Its A Set-Up

2 Chronicles 18:1 - 3 (NRSV) 1Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor; and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab. 2After some years he went down to Ahab in Samaria. Ahab slaughtered 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. 3King Ahab of Israel said to King Jehoshaphat of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?” He answered him, “I am with you, my people are your people. We will be with you in the war.”

Scriptural Text: 2 Chronicles 18:28 – 29 (NRSV) 28So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. 29The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. 30Now the king of Aram had commanded the captains of his chariots, “Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel.” 31When the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is the king of Israel.” So they turned to fight against him; and Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him. God drew them away from him, 32for when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. 33But a certain man drew his bow and unknowingly struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate; so he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around, and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” 34The battle grew hot that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening; then at sunset he died.

Sermonic Verses: Scriptural Text: 2 Chronicles 18:28 - 29 (NRSV) 28So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. 29The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle.

Title of Sermon: “Its a Set Up”

A Set-up in this context may be defined as when someone allows for an individual or a group of individuals to knowingly place them in a situation that may be detrimental to them and not contrary to the Word of God. We all have been Set-up because we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The origin of this Set-up is simple, it is orchestrated by Satan who is cunning, shrewd, astute, crafty, and sly. He is the Ruler of Darkness and has been called the Prince of Persia2. His primary objective is to deceive Christians. He desires to make us think that our ways are righteous when in actuality they are unrighteous. He desires to make us think that the wages of sin is not death, but life. He is the master of illusion and confusion and HE WILL SET US UP! As Christians, Beelzebub3 has caused all of us to become engaged in activities that we thought were of God, but in reality they were of darkness.

I know by now some of you Holy Ghost filled Gentile saved, justified, and sanctified heirs to the Most High God (El Elyon) 4 are saying. Why is this preacher giving Satan such recognition? Is not God is in control? And indeed you are correct, FOR GOD IS IN CONTROL, but I am here to enlighten you by informing you that Jesus Christ, the Son of the Most High God was no….. FOOL. He was a wise and intellectual scholar and an anointed leader, administrator, counselor, strategist and physician with insight into the tactics used by Satan to Set us Up! Jesus encountered these tactics not only in the wilderness and in the Garden of Gethsemane, but also throughout His thirty years of preparation and three years of ministry…. We as followers of Christ and co-heirs to His father’s Kingdom must not be naïve to Satan’s tactics. We must ask God for wisdom as we travel on this journey…

But I tell you this morning Church, the one thing that continues to baffle me, is that, we (Christians) continue to be Set-Up by Satan over and over and over and over and over again. As a seminarian and minister, I have observed that we (Christians) continue to allow for Satan to Set us Up!!!!! All because we continue to FOLLOW THE CROWD (Flesh), a crowd that we know is Wrong; a crowd that engages in behaviors that are not of God; a crowd that has an ungodly attitude; a crowd which exudes arrogance and snobbishness, a crowd that practices classism, a crowd that practices sexism, a crowd that practices racism; and a crowd whose philosophy is: “follow us if you want to get to Heaven”….Can I get a witness? For there are individual(s) out there in 2010 that feel they hold the key to us getting into Heaven…….Can I get another witness?