Never lack zeal or fervor for serving the Lord.

Romans 12:11-12 “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (NIV).

This passage uses two words, zeal and fervor, to describe how your relationship with the Lord should be. According to the dictionary, zeal is defined as great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective, and fervor is defined as intense and passionate feeling, eagerness, enthusiasm, and fire.

Are you lacking in zeal and fervor?

Many people are excited and even on fire for God when they first become saved. But, over time, they cool off, lose their fresh enthusiasm for the Lord, and even fall away. Jesus spoke about this in Rev. 2:3-4, “You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.”

How to know you that you have left your first love 

Here are some warning signs to watch out for.

1.     Your heart toward Christ is cold and indifferent, not tender as it once was.

2.     You are not easily moved by the Word, and no longer read the Bible daily.

3.     You no longer talk about spiritual things when you get together with others.

4.     You can go hours or days without having more than a passing thought of Him.

5.     Things that used to disturb your conscience no longer do.

6.     Private prayer and worship are almost non-existent, cold, and dry.

7.     Your service for Christ and others is motivated by a sense of duty or obligation.

8.     You spend more time and effort on your physical appearance than you do on cultivating inner spiritual beauty to please Christ.

9.     You are more concerned about what others think and pleasing them rather than about pleasing Christ.

10.  You prefer secular songs, movies, and books more than songs or reading material that point you to Christ.

11.  You prefer the company of people who don’t love Christ, more than the company and fellowship of those who do. 

Any of these things should act as warning signs to prompt you to turn back around (repent) and to do what you must do to get back on track.

Jesus said what to do

“Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” (Rev. 2:5)

In the passage above, He said to do three things:

1.     Remember from where you have fallen. Think back to when you had first received Christ. Recall the specific circumstances that initially led you to Him, the prayers you uttered, and the transformation that occurred in your life.

2.     Repent. The word “repent” means to turn around, change direction, or turn away from something. So, make a sincere decision to turn back to God with your whole heart.

3.     Do the works you did at first. Go back to doing the things you did at first. Those things were probably basic, such as praying, reading your Bible, going to church, singing worship songs, and sharing your faith.

Therefore

“Therefore tell the people: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Return to me,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'and I will return to you,' says the LORD Almighty.” (Zech. 1:3)