Pastoral Resources

The Bible provides a sound basis for enthusiasm. Here is how the Apostle Paul states it: "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and NOT unto man" (Col 3:23); "always abounding in the work of the Lord" (1Co 15:58); "zealous unto good works" (Tit 2:14); "Your zeal hath encouraged many" (2Co 9:2).

In Revelation the Apostle John commanded the Laodiceans to be "zealous, therefore, and repent" (Rev 2:19).

It is interesting that "zeal" and "zealous" come from a Greek word which means "to boil; seethe." An enthusiastic person boils inside; it spills over to peak performance.

The wise man stated it in these words, "Whatsoever thy hands findeth to do, do it with all thy might" (Ecc 9:10).

Some people verbalize their inability to be enthusiastic. I don't believe there is a person who hasn't been excited or enthusiastic about something. A raise in salary, an award, vacation, promotion, birth of a child, opportunity, or some other event in life creates zeal by its very nature. What we need in the church is enthusiasm for the mission God has given His people. This guarantees peak performance.

Zeal in religion is a burning desire to please God, to do His will, and to advance His glory in the world in every possible way. It is a desire which no man feels by nature-which the Spirit puts in the heart of every believer when he is converted-but which some believers feel so much more strongly than others that they alone deserve to be called ‘zealous’ men.

In 1722 Count Nicholaus von Zinzendorf of Saxony founded a colony of pietist believers called “hernhut,” later known as Moravians. He also traveled to America and set up communities that began to send out missionaries, first to Greenland, then to the West Indies, then beyond. By the time Zinzendorf died in 1760 some 300 missionaries, all laypersons, had gone out from the various colonies. in 1738 when some of the challenges of missionary life had become clear, Zinzendorf wrote his famous instructions, many of which sound strangely modern, despite their 18th century language.

It is better to send people into the wide world than to send no one. But you should be warned about the following temptations:

1. To have even the slightest dealings with clergymen.

2. To think about your purpose in the land only when you get there.

3. To test your vocation on the heathen once you are among them.

4. To give up because something doesn’t work immediately.

5. To begin to make your home too comfortable, forgetting that you are really a traveler, a pilgrim among the nations.

6. To be prejudiced against the heathen because they are neither efficient nor pious, and to be irritated by how badly they run things.

7. To seek even the slightest advantage at the expense of your brothers.

8. To fill up whole diaries with descriptions of difficulties but write little or nothing about the ways in which our Savior has helped you.

9. To forget that one can do far more with a believing heart than with many words.

10. To judge your colleagues and particularly your superiors according to their personalities and then allow your relationship to be influenced by whether or not you approve of them.

11. To make a general rule of the experience you and two or three others have had.

12. To make so many plans that in the end you can’t carry out any of them, but throw up the whole task.

13. Out of boredom to make up new articles of faith.

14. Vindictiveness

15. To lose sight of the Savior.

16. Letting a quarrel last longer than a day.

17. To reflect and think that if you were somewhere else you would not have to die, or that things would be different for you; to think that the present lot which God has given to you can be avoided.

18. For any pretext or whatever reason to give the devil an opportunity to outwit us, to cast us down or to rob us of our peace.

19. It is not always a bad sign to be troubled by something.

20. To embellish the heathen with names of people, not even those of Luther, Herrnhut, or Zinzendorf.

The visitor to the zoo noticed one of the keepers sobbing quietly in a corner and on inquiry was told that the elephant had died.

“Fond of him, was he?” the visitor asked.

“It’s not that,” came the reply. “He’s the chap who has to dig the grave.”