Battling Apathy Part 2

Nick Minerva • Jun 08, 2021

We saw In the last post on battling apathy we saw how the love of Christ is the compelling force in the life of a Christian. Because of all Christ has done for us we can’t help but serve our king.

Passionately Serve Your King

Romans 12:11 tell us  Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit; serve the Lord.

Basil of Caesarea or Basil the Great, as he is known, was a Bishop in modern-day Turkey. He was born in 330 AD and became an influential theologian. He cared greatly for the poor and underprivileged and had great zeal for the Christian faith. 1 In one of his writings, his zeal was on display when he said…

  • What is the mark of a Christian? That his justice abounds in all things… 
  • What is the mark of a Christian? That they love one another as Christ has loved us.
  • What is the mark of a Christian? To set the Lord always in his sight. 
  • What is the mark of a Christian? To watch daily and hourly and stand prepared in that state of perfection which is pleasing to God, knowing that at what hour he thinks not, the Lord will come. 2

Christians live passionately when their hearts are awakened to God’s love. This is because their lives are driven by the greatness of God, not what they want. There is simply no more space for apathy.

No Apathy At Work

Now, it’s important to realize that this is not limited to what we typically think of as “serving God.” For the Christian, everything we do is an act of service to the Lord. Even our jobs. In Genesis 2:15 the Bible says  The LORD God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it.

The Hebrew word for work means to serve. 3 Right in the very beginning of creation, we see that God gave man meaningful work to do. This was BEFORE sin had entered the picture. Adam was made to work because he was created in the image of God. Without the curse of sin, work was an undiluted blessing. Adam’s second task in the garden was to watch over it. This verb refers to the action of God toward his people. So when we are working, we are acting as God’s ambassadors, bringing his plan to fruition, AND we are doing the very thing that he does.

More Than Just A Job

Work is not simply a means to provide food, clothing, and shelter. It’s an inseparable part of God’s original design for creation. Our work is a large part of how we serve God and Paul instructs us to be fervent in our service. But this doesn’t just apply to our 9-5 jobs. This applies to our work as parents. It also applies to how we work at our marriages. We even move our yards differently. No job is small or meaningless because it is from God!

Boil For Jesus

Paul is calling us to be fervent as we serve our King. We give our minds, hearts, and bodies to do the best job possible. The word FERVENT in Romans 12:11 means  to boil . 4 We are to be so fervent, so zealous, that we are boiling over for Christ. Intensity matters. Zeal matters. Wholeheartedness matters. Don’t settle for anything less. Don’t give apathy any room to grow.

We exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God and we do this through our good service to him! 5 When it comes to serving Christ, half-heartedness, lukewarmness, laziness, sluggishness, slothfulness ought not to be. 

Think about it with me. Jesus saving us is the greatest thing in the world. It means having eternal life. We cannot die. We will live forever in overwhelming joy. Nothing can separate us from Christ. Everything works for our good. All our troubles and sorrows produce an eternal weight of glory. Because of all that how can we be anything but passionate? Apathy just doesn’t make sense.

We Are In A War

June 4th was the 81 anniversary of Winston Churchill’s famous speech. Can you imagine if he walked into the House of Commons on June 4th, 1940, while the Battle of France was raging and the threat of Nazi Germany growing higher and higher, can you imagine if he apathetically stood and said: “I guess we can go on while it’s easy, maybe take a nap in France, perhaps lazily cruise in the sea and ocean. We can apathetically fly kites in the air, or slowly stroll on the beaches. We could skip on the landing grounds, or maybe pick daisies in the fields…..”  

No! He was so driven by the love of his country and freedom, and utter disgust and unwillingness to compromise in the face of evil that he stood up with the threat and evil of Nazi invasion looming he said:

“We shall  go on  to the end. We shall  fight  in France, we shall  fight  on the seas and oceans, we shall  fight  with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall  defend  our island,  whatever the cost  may be. We shall  fight  on the beaches, we shall  fight  on the landing grounds, we shall  fight  in the fields and in the streets, we shall  fight  in the hills; we shall  never surrender …” 

Churchill loved his country. But we have more than just love for the country beating in our chests, we have the love of the almighty, omnipotent Creator compelling us. Every Christian has the Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead coursing through their souls empowering them to fervent service.

Whatever The Cost

Winston Churchill was not apathetic in the face of the enemy. The Nazis were wreaking havoc across Western Europe. But Churchill wasn’t paralyzed into inaction and history was changed. We are not in a world war. But we are in a spiritual battle. Granted, God might not be calling us to change the entire world, but he is calling us to fervently serve him and to fight our battles in our little corner of the world. He is calling us to be His ambassadors.

He is calling us to represent and advance his kingdom in our neighborhoods and schools. It doesn’t matter if you work at a law firm or at Walmart, God has placed you there so you can represent and advance his Kingdom. And because our King has already secured our victory on the cross we don’t have to surrender. No more apathy. No more passionless service. Let’s be the type of Christians who are so arrested by God’s love that we can say:  “I will fervently serve my King, whatever the cost!”

I would love to connect with you on  Facebook  or  Instagram. I also wrote a  book ! If you  subscribe  to my weekly newsletter, I will send you the digital version for free.

  1. https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2021/01/01/100003-saint-basil-the-great-archbishop-of-caesarea-in-cappadocia
  2. Basil the Great – Ancient Faith Study Bible. Holman Bible Publishers, 2019.
  3. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h5647/csb/wlc/
  4. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2204/csb/mgnt/0-1/
  5. Titus 2:14, 1 Corinthians 15:10, 58

The post Battling Apathy Part 2 appeared first on Thriving In Exile.

A Creed To Remind The Gathered Church Of Its New Life In Christ

By Nick Minerva • 14 Jul, 2023
When I was pastoring I wanted to read a blessing over the church that would remind all of us of our new life in Christ. So I wrote this new life creed and every week I would read it and remind us of what Christ had done for us. We gather together as believers professing our great need We acknowledge that we have fallen short We confess that we are rebels who have gone our own way Apart from Christ, we stand condemned, guilty, and unable to save ourselves But what we are incapable of doing, God did In his infinite love, God made a way of salvation for all who would believe Jesus willingly laid down his life and received the just punishment we deserve So that could walk in new life So yes, we confess our great need We humbly recognize that apart from Christ we are incapable of any good thing But we also proclaim that because of the finished work of the cross we will never be apart from Christ We are forever secure in the love of the Father We have been sealed by the Holy Spirit All because of the sacrifice of the Son, Jesus Christ. We are no longer in bondage to sin We are no longer facing righteous wrath We have been declared holy by our King And nothing on heaven or earth will change that reality This gathering is a testimony to our redeemed state We pursue holy living to be an authentic demonstration of the love we have for Christ We believe that we have been empowered by grace to meet our every need And we gladly anticipate the complete fulfillment of our adaption and the remaking of this world at the coming of our Lord To Christ be glory forever and ever Amen

A Praying Church: A Book Review

By Nick Minerva • 23 May, 2023
Prayer is one of those topics that always seems to convict me. I have never heard a sermon or read a book on prayer and not been challenged. Even as I am writing this review there is a bit of imposter syndrome because I know I should pray more. In A Praying Church , Paul Miller writes about how to become a people of hope in a discouraging world through prayer. And he does so in a way that was very authentic and accessible. While I was consistently challenged, I was also consistently encouraged. Throughout the book, he takes you on his journey of developing a personal prayer life plus countless stories of ministries that developed communal prayer as a vital component of their life together. One thing that struck home with me throughout these stories was the reality that prayer always grows out of desperation for God. There were several things that I found very helpful in this book. One of them was the connection between a life yielded to the Holy Spirit and a vibrant prayer life. The power to do anything of eternal importance comes from the Holy Spirit and the Spirit moves in response to prayer. Paul shows us a biblical pattern we see throughout the New Testament. Prayer-Spirit-Jesus-power. However, this is not a simple formula to get God to do what you want. Another thing I appreciated about this book is Paul tells us time and again that the Spirit often moves in ways we don’t expect and that almost always includes difficulties. The Spirit enables us to look more like Jesus and that means joining him in the fellowship of his suffering. So this is not a “how to turn God into your personal genie” scheme, like many books on prayer. God often answers in ways we don’t expect and in places we don’t anticipate. This book is also full of practical help. I’ve already mentioned the stories he tells, but Paul also offers several helpful charts, strategies, and ideas to help put into place what he writes about (and lives by.) At the end of each chapter, he has a section called “A Word To Pastors” with a few paragraphs of wisdom to help them become a person of prayer and then lead their congregation to become a church of prayer. This book also made me thankful that I am a part of a church that has sought to grow in corporate prayer over the last few years. This would be a great book for any ministry leader who is burdened with the prayer life of his or her church. But it’s also a great read for any believer seeking to develop their own prayer life. Crossway was kind to send me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. You can get a copy of it at the affiliate link below.

Non-Toxic Masculinity: A Book Review

By Nick Minerva • 28 Apr, 2023
Let me start this review by saying everyone should read this book. If you've grown up in Evangelicalism, you‘ve no doubt heard of purity culture. For the last several years we have seen the harm that has come as a result of this sub-group of Christianity. In Non-Toxic Masculinity, Zachary Wagner does an excellent job unpacking its teaching and the damage that has come as a result. He explains so well the angst I've been feeling with the movement and how often the Church falls short and winds up doing more damage. But unlike many critiques, this one also points a way forward. We know what toxic male sexuality looks like. We see it in the news and unfortunately, in the Church. But what does healthy male sexuality look like? What does it look like for me? What will it look like for my boys? In my heart, I know what I want it to look like, but so often I struggle to find the right words to express it. Non-Toxic Masculinity paints a healthy picture that is (re)humanizing and ultimately looks like Jesus, who, like all of us, had a sexual body. Zach is also very transparent in this book and God used his transparency to encourage, challenge, and convict me. As you read his story you will no doubt find yourself resonating with him on some level. Every man should read this book for themselves first and foremost. But if you have sons, nephews, grandsons, or young boys in your life, reading it is a must. Non-Toxic Masculinity is a breath of fresh air that will prove to be a tremendous resource for generations. Thank you Zach for writing it and sharing your story to serve us.
More Posts
Share by: