ENTHUSIASM!

ENTHUSIASM!

"Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

-Matthew 12:30

It wasn’t long after God graciously blessed me with the gift of faith that I began teaching others about Jesus and His Word. The testimony of God’s grace irrupted into my life in May of 2003, and by 2004 I was teaching at a church in San Antonio, Texas.

When one of the pastors of the church asked me if I would prayerfully consider teaching, I was shocked. I was 36 years old and had never read the Bible in my life. Sure, I’d flipped it open a few times (literally selecting a page at random) and thought that somehow the page I’d flipped to would have the “magical” and immediate solution to all my troubles. But I’d never read it. I’d never studied it. I’d never took the time to marinade my soul in it; and I certainly never surrendered my life to the One who inspired it, the eternal Word/Logos - Jesus Christ.

When Pastor Robert asked me if I’d consider teaching - I let him know that I was grossly, grievously, and terrifically deficient and ill-equipped for the task. I let Pastor Robert know that I’d never read the Bible growing up and had just started that wonderful journey. Robert smiled and said, “Kevin, I’d take one of you over ten biblical scholars for whom the Bible has become old, stale, and boring.” Robert encouraged me again to prayerfully consider it. So I did.

God not only gave me a peace about teaching, but the Spirit lit a holy fire inside me that has never been squelched. Our church was about to begin a study of the book of Exodus, so I cracked open the new study Bible I’d purchased at Costco and began reading Exodus 1:1... “These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; each came with his family…”

There I was, just one verse into my study of Exodus and I’d already gotten “sidetracked.” I’m asking myself, “Who is Joseph? Why are they in Egypt?” So I found myself backtracking into Genesis…

Well, Sunday was coming fast and I absolutely COULD NOT WAIT! I was coming out of my skin and bubbling over with utter jubilation. I was so incredibly eager to share with the class what I’d discovered (i.e. what the Holy Spirit had illuminated)!!!

Joseph ended up in Egypt by God’s providence! Joseph was one of Jacob/Israel’s sons who had been sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. That led me to another question so I backtracked ever farther…

I found out that Jacob/Israel had tricked his brother Esau into giving up his birthright and blessing. That led me to another question so I backtracked even farther…

I found out that Jacob/Israel was Isaac’s son - the VERY SAME Isaac whose father, Abraham, had obediently placed him on an altar to demonstrate his faith in God’s promise - the VERY SAME Abraham who had formerly been known as Abram; to whom God had promised to use as a blessing to “all the peoples of the earth!” The VERY SAME Abram who was the descendant of Noah - the VERY SAME Noah who was a descendant of Seth - the VERY SAME Seth who was Eve’s offspring, and through whom God’s promised serpent crusher of Genesis 3:15 would eventually come... But why did humanity need a serpent crusher in the first place? There I went asking another question! Now I was reading, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” I’m glad they weren’t doing a study of the book of Revelation.

Sunday was upon me and while I’d read nearly the ENTIRE BOOK OF GENESIS I’d only read one single verse of Exodus. I was convinced that I was the worst Sunday School teacher ever, but when class began something amazing happened! All the joy and ENTHUSIASM of my studies and time with God spilled over to the people in the class. Up on the board I was writing names, drawing lines, showing relationships, charting timelines... I was sharing with everyone about God’s faithfulness and the integrity of His story, and everyone was loving it!

At the end of the lesson I stood up there perspiring, no SWEATING, and I was exhausted. Afterward someone from the class said, “Kevin, you realize we already know all this right?” Without hesitation I responded, “Why didn’t you tell me?” I didn’t mean “Why didn’t you tell me you already knew so we wouldn’t ‘waste time on old material.’” No. What I meant was “If you already knew, then why did I have to wait 33 years for someone to share the gospel - Good News - of Jesus Christ with me?”

My inquiry was given in a spirit of sincerity, and it was received that way. The person just looked back at me in reflective bewilderment - as if they’d never even considered that question before. After a few awkward moments they said, “I honestly don’t know. Hey, great job today. I’m really looking forward to next week!”

Later that day at lunch Robert asked me, “So, how’d it go?” I hesitantly told him that’d I’d only covered one single verse of Exodus. Robert shrugged, unconcerned, and reiterated the question: “How’d it go?” As I shared the enthusiastic story, Robert beamed with a subtle smile of approval and contentment.

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The etymology of the English word enthusiasm comes from two Greek words: 1) en (Strong’s 1722) - in, by, on, with, among; and 2) theios (Strong’s 2304) - divine, manifesting the characteristics of God's nature. Therefore, to truly be “enthusiastic” about something means that one is literally manifesting and revealing the divine nature, character, and person of God.

So what do you have a passion for? Teaching, golf, LEGO, comic books, renovation projects, gardening, dogs, stamps, nutrition, woodworking, horses, Hot Wheels... Now ask yourself if/how that zealous passion literally and tangibly manifests and reveals the divine nature, character, and person of Jesus Christ.

We can get/be excited, passionate, inspired, roused, zealous, ardent, or thrilled about virtually anything - that’s the easy part. But the truth is we can only be enthusiastic about something if it literally reveals the divine nature, character, and person of Jesus Christ our LORD, Savior, and Friend.

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Eve was vehemently passionate about the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She “saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it.” Eve was incredibly passionate, overwhelmingly convinced, and so roused by the prosperous benefits and advantages of the fruit that she even convinced Adam to partake. “(S)he also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”

Now take a look at your Facebook page, the stuff you tweet about, your Instagram and Snapchat selfies, your automobile, your home, your library, your bank statements, and your credit card receipts...

Then ask yourself: “Am I enthusiastic, i.e. literally and tangibly revealing the divine nature, character, and person of Jesus Christ so as to intentionally and obediently participate in His will and His mission making Him known to the ends of the earth -OR- am I like Eve: passionate about stuff for my personal benefit, for my throne, for the advancement of my kingdom and actually distracting, dissuading, and derailing others from their relationship with Jesus?”

Are you enthusiastically gathering or are you passionately scattering?

"Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

-Matthew 12:30

Blessings,

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisciple.com