Zeal
Eternity Online: John Edmiston (Editor)
(John 2:16-17 NIV) To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of
here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!" {17} His
disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will
consume me."
(Rom 12:10-11 NIV) Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor
one another above yourselves. {11} Never be lacking in zeal, but keep
your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord.
(2 Ki 19:31 NIV) For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out
of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will
accomplish this.
We associate Christian maturity with a loss of zeal. Zeal belongs to
new converts and is appropriate but we who have been "on the track a
while" have learned how to be sophisticated about the gospel! How
absolutely wrong this attitude is! Please don't consign zeal to the
realm of the immature, the maladjusted, the fanatics and the
missionaries - zeal is part of every Christian who is properly
adjusted to heaven and the divine realities. Zeal is not weird - it
is the most logical thing in the world for someone who truly
believes what Christ has done for them! Zeal is something that
grabbed hold of Paul every day of his ministry. Zeal was a
characteristic of Jesus - who was the ultimate in maturity and
wisdom. Zeal certainly characterised Nehemiah who used its energy to
accomplish great things for God.
Little is accomplished without godly zeal and enthusiasm which is why
I have included the verse "the zeal of the Lord Almighty will
accomplish this..".(2 Kings 19:31) Zeal accomplishes things. It gets
things done because it sorely wants them done and is prepared to put
passion and energy into seeing that they are done. People who have
godly zeal are compelled to act on it -whether it be to rebuild the
walls of Jerusalem or to evangelise the Gentiles or to cleanse the
Temple. Zeal means we will move beyond our comfort zones and do risky
things for God.
Zeal must be accompanied by proper knowledge (Romans 10:1-3) and is
of no value simply by itself alone. The zeal must be within the moral
will of God and His purposes for this culture and generation. It
must also be guided by love (Romans 12:10,11 above) so that zeal
serves one's neighbour and not one's self. Zeal guided by wisdom and
love is a potent force for good and for the expansion of the Kingdom.
Thus we are never to be lacking in zeal (Romans 12:11). Its to be
part of every Christian's life. How then do we get it back once we
have lost it? I find four things give zeal to me. Firstly studying
what Christ has done for me in the gospel. Secondly and awareness of
the task at hand. Thirdly a grand sense of the holiness of God and a
hatred of sin and its effects. And fourthly a sense of the futility
of the half-lived life. We must live life flat out for Jesus! Romans
gives us three more clues to keeping our zeal: "(Rom 12:12 NIV) Be
joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." The hope
of the gospel, not being impatient with our trials so that we dampen
our love of God and being faithful in spending time with Jesus in
prayer so that our fires are kept alight!
If you feel you need to find your zeal once more then consider
praying the following prayer:
Prayer:
Lord I have lost my zeal for You. I now realise that I have lost a
great deal in doing so. Please relight the fire. Help me to see the
glory of the gospel and the greatness of God and to be swept up in
Your purposes for my culture and generation. Lord I let go of my
sinful security blanket and I await the work of the Holy Spirit in
power in my life. Amen.
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John Edmiston ([email protected])
Editor - Eternity Online Magazine http://www.eternity-magazine.org/
Cults, exegesis, bible teaching, Christian life and leadership.
For the thinking Christian!