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 INTRODUCTION
The western world is in a time of spiritual crisis at the start of this new millennium. The nations stand in the balance and, despite the efforts of many sincere people seeking alternative solutions, a crisis of judgment will only be avoided by men and women of spiritual fire, giving birth to a high level of supernatural power and passion. In America, this nation's true destiny lies in the hands of those who are prepared to make selfless sacrifices to see a re-awakening of 'Christ consciousness' in the American spirit.
Concerning spiritual fire, Samuel Chadwick, the great English revivalist wrote these profound words in the 1930's; "I owe everything to the gift of Pentecost. For fifty days the facts of the Gospel were complete, but no conversions were recorded. Pentecost registered 3000 souls. It is by fire that a holy passion is kindled in the soul whereby we live the life of God. The soul's safety is in its heat. Truth without enthusiasm, morality without emotion, ritual without soul make for a church without power. Destitute of the Fire of God, nothing else counts: possessing Fire, nothing else matters" (Emphasis mine). Powerful words that are relevant to any era, but more so to a third millennium church.
THE POWER OF ONE!
No nation has championed 'the power of one' more than the United States of America. Rugged individualism has been a major component of this nation's greatness. Despite recent efforts by revisionists, the undeniable truth is that Christianity formed the foundation of America. Nearly all the founding fathers were professing Christians.
The God of Christianity pioneered the idea of 'the power of one' with the principal of the seed which is the "raison d'être" for all life. This is reinforced by Jesus in John 12:24; " Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit." When a match is ignited, its energy is released through fire. In other words - it dies! But in this release of energy, there is the potential to start a forest fire! Jesus goes on to say in verse 25 ; "…he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." All these verses relate to the greatest demonstration of 'the power of One' in history; Jesus' single act of supreme selflessness by dying on the cross released eternal life and potentially saved humanity from the power of sin for all time.
NO PASSION - NO POWER!
The Book of Acts 1:3 - 8 says; "... Now after His passion, He presented Himself alive to them by many infallible proofs appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the Kingdom of God. While staying with Him, He ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there for the promise of the Father. This, He said, is what you have heard from Me. For John baptized you with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth."
The Gospel will be preached to the 'ends of the earth', but not until two major components have been completed. Number 1, passion -the Christ had to suffer. Number 2, power - the church must be empowered.
The word passion, is a very emotive word. It is used to describe everything from falling in love to being angry. However, its origin is from the Latin word "pasarre" which means simply 'to suffer'. In other words, your passion is what you hunger for so intensely, that you will be prepared to sacrifice and suffer anything to have it. Whatever you wake up thinking about in the morning, whatever occupies your mind during the day, what you go to bed thinking about, and even the subject of your dreams - find that and you will locate the seat of your passion. Passion drives people to go way beyond normal limits, and God has given us the innate ability to be passionate about things so that we won't be snared by the greatest enemy of the church - no, not the devil - mediocrity!.
NO SACRIFICE WITHOUT PASSION.
Relocating our family and ministry from Australia to America recently has been a challenging experience for us in many ways. It has been difficult because of the change - but not hard, because we know it is His will! It was our reasonable service. We had to walk away from everything we had built up over 16 years of ministry in Australia. Passion drove us here but I count it as nothing compared to the passionate sacrifice of the Lord. What is it that drives Somebody to give up a Throne of Glory and the incredible ecstasy of being in the Presence of His Father? What motivated Him to humble Himself to die in the most painful and torturous form of execution ever conceived by the fallen heart of man? The answer is an immensely divine passion beyond any human experience or understanding!
CRUCIFIXION MORE FOR TORTURE THAN EXECUTION.
The cruel strength of the Roman Empire was maintained by making examples out of rebels and criminals who were usually crucified just outside the city walls. Sometimes people were known to hang on the cross in agony for up to 6 days. They suffered and were humiliated in a way far beyond most of our present understanding. Crucifixion was more a means of torture than execution. When the Roman soldiers finally grew tired or bored of this barbaric spectacle, they broke the legs of the victim, who could no longer push themselves up to breath. Their lungs would become constricted and they died very quickly, drowning in their own body fluids.
COMFORTABLE CHRISTIANITY.
Comfortable Christianity is a western concept, but it 's not necessarily biblical! If you'll say you'll do anything for Jesus but aren't prepared to suffer for Him, then you aren't really passionate about Him or His purposes here on earth. A large portion of the Western church is in danger of being labeled "Laodicean"- an indifferent church lacking in passion and therefore depleted in power.
Simple Gospel messages preached in many third world nations can see thousands respond to salvation. The same message preached in the West - word for word, same level of passion, will hardly see anyone respond. Why? Because the West has been inoculated with religion and become immune to the Gospel. The biggest spiritual giant to overcome is the spirit of religion. It's going to take men and women of enormous passion to get the job done because we are at crisis point and time is short.
HOW DO WE IGNITE PASSION?
Somewhere in the past there was a point where you made a decision, either consciously or subconsciously, to be passionate about something. You probably said, 'I'm going to chase after this' or 'I'm going to chase after that' or 'This is what I want to be like.' Passion begins with a decision!
Floyd McClung, in his recent article; "Apostolic Passion - Praying For And Reaching Nations." used the Apostle Paul as a classic example of a man who was many things, but above all, he was passionate. Paul chose to be passionate, but God had to 'assist' this strong willed, opinionated and reluctant man to make the right choice. It began with an encounter on the road to Damascus when Jesus stepped into his life, put His finger on his heart and enkindled a passion in Paul that he continued to nurture for the rest of his life. "This revelation of Jesus and his study of God's purposes, gave birth to Paul's apostolic passion. The term apostle means 'a sent one' or 'a messenger'. Apostolic passion, therefore, is a deliberate, intentional choice to live for the exaltation of Jesus Christ in the nations. It's about being committed even to the point of death."
HOW DO WE INCREASE POWER?
If passion will move us, then we need power to enable us to fulfill the task. God's power only grows as character grows. When it comes to character, there's no short cuts, only apprenticeships. You cannot get instant character, any more than you can get an instant oak tree. It's got to start as an acorn. No one has ever existed who had more power than Jesus. Even in His humanity, having emptied Himself of certain divine attributes, the potential of His Divinity was always there. Have you ever wondered what was the secret of His power? If you want to have as much power as Jesus had, then somehow you will have to convince God that He can trust you never to use His power for any selfish reasons. Jesus had ultimate power only because He matched it with supreme selflessness. He only ever used it for others, never once for himself.
McClung says; "Character is today's definition of what Scripture calls 'righteousness'. It's a combination of integrity and maturity. Although we may occasionally experience the power of God flowing through us in ministry, it will never flow consistently over a long period of time without our wineskin, (or character) being developed. Proverbs 20:21 says: 'An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning will not be blessed at the end.' The wine of heaven will only tear us where we are weakest if we don't allow God's tanning process to soften us. Character doesn't come fast nor does it come easy, but it lasts a long time. Character is God's inoculation against the pride that comes when His power flows through mere men." In these days of microwave ministries, God is looking for longevity and faithfulness… for those that have gone the distance and paid the price!
"HERE COMES THE BRIDE…"
Preparing for a wedding is a time of high excitement, activity and focus. There are many details to take care of and so much to do before the big day. The bride wants to look perfect and so an enormous amount of time and effort is spent on her wedding dress, hair and make-up etc. Passion accompanies every effort of preparation. The choice for the western church at the beginning of the third millennium is one between 'de facto' Christianity (accepting the benefits but not the responsibilities), or a betrothed Church, empowered, full of passion and prepared to pay the price. Such a church would have the most feared reputation in hell. God, raise up a generation of men and women of power and passion for these times.
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