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| Underestimating the Power of the Current - Ayles Creek - near Mt. Celo Church |
My Lessons and Applications from Today's Readings
When Godly Influence is Removed - 2 Chronicles 23 and 24 - All of the Davidic royal line - the line of the Promised Messiah - have been killed by the "wicked" queen mother, Athaliah, except for a one-year-old child, Joash. He is hidden away by his aunt, the half-sister of the evil, murdered King Ahaziah. This aunt is also the wife of the godly priest, Jehoiada. For 6 long years during the reign of terror by the queen mother, the hope of the Davidic Covenant, the Promised Messiah, seems lost. Baal worship takes over the temple of God. Then the priest, Jehoiada, strengthens himself, makes a covenant with the captains and leaders of the land, gathers the Levites and chief fathers of Israel to Jerusalem. They set an armed guard around the child (now age 7), crown the young prince, give him the Testimony, and covenant with him, the priest and the people that they should be the LORD's people. The shouts of rejoicing are heard by the queen mother who comes to investigate, sees the prince alive and crowned king, and claims treason. The priest has her killed outside of the temple, and the people of the land rejoice, the city is quiet, and Joash reigns 40 years. He repairs and restores the temple, takes down all idols of Baal, has the priest of Baal killed, and "did what was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoida the priest." BUT Joehoida dies, King Joash listens to the advice of others, leaves the house of the LORD and serves wooden images and idols. The LORD sends prophets to warn the king and the people, "but they will not listen." The godly priest's son, Zechariah is filled with the Spirit of God and tells them they cannot prosper. "Because you have forsaken God, He has forsaken you." They stone Zechariah to death, Syria comes against Joash, wounds him, takes all the spoil to Damascus (a small Syrian army against the much larger forces of Judah) and then the king is killed by his own servants...a great beginning blessed by God; a disastrous ending forsaken by God.
Heeding or Rejecting Godly Counsel - Acts 18:1-28 - Just as King Joash refused the godly counsel of the prophets and Zechariah, the Jews of Corinth also refused Paul's reasoning and teaching that Jesus Christ is Lord. They killed Zechariah and will eventually kill Paul, but for this season they only oppose and blaspheme him. The Lord appears to Paul in a vision and tells him his life is secure in this place and that he is to speak, not be silent, not be afraid. He has joined with Priscilla and Aquilla in Corinth where he remains for a good while. He then sails for Syria and Ephesus with them. Apollos, a Jew from Alexandria, "an eloquent man...mighty in the Scriptures...instructed in the way of the Lord...fervent in the spirit...spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John...spoke boldly in the synagogue." Priscilla and Aquilla "heard him, took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately." He listened and "greatly helped those who had believed through grace; for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ."
My Lessons and Application - This is the pattern of the kings, of the people - and of us. There are the rare exceptions, but once the kings (we) are prosperous, established and blessed by God, they (we) turn from Him to idols. It may have been wooden images then; it is materialism now. Their families (as we will see with the family of Joash in the coming chapters) and their nations are destroyed. We refuse to listen to reason, to godly counsel. "Pride, narcissism, and greed destroy the fiber of society, especially the covenant relationship among the tribes." (This is from the Geneva Study Bible commentary on Isaiah 9:20-21 that speaks to the root cause of this pattern of godliness digressing to apostasy. These same character flaws are destroying the fabric of our society as well - especially the covenantal relationships of marriage, family and church. With our lips we proclaim Him, but with our actions we deny Him. As long as we remain with a godly influence - anchored in the Word of God, in prayer and communion with God, surrounded by, counseled by, listening to godly mentors - we have less chance of drifting. As Charles Stanley says in the commentary of the Life Principles Daily Bible, "it takes a great deal of effort to stay on track with God, because you're constantly fighting the world's current. When we get tired or lazy (or arrogant) - or we lose the person who helps us stay on track - we're all in danger of neglecting our relationship with Him...of drifting...which means heading for trouble."
Avoiding the Disaster of Drifting - Dr. Charles Stanley - Life Principles Daily Bible - pg. 856, says "We prevent ourselves from drifting by 1) anchoring to the Word of God; 2) obeying the Word of God; 3) surrendering our life to God; 4) by being on guard. If you don't change your course, you're ultimately going to destroy your life like King Joash did. But, if you get right with God, you'll be back on track to experience his very best for your life." For more information, you might want to watch Dr. Stanley's message, "Staying on Track."
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