A Passionate Heart

SUMMARY

In this sermon, Jeff Johnston explores how living out our God-given identities leads to kingdom passion—wholehearted devotion, energy, and purpose directed toward the things of God. Jeff shares stories of Mike and Ellie, who transformed their lives by simply asking God, "Who do you say I am?" and then embracing those identities as "protector" and "bringer of joy."

Using 2 Samuel 6, Jeff examines how pride and fear prevent us from living in our true identities. He shows how Uzzah's pride led to his death when he touched the Ark against God's command, and how David initially responded with anger before humbling himself. Similarly, Michal's fear of embarrassment caused her to criticize David's passionate dancing, but David refused to let her fear diminish his worship. Jeff concludes by introducing the Hebrew word "avoda," which simultaneously means work, worship, and service, suggesting that when we operate from our God-given identity, everything becomes worship to the Lord. He challenges listeners to ask God who He says they are and to live fully in that identity.

TRANSCRIPTION:

Good morning, church. Hey. It is an honor to get to be up here today. Let's start with the word of prayer. Jesus, thank you for today.

Thank you for bringing us here. Thank you for this building that allows us to just worship freely with you and for you, God. God, right now, I just ask that you would give us all open ears and hearts to whatever message you have for each of us individually today. I ask that you would guide my words, that they would only be from you, nothing from me, all from you. We trust you and we love you, God.

Amen. I read a book very recently from a guy named Jamie Winship. And in the book, he tells a lot of different stories. And one of them is when he was working with this federal law enforcement officer named Mike. And Mite was your classic, like the guy you see on tv.

I mean, intense interrogations, high profile arrest, the whole nine yards. And so from the outside looking in, he was the model of strength and success. But on the inside, he was unraveling. This is the way that he described it to Jamie. He said, I feel angry all the time.

I'm short with people. My marriage is strained, My kids avoid me, and I don't even know why. I just feel like I'm constantly in battle mode. And so Jamie asked him a question that would change the rest of his life. He said, have you ever asked God who he says you are?

And Mike thought about it for a minute. He said, no, I've never thought to ask that question. And he was desperate enough that he decided, okay, let's do it right now. So he got on his knees and he opened his hands and a posture of humility to the Lord. And he said, God, who do you say I am?

And he sat and he listened. And eventually, what he felt like he heard from the Lord was, you are a protector, not a warrior. My kid spent his whole life hearing people tell him how good of a fighter he was, how strong he was, how much of a warrior he was. And this seemed like a subtle difference at first. But the more he prayed into it, the more he realized that there's a big difference here, that a warrior is trained to fight, to win and to dominate.

But a protector, while still strong, acts to preserve life, to shield, and to serve. And so that changed everything for Mike. Just having that new identity, it changed everything for him. He stopped viewing Arrest just from a tactical perspective, but also from one of compassion. He changed how he operated with his team.

He was less controlling, and he was more listening. And with his family, he was more patient. At home, he was more present. At home, everything changed for him. His job didn't change, his title didn't change, but his identity changed.

He became a protector. So can you relate to Mike? Are you a person that struggles with anger? Do you feel like you get angry for no reason at all? You just cannot pinpoint why.

Do you have strained relationships? Are you too quick tempered? Maybe you're operating in something that isn't actually you. Maybe you've believed something about yourself for a long time that isn't actually true. Or maybe you can relate more to Ellie.

Ellie is a barista at a local coffee shop and she's completely burnt out. She says, I feel like all I do every day is make coffee for angry people. There's no purpose in this job. This is just a job. And so Jamie asked her the same question.

He said, have you ever asked God who he says you are, what your real identity is? And like Mike, she had never done it. And so just like him, she got down on her knees and she asked the Lord God, who do you say I am? And what she heard from Lord is you are a bringer of joy. And just like Mike, that changed everything for Ellie.

She stopped viewing her job as just making coffee for people and started to see it as opportunities to encourage people and to brighten someone's day again. Her job didn't change, nothing changed about that. But her identity changed and from that flowed this kingdom passion. Can you relate to Ellie? Do you go from eight to five every day and the sole purpose in your mind is just to make sure that you can pay your bills?

I can promise you that that is not the design that God has for you and for your life. I wholeheartedly believe that the way that we can experience true kingdom passion is by living out our God given identities. God called Jeremiah a prophet to the nations. He called Gideon a mighty warrior. David a warrior poet king, a man after God's own heart.

And you have a God given identity too. And that's what I want to talk about today. I just realized I didn't turn on my thing to switch my slides. So give me a minute here.

There we go. All right, first slide here. Ephesians 2:10. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. So your identity, I mean it says it right here.

Your identity is not random. You were made on purpose, for purpose. And just like Mike and Ellie, you have a God given identity. And when you operate out of that identity. It gives you this kingdom, passion.

Put another way, it gives you a wholehearted devotion, energy and purpose directed towards the things of God. And we all want that, right? You wouldn't be in this room right now, you would not wake up on a Sunday morning if there wasn't at least a part of you that had this desire to operate with God, to watch in alignment with him and to experience everything that he has created you to be right. You would not be here if at least a part of you didn't want that. And so what keeps us from that?

What keeps us from operating and our God given identity all the time? What keeps us in these moments like Ellie and Mtad, where we're either angry or we feel purposeless and we're just burnt out? I think there's two main things and this isn't an exhaustive list, but I think there's two main things and it's pride and it's fear. And I think 2 Samuel 6, which by the way, thank you to Laura for reading the entire chapter, that was incredible. But I think that this chapter, this story, which was really broken down into three parts, gives us insight into both of those things, pride and fear.

So let's dig into this a little bit. 2 Samuel 6 Starting in verse 3, they set the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahhio sons of Abinadab were gutting the new cart with the art of God on it when they came to the threshing floor. This is verse six, stepping down. When they came to the threshing floor of Naton, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the Ark of God because the Aren stumbled.

The Lord's anger burned against Uzah because of his irreverent act. Therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the Ark of God. On the surface this is pretty intense, right? This seems like a pretty extreme reaction. God, when you just read it, a surface level, it seems like God is killing this guy because something was falling off of this cart and he decided to catch it.

Which seems like a normal reaction. But if you actually know the context here and if you know the background of what actually is going on here, you understand that Uzah is operating fully out of a place of pride. And here's why. This is not just a normal thing on this cart here. This is the art.

This is the art of the covenant, right? The art of God. And if you look in Numbers four, it says, after Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy furnishings and all the holy articles, and when the temple is ready to move, only then are the levites to come and do the carrying. This is the big important part. But they must not touch the holy things or they will die.

This has already been told. This is something that Uzzah understands, or at least should understand. You are not to touch the the Ark of the covenant, or you will die. It is put very, very plainly and very simply there. But he decides to do it anyways, right?

And then if you look In Exodus chapter 25, it says, insert the poles into the range of the side of the Ark to carry it. The poles are to remain in the range of this ark and they are not to be removed. This was the only way that this thing was supposed to be carried was on these poles. Is that what they did? No, they carried it on this cart being pulled by Artson, which is actually how the Philistines had done in a few chapters earlier.

So Uzza knows this as well, or he should at least know, like, hey, this is only supposed to be carried on these poles, and I am not supposed to touch this thing. And then he does both of those things simultaneously, right? He allows for it to be carried by oxen, and then when it starts slipping, he decides, ah, I'm going to touch it. And so he accepts convenience over God's command. He was casual and thought he knew better.

Pride is directly opposed to God. It is us saying that we know better than him or that we do not need Him. That's what you see us a doing right here. He's just saying, e, it's really not that big of a deal. Or, hey, actually carrying it this way is more efficient.

This is a better way to do it. That's essentially what he has decided to do here. It's pride. He got prideful. He got casual and he got prideful.

The Lord has s been talking to me a lot about my own pride over the last several months, and let me tell you, it is a humbling experience when the Lord starts pressing into your pride. And what's been happening to me is I've been having these replays in my mind of past experiences that I did not realize were actions operating out of pride. And he's showing me that they were. And there's a lot of them, way, way too many to count. There's one in particular that actually is, in hindsight, kind of funny.

And I feel like this is one that every guy goes through at some point in time in their childhood. So every guy has a mom, or I'm going to make the assumption every guy has a mom that will tell you, make sure you're smiling in all your photos. Hey, there's a picture, smile in that picture. Smile right now. Hey, make sure you have a big smile on that picture.

And they tell you that over and over again. And at some point in your childhood, you begin wondering, should I be smiling? Is that the right thing to do? Is that the cool thing to do? Should I actually smile in this photo?

Or is that just what my mom thinks? And for me, that was seventh grade. In seventh grade, I began questioning that, and I convinced myself that my mom was wrong, that I knew better, and it was actually better for me to not smile. So this is what my seventh grade photo looked like at school. And you have full permission here to laugh.

I will not be offended.

Looks even worse on that giant screen. That's so bad. O boy. This was pride, right? This was me deciding my mom doesn't know.

I know better. And so this is what turned out from that. You can count on zero hands the amount of girlfriends I got in seventh grade after this photo came out. Have you guys seen those Instagram or Facebook posts where it's a scripture and then there's a cool background that goes along with the scripture? Something like this.

You guys seen these before? Where? Okay, this is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad. And then there's this cool background.

Well, as I was preparing for this lesson, I found the scripture that goes perfectly with my seventh grade photo that you guys can post on social media. Please don't do it. But you could, because it works.

Proverbs 16:18. Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Talk about a fall. Brutal, right? Brutal.

But in all seriousness, this is what we see from Uzzah in this. A haughty spirit before a fall. He got prideful and it led to his destruction. And maybe what's even crazier in this story as we continue on is that as this happens, I mean, this is literally like they are bringing the art of the covenant back to Jerusalem. This is a big deal.

This is a celebratory thing. And in the middle of it, this guy just, boom, drops down dead right in the middle of that. I mean, the most awkward thing that could happen, the most terrifying thing that can happen happens. And David's initial response is also one of pride. In verse 8 it says then David was angry because the Lord's wrath had broken out against Uzzah.

And I did it right. There's probably part of him that's embarrassed because he's really the one that has called this whole celebration. He's the one that is making this happen. So he's embarrassed, he confused, he maybe even feels betrayed. But then he decides, hey, the best thing for me to do here is to get angry.

Or at least that's his initial reaction. You know, sometimes our anger at God is really a signal that we've been living on our terms and not his. And that's what David was doing. He was culpable in this too, because David also should have known this thing can only be carried on the poles, yet he allowed for it to be carried on this cart by the Oen. And so he is culpable in this too.

Both David and Uzzah in this story are letting their own thoughts, their own ideas and their own instructions lead them rather than Gods's. That's what they started doing. They started being led by a spirit of pride instead of by God's spirit. And so let me ask you that question right now. What spirit is leading you most of the time?

Because all leadership is spiritual. Are you being led by God's spirit? Are you being led by another spirit? Maybe pride, maybe greed, maybe anger, maybe frustration, maybe fear. You know, when KK and I first decided that we were going to move to Lubbock, I started looking for jobs.

And I found a job at a place called Beaten Boat Companies that I had heard of, heard wonderful things about for a web and analytics manager position. And if you're not familiar with me, that is my wheelhouse. That is what I've spent pretty much my entire career doing is website stuff and web analytics. And so I applied for the job, I got interviews, I drove to Lubbock and went in for a full day of interviews. And I remember walking in the building thinking, I am going to crush this.

I am the best person for this job. They would be fools to not give me this job and I'm going to get this job because of me and how awesome I am now. I didn't say that verbatim in my head, but that's basically what I was saying. And so I went through a whole day interviews and I remember telling KK when I got back to her parents house afterwards that I nailed it. I was, I crushed that thing.

The next day I did a call from them and they said it much more kindly than this. But essentially it was, hey, thanks, but no thanks. And I responded internally. Just like David at first, right? I was angry.

I was like, man, this is their fault. They're loss, they're dumb. I can't believe they didn't want me. How could anyone think that I'm not the best person for this job? But then the Lord over the next couple of days started humbling me.

He started showing me all the ways that I had responded to their questions and the interviews and how what I thought was confidence was actually complete prideful arrogance. And I had been rejected from jobs before. I had been told, hey, you're not the guy for the job. And typically I would just remain in that prideful state and be able to move past just like your loss and then you move on to the next thing. But as the Lord was humbling me in this one, I just could not let this job.

Joe, ask KK about it sometime. I kept thinking about it, I kept talking about it, and I noticed a month or two later that it was still open. So I decided to reach out again and say, hey, I noticed you still haven't filled the position. I would love to be reconsidered. Which is kind of a crazy thing to do, right?

No one does that. You don't reject someone for a job. And then a month later when they say, hey, can I have another chance? You don't give him another chance. That's not a thing.

But God was working on this one. He was humbling me. And at the same time, he was working on the other side of the curtain with them. And so by God's race, they did give me another chance. I came in for another set of interviews, and this time I remember walking in there and praying as I walked in, God, if this is the job that you have for me, if this is where you want me to be, then I'm all in.

And if it's not, I'm all in on that too. This is yours and I'm just going toiving it to you, and I will watch whichever direction you want. So I completely humbled myself at that point. And now I'm here. I got the job.

And let me tell you, it is a wonderful, wonderful place. And I'm grateful that I am there and I'm grateful that I get to be here. So let me ask you again. Are you being led by God's spirit, by the Holy spirit, or are you being led by another spirit? Because the outcomes are wildly different.

But let's keep going on this story because David has a similar experience. Again, he operates, he responds out of anger at first, out of pride. But then he quickly humbles himself. In sect Samuel 9 it says, and David was afraid of the Lord that day. And he said, how in the art of the Lord come to me.

So he realizes I treated God casually in all of this. I led this my way, not his. And then he begins to wonder things like am I even worthy? Can I even handle this responsibility? And that moment, that moment, awe of trembling, of fear, of humility is the action that starts putting David back into alignment with his God given identity.

Proverbs 9:10 says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And David's fear certainly leads to wisdom. His fear leads to reflection. And we see in the First Chronicles s version of this story that he starts then recalibrating his plans to align with gods. This is what it says.

We did not inquire of him, God about how to do it in the prescribed way, talking about moving the ar of the covenant. And the Levites carried the ark of God with the pulls on their shoulders. And so he pivots right, he realizes what he's done is wrong and he humbles himself and he does it the right way. A man after God's own heart. David is back to operating in his true identity at this point, humbling himself before the Lord and following God's leading.

And then we get into the super intense dance party that he throws for himself, right? And Laura read that earlier, but David starts dancing with a linen ephod which is not kingly clothing. And that's where Michael comes into this story, and that's where fear comes into this story. So we've seen pride at this point. We've seen from Uzzah and from David how when we rely on our own wisdom instead of gods or we would rely on convenience rather than obedience, we can see that we shift out of our God given identity and it leads us astray.

But fear can do the same thing to us. And Michel really shows that in this story. But it's not really seen on the surface. If you just read it, it can be seen on the surface that Mightl is also just very prideful in this. But if you understand the backstory of Michael, you can see that she is coming out of a place of fear here because she has a very painful story.

Listen to this. She's the daughter of Saul, a teen who cared deeply about appearances and feared public failure. She was given to David as a wife and then torn away. And then married to another man and then taken back to Yen. When David rose to power, her life had been filled with instability, loss of control, and public shame.

So then she sees David not doing a normal king thing, right? He is not in his kingly robes. He is in a linen ephod. I don't know the right way to say that, but he's dancing and leaping for joy. And I also am a man that loves to dance.

I will not dance for you guys this morning, although I was tempted to do so. I will not do that. But it is not a flattering thing. And so I'm assuming she's watching this and this is not a flattering thing for her. And so she responds out of fear, fear of embarrassment, fear of what people might say, and fear of being vulnerable herself.

And so what does she do? What does she do when she's responding out of fear? She does what a lot of us do, which she starts with sarcasm and then she gets critidic. Have you ever done that? Have you ever actually been afraid of something?

And so your response, you don't want people to know that you're afraid. And so you get really, really sarcastic or you start being really, really critical of things that you have no business being critical about. This is what she says in 2 Samuel 20, how the teen of Israel honored himself today. So sarcasm. She leads with this sarcasm.

Then the way that David responds here is what's really, really important. Because he doesn't let her fear shrink his passion at all. She doesn't let her criticism derail his calling. This is what he responds to her with. Oh, never mind, I skipped that one.

I'll read it for you guys. It says it was before the lord. And verse 21, he says it was before the Lord, talking about his dancing. I was doing this before the Lord. And then he says, I will become even more undignified than this, which is quite a statement.

More undignified than this. And essentially what he is saying, in other words, is, I wasn't doing this for you. I wasn't doing this for image. I was doing this for the Lord. And I am not going to apologize for being fully alive and who God says that I am.

That moment matters. That moment matters so much in this story, because David, if he hadn't operated that way, if he hadn't responded that way, if he would have let her fear change his actions, then he essentially would have been giving his identity over to fear. But he doesn't do that, right? He doesn't push back. He Just stays firm and deep confidence in who the Lord says he is.

He doesn't argue, he doesn't lash out, he holds firm. He knows who he is and he knows why he's dancing and that's all he needs. You know what I love about this story is David wasn't just dancing, this was him living. He was living freely and fully and passionately because he was aligned with who God had made him to be. He got back into that alignment with who God had called him to be.

A teen after God's own heart. A man whose leadership, whose poetry, whose warfare were all expressions of one his God given identity. And from that identity flowed his kingdom passion, his wholehearted devotion, purpose and energy towards the things of God. So let's go back to Mike and Elie for a second again. Their job titles didn't change.

Nothing about their jobs changed. But when they ask the Lord God, who do you say I am? He responded. And they heard their identity, their God given identity. And that changed everything for them.

Mike became a protector, Ellie became a brainer of joy. Their worked, their relationships, the way that they viewed their lives all the sudden was ignited with this purpose and this passion. And what I want you to leave here with today is the understanding that the same is possible for us. For me and for you. You were created for more than surviving, for more than image management, for more than fear driven safety or pride driven self reliance.

We created for way more than that. You were created on purpose, for purpose. You have a God given identity. And from that God given identity can ignite a kingdom passion, a wholehearted devotion and energy and purpose towards the things of God. And again, that's why we're here, right?

That's what we want, right? We might want other things sometimes, but deep down we want that. You would not be here if you did not want that. So let me ask you a question. Have you ever asked God, who do you say I am?

Have you ever asked him that? If you haven't, you should ask him. Not about your reputation, not about your job, not about your talents. But God, who do you say I am? What is the name that you call me?

Because he has one for you and he wants you to know it. You got to ask. And when you do, when you ask him, listen and he will tell you. He will tell you. So when you hear it, do not let fear of pride steal it.

Don't hand your identity back to insecurity or to the approval others. Honestly, that is a massive struggle for me. I've spent this whole week Working on this. And there is this constant tension, this vacillation between God, I just want this to be all about you. I just want to say whatever you want me to say.

And then there's this other side of me that just wants so badly for you all to think that I'm an amazing speaker, that I'm an amazing leader, and that I'm wise beyond my ears and I go back and forth all the time with that. But every time that I get out of my God given identity, every time I let pride creep in, it starts warping me and I start becoming the die that thinks that it would be a good idea to not smile in photos again. And I really, really, really do not want to be that guy.

So ask the Lord who he says you are. Stand up fully in your identity, walk in it. And if someone misunderstands it, dance. Anyways, that's what David did. Just like David, like Mike, like Ellie, like everyone else in this room.

You were meant for more than image management. You were meant to live for more than an image. You were meant to live fully rooted, fully alive in your God given identity. And from that you will have this kngdom passion that will change the way you see your life and the way you live your life. So I'll leave you with this.

I heard a word recently, or not recently? Several years ago at this point. This old Hebrew word, it's called avoda. It simultaneously means work, worship and service. And it's used in a lot of different scriptures throughout the Bible.

Some of the really most well known ones. Exodus 34:21 for example, says six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. That word worked. There is Avoda. Exodus 8:1 says the Lord said to Moses, go to Pharaoh and say to him.

Thus says the Lord, let my people go that they may worship me again. That word avodas, same word. And then you. I'm sure you're familiar with this one. Joshua 1:19 as for me, in my household we will serve the Lord.

Same word, Avodah. One word, three things worked. Worship service. What if there is only one word for that? Because God views all three of those things the exact same way.

What? When you're operating out of your God given identity, everything that you do is worship to the Lord. How would that change things for you? How would it change the way you view your job, your relationships, your day to day decisions, the way you spend your free time? I can tell you it has changed everything for me.

Everything for me. And you know where I heard that word. I heard that word at my job. That's where I learned that word at the job that I got after I finally was able to wipe away my pride and humble myself and walk in the identity that God has given me. And it all just starts with asking him that question.

God, who do you say I am? That's it. So you would d be willing to ask him that question today. Jesus, we are grateful that you have made us on purpose, for purpose. God, we want to watch in the identity that you have for us.

We don't want to walk in pride. We don't want to be led by other spirits. We want to be led by you. Lord, so help us to see the things that pull us away from that and to wipe those away, to eradicate those from our lives so that we can watch fully in what you have called us to be the person that you have made us to be. God, we just want to be fully devoted to you and we know that through our God given identities that we can do that'a little we're asking that today tell us who we are.

Who do you say that we are? Let us hear from you today and let us walk in that we love you God, thank you for loving us first.