John the Baptist said, when speaking of the work of the coming Messiah,
“He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.” The symbolic
tongues of fire which sat on the believers on the day of Pentecost
represented a very real something which from henceforth would be
manifested in their lives. It is not my purpose here to enter into an
explanation of the Baptist’s words. I wish to speak only of the fervency
which fire represents as it should characterize our lives. The life that
has in it no fervency has little or nothing of God. The soul that is
vigorous in God is a soul full of power. We need to be “on fire” for God,
and there are three ways in which this fervency should manifest itself.
A Burning Love.
We need a fervent love. It is the foundation, as it were, of all Christian
fervency. If our love lacks fervency, it lacks the vital element that
makes it effective. If our love for God is kindled into a burning passion,
it will put him before all else. His will and desire will be the delight
of our hearts. His service will be no task, to sacrifice for him will be
easy, and to obey him will be our meat. It will make our consciences
tender toward him. What he loves we shall love, and whom he loves we shall
love. If our love is fervent, we shall love truth, and we shall love it as
it is worthy to be loved—above our own opinions or ideas and more than the
teachings of men. We will not sacrifice it or deny it for ease or comfort
or to please others. We shall strive to make our lives conform to it. We
shall labor with all our strength to spread it over the world. If we love
the truth, we shall be missionaries whether we are at home or abroad. Love
begets labor.
A fervent love of the brethren glows in the heart that is full of God. It
will burn up criticism and backbiting. It will burn up division and
strife. It will destroy jealousy and envy. It will make peace in the home,
in the church, and in the individual heart. A thousand troubles come when
love grows cold: the eyes see no more as they once saw, the ears hear no
more as before, the tongue talks differently, and the heart feels
differently, the glow dies out of the eyes, the tenderness leaves the
touch, sympathy wanes in the heart, and there is ashes for beauty and
heaviness instead of praise. When the first love is left, when the divine
fire is quenched, out of the life has gone its richness, its transfiguring
beauty; and what is left?
O brother, sister, keep the red glow of fervency in your love. If you have
lost it, rest not till it is rekindled. Love makes us strong to do and to
bear. John Knox said to God, “Give me Scotland or I die.” That was love
that shook a kingdom. Paul counted not his life dear to him. That was love
that overthrew the idols of the heathen. God “so loved the world,” and a
new era dawned, bringing light and salvation. If we have such love, it
will work out in effectual action. A church fervent in love is a church
reaching out and winning others. It is a church with an all-absorbing
passion for the lost. Let us ask ourselves today, “Have I a fervent love?
or am I cold and has my love lost its strength?”
A Burning Zeal.
A man or a church without zeal is of necessity ineffective. What is the
temperature of your zeal? Does it let you go for months without speaking
to a soul about his salvation? Does it permit you to rest easy while
others are toiling, praying, and sacrificing? About how much time on an
average do you spend each day praying for souls, or for the progress of
the kingdom of God in the earth? About how often do you pray definitely
for some of your neighbors, your friends, or business associates? About
how long has it been since you invited some one to Christ? When did you
pray with some one for his spiritual needs? When did you speak encouraging
words? When did you give some one a tract or paper? When did you write a
letter filled with spiritual advice or help? How much sacrifice are you
making for the cause? How much time, labor, or money have you expended for
the kingdom in the past year? Is your zeal dead, or is it in fervent
activity? How much does the salvation of the world mean to you?
Behold the zeal of the advocates of some of the false movements of these
days! See how they pour out their money like water. See how they never can
be satisfied unless they are laboring for their movement. Are we as
zealous as they? If not, why not? If we have the truth and know that we
have it, should not that be enough to fire our zeal till it would not let
us rest while there are others in darkness? Almost in sight of you, or
perhaps within a stone’s throw, are people who do not know the truth. If
you do no more than you have done the past year, may they not live and die
there and never know it?
Zeal does not ask for excuses. Zeal is never satisfied till it has gone
full length in labor. When one man was asked what was the secret of the
marvelous success of the early church in its fight against heathenism, he
replied with just one word, “Zeal.” The same sort of zeal will produce
results today. Zeal must, of course, be enlightened. It can succeed only
when guided by wisdom. Blind zeal is like a blind horse: it is likely to
run in any direction regardless of results. So be wise when you are
zealous. If you are truly wise with that wisdom “which cometh down from
above,” you will also be zealous.
A Fervent Hatred.
A good Christian is a good hater. “Ye that love the Lord hate evil.” This
is an age of toleration. Almost any false doctrine may be preached, while
many of the religious teachers of so-called orthodoxy plod on their way
indifferently. Error thrives, a multitude of souls are deceived, but many
seem but little concerned. Evil raises its head everywhere and sneers at
the Christian people. Dens of vice, gambling-houses, lewd picture-shows,
and a hundred other forms of evil are tolerated and even looked upon as
“necessary evils” by religious professors. He who really loves God just as
truly hates all evil. He so hates it in himself that he will give it no
place in his heart or life. He hates it in others. He sees no pleasant
thing in it. To him it is foul, vile, and revolting. It is his enemy, and
he is its bitter foe. The measure of his love for good is the measure of
his hatred for evil. We can not love the good more than we hate the evil.
The two exactly balance in our lives.
A burning love, a burning zeal, and a burning hatred will make your life
as a beacon-light to the world; and if you would be a true example of what
God means men to be, you must have this fervency in your life. It alone
can keep you from coldness. It alone can make you a prosperous, victorious
Christian.