February 4, 2024 - Man Proving the God of Man
Notes
Transcript
If I was to ask you - What in ME - reminds you of my dad....
What would you say?
There might be a few things that everyone agrees on...
And in SEEING those things...
I think you’d all agree that those THINGS - in a sense - PROVE that my dad - is MY dad.
They would be - parts of my DAD - in me.
EACH of us - has parts of our parents - IN US (for BETTER or WORSE)
Some of us have our parents...
looks
laugh
smile
eyes
posture
walk
temper
appetite
athletic ability
and on and on...
And when we DISPLAY those things - we’re displaying - - our parents
Today we come to chapter 3 of 2 Kings - and it’s quite interesting for sure.
Why is it interesting?
because the story is identical to a story we find in 1 Kings 22. (the last chapter)
If you remember a few weeks ago - IN ch. 22 - King AHAB decided he wanted the city of Ramoth-Gilead ...
And he asks Jehoshaphat if he would come and fight WITH him to take the city...
Remember?
And then Jehoshaphat asks for a PROPHET to speak to them - to see if God is actually behind this idea...
And AHAB pulls in all of the PSEUDO prophets...
Guys who just tell him what he wants to hear.
And - Jehoshaphat wasn’t BUYING what those prophets were saying - and so he requests ANOTHER prophet...
And Michaiah was the choice!
This SAME EXACT scenario comes around again - except this time it’s Ahab’s son Jehoram requesting Jehoshaphat’s help...
1 In the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twelve years.
2 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, though not like his father and mother, for he put away the pillar of Baal that his father had made.
3 Nevertheless, he clung to the sin of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from it.
4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he had to deliver to the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams.
5 But when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
6 So King Jehoram marched out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel.
7 And he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to battle against Moab?” And he said, “I will go. I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”
The men begin making their way to battle - and they run out of water...
SO Jehoshaphat asks a question...
11 And Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord?” Then one of the king of Israel’s servants answered, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.”
12 And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the Lord is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
v15
15 But now bring me a musician.” And when the musician played, the hand of the Lord came upon him.
16 And he said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘I will make this dry streambed full of pools.’
17 For thus says the Lord, ‘You shall not see wind or rain, but that streambed shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, you, your livestock, and your animals.’
18 This is a light thing in the sight of the Lord. He will also give the Moabites into your hand,
Ok - so we have the story...
ELISHA is called upon - to be God’s SPOKESMAN
And he tells this evil King (Jehoram) that God will deliver the Moabites INTO HIS HAND...
Elisha predicts the victory to come.
And this PREDICTION - Prophecy - is the first of many PROPHECIES/Miracles that he performs...
And it reveals 2 sides of the same coin...
SIDE 1
SLIDE:
Man Proving the God of Man
Elisha TOOK over for Elijah...
Well - what did Elijah KEEP DOING - OVER and OVER AGAIN?
he kept PROVING God!
the TRUE God.
He kept REVEALING the true God!
And so Elisha now begins to do the same thing!
…PROVING the God of man...
…And this is our call!
It’s MY call....
It’s YOUR call...
It’s EVERYONE’s call - who believes.
When Noah built the ark - and then NEEDED the ark...
he was - PROVING the God of man
When Moses went before Pharaoh - and brought the plagues to Egypt...
he was - PROVING the God of man
When Elijah confronted the 450 prophets of Baal - and won...
he was - PROVING the God of man
HOW about YOU?
What do you do in your life - that PROVES the God of man?
If [THIS - church on Sundays] = = is it?
If this is all there is?
Does your attendance here on Sundays / Mondays = PROVE the God of man?
No.
Paul took 14 years in PREPARING for his ministry. - His missionary journeys… LISTEN...
If ALL he did - was - PREPARE…
Would he have PROVED the God of man?
No
Would any of these BOOKS had been written by him?
No!
Noah had to - literally - GO GATHER wood
Moses had to - literally - OPEN his mouth to speak
Elijah had to - literally - confront a LARGE group of men
And Paul had to - literally - walk city to city - speaking about Jesus to people who HATED Jesus.
I say - LITERALLY - BECAUSE...
it’s MORE than just coming here - any day of the week - and listening.
It’s about DOING THAT (listening / studying) - and THEN - going out - and LIVING THAT.
[THAT - living] proves the God of man
Man Proving the God of man...
That’s ONE side of the coin...
On the other side of that coin - is this.
SLIDE:
God Proving the God of Man
When Elisha picked up that cloak off the ground (from last week)…and struck the Jordan...
having ASKED - WHERE is the God of Elijah?
What happened?
14 Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.
The WATERS - parted - - that’s what happened!
But Who did this?
Elisha?
NO - Of course this was GOD working...
And look at the impact that this had on mankind...
15 Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him opposite them, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.
They look out - SEE the water part - and attribute that power to - ELIJAH...
But ELISHA knew better.
It was GOD working - to PROVE GOD to mankind.
YES - Elisha had to PICK up the cloak - and RISK looking like a fool.
But it was GOD who was working!
Paul verbalized this truth himself...
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
GOD proves the God of man!
And He uses men/women/and children - to Do it!
ORDINATION:
About 3.5 years ago - a family walked through these doors - a family of - 4 young girls...
And they decided to commit to this body of believers.
…Commit to you all.
How do I know that? - - they’re still here.
17 months ago - the elders brought forward - before the congregation - Sean Bacon as an elder candidate.
In case you’re new here - our process consists of bringing a candidate forward before the congregation...
announcing that we will be bringing this person into the eldership...
But then giving the congregation time - time to contemplate the choice...
to contemplate the man...
and to bring any concerns that are had - to the elders for consideration.
Within these past 17 months - no concerns made their way to the elders - concerning Sean.
Sean AND Heidi - from the day they walked through those doors - have been examples of Servanthood - for all of us.
When we look at the New Testament church, we see that each church had ELDERS...
We see elders in all the churches that Paul had founded...
We see elders in the church at Jerusalem...
We see elders in Ephesus...
We see elders in all the churches at Crete...
We see elders in all the churches of the dispersion of the Roman Empire...(James 1:1)
And - - we see elders in all the churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia
23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question.
17 Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.
5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
And so in this we see the standard being a PLURALITY of ELDERS within a local church...
And so TODAY...we'll add Sean Bacon to our plurality of elders...
The text we'll be looking and closing with today is 1 Peter 5:1-4.
So let's go there now...
1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed:
2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;
3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
So when we look at this text, we see Peter giving instructions to Elders in how they should handle the flock entrusted to them...
What to do...and HOW to do it...
But something we need to notice - is in verse 1...
1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed:
if we notice the first word of this verse, we'll see that it points to what's before it....AS THE BASIS for what comes after it...
"So" (therefore) - i EXHORT the elders among you...
SOMETHING before this verse is causing Peter to EXHORT (Encourage) the elders to shepherd their flocks in a biblical way...
Let's see what it could be...
In the section before chapter 5 begins, we read this...
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.
16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.
17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
So- THEREFORE - I exhort the elders among you...shepherd the flock that is among you
And so this says something about ELDERS and about the FLOCK...
To Elders: it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God...
the HOLY judgment of God is coming… THEREFORE _ _
LEAD people to truth...
Who are these people…?
v2 tells us - they are THE flock OF GOD...
They are HIS people...HIS sheep
Do you remember what Jesus said to Peter after he appeared to the 7 disciples...
"Feed MY sheep"
To the Flock: it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God...
BE LEAD by your elders…(Let them LEAD you…SUBMIT to them under Christ)
LEARN, look, taste, see, examine...this is what it means to BE FED by the elders...
the HOLY judgment of God is coming...
So we see that this call affects the WHOLE church of God...
28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
So let's look at some of the 'HOW's' from Peter - as to how the elder should shepherd...
Verse 2 shows us our first HOW...
SLIDE
1. Exercise Oversight - not under compulsion, but willingly
Exercise Oversight
Exercise Oversight
2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;
So what God doesn't want is an ELDER who is leading a group of people merely out of a sense of DUTY...
There's this interesting dichotomy in Christianity between - DUTY & DELIGHT
There are those out there who hear the call to SERVE God, and they think that as long as the GOOD DEED is done...
...that God is pleased with that service...REGARDLESS of how the person FELT about the serving...
BUT...
We see all throughout Scripture that God not only wants our hands and our feet...
But that He wants our hearts...
Do you know how many people there are who have given God their hands and their feet...DOING things for Jesus...
And yet their hearts are FAR from God...(Pharisees*)
God wants the HEART of the elder...not just his hands and his feet.
This willingness to shepherd people FLOWS from LOVE that is FOR Christ, and FOR His sheep...
That's where this willingness comes from...
What's the next HOW that we see?
SLIDE
2. Exercise Oversight - not for shameful gain, but eagerly
Exercise Oversight
Exercise Oversight
2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;
Even in Scripture, back in the early days, we see that some had turned religion into a trade...
We read this earlier in 1 Timothy...
5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.
19 You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies.
God wants nothing else to be the Elders goal...other than the glorification of Jesus Christ.
If my AIM in ministry is:
to one day write a book
to one day have a TITLE...
to one day DO this...
to one day HAVE this...
Then I am profaning the Name of God...
No - God wants the GLORIFICATION of Jesus to be the AIM of the Elder...
And when it is...Elders will willingly shepherd people toward Jesus...
What's the next HOW in relation to Exercising Oversight?
SLIDE
3. Exercise Oversight - not lording over, but by being examples
Exercise Oversight
Exercise Oversight
3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
And here's where it all ties together!!
The Elder in a church should - 'LIVE BY' that others also might 'LIVE BY'
The reason an elder should Exercise Oversight - NOT under compulsion, but willingly...
...Is because GOD wants ALL his sheep to LIVE out their FAITH the SAME WAY!
That an ELDER would live out his OWN FAITH, not under COMPULSION, but willingly...
SO THAT the flock of God would see this....and MIMIC this...in their own lives...
The reason an elder should Exercise Oversight - not for SHAMEFUL gain, but eagerly...
...Is because GOD wants ALL his sheep to LIVE out their FAITH the SAME WAY!
That an ELDER would live out his OWN FAITH - with the Glorification of Jesus Christ AS HIS AIM...
SO THAT the flock of God would see this....and mimic this...in their own lives...
And so the appointing of ELDERS has everything to do with the FLOCK of God...your eternal destiny....
...and the glorification of Jesus Christ.
Elders Exercise Oversight:
Not Under Compulsion, But Willingly
Not for Shameful Gain, But Eagerly
Not Lording Over, But by Being Examples
CALL UP ELDERS…(Joe Liana - my Dad) - And Sean and Heidi
The call to Eldership is not a call to perfection. It’s a call to live in desperation for Christ; to be desperate, to display that desperation, and to cultivate a desperation in those around you so that all can be led to a true and lasting satisfaction in Jesus. The call to Eldership is a call to be a walking-mat for others. It’s a call to be thick-skinned. It’s a call to be a punching bag for the masses. It’s a call to be dinner for the wolves for the sake of the sheep. It’s a casket. It’s a call to die to self…daily…moment by moment…joyfully. It’s a call for those weak in themselves, but strong in the Lord.
SEAN BACON
Something I noticed early on - when it came to Sean - was that he came to church one day - in those early months ...
…WITHOUT Heidi - but WITH all 4 little ones.
That said something to me - it was something I rarely saw up to that point.
When I look around during our Worship Time - singing praises to Christ - Every Sunday I see - people - - standing.
To the point NOW - that if we were to go through a worship set without ANYONE standing - I’d think you were all drugged.
NOW - I’ve been here long enough - you know why that started happening?
the Bacon’s* (being examples)
In January of 2021, we began, as a church, making our way through the book of Titus. It was a call for elders, for leaders in the church. Sean Bacon was the only man to approach the elders to let us know of his desire to lead. He didn’t know what that might look like, but he felt the call, and wanted the elders to pray for him.
From that point on, we began watching Sean more closely, with an eye to the things above.
Several months later, I let Sean know that I was going to begin looping him in on some elder matters (things that were ok for him to know about), as training, in order to see how he responded to various situations.
He has helped with our Kid’s program
VBS
He teaches in our kid classrooms
He leads Men’s Bible Studies...
Over the past couple of years, since the time he came to us and asked for prayer in how he might impact the church through leadership, we’ve seen in Sean a man who is eager to serve, and a man with a temperament and maturity to handle the difficulties that WILL come.
NOW - as most of you know - Sean is in the Air Force - AND they are set to be leaving and moving to Delaware toward the middle of this year.
Some people may be thinking - So WHY bring Sean on board NOW?
Here’s what I know...
The Bible tells me - that to presume upon tomorrow - is arrogance.
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
If the Lord wills that Sean and Heidi need to leave several months from now - than sobeit.
And so if Sean is ready to be an elder for the next 40 years - then he’s ready to be an elder now - and LIKE ELISHA - with Elijah - we’ll take as much of Sean’s Eldership as we can...
Many could have looked at Elisha and said - DUDE - Elijah’s leaving later today - WHY FOLLOW HIM?
Elisha wasn’t having any of it.
And so neither will I.
My dad now will speak to the Qualifications of an Elder:
Dad: speak briefly on the Elder Qualifications
Joe: speak briefly on the blessing of Eldership to Sean, and the blessing of Eldership to the flock
When God calls and qualifies a man for the ministry, it will be apparent both to that man and to the rest of the church. The would-be minister will meet the qualifications set forth in 1 Timothy 3:1-16 and Titus 1:5-9, and he will possess a consuming desire to Serve God’s People (1 Corinthians 9:16). It is the duty of the church elders, together with the congregation, to recognize and accept this calling. Today we do this very thing. The ordination ceremony itself does not confer any special power; it simply gives public recognition to God’s choice of leadership.
When finished, we'll lay hands on Sean and pray him into the eldership. (Joe begin, then Bob, then me).
Closing
