Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

May 2nd, 2013 Now You’ve Crossed the Line

Today’s Reading – 2 Kings 18 – 19 

(Second Milers Read – Luke 19 – 20; Psalms 6 – 10; Proverbs 2)

“Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. … Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?” (2 Kings 18:30, 33 KJV)

“It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left. … Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.” (2 Kings 19:4, 28)

In chapters 18 and 19 of 2 Kings we see the city of Judah surrounded by the powerful army of Assyria, not just once, but twice. The first time they came up against Hezekiah and the city of Jerusalem, God caused the Assyrians to become distracted by news of an attack on them in another area, which forced them to temporarily pack up and leave. They soon returned, and once again promised to utterly destroy the city if the people did not surrender to them.

In a previous post on this passage, I focused on the fact that Hezekiah depended completely on the Lord for deliverance from this impossible situation, which God did. This morning, however, I wanted to consider another reason that God delivered the people of Jerusalem, and destroyed the army of Assyria. The Assyrian leader did not merely speak against the people of Jerusalem, he spake against the Lord. Rabshakeh basically said that his army was more powerful than Israel’s God. That’s where he crossed the line. Had he left God out of it, who knows what may have happened, but when Rabshakeh’s “rage” against the God of Israel was announced, God quickly moved in and destroyed him.

God destroyed the Assyrians, not only because of His love for His people, but also because of His own glory. God will not share His glory with anyone, and when the little men of the earth attempt to elevate and exalt themselves above God, He will put them in their place. Isn’t that what happened to Goliath (1 Samuel 17). He “cursed David by his gods”, and he challenged the God of Israel. God took out that giant with a boy and his slingshot. God does not like it when you mess with His children, but God will really get angry when you attack His glory.

“For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.” (Isaiah 48:11)

May 1st, 2013 I Warned You!

Today’s Passage – 2 Kings 16 – 17 

(Second Milers Read – Luke 17 – 18; Psalms 1 – 5; Proverbs 1)

“Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,” (2 Kings 17:5-7)

In 2 Kings 17, we see the destruction of the city of Samaria along with the rest of the northern kingdom of Israel, and the carrying away of God’s people into the land of Assyria. God had warned the people literally for centuries that if they continued to reject Him and His Word, judgment would come. In this chapter we see that God’s patience with these northern tribes had finally come to an end. The warnings were over, and the punishment had finally come.

The passage goes on to explain the sins of the nation. So, God warned them many times not to do these things, and when they didn’t listen, God admonished them to stop and turn back to Him (v 13), but they did not listen (v 14), and then finally He punishes them through the nation of Assyria; and now, to be crystal clear, He explains why He was forced to punish them.

What were they guilty of?

1  They feared other gods (v7) – God was clear that the people were to put no other gods before Him (Exodus 20:3), but Israel had tolerated and even encouraged the worship of many false gods. Along with this are many of the other sins listed in this passage including idol / image worship; burning incense in the high places; etc.

2  They walked in the statues of the heathen. (v 8 ) God had given them moral, ceremonial, and civil statutes (laws) to follow, but instead they followed the laws of the heathen nations around them. Israel was set up as a theocracy – a nation governed by the laws of God, but they had thrown God off of the throne, and they were now governing themselves. The immoral customs of the heathen nations became the accepted practice of the day.

3  They sacrificed their own children. Children have a very special place in God’s heart, and when the nation began to promote the sacrifice of children (v 17), God became very angry with them (v 18).

The nation of Israel had everything they needed to live a blessed, prosperous existence in the land that God provided for them, but instead “they sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord” (v 17).

I wonder what God will do to America. We were a nation tremendously blessed of God, but we too have forsaken Him. We have thrown Him out of our schools and our government, and we have allowed all kinds of immoral filth to permeate our society. We have also promoted and tolerated the sacrificing of our own children. Over one million babies are sacrificed every year through the abominable practice of expedient abortions. God is warning our nation to repent, but His warnings are falling on deaf ears. I fear His patience is running out on us just as it ran out on Israel. Wake up America!

Apr 28th, 2013 Windows of Heaven

Today’s Passage – 2 Kings 7 – 9 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Luke 11 – 12;  Proverbs 28; Psalms 136 – 140

Scripture Memorization for March – John 1:1 – 18

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song –  Ephesians 4:32

Read a great article by Pastor Pastor Paul Chappell – “How to Develop Friendships with Co-Laborers in the Ministry“

Read the “0428 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon

May 4th, 2012 Choose Your Battles Wisely

Today’s Passage – 2 Kings 23 – 25

Second Milers also read – Luke 23 – 24; Psalms 16 – 20; Proverbs 4

Scripture Memory for May – Psalm 51

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – 1 John 4:7 & 8

“In his days Pharaohnechoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and he slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him.” – (2 Kings 23:29)

In order to make sense of the story referenced in 2 Kings 23:29 above, the parallel passage in 2 Chronicles 35:20 – 25 should be read also. In a nutshell, the two big dogs on the block during the time of Josiah are Egypt and Assyria. The Kingdom of Judah, which includes Jerusalem and its surrounding areas was nestled right in between these two world powers. Assyria  had already conquered the northern kingdom of Israel. Anyway, Egypt was travelling north to fight with Assyria at a place called Carchemesh on the Euphrates River. King Josiah from Judah, for some unknown reason, got in the middle of this battle, choosing to fight for the Assyrians against Egypt. 2 Chronicles tells us that the Pharaoh of Egypt warned Josiah not to interfere. Nowhere in Scripture does it say that God told Josiah to get involved. From all appearances it looks as if Josiah was killed because he involved himself in something that God never told him to be involved in. Josiah was a great king, but he got his priorities messed up here. The end result is that Josiah’s son takes control of Judah, and the Bible tells us that he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.

I think that there is a great lesson for us to learn here. Sometimes we get ourselves in trouble when we interfere in things that God never told us to interfere with. We need to learn to do two things. First, we need to choose our battles carefully. Second, we need to learn to mind our own business at times. Now don’t misunderstand, sometimes God wants us to get involved in things that are not directly involving us, but when these times arise we need to make sure that it is truly God’s will for us to involve ourselves. When I look back at the ten years of my ministry here at Jersey Shore Baptist Church, I can now see in hindsight that there were many times that I got involved in things that God never told me to do. As a result, the church would lose focus, and harm would come. I am trying now to stay within the area that God has called me to. He has called me to pastor the people of Jersey Shore Baptist Church, and He has called me to get the message of the gospel to my community. Besides my responsibilities as a husband and father, those are my main duties. It is a big enough job by itself, so I don’t need to get mixed up in something that distracts me from those purposes. There are a lot of “good” causes out there to get involved in, but even a “good” cause can become sin, if it is not God’s will.

How about you? Do you ever find yourself getting sidetracked into an area that distracts you from what you know God wants you to do? Choose your battles wisely, mind your own business, and stay focused on the will of God for your life.

By the way, I want to also be careful to acknowledge that even though Josiah got mixed up in something he shouldn’t have; he was still a great king, and in my opinion the greatest king Judah ever had. Chapter 23 of our passage records all of the great things Josiah did in Judah and even in the northern kingdom, Israel. He worked tirelessly removing the evil that his predecessors had allowed to enter into the land.

May 3rd, 2012 Selfish Attitude

Click on Scripture references below to listen to passages.

Today’s Passage – 2 Kings 20 – 22

Second Milers also read – Luke 21 – 22; Psalms 11 – 15; Proverbs 3

Scripture Memory for May – Psalm 51

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – 1 John 3:1

Read last year’s post from this passage – “Have You Found The Book?”

“Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?” – (2 Kings 20:19)

In our passage today we read about good King Hezekiah of Judah. Hezekiah was one of the greatest kings the southern kingdom ever had, and there is very little negative information recorded about him. He loved the Lord, and for the most part, he pleased God with the way he ruled. However, there has always been something about Hezekiah that has bothered me. In 2 Kings chapter 20, we read about Hezekiah being graciously granted an additional 15 years of life after initially being told by God that his life was going to end sooner. He may have been better off going home to Heaven when God originally told him he was going. Those last 15 years of Hezekiah’s life were not his best. It was in those last years that he had a son named Manassah who is recorded as being the worst king in Judah’s history. It was also in the last 15 years of his life that he allowed ambassadors from Babylon to come in to see his kingdom. These delegates from Babylon would bring back to their kingdom information that would eventually cause them to invade Judah and Jerusalem years later. Isaiah strongly rebukes Hezekiah for his lack of judgment in allowing these men to see everything in the kingdom, and Isaiah tells Hezekiah that a lot of horrible things were going to happen to Jerusalem in the future. Upon hearing the report, Hezekiah is actually glad because the bad things won’t start until after he is gone. That’s a pretty selfish attitude if you ask me.

We are a lot like Hezekiah. We make decisions that benefit ourselves, but they may have a negative impact on future generations. For instance, parents that neglect their worship and service of God set an example for their children that will probably cause them to move even further away from God. I have seen good Christian people who have lost their children and grandchildren to the world because they compromised their convictions when the kids were young. We have a responsibility to the next generation. I want my children and grandchildren to be more sold-out, and more in love with the Lord than I am. Before we make decisions that may make us a little more comfortable or happy in this generation, we need to consider the affect that it will have on future generations. Hezekiah forsook the future generations of his family, and all of Jerusalem, all because he wanted to receive a little flattery and praise from a visiting delegation of ambassadors from Babylon. Very foolish, and very selfish.

May 2nd, 2012 Spread It Before The Lord

Today’s Passage – 2 Kings 18 – 19

Second Milers also read – Luke 19 – 20; Psalms 6 – 10; Proverbs 2

Scripture Memory for May – Psalm 53

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – 1 Timothy 1:17

Read – “Anti-Bullying Campaign Demeans Christians” by Pastor Chappell

“And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD.” – (2 Kings 19:1)

“And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.” – (2 Kings 19:14)

In our passage this morning in 2 Kings. we see the city of Jerusalem surrounded by the army from Assyria. Assyria had already conquered much of the known world at that time, including the northern kingdom of Israel, and Jerusalem in Judah certainly did not have the military strength to repel such a powerful force. Hezekiah, the King of Judah did what we all should do when we are faced with problems far bigger than our own human ability to solve: he went to the Lord. Notice in verse 1 above that Hezekiah went into the house of the Lord. That’s a good place to go to find answers, isn’t it. He then sent for the man of God, Isaiah. In this passage we can see a recipe that will help us in time of trouble. Go to God; go to God’s house; seek counsel from the man of God.

Notice in verse 14 above, the Assyrian’s are threatening again, and Hezekiah does the same thing that he did the first time. Why wouldn’t he? By the way, both times God delivers Jerusalem from the mighty Assyrians. The first time, God just lures them away from Jerusalem, but the second time He actually kills 185,000 of them. They should have quit while they were ahead.

So, what can we learn from this passage? When you are faced with questions and problems that are bigger than yourself, go to God. Look into the Bible for answers to your questions. Seek counsel from the men and women that God has placed in your life to help you. And whatever you do, do not forsake the house of God, when you are faced with problems. It very well may be that God will solve your problem there. The older I get, the more I realize that my life is bigger than my ability to live it right, and I find myself not knowing what to do often. I need God’s help. I need God’s wisdom. Our church is facing some decisions regarding what to do with our property and our parsonage. The men of the church will meet to discuss it, but what we really need is God’s wisdom. Our family is facing decisions regarding the future. We need God’s wisdom; God’s help. We need to spread these things before the Lord.

May 1st, 2012 Have It Your Way

Today’s Passage – 2 Kings 16 – 17

Second Milers also read – Luke 17 – 18; Psalms 1 – 5; Proverbs 1

Scripture Memory for May – Psalm 51

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Ephesians 4:32

“They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.” – (2 Kings 17:33)

Do you remember the old Burger King jingle and ad campaign, “Have It Your Way”. Years ago this company promoted the concept of having your burger custom designed any wany you desire. They inferred that the other fast-food burger places would only let you purchase their food the way they made it, and you could not “special order” a sandwich the way you wanted it. The ad campaign, I think, was very successful for Burger King. It has been over 30 years ago that they ran those ads, and I still remember them. The Burger King concept is a reflection of the American culture. We don’t want to be confined to a pre-determined menu. We want it our way. The Burger King concept may be a very good idea when it comes to selling fast food, but it will be a disaster for the church.

In our text we see in the land of Israel people from many nations. They had been placed there by the king of Assyria after he had removed the Israelites from the land. These foreigners faced opposition from God Himself when they first came in to inhabit the land (see 2 Kings 17:25), so they figured they had better do something to appease the God of Israel. The king of Assyria released one of the Israelite priests from captivity, and charged him to return to Israel and instruct the people in the proper worship of the God of Israel. The result was that these people incorporated God into their worship partially, but they still continued to worship their own gods, their way.

The New Testament tells us that in the end times there will be many that will do the same thing:

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” – (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

We are certainly living in the time that the Bible describes, and we have applied the Burger King philosophy to our worship of God. We pick and choose which doctrines on the menu that appeal to our tastes, and we create our own custom designed forms of worship and service. We have it wrong. This “seeker sensitive” generation of Christians needs to go back to the Bible and discover what is pleasing to the Lord, and then submit themselves to the menu that He has designed for them in His wisdom. God knows how to make our burgers better than we can. We had better let Him have it His way.

Apr 30th, 2012 He Gave Them A Saviour

Today’s Passage – 2 Kings 13 – 15

Second Milers also read – Luke 15 – 16; Psalms 146 – 150; Proverbs 30 – 31

Scripture Memory f or April – 1 Corinthians 13

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Matthew 6:33

“And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael, all their days. And Jehoahaz besought the LORD, and the LORD hearkened unto him: for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them. (And the LORD gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians: and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents, as beforetime.” – (2 Kings 13:3-5)

In our passage today we have the northern kingdom of Israel, which is a nation that had long ago abandoned the God that had brought them from bondage, and had given them a land of their own. They are lead by a king, Jehoahaz who the Bible describes as an evil man. Because of this nations wickedness, God sends judgment via the hand of the Syrians. However, in verse 4 something very interesting happens: this bad king, Jehoahaz, humbles himself before the Lord, and asks for the Lord’s help; and the Lord delivers Israel from the hand of their enemy.

What a marvelous picture we have here of the grace of the Lord. This nation and this king certainly did not deserve any help from the Lord; yet the Lord, in His mercy, delivered them anyway. This story reminds me of another story. I know a guy who is also a bad guy – a sinner; and he lives in a bad place – America: a nation that also has long ago abandoned the God that blessed them with their freedom and prosperity. Twenty-two years ago this evil guy I know recognizes his sinful condition, and the judgment that lies ahead for him in Hell; and he also humbles himself before the Lord, and calls upon Him for forgiveness. You know what? The Lord had mercy upon him too, and saved him. That guy’s name is Phil Erickson. He didn’t deserve then, and still doesn’t deserve now any consideration at all from a holy God; yet God saved him. What a God?

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” – (Romans 10:13)

Apr 29th, 2012 Housecleaning

Today’sPassage – 2 Kings 10 – 12

Second Milers also read – Luke 13 – 14; Psalms 141 – 150; Proverbs 29

Apr 27th, 2012 God Will Take Care of You

Today’s Passage – 2 Kings 4 – 5, 2 Kings 6

Second Milers also read – Luke 9 – 10; Psalm 131 – 135; Proverbs 27

Scripture Memory for April – 1 Corinthians 13

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Micah 6:8

Read last years post from this passage – “Lean Not Unto Thine Own Understanding”

“Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. … Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.” – (2 Kings 4:1, 7)

There are some mornings when I have a difficult time finding something interesting to write about from the Scripture reading for the day. However, the three chapters that we have read this morning from 2 Kings 4 – 6 are full of exciting stories from the life of Elisha. I have chosen this morning to consider the story of the widow woman who was miraculous provided for by God. The story is found in 2 Kings 4: 1 – 7, and speaks of a woman was the wife of one of the prophets, and was now left alone to care for her two sons. She has nothing left but a pot of oil in her house. The creditors are bearing down on her, and want to take her two sons as bondmen in order to repay a debt that is owed them. She comes to the man of God for help, and he instructs her to borrow vessels from her neighbors that will hold oil. Elisha takes the little bit of oil that she has and pours it into the other containers that the woman borrowed from her neighbors. The oil did not run out until all of the vessels were filled, which she was then able to go and sell so that she would be able to pay the debt that she owed.

There are two thoughts that I would like to pull from this passage. The first involves debt. The Scripture says, “The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” – (Proverbs 22:7). The passage does not give us any of the details regarding the reason why this woman was in debt. It may have been a debt that she inherited from her dead husband. Anyway, she has a debt that is causing her a lot of trouble. I got to thinking about what kind of financial situation my wife would be in if I passed away suddenly today. I would leave her with the burden of some debt. We are in the process of making some changes to our financial decisions so that all of our debt would be eliminated. I would not want to leave my wife with the kind of pressure this woman had to face.

My second thought from this passage is that God took care of this lady who had given her life to serve Him. She was the wife of one of the prophets, and prophets lived by faith. They had no doubt made many financial sacrifices in the process of serving the Lord. I understand a little about what she is going through. When we sold our house, and packed up our stuff and headed for Bible college, we knew that we were entering a journey of faith and sacrifice. We have had to live without a lot of things throughout the years; but one of the things that we have had to do away with was insurance. Since we have been in the ministry, we have been unable to afford health insurance or life insurance. I know that this is not good stewardship, but when you are forced to choose between food on the table or an insurance policy to protect you from something that may or may not happen, you can see why we might go uninsured. This is a great source of worry for my wife particularly. However, this passage reminds us that even though we may not be the best financial planners, God takes care of those that have given their life in service for Him. He will take care of my family. Don’t misunderstand, someday I want to be able to provide some of these comforting benefits like insurance for my family; but for now, I know that God has got my family’s back.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” – (Matthew 6:33)