I Need Thee Every Hour
1 I need thee every hour,
most gracious Lord;
no tender voice like thine
can peace afford.
Chorus:
I need thee, O I need thee;
every hour I need thee!
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to thee.
2 I need thee every hour,
stay thou near by;
temptations lose their power
when thou art nigh. [Chorus]
3 I need thee every hour,
in joy or pain;
come quickly, and abide,
or life is vain. [Chorus]
4 I need Thee every hour,
Most Holy One;
O make me Thine indeed,
Thou blessed Son! [Chorus]
Destructive Friendships
5 April 2020 PM – 2 Chronicles 17-21 – Kings20 – Scott Childs
Welcome: Welcome to our Sunday evening online church service. We will begin this evening with the hymn, I Need Thee Every Hour, p. 318. The words are also in the sermon notes online. I encourage you to singing along.
Open with Prayer
Introduction: When God had Paul write, (1 Corinthians 15:33) “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.”, that warning was not an exaggeration. It was powerfully true.
Transition: This evening I want us to note three aspects of Jehoshaphat’s life from which we can find many principles for us.
1. Jehoshaphat’s Prosperity
He was a very prosperous king. God reveals to us the secret of Jehoshaphat prosperity.
a. He had a heart for God (2Ch 17:3-11)
1) He walked in the first ways of David (v.3)
2) He sought the LORD God (v.4)
3) He obeyed the Bible (v.4).
4) His heart was lifted up in the ways of God (v.6). He put God first in his life.
5) Remember, God recorded this for us to read. God said that he walked as godly David, that he sought the Lord, that he obeyed the Bible, and that he was lifted up in the ways of God. Wow! That is commendable. Is that what God sees when he looks at your heart?
6) (v.5) Therefore, God blessed him. “Therefore” is a key word. Do not overlook it. God’s blessing hinged on the condition of his heart.
O If you want your life to be blessed and prosperous in the sight of the Lord, then develop a heart for God. Remember the words of God to Eli, “them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed” (1Sa 2:30).
b. He was a godly leader (2Ch 17:1-2; 12-19)
1) He fortified his borders. He strengthened his defence against the enemies. Do you want to be a godly leader in your home? Then you must fortify your borders.
a) Build up walls to keep evil out. You need walls around your Internet, your TV, and your mobile devices. Do not be foolish enough to trust your flesh or the flesh of your children. Install K9 or Qustodio or another strong filter.
b) Build walls to protect the kind of music you and your family hear. Take time to listen carefully to the music that flows through your home. Does it glorify your flesh or God? Check out www.abidingradio.org
2) He built up his armies (2Ch 17:12-19). Add them up and you will see that he had over a million soldiers. Why so many? He took seriously the threats of invasion.
a) The enemies of pornography, infidelity, lust, dishonesty, greed, etc. are all around us.
b) We can build up our armies by honest accountability to our spouse or to a godly friend.
c) The greatest way to build up your armies is to draw near to God. Be genuinely godly! (Romans 8:31) “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”
2. Jehoshaphat’s Compromise
a. He joined affinity with King Ahab
1) To “join affinity” means to form a political alliance through a marriage.
2) Jehoshaphat agreed to the marriage of his son Jehoram to Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel.
3) What was this godly man thinking when he agreed to such a compromise?
a) Certainly, he knew Ahab and Jezebel were ungodly. (1 Kings 21:25) “But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.”
b) Had he forgotten God’s judgment of 3 ½ year of drought pronounced on Israel by Elijah because of Ahab’s wicked conduct.
c) Did he somehow think that peace with Israel was worth the compromise? (1Ki 22:44)
d) Likely, he believed the devil’s lie that giving in just a little would not hurt anything.
4) No matter what he was thinking, he was drastically wrong.
a) God’s command, “be not unequally yoked” is not outdated. (2 Corinthians 6:14) “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?”
b) God’s warnings about separation from the world are not idol words. He warns us, (2 Corinthians 6:17) “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,” (1 Peter 2:11) “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;”
c) Parents, do not compromise! Engrain these principles in the hearts of your children from an early age.
b. He became friends with the ungodly
1) He agreed to help Ahab in a war venture and almost lost his own life (2Ch 18:3, 31). For that, God sent him a stern rebuke (2Ch 19:2).
2) Later he joined Ahaziah, Ahab’s son, in a shipping venture (2Ch 20:35). God destroyed the ships (2Ch 20:37).
3) He agreed to help Jehoram, Ahab’s grandson, in a battle that displeased the Lord (2Ki 3:6-7).
4) Jehoshaphat’s friendships with the ungodly were destructive in at least three ways.
a) They harmed his fellowship with the God he had faithful served for nearly 2 decades.
b) They led many in Judah away from a solid stand for the Lord and into idolatry.
c) They brought his son Jehoram into a very wicked marriage bond that headed the nation into idolatry.
5) Your friendships will either strengthen you or ruin you. (Proverbs 13:20) “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”
3. Jehoshaphat’s Influence
a. He did not transfer his faith in God to his son.
1) For about 17 of his 25 years as king, Jehoshaphat walked with God and sought the Lord.
2) For some reason Jehoram did evil in the sight of the Lord.
a) It is common for dads to get busy and not make it a priority to spend quality time mentoring their children. Our time is limited.
b) The devil wants fathers to think that taking their children to church is sufficient. In reality, spiritually mentoring your children is your most important duty. You only get one go at it, so with God’s help give it your focused attention.
b. He may have gained politically, but he hurt his son.
1) God does not give us details here (2Ch 18:1). Perhaps after a visit to Ahab’s palace with his dad, Jehoram was attracted to Athaliah and sought to marry her. More likely, Ahab purposed the political alliance on Jezebel’s suggestion to infiltrate Judah with Baal worship.
2) Jehoram already lacked faith in God, but this marriage led him into more wicked sin (2Ki 8:18). Athaliah was nearly as wicked as her devilish mother Jezebel. Jehoram only reigned 8 years. (2Ch 21:5-6).
3) Elijah pronounced God’s judgment on him for his wicked living and because he killed all of his brothers. He would die of a bowel disease (2Ch 21:12-15).
4) As God promised, he died of a terrible disease (2Ch 21:18-19). Unfortunately, the sad story of Jehoshaphat’s destructive friendships is not over yet as we will see in the weeks to come.
Conclusion: Jehoshaphat had great potential. For nearly 2 decades, he lived a godly life but compromise led to bad friendships that destroyed his family and led the nation away from God. Guard your friendships very carefully. The wrong friends could ruin your life and the lives of others as they did to Jehoshaphat. Stand for truth! Don’t compromise!
Prayer