Today as we finish this series, we’ll be talking about three more fiery conversations...how they affect us today..and in the future. Let’s begin by looking at our first fiery conversation. It’s one that Jesus had with two of His disciples...James and John. Luke 9:51-54 (NKJV) “51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, 52 and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. 54 And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?”
Well, that seems awfully harsh doesn’t it? Jesus had a nickname for James and John. He called them the “Sons of thunder”. Based on the passage we just read, you can probably figure out why. James and John were brothers and were known for being a little too aggressive. In this passage, they are looking for a place for Jesus to stay while traveling through Samaria on His way to Jerusalem. And since the Samaritans and Jews didn’t like each other, the Samaritans rejected their request. Now this made James and John so angry, that they asked Jesus if they should call down fire from heaven to consume the Samaritans, like Elijah did. They wanted to justify their question by bringing up the fact that Elijah had called down fire also. Do you remember the famous bible story of Elijah calling down fire from heaven to show that he served the one and only true God? He was confronting the prophets of Baal and wanted to show Israel who the real God was. He set up an altar and dug trenches around it. Then he brought water and had the sacrifice soaked until water filled the trenches. God then sent fire from heaven to consumed all of it. But here’s the thing, I don’t remember any people being consumed by the fire that Elijah calls down on the sacrifice. So why do James and John mention Elijah? It’s because that’s not the event James and John are referencing here. They are referencing a passage from 2nd Kings chapter 1. Here’s how it starts.
2 Kings 1:2 “ 2 And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal- zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this sickness.” Obviously, we have a couple of problems here. First, Ahaziah had been badly injured by falling from a second story window and must have thought he was dying. So he did what a lot of people would do, he decided to ask his god if he would die from this injury. The second, and bigger problem, was that his god was not a god at all, it was Baal-zebub, the prince of devils. Ok, Let’s back up for a minute and look at who Ahaziah was and why he’s important. Ahaziah was the 8th king of Israel. Yes, that’s right, a king of Israel was not serving the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who had delivered the children of Israel from Egypt. King Ahaziah was serving the devil. But it shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise that he had rejected God and was serving the devil, because he was just doing what his parents had taught him. You may remember hearing about his parents, they were Ahab and Jezebel. King Ahab and queen Jezebel were very wicked. Ahab was the king when Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal. And Jezebel promised to kill Elijah because of what happened that day. It seems that the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree, because Ahaziah is following in their footsteps. Parents, the example you set for your kids is important. Their relationship with God is normally a reflection of your relationship with God that they witness growing up.
So, when Ahaziah is injured, he sends messengers to consult the devil to find out whether he will live or die, but God interrupts their journey and has a message for the king. And He delivers it by having Elijah the prophet to go talk to the messengers. 2 Kings 1:3-4 “3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’ 4 Now therefore thus says the Lord, ‘You shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” Then Elijah departed.” So Elijah delivered the bad news to the messengers, but back in verse 3, did you catch what God called king Ahaziah? God called him the king of Samaria. Now, does that ring a bell about anything I said in the beginning of the message? What city were James and John in when the people rejected Jesus? Yep, Samaria. 2 Kings 1:5-6 “5 When the messengers returned to him he said to them, “Why have you returned?” 6 They said to him, “A man came up to meet us and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you and say to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.’”’” If you were one of those soldiers, you’d have to be pretty sure “the man” who stopped you on your way to see the devil was a man of God in order to go back to the king without doing what he told you to do. And on top of that, they told the king he was going to die. I’m sure that just put the king in a great mood.
Well, of course the king was furious and wanted to know who this man was. I’d be willing to bet he already had a pretty good idea who it was. I really like these next couple of verses. 2 Kings 1:7-8 “7 He said to them, “What kind of man was he who came up to meet you and spoke these words to you?” 8 They answered him, “He was a hairy man with a leather girdle bound about his loins.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.” Yep, that’s just what he thought...Elijah. He probably said the name Elijah the same way Jerry Seinfield said the name Neuman. Now Elijah, the same prophet that his mom and dad hated is continuing the family feud. I’m sure he knew all about Elijah and the bad blood between him and his family. This is how he responded to Elijah. 2 Kings 1:9 “Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him, and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” So the king sends a captain and 50 of his soldiers out to capture Elijah. Now you would think that 50 soldiers would be enough to bring back one guy, wouldn’t it? They find him on a hill in a place where they couldn’t get to him, and the captain command Elijah to come down. It seems like Elijah perhaps anticipated their arrival, since he was familiar with his parents behavior.
The captain did get one thing right, he addressed Elijah as a “man of God”. But here is where things get a little crazy and we see our second fiery conversation. 2 Kings 1:10 “Elijah replied to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.” Ok, that didn’t end well, but the king doesn’t give up easily. He sends more soldiers and of course the same thing happens to them. So, let’s pull these two biblical events together. The king of Samaria, who had rejected God, sent soldiers to get Elijah. And so Elijah asks God to send fire from heaven to consume them. The Samaritans rejected Jesus staying in their town, so James and John asked Jesus if they should call down fire from heaven to consume them. Now it is starting to become clear why James and John referenced this event. The problem was that James and John were working from knowledge of the old testament. In the old testament, when you reject God, you get consumed by His righteous judgment. But Jesus is about to give them knowledge of the new covenant. In the new covenant, when you have rejected God, you get His mercy and a second chance.
Let’s go back to our original text this evening and pick it up at verse 55. Remember, James and John have just asked Jesus if they should call down fire to consume the Samaritans for rejecting Him. Luke 9:55-56 “55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; 56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” Jesus clearly doesn’t want them to be consumed with fire, but to be saved. It doesn't matter how they have treated Him, He wants to show them mercy and love. As a believer, are you known for showing love to those who are currently rejecting Jesus? Or are you being consumed by your own righteous judgment of them? The love that Jesus shows to the Samaritans becomes a powerful lesson that John will not soon forget. How do we know this? Because John ends up becoming known as the Apostle of love. He is no longer remembered as one of the Sons of Thunder. As a matter of fact, he was the one who recorded in his gospel the most famous verse in the Bible about love. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” We have all been Samaritans and rejected God. That is why Jesus came, so we could have a second chance. In the next passage we will look at, Jesus tells His disciples what will eventually happen to those who refuse His gift of salvation. This is where we will see our third and final fiery conversation.
Matthew 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels” The eternal fire Jesus is talking about is hell. As you can see here it was originally created for the devil and his angels. But it will also be the eternal place for those who reject His love. The fact is this: We are all born into sin and deserve God’s righteous judgment. BUT the truth is this: God wants to see everyone accept His gift of salvation and avoid eternal death and the fiery torment of hell. Hear me clearly, God doesn’t send people to hell...If someone ends up in hell, it’s because they willingly chose it for themselves. And the way you make that choice is by rejecting His love and choosing to side with the devil. There is no other way to say it. There are only two sides, and you are on one side or the other. There is no third option. You see my job is not only to tell you about the good news of Jesus, but it is also to warn you of the danger that waits those who reject Him. The way you choose God is through His Son Jesus. Jesus is the Son that is mentioned in John 3:16. Jesus Himself said that He is the only way to the Father. John 14:6 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
You may have been thinking about God from an old testament righteous judgment perspective and the wrath that is reserved for the devil, his angles and those who reject Him. You may have encountered some judgmental Christians who weren’t very christlike and it has messed up your thoughts about how God feels about you. But tonight I’d like for you to consider the new testament perspective of the love and forgiveness that God offers through the sacrifice of Jesus. It’s true we are all sinners and deserve death, but the gift that God offers is for us to accept that Jesus paid the price that we owed when He was crucified and died. But that wasn’t the end of the story. God raised Jesus from the dead and gave Him the power over death and the grave. That's why those who believe in Him and accept His gift of salvation no longer have to fear death. Do you have fear about what happens after death? All you have to do is confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead and you will be saved. It’s just that easy to accept His gift. If you are ready to do that tonight, I want you to truly understand what you’re accepting. When you confess Jesus as your Lord, you are confessing that He is your owner. That’s what the word Lord means. Jesus is going to be your owner and your eternal life and destination in heaven are safe because they are owned by Him. In gratitude for His sacrifice you are going to live your life in His service.
He doesn't just love you from a distance, He adopts you as His child and you have all the privileges of a son or daughter. There is no greater or more abundant life than living as a child of the King.
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