Join Jeff Archie on the International Gospel Hour as he leads us through a powerful study of seeking and searching for God, inspired by Jeremiah 29:13. This episode delves into the historical context of the captivity of Israel and the spiritual lessons we can learn from their experience. Discover how our own lives can be influenced by the choices we make and the paths we follow, as explored through the story of the wicked king Ahaziah. We also explore the pivotal role of John the Baptist as narrated in the Gospel of John, and how his identity was questioned
To those in captivity the Lord through Jeremiah said, And you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. Seeking and searching. Well, let’s do so today with our study from the International Gospel Hour.
SPEAKER 02 :
It’s time for our broadcast from the International Gospel Hour. I’m Jay Webb, and welcome to our study today as we embrace God’s Word to help us meet the challenges of today. Let’s open our Bibles and open our heart for this time of Bible study with our speaker Jeff Archie of International Gospel Hour, a broadcast of the Churches of Christ.
SPEAKER 01 :
Here’s Jeff. Well, greetings, everyone. Great having you with us, and thank you for joining us for our studies today from the International Gospel Hour. A special thank you to our J-Web, whom you will hear from in our broadcast, with some study opportunities just for you. But for now, let’s return back to what we just mentioned from Jeremiah 29, verse 13. And you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. The Lord’s words drew the prophet Jeremiah to Israel, taken in captivity. Their choices brought them to that place. They had stopped seeking the Lord and stopped searching for Him. When we cease following His direction, we will go in any direction. But let us remember other words from Jeremiah. O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. Let’s study today of those who truly failed to seek and to search. And from the outset, friend, are you seeking and are you searching? In 2 Kings 1, the wicked king Ahaziah had taken the throne following his father’s death. The names of his parents, Ahab and Jezebel, had become synonymous with the corruption, adultery, and evil that dragged the northern kingdom of Israel away from God and towards destruction for centuries. Now that Ahab had been killed, the first book of Kings ends and the second book of Kings begins with statements of his son’s wickedness. Ahaziah’s reign was brief. 1 Kings 22.51 states that he was king for only two years, and 2 Kings 1 and 2 opens the narrative by describing an injury that would eventually prove fatal. Following said injury, Ahaziah made a decision that dooms him. that doomed him actually. Instead of calling upon the God of Israel, the king sends messengers to call upon Beelzebub, the God of Ekron, a false deity of Philistine origin. This is the same deity that would be denoted later as Beelzebub, the prince of demons in Matthew 12, 24, Luke 11, 15, and elsewhere. This decision angers both the true God and his prophet Elijah, who delivers the message that Ahaziah will die of this injury because of his idolatry in verses 3 and 4. At this point, the messengers that Isaiah has sent come back to him and report the prophet’s words in verses 5 and 6. And in verse 7, the king asks for a description of the man that has proclaimed such a thing, and after being told of the prophet’s appearance and clothing, he promptly proclaims that it is Elijah the Tishbite in verse 8. There are a lot of lessons to be learned in 2 Kings 1. The rest of this chapter goes on to tell us about multiple failed attempts by men of Israel to arrest the prophet, a moment of humility that eventually leads to his appearance before the king, and as promised, a Isaiah’s death and replacement by his brother Jehoram. This is a story of the importance of humility, the call that the children of God have to stand up for the truth no matter what, and the ultimate lesson of the sovereignty and power of God. However, what I want to focus on here is the simple fact that Ahaziah, a wicked king given to pagan gods, was able to identify a prophet of the Lord so quickly and easily. After all, men who were in a much better place to make such a judgment would end up failing miserably. The first chapter of the Gospel of John is amazing. The first 18 verses make up a passage of Scripture that has been inspiring to millions and millions of people. It is an incredible spiritual description of the person of Christ, the Word who was with God and came to the earth so that men might see the light and hear the Father proclaimed. Verses 5-8 and 15 also talk within this context of the man John the Baptist, one who was not that light but was sent to bear witness of that light, according to verse 8. After beginning his gospel with such beautiful sentiments, the Apostle John turns to a more complete focus on John the Baptist, starting in verse 19 of John 1. Immediately we find that the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you? In fact, this is just the first question. Verses 19-23 is actually a summary of an apparent interrogation that took place here as these men tried to surmise for themselves who this baptizer could be. Eventually, John quotes Isaiah 40 and verse 3 to tell them that he is the one who is to make straight the way of the Lord, implying and confirming to the modern New Testament reader his importance in God’s plan to bring forth the Christ. Hold on. If John was such an important person in the plan to reveal the Messiah, how could these men from Jerusalem, specifically sent by the Pharisees, according to verse 24, not know who he was? This question is especially pressing when paired with the events that we have already seen taking place in 2 Kings 1. If Ahaziah, a pagan and a wicked ruler, had thrown away the law of God, could recognize one of God’s prophets, how could those who were supposed to have been the law’s protectors in John’s day have missed him? Well, Jesus himself, friends, answers this question later on in the book of John. These are the words of John 3, 16-21. the last part of Jesus’ late-night spiritual discussion with Nicodemus. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. Now the last three verses of John 3… In the latter part there of verses 19 through 21. They are especially relevant to our discussion. Now it would seem that the Pharisees are lost as to John’s identity. As well as a great many things regarding the plans of Christ. Because they have chosen to walk in darkness. Now they professed a true relationship with God. But they were also pointed out by Jesus. In passages such as Matthew 6, 5 and Matthew 23, verse 5. as hypocrites for being prideful in regard to their prayers and service towards the Father. Of course, Ahaziah wasn’t exactly walking in lockstep with God or His law either, but at least he thought to make what looks to be a genuine inquiry to some deity regarding his plight. He was incredibly flawed in his spiritual practice, but he at least had a spiritual outlook good enough to recognize a prophet when he saw one. While the leaders of Israel in John the Baptist’s day were more than happy to point to God as the one true God, that was about where their genuine faith stopped. Therefore, when the prophet of the light, and eventually the light himself, came before them, they were none the wiser. The point is this, friends. In order to recognize Christ and his followers for who they are, and the truth for what it is, we have to be searching. In a time of captivity and desperation for the people of Israel, God told them through the prophet Jeremiah, And you will seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29.13 Paul told the church at Corinth that now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. Romans 13.11 It shouldn’t be hard at all if we are truly trying to walk in the light, and we should never let Jesus or the truth that He died to establish pass us by because we weren’t looking or especially because we didn’t know what to look for. Friends, awesome study today and I appreciate you studying with me. And what we want to do is as we think about the questions, who are you? And recognizing and seeking for God. Not only with our studies here as you tune in to our broadcast. But we’d like to also share with you some study material that can be of help to you on your own. Now, what I’m going to do is I’m going to defer to our Jay Webb, and he is going to have an online study offer for you. And then I’m going to come back and lead us into some more words by Jay with a Bible study by mail. So whichever one or both will work for you, we want to give you those details as we wrap up our broadcast today to help you continue in your studies of the Word of God. Let’s hear the online offer via our Jay Webb.
SPEAKER 02 :
Where did we come from? Looking for a purpose in life? Your answer to these fundamental questions is greatly affected by whether you believe in God, believe the Bible is true, and believe Jesus to be divine. Our friend and evangelist Rob Whitaker conducts a great study called Believe the Bible. Please allow us to send you the link and check it out. Just call toll-free at 855-444-6988 and leave your name, email, and just say Believe the Bible. You may also go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com, click on the Contact tab, and leave us the same information, name, email, and type Believe the Bible in the message blank. We will send the link right away.
SPEAKER 01 :
And friends, again, we will gladly send you that link for that study. We think that’s one that you will greatly enjoy. Now, if you would prefer to have a Bible course by mail, we have that available as well. Maybe you would like to try both, and if you do, that’s fine. Let us know. But if you would like to just do the Bible course by mail, Again, the same toll-free number of 855-444-6988. You can leave your name and address and just say Home Study. That’s all you do. We get calls from folks all over, and they’ll leave their name and address and just say Home Study, and we will mail that to you right away. Either tool, you can study the Bible at your own pace, because we ourselves need to be individuals seeking to find and searching to know. I want to credit a young brother in Christ by the name of Luke Tatum from Salem, Virginia, for our study today that’s originally titled, Who Are You? This was originally posted via a legacy of faith found at fawnfamily.com, an exceptional website for families and some great material therein. We’re going to continue our studies together at another time. Thank you for joining me today on the International Gospel Hour. I’m Jeff Archie and friends, keep listening.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you for listening today to God Be the Glory, and we hope that our study today will draw you closer to His Word to walk in His way. Feel free to listen to our other programs at our website at internationalgospelhour.com and join us next time.
