Ever step into a room after spending time with Jesus and find that people aren’t as passionate as you are? You feel like Jesus is coming back in five minutes and it seems everyone else is sleeping?

Sometimes we can allow the passion level of who we are with dictate how we will be. As a worship leader, I succumb to this all too often. I’ll be excited to press into the presence of God and it seems no one wants to come with me.

Do I lead the way with my passion for God or just relax?

What should you do?

“Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord” (Romans 12:11).

I love this verse. Fervent means to have great intensity. Our zeal for Jesus should be burning hot at all times. When it is not, we should cry out to God and press into Him even harder.

Here’s my challenge: Don’t let other dictate your passion level for Jesus. Be a leader. I’ve heard it said to be a thermostat, not a thermometer.

If you live this way, you will bring others to a higher level.

DISCOVER – The Explorer

• Describe your most memorable vacation. What made it so memorable?

• Have you forsaken your dream for a life you can manage?

• What are some practical steps you can take to explore; to continue learning?

• As a group, identify something that is wrong with the world. How could you go beyond identifying the problem to creating the solution?

“Real genius, real invention is not about identifying a problem but about solving it.”

• What is your life contributing to the world?

“God seems to free the oppressed, end injustice, feed the hungry, bring victory, and do every good work through men and women who refuse to surrender to the problem.”

• Do you have a career or a calling? Are you where you are by accident or intention?

I just finished reading Mark Sanborn’s book, The Encore Effect: How to Achieve Remarkable Performance in Anything You Do. What an engaging read! I recommend this book for anyone in any area of leadership. I particularly like his points on what characterizes on encore performance:

• Commitment – the price you are willing to pay to get remarkable results
• Professionalism – worrying more about the impact of your performance than those you perform for
• Skills – making the difficult look easy through hard work…finding solutions
• Values – beliefs that a person holds most dear…this is your brand
• Character = Integrity: the distance between your lips and your life

As I travel through life, I’m realizing more and more how important it is to be focused. Without vision and discipline, life is a frustrated conglomeration of events. You begin to settle for the lesser things in life. You live below what you are capable of. You may become too dependent on leisure if there is not a focus that is governing your everyday life.

As a focused person, you begin to key in on what is most important to you, aiming your life towards a goal. This type of living makes your life more productive and fulfilling. Especially as a Christian, you shouldn’t get quite as discouraged by momentary setbacks because you know God is fighting for you and trials are what they are – momentary. I think we all need to ask these questions:

• What am I most passionate about?
• What are the gifts God has given me?
• Who do I want to reach?

Allow yourself to dream big dreams. Live a life that is focused for the glory of God.

DREAM – The Artist

•    What were your childhood dreams or fantasies? What would the world look like if they became a reality?

•    Dreams must be aligned with talent. What are your unique talents?

“God is not going to invest himself in a dream fueled by greed, arrogance, self-indulgence, and self-centeredness. Your passions fuel your dreams. God doesn’t say ‘yes’ to everything we ask because our dreams need to be fueled by the right things.”

•    Where are your dreams coming from? Who or what is informing your dreams? Erwin says God gives God-sized dreams to people with God-shaped hearts (21).

•    Have you ever courageously pursued a dream?

•    Have you ever been discouraged on the path of pursuing your dream because of opposition, trials, and
difficulty? Tell us about your experience. Have you viewed these difficulties as God’s process for you?

•    Are there lies you’ve believed that you need to face head-on in order to pursue your dream? Have you been so discouraged along the journey that you’ve given up?

For our Young Adult group this fall, I’ve written a simple study guide based on the ‘Wide Awake’ book. I will do a series of posts with questions for each chapter. If you are reading the book, I pray this will help you process the material and make it practical to your life*.

Intro: AWAKEN – The Artist

•    What are you excited about in beginning this study just by looking at the title?

Read the ‘AWAKEN’ introduction together and answer the following questions:

•    Are you dissatisfied with your life? Describe why you feel that way.

•    What did Erwin say is the difference between fame and greatness (pg. Xiv)?

•    What do you want to get out of this study? Write down your answer.

* All quotations (besides Scriptures) are by Erwin McManus, taken directly from the book.

As I mentioned in this previous post, we are running in a race for a prize that is eternal. The question begs to be asked, ‘What is the prize?’ Is it heaven? Is it being reunited with our lost loved ones? Is it golfing on the clouds with Moses and Elijah? Is it an eternal chinese buffet where we never gain weight?

Olympic athletes work extremely hard and some win a medal, but their glory does not last forever. What is the prize you are running for? Ponder these verses:

“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the  surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8a).

“…I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own…I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12b & 14).

Paul says the prize is the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. What does this mean? I believe it refers back to verse 8, which is the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus.

There is nothing more valuable than something of surpassing worth. It may sound unfair, but just face it…it will always be better. Our prize at the end of this race is that we can enjoy knowing Jesus for all eternity. The wonder will never cease. The beauty will be electrifying. How amazing.

Does this excite you? If you are more excited for glorified earthly pleasures, you need to begin investing your life into knowing Jesus. This is the greatest joy, the highest pursuit, the most worthy goal.

John Piper says, “Would you be satisfied in heaven if Jesus wasn’t there?”

Definitely a question we all need to face.

I have spent a considerable amount of time watching the Olympics this past week. There is something about it that is incredibly addicting. Sometimes I’m not even that interested, but I realize that I haven’t blinked for 5 minutes or taken a breath. Maybe I need to get outside.

What is it about the Olympics that is so gripping? Why do we all love having conversations about those who win gold medals? I think great stories inspire us. We are amazed at the perseverance, dedication, and singular focus these athletes have towards their goal. We find ourselves coming alive through their success. Check out this verse:

“For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (I Timothy 4:8).

I want to live for Jesus with more dedication than an olympic athlete has for the gold medal. I want to run with perseverance the race marked out for me. The prize for this race is eternal and everlasting.

You think this is worth living and dying for? What is the prize, you may ask? More on that later.