If you were asked about your passion, what would your quick answer be? What are you really passionate about? What makes you wake up very early in the morning and makes you stay up very late at night? What occupies your mind and time? What drives you?
In Acts 20:18-24, we will see the Apostle Paul's passion. We will see three things that Paul was passionate about. Hopefully, as you read on, you too will be encouraged to have the same passions that made the life and ministry of Paul a very powerful one.
Paul’s First Passion is SERVING (Acts 20:18-21)
Immediately as you read verses 18 to 21, you will notice Paul’s very first passion – that is to serve. Paul’s heart is all about serving. The key word here is “ALL”. When does Paul serve - ALL the time (verse 18). He wanted to be with them all the time so he can serve them. How does Paul serve – with ALL humility and with tears and with trials (v. 19) His service involves his whole being. Not just his physical body, but even his mind, emotion and will. He is never afraid to experience hardships and trials and with humility and tears, he serves with all his heart. What does Paul preaches? All (anything) that was profitable. Paul’s never afraid to declare all that are in his heart. Where does Paul go to serve? From house to house (All houses), and to ALL people both Jews and Greeks. Paul goes to everyone, he knows that all people need Christ, that is why he serves everyone, whether Jews or Greeks.
In serving the Lord, it is important that we give our whole heart. Our 100%, not 99% or 99.99999%. It should be 100% - we should be willing to give our “ALL”. As Christians, it is imperative that we are willing to serve all the time, with all humility, with tears and with trials, to ALL people, declaring ALL that is in our hearts.
Paul’s 2nd Passion is OBEYING GOD (Acts 20:22-23)
One may ask, why was Paul so courageous? He was never afraid even when facing persecution, riots, harm and even the danger of being jailed? Why was he still willing to obey God in spite of knowing that he will suffer chains and afflictions. The answer in Paul’s passion in obeying God lies on the very first words of v. 22 – “Bound by the Spirit…”
Paul is already bound and afflicted by the solemn charge of the Spirit, that’s why he is no longer afraid to be bound and be afflicted here on earth. How can anyone still bind and afflict him when he is already bound and afflicted by God.
Obeying God is not a matter of our strong will. It is a matter of our heart. As Christians, we are called to obey God no matter what the cost is. But the strength to obey Him does not come from us. It comes from Him who has captured your heart. If our hearts are taken captive by God, obedience will surely follow. No matter how hard being a Christian is, no matter how difficult the task that lay before us, for as long as we are bound by God, our heart will surely be filled with the passion to obey God.
Paul’s 3rd Passion is FINISHING (Acts 20:24)
Paul’s heart is not just filled with service and obedience, he also understands one very important thing – and that is to finish what he has started. He knows that his passion in serving God and his passion in obeying the Lord won’t matter – will be put to waste – if he won’t finish the race and the ministry God has called him to undertake. That’s why Paul’s third passion is to finish. In Philippians he said, “13Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14-15) His destination - the goal; the finish line; the end. In II Timothy 4:7, Paul boldly declared to Timothy, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.”
As Christians, we are called not just to serve and obey God, we are also called, most importantly to finish what He has called us to do. As we say it among ourselves, in the ministry, there is no retirement, no looking back, no quitting until that day that the one who started the good work in you calls you home. In that day, oh what a wonderful thing for us to hear the words of our Master that declares, “Well done, good and faithful (or I could say – FINISHING) servant, come share your Master’s happiness!”
No comments:
Post a Comment