Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

May 22nd, 2024 Too Dependent upon the Preacher

Today’s Reading – 2 Chronicles 21 – 24 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers Read – Acts 19 – 21; Psalms 106 – 110; Proverbs 22)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Isaiah 40:31

Read the “0522 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from today’s reading passage – “How Will You Be Remembered?“

“And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.” – (2 Chronicles 24:2)

“Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The LORD look upon it, and require it.” – (2 Chronicles 24:22)

The story of King Joash is certainly a fascinating account. After the death of his father, King Ahaziah, he was rescued as a baby from his grandmother, Attaliah, who had all of her grandchildren assasinated so that she could be queen. Joash was hidden in the house of God for six years, and was influenced greatly by Jehoiada the priest. When Joash finally became king, the influence of Jehoiada remained with him, and Joash was a great king, serving the Lord by repairing the temple, and replacing all of the vessels of gold and silver that were used in the service of the temple. Unfortunately, Jehoiada the priest “waxed old and died”, and King Joash went downhill afterward. It seems that without the influence of a man of God in his life, the peer pressure from some of the wicked men in his kingdom began to overpower him. He eventually went as far as having Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, put to death after being rebuked by him.

There are two principles that I would like to consider from this passage. The first is that we need to be careful that our faith is in God, not a man. I have seen this in my ministry, where people become too dependent upon me. They look to me to solve their problems for them. The problem with this is that I cannot possibly deliver what these folks expect from me, because I am not God. Eventually I will let them down, and they will throw the towel in on their faith. As a preacher, it is my job to strengthen people’s faith and relationship with God. As John the Baptist said regarding Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” I must point them to Christ. I must work to strengthen their relationship with Him, not me. I will certainly have to give special attention and nurturing to the new believers, but I eventually want to work myself out of a job so that if I blow it, or if God removes me from their lives, their faith will remain strong.

The second principle that I would like to pull from this passage is that Joash did well as long as he was being influenced by a preacher. When “his preacher” died, he then divested himself from the influence of all preachers. We need to always place ourselves under the influence of a church and sound Bible preaching. When we get away from the church, our lives will get out of the will of God. Stay in the church where the Word of God can influence your life for good.

A Second Thought

From the Second Miler passage today, God spoke to my heart about something else. In Psalm 106, the psalmist is giving a review of some of Israel’s history, declaring their continued unfaithfulness despite the fact that God was always faithful to them. In verses 32 – 33, the psalmist reviews what happened at Kadesh when Moses lost his temper because the people were complaining once again, this time about a lack of water:

“32 They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes: 33 Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.” (Psalm 106:32-33)

Notice that Moses became angry and then spoke unadvisedly. Anger in itself is not a sin, but when it causes a wrong reaction, it becomes sin. Jesus was angry but never sinned. Paul said:

“26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:” (Ephesians 4:26)

Moses’ anger became sin when he spake unadvisedly. He called the Israelites rebels and he claimed to be the one responsible for “fetching” the water for them from the rock (See Numbers 20:1 -10). In his wrath, he smote the rock instead of speaking to it as God commanded.

Sometimes situations or people will provoke a person to a place where their anger is ready to boil over into sin. This happens to me often. I struggle with giving away (not losing) my temper. I have to be very careful that I don’t allow that to happen. There are three words that will help anyone who struggles with anger: pray, pause, peace. Pray specifically about your angry spirit, and ask God to help you to control your reactions to situations that provoke you. Pause before you react. Before you say anything in response to a situation that is making you feel the emotion of anger, pause. Get away for as much time as necessary until you can pray and think through what the appropriate response should be. Remember also that God promises Peace to those who are in love with His word. Get in the Bible and let God minister to your heart, calm your spirit, and give you wisdom as what you should say or do.