14: Preaching/Teaching 2 Chronicles 17-20-Jehosaphat

The Struggle of Obedience

Different examples from my life when obedience was easy and hard

Time when we left everything to plant the church. We call this our dropping our nets story.

Matthew 4:19-20 “And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.”

Even I marvel at what God has done in our lives and in our church, but in that great moment of obedience, many times I don’t share some of the struggles.

Heather’s friend came to town-Lindsie and it was the end of the month and we were just making it day to day trusting in God and we could not even buy chips and dip.

I share that to say even in these times I, Heather and I have had great obedience there are days where obedience is the last thing I want to do.

After that I was like I don’t ever want to rely on God like that again.

God does not just want us to be obedience a couple of times in our life, he wants us to live lives of obedience.

Today we are going to talk about obedience.

Just on the front end some things I thought about obedience where this.

Obedience is a heart issue!

2 Chronicles 16:9 ““For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars.””

“The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him. By God’s help, I aim to be that man.” — D.L. Moody

God is always looking at our hearts.

Today I want to give us some lessons of obedience from Jehosaphat’s life.

The first lesson about obedience that we can learn from Jehosaphat is that:

1. IT (obedience) is not accidental (Chapter 17).

History of kingdom and how it split: South north split and were classified as the north and southern kingdoms. Or as the Israel (North) and Judah (South).

Once the kingdom split some of the southern kings were good, not all, but basically all the northern kings were evil.

Background

2 Chronicles 17:1–2 ESV

Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place and strengthened himself against Israel. He placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim that Asa his father had captured.

Jehosaphat was growing His kingdom. He was building up his military in a strong way.

Why was Jehosaphat strong?

Why he obeyed: He worshipped God!

2 Chronicles 17:3 ESV

The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals,

Notice it does not say he was strong because he had built up his army, because he was the king, he was strong because the Lord was with him.

disobedience would have been to seek the Baals. But it specifically says he chose the way of his father.

Even the people of God can choose to follow the ways of the world. Jehosaphat was saying no to the Baals and yes to God.

Are you saying yes to God right now?

We were created to worship. Obedience is tied to what we worship

Many of the reasons we see people do such crazy things is because they are worshipping created things and not the creator.

In Arkansas they worship the Razorbacks:

Let me say that again they worship a PIG!

BUBBA HOG

What do you really worship?

Would this be said about you: THE LORD IS WITH YOUR!

Obedience: He chose it

This was not accidental!

I want to make sure I am clear on this, the reason we can obey is because God first initiated with us. But because he initiated with us we can choose to obey.

2 Chronicles 17:4 ESV

but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, and not according to the practices of Israel.

He was not seeking to fit in but to stand out for God.

You cannot stand on the fence.

You either walk in obedience or disobedience.

We want to sit on the fence, but that is impossible.

ISRAEL WAS CAPABLE OF SOME PRETTY EVIL THINGS WHEN THEY WERE NOT WORSHIPPING GOD. THEIR WERE TIMES IN THEIR HISTORY WHERE THEY WERE LITERALLY OFFERING UP THEIR KIDS IN A FIRE.

Jehosaphat was choosing obedience because he was worshipping.

Idolatry is when we worship something other than God.

Obedience is not accidental

People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord.  We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.

DA CARSON

The results of obedience: (17:5-6)

2 Chronicles 17:5–6 ESV

Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand. And all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had great riches and honor. His heart was courageous in the ways of the Lord. And furthermore, he took the high places and the Asherim out of Judah.

The Results of obedience: The Lord Establishes:

God has a role: but here we see man’s role. His heart was courageous.

He was destroying the very things that people wanted to worship.

People don’t naturally worship God.

What if your idol was a TV-I know that would never happen, but let’s just pretend in America everyon’e idol was a TV. I just started walking door to door in Shadow Creek and hit people’s TVs with a baseball bat. That would take some courage and I would probably eventually get shot. I started walking from house to house destroying peoples TV’s. Jehosaphat was removing the very thing people were worshipping and these people were not happy about it.

If you want to live a life of obedience it takes courage!

It takes courage to make time for God on a regular basis.

It takes courage to live for Jesus in your home.

It takes courage to share your faith.

It takes courage…I could go on and on.

Don’t you want your life to be established by God. There are so many times I want to try to establish my own life and fight in my own strength. But if we obey, God will establish us.

Are you allowing God to establish your life?

The Results of obedience: Revival

2 Chronicles 17:7–8 ESV

In the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah; and with them the Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah; and with these Levites, the priests Elishama and Jehoram.

This revival began to spread like wild fire.

We see discipleship take place-

2 Chronicles 17:9 ESV

And they taught in Judah, having the Book of the Law of the Lord with them. They went about through all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.

We see that power of one

2 Chronicles 17:10 NASB95

Now the dread of the Lord was on all the kingdoms of the lands which were around Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat.

Right now we see a generation in the USA turning away from God. The stats are dismal, even kids growing up in the church are leaving the church. But here is the reality, we are also one generation away from a revival. And God can use one person to spark that. It can be the king, but it can also be your or me, a mom or a dad.

Illustration: Libby Merritt on Heather’s volleyball team! Michael and I talking to J-

Do you believe that God can use your life to spark a movement of God right where you are at.

It may be one or two people. It maybe the whole city of Pearland.

It may be the whole world.

Application:

IS there something God is calling you to be obedience to right now that you are not?

This could be something you need to be doing.

It could be something you are not doing.

Just remember obedience is not accidental

The next lesson about obedience that we can learn from Jehosaphat is that:

2. IT (obedience) is a struggle.

Jehosaphat had his sin struggle.

2 Chronicles 18:1–5 ESV

Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor, and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab. After some years he went down to Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab killed an abundance of sheep and oxen for him and for the people who were with him, and induced him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?” He answered him, “I am as you are, my people as your people. We will be with you in the war.” And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.”

Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible 3. Jehoshaphat and Ahab ch. 18

“The point for us is that flirtation with those in apostasy is flirtation with catastrophe.”

2 Chronicles 19:1–2 NASB95

Then Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord and so bring wrath on yourself from the Lord?

Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible 4. Jehoshaphat’s appointment of judges ch. 19

Even though God had spared Jehoshaphat’s life in the battle, his close brush with death was the result of an unwise decision to help ungodly Ahab. A prophet rebuked him for this alliance (v. 2).

The last lesson about obedience that we can learn from Jehosaphat is that:

3. IT (obedience) points us to the ultimate king.

Jehosaphat knew he was not the ultimate king!

2 Chronicles 20:3 NASB95

Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

Struggles of Obedience

2. Time I shared the gospel at the mall-

But then there are times when I fear what someone may say.

John 14:21 ““He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.””

3 rd point

We don’t obey to earn the favor of God we obey because we already have the favor of God