1. Christian Zeal

2. Every Christian, A Zealous Christian TITUS 2:14
God:
Our Ultimate Heat Source
James 4:8
Christ-Like Character:
Our Perfect Fuel
1 Peter 2:21
Purity:
Our Optimum Environment 1 John 2:16
If you’ve read the Bible very much, you know that God uses metaphors pretty often to teach us complex ideas. He calls Jesus our great shepherd and us the sheep. He describes Jesus as the Groom and us the Bride. All of these metaphors are intended to help us live for Him.
Wonderfully, God uses a very familiar, very rich metaphor to teach us about zeal too: that is fire. I know, most of us microwave almost everything, or push a button to start a fire in the decorative fireplaces we enjoy. So we probably don’t know as much about fire as the people 2000 years ago who depended on fire for their food, their light, their safety – practically everything. But even today, we know enough about it to get God’s metaphor – because it is really as simple as lighting a candle.
God’s Metaphor: Greek word Zelos #2204 & # To Be Hot, Heat
God’s Vision: That Every Christian Be A Zealous Christian.
The Challenge: Many who desire to be zealous don’t know how to build a lifelong spiritual fire.
The Solution: We can build lifelong Christian Zeal with the right Heat, Fuel, & Environment.
***So tonight, I just want to give you the best of the best by looking at How God helped some of the most zealous people in the Bible succeed.

3. Ignite Your Zeal By Drawing Near To God
God Is Passionate About Me
Deuteronomy 4:24, 2 Corinthians 11:2
God Is Perfecting Me
Proverbs 17:3, Hebrews 12:3-14
God Will Punish The Wicked
Hebrews 10:26-31
God Is My Powerful Protector
Zechariah 2:5
God Is Permanent
Leviticus 6:9-13
POINT OF THIS SLIDE: LOOK HOW GREAT GOD IS!!!
God’s Character: What you think about God may be the single greatest impact on your zeal. If you have a limited or skewed view of God your zeal will also be limited or even extinguished. Just as Jesus told the apostle Philip that he could see the Father in Him. We need to know that it is through Jesus that we fully see God’s Character. He is a God of grace and Love. He is a God who knows you and cares about you. He is an absolutely amazing God! Sometimes the kids sing “My God is so Big so strong an so mighty there’s nothing my God cannot do…” We need to remember how BIG God is. This point is not just another sermon, but an entire series…but for our purposes I want you to be aware of 4 specific aspects of God’s character.
1st His Grace: Not just because it is a joyful topic, but because in Titus & in Ephesians when God is talking about us being zealous for good works, it is right smack dab in the middle of grace passages. God knows that His graciousness and our zeal are inseperably connected. In fact a great deal of our zeal is built on the reality of God’s graciousness. Through Jesus death on the cross for our sins, we can see Just how Gracious God is, and the better we see it the more zealous we can become.
2nd His Faithfulness: God wants you to know that He is reliable. If you stand up and act with zeal He is going to be standing right there with you. He will not abandon you. He will not back down. When you choose to step out in zeal according to His will – He is with you all the way.
3rd Jehovah is not a timid God. He is an active, intense, shake things up kind of God. When it comes to evil He is intense: He Hates It. When it comes to evidence for our ressurection He is intense: He raised His own Son. God is a God who deals in extreme matters, and we need to appreciate this. If we skip over passages about God’s intensity. If we try to de-claw and domisticate our concept of God we have robbed our relationship with Him of some of its most zealous attributes. We need to know God means business!
4th His Forgiveness: Ac 4:12 "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.”
God’s motivators: Those things he tells us about to motivate us to pay attention and make a careful choice. When it comes to motivating us He is intense. judgement He is intense
God’s Involvement: Our Creator / Source of Every Good Gift / Providence / Promises
God’s Will: The Reason We Get Involved - It Is Important To Him; He Has A Definite Will Regarding The Situation ONE SPECIAL WAY: THROUGH JESUS.
When I view them all through His SON – My Zeal Is Ignited. Plenty of Christians have a relationship with God, plenty choose to obey Him, Plenty are thankful for God’s blessings, And plenty are active – But what is too often missing is that each of these things are done independently without looking at them through Jesus. Those who are zealous are the ones who don’t just know ABOUT God’s character – they know Jesus. Zealous Christians are the ones who aren’t just motivated, but are DRIVEN deeply inside by the desire to obey. Zealous Christians aren’t just thankful for God’s invovlement – they are depending on it. Zealous Christians aren’t just interested in God’s will. It is their number one priority.

4. Through Jesus, I Can Draw Near To Our Awesome God:
Where you want to spend more time is on step two.
God Reveals Himself With Fire So That There Is NO MISSUNDERSTANDING. He is our heat source.
Inevitably someone is thinking – “Thanks a lot Phillip” so I need to read more and study more and think more about God. That sounds, good but honestly – I’ve tried that and I still don’t feel very ZEALOUS. Let me address that fairly common concern on two levels. #1 You may very well have done this excellently and still not be zealous. Remember we are talking about 3 keys to zeal this month: Heat, Fuel, & Environment. It may be that fuel and environment are where you need extra help, so don’t give up on me yet. #2. There are some who will say – actually I am fairly certain it is a HEAT issue – my fuel and environment are already in order but I don’t think drawing nearer to God will really work for me.
I can assure you IT WILL NOT WORK, if you have an isolated approach to these concepts. I can also assure you IT WILL NOT WORK if you have a dull view of these concepts. The real power behind drawing near to God is not just in knowing WHAT aspects of God to draw near toward. But in actually doing it ONE SPECIAL WAY: THROUGH JESUS.
THROUGH JESUS: There is no other way. There is no other heat source that can keep your spiritual fires burning. The joy you get from helping others is great – but it is not as powerful as God. The satisfaction you find in strong friendships with Christians is special – but it can’t compete with a relationship with God. The treasures and enticements of the world can burn powerfully but in Ecclesiastes Solomon shows us that ultimately the warmth we might get from the pleasures of this world grow cold. We are meant for bigger and better things than this world can provide.
Not only does Jesus boldly teach this truth but the entire New Testament list over and over the blessings and benefits that Christians enjoy “Through Christ”
- John 1:17 “grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”
- Romans 5:1 “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:57 “thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”
- Galatians 3:26 “you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
The list can go on and on… We must draw near to God THROUGH Jesus Christ.
THE ONLY MEANS: Some try to forever draw near to God through a friend or family member. Nothing wrong with someone introducing us to Jesus – but ultimately they have to get out of the way and let you connect directly with the LORD. Some spend their life only trying to draw near To God through church: They hang their faith fully upon a priest or a pastor or a preacher and never draw near to God themselves. They adore a building or a ceremony or a style or worship without connecting with the OBJECT of our Worship – The Lord himself. The list could go on and on about false ways of drawing near to God: We don’t do it primarilaly through nature, we don’t do it primarily through the Old Law, we don’t do it primarily through our works. We draw near to God through JESUS!
If you want to be successful in Drawing Near To God – As your ULTIMATE HEAT SOURCE. You’ve got to do it through Jesus Christ. **Through Jesus We See God More Fully, Accurately, & Powerfully.
Jesus Illuminates God’s Grace
Titus 2:11, Romans 5:17
In Jesus We Understand God’s Thoughtfulness
“prepared beforehand”
Ephesians 1:3-6, 2:10
Jesus Sets Our Minds On Eternity
Matthew 8:12, John 14:2-3
Jesus Removes All Doubt About God’s Involvement
John 1:14

5. Step 2: Ignite Your Zeal Will You Draw Near To God Today?
Drawing Near To God Ignites Our Mind, Our Emotions, and Our Actions.
Luke 24:30-32
God Wants To Be A Source of Strength & Guidance Dwelling With You.
2 Corinthians 6:16
If you have faith that Jesus is the Son of God & you want to turn away from your sins, then you can come confess your faith and have your sins washed away by God.
Acts 2:38, Romans 10:9, 1 Peter 3:21
Luke 24:8-9 sets the stage: The report of Jesus Ressurection… Then Jesus Teaches Them the Word…Luke 24:26-27, Then they realize who He is… vs So they rush back to tell the others…. Vs. 35
The way knowing and loving God sparks and stirs our zeal is incredible. But something even more incredible is promised to us, if we will Draw Near to God – our Consuming Fire. He promises to Dwell with us. Jesus talks about it in John’s gospel, but I want you to notice that this is actually prophesied in the O.T. as a major benefit of drawing near to God.
THE ONE TRUE LIVING GOD – wants to be with you. Wants to lift you up and stir you up. But he doesn’t force himself on you. He is waiting for you to choose Him.
Please come, while we stand and sing this song…

6. Christian Zeal
Obviously, to have any success in this – we must draw near to God’s salvation in Jesus Christ.
God Wants To Be A Source of Strength & Guidance, but will you come to him through Jesus?
Will you come to him to be made totally pure – washed white as snow in Jesus Christ?
If you have faith that Jesus is the Son of God & you want to turn away from your sins, then you can come confess your faith and have your sins washed away by God.
Acts 2:38, Romans 10:9, 1 Peter 3:21