Peer Pressure
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
As we close out this series on “What does the Bible say about...” I want to first look at what we have covered
Week one: identity and how you are “image bearers” of Christ
Week two: mental health, and how the Bible has authority over every aspect of us
Week three: LGBTQ and what the Bible says about it
Week four: suffering, and how we all must face it
Week five: media, and how what you watch, and the amount you watch matter
Week six: doubts, and the difference between doubts and questions
This week we are looking at Peer Pressure. Something that is heavily prevalent today
Peer pressure: a feeling that one must do the same things as other people of one's age and social group in order to be liked or respected by them
Peer pressure can come from all kinds of things
Peer pressure can look like someone intentionally getting you to do something wrong
Peer pressure can look like your friend group doing something that is wrong, they might not challenge you to do it, but it’s expected
Peer pressure can be wanting to fit into a certain group, so doing things you don’t want to do
Peer pressure can also be seeing things on tiktok, snapchat, insta that make you do things you wouldn’t normally do because they look happy doing them.
Don’t believe me, think of fashion, think of the way you talk or the phrases you say, think of the shows you watch, the music you listen to
Almost all of these things are influenced by people, thus peer pressure!
Tonight I want to look at a story of a young king, and see how he fared with peer pressure
Young King
Young King
Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.
Rehoboam is the son of Solomon
You know Solomon, the wealthiest king in all of human history. The king that wrote the books Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon!
Rehoboam was his son, and now the new king of Israel
That is a tough act to follow if you ask me personally
But still, Rehoboam was king
The test
The test
And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. And they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.” He said to them, “Go away for three days, then come again to me.” So the people went away.
Rehoboam had only been king for a short while when you enter Jeroboam.
Jeroboam, who fled from Solomon, was now coming with a request for Rehoboam - decrease the amount of Tax we have to pay (the same thing we ask our congressmen LOL)
See Solomon, to keep his fortune, taxed the people of Israel heavily, and so with the new king, Jeroboam is trying to lighten the load.
Rehoboam then tells them to go away while he decides for 3 days what to do
This is our first lesson on peer pressure
THERE IS ALWAYS A TEST
For Rehoboam the test was this, will he be like Solomon, or something else - will he lighten the taxation, and make it heavier
For use the test may be something different
It may be will you cheat on the test, or not
Will you wear skinny jeans or mom/boyfriend jeans
It may also be will you smoke weed or not
Will you have sex or not
There is always a test when it comes to peer pressure
There is always something that challenges you and what you should do
The council
The council
After having the test Rehoboam sent for council
First from the old men
Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” And they said to him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.”
The old me advised him to lighten the tax, and show kindness to the people
Saying that if he does that “they will be your servants forever”
However, Rehoboam also seeked council from his peers
And he said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us,’ thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s thighs. And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’ ”
The young men, his peers, told Rehoboam to tell the people of Israel that his pinky finger was thicker than Solomon’s thighs
That Solomon taxed him, but it was nothing compared to what Rehoboam was going to do!
That he was going to show them who the real King was!
Here’s the second lesson on Peer Pressure
PRESSURE COMES FROM ALL SIDES
For Rehoboam he had the older men counseling him to lighten up and be kind, and the younger men, his peers, telling him to tighten up and make it more
The older men didn’t literally refer to them being older, but to be doing this longer, or older in experience
The younger men didn’t literally mean younger in age, but younger in experience
However, Rehoboam was faced with two sides pulling him to do something
One side said lighten up and go easy, the other said tighten up and show them who’s boss
The same thing is true for us today. Pressure will come from all sides
Rather it is pressure from parents to not do something, or pressure from friends to do it
You’re going to face peer pressure from all sides
People are going to pull you in all directions
You will feel pressure from all sides to do something good, or to do something bad
There is no stopping it, no getting around it
You will always feel pressure!
That’s the fact of life, there is always pressure involved
The choice
The choice
But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him.
So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, “Come to me again the third day.” And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”
Rehoboam did not take the council of the old me, but instead took council from his friends and followed what his friends were telling him to do
He told the people of Israel that his pinky finger was the size of his fathers thigh!
Look at what happened
Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Judah only.
Because of Rehoboam’s choice to not follow the wise council, the entire nation of Israel rebelled against him
They all turned and made Jeroboam king
There was now two Kings, and the nation of Israel was split from this moment
This leads to our last lesson on peer pressure
WHO YOU FOLLOW MATTERS
For Rehoboam, the people that he followed mattered a whole lot more than he thought
If he would have taken the council of the old men, the nation would be intact, they would be at peace, and he would have no issues
Since he didn’t, the nation was now tore, there was two kings, and he is running for his life
Now insert us
Who we follow matters.
We are getting advice, and being pressured all the time by friends, family, even me
The end result is, you must make the choice of who you will follow
You always have a choice in every matter that happens!
No matter how hard people try to pull you in a certain direction, you always have a choice of what to do
People don’t force you to make good or bad choices - you choose what to do
Rehoboam had both good and bad advice, he knew good and bad, yet he choose to follow the bad advice
You know what is good and bad for you, you know you need to follow God and what he calls you to
The question is will you choose to follow the good pressure, or the bad pressure?
Will you choose to follow God, or fall into sin?
Conclusion
Conclusion
Peer pressure is everywhere!
You face it every minute of every day!
It is constant, and you can’t escape it!
You will always have a test, something that pops up that you must make a decision on
People will try to pull you in every direction based off of that
And who you choose to follow matters
Everything will either pull you to or away from God
It will either be a positive or negative influence
Your choices matter!