Monday, April 16, 2007

Retaining Zeal

In Paul's second letter to Timothy, he admonished the young pastor to "be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."

My own church pastor has expressed that he is not an evangelist, but over the years he has worked to equip all of us for ministry to grow the body of Christ by not only teaching, but by modeling personal evangelism. That's fitting considering what the writer of Ephesians said in Chapter 4. Of Jesus the author wrote, "11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,"

I doubt that Timothy's main gift was that of evangelism then, any more than my pastor's is now. I believe that Paul's intention in commanding Timothy to "do the work of an evangelist" was to exhort him to retain his eagerness for reaching lost souls as the weight of his immediate ministerial duties grew.

I've heard people say that we should "pray for revival." I can't seem to find anywhere in Scripture, particularly the New Testament where the term "revival" occurs. There probably isn't a thing wrong with praying for a revival, it's just that I think this is a modern notion, and what exactly it means is sort of a mystery to me. I don't mean to be obtuse, and I know that it must mean a spiritual awakening of sorts, but I think that it may mean something entirely different to other believers.

While I think we should all do the work of an evangelist on an individual basis, most of us cannot claim that as our primary gift. I don't believe the church is necessarily instructed to pray for revival. I believe that what the New Testament confirms about how God changes hearts, whether individually or in greater numbers, is that it is best left up to Him to do through us in His wisdom, and that we are to be ready "in season and out of season," in other words, at all times to be used by Him. That is why I think it is so important for each of us to be consumed with living for the Lord individually. I believe that will produce real impact on the hearts of other people. I'm not saying that we shouldn't work together for Him to be sure, but if we don't concentrate on our individual walk with Him, and the particular gifts He has given us, whatever corporate efforts we make on His behalf may come to nothing.

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