Drawing Near to God
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Everyone must be honest with themselves today. How are you doing as a Christian?
How are you doing as a Christian?
If you have been baptized and you remember the joy you initially had after making that commitment to serve the Lord but over time you’ve lost that excitement, joy, and zeal then this lesson is for you.
The song “My Eyes Are Dry” has the opening lyrics that might be some of truest words we have ever sung: “my eyes are dry, my faith is old, my heart is hard, my prayers are cold, and I know how I ought to be be, alive to You and dead to me”
Now, I’m not talking about someone who is on the verge of losing their faith in Jesus. Although that can happen. I’m wanting to talk to you this morning, for those who have lost their sense of “why— why do we serve God?” and for those who have lost their zeal and enthusiasm for the Lord. For those who have forgotten the commitment and work that zeal brings, this lesson is for you.
Maybe you’ve thought if you pray harder, read your Bible more often, and worship/attend every service then that will restore the sense of joy and zeal that you’re looking for. Those things certainly help, but I believe that is getting the cart before the horse. Those things are the natural response of a zealous life! We will do all of those things when we have a zealous heart.
But the church must learn to be zealous once again -
Having A Zeal for God
Having A Zeal for God
What is zeal?
2206. ζηλόω zēlŏō, dzay-lŏ´-o; from 2205; to have warmth of feeling for or against:—affect. covet (earnestly), (have) desire, (move with) envy, be jealous over, (be) zealous (-ly affect).
Zeal is something we are supposed to have as saints -
It is an intense loyalty to God!
2206. ζηλόω zēlŏō, dzay-lŏ´-o; from 2205; to have warmth of feeling for or against:—affect. covet (earnestly), (have) desire, (move with) envy, be jealous over, (be) zealous (-ly affect).
Why do I need to have zeal?
Why do I need to have zeal?
God saved us to be zealous for Him -
Isn’t religious zeal for people who are extremists?
In one sense, yes. They are extremely and intensely loyal to whomever they are serving.
Paul was zealous as a persecutor of the church; his zeal was not wrong — it was misdirected and ignorant.
Jesus was zealous when He went into the temple and overturned the tables of the moneychangers. In a “fit of rage,” Jesus demonstrated His zeal for the house of God.
But that extreme loyalty isn’t what makes them do evil things in the name of religious zeal and fervor. It’s that they are not following God as He requires them.
Zeal without loving service to and for others just becomes selfishness. Zeal that is untamed can become an excuse for doing whatever we would want to do.
Zeal without knowledge of God’s will leads to sinfulness.
If we are going to have a burning, intense desire in religious matters, then we must know who we are living (God) and why we live for Him.
We must evaluate our relationship with the Lord!
In short, we must draw near to God -
We must evaluate our relationship with the Lord!
God’s Amazing Jealousy
God’s Amazing Jealousy
If we are going to draw near to God and develop our zeal for Him, then we need to know about God.
One of the first things we think of when we talk about Him is His love for humanity — and indeed, He loves us. Or we think of His grace and how He has given us the gift of salvation, even though we do not deserve it.
But we don’t typically think of God’s jealousy. In fact, we tend to think of jealousy in a negative light. However, jealousy is a characteristic of God that is worth some consideration -
God’s jealousy leads to His protection of His people
God’s jealousy causes Him to give His guidance and instructions
God’s jealousy leads to Him disciplining His children
Jealousy and zeal often times come from the same Greek word. James describes God’s jealousy leading Him to have an intense and burning desire for us to serve Him -
Your translation might read differently than the NASB. Without getting into the difficult issues behind the most appropriate translation, and every Bible scholar and commentator will tell you this is one of the most difficult passages to translate, let’s just use the NASB translation. It shows the point that we are wanting to make.
God desires our heart, our mind, and spirit which has been created in the image of God! This desire is so strong and so intense that God “jealously” desires our spirits and our complete obedience.
When we give our hearts to another, and we do not give God our all, then we are a great disappointment to God. This seems to fit the context of what is going on the churches James is writing to -
God’s jealousy then leads Him to give grace. It does not lead Him to bad behavior -
God’s jealousy for us is what has been the driving force for Him to send His Son and establish the kingdom of God that offers forgiveness of sins -
Zeal leads to faithful action. Zeal does not lead to passivity and inaction.
Our Absolute Commitment
Our Absolute Commitment
Our Absolute Commitment
Our Absolute Commitment
no room for half-hearted devotion (double-minded in James); cannot be friends with the world & God at the same time, it’s one or the other () ; must be dedicated to God’s ways and we must submit to Him
In seeking to understand zeal, we must desire a closer relationship with God.
We have been trying to give clear and definitive concepts of what zeal is.
Zeal is work and action; it’s not a mere feeling - cf
Zeal is service and puts God first, others second, and ourselves last.
Zeal must be according to knowledge, or else we will be easily deceived.
Zeal must be according to knowledge, or else we will be easily deceived.
Zeal is loyalty to God.
James wants us to see that drawing near to God demands we give all of our heart to God. There is no half-hearted devotion.
Half-hearted devotion is the “double-minded” person in and .
You cannot be friends with the world and friends with God at the same time - ;
When Christians lose their zeal it is most often because something is competing for their attention. And that something is winning the battle; so, God is losing out. And what’s amazing is that the devil can start winning this battle by not even having you engage in something outright sinful.
It becomes noticeable in the lack of church attendance. People will be here, take the Lord’s Supper, and that is the only time they will be here. They quit coming to classes and seeking knowledge of God’s word. When we starve ourself of the bread and water of life, then of course we will be famished and lose our zeal.
Then, of course, people can be here without really being here. They don’t listen for how they can improve themselves. They listen to they can point to how others need to improve.
Maybe people become so focused on work and making a dollar that they begin to put God and the church on the back burner. They become double-minded and lose their attentiveness for God, therefore they lose their zeal.
Maybe parents focus on being a parent and taking their kids to school, getting homework done, finishing supper, taking the kids to ball practice/music lessons/and every other activity that their kids are in. Parents are so focused on parenting that they lose their focus on God. They lose their zeal for the Lord.
Or we defend our family and our children to such a point that even when we know they are wrong, ultimately we choose the wrong over the right. Zeal is diminished and quenched.
We want to find the “line” so that we don’t “cross the line” — if that is our attitude, then we are missing the point. We should want to move so far away from the line that would cross into sin that we can’t even see it. We should desire to be in the shadow of God Almighty. That is when we learn what true zeal is!
If we are going to restore our sense of zeal, then we are going to have to learn the lesson: draw near to God.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Of course, if we draw near to God, then there is the promise that He will draw near to us.
If we draw near to God and He draws near to us, this is the beginning of zeal!