Sunday Morning December 27, 2009
Bel Aire Baptist Church
Series: “Royalty” [#1]
ENJOYING THE GOOD LIFE
2 Chronicles 10-12
Introduction:
Have you ever heard the saying, “All good things must come to an end”? It sometimes seems that I can’t enjoy something good because I’m anticipating losing it. The more I think about it, the clearer it becomes- It doesn’t have to end if we will continue to do the right things.
Last week, we had looked at the genealogy of Jesus and had discovered 5 unlikely women to be in the family line of the Savior. This morning I want you to realize that through the power of Jesus, you are not just a part of any family- You are royalty!
1 Peter 2:9-10 (NIV)
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
In 2 Chronicles you will find that the 1st 9 chapters are about the 3rd King of Israel- Solomon, (the 1st being Saul and the 2nd David). In chapters 10-36 we will find a roller-coaster ride of events at the hands of royalty. Solomon’s son Rehoboam became the King of Israle after the death of his father. It appears that Rehoboam didn’t have a clue in how to lead these people. He wanted everything his father had and more; but he didn’t know how to do that. Solomon had set an extremely high standard- A royal standard.
The Temple that was built in Jerusalem was impressive. God designed the Temple and instructed Solomon in how it should be built. In his early days, King Solomon loved the Lord and followed Him and was blessed. Solomon made 500 shields of gold. 200 of the shields were large and weighed 7 ½ pounds each and the other 300 shields weighed 3 pounds each. Each one of the shields was made of solid gold. Try to imagine the length of a football field lined on two sides with armor bearers holding the shields of gold as the king made his way up to the Temple to worship. Those golden shields symbolized the purity, integrity and the glory of Jehovah God’s royal standard. These shields were never meant to use for war. They were only brought out of their vault when the king was going to the Temple to worship. The shields were not Solomon’s idea. The plans came from God. They were part of God’s design.
You could see the glory of God shining down upon His people. The evidence of adhering to the standards of God was all around them. I’m sure that Rehoboam wanted to continue to enjoy the results of his father’s kingdom, but that wouldn’t happen unless he followed his father’s standards that got him to that point.
Wanting to enjoy all of the wonderful things from God, (like peace and joy) isn’t going to happen unless you are willing to do the right things.
To enjoy the life of royalty, you must…
1. Follow good counsel.
On the very day that Rehoboam went to Shechem to be made king, he already was faced with a tough decision. Jeroboam had been hiding from Solomon in Egypt and when he heard that Solomon was dead, he decided to come back home and talk to the new king. He quickly let Rehoboam know how tough his father was on the people and that if he would let up a little bit that the people would serve him faithfully.
Rehoboam wasn’t sure what to do, so he made a good decision and sought counsel from the elders that had faithfully consulted his father for years. He went to the group of men who had a good track record for making wise and godly decisions. Now, understand that wise counsel is only useful if you use it.
2 Chronicles 10:7-11
Now, Rehoboam had a dilemma- Did he follow the advice of the elders or the advice of his buddies? He obviously didn’t like the idea of being kind to the people, (probably because it didn’t make him look tough). Instead, we see that Rehoboam chose to follow what his peers suggested and be harsh to the people. What was the result?
2 Chronicles 10:16-17
The result was that the people left! The Kingdom of Israel became divided. Be careful in the advice that you take. We are supposed to test the spirits.
To enjoy the life of royalty, you must…
2. Follow the Words of the Lord.
The people of Israel, for the exception of the Tribe of Judah and Benjamin, had rejected Rehoboam as king and decided to follow Jeroboam. Rehoboam was able to get in his chariot and get out of town. He went to Jerusalem and assembled a small army with the idea of going and putting a whooping on Jeroboam; but that wasn’t God’s plan.
2 Chronicles 11:2-4
It’s hard to face the consequences of your bad decisions isn’t it? There will be times when we mess up and it will cost us things; but if we will listen to God’s direction we will still experience the good life. Rehoboam did just that and he began to experience great success as the King of Judah. His family and territory was enlarged and strengthened.
To enjoy the life of royalty, you must…
3. Continue in the ways of the Lord.
The word “continue” is the key. We are to walk in the ways of the Lord daily.
2 Chronicles 12:1-2
Why is it that when things start going well, we get comfortable and stop relying on God. As soon as we stop relying on God and start relying on ourselves things are going to go downhill quickly.
Shishak, the pharaoh of Egypt, attacked Israel and stole all the shields of gold. The standard of excellence was removed from the people of God because they had forsaken Him. In verse 5 God said, “You have abandoned me; therefore, I now abandon you to Shishak.” They were invaded from the outside because they become infected from the inside. They forgot God. They forgot that God is in control. We find this warning over and over in Scripture.
2 Chronicles 12:9
To enjoy the life of royalty, you must…
4. Be real.
The shields of gold were stolen. So what did Rehoboam do? He made “cheap knock-offs”. He replaced the gold shields with bronze shields. Many of us do what Rehoboam did. We replace shields of gold with shields of brass. The brass shields probably worked fine. They may have been good, but not the best. Often, good is the enemy of the best. Verse 10 is one of the saddest verses in the Bible. It speaks of compromise. It speaks of imitation. There are several differences between gold and brass. One is a pure metal: the other one is an alloy. One shines and the other dulls. One is tempered and strong and the other one weak and cheap.
You may be able to pretend and put on a good show, but you won’t experience the good life while doing it.
To enjoy the life of royalty, you must…
5. Humble yourself.
2 Chronicles 12:12
Rehoboam humbled himself. There was some good because of his humbleness. If you continue to read, you will find that when Rehoboam was humbled before the Lord things went well and when he did his own thing, things were not good.
Conclusion:
Children of God, you are royalty! If you are not enjoying the good life offered by our Father, then it is time to make changes or just do without.
