1st Free Will Baptist Date 2-26-06
"THE CAUSE OF DECLINE" PASTOR Gene Cullum
I Kings 22:51-53, II Kings 1:1-4 & 17
Notice how far Israel has drifted, and how there is a gradual decrease in the sensitivity of their worship of God...
Ahaziah’s name means "JEHOVAH HATH GRASPED" he was the son of King Ahab and his wicked wife Jezebel... He was the 8th King of Israel... Ahaziah was a worshipper of Jeroboam’s calves, his Mother’s Idols...
Now, Remember, Ahaziah is a King of Israel, YET, He Lost The SENSITIVITY of the Worship of the Great God Jehovah. He COMPROMISED, and EXCHANGED It For the Worship of Idols!!!
So Now Elijah is sending him a "Wake-Up Call!" "Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron..." (v3)
I’m afraid what we see happening in the world today is exactly what happened in the world of Ahaziah, and that is, A Gradual Decrease in the Sensitivity of our worship of God...
Let Me Ask You This. Where Will Your Children Be In Their Worship of God A Generation or Two From Now, Based On The Way You Worship Him... LISTEN: Whether We Like It Or Not, We Are Setting The Pace For How Our Children Feel Toward God, and How They Worship Him...
What Could Cause A Group of People, God’s People To Drift To That Place Where They Lose Their Sensitivity of Worship??? Let’s Look at Ahaziah’s Example and Learn From Him What Caused This Decline in the Worship of God!!! Notice FIRST of All, It Was:
I. INITIATED IN THE HOME: "He walked in the way of his father." (I Kgs. 22:52)
To Most Children, their Dad is their hero... (There are a few exceptions, but for the most part, Children Admire, and Imitate their Father, especially the Sons...)
Dad, How You feel about Spiritual Things will Determine How Your Child Feels... (Again there are exceptions, but they are slight...)
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A) It Begins When We Lose The Sense of Worship of God...
We no longer see Him High & Lifted Up, we have tried to Drag Him Down To Our Level, He No Longer Reigns Supreme...
We Don’t Sing "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY Lord God Almighty! Early In The Morning Our Song Shall Rise To Thee; We Sing "GOD IS GOOD, GOD IS THE MAN, And We’ll Get To You Whenever We Can!"
The World Is Losing What Little Sensitivity They Had Toward God, and the Church is not far behind...
What is the secret of idolatry, which down through the ages has taken such a hold upon the human heart??? Such people as the Hebrew People, who Descended from Abraham, who lived so entirely under the power of the invisible God!!!
They had the Passover as a constant reminder of God’s Existence and Power, and the Ten Commandments as a constant reminder of God’s Mind & Will... Why Is It That They So Soon Forgot God and Sunk into the Degrading Worship of Heathen Idols???
Now before you judge the Hebrews too harshly, Let’s Look At Ourselves more closely...
B) We Must Ask OURSELVES WHY???
WHY Is It, that men & women Who Know that Christ died for them, and therefore Know the priceless value of their immortal souls will still says No to His Forgiveness and Mercy???
WHY Is It, That Those Who Hear in the name of Christian a Constant Reminder of the Son of God, Who have the Precepts of the Gospel as the highest code of morality ever taught to man Will Still walk in their sinful ways as if there isn’t a God in Heaven Who Will Call Them to Account for their Actions???
WHY Is It, that Christians also seem to Forget God, Reject His Everlasting Mercy, and Fail to heed His Wise Counsel???
WHY Is It, that those who claim to Love God will deliberately go against his Loving, Chastening Hand??? Why are there so many that are living Worldly Lives, and So Few who read their Bibles and Even Fewer Who Obey Its Teachings???
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WHY are there so many who claim His Name, who will spend Hundreds, even Thousands of dollars on entertainment and pleasures and never blink an eye, yet won’t give much if any to further the cause of Christ???
TRULY it can be said that our Nation is Declining, going after strange gods, BUT THE CHURCH IS RIGHT BEHIND... I Say Again, IT BEGINS IN THE HOME!!! We Have LOST The SENSITIVITY of Worship!!! NOTICE The SECOND Reason for Decline Is:
II. ILLUSTRATED BY THE LEADERSHIP: (I Kgs. 22:52 "...made
Israel to sin..."
Ahaziah was simply playing follow the leader... His Father Ahab was a Cowardly, Sniffling, Crybaby of a King Who Hid Behind His Evil Wife Jazebel’s Skirttail, Who Hated God’s Prophet and Intentionally and Willfully Did Evil In The Sight of God, AND AHAZIAH DID THE SAME...
You can see how he reacted To Elijah’s Message... (vs.9-15) He was simply followed the mode & methods of his wicked Mother and Father...
Now when the Bible says: "And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin..."
Does that mean Israel was FORCED to do as he did? No! It just means that as a Leader, He INFLUENCED His Followers...
UNDERSTAND THIS!!! If You Are A Leader, Whether In The Home, In the Church, or In the Community, You Have A Certain Amount of INFLUENCE!!! If You Are Following The Lord and Are Obedient To His Word, It Will Be Godly Influence, If Not, It Will Be Self-Centered or Ungodly Influence...
When we as Christians, especially Leaders, Officers & Teachers place such little emphasis on our Responsibilities and Positions, We Are Teaching Others To Do The Same...
Are We Losing the SENSITIVITY OF WORSHIP??? ILLUSTRATED in Israel by her Kings, ILLUSTRATED in the Church by the Membership, especially the Leadership!!!
FAITHFULNESS To The Cause of Christ Will Cause An Increase In The Kingdom, and Help BUILD the Church, UNFAITHFULNESS Will Cause It to STAGNATE...
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So the Choice is yours!!! Are you going to be a HELP or a HINDRANCE??? Remember You Have A Certain Amount of INFLUENCE...
The Cause of Decline, It is INITIATED IN THE HOME, ILLUSTRATED IN THE LEADERSHIP, And FINALLY It Is Evident In The:
III. INABILITY TO DETECT THE HAND OF GOD: (v3) "Is it not because
there is not a God in Israel, that you go to inquire of Baalzebub the
god of Ekron?"
Elijah’s was God’s spokesman, His Message Was God’s Message, It began with: "THUS SAITH THE LORD!" BUT STILL Ahaziah Would Not Heed the Warning, WHY? He Had Drifted & Declined In His SENSITIVITY of God, Until He Was UNABLE TO DETECT THE HAND OF GOD...
Ahaziah had Drifted to a place where He Could Not Detect The Hand of God... He Does NOT "Set His House in Order, Nor Does He Prepare To Meet His God!!!
In Fact, When the messengers He Sent Out Return With A Message From Elijah, He Becomes FURIOUS & DEFIANT!!! YET He Died, Just As God Said He Would...
Ahaziah Defied God When in Health, and Now He Defied God On His Deathbed, With An INABILITY To Detect The Hand of God!!!
So the Final Chapter is Closed On Ahaziah’s Life, and a Sad Chapter It Is, It Could Have Been Different, BUT IT WASN’T!!! He Could Have Prospered as a King BUT HE DIDN’T, So With The Closing of His Life We See The DECLINE, We See What Caused The Decline It Was: INITIATED IN THE HOME! ILLUSTRATED BY THE LEADERSHIP, and Finalized With An INABILITY TO DETECT THE HAND OF GOD!!!
CONCLUSION: The Bible Tells The Record of Ahaziah’s Life... What Kind of Record Will You Leave Behind When You Go To Meet The Lord?
What Are You Doing With The Position You’ve Been Given? How Are You Influencing Those Who Are Following You?
