PASSION

Nehemiah 1: 1 - 11 & 2: 1 -6
Passion : How to obtain it.
Passion has been described as " extreme, compelling emotion creating enthusiasm and desire concerning our God and His Kingdom". We need to possess such passion, knowing it comes from a daily relationship with Jesus. Once we have a hold of this passion we can rest assured that Satan, our flesh and the world will work together to destroy it.
You might call it the unholy trinity, and it has tremendous success against us through pride. A mans position in life can make him weak towards God. We find our passion diminishes. Historian Thomas Carlyle once wrote " Adversity is hard on a man. For one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity." Most us can handle demotion better than we handle promotion. It is through advancement that a godly man shows himself strong.
Nehemiah possessed godly passion and maintained through position advancement. He advanced three times as cupbearer, builder and then as governor.
There are three truths that can be gleaned from this that we can use to help ourselves.
Truth # 1 : Knowing and loving God must be the chief pursuit of every man’s life.
It takes will to love.
Truth # 2 : A man’s relationship with God must always be the highest priority.
Not your job, money even your wife or kids.
Truth # 3 : The question is not What is my purpose in life. It should be Who is the purpose for my life.
To maintain godly passion you must not focus on who you are, but focus on whose you are.




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Passion : How to maintain it.
Mark Twain wrote " Great things happen when you don’t care who gets the credit". Or maybe we should say it this way, Great things will happen to those whose chief concern is that God alone gets the credit.
Nehemiah possessed and maintained his passion for God despite the lure of power and luxury. He had three characteristics that show how we can put it in to practice.
1 - Humility - Nehemiah reads like a book about what I did except in chapter three. He doesnot mention himself one time. He could have, after all, in ninety years he did what no else could, he built the temple walls in 52 days. He was able to mobilize a nation to complete the project. Instead he chose to be as one of the servants and worked with them.
2 - Epowerment - John Maxwell wrote " Th peoples’ capacity to achieve is determined by their leaders’ ability to empower them." Nehemiahs zeal was contagious. In chapter three we see Levites, temple servants, goldsmiths and merchants all acting as one , all working together to build the walls.
3 - Encouragement - " I could live for two months on one good compliment" Mark Twain. Studies agree that there is real power in encouraging others. This act will bring better results than silence or hollering or be critical. Nehemiah saw this and treated them with words of encouragement and was able to produce great results for the Kingdom. How is your sight when it comes to your loved ones, fellow employees and even the cashier you dealt with today?
The glory of God must be our first concern. WE must be liberal with empowering others and helping them achieve the things they want. We must also be liberal with our praise towards others. Always look for the good in others.