Have You Lost Something? - Part 2

“And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king and he said: Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” ( I Kings 20:39-40)

It is entirely possible to lose that which God places in our trust. Adam & Eve lost their innocence. Samson lost his anointing. Saul lost his leadership. David lost the joy of his salvation. The church at Ephesus lost their first love for God. Have You Lost Something?

Have You Lost Your Fire? In the third chapter of Revelation, we learn that the church of Laodicea lost its fiery passion for God and had become lukewarm. Some might say that’s not a big deal….and what difference does it make? Evidently, it matters to God because, Jesus told the church of Laodicea that because they were neither cold nor hot, He would spew them out of His mouth. Lukewarm is somewhere in the middle of cold and hot. Mediocre… mundane… without fire. Fire must be important to God, for John the Baptist said that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Ghost and fire (Luke 3:16). Fire matters… In Acts chapter 2, we see that tongues of fire sat upon each of the 120 that were gathered together in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost. James 5:16 says, that “the effectual FERVENT prayers of a righteous man availeth much.” Lukewarm prayers from a lukewarm heart produce lukewarm results. Christians that have lost their fire for God attend church but don’t have church. Their praise is without passion, their faith is without focus and their conscience is without conviction. Fire matters.

So, how does a believer develop a fiery passion for God? First and foremost, we must desire it. Proverbs 16:26 says, “He that labors labors for himself, for his hungry mouth drives him on”. Hunger for God… hunger for His Presence… hunger for His touch upon our life drives us to seek Him. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “And you shall seek me and you shall find me when you search for me with all your heart”. Secondly, time spend in God’s Word and in prayer will build a fire of passion in our heart. Jeremiah said that God’s Word was like a fire shut up in his bones. Jesus appeared to, spent time with, and spoke to some of His followers after He rose from the grave. Those disciples said, “Did not our hearts burn within us as He talked with us by the way”. Fire matters.

It’s going to take more than a “cool church” full of cold Christians to win a lost world to Jesus. May our hearts be filled with faith, fire and fortitude as we live our lives for God.