2 Kings 8 - God Uses Us Unexpectedly and In Relationships

2 Kings 8

I want to start with a cute story about how the kids in Sunday school say some funny things, like “Mr Keef, Mr Keef, can we do a dance challenge today?”   Or how so often, even this Sunday, they show me their owees and I get to pray for them, right then and there, and say, “Lord bless it, dear Lord heal it”.  Julie and I chuckle all week as we banter back and forth about the cute stories from Sunday school, “did you hear what so and so said?”  In fact we still chuckle over some things the kids said from 12 or 13 years ago.  We do the same thing with things our own kids said as well.

What does any of that have to do with the study tonight?   You’ll see...

2 Kings 8:1-6
These stories from the Old Testament are historical, real stories that happened.   We have this follow-on story about the Shunamite woman whose son had been restored to life by Elisha.   The note I put in my margin here says, "the story continues..."   Just the story itself on face value, tells us a lot about the nature of God.     We’re going to learn about that.

POINT 1: God can use you unexpectedly
Here in the text, we get to see how Elisha ministers to this same woman again.   Elisha is getting pretty old by this time.   In chapter 13, we see Elisha’s final hours on earth.   In God’s economy though, there is no such thing as retirement.   We can be used by God whenever and wherever He wants.   We can even be used after we’re dead and gone.   That’s what the men are learning about at the quarterly Men’s Legacy breakfasts.   My point though is; don’t just be open to God’s assignments, pray for them. Ask for Him to give you a task for the day, and then watch for the opportunity He places in front of you.

POINT 2: More often than not, God uses us in the context of relationships.
Elisha and this woman already have a strong relationship.   Remember how the woman had asked her husband to build a little room with a desk and a lamp and a cot for Elisha to stay in, whenever he passed through town?   I can tell you from experience that God uses me mostly in the context of existing relationships.   For example, more than once, people have come by my cubicle at work, to tell me of a problem they’re going through, and we’ve prayed together right there.   Also, this reminds me of Life Group.   We develop relationships; we laugh together and cry together and encourage each other.

POINT 3:  God's Nature
On the one hand, God is holy, righteous and just, and He called for the famine.   On the other hand, God is rich in mercy and full of compassion and God spares this woman from losing her son, again.   God, through Elisha, gives this woman the heads-up, "hey get out of town, there's a famine coming".  We want to receive inside information just like she got.  We might not have an Elisha nearby, but what’s stopping us from inquiring of the Lord.  Proverbs 25:2 It is] the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings [is] to search out a matter.

QUESTION: What are some causes of famine?
ANSWERS: drought, pestilence, war
QUESTION: From behind the scenes, what are some causes of drought, pestilence and war?
ANSWERS: It could be a judgement for sin, or a warning wake-up call for revival.

If we offend God by sinning against Him, there will be consequences.   Remember, we learned in Romans chapter 8, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”.   But, Galatians 6:7 says, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life”.

God can and does use natural events, such as famine for punishment, or correction.   In general though, not every bad thing that happens is for punishment or correction.   Bad things in the form of tribulations are promised to us by Jesus.   Just living in a fallen world; sometimes there will be collateral damage, but God is absolutely in control, and He will use those things for His purposes.

POINT 4: God’s Timing is Impeccable
Whenever we’re in the middle of some trial or tribulation, God’s timing is never to our liking.   But notice how at the right time (there are no coincidences with God), just as the Shunamite woman heads to the King to make an appeal for her house and land, Gehazi is in with the king, and the king asks, Gehazi to tell him all the great things Elisha did.   So Gehazi starts telling the story of the Shunamite woman whose son had been restored to life, and right then the woman shows up.   Gehazi is like, “and this is her”.

Rewind for a second, some two, three or four years earlier, the Shunamite woman is living among the Philistines; certainly not God’s favorite people, and almost certainly the woman herself was discriminated against, possibly bullied.  Away from family, friends and her home, she was put in an uncomfortable situation, to say the least.   All that to say, in the midst of the difficult times, when you’re under severe stress and pressure undergoing trial and tribulation, that is a time for you to exercise your spiritual muscle of “faith”.   We think of exercise as putting in the ear buds and getting on the treadmill, or the low-impact elliptical machine.   But it’s not always like that.  Let me give you a silly analogy from something recently in my own life.   I’ve been doing some concrete work around my house.   You know, if it’s a place where weeds grow, why not just fill it in with cement…   Anyways, I jokingly told Julie at the end of the project, those 80 pound bags of concrete were starting to get light.   It wasn’t fun during the project, but the more I used my muscles, the less they objected.   Those bags of concrete weren’t light, but they were lighter.   So it is in trials and tribulations, God is putting our faith to the test, and we come out the other end with stronger faith.   So, God would have us trust Him in His timing.

2 Kings 8:7-15
In their culture, if you were going to show honor to someone, you’d bring them a gift (in this case a camel-load of gifts).   Elisha tells Hazael that BenHadad will recover from this sickness, buuuuut he’s gonna die.   Huh?   That’s a strange thing to say.   What he’s saying is the sickness isn’t going to kill him, but something else will.   Then Elisha stares Hazael down; almost as if to look into his soul.   Hazael loses the staredown, and Elisha weeps, knowing what Hazael is going to do.   In New Testament terms, Elisha has a “word of knowledge “.   But Hazael makes this kinda strong denial, saying, “What am I a dog, that I should do this gross thing?”   How much are we like this?   Even as Christians, when God reveals to us some area of sin or depravity, my first inclination is denial.   We don’t want to hear it.   Jeremiah 17:9-10 says, “the heart of man is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it?   Then the answer comes “I the Lord search the heart, and I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings”.   So, as I grow as a Christian, I become more aware of how sinful I am.   I do become more sensitive to my sins, failures, missteps, etc.    But not so with Hazael, and he kills Benhadad by smothering him with a wet towel.

POINT 5: It is God Who Reveals Things
We need to understand whatever we know, we know it's because God has revealed it.

Mark 4:21-23 NASB — And He was saying to them, “A lamp is not brought to be put under a fnbasket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? “For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Deuteronomy 29:29 — The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Proverbs 25:2 — It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

POINT 6: The Gospel of “the Kingdom” is Foreshadowed in the Old Testament (specifically here in Kings)

One of my guiding, principles in understanding the Bible is from Psalm 40:7 (ref. Hebrews 10:5-9).   So, If I see Jesus on every page, it’s because He’s there.   So, one of the characters in this chapter is referred to as the "son", and that son was “restored to life” AKA “resurrected”, does it remind you of someone?   We can take this even further, after the son is restored to life, he’s taken away for a time, and when he returns He will take rightful ownership of what is His.

So, when it says in First Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.   3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures

So my question to you is where in the scriptures is it foretold that Jesus would rise from the dead on the third day?

With that in mind I want to go through some new testament scriptures about the resurrection:

Matthew 16: 21, From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

John 10:17 “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”

Acts 13:33 God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.’ 34 And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus: ‘I will give you the sure mercies of David.’ 35 Therefore He also says in another Psalm: ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.’

Romans 1:3-4 Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

1 Corinthians 15:12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Philippians 3:10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death

Suicide is not an option

This is the obit of a friend of mine.    Sad, sad, sad...

Christopher David Ward Dec. 28, 1967-Aug. 2, 2009

Christopher David Ward was born on December 28, 1967 in St. Louis, Missouri to Phillip Albert and Van Pearl Ward. He was the youngest of 10 children. Chris spent his childhood in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. In 1986 he joined the navy and in 1990, he was stationed in to Seattle, Washington where he made his home. Most of his career was in the mortgage industry. For the last five years he was a valued employee at Mortgage Advisory Group in Everett, WA. His love of God and family was of utmost importance in his life. Chris' many hobbies included motorcycling, crabbing, fishing, scuba dive, hunting, fishing, snowboarding, and vacations with his family. Chris was always quick to lend a helping hand to those that needed it, without asking for anything in return. Chris was an important part of many people's lives and will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him. He leaves behind his wife, Amber of six years; sons, Alex 11, and Gabriel 5; and daughter, Lyvia 3. Chris also leaves behind his parents, Phillip Albert and Van Pearl Ward; six sisters, Teresia Rushing, Angela Williams, Cindy Williams, Laura McGee, Vicki Rayfield and Terrie Stone; and three brothers, Jason Rushing, Joseph Rushing, and Phillip Ward; along with numerous nieces and nephews as well as many friends. Services will be held for Chris at 3 p.m., Friday August 7, at North Shore Christian, 5700 23rd Dr. W. Everett, WA. Reception is to follow. All are invited. In lieu of flowers, donations will be accepted at Mortgage Advisory Group in Everett for Alex, Gabriel and Lyvia Ward at 2902 Colby Ave. Everett, WA 98201.

Published in The Herald (Everett) from Aug. 6 to Aug. 7, 2009.

Devin and Dan on the green belt trail

as Devin and Dan were whittling away on a 30 foot tall dead cedar I shared the gospel with them.

Devin paced back and forth the whole time.   Just to show how someone who says they don’t believe in God, can’t think or act consistent with that profession, as I left, Devin yelled, “hails satan”.

God bless...

Backstreet Boys

one of the biggest crowds I’ve seen at angel of the winds arena heard the Gospel last night.

Very little heckling but very little encouragement as well.

Handed out almost three hundred Gospel tracts.

God bless...

Romans 5:1-2 and Romans 6:11

 Good morning. For this communion meditation, we’re going to look at Romans 5:1, 2 and Romans 6:11. Please turn to Romans 5:1,2 first.

To introduce myself, I'm Keith and I'd categorize myself in the age bracket where I'm pretty much on the downhill side of life. I don't mean that in a bad way; life is good, I just mean in terms of age, I'm certainly well beyond any potential halfway point. I'm
comfortable with that. I mean that's just where I am; there isn't anything I could do about it anyway.

Something you might find, if you're in a conversation with someone of my age or older is that the topic of conversation might at some point, tend toward our latest health issue or medical condition. You're probably already going "oh brother,
here he goes, boring".

So I apologize in advance, but I want to use a short snippet from my heart attack story, as an illustration for the text of Romans 5:1,2. It's been almost 4 1/2 years since the incident; it was the morning of May 7, 2015. I was having chest pains, and my wife drove me to the Swedish Medical Center in Mill Creek. They did an EKG and quickly ascertained, "yes Mr. Reed, you've had a heart attack", but they don't have the equipment at that facility to provide any treatment for a heart attack, so they called an EMT and I got a red lights and siren ride to the Swedish in Edmonds. Problem was the traffic on the I5 was backed up the whole way there, but we made it in a jiff because they got special access. Then, when we arrived at the hospital, they wheeled me out of the ambulance, in through the automatic sliding ER doors, down a hallway, and directly into the operating room. That's as much of the story as you get right now.

The point is my condition warranted special access on freeway and direct access at the hospital. Under normal circumstances, you don't get any special access on the freeway , and you certainly don't get direct access at the hospital, but I was as good as dead.   My condition was dire.

Romans 5:1-2 out of the NKJV, says Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

If you are not a believer/follower of Jesus Christ, I’m glad you’re here. Welcome! With all gentleness and respect, you’re in dire condition. Just like I was, only spiritually. Ephesians 2:1 says, we’re dead in your trespasses and sins. In Mark 2:17, Jesus said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” So, if you’d recognize your need to be wheeled into the operating room of heaven, you can receive life, true life, eternal life (heaven when you die) and new life (abundant life) for the here-and-now. You might be saying to yourself, I'm not a sinner. I'm a pretty good person.

Let’s do a simple exam to see if you exhibit any of the symptoms. Have you’ve lied? Have you ever taken something that wasn’t yours?   Have you ever used God’s name in vain, or according to Jesus is even just looked with lust at someone who isn’t your husband or wife. If you've broken any of those four of the Ten Commandments, you'd be guilty before God as a lying, thieving, blasphemous adulterer at heart. That’s bad news, but the good news is, Jesus died on the cross for your sins. Now you’ve probably heard that, but do you understand the legal implications of it. You and I broke God’s law, and Jesus’ paid our fine in His life’s blood. I'm just saying, come clean to God. Cop to your crimes (that’s repentance), and place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone. When you do that, you’ll be what’s called “born again”. You’ll pass from death to life, from darkness to light and God himself will give you a new heart that beats to the rhythm of God’s heart with new desires to know, love, follow and please God. And do it today, because none of us is guaranteed tomorrow.

While I was preparing this meditation, I got to this point, and I was like, “uh-oh, where do I go with this now?” I want to be able to say something encouraging to you believers in Jesus; but we already have immediate and direct access to God. Period. Okay, let me repeat that; if you are a believer in Jesus, you have an anytime/anyplace all-access pass to God. To keep with this theme of death and dying. So I’m going to cherry pick one verse from Romans chapter 6. Romans 6:11 Paul writes, Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

One aspect of our growth in the Lord comes by dying to our self.

In Luke 9:23-24 Jesus echoes the same concept, …whoever loses his life for My sake, will save it, and in John 12:24 unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John the Baptist said something
similar in John 3:30 “He must increase but I must decrease”.

In Galatians 2:20 Paul writes, I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

In Colossians 3:5 Paul writes, Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.

Anyways, dying to self is not just difficult, it’s impossible naturally, which is why we need the Holy Spirit to supernaturally work in us, to help us yield our lives more fully to Him. It comes by faith. You came to salvation by faith and you walk by faith. It’s a process of faith. So here’s my exhortation, ask God to help you surrender your life more fully into His control. Just like Jesus prayed in the Lord’s prayer, “Thy
will be done”. Have faith, He will. He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.  

1 Kings 20

Right now, in this existence, within time, we aren’t guaranteed life will be an easy go.   In fact, we aren’t guaranteed much of anything. You know the old saying the only sure things in life are death and taxes, but some people avoid taxes, so guess what we all have to look forward to.   Anyways, we aren’t guaranteed to be well off financially, health-wise or any other way. Ultimately, in our troubles, our trials, our failings, our tribulations, we are intended and purpose-built to bring glory to God.   Really, we have no glory of our own, we’re meant to reflect God’s glory. That’s what it means to be created in God’s image. We represent Him in some small way.

1 Kings 20

1 Now Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his army, and there were thirty-two * kings with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and besieged * Samaria and fought against it. 2 Then he sent messengers to the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, "Thus says Ben-hadad, 3 'Your silver and your gold are mine; your most beautiful wives and children are also mine.' " 4 The king of Israel replied, "It is according to your word, my lord, O king; I am yours, and all that I have."

I’ll be honest with you, that would not be my response.   You can mess with me, but don’t mess with my wife or kids.   In fact my response to this proposal would probably not have been very Christian.   Julie will recall at least one situation where I didn’t respond very Christ-like when I felt she was being physically targeted.   I can recall at least one story where Julie came on like a mama-bear when one of our sons was threatened.

5 Then the messengers returned and said, "Thus says Ben-hadad, 'Surely, I sent to you saying, "You shall give me your silver and your gold and your wives and your children," 6 but about this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants; and whatever is desirable in your eyes, they will take in their hand and carry away.' "

Oh, that’s how it’s going to be huh?   I’ve read this section of scripture dozens of times (if not hundreds of times), and I still have to re-read it to make sure I’m understanding this correctly.   What does this say about Ahab that Ben-hadad even thought this was even possible? Have you ever negotiated a deal that went so easily that when you walked away, you thought to yourself, “I may have left something on the table?”  So you go back and ask for more. I think that's what happened.

7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, "Please observe and see how this man is looking for trouble; for he sent to me for my wives and my children and my silver and my gold, and I did not refuse him." 8 All the elders and all the people said to him, "Do not listen or consent." 9 So he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, "Tell my lord the king, 'All that you sent for to your servant at the first I will do, but this thing I cannot do.' " And the messengers departed and brought him word again. 10 Ben-hadad sent to him and said, "May the gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria will suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me." 11 Then the king of Israel replied, "Tell him, 'Let not him who girds on his armor boast like him who takes it off.' "

Was Ahab encouraged by the backing and support he got from the elders?   This seems a little too little, and a little too late. Spineless Ahab gets a little bit of a backbone, maybe?   Even the thought of Ahab being willing to follow-through and keep his initial commitment seems unthinkable. Maybe he would have been glad to get rid of his wife, Jezebeel.   I don’t know about that though, she was the woman behind the man; the driving force in their relationship. Reminds me of Ephesians 4: 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity.  You give the devil an inch and he’ll take a mile.   Translation of verse 11, don’t count your chickens until they hatch.

12 When Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking with the kings in the temporary shelters, he said to his servants, "Station yourselves." So they stationed themselves against the city.

13 Now behold, a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and said, "Thus says the LORD, 'Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver them into your hand today, and you shall know that I am the LORD.' "

Wow!  Interesting, as evil, wicked, horrible, spineless, incompetent and bad as Ahab was, God wasn’t finished with him.   This speaks to God’s character and nature; God shows his patience, forbearance, kindness, generosity and mercy by giving Ahab this promise.   We have got to remember, the promises of God are irrevocable, absolutely sure. You can take God’s promises to the bank. You just need to know what they are.   Hint, hint...

14 Ahab said, "By whom?" So he said, "Thus says the LORD, 'By the young men of the rulers of the provinces.' " Then he said, "Who shall begin the battle?" And he answered, "You." 15 Then he mustered the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and there were 232; and after them he mustered all the people, even all the sons of Israel, 7,000.

So, Ahab asks “By whom?” which shows Ahab’s head is spinning, because earlier he’d  called Ben-Hadad lord. Ahab had already conceded the loss. So Ahab wonders, “Who will set the battle in order?”   The LORD answers, “You Ahab”. This is an interesting example of how when we’ve lost all hope, when the chips are down (and I’ve done this so many times), we ask questions of the LORD.   We kinda go “why is this happening Lord?”, or “why me Lord?”, or “why now?” or “how’s this going to happen Lord?”. When things look difficult, even impossible, we all of a sudden are hungry for answers from God.   Our posture, our standard operating procedure ought to be a consistent mode of seeking God, not just the tough times, but always. Matthew 4:4 Jesus says, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Last point from 14 and 15 is that 7000 men of Israel were mustered for battle.   I wonder, and this is just speculation, and you know what that’s worth; what you paid for it.   But could it be that this 7000 men were the 7000 mentioned earlier in 1 Kings 19:18 "Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him."   Wouldn’t it be ironic if the 7000 God uses to win the battle are the 7000 faithful men.   If these were the 7000 who didn’t bow the knee to Baal, and they’re being used to “bail out” if you will (pun intended), this Baal worshiping Ahab; the one who made Baal worship popular in Israel.

16 They went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the temporary shelters with the thirty-two  kings who helped him. 17 The young men of the rulers of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out and they told him, saying, "Men have come out from Samaria."

Couple of things here:    1) on the Israeli side, the tactics of commencing at noon; the hottest time of day is questionable.   That would be the worst time to launch an attack. The point here is Israel was outnumbered and disadvantaged by the time-of-day, but they have God’s Word on it.   This all just goes to show, the battle is the LORD’s, and no one will ever be able to take credit for what He obviously has done. 2) on the Syrian side, Ben-hadad drinking himself drunk, seems a little overconfident, dontcha think?

18 Then he said, "If they have come out for peace, take them alive; or if they have come out for war, take them alive." 19 So these went out from the city, the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and the army which followed them. 20 They killed each his man; and the Arameans fled and Israel pursued them, and Ben-hadad king of Aram escaped on a horse with horsemen. 21 The king of Israel went out and struck the horses and chariots, and killed the Arameans with a great slaughter.

Here’s what’s happening; Ben-hadad in his drunken stupor makes this nonsensical statement, “if they come out for peace take ‘em alive, or if they come out for war take ‘em alive.   It’s really difficult to get any sense out of a drunk person. BUT GOD… BUT GOD gave them a great slaughter. God is true to his Word, just like He’s always been and always will be.   He’s trustworthy. He is faithful and true. We can trust our future to Him, like it says in Revelation 19:2 BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER."

22 Then the prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, "Go, strengthen yourself and observe and see what you have to do; for at the turn of the year the king of Aram will come up against you." 23 Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we; but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they. 24 "Do this thing: remove the kings, each from his place, and put captains in their place, 25 and muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they." And he listened to their voice and did so.

Is God the God of the hills only?    No, He is the God of all creation.   If Ben-hadad pictures our adversary the devil, this shows us how relentless he is in his quest to bring us down.   Sometimes he wins the battle, sometimes he loses, but you can be sure you have an adversary who’ll show up at your door again.   We have to be in it for the duration. The war itself is lifelong. This is to the believer, because the devil isn't concerned about someone who is not following God.    The encouragement is, if you feel like you’re in a war, that’s a good thing. Since we have God on our side, and God is the God of all people, places and times and He is the same yesterday, today and forever, you can trust Him; you can count on Him.

26 At the turn of the year, Ben-hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. 27 The sons of Israel were mustered and were provisioned and went to meet them; and the sons of Israel camped before them like two little flocks of goats, but the Arameans filled the country. 28 Then a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel and said, "Thus says the LORD, 'Because the Arameans have said, "The LORD is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys," therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.' "

Look at this vivid word picture, “two little flocks of goats” versus the Syrians who “filled the countryside”.   This is the why behind the what; Why? So you will know that I am the LORD. Why does God have to prove Himself?   Purely for our benefit. In this second battle, Israel is even more outnumbered than before. God took their statement about “God being the God of the hills” personally.   It was a blasphemous insult to God about His nature. So we have two little flocks of goats against the great and mighty numerous Syrian army. Is anything too hard for the LORD?   God’s power is not limited to the hills or any other place, but it’s easy when we’re in a difficult situation to be overwhelmed by the “multitude”. You might be backed into a corner, with no way out, you think to yourself, “this is it, this is how it ends, I might as well write my final goodbyes”.  That's when you can wait on God's salvation to come.

29 So they camped one over against the other seven days. And on the seventh day the battle was joined, and the sons of Israel killed of the Arameans 100,000 foot soldiers in one day. 30 But the rest fled to Aphek into the city, and the wall fell on 27,000 men who were left. And Ben-hadad fled and came into the city into an inner chamber. 31 His servants said to him, "Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings, please let us put sackcloth on our loins and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will save your life." 32 So they girded sackcloth on their loins and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, "Your servant Ben-hadad says, 'Please let me live.' " And he said, "Is he still alive? He is my brother." 33 Now the men took this as an omen, and quickly catching his word said, "Your brother Ben-hadad." Then he said, "Go, bring him." Then Ben-hadad came out to him, and he took him up into the chariot. 34 Ben-hadad said to him, "The cities which my father took from your father I will restore, and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria." Ahab said, "And I will let you go with this covenant." So he made a covenant with him and let him go.

The Syrians start out trying some psychological warfare; camped across the street for seven days.   But the battle goes to Israel by the LORD again. Then in verse 31, they hatch a plan to look humble and beleaguered, and they plan to tug on the heart-strings of Ahab for mercy.    You can’t make this stuff up! Truth is often stranger than fiction, “My brother!” No, he’s your mortal enemy. Treaty, what in the world? If it weren’t there in scripture, I wouldn’t believe it.   Again, I have to re-read this section of scripture over and over, slowly to make sure my eyes aren’t playing tricks on me. Here's the takeaway from this chapter. If I were going to give this chapter a title, it would be “Ahab’s Mistake, How He Gave Away the Victory that God had Won”.   Can we all agree; this is not ok?   So Ahab, in his infinite wisdom spares Ben-Hadad, when God had appointed him to destruction.

Why do you think Ahab did this?

My take is that Ahab was politically motivated by fear and the quest for self gratification.   Those two things will make you do some pretty dumb things. Ahab was emasculated by Jezebeel; she ran the show.

Application: are we driven by fear?   Do we give our enemy more credit than he deserves?   Are we selfish, self-seeking, self-focused? What motivates us?   You have to answer that for yourself.

35 Now a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to another by the word of the LORD, "Please strike me." But the man refused to strike him. 36 Then he said to him, "Because you have not listened to the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as you have departed from me, a lion will kill you." And as soon as he had departed from him a lion found him and killed him. 37 Then he found another man and said, "Please strike me." And the man struck him, wounding him. 38 So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. 39 As the king passed by, he cried to the king and said, "Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and behold, a man turned aside and brought a man to me and said, 'Guard this man; if for any reason he is missing, then your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.' 40 "While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone." And the king of Israel said to him, "So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it." 41 Then he hastily took the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him that he was of the prophets. 42 He said to him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.' " 43 So the king of Israel went to his house sullen and vexed, and came to Samaria.

This reminds me of how God used Nathan to bring conviction to David when he’d sinned with Bathsheba and killed Uriah.   God often uses props and costumes to get a message across. The point here is “Partial obedience is disobedience”. Obedience is paramount.   To obey is better than sacrifice, 1 Samuel 15:22 Samuel said, "Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.

Ahab didn’t really repent, he went away sullen and vexed.   No change of heart, just more of a bad attitude. Yuck, Ahab gags me.   In spite of all this, Ahab’s sin, wicked, evil sin, God is faithful and always comes through for His people.  

When you get a chance to get the bread and cup of juice, please hold it so we can take it together.

Communion/the Lord’s supper reminds us of God’s faithfulness.  It’s a reminder of the great cost and suffering our Lord went through to save us.   It’s a reminder that our hope is in the Lord, the battle is the Lords and the victory is the Lord’s.   Even though death is sure for us, we've been given the victory. 1 Corinthians 15:55 "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O GRAVE, WHERE IS YOUR STING?"   Jesus won the victory on the cross.   He conquered death and the grave through his death and resurrection.   We no longer live with the fear of death. The grave is not the goal, the funeral is not the finish. God has the last word over all of that.

We take communion 1 Wednesday evening and one Sunday per month.   This is for believers and followers of Jesus Christ. Otherwise, just pass, but come talk to me and find out how to become a believer in and a follower of Jesus.

Matthew 26:26 - the bread represents Jesus’ body broken for us

Matthew 26:27-29 - the grape juice represents Jesus’ blood (His life) given for us

2 Corinthians 12:9 And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

Legacy Men's Breakfast - Abraham

I want to start off with a current event that illustrates what Legacy is not.   You’ve all probably heard how some movie stars were recently caught bribing people at certain prestigious colleges to get their kids admitted into those colleges.   This is a big scandal. These rich movie stars were trying to smooth out the road for their kids to get into college. That is totally the wrong lesson or legacy to leave for their kids.   Instead, of smoothing out the road for their kids, they should have been preparing their kids for the road. My working definition of Legacy is, preparing our kids for the road ahead of them.

In this Legacy series, we’re learning how to leave something valuable for our kids.    Obviously, this is really pertinent to us as fathers, but even if you’re not a dad, you're going to leave a legacy to someone, whether you want to or not.   We want to leave a good, solid, positive legacy for our children. Not just in a material or physical sense, although we do want our kids to be healthy, prosperous, well behaved, good citizens.   But it's more than that. We want you, our sons (and our daughters as well) to know the LORD; to follow Him and love Him with all your heart. That's our desire. With that in mind, I'm going to talk through some practical, "matter of fact" things, but my hope is that God the Holy Spirit would make these ideas sink deeper, into your hearts, your souls, and your spirits.   Only the Holy Spirit reveals truth so can we know it and experience it. Hopefully He'll use this to deepen our walk and our relationship with Him. When I heard the word Legacy was the theme of this series, my first thought was "father Abraham". So I want to take a few key experiences from his life and use them as illustrations; lessons for us.

#1 Genesis 12:1-3 Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

God commands Abram (remember, his birth name was Abram), to move away from his country and his family.   ouch. Moving away from your country and your family hurts; I can attest to that first hand. I think it did a couple things for Abram.   Since it hurt,  it taught Abram that obeying God would be painful and costly.   And it taught Abram that he'd have to rely entirely on God, not on his family.   Then, God promised to bless Abram, make his name great and that he would be a blessing to those who bless him.  This is all about the fact that the Messiah (the Savior) was to come from Abram’s family line. That's a big deal.   The lesson for us is that the Christian life is not easy; there will be pain; it will be costly. Think about our savior; it cost Jesus His life.   We know that salvation is a free gift, but the Christian life will cost us our very life, Matthew 16:24 says, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. My point is that a lasting, valuable legacy will be painful and costly.

#2 Genesis 12:7-8  Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent [with] Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.

Abram "calls on the name of the LORD".   He understood the need to call out to God.  He understood the need for sacrifice… We’ll have to make some sacrifices to point our kids to God.   Sacrifices as in time; as in desires…. let’s put our kids ahead ourselves. There are lots of ways you can make this a reality, but one aspect of this is don’t leave your kids spiritual formation up to Sunday school.   Just bringing your kids to church is a good start, but it isn’t good enough. One thing we can do is open the Bible and read it to our kids. Besides the fact there are some great stories in there, it will stimulate questions and responsibility to what you've learned together.  My point here is one of priorities; we need to put our kids faith in God ahead of satisfying our own desires and goals. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these other needs/wants/desires will be met. Get started, it’s never too late.

#3 Genesis 15:1-6  After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." 2 But Abram said, "Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!" 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir." 5 Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." 6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

God is our shield, and so are you to your kids.   We’re protective of our kids lives, hearts, minds.  There's a very fine line though, between being protective and being overprotective and overbearing.   Being protective is instinctual; God made us that way, but the best thing we can do is foster our kids walk with the LORD, so that He'd be their shield.   God is our exceedingly great reward. How much more could we ask for? God Himself is our reward. He is life itself. He is everything that's good. He owns everything and He’s generous.   He’s infinite, He has all wisdom and knowledge and He makes that available to us. He’s the best thing we have going for us and He has our best interests at heart. He is truly our exceedingly great reward.   God made the promise to Abram that he would have a son (an heir) and Abram believed God and God counted Abram’s faith as righteousness. We all, I’m sure have seen that God is faithful to keep His promises to us, we need to show our kids how God has come through for us over and over again.

#4 Genesis 17:5-15 "No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 "I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7 "And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. 8 "Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." 9 And God said to Abraham: "As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 "This [is] My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; 11 "and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 "He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. 13 "He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 "And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant." 15 Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah [shall be] her name.

Two things of note in this section: name change and skin removal.  First, God changes Abram’s name to Abraham. Notice the insertion of the h.   The sound of the h is the breath sound. Put your hand in front of your mouth and make the ‘H’ sound.   I believe this is looking forward to the Holy Spirit, “The breath of God”, being inserted into the lives of believers.   I believe this is a foreshadowing, a word picture pointing ahead to when God would insert His spirit into the lives of believers.  In other words, being “born-again”. I know Abraham was not born again. He didn't have the Holy Spirit like we do as Christians.  The Holy Spirit was not given into the hearts and lives of Christians until 50 days after the resurrection; on the day of Pentecost.  Here's the deal, I want to ask you a question; you don't have to answer to me, and you don't have to answer out loud, but I want you to think about this question and answer to yourself: Do you know that you know that you’ve been born again?   Can you point to a time in your life when there was a noticeable change in your life. Where you were changed from going away from God to going toward God. I time where you can say, you trusted Christ as your Lord and Savior and God came into your life?   Where you turned away from following your own desires, and turned to follow God? If not, please come talk to me afterward.

   

Next, Abraham got circumcised.   Woe right there Keith. This is a sensitive subject.   Ok, I know, but I’m going to go there, so stay with me.  We are all men here, right? Fathers and sons should be able to talk about anything right?   Let me just preface this with the understanding that God’s command of circumcision was for the Jews (the Israelites).    It isn’t something commanded to Christians per se, but many of us, I don’t know who, and I’m not going to check, but many of us are circumcised, in honor of this commandment.   So, for those of you young enough not to know what circumcision is, it is a minor surgery performed on baby boys (according to the Bible, it’s supposed to be done on the eighth day after birth).   It is a minor surgery where they remove some extra skin we have around our penis. This commandment of circumcision to Abraham was supposed to signify that a man was in the family of the Hebrews (or to be a member of the Jewish people).   But, Romans chapter 2 tells us what circumcision means to us: Romans 2:28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit.   This actually isn’t new to the New Testament though, Deuteronomy 10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.  So physical circumcision is supposed to point to a deeper, inward, spiritual circumcision of the heart.   With physical circumcision, from the time a baby is circumcised, he bears that mark. He’s changed, but it isn’t something others would normally see.   So too, you and I (if we’ve been born-again), we bear the mark of Christ himself in our hearts and in our lives. We're changed on the inside. Just like with physical circumcision, that little bit of skin is removed, or rolled away, when hearts are circumcised, our old fleshly life is removed and we are different.   John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and [they] are life.   

2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore, if anyone [is] in Christ, [he is] a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.   And it’s a change that keeps on working in our lives.   Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what [is] that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.  So, circumcision signifies the rolling away of the flesh, and trusting in God by the spirit.   Galatians 6:7-8 says Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.   So, for any real, substantial, meaningful Legacy, you and I as father’s need to lead our sons and daughters, from belief, to faith, to a spiritual, life changing walk with God.  Without that; well nothing else really matters.

Last point from Abraham’s life

#5  Genesis 22:1-2  Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 2 Then He said, "Take now your son, your only [son] Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."

What God?   I can’t be reading this right.   Well, you know the story, Abraham took Isaac and wood for the fire up on mount Moriah, and as Abraham lifted the knife, God stopped Abraham from killing Isaac, and God provided a Ram stuck in the thicket for an offering.   That story is about Abraham’s obedience, and God’s provision of the substitute.

Let’s think about this story in terms of Abraham and Isaac’s father-son relationship.   I think I can safely read into the story that Isaac was absolutely precious to Abraham. Isaac was the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham for a son to be his heir.   Come back to the here and now, If I try to put myself in Abraham’s shoes, and someone came up to me and told me that I’m supposed to kill my son, I’d know it wasn’t God. How’s that you say?  Abraham was completely unique in all of history. He'd already received a promise from God, not only that he’d have a son, but that his son would have children of his own. So for God to keep His promise, Abraham surmised that God would raise Isaac from the dead.   We learn this from Hebrews 11:17-19 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten [son], 18 of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called," 19 concluding that God [was] able to raise [him] up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.   This is some difficult stuff.   But Jesus echos this same concept, in Luke  14:26 "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.   I’d say being willing to kill your son is like hate.  Yet, Jesus is not telling us to hate our family members.  What He is saying though is compared to our love for God, every other love should be as if it were hate. Even our love for our kids, which is arguably about the strongest love you can have for someone, should seem like “hate” compared to our love for God.  With that kind of relationship with God to be able to pass down a successful, positive legacy to our kids.

That is really the crux, of what I wanted to share, but as a postscript let me say a few things about my dad, and a few things about my sons.

When I think back about the upbringing my mom and dad gave me, I am blown away by what model parents I had in so many ways.  My dad was always very involved in my life. I think this is key, my dad was very involved in my life; from family vacations, family picnics, to taking me fishing, to motorcycle riding, to sports from a very early age.   My dad was always there for me; playing catch, coaching me, cheering me on. When it came to school, he was very willing to help me with my homework.   When it came to my spirit, I count my dad on the short list of people who pointed me toward God and faith in Jesus Christ. I remember going to Sunday school from a very young age, and I went to private Christian schools from preschool through my first year of High School.   But more than that, he prayed for me. When I was straying from God, and living a very sinful life, he was praying for me. He kept encouraging me, why don’t you go to youth group at that church down the street.

Now, a story about my youngest son, and then a couple of things I remember doing with my sons, when they were young…   My youngest son Daniel, was my little shadow when he was young. If I had tool in my hand, he was there asking questions.   If I was working on my computer, he had to be sitting on my lap, even frustratingly if it was way past his bedtime. Here’s a story that cracks me up about Daniel at his baby dedication.   Picture this; Pastor Steve was holding Daniel, the whole family was up on the stage, and I was standing next to the pastor. We all bow our heads, Pastor Steve starts praying, and Daniel begins to squirm, and reach for me.   As Pastor Steve is praying, Daniel starts for fuss, squirm, and reaches for me, and just about jumps out of Pastor Steve’s arms. Without skipping a beat, Pastor Steve hands Daniel over to me, and the whole comotion was over.

But as my boys were growing up, I tried to do things like read to my sons.   We read the Bible, we read christian fiction, we read all kinds of books together. When the boys were old enough to sit still at the dinner table, we started reading though the Bible after dinner every night.   So I guess, all that to say, keep the lines of communication open. Overall to pass a lasting, meaningful, positive Legacy to your children, prepare them for the road ahead by being involved in their life, focusing on their hearts and spirits.

What Time is Purple

Friday June 7th, Thomas,  Travis and I went to Everett Community College, University of Washington at Bothell and University of Washington in Seattle and handed out about 500 Gospel booklets called "What Time is Purple".

I had the opportunity to open air a couple of times and had several interesting one -to-one conversations.

God bless...

A Look at our Hearts in Bellevue

Friday evening, I printed out a bunch of verses about the “heart” of the matters being a matter of the heart.  I’d read a verse and sermonize it for the 30 seconds between each stop light, to each group of pedestrians as they waited for the light to turn green.

Praise God!

Motorcycle ice racing

Angel of the Winds arena was the location for professional motorcycle ice racing tonight.   I'm not sure whether it was colder outside or inside, but it was 38 degrees outside.   As well, there was some sort of a ethnic Russian event, (maybe a dance) Attended by several hundred very well dressed people.

I gave out almost 200 Gospel tracts and preached 5 or 6 times.  No one-to-one conversations, but people heard the Gospel with a call to repentance and faith in my Lord Jesus.  Not many of the Russian people accepted tracts.   In fact more than one of the Russians looked at me with disdain as they passed by.

I was encouraged by one man and said he couldn’t understand why people don’t  listen and pay attention to such an important message.

Completely unaffiliated with me, there were a couple of street evangelists there too,Nathan and Daniel were there with banners.

God bless...