

  12. That the only way to succeed if you don't have passion.

  13. Partly you going to succeed. So we need passion and we're

  14. going to talk about the word passion, but we don't care only

  15. about this word this word. Many people have passion for the

  16. wrong things and means nothing. But we're going to talk tonight

  17. about passion for God, our heavenly father.

  18. So we're going to talk about passion for God tonight.

  19. But we're gonna try to Define what that word passion me.

  20. Is the basis for less than is found in Romans.

    Romans 12 chapter mention

  21. Chapter 12 and verse 11, the Bible says not lagging.

  22. In diligence fervent in spirit serving the lord.

  23. Passion is defined as intense drive, or overmastering feeling

  24. or conviction, hey, strong desire for or Devotion, to some

  25. activity, object or concept. Passion is synonymous of Ferber

  26. hate to see Assam and seal which fuels or motivates to are

  27. compelling. Auction nothing.

  28. Nothing great is ever accomplished live without

  29. passion nothing. Great.

  30. He severed sustain in life without passion.

  31. Passion is what energizes life passion is, what causes

  32. explorers to boldly go. Where no man has gone before.

  33. Passion is what causes scientists to spend late night

  34. out? Out trying to find the cure to a

  35. dreaded disease. Passion is actually the deciding

  36. factor between successful or unsuccessful people in every

  37. field of work. The fire that is inside affect

  38. every everything on the outside, doesn't way it is.

  39. If you have passion inside, everybody Gonna Know.

  40. It's okay. If you don't everybody gonna

  41. know his do cows say same same drool.

  42. The writer William Ward said, enthusiasm and persistence in,

  43. persistence can make an average person.

  44. Superior indifference and letter, G letter G can make a

  45. superior person, average. Of course, of course, success.

  46. Of course, success does not depend on passion alone.

  47. You can be passionately doing the wrong things and you are

  48. going to get nothing positive. Nothing good.

  49. But the truth is that without passion you can hardly succeed.

  50. Nothing great. He's ever accomplished with it.

  51. It is not lack of talent. Skilled or lack of training,

  52. their lack of fire, Trevor. And seal is the problem.

  53. If you want to succeed in any area of life, if you want to

  54. accomplish goals in life, if you want to be a successful person,

  55. never forget the passion is the ingredient that causes piece.

  56. Tonight we're going to talk about passion passion, for God,

  57. passion for God. We as Christians hip-hip to

  58. realize that we cannot be the kind of children that God wants

  59. us to be without passion. Passion gave David a reason to

  60. get up in the morning and said, This is the day that the Lord

  61. has made. We will rejoice and be glad in

  62. it the same passion that met David say this words could make

  63. us get up in the morning and say I'm going to be the best

  64. Christian that I can be. Today I'm going to serve others,

  65. wanting nothing in return. I want to be the best, huh?

  66. Or I'm going to be the Christian.

  67. I, I can be, I'm going to share the great news of Salvation with

  68. my co-workers, classmates, neighbors, friends, or enemies.

  69. Yes, I'm going to enjoy today doing the vest for the Lord.

  70. There is another scripture and Psalm 40 to 1 and 2 As the deer

  71. pants for the water Brooks. So pants, my soul for you.

  72. Oh God, my soul, thirsts for God for the Living.

  73. God, When shall I come and appear before God.

  74. Psalm 82, 84 and births to my soul Longs.

  75. Yes. Even faints for the courts of

  76. the Lord, my heart, and my flesh cry out for the Living.

  77. God, what we can see in this tree scriptures, we can see

  78. passion for God, passion for God.

  79. Well we're going to talk for a few minutes about this tonight.

  80. Going Talk to the first verse. It says not lagging in

  81. diligence. Diligence fervent in spirit

  82. serving the lord let's consider this verse and see what we can

  83. learn from it. What Paul, what Paul is saying,

  84. is keep the fire going in your life.

  85. Yes, you are not passionate by natural.

  86. This is something that you have to choose to do that.

  87. You, you get distracted in everything in life, conspires to

  88. keep you from being passionate about God, there are so many

  89. distractions in this world for young people and old people.

  90. Like me. So we need to keep in mind that

  91. we need to keep passionate for. For God serving is not enough.

  92. We need to be fervent in serving the lord fervent in spirit

  93. serving the lord, not only serving everybody serves, but we

  94. need to serve fervent in spirit serving the lord.

  95. And that's what the Bible says in dark burst, it is more than

  96. just a question of talent skill that desire, strong, desire to

  97. serve, God, and do your best and serve him with all your heart.

  98. With all your mind, we're gonna talk more about these later in

  99. the lesson, passion has to do with our heart.

  100. It is par that burns within us that in.

  101. Joyce us to do. God's will weed out these

  102. serving. God is boring monotonous and

  103. routine. Their Christian life becomes

  104. Dome Let's consider another passage.

  105. Mark 12 28 through 31. Dave, one of the scribes came,

  106. Hey Kevin heard the reasoning together perceiving that he can

  107. answer them. Well, ask him ask him, which is

  108. the first commandment of all Jesus answer him the first

  109. complete. The first of all the

  110. Commandments is he Hear o Israel.

  111. The Lord. Our God.

  112. The Lord is one. He you shall love the Lord.

  113. Your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all

  114. your mind. And with all your strength, this

  115. is the first commandment. And the second like like it is

  116. this. You shall love your neighbor as

  117. yourself. There is no other commandment

  118. greater than these As we see in this passage a teacher of the

  119. law wants us, Jesus, which is the first commandment of all

  120. Jesus answered. Love the Lord, your God with all

  121. your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind,

  122. and with all your strength, What Jesus was teaching this scribe

  123. is that? It is more than just love you.

  124. Love God. Sometimes we said I love

  125. hamburgers, you know you know you use the the work wherever

  126. you. I love hamburgers that you eat

  127. them. That doesn't make sense.

  128. You know? It's not just love.

  129. Is that just love know? It is.

  130. How you love. God.

  131. What does this involve? He did not just loving with your

  132. heart, but the Commandment ads with your soul, hit with your

  133. mind and with your strength, it is not one or the other.

  134. It is one hand the other. All of them together.

  135. Now we cannot love him with a portion of her heart, half of

  136. her soul. A part of our mind or with

  137. partial strength, according to the passage that we are,

  138. considering we need to love him with all our heart, all of our

  139. soul, all of our mind and all our strength, I think we get the

  140. point. We must love, we must love God.

  141. With all our being completely, that's what it is.

  142. That passage says and teaches us.

  143. He's not talking about just love, but the quality of our

  144. love it must be a passionate love, not a whore, half-hearted

  145. one, no one. That gives a service that is

  146. purely external. He has no feeling behind it.

  147. We must be passionate about God. Hid everything.

  148. That concerns him and there is nothing more important than

  149. that. It is the most important thing

  150. in Christian Life. This is the kind of relationship

  151. that we must have with God. Here is the amazing thing in

  152. America. It is okay to be passionate

  153. about anything. Except God, I can be passionate

  154. about sports Fashion food, but I cannot be passionate about God.

  155. People who are passionate about football game with child, his

  156. heads off when their team scores.

  157. In cry like babies. When they lose no one thinks

  158. it's hard? No, no, no.

  159. It's a die-hard fan, he's a real fan.

  160. That's what the people think, okay.

  161. But if you are passionate about God about your faith, About your

  162. relationship with him. Then you are a fanatic.

  163. That's the way America thinks about the spiritual passion.

  164. The opposite, the opposite of passion is apathy or

  165. indifference indifference or look form.

  166. We have an example. What with one of the churches

  167. and Revelations 2 & 3 Revelation 3:14. 2:16 says And the angel of

    Revelation 3:14

  168. the Church of the laodiceans write these things says the

  169. amen. The faithful and true.

  170. Witness the beginning of the creation of God.

  171. I know your works. That you are neither cold or

  172. hot. I could wish I could wish you

  173. were cold or hot. So then because you are lukewarm

  174. and neither cold. Her heart.

  175. I will vomit you out of my mouth strong statement.

  176. But God never asked permission to say whatever he wants to do.

  177. He can say anything. He wants, pay attention to this

  178. scripture. when we are look warm, you know, Christians.

  179. We had the risk that can be bonded.

  180. From God, that's what he says. And Doctor scripture. so, it is

  181. so important to realize, That we need to be passionate for God.

  182. The law is there, but not with the same seal or passion.

  183. This can happen in friendship in marriage Parenthood.

  184. And in our relationship with God, we still serve God but no

  185. longer with excitement or enthusiasm.

  186. Someone described this attitude as serving God in such a way as

  187. to not offend the devil both are happy.

  188. Okay. The truth is that to be

  189. passionate about, God is the most important thing in

  190. Christian Life. Why why?

  191. First because God loves us that way.

  192. God is a is passionate about us. The proof is in the cross.

  193. He gave us his only begotten son.

  194. Jesus Christ, John 3:16 tells us, Jesus died for us and gave

    John 3:16

  195. his life for us. According to John chapter 10 and

    John 10 chapter mention

  196. verse 18. In second because love loving

  197. God this way fulfills us completely.

  198. That's when we become the most happy and satisfied questions.

  199. When we are passionate about God, Now passion it is not

  200. something that is static or stays the same all the time.

  201. Our lobbies there, that our passion could decline Paul tells

  202. Timothy and second Timothy chapter 1, him burst 6.

    2 Timothy 1 chapter mention

  203. Therefore I remind you to steer up the gift of God which is in

  204. you through the laying on of my hands.

  205. He's not talking about a new thing that you Marty needs.

  206. But reigniting the one he already had stood up.

  207. Yes, yes. Re eat Hiding.

  208. It is there but you need to keep it a place.

  209. God the flame within you. Don't let the world or or Devils

  210. win, blow it out. Hey roaring.

  211. Fire will only continue if you steered the wood and called

  212. already in fire. The Apostle Paul's passion was

  213. threatenin times but he refused to let any sir.

  214. Understands challenge or crisis, beat it out of him.

  215. Protect your passion, this protect your passion for God.

  216. So we learn that we need to have passion passion for God.

  217. That's the only way that we are going to succeed as Christians

  218. as children of God. And that's the only way that we

  219. could enjoy this Abundant Life, that Jesus brought to house

  220. according to John, 10:10 in at the end everlasting life him

  221. heaven with God. No.

  222. How can we stay passionate for the Lord?

  223. How, well, first of all, we must avoid passion.

  224. Kidder's, you know, why we sometimes lose passion?

  225. Because there are passion Killers, Satan Jews.

  226. This passion Killers to kill our passion, then to be contempt

  227. doing whatever, you know, almost nothing when you have time

  228. tomorrow, you know? Let me talk about several

  229. passion killers that we need to avoid in order to be passionate

  230. to God, number one, and on the Lance schedule.

  231. That means either if you are overworked or you are on the

  232. work, you're going to lose your passion for God, you need

  233. balance in your schedule. Look what it says in 1st,

  234. Timothy chapter 4 and verse 7. He exercised yourself to our

  235. godliness. Yes, make exercise practice

  236. living the Christian life growing in the knowledge of God

  237. and the will God practice it live it share it.

  238. You know, you need to know Jesus.

  239. Not only fact about Jesus. You need to have a relationship

  240. with him in the databases. He intimate relationship.

  241. That's what it means. Knowing Jesus.

  242. You need to leave it. Yes, you need to live it.

  243. When you live for Jesus, you smell like Jesus.

  244. That's what Paul says, writing to the Corinthian Brethren.

  245. Yes, we smell like Jesus. When we are in a work place or

  246. School neighborhood, they smell. Hmm.

  247. This is Mel different. Yes, with mail as Christians as

  248. a children of God, that's what The Bible tells us we're not

  249. talk about this in another day and you and all that you need to

  250. smell like Jesus. And the Bible says that, yes, we

  251. smell like Jesus, when we leave Jesus.

  252. And then, what else? Sure, share, Jesus, there are so

  253. many people that are dying around us.

  254. They know, they don't know any, anything about Jesus the Jesus

  255. of the Bible. Okay, co-workers, classmate

  256. friends, neighbors, friends or enemies.

  257. You know and we need to share Jesus.

  258. Let me give you five purposes for your life in order to keep

  259. balanced schedule. Spiritually, there are five

  260. areas five areas. Number one, you need to have

  261. time to worship. God number One, never forget.

  262. That Hebrews 10:25 is very clear, okay?

    Hebrews 10:25

  263. Not forsaking the assembly, you need to have time.

  264. Each time that the church is called, as a church to get

  265. together to worship. God, you need to be here.

  266. Not only Sunday morning. No, no.

  267. Not only Sunday morning Sunday evening.

  268. What about midweek Services? What do you do?

  269. And we look weak Services. Worship God for.

  270. What's the difference? So, think about it.

  271. You need to have X to fellowship with other believers.

  272. This is so important. You need times to read God's

  273. word, then to grow as a Christian.

  274. You need to have time to serve others with your abilities.

  275. Your abilities are not for you. Are for the benefit of others,

  276. okay? A number five, you need times to

  277. share your faith, your faith with others?

  278. Yes. That what it means exercise

  279. yourself toward godliness. What happened?

  280. If you study the word of God and, you know, I'm not about the

  281. knowledge of the will of God. And you don't share that word of

  282. God with others or what happened.

  283. If you, you know, you can have a lot of knowledge about God and

  284. don't live it. C comes all together all

  285. together, okay? That's the only way.

  286. If not you're gonna lose your passion for God.

  287. And on Jews talent and on you Stalin will cause you to lose

  288. your passion for God. Look what he says in First Peter

    1 Peter 4:10

  289. chapter 4 verse 10. As each other one has received a

  290. gift Minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold

  291. grace of God. What Peter is saying is God

  292. gives you Didn't then abilities use them.

  293. Well now Those talents that you have that you have received from

  294. God, are not for your benefit. They are for the benefit of

  295. other people. Your talents are for my benefit.

  296. My abilities are for your benefit, you have to use those

  297. abilities and the service of other people.

  298. God has given you a special role in this world.

  299. He want you to make a contribution with your talents.

  300. Remember, if you do not use your talents and Is you're going to

  301. lose your passion for God. And all clear purpose, while

  302. you're here for, we are here on this Earth, I'm 65.

  303. Okay, why I'm here for 65 years? Well, you know, I went to

  304. school, got married. I have children and

  305. grandchildren. That's my purpose in life.

  306. No, no, no, no. That is not the purpose for my

  307. life here. Nope.

  308. No. Well to have a good job.

  309. A good job and have a good home. No.

  310. That is not the purpose. No.

  311. Sometimes we have our own clear purpose, why we are here.

  312. That's why we lose or passion for God.

  313. Can we forget of, we don't know the purpose of our lives here on

  314. Earth. We're going to lose our passion.

  315. Look what it says, and I say 49, and for then I said, I had labor

  316. in vain. I kept spend my strength for

  317. nothing and in vain, no purpose. You don't know what your

  318. purpose, why you are here? If you don't know the purpose

  319. for your life as Christians, or if you are only living for

  320. yourself, why? Why?

  321. I get up in the morning. Why put forth the effort life

  322. without purpose is activity without Direction, it is motion.

  323. Without meaning life. Without purpose is Trivial

  324. painting in pointless. So what why we are here?

  325. Why we are on this Earth? Well, Isaiah 43:7, it says

    Isaiah 43:7

  326. everyone who is called by my name whom I have created for my

  327. glory. I have for him.

  328. Yes, I have made him. Every one who is called by my

  329. name. Whom I had created for my glory.

  330. That's the purpose. That's the number one purpose.

  331. Why you are here as Christians to bring honor and glory in

  332. everything you say and do. And everything doing bold is to

  333. bring honor and glory to our Heavenly.

  334. Father, that's the number one purpose.

  335. First Corinthians 10:31. Therefore, whether you eat or

    1 Corinthians 10:31

  336. drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

  337. When you realize that everything you do this, he see, you know,

  338. Sometimes people think that I work hard say no, I'm embarking

  339. on my back, ations I enjoy, what I do.

  340. This is my life for 44 years. So I enjoy these.

  341. This is not work, they don't know what they're talking about,

  342. you know, we need to realize why we are here, you being called to

  343. the gospel, to be children of God, to have an Abundant Life,

  344. had to do everything every day. For the glory of God, when you

  345. know that everything piece of cake, everything is fine.

  346. No matter what you're going to enjoy it.

  347. You are going to enjoy it. Everything that you're going to

  348. face. You are here to bring honor and

  349. glory to our Heavenly Father, that's our purpose.

  350. Bomb under nourish Spirit under nourished Spirit as another

  351. killer of passion. You are going to have

  352. distractions and disappointments.

  353. You're going to have conflicts and you are going to have

  354. changes and challenges. You are going to have problems

  355. and pressures. You're going to have

  356. frustrations and fears and failures in fatigue.

  357. I'm talking about me. I face all these I copy all

  358. these for me. Yes yes, yes, that's exactly

  359. right. Yes.

  360. All of these things for and you to shrimp shrivel to shrink your

  361. spirit, so you must intentionally nourish your

  362. spirit. That's what we need to do.

  363. In order to wake up and be strong in the Lord, and continue

  364. doing the will of God and bringing honor and glory to God.

  365. Yes, that's how it works as you therefore have received Christ

  366. Jesus, the Lord. So weak, what in him?

  367. Rooted and built up in him and established in the faith.

  368. As you have been taught abounded in it with thanks, giving.

  369. Yes, yes, we need to nourish our spirit.

  370. This is an individual responsibility if you don't do

  371. do it nobody, nobody else is going to do it for you.

  372. I understand that the Evangelist has to do his best to keep

  373. well-nourished the brothers and sisters.

  374. He served and the congregation not steal.

  375. This is an individual responsibility in order to keep

  376. our passion for God. So is so it is so important.

  377. Clutter lifestyle. Never mix.

  378. Spiritual and Cardinals. No, no flesh and spirit.

  379. Never never make a combination like that.

  380. You gonna lose your your your passion for God.

  381. Look what it says in Matthew 6:24.

    Matthew 6:24

  382. No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and

  383. love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise

  384. the other. You cannot serve God and money.

  385. We need to be careful not to have a cover lifestyle.

  386. We have to prioritize. How Matthew 6:33, but seek

    Matthew 6:33

  387. first, the kingdom of God, hey, his righteousness and all these

  388. things shall be added to you. That's number one priority,

  389. okay? Matthew 6:33, but seek first,

    Matthew 6:33

  390. the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, then don't worry

  391. about it. So anything else God is going to

  392. take care of us? No dad, no doubt about it.

  393. So it is so so important to realize all this So tonight we

  394. talk for some time about passion, passion for God.

  395. We need to be passionate Christians serving with all our

  396. heart, all our mind, or our strength, every time under any

  397. circumstance. Then we're going to please God

  398. and we're going to enjoy an abandon abandon Abundant Life on

  399. Earth. So think about your passion, Let

  400. me give you the last thoughts that I have here.

  401. There are some questions to finish this.

  402. How are you? And your passion for God?

  403. How are you and your passion for God?

  404. Are you just going through the motions?

  405. Are you Red Heart To God? Because he loves you that much.

  406. The truth is that you are as close to God as you choose to be

  407. you can have as much of God as you want and you can be as

  408. passionate about God as you want, hope and pray that these

  409. thoughts could really help us to realize what kind of Christian

  410. we should be. if there is anybody in the audience, who

  411. hasn't obeyed the gospel coal, Today, tonight is the time.

  412. Today is the day of salvation. 2nd, Corinthians chapter 6 in

  413. verse 2, says that today is the day of salvation.

  414. What do you have to do? Well, obey, that marvelous Plan

  415. of Salvation that Jesus left? And the New Testament, you need

  416. to hear the word of God, according to Romans 10:17.

    Romans 10:17

  417. You need to have faith in God. You need to believe that Christ

  418. is the Son of God. According to John 3:16, you have

    John 3:16

  419. to repent of your sins. According to Luke 13, 1 through

  420. 5, you have to confess that Christ is the Son of God,

  421. according to Romans, 10:9, and 10 and be baptized for the

  422. remission of your sins. According to Acts 2:38 and for

    Acts 2:38

  423. the Salvation of your soul. According to Mark 16:15 and 16

    Mark 16:15

  424. or perhaps there is Brother sister who needs to prayers of

  425. the saint. Why don't you come forward while

  426. we stand and sing the song selected?

  427. We thank you for listening to our podcast, put on by the

  428. Church of Christ at 22:15 plans. Road in Bakersfield, if you

  429. would like any additional information or you would like to

  430. receive a free Bible correspondence, course by mail.

  431. Please email us at info at True Church of Christ

  432. Bakersfield.com. Our service times are on Sundays

  433. at 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. and Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.

  434. Please make plans to join us. We would love for you to be our

  435. honored guest.