Re: living on subistutes
Posted by: g.afariayisi <g.afariayisi@...>
On Friday, October 14, 2016, Jimmy Chapman <preacher30673@nu-z.net> wrote:
"IS YOUR SHINE A SUBSTITUTE?"
2 Chronicles 9:15-16, 12:9-10
When Solomon built the temple, he also built other things that were associated with the temple. He had shields of beaten gold made. They were silent witnesses to the splendor and the power of the kingdom of Judah.
When Solomon went to the temple to worship God, his bodyguard bore the golden shields before him.
However, Solomon is dead, and Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had caused Israel to sin; the kingdom was divided, and Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, ruled the southern kingdom at Jerusalem. He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, with consequences.
At this time of decay, Shishak, the king of Egypt, came up with a great army and took Jerusalem; this was only the first of a long series of defeats and humiliations. He stripped the temple of its sacred treasures and ravished all the holy and splendid places. His greedy eye was attracted by the
three hundred shields of gold that he saw. These, too, he seized and carried down into Egypt to tell the story of his victory over Judah.
A braver king would have sounded the trumpet, gathered his fighting men, and tried to retrieve the lost fortunes, winning back with the sword the symbols of Judah's greatness. But Rehoboam knew an easier way.
Where his father had gathered gold, he gathered brass and made three hundred shields of brass and hung them up in the place of the lost three hundred shields of gold. When he went to the temple to call upon the God whom he had forsaken, his men-at-arms carried the shields of brass before him, and they shone in the bright sunlight as if they were of the finest gold. But the men who carried them and the people who saw them carried in the procession knew that it was all a hollow show. They knew that the shields of gold had been taken by the king of Egypt and were now adorning their temples, and that the shields of Rehoboam, paraded with so much pomp, were only common brass.
"Brass for gold!"
I. THE TESTIMONY OF wHICH THEy represented
There was a testimony in the gold shields of Solomon that Rehoboam replaced with brass..
A. THESE SHIELDS WERE A TRIBUTE TO GOD'S PERSON.
Solomon built a House for God called the Temple. No building in antiquity or since can compare with the Temple.
The Illinois Society of Architects in 1925 set out to make estimates of the cost of rebuilding the Temple. The cost of the building alone, without the vessels, furnishings, etc., was estimated at 87 billion dollars. Considering how building costs have risen since 1925, the cost today - between 500-700 billion.
Why did Solomon build such a house? As a tribute to the greatness and glory, majesty, magnificence, and might of God.
Can you imagine the imposing sight that met visitors as they walked down a hallway lined with men bearing these golden shields? These shields were a tribute to the God Solomon served.
B. THESE SHIELDS WERE A Tribute TO GOD'S PEOPLE.
These gold shields served as a reminder of God's blessings upon His people. They stood as a testimony of a nation that the hand of God was upon.
I. THE TESTIMONY OF wHICH THEy represented
II. THE TRAGEDY in which they were ransacked
2 Chronicles 12:9
Years pass, Solomon is dead, Rehoboam, his son, now sits on the throne. In the 5th year of his reign, Shishak, the king of Egypt attacks Jerusalem and loots both the Temple and the King's house.
A. THESE STOLEN SHIELDS WERE AN INDICATION OF GOD'S DISPLEASURE.
Unlike his father, Rehoboam was a very foolish man. He refused to acknowledge the good of the people of Israel, and as a result, 10 of the tribes rebelled against Rehoboam, divided Israel into two kingdoms and formed the Northern Kingdom. They chose a man named Jeroboam to be their king, and the Northern Kingdom left the worship of Jehovah and fell into idolatry.
Rehoboam, who was still king of Judah, or the southern kingdom, had an opportunity to walk with God and enjoy the blessings of the Lord. After all, Jerusalem and the Temple of the Lord were in his kingdom. Even the priests and the Levites left the Northern Kingdom and moved to Judah to serve the Lord, 2 Chron. 11:13-17. Yet, Rehoboam squandered the opportunities that he was given and walked away from God, refusing to serve the Lord like his fathers had.
As you study of the life of Rehoboam, you quickly learn that his life is a lesson in privilege, pride, and the judgment of God. One of the main problems with Rehoboam was that he simply refused to give God his absolute best. As a result, Rehoboam and his people paid a terribly high price.
B. THESE STOLEN SHIELDS WERE AN INDICATION OF GOD'S DISCIPLINE.
God had been very clear from the beginning. See 1 Kings 9:4-7.
The glory had waned and the greatness had wilted. They were a wicked nation and thus a weakened nation. THE GLORY HAD DEPARTED!
What was true for Israel as a nation is also true for America . . . churches . . . our individual lives.
I. THE TESTIMONY OF wHICH THEy represented
II. THE TRAGEDY in which they were ransacked
III. THE Travesty by which they were replaced (10)
Rehoboam replaced the shields, but instead of gold, they were brass. Now they looked like gold, shined like gold, but they were substitutes. THEY WERE NOT THE REAL THING!
When Rehoboam lost the pure gold what did he do? By all means He must keep up appearances. If he cannot afford golden shields, he must have something that resembles that precious metal-brass. And to avoid too close scrutiny by the people, he had them guarded carefully.
He tried to hide the truth!
We are a generation of counterfeits and substitutes. We have accepted brass shields instead of gold shields.
They shine like gold - but they aren’t what they pretend to be or what God intended for them to be!
Gold spoke of power, prosperity, and glory. Gold was expensive and hard to acquire.
Unlike gold, brass must be polished constantly because it tends to tarnish. Whereas gold was tempered and durable, brass was cheap and flimsy. Bronze looks like gold (if the lights are turned low), but it is not gold. Bronze is good, but it is not the best!
Instead of facing the people of Israel and telling them that the golden shields were gone, King Rehoboam tried to deceive them by preparing an inferior substitute. Instead of amassing his army to go and recover what the enemy had taken, King Rehoboam chose the pathway of hypocrisy and compromise.
So often today, we try to disguise our decline with substitutes! We have substituted the ritual for the spiritual!
How ATTRACTIVE it is
How deceptive it is
A. I THINK OF THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH OF GOD!
The Church has become everything but what God intended it to be. We have become social clubhouses instead of spiritual lighthouses. We have become museums that magnify the saints rather than hospitals that minister to the sinner. We have become keepers of the aquarium rather than fishers of men. We have become political organizers rather than spiritual agonizers.
B. I THINK OF THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD.
There is no one that believes in the power of the Holy Spirit any more than me. I am very much aware that when God's Holy Spirit is at work the unusual becomes the usual. But in many cases we are accepting brass rather than gold!
The less power the church has the more entertainment it often produces!
2 Timothy 3:5 - "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. " The word translated "form" here means "an outward semblance."
C. I THINK OF THE PLACE OF THE WORD OF GOD.The Word of God is to be the center of our gathering.
The songbook can never take the place of God's Book. Drama can never take the place of doctrine. Programs can never take the place of preaching. Entertainment can never take the place of exhortation. They all have their place and role, but the Word of God is first and foremost.
The Gold Shield of TRUTH is being replaced by the Brass Shield of TOLERANCE
The Gold Shield of CONVICTIONS is being replaced by the Brass Shield of COMPROMISE
The Gold Shield of HOLINESS is being replaced by the Brass Shield of HAPPINESS.
Conclusion
All that glitters is not gold. I'm not going to settle for cheap brass. I won't GOLD!
Be honest with yourself and with your God today: does God have your very best? Or does He have your cheap imitation of the best?
Gold shields are not kept without a struggle.
IN HIS ETERNAL GRIP,
Pastor Jimmy Chapman
Victory Baptist Church
706-678-1855
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