Text: 1 Kings 22:1-7 1 Peter 4:4-7 We should not fear to take a stand for God
Colin Kaepernick took a stand so to speak in his protest against the way minorities are treated in this country. He didn’t march; he didn’t lead any violent protests or demonstrations. He merely knelt during the playing of the national anthem and the country went mad. That madness has been countered by a wave of other kneeling protests in support of Kaepernick’s protest. He was not the first and he will not be the last; those students during the civil rights movement who protested segregated lunch counters; Rosa Parks who refused to surrender her seat; John Brown refused to accept the status quo re: slavery as did James Cheney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, who were murdered for daring to get Blacks to vote in Mississippi. What did these and so many others have in common? They all were willing to risk everything, including their lives, to go against the odds.
In today’s message we will see what happens when the plans of men are overruled by God while He uses one man to stand for Him against the odds; we will also see that as believers in Jesus Christ we also must not fear to go against popular opinion and to stand for God.
We come upon two scenes: one on earth, in the court of King Ahab of Israel, along with his in-law, King Jehoshaphat of Judah, in consultation concerning whether or not Ahab should go to war against the Arameans to recover the lost territory of Ramoth Gilead, the key to entering and invading Israel. If you know anything about Ahab you know that he worshipped Baal, the storm god and who went all out to practice evil.You also remember Elijah’s battle with the false prophets of Baal and how they were destroyed. King Jehoshaphat, on the other hand, worshiped the Sovereign God, the only God, and who trusted God as did his father Asa (who instituted reforms in Judah).
God fought for Judah and Jehoshaphat when three armies came against Judah and it was only because Jehoshaphat trusted in God. So what in the world was Jehoshaphat doing in an unholy alliance with Ahab? They were allied by marriage of Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram to Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab (who would later massacre all of her grandchildren with the exception of Josiah).Doesn’t scripture speak against being matched with unbelievers?God warned Israel concerning intermarrying with the surrounding nations (not because of race but because of different faiths). Ahab worshipped Baal; Jehoshaphat worshiped Jehovah. It’s like the Mormon belief that Jesus and the Accuser are brothers! Where does your faith lay, saints? Is it the same as other professing Christians? If not, in the Lord’s words, “Come out from among them!” v.7 Jehoshaphat allied himself with Ahab in unity but when Ahab’s prophets all said the same thing, Jehoshaphat ‘s response was something like this: : “Say what? You’ve got to be kidding me! Is there no prophet-a true prophet of the LORD here?”
It’s something that we can all ask today: Are there any prophets of God among us?Some leaders, whether political or religious, push their own agendas just to go along to get along, choosing to be pc rather than obeying JC. The way we can discern what is of God and what is not of God are the Scriptures. I know this goes against popular opinion, but we can only say as Peter and the disciples, “We ought to obey God rather than men”. And we also read this in 1 Peter 4:4-7 re: going with popular opinion/actions.
The prophet Micaiah was asked to go along with the crowd and to speak what Ahab wanted to hear. And this evidently was not the first time Micaiah and Ahab came to blows (read v.16). First there was Elijah and now Micaiah. God never leaves Himself without a witness, saints. And today we are called to be His witnesses. God has said, “You are my witnesses that I am God”.
While all of this was taking place on earth, God was holding court concerning how to bring Ahab to his death. While the false prophets are going through all kinds of chants and flips and splits, God’s court is quietly anticipating God’s decision and the amazing thing is God brings His court into His counsel! Don’t we realize, saints, that whenever we pray we are being invited into God’s counsel?Micaiah reveals to Ahab and Jehoshaphat that God had decreed disaster for Israel but death for Ahab. In a rage, Ahab puts Micaiah into prison only to be released upon Ahab’s return.
We don’t know what happened to Micaiah afterwards but if these onetime people of God had any shred of reverence for God, they let Micaiah go free as a witness to the truth of what God had spoken through the prophet. And if not, he was welcomed into God’s presence with a , “Well done!Micaiah and other prophets stood against the odds yet stood for God.
CONCLUSION “Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them”. Ralph Waldo Emerson. Shall we go against the odds, saints? We bend the knee to worship God and to intercede on behalf of our country–OUR –COUNTRY- in agreement with God’s will as revealed to us in the Scriptures. Go against the odds, saints, let’s commit our ways to God and simply bend the knee in prayer like Daniel as we seek God’s will and to practice it because time is running out. Let’s pray.
