There Will Always be Another King

Acts 7:18 - Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.

    There will always be another king. One of the tendencies of humanity is that we cannot seem to see very far in front of us and we are also inclined to forget what has happened behind us on the road of history. The stark reality is that we are on this earth for a short season and inevitably succession will come. Nothing in this life lasts forever. Every championship team knows that it is one thing to obtain the status of champions and a whole other thing to maintain it. Just because you won last season does not mean it will happen automatically again this season. The hunger of the challenging team will drive them on in a relentless pursuit of the title. There will always be another king. Successful companies understand that they may be at the top of their industry one year but that is no guarantee that they will repeat their performance again and they may even find themselves struggling the following year. Competition is fierce in the modern business world and new and improved companies are being launched every minute. There will always be another king.

    The verse we are looking at is describing the experience of the children of Israel in Egypt. God gave Joseph favour and wisdom with Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he was promoted into high levels of influence and responsibility. Both the Egyptians and the Israelites enjoyed a season of prosperity and blessing under this king because of his honourable relationship with Joseph. But another king arose who did not know Joseph. That king apparently, did not value the history that Egypt had with Joseph and the Israelites. He did not acknowledge the fact that there were others who had helped him get to this place of power. He did not know Joseph. There is a popular phrase that says ‘It’s not what you know but who you know that counts’, and we sometimes laugh at that idea, but the truth is, entrance into heaven isn’t based on what you know but on who you know. Who you know is all important and has eternal ramifications. Who you know, who you honour, who you acknowledge and who you associate with, will determine your destiny. Sadly, this new king did not know Joseph.

    Another king arose. This other king had a different spirit than the previous one had. He didn’t have a reverence for God and for his people. He did not have a compassionate heart but obviously had a self-serving motive. He was a king of another type than his predecessor. Arrogant pride is persistent; it lurks in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to destroy each one of us. Prideful conceit is the ever-constant enemy of mankind and it is cunningly deceptive by nature. We are deceived when we forget or don’t even acknowledge that many people have sacrificed their lives, their time, their money, their energy; all for someone else’s benefit; all for my benefit. I live in a city which has roads and power and a water system; all of which I enjoy the use of but actually did not contribute to any of it. It was all built before I was born and I must look back to appreciate what others have done for me. I may be sitting in a beautiful church auditorium with my family, enjoying and benefiting from the numerous ministries of the church, and never whispering even one prayer of gratitude for all those who sacrificed to build it. We don’t want to be like this other king, who chose to ignore the hard work done by his forbears long before he rose to power.

    Someone has once commented that there are, in the scripture, more commands to remember than any other command. Scripture exhorts us, again and again, to not forget but, to remember. Remember those who have spoken to you the word of God, remember those who are in prison, remember that it is the Lord God who gives you the power to get wealth, remember Lot’s wife, remember that you were once a slave, remember your history, remember God’s faithfulness. 

    Another king will always arise but, will he remember? More importantly, will we remember?

You and I are Never Forgotten by God

Luke 1:13-17 - But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared."

        One life, one person sent from God can have an amazing and powerful impact. Zacharias is told that many people will be impacted by the arrival and the eventual ministry of this child. John’s life was to be characterized by a fullness of the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. Children are never too young to experience God’s presence. They know Him. God is the Father of spirits. We, as parents, simply father their flesh, but God breathes a living spirit into every little babe in the womb. He never gives life without also giving purpose and destiny. Every babe comes into this world with a purpose from God. It is our responsibility to provide the environment whereby children can be nurtured and protected and learn to develop their own relationship with the Lord, thereby discovering their own God-given identity and destiny.

    The influence of John, as described by the angel, was no doubt staggering to Zacharias. How could this little child become so influential? We see a seed, but God sees a tree, or better yet, God sees orchards of trees bearing much fruit, and containing multiplied seeds within. God wants us to be able to see way beyond our present years and circumstances, to see into the future, to get a long-term vision for our lives and for those of our family. Can we see our children and our grandchildren being vessels for the mighty things for God and bearing fruit for generations to come? Can we envision them being a huge blessing; an example and a help to all those that know them? According to Isaiah 54:13, ‘All our children shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be the peace of our children’. All of them, not some of them, not, maybe a few of them, No! All of our children shall be disciples of the Lord, personally taught and fathered by God Himself.

    John was going to have a powerful gift and anointing from God to be able to turn people back to God. To turn something is to set the course of it and to propel momentum in a certain direction. Are we able to get people moving in a certain direction? Can we lead them and influence them to make choices which will cause their lives and their circumstances to change dramatically? That power does not reside in us, but there is the empowering grace of God in our lives that gives us an ability to turn people and influence them toward the will and plan of God.

    Just as Elijah was a powerful force for God, so John was to have a similar spirit and comparable power. This power will be used to ‘turn’ the hearts of the fathers to the children. Notice it is the fathers that are responsible to turn their hearts first. Fathers, do not look for your children to turn towards you, you and I must turn our hearts toward them. Take the initiative and reach out to your children, thereby demonstrating that your heart is for them, and that you are not judging them. Everything we do as parents is for our children. That is why we must keep walking and working and waiting on God. We cannot quit or be discouraged because we have children and grandchildren to influence and to pray for. Why would the heart of any father be turned away from his children to begin with? One of the ways that a father may turn his heart away from his children is when he begins to think that he is not valued. This world mocks and devalues and denigrates fathers. It says we don’t need fathers, they are simply for procreation and then perhaps, for financial provision, but other than that we don’t need them. This world, with its bankrupt philosophies, tells fathers that children really don’t need them. Just leave the child-rearing to your wife, they say. Obviously moms are hugely important and even the world never really argues against a mom. We instinctively know that we need her and we prize our moms, but fathers for some reason are said to be optional. Awake, Fathers, shake off the drowsiness of this lie and reclaim your noble place! Your children need you. Your grandchildren need you. Your family needs you. The church needs you. The world needs you. ‘Watch, stand fast in the faith; act like men. Be strong!’

    The disobedient or unbelieving ones do not see their need to change or turn direction. They do not see that the righteous have any valid wisdom. The disobedient, quite often, may even have a note of scoffing or mocking in their stance. The world likes to think that they already have wisdom and that the church certainly doesn’t have it. The unbelieving, disobedient mockers think that the church is foolish. Unbelief hardens us to God and to His voice, which is true wisdom. The disobedient have a faulty heart attitude. It is an issue of posture and approach. Disobedience is another word for unbelief, and can also be translated unpersuadable, which is a conscious decision, a refusal to believe or be persuaded. This mind-set is illustrated by Thomas when he said emphatically, ‘Except I see…I will not believe’. Later Jesus responded to Thomas when he showed him his hands and his side and said, ‘Be not faithless, but believing’, in other words, it is a choice to believe. I like the way that Hannah Whitall Smith puts it in one of her books, ‘put your will then over on the believing side…insist upon believing, in the face of every suggestion of doubt that intrudes itself.’ The Lord sends people into our lives to influence and turn our attitude to one of pliability and humility towards God. If we humble ourselves, faith is never an issue and we will appreciate and prioritize the wisdom of walking in God’s way of righteousness.

    Be encouraged, my friends, even though Zacharias and Elizabeth experienced delay and disappointment, they were not forgotten by God. God had heard their prayer and He came specifically to them and assured them of His promise. Even so today, God has not forgotten any of us. Hold on to the promises of God in His Word and watch Him bring it to pass!