A passionate life: the power of vision and zeal

Pastor Hans Voortman

I'm an incorrigible revivalist! By that I mean I live with this ever-present passion in my bones that God is going to move in ways I've never anticipated or seen before. In great anticipation I hang on to such verses as 'God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us' (Eph. 3:20). There's this profound sense within me and it continually grips my heart that the best is yet to come! It's been there since my teens. This anticipation of a great spiritual awakening. A revival! An expectation that these could be the last days in which God will '.pour out His spirit upon all flesh' (Acts 2:17).

A HEART FOR REVIVAL

I love reading Church history and gleaning from it the stories of previous great moves of God. I love having my spirit infected by the passion those key revivalists had as they served their God. I love their revolutionary zeal!

However, I'm dissatisfied with the state of our western church. Its complacency and introverted spiritual consumerism seems to have lost its mission edge. The focus is no longer on 'Follow me' (John 21:19), but 'What's in it for me?' Gone is the sacrifice, the drive, the 'counting of all things as loss' (Phil 3:8), and that pioneering spirit which took hold of opportunities in God, boldly believing they could make it happen in their generation. I love the sentiment of Acts 17:6 where it states 'these men who have turned the world upside down have come here also!' (KJV) The Book of Acts was built on passionate characters sold out to God, who were intent on turning their world upside down!

Revival is much talked about these days and there's this expectation that it will somehow mystically drop out of the sky by a whim of God. Now of course, God remains the instigator. After all, He did say, 'I will build my church' (Mt. 16:18). But any corporate revival begins with personal revival. Inevitably where His church has been prepared through the challenge of personal holiness, genuine spiritual hunger and functioning in Kingdom priorities, He sees fit to release His blessing. It's always been that way. God sets the scene for His visitation first in the church - He prepares the Bride! Now the key challenge for so many of us is the lag time between when we sense God preparing us and when finally His visitation comes. Like the story Jesus told of the foolish virgins waiting for the bridegroom (Mt. 25:11-13), many of us become drowsy, fall asleep and forget to trim our lamps. Most directly this is observed in our loss of spiritual passion. We grow lukewarm, mentally assenting to the notions of revival, believing in it, talking about it, but having lost our fervour, zeal and commitment to it. We've lost our spiritual edge in the lag time. We've slipped into waiting rather than anticipating. We've lost our passion!

SPIRITUAL FERVOUR

Paul challenges us with these words: 'Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord' (Rom. 12:11). I've spent the last 30 years, since I was a young boy in prayer meetings, crying out to God for a spiritual awakening to hit our nation. Hundreds if not thousands of hours in prayer to this end have been committed. Am I just a deluded fool or an over-zealous fanatic? Or is it something deeper? For me it's about passion. God has placed this insatiable desire in my heart - it's a fire in my belly that I can't explain, but it never leaves me alone. It's what drives me forward in my service for God. I too have a dream, like Martin Luther King '.that all men would be free'.

I feel a synergy with movies like 'The Mission', where the Jesuits, against all odds but with dogged determination, evangelise South America. I sense a unity of heart with my brothers and sisters in Christ when I visit remote PNG and Irian Jaya. There they are, far away from the sophisticated and over-resourced church of the west. They have no lap-tops, mobile phones or private libraries. Often without even a concordance to their name, they faithfully lead the church with a little battered Bible and the limited knowledge of it that they have. But they're doing it! They're driven forward by that same passion and spiritual fervour that's in me. They've heard the clarion cry of the Lord 'Follow Me' (Jn. 21:11) and they've done so with singleness of vision and without wavering.

This is the heart that fires revival! It's the personal awakening of a passion that overwhelms all other priorities. The dictionary defines passion/zeal as 'strong emotion, fervour in a cause, hearty service, extreme partisan, fanatic'.

I love those concepts: 'strong emotion' - no room for the wishy-washy or faint-hearted; 'fervour in a cause' - not luke-warmness but an all consuming passion; 'hearty service' - from the heart, a servant's disposition; 'extreme partisan, fanatic' - that militant underground soldier who at risk to his life works behind the lines to subdue the enemy's purposes. This is how God intended every believer to function.

EXAMPLES OF PASSION

The Apostle Paul, infected with this zeal, declared, 'For this I strive with all the energy which he mightily inspires within me. I have counted all things as loss, that I might have Christ' (Col. 1:29; Phil. 3:8). Martin Luther, who in many ways became the pivot of the Protestant reformation expressed a similar fervour and zeal when he said, 'Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason, I do not accept the authority of popes and councils - my conscience is captive to the word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against my conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen.' And with those words the greatest reformation the church has seen began.

It was this same fervour that allowed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to stand against Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3). The same heart motivated eight year old King Josiah to turn his nation back to God (2 Chr. 34:2). It kept Stephen praising God whilst being stoned (Acts 7:60). It fired up Peter to keep preaching on threat of death when the Pharisees commanded him to be silent. Unperturbed he said, '. we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard' (Acts 4:20). And so he soldiered on, fired by a passion for the gospel that would eventually, like his Lord, lead to his crucifixion.

So the church grew. So the reformation began. So missionary expansion was fired up. Always at the centre of it were passionate hearts that the Holy Spirit had turned upside down. And the need is still just as great! In a church culture that seems to be frenetically chasing its own blessing, God cries out for those who will 'take up their cross and follow me.' (Mt. 16:24). No matter what it costs. A bondslave, prepared to put even his very life on the line for the propagation of the gospel. That's the spirit of revival.

GROWING IN PASSION

The admonition of Paul to Timothy rings just as loud in our ears today, '. fan into flame the gift of God which is in you' (2 Tim. 1:6). Let me share some things in closing that I think will help you fire up this passion in your own life.

1. Hang around Zealots!

Nothing attracts a positive attitude like positive attitude! You are what you first think. As you dwell with people of zeal their spirit will enthuse your own! Paul urged Timothy: 'What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching .' (2 Tim. 1:13). Keep careful guard over what and whom you allow to influence your spirit.

2. Hang around the things of God and His Church.

As a young guy on fire for God, I did anything just to be around the things of God. For many years this meant mowing acres of lawn! Psalm 69:9 reads, 'The zeal of thine house has eaten me up!' You won't feed your fire for God serving your own interests! Find a way of serving God in His Church and '. don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together' (Heb. 10:25). Get into church, boots and all! Peripheral involvement will never nourish a passionate lifestyle.

3. Feed your heart and mind with examples of passion.

As I mentioned earlier, get into Church history. Read all you can on revivals. Get into the biographies of missionaries and church leaders who sold out their very lives for the gospel. Let their spirits impact yours. Get into good training courses that will facilitate a hunger for God's word and equip you for service.

4. Beware the seductive spirit of this world.

The 'God of Mammon' - the spirit of this world - sets a trap for the unsuspecting. Whether it's wrong relationships, the pursuit of material possessions or the alluring nature of success, they can all blow us off course. As Paul said, 'O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you. Having begun with the Spirit, will you now end with the flesh?' (Gal. 5:1). When we are seduced by false gods, we quickly lose our passion for the one true God.

5. Don't forget the basics!

Passion is fed by the spiritual disciplines of prayer, Bible reading, worship and holiness. These need to become a way of life - then maturity and passion will flow as a consequence (Heb. 5:12).

6. Get God's heart for the lost.

It isn't fashionable nowadays to talk about Hell, but it doesn't make it any less real. Jesus' heart remains, as always, for the lost sheep - to save them and gather them to himself whilst there is time. If you can feel Jesus' heart you won't be able to remain in apathy. The ache for lost humanity will create an insatiable drive to serve Him until even the one lost sheep is found (Luke 13:34). So keep the great commission before you (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8).

7. Get into a doing framework.

Sitting around never fires passion. Serve, serve, serve! Whatever you can do, do it, and in the doing you'll discover new depths of zeal and enthusiasm, for 'it is in giving that you receive'! As 1 Cor. 4:20 states, 'The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power'.

CONCLUSION

John Wesley stated, 'Give me ten men totally sold out for God and I'll turn this world upside down.' He understood the power of passion. It is what has always driven the church forward toward revival. May we all similarly be stoked with a passion that fires our very heart and soul.

'It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when you feel like it' (Gal. 4:18).

'Don't burn out; keep yourselves fuelled and aflame. Be alert servants of the master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in the hard times; pray all the harder' (Rom. 12:11-12, The Message).