Becoming Mighty In The Lord

BECOMING MIGHTY IN THE LORD

2 Chron. 27:1-6

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: Clever, or what?

1. Victor, Reilly, Sean and Rowan had been best of friends for over 10 years when unfortunately, Rowan is killed in a car crash. The next day, the three remaining friends are looking at Rowan’s body in his coffin.

2. Reilly says, "You know, Rowan was such a great guy and friend to me that I don’t want him to go empty handed. I’m going to give him $500." He puts $500 into the coffin.

3. Then Sean says, "I agree with you. I’ll match your gift." So Sean threw $500 into the coffin.

4. Victor says, "I liked him more than you two, so I’m going to give him $1,000." With that, Victor writes out a check for $2,000, throws it into the coffin and takes out $1,000 change.

B. TEXT

27 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Uzziah had done (although he did not enter the temple of the Lord). But still the people acted corruptly. 3 He built the Upper Gate of the house of the Lord, and he built extensively on the wall of Ophel. 4 Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built fortresses and towers. 5 He also fought with the king of the Ammonites and defeated them. And the people of Ammon gave him in that year one hundred talents of silver, ten thousand kors of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. The people of Ammon paid this to him in the second and third years also. 6 So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God.” NKJV

C. ASPIRING TO BE ‘MIGHTY’

1. The Scriptures says that “Jotham became mighty!” How many believe we ought to desire that?

2. All of us should be believers God would characterize as "Mighty in the Lord." We’re not talking about Mighty Mouse or Mighty Morphin Power Rangers!

3. What do you think this “mighty” means? "Mighty" means ‘strong,’ ‘potent,’ ‘forceful,’ and ‘vigorous.’

a. We are commanded to be "STRONG in the Lord and in His mighty power" Eph. 6:10. This means mighty in the Holy Spirit.

b. We're to be POTENT -- like salt in the world, like yeast penetrating the whole lump of dough. Concentrated, Pure.

c. We are to be ‘FORCEFUL’-- Matthew 11:12, "The violent take it by force" or "They that know their God will be strong and do exploits" Daniel 11:32. Powerful & Influential.

d. We're supposed to be ‘VIGOROUS’-- throwing off the world's influence and vigorous to pull down strongholds, and turn the world upside down! We need to have the Life of God percolating in our lives!

D. MIGHTY CONTRIBUTIONS OF JOTHAM

That Jotham was Mighty is seen by the fact that:

1. He rebuilt and extended Jerusalem and the Temple of the Lord.

2. He fought against Rezin of the Aramaeans and Pekah of Israel. He defeated the Ammonites and received a massive tribute.

3. He was the progenitor of Jesus Christ, listed in Matthew's Gospel.

E. THESIS

1. Jotham became mighty in the Lord because of 3 things:

a. He had a good foundation;

b. He developed his character;

c. He prepared his ways before the Lord.

2. The title of this message is “Becoming Mighty in the Lord.”

I. HE HAD A GOOD FOUNDATION

A. HE HAD A PROPHETIC MOTHER

1. His mother, Jerushah (her name means, “one that possesses the inheritance”), was the great grand-daughter of Zadok (2 Chr. 27:1).

2. Who was Zadok? Zadok’s line, unlike Eli’s line, was faithful to protect the true worship of God at the Temple in the times when the Israelites, as a nation, backslid into idolatry. Zadok was David’s close friend and supporter (Ezek. 40:46; 44:15).

3. Jotham’s mother was not only physically descended from Zadok, but even more, she carried the prophetic, spiritual heritage of Zadok.

B. HE HAD AN AWESOME FATHER

THE BIBLE SAYS:

1. "He (Uzziah) did what was right in the eyes of the Lord" 2 Chron. 26:4.

2. "He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God" 2 Chron. 26:5.

3. Uzziah defeated the Philistines and 20 other nations! He built war machines. He re-fortified Judah and Jerusalem.

C. YOUR FOUNDATION?

1. Now some of you may NOT have had Christian parents; you may’ve been an orphan or even had bad parents. Don’t let that hinder you; you still can become mighty in the Lord, if you build your life on God’s foundation.