Wake Up Already!!
February 19th, 2010 by Angela
Awaken to Living Out God’s Passion and Purpose in Your Life!
Passion. Purpose. Motivation. Inspiration. These are all buzz words we hear floating around, both in our church culture and in our work and personal lives. We all want purpose to bring meaning to our lives. We all want to feel passionate about something. And once we find that purpose, we want to stay motivated and inspired, so we can be creative, productive, and effective.
I believe those qualities are what is lacking in our local churches today and why we bear so little fruit in our personal lives as a testimony of God’s Spirit dwelling within us, and so little fruit, as in the number of people we are instrumental in bringing to Christ.
Jesus has something to say to these churches in Revelation 3:15-16, “I know your deeds that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.”
How many of us today, know the truth of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ and his coming kingdom, yet we are sleepy and lethargic with this word? How many of us have been lulled into complacency, bored with the message, and looking for something else that can excite us? How many of us lack the fire, the passion, the zeal, the boldness that comes with our faith and hope in this coming kingdom and saving grace that will permit us to enter into this kingdom that has no end?
We must pause and ask ourselves the following questions: “Are we kindling afresh God’s gifts in us to use to spread this Gospel of the kingdom to others who may have not heard? Are we fanning into flame a fresh, zeal for Christ, where we wake up daily, on fire for truth, seeking the Kingdom first in all that we say, think and do, and striving for obedience and righteous living, so that we do not come short of inheriting this prize for ourselves?
Zig Ziglar writes, “I believe inspiration is the fuel of passion. If you think of passion as the flame that burns white hot in the heart of every person, inspiration is the fuel that keeps that flame alive.”
It is time to awaken, O Church of God, and rekindle the love you knew from the first – that Jesus is our Lord Messiah with whom we will rule and reign in God’s everlasting Kingdom, in the age to come. We need to rekindle our passion, by daily seeking inspiration, Divine inspiration, that can only come from Scripture. For “all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16 – 17.
Paul writes in 2 Timothy 1:5-6, “For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. And for this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”
Anazōpurein – to rekindle – to kindle afresh.
–verb (used with object)
1. to start (a fire); cause (a flame, blaze, etc.) to begin burning.
2. to set fire to or ignite (fuel or any combustible matter).
3. to excite; stir up or set going; animate; rouse; inflame.
4. to light up, illuminate, or make bright.
We can surmise from these verses that Timothy had faith. He believed, but he needed more than just his faith. When the Apostle Paul tells young Timothy to “kindle afresh the gift of God,” he is telling him in affect, “Get excited! Get going! Get on fire! WAKE UP Already!!” It wasn’t something Paul could do FOR Timothy. It was something that Timothy had to do on his own. The responsibility to get inspired and passionate about his purpose and calling lay in his own hands. I believe that God can be found, but that we need to seek Him. I believe God’s Spirit can empower and strengthen us to serve Him, but that we need to be willing to serve and renewing our minds, daily with the Holy Scriptures, so that we will know God’s will and see the path that He wants us to take. We just don’t live our daily lives and expect God to do everything and think that there is no responsibility on our end. We must take the initiative to kindle our love, passion, gifts, and purpose in Jesus Christ, and decide that we want to burn hot, not cold or lukewarm, for him and his coming Kingdom. We have to motivate and start the fire and passion within us!
The only way to cultivate this passion is to feed it; to be daily inspired by God and His Son Jesus, through the workings of the Spirit of God. The way we have been given to connect with God is through His inspired word and the time spent in meditation and prayer to our Heavenly Father through our mediator, Jesus. It is a spiritual discipline in which one must invest precious time, if we want passion and purpose in our lives. Some wonder why they don’t have any passion for Christ in their lives, when they attend church on Sunday mornings, sporadically pray, and spend a mere fifteen minutes or less in the word of God each day, if that! Is it any wonder that today’s churches are so dead? So lackluster? If one is truly passionate about something, you will see evidence in how they are spending their time and their money; how they are loving other people; what they are thinking and talking about all of the time; what they are reading, watching and listening to, and sadly, the things of God often take a back seat in our daily living. The reality and status of our theology may shock us, when we realize that our faith is only lip service and a half-hearted, lukewarm commitment that we have been giving to our LORD God. To live our lives out passionately, on fire for Jesus Christ, in pursuit of his purpose, the Kingdom of God (Luke 4:43), then our lives will reflect this in a life that may appear radical and extreme amongst our friends and family.
The truth of the matter is, we can no longer be idle. We can no longer be silent when boldness and speaking is required of us. We can no longer stand back, a recipient of this good news, and go on with our lives as if it held no importance to our very salvation and to those around us. We must engage. It is time to “wake the sleeping giant” of the followers of Jesus Christ and kindle afresh the gift of God that He has empowered us with to get the job done. “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner; but join with me in suffering for the Gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own PURPOSE and grace, which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.” 2 Timothy 1:7-9.
- If you’re looking for purpose, God has given one to us.
- If you’re looking for passion, Jesus demands it of us.
- If you’re looking for inspiration to fuel your passion, God’s inspired words provide it for us and in us.
- If you’re looking for motivation, it is called obedience to God, because we love and fear Him.
If you’re full of purpose and passion for God’s Christ and Kingdom, then it will be evident and lived out in your life, bearing fruit. You will find yourself on fire, being creative, productive and effective in God’s calling upon your life. The flame is contagious. It spreads. It burns brightly in a dark world. You are the light in a dark world. May you fan into flame your light today and shine forth His love, His truth, His grace, and His salvation to a lost world. Kindle it afresh and awaken to living out God’s passion and purpose in your life, to His Glory! Amen.
Lovely article, Angela, thank you. You are so right, it is so easy to become complacent. We need to challenge ourselves daily, not do just do what we feel is required of us, but to go so far beyond that, that at the end of the day we sleep peacefully in the knowledge that we have given 200% in Yahweh’s service!
Fiona
This article is so where my heart & prayers are! I recently went to a regional prayer meeting for our churches in our region & only 25 people came. 25! I was so saddened by this & yet excited to meet these inspired 25 individuals. We were told that NH & Vt have the lowest amount of people going to church & that we are amoung the least “churched” states. Wow! I have heard Yankees called the “frozen chosen”. I have seen what a few true followers of Christ can do when they move in His spirit with His mission in mind. It is a truly miraculous thing. We need to keep pressing on for the Kingdom & encouraging others to move! move now! Why would we want to sit back in our lethargy knowing so many who are going to face judgement & death because WE didnt live for the purpose we were placed here for!
Thank you for writing this! May God continue to bless your ministry!
Thanks for your comments! It’s great to hear from some women out there!
I believe there is a way for the Church to be full of fire. It’s a way that many have not yet walked. I’ve seen it in the scripture but have not heard it preached.
I believe it is the way for the Church today. I believe Jesus would have the Church to walk that way. I believe we can connect with the Lord as we walk that way. I believe it is his anointing that keeps the fire burning, the fire that we seek.
I believe it’s been kindled but I haven’t seen it really burning.
Once it begins to be seen I believe there will be others that will want to be a part of what’s happening. There are many that would be willing to burn with that same fire of God.
But they have to know the way. (see Job 28&29)
Genesis 18:19 speaks of this way. Isn’t it a requirement for the blessing of Genesis 12:3?
The way I speak of can be found throughout the scriptures. Look for the words “justice, judgment, deliver the oppressed, plead the cause, do no wrong, shed no innocent blood”, etc.
Where are the deliverers? Where are the judges that do not condemn, but rather plead the cause and ask the oppressor to show mercy? Where are the workers in the ministry of reconciliation
that will work to make the crooked way straight and lighten the dark valley for those who have walked alone?
Where are those who will rise and shine when their light has come?
Where are the preachers who will preach it, teach it, and equip the workers for it? Where are those who can open a Bible to any page and find something good, identify what it is, say it, and thank God for it? Every word of God is good and is light upon the path of life.
The anointing of God will bring us that word if we will do that work.
Jesus is the way to it, and the way to do it. There really is a harvest waiting and we will need the gospel to work in that field.
Angela – I hope that we don’t read these well written words in vain. What are we waiting for?