THE NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH

COME AND WORSHIP JESUS CHRIST


 

GODLY ZEAL

"... the godly are no more" (Ps. 12:1).

The Lord has set us apart for Himself these days when godly people cease to be so and leave the Lord (Ps.4: 3). The Lord has chosen us (Deut.7:6) to serve Him, to worship Him and to walk in His path. The Lord wants that we who have come to the true God should grow in godliness. The Lord's desire is that our godliness should grow day by day like growth from childhood to manhood and we should exhibit zeal in our godliness. The Lord desires that in these last days we should express godly zeal (1) for our Lord who has chosen us (2) for the church, which God has established (3) for the apostles appointed by God and (5) for the true doctrine. Because, in these days, the Lord needs only the souls and ministers of God who have godly zeal.

1.Godly zeal for our Lord who has chosen us:-

Israelites sinned. They transgressed the Lord's commandment. The Lord's commandment was: " You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not bow down to them or worship them. You shall not commit adultery" (Deut.5: 7-9; 5:18). But Israelites committed all these sins at the same time (Num.25: 1,2). Therefore the anger of the Lord who dislikes sin came upon the Israelites (Num.25:4).

When Phinehas, the son of Eleazar heard Moses' command to the people, his heart was stirred with godly zeal. By his godly zeal, he entered the tent of an Israelite who was engaged in fornication with a gentile woman and killed them both by driving a javelin through them. Therefore the plague was stopped. Twenty three thousand people died on a single day by the plague (1Cor.10: 8). Those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand. Because Phinehas showed godly zeal, his descendants received a covenant of an everlasting priesthood(Num.25: 13). In addition to the above, Moses sent him to the war in appreciation of his godly zeal (Num.31: 6). Similarly we too should have godly zeal for our Lord and express it through our works. Phinehas who showed godly zeal and his descendents received the grace of ministering to the true God. Of this, the psalmist said: "Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and so the plague was stopped. And that was accounted to him for righteousness to all generations for evermore" (Ps.106: 31,32).

2. Godly zeal for the church:-

David the psalmist said: "zeal for Your house has eaten me up" (Ps. 69:9). We should have godly zeal for the church, the house chosen by the Lord and the church, which is Zion and Jerusalem. When our Lord Jesus Christ saw those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business in the temple, he made a whip of cords and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of Merchandise!" (John 2:13-17). Similarly we too should be seen to have godly zeal for the church chosen by our God and purify the church. 3.Godly zeal for the apostle appointed by our Lord:-

Let us consider the example of Apostle Paul. Titus came to Ap.Paul when he was at Macedonia and told him of the godly zeal, which the members of the church of Corinth had for Ap.Paul. Though harassed and restless, with conflicts externally and fears within, Ap.Paul felt comforted on hearing from Titus about the godly zeal of those at the church of Corinth (II Cor.7:7).The minister (Titus) was happy when he saw the people at church of Corinth showing godly zeal for the apostle and on hearing that the apostle too was happy. Next Ap.Paul wrote to the church in Galatia: "It was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn, Instead you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus Himself. What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me" (Gal.4:13-15)(NIV). The Scriptures teach us that the congregation had a godly zeal for the apostle. Therefore we too should have godly zeal for the apostle whom God has appointed in these last days. Through this, our ministers also would be happy and comforted and the apostle who hears about our godly zeal too will be comforted.

4. Godly zeal for the word of God:-

We should have godly zeal for the word of God. The psalmist said: "My zeal wears me out, for my enemies ignore your words" (Ps.119:139). We the children of God should preserve the word of God as we preserve our own eyes. The victory of satan lies in blunting the sharpness of the word of God, instigating people to act against the word of God and in giving vicious interpretation to the word of God. As we meditate upon the word of God, it is necessary for us to accept it as such and to follow its' underlying spiritual meaning. Satan overcomes people by preaching the word of God falsely, concealing its' true meaning and by blunting its sharpness.

This article was published by Chief Pastor N. Lazar, New Jerusalem Church

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