2 Kings 3:1-4:17, Acts 14:8-28, Psalm 140:1-13, Proverbs 17:22
Today is the 22nd day of June, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it is wonderful to be here with you today, as we gather here at the Global Campfire and move forward. Another step together. Yesterday, we started Second Kings, and there wasn’t a big fanfare about that. I mentioned that first and second Kings were all one manuscript, and they were broken apart, for ease. And so we’re just kind of continuing the story of the kings but we did see Elijah taken by a chariot of fire into heaven, and Elisha now has this prophetic mantle that Elijah had, as basically as the lead prophetic voice. And so, let’s dive in and take the next step forward. I say that all the time, even though I’m mixing my metaphors. Let’s, let’s go forward together, Second Kings chapter 3 verse 1 through 4 verse 17 today.
Commentary:
Okay, so, yesterday, we just really, really briefly observed the fact that Paul, on his missionary journey, everywhere that he went the message of the good news of the gospel of Jesus, caused a reaction. It wasn’t like Paul would go places and give this message and then people would be like, well that’s a nice story and then go back and have dinner and forget all about it. Like this was causing people to question, to consider, to reconsider, to repentance, to find new hope, but it was also very, very disruptive to the spirituality wherever…wherever Paul went. And that’s the interesting thing about spirituality. Like, when you’re kind of under the cover of what you think God is telling you to do, then you can pretty much do anything because God is telling you to do it. And so, Jews were antagonistic toward Paul, as they had been toward Jesus and this message. Something that Paul would’ve understood intimately, since he was one of the primary antagonists in the beginning. But the Gospel of Jesus was also disruptive in the other ways of looking at spirituality. And that is very, very much on display today. So, we find ourselves in the city of Lystra and that…that…that is now part of modern-day Turkey. Paul saw a man, and he saw that he had faith to be healed and he invited that man into his healing. And the guy got up and he had been crippled from birth and he got up and walked. So, a miraculous event. But the repercussions of the event were that they were, the people thought Paul and Barnabas were gods. Right, the Book of Acts told us that Barnabas was thought to be Zeus, and Paul was thought to be Hermes, and there was a Temple of Zeus there in Lystra. And so, it wasn’t long before the priest of Zeus heard that Zeus is here. Zeus is here, we need to go out and worship him. And so, they’re bringing bulls to sacrifice and a wreath of flowers and they’re going to do this. They’re gonna actually sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas. And just imagine, that this is going on in the city center. Like that’s going to draw all a lot more people to the event than had originally been there. So, we have a mob, a crowd of people coalescing around this idea that god’s have shown up in Lystra. A man has been healed and so, sacrifices need to be made to Zeus and Hermes. So, Paul and Barnabas have to kind of run into the middle of the mayhem, like this is a manic situation and it’s all centered around the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and a wonder, a miracle that it happened following the same pattern of Jesus. A man was healed, restored, made whole again. Paul and Barnabas have to run into the mayhem and do everything they can to try to say don’t sacrifice a bull to us. We are human beings, we’re nothing different than you. What’s different about us is Jesus and we’re here to introduce you to Him. But even with all their explaining and all, they’re trying to get everybody’s attention. They’re still bound and determined that Paul and Barnabas are Zeus and Hermes and they need a sacrifice. Then whip into the scenario the fact that Jews from nearby cities arrive in Lystra and they’ve already heard what Paul had to say. It’s already caused what it’s going to cause in their city and some of them have accepted Jesus and are following a new way of life. And others are very antagonistic, as Paul had been. So, they arrive in the midst of this. And this is like so crazy. They’re trying to sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas and then in the next scene the whole mob has shifted against Paul and Barnabas. And Paul has been stoned, like Stephen. Like when Paul held everybody’s cloaks while they stoned Stephen to death. Paul was stoned. So, he went from being a god, to being a person worthy of execution very quickly. Paul was stoned but he was not killed and got up and went back in the city. And then they went back to the cities that had been antagonistic toward them. The good news of the Gospel of Jesus causes reactions, life changing reactions. Each of us have had a life changing reactions to the Gospel at some point in our lives and we could think back to what that looked like for us, when our eyes were opened and we could see the truth of it. But it’s not really like a one-time thing. Our reaction to the Gospel should continually disrupt what is false within us. The good news of the Gospel should change the way we live every day that we get to live. And so, we see these reactions to the Gospel here in the Book of Acts, on Paul’s first missionary journey. We can think about how we reacted to the Gospel when we came to faith, but how are we reacting to the Gospel now? Like, is it continuing to disrupt and pull us forward and lead us away from the things that seduce us into idolatry, and lead us deeper into intimacy with God? Or was it an event that happened a while back and it was an important event, but it’s a memory. Maybe if we’ve kind of been in the wilderness or been in this dry kind of aired place spiritually. Maybe just thinking of how we were disrupted in the first place, when we fell in love with Jesus, when we knew what He was and who He claimed to be, and that changed things with in us in ways that are really difficult to put into words. It transformed us, as we surrendered to it and it became a part of our lives. Maybe just remembering what that was like in the first place and going back there and allowing the good news to disrupt us and awaken us and give us ears to hear and eyes to see. We can rekindle what we feel as if we’ve been lacking. The good news of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus remains the same. It hasn’t changed but perhaps we have changed by being influenced in our hearts postured toward it. Maybe doing what the Bible says and returning to our first love isn’t something that we do when we realize we’ve backslidden. Maybe it’s something that we do all day, every day.
Prayer:
And so, Father, we invite You into that. Holy Spirit, come. Lead us deeper into our intimacy with Jesus, our love, our devotion, our loyalty to our Savior. May the Gospel, once again, ignite in us a fire, the fire of the Holy Spirit, so that we see with compassionate eyes those who need the good news. And may we see that person we look in the mirror. We need the good news every day. And so, Holy Spirit, come into all of this and lead us deeper into Jesus, we ask in his name. Amen.
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And that’s it for today, I’m Brian, I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here, tomorrow.
Prayer and Encouragements:
Hi, guys, hello DAB Family. I am here but I can’t pray because I’m gonna lose my voice soon. But I’m here and I’m asking for prayers because my parents are going through a divorce. And I just, they’re both taking it really, really hard. And I just need them to know that they’re okay. But I just feel like it’s gonna be pretty hard for them, the next, at least two years. I’m just asking for help. Please guys.
Hi, DAB fam, it’s Spark. I’m pulling a quick one, real quick. I didn’t even know that I was gonna call in. But Bernie and the other gentleman called on today’s prayer on Father’s Day. I was gonna let the queen here pray for you guys and ask her, yeah, she’s looking at me like what? Ask for blessings over ya’lls family and your situations. So, here’s Queen B. Father, we come to You right now in the name of Jesus and we lift up James the Teacher and Bernie and the other guy who didn’t leave his name. And I just ask that You continue to rain blessing and joy and peace down in their lives, Father. Bernie, I heard, I heard your heart. You, you want your family to be together. And Lord, I just pray for softening of hearts. I pray for forgiveness. I pray for eyes to be opened, so we can see intent instead of our perceptions. In Jesus name. And Father, I just thank You that You’re covering those children. You love them more than their parents do and You are protecting their hearts. In Jesus name. And the second guy, you said you guys were having some really hard financial times, but I could hear the joy in your voice. And I just thank the Lord for that, the joy. Cause our joy is not situational. Our happiness is situational, but we were not called to be happy, we were called to have joy. And I just want to give you just a big ol kudos for the joy that it seems like you are having in the midst of this situation. And the gratefulness that you are exhibiting towards the Lord, in the midst of this situation. Father, I just ask that You just continue to pour that out on him. And that you cover …
Hello DAB family, this is Diana from Florida. Bernie, I feel your pain my brother and the struggle in your marriage. Because I have been through a two-year crazy toil in my marriage and wondering whether I was ever gonna see the light at the end of the tunnel and wondering if my marriage was at the brink of no return. And I want to just tell you Bernie, that you are not alone. And that there is hope from God for you, and for all the marriages who are struggling right now. I went through this two-year period, and I have to say, by God’s grace, God has brought me through, and our marriage is improving by leaps and bounds right now, in the name of Jesus. We are just seeing such a huge shift in our marriage, such as huge shift in the way that we are communicating and loving each other and it’s just marvelous to see. But I have to say that part of the reason that this is happening Bernie, is because I’ve continued to be steadfast in prayer seeking God. But also, have made sure to have accountability with church elders and leaders that are counseling myself and my husband and our helping us through things as well as having a marriage that can really guide us in our walk and in what it is we’re doing. So, my recommendation is make sure you have wise counsel in your corner that can steer you in the right direction towards God and toward each other. And in that, that will help improve your marriage. Heavenly Father, I pray for Bernie, right now. I pray that You have a supernatural intervention in Bernie’s marriage, in the name of Jesus. And that people would surround Bernie, right now, to pray for him and to help him.
Hello, everyone. This is CeCe calling in from North Carolina. I just wanted to say a prayer for the community as a whole. And hopefully I could reach someone that this could be helpful to. Or they needed to hear. But just know that God loves us so much and we might not think that we need Him every day or in every aspect of our lives, but we actually do. He knows what we’re gonna do before we even do it, so why not seek guidance from Him? He knows our capabilities, our strengths, and things that we can overcome that we never thought we could. And I really hope that if you’re struggling with self-worth, depression, just feeling inadequate or you’re not doing what you think you need to be doing, just turn to God because he has all the answers. And He will always give you the answers in His time and in His time, is always the right time. Just make sure that you’re not leaning on your own understanding. And just trust in Him. And that’s all you need to do. Just pour your heart out to the Lord, and He will always be there. He will always bless you and put His hand on your heart and show You that He loves you. So, just always seek Him, even if you’re having a blessed time, or in time of need. He will always be there. Give thanks always and love Him dearly. In the Lord’s name I pray. Amen.