Die, Defend, Declare
Notes
Transcript
The Christian faith - is a faith of - DECLARATION.
It’s a faith that is to be - DECLARED
The VERY REASON - that you are sitting here today...
Pursuing to hear what you will hear today - is because the faith that we CLAIM - HAS BEEN DECLARED - over centuries
I’m sure we all remember those who - IN OUR PASTS - DECLARED the message of Christ - to us.
And hopefully - we are grateful.
But THINK about this DECLARATION...
Think about this CALL - for each of us - to DECLARE.
There are IMPLICATIONS that come from this call.
In order for me to DECLARE something…and LIVE a LIFE of declaration...
I myself - would have to - EMBRACE what I was declaring… and DEFEND what I was declaring...
And DEPENDING on WHAT I was declaring - I may even have to had SET MY OWN agendas, ideas, and desires aside - in order to CONTINUALLY - DECLARE the message I was declaring.
TODAY - we’re going to continue making our way through this book of 2 Kings.
LAST WEEK - we saw God - EMPLOY Jehu - for a purpose.
Remember the Purpose?
Let’s go to it...
7 And you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, so that I may avenge on Jezebel the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord.
8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel.
So God gives us His instructions to JEHU...
To destroy the house of Ahab...
NOW - This is in chapter 9.
BEGINNING in chapter 9 - and in all of chapter 10...
we find JEHU carrying out his orders.
NOW - there are a LOT of characters involved in this account today.
And so - How I want to approach it..
is to FIRST just talk through what happened…to SET UP WHERE we’re heading today.
TO HELP US - I put together a FAMILY TREE graph that I want to talk through first - - Before we get to our text today...
SLIDE: FAMILY TREE 1
Remember - Jehu is commanded to take out the house of AHAB...
AHAB is already dead at this point...
SO...
JEHU begins by...
going after JORAM (aka - Jehoram of Israel)
AND AHAZIAH… but it’s THIS AHAZIAH (Judah) not AHAZIAH of Israel.
Ahaziah of Israel had already died back in 2 Kings 1.
He was the king that fell from the lattice and got hurt.
He then called for ELIJAH to let him know if he’d live.
So Ahaziah sends 50 men to Elijah - they’re all consumed with fire...
So Ahaziah sends 50 more men - and they’re consumed by fire...
Well - Ahaziah (ISRAEL) ends up dying
AND SO - JEHU...
TAKES out JORAM - and then he attacks AHAZIAH of Judah.
And the connect between AHAB - and AHAZIAH of Judah - is Athaliah, the MOTHER of Ahaziah of Judah.
Athaliah was the daughter of AHAB - and the wife of Jehoram of JUDAH (the son of Jehoshaphat)
OK - so THAT’s where the story picks up - with our text today in chapter 11...
We’re going to walk through it - AS we go…so let’s go.
1 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family.
WOW - ok - so think through what this is saying...
Athaliah - hears her son is now dead...
MAYBE she mourned for a minute - but then thought - OK, WOW - this is an opportunity...
There’s an OPENING for POWER!
I will KILL the rest of the royal family - so that - I can rule the land.
And so she does.
She kills her grandsons even - to take control.
BUT - what happens next?
v2
2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being put to death, and she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus they hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not put to death.
NOW - pretty bold move...
YES… many of us have been involved in ministries where we try to HELP people in the situation that they’re in.
maybe we take food to the poor
maybe we take clothing to the poor
maybe we help widows and orphans
But this thing here - takes it up a notch… WHY?
next verse
3 And he remained with her six years, hidden in the house of the Lord, while Athaliah reigned over the land.
For SIX years - this couple - Jehosheba and Jehoiada (chief priest) - were INTENTIONAL about keeping this child HIDDEN and ALIVE.
IF we go back to our family tree graph…we see the people in play...
SLIDE: Family Tree (Joash Hidden)
But what do we see in this?
SLIDE: Example of Christian Faith: Die to Self
Call of Christian Faith
Call of Christian Faith
This couple here - they hand’t PLANNED on rescuing a child - their nephew - from his aunt…in order to keep him alive.
They didn’t PLAN on this...
I ASSUME - that they had plans with their lives...
I ASSUME that they had some goals for their family...
BUT THEN -
They realize - ACTION is needed!
And the first action needed - was this...
DIE TO SELF
They decide to LAY DOWN all that they had PLANNED for their lives...
And to HELP DO what was right - to MAINTAIN a PROPER - royal HEIR to the crown.
They DIED TO SELF...
NOW - This SAME call goes out to YOU and ME - today!
AND - we see this in Christ Himself...
23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
Contextually - Jesus here is speaking of His coming death...
Jesus CAME - to SAVE!
On Mission!
If Jesus were to WALK AWAY from this path He was on - in order to be seen by those who wanted to catch a glimpse of a king...Then He wouldn't have fulfilled His mission!
The path to glory is thru - DEATH!
The grain of wheat MUST Die!
WE TOO - Like Jesus - are called to DIE
To die to - SELF!
We MUST EMBRACE that we are:
NOT strong
NOT equipped
NOT sufficient
NOT worthy
NOT able
That we CAN'T get to God through:
SELF-IMPROVEMENT classes
Positive Thinking
Good thoughts
Good Deeds
We must DIE to SELF. (LAY ALL OF IT DOWN) ...if we want the fruit of SALVATION...and this is HARD!
20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
We clearly can't get this done…right?
BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE...we NEED RIGHTEOUSNESS to get to God...
We NEED PERFECT WORKS to get to God...
But as Paul says - it's NOT OUR righteousness that will get us there...
10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
We don’t HAVE the righteousness it takes to get to God!
We need ANOTHER RIGHTEOUSNESS…outside of ourselves
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
We need HIS righteousness - THEREFORE we - DIE to ourselves and EMBRACE HIM!
That's hard!
That takes HUMILITY!
it took HUMILITY of SELF - for Jehosheba and Jehoiada to HELP that child that day - and HIDE him for SIX YEARS!
*Can you imagine keeping THAT secret for 6 years!??
God is teaching us here - minimally - to DIE to SELF.
to COUNT others as more IMPORTANT than ourselves!
But that’s not all we see in our text...
3 And he remained with her six years, hidden in the house of the Lord, while Athaliah reigned over the land.
4 But in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of the Carites and of the guards, and had them come to him in the house of the Lord. And he made a covenant with them and put them under oath in the house of the Lord, and he showed them the king’s son.
5 And he commanded them, “This is the thing that you shall do: one third of you, those who come off duty on the Sabbath and guard the king’s house
6 (another third being at the gate Sur and a third at the gate behind the guards) shall guard the palace.
7 And the two divisions of you, which come on duty in force on the Sabbath and guard the house of the Lord on behalf of the king,
8 shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand. And whoever approaches the ranks is to be put to death. Be with the king when he goes out and when he comes in.”
So to explain the story here -
When Joash - the child TURNED 7 years old..
Jehoiada set up a plan to MAKE HIM KING!
He decided he was going to need as much MILITARY SUPPORT as he could get...
And so he comes up with a great plan...
he meets with the military leaders and he DIVIDES them up so that SOME OF THEM guard the palace...
And the REST will surround the NEW KING and protect him.
From this we see...
SLIDE: Call of Christian Faith: Defend the Gospel
Call of Christian Faith
Call of Christian Faith
In the case of our text - DEFEND the king...
Defend the LINE of DAVID - and therefore God’s PROMISE...
If we remember - God had promised that David would have an heir on the throne - Forever...
8 Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel.
9 And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.
10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly,
11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,
15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.
16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”
House / Kingdom / and Throne...
These 3 things are a part of this covenant that God makes with David...
And this promise - COVENANT - regarding David’s “house,”
“kingdom,” and “throne” ....
- THAT IT WILL be established forever is significant because it shows that the Messiah will come from the lineage of David and that He will establish a kingdom from which He will reign.
The covenant is summarized by the words...
“house,” promising a dynasty in the lineage of David;
“kingdom,” referring to a people who are governed by a king;
“throne,” emphasizing the authority of the king’s rule;
and “forever,” emphasizing the eternal and unconditional nature of this promise to David and Israel.
And so - In our TEXT TODAY -
Jehosheba and Jehoiada - in DOING what they did - they DEFEND the PROMISE of God that David’s LINE would continue...
NOW - do we - As Christians - even KNOW the importance of what Jehosheba and Jehoiada did?
NO - we don’t.
YET - God USED these two - as INSTRUMENTAL in God’s PLAN of establishing an eternal KINGDOM based on His promise!!
WOW...
FOR US TODAY - it’s really No different!!
We’re called to DEFEND - the GOSPEL - yes -
But even BENEATH that - we’re actually defending the same thing that Jehosheba and Jehoiada did...
THE PROMISE OF GOD!
When we SPEAK up for Jesus...
When we DISPLAY Christian living - we’re DEFENDING the faith!
And that’s ALWAYS been the CALL!
18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,
What does Paul say?
Timothy, my child...
And we see this same reference back in verse 2...
2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul was a mentor to Timothy....
Like a father...
*in Movies - Father's leave and tell oldest son he's the man of the house!
These are now your responsibilities...on your plate...
This is like Paul now coming to Timothy...
18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,
This charge...
What charge?
We see the answer back in verse 3...
3 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine,
That Timothy was to charge certain persons not to teach a different Doctrine...
The charge to Timothy was...
TEACH SOUND DOCTRINE...
AND - charge those under your care to do the same...
AND - do this in LOVE
Paul's saying - Listen, I'm going to be gone soon..."You're now the man of the house"
Do this - I trust you will...
Leaders of a church are to DEFEND the faith...
Not ultimately, their own agendas
not ultimately, their own ideas
not ultimately, their families or friends...
BUT...the faith
And Paul knows it will NEED to be defended...what does he say?
...wage the good warfare! (another translation - fight the good fight)
Paul KNOWS there WILL be a WAR... (fight well!)
And leaders will either wage a GOOD warfare...or they will NOT BE ABLE to....
The question is NOT whether or not the FAITH will NEED to be defended or not....
Paul's saying - "It WILL need to be defended!"...
THEREFORE - fight the GOOD fight...
Defend the FAITH...
THEN Paul gives Timothy a little nugget of goodness to help him do this!
1 Timothy 1:18 (ESV)
18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,
What is Paul referring to here when he says - In accordance with the prophecies previously made about you...
Let's go to 1 Timothy 4:14
14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.
Ok, so prior to Paul charging Timothy to DEFEND THE FAITH, and
...Timothy was given a gift...
God gave Timothy a gift....
What Paul's doing is he's reminding Timothy of the gift that he has...and ultimately reminding him of the STRENGTH Timothy has in GOD...
God had equipped Timothy to carry out this charge...
And so Paul says - "Don't forget THAT"...
AND THIS charge to DEFEND the faith doesn't only apply to Leaders or Elders in the church...
We're all called to defend the Faith...to defend the message.
*If you were ordered to fly an airplane next year at this time, what would you start doing today?
* If you were told that in order to win FREE groceries for life, you had to build a working computer - - what would you do?
Would we 'get right on that!"?
Would we start STUDYING tonight....right after church??
We would CHANGE PLANS to do this!
Well, we ARE ordered to defend the Faith....to defend the message...
...that MEANS, we need to know the message - INSIDE and OUT
BUT THAT”S not all...
back to our text...
7 And the two divisions of you, which come on duty in force on the Sabbath and guard the house of the Lord on behalf of the king,
8 shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand. And whoever approaches the ranks is to be put to death. Be with the king when he goes out and when he comes in.”
SO - Jehoiada sets up this plan...
And the guards (ALL the guards) end up coming to Jehoiada...
And Jehoiada ends up supplying them with weapons...
10 And the priest gave to the captains the spears and shields that had been King David’s, which were in the house of the Lord.
11 And the guards stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the south side of the house to the north side of the house, around the altar and the house on behalf of the king.
12 Then he brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony. And they proclaimed him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king!”
So Jehoiada ends up giving them the weapons of King David…which were in the House of the Lord.
I can’t help but think - this reflects our call - in OUR CONTEXT - in our FIGHT of FAITH today...
To use the weapons SANCTIONED by God...
TRUTH
RIGHTEOUSNESS
READINESS
FAITH
SALVATION
The SWORD of the Spirit - the word of God!
the WEAPONS of faith...
If we want to DEFEND the Gospel - Defend the faith..
Then we SHOULD ADORN - scars OF the Gospel...
scars OF the faith...
And the WEAPONS of faith should be our ARTILLERY...
Back to our text...
12 Then he brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony. And they proclaimed him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king!”
13 When Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she went into the house of the Lord to the people.
14 And when she looked, there was the king standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets. And Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!”
15 Then Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains who were set over the army, “Bring her out between the ranks, and put to death with the sword anyone who follows her.” For the priest said, “Let her not be put to death in the house of the Lord.”
16 So they laid hands on her; and she went through the horses’ entrance to the king’s house, and there she was put to death.
How did Athaliah KNOW to come check out the ANOINTING of the new King??
verse 13 tells us...
13 When Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she went into the house of the Lord to the people.
What did she HEAR that day??
She heard the HOPE of the people!!
Know this...
SLIDE: Call of Christian Faith: Declare the Hope We Have
Call of Christian Faith
Call of Christian Faith
That day - that Athaliah died - she was CONFRONTED - with Hope.
the HOPE within those MEN - couldn’t HELP - but CONFRONT the world!!
*Men Singing this morning!
Listen - should this be some 1-OFF thing? “Glad that’s OVER!!”???
We are called - to CONFRONT the WORLD - with the HOPE we HAVE!
TO THE DEGREE - that the world has to RESPOND...
Athaliah in our text today - HEARD the rejoicing…she was confronted with the sound of HOPE!
We’re called to PURSUE displaying Jesus to the world!
That the world would SEE that - and respond.
And WHEN we fall - we’re called to DISPLAY confessing that to God.
The very REASON we are even gathering here today - is because PEOPLE before us - DECLARED the HOPE they HAD in Christ!
EVEN at their OWN PERIL!
And OFTEN TIMES - WE - sitting here - will REFUSE to stand up and DECLARE.
REFUSE to grow in our faith.
AND YET - the call goes OUT!
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.
17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.”
18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge,
20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
THEY COULDN’T HELP BUT SPEAK of what they had seen and heard...
SOME TODAY - HAVE SEEN - - HAVE HEARD - but never speak of it.
In our text today - Jehoiada (the chief priest) ends up making a covenant between God and the new King…and the people...
And the people commit themselves to the new King.
Athaliah was put to death.
And the PROMISE of GOD - revealed to be alive and well.
SUMMARY
Call of Christian Faith
Die to Self
Defend the Gospel
Declare the Hope We Have