Matthew 10:16-25 God has not promised His children a life of ease Men call His “Beelzebub” will turn on His disciples Difficult because of commitment expected of us – 1 Corinthians 15:58 Must give ourselves full to the work of the Lord

Life is a River and we are Required to Navigate Upstream in a Canoe

The Need To Serve God Great race – 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Runner needs strict training He will not be successful with some effort- once in a while Only the best obtain the prize Have to resolve to stay on course or they will be disqualified Can’t walk into heaven

A Spiritual War Against Corruption of the World – Ephesians 6:10-17 Must Fight the Good Fight – 1 Timothy 6:11-14 Wars are not won with half- hearted poking

Need to Be Active Doers to Prevent Being Swept Away by Cares of This World Luke 6:47-49 "Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 "He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.” Need to strive to enter heaven- Luke 13:24

First Foundation of Zeal is Truth Proverbs 19:2 Luke 8:13 Being zealous without the truth is like paddling a leaky canoe Put in a lot of effort, but still going to sink!

In The Armor of God Was The Belt of Truth It holds our armor together and holds our weapons – Ephesians 6:14 Must develop our ability to handle the truth – Ephesians 6:17 Grow in grace and knowledge- 2Peter 3:18; 2 Timothy 2:15; 1Peter 4:11; 2Corinthians 2:17

How Do We Accomplish This Goal Set time aside for personal study – daily effort to learn from God Study together – build each other up – Romans 14:19 Purpose of bible classes here Should be group/ family studies This is why we have gospel meetings

Second Foundation of Zeal is Love Romans 12:8-11 Philippians 1:27 Contend as a unit – only do so if we love each other Paul describes love brethren are to have for one another – 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Fervent, sincere love – 1 Peter 1:22; 4:8

Love Each Other = Concern For Each Other’s Welfare Build each other up – Romans 15:1-3 Share the gospel – 1 Thessalonians 2:8-12 Love is the proof of our: Discipleship – John 13:34,35 Salvation – 1 John 3:14 Love for God – 1 John 4:20,21

There Is Always Room For Developing Our Love 1 Thessalonians 4:9,10 Take time to be with on another- Acts 2:44-46 Have people over Visit each other Do things together Don’t let disagreements erect a barrier between you & your brother

Without Effort We Are Lost James 1:22-25 James 4:17 Laodicea Failed – Revelation 3:14-19 Psalms 119:2,3 Put the church first – Matthew 6:33 2 Corinthians 9:2 Opportunities await – John 4:34-38