Grace for a Stubborn, Rebellious and Wayward People [ 36:20 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (43)Grace for a Stubborn, Rebellious and Wayward People: 2 Kings #17
This is an exposition of 2 Kings 13:1-25. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, October 30, 2016.
Intro:
“Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.” We sing it but do we really mean it? Are we truly amazed by God’s grace? Do you consciously think about the depth, the richness or the wonder of God’s grace. We sing how God’s grace saved a wretch like me but we know we are not a wretch like some of those real sinners out there. Wretch, for us, is a relative term. There are degrees of wretchedness. Oh sure, I’m a sinner but some of you people, well you are real sinners! Just for fun I looked up wretch in the dictionary (online dictionary – do they even make actual dictionaries/books anymore). Here is what I found: Wretch: scoundrel, villain, rogue, rascal, reprobate, criminal, miscreant, good-for-nothing; creep, louse, rat, swine, dog, lowlife, scumbag, scumbucket, scuzzball, sleazeball, and sleazebag. Yes, that’s fairly accurate when you put any of us and our record up against the standard of God which is absolute, holy, perfection. To think God would extend His favor to such creatures is truly amazing. That God would be gracious, merciful, loving and kind to the aforementioned crowd is nothing short of astounding. Too often we read the Scriptures and see God acting graciously toward some sinner and fail to see ourselves yet the Scripture says, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” The Bible speaks of humanity and says, “the heart of man is deceitfully above all things” (Jeremiah 17:9); “The heart of man is only evil, all the time” (Genesis 6:5). The apostle Paul cried out, “Wretched man that I am who will deliver me” (Romans 7:24)? When we read the Old Testament we need to put ourselves in the text. We need to see ourselves reflected in the rebellious acts of God’s people. Their story is our story. As we continue our walk through 2 Kings we come to Romans 13 and encounter a lesson in grace.
Text: 2 Kings 13:1-25
Last time we talked about how the kingdom of Judah was back on track after coming dangerously close to extinction. Things were “routine” again and that speaks to the steading faithfulness of God. With 2 Kings 13 we switch back to the Northern kingdom of Israel. As we work our way through we are reminded that…
Thesis: The grace of God remains the only hope for a stubborn, neglectful and wayward people.
There are three things I want to point out.
- God is gracious to us in spite of our stubborn, rebellious and ungrateful ways. (13:1-9)
- Too often we respond to God’s gracious promise with half-hearted enthusiasm. (13:10-19)
- Yet God continues to graciously provide for us in abundance. (13:20-25)