Bad advice
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1 Kings 12:10 – 11
1 Kings 12:10 – 11
Introduction: As we begin
This evening
Let me read you
something
I found
As I was preparing
To speak
for tonight
It is entitled
Good Advice :
Good Advice :
Love God
When no one is watching, live as if someone is.
Succeed at home first.
Don’t spend tomorrow’s money today.
Pray twice as much as you fret.
Listen twice as much as you speak.
God has forgiven you, you’d be wise to do the same.
When you can’t trace God’s hand, trust His heart.
Toot your own horn and the notes will be flat.
Live your Christianity.
Likewise
As I studied
I found some advice
that
We can get from a dog:
1. Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
2. Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
3. When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
4. When it’s in your best interest, practice obedience.
5. Let others know when they’ve invaded your territory.
6. Take naps and stretch before rising.
7. Run, romp, and play daily.
8. Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.
9. Be loyal.
10. Never pretend to be something you’re not.
11. If what you need lies buried, dig until you find it.
12. When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.
13. Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
14. On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
15. When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
And with that in mind
Let’s read our text
For this evening
It is a 1 Kings 12
The Bible says
In 1 Kings 12:10–11 “And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins. And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.”
Let’s go to the Lord
In a word of prayer
(Pray)
I. The importance of advice
Declaration
Now
Notice our text
If you would again please
Here
In 1 Kings 12
The
Bible says
In verses 10 – 11
(1 Kings 12:10–11 “And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins. And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.”
Now
When I think about that!
When I think about
The advice
That Rehoboam
Solicited
And the advice
That
he was given
I
Think to myself
What bad advice
That was
By the way
Bad advice
Is given
Every single day
Isn’t it
For example
The
Sign that says
Bad credit?
We can help!
And
by that
They
Are simply offering
The one
with the best credit
A loan...
With an extremely
high interest rate
That
is probably
Bad advice!
And
Speaking of advice
As I studied
For this evening
I read
What one person compiled
With regards to advise
They said
1. Never have more children than you have car windows.
2. Never loan your car to someone to whom you have given birth.
3. Pick your friends carefully.
4. Seize the moment.
5. Know the difference between success and fame.
6. Never be in a hurry to terminate a marriage. Remember, you may need this man or woman someday to finish a sentence.
7. There are no guarantees in marriage.
But again
There is no shortage
Of advice
But the text
that we just read
Where Rehoboam
Solicited the advice
Of the young man
well
The advice he received
Was bad
And with that in mind
I
Want to preach
this evening
On the subject
Bad advice
Avoiding
Bad advice
Discussion
But
Before we
Talk about bad advice
And how to avoid it
Let’s
Read the entire text here
If we can
it is
In 1 Kings 12
and
The context here
Is that
Solomon
Had just died
But Solomon
you will recall
In Chapter 11
had made some
bad decisions
He
Made a lot of them
And during his administration
Because of his idolatry
That he engaged in
God determined
To divide his kingdom
In two
And
God determined
To use Jeroboam
As an instrument
Of the division
So
Solomon
sought to kill him
In fact
In 1 Kings 11
The Bible says
In verses 40 – 43
(1 Kings 11:40–43 “Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon. And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.”
And
That brings us
To our text
For this evening
The Bible says
In 1 Kings 12: 1 – 11
And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed. And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people? And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever. But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him: And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter? And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins. And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
Now
I want you
To think about that
The Bible says
In verse 6
That
Rehoboam consulted
With the old men
That word
Consulted
Means that
He Sought for advice
He asked counsel
From
the old men
And
By the way
The old man
Had
Had the opportunity
To observe
All the mistakes
That Solomon
had made
They
Were able to observe
The futility
Of those mistakes
And the detriment
That those mistakes were
But then
The Bible says
In verse 8
That Rehoboam
consulted
With the younger men too
The ones
Who
Had not had the benefit
Of age
Or experience
He consulted with them
He
Asked in verse nine
What counsel
Can you give me
About how
To conduct my administration
So
They gave in the Council
(1 Kings 12:10–11 “And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins. And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.”
Deliberation
Now
The Words consulted
And counsel
Are the very same word
and
they simply mean
Either the seeking for
Or the giving
Of advice
to one
And
In the Bible
We are encouraged
To seek advice!
It is in fact
Important
Because
King Solomon wrote
in Proverbs 11:14 - Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
He likewise wrote
in Proverbs 19:20 - Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
Additionally
Again, Solomon wrote
in Proverbs 24:6 “For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: And in multitude of counsellers there is safety.”
Now
When I read those verses
And even a verse
Like Proverbs 12:15
Where Solomon said
- The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.
But
When I read those verses
I think to myself
My
How important it is
To get good advice
Because
Let’s be honest
Every one of us
Needs advice
From time to time
Don’t we
Rehoboam did
Solomon did
King David did
Every
Pastor
Needs advice
Every president
Every doctor
Every scientist
Every schoolteacher
Every laborer
Every
Single-parent
Every child
Every homeowner
Every student
Listen please
Every one of us
Yes
Even every church member
Every occupier
Of a church pew
Needs advice
From time to time
And
It isn’t
An admission of weakness
That’s not it
And it isn’t
A recognition
Of ignorance
No
But every person
Needs advice
From time to time
Because no one
Has all the answers
To be able
To make all
of the decisions
That we make
On a daily basis
See
Every single day
The average adult
is estimated
to make about
35,000 decisions
and
This figure
includes
both
conscious
and subconscious choices,
ranging from seemingly
simple decisions
like what to wear !
to more complex ones
about work
or relationships.
And
While 35,000
may seem like a large number,
it's important to remember
that many of these decisions
are made quickly
and automatically,
without much
conscious thought.
For example,
you might automatically
reach for your usual coffee mug
in the morning
or take
your regular route
to work.
and
These are still considered
decisions,
even if they are not
the result
of a lengthy deliberation process.
But
The point is
We make decisions daily!
And again
Think about your decision
Of which route to take
To get to work
Each day
You
Get in your car
You begin driving the route
But have you ever been faced
With a detour?
Tina
and I were!
One day last week
We were headed
To the church
Last Tuesday morning
I think
And
Early in the route
The police
Had the road blocked off
So what did we do?
We consulted
The GPS
We
Asked Siri
To find us a route
To the church
And it did
But see
We all make
Thousands of decisions
Each day
And sometimes
We make decisions
Without any counsel
But
There are other times
Where quite frankly
We need counsel
And advice
To be able to make
the correct one
Delegation
And
By way of example
How many of you
Got advice
On who
and when to marry
Before you were married
Or
How many of you
Sought
Premarital counseling
Before being married?
Oh
What a wise thing
That is to do
To spend a couple of months
Getting the advice of a pastor
Regarding marriage
Because
That kind of counsel
Can spare you
A whole life
Of mistake
and dilemma
But
The point I’m making is
That
Because all of us
Makes decisions
Every single day
Literally thousands of them
And
Even though
Many of our decisions
Require no counsel
Yet
There are some decisions
That we make
That do require counsel
So
Counsel
Or advise!
Getting counsel
or advice
Is
a very important thing
And
To his credit
King Rehoboam
Sought for Counsel
He endeavored
To get advice
About
How to engage
in his administration
By the way
In the last
28 years
Of my pastorate here
I have sought advice
Many hundreds of times
Even recently
I
Reach out
To our leadership team
For counsel
From time to time
I
Get in touch
With a more seasoned pastor
To get counsel
I seek the advice
And the Council
Of my dear wife
That
God has given me
Because
again
I don’t have
All of the answers
But
How important
It is
To get advice
When it is needed
And
How important
It is
To get a multitude
Of advice
Again
Solomon wrote
In Proverbs 11:14 “Where no counsel is, the people fall: But in the multitude of counsellers there is safety.”
Now
Let’s examine
That verse
For just a moment
When people
Don’t have counsel
When they don’t seek advice
When they really should have
It will result
In some kind of a fall
But
When they have...
A multitude of counselors
That is
An abundance
Of counselors
There is safety
That is
There is rescue
From falling
But again
The importance
Of getting advice
When it is needed
Cannot be overstated
II. The importing of advice
Declaration
But
As we think about
The importance
Of advice
We must also consider
The importing
Of advice
That
When you go seeking
For advice...
Who??
Is it imported from
See
You can get
Good advice
Or bad advice
That’s true
And
Let me say that
Good advice
Is often given
In a spiritual manner
While bad advice
Is often given
In a self-serving
Manner
And
By way of example
When I was a kid
Just 19 years old
I had a problem
I
Had inadvertently
Forgot
To sign up
For selective service
See
In my day
Every young man
Had to sign up
For selective service
Which is
a US government agency
that maintains a database
of men
potentially subject
to military conscription (the draft)
in the event
of a national emergency
And
I neglected
To do so
Not with any bad intentention
I simply
Did not know
I was supposed to
So
When I found out
I went straight
To a recruiter’s office
And
He told me
That if I
Did not join up
I could face prison time
Now
To this day
I don’t know
If that
was bad advice
Or not
But I joined
I
Don’t know
If his advice
Was simply
To fulfill a quota
He had
For new recruits
Which would have been
Self-serving
On his part
But I joined
But see
I needed advice
About that thing
And I got it
I
Have likewise
Received spiritual advice
On many occasions
I’ve sat down
With my pastor
To get advice
About a myriad
Of decisions
I was about to make
And
My pastor
Gave me
Spiritual advice
To help me
Discussion
But
The fact is
Advice is important
But the advice we get
is always
Imported
From others
And
The advice we get
Is imported
From sources
that are bad
or sources
That are biblical
So
Let’s consider
These two kinds
Of advice
And first of all
Let’s consider
Bad advice
And
By way of example
Turn to 2 Samuel
For just a moment
2 Samuel: 13
And let’s read
The first 5 versus
The Bible says
In 2 Samuel 13:1 – 5
And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her. And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do any thing to her. But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother: and Jonadab was a very subtil man. And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king’s son, lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister. And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say unto him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me meat, and dress the meat in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it at her hand
Now
Think about that
Amnon
The son of the king
Had a friend
Named Jonadab
But
Let me ask you
was the advice
That he gave Amnon
Good
Or bad
It was definitely bad
And why?
It was wicked
And the results
Were terrible
Turn also
To chapter 16
Here in 2 Samuel
And read with me
Verses 15 – 22
And
Remember
That during those days
Absalom
Had overthrown
David’s administration
And
The conspiracy
Was strong
and during that time
one of David’s counselors
His chief counselor
Had joined up
With the conspirators
And
The Bible says
(2 Samuel 16: 15 – 22
And Absalom, and all the people the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him. And it came to pass, when Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, was come unto Absalom, that Hushai said unto Absalom, God save the king, God save the king. And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this thy kindness to thy friend? why wentest thou not with thy friend? And Hushai said unto Absalom, Nay; but whom the Lord, and this people, and all the men of Israel, choose, his will I be, and with him will I abide. And again, whom should I serve? should I not serve in the presence of his son? as I have served in thy father’s presence, so will I be in thy presence.
Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do. And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy father’s concubines, which he hath left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy father: then shall the hands of all that are with thee be strong. So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house; and Absalom went in unto his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.
Incidentally
Ahithophel
was likely
Bathsheba's grandfather.
And if he was
You can be sure
He
Only wanted
To humiliate David
So the advice
He gave to Absolam..
Was it bad?
Or was a good?
It
Was terrible
Terrible advice
He told him
Go in
To your father’s concubines
That is wickedness
And
The point is
Bad advice
Is often given
From a self-serving
Point of view
It
Is likewise
Often
Advice given
At the exclusion
Of Scripture
Deliberation
And
By way of example
When I was a teenager
I had a close friend
and we were members
Of a conservative
Southern Baptist Church
In North Carolina!
Now
My friend
And his family
Were members
Of that church
As I said already
And his dad
Was a deacon
In our church
And
One Sunday
After church
I was invited
To his home for lunch
I was invited
Many times in fact
But
On one particular occasion
I spent
The entire Sunday afternoon
At their home
And it was getting close
To church time
For the evening service
But
My friend
Wanted to go to the movies
So he invited me
To go with him
And I said
Well
What about church?
He then
Said to me
It’s okay Marc
The Lord will understand
If you miss one service
To go to the movies
So he advised me
That it’s okay
To miss church
once in a while
Now
I’m thankful
That I went to church
that night
But the fact is
God
Will not understand
If
You disregard
What His Word says
And there are actually
Two scriptures
That are relevant
With regards
To my friends advice
Number 1
Jesus said
In Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
So
We should always
Put God first
Not the movies
Not a TV program
Not a hobby
Not leisure
We should always
Put God first
But
Number 2
The Bible says
In Hebrews 10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
So
God would never understand
If we
For sake
The assembling of ourselves together
In church
Whether
It is
To go to the movies
Engage in a hobby
Watch a TV program
Or go riding
In a boat
God
Will never understand
If we forsake
Assembling together
But sadly
That is the manner
Of some
Delegation
But see
The point I’m making is
There’s lots
of bad advice available
Today
That you can get
And
That advise
Is often given
From a self-serving
point of view
Where
Someone advises you
To do something
That really isn’t
for your benefit
But for theirs
And bad advice
Is almost always
Given
At the exclusion
of Scripture
But
again
There’s a lot of advice
That is bad today!
You can find it
On the Internet
On
Television
In
Textbooks
On college campuses
In homes
In social groups
And yes
Even
in churches
Bad advice
Is plentiful
And as believers
When you seek the advice
Of someone
You
Better make sure
That the advice they give
Is not simply
Self-serving advice
Or unscriptural advice
That
When you import
Advice and counsel
You make sure
That you get it
From the right source
Lest
you get bad advice
Dependability
But
While it is true
You can import advice
That is bad
Yet
You can likewise import advice
Or counsel
That is Biblical
And my
What good advice
It will be!
so
When you’re looking
To make a decision
You ought
to find advice..
From someone
Who point you
to Scripture
For example
This morning
In our Bible reading
We read
Jeremiah 3
And in chapter 3
In verses 1 – 25
Jeremiah
Speaking on behalf of God
Counseled
the Lord’s people
To repent of their sins
In fact
Listen if you would
To verses succession 7
The Bible says
Jeremiah 3:6–7 “The Lord said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot. And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.”
Now
Think about that
Israel
Was in a backslidden state
And they were counseled
To turn back to God
Oh
What good
Biblical advice
That was for them!
Notice also
Verse 12
It says
Jeremiah 3:12 “Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever.”
What
Good
Bible advice that was
That if you will simply
Return to me
God said
I won’t judge you
I’m Likewise
reminded
Of advice given
In the New Testament
By the apostle Paul
When he was in Philippi
He
Had been there
Preaching the gospel
But was arrested
For doing so
And
The Bible says
In Acts 16:25 “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.”
The
Bible goes on
To say
In verses 26 – 28
(Acts 16:26 – 28
And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
So
In verse 30
The jailer
Came humbly to Paul
And asked him
(Acts 16:30 “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
Now
What was he doing?
He was asking for advice
He was seeking
Biblical advice
Paul then
Gave him
That Biblical advice
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
And thou shalt be saved
And thy house
In verse 41
What
Good advice that was
What good
Biblical advice
That was
But see
We can import advice
That is bad
Because
It is self-serving
or
lacks Scriptural content
Or
We can import advice
When we are
about to make
Some decision
That is Biblical
Determination
So
Let me ask you
When it comes
To the decisions you make
What kind of advice
Do you seek
Is it
Biblical
Or is it bad
Well
It depends on the source
Doesn’t it?
And
Back in our text
In 1 Kings 12
When Rehoboam
Went seeking advice
He
Got advice
From a multitude
Of counselors
That’s true
he
He got counsel
From both the old men
And the young men
But
The young men
Lacked experience
And they Lacked
Spirituality
While
The older men
Had lots
Of experience
And undoubtedly
Had wisdom
In their hearts
III. The implications of advice
Declaration
But
As we think about
The importance of advice
And as we
Think about
The importing
Of advice
Just
Who
Do we get our advice from
Is it from
A bad source
or
A Biblical source
But
As we think about
Who we import
Our advice from
We
Must also consider
The implications
Of the advice
we get
And
Do you remember
What happened
with Amnon
In 2 Samuel 13
When
Amnon’s friend
Jonadab
Gave Amnon
That bad advice
Well
The results
Were terrible
Because see
Amnon
Took the advice
Read it with me there
Beginning in verse 3
Down three verse 14
The Bible says
In 2 Samuel 13: 3 – 14
But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother: and Jonadab was a very subtil man. And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king’s son, lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister. And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say unto him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me meat, and dress the meat in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it at her hand. So Amnon lay down, and made himself sick: and when the king was come to see him, Amnon said unto the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat at her hand. Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon’s house, and dress him meat. So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house; and he was laid down. And she took flour, and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and did bake the cakes. And she took a pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Have out all men from me. And they went out every man from him. And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the meat into the chamber, that I may eat of thine hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother. And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister. And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly. And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee. Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her.
My
How devastating
That advice was
For Amnon
and his entire family
That advice
led to Amnon’s murder
It led
To terrible problems
Between Absalom
And his daddy David
Discussion
And
What about
In our text
For this evening
When
Rehoboam
Became the king
He sought for advice
About
How to conduct
his administration
So
He went
To the young men
The ones
Brought up with him
The ones
Who lacked experience
Who lacked wisdom
And
Again the Bible says
In 1 Kings 12:10–11 “And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins. And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.”
So
Rehoboam
It says in verse 13
(1 Kings 12:13 “And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him;”
And in verse 14
The Bible says that Rehoboam
(1 Kings 12:14 “And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.”
And
The implications
of that bad advice
Were division
In the kingdom
The Bible says
(1 Kings 12:16–17 “So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? Neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: To your tents, O Israel: Now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents. But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.”
Deliberation
And
Here’s the point
Every single day
We make decisions
Thousands of them
now
Many of them
are automatic
But
Some
Require counsel
And advice
Because none of us
Has all the answers
But
Where we get that advice
Is very important
Because the fact is
There is bad advice
And Biblical advice
Available
And
They are both
in abundance
But hear me please
If
You import advice
That is bad
To aid you
In making some decision
You will undoubtedly
Make the wrong one
You
Will most likely
Make a decision
With terrible consequences
But
If you make decisions
That are Biblical
Well
Bible advice
Is always
The right advice
You can’t go wrong
Following the advice
Of the Bible
And therefore
When
You are seeking advice
You need to be careful
Where you get it from
You
Better seek advice
From someone
Who will tell you
What the Bible says
Someone
Who will either
give you precept
Or principal
From the Bible
Relative
To the advice you seek
And
Precept
is book, chapter and verse
From the Scriptures
And
Principle
is a fundamental truth,
rule,
or guideline found
in the Bible
that informs
and directs Christian conduct
and beliefs.
So
When you need
Advice
About something
You better find someone
Who
Will advise you
With Biblical Precepts
That is, Scripture
Or
Who will advise you
From Bible principle
Because listen please
God knows what is best
For you in your life
So
Let me ask you
This evening
Do you need counsel
About a decision
You’re about to make
Well
(Proverbs 11:14 “Where no counsel is, the people fall: But in the multitude of counsellers there is safety.”
But
When it comes to the Council
Do you import
Bible counsel
Or bad counsel
Well
The results
Are clear
So
Maybe this evening
You need to ask God
To lead you
To some good Bible counsel
For a decision
You are about to make
Would
You come to the altar
And ask the Lord
To guide you
He will not
guide you wrong
Conclusion: Let’s close in prayer
