In the dictionary one of the definitions for the word passion is the suffering of

Jesus Christ.

The early Christians lost their lives for the sake of the cause.

Polycarp was the Bishop of Smyrna and one of the heroes of the early church.

He was the student of the Apostle John and was taught by the Apostles.

He was martyred for his faith in Christ. When he was led before the Roman proconsul who pleaded with him to renounce Christ  Polycarp replied;

Eighty six years I have served him, he never did me any injury. How then could I blaspheme my King who has saved me?

This is the prayer of Polycarp as he was led to his death;

I give You thanks that You have counted me, worthy of this day and this hour, that I should have a part in the number of Your martyrs, in the cup of your Christ, to the resurrection of eternal life, both of soul and body, through the incorruption [imparted] by the Holy Ghost.

In recent times others have shown greater passion for their cause than Christians

Greenpeace is one group that has taken our place

Recently colliding with a huge whaling boat to try and stop the Japanese whalers.

They lost a 2 million dollar boat the Ady Gil but they said it was price they were willing to pay

Greenpeace said “The loss of the Ady Gil, that cost us about 2 million dollars, but that’s not worth as much to us as the whales are – we’re quite willing to take those risks – we’re not giving up!”

Muslims pray 5 times a day – they are willing and prepared to sacrifice their lives for the sake of their cause – and they are demonstrating that on a regular basis

It’s time for us to get a fresh passion for our cause!

We need to hear the voice of Christ calling us to join his cause and make a stand in our lives.

We should remember the lives of those who went before us making a stand for the cause of Christ.

William Booth  another hero of the faith said;

“Your days at the most cannot be very long, so use them to the best of your ability for the glory of God and the benefit of your generation.”

It’s time to get passionate for our cause!

An angry mob hauls a woman in before Jesus – they throw her on the dirt in front of him
They are self righteous, proud – this woman has sinned and they are going to make her pay
They demand that she be punished by the law of Moses
Stoning was the punishment of choice and they were [...]

I just got back from Korea where I was attending Ps Yonggi Cho’s Church Growth Conference. It was unreal. I was hanging out with Ps Phil Pringle and Ps Kong Hee and listening to Ps Cho. That’s about as good a week as you can have!
This guy has built the largest church in the [...]

 
1. Repent
Acts 2:38
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
You need to repent and be baptized
This is step one in living by the Holy Spirit
 
2. Wait on the Holy Spirit
Acts 1: [...]

In Ephesians 4 Paul writes
I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received
This is a great challenge from Paul and I get 3 keys out of this
 
1st key – It’s not a mild request or a suggestion from Paul, but heartfelt Plea – that we would live this amazing life [...]

God’s creative power
Today I was standing on the shores of Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown NZ. This is surely one of the most beautiful places on earth!!
How can you not connect to your creator in a setting like this? – I made the connection – it was unreal!
It speaks of the awesome creative power [...]

Overcoming disappointment
Robert Kiyosaki said “The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way.”
To be successful in life you have to get over yourself and over disappointment
Disappointment is something you have to keep overcoming to show yourselves faithful
When ever [...]

Eternity
Ecclesiastes 3: 11 says
Everything is beautiful in it’s time
Your time is coming – a time for your gift – a time when our life is needed for an eternal purpose
Most of us are living before our time
We are in preparation for our moment of great impact
Many people miss their time – People give up [...]

Loyalty
MARIO PUZO, the writer of the Godfather series said “The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, is in its loyalty to each other”
Today in the world loyalties shift around depending on how things look for us
Disloyal people are everywhere – people shift loyalties so easily
It might be the world’s way – [...]

Do not give up
2 Chronicles 15: 7
But as for you, be strong
To make it in life we need to be strong – to make our dreams into realities we need to find strength
It is easy to feel weak as situations in life feel overwhelming
But you have strength
David said in Psalm 28: 7 the Lord [...]