Fervent in Spirit

#1 · October 5, 2004, 2:53 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on October 5, 2004, 2:53 pm
Posted by: henkf <henkf@...>
Fervent in Spirit

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

(Romans 12:11, NIV)

"Fervent" is a necessary description of any Christian. The primary meaning of the word is to boil. This is true both in our language and in the Greek language of the New Testament. When applied to people, the word implies strong enthusiasm. The team who has a winning fervor about their game is said to be on fire. In like manner, the Christian can and must be on fire for God.

In the scriptures, Apollos provides a good example of this concerning his preaching. In a passage that closely mirrors the one above the prophet Luke writes, And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. (Acts 18:24-25)

Although we see that Apollos was lacking in knowledge about Jesus, he was fervent. He was bold and outspoken. He was mighty in the scriptures and strove to teach God's word accurately.

Oh, that more Christians today were fervent in their efforts to reach the lost with God's word. We may rightly say that our society is hostile to evangelism. Yet, Apollos's society was as well. We may find it hard to set aside time for teaching others. The fervent Christian barely has time for anything else. We may hold back for fear of damaging professional or social relationships. The fervent Christian is first concerned about his relationship with God. His second concern is the spiritual—eternal—condition of the people around him.

But, just like a team can become noteworthy for their "lack of fire" on the playing field, Christians can show a lack of fervor for the Lord.

The church at Laodicea was a congregation lacking fervor in their devotion to God. The Lord rebuked them for this:

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Rev. 3:15-16, NIV)

The Lord rebuked the church of Laodicea because of their lack of fervor. We should realize that a lack of fervor on our part makes us unpalatable, even sickening, to the Lord.

In every way, we see that the religion of Jesus as revealed in God's word requires us to have fervor, to be enthusiastic—on fire—in all our service to God.

Many words in our language and in the Bible carry with them similar ideas like fervor and fervent. One very closely related word is zeal.

Paul, in his writing, connects zeal and repentance of sins:

For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. (2 Cor. 7:10-11)

After the harsh rebukes of 1 Corinthians, the Christians there were truly sorry for what they had done. But they did not stop at sorrow. They repented, they changed. And what a change they made! They determined to clear themselves. They wanted to make things right with God. They were filled with vehement desire and zeal.

This is the attitude that we need when we realize that we are in sin. We should be truly, soulfully sorry. Further, we should be boiling over with desire and zeal to make ourselves right again before God. This is true repentance that pleases God. It does not stop at sorrow; it continues with actions that spring from strong emotion:

Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. (Luke 3:8, NIV)

Fervor also describes the love that we ought to have for one another.

Peter told his readers (that is, us):

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. (1 Peter 1:22, NIV)

The King James Version uses the word "fervently" in place of "deeply" in the NIV. Perhaps "deeply" is a little more descriptive for us. He repeats this exhortation a little later in this book:

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8, NIV)

Due to the perversions of our time and the general lack of fervor that seems to fill many (most?) of those today who claim to be New Testament Christians, we threaten to become a brotherhood of "standoffish relatives." Those who should be bound so closely by a common love of God their Father and a common cause of saving themselves and all others often do not act like it. They treat their brethren more like the distant cousins that they are embarrassed to talk about and dread being around.

Do you profess an ardent love for the Lord? What are your true feelings towards your brothers in the faith?

If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. (1 John 4:20, NIV)

However, the Bible gives us an example that we can follow. And examples do help fire us up if we will carefully consider them:

Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis. (Col. 4:12-13)

We need to profess the same love for each other that Epaphras had towards his brethren. Also, always remember that the Bible ideas of fervor and zeal, like most Bible concepts, carry with them a necessary amount of activity. Epaphras did not simply love fervently. That love caused, even forced, him to do something: pray zealously for his brethren. (How often do we need to be reminded about the powerfulness and effectiveness of prayer?)

Fervent love for one another will bring us to do many things for each other. And I can think of nothing more important than praying for each other with that same zeal. We read of the effective fervent prayers of the Jerusalem church for Peter when he was imprisoned:

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. (Acts 12:5, NIV)

The result? Peter, unlike James who had already been murdered (Acts 12:2), was miraculously delivered.

Zeal should also characterize our singing in worship. I know of no scripture that applies any of the specific words that we have been discussing to singing. However, the Bible urges us to sing enthusiastically:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. (Col. 3:16, NIV)

Singing, like all our service to God and our brethren, should be heartfelt, steeped deep in emotion. Fervency in singing springs directly from our zeal for God, for His word and for our brethren.

Finally, we need to note that fervency, or zeal, is not enough, of itself, to please God. We must be fervent for the things revealed in God's word. We must have zeal to do all that God commands us to do. The Israelites who rejected Jesus, Paul testified, were zealous, but this did not make them pleasing to God:

Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. (Romans 10:1-3, NIV)

And yet we must be zealous. God demands fervor of his faithful servants. How hotly do you boil?

…
  ************************************  Weekly messages of hope and comfort for those who want to learn more about Jesus and His glorious plan for our lives.  To find out more about our ministry go to : worldoutreach.ca/sotn.htm  visit our "Ultimate Bible Quiz Site"  folsom.sk.ca/k4j/BQuiz/Quiz.html  *************************************                                                                              --  To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: [email protected]  

Posted by: henkf <henkf@...>

Fervent in Spirit

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

(Romans 12:11, NIV)

"Fervent" is a necessary description of any Christian. The primary meaning of the word is to boil. This is true both in our language and in the Greek language of the New Testament. When applied to people, the word implies strong enthusiasm. The team who has a winning fervor about their game is said to be on fire. In like manner, the Christian can and must be on fire for God.

In the scriptures, Apollos provides a good example of this concerning his preaching. In a passage that closely mirrors the one above the prophet Luke writes, And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. (Acts 18:24-25)

Although we see that Apollos was lacking in knowledge about Jesus, he was fervent. He was bold and outspoken. He was mighty in the scriptures and strove to teach God's word accurately.

Oh, that more Christians today were fervent in their efforts to reach the lost with God's word. We may rightly say that our society is hostile to evangelism. Yet, Apollos's society was as well. We may find it hard to set aside time for teaching others. The fervent Christian barely has time for anything else. We may hold back for fear of damaging professional or social relationships. The fervent Christian is first concerned about his relationship with God. His second concern is the spiritual—eternal—condition of the people around him.

But, just like a team can become noteworthy for their "lack of fire" on the playing field, Christians can show a lack of fervor for the Lord.

The church at Laodicea was a congregation lacking fervor in their devotion to God. The Lord rebuked them for this:

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Rev. 3:15-16, NIV)

The Lord rebuked the church of Laodicea because of their lack of fervor. We should realize that a lack of fervor on our part makes us unpalatable, even sickening, to the Lord.

In every way, we see that the religion of Jesus as revealed in God's word requires us to have fervor, to be enthusiastic—on fire—in all our service to God.

Many words in our language and in the Bible carry with them similar ideas like fervor and fervent. One very closely related word is zeal.

Paul, in his writing, connects zeal and repentance of sins:

For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. (2 Cor. 7:10-11)

After the harsh rebukes of 1 Corinthians, the Christians there were truly sorry for what they had done. But they did not stop at sorrow. They repented, they changed. And what a change they made! They determined to clear themselves. They wanted to make things right with God. They were filled with vehement desire and zeal.

This is the attitude that we need when we realize that we are in sin. We should be truly, soulfully sorry. Further, we should be boiling over with desire and zeal to make ourselves right again before God. This is true repentance that pleases God. It does not stop at sorrow; it continues with actions that spring from strong emotion:

Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. (Luke 3:8, NIV)

Fervor also describes the love that we ought to have for one another.

Peter told his readers (that is, us):

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. (1 Peter 1:22, NIV)

The King James Version uses the word "fervently" in place of "deeply" in the NIV. Perhaps "deeply" is a little more descriptive for us. He repeats this exhortation a little later in this book:

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8, NIV)

Due to the perversions of our time and the general lack of fervor that seems to fill many (most?) of those today who claim to be New Testament Christians, we threaten to become a brotherhood of "standoffish relatives." Those who should be bound so closely by a common love of God their Father and a common cause of saving themselves and all others often do not act like it. They treat their brethren more like the distant cousins that they are embarrassed to talk about and dread being around.

Do you profess an ardent love for the Lord? What are your true feelings towards your brothers in the faith?

If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. (1 John 4:20, NIV)

However, the Bible gives us an example that we can follow. And examples do help fire us up if we will carefully consider them:

Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis. (Col. 4:12-13)

We need to profess the same love for each other that Epaphras had towards his brethren. Also, always remember that the Bible ideas of fervor and zeal, like most Bible concepts, carry with them a necessary amount of activity. Epaphras did not simply love fervently. That love caused, even forced, him to do something: pray zealously for his brethren. (How often do we need to be reminded about the powerfulness and effectiveness of prayer?)

Fervent love for one another will bring us to do many things for each other. And I can think of nothing more important than praying for each other with that same zeal. We read of the effective fervent prayers of the Jerusalem church for Peter when he was imprisoned:

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. (Acts 12:5, NIV)

The result? Peter, unlike James who had already been murdered (Acts 12:2), was miraculously delivered.

Zeal should also characterize our singing in worship. I know of no scripture that applies any of the specific words that we have been discussing to singing. However, the Bible urges us to sing enthusiastically:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. (Col. 3:16, NIV)

Singing, like all our service to God and our brethren, should be heartfelt, steeped deep in emotion. Fervency in singing springs directly from our zeal for God, for His word and for our brethren.

Finally, we need to note that fervency, or zeal, is not enough, of itself, to please God. We must be fervent for the things revealed in God's word. We must have zeal to do all that God commands us to do. The Israelites who rejected Jesus, Paul testified, were zealous, but this did not make them pleasing to God:

Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. (Romans 10:1-3, NIV)

And yet we must be zealous. God demands fervor of his faithful servants. How hotly do you boil?

…

  ************************************  Weekly messages of hope and comfort for those who want to learn more about Jesus and His glorious plan for our lives.  To find out more about our ministry go to : worldoutreach.ca/sotn.htm  visit our "Ultimate Bible Quiz Site"  folsom.sk.ca/k4j/BQuiz/Quiz.html  *************************************                                                                              --  To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: [email protected]