Sermons

This passage covers the life of Jehoshaphat, known as a good king of southern Judah. He removed idols and showed reverence for God, but he made fatal mistakes, such as making an alliance with the wicked King Ahab and joining him in battle. In particular, his going into battle disguised as King Ahab, even though he was in danger of death, raises serious questions about the situation of the time and his identity as a man of faith.

Through these actions of Jehoshaphat, the sermon points out the spiritual pride and complacency into which people thought to have good faith can easily fall. It points out that when God gives great blessing, the mistaken confidence that one can keep the faith in any situation led in the end to an alliance with those who hate God. It also tells of his path to restoration: when trouble came, he cried out earnestly to God, did not fight in human strength, and relied on God alone, going out with praise.

Yet considering that the mistakes Jehoshaphat repeated, and the chain of evil left unbroken because of them, affected even his children, we must take care not to trust our own faith too much. The sermon closes at the point where we look back on ourselves, asking whether we are truly standing honestly before God and whether our heart right now is one that pleases him.

This passage deals with the event in which Ahab, king of northern Israel, receives a prophecy of his own death through the prophet Micaiah before the battle of Ramoth Gilead. Ahab listens to the flattery of false prophets and tries to escape God's wrath, but ends up walking the road to judgment, while Micaiah, even under the king's anger and torment, delivers what God has said without adding or taking away anything.

The sermon contrasts Ahab's hardness of heart, which would not bend its stubbornness despite the warning of judgment, with Micaiah's bold obedience in proclaiming the truth at the risk of his life. It also points out the folly of people who want to hear only pleasant words, and emphasises the stance of wise believers who take rebuke and counsel as opportunities to grow. Reminding us that God's warnings of judgment are an act of love that gives us the chance to turn back, it urges a life that fears God rather than the fears of the world and follows his true will.

Do we, like Ahab, reject the truth, bound by our own thinking, or do we, like Micaiah, obey God's word? Are we willing to bear the pain of cutting out the bitter roots and self-righteousness within us now, and are we doing our best to walk only in the way of Christ?

Today's passage deals with the event in which King Ahab, wanting to take Naboth's vineyard, drives Naboth to his death by following the scheme of his wife Jezebel. Frustrated by the refusal of Naboth, who keeps God's law, Ahab sulks like a child, and Jezebel, seeing this, uses the king's power to have Naboth falsely accused and executed. In the process Naboth's faithfulness is disregarded, and power and greed combine to bring about the unjust death of a righteous man.

Ahab, so easily swayed by Jezebel's urging, shows that sin does not work alone but bears fruit when it combines with the temptations and circumstances around us. But when Ahab receives the message of judgment through the prophet Elijah, he repents in deep humility, tearing his clothes and putting on sackcloth. Seeing this, God postpones the disaster he was about to bring until the days of Ahab's son. This means that God shows abundant mercy and does not turn away from those who repent, but at the same time it suggests that Ahab did not bear the fruit of true repentance, namely restoring Naboth's good name and returning his property.

The reason Ahab's brief humility could not fully remove the consequences of his sin is that he did not turn completely away from his repeated sins. When we do not seize the opportunity God gives and truly repent, sin carries on through the generations and ends in destruction. How should we live so that we do not grow numb to sin and do not miss the opportunities we are given?

Today's passage shows how God gives the disobedient King Ahab of Israel another chance. At first Ahab behaved servilely in the face of the provocations of Ben Hadad, king of Aram, but in the end he won a victory through God's work. Yet rather than giving glory to God through this victory, Ahab put political gain first and turned away from God's will.

Afterwards God pointed out Ahab's sin through a prophet and pronounced judgment. The prophet appeared before Ahab in disguise and described the situation of a man who had lost a prisoner, and Ahab judged that since the man had decided it himself, he must bear the responsibility. But this judgment carried within it the message of the judgment that would soon come back upon Ahab himself. Ahab showed the contradictory attitude of being numb to his own sin while reacting sharply to the sins of others.

Looking at Ahab, we may click our tongues and shake our heads. But we need to look back on whether we are still using God's grace as a tool for worldly gain. We need to ask ourselves whether, faced with the words of warning God has given, we merely feel troubled and frustrated without going on to true repentance and turning back.

This passage deals with the prophet Elijah, who, after winning a great victory on Mount Carmel, fled in fear at Jezebel's threat. When Elijah, in despair, asks even before God to die, God does not rebuke him but gives him bread and water and comforts him as if gently touching him. This is the love of God, who recognises that however great our faith, human beings are weak and can stumble.

The sermon points out how we often expect from God only supernatural miracles or outward works. Elijah waited for the wind, the earthquake, and the fire, but God came in a still small voice. This shows that God is not one who reveals himself through power that startles us, but one who is with us in the depths of our hearts and conveys deep love and grace. It also reminds us that even in the loneliness of feeling that we carry our mission alone, there are many unseen fellow workers whom God protects.

When we sense God's careful guidance and listen for his still small voice, we can lay down our fear. When we see the fellow workers in faith God has placed beside us, feel the love of Christ who intercedes for us, and set out on our way toward the kingdom of heaven, can we remain humble and not proud, whatever mission he entrusts to us?

This passage deals with the scene of Elijah's confrontation with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. King Ahab blames Elijah for the drought and opposes God, but Elijah urges the people, who waver between God and idols, to follow the true God. The people show a lukewarm attitude, serving God and Baal at the same time, but Elijah prays to God alone.

The sermon points out that Baal worship is not simply an idolatrous ritual but the world's values, which pursue material abundance and success. It emphasises that God gave human beings authority to rule over all things, but that true blessing comes when we keep within its boundaries and obey God. Satan uses human desires to make us torn between God and idols, but God is helping his children keep the faith to the end.

The sermon asks whether we will choose God decisively, without wavering between God and idols, that is, between God and the world's gain.

This passage follows the footsteps of the prophet Elijah as he carries out his mission for God amid the extreme crisis of drought and famine. In particular, God leads Elijah, who had taken refuge in a barren place, to a poor widow in the land of Sidon, the centre of idol worship, and commands her to share the last food she has. In a hopeless situation with nothing visible to rely on, the widow obeyed God's word and fed the prophet, and as a result her food did not run out, and she gained the hope that she and her son could live.

But when tragedy struck at the height of her blessing and even her only son died, she fell into deep despair and resentment. Through this suffering God leads her a step further, beyond a faith content with the world's material blessings, into a true faith that trusts wholly in God, the Lord of life. Having seen her son raised to life, the widow at last confesses that the word Elijah spoke is true, and comes to understand how God rescues a soul and establishes it even in her weakness.

In what situation are we trusting God right now? We are led to look back on whether we live resenting our suffering, buried in the world's standards and our own feelings, or whether we obey, looking to the hand of God, who leads us through that suffering to grow into deeper faith.

This passage covers the history of the kings of northern Israel from Jeroboam up to Ahab. With kings such as Nadab, Baasha, Zimri, and Omri replaced after short reigns, a history of extreme instability and conspiracy repeats itself, in contrast with King Asa of southern Judah. In particular, Omri and his son Ahab, though they had political stability and military ability, chose the way of idolatry and disregard for God's law, and grew more and more wicked.

Even in this dark history, the prophet Hanani and his son Jehu carried out the mission of proclaiming God's truth, which transcends the ages. They rebuked the wicked kings and kept the faith to the end, and God remembers their faithfulness. On the other hand, the case of Hiel, who rebuilt the city of Jericho despite Joshua's warning, shows that God's word is unfailingly fulfilled. When a leader's faith is not upright, the foundations of the nation crumble and the people rush down the road of spiritual corruption.

The world is growing darker as it moves toward the end times, but we must choose whether to yield to the world's current or to rely on God alone. Drawing on the lessons of history already given to us, with what attitude can we carry out our mission to the end and pass faith on to our children?

Within the history that began when Israel set up a human king in place of God, this passage looks at how King Asa of southern Judah came to be recorded as a good king. After taking the throne, Asa rooted out idolatry, relied on God against foreign invasion, won victory, and brought stability to the nation. He stayed watchful and showed faithfulness to God into his old age, but in his last years he made the mistake of sending treasure to the king of Aram and asking for help against an invasion by northern Israel. And when he fell seriously ill, he revealed his unbelief by relying on physicians instead of seeking God.

The sermon points out that these actions of King Asa were sins that came from human weakness. Even after being rebuked by the seer he did not repent, but showed pride, going so far as to put the seer in prison, yet the Bible judges that his heart was perfect all his days. This is because God bears with sins that come from human weakness and gives the chance to be restored, but does not forgive the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Judas Iscariot repeated small sins, grew proud, and in the end committed the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit by betraying Jesus, while Peter denied Jesus three times out of fear, but because it was not a planned betrayal he was forgiven and restored.

We must look back on whether we are committing the folly of failing to see grace as grace because God's grace is so great. So as not to commit planned evil that blasphemes the Holy Spirit or throws the church into confusion, we must not take sin lightly, but repent at once and live lives that fear God.

This passage tells the story of Asa, king of southern Judah, who boldly cut off the evil practice of idolatry handed down from his ancestors and sought God. Even in times of peace Asa did not let down his guard but built cities to prepare, and when he faced an enemy army that outnumbered his own, he acknowledged his weakness and cried out earnestly to God. His faith brought victory and peace from God, and through a prophet's encouragement he carried out deeper reforms, leading a work in which the people returned to God.

But in the course of Asa's reforms there was a great obstacle: the idolatry of his grandmother Maacah, one of his closest family. The sermon points out that for healthy character and the growth of the soul, it is sometimes necessary to boldly put an end to unhealthy relationships or weak areas. It explains that simply forcing a relationship to continue may not be unconditional love or loyalty, and that only when the vessel of our own faith stands firm do we gain the strength to truly save others. It stresses that to lead a loved one onto the path of eternal life, we need the resolve to accept discomfort and break ties, and that this is ultimately the way to create an opportunity for that person to stand before God.

Keeping in mind that our relationship with a loved one may be strained, why must we first stand firm in faith ourselves?

Through the life of Rehoboam, grandson of the great King David and son of Solomon, this passage shows how the surroundings and conditions we are given lead to different outcomes depending in the end on each person's choices. By the world's standards Rehoboam was born into the best of conditions and came to the throne, but he grew proud, forsook the Law of the Lord, and went the way of idolatry. As a result the nation was divided, he suffered the pain of Egypt's invasion and the loss of his treasures, and in the end he was recorded as a wicked king.

David, on the other hand, though he committed the grave sins of rape and murder, humbled himself before God, repented, and was faithful, and so was forgiven and approved. Because God is invisible, human beings easily fall for Satan's temptations, but the Bible records side by side, in contrast, the journey of a life that believes in the invisible God and a life whose heart has been captured by the world. Just as Rehoboam, when the nation became stable, did not stay spiritually awake but fell into corruption, we must be all the more careful when things are going smoothly, and we need training to rely fully on God alongside our human effort.

Through the ends of these two lives, the Bible urges the reader to decide for themselves which choice to make. God keeps his covenant to the end and grants opportunities, but if we receive that opportunity and still do not choose the way of faith, we will end up going the wicked way. The sermon asks what opportunities we have received, and what choice we will make with that opportunity before us.

This passage deals with the event in which Abijah, son of Jeroboam, the first king of Israel, fell seriously ill while Jeroboam refused to bend his hardened heart. Unlike his father with his evil deeds, Abijah had a good faith before God, yet because of his father's sin he fell mortally ill. This was God's urgent intervention to give Jeroboam one last chance to repent, but Jeroboam made the foolish choice of disguising his wife and sending her to the prophet in order to hide his own sin.

The sermon notes that when we meet suffering, we should pray to God and seek to understand his will rather than first looking for human solutions. God exposes our limits so that we rely on him completely, and invites us to the door of repentance. In particular, through Abijah's death God shows that he saved him from the curse on a wicked house and gave him eternal peace. This suggests that what the world regards as suffering can, for God, become an instrument of great blessing and salvation.

We are led to look back on whether the standard by which we view our present suffering and joy stays within the world's perspective, or whether it needs to be re-evaluated from God's perspective. If we suffer because of problems with family or circumstances even though we have kept an honest faith toward God, we are led to reflect deeply on how we should view it: not merely as misfortune, but in the context of the special grace and protection God has given.