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First Kings chapter 20 Please 
meet me in verse 22. 

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And the king of Israel went out 
and struck the horses and 

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Chariots and struck the Syrians 
with a great blow. 

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This summary of Ahab's 
miraculous and quite frankly 

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undeserved victory over the 
Syrian invasion is located in 

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First Kings chapter 20, verse 
21, which was where we ended our

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study last week. 
Nevertheless, that narration of 

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Ahab's victory is not the final 
thought of this chapter, nor is 

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it the signal for the end of the
conflict between Ahab, king of 

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Israel, and Ben Haddad, the king
of Syria. 

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When we come to verse 22 and 
read it, we will quickly learn 

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that the Spirit of God has 
provided for us a banquet of 

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sanctifying truths that are 
still connected to the themes 

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that you and I explored last 
week. 

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Prepared for you and I are yet 
more glistening gems of the 

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grace of God, sobering warnings 
of particular sins that we tend 

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to overlook. 
Fascinating observations 

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concerning what man is capable 
of in their sin, what man can 

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achieve in their obedience to 
God and who God is in our 

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obedience or lack of obedience. 
And there are other fresh 

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insights that await to be 
discovered. 

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So I encourage you tonight come 
with excitement as you and I 

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continue to tour through this 
passage of Scripture and trust 

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of the Holy Spirit will guide us
perfectly to glean from what I 

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believe is not really touched on
much even in a a study for first

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kings. 
So I want us to read 22 and 

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pause right there at 22. 
If you haven't been following 

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us, we archive everything. 
Everything is on YouTube. 

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You can you can track with us at
another time, but hopefully 

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where we're going to start off 
will make sense to you. 

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Verse 22 reads, Then the prophet
came near to the king of Israel 

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and said to him, Come, 
strengthen yourself and consider

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well what you have to do, for in
the spring the king of Syria 

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will come up against you. 
This prophet is very likely to 

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be the same unnamed messenger 
that we were introduced to in 

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verse 13 of this very same 
chapter where this man of God 

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approached Ahab and assured him,
gave him a promise and a plan of

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how they can no victory over the
Syrian coalition. 

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And we concluded that the 
appearance of this prophet in 

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verse 13 is nothing short of a 
wonderful demonstration of the 

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grace of God. 
Since Ahab, who was a very 

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wicked king, did not seek the 
Lord at all, did not inquire of 

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a prophet, and there were 
thousands of prophets in the 

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land of his time, He didn't do 
anything. 

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And yet God granted heavenly 
wisdom nonetheless. 

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And the shocking grace of God 
appears once more at this very 

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moment. 
Here we see that this prophet 

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came near to the king of Israel 
and warned him. 

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And why this is merciful on 
God's part is because there is a

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unique vulnerability that you 
and I enter into, especially 

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after we experience A level of 
success, even spiritual success.

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I'm reading my devotions in the 
Psalms and I read something in 

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Psalm 30, verse six. 
You don't have to turn there, 

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but it's a confession that David
made. 

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David, a man after God's own 
heart, even admitted this. 

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He said, As for me, I said in my
prosperity I shall never be 

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moved. 
That's dangerous. 

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That's dangerous. 
As for me, I said in my prosper,

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in my success, in my long 
lasting achievement, nothing 

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will shake me, nothing will move
me, nothing will tempt me. 

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And if you and I are not 
careful, the varying temptations

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on the other side of obedience 
will surprise you, and they have

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a tendency of overtaking even 
the strongest of men and women 

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of God. 
And so you and I must always be 

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alert and mindful of what? 
Check this out. 

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Renewed attacks. 
They are guaranteed. 

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They will come. 
You might not know when, you 

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might not know how, but as long 
as you have breath and you are 

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serving the Lord Jesus Christ 
with your life, attacks will 

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arrive. 
Yes, you overcame sin yesterday,

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but if you are not mindful of 
this aspect of spiritual 

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warfare, you will be caught off 
guard. 

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And this is precisely what the 
Lord is trying to convey to 

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Ahab. 
He is reminding him not to get 

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too comfortable. 
He is informing him to be 

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prepared because while he is 
enjoying, yes, even the grace of

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God, yes, a supernatural 
provision from God, the enemy is

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in the background planning and 
scheming for his next 

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opportunity. 
And that is exactly what you and

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I are going to read in a moment.
But I want to tell you that the 

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instructions of the prophet 
toward Ahab are totally 

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applicable for you and I in the 
context of spiritual warfare, 

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because you and I are in 
spiritual warfare, whether you 

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are aware of it or not, whether 
you are engaged in it or not, 

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it's always happening. 
That's just a paradigm that you 

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signed up for when you said yes 
to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

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It's nothing to be afraid of 
because we are guaranteed 

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wonderful victory as long as we 
discipline ourselves and apply 

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certain truths. 
So here's some things that we 

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can take from this one verse. 
Come again to verse 22 with me 

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and notice what the prophet 
says. 

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He says, come #1 strengthen 
yourself. 

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Yes, and in like manner, you and
I are constantly called to 

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nurture, develop and receive 
strength from the Lord, because 

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what we knew yesterday will not 
suffice for today or tomorrow. 

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The only way that we can arrive 
to the possibility of longevity 

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in victory over sin, over the 
temptations of the flesh and the

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persuasions of this world is if 
you abide, if you abide only in 

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abiding in Christ, can you draw 
from his power that will flow 

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through your veins. 
So he tells him, yes, you 

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overcame this thing, but I'm 
calling you now to strengthen 

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yourself further. 
You can't depend upon the power 

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that you tapped into last week, 
Ahab. 

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You need renewed grace today. 
And so my connection to the 

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Lord, my receiving from the 
Lord, my sitting at His feet is 

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not optional if I want to know 
strength spiritually. 

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But that's not the only thing He
says. 

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Come, strengthen yourself and 
consider well what you have to 

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do. 
So in other words, remain in the

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mindset of strategic warfare. 
Don't dismiss yourself. 

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Don't get distracted. 
Now consider well what you have 

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to do. 
And if we are convinced, as I 

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said earlier, that we are in 
this constant wrestling with 

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this flesh, with this world, 
with an invisible force, then 

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you and I are going to be more 
likely to be disciplined and 

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careful and aware and not caught
by surprise. 

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That's what he says. 
Lastly, For in the spring, the 

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king of Syria will come up 
against you. 

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In other words, be mindful of 
upcoming battles. 

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Whether they are going to be 
unforeseen persecutions or 

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familiar temptations, they will 
surely come as the Syrians. 

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We're studying. 
What to do next. 

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Satan studies. 
Satan and his minions study. 

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They've been studying human 
behavior since the beginning of 

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time. 
And they are so conniving and 

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they are so astute and so aware 
that people tend to mistaken the

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ability of the realm of darkness
with God's ability like 

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omniscience and ineptantance. 
It's not that they share in 

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those qualities. 
It's because they have observed 

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human behavior enough to realize
that there are patterns where 

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they have almost perfected their
abilities to make others trip. 

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But you know what the Bible 
says? 

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Greater as he was in US than he 
was in the world, no matter what

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kind of plans that they've come 
up with, no matter what has 

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worked throughout human history,
it doesn't have to work for you 

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and I if Christ dwells in your 
life, if he dwells in your 

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heart. 
So here's what we see. 

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As Ahab was receiving heavenly 
instruction from a prophet, Ben 

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Haddad was receiving his own set
of advice, but from a different 

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source. 
Look at verse 23. 

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And the servants of the king of 
Syria said to him, him being Ben

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Haddad, their gods are the gods 
of the hills. 

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And so they are. 
They were stronger than we, but 

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let us fight against them in the
plain, and surely we shall be 

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stronger than they. 
And do this, remove the kings 

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each from his post, and put 
commanders in their places, and 

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muster an army like the army 
that you have lost, horse for 

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horse and chariot for chariot. 
Then we will fight against them 

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in the plane, and surely we 
shall be stronger than they. 

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And he listened to their voice 
and did so. 

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So they're regathering and they 
are thinking to themselves, all 

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right, we lost that one, but 
we're not going to give up. 

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How do we sharpen ourselves? 
How do we come up with a more 

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effective plan? 
And here here's, well, let me 

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put it this way, you can take a 
lot from this passage, but 

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let's, let's make this one major
observation. 

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And, and I want to do it in this
fashion. 

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What do they believe about God 
here that stands out to you as 

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being erroneous? 
The God of Israel, What's that? 

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He's limited to geographical 
boundaries. 

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Yes, that's one. 
What else? 

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Yeah. 
There's not just one God of 

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Israel. 
Notice that they said here 

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they're gods, plural. 
They're gods are the gods of the

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hills. 
And they thought to themselves, 

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well, because we fought in that 
kind of terrain, they're gods 

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assisted them. 
But if we if we make it to the 

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plane, then we will be at an 
advantage. 

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Here's the big picture of the 
section of Scripture. 

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Though many things can be said, 
isn't it obvious how their 

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theology is impacting their 
methodology? 

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That's what you're supposed to 
see here. 

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In other words, what these 
Syrian servants believed about 

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who God is and what he can or 
cannot do determined how they 

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interpreted events and how to 
respond to them. 

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So you, you have to see that 
when they look at this, it's 

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actually determining their 
operations. 

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And as our sister said, what 
they believed about the God of 

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Israel was a common belief in 
ancient religion, an ancient 

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religion. 
There was this idea that there 

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were a wide spectrum of gods, 
and these gods are supervised 

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and were in charge of different 
facets of the world. 

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And so you had the God of rain, 
you have the God of the sun, you

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had the God of agriculture, you 
had the God of fertility. 

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And so you had all these idols. 
And this explains in part why it

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was such a great temptation to 
adopt all these false deities 

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into your system, into your 
nation, into your religious 

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experience. 
Because the more gods that you 

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adopted, the more you covered 
your bases and the more you are 

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in an advantage, because now you
appease these gods and they can 

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help you economically, they can 
help you in military strategy. 

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So this was a very real and 
constant appeal of having this 

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plethora of different deities 
that apparently supervise a 

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variety of regions and aspects 
of the universe. 

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But don't get too stuck on the 
cultural interpretation of this 

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text. 
Don't do that. 

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See the application of it. 
Here's the application of it. 

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Misconceptions about God are not
harmless. 

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They're not, they're not 
harmless. 

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This idea, your truth is your 
truth. 

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My truth is my truth. 
That comes at a high price 

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because this is a prime example 
that what you believe about God 

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will determine how you behave, 
how you think, how you act, how 

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you plan, what you invest in, 
what you do, what your 

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convictions are. 
AW, Tozer famously said. 

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What comes to your mind when you
think about God is the most 

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important thing about you, and I
agree with him wholeheartedly. 

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What comes to your mind when you
think about God is the most 

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important thing about you. 
And what these poor souls 

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thought about God would lead 
them into great trouble. 

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And listen, misconceptions or 
misunderstandings about the 

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character of God are not limited
to those who believe in false 

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gods or have their own 
subjective portrait of who God 

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is. 
It's possible for Christians, 

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Christians who do that daily, 
engage with the worldview 

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shaping power of the Word of 
God. 

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And so in the same way that 
these Syrians believe that God, 

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the God of Israel at least, was 
the God of the hills, another 

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God of the plains, you have some
even within the church, who 

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believe God is relevant to some 
areas and not others. 

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I've bumped into people who 
think that God is completely 

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concerned and exclusively 
concerned with deeds of love and

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not faithful doctrine. 
I know other Christians who 

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believe that God has the power 
to save their soul from hell but

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not save them from the power of 
pornography. 

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I know others who believe that 
God is to be sought for these 

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particular predicaments, but he 
doesn't seem to offer much help 

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in these kind of situations that
that God will show favor and 

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00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:14,480
blessing to those who have more 
public gifts. 

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But not for me, unnoticed and 
obscure churchgoer. 

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So in the same way, you have 
people who think that God is 

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applied here, Goddess 
capabilities here, but not here 

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and not there. 
And I would add to Tozer's 

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00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:38,720
incredible commentary about the 
importance of what we think 

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00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:41,640
about God with this, that the 
most important thing to shape 

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00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:45,440
your thinking about God is God's
word and God's word alone. 

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You limit that to experience. 
You limit that to what you feel.

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My friend, you are signing up 
for a disastrous way of life. 

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Do you realize that these 
Syrians are planning their own 

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suicide on the basis of them 
thinking that God is limited to 

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00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:09,760
the mountains? 
This is their own death 

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00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:16,680
sentence, and equally deadly is 
you finding the liberty to 

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00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:19,520
define God in a way that He does
not define Himself. 

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00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:24,440
And before you and I move on 
from this point, let me 

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highlight to you yet another 
danger of skewed theology. 

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Not only is it dangerous in the 
obvious sense, but it's 

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dangerous because it offends a 
holy God. 

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Look at verse 26 with me. 
In the spring Ben Haddad 

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mustered the Syrians and went up
to AFEC to fight against Israel.

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And the people of Israel were 
mustered and were provisioned 

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and went against them. 
The people of Israel encamped 

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before them like 2 little flocks
of goats. 

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But the Syrians filled the 
country. 

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00:16:56,280 --> 00:17:00,280
Verse 28 And a man of God came 
near and said to the king of 

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Israel. 
Thus says the Lord. 

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Because the Syrians have said 
the Lord is a God of the hills, 

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but he is not a God of the 
valleys. 

258
00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:13,440
Therefore, in other words, 
because of that, I will give all

259
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this great multitude into your 
hand, and you shall know that I 

260
00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:21,000
am the Lord. 
So the Syrians thought that they

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00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:23,119
were planning behind the scenes.
And you know who was there in 

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00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:24,319
their meeting room? 
God. 

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00:17:26,839 --> 00:17:29,960
God hears everything. 
And that alone right here proves

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00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:31,480
that He's not just the God of 
the hills. 

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00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:33,560
He was the God in their board 
meeting as well. 

266
00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:38,560
He's omnipresent. 
Listen, it's a dangerous game to

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00:17:38,560 --> 00:17:43,080
play when men intentionally 
distorts who God is. 

268
00:17:44,360 --> 00:17:48,160
At the same time, God is 
extremely patient with the 

269
00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:50,760
unsaved who are warped in their 
thinking. 

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00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:55,640
And God is very much kind and 
long-suffering toward His 

271
00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:59,160
children who are developing in 
their understanding, though 

272
00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:01,320
steadily in their knowledge of 
the truth. 

273
00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:07,800
But the Lord does not have long 
tolerance for those who in their

274
00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:12,320
arrogance attempt to May God 
something what he is not and 

275
00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:15,880
inform others about what he will
or will not do. 

276
00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:20,360
And I'm reminded of a New 
Testament principle because the 

277
00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:22,560
temptation of studying the Old 
Testament and seeing something 

278
00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:26,600
like this is to say, well, the 
Old Testament was God in a bad 

279
00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:28,560
mood and the New Testament is 
God in a good mood. 

280
00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:32,920
And what I want to tell people 
who think that. 

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00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:35,200
And if you have conversations 
with people who believe that, 

282
00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:38,560
who are maybe limited to the 
Gospels, and we rejoice in the 

283
00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:42,320
gospel accounts, ask them if 
they finished the New Testament,

284
00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:46,000
ask them if they read the last 
book. 

285
00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:51,640
And I want to show you one place
where the Lord Jesus Christ 

286
00:18:52,120 --> 00:18:57,240
directly condemns one of the 
local assemblies. 

287
00:18:58,120 --> 00:19:01,080
In John's day. 
It was a church in Pergamum. 

288
00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:04,480
And I want you to see His 
language towards those who 

289
00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:08,560
tolerated false teaching because
this tolerance that I'm speaking

290
00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:12,560
about concerning the Lord and 
those who propagate falsehood is

291
00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:17,680
especially irksome to the Lord 
when it is being done within His

292
00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:20,160
church. 
Revelation chapter 2. 

293
00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:23,200
You can turn there if you want 
to know what Revelation is, it's

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00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:33,310
after Genesis. 
Revelation chapter 2. 

295
00:19:33,310 --> 00:19:35,870
I don't want you to come here 
with me to verse 12. 

296
00:19:38,510 --> 00:19:44,600
Revelation 212 And to the Angel 
of the church in Pergamum write 

297
00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:48,000
the words of him who has the 
two, that the sharp 2 edged 

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00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:51,560
sword rather. 
And verse 13 reads, I know where

299
00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:57,080
you dwell, where Satan's throne 
is, yet you hold fast my name, 

300
00:19:57,080 --> 00:20:00,440
And you did not deny my faith, 
even in the days of Antipas, my 

301
00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:05,480
faithful witness, who was killed
among you, where Satan dwells. 

302
00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:08,360
I can hardly get by this passage
whenever I quote it without 

303
00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:11,760
making this specific. 
Observation, one that I love 

304
00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:18,200
making. 
I just so give God glory that He

305
00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:21,440
informs us indirectly that 
wherever Pergamum was and 

306
00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:25,760
whatever inhabited that place in
the physical realm, at least it 

307
00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:28,720
made Satan so comfortable that 
at this time he made his 

308
00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:31,600
headquarters there. 
He's saying, why would you 

309
00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:34,600
praise God for that? 
Because at the same time, God 

310
00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:40,600
raised up a church in that very 
same region, a real, genuine 

311
00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:44,920
church, a local assembly of 
believers can even be known, 

312
00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:51,000
raised up on the same street 
where Satan has his command 

313
00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:55,560
center. 
There are people who think, how,

314
00:20:55,760 --> 00:20:58,600
how can you have a church in 
Chicago? 

315
00:20:59,120 --> 00:21:01,200
Well, I'm not sure where Satan's
throne is today. 

316
00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:03,920
I know Chicago is pretty bad. 
But even if Satan does have his 

317
00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:07,760
headquarters here, evidently a 
church can can exist. 

318
00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:14,920
And so I rejoice in that. 
God can do a work anywhere. 

319
00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:19,920
And he praises this church 
because they experience a great 

320
00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:22,480
level of persecution. 
And there's this one individual 

321
00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:24,960
named Antipas who some believed 
to be one of the elders of this 

322
00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:28,480
church who was martyred. 
And so he acknowledges that. 

323
00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:31,440
But things quickly turn in verse
14. 

324
00:21:32,120 --> 00:21:33,680
But I have a few things against 
you. 

325
00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:35,200
Pause. 
I never want the Lord to be able

326
00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:37,480
to say that of me. 
Never. 

327
00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:41,640
I believe we are saved by grace 
and grace alone. 

328
00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:45,280
I believe it's faith in what 
Christ has done that secures our

329
00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:48,040
salvation. 
But it's possible, even in 

330
00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:52,240
having faith in the sufficient 
work of Christ to disappoint the

331
00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:55,200
Lord. 
I'm not looking to live my life 

332
00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:58,320
to just get a ticket into 
eternity while I break the heart

333
00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:02,040
of my Master. 
So when I read this and I read 

334
00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:04,520
these seven churches, I often 
think to myself, Lord, if you 

335
00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:07,560
were to write a letter to 
Maranatha Bible Church, would 

336
00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:11,280
you have commendation or 
condemnation or mix of both? 

337
00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:18,160
I want only commendation. 
But he tells this church, I have

338
00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:21,080
a few things against you and 
here are the things. 

339
00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:26,480
You have some there who hold to 
the teaching of Balaam, who 

340
00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:30,360
taught Balaac to put a stumbling
block before the sons of Israel 

341
00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:34,200
so that they might eat food, 
sacrifice to idols, and practice

342
00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:38,280
sexual immorality. 
Isn't it amazing how the Lord is

343
00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:40,200
using the Old Testament and the 
New Testament? 

344
00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:43,960
How he's using an Old Testament 
reality and applying it in a new

345
00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:48,000
covenant sense? 
One more reason to be encouraged

346
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:51,840
to know the Old Testament. 
But he tells this church, you 

347
00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:55,480
have some who hold to the 
specific teaching, and whatever 

348
00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:58,600
the essence of this teaching 
was, it was producing a way of 

349
00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:03,560
life, the sense of freedom to 
worship in other temples and to 

350
00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:06,720
actually perform these gross 
sexual practices. 

351
00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:08,360
And it's not just that. 
Look at verse 15. 

352
00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:11,120
So also you have some who hold 
to the teaching of the 

353
00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:15,440
Nicolaitans, and that specific 
doctrine is not spelled out for 

354
00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:17,880
us. 
But whatever it is, God hates 

355
00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:19,600
it. 
And then here's the warning in 

356
00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:21,320
verse 16. 
Therefore, repent. 

357
00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:25,360
Therefore repent. 
If not, I will come to you soon.

358
00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:31,560
And this is the language here. 
War against them with the sword 

359
00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:36,040
of my mouth. 
So he tells the church that's 

360
00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:39,200
tolerating this false teaching. 
There are some who may not be 

361
00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:43,640
participating in it or even 
believe in it, but they know of 

362
00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:47,160
others who do, and they haven't 
confronted them. 

363
00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:52,000
They've allowed them to remain. 
They've allowed false teachers 

364
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:55,240
to come in and to hold Bible 
studies about things that are 

365
00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:58,320
not right. 
And so the Lord has a warning 

366
00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:01,400
for those who allowed it and for
those who are sharing it. 

367
00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:05,080
He says to those who are 
tolerating it, I'm going to come

368
00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:08,600
to you soon. 
So there is an urgency there, 

369
00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:12,000
but there's also a time gap. 
I'm giving you time. 

370
00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:15,880
I'm giving you time to repent. 
And if you don't repent, I will 

371
00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:20,680
come to you and then to those 
who are the instigators, the 

372
00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:24,520
main instruments of this 
problem, he says, and war 

373
00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:27,120
against them with the sword of 
my mouth. 

374
00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:32,360
This is not Numbers. 
This is not Deuteronomy. 

375
00:24:32,360 --> 00:24:36,360
This is Revelation, post 
resurrection and ascension of 

376
00:24:36,360 --> 00:24:39,280
Jesus Christ. 
And he tells a particular group 

377
00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:42,840
of people who are poisoning a 
local church, I will go to war 

378
00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:47,040
with you. 
I will personally go to war with

379
00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:48,480
you. 
And the fact that he says the 

380
00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:51,320
sword of my mouth, that speaks 
of severe judgment. 

381
00:24:51,320 --> 00:24:53,240
If you look at the sword of my 
mouth in the context of 

382
00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:57,480
revelation, it's it's grave, 
it's heavy. 

383
00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:03,560
And so he's telling this church,
listen church and Pergamum, your

384
00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:08,000
job is not just to extend love. 
It's not just to endure 

385
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:11,040
steadfastly the persecution 
outside of your assembly. 

386
00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:14,680
It's to make sure that my house 
is clean and pure. 

387
00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:17,600
And if you don't deal with it, 
here's what the Lord says, I'm 

388
00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:21,200
going to deal with it. 
If the elders of the church will

389
00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:25,000
not fulfill their duty, then I 
myself will step in and do 

390
00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,920
something about it. 
Why? 

391
00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:29,440
Why is this so serious to the 
Lord? 

392
00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:33,800
Because it is detrimental to the
testimony of the church, not 

393
00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:37,360
just in their misrepresentation 
of the truth, but also what lies

394
00:25:37,360 --> 00:25:40,280
and fallacies lead to. 
Notice in verse 15, again, look 

395
00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:43,280
with me, He says, so you also 
have some who hold to the 

396
00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:45,800
teaching of the Nicolaitans. 
So he is. 

397
00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:48,440
He's upset at the fact that they
are holding to false doctrine. 

398
00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:52,000
But look back at Revelation 2 
when he speaks to the church in 

399
00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:54,760
Ephesus, and look what he says 
in verse 6. 

400
00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:57,080
Yet this you have. 
He's speaking to another 

401
00:25:57,080 --> 00:26:00,600
assembly, yet this you have. 
You hate the works of the 

402
00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:05,320
Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 
Notice with the Church of 

403
00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:08,080
Ephesus, he doesn't highlight 
the doctrine or the teaching of 

404
00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:11,440
the Nicolaitans, but the works. 
When he comes to the church and 

405
00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:16,240
program, he underscores the 
teaching of the Nicolaitans. 

406
00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:18,920
What are we supposed to make of 
that? 

407
00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:21,040
I think one thing you're 
supposed to make is what we 

408
00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:24,560
already discussed, that what you
teach and what you believe will 

409
00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:26,400
determine how you live and what 
you do. 

410
00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:31,040
The works of the Nicolaitans 
didn't come from the thin air. 

411
00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:34,600
It came from a system of belief 
and understanding of 

412
00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:37,200
spirituality that is wrong, that
is skewed, that is poisoned, 

413
00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:40,360
that is dark. 
And so this is This is why the 

414
00:26:40,360 --> 00:26:42,240
Lord steps in in the way that he
does. 

415
00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:45,280
We see it here in First Kings. 
We see it in Revelation and you 

416
00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:47,640
see in so many other places. 
But let's come back to our main 

417
00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:52,960
study tonight because the 
Syrians have said this, I'm 

418
00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:55,800
going to give these people into 
your hands and for what purpose?

419
00:26:56,120 --> 00:26:58,680
Look at the last part of verse 
28 and you shall know that I am 

420
00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:04,960
the Lord. 
So I'm just blown away by the 

421
00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:08,720
mercy of God. 
He said the same thing back in 

422
00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:14,880
verse 13. 
They overthrow the Syrians in a 

423
00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:20,360
miraculous fashion, and yet 
there's not a peep of praise or 

424
00:27:20,360 --> 00:27:25,760
acknowledgement from Ahab. 
And the prophet comes again and 

425
00:27:25,760 --> 00:27:30,000
he says, look, they're coming 
back in the spring, so get 

426
00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:34,160
ready. 
He promises him victory, and yet

427
00:27:34,360 --> 00:27:37,720
he gives the same purpose, the 
same desired goal from the mouth

428
00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:40,440
of the Lord. 
Why am I going to let them be 

429
00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:43,320
defeated? 
That you will know that I am the

430
00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:46,480
Lord? 
He's still pursuing after Ahab's

431
00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:49,880
reluctance to acknowledge that 
the Lord is a true God. 

432
00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:55,040
Don't tell me that God is not 
persistently patient and 

433
00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:59,640
long-suffering and yearning for 
sinners in the Old Testament to 

434
00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:03,040
come to himself. 
He's still chasing after this 

435
00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:04,640
guy. 
He's still willing to 

436
00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:10,280
demonstrate 1 miracle after 
another to prove to him that I 

437
00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:15,280
am the truth. 
And they encamped verse 29 

438
00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:19,120
opposite one another seven days.
Then on the 7th day the battle 

439
00:28:19,120 --> 00:28:23,320
was joined and the people of 
Israel struck down of the 

440
00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:30,200
Syrians 100,000 foot soldiers in
one day and the rest fled into 

441
00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:34,080
the city of AFEC and the wall 
fell upon 27,000 men who were 

442
00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:37,680
left. 
That could most likely mean that

443
00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:40,680
the wall was brought down and 
that made way for those who are 

444
00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:45,560
hiding to be slain. 
Why is this an astounding feat? 

445
00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:50,840
Go back here to verse 27. 
And the people who were mustered

446
00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:53,000
and were provisioned and went 
against them, the people of 

447
00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:56,080
Israel encamped before them like
2 little flocks of goats. 

448
00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:00,080
So if you had aerial view of 
this, you would see just like 

449
00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:06,200
just two, two bands of soldiers 
on the side of Israel, whereas 

450
00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:10,800
the Syrians filled the country. 
And yet God comes through. 

451
00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:14,720
He brings deliverance. 
He does something that cannot be

452
00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:18,560
deemed natural. 
And this sounds like it would be

453
00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:21,280
a wonderful end to the story. 
You would think, OK, now Ahab 

454
00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:26,120
has seen way more than he needed
to see. 

455
00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:29,720
He bends his knee. 
He acknowledges that the Lord is

456
00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:32,920
the true God. 
Happily ever after. 

457
00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:35,240
Israel's transformed. 
There's renewal, there's 

458
00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:37,960
revival, at least during his 
monarchy. 

459
00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:43,080
And you might be disappointed 
because that's not where the 

460
00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:44,800
chapter ends. 
That's not where this section of

461
00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:52,080
thought ends. 
It takes an ugly turn, verse 30 

462
00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:54,080
tells us. 
And the rest fled into the city 

463
00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:57,280
of AFEC, and the wall fell upon 
27,000 men who were left. 

464
00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:01,400
Ben Haddad also fled and entered
an inner chamber in the city. 

465
00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:06,840
Verse 31. 
And his servant said to him, 

466
00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:11,040
Behold, now we have heard the 
kings of the House of Israel are

467
00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:15,120
merciful kings. 
Let us put sackcloth around our 

468
00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:18,840
waist and ropes on our heads, 
and go out to the king of 

469
00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:23,440
Israel. 
Perhaps he will spare your life.

470
00:30:23,480 --> 00:30:27,200
So Benedict servants who gave 
him the previous strategy and 

471
00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:29,080
failed, now come up with another
plan. 

472
00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:33,840
This time it's not to produce 
another skillful scheme. 

473
00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:37,280
It's to just surrender. 
Benedict just. 

474
00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:41,000
We have nothing else to lose. 
Why don't we just make our way 

475
00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:43,280
towards them and humility and 
hope that they will? 

476
00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:48,520
They will spare our lives. 
But I have a question here. 

477
00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:51,680
Where did they get the idea that
the kings of the House of Israel

478
00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:57,160
were merciful? 
I mean, we can only speculate. 

479
00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:03,160
I think 1 plausible way of 
explaining this is that in their

480
00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:07,320
comparative evaluation of the 
neighboring nations, because 

481
00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:09,880
there was some Intel, obviously 
even at that time they 

482
00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:13,280
understood how things worked in 
different nations and different 

483
00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:20,000
beliefs. 
But as they contrasted, perhaps 

484
00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:25,320
the nation of Israel did develop
a reputation of being merciful. 

485
00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:32,960
History will testify of the 
brutality like graphic, 

486
00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:36,480
unspeakable acts that some of 
these ancient rulers performed. 

487
00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:42,760
And honest historians who look 
at the Scriptures, namely the 

488
00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:46,440
Old Testament, from an 
historical standpoint would 

489
00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:50,400
admit that though things like 
what we read in Leviticus and 

490
00:31:50,400 --> 00:31:53,200
Deuteronomy might be foreign to 
our context, we're 

491
00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:58,160
countercultural in their day, 
countercultural. 

492
00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:04,440
And so it could be just that. 
It could be them realizing that 

493
00:32:04,560 --> 00:32:09,120
in their distant observation and
what they've heard, they've 

494
00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:12,840
concluded that the people, 
namely the rulers, were merciful

495
00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:18,240
because their God is merciful. 
And there's a gospel ring to 

496
00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:21,640
this, is there not? 
Here you have these Syrians who 

497
00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:24,800
have rebelled against the people
of God, who have resisted and 

498
00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:28,640
challenged the God of Israel. 
And once they found themselves 

499
00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:32,280
defeated, they were also 
comforted by the potential 

500
00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:35,920
thought that God will extend 
mercy to them rather than wrath.

501
00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:41,920
And it's no different for the 
Sinner today that though they 

502
00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:48,160
have lived all their lives 
fighting against God, the news 

503
00:32:48,280 --> 00:32:53,040
of what Christ offers can 
provide the hope to change 

504
00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:57,240
everything. 
But here's here's where it's 

505
00:32:57,240 --> 00:33:00,360
different. 
What Christ offers in his good 

506
00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:02,040
news is better than whatever 
news they heard. 

507
00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:05,240
Why? 
Because though they did think 

508
00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:09,800
that there was a potential crumb
of mercy available to them, it 

509
00:33:09,800 --> 00:33:12,360
was not guaranteed. 
Look here how they say it at the

510
00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:17,320
end of verse 31. 
Perhaps, perhaps He will spare 

511
00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:22,520
your life. 
Perhaps it's not guaranteed. 

512
00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:25,920
We can't be confident. 
We can only gamble. 

513
00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:30,640
That's not true with Christ. 
What does he say here in John 

514
00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:33,760
637? 
All that the Father has given to

515
00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:40,800
me will come to me. 
And whoever comes to me, I will 

516
00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:45,760
never castaway. 
I will never castaway from the 

517
00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:48,040
lips of the King of kings 
himself. 

518
00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:53,040
See, the king of Israel, this 
time they didn't have the 

519
00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:56,240
assurance. 
The true king, he gives you 

520
00:33:56,240 --> 00:33:59,320
assurance. 
Notice that Jesus says whoever, 

521
00:33:59,600 --> 00:34:06,360
whoever, he qualifies and makes 
that availability possible for 

522
00:34:06,360 --> 00:34:10,600
all, Whoever comes to me, and he
says I will never cast out. 

523
00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:14,760
So no matter how dark your sins 
are, no matter how polluted your

524
00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:19,840
soul is, if you stumble into his
presence, he promises to accept 

525
00:34:19,840 --> 00:34:23,360
you. 
He promises to wash you. 

526
00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:27,920
He promises to change. 
He promises to secure your 

527
00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:29,719
eternity. 
He promises. 

528
00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:34,000
And if your heart ever condemns 
you or tells you otherwise, 

529
00:34:34,280 --> 00:34:36,880
first, John tells us that God is
greater than our hearts. 

530
00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:43,480
He's greater than our hearts. 
So they come up with this plan 

531
00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:51,520
and whatever was promising 
concerning Ahab will prove to be

532
00:34:51,520 --> 00:34:53,920
short lived in the next verse. 
Look at verse 32. 

533
00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:57,880
So they tied sackcloth around 
their waist and put ropes on 

534
00:34:57,880 --> 00:35:01,320
their heads and went to the king
of Israel and said, your servant

535
00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:04,640
Ben Haddad says please let me 
live. 

536
00:35:05,480 --> 00:35:10,040
And he said, does he still live?
He is my brother. 

537
00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:20,600
Come on, what is going on in 
here? 

538
00:35:20,600 --> 00:35:27,560
Ahab for you to identify 
yourself with this enemy as a 

539
00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:33,040
brother and one might object and
say, well, Ben had dad repented,

540
00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:37,360
did he? 
Is this repentance on Benedict's

541
00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:42,840
part? 
Tell me why it's not true 

542
00:35:43,960 --> 00:35:45,160
repentance. 
OK, why though? 

543
00:35:46,680 --> 00:35:50,040
Why? 
OK, so this is this is 

544
00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:53,160
manipulation and this isn't true
penitence. 

545
00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:55,240
This isn't a person who 
acknowledges that they've done 

546
00:35:55,240 --> 00:35:58,480
wrong. 
There seems to be no evidence of

547
00:35:58,840 --> 00:36:02,520
crowning the Lord to be the 
true, the true God. 

548
00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:06,440
There seems to be no brokenness.
There's not even basic apology 

549
00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:12,120
for the recent harassment. 
It's just this desperate shot in

550
00:36:12,120 --> 00:36:14,560
the dark, say, hey, would you 
let me live? 

551
00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:19,200
So there's there's even an 
absence of sorrow. 

552
00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:22,880
It's just, it's just this, let's
just see what happens. 

553
00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:28,960
And this is in part why what 
Ahab does is wrong. 

554
00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:32,080
But there's even more to that. 
And you would only know it if 

555
00:36:32,080 --> 00:36:34,480
you actually read this chapter 
in advance and are familiar with

556
00:36:34,480 --> 00:36:37,440
this passage. 
Because what Ahab does in 

557
00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:40,680
relieving and rescuing this 
man's life is in direct 

558
00:36:40,680 --> 00:36:44,320
disobedience to God's command. 
Look at verse 42 of the same 

559
00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:47,520
chapter and you'll see it. 
Another man of God will come 

560
00:36:47,520 --> 00:36:50,440
shortly. 
And here's the proof that what 

561
00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:55,920
Ahab did flied in the face of 
what God asked him, and he said 

562
00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:58,000
to him. 
Thus says the Lord, because you 

563
00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:01,080
have let go out of your hand the
man whom I devoted to 

564
00:37:01,080 --> 00:37:04,240
destruction. 
Therefore your life shall be for

565
00:37:04,240 --> 00:37:06,760
his life, and your people for 
his people. 

566
00:37:08,080 --> 00:37:11,960
So though it's not plainly 
written, it's disclosed to us 

567
00:37:11,960 --> 00:37:15,320
that somewhere in the 
instructions given to Ahab, God 

568
00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:18,960
had told him and given him a 
similar charge as he did to Saul

569
00:37:18,960 --> 00:37:21,640
with the Amalekites. 
Eradicate them completely. 

570
00:37:22,240 --> 00:37:27,560
Deal with them once and for all.
And I know, especially if you 

571
00:37:27,560 --> 00:37:30,480
haven't been here regularly, 
this might be startling to you. 

572
00:37:30,480 --> 00:37:32,400
But let me just make a brief 
comment on that. 

573
00:37:32,400 --> 00:37:35,960
Whenever the Lord, especially in
the Old Covenant, gives such a 

574
00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:42,040
charge for a people group to be 
eliminated, it is always because

575
00:37:42,040 --> 00:37:43,640
he knows something that we 
don't. 

576
00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:48,440
And in great part, their 
continuing presence poses a 

577
00:37:48,440 --> 00:37:50,560
major threat to the people of 
God. 

578
00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:54,040
And you're going to see that in 
this very same chapter, or at 

579
00:37:54,040 --> 00:37:57,720
least in this book. 
But it's true in every case. 

580
00:37:59,160 --> 00:38:02,000
And what Ahab does here is what 
many people do when they face 

581
00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:05,320
temptation. 
They immediately recognize some 

582
00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:07,920
rewards in disobedience. 
Look at verse 34. 

583
00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:11,600
And Benedad said to him, The 
cities that my father took from 

584
00:38:11,600 --> 00:38:15,400
your father I will restore, and 
you may establish bazaars for 

585
00:38:15,400 --> 00:38:18,120
yourself in Damascus, as my 
father did in Samaria. 

586
00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:22,000
And Ahab said, I will let you go
on these terms. 

587
00:38:22,560 --> 00:38:25,960
So he made a covenant with him 
and let him go. 

588
00:38:26,520 --> 00:38:29,160
So recap here. 
They said, why don't we just ask

589
00:38:29,160 --> 00:38:31,600
him to to spare your life and 
see if he does? 

590
00:38:31,760 --> 00:38:33,760
They approach him. 
They said, hey, your servant 

591
00:38:33,760 --> 00:38:35,760
Benedad asked, please let me 
live. 

592
00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:39,080
He goes, is he still alive? 
He's my brother. 

593
00:38:39,560 --> 00:38:42,000
Like that should shock you. 
You know why I should shock you?

594
00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:43,560
It shocked the messengers of 
Benedad. 

595
00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:46,320
Look at verse 33. 
Look what they say. 

596
00:38:46,360 --> 00:38:47,720
Now. 
The men were watching for a 

597
00:38:47,720 --> 00:38:50,320
sign, and they quickly took it 
up from him and said, yes, your 

598
00:38:50,320 --> 00:38:53,560
brother Benedad. 
So yeah, yeah, yeah. 

599
00:38:53,560 --> 00:38:57,920
Your brother Benedad. 
Yeah, then Benedette came up to 

600
00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:00,760
him and he caused him to come up
into the chariot and they come 

601
00:39:00,760 --> 00:39:03,800
up with a plan. 
He negotiates, he goes, look, 

602
00:39:03,800 --> 00:39:06,240
I'll, I'll give you the cities 
that we took from you and I'll, 

603
00:39:06,240 --> 00:39:10,360
I'll even let you do some trade 
within the the territory of 

604
00:39:10,360 --> 00:39:13,200
Damascus. 
So Ahab's there. 

605
00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:16,080
He knows what God told them, but
he's thinking to myself, this 

606
00:39:16,080 --> 00:39:19,920
will boost Israel's economy. 
This, this, this will be an 

607
00:39:19,920 --> 00:39:22,920
alliance that might help us in 
future times where there will be

608
00:39:23,240 --> 00:39:26,560
greater threats, perhaps from 
rising empires. 

609
00:39:27,920 --> 00:39:31,960
And so he gives in. 
And listen, you know very well 

610
00:39:32,280 --> 00:39:35,800
that this is just yet another 
example to store in our hearts 

611
00:39:35,800 --> 00:39:39,760
among the many illustrations in 
the Bible, that you can never 

612
00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:46,960
make a deal with sin and come 
out conquering unscathed and 

613
00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:48,560
blessed. 
Never. 

614
00:39:50,640 --> 00:39:53,840
You can never, whether your 
negotiation is the duration of 

615
00:39:53,840 --> 00:39:56,600
that sin, the extent of that 
sin. 

616
00:39:57,080 --> 00:40:02,440
You can never make a deal with 
temptation and not get robbed. 

617
00:40:04,400 --> 00:40:07,800
How was Ahab robbed here? 
I mean, this seems pretty simple

618
00:40:07,920 --> 00:40:10,360
here. 
The city's back and you can 

619
00:40:10,360 --> 00:40:13,400
bring some of your products into
Damascus and you can make a 

620
00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:16,200
little bit more money. 
It's not until you go to 1st 

621
00:40:16,200 --> 00:40:18,960
Kings 22. 
But let's do it now just to make

622
00:40:18,960 --> 00:40:20,880
this point. 
Look at First Kings 22. 

623
00:40:21,400 --> 00:40:29,240
And look at verse one. 
For three years Syria and Israel

624
00:40:29,240 --> 00:40:32,480
continued without war. 
But in the third year, 

625
00:40:32,480 --> 00:40:36,720
Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, 
came down to the king of Israel.

626
00:40:37,120 --> 00:40:40,680
And the king of Israel said to 
his servants, Do you know that 

627
00:40:40,680 --> 00:40:44,600
Ramoth Gilead belongs to us? 
And we keep quiet and do not 

628
00:40:44,600 --> 00:40:47,280
take it out of the hand of the 
king of Syria? 

629
00:40:49,880 --> 00:40:53,680
You guys catch it. 
So back in chapter 20, the King 

630
00:40:53,680 --> 00:40:56,000
of Syria says we're going to 
give you back all these cities. 

631
00:40:56,560 --> 00:41:02,840
Three years go by and obviously 
the king of Syria holds back one

632
00:41:02,840 --> 00:41:04,760
city, at least a very strategic 
one. 

633
00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:10,480
He broke his promise. 
He broke his promise, and this 

634
00:41:10,480 --> 00:41:12,600
was now going to instigate 
another war. 

635
00:41:15,040 --> 00:41:16,760
Listen. 
Sin disappoints. 

636
00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:19,760
Always, always, always, always 
listen. 

637
00:41:20,160 --> 00:41:23,240
It will always fail you. 
I know you think that that 

638
00:41:23,240 --> 00:41:27,080
adulterous relationship will add
some zest to your life, but it's

639
00:41:27,080 --> 00:41:30,000
going to bite you back. 
And I know you think that 

640
00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:33,880
cheating and being dishonest 
might make your pocket a little 

641
00:41:33,880 --> 00:41:37,400
fatter, but I guarantee you the 
consequences of that sin will 

642
00:41:37,400 --> 00:41:39,520
cost way more than if you had 
just paid upfront. 

643
00:41:40,680 --> 00:41:44,840
Whatever sin promises you, it 
will always lie to you. 

644
00:41:46,560 --> 00:41:52,400
I've sat before Christians 
enough to know that sin is a 

645
00:41:52,400 --> 00:41:54,760
terrible thing to negotiate 
with. 

646
00:41:56,040 --> 00:41:59,840
Don't do it. 
Don't do it especially when the 

647
00:41:59,840 --> 00:42:03,720
thought whispers in your head or
in your heart, God will forgive 

648
00:42:03,720 --> 00:42:05,240
you. 
You'll be fine. 

649
00:42:05,400 --> 00:42:08,680
It's going to be OK. 
Just do it once, it's not going 

650
00:42:08,680 --> 00:42:12,040
to happen again. 
Lies, lies, lies. 

651
00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:15,840
So he makes a deal with sin and 
three years go by and would you 

652
00:42:15,840 --> 00:42:19,240
know it, the king of Syria lied 
to him. 

653
00:42:21,360 --> 00:42:24,160
And this is just another thing 
for you and I to embed in our 

654
00:42:24,160 --> 00:42:26,760
hearts so that we would not 
forget in our opportunity to 

655
00:42:26,760 --> 00:42:29,680
make a deal with that which 
breaks the heart of God. 

656
00:42:31,680 --> 00:42:33,840
Let's see if we can finish this 
tonight, shall we? 

657
00:42:34,320 --> 00:42:37,800
Put your seatbelts on verse 35 
of First Kings 20. 

658
00:42:38,800 --> 00:42:42,320
And a certain man of the sons of
the prophets said to his fellow 

659
00:42:42,520 --> 00:42:45,720
at the command of the Lord, 
Strike me, please. 

660
00:42:47,600 --> 00:42:49,160
But the man refused to strike 
him. 

661
00:42:49,920 --> 00:42:52,320
Then he said to him, Because you
have not obeyed the voice of the

662
00:42:52,320 --> 00:42:55,280
Lord, behold, as soon as you 
have gone from me, a lion shall 

663
00:42:55,280 --> 00:42:58,960
strike you down. 
And as soon as he departed from 

664
00:42:58,960 --> 00:43:00,760
a lion met him and struck him 
down. 

665
00:43:02,320 --> 00:43:07,600
It's a little intense, so let's 
make sense of this because for 

666
00:43:07,600 --> 00:43:09,040
some this might seem 
unreasonable. 

667
00:43:09,560 --> 00:43:11,840
You have a certain man of the 
sons of the prophets. 

668
00:43:11,840 --> 00:43:14,040
The sons of the prophets are 
going to appear more than once 

669
00:43:14,360 --> 00:43:18,400
in this narrative of the kings. 
They were essentially a school 

670
00:43:18,640 --> 00:43:22,880
of gifted messengers who 
heralded the word of God. 

671
00:43:23,320 --> 00:43:25,480
And like any school, you had 
different tiers. 

672
00:43:25,480 --> 00:43:29,400
You had teachers and here we see
that one of them from the sons 

673
00:43:29,400 --> 00:43:33,280
of the prophet said to his 
fellow, implying that he is 

674
00:43:33,280 --> 00:43:37,640
speaking and asking this of 
another son of the prophet. 

675
00:43:39,360 --> 00:43:44,680
So he's saying to a companion, 
strike me please. 

676
00:43:44,920 --> 00:43:48,280
And further evidence, I believe 
that the person who is being 

677
00:43:48,280 --> 00:43:53,280
asked to do this, as crazy might
seem, is a prophet is because of

678
00:43:53,280 --> 00:43:54,840
the consequence for 
disobedience. 

679
00:43:54,840 --> 00:43:58,080
What was the consequence? 
He didn't strike him so a lion 

680
00:43:58,080 --> 00:44:01,200
would meet him and destroy him. 
Have we seen that before? 

681
00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:05,920
We've seen that in First Kings 
13 with another unnamed man who 

682
00:44:05,920 --> 00:44:09,440
went to speak to a king. 
He was supposed to go back a 

683
00:44:09,440 --> 00:44:11,320
certain way, not stop, not eat 
bread. 

684
00:44:11,600 --> 00:44:13,760
He refused. 
And what was the consequence? 

685
00:44:13,800 --> 00:44:16,920
A lion met him on the road and 
destroyed him. 

686
00:44:17,160 --> 00:44:20,720
So I would say that perhaps this
is designed to bring to our 

687
00:44:20,720 --> 00:44:24,680
minds of similarities to further
confirm the prophetic identity 

688
00:44:24,680 --> 00:44:28,120
of this person. 
Why is that important? 

689
00:44:28,120 --> 00:44:30,360
Because if you're a prophet at 
this time and you're being asked

690
00:44:30,360 --> 00:44:34,080
to do something like this, you 
you should already know that God

691
00:44:34,080 --> 00:44:35,840
asks of strange things 
sometimes. 

692
00:44:36,360 --> 00:44:41,720
So this isn't so outlandish. 
Prophets did things to almost 

693
00:44:41,720 --> 00:44:45,800
perform sermons in action, and 
so when this prophet tells 

694
00:44:45,800 --> 00:44:49,720
another prophet, strike me, and 
he doesn't your prophet, you 

695
00:44:49,720 --> 00:44:52,480
should know better. 
More than that though, why else 

696
00:44:52,480 --> 00:44:57,920
is this a sin? 
It's pretty plain. 

697
00:45:00,760 --> 00:45:03,080
Did this come from the prophet's
idea? 

698
00:45:04,280 --> 00:45:07,240
What does verse 35 say? 
He said to his fellow at the 

699
00:45:07,240 --> 00:45:11,880
command of the Lord, So there 
was a thus says the Lord behind 

700
00:45:11,880 --> 00:45:14,840
this and it came from a prophet,
a reputable prophet, obviously, 

701
00:45:14,960 --> 00:45:16,760
because Ahab is going to 
recognize him at the end of this

702
00:45:16,760 --> 00:45:18,840
chapter. 
So he says, listen, the Lord is 

703
00:45:18,840 --> 00:45:21,720
asking you to do this to me 
because I have to send another 

704
00:45:21,720 --> 00:45:23,600
message and it's going to 
require a black eye. 

705
00:45:25,200 --> 00:45:28,720
And he goes, I won't do it. 
It goes, OK, you didn't disobey 

706
00:45:28,720 --> 00:45:32,480
me, you disobeyed God and you're
going to pay a price for it. 

707
00:45:34,800 --> 00:45:37,400
And you think, OK, well, that's 
helpful, but how does this make 

708
00:45:37,400 --> 00:45:40,320
sense for us? 
I think it's very simple. 

709
00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:45,240
When God's will is made known to
you and I, it always demands 

710
00:45:45,240 --> 00:45:47,520
obedience. 
Whether that demand is small or 

711
00:45:47,520 --> 00:45:53,040
great, it doesn't matter. 
This is strategically woven into

712
00:45:53,040 --> 00:45:56,680
this part of the Scripture, Not 
by accident, right? 

713
00:45:56,760 --> 00:45:59,520
We're dealing with Ahab's 
disobedience and now you have 

714
00:45:59,520 --> 00:46:03,640
this prophet who disobeys and 
God doesn't show any favorites. 

715
00:46:03,640 --> 00:46:08,120
If a prophet disobeys or 
rebellious king, it will always 

716
00:46:08,120 --> 00:46:11,760
displease him. 
And that's the point. 

717
00:46:12,560 --> 00:46:15,440
Whether the command is to 
destroy an entire army or to 

718
00:46:15,440 --> 00:46:17,920
punch somebody in the face. 
As strange as that command might

719
00:46:17,920 --> 00:46:22,320
be, if God wills it, then we 
must comply with it. 

720
00:46:23,680 --> 00:46:27,040
And whether we are gifted or 
whether we are in full time 

721
00:46:27,040 --> 00:46:29,800
ministry, or whether we are in 
the political sphere or we are 

722
00:46:29,800 --> 00:46:33,000
in the business world, God's 
heart is the same for all of us.

723
00:46:33,000 --> 00:46:36,880
He he desires our submission to 
him and our trust in His Word. 

724
00:46:37,800 --> 00:46:42,400
So what happens? 
One prophet became lunch for a 

725
00:46:42,400 --> 00:46:46,400
lion. 
In verse 37 we read of another. 

726
00:46:46,480 --> 00:46:49,520
Then he found another man and 
said, strike me please. 

727
00:46:50,080 --> 00:46:53,480
And the man struck him, struck 
him and wounded him. 

728
00:46:53,480 --> 00:46:55,560
I wonder if this prophet heard 
what happened to the previous 

729
00:46:55,560 --> 00:46:57,520
one. 
So when he really hit him, he 

730
00:46:57,520 --> 00:46:59,320
hit him. 
I that's the feel I get at this.

731
00:46:59,320 --> 00:47:03,520
Texas struck him, struck him and
wounded him. 

732
00:47:06,400 --> 00:47:09,520
So the prophet departed and 
waited for the king, by the way,

733
00:47:09,920 --> 00:47:12,760
disguising himself with a 
bandage over his eyes. 

734
00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:17,560
And as the king passed, he cried
to the king and said, Your 

735
00:47:17,560 --> 00:47:19,720
servant went out into the midst 
of the battle. 

736
00:47:19,720 --> 00:47:23,000
And behold, a soldier turned and
brought a man to me and said, 

737
00:47:23,240 --> 00:47:26,320
Guard this man. 
If by any means he is missing, 

738
00:47:26,680 --> 00:47:30,360
your life shall be for his life,
or else you shall pay a talent 

739
00:47:30,360 --> 00:47:33,000
of silver. 
And as your servant was busy 

740
00:47:33,000 --> 00:47:37,480
here and there, he was gone. 
The king of Israel said to him, 

741
00:47:37,760 --> 00:47:42,560
so shall your judgement be. 
You yourself have decided it. 

742
00:47:42,640 --> 00:47:43,960
Have we seen this playbook 
before? 

743
00:47:45,200 --> 00:47:47,680
Where have we seen it before, 
David. 

744
00:47:47,680 --> 00:47:49,200
And who's the prophet Who did 
this then? 

745
00:47:49,720 --> 00:47:52,200
Nathan. 
Nathan came with a story to 

746
00:47:52,200 --> 00:47:56,280
disarm David. 
Nathan came with a parable to 

747
00:47:56,280 --> 00:48:00,520
position David as a judge of 
this story. 

748
00:48:00,520 --> 00:48:02,280
And he's doing the same thing 
with Ahab. 

749
00:48:02,800 --> 00:48:05,920
He's separating Ahab from the 
very same sin that he is ready 

750
00:48:05,920 --> 00:48:10,720
to condemn himself with. 
And he is going to make this 

751
00:48:11,920 --> 00:48:15,320
declaration, and indirectly he's
making it about himself. 

752
00:48:15,600 --> 00:48:19,520
The prophets were brilliant at 
finding ways for people to be 

753
00:48:19,880 --> 00:48:23,520
convicted. 
And so Ahab, he hears this and 

754
00:48:23,520 --> 00:48:27,480
he goes, look, you made a deal. 
You yourself have decided it, so

755
00:48:27,480 --> 00:48:31,760
this is going to happen to you. 
And though that is the main 

756
00:48:31,760 --> 00:48:34,640
point, I can't help but see 
something tucked into this. 

757
00:48:34,880 --> 00:48:37,880
This is a fabricated story. 
It's not a true story, but I 

758
00:48:37,880 --> 00:48:39,720
just find it interesting here 
that you can even see a 

759
00:48:39,720 --> 00:48:43,280
principle that applies to us, 
namely in verse 40, when this 

760
00:48:43,280 --> 00:48:47,600
prophet explains how he was 
supposed to supervise a captive.

761
00:48:47,720 --> 00:48:55,600
He, he says, and as your servant
was busy here and there, he was 

762
00:48:55,600 --> 00:48:59,480
gone. 
The king of Israel said to him, 

763
00:48:59,480 --> 00:49:01,920
so shall your judge and be 
yourself have decided it. 

764
00:49:03,560 --> 00:49:08,040
This man admits again, though 
this isn't a true story, what he

765
00:49:08,040 --> 00:49:11,880
says, nonetheless it's very, 
very, very true of so many. 

766
00:49:12,000 --> 00:49:17,200
He had a duty and he failed to 
perform that duty because he got

767
00:49:17,200 --> 00:49:19,640
distracted. 
That's what he's saying, right? 

768
00:49:19,920 --> 00:49:24,040
He got busy here and there and 
it cost him. 

769
00:49:25,680 --> 00:49:28,320
And I would say here that you 
and I have to be careful if we 

770
00:49:28,320 --> 00:49:33,640
find ourselves using busyness as
an excuse to not perform what 

771
00:49:33,640 --> 00:49:38,120
God has asked of us. 
It's it's really common these 

772
00:49:38,120 --> 00:49:42,040
days and, and I get it, but I 
also find it amazing with all 

773
00:49:42,040 --> 00:49:45,320
these technological advancements
and all these tools that are 

774
00:49:45,320 --> 00:49:49,440
disposal. 
Does anybody else disagree that 

775
00:49:49,440 --> 00:49:56,880
we feel busier than ever and 
there is that temptation to take

776
00:49:56,880 --> 00:50:01,520
distractions in our lives to 
negate our responsibility as 

777
00:50:01,520 --> 00:50:07,320
Christians? 
You know, there are some people 

778
00:50:07,320 --> 00:50:09,880
who will not come to the House 
of God because they're busy here

779
00:50:09,880 --> 00:50:13,360
and there. 
You have some people who do not 

780
00:50:13,360 --> 00:50:16,840
use their gifts for God because 
they're busy here and there. 

781
00:50:18,360 --> 00:50:20,520
Can I tell you something? 
Forgive me for being so 

782
00:50:20,520 --> 00:50:23,760
simplistic. 
Just honor God and watch out. 

783
00:50:23,760 --> 00:50:25,880
He'll honor you. 
Honor Him. 

784
00:50:26,920 --> 00:50:29,760
Put Him first. 
Make worship your priority. 

785
00:50:31,240 --> 00:50:34,640
Seek first the Kingdom. 
Put yourself of making your 

786
00:50:34,640 --> 00:50:38,080
existence about glorifying Him 
in the way that He has fashioned

787
00:50:38,080 --> 00:50:40,320
you to glorify Him and watch how
He'll take care of everything 

788
00:50:40,320 --> 00:50:43,040
else. 
I could testify this 12 year 

789
00:50:43,040 --> 00:50:45,480
after 12 years of walking with 
the Lord that when I was a 

790
00:50:45,480 --> 00:50:49,240
college student, single with a 
full time schedule in need of 

791
00:50:49,240 --> 00:50:54,640
money, got took care of me. 
And when I graduated school and 

792
00:50:54,760 --> 00:50:58,880
also trying to save up money, 
got took care of me. 

793
00:50:59,920 --> 00:51:02,920
And now that I'm married and 
still by God's grace wanting to 

794
00:51:02,920 --> 00:51:05,760
serve the Lord, He's taking care
of us. 

795
00:51:06,880 --> 00:51:09,720
You do what God told you to do 
and watch how God will take care

796
00:51:09,720 --> 00:51:14,200
of you. 
And I'm not saying you negate 

797
00:51:14,200 --> 00:51:15,800
responsibilities or you go 
overboard. 

798
00:51:15,800 --> 00:51:18,360
We talked about Elijah, how he 
exhausted himself even in the 

799
00:51:18,360 --> 00:51:20,880
place of serving God to his own 
harm. 

800
00:51:21,160 --> 00:51:24,600
I'm speaking about your heart 
posture, being positioned to say

801
00:51:24,800 --> 00:51:29,000
everything orbits around me, 
honoring what the Lord asks of 

802
00:51:29,000 --> 00:51:30,680
me. 
I'm not abandoning my post no 

803
00:51:30,680 --> 00:51:36,560
matter what comes or goes. 
That tenacity that that fight, 

804
00:51:36,560 --> 00:51:42,720
that zeal is, is is strangely 
missing in most of America, 

805
00:51:43,960 --> 00:51:46,400
American Christianity. 
I wasn't even planning to go 

806
00:51:46,400 --> 00:51:47,920
here, but let's just do it. 
Since you're here and your 

807
00:51:47,920 --> 00:51:51,240
seatbelts are still on. 
Go to Titus 3. 

808
00:51:57,120 --> 00:52:01,800
Titus three. 
Titus is with all the other 

809
00:52:02,320 --> 00:52:05,320
letters that start with T. 
So Timothy, if you're there, 

810
00:52:05,640 --> 00:52:09,440
you're close. 
If you're passing Thessalonians 

811
00:52:10,640 --> 00:52:17,840
equally close, look at Titus. 
Why did Jesus Christ die on the 

812
00:52:17,840 --> 00:52:21,080
cross for our sins? 
Here's one reason. 

813
00:52:21,080 --> 00:52:25,320
Look at verse 14 of chapter 2. 
Who gave himself for us to 

814
00:52:25,320 --> 00:52:28,960
redeem us from all lawlessness, 
and to purify for himself a 

815
00:52:28,960 --> 00:52:31,920
people, for his own possession. 
Who are what? 

816
00:52:31,920 --> 00:52:35,640
Please say it to me. 
Zealous for good works. 

817
00:52:36,440 --> 00:52:40,800
Zealous. 
Zealous for good works. 

818
00:52:41,400 --> 00:52:46,840
You're excited to serve God. 
You're preoccupied with serving 

819
00:52:46,840 --> 00:52:50,200
God. 
You have a passion to serve God.

820
00:52:52,080 --> 00:52:55,720
One of the outcomes of Jesus 
Christ dying on the cross and 

821
00:52:55,720 --> 00:52:58,960
redeeming a people is that they 
would be zealous for good works.

822
00:52:59,800 --> 00:53:02,000
You think it would end there? 
It doesn't end there. 

823
00:53:02,280 --> 00:53:04,480
Look here at verse eight of 
chapter 3. 

824
00:53:07,360 --> 00:53:10,520
The saying is trustworthy. 
And I want you to insist on 

825
00:53:10,520 --> 00:53:14,440
these things that so that those 
who have believed in God may be 

826
00:53:14,440 --> 00:53:18,080
careful to devote themselves to 
good works. 

827
00:53:19,800 --> 00:53:24,560
So what is he saying, Pastor 
Titus, tell your people to be 

828
00:53:24,560 --> 00:53:28,440
careful, implying that if you 
are not careful, you're going to

829
00:53:28,440 --> 00:53:34,360
get careless, to be careful to 
devote themselves to good works.

830
00:53:34,520 --> 00:53:36,280
Well, we're the gospel of grace.
Yeah. 

831
00:53:36,280 --> 00:53:39,160
That gospel of grace teaches you
to be zealous for good works. 

832
00:53:40,520 --> 00:53:43,000
Doesn't teach you to be idle, 
doesn't teach you to sit on your

833
00:53:43,000 --> 00:53:46,320
hands, doesn't teach you to be 
busy about absolutely everything

834
00:53:46,320 --> 00:53:49,280
except the things of God. 
How? 

835
00:53:49,840 --> 00:53:54,000
That's not the gospel. 
You think it ends there? 

836
00:53:54,000 --> 00:53:58,080
It doesn't end there. 
Look at verse 14 and let our 

837
00:53:58,080 --> 00:54:01,320
people learn to devote 
themselves to good works. 

838
00:54:02,680 --> 00:54:06,520
Like he's not getting off of it.
Jesus came for this. 

839
00:54:06,520 --> 00:54:09,120
Be careful to do it and let 
people learn to do what? 

840
00:54:09,320 --> 00:54:13,120
Devote themselves to good works 
so as to help cases of urgent 

841
00:54:13,120 --> 00:54:17,600
need and not be unfruitful. 
God's will for you is to be 

842
00:54:17,600 --> 00:54:21,960
fruitful. 
It's not to be the same person 

843
00:54:21,960 --> 00:54:24,160
you were when you accepted 
Christ five years ago. 

844
00:54:25,840 --> 00:54:28,880
It's for you to grow and 
increase and advance. 

845
00:54:29,400 --> 00:54:31,200
And one of the things that you 
and I are called to grow and 

846
00:54:31,200 --> 00:54:34,320
increases in good works doesn't 
mean you're going to serve God 

847
00:54:34,320 --> 00:54:35,640
the same way that the next 
person does. 

848
00:54:35,640 --> 00:54:37,640
Doesn't mean you're going to 
serve God the same way the full 

849
00:54:37,640 --> 00:54:40,200
time minister does. 
But there is observable things. 

850
00:54:40,320 --> 00:54:43,560
Can I ask you something like, 
what can you point to in your 

851
00:54:43,560 --> 00:54:49,520
life and say I do this for the 
Lord, I do this for the Lord? 

852
00:54:49,640 --> 00:54:51,560
You're saying I don't want to 
hear that? 

853
00:54:51,560 --> 00:54:54,360
No, no, no. 
Go back to the how God's grace 

854
00:54:54,360 --> 00:54:55,680
was rescuing Ahab. 
OK? 

855
00:54:55,960 --> 00:54:58,920
When God rescues you with his 
grace, you're supposed to do 

856
00:54:58,920 --> 00:55:02,040
something. 
It's supposed to do something in

857
00:55:02,040 --> 00:55:06,640
your life. 
So the same people who want the 

858
00:55:06,640 --> 00:55:09,040
gospel, who want to protect the 
gospel, and I'm one of those 

859
00:55:09,040 --> 00:55:12,160
people. 
Well, look what Titus says as he

860
00:55:12,160 --> 00:55:13,760
has proclaimed the truth of the 
gospel. 

861
00:55:14,960 --> 00:55:17,880
There's consequence to the 
gospel, glorious, holy 

862
00:55:17,880 --> 00:55:22,360
consequence. 
Well, that wasn't planned in 

863
00:55:22,360 --> 00:55:27,240
Bible study, but let's finish 
our last few verses of this 

864
00:55:27,240 --> 00:55:40,390
chapter together. 
First Kings chapter 20, verse 

865
00:55:40,390 --> 00:55:43,310
41. 
Then he hurried to take the 

866
00:55:43,310 --> 00:55:47,910
bandage away from his eyes, and 
the king of Israel recognized 

867
00:55:47,910 --> 00:55:52,070
him as one of the prophets. 
And he said to him, Thus says 

868
00:55:52,070 --> 00:55:57,320
the Lord, because you have let 
go out of your hand the man whom

869
00:55:57,320 --> 00:56:00,920
I had devoted to destruction. 
Therefore your life shall be for

870
00:56:00,920 --> 00:56:04,160
his life, and your people for 
his people. 

871
00:56:04,360 --> 00:56:08,960
You know, Ahab had not responded
to the splendid grace of God as 

872
00:56:08,960 --> 00:56:14,480
he defended him, undeservingly, 
protected him, and interceded, 

873
00:56:14,880 --> 00:56:19,000
or rather intervened for him. 
So now it's time for discipline.

874
00:56:19,200 --> 00:56:20,920
Listen, this is not coming 
randomly. 

875
00:56:20,920 --> 00:56:24,440
This is coming with a backdrop 
of mercy being showered over 

876
00:56:24,440 --> 00:56:26,800
this man. 
And you would think that, OK, if

877
00:56:26,800 --> 00:56:29,920
you didn't catch on to God's 
goodness, maybe now this 

878
00:56:29,920 --> 00:56:33,000
discipline, this warning is 
going to awaken you. 

879
00:56:33,600 --> 00:56:36,920
You would think, yes, OK, maybe 
now Ahab will fall to his knees 

880
00:56:37,120 --> 00:56:38,800
and cry out to the Lord. 
Here's what you read in verse 

881
00:56:38,800 --> 00:56:41,040
43. 
And the king of Israel went to 

882
00:56:41,040 --> 00:56:43,760
his house, vexed and sullen, and
came to Samaria. 

883
00:56:46,800 --> 00:56:53,120
He was upset. 
He was upset, sulking, dragging 

884
00:56:53,120 --> 00:56:57,880
his feet unchanged. 
Unchanged. 

885
00:56:59,240 --> 00:57:01,080
So what's the take away from 
this? 

886
00:57:01,360 --> 00:57:06,120
It's a sad take away that 
despite all that the Lord has 

887
00:57:06,120 --> 00:57:09,680
done for this man, He wouldn't 
give himself to him. 

888
00:57:11,760 --> 00:57:13,400
That's what you and I are 
supposed to see at the end of 

889
00:57:13,400 --> 00:57:16,840
the study. 
That man is capable of doing 

890
00:57:16,840 --> 00:57:22,120
such heinous things, though. 
This holy God does so much to 

891
00:57:22,120 --> 00:57:24,560
reach us and to gather us to 
Himself. 

892
00:57:26,120 --> 00:57:29,760
And that is why the greatest 
judgment is reserved for those 

893
00:57:30,120 --> 00:57:34,320
who, on the other side of the 
cross, have despised and denied 

894
00:57:34,640 --> 00:57:38,080
the Lord after he sent His Son 
Jesus Christ. 

895
00:57:38,880 --> 00:57:44,000
It's no small thing to think 
small about what Christ has 

896
00:57:44,000 --> 00:57:46,640
done. 
It may be small in your eyes, 

897
00:57:47,080 --> 00:57:50,400
but it is not insignificant in 
the eyes of God the Father. 

898
00:57:51,760 --> 00:57:55,040
And there is a day of reckoning 
where those who have turned 

899
00:57:55,040 --> 00:57:57,080
their back against God will have
to explain it. 

900
00:57:57,080 --> 00:58:01,800
And no explanation will do for 
why Jesus Christ was not 

901
00:58:01,800 --> 00:58:06,280
received to forgive your sins. 
So if you're a person here who 

902
00:58:06,280 --> 00:58:12,760
is unnecessarily delaying your 
acceptance of the gospel, why? 

903
00:58:14,400 --> 00:58:16,720
It's a message of love. 
It's a message of mercy. 

904
00:58:16,720 --> 00:58:21,160
It's a message of tender 
compassion where you and I, who 

905
00:58:21,160 --> 00:58:25,240
are enemies of God, are made 
righteous because of the 

906
00:58:25,240 --> 00:58:28,800
initiation of God in reaching 
out to you and me. 

907
00:58:29,280 --> 00:58:31,560
I pray that if you don't know 
the Lord Jesus Christ, that 

908
00:58:31,560 --> 00:58:35,080
tonight, even on this Friday 
night, you would accept Him and 

909
00:58:35,080 --> 00:58:38,200
receive Him by repenting of your
sin and embracing Him as the 

910
00:58:38,200 --> 00:58:42,360
sole means of your salvation. 
St. 

911
00:58:45,080 --> 00:58:49,200
May you be equipped for war may 
be mindful that this is a 

912
00:58:49,520 --> 00:58:54,800
lifelong battle with sin. 
May also be encouraged to know 

913
00:58:54,800 --> 00:58:57,840
that as long as you strengthen 
yourself with the supply of 

914
00:58:57,840 --> 00:59:01,160
grace that God has given us and 
are mindful of this, and you put

915
00:59:01,160 --> 00:59:04,160
on that armor, you will know 
victory. 

916
00:59:04,320 --> 00:59:06,840
You don't have to be identified 
with a scandal like many people 

917
00:59:06,840 --> 00:59:09,440
are. 
You don't have to be known as a 

918
00:59:09,440 --> 00:59:13,440
person who did not have a 
glorious graduation throughout 

919
00:59:13,440 --> 00:59:15,440
their existence on earth. 
You don't have to be numbered 

920
00:59:15,440 --> 00:59:17,440
among those. 
God has given us everything that

921
00:59:17,440 --> 00:59:21,040
we need to know wonderful 
testimonies in Him if we but 

922
00:59:21,040 --> 00:59:26,200
trust Him, obey Him, seek Him, 
wait on Him, love Him, worship 

923
00:59:26,200 --> 00:59:28,240
Him, and serve Him. 
Amen. 

924
00:59:29,120 --> 00:59:36,680
Let's seek Him together. 
In closing, we do bless the name

925
00:59:36,680 --> 00:59:40,040
of the Lord. 
We thank you, oh God, for your 

926
00:59:40,160 --> 00:59:42,920
wonderful provision of truth in 
this chapter. 

927
00:59:43,880 --> 00:59:49,720
And we ask, Oh God, that you 
would be gracious to bind these 

928
00:59:49,720 --> 00:59:53,960
things on our hearts and keep 
them in remembrance. 

929
00:59:56,400 --> 01:00:04,160
Lord, we see Your relentless 
love and grace in this chapter, 

930
01:00:04,920 --> 01:00:07,640
and we pray that the Holy Spirit
would make it real for us. 

931
01:00:08,520 --> 01:00:12,800
Please, Lord, if all of this has
been interpreted as simple 

932
01:00:12,800 --> 01:00:17,360
lessons or moral maxims and 
proverbs, forgive us. 

933
01:00:17,360 --> 01:00:22,080
Lord, we ask instead that our 
hearts would burn with love for 

934
01:00:22,080 --> 01:00:25,320
the God of this word. 
Let that be the fruit of this 

935
01:00:25,320 --> 01:00:28,920
Bible study tonight. 
Let our hearts be softer towards

936
01:00:28,920 --> 01:00:31,680
you. 
Let there be a genuine 

937
01:00:32,480 --> 01:00:38,360
evaluation, introspection that 
will cause us to grow closer to 

938
01:00:38,360 --> 01:00:40,840
you. 
May your Holy Spirit do that. 

939
01:00:40,840 --> 01:00:43,600
Oh God, we've done all that we 
can in our own ability. 

940
01:00:43,840 --> 01:00:47,080
Yes, depending on you. 
But Lord, a change life can only

941
01:00:47,080 --> 01:00:50,600
occur by your power. 
So we we ask that you would make

942
01:00:50,600 --> 01:00:53,520
it happen and all of us. 
And we ask these things in the 

943
01:00:53,520 --> 01:00:56,600
living, matchless name of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. 

944
01:00:56,960 --> 01:00:59,520
Amen and Amen. 
Let's stand, let's worship the 

945
01:00:59,520 --> 01:01:02,120
Lord, honour the Lord, thank 
him, thank him for this 

946
01:01:02,280 --> 01:01:04,880
spiritual bread and spiritual 
drink.