PREPARED NOT YOUR HEART TO SEEK GOD
2 Chron. 12:1-14
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. PSYCHOLOGY 101. In a class on abnormal psychology, the instructor was about to introduce the subject of manic depression. She posed this question to her students: "How would you diagnose a patient who walks back and forth screaming at the top of his lungs one minute, then sits down weeping uncontrollably the next?" A young man in the rear raised his hand and suggested earnestly, "A football coach?"
2. THE DONKEY.
a. One day a boy saw a farmer selling a donkey for $100.00. The boy told the farmer he would pay the money if the farmer could deliver it to his house. The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day but when he arrived at the boy's house there was no donkey. He told the boy that the donkey died during the night. Saddened, the boy asked for his money back. "I'm afraid I have already spent the money." the farmer said. "Well, then just give me the donkey." said the boy. "What are you going to do with a dead donkey?" asked the farmer. The boy told the farmer he would think of something, so the farmer delivered the donkey the next day.
b. The next month the farmer saw the boy and asked him what he ever did with the donkey. "I made $895.00 off of that thing." the boy said. "How could you make that much money off of a dead donkey?" the farmer wanted to know. The boy said, "I didn't tell anyone he was dead at first. I just put up signs around town that said I was going to raffle off a beautiful donkey for raffle tickets that cost $5.00 and I sold 200 tickets." "Wait a minute", said the farmer, "you said you made $895.00 but if you sold 200 tickets at $5.00 each that's $1,000.00. After you subtract the $100.00 you paid me you should have made $900.00". "You're right", said the boy, "But when the winner found out the donkey was dead he was a little upset so I gave him his money back." (The boy grew up and became the CEO of Enron.)
B. TEXT
"After Rehoboam's position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the LORD. 2 Because they had been unfaithful to the LORD, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam. 3 With twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen and the innumerable troops of Libyans, Sukkites and Cushites that came with him from Egypt, 4 he captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem. 5 Then the prophet Shemaiah came to Rehoboam and to the leaders of Judah who had assembled in Jerusalem for fear of Shishak, and he said to them, "This is what the LORD says, 'You have abandoned me; therefore, I now abandon you to Shishak.' " 6 The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, "The LORD is just." 7 When the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, this word of the LORD came to Shemaiah: "Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but will soon give them deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak. 8 They will, however, become subject to him, so that they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands." 9 When Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem, he carried off the treasures of the temple of the LORD and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields Solomon had made. 10 So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. 11 Whenever the king went to the LORD's temple, the guards went with him, bearing the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom. 12 Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the LORD's anger turned from him, and he was not totally destroyed. Indeed, there was some good in Judah. 13 King Rehoboam established himself firmly in Jerusalem and continued as king. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his Name. His mother's name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite. 14 He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the LORD. NIV 14 “And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.” KJV
C. THESIS. Solomon's son Rehoboam, despite all his advantages, did not "prepare his heart to seek the Lord." How do you prepare your heart to seek God? What are the benefits of preparing your heart?
I. ADVANTAGES REHOBOAM HAD
A. HIS GRANDFATHER DAVID
1. David was the “sweet psalmist of Israel”, who walked with God, and wrote 73 Psalms of worship to God.
2. David was a great fighter and general, who took the Israelite nation from a 3rd rate nation always fending off stronger adversaries, to a regional power who defeated every nation from Egypt to the Euphrates River and established a peace/dominance that lasted 40 years.
3. David was the godliest king Israel ever had (heart after God) and was chosen as type and ancestor of the Messiah. Rehoboam didn’t know his grandfather David, for he was 1 year old when David died, but he lived under his legacy.
B. HIS FATHER SOLOMON
1. HAD 2 DREAMS FROM THE LORD. He built the Temple and ministered in the presence of the Lord.
2. Solomon, by God’s gift, was wiser than any man who ever lived except Christ & wrote at least 3 books of O.T., including the Book of Proverbs that should have given Rehoboam good judgment.
3. Solomon also reigned in peace over all his enemies and was one of the wealthiest and most powerful kings of all antiquity.
4. Solomon was 28 years old when Rehoboam was born and Rehoboam heard Solomon’s wisdom for 41 years before he became king.
C. SUMMARY. Rehoboam had the privilege of a godly heritage, and more power & wealth than most of the kings of ancient history.
II. DISADVANTAGES REHOBOAM HAD
A. HIS MOTHER NAAMAH
1. His mother was Naamah, an Ammonitess. The Ammonites were the perennial enemies of God’s people; a race born of incest (Lot and his youngest daughter) and under a curse – as a source of bad influences and worldly thinking to godly people. Her ancestors hired Baalam to curse Israel! God stopped balaam, but couldn’t stop the influence of Naamah upon her son Rehoboam, a future king of Israel. None can imagine how lasting and fatal the consequences of being unequally yoked with unbelievers.
2. It was strange that David would marry his son Solomon to an Ammonitess (for it was done while he lived), but it is possible that Solomon was in love with her, because she was “Naamah,” “a beauty,” and his father was unwilling to cross him. Outward beauty without inward godliness is a deceptive thing. “Like a gold ring in the pig’s snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.”
B. A BACKSLIDING FATHER. The Bible tells us that when Solomon was old, he let his foreign wives persuade him into making temples for their gods. Although Solomon had been good most of his life, he faltered in the end. It may be that Solomon’s error at the end of his life affected Rehoboam and made him a person who thought nothing of leaving Jehovah out of his life.
III. GREATEST ERROR: NOT SEEKING GOD
A. VERDICT OF “EVIL”
1. Verse 14 says that Rehoboam “did evil”, but it doesn’t mention any of the normal things we associate with O.T. kings doing evil as the reason for the label. As a matter of fact, Rehoboam wasn’t half as bad as many other Kings in the Old Testament! He didn’t remove the Ark of the covenant from the Temple and put idols in its place. He didn’t remove the Levites from their ministries or discontinue the sacrifices made at the Temple. He didn’t burn his sons in the fire and I can’t recall a place that it says he worshipped any other God than Jehovah, yet it says he did evil. In what way did he do evil? Not even his bad mother and backsliding father are blamed for his evil.
2. No, the reason given was, “because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord!” He did evil, not because of something which he did do, but because of something he did NOT do!
B. EXAMPLES OF HOW HE DIDN’T SEEK GOD
1. HE DID NOT BEGIN HIS REIGN SEEKING THE LORD.
a. Solomon began his reign by asking for wisdom and his wisdom became proverbial; but his foolish son of his didn’t ask for wisdom. The scepter was there, so he grasped it; there was the empty throne, so he sat upon it. He was enamored with the grandeur becoming the king over Israel, with its pomp and splendor. Probably he never thought of commencing his career by asking God’s blessing upon it. All of us, in beginning anything new, should prepare our hearts to seek the Lord.
b. This young man Rehoboam felt that he needed some kind of guidance, yet he didn’t seek the Lord, but he called together a number of counselors. It’s a good idea to seek counsel from wise men, but not to the neglect of the counsel of God! He heard his father’s wise counselors, but because his heart wasn’t in the right place, he rejected their counsel, and followed the foolish advice of the younger men like himself. Usually when people don’t go to God for counsel, they usually accept the very worst form of advice.
2. Because his heart was not right towards God, he imitated his father Solomon in his faults.
a. Rehoboam gave himself to many wives, building cities, storing provisions, preparing to withstand future invasions – all fine and good, but not really, because those preparations took him away from God. I like to see men who work hard and accomplish things in life, but not if it pulls them away from God.
b. “But,” someone says, “can’t a man work to build his business?” Yes, but only if his higher motive is cultivating relationship with Christ and by his life bringing glory to the God who made him, and to Christ Jesus who redeemed him with his precious blood.
c. If you don’t prepare your heart to seek the Lord and if you’re good because you happen to be around Christian people, then when you switch circumstances where you’re not surrounded with Christians, you’ll fall to those new temptations. Quit depending upon somebody else’s backbone; get your own.
3. Because his heart wasn’t in the right place, HE COULDN’T WITHSTAND TEMPTATION, and had to suffer the consequences for it.
a. He began well; in the first three years of his reign Israel still worshipped God, and so he prospered. His apparent reverence for God brought the Levites and sincere believers from other regions to come live in his kingdom.
b. But as soon as he began to prosper, he began to grow proud. So growing proud, he began to forsake the Lord and the people, following his evil example, did too. In consequence of this, God brought up Shishak from Egypt.
c. His vacillation. You see how readily Rehoboam went, first towards God, then towards idols, then back to God, but as soon as Shishak was gone, he again walked away from God. There was not anything real and permanent in his faith; it didn’t grip him. He held it sometimes, but it never held him.
d. Friends, there are a lot of people like Rehoboam in churches now. They get into church and they feel the power of God in a service and pledge to do right, then they run into a worldly friend who talks them into going to a club or a party and then they’re persuaded to follow the world’s template. The result is falling into evil, as the old proverb is, “He who doesn’t take a stand for something will fall for anything.”
IV. WHAT IS “PREPARING THE HEART TO SEEK THE LORD?”
A. FIRST, TO FEEL MY NEED OF GOD. Faith speaks & prays.
1. How can I, a creature, do without my Creator? The God who gave me life and breath and holds my life in his hands! Like the song says, “I need the every hour!” “Our life is but a vapor.” Our hearts have to beat so many times a minute, and our lungs have to draw air many times a minute or we will die. Do we really think we can do without God? Are we really that strong that we can ignore Him?
2. We must be conscious of our need; may the Spirit of God prepare us to seek the Lord by giving us a deep sense of our desperate need of God’s mercy! We need to be right with God.
B. NEXT, TO CRY OUT TO GOD FOR HELP. “Lord, save me! God be merciful to me a sinner! Renew my heart, change my nature, subdue my stubborn will, and make me thy child!” Prayer prepares the heart to seek the Lord, and you will never seek him if you do not pray to him. In fact, prayer is an essential exercise in seeking the Lord.
C. A SUBMISSION OF OURSELVES TO HIS GUIDANCE. “Here I am, Lord; make me what I ought to be. I agree with your Word; I delight in them, help me to fulfill them joyfully. I yield my pride and lay at your feet my preferences and will, and ask You now to guide me in the right way.” SURRENDER.
D. THE ACCEPTANCE OF GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION. He who would live the right kind of life must come to God, and say, “God, You give eternal life to as many as believe in Jesus Christ, Your Son. Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” This is the true way of preparing the heart to seek the Lord.
E. TO SERVE GOD ALWAYS WITH THOUGHTFULNESS & CARE
1. This means not serving God haphazardly, but carefully, knowing that our eternal salvation hangs in the balance of our watchfulness. Many fail to continue to serve the Lord because they take their eyes off of the prize/the goal/the objective they are supposed to be striving toward.
2. If you were to going to visit the King of England, you would prepared carefully, and learn the correct conduct when entering Her Majesty’s presence. How much more is this necessary to properly seek the King of Kings & Lord of Lords! Every holy duty ought to be thought over carefully. Our prayers, our giving, etc. should be done in the right manner, at the right time, and in the right spirit.
3. Heaven should not be a matter we blunder into. If it required the blood of the Son of God to pave the way, and the eternal Spirit to give us liberty and resurrection power to make it possible, then it is a matter of great importance and demands our most solemn attention for the attainment of eternal life, or we may fail to secure it. “The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.”
4. We need to ask ourselves, “Is my heart prepared to seek the Lord? Is my heart really involved in my faith? Do I try to serve God with all my heart? Is it a matter of serious thought, or is my religion all upon the
outside?”
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: Power of Jesus’ Blood
1. INS News Service reported that Rose L. McMullin has traveled from coast to coast, donating her blood for more than 400 transfusions in 40 states. Why? Because she is one of the very few persons whose blood can resist the staphylococcus blood virus. She carries in her bloodstream antibodies unique to her that saves other people from death.
2. But there is one Person whose blood transfusions can do even more, Jesus Christ. WHAT COLOR FLAG ARE YOU WAVING?
1. Some years ago a terrible railroad accident occurred, killing a lot of people. A commuter train had stalled on the tracks just a few minutes before a fast freight train was due to arrive. The conductor was quickly sent to flag down the approaching train.
2. Those on board the commuter train weren’t concerned. After all, the railroad workers had everything under control. They just sat quietly, some even took a nap, while others sipped coffee and read the newspapers.
3. Then the unthinkable happened. The fast freight was seen just yards away and still traveling fast. It smashed into the rear of the commuter train, sending wreckage in ever direction and screams from dying passengers. Train cars were stacked and thrown around like toys, but under them and around them were dismembered bodies and corpses everywhere.
4. The engineer on the freight train had survived by jumping out of the cab of the locomotive just moments before the impact. He was brought to court in the investigation of the accident to explain why he had not stopped when he saw the conductor flagging him down.
5. Listen to his answer, “I saw the man waving a flag, but it wasn’t red, it was yellow and yellow flags mean slow down, not stop. I slowed down, but continued forward until I saw the back of the commuter train, but it was too late to stop before we could reach the train in front of us. I could do nothing at all, so I jumped.”
6. The warning flag was then introduced as evidence and it truly was no longer bright red. It had been red at one time, but because of long exposure to the sun and weather it had become a dirty yellow. Neglect and abuse had turned a powerful warning into a deadly mistake.
7. People are on their way to hell. What color a flag are we waving to warn them?
B. ALTAR CALL
1. Let’s make sure our faith is not only skin-deep! Some of us have failed to seek the Lord, and like Rehoboam, have gotten into a world of trouble for it. Have you lost the ten tribes? Has Shishak come against you?
2. Remember, Rehoboam did not prepare his heart even after he had been attacked by the king of Egypt. Chastisements are lost upon some people. Maybe it is the first time you’ve been out since a serious illness. Thank God you didn’t die, but don’t think the danger is over!
3. Some of you may have been in a car wreck. You cried out, “Save me Lord!” I will turn over a new leaf.” Is your new leaf an improvement on the old one? You were saved from the jaws of hell; have you prepared your heart to seek the Lord?
4. Quit vacillating like Rehoboam. Say, “I’m going to take a stand for God; I’m crossing the line; I’m burning my bridges and leaving all indecision behind.
