Sermon Video: Jehoram abandons the LORD - 2 Chronicles 21

When the families of the pious king Jehoshaphat and the idolater Ahab came together in marriage, Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram with Ahab’s daughter, the resulting union was disastrous for the kingdom of Judah.  Instead of following in his father’s God-honoring ways, Jehoram followed the path of Ahab, leading his own people away from the LORD and “prostituting” themselves with false gods.  In addition to his failures as a spiritual leader for his people, Jehoram also desecrated the good name of the house of David by murdering all six of his brothers and other relatives besides in order to secure his throne, a throne that had been given to him as the eldest as a matter of custom.

                How does a child of such a good man as Jehoshaphat end up being so wicked?  Such thoughts are deeply troubling to us, as we lack any real answer beyond falling back upon human freewill.  If not for the promise of God to David, a promise that could not be revoked because God is faithful even when his people are not, the house of David was not destroyed, even though the actions of Jehoram brought judgment upon himself, his family, and his people.  Jehoram was afflicted with a painful disease that killed him after two years, his sons and wives were captured by an invading army and killed, and his kingdom suffered from that invasion as well.  In the end, Jehoram died, “to nobody’s regret”, without the honor done to the previous six generations of his family that had ruled over Judah.

                The story of Jehoram is a cautionary tale, a tragedy that reminds us to never take for granted that our spiritual and moral values will be those of the next generation, each person must still decide for himself or herself to follow the LORD.  Also, Jehoram’s downfall reminds us of the true consequences of sin, something we perhaps take for granted as a people forgiven by God, but something we should not for the wages of sin are still death, even for those washed by the blood of the Lamb.  Lastly, we need to hold out hope for those who have lost their way, for people who have known the grace of God but walked from it, perhaps our continued prayers will be the vehicle through which God’s grace finally reaches them. 

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video 

An article I wrote about Mustard Seed Missions

It was pretty cool to see ABCOPAD (our denominational region, American Baptist Churches of Pennsylvania and Delaware) feature an article I wrote about Mustard Seed Missions.  The newsletter goes out to a lot of churches, hopefully this will spur them on to take a chance on inter-church cooperative ministry and also look into what sort of church-government cooperative efforts might be available to help the poor in their area.  We've also recently had the joy of seeing a Mustard Seed inspired effort begin in neighboring Mercer County, and a new one about to start up in another neighboring county, Crawford.  God is good, his people can do awesome things for the kingdom when they work together.

ABCOPAD newsletter

When warnings go unheeded

“No marvel that hardened sinners are not frightened from sin and to repentance by the threatening of misery in another world, which is future and out of sight, when the certain prospect of misery in this world, the sinking of their estates and the ruin of their healths, will not restrain them from vicious courses.”  This is from Matthew Henry’s Bible commentary, the passage he’s commenting upon is 2 Chronicles 21 where King Jehoram is confronted by a letter from the prophet Elijah predicting woe to him personally and to his kingdom because of his exceedingly great wickedness (he murdered his six brothers).  Henry is correct to note that the consequences of sin are not wholly relegated to judgment after death, we see what choosing to embrace evil does to humanity day after day.  The truth that virtue is its own reward, and your sin fill find you, out is clear for anyone willing to look at it, but ignored by those whose hearts are unwilling to admit their error and seek God’s forgiveness.  This is clearly a flaw in our fallen human nature, something that we will always have to strive against, and the reason why Plato’s simply solution of educating everyone on right and wrong is insufficient to create a better world.  In Plato’s mind, “to know the good is to do the good”.  Sadly, as Henry correctly points out, there have always been people willing to ignore what they can plainly see.  As it always does, grace rescues humanity from itself when God intervenes, first through sending Christ to make the way possible, and now each time when he calls through the Spirit to break through our resistance and blindness.  The warning of future judgment is still necessary, and the pointing out of present consequences still appropriate, but we also need to remember that such things will not always be sufficient to turn the sinner from his/her self-destructive path; there but for the grace of God go I.

Sermon Video - "The battle is not yours, but God's" 2 Chronicles 20

                After barely escaping his disastrous alliance with Ahab, King Jehoshaphat returns to Jerusalem where he faces rebuke from God’s prophet.  Jehoshaphat proves his character by taking the criticism, and returning to the work he should have been doing, the administration of justice and support of God’s Law for his people.  In the midst of this renewed effort to be the type of king the people of God need, calamity strikes without warning: Jehoshaphat is informed of a league of three kingdoms to the east that have joined to invade Judah, and they’re already on this side of the Jordan River.

                In the midst of a crisis that could end his kingdom and destroy his people if not thwarted, Jehoshaphat turns not to his palace to meet with his generals, but to the temple to lead the assembled people of God in prayer.  With the invading army only a day away, Jehoshaphat prays before the people, recalling God’s seat upon the throne of heaven, his promise to Abraham, and ending by recalling that his ancestors had shown mercy to the Edomites who are now amongst those invading Judah, which leads to a call for God to show justice.

                The response to Jehoshaphat’s powerful prayer is impressive: God speaks through a Levite in attendance at this assembly in the temple courtyard to assure his people that they need not be afraid even of an approaching army, for “the battle is not yours, but God’s”.  This is the key truth for Jehoshaphat and for us today.  The true battle between Good and Evil was never ours to win or lose, it was always the responsibility of God, and the outcome of victory was never in doubt.  The champion of the cause of right is the Lamb of God, who is indeed worthy.

                The battle is God’s, but his people still need to put on their armor and take the field.  Jehoshaphat leads the army out of Jerusalem with a choir of men in front praising God, “Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever.”  As the people praise, God throws the enemy army into confusion and they turn upon each other and destroy themselves.  What was the key to victory?  The power of God fulfilling his Word.  And how was that power accessed?  By the fervent prayer of his people, gathered together, and their subsequent steps of obedience in faithful trust. 

To watch the video, click on the link below:

 Sermon Video

Sermon Video: Jehoshaphat seeks the Word of the LORD, 2 Chronicles 18

Jehoshaphat, son of Asa, was a man who, “walked in the ways his father David had followed.”  As king of Judah he continued his father’s fight against idolatry and went a step further by sending his officials along with priests and Levites to all the towns of Judah to teach the people the Word of God so that they would understand their obligations under the Covenant. 

                The fault that can be found in Jehoshaphat lies not with himself but with those whom he chose to associate.  Jehoshaphat made a politically savvy, but spiritually foolish decision to ally himself with Ahab, king of Israel, by having his son marry Ahab and Jezebel’s daughter.  This familial alliance led Ahab to ask Jehoshaphat to help him reclaim a city that had been lost in the previous wars with Aram when Jehoshaphat’s father Asa had bribed them to invade Israel.  Perhaps Jehoshaphat was naïve, perhaps he was an idealist hoping to reunite the kingdom, but he agreed to help Ahab in the proposed war.

                Jehoshaphat was not without caution, however, and he required Ahab to consult a prophet of the LORD before proceeding.  Ahab’s court contained 400 prophets, but not one of whom served the LORD.  When Micaiah spoke to Ahab the Word of the LORD, he did not concur with the 400 false prophets that victory was assured, instead he told Ahab that this venture would be a calamity that would cost him his life.  How did Ahab respond to the truth, he locked Micaiah in prison intending to gloat over him when he returned victorious.

                Jehoshaphat should have stopped right there, he was the one who asked Ahab to seek God’s counsel, and now he had heard it, but he didn’t listen to it.  In the ensuing battle, Ahab disguised himself to try to avoid God’s judgment, while Jehoshaphat remained in his royal robes and was nearly killed by enemy soldiers seeking to kill the king of Israel.  At the last possible moment, Jehoshaphat realized his error and called out to the LORD who rescued him.  Ahab did not thwart God’s Word through his subterfuge, a “random” arrow hit him in an “unlucky” spot between the pieces of his armor and killed him.  The Word of the LORD had been given to Ahab and Jehoshaphat, both of them failed to heed it, and Jehoshaphat was very nearly caught up in the destruction that fell upon Ahab.  The Word of God is not to be trifled with, it is our warning against error and our comfort in despair, to seek it is certainly the correct first step, but we must still listen to it and obey.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video