Fervency. It’s a characteristic of man that the devil uses on the lost. When you and I lived in sin we were fervent about it. This attribute should always be in a Christian; be alive not dead; be hot not cold. The Lord told Ezekiel not to just get in the water ankle deep or knee deep. He was to get in over his head. I don’t know if Ezekiel could swim but he didn’t drown.
Romans 12: 9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. 10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; 11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; 12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; 13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. 14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. 15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. 16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
These are plain, simple terms on what it takes to please God. This is the practice of Christianity. There is a doctrinal side about how we were saved. There was a sacrifice of God’s Son. By that we believe and are saved. That is the beginning of being born again by the blood. A child is born and grows. When they are babies we nurse them and carry them around. They watch us and we teach them to walk. One day they just start walking. They don’t go back to crawling. The devil would have us to go backwards. God doesn’t tell us to crawl in the Spirit. We are to walk in the Spirit. If we want to get anywhere, we need to pick up the pace. Look at what the Lord has given us. Serve the Lord and don’t be slothful in the Father’s business. Many want to keep doing a little business with the devil. We’re not partners with him anymore. Jesus told his mother he had to be about the Father’s business. We are too.
We’re to be stewards for God. A man had two sons and told them to work in the vineyard. One said yes but then didn’t go. The other said no but changed his mind and later went. Jesus asked which son did the will of his father. The one who went to work is the one. We’re not slothful in what we want from the Lord. Jesus has been wonderful. We need him and that behooves us not to be slothful. Don’t just show up. Take the responsibility and go for it, fervent in the spirit serving the Lord. If you don’t know what to do it means you’re not reading the Word and listening to the messages being preached. Because of what God has already done we should be doing what he wants. Don’t cut him off when he asks you to do something. You won’t get silence when you ask the Lord what he’d have you do. It’s called obedience. He does so much for us; we ought to do a little for him. If we want to be alive in the Lord, live in the Lord. If we’re going to do something, do it fervently not halfway. Don’t give the devil any credit or glory. Troubles and trials come, but serve the Lord. Job’s wife told him to curse God and die but he refused; in all his trouble he sinned not with his mouth. No matter how the devil works on you, serve the Lord.
Don’t let serving God be a routine. Don’t wait for others. Enter into his courts with praise. Let the world know you enjoy being a Christian. I’ve seen kids more excited about school than some Christians are about church. We ought not to dread it. Wake up glad to go. We have the perfect opportunity. The wicked have risen up. Many Christians are backing up. We need to practice what we believe and what we pray. What Jesus did was with the zeal of heaven. God won’t make you serve him. Just do it. Be obedient and don’t do it grudgingly or lazily. The vineyard needs to be worked in now.
Are we slow going? Some days that may be okay to slow down a bit but we need fervent service. Don’t be outdone by the wicked. Answer their fervency to the devil by being fervent for God. Verse 11 us this is the way: fervent in spirit; serving the Lord. It’s time to turn up the gears in these last days. Be watchful. Be busy. In an hour that we think not Jesus is coming. The Bible says in Matthew 24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Be found doing when the Lord comes. Think about what you’ve been doing for the Lord. What kind of attitude do you have? What kind of spirit? Do you need to turn up the heat and get the fervency going?
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 