In the nineteenth century in Liverpool
there was a Church of England bishop by the name of J. C. Ryle. He was a marvellous evangelical. One time he wrote on the issue of zeal as
follows:
‘Zeal in religion is a burning desire
to please God, to do His will, and to advance His glory in the world in every
possible way. It is a desire which no
man feels by nature – which the Spirit puts in the heart of every believer when
he is converted – but which some believers feel so much more strongly than
others ... A zealous man in religion is pre-eminently a man of one thing. It is not enough to say that he is earnest,
hearty, uncompromising, thorough-going, fervent in spirit. He sees only one thing, he lives for only one
thing, he is swallowed up in one thing; and that one thing is to please God.’
As I read those words some things
struck me. It struck me that Muslim men often
seem to have more zeal than Christian men—even though Mahomed did not lay down his
life for them, and the concept of love in Islam falls so short of the
passionate, zealous love of God our Father.
It also struck me (and I am picking on men) that men are often more
zealous about far less glorious things than Jesus—like their love for their
country or their passion for their sports team.
Christian zeal comes from seeing the magnificence
and beauty of Jesus. So, let’s ask the
Holy Spirit to fan the flame of our love for Christ as we constantly remind
ourselves of the brother who laid down His life for us while we were still His
enemies. The Saviour who will never
leave us until we are brought to His home.
Let our zeal for Jesus show in our view
of success.
Let our zeal produce generosity.
Let us be zealously devoted to the body
of Christ.
Let our zeal show in our view of success
So often in Mark’s Gospel Jesus turns
the thinking of that day on its head. When Jesus is criticised for
hanging out with people of ill-repute he says ‘I have not come to call
the righteous but sinners.’ Respectable Jairus is urged to have faith
like that of a woman suffering from a socially-ostracizing illness. Jesus
teaches that we are to receive the kingdom like a little child (in a society
that did not esteem children). The twelve are told that ‘if anyone wants
to be first, he must be the very least, and the servant of all.’ Now it
is a ‘nobody’ not a ‘somebody’ who is the example of great faith.
Mark is highlighting a deliberate
contrast between the teachers of the law, from last week’s passage, and this
poor widow. The teachers of the law were highly esteemed—being greeted in
the market place, given the most important seats in the synagogue, and the
places of honour at banquets; she was on the bottom rung of the social ladder
of that day. They sought to impress many people, she impressed
Jesus!
Does our zeal for Jesus affect our view
of success? Remember J. C. Ryle’s words. The zealous person sees only one thing, they
live for only one thing, they are swallowed up in one thing; and that one thing
is to please God. I am often conscious
of what people think of me, but what does it matter. If you belong to Christ then Jesus looks on
you with infinite love (even though you often fail Him). While other people are critical He sees us
through the eyes of compassion and grace.
While other people subtly compete with you He always has your best
interests at heart—which is to make you like Him.
You may fail an exam, you might not be
valued in your work place, you might not get the points you think you need,
your parents may feel you have let them down, your neighbours might think you
are a religious freak, but if you have Jesus you have everything.
Let our zeal produce generosity
The hypocrites liked to give in order
that they were seen giving. Many rich people threw in large
amounts. There were no notes in those days so you can imagine the
loud clatter their heavy coins made as they were tossed into the brass
receptacles in which the offerings collected. What a contrast with the
gentle clink as the woman goes over and drops in her two small coins. Jesus
says that the measure of the gift is not so much about how much is given but
how much is held back. The rich gave much out of their riches, but she
gave more for she gave everything.
Mark has a lot to say about being a
disciple of Jesus. Being a disciple of Jesus means being willing to leave
everything behind to follow him. It means taking up your cross—death to
self as we give our lives in wholehearted devotion to him. It means
giving your all—like this woman who gives little but gives everything.
What faith this woman has, she gave all that she had to live on—she
has to trust God to provide.
We must not think that God needs our
money. The psalms remind us that the
cattle on a thousand hills are his (Ps. 50:10-12). We can trust God to look after this church. Amos actually told the people that God did
not want their offerings if they were not given with a heart of compassion and
love. But God wants our hearts. Giving to the church, which is called the
body of Christ, should be an expression of our love for Him and His
mission. Giving to a church should be an
expression of our love for His people.
Remember that the Lord loves a cheerful giver.
Jesus knows that we have needs and He
assured us like this: ‘do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink;
or about your body what you will wear.
Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow
or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? … Seek
first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to
you as well.’
Be wise with money. Exercise self-control when it comes to
spending on your desires. Be prayerful
about all your purchases. Trust God with
all your needs. Let your zeal show in
your hidden generosity.
Be zealously devoted to a body of
Christ!
Over the last two chapters the temple
has been the focus. On the Sunday Jesus had arrived
into Jerusalem and gone to the temple. On the Monday he had
cleansed the temple of corruption. During the first half of this week
Jesus teaches and is questioned in the temple courts. But Jesus indicates
that the temple will be destroyed and be replaced by something more
marvellous. The new temple will be a people not a building. One way we show our zeal for Jesus is by
being devoted to His body, which is a local church.
Church can be hard. It is made up of imperfect people. People say and do things that are not nice. There are times when it is right to move
churches. But we must not give up on
church. The apostle Paul wrote to the
Ephesians saying that Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Our zeal for Jesus is seen in our zeal for
His people. It is seen in our
willingness to forgive those who have criticised us, to give ourselves to those
members who are lonely, to provide for those members who are in need and to
encourage those who are downcast. Church
can be hard work but the zealous for Christ will be devoted to it.
Conclusion
Let’s finish with some more words from
J. C. Ryle. He describes the zealous man
saying, ‘Whether he lives or whether he dies – whether he has health, or
whether he has sickness – whether he is rich, or whether he is poor – whether
he pleases man, or whether he gives offense – whether he is thought wise, or
whether he is thought foolish – whether he gets blame, or whether he gets
praise – whether he gets honour, or whether he gets shame – for all this the
zealous man cares nothing at all. He
burns for one thing; and that is one thing is to please God and to advance God’s
glory.’
I wondered what a
truly zealous person would look like. I
don’t think that they would be boastful, because they are not focused on themselves
and their works. A Christian zealot
would be gentle and not violent, because they follow one who was meek. A godly zealot might not even consider themselves
zealous because they know that Christ is worth so much more than we give to
Him. Yet they would have would have
contentment, rest and peace, for when we preach the gospel of grace to ourselves
everyday we remember that all depends of God’s love to us which has been shown
sure in the person and work of His Son.
If we count ourselves
as not been zealous that is good—we are aware of our need to grow! We ask the Holy Spirit to stir our hearts as
he focuses our gaze on the beautiful person of Jesus.
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