PASSION.
There are many
things we can have an interest in throughout our life, but it is the thing that holds our passion that will
count the most.
Passion is not a fleeting emotion that changes with the trends of the day. Instead
it is an intense, extreme, compelling drive that is not easily swerved or drawn off of its strong focus.
Seasons of life
may change, people and things may come and go – but when you are passionate about something, there is only one thing
that is ultimately on your mind – the thing that has become your “Passion”.
The world has so misused the
word “Passion” – reducing it to something far less than its true meaning.
Passion is not a craving of
your flesh for an inadamant object, but it is an intense desire, love, and longing for something from the very core of your
being.
Like any emotion, passion must be watched and guided in the right direction. Since it is a strong, vehement, and often violent emotional force, it is vital that we focus the passion
within us on the one thing of most importance.
ONE THING is needed,
and Mary has chosen that good part which will not be taken from her. – Luke 10.42
You recall the account of Jesus at the house of Martha and her
sister, Mary.
While Martha was distracted with much serving
(occupied with temporal things), Mary had chosen to give her attention to the words of Jesus as she sat at His feet (which
held eternal value).
Jesus said that only ONE THING was
needed, Mary had chosen what was most important, and it would not be taken from her.
Yes, in this natural
world, there are natural things to be done. God is as much a practical God as He is a supernatural God.
But it is what
you have set your heart on that matters. It is the eternal fire that burns in your heart day and night that is of the utmost importance.
Lord, I have loved the habitation of Your house, and the
place where Your glory dwells. –Ps.26.8
Is that what you
love – the habitation of His house and the place where His glory dwells?
Is His presence and His glory the ONE THING that means far more to you than absolutely anything else?
Do you adore
Him, do you adore your time alone with Him and look forward to it more than any other part of your day?
Until we can answer with a definite YES to every one of those questions, then we are not PASSIONATE
for HIS Presence.
God was never meant to be a part of our life – He
was meantto BE OUR LIFE – to be the center of it and everything else to
revolve around our relationship, our oneness with HIM.
He is wanting to pour out His glory, His presence
in this earth and in our life – and it is our passion for His presence that gives Him the entrance to manifest Himself
to us.
He said in Isaiah 44.3 – “I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I
will pour My spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.”
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness, FOR THEY SHALL BE FILLED.” -Matthew 5.6
Draw
near to God and He will draw near to you.
–James 4.8
Because of the entrance into the presence of God that Jesus
provided for us, we can draw near to God with full assurance of His acceptance. And
when we do draw near to Him, it is a sure promise that He will draw near to us.
There
is no other place like the presence of God.
You cannot
stay in His presence without being changed – every moment with Him brings you into closer contact with His glory.
In John 14.21
Jesus said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me
will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him.”
There are things in the glory
that God desires to unveil to us, and it is as we make pursuing His presence, spending intimate time with Him the top priority
in our life that He is able to manifest His glory to us.
Habakkuk spoke, “His glory covered the heavens, and the earth
was full of His praise. His brightness was like the light; and He had rays flashing from His hand like
lightning, and there was the hiding place of His power.” -Hab. 3.3-4
That is the place where His glory dwells.
We are called to live in that place – to know and walk in the manifestation of His glory.
As
we spend time with Him, focusing and desiring to know His glory, His Spirit unlocks the hidden mysteries and causes our minds
and hearts to be able to comprehend His ways and see the things He desires to do on the earth.
“You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.”
- Acts 2.28
The Hebrew word that “presence” is translated from literally means
“face”. So when we dwell in the presence of God, we are actually dwelling in His Face.
Being in His presence is being face to face with Him.
 |
|
God desires that kind of closeness with us.
He desires for us to be continually in His face.
He
said that if we abide in Him and His words abide in us, that we can ask what we desire and it will be done for us.
(Jn. 15.7)
Naturally, if we are spending that kind of time with Him, remaining continually in His “face”, we are going
to be asking for the very same things that He is longing for.
Heb. 4.12
tells us that His Word is alive and full of power – it’s sharp and nothing can remain hidden from it.
When you are living
your life in His presence, that sharp and powerful word is living and burning inside of you and it won’t be able to
be contained.
The prophet Jeremiah said that “His word was in my
heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back and I could not!”
(Jer. 20.9)
It delights the heart of the Father when His Holy Word is
burning in our hearts like that day and night and when we desire more than anything for that precious Word
to be on our lips continually – proclaiming His will on this earth.
Matthew
11.12 NIV says that “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of God has been forcefully advancing,
and forceful men lay hold of it.”
As stewards and vessels of glory to
this end-time generation, it is our responsibility to forcefully lay hold of the Kingdom of God, the presence of God (which
is within us) in order that the manifestation, the demonstration of the Glory of God may be fulfilled in the earth as He desires
it.
It is passion to let God be God in your life and in your world.That Holy fervency
honors God.
Just like we read in Jeremiah 20.9 about the burning of the Word
of God in our heart, the heart of God has been burning with Holy desire throughout the ages to be able to pour out His glory
on the whole earth without measure.
He has prophesied over
and over throughout the pages of His word about this time when He will release the former and the latter rain of His glory
upon this earth at the same time.
He said that His glory will be revealed and that all flesh
will see it together. (Isaiah 40.5) It is time for our passion for His presence to be greater than it ever has been before.
It is time for His Word and His desire to burn in our hearts hotter than ever before.
He needs our cooperation and our fervency for what He wants to do to stir in our
hearts more than any other desire.
Jesus said, “I’ve come
to start a fire on this earth – how I wish it were blazing right now! I’ve come to change everything,
turn everything right side up – how I long for it to be finished! Do you think I came to smooth things
over and make everything nice? Not so. I’ve come to disrupt
and confront.”
-Luke 12.49-51(Message)
The world has had its way long enough.
The time is here for the glory of the Lord to take over and change
everything.
Our Lord came to start a fire
on this earth and it is time for us to let that fire blaze through us right now. It is time for the works
of God to be done through our hands to bring healing, restoration, and deliverance to the entire earth.
He said that in these last days He would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh –
and it begins as we fervently and passionately pursue His presence.
No God compares
to our God, no presence compares to His presence, no glory compares to His glory, no words can compare to His words.
If we’ll let them, His words will set our hearts eternally on
fire with the light of His glory.
We will say just
as His disciples did after His resurrection – “Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked with us on the
road and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24.32)
If we believe and if we keep our love for Him continually
alive, we will see the glory of God.
Don’t let another moment slip
by, don’t let another thing steal away your attention – Focus your heart on the Eternal, desire and hunger for
the manifestation of His power and His glory like you never have before….
Choose
the ONE THING of really lasting importance – Let your
PASSION
Be His PRESENCE
FLM © October 2006
Sharah LaGail Wyatt / First Love Ministries International
P O Box 163974 Ft
Worth, TX 76161
All Rights Reserved.
|