https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/podcasts/42464/ The newest sermons from Harvest Reformed Presbyterian Church on SermonAudio. Religion & Spirituality Harvest Reformed Presbyterian Church http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification https://vps.sermonaudio.com/resize_image/sources/podcast/1440/1440/harvestgillette.1726698640.jpg https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/podcasts/42464/ en Mon, 20 Apr 2026 12:51:21 +0000 30 Caleb Nelson no The newest sermons from Harvest Reformed Presbyterian Church on SermonAudio. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/58181217467 The fate of God's people depends on the fate of David's line -- and David's line will have its Head lifted up. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/58181217467 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 06 May 2018 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:30:07 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/51181116394 Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, our text tonight is devastating on many levels. Even today, through the cotton wool of historical distance, we still feel the impact of these blows, however muffled it might be. God’s project of redemption went down in flames. His goal of having His people live in His presence on His Holy Mountain fell apart under the battering rams of Babylon. Even if God didn’t fail, His people failed Him. This book, like every portion of Scripture, was written to show us the character of our God. We see here that He is wrathful against us, His people, when we give ourselves over to our sin. What I hope to show you tonight is that God can and will judge His people. Though our text is long, I think it’s important to cover it all in one session. Clearly we are hurtling onward through these final chapters. The end is inevitable, so we might as well get it over with. We will take the text rather topically, looking at four aspects of God’s judgment. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/51181116394 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 29 Apr 2018 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:38:07 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/424181416419 God loves it when we follow His word to the letter! https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/424181416419 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 22 Apr 2018 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:37:04 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/41718124976 Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, why do you serve God? Our passage this evening demands that we ask ourselves that question. It can be an uncomfortable question, for tonight’s text exposes the inadequacy of some of our favorite answers. Do you serve God because you’ll be better off if you do? Because your family will be better off? Because your church will flourish? Because you’ll get the benefits of living in a more moral society? Obviously, all of those are good benefits, and it is not at all wrong to seek them. But our text tonight, in the most brutal and blunt way possible, informs us that our good works do not begin to obligate God to bless us. It asks us the question, “Would you personally serve God even if you knew that it wouldn’t do any good, corporately speaking?” Because Josiah did. Josiah heard that God was certainly going to destroy Judah. He heard up front that God’s wrath against His people’s sin was unquenchable. And yet he devoted his life to serving God anyway. He knew that judgment would fall on God’s people regardless of what he did. Yet he gave God 110% (as they say) anyway. Did Jesus know that God’s judgment was going to fall on Him no matter what He did? Of course He knew that! He knew that He would be punished for the sin of the world whether He personally was righteous or not. So what did He do? He obeyed perfectly, of course. In this, He was the greater Josiah. Our text tonight reveals that God will judge His people, and that we ought to respond to that truth by manifesting even greater obedience and zeal. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/41718124976 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 15 Apr 2018 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:34:38 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/410181143520 Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, our text this evening presents Manasseh’s evil. As we saw last time, judgment very nearly fell on Judah in 701 B.C., and only Hezekiah’s intercession and God’s mercy postponed it. Yet Hezekiah’s own son Manasseh was already an agent of judgment, and one who sealed the fate of Judah. Because of his wickedness, exile was certain. Our text is not afraid to juxtapose God’s promise that Israel would remain in the land with God’s other promise to deliver in Israel into the hands of its enemies. Indeed, the bulk of our text is given over to presenting Manasseh’s wickedness and God’s verdict on that wickedness. The thing that we see preeminently here is that God will not turn a blind eye toward sin, even if it’s in His chosen people, even if it’s in David’s line. God sees sin and He will wipe it out from among His people as a man wipes a dish. That’s the message of this chapter — and it’s one that behoves us to hate and flee sin! https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/410181143520 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 08 Apr 2018 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:28:45 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/327181217102 Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have already looked at four major tests in the life of Hezekiah, king of Judah. The text has reserved this story of his illness, which took place before the Assyrian siege, until last, in order to contribute to the narrative structure of the book as a whole. We’ve seen God’s saving work in the previous two chapters, but here, we see the continuing threat of exile. Judah, and Hezekiah, were both given reprieves — but those reprieves were temporary. What we’ll see tonight is that our God tests His Anointed, saves His Anointed, and hears His Anointed. And, then, we will see how we ought to respond when God tests us. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/327181217102 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 25 Mar 2018 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:25:44 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/313181148513 The rest of our chapter features God’s comment on the situation, while the final verses indicate God’s actions in the face of such an overwhelming threat to His people’s very existence. When God hears that He has been mocked, He responds with delicious irony by mocking the mocker. God mocks those who mock Him, and He does it for the salvation of His people. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/313181148513 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 11 Mar 2018 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:35:56 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/361812231 Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, we left off last Sunday right in the middle of a story. If you cast your mind back, you will remember that the Assyrian officials had just challenged Hezekiah about the location of his trust. Who, exactly, did he trust in when he rebelled against the king of Assyria? Our text tonight shows us where Hezekiah’s trust was. It was in God Almighty. How could Hezekiah trust God when God was the one who sent the Assyrians against Judah in the first place? He trusted God because he knew God’s character. He knew that this was a test, an opportunity to trust God instead of surrendering to fear in the face of an existential threat. This chapter, then, reinforces for us what we already know about our God. What we see about God tonight is that He was available to Hezekiah and heard Hezekiah’s prayers — and therefore that He is available to us and hears our prayers too. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/361812231 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 04 Mar 2018 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:36:25 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/213181139525 Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, we begin tonight to look at the reign of Hezekiah, King of Judah. Many of the kings of Judah get 5-10 verses of text; Hezekiah gets three entire chapters. Clearly, he was an important character during the days of the divided monarchy. His reign has many things to teach us about our God and about the kind of service that pleases Him, as well as about His habit of testing those who put their trust in Him. Hezekiah is, perhaps, the poster boy for God’s testing. The story of his reign as presented in Kings, and to a lesser extent in Chronicles, is the story of test after test, with the culminating test having this note appended to it in the Chronicler’s account: “God left him, to try him, to see all that was in his heart.” Brothers and sisters, in Hezekiah we see writ large the truth that God had one Son without sin but no sons without suffering! Faith in God is not a prophylactic against disaster and trial. God visits great faith with great trials. That’s not a reason to doubt Him, of course — unbelievers also experience great trials, and they don’t have God to lean on in those trials. But nonetheless, though Hezekiah was one of the two best kings of Judah, and excelled in faith as no other monarch did, he still experienced testing. In his life, we see the trial and triumph of faith. Rejoice in the triumph, and prepare for the trial! https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/213181139525 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 11 Feb 2018 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:32:33 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/2618121095 Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, we come tonight to the second half of 2 Kings 17. This entire chapter is an extended meditation on what happened when Assyria slammed into Israel’s defenses and overwhelmed them in 722 B.C. Had God’s promise of life in the land failed? The answer, as we saw last week, is that God’s judgment fell upon His people because they were wicked. They took every opportunity they had to turn away from God, as seen by the repeated refrain telling us that every king of Israel walked in the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. Our text tonight is concerned to show us that even after all of it, all the suffering, all the devastation, all the problems in Israel, nothing had changed. The people continued to worship other gods and serve Yahweh on the side, just as they had always done. This kind of thing is still quite visible around the world, and especially in Central and South America. Much popular religion in those regions is not quite pagan, but it’s not quite Christian either. Some call it “Christo-paganism,” and that is exactly what it is. Our text tonight deals with Judeo-Paganism, which is a classic example of what religion scholars call “syncretism” — the mixing and matching of elements from various religions and belief systems into a custom-tailored garment that the worshipper likes. The title of tonight’s sermon plays off the classic title of Sigmund Freud’s 1930 work Civilization and its Discontents. Just as civilization has its downsides, so syncretism has its downsides too. The one who is most discontent with it is Almighty God Himself. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/2618121095 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 04 Feb 2018 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:38:44 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/129181421584 Israel was not simply minding her own business when suddenly Assyria came and victimized her in brutal ways. Israel was doing her level best to provoke God, to despise His blessings — and at some point, His patience was exhausted and He punished her for her sins. That is the message of this text. If you think that Israel is an innocent victim, you’ve been asleep since 1 Kings 12. Israel truly did deserve everything that happened in this chapter — and that is terrifying because it tells us something about ourselves. The God we serve has not changed. He still punishes those who persist over centuries in despising His blessings. In the history of Israel under Hoshea we see a warning of what our own fate might be if we persist in idolatry like theirs. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/129181421584 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 28 Jan 2018 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:28:48 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/122182016480 Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, we come tonight to another full chapter on a king of Judah. We haven’t seen our narrator give this much space to a Judean monarch since chapters 11-12, and only rarely before that. Clearly, there are things that we can learn from the life of Ahaz ben Jotham, king of Judah. We can learn indirectly, of course, that God is faithful to His promises and faithful to His threats as well. We can learn that a bad leader can make life difficult for generations to come. But I think that what the narrator is emphasizing to us is both how hard it is to be faithful and how wicked it is to be unfaithful. In other words, there’s no sugar-coating on this text.This isn’t a feel-good psalm about how wonderful our God is. Yes, He’s wonderful — always. But our text tonight is really about the difficulty of going right and the attractiveness of going wrong. Brothers and sisters, you can’t say you weren’t warned! https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/122182016480 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 21 Jan 2018 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:24:33 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/116181237451 Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, at the risk of invoking a technology unfamiliar to many of you, allow me to observe (with D. R. Davis) that our chapter tonight is stuck on fast-forward. In less than 40 verses, we see the dizzying rise and fall of no less than seven kings. But in this case, the number only serves to highlight the imperfection of Judah, Israel, their people, and their kings. Our text tonight deals grimly with violated boundaries and violated bodies. God’s judgment begins with His own household, the NT tells us. And certainly we see that here. God’s judgment on Israel and Judah is sickening, violent, and unstoppable. One can only say with the Apostle Peter that their damnation is not idle and their destruction does not slumber. Instead, throughout this chapter we are fast-forwarding right to the end of Israel. What I hope to show you is that God’s righteous judgment on His own people is symbolized and enacted in the violation of political, social, and bodily boundaries. Again, God’s righteous judgment on His own people is symbolized and enacted in the violation of political, social, and bodily boundaries. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/116181237451 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 14 Jan 2018 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:29:36 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/1918131532 Earthly rulers can give safety and success for three or four generations, but only Christ gives eternal safety and eternal success. God can bless the wicked, but He will ultimately judge them. Only those who have taken refuge in Christ are safe amid all the weirdness of history. So trust Him to be everything that He’s promised to be. Amen. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/1918131532 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 07 Jan 2018 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:36:18 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/12181346123 When God gives you a promise, how hard do you grasp it? How heavily do you lean on it? How much do you need it to be true? Those are the questions that this little vignette brings to our attention. Brothers and sisters, these last three graces are resistible. You don’t have to hope, even when God gives you clear and direct promises. You can refuse to hope in the resurrection. You don’t have to accept the truth; you can choose to believe lies. You don’t have to embrace the covenant; you can reject it. These graces are resistible, and Jehoash resisted them (or partially resisted them). Yes, God saves irresistibly. But if you are truly saved, you need to accept His grace. Don’t resist it. Don’t refuse hope, covenant, and truth. They are all offered to you in Jesus Christ. If He is yours, then so are His graces. Don’t resist them; embrace them! Don’t be like Israel, who went “to judgment weighted down with mercies.” Amen. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/12181346123 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 31 Dec 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:41:38 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/1212171217201 Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, we come tonight to the reign of Joash son of Ahaziah. He narrowly escaped being murdered by his own grandmother, and he was concealed in the temple for seven years until the day of his coronation. His ascending the throne meant that his grandma was killed in the street, and that sort of ambivalence marks his entire reign. You see, Joash was part David and part Ahab, and both parts get some attention in this chapter. We see God’s blessing and God’s curse, and we see above all His faithfulness. He kept both His promise to David and His threat to Ahab, and that duality is reflected in Joash’s ambivalence toward the Temple. It also has resonance for us: Do you want to die in Ahab (Adam) or to live with David (Christ)? https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/1212171217201 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 10 Dec 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:33:49 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/12517122101 Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, our text tonight is in many ways a coup more exciting than the coup we saw in the previous two chapters. There, Jehu ben Nimshi, an army officer, managed to seize power in Israel with military and prophetic backing. In our text tonight, though, it is no piece of military brass who decides that he’s fit to rule but whose “zeal for Yahweh” makes us a bit queasy. Here we see the rightful king returning to David’s throne with the full backing not only of the military and religious establishment, but also with the full consent of the people of the land. Yes, there are saddening things about this text — for instance, that David’s family is now so messed up that a seven-year-old is coming to power over his grandmother’s dead body. But the message, twice highlighted, is ultimately one of joy. What I hope to show you tonight is that the restoration of Davidic rule in Judah in 836 B.C. shows us what our own submission to Christ’s rule should look like. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/12517122101 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 03 Dec 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:37:07 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/1128171232365 No line can be drawn between big things and little things, important things and irrelevant things, in the history of the kingdom of God! Therefore, God’s providential government and our faithful obedience and submission to His rule are both maximally operative at every stage of the progress of the Kingdom! https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/1128171232365 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 26 Nov 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:25:37 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/1120171921598 Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, we come tonight to the second part of the story of Jehu’s rise to power. Last week we saw how quickly his coup took shape, as he rode at top speed back to Jezreel as soon as he had been anointed by the prophet, only to slaughter the kings of Israel and Judah the moment he arrived. He then dealt with Jezebel in a gruesome and highly memorable fashion. Tonight, the purges continue. This chapter is a breath of fresh air to those who hate Baal and his works and desire to see the LORD alone exalted. But at the same time, many of Jehu’s actions trouble us. Is this text simply an extended account of a bloody coup? Or is it actually edifying? Does it reveal our God to us? The answer is absolutely yes. This text is an edifying text because it tells us more about what our God is like. In tonight’s text the vengeance, chastening, hatred of idolatry, and mercy of our God are on full display. We see those attributes clearly in this text — and we just as clearly see that our God doesn’t always behave as we expect Him to. Our God is not a tame lion and His agents are not always particularly sanctified and Spirit-filled. But that doesn’t change who He is. He’s not safe, but He’s good. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/1120171921598 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 19 Nov 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:32:21 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/117171225329 Brothers and sisters, we come tonight to the passage that we have all been waiting for. Finally someone is doing something serious about the relentless corruption and apostasy so rife within the borders of Israel and Judah! Finally we’re seeing a political solution to a political problem. At least, sort of a political problem. Obviously the ultimate problem lies in the corrupt hearts of the people of God. But the most obvious presenting problem is the godless, Ahab-tainted leadership of both Israel and Judah. It’s no accident that the last two kings of Israel have been Jehoram and Ahaziah, and the last two kings of Judah have been Ahaziah and Jehoram, in that order. It’s as if the narrator is trying to highlight how interchangeable the two kingdoms have become, how much they look like one another in their orgasmic pursuit of Baal. Yet tonight, the word of God decisively intervenes not by the moral suasion of a prophet or a domestically-scaled act of mercy such as we have been seeing for the last several weeks, but rather by the brutal reality of bronze-tipped arrows in the hearts of wicked kings. What we’ll see tonight is that the word of God drives history and wrenches the arc of the moral universe toward justice. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/117171225329 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 05 Nov 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:44:38 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/1031171127108 Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, God has a sense of place. He is omnipresent; we gladly and joyfully confess that the divine nature cannot be limited to a particular place. But nonetheless, God created particular places and He knows how important place is to us humans. Tonight’s section of text is the introduction to the next chapter’s bloodbath. Things are building quietly, and though we do have two different battles in our text this evening, this is really the calm before the storm (to use a hackneyed cliche). What I hope to show you this evening about your Heavenly Father is that His providence is always at work for both judgment and salvation, in the affairs of nations and in the most ordinary places of your daily life. Don’t think that God is absent from the kitchen at Panera, or from the mudroom of your home, or from the Campbell County courthouse, or anywhere else that your daily path takes you. He knows you, he knows where your family’s from, and He is at work in those places. Let’s see how the narrator communicates that truth in the lives of these Judean monarchs. (Note: The title and several points of this sermon come from Dale Ralph Davis' commentary in loc.) https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/1031171127108 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 29 Oct 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:24:24 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/1024171159332 This morning we looked together at the truth that God works all things after the counsel of His own will. Tonight we see a particular instance of that truth, as Elisha gives God’s imprimatur to Hazael’s rule over Syria and even delivers a riddling oracle that recognizes the reality of Hazael’s planned assassination. Our text tonight is clear: while God raises up kings and takes down kings, His love and care for His people does not falter or change. In the tears of Elisha we see the weeping eyes of Jesus Christ. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/1024171159332 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 22 Oct 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:28:44 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/101717126236 Once again, brothers and sisters, I hope to show you the deeper resonances of this text with the larger Biblical narrative. What we will see tonight is that the Shunammite's exile and restoration stand as both an invitation to and a promise of life in the Land for all who heed Yahweh’s word and seek His royal favor. Did you hear that? This story is not just about someone else’s return from exile. It is an invitation to you to heed Yahweh’s word and seek Yahweh’s royal favor so that you too can dwell in the land. As Jehoram and the Judahite exiles in Babylon were asked, so this text demands of you an answer to the question of how you will respond to the relentless stories of God’s power over every threat that assaults His people. But that’s the conclusion of this sermon, not the introduction. Now I want you to see our God. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/101717126236 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 15 Oct 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:30:59 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/1010171243293 Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, we come tonight to one of the longest episodes in the Elisha narratives. This episode contains its share of gruesome realities, juxtaposed with the comic tale of the four lepers and the ultimately happy ending in which God provides for Samaria and the doubter gets poetic justice. This story is a story for people who are suffering, for people who are in a bad situation, for people who would very much like to see happier circumstances and better days. It is a story that gives us reasons to wait for the Lord. Ultimately, those two reasons boil down to these: God will in fact work deliverance (though on His own schedule), and those who won’t trust Him will meet a bitter fate! Thus, this text ultimately urges us to wait for Yahweh’s deliverance. To the people of Iron Age Israel, it showed the delivering power of God. To the first audience for the completed book of Kings, it showed that suffering is temporary and that God will arise to save His people when He is ready. And in its place in the entire canon of Scripture, it shows us that deliverance comes through the Word of the Lord and trust is always the only proper response to God, no matter how bleak the situation seems. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/1010171243293 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 08 Oct 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:32:54 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/103171232561 Brothers and sisters, our text this evening is a piece of light comedy in which nobody gets hurt and everybody gets a good laugh at the expense of two royal fools, a hapless army, and a servant who can’t see what his master sees. Contrast it, if you would, with the dark and heavy comedy of the next bit of text, where famine stalks the land, children are eaten, and destruction seems imminent. Yet both texts are actually comic, in terms of the deep structure of what that genre means. Comedy is quite simply a story which begins in pain and ends in joy. The believer’s life, therefore, is comic, while the unbeliever’s life is tragic. The books of Kings as a whole are a tragedy. They begin with joy in the reign of Solomon, but end with sorrow and disaster as God’s people go into exile. Yet within that larger narrative of tragedy the author has incorporated many comic incidents in which things go wrong but then go right again. Even at the book’s end, where tragedy predominates and the corpse of a nation lies on the stage, a note of hope is heard when the narrator concludes by telling us about the lifting up of Jehoiachin’s head. And of course, the Bible as a whole is a work of comedy, for though it begins in joy it quickly descends into pain and stays there until the coming of the New Jerusalem. We’ve recently talked about all of that in our morning sermons. For now, though, I want you to see the divine comedy of our text tonight. God surrounds His prophet and His people with protection. Trust Him on that. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/103171232561 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 01 Oct 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:29:35 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/926171147558 Dearly beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, you may feel that I’m starting to get rather repetitive in these evening sermons. Every week it’s the same old message: God cares for you! God provides for you! Trust Him and see whether He doesn’t come through to help you with your neediness! Maybe you’ve all gotten it. Maybe you trust God at the level you should trust Him, all the time. But the text keeps driving this message home to us and it is only right for us to pay attention. God clearly wants us to know what He did for His people in the days of Elisha, and so we should listen as the text shows us, time after time and story after story how our God went out of His way to care for the nameless, the helpless, and the at-risk. Once again, we see that at at the heart of the universe is not callous indifference but rather love, care, and generosity. Our God is at work to take care of His people — so trust Him. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/926171147558 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 24 Sep 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:21:16 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/919171239315 In Romans 3, Paul asks an important question: “Or is God the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles?” How does he answer that question? By saying “Yes, of the Gentiles also” (Rom 3:29 NKJ)! God is the God of Gentiles too, and He proved it to Naaman the Syrian through Elisha the prophet of God. That’s the story that our text tonight tells. This story, coming as it does in the midst of a barrage of stories that reveal to us the character of God to His people, shows us that God is the same generous, caring, compassionate God even to those who do not belong to His people. God could have healed Jewish lepers, but He chose to heal a Syrian — and a Syrian who had presumably badly damaged Israel at that! Why? Because He wanted to show that His free grace is for Gentiles too. As we’ll see tonight, God severely punishes anyone from among His own people who tries to hinder the spread of grace to other ethnicities and even to our enemies. The freedom of God to show grace to whom He will, on His own terms — and the freeness of His grace to those who receive it — are both shown in this story to be non-negotiable. God will be gracious to whom He will be gracious, and our job is to proclaim and live in light of that grace. Woe be to those who try to stop it! https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/919171239315 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 17 Sep 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:51:22 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/912171141280 We need to think for a moment about this Feast of Weeks — or Pentecost, as it is better known. Our passage this evening is about God giving a gift on Pentecost, first to this singular ‘man of God’ and then through his intercession to all of his followers. Sound familiar? Brothers and sisters, God gave bread to the sons of the prophets on Pentecost, and He has given you the greater gift of His Spirit on Pentecost! And indeed, He has given so much of His Spirit that there is enough for all of us, and much left over. Do you believe in the Holy Spirit? Do you see Him as God’s gift to you? Do you recognize that now you are the firstfruits of Christ, that you belong to God, and therefore that God will use you in His Kingdom — and that He might even use your labor to provide bread for your fellow saints? https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/912171141280 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 10 Sep 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:22:55 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/951711782 Have you ever done anything stupid? Have you indulged in an action, wittingly or unwittingly, which could have had really bad consequences for you and for everyone you loved? If you have, then tonight’s message is for you. As Dale Ralph Davis pointed out, too often we are the heroes of the stories we tell about how Jesus saved us from our stupidity. But in tonight’s story, God is and remains the hero. This story isn’t here to glorify the guy who picked the bad gourds and threw them in the pot; it’s here to tell us that God saves His people not just from sin and death and danger, but even from their own dumbness. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/951711782 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 03 Sep 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:22:56 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/81517131757 Though Elisha cannot instantly raise the boy with a word (as Christ could and did), nonetheless God hears his prayers and restores life to the lad. Why? Because He gives, He takes away, and He restores — and He is Lord of life and death. Brothers and sisters, we read earlier this evening about how Jesus raised the son of the widow of Nain. Remember that Nain is just over the hill to the north of Shunem, and Shunem (therefore) is just over the hill to the south of Nain. It was right here, at this spot, that God demonstrated His power over death twice. Do you believe in the resurrection of the dead? Are you prepared to let God take your loved ones, knowing both that He gave them in the first place and that He will restore them at the resurrection of the just? Believe Him! Trust Him! Our God is a generous God who has conquered death at the cross of Christ. Baal doesn’t rule death. God’s servants don’t rule death. But God does rule death, and He can grant resurrection life both spiritual and physical. If you don’t know Christ tonight, believe in His resurrection and in His power to raise you to spiritual new life. If you do know Him, then resolve that when He takes what you love, you will go to Him in faith, nothing doubting, trusting that He will restore it in His own good time. Embrace this God, not for His gifts, but for Himself. He gave you the life you have, and He has promised to give eternal resurrection life to everyone who believes on His Son. Amen. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/81517131757 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 13 Aug 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:31:53 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/88171240215 The main thing is to learn to think rightly about your heavenly Father. Yes, many Christians suffer and die. The righteous perish, as we saw at the beginning of our text, and sometimes they even starve to death. In this very church we have sick people, people grieving the loss of loved ones. It is tempting to adopt the mindset of Richard Dawkins and say that at the heart of the universe is nothing more than “pitiless indifference.” But our text tonight tells a different story. God cares! He is interested in you. He feels your needs and your pain. We know He does, because His Son is a man like you, one who knows intimately what it is to live on Earth and to lose the ones He loved. We saw tonight that God cares for the nameless and helpless. He showed that by providing for this widow’s needs. How much more did He show it at the cross of Jesus Christ, where He gave not a miraculous supply of oil (which cost Him nothing) but instead gave His only Son (which cost Him everything)! Brothers and sisters, we serve a God who cares, and cares deeply, about us and our needs. It may not always seem like it, and His priorities are certainly different from ours. But He is a God who cares. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/88171240215 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 06 Aug 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:26:06 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/81171222197 The only reason Elisha gave Jehoram the time of day was that Jehoshaphat was with him. Every blessing and benefit that you get from God ultimately comes only in and through Christ. He is generous, like His Father. He is jealous, like His Father. And He promises to save to the uttermost everyone who seeks to come to God through Him. Won’t you seek Him? He promises that you will find Him. Don’t seek Him halfheartedly and only find part of his blessing. Seek Him wholeheartedly, and find the whole Christ. He is wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption — and victory. Seek Him, and when you find Him, stay with Him. His total victory will then be yours. Amen. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/81171222197 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 30 Jul 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:36:47 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/71517137537 Tonight, of course, our topic is the topic of succession in the kingdom of God. When a great leader dies, when a man of God departs this world, what comes next? How do we, as hurting and scattered sheep, respond? This chapter deals with precisely this question. It faces it head-on, and declares to us across the centuries that eras pass in the life of the church, that leaders come and go, but that God remains Himself in all His grace and power. We don’t need to worry how the next generation will cope without a Sinclair Ferguson, a Charles Stanley, or a Ligon Duncan. Our God is the same God that Elijah served, and He will continue the same forever. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/71517137537 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 16 Jul 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:34:10 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/7817141434 Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, our text tonight is troubling. Tonight we see not a battle, or a war; we don’t see human beings murdering each other. Rather, we see the grisly consequences of idolatry. That’s why I’ve titled this sermon “Idolatry Kills 103.” It kills Ahaziah, of course. It kills 2 captains of 50, and it kills two units of 50. All told, the body count here is 103 men, every last one of them struck down by God for failing to keep the first commandment. Yet what our text highlights is not only the exclusive demands of God, but first and foremost His persistent grace. God warns against idolatry seven times in this chapter. Six times the warning goes unheeded, but before the climactic seventh warning the third captain of fifty shows us what it looks like to heed such a warning and to repent before God. Yet Ahaziah missed it. He ignored the first six warnings, and by the time the seventh one came, it was too late. Idolatry killed him. Brothers and sisters, tonight with God’s help I will show you that idolatry kills. God’s fiery wrath will consume every last person who refuses to heed His insistent, repeated warnings. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/7817141434 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 09 Jul 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:38:31 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/7417125582 Brothers and sisters, see from these verses how much God hates sin, and how foolish it is to give yourself to sin or even to compromise with sin. Remember that Jesus Christ died for sin. And know that if you reject His work and choose to continue on in your sin, doing exactly as you please, that you will suffer the fate of Ahaziah. Don’t choose the way of folly or the other way of folly. Choose the way of life, opened up by Christ’s death and vindicated by His resurrection. Jehoshaphat did, and despite his failures, God accepted him. His mercy is for you too. You see, brothers and sisters, we’re all compromised! We all have residual friendship for the world. But Christ died for that too. Trust Him. Rely on Him. Honor Him as holy — and don’t ever forget how much He hates sin. Amen. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/7417125582 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 02 Jul 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:30:54 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/626171222517 Brothers and sisters, in 2014 a man named Matthew Vines published a book called God and the Gay Christian, in which he argued that the Bible does not forbid committed homosexual “marriages.” Why do I mention this? Simply because our passage tonight deals with the same phenomenon. The basic idea is this: a man doesn’t want to hear the word of God, and so he both carefully solicits it and yet at the same time rejects it. Such is the sad case of Matthew Vines, who spent four years studying the Bible to determine that it forbids only evil homosexual relationships but allows for homosexuality within the context of a committed “marriage.” This phenomenon is nothing new. Almost 3000 years ago, Ahab solicited the word of God, and changed his behavior based on what it told him. Yet he didn’t really want to hear it, and he didn’t really follow its instructions. Despite his show of finding out what God thought, and his attempt to do what God required, he still met the death which God had decided to visit upon him. What we will see tonight in this text is simply that the word of God destroys the man who defies it. It destroyed Ahab, and it will destroy those who, like Matthew Vines, refuse to listen to and obey it. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/626171222517 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 25 Jun 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:41:31 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/619171248258 What I hope to show you tonight is that God is indeed a God of justice who firmly takes the side of the powerless and repressed — but that He is also a God of mercy, who looks with joy on the repentance of anyone and everyone who turns toward Him. We so easily lose that balance; we hate evil in the wrong way, and begin to love revenge rather than justice. But God loves justice, and He loves mercy. Let’s look at how His words and actions in history demonstrate those truths to us. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/619171248258 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 18 Jun 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:35:44 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/61317126560 Brothers and sisters, God reveals Himself brilliantly and powerfully in this book of Kings. We have just finished a three-chapter cycle that focused primarily on Elijah and his exploits — and revealed God as the God who judges His people, who calls them back to fellowship with Himself, and who blesses them despite their sin. Chapter 19 showed us Elijah’s plea for God to judge Israel for its covenant-breaking — and chapters 20, 21, and 22 will show us how that judgment was carried out on and through Ahab. In every one of these chapters, Ahab fails. In this chapter, chapter 20, Ahab fails to recognize that God is indeed Yahweh— that He is indeed the God revealed in Scripture. In the next chapter, Ahab oppresses God’s people and receives God’s curse for it. And in chapter 22, Ahab meets his death at the hands of a Syrian soldier. These chapters also feature many unnamed prophets, and of course Elijah, stepping forward to declare the word of God in situation after situation. Thus, both of Elijah’s complaints are answered here and in the following chapters. On the one hand, we see that Elijah is far from the only true servant of God remaining in Israel; on the other, we see that God’s judgment will indeed overtake covenant-breaking Israel. But in that midst of that judgment, God highlights His grace and His universal dominion. When that grace is ignored, when it does not meet with the response it demands, then God works through His dominion to judge everyone who refuses to live in light of His gracious character. What we’ll see in this chapter is the unasked, undeserved grace of God, the universal dominion of God, and the certain judgment of God on those who refuse His grace. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/61317126560 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 11 Jun 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:42:46 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/521172247213 Nowhere else in Scripture will you find a prophetic call mediated through another human being or another prophet. (Don’t mention Joshua to me; he wasn’t a prophet. Yes, his predecessor was a prophet, one called directly by God. But Joshua was chosen by Moses to succeed him not as prophet but as general.) By its very nature, the office of prophet is a special office. Priests are ordained by other men; kings are chosen by the people and anointed by prophets; but prophets have a direct mandate from God that directs them in their business. So do you see the honor here? Elijah is so great that he was allowed to personally call his successor. So was Elisha a prophet from man and through man? He was not from man; it was God who gave Elisha’s name to Elijah, God who insisted that Elijah find Elisha and anoint him. It was God’s idea to call Elisha. But Elisha was indeed a prophet through man. Elijah was uniquely privileged to be the agent who informed Elisha that he was going to be the next Elijah. Why is this account included here? What does it tell us about God? It is included to show us that God is so kind and merciful to His servants. Elijah saw the progress of sin in the OT church, and he decided that he was the only one. God’s usual mode of working was to call multiple prophets at the same time but in different regions of Israel — thus, Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah all served overlapping careers. But rather than simply addressing the problem Elijah identified through another prophet working far away, God suspended His usual policy and gave Elijah a unique privilege. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/521172247213 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 21 May 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:20:03 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/51317203210 Tonight, the themes of Elijah’s journey south come to a climax. Here we see Elijah’s complaint, and we see and hear God’s response to that complaint. Like Moses, Elijah met God on Sinai. And as He did to Moses, so God revealed Himself to Elijah as a God with power to judge and destroy who will avenge covenant-breaking, but also as a God with power to save who will never be without a host of worshippers. That’s the point of this story. It’s not directly about the solution to discouragement, or the alleged “revelation” of apophatic theology that God is to be found in the silence. No, this story exists to tell us about God’s power to judge covenant-breakers and His love to preserve a remnant for Himself. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/51317203210 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 14 May 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:36:54 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/59171149559 If you’re discouraged, look to Jesus Christ, the great Angel of YHWH who goes with His people through the wilderness, who gives us bread from Heaven to eat, who may judge an entire generation but who can make that generation’s children the most faithful generation in the history of the church. Jesus can do all of this! He’s done it in the past. He’s the one who restrains Jezebel and her ilk. He’s the one who lays on us tasks that we think are too heavy, but who personally strengthens us to perform them. He’s the one who feeds His people, and He’s the one who leads them through the wilderness. Yes, He will judge the faithless. That’s one message of the forty years in the wilderness. But He will preserve His people. Trust Him. Worship Him. Cry out to Him. He’ll hear you. He’ll strengthen you. One way or the other, through judgment or through salvation, His faithfulness will always triumph over His people’s faithlessness. So join the remnant. Receive Christ’s healing touch, eat His heavenly food, and know that He will always preserve His own. Always. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/59171149559 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 07 May 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:39:02 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/52171322216 Tonight we see the fulfillment of God’s purpose to bless. We see how God brings that purpose to pass: it is through the work of a mediator, and happens despite the obstruction of an anti-mediator. The mediator brings blessing by his struggle and persistence in prayer. And finally, that mediator offers rich gospel grace to wicked king Ahab. In short, brothers and sisters, with God’s help I will show you that in 1 Kings 18:41-46 it is through the mediator’s work that Yahweh restores covenant blessings and brings together the offices of prophet and king. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/52171322216 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 30 Apr 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:23:52 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/422171741344 In this portion of 1 Kings 18, we see God exposing Baal as non-existent and revealing Himself as the God who accepts the worship of His church and as a jealous God who brooks no rivals, whether they exist or not. In revealing Himself as the only one who can bless His people, God reveals Himself as the hater of false worship and as the rightful recipient of true worship! Last week we saw how the narrative frames the question. Is the question of blessing a question of bread? Is it an economic question? No. It is a theological question. Who is the true God? That question, in turn, can only be answered by revelation. And it’s God’s self-revelation to Elijah and to the OT church that we see preeminently in this section of 1 Kings. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/422171741344 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 23 Apr 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:39:46 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/415171845142 What is this story teaching us about the progress of God’s blessing? Just this: the question of blessing must be framed correctly. According to Ahab, the path of blessing lay in economic prosperity achieved by conformity to the spirit of the age. According to Elijah, the path of blessing lay in fellowship with God achieved and maintained by covenant faithfulness. These twin visions of blessing play out in our text this evening, and it is conclusively demonstrated that true blessing lies not in economic prosperity, but in covenantal communion with God. As the old Puritan George Swinnock put it, “He who enjoys the ocean may rejoice, though some drops are taken from him!” https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/415171845142 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 16 Apr 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:32:21 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/411171137106 The church proclaims the good news that God has reached out toward the world in reconciliation. He makes the first move. He initiates the covenant, and He maintains the covenant. This whole chapter, dealing as it does with the return of blessing to a defiled people through the agency of the remnant people of God, is a testament to the grace of our God. How is it that God could announce blessing for an unrepentant Israel? Only through the coming work of Jesus Christ. That work was what gave Elijah the strength to announce blessing to a people who deserved the curse. That work was what gave Obadiah new courage to go and say, “Good news, O king--behold, Elijah is here!” And that’s what will give you courage to say to the unbelieving, dark, ignorant world, “Good news! God is blessing this world in His Son Jesus Christ, though the world doesn’t deserve it.” Amen. May God give us the grace to be a faithful remnant, requisitioned for His service to share the good news that covenant blessings are on their way because the Son of God bore the covenant curses we so richly deserved. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/411171137106 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 09 Apr 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:35:35 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/4117142796 Here Elijah performs a sign, not for the purpose of proving God’s power, or for the purpose of comforting the widow directly, but for the purpose of vindicating the word of God and the messenger of God, vindicating God as the God who lives and gives life, and vindicating God’s word to a Gentile. Remember, the last chapter ended with Israel rejecting the word of God. This chapter ends with a Gentile embracing the word of God! Truly, our God works in mysterious ways. We see these truths in the one-two punch of God’s revelation. The first part of this revelation consists in the death of the widow’s son; the second, in his resurrection to new life. Finally, of course, the point of the sign is revealed in the widow’s words to Elijah: the point was to vindicate God’s word and prophet. Jesus' resurrection vindicated the truth of God's word and the identity of His prophet. You won't be ready for the final resurrection unless you trust God's word and Prophet! https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/4117142796 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 02 Apr 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:22:58 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/328171216400 God showed mercy to a Gentile when His own people rejected Him. The church grows in China and Africa while it shrinks in the West. God demands everything from you, and provides everything for you. That is the promise of His word. Can you trust God’s Word? Dare you? It has never failed yet. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/328171216400 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 26 Mar 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:31:42 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/321171153484 So what’s God’s word in the face of apostasy? It is a word of judgment. It is a word of pain and suffering directed against everyone, both the righteous and the unrighteous within the covenant community. Elijah spent six months praying for a drought that would cost him personally everything he had. What do we learn from this? God confronts His apostate people God’s judgments fall corporately God’s word, and not our idols, controls our weather The prayer of God’s people governs the course of nature (Elijah) and history (Moses) because the word of God governs nature and history! The “enemy and avenger” don’t have the final word! Elijah prayed for wrath as an OT figure; we pray for mercy through Christ, who bore the judgment for us! So pray, trust God, stand in His presence, and hang on to your faith when the judgment comes! You’ll see; God will be vindicated. You just wait. Amen. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/321171153484 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 19 Mar 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:32:23 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/37171356231 Solomon could have been writing the history of the USSR when he said, “The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way aright, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness” (Proverbs 11:5). Our Lord Jesus Himself put the same truth in very summary terms when He said that those who live by the sword die by the sword (Matt. 26:52). Well, long before the KGB and its predecessors gave us the lovely examples of Yezhov the Bloody Dwarf and his friends, the Northern kingdom of Israel presented a similar revolting spectacle. Here, in rapid succession, four kings in three dynasties fall by their own wickedness. We must come away from this gruesome story appalled by the depths to which evil reaches, but comforted by the fact that God is in control and that His word rules the evil of wicked men. We see this in the life of each of these four kings. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/37171356231 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 05 Mar 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:26:09 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/228171220470 The church in the United States of America today is in a condition very similar to the condition it was in under these three kings. Much false worship is allowed and tolerated. Much moral libertinism masquerading as enlightened tolerance is abroad in the land. Many people are allergic to the exclusive claims of Christ and the nature of our God as a jealous God. From the perspective of today, it’s easy to see what a faithful Israelite in that day and age should have done. He should have prayed for revival. He should have trusted in God rather than the doctors, and resisted the temptations to make alliances with the worldly powers. While Asa’s temptation was to ally with the ungodly Syrians, our temptation in the contemporary church may be to ally with Madison Avenue and Hollywood. Same temptation! Our call is not to adopt the world’s methods in order to have the world’s success. If you were a faithful Israelite in the era of Asa, Abijah, and Rehoboam, how would you respond? You would hold fast to the true worship of the true God. You would train your children in the truth, and you would explain to them that though their rulers were wicked men, or at best compromised men, that someday God was going to set up a faithful ruler over His people in His land. That ruler would be a true son to David, and a worthy successor of that legendary faithful king. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/228171220470 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 26 Feb 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:45:19 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/221171211281 Dale Ralph Davis put it like this: “Jeroboam wants the help of the word in the emergencies of life, but not the rule of the word over the course of life. He desires only the occasional word of God. He wants the word of God for his crisis but not for his routine or practice. He craves light in his trouble but not on his path. He doesn’t want to live with the word but only to visit it--like one does a whore. Is that your portrait?” https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/221171211281 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 19 Feb 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:30:40 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/2141712283410 This is undoubtedly one of the strangest stories in the Bible. Certainly we have to ask why this northern prophet, if he was a true prophet, was willing to lie to the southern man of God. We also have to wonder why a liar spoke the true word of God, and why God punished the disobedient man of God but not the lying prophet. And indeed, the passage produces more questions than these in our minds. But it is important to see that this chapter was not written to simply tell us a good story and gratify our curiosity, leaving us with a minimum of questions. The focus is relentlessly elsewhere--that is, on the word of the Lord. That’s why I’ve arranged the text under three points: we see the word of God fulfilled, confirmed, and ignored in this chapter. The phrase “the word of Yahweh” occurs nine times in this passage. Indeed, this passage demonstrates to us one major thing: God will always keep His word! It doesn’t matter whether that word is given to prophets or to kings; God always fulfills what He promised. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/2141712283410 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 12 Feb 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:30:17 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/27171239167 What’s more secure? A full bank account, or God’s promise? What’s more satisfying, stolen wealth or hard-earned wealth? What is the only source of security in this changing world? Moth and rust corrupt here, folks. Thieves break through and steal. Nothing in this world is permanent. Only God endures forever. Only His plans stand forever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations. Right? So where can you find lasting security? Not in political machinations. Not in trying to appear impressive to the right people. Only in the arms of Jesus is there safety. Don’t worship security. Worship Christ, and you will have security. But Jeroboam chose to worship security, and this section of 1 Kings 12 documents the appeal idolatry has and its stupid hand-made nature. Don't fall for it like Jeroboam did! https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/27171239167 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 05 Feb 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:33:52 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/13117123380 Rehoboam's folly lost the kingdom, but God's providence split the kingdom. Eighty-three percent of Israel only wanted to submit to the Lord's Anointed on their own terms. Sound familiar? Yet the disaster in this chapter is really the good news that in and through it all, God still reigns! https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/13117123380 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 29 Jan 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:36:08 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/12417123337 Solomon was chastened by three adversaries. Why? Because he fell into the sin of idolatry. But God would not cast off David's line entirely, because He always keeps His promises! Likewise, you will be chastened. But trust God in the midst of it, because He always keeps His promises! https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/12417123337 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 22 Jan 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:35:56 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/117171211497 Solomon's wives turned away his heart, and led him to support idol worship by building idols and temples. In response, God tore away 91.5% of Solomon's kingdom, but still kept His promise to David. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/117171211497 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 15 Jan 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:38:14 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/110171152104 If it was blessing to be in Solomon’s presence, how much more blessed is it to stand in the presence of Jesus Christ and hear His wisdom? When you come to church and hear God’s minister speaking to you, you are sitting there hearing the wisdom of God. That’s what being blessed looks like. Drinking in the wisdom of Christ, who is the Divine Wisdom personified, is the ultimate in blessedness. Being in His presence is blessedness. That is the spiritual reality behind the earthly manifestation in Solomon’s court. Yes, blessedness appears in earthly things. If you have a beautiful home and well-trained, obedient employees, you are blessed by God. That is the beginning of blessedness. But full blessedness consists of basking in the presence of Christ and knowing fellowship with such a great man, who is at the same time the great God! Blessedness is pictured in physical terms throughout this chapter, but we see in this declaration that ultimate blessedness comes from knowing Christ. You may not be outwardly prosperous, but you can still be blessed by hearing the wisdom of God! https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/110171152104 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 08 Jan 2017 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:46:07 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/1112161444211 Walking with God is vital. But does it exclude the business of ordinary life? Not at all, according to 1 Kings 9. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/1112161444211 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 13 Nov 2016 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:27:27 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/11816127564 In Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple, we see God's past grace, present grace, and future grace -- and we see how God's people responded to this grace in worship, feasting, and celebration. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/11816127564 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 06 Nov 2016 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:47:14 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/1029161329174 Solomon blessed God by blessing God's people, and he blessed God's people by recounting God's faithfulness, first to David's Son and then to God's people at large. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/1029161329174 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 30 Oct 2016 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:39:16 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/10251610212810 This chapter is rich; even the first 13 verses are magnificent, recounting as they do how deeply God identifies with His people, even to the point of living in a tent for hundreds of years to show His solidarity with His people's wandering. The Temple, too, demonstrates God's presence with us, and the glory of Messiah, the true Temple-builder and the true Mercy Seat. Do you rejoice in God's presence with His people? Do you see how great Jesus' work of Temple-building is, as He transforms you and His entire church into a fit dwelling-place for God? If you don't, then listen to this sermon! https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/10251610212810 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 23 Oct 2016 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:43:06 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/101716191017 In this passage, we see the King's dwelling, his craftsman, his testimony that God establishes and strengthens, and his provision for worship -- and we see the parallels between King Solomon and King Jesus. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/101716191017 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 16 Oct 2016 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:37:47 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/1010161745373 A Temple is a place where a god lives, and Solomon's Temple was home to the true and living God. The narrator ties the Temple to Eden, and Revelation 21 ties Heaven to the Temple. What do Heaven, the Temple, and Eden have in common? They are all places of God's special presence, walking with His people. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/1010161745373 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 09 Oct 2016 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:44:34 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/104161237561 The structure of 1 Kings 5 is all about practical theology. We see three major theological statements, and then the real-world results they brought about. Above all, we see Israel and Lebanon mobilizing to build the Temple and thus to create communion with God. Do you work to create communion with God? https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/104161237561 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 02 Oct 2016 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:35:37 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/927161255471 This chapter at first appears to be a lot of extraneous material on Solomon's reign. But actually, it is a recounting of what happened when God answered Solomon's prayer for wisdom. We see in 1 Kings 4 the order of wisdom, the promise of wisdom, and the excellence of wisdom. The wisdom of Solomon, the Man of Peace, reminds us of the wisdom of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/927161255471 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 25 Sep 2016 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:28:53 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/920161321451 Solomon engaged in some questionable behavior (marrying a foreigner; worshipping at high places) -- and yet God blessed him beyond belief. Solomon then turned around and spent most of the chapter helping two prostitutes get their case decided. Why? Because God's generosity is like that. It overflows and takes in even the most unworthy, disreputable, scummy people imaginable. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/920161321451 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 18 Sep 2016 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:29:41 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/913161135187 "It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness," wrote Solomon (Pro 16:12). In this chapter, we see that Solomon's throne was established in three ways: not only by righteousness, but also by inheritance and by justice. Ultimately, Solomon's purge points to the unconditional submission God's Kingdom demands, and to the bloody establishment of Christ's rule at His Second Coming. Reject Christ's rule, and you will get the same bloody fate as Joab, Adonijah, and Shimei. The choice is yours. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/913161135187 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 11 Sep 2016 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:48:57 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/961612215610 When internal revolt threatens God's Kingdom, God preserves it by ordinary Christians doing their jobs. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/961612215610 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 04 Sep 2016 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:35:01 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/829161246491 What's amazing about 2 Chronicles 13 is not that Rehoboam's son Abijah claims that Judah is the Kingdom of God. What's amazing is that God backs him up! The whole narrative indicates that Abijah's claim is literally true, that OT Judah under the Davidic dynasty was in some sense the incarnation of the Kingdom of God. To understand this, in turn, gives us the key we need to unlock the book of Kings -- and tells us how imperative it is that we submit to the rule of David's great Son, Jesus Christ. https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/harvestgillette/sermons/829161246491 Religion & Spirituality Sun, 28 Aug 2016 12:00:00 +0000 Caleb Nelson 0:27:13 no Caleb Nelson - The Book of Kings