Inquiring of God, Part 4

October 19, 2008
Pastor Mike Evans
  

“Inquiring of God - Part 4”

October 19, 2008

2 Chronicles 20:1-12; I Kings 19:9-13a

2 Chron. 20:1-12 (ESV) 

[1] After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle.  [2] Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, "A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar" (that is, Engedi).  [3] Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.  [4] And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.  [5] And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, [6] and said, "O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.  [7] Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?  [8] And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, [9] 'If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you— for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.'  [10] And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— [11] behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit.  [12] O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.” 

1 Kings 19:9-13a (ESV) 

[9] There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"  [10] He said, "I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away."  [11] And he said, "Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord." And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  [12] And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.  [13] And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 

We continue on today in the fourth of a series of eight messages on the subject of Inquiring of God, i.e. seeking God for direction in the areas of life on which the Bible does not specifically speak.  For example, which house should you buy?  Which career should you pursue?  Should you marry or not marry, and yes, then how do you determine who to marry?  How should you decide which church you or your family will attend?  To which activities should I say yes and to which no?  Life is full of decisions!

Should the knowing of God’s will for our lives come down to a balance sheet of pluses and minuses, positives and negatives?  No!  In almost every case, I would discourage this from being the determining factor.  Perhaps it is a healthy exercise, but as far as determining what God wants to do in our lives, it is literally a God-less process, that is, without God.  Even people who hate God with all their hearts make decisions in life based on a plus/minus sheet.

To rely on a positive/negative balance sheet alone to determine God’s will assumes way too much.  It assumes that we always know what would be best for us.  It assumes that we even know the proper criteria we should be using.  It assumes that we even know what positive and negative is in the grander scheme.  This is ridiculous!  What if God’s plan for you is not to take the attractive new job with the 40% salary increase but instead makes it clear that you are to take another job for 40% less than you are already making? 

What if rather than declaring bankruptcy and taking the relatively easy way out of a predicament, God, for the honor of His name and for your peace, would have you cash in every cent of your retirement savings and liquidate every non-essential thing in your life in order to meet your obligations… something that is much more important than finding the easy way out of trouble.  How would you know that?  How would you know whether or not God’s design for your life at a particular moment in time was to take you through barren fields so that you might learn to trust Him more?

As we continue on in this series, I want to again reiterate the very important truth that God loves to communicate with His children.  He is not stingy.  God is not one to trick us like a mean uncle.  Rather He gives good gifts to those who ask Him.  

What I would like to do this morning is lay out a few requirements or prerequisites for inquiring of God and from there move briefly into the subject that we will be considering over the next couple of weeks: Biblical methods God has used to communicate with His  children.  Finally, I plan to throw out a challenge to us all at the end of today’s message to put this series into practice in a very tangible way.

The last thing in the world that I want you to think on this subject of inquiring of God is that this is a rigid, legalistic and lifeless process…. much like some assembly line workers feel about their work.  Inquiring of God is a dynamic life—giving exercise!

Even so, there are some prerequisites for Christians who would inquire of God.  Let me give just a few of them.  First, Purity.  Last week we looked at Ezekiel Chapter 20 and how the elders of Israel, then in exile, came to the Prophet Ezekiel for a word from God.  The Lord told Ezekiel to tell the elders that he would not be inquired of by the likes of them.  Why?  Because they were filled with sin and rebellion against Him.  This does not mean that apart from sinless moral perfection God will be silent.  What it means is that we can’t expect God to take us seriously when we are not taking Him seriously by living in habitual, unrepentant sin. 

Second, spending time with God in extended fellowship.  In John 10 Jesus said, “I know my own and my own know me…My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”  If we would successfully inquire of God, we must spend time with Him, in prayer and reading/meditating upon the Bible.

Still another prerequisite is faith. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that “…without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”  Rather than deciding beforehand what we will do if God does not clearly reveal His will for us in a certain matter, what if we simply took God at His Word and trusted Him to make our path straight and wrestled with Him until He blessed us and made our path clear?

A fourth prerequisite for inquiring of God is to submit to God in our heart of hearts.   If we have really done this, then we are giving Him total access to our lives to redirect us… even to a different continent if that is His desire!  Or perhaps this means that we would attempt something that we never would have done in our own flesh.  If we truly acknowledge the supremacy of God and His leading in our lives, then we are handing Him a blank piece of paper and saying, “Make it happen Lord!  Write it out!  Lead me!”

There are probably others as well, but the fifth and final prerequisite for inquiring of God that I want to highlight today is that we must be desperate to hear from Him.  I want to spend a little more time on this one.  If we don’t have earnestness about us in our inquiring of God, then we should not be surprised if we do not have a sense of His clear leading.

In 2 Chronicles Chapter 20, we see the mixed record of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah.  I want to highlight one of his finer moments as king.  As chapter 20 begins, Judah is standing on the precipice of disaster.  Several nations of warring men are camped on their doorstep and they are facing almost certain destruction.  The Moabites, the Ammonites, and the Meunites are poised to destroy Judah.

How did Jehoshaphat and the people respond?  They responded in three ways.  First, all of them were scared!  II Chron. 20:3 tells us that the king “was afraid and set his face to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.”  If the king was scared, then certainly the people were scared as well.  The mighty king was scared so he called a fast for the entire nation of Judah.  A fast is when a human being, who needs food to live, forsakes food for a set period of time to give particular attention to seeking God. 

There is nothing magical about fasting.  It doesn’t cause God to listen more attentively.  But it is a small sacrifice and a visible sign to God that seeking Him during a time of fasting is even more important than having our stomachs satisfied.  Jesus practiced fasting.  And though he never commanded fasting as a universal practice for Christians, He did assume it by saying, “When you fast….” (Mt. 6:16).

The second response was that of a collective earnestness of the people to “seek help from the LORD” (v.4).  “….from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.”  This was a large group effort that demonstrated to God they were very serious about inquiring of Him.

In verse 6, Jehoshaphat offers up a solid prayer to the LORD saying, “O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven?  You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations.  In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you…”  Then in verse 12 the desperation really shines through, “O our God, will you not execute judgment on them?  For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us.  We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”  There’s something about a “great horde” coming against us that causes a sense of desperation.  

Perhaps some here today are facing a “great horde” that is coming against you.  Perhaps, it is not foreign armies, but other troubles and tribulations that you are facing.  Perhaps you feel powerless before the face of what looks like impending doom.  Nearly everyone is feeling the wine press of the economy’s desperate slide.  This is not a bad place to be.  It’s not an easy place to be, but it’s not a bad place to be, for when we are desperate for God, the needle on our compass will always point due north.

The third response here is in verse 13 where we see that “…all Judah stood before the LORD with their little ones, their wives and their children.”  Not only did “all of Judah” gather together in a general sense, the sense here is that they also stood at attention, before the God of this universe, inquiring of Him for direction. 

What a great lesson in seeking after God this must have been for all of the children gathered together in the face of impending destruction as the powerful nations around them were rattling their sabers.  Young children fasting along with the adults, earnestly seeking the Lord.  Can you imagine the lasting impression this must have made on the children?

So what was the end result of all this praying and seeking after the Lord?  Verses 13-30 tell us the rest of the story.  As all of Judah stood before the LORD, the Spirit of the Lord came upon a man named Jahaziel.  This was the message: “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. Tomorrow go down against them.  Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz.  You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel.  You will not need to fight in this battle.  Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’  Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed” (2 Chron. 20:15-17).

After this word, the king and all of Judah bowed down to the Lord.  Jehoshaphat had his face on the dirt!  The next morning Jehoshaphat gave a rousing faith filled “fire-em-up speech” as he exhorted the troops, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem!  Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets. And you will succeed.”

What did they do next?  Remember now that God had told them that they didn’t even need to fight.  They had to show up but the fight was already fixed.  Next, King Jehoshaphat did something very unusual for troops on the precipice of battle.  He appointed choirs to sing songs to the LORD.  And as they sang the words, “Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever”, the LORD set an ambush against all of the foreign troops (2 Chronicles 20:22). 

And this is how God did it.  The Ammonites and the Moabites teamed up together against the Meunites, and when all the Meunites were dead, the Ammonites and the Moabites turned on one another and “they all helped to destroy one another” (v.23).  It was a most unusual way to win a battle but this is what God did. 

And lest we think that our present actions guarantee our future faithfulness….not so.  Though this was one of Jehoshaphat’s shining moments, sometime after this he joined forces with the wicked King Ahaziah in building ships to go to Tarshish.  Because of this alliance God was not pleased and caused all of the ships to be destroyed.

For the next two Sundays or so, I plan to look more specifically into the methods God has used to communicate with His people throughout history.  Some of those methods include, casting lots, the Scriptures, receiving Godly counsel, putting out a fleece, receiving from God during worship, correctly reading the circumstances of our lives, dreams and visions, and submission to the authority structures in our lives.

To introduce this area of methods, I want to highlight a particular event in the life of the Prophet Elijah.  In I Kings Chapter 19 God spoke to Elijah.  He had just concluded his famous battle royale against the priests of Baal.  Elijah was on one side.  Four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal were on the other.   One bull was given to each side, cut into pieces and laid on firewood.  Each of the parties called upon the name of their god.  The one who answered by fire was to be declared the true God.  To this everyone agreed (1 Kings 18:24).

The prophets of Baal carried on for nearly nine hours with no results.  Elijah couldn’t help himself and trash talked them a little bit, speculating that perhaps their god was going to the bathroom somewhere, or on a journey, or perhaps was sleeping and needed to be awakened (I Kings 18:27-29). 

After the prophets of Baal had been utterly humiliated, Elijah stepped up to the plate.  It was his battle to lose.  To make it interesting, and perhaps simply for effect, Elijah cut up his bull into pieces and laid it on the wood while dumping four large jars of water on the wood and the bull.  Not once but three times!  Elijah prayed and acknowledged God’s supremacy.  He asked that God answer him so that the people present might know that He is the one true God.  Immediately the fire of God fell upon the sacrifice and burned it up entirely.  Elijah then had the prophets of Baal put to death.

Soon after this, wicked King Ahab reported to wicked Queen Jezebel what Elijah had done.  Jezebel made an oath calling down punishment on herself if Elijah was still alive in one day’s time.  So Elijah ran.  He ran into the wilderness and came to sit under a broom tree (I Kings 19:5), and asked God that he might die.  Exhausted, Elijah fell asleep.  An angel came to him on two occasions, woke him up and provided him with food and drink and gave him instructions.

Elijah took off running again.  For forty days and forty nights, he journeyed to Horeb, the mountain of God (Jerusalem).  He entered a cave where the “word of the Lord” came to him (I Kings 19:9ff.).  The Lord told him to “Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD” (I Kings 19:11).  Elijah obeyed and God spoke to him…but not in the dramatic ways in which he had spoken to Moses.

Verse 11 says, “And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind.  And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.  And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire.  And after the fire the sound of a low whisper (three Hebrew words meaning “still, small voice”).  And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.”  There God spoke to him very clearly giving him instructions as to what he was to do.

Christian mystics frequently refer to the “still small voice” of God and encourage us all to live regularly in this mystical realm of feelings and impressions being accepted as God’s voice to us.  Mystics are quick to adapt practices from Buddhism or other eastern religions if they think they can be used in a sanctified way.  Some professing Christian mystics encourage the use of mantras, as it used in Transcendental Meditation practice, where a word or phrase is repeated over and over to focus your mind and heart.  They simply substitute a Christian word or idea over a non-Christian word or idea.   

One thing I have noticed in reading and researching the mystics is that their focus on the Bible seems to run a distant second to other practices, like meditation.  Jesus was not a mystic.  He lived in the here and now, yet with his eyes set on the prize.  During his three year public ministry, he moved closer each day to the agonizingly real cross of suffering and shame. 

Jesus sought his Father through blood, sweat, and tears.  His food and drink was to do the will of His Father.  He didn’t live by bread alone, or mystical impressions or feelings.  He lived by every word that proceeded from the mouth of His Father.  And that’s why Jesus was a man of the Scriptures.  He knew the prophets.  Doing the Father’s will by obeying the Fathers’ words for Him was the engine that powered His life…not the seeking of ethereal experiences.

God spoke to the Prophet Elijah in a still small voice.  I find it interesting that the first of these Hebrew words for still is a word often used in the context of impending catastrophe and mourning (Lam2:10; Ez. 24:17).  In other words, still, as in before a tornado strikes a sleepy Midwestern town.  The word for small means “very little.”  God’s voice is often not overpowering.  The word for voice here means any type of noise which breaks the sound barrier to become an audible sound.  This could be as small as the sound of a small child’s voice.

In our modern day world filled with Ipods, blaring TVs, and noise everywhere and constantly, it is not surprising to me that many people never have any sense at all of God’s speaking to them.  If you have ever received a phone call at your home, in a room filled with other people, you are well aware that it is very difficult even to hear the caller’s voice, let alone understand what they are saying.

If we would inquire of God with expectant hearts, then we must turn down the noise around us.  For many that will mean meeting with the Lord early in the morning as was the pattern of the Lord Jesus who frequently went off by Himself early in the morning to pray (Mark 1:35).   For others this time may be late at night.

As to where this can take place, perhaps there is a quiet spot in your home that you can find, or perhaps you have a favorite isolated place in nature.  In Luke 6:12-13 we are told that “In these days he (Jesus) went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.  And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles.”  Why would Jesus Christ, the Son of God need to spend an entire night in prayer?  Answer: Because He was earnestly seeking to do the will of His Father in the all important selection of the Twelve Apostles.  Jesus was earnest about inquiring of the Father’s will in this matter…enough so that he gave up an entire night’s sleep for it!

You may be thinking to yourself: “Yes, but Jesus didn’t really need to spend an entire night in prayer to know which men to pick…. I mean, he was God’s Son.  He had all the inside information.”  Not really.  While Jesus possessed all of His divine attributes even while on earth, He willingly laid aside the use of some of these attributes.  He did not give anything up.  He simply laid aside their use.

How else might we understand Mark Chapter 13 where Jesus speaks of His own Second Coming in power and glory and the great tribulation that will occur in those days, and the fact that Jesus himself does not even know when that day will come?  Mark 13:32 says, “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”  

Does this mean that Jesus Christ, who was begotten and not made from all eternity, who has existed forever in perfect fellowship with the Father and the Spirit, who was the co-creator of all things in this universe, both visible and invisible….that this man didn’t even know the hour of his return?  Yes.  That’s what he said.

Jesus depended upon his Father for all things.  He desperately inquired of his Father.  His whole life modeled for us dependence upon Him.  When God became flesh and dwelled among us for 33 years or so He became like us in every way except that he was without sin.   

All I am trying to argue for here is that Jesus needed to seek his Father just as we need to seek the Father.  In the early morning, during the daytime, in the evening, and sometimes all night Jesus sought out the will of his Father.  In the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus was faced with his impending trial, scourging and crucifixion, he wrestled with God to the point of shedding great drops of blood.

This is a rare but very real condition that modern physicians call hematohidrosis, where under great pressure blood actually mixes with sweat and comes out through the sweat glands.  Let there be no confusion here that Jesus felt the full burden of what lay before him.  He had no advantage over us in his sufferings.  Though he was 100% God and never ceased to be God, Jesus was also 100% man and felt every ounce of pain in those nails and crown of thorns.

At the very beginning of his public ministry, Jesus prayed and fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, enduring gut wrenching temptations from Satan that were very real.  Jesus had to cling to God and so do we as if our lives depend on it!  Christianity means that we are united with Christ in a faith that rests in Him moment by moment.  It’s not enough simply to point to an emotional experience or a memorable encounter we once had with God. 

If Jesus Christ needed to take time away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, the people, the noises, the constant demands upon him, so also do we need to find ways to push the mute button on the static white noise of life that we might hear God’s still small voice.  If we are satisfied in our relationship with God and do not want any more of what He has to give, we will never be desperate for His Word and His voice.  If we are not dead earnest about inquiring of God and expecting Him to answer, we should not expect very much.  It is my hope that as the people of God we would expect much from God.

And that is why I close today’s message with a challenge for this church body to fast and pray one week from today.  Beginning after lunch next Sunday and ending with lunch on Monday, I am calling all able bodied men, women, and even children, to forsake physical food (not drink) for one day in order to give special focus to seeking God.  As a church we have a very important decision before us as we consider hiring another pastor, a decision that will not be made based on a simple plus/minus balance sheet.  I want us to be like Judah in Jehoshaphat’s day and collectively “seek help from the LORD.” 

As a nation we live in unprecedented times of economic and political uncertainty.  I will plan to give some specific prayer points next week.  For now, I just want you to consider joining with me and the leadership of Crossroad Church in fasting and praying for one day next week. May the Lord help us as we earnestly seek His will for our lives and for Crossroad Church.  Amen.