Pursue The PassionSample

DAY 5: PURSUIT

"But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness." - 1 Timothy 6:11 NIV

WHAT WE SEE IN THE FILM

Jesus’ pursuit was a painful process to endure, as Mel Gibson so realistically displays in the film. With every strike of man’s hand, with every tear of His skin, with a crown of thorns forced onto His head, Jesus continued to carry the cross. He knew the reward was great, to redeem the relationship between God and His children. As a man, broken and condemned, it was easy to look away, but as the Son of God, there was only one thing Jesus could look upon and that was the cross.

Jesus fell in exhaustion for the third time after experiencing horrific pain and suffering. But this time Simon of Cyrene, the same man who was “pressed into serving” by helping carry the cross, now encouraged Jesus to go on. He helped Jesus to finish the journey that was set before Him.

Jesus always pursued God first. He knew exactly what the will of His Father was, and therefore He knew the purpose of His entire existence. Jesus’ goals aligned with the Father’s, and that was the only way He could ever bear to continue His pursuit towards dying on the cross.

PURSUE THE PASSION: Jesus was on the great pursuit as He made His way to the cross. It didn’t start at His arrest, but rather it began at creation, with the fall of mankind in Genesis. Working and weaving through the generations, this pursuit eventually fulfilled the Father’s will and fulfilled prophesy at the same time. By pursuing the cross, Jesus was pursuing us, reclaiming us as blameless and holy before God the Father. He should be our greatest pursuit and as we draw near to Him, we will move closer and closer to our purpose.

WHAT WE LEARN FROM JESUS

• Look to the cross. Just as Jesus had to look to the cross as He fell for a third time, not sure He could go any further, so we too must keep our eyes on our great pursuit, Jesus. By looking to the cross, we pursue knowledge and the understanding of “why” Jesus died for us. No matter how hard the trial, we must keep going. The pursuit is difficult but worth all that is gained in and through Him.
• God provides. It starts with Jesus, and it ends with Jesus, and in between is the pursuit of Him and His will over our lives. There will be times of rest and times of great pain, times of great reward, loss and gain. However, it will always be God who provides strength and encouragement, whether through others or Himself, when we need it the most. Immerse yourself in Jesus. Pursuing Jesus means pursuing righteousness, because He is righteousness. As we pursue Him, so we also become more like Him. In pursuing Jesus you become closer to Him, and have a much clearer understanding of His will. In this way we will make our goals align with His.
• Pursuing Jesus is a process. It is a journey, and the more we pursue Him, the more our passion grows to serve Him in every facet of our lives. This is our great pursuit. This is the passion of Christ.

QUESTIONS

1. Jesus falls a third time, unable to go any further in his pursuit, when Simon of Cyrene once again encourages Him to keep going and telling Him, “It’s almost done.” What emotions were going through your mind while you watched Jesus lying on the ground, unable to continue?
2. Are there times that you look back on your pursuit, your journey to where you are right now, where you wanted to give up? What kept you from quitting?
3. How do you continue the pursuit of your passion? What drives you to keep going? How do you keep your eyes on Jesus?

CHALLENGE

Pursuit: The pursuit is all about the journey we take while walking in our purpose. But it must begin with Christ. Today take time to sit with Jesus and thank Him for your life, your purpose and for Him going before you. Then make a list of things and people who will continue to help you in your pursuit for Jesus and fulfilling your purpose. Pray over them and pick one to either reach out to or do, and ask for the need to be filled today.