God s Grea Passion You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me wih all your hear. I will be found by you, declares he LORD... (NASB) Jer. 29:13 A s ofen happens, a young man me a woman a Bible College and did no realize ha she would evenually become his wife. As he days passed, his love for her blossomed like a rose bud. He can laugh now when he looks back o he ime ha he ook a rip o Denver, Colorado by auomobile for a missionary organizaion. I ook wo days o ge here. During he rip he could only hink abou her mile afer mile and urn afer urn. In he evenings he would wrie her a leer abou he evens of each day. They were his version of a love leer. He old her how much gas he car consumed and how many miles hey had raveled. A he end of each leer he would drop a hin ha he loved her. He and his wife laugh now abou hose leers, bu she knew and he knew ha here was more o hose leers han gasoline and mileage. His houghs were of her and nohing else. Faih A. Mill s poem probably describes wha he was like on ha rip, I climbed up he door, and I shu he sairs. I said my shoes, and ook off my prayers. I shu off my bed, and I climbed ino he ligh, and all because he kissed me good nigh. Anyone who has been in love, undersands he passion of his poem. His fuure wife had no kissed him; she did no need o. Burning Hears. Recenly a group of Chrisians were asked he quesion, Do you know God more han your spouse? How would you answer he quesion? Wha is he greaes passion of your hear? How you answer will reveal who occupies your houghs. Your answer will ell you how much you really wan o know abou God. Do you wan o love God and know Him more han your spouse or bes friend? Whom do you hink abou and whom do you wan o know mos? Who consumes your houghs and fans he flame in your hear? The Aposle Luke ells us ha afer Jesus died and reurned o life, He visied His disciples on a leas hree occasions Solid Roos - Discipleship Series Copyrigh Like The Maser Minisries. All Righs Reserved.
(John 21:14). On one of hose occasions, wo of Jesus disciples were walking ogeher on he Emmaus road (Luke 24:13-14). One of he disciples was named Cleopus. Afer awhile Jesus me hem and sared walking alongside (Luke 24:15-35). The disciples did no recognize Him and sared elling Him abou he deah of heir friend Jesus. Afer a while his sranger explained he Old Tesamen ruhs abou Jesus o hem, bu hey did no know ha He was Jesus unil laer when hey had dinner ogeher. And i came abou ha when He had reclined a he able wih hem, He ook he bread and blessed i, and breaking i, He began giving i o hem. And heir eyes were opened and hey recognized Him; and He vanished from heir sigh. (NASB) Luke 24:30-31 Then Jesus opened heir undersanding, and he disciples knew ha his sranger was Jesus. We can only imagine ha hey were very emoional o make his discovery - hen He disappeared. Now comes he wonderful par. Afer Jesus lef hey made a surprising saemen. And hey said o one anoher, Were no our hears burning wihin us while He was speaking o us on he road, while He was explaining he Scripures o us? (NASB) Luke 24:32 Did you see ha? Their hears were burning wihin hem while Jesus explained he scripures o hem. Why did heir hears burn? Aren words jus words? Wha happened o hese men? Spoken words do no cause burning inside of a person. There is nohing magical abou human language. Wha happened? The answer is found in heir hears. Their hears were burning jus as he hears of wo lovers burn when words are spoken beween hem. The hears of hese wo disciples were burning because hey now knew more abou Him. They loved Him. As The Deer Pans. We see he same passion in Psalm 42:1-2. As he deer pans for he waer brooks, so my soul pans for Thee, O God. My soul hirss for God, for he living God... (NASB) Ps. 42:1-2 Solid Roos 2
I is he passion of a choir direcor. This is a passion o know God. His hear is like a hirsy deer who longs for waer, living waer, jus like he wo disciples whose hears were burning, and jus like he promise Jesus made abou rivers of running waer. Is his he passion of your hear - o know Him - o love Him and o know Him more han anyone else, more han your moher, faher, spouse, friend, daugher or son? 1. Wha do you hink is God s grea desire? Wha is God s grea passion for you? Would you like a peek ino God s hear - ino His emoions? The answer o hese quesions is found in Jeremiah 9:23-24. Wha does God desire mos for you? god wans us o be able o know him. god is seeking a relaionship wih you. he already knows you and now he wans you o seek him. if you boas in anyhing he wans your boas o be ha you know him - you have a relaionship wih him. 2. When Jesus was here, He offered us somehing, John 7:37-39. Wha is he meaning of he symbol? jesus offered us living waer. he was speaking of our being filled wih he holy spiri and overflowing wih his presence. here is more o he chrisian life. here is jesus. 3. How do we firs sar a relaionship wih Jesus (1 John 2:12-14)? our sins are forgiven. 4. How much ime do you hink i can ake o really know Jesus? he res of our lives and all of eerniy. O ur personal relaionship wih God sars when we believe in Jesus Chris as our Savior and Lord (John 3:16). Seeking and Searching. Moses was anoher man who had a passion o know God. He sared life in Egyp as he adoped son of Pharaoh. He was he Prince of Egyp. He fled from Egyp afer killing an Egypian soldier. Laer he me God in he Midian deser a he age of 80 years. God had prepared his man wih rials and sruggles. God worked a miracle in his life, and Numbers 12:3 says ha Moses was he mos humble man of his ime. God called him o lead he Israelies ou of Egyp. He performed miracle upon miracle. He was he leader of abou 6 million people. Many of us would be happy wih ha. We would have hough ha we had arrived when we saw God doing miracles hrough us, and making us a leader of so many people. Bu Moses was no saisfied. Solid Roos 3
5. Do you know wha Moses waned more han miracles and fame? The answer is found in Exodus 33:13. Wha did Moses really wan? moses wan o know god - o undersand him. moses was seeking more han simple sories abou god. moses waned o know him personally. 6. Wha did Moses ask for in Exodus 33:18? Wha was Moses seeking? moses wans o see god s glory - o see him. 7. When Moses asked God in Exodus 33:13 o le him know His ways, wha was he asking? Wha are God s ways? Psalm 103:7 gives us a comparison beween wha God did for Moses and wha He did for he Israelies. Wha do you hink is he difference beween acs and ways? he acs were he visible and obvious hings ha god has done. god s ways are he how and why of wha god does - he very naure of god. Moses waned o know more han some FACTS abou God. He waned o KNOW God, o know God inimaely. If you have been a Chrisian for any lengh of ime, you have probably heard again and again ha you are supposed o read he Bible in order o know God. You migh even remember ha as a new Chrisian, reading he Bible was like eaing chocolae. I was wonderful. Bu ha may no be rue any more. Tha chocolae bar may be small or discolored. You may know he sories abou Adam and Eve, Noah and he flood, Lo s wife and Sodom and Gomorrah, Moses and Pharaoh, Joshua and he land of Palesine, Samson and he Philisines, David and Goliah, Daniel and he lions den, and Jonah in he grea fish. Bu here is no fire in your hear when you read hem. The fire has dimmed or is jus smoldering. Moses fire was in flames. He waned more han jus facs abou God. Mos of us know ha God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and always presen. We know ha God never changes, bu do you know God inimaely? The Israelies whom Moses led hrough he wilderness did no know and undersand God. Yes, hey saw Him par he Red Sea, drown he Egypian army, provide hem manna, and give hem waer from rocks. They saw His acs. Many of us read he Bible and see His acs or deeds oo! Bu Moses waned o know God personally - in a deep way. A he end of Deueronomy we are old ha Moses was he greaes prophe of his ime. 8. Wha is he greaes saemen ha is made abou Moses in Exodus 33:11 and Deueronomy 34:10? moses and god knew one anoher face-o-face. hey had a personal friendship. 9. Wha is he greaes passion of your hear? Ohers. There have been ohers down hrough hisory who have had a grea passion o know God, oo! Their hears have burned wihin hem. Some of hese men lived before Jesus, bu hey loved God wih grea passion and longed o know Him. Ohers longed o know Jesus while He was here, and ohers wish ha He were sill here on his earh. Solid Roos 4
10. Who had a passion for God in 2 Kings 23:2-4, 25? How is he compared o King David and King Solomon? king josiah. he had a greaer love for god han any oher king before him or afer him in judah or in israel. 11. Wha does God say abou Daniel he prophe in Daniel 9:23? Why do you hink hese commens were made abou him? daniel was highly eseemed by god because of his passion for god. 12. Wha does James 2:23 say abou Abraham? Wha does his say abou he relaionship of God and Abraham? abraham believed god and hey were friends. 13. Philippians 3:8 helps us see he hear of anoher man who desires o know God. Who is his person? Wha was he willing o give away in order o saisfy his hear s desires? paul waned o know god more han anyhing else in life. 14. Was he Aposle Paul already a Chrisian when He wroe Philippians 3:8? yes. he was no seeking o become a chrisian. he aposle waned o know jesus more. G od s greaes passion is ha you will search for Him as los reasure: o believe in Him and hen passionaely long o know and love Him more and more. 15. Wha hree hings does he auhor of 1 John 1:1 remember? he hings jesus said o him. wha john saw jesus do, and he remembered ouching jesus. 16. Who is he auhor of 1 John 1:1-3 and who is he hinking abou? john he aposle is hinking abou jesus. 17. Wha was he hear s desire of he auhor of 1 John 1:1-3? o be wih jesus. Discovery. How can we know Him in a meaningful, personal way as hese men did? How can we know Him as a friend knows a friend? Do we find Him by reading books abou Him? Do we know more abou Jesus by spending ime ogeher wih oher people? Do we know Him more by serving Him wih all our effor? Wha is he answer o hese quesions? Moses, King David, he Aposle Paul, and he Aposle John have given us he examples. Now, how can we know God as a friend? The answers o our quesions are found in he following quesions. Solid Roos 5
18. Wha does God ell us ha we need o do in Jeremiah 29:13? we need o seek and search for god. 19. How seriously should we do his according o he las par of Jeremiah 29:13? we need o seek and search for god wih all our hear - our prioriy passion. 20. Now here is he bes par. Wha will happen if we do his wih all our hear according o Jeremiah 29:14? i will be found by you! his is a promise. 21. Wha are he seps o spiriual mauriy according o 1 John 2:12-14? lile children - sins are forgiven. young men - vicory over sin, srong, and hey really know he word of god faher of he faih - he knows god - him who is from he beginning. 22. How does a man or woman ge his/her sins forgiven? How does one become a spiriual child (1 John 2:12-14)? hey mus believe in jesus chris (john 3:16). 23. Wha are he characerisics of a spiriual faher in 1 John 2:12-14? he faher no only knows he word of god bu really knows god. you mus know he word of god in order o really know him. Conclusion. The personal relaionship comes when we search for Him wih all of our hears. The relaionship sars when a man or woman firs believes in Jesus Chris (John 3:16). Tha is he firs resul of our seeking and searching for God will all our hear (Acs 17:27).... ha hey would seek God, if perhaps hey migh grope for Him and find Him, hough He is no far from each one of us; (NASB) Acs 17:27 When we finally believe in Him, He forgives our sins and hen he goal of our searching and seeking is o know Him deeper. God wans us o coninue o seek and search for Him, and He has promised ha And I will be found by you... He promises ha we will find Him. Bu we mus search for Him wih all of our hear. If we are conen wih a Bible reading program, or reading books abou he Bible, hen we will never really know Him. If our goal is o know he Bible, ha is a good goal bu no he bes one. The bes reason o know he Bible is o know God inimaely. Some have said ha we do no need o know he Bible and all we need is o know God. Bu ha is no possible. We can only know His ways by firs really knowing His Word. Tha is why scripure calls us again and again o sudy i, and Jeremiah 29:12-13 ells us ha one of he greaes benefis is o know Him. God wans us o search for Him in he pages of scripure wih all our hears. The search does no end when we find Jesus and begin o rus Him o forgive our sins. I is only he beginning. He wans us o coninue searching by sudying he pages of scripure so ha we can discover His acs, and hen coninue beyond His acs o a deeper undersanding of His ways. He wans us o be passionaely searching for Him. Is ha he longing of your hear? The grea passion of God s hear is ha we will wan o know and love Him as expensive reasure. Solid Roos 6
THINGS TO PONDER 1. You canno have a relaionship wih God unless you desire o have Jesus as your Savior and Lord (Acs 17:27; John 3;16). The relaionship sars when you believe in Him. Do you believe in Jesus? 2. If you have already believed in Jesus (see he firs quesion), do you now have a passion for a deeper relaionship wih God? god s deligh is ha we undersand and know him. 3. Wha is God s passion, according o Jeremiah 9:23-24? seek him in he scripures and search for him all he ime. 4. How can you know Him according o Jeremiah 29:13-14; Philippians 3:8, and 1 John 2;12-14? search and seek him, coninually, placing him firs in your life. we search o know him as we sudy and dwell on he word. 5. Is Mahew 22:36-37 also rue for he person who longs o know God? yes. he love of god drives us o wan o know him. 6. Wha is he response of one who loves Jesus (John 15:14)? obedience - o please him. Solid Roos 7
God s Grea Passion Answer rue (T) or false (F) o each of he following saemens: 1. God wans everyone o believe in Jesus Chris. 2. King David loved God more han any king afer him. 3. Daniel was highly favored by God. 4. Moses waned o know more han jus facs abou God. 5. God s grea passion is ha we would know Him. 6. The Aposle Paul waned o know God more han anyhing else. 7. The goal of every Chrisian should be o know he Bible. 8. We can experience living waer in our inner being by seeking o know he Bible. 9. One will wan o know God when one loves Him. 10. God desires a personal relaionship wih you. f f f Solid Roos - Discipleship Series Copyrigh Like The Maser Minisries. All Righs Reserved.