A FAITHFUL FANATIC
2 Kings 10:16a
And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord.
Psalm 69:9a For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; Psalm 119:139-140 My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words. 40.) Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it. 2 Corinthians 9:2b and your zeal hath provoked very many. DEFINITION: Fanatic = excessively enthusiastic; fanatic zeal; fanatic notions or opinions.
As we see here in Scripture above, there is much to be said of having a zeal and love for God, HIS WORD, the things of God, and the House of God. We see in Scripture how having zeal or being enthusiastic and excited about the Lord can affect others. Paul said, “your zeal hath provoked very many.” David said, “the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up;” and the Psalmist said, “my zeal hath consumed me, and that he loves the pure WORD of God.” Now let’s look at this, Noah Webster 1828 reads – excessive zeal will rise to enthusiasm and that a Fanatic is someone with a whole lot of zeal and enthusiasm about whatever or whoever he or she is a Fanatic about. This is where we get the sports term (FAN) from. People are excited and fanatics about the team they love, they are (FANS) of a certain team. This love for their team causes them to do crazy things, yell and shout, and maybe even sing. They get dressed up and put on their teams colors, and maybe even paint their face. They are faithful to their team, they are FANATICS!
I recently read the biography of Eliezer Ben Yehuda, a Jew who devoted his life to the restoration of the Hebrew language for modern generations of Jews returning to their homeland of Israel. For forty-one straight years he devoted his life to this purpose. He wanted all Jews returning to Israel from all over the world to adopt their original language of Hebrew, which many generations had forgotten living in foreign lands. Until the restoration, and Ben Yehuda’s work on his sixteen-volume dictionary of Hebrew, the language was only used in religious contexts. He wanted it to become the everyday language of the Jewish people, and he lived to see his dream fulfilled! If you go to Israel today, and find his grave, this is what you will see written on his tombstone: “Here lies Eliezer Ben Yehuda, FAITHFUL FANATIC”
When I read this, the Holy Spirit instantly stirred within me and moved me to a place of examination within my own self. Could this be said of me??? Am I a Faithful Fanatic??? Today, some look at this term Fanatic in a negative way. I ask you this, when did this philosophy of just being a casual Christian become accepted by so many. There is NOTHING casual, or mundane or even close to ordinary about Jesus! Jesus is WONDERFUL and EXTRAORDINARY in every way! HIS name and works are so great they can NOT even be described by human words! Hallelujah! Can I say that I am a FAN of Jesus! It’s OK to be excited about what the Lord has done for you and IN YOU! There may be times when the joy of the Lord and HIS blessings overtake you. Times when you are consumed and eaten up by HIS great power and goodness in your life. It is my own prayer as well as my prayer for you that this life would be one whose every breath was dedicated to magnifying Jesus. May our lives be one that others will always say, he or she was FAITHFUL, even if it means some may label you a FANATIC!
Bro. Lawrence Longworth Isaiah 61:1 “the opening of the prison to them that are bound;”
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