For HIS Renown
“The greatest thing on earth is to know Christ and to make Him known.”
I will be attending Passion 2010 with a group of students from First Baptist Church in Guin, AL. I’m really pumped – it’s my first time! I’m really grateful for being able to attend such a great church and also a great student ministry with great leaders! This will be my last time with them before I return to school on the 9th. I will miss this church body for sure and look forward to the times when I’ll be able to visit. Here’s a little about Passion:
Passion seeks to gather college and university students across the nation and around the world to seek the face of God, asking Him to ignite in our souls a passionate pursuit of Jesus Christ and a desire to spread His fame to everyone on earth. We believe God is calling out a generation of college students committed to the glory of His name in all things. God longs to bring awakening to every campus, mobilizing the students of today to finish the task of global evangelization in this generation. God is calling us out for this purpose, in this moment, for His renown. [From the Passion website - 268Generation]
Having said that, I looked up the verse that sparked Louie Giglio to start the whole Passion movement – Isaiah 26:8.
The path of the righteous is level; O upright One, You make the way of the righteous smooth. Yes, LORD, walking in the way of Your laws, we wait for You; Your name and *renown are the desire of our hearts. My soul yearns for You in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for You. When Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.[Isaiah 26:7-9]
*RENOWN, n. [Hebrew: Zeker]
Fame; celebrity; exalted reputation derived from the extensive praise of great achievements or accomplishments.
[From Webster's 1828 Dictionary]
Our troubles, how pressing soever, must never put us out of conceit with our religion, nor turn us away from God; but still the desire of our soul must be to his name and to the remembrance of him; and in the night, the darkest longest night of affliction, with our souls must we desire him. (1.) Our great concern must be for God’s name, and our earnest desire must be that his name may be glorified, whatever becomes of us and our names. This is that which we must wait for, and pray for. “Father, glorify thy name, and we are satisfied.” (2.) Our great comfort must be in the remembrance of that name, of all that whereby God has made himself known. The remembrance of God must be our great support and pleasure; and, though sometimes we be unmindful of him, yet still our desire must be towards the remembrance of him and we must take pains with our own hearts to have him always in mind. (3.) Our desires towards God must be inward, fervent, and sincere. With our soul we must desire him, with our soul we must pant after him (Psa_42:1), and with our spirits within us, with the innermost thought and the closest application of mind, we must seek him. We make nothing of our religion, whatever our profession be, if we do not make heart-work of it. (4.) Even in the darkest night of affliction our desires must be towards God, as our sun and shield; for, however God is pleased to deal with us, we must never think the worse of him, nor cool in our love to him. (5.) If our desires be indeed towards God,. we must give evidence that they are so by seeking him, and seeking him early, as those that desire to find him, and dread the thoughts of missing him. Those that would seek God and find him must seek betimes, and seek him earnestly. Though we come ever so early, we shall find him ready to receive us.
[From Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible]
Who do we say that He is, with our lives? Who do we say that He is, in the words we say? Who do we say that He is, for the little eyes watching you and me? We are a doorway and window to the truth. We have one passage of time. What will we say then? How will we live? This burning passion is a gift. So let the hands go up around the world in surrender. And let the voices echo out a new sound. So the ones who come behind us will follow in His name and see the greatness of His renown.
[From Christy Nockels' song, "His Renown"]
It’s all for His renown.
In Christ,
Rod
