23rd July 2017- Being Zealous For God And His House
23rd July 2017- Being Zealous For God And His House
Summary
The sermon focuses heavily on worship, praising the mighty name of Jesus Christ, and standing on the promises of God. The speaker reads from Isaiah 54, emphasizing God's everlasting loving-kindness and covenant of peace, assuring the congregation that no weapon formed against them will prosper.
Outline
The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.
Celebrating the mighty name of JesusThe service begins with a song proclaiming that the name of Jesus is victorious over Satan, death, and sin.
Standing on the promises of GodThe congregation sings about the security found in standing firmly upon the promises made by Christ our King.
Declaring the worthiness of the LambThe worship concludes with a declaration of how worthy and holy the Lord God Almighty is.
Worship and Scripture readingThe service begins with musical worship followed by a reading from Isaiah 54 regarding God's everlasting compassion and covenant of peace.
The many reasons Jesus came to the worldJesus entered the world with specific purposes: to save sinners, to do the Father's will, and to serve others.1 Timothy 1:15
The danger of a double-minded lifeBelievers are challenged to examine if they are living mediocre or double-minded lives, noting that the double-minded receive nothing from the Lord.
The requirement for continual fireJust as the fire on the Levitical altar had to be kept burning continually, our lives must be a proper sacrifice to maintain God's fire.
The passion of biblical examplesPaul and James demonstrated intense zeal for Christ and the church, viewing everything else as rubbish in order to gain Christ.
The danger of lukewarmness and the power of focusBeing lukewarm is spiritually dangerous; true zeal requires focusing our hearts on God like a magnifying glass focuses sunlight to create fire.Romans 12:11
The danger of being neither hot nor coldBeing a lukewarm Christian who lacks desire for prayer or the Word is dangerous because God will spit such a person out of His mouth. To be part of Christ, one must allow themselves to be 'crushed' and integrated into the body of Christ rather than running away from difficulty.
The teaching of Balaam and the sin of IsraelUsing the account from Numbers 25, the speaker describes how Balaam advised King Balak to use immorality and idolatry to provoke God's anger against Israel. This strategy successfully led the Israelites into sin and brought a plague upon them.
The necessity of being absorbed in God to ensure progressDrawing from Paul's instructions to Timothy, the speaker encourages believers to be fully absorbed in their spiritual gifts so that their progress is evident. One must not take life lightly or assume they have plenty of time, but rather focus on being accountable to the One who holds tomorrow.
Jesus shifting focus to the KingdomBy comparing scriptures, we see Jesus moving from Nazareth to Capernaum as he prepared to enter his public ministry and seek the Father's business.
The call to purify our heartsJust as Jesus cleared the temple of those who had no business there, we are called to be zealous in removing anything from our lives that does not belong in the house of God.
Finding the source of true zealTrue zeal comes from being soaked in the love of Christ; we must seek God's face to remember His mercy so that our service is not just a dead work, but driven by love.
