- Well, I wanna talk
today, to those of you, who might have lost a little
bit of your spiritual passion. In fact, I'm guessing
with the complications of this covid season,
there may be some of you that in one point in your life, you found yourself really,
really close to God. You could sense His voice leading you. You could feel His presence with you. When you would read His Word, it was like God was speaking
directly to you, but somewhere, somehow, along the way,
you feel like you lost some of your spiritual passion. You lost some enthusiasm. Maybe you lost a little bit of spiritual intimacy
somewhere along the way. If you find yourself a
little bit less enthusiastic about the things of God
today, than you once were, this is a message for you. And I wanna tell you, I also
understand that struggle. I'll give you a little piece of my story. Like some of you, I was
pretty wild in college. Did any of you have a
wild streak somewhere. Yeah, I see there're hands. You could say, I was
building my testimony. That's kinda what I was doing. And along the way, my
sin caught up with me, and I started searching, and seeking, and through a little Bible
study, my life was radically, and indescribably transformed
by the grace of Jesus. I went from wild, party guy, to bold evangelistic Jesus guy, overnight. Completely changed. I wanted everybody to know, and so, high on spiritual enthusiasm,
but low on wisdom, I just put Jesus all
over, anywhere I could. I wore Jesus hats, I had cheesy
Jesus, Christian t-shirts. I was a college tennis player, and so I painted a cross on
the strings of my racket. So you could see my faith. I even had, believe it or
not, I had a Jesus watch. Yes, some of you didn't know that a Jesus watch actually existed. I couldn't find the exact one online, but I found one that's pretty close to it. This is the Jesus watch. Not exactly, but it's pretty close. Now I know some of you,
you're confused right now, you don't know whether you should clap, whether you should laugh,
whether you should be excited, or whether you should
be concerned about me, and I understand, I'm
not quite sure either. But I just wanted everybody
to know about the One, who changed my life. I was a business major, when
I came to faith in Christ, but then I just immediately
felt called to be a pastor. I never thought to change my major. So I graduated with a business degree, and I wanted to be a pastor, and nobody was hiring business majors. So I just got plugged in my church. Served anywhere, and everywhere. Any time something was
available to do, I would do it. My pastor heard about me, and invited me to do the most amazing, most special thing you could ever imagine. You see, on Sunday mornings at First United Methodist
Church, Downtown Oklahoma City, there were three distinct slots that the pastors on the platform would do. One, was to recite and lead the church in the Apostle's Creed. A slight step up from that,
was calling for the offering. And the grand master of them
all was, the Pastoral Prayer. My pastor invited me, not
to do the top two tiers, but sure enough to play
in the major leagues. To help lead the church
in the Apostle's Creed. My dreams had come true. I could do something pastoral. My parents drove two hours
to come and to watch. I was engaged to Amy, her parents came. My fraternity brothers
came, my teammates came. I was doing something
pastoral, the Apostle's Creed. I believe in God the Father,
the Lord Almighty, creator of, and I did it with passion and with style. My pastor ended up
inviting me to be a pastor. Three years later,
somehow, the enthusiasm, and passion for my God, had waned. I was married to Amy, and
we were heading to church, and she said, "What are you doing today?" And I said, "Ahhh, all I'm
doing is the Apostle's Creed." And she laughed, and she said, "Do you realize, that you're complaining "about the very same thing
that you prayed for?" And I don't know how it happened, but somewhere along the way, I lost some spiritual enthusiasm. If you've lost some of your passion for the One who saved you,
this message is for you. I call it, "Get Your Passion Back", and I'd love to pray today. Father we ask, that for
people all over the world, on YouTube, Church Online, even listening to a message post date. And God, for everyone gathered
today at a physical location, we ask that your word, by
the power of your spirit, would help us get our passion back. For the One who gave it all for us. We pray this in Jesus name. And everybody said... - [Congregation] Amen. Amen, and amen. Go ahead and type that in
the chat if you want to, if you're with us today,
just type in, amen. We're in a message series
called, "Stay Positive". It's a great time to
stay positive, isn't it? When there's so much
negativity, so much bad news, as followers of Christ,
we're full of faith. Today I wanna talk to you
about the quality, enthusiasm. Have you noticed that there
are two different types of people in the world. Two different types. The first, there are those, who let circumstances
influence their enthusiasm. And the second, there are
those, who use their enthusiasm to influence their circumstances. There's two types of
people in the world today. Those who let what's going on around them determine their mood, their posture, their perspective. Or those who let what's
going on inside of them, influence the climate around them. The theme enthusiasm is one of
my favorite positive themes. I wanna talk to you about it today. It comes from two words. Enthusiasm comes from en theos. En means in, if you've
ever heard of theology, theos means God. The word enthusiasm, it
literally means in God, or it means to be filled with God. True spiritual enthusiasm,
isn't something you work up, it's not a product of your environment, it's a posture of your heart,
and your time with God. It's born in the presence
of God, by the power of God. In fact, I love what
the Apostle Paul said, in 1 Corinthians 15:57
and 58, he said this, Paul said, "But thank God!" Somebody say thank God. - [Congregation] Thank God! - Type it in the chat, he said, "But thank God that He gives
us victory over sin and death." I'm gonna say that again, because I kinda feel there're some people, a little more enthusiastic, that haven't yet expressed
their enthusiasm. He said, "But thank God, He
gives us victory over sin "and death, through
our Lord Jesus Christ." (congregation yelling)
(congregation clapping) Because of what our God
has given us he said, "My dear brother's and sisters,
be strong and immovable. "Always work," and I love
this, he said, whatever you do, "always work enthusiastically
for the Lord, "for you know that nothing you do "for the Lord is ever useless." Work enthusiastically for the Lord, and whatever you do, is
never ever done in vain. Here's what I love about this thought. It's not what you do
that makes it meaningful, it's who you do it for. It's not the thing that
makes the action meaningful, but it's the intent of the
heart of who you're serving. It's not what you do
that makes it meaningful, but it's who you do it for. For example, many of you
probably turn the lights off around your house, before you go to bed. If you don't do that, helpful little tip, you can save money by
turning your lights off around your house before
you go to the bed. I never really liked doing
that, until Amy said, she loves when I do it. So when I turn the lights
off around the house, I do it with enthusiasm,
and style, and flair. Flip, switch, slide, I
go all over the house, and it's not what I'm
doing that's meaningful, but who I'm doing it for. And when I walk back into
the room, I say to Amy, "Guess what your husband
has been out doing? "I've bravely been attacking the elements, "and turning off the lights,
and I did it just for you. "The lights are out." Do you feel the enthusiasm in the room? It's not what you do, but
it's who you do it for. When you're doing whatever
you do, and you're doing it for the Lord, it can
transform something mundane into something meaningful. The best example of this,
and I would give anything if I could show you a clip of this lady. But I saw the most amazing
passionate, enthusiastic woman, that perhaps I've seen in my life, working at a kiosk in an airport. Now, on the top of my
list of exciting jobs, you would not find working
at a kiosk in an airport. She's selling cigarettes,
and you know, pops, drinks, and gum and such. This lady, when people would
walk by, she was singing, and not just singing, but angelic singing, like an angel took over her body, and she was singing at people walking by. And there was a buzz,
and people were kinda, they weren't even laughing,
they were like, enjoying it. And I walked by and she sang at me. And I can't sing like her,
and dare not even try, but she sang something like, ♪ Hey young man there in the black shirt ♪ And in a very appropriate way she told me, ♪ You looking good today ♪ And I like, black shirt,
she's talking to me. And everybody walked by, say ♪ Have a wonderful day ♪ She was just amazing. And so, I just stood there
and I watched it, I thought, "Can I hire her, can I interview her?" And the place was electrically
charged with just this, she didn't let the boring
environment in the airport, dictate her mood, but she let what was in her dictate the environment around her. And so, I just had to ask her, I said, "Can I ask you a question?" and she said, ♪ Ask me anything ♪ "No, no, no, just, can you
not sing, can you just talk?" She said, ♪ I'm not sure. ♪ And I said, "Tell me
why you're doing this." And she said, ♪ Oh, people are so bored,
and their traveling so hard, ♪ ♪ I wanna bring joy into their lives ♪ I said, "No, no, no, I
know that's kinda why, "but give me the deeper why." And she said, "You wanna know why?" I said, "I wanna know why." She said, "You wanna know why?" I said, "Tell me why!" She said, "I think you know why." I said, "I think I know why too, "but I wanna hear you say it, why?" She said, "Well, He has a name." And together we just sang it, ♪ His name is Jesus. ♪ And then we hugged right
there in the airport, total strangers. (congregation applauding) Who does that? Someone who's been transformed,
who's been changed. The thanks be to God, who
delivers us from sin and death. Whatever you do, do it
enthusiastically, for the Lord. And whatever you do will
not be done in vain. En theos. In God. You can have spiritual enthusiasm. And you can loose it. - [Woman] Oh, so true. - I wanna show you a person
from the Old Testament. If you've been around the
church, you would know David. David was a shepherd
boy who became a king, he was a kid who became a king. As a king, he was filled with en theos. As a king, somewhere
along the way, he lost it. If you know the story
about David and Goliath. The Philistine army was at
war with the Israelite army, and they would often pick
a representative warrior to do battle, and declare the
winner based on those two. And the Philistines had this
massive giant named Goliath. Israelites had nobody, that
would stand up to this giant. And this little kid, little shepherd boy, who was bringing snacks to his brother, looked on with enthusiasm. And I want you to watch
his spiritual enthusiasm and confidence in God, when
he said, Scripture says, to the Philistine, "You come against me with
sword and spear, and javelin, "but I come against you in
the name of the Lord Almighty, "the God of the armies of
Israel, whom you have defiled. "This day the Lord will
deliver you into my hands, and I will strike down
and cut off your head. "This very day I will give the carcasses "of the Philistine army to the
birds and the wild animals, "and the whole world will know,
there is a God in Israel." En theos. This is not, there's no
human confidence in this, this is raw, unparalleled
spiritual enthusiasm born out of time with God. The question is, where did he get that? Where did his spiritual
enthusiasm come from, when there was a whole
army of other warriors, who didn't have what he had. Where did he get that, ongoing, inner dwelling, spiritual enthusiasm? Where do you get it if you're
a lady singing at a kiosk, or a kid walking into
the battle of your life? Three thoughts about where
David's enthusiasm came from. First of all, he trusted God, daily. He walked with God, daily. And he worshiped God, daily. And the key word is... - [Congregation] Daily. Daily. He trusted God, daily. He walked with God, daily. He worshiped God, daily. He trusted Him. How could he fight a giant? Because in previous days, he trusted God when he was taking care of the sheep, and a bear would attack. And God gave him the
strength to defeat the bear. And since he trusted God the
day before for that battle, he could trust God in this
day, for the battle ahead. He trusted Him daily. He enjoyed His presence,
he walked with God daily. He was the one who said this,
"The Lord is my shepherd, "I shall not want." I lack nothing at all. "He makes me lie down in green pastures. "He restores my soul. "He leads me, He guides
me, He comforts me, "He's always with me. "He guides me along the right
path, even for His namesake. "Even though I walk through
the valley of the shadow "of death, I will fear no
evil, because you are with me. "Your rod, and your
staff, they comfort me. "You prepare a table before me. "In the presence of my enemies,
surely goodness and mercy, "will follow me, all the days of my life." He trusted God daily, he
walked with God daily, he worshiped God daily. When the Ark of the Covenant
came into his home town, where the presence of
God dwelled, he went out, not fully, completely dressed. And went into a massive worship party, so much so that his wife was embarrassed and made fun of him. But he just couldn't contain himself. It wasn't a click on a computer screen, once a week to watch a sermon. It wasn't even a drive across town to sit in a church service, and sing some songs, and listen once a week. It was a daily, abiding,
in the presence of God, that gave him this enthusiasm. He was in God. There're two seasons in his life. One, he had it, and when he lost it. If you fast forward to a
time when he was a king, there was another famous
story, and the text starts off, it says, "In a time when
kings go off to war." In springtime when he
should have been at battle, David actually stayed at home. And when he wasn't where
he was supposed to be, he climbed up onto a roof, and he saw something he
wasn't supposed to see, a woman taking a shower. And when he wasn't where
he was supposed to be, wasn't doing what he was supposed to do, he saw something he
wasn't supposed to see, he did something he
should have never done, and it cost a lot of people something they
should have never, ever lost. And it all started when
he stopped spending time with God daily. I wanna show you the contrast, and I've put into bullet
points just so you can see it. I wanna show you the difference. As a kid, with enthusiasm, David ran into the
battle to serve his God. The later as a king, with apathy, David walked on the roof
to serve his comfort. How did a man, who had so
much spiritual enthusiasm, as a kid, lose it as a king? The answer is, he took
his eyes off his calling, and he put it on his comfort. My question to you today is this, which one best represents you? Which one best represents you? Are you full of en theos? Enthusiasm, for the things
of God, whatever you do, it's not meaningless, because
it's not about the what, it's all about the who. Or do you find yourself more
spiritually comfortable? More complacent. Which one best represents you? Are you charging into spiritual battle? Knowing that the Lord
your God is with you? He'll never leave you,
He'll never forsake you, you've got a divine calling
today, today, today, daily, every day. Or have you drifted into
more spiritual complacency? My observation,
pastorally, my observation, is that most people in my opinion, have likely fallen into
one of two extremes, during the covid season. There's one very positive extreme of those who are continuing
to walk with God daily, and trust God daily, and
depend on His presence daily, and feed on His Word daily. And they're growing in intimacy,
and they sense His calling, and they're directed by His presence, and there is a very real, very powerful, very present en theos. The enthusiasm of the Lord,
and I see that in some people. Tragically though, there
is another extreme. And just based on human nature,
what I know about people, is we don't drift toward discipline, we don't drift toward health, we don't drift toward good decisions, we drift toward complacency,
we drift toward apathy, we drift toward self-centered attitudes. And unfortunately when people are now, sometimes disengaged from
the physical presence of worship in the corporate
view of the church. They may start out at Church
Online for a little while, but then wane and the weather gets nicer, and people start going outside,
and they start drifting, and suddenly bad habits set in, and the good disciplines go away, and rather than being filled
with the presence of God, they're filled with fear. And doubt, and a loss of joy,
and where'd my purpose go? And what am I supposed to do? And what once was a vibrant
passionate calling from God, has been replaced by comfort. Which best represents you? En theos, calling, purpose, passion, spiritual enthusiasm, or
comfort and complacency? David had it, and then he lost it. Nathan the prophet, confronted
him on his sinfulness, and after the confrontation,
David realized, how he had fallen away. He cried out to God in the
very powerful Psalm 51, and he said, God, "Create
in me a pure heart oh God, "and renew a steadfast spirit within me." God, "Restore to me the
joy of your salvation "and grant me a willing
spirit to sustain me." Restore to me, what do you do
when you lose what you had? You refill, you rejoice,
you renew, you restore, you go back to doing what you did before. Just like Jesus told the
believers in emphasis, in Revelation, 2:4 and 5, He said, here's your problem essentially this is what I hold against you, He said, "You are forsaken the
love you had a first." You've walked away, you've
let it go, you surrendered it. "You have forsaken the
love you had at first." in other words, you didn't
lose it, you left it. "You've forsaken the
love you had at first." And then Jesus said, "Consider
how far you've fallen." For just a moment, you might do that. Consider how you've drifted, consider the intimacy you once had. That you walked away from. Consider the power of
God that was with you, His presence that never left you. Consider how far you've fallen. And then Jesus said,
very simply, just repent, change directions,
change the way you think, and do the things you did at first. Do them again. What do you do? You walk with His presence, daily. You trust His goodness daily. You worship Him, daily. Not out of duty, but out of delight. The thanks be to God, who
delivered me from sin, and death. Restore to me the joy of my salvation. There are two types of people. There are those who let their
circumstances, COVID-19, fear, panic, anxiety, influence
their posture, their heart, their own spiritual temperature. And there are those that
let their enthusiasm, born out of the very real presence of God, influence their environment, dictate the mood of those around them, build the faith of
those that they're with. There's two types of
people, there are those that walk with God, and grow
with God, and trust God. And He empowers them with
spiritual enthusiasm. And there are those,
who don't just lose it, but they leave it. Which type are you? If you feel like, you've lost it. I understand. Sometimes people ask me, "How do you keep your
passion all the time?" And my answer is, "I don't." Like it's not like natural,
like hey you're a pastor, ahh, and you never have a bad
day, no, it's the opposite. I feel like I'm under attack even more. My faith gets under attack. My mindset gets under attack. I mean, even my mood gets
under attack, and Amy said, "Amen." In a very feminine voice. So what do I do? I go back to that moment in college, and I think about where I was,
and I think about who He is, and I think about what He did. But thanks be to God, who
delivered me from sin and death, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And then, I just go back
and do what I did at first. I spend time with Him. I let His Word strengthen my soul. Correct my sin, and encourage
me out of discouragement, and build my faith,
when all I see, is fear. And I worship Him. Not for just what I
see, but for who He is. And then whatever I do, even
if I don't feel like it, I try to work at it
enthusiastically, with all my heart. Not doing it for just some
person, but doing it for my God. And that transforms something mundane, into something meaningful. So whether you're doing
the Apostle's Creed, or the pastoral prayer. Whether you're serving,
and no one sees it, or worshiping and everybody knows it. Do it for God, but more
importantly, do it from God. Because there's two types
of people in the world. Those who let all the
stuff on the outside, determine what happens on their insides. Or those who let the work
of Jesus in their hearts, impact the world around them. I don't know about you,
but the light that's in me, is so bright there's no
darkness that can put it out. (congregation applauding) I hope that we have a
church full of people, ready to let the presence of
God penetrate a dark world. So Father, today I thank you
for every person who is able to gather in a physical building. That the joy of the Lord
would be our strength. And God, for every
person around the world, at Church Online, YouTube,
wherever they gather God, may you infuse their home
with your presence today, to build their faith. As you're praying, wherever
you are around the world, those who say, yeah, maybe
I've lost a little bit of the enthusiasm, I've
lost maybe a little bit of my passion and my faith,
and I wanna get it back. If that's you today, wherever you are, will you just lift up
your hand, and say yes. You can type it in the chit-chat,
I want my passion back, I want my passion back,
I want my passion back. And God, I ask right now,
that because you're with us, in living rooms, and kitchens,
and church buildings, all over the world. That your presence would stir in us, God. Help us to do what we did at first. Not out of duty God, but out of the light. Thank you God, for setting
us free from sin and death. Because of who you are
God, and what you've done. May we work enthusiastically to serve you, in all that we do. As you keep praying today,
and there may be those of you that you recognize, you know, wow, I kinda wish I had spiritual
passion or enthusiasm, and maybe I've like tried
a little bit before. I tried to get excited about God, or maybe you don't even believe in God, but there something drawing you right now, and no matter where you are, if you say, I don't have that, but I want it. Where does it come from? Let me tell you where
it doesn't come from. It does not come from you,
you're ability to create it, make it, earn it. It comes from the grace of God. When you recognize and understand. You ever have that feeling,
that guilty feeling, like you've done something wrong, you know why you have that? Because you've done
something wrong, so have I. Scripture calls it sin, and
the Bible is unbelievably clear that we've all sinned, against a Holy God. That's why you feel that
remorse, that guilt. That's not an accident, it's
because we've fallen short of God's standard. And this is what's amazing news. You can never get back to His
right standing on your own, it's impossible, you can never
be Holy enough, good enough, or perfect enough. And this is why the
Gospel means good news. Our God loves you so much,
that He became like you in the person of His son Jesus. Jesus the son of God, who never sinned. Died on a cross in our
place to forgive our sins. God raised Him from the
dead, so that anyone, and this includes you, it doesn't matter what part of the world you're in. It doesn't matter what you did last night, doesn't matter what you're
doing right now at this moment, doesn't matter how guilty you feel, doesn't matter how far from God you feel, or how far away God seems. Anyone who calls on the name
that is above every name, that name of Jesus, Jesus,
the risen son of God, when you call on Him,
God hears your prayers, and forgives your sins,
and He makes you brand new. On the other side of phones,
and TVs, and computer screens, or in a physical building, those you say, "I want that, I want His
forgiveness, I want His grace." He will infuse you with His
love, His power, His presence, completely forgiven, as
if you'd never sinned. You're not a better
version of you, you're new. The old is gone, the new is common. All of our churches, those who
say yes, Jesus, I want you. On the other side of
screens, Jesus I need you, today I give you my life,
if that's your prayer. Lift your hands high, now,
those of you online just chat, I'm giving my life to Jesus,
just type it in the chat. As we have hands going
up all over the place. Could we have somebody here
give a little thanks to God for people saying, "Yes, Jesus, I need you,
I need you, I need you." (congregation applauding) Wherever you are, at home,
maybe even watching now from work, or in a church building, would you just pray this
with those around you, pray. Heavenly Father, - [Congregation] Heavenly Father, - Forgive me, - [Congregation] Forgive me - for all of my sins. - [Congregation] for all of my sins. - Jesus save me. - [Congregation] Jesus save me. - Change me, - [Congregation] Change me, - and make me new. - [Congregation] and make me new. - Fill me with your spirit. - [Congregation] Fill me with your spirit. - So I can walk with you. - [Congregation] So I can walk with you. - And trust you. - [Congregation] And trust you. - And worship you. - [Congregation] And worship you. - Daily. - [Congregation] Daily. - My life is not my own. - [Congregation] My life is not my own. - I give it all to you. - [Congregation] I give it all to you. - Help me God, - [Congregation] Help me God, - to do whatever I do, - [Congregation] to do whatever I do, - Enthusiastically for you. - [Congregation] Enthusiastically for you. - Because you saved me, - [Congregation] Because you saved me, - and my life belongs to you. - [Congregation] and
my life belongs to you. - In Jesus name I pray. - [Congregation] In Jesus name I pray. - Could somebody
enthusiastically give some praise to our good God today? (congregation clapping)
