KD Overview

INTRODUCTION

So. I have been known on occasion to go on a run....

Now- before any of you get any ideas and label me as a runner.

..I feel like I should clarify a few things.

First. I enjoy running…I am NOT a runner.

I am also a fair weather runner..

if it’s too hot...not happening

to cold…absolutely not...

Also- I have about a 5 mile limit before I get bored.

And I run to only upbeat music with a fast pace.

So…on Saturday, I decided the weather was not too hot and not too cold…

So off I went.

and..apparently I had also lost my mind..because I decided to try a new route..

Well…all I kept thinking..as I was dying...was that this route sort of felt like our BSF study this year...

It was unfamiliar territory- I wasn’t sure what to expect or what was going to be next..

It was hilly…and somehow both ways the hills seemed to be longer going up then going down.

But...I started off strong- feeling confident that I could do it…

just like many of you started off our study- confident…excited…ready for a challenge...

but then you hit the first hill…the people were rebelling…they were a hot mess..and everything seemed to just go from bad to worse...

as you hit the top of the hill…you saw God pursuing....there was some relief...a little bit of hope...

only to get to the bottom and find out that you had to go back uphill…more sin…more rebelling...more destruction...

and then…if you were like me on my run…about halfway through you got a cramp.

you were tempted to throw in the towel...

to give up completely…it was too hard…it hurt too much and it was most definitely not worth it.

maybe you took a quick break…regrouped..took some serious deep breaths..

your group leader hounded you- lovingly of course- to come back....to keep moving forward...

and so..you came back…and slowly but surely- you kept on going...

the hills didn’t get easier, in fact- the scripture got longer, the people kept rebelling and the downhill portions seemed shorter and shorter...

they were there- the hope was there-God was still pursuing, but often it seemed like there were just more hills....more destruction..more sin..more mess.

But then…all of a sudden....here you are…you made it to the finish line..

you may feel exhausted…you may feel like you crawled or even fell over it…but you made it...

in fact, if you have been with us all year you made it through:

1 & 2 Kings

2 Chronicles

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Obadiah

Jonah

Micah

Nahum

Habakkuk

Zephaniah

Isaiah

Jeremiah &

Lamentations

So, regardless of how you got here and in what condition you find yourself…you made it…

so…right now....I want you to take a deep breath....because now it is time for the most important part of our running journey this year..

stretching...

see…in my limited running experience…one thing I have learned the hard way is that if you don’t stretch....

your muscles become tight…they hurt....and in fact…if you don’t stretch..you become prone to injury...

so how do we stretch after this long year?...

We slow down to remember where we have been…we reflect on what we have learned…and we keep moving forward as we CONTINUE to engage with God and His word...

God’s people were prone to wander…they forgot to stretch…to remember…to continue engaging with God and His word…it led to injury in the form of severe consequences of judgement...

But God was always right behind them…pursing them…He never changed..He never left them…He was always there to carry them forward if they would just look up to Him.

This study may be over- but your journey with God is a marathon....not a sprint...

As we have gone through our scripture this year, with every uphill climb we have seen the people rebel…and yet, just when you thought it couldnt get any worse and there was no hope…there was God…still pursuing His people…

and that is our main truth this week…and this year…that: People Rebel and God pursues.

So today- we are going to stretch as we reflect on this year…we are going to look back at where we have been…and we will do this in 2 sections…first reflecting on how

1. People Rebel

and then reflecting on how

2. God Pursues

I. PEOPLE REBEL

Our study started this year in 1 Kings chp. 11- with the end of the reign of King Solomon.

and right away we found: Divided hearts..a Divided kingdom…and a faithful God.

Divided Hearts

Solomon’s heart was divided between a love for himself and his love for the Lord…

the man who started out asking for wisdom- ignored God’s warnings…he ran after wealth, power and wives...and instead of a man whose heart was wholeheartedly devoted to God, Solomon’s life ended with a divided heart.

But humanities struggle with a divided heart did not start with Solomon, it started all the way back at the beginning of the book of Genesis- when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sin entered the world...

at that moment- their hearts became divided.

And as their hearts divided....their fellowship with God was broken…and the people became broken...

Over and over the people, God’s people, like Solomon, chose their own wants and desires over God’s..they chose sin. which led to more sin…

Idolatry

dishonesty

greed

violence

injustice

sexual immorality

child sacrifice

witchcraft

the list could go on and on...

in short…they broke the covenant they had made with God…where they promised to follow Him and his ways…

Instead of choosing God..over and over they chose themselves..their wants..their desires…and it led to disastrous consequences...

The division in their hearts ultimately led to a division in their kingdom.

Divided Kingdom

After King Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam took his place on the throne.

He followed in the disarray of his father...

He ignored wise counsel and because of that choice…

The kingdom divided.

A man name Jeroboam saw his opportunity and became king over the northern kingdom- Israel...

While Rehoboam was left over the only 2 remaining tribes…Judah and Benjamin, in the Southern kingdom.

The Kingdom Divided....The kings failed…and we have spent all year looking at their steady decline.

The Northern Kingdom experienced evil king after evil king who failed to honor God and lead the people in the way God had intended.

Their Kingdom became shaped by idolatry, immorality and evil.

The Southern Kingdom had a few shining moments with some wise and godly kings such as Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah- who brought spiritual reform and called the people back to God.

However, just like the Northern Kingdom of Israel…sin abounded.

Both kingdoms- the North and the South continuously rejected God- and despite God’s persistent invitations to bring them back to Him, they continued in a downward spiral which eventually led to exile for both nations.

The Northern Kingdom of Israel was captured by Assyria....and not too long after, the Southern Kingdom of Judah was overtaken by the Babylonians.

the end.

I mean..I think we can all agree that if this years study was made into a movie and strictly focused on the narrative- it would be the worst ending ever.

We would be left with so many questions!!!!

right..I mean- what in the world- what a giant mess...

Divided hearts…Divided Kingdom and everyone left in exile.

Faithful God

Despite the division and continuous sin of His people…God remained faithful.

Principle: God is faithful when His people are not.

People’s continuous failures show our desperate need for God.

Application

prone to wander

II. GOD PURSUES

Every time God’s people turned their back on Him…he was right there…pursuing them

Relationship

Redemption

Restoration

Principle: God continuously pursues His children despite their unfaithfulness.

Application:

CONCLUSION