THE KING OF YEH BUT

INTRODUCTION

OPENING ILLUSTRATION: ON FEBRUARY 26TH, 2015, AN IMAGE OF THE DRESS APPEARED IN WHICH PEOPLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA WERE ASKED IF IT WAS BLACK AND BLUE OR WHITE AND GOLD. WITHIN THE FIRST WEEK OVER 10 MILLION TWEETS HAD RESPONDED TO THE QUESTION, AND THE HASHTAG THEDRESS WAS MORE THAN TRENDING. REMEMBER HOW THIS QUESTION OF COLOR HAD PREOCCUPIED OUR COLLECTIVE IMAGINATION? AT THE CORE WE WANTED TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT COLOR WAS THIS DOGGONE DRESS? WE NEEDED TO GET OUR ARMS AROUND THIS QUESTION AND BRING A SENSE OF RESOLUTION. WHEN THE ANSWER CAME BACK IN SOME SENSES IT WAS A LOT MORE COMPLICATED THAN WE’D LIKE TO BELIEVE, WITH NEUROSCIENCE PLAYING A MAJOR ROLE. IT SEEMS THAT THERE WAS A LOT MORE TO THE DRESS THAN MEETS THE EYE.

POINT: WE TEND TO DO THE SAME WHEN IT COMES TO PEOPLE. WE ESSENTIALLY SIZE PEOPLE UP AND WANT TO KNOW IS THIS PERSON A GOOD PERSON OR A BAD PERSON, A HERO OR A VILLAIN? SOMEONE WE SHOULD RUN TO, OR RUN AWAY FROM? BUT I WANT TO WARN YOU, THAT IF YOU TRY TO DO THIS WITH THE KEY FIGURE IN OUR TEXT, KING AMAZIAH, YOU’RE GOING TO FIND YOURSELF IN QUITE A DEBATE, A DEBATE AS FIERCE AS THE DRESS ON SOCIAL MEDIA. ON THE ONE HAND WE WOULD THINK HE’S A HERO, A GREAT PERSON…VERSE 3 SAYS HE DID WHAT WAS RIGHT IN THE EYES OF THE LORD. BUT KEEP READING AND YOU’LL FIND IT’S NOT SO SIMPLE, FOR VERSE THREE GOES ONTO SAY…YET NOT LIKE DAVID…AND THEN IN VERSE FOUR HOW THE HIGH PLACES WERE NOT REMOVED. WAS HE A GOOD GUY? YEH…BUT! AMAZIAH IS WHAT I WANT TO CALL THE KING OF THE YEH-BUTS…GOOD AND BAD, FULL OF VICTORIES AND DEFEATS. AND IF HE SOUNDS FAMILIAR HE SHOULD…DON’T WE ALL KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO LIVE IN THE KINGDOM OF YEH-BUT.

ILLUSTRATION: JUST THIS WEEK I READ A BOOK ABOUT AMERICA’S MOST FAMOUS RACIST POLITICIAN OF THE 20TH CENTURY- GEORGE WALLACE, THE GOVERNOR OF ALABAMA DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE CIVIL RIGHT’S MOVEMENT. YOU KNOW THE GUY WHO DECLARED SEGREGATION NOW, TOMORROW AND FOREVER! THE GUY WHO STOOD IN THE DOORWAY OF THE SCHOOL BLOCKING FROM AA’S FROM INTEGRATING IT. SO WHY WOULD I READ THIS BOOK ABOUT HIM? WELL, HIS DAUGHTER WROTE IT. AND BOY DID SHE TELL THE TRUTH. THE THINGS SHE SAID ABOUT HER FATHER…SHE DIDN’T WHITE WASH HIM. SHE’S COMMITTED TO THE OPPOSITE CAUSES…BUT THEN SHE ALSO PAINTS A FULLER PICTURE OF GEORGE WALLACE. THE PICTURE OF A DAD WHO SHE’D CUDDLE UP TO ON FRIDAY NIGHTS AT HOME AS THEY WOULD WATCH BOXING MATCHES. A DAD WHO WOULD PICK HER UP, AND FISH IN HIS POCKET FOR SOME CANDY AND GIVE IT TO HER. AND ALL THE WHILE I’M READING THIS, I WANT TO HATE HIM, BUT AT THE SAME TIME I SEE SOME GOODNESS…YEH/BUT.

APPLICATIONS: AND THAT’S ALL OF US. THE VILLAIN HAT DOESN’T FIT COMFORTABLY ON EITHER OF US…NEITHER DOES THE HERO CAPE. WE ALL KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO LIVE IN THE LAND OF YEH/BUT. YEH YOU MAY SEE YOUR EX AS A VILLAIIN AND WHAT THEY DID WAS BAD…BUT, TO OTHERS THEY’RE ALSO ONE OF THE MOST GENEROUS PEOPLE KNOWN. YEH/BUT. YEH YOU MAY SEE YOUR MOTHER AS INCREDIBLY SELFLESS, BUT OTHERS ALSO SEE HOW SENSITIVE SHE CAN BE. YEH/BUT. YEH, YOU MAY SEE HOW WELL THAT FRIEND ENGAGES PEOPLE, BUT LOOK CLOSER AND OTHERS ALSO SEE THE ADDICTION THEY’RE NURSING. YEH/BUT. YEH, YOU MAY SEE HOW DRIVEN HE IS, BUT YOU MAY ALSO AT THE SAME TIME SEE HOW PRIDEFUL AND ARROGANT THEY ARE. YEH/BUT. WE ALL LIVE IN THE LAND OF YEH BUT.

CENTRAL THEME: THE PROBLEM WITH YEH/BUT IS NOT THAT WE ENCOUNTER IT FROM TIME TO TIME IN OUR LIVES, IT’S WHEN WE SETTLE INTO IT AND ACCEPT IT. THE PROBLEM OCCURS WHEN MEDIOCRITY BECOMES THE NORM, SIN IS NO LONGER BATTLED, AND OUR WEAKNESSES TAKE OUT A THIRTY YEAR MORTGAGE ON THE HOME THAT IS OUR HEARTS. THIS IS THE PROBLEM WITH KING AMAZIAH, A KING WHO REIGNED FOR 29 YEARS. HE LEAVES NO LASTING LEGACY. THERE’S NOT MUCH NOTEWORTHY ABOUT HIS LIFE. I THINK THE REASON FOR THIS IS HE EXCHANGED GREATNESS FOR YEH/BUT. AND MY FEAR IS WE CAN DO THE SAME. SEE, WHAT THIS PASSAGE TEACHES US IS THAT IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD IT’S NOT OKAY TO BE JUST OK. GOD DIDN’T SAVE US FOR MEDIOCRITY...

BEWARE OF SUCCESS- -11A

EXPLANATION: YOU KNOW WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THE BIBLE AND AMAZIAH? IT’S JUST SO REAL. RIGHT HERE IN THE OPENING VERSES WE GET A BIO ON AMAZIAH AND IT’S NOT ALL PRETTIED UP…IT LAYS OUT HIS VICTORIES AND DEFEATS, HIS SUCCESSES AND FAILURES. AND THAT’S ALL OF US…NOBODY BATS A THOUSAND…ALMOST IMMEDIATELY WE SEE HIS VICTORIES…HE STRIKES DOWN THE SERVANTS WHO HAD KILLED HIS FATHER, BUT DIDN’T KILL THEIR KIDS. WHY? WELL, BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT THE BIBLE SAID…AND SO HE’S A MAN OF THE WORD…SOMEWHAT. THEN IT GOES ONTO SAY IN VERSE 7 THAT HE STRIKES DOWN 10 EDOMITES IN THE VALLEY OF SALT…NOW THIS IS A MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR VICTORY…AND THEN HE TAKES ANOTHER PLACE CALLED SELA BY STORM! I MEAN HE’S COMING OUT LIKE THE DALLAS COWBOYS AT THE START OF THE SEASON! JUST TEARING UP THE JOINT…CLAP BRYAN! AND THEN HE MAKES A TRAGIC MISTAKE…FRESH OFF THE VICTORIES HE SAYS TO HEHOASH WHO IS THE KING OF ISRAEL, LET’S GET IT ON! AND I LOVE JEHOASH, BECAUSE HE’S LIKE SLOW YOUR ROLL LITTLE GUY. AND HE STARTS TALKING TRASH AND I LOVE THE WAY HE TALKS TRASH…LOOK AT VERSE 9…SUMMARIZE IT…NOW THIS IS HILARIOUS BECAUSE IT’S LIKE TALKING TRASH IN A REFINED BRITISH ACCENT…WHICH IS NOT HOW YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO DO IT. LIKE IF YOU’RE GOING TO TALK TRASH DROP SOME PARTICIPLES, AND ACT LIKE YOU FROM THE HOOD…YOU KNOW…LOL. AND THEN VERSE 11A…HE WOULDN’T LISTEN AND WHAT HAPPENS? JEHOASH WINS AND TAKES AMAZIAH INTO CAPTIVITY WHERE HE WOULD ULTIMATELY BE PUT TO DEATH. POINT: IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY, WHAT KILLED HIM WASN’T JEHOASH, IT WAS HIS PREVIOUS VICTORIES THAT INFLATED HIM WITH PRIDE...

ILLUSTRATION: BACK IN SEPTEMBER OF 2000, A THISTLE APPROACHED A CEDAR TO SIT DOWN TO TALK ABOUT A PARTNERSHIP. THE THISTLES NAME WAS NETFLIX, WHILE THE CEDAR’S NAME WAS BLOCKBUSTER. BLOCKBUSTER WAS AT THE HEIGHT OF ITS POWERS HAVING JUST RAKED IN 465 MILLION THE PREVIOUS YEAR, AND NETFLIX WAS STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE AT THE END OF THE DOT COM BOOM. SO NETFLIX MADE ITS PLEA AND TRIED TO CONVINCE BLOCKBUSTER THAT IT NEEDED THEM. WHEN IT WAS ASKED HOW MUCH NETFLIX WANTED BLOCKBUSTER TO BUY THEM FOR, THEY SAID 50 MILLION. IT WAS ALL THE CEO OF BLOCKBUSTER TO DO TO KEEP FROM LAUGHING…WHY WOULD THEY EVER WANT TO BUY NETFLIX WHEN THEY HAD MADE ALL THIS MONEY THE PREVIOUS YEAR. THEY WERE ON TOP OF THE MOVIE RENTAL/DVD/VHS BUSINESS. WELL…THE REST AS WE KNOW IS HISTORY. BLOCKBUSTER IS NO MORE, WITH ONLY ONE STORE REMAINING IN OREGON. WHAT KILLED BLOCKBUSTER WASN’T NETFLIX, AS MUCH AS IT WAS ITS COMPLACENCY. IT HAD GOTTEN COMFORTABLE WITH ITS VICTORIES, AND HAD DRIFTED INTO THE STATUS QUO. THEY REFUSED TO EXPAND THEIR HORIZONS, AND PUSH FOR MORE, AND THAT KILLED THEM.

APPLICATION: WHAT KEEPS US FROM THE GREAT IS GETTING COMFORTABLE WITH SIN. OUR VICTORIES CAN LEAD TO COMPLACENCY…YEH, I’VE GOT THIS GREED ISSUE OVER HERE, BUT, I’VE BEEN A GOODBOY SO I’M REWARDING MYSELF FOR THIS BEHAVIOR. YEH I’VE GOT THIS LYING ISSUE, OR EMOTIONAL AFFAIR HAPPENING, BUT WE HAVEN’T SLEPT TOGETHER, AFTER ALL, YOU SHOULD KNOW HOW RESPONSIBLE I’VE BEEN AS A DAD. SO WE SETTLE IN FOR JUST OKAY…THE PROBLEM IS THAT IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD IT’S NOT OKAY TO BE JUST OKAY. GOD HAS SO MUCH MORE FOR US...

BATTLE YOUR IDOLS-

EXPLANATION: HE TALKS ABOUT THE HIGH PLACES....THESE WERE ELEVATED PLACES OF IDOLATRY WHERE OTHER FALSE GODS WERE WORSHIPPED. THIS IS INTERESTING, BECAUSE IF YOU’VE EVER BEEN TO JERUSALEM YOU KNOW THE TEMPLE SITS UP ON THE TEMPLE MOUNT…IT’S ON A HIGH PLACE. AND SO HE NOW DECIDES TO WORSHIP OTHER GODS ON A SIMILAR LEVEL. NOTICE HE DOESN’T TAKE DOWN THE TEMPLE TO GOD, HE JUST BUILDS OTHER TEMPLES TO GO ALONGSIDE OF THE ONE TRUE TEMPLE. HE HAS A GOD + MENTALITY. AND THIS IS IDOLATRY. MAYBE I SHOULD BACK UP BECAUSE SOME OF YOU ALL ARE SAYING THAT HEY I HAVEN’T BUILT ANY HIGH PLACES, SO WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ME? WELL AN IDOL IS ANYTHING, EVEN A GOOD THING THAT HAS BECOME AN ULTIMATE THING. IDOLS ARE WHAT WE TURN TO FOR OUR MEANING VALUE AND SIGNIFICANCE. IDOLS ARE WHERE OUR MONEY FLOWS FREELY.

JADEN’S BLANKIE ILLUSTRATION: WHEN JADEN WAS A LITTLE SOMETHING HE COULDN’T FALL TO SLEEP WITHOUT HIS SPECIAL BLANKIE. I WOULD WATCH HIM GET THIS BLANKIE, AND START WORKING IT SO THAT THE FABRIC WOULD HIT HIS CHIN JUST RIGHT. AND HE’D PLOP THAT THUMB IN HIS MOUTH. NOW HE COULDN’T REST LITERALLY WITHOUT THIS BLANKIE. COULDN’T HAVE ANOTHER ONE, HAD TO BE THIS EXACT ONE. IF YOU WERE TO ASK ME TO SHOW IT TO YOU TODAY I COULDN’T. THE THING ENDED UP FALLING A PART AND DISMANTLING.

APPLICATION: WHAT’S YOUR BLANKIE? WHAT’S THAT THING THAT YOU JUST CAN’T REST UNLESS YOU HAVE IT? MONEY? POSSESSIONS? SUCCESS? BEAUTY? APPROVAL FROM PEOPLE? THESE ARE OUR HIGH PLACES. AND JUST LIKE JADEN’S BLANKIE EVENTUALLY LET HIM DOWN, SO WILL ALL OF OUR IDOLS. THEY ALWAYS OVER PROMISE AND ALWAYS UNDER DELIVER!

EMBRACE GOD’S GRACE-

EXPLANATION: THE BOOK OF 2 KINGS IS AN INTERESTING BOOK BECAUSE THERE’S NO CENTRAL CHARACTER. THIS IS UNLIKE I SAMUEL WHERE IT’S CONCERNED WITH SAMUEL AND SAUL, AND UNLIKE II SAMUEL WHERE DAVID IS THE KEY CHARACTER. AND UNLIKE I KINGS WHERE MUCH OF IT IS DEVOTED TO SOLOMON. 2 KINGS TELLS THE STORY OF AROUND 29 KINGS THAT ALL POINT TO THE STEADY DEMISE AND UNRAVELING OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH. ISRAEL WOULD FALL EVENTUALLY IN 722 BC TO ASSYRIA, WHILE JUDAH WOULD FALL IN 587 BC TO BABYLON. 2 KINGS COVERS ABOUT 300 YEARS…AND DURING THIS THREE HUNDRED YEAR PERIOD WE SEE GOD PUTTING UP WITH SIN UPON SIN UPON SIN FROM HIS LEADERS AND PEOPLE. FOR 300 YEARS! SO I HOPE YOU’RE SEEING THE PATIENCE OF GOD. NOW HERE’S THE QUESTION: WHY WAS GOD SO PATIENT? LOOK AT . GOD WAS PATIENT NOT BECAUSE JUDAH OR ISRAEL DESERVED IT, BUT BECAUSE HE MADE A COVENANT TO DAVID! AND THAT COVENANT SAID A KING WOULD ALWAYS SIT ON THE THRONE. DO YOU KNOW WE ARE STILL REAPING THE BENEFITS OF THAT PROMISE, BECAUSE KING JESUS DESCENDED FROM DAVID AND IS SITTING ON THE THRONE RIGHT NOW! DO YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE IN CHRIST GOD IS PATIENT WITH YOU, PUTTING UP WITH ALL OF YOUR DEFEATS AND ARROGANCE AND IDOLATRY BECAUSE OF THE COVENANT HE MADE WITH DAVID.

POINT: YOU WOULD THINK GOD’S COVENANT AND PATIENCE WOULD LEAD US TO BE EVEN MORE OKAY WITH YEH/BUT…BUT WHEN YOU REALLY GET GRACE YOU’LL SEE GRACE DOESN’T OKAY COMPLACENCY, IT ACTUALLY INSPIRES URGENCY.