1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:02,960 Well, if you have a copy of God's Word in your hand, meet me 2 00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:06,640 in Second Kings chapter 6. As we come to the final part of 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:12,880 our study of this chapter, we'll begin together in verse 24. 4 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:18,720 You know, I was originally planning to end this Bible study 5 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:20,560 a little differently than we usually do. 6 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:27,800 We tend to look at the chapter structure of our Bibles, and we 7 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:31,760 honour that framework with how much content we cover in a 8 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:34,400 single night. But this time around, looking at 9 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:40,000 this particular chapter, I was intending to conclude with the 10 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:44,280 1st 2 verses of Chapter 7. And you might be wondering why 11 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:46,920 that is. And I'll tell you honestly, it's 12 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:53,080 because this episode of Elijah's ministry ends a little awkwardly 13 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:58,040 as it ends in chapter 6. If you've read this story 14 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:00,800 before, then you will recall that near the end of this 15 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:03,360 chapter, Elijah is having a conversation with someone and 16 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:08,800 for whatever reason, it is divided with a new chapter 17 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:12,440 title. And we are free to criticize 18 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:16,360 this because as much as verse numbers and chapters have been 19 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:19,560 helpful to the church throughout the centuries, those are not 20 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:21,520 included in the original scriptures. 21 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:27,280 They were added much later on, so here's a brief history 22 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:32,120 overview when it comes to the edition of chapters in the 23 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:35,560 Bible. Stephen Langton, who was one of 24 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:40,400 the archbishops of Canterbury, was the one behind that task in 25 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:44,840 around 1227 AD. And when it came to the 26 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:49,720 Wickliffe Bible translation that was developed in 1382, that was 27 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:54,320 the first Bible that adopted Langton's chapter divisions. 28 00:01:54,560 --> 00:02:00,080 And since then, the Bibles that we have today honor that chapter 29 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:03,480 structure. Now when it comes to the verses 30 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:08,360 in our Bibles, the person behind the verses found in the Hebrew 31 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,920 Scriptures, the Old Testament, was a Jewish rabbi by the name 32 00:02:11,920 --> 00:02:14,360 of Nathan. And this is something that he 33 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:19,840 undertook in 1448 AD and in some time past. 34 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:25,800 And the New Testament was visited by a man who is named 35 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:30,960 Robert Estien, a Frenchman, and he looked at Nathan's work in 36 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:32,880 the Old Testament. He adopted the model and he 37 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:34,520 implemented it in the New Testament. 38 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:39,200 And he added those verses. And those divisions became the 39 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:42,160 pattern for English translations, beginning with, 40 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:46,200 Does anybody know which Bible was the first English Bible that 41 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:52,320 took on both chapter and verses? The Geneva Bible? 42 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:55,640 The Geneva Bible was the first Bible to take that on, and 43 00:02:56,720 --> 00:02:59,400 nearly all Bible translations have adopted it ever since. 44 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:03,280 So that's a brief overview of why it is that you have certain 45 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:06,640 number numbers in your Bibles and why certain chapters are 46 00:03:06,640 --> 00:03:10,760 included in different places. Helpful overall, yes. 47 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:14,000 Can it be of disservice? It could be if you do not 48 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,880 develop the discipline to not allow the thought be cut off 49 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:21,480 with those chapter breaks. Many people miss the meaning of 50 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,840 certain verses because they don't honor the context and they 51 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:28,120 haven't developed the ability to see past what we see here, for 52 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:32,200 example, in chapter 6. And so here's what we're going 53 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:33,800 to do. Originally, again, I was going 54 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:36,480 to end with the 1st 2 verses of Chapter 7 because that's where 55 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:39,480 the conversation ends. But we're going to conclude at 56 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:43,720 the end of chapter 6, just so that we can keep the the 57 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:47,680 structure of our studies nice and organized for later 58 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:51,920 reference, and we will begin Chapter 7 next week, Lord 59 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:54,560 willing. Are you there in Second King 6, 60 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:56,560 verse 24? Let's read the first 2 verses 61 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:59,280 together. Afterward. 62 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:03,840 Ben Haddad, king of Syria, mustered his entire army and 63 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:07,800 went up and besieged Samaria. And there was a great famine in 64 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:12,000 Samaria as they besieged it, until a donkey's head was sold 65 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:16,240 for 80 shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a cob of 66 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:21,320 Doves dung for five shekels of silver. 67 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:26,440 Now, some are quick to criticize this passage because there seems 68 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:30,960 to be an apparent contradiction. And the argument is, how do you 69 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:35,160 make sense of verse 24 in light of verse 23, the verse that we 70 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:37,840 ended on last week? So let's look at verse 23 71 00:04:37,840 --> 00:04:40,600 together. And so he prepared for them a 72 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:43,840 great feast, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them 73 00:04:43,840 --> 00:04:46,280 away, and they went to their master. 74 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:51,600 And the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of 75 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:54,840 Israel. So after the Syrian Army 76 00:04:54,840 --> 00:04:57,760 experienced the magnificent grace of God through the 77 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:03,920 kindness of Elijah primarily, there was a silent vow that they 78 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:06,280 would never make raids on Israel again. 79 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:09,760 And then in the very next statement we rewrite that 80 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:12,600 Benedict, king of Syria, mustered his entire army. 81 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:16,560 Now he's coming with full force and he sets up a siege against 82 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:18,560 Israel. Contradiction, you know the 83 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:21,280 answer. No, it's not a contradiction. 84 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:26,960 This is a revelation, a revelation of the extent of the 85 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:29,800 human heart in terms of how it can become hardened. 86 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:35,040 So there was a temporary reprieve. 87 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:37,880 There was a willingness for the Syrian Army, the enemies of 88 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:42,120 Israel, to pull back and not return with any vengeance or 89 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:44,200 attempt to try to overthrow them. 90 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:48,920 But it was short lived. And Benedad this time, now would 91 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:52,720 come with greater force. And what's the answer for this? 92 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:56,280 It's very simple. There was in his heart a hatred 93 00:05:56,680 --> 00:06:01,120 that was deeply rooted. And this hatred was so real. 94 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:05,680 It was so powerful that regardless of the mercies that 95 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:09,040 he experienced, regardless of the fact that his top general 96 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:12,840 was healed by the God of Israel and that his entire army was 97 00:06:12,840 --> 00:06:16,000 spared from slaughter because of the God of Israel through the 98 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:20,280 man of God, Elijah, nothing impacted this man. 99 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:24,960 He was determined to destroy the people of God. 100 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:30,840 And this understanding is is helpful for us because it serves 101 00:06:30,840 --> 00:06:34,320 as a wonderful illustration of many, many, many, many warnings 102 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,120 in the Bible. One of the comes to mind is 103 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:41,600 Proverbs 29, one where we are told there that he who is often 104 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:47,240 reproved yet stiffens his neck will suddenly be destroyed 105 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:52,280 beyond healing. That's one of the most profound 106 00:06:52,280 --> 00:06:57,760 insights into the destinies of those who are often rebuked but 107 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:00,920 refuse to humbly respond to those rebukes and humility and 108 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:03,440 repentance. You know what that verse says? 109 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:08,240 It says this, that for those who receive plenty of warnings, 110 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:12,280 there will be a time that will come where intervention will 111 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:17,320 arrive without warning, will suddenly be broken, will 112 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:22,760 suddenly be destroyed without, without any opportunity to 113 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:24,560 change, without any opportunity to turn. 114 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:29,560 And that's why every opportunity you do receive upon conviction 115 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:32,640 should be registered as your last. 116 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:36,120 God may give more, but you should never, ever assume that a 117 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:38,480 day is coming where you have another opportunity to do so. 118 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:42,280 And so this is a very sobering illustration here before us. 119 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:45,160 This man has experienced so much of the mercy of God. 120 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:47,960 That's how we open up our study last week, if you remember. 121 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:53,920 And he is a clear illustration of what Proverbs 29 one tells 122 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:55,840 us, because this is not the last that we're going to read of 123 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:58,720 Benedad in Second Kings. He's going to appear again, and 124 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:01,760 when he appears again, it's going to be tragic. 125 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:04,400 He's not going to be met with God's mercy. 126 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:06,480 He's going to be met with something else. 127 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:09,280 But just remember that. But for now, let's consider 128 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:11,400 this. Benedad is not the only one who 129 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:14,480 was very stubborn in responding appropriately to the 130 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:19,880 incomparable grace of God. Let's read on here in verse 25 131 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:22,880 we discover and there was a great famine in Samaria and they 132 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:26,520 besieged it until a donkey's head was sold for 80 shekels of 133 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:30,520 silver and the fourth part of a cob of Dobbs dung for five 134 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:34,120 shekels of silver. So there are two things that are 135 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:36,720 taking place here in Samaria, the capital of Israel this time. 136 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:39,760 2 tragedies. 1 There was a famine, not just a famine, a 137 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:44,000 great famine. And the Syrian Army capitalized 138 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:48,240 on this tragedy by choosing to besiege, to siege the city of 139 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:49,320 Samaria. And I want to siege. 140 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:52,920 It was a military strategy in ancient times where an army 141 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:57,640 would surround a place, a region, a town, and they would 142 00:08:57,640 --> 00:09:00,440 wait there for weeks, sometimes even months. 143 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:04,320 And this would create frustration for those who are 144 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:06,840 under siege because nobody can go in and nobody can go out. 145 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:09,920 No business could be done, no trade could be performed. 146 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:13,160 And so as time went on, what would happen is that they would 147 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:19,200 be starved into surrender. But usually before there is 148 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:23,240 starvation, there is inflation. And that's what we read of here. 149 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:27,400 We get a glimpse of the horrific conditions and the drastic 150 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:31,840 prices of some of these products that are unthinkable to us in 151 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:35,480 terms of consumption. The first is a donkey's head. 152 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:38,640 What do you do with a donkey's head? 153 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:42,320 I don't know, 80 shekels of silver. 154 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:45,840 Now, there are many, many things to comment about this, but the 155 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:48,600 most significant observation is that a donkey, according to the 156 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:51,440 law, was an unclean animal. It was not to be used for 157 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:54,200 sacrifice, and it was definitely not to be used to be eaten. 158 00:09:54,680 --> 00:09:58,560 So we have this issue, but beyond that, it's tragic enough 159 00:09:58,560 --> 00:10:00,640 to read about it. But we discovered that there is 160 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:04,280 even the conception of the excrement of birds. 161 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:07,920 Now, some people are so repulsed by this that they tried to 162 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:10,520 change the meaning of it, like it's speaking about seeds or 163 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:14,440 speaking about certain flower. No, it is what it is. 164 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:19,280 You're talking about people who are willing to purchase, not 165 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:22,880 birds. What comes out of the bird in 166 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:26,640 order to survive. And if this isn't troubling 167 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:30,240 enough, we haven't read it yet, and we're going to pass over 168 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:32,680 these verses in a moment here. But just to get a full picture, 169 00:10:32,680 --> 00:10:38,960 look at verse 29 quickly. This is the common of a woman. 170 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:43,120 She's speaking to the king. And she says, so we boiled my 171 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:48,440 son and ate him. And on the next day, I said to 172 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:51,160 her, give your son that. We may eat him. 173 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:56,640 But she has hidden her son. This is not metaphorical in any 174 00:10:56,640 --> 00:11:01,920 sense. This is the record of a very 175 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:04,040 desperate time in Israel's history. 176 00:11:05,560 --> 00:11:07,600 And as you read this, you probably are thinking to 177 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:13,480 yourself, I understand that God allows trials, but this, this 178 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:19,440 severity, this kind of destitution, and I want to tell 179 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:22,520 you with absolute confidence that God is not arbitrarily 180 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:25,280 allowing this. Hear me very carefully. 181 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:28,920 Israel invited it. That's the difference. 182 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:32,640 And this is how we have to understand this passage in light 183 00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:35,480 of the rest of Scripture. You see, the Lord has warned His 184 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:39,560 people in His law before they even entered into the promised 185 00:11:39,560 --> 00:11:42,200 land of the blessings of obedience and the curses of 186 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:45,440 disobedience. And when you look carefully at 2 187 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:48,200 specific places in the Old Testament, you see this 188 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:51,920 catalogue of curses and judgments that will come upon 189 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:55,880 this particular people. And if you read it with a 190 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:58,360 careful eye, what you'll learn is that the longer the people 191 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:01,520 persisted in sin, the more drastic the consequences of 192 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:05,680 those sins would become. And I want to say that here 193 00:12:05,680 --> 00:12:07,520 because we're going to read a passage in a moment. 194 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:11,000 But I, I want to mention that lest you believe that this 195 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:15,160 eruption of cataclysm is something that came without any 196 00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:17,520 opportunity to repent or without any prior warning. 197 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:19,840 No, no, no, you have to understand that what's happening 198 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:23,360 here in light of the older passages, the warnings in the 199 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:28,560 law, are the final stages of God's discipline, both in 200 00:12:28,560 --> 00:12:31,320 Leviticus and in Deuteronomy. What you'll discover is what 201 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:34,760 will soon follow. This is exile, which is really 202 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:38,320 the pinnacle of punishment. So we're going to, we're going 203 00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:41,480 to read a set of verses that are going to be longer, but it's for 204 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:44,560 you to see the harmony of the Scripture and the goodness of 205 00:12:44,560 --> 00:12:46,440 God even in this. God already said this would 206 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:48,920 happen, and they refused to listen. 207 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:54,040 So turn with me to Deuteronomy 28, the renowned passage of the 208 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:57,000 curses of disobedience as well as the blessings of obedience, 209 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,600 and look there at verse 52 of Deuteronomy 28. 210 00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:07,240 I encourage you do not get distracted as we read these 211 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:08,920 verses. They are long, but they will be 212 00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:10,520 helpful in understanding this story. 213 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:13,560 Deuteronomy 2852. Let's read together. 214 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:17,480 They shall besiege you in all your towns until your high and 215 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:21,920 fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout all 216 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:24,360 your land. And they shall besiege you in 217 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:27,480 all your towns, throughout all your land, which the Lord your 218 00:13:27,480 --> 00:13:32,160 God has given you. And you shall eat the fruit of 219 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:36,200 your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the 220 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:39,680 Lord your God has given you in the siege, and in the distress 221 00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:41,600 with which your enemy shall distress you. 222 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:44,120 Now look at this language in verse 54. 223 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:48,360 The man who is the most tender and refined among you will 224 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:52,560 begrudge food to his brother, to the wife he embraces, and to the 225 00:13:52,560 --> 00:13:54,280 last of the children whom he has left. 226 00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:57,600 And so that he will not give any of them any of the flesh of his 227 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:01,160 children whom he is eating, because he has nothing else left 228 00:14:01,680 --> 00:14:03,440 in the siege. And in the distress with which 229 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:05,880 your enemy shall distress you in all your towns. 230 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:10,160 The most tender and refined woman among you, who would not 231 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:13,480 venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because she 232 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:17,840 is so delicate and tender, will begrudge to the husband she 233 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:22,240 embraces to her son and to her daughter her afterbirth that 234 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:25,400 comes out from between her feet. And her children, whom she 235 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:28,800 bears, because lacking everything, she will eat them 236 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:33,200 secretly in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy 237 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:34,880 shall distress you in your towns. 238 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:39,120 I I understand that it can be extremely difficult to see any 239 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:43,120 kind of insight or instruction for in such a gruesome passage, 240 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:47,480 but there is something here. There is indeed something in 241 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:49,640 every part of God's Word. I want you to notice how the 242 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:53,640 Lord does not say that it will be the most barbaric and 243 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:57,320 heartless citizens among your towns that will hunt for your 244 00:14:57,320 --> 00:14:59,640 children and eat them so that they can survive. 245 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:04,160 That's not how He describes it. Look again here in verse 54, the 246 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:07,000 man who is the most tender and refined among you. 247 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:11,560 And he's not speaking about random neighbors who have a good 248 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:14,680 reputation, who are sweet and respectable. 249 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:19,720 Beyond that, he's speaking about the parents of these children. 250 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:24,240 And if you're thinking, well, OK, surely this, this can be 251 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:27,280 true for a man, but the maternal part of a woman would not allow 252 00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:32,120 her to go to such extent. You read what in verse 56 that 253 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:35,600 the most tender and refined woman among you will do so as 254 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:38,480 well. This is horrific. 255 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:41,680 This is atrocious. This is unimaginable. 256 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:47,040 In fact, when you read not about this siege, but the siege that 257 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:50,200 Jerusalem will experience as they are surrounded by the 258 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:53,160 Babylonians. Jeremiah in the book of 259 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:57,560 Lamentations reflects on the scenes of that horror, and he 260 00:15:57,560 --> 00:15:58,840 mentions this. You don't have to turn there, 261 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:03,160 but listen to this. In Lamentations 4, verse 10, the 262 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:07,960 hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children. 263 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:12,840 They became their food during the destruction of the daughter 264 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:18,400 of my people. What do we make of this? 265 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:21,760 What kind of application can you draw from this? 266 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:26,640 I believe there's a clear one that when a culture abandons 267 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:32,760 God, when a culture rejects and denies the truth long enough, 268 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:35,080 the unthinkable becomes possible. 269 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:40,560 That's what you take from these passages because it seems so 270 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:45,320 outlandish, so exaggerated. And I'm here to tell you the 271 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:48,640 unthinkable becomes possible. And by the unthinkable I mean 272 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:52,840 the deadly rise of selfishness and self preservation, the 273 00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:56,600 abandonment of natural affection. 274 00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:58,920 Doesn't Paul warned Timothy about that in Second Timothy 275 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:02,200 Three, that in the latter days there will be the forsaking of 276 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:06,200 natural affection and beyond that, even the emergence of 277 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:11,440 inhumane behaviors, people acting like animals in their 278 00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:15,880 compulsions, in their desires and in their pursuits, even 279 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:17,880 though they were once considered civilized. 280 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:21,680 You know, when I was in Israel before COVID, one of the most 281 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:23,920 moving things. All the biblical sites were 282 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:28,119 wonderful, but we went to the Holocaust Museum as a group. 283 00:17:29,120 --> 00:17:31,720 And the way they even structure the Holocaust Museum is so that 284 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:35,920 when you go through it in that 2-3 hour journey, you feel as 285 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:39,400 though you are in one of those enclosed rooms that those Jews 286 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:43,520 suffered in. There are so many things to take 287 00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:48,440 in, videos and artifacts and Diaries, and it was just 288 00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:49,840 incredible. It was so moving. 289 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:55,480 But one thing that struck me and so many verses and stories came 290 00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:58,040 to mind from the scriptures is that when we came to the part 291 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:02,360 where we looked at some of the biographies of the Nazis, some 292 00:18:02,360 --> 00:18:05,280 of these soldiers who massacred people by the thousands with 293 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:07,880 their own hands. And you look closely and you 294 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:10,480 read their description and you realize they were scientists, 295 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:15,240 they were doctors, they attended orchestras. 296 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:20,240 They were some of them were brilliant, intelligent, and yet 297 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:22,080 they could write in their journal entries how they 298 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:27,480 slaughtered people like it was a grocery list that they satisfied 299 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:31,920 that week. When a culture abandons God, 300 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:36,360 denies the truth, suppresses it long enough, you can't reject 301 00:18:36,360 --> 00:18:39,080 God and just remain neutral. You invite darkness in, 302 00:18:40,360 --> 00:18:42,800 voluntary or involuntary, it will come. 303 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:45,640 You remove God, Satan will move in. 304 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:50,160 And here's what we have that through a series of warnings and 305 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:53,040 judgements, God is not saying that he's going to make them eat 306 00:18:53,040 --> 00:18:55,440 their children, saying this is what's going to happen as a 307 00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:59,920 consequence of your sin. And what do we have today in the 308 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:04,040 West with all our advancements, with all our discoveries, right? 309 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:09,920 And now, now even even us, we're becoming more and more 310 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:13,120 desensitized to the idea of people mutilating their own 311 00:19:13,120 --> 00:19:17,600 children, young girls cutting off their breasts, young boys 312 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:21,840 changing their genders, being being placed on tables in a 313 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:24,720 state where you can't as a parent interfere. 314 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:31,120 And they can be mortified, mutilated, changed. 315 00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:34,800 And here's the thing. I mean, we all obviously object 316 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:40,160 to that, but even us, because it's becoming the norm now, can 317 00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:44,520 overtime not feel the severity of such an ugly and hideous 318 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:47,360 thing. So this is not, this is not 319 00:19:47,360 --> 00:19:49,160 exaggerated. This is prophetic. 320 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:52,080 What was true then? It's true today. 321 00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:55,320 Now let's read on before I get too carried away. 322 00:19:55,920 --> 00:20:02,280 And verse 26 of Second Kings 6. Now as the king of Israel was 323 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:06,280 passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, Help, 324 00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:09,960 my Lord, O King. And he said, if the Lord will 325 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:11,800 not help you, how shall I help you? 326 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:14,840 From the threshing floor or from the wine press? 327 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:18,640 And the king asked her, what is your trouble? 328 00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:22,560 She answered, This woman said to me, Give your son that we may 329 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:26,400 eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. 330 00:20:27,360 --> 00:20:30,720 So we boiled my son and ate him. And on the next day, I said to 331 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:34,640 her, Give your son that. We may eat him, but she has 332 00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:38,480 hidden her son. Is this the only instance where 333 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:44,600 we find two women who approach a king and ask for his 334 00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:48,080 intervention in a situation regarding their sons? 335 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:53,280 Good, very good. Solomon, you remember those two 336 00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:55,680 women who approached him and they were fighting for that one 337 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:59,760 child because one of their children were murdered 338 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:03,560 involuntary. And they're asking for wisdom 339 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:06,160 and guidance in this matter. Who does a child belong to? 340 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:11,840 But oh, what a difference we have now here in our study in 341 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:13,440 First Kings. That's where we learn about 342 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:17,160 Solomon and his wisdom. Now we're in Second Kings, and 343 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:21,920 what a change has taken place. Now you have two women who are 344 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:27,240 not fighting for the life of a child, but are fighting to eat a 345 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:31,320 child. And back then you had a conduit, 346 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:34,280 a vessel that was able to channel in God's wisdom, 347 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:38,080 supernatural intervention to bring bring genuine solutions to 348 00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:43,000 a king who can't help in any way because he is so out of touch 349 00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:48,000 with God. See the beauty of considering 350 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:53,040 the the wider storyline. So you have these two women, one 351 00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:56,840 who is objecting and protesting, and the king here is listening 352 00:21:56,840 --> 00:22:02,720 to this and he says, what? Before he discovers this, he 353 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:05,960 says, if the Lord will not help you, how shall I help you? 354 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:08,600 Was it true that the Lord would not help them? 355 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:14,560 Was this a right assessment? People have reached the final 356 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:16,880 stage of God's judgement, which was exile. 357 00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:19,840 This was applicable. Deuteronomy 30 verse one. 358 00:22:20,120 --> 00:22:22,280 And when all these things come upon you, pause. 359 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:24,040 What all these things, the curses that he mentioned in the 360 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:27,160 previous chapters of Deuteronomy, all these things 361 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:29,960 come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I've set before 362 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:33,040 you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the 363 00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:36,120 Lord your God has driven you. And return to the Lord your God, 364 00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:38,840 you and your children, obey his voice and all that I command you 365 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:41,560 today with all your heart and with all your soul. 366 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:45,680 And the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have 367 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:50,560 mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples 368 00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:52,360 where the Lord your God has scattered you. 369 00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:55,080 Don't make the mistake of thinking that this restoration 370 00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:57,200 was only possible once they reached exile. 371 00:22:57,320 --> 00:23:01,840 It was possible at any point of those curses, whether they were 372 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:04,720 lighter in nature or whether they were as devastating as 373 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:11,200 exile. Moses encourages his people that 374 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:14,960 no matter where your sin takes you, restoration is possible, 375 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:16,480 right? And that's what he says in verse 376 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:18,120 3. Then the Lord your God will 377 00:23:18,120 --> 00:23:21,120 restore your fortunes and have mercy on you. 378 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:23,840 So what King Jeroen said was not true. 379 00:23:24,360 --> 00:23:29,640 He was speaking in ignorance. However, this is so important 380 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:32,480 and we're going to spend some time here as much as restoration 381 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:37,320 as possible. There are non negotiable steps 382 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:41,000 to reach that restoration and they are actually spelled out 383 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:42,520 here. I want to actually give you 3 384 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:44,240 steps. And what's so beautiful about 385 00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:47,280 this passage is that it's not exclusive to Israel. 386 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:50,680 It is available and it's applicable to anybody who veers 387 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:53,160 off the will of God, who veers away from the will of God. 388 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:55,360 So you're there in Deuteronomy 30, right? 389 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:57,880 Keep your hand there. Second King 6, we'll come back. 390 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:00,760 But I want to speak to you about three things that are now where 391 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:04,200 your sin is taking you. You must, you must trust in and 392 00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:06,040 walk in in order to know this restoration. 393 00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:08,560 The first thing, and they all begin with the letter R. 394 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:15,760 The first thing is to Remember, Remember, look here again at 395 00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:18,520 verse one. And when all these things come 396 00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:20,800 upon you, the blessings and the curse which I've set before you 397 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:25,160 and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord 398 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:30,040 your God has driven you. So no matter the despair, no 399 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:32,240 matter the darkness, though you're displaced. 400 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:36,880 They were held responsible in recollecting the message that 401 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:40,120 Moses gave to them at this time that would be forever inscribed 402 00:24:40,120 --> 00:24:42,920 in the Word of God. You, you have a responsibility 403 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:46,760 that no matter where you go, no matter how far you stray, that 404 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:50,560 you recall what Moses says here, what God's Word says here. 405 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:53,360 And this says something about the power of God's Word. 406 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:59,520 God's Word is not just powerful enough to keep you from sin, it 407 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:03,160 also has the ability to guide you back into the will of God if 408 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:05,640 you for whatever reason walk away from His word. 409 00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:09,560 And this is the immeasurable value of the word of God. 410 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:12,520 Listen, when it's instilled, yes, it can protect you. 411 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:15,120 Yes, it creates buffers. Yes, it makes it much more 412 00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:18,280 difficult to entertain things that God tells you to never 413 00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:21,920 entertain. That being said, it also when 414 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:25,480 it's when it's driven, somebody's heart can serve as a 415 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:29,240 light when they traverse into a terrain that they shouldn't be 416 00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:34,000 traversing it and to call them back because deep in the 417 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:36,840 corridor of their conscience they have, they have received 418 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:41,440 some kind of investment, some kind of deposit that will deal 419 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:44,320 with them. And this is my testimony 420 00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:47,360 personally, growing up in a Christian home when I lived full 421 00:25:47,360 --> 00:25:51,400 on in the world in my college years, when I've reached that 422 00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:54,560 breaking point, what was it? I mean, I didn't have to venture 423 00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:55,640 out to all these different options. 424 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:58,320 I didn't have to explore all these different faiths, all 425 00:25:58,320 --> 00:25:59,960 these different answers or spiritualism. 426 00:25:59,960 --> 00:26:02,680 I didn't have to do any of that because the word of God that I 427 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:06,440 heard, even sitting on those pews dozing off, distracted, the 428 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:09,400 Word of God that was showered over me in my home in those 429 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:13,880 youth meetings, in those little conferences, came alive and 430 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:19,400 spoke and called me home. And here I am today over a 431 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:21,880 decade later. So I think that's an 432 00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:24,120 encouragement, yes, to us personally, but even to those 433 00:26:24,120 --> 00:26:26,280 that we love and care about, like Moses cared about these 434 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:28,520 people. And here though he is channeling 435 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:32,000 God's wisdom and he's given God's instructions, believes as 436 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:34,000 he's speaking to these people. God's word is able to bring you 437 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,880 back, even if you don't trust it for a season, if you don't 438 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:41,440 submit to it for a time. So remember, remember, remember, 439 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:43,520 remember who God is. Remember what's available to 440 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:44,760 you. But the second thing is to 441 00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:46,320 return. You can't just think about it. 442 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:50,080 You got to make some moves. So what does he say here at 443 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:53,600 verse 2, the beginning of it and return to the Lord your God, you 444 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:57,520 and your children and obey his voice and all that I command you 445 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:00,320 today. You know what I love about this 446 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:04,880 part He didn't say and return to the commands of God and return 447 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:08,120 to the statutes of God. He says return to the Lord your 448 00:27:08,120 --> 00:27:12,800 God. Whenever someone compromises 449 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:14,800 their Christians convictions, their Christian convictions. 450 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:17,880 You can be sure of this, that it started with the neglect of the 451 00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:20,680 revelation and the practice of a personal relationship with them, 452 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:26,680 that intimacy is lost, that closest with the Lord is lost. 453 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:29,560 And when that is lost, temptation is much more 454 00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:32,400 persuasive. Sin is much more alluring. 455 00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:35,400 We talked about this last Sunday, how David said my soul 456 00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:38,960 seeks you, my soul is satisfied, My soul clings to you. 457 00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:45,080 When you stop clinging, sin has a greater grip on you. 458 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:50,120 And so here's what he's saying. You need to get back to the Lord 459 00:27:50,120 --> 00:27:54,560 your God, not merely to principles, not merely to Bible 460 00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:56,520 study, not merely under your elders. 461 00:27:56,600 --> 00:27:59,640 Get back to God himself. That's the difference. 462 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:03,880 Many people miss this because obedience, listen, must be 463 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:07,120 rooted in the revelation of pleasing a person. 464 00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:13,640 Not a set of rules, not maxims, not proverbs, a person. 465 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:17,560 And if your relationship to the truth is not grounded in a 466 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:20,920 revelation of a person, your obedience is going to not last 467 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:24,720 very long, not going to have that much motivation to stay 468 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:30,160 holy and serving with zeal and faithful. 469 00:28:31,360 --> 00:28:33,440 You know, many people quote John 1415. 470 00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:37,000 If you love me, you'll do what you will keep my commandments. 471 00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:41,520 I would say 95% of people when they hear this verse here in the 472 00:28:41,520 --> 00:28:43,680 following way. The way in which you measure 473 00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:46,280 your love for Christ is the way you obey Him. 474 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:48,200 And that's not necessarily wrong. 475 00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:51,000 I believe that to be true, but I believe there's another angle to 476 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:52,360 this verse. I believe there's another way of 477 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:57,160 interpreting it. You can't truly obey the 478 00:28:57,160 --> 00:28:59,640 commandments of God unless you first love the Lord Jesus 479 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:05,080 Christ. If you love me, you will keep my 480 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:06,560 commandments. Here's how most people say, all 481 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:08,880 right, I'm going to prove my love to Christ by obeying him. 482 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:11,320 OK, good. There's a better way. 483 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:15,600 Before you even start obeying the commandments, love Christ, 484 00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:26,960 his commandments obeyed will follow a heart that relishes in 485 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:31,600 him, that is moved by Him, and that's what we see here in even 486 00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:33,920 Deuteronomy. And return to the Lord your God, 487 00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:37,360 you and your children, and obey his voice and all that I command 488 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:41,840 you today. Returning to the Lord is 1st and 489 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:43,480 following that you will then obey him. 490 00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:50,520 Return, come broken before him, have heart to heart with him, 491 00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:57,160 repent to him, and then remain. That's what he says in the 492 00:29:57,160 --> 00:30:02,240 second part of verse 2 with all your heart and with all your 493 00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:07,000 soul. That is a vital clarification to 494 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:11,560 knowing true restoration and reconciliation with God because 495 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:17,920 it's it's possible that you would seek to return, but with 496 00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:23,400 premeditated compromise, it's possible to to return and not be 497 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:26,400 fully convinced of being consecrated to him. 498 00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:32,560 People do that. And what Moses is getting at, 499 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:37,600 lest we enter into the cycle of cheap grace, is that when you 500 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:40,600 remember and when you seek to return, you also have this 501 00:30:40,720 --> 00:30:45,080 absolute desire to be fully consecrated to the Lord and that 502 00:30:45,080 --> 00:30:48,200 you seek to stay close to him by his grace. 503 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:50,880 Not, not saying that it's not possible to veer off again. 504 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:53,600 It is possible, but in your heart of hearts you are 505 00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:55,680 determined. Lord, I know that I did this, 506 00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:58,160 but I want to stay with you. I want to honor you. 507 00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:00,120 I want to love you. I don't want to ever revisit 508 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:02,800 that again. That that is what is required to 509 00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:05,480 know true restoration with the presence of God. 510 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:09,040 Did you say, OK, I repent and because you feel a little 511 00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:10,760 convicted, and really that conviction is because you got 512 00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:13,480 caught, that that's not how it works. 513 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:16,880 He says you need a return with all your heart and with all your 514 00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:21,960 soul. You know what moves me about 515 00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:26,600 these verses in Deuteronomy, the way God refers to himself as 516 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:29,920 he's giving these instructions, If you know it, can you repeat? 517 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:32,280 How does God refer to himself? What kind of title, what, what 518 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:38,000 kind of statement does he make? That's right. 519 00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:42,800 He could use a myriad of different references, but he 520 00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:49,560 says 4 times in these 3 verses. The Lord your God, the Lord your 521 00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:51,120 God, the Lord your God, the Lord your God. 522 00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:52,360 You know what's even more fascinating? 523 00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:59,000 In the 1st 10 verses of Deuteronomy 30, 12 times the 524 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:01,040 Lord, your God, the Lord your God, the Lord your God, your 525 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:02,080 Lord, your God, the Lord your God. 526 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:04,520 Why is that moving? It's moving because of the 527 00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:07,480 context. He's referring to himself as 528 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:12,040 their God in light of their compromise, in light of enduring 529 00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:15,560 his discipline, his chastisement, in light of 530 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:20,320 experiencing these consequences that are they can't even enter 531 00:32:20,320 --> 00:32:22,960 into our imagination. I'm still your God. 532 00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:25,960 I'm still your God. Even in this state. 533 00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:29,800 I still belong to you. You still belong to me. 534 00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:34,240 And so intertwined in all of these commands they're hearing 535 00:32:34,240 --> 00:32:36,320 over and over again, I'm still committed to you. 536 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:39,240 This covenant still keeps us close. 537 00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:42,280 And that should, that should encourage us even more to know 538 00:32:42,280 --> 00:32:45,520 that he's still my God. I might have not honored him. 539 00:32:45,520 --> 00:32:47,320 I mean, I, I might have not treasure them the way he 540 00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:50,280 deserves, but he still says, I'm your God, I'm your God, I'm your 541 00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:52,800 God. So come to me, seek me, don't be 542 00:32:52,800 --> 00:32:55,960 intimidated, don't be fearful. I still am committed to you. 543 00:32:57,200 --> 00:32:59,680 So they would hear that a dozen times in the 1st 10 verses 544 00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:03,080 alone. And if they had done that here 545 00:33:03,080 --> 00:33:07,840 in Second Kings 6, I'm sure that God would have honored his word 546 00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:10,440 and restored their fortunes and been merciful to them. 547 00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:14,360 But instead there's unbelief, the king says of the Lord, I 548 00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:16,400 will not help you. He will help you. 549 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:21,360 But here's what we discover about the king. 550 00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:25,760 He didn't recall, remember, return and remain. 551 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:30,280 But something staggering appears in verse 32nd, King 6. 552 00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:34,560 Let's read it together. When the king heard the words of 553 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:41,280 the woman, he tore his clothes. I was passing by on the wall and 554 00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:46,480 the people looked and behold, he had sackcloth beneath on his 555 00:33:46,480 --> 00:33:50,040 body. And he said, May God do so to 556 00:33:50,040 --> 00:33:53,160 me. And more also if the head of 557 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:57,120 Elijah, the son of Shafat, remains on his shoulders today, 558 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:04,040 whenever the word behold appears in a verse, it is calling you to 559 00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:06,920 draw your attention more fully to the object that it is 560 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:09,520 pointing to. Look back at verse 30. 561 00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:12,120 Notice how the word behold appears and where it appears. 562 00:34:12,480 --> 00:34:14,480 So the king hears the words of the woman. 563 00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:16,800 He tore his clothes. So just imagine he's there on 564 00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:19,000 the wall, probably surveying the city. 565 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:23,159 He, he tears his clothes and the Holy Spirit tells us the people 566 00:34:23,159 --> 00:34:26,320 looked and behold, hey, hey, hey, pause. 567 00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:29,920 Now look at this. Behold, he had sackcloth beneath 568 00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:34,440 on his body. That's interesting. 569 00:34:35,199 --> 00:34:39,080 Sackcloth was generally material that was made-up of goat hair, 570 00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:43,960 dark, sometimes black goat hair woven together. 571 00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:47,760 And if it was worn long enough, it would irritate the skin. 572 00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:50,040 It would make you itchy. It was very uncomfortable. 573 00:34:50,040 --> 00:34:52,080 It was not a fashion statement by any means. 574 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:56,120 Why is the king wearing sackcloth? 575 00:34:56,520 --> 00:34:58,840 And we all know this very well, because sackcloth in the Old 576 00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:03,040 Testament especially, signifies an outward representation of an 577 00:35:03,040 --> 00:35:06,680 inward contrition and brokenness before God. 578 00:35:07,360 --> 00:35:10,160 So when people really wanted to demonstrate their repentance, 579 00:35:10,400 --> 00:35:12,800 they would sometimes wear sackcloth and sometimes even add 580 00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:16,600 ashes to demonstrate publicly. More importantly, before the 581 00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:21,480 Lord, I am broken. I realize the severity of my 582 00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:25,320 sin, of the situation, and I'm calling upon you and humility to 583 00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:27,840 intervene. And here's what's so 584 00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:31,840 fascinating. The King Jehovah was wearing 585 00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:35,280 sackcloth beneath his royal robes. 586 00:35:35,720 --> 00:35:41,160 People saw this. There are two lessons to draw 587 00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:43,480 from this, and they have to do with judging. 588 00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:47,080 The first lesson is about judging others. 589 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:50,440 Second lesson is about judging yourself. 590 00:35:52,560 --> 00:35:56,200 If you had just seen the king before this moment, you would 591 00:35:56,200 --> 00:35:58,000 have never discovered. You would have never known that 592 00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:02,240 he had sackcloth underneath. And this is something for us to 593 00:36:02,240 --> 00:36:05,360 consider in many cases. Things are not always as they 594 00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:10,280 appear right? And we have to be very careful 595 00:36:10,280 --> 00:36:16,120 making unfair judgments on people's character based on the 596 00:36:16,120 --> 00:36:21,400 limited evidence that you have. Like Jerome's hidden sackcloth. 597 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:24,840 Many people listen, carry deep burdens. 598 00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:31,040 They're carrying something that you're unaware of and that may 599 00:36:31,040 --> 00:36:35,920 always remain unknown to you. And on the surface, all may look 600 00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:40,280 well, but at the same time, be mindful that some are silently 601 00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:46,400 suffering. Yeah, silently dealing with 602 00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:49,440 struggles, heartbreak, secret wounds that are not easily 603 00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:53,000 recognizable. Be very slow to even look at 604 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:58,760 some people's behaviors or expressions or even patterns and 605 00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:01,600 make quick judgments, not realizing that there's something 606 00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:07,200 under you don't know. So be slow and be merciful. 607 00:37:07,600 --> 00:37:12,000 Be patient. A lesson about judging others, 608 00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:13,760 but also a lesson about judging ourselves. 609 00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:17,200 Because before we're quick to applaud and be inspired by Jeho 610 00:37:17,200 --> 00:37:21,720 Ram's repentance, here, wearing sackcloth God is not. 611 00:37:21,720 --> 00:37:24,680 After outward expressions, He's not. 612 00:37:25,280 --> 00:37:30,720 He's more concerned about heartfelt, genuine internal 613 00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:36,080 brokenness. And why I say that is because 614 00:37:36,280 --> 00:37:40,160 though he's wearing sackcloth, I'm not sure how genuine this 615 00:37:40,160 --> 00:37:44,040 man's repentance is saying why did you see what he said in 616 00:37:44,040 --> 00:37:48,880 verse 31? May God do so to me and more 617 00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:51,920 also of the head of Elijah, the son of Shaphat remains on his 618 00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:58,360 shoulders today. Are you inspired now what are 619 00:37:58,360 --> 00:38:02,160 you saying? Elijah is a dead man while 620 00:38:02,160 --> 00:38:05,000 wearing sackcloth and ashes. I leave sackcloth. 621 00:38:06,480 --> 00:38:11,400 So you're wearing the cross, but you're acting different, right? 622 00:38:11,680 --> 00:38:13,680 That you, you you play the part, It looks like. 623 00:38:13,680 --> 00:38:15,720 Yeah, you, you dress conservatively. 624 00:38:15,720 --> 00:38:20,240 But man, when you talk, this is the thing. 625 00:38:20,240 --> 00:38:24,040 This is this is hypocrisy. So he's wearing sourclaw, but he 626 00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:26,720 wants to kill the man of God. This is not the man of God's 627 00:38:26,720 --> 00:38:28,160 fault. If anything, what has Elisha 628 00:38:28,160 --> 00:38:30,160 done for the king over the years? 629 00:38:30,560 --> 00:38:34,360 Well, the previous story is that he saved him in many ways. 630 00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:38,360 He gave Intel, all the Syrians are coming here, don't go there. 631 00:38:38,640 --> 00:38:41,000 That's just one, one act of grace. 632 00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:43,480 Yet all of a sudden now he's the enemy. 633 00:38:43,600 --> 00:38:46,560 And it could be because he thinks, well, remember last week 634 00:38:46,560 --> 00:38:49,200 the Syrians were after Elijah. They wanted to get him because 635 00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:51,640 of his insight. So he might put the blame on 636 00:38:51,640 --> 00:38:53,280 him. Like this is Elijah's fault. 637 00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:54,840 He's the one who's inviting this trouble. 638 00:38:55,400 --> 00:38:56,960 There's no justification for this. 639 00:38:56,960 --> 00:38:58,840 But you know what I find so fascinating? 640 00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:02,560 How how Jeharam's attitude towards Elijah is very much 641 00:39:02,560 --> 00:39:05,600 consistent and parallels with how people look at Christians. 642 00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:09,400 Do Christians get a lot of blame for what's happening in culture? 643 00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:14,080 Oh yeah, sure. Or at least how they view 644 00:39:14,080 --> 00:39:17,160 culture. Prehistoric, barbaric, 645 00:39:17,760 --> 00:39:24,360 irrelevant beliefs imposed in our systems, indoctrinating your 646 00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:27,040 children. When in reality, like Elijah, we 647 00:39:27,040 --> 00:39:30,360 Christians have the solution and the solution is not within 648 00:39:30,360 --> 00:39:31,920 ourselves. It's it's in the God that we 649 00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:37,200 serve in worship. So Jerome's faulty view of 650 00:39:37,200 --> 00:39:41,760 Elijah we can resonate with as believers in Jesus Christ. 651 00:39:43,560 --> 00:39:46,360 But here's what's amazing. Notice what he says. 652 00:39:46,360 --> 00:39:48,920 May God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elijah, the 653 00:39:48,920 --> 00:39:50,640 son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today. 654 00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:53,280 Does that statement, that phrase sound familiar to you? 655 00:39:53,280 --> 00:39:57,120 You don't have to think too far back. 656 00:40:00,480 --> 00:40:04,400 Let me ask you a question. Thinking about Jeharam's 657 00:40:04,400 --> 00:40:11,160 heritage, who are his parents? Ahab and his mother. 658 00:40:12,800 --> 00:40:16,200 Any light bulbs go off yet? Do you remember what Jezebel 659 00:40:16,200 --> 00:40:19,080 said when she learned that Elijah brought victory on Mount 660 00:40:19,080 --> 00:40:21,400 Carmel? Let me remind you of First Kings 661 00:40:21,400 --> 00:40:24,640 19. Look at verse First, Kings 19, 662 00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:36,240 verse 2. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to 663 00:40:36,240 --> 00:40:41,200 Elijah saying, so may the gods do to me and more also if I do 664 00:40:41,200 --> 00:40:43,800 not make your life as a life of one of them by this time 665 00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:49,400 tomorrow. A small reminder of how 666 00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:52,520 impressionable our children are, both for good and for the bad, 667 00:40:52,520 --> 00:40:55,920 right? He's repeating what his mom said 668 00:40:56,240 --> 00:41:02,040 about the prophet in her time. So she wanted to kill Elijah. 669 00:41:02,240 --> 00:41:08,680 He wants to kill Elijah. And notice if you believe what 670 00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:12,640 he says here in verse 33, notice how what he is saying and what 671 00:41:12,640 --> 00:41:14,520 he has in his heart does not reflect the sackcloth. 672 00:41:14,520 --> 00:41:16,760 Look at verse 33. And while he was still speaking 673 00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:19,080 with them, the messenger came down to them and said, this 674 00:41:19,080 --> 00:41:21,920 trouble is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord 675 00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:23,960 any longer? Whether that's the messenger 676 00:41:23,960 --> 00:41:29,120 that the king sent to Elijah or it's the king himself, he's 677 00:41:29,120 --> 00:41:32,840 blaming God for this trouble. This trouble is from the Lord. 678 00:41:33,680 --> 00:41:36,320 Can I tell you something? You will never know recovery. 679 00:41:36,320 --> 00:41:37,760 You'll never know reconciliation. 680 00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:40,800 You will never know healing in your life as long as you 681 00:41:40,800 --> 00:41:45,120 continue to blame God. This trouble is from the Lord. 682 00:41:45,120 --> 00:41:48,200 No, it's actually you. It's actually you. 683 00:41:48,640 --> 00:41:51,840 And you can philosophy it all you want, and you could try to 684 00:41:51,840 --> 00:41:54,800 pin God in a corner with all your ways of thinking and your 685 00:41:54,800 --> 00:41:57,760 reasoning. But as long as you sit in the 686 00:41:57,760 --> 00:42:01,640 place where you feel like you can judge the Sovereign 1 and 687 00:42:01,640 --> 00:42:05,480 criticize his actions or his lack of actions, you will never 688 00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:08,840 know the healing and the wholeness that only your God can 689 00:42:08,840 --> 00:42:11,120 provide. This trouble is from the Lord. 690 00:42:11,320 --> 00:42:15,400 No, it's actually you, Jehovah, and your decision and how you 691 00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:17,720 respond to the problems that came into your life. 692 00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:21,200 It's not God's fault. God's your only hope. 693 00:42:21,640 --> 00:42:23,760 So if you blame him, you're hopeless. 694 00:42:24,320 --> 00:42:26,760 If you refuse to come to him, you have nowhere else to go. 695 00:42:28,360 --> 00:42:33,400 This trouble is from the Lord. Let's end here with how Elijah 696 00:42:33,400 --> 00:42:34,880 is dealing with this whole thing. 697 00:42:34,880 --> 00:42:38,120 Look at verse 32. Elijah was sitting in his house. 698 00:42:38,600 --> 00:42:43,120 I love that right there. People are frantic. 699 00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:45,200 People are running around trying to do this, trying to do that. 700 00:42:45,200 --> 00:42:47,560 A king is scaling the walls. And where do you find Elijah? 701 00:42:47,600 --> 00:42:52,000 Sitting in his house. He's relaxed, cool as a 702 00:42:52,000 --> 00:42:56,640 cucumber, not moved, not frantic, not panicking. 703 00:42:57,000 --> 00:43:00,440 Elijah was sitting in his house and the elders were sitting with 704 00:43:00,440 --> 00:43:02,720 him. Now the king had dispatched a 705 00:43:02,720 --> 00:43:05,480 man from his presence, but before the messenger arrived, 706 00:43:05,680 --> 00:43:09,760 Elijah said to the elders. Do you see how this murderer has 707 00:43:09,760 --> 00:43:13,800 sent to take off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, 708 00:43:13,800 --> 00:43:16,400 shut the door and hold the door fast against them. 709 00:43:16,640 --> 00:43:19,120 It's not the sound of his master's feet behind him. 710 00:43:21,400 --> 00:43:22,640 I'm just trying to think about something here. 711 00:43:23,440 --> 00:43:27,400 Wasn't Jair Aram the king who benefited from the prophetic 712 00:43:27,400 --> 00:43:30,560 insight of this man of God? Who knew what the king of Syria 713 00:43:30,560 --> 00:43:31,760 was going to do before it happened? 714 00:43:31,760 --> 00:43:34,960 Do you remember what I'm talking about, King? 715 00:43:34,960 --> 00:43:36,960 You don't go there because the Syrians are going to raid over 716 00:43:36,960 --> 00:43:37,840 there. They're going to set up camp. 717 00:43:37,840 --> 00:43:39,760 Don't go over there. That's just, this is the same 718 00:43:39,760 --> 00:43:44,640 king and he now thinks that he can actually surprise Elijah. 719 00:43:45,600 --> 00:43:48,160 I said this before. It's not a really deep or 720 00:43:48,160 --> 00:43:50,160 profound statement, but sin makes us stupid. 721 00:43:52,080 --> 00:43:55,280 It does. It blurs our judgments and it 722 00:43:55,280 --> 00:43:57,920 makes us make foolish decisions like this. 723 00:43:59,160 --> 00:44:01,840 Elijah said to the others, Do you see how this murder is 724 00:44:01,840 --> 00:44:04,960 coming after my head? So that's divine revelation that 725 00:44:04,960 --> 00:44:07,200 is supernatural. But I love this marriage between 726 00:44:07,200 --> 00:44:10,080 the supernatural and the application of practical wisdom. 727 00:44:10,920 --> 00:44:13,600 God reveals to Elijah, he's coming for you. 728 00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:18,080 So what does Elijah do? Elijah says, what lock the door. 729 00:44:21,040 --> 00:44:22,600 Do we believe God can protect us? 730 00:44:23,040 --> 00:44:24,400 We believe it. Yes, we do. 731 00:44:24,760 --> 00:44:26,080 OK. Lock your door at night, though. 732 00:44:26,280 --> 00:44:27,880 It's a good. It's a good practice, right? 733 00:44:28,440 --> 00:44:31,880 Put your seat belt on, right. Don't do foolish things like 734 00:44:31,880 --> 00:44:34,880 dangling off cliffs and stuff. God will protect you. 735 00:44:34,880 --> 00:44:36,720 Yeah, sure. But be practical. 736 00:44:37,160 --> 00:44:38,280 Can you provide reassure? Yes. 737 00:44:38,280 --> 00:44:39,760 Go get a job, though. Yeah. 738 00:44:40,280 --> 00:44:42,960 Save up money. It's just another reminder in 739 00:44:42,960 --> 00:44:43,960 the Old Testament. Yes. 740 00:44:43,960 --> 00:44:45,840 A book that's filled with supernatural miracles, that God 741 00:44:45,840 --> 00:44:50,080 still wants us to be real and be mindful that we're in a world 742 00:44:50,080 --> 00:44:53,320 with limitations and practices that will benefit us and harm 743 00:44:53,320 --> 00:44:55,400 us. And here's what I love about 744 00:44:55,400 --> 00:44:59,480 Elijah. Here's how we'll end. 745 00:44:59,480 --> 00:45:00,800 I think this is a good place to end. 746 00:45:00,920 --> 00:45:03,520 Can we go back to the story before this, when his servant 747 00:45:03,520 --> 00:45:05,400 looked out and saw the Syrians surrounding him? 748 00:45:07,280 --> 00:45:15,720 Look here in verse 15, when the servant of the man of God rose 749 00:45:15,720 --> 00:45:18,160 early in the morning and went out, behold an army with horses 750 00:45:18,160 --> 00:45:20,200 and Chariots was all around the city. 751 00:45:20,200 --> 00:45:22,440 And the servant said, at last, my master, what shall we do? 752 00:45:22,440 --> 00:45:24,760 He said, do not be afraid for those who are with us or more 753 00:45:24,760 --> 00:45:27,040 than those who are with them. Then Elijah prayed, he said, oh 754 00:45:27,040 --> 00:45:29,200 Lord, please open his eyes that he may see. 755 00:45:29,480 --> 00:45:32,360 So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw and 756 00:45:32,360 --> 00:45:36,440 behold, the mountain was full of horses and Chariots of fire all 757 00:45:36,440 --> 00:45:42,200 around Elijah. I didn't mention this last week, 758 00:45:43,120 --> 00:45:44,960 maybe because it's meant to be shared today. 759 00:45:46,400 --> 00:45:50,080 Where was Elijah's anchoring trust in? 760 00:45:51,880 --> 00:45:56,000 Notice that when he sees he has a servant see the Chariots and 761 00:45:56,160 --> 00:45:59,520 the the horses of fire. The comfort didn't come in the 762 00:45:59,520 --> 00:46:01,800 fact that they killed the Syrian Army. 763 00:46:02,640 --> 00:46:07,400 They didn't necessarily act. They were just present. 764 00:46:09,480 --> 00:46:16,360 And that was enough for Elijah to be calm, the source of our 765 00:46:16,360 --> 00:46:18,320 comfort on this side of the cross. 766 00:46:18,320 --> 00:46:23,000 It's not necessarily that the Lord will move in miraculous 767 00:46:23,000 --> 00:46:26,400 ways every single time, but simply in the fact that He's 768 00:46:26,400 --> 00:46:29,640 there. And if he chooses to intervene 769 00:46:29,640 --> 00:46:31,960 miraculously, then we have all the reason to rejoice. 770 00:46:32,680 --> 00:46:37,920 But just knowing He's aware, just knowing that he is 771 00:46:37,920 --> 00:46:42,160 hovering, just knowing that he is before us, He is behind us, 772 00:46:42,160 --> 00:46:48,120 He is over us is enough. I believe Elijah was living in 773 00:46:48,120 --> 00:46:50,880 that reality before 2nd Kings chapter 6. 774 00:46:51,000 --> 00:46:53,720 We see it clear here in the middle of chapter 6 and when we 775 00:46:53,720 --> 00:46:57,600 find out verse 32 that Elijah was sitting in his house. 776 00:46:58,320 --> 00:47:01,440 Do you think that revelation evaporated after the the story 777 00:47:01,440 --> 00:47:02,840 earlier? No, no, no, he lived in that 778 00:47:02,840 --> 00:47:04,920 reality. You and I are called to live in 779 00:47:04,920 --> 00:47:09,040 that reality as well. Just knowing that my shepherd 780 00:47:09,200 --> 00:47:13,680 sees me is enough. There's that wonderful story in 781 00:47:13,680 --> 00:47:17,160 Mark's gospel where Jesus sends the disciples ahead after the 782 00:47:17,160 --> 00:47:19,720 feeding of the thousands and he stays back to pray on the 783 00:47:19,720 --> 00:47:21,720 mountaintop. And we're told there in the 784 00:47:21,720 --> 00:47:24,920 gospel that the the disciples were beating the waves and they 785 00:47:24,920 --> 00:47:27,200 were trying to resist the winds that were pushing against them. 786 00:47:27,360 --> 00:47:29,080 And there's this wonderful statement, I'm paraphrasing, 787 00:47:29,080 --> 00:47:33,720 where the Lord looked on them like he sees them. 788 00:47:34,360 --> 00:47:39,800 They don't necessarily see him, but he's aware and at the right 789 00:47:39,800 --> 00:47:42,520 time. He walked on water. 790 00:47:43,480 --> 00:47:46,400 And even in the gospel accounts we read that he kept walking on 791 00:47:46,840 --> 00:47:48,520 to see if they would invite him. Remember that. 792 00:47:49,200 --> 00:47:51,960 But I love how even before that, when they do see this figure 793 00:47:52,400 --> 00:47:54,760 through the rain and the darkness of the sky and the 794 00:47:54,760 --> 00:47:57,880 waves that are obstructing their vision, they think he's a ghost. 795 00:47:59,080 --> 00:48:01,160 They think he's a ghost. And it's, it's a reminder to us 796 00:48:01,160 --> 00:48:03,920 that often times when the Lord is in our midst and he is with 797 00:48:03,920 --> 00:48:07,640 us, we fail to see him. We fail to recognize Him as He 798 00:48:07,640 --> 00:48:11,320 should be recognized. So here's the beauty of this 799 00:48:11,320 --> 00:48:15,440 story as we end here at the the last verse of chapter 6. 800 00:48:16,360 --> 00:48:18,440 Be comforted as Elijah was comforted. 801 00:48:19,600 --> 00:48:22,400 Not because God is going to do a miracle for you necessarily, but 802 00:48:22,400 --> 00:48:26,120 because He is simply there and that's enough. 803 00:48:26,600 --> 00:48:29,120 And if it's not enough for you, pray that God would open your 804 00:48:29,120 --> 00:48:31,720 eyes for it to be enough. Let's seek Him. 805 00:48:41,680 --> 00:48:43,240 Well, we thank You for this word. 806 00:48:43,880 --> 00:48:48,280 It is Your eternal word. You had us in mind when you 807 00:48:48,280 --> 00:48:55,520 penned these words that in 2024, in the month of December, on a 808 00:48:55,520 --> 00:48:58,160 Friday night, we would feast on them. 809 00:48:59,480 --> 00:49:02,840 We love Your word. And Lord, if there's even one 810 00:49:02,840 --> 00:49:06,960 person here who is not where they're supposed to be, help 811 00:49:06,960 --> 00:49:10,200 them hear Your voice, to remember what Your word says 812 00:49:10,200 --> 00:49:16,360 about Your goodness, to return to You and to remain there. 813 00:49:17,360 --> 00:49:20,160 And Your promise is this for those who have professed Christ 814 00:49:20,160 --> 00:49:24,840 that You were still their God, no matter how they have failed 815 00:49:24,840 --> 00:49:29,760 in their testimony. We ask, Lord, that every one of 816 00:49:29,760 --> 00:49:32,000 us would be near you leaving this place. 817 00:49:32,400 --> 00:49:35,440 Lord, your word went forth. It was administered, it was 818 00:49:35,440 --> 00:49:39,480 heard, but the miraculous transaction can only happen with 819 00:49:39,480 --> 00:49:43,040 your power. So we call upon that power and 820 00:49:43,040 --> 00:49:47,000 we trust you. Lord. 821 00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:51,840 We never want a repentance to be foolish, to be surface level, to 822 00:49:51,840 --> 00:49:54,600 be misguided. If there's going to be any 823 00:49:54,600 --> 00:49:56,600 brokenness, if there's going to be any love, if there's going to 824 00:49:56,600 --> 00:49:58,920 be any praise, any honor, let it come from our hearts. 825 00:49:59,600 --> 00:50:03,600 So we give you our song of praise from our hearts in Jesus 826 00:50:03,600 --> 00:50:06,400 name, Amen. Let's stand and worship the King 827 00:50:06,400 --> 00:50:09,040 of Glory as a praise team helps us do that.