A God and His People, Both Zealous (Sep 27)

Joel 2:12-17

12 Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God? 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: 16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. 17 Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?

Revelation 3:19

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Zealous (Greek) - to have warmth of feeling for or against: - affect, covet (earnestly), (have) desire, (move with) envy, be jealous over

Zealous (Hebrew) - to be (causatively make) zealous, that is, jealous or envious

Zeal (Webster) – eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something, fervor, syn: passion

Joel 2:18, 21

Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people...Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things.

Take a moment to look at the context around Rev. 3:19. Be zealous for God and repent. He will be zealous for you and forgive. It is time to return to God and be right before Him. Do you have a desire in your heart to have fellowship with Him? Do you long for His presence? Break out of the place of death and lackadaisy and call out to God! Let your heart burn with passion for God's righteousness and you will see that passion that God has for His people. He loved you first, after all.

See God (Sep 6)

Let me ask you a couple of questions. Do you serve God? This lesson is for those that answer yes. Are you blessed? I'm going to answer this question for you: yes. Yes it's true that some people seem to have a life of endless blessings and your life, comparatively, seems to be lacking, but I'm sure if you think about it, you can think of several, if not many, ways in which God has blessed you. OK, now that we have that established, I can say that you are blessed and you serve God. But do you serve God because of the blessings? Take away those blessings and see what you have to say about God? Do you fault Him for your problems

Job 1:11

But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

Job 2:9

Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.

Job 42:1-6

1 Then Job answered the LORD, and said, 2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. 3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. 4 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. 5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. 6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

Have you seen God? Or are you serving God just because life is good and it's easy to attribute good things to God? But when the blessings are taken away, do you blame God or see God in the midst of (or in spite of) the difficulty?

Every now and again God will allow us to be tested. It is in these times that we will draw closer to God. In His presence we will see God and we will also see ourselves for who we really are. We won't understand all that happens to us but we can choose to trust God to take us through. On the other side of suffering God makes us usable for His kingdom and we are changed. Healing will come when God's purpose is completed in us.

When our problems go from bad to worse and the answer doesn’t seem to come, there is a bitterness that begins to rise up. We can do one of two things. We can either turn to the Lord and trust in His Word or charge God with "Fatherly negligence". God knows and cares!

God speaks the truth. Truth is only found in Him. You can trust Truth. You can know that God can be trusted in time of blessing and in time of seeming curse. When you can see that, I think that you have seen God. Job said, “I have heard you, but now I see you.”