© 11 Colin Melbourne
Be not conformed to this world
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; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.
Ps. 69:8-9 KJV
It is a blessed state to be so eaten up by the zeal of the LORD Jesus Christ that wherever you go, you stand between the living and the dead.
You represent the Lord to His lost creation.
All or Nothing
Here there are no half-measures, your all is swallowed up in Christ, and there’s no hiding the glory.
You will have riot or revival, without indifference.
The zeal of God’s House consumes you.
Zeal: Hot, Boiling, Fervent
It was prophesied by David, the shepherd king, praising on his harp;
For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up;
It was read by the Boy Jesus studying the Scriptures, and growing in wisdom.
It was fulfilled by the Man Jesus on His mission by way of The Temple to Calvary Hill.
Eaten up with the zeal of God’s House; Jn. 2:13-17 KJV;
Jesus is Never Cool
And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves,
Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.
And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
The Lord of Love took a whip to the merchants of religion and drove them, with their chattels, out of His Father’s house.
Christ was eaten up with zeal, and demonstrated the righteous anger that pleases God.
He could have vapourised them with a word, commanded angels to strike them down, called fire down from Heaven to burn them up: Instead, He made a whip of cords and physically drove them outside. He showed great mercy, patience, and restraint.
Zeal Of, not For
Some see this demonstration of godly zeal, as Christ being zealous for The Temple; and many modern Bibles mistranslate it that way.
Undoubtedly He was zealous that people should honour God’s building, because it was the place where God tabernacled with the Jews: In a box, the Ark of the Covenant, in the Holy of Holies.
But Christ’s zeal was not for the Temple, it was the zeal of His Father for His Glory.
The KJV translates it correctly;
For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up;
Notice Christ’s zeal was of His house, not for it.
There’s a huge difference.
The zeal of God’s house, doesn’t refer to a building: It refers to a Family, The Family of God.
The zeal of Christ is the zeal of the LORD of hosts.
House is here used in the same sense as in 2 Sam. 3:1 KJV, where two familes war against each other, not two buildings.
Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker.
God’s Fire in Your Belly
It is the zeal that comes from the innermost being, (your spirit) of every child of God who is filled with the Spirit of the Lord.
Under the glorious New Covenant we have a position of grace, whereby, we may walk our whole lives consumed by the zeal of the LORD of Hosts. The zeal of thine house is a family trait, the mark of a son of God, an entitlement of all God’s household.
It is the LORD’s desire for you to be filled with His zeal.
Smoking flax shall he not quench
He’s not satisfied with you smouldering, or smoking like a snuffed wick, He wants you ablaze for His Glory, by His Spirit.
Recall the word to those at ease in Zion, Rev. 3:19 KJV;
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Zeal for the Lord is His command, with a dire warning, Rev. 3:16 KJV;
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Tongues of Fire
The Greek word for zeal is zeo, and its literal meaning is to be hot, such as a boiling liquid, or a red hot glowing metal.
God wants believers to be fervent all the time, flames of fire, like His angels. Ps. 104:4 KJV;
Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
On the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was first poured out, He came with the sign of tongues of fire resting upon each recipient. Acts 2:1-4 KJV;
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Baptism of Fire
If you want this zeal, you must receive the Baptism of Fire, and the power from on high, that Jesus promised. When you have received the Baptism, you will speak in tongues and you will have fervent zeal, on fire for the honour of the LORD Jesus Christ.
Do you want that?
The world will ridicule you, and call you a fanatic, extreme, and other less polite names. It happens to every believer who becomes filled with God’s Spirit.
Sinners will think you are strange, weird, and will reproach you because of your stand for Christ. Even your close family, and that is perfectly scriptural, look, Ps. 69:8-9 KJV;
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; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.
What an honour, to share in the reproach suffered by David, and Christ Himself, because of their zeal for the LORD of Hosts!
This is a place where the Spirit of God is allowed liberty in your being; such humility brings a crown of Grace.
You will have no difficulty with the flesh when you stay filled with God’s Spirit, you will be eaten up, and God will be glorified in you.
The best of Rev. Hagin’s wonderful, scriptural teaching on tongues in one book. Tongues: Everything you need to know about speaking in tongues, The subtitle, “Beyond the Upper Room” is wonderful.
Without tongues, Christians are locked in the Upper Room, fearful and powerless to witness for Christ. Father wants New Covenant believers to go outside the Upper Room into all the world, boldly demonstrating His Love, Life, and resurrection power.
© 11 Colin Melbourne
