The Place of Grace

Do Your Actions Match Your Passion?

Date: November 18, 2007

By: Pastor RD Mangold

The Process of Pursuing your Purpose with Passion: Once you’ve received the Promise, it’s time to step into the purpose. Once you step into the purpose, it’s time to pursue that purpose with passion! - Pastor RD Mangold

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be able to read someone’s mind? I think we’ve all fantasized about that in our life a time or two. If you’ve ever thought about it long enough though, down deep you’re not so sure you really want to go there. Do you really want to know what people think about you? Do you really want to know how they feel about you?

Imagine this scenario with me for a moment…

You’re best friend comes over one day and as always, you’re excited to see them. As they come in, you hear a strange voice that sounds much like your friend’s voice, but your friend’s mouth isn’t moving. The “voice” says, “Man, what was he thinking when he put that shirt on today?”

Dismissing the “voice” as your imagination, you ask your friend, “How you like my new shirt?”

Your best friend says ever so slightly hesitant, “it’s great,” and tries to change the subject.

You hear the voice again, “I wouldn’t be caught dead in it, in fact, if I did get caught dead in it, I’d deserve to be dead!”

You say, “Excuse me, did you say something?” The voice gets stronger and your friend looks a bit awkward, afraid they may have spoken their true feelings aloud.

Soon, you hear all kinds of these voices, and you start to understand that you can read minds. At first it’s cool. But then as time goes on you realize something - The thoughts going through people’s minds aren’t all that nice.

What at one time was cool, starts to be a burden. You understand, down deep just how insincere people are. How badly people really feel about each other. How more often than not, there’s mean-spirited things being said all the time and that there’s a big distinction between how people feel and what they truly say.

Now, I’m not suggesting, we start going around telling people how we really feel about them, but I am going somewhere with this.

I don’t know if it’s instinctual, or if it’s a characteristic that’s developed over time, but as humans, we’re quick to point out faults. We gravitate towards faults with such ease one would think that it’s built into our DNA. We’re adept at gathering a small bit of information and making huge judgments or decisions based on limited information.

We see someone walking down the street and it’s as if an unspoken challenge has been issued to quickly assess them and establish what type of person they are. I might add here too, that sadly, our judgments are sharp, hurtful and would be embarrassing if that person truly knew what you thought of them.

Well, as outlandish as it may be, the idea of someone reading our thoughts, is in fact true. There is someone who truly knows how you feel about every ONE and every THING. That of course is God!

I Corinthians 2:7-10

⁷But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

   ⁸Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

   ⁹But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

   ¹⁰But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

Despite all of that Psalms states, “ ⁶Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.”

God’s desire for you goes beyond aesthetics, or outward appearances, it goes deeper to the meaning of who we truly are and how we truly feel.

I am issuing to each of you a challenge - we must all begin to align ourselves with the word of God and there must be an alignment on not only what we say, but what we are truly feeling.

When there is an alignment between what people are saying and what they actually feel, it will greatly affect what they do and how well they do it!

We need people that are sold-out, people that are passionate about what they believe.  Sadly, we can spend literally years being a part of something and not even enjoy it and even worse not be very effective at it.

BUT, when you make a connection between how you feel and what you say, there is an irrefutable passion that will drive you to the ends of the earth. You’ll not be satisfied with anything less than what you were truly called to do.

I hear people say it all the time…Well, I feel I’m called. What we need is people that don’t “feel” they’re called. We need people that are truly convinced they’re called!

Give me a person that’s convinced - A person who has “made their calling and election sure,” and I’ll show you a person that will not be satisfied with anything less than the passion and drive to accomplish that calling.

We have people sitting here today that are not entirely sure about this truth, let alone their calling.

I suggest you not leave here today until you know without a doubt you are where you belong and that you are doing what you are called to do.

• There is no need for hesitation in someone who has truth.
• There is no need for hesitation in someone who has the call of God upon their life.

We need folks that are willing to step into the element God Himself has created specifically for YOU.

He’s called you and He’s equipped you! Step into it!

God knows how you truly feel about Him

God knows how you truly feel about this Truth

You can’t hide your feelings - You can’t mask your intentions. He KNOWS the deep things - the hidden things.

• How many of us have told lies and hidden the truth, only to feel miserable?
• Some of you have been in denial of this TRUTH long enough!
• Some of you have been living in denial of your calling long enough!

Don’t we all feel better when the truth has been told — Jesus said it like this, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

You undoubtedly need a release in your spirit - You’ve been trapped by your own lies and your own feelings long enough.

Make today the day that you realize and fulfill the calling God placed upon your life.

Someone who’s sure about what they believe can’t be convinced otherwise. They don’t back down from the truth - they tell it, the broadcast it, because they have nothing to be afraid of or ashamed of! They’re PASSIONATE about it.

When you can make a connection between what you truly feel and what you truly do - You’re unstoppable. You have passion, you have determination and you have the spirit to see it through to the end because you believe it, you’re convinced of it! That’s passion.

When there is an alignment of your passion with your purpose - you will be driven by the unseen force of God’s Spirit to pursue it. Nothing else satisfies you. You’re willing to lay your life down for it.

Acts 1:3 ³To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

Some translations, or interpretations, change theword passion to simply say “his death.” I don’t like that - It loses something. The idea, that Christ was passionate about laying down His life. The idea that He wasn’t willing to let anything else satisfy his drive or passion, than complete fulfillment of His divine purpose to save the lost.

Christ WAS and IS still passionate about souls. He’s still passionate about you finding repentance and forgiveness of sin. He’s still passionate about you making it to heaven for eternity. So much so, HE GAVE HIS LIFE FOR IT.

If you’re living your life pursuing anything less than your purpose, you’re not living the life God called you to - You’re living a shell of what you were intended to - your life is an exercise in futility.

If there ever was a time to pursue your purpose with passion, it’s NOW!

If there ever was a place to pursue your purpose with passion, it’s HERE!

God has presented you with another opportunity to align yourself with HIS purpose for your life.

What’s God’s purpose for your life you ask?

To REPENT, BE BAPTIZED, and TO BE FILLED WITH HIS SPIRIT!

Once you’ve received the Promise, it’s time to step into the purpose. Once you step into the purpose, it’s time to pursue that purpose with passion!