Sermon on 11 July 2021 by Ps Justin
Introduction
The world is full of bad news. But the good news is the bad news will never prevail. Good news will always come after bad news. On Good Friday, Jesus Christ hung on the cross – bad news. But he resurrected three days later – good news.
Message
Sunrise always take place after darkness. Whatever dark moment we are in right now, rest assured that sunrise will come. The forces of good are stronger than the forces of evil.
In 1 Chronicles 17:10-14, God promised two things: (i) David would always have a descendant to rule over the nation of Israel; and (ii) the Messiah, the forever-ruler, would be a descendant of David.
Everyone knew these promises, including Satan. Although Satan knew, he is not all-knowing. Unlike God, he is not omnipresent. But he is extremely cunning (Genesis 3:1). Satan cannot read your mind, but he can put thoughts in your mind, through monitoring you. He looks around, monitoring you, looking for an opportunity to devour you. He tempts you into giving in to your desires, resulting in sin and is not pleasing to God. Therefore, only think of things which are lovely, which are praiseworthy. You can achieve this by reading the word, by giving praise to God. Believing the word is not enough. The devil also believes in the word. He trembles at the word. How many believe the word, but do not have humility, do not have obedience, do not have thanksgiving?
2 Chronicles chapters 21, 22 and 23 involve murder, chaos and violence. Satan tried to eliminate the line of King David, to stop the Messiah from coming.
2 Chronicles 21 talks about the reign of Jehoram. After Jehoshaphat died, his son, Jehoram, became king of Judah and reigned for 8 years (2 Chronicles 21:1,5). Israel at the time was divided into 2 parts – the northern kingdom (Israel) and the southern kingdom (Judah). Jehoram was the king of Judah. Unliked his father and grandfather (Asa), Jehoram was wicked. He walked in the ways of king Ahab of Israel and also married Athaliah, the daughter of king Ahab and Jezebel (2 Chronicles 21:6). Jezebel was also known for her wickedness and corrupted Israel. With the alliance of Jehoram and Athaliah, the attack of Satan started. Jehoram killed all his brothers and also some officials of Israel (2 Chronicles 21:4). Jehoram received a letter from Elijah, reprimanding Jehoram for his evil deeds. Elijah wrote that king Jehoram would be attacked, and would also be afflicted with a deadly disease (2 Chronicles 21:12-15). The Lord aroused the Philistines and Arabs to attack Jehoram. The Philistines killed all but one of Jehoram’s sons, Jehoahaz (Ahaziah) (2 Chronicles 21:17). Sure enough, Jehoram died in great pain from a disease and there was no honour to his funeral (2 Chronicles 21:18,19,20).
In 2 Chronicles 22, the Messianic line was hanging by a single thread. Ahaziah was 22 years old when he became king, and reigned in Jerusalem for 1 year. He also walked in a very wicked way, because his mother, Athaliah continuously gave him such advice. However, Ahaziah was killed while he was on the run (verse 9). When Athaliah saw that her son was dead, Athaliah made herself ruler of Judah by proceeding to destroy the royal heirs (verse 10) – anyone under the lineage of David, including her own grandchildren. This was the Good Friday of the Old Testament – a very dark time of bad news. The devil seems to have won. But our God is a god of rescue, of deliverance. He is able to turn bad to good. Jehoshabeath, daughter of king Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, hid Joash, one of Ahaziah’s sons. Jehoshabeath was also wife of the priest Jehoiada). She hid him for six years in the temple of God while Athaliah ruled the land (verses 11-12). This was the good news – Joash was being preserved.
In 2 Chronicles 23, the priest Jehoiada showed his strength in the seventh year. He started to gather the Levites and the leaders of the clans as an army. They would guard the temple to protect young Joash. They put a crown on Joash and anointed him as king (verse 11). The kingdom of Judah rejoiced. Queen Athaliah was angry after learning of the events (verses 12-13). Jehoiada and the army executed Athaliah, went to the temple of Baal and tore it down (verses 14-17).
You have victory in Christ Jesus. Whatever you are going through will strengthen you. James tells us to be joyful even when we have tribulations. That is only way your faith can be strengthened; the only way you can exercise endurance. Blessings are on the way. Are you able to receive the blessings? If you are not trained, not equipped, you may not be able to inherit the coming blessings. Turn every weep into worship. Weeping is only for one night. Morning is coming.
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. – Psalm 30:5b
Closing
Our joy increases through the suffering by our obedience. Absolute obedience brings you sweet joy. God always wins. Stay close to Him, by obeying Him, reading His word, submitting to Him.
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