To be Zealous or not to be Zealous

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NLT)

There is a time for everything,

a season for every activity under heaven.

A time to be born and a time to die.

A time to plant and a time to harvest.

A time to kill and a time to heal.

A time to tear down and a time to rebuild.

A time to cry and a time to laugh.

A time to grieve and a time to dance.

A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.

A time to embrace and a time to turn away.

A time to search and a time to lose.

A time to keep and a time to throw away.

A time to tear and a time to mend.

A time to be quiet and a time to speak up.

A time to love and a time to hate.

A time for war and a time for peace.

What do Elijah, John the Baptist, and Apostle James & John has in common? They were very zealous. But they were not perfect but still learning during their time. They would be very zealous but at times they may have tried to go overboard. In Luke 9:51-56 describes time James & John the apostles wanted to have Jesus set fire to village of Samaritan (imitate the day of Elijah) for refusing to believe the gospel. But Jesus rebuked them that wanted to save them not destroy them. Then later in Acts 8:5-8, we find Philip preached to the same village and marvelous thing happened. You can read it for yourself.

I was reading “12 Ordinary men” book by John McArthur, about Apostle James & John. Jesus gave them nickname “Boanerges” which means “Sons of Thunder”. Mark 3:17: James and John (the sons of Zebedee, but Jesus nicknamed them "Sons of Thunder". This passion and zeal they had is in the right heart in Village of Samaritan, but question how to apply it.

In page 79 of this book John writes, “If there is a key word that applies to life of the apostle James, the word is passion. From little we know about him, it is obvious that he was a man of intense fervor and intensity. In fact, Jesus gave James and John a nickname: Boanerges---“Sons of Thunder.” That defines James’s personality in very vivid terms. He was zealous, thunderous, passionate, and fervent."

We can be zealous for the Lord but there may be time we are over zealous. We can be zealous, thunderous, passionate, and fervent but harnessed and tempered with love. As today's blog title says when to be zealous or not to be zealous, Guys now is the time to be Zealous for the Lord with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Lastly, John McArthur mention in page 93, “The Son of Thunder had been mentioned y Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and shaped by those means into a man whose zeal and ambition were useful instruments in the hands of God for spreading of the kingdom. Still courageous, zealous, and committed to the truth, he had apparently learned to use those qualities for the Lord’s service, rather than for his own self-aggrandizement."

Lord,

Give us men this zealous, thunderous, passionate, and fervent motivation to imitate the “Sons of Thunder”, for Your service, Amen.