Zeal – What Will Burn
Prior to moving to the Allegan area about 4 ½ years ago, my wife, kids and I lived in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan just west of Marquette. I was employed by a mining company and tasked with searching for more minerals and signs of minerals to hopefully bring additional value to the company through discovery of something large enough at a value that would keep the mine operating. There were miners, geologists, metallurgists, engineers, managers, etc. all with special skills and expertise to make it all work well and profitable.
This reminds me of the purpose of the body of Christ with all different types of gifts present to be operated under the leadership of Christ in order for the benefit of the entire body for His glory. If there is one gift or one body part that steps out of the gifting under Christ, the entire body will suffer.
We just wrapped up the series on Zeal. In the last sermon, Davis said something that struck a chord with me. “There are some times, or some seasons in our life where zeal is easy…how do we have zeal for the long term?” The idea of all the gifts or parts of the body of Christ working and working well, is so interconnected with long term zeal because we cannot do this Christian life on our own.
Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” When I read that I ask myself, “what is keeping the faith?” Paul alludes to faith as something that develops and should deepen (Rom 1:17). The power of Christ’s blood is not only for salvation but is what empowers our walk of faith in holiness the rest of our life.
Some of my favorite verses utilize descriptions of precious stones and precious metals and 1 Corinthians 3 and Revelation 21 are two such instances.
1 Corinthians 3:10-17
10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. 16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
We see that there are two paths of how we can build upon Christ that will produce two drastically different things. Our works will be revealed when we are before the judgement seat of Christ (1 Cor 5:10). There are two types. One type burns away and the other remains forever after the intense fire consumes. Gold, silver, and precious stones will never pass away. The wood, hay and straw will ignite and burn rapidly and thoroughly.
The works of our flesh will burn swiftly and completely. They have no place in the coming kingdom and Christ wants us to understand that now so we can begin to experience that now. The works of Christ are the things that will never pass away. Back to this “keeping the faith” idea that Paul writes about to Timothy. It is stepping into a position of humility under Christ to have Him do great works through us, the things that will never pass away. This faith steps outside of the dominion of the old nature and into the dominion of Christ. This faith says, “Jesus, despite how much I want comfort, I want to be right, I want to control this circumstance, this feeling, I will put that down in order to do what You want me to do and say what you want me to say.”
The works of my old nature are clearly evident (Gal 6:19-21), and they will burn. It’s interesting that Paul says that we can still be saved but as if by fire. I’d rather not smell like smoke when Christ brings me into the next life. I hope and pray I smell like Him adorned with His precious metals and precious stones. The works of Christ (or the Fruit of the Spirit) is clearly evident (Gal 6:22-26).
God’s temple is holy, and we are the temple of God (1 Cor 6:19-20). Are we living holy because we love Him and our eyes are fixed on Him? Are we living in such a way where Christ will have very little to burn off of us? There is a direct connection between that deep love and regard of Christ in this life, to the Bride-City that John sees in Revelation 21. The city that will come down from heaven has the glory of God and will be like a most rare jewel (Rev 21:10-11). John says that this city has foundations of every kind of jewel: jasper, sapphire, agate, emerald, onyx, carnelian, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase, jacinth, amethyst, and each gate was made from one pearl each. The city itself is made of pure gold, clear like glass (Rev 21: 18-21).
Are we looking to God, right now, to make and build what only He can in us, just like the Bride-City that will be made and built by Him? What do we maintain in our old nature that is wood, hay, and straw? What are we doing to position ourselves to receive Christ’s works, His things that will never burn away?
Reveleation 21:22-23 says: “22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.”
This reality is so critical because it doesn’t begin to describe the deep oneness we will experience with God in the age to come. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit now. And in this life, are we so in love with Him that we are practicing holiness now? Are we preparing to experience His holiness forever? We will be His temple forever.
Zeal for the long term is seeing the end result. Zeal for Him is understanding and allowing our circumstances, feelings, and situations we experience now to prepare us to keep the faith, to love Him first and foremost. Everything we go through is intended to prepare us be able to present a life at the judgement seat of Christ that is full of gold, silver and precious stones. He is the only one can make those things in us now. Our role is to present ourselves for that now (Romans 12:1-2). Zeal comes from fixing our eyes on Him (Hebrews 12:1-2) no matter what.
Like the mining company that needs all the individual parts to work and produce profit, the Body of Christ needs everyone operating in their gift by fixing their eyes on Him. This is so we can encourage one another to keep the faith and maintain a zeal that can only come from Him, for our benefit and His glory.
One of my favorite preachers is Leonard Ravenhill and I think this quote from him is fitting: “God didn’t come to be a shareholder, forget it! God doesn’t want to share your life; He wants to own it! He doesn’t want partnership; He wants ownership of every part of my being!”