The Man Who Would Not Listen

The Man Who Would Not Listen

2 Kings 14:11…Amaziah, however, would not listen

Palm Sunday Jesus Shows Up

It was Palm Sunday and Sue’s five year old son had to stay home from church, with a neighbor, because of strep throat.

When the family returned home carrying palm branches, he asked what they were for.

His mother explained, "People placed them on the ground as Jesus walked by."

"Wouldn’t you know it," the boy said, "The one Sunday I don’t go, Jesus shows up!"

Opening:

The idea of listing and hearing is of extreme importance throughout the Bible. We all make mistakes, and fail the do God’s will perfectly, but when we refuse to listen to His correction or direction than we will find ourselves in a real mess. The real problem is, God is speaking but few people are listing.

Ill… Basketball

Over the years, I coached various church basketball teams and always had the same challenge, players who just would not listen to any coach. They where extremely talented and often the better players on the team but I could not use them much because they would not listen.

Jay was one of these types of boys. He would press instead of setting up the defense, shoot instead of pass and often run his own play instead of the team play. I liked Jay but I often had him on the bench beside me instead on the court.

Every instructor knows the heartbreak of a gifted student who would not yield to advice. Every parent knows the pain of having a prodigal who must have his or her own way.

I.) Good Start:

First Example of listing to instruction: 2 Chronicles 25:1-4… Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years… 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, but not wholeheartedly. 3 After the kingdom was firmly in his control, he executed the officials who had murdered his father the king. 4 Yet he did not put their sons to death, but acted in accordance with what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the LORD commanded: (Deuteronomy 24:16) "Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sins."

2nd Example of listing to instruction: Amaziah recruited an army and also hired some mercenaries from Israel.

2 Chron 25:7-10... A man of God came to him and said, "O king, these troops from Israel must not march with you, for the LORD is not with Israel-not with any of the people of Ephraim. 8 Even if you go and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to overthrow."

Amaziah asked the man of God, "But what about the hundred talents I paid for these Israelite troops?"

The man of God replied, "The LORD can give you much more than that."

So Amaziah dismissed the troops who had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home. They were furious with Judah and left for home in a great rage

2 Kings 14:7 tells us what happened: … He was the one who defeated ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt …

The joy of the troops celebrated the victory. The king taught a beautiful lesson of obeying the word of God and listing to the prophetic voice of the spirit. The king listened and obeyed, God was faithful to fulfill his promise.

II) Listing Directives: … Jesus said… Matt 7:24-27 …"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." (from New International Version)

Did you catch the key statement here? One house survives the storm and one does not. One listens and one does not.

Wisdom instructs us to listen carefully and then obey. Personal righteousness does not happen because somebody requires and commands it of us. People do not live pure lives due to warnings and threats.

Personal right standing with God must come from the choices we make. We hear God speaking and choose to listen to Him.

Three essential points: When the freedom to choose presents itself to us, we need to remember: