Zeal for the Lord

  1. Jehu says, “Come and see my zeal for the Lord.”
  2. He thought he was zealous for the Lord. It turns out he was only zealous about the warring part of following the Lord.
  3. He carried out the annihilation of Ahab’s family and the Baal worshippers with great zeal. He enjoyed that, it would seem. He was eager to do it.
  4. And God commends him for it. He was right to have zeal for the Lord in carrying out the Lord’s word.
  5. But, he didn’t really have zeal for the Lord. He had zeal for the part of following the Lord that he enjoyed. Apparently, there were harder parts he didn’t enjoy so much and in which he lacked zeal.
  6. It says he wasn’t careful to walk in the law of the Lord and, after just a moment of promise, the kingdom starts being dismantled.
  7. We need to not deceive ourselves that we have zeal for serving the Lord, if our zeal only pertains to those things we want to apply it to.
  8. You may give generously and think you are a great servant of the Lord.
  9. You may show up every time the church doors are open and think you are a great servant of the Lord.
  10. You may volunteer to lead every time there’s a request for help. You may think you are a great servant of the Lord.
  11. But if you service doesn’t go beyond the things you’ve chosen as your realm of service, then you aren’t zealous for the Lord, you are zealous for your little kingdom you’ve built.
  12. Being zealous for the Lord means walking in quiet obedience when no one is looking, when no one is going to recognize what you’ve done or are doing. It’s rising early to pray and to thank and acknowledge the Lord. It’s studying His word because you love His word.
  13. Let’s not confuse love for the work with love for God.
  14. Let’s love the Lord our God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength, and be zealous for Him alone all the days of our lives.