1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,320 Let U.S. Open our Bibles to 2nd Kings 2 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:07,040 chapter 10 and I ask you to place your finger there at verse 3 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:14,560 18. I want to remind you that Jehu 4 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:18,880 accomplished what the Lord asked of him and what Elijah 5 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:21,120 prophesied concerning the House of Ahab. 6 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:27,000 He did bring total annihilation to this dynasty. 7 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:30,800 And that is how our study concluded last week in Second 8 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:36,440 Kings 10/17. So we might expect then that 9 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:42,320 since Jehu's campaign is now over, then we're going to 10 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:47,720 encounter what we usually find at the end of a brief account of 11 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:51,960 one of the kings, a general summary of his reign. 12 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:55,800 But what we're going to discover is that's not the case. 13 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:59,560 Jehu is not finished with his efforts. 14 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:06,680 Actually, Jehu is much more motivated and ambitious than we 15 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:13,280 initially thought, because Jehu is not content in just dealing 16 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:18,920 with the House of Ahab. He wants to cleanse the land of 17 00:01:18,960 --> 00:01:23,160 Israel of all worshippers of Baal. 18 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:27,840 And it's in these final verses of Second Kings chapter 10 where 19 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:34,040 we're going to study how Jehu is going to accomplish this. 20 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:39,240 And so we're going to start by reading verses 18 and 19, pause 21 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:43,440 slowly, reflect as we usually do, and continue with that pace 22 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:46,160 until we complete this chapter. Let's pray. 23 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:50,520 Lord, we thank you for this wonderful book. 24 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:54,760 We trust that by the power of your Holy Spirit, You will guide 25 00:01:54,760 --> 00:02:01,240 us to glean every golden nugget of truth that is necessary for 26 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:04,480 our sanctification at this point in our lives. 27 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:07,800 Thank you for every person who is here, every person who is 28 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:12,920 watching as our brother opened the service with may your voice 29 00:02:12,920 --> 00:02:16,160 be heard. We want your complete majesty 30 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:21,080 and glory and power to be felt and realized in the fruitfulness 31 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:25,040 of our lives being lived out. In response to these truths. 32 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:28,200 We entrust our hearts, our minds, our emotions, our 33 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,720 decisions to you. Conform everything of who we are 34 00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:35,120 to Your complete will. In Jesus name we pray. 35 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:43,760 Amen. Verse 18 Then Jehu assembled all 36 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:49,120 the people and said to them, Ahab served Baal a little, but 37 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:53,800 Jehu will serve him much now. Therefore called to me all the 38 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:57,880 prophets of Baal, all his worshippers, and all his priest. 39 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:02,720 Let none be missing, for I have a great sacrifice to offer to 40 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:06,760 Baal. Whoever is missing shall not 41 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:11,000 live. But Jehu did it with cunning in 42 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:14,840 order to destroy the worshippers of Bail. 43 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:18,560 What a way to open a Bible study, especially you've been 44 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:22,040 following this week after week. There are a couple of questions, 45 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:25,800 crucial questions that we have to find answers for before we 46 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:28,960 move on. The first one is this. 47 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:33,160 Is Jehu's determination to eradicate the land of Israel 48 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:37,440 from all Bail worshippers something that is legitimate and 49 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:42,920 authorized by God? So just just give me a hand if 50 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:48,280 you think this is right for Jehu to do 2 people and if it's wrong 51 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:52,840 lift your hand more than two people and the rest of you are 52 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:57,560 not sure which is OK. Given that we've already studied 53 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:00,560 him enough to know that his mandate was very specific, that 54 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:03,640 he was to deal with the House of Ahab alone, correct? 55 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:07,880 So then at face value we might think this is just another case 56 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:10,640 of JU going beyond what the Lord asked of him. 57 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:17,399 However, if you are a student of the Law of Moses, then you will 58 00:04:17,399 --> 00:04:23,560 recall that there are specific laws pertaining to idolaters in 59 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:26,400 the land. And when we look at some of 60 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:30,880 those laws, we might realize and conclude that JU is actually 61 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:34,120 more aligned with God's will than we initially thought. 62 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:39,240 Here's a general verse that summarizes God's heart for this 63 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:42,160 people in this covenant concerning idol worship. 64 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:46,800 Here's a reference for you. In Exodus 22, verse 20, he says 65 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:52,480 whoever sacrifices to any God other than the Lord alone shall 66 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:57,920 be devoted to destruction. So again, that is a general 67 00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:05,160 prohibition against, and it is a call for punishment for idolatry 68 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:08,760 among this people. But it's not until you go to 69 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:11,920 Deuteronomy chapter 13, and that's where I'm going to ask 70 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:16,400 you to turn, where you get the specific detailed protocol of 71 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:19,600 how this destruction should take place. 72 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:23,960 And it's in the latter portion of Deuteronomy 13 where we learn 73 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:28,720 what the people ought to do when idolatry becomes larger in 74 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:34,200 scale, where communities and cities are infected by apostasy. 75 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:38,800 What should the people do then? And here's what we find here in 76 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:44,120 Deuteronomy 13, verse 12. If you here in one of your 77 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:47,120 cities, which the Lord your God is giving you to dwell there, 78 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:51,400 that certain worthless fellows have gone out among you, and 79 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:55,040 have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go 80 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:59,040 and serve other gods which you have not known, that you shall 81 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:01,880 inquire and make search, and ask diligently. 82 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:06,760 And behold, if it be true and certain that such an abomination 83 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:10,920 has been done among you, you shall surely put the inhabitants 84 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:16,600 of that city to the sword, devoting it to destruction all 85 00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:20,520 who are in it, and it's cattle. With the edge of the sword, you 86 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:23,800 shall gather all its spoil into the midst of its open square and 87 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:29,760 burn the city and all its spoil with fire as a whole burnt 88 00:06:29,840 --> 00:06:34,800 offering to the Lord your God. It shall be a heap forever. 89 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:40,200 It shall not be built again. Now we don't have time to delve 90 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:44,040 into why such severe punishments were enacted under the Old 91 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:46,960 Covenant. The main point is this. 92 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:51,400 Based on this, we learned that Jehu is not in the wrong. 93 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:55,080 He's not out of line in this pursuit. 94 00:06:55,920 --> 00:07:01,360 To identify and chase down and discipline those who are 95 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:04,600 worshippers of false gods. Now that is clear. 96 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:06,920 We've established that. Here's the second question, 97 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:10,080 though. The ambition is in alignment 98 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:15,560 with God's will. It's his strategy, the way he 99 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:17,200 brings us about. Is this something? 100 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:19,840 Praiseworthy. Is this something that reflects 101 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:24,440 God's methodology? Answer no. 102 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:31,400 It's not, and this is not the first time that we found Jehu 103 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:35,200 implementing deception in order to achieve his political goals, 104 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:38,600 is it? So what are we discovering about 105 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:42,680 this man that this manipulation is actually embedded in his 106 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:47,400 character? He was very good at lying and he 107 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:51,720 often wielded that as a weapon. Oh, you say, well, it's for a 108 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:54,160 righteous goal. OK, well we'll talk about that 109 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:57,040 in a moment. However, what I want us to see 110 00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:01,080 here is that this man is pretending to be a worshipper of 111 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:05,160 Baal in order to attract worshippers of Baal. 112 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:11,680 Now listen, Jehu's goal is far different, but I want to make a 113 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:16,680 comparison with many Christians who implement similar tactics in 114 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:19,680 trying to attract. The lost. 115 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:27,320 If your attempt to draw people who are outside of the truth 116 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:33,960 requires you to betray your convictions or to participate in 117 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:36,880 their sin, you're outside of God's will, no matter if your 118 00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:39,799 righteous goal is what you're trying to achieve. 119 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:44,240 That never justifies the means and never justify the means. 120 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:46,440 And when I looked at this, I remember because it's wonderful 121 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:48,960 to look back at things that you've seen before that might 122 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:52,440 compliment or add commentary to what you're discovering here. 123 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:56,680 This is not the first time a leader in Israel called for such 124 00:08:56,680 --> 00:09:01,000 a large conference, is it? I think back to Elijah. 125 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:05,880 Remember when Elijah called for a showdown between him and the 126 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:09,120 prophets of Baal and Ashra on Mount Carmel? 127 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:12,520 And here's what I recall, that Elijah didn't have to pretend to 128 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:15,400 be a worship of veil to bring in the worshippers of veil, did he? 129 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:20,720 No, no, He enticed them by standing true to the Lord, even 130 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:23,040 if he stood alone. That's what drew people in to be 131 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:26,000 like, OK, is this real? Is his God real? 132 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:28,280 Is his God really more powerful than Baal? 133 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:34,200 So if we're going to use any way of hooking people in closer to 134 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:37,080 the truth, to encounter the truth, let it be because you are 135 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:38,840 different, not because you're so similar. 136 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:45,120 Yes, his goal is different, but his tactics are copied by many 137 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:47,920 today. You don't have to change the way 138 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:50,320 you talk. You don't have to sin, you don't 139 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:54,840 have to look a certain way as long as it's not sinful. 140 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:59,040 Like Paul said, he was willing to converge himself and to 141 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:02,480 conform as long as it didn't betray his conscience or God's 142 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:06,440 will in order to win some, yes, but never at the expense of your 143 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:08,680 holiness and God's honor. And. 144 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:12,000 Glory. So we read on. 145 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:15,320 He asked them to meet him in the capital Samaria. 146 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:18,920 And the Holy Spirit even tells us here that he did this with 147 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:21,520 cunning. Just in case anybody thought 148 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:23,560 that he became a bill worshipper overnight. 149 00:10:24,680 --> 00:10:28,920 Let's read at verse 20. And Jay, who ordered sanctify a 150 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:32,480 solemn assembly for bail. So they proclaimed it. 151 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:38,000 And Jay, who sent throughout all Israel and all the worshippers 152 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:42,920 of Bail, came so that there was not a man left who did not come. 153 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:47,800 And they entered the House of bail, and the House of bail was 154 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:51,480 filled from one end to the other. 155 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:57,840 My initial reaction when meditating on these verses was 156 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:01,440 where did. All these worshippers come from. 157 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:04,720 Do you know why that crossed my mind? 158 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:08,200 Because again, look back and remember what we've studied in 159 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:14,440 Second Kings when Jeho Ram or Joram, the king who was on the 160 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:18,280 throne before Jehu assassinated him and occupied the throne, 161 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:24,080 though he was a wicked man, he did not encourage Bale worship. 162 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:27,320 Do you recall this? Let me remind you, in Second 163 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:33,480 Kings 3 verses one and two, look at Second Kings 3 when he first 164 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:36,680 became king. We're told here in verse one in 165 00:11:36,680 --> 00:11:40,760 the 18th year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, Jehoram, the son 166 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:45,520 of Ahab, became king over Israel and Samaria, and he reigned 12 167 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:47,920 years. He did what was evil in the 168 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:52,280 sight of the Lord, though not like his father and mother, for 169 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:58,280 he put away the pillar of Baal that his father had made. 170 00:12:00,680 --> 00:12:05,040 So a wicked man, but he must have observed something living 171 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:07,400 in the House of Ahab. Ahab being his father. 172 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:15,560 Baalism doesn't work. Baal failed my dad over and over 173 00:12:15,560 --> 00:12:19,280 again. So he doesn't really repent. 174 00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:23,640 But as a strategist, as an opportunist, he takes this 175 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:26,280 monument that was dedicated to Baal and he tucks it away 176 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:29,400 somewhere. Desire in the hearts of God's 177 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:35,160 people to worship Baal. It revealed a deep seated 178 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:40,800 idolatry that was there all along and bail, yes, he was 179 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:44,240 proven false. He was proven weak on Mount 180 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:47,680 Carmel and under this administration, Joe Rams 181 00:12:47,680 --> 00:12:52,600 administration, it was discouraged and it waned over 182 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:55,640 time. And yet still, what I learned 183 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:57,880 from this is that throughout that time. 184 00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:03,720 You had a group of people who worshipped Bale all along. 185 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:08,560 This is fascinating because you could admire this unwavering 186 00:13:08,560 --> 00:13:12,080 commitment, can't you? It's toward a false God. 187 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:16,520 But the discipline and the dedication is kind of 188 00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:21,040 convicting. And we see it here, a great 189 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:23,120 number of people who still worship Bale. 190 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:30,240 But God is going to see this kind of commitment, and in his 191 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:32,960 wisdom, it's going to lead to mass casualty. 192 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:41,120 Why? Because deception is the fate of 193 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:44,680 those who persistently reject the truth. 194 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:52,680 Not that God approves of Jehu's trickery, but he permits it. 195 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:56,960 How does he permit it? He does not rescue the victims 196 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:01,960 of this deception and will allow them to be led to the slaughter 197 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:05,320 as punishment. And I don't know if you 198 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:10,720 recognize this, but what Jehu does here as a leader and how he 199 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:15,440 tricks all these people is a preview of what we're going to 200 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:19,240 see in the last days. Because we are told in the New 201 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:22,600 Testament that there is going to be a leader known as the lawless 202 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:25,960 one, known as the Antichrist. Who? 203 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:30,600 Will win the world by way of wicked deception through the 204 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:35,560 activity of Satan, and that deception will end up proving to 205 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:40,640 be damning for millions and millions of people and. 206 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:45,080 Paul, by the Holy Spirit tells us how God works in the midst of 207 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:46,760 all of this. And that's what I want you to 208 00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:49,920 see in Second Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 9. 209 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:54,960 Notice what Paul says about the final moments of human history. 210 00:14:56,640 --> 00:14:59,400 The coming of the lawless 1 is by the activity of Satan with 211 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:03,520 all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked 212 00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:07,640 deception for those who are perishing because they refuse to 213 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:10,880 love the truth and so be saved. We read this a few weeks ago, 214 00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:13,400 but we didn't touch on verse 11 and verse 12. 215 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:17,480 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion. 216 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:21,640 God, you would think Satan would send them a strong No, no, no, 217 00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:22,960 no, no. God does. 218 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:28,960 God sends them a strong delusion so that they may believe what is 219 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:33,760 false. God wants people to believe what 220 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:36,800 is false. Oh, you can cut this verse up 221 00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:39,840 and make. It sound like that no? 222 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:44,200 He's willing to let people believe what is false after they 223 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:49,160 have denied the truth. This is not his first move. 224 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:53,840 This is his response to the persistent rejection of a 225 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:59,400 generation. Let's continue on in order that. 226 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:03,920 All may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had 227 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:11,160 pleasure in unrighteousness. So for Paul to say, I mean, this 228 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:12,360 is incredible. There's so. 229 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:15,040 We can make a Bible study just out of these verses, but for 230 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:18,600 Paul to say that God sends them a strong delusion. 231 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:22,840 Encourages us in this way, you're saying? 232 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:26,080 How does that encourage me? I'll tell you because we just 233 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:29,000 read about how the Antichrist will rise and he will sweep the 234 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:31,840 world off its feet and he will deceive and he'll perform all 235 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:37,400 these persuasive things. And you think the Lawless 1 is 236 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:41,360 ruling the world? He's governing the affairs of 237 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:46,840 this planet and it Paul's quick to say God is actually 238 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:50,480 supervising all these events. He is actually sovereign over 239 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:54,400 all these things. Not that he's the author of it, 240 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:57,160 but he's still in control over it. 241 00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:01,360 He allows the strong delusion to be unleashed. 242 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:06,599 He's the one who lets loose the Antichrist at the right time for 243 00:17:06,599 --> 00:17:11,119 the right generation. So this is prophetic, but it's 244 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:13,599 also practical because in practical terms, what this 245 00:17:13,599 --> 00:17:18,400 teaches me is that when a people deliberately deny the truth, 246 00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:21,960 they become helplessly vulnerable to deception. 247 00:17:24,599 --> 00:17:30,440 There comes a time when someone objects and refuses and stiffens 248 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:37,200 their neck so much that they are destined to believe a lie to 249 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:40,120 their own destruction. Is it any wonder that over and 250 00:17:40,120 --> 00:17:41,080 over in the new. Testament. 251 00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:44,680 You hear this admonition today if you hear his voice. 252 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:49,880 Today, not tomorrow. Today, Friday night, Bible study 253 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:54,160 at 7:45 if you hear his voice, not Saturday morning. 254 00:17:55,120 --> 00:17:59,120 Today, if you hear his voice, don't harden your heart. 255 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:03,640 Don't harden your heart. And so we see something similar 256 00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:07,200 here. A deception sweeps over Israel. 257 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:10,240 The masses are coming believing it to be true. 258 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:14,440 And this is not a people that are just being introduced to the 259 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:16,280 idea of Baal. This is a people who have 260 00:18:16,280 --> 00:18:20,200 experienced God's favor, His intervention, His grace, his 261 00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:22,960 deliverance, and they denied him over and over. 262 00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:25,840 You don't want the one that I sent that I'm going to give you 263 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:29,080 someone else. You don't want Christ. 264 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:34,120 Here's the Antichrist that will come because the Bible says so. 265 00:18:34,120 --> 00:18:36,520 But there's another comparison that I'd like to make, and it's 266 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:39,200 more of a contrast. So we've been studying these 267 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:43,160 past couple weeks. Jehu's climb to the throne of 268 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:45,720 Israel. But we still have many chapters 269 00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:47,560 in Second Kings, and one of the kings that we're going to 270 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:50,800 discover together is Hezekiah. He's not going to be the king of 271 00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:52,240 Israel. He's going to be the king of 272 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:54,800 Judah. And you don't see this 273 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:57,720 explicitly in Second Kings. You find him more in Second 274 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:00,120 Chronicles, in the parallel account to 2nd Kings. 275 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:05,360 But Hezekiah himself will make a call for the solemn assembly. 276 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:08,080 He's going to reach out to the whole nation, not just the 277 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:11,240 Kingdom of Judah, but even Israel, all the northern tribes 278 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:16,560 to come to not Samaria but Jerusalem, not to worship Baal, 279 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:18,480 but to worship the true and living God. 280 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:25,160 And when you compare Jehu's attempt and success of bringing 281 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:29,320 in these worshippers of Baal to Hezekiah's attempt of bringing 282 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:31,560 in the true worshippers of God, you're going to discover a 283 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:34,480 heartbreaking outcome. Would you like to see it? 284 00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:40,760 Well, let's see it together. Go to Second Chronicles 30, and 285 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:42,320 I want you to see it in verse one. 286 00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:49,880 Hezekiah is one of the few reformers. 287 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:58,360 In Judah's history, and we read here what he does for the glory 288 00:19:58,360 --> 00:20:02,520 of God in Second Chronicles 30 verse one, Hezekiah sent to all 289 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:04,360 Israel and Judah. Why is that significant? 290 00:20:04,360 --> 00:20:07,360 Because he's the king of Judah at this time, but he's. 291 00:20:07,360 --> 00:20:11,680 Even reaching out to the northern tribes, so to all 292 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:15,120 Israel and Judah and wrote letters also to Ephraim and 293 00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:18,320 Manasa that they should come to the House of the Lord at 294 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:22,960 Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the Lord the God of Israel. 295 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:24,640 Why is he doing this? Because you read in the same 296 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:29,400 chapter that it's been so long since they honor the Passover as 297 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:34,120 one nation. And so he's reaching out saying 298 00:20:34,120 --> 00:20:36,400 why don't we do this the way God told us to do it? 299 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:39,640 Let's, let's all make pilgrimage and all come to the House of God 300 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:44,240 and worship him at the Passover. Here's the response. 301 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:48,560 Scroll down to verse 10. So the couriers went from city 302 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:52,360 to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh and as far 303 00:20:52,360 --> 00:20:56,120 as Zebulun. But they laughed them to scorn 304 00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:01,280 and mocked them. How funny when you call 305 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:03,120 everybody to worship Bill. We're going to see how many 306 00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:06,200 people showed up when it came to worshipping God. 307 00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:09,400 You had many. You want me to come all the way 308 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:13,040 down to Jerusalem? Yeah, right. 309 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:16,720 Well, it's not completely bleak. Look at verse 11. 310 00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:22,120 However, some men of Asher, of Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled 311 00:21:22,120 --> 00:21:25,080 themselves and came to Jerusalem. 312 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:27,160 And in the following verse you learn that the hand of the Lord 313 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:31,480 was upon the tribe of Judah, and they were one heart to come and 314 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:34,400 honor this feast. So let me remind you something. 315 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:37,120 You don't have to turn there, but back in Second Kings chapter 316 00:21:37,120 --> 00:21:41,720 10, we're told there that all the worshippers, not some of the 317 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:47,480 worshippers of Baal, all of the worshippers of Baal came to 318 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:51,040 Samaria. When Hezekiah calls for the 319 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:54,360 worshippers of Yahweh, specifically in the northern 320 00:21:54,360 --> 00:22:02,760 tribes, some. This breaks my heart, but it 321 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:07,280 also stirs a fire in my soul. And I'll tell you why, because 322 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:09,840 it teaches and it challenges you and me, that our devotion to the 323 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:15,560 Lord should never be outshined. By those who live for idols. 324 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:21,600 Never, never listen to this. The gospel of grace should make 325 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:26,160 you and I more faithful, more earnest, more zealous, more 326 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:30,920 committed, more devoted than those who are working for their 327 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:35,440 salvation. This gospel of grace should make 328 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:40,360 you more, more committed, more invested. 329 00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:47,760 Wait to the Lord Jesus Christ, never, never live for this 330 00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:51,800 legacy that when your family, your spouse, your children 331 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:56,680 reflect on your brief pilgrimage on the earth, they can say with 332 00:22:56,680 --> 00:23:03,640 confidence, he lived for Christ. She lived for Christ. 333 00:23:05,360 --> 00:23:07,960 Oh, yeah, they, they had this job and, and they had those 334 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,560 hobbies and, and they, they had those kind of connections, but 335 00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:18,520 none of that compared to how that person loved Jesus, just 336 00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:22,360 determine that, that this is what my life will be about him, 337 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:25,000 him alone. Everything else will orbit 338 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:31,200 around him. This little life that I have a 339 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:34,560 breath will be a fragrance unto him. 340 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:43,960 So when it came to Baal worship revival, when it came to the 341 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:49,880 worship of the true God, the sanctuary was not full. 342 00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:58,160 Let's read on. In verse 22, Second Kings 10, he 343 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:04,320 said to him who was in charge of the wardrobe, bring out the 344 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:07,120 vestments of all the worshippers of Vail. 345 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:09,600 So he brought out the vestments for them. 346 00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:11,880 That's quite interesting. So they had even their own 347 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:14,800 wardrobe. And I wonder if Jay, who's doing 348 00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:17,680 this so he can just easily target them. 349 00:24:19,120 --> 00:24:21,720 So dress them up. They do. 350 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:27,200 Verse 23 Then Jay who went into the House of Bail with Johanna 351 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:30,960 Dab, the son of Recap, and he said to the worshippers of Baal, 352 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:36,240 search and see that there is no servant of the Lord here among 353 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:39,920 you, but only the worshippers of Baal. 354 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:44,760 Then they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. 355 00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:51,560 Don't you find it interesting that right before Jehu executes 356 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:56,040 quite literally these worshippers? 357 00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:59,800 He asked the group. To. 358 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:02,560 Scan the room. Ensure that there aren't any 359 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:05,280 worshippers of the true God in their midst. 360 00:25:07,120 --> 00:25:13,880 This should cause you to pause and ask, why would there be any 361 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:16,960 worshippers of the true God at this assembly anyway? 362 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:19,760 That's a fair question, isn't it? 363 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:22,920 Why would there be? You called for the worshippers 364 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:28,520 of Baal. Here's the honest truth that 365 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:33,680 even for a true believer, they can lapse and they can find 366 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:39,080 themselves in the wrong place with the wrong people doing the 367 00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:42,360 wrong thing. That's possible for a true 368 00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:45,920 servant of God, and that's what we see here. 369 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:50,000 And this is just an imaginative way this could have played out 370 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:53,440 in this situation. So just imagine the news. 371 00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:57,080 Jehu calling the masses to Samaritan worship. 372 00:25:57,080 --> 00:25:58,920 Bale reaches your neighborhood, right? 373 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:01,920 This rising king Jehu, and there's so many different 374 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:04,600 discussions about him. There's rumors of what he's all 375 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:06,760 about. But this news comes to your 376 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:10,560 town, calling all these worshippers to honor Bale in a 377 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:15,400 new and fresh way. And your friends and some of 378 00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:18,960 your family, they're ecstatic. About this, they're absolutely 379 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:21,480 thrilled. And here you are in their 380 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:24,480 presence, hearing them talk about this is it. 381 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:26,440 We're we're going to see Bill bless us now. 382 00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:28,720 He's going to unleash his goodness on our land. 383 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:34,920 And surely he will honor us if we abandoned everything and make 384 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:40,920 our way to his house. And as you look out your front 385 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:44,920 step, maybe sitting on your little porch, you are watching 386 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:48,440 people frantically walking and running, packing their mules and 387 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:52,200 their donkeys and their Chariots, and there's Glee on 388 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:57,280 their faces and there's a buzz in the air, and finally a few 389 00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:01,120 colleagues approach you. And they ask. 390 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:07,240 Would you come look how many people are going join us? 391 00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:14,480 We haven't seen anything like this for so long and you think 392 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:21,760 to yourself perhaps. It's not a big deal, is it? 393 00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:28,520 What can one visit the House of Bill really do? 394 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:36,960 I mean, how harmful can it be? If anybody asks I can just say I 395 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:41,880 was curious. What if Bale is real? 396 00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:48,920 What if he's making a comeback? What if, what if Bale is 397 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:53,960 actually using this to test to see who is truly for him? 398 00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:57,840 And, and if we don't pass the test, if if I don't pass the 399 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:01,520 test, then I'll be judged, I'll be cursed. 400 00:28:05,120 --> 00:28:09,840 Oh, how wrong you would be to go to the House of Bale on that 401 00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:18,280 day, because you see Jay who in asking for the room to be 402 00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:21,400 evaluated. I'm not sure if you recognize 403 00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:27,520 this is an act of God's intervening grace for a true St. 404 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:29,960 who might have made a wrong decision. 405 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:36,120 But know this, we don't always walk away from sinful 406 00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:42,800 experimentation unscathed. That's not always granted to 407 00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:48,000 people. And I've heard horrific life 408 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:54,920 altering stories, especially of young people who are too curious 409 00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:59,120 for their good and it impacted them for the rest of their 410 00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:02,200 lives. So let me say this, the best 411 00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:04,800 thing to do is to always take God at His word. 412 00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:11,520 If he says it's sin, if He says it's evil, leave it at that and 413 00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:14,880 walk on and enjoy him and live for him. 414 00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:20,600 So make sure that there's nobody here who worships the Lord. 415 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:24,720 Why would there be there anybody there to begin with? 416 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:30,560 Because it's possible for us to waver, and Jehu shows us that 417 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:32,080 God is gracious enough to deliver us. 418 00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:36,120 But sometimes we can't always determine the outcome of our 419 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:41,320 sinful choices. Verse 25 of Second Kings 10 420 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:47,480 let's. Read back at verse 24. 421 00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:51,560 Then they went in and to sacrifice, to offer sacrifices 422 00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:54,280 and burnt offerings. Now J who had stationed 80 men 423 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:58,160 outside, and said, the man who allows any of those who might 424 00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:01,320 give into your hands to escape shall forfeit his life. 425 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:06,240 This man is serious. You can't miss one of them. 426 00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:11,280 I mean business here we have every single worshipper of Bail 427 00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:13,680 in attendance. Not one is going to leave with 428 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:17,200 their life. What happens? 429 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:22,080 Verse 25 S As soon as he had made an end of offering the 430 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:25,640 burnt offering, Jehu said to the guard and to the officers, Go in 431 00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:29,240 and strike them down. Let not a man escape. 432 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:32,160 So when they put them to the sword, the guard and the 433 00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:35,720 officers cast them out and went into the inner room. 434 00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:40,240 Of the House of bail, And they brought out the pillar that was 435 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:42,160 in the House of bail and burned it. 436 00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:46,880 And they demolished the pillar of bail and demolished the House 437 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:49,080 of bail. And made it a latrine. 438 00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:51,560 To this day, you know what they did with that area? 439 00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:58,760 They turned it into sewage. Now, many things were said here, 440 00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:02,080 but is there any detail that stands out to you in light of a 441 00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:04,480 comment that was maybe made earlier in this study? 442 00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:08,280 Particularly with an object that was mentioned in these verses, 443 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:11,440 if you know, you can say it out loud. 444 00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:16,280 Somebody said it, the pillar of Baal. 445 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:23,200 Did you notice that this is the same pillar that Jeharam put 446 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:27,920 away in Second Kings chapter 3 and now it makes a reappearance. 447 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:34,240 So obviously when Jairam was trying to discourage Baal 448 00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:36,960 worship, he didn't do it to the degree that Jehu does. 449 00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:42,360 Here Jairam tucks it away. When Jehu gets a hold of it, he 450 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:47,600 crushes it to find powder. And hopefully you agree with me 451 00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:51,160 in this. I see 2 examples of how people 452 00:31:52,040 --> 00:32:00,360 handle and relate to sin. Jehoram when he comes to deal 453 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:05,160 with this object of idolatry, he recognizes that it's 454 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:08,360 unbefitting. He recognizes that it's no good. 455 00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:12,080 And in like manner you have some who profess Christ that will 456 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:16,360 identify patterns, habits, decisions, addictions and they 457 00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:19,720 they know full well this is unbefitting for a follower of 458 00:32:19,720 --> 00:32:23,000 Christ. But instead of. 459 00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:31,360 Putting it to death, they put it aside because down deep inside, 460 00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:37,960 they, they don't know if at another future time they can 461 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:41,240 make use of that. Use of what? 462 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:51,880 Anything A harmful substance in times to medicate your anxiety. 463 00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:57,920 An ungodly relationship that yeah, you ended it. 464 00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:03,280 But all it takes is one text message or a phone call and a 465 00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:10,120 night of loneliness so that you can feel loved or even 466 00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:15,200 dishonorable ways of making money that you vowed to never 467 00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:18,720 revisit again. But when times get tough and the 468 00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:23,000 bills start piling up, I put it aside. 469 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:28,040 But I can make use of it. Again, we're not told why Joe 470 00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:31,680 R.E.M. just put it aside. But one thing is for certain, 471 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:33,400 that is not a way to deal with idols. 472 00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:39,000 The example here is JU. He's not the best example for a 473 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:42,800 lot of things, but in this case, he showcases the kind of 474 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:46,200 ambition that you and I have to have in our fight against sin. 475 00:33:46,600 --> 00:33:49,680 Here's what you have to do to determine that. 476 00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:54,640 I'm not going to give this thing another chance to reappear in my 477 00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:58,560 life. It is that kind of level of 478 00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:03,480 determination that God will honor and supply strength for. 479 00:34:03,480 --> 00:34:08,360 That is true repentance, though we may repent over and over 480 00:34:08,360 --> 00:34:11,400 because sin has a tendency to reintroduce itself. 481 00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:15,520 In our lives, even sin that you hate and that you put aside, 482 00:34:15,520 --> 00:34:19,040 even something that you were never tempted by for years, it 483 00:34:19,040 --> 00:34:21,600 has a tendency of of knocking on the door of your heart and 484 00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:26,840 saying you Remember Me. We must meet that sin with the 485 00:34:26,840 --> 00:34:30,080 same force that we have when we originally decided that we are 486 00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:33,719 going to put it to death. God will honor that kind of an 487 00:34:33,719 --> 00:34:41,719 attitude, and we see it here. Unfortunately. 488 00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:45,199 Get ready for probably the most shocking part of this Bible 489 00:34:45,199 --> 00:34:50,080 study. Unfortunately, Jehu did not 490 00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:56,480 extend the same determination he had against bail to other idols 491 00:34:58,320 --> 00:35:00,160 in the last verses of this Bible study. 492 00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:04,640 We have to honestly conclude that Jehu was an idolater at 493 00:35:04,640 --> 00:35:08,880 heart. Very successful in honoring God 494 00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:13,040 in this specific specific lane, but not in the ways that God had 495 00:35:13,040 --> 00:35:15,920 asked of him and any Israelite of his time. 496 00:35:17,240 --> 00:35:20,760 So he. Burns down the House of bail. 497 00:35:20,760 --> 00:35:24,560 He destroys pillars. Any images that reflect him, 498 00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:28,480 it's all gone. And you would think that he's 499 00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:33,440 going to be the one, a very few who were honorable in this 500 00:35:33,440 --> 00:35:38,360 roster of kings. And by way of comparison, he 501 00:35:38,360 --> 00:35:40,400 still is. But notice what you read here in 502 00:35:40,400 --> 00:35:45,480 verse 28. Thus, Jehu wiped out Bail from 503 00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:49,400 Israel. But Jehu did not turn aside from 504 00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:54,040 the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabad, which he made Israel to 505 00:35:54,040 --> 00:36:01,040 sin, that is the golden calves that were in Bethel and in Dan. 506 00:36:02,720 --> 00:36:12,200 What, you did all that to make sure that not even a stone would 507 00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:17,160 be left representing Bill? But when it came to those two 508 00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:21,880 golden calves that Jeroboam erected in Dannon and Bethel, 509 00:36:23,240 --> 00:36:26,000 you left them. And not only did you leave them, 510 00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:30,720 you reinforced worship for them and toward them. 511 00:36:31,960 --> 00:36:34,480 How? How? 512 00:36:34,480 --> 00:36:39,840 I'll tell you how. This confirms what we were 513 00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:44,840 suspicious of all along. That though this man Jehu did 1 514 00:36:44,840 --> 00:36:50,240 honor God in destroying Baalism, there was mixed ambition. 515 00:36:52,080 --> 00:36:56,600 This man also wanted to arrive to the throne of Israel and 516 00:36:56,600 --> 00:36:59,120 secure his position as long as possible. 517 00:36:59,960 --> 00:37:01,440 So here's how we make sense of this. 518 00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:07,200 He got rid of Baal, but then he remembered now being the king of 519 00:37:07,200 --> 00:37:11,400 Israel and with the selfish goal of being the king of Israel, 520 00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:16,320 staying the king of Israel. He recalled what Jeroboam did 521 00:37:16,680 --> 00:37:20,160 when he was fearful that the people would go down to the 522 00:37:20,160 --> 00:37:22,120 Kingdom of Judah and worship at Jerusalem. 523 00:37:24,760 --> 00:37:27,680 Here's how he's thinking. I have to do what Jeroboam did. 524 00:37:28,720 --> 00:37:31,480 In the same way Jeroboam kept the people by making them 525 00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:35,640 worship idols and making worship convenient, I will do the same. 526 00:37:37,240 --> 00:37:40,400 So if he was truly honorable to the Lord, he would have totally 527 00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:43,560 respected God's wishes that three times a year the people 528 00:37:43,560 --> 00:37:45,480 were to go down and worship at Jerusalem. 529 00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:47,840 But no, no, no, that was too dangerous, that was too risky. 530 00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:51,080 He might lose popularity, he might lose people. 531 00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:53,960 The king of Judah might take them from him. 532 00:37:54,120 --> 00:37:56,760 So what does he do? Let's resurrect. 533 00:37:57,120 --> 00:38:00,960 Let's reinforce the worship that Jeroboam established in this 534 00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:04,480 land. It's a dangerous thing when you 535 00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:09,560 idolize power, when you idolize popularity, when you idolize 536 00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:11,920 your position. And that's exactly what this man 537 00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:16,440 does. And we read something strange in 538 00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:19,280 verse 30. And the Lord said to Jehu, 539 00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:22,200 because you have done well in carrying out what is right in my 540 00:38:22,200 --> 00:38:25,520 eyes and have done to the House of Ahab, according to all that 541 00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:29,960 was in my heart, your sons of the 4th generation shall sit on 542 00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:36,600 the throne of Israel, full stop. So the Lord, hold on, hold on. 543 00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:40,920 We just learned that this man was not completely devoted. 544 00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:47,600 And then we get God's not condemnation commendation since 545 00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:48,960 you've done what was in my heart. 546 00:38:49,720 --> 00:38:52,840 And so I'm going to reward you to the 4th generation, which is 547 00:38:52,840 --> 00:38:56,880 quite impressive when you compare the succession of kings 548 00:38:57,040 --> 00:39:00,520 in Israel for four generations. Your seat is going to rule on 549 00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:04,240 this throne. But where's the criticism of the 550 00:39:04,240 --> 00:39:08,040 motive of his heart? Where's the denunciation of his 551 00:39:08,040 --> 00:39:14,160 worship of Jeroboam's calves? Though God doesn't explicitly 552 00:39:14,160 --> 00:39:17,440 say it, He is not pleased with it. 553 00:39:18,760 --> 00:39:21,560 How do we know that in the last verses of this chapter? 554 00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:26,920 Notice what happens verse 31. But Jehu was not careful to walk 555 00:39:26,920 --> 00:39:29,640 in the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. 556 00:39:30,080 --> 00:39:33,120 He did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam, which He made Israel, 557 00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:35,720 to sin. Here it is verse 32. 558 00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:42,440 In those days the Lord began to cut off parts of Israel. 559 00:39:43,120 --> 00:39:46,560 Pause. What was Jehu's desire in 560 00:39:46,560 --> 00:39:49,040 compromising this way? I want to keep. 561 00:39:49,160 --> 00:39:52,040 These tribes to myself, I want to keep the population as near 562 00:39:52,040 --> 00:39:55,040 to me, as close to me as possible. 563 00:39:55,040 --> 00:39:57,560 They're mine. I want their praise. 564 00:39:57,560 --> 00:40:00,400 I want their allegiance, even at the expense of them truly 565 00:40:00,400 --> 00:40:02,160 honoring the Lord. Even if I have to promote 566 00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:05,360 idolatry, so be it. So you want the people, huh? 567 00:40:05,640 --> 00:40:07,920 Here's how God disciplines them. I'm going to cut off some tribes 568 00:40:07,920 --> 00:40:10,560 from your people. Here's how I'm going to humble 569 00:40:10,560 --> 00:40:13,000 you. You betrayed me for these 570 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:15,120 people, so I'm going to take some of these people away from 571 00:40:15,120 --> 00:40:17,400 you. How does he do it? 572 00:40:18,880 --> 00:40:21,000 The second part of verse 32, Hazel. 573 00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:23,520 You remember Hazel? You didn't forget about him, 574 00:40:23,520 --> 00:40:25,400 right? The king of Syria, Hazael 575 00:40:25,400 --> 00:40:29,400 defeated them throughout the territory of Israel and 576 00:40:29,400 --> 00:40:32,720 specifically we were told where verse 33 from the Jordan 577 00:40:32,720 --> 00:40:37,440 eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gaudites and the 578 00:40:37,440 --> 00:40:41,720 Rubenites and the Menacites from error, which is by the valley of 579 00:40:41,720 --> 00:40:44,040 Arnon, that is Gilead and Bashan. 580 00:40:47,600 --> 00:40:52,320 So remember when Elijah was told by God back in First Kings 19, I 581 00:40:52,320 --> 00:40:55,760 need you to anoint three people, Hazel to be the king of Syria, 582 00:40:55,760 --> 00:40:59,520 Jehu to be the king of Israel, and Elisha to be your successor. 583 00:41:00,240 --> 00:41:04,080 Those three were raised up to ultimately be means of 584 00:41:04,080 --> 00:41:10,360 discipline towards Israel. The King of Syria does so 585 00:41:10,520 --> 00:41:15,280 throughout Jairam's Lent reign. We see here that the king of 586 00:41:15,280 --> 00:41:18,800 Israel, Jehu, does so. But the moment that Jehu now 587 00:41:18,800 --> 00:41:23,120 turns and joins Israel in their idolatry, now he is personally 588 00:41:23,120 --> 00:41:24,440 going to be disciplined by the Lord. 589 00:41:25,280 --> 00:41:29,080 So now Syria is the means of discipline, the main means, and 590 00:41:29,080 --> 00:41:32,240 he does so by cutting off a particular group of the tribes. 591 00:41:32,560 --> 00:41:34,680 And this is very important to realize. 592 00:41:36,520 --> 00:41:39,840 Within the boundaries of the Promised land, you had tribes, 593 00:41:39,840 --> 00:41:42,600 but you also had certain amount of tribes that were just. 594 00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:45,320 Over the border, That's the Jordan River. 595 00:41:45,720 --> 00:41:48,520 Can anybody tell me the tribes that were just over the border? 596 00:41:48,520 --> 00:41:50,240 If you can, if you know, you can say it. 597 00:41:52,880 --> 00:41:55,320 Half tribe of Manasseh, not the full tribe. 598 00:41:55,680 --> 00:42:01,520 Half tribe of Manasseh and the two other ones, Ruben and Gad. 2 599 00:42:01,520 --> 00:42:05,240 1/2 tribes remained beyond the Jordan. 600 00:42:05,240 --> 00:42:07,880 They they did not want to enter in. 601 00:42:08,120 --> 00:42:10,280 Now I'm curious to know, was anybody here? 602 00:42:10,280 --> 00:42:14,000 Not here, but Friday night Bible study here back when we studied 603 00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:17,960 the Book of Numbers. Three people? 604 00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:19,720 Really. Is that more? 605 00:42:19,720 --> 00:42:22,560 Yeah. Well, we studied the Book of 606 00:42:22,560 --> 00:42:25,080 Numbers together. And in the. 607 00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:29,440 Book of Numbers We learn why these 2 1/2 tribes stayed back 608 00:42:29,760 --> 00:42:31,680 instead of going into the promised land. 609 00:42:32,240 --> 00:42:34,280 And this is how we're going to end our Bible study. 610 00:42:34,640 --> 00:42:43,360 Go to Numbers 32. Here's my question as you're 611 00:42:43,360 --> 00:42:47,320 turning there. Was it God's original will that 612 00:42:47,320 --> 00:42:49,960 any of the tribes should establish themselves outside of 613 00:42:49,960 --> 00:42:52,360 the boundaries He determined? Good. 614 00:42:52,440 --> 00:42:55,080 It wasn't. So why did these 2 1/2 tribes 615 00:42:55,080 --> 00:42:57,920 choose to settle? There are a couple of obvious 616 00:42:57,920 --> 00:43:01,440 answers. Let me just show you 1 #32 verse 617 00:43:01,440 --> 00:43:03,360 one. Now, the people of Reuben and 618 00:43:03,360 --> 00:43:07,320 the people of God had a very great number of livestock and 619 00:43:07,320 --> 00:43:12,760 they saw the land of Jazzer and the land of Gilead and behold, 620 00:43:12,760 --> 00:43:15,760 the place was a place for livestock. 621 00:43:17,760 --> 00:43:19,320 Read the rest of the chapter on your own time. 622 00:43:19,320 --> 00:43:22,720 It's a fascinating discussion between these tribes and Moses. 623 00:43:23,080 --> 00:43:25,520 And they tell Moses, I'm summarizing Moses. 624 00:43:25,960 --> 00:43:29,280 Thanks for being faithful to us throughout these, you know, past 625 00:43:29,280 --> 00:43:33,760 40 years. But we'd like to stay here. 626 00:43:35,720 --> 00:43:38,640 And Moses is I can just imagine because just read it. 627 00:43:38,680 --> 00:43:41,480 He goes, we're right at the border. 628 00:43:41,920 --> 00:43:45,440 We're just here. Don't mess this up for us. 629 00:43:46,360 --> 00:43:49,480 The not the wandering in the wilderness these past four 630 00:43:49,480 --> 00:43:50,720 decades. Was that enough? 631 00:43:50,720 --> 00:43:53,120 For you, did you not see what happened to the first 632 00:43:53,120 --> 00:43:57,360 generation? And so they're going back and 633 00:43:57,360 --> 00:44:00,040 forth. And Moses even warned if if you 634 00:44:00,080 --> 00:44:03,600 actually pursue this kind of rebellion and distrust, God will 635 00:44:03,600 --> 00:44:06,000 wipe us out and he'll raise up another generation. 636 00:44:07,240 --> 00:44:08,800 And so they come to an agreement. 637 00:44:08,800 --> 00:44:11,720 And here's the agreement because Moses was worried that their 638 00:44:11,720 --> 00:44:14,600 decision to stay back would discourage the other tribes from 639 00:44:14,600 --> 00:44:16,400 going in and fighting for their possession. 640 00:44:17,560 --> 00:44:21,200 So here was the contract. KK, you can stay here if you 641 00:44:21,200 --> 00:44:23,720 want, but you have to come in and fight with us. 642 00:44:23,720 --> 00:44:25,240 And that's what we find in the book of Joshua. 643 00:44:27,120 --> 00:44:30,520 However, though we might read this and think that this is 644 00:44:30,520 --> 00:44:35,720 strategic, that this is practical, in reality it's a 645 00:44:35,720 --> 00:44:40,040 manifestation of unbelief. On the part of these 2 1/2 646 00:44:40,040 --> 00:44:42,520 tribes now you read here initially it's Reuben and Gad, 647 00:44:42,520 --> 00:44:44,320 right? You're saying where's Manasa? 648 00:44:44,440 --> 00:44:48,200 Manasa shows up later and here's what I believe that after Reuben 649 00:44:48,200 --> 00:44:49,920 and Gad introduced this idea, they. 650 00:44:49,920 --> 00:44:51,720 Influence half of the tribe of Manasa. 651 00:44:53,000 --> 00:44:55,440 And that's why that tribe joins at least half of the tribe. 652 00:44:56,240 --> 00:44:58,280 But let's take this tool here. What's their reasoning based on 653 00:44:58,280 --> 00:44:59,680 verse one? They looked at their 654 00:44:59,680 --> 00:45:03,040 possessions, they looked at the land and they thought, this is 655 00:45:03,040 --> 00:45:07,280 perfect. Why get all cramped inside that 656 00:45:07,280 --> 00:45:11,600 place and be limited and split that up when we can have this 657 00:45:11,600 --> 00:45:13,240 and they can have more? This is perfect. 658 00:45:13,240 --> 00:45:19,480 This is wonderful. It's unbelief because. 659 00:45:20,240 --> 00:45:22,760 They didn't trust that what God had determined for them would be 660 00:45:22,760 --> 00:45:26,920 enough for them. And they were so consumed with 661 00:45:26,920 --> 00:45:30,560 their possessions, the fear of their future, their children's 662 00:45:30,560 --> 00:45:33,280 future, their their livestock, their agriculture, their 663 00:45:33,280 --> 00:45:38,240 businesses, that they totally dismissed God's glory #1. 664 00:45:38,760 --> 00:45:41,960 And God's perfect provision and will for your life and mine. 665 00:45:43,440 --> 00:45:48,400 Can I tell you how you can enter into very spiritual, spiritually 666 00:45:48,400 --> 00:45:51,360 danger territory? When you begin to be convinced 667 00:45:51,360 --> 00:45:56,840 that God's will is limited, when you begin to be convinced that 668 00:45:56,840 --> 00:46:02,160 living fully for the Lord limits your options, you're flirting 669 00:46:02,600 --> 00:46:05,480 with danger because that's what they're believing. 670 00:46:05,480 --> 00:46:09,880 Here we have more on this side than if we go forward. 671 00:46:11,320 --> 00:46:14,960 Who said that? Did God not know exactly what 672 00:46:14,960 --> 00:46:17,760 would be enough for you? He did. 673 00:46:18,560 --> 00:46:21,240 They didn't believe it. And So what do they do? 674 00:46:21,920 --> 00:46:27,280 They lived on the fringe of God's will, these 2 1/2 tribes. 675 00:46:28,160 --> 00:46:30,520 They wanted to be close enough where they're associated with 676 00:46:30,520 --> 00:46:33,800 the people of God, but far enough where they can have what 677 00:46:33,800 --> 00:46:39,560 they desired in the flesh. So they settled where some many 678 00:46:39,960 --> 00:46:44,480 Christians settle on the outskirts of God's purposes and 679 00:46:44,480 --> 00:46:47,640 plans for their lives. You read the end of Joshua and 680 00:46:47,640 --> 00:46:49,680 you already begin to see the trouble of this because it seems 681 00:46:49,680 --> 00:46:52,840 like, OK, it worked out. And this is one of the beauties 682 00:46:52,840 --> 00:46:55,280 of reading through the the word of God because you come to 683 00:46:55,280 --> 00:46:57,760 numbers and you think, all right, it seemed to have worked. 684 00:46:57,760 --> 00:46:59,520 Then you continue on. There's no issues. 685 00:46:59,720 --> 00:47:02,200 And it's not until you come to books like Second Kings. 686 00:47:02,320 --> 00:47:04,720 Where you begin to. See the consequences of that 687 00:47:04,720 --> 00:47:07,840 ancient choice. What do I mean by that? 688 00:47:08,640 --> 00:47:10,880 All seems to be well, the end of Joshua. 689 00:47:10,880 --> 00:47:13,160 There was a little bit of a confusion because they 690 00:47:13,160 --> 00:47:17,280 understood that since we're not in the Promised land, these 691 00:47:17,280 --> 00:47:20,360 tribes within the land of Canaan might think that we're not a 692 00:47:20,360 --> 00:47:24,280 part of their family. And so they set up an altar and 693 00:47:24,280 --> 00:47:28,000 it was a memorial right at the border so that the tribes within 694 00:47:28,000 --> 00:47:30,640 would remember. These two of tribes outside are 695 00:47:30,640 --> 00:47:33,160 a part of us. And what was the confusion 696 00:47:33,160 --> 00:47:35,200 there? That the tribes within thought 697 00:47:35,200 --> 00:47:37,440 that they were raising up an altar to worship when there was 698 00:47:37,440 --> 00:47:39,320 supposed to be one place of worship which would be 699 00:47:39,320 --> 00:47:40,760 established in Jerusalem later on. 700 00:47:41,600 --> 00:47:43,320 So already there's problems in the beginning. 701 00:47:43,600 --> 00:47:45,560 Things get quiet. You think, OK, seems like maybe 702 00:47:45,560 --> 00:47:48,240 that was the right choice. Everybody has more space. 703 00:47:48,440 --> 00:47:51,240 They're happy. Israelites within are happy. 704 00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:54,680 But if you read your Bible carefully, what you'll realize 705 00:47:55,640 --> 00:47:59,000 is that oftentimes the first ones to be harassed by 706 00:47:59,000 --> 00:48:02,800 neighboring nations. Were the very tribes that chose 707 00:48:02,800 --> 00:48:09,080 to be outside of the promised land Go back to 2nd Kingston. 708 00:48:10,760 --> 00:48:16,000 Look at verse 33. Who did Hazael first come to 709 00:48:19,560 --> 00:48:24,040 from the Jordan eastward? All the land of Gilead, the 710 00:48:24,040 --> 00:48:31,040 Gaddites and the Reubenites and the Menasites, the very tribes 711 00:48:31,040 --> 00:48:33,360 that thought it would be better for them to stay outside of 712 00:48:33,360 --> 00:48:40,440 God's promise, were the first ones to taste punishment, were 713 00:48:40,440 --> 00:48:43,040 the first ones to be harassed by the enemy. 714 00:48:45,160 --> 00:48:48,080 And if you think this is an isolated case, look at Second 715 00:48:48,280 --> 00:48:53,720 Kings 15 verse 29. This is when not Syria, but US 716 00:48:53,720 --> 00:48:57,960 Syria comes into the land of Israel and captures some of the 717 00:48:57,960 --> 00:49:02,960 people. Second Kings, 1529 in the days 718 00:49:02,960 --> 00:49:07,120 of Pika, king of Israel. Tiglath pilot Sir King of 719 00:49:07,120 --> 00:49:13,360 Assyria came and captured Skip. Name #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 What's that 720 00:49:13,360 --> 00:49:18,560 name there with the letter G? Gilead and Galilee, all the land 721 00:49:18,560 --> 00:49:21,240 of NAFTA, and he carry the people captive to Assyria. 722 00:49:24,880 --> 00:49:29,200 There's nothing more prosperous, nothing more protective than to 723 00:49:29,200 --> 00:49:34,720 be in God's complete will. And no matter what kind of 724 00:49:34,720 --> 00:49:37,920 advantages you think you'll gain by remaining on the outskirts, 725 00:49:39,000 --> 00:49:40,920 know this. It's always at the cost of being 726 00:49:40,920 --> 00:49:47,600 more exposed to trouble, removing yourself from God's 727 00:49:47,760 --> 00:49:51,680 perfect perfection, protection, provision. 728 00:49:54,560 --> 00:49:56,560 I think there's a wonderful way to kind of tie everything 729 00:49:56,560 --> 00:49:58,800 together. In the study of Second Kings 10, 730 00:49:59,480 --> 00:50:03,400 you have this example of Jehu who was not wholehearted to the 731 00:50:03,400 --> 00:50:07,200 Lord and reminded of these 2 1/2 tribes who also were not 732 00:50:07,200 --> 00:50:09,440 completely invested in the will of God. 733 00:50:11,360 --> 00:50:13,800 Both were robbed of God's complete reward. 734 00:50:14,280 --> 00:50:17,520 It makes me wonder how much more Jehu would have been blessed 735 00:50:17,520 --> 00:50:20,760 with if he had done it God's way completely. 736 00:50:21,640 --> 00:50:26,240 Some reward, not a total reward. Yeah, these. 737 00:50:26,240 --> 00:50:30,960 Tribes were able to enjoy some openness and good soil. 738 00:50:32,000 --> 00:50:34,680 But it came at a great price. Here's how we end this study. 739 00:50:36,520 --> 00:50:41,080 Don't settle. Don't settle for partial 740 00:50:41,080 --> 00:50:46,640 obedience. Don't justify 1 area where you 741 00:50:46,640 --> 00:50:48,520 know you're honoring the law about other areas where you know 742 00:50:48,520 --> 00:50:54,360 that you're not trusting him. Don't settle living close enough 743 00:50:54,360 --> 00:50:58,400 where your conscience is a little bit more calm, but you 744 00:50:58,400 --> 00:51:00,560 know that you're not supposed to be where you are. 745 00:51:02,560 --> 00:51:05,480 God will help us if we're willing to say, Lord, take 746 00:51:05,480 --> 00:51:08,280 everything. He is so faithful and kind to 747 00:51:08,280 --> 00:51:10,160 lead us. The moment we acknowledge we 748 00:51:10,160 --> 00:51:12,080 need to be LED. Can we pray and ask for that 749 00:51:12,080 --> 00:51:29,460 together? Father, from the bottom of my 750 00:51:29,460 --> 00:51:35,380 heart, I give you maximum glory. That every Friday night we come 751 00:51:35,380 --> 00:51:40,980 together to hear challenging verses in your book. 752 00:51:43,920 --> 00:51:46,360 That every week we are confronted with truths about 753 00:51:46,360 --> 00:51:49,560 sin, sin, sin, sin. We are constantly reminded 754 00:51:49,560 --> 00:51:51,240 because your Word wants to remind us. 755 00:51:52,600 --> 00:51:57,120 But Lord, in these discussions of the deception of sin, the 756 00:51:57,120 --> 00:52:01,560 severity of sin, Lord, we ask that we would never lose the 757 00:52:01,560 --> 00:52:03,600 fragrance and the sweetness of the Savior. 758 00:52:05,360 --> 00:52:08,600 That you are right there ready to redeem us, forgive us, wash 759 00:52:08,600 --> 00:52:11,720 us, restore us. And that's what we're asking for 760 00:52:11,720 --> 00:52:18,560 now, Lord, if, if any person here has chosen to live 761 00:52:18,880 --> 00:52:24,800 spiritually where they're not supposed to be, may they loosen 762 00:52:25,040 --> 00:52:28,160 the ropes of their tents and make their way into the fullness 763 00:52:28,160 --> 00:52:32,120 of your will. Lord, if if as we close with J 764 00:52:32,120 --> 00:52:39,000 who any of our hearts are not totally there with you and for 765 00:52:39,000 --> 00:52:41,840 you, if, if there are areas in your word where we ignore 766 00:52:41,840 --> 00:52:47,160 deliberately, where we deny but justify with other areas that we 767 00:52:47,160 --> 00:52:52,280 are praising and preaching, Lord, submerge us completely and 768 00:52:52,280 --> 00:52:55,760 all that you have for us every single aspect of Your truth. 769 00:52:57,040 --> 00:53:01,920 And so, Lord, we even consider that, like Jehu, send out a 770 00:53:01,920 --> 00:53:07,680 final call for those who are of you to be removed from the place 771 00:53:08,240 --> 00:53:11,840 and the people and the pursuits that they should not be 772 00:53:11,840 --> 00:53:14,720 indulging in. May this Bible study serve as 773 00:53:14,720 --> 00:53:19,560 that same warning and loving admonition that we would escape 774 00:53:20,400 --> 00:53:23,960 and rejoice in your grace, that You love us enough to speak into 775 00:53:23,960 --> 00:53:26,160 our lives even while we're in sin. 776 00:53:26,880 --> 00:53:29,440 Lord, we honor you this evening and we want to praise you for 777 00:53:29,440 --> 00:53:31,560 your word. Again, thank you for this Bible 778 00:53:31,560 --> 00:53:33,520 study. Thank you for these precious 779 00:53:33,520 --> 00:53:35,600 people. We give you all the honor and 780 00:53:35,600 --> 00:53:37,640 all the glory and all the thanks. 781 00:53:37,800 --> 00:53:40,080 In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 782 00:53:40,400 --> 00:53:42,160 Amen. Let's stand and let's worship 783 00:53:42,160 --> 00:53:45,920 Him, glorify him, and give him the sacrifice of praise. 784 00:54:02,120 --> 00:54:08,600 So I have a pastor friend who was led by the Lord to take that 785 00:54:09,960 --> 00:54:13,680 that principle of some who put away their idols and others who 786 00:54:13,800 --> 00:54:17,240 should be destroying it. And he was a brand new believer 787 00:54:17,320 --> 00:54:20,640 and he was in his room worshiping the Lord, spending 788 00:54:20,640 --> 00:54:22,480 time in his word. And the Lord impressed on his 789 00:54:22,480 --> 00:54:27,240 heart, you have stuff that you put away, but that you didn't 790 00:54:27,240 --> 00:54:29,160 destroy. And he was preaching that out of 791 00:54:29,160 --> 00:54:31,200 the text that we were studying, but just the principle, because 792 00:54:31,200 --> 00:54:33,200 you can find that at different places of God's word. 793 00:54:33,920 --> 00:54:37,280 And sure enough, he, he knew exactly what the Holy Spirit was 794 00:54:37,280 --> 00:54:39,440 convicted me of. And he opened his closet door 795 00:54:39,440 --> 00:54:43,280 and there was a box there filled with paraphernalia and, and 796 00:54:43,280 --> 00:54:47,200 items and even ungodly music and all these different things. 797 00:54:47,200 --> 00:54:51,560 And he, he without hesitation took it and he destroyed it and 798 00:54:51,560 --> 00:54:53,680 he threw it all out. Then he never looked back. 799 00:54:53,680 --> 00:54:57,480 And it could be that there's some people here tonight who 800 00:54:57,480 --> 00:55:01,480 need to do something similar. And it might not be physical 801 00:55:01,480 --> 00:55:06,280 objects, it might be digital. It might be phone numbers. 802 00:55:07,960 --> 00:55:11,080 The Lord will convict you if you're looking to know exactly 803 00:55:11,080 --> 00:55:15,720 what He's asking of you. And perhaps it's true of some 804 00:55:15,720 --> 00:55:21,120 here who you're not experiencing the fullness of joy in Christ 805 00:55:21,480 --> 00:55:24,160 for this main reason. You're not fully given over to 806 00:55:24,160 --> 00:55:27,880 Christ. You've planted your tent beyond 807 00:55:27,880 --> 00:55:30,200 the Jordan. You're not within the promised 808 00:55:30,200 --> 00:55:32,560 land. So maybe tonight for you, it's 809 00:55:32,960 --> 00:55:35,680 not particular things as a believer, it's you becoming a 810 00:55:35,680 --> 00:55:39,040 true believer. It's you saying, I'm giving my 811 00:55:39,040 --> 00:55:42,760 complete heart over to you. I'm not reserving anything. 812 00:55:43,280 --> 00:55:46,840 And that's where that's where you unlock all the blessings 813 00:55:46,840 --> 00:55:50,120 that are in Christ. He will fully give the moment 814 00:55:50,120 --> 00:55:52,960 you fully surrender. He's waiting for you. 815 00:55:53,800 --> 00:55:58,440 He's waiting for you. Lord, we thank you again that 816 00:55:58,440 --> 00:56:02,760 you can speak so loud and clear on a Friday night through a 817 00:56:02,760 --> 00:56:06,240 Bible study because it's Your Word and it's a supreme 818 00:56:06,240 --> 00:56:10,200 authority over our lives, and it is the supreme joy of our lives. 819 00:56:10,960 --> 00:56:14,280 Lord, go before us as we make our way home, even in these 820 00:56:14,280 --> 00:56:17,840 small moments of fellowship. May that just be added blessing 821 00:56:18,280 --> 00:56:21,000 to our own hearts. We give you all the glory. 822 00:56:21,000 --> 00:56:24,760 Bring us back together again. If it is your will, in Jesus 823 00:56:24,760 --> 00:56:28,960 name we pray, Amen and Amen. May the Lord be with you, bless 824 00:56:28,960 --> 00:56:32,200 you, empower you, reveal himself to you and we'll see you next 825 00:56:32,200 --> 00:56:33,960 week, God willing. Take Care now. 826 00:56:34,120 --> 00:56:34,560 Bye bye.