Jehoshephat

As you take your Bibles, turn over to 2 Chronicles chapter 17. 2 Chronicles chapter 17 is where we're going to be tonight.

2 Chronicles 17 · chapter mention 2 Chronicles 17 · chapter mention

And we're going to, as we continue looking at the kings and as God established them as they walk through the different two kingdoms now,

because as we've journeyed through the kings, we see definitely the contrast between the two kingdoms.

You know, we see the blessing of the right decisions and really the devastation that comes with wrong decisions.

You know, how life is destroyed by wrong decisions and that it affects others also.

But, you know, we've walked through the different kings here.

We began looking there at the kingdom.

If you remember, it began with the first king with Saul.

And it went from Saul to David and then to David's son Solomon.

And after Solomon, we find the kingdom was divided because of choices that had been made.

You know, oftentimes people try to tell you, do your own thing because it doesn't affect anybody else.

But when you read the word of God, God makes it clear that it's the same thing in life.

Your choices do affect other people.

And sometimes the ripple effect is far greater than we realize.

You know, we understand that the effects of some of Solomon's choices at the end of his time before he died in his kingdom

led to the division of the kingdom between the northern kingdom Israel,

who was led by a series of kings beginning with Jeroboam, who had an opportunity.

As we've learned, if you remember, Jeroboam had an opportunity to build a kingdom

that was going to be pleasing to God.

God personally sent a prophet to him to declare that he had a choice to set the stage for what was going to happen.

We know Jeroboam's stage that he set is where we find, as we left off last time, with King Ahab.

You know, it progressively got worse and worse and worse and farther away from God,

from the decisions that were being made.

And we find here this decline to Ahab.

And now they have that wicked king.

And we learned last time that he was more wicked than anyone that had come before him as a king.

And so we know that Ahab was a wicked man married to a wicked woman by the name of Jezebel.

And we talked about that some last time there in that.

But Judah also had a rocky beginning.

You know, as we considered those things there with the nation there with Judah and Benjamin

that became known just as Judah there.

And we find here that had kind of a rocky beginning there with Rehoboam and his son Abijim,

who didn't do all that evil, but they did allow evil.

You know, sometimes what we permit is sometimes as bad as what we do.

Because sometimes we give permission to things, it causes devastation.

And so we have to be careful with those things.

And so we know that as they did not lead or direct the people to follow the Lord,

they weren't against God.

You know, when you study, as we looked at Rehoboam and his son,

they weren't against God in that sense.

They weren't counter to, but they weren't for either.

You know, they tried to walk that middle ground with everybody.

And, you know, that gets us in trouble to try to walk that because it does have an impact.

And we find that then Asa comes on the scene.

And he began a revival in the land that would continue here when his son Jehoshaphat takes the throne.

And so we're going to look tonight at Jehoshaphat.

We're going to look at because Jehoshaphat is the one that was leading the kingdom,

contrary to the kingdom of Israel, to Ahab.

So we're going to look at these two.

We're going to introduce Jehoshaphat.

Then we're going to get into the coming weeks of how the interactions between those two,

because we'll see how those things interact and the decisions they made and the impact of it.

But we know that Jehoshaphat, the Bible tells us that he was 35 years old and reigned for 25 years.

And so we're going to pick up here tonight in 2 Chronicles.

And we'll pick up here right at the end of verse 16, or chapter 16.

We'll look at verse 13 here in reading.

It says,

And Asa slept with his fathers and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.

And when he buried him in his own sepulcher, which he had made for himself in the city of David,

and laid him in the bed, which was filled with sweet odors and diverse kinds of spices prepared by the apocryphal art,

and they made him a very great burning for him.

And Jehoshaphat, his son, reigned in his stead and strengthened himself against Israel.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Fathers, we just take a few moments here to look at the life of Jehoshaphat,

to introduce the decisions and the things and the example that he is.

Lord, the things that we can learn from him even here tonight.

Lord, help us to have our minds and our hearts open to the reality of how these things even apply to us.

And our lives today, Lord, we pray would you be wise in your eyes that we might seek you in the day in which we live.

And Lord, we ask it all in your precious name.

Amen.

You know, we see here a great contrast because between Ahab and Jehoshaphat,

I don't think you get a greater contrast of leaders.

You get one that we're going to see that Ahab, if you remember, he was evil.

He said there was none more evil than him.

And then you're going to find that Jehoshaphat is exactly the opposite end of the spectrum

because God credits him to say he walked in the first ways of David.

In other words, he was a man that sought after God's heart.

Now, I don't know if you get much greater contrast to one that's totally debunked to evil

and another one that's totally wants to sell out to serve the Lord.

That's as opposite end of the spectrum as you get.

And we're going to look at the contrast between these two men as we move through these chapters here a little bit.

But they stand an example, though, of the choices you make regarding God and his instructions

and that desire in our heart.

Because while wickedness was happening in Israel under Ahab,

the righteous actions of Jehoshaphat was guiding Judah in the totally opposite direction.

These two nations at this point couldn't be any farther apart

in what they were doing and their desire.

And so let's look tonight first at the direction of Jehoshaphat

because this thing with Jehoshaphat began with himself.

It began by the choices that he made, just like the things in our life it makes by the direction that we make in life.

What direction are we taking towards God?

Because Jehoshaphat, remember, had seen, he grew up, he was 35 years old,

he had seen the revival under his father.

His father Asa led a revival in the land,

and we know that he put out the worship of Baal,

but he didn't remove the high places or the groves out of the land either.

In other words, he had, you might say, a revival in the right direction,

but it wasn't complete.

They still allowed for some things,

and we will look at that a little more as we move through here.

But we understand this dynamic that Asa did not end well as he was bitter.

You know, his father Asa, Jehoshaphat's father,

was not, didn't end life very well because he ended life bitter and angry.

The last few years of his life, you know, you can serve the Lord,

and you can allow something that comes about

because what he got mad about is God rebuking him for not trusting him.

You know, oftentimes people can serve the Lord a long time and get angry and bitter.

But you know, there's something interesting here about Jehoshaphat.

He didn't let his dad's bitterness hinder his relationship with God.

He didn't let the decision of somebody else hinder what direction he was taking it.

You know, that's important to realize because the decision is not

other people can influence you,

but you still have a choice to make what direction you're going to go.

You know, today we have a lot of people,

well, this happened and that happened.

You know, God knows all those things that happen.

But you still have a personal choice to say,

where am I going from here?

I cannot control what other people did, what other people's decisions.

But you can control what direction you're moving towards God.

And you can see tonight, as we're going to look at Jehoshaphat,

I want you to realize that, that even though he'd seen his dad serve God,

he gets to the end of his life, in the last few years of Asa's life,

he even put a prophet in jail because he was mad at him.

But Jehoshaphat, when he takes over, he institutes a whole lot of things.

He chose a direction.

He didn't allow what his dad had done or what his dad had decided

to impact his decision for the Lord.

He said, I'm going to serve the Lord.

So instead we find here that he turned towards the Lord.

And this was, God had delivered him here in this opportunity for this.

Because let's look here back in chapter 17.

Look at verse 1.

And it says,

And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead,

and strengthened himself against Israel,

and placed forces in all the fenced cities in Judah,

and set garrisons in the land of Judah,

and in the cities of Ephraim,

which Asa his father had taken.

You know, this conflict between Israel and Judah

was still present when Jehoshaphat takes the throne.

But he says, I'm going to do something,

and we're going to see a picture here.

Because in our own life, the first thing we need to do,

we find that Jehoshaphat did, is he set up the defense.

You know, he set a perimeter.

He set a reality of, okay, this is where things are going to be in his life.

He set that for the nation.

And notice it tells us he strengthened himself against Israel.

Now this is a great picture for us,

because remember, Israel was doing all sorts of evil.

But we find that Jehoshaphat said,

I don't want that evil coming into this kingdom.

He said, I don't want to give them opportunity to attack.

You know, now we understand that physically,

but we're going to look at that a little bit in our sense today,

because Jehoshaphat was smart in the sense that he says,

if I'm going to leave this nation,

I need to make sure things are defensible,

that we have things, that an area we can defend,

that we have a perimeter,

that we have something in place to protect us.

Because it tells us here,

the fenced cities were reinforced with troops,

along with others strategically placed throughout the land.

And he put them in the places that Asa,

his father, had taken along the border there with Ephraim.

And this became his first line of defense.

You know, and I want you to see tonight

that this is a great picture for even us.

If you're going to serve the Lord,

you better understand where the perimeter is,

where things are.

You need to set a defense.

And we're going to look tonight,

because I think as believers,

we need to have a defense against the enemy.

You know, you need to set a perimeter, you might say.

And we can learn that he set the defense to,

number one, keep evil at bay.

And if we're going to live godly in this present world,

we need to establish some same things.

We need to establish some safeguards in our life.

You know, if you're going to make a choice to live godly,

the first thing you have to say is,

how am I going to live godly?

And that comes with setting some safeguards

in your life as you grow,

and to understand and as you mature.

Because the enemy's looking for an opportunity to attack.

Just as Ahab and Israel was looking for an opportunity

to attack Judah,

the devil's looking for a way to attack you.

The enemy, you know, remember what Peter,

turn to 1 Peter.

You know, consider that in this context

for 1 Peter chapter 5 in verse 8.

1 Peter 5 · chapter mention

You know, as Peter here,

notice what he tells us,

for us today,

notice what he says,

be sober, be vigilant.

Why do we need to be sober and vigilant?

Why do we need to be in our right mind

and the right thinking,

and to be vigilant?

What's he say?

Because what?

Our adversary, the devil.

You know?

I want you to understand

that you have an adversary.

It says,

as a roaring lion,

walking about,

seeking whom he may devour,

whom resist,

steadfast in the faith,

knowing that the same afflictions

are accomplished in your brethren

that are in the world.

I want you to understand

that one thing he did

is he,

when Jehoshaphat took over,

he set the perimeter.

We need to set a perimeter in our life

if we're going to live for the Lord.

To say,

here's some things

that we're going to put in place.

He set his direction

towards the Lord.

To resist,

we need a good defense in place.

You know,

the primary way we do that is,

oftentimes,

what we call standards.

You know?

Standards are what help us defend

against the enemy's attack.

You know,

that seems to be a bad word

in some things,

but you know,

the funny part is,

everybody has standards.

Now,

some people have high standards

and some people might have low standards,

but everybody has a standard.

You know?

You might have standards

of all different directions,

but there's nobody

who doesn't set a standard

in their life.

The question is,

where are you getting your standards?

Where are you establishing those things?

That's an important question.

of where those things come from

in our life

because standards

are not the foundation

of our defense,

but it's what is the product

of those things

that we defend

because they are the walls

that defend us,

but they're established

by those things

in which they're based.

You know,

a wall is no better

or a fence is no better

than the foundation

underneath it.

You know?

And I want you to understand

our standards

ought to be put on something

that's not movable

upon the Word of God

because our standards

in our lives

must have the right foundation,

a biblical foundation.

You know?

To grab a hold

of a biblical foundation

of what God would have

and when we establish

a defense,

we must build it

on one or more principle

from God's Word.

The foundation

of a standard,

a perimeter in your life

needs to be built

upon the Word of God.

Needs to be built

upon what God has said

because, you know,

oftentimes,

the problem with standards

and a problem

that's been

even amongst Christians

is sometimes people

adopt somebody else's standard

and never adopt

the principle

or the conviction

behind the standard

because you can hold

a good standard

and not have any conviction

about it.

Your conviction

comes from a principle

from God's Word.

If you're going to live

for God,

you better grab a hold

of some principles

of God's Word

to say,

where am I going

to put these?

How am I going

to use these?

How do I establish them

in this perimeter

to defend my life,

to defend those things?

And when we form convictions,

we believe what we believe

because what God has said

and when we know

what God has said

and agree with it,

then we can establish

a standard

that will enable us

to do or to protect

from the evil around us.

You know,

that's really what a standard

is for.

It's for your protection.

It's okay.

If I'm going to do this,

if I'm going to live for God,

these are things

I need to make a decision

to say this is what

I'm going to do

to make sure I can fulfill

what I believe God

has called and commanded

me to do.

You need both of those

in place.

And we see here

that as Jehoshaphat

gives us a good example

of this

because the first thing

he did is said

we need to set the perimeter.

You know,

we need to protect

from evil.

We need to protect

from the onslaught

so we can focus

upon the right things.

We need an outward defense

but we also need

inward ones

because you know what?

Sometimes you need

to have standards

inside yourself.

Sometimes your standard

is not outward.

Sometimes your standard

needs to be inward

of saying

what am I just not

going to think about?

What am I not going

to focus on?

Because sometimes

your mind

is your worst enemy.

You know?

Your mind

is a place

that the devil

loves to get into

if we allow

those opportunities.

You know,

think about

turn to 2 Corinthians

for a moment.

2 Corinthians chapter 10.

2 Corinthians 10 · chapter mention

2 Corinthians chapter 10

2 Corinthians 10 · chapter mention

because notice

what the apostle

here tells the church

and the members

there at Corinth.

He tells them this

in verse 4.

1 Corinthians chapter 10

1 Corinthians 10 · chapter mention

in verse 4.

He says,

For the weapons

of our warfare

are not carnal

but mighty through God

to the pulling down

of strongholds,

casting down imaginations

and every high thing

that exalted itself

against the knowledge

of God

and bringing into captivity

every thought

to the obedience

of Christ.

How many of you

ever considered

your own thought life

can be your worst enemy?

Have you ever noticed

what you begin

and if you take

a lot of time

thinking upon something

it begins to consume?

You know,

there's an old saying

that said

if what you have

is a hammer

everything looks

like a nail.

You know?

If you're bitter

everybody looks

angry and bitter.

You start looking

at it through that lens.

You start looking

at things

through the lens

of what you're thinking.

So the Bible tells us

what we ought to think

on those things

that are pure

and just and honest.

Those things

are the things of God.

Why?

Because it adjusts

how you look

and how your mind operates.

It keeps your mind

full of the right things.

I want you to understand

that he wanted

to put the right defense.

But I want you to see

also next

that he walked

in the way

of the Lord.

He walked

in the way

of the Lord.

Look here

in our text

back in chapter 17

and it says this

in verse 3

and the Lord

was with Jehoshaphat.

Now notice here

it doesn't say

because he was

a good guy.

Notice what it says.

Why was God

with him?

Because he walked

in the first ways

of his father David

and sought not

after Balaam

but sought

to the Lord God

of his father

and walked

in his commandments

and not after

the doings

of Israel.

Now there's quite

a contrast

in both those verses.

It has to do

with the decision

that Jehoshaphat made

because Jehoshaphat

could have said

well look what

happened to dad

or look how

these things

were turning out

but instead he said

no I'm going to

set my course

to follow the Lord.

I'm going to set

my course

in the right direction

the direction

that Jehoshaphat

decided

was to follow

the Lord

to serve the Lord.

You know I wonder

as he was growing up

if he didn't hear

Joshua get read

to him where it says

choose this day

whom you will serve

and he made a decision

to say

I'm going to be

as Joshua

I'm going to serve

the Lord.

It wasn't built

on somebody else

it was on his decision

he chose to follow

the Lord.

You know he was

compared to David

this is an interesting

thing

David seems to be

you might say

is the standard

that God measures

the kings against.

you'll find

that he either

walked in the ways

of David

when it mentions

a king

or he didn't

but Jehoshaphat

has an interesting

context

because he says

this about Jehoshaphat

he walked in the

first ways of David

consider what he's

saying there

it says Jehoshaphat

walked in the

first ways

of David

what's the first

ways of David?

Go to 1 Kings

1 Kings 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15

for a moment

because in David's

life you'll see

a division

because I want you

to understand

look at verse 5

it says this

in 1 Kings

1 Kings 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15

because David

did that which

is right in the

eyes of the Lord

and turned not

aside from anything

that he commanded

him all the days

of his life

that's the first

ways of David

and then you have

a little issue

with David

save only the

matter of Uriah

the Hittite

David got his

eyes on the

wrong thing

and it impacted

the rest of his

life

now I want you

to understand

David was

forgiven

David asked God

to forgive him

but it still

had ramifications

that affected

the rest of his

life

there are certain

things in life

that you can

be forgiven

you can walk

through but you

cannot change

you'll find

that David's

choice there

impacted

his life

it was a point

different

he says

that's the reason

the first ways

prior to David

doing that

because if you

read Psalm 51

you'll find

a unique statement

that David

asked God

to return

on me

the joy

of thy salvation

you know what

sometimes sin

has an impact

it's hard

to get your

joy back

because there's

a difference

between knowing

it up here

and actually

having it

function

doesn't it

and so we're

going to see

here that

he says

to walk

as David

did

with all

his heart

the standard

was not

David himself

but the

direction

of David's

heart

I want you

to see that

also

because today

we also have

a problem

with people

following people

you'll hear

all the time

people get

caught up

following preachers

and following

some personality

but we ought

to have our

eyes on the

Lord

have our

eyes on the

Lord

look over to

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11

for a moment

because I imagine

that as you

read through

Paul

and the things

and he makes

this statement

here in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11

to the church

at Corinth

he says

be ye

followers of me

even as I

also am

of Christ

that's a key

statement right

there

because you

know what

I imagine

in Paul's

day

a lot of

people looked

at the

things Paul

did

and the

thing

how God

used him

and the

great miracles

the things

that took

place

I mean

Paul had

a lot of

amazing

things come

about in

his life

and people

would look at

him and say

ooh

you know what

Paul said

get your eyes

off me

and get your

eyes on

Christ

because if

your eyes

on Christ

you're all

looking the

same direction

keep your

eyes on

the right

things

to follow

Christ

is the

direction

not that

of a

person

others are

not the

standard

nor the

direction

but Christ

is

his walk

was directed

toward the

Lord

and not

towards

Balaam

now notice

here in

verse 3

what it

tells us

here

because he

contrasts

this

he says

in the

Lord

was with

Jehoshaphat

because he

walked in

the first

ways of

his father

David

and sought

not

unto

Balaam

in other

words

there's a

clear

distinction

in the

direction

he was

going

in that

there's

this clear

distinction

his walk

was directed

towards the

Lord

and not

towards

Balaam

he never

sought

direction

from Balaam

now the

thing is

this

this word

here

that we

find here

sought

is very

key

because we

find here

that as

he seeks

after those

things

we seek

after things

that word

sought

means to

seek or

desire or

to ask

you know

sometimes

we can

be

mixed up

in our

ideology

we can

say we

love the

Lord

want to

serve the

Lord

but then

we seek

for other

things

go back

to

when you

think

back

into

chapter

16

at the

end

of

Asa

Jehoshaphat

fought

dad's

life

one of the

things that

said he

trusted the

physicians

more than

he trusted

God

you know

that's a

decision

he made

to seek

after help

from someplace

else

often times

today you'll

read through

the scripture

here even

as you read

through the

Old Testament

there's amazing

how many

people would

worship God

and then go

out and

worship other

gods

that was the

problem in

Israel that

they were

dealing with

it wasn't

that God

wasn't there

God was

just one

of many

you know

today God

can be one

of many

to you

when we

see

what's

happening

here

in other

words he

didn't

participate

in false

worship

of an

idol

the problem

that drew

Rehoboam

was a split

mindset about

Baal

they could have

promoted the

things of

God but also

enabled a

false worship

you know

consider look

over back in

the Old Testament

go to Jeremiah

Jeremiah 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6

for a moment

Jeremiah chapter

Jeremiah 6 · chapter mention

6 because

you know

we're just as

susceptible today

to this as the

children of Israel

were

the Bible

tells us all

this was

written for

what our

learning and

for our

instruction

we can see

the reality

of what's

how easy

it is

and we need

to be looking

and seeking

the right

things

notice here

in Jeremiah

6 and

verse 16

it says

thus saith the

Lord stand

ye in the

ways and

see and

ask for

the old

paths

there is a

good way

and walk

therein

and ye

shall find

rest for

your souls

but they

said we

will not

walk

therein

you know

I want you

to understand

what God

said about

Jehoshaphat

is Jehoshaphat

said I'm

going to

walk in

the ways

of the

first ways

of David

I want to

keep my

eyes on

the right

things

and we're

going to

see here

Jehoshaphat

starts

his kingship

his reign

that way

he sought

to the

Lord

the same

way that

David

had

followed

the

Lord

look at

verse 4

it says

but sought

to the

Lord God

of his

father

and walked

in the

commandments

and not

after the

doings

of

Israel

in other

words

it's a

matter of

focus

and it's

a matter

of action

he made

a decision

in the

direction

that he

was going

to travel

and how

he was

going to

travel

he sought

to the

Lord

the same

way that

David

did

this word

implies

following

in doing

that

so

let me

get some

help

tonight

you'll get

some

verses

here

need a

volunteer

for

Psalm

119

and verse

10

who's

got that

one

Lance

you can

catch that

one for

me

I need

Deuteronomy

429

Lou you got

that one

I need

Micah

6 8

Ethan got

that one

and then

Deuteronomy

1230

Deuteronomy

1230

who's got

that one

James you got

that one

alright

Psalms

Psalms 119:10

119

verse 10

okay so

this is that

same context

in there

to be

sought

after

what he

seek

after

he

sought

with him

with whole

heart

to not

wander

from God's

commandments

Deuteronomy

4 29

okay that

word there

seek

is a

very clear

that second

one

if thou

seek him

with all

thy heart

that is

the exact

same word

that talks

about

what

Jehoshaphat

sought

after

that idea

of seeking

after God

with our

whole

heart

how about

Micah 6

8

okay so

very familiar

but there's a

word in there

require

that's translated

require

that's the same

Hebrew word

translated here

sought

in other words

seeking God

involves

a course

or an action

of things

associated with it

there's some

things that are

identifiable

along the path

you might say

to say this is

the direction

it is

how about

Deuteronomy

12 30

yeah here's

Deuteronomy

12

that word

require

is the same

word again

this idea

of seeking

after other

gods

and to see

well how did

they serve

them

you know

we live

in a

polytheistic

ideology

today

of saying

well we can

just worship

whatever god

we want to

worship

however we

want to

worship

let me

try yours

out for a

while

you know

that's what

God's warning

Israel about

because he

says

I'm driving

them out

because of

the evil

don't follow

and don't

fall into

those things

don't seek

after or inquire

about them

to try to say

well how do

they do this

you know

the most

important thing

is to know

how you're

supposed to

serve God

not how

does somebody

else worship

their God

to keep our

eyes on the

right things

so we're not

drawn away

so we see

here the

contrast between

the worship

of Baal

and the

and of

Israel

of how they

had changed

worship

completely

was relevant

here because

remember up

in Israel

we talked

about Ahab

where had

they gone

I mean

they basically

had almost

pushed God

completely out

to the side

and followed

Baal

because Jezebel

was a priestess

to Baal

the focus

and you'll see

and we'll talk

about that here

in coming weeks

we'll talk about

very famous

events you know

up on Mount

Carmel

that's what led

to that

with Elijah

the prophet

and the prophets

of Baal

that's where

all that

conflict

came about

was because

of that

you know

we'll look at

that in a little

more detail

there

you know

that

you know

the famous

showdown

on Mount

Carmel

you know

it's like

we all can

relate

and know

that story

but sometimes

we don't think

about why

did that

happen

because God

was trying

to get

Israel's

attention

off what

they were

worshiping

and back

on him

to look

for the way

that they

ought to go

Jehoshaphat's

direction

though

was totally

opposite of

Ahab

it was

towards the

Lord

and away

from evil

it resulted

in a renewed

focus

in Judah

even though

his father

had brought

about a

revival

among the

people

one thing

still plagued

them

was the

high places

in the

groves

and we

talked a

little bit

about the

high places

because if

you remember

when the

children of

Israel

first went

into the

land

before

Solomon

built the

temple

many of

them would

go and

actually

worship God

offer their

offerings on

the high

places

which is

very similar

to what

you find

with Abraham

Isaac and

Jacob

because they

didn't have a

set place

that they

offered

there were

some places

like Bethel

and other

places that

they would

return to

but when

the temple

was set

up and

the tabernacle

was set

up all

that changed

it's what

they had

once done

didn't mean

that's what

they should

continue to

do because

there was a

difference that

was made

and we're

going to see

here as we

walk through

this that

they had to

deal with the

high places

and the

groves

he had not

removed them

but look down

at verse 6

because one of

the things about

Jehoshaphat's

revival is it

was at a

point where

Jehoshaphat

I'm going to

follow the

Lord and

I'm going to

get rid of

these

look at

verse 6

it says

and his

heart was

lifted up

in the

ways of

the Lord

moreover

he took

away the

high places

and groves

out of

Judah

in other

words

Jehoshaphat

didn't ask

if it was

going to

make people

upset

he said

this is

what was

needed

if we're

going to

walk with

the Lord

you know

sometimes

truth

and God's

ways make

people upset

because it

rubs against

them

you know

some of the

best analogy

you can have

you know

it's kind of

like the

cat doesn't

like being

rubbed the

wrong way

maybe the

cat needs

to turn

around

you know

if you

turn around

you don't

get so

ruffled

so I

want you

to see

here that

Jehoshaphat

is a great

example for

us today

the need

to seek

the Lord

and obey

his commandments

is essential

if we're to

walk as

he walked

you know

I'll tell you

look into the

New Testament

for a moment

go to

1st John

John 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

1st John

John 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

as you find

something here

in 1st John

John 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

look down in

verse 4

look at verse 4

it says

he that saith

I know him

and keepeth

not his

commandments

is a liar

and the truth

is not in him

but whosoever

keepeth his

word

in him

verily is the

love of God

perfected

whereby we

know

we that

are we

are in him

he that saith

he abideth

in him

himself

also to

walk

even as

he

walked

in other

words

the Lord

is our

example

that we

ought to

keep our

eyes on

to walk

that way

have you

thought about

all the areas

that the

Bible tells

us as a

New Testament

believer

that we're

supposed to

walk

I encourage

you to

do a

search

we've got

electronics

today

and it's

real easy

to do

look up

those two

words

walk in

especially

in the

New Testament

you consider

in Romans

6

we should

walk in

newness

of life

2nd Corinthians

5

7

we should

walk by

faith

and not

sight

Galatians

5

we should

walk in

the spirit

not fulfilling

the lust

of the

flesh

Ephesians

5

we should

walk in

love

Ephesians

5

we ought

to walk

circumspectly

the list

could go

on

there's a lot

more

our walk

and the

decision

and the

things we

do

is important

and we

see it

started with

Jehoshaphat

personally

but I want

you to see

it impacted

next the

direction of

Judah

as a

nation

and how

did he

do that

and the

impact

that it

had the

direction

of Judah

Jehoshaphat

also fulfilled

his responsibility

to guide

and direct

the nation

because what

did he do

we're going

to see here

what he did

take a look

here in

verse 7

it says

and also

in the third

year of his

reign he

sent to

his princes

even to

Ben-Hale

and to

Obadiah

and to

Zechariah

and to

Nathiel

and to

Micaiah

to teach

in the cities

of Judah

and with

them he

sent Levites

even Shema

and Nethamai

and Zebediah

and Asiel

and Sheremoth

and Jeneroth

and the other

guys here on

the list

and then he

has the two

priests

and with

them

Elishma

and Haroam

priests

and they

taught in

Judah

and the

book of

the law

of the

Lord with

them

and went

throughout

all the

cities

and Judah

and taught

the people

now this

is important

because the

first thing

he did

is he

started a

teaching

campaign

he took

the groves

he took

the high

places

away

and then

he sends

out the

priests

and the

Levites

to say

we need

to teach

the people

the word

of God

not just

don't do

this is

what you

should do

and this

is why

you should

do it

you know

that's

important

because

if you

try to

take

something

out of

your

life

that's

bad

you better

fill it

in with

something

else

that's

good

that's

a very

basic

principle

because

you know

what happens

to vacuums

vacuum

is a

space

unoccupied

and something

will get

sucked into

it

something

will fill

that

space

so just

removing

evil

out of

your

life

is not

the only

thing

you need

to do

you also

need to

put in

the right

things

because

the thing

is

you can

control

what

goes

in

that's

walking

in the

right

path

is

back

filling

it

with

the

right

stuff

to put

the right

things

in

that

teaching

you know

because

it's

impossible

also

to follow

something

you're not

familiar

with

you know

you can't

expect

people