The power of passion:

THE WORD:
"But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not." Jeremiah 20:9

THE MESSAGE:
If you've ever built a fire, you know that its tendency is to go out. You must feed and protect it. Not everyone will help you do that. There are two kinds of people you'll meet in life: fire lighters and fire extinguishers. The first group will inspire you, encourage you and go out of their way to help you. The second group will throw cold water on you. How can you tell the difference? Fire extinguishers use phrases like: 'It's not in the budget ... that's not practical ... we've tried that before and it didn't work ... if it ain't broke, don't fix it ... who will do all the extra work? .. who do you think you are?' If you've heard one or more of these excuses coming from the people around you, pray for them, love them, but don't let them influence you. Fire extinguishers focus on what's wrong rather than on what's right. They find the cloud that comes with every silver lining. They doubt. They resist change. They keep you from reaching higher by trying to put out the fire of your passion. Sometimes they do this deliberately, other times unknowingly. Handle them with care! Instead, spend more time with fire lighters who understand what a calling of God is; who fuel your faith and ignite your passion. It's estimated that there are about 200 million Christians in the Chinese church today. One of the fire lighters who helped start it was Hudson Taylor. He's the man who said, 'The sun has not once risen in China in 40 years, without finding me on my knees in prayer.' That's passion!