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Advent HOPE Florida

Eleida Feliciano

Passion For God

It is always a privilege to be gathered together worshiping the Lord on a holy Sabbath day.

And I thank Him for the privilege of being able to be here.

It's certainly an awesome privilege and also a big responsibility.

So I thank those of you who have been praying for me.

Today we begin a three-part series called GPS.

Now in the 21st century we use this global positional systems of our commonly known as GPS, to help us find our way.

When we are going to an important destination, we make sure we get all the right directions to ensure that we make it there and that we make it there on time.

I have no sense of direction, so I've had this experience many times when I'm trying to get somewhere and I'm completely absolutely lost, have no idea where I'm at, and I have to be there at a certain time.

Some of you have a good sense of direction and get everywhere without any problems, but I've experienced that many times.

Now as Christians, we have a much more important and exciting destination to reach.

And if getting lost will be more than frustrating, it will be devastating.

The pastoral staff of the Forest Lake Church has been thinking and praying about the content of this series for quite a while.

They've been thinking about what will be the GPS that would guide our church.

And after much prayer and seeking God, they have come to the decision that there's this 3 guiding principles that are going to guide us as a church in this year.

A passion for God, a passion for people, and a passion for service.

Today I have the privilege to talk about a passion for God.

I believe this is the most important of the 3 for 2 reasons.

Without it you cannot have the other 2 and if you have it there's no way you don't you will not have the other 2.

In other words, if you don't have a passion for God, you will not have a passion for people and you will not have a true passion for service.

And if you have a true passion for God, there's no way that you will not have the other.

So I was given this privilege and I consider it a big privilege.

But before I begin, if you will join me in prayer.

Dear Lord and Heavenly Father, I pray that your Spirit will be with us today.

Speak to our hearts and our minds as we study such an awesome topic, Lord, to be passionate about you.

I pray, dear Lord, that you will help us to understand what it is and how we can be passionate about you.

Give us the desire Lord to be passionate about who you are.

As I think about passion for God, I remember a young man I met 10 years ago.

He was invited to preach at a church for a youth program and he was probably 18, 19 years old, very young man.

He did not preach the most eloquent sermon, but there was something very special about that young man, something different.

And I, as I sat in the pew watching him preach, I said, Lord, I want to have that same passion.

When he opened the word of God and he was preaching, he was not talking about something that he just read in a book or his parents had taught him, or that he had heard preached at the church.

It was something that he had experienced personally.

When they're passionate about it, it is evident, they cannot hide it.

You can see their passion in their eyes, you can hear it in their voice.

It's something that just surrounds all that they are.

You guys may not be able to relate, but us girls, I'm sure have experience watching some of our friends when they have a crush on a boy and they have this, you know, they when they Even if they don't admit it, they might not tell you, they might even deny it, but they can't hide it.

They talk about this guy all the time, and every time they do, there's this twinkling in their eye.

They may be talking about something, and then when they start talking about the guy, it's just like the voice changed completely.

They're like, no, I don't like him, no, no, no.

Well, it is very similar when you see a Christian who has a passion for God, except instead of seeing that foolish look in the face, you actually see a look of peace and joy, what Paul would call a peace that passes understanding.

And the person that has a passion for God also has a twinkling in the eye, the voice, you can hear it, and they just want to talk about God all the time.

They just want to talk about God all the time.

Let's look at some people in the Bible who had a passion for God.

Go with me to Hebrews chapter 11 and we're going to 26.

It says, By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ's greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward." Moses had a passion for God.

Moses had, he, it says here, he esteemed the reproach of Christ as greater riches than the riches or the treasures of Egypt.

There's many people in the Bible that had a passion for God.

But today I want to share with you some of my favorites.

In Daniel, it's another 1 that had a passion for God.

Wise says in Prophets and Kings page 482, talking about Daniel, this is when Daniel had been offered the king's food and he has chosen to refuse it.

The approval of God was dearer to him than life itself.

In Daniel 6, verse 10, We see Daniel in a different position now.

The wise men had convinced the king to pass this decree.

That anyone who prayed to anyone except the king for 30 days would be thrown into the lions.

Now, anyone could say, well, it's just 30 days.

I'll just, you know, I can go without prayer for 30 days or I'll hide and pray for 30 days.

It says now in verse 10, now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house and his windows being opened in his chamber towards Jerusalem, He kneeled upon his knees 3 times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he did a 4 time.

I've been trying to do that and It always seems like I do my morning devotion.

I'm trying to stop in the middle of the day and have that prayer time before I go to bed.

But when you have that passion for God, it's not something you have to struggle to do.

You just hunger for that time, just hunger for that.

And Daniel, it was such a hunger for him that he couldn't live without it for 30 days.

He couldn't live without it for even 1 day.

So even the very day that they passed the decree, he was there praying to God.

Paul, 1 of my favorites, in Philippians 1 21 we know that certainly Paul had a passion for God.

We're just going to look at 2 verses that shows us that passion in Philippians 1 verse 21.

Here Paul says, For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

And in chapter 3 of that of Philippians verse 8 he says, Yet doubtless and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but done that I may win Christ Paul had a passion for God Now 1 more person I want to share with you, and that's Ellen G.

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Passion For God

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