Jump Start # 690

1 Kings 22:8 “And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘there is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.’ But Jehoshaphat said, ‘Let not the king say so”

The king of Israel was in alliance with the king of Judah. Together they were going to fight Syria. Combined they were powerful. The king of Judah insisted on seeking a prophet who would inquire of the Lord. He would not wage war without the Lord’s permission and approval.  About four hundred of the king’s prophets were in favor of going to war. These spineless false teachers would say anything that the king wanted to hear. They did not know God let alone represent Him. They had no idea what the Lord thought about all this. The king of Judah was not satisfied. He wanted a prophet of God to give approval. This is where our verse comes in.

Micaiah is the lone prophet of God. The king of Israel had a history with him. It wasn’t pleasant. The prophet didn’t say what the king wanted to hear. The prophet had spoken what the Lord truthfully had said. The king viewed it as nothing more than the prophet speaking evil of him. He hated that prophet.

That same spirit lives today. If someone doesn’t speak pleasing words to the ears of others, he is rejected and hated. They did this to John the Baptist. He was imprisoned and eventually executed because his words of truth were not received well. Jesus experienced this. The crowds twisted and changed what He said. Their envious hearts led them to crucify Jesus. When the crowd listening to Stephen heard things that they did not like, they covered their ears and rushed the pulpit. Stephen was executed. Paul experienced this. Some in his audience sneered at his preaching.

Hating the messenger because of the message—that ‘s what this is all about. Today, folks do not pick up rocks and throw them. Instead they leave and do not return. The organize a group of like mind and they rally enough voices to fire the preacher. Mostly, what people do is look for a church that will present a message that they like. Ear tickling preaching is what some are looking for and somehow they seem to find it.

Stopping the messenger does not change the message. Stephen was killed with rocks. John was beheaded. Paul was imprisoned. Jesus was crucified. Each being opposed by the audience that heard them.

It takes a heart of conviction to speak the truth when the audience doesn’t want to hear that. Biblically, that is considered boldness. Boldness has nothing to do with volume. It is not blasting a false idea on the other side of the planet. It is speaking the truth to the audience gathered. It is speaking with the intention of helping, changing, and moving them to the Lord. We need to encourage our preachers, young and old, to do just that. Our reaction to the sermons we hear can cause some to shake in their boots. Some start thinking about the possibility of being fired, of having to move, of how they will pay for mortgages and braces and how much their kids like the school that they attend. Those thoughts enter the mind of the preacher. It causes those with weak convictions or great fear to soften down the message, to speak in generalities that will allow offenders to slip by, and to save their careers and keep their jobs. This is not a call to be rude, offensive or stupid. It is the call to speak the truth. Speak the truth about sin. Speak the truth about marriage. Speak the truth about Jesus. Speak the truth about salvation.

Some won’t like that message. Some may even hate you for that. So be it. My thoughts about all that is, tell those who don’t want to hear the truth to stand in line with the rest of them who aren’t interested in doing what the Lord says. Peter was told not to preach Jesus. He preached Jesus. Paul was dragged out of a city and left for dead. He got up and entered back into that city.

Soft preaching builds soft churches and soft faith. Let’s not be concerned about being safe, let’s do what is right.

God bless the Micaiahs’ who tell the truth. God bless that spirit that doesn’t fear the king. God bless the heart that is more interested in God than a paycheck, a sure job and a pleasing crowd. God bless them because they are speaking God’s saving message to a lost world. God bless them because the truth they teach, even though it may cut, heals and restores a lost soul to God.

Are you one to encourage the Micaiah’s out there? Or, like the King of Israel, do you trample his spirits and stand in the way of the good that he is trying to do? Most young preachers quit because of discouragement more than any other reason. Some day, those discouragers will have to account for that. Help those that hang in there and keep plowing God’s field. Be one that they can count upon. Be a friend to truth.

Roger

Jump Start # 689

1 Kings 21:25 “Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife incited him.”

There’s hardly a more wicked couple in all the Bible than Ahab and Jezebel. They were a continual thorn in the flesh to Elijah. They promoted the worship of Baal, killed the prophets of God and promoted wrong and evil with every step that they took. Jezebel ran the nation. She killed so her husband could get some land that he wanted. She signed his names to papers. She had no respect for God or His ways. In time, they both died violent deaths.

There are people just like this couple today. It’s not that they don’t care for religion, they are obsessed with making life hard on anyone who does. They love to mock, ridicule, make fun of, and put believers in very uncomfortable situations. It is like a sport to some. They can be nasty and mean at the same time. When they get in positions of management, they spew their hatred of religion upon all who are under them. They have an agenda to force all believers to quit and they will stop at nothing until they accomplish that. It’s always a dark day when Jezebel is around. Some of you know exactly what I mean. You suffer greatly because of this. You try to be kind, but they are hostile. You go out of your way and they slam you. They take credit for the good you do and pass the blame on to you for the wrong that they do. It’s hard to be civil. Busting them in the chops comes to your mind more than once. You don’t and you feel bad about thinking that way, but life would be so better off if they moved to Iceland.

Ahab sold himself to do evil. What a sad commentary. What price did he have to pay to accomplish that evil? The price everyone must pay…with his soul. What follows is BECAUSE. He sold himself BECAUSE Jezebel incited him. She talked him into it. She pressured him. She led him into wrong. He is responsible. He is the king. He is the husband. He should have set her out with the trash, instead he became trash as she was. Can you tell that I don’t like Jezebel? Her kind abounds in college campuses where under the title of professor, she ridicules all believers in the Bible. She is elected into political office where she sets forth a social agenda that aborts babies, legalizes homosexual marriages, allows the use of drugs and would close all churches if she could get away with it. The spirit of Jezebel lives on. She hates Jesus. She has no use for Jesus. She is profane in her talk, loose in her morals and ungodly in her attitude. Jezebel—she is Satan’s daughter, even though she was created by God in His image.

What does a person do when they encounter Jezebel? You can’t punch her, even though that sounds good. She may be your professor, your boss, your congressman, your president, your neighbor, or worse, your sister-in-law or, daughter-in-law. You can’t always ignore them. You can’t always avoid them. You can’t always exclude them. Situations force your paths to cross. You and Jezebel. It’s enough for a major headache. It unnerves you, upsets you, steals your sleep, your appetite and your health. You and Jezebel.

First, pray. Do this often. Pray for something to happen. Pray for peace from her. Pray for her to change her heart. Pray for understanding. Pray for patience. Pray for you to remember that you are salt and light in this world, even her world.

Second, consider and reflect upon Scripture. You are not the first to deal with Jezebel. Actually, Elijah was. See what he did. Learn from him. David had his King Saul, who acted like a Jezebel, at times. See what David did. Jesus had the Pharisees. See what the Lord did. These lessons will help you. You will notice good and bad.

Third, be yourself. Don’t change because Jezebel wants you to. Don’t be a coward nor silent simply because she likes that. Be yourself. Remember, if she hates you, it’s the Lord she really hates. Remember Peter’s words to the suffering Christians, “rejoice.”

Fourth, overcome. That is the key word in Revelation, the book written to Christians who lived under the thumb of Rome. Overcome through faith. Overcome through righteousness. Overcome through hope.

One of three things will happen: either Jezebel will die, or, you will die, or the Lord will come. Anyway you look at it, the situation will change. It will not carry over into eternity.

Finally, one thing we often forget to do, pray for Jezebel’s soul. She’s not living right. Her life would be so much better if she walked with Christ. Pray for her. That’s hard. That’s praying for  your enemies, but that is exactly what the Lord wants. Invite her to church services. She might explode, but invite her anyway.

There are Jezebels. We must remember that we are Christians. That never changes.

Roger

Jump Start # 689

1 Kings 21:25 “Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife incited him.”

  There’s hardly a more wicked couple in all the Bible than Ahab and Jezebel. They were a continual thorn in the flesh to Elijah. They promoted the worship of Baal, killed the prophets of God and promoted wrong and evil with every step that they took. Jezebel ran the nation. She killed so her husband could get some land that he wanted. She signed his names to papers. She had no respect for God or His ways. In time, they both died violent deaths.

  There are people just like this couple today. It’s not that they don’t care for religion, they are obsessed with making life hard on anyone who does. They love to mock, ridicule, make fun of, and put believers in very uncomfortable situations. It is like a sport to some. They can be nasty and mean at the same time. When they get in positions of management, they spew their hatred of religion upon all who are under them. They have an agenda to force all believers to quit and they will stop at nothing until they accomplish that. It’s always a dark day when Jezebel is around. Some of you know exactly what I mean. You suffer greatly because of this. You try to be kind, but they are hostile. You go out of your way and they slam you. They take credit for the good you do and pass the blame on to you for the wrong that they do. It’s hard to be civil. Busting them in the chops comes to your mind more than once. You don’t and you feel bad about thinking that way, but life would be so better off if they moved to Iceland.

  Ahab sold himself to do evil. What a sad commentary. What price did he have to pay to accomplish that evil? The price everyone must pay…with his soul. What follows is BECAUSE. He sold himself BECAUSE Jezebel incited him. She talked him into it. She pressured him. She led him into wrong. He is responsible. He is the king. He is the husband. He should have set her out with the trash, instead he became trash as she was. Can you tell that I don’t like Jezebel? Her kind abounds in college campuses where under the title of professor, she ridicules all believers in the Bible. She is elected into political office where she sets forth a social agenda that aborts babies, legalizes homosexual marriages, allows the use of drugs and would close all churches if she could get away with it. The spirit of Jezebel lives on. She hates Jesus. She has no use for Jesus. She is profane in her talk, loose in her morals and ungodly in her attitude. Jezebel—she is Satan’s daughter, even though she was created by God in His image.

  What does a person do when they encounter Jezebel? You can’t punch her, even though that sounds good. She may be your professor, your boss, your congressman, your president, your neighbor, or worse, your sister-in-law or, daughter-in-law. You can’t always ignore them. You can’t always avoid them. You can’t always exclude them. Situations force your paths to cross. You and Jezebel. It’s enough for a major headache. It unnerves you, upsets you, steals your sleep, your appetite and your health. You and Jezebel.

  First, pray. Do this often. Pray for something to happen. Pray for peace from her. Pray for her to change her heart. Pray for understanding. Pray for patience. Pray for you to remember that you are salt and light in this world, even her world.

 Second, consider and reflect upon Scripture. You are not the first to deal with Jezebel. Actually, Elijah was. See what he did. Learn from him. David had his King Saul, who acted like a Jezebel, at times. See what David did. Jesus had the Pharisees. See what the Lord did. These lessons will help you. You will notice good and bad.

  Third, be yourself. Don’t change because Jezebel wants you to. Don’t be a coward nor silent simply because she likes that. Be yourself. Remember, if she hates you, it’s the Lord she really hates. Remember Peter’s words to the suffering Christians, “rejoice.”

  Fourth, overcome. That is the key word in Revelation, the book written to Christians who lived under the thumb of Rome. Overcome through faith. Overcome through righteousness. Overcome through hope.

  One of three things will happen: either Jezebel will die, or, you will die, or the Lord will come. Anyway you look at it, the situation will change. It will not carry over into eternity.

  Finally, one thing we often forget to do, pray for Jezebel’s soul. She’s not living right. Her life would be so much better if she walked with Christ. Pray for her. That’s hard. That’s praying for  your enemies, but that is exactly what the Lord wants. Invite her to church services. She might explode, but invite her anyway.

  There are Jezebels. We must remember that we are Christians. That never changes.

  Roger

Jump start # 688

2 Kings 7:9 “Then they said to one another, ‘We are not doing right. This is a day of good news, but we are keeping silent; if we wait until morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come, let us go and tell the king’s household.”

Our passage today is part of a very interesting story that has many layers to it. The scene takes place near Samaria. There was an intense famine in the land. The Bible calls it a “great famine” (6:25). The writer gives us two bleak images of the impact of this massive famine. First, there was an outrageous price for donkey’s head and dove’s dung. The thought is not that these are delicacies that only the affluent ate. Dove’s dung is called something else by kids. They will say, “bird poop,” and that’s what it is. Why eat that? Because there is nothing else to eat. It’s eat that or die.

The other picture given by the text is even worse. A baby boy was boiled and eaten by two women. And one complained to the king that the other woman wouldn’t kill and eat her son the next day. Cannibalism, the desperate measure people go through to stay alive. This was the scene in Samaria.

It gets worse. The Syrian army had surrounded the city. They were just sitting there waiting. War. Famine. Death. The look was bleak for Israel.

There is one more element that gets worse. Our passage is about four lepers who are outside the city. Leprosy the dreaded disease that was a death sentence. Their presence outside the city indicates that they had been isolated. If the folks in the city are not eating, these four lepers were not receiving any food from anyone there.

These four lepers decide to go into the Syrian camp. If they are killed, they are going to die anyway—either by the famine or by the disease. They go. God caused a mighty noise that scared the Syrians. They thought Israel had help from Egyptians and Hittites. They Syrians fled, leaving their camp and leaving their food. These four lepers find a feast. They find salvation. It is here that our passage is found. They realize that it is wrong for them not to go and tell Israel. Salvation has come.

Powerful story. Better than any movie—because it’s real and it’s from God!

1. This reminds us that problems do not come one at a time. It would be nice if they did. It would be nice if the problems waited until we had one solved and had a little break before the next came. Famines and Syrians at the same time. Leprosy, famines and Syrians. Health problems, national problems, domestic problems. Problems at work, home and church. These times can stretch us and hurt us inside and outside. No relief. No help. Only problems. Things can seem so dark. The shadows in the valleys we pass through can overcome us. Those valleys seem to last a long, long time. We are not the only ones to experience this. We are not the first to travel this road. What these four lepers learned was that God was still on the throne. Don’t turn from God, turn to Him. Worship often. Pray daily. Read His word. Surround yourself with His people.

2. Help is often found in unusual places. Who would have thought that going to the enemy there would be help. The Syrians did not have a change of heart nor a kind spot toward lepers. They ran because God caused that. God may do things that sends us to some places we would never dream of but there help is found. As we read these verses it is easy for us to simply pray that God sends food down like He did for Moses in the wilderness or, at least have someone multiply food, like Jesus did. We pray and pray and that’s not what God has in mind. We can even get upset and think that God is no longer with us. A trip to the Syrian camp was the help. Don’t give up on God nor think that He can only do things the way you want them done. God uses people, sometimes even the enemy to accomplish what He wills. Don’t limit God. Don’t put God in a box.

3. This is a day of good news! What a wonderful expression. That ought to be our thought for every Sunday—it is a day of Good news. The word ‘Gospel’ means, “good news. These four sick men realized that they had hope. It wasn’t right to keep it to themselves. They could have. They could have eaten all the food. They could have kept all the spoils that they found. Much would have gone to waste if they chose that direction. Instead, they shared the good news. Isn’t that our story and our message? We have been saved by Jesus. We have hope. We were like the four lepers who were on a death sentence. Jesus saved us. Do we keep that message to ourselves? Is it only for us? Or, do we go and tell our nation, our families and our friends? Share the message—that’s what we need to do. They realized that they were doing wrong by keeping silent. The good news had to be spread.

When we have this passion ourselves, we will tell all about Jesus.

This is a day of good news!

Roger

Jump  Start # 687

2 Kings 6:12 “One of his servants said, ‘No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”

There are more miracles preformed by Elisha than any other person in the O.T. Nearly every page we read of this prophet doing something. He rescued an axe head that fell into the Jordan River by making it float. He cured Naaman’s leprosy. He made the widow’s oil to be multiplied. Our verse today is yet another one.

The Syrians were fighting Israel. Every move that the Syrians made was known and countered by Israel. The king of Syria that he had a spy within his inner circle. Our verse reveals the truth. Long before high tech bugging information, the words of the king were known by Elisha. God provided this information. This allowed Israel to survive. How difficult this would have made every action of the Syrians. The expression, “words that you speak in your bedroom,” implies the most quiet and secret of things. Even there, where very few had access, the words were known. This king was doomed to fail. How can you lead armies without commands and orders. If those commands were known in advance by the enemy, he was dead in the water.

There are two lessons here—not about Elisha, but about God.

First, God is for His people. He has protected them, rescued them, helped them all through the Bible. The cries in Egypt were heard by God. The pleas of the disciples in a sinking boat were heard by God. The pleas of the slain saints under the altar in Revelation, were heard by God. The people of God often face opposition and difficulties, but they do not face it alone. God is their God. This does not mean that every individual lived, but it did mean that the cause of God was not thwarted. The Egyptians couldn’t do it. The Babylonians couldn’t do it. The Romans couldn’t do it. Do you start to see something here? God cannot be overcome. When He promises that His kingdom will endure, it shall. When He promises that Satan will be defeated, he will be. Great is our God.

Second, the words spoken by the Syrian king were heard by Elisha. That was possible because of God. The words that we speak are heard by God. The things we whisper, text, email, blog or even think. God knows. We can wear masks that hide our real feelings, but God knows. We teach our children the cute little song, “Be careful little eyes what you see…” There is truth in that song. Our words sting if we do not use them carefully. Our words reveal the real us. God knows. This tells us the value and importance of being truthful, sincere, honest and kind in our thoughts and words. God knows.

Gossip is gossip—whether it is spoken on the street corner or whispered in the bedroom. Mean things are mean things. Hurtful things are hurtful things. Kind things are kind things. Compliments are compliments.

This passage is important for us to remember. It’s easy to mumble things under our breath. God knows. He also knows when we are thankful. He knows when we praise Him. He knows when we pray.

There is no one like God—

Roger