Hope for Our Generation

Date: 4 July, 2019

Text: 2 Kings 13:14-25

Title: Hope for Our Generation

 

Introduction:

 

Jehoash or Joash was the 12 King of Israel and reigned for 16 years.

note: 

-This is not Joash - the king of Judah who reigned for 40 years, although they reigned at the same time.

- This Joash wasn't a godly king 

2 Kings 13:9  And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his stead.

10  In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah began Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years.

11  And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin: but he walked therein.

- His reign was around 800 years before Christ.

- Elisha, the great man of God, a prophet for God's people, died during his reign as recorded in our story.

 

When Elisha died the people of God lost a great man of God. Although this king wasn't godly, he knew that to lose the prophet was HE THOUGHT to lose hope. How could they continue with God without this older man of God?

 

Elisha is going to encourage him that their is hope for his generation. 

 

My message this morning, "There is Hope for Our Generation."

exp. I don't know about you, I'm jealous for the good old days in the church of God. Great men of God have died and I could join Joash and weep at their departure. Joash wasn't just weeping because a friend was going to the grave. He was weeping because he put a lot of confidence in what God was doing because of the old man of God.

 ill. I have an older friend in ministry - Dr. Ed Nelson - 93 - He's one of the last of his generation of men of God who fought for God and have done great things for God. When God in His timing takes him home, I'll weep not just for the loss of this elder brother, but also because of our loss because of what God has done through this man of God.

 

And yet, as Elisha shared with and this passage teaches - THERE IS HOPE FOR OUR GENERATION. Have you taken by faith the hope God has for our generation?

 

I. Hope for deliverance: Let God deliver you.

14  Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.

exp. He honours Elisha with the honour he gave to the elder prophet who mentored him, Elijah. I always thought Elisha's declaration had to do with the fiery chariot. It is rather a statement signifying the military power possessed by the  man of God.

ill. Joash honoured God's servant as John Knox enemy honoured him - Queen Mary's famous quote - “I fear John Knox’s prayers more than all the assembled armies of Europe.”

 note: As Joash says this - Israel possessed very little military power.

Our text v.7  Neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust by threshing.

question: Where do you turn for hope of deliverance when you only have 50 horsemen, 10 chariots, 10,000 foot soldiers.

Psa 20:7  Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

exp. As we look around today at the smallness of God's army, we ought to remember the old men of God who have hoped in God for deliverance. 

app. Young people where is the John Knox of your generation? Church, where is the Elisha of our generation? Where are the men of God who will take hold of God for deliverance and be to God's church THE CHARIOT OF GOD'S ARMY AND THE HORSEMEN THEREOF? 

 

II. Hope for enablement: Let God put his hands upon what is in your hands.

15  And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows.

16  And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands.

exp. The king was much better at handling a bow and arrow than Elisha. Elisha's hand upon the bow signifies the hand of God upon the bow.

ill. Shooting arrows at our Gala Day tent - Young boy - he could pick up the bow. He may have thought he could shoot, but he could not get close to the target without my help.

ill. We think we can shoot sometimes but in reality we can't. Oh, we can pick up a bow, but we can't really hit the target with power unless God puts his hand on the bow.

 note: The king took, God undertook (as the prophet put his hands on the bow.)

WE NEED GOD'S ENABLEMENT!

ill. I don't know about you but I need God's help just getting out of bed in the morning. I say in my heart at times as I get out of bed - "I take, thou must undertake."

 question: Are you looking to God for his enablement? Do you want to know His hand upon you?

ill. Nehemiah, the leader in the rebuildin of the walls of Jerusalem had God's hand upon Him.

Nehemiah 2:1  And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.

2  Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid,

3  And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?

4  Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.

5  And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.

6  And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

7  Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah;

8  And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.

 exp. Nehemiah suceeded in what he did because God's hand was on the bow.

app. Can you do what you do without God or are you hoping for God's enablement? Is God's hand upon you for the fulfilment of His work?

 

III. Hope for victory: Let God give you confidence in battle.

17  And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD'S deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them.

exp. This arrow fired in the direction of the enemy of Israel was a prophetic symbol. Israel would destroy Syria as surely as that arrow was shot with the hand of God's prophet upon it.

 note: There was no hope without this promise. They were very weak militarily. The hope of Israel was that the God who promised is the God who would fulfil His promise.

ill. I like promises from credible sources. When our family was seeking to get our home we obtained a promise from the bank - mortgage approval (tell story) - if we acquired the opportunity to buy the home they would guarantee the mortguage that we needed. Praise God they didn't fall through and we were victorious in our purchase.

note: I had something better than a mortgage from the bank in as we trusted God for victory in buying a home - I have two notes in my Bible - 

12/10/16 "Praying about buying a house." 1 Chron. 17:25 "For thou, O my God, hast told thy servant that htou wilt build him an house: therefore thy servant hath found in his heart to pray before thee."

(year later) 3/9/17 "Bought our home." Amen and Amen!

 exp. There is no more credible source for us today than God.

Num 23:19  God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

exp. I imagine that in the heat of battle, Joash would have to remind himself of God's promise of victory and take hope!

app. When is the last time, you received a promise of victory from God? Are you banking on it? 

 

IV. Hope for future: Let God bless you with zealous faith.

18  And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed.

19  And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.

exp. The king failed to do by faith what the man of God asked him to do. He gave token obedience. (Ho, hum....) He was heartless. He didn't really think it meant that much. So, he only smote three times. 

 ill. He knew the story of Elijah "The chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof." He would have known the story of Jericho. God's people walked around the city 7 times. Three was a very weak effort on his part. HE SHOULD HAVE HOPED FOR THE FUTURE AND STRUCK THE ARROWS ON THE GROUND IN FAITH.

question: Are you striking the arrows on the ground by faith?

1) I have a pastor's prayer time coming on the 16th. We are going to pray for a 2-3 hours in the morning and in the afternoon. Pastor - that seems like a lot - first of all other generations have prayed a lot more. Secondly - we too often only strike prayer arrows a few times and miss the great deliverance.

app. Do you strike prayer arrows on the ground in corporate prayer time or do you give God token service?

2) We have evangelistic opportunities. flyer distribution, door to do, personal evangelism, family seminar, evangelistic meetings, HBC.

- If you don't think door to door works, you won't strike arrows.

- If you don't think flyer distribution works, you won't strike arrows.

- If you don't think special meetings works - you won't strike arrows.

app. Do you strike evangelism arrows on the ground in evangelism or do you give God token service?

3) We have church services for which we are praying God will win great battles. If you don't believe God is going to work in those services, you won't strike arrows.

- You don't think you will miss much if you miss attending.

- You don't think those you've invited will come so you don't care if you are there or not to greet them.

app. Do you strike worship arrows on the ground or do you give God token service?

4.) We have a brand new offering box with three compartments. God says, "Tithes and offerings." 

Mal 3:10  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

app. Do you srike giving arrows on the ground or give God token service? Not really believing that God is probable when it comes to obeying him in tithes and offerings.

 app. How often has God said, strike arrows for the future and you've given God token obedience. And you wonder why God doesn't give you, your family, our community great deliverance!

 

V. Hope for revival: Let God revive you by His Spirit.

20  And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.

21  And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.

exp. Interesting, the man of God is gone, but God's Spirit blessing has not left. The miraculous power which that man possessed in the person of God's Spirit - STILL RAISES ANOTHER MAN FROM THE DEAD at the man of God's grave.

 note: Elisha was a man who wanted the power of God upon His life more than anything. As he looked at stepping into the shoes of a very great man of God - Elijah - he trembled to do so without the same power his mentor possesssed - THE SPIRIT OF GOD.

2 Kings 2:9  And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

10  And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.

11  And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

12  And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

13  He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;

14  And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

app. We need the Lord God of Moody! The Lord God of Knox! Of Mueler, and Spurgeon - and we have him. BUT maybe we need to get in contact with those men of God from the past and LET THEM BEING DEAD SPEAK BY MIRACULOUS SPIRITUAL POWER. We need to be brought back to the life by the power they possessed!

 ill. I read some of Moody's book, "Spiritual Power" this past week. He spoke of men in prayer asking God for new minister and He gave them to them. They weren't different men but they were made new BY THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD!

App. Hope for revival! Let God bring you into contact with His men and quicken you by THE SAME HOLY GHOST WHICH MIRACULOUSLY USED THEM IN THEIR LIFETIME.

 

VI. Hope for mercy: Let God deal with you according to His covenant.

22  But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.

23  And the LORD was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet.

24  So Hazael king of Syria died; and Benhadad his son reigned in his stead.

exp. God wasn't gracious to Israel because they had a good king. Jehoahaz was an idolatrous king. Why did God work in this day? He worked because of His mercy. 

He's gracious to them. 

He's compassionate to them. 

He didn't abandon them - because He had a covenant with them.

 ill. In Daniel 9 Danniel has discovered that the Babylonian captivity was to be 70 years and he starts praying. 

- He confesses that Israel had been wicked.

5  We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:

6  Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

13  As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

BUT DANIEL'S HOPE WASN'T IN THEIR RIGHTEOUSNESS - HIS HOPE WAS IN GOD'S MERCY BECAUSE OF GOD'S  COVENANT.

9  To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;

18  O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.

19  O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

exp. God sends Gabriel in answer to Daniels prayer for God's mercy for His people.

 app. If you want some sure hope this morning, hope in God's mercy. We don't deserve God to work, but GOD IS MERCIFUL and will keep his covenant with His people.

 

VII. Hope for reward: Let God reward you according to your faith.

25  And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael the cities, which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times did Joash beat him, and recovered the cities of Israel.

exp. God in His mercy allowed the weak hope for the future in Joash - striking the arrows 3 times - be sufficient to give them a temporary victory. They were rewarded according to their faith. 

question: If God rewarded you according to your faith, what would it look like?

ill. As I've prayed for revival for our area, I've thought if God sent revival only to areas where we have sown, how great would the revival be.

ill. A friend of mine said about an area where we put out literature, "Nobody's going to come to your church from her." I said that I agreed but I wasn't just seeking to build our church I wanted to seek to see people saved. Somebody else may start a chruch with those we reach.

 question: God in His mercy will give us more than we deserve. BUT HAVE YOU ANY RIGHT TO HOPE FOR REWARD because you have worked by faith?

 

conclusion:

Joash thought there was no hope because the man of God was dying. THEIR MILITARY MIGHT WAS SMALL....

 

The man of God gave him hope for his generation.

 

THERE IS HOPE. OUR ARMY IS NOT AS BIG AS GOD'S ARMY HAS BEEN IN THE PAST.

 

THERE IS GREAT HOPE FOR OUR GENERATION!

Hope for....

deliverance: Trust God not chariots.

enablement: Let God put His hand on your bow.

victory: Take God's promise.

future: Strike arrows in faith.

revival: Let God bring you into contact with His Spirit.

mercy: God is going to help us no matter what because of who He is.

reward: If you obey God and by faith do His work.

 

Praise God THERE IS HOPE FOR OUR GENERATION.