Category Archives: preaching first and second chronicles

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Preaching the OT Conditions that Drive Disciple-Making: Preaching Through Chronicles

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I was fascinated by this therapist’s ad because our goals–change–are identical. What you may not have thought of was using “if-then” statements to affect change. I didn’t until I preached through 1 & 2 Chronicles.

When–not if–you arrive at 2 Chronicles 15 you encounter one of the most fascinating conditions or “if clauses” found in Scripture. Verse 2 reads, “If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.”

Depending on your theology, that statement spoken by a Spirit-filled Azariah to King Asa can cause some problems. If you feel the need to run to the NT (as I did, if I remember correctly) have everyone look at 2 Timothy 2:12-13 which reads:

“if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.”

I didn’t say turning there would solve all the problems.

But 2 Chronicles 15 provides a wonderful opportunity for a faith-family to consider the condition for experiencing salvation-rest promised in Scripture.

Verses 1-2 describe the condition. The key to success in the Christian life is having the Lord with you in an OT sense. When the Lord was with His people He fought hard for them and they always came out on top. The opposite was also true.

The condition is God’s people being “with him” or seeking Him. Both describe a person that looks to Him alone for provision, protection, and direction in life. It’s an important part of being a Christ-follower.

Verses 3-7 describe life without God’s active, powerful presence. It’s not a pretty sight. Verse 6 says, “They were broken in pieces.”

Finally, verses 8-19 describe drastic measures taken to ensure God’s powerful presence remains. Those that didn’t seek the Lord were put to death! (v. 13) and “Even Maacah, his mother, King Asa  removed from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image for Asherah” (v. 16). Wow! That’s serious spiritual reform.

And when you preach on this OT condition your listeners will catch how important it is to become part of Asa’s kingdom where  God fights hard for His own. I hope you’ll do this so God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

 

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Allowing King Asa to Lead the Way to Relying on God: Preaching Through Chronicles

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After a few weeks off from blogging, I want to continue suggesting ways to preach through Second Chronicles.

Over the past few weeks I’ve enjoyed taking Ph.D. classes which included discussions about how biblical history is written. The Chronicler certainly is designed for a purpose and that purpose helps us understand how to preach the record of king Asa in a way that functions for the church. The post-exilic community needed assurance that they were still the people of God and that they could still enjoy God’s blessing. King Asa leads the way.

Also, during that span of time I was privileged to present a preaching workshop as part of the Company of Pastors conference held at Lancaster Bible College/Capital Seminary & Graduate School. My topic was, “Go and do likewise”: Redeeming the Moralistic Sermon. Our congregations worship in 2 Chronicles 14:1-15 by following Asa’s example. Again, king Asa leads the way.

First, notice that in vv. 1, 5b-6, and 7b our salvation is described in terms of rest and peace. I defined this kind of shalom as:

  • things are good between me and God
  • things are good between me and you
  • things are good between me and me (I know that’s poor English!)
  • I do not play God in my world and
  • I trust Him to heal the brokenness and patiently wait for Him to do so.

How we receive that rest is found in vv. 2-5a and 7a. These verses explain all that Asa did. This is where we make sure each of us are citizens within such a kingdom. Especially important is the concept in vv. 4 and 7 of seeking the Lord. It is the Chronicler’s way of talking about the Christian’s active trust. This describes a person who trusts God for provision, protection, and direction in this life and the next.

Finally, vv. 8-15 provide an example of God granting rest to Asa and his citizens. It’s one of my favorite sections in Chronicles. In v. 11 Asa “cried to the Lord his God, ‘O Lord, there is none like you to help….Help us…for we rely on you…” I love Jonathan Edwards take on this: “Though they [aren’t] safe from those things that are in themselves evil, yet they are safe from the evil of those things” (from his sermon on the Christian’s Safety).

And if you’re interested in a Christological angle, Jesus promised to give rest in Matt. 11:28. And if you think your folks might think this to be optional, you can warn them with 2 Chronicles. 15:12-13; 1 Cor. 6:9-11, and Rev. 21:7-8.

Anyway I hope you have the opportunity to preach this wonderful chapter in God’s Word so He receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

 

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Preaching Both Folly and Wisdom: Preaching Through Chronicles

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Due to the spiritual schizophrenia of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, when you reach 2 Chronicles 9:31–12:16 you preach both foolishness and wisdom. I found it to be one of my most difficult sermons in this Chronicles series. But here’s a strategy that worked.

Begin with foolishness and there’s plenty of it in 10:1-15a; 11:14-15 and 12:1, 14. Virtually every section contains some form of “go and do otherwise” examples from this king. His foolishness ranges from refusing to listen to wise counsel to unfaithfulness to the Lord Himself.

Then it’s easy to move to the cursed results of the king’s foolishness in 10:16-19; 12:2-5, 9-11 and 15. In those sections, God’s people experience division, defeat in battle, and are deserted by God. These sermon minutes are aimed at encouraging our faith-families to not follow the foolishness of Rehoboam.

Thankfully, the next section shows the king recovering some of his spiritual sensitivities. There is wisdom to emulate in 11:1-4, 16-17, 22-23 and 12:6. One critical concept throughout Chronicles is in 11:16-17 where people “set their hearts to seek the Lord….for they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon.”

The sermon can end on a wonderful note of blessings found in 11:5-13, 18-21; 12:7-8 and 12-13. The highlight for me in this section is in 12:7-8 and 12-13 where the Lord extends mercy: “I will not destroy them…and my wrath shall not be poured out…”

And if you have the inclination to move to the cross, key on 12:12 “And when he humbled himself the wrath of the Lord turned from him…” Not so of Christ on the cross. And that’s the reason why we can experience deliverance in our world.

Anyway, that’s the way I handled probably my toughest preaching portion in Chronicles so far. I hope it helps you preach through the books so God receives His due in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Preaching OT Prayers (part 2): Preaching Through Chronicles

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That guy is still praying because 2 Chronicles 6:1-42 and 7:12-22 is a long section loaded with theology for our faith-families. Because of the length and depth of the section, I decided to divide it into two sermons.

In Chronicles kings like Solomon lead the way to a successful relationship with the Lord. In this section Solomon sets an example for us to follow. God intends for us to pray like this and expect God to answer.

Last week I summarized the prayer this way:

  1. God is accessible (v. 6:18)
  2. And attentive to our prayers (vv. 6:19a, 20, 21a; 7:15-16)
  3. For forgiveness and help (vv. 6:21b, 25, 27a, 29b, 30, 39; 7:14b). As you can see I usually make it a practice to lump together all the places in a preaching portion that deal with the same theme. Otherwise, moving verse by verse or phrase by phrase would result in numerous repetitions of the same theme.
  4. Because of our sin and its consequences (vv. 6:22, 24, 26, 28, 36)

Let’s add to that:

5. But we’ve got a problem (v. 6:23). The problem is that God repays “the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head.” It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to teach both the holiness and justice of God and His mercy in providing forgiveness.

6. And a responsibility (vv. 6:24b, 26b, 37-38; 7:14a). That responsibility is to humbly repent or “turn” back to God again.

7. To learn and live “the good way” (vv. 6:14b, 27b, 31). This section repeats or restates the concept of walking three times.

8. What makes it all possible (v. 6:14a, 42). I saved this thought for last because of my desire to always end with how, in this case, the Christ-event makes this theology true for us. God continues to keep “covenant and” show “steadfast love” to us who believe because of what Christ has accomplished.

If you take a look all eight points you can see how much disciple-making is covered in this prayer. Preach it so God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Preaching OT Prayers: Preaching Through Chronicles

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When you reach 2 Chronicles 6 and 7 you have an opportunity to preach a strategic OT prayer. It’s one of the benefits of preaching through the OT. The OT prayers such as Solomon’s in this text contain important aspects of a theology of prayer. These prayers function for the church by teaching us about God’s character, the kinds of things we need from Him, and His ability to answer our prayers.

I organized the teaching this way:

  1. God is accessible (v. 6:18). The opening question shows that God dwells with us. These are excellent opportunities to teach God’s omnipresence and immensity.
  2. He’s also attentive to our prayers (vv. 6:19a, 20, 21a, 7:15-16). In this section Solomon prays what he knows to be true of God: “…have regard to the prayer of your servant…listening to the cry…”
  3. We pray for forgiveness and help (vv. 6:29b, 21b, 25, 27a, 30, 39; 7:14b). The Chronicler records 14 times where God’s people are unfaithful. I can’t think of another prayer more important to our spiritual lives than asking God for forgiveness. You can see from the verses how much of this section is devoted to what we need from God. You might have some fun with 7:14 since so many of our congregants have heard this verse quoted in terms of our country’s spiritual condition. There are lots of reasons why this verse shouldn’t be read and applied that way.
  4. We pray this because of our sin and its consequences (vv. 6:22, 24, 26, 28, 36). Verse 36 provides an excellent opportunity to teach the universality of sin (things like original sin and actual sins): “for there is no one who does not sin.”

Due to the length and importance of this section, I chose to spend two teaching times on it. Solomon leads the way so we will pray and God will answer. Consider preaching these prayers in Chronicles and contribute to God’s glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Preaching An OT Worship Service (Preaching Through Chronicles)

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One of my favorite places in 2 Chronicles is from 2:1–6:2 and 7:1-3. This lengthy Scripture records the building of God’s house. In the middle of all the details about materials and furnishing you will find a description of an OT worship service.

Consider structuring your sermon around the following (providing you have already taught a theology of the temple in previous sermons as I had):

  1. The character of our God (vv. 5:13b; 7:3b). It should go without saying that our worship centers on our God. In this section we find repeated, “For he is good…” Think about how we use this word in daily life–“that was a good meal, movie, book, or day”–and you quickly realize we’ve got some work to do explaining the goodness of our God. The other character trait of our God is his loyal love (the important Hebrew word, hesed). Nothing sets off a worship celebration like focusing on the goodness of our God.
  2. The glory of our God (vv. 5:13c-6:1; 7:1-2). In this section “the glory of the Lord filled the temple.” 6:1 describes “thick darkness.” There’s a mysteriousness about our God’s presence. Even in Exodus 24:9-11, for instance, when we read, “they beheld God,” we learn that, “There was under his feet…” So, we don’t really see God, but only what He was “standing on.” It’s good for us to remember that our glorious God who matters most, is present with His people. We’re never alone in this world. God is with us.
  3. Finally, our response to His goodness and glory is seen in 7:3. We read, “they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord…” Our worship always includes this same humble attitude, if not the same humble posture.

And if you’re wanting to read Chronicles Christologically, you certainly can remind your faith-family from John 1:14 that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory…” That vision of our glorious Christ continues to drive our worship services.

May we preach about worship in our worship services so God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Preaching the Wisdom of Solomon: Preaching Through 2 Chronicles

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Solomon certainly was a wise ole owl. His God-given wisdom is highlighted almost immediately in chapter 1 of 2 Chronicles.

As I entered 2 Chronicles, I chose to stay with the same theme, “Direct our hearts toward you, Lord.” Solomon leads the way by showing that God alone possesses the wisdom we need to live LifePlus. When you preach 1:1-17 and also 9:1-31 you will be encouraging your parishioners to follow Solomon’s example by seeking the wisdom God provides.

You might begin with the concept of the Source and special nature of this wisdom (vv. 1:7, 10). It is significant that the narrative begins with God telling Solomon, “Ask what I shall give you.” There’s so much theology in that question.

I asked our faith-family: “Wouldn’t it be great if God asked you that same question?” Of course, according to Matt. 7:7 and James 1:5; 4:2, God does tell us to ask Him for the same: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all…” This separates us from the average citizen who turns elsewhere for this commodity.

Next, you might want to spend a moment talking about the priority of this wisdom (vv. 1:8-9, 11). There were so many other things Solomon could have asked for (see the list in v. 11). Every one of those things was important to Solomon’s success, but he asked God for wisdom. Solomon truly was a fine example of Homo (man) Sapiens (wise).

Finally, wisdom has its benefits (vv. 1:12-17; 9:1-28). Chapter 9 contains this wonderful story of the Queen of Sheba arriving to see Solomon’s wisdom firsthand. Solomon’s subjects were faring very well in his kingdom and she was amazed at what she saw. Wisdom did that.

Proverbs 3:18 says, “she is a tree of life…” and 4:13, “for she is your life.”

And if you want to read Christologically, Matt. 12:42 says, “…something greater than Solomon is here.” God made Jesus “our wisdom” says 1 Cor. 1:30.

God’s reputation in the church and in Christ Jesus will increase as you preach the wisdom Solomon received and Christ provides all who believe (Ephesians 3:21),

Randal