Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (Rom. 12:11-12 NIV)
Zeal and Fervor
The above verse 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, fire.
Are you lacking in zeal and fervor?
Many people are excited and even on fire for God when they first get 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 have left your first love
1. Your heart toward Christ is cold and indifferent; not tender as it once was, not easily moved by the Word, talk of spiritual things, etc.
2. You can go hours or days without having more than a passing thought of Him.
3. “Little” things that used to disturb your conscience, no longer do.
4. Private prayer and worship are almost non-existent, cold and dry.
5. Your service for Christ and others is motivated by a sense of duty or obligation.
6. You spend more time and effort on your physical appearance than on cultivating inner spiritual beauty to please Christ.
7. You are more concerned about what others think and pleasing them, than about pleasing Christ.
8. You prefer secular songs, movies, and books more than songs or reading material that point you to Christ.
9. You prefer the company of people who don’t love Christ, to the company and fellowship of those who do.
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 above passage, He said to do three things:
Remember from where you have fallen. Think back to when you had first received Christ. Remember the details of what first brought you to Him, what you prayed, and how your life was changed.
Repent. The word “repent” means to turn around, change direction, or to turn away from something. So, make a sincere decision to turn back to God with your whole heart.
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 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)
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