Why The Godly Weep

INTRODUCTION

(Series Slide)

Good morning! My name is David Sorn. I’m the Lead Pastor here at Renovation Church.

Let me start with a question:

When you look out and see the culture around us?

The division, the brokenness, sin, what do you FEEL?

When you see people that live differently than you…and think differently…and VOTE differently…what goes on in here as you look at those people?

I want to explore this issue today as we continue in our life of Elisha series

Go ahead and grab a Bible

2 Kings 8:7-15

Page 255

Believe it or not, we are on week 11 of our Life of Elisha Series.

That seems crazy to me.

It’s gone really fast.

We have two more weeks to go after this, and then, before you know it, summer will be over, school will be starting, and, wow, time flies!

If it’s your first time here today, we have been studying the life of Elisha the Prophet this summer, and we are currently in 2 Kings chapter 8.

In history, this chapter takes place in 843 BC

And our passage today starts by talking about the King of Aram, Ben-Hadad

He is very ill, and he’s called out for Elisha.

Which, is kind of crazy, because for much of our summer series, Aram has been at war with Israel (Elisha’s country)

This is the same country, Aram, (and same king, Ben-Hadad) that tried to hunt down Elisha specifically, but Elisha made his entire army blind.

This is the same country and king that surrounded the Israelite capital of Samaria, and starved the Israelites.

And yet now…this same King of Aram thinks he might be dying, and so he calls out for Elisha the prophet

Why?

Well, for one, chapter 5 told us that the Commander of his Army, Naaman, was once healed by Elisha (so he knows what Elisha can do!)

And two, even enemies of God, those who are far from God, often deep in their hearts still know that God is real…and that He is the only one who has what they’re truly looking for.

But we often don’t admit it until we’re desperate.

And maybe that’s even you this morning.

Maybe you are surprised to find yourself in church today.

But, you’re in a desperate season.

And maybe, like the king of Aram, you know someone here who has been changed by God…

And so here you are…in church this morning.

And listen, we’re happy you’re here.

And I pray God speaks to you to this morning in this service.

I believe He can.

Let’s read our passage now

(2 Kings 8:7-15) – NIV

7 Elisha went to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad king of Aram was ill. When the king was told, “The man of God has come all the way up here,” 8 he said to Hazael, “Take a gift with you and go to meet the man of God. Consult the Lord through him; ask him, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”
9 Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him as a gift forty camel-loads of all the finest wares of Damascus. He went in and stood before him, and said, “Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”
10 Elisha answered, “Go and say to him, ‘You will certainly recover.’ Nevertheless, the Lord has revealed to me that he will in fact die.” 11 He stared at him with a fixed gaze until Hazael was embarrassed. Then the man of God began to weep.
12 “Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael.
“Because I know the harm you will do to the Israelites,” he answered. “You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women.”
13 Hazael said, “How could your servant, a mere dog, accomplish such a feat?”
“The Lord has shown me that you will become king of Aram,” answered Elisha.
14 Then Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master. When Ben-Hadad asked, “What did Elisha say to you?” Hazael replied, “He told me that you would certainly recover.” 15 But the next day he took a thick cloth, soaked it in water and spread it over the king’s face, so that he died. Then Hazael succeeded him as king.

(Why the Godly Weep)

Okay, so let’s start talking through this.

The King of Aram, Ben-Hadad, is ill and is worried he’s going to die, so he sends his trusted servant, Hazael to ask Elisha about it

Then Elisha, in verse 10, gives this reply that almost sounds contradictory at first.

He says, “’You will certainly recover.’ Nevertheless, the Lord has revealed to me that he will in fact die.”

Wait, what? That doesn’t make sense at first.

Until you keep reading and see that yeah, the king was going to recover just fine from his illness, but Elisha sees the future, and he foresaw that Hazael was going to kill the king, so actually, the king of Aram was going to die!

Now, did the fact that Elisha told this to Hazael actually cause Hazael to do it?

This is like a great time-traveling sci fi episode!

If I time travel back and tell Abraham Lincoln as a young boy that he will be president someday, did I make that happen because I told him?

Listen, the Bible teaches that God is sovereign and in control of the future.

AND, it teaches that we are responsible for our own sin.

And so yes, the future is fixed.

And no, God didn’t make Hazael do it. Hazael chose it.

How that all works together, you’ll have to ask in heaven

And so Hazael goes back to the palace, delivers the news, and then suffocates the king with a cloth, so that the doctors would think that the king died from his illness.

And Hazael, this nobody, finds a way to become king.

And as I said earlier in this series, despite the unbased claims of skeptics, the Bible is not a collection of fairly tales.

And anyone who says so is wildly uniformed.

In fact, in the writings of Shelmaneser III…

(Shalmaneser)

…the powerful Assyrian King, he wrote about Hazael the King of Aram (from our passage!)

The King of Assyria’s writings are on display at the British Museum in London.

And Shalmaneser even wrote that “Hazael, the son of nobody (meaning not a royal) seized the throne”

That’s amazing.

This is history, my friends.

THEY WEEP BECAUSE EVIL IS TAKING GROUND

(Why the Godly Weep)

But I want us to now laser in on verses 11 & 12

Look at verse 11 in your Bible.

11 He stared at him with a fixed gaze until Hazael was embarrassed. Then the man of God began to weep.
12 “Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael.
“Because I know the harm you will do to the Israelites,” he answered. “You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women.”

Elisha stares at Hazael for a moment, as God most likely downloads the future into Elisha’s mind.

It takes so long that Hazael begins to feel embarrassed (“are we doing a staring contest?)

But then, the Bible says, that Elisha, the man of God, this holy man, begins to weep. To weep.

And why?

I want us to look deeply at that exact question this morning.

Why is Elisha weeping?

Because in many ways, I believe Godly people today should also weep.

Let me give you a few reasons.

WHY THE GODLY WEEP

#1: They weep because evil is taking ground

God gives Elisha a glimpse of the future and Elisha sees judgment coming for Israel.

We’re going to go deeper into this in next week’s passage, but Israel has had slew of bad kings in a row, who’ve led them deeper into paganism and sin, and now judgment will be coming to Isreal

And much of that judgment will come through the sword of the evil Hazael (this new king of Aram).

Our particular passage today is really a turning point in the first half of 2 Kings.

Chapters 2 through 7 (which we’ve studied this summer), contain a ton of stories of God’s grace to Israel through the prophet Elisha.

But now, we’re going to see that God’s grace hasn’t, apparently, made a big enough difference to turn the people’s hearts to repentance.

And so now judgment will come.

And this is a cycle you see over and over again in the OT.

In fact, I always think of particular diagram I saw in a kid’s book (the Bible Infographics Book) when I was reading it with my kids a few years ago:

(The Cycle of Sin)

They use this cycle to explain the book of Judges to kids, but honestly you could use it for almost any OT narrative book.

The people start in peace

They fall into sin

They’re oppressed by an enemy (which is often judgment for their sin)

But then, because of the pain of their oppression, they call out to God and repent of their sin.

And so God raises up a judge (or some sort of deliverer to help them)

And the people are set free and go back into a time of peace.

And then after a time of prosperity and peace, they convince themselves again that sin is worth it, and the cycle starts all over again.

By the way this book, and its other volumes (it’s called Bible Infographics for Kids) is INCREDIBLE…one of my favorite books ever for elementary age kids.

And, of course, we have it in our library to help you disciple your kids!

And so I know churches don’t teach this hard truth anymore, but listen, sometimes God will say to a person, a family, to a state, to a nation…

“Okay, if you really want to have it your way, have it your way.”

“If you consistently choose sin over me, consequences will come…judgment will come”

And when that happens, the people of God should weep

WHY THE GODLY WEEP

#1: They weep because evil is taking ground

And we should weep as American Christians as evil takes ground in this country

We should weep over the fact suicide rates and drug addiction rates continue to rise as people can’t find hope

We should weep over the fact that we live in a world where there are school shootings.

My best friends are my college roommates and this past December, one of them sent an urgent text to our group chat and said, “Please pray, there is shooter at my daughter’s school”

Like, how is this real life?

Our world is broken.

We should weep over the fact that children are growing up confused about their sexuality and gender, and that it’s so difficult for so many young people to find an anchor of objective truth anymore

Evil continues to take ground in America

And until the church begins to weep about it like Elisha wept over the nation of Israel, we won’t be motivated to do anything about it.

And if we’re not motivated to do anything about it…then our nation will just fall deeper into that cycle of sin and oppression.

THEY WEEP BECAUSE IT COULD’VE BEEN THEM

Okay, there’s a second reason that Godly people weep, and it might surprise you.

WHY THE GODLY WEEP

#1: They weep because evil is taking ground

#2: They weep because they can see sin in themselves

To me, one of the crazier parts of this passage is when Elisha tells Hazael the future, but Hazael hasn’t believed it yet himself.

It’s like he didn’t think that he was capable of pulling off such an evil.

And yet, when presented with the thought, it’s exactly what his heart wanted.

And listen, we won’t truly weep like the Godly until we can see that same evil in ourselves.

What do I mean that?

I think one of the deepest reasons that Christians do not weep over the lost spiritual state of our nation is because of the dividing lines we’ve drawn all over it.

Here’s what I mean: Too often, we see those who are lost in sin as “other”…as different.

This was so apparent to me when I taught through our Gender & Sexuality series 18 months ago.

And I had so many conversations with so many Christians

And for many people, when I described a man who was choosing to become transgender

…their heart did not weep for his lostness and his separation from Christ

…but instead, reviled in disgust

Or think of a different situation: When you see a homeless person with a cardboard sign at the stoplight:

Does your heart cry out for them?

Or does your heart say, “Well, if you make bad choices, you reap what you sow”

My friends the way that so many of us look at those who are different than us, whose morals are different than us, who vote different than us…it’s not of Christ

We live in an age of outrage…in an age of polarization, and so many of us in the church have normalized this type of non-Christian thinking…

…where we are told by the media, by political media especially, that those who are different than you are all stupid, immoral, evil, or worse.

But when you draw lines like that…and you separate yourself from those who are different, you have to know there is serious a danger to your heart.

Your heart will build a pride that sets yourself apart as different, as better.

I re-read George Orwell’s “1984” a couple of years ago, and there’s this really powerful part where he explains how the authoritarian government never let its citizens meet someone of another group.

Orwell writes this:

“The average citizen of Oceania never sets eyes on a citizen of either Eurasia or East Asia, and he is forbidden the knowledge of foreign languages.  If he were allowed contact with foreigners, he would discover that they are creatures similar to himself and that most of what has been told about them is lies.  The sealed world in which he lives would be broken, and the fear, hatred, and self-righteousness, on which his morale depends, might evaporate.”  - George Orwell (1984)

We won’t weep for people until we can see that they are just like us.

It reminds me of the great quote from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (SOL-jin-IT-zin), the Russian dissident who exposed much of the world to the horrors of the Russian Gulag,

“The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either -- but right through every human heart.” - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Now think about that truth (because it’s a biblical truth about depravity), and think about how Jesus Christ lived.

He walked with the people. The broken. The sinners.

He knew them. He saw them.

And so the Godly (the Christ-like) weep, in part, because they can see themselves in the sex addict, in the drunk on the street, in the divorcee, in the prisoner.

We weep for them because we knew it could have been us. Maybe it was us.

Yes, we rejoice, that because of Christ, in many ways, it’s not us (or not us anymore)

But our heart…it should empathize with them.

Do you remember a few weeks ago when there was that viral story about the CEO and his head of HR who got caught in their affair at the Coldplay concert?

(Coldplay photo).

That story went viral so fast in part because we love to draw lines.

And every social media post said, “HA! Idiots! What were they thinking! I would never. Serves them right”

And yet, who would you be without Christ?

If God had not saved you, if the Holy Spirit was not constantly convicting you of sin, if God had not spared you from ruin…who would you be?

Could that not be us?

What makes us different than other people who’ve messed up or fallen on hard times is not our own righteousness, but the righteousness of Christ.

And so if you want God to break your heart for people, you must first ask him to help you see the brokenness in your own heart.

Because only then will you actually have empathy for the brokenness of others.

THEY WEEP BECAUSE REAL PEOPLE ARE PERISHING

There’s a 3rd reason why the Godly weep:

WHY THE GODLY WEEP

#1: They weep because evil is taking ground

#2: They weep because they can see sin in themselves

#3: They weep because real people are perishing

This is at the core of what is driving Elisha’s tears

He can see the young men dying from the sword, the children being dashed to the ground, and babies being ripped out of pregnant women.

And my friends we too, as Christians should weep, not just for the suffering of this world, but even more importantly, for lost souls.

Every person you pass by in school, at work, or walking their dog in your neighborhood is an eternal soul

That person sitting next to you your kids’ soccer game is immortal.

They will live forever.

But the Bible clearly states that if they don’t have a saving relationship with Christ, they will suffer in hell for all of eternity.

And the tragedy is, for most of us, that statement doesn’t do much.

Except maybe make you wish that I didn’t say it, because you didn’t personally like feeling uncomfortable about it when I said it.

But if you get out of your “politically-correct church mode,” and God’s Spirit really gets a hold of your heart…

…and if God could download the future into your mind like He did with Elisha…

…what would you think if you could look 100 years into the future…and you could see your co-worker, your sibling…in hell…in agony…

Saying, like the rich man who went to hell in Luke chapter 16, “If only someone could come back from the dead and warn them about what’s coming!”

If we could see it, we would weep.

Probably for days.

I promise I’m not trying to emotionally manipulate you.

In fact, I’m doing the opposite.

I’m trying to move you from logic and truth.

What I am saying about the future of the lost, I assure you, is 100% true.

If you are a Christian, I doubt that you even theologically disagree with me.

It’s just that 90% of Christians in America have not allowed themselves to look into the future (like Elisha did here).

Instead, we just distract ourselves with trinkets and hobbies.

Focusing on the temporary, and quickly vanishing things of life, rather than the important, the eternal.

My friend, I want to encourage your heart to see people like Christ sees people again.

See SOULS again.

When you walk by your neighbor today, “Say, that’s a SOUL that will live forever”

If you’ve got to put down whatever media you’re listening to that’s causing you to not love people’s souls, put it down. Shut if off.

Those “liberals” out there, are not your enemy.

Too many of you look at someone with blue hair, wearing pride gear…and your eyes roll back in your head.

And when we do that, we imitate, not our Jesus, but the Pharisees who were disgusted at the sinners and prostitutes of their day.

I want you to see these same people, and have your eyes, not roll, but mist…with tears for someone who is an eternal soul…

…someone who needs Christ.

Others of you, you see someone walking around with their Trump Maga hat, and your blood pressure spikes.

And you think that, “That’s who’s ruining our country.”

And the first thing you see is an enemy, not a soul.

Look at me, this is what our spiritual enemy, the devil, does.

He divides.

He distracts.

And gets us off of the heart of Christ, and off our main mission.

But the Godly, they weep.

They weep when they see the enemy tearing us apart.

They weep when they see the confusion and brokenness of people

And they weep when they let their hearts reflect on the fact that without Christ, someone will be lost for all of eternity, forever.

And so I beg you my friends.

Come back to what it’s all about again.

Our mission, our main mission, is the great commission.

It’s what Jesus said was His mission in Luke 19:

He said “The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost”

That’s why he was here

And that’s why we’re here!

SO let’s do it!

Let me pray.

WORD COUNT GOAL: 3560

THE GOSPEL AT END OF SERVICE

(Why The Godly Weep)

You know, part of the reason we weep for the lost, is that God weeps for us.

There’s a part in the New Testament where Jesus is approaching Jerusalem and it says this:

(Luke 19:41-44) – NIV

41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

(Why the Godly Weep)

Like Elisha, Jesus looks into the future and he sees what is coming for that city.

And he weeps for its future destruction, which did indeed happen about 40 years later when the Romans destroyed it in AD 70

And my friend, for some of you in this room, Jesus weeps for you.

Knowing that you’ve refused him, but that you can be saved.

He loves you so much that He came and gave his life for yours.

Dying in your place for your sins.

And the Bible says that if you believe that He died for you, and give Him your life, He will forgive your sins (wash them away), come into your life and change it, and give you eternal life in heaven (not in hell) because He will have paid for your sins already on the cross.

If you’ve never told Him that before, I urge you to do it this morning, so you can be saved…and know His love & forgiveness.

If you’re ready to do that this morning, what I want you to do is as soon as this service ends, is to come up and see our follow-up team in the front right.

And they will pray with you to invite Jesus in as your Savior & Leader, and get you some important resources and next steps?

Okay?

All right, let me pray and close our service.