Zeal with Wisdom - Love Worth Finding - November 20
November 20, 2025 – Zeal with Wisdom
Sermon: 1772 The Dangers of Extremism
Pray Over This
“. . . who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.”
Ponder This
We all need to learn to live by grace. The cause of Christ has too often been hurt by misguided zeal.
Jesus told Simon Peter that He would go to the cross, but Peter’s response was “No Lord, be it far from you.” Jesus responded, “Get behind me, Satan.” Then Jesus took Peter, James, and John to the Garden of Gethsemane, and said, “Watch and pray with me and for me.” As Jesus prayed, troops came to take Jesus. When Peter saw what was happening, he went for the servant of the high priest, Malchus, and cut off his ear. Jesus rebuked Peter and healed the servant miraculously (John 18). Peter was full of misguided zeal.
Peter had the wrong enemy. Malchus was a servant of the high priest. He was a slave. Many times, we're fighting those who are slaves of Satan. Did you know that? The Bible says we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places. We have the wrong enemy. Whatever our justification, we must ask Christ to change our zeal to patience and trust in Him.
What are some things that bring out your passion? When have you had zeal for Christ but responded by doing something that was not Christlike?
What are some harmful things that happen when we let our zeal get in the way of showing God’s grace?
Practice This
Think about some Christian values you are passionate about and consider how you handle them. Is your zeal misguided or guided by Christ? Be honest about that with God.
For more from Love Worth Finding and Pastor Adrian Rogers, please visit www.lwf.org.
You can also listen to Adrian Rogers at OnePlace.com.
