PASSION is what I want us to catch from this series--because we are a vibrant, passionate, and selfless church, and because PASSION is what should fuel our evangelism. It should fuel everything that we do as believers.
Stirring up a passion is possible, when there’s a willingness to.
Luke 2:1-20
Gen 49:10, “The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants,
until the coming of the one to whom it belongs,
the one whom all nations will honor.”
(Daniel 2:44 says (in the 500’s BC), ““During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever.”)
HOW GOOD is this news… that the God of the universe couldn’t stop talking about it for THOUSANDS OF YEARS PRIOR AND SINCE. That He sent ANGELS to announce it!
THIS is the basis for our PASSION for the Good News. It’s the understanding that God is SO BIG. His plans are SO PERFECT. And we are so arrogant to assume we know more than Him!!!
It’s not a sacrifice to serve Him, or live in surrender to Him...when I have this revelation, it’s...a no-brainer. I can now see these layers of rebellion against that plan in my life--that I just don’t have any business believing. I WANT to obey on so many more levels when I understand this...my life isn’t about ME
God’s people THROUGHOUT THE GENERATIONS have been made to serve governments that they did not like. That they did not think was according to God’s perfect plan for them...But if anything shows us, that God’s will and plan cannot be thwarted by ANY move of ANY government EVER, it’s this story.
We’re not afraid of the world becoming a weirder, darker place culturally. Because in the dark, we shine brighter!
WHY the shepherds?
Shepherds in that time: out in the rocky deserts, dirty, stank, weren’t allowed to worship in the temple, weren’t allowed to give testimony in court...they had low social status (low social status, does not mean low spiritual status. God doesn’t look at the outward appearance, He looks at the heart. The most important thing you can work on in this life, is your INNER world, not your OUTER world. Work on your CHARACTER, and let God work on your respect.)
They were AVAILABLE. & receptive. (Even God didn’t announce his good news to people who weren’t ready to hear it. He gave it to the people who were receptive and available!!)
Immediate acceptance. Immediate involvement.
SLOW DOWN. Stop being too busy. Make time for people.
Invite people into your world! THAT’s preaching the Gospel too!
Is it my business to say someone’s no for them!?