Now, of course, the chapter here deals a great deal with the person of Jacob, and that's
what I want to talk about this morning, is Jehu.
And of course, his story starts in verse 9 there, where he's commissioned to go out and
to execute the judgment and wrath of God.
He's anointed and told that he's going to be made king there, and he's to go out and
he's to take vengeance for God on the house of Ahab.
And really, what Jehu's story is, is it's a story of revival.
It's probably one of the greatest stories of revival.
It's one of my personal favorites.
I think anybody who's read the Bible through and knows the story of Jehu, I mean, he ranks
up there.
He kind of ends poorly there, as we saw at the end, and if it weren't for that, there'd
probably be a lot more children today being named Jehu.
No one really wants to name their kid Jehu because of the way he ended his life.
There may be some out there.
I know I've pondered it, but he kind of got a bad rap at the end.
But really, when you think about it, he did great things for God.
He did one of my favorite stories in the Bible.
And what we see here is that it's a story of revival, and often when we think of revival,
we think of it in the sense of something being restored, something being brought back that
was once great, something that had simmered down or grown cold or even died.
It's reviving it.
It's bringing it back.
But really, this is a story of revival, not so much of bringing something back, but really,
it's a story of replacement.
You see, revival can come not only in the sense that something's being revived, but
also that it can just be pushed out of the way and completely replaced, as is what's
happened to Ahab.
His house is being destroyed from off the face of the earth.
He's just being wiped out by God so that he can be replaced by another king.
It's not that Jehu went there to try and talk sense to the house of Ahab or bring them around
or try to help him see things his way.
He just took them out.
He just wiped them out and replaced them.
So we see that revival is not just a restoration, but can also be a replacement.
And that's what's happening here.
Jehu's just mopping up the house of Ahab after Ahab had been killed there back in 1 Kings.
And Jehu, as we've mentioned, he's a man who's just known for his zeal.
That's just one thing after another in the story.
It's just him going out and just doing these great things.
And if you look there in 2 Kings 10, verse 15, the Bible says that when he was departed,
he lighted up on Jehonadab, the son of Rechab, coming to meet him.
And he saluted him and said to him, Is thine heart right as mine heart is with thy heart?
And Jehonadab answered, It is, if it be, give me thine hand.
And he gave him his hand and he took him up into the chariot and he said, Come with me
and see my zeal for the Lord.
So we see that Jehu was a man who proclaimed his own zeal.
He said, Come see my zeal.
But we also see from this verse that zeal is something that can be seen.
Zeal is something that you can show somebody.
Zeal is something that you can look at another person and see whether or not they have it.
And we can see that because Jehu was saying, Come with me and see my zeal.
So the title of my sermon this morning is, What does zeal look like?
What does zeal look like?
That's a question we need to ask ourselves and I believe that we can look here at Jehu's
life and see that zeal is something that can be seen by others because zeal is something
that results in actions.
If we have zeal, we're going to have actions in our lives.
That's how we're going to show the people we have zeal.
People can just say they have zeal, but we know whether or not they do by the actions,
the things that they do.
That's why he said, Come with me and see my zeal.
He didn't say, I am a very zealous man.
You should believe me.
He said, Come, I'll show you what I'm going to do.
You see, Jehu is a man of action.
He's remembered not so much for what he said.
There's no great eloquent speeches of Jehu in the Bible.
He's remembered for what he did.
He's remembered for going out and doing all the great works that he did for God.
And he had certain characteristics that made him zealous.
And if we can identify the characteristics that Jehu had that made him a zealous individual,
then we can understand what it means to be zealous and we can see the kind of revival
that Jehu was able to see.
That we can take part in revival in the way that Jehu did, in a very zealous way.
We can see the characteristics that he had.
And really, it's important because today we need revival in our churches.
We need revival in the sense of things being restored.
Of course, that's what we would like to see, especially with a lot of these older churches.
We would like to see ones that have been around a while, just grown cold, that have kind of
erred from the way, that are wandering from the Word of God, we would love to see them
come back.
We would love to see them hear the Word of the Lord and come back and we would love to
see revival in the sense of them being restored.
But the fact is, if that doesn't happen, we're going to have to replace them.
And really, that's the path that this movement and this church and other churches like this
are headed down.
Where it's not so much we're just trying to reach out and get what we can, and we are
doing that.
And of course, that is the ideal that we would see that we have to have an understanding
that there's a time when things just need to be replaced.
And to do that, in order to go out and do a great work like that, it's going to require
effort, and it's going to require zeal on the part of the individual.
So there's really just three traits in Jehu's life that I want to look at this morning that
are traits that I believe would be part of a person who had zeal.
And if we could look at a person who had zeal, we could identify these three traits.
These are three traits that we could try to make a part of our own life and have zeal.
Now if you would, turn to 1 Kings chapter 19.
In 1 Kings chapter 19, we're going to see that Jehu, the first characteristics that
he had was that Jehu had a destination.
Jehu had a destination.
He had somewhere to be.
He had something to do.
1 Kings 19, beginning in verse 1, the Bible said,
Of course, we know the story that God feeds them and sends them back to Mount Sinai and
He goes into the rock and He sees the fire and the earthquake and the Lord speaks to
them.
And if you look there, in verse 16, excuse me, verse 15, God tells him, gives him a message.
He says, And the Lord said unto him, Go, return thy way to the wilderness of Damascus, and
when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.
And Jehu the son of Nimshai shall thou anoint to be king over Israel.
And Elisha the son of Shaphat and Abel-meloah shall thou anoint to be a prophet in thy room.
And it came to pass that him that escaped the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay, and him
that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.
So we see here that Jehu was given a very specific task.
He's told to go do something.
And this was the charge that was given in our text, if you go over there in 2 Kings
chapter 9, the Bible says, So this is when Jehu is anointed king and given this charge
that God gave to Elisha.
Elijah comes back and he sends one of his servants to go and anoint Jehu.
And when he's anointed, the Bible reads here in verse 5, verse 4, So the young man, even
the young man, the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead, and when he came, behold, the captains of
the host were sitting.
And he said, I have an errand to thee, O captain, and Jehu unto all of us.
And he said, to thee, O captain, and he arose and went into the house, and he poured the
oil on his head and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I have anointed thee
king over the people of the Lord, even over Israel, and thou shalt smite the house of
Ahab thy master, that I might avenge the blood of my servants and the prophets, and the blood
of the servants of the Lord at the hand of Jezebel.
So this is where he receives the anointing, but he's also given that very specific charge.
This is where Jehu is given the destination, he's given a very specific goal, something
that he has to go out and accomplish, and it was to go out and to, you know, slay the
house of Ahab.
And that, you know, today, that's not our task.
Our task is not to go out and start, you know, slaying or set up some kind of monarchy or
some kind of theocracy and try to reign over the land.
But God has also given us a very specific task.
God has a destination for us.
And that, mainly that overarching thing, that overarching thing in our life that we have
to accomplish for God, the destination that we're all headed for, is that our life would
bring glory to God.
I mean, if someone were to come to us and say, what is the purpose of life?
Why are we here?
Ultimately, you know, we could say, well, it's about doing this or about doing that.
It's about, you know, trying to reach people with the gospel.
And that's part of, that is a big reason why we're here.
But why is it that we need to go out and reach people for the gospel so that they might be
saved, right?
But really, what God is trying to accomplish through that is to bring glory to Himself.
You know, that His mercy would be known on the earth and that He would receive glory
for that throughout all eternity.
And think of the glory we're going to give to God when we get to heaven.
You know, we're saved by grace through faith.
We're saved by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
And when we get to heaven, that's going to be what heaven is about.
It's about giving God glory for that.
And that's something that we're going to do for eternity.
God is going to be glorified throughout all eternity for what Jesus Christ, His Son, has
done for us.
So the point of our life ultimately is to glorify God.
We do that by going out and doing works for Him.
By planting churches, by preaching the Word, by preaching the gospel and seeing how they're
saved.
The Bible says in Matthew 5,
Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father
which is in heaven.
That is the point of our good works.
It's not to pat ourselves on the back or feel good about ourselves and so that we would
glorify our Father which is in heaven.
Romans 15 says,
Now the God of patience and consolation grant thee to be like-minded one toward another
according to Christ Jesus, that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God,
to confirm the promises made unto the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for
His mercy as it is written,
For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.
Ephesians 3 says this in verse 21,
Unto Him be glory in the church by Jesus Christ throughout all ages, world without end.
Amen.
Today you had a destination, and it was to go out and accomplish a very specific task.
And we today, we have a very specific task that we have to go do, and that's to bring
glory to God.
That is what God's goal is for us.
And we glorify God in part, and in a very large part, by soul winning.
Jesus said in John 15,
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bring forth much fruit, so shall ye be my disciples.
So when we bring forth fruit, when we go out as a tree of righteousness, we bear fruit,
and see others saved, and see them grow in the Lord, and we bear that fruit, that's how
God is glorified.
That's how we bring glory to God through soul winning.
But here's the thing about soul winning, it's that it requires you to go.
It requires you to get up and go out and do it.
That's why Jesus said,
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.
It wasn't sit there and wait for them to come to you.
And this is a major problem in churches today, and I believe that this doctrine of Calvinism
has crept in, and even men that would refuse Calvinism, I think to some degree have let
it affect their minds, and how they go about accomplishing the great commission of going
out and preaching the gospel to every preacher.
I remember very distinctly hearing a pastor get up, and in his prayer, from the pulpit,
before a church say, God send us a great harvest of souls.
I remember thinking to myself, what a foolish prayer that is, that you would stand up in
God's house and ask him to send you a great harvest of souls.
And that's the philosophy and the mentality of a lot of independent Baptist churches right now.
They want people to just come through their doors, sit down in their pew, and at the end
of the service walk down their aisle and kneel at their altar, and then they'll give them
the gospel.
It's the complete opposite of what Jesus Christ taught.
He said, go, go ye into the highways and hedges, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel
to every preacher.
We should not sit and wait.
If we're going to bring glory to God, we have to understand that we have a destination and
that destination is to go, not to sit and wait.
That's why the Bible says in Romans, when it's quoting Isaiah, how beautiful are the
feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings.
It didn't say how beautiful is the mouth, it didn't say how eloquent is the tongue,
it said how beautiful are the feet.
Because even though we might go out and not be very eloquent, not be very stuttered, stammered
through our gospel, and be a little rough around the edges, if we're going, God looks
down and says, those are beautiful feet that I see, because they're bringing the glad tidings.
You see, the feet are praised because that's what takes people where they need to be, that's
what takes them to their destination, that takes them to the place where they can glorify
God on the highways and byways.
So we see, first of all, that Jehu had to be somewhere, he had a destination, and that
required him to go, that required him to put forth effort.
And we're going to have to make an effort to accomplish God's will for our lives.
Anything that we're going to do for God in this life, just like anything else, is not
going to come easy.
It's going to require effort, it's going to require zeal.
So if you want to be a person who's zealous, you have to understand that there's somewhere
you have to be, that you have a destination, that you have a goal to accomplish.
Bible says in Titus chapter 2, for the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared
to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust we should live soberly, righteously
and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing
of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us that he might redeem
us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works.
You see, if we're zealous, we're going to be zealous for good works, for doing something,
for going somewhere, for accomplishing something, for arriving at a destination.
That destination that God has given us is that we bring glory to him, and we do that
through soul winning.
They're doing works for God.
So we see first of all that Jehu had a destination, but secondly he also had a drive.
Jehu was a very driven person, you know, he was, what I'm trying to express here is that
he was motivated.
He was not lackadaisical, he was not, you would never say, I don't think you would say
Jehu that he was one to drug his feet, that he was one that was like, yeah I'll get around
to it.
He was not a procrastinator.
He was after it.
He was like a guy who wanted to get somewhere, he knew he had somewhere to be and he was
all about getting there as quick as he could.
Because you know, it's great to have a destination, but it doesn't do you any good if you take
your time getting there.
If there's somewhere you need to be at a certain time, you know, like I think this morning
for example, I was trying to get here on time, you know, we were running just a little bit
late and finally took, you know, dad sent him some, hey, we're running late, let's go,
you know, kind of cracking the whip a little bit.
And we were pretty close, you know, and we got in the van and we got up here.
And it's a good thing because there was an accident on the way up, you know, and it took
us an extra 10 minutes just to get here.
But the point I'm trying to make is that if we want to be somewhere on time, we have to
have a drive.
We have to be motivated to be where we're going to get at.
If we had just woken up this morning and, you know, oh we got, you know, 30 minutes
to get to church and I still got to take a shower and brush my, I mean we would have
been panicking to be here on time.
You know, you guys probably would have been waiting for me to show up and how embarrassing
that would have been.
And I'm just using that as an example, but really Jehu gives us a better example that
of being somebody that was motivated, that he had a drive.
You see, he was very zealous to accomplish his goal.
In 2 Kings chapter 9 verse 20 the Bible says,
And the watchman told, this is when he's coming to Jezreel,
And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and he cometh not again.
And the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he driveth furiously.
So we see that this guy Jehu was someone who could be identified by the way he drove his
chariot.
That I imagine when I read the story that somebody's up on the city wall looking out
across some vast plain and seeing this company of men and chariots just, you know, the dust
billowing up behind them and out there, and they're so far away that it's not even possible
to discern necessarily how many they are, let alone one specific individual.
Like who is that guy?
You know, some people you can identify just by the way they walk.
You know, if you see somebody, I remember I had friends, one day they caught me walking
down the street and I said, Hey, how'd you know me?
Well, we saw you from behind about a block away and we saw the way you walked and we
knew it was you.
So some people you can, just by the way they go, you can look at them and see who they
are.
And that's the kind of man Jehu was here, that he could be identified by how he drove
his chariot.
And that's, you know, something that we ought to apply to ourselves.
You know, how do we drive our chariot in life?
How do we as individuals take the reins of our life and drive that chariot?
Are people able to identify like, wow, that guy is really after something.
He has a drive.
Do we have a drive in our own personal life, in our family?
Are we taking the reins of the spiritual life of our family and driving it?
Can we say that we have a drive there?
That we're driving that chariot the way it ought to be?
We can apply this to our, to the churches, we can apply this to this whole movement that
we see springing up.
That there's something distinct about it, that it has a drive, it has a zealousness
about it.
You see, that's what helped Jehu stand out in the company, was his drive.
And that might, what, you know, that's what might be in some people's lives.
Some people will get zealous, they'll get up dry, they'll start wanting to go soul-weeding,
reading the Bible, they'll start listening to hard preaching, they'll want to get in
a good church, they'll get on fire for the things of God.
And what that's going to do to that individual, it's going to cause them to stand out.
You know, their family, you know, they're in Jezreel, is going to look out at their
life and say, there's something different.
Man, you're driving so furiously, why are you like that?
It's going to make them stand out.
But that's a part of being zealous.
Part of being zealous is going to naturally just make you stand out from the crowd.
I mean, you think Jehu had this whole company behind him, but there you have to look at
that one man and say, there's Jehu, because of the way he drove.
And that's what's going to happen to us in our own lives.
We're going to stand out in our families and in our friends.
That's why it says in Psalm 69, I am become a stranger unto my brethren and an alien unto
my mother's children, for the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
So he became zealous, and therefore, and it was his zeal that caused him to be a stranger
to his own brethren, a stranger unto his mother's children.
So we see that his drive was something that caused him to stand out in a company because
of the way he drove.
They were able to look at the way he took the reins of his chariot and drove that chariot.
They said, that's Jehu, he driveth furiously.
And it was, you know, a very distinct characteristic that he drove furiously.
You know, let it not be said that it would have been a shame to say, boy, that must be
Jehu because he's really slacking.
You know, he's that guy all the way in the back, or the way, he's just all over the place.
He can't keep that chariot straight.
That must be Jehu.
No, it was that he drove furiously, and because he drove furiously, he was in the lead.
I mean, the Bible says that he came with his company.
So in order to see him, he couldn't have been behind all these other men.
He must have been out in the head.
He must have been out in the lead, out in the front of the pack.
And the reason that he was able to do that is because he put effort into what he was doing.
When he put effort, you know, in a real drive behind what you're doing, you're going to
exceed other people.
You're going to take the lead over people, other people, and they will begin to follow you.
2 Kings 9, verse 24, And Jehu drew a bow with full strength, and smote Jehorah between his
arms.
And the arrow went out of his heart, and it sunk down in his chariot.
So after Jehu arrives at Jehu, they send messengers, and then Jeroboam and Ahaziah come out, and
they figure out what's going on, and they start to run away.
And you know, Jehu, at this point in the story, probably could have just let him go back in
the city and followed him in.
You know, you could have just said, it's alright, they've got nowhere to go.
We're going to catch up to them.
I mean, if you remember the story here, it says that Joram was there, that he was healing
from the wounds that he received in his battle.
He already was wounded, he was there to rest, he was ready to recuperate and recover.
So you know, I don't imagine that he posed much of a threat to Jehu.
But Jehu, it says there, that he drew his bow at full strength.
Now I have to warn you, that's because he put effort into what he was doing.
It wasn't just that he drove there furiously and then stopped, you know, and relaxed.
No, he kept trying and putting effort into what he was doing, accomplishing the goal
that God had given him.
And he drew that arrow at full strength, and I can't help but wonder, did he do that
because he was afraid that Joram was going to escape?
That Joram was somehow going to get far enough away?
I mean, we know that they had just finished talking face to face.
They were at least close enough to where they could hear one another's voices because of
the conversation.
So, and he starts to run away, did he draw that bow at full strength because he was afraid
of Joram running away?
I tend to think not.
I think he just did it because he wanted to really give it to him.
He probably could have just sent another guy up there to catch him and slay him as
he did with other men.
But he said, you know what, I'm going to get him, and I'm going to get him good.
So he put effort into what he was doing.
When he put effort into it, he put his full strength into what he was doing.
He went beyond the minimum of what was expected.
In 2 Kings chapter 10 verse 17, 2 Kings chapter 10, and when he came to Samaria, he slew all
that remained unto Ahab in Samaria until he destroyed him according to the saying of the
Lord which he spake by Elijah.
So he destroys all the people, all the house of Ahab, right?
He destroys them all.
But he didn't stop there if you recall the story.
He goes on and he accomplishes other things.
I mean, 2 Kings chapter 10 verse 17, that's where we see him accomplish the charge that
God had laid upon him, to go out and destroy the house of Ahab.
But that's not where the story ends with Jehu in verse 17.
First chapter 10 is a long chapter.
So it says he came there and he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria until he destroyed
him according to the saying of the Lord which he spake by Elijah.
So we see first of all that we all have a destination as Jehu had.
We have a goal.
And what is going to get us to our goal?
What is going to get us to our destination?
It's going to be our drive.
Just like the drive train in your car if you think about it, what it's purpose is.
The drive is to propel your car so you can get where you need to go.
We all have a destination.
We all should have a drive because it's our drive that is going to determine whether or
not we arrive where we're supposed to be or not and when we're going to arrive there.
You see, Jehu probably could have taken his time getting to Jezreel, couldn't he?
He could have just kind of moseyed on in, not driven as furiously, maybe got there the
next day.
He could have even just sat back and waited for Joram to die of old age, you know, but
he decided not to get out of this thing and go, he had a drive.
So we see that he had a destination and he had a drive and lastly, what Jehu had is that
he had disciples.
He had people that were inspired by him, that were willing to follow him.
He had certain individuals that looked at him and said, they're going to follow this
guy.
I mean you think first of all, his own company, they're in 2 Kings chapter 9, when he's annoyed
and it comes out.
Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord and once said unto him, Is all well?
Wherefore came this mad fellow to thee?
And he said unto him, Ye know of the man in his communication?
They said, It is false, tell us now.
I always chuckle when I read that.
It just gets to me every time, they say, Well, whatever that guy said, it's false.
But what did he say?
You know, they still wanted to know, which is kind of a funny phrase in the Bible.
And he said, Thus saith the Lord, I have anointed the king over Israel.
Then they hasted and took every man his garment and put it under him on the top of the stairs
and blew the trumpet, saying, Jehu is king.
So they didn't even like stop and ask the guy on his way out, Hey, what did you say
to him?
They didn't even look to confirm that this was indeed what had happened.
They just took Jehu at his word and said, Well, that's what Jehu said, that must be
the case.
I didn't think it was because they were eager to get behind Jehu.
They liked the idea of Jehu being king.
They liked the idea of a man like Jehu leading them.
Because Jehu was a man of zeal.
He was a man that was known to drive furiously, and he was a warrior, he was somebody that
other people could get behind and follow.
You see, if we have real zeal, we're going to have people that will follow us.
And part of the destination, part of the place where we have to go in life is through a battle.
The Christian life, in terms of salvation, is not a battle.
It's a free gift.
It's something that is given to us freely.
We don't have to work for it, there's no striving or struggling, we just have to accept
the fact that Jesus Christ has done all the work for us and put our faith in that.
But as far as living out our lives as godly Christians, as living out a life as a saved,
born-again Christian, as somebody who wants to please God and accomplish something for
God in their life, we have to understand that there's going to be a struggle, that there's
going to be a battle.
And how we fare in that battle is going to be dependent upon our zeal.
The more zealous we are in that battle, we're going to draw other people to follow us.
And that ought to be our desire as men in our own families.
Our wives ought to be people that want to follow us.
Not just because the Bible says so, but because they actually want to, because they want to
get behind us and because we have a zeal about us.
It's our zeal that's going to help our children continue to live on for God.
I've known families that, you know, they were good people, but the mom or the dad just
were not zealous.
And sure enough, those children went astray.
They went aside.
They don't live for God.
They went out into the world.
Because they look at the parent's life and say, well, what's the point?
There's no excitement.
There's no thrill.
See, the world is very zealous about the things of the world.
The world can be very attractive.
I mean, when people see zeal, they go after it.
And there's a lot to be zealous about in the world.
But that's why we, as God's people, we have to be zealous so that we can have disciples,
that our wives would follow us, that our children would follow us, and that even our own brethren
would want to follow us.
I mean, you think if you ever wanted to be a pastor, if you're a man who wants to be
a preacher and lead a flock of God, you know, we're going to have to be zealous individuals.
We're going to have to be people that are excited about the things of God, people that
are excited about going out and seeing a great thing accomplished for God.
And I truly am excited about that.
I think that's one of the most exciting things we can do in our life, to look out across
this country and see this great need for churches, to see this great, you know, just multitudes
of people that need to be, to hear the gospel and to pick some city out there in this country
and say, I'm going to go to that city, I'm going to drive furiously there, and I'm going
to knock every door, I'm going to preach the gospel to everybody I can, I'm going to get
up and preach hard on sin and preach the whole counsel of God.
That is exciting.
And if we're not excited about that, you know, people aren't going to want to come.
They're not going to want to come listen to another person who's just going to bore them
with the same old, same old.
We have to be people that have some zeal if we're going to lead others.
So we see that his own company is somebody that we're just eager to get behind him.
They're, you know, people in his, you could kind of say that we're with him in a house,
you know, his family, his friends, his immediate, the folks he knew.
But also, I think it's interesting, there were others that joined him throughout the
story.
If you look at the example there in 2 Kings chapter 9 verse 16, we'll look at the two
messengers.
So Jehu rode in a chariot, and he went to Jezreel, for Joram lay there.
And Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram.
And there stood a watchman over the tower, and Jezreel spied the company of Jehu as he
came and said, I see a company.
And Joram said, Take in horsemen and send to meet him, and let him say he is at peace.
So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace?
And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace?
Turn thee behind me.
And he goes out and says, And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them,
but he cometh not again.
Then he sent out a second on horseback, which came to them, and said, Thus saith the king,
It is peace.
And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace?
Turn thou behind me.
So I have to imagine that these men that were sent out, these men that came from the enemy's
camp, from the old king's reign, that came to meet Jehu as he was charging towards them,
that they came to him, you know, these were probably men that, you know, if called upon
would go to battle.
I imagine that these were soldiers, these were warriors.
They weren't just, this was their only task that they served.
They were just there to go and meet somebody that they were concerned about, that they
were men that were picked out and said, Hey, go talk to this guy, find out what's going
on.
And if need be, you could call upon these messengers to go to battle.
I would probably even imagine that when they rode up on this great company, they were probably
armed.
I mean, they probably had a sword.
And it's just, it's interesting to me that Jehu didn't just slay them, that he didn't
just kill them.
He didn't say, You know what?
Let's just take this guy out.
No, he would say, Well, that's probably for tactical reasons, you know.
The watchman's watching.
If we just killed the guy, he probably would have known what something was up, you know,
and figured it out.
And that's probably true, but it's interesting that he tells them, Turn now behind me.
He didn't say, Hey, go back.
Go back and just tell them, I'll talk to them when I get there.
He says, No, get behind me.
You know, come on my side.
Come over to my side and follow me.
Come and see my zeal for the Lord.
And this just reminds me of, you know, the pastors that we're seeing come out from the
old IFB and join our movement.
And I'm really excited about that.
I have a lot of respect for these men.
I think it's great that we have men that have always believed like we have, even from their
youth and are taking a strong stand on the Word of God, because without them, we really
wouldn't be where we are.
You know, and I have a great deal of respect for them, but you know, I have just as much
respect for a man who grew up in a church that taught wrong and made themselves believe
wrong in certain doctrines in the Bible or put the emphasis on things where it wasn't
needed and de-emphasized things like soul winning, you know, and were just kind of mixed
up.
But then came to understand, you know, they came to understand the truth.
And they had to switch sides.
They changed their mind.
They changed their heart and opinion.
I have a great deal of respect for men like that, because that's not easy to do.
And I think that's kind of what these messengers, you know, we can apply that to men like that.
That these are them coming out of the old IFB, you know, and instead of being just sent
back, you know, like, hey, you know what, go tell so-and-so, whatever.
It's like, no, why don't you come get behind us?
Why don't you join the ranks?
Why don't you get behind us and we'll all go together?
But what was it that won them over?
It's zealousness.
It's when, you know, for example, in our movement, people are seeing the truth of the Word of
God being preached.
Ultimately, I mean, that's what we would say was the truth of the Word of God.
You know, they looked at the Bible when it talks about, you know, the pre-Trib rapture.
And they saw in the scriptures from the self how it was false.
They saw the truth of the post-Trib, you know, pre-wrath rapture.
And I'm sure other doctrines, you know, concerning Israel and things like that.
That's what brought them around was their love for the truth of the Word of God.
But it was the zealousness of one and several others who were willing to get up and proclaim
the truth of the Word of God.
It was their zeal that enabled those people to take a stand and preach the truth of the
Word of God that woke those men up, that they began to see the truth and study for themselves
from the Word of God, these things.
So we see that zealousness ultimately is what wins other people over.
This is something that's going to help people get behind us.
Zealousness is what's going to help us have disciples, as Jehu did.
Another group of people in this story that joined the ranks in a sense would be the eunuchs.
Jezebel's eunuchs, where it says in 2 Kings 9, verse 30,
And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she painted her face and
tired her head, and looked out at a window.
And as Jehu entered into the gate, she said, Had Zimrai peace, who slew his master?
And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side?
Who?
And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs, and he said, Throw her down.
And they threw her down, and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horsemen,
and he drove her underfoot.
So I just, I really like this part of the story, and this is probably my favorite part,
because I just don't like Jezebel at all.
I mean, that woman was wicked as hell, and I, you know, there was, she was a reprobate.
I mean, I was glad to see her go in this story, but I just love, what I really like about
it, I think, is Zimrai's, not Zimrai, excuse me, but Jehu, Jehu's attitude when he walked
in the gate.
So here's the queen comes out, Had Zimrai peace, who slew his master?
You know, with her, just her, her backtalk, her loud, stubborn woman that she was, and
he doesn't even answer her.
He doesn't even really acknowledge her.
He just says, who's on my side?
You know, like, you, you know, everybody kind of knew what Jezebel was about.
Everybody already kind of knew how she was.
He didn't have to point it out, like, you know, make some case for the, that they should
be on a side.
He just said, you know what, this is going down today.
Who's on my side?
Who is it?
And these eunuchs poke their heads out, and he just looks at him and says, you know, Jezebel,
you know, she did this and that, and tries to make some case.
He just says, throw her down.
And they just do it.
Just like these eunuchs, those that were close to Jezebel, that would have, you know, that
would have served her, that would have, you know, waited on her.
Just like that.
At Jehu's work, just turn on her, and just throw her down, and her blood just splatters
everywhere.
It's a great story.
But, you know, and I really don't want to, it's kind of, I'm hesitant to liken the eunuchs
on anybody, just because it's kind of, you know, not something you want to be associated
with.
Like, I'm kind of like that eunuch in that story, but, you know, it does kind of remind
me of people that maybe are sitting in a church where, you know, for lack of a better
word it's kind of sterile, you know, like it might be where there's not a lot of life
being brought forth, there's not a lot of spiritual birds taking place, and they might
even have some Jezebel pastor up in the pulpit just preaching heresy.
And there are people that, you know, they understand what's going on.
I mean, I spent some time, it would remind me of like these contemporary Christian churches
where you have these women pastors, where there is no soul winning, where it's just
a bunch of, you know, painting your face, just a lot of show, just a lot of, you know,
tidying your head, just a lot of looking good, and just a lot of pomp, and just all this
stuff going on.
And it just kind of reminds me of that, it kind of reminds me of these, maybe there are
these people are saved, but they're just in there and they're just, you know, they're
sterile.
They don't bring forth any fruit, they don't reproduce, they just can't because of where
they are.
And then they hear something, and I remember when I, you know, when I first got saved,
I didn't get saved in a Baptist church, you know, and then I started to look out and I
found, you know, I was, you know, came to understand the King James position, you know,
through a street preacher, he gave me some literature on it, and he told me about a Baptist
church he was going to.
So I walk in this Baptist church, and this place, you know, Phoenix North kind of reminds
me of it, because at that time they were meeting in a UAW hall, and they had to fold up the
chairs every Sunday and unfold them, you know, every night, and stack them up and bring them
out for every service, and clean the place, and they would go in there and have to clean
up all the beer and cigarettes, but man, the preaching there was on fire.
I remember I was about, you know, in my early 20s, I walked through that door, and, you
know, I looked around and it was just a, you know, there were no young ladies, there was
no prospects for wives there, but it was the preaching, it was the zeal that brought me
them when I wanted to be there, it was somebody that stood up and preached harder from the
Word of God.
You know, that's what, you know, and I was kind of like that eunuch, you know, I was
in that bouncing around from these different churches, I was, you know, trying out the
contemporary Christian church, the southern Baptist church, the faith Baptist church,
you know, I kind of narrowed down all those Baptist churches, and I remember I went to
that church in the union hall, that independent Baptist church, and I heard that preaching,
and I said, man, this is good.
And you know, I went there, and then a few months later I came back after trying to kind
of go to these, check out some of their churches, and once I came back that second time and
I was in for good, you know, in the next 11 years, I was there, and it kind of just reminded
me that here with these eunuchs, you know, they poked their head out, they kind of see
what's going on, and they hear a man of God just say, throw her down, you know, and point
out, you know, it's like a man of God getting up behind the pulpit and just decrying and
pointing out all the falsehood in these churches, these fun centers that just want to play,
you know, play Christian, they just want to put it on as like some kind of just act or
something, like it's just a fun time.
And I just felt like that guy, and I was just like, hey, I'm on your side now.
Like these guys.
You know, I was over here messing around with Jezebel, but now that I see a man of God,
and I see what's going on, that there's this revival taking place, I'm on your side now.
And lastly, probably the last person that we would look at as someone who came over
to his side, another disciple that he was able to win over, Jehu, would be Jehonadab
himself as we read there in 2 Kings chapter 10 verse 15.
And when he departed thence, he lied it on Jehonadab, the son of Rekab, coming to meet him.
So this is a guy that's coming to meet Jehu.
And he saluted him and said to him, is thine heart right, is mine heart right?
And Jehonadab said, answered, it is.
So here's a guy who probably knows something about him.
You know, there's not a lot in the Bible about this guy Jehonadab, it just doesn't go on
much about him.
But it does say that he's coming to meet him, that he's coming to meet him, that his heart
is right with him.
So this is a guy that wants to be with Jehu, that maybe heard about Jehu over the grapevine.
Because we're here in chapter 10, things have gone on, people are talking a little bit.
So he finds out about it, I imagine, and he comes to meet Jehu, and he says, and he gave
him his hand and he took him up into the chariot and he said, come with me and see my zeal
for the Lord.
So I imagine that Jehonadab had heard about the zeal that Jehu had.
He had heard some of the things that had taken place, some of the things that had transpired,
and that's why it says that he was coming to meet him.
He was seeking out Jehu.
And it kind of reminds me of people that move to these churches, people that are watching
on the internet, people that are listening to the sermons.
They're hearing about the zeal, they're going to the soul wedding marathons, they're hearing
and seeing the great things that are going on.
But now they want to be a part of it.
They go to meet, they move, they take up, they say, you know what, I'm going to go to
where Jehu is, I'm going to go to where the zeal is, and when they get there, you know,
he's not let down.
He says, come see my zeal, and it goes on.
Because it says, you know, the point is that zeal is going to attract others who desire
to be zealous.
I believe there's a lot of people out there still in this country that desire to do great
things for God.
And that's why we need to start churches in other cities, as soon as we can.
But in the meantime, you know, we see a lot of people that are willing to just pull up
stakes and move to another church, you know, every man in this room, you know, all three
of us have done just that, you know, we said we want to be part of this thing, you know,
and we have a desire to be zealous, as the men in this movement are zealous.
So we see that zeal is something that will attract others who desire to be zealous.
And that it's something that spreads, you know, the Bible says here in Second Kings
chapter 10, the story goes on, and Jehu went and Jehonadab the son of Rekab into the house
of Baal.
So Jehonadab just sticks right by Jehu, I mean, he goes into the house of Baal, he helps
take out the whole house of Baal.
So we see that zeal is something that spreads to others.
You know, once we get in these churches, once we become a part of it, once we're working
shoulder to shoulder with men who have zeal, zeal is something that's going to rub off.
Zeal is something that, you know, our disciples, those that would follow us, would make a part
of their own life.
And that explains, I believe, why this momentum in this new IFB movement is gaining.
Why we're gaining so much momentum is because zeal is something that spreads.
Zeal is something that people want to be a part of their own life.
They want a part of that zeal.
But you know, in closing, I would just say that, you know, zeal, the fact that we see
this IFB movement growing, and we see the example of Jehonadab in the Bible, you know,
seeking out Jehu, and going with him into the house of Baal, and accomplishing a work
for God.
Because, I mean, he was not commanded to go into the house of Baal.
That was something that Jehu and his zeal, I believe, just went above and beyond.
He'd already taken out the whole house of Ahab, and said, you know what, I'm just going
to go a step further.
The zeal will push us to go a little further than we might otherwise.
But then it spreads.
But the thing about zeal is that it can be used for good or bad.
And everybody, to some degree, is zealous about something.
Zeal in and of itself is not necessarily a good thing.
That's why it says in Galatians 3,
O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth before whose
eyes Christ hath evidently been sent for, and crucified among you.
This only would I learn of you.
Receive ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith.
Are ye so foolish, having begun in the Spirit, are ye not made perfect in the flesh?
Have ye suffered so many things in vain, if it be in vain?
So we see here in Galatians that Paul is, you know, worried about these Galatian people
because these Judaizers are coming back in and trying to teach them to keep the law,
to be circumcised, to do these works.
And it goes on and says in chapter 4, verse 17,
They zealously affect you, but not well.
So it's possible to be zealously affected, but not well.
And that's very true.
I mean, you look in the world today how you can just become so zealously affected about
the wrong thing.
You know, you think about, I mean, sports is a great example.
People get so zealous about sports.
You know, I started recently following a news outlet on Facebook outside of, you know, back
in Michigan.
And yesterday was the big game, you know, Michigan versus Michigan State.
And I just knew that I had family back in Michigan that were just, you know, everybody
was gathering around the TV and the big house was going to be full, pack of the brand people
were painting their faces.
People are going to be, you know, painting their chest and pulling their shirts off in
October and Michigan and just hooping and hollering and just being very zealously affected
about some of the most vain things in the world.
You know, I worked out for the City of Phoenix here at the Convention Center.
And every year they had the Comic-Con.
Let me tell you, those nerds, they get zealous.
There's some zealous nerds out there that go to these Comic-Con events.
I mean, they are dressed head to toe, outfits, I mean, props.
They get into it.
I mean, you can be zealously affected today, but you can be zealously affected but not
well.
And that's what was happening here.
So we have to understand that we want to be zealous, but we have to be zealous about the
right thing.
He says, they would exclude you that ye might affect them.
He said, you know, if you began to affect them for good, they would exclude you.
He says, but it is good to be zealously affected always and a good thing, and not only when
I am present with you.
See, they were swayed by the zeal of others for the worse, but it is still good to be
zealous if it's for good.
That's the point of service, is to be zealous.
What are the three things that we have to do?
What are the three things that we can look at Jehu's life and say, what was it that made
him zealous?
Or how can we know that he was a zealous man?
Well, one, he had a destination, and that's what we have to do.
We have to direct our zeal in a good thing.
And then he had a drive.
He had a way of getting there.
He was motivated.
And zeal is putting an effort in arriving at our destination.
That's what we have to do.
We need to put forth some effort in what it is we're trying to accomplish.
And then he had disciples.
We can look at Jehu's life and know that he was a zealous man because of the fact that
others were willing to follow him.
And that should be something that should be said of us, that we can have zeal and that
we can inspire others, that they too would want to follow us.
So that's the sermon this morning.
Let's be zealous.
Let's have a destination.
Let's have a drive.
And let's get some disciples.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, again, thank you for the example of Jehu in the Bible.
And Lord, thank you for the zeal that he had for you.
And Lord, I pray that you would help us to all be people of God that would be zealous
for you, for a good thing, for your cause.
And Lord, that you would help us to accomplish great works for you.
And Lord, we just pray that you'd bless us now as we go our way and bring us all back
next week.
In Jesus' name, Amen.