Zeal for God

INTRODUCTION:

Good morning! I have had a mixed emotional week. This week I was diagnosed with having a form of PTSD and in someways, it is like opening Pandora box. . It explains a lot of things going on and will be a journey of healing that will take awhile. So please, pray for me and forgive me if sometimes I seem a little distant or off. That is never my intention. I want none of you to ever feel like I am unapproachable or that you are unloved by me. At the same time I was getting this diagnosis, I have spent this week trying to prepare a sermon on zeal.

In my mind I link zeal with passion. I remember attending a church where the emotional state of most church members revolved around if there team won the night before. If they did, everyone was hyped and poured their all into worship. If their team lost, then the mood was solemn and worship was not done with full hearts.

So, my life does not revolve around football, but there are days when I come to worship, desiring to come with passion, but because of my fears and anxiousness, I approach worship with apprehension. I have thoughts of never being good enough, of being the worst among us, never feeling like I will be the person God wants me to be. I want to be the happy guy who gets fired up with passion and can motivate people to see their life in Christ as amazing!

That is what I love about the song “Ever Be.” Even when I am struggling, I can trust that God is going to still be faithful.

Listen to the Lyrics that we just sang.

Your love is devoted Like a ring of solid gold Like a vow that is tested Like a covenant of old

Your love is enduring Through the winter rain And beyond the horizon With mercy for today

Faithful You have been And faithful you will be You pledge yourself to me And it's why I sing

Your praise will ever be on my lips,

I will praise Him, sometimes with a small, feeble voice and sometimes with a shout of His goodness. But what if zeal is not about being loud and exciting.

What if Zeal for God doesn’t look like fireworks, but looks like faith that holds on in the dark?

Some of us walked in here this morning pumped up and ready to be encouraging, ready to love on others, tosing with all of our hearts and some of us walked in here tired- not just physically, but emotionally, spiritually, mentally. Some of us it took every thing we had to get up, put on clothes and walk though the doors this morning, but you did it. I want you to know I a, rpoud of you, I applaud you having the courage it took to do that and I want you to know some good news right up front:

God does not measure your love for him by your emotional energy.

Zeal is not about those moments of passionate expresions. It is not about who can yell and cheer the loudest. The bible tells us it is about a lifetime of devotion to God. So, let’s spend some time this morning looking at how the bible defines Zeal, to understand that no matter what life throws at us or what stories our brains are telling us, we can allow zeal for God to be a transforming element of our lives.

So, when we talk about zeal in the bible, there are many people we could look at. We can see Joseph trusting God in his tragic circumstances. We can see Moses standing before Pharoah, exclaiming to Let His people Go. We can see David standing before a giant, or Elijah before the prophets of Baal. How about Isaiah when He finds himself in the presence of God and declaring his sinfulness. I wish we had time to explore all of these, but we are going look at the life of and teachings of Paul.

If you here nothing else this morning, here is the one takeaway I want you to hear. I am going to reveal this to you upfront:

Zeal without an encounter is nonsense.

The first time we encounter Paul in the New Testament is in the book of Acts, the very beginning of chapter 8, while he is still called Saul, we see...

Acts 8:1 NIV

And Saul approved of their killing him.

This is the stoning of Stephen. The person we consider the first Martyr. If you are not familiar with the story, I encourage you to read Acts 7 this week.

Acts 8:1 NIV

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

When we first meet Saul, or Paul, he is on a mission. He believes God wants him to snuff out this new sect of Christ Followers. He sees them as a danger to the Jewish belief. Here he has a lot of zeal, but he has not had an encounter with the living Christ. The result of his zeal… was damage to the early church

He believes this Later in life, Paul is explaining to those at Phillipi, that if any of them had the right to put confidence in their own actions, it’s him. Paul says this:

Philippians 3:6 NIV

as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

If he stopped these we might wonder if his encounter with Jesus changed him, but here he is talking about his past. He goes on to say:

Philippians 3:7–9 NIV

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.

This statement Philippians 3:7–9 “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.”

This is Zeal. This is devotion. There are two main words in the New Testament to be translated as Zeal.

Zelos. The word is used 20 times in the New Testament to mean jealousy or zeal. This word, mostly used in the negative, tells us how not to show zeal.

1 Corinthians 3:3 NIV

You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?

Hebrews 10:26–27 NIV

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

Acts 5:17 NIV

Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.

Romans 10:2 NIV

For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.

Let’s go back for a moment and look at Philippians 3:7-8

Philippians 3:7–8 NIV

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ

So, just in case I lost you, what I am emphasizing is when using the Greek world Zelos, the picture painted for us is people using their zeal without a true encounter with Jesus. The only positive time Zelos is used is in direct reference to Jesus in John 2. All other times it is used, it is referring to actions of people who are basing them on their own desires and end in people being zealous for things not from God but from their own jealousy, sinful behavior and from a knowledge that is not from God or from a misunderstanding of God’s word.

This kind of zealous behavior seeks to control or condemn rather than lovingly point others to Jesus. When you look to Jesus as your guide you see in his Zeal an attitiude to love first and not seek to condemn, to share truth lovingly. Just look at how he handled the women at the well, the woman caught in adultery, the leper. He sought to meet them where they were, but to point them to a better life. A life with God.

Also, zeal without knowledge can also lead to people seeking a direction that focuses more on their own desires, than on Godly purpose. The world tells us to follow our passion, but sometimes, when we divorce zeal from Godly wisdom, we follow our own misguided wisdom. We don’t mean to and sometimes in the beginning our will and God’s will are tracking in the same direction, but without evaluation, we can leave the Godly path and follow our own desires.

An example of this could be a Christian couple dating. They are very excited that they have met someone who shares their spiritual beliefs. They enjoy worshipping together, enjoy studying the bible, are together in community, but have not put Godly boundaries in place. Sitting on the couch and snuggling, leads to other behaviors that seems to be not bad, but soon they find they have moved their relationship to a place where God is not longer in the midst, but pushed to the side. We can do this in all areas of our life where we allow our zeal and passions for things other that God to take the place of priority that God should have in our lives.

Paul speaks of this in Galatians 5:24

Galatians 5:24 NIV

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

So, we have looked at the negative use of Zeal in the scripture. Let’s now turn our attention to what it should look like. For, It cannot be Godly zeal until we have had an encounter with Jesus that changes our lives.

So, then how does Paul talk about Godly zeal?

The second word we find translated used for Zeal is the word Zeo. If you can see the word here literally translates as to bring to a boil. That is how I want us this morning to think of our Zeal for God, as something that may start out calm like a pot of water, but over time, begins to boil over.

The word is used twice in the New Testament and is translated both times as “Fervor.”

Romans 12:11 NIV

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

Here Paul is referring to a Spiritual devotion to God. There are sometimes my devotion is like a bonfire. I feel connected to everyone and I feel the Spirit flowing through me. At other times, I feel like a candle with a small flame flickering in a draft, but I do not extinguish. At times, our spiritual fervor will look like both, but remember God does not measure your love for Him by your emotional energy. He is measuring it by your faith and Jesus told us that faith as big as a mustard seed can move mountains. So spiritual zeal is measured in devotion, not energy. In our spiritual fervor.

The other use describes the New Testament character of Apollos.

Acts 18:24–25 NIV

Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John.

This time we learn of Apollos before the way was explained to him more adequately. He was so moved by his encounter with Jesus, what he learned when the gospel was shared with him, that he had a great desire to share and teach Jesus to everyone he encountered.

We learn here that Apollos had a thorough knowledge of scripture and shared it with great fervor. Here, because I don’t want to let us think we are just to be little flames, I want us to see the second time that Zeo is used describes someone who is a raging fire. He is the pot boiling over and he is boiling over with the love and knowledge of Jesus to all who will hear.

APPLICATION:

So, If zeal is about devotion not spiritual energy, which I believe the New testament teaches, How can we remain devoted to God, in our highs and lows? No matter if today we are feeling emotionally unhealthy or on top of the world, how do we remain devoted to God?

This is such an important and tender question. When someone is experiencing depression, it may feel like devotion to God is distant, weak, or even impossible. But the beauty of the gospel is this: God sees and honors devotion, even when it comes from a broken, weary heart.

Here’s how we can show God our devotion in the midst of depression:

1. Show Up Honestly – Bring Your Pain to Him

Devotion isn’t about pretending to be okay. It’s about being real with God.

Even when your faith feels like a whisper or your prayers feel empty, coming to God in your pain is an act of love and trust.

Example: The Psalms are full of David’s cries in despair:

Psalm 6:6 NIV

I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.

That raw honesty is worship. God welcomes it.

2. Remain Rooted – Stay Connected in Small Ways

You don’t need to be emotionally “on fire” to be faithful.

Sometimes, devotion looks like:

Reading a single Bible verse.

Whispering, “Help me, Lord.”

Listening to worship even if you don’t sing along.

Sitting quietly with a prayer journal, even if no words come.

These are all seeds of devotion.

Remember, John 15:5

John 15:5 NIV

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Remaining is sometimes the greatest expression of love.

3. Trust His Grace – Know That He’s Not Disappointed in You

God doesn’t measure your devotion by how “strong” you look.

Your broken offering is still beautiful to Him.

Isaiah 42:3 NIV

A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

Sometimes, the deepest devotion is simply holding on when you feel like letting go.

4. Let Others Walk With You

Devotion can also be shown by asking for help—from God and from His people.

God often ministers to us through His body, the church.

Galatians 6:2 NIV

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Closing:

We started this journey by asking the question… What if Zeal for God doesn’t look like fireworks, but looks like faith that holds on in the dark?

With this being fathers day, I want to remind all of the fathers who feel like they have failed that as long as you have breath in your lungs, you can show God and your family how to live the kind of Godly devotion that God is calling you to have.

For those who are walking an emotionally healthy path, I am so glad for you. I desire that path for my life. I encourage you to see how God uses me in my brokenness and know that if you devote your life to him, truly devote it, you can do great things for Him.

For those of you in my boat this morning, the ones who feel like a tiny flame in a void of darkness, I want to remind you that you are still a light. A light that is piercing the darkness. You ever doubt your ability to shine take a candle into someplace dark and light it. See how much the small flame can light up the darkness around you.

All of us, I want you to know?

That Zeal without an encounter with the living God is nonsense. You are a child of God and God loves you. Encounter Christ today and allow you life to be devoted to the one who is devoted to you.

How do I want you to practice devotion?

Show up honestly. Pain and all.

Remain rooted. Seek connection, to God, even when it is difficult.

Trust in God’s grace. He is not disappointed with you. He loves you more than you can imagine.

Let others walk with you.