When people have a sense of responsibility, and they're determined they're going to make a difference; they've taken an ownership of something - I'm responsible, I'm focussed, I'm going to change it, there's something comes out from them, and they're vocal. You have to be vocal to be charismatic. You have to speak words, so we'll touch on those things a bit later, because that'll become a part of how you influence the environment around you, because if you take a negative, defeatist aspect of end times, you'll tend to withdraw from what's around you, instead of seeing it's my mission to influence it all, to invade it. We're called to invade it all, so I need to carry the kind of atmosphere that is an invasive atmosphere. You don't go into places just to hide. You're not called to hide your light, you're called to let your light shine, and it's got to be more than just doing good works. Yes, do good works, but you've got to be vocal. Say some things. Oh, this is starting to bite.
Okay, so how do we shape our spiritual atmosphere? Let me give you some simple keys. To shape means you create it, or you're to cause something to come into a definite form, you're shaping it. It's not just something that oh well, she'll be right, whatever. If God wants to use me, use me. Now that's not it. Actually you create an atmosphere around your life by distinct things you decide to do. You literally form and shape the atmosphere, and a key problem in this is overcoming passivity, passivity. Now passivity is a major issue among men, and particularly men in our nation, and among a lot of males in the west. It's a male issue, but everyone can be passive. Let me just describe passivity, then we'll talk and give you the keys how you can break through this stuff.
Okay, to be passive means - get this - not participating readily or actively. Not participating. They're a spectator - oh yeah, watch what's going on, not participating. A person not participating, we would describe them as being passive. They don't participate actively. Here's another meaning of the word passive, it means to submit to something without resistance, so a passive person lets whatever's out there flow over them, and they become under it. That's a passive person. This is clearly not a prevailing spiritual atmosphere is it? Passivity is my enemy. Here's another one, another definition of being passive, here it is again. It's lacking will or energy, being lethargic. Lacking will or energy, in other words it's a choice. If you're passive, you've grown that way by choices made. You can come out of that by different choices, if you're passive and no believer, no follower of Jesus Christ was ever called to be passive. We are called to advance the kingdom of God, and in Matthew, Chapter 11 and Verse 12 it says now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, or that word means literally, it's people get in there forcibly. They exert energy. They make decisions, and they pursue diligently, until something comes about. That's kingdom. That's what you're born into. That's part of your new culture, its now no longer passive, yielding to whatever's this way, that way, blown around this way and that way, but you've got something in you, and you know where you're going, and what you want to achieve. You are becoming active in making it take place. See, now that's a lifestyle.
That's a lifestyle, so we need to break out of passivity. Of course once we've talked about it, now you're going to be responsible for this okay? Okay, now let me just give you then some simple keys.
I'll give you some simple keys; every one of them could be developed, but I'm just going to give you the keys, and leave you to develop them. This is about your future. Now sometimes we need help to get out of passivity. Sometimes people have been so shut down in their spirit, by the lack of nurture, or the hostile spiritual environment in the home, they actually need ministry to help unlock their spirit of freedom, but for the rest of us, we've just got to make decisions see, a decision not to be passive. I will participate actively. I will not submit to things without resistance. If they're bad, I'll resist them, see? I'll stand up and resist them. I won't be walked over by the prevailing spiritual atmosphere. Now you've got that, remember because we're going to talk about how to change the atmosphere around you. Right now you've got to change - this is the one you've got to deal with because either you prevail or something else prevails. You'll find that very quickly, go into some atmospheres and sometimes it's time to retreat, sometimes it's time to do something, take charge.