Right, amen. We've got this story here in 2 Chronicles 10, where you're at, which can
also be found, by the way, in 1 Kings chapter 12, although we won't be going there, where
the new King Rehoboam, he has an early test at the beginning of his reign and he
basically fails miserably, resulting in the splitting of the northern and southern kingdoms
and continuous wars. So this was a pretty monumental time in the history of the kingdoms
there and we're going to look down at the middle few verses to just get a reminder as to what
went wrong. So 2 Chronicles 10 and from verse 6 says this,
And King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men that had stood before Solomon his father
while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give you me to return answer to this people?
In verse 7 now. And they spake unto him, saying, If thou be kind to this people, and
please them, and speak good words to them, they will be thy servants forever. But he
forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men that were
brought up with him that stood before him. And he said unto them, What advice give ye that we
may return answer to this people, which have spoken to me, saying, He somewhat the yoke that thy
father did put upon us? And the young men that were brought up with him spake unto him,
saying, Thus shalt thou answer people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy,
but make thou it somewhat lighter for us. Thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger
shall be thicker than my father's loins, for whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon you,
I'll put more to your yoke. My father chastise you with whips, but I will chastise you with
scorpions. Now look at verse 8 again. He said, But he forsook the counsel which the
old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men that were brought up with him
that stood before him. And the title of my sermon this morning is Advice on getting
advice. Advice on getting advice. I'd like to pray and then we're going to get going with
the message. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for, well, this story and the principles,
the lessons we can learn from it, Lord, help me to preach those clearly today, accurately
and boldly, Lord, and fully your spirit and help everyone to just have attentive
ears and want to apply this to their lives, Lord, and to just put it into action
in their lives, in this area of life that we all, you know, will be dealing with
in many areas and many, many times. In Jesus' name we pray all this. Amen. Okay,
so this is one of those stories, like I say, in the Bible, that we can all get
a lot of application from it, as we all regularly receive advice, don't we, in many areas.
Whether we ask for it or not, okay, you just get advice. You get advice, whether
you ask for it or whether you don't ask for it, a lot of people are kind of serial
advice givers, you might have them around you in various places. And not just when
sitting down over a cup of tea with a problem that needs solving, sometimes we're
looking for advice, sometimes you're sitting down and you want to get some advice,
but we're receiving advice in many areas, aren't we, from work colleagues, they're
going to be advising you on maybe how to do the job and other things as well, from
family, from friends, from the internet. I mean, if you think about it, Google is a
big advice giver, isn't it? I mean, people just, will just type something into
Google, what do I do about this? How do I do that? And that's kind of, and then
cue a load of sponsored results and everything else coming up. So there's
advice in all areas of life, people seek advice, people get advice, people
just get offered advice. Politicians, celebrities, social media influence,
pastors, preachers, and from the Word of God of course as well. So this afternoon
I want to see what we can learn from Rehoboam here in this story in
2 Chronicles 10, so we don't make similar mistakes in our lives. Just to
give you a bit of background, okay, to this story, and then we're going to go
into the message. Rehoboam is Solomon's son, okay, he's heir to the throne.
Solomon has died and Rehoboam is to be made king. Look at verse 1 again,
2 Chronicles 10, it says, and Rehoboam went to Shechem, for to Shechem were
all Israel come to make him king. And it came to pass when Jeroboam, the son of
Nebat who was in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of Solomon
the king heard it, that Jeroboam returned out of Egypt. So now Jeroboam
had been prophesied to take the ten tribes from Solomon's son Rehoboam, so
God knew what was going to happen here, okay, God was very aware of what
was going to happen. This resulted in Solomon wanting to kill him, this guy
who Solomon wanted to kill had been prophesied to take the tribes, was now
returning. Look at verse 3, it says, and they sent and called him, so Jeroboam and
all Israel, it said all Israel, came and spake to Rehoboam saying, my father
made our yoke grievous, now therefore ease us somewhat the grievous servitude
of thy father and his heavy yoke that he put upon us and we will serve thee.
So all his people of his kingdom seem to be at the least represented
here, and they're asking for an easing of the burden that they had, okay. Now
if you're thinking, well what burden are they talking about? Well earlier on in
Solomon's reign he was building loads, wasn't he?
Okay, he's financing it through levies or we would call them taxes nowadays. Now
go back a few chapters to chapter 8 to get a quick idea of this, so 2nd
Chronicles chapter 8 and verse 1, so 2nd Chronicles 8, 1 says, and it came to
pass that the end of 20 years wherein Solomon had built the house of the
Lord and his own house, that the cities which Hurim had restored to Solomon,
Solomon built them and caused the children of Israel to dwell there, and Solomon
went to Hamath-zobah and prevailed against it, and he built Tadmor in the
wilderness and all the store cities which he built in Hamath. Also he built
Bethoran in the upper and Bethoran in the nether, fenced cities with walls, gates
and bars, and Beilath and all the store cities that Solomon had, and all
the chariot cities and the cities of the horsemen, and all that Solomon
desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon and throughout all the land of
his dominion. Now here's the thing is, whereas his father spent most of his
reign in battles, Solomon seemed to spend most of his reign in a hard hat
and steel toe cap boots. He was like a sort of just, just, well maybe not quite
hands-on builder, but he seemed to be at least the architect, the planner, the
designer. His whole reign it seemed, or a lot of his reign was just spent
building things, wasn't it, right? He was a big-time builder, and all that
cost money, doesn't it? Okay, it cost money to build all this stuff, to build
these cities, to build these things, and he raised a lot of it from his
people, including a lot of the man power too. Now you don't have to turn there, but 1 Kings 5-13
says, and King Solomon raised a levee out of all Israel, and the levee was
30,000 men. But they were happy, okay? This wasn't a problem, this was a happy
kingdom. When the Queen of Sheba came, she noticed it. Look at chapter 9 and
verse 7, chapter 9-7 where you are in 2 Chronicles says, Happy are thy men, and
happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee and hear
thy wisdom. So at this point in time, it was a happy bunch, even though they were,
you know, there was attacks, you know, men were being provided, etc. However,
towards the end of his reign he continued to build, okay? But these
weren't honourable building projects now, okay? Look at, in fact, look at, go
over to 1 Kings chapter 11, where he went from God's house and cities for
his people, like we've just read about in 2 Chronicles chapter 8, you're
going to 1 Kings 11, he went from that to building for false gods. After
marrying 700 wives and 300 concubines, they're going after their idols, it
says in verse 7 there, Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the
abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the
abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange
wives, which burned incense and sacrificed unto their gods. Now you
wouldn't mind working hard, paying high taxes, even giving labour to your local
and national government, if it was actually used for something worthwhile.
Now you'd be fairly content, if we had, suddenly our taxes went a bit
higher here, and suddenly you were actually even being required to give
maybe extra work on the side, but they were just doing good stuff with
it, you know, they were building like, right, we need a building for that
strong tower bunch, you know, we need, we need some more, we need some more
place for legitimate soul winning churches around the country, we're going
to make the buildings, we just need the people to come in and do it, we'd be
like, yeah, this is good, right? Or maybe similar sort of stuff, they
were building good things, there was good infrastructure, it wasn't just
being wasted on, you know, on sodomite propaganda, and all the
other weird stuff, and just given money to like, to drug addicts and
stuff like, if it was being given to things worthwhile, you'd probably be
a bit happier, wouldn't you? You'd be content, you'd be like, yeah, at
least the money gets spent on something worthwhile, the place is clean, it's
looking nice, things are good, but not when it's used for abominations, okay?
Then you're not so happy, oh, you're not so content, you're not so
satisfied as a citizen when you're giving your tax money, and look, we
have commanded to give our tax money, we give to Caesar, we render unto
Caesar the things which are Caesar's, however, when they're spending it on all
sorts of weirdness and freakery, it does frustrate you, doesn't it? And it
says in verse 9, and the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart
was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him
twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should
not go after other gods, but he kept not that which the Lord
commanded. So back in, if you go back now to 2 Chronicles 10, it
sounds like a pretty reasonable request. The genuine building
projects have been completed, okay? So they've done all the good
stuff, they've built the cities, they've done all of that, that's
all done, and instead it kind of become like sod story time venues or
something, it was like the equivalent, it was like they're just
putting money into abominations, abominations, abominations, these
guys are like, look, can you ease the burden a bit, because we've
been paying for all these abominations, okay? All the good
stuff's done now, do we still need to be paying so much, does
the burden still need to be so high? Said in verse 3, and they
sent and called him. So Jeroboam and all Israel came and spake to
Rehoboam, saying, Thy father made our yoke grievous, now
therefore ease out somewhat the grievous servitude of thy
father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve
thee. So they didn't demand the world, just that he eases
somewhat, just somewhat, some form of ease. Of course, the end
of Solomon's reign had gone downhill, okay, he had started
worshipping false gods and stuff to say, can you ease the
burden a bit, okay? And he said unto them, Come again unto
me after three days, and the people departed. So this seems
to be so far so good for Rehoboam, doesn't it? He
sensibly not made a decision on the spot, and that's something
we need to remember to do a lot. You know, something I have
to remember to do sometimes, you don't have to make an
immediate decision with things, okay? Sometimes you want to
take some time, say to someone, go away, and I'm going to
think about that and come back. Proverbs 21, 5, you don't
have to turn there, it says, The thoughts of the diligent
tend only to plenteousness, but of every one that is hasty
only to want. So a good lesson there, try to remember
not to just make hasty decisions in life, especially
important decisions, especially big decisions. Sensible
to think things through, right? Verse 6, it then says this,
And King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men that had
stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived,
saying, What counsel will give ye me to return answer
to this people? And they spake unto him, saying, If
they'll be kind to this people, and please them, and
speak good words to them, they will be thy servants
forever. But he forsook the counsel which the old men
gave him, and took counsel with the young men that were
brought up with him that stood before him. And he
said unto them, What advice give ye that we may
return answer to this people, which have spoken to me
saying, Is somewhat the yoke that thy father did put
upon us? And the young men that were brought up with
him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou answer
the people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father
made our yoke heavy, but make thou it somewhat lighter
for us. Thus shalt thou say unto them, My little
finger shall be thicker than my father's loins, for
whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon you, I will
put more to your yoke. My father chastise you with
whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. The
title is advice on getting advice. And well, advice
number one is get advice from people with experience.
Yeah, get advice from people with experience. Here
in Second Chronicles 10, there's a contrast here
between the old men that stood before Solomon and the
young men that were brought up with him. Okay,
that's what we're seeing, the contrast in the two
bits of advice offered here. Okay, the young men
are those that were brought up with him, they stood
before him, so they're his friends, they're his buddies.
Okay, they're his sort of inner circle, the guys he
hangs around with. Who gave the best advice? The old
men. Those with experience. The guys with the
experience gave the best advice. Now just a caveat
here, okay, just because someone's old, it doesn't mean
they're automatically going to give you good
advice. Okay, just bear that in mind, okay. There are
people out there, I mean, imagine half the people
we knock on the doors of, you probably wouldn't want
to ask advice of them, however old they are, okay.
You're not like, oh yeah, well, they must just be
wise because they've got a hoary head, right. There's
no fool like an old fool, some might say. There are
some pretty wicked old people out there, okay. So,
just bear that in mind, it's not just because
they're old, but there's some experience here that
we're going to look at. But those that were
brought up with Rehoboam had no experience of
this sort of thing. Okay, so they were brought up
with Rehoboam, they weren't experiencing this sort
of thing in basically politics, in dealing with the
people en masse. And the world is full of people
with no experience giving advice on things.
Okay, they're everywhere. People with no experience
giving advice on things they have no experience of.
For example, the childless child psychologist.
They don't have any kids, they've never raised
any kids, but they're giving advice to everyone
about how to raise kids. And they're everywhere,
aren't they? Childless child psychologist,
childless child behaviour experts, and it just
always makes me think of old Supernanny, which
was like this TV show many years ago when I was
younger, who was just this clown liberal woman
who apparently didn't even have kids. And she
was going to people and telling them how they
needed to deal with their out of control child.
She should have said they need a whooping,
but instead she'd be like, they need to sit
on that step, you know, or you need to get down
to their level and ask them why they're
punching you in the face or something like that.
You know, it was madness, wasn't it? Yeah.
The family member, and on that subject, the
family member that never had kids, often want
to give you advice on how you should be
raising your kids, don't they? Okay, we often
have to deal with that, you know, in life,
don't we? The people, those parents out there,
it's just non-stop. People that don't have
kids trying to tell you how to raise kids,
right? The person, and no offence to those
that do, but the person with one child, you
get a lot of that as well. They've got one
child and they're trying to tell you how
you should raise your kids. And again, you
know, we've had people, family, friends,
try and do this sort of thing. And it's
like, you've got no idea. You've got no
idea how to have multiple children, because
they all behave differently. And you
quickly notice, you're like, what might
work for that one, doesn't work for the
second one. And what works for that second
one, doesn't necessarily work for the third
one, in fact. And they all, kids are
different. Girls and boys are different.
Just, kids are different, right? And in
what order they're born, they become a
bit different and they behave differently
and you learn that from experience, don't
you? Turn to Proverbs 15. In the
workplace, it might be that guy that's
done a course. He's done a course, so now
suddenly he's an expert. And they're
everywhere as well, don't they? They're
kind of fresh out of college, university,
something else, and suddenly they're an
expert. But give me a hands-on worker
all day long to learn from. Someone
that's been there, that's done it, that's
dealt with the problems that arise,
it's done. Someone with some experience,
right? When we're getting advice, we're
getting instruction, we want to learn
how to do things, you want it from
someone who's experienced it, right?
Someone who's got experience. The guy down
the local sports class, you might have
come across these ones, who wants to
teach everyone but they only joined a
few months earlier.
And there's a lot of those out
there, aren't they? They've only just started
the sport, they've done a few months,
and suddenly every newbie they want to
go with and start teaching them, and
they're teaching them wrong a lot of
the time as well, and they're getting
things wrong, they don't understand
how to do it. In church life,
the person that's only just started
soul-winning, we'll get those a lot,
right? I've had it many times, you bring
someone out, first time soul-winning,
and try and tell you how to do it.
Well, have you tried doing this? Have you
done that? It's like, oh, I just never
thought of that, you know.
There's a lot of those about people,
just people who have no experience,
just want to give advice, right?
The newly saved convert trying to
teach you the Bible.
And those are at, we always get them,
don't we, you know? They've just got
saved time to teach you the Bible,
you know, and it's like,
look, fine if you want to talk about
the Bible, but you've got to get
that line right, yeah?
And when we're looking for advice,
we don't want to be going to, for
advice from people with no experience.
Think about the amount of influences in
the online world that just have no
experience of what they're influenced,
you don't even know, or at least you
don't know, you don't know their
experience, you don't know what they
do and don't know.
A few weeks back we looked at Proverbs
15 and verse 31, which says this,
Proverbs 15, 31,
the ear that heareth the reproof of
life
abideth among the wise. So there's a
reproof that we get from life, from
experience,
but not everyone hears it and then is
accounted wise, okay? So
she's going to lead on to point two in
a second, but
before we do, just a couple of other
thoughts on that as well, is,
you know, kids for example, kids like
to remember that when you're getting
advice from your parents, they've got
experience.
They've been, we were all kids once, we
know what it's like to be a kid,
we know it's like to be a young kid,
we know it's like to be a teen, we
know it's like to be
a young adult, we have experience, you
know, listen to your parents, listen to
those with experience, don't think that
you know it all, and that's in all
sorts of areas of life. But here he
said, the ear that heareth the reproof
of life
abideth among the wise, so you've got
to hear it,
and there's a reproof of life, there's
there's something that comes from
experience, you can get wisdom from
the experience of life,
but like I said, not everyone hears it
and then is accounted wise.
Go back to 2 Chronicles 10, we're
looking at advice, we're getting advice. So
point number one is get advice from
people with experience,
okay, the old men here had experience,
but point number two
is get advice from people that are
qualified, get advice from people that
are qualified. Look at verse 6, it said
in King Rehoboam
took counsel with the old men that
had stood before Solomon his father
Wally Yetly of saying,
what counsel give you me to return
answers people? And they spake unto him
saying, if thou be kind to this people
and please them
and speak good words to them, they
will be thy servants forever. So these
guys had stood before Solomon
his father
and were still there, weren't they? They
were still around, they were experienced,
they hadn't gone anywhere,
they hadn't turned on Solomon, they had
seen the heyday of the kingdom and
they hadn't been kicked out of the
kingdom,
or put to death, or whatever else sacked
from their jobs.
They were qualified to give advice, they'd
lasted the course, they were qualified
and when it comes to getting advice in
all areas of life,
you don't want to give too much heat
to the flash in the pan with no
experience, okay, just remember that in
all areas.
The flash in the pan, it doesn't actually
have experience,
but then also you want to be able to
see some sort of fruits ideally as
well, don't you?
So experience doesn't equal
qualifications.
Some evidence that they're qualified to
give advice. So here
they lasted the course and in many
areas that is qualifications, okay,
just lasting the course. They stayed
standing
before the previous king all of his
life and they were here ready to
advise the new king, okay, they were
still around, they're still ready to give
advice.
And in our Christian lives, if you want
some spiritual advice,
some counsel, find the people that are
still standing before the king.
Yeah, find people that are still there,
still standing before the king, still
doing the things they're meant to do,
that are free to thrive. They're still
standing, they're still serving.
You want spiritual advice, find people
that are doing what God wants them to
do, that are still soul winning.
You know, if I want advice
in a Christian life,
I want advice for people that are
still serving God,
not people that are kind of a bit in, a
bit out, not really there, that are still
growing.
People that you see are still just
growing and improving and changing
their lives,
accepting fault in their lives as well,
and changing it and trying to get
stronger and grow in the Christian
life, that are still serving,
that are still looking for ways to serve,
that are still serving God,
still in the things of God. Because the
eternal backslider,
the latest kick out, the once a month
attendee isn't lasting the course.
They're not the person they're going to
advise from.
Okay, because they haven't lasted the
course. Because it is, let's be honest, if
you just serve,
if you're serving God, it's pretty easy
not to get kicked out of a church,
isn't it?
It's pretty easy not to just, just
start coming less and less and less. If
you're really, if you're serving God,
you want to do the things of God. Now I'm
not talking about people that live far
away and stuff like that. If you're
local, you're,
you're within like a couple of hours of
a church, you just come to church,
right? Do the things of God,
you serve God, you just get on with
it. Yeah, the Christian life can be
hard,
but getting, people getting kicked out,
they ain't the people to get advice from.
Okay, they're not the people to seek
counsel from. But it's the same,
for example, if some pastor out there
isn't soul winning, for example,
okay, you're like, oh well I just love
this person, I lie, they just seem to
be so charming, they just
such lovely things, but they don't
soul win. They've,
they've failed, they haven't lasted the
course.
I don't care how wise they might seem
to be, how much they could copy what
someone else has said or whatever else.
If they're not doing the things of God
they haven't lasted the course, why
don't want to get advice from them?
You want to make sure people are
qualified, don't you? And that can be
hard in the online world,
because you don't really know half of
them. And how many people still just
go away and it's like, well this,
this guy, he's got his own little
channel, he seems to speak the truth,
I'm just going to
listen to everything he has to say.
It's madness, because you don't know if
they're experienced, you don't know if
they're qualified.
Turn to Proverbs 1, but it's the
same in other areas,
okay, don't hang off relationship advice,
for example,
from the singles. They don't have the
experience, they don't have the
qualifications to give it to you.
Now don't get me wrong, you can hear
what someone has to say, some people
still have some
interesting insight and other things
from afar, but don't hang off that
advice.
Don't get cooking advice, for example,
from most of the men in this room.
Okay, because we don't have the
experience, we don't have the
qualifications.
Yeah, you get cooking advice from me,
it's probably going to go pretty wrong.
Yeah, it's true though. And obviously
parenting is a big one, okay, with the
unqualified world,
governments, media, universities,
all these people that are unqualified
trying to give advice,
not just advice, sometimes it's worse,
but they're failing miserably,
miserably. Look at the fruits of what
they're producing.
Giving advice, advice, sorry, or worse
still, instruction,
because we've got parenting laws now,
haven't we, that they're trying to
introduce, they've already introduced in
Scotland,
they've already introduced in Wales,
where you can't even smack a kid's bum.
Like what, what on earth, and who are
these people to give not just advice,
but laws on raising your family,
based on people completely ill qualified,
completely ill,
what on earth, what are they producing?
Look at the kids out there,
kids that are into fornication, kids
that are into drugs, kids that are
into booze, kids are into self-harm,
like kids who are just a complete mess,
depression rates through the roof, the
rest, oh but
they know best, it's madness,
absolute madness, and whether it comes
from some think tank joke group
somewhere,
or whoever it is, they ain't qualified
because the fruits of all of this
stuff,
when the more and more they try and
delve into the family area,
and overstep into that area, which has
got nothing to do with government,
the more we're seeing the fruits, the
qualifications showing they're
unqualified,
because it's all a joke, there's
failures everywhere,
same with marriage roles, what about
marriage roles?
They're constantly trying to push and
tell you how your marriage should run,
how a marriage should be, what you
should do, look at the state of it,
less and less marriages, because most
people are like, I don't even want to
get married, look at the state of the
people that are married, and divorce
rates through the roof,
and now we've even got the gender
stuff, and look at the state of that
in just a small amount of time, you
got people that have been pushed and
promoted into it by their wicked,
vile, disgusting parents, who have
encouraged, pushed, and even
just allowing that shows that you are
a disgrace of a parent,
to get your child, encourage
your child in some sort of gender
reassignment, I mean what on earth
is that?
And then what's the result? Kids that
regret it, kids that are depressed, kids
that kill themselves, kids that are
just like,
like, it's just like, what a mess, right?
In just a small amount of time, let
alone, what are we going to see in the
future with that?
They're completely ill-qualified,
and it's the same with advice from
those around us, okay? You'd like to see
some qualifications, wouldn't you?
Because you've got to be careful, and
not just, you know, in a church group,
in the workplace,
around family and friends and stuff, be
careful just giving advice
on things that maybe you don't have
the experience, you're not qualified to
do so.
You know, when people are, and some of
you just want to give you parenting
advice, parenting advice, parenting advice,
look, you want to see some
qualifications, though not perfect kids,
no one's got perfect kids,
okay? But happy, healthy, well-rounded,
just sociable kids,
like normal kids, kids that are just
like, well-rounded, right?
That's what you want to see in the
workplace,
from the work colleague that's not only
experienced but clearly does a good
job.
That's what you want to see, don't you?
You don't want to get advice from the
guy who, yeah, he might be there for a
long time,
but the boss just would love to get
rid of him but can't. Yeah, again, you
want to go to the right people, that's
just normal, isn't it?
Someone that's pleasing the boss. Proverbs
1 5,
Proverbs 1 5 says, a wise man will hear
and will increase learning,
and a man of understanding shall attain
unto wise
counsels. When getting advice, you want
to seek it from those ideally with
wisdom in that area,
okay? So if you're looking for advice,
and obviously if you're off, and
really, you know, try not to give
advice when people aren't asking for
it, right?
But, and the way I see it is if you're
coming into a church and sitting in here
where you're asking for it, okay, so
you're going to get it from the Word
of God.
But in other areas, right, we want to
be, we want to, we want to, we want
it to be sought for first,
and ideally when we're seeking it, we
should be looking for those with
wisdom in that area.
Now notice how that man of
understanding shall attain, it said
here.
A wise man will hear and will increase
learning. A man of understanding shall
attain unto wise counsels. So
reach, you could say, come to wise
counsels,
because he's seeking counsel or advice.
He's seeking it.
And that leads on to point number three.
So go back to 2 Chronicles 10.
We're looking at advice on getting
advice.
Point number one, get advice from
people with experience. Point number
two, get advice from people that are
qualified.
And point number three, get advice,
not validation. Get advice,
not validation. He gets the first
advice from the old men here. Look
at verse seven, it says, and they
spoke unto him saying,
if thou be kind to this people and
please them and speak good words to
them,
they will be thy servants forever. But it
wasn't that he weighed up the two
pieces of
pieces of advice and then went with
the second, okay.
Look at verse eight. He's already been
given the advice only by the old men,
look at verse eight, but he
forsook the counsel. He forsook the
counsel which the old men gave
and took counsel with the young men
that were brought up with him that
stood before him.
Okay, now I don't want to lose you here.
Look at that again. Verse seven, they
gave him advice.
He forsook the counsel. Then he went
and took counsel with the young men.
He rejected the counsel before he went
to the young men, okay. Before he
went to the young men,
he had already rejected the counsel from
the old men. He had already made a
decision to forsake
the first counsel. And you get the
feeling that he'd already made his
mind up,
really. He went to the young men
because he knew that they would say
what he wanted to hear. That's why.
He'd already forsaken the old men. What
was the other option?
No. No, we're not going to ease the
burden. And basically he goes to the
young men because he knew that they
would say what he wanted them to say.
And isn't that what so many people
do? Don't a lot of people do that?
Instead of seeking advice, they go to
what's also known as opinion shopping.
So when we say opinion shopping, it's
like they're looking for the one
that already suits them.
If I go to enough people, they'll find
the person that says the thing that
I've already decided I want to do.
That's not going for advice, that's just
going for validation.
Okay? And that's not really what we
should be doing. They ask advice in a
way that will get the result that they
want. Have you ever had people do that?
So they're acting like they're asking
advice, but they're being very
selective with the information
and already angling your response to
what they want to hear.
People do that. People are crafty like
that.
They're selective with the facts, with
the way it's worded, because really
they just want validation for their
decision.
And that's something we need to be very
careful not to do. When you're
going for advice, you should
be going for genuine advice,
not going to just get someone to agree
with you to validate your
already made up mind.
And if you want someone to agree with
you, there are plenty of yes men around
that will do that.
Okay? So if you want someone to agree
with you, you'll find them.
They're everywhere. So be careful how
you ask for advice. For example,
this is one way someone might do it.
Wouldn't you agree that the only way
of dealing with this is X, Y and Z?
That's not asking for advice, is it?
Oh, do you agree with me that I think
but, and that could be hard kind of
when someone's going, do you agree that
this is this, and we just kind of, oh
yeah, yeah, you're probably right, you
know, because it's putting you in a
position already where you're basically
having to contradict and say no, you're
wrong.
And that's hard sometimes for many
people, especially when you're just
trying to get on with people, you're
trying to be friendly.
So that's not how we ask for advice,
is it? That's not how we should ask
for advice.
Then failing that, you can always just
get validation from someone online, can't
you? I mean, you
type in enough search terms and stuff,
you'll find someone to agree with your
kooky theory,
with your preconceived idea, with
whatever it is.
There's enough people, there's enough
ideas out there, you'll find, so well,
I read it online,
oh well, a lot of people are saying
the same thing. Really?
I mean, that's how the news media do
it, don't they? They go, people have
called for this, you know.
We've spoken to someone who
said, and it's like,
you've just got one soundbite of one
person saying the thing that you want to
make headlines about,
you know, and it's easy to find
someone to agree with you if you want
them to.
Turn to Proverbs 28, and now, spiritually
speaking, isn't that,
isn't this what many people do when it
comes to salvation?
They want to be told that their works
are enough,
or there are some works they can
achieve to take some credit for
salvation.
That's what people do. So, what
they're looking for, they're just
looking for validation, looking for
someone, some form of religion that
will say, and sometimes when you preach
the gospel to someone,
they're kind of hoping you're going to
give them some sort of works that
they can do,
or some sort of validation of the works
they're already doing, and when you say, no,
that's not enough, that's when they're
kind of not interested anymore.
They don't want the free gift. They
don't want salvation to be
graced through faith. They want some
sort of validation for their works, or
some sort of works that they can
easily achieve to do it, right?
Many choose the work salvation that
suits them, don't they?
That's what happens. Many choose
the form of work salvation that suits
them that works with their life.
You can preach the gospel to someone,
and they will forsake it and choose
works, won't they?
Even though they claim to believe the
Bible, you're showing them just clear,
in-context scripture,
in-context scripture from the Bible,
yet they choose works. Now, believers also
do this with sin and sinful life
decisions.
So, instead of seeking genuine advice,
many just want validation. Did you turn
to Proverbs 28?
Look at verse 13.
So, cover them by justifying it with,
well, so and so said it was okay.
I got advice on it. Someone told me it
was okay.
Well, you know, well, I went to
these different people. They thought this.
They said this. So, that was okay.
And this leads on to point number four.
So, go back to Second Chronicles 10.
We just read, he that covereth his sins
shall not prosper, but who so confesseth
and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
We're looking at advice on getting
advice. Point number one, get advice
from people with experience. Point
number two, get advice from people that
are qualified.
Point number three, get advice, not
validation. And point number four is get
advice, not a scapegoat.
Get advice and not a scapegoat. I said in
verse eight
in Second Chronicles 10, but he forsook
the counsel which the old men gave him
and took counsel with the young men
that were brought up with him that
stood before him. Now, look at verse nine.
And he said unto them, what advice give
ye that, notice this
this word here, that we, we may return
answer to this people which have
spoken to me saying is somewhat the
yoke that thy father did put upon us.
Now, notice how Rehoboam wanted to
shed a responsibility. And you think, oh,
it did he really well contrast it with
verse six. Look at verse six.
When he's talking to the old man and
King Rehoboam took counsel with the
old men that stood before
Solomon his father while he yet lived,
saying, what counsel give ye me
to return answer to this people. So, here
he's asking for counsel for them to
give to him
to return answer, but in verse nine
talking to the young men
and he said unto them, what advice give
ye that we
may return answer this people. Suddenly
it's a collective. It's all of them.
Which has spoken to me saying he's
somewhat the yoke that thy father did
put upon us. He wants to share the
blame.
He had already rejected the old men. He
knew the answer that he wanted,
but he wanted a scapegoat too. He
wanted someone to share the
responsibility with.
And this is something that people so
often do when seeking advice, okay.
They've already made their mind up.
They just want validation and
escape-go. Someone to blame it on.
Someone to say, but they told me to do
it like this.
Well, so-and-so said this as well. We,
you know,
this is what the advice that I got was
and this is why I did it.
What do most do when they read this
story? If you've read this in your
Bible reading, you just think those
stupid young punks, don't you?
That's what I used to do. I used to read
this story and go, those stupid young
punks and stupid Rehoboam trusting
them.
Why did he trust them young punks? He
should have gone with the old men.
That's what you think, don't you? But
something
to remember really is personal
responsibility here.
Rehoboam went for what he wanted.
Rehoboam is the one to blame here.
Rehoboam is the one who has
responsibility and in fact, he just, he
also
included them as a scapegoat and we read
the story and just think, oh those
youngsters, what a stupid answer. Young,
they're foolish,
you know, they're brash and
everything else. He should have gone
with the old men,
but he'd already made his mind up. He'd
rejected the old men and he went for what
he wanted with the young men.
But something to remember, like I said,
is personal responsibility, okay. Just
because someone
has encouraged you in something, okay,
it doesn't shift the blame.
Okay, whoever, whoever's advised you, told
you to do this, told you to do that,
whatever it is,
you're still responsible. It's your
choice to make
your, if you're seeking advice, you're
seeking advice, you're not
seeking someone to tell you what to
do.
And when seeking advice, don't do it
to then be able to blame the person
when it goes wrong. And people do that.
They, they just want validation, they
want a scapegoat
to then blame them for your actions.
I was given bad advice. How many
times have you heard people say that?
Yeah, I was given bad advice, that's why
this happened. Well, it was,
I was told this, it was because of
that, because of that false profit,
because of this person,
because of that person in my private
life. Well, that pastor told me to do
this, well, this person,
that work colleague said I should do it
this way.
Now, how about I chose bad advice?
That's how it should be. I chose bad
advice.
When getting advice, it's down to you
ultimately.
You're only getting advice, your choice.
Don't give up your own
responsibility.
And often, like here, people are just
choosing support
for the decision that they've already
made. Okay, that's what he was doing
here.
We need to be accurate with the
information that we're
that we're relaying when we're getting
advice. Look at verse nine here, it says,
And he said unto them,
What advice give ye that we may return
answers, people which have spoken to
me,
saying, He somewhat the yoke
that thy father did put upon us? But is
that what they asked?
Did they say, He somewhat the yoke that
thy father did put upon us?
Well, look at verse four, look at how
they said it.
They said, thy father made our yoke
grievous, now therefore,
ease us somewhat the grievous
servitude of thy father, and his heavy
yoke that he put upon us,
and we will serve thee. So they didn't
just come up going, He somewhat the
heavy burden.
They were saying, it's grievous
servitude. They said, we will serve thee.
That's a bit different to how he
relayed it, isn't it?
There's a big difference there. Why
didn't he relay the rest of it?
I'll tell you why, because Rehoboam had
already made his mind up. He knew
what answer he wanted, he knew what
advice, in inverted commas, he wanted.
He knew the validation that he wanted,
he knew the scapegoat that he wanted to
include within it.
He was opinion shopping. Turn to Proverbs
15.
And listen, as a pastor, and obviously
previously an evangelist, okay,
I've noticed people do that, to get me
to support their course of action.
So they'll come and they'll give me
just a certain amount of info
whilst trying to get me to validate
and support their course of action,
whether it's
a work decision, a relationship decision,
a something decision,
whether to move here or do this or get
involved more with the church or
whatever else.
They're only giving you a certain amount
because they want you to validate.
They want to get you to say, yeah, I
agree, or no I don't, or yes, do this.
And people do that a lot.
And it's something that we all have
to be careful of.
Careful not to be on the receiving end
and careful to be genuine when seeking
advice. So if you're looking for
advice of someone, be genuine, right?
Like, you know, that's something you have
to question yourself. Am I just trying
to get someone to just say what I want
them to say?
Am I genuinely seeking advice? Am I
genuinely seeking impartial advice?
In which case you need to give them
as much info as possible for them to
be able to give you
impartial advice. Proverbs 15 14 says,
the heart of him that has
understanding
seeketh knowledge, but the mouth of
fools feedeth of foolishness. So if
you have
understanding, and remember that's the
knowledge of the holy,
okay, don't seek someone to blame,
seek knowledge.
Okay, that's what we should be seeking
when we're going for advice. Seek
knowledge. Actually seek some impartial
advice, and people need
to have, you know, sort of an impartial
sort of amount of information to give
you impartial advice.
If we're asking advice, we should be
trying to grow in knowledge
by hearing another angle, okay? Another
viewpoint, a knowledgeable opinion. Isn't
that what we're looking for really?
To grow in knowledge, to hear some
different angles,
to make a more informed decision, a more
informed choice,
but it's still an opinion. It's still
an opinion. It's
advice for you to choose to act upon
or not, which leads on to point
five. Go back to Second Chronicles 10.
We're looking at advice on getting
advice. Number one, get advice from
people with experience.
Number two, get advice from people
that are qualified.
Number three, get advice, not validation.
Number four, get advice, not a scapegoat.
And number five, get advice, not instruction.
So get advice and not instruction.
Look at verse 90, and he said unto
them, what advice give you that we may
return answer to this people,
which have spoken to me saying he's
somewhat a yoke that thy father
did put upon us? And the young men
that were brought up with him
spake unto him saying, thus shout
thou answer. The people that spake
unto thee saying thy father made our
yoke heavy,
but make thou it somewhat lighter for us.
Thus shout thou say unto them,
my little finger shall be thicker than
my father's loins for whereas
my father put a heavy yoke upon you,
I will put more to your yoke. My
father chastised you with the whips,
but I will chastise you with
scorpions. Now by the way, that's him
still speaking.
They're basically telling him exactly
what to say, yeah.
Let's contrast that with the old men.
Look at the old men in verse seven.
The old men gave him advice and they
said this,
and they spake unto him saying, if
they'll be kind to this people and
please them and speak good words to
them, they'll be thy servants forever.
What's the difference? The old men
just said look, this is the sort of
thing, this is how we believe you
should deal with it.
They said if they'll be kind to this
people and please them and speak good
words to them, they'll be thy servants
forever.
The young men said this is exactly what
you need to say, thus
shout thou answer. This is how you're
going to say it, this is what
you're going to say,
and they're even, they're even framing
the sentences for him.
They instruct him exactly what to say,
okay. They said,
thus shout thou answer people that spake
unto thee, this is in the middle of
verse 10, saying thy father made our
yoke heavy, but make thou it somewhat
lighter for us.
Thus shout thou say unto them, my
little finger shall be thicker than my
father's loins,
for whereas my father put a heavy yoke
upon you, I'll put more
more to your yoke. My father chastise
you with whips,
but I will chastise you with scorpions,
and he did
repeat verbatim, well at least the
cool sounding part of what they
instructed him. Well you can't blame
for that bit, you know,
where he said my father chastised you
with whips, but I will chastise you
with scorpions. You can understand, like
that sounded cool, right, that sounded
like yeah this sort of thing we need
to be saying, right,
and sometimes the advice can sound like
it can be a bit of a sound bike,
can't it?
Sometimes you hear some advice and
something it's like this is what
you've got to do,
you've got to say it like this, but is
that really what we should be doing?
Just because it sounds good, is that the
right advice? Is that the right way to
act?
And that does sound good, doesn't it? I
mean we, you know, sometimes there's a
bit, you get a bit of Baptist banter with
verses like that, you know, but
really it was the wrong thing to do.
Look at verse 12, he repeated it
verbatim, it said, so Jeroboam and all
the people came to Rehoboam on the
third day as the king bade, saying
come again to me on the third day.
The king answered them roughly and
king Rehoboam forsook the counts of
the old men,
and answered them after the advice of
the young men, saying my father made
your yoke heavy, but I will add there
too,
my father chastise you with whips, but I
will chastise you with scorpions.
That's exactly what they told him to
say in verse 11, my father chastise you
with whips,
but I will chastise you with
scorpions. He didn't change it, he
didn't come up with a new insect,
he didn't come up with any
different, you know,
wording with it, and as we've seen,
that was of course what he was
looking for, to the point of being
happy to follow their instructions
word for word.
Yeah, that's ultimately what he wanted,
but when we go to someone for advice,
like I said, we still need to take
responsibility for our decisions,
and therefore be wary of the thus
shout thou say, or thus, thus shout thou
do kind of advice, okay,
and that stuff's everywhere. A lot of
people out there just say
this is what you have to do. Sometimes
people will come up to you and give
you unsolicited advice and tell you
this is what you need to do, this is
what you must do, but even when we go
to someone for advice,
when someone's telling you
this is what you have to do, this is
what you have to say,
in my experience with this sort of
thing we're talking about,
these are often people that are
compensated for their being
unqualified in the first place.
So a lot of people who stand there and
go 100%,
this is what you, a lot of the time
they're just compensating, because they
don't really know.
I've noticed this a lot of the time
in life over many years, is people
that just claim everything is fat,
that they know 100% what you must
and mustn't do, etc.,
in various situations, most of the time
they actually don't have a clue.
Okay, they don't have a clue. Beware
of people that do that.
You must do this, you must do that,
because when it comes to advice with
difficult decisions, okay,
it's very difficult to give a definite,
isn't it?
Really, because there are often so many
factors. Very difficult to say this is
what 100%, you've got to do this,
because there are so many facts
involved of which if you're giving the
advice you don't really usually know
them all, do you?
Wise people are usually aware of that.
People that are wise know there's many
facts, it's hard to give
just black and whites in many
situations.
Thus shout thou say is usually foolish
and overstepping the mark of advice.
I'm going to give you the caveat on
this in a minute in case anyone's
wondering, okay?
And whether we feel that we have
someone to now blame, the consequence
though is still very real.
So whether or not, you know, well I've
managed to get the advice now, look, the
consequences are real
and ultimately we want the best
consequence to any situation. So
therefore
we want to try and seek the most
impartial, the most informed advice
and not just opinion shot. Verse 15
says, so the king hearkened not unto
the people
for the cause was of God that the
Lord might perform his word which he
spake by the hand of Ahijah the
Shiloh knight to Jeroboam the son
of Nebah. So God knew,
excuse me, God knew this would happen.
He knew what was going to happen
here. Verse 16 says, when all Israel
saw that the king would not hearken
unto them, the people answered the
king saying, what portion have we in
David?
We have none inheritance in the son of
Jesse, every man to your tent, so Israel.
And now David, see to thine own house,
so all Israel went to their tents.
But as for the children of Israel
that dwelt in the cities of Judah,
Rehoboam reigned over them.
Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram that
was over the tribute and the
children of Israel stoned him with
stones that he died.
But king Rehoboam made speed to get
him up to his chariot and to flee to
Jerusalem and Israel rebelled
against the house of David unto this
day. That's some serious consequences
isn't it?
Some serious consequences to his going
and just opinion shopping, to his
finding validation, finding a scapegoat,
to his just following instruction
because he liked the instruction etc.
Now like I said, there's one caveat to
all of this. I turn to Psalm 119.
1 1 9. Psalm 119. There is a source of
advice that is experienced.
There's a source of advice that is
qualified, that you can get validation
from,
that is happy to be a scapegoat, that
you can take instruction from.
Psalm 119 and verse 24. Psalm 119
verse 24 says,
thy testimonies also are my delight
and my counselors. So when the advice
is coming clearly from the word of
God you can trust it.
Okay, if it's clear scripture, clear
thou shalt and thou shalt not type
scripture,
it's the inspired preserved words of
God and he has ultimate experience.
Yeah,
he is qualified. You can trust him to
instruct you
and pastors and preachers, okay, some of
what we will tell you
will be what God's telling you and some
will be interpretation and opinion.
Okay, that's just life. You try
speaking for an hour,
you know, unless you just want me to
read the Bible to you, there's going
to be interpretation, there's going to be
opinion.
How do you know how to differentiate?
How can you know what is what, right?
How can you know if that
interpretation, that opinion is correct?
By reading your Bibles daily. It all comes
back to that. Read your Bibles daily,
search your scriptures daily.
The psalm is said in verse 11, sorry,
psalm 119
verse 24, thy testimonies
also are my delight and my counselors.
So how do you know what is and isn't
bad interpretation?
How do you know what is and isn't
maybe a verse out of context by
someone?
Well, Proverbs 24 6 says, you don't have
to turn there, but Proverbs 24 6 says,
for by wise counsel thou shalt make
thy war
and in multitude of counselors there is
safety.
And there are doctrines, there are truths,
there's instruction in the word of God
that you can hang your hat on.
Do you know why you can hang your hat
on here? Because there's a multitude of
counselors in the word of God on here.
So, for example, salvation being grace
through faith
alone, it's not of works,
there's multitude of counselors in the
Bible.
Because, yeah, there are verses, let's
be true, there are verses that,
if you didn't look at the context, you
would think, that seems like work
salvation.
But there aren't a multitude of
counselors. It's because it's a verse
out of context in a passage that's got
nothing to do with salvation.
It's a verse out of context, it's
talking about physical salvation in the end
times.
It's a verse out of context, or it's a
verse even in context,
or at least to some degree, but it's,
they got it wrong. They don't, they're
not looking at the actual verse of
what it's actually saying
and misinterpreting it. And then
you've got
verse after verse after verse after
verse saying, believe, believe, believe,
believe, believe.
For by grace you say through faith,
and they're not of yourselves. It's a
gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast. For by the
works of the Lord shall no flesh be
justified.
There's no works, you have everlasting
life, it's yours, and
that's a multitude of counselors, isn't
it? And there are other doctrines in the
Bible, it's just a multitude of
counselors.
There's just a multitude of it, and
that sort of stuff you could go, right,
I'm hanging my hat on now.
Okay, you can stand on that, you can
stand sure on that.
But aside from the clear scriptural
advice, when the council isn't so clear
maybe in the Word of God,
or it's maybe a grey area, or it's a
less spiritual situation
just in life, these points apply.
Number one, get advice from people with
experience.
Number two, and there are, look, there are
just many areas in life where, look,
don't get me wrong, the Word of God
is sufficient, okay.
It covers so much, and obviously the
more you read it, the more you
understand it.
But there are, there are unique
situations and circumstances in life
where, kind of, it's good to get some
counsel, and ultimately when it's a
spiritual situation,
a spiritual decision, you want that to
be biblical counsel, don't you? You want
it to be,
to line up with the Word of God. But
there are things that maybe aren't so
much like that, that you still want
some advice and counsel,
counsel in. Well, point number one, get
advice from people with experience.
Point number two, get advice from
people that are qualified. Point
number three,
get advice, not validation. Point number
four, get advice,
not a scapegoat. And point number five,
get advice,
not instruction, okay. Be careful of
those that just want to instruct your
every move.
That was advice on getting advice, and
on that we're going to finish in a
word of practice.
Father, thank you for your word, thank
you for the, uh, the teachings there,
the principles we can get out of, uh,
Second Chronicles 10 there, Lord, and,
um, just where, where Rehoboam went
wrong there, and the errors there, and
the things he did wrong, Lord, and
obviously as well with,
you know, there being two, uh, sort of, uh,
contrasts in the council there, but help
us to just be wise
when we're seeking counsel, so wise
when we're giving counsel, Lord, help
us to,
to give counsel in the right way, Lord,
um, and,
and to seek it as well in the right
way, Lord, and,
um, not to just seek validation, not to
just seek a scapegoat for our,
um, for our decisions that we've
already made, Lord, help us to, to just
be genuine in these areas of our
life,
um, help us to, um, to, to, you know,
think about these sorts of things,
not just today, but going into the week
as well, Lord, and into the month, into
the year, and just try and just,
just be, be better in those areas, Lord,
better in those areas,
you know, when we're giving and seeking
advice, um, help us to,
um, to go out and preach the gospel
clearly this afternoon, Lord, help us
get people saved, and to return for the
evening service, and do stand before all this. Amen.