PASTORS’ PEN (from our 01/26/14 bulletin) Sisters and brothers I want to ask you a question. Do you know God’s will and purpose cannot be stopped? You see, the will of God is deliberate and always has purpose. We cannot stop the will of God. We can only hope to become instruments of His will. His will has been prepared for you and me to seek Him. No matter how accomplished you become, you will need more power than you will ever have if you are to do something significant in life for Him. And it is this desire that ultimately leads us to seek God’s purpose and will for our lives of service for Christ. Proverbs 19:21 tells us, Many are the plans in a mans heart, but it is the Lords purpose that prevails. It is a good thing God does not always give us what we want. He knows what is best for us. He really does. Second Chronicles 17-20 tells the story of the reign of King Jehoshaphat. King Jehoshaphat was a devoted and prosperous king. But at the beginning of the Jehoshaphat story, the author of this text makes it clear that all that Jehoshaphat was and all he accomplished was because the Lord was with him. The fact that the Lord was with Jehoshaphat explains Jehoshaphat: according to chapter 17, he followed the commandments of God and didnt act like Israel did. And so the Lord firmly established the kingdom under his control, and all of Judah gave him gifts until he had an abundance of wealth and honor. The chronicler goes out of his way in chapter 17 to make it clear that this kings mind was firmly set on the ways of the Lord, and early in his reign he saw to it that the Word of God was taught throughout the cities of Judah. So evident was the presence and blessing of the Lord upon him that, according to verse 10, The fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah, so that they did not make war with Jehoshaphat. But then he made an alliance with King Ahab, an evil man. Now Jehoshaphat had great wealth and honor, and he allied himself with Ahab by marriage. Jehoshaphats son married Ahabs daughter. During one of Jehoshaphat’s visits to see King Ahab, Ahab slaughtered sheep and cattle in abundance for him and for all the people with him for the purpose of eliciting his help with Ramoth Gilead. Jehoshaphat misinterpreted this act as kindness. Ahab the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, Will you go with me to Ramoth Gilead? Jehoshaphat replied, I am as you. He said, My people are as your people. Really? He basically said: Ill join you for this battle. Count us in. Now if there was ever a dumb decision, this was it. This alliance was not what God desired. This is clear from the opening part of chapter 19, where the writer tells us that when Jehoshaphat returned home safely to Jerusalem, Jehu the seer, the son of Hanani, went out to meet him. This prophet said to King Jehoshaphat: Just who do you think you are? Are you supposed to help the wicked? Why are you joining forces with those who hate the Lord? Jehoshaphat had everything to lose. He had nothing to gain. He had nothing to gain because the Lord had already given him everything. We have nothing to gain. We know that the Lord would not want us to do it that way, or to be with that group of people but we allow ourselves to think that it will be all right. Listen, the will of God must be allowed to affect every aspect of our lives, because it is the will of God that has made us what we are, and we are accountable for what we do with what he has done for us. AMEN......Senior Pastor Bob Owens His Gospel Ministries, Inc. © 2014; All Rights Reserved
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 06:17:35 +0000
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