Passion for Christ or me

 


My life was changed forever. The revelation became my new direction and my focus changed.... In my conversations with him, I realized again how easy it is for us to get buried in a godly purpose.


As a young Christian, I was full of passion for my faith. My zeal for Gods kingdom was rivaled only by my sinful nature. I felt driven to spend more time in Gods presence, but my battle with my childhood baggage clung to me like wet clothes on a rainy day. Like most young Christians I found and settled into a welcoming church where I quickly grew. True to my nature it was not long before my head-strong nature got me into trouble with the church leaders.

During this season in my early adult life, I was also exposed to the “deliverance ministry”. I consider myself fortunate to have seen and experienced the things that I did during that time. These experiences became my reason to oppose the kingdom of darkness in my efforts to become the ideal Christian. I invested myself to become as well informed as was possible about fighting the kingdom of darkness. I aligned myself with people that could teach me more about this war that I became part of. I felt very driven to stand up and fight to free people from the bondage of Satanism, drugs, and the receipt that I saw in the world.

In 1997 I had a very special encounter that changed my course forever. I was part of a church in a new community that I had moved to. In a casual conversation with my pastor, I mentioned my desire to become active in exposing the kingdom of darkness. Looking back I realize that the pastor's comment was inspired by God. It went something like this.

IF YOU SPEND YOUR LIFE WARNING THE WORLD ABOUT SATAN YOU NEED TO KEEP UP TO DATE WITH HIS ACTIVITIES. WHEN YOU SPEAK OF THE LOVE OF JESUS THE DEVIL HAS TO KEEP TABS ON YOUR PROGRESS.

My life was changed forever. The revelation became my new direction and my focus changed. This week I was privileged to engage a fellow believer that has a deep desire to battle injustice in his communities. In my conversations with him, I realized again how easy it is for us to get buried in a godly purpose.

When we fill our lives with godly work it is very important to remember one important thing. The work we are doing is for God. In our efforts to do the right thing there is always the risk that we may miss the biblical order that God intended for our lives. His commandment is clear. Love God above all else and your neighbour as yourself.

In our efforts to make the world a better place we MUST remember that we are children and also subjects of Gods kingdom. This also means that our purpose is to serve the Lord's goals for our lives. It is very easy to chase after a vision that drives us. Even if we change the whole world we need to achieve that with Gods direction and in His order.

We need to keep in mind that we are stewards of the lived God gave us. Our passion for Gods kingdom MUST line up with His will. Passion without proper direction in the apostle Paul meant that he needed a radical intervention from Jesus. On the road to Damascus Paul was struck with temporary blindness to get him on track with his purpose.

When we desire to serve God and His purpose we can avoid being pruned like a tree that is growing in the wrong direction. I think that passion to serve a godly purpose is admirable. That passion was meant to serve God’s purpose. A godly purpose is not always God’s purpose. I Sam 15v22 is clear that God prefers obedience over sacrifice.

When we chase a godly vision we could run the risk of making it our vision and miss the Father's purpose for our lives. Righteousness (to be in right standing) with God means that we will do what He wants us to. The importance of staying close to the basics of God’s Kingdom is vital to good stewardship. Jesus said we are to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness Matt 6v33. Our passions to serve God must be tempered with obedience to His will and in service to His purpose. Jonah did not have the same vision that God did and ended up inside a whale for three days.

It’s good to have a righteous cause or even a godly one. We should apply wisdom to make sure that our cause is in line with God’s desires for us. If we are not in touch with His will we could find ourselves opposing it. God’s will is absolute and He will not change it to fit our agenda. We were saved from our sinful nature to serve His divine purpose. Your vision or passion to serve God should never stand in the way of your relationship with Him.

#GrowMySpirit
#OneCommandmen


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