Is God for Real in Israel? [30mb]

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This is a sermon based on II Kings 1:3 that describes a confrontation between Elijah and the messengers from King Ahaziah who were sent to consult with Baalzebub, the god of Ekron.

Written Excerpts:

Introduction:  The nation of Israel is in a state of decline both spiritually and politically. Their worship to God has been corrupted by mixing the practices of the pagans for many years. There have been brief periods of revival and renewal when certain kings and leaders were in power, but then the nation lapses back into idolatry and horrible immorality.

Samaria is the capital city of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the King, Ahaziah, was severely injured after falling through the lattice work of a window or door on an upper story of the building.

The king sends his messengers off to the city of Ekron which originally was the northern-most city of the Philistines. The purpose of his trip is to find out from the god “Baalzebub” whether the king would recover from his injury or not. So the prophet of the true God is sent by an angel to interrupt the mission and give them a message from the Lord.

The message that Elijah had from God was framed in the form of a question that is somewhat difficult to grasp as written in the KJV because of the “double negative.” I believe that this question could be rephrased to read something like this, “Are you seeking answers from a pagan god because there is no God in Israel?” “Is the God of Israel no longer alive, so that you need to consult a pagan god of the Philistines?”

Or, as our title reads, “Is God for real in Israel?”

What about making the question a little more personal or up-to-date? “Is God no longer relevant in America (Grove City) so that you seek spiritual knowledge from alternative sources?”

With the Lord’s help, I would like to draw some parallels between the situation described in 2 Kings and the current conditions in our society and even our church world.

I.  Conditions that could suggest there is no God.

A.  Leaders seek answers from false prophets and false gods.

1.  In the Scripture that I read, Ahaziah had fallen and been injured, so he sends messengers to Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, in order to learn if he would recover from his injuries.

Scholars tell us that Baal-Zebub was a god of the fly(ies). Some suggest that its original “creation” was to ward off the flies that permeated the region. This particular cult had apparently become well known for being endowed with prophetic powers, hence the king’s commissioning of the servant to go receive a message regarding his own future health and healing. (Clarke, Keil & Delitzsch, Henry, and Jam. Fau. & Brown)

Adam Clarke points out that this “god” is the same one that was called the prince of devils in Matthew 10:25, which would have been a reference to Satan himself.

At this point in Israel’s history, the leaders and the people have forsaken God for so long by worshiping pagan deities that it doesn’t even occur to King Ahaziah to call on the Lord God of Israel. The reality of the prophet’s question is evident. The Lord has been out of their minds and hearts for so long that it seems like He does not even exist in the nation any longer.

2.  In comparison, it appears that alternative religions and practices are growing in America.

I tried to check out some research regarding the trends in religious faith in America. I read some articles put out by the Pew Forum on Religion as well as the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. Both sources provided a lot of statistics and analysis that was not very easy to understand.

Their studies did seem to show that membership in traditional Christian denominations is declining. One of the studies revealed that the number of people unaffiliated with any religion is greater than previous studies had shown.

I don’t know if I was reading the data accurately or not, but it seemed to me that there were three trends identified:

·        More people are becoming unaffiliated with any religion, i.e. walking away from the faith traditions of their childhood.  

·        Non Judeo or Christian-based religions such as Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism are gaining membership in America, but it is unclear how much of this growth may simply be the result of immigration.

·        More and more Americans are integrating alternative faith practices into their existing religious beliefs.

These religious trends show similarities to this account in 2 Kings regarding the king of Israel who sought the counsel of a pagan deity rather than the counsel of the living God.

3. Additionally, some have pointed out that Ahaziah illustrates the common response of many people today who seek to know the outcome of some pending circumstance or peer into the future rather than simply taking life one-day-at-a-time. They simply don’t seem to like the idea of trusting God to work out His will for His glory.

There are a lot of people I have known over the years who would claim to be a Christians, but they still consult Ouija Boards, horoscopes, and many other occult-related practices in order to find out what the future holds for them.

For all those people seeking answers from other sources than from God I would echo the words of the prophet, “Is there no God in America any longer?” “Is God for real, or is He just a myth like all the other pagan gods?”

A second condition that could suggest that there is no God is…

B.  When God’s people are experiencing continual defeat. 

I want to point out another example in the O.T. that carries a very similar message or impact as the story in 2 kings. In the book of Judges, an angel appears to a man called Gideon and announces that God is with him.

Judges 6:13 “And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”

1.  Based on the past history of Israel, Gideon equated the presence of the living God with having miracles and experiencing victory.

He makes a logical point with the angel by essentially saying, “If God is with us, they why aren’t we seeing God’s miraculous intervention similar to the deliverance from Egypt and the dividing of the Red Sea?”

It seems like Gideon is really asking, “Is God really in this place?” Or, “Is God for real here?”

2.  Similarly, even today, when God’s people are not experiencing victory in their personal lives or corporate church life, and they are not witnessing any evidence of the miraculous power of God, then there is a legitimate reason to ask “Is God for real in this place?”

When Christians are repeatedly overcome by the temptations of the world and defeated in their spiritual progress, it is a testimony that God is not actively at work in their lives. It simply reveals “There is no God in this place.”

C.  When there is a general absence of morality and justice.

1.  As one reads the history of the nation of Israel in the O.T., we find that in certain times in Israel’s history when she plunged to the depths of her backslidden state, then all sorts of horrible injustices and immorality prevailed.  For example:

·        Most of the prophets denounce practices current in their times such as: injustices to the poor, the widows and the oppressed.

·        Immoral lifestyles (e.g., temple prostitution as a result of mingling pagan cultic practices in with the worship of God).

·        Child sacrifices. We’ve talked about this before, but it is an example of the depths to which a nation can fall when God’s truth is rejected.

2.  While there has always been religious diversity in America, there was a time when the overall moral climate was much better than it is today; especially following the Great Awakening and some of the other revival periods in our nation’s history.

However, in today’s society we witness all sorts of immoral, criminal and deviant behavior.  We are witnessing a time when moral perversions are passed off as alternative lifestyles. Things that were formerly viewed as morally offensive are now lauded as progressive, while former virtues are denounced as bigotry and prejudices. Sadly enough, some of the immoral conduct is practiced by those who call themselves Christian.

When anyone looks at the moral climate in America, they would certainly have the right to ask, “Is there no God in America?”

II. Conditions that would suggest that God is real today.

A.  When the Church experiences a genuine revival of its original mission and purpose in the world it would project a message that “God is for real.” 

We are not saved from our sins just so we can sit around and dream about heaven and “be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease.”  We are saved first of all because God loves each one of us, but also because God has a task and a mission for the church to perform.

In the NT book of Acts and even in the epistles, pagans “sat up and took notice” as the apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ “turned the world upside down” with their zeal and passion in fulfilling the mission they had been given.

No matter where they went, they projected a message that God was alive and real.

B.  When individual Christians and the collective church experience consistent victory over Satan and the world it will project a message that “God is for real.”

God intended for the church to be a victorious army, not an army of victims. 

cf. Matt. 16:18 “Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

I don’t remember if I have made this point here before or not, but this passage of Scripture does not mean what many people think it means. Many have interpreted this to mean that the church will be able to survive all the attacks that Satan and the forces of hell might bring against it.

But, remember, gates are not offensive weapons. They are defensive fortifications. So it is literally saying that the walls and gates of hell will not be able to stand up against the advancement of the church. The church, as God planned, will invade the very territory of the devil and advance the Kingdom of God.

CONCLUSION: 

We hear voices in our society today that tell us we are experiencing revival in various areas of the country.  I’m truly grateful for everything that is being done, and I certainly would not want to minimize anything that God is doing. 

However, if we were truly experiencing revival, then I propose that the overall moral climate in America would be in much better condition than it currently is. I have to confess that I do not see this happening. It may be happening in small pockets here and there, but not to the degree that we need it.

I am not one who believes that revival is impossible. I do not believe that the apparent nearness of the end time rules out the possibility of true revival, if the church meets the conditions which will certainly bring revival.

I want to end our service today by singing a hymn that boldly proclaims, “We are on the victory side!”

Let us sing this song with passion and with the conviction that God will indeed lead us in victory and help us demonstrate to a watching world that He is for real! Amen? Amen!