In my experience as a youth minister for over 14 years
I found out four things that always killed my fire. Number one it was offense.
Any time I got offended at somebody I lost my fire. People leave the churches
because of offense. Actually 99% of people that leave the churches today
leave because of offense. And for those of us who think yeah, it's about church.
Do something and change so that people stop leaving the church because of offense.Actually in one meeting Jesus had 75 of his key leaders leave him. If you
think that if the church will get perfect less people will leave the
church because of offense? If the church will get perfect more people will leave
because of the offense because they could not live up to that perfectionism.
Offense is unavoidable. We can only stop causing offenses but we cannot ever stop
having offenses. You will be offended. An offense is the devil's trap to cause
your fire to die out. It's just the devil's trap. That's all it is. If you
look today somebody offended you tomorrow you can
unknowingly you can offend somebody and it's the devil's trap to kill your fire.
That's all it is. The second thing that I've seen in in my ministry and and
personally in my life for what kills the fire is disappointment. It's when you
dream, you believe, you fast, you pray and it doesn't happen. You prayed for
somebody who wanted if you believed is they are gonna be healed, you had a word
from God. You knew it and nothing happened and next didn't happen is that
becomes like a water that goes on your fire. And it's very important, I want you
to see this. When you get offended, honestly Jesus doesn't really go after
you and tries to butter you up. When the guys got offended Jesus didn't go off
them said hey guys let me explain. I didn't mean you to eat my flesh. I meant
communion. Jesus didn't do that but when guys left him, left Jerusalem walked the
city of Emmaus, he walked beside them, encouraged them with scriptures until
their hearts caught on fire again. Anytime you disappointment Jesus will
walk behind you and remind you of his word so your heart will catch fire again.
And the third thing that kills our fire is honestly busyness. It's when we become
so busy that we don't have time to spend time
with the Lord. We don't have time to even make it to church. And please understand
intimacy makes you fruitful not busy. Busyness can be a result of intimacy but
busyness itself does not make you successful. Only intimacy with God makes
you successful. If you are too busy to pray you are too busy. If you are too
busy to be with God you are too busy and this is what I know about busy people.
You actually don't make more money you make less because you break God's rule.
God ordered for us to rest on Saturday if you say but I'm gonna work three jobs
four jobs and mark this, you will not make more money because God blesses order and
you are out of order. God blesses order not out of order. I
mentioned how Chick-fil-a decided not to open its fast-food restaurant chain on
Sundays and people said, did you know that on Sundays all the fast-food
restaurants make the most money and the main guy of Chick-fil-a he says I know,
but God said that people should take a rest at least one day and he says and
I'm gonna choose the most busiest day to rest. Average fast food restaurant makes
1 million dollars a year. Chick-fil-a makes 5. Why? Because when you, but it
doesn't make sense. Nothing with God makes sense. But when you follow the
order God blesses you.
Same thing when you give it seems like but you're gonna lose money and somehow
you have enough. When you hold on to that it seems like it's never enough. Busyness
is good if it comes out of your fruitfulness and it doesn't affect your
intimacy with God. But the moment you see your fire is dying out
your fire is dying out, cut back on some things.
Catch your breath, relax. You're still gonna die. Why work so hard that you you
you you waste your you ruin your health to get more money and then you spend
your money to get your health back. Why don't you just keep both at the same
time? Because this is not just about relationship with God. This is about your
health being, this is about your kids knowing who you are. This is about your
family, this is about your spouse, this is about everyone, everything being intact.
And the last one is materialism. It's materialism is not when you have
stuff it's when the stuff has you.
I have this Apple watch. I have this watch, this watch doesn't have me. Because
at any moment this watch can be yours. Not today. The most freeing thing for my
relationship with God has been is when I can hold things without holding on to
them. When God has the right to take anything out of my hand and I have the
privilege to take anything out of his pocket. Because he some of us you slip
your hand into God's pocket and God has his hand denied
to touch your pocket. Materialism kills fire is when we run after things
when we think that the more things we have, the more happy we'll be. Materialism,
a young boy came to Jesus, he was morally sound. Everything was great with him and
he had a lot of things. But it's not the things that he had, it's that when Jesus
signaled and he says, could you give sell everything you have and it's amazing Jesus
didn't ask him to give it to his ministry, he says I want you to sell
everything you got and give it to the poor and then come and follow me. And the
Bible says that man's heart was hurt. He went with grief, why? Because he didn't
have things. Those things have had him. Anything
you cannot give has you. Now that doesn't mean God will always ask us to give
everything but there are times when the Lord leads you. I found out when my
passion for the Lord dies out and the Lord prompts me to sacrifice something,
that alone literally shoots it through the roof. And it's not the act of giving,
it's the act of obedience in giving.