It has been said being fervent means displaying a passionate intensity. Very few people are passionate about anything in their lives, but if you know your role in the church, and are filled with the spirit, you will become fervent about participating. One trait all of my mentors and hero’s of the pulpit hold in common is a fervor to fulfill their gift of preaching.
If
you don’t have fervor for your role within the church then the Gospel community
will not be fully healthy. In Judges 17-18 a
Levite was bought to become a family’s personal priest. Had the Levite remained
fervent for his role as a minister to the whole tribe, there wouldn’t have been
a rebellion of two tribes. We must remember not only does our sin equal
everyone’s consequences, but our disobedience can do the same amount of damage.
I
remember fervent people from the past who willingly followed the Christ until
they died. The Apostles were passionate about following Christ, they all
suffered persecution till their deaths. Modern missionaries have suffered due
to their passionate pursuit, Hudson Taylor, David Livingston, John Patton and
many others.
The
story of John Patton is one that encourages me to be passionate about my
calling. John Patton was a Church of Scotland minister (Presbyterian) who felt
a call upon his life to go to the New Hebrides. Prior to his leaving an older
man approached him and said, “what about the cannibals? You must not go!” John
Patton replied to him, “Dear sir you are advanced in your years and will soon
be eaten by worms in your grave. It matters not whether I’m eaten by cannibals
or worms, so long as I am obedient to my Savior.” May we be just as fervent to
following our Christ as these hero’s of the faith were.
