Download A Passionate Church, Oct. 18 2009

The Church in Action
Lesson 7
Lesson Text—John 15:9-12
John 15:9-12
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have
I loved you: continue ye in my love.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye
shall abide in my love; even as I have
kept my Father’s commandments,
and abide in his love.
Lesson Text—John 15:9-12
11 These
things have I spoken unto
you, that my joy might remain in you,
and that your joy might be full.
12 This is my commandment, That ye
love one another, as I have loved you.
Lesson Text—John 15:13-15
John 15:13-15
13 Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his
friends.
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do
whatsoever I command you.
Lesson Text—John 15:13-15
15 Henceforth
I call you not servants;
for the servant knoweth not what his
lord doeth: but I have called you
friends; for all things that I have
heard of my Father I have made
known unto you.
Lesson Text—John 15:16-17
John 15:16-17
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have
chosen you, and ordained you, that ye
should go and bring forth fruit, and
that your fruit should remain: that
whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father
in my name, he may give it you.
17 These things I command you, that
ye love one another.
Lesson Text—James 2:8
James 2:8
If ye fulfil the royal law according to
the scripture, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself, ye do well.
Focus Verse—Galatians 6:2
Galatians 6:2
Bear ye one another’s burdens,
and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Focus Thought
The church should be a passionate
and compassionate people.
I. A Passionate
People
Introduction
The heartbeat of the church is
love. In this lesson we will study
how love is to be active in the
individual lives of believers. The
Scriptures command us to love
God more than anything else, to
love others, and to love
ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39).
With this kind of love it will be
natural for us to obey the
command to bear one another’s
burdens.
I.
We also will study how we are
A to
Passionate
People
be a compassionate people.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary
defines compassion as
“sympathetic consciousness of
others’ distress together with a
desire to alleviate it.” It is
impossible to be like the Lord
Jesus Christ and please Him
without having love and
compassion for others. In this
lesson we will see how God
desires a passionate and
compassionate church.
A. Passion in Worship—Vertical
A
Passionate
People
Relationship
Since God is love and we are
His children, it follows that we
have the ability and natural
tendency to love. A command to
love should be no more than a
reminder to do what we are
spiritually designed to do. The
first dimension of the nine-fold
fruit of the Spirit is love. The Holy
Spirit in our lives will precipitate
the passion that we should have
for God and for people.
A. Passion
in Worship—
A. Passion
in Worship—Vertical
Vertical Relationship
Relationship
The vestibule of the sanctuary
of worship should be prayer. In
other words, we enter into worship
through the entryway of prayer.
Jesus commanded His disciples to
pray. Further, one of the most
common commands in the New
Testament concerning prayer is to
“Pray without ceasing” (I
Thessalonians 5:17).
However,
it should not be
A. Passion
in Worship—Vertical
necessary to command Christians
to Relationship
pray since prayer is
conversation with God. If we have
the passion we are supposed to
have, we will have intense desire
and enthusiasm for prayer.
The more we love someone, the
more we want to be with and talk
with that person. Our love for God
should create the same response
toward Him. Prayer is
communication with God whom we
love and worship.
A.
When
we
have
a
passion
for
Passion
in
Worship—Vertical
something, intense desire and
Relationship
enthusiasm
put words in our
minds and mouths. A mother
standing outside a burning
house in which her child is
trapped has no problem
articulating her desperation.
Likewise, passion in prayer
produces words to express our
deep feelings and emotions.
When we have passion for Jesus
Christ, we will have a passion for
prayer—divine communion with
Him.
A. Passion in Worship—Vertical
When we pray, we talk to God
asRelationship
we would talk with a friend, for
He is our greatest friend. We do
not have to use stuffy pronouns
such as “Thee” or “Thou.” God
wants us to express our needs in
our everyday vernacular. He
wants to hear us talk to Him from
our heart. We should allow our
feelings to express themselves.
“Elias
was5:17-18
a man subject to
James
like passions as we are, and
he prayed earnestly that it
might not rain: and it rained
not on the earth by the space
of three years and six
months. And he prayed again,
and the heaven gave rain, and
the earth brought forth her
fruit”
(James 5:17-18).
James
5:17-18
Elijah
prayed
that the rain
would cease, and there was no
rain on the earth for three and
one-half years. He prayed again
and the rain returned. His prayer
was effective! “The effectual
fervent prayer of a righteous man
availeth much” (James 5:16). It is
interesting that James referred to
Elijah’s prayer as “fervent.”
Fervency is the passion that we
are to have for prayer and in
prayer.
Jameswho
5:17-18
People
are passionate for
prayer should have the same
passion for the Word of the Lord.
If we really love God, we will love
His Word. God’s Word is life
(John 6:63), and He is life (John
14:6). To have a passion for Him
is to have a passion for His
Word, and to have a passion for
His Word is to have a passion for
life.
James
5:17-18
Jesus stated, “Man shall not
live by bread alone, but by
every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of God”
(Matthew 4:4). He emphatically
revealed that real life—not just
physical life—requires more
than bread or natural food. To
enjoy the life that is higher and
greater than physical life, we
must have a passion for God’s
Word.
James
5:17-18
Anyone with a passion for
God, prayer, and His Word will
also have a passion for
worship. It is possible for
some individuals to become
spiritually unbalanced so that
they love to pray but do not
love to read God’s Word, but
such a condition is not normal.
If we really love the Lord, we
will desire to worship Him.
Public worship is more than
James
5:17-18
being
present
in the sanctuary of a
church on Sunday morning. Some
people seem to feel that they are
worshiping just by attending
church. Worship is translated from
a Greek word that means “to kiss”
(Strong’s Concordance). MerriamWebster’s Dictionary defines the
verb worship as “to honor or
reverence as a divine being or
supernatural power; to regard with
great or extravagant respect,
honor, or devotion.”
Worship is a spiritual expression;
James
5:17-18
however,
it requires
physical
demonstration. Love for a mate
that is never expressed or
demonstrated is not genuine love,
and a person must demonstrate
his love for God.
It is one thing to be a worshiper,
and it is another thing to be a
passionate worshiper. To worship
only enough to be called a
worshiper is to offer the least to
the Lord instead of our best.
Malachi 1:8
“And if ye offer the blind for
sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye
offer the lame and sick, is it not
evil? offer it now unto thy
governor; will he be pleased with
thee, or accept thy person? saith
the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 1:8).
“Ye said also, Behold, what a
Malachi
weariness 1:13-14
is it! and ye have
snuffed at it, saith the LORD of
hosts; and ye brought that which
was torn, and the lame, and the
sick; thus ye brought an offering:
should I accept this of your hand?
saith the LORD. But cursed be the
deceiver, which hath in his flock a
male, and voweth, and sacrificeth
unto the LORD a corrupt thing: for
I am a great King, saith the LORD
of hosts, and my name is dreadful
among the heathen”
(Malachi 1:13-14).
Malachi 1:13-14
To worship the Lord
halfheartedly is similar to
offering Him blind, sick, and
lame sacrifices when we have
perfect sacrifices available to
offer, but we withhold them.
B. Passion
in Community—
B. Passion
in Community—
Horizontal
Relationship
Horizontal
Relationship
Our relationship with God is a
vertical relationship, but our
relationship with others is
horizontal.
It is noteworthy that we are not
members of a commune but of a
community. We are not a cloistered
order that seeks to shut out of our
lives everyone except those with
whom we agree. God never intended
for His people to isolate themselves
from the rest of the world.
We are to
like the good
B. Passion
inbeCommunity—
Samaritan who passed by, saw the
Horizontal
Relationship
one in need,
and responded
appropriately.
The believer who enjoys a
vertical relationship with God but
avoids developing a horizontal
relationship with others is a shallow
believer. Jesus said, “Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy mind,” but He did not stop
there. He added, “Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew
22:37-39).
B. Passion in Community—
It is not possible for a person to
Horizontal
Relationship
love God with all his heart and not
love others. Loving others involves
having passion for the community.
When God so loved the world that
He died for all mankind, He
presented a pattern of response that
we should emulate. If we really love
God, we will reach out to others.
Many believe
that the early
B. Passion
in Community—
church in Jerusalem had a
Horizontal
Relationship
membership
numbered in the
thousands. Jesus had told them,
“But ye shall receive power, after
that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you: and ye shall be witnesses
unto me both in Jerusalem, and in
all Judaea, and in Samaria, and
unto the uttermost part of the
earth” (Acts 1:8). It is interesting to
observe what happened in Acts 8:1
when the early believers failed to
fully obey Acts 1:8:
“And Saul
consenting unto his
B. Passion
inwas
Community—
death. And at that time there was a
Horizontal
Relationship
great persecution
against the
church which was at Jerusalem;
and they were all scattered abroad
throughout the regions of Judaea
and Samaria, except the apostles.”
When we do not obey God’s
command to witness and
evangelize, He has a way of
sending us to the regions and
individuals beyond our usual circle
of friends and acquaintances!
B. Passion
in
Community—
Jesus’ statement that “ye
shall be Relationship
witnesses unto me both
Horizontal
in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea,
and in Samaria, and unto the
uttermost part of the earth”
illustrated the ever-advancing
ring of responsibility for
evangelism. We are to witness
to those closest to us,
continually advancing toward
evangelizing those who are
farthest away.
B. Passion in Community—
When Jesus rose up before
Horizontal
Relationship
daylight and went to a solitary
place to pray, Simon and the
other disciples found Him and
said, “All men seek for thee.”
Jesus replied, “Let us go into
the next towns, that I may
preach there also: for therefore
came I forth” (Mark 1:37-38).
B. Passion in Community—
Many people get a burden to
Horizontal
Relationship
share the gospel with people
across the sea when they fail to
witness to their neighbors across
the street. A passion for souls will
cause us to have a burden both
for foreigners and also for friends
and neighbors. Passion knows no
boundaries.
B. Passion
in Community—
The Bible
is clear about our
responsibility both to those
Horizontal
Relationship
without and those within the
church. God’s love will not allow
us to isolate ourselves from our
brothers and sisters in the Lord or
from the lost around the globe. It
will create a passion in us that will
compel us to build relationships
and evangelize. In his book That
You Bear Much F.R.U.I.T., Daniel
Butler identifies ten “One-Another
Commandments”:
B. Passion
Community—
1. Lovein
One
Another (John
15:12).
Horizontal Relationship
2. Serve One Another (Galatians
5:13).
3. Prefer One Another (Romans
12:10).
4. Accept One Another (Romans
15:7).
5. Edify One Another (I
Thessalonians 5:11).
6. Encourage
One Another
B. Passion
in Community—
(Hebrews 3:13).
Horizontal Relationship
7. Admonish One Another
(Colossians 3:16).
8. Greet One Another (II
Corinthians 13:12).
9. Forgive One Another (Ephesians
4:32).
10. Consider One Another
(Hebrews 10:24).
C. Passion in Priority
C. Passion in Priority
The etymology of the word
priority has to do with “first.” A
priority is something that is
considered more important than
anything else in the list; therefore
it is first. Clearly, God is to be
first in our lives; He is our chief
priority.
Matthew 6:33
“But seek ye first the kingdom of
God, and his righteousness; and
all these things shall be added
unto you” (Matthew 6:33).
Matthew 6:33
Whether or not we use the
term prioritization, every day we
prioritize. In other words, we
decide what we consider to be
most important for that day. We
devote our time and energy to
those things. Perhaps no one
would like to be accused of
putting God last or way down the
list of priorities, but by our own
choices we decide His place in
our lives.
II Corinthians 4:18
“While we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things
which are not seen: for the things
which are seen are temporal; but
the things which are not seen are
eternal” (II Corinthians 4:18).
II Corinthians 4:18
No person in his right mind
would choose temporal or
temporary things over eternal
things as being most important;
however, many people elevate
things of the world over things of
the church. This inversion of the
proper order reveals carnality that
lacks passion for the things of
God.
If putting “first things first” is a
II Corinthians
4:18
good
motto in dealing
with natural
things, how much more is it good
in dealing with spiritual things. It
seems an oversimplification to say
we should put first things first. If
we are conscious of the numerical
order of things, we know that the
number one item is first. However,
in our rush we sometimes allow
things of lesser importance to
crowd out the most important
things.
Things that are way down the list of
II priorities
Corinthians
our
have a 4:18
way of getting
shoved to the top of the list, for
they are usually things that are
easier to get done. Because the
first thing we should do is
frequently more difficult to
complete, we have a tendency to
shove it down the list and opt for
the easier things. But passion
demands that we put first things
first.
II Corinthians
In Matthew 6:33 4:18
Jesus gave
us the proper order of things.
We are to seek Him and His
kingdom first, and everything
else we need will find its way
into our lives. Putting God first
is the beginning of proper
prioritization.
II. A Compassionate
People
A Compassionate
People
Not only are we to be a
passionate people, but we are to
be a compassionate people,
demonstrating feeling or showing
sympathy and concern for others.
Unfortunately, many people have
strong feelings about a lot of
things but lack concern for others.
Being a ChristianPeople
involves
II. A Compassionate
removing the focus from ourselves
and putting it on others. The
selfishness of sin, because its base
is pride, causes a person to be
interested only in himself. But the
love of Jesus Christ in a believer’s
heart establishes love for others.
As a result of receiving the Holy
Ghost, we enjoy the same love that
motivated God to give Himself for
the salvation of mankind. (See
John 3:16.)
Sensitiveto
to Needs
Needs
A.A.Sensitive
The words compassionate and
insensitive are practically
antonyms, for it is impossible to
have feeling and unfeeling at the
same time. A person who has
compassion for someone is
sensitive to his needs.
The good Samaritan had
A.compassion
Sensitiveontothe
Needs
man who had
been assaulted, robbed, and left
half dead. “When he saw him, he
had compassion on him” (Luke
10:33). But his compassion was
not just a feeling. He “went to him,
and bound up his wounds,
pouring in oil and wine, and set
him on his own beast, and brought
him to an inn, and took care of
him” (Luke 10:34). The good
Samaritan invested in him and left
him better off.
A. Sensitive to Needs
How much better our world
would be if everyone would
exercise care and compassion for
others! Too often we are victims of
emotional stripping and wounding
similar to what the man in the
parable suffered physically. In
such moments, we desperately
need the support and assistance
of our fellow man.
The nature of compassion is
A.such
Sensitive
to Needs
that it thinks
more of others
than it thinks of itself. This is a
mirror of love’s response. As
charity “seeketh not her own” (I
Corinthians 13:5), so compassion
gives of itself unselfishly.
Many people are oblivious to
the needs of those around them.
They see people, but their needs
do not seem to register. Their
blindness to the needs of others
apparently is due to their lack of
sensitivity.
Other people
the needs of
A. Sensitive
tosee
Needs
others around them, but they
choose to ignore them. Like the
priest and the Levite in the
parable of the Good Samaritan,
they see but they choose to look
away and pass by without
helping.
It is not human nature to be
selfless. There is a big difference
between selflessness and
selfishness, and the difference is
love.
I John 3:17-18
“But whoso hath this world’s
good, and seeth his brother have
need, and shutteth up his bowels
of compassion from him, how
dwelleth the love of God in him?
My little children, let us not love
in word, neither in tongue; but in
deed and in truth” (I John 3:1718).
B. Willing to Serve
B. Willing to Serve
Sometimes the only motivation
a believer needs to serve others is
to see the need, especially if he
has a compassionate heart. It is
difficult to have compassion
without responding to that feeling.
If the compassion is strong
enough, it compels the believer to
serve those in need.
B. Willing to Serve
The willingness to serve is not
so much a desire to sacrifice, but
a desire to respond in love to the
needs around us. A fireman who
enters a burning building to
rescue those who are trapped is
not eager to expose himself to
danger. His response, which is a
result of his sense of duty,
eclipses his fear of danger. From
this emerges the renewing of his
willingness to serve.
C.
C. Reaching and
Reaching
and
Touching
Lives
Touching Lives
A church with compassion is a
body with arms. Its love for souls
and the needs of others causes it
to reach across the street and
across the sea. This compassion
reaches across social and
economic barriers. Moreover,
there is no barrier that love will not
attempt to bridge.
C. Reaching
and
Touching
Lives
Although Jesus was reluctant
to minister to the needs of the
Syrophenician woman in Matthew
15 (also Mark 7) because of
timing, His love coupled with her
faith caused Him to reach out to
help a Gentile. Thank God for His
love that reaches and touches the
lives of needy people regardless
of their position, standing, or
location!
D. Nurturing and Ministering
D. Nurturing and Ministering
It is one thing to reach and
touch someone in need, but it is a
deeper expression of love to
nurture and minister to that
person. The word nurture means
“to supply with food, nourishment,
and protection . . . to further the
development of: promote the
growth of” (Merriam-Webster’s
Dictionary).
D. Nurturing
anddoMinistering
Some people
just enough for
needy individuals to qualify
themselves as having reached out
to them and touched them, but
hurting people need more than
that.
D. Nurturing
and
Ministering
The good
Samaritan
did more
than only reach out to the
wounded man in Luke 10. He
dressed his wounds and bound
them up; he took him to an inn and
cared for him; he offered further
financial support to provide for his
ongoing care. Taking care of the
man represented a deeper
expression of his compassion that
demonstrated true nurturing.
III. Churches
in Revelation
Churches
in Revelation
Exiled on a lonely island in the
Aegean Sea, John received a
treasure trove of information
concerning Jesus Christ, His
church, and future events. In the
early part of this amazing
revelation, God showed him a
kaleidoscope of seven churches in
Asia Minor, which many believe
also represented a prophetic
panorama of seven church ages.
III. Churches in Revelation
In this part of the lesson we will
discuss Christ’s messages to three
of these churches.
A. Ephesus
Lost
Its Passion
A. Ephesus
Lost Its
Passion
and
and Compassion
Compassion
“I know thy works, and thy labour,
and thy patience, and how thou canst
not bear them which are evil: and
thou hast tried them which say they
are apostles, and are not, and hast
found them liars. . . . Nevertheless I
have somewhat against thee, because
thou hast left thy first love”
(Revelation 2:2-4).
Revelation 2:2-4
What an indictment! “Thou hast
left thy first love.” This statement
introduced the idea of different
levels or dimensions of love.
Although the Bible does not
specifically mention any other
levels of love, the term “first love”
implies that a person’s love can be
categorized numerically. Ephesus
had left its “first love.”
Revelation 2:2-4
One of the greatest hazards a
Christian faces is the cooling-off
period following the fervency of
conversion. Although we may lose
some of the initial enthusiasm of a
new convert, there is never an
excuse for leaving our first love.
We must do everything we can to
preserve our first-love relationship
with the Lord Jesus Christ.
B. Laodicea
Its Passion
B. Laodicea
Lost ItsLost
Passion
and
and Compassion
Compassion
“I know thy works, that thou art
neither cold nor hot: I would thou
wert cold or hot. So then because
thou art lukewarm, and neither
cold nor hot, I will spue thee out
of my mouth” (Revelation 3:1516).
In this passage we see the
Revelation
indication of at 3:15-16
least three levels
of responses relative to Christian
love and service: cold, lukewarm,
and hot. Laodicea had lost its
passion and compassion and had
cooled to a level that Jesus
labeled as “lukewarm.”
Reading of Ephesus and
Laodicea losing the fervency of
the hot first love of conversion
should act as a warning to every
believer. No one is immune from
losing his Christian fervency.
There is always the possibility of
Revelation
becoming less 3:15-16
passionate and
compassionate, against which we
all must guard carefully.
When one places a frog in a
pan of cold or lukewarm water and
gradually increases the heat, the
frog will not jump out because the
temperature increases
incrementally. If one tries to put a
frog in a pan of boiling water,
however, he will jump immediately,
recognizing the danger.
Like the frog in the pan that does
Revelation
not respond, if 3:15-16
we are not careful
we can fail to react to diminishing
dimensions of love in our heart.
Because the decrease is gradual,
we may fail to recognize the
danger. We must take action to
maintain the same fervency of
love, passion, and compassion as
when we first believed.
C. Philadelphia
Maintained
C. Philadelphia
Maintained
Passion and Compassion
Passion and Compassion
“I know thy works: behold, I have
set before thee an open door, and
no man can shut it: for thou hast a
little strength, and hast kept my
word, and hast not denied my
name” (Revelation 3:8).
Revelation
3:8
These words concerning
Philadelphia’s faithfulness indicate
that it maintained its godly passion
and compassion. Obviously, it did
not leave its first love, and it was
not lukewarm or cold. This should
challenge every believer to
maintain his passion and
compassion for the Lord Jesus
Christ and His church. God wants
a passionate church!
Conclusion
Revelation
3:8
In this lesson we have studied
the importance of passion and
compassion to spiritual life in
Christ Jesus, and we have
considered the importance of
prayer, Bible study, and public
worship. We examined the vital
place a vertical relationship to the
Lord has in our Christian lives, for
without it everything else becomes
distorted. Our relationship with
God determines our whole
relationship with others.
Our horizontal relationship with
Revelation
3:8
others
requires us to
have
fellowship with the believers within
and to evangelize those who are
without. The latter will be natural
and right if the former is right.
Everything we do for others is the
result of what we do for the Lord.
This means we must put first
things first. We have examined the
proper prioritization of things. If we
put Jesus and His righteousness
first, everything else will fall into
its proper place.
Revelation 3:8
Compassionate people invest in
others because compassion
unselfishly gives of itself. We are to
be sensitive to needs, willing to
serve, and ready to nurture and
minister to others, which expresses
our love through reaching out and
touching others.
Revelation 3:8
Ephesus and Laodicea lost
their passion and compassion.
They were indicted for leaving
their first love and being
lukewarm. We must carefully
choose not to lose our first love,
passion, or compassion, looking
to the positive example of the
church in Philadelphia.