Sermon : Why All The Whys? Page 1

Transcription

1 Sermon : Why All The Whys? Page 1 Why All The Whys Text : I King 13 S#1. A. II Kings 13 recounts an historical event which has many spiritual applications.#2. 1. God does not record historical events just for their historical significance. 2. Each one contains at least one lesson for us. S#3. Rom. 15: 4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. S#4. B. In order to understand this chapter we must understand its historical context. 1. I Sam. 9 The prophet Samuel s sons were evil so the people demanded a king. 2. I Sam God chooses Saul to be King but warned him to fear Lord & serve God 3. I Sam. 15 Saul disobeyed God. ( Lost sight of God authority over the nation. ) 4. I Sam. 16 God chooses David to be king and gives him same promise.. if serve a. David faithfully serves God all of his days. ( Sins but faithful ) b. David becomes the standard by which all faithful kings are measured. 5. I King 1... Solomon is made king with same promise given to David, but he failed. a. Solomon s heart was drawn away by his foreign wives. ( Different values and gods ) b. God did not unseat Solomon because of His feeling for David. 6. I King Rehoboam retained part of the kingdom because of promise to David C. The Kingdom of Israel was divided between two kings. 1. Jeroboam worked for Solomon as a valiant and industrious soldier. a. He was given a meritorious promotion to be over forced labor. b. Ahijah the prophet prophesied that Jeroboam would be king over 10 tribes. c. When Solomon learned of it Jeroboam fled into Egypt. 2. Rehoboam was a son of Solomon and he was the rightful heir to the throne. a. Jeroboam came back from Egypt and asked for relief from the heavy burdens. b. I Kgs 10: 27 The king made silver as common as stones in Jeru. but at a cost. b. Solomon s advisors were for it, but Rehoboam s young friends were against it of the tribes went with Jeroboam and formed the nation of Israel. ( northern kgdm ) S#5. D. Fearing the people would return to following Rehoboam if they returned to the temple on the 3 feast days as God required, Jeroboam started a pagan religion.

2 Sermon : Why All The Whys? Page 2 1. He built idols of golden calves. a. Exod. 32 Israel had worshipped the golden calf in the wilderness. b. Calves were worshipped in Egypt where Jeroboam had fled. ( worshiped as Apis ) 2. He built altars in two cities to the extreme north and south of Israel - Dan and Bethel. 3. He established feast days to compete with the three required feasts in the temple. The warning of I kings 13 is God s response to Jeroboams apostasy. We will read it and observe some practical lessons from it. S#6. I. God is always aware of what is transpiring in everyone s life.. S#7. A. God was aware of David s sin, but he was also aware of his heart. S#8. 1. David got carried away in his lust ( midlife crisis ) but the sin broke his heart. 2. God kept His promise to David by keeping the seed of David on the throne. B. God was aware of the life of Solomon but he kept him on the throne for David. I Kings 11: So the Lord said to Solomon, "Because you have done this, S#9. and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant. 12 "Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 "However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen." C. He knew the character of Rehoboam and allowed him to forfeit the kingdom. D. He observed the sin of Jeroboam and responded to it as He said he would. E. He was very clear in His instructions to the young prophet and saw his violation. S#10. F God has a will and a work for each of us and is aware of how we accomplish it. II. It is not how we start that counts, but how we finish our journey.. S#11. S#12. A. The young prophet started his mission with great determination and success. 1. He was given a task which could be finished in a day. a. Only 12 miles from Jerusalem to Bethel. ( Luz -. Jacobs ladder - house of God ) b. If he ate in the morning, he would miss lunch, but he d be home for supper. c. God s instruction made it clear that He wanted the young prophet to hurry.

3 Sermon : Why All The Whys? Page 3 2. He stood before the king with great courage and conviction. a. He knew the response he would get, but he stated what God told him to say. b. He knew God was with him because God withered the hand of the king. c. God answered his prayer for the healing of the king. 3. He resisted the temptation to accept the hospitality and the reward of the king. B. He was killed for disobedience that occurred when all the danger was past. S# He had survived the encounter with the king and was on his way home. 2. He found a shade tree and was taking a rest before crossing the finish line. a. In a race, no matter how far ahead one is he never slows down before finishing. b. Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare. S#14. C. The scriptures encourage us to keep our guard up and to keep on keeping on. 1. The brethren in Galatia were admonished to hang in there in there. Gal. 6: 9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. 2. The Apostle John admonished us not to lose our reward. II John 7-8 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who S#15. do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. 3. Apostle Paul could face God with confidence knowing he had finished with faith. a. II Tim. 4: 7-8 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, S#16. I have kept the faith; 8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. b. Long distance runners long to see that finish line, but they don t quit before it. c. The crown only goes to the one who finishes and crosses that finish line. 4. What is important is the condition of our faith when we stand before God. Rev. 2: 10b Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life S#17. D. As we get older and tired the shade of the oak tree becomes increasingly inviting. 1. Every year we spend on this earth our experience makes us more valuable to God. 2. A moving target is much harder for Satan to hit. 3. Recovering from the atrophy is sometime harder to recover from than the injury. 4. We can avoid spiritual atrophy by adjusting and staying active in serving God.

4 Sermon : Why All The Whys? Page 4 III. Never stray from the word of God.. S#18. A. The young prophet knew the Lord s instructions. 1. He withstood the king s testing by repeating the instructions of the Lord. 2. When invited to the old prophet s house he repeated the Lord s command. B. You and I will only be able to stand if we stay with the revealed word of God. 1. When our Lord was tempted, He stuck with the revealed word of God. Matt. 4: 5-7 Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand S#19. on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, If You are the Son of ( Satan quotes the God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, He will command His angels scriptures 2 Pt 3:16 ) concerning You ; and On their hands they will bear You up, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said to him, On the other hand, it is written, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test. 2. The scriptures praise the brethren and Berea because they confirmed everything. Acts 17: 11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, S#20. ( Gold standard for for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Christin conduct ) Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. C. Satan will use every possible way to lead you astray. 1. The old prophet knew what the young prophet had been commanded, but persuaded him to defy God and come home with him. 2. Being a prophet of God the old prophet should have been crying against the idol. 3. The old prophet heard about the miracles so he knew the young one was from God. 4. We have no revelation about his motives, but whatever it was, SATAN USED HIM. D. Though he was a prophet of God, the old prophet lied and solicited disobedience. 1. He told him an angel had told him to change God s revealed will. 2. Young prophet has no excuse; no angel has the authority to change the words of God 3. The N.T. warns about this very thing. Gal. 1: 6-8 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you S#21. by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 7 which is really not another; ( Paul may be only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel referring to of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from Heaven, should preach to you I King 13:18 ) a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! E. The scriptures are clear, there will always be people trying to lead us astray. 1. They don t always know they are being used by Satan a. II Tim. 3: But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, S#22.

5 Sermon : Why All The Whys? Page 5 deceiving and being deceived. 14 You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, b. Gal. 5: 7 You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? S#23. 8 This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. 10 I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will adopt no other view; but the one who is disturbing you will bear his judgment, whoever he is. 2. We can trust no one other than the scriptures. a. Satan s agents can even appear as angels.. innocent - non-threatening - trustworthy II Cor. 11: For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising #24. themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. b. We fight against enemies that we can t even see Eph. 6: Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand #25. firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the, powers against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. IV. There will always be consequences for disobedience.. S#26. S#27. A. The young prophet was deceived but he died nonetheless. ( Circumstances = judged ) B. Eve was naïve and deceived by a much wiser opponent, but she died nonetheless. C. Many today are honestly wrong having been deceived by error, but they will die. D. You and I will be lost even if we are deceived or just set under the oak tree. 1. God has revealed His will to us and he requires that we learn it and follow it. 2. Like the young prophet there are religious people trying to convince us, BUT 3. There are thousands of churches each claiming to be right, but Jesus built only one. D. This is why I have preached 16 sermons explaining why we do what we do. S#28. It is vitally important that we know God s will and abide by it to the end. INVITATION : Are you in the will of God? We invite you S#29. S#30.. Communion Slide

6 Sermon : Why All The Whys? Page 6 Lesson Text : I King 13 1 Now behold, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD, while Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense. 2 He cried against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus says the LORD, Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you. 3 Then he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD has spoken, Behold, the altar shall be split apart and the ashes which are on it shall be poured out. 4 Now when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, Seize him. But his hand which he stretched out against him dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. 5 The altar also was split apart and the ashes were poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. 6 The king said to the man of God, Please entreat the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me. So the man of God entreated the LORD, and the king s hand was restored to him, and it became as it was before. 7 Then the king said to the man of God, Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward. 8 But the man of God said to the king, If you were to give me half your house I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. 9 For so it was commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way which you came. 10 So he went another way and did not return by the way which he came to Bethel. 11 Now an old prophet was living in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the deeds which the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words which he had spoken to the king, these also they related to their father. 12 Their father said to them, Which way did he go? Now his sons had seen the way which the man of God who came from Judah had gone. 13 Then he said to his sons, Saddle the donkey for me. So they saddled the donkey for him and he rode away on it. 14 So he went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak; and he said to him, Are you the man of God who came from Judah? And he said, I am. 15 Then he said to him, Come home with me and eat bread. 16 He said, I cannot return with you, nor go with you, nor will I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. 17 For a command came to me by the word of the LORD, You shall eat no bread, nor drink water there; do not return by going the way which you came. 18 He said to him, I also am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the

7 Sermon : Why All The Whys? Page 7 word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied to him. 19 So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house and drank water. 20 Now it came about, as they were sitting down at the table, that the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back; 21 and he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, Thus says the LORD, Because you have disobeyed the command of the LORD, and have not observed the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you, 22 but have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to you, Eat no bread and drink no water ; your body shall not come to the grave of your fathers. 23 It came about after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 Now when he had gone, a lion met him on the way and killed him, and his body was thrown on the road, with the donkey standing beside it; the lion also was standing beside the body. 25 And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown on the road, and the lion standing beside the body; so they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived. 26 Now when the prophet who brought him back from the way heard it, he said, It is the man of God, who disobeyed the command of the LORD; therefore the LORD has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke to him. 27 Then he spoke to his sons, saying, Saddle the donkey for me. And they saddled it. 28 He went and found his body thrown on the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside the body; the lion had not eaten the body nor torn the donkey. 29 So the prophet took up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back, and he came to the city of the old prophet to mourn and to bury him. 30 He laid his body in his own grave, and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother! 31 After he had buried him, he spoke to his sons, saying, When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. 32 For the thing shall surely come to pass which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria. 33 After this event Jeroboam did not return from his evil way, but again he made priests of the high places from among all the people; any who would, he ordained, to be priests of the high places. 34 This event became sin to the house of Jeroboam, even to blot it out and destroy it from off the face of the earth.

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