Ingredients of Great Productivity

Acts 18:25
“This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.”

There is nothing like watching a new Christian who is excited about serving the LORD. The passion they have for LORD seems to be infectious to those around them. Their desire to learn from the Scriptures is refreshing. Their hunger to get involved in encouraging. If you have ever been around a new Christian, you would probably agree with me that they were fervent about serving the LORD.

The verse above is about a man by the name of Apollos who was knowledgeable in the Scriptures and knew very well what was the right way to serve the LORD. There was one thing that made his knowledge of the Scriptures and the way of the LORD palatable, and that was that he was “fervent in spirit.” In other words, he was excited about serving the LORD. There was a passion to his teaching. There was an excitement to how he served the LORD. This combination of knowledge and fervency led to his ability to “mightily” convince the Jews.

Christian, you will never have a great ministry until these two ingredients are a part of your life. Let me first settle that every Christian is to be in the ministry serving the LORD. Serving the LORD is not just for the preacher and church staff; it is for every person who is saved. However, the ingredients of great productivity are needed if you are going to help influence many for Jesus Christ. Let me discuss these two ingredients that you need in your life so that you can be productive for Christ in your community.

The first needed ingredient of every Christian to be productive is a knowledge of the Scriptures. The Scriptures say about Apollos that he was “mighty in the scriptures” and “instructed in the way of the Lord.” You will never turn the hearts of people through man’s philosophies and principles. Always remember that man’s philosophies instruct people in the way of man which is a failing way. If you want the LORD to use you mightily, you are going to have to become a student of the Scriptures. Only the Scriptures change the hearts of individuals because “…the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Let me encourage you to become “instructed in the way of the Lord” by studying the Scriptures. This will equip you to help bring any person to the LORD.

The second needed ingredient of every Christian is to be “fervent in spirit.” There is nothing more repelling than a person with knowledge who has no excitement or fervency. The word “fervent” is the same word we use for passionate. It is time that Christians become passionate or fervent about serving the LORD. Why would anyone want the knowledge of an individual who is not excited about what they know? Knowledge of the Scriptures shouldn’t cause you to lose your passion, but it should make you more fervent. God’s Word is alive, and anyone who becomes knowledgeable of it will become passionate about telling others about its truths.

Let me ask you, are you knowledgeable without fervency, or are you passionate without knowledge? Either way is damaging to the work of the LORD. If you want to be mightily used of the LORD, it will take both knowledge of the Scriptures and a fervency in spirit to make this happen.