Our Constant Need Of Grace (2 Chronicles 20:31-37)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:09.189 --> 00:00:11.869 Well, if you have your bibles, you can turn to second chronicles, 2 00:00:11.949 --> 00:00:19.910 Chapter Twenty versus thirty one through thirty seven, or you can perk up your 3 00:00:19.989 --> 00:00:28.660 ears and listen carefully. Second Chronicles Twenty versus thirty one through the end of 4 00:00:28.739 --> 00:00:35.140 the chapter. This, by the way, ends the section here of Jehoshah 5 00:00:35.140 --> 00:00:47.250 fat's reign. So second chronicles twenty, verse Thirty One. Thus Jehosha fat 6 00:00:47.369 --> 00:00:51.039 reigned over Judah. He was thirty five years old when he began to reign 7 00:00:51.399 --> 00:00:56.880 and he reigned at twenty five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azuba, 8 00:00:57.359 --> 00:01:00.200 the daughter of Shulhee. He walked in the way of Asa, his 9 00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:04.590 father, and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in 10 00:01:04.750 --> 00:01:10.390 the side of the Lord. The high places, however, were not taken 11 00:01:10.430 --> 00:01:15.510 away. The people had not yet set their hearts upon the god of their 12 00:01:15.629 --> 00:01:19.819 fathers. Now, the rest of the acts of Jehosha fat, from the 13 00:01:19.939 --> 00:01:23.659 first, from first to last, are written in the chronicles Jehu the son 14 00:01:23.739 --> 00:01:26.379 of Hanani, which are recorded in the book of the Kings of Israel. 15 00:01:26.420 --> 00:01:32.969 After this, Jehosha fat, King of Judah, joined with a Hasiah, 16 00:01:33.170 --> 00:01:38.129 King of Israel, who acted wickedly. He joined him in building ships to 17 00:01:38.209 --> 00:01:42.209 go to Tarshish, and they built ship and they built the ships and as 18 00:01:42.290 --> 00:01:51.239 Eon Geber then Eliezer, the son of Dotovoo Vahoo of Marsha prophesied against Jehosha 19 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:55.959 fat, saying because you have joined with a Hasaiah, the Lord will destroy 20 00:01:56.120 --> 00:02:00.439 what you have made. And the ships were wrecked and we're not able to 21 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:16.139 go to tarshish. As I mentioned, we come to the end of the 22 00:02:16.180 --> 00:02:23.139 chroniclers, chronicling of the reign of King Jehoshah Fat. He gives us a 23 00:02:24.099 --> 00:02:30.490 sort of summary in versus thirty one through thirty three and then ties it up 24 00:02:30.530 --> 00:02:35.490 in a sort of neat bow and thirty four and then all of a sudden, 25 00:02:35.530 --> 00:02:38.889 there he sort of starts again, doesn't he adds one more story, 26 00:02:39.770 --> 00:02:46.960 one more explanation of of his reign. It seems a sort of odd, 27 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:52.360 at least to me. It feels out of place, but of course it 28 00:02:52.479 --> 00:02:59.430 isn't. God has written this book and has arranged it perfectly through this his 29 00:02:59.870 --> 00:03:02.750 servant, and there is a perhaps a reason for it, I which I 30 00:03:02.870 --> 00:03:13.020 want to suggest to you. But first let's remember what has happened, what 31 00:03:13.139 --> 00:03:19.379 we've learned about Jehosha fat's life, review sort of from a big picture perspective, 32 00:03:19.580 --> 00:03:23.939 what it is this presentation we've had of this particular reign of this king, 33 00:03:25.460 --> 00:03:29.289 because it comes to us as a whole, even though we've taken it 34 00:03:29.370 --> 00:03:34.849 in parts, in these various scenes and episodes of his life and his or 35 00:03:34.930 --> 00:03:38.409 his reign, but it comes to us as a whole and gives us, 36 00:03:38.610 --> 00:03:43.120 I think, a lesson that's important for us to learn as a whole. 37 00:03:44.840 --> 00:03:50.680 So let's review Jehosha fats life. When we start back, we have to 38 00:03:50.759 --> 00:03:55.750 go back to a chapter, seventeen. He follows the reign of his father, 39 00:03:55.870 --> 00:04:00.110 King Asa, who's mentioned at the end of Jehoshah fat's life. In 40 00:04:00.270 --> 00:04:03.830 the first part of the story of Jehoshah Fat, we read that he was 41 00:04:03.909 --> 00:04:09.789 a good king. Ja Follow. Jehoshah fat was someone who strengthened himself against 42 00:04:09.870 --> 00:04:15.500 Israel. You remember that the Kingdom of Israel was its name in the north 43 00:04:15.659 --> 00:04:20.139 and the Kingdom of Judah was in the south. Israel had defected from the 44 00:04:20.300 --> 00:04:26.370 Lord from Yahwei, had established its own priests, its own system of worship, 45 00:04:27.490 --> 00:04:33.250 had left the covenant. God's work was continuing on in Judah, in 46 00:04:33.370 --> 00:04:39.199 the south, under Jehoshah Fat. And so they find themselves at this unfortunate 47 00:04:39.240 --> 00:04:43.560 time where Israel's the enemy, and at the very beginning of Jehoshah fat's reign, 48 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:47.040 we read that he strengthens himself and his country against Israel, and it 49 00:04:47.480 --> 00:04:54.029 works well. We also read that he's not only fortifying the cities and the 50 00:04:54.069 --> 00:04:59.110 various fortresses, but he's also fortifying the souls and resolve of his people. 51 00:04:59.790 --> 00:05:05.509 He spreads the teaching of the word of God. He establishes the Covenant and 52 00:05:05.670 --> 00:05:10.740 its place in the life of his people. He sends out a teachers and 53 00:05:10.899 --> 00:05:16.860 desires that in every place it would be taught and and read. But as 54 00:05:16.899 --> 00:05:20.569 we move on in Jehoshah fat's life, we read of an unfortunate event. 55 00:05:23.209 --> 00:05:27.050 This comes, I believe, in chapter eighteen. Right in chapter eighteen, 56 00:05:27.129 --> 00:05:31.050 verse one, we read now Jehoshah fat had great riches and honor and he 57 00:05:31.129 --> 00:05:36.600 made a marriage alliance with Ahab. Now this is a problem and a little 58 00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:41.120 bit contrary to what we read in the first chapter, because a have was 59 00:05:41.399 --> 00:05:45.560 the king of Israel, this very country, and King in which he was 60 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:51.829 strengthening himself against and now he's entering into a marriage alliance. Typically, we 61 00:05:51.990 --> 00:05:57.910 think of marriage alliances, or marriage as we call it, as being something 62 00:05:58.029 --> 00:06:02.470 that's based on love and commitment. Often, though, in politics now and 63 00:06:02.709 --> 00:06:06.459 in the ancient world, it was based more on power, and it seems 64 00:06:06.500 --> 00:06:11.980 that this is what got to Jehoshah hat. He had strengthened his country, 65 00:06:11.980 --> 00:06:14.620 he had done well, he had riches, he had honor and now it 66 00:06:14.779 --> 00:06:19.089 was time to grow and so he makes this marriage alliance with Israel. He 67 00:06:19.209 --> 00:06:26.410 makes this alliance to strengthen his power and allies himself. Allies himself with one 68 00:06:26.449 --> 00:06:31.850 of the most wicked kings Israel will ever know. Good King Jehoshah fat and 69 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:43.120 King Ahab married in a sense. Ahab, we read in the rest of 70 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:46.670 that chapter, pushes him to go to war. He wants to go fight 71 00:06:46.870 --> 00:06:51.310 these various battles. And Ah, I'm sorry, Jehoshah fat is hesitant. 72 00:06:51.949 --> 00:06:56.870 I'm good. King Jeoshah fat is feeling a little uncomfortable with the plan, 73 00:06:56.910 --> 00:07:00.029 and so he says, let's call a prophet, let's find out what God 74 00:07:00.149 --> 00:07:03.620 has to say about this. And so they call a bunch of prophets, 75 00:07:03.660 --> 00:07:06.459 you remember, and they all say go, Ahab, go to battle, 76 00:07:06.540 --> 00:07:12.139 it's going to be great and and Jehoshah fat says, isn't there someone else 77 00:07:12.139 --> 00:07:15.370 still and they have complaints and they bring macaiah and Machaiah says, yeah, 78 00:07:15.370 --> 00:07:18.850 it's not going to go well, don't go, and they decide to go 79 00:07:19.769 --> 00:07:25.370 anyway. And you know what happens? AH PUSHES HIM to go to war, 80 00:07:26.129 --> 00:07:30.680 despite the word of the Prophet, and ultimately Jehoshah fat barely makes it 81 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:36.079 out alive. Ahab is killed and judgment for his wickedness, God spares Jehoshah 82 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:44.949 fat and he returns to a Jerusalem, the place where he belongs. So 83 00:07:45.069 --> 00:07:50.550 in Chapter Nineteen we read this this verse, Verse One. Jehosha fat, 84 00:07:50.709 --> 00:07:58.149 the King of Judah, returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. In 85 00:07:58.310 --> 00:08:01.899 some ways I think that it's right to read this as the Prodigal son coming 86 00:08:01.019 --> 00:08:05.339 home. He's been out making alliances about doing battles he shouldn't have been done, 87 00:08:05.379 --> 00:08:09.779 and now we read that he returns home. The king, Jehosha Fat, 88 00:08:11.259 --> 00:08:16.329 the King of Judah, where he belongs, returns in safety to his 89 00:08:16.610 --> 00:08:24.050 house in Jerusalem. We see how strongly the geography is emphasized there to remind 90 00:08:24.449 --> 00:08:30.360 us that this is where Jude Jehosha fat belonged and he was doing the right 91 00:08:30.519 --> 00:08:35.679 thing. And this is what happens. God preserves him and again he in 92 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:41.470 this next chapter nineteen. He strengthens himself in his country. The people flourish, 93 00:08:43.190 --> 00:08:48.669 he establishes justice and there's some good principles there. He calls his a 94 00:08:48.830 --> 00:08:54.549 people to courage and to confidence in the Lord. Things are going well for 95 00:08:54.909 --> 00:09:03.460 good King Jehosha Fat, despite his great mistake and even sins in a lot 96 00:09:03.539 --> 00:09:07.539 and making an alliance with Ahab. Well, this faith that we have in 97 00:09:07.659 --> 00:09:15.210 chapter nineteen is then is then tested in chapter twenty. This great multitude from 98 00:09:15.250 --> 00:09:20.889 Edom is bearing down on him and his country and we find out that Jehosha 99 00:09:20.970 --> 00:09:28.879 fats faith is proved true. It's a wonderful a wonderful accounts of faith, 100 00:09:28.960 --> 00:09:33.799 and I mean that in two ways. Joseph Fats faith is proved to first, 101 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:39.190 in that it is a genuine faith. He really believes this. He 102 00:09:39.429 --> 00:09:46.309 stands in the midst of uncertainty and and fear and danger and he remember what 103 00:09:46.429 --> 00:09:50.549 he says. He says, we know not what to do, but our 104 00:09:50.710 --> 00:09:56.500 eyes are on you. Jeoshah fat's faith is proved genuine. But there's another 105 00:09:56.580 --> 00:10:01.620 way that faith is proved true, and that is the faith, the thing 106 00:10:01.659 --> 00:10:09.610 in which Jehoshah fat's faith was placed, or the one rather, in the 107 00:10:09.769 --> 00:10:15.169 in which Jehoshah fats faith was placed, was proved true. In other words, 108 00:10:15.490 --> 00:10:20.330 God and whom he was relying proved reliable, in other words, for 109 00:10:20.409 --> 00:10:24.440 not only was Jehoshah fats faith genuine, but God, who he was trusting 110 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:28.759 in, was genuine. And God did exactly as he promised. He took 111 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:33.159 care of Jehosha fat, he took care of his people. They cried out 112 00:10:33.159 --> 00:10:37.830 to the Lord, they humbled themselves before God and the Lord. Fought their 113 00:10:37.870 --> 00:10:43.429 enemies and of course the Lord defeated them soundly. They didn't even lift a 114 00:10:43.590 --> 00:10:50.139 finger. They went out to battle. You remember, in worship, stand 115 00:10:50.259 --> 00:10:54.340 firm, Jehoshah fat says to his people, hold your position and God will 116 00:10:54.460 --> 00:11:01.259 fight on your behalf, and that's exactly what happened. So this is the 117 00:11:01.340 --> 00:11:07.289 the brings us now to the point we come to today, the very end 118 00:11:07.330 --> 00:11:15.409 of the chroniclers chronicle of Jehoshah fat's reign. We have this great account of 119 00:11:15.529 --> 00:11:20.799 his faithfulness and his goodness, his humility before God, his recognition of God, 120 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:26.039 as King, and we read in Verse Thirty One. Thus Jehosha Fat 121 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:31.480 Reign Dover Judah. He was thirty five years old when he began to reign, 122 00:11:31.600 --> 00:11:37.230 and he reigned twenty five years in Jerusalem. It described, gives his 123 00:11:37.350 --> 00:11:39.909 name of his mother, and then says in verse thirty two, he walked 124 00:11:39.950 --> 00:11:43.110 in the way of Asa, his father, and did not turn aside from 125 00:11:43.110 --> 00:11:50.700 it, doing what was right in the side of the Lord. We wish 126 00:11:50.740 --> 00:11:56.820 it would end there, but it doesn't. The chronicler goes on to say 127 00:11:56.419 --> 00:12:01.169 in verse Thirty Three. The high places, however, were not taken away. 128 00:12:03.090 --> 00:12:07.730 The people had not yet set their hearts upon the god of their fathers. 129 00:12:09.769 --> 00:12:13.610 That's a little bit surprising, I think, especially after the last chapter. 130 00:12:13.850 --> 00:12:18.919 They are all the people were calling out to God, asking for salvation, 131 00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:28.120 asking for victory, relying on him totally for what they needed. But 132 00:12:28.240 --> 00:12:35.710 yet there was sin that remained. High places is a euphemism or a way 133 00:12:35.990 --> 00:12:43.389 of describing these pagan worship sites that were set up throughout Israel, places where 134 00:12:43.509 --> 00:12:52.899 people would go to worship to Astra and other gods, and these were left. 135 00:12:54.659 --> 00:12:56.620 There was a sense, the chronicler tells us, in which the people 136 00:12:56.620 --> 00:13:00.730 were faithful and calling out to the Lord, and yet also a sense in 137 00:13:00.809 --> 00:13:05.370 which they had not yet set their hearts upon the god of their fathers. 138 00:13:05.529 --> 00:13:09.529 Perhaps the situation was somewhat like we see in the book of judges, where 139 00:13:09.570 --> 00:13:13.639 the people are calling out to the Lord, save us, save us, 140 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:16.279 we need you, we're desperate, and he saves them and he rescues him, 141 00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:22.960 and then they fall right back into the hands of foreign gods and foreign 142 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:33.549 worship and and idolatry. They had been rescued, but their hearts were not 143 00:13:33.750 --> 00:13:39.950 completely in the right place. Sin Still remained, at least to some degree, 144 00:13:39.029 --> 00:13:46.419 if not a completely intact it's hard to say exactly. But no matter 145 00:13:46.539 --> 00:13:48.299 what, we see that the grace of God has been in place. He 146 00:13:48.460 --> 00:13:54.419 is preserved, this king and his people, and Jehosha fat is labeled and 147 00:13:54.620 --> 00:14:00.090 and and not labeled, but characterized as one who has done well, he 148 00:14:00.169 --> 00:14:05.049 has done right in the side of the Lord. And then concludes in Verse 149 00:14:05.129 --> 00:14:09.360 Thirty Four. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshah fat are recorded here 150 00:14:09.480 --> 00:14:13.679 in this book. Again, you would think, well, this now is 151 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:18.320 the ending. Right, this is the final say. But then the chronicle 152 00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:24.039 or adds one more thing after this. Jehoshah fact, King of Judah, 153 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:31.190 joined with a Hasiah, King of Israel. What's this doing here? He's 154 00:14:31.269 --> 00:14:35.710 not supposed to be joining with the King of Israel. He already made that 155 00:14:35.870 --> 00:14:43.460 mistake. He saw what happened. Ahab died and this king likewise acted wickedly. 156 00:14:43.419 --> 00:14:48.500 And here Jehosha fat is again joining him in the building of ships to 157 00:14:48.580 --> 00:14:52.460 go to tarshish. You remember, this is where Jonah was trying to flee 158 00:14:52.580 --> 00:14:56.409 to. Didn't make it there either. Shipwrecks and all that. We'll not 159 00:14:56.529 --> 00:15:03.570 shipwreck, I guess. But Anyway, a prophet comes to Jehosha fat and 160 00:15:03.730 --> 00:15:09.000 this time he does the opposite of what he did before. Before he listened, 161 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:16.039 or least sort of listened. He told us of was. Well, 162 00:15:16.039 --> 00:15:20.799 I guess he did not. I think of it. He didn't listen when 163 00:15:20.120 --> 00:15:24.870 he and Ahab went into battle. He doesn't listen here either. And then 164 00:15:24.909 --> 00:15:28.190 the Lord says through his Prophet, because you have joined a Hasiah, the 165 00:15:28.269 --> 00:15:33.070 Lord will destroy what you have made. The ships were wrecked and we're not 166 00:15:33.230 --> 00:15:39.059 able to go to tarshish. To US least, US desert non nautical people. 167 00:15:39.139 --> 00:15:41.779 This may not seem like a big deal to lose a ship, but 168 00:15:41.899 --> 00:15:46.299 if you think about how it's characterized and you try to put yourself in their 169 00:15:46.340 --> 00:15:50.169 place, this likely was a big deal. They're not just building ships. 170 00:15:50.210 --> 00:15:54.409 That's this sort of put joint political effort that he's doing with this king. 171 00:15:54.009 --> 00:15:58.409 I'm likely this was quite a large deal, or else they wouldn't have gone 172 00:15:58.409 --> 00:16:03.490 in and done this work together. So not only are the ships destroyed, 173 00:16:03.649 --> 00:16:08.759 but the intentions of this alliance and this work and all the money and resources 174 00:16:08.840 --> 00:16:14.799 and whatever went into it was was destroyed, was taken apart by the Lord. 175 00:16:15.320 --> 00:16:22.710 So how do we characterize this ending? After an inspiring range, Jehoshah 176 00:16:22.750 --> 00:16:26.990 fats great leadership and especially in Chapter Twenty, we come to the end of 177 00:16:27.070 --> 00:16:32.110 his life, a time to pause and reflect on what he has done and 178 00:16:32.629 --> 00:16:36.460 the state of the people of God. And what do we find? We 179 00:16:36.700 --> 00:16:42.179 find that he was a good king, but he's certainly not perfect. The 180 00:16:42.259 --> 00:16:48.610 high places remained. We read in Verse Thirty Three and, just in case 181 00:16:48.730 --> 00:16:53.129 you might be tempted to downplay it, the chronicler warns us of the consequences 182 00:16:53.210 --> 00:17:00.090 of this kind of compromise by telling us this final story about an unholy alliance 183 00:17:00.759 --> 00:17:07.039 with the King of Israel that literally ends in shipwreck. I think this, 184 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:11.200 at least I'll suggest to you this might be one purpose of this final story, 185 00:17:11.400 --> 00:17:17.509 one reason the chronicler adds this. He's not just tacking it on as 186 00:17:17.549 --> 00:17:21.589 if he was a sloppy editor and says, Oh right, I forgot one 187 00:17:21.710 --> 00:17:26.470 more thing. PS. No, I think what he's doing is he concludes 188 00:17:26.630 --> 00:17:30.660 his story, but he doesn't allow us to sort of skip over that high 189 00:17:30.740 --> 00:17:37.140 places part. He doesn't allow us to say well, overall, good job, 190 00:17:37.180 --> 00:17:41.019 Jehosha fat, thumbs up. No, he tells us that there he 191 00:17:41.099 --> 00:17:47.809 reminds us of this one more story because he wants to characterize Jehoshah fat's reign. 192 00:17:47.930 --> 00:17:51.890 Is Good, but he wants to understand that the compromise in the sin 193 00:17:52.049 --> 00:17:57.210 that is still there will have its consequences. It's somewhat the purpose of the 194 00:17:57.250 --> 00:18:02.599 whole book of chronicles. It's meant to set before the people this kind of 195 00:18:03.079 --> 00:18:07.160 choice, this sort of sense of now that you have been exiled and out 196 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:11.519 into out of the land and been brought back and we're reviewing your history, 197 00:18:11.559 --> 00:18:18.589 we're retelling your history. Your called to make some decisions here. You're called 198 00:18:18.670 --> 00:18:23.230 to think about the consequences of your actions by thinking about the past, consequences 199 00:18:23.589 --> 00:18:30.099 of your past kings. God is telling Israel think about your history, know 200 00:18:30.380 --> 00:18:37.339 it, understand it and remember that the choices that you make have consequences us. 201 00:18:38.740 --> 00:18:44.690 I think this tells us and teaches us a very important lesson. The 202 00:18:44.809 --> 00:18:48.890 story of Jehoshah Fat's life is one of faithfulness, a great measure of that 203 00:18:49.049 --> 00:18:56.039 faithfulness being on Jehoshah fat side and a perfect faithfulness on God's side. But 204 00:18:56.160 --> 00:19:00.640 we miss the point of Jehoshah fat story if we see him as a hero, 205 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:07.359 as a good king, apart from God's constant guidance, protection and grace, 206 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:12.269 if we sort of think of God and Jehoshah Fat's life is a kind 207 00:19:12.309 --> 00:19:19.430 of added value or a or a bonus right that Jehoshah fat gets from time 208 00:19:19.589 --> 00:19:23.539 to time, we really miss the point of the story, and I think 209 00:19:23.579 --> 00:19:26.579 that's when reason, the Chronicler, adds this on the end, because it 210 00:19:26.900 --> 00:19:33.980 forces us not to miss that point. We cannot walk away without realizing the 211 00:19:33.099 --> 00:19:41.650 supremacy of God, even over this generally good king. Jehoshah fat is not 212 00:19:41.890 --> 00:19:48.130 ultimately the hero of the story. It is God, and this is important 213 00:19:48.170 --> 00:19:56.119 because because God is teaching us that, apart from him, apart from his 214 00:19:56.559 --> 00:20:02.799 faithfulness, our lives, the lives of those who lead us, end in 215 00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:12.750 shipwreck. They are destroyed in disaster, in judgment. Sometimes people like to 216 00:20:12.869 --> 00:20:18.309 think of God as a kind of optional add on for our life, a 217 00:20:18.509 --> 00:20:22.460 good thing. You know, that's nice to have. I'm good and having 218 00:20:22.500 --> 00:20:27.900 God in my life makes me great. This kind of general happy perception of 219 00:20:29.019 --> 00:20:33.140 ourselves with God sort of added on as a as a plus, as a 220 00:20:33.259 --> 00:20:37.210 bonus. My life is good, but you know, God really makes it 221 00:20:37.369 --> 00:20:42.289 better, as if God were like having a company car or a Christmas bonus. 222 00:20:45.250 --> 00:20:48.690 God is not like that. God is more like the air that we 223 00:20:48.890 --> 00:20:55.440 breathe, the ground that we walk on, the food that we eat. 224 00:20:56.559 --> 00:21:04.109 With him, we live, without him, we die. Jeoshah fats life 225 00:21:04.190 --> 00:21:08.829 reminds us of this, and it's a great picture of this. COMPARE HIM 226 00:21:08.910 --> 00:21:15.509 TO AHAB or to eat them, or to a Hasaiah. Under one king, 227 00:21:15.549 --> 00:21:18.500 under Jehoshah Fat, for example, you are safe, you are secure 228 00:21:19.339 --> 00:21:23.420 under a guy like a have despite his great power, despite as many armies, 229 00:21:26.180 --> 00:21:30.140 all the signs pointing to victory, you are being led to your death. 230 00:21:33.690 --> 00:21:38.170 JEHOSHAHATS life teaches us. It pictures for us God as our king. 231 00:21:38.930 --> 00:21:44.890 We need a king who is a great ruler, who is brings us safety, 232 00:21:45.289 --> 00:21:48.680 brings us life. But of course, with all of Jehoshah fhat's faults, 233 00:21:49.680 --> 00:21:55.200 to only follow him or to follow him as of course, no guarantee 234 00:21:55.240 --> 00:22:00.869 of perfect safety, of complete joy or something as grand as eternal life. 235 00:22:00.869 --> 00:22:07.109 JEOSHAPHAT was a good king, but that's it, and he made some very 236 00:22:07.230 --> 00:22:14.150 big mistakes, as we all do. What jehoshaphats life teaches us is that 237 00:22:14.269 --> 00:22:19.220 we ultimately need a king who is God himself if we are to have the 238 00:22:19.259 --> 00:22:25.700 kind of life that God wants for his people, a happy life, a 239 00:22:25.980 --> 00:22:33.730 holy life, an eternal life. We cannot have it through sinful men. 240 00:22:34.089 --> 00:22:37.369 We cannot have it no matter how good they are, no matter how wise 241 00:22:37.450 --> 00:22:41.490 they are, no matter how well they follow after the Lord. And if 242 00:22:41.529 --> 00:22:45.559 we can't have it of even the greatest men who have ever lived, we 243 00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:51.680 certainly can't have it in ourselves, who have the same sins and the same 244 00:22:51.880 --> 00:22:56.880 problems, in the same compromise and the same temptations that even the greatest of 245 00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:02.869 us do. So we are left with a question with the life of Jehoshah 246 00:23:02.869 --> 00:23:07.069 fat. How can we know the god of Jehoshah Fat? How can we 247 00:23:07.549 --> 00:23:15.180 live under his reign? How can we have him in the way that we 248 00:23:15.339 --> 00:23:22.420 need? Well, one sense, we can't. We can't go grab God, 249 00:23:22.500 --> 00:23:26.930 we can't go have God. He doesn't come to us on our terms. 250 00:23:27.049 --> 00:23:30.650 We can't have him in our way. As I've said several times now, 251 00:23:30.690 --> 00:23:34.930 he's not a bonus, he's not something we add on to our lives, 252 00:23:37.490 --> 00:23:44.960 but we can have him in the way that he gives himself to us. 253 00:23:47.319 --> 00:23:52.680 He did this when he gave us Jesus, the Dividitt King, to 254 00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:57.069 come after David, after Jehoshah fat, to sit on this great throne of 255 00:23:57.269 --> 00:24:03.309 God, to rule over his people. Jesus, as God and man, 256 00:24:03.390 --> 00:24:10.700 came as a king in order to surpass Jehoshah fat. It's one way to 257 00:24:10.779 --> 00:24:15.500 characterize what he came to do. He came to take Jehoshah fat's kingdom and 258 00:24:15.019 --> 00:24:22.259 just rise far above it, not just quand sitatively above it, but qualitatively 259 00:24:22.420 --> 00:24:32.609 above it, an entirely different kingship and eternal kingship and everlasting kingship, one 260 00:24:32.690 --> 00:24:37.720 that not only brings us salvation from earthly temporal enemies, but from death itself, 261 00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:45.880 from the pains of Hell Forever, from the judgment of God. And 262 00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:52.079 because this is not us going out and putting God onto our lives as an 263 00:24:52.119 --> 00:24:56.589 added benefit, but God coming into our lives and rescuing us. It changes 264 00:24:56.750 --> 00:25:02.269 things and it means that we who are in Jesus Christ know that we have 265 00:25:03.150 --> 00:25:10.940 eternal life, the light of God, the joy of Salvation, protection, 266 00:25:11.220 --> 00:25:15.259 guidance, the fortress that is God. That's who we have in him, 267 00:25:15.299 --> 00:25:21.490 and he can do all these things for us. He can save us in 268 00:25:21.609 --> 00:25:27.490 this way because he is God. He can do the thing that no merely 269 00:25:27.529 --> 00:25:33.970 human king, no sinful king, could ever do. Jesus could be perfect 270 00:25:34.009 --> 00:25:41.799 in a way Jehosha fat never was, because he was divine. Jesus could 271 00:25:41.799 --> 00:25:45.960 do something that Jehoshaphat never did, and that he didn't only teach the law, 272 00:25:47.359 --> 00:25:52.029 but he forgave our sins and made our hearts obedient by his spirit to 273 00:25:52.190 --> 00:25:59.470 the law. And all this he does completely imperfect by his sacrifice for sins. 274 00:25:59.509 --> 00:26:04.019 He dies, the death of Ahab that we deserved so that we can 275 00:26:04.099 --> 00:26:10.099 live the life of Jehoshah fat that he earns for us, except to in 276 00:26:10.180 --> 00:26:17.900 an unimaginably eternal degree, Jesus, through his obedience and his death, establishes 277 00:26:17.940 --> 00:26:23.210 in a kingdom that so far exceeds Jehoshah Fat. We can hardly imagine it, 278 00:26:26.289 --> 00:26:30.289 but we can certainly compare it to the perfect righteousness that he has that 279 00:26:30.410 --> 00:26:38.359 so far exceeds any kind of relative goodness that Jehoshaphat has. JEHOSHAT's life, 280 00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:44.240 in other words, teaches us about the strength and the faithfulness and the constant 281 00:26:44.319 --> 00:26:52.309 grace of our God, who lived and died for us to give us a 282 00:26:52.390 --> 00:27:03.900 kingdom by His grace. So do you know this king is an important question. 283 00:27:04.180 --> 00:27:10.460 Do you know Jesus as he is told, as we learn of him 284 00:27:10.460 --> 00:27:15.849 in scripture? I certainly hope so, given all he is given, all 285 00:27:15.930 --> 00:27:19.250 that he came to do, all that he promises to give to us when 286 00:27:19.289 --> 00:27:26.609 we repent and believe on him. But if you don't know him, if 287 00:27:26.690 --> 00:27:33.720 you don't believe him, it's time to consider your life. It's time to 288 00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:41.559 think deeply about your sinful hearts, your proclivity to love yourself the way in 289 00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:48.269 which you're controlled by your desires, your constant, constant, unending needs and 290 00:27:48.509 --> 00:27:56.269 your constant, constant uninability to meet them. This is our life apart from 291 00:27:56.349 --> 00:28:03.900 God. You have to take that seriously. But it's also time to consider 292 00:28:03.980 --> 00:28:10.980 what God promises to do for those who reject the life of Ahab to, 293 00:28:11.259 --> 00:28:17.250 who reject the rejection of God and instead turn in repentance and faith toward God. 294 00:28:18.569 --> 00:28:26.680 Instead of death and fire and eternal judgment, we are given life and 295 00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:33.000 peace and safety and security here and now, in our lives and forever. 296 00:28:37.400 --> 00:28:41.829 To live apart from Jesus means to live apart from God, as we read 297 00:28:41.910 --> 00:28:52.269 earlier in Matthew. In Matthew Eleven, Jesus says people know the father through 298 00:28:52.430 --> 00:29:02.779 me. You must know Jesus. He's not going to settle to be a 299 00:29:03.019 --> 00:29:10.410 part of your life like make up on a dead person. In Jesus, 300 00:29:10.529 --> 00:29:18.450 God is our life. He is our life like resurrection from the dead. 301 00:29:18.490 --> 00:29:29.160 Jehoshaphat was a good king whom God used to teach us of, the perfect 302 00:29:29.160 --> 00:29:36.240 king, of the final king. There's no other king coming, there's no 303 00:29:36.440 --> 00:29:41.390 one else to wait for. So I called you repent of your sins, 304 00:29:42.230 --> 00:29:52.460 believe in King Jesus now and know that you will be saved. Let us 305 00:29:52.500 --> 00:30:03.460 pray our father, you, your grace and your mercy is outstanding.