Transforming Zeal: From Destruction to Divine Service

Zeal is indispensable for life if we don't have zeal we cannot live 130 people die every day now the united states of suicide it's the second leading cause of death for young people between 16 and 35 but as bad as the absence of zeal is misguided zeal does so much damage in our world. [00:02:03]

You may know that the apostle paul was a person with a high regard for zeal he said what he wrote to the church at galatian when he was a young man i i was excelling all of my contemporaries in zeal for the traditions of our fathers and then when he writes to the church at philippi. [00:02:23]

If anybody's got reasons for confidence in their own credentials in the flesh i had more i was an israelite of the israelites i was a hebrew of the hebrews i was a keeper of the law i was of the tribe of benjamin uh in regards to keeping the law i was a pharisee and then he says as it regards zeal. [00:02:42]

I was a persecutor of the church now why would he equate persecuting the church with zeal for god well there's a reason if i were to ask you who is the first person in the bible that was described as zealous i bet you would not get the answer right i would not have gotten the answer right. [00:03:02]

It's quite an obscure very dark story in numbers 25 it was a priest named phineas it's a story full of sex and violence bible has lots of those in this case israel was on this journey where they were to begin to learn how to follow god but a bunch of israelite men began to sleep with moabite women. [00:03:22]

And then to worship moabite gods and that meant the whole project was going to be at risk and the idea of monotheism one great just true loving god that people were to obey and worship and live in a new community under was now at risk so there was a priest he was a grandson of the first priest aaron. [00:03:42]

His name was phineas and he was so incensed by one particularly egregious incident of this that he ran into the tent of the offender with a spear and ran it through that guy's stomach and the stomach of the woman that he slept with it's a very gruesome story and what was said about him was that phineas was zealous. [00:04:02]

For the lord god and so that word began to carry connotations in that direction if you know the story of elijah first kings 18 and 19. he has this big contest with the prophets of baal he prevails they're destroyed by the israelites under elijah's leadership and in chapter 19 verse 10 he says i have been very zealous. [00:04:22]

For the lord god and then after the old testament had been completed before the new testament times there's a book of first maccabees and it talks about a character matthias who was so troubled by the dynasty that was then ruling israel they just lived under one oppressive power after another so troubled by people. [00:04:42]

Who were willing to flaunt god's law that first maccabee says zeal was kindled in him and his heart was deeply troubled and he was zealous for the law and he recruited people with him who were so deeply devoted to god that they were willing to do anything including used violence for those who scoffed god's law. [00:05:02]

And mocked god's name and so then we come to the apostle paul and he was a part of that tradition as it re as it regards zeal i was a persecutor of the church when a young man named stephen was being stoned paul was there giving his approval until he met on the road to damascus the crucial crucified and risen. [00:05:22]

Carpenter jesus and jesus said paul saul saul why are you persecuting me now of course saul wasn't persecuting jesus he was persecuting people but apparently jesus associates with his people so deeply that what you do to them is like you do it to him do you understand what happened with paul was not just that he redirected his zeal. [00:05:42]