[0:00] 2 Chronicles 25, verse 2. Let me, you know, I don't know if you pay much attention to it. Just have it on the wall in the warehouse that's been on banners and everything.
[0:11] But years ago, I had to figure out how the Bible and ministry worked. And so I would always get questionnaires from people asking me how many people I'd seen saved, how many people I'd seen baptized, how many people I was winning to Christ personally when I preached.
[0:25] And then I was into this external ministry. So I was always worried about how they dressed or whatever because I was worried about. That's just what I worried about. It's what I felt like I was taught, what I felt like I learned and picked up.
[0:38] And the Lord began to do with my heart. He showed me four words that you'll see written outside somewhere. And that is be, do, serve, train. It's in a triangle. Be is the very bottom level. And then above that's do.
[0:50] And above that is serve. And above that's train. Most of the time, my emphasis to people I work with is that training ought to be the very top of the pyramid, the very top of our ministry that I am going to train somebody to serve Jesus.
[1:05] That's what parents ought to do. That's what Sunday school teachers ought to do. That's what youth workers ought to do. And the truth is I'm very proud of our youth department, our youth workers and Brother Trent and the fact that we have so many different people who want to be missionaries.
[1:18] Our missionaries are more on the way. I'm very proud of that. But it ought not be special. It ought to be just like normal. It ought to be like every church everywhere has got the same thing going on because really not that much unique about us except we are trying to preach.
[1:31] So that's the train level. But on the bottom, I have B because for a long time, I kind of thought of Christianity as more what I did. I kind of thought of it as the way I dress, the way I talk, the way I respond to people, the way I paid my bills.
[1:43] I kind of thought of it as actions that came out of me. You got to be a good Christian. You got to act like a good Christian. And in the passage of scripture, we're going to look at tonight. We're going to talk about a guy who was doing the right thing.
[1:55] But before the chapter's over, you're going to find out he was doing them, but it wasn't who he was. It wasn't real. It wasn't genuine. It was what he did, but it wasn't who he was. And so on that bottom level B, that's who you are.
[2:07] That's your personal identity in Christ. It is. I'm a born again believer. I'm saved. I'm on my way to heaven. I'm full of the Bible. And it's not about what I'm doing. It's about what he's done in me and how he saved me and how he gave me a new life.
[2:21] And that's really the focus of that, of our lives is in Colossians chapters one and two. It's all about who you are, who you are complete in Christ.
[2:32] And he never says anything about what you're supposed to do to Colossians chapter three. And then in Ephesians, the first four chapters of Ephesians are basically who you are. And he doesn't say it.
[2:43] He's not really commanding you to do anything until you get to Ephesians four. And guess what his first imperative verb is in the book of Ephesians? He said, he said, I did this. I did this. I did this.
[2:53] I did this. This is who you are. This is who you are. And he said, and now my first commandment, remember all that. It's a beautiful thing who we are to be. And so on the bottom of that is your personal identity.
[3:03] And what you do reflects out of who you are. A pig acts like a pig. You can perfume him up all you want. And you can put a bow in there and you can pour perfume on him.
[3:15] But you give him a second. He's going to find what his natural habitat is. You can't teach a pig to act like a sheep. He just goes against his nature. So we ought to be born again. You ought to know Jesus. So tonight, I want to show you a Bible picture that I think illustrates so perfectly this.
[3:30] And I think it talks about who we are. And it helps me see a picture of what might happen in my life if I'm not careful. I want to read several verses to sum up the chapter with you. Start in 2 Chronicles 25 and verse 2 if you would.
[3:43] He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. Boy, that'd be great. Let's stop there. He did that which was right. But then it says, but not with a perfect heart. He did what we're supposed to do, but not from the heart.
[3:56] He told his wife he loved her, but not from the heart. He said he wanted to serve God, but not a complete heart in that. It was kind of half-hearted. Look at verse 9 if you would.
[4:06] In verse 9, in this story, in verse 9, we come to this beautiful part of it. He's wanting to go to war, and he signed up to go to war with these Israelites. These Israelites, that's the 10 tribes up north, and they are wicked people.
[4:21] And even though they're Israel, they're wicked people. And so he signs up to go to war with them, and the preacher comes to him and says, you ought not go to war with them. God's not going to bless that. And he looks at the preacher and says, well, wait a minute.
[4:32] I gave them a lot of money. If they don't go to war, I've wasted my money. And the Lord's going to respond and say, look at verse 9. And Amasai said to the man of God, but what shall we do for the hundred talents?
[4:43] I give away tons of money here, which I've given to the army of Israel. And the man of God answered, the Lord is able to give thee much more than this. You ought to have known that to begin with. If he'd have been who he said he was and known God like he said he did, he should have known that money's not the important thing.
[4:58] Look at verse 15. See this one, because if I don't get anything else across. You know, God gets mad sometimes, even with us. You read the Bible, God can get angry with us. Look at verse 15. Wherefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Amasai.
[5:10] And he said unto him, a prophet which said unto him, why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thy hand? So this Amasai, he goes down and defeats the Edomite.
[5:21] He goes in there and defeats the children of Saul. And when he whips them, steals their idols. Steals their idols. What a goober. God gave him victory over the guy, but he goes down and steals his idols and brings them back and sets them up and says, I want to worship these gods.
[5:34] And so the man of God said, that's funny. The God who gave you victory and made you win, you take and put that other dumb little gods up to let them be your gods. Verse 27. Now, after the time that Amasai did turn away from following the Lord, look at that.
[5:48] He turned away from following the Lord and his own people made a conspiracy and they killed him. No longer. Let me walk. Number one, doing without. I wish you'd write that one down and really doing without being.
[5:59] I got several things. I just really doing without being. That is the curse of Christianity in America. It is a curse of Southern hospitality, tea and cornbread and biscuit Christianity.
[6:10] It is fake. It is we do it, but we're not. It is that we put on a show, but it's not who we really are. Where you go, I don't know if you ever see this, but almost everywhere I go in town, if it's a restaurant, McDonald's, if it's a coffee shop, somebody discipling somebody.
[6:24] You might think, when I was a kid, everybody prayed. And when I was a kid, you come down to pray, he's kind of like, that's how you prayed in public. And now in Alpharetta, you pull in there and there's a guy with his Bible laid out.
[6:35] I've been sitting at a place where I eat breakfast and had five or six people sitting around talking about Jesus. So I don't want to be a doer if I'm not who I am. So look, if you would, at verse two again.
[6:45] He did what was right, but it wasn't from his heart. So let me walk the story. Take your Bible, keep it open. Look at this story. He killed those that killed his dad, but he showed mercy to the children of those people because of God's word.
[6:58] So look, if you would, in verse three, when the kingdom was established, he killed everybody who killed his dad and he slew their servant. But in verse four, he said, I know the Bible and I know what's right.
[7:09] I know what the word of God says. And so he didn't kill their children. He said, every man shall die for his own sin. And that's not really about going to heaven or hell there. That's about you do wrong, you pay the fine.
[7:21] You do the crime, you pay the time. That's the basic idea. And he said, so you don't charge the children with that. He knew God's word. He had, if he'd only trusted and respected God's word the whole time in his life, this would all be a different story.
[7:35] Because when he did that, he showed great restraint because those sons of those guys could have come back and killed him. He does right while people are watching. He does right while people are watching in the beginning. 2 Chronicles chapter 25 and verse 5.
[7:48] And I'm giving this, will you, for the sake of time, he wants to go to war. And so he raises up all the guys 20 years old and above, and he finds 300,000 choice men who are able to go to war and can handle a spear.
[8:01] And he hired 100,000 for 100 talents of silver. Instead of trusting God, he looks for human ways to ensure success. He wants to prove himself as a king.
[8:11] And here's our first picture of him on a downhill slide. And I read this story, and I think about me, and I think about you. And I think about how often we get all of our ducks in a row.
[8:22] We make sure we got our credit right. We make sure we have our references right. We make sure that we have our contacts right. And at last, we may ask God in prayer, God, now, would you bless what I'm doing?
[8:34] That's basically what he did. First thing he did is raise up as many people out of the two tribes, out of Judah, to get those two tribes. He raises up 300,000 soldiers. He's ready to go to war.
[8:44] And when he gets ready to go to war, instead of saying, now, God, there's no mention in the story that God taught him to go to war. There's no mention of any of that in there. But when he gets ready to go to war, when he gets ready to go to war, man, God's going to tell him, you ought not have hired the 100,000 fellows to go with.
[8:59] We don't have to compromise with sin to sin. We don't have to do wrong to do right. That's not who we are. Amen. See, we don't do things that go contrary to our character, to contrary to our identity, contrary to who we are.
[9:14] The beautiful thing is that when the man of God told him, 2 Chronicles 25 and verse 7. Buddy, if I was preaching you a camp meeting message, I just love this title. There came a man of God.
[9:24] There came a man of God. He's in there. He's got 400,000 soldiers going to war. He's making all his plans. I can see his little map, and he's got his little chariots and his little horsemen spread out like Monopoly pieces on the board, thinking about how he's going to take over everything.
[9:39] And in walks the man of God. And the man of God said to him, oh, don't you do that. Don't you go down, because God can win this without them. You don't have to have these lost people with you.
[9:50] God can help you, and God can do something. And he listened. He's going to send them home. He's still doing pretty good. He did wrong. It's okay to do wrong and get corrected and submit. But even when he submits, his attitude, his heart's still starting to show.
[10:05] Because look what he says, if you would, in verse 9. He said, but what about the money? But what about the money? I'm in too deep. I can't get out. What about the money? And the man of God said to him, the Lord is able to give thee much more than this.
[10:19] Look, you made a mistake. You shouldn't have done it. Just take your loss. Walk away and honor God. You still got a chance here, Amaziah. You still got a chance to be used of God. You got your knuckles wrapped by the Lord.
[10:31] God sent a preacher to talk to you. Just do right, buddy. Just do right. Sends those soldiers home, in verse 10. And they are mad. Now, they got paid. They got to $100,000.
[10:42] But they had hoped to go to war against Edom. And when they won, they got to bring home anything they took away from the bad people. When they killed Edomites, they could have stole their gold, their silver, their wives. And now they got to go home without any of that.
[10:53] They wanted to earn all that in battle. But they didn't get to. Now they're mad, and they go home mad. And they're going to do things really first point. Doing without. You can go to church all you want. You're not going to get baptized.
[11:04] Dress right. Talk right. Spit white. Do all that. Whatever. Some preach. But if you're doing that, and you're not really born again, the key to ministry to be. It's our personal identity that comes out when we're under pressure.
[11:15] Just living life. It is never about doing to be. But being causes us to do. Oh, maybe I said it too much. We don't do to be. We don't get baptized to be saved. We don't write saved.
[11:26] We don't do anything. We don't want to even teach in our classes to our kids. Hey, if you do this and do this and do this, then you're a good Christian. We don't do. We got saved by grace. Can I get an amen right there? God did it.
[11:37] And if you're not careful, we start that thing. And then you get your list of what you do. And I get my list of what I do. And I'm more saved than you. And I can judge you. We don't do that. But who you are will affect what you do.
[11:48] But who you are shows up. You can't hide who you are. Pressure's on. It shows up. 2 Chronicles 25 and verse 11. They go down and they fight the children of Seir. And they kill 10,000 guys in battle.
[12:00] And then they take 10,000 more guys as captives. And they bring them up on a hill. I'm starting to see who this guy is. They take him up on top of a hill. And they just throw him off the hill to watch him get broken as the ground down at the bottom of the hill.
[12:14] We won. Let's go to Stone Mountain. Come on. And they just toss them off there and kill 10,000. He doesn't just win a war. He slaughters. Nobody, not God hadn't said a word about this, seems to enjoy killing just for killing.
[12:25] Now we're really bad. Look at verse 14. He destroys them, brings their gods. Can I please? Came to pass after that. Amaziah was come slaughter of the Edomites. That's the children of Saul. He brought the God of the children of Seir and set them up his God.
[12:40] And he bowed down before them. What world? Why would he go get idols when he knows that God hates idols and God tells them to destroy idols everywhere they go? And he goes and gets those idols. And he brings those idols back home.
[12:52] And then he sets them up. And then he starts. And I read that. I don't read it to find out what Israel did. But I do read about what I can money. An idol. In a house. Possession says. Looking up the lair. You're not very careful. It doesn't take long.
[13:02] Do we go over to the lost and say, what do y'all like? What makes y'all feel good? What are your little idols? And I'll substantiate God. We don't want to bring home false gods. The false gods couldn't save Edom.
[13:12] And they can't save them. I'm all for insurance. But insurance ain't going to save you. You can have all the life insurance you want to have. But when you die, you're still going to go to heaven or hell. Somebody in your family might get some. I don't want to fall for it.
[13:23] He didn't go out in the power of God. Though God did work. Never count blessings and success as a testimony. You're right. Second. Just a young man. My disciple. Stealing money. Writing from church. Peru. He's made the comment.
[13:34] But God sure is blessing. He's given me so much money. Well, sure he is. All the police. God sure is blessed. I hear preachers talk like that all the time. And I hear church people talk like that all the time. God must like me.
[13:45] Look at my big house. God must like me. Look how much money he's given me. God must be in favor of what I'm doing. Look how he's blessing me. Not in the Bible. You can never count that. There's a story in the Bible that's just blatant in your face.
[13:58] There's a rich man and a poor guy named Lazarus sitting at the door. And when the rich man dies, he goes to hell. And when the poor man dies, he goes to heaven. That didn't mean poor people go to heaven. It just meant you would have assumed the rich guy was the guy God was blessed.
[14:11] But he wasn't. Please don't count your bottom line. How much money you have. I mean, people are getting saved. Let's don't make you all not about doing. It's about who we are. Where are you?
[14:22] Have you been born? Do you know you're saved? You go, God, God ain't God, God. I think it's important because I teach and preach the grace of God all the time. And I think it's important that Christians will know that God will kick your backside.
[14:35] I think we need to understand God in heaven is not going to say, well, I love you and I love you. Nothing will make me love you more. Nothing will make me love you less. I just love you. Now go out and sin like a devil.
[14:45] That's never what the Bible, amen. The Bible says in verse 15, the anger of the Lord kindled against Amosiah. And he sent unto him a prophet. And God got mad. Do any sip, give a word.
[14:56] God's mad. His anger's kindled. And he sent a preacher. And he said, what have you sought after? Why have you sought after the gods of the people which could not deliver their own people out of your hand? God lovingly and kindly said, I'm fixing to have to give you a spanking.
[15:10] But I'm going to give you a warning before I do. What are you doing serving those false gods? I just think when I've, because we've read so much, we've come from Genesis always in 2 Chronicles. How many times when a guy hears from the man of God, he goes, I'm so sorry.
[15:24] I want to get that right. God said, all right, I'll have mercy. What if he had just stopped and said, you got a point. You're right. Burn those idols. Do right. I'm going to turn and serve God. He added, I would like to say to you, you have a chance. Even if you're committing adultery, even if you're whatever it is, and the Holy Spirit of God's coming to you.
[15:39] And he's saying to you through your devotions. And he's saying through the preaching. He's saying it through the Sunday school class. And he's saying it through the discipleship time. And the Holy Spirit is saying, don't do that.
[15:49] Stop it. I know you're probably thinking, who's committing adultery? I don't know. But when it did happen in our church, I didn't know what it was already done. So it might be better to go ahead and have a warning. He said, why have you sought after them?
[15:59] I have a question to handle biblical proof. I'd like to beg, spend some time in your Bible, reading the Bible and praying. And when you read a verse, say, is he talking to me right here? Is this for me? Is this about me? I don't need to read it about what you're doing, about what's happening in your life.
[16:12] But I need to say, is God dealing with me about this verse? Maybe when the preaching's going on, sometimes you'll feel like, hey, I think he just took a pot shot at me. And the truth of the matter is, most of my messages, if you don't know this, they're all written out.
[16:25] They're all prepared and sent out before. So if I heard something happen today, I'd have to just come up and say, this ain't the way it works. The Holy Spirit's dealing with your heart. You need to respond and say, God, help me. But that's not what I am. He shows no respect for the prophet.
[16:37] Look at chapter 25 and verse. He looks at the man of God and says, do you belong on my counsel? Do you have any right to be speaking to me? Did I hire you? Am I paying you a salary? Did I let you in on the cabinet or something?
[16:49] Look at him. Art thou made of the king's counsel? Stop talking. Hush. You have no right to talk to me, Mr. Man of God. The man of God said, okay, I'll quit talking. But before I do, I'd like to let you know that God has determined to destroy you because you hadn't listened to my counsel.
[17:03] Hush. Okay, he did. That was a pretty brave preacher. Amen. He just got nailed. And Messiah decides, even with Israel now, you know, he sent them back home and they killed people on the way home and they robbed people.
[17:13] And so he decides he'll go after them because in chapter 25 and verse 13, they smote 3,000 of his people. And so he's going out. So he's had a little, and a little success makes you feel like you're bigger than your bridge.
[17:27] A little success makes you feel like you can get away with what you can't get away with. And so in chapter 25 and verse 17, he sends a word to Joash and he says, we need to see each other face to face. You bring your army. I'll bring my army.
[17:37] I'm going to whoop. And Joash says back to him, hey, I know you won one little battle, buddy, but if I was you, I got 10 tribes, you got two tribes, you do the math. He said, best you just hush and leave it alone.
[17:48] And he even gives a little illustration. It's basically like, oh, come on, MSI. You won a little battle against Edom and God helped you there. If I was you, I'd just be quiet. Warned by God not to go.
[17:58] When he ignores the man of God, now God will get hurt. Look at verse 20. Amaziah would not hear, for it came of God, because God intended to deliver them into the hand because they had sought after the gods. I don't know if you realize this sin long enough and far enough that God will say, all right, go ahead and get hurt.
[18:11] You're going down a road with a bridge outside removed and you're fixing to crash, but I've warned, warned, wantless, show no respect, so have at it. You'll get hurt. Not just preachers, not just being ugly.
[18:21] They got it. Verse 20. They sought not first to be number one. He wants you to have no other gods for him. And we need to know tonight that God judges him. So our young people sneak around and have sex somewhere and they think nobody's going to know, but God will know.
[18:37] Our men are texting somebody else's wife and nobody will know, but God will know. You're going places you ought not going. You're doing things you ought not doing. And the church is not telling you anything about it, but God knows what you're doing.
[18:48] And when the teaching and the preaching and the Bible reading happens, the Lord speaks to your heart and you know you're doing wrong. You know, you're not going to get away with it. It might seem like a coincidence, but that coincidence made God work your life.
[18:59] You take it to the second chapter. Pride goes for, I love this verse. This is the verse where he told him, look at what he says. This is the thistle, little briar plants that was in Lebanon, sent to the big old cedar tree that was in Lebanon saying, give thy daughter to my son, the wife.
[19:13] And there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon and stomp the briar. You best stay there. No need you try to. One success doesn't. You'll look at chapter 25, verse 19. This is what I want to underline. There was a time in my life, Betty and I didn't know we're going to have gross.
[19:26] Not if we were so poor. We didn't know where we were at church taking care of. Things weren't going good. It's my fault. I wasn't a good leader. You get it. God starts. As soon as you start, come. Bless pride. We live in a pride. You can't live in Alpharetta without living in the middle of pride.
[19:38] Preacher told me, you don't know I'm going to be working. You're right. I don't. We are. Now look at this verse. You say you have smitten the edom. Underline this. Your heart lifted up. Lifted thee up. Oh, heart has lifted thee. There was a time.
[19:48] Brag. Pratt. Eat them. Things pretty well. For blessed come problem. We forget blessed. Pastor. Pastor. So many other heart and haven't made it. I'm blessed to have the wife I have. Wonder children I have. He wonder. I'm blessed to have the friends I have.
[19:59] And thrifted up. Seth breeds pride. And pride will destroy. Pride comes fall. Pride makes we came without. 2 Chronicles chapter 5. Judah was put to work. That's old Israel. Judah was big. And braggado.
[20:10] Both thought they were some day. And he comes down in 2 Chronicles chapter 25 and verse 3. And he destroys 400. Let me make sure. 400 cubes. 600 feet of the wall around the city.
[20:21] He knocks it down. 600 feet of this massive wall around. In 2 Chronicles chapter 25 and verse 24. He takes all the gold and the silver and the vessels that belonged to God in the temple.
[20:33] That Obed-Edom had been taken care of. And he took all of them away. And he took hostage back. Turning away from God. Took him so far down the path that his own people killed him. 2 Chronicles 5. Now after the time was I did.
[20:45] Away from follow. They. His mate of Jerusalem. He ran away. And they found. Killed. They put him in broad. He prides. Not what do you learn. Never spoken in tongues. Poor. Baptist. Like church tither. I said. I have. Another lesson. Chapter.
[20:55] Trust. I had never money. And never. He was so worried about his money. Can get more money. You need God. You can get more money. You need God. You can get more friends. You need God.
[21:06] People might fail. You need God. And Messiah. If you'd have just trusted God. Pay it into God's warning. Every time I'm a person. Every time I say. You're going to tell them the Holy Spirit did with your heart. Are you going to tell me you weren't.
[21:17] Are you going to tell me the Holy Spirit didn't say stop it. Stop it. Stop it. And they always say. Well at the beginning. I really. But as I did it. I didn't bother God. We need to stay sensitive to God. Say says. That's not. Don't let says.
[21:27] Go. Don't let says. Menace says. Business says. Family says. Health. Lose it. I mean honestly. Modest. Sitting down and counting your money. Never worse. What do you want? Idol. What are you doing? God.
[21:38] Helped you whip them. And you bring home their little statues. That somebody made. You say. Well we'd never do that. We watch on TV to find out what the proud and fame. We want to check out our body size.
[21:48] And check out our clothes. And check out our house. And check out everything. And we say. What's the loss for taking? I think one of the biggest chapters. All the respect he had. Because of God. So. He told us. God is odd. It's okay. I want to. If I want to be a liar.
[21:59] I can't. I brought. I love.