Who We are- We Are Passionate Romans 12:11 / Exodus 35:1–29

• I was on a football team. Put downs, competition, hazing. Horrible culture. Never won games. 
• There is culture, either by design or default. We have designed a culture, we haven’t defined it. 
• The culture of the church should be one of love, unity, and Spirit-led devotion—a people who are fervent in spirit, steadfast in teaching, and like-minded in purpose. We are called to be a chosen generation, living in tender mercy, humility, and kindness, bearing one another’s burdens and serving the Lord with diligence. In this kind of culture, every member contributes, everything is done for edification, and all things are done decently and in order. It’s a holy nation, marked by fellowship, praise, generosity, and a visible light to the world, where the love we have for one another shows we truly belong to Jesus.
• Our church culture is defined by being passionate, generous, faithful, authentic, devoted, and Spirit-led—a people who love God deeply, follow Him boldly, and reflect His presence in everything we do.  We live this out- but we haven’t defined it. We know and feel- cant explain
• These next few weeks aren’t a challenge, they are a battle cry! It’s not because we DON’T do this it’s because we DO do this. It has to be defined for future members and generations. 

• A corporate culture should define the WAY in which we do things. It helps us get it done. 

• When I was in the Army- do everything in a military manner. Cintas- we have a spartan attitude
• Faith and Victory? We have some catch phrases, but I don’t think we’ve got it dialed in. 
• It should help us all, and future generations, be effective to keep this culture we already have
• If we don’t define it, we end up on the dung heap of failed ministries. This will help us
• These things will not change. Some people don’t like it, and they wont make their home here
• But that’s ok. All churches are for all people but not all people like all churches. 
• As we near the end of Exodus, we see God’s people responding not just with obedience, but with passion, willingness, and sacrifice. They brought what they had, gave what they could, and did it with hearts stirred by the Spirit. That’s not just history—it’s a model for today.
• Romans 12:11 echoes that same heartbeat: “Not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.” That’s the kind of church we are. That’s the kind of culture we live. 
• We’ve built something strong, but now it’s time to define it. These next six weeks aren’t about reinventing who we are. They are about clarifying and protecting what God has already birthed in this house. This is for future members, future leaders, and future generations.
• if we don’t define it, we risk drifting from it. And we won’t be that kind of church.

1. We are passionate and Passion Doesn’t Delay (Not lagging in diligence)
   There’s nothing more annoying to me than delayed obedience or action. 

• Much of what you and I do in our lives will go much better with immediate passion in all circumstances. This fights laziness, kills complacency, destroys procrastination. 
• There has never been a successful person, family, business or church that thrived under laziness, complacency, or procrastination. 
• There can be pitfalls to this- the overthinker planner types get worked up, but you can’t plan for every contingency. The things of God aren’t a math problem or a airline wing. No one dies. 
• At this point in the exodus story, Israel has been through a lot. Slavery, deliverance, wandering, hearing, and now- its time. Lets build this thing unto the Lord right now. 
• I’ll admit it- I’m not an over thinker. I think things through and then act. But I get it done
• There are some people that are stuck in analysis paralysis and they never get it done. 
• Romans 12:11a: Not lagging in diligence
• As a Christian, a man and pastor and a church- I am and want us to be not lagging. 
• Proverbs 21:5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.
• I’m not talking about being hasty. Hasty isn’t thought out. It has no plan
• Israel has the plan. They know what they are supposed to do- done with talking. Now its DOING
• Exodus 35:4–5: Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring an offering…
  They didn’t delay or drag. They moved when Moses called. They knew what needed to be done. 
• Example- You’re in a conversation, someone needs prayer- Right now. Someone needs your time, right now. Help. Right now. But extends to grass, dirt, garbage, practice, content etc. 
• Just do it now. Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.
• And it extends to the spiritual! You don’t have one more bad weekend, repent NOW
  Psalm 119:60 I made haste, and did not delay to keep Your commandments.
• Delay can be life killer. When you put something off, it doesn’t get better, it gets worse. 
• When there’s a conversation you need to have, but put it off. It doesn’t resolve itself. 
• I had a cousin who got horrible cancer- when did you know? Felt it inside, didn’t want to know
• When we fall into sin, and we don’t immediately repent, you put sin on sin and destruction
• So here, at Faith and Victory, part of the definition of passionate is not putting things off
• Proverbs 6:4-5 Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids. Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, and like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
• There’s a power within us that drives us to be people of action and passion. Nothing gets done when you constantly put it off. 
• When Jesus called his disciples? Mark 1:18 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
• Immediately. They didn’t want to know all the details. Didn’t fully understand the call. Just lets go. Full send. This is how we preach. We don’t slow boil around here. In or out. IMMEDIATLEY
• 2 Corinthians 6:2 Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
• Hebrews 6:11-12 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
• We don’t wait to feel inspired. We move when God speaks. In this church, we’re allergic to apathy. We’re not waiting to ‘feel like it’ we’re passionate. We put our hand to the plow. 
• Passion doesn’t wait it moves when God speaks. But it doesn’t just act fast, it burns deep. Because it’s not enough to act quickly we have to burn consistently.

• 2. We are passionate and Passion Stays Ablaze (Fervent in Spirit)
  There is a component of historical Christianity that we often forget or gloss over. 
• We’re so unbelievably selfish we think the bible was written just for us and forgetting the lives that were lived and the people who did the work of the ministry to give us Christianity
• The heros of our faith had to overcome far more obstacles than we have had to give us this

• Exodus 35:21–22 Then everyone came whose heart was stirred…who had a willing heart

• There was over 600k abled bodied men able to go to war and 1.5-2m more people
• And this fire they had within, their passion- fueled them to do huge exploits for the Lord. 
• They had seen God move, believed in the mission, and it created a blaze within their bones
• If you have no passion within yourself for the things of God, that’s an indication of something
• If your mind is “we should probably” “it’s the right thing to do” “keep up appearance” etc bad
• It wasn’t condemnation that fueled the people it was inner conviction. They WANTED TO
• We’re here because of their passion. Disciples passion. Pauls passion

• 1 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore I urge you, imitate me.
  Do you have the Fire within? Is there a burn in your guts that can’t be explained?

• I really think, based on what I’ve seen is far too many people serve God for what they can get

1. 1. How it makes them feel- Moral therapeutic deism
   2. What it gives to them-friends, spouse, activities, business connections
   3. How it makes others perceive them- want adoration for moralism

• And when the feelings fade, the friendships falter, and no body notices, serving God aint enough
• Romans 12:11c: Fervent in spirit- we’re supposed to be fervent. We’re supposed to have passion
• Col 1:29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.
• The movies that inspire us, the stories that motivate us, the people we admire are passionate
• And it comes to us we don’t stoke that fire within Ps 69:9: Zeal for Your house has eaten me up.
• I get it- some people are still discovering. But these “been saved since a child” “long time” and no zeal? No nothing? Not even a little bit of fire? Not a tear or a bow ever? I don’t get it. 
• Luke 24:32: Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us…?
• “Fervent” means boiling, not lukewarm. This is about inner fire—the spiritual intensity that comes when the Holy Spirit ignites your heart. It’s not emotional hype. It’s Holy Spirit heat. This is the vertical passion that fuels everything else.
• This can’t be imitated or duplicated. It’s not taught it’s caught. Stand next to flames you burn
• I think a lot of people have more of the fire than you’d realize- they just worry what people say
• There’s nothing wrong with fire inside. Usually makes the lukewarm really uncomfortable
• In college- hired as CM Director. 20 yo. Sat down with 4 camp directors. Why are you like this?
• It’s the price of passion. It really makes others look at their own walk. 
• Ask yourself- where has my passion gone? Have I ever had it? Or have I lost it and why?
• Fire in your soul means nothing if it doesn’t show up in your life. Real passion moves from the inside out. And the HS is inside of you, burning but you got to stoke the fire (fires go out)
  
  

• 3. We are passionate and  Passion Serves with Zeal (Serving the Lord)
  Fire within must be Fire applied

• The purpose of fire is to set other things ablaze and it must be applied to it. No good to sit

• Romans 12:11d: Serving the Lord — this is what the Romans verse says.
  Exo 35:29: brought a freewill offering to the Lord… all whose hearts were willing.

• The application part follows the transformation part. Israelites hearts were willing, and so they brought what they had of their own freewill. They had the fire and they wanted to apply it
• Has your fire been applied to anything? You want that fire? You want that inner passion? 
• Worship– throw your hands up. Sing loudly from your guts. Think about the Lord. Apply to heart
• Serve- destroying selfishness in your heart creates a godly passion in your heart
• Restrict- fast, get up early, decrease phone and entertainment, read, set limits, be disciplined. 
• Fellowship– pay attention who you hang with. Passion brings up, negative brings down

• We’re a church that stays lit because we stay filled. Titus 2:14: Zealous for good works.
  This is a demonstrative distinctive of Faith and Victory- Passionate application. 

• It bothers people. You’re on a call list- why? Because we believe in passion! We passionately care about you and your spiritual development. 

• We’re loud. In worship and in greeting. We’re loud in our preaching. We’re loud listeners. 

• And some people might say- but why audible? There’s times for passionate silence
• But there’s a dynamic of zeal that includes a certain increase in volume in situations. 
• Isaiah 42:13 The Lord shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies.
• Many churches are not like this- go find them. But we’re in a battle here. We’re pummeling the darkness and shaking the gates of hell. Bible describes this many times. Go have quiet time. 
• Throughout Scripture, when God’s people move in faith, they do it with a shout, a cry, and a sound that shakes the ground. From Jericho’s walls falling to the earth shaking in the camp of Israel, victory was never quiet. The people shouted with a great shout, trumpets blasted, and God went before them like a man of war, crying out and prevailing over His enemies. Whether in battle or celebration, they raised their voices in triumph, declaring that the Lord had won the victory. This is the sound of faith. This is the cry of a people who know their God shows up when they shout.
• Passionate service leads to sacrificial living. If it doesn’t cost you something, it might not be passion yet.

• 4. We are passionate and Passion Gives It All (Sacrificial generosity)
  This passion translates into a community that’s rooted giving our all. All. Every last part

• Deut6:5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Lu 14:33 whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

• Ex 35:10: you shall come and make all that the Lord has commanded. Ecc 9:10: Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.
  This is why people call churches like ours a cult. Too much passion. Too much energy. 

• They don’t call the Episcopalians and Methodists who encourage sexual immorality that
• They call the people who just take it too seriously that. Always have. 
• We’re not down here scrubbing baseboards every day. We give it our all Wed-Sun
• How can you be empowered for godly living in a fallen world not juiced up for the task?
• In this account They gave willingly, generously, and skillfully. They gave themselves.
• Why? They were building the tabernacle for the Lord- we  Ro 12:1 present your bodies a living sacrifice, Phil 3:8 count all things loss and count them as rubbish 2 Cor 8:3-5 beyond their ability, they gave themselves to the Lord Matt 13:44-46 he goes and sells all that he has Gal 2:20I have been crucified with Christ
• So we can build a spiritual house for the HS to dwell and a brick and mortar Chruch
• We’re giving it all around here. We’re being passionate. That’s who we are and will be in everything. And some don’t want to be that or be around that, but we do. 
• This is who we are. Not halfway. Not casually. All in, fully surrendered, building a place for God’s presence to dwell.