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ZEAL FOR THE LORD August 3, 2008 Rom. 12:11 – Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. (Gr., “zeo”, “fervor”, also Acts 18:25) Zeo = fervor = to be hot; to boil Are you ever on fire for God? Are you always on fire for God? Rev. 3:15 – I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! God wants us to be one or the other, but NOT lukewarm! John 2:17 (Psa. 69:9) – His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” (Gr., “zeelos”, “zeal”) Zeelos = zeal = enthusiastic devotion Keys to Zeal 1. Crucify self 2. Feed the flame 3. Don’t quench the fire 1. Crucify Self Matt. 16:24 – Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Gal. 2:20; 5:24; 6:14 – I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me… Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires… May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Rom. 6:3-7 – Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Gal. 5:16-17 – So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. Rom. 8:5 – Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 1. Get right with God—be saved. 2. Set your mind and heart on God—daily. 3. Clearly identify the acts of the sinful nature and flee from them! 4. Clearly identify the fruit of the Spirit and pursue them! 5. Hang out with “on-fire” people. 6. Run from lukewarmers and “cold” Christians. 7. Repent when you get lukewarm or cold— don’t stay in that place long. 2. Feed the Flame Lev. 6:12-13 – The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it. The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out. God’s fire was clearly symbolic of the Holy Spirit who would come into the heart of the believer (the “Holy Place” and the “altar”) Matt. 3:16 – As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. Acts 2:38 – Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire” 1 Pet. 2:5, 9 – You… are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ… But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God… • We are priests. • Our hearts are the altar. • The Holy Spirit is God’s fire. • Our role is to place fuel on the altar daily and arrange it to maximize the fire! 1. Read, study, and obey God’s word (Psa. 119; Col. 3:16; James 1:22-25) 2. Pray constantly (1 Thess. 5:17) 3. Be in the fellowship (Acts 2:42; Heb. 10:24) 4. Hang out with on fire people (1 Cor. 15:3334) 3. Don’t Quench the Fire 1 Thess. 5:19 – Do not put out the Spirit's fire… Heb. 10:29 – How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? Gal. 5:16-17 – So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. Eph. 4:30 – And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (by continually committing sins contrary to His Spirit) 1. Pray for the Holy Spirit – Luke 11:13 – If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!“ 2. Obey God – Acts 5:32 – We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. Heb. 10: 29 – How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." Conclusion 1. Crucify self 2. Feed the flame 3. Don’t quench the fire