Going Through the Motions
Notes
Transcript
Please stand...
Ok, ready?
Stomp your feet.
Ok good. Have a seat.
Clap your hands together!
Ok good.
If you remember last week - we looked at the Ever-Ready mercy of God…and what we saw was that...
God’s Mercy Waits for our Confession
That it’s EVER ready - to pounce on our confession
But we also saw that God’s Ever-Ready mercy...
Is an ingredient of God’s Judgment toward His people.
God’s ALWAYS watching - always judging - SIMPLY by being God...
YET - For BELIEVERS - when we mess up...
God’s judgment COMES TO US - wrapped in His mercy!
If we remember our text last week - King Jehoahaz had led the people of God into IDOLATRY....time and time again...
Like MOST ALL the kings BEFORE him - he didn’t follow the ways of the Lord
And so God - brought judgment - HOW?
Syria - and God allowed Syria to continually WIN
AND WIN…and win...
And THAT suffering - judgment - CAUSED Jehoahaz to finally SAY -
… HELP
Lord - Help!
And EVEN though the people - CONTINUALLY turned from God - As God described it to Samuel...
The people KEPT FORSAKING God...
EVEN so...
When Jehoahaz cried out for help...
God responded - with - Mercy.
5 (Therefore the Lord gave Israel a savior, so that they escaped from the hand of the Syrians, and the people of Israel lived in their homes as formerly.
God had brought judgment in the form of WAR - and suffering -
And then GOD IN MERCY - removed that WAR and suffering - due to the CONFESSION of Jehoahaz.
TODAY - we’re going to see the final account of Elisha before his death...
And IN HIS DEATH - we’ll see King Joash come back onto the scene...
14 Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”
15 And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows.
16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow,” and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands.
17 And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.”
18 And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped.
19 Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.”
I’m excited to get into this today - not that I’m not excited each week to preach …
BUT - i feel like this message today applies to EACH OF US...
And probably more than we think...
And so - LET’S circle back and march through it...
14 Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”
So Elisha is ill - and he is on the path to DEATH...
king Joash of Israel come to him and = really just shows his gratitude to him...
…understanding he was probably going to die...
Elisha responds - which means - God responds...
15 And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows.
Now - from here on out - Elisha is going to give king Joash come commands...
And i THINK that we can see HOW WE ARE TO approach God in obedience...
Today we’ll see - - PILLARS of OBEDIENCE...
Here he says - Take a bow and arrows...
And so - Joash does...
SLIDE: The Commands of God: To be Obeyed
The Commands of God
The Commands of God
Notice when Elisha says - TO A KING mind you...
Take a bow and arrows...
The response doesn’t begin with 20 questions!!
WOW - can I LEARN from THIS!!
King Joash had NO IDEA what Elisha wanted him to do...
And by extension - had NO IDEA what God wanted him to do...
EXCEPT to take a bow and arrows...
And so - he simply obeys!
he does what he’s told - without the details!!
*How often do we want the DETAILS of what we feel God is asking of us?
Think about ABRAHAM...
God calls him and says this...
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
LEAVE NOW - and I’ll tell you where to go later...
What did Abram do?
He obeyed!
NO DETAILS...
NO - well, let me know WHERE FIRST - and then i can get back to You...
*How many of you are DETAIL people?
Me - that’s me!
I like to have DETAILS…in some cases..
BUT - sometimes I think - OK, who cares…NOT SURE WHERE THIS IS GOING - but that’s ok.
But BY DEFAULT - I’m a DETAILS guy.
based on scripture - it seems Moses was the same!
10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
Here God TELLS Moses - I’m gonna send you to Pharaoh to bring the people of Israel out of bondage.
• How does Moses respond?
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
• So right off the bat we see a contrast between Moses and Abraham.
• God said to Abraham - "Leave your country, your kindred, and your father's house, and go to a land that I will show you later"
• ...and by faith Abraham went out, not knowing where he was going!
• Moses on the other hand says what - "TIMEOUT! - I need more information!" -- "Who am I?"
• No doubt Moses felt overwhelmed at this point.
• He was 80 years old...which even at that time was "old".
• He was a lowly shepherd
• It had been 40 years since he had been in Egypt.
• No doubt he questioned whether he was the right man for the job.
• But God's response was quick:
12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
• God says - I'll be with you!
• Should that have been sufficient?
• Well, let's see if it's sufficient for Moses.
13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”
• It seems pretty obvious at this point that Moses is trying to dot all of his i"s and cross all of his t's...before he makes a decision on what to do here...for God.
• Do we respond this way to God?
• Do I even need to ask?
· How many of us have thought, “well, if God would just audibly tell me what He wants from me, then I’ll do it. I need to hear Him tell me audibly that He wants me to share my faith…THEN I’d do it.”
· Here’s the follow up question –
· How many of us need God to tell us audibly where to go eat after church before we decide?
· None of us right.
· We just go.
· We go without battin an eye…
· YET, when it comes to serving Christ…well…I need to hear Him tell me.
In our text today - Joash hears FROM God (thru Elisha) - take a bow and arrows...
That was it!
No REASON given...
Just - DO THIS.
And he does it!
We’re called to do the same!
NOW - YES - we are also called to - COUNT the COST - but counting the cost - I don’t believe - has to do with whether we SHOULD OBEY God or not!
That’s NEVER in question!
And so - the commands of God are meant to be - OBEYED!
WE don’t know the big picture - God does....and so it requires TRUST on our end.
And not ONLY are we to TRUST in God’s WISDOM when He commands us to do something....
We’re also called to trust something else...
15 And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows.
16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow,” and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands.
Here we see another aspect of HOW we are to handle the COMMANDS of God...
SLIDE: The Commands of God: To be Obeyed in God’s Strength
The Commands of God
The Commands of God
We need to know that OBEYING GOD is more than just - DOING THINGS...
SLIDE:
Obedience to God entails me not just doing the deed, but doing the deed with a motive to glorify God, not myself, elevate Christ, not my ego, and do it in God’s strength, not my own.
When Joash to up the bow and arrows, and he was ready to shoot...
ELISHA laid HIS OWN hands on the hands of Joash.
At this point, Joash didn’t KNOW the reason this was all happening.
He didn’t KNOW the MEANING behind what was happening!
And so ELISHA LAYS his own hands on Joash’s hands...
We as believers - can WALK through life in our own power…at least WE CAN THINK THAT’S WHAT’s happening!
So what does it LOOK like to live and walk the Christian walk - IN OUR OWN STRENGTH?
Not considering God’s truth in our living
OR - not filtering LIFE - through God’s word
THAT’s living in our own strength!
Seeking MY OWN GLORY instead of God’s in my life
THAT’s living in our own strength!
Receiving a BLESSING in life - and being PROUD in ourselves! THINKING WE did it!
THAT’s living in our own strength!
AND AS the song says - Drinking the rain and thanking the CLOUDS!
THAT’s living in our own strength!!
But LIVING and WALKING in God’s strength…entails...
...elevating Jesus Christ, not my ego...
And doing the deed with a motive to glorify God, not myself.
Obedience to God - means LIFTING my feet in the RIVER of God - and letting the RIVER of HIS SPIRIT carry me through life!
But that’s not ALL that we see! - - even in the verses we just read...
Back to v16
16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow,” and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands.
17 And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.”
Question - Joash DRAWS the bow - a servant opens the window…and - WHEN does Joash SHOOT the arrow?
NOT UNTIL - he was TOLD to - *Last Year - SKYVIEW - Archery (kids would SHOOT before they were - - TOLD TO)
17 And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.”
Joash didn’t shoot UNTIL he was told to..
I think a lot of times in life - as we said before - we can get out in front of God - and it’s like us SHOOTING before we’re told!
SLIDE: The Commands of God: To be Obeyed in God’s Strength & Timing
The Commands of God
The Commands of God
So not only should we LIVE and walk in God’s strength - but ALSO in His timing!
And DOING this is just as hard as walking in His strength...
Might even be harder.
Waiting on the Lord can be the HARDEST thing EVER...
Waiting for God to COME - and BLESS - can be EXTREMELY HARD!
In our text today - technically it wouldn’t have been HARD for Joash to JUST WAIT for the next command...
BUT - when it comes to our daily lives - we come across MANY situations where we need to - - WAIT on God’s timing!
Remember David - and Saul??
7 So David and Abishai went to the army by night. And there lay Saul sleeping within the encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the army lay around him.
8 Then Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.”
ALRIGHT! SAUL - The guy that had been TRYING to KILL David - was RIGHT THERE..... asleep!
David KNEW that God had ANOINTED HIMSELF (David) to be KING… why not get this thing GOING!
How does David respond?
9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?”
10 And David said, “As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish.
11 The Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But take now the spear that is at his head and the jar of water, and let us go.”
David was NOT going to be PERSUADED - by the circumstance!!
And he was SURRENDERED to God’s timing!!
That’s pretty amazing isn’t it?
David had ben told by God NOT to TOUCH Saul...
So he decided -
God will TAKE CARE OF IT!!
I won’t go there…
I’m not gonna touch it!
My hands are OFF!!
David lived in a way that said - TO THE WORLD - Whatever ends up happening to Saul, the world WILL NOT be able to say - I did it!
That was David’s approach here.
He TRUSTED God’s TIMING!!
If we think of OTHERS in the Bible who also trusted in God’s timing....or AT LEAST others WHO HAD to WAIT on God...
Joseph waited 13 years...
Abraham waited 25 years...
Moses waited 40 years...
Men who waited on God.... on God’s Timing!
Even Jesus waited 30 years…before His earthly ministry began!
We’re called to live in God’s strength - AND His timing!!
BUT even that isn’t ALL there is...
back to our text...
17 And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.”
18 And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped.
19 Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.”
Elisha here - tells Joash, after shooting an arrow - to STRIKE the ground with the arrows…
But what happens?
18 And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped.
NOW - hearing this - NOTHING would jump out to us as being BAD...
BUT - the next verse shows us that his actions in this verse were WRONG in God’s eyes!
Let’s add v19 to this...
2 Kings 13:18–19 (ESV)
18 And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped. 19 Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.”
So based on v19 here - we see that how Joash handled this was not good.
Elisha says - YOU SHOULD HAVE struck 5 or 6 TIMES...
If you would have done that - you would have COMPLETELY defeated the Syrians!
INSTEAD - you will only WIN 3 TIMES!
SLIDE: The Commands of God: To be Obeyed in God’s Strength & Timing, in Faith
The Commands of God
The Commands of God
NOW - some might think - WAIT - How was Joash supposed to KNOW!
The problem was - And I think the text POINTS to this when it tells us he STOPPED…in v18
18 And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped.
I think him STOPPING - points to - Joash LACKING GENUINE trust...
He lacked GENUINE THANKFULNESS to God hearing that the arrows he just shot meant VICTORY for Israel.
And that LACK of TRUST and THANKFULNESS played itself out in him STOPPING after 3 strikes!
Remember how this sermon started?
I asked you to STOMP your feet - and CLAP your hands?
How many of you stopped after 1 stomp - 1 clap?
The only point to make with that would be - There was no deeper meaning behind you stomping or clapping - and so you would have NO REASON to stomp more - or clap more...
BUT - in OUR TEXT - When Joash was asked to strike the ground - He had already been told that VICTORY would come to Israel -
And GOD KNEW Joash’s heart...
In that he was JUST GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS!
NO ZEAL… NO PASSION...
When we come in today - We know of ALL that Christ has done for us…
We know of the ETERNAL BLESSING that COMES by faith in Christ!
WE know of His POWER to KEEP US....FOREVER - regardless of what we do in this life...
YET...
HOW zealous is our SINGING to HIM?
HOW zealous ARE WE to SHARE His truth to the world?
Do we LOVE JESUS SO MUCH that we DON’T sing HERE?
Do we LOVE Jesus SO MUCH that we NEVER share our faith??
This last point today - BRINGS FAITH into the equation.
To have FAITH in Jesus - is to LOVE Jesus!
Joash’s lack of ZEAL - passion - LOVE for the Lord - led to PARTIAL blessing.
Instead of completely destroying Syria - Israel would win 3 times!
Blessing waited for them…but love and passion was missing.
HOW ABOUT YOU?
Is your life more about doing things for God, or about loving God, and in loving God, doing things for God?
In other words...
SLIDE:
Is your service to God seeking to glorify God, or glorify you?
It’s the DANGER of the check-box life...
THINKING that God is honored in us merely - PURSUING God..
Listen...
SLIDE:
Don’t pursue God...
WHAT - really Mike?
YES - wait for it...
Don’t PURSUE God...
SLIDE:
Pursue joy in God
the thing that WARS against - GOING THROUGH the MOTIONS...
…is JOY
DELIGHT
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
23 The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way;
8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”
1 Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments!
47 Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things,
48 therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you.
VERSE after VERSE - calling us to ask ourselves - WHAT DO YOU DELIGHT IN?
- Our AFFECTIONS matter...
And where we place our affections - is what we worship.
Joash LACKED love…for the Lord...
Passion for the Lord...
Zeal for the Lord...
JOY in the Lord...
And there were consequences!
SUMMARY
The Commands of God
To Be Obeyed
To Be Obeyed in God’s Strength
To Be Obeyed in God’s Strength & Timing
To Be Obeyed in God’s Strength & Timing, In Faith
Let’s pray (Fender)
