Managing The Gift Of Zeal (Taming Extremism) by Apostle Selman
Let’s lift our hands to heaven and thank God for the abundant supply of The Spirit. Thank The King of kings, tonight. We know there’s always more HE can do in our lives.
We’ve come to receive from You Oh God, and feast on Your table.
Pray: Father visit me and increase me in grace, wisdom and power, in the name of Jesus!
Lift up your voice and your hands in gratitude and thank the The One Who stands behind us as a mighty terrible One.
Pray: Father visit me tonight; I will never get satisfied with Your grace. Increase me with Your wisdom and power in the name of Jesus Christ!
When your destiny is at the mercy of your mindset, your certificate, the gift of men, and unassisted by God, it has no guarantee to produce success.
But when God shows up to help you, you will never lose. It is game over. Victory becomes certain.
There are things people can do, there are things the devil can do, but there are things only God can do and those things are beyond the realm of science.
God brought you to Koinonia to do what only He can do, and I declare over you that He will surprise you tonight, in the name of Jesus Christ!
Declare your expectations tonight, knowing that you never lose with Jesus on your side. You can lose with your background and certificate alone, but with Jesus in the equation, you never lose.
What God can do is beyond the realm of science, or human calculation.
I decree and declare that God will surprise you tonight; your life will be an unending wonder. Your life will be like the pages of a good book – it will keep increasing in splendour
“But the path of the just is as the shining light, That shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” – Proverbs 4:18 (KJV)
Irrespective of where you are coming from, your path will continue to shine brighter and brighter.
I have bad news for the devil: Shame on him.
I speak to your spirit: You will remain a shining wonder! When people ask if God still lifts, restores, and brings laughter, God will refer them to you, in the name of Jesus Christ!
Prophecy: You have come tonight to close the door of yesterday; it will never open again.
The door that will open is greater – one of greater power, laughter, influence and a door opened by the hand of God.
I decree and declare that you close the doors of yesterday, the doors that open next are the doors of greater opportunity, laughter, open doors that God Himself has opened and no power can shut.
I declare welcome to your next season, welcome to laughter, be it to you according to your faith.
I declare that it is too late for defeat, too late to fail, too late for negative prophecies, too late to be defeated!
I am programming your mindset for what is about to happen in your life during this service in Jesus name.
The house of God is where faith is built. Faith is not built on cunningly deviced fables; it is built on the integrity of God’s Word.
Faith is built on the integrity of The Word of God. Expect many things, among them a transference of grace, light and a recalibration of your understanding. Also expect the building of your faith from no faith, to little faith, to great faith, and exceedingly great faith.
What Happens When The Word is Taught:
1. Transference of Light
2. Transference of Grace: Capacity to do more, reach more, and become more. Building of your faith, from no faith, to little faith, to exceedingly great faith.
3. Recalibration of your understanding.
“But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” – Micah 4:1-2 (KJV)
Let’s take the task of publicity personally, and let us be intentional about it, doing it en-mass.
As we prepare to receive The Word, pray in the Spirit and ask The Lord to speak to your heart by the power of His Word.
When The Word of God comes, it comes to address three levels of ignorance. There are three levels of ignorance that you must deal with on your journey to becoming a victorious Believer:
1. The ignorance of not knowing that you do not know – This is a state of being in ignorance but not even knowing it. What these set of people need is information.
(Matthew 4:16)
2. Those who know that they are ignorant, but they do not know how and where to find useful knowledge.
(Ecclesiastics 10:15).
3. Those who know but do not know enough to bring sustainable result – This is a state of having limited or incomplete knowledge.
(1 Corinthians 8:2, 2 Timothy 3:7).
The Fullness of Christ Spans across these three areas:
– Nature of Christ
– Wisdom of Christ
– Power of Christ
“Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;” – Romans 12:11(KJV)
Tonight’s teaching will guide you and offer a wealth of wisdom, as we navigate life’s challenges.
“Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord” – Romans 12:11 (KJV)
According to Romans 12:11 fervency and zeal must be directed towards serving The Lord.
The goal of tonight’s teaching is to see zeal and enthusiasm as a divine gift from God that must be managed appropriately.
Zeal can lead to success, but it can also lead to destruction if not properly managed.
Definition Of Zeal:
The word “Zeal” means dedication, enthusiasm, passion, energy, fervency that is invested in a cause or an objective.
THE NATURE OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT AND PROGRESS
One of the indices that measures happiness and fulfillment is advancement and progress. The degree to which you find yourself advancing, sustains an ability to cause you to be happy, joyful, and fulfilled.
Progress is one of the indices that controls happiness and fulfillment.
However, no human spirit indefinitely makes progress in life and destiny, until you possess and sustain a requisite level of energy and passion.
1 Kings 19:9-18 (KJV)
Lack of progress is the primary reason behind depression in people. Progress is God’s original design for us.
No human spirit is able to make progress in life and destiny until you sustain a certain amount of zeal.
Newton’s 1st law purports that a body will remain in a state of rest or uniform motion (inertia), unless it is acted upon by an external force. The opposite of inertia is what will move the object from its state of rest. Inertia is the unwillingness of a body to start motion
Zeal is a very powerful gift. There will be no forward motion if you do not have the requisite energy, enthusiasm, and passion for progress.
The human spirit makes progress, not just by vision, but by energy, enthusiasm, passion and zeal.
One of the definitions of hopelessness is a lack of zeal.
Hopelessness is a lack of vision, enthusiasm or zeal. Vision is not the only prerequisite for motion; zeal is required to kickstart anything.
The Foundation For Zeal:
Genuine zeal is founded upon convictions, and convictions are founded upon ideologies.
Zeal therefore is the product of the strength of conviction, whether good or bad.
Zeal is a double-edged sword; the energy that powers creativity, vision, innovation and advancement. Zeal can also produce extremism or anarchy.
When you look at some extremist views, and those who are willing to either die or live for a cause, when you probe them, one thing you will find is a conviction that is sponsored by a belief system.
Zeal is a double edged sword that can be used for good or bad. It’s the energy that drives creativity, visions, advancement and achievement. The same energy can lead a man towards extremism and anarchy.
When you want to recalibrate a person’s zeal, you must first look into his or her ideologies, and probe his or her belief systems.
Zeal can be likened to the use of a car: The outcome from the use or misuse of the car, is predicated on the driver handling it.
Scripture Portraying Positive Zeal:
26. And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.
27. And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
28. Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
29. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
30. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
Numbers 13:26-30 (KJV)
I pray for you, that as you learn tonight, zeal will not become a curse in your life, in the name of Jesus Christ!
Words are seeds. Once the words are planted, it becomes ideologies that can make one execute with respect to the mindset.
Anytime you see any great man with a level of fire that will not die, the first thing you will find is a strong conviction, and the stronger the conviction, the stronger the drive. Behind the drive, you will find an ideology.
“And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it” – Numbers 13:30 (KJV)
Declare: “I am well able in Jesus name”
Pray: In the name of Jesus, may I not be afraid of the gift that God has given to me.
Don’t wait until darkness leaves, to be confident. The presence of darkness should never threaten light. Caleb in the Bible, saw the Giants with those he went with to inspect the Promiseland, but he chose to report a different perspective when they returned to the camp of Israel.
I declare that 20 years from now, you will still be asserting victory. May you not fear the gift God has placed in you.
(Numbers 13:1-30)
Biblical Examples/Case Studies Of The Positive Power Of Zeal
1. Caleb (Numbers 13:25-30, Joshua 14:6-12)
2. The four lepers. (2 Kings 7:3-9)
3. Nehemiah (Nehemiah 2:1-16)
4. The men who carried the lame man at the gate called “beautiful”. (Acts 3: 2)
5. Jesus Christ (John 2: 13-17, Psalm 69: 9)
Most of the things we think can kill us, when we face them, we discover they are not a threat at all. One of the ways God trains us is not to take our fears from us, but to bring us face to face with our fears .
We realise at the end that most of the things we fear are not a threat at all. What we are afraid of, are in fact afraid of us.
God delivers us, not necessarily by taking us away from our challenges, but by meeting us in the middle of those challenges. Often, problems come in their manifest forms, and if we stand firm and face them, they begin to diminish and lose their power.
“And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.” – Exodus 32:1 (KJV)
I pray for you that may you not be like the people in verse Exodus 32:1, in Jesus name!
I pray for you, may the gift of zeal that God has placed on your life be the reason for many testimonies in your life, in the name of Jesus Christ!
Power is not just the ability to execute, it is also the ability to restrain, even when you have the ability to execute.
The ability to have passion, fire and zeal, and still sustain the ability to tame it, is the real proof of growth and maturity.
Biblical Examples/Case Studies Of The Danger Of Mismanaged Zeal:
1. Moses (Exodus 2: 10-15)
2. The Israelites in the wilderness. (Exodus 32: 1-20)
3. The Scribes and the Pharisees. (Matthew 22: 1-7)
4. Saul/Paul. (Acts 8: 1-3, 9: 1-6)
Examples of Mismanaged Zeal Explained
1. Moses: he did not wait for the right time nor the right strategy when he saw the children of Israel worshipping an idol. His motivation was correct, but his actions were wrong. (Exodus 2:10-15)
2. The Israelites: Their zeal was burning during the waiting period of Moses being on the Mountain with God. Instead of trusting God’s timing, they acted impulsively and turned to idolatry, showing how misdirected zeal can lead to serious consequences. (Exodus 32:1-20)
3. The Pharisees: Their zeal toward preserving the law was misdirected, was without regard for those who failed, suffered, or were wounded. They were more concerned with rules than with people, showing how zeal without compassion can lead to destruction. (Matthew 22:1- 7)
4. The Disciples: Their zeal was right but what they verbalised to do was wrong and Jesus rebuked them accordingly. (Luke 9:51-55
5. Paul: The fact that Paul was successfully persecuting people does not mean God was with him. He had zeal, but his zeal was misdirected. Passion and success alone do not confirm God’s approval. True zeal must always be aligned with God’s purposes and the fruits of The Spirit. (Acts 8:1-8, 9:1-6, Gal 5:22-24)
It is amazing what many people do in the name of God. Beware when your passion leads you to partner with satan. Everything that comes from God must be by the influence of The Holy Spirit and measured by the fruits of The Spirit.
When your passion for God leads you to the extent that you invite satan into your life, then you no longer serve God.
If it is God’s assignment, then God will provide the tools you need to use.
Using satan’s tools means there is no way you will birth the purpose and glory of God in the said cause.
You can get motivated by zeal, but be engineered by an evil spirit in approach.
It is sad to see the atrocities being committed daily, causing emotional damage, and people believe that they are doing God a service whilst committing these atrocities.
Mismanagement of zeal is a major issue that we must address in the body of Christ.
A Major Factor That Affects The Outcome Of Zeal:
1. The mentality or the belief-system that powers the zeal. (1 Kings 19:10-14 and 18)
Our mentalities can govern the way we manage or express zeal. This is the major thing that needs to be corrected.
Sometimes, and particularly in the body of Christ, we can carry a lot of zeal that we start believing we are the only ones still standing for righteousness.
To believe that the Church is irredeemably plunging into decadence in this dispensation, is an insult to the ministry of The Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is actively working and there are a plethora of witnesses that are not known yet, but the hand of God is upon their lives. There is a fresh anointing and mantle that is on the Church, the church is marching on and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.
The first thing that needs to be done to our zeal as Believers, is to correct our understanding about God, the body of Christ, priesthood, and The Holy Spirit.
Whenever we feel like we are the only ones serving the purposes of God, it’s already an attack, and it can make us deviate from the plans of God when we have that mindset. Our key prayer should be “Lord, show me people like me who have not bowed their knees to Baal”.
Our mentalities can greatly govern the way we manage or express zeal.
Our interpretation of life is based on what we believe and we will always view life from the lens of who we really are.
There are people who have a very negative mentality about things, and people will always interpret life based on what they believe. The most important thing for such a person must be to edit his or her mindset.
The body of Christ needs to edit its belief systems because we do a lot of things believing it is for God, while in the real sense, it is zeal without knowledge. Our zeal is correct in the body of Christ, but we must examine our mentality.
The mindset we must sustain as the body of Christ, is that if the fruit of the Spirit is violated to birth an agenda, then God is not in it.
Our zeal must be powered by a Word-complaint mentality, if not our approach will lead us to destruction.
If you must compromise on the law of LOVE to birth an agenda, it’s not of God.
You must have the humility to go back and examine all of your ideologies and mentalities. If they have a tendency to violate the fruit of The Spirit, then God is not in them.
Everything initiated by God must carry the fragrance of His Spirit, especially the fragrance of love. You cannot be so zealous that your actions become driven by hatred.
There are too many things we are doing in the name of God, whilst causing pain to others.
If the fruit of the Spirit is violated in execution, you are already in error, and not operating in God.
From this teaching, I pray for you: May you have the humility to probe and edit your mindset, in the name of Jesus Christ!
People are becoming victims of zeal, that is based on poor information. The result is a lopsided people. If our zeal is not powered by a Word-compliant mentality, it will lead us into frustration.
My call for you from tonight’s teaching is that you must make up your mind to keep your zeal intact, whilst ensuring you probe the mindset that is powering the zeal.
Declare: Father, I receive grace to correct the understanding powering my zeal.
As the body of Christ, when our mentality teaches us that we are stronger together, it will channel our zeal appropriately, and until we have this mentality, our zeal will always be corrupted.
An individual can’t birth the purposes of God wholesomely, because no one man can singlehandedly pilot the program of God. The Ecclesia – the Church – coming together as one, is what brings about wholesome growth.
The way we exercise our zeal is as important as our motive. Don’t just have a correct motive, also have a correct approach.
Two Major Factors That Affect The Outcome Of Zeal:
1. The Mentality or the Belief – System that powers the zeal.
(1 Kings 19: 10-14, 18)
2. The Approach – the way zeal is exercised.
(Romans 10: 2)
A loser’s mentality cannot produce a victor’s destiny.
People have scars due to good intentions laced with wrong approaches, and the approach is as good as the motive.
The challenge in the body of Christ is that, sometimes our approach cancels out what should have been an excellent motive.
Tonight’s message is a clarion call to the body of Christ. Once we refuse to change our approach in exercising our zeal, we’ll continue to self-sabotage our intentions.
The proof that you love Jesus, is not only in our service for Him, but also your relationship with Him and how you treat others.
Let’s be careful to not kill the next “Stephen” in the body, like Saul did, before he became Paul. There are many battles that are needless to fight by the devil, based on our self-sabotage: our wrong approach and wrong application of strategies.
No truth communicated to the body of Christ should stand in isolation. Other truths find balance when communicated wholesomely, as they interconnect with other truths in the Bible.
When it has to do with growth, we don’t choose how to be built. We have to be open to the full counsel of God. Zeal is a precious gift that must be managed with responsibility.
Servants of God must understand that the kind of people God is raising in this season, are people who are flexible, malleable and open-hearted. It will be arrogance to believe that you will not need any contribution from anybody in the body of Christ, in raising the people God gave you.
While celebrating our uniqueness, we must create room for the diversity in the body of Christ. The hatred and other vices within the body is solved by understanding this truth about zeal. Hatred and other negative reservations have never built anything notable
Zeal can be a blessing or a curse, depending on how it is used. Once the zeal for God violates the love of God, it becomes destructive and God is not in it.
Never position yourself at the forefront to undermine or derail another person, or to even silently nurture any iota of desire for another man’s downfall. It is a sin against God.
God will never power hatred.
God will never power envy.
God will never power competitive jealousy.
God will never power the desire to outshine.
When you find your zeal birthing those things, the devil has hijacked your zeal. There needs to be a correction of the understanding that powers it.
When you find love, God is there. That zeal powered by love, powered by mutual respect for the body of Christ, powered by an awareness that you are only a part of the larger program of God and while celebrating your uniqueness, you must appreciate the diversity of graces across the body of Christ. When that zeal is powered by such an information, it will produce victory.
Any dimension you admire in anyone within the body, don’t envy them for it; most successful people have documented their strides in books and it can be a roadmap to attain that level you admire.
So instead of envy, retreat, go back and grow by knowledge. It takes humility and acknowledgement, and an understanding that what we don’t have today is attainable tomorrow. The good news is that change is possible.
Don’t turn your unresolved childhood trauma into a message or mindset, and then package it for the body of Christ to absorb.
Love Jesus passionately, but not fanatically.
When your love for Jesus Christ becomes fanatical, it will result in extremism and you’ll do unimaginable things with this deception and assume it is being done for God.
Make contact with someone and begin to pray in the Spirit.
Pray: Father, purge my motive and my mindset. Let my zeal be according to knowledge; let my zeal not produce disaster to the body of Christ, in the name of Jesus Christ!
Pray for the body of Christ in Nigeria, America, Europe and the entire globe.
Declare: Satan, The Lord rebukes you, over the Church in Nigeria, Ghana, Australia and all the world, in the name of Jesus Christ! The Lord will recalibrate our understanding and the motivation powering our zeal, in the name of Jesus Christ!
Pray: Father, in manifesting zeal, let wickedness and hatred be far from it, in the name of Jesus Christ! Ministers, parents and children will learn the way of honour, in the name of Jesus Christ!
The Lord bless you.
The Lord honour you.
The Lord opens strange doors for you, in the name of Jesus. Let this week be filled with laughter, joy, recovery, prosperity, restoration, increase, deliverance, and increasing glory. Prosper this week, in the name of Jesus.
If something will destroy you, may it not come to you. If it will cause you pain, may it be far from you, in the name of Jesus Christ. If it will make for your lifting, may it come in a hurry, in the name of Jesus.
I place a mark of honour upon you. No man will despise you. You will only keep going from glory to glory, in the name of Jesus.
Death is far from you, pain is far from you, lamentation is far from you. This week your life emanates the power of Jesus Christ, in the name of Jesus.
This week you manifest the wisdom of Jesus Christ. This week the power of God will be seen evidently in your life. As you submit yourself to fasting and prayer, I release grace upon you. There will be moments of strong encounters, in the name of Jesus.
May The Lord bless you, lift you and increase you. Let it be well with you. Let it be well with your children. Let it be well with your job. Let it be well with your business, in the name of Jesus Christ.
I decree and declare every negative prophecy about your life is cancelled. Every negative contention about your life is cancelled. I call you Beulah, I call you Hebzibah. You are a well-watered garden. Your prayer life is on fire. Your word life is on fire. In the name of Jesus.
Destiny-helpers arise from everywhere to save you, in the name of Jesus. Every pending issue that needs answers, receives answers this week. The love for the body of Christ grows stronger and stronger, in the name of Jesus Christ.
And I decree and declare, walk in divine contentment. Every desire that is consistent with the will of God, this week, may it enter your hands. The Lord delivers you from every trouble, in Jesus name we pray.
Someone’s knocking at your door. Are you yet to heed Jesus’ call? Tonight, He is reaching out to you once again, ready to show you a path that leads to life and eternal glory.
Take this bold step of faith and begin the journey of salvation by saying “yes” to Jesus Christ. With faith in your heart, declare this prayer of salvation to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.
If you’ve made the decision to receive Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior tonight, we celebrate you, and Heaven rejoices over you! We would love to hear from you and walk alongside you on your new Christian journey.
Please use the link https://bit.ly/JESUSINMYHEART or send us an email at [email protected]
Originally posted on November 2, 2025 @ 7:36 pm
