Walking in the Footsteps of a Zealous Jesus-3

Zealous for Children and Souls

For the past few weeks we have been exploring Jesus’ passionate nature.

He lived life with zeal and passion

One verse describes Him as being consumed by zeal in fulfilment of…

Psalm 69:9 (NASB95) (that prophesied of Messiah) … zeal for Your house has consumed me, …

I think He was passionate because of what says…

Psalm 119:139–140 (NASB95) My zeal has consumed me, Because my adversaries have forgotten Your words [Lord]. 140 Your word is very pure, Therefore Your servant loves it.

But, as we have seen, we don’t just stand afar off and say:

“Ooh, look at how passionate Jesus is!”

No!

We are called to, as it says in 1 John 2:5–6 (NASB95) but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

In the past few weeks we have seen Jesus’ zeal:

For His Father’s House

To see true worship in God’s Presence — not merchandizing, not money-changing

But worship and prayer

To see the outcasts and disadvantaged brought in to God’s Presence.

To see the sick, the lame, the blind — whatever affliction — healed miraculously

To read even a few paragraphs about Jesus in the Gospels is to also immediately see Jesus’ zeal for prayer...

Prayer in His Father’s House FOR all nations, BY all nations

Prayer for the Kingdom of God to enter in its fulness and for the Father’s will to be done

Personal times of prayer and prayers in a corporate setting.

Even now the Bible tells us Jesus is praying…

… Zealously on our behalf.

Hebrews 9:24 (NASB95) … [When Jesus ascended to the Father’s right hand, He ]… did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;

Where as Hebrews 7:25 (NASB95) … He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Right now Jesus is at the Father’s right hand interceding for us.

So, Jesus is zealous for prayer.

He used prayer as a vehicle to God’s will for His life.

To discern the father’s will.

Prayer for the Holy Spirit to strengthen and anoint Him to accomplish God’s will.

As we saw last week Jesus not only prays for the Father’s will — He did it and He does it.

He is zealous for God’s will.

As He told His disciples in John 4:34 (NASB95) … “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.

As The Message says it: John 4:34 (MSG) Jesus said, “The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work He started.

Yes, Jesus had zeal.

As we have seen…

Zeal is defined as great energy, enthusiasm, or eagerness in pursuit of a cause or objective, often leading to action.

Zeal for God should be rooted in knowledge of God, because zeal without proper understanding can be misguided.

Jesus’ zeal was a righteous zeal founded in a superior knowledge, understanding and wisdom.

Jesus was consumed with zeal, enthusiasm, energy for His Father’s house, His Father’s work, for the things of the kingdom.

If there’s no other reason why you and I should be zealous, let this be the first and foremost: The model and example of Jesus.

Scripture tells us that the zeal modeled perfectly by Jesus — NOT self-righteous zeal — consists of four elements…

Walking in Righteous Zeal

To walk in the zeal of Jesus we must walk in humility.

WE are not Jesus — most of the time, not even close.

Repentance

So, in humility we zealously repent repent of our failures …

For instance the failure to be hot for Jesus.

Jesus tells the church at Laodicea:

Revelation 3:15 (NASB95) ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.

Revelation 3:19 (NASB95)… therefore be zealous and repent.

Jesus indicts the church at Laodicea for their lack of zeal. If they were hot, He could use them.

If they were cold, He could convict them.

But being lukewarm, they could be neither used nor convicted.

The solution? They needed to repent.

2 Corinthians 7:10 (NASB95) For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

The word “repent” means “to change direction one hundred eighty degrees.”

True, godly sorrow manifests itself in turning one’s back on that which is wrong and moving in a brand new direction.

To correctly discern and operate in the zeal of Jesus We must Pray

Prayer is the source of perfect (complete) knowledge.

Let’s be careful to walk in the Holy Spirit.

As Galatians 5:25 (NLT) Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

I’m trying not to be conceited, but I firmly believe Pentecostals have an advantage in discerning and operating in the zeal of Jesus …

As long as we don’t gift lifted up in spiritual pride.

We must HUMBLY seek after the Gifts of the Spirit.

Not just knowledge, but the wisdom to use that knowledge.

1 Corinthians 8:1–3 (NASB95) Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. 2 If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; 3 but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.

We need to do what…

Ephesians 6:18 (NASB95) With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, …

Jude 20 (NLT) But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit,

Why?

Romans 8:26–27 (NLT) And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

Once we have repented and aligned our spirit with the Holy Spirit.

Once we have prayed in the Holy Spirit…

Service

We need to engage in zealous pursuit of the Kingdom of God.

By engaging in service of others

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians saying in

2 Corinthians 9:2 (NASB95) for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the Macedonians, namely, that Achaia has been prepared since last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them.

Zeal for Children

One of the ways we walk in the zeal of Jesus.

As we pursue the Kingdom of God and His will…

Is to have a passion for children and young people.

I think it is appropriate on this Sunday before school starts to think about Jesus’ zeal for young people.

It seems that Jesus disciples didn’t fully understand how Jesus could be so passionate about those who, in their mind, were so insignificant.

Once again we Jesus’ superior understanding and knowledge.

Luke 18:15–17 (NASB95) And they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them. 16 But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”

Jesus knew children were the key to adults understanding the Kingdom of God.

Entering the Kingdom of God.

Matthew 18:1–6 (NASB95) At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 “And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Mark 9:33–37 (NASB95) They came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest. 35 Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” 36 Taking a child, He set him before them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me.”

Jesus knew children were the key to understanding humility and how we relate to one another.

So, Jesus encourages us to be zealous for the children.

That doesn’t mean making them rulers of the household.

That means learning from them AND at the same time teaching them the right way.

Ephesians 6:4 (NASB95) Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

This puts us in mind of

Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (NASB95) “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! 5 “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on YOUR heart. 7 “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9 “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Zeal for the Lost

In the same way, we are zealous towards seeing our young people know Jesus, we must be zealous for ALL the lost.

On the first Sunday of each month we emphasize missions.

But missions is more than reaching other nations.

THIS nation has many who are lost and apart from Jesus.

What is even sadder here in the South is that we have so many Cultural Christians.

People who grew up in or around church, but they do not have a personal relationship with Jesus.

They THINK they do, because they pray when they are in trouble and expect Jesus to rescue them — but the rest of the time they live as Christian atheists — people who name Jesus but then live as if He doesn’t exist.

But Jesus came to save the lost.

In Luke 19:9–10 (NASB95) … Jesus said to [Zaccheus] , “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

After the scripture I read about Jesus receiving children in Matthew 18 we read a few verses down…

Matthew 18:10–11 (NASB95) “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 “For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

Jesus speaks of His zeal to seek and save the lost by telling parables such as He told in…

Luke 15:1–10 (NASB95) Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. 2 Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So He told them this parable, saying, 4 “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. 8 “Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 “When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’ 10 “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Jesus is calling on us to walk in His footsteps.

The footsteps of a zeal for the lost.

The Apostle Paul walked in that zeal and he said to the Corinthians in:

2 Corinthians 11:25–28 (NASB95) Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. 26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; 27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.

And he kept on taking the Gospel to the lost, because he had the same zeal Jesus had for the lost.

Jesus, Give Me Zeal

So, this morning, I ask us to ask Jesus to impart His zeal so that we can walk in His footsteps.