Week 30: July 24, 2016

Topic: Be Zealous for the Lord’s Work – Part 1

Bible Reading: Galatians 4: 11-18

Introduction

Zealous people are men and women who exhibit enthusiastic devotion to a cause, ideal or goal. They are the groups that have passion or emotion that is stirring or ungovernable.

Many people in the world today are zealous, but not for a good cause. Most of the people that are zealous for moral ideals may be things that are lawful, but not acceptable to the Lord.

Presently, majority of humans are zealous for following:

· Their chosen careers.

· Animal rights.

· Their physical body - which is dust.

· Physical appearance.

· Environmental issues.

All these zeal are for carnal things of this world which cannot take them into the glorious home. Henceforth, the zeal for the Lord’s work must dominate our lives, so that all our efforts in this world will not be in vain.

Zealousness should be our primary goal

The primary goal of every soul is to be zealous for the work of our Heavenly Father because He created us purposely to do His works. The Bible testifies that God put Adam in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it Genesis 2: 15. Since we are created to do the work of God, then we must be zealous for His work because anything that is worth doing is worth doing well.

Zeal of Your House has eaten me up: Before Jesus Christ came into this world in flesh, it was prophesied about Him that the zeal for the temple of God will consume Him and He will endure the insults of those who insult or make fun of God Psalm 69: 9. Let the passion for the House of God burn continually in you and bear the reproaches of the gentiles that are insulting God.

Jesus cleanses the Temple: The prophecy was fulfilled in the Temple in Jerusalem when He found those who sold oxen, sheep and doves, including the money changers doing business in the temple. Jesus made a whip of chords and drove them out of the temple saying “do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise” then the apostles remembered the prophecy John 2: 13-17. Start today by going to the house of God not for business connections, but to worship God and help in keeping the environment clean without waiting for the housekeepers to clean it.

Christ takes care of His Father’s business: One thing I admire most in Jesus Christ is that He always led by example. Jesus demonstrated at a tender age His zeal for His Father’s business when He lingered behind in Jerusalem after the celebration of Feast of Passover. He went into the temple, sat in the midst of the teachers listening to them and asking them questions. When His parents found Him and told Him that they have sought Him anxiously. He replied, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business Luke 2: 41-49. Christians, start taking care of Your Heavenly Father’s business and be zealous for its growth.

Be zealous for your Heavenly Father’s business: We that are saved must be zealous and do what it takes to bring back to the fold the lost sheep of the house of Israel according to the directive of our Lord Jesus Christ. He stated that we should go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel to persuade them to repent and reconcile with God. Matthew 10: 6. We must not write-off or condemn our enemies/unbelievers, but we must be zealous to change them from their wicked ways, since the Bible stated that “there will be joy in heaven over one sinner that repents than ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance” Luke 15: 7. Therefore let your zeal consume you, because your enemies have forgotten the words of the Lord Psalm 119: 139. You may be overwhelmed with indignation because your enemies have disregarded the word of the Lord but try your best to restore them back to righteousness.

Behave like a Christian: Wherever we may be in this world, in whatever we are doing at any time, let us behave like believers. We must love each other with genuine affection as Christian brothers and show respect for each other. Be aglow in spirit and serve the Lord enthusiastically, neither lag in zeal nor be lazy Romans 12: 10-11.  People must be able to differentiate between believers and gentiles. Therefore, do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit and serve the Lord with all your might.

Always be zealous for good things: Though the Bible says we must be zealous, but it is for the work of the Lord and good things only. So in whatever circumstance you find yourself, be zealous always as long as it is for a good cause Galatians 4: 18. Wherever you may be, it is always good to be zealous,  provided the purpose is good, whether your leaders/Pastors are around or not.

Virtues That Are Compulsory With Zeal

Heaven is the limit, if you add the following good virtue to your zeal:

Attach faith to your zeal: Do your best to improve your faith by adding goodness and zeal. The Bible stated that we must supplement our faith with virtue and to virtue knowledge; to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance to perseverance godliness. To godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. If you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1: 5-8: From the explanation above, you will realize that you need to affix faith and other virtues to your zeal in order for it to be acceptable to the Lord.

Add praises to your zeal: Be full of the Lord’s praises and be zealous for His work, then the Lord will march out like a champion, like a warrior He will stir up His zeal with a shout; He will raise the battle cry and will triumph over His enemies Isaiah 42: 10-13. Since you knew the secret if you want to arouse the zeal of the Lord, add praises to your zeal.

Join the fear of God to your zeal: Do not let your heart envy the sinners who have amass wealth through their wicked schemes, but always be zealous with the fear of the Lord Proverbs 23: 17. What should be paramount in your heart is how to add the fear of the Lord to your zeal.

Week 31: July 31, 2016

Topic: Be Zealous for the Lord’s Work – Part 2

Bible Reading: Galatians 4: 11-18

We shall continue our study with what can be done so that we will not use our zeal for the Devil.

Your Zeal Must Be Based On The Knowledge Of God

Brethren be zealous for God and let your devotion be based on the true knowledge of the Lord. Let all your zeal for good works be in accordance with the knowledge of Jesus Christ. If not, your zeal is not acceptable to the Lord Romans 10: 2. Beware and make sure that your zeal is based on the knowledge of God because Satan can hijack any misdirected zeal for his own gain.

Conducts That Are Against The Zeal For The Lord

The following behaviours are against the zeal for the Lord, but we will discuss some of them during this study:

Hypocrisy: During the time of King David, there was famine for three years. When he inquired of the Lord, it was revealed that it was due to King Saul and his bloodthirsty house because he killed the Gibeonites in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah. Whereas during the time of Joshua, the children of Israel had sworn to protect them 2 Samuel 21: 1-2. Do not behave like King Saul who added hypocrisy to his zeal by using his zeal to please humans rather than God. This type of conduct is a misdirected zeal that will give Satan foothold in one’s life.

False Teachings: There are many false teachers in the world today; those who twist the word of the Lord to suit their purpose. Such teachers abound everywhere around the globe; they always misinterpret the passages in the Bible for their selfish gain. Paul Apostle warned the Galatians saying “they zealously court you, but for no good; yes they want to exclude you that you may be zealous for them” Galatians 4: 17. Listen, the zeal of anyone who distorts the word of the Lord is not genuine and such zeal is not for the Lord but against Him. Therefore, beware of the teachers/Pastors who are so eager to win your favour or court you, because their intentions are not good. What they want is to alienate you from the truth of the Gospel so that you will pay attention to them and commit yourself to their cause. Your zeal must be according to the truth of the Word of God for it to be acceptable to the heavens.

Disobedience and abominations: Any zeal that disobeys the Lord and act contrarily against His Word belongs to Satan. Therefore supplement your zeal with obedience; abstain from sins and abominable things so that the zeal of the Lord will not destroy you. Ezekiel 5: 11-13. If you don’t want the judgment of the Lord to come upon you then, attach obedience to your zeal for good works.

God Himself Is Zealous for Us

Though the Lord requires that we must be zealous for His work, He is the one that was zealous first concerning mankind that was created in His image. Our creator has zeal for His people and He is zealous to fulfill the promises He made to those who trusted and waited upon Him.

We will discuss passages from the Bible that clearly stated what the Lord had done in His zeal and the result of His action(s).

The zeal of God brought Christ into this world: It is the zeal that Almighty God has for mankind that brought Jesus Christ our Lord into this world. God is zealous for His prime and most important creature in the world to the extent He “sent His only begotten Son to the world, that whoever believers in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” John 3: 16. It is evident that the prophecy in the Book of Isaiah came to pass because of the zeal of the Lord. The Bible stated “for unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace, there will be no end. Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” Isaiah 9: 6-7. Whether you believe or not, it is the zeal of Almighty God that brought Jesus Christ our Saviour into this world to come and redeem us from our sins. We were given the second chance called repentance to amend our ways and reconcile with our Maker.

The zeal of God delivered Israelites from Sennacherib: The zeal of God delivered the Israelites when the King of Assyria named Sennacherib laid siege against Jerusalem. King Sennacherib and his officers insulted blasphemed and reproached the living God. King Hezekiah sent messages to Prophet Isaiah to consult the Lord regarding the issue. The zeal of the Lord protected and preserved Jerusalem; Sennacherib’s officers and commanders were killed by the angel of the Lord. He returned home disgraced and he died miserably. Isaiah 37: 21-32, 2 Kings 19: 20-31. Whatever problem that you are facing presently, and any trouble that is threatening your existence will turn to history; if and only if, you are zealous for the Lord’s work. Almighty God who delivered the Israelites will reciprocate your gesture by rescuing you because of His zeal.

Be Prepared to Suffer Because of your Zeal

Whether you believe or not, either you like or not, you will suffer in one way or the other because of your zeal during the course of your life. This is in conformity with the teaching of the Bible.

Christ laid the example: Jesus Christ suffered a lot because of us and eventually died on the cross. He laid this example for us and expected us to follow his steps. We must remember that we were called or chosen to follow the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ 1 Peter 2: 21. If Jesus Christ suffered for His zeal for His Father’s work, then nobody is exempted from suffering because of their zeal for the Lord’s work.

You must believe and suffer for Christ: It is not enough to say I believe in Jesus Christ, but you will live a fulfill life if you suffer because of your zeal for His work. God has generously granted the privilege for Christ’s sake, not only to believe, trust and rely on Him, but also to suffer on His behalf Philippians 1: 29. Therefore do not believe, trust or rely on Him alone but be prepared to suffer because of your zeal for His work.

Persecution awaits godly people: Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. There is no escape once you are zealous for the Lord’s work. Satan will raise the wicked people who will persecute you because of your faith/belief and zeal 2 Timothy 3: 12. Do not be discouraged whenever you suffer because of your zeal for the Lord’s work, but rejoice like Peter and John who suffered persecution after healing a lame man at the gate of the temple called Beautiful.

Blessed are you if you suffer for Christ: You are blessed if you suffer for righteousness sake or because of your zeal for the Lord’s work. Therefore do not worry or be afraid of the threats of the anti-Christ 1 Peter 3: 14.

Week 32: August 7, 2016

Topic: Be Zealous for the Lord’s Work

Bible Reading: Galatians 4: 11-18

Covenant For Zealous People

God will establish His covenant in the life of every soul that is zealous for His work. In as much as He is an unchangeable God, He will repeat the feat in your life just as He performed it in the lives of the following people who are zealous for His work:

Phinehas: God bestowed His covenant of peace on Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest. He and his descendants will have a covenant of lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made atonement for the children of Israel Numbers 25: 12-13. God that established the covenant of peace and perpetual priesthood in the life of Phinehas is alive. He will establish His covenant permanently in your life, if and only if you are zealous for His work.

David: David was zealous for the Lord’s work and he thought of building a house for the Lord. Though the Lord sent Nathan to him that it is his son who will build the house for the Lord, nevertheless, God still established His covenant with him saying, “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever, I will be his Father and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever” 2 Samuel 7: 12-16. God knew the works of the darkness, so He put a Seal on the covenant so that it will be tamper-proof and impossible for the Devil to break it. The Lord said in the Book of Jeremiah that, “If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season, Then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, it is then My covenant may be broken with the Levites and the priests who are My ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me” Jeremiah 33: 20-22. Since you know the secret of King David’s success, be zealous for the Lord’s work, so that He can establish His covenant in your life. He shall also put a Seal on the covenant so that it will be impossible for Satan to break it.

The covenant was fully established when Jesus Christ our eternal King who reigns perpetually came from the lineage of David. Always remember that Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself as atonement, so that He might redeem us from every sin or lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people who are zealous for good works. Titus 2: 14. If you want to be among Christ’s special people, then be zealous for your Heavenly Father’s work. If you don’t want the painful death of Jesus Christ on the cross to be in vain, then be zealous for good works.

Use Your Zeal Judiciously

Zeal is one of the good virtues that human beings can possess, however do not misdirect your zeal, but always use it for the work of the Lord and good things.

Many people in the world today are enthusiastic, but their zeal is misdirected towards pleasures and vanity of this world, whereby they motivate uncountable people to do carnal things that cannot make them to inherit the Kingdom of God.

Let your zeal stir people positively: Brethren let your zeal inspire people positively so that they will be stirred up to do what is right and acceptable to the Lord. 2 Corinthians 9: 2.Your zeal must not incite people negatively, but it must stimulate people to be dedicated and promote the work of the Lord.

Be zealous for spiritual gifts: Any human being without spiritual gift(s) is like a walking corpse or zombie. Satan and the forces of darkness will take advantage of such people since he/she does not have the communication channel with the Lord.

God is a Spirit and can only communicate with humans spiritually; so if you don’t have spiritual gift(s) how will the Lord communicate with you in order to guide and guard you? Henceforth, let everyone be zealous for spiritual gifts which must be used for the edification of the church of the Lord that we strive for her to excel everywhere under the sky 1 Corinthians 14: 12. If you don’t have the special abilities the Spirit of the Lord gives, make sure you are zealous to have them. If you already have spiritual gift(s), increase your zeal to get more and develop the one(s) you already have. Do not use the gift(s) contrarily, but always use it/them to build the church of the Lord.

Be Zealous For The Anointed And The People Of The Lord

We must be zealous for the welfare of the anointed people of the Lord. These anointed people may be our pastors/priests/teachers/elders of the church. We must cooperate with them so that they will succeed in their task/job.

The Corinthians were zealous for Paul: Titus brought news from the Corinthians to Paul, which comforted and encouraged him. First the Corinthians were sad and sorry for their mistake, they long to see Paul and they are zealous for his welfare 2 Corinthians 7: 7. Brethren, be concerned about the well being of your leaders, support them and work as a team so that they will be successful in their calling for the benefit of Christendom.

Let your zeal for the Anointed be evident: Paul Apostle testified that Epaphras always pray fervently for the people of the Lord in Laodicea and Hierapolis to stand firm in all the will of God. He prayed that they will be mature in spirit and fully assured of the glory of God. For this reason Paul vouched for him that he had a great zeal for the people Colossians 4: 12-13. How can you prove that you are zealous for the anointed and the people of the Lord? Let your zeal be visible so that people affirm that you have zeal for the Lord’s people.

Joshua was zealous for Moses: God instructed Moses to select seventy elders of Israel that will work with him. They assembled around the tabernacle of meeting while two men (Eldad and Medad) among the selected people remained in their camps. At the appointed time, the spirit of the Lord came upon the elders around the tabernacle and they started prophesying as well as the two men in their camps. Joshua who is Moses deputy asked Moses to forbid the two men in their camps from prophesying. Moses replied “Are you zealous for my sake? Oh that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them” Numbers 11: 16, 24-29.

Week 33: August 14, 2016

Topic: Be Zealous for the Lord’s Work – Part 4

Bible Reading: Galatians 4: 11-18

Examples of Zealous People

There are numerous zealous people mentioned in the Bible and their zeal continues to have positive impact on mankind even after their death.

The Bible made references to the zeal of the following people:

· Gideon that the Lord used to deliver the Israelites from the Midianites Judges 6: 11-16

· Barak that was instrumental to the defeat of Jabin the king of Canaan and Sisera the Commander of his army. Judges 4: 1-8

· Samson that the Lord utilized to subdue the Philistines Judges 15: 9-20

· Jephthah that the Lord delivered the people of Ammon into his hands Judges 11: 5-10

· King David that prevailed over Goliath the champion of the Philistines and caused their downfall 1 Samuel 17: 41-51

· Samuel that prayed for the Israelites and God used a loud thunder to confuse and subdued the Philistines 1 Samuel 7: 2-14

All these people utilized their faith to be zealous for the Lord and His works. You must emulate them, so that history will judge your lifetime positively and people will have good things to say regarding your life Hebrews 11: 32-34.

The zeal of Phinehas: When the Israelites camped at Acacia Grove, some of the men defiled themselves by having sexual relations with Moabite women. These women invited them to attend sacrifices to their gods, so the Israelites feasted with them and worshiped their gods. In this way Israel joined in the worship of Baal Peor, causing the Lord’s anger to blaze against His people.

Then one of the Israelite men brought a Midianite woman into his tent, right before the eyes of Moses and the congregation, as they were weeping because of the Lord’s anger. Phinehas came from the midst of the congregation; he took a javelin and rushed after the man into his tent. Phinehas thrust the javelin all the way through the man’s body and into the woman’s stomach. So the plague against the Israelites was stopped, but not before 34,000 people had died.

Then the Lord said to Moses, Phinehas has turned My anger away from the Israelites, by being zealous among them as I was. So I stopped destroying all Israel as I had intended to do in My zealous anger. Numbers 25: 1-11.

Emulate Phinehas by using your zeal to pacify and turn the wrath of God away from your community/nation. Remember do not misuse your zeal, but use it to save and preserve lives like Phinehas.

The zeal of Elijah: Elijah was zealous for the work of the Lord during his lifetime according to the passages in the Bible. When the children of Israel abandoned the covenant of God, torn down His altars and killed every one of His prophets with the exception of Elijah who they are trying to kill or take his life. Elijah remained loyal, steadfast and most importantly zealous for the work of the Lord. 1 Kings 19: 9-14.

If you are zealous for the work of the Lord, God will be there for you when people are losing their lives. He will protect and preserve your life, and no evil shall come upon you or near your abode.

The zeal of Paul: Paul was zealous in the wrong way before Christ met him. He was far ahead of this fellow Jews in his zeal for the traditions of his ancestors. Galatians 1: 14. If you are like Paul who misdirected his zeal during his youthful age, it is enough, change and direct your zeal towards what is acceptable to God and not your culture or tradition.

There are some people who follow their religion with all their hearts and do everything possible to make it hard for the Church of the Lord to be established. If you belong to the group of people who always makes it difficult for Churches to survive, even if people commend you that you are blameless concerning the righteousness based on the law of your chosen religion, then it is time to change Philippians 3: 6.

Have a rethink and stop persecuting the church of the Lord which Christ used His blood to redeem. Henceforth seek the truth, support it and zealously promote the development/growth of the Church of God.

Paul realized before it is too late and directed his zeal toward the living God just like every steadfast believer Acts 22: 3.

Today is a wake-up call for every Christian to be zealous for the Lord’s work before it is too late. The time spent on misdirected zeal is enough, let your zeal for God’s work bring smile and joy to the people of God.

The zeal of Jehu: The prophecy that the Lord sent through Elijah concerning Ahab’s family came to pass through the zeal of Jehu. God used the zeal of Jehu to avenge the blood of Naboth the Jezreelite that was killed in order to claim his vineyard. 1 Kings 21: 17-25, 2 Kings 10: 7-10, 15-16.

Finally, during perilous time and whenever you are in trouble pray to God to look down from His glorious throne and use His zealous strength to rescue you. Tell Him to be merciful to you and have compassion on your household Isaiah 63: 15.

Pray to God to let your case be paramount in His heart and turn your problems to history because of your zeal for His work.

The Seal: Revelation 3: 15-19: “God know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. He wishes you are cold or hot. Because you are lukewarm, He will vomit you out of His mouth. You say ‘I am rich, I have everything I want, I don’t need a thing’ and you don’t realize that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. He counsels you to buy gold from Him, gold that has been purified with fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from Him so you will not be ashamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes, so that you will be able to see properly. As many as He love, He rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous for His works and repent of your sins”.