The Answer
2 Kings 1:2 (NLT) One day Israel’s new king, Ahaziah, fell through the latticework of an upper room at his palace…and was seriously injured. So he sent messengers to the temple of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether he would recover.
Baal-zebub — “The lord of the flies, prince of demons”
Ekron — “barrenness”
2 Kings 1:3-17 (NLT) But the angel of the Lord told Elijah, who was from Tishbe, “Go and confront the messengers of the king…and ask them, ‘Is there no God in Israel? Why are you going to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether the king will recover? 4 Now, therefore, this is what the Lord says: You will never leave the bed you are lying on; you will surely die.’” So Elijah went to deliver the message. 5 When the messengers returned to the king, he asked, “Why have you returned so soon?” 6 They replied, “A man came up to us and told us to go back to the king and give him this message. ‘This is what the Lord says: Is there no God in Israel? Why are you sending men to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether you will recover? Therefore, because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on; you will surely die.’” 7 “What sort of man was he?” “What did he look like?” 8 They replied, “He was a hairy man, and he wore a leather belt around his waist.” “Elijah from Tishbe!” the king exclaimed. 9 Then he sent an army captain with fifty soldiers to arrest him. They found him sitting on top of a hill. The captain said to him, “Man of God, the king has commanded you to come down with us.” 10 But Elijah replied to the captain, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from heaven and killed them all. 11 So the king sent another captain of fifty men. …13 “O man of God, please spare my life and the lives these, your fifty servants.” 15 Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him, and don’t be afraid of him.” So Elijah got up and went with him to the king. 16 And Elijah said to the king, “This is what the Lord says: Why did you send messengers to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether you will recover? Is there no God in Israel to answer your question? Therefore, because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on; you will surely die.” 17 So Ahaziah died, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.
“Anytime we look for an answer apart from God, it will never produce the life we desire.”
When circumstances arise that demand an answer, where do you look?
Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV) looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…
Looking — “to look away from everything else in order to look intently on one object.”
When Christians take their eyes off of God’s Word, they will inevitably end up searching for answers about life, in places that can only produce death.
Is there anyone in here that could use an exchange?
1. A fire and a hammer
Jeremiah 23:29 (NKJV) “Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”
Ezekiel 11:19-20 (NLT) And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, 20 so they will obey My decrees and regulations.
2. A mirror
Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT) Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
3. A lamp
Psalm 119:105 (NKJV) Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
4. A cleansing water
Ephesians 5:26 (NKJV) that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
5. Spiritual food
Deuteronomy 8:3 (NKJV) So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger…that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
Psalm 119:103 (NKJV) How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Jeremiah 15:16 (NKJV) Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.
And lastly, the Word of God is…
6. A sword
Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV) For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.