 In my experience as a youth minister for over 14 years I found out four things that always killed my fire Number one. It was offense anytime. I got offended at somebody. I lost my fire People leave the churches because of offense actually 99% of people that leave the churches today leave because of offense and For those of us who think yeah, it's about church do something and change So the people stop leaving the church because of offense actually in one meeting Jesus had 75 of his key leaders leave him If you think that if the church will get perfect less people will leave the church because of offense if the church will get perfect More people will leave because of the offense because they could not live up to their perfectionism Offense is unavoidable We can only stop causing offenses, but we cannot ever stop having offenses You will be offended and offense is the devil's trap to cause your fire to die out It's just a devil's trap. That's all it is if you look today somebody offended you tomorrow You got unknowingly you gonna offend somebody and it's the devil's trap to kill your fire That's all it is the second thing that I seen in in my ministry and personally in my life or what kills the fire is Disappointment it's when you dream you believe you fast you pray and it doesn't happen You prayed for somebody who wanted if you believed is they gonna be healed you had a word from God You knew it and nothing happened and next thing that happened is that becomes like a water that goes on your fire And it's very important. I want you to see this when you get offended Honestly, Jesus doesn't really go after you and tries to butter you up When the guys got offended Jesus didn't go up them say hey guys, let me explain. I didn't mean you to eat my flesh I meant communion Jesus didn't do that But when guys left him left Jerusalem walked to city of a mouse He walked beside them encouraged them with preachers until their hearts got on fire again Anytime you're disappointed when Jesus will walk behind you and remind you of his word So your heart will catch fire again and The third thing that kills our fire is honestly business It's when we become so busy that we don't have time to spend time with the Lord We don't have time to even make you to church and please understand Intimacy makes you fruitful Not busy Business could be a result of intimacy, but business itself does not make you successful Only intimacy with God makes you successful if you are too busy to pray you are too busy If you are too busy to be with God you are too busy and this is what I know about busy people You actually don't make more money You make less Because you break God's rule God ordered for us to rest on Saturday if you say but I'm gonna work three jobs four jobs I mark this you will not make more money because God blesses order and you are out of order God blesses order Not out of order. I mentioned how Chick-fil-a decided not to open its fast food restaurant chain on Sundays And people said did you know that on Sundays all the fast food restaurants make the most money and the main guy of chick-fil-a He says I know but God said and people should take a rest at least one day And he says and I'm gonna choose the most busiest day to rest Average fast food restaurant makes one million dollars a year Chick-fil-a makes five Why because when you but it doesn't make sense nothing with God makes sense But when you follow the order God blesses you Same thing when you give it seems like but you're gonna lose money and somehow you have enough When you hold on to that it seems like it's never enough Business is good If it comes out of your fruitfulness, and it doesn't affect your intimacy with God But the moment you see your your file is dying out your fire is dying out cut back on some things catch your breath relax You're still gonna die Why work so hard that you you you waste your you ruin your health to get more money And then you spend your money to get your health back Why don't you just keep both at the same time because this is not just about relationship with God This is about your health being this is about your kids Knowing who you are. This is about your family. This is about your spouse. This is about everyone everything being intact And the last one is materialism It's materialism is not when you have stuff It's when the stuff has you I have this Apple watch I Have this watch this watch doesn't have me Because at any moment this watch can be yours Not today The most freeing thing for my relationship with God has been is when I can hold things without holding on to them When God has the right to take anything out of my hand and I have the privilege to take anything out of his pocket Because he some of us you slip your hand into God's pocket and God has his hand denied to cut touch your pocket Materialism kills fire is when we run after things when we think that the more things we have the more happy will be Materialism a young boy came to Jesus. He was morally sound everything was great with him And he had a lot of things but it's not the things that he had it's that when Jesus signaled and he says Can you give sell everything you have and it's amazing Jesus didn't ask him to give it to his ministry He says I want you to sell everything you got and give it to the poor and then come and follow me And the Bible says that men's heart was hurt. He went with grief Why? Because he didn't have things those things Anything you cannot give Has you Now that doesn't mean God will always ask us to give everything, but there are times when the Lord leads you I found out when my passion for the Lord dies out and the Lord prompts me to sacrifice something That alone literally shoots it through the roof And it's not the act of giving it's the act of obedience in giving