May 21, 2024

People of Passion

God loves wholeheartedness. Divided and lukewarm hearts, on the other hand, nauseate Him (see Revelation 3:15-16). He refuses to tolerate indifference. Yahweh epitomizes passion and offers to share with us His passionate heart. If we are going to turn America back to Him, we must be a people of passion.

King David was a man of passion. When listening to Goliath mock the Lord, he quickly reached his threshold. “Who is this guy to curse the living God in the name of his false gods?” David asked. Then he asked the poignant and loaded question, “Is there not a cause?” (1 Samuel 17:29 KJV). 

Through this rhetorical question, David declared, “The ramifications of this threat are bigger than just our nation, Israel; they’re more important than our land, and even our lives. God’s reputation is at stake!” Perhaps this is why David actually ran to face the 9½-foot-tall giant. Death was possible, yes, but David’s passion for God was stronger than his fear of death.

God is raising up Davids in our day who will run to face today’s spiritual giants – the forces of evil opposing Him and His purposes. They are willing to lay their lives down for His cause. I believe passionate warriors such as this are on the increase. Though they will never be in the majority, there will be enough. God will empower them, just as He did David, and they will prevail.

David refused to outgrow his youthful passion. Years later, He was still passionate about God. As the Ark of God’s presence (abandoned and ignored during Saul’s reign) was being brought to Jerusalem, David threw off his kingly robes, laid aside his royal pomp and dignity, and danced wildly (see 2 Samuel 6:14 and 1 Chronicles 15:29). He was celebrating the fact that God’s presence was coming home where it belonged. I love it! 

His wife Michal, however, like her father, Saul, was not a worshiper and certainly wasn’t passionate about God; she liked neither his passion nor his humility. Michal actually mocked David’s zeal and lack of dignity. Dignity over passion is still quite appropriate in most worship services.

What was David’s response to Michal? “You haven’t seen anything yet,” he stated. “I will be much more undignified than this!” 

Passion for Christ must outweigh our pride and overcome our dignity. He and His cause must outweigh love of self.

Incidentally, God’s response to Michal’s spiritual indifference and disdain for David’s passion was much stronger than David’s response. The Lord sentenced her to barrenness - He didn’t want her nature passed on. That’s pretty serious. Assuredly, God loves passion and loathes apathetic indifference.

A Prisoner of Love

The Apostle Paul demonstrated great passion. “The love of God controls us,” he said, in describing his commitment to the cause of Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:14). “Controls” (Greek: sunecho) is a word actually meaning “to be a prisoner.”(1) God’s passionate love had possessed Paul to the point that its hold was inescapable. Bound by love, he faced hunger, thirst, numerous beatings, imprisonment, and much more in his quest to preach the gospel. The need for pleasure and comfort didn’t control Paul; passion for Christ’s cause had enslaved him.

The Founders of America had extreme passion and were willing to die for the cause of freedom. “Give me liberty or give me death” was more than a slick campaign speech. When Patrick Henry made this now-famous statement he was stating unequivocally, “I am willing to die for this cause.” Look up his entire speech and you’ll see his unwavering passion for God and this nation.

Passionate Until Death!

I have mentioned John Adams in other posts, but it is appropriate to include him here, as well. Adams was such a passionate pioneer of liberty that Thomas Jefferson referred to him as a “colossus of independence.”(2) Though the two of them didn’t always see eye-to-eye, their passion for America enabled them to put aside their differences, and they died as close friends – on the same day! Independence Day!

Most people aren’t aware that both Adams and Jefferson died on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1826!(3) Incredibly, it was as though both men willed themselves to live until that landmark day. Their passion to see the survival of this “holy experiment” - as many described America at that time - kept them alive until this milestone was reached. Adams, too weak to attend the national Fourth of July celebration, asked to be sat in a chair by his window in order to watch the festivities. While there, he drifted into unconsciousness and died later that night. Two of Adams’ last words before he graduated to heaven: “Independence forever.”(4)

Passionate in life; passionate in death.

Adams and our other Founders were God-honoring pioneer-patriots with the steel of mind and heart to face perhaps the greatest empire in all of history. Like David, they asked the profound question, “Is there not a cause?” And answered it with their lives.

That is the question we must ask today. Is Christ’s purpose for America - preaching the gospel to all the earth - important enough to live and die for? There are now millions of young people in the United States who have had their opportunity to know Him stolen by ungodly educators, liberal politicians, legislating judges, and lukewarm preachers. Are not these young people worth our prayers and passion? How many more of them must die in gangs, school shootings, suicides, overdoses, drunken car accidents, and sex trafficking before the church of America has the courage and passion to stand up and shout, “Enough!”

How many more babies must be murdered in the womb of their mothers? How many more children will be raised in fatherless homes? When will enough be enough?

Many are familiar with the movie Braveheart. At the end of this stirring film, the great warrior, William Wallace, is being tortured to death. He is offered mercy, however, if he will renounce his quest for freedom from England’s tyranny. Wallace’s answer to their offer was a thunderous roar that rang from the depths of his passionate, warrior heart: “Freedom!!!”

Wallace’s passion and commitment, even in death, inspired a nation to fight and gain their freedom. Like him, I hope my shout is still heard when my mouth is silenced by the grave. And I, too, would like it to provoke passion and action.

Ask God for passion!

Pray with me:

Father, You love passion, hunger, and wholeheartedness. You’ve made it clear that You despise lukewarmness and indifference. We want to be a people of passion, walking in the greatest possible degree of intensity regarding You and Your cause.

With passionate hearts, we cry out for revival. With passionate hearts we cry out for a presence movement to sweep the earth. With passionate hearts we ask You for the greatest harvest ever - by far - of people coming out of death into life. With passionate hearts, we ask You to set captives free, open prison doors, and heal the brokenhearted. With passionate hearts, we declare that America shall be saved, the earth will hear the gospel of the kingdom, and the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea!

Our decree:

We declare that the “burning ones,” those with hearts aflame, are arising in the earth.

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

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1. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. No. 4912.

2. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-adams-is-born 

3. Ibid.

4. https://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/adams_j.html#google_vignette