No Limit Life

RECAP Week 1

Edge of No Return:

Shadrach, Meshach, Abednago

Young men who had a “no-return” moment - the decision they made was life-ending

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when we think of these stories, we think of them just as moments that happened in their life. The reality is that they were highlights of a lifestyle these young people chose to live

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How far will you go to make God THE priority in your life?

2 Chronicles 34:1–7 MSG

1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king. He ruled for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 He behaved well before God. He kept straight on the path blazed by his ancestor David, not one step to the left or right. 3 When he had been king for eight years—he was still only a teenager—he began to seek the God of David his ancestor. Four years later, the twelfth year of his reign, he set out to cleanse the neighborhood of sex-and-religion shrines, and get rid of the sacred Asherah groves and the god and goddess figurines, whether carved or cast, from Judah. 4 He wrecked the Baal shrines, tore down the altars connected with them, and scattered the debris and ashes over the graves of those who had worshiped at them. 5 He burned the bones of the priests on the same altars they had used when alive. He scrubbed the place clean, Judah and Jerusalem, clean inside and out. 6 The cleanup campaign ranged outward to the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and the surrounding neighborhoods—as far north as Naphtali. 7 Throughout Israel he demolished the altars and Asherah groves, pulverized the god and goddess figures, chopped up the neighborhood shrines into firewood. With Israel once more intact, he returned to Jerusalem.

1. WHO IS JOSIAH

became King when 8 years old

sought God for himself when he was 16

began to own his faith not just believe because others around him did

began to cleanse (take action) the kingdom when he was 20

Teenage years can be the hardest because you have a field that is mostly soil and not much has grown up.

How you take care of your life now will determine the success in your next phase of life.

If you memorized 1 verse a week, in 10 years you will have memorized 520 verses!

Do you think that knowing 520 verse will positively or negatively affect your life?

2. BURN & BURY

Look at all the words used to describe what & how Josiah got rid of the idols of the land:

cleanse

get rid of

wrecked

burned

scrubbed

demolished

pulverized

chopped up

Josiah wasn’t looking to just throw things away - HE DESTROYED THEM ALL AND LEFT NO REMANENCE

He went as far as digging up the old bones of the false prophets of generations past and burned them as well.

Idols of Life

Idol: a false representation of God; object used for worship

we saw in week 1, King Nebuchadnezzar made a 9 foot tall statue of himself and wanted everyone to bow to it

Daniel 3:5 ESV

5 that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

Idols in Josiah’s Day:

Carved Images (wood, silver, gold)

Wooden sculptures

Specific gods:

Asherim (Ahserah); goddess of pleasure - this was a tree that was carved and replanted in the ground

Baal; god of power - means ‘owner,’ ‘husband,’ ‘lord.’

Mammon; god of money

this god isn’t mentioned but someone would’ve had to finance all these idols being built - someone or some people with money provided the means for these idols to survive in culture

Burned the bones of the priests:

Josiah didn’t just destroy the idols - he destroyed the people that were promoting the nonsense.

Exodus 22:20 ESV

20 “Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the Lord alone, shall be devoted to destruction.

Josiah was only interested in obeying God’s Word.

James 1:22 ESV

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

As we look at the “things” that have become idols in our life - we also need to see if there are people in our life that are encouraging the use of these idols.

3. CLOSE THE GAP

How far will you go to make God THE priority in your life?

Matthew 5:29–30 ESV

29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Jesus is not speaking about literally cutting off you hand or plucking out your eye!

even if you did, you can still sin in your heart

Jesus is painting a picture of sacrifice.

Josiah was on a quest to make God the priority of the nation of Judah again!

2 Chronicles 34:5 ESV

5 He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.

This might be considered beating a dead horse, but Josiah was making a point that there was no room for even the remanence of evil in God’s Kingdom.

Close the Door

If you leave any kind of foothold for the enemy, I promise he will exploit it.

1 Peter 5:8 ESV

8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

The enemy is actively looking for someone to devour.

And even if he doesn’t devour you, with cracks in your life you can’t hold anything!

Jeremiah, another young guy, speaks about a people that are broken cisterns and cannot hold any water.

Jeremiah 2:13 ESV

13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

Repair, then build!

After Josiah had eradicated the evil in the kingdom they restored the house of the Lord.

The process of repentance and “plucking the weeds” is just the beginning of your relationship with God.

God’s desire is for YOU to prosper!

19 spiritual gift mentioned in the NT

Each one of us has one or many of these spiritual gifts - each gift is meant to help others!

God is in the business of partnership - He wants you to partner with Him in increasing the population of Heaven!

Closing

2 Kings 23:25 ESV

25 Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.

When you get to the end of your life…what will be said about you?

Josiah Moment

In your Josiah Moment your Fear of the Lord has to outweigh your fear of social status.

In your Josiah Moment your Love for Jesus has to outweigh your love of the world. 

In your Josiah Moment your Joy of obedience to Jesus has to outweigh your pleasure of sin.