BREAKING The CYCLE In/Of A MISLED LAND-I—2Kings 16:1-4(1-20)
[2Kings 16:1-4; 18:1-7(16:1-18; 18:1-07, 13-16, 17-18; 19:1-7, 14-20, 35-37)]
Overcoming Political Compliance/Acquiescence
Overcoming The Politics of Spiritual Acquiescence.
Attention:
1787—Benjamin Franklin addressed the U.S. Constitutional Convention—"I've lived, sir, a long time, & the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: That God governs in the affairs of men. If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We've been assured in the sacred writings that unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it. I firmly believe this, & I also believe that without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel."
Benjamin Franklin championed America’s need for God’s favor.
•King Ahaz was marked/defined by political expediency, acquiescence, & compliance.
•A land defined by those things is misled & to be pitied.
•Why is a misled land to be pitied?
OR-•Why should the cycle of misleading be broken??
*Because in a misled land there is much that is Wasted.
•Today, we’ll examine some reasons for breaking the cycle of misleading in your land.
1—The cycle must be broken in a misled land, due to it’s WASTED...
PRIVILEGE(16:1)
Explanation:(16:1)
16:1—“In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign.”
King “Pekah” ruled the Northern Kingdom of Israel for 20yrs(752-732BC). In Pekah’s 17th year reigning as king of Israel, a prince named “Ahaz”—began to reign as the “king of Judah”(735BC).—John H. Walton in ’Chronological & Background Charts of the Old Testament’(1978)[JHWChronCharts] / ISBE(1979) / Edwin R. Thiele in ‘The Mysterious Numbers Of The Hebrew Kings.’(1983)[ERTMystNumb].
Ahaz was the 12th king of Judah(735-715BC).—ISBE(1979)
•It had been ~200 yrs. since the 1st king of Judah(Rehoboam) reigned.
•During Ahaz’ reign the Northern Kingdom of Israel would fall to Assyria(722BC).
Ahaz was “the son of Jotham.” Jotham was the former king of Judah who had reigned 16 yrs., beginning in the 2nd year of the Northern Kingdom’s Pekah(2Kgs. 15:27, 32-33).—NAC
*What did Ahaz do with his privilege as king?...
•Ahaz “leaves a legacy of appeasement & syncretism unmatched to this time.”[syncretism = combining different religions, cultures, &/or schools of thought] “The enemy nation of Assyria can count on Ahaz for money, loyalty, & zealous acceptance of their gods.”—NAC •And in that same vein...
?Aren’t ‘appeasement & syncretism’ present in American politics & civil workings?—Of course they are!(political correctness)
?Aren’t ‘appeasement & syncretism’ substantial guiding forces in America’s politics?—Of course they are!(political correctness)
•In fact, the political divide that exists in America did not happen overnight. It has been brewing ever since our country’s birth!
*Trust in any-thing, any-person, or any-group, other than the Lord Jesus, is a trust in the ‘wisdom’ of ‘the world’ or in Satan’s lie!
Argumentation:
*1Kgs. 10:4-9—“And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters & their apparel, his cupbearers, & his entryway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her. Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words & your wisdom. “However I did not believe the words until I came & saw with my own eyes; & indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom & prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard. Happy are your men & happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you & hear your wisdom! Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice & righteousness.”
*Mk. 4:9-12—regarding the parable of the Sower, Seed, & Soils—“And He[Jesus] said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, “so that ‘Seeing they may see & not perceive, And hearing they may hear & not understand; Lest they should turn, And their sins be forgiven them.’”[Deut. 29:4; Isa.6:9-10; Jer. 5:21]
*Rev. 22:14—“Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, & may enter through the gates into the city.”
Illustration:
*I am a person of great PRIVILEGE...
My father became a newly established dentist in our small town shortly before I was born/•I had a ‘stay-at-home’Mom(AKA—housewife)/•When I was five years old, my parents had a house built in the suburbs/•My parents paid for my entire undergraduate education!/•My parents bought my second car as a reward for graduating(with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology)/IF I had run from all that was made possible for me, it would have been a Wasted PRIVILEGE
*Furthermore, & most importantly, I am a person of great Privilege because I am saved FROM trust in this world, & saved INTO citizenship in the Kingdom of God!
Of all the countries in the world, citizens in the United States are entirely blessed & privileged/BUT, ?What do you do with your privilege?/Wasted PRIVILEGE?
Application:
?Do you fight endless political, personal, & spiritual battles in man’s power, OR in the power of the Holy Spirit of God?
?Is there PRIVILEGE that has gone to Waste in our/your Land?
?Is the Cycle—of your Land’s being Misled(& being the source for misleading others)—is that cycle broken with you?
2—The cycle must be broken in a misled land, due to it’s WASTED...
RESPONSIBILITY(16:1)
Explanation:(16:1)
16:1—“In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign.”
!If there is a Wasted PRIVILEGE, there is also a Wasted RESPONSIBILITY!
Pekah had reigned over the northern kingdom of Israel for seventeen years, prior to Ahaz’s ascension to Kingship of Judah.
*Kingship is about sovereignty...Total authority to do as one pleases.?•In America we are experientially ignorant of single-seated authority. Thus far, we have been able to intentionally maintain checks & balances to autocratic power.
*With kingship, comes a whole host of people who bolster & underwrite that authority.
*Therefore it is pertinent that the king is wise & levelheaded, & thus not prone to emotional decision making.
•And for you & me as God’s people, BEING ‘wise & levelheaded, & thus not prone to emotional decision making’, is directly bound to a person’s or government’s relationship with Christ Jesus!
Argumentation:
*1Kgs. 3:5-12—“At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; & God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” And Solomon said[in humility...]: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, & in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, & You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good & evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” The speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing.” Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, & have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise & understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you.”
*Prov. 31:1-9—“The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him: What, my son? And what, son of my womb? And what, son of my vows? Do not give your strength to women, Nor your ways to that which destroys kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Nor for princes intoxicating drink; Lest they drink & forget the law, And pervert the justice of all the afflicted. Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to those who are bitter of heart. Let him drink & forget his poverty, And remember his misery no more. Open your mouth for the speechless, In the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor & needy.”
Acts 1:8—Jesus exhorted His disciples/followers/people—“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; & you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, & in all Judea & Samaria, & to the end of the earth.””...
...AND with the great power of privilege, comes great responsibility!
Illustration:
*Apartment dwellers/IF only one person lives sloppily(food sitting out, floor uncleaned, toilet uncleaned, garbage uncontained, etc.), it is an open invitation to roaches & other vermin/These will spread to other apartments using your home as a base of operations/WASTED...RESPONSIBILITY
Responsibility & Irresponsibility are seen in dog ownership/If your dog is allowed to go poop on your neighbor’s property, OR root thru their trash, OR terrorize the neighbor’s in anyway...Then you have given in to Wasted...RESPONSIBILITY!
If you agreed to perform certain ‘jobs’ where you are employed, yet have chosen to disregard the company’s ‘agreed-to’ standards...Then you are a highly skilled ‘professor’ of Wasted...RESPONSIBILITY!
Application:
?Is there RESPONSIBILITY that has gone to waste in our/your Land?
?Is the Cycle—of your Land being Misled(& being the source for misleading others)—is that Cycle broken with you?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Statements of Benjamin Franklin regarding our need for God’s favor—“We've been assured in the sacred writings that unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it. I firmly believe this, & I also believe that without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.”
Action:
The cycle must be broken in a misled land, due to it’s WASTED...
1. PRIVILEGE(16:1)
2. RESPONSIBILITY(16:1)
Pt#s 1-2 Presented 01/30/2022am to:
New Covenant Baptist Church
1400 Stone Ave.
Kannapolis, NC 28083
Pastor—Roger Steadman
(Preaching arranged for the Pastor Search Committee from Fairview Baptist Church, Kinards, SC)
Pt#s 1-6 Presented 06/30/2019am to:
FBC Cbelle
206 SE Ave A(Storrs Ave.)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
