Zealous For the Mission

Happy Sabbath, everyone! What a great day! Wonderful to see all of our teens contributing in such an amazing way. Thank you, Ayla, for the special music. What a wonderful sentiment. I want to be like that, too. I want to be like those examples in the Bible.

In fact, in our travels that we've been on over the last few weeks, certainly speaks to that very thing. One of the challenges we face in the church is who's going to step up and take over and carry this work on. If Christ doesn't return in the very near future, we need faithful, strong leadership, disciples of Jesus Christ who are willing to carry the baton forward. And so it's exciting to see our teens with the enthusiasm that they have coming from camp and the growth that they've experienced there to be willing and able to do that very thing.

So I'm excited about that. Excited about the fact that throughout the world we have brethren who want to get the job done. And that is exciting. They are zealous for the mission. Sometimes I wonder if I have that same kind of passion that we see exhibited throughout the world. Sometimes we take it for granted because we're right here at the home office.

And we see these things all the time and maybe we take it for granted. And we're pretty blessed in the life that we live. And maybe we don't have that same kind of perspective that others do looking from a whole different point of view. And so I was thinking about this the other day and the various places that we visited on this trip, whether it was in Australia, you think of the various animals that they have there, you know, if you're in the nature programs, whether it's koalas or kangaroos.

We had an opportunity to be in New Zealand and present some presentations there throughout the country. To see people's excitement for the word, to come and listen to lectures about God's way and be willing and wanting to do something about it was really encouraging.

Of course, found out about the kiwis there, and they call themselves kiwis for that matter, and talking about the different animals. From there, we went to South Africa, and of course you've got all the wild animals there that are all across the plains. And I couldn't help but think of my David Attenborough training, if you've been into Blue Planet or any of those types of things.

It came to mind, one of the things I think he said something like, I watched as a group of zebras zipped across the Zimbabwean zoological zone. Well, we weren't in Zimbabwe at the time. We were in South Africa. But I got to thinking about that very thing, this program that he did on zebras came to my mind. In fact, we were walking through the airport and they had zebra hides for sale, which was kind of odd, thinking about the ecology and all those types of things.

They weren't cheap, though. They were like $2,500 a skin, which was like, whoo, boy, look at that. But anyway, the whole thing about zebras came to my mind. And in connection to our travels, in connection to our perspective, in connection to what we've heard about teen camps, do you know what they call a group of zebras? Not just a boring herd, not just an optical illusion. They call them a zeal. A group of zebras are called a zeal. And that became, in my mind, a key phrase, a key word throughout our travels, seeing the zeal and the passion that God's people have for His way.

And as we heard in Ayla's song, I want to be like Jesus and the zeal and the passion that He exhibited. In fact, in one of the passages that we find over in John 2, it's a familiar one, He expressed that very perspective. And I wonder if we have this.

Turn with me over to John 2, verse 13. Now, this particular event took place in the springtime, what we would call the springtime. In Australia, it was winter when we were there. We suffered in the winter of Brisbane, where it was like 70 degrees in the afternoon, which was just beautiful.

There was no snow on the ground. It was wonderful. It was like, wow, if we could experience this kind of winter, it would be great. Now, New Zealand was a little bit chillier. It was definitely a little colder there, a little more rainier, but beautiful area. This particular event takes place in the spring, in the northern hemisphere, where Jesus goes up to Jerusalem.

And we know the story. Verse 14 says, He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves and the money changers doing business. Wasn't happy about this. Verse 15, He made a whip of cords. He drove them all out of the temple. He says, With the sheep and the oxen poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold the doves, Take these things away. Do not make my Father's house a house of merchandise. So here Christ turns that perspective into action. He recognized, well, what is true worship all about? What is honoring God all about? Is it about making money?

Is it about doing for yourself and making sure you benefit from things? Are we in this calling that God's given us for our own benefits? Is that the only perspective there is? Well, Christ set the tone here, and it brought something to mind for the disciples.

So verse 17 says His disciples remembered that it was written, Ziel for your house has eaten me up. Now that's a quotation from Psalm 69.9. That's what the disciples thought of. They thought of an Old Testament prophecy that pointed to the Messiah, that Jesus came and He exhibited a special fervor, a passion for, well, what was it for? What was it reminding them of? Not just simple excitement. It wasn't just about having enthusiasm.

But here they were reminded it was Ziel for God's house. Ziel for God's house. Christ had a fervor for the house of God. It was supposed to be a house of prayer. A house of prayer not just for the Jews, not just for Israel. It was to be a house of prayer for the nations, for everyone. And so this Ziel, this passion that Christ had for His Father's house motivated and moved Him to action.

And so I thought it would be good to think about this in perspective to what God is doing in this world today. What is He doing with us, with His work? What is He doing with the preaching of the gospel today? How can we be zealous like Christ? How can we fulfill an example that He gave for us to put it into practice in our lives? Because here He definitely shows a Ziel. And it is an interesting word that's used here.

A Ziel for your house is a Greek word, Zio, Z-E-O, Zio. And you know what it means? It literally means to boil over, to boil over, like you put a pot of water on the stove and you got a little too much water in there and it actually comes to a boil and overflows. It literally means to glow, to glow. Now, there's a negative side to Ziel.

If they use it in a different way in the New Testament, it can mean to be jealous, like boiling over in jealousy or being obsessed. That's taking it to the far negative extreme. But the way it's used here in John 2, here it's used not just as excitement or enthusiasm, but an eagerness to pursue something. What's Christ pursuing? What was His eagerness to pursue?

He wanted to please God. He wanted God's house to be used for the purposes it was intended for. And so this idea of having strong, passionate feelings should motivate...it motivated Christ to do something and He did something big. He got right in there, overturned the traditions of their selling animals. I mean, it was supposedly for a good reason. Why were they selling those animals after all?

For sacrifices. People would come to Jerusalem, they didn't have an animal to sacrifice, so they'd sell them so they could be used for...that's not necessarily a bad thing. But it turned into merchandising the brethren. It turned into their own self-benefit. And so here, Jesus demonstrates this fact. It's more than just being enthusiastic for God. If you notice, it was zeal for God's house. And He uses that kind of strange phrase, it's eaten me up. What was that talking about? It's eaten me up. That sounds kind of weird, doesn't it? Well, when you think about that, you eat something, what happens to that food that you've eaten that goes down inside of you?

Well, your body goes to work and stomach acids and all this stuff, and eventually you absorb it. You absorb the nutrients. And so in a sense, that's what's going on with Christ. Zeal for God's house has absorbed Him. It has focused Him. It's engaged His entire attention and put all the other things aside so it motivated it into action. In fact, some of the translations say, my devotion to you, God, burns in me like a fire. It consumes me. You've eaten it and you consume it. And so that's the perspective that Christ gives here.

Having a motivating focus to passionately serve God and His house. Now think about just the idea of God's house. God's house at that time was the temple. But spiritually speaking, that points us in an entirely different direction from a physical type of building to the household of God. And that should move us with an enthusiasm, with a passion, and with a dedication to do something, to do something. Are we active? Are we ready to do something? We heard about our teens, ready to move, ready to serve because of the enthusiasm and the lessons that they learned at camp and their eagerness to please God and serve Him.

Not just about doing fun things at camp, but turning that into serving God. Well, for us, it's a similar type of thing. If you turn with me over to Titus 2. In Titus 2, we find the Apostle Paul instructing this young minister, Titus, how can you be a profitable servant for God? This is kind of the theme of what Paul is writing to Titus in this letter. And as he does, he's writing to us as well. And notice how he uses what I think that example of Jesus Christ and passes that on to Titus in a very practical way.

Titus 2, verse 11, he writes, The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. Well, what is the grace of God that has appeared to all? Well, God's given grace through Jesus Christ. It's the only hope we have through Jesus Christ.

He has appeared. And it says, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live in the zone. Isn't that what that's saying, teens? We should live in the zone. It's not just a camp thing. The zone should be the way I live my life. The zone should be something I bring back. And I demonstrate that in my life. And I have a zone perspective, not just a camp, but here's the zone.

We should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age. And we know the stark difference between what it's like at camp and what it's like when we get home and we're back into what the normal, everyday teen faces out there in the world. Wow, what a difference. Now we've watched the world demonstrate its morality, even at the Olympics. The morality that was shown and encouraged. You know, we see that. And it's such an opposite from what God's way is. And so He says, that's what we should put into practice.

Verse 13, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Yeah, that's the focus. We're looking for the ultimate zone. The ultimate zone will be the kingdom of God. And so we live according to the standards of that kingdom today, just like we did at camp. We put those principles into practice because ultimately, verse 14 says, He gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all those ways that are outside the zone, from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people.

Yeah, we're to be a purified people. We're to be a people that are righteous, that we've been called to righteousness. We've been justified by God. We've been forgiven of our sins. And so we've been declared righteous. His own special people. And He says, well, it's not just about being special people.

Now that would be enthusiasm. That would be a sense of eagerness. But it goes back to the example of Christ, that Christ's passion moved Him to action. And so here we see Paul say the same thing. Purify for Himself a special people, zealous for good works. Motivated to put that perspective into action. Zealous for good, that's the zeal word, the boiling over word, the eagerness to do, to pursue something, pursuing what? Well, here he even says, zealous for good works. Would you say that that reflects your perspective, my perspective? You know, that idea of the zeal that Christ exhibited and what Paul's talking about here involves a loyalty, a loyalty to accomplish what God's given us to do. And when you travel through the world as we've had this opportunity, you see that. You see a passion in Australia to preach the gospel, to do it in a way that reaches those in Australia. And they've come up with some unique ways to do that very thing. We see that in New Zealand, a small group, a group that's been through so many difficulties, and yet they recognize we have a shared goal. Together we can accomplish the preaching of the world. We can preach the world in all nations. We can fulfill Matthew 28 when we work together, and it's going to take an uncompromising attitude and a passionate spirit toward accomplishing that.

How can we work together? Because we're not just about America. We know we've been given a work to do throughout the entire world. Well, how can we do that unless we work together, unless we have this shared goal and have a passionate attitude that moves us to action to work together? We can't just be an American-centric work. We must work together, which means doing things differently in different areas so that that work can go out, and no matter what the obstacles are. They're different. Different obstacles in different areas. So those challenges that stand in the way can be overcome by the power of God's Spirit. There's no possible way that we can be restricted when we respond by the power of God's Spirit. To see this kind of passion in other areas of the world certainly is motivating to me personally. It should be motivating to all of us to see how they want to accomplish these things. In some ways, it's been kind of interesting to see that, you know, the way that they've used AI to help spread the gospel, use social media in their areas to promote the gospel. Those things have been exciting and encouraging to see.

When we were in Mexico, they had put together some videos using AI, taking some of the videos that we've produced and used AI to somehow make me speak Spanish, which actually comes off a little deceitful since I know like, yes, I see, see, see, and that's about it. And yet, they can do that, and hopefully what they can do is use it so that they can preach the gospel. I use an American gringo to preach the gospel and just make him speak Spanish when you could do it yourself. You could take that same energy and use it, and you do it. And I think with that kind of encouragement, we can see that happen. Seen some amazing examples. If you've been on social media, take a look at some of the examples that they produced in Latin America for social media, just little short little things, powerful videos. In fact, one, quite a few of them, using a young lady to challenge those that might watch those little productions that they've produced on social media. It's really, really interesting to see that. We've seen in New Zealand, Mr. Mike Feik, our pastor there, has brought the people together, and they want to do a work.

And so we see that even in the presentations that I was able to do that. I did several presentations throughout New Zealand, both in the North Island and the South Island. And there were about 50 people that came that had not only just an interest, but had watched videos and came equipped with an understanding of what God's plan and His purpose were about.

And so I hope that you'll pray that God would continue to lead them to the truth so that they could become a part of this amazing work that God is doing. And so it was encouraging to see that very thing and to see the people that were encouraged by us and wanting and willing to take what we can help them with and make it their own so that they can reach those people in their areas. I had an opportunity to talk with a Maori leader. He's kind of a chief of an area that is a Sabbatarian. He came in contact with the United Church of God. And Mr. Feike has visited several times. He came to our presentations. We talked quite a bit about the Gospel, about his family, about his tribal people. He has a building that now he's posted the Holy Days and God's calendar right there in front of the whole church when they come to meet together.

And so it was interesting talking with him. And sometimes he said, you know, we've got 50 people that'll come and he wants to be a part of the work. And he says, other times we've got 13 people. He said, sometimes they're just not very passionate. And it was interesting just listening to a talk how fishing gets in the way because, well, it's time to go catch some fish. And so I want to do that rather than come and worship on the Sabbath. So it was just interesting seeing the different challenges that they face. And yet the different cultures that were prevalent throughout New Zealand, you still saw those who were dedicated, who want to lead and be passionate like Christ and moving them to act. And so how can we support that? How can we encourage that here so many thousands of miles away? I think there is a way. I think there is a way and a way that we need to come together as a unified body to do that. One thing that stands out when you consider this trait of zealousness that Christ exhibited is one that we see an example of in the Bible back in 2 Kings. We have the example of Christ. There's another one here that stood out in my mind back in 2 Kings 6. If you'd like to turn there with me. 2 Kings 6. A familiar story about the king of Syria who is coming to make war on Israel. So Elisha, God's prophet, has a message to warn the king of Israel. And so he's going to have this warning message for Israel. You have disobeyed, you need to obey God. So God sends Elisha to give this warning message to the king of Israel. Well, you think the Syrians want that message to go? No, they don't want Israel to be warned. So what do they do?

The Syrians go to capture Elisha. And so by the time we get to verse 15 here in 2 Kings 6, Elisha is surrounded by a huge army of Syrians. Verse 15, it says, When the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army surrounding the city with horses and chariots. So this is Elisha's servant. And the servant said to Elisha, "'Elisha, alas, my master, what are we going to do?' Verse 16, Elisha answered, "'Don't fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.'" What do you think his servant thought? Are you crazy? We're surrounded! There's no way.

We're going down. They're going to kill us. What are you thinking?

There's just a couple. We're a handful and we're in trouble.

But verse 17, Elisha prayed, and he said, "'Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.' Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." Boy, there's a change of perspective. Talk about a whole new vision. There it was. It's like, you were right. There are more with us. So what happens? Verse 18, "'When the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the...'" They came down. They're going to attack him. They're going to overwhelm Elisha. "'But Elisha prays to the Lord, and he says, Strike this people, I pray, and kill them all...'" Oh, no, it doesn't say kill them all.

"'...strike the people with blindness.'" And so God does. God strikes them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. Talk about a crazy circumstance. So he's got this huge Syrian army that suddenly they're all blind. They're all blind. Now we can take control. So what are you going to do with these Syrians? Well, he takes them to Samaria. He takes them to Samaria, and he puts on a feast for them. So if you can imagine, I'll just kind of summarize the story here. He takes them to the Samaria. God opens their eyes and it's like, oh no, we are at the capital of our enemies, and now we're the ones that are surrounded. Now they're going to kill us all.

But instead, if you look at verse 23, Elijah prepared a great feast for them.

And after they ate and they drank, he sent them away and they went to their master. They went back to the king of Syria. And so it says, the bands of the Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel. Exhibit, loving your neighbor, loving your enemy. Can you imagine this? Yeah, they could have killed them all. But instead, we see, I think a key trait to zealousness is this boldness that Elisha exhibited. The boldness to trust God first and foremost, and the boldness to act on it, to show a care and a concern for you. Well, I could have wiped them out and they wouldn't have come back again. But instead, he put on a big meal, fed them and sent them back home.

And the results were the same, weren't they? They didn't come back into Israel after that.

How can I be like that? I want to be like that. It was another one that we probably could have added to the list in the special music that we heard today. I want to be like Elisha. How can I be bold like that? I mean, it meant he didn't have fear. He saw things in a whole different way.

What was the key? I think that key is expounded a little bit over in Hebrews 13.

Take a look at Hebrews 13, verse 5.

Hebrews 13, verse 5 gets to the heart of the matter.

I think it's at the heart of the matter of the way that Christ exhibited that zealousness.

The heart of the matter that Paul encouraged Titus in. The heart of the matter for Elisha, as he was dealing with the Assyrian army, and for us as well. Notice what we're told in Hebrews 13, 5. Let your conversation be without covetousness. Not just your conversation, that means your lifestyle. Let your life be lived without covetousness. Obey God. It says, Be content with such things as you have. For he said, I'll never leave you nor forsake you. So the key for Christ, he knew God was with him. The key for Elisha, he knew God was there, even though he couldn't see it until God opened their eyes. Couldn't see it. It wasn't obvious to everybody, but he knew it without a doubt. And so we're told God says, I'll never leave you nor forsake you. So as a result, so we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man shall do to me.

And that's the key, I think, to zealousness, the key to boldness. God is with us. I can stay in the zone. I can live this godly lifestyle. I can advance the gospel. God's given me a personal mission. It's not just about my salvation. I've been called to be a part of a collective, part of a group of godly people who have dedicated their lives to serve God. I can stand for the Sabbath. I can stand for God's way. I can obey God. I can be an example.

I can be a mentor. I can be a guide. I heard Melody talk about that. She's ready to be staff.

That's the exact thing we're talking about. I can help and I can serve and I can help develop otherwise, which means I'm not going to compromise. I'm not going to compromise God's way. Well, I left camp. Now I'm just going to, you know, forget the zone, go and do all kinds of other... No, no. I'm not going to compromise. And that goes for all of us. I'm not going to compromise in morality. I'm not going to take on the ways of this world. I'm going to stand for God's way whether it comes to morality, whether it comes to alcohol, whether it comes to anger, whether it comes to whatever it may be. I'm going to stand for the truth. And that means having that kind of boldness that, yeah, it says what needs to be said no matter what the consequences may be.

Elisha certainly did that. Jesus Christ certainly did that. I mean, think of the prophet Nathan. Nathan did it when it came to David. David, you're the man. You're the one who sinned to stand before the king when it was necessary. And it's interesting, Peter and the disciples when they began to preach the gospel, how were they taken? They didn't like it. The Sanhedrin didn't like that. The Jewish leadership didn't like that. So they beat them. But what was their reaction? They said, we cannot help but speak the things we've seen and heard. And that has to be our approach. Can we, as God's servant, have that kind of boldness? Can we have that kind of being eaten up for God's way? That's what it's going to take. That's what it's going to take if we're all going to work together across the globe to preach the truth of God. I mean, there's a powerful section here in Ephesians 3 that involves each and every one of us. Because when we think of this personal mission that God's called us to, collectively together, we all have a contribution to make when it comes to preaching the gospel. Yes, Jesus Christ is our personal Savior. He's called us to personal salvation. But for us, as God's first fruits, it goes beyond that. That it's not just about me. It's about us. It is about the mission. It is about the vision for the church. Ephesians 3 talks about the zeal for the church of God. It was a passion that Christ had for the house of God. He exhibited that at the temple. But for us, the temple today is His church. Notice Ephesians 3.8. Here Paul says, To me who am less than the least of the saints, now he wasn't all full of himself, he says this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. And so we could fall into the idea, well, okay, home office will preach the gospel, or a magazine will preach the gospel, or a video will preach the, or a booklet will take care, a website will take care of that. No, I have a responsibility, each of us as individuals. Here's Paul talking about his responsibility. And one of those things included what he says in verse 9. To make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery. The fellowship of the mystery. The mystery being, well, what's mysterious to this world? They don't know what life's about. They don't understand God's purpose. They don't know His plan. They don't understand what God's doing. They don't realize God is producing a spiritual family. They don't understand Christ is going to return and establish the kingdom of God. That ultimately, we have the potential to be spirit-born children in His family. They don't get it. It's a mystery. But God's revealed that to us.

And Paul says there is a fellowship of the mystery. We understand. We know. And so we have a fellowship. That's the word koinonia. We have a partnership in this mystery. We have a commonality. That's what that word means. A commonality in the mystery. We have a sharing in declaring that mystery. In preaching the gospel. In living our faith. And Paul is preaching that fellowship. That connection. That sharing. That partnership. All of us have that partnership in the mystery. And he says here, which was from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ. And notice what he says, verse 10. To the intent. Okay, what about this connection? What about the sharing of the mystery? To the intent. In other words, here's the action of the passion that God's given us. That now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church.

Made be known by the church. In fact, he says it would be such a powerful witness of living in the zone. It would be such a powerful witness to what God's purpose and plan is all about. It would be such a powerful witness that we are living the lifestyle of Jesus Christ that it would be made known to the principalities and powers in heavenly places, not just to the physical world, but also be a representation to the angelic realm as well. And he says, according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So am I demonstrating what that eternal purpose is all about? Does my life reflect that? The ultimate goal, making known the wisdom of God, proclaiming that we as God's church, we are called out, we are the ecclesia, we are called out and brought together, not just for personal salvation, but to declare the wisdom of God. And so by our lifestyle, people should wonder, well, what's the deal with them? Why are they different? Why do they have a hope? Why can they live that way? And so when we recognize that, we assemble together, we're brought together to do just that.

And collectively all around the world, we have that collective responsibility to make known this mystery, make known the gospel, preach that gospel, but not just make it known, we have to live it. We have to be that gospel. And so we know God's given us the ability to do that. It's been amazing to see throughout the world, you know, God's people ready, willing, and wanting to put this out there, to live the gospel and to declare it to others. Well, we can do this. We need to do this. We know 1 Corinthians 12 tells us about the gifts that God gives His body. He's given us as His body so many wonderful abilities and gifts so that we can do this very thing. And so as we think about that, I think we have to have that kind of perspective.

We see the world falling apart around us. We see the crazy things that are happening. I mean, just this year alone, there are 60 governments in this world that are having elections. Some of them have already taken place this and surprising, shocking things that have been happening around the world. You know, we saw France predicted to go totally conservative, and suddenly they're not. Imagine that. And look what's happening. Yeah, there's a vital change that's happening throughout the world. It's not just a United States thing. It's all around the world. And so to have that kind of perspective that we can't help but act on what God's given us.

I think of what's written in Jeremiah. Jeremiah was a similar case. I want to be like Jeremiah. Talk about a passion and a zealousness. One of the things that's exhibited by Jeremiah is a relentlessness. You know, he was one that had so many challenges and so many difficulties, so many things that seem to get in the way of him preaching God's Word to Israel and then to Judah as well. And yet, notice his perspective here in Jeremiah chapter 20. Notice verse 8.

Jeremiah chapter 20 verse 8. Here's Jeremiah. Is this our perspective? You feel this way?

Jeremiah says, whenever I speak, I must cry out. I must shout. He had to be a living, breathing example of God's way. He says, For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and a derision all day. If I say, verse 9, I won't mention Him or speak anymore about His name. Okay, forget it. I'll let somebody else take care of that. I don't need to do this.

What was his perspective? If I say I won't mention Him or speak anymore, then within me there's something like a burning fire shut up in my bones and I'm weary of holding it in and I cannot. I cannot. Is that our perspective? And he says down in verse 12, Lord of hosts, you test the righteous, you see the heart of the mind and see your retribution upon them. For to you I have committed my cause. And so he couldn't help but do this. There was, for him, no choice. And boy, they fought against him over and over. He preached to Israel. He preached to Judah. They tried to ship him off to Egypt, but he continued to preach there. They threw him down in a muddy cistern. Let's get rid of this dude. But he continued to preach.

He continued to talk about what God's purpose and plan. And he was a tenacious one that relentlessly always made sure he was preaching and teaching and living by God's Word.

So he was going to fulfill that mission that God had called him to. And so for us, am I determined for the mission that God's called me to? And we know that's kind of a two-part thing. We know there's an inward aspect to this mission. We know that, that God's called us to personal salvation. There's no doubt about that. He's called us to live his way, an inward kind of a thing, to grow in grace and knowledge. We understand those kinds of things. We know that we are to be conformed to the image of his son. Romans 8 and 29 certainly inspires us that way.

Yes, that's absolutely important. But what we found as we traveled, we recognize there's an outward aspect to the mission that God's called every one of us to. We know, Matthew 28, the end of that chapter, you get to what, verse 19-20, it talks about, go make disciples and care for those disciples. Preach that Word. Live that Word.

But it's an amazing opportunity that God's given all of us, every single one of us.

There's an interesting example in Luke 14.

In Luke 14, here Christ is giving an example of this tremendous meal that he's putting on.

It's an interesting story that he gives here, where he's inviting them to this great banquet. And in Luke 14, it's interesting how he talks about this in connection to God's purpose and God's plan, inviting many to what God is doing, to ultimately the kingdom of God, kind of a connection to like the wedding supper here. And in verse 16, he uses this analogy, this story of a certain man that gave a great supper. It invited many. And of course, knowing the story as it was time for the meal, what happened? Well, verse 18, they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said, well, I've bought a piece of ground. I've got to go see to it. You've got to give me a break. I can't be there. Really?

That's a good excuse. Well, verse 19, another said, I bought five yoke of oxen. I've got to go take care of them. Let me be still another. I've married a wife. I can't come. My wife won't let me come. Really? Really? So everybody had excuse. In other words, life got in the way.

Life got in the way from doing what God called them to do.

Does life get in our way? It's interesting then what happens next. Once reports back to the master, hey, they're not coming. He tells them, verse 21 toward the end of the verse, go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city. Bring in here the poor, the maim, the lame, the blind. And there's still more. There's still room. The job's not done yet. You can see a couple You can see a connection here to preaching and teaching and God calls people to His way. He says, do more. Do more. You can even do more. And it's interesting here that He says then, go out, verse 23, into the highways, the hedges, compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. There's that house word again. My house may... The house of God should be a house of prayer. The house of God, His church today, compel them to come to the house. Compel them. You know, have we taken this kind of a perspective? Compel them? That's not like, well, I'm just going to throw out, you know, just a warning. No, they need to be here. That's the message here that literally means to urge them to be a part of what God's doing. Press upon them. Insist. Persuade them.

Show them this is the best way to live. Demonstrate that way to live. Help them to see the blessings of being a part of God's way. You know, that's not just a sermon. That's not just an article. That's not just... That means your personal example. You go. You talk to them. You demonstrate God's way of life and you show them the blessings of living God's way. That's part of the preaching and teaching so that, hey, this is God's way and God's way works. It works to live in the zone. It works to live God's way. And we can do that by our personal example.

And so, compel them. Press upon them. Urge that you do this. Each and every one of us have this responsibility. Every one of us has this responsibility. And so, we need to ask ourselves, am I really consumed with the mission that God's given? Am I really determined in this way?

Am I relentless like a Jeremiah or Elijah? Am I like a Christ as He tells this story?

There are so many examples. As we travel the world, we heard some of the examples, even historical examples that speak to this. One while we were in Mexico that came up with the Mayans and the Aztecs was the example of Cortes. The Spanish explorer comes over in 1519 to explore the new world. What does he do to make sure their mission will be accomplished? I mean, they only came with, what was it, 500 or so soldiers? And here they're going to conquer the new world with 500 soldiers against millions of native people. How are you going to do that?

Do you remember what he did? He burned the ships. He burned his ships. All the ships were burned. There was no going back. We are going to accomplish the mission. There's no heading back. There's no return. And so all 11 of his ships, they burned them. And so going forward is the only option.

Cortes isn't the only example. And I think the example of Alexander the Great set out to conquer the Persian Empire. I mean, how are you going to do that? How are you going to conquer the world?

Well, he crossed the Dardanelles into Asia Minor with just a small group. Tough terrain.

Huge Persian force that he was going to come against. But because of his bold tactics, because of his willingness to engage the enemy directly, directly in combat, despite overwhelming odds, they conquered. They conquered. And there were a series of decisive victory that eventually they conquered the Persians. He conquered the world by age 35. So not only expanded the empire, but influenced generations to come with his military strategy, with his leadership, and of course, then the Greek culture as well. I mean, these examples are absolutely amazing. One that came to mind on our trip was Admiral Lord Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar. It's happened near Gibraltar. Gibraltar was that area where Lord Nelson engaged Napoleon's fleet. And so the Spanish fleet, with the French fleet, came up against the Brits. And without Lord Nelson's leadership, his fleet was outnumbered. They were totally outnumbered. But he decided, I'm not backing off. We are going to engage the enemy. He was aggressive and bold in his tactics and attacked the line of the fleet that came up against him. It was able to separate them into smaller parts.

And so despite being outnumbered, he led the British ultimately to a decisive victory, ensuring British supremacy, really ensuring the promises that God gave to Abraham would be fulfilled, that they held the sea gates. And so even though, one of the consequences of the battle, Nelson died during the battle. But his example of fearless leadership was certainly one that still carries on in naval history. And so these examples were ones that came to mind. I even thought of the example of the Alamo. Remember the Alamo? We've all heard of that, right? Yeah, remember the Alamo. Davy Crockett held up in the Alamo. They had, what was it, like 180 people in the Alamo held up against Santa Ana's army. Is Texas going to gain its freedom from the Spaniards or not? Well, it was not going to happen that day. They held out for 13 days.

They held out for 13 days against the thousands that came against them.

Now, they lost. They were eventually overrun. But because of their dedication, it galvanized the whole movement for Texan support throughout America. And so ultimately, what happened? It eventually led to the victory of what was the Battle of San Jacinto and then Texas independence. And I think of those examples in connection to what we read about Elisha, what we read about Jesus, what we read about Jeremiah. And I think of those physical examples, if they could do that, if these physical warriors could dedicate themselves and yield themselves to the goals of just earthly things, physical things.

How much greater should our commitment be to not just physical goals, physical things that could be put, but our commitment to preach the Gospel, our commitment to make disciples, our commitment to take care of those disciples, our commitment to overcome spiritual darkness. That's what we've been called to. And as God's zealous servants, we always have to come back to the basis. What's the basis for that passion?

What's the basis for that motivation? Well, maybe that's where we need to realign ourselves on a continual basis. I think of Ephesians 6. If you turn with me over to Ephesians 6 verse 10, this is where it's at. This is a dedication that we saw throughout the world. When you think of the persecution that our dear brethren have gone through in Bangladesh, and yet they are passionate with zeal, not just to hang on, but to preach the Gospel and live the Gospel.

When you think of what's happened in Pakistan and Kashif over there, standing strong and preaching the Word, no matter what the rest of the country is doing, standing for their way. When you think of others who are going through great difficulties, governments that have been overturned, that come against Christianity, and yet they stand for the truth. This is where their zeal is based. This is where we need to be based. Ephesians 6.10 says, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and the power of His might.

I can't do it myself. Even together, we can't do it. Not unless we put our confidence in God. That's the only way. The power of His might. And, of course, Ephesians 6 goes on to talk about the armor of God. And so when we recognize that very fact, and we constantly come back and we are renewed in our strength, renewed in the Spirit of God, to be strong with His power, we can do this. We can do that. In fact, it's such a powerful thing.

I think of the end of the resurrection chapter in 1 Corinthians 15. The end of that chapter speaks to this same thing. After talking about God's plan and His purpose in 1 Corinthians 15 and the resurrection, the coming Kingdom of God, this is the amazing conclusion that, okay, in the meantime, what am I supposed to do? Well, 1 Corinthians 15, here at the end, yes, verse 58. 1 Corinthians 15, 58, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, be immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.

Now, this is God's work, the work God's doing within me, but collectively within His church as well, knowing your labor is not in vain. Yeah, that's what it's about. That's what it's about. In fact, if you think about even the messages to the churches in Revelation, we have all those seven churches that are spoken to there. Do you remember what God told the Laodiceans? He said, repent. We told all of them except Philadelphia. Repent, but He told the Laodiceans, be zealous.

Be zealous. Be boiling over. Be passionate. Let that passion move to action. Have that eagerness to go after what God has intended for you individually, but ultimately together. And together, that gospel can be preached to the world. And so, Cleo has seen a nice head. Let's do it. Let's do it with the might that God gives us. We can have the kind of spiritual zealousness that it's going to take to accomplish the mission that God's given all of us. So I suppose we could say we should be not just a group of zebras, but spiritual zeros.

Let's be a zeal, a spiritual zeal, a group of God's people who are zealous for God's house, like Jesus Christ, like Elisha, like Egeromiah, bold, determined, uncompromising. Because ultimately, we are that house. God's called us to be His temple. And since we have Christ in us, let's have His perspective. Let's have His guidance. And let's be sure that we personally are committed to advance the mission He's called us to as His zealous servants.