"A Chink in the Armor"
Why paying attention to our affiliations matters when it comes to our personal and public witness of Christ.
Download or email this sermon Riding in Ahab's Chariot
So there they go to battle now. Look at Jehoshaphat, a righteous king who should have known better. He was suspicious to begin with, he had a true word from a true prophet, and yet there he goes riding in Ahab's chariot. Why did Ahab want him in the chariot? Why does TBN want to get people like Chuck Missler, Josh McDowell, Greg Laurie on it? Why do they want to get good men, godly men on it? There are three reasons.
First, they're trying to give themselves a credibility they can't get otherwise. People then think, "Well, if so-and-so is on there and he's a man of God it must be all right." They're trying to get an endorsement. They're trying to give themselves a credibility that they couldn't get on their own. "I know I'm no good but if I align myself with somebody who is good God will bless me." That's how they think. "If he's in on it then God will have to bless us ‘cause he's a good guy."
Secondly, they're looking for a fall guy. They're looking for somebody to be left holding the bag when the ship sinks. "It’s his fault." Ahab always has an agenda. But there goes Jehoshaphat! Even though the Lord warned him, he gets in that chariot. And what happens when he gets in that chariot?
Three, he becomes confused with Ahab. They think its Ahab. When you ride in Ahab's chariot you become confused with Ahab, people confuse you with him. When people see good preachers on platforms at conferences and on television with heretics, you become confused with them.
I know very, very well that Chuck Missler, Greg Laurie, and Ray Comfort are men of God. I know that Josh McDowell is a man of God. I know what they believe. They believe largely what I believe. These are not bad men; these are good men like Jehoshaphat. But when they get on a platform or on the TV screen with bad men, people put them in the same category and my fear is they make themselves a target. Some people will tar them all with the same brush. Yet men like Chuck Missler, Ray Comfort, and Josh McDowell will have no part in heresy and hype-artistry. It is a disgrace how apostate money preachers misuse the names of godly men to give themselves credibility, even though the honest preachers do not share the mammon worship which the Word-Faith Prosperity disguise with Christian jargon. "Oh, he's one of them." And a young believer will see this. It gives heretics credibility, even though the good men know personally it's wrong.
Now Jehoshaphat has made himself a target. He's allowed himself to be confused with Ahab and now he's a target and the arrows are flying. Ahab wants somebody to hold the bag, and I'm telling you that TBN and Hinn and that crowd – they are going to go the same way as the PTL club. And I tremble for the good brethren who have allowed themselves to be identified with that wickedness, but they're going to be caught in the crossfire when it happens.
But let's go further. Jehoshaphat calls out to the Lord. God intervenes. The Lord steps in and saves his neck. God will stand by right men. Right men can make bad mistakes. Godly men can make serious errors. Some of the greatest men in the Bible did some of the most foolish things. In my own life as a Christian I have done things that have been so, not just wrong, but stupid, I don't know how I could have done it. I take no pleasure in admitting this, nonetheless it is true. But God is gracious. God saved Jehoshaphat's neck the first time.
This is Page 11 of 15
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.