Gateway Church's Podcast
The Zeal of God Has Consumed Me
You guys love your Bibles, right? I've heard that about you guys. You love your Bibles. Yes. Yes, okay And in in gateway fashion, I want you to turn to two passages of Scripture All right, now I have a whole lot more than that, but it sounds so annoying when he does that, all right Turn to turn to two passage of Scripture John chapter two in Revelation two Put the bookmark that he talks about in Revelation two All right, your hand your hand or your friend's hand or I put put in Revelation chapter two I want you to go to John chapter two and we're going to talk today a little bit about Passion and I want to say this right off the bat if you've ever heard a message about passion You probably think it's going to be a message about how you need to get some I want to go ahead and make the case That I believe that everybody has passion. It already is there. I just think that most of our passions are misdirected It's not that you don't have it. It's often in the wrong place, and this has been the constant struggle of my life and even currently Passion I've got plenty of it. I mean in fact, I'm an incredibly passionate person and it's often in the wrong place It's in things in fact. Let me improve right now. How many guys anybody out there? I am anybody excited about the college football season Come on anybody. Yeah See I got some moves some of you guys even do that much in the worship service a few minutes ago I was like whoo. Oh, yeah, and anybody around here fired up. I think about about pro football cowboy fans, right? Yeah, say there you go and And not to disappoint you, but those are probably misdirected passions All of those and in fact we tell this story. I'm from South Louisiana and boy Cajuns are very passionate people Have you ever been around them yet kick little Cajun action going on back here? All right Yeah, Cajuns love to eat love to play Love to fight they'd love to do a lot of things I mean they just the Cajuns are very passionate people very passionate about their their football as well We tell these stories in South Louisiana about this stereotypical Cajun named Boudro and we call them now Boudro jokes But Boudro did not live that great of a life and he went to hell now pastor I'll just tell you up front. This is not theologically correct, but it's really funny all right, so But did not did not go to didn't go to have any went to hell But he's used to the heat of South Louisiana so so when the big deal, you know see we just have to say that's where it's not Theologically correct, and he's and he's just having the best time of his life Just man just living it up. It's all great And now so Satan wanted to go see how he was doing make sure he's nice and miserable But Boudro's having the time of his life. He's like man Satan says why are you so happy says reminds reminds me of a July day in New Orleans, man I love this place well that made Satan really mad so he went and cranked up hell as hot as hell could possibly go I mean like cranked it up Went found Boudro the next day. He just having the time of his life high-five and everybody having a just party I said why you so happy still he said man. This is not hot. This reminds me of an August day in Lafayette This is awesome, you know, so what Satan didn't have anything else he could he could do, you know So he just said I know what I'm doing. I'm gonna turn it down We're gonna freeze it up, but we're gonna freeze it out baby. So he turned the thermostat down on the hell It was just next day Freezing cold went and found Boudro Boudro's over in a corner. Just all huddled up. Just huddled up I mean blew from head to toe ice sickles coming off of his face, but the biggest smile ever on his face He says why are you still so happy? He said the saints don't want a Super Bowl Some of y'all get that later you like Some of you laughing soon you go Hail froze over anyway, sorry you get that you're with me. All right John chapter two. Let's get let's get to work here. All right Don't you love to laugh? All right in the temple courts Jesus found men they were at church But look what they were doing they were selling cattle sheep and doves and others were sitting at tables exchanging money and so he made a whip out of cords and Drove them from the temple area both sheep and cattle and he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables and to those who sold doves he said get these out of here now I want you to notice that he's challenging what had actually become the norm and very accepted even among the church people and He said to them. He said how dare you turn my father's house into a market and His disciples remembered is actually a prophecy that comes out of the book of Psalms Lot of you don't know may not know that that actually the Psalms are actually very prophetic There's a lot of prophecies about Jesus in the book of Psalms and this is one of them Psalm 69 if you're taking notes You want that as a future reference But he's in Psalm 69 the disciples remember this prophecy about the Messiah about Jesus where it would be said that the zeal Directed in the right place the zeal for God's house Would consume him in one place. It says the zeal of God Has consumed me I want to talk with us a little bit today just about Zeal in the right place. I want to give you four areas. I'm gonna tell you how I found these four areas They just happen to be four areas that I personally struggle with these are four areas that I am constantly and actually currently Having to make sure my passions are in the right place These before I will give you often have a tendency to get off a track But they also also found these four by just going through old and New Testament and just looked up the word zeal Zeal is actually a Biblical word that we actually got we have in the Bible that we have now an English word because it's zellos in the Greek It actually the the definition of zellos is white hot Boiling over it means the Webster's would call it an ardent pursuit or a passion towards something It's something that you're very focused on. Here's my definition for you guys that like to take notes I would say it is defined by three things. It's always defined by how you spend your time your money and by the things you talk about It's how you spend your time how you spend your money, and it's what you talk about that will always expose Where your passions are so basically where whatever the conversation is after church that would pretty much show your passions if it's about you know football or or shopping or your kids or and it can be some places that are really good and Some that aren't so good and some that actually compete against the passion that God wants to have for us But it's it's what basically encompasses those three things and I just say I think from time to time as the people of God we need to kind of check The passion levels and I'm currently doing that and I think this is the season two In the year where I think there's two where you do that I think obviously we do that at the first of the year kind of that New Year's resolution time It's time to kind of get get my mind and my life back in order But I think something about the going back to school season tends to do that force as well because we if you're like me Kind of let go of some things perhaps during the summer Kind of relax everything and it's easy to get your passions and some things that aren't the most important things to be passionate about So let's talk about the four four things that the Bible old and you testament lists as Things we ought to be passionate for and let's just check ourselves in these here. Here's the first one and that is a passion for worship And when I say worship, I'm not talking about praise and worship like we just had here in church now That is worship, but that's not the kind of worship. I'm talking about when I'm talking about worship I'm talking about where your love for God is right now It crossed you nayo in the Greek is the word worship. It literally means to kiss If it was literally translated the Greek word for the word worship is the word Proskino to kiss, but it's not like the kiss of lovers. It's the kiss like it's this is the best definition I've ever seen I saw it in some commentary Translating the Greek word it's like it's like when you come home and you've been gone a while and the dog You have you have a dog that that should get real excited when you get home when he runs around the house real fast He's excited to see you and then jumps up on you and licks your hand. That's the word And in John 4 the Bible says that God is seeking worshipers Proskino those who are who will when they hear about him talk about him read about him Around him have that kind of love Reaction and response to him. I think it's so important. I think that's why David King David, although he messed up a ton I always had God's incredible favor on his life I mean this is an adulterer murderer kind of a guy who messed up quite a bit But always saw God's favor and grace on his life always and it's because David did have a heart that was very directed a Passion very directed toward God. In fact, I was reading a story. I put the the reference there in your notes There's a story when the Ark of the Covenant was captured was taken and David and his armies went to get it back and Some don't read this part of the story But there's actually a point where they they capture the ark back, but they had to bring it back to to Jerusalem to to the the city of David and as they were coming back with the ark What David decided to do I actually looked up the history of it It's an eight-mile journey from where it was to where they needed to bring it and it says in second Samuel that every six steps David stopped and worshiped and They did a sacrifice an animal sacrifice and worship God So I calculated what that might actually look like first of all I found out that if you take a one If you take a three-foot step a one-yard step, which is a pretty much the natural gate of most people if you take a one-yard Step that would be 14,000 steps if you divided time every six of them That's over twenty three hundred Sacrifices can you imagine just picture it? I mean can you see the eight miles that every six steps? There's a pile a blood and a dead animal I Mean every six steps and they worship and and when he got back to town The party let out I mean he was worshiping and have I mean just with all his might and this is the verse This is the part of that you know and you remember his wife looked out from the window and he embarrassed her Because of his deep passion for his God. It was like you went over a little top there And it basically he said this is the Chris Hodges international version. He's basically said honey You hadn't seen nothing yet. He said I would be yet more undignified than this Because he understood how important it was to have a passion for his God It's actually a personal pet peeve of mine It's actually what attracted me to the church for the first time because I grew up in a church where we talked about joy But it wasn't any you know and just In fact my pastor God bless him. I love him. I really do but growing up he would he would grab the pulpit like this And it says I just thank the Lord because he's filled this with joy I've just seen it and that's not what it looks like. I mean I'm just You know and the first time I came to a worship experience like what you guys had tonight That's actually what won me to the Lord Which is why I'm a huge proponent of having services that are so spirit-filled so dynamic so full of the love of God So I mean guys, I mean don't fake it obviously But I mean you need to passionately love God because when people see you do that they're gonna want what you have That's a fact that's a fact I just in love with the Lord a passionate a passionate pursuit of God I'm a musician grew up a musician my dad played Oregon in the Baptist Church for 30 years so I grew up in a playing classical music I was classically trained so I can get after with all the all that all that stuff all right And so which one much use for growing up, but I like it now But but but because of that I also love the classics. I love classic classic movies Like an 11 I know this is embarrassing you guys probably the guys in the room probably respected me Not even liked me a little bit until I said this I even like musicals Yeah, and so I just do I just I mean so because I can appreciate what it goes what goes into all of that and But guys really I am cool. So But but one of my favorite all time favorite how many guys have seen the old musical Fiddler on the roof you've seen that come on in all right you've seen that you've seen that okay? The fiddler looks great. It's great. If you've not seen it. It's like 14 hours long It's a lot. It's really long, but it's a story of this this Jewish family and in the old Jewish tradition You didn't select a husband the dad and a matchmaker Got together and basically picked your husband for you and this guy in the in the in the movie the lead character had its five daughters So he goes to the matchmaker. That's where the song matchmaker and matchmaker and make me a much all right That's where that's where the song came from so they get together and he does that all right Well, the only problem is is the girls start to fall in love with other people than what the ones that dad and the matchmaker picked out and The movie is about the struggle between girls the girls falling in love and and the dad wanting to keep with the tradition any and that's for the song tradition tradition and yet and he really does this I don't know why but You might want to watch it just to see a guy do that I don't know, but but he does that sings the song and and And he's basically there's just war going on between the daughters and the dad all right. That's the movie But in the struggle he goes into his house Shuts the door when the girls are not around wondering if his wife loves him because they were match made So he goes in with no one's looking around and he shuts the door and he sings and I don't know the song. It's like he goes And she's over there ironing this stuff on the stove and she turns and looks at him like Are you kidding and she comes and I don't know the song when she did it She kind of it's kind of goes she goes like for 25 years. I've washed her clothes. I've cooked her meals I find him out if I had ever had out yet She goes she goes to this song of all check it out of all the stuff. She does for him See me, what do you mean? Do I love you look what I do for you and he is basically coming back saying I know what you do for me, but do you love me? And I'm gonna tell you that's why this first passion is a struggle for me because I'm a doer I would I would rather serve God than love God. I'm just being honest I would rather do something for him than stop and just sit at his feet That's hard for me because I'd write I like action. I want to do something and God appreciates the doing But we know the stories we have the Mary Martha story We know he would prefer us to be close to him. He wants us to love him Can I hear a good amen to that and I'm telling you the spirit of God Sees all that that we do and he sings to us today. Do you love me? And we may respond, but Lord look what all I've done for you I went to I mean I came to the very first service there was it gave you I mean for their Lord What are you talking about? Yes? I love you. Yes. I love you. I mean I've been at the Christian bookstore four times this week I love you The angels food cake no devil's food cake. Yes. I love you. I mean and he just he loved he wants to know if we love him Checking our passion for worship our love for God. Here's the second one. Here's the second one and that is the passion for prayer This is another struggle one for me and it's probably not something a pastor should confess to But again because I'm a doer. I'd rather I like I like want to get to the bottom line God bless this this and that and let's go get after it and Prayer my whole life has been a struggle for me Which is why I've actually built it into the system of our church to have two 21-day prayer focuses where we get up every morning at 6 a.m. Hundreds of us gathering seeking God big prayer focus You know the truth about it. I'd do it for me Because there are times in the year I just need to get back to this is more important more is accomplished by our time and Our and our the amount of passion we have toward prayer than me doing all the time And I just I just wonder if you and look at your own life and say you know How's your prayer life is that is this strong is it needs to be and I would just submit to you a thought that this is a good Time of the year to say you know what it's not where it needs to be and I need to get it back We know this James chapter 5 says the effectual fervent prayer fervent prayers That's the word zealous in the Greek the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man produces a lot It avails much so when you get your passions back toward prayer things start happening again I grew up in the I already told you in the Baptist Church and and Prayer always kind of intimidated me you might be like that you might be where I mean I know I need to do it, but I do it a little bit But I really don't know what to say and I definitely don't don't know how to do it when I'm with people and I remember the first time I was in a prayer meeting where you remember a circle prayer come on You guys that grew up in church members circle prayers like where y'all you hold hands and like in the leading leading person says now Everybody's going pray and you'll know it's your turn cuz when they finish they're gonna squeeze your hand And then it's your turn and I remember and you know you remember that where it's coming It's like two people away and the closer it gets it's like you start sweating cuz it's like it's your turn coming up real soon here You know first time this is true story. I'm not making this up. I mean got to me I'm sweating got to me closer closer squeeze squeeze it right on around baby. Just sit I guess you know send that dude right on around here. I'm not going there. You know just just freaked out I panicked, you know and none know what to say, you know It's true story And and I think sometimes in a sense is kind of like how we are in fact growing up We had the we had the who has a prayer request. I remember this girl like I thought I saw this is most Idiotic thing you could I have a prayer quest. Yes. What is it? It's unspoken All right, well remember that or remember that I was like and I just think it kind of characterizes sometimes how we are I'm just I'm just offering you some thoughts here some things that are deserving of Your passions that while the pool is the the passion that we all gave toward our summer the the passion that we give toward Getting our kids back to school the passion we have toward college football or professional football story There's a lot of things competing for your passion right now. I'm telling you. It's important for us To not be like those who were in the temple courts who had it all in the wrong places And you don't want Jesus coming through your life with a whip right now. I'm just telling you kicking over things But I'm telling you the zeal of God the zeal of God needs to consume us for worship For prayer. Here's the third one and that is for purity You know why purity needs to be on the list Because impurity is passionate about you In fact, the Bible says that the devil is working overtime In fact, I think the devil oftentimes has more passion about Causing us to become impure than we are to fight to make sure it never happens And I'm just saying purity is not just a value. It's not something you can say, you know what? I'm just gonna be a person integrity. I'm saying to you church. You have to work on it It has to be something you're focused on and passionate about in order for it to happen I want to read a verse of scripture. I referenced it there in your notes in Romans chapter 12 verse 9. It says love must be sincere hate What is evil? clean notice the passion it words here cling to what is good Be devoted to one another and brotherly love Honor one another above yourselves Never I want to stop right there and say to you find out how many times in the Bible that word is used It's not that often So when it does say never On this one never do it. I think it like needs our attention when you agree never be lacking in zeal But keep your spiritual fervor Serving the Lord. What's the Bible saying saying check where you're at? Are you hot? Do you hate sin? And if you get around it long enough, it's easy to tolerate We kind of almost become immune to it a bit in that true because we're we see it all the time It's like oh that's they didn't have to do that and we don't even react to it this same way anymore And the Bible says no hate it Cling to the good make sure your passion levels right a Few weeks ago My son had a fever which took him to the doctor think it was a big deal swine flu swine flu That's just for the news y'all, you know, you know, it's you're not supposed to happen in your own house It's like swine flu. I'll just hit this swine flu Ducks. Yeah, that's like it said is it contagious. He goes. Oh, yeah I said like like so we had we can't really touch him like oh, he said oh no, it's airborne. You can breathe his air and get it How many I know we put him in a different county? I mean My poor 13-year-old son. I'm telling you bless this heart We put him in a corner of the house and just like threw him food. All right, we'll see We'll see you later, dude. All right. We stay so far away from him. I mean I washed my hands 50 times a day I'm not kidding my passion for Sterilization and cleanliness went to a whole nother level I mean, I was like we got to get this right, man We we just clean and wash and dry and air all the time and Lord spoke to me in that And if we would have that kind of attitude towards sin in that right I Said in that right everybody. I'm telling you it needs to be something you it can't be just a value You have to be passionate about purity My son my oldest son I do have five children as pastor Robert said I have a daughter and four boys and And and shows yeah, yeah, wow. It's like Lord helping all right And you're actually right at four teenagers right now at the same time now really say Lord helping right there I that's that's serious and and it is true as pastor Robert says I People say you must really like kids and I say no, I really like my wife. That's my problem. But anyway Another story there Different series will cover that another time all right But my oldest son and it pains my soul cuz I am an LSU tiger it pains my soul that he is an entering freshman at the University of Alabama I can somewhat tolerate it because they're paying the way He got a full-rod academic scholarship made a 33 on his ACT fact They're made of being his life and he let me know about it the other day He walked in with his report card a great final report card as a senior from high school said you know a day Look at that. I never made a beam my whole life. I said ain't nothing. I never made a be either. So just oh, you know, so Stop your bragging, you know Come on. Can you feel me all you guys that work for seizure whole life? Come on y'all with me. Yes, look, that's praise the Lord I love you too. All right, so Dummy anyway, so he did that and he's there and they were paying for it and that's okay One week pastor Robert before he went to the University of Alabama. He came up to me We were getting a stuff ready packing him getting there all ready to go He came up to me and shocked me with a statement. He came up to me and said in fact we had just gotten back from going to Best Buy to get him a new laptop for him to take to school and He came to me said dad. He says is there any way is I've heard about these programs that you can install on people's computers Where every website you visit it goes to somebody he says like can we can we get that on my computer and it goes to you? He says no dad that I don't have any issues. He says I just I just don't want any and I step back. I said I've raised a genius I've raised a gene I mean blue mama it blew my mind. I told the whole church that and He gets it he knows as soon as he gets there All of hell is going to compete for his passion in an area. It doesn't need to be in are you listening to me today? All right. I'm just talking about read redirecting our passion. Here's here. Here's the fourth one This is a big one and that is the passion for people I mean for heaven's sakes that is the motto of gateway church. We're all about people But if you're like me, it's easy for that not to be the motto of your life. In fact, it's a pain to be all about people Because if we really make it all about people, we're gonna have to add more services. You're gonna lose your parking space We're gonna have to be It's hard come here. I don't agree with you. It's hard to be all about people. It's just a lot easier to be all about me. It's hard It costs more to be all about people everything, but Jesus said in John. He said my food I just love the language there My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish the work And then he gave us the verses that we're so familiar with. He says look at the fields He says you say four months in the harvest and he says no, man. They're ready now They're ready now And he was constantly Redirecting and we said oh Lord. We'll we'll have a evangelistic series later. I want another one that feeds me I want another one all about me God And he says no man now now And he redirected the passion years ago I was I was traveling to speak in in about five years ago in Boston. I have a good friend who's a church there and I was kind of Passengers know what I'm talking about when you're traveling You want to kind of rest because you're getting ready to speak you don't want to so I just kind of got on the plane early Up against the window and before the person sat next to me. I want to be good in his sleep You know just so he would they'd get the picture get the message, you know So I'm like well this guy gave don't came on Knocked my arm off the armrest. I mean literally pushed it off took his coat flipped it over his shoulder hit me in the head with it I'm like I'm thinking oh you know just So I just like Just acted like I was asleep, you know, and then he didn't know just me in the side said so what do you do for a living? Well, I'm just gonna tell you the pastor at that point. You have to decide if you're gonna lie or not and I And I didn't I said well, I'm a pastor and he starts crying my first thought was oh man counseling session man right here So he starts talking about how he just buried his best friend his name was Billy He went to this long story thinking so I'm just listening listening and I'm gonna tell you the Lord dealt with me about that And I find out he was Jewish and he says and because I said well gee the Bible says he goes. Oh, no, no, I'm Jewish I said well gee this was a Jew. He goes. Okay. It's I don't know that that worked for him And I said the Bible says you don't have to grieve like the rest of men who have no hope And he said Chris, how do you get the hope? I said you need to receive Jesus And so I thought that was my job. I let somebody else like knock him in the rest of the way, you know, that was I got him to third base We get in the terminal we're leaving we're getting outside Billy take care He pulls me up to the side he goes you're not leaving me till I get the hope and So right there I prayed with Billy from Boston to receive Jesus and he prayed I mean out of that Lord Jesus. I just confess you as my Savior and he got saved right there at Boston Logan International Airport and Praise Lord for that It was awesome and and in fact he was Dennis Eckersley's best man at his wedding few baseball fans No, great relief hall of fame relief pitcher, and he's like it was truly pretty goes man like what I owe you This is good stuff. I said I said no you can't pay for this. It's free. It's in the bottle I kind of can't charge you know it's free and it goes man I got to give you something I said no because look I I own toy stores all across Boston. I said well I do have five kids But he actually gave me some sent me some baseball cards that I still look at from time to time to remind me Krista's not all about you It's a passion so what do you do about it. Let's close with this thought the second passage of scripture. You know it The very first love letter from Jesus to the church and the book of revelations. He says I see what you're doing I see your deeds But I have this one thing against you. You have forsaken Your first love and then he gives us the instructions Remember the height with from what you've fallen in the words go back think about it. Hopefully I've helped you do that tonight repent That's not a negative word. That's a positive word repent literally means change your direction if you were going that way go This way, that's the word and then don't just lead church with a warm fuzzy Do something about it do the works you did it first go back go back