Sermon Cloud

JC Ryle “If they are consumed in the very burning of their passion for God, they don’t care-they are content. They feel that, like a candle, they were made to burn; and if they are consumed in the burning, then they have only done the work for which God has appointed them.”

The whole of my life is lived under the umbrella of God’s kingdom.  Will I share the joy of life poured out for God – following Paul’s model?  Doing so requires purity and results in no complaint because the Gospel life is too precious to taint. 

Zeal in following Jesus is a burning desire to please God, to do His will, and to advance His glory in the world in every possible way. 

A zealous person stands out because they are a person of one thing. It is not enough to say that they are hard working or passionate. They only see one thing, they care for one thing, they live for one thing, they are swallowed up in one thing; and that one thing is to please God.

Whether they live, or whether they die-whether they are healthy, or whether they are sick-whether they are rich, or whether they are poor-whether they please man, or whether they give offense-whether the are thought wise, or whether they are thought foolish-whether they are accused, or whether they are praised-whether they get honor, or whether they get shame-for all this the single vision person cares nothing at all. They have a passion for one thing, and that one thing is to please God and to advance God’s glory.

Will I invest spiritually in others?  Paul was deeply concerned and involved in others spiritual progress of becoming single-minded.  He was passionate that their would be progress over the long haul. 

Use 3 stories of people who’ve crashed and burned.  We must watch out for our spiritual life and care for it.  It’s breaks our heart to see someone spiritually shipwreck.