Major Lessons from the Battle

In this part of the sermon: The first major lesson from 2 Kings 3 is God's faithfulness. Martin argues that Jehovah, not any of the human kings or Elisha, is the true hero of the narrative, demonstrating His…

An Israelite soldier recounts the battle to his son, detailing the initial confidence, the desperate thirst, the digging of ditches, the miraculous water, and the Moabites' delusion, all to highlight God's intervention.

He simply delivered the word of God. And the real hero of this passage is Jehovah himself. Now again, try to use your imagination and consider with me what it must have been like after the complete destruction or defeat of the Moabites and the Israelites returned to their homes. Imagine what it was like the first night these soldiers were home in the family circle.

10:35 - 11:00 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second lesson is God's absolute sovereignty, as declared in Psalm 115:3. Martin illustrates how seemingly 'natural' occurrences—Elisha's presence, Jehoshaphat's compromise…

A wife questions her husband about the 'why' behind the events of the battle (Elisha's presence, Jehoshaphat's compromise, the timing of the rain, the Moabites' lack of scouts), leading to the conclusion that God's sovereignty is the answer.

Now go back to the living room of an Israelite the night after this conquest of the Moabites.

24:07 - 24:15 Read in full sermon

The point: Amidst the seemingly tangled web of individual lives, come to renewed conviction that God is wisely and powerfully ordering all things for your good and His glory.

The analogy of a 'tangled web of nonsensical and illogical details' describes how our lives often appear to us, contrasting with God's view of it as a 'beautiful work of art'.

We come back to our old standby text, Romans 8, 28, and we know, do you know, as a matter of conviction, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to his purpose. Look at your life tonight, sitting there. It seems to be a tangled web of nonsensical and illogical details.

33:17 - 33:47 Read in full sermon

The point: Believe that all things are working together for your good, even when circumstances appear illogical or irrational.

The church's lengthy trial in connection with its building project is used as an example of a 'tangled mess' that tests the congregation's belief in God's absolute sovereignty.

I know, for many of you, this lengthy trial through which God has put us in connection with the building has been a real source of irritation. For some of you, it's been an occasion of being tempted to unbelief. You've been tempted to go restive under the leadership of your elders and deacons. Some of you saying somewhere along the line they've missed it.

36:07 - 36:29 Read in full sermon

The point: As a church, believe in the absolute sovereignty of God, even when facing prolonged trials and difficulties like the building project.

Imagining a visitor from outer space observing the gory battlefield of 2 Kings 3, unable to comprehend its purpose without the context of God's redemptive plan, illustrates how God's actions can seem irrational in isolation.

It is to believe that in a world that seems to be nothing but a tangled mess, Almighty God is working out His sovereign will. If you could have been dropped down on the field of battle that day from outer space and you saw Israelites chasing Moabites and hacking and hewing and seeing dead bodies strewn all over the place and then the world of devastation and destruction that we read about in the end of the chapter when they heat stones upon all the fertile land and they rooted up the trees, you'd say in the name of common sense, what in the world is happening? And if someone said, Almighty God...

37:52 - 39:03 Read in full sermon

The point: As a church, believe in the absolute sovereignty of God, even when facing prolonged trials and difficulties like the building project.

Extending the 'visitor from outer space' analogy to the crucifixion of Christ, Martin argues that the cross appears as the 'most irrational act in all of human history' when viewed in isolation, but makes sense within God's full redemptive plan.

If you've been a visitor from outer space, dropped down in Palestine some 2,000 years ago and stood before a gory, shocking scene in which there was a naked man hung up on a piece of wood and his face was beaten and bruised and his body soaked and caked in his own blood.

39:05 - 39:30 Read in full sermon

The point: Cultivate the God-given ability to say, 'whatever happens, God is upon his throne doing what he pleases,' to achieve real stability as a Christian.

A quote from Murray McShane's hymn is used to express the idea that we will only fully understand God's workings when we stand with Christ in glory.

And we, in the language of Murray McShane, when we stand with Christ in glory looking o'er life's finished story, then, Lord, shall we fully know, not till then, how much we are. Can you believe that God is absolutely sovereign in the face of all that is happening in the world,

40:57 - 41:19 Read in full sermon