FCC Men's Group Preaching

Have you ever felt like you were just too far gone?

That you made that mistake one too many times?

That there's no way God will accept you.

When I first came to Christ, I actually had a friend of mine ask me, Dennis, do you really think God is gonna accept you after all the bad things you've done?

Man.

That question really struck me.

I mean, God is holy.

He knows everything I've ever said, done, or even thought.

Could a holy and just God really accept me?

Well, today we're gonna learn about what God says about those who have put their faith and trust in His Son, Jesus.

In the book of Romans, Paul has been teaching about our fallen nature, about how we all fall short.

He's been teaching the church that it's by faith in Christ that we receive a new nature and how you can stop striving for acceptance and start abiding in the Father that chose you.

So let's pick it up in Romans chapter 8, verse 12.

Romans 8:12

If you're ready for God's word today, can I hear an amen?

That's right.

Verse 12.

So then, brothers and sisters, I just want to stop and point out that God is addressing believers, followers of Christ.

We are not obligated to the flesh.

The flesh here is referring to our sin nature, that part of us that is naturally inclined towards sin.

To live according to the flesh.

Because if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die.

Paul's just keeping it real right here.

Speaking of a spiritual death, not like lightning bolts are gonna come strike you dead in the moment, but a spiritual death, a complete separation, eternal separation from God.

Paul tells us that if we live in unrepentant sin, a sin that we're not really sorry about, that we are going to die.

Now, this isn't saying that if you have some sin in your life, that you're not saved, or that if you commit some certain sin, that you're gonna lose your salvation.

But what he's saying is this is a complete rejection of what Jesus has done, his finished work on the cross, and you're putting your faith in your own works.

Verse 13 continues.

But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

So how do we put to death the deeds of the body?

By the spirit, by living out the commandments of God.

Verse 14 tells us, for all those led by God's Spirit are God's sons.

So, what does it mean to be led by the Spirit of God?

It's when we choose to follow out God's commands and his godly and live out godly principles in our lives.

It's not like being told everything what to do, go here, do that, do this, but more like when we live with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Now, I'm not saying that we live these things out perfectly, church.

The Lord knows that I don't, but that these are the goals that we have set for ourselves, then we are being led by God's spirit.

Verse 15 says, For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear.

Instead, you received a spirit of adoption by whom we cry, Abba, Father.

When we trust Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit, we are adopted as sons of God.

In the ancient Roman world, when a child was adopted, their old life was completely erased.

All debts cancelled, all past obligations gone.

They received a new name, a new inheritance, and a new future.

And that's the language the apostle Paul is using when he speaks of us being adopted into the family of God, not tolerated, not barely accepted, but chosen and given full rights as sons and daughters.

I remember when I was working as a journeyman for the company that I'm at now, and I wanted to move into a foreman's position.

Um, you know, it's higher pay.

You get a company vehicle.

I'm talking free gas, y'all.

Have you seen those gas prices right now?

That's crazy.

Um, and I'm kind of a control freak.

Don't tell my wife.

Uh but for me, most importantly, I was gonna be able to plan and run the job.

So, but before I was accepted as a foreman, I had to prove to them my abilities.

I had to earn that position.

I would have to show my superintendent that I could understand and articulate a clear understanding of the plans.

I had to show them that I could make the estimates and explain why or how I came to those estimates.

I had to lead a crew to accomplish daily goals before I ever got any of the perks of actually being a foreman.

So they gave me a small job to show them I knew what it took to do the job.

And I felt like I needed to do all of these things to be able to be accepted as a foreman.

And sometimes we can feel like we have to earn our place with God, that our performance is the basis of our acceptance.

Don't do these things, do some of these things, and if you're not sure, do some more of those things.

But when I learned that I was adopted into the family of God, it had a profound impact on me.

I learned that I that my heavenly father loves me unconditionally, and I don't have to earn it.

In fact, I could never earn it.

I learned I was accepted and cared for.

That his grace is greater than my sin.

And when I started to understand this truth, it really changed everything for me.

I went from striving to please God to abiding in him.

I went from doing to being.

I mean, really, this is why here at FCC we say it's one of our core values that the gospel doesn't just save us, that it strengthens us, it shapes us and guides us.

Some of you are here today feeling like you aren't good enough, feeling like you have to earn God's favor or love.

You might have this fear that God won't accept you because of something you've done in your past, or maybe even something that's going on right now in your life.

But friends, God wants you to know that when you put your faith and trust in His Son Jesus, you are accepted.

You are forgiven.

You are redeemed and bought with a price.

And the very fact that you can't earn it and you don't deserve it means that you didn't do anything to get it, and that you can't do anything to lose it.

And when you grab a hold of this truth, I believe that you too can experience the transforming love of God in your lives.

So now, when someone asks me if God will accept me, I say yes, not because of anything that I've done, but because of what he has already done for me.

He took my sin and shame and he nailed it to the cross.

And now I walk in his grace.

So this week, when the world or the enemy or your flesh is getting you down and telling you lies about your status with God or who you are, remember that by the work of the Holy Spirit, you are adopted and transformed as the children of God, given new life, a new name, born again and given purpose in the kingdom of God.

So right now, family, right here in your seat, if you're feeling like God is angry with you, or that you aren't good enough to earn his love, I'm asking you.

No, I'm urging you to bring these feelings and fears to our Father.

Acknowledge that he loves you just the way you are, and that you are accepted, not because of anything that you've done, but because of what he has already done for you.

So let's take a few minutes, moments right now in our seat and just talk with our Father, and then we'll pray together.

Heavenly Father, Lord, we just we thank you for this holy moment that we get to come to your throne, Lord.

And Father, I just pray for the people here right now, those of us that are struggling, that we would know that you love us, that you accept us, that you care for us, not because of what we've done, Lord, because of what you have already done.

We pray these things in Jesus' name.

That was awesome.

We are now gonna have Donovan come up in just a moment, and I'm so thankful for Donovan who has served faithfully on our worship team for years now.

So here's the thing about Donovan.

Donovan doesn't just play music up here.

He is a worshiper of God himself.

He's over to worship God.

He's a growth group leader this semester, and it's just been a blessing to be your pastor the last several years and just see your growth and to see how God's works in your life.

So, guys, will you help me welcome Donovan as he comes up and preaches the words?

Long intro.

Hi guys.

So my name is Donovan.

As you know, I do play the bass up here in the band sometimes, and I also give the communion talk a few times a year.

Um, we've got a lot of people on the team now, which is really nice.

So, uh, with that said, I just want to start with a moment of prayer so that we can get our hearts right because we just heard Dennis preach a sermon that got us up, and I don't want to bring us down.

So, dear Lord, thank you for all you do.

Thank you for who you are.

We pray that this time is glorifying you and you alone.

It is not meant for me or my heart and soul uh to be glorified.

It's not meant to do anything to me other than to worship you.

Uh, we pray the same for this congregation that we honor you with our thoughts, our words, and our actions, and everything that is of our lives, that it glorifies you through it all.

Thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Okay, I'm a little hyped from Dennis's sermon because I don't know about you, but if you've read Romans, Romans is hard to preach from.

It's difficult, it's got a lot of nuance going on.

And he brought the word in a way that made it simple and easy, and it made sense.

And I really appreciate that.

So, one more time, thank you, Dennis.

All right, for us today, with me up here, we're gonna be in Psalm 103, 1 through 5.

Okay.

Uh, this is a psalm of King David.

Now, I just want to emphasize real quick that this is King David.

This is somebody that rules over Israel and should know God really well by now.

Should.

I don't know if you've heard of some of the stories from David, but uh there's something about like having faith that a single rock can just like bring down a giant.

I don't know.

Something about that?

Yeah, that David.

That David that was chased around by Saul for a long time and still met his rightful end and was ascended to the crown.

The same David that they sang songs of, of Saul killed his thousands and David killed his tens of thousands.

Yeah, that David, the one who is celebrated, still had his struggles with God.

Still had his struggles.

And Psalm 103, 1 through 5 is a way for us to get into the mind of David and to the heart of what it means to really understand worship and to remember that God is powerful.

So we're gonna read Psalm 103, 1 through 5 now.

Go ahead and read with me up on the screen.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me.

Bless his holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.

Alright, so there's a lot to unpack, but it's good to understand better.

So let's start with verses one and two.

Okay?

One and two.

Starts off with bless the Lord.

What does it mean to bless the Lord?

Is it the same thing that we get blessings from God, that we then send blessings back to God?

We're like, hey God, thanks for that.

Here you go.

That's for you.

No, absolutely not.

We get blessings from God that build us up and uplift our life and help us with our daily living.

God gets blessed by being honored by his creation.

His creation, the thing that rebelled against him.

I don't know if you heard of Adam and Eve.

So his creation is honoring him.

That's the kind of blessing that goes back to God.

So that's where David is at with starting this uh passage off with bless the Lord.

So when his creation praises him accordingly, which is what was meant to be from the beginning, that is what is good for blessing the Lord.

Okay, moving on.

Oh my soul.

David calls upon his soul to worship God more, his inmost being.

I don't know about you, but I don't share my soul with just anybody.

I don't share my soul with just anything.

My soul is mine, and that is a precious thing to me.

But David here is saying that my inmost being of who I am on the inside, that needs to preach gospel.

That needs to praise the Lord.

Now, the thing to remember here is that worship is more than an outward form of expression.

It's something that Spurgeon says is music from the soul is the very soul of music.

Music from the soul is the very soul of music.

So an example of this, when people see someone raising their hands, singing out loud, dancing in the aisles, I see you, Joe.

When they see that, they think, oh, that's awesome.

But if they're doing those things just to do it, I'm clapping just because that guy in the front's clapping.

He's the drummer, he's on beat, I know it, I'm gonna clap.

Is that it?

God doesn't want that.

If that's all you're giving to God is just this outward expression of things and not who you are from the inside, then it doesn't really matter.

If there's nothing coming from the soul, then it is empty and just for show.

Moving on to the next part here.

All that is within me, bless his holy name.

Everything within had to be praising God, not just parts of him, he had to tune his whole self to God as well as his instruments.

Because remember, David knew how to play instruments, he was very famous for this.

Uh, just like you would see me tune my bass guitar on the stage.

Uh, if you've ever heard an out-of-tune bass, you remember it.

Because no one knows the bass is there until it's out of tune.

And then everyone knows the bass is there.

So you have to tune yourself.

You have to get yourself right, you have to work towards worshiping God, you have to put your body forth in a way that makes sense of your worship.

You can't just show up and be like, I'm here.

Now what?

You have to tune yourself, get ready for worshiping God.

Is there a reason why we only do three songs of worship?

One of them is for you to wake up, right?

That's the fast song, Mason knows.

The next one is for you to start getting right with your heart, and the third one is for you to really feel it and start clapping along.

Gratitude was here for the third song for a reason, guys.

Now, the thing that David is addressing here is himself, indicating that he has the power to either bring his whole self or less than that, that it is up to him.

He is the one that is bringing that to God, his choice.

So moving on, bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

Now, the repetition here, bless the Lord, O my soul, is key in Hebrew poetry.

Okay?

It's key because it emphasizes that phrase.

All the stuff we said previously still applies, but it's a big deal.

It wants you to know what's going on.

We must not forget his benefits, right?

Rather, they are a reminder for why we praise him.

In 2 Chronicles 32, King Hezekiah did forget God's benefits for a time.

And then, quote, wrath was looming over him and over Judah and Jerusalem.

Did you hear that word?

Wrath.

Not a bad time.

The froyo's not working.

There's something that I just don't feel good today.

No, wrath hang over Judah and Jerusalem.

I don't want that in my life.

No, sir.

So let's read on in verses three through five about the power of God.

Who forgives all your iniquities?

What benefits do we list immediately from verse 2?

The absolute forgiveness of all of our sins.

All the sins.

First thing David lists, guess what?

He is a chief sinner.

Despite being the king and despite being a man after God's own heart, he still struggled.

And he lists right away that all our iniquities are forgiven.

And who heals all our diseases, God heals us both inwardly and outwardly, naturally and miraculously, promising that one day in the age to come there will be no more disease, pain, or suffering.

No more.

I broke my toe two weeks ago.

It hurt a lot.

I made noises a grown man should not make.

But now an age to come, I'm not gonna worry about broken toes anymore.

I'm not gonna worry about a bad back anymore.

I'm not gonna worry about bad eyesight anymore.

My eyesight's okay, thank you for checking.

But the idea is the age to come will heal.

All that is.

So who redeems your life from the pit?

God alone preserves the faithful from eternal death and destruction, becoming dead eternally in hell.

Uh the thing here is about the redeemer.

And in Hebrew culture, that was somebody in the family that could redeem someone else in the family and bring them back with them and say, You are still part of this family, and I still love you, and you are part of this family with us.

So someone in the family could redeem someone else to bring them up, bring them with, make them part of.

God does the same thing to us, He redeems us from that pit.

Who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy?

God's great love is much more than just a get out of jail free card.

It is a crown of love and mercy.

I don't want monopoly in heaven.

It is a very bad game.

Because it teaches you all the things of this world without teaching you the things of God.

Because the world values money and property and all the things that you can own for your life, and then you die and give it off to somebody else, and yay, you built up a lot of money, and now you're dead.

Good for you.

That's it.

But we want to hold on to that get out of jail free card because we think it's gonna mean something for us.

It doesn't do anything for us.

God is our redeemer who satisfies you with good.

God wants to bring good and satisfaction into our lives, not just pleasure and entertainment.

This is a source of renewing from God that brings energy to life and the soul.

He wants to bring good and satisfaction.

Okay, we cannot emphasize enough how good God is that He wants to bring good to His children.

So that your youth is renewed like the eagles, just like that of the eagles referenced in Isaiah 40, 30 through 31.

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted.

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.

They shall mount up with the wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

King David is a master leader, a master soldier, a master musician, a master at so many different things.

He's very good at things.

Yet he himself recognizes that he will also grow weary in this race of life.

So, where is the Lord asking for more of your soul to praise him?

Because again, God is powerful.

Where in your life do you need redeeming?

Because again, God is powerful.

Where do you need more of God and less of this world?

Because again, God is powerful.

Where do you need God is powerful to reverberate in your brain just long enough to make sense?

It clicks.

Right there.

What do you need to give to God today so that you can live the life where God is powerful all the time in your life?

Let's go ahead and take a moment.

Alright.

Before I get going, I just want to wish all the fathers happy Father's Day.

Today is your day.

So, you guys can clap, you guys can clap.

So, the message I have for you guys is something that's been sitting on my heart for about two, almost three months.

The message is titled The Resilience of the Rebuilders.

The resilience of the rebuilders.

Church, in my short walk with Christ, I've been doing this walk about two and a half, almost three years.

If there's one thing that I learned specifically on the day that I got baptized, is that when you're taking steps of growth in your faith and you're being obedient to God, there will be resistance.

You see, when you accept Christ into your life, you do gain him as Lord and as Savior.

But you also gain an enemy in the devil.

I got baptized on January 14th, 2024.

And the month leading up to it, I was terrified.

I was wrestling with what life would be like on the other side of publicly professing my faith in Christ.

You know, am I really ready for this type of commitment?

And because no one was going to understand why I was doing this.

Because nobody saw the mental battles behind closed doors.

And nobody saw how the Lord was drawing me to himself to the point where his calling on my life was impossible to ignore.

So January 14th rolls around, and by God's grace, as scared as I was, I got baptized.

And like everyone normally does, you know, you invite your friends, you invite your family.

So I'm fellowshipping after, and a friend of mine says, Don't worry, I'll give Joe two weeks, and then he'll be back to normal.

I'll be honest, church, I don't get bothered by a lot.

But that little subdual jab in my faith, that bothered me.

And then doubt started to creep in.

Maybe he's right.

Maybe this Christian walk isn't for me.

Maybe I'm not ready.

But what kept me going was uh I have a Filipino mom, so she pokes fun at my weight a lot.

So I have thick skin.

So I hear pretty often, my gosh, Joseph, you're ready big.

But really what kept me going was when I made the decision to get baptized, I prayed and made a commitment to God.

And I said, Lord, when I get in this water and I come out, there is no going back.

Baptism was my point of no return.

It was me saying, Lord, come hell or high water, when the rubber hits the road and the going gets tough, I will still be right here.

In this Christian walk, there will be resistance, there will be ridicule, there will be mockery, there will be fear, there will be doubt among many other things.

That's why today we're gonna see one man named Nehemiah who experienced resistance, persevered, and fulfilled the calling that God had on his life.

Let me show you in Nehemiah chapter four.

So, for context, because I'm not gonna assume everybody here knows who Nehemiah is, Nehemiah was a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes in the Persian Empire in 445 BC.

So a cupbearer was someone who guarded the king's drink and tested it to make sure it wasn't poisoned.

He was essentially a servant, a trusted advisor to the king.

He wasn't just in anybody, he had status, he was always in the king's proximity.

See, Nehemiah had gotten word from his brother that the walls of Jerusalem were destroyed, and God began to stir in his spirit, go rebuild the wall, and establish a home for the exiled Jews.

So before Nehemiah went to pursue God's calling, he prayed roughly for four to five months.

He wasn't quick to act, he prayed and leaned on God.

Because understand, church, a foundation built on prayer is the only thing that can support a godly calling.

So Nehemiah musters up the courage to ask the king if he can go rebuild the walls.

And the king says yes.

In that moment, Nehemiah goes from a cupbearer to a king to a servant of the Lord.

Nehemiah's obedience costs him a life of status and comfort in proximity to a king.

Because understand, church, salvation is a free gift, yes.

But obedience to a godly calling will always cost you something.

So, word eventually makes its way around to some enemies of the Jews that they were planning to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, which is where we find ourselves in Nehemiah chapter 4.

Nehemiah 4 · chapter mention

If you're ready for God's word, can I get an amen?

All right, chapter 4, verse 1 reads, When Sanbalat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious.

He mocked the Jews before his colleagues and the powerful men of Samaria and said, What are these pathetic Jews doing?

Can they restore it by themselves?

Will they offer sacrifices?

Will they ever finish it?

Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rebel?

Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside him, said, Indeed, even if a fox climbed up what they are building, he would break it down, he would break down their stone wall.

So Sanbalat was a Samaritan who was an enemy of the Jews.

And Tobiah the Ammonite had family and political ties with the nobles that were amongst the Jews.

They didn't want to see a restored and fortified Jerusalem because it was a threat to their political, social, and economic influence.

Church, that sounds a lot like the devil we deal with today.

See, when you are being obedient to God, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and making him known, what the devil will do is he will try to discourage you and resist you because you become a threat to the influence he has on the people around you.

See, resistance is not a reason to quit.

Hear me, church.

Resistance is not a reason to quit because it's an opportunity to be resilient.

Because I believe the devil understands when a young adult shares the gospel with his friends, Christ's influence starts to shape that very same friend group.

See, families can be changed when a husband and wife get a hold of the gospel.

And I'm gonna try to help somebody out here because we love to talk about breaking generational curses and generational traumas.

If you want to see the generational curses break, generational traumas break.

Parents, share the gospel with your children.

But see, what society has done is they have these weird little silly insults for Christians.

You get called lame, you get called weird, oh, you're boring, you're no fun, oh, you're indoctrinated.

I've heard silly things like, oh, there's no hate like Christian love.

Uh a personal favorite of mine is, oh, you're a fake Christian.

See, what society has done is they conjured up this counterfeit, unbiblical Jesus that is all grace and no truth that does not exist.

And if you're gonna call me a fake Christian for not following that Jesus, so be it.

See, this is why I pray and hope that the generation that is being raised up here at FCC has thick skin and strong spines and is ready to stand on business about Christ.

Church family, in the face of resistance, how do you respond?

Maybe you get mad, maybe your faith gets a little quiet.

Let me show you how Nehemiah responded.

Point number one.

See, this prayer is very powerful to me because it's not soft.

It's not saying, Oh God, just touch their hearts.

Oh, give them grace.

Maybe we can talk about it over coffee.

No, Nehemiah saying, Lord, deal with them.

Give them the justice they deserve for getting in our way, for doing of doing what you called us to do.

See, intentional prayers don't come from faith that is performative or feelings-based.

It comes from a heart that is dependent on God.

Point number two, he let God's word shape his prayers.

If you go back to Nehemiah's prayer in chapter one, he held to the promise that God had for his people in Deuteronomy chapter 30 that said how God will restore his people after scattering them if they repent and follow his commands.

Deuteronomy 30 · chapter mention

You see, one problem in the church in America is the only time we read our word is on Sunday.

Then our Bibles collect dust Monday through Saturday.

See, some of us are operating at a spiritual deficit, which because our knowledge of scripture lacks depth, which then in turn, our faith lacks maturity, which then affects how we pray.

See, this is why when opposition arises, we tend to focus on the enemy in front of us or the circumstance in front of us rather than the God that can get us through it.

Last thing, the third thing that Nehemiah did, he didn't just pray, he acted.

Verse 6 So we rebuilt the wall until the entire wall was joined together up to half its height.

For the people had the will to keep working.

The main theme in the book of Nehemiah is restoration.

God used Nehemiah to restore the walls of Jerusalem in 52 days.

In verse 6, it says, For the people had the will to keep working, meaning in the midst of resistance, the Jews had the will to keep building.

See, faith should not be an excuse to stand still, but a response to knowing what God is capable of doing.

See, church, as terrified as I was to get baptized, I was not gonna let fear get in the way of being obedient, because sometimes in order to be obedient to Christ, you're gonna have to do something you're afraid of doing.

Nehemiah faced resistance because he was building something for God.

Here's the reality: if you are building something that is honoring God, you will meet resistance.

And if there's anybody in today's culture who understands that, it's fathers.

Because what society has done is they promote a culture that minimizes fathers, calls biblical masculinity toxic, and says that the spiritual needs of a household can't come through a father.

And let me tell you something, dads, you are not just an accessory to your household.

You are necessary and essential.

Nehemiah built Jerusalem's walls with stones.

Respectfully, dads, how are you building your household?

Are you building it on the unstable sand of the world?

Or are you building it on the rock, which is the truth of God's word?

See, is there any fathers in here who are willing to rise up in this godless society and have a little audacity and gumption and gall to be able to say, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

The Bible says, Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world.

Greater is the Spirit of God that lives in me and you than the devil that is in the world.

The same Holy Spirit that rose Christ from the dead is the same spirit that is gonna carry you forward.

Church, had I not prayed intentionally, let the truth of God's word shape not just my prayers, but also my walk.

Had I not kept pressing forward even after a little subtle jab in my faith and how scared I was, I probably wouldn't be here.

Keep praying, keep building your life on Christ brick by brick, and keep pressing forward because resistance is not a reason to quit.

I'm gonna go ahead and pray us out.

What is there to say, Lord?

You are the one who we draw strength from.

You're the one who we draw resilience from.

And Lord, I thank you for what you're doing in this church, Lord.

I thank you for the leadership here.

I thank you for the emboldenment of faith, Lord.

I thank you for the fruit that is being produced here, Lord.

I thank you for the fathers that are here, Lord.

I ask that you continue to bless us and guide us in the mighty and the matchless name of Jesus Christ we pray.

Amen.

So thankful for Joe and so thankful for our next preacher, who was raised in our youth group here.

Um, and now he's a youth leader.

Now he has been a men's growth group leader and really has just taken tremendous steps of growth in his heart for Jesus and his character.

And Aggie, I'm super proud of you.

He was at youth camp this week.

Hume Lake ministering to teenagers this past week.

Bro, I'm proud of you.

Would y'all help me welcome Aggie to the stage with you?

Good morning, Church.

I've got a question for you guys.

Do you know anybody who makes really bad decisions?

Yeah, are they in this room right now?

Just kidding, just kidding.

My question for you guys today is do you make Bad decisions.

I think we can all say that we do, and that is why today we are going to be going through a passage that shows what you want to do to make good choices.

If you have your Bibles with you this morning, go ahead and turn to 1 Kings chapter 12.

1 Kings 12 · chapter mention

And in this passage, we will see that before you make any big decision, you have to seek wise advice.

Because this the key to good decision making is seeking wise counsel.

So let's pick it up in verse 1.

And just warning right now, prepare yourselves.

There are going to be a lot of names coming at you.

Most of them are hard to pronounce, and there's two of them that sound the same, so just try to stay with me.

Verse 1.

Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king.

When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this, he returned from Egypt.

So they sent for Jeroboam.

And he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him, Your father has put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke you put on us, and we will serve you.

There are a lot of players here, so let's start with Rehoboam.

Rehoboam has just been crowned the fourth king of Israel.

He was the son of King Solomon, who was the son of King David, who was the successor to King Saul, who was the first king of Israel.

Now let's look at Sekem.

Shechem is a city in Israel, and the city is significant because back in the day it acted as a meeting point for the tribes of Israel to come together for different uh uh different activities, different events, and it also is important because it has some pretty important biblical history.

Shechem was the area where Abraham settled in after being called out by God.

Um, this city was the site where Joshua gathered the Israelites to renew their covenant with God.

And spoiler alert, this is the site where the kingdom of Israel will split in half.

So Shechem is a pretty important site for this nation.

Now let's take a look at our next player, Jeroboam.

Jeroboam was an official under King Solomon and is now acting as a spokesman for the northern tribes of Israel as they go to Rehaboam to ask him to lighten the harsh force labor.

And how did Rehaboam respond to his people?

Well, we read in verse 5 that he answered, Go away for three days and then come back to me.

So the people went away.

Then King Rehaboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime.

How would you advise me to answer these people?

he asked.

They replied, If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.

For Rehabam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who he had grown up with and were serving him.

He asked them, What is your advice?

How should we answer these people who say to me, Lighten the yoke your father has put on us?

The young men who had grown up with him reject replied, These people have said to you, Your father put a heavy yoke on us, make our yoke lighter.

Now tell them, My little finger is thicker than my father's waist.

My father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will make it even heavier.

My father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.

So Rehabam was left between two choices serve his people and lighten the harsh forced labor, or just benefit himself, double down on the labor, make himself look big and powerful amongst his peers.

And in the end, he chose to listen to the vice of his homies and made the forced labor even more extreme.

Let's continue up ahead at verse 16.

When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king, What share do we have in David?

What part in Jesse's son?

To your tents, Israel, look after your own house, David.

So the Israelites went home, but as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehaboam still ruled over them.

And this just shows number one, not all counsel is wise.

Discernment matters.

Before Rehaboam even decided to make a decision, he chose to take time to hear advice from his elders.

These elders being the same people who advised his father, King Solomon, the wisest person recorded in the Bible.

But instead of listening to these wise men, he chose to leave them and surround himself with foolish people who ended up influencing him into making foolish decisions.

And this just shows, this just goes to show that wise counsel strengthens while foolish counsel weakens.

I'm not so I'm not saying don't take advice from the people you're closest to, from the people that you've grown up with, your friends.

But what I am saying is take advice from people who are not only knowledgeable, but also experienced.

You want to take advice from people who know that a tomato is a fruit, but that doesn't mean you throw it in a fruit salad.

Maybe for you guys this morning, it's a mentor, maybe it's our pastors, maybe it's your father, or better yet, it's all of those, but look for people who are not only experienced in their biblical knowledge, but also their application of that knowledge.

And don't surround yourself with foolish people.

You end up becoming like the people you hang around.

If we go back to verse 8, he went and took wise advice from his from his elders, but then chose to leave it and surround himself with foolish people with foolish people.

So he had the wise advice, chose to put it down, and he left it.

And surrounded himself with the foolish.

That is why here at FCC we have growth groups, we have community groups, we have deeper groups, all to help deepen and build the relationships between ourselves and with the Lord.

It's gonna be tough.

Also, control what you surround yourself with in general.

You are what you eat.

If you put in garbage, you get out garbage.

If that means you stop watching certain things, you stop listening to certain things, you stop consuming anything that negatively affects your emotional, mental, spiritual, or physical health or well-being, then just do it.

Now let's move on to the next couple of verses where we will see that if you ignore wisdom, consequences become your teacher.

King Rehaboam sent out Idenairam, who was in charge of forced labor, but Israel stoned him to death.

King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem.

So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

And we see here that if you choose to ignore wise counsel, if you choose to learn the hard way, the hard way will often, no, it will hurt more than just you.

Not only did Rehabam's actions affect him through the loss of his crown, but it also affected the people around him and the people ahead of him.

We see here that Rehabam's official of forced labor, Eden Aram, ended up getting stoned to death.

The kingdom of Israel was split in half at one of its most important biblical sites.

And Rehabam ended up losing the crown of the whole kingdom for his future generations.

And this just goes to show that your actions are not your own and they affect more than you know.

Remember that your choices now have consequences that aren't just for you to bear.

Your choices will affect your family, your friends, your church, acquaintances.

That person sitting next to you right now, your choices will affect all of us.

Your choices even will affect the path for those who will come ahead of you.

And I'm sure that we are all dealing with choices, with consequences from choices that have been made from people before us.

And when I say consequences, not all are bad.

Consequences are simply the results of a decision that has been made.

Um because it is Father's Day, I'm gonna shout out my dad.

Strong morals and values that have been instilled in me.

And a great example of what it looks like to live life as a Christian man.

Continues to set my family up for success.

And even if you can't say that about your earthly father, we all have our heavenly father.

We just have to take it.

So you can choose to set everyone here up for success, pull from the truth, or you can choose to just where'd I put it?

Listen to the world.

Listen to what the world has to say about you, what it has to say about us, and let them dictate what choices you make and see that you will fail.

So as we reflect on this message, keep in mind that your decisions you choose to make can change everything.

Every choice has an outcome, and you are the only one who gets to decide whether you make the right one or not.

My challenge for us this week is to actively search for people we can pull wisdom and knowledge from.

I know for all of us who are in growth groups, we have our leaders, we have our coordinators, we have our members who we can start with.

And for the people that are in this room that are not part of a group yet, maybe that's your first step.

Plug in, just plug in and find your family here.

And for all of us, I know that we have family, family that love us and who are willing to put themselves behind you.

For me, I constantly look to my parents.

So I just want us to come up with a list of three people that you could actively pull wisdom from.

Let's pray.