A Legacy Of Debt - Bro. Jesse Howell 6-16-2024

Use God. Don't you appreciate your pastor here this morning? Love him with

all of my heart. Happy Father's Day to him. A wonderful man,

a wonderful man of God, a wonderful father, a true joy to live

in his house for. I think it was twenty years. I believe it

was twenty years. I believe I got married at twenty Yeah, that's its

Yeah, so its twenty years. It was twenty years. I thank God

so much for my father. Truly a man of God. I'm witnessed his

manner of life. It's just it's amazing to me. I thank God for

him. Mama was talking about that's tools going missing. I'm not sure who

did that, but I will. I will just say this real quick.

If you take a skill saw with a wood cut and blade on it,

it makes some pretty cool sparks on asphalt driveway. Sure does. You might

not like what you get after it, because I sure didn't, but it's

a lot of fun while it lasted. You don't you no ideas? Guys,

Praise God. Appreciate my father. He put up in a lot.

Wonderful man of God. Never beat me. I got pretty close one time,

but it was it was much needing. It was much needing. It

was I will admit it foolishness. Appreciate my dad so much. What an

opportunity I tried to. I tried to do us all a favor here when

I found out he was going to be home, I try to do us

all the favor and let him preach. Asking me ask him to preach,

he said, oh, go ahead. So I do appreciate this opportunity to

stand behind my father and my pastor's pool. Pith a wonderful man of God,

as I've already said, he was talking this morning about leaving an inheritance

for our children and and their children, their children, and the importance of

taking thought of where they're going to be in the future, thinking taking thought

of of of where they're going to end up. And I want to I

want to read a scripture this morning about a man that didn't do that,

a man that that instead of leaving an inheritance, he left them inheritance.

All right, but it wasn't an inheritance that they were needed. This This

man left a great debt. He left He left them in debt, and

he left them in a terrible place. We're gonna be reading in Second Kings

the fourth Chapter. Second King's the fourth chapter, one verse of scripture this

morning one verse of scripture. I want to mention here. I want to

talk to fathers this morning. I want to talk to us fathers. I

want to talk to every man, every boy in this church that it plans

to be and would like to be a father in the future. That God

has put that in their heart, which I believe is a natural desire.

That God has place to have a family and to lead a family, and

to be that provider and that protector that we are to be. I believe

that is a God given desire. So I want to talk to all of

the us here this morning. I don't want to leave no one out.

Second King's the fourth chapter, verse number one. We're going to read just

this verse now their pride. A woman of the wise 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 has

come to take unto him by two sons to be bond men. Reading it

again, now they're crying. 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 bonding. Would you

raise your hands toward head and feature God to help us. God, we

thank you so much for jodeous Lord, We thank you or reason. God.

We thank you all this day that you have made choice and be glad.

Lord. Would you help us each one? Lord? Would you let

us say everything that you would have us to say? God? Say nothing,

Lord, nothing, listen, word would speak through us. God?

Would you speak to me right now or if he helps someone? It is

my desire God, it is my chiefs desire that you would help us here

this morning. God will give you craze, honor and glory for it for

your worthy in Jesus' wonderful name, we breed a Amen. Amen, you

can be seated here this morning. In our Bible reading this morning, we

read of a family in the in the days of the prophet Elisha, and

this took place in the land of Israel. The scriptures record a family of

four, a father, a mother, and two sons. I suppose this

was their only two children. Perhaps it was, perhaps it isn't. The

Bible doesn't say if it was only two. It does say she said,

the creditors called to take unto him my two sons. So we're dealing with

two of the two of these these children here, the very small family,

and they find theirselves in a very difficult time. They find themselves in a

rush situation because daddy has died and they have some kind of debt, some

kind of of debt that they could not afford. The predators, the Bible

said, it comes and they try to take I give them the name Billy

and Bob. I don't know what their name was. But they come to

take Billy and Bob to be bond men. They come to take them to

be slaves. And the reason that they were to be slaves, we was

we was because of a father's debt, because a daddy left behind a debt,

something that they had to pay, something that daddy didn't take care of

when he when he had time. He had these children that were to be

slaves. And I tend to believe, and you're well them to disagree,

because the Bible don't tell. So we can agree to disagree. I tend

to think that these children were gone. I tend to think that they were

too young to have a paying job. I tend to think that they were

too young to go out into the workforce and provide a living. For the

fact that if they could, then I believe that they could have maybe worked

out a deal with the creditor, say sir, if you give us some

time, we'll work. We weren't some money, and we'll pay daddy's debt.

Won't pay for what he left behind when he died. They did not

get paid. So I believe that these were young children. And it's important

here this morning to realize that during this time in Israel, that the legal

system was set up in such a way that if someone owed it that that

they couldn't pay, that they couldn't pay, that the the loanholder or the

creditor as the scripture calling, could demand that their children be indentured servants.

So they could demand that that their children would come be servants and be bondmen

to print to pay for that debt. That's the way it was set up.

So these servants would work for the creditor for for about six years,

six complete years, and after those six years, the debt would be considered

paid and they were free to go by order of the Mosaic. By ordinance

of the Mosaic law, which you can read Deuteronomy is fifteen to twelve.

It says, and if thy brother, an Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman,

be sold up to thee and serve these six years, then in the

seventh year, thou shalt let him go free from these So I tend to

think that more than likely that this was the situation, that this was the

case in our text here this morning, that these children would be having to

serve this man, this creditor, for six years because of what their father

owed. So back to our text this morning, this man has died and

has found herself. Mama has found her and her children in a place where

she couldn't afford the depths. She couldn't afford the payments that was due,

She couldn't afford to pay the debts that her husband had owed. These two

boys, they didn't inherit great riches. And I want you to remember what

Pastor talked about this morning. I appreciate that exhortation from our pastor. These

boys they didn't inherit great riches. Their father didn't lead them, didn't leave

them how houses, he didn't leave them lands which we can read about in

times past. Where these men would inherit riches, they would inherit fox,

they would inherit, inherit herds of cattle, words of sheep. What they

inheritance was bondage. What they inherited was bondage. They inherited slavery. They

inherited a debt. They inherited the if someone had accumulated and left behind and

they had to pay for what was borroad, this debt was passed down.

They had no means of paying this debt. The Bible doesn't tell us for

what the money was borroad. The Bible don't don't tell us why this debt

was incurred, why it was All we know is that this man, when

he died, his family was left not being able to pay that the debt

that was owed. And I want us, I want us to realize that

many times children reap the consequences. Our children will reap the consequences of our

actions. They'll be forced to pay the debt that we owe, They'll be

forced to live the life that we set them on, they'll be forced to

walk the way that we set them on, except for the hand of God

that will come in. So it is very important to raise our children and

train our children in the way that they should go. To the Bible say,

if you train a child in the way that they should go when they

grow home, they will not depart from it. Once you raise a child

a certain way, it's very hard for them to change direction. Once they

get rooted, once they get grounded in what they have been taught, not

the Bible, but beyond saying it, it's hard to teach you an old

dog new tricks. Once this dog has learned the way daddy said, jump,

Once this dog has learned the way daddy says fetch, Once this child

has learned to act the way daddy acts. Once this child learns to act

the way Mama acts, it's hard for it to change. It's hard.

In verse two, we can read that this woman has sold everything she had

to try to paint it. That she told the men of God, Elisha,

all I have is a poddle hoild. She had nothing left to give,

she had nothing left to sell. She had tried everything that she knew.

She knew to do, but she came up short. And I want

us to realize this morning that if we put our children in a deficit spiritually,

and we put them in a place where they're lacking so much. And

I'm not talking about monetary thing, I'm talking about physical things, because completely

that is a big part of being a father. We must teach them to

be providers. We must be providers. We must teach them how to work,

how to work for God. But I want to look also of the

spiritual aspect, through spiritual lives of this death. And I want you to

realize that if we leave our children in a deficit spiritually, they don't see

Daddy reading his Bible, they don't see Daddy hitting his knees in bread before

ben and before work. If they don't seek Daddy raising his hands and kidding

God glory, They're gonna be in a deficit. They're gonna learn that way,

and they're gonna become a step of the soul. If you leave them

in such a place, if you leave your children, if you train your

children in that way, if you train them that this is the way that

they should go, it, don't be surprised whenever those around them when they

do all that they can do. When the church does all this, Mama

done all she could do. This, Mama tried everything. This Mama said,

I sold everything except for one little pot of oil. I gave everything

I have to give. The church can give all they got. The people

around it can give all they got. The man of talking you all he

died being trying Hardess. But if Dad ain't don't hell, my mama does

hell, it'll be all hell. The ultimate responsibility is right here. It's

my responsibility to raising boys with a desire for God. It's not as good

responsibility to raising monies to be prayer warriors. My dad growing up would always

pray with us before man. I don't remember a night. He probably says

there was one or two nights. I don't remember a night growing up that

he didn't come to that hallway. My sister's room was down the hall and

our room was here, so he was standing in the middle, and he

would have say a prayer. He called me, how to do that?

Now, Mike to David. If I told me, if I'm reading my

Bible on the couch and it's bedtime, ain't dad, O are you gonna

come pray? With us. I said, yeah, I'll be right there,

Bud. I don't fail a night on miss the night because I was

he is by a man of God that taught me the imparton. But here

to day pray Man, here is Mama, pray. It's upca us the

responsibilities right here. The responsibility was on that day. Mama done everything she

could, she sold everything, but she came up short. Praise God.

She done everything within her power. Right, she done everything she could,

but she couldn't. And I know that it's Father's day here this morning.

So let's look at the father that's mentioned in our text. The Bible says

that he was the son of a prophet, which in those days been he

belonged to a group or a guild of people devoting themselves through the work of

God and hearing the word of God. These men would be overseen by a

man of God who at this time was Elisha. Elisha was considered the father

of the prophets. And times passed. This was over this, this,

this prophet. These people were overseen by men such as Samuel, by men

such as Elijah. And if you remember, whenever Elijah was taken up,

they said there was some men standing back seeing what would happen, and that

way they was wanting to see if the spirit of Elijah rested upon Elisha,

because if it did, then he would become their spiritual authority. So Elisha

has gained this this this rule as father of the prophets. The I want

us if this man very well could have been one of the seven thousand that

refused to bow to bail very well could have been next. I want us

to see the beginning of this woman's reason for crying to Elisha. To the

Man of God for hell. She tells the Man of God, thy servant,

my husband is dead. My husband has died. Lastly, she says,

the creditors were coming for her sons. She could have said, thy

servant, my husband is dead and the creditor has come to take away my

two sons. But if you read our text, and if you pay attention,

she stops in the middle of that. She stopped writing the middle as

she's speaking, and she says, you know my husband feared the Lord.

You know, thy servant. Let me read it again, thy servant,

my husband is dead. She stops, and thou knowest that my servant didn't

fear the Lord then she continues, and the creditors come. I believe it.

It's important that those around us, that those around us that are walking

the side of us, that those going to church with us, that those

living day to day by our side, they know where we stand. This

woman had no doubt that Elf should knew who her husband was. This woman

had no doubt that that her husband feared the Lord. We don't know the

reason for this deb and I was studying some commentators and some historians believe that

this was Obadiah, the prophet that took the hundred prophets and they hit him

in fifties in the caves to hide them from Jezebel. I can't find it

in the Bible. It's historians. I've read down. Commentators supposed that,

so that's not fact, but they believe this. But in any case,

whether it was was obadron aut that did such great I'm not here to throw

shade on on the man. I'm not here to show up to throw shade

on his experience or whatever he had. But there remains a fact. There

remains a fact that he left his family in a place with no way to

succeed. When he died. They had no way of fixing what he had

caused. And regardless, this day had to be made right. It had

to be paid. Someone had to pay it, someone will have to pay

it, and his fathers and parents, even future parents. As I said

at the beginning, we must be careful because one day our children could be

paying the price for our actions. One day they could be paying for what

the way we teach them, for the way we trained them, the way

we set them forth their life. And it seems to me as I look

out this morning across the sea of time that many parents live in today,

they live in right now what I need right now to make today go.

And they don't look at down the road. They don't look at the future.

They don't give fault to tomorrow. They don't give fault to what lies

ahead. They don't think about what the price that must be paid. They

don't think about that death that they will accumulate by the way that they're living

right and in the weight of careless parents. Are some children that are broken

in the way of careless parents. Are some children that are broken better in

starve because of daddy and mama's decisions, Because daddy and Mama didn't train them

up because MoMA and Daddy left them with the death, because they left them

with a plan that they needed help with him and they had no way.

They're left with the dead of sin because Dad came up on Jesus, because

Dad walked out on God and they stood no chance against the evil that is

coming to fight. We know we've heard of little babies that crave drugs in

their first breath because Baba don't have time to sell out to God. Because

Baba don't think about what she's doing, she affects the life of that baby.

When I was growing up, I don't remember it, but I've heard

my parents tell the story that there was a woman in our church that would

care and bring in babies in shoe boxes that had addictions. She cared for

them, babies and mama's and daddies. They don't care about the future sometimes

and they don't give thought to what lies ahead. And every person will pay

for their sin. You will pay for your own sin, yes, but

many, many, many times our foolishness affects others, such as our kids

and those that are walking coasts behind us and that are watching our footsteps.

In Second Kings twenty sixteen, through nineteen. In Isaiah thirty nine five through

eight, or two accounts of the same encounter between Isaiah the Prophet and Hezekiah,

the King of Judah. God had raised up Hezekiah. God had raised

him up from his death bed. He will sick up to death. The

Bible says. He turned his face to the wall, and God gave him

fifteen more years. Well, the king of Babylon, he's happy to hear

that he's that he's up and moving around. He's up and back at it.

So he sends him gifts. Well, has A Kia just welcomes whoever.

I don't know if the actual king came or what he said. He

sent gifts by their hand or something like that. And he opens up the

storehouse to these Babbylonians. He tells them to come on in, and he

shows them everything that's in his treasury, right, all the gold, it

says, all the silver, all the spices, all the ointments. The

Bible says, he even opened up his house of armor. He showed them

all his defenses, all his plans. Has A Kia tells Isaiah, there

is nothing among my chasers that I have showed them. Not I'm showing them

everything. I opened up the door and I just let him come in.

Whatever you want to see, whatever you want to take, whatever you want

to look at. I don't know if they took it. Be whatever you

want to look at, come right on in. Hezekiah felt like all of

those treasures were his. The Bible said, there is nothing among my treasures

that I that I'm hid from them. I don't think. I don't think.

I don't think God thought they were Hezekiah's treasures. I think God said,

Hezekiah, don think your treasures, son, those are my treasures.

Those are what God is, what I have laid up for you. God

wasn't pleased with Hezekiah for this right. And God sends Isaiah on a mission

with some news for the king. You can read in Second Kings twenty.

We're gonna start at sixteen. And Isaiah said, unto Hezekiah, hear the

word of the Lord. Behold the days come that all that is in that

house, and that which thy fathers have laid up into unto this day shall

be carried away into Babylon. Nothing shall be left. Saith the Lord right

here though verse eighteen, and thy sons that shall issue from thee which thou

shalt beget, shall they take away? And they shall be units in the

palace of the king of Babylon. The very man that he opened up the

storehouse to you, that's the man that's gonna take your children. That's the

nation. It might have been a different king, but that'll be the nation.

That'll be the nation that takes your children. Henstead has a kia unto

Isaiah. Good is the word of the Lord, which thou hast spoken?

Good is the word of the Lord. Wait up, Isaiah, Isaiah just

told me that my children are gonna be bonded. Bond me. Isaiah just

told me that my children are gonna be slaves, And I ain't had The

kid says, good is the word of the Lord. That sounds good than

me? He says, is it not good? If peace and truth be

in my day? Hea Kai was living for today. Hena Kai was worrying

about right now. He was worrying about the right here, the right now,

not getting talked, and not caring what happened about his kid's futures.

Who paid the price for his Akaiah, Who paid that price, Who paid

that debt? His children paid that debt? Isaiah said in verse eighteen.

And thy sons that shall issue from thee which thou shalt beget, shall they

take away, and they shall be units in the palace of the King of

Babylon. This prophecy comes to pass, just like the Word of God always

does. He comes to passing Second Kings twenty four four. Jeholic'm is the

great. If I did my my uh looking right, Jeholicam Jeholicim was the

great great grandson to Hezekiah. There was a few kings before Jehakim. They

might have thought they were getting by because I'm sure they had heard about this

prophecy that Isaiah had gift to Hezekiah. So I'm sure that they were that

they were wondering, when is that gonna happen? Is it gonna happen?

You got Hezekiah, then you got Vanasa, you got Amnon, you got

Josiah, you got up Jeholicim, you got Jehoa. Has you got a

few kings until this prophecy comes to pass on the children of Hezekiah. But

living the Knezzar no, in fact comes In chapter number four of Second Kings,

Nemica Nezar comes up, and the Bible says that Jehoakam became his servant

for three years. The word of God came true in his life, though

he thought maybe he was skimming by. But after three years, he serves

him for three years, and after three years, the Bible says that he

decides to rebel. In Verse number two of chapter twenty four of the Bible

says that the Lord sin against him, the counties, the Syrians, the

Moadvice, the Ammonites. There was no escaping. There was no escaping the

consequences of his father's sins. I want you to realize here this morning that

these boys, these children of heather Kina, they went from being served.

They went from being served to being servants. You've heard the stories of from

rags to riches. These boys went from riches, they went to the great

things that God had harmed to rags because of the father. They went from

the high life right after the low life. Because of Daddy. They went

from being served whatever they wanted, the finest of the land of Israel to

eating the servant's food because of Daddy. Because of what Daddy did. We

must be careful because our children could be the casualties of our actions. As

a Kyle was a great king. He was known as a reformer. He

was a reformer of Judah. But he left his children and those coming behind

him me in a rough spot to climb out of them. He set them

up for failure. He set them on a rocky path. The way that

we worship and pray at church and at home, they will affect our children.

The way we worship at church, the way we worship and pray at

home will affect our children. Our Bible reading, our day to day life,

our conversation will affect those that are looking to us. And the whole

point that I want to get to today is that our actions, good or

bad, right or wrong, will always have effect on those around us.

It is important to be a stepping stone and not a stumbling block. Hella

Ki was a stumbling block as a Ki laid a big old motor in their

pack and said, try to get around that if you can. Because of

foolishness. In our main text, this morning the Man. Because of this

man's death, his sons were to be taken away to be bundman. But

for the grace and the provision of God. Sometimes we feel like that.

We sometimes we feel like that Mama. Sometimes we feel like I'm doing everything

I can. I'm trying everything that's within my power, but I can't seem

to find the way around it. I can't seem to find that right a

grip, that right foot hold, that right footstep. Well, I know

a man here this morning that can can guide your path. I know a

man that can can order the steps. He can order your steps. The

Bible said, the steps of a good manner of ordered by the Lord.

One thing that I love about our text this morning, this story. This

man, whoever he was, he knew who to keep his family around.

He knew who to acquaint his family with. He knew that that that they

needed to be around the man of God. He knew that he knew that

they needed to be around someone that could get ahold of God. Baba did

all she could, and when she had no more to give, where she

go She went to God. She went to someone that could do something about

it, someone that could take care of what I can't take care of,

someone that can equip me arrange my children, someone that can't equipt me to

walk the straight line. I'm gonna to the man, go to Jesus Christ

that'll take me, that'll teach me. There's little excuse in the house.

And don't we know of them? The righteous dessays the righteous sinner excuse Yeah,

God, Yeah, I know a man that can equip us and help

us to leave behind our wealth of spiritual blessing for our little ones to get

a hold of. We can teach them who to call when life gets tough.

We can teach them how to pray. We can teach them how to

get a hold of God. We can teach them and show them the joys

of reading God's word. Where life it's above your ability, whenever it seems

like it's more than you can handlem, come see a man this morning.

Do we stand here this morning? Come see Jesus. Take it to Jesus

in prayer. This mama went to Elisham and said, I need help.

I can't do this. I can't do it on my own. And let

me tell you, you can't do it on your own. This morning.

Many people are trying to do it on their own. Many fathers, many

mothers are trying to do it on their own. It's impossible. Without Jesus.

No parent wants or desires to put their children in a bad situation.

I've had a title this morning. I think I forgot to give it.

But I preached this morning on a legacy of debt. No parents should leave

behind a sin debt. No parents should leave bore sind debt than already is

gonna come at him. They've got enough coming after him. They've got enough

struggles and enough fight without daddy and mama give it up, without daddy and

mama turning around and going back. They're watching us, They're watching how we

act, They're watching how we pray. I'm done here till this morning.

It's not a place to pray if you feel like it. I don't want

to leave a legacy of debt concerning spiritual things. Oh, I want to

get a hold of God and show him that I care about where my children

and ducks, that I care about their will beIN here this mornin'