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Please meet me in First Kings 
14, beginning in verse 21 as we 

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complete this chapter together 
tonight and again. 

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Trust that the Lord has much to 
say to us in this very sobering 

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chapter, and what we're going to
see in these final 10 verses 

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here is really a deep dive into 
the eulogy of King Rehoboam. 

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Last week you and I explored the
concluding comments about the 

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life and the reign of King 
Jeroboam. 

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But for the rest of this 
chapter, the Holy Spirit is 

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going to turn our attention to 
review an honest review of the 

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rule and the leadership of the 
King of Judah. 

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And as we look at these 10 
verses, I'm sure you're going to

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be convinced that us not making 
this chapter, this one chapter, 

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into one session, was the right 
decision. 

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Because you're going to realize,
I hope, that there are deep 

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insights that we could have 
easily glossed over if we for 

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the sake of saying we completed 
one chapter in one night. 

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That's not our goal, to to see 
how much we can cover in the 

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shortest amount of time. 
And there are so many things 

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here that are worthy of our 
meditation, which we will do 

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together. 
And with that being said, I 

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believe what will help us make 
the most out of this study is by

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having one hand here in First 
Kings 14 and having another hand

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in the book of Second 
Chronicles. 

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And so I'm going to even tell 
you from now, open up Second 

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Chronicles and place your finger
there between Chapter 11 and 

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Chapter 12. 
Because what the Author of Kings

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summarizes here, the Chronicler 
actually opens up in greater 

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detail. 
And so the book of Chronicles, 

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Second Chronicles specifically, 
is going to fill in some gaps 

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here and even give us insights 
that we would not have gleaned 

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from just this chapter on its 
own. 

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And if we're prepared to do 
that, go back and forth. 

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We will be rewarded without a 
doubt. 

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Lord, we pause to pray to say 
thank you for your word. 

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Thank you that we don't have 
portions of it. 

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Thank you that we don't just 
have snippets of it. 

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We have the whole counsel of God
at our disposal. 

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We do not take that lightly. 
We rejoice at your Word, and we 

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pray, Lord, for anyone here who 
has lost that sense of joy over 

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your Word, that you would 
rekindle it, that you would 

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bring it back to life, That 
Lord, there will be this 

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insatiable thirst and hunger for
the truth of God's Word. 

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And so we pray that there would 
be a supernatural transaction 

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and experience as we come to the
Supernatural book that you have 

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deposited in our lives. 
We love your word. 

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We love the God of this word, 
and may that love only intensify

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as we continue through this 
evening. 

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In your word, in Jesus name we 
pray. 

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Amen. 
Verse 21. 

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A first kings 14. 
Now Rehoboam, the son of Solomon

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reigned in Judah. 
Rehoboam was 41 years old when 

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he began to reign, and he 
reigned 17 years in Jerusalem, 

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the city that the Lord had 
chosen out of all the tribes of 

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Israel to put his name there. 
His mother's name was Nama the 

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Ammonite, and Judah did what was
evil in the side of the Lord, 

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and they provoked him to 
jealousy with their sins that 

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they committed more than all 
that their fathers had done For 

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they also built for themselves 
high places and pillars and 

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ashram on every high hill and 
under every green tree. 

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And they're also male cult 
prostitutes in the land. 

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They did according to all the 
abominations of the nations that

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the Lord drove out before the 
people of Israel. 

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We'll pause here now and make a 
few points. 

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Interestingly, here in this 
general biography of Rehoboam we

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have the name of his mother, and
that might be something that we 

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just skip over as unimportant. 
But what's even more interesting

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is we didn't read it. 
But if you look down at verse 

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31, the final verse of this 
chapter, you'll notice something

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again. 
And Rehoboam slept with his 

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father's and was buried with his
father's in the city of David. 

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His mother's name was Nama the 
Ammonite, and Abidjan his son 

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reign in his place. 
So twice at the beginning of 

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this biography, at the end of 
this eulogy, his mother is 

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mentioned. 
For what reason are we supposed 

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to learn about her? 
I believe the reason because we 

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see her sandwiching these other 
truths are really highlighting 

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the apostasy and the idolatry 
and the rebellion of this king. 

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We are to be impressed by this 
insight. 

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Surely this man's mother played 
a huge role in influencing 

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Rehoboam and his disobedience 
because not only are we given 

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her name, we are given her 
origins. 

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She was an Ammonite. 
Now here's my question. 

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What is a descendant of David, 
who's from the tribe of Judah, 

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doing having a mother who is 
from the people of Amon? 

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How is that working? 
How does that happen? 

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And it's no mystery because 
you've been here week after week

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after week that David's son, 
Rehoboam's father Solomon, loved

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many foreign wives, and he just 
had a collection of them from 

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different places, neighboring 
nations, and they all had one 

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thing in common. 
They worshiped false gods and 

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they did not honor the true God.
And what we see here is that 

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Solomon not just had this 
problem at the latter portion of

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his life when he accumulated 
hundreds and hundreds of these 

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women, but this was a struggle 
that he had even from the near 

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beginning of his rule and his 
reign. 

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How do we know that? 
How long did Solomon reign as 

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king? 
40 years. 

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How old was rehab Boehm when he 
started to be king? 

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We read 41. 
So he had NAMA as a wife even 

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before he started his reign or 
right at the beginning of it. 

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So this is, this was in seed 
form even from there at the 

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beginning of his leadership over
this people. 

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And we can talk more about that.
But we've heard over and over 

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how these things that start in 
seed form become oak trees and 

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deeply rooted in US and become 
much more difficult to overcome 

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when we don't deal with, see the
sin of the seed of a sin early 

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on. 
But there's something else here 

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to mention that we can land in 
many places. 

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But here's a meditation for us. 
We cannot underestimate the 

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strong influence that a parent 
has over their child, whether 

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that be a father or in this case
a mother. 

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It is more profound and far 
reaching than you might think, 

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Solomon. 
Was he a busy man, or was he a 

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man who had time for his 
children? 

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Never mind his children, how did
he have time for his wives with 

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all the building projects and 
all the things that he was 

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associated with and had his 
hands in? 

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It's very difficult to imagine 
that Solomon took the time to 

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disciple his son Rahel Bomb. 
But you know who was there? 

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Nah. 
You know who was there? 

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Consulting him, counseling him, 
interpreting the world for him, 

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speaking to his life, whispering
into his ear. 

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This woman. 
This woman who was from a people

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group that were birthed out of 
an incestuous relationship. 

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You remember how this people 
group came about, right? 

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Lot? 
And one of his daughters will 

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actually both of his daughters. 
The daughters intoxicated their 

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father. 
They slept with his father and 

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out came this people group and 
the Moabites. 

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So you have a very shady 
history. 

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And not only that, the emanates 
here grew to hate the people of 

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God and the God of Israel. 
And this is the kind of woman 

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that you have here, raising up a
king over the people of Israel, 

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namely Jude and Benjamin. 
And what's even more striking is

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how God gave a specific law to 
the people of Israel, how they 

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should relate to this people 
group. 

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So look at Deuteronomy 23 and 
look here in verse three and 

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four. 
In Deuteronomy 23 and 3:00 and 

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4:00 it says no Ammonite or 
Moabite may enter the assembly 

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of the Lord even to the 10th 
generation. 

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None of them may enter the 
assembly of the Lord forever. 

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Why verse 4? 
Because they did not meet you 

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with bread and with water on the
way when you came out of Egypt, 

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and because they hired against 
you Balaam, the son of Bior from

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Pithor of Mesopotamia to curse 
you. 

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So you read this and you may 
feel this is a little bit 

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discriminatory. 
This seems to be very 

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challenging in my view of how 
God is wanting all people to 

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come to know Him, even in the 
Old Covenant. 

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Yes, but what we see here as a 
law is a code is supposed to 

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cause you to trust in the 
goodness of God and the all 

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knowing power of God that he 
understands why he made such a 

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law given to his people 
concerning another people group.

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And no matter how challenging 
this might have been in your 

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study of Deuteronomy, I find it 
quite funny that when you come 

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to your study of first kings, 
you learn of the catastrophes, 

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national catastrophes that came 
about from 1 Ammonite woman. 

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One Ammonite woman who is joined
to the royal seed and had 

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influence over a leader who 
ultimately had influence over 

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the people of God. 
Altogether one God knows what 

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he's talking about. 
Trust his word, trust his 

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standards, trust his commands. 
And you see this and you think 

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to yourself, what a disaster. 
And what a sobering reminder, 

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especially young men, single 
young men, that whenever you are

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considering, and as you're 
considering a candidate for a 

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wife, I want you to be able to 
remember that that's not just 

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going to be your wife, your 
partner, your companion. 

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That's also going to be 
potentially the mother of your 

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children. 
And here's what you have to ask 

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yourself as you, you, you 
logically step away from your 

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emotions and think critically 
and biblically. 

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Are the qualities that I see in 
this woman are the convictions? 

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Are are Are the consistent 
expressions of her character 

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something that I want to see 
replicated in my offspring? 

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That's something that you ladies
can ask about other men as well.

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Nobody, nobody is perfect. 
But there are patterns and there

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are ways of thinking and there 
are evident marks of what this 

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person really is about. 
That should not be a mystery to 

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you. 
And some might be hearing this 

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and think, well, I'm not single 
anymore. 

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I'm not a young man anymore. 
I made my choice already, and 

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I'm afraid I made the wrong one.
I'm afraid that I did not honor 

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God's standard, His word about 
what to find in a partner in 

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marriage. 
Am I doomed? 

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No, you're not doomed. 
There is hope for you. 

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And there are two things to 
remember if you're in that 

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place. 
One don't make the same mistake 

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Solomon made in allowing himself
to be led by the persuasions or 

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the convictions, or the lack of 
conviction from an unbelieving, 

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unequally yoked spouse because 
of First Corinthians. 7. 

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We are reassured and we are 
comforted by the reality that 

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even 1 unbelieving person, 
namely a spouse who lives in a 

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household with another 
unbelieving spouse and with 

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children who are susceptible to 
that same kind of unbelief, you,

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because of your walk with the 
Lord, have a power to purify 

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that atmosphere and even win 
them over to Christ just by you 

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being in close, close proximity.
That's why Paul begs such people

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don't leave, don't abandoned 
them because your presence there

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sanctifies them. 
That's something encouraging for

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you and I to consider. 
The second thing to bring hope 

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into your life is that 
regardless of the unbelieving 

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partner, especially when there 
are kids in the mixed, no 

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influence, even if it's from a 
mother, even if it's from a 

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father, is automatically 
guaranteed. 

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It's not automatically 
guaranteed because I'm thinking 

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of another king that we're going
to study eventually, who had a 

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very similar mother as Rahel. 
Boom. 

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But he responded to that 
upbringing differently. 

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He responded to her influence 
differently. 

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I'm thinking of a king who was 
one of Israel's greatest 

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reformers, King ASA. 
Now you're in Second. 

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I told you, tuck your hand in 
Second Chronicles, right? 

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So if you're there, go to Second
Chronicles 15 and look at verse 

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16. 
This is one point of a series of

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points of the extent of Asa's 
reform in the nation. 

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And we even read this. 
Even Marca, his mother, King 

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ASA, removed from being Queen 
Mother because she had made a 

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detestable image for Ashraf. 
ASA cut down her image, crushed 

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it, and burned it at the Brook 
Kidron. 

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What a different outcome, huh? 
Here's my question. 

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What motivated ASA to do this? 
Yes, we can talk about both the 

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positive and the negative 
influences impact that a father,

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a mother can have over their 
children, But I don't see that 

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here. 
I don't see it being absolutely 

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00:13:54,560 --> 00:13:57,360
certain in this case. 
And I believe the same chapter 

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00:13:57,360 --> 00:13:59,720
gives us the answer because 
there was somebody else who 

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00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:03,000
played a role in his life to 
encourage him in this radical 

228
00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,520
decision. 
So you're there for 16. 

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00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:07,560
Look at verse one of Second 
Chronicles 15. 

230
00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:13,080
The Spirit of God came upon 
Azariah the son of O dead, and 

231
00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:17,040
he went out to meet ASA and said
to him, Hear me, ASA and all 

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00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:20,720
Judah and Benjamin, the Lord is 
with you while you are with him.

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00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:24,320
If you seek him, he will be 
found by you, but if you forsake

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00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:31,280
him, he will forsake you. 
It was a prophet, a man of God 

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00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:35,240
with the true word of God on his
lips that entered into the life 

236
00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:40,360
of this king and spoke the truth
enough for him to say, I'm not 

237
00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:43,000
going to go down this 
predictable path that others 

238
00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:46,520
might have because of the lack 
of influence that I should have.

239
00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:49,360
You know what you take out of 
this? 

240
00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:52,720
That there's something more 
powerful than the deceptions or 

241
00:14:52,720 --> 00:14:56,280
the weaknesses of a parent, and 
that is the truth of God's word.

242
00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:01,200
And as long as truth is 
transmitted in some way, then 

243
00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:05,280
there is always hope for a life 
to take a different course than 

244
00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:09,120
that which might have been paved
by misguided father or a mother.

245
00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:11,080
That's how powerful the truth 
is. 

246
00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:15,200
That's how powerful a youth 
ministry can be for young people

247
00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:18,320
who come from broken homes. 
All it takes is for truth to be 

248
00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:21,000
heard and understood enough for 
them to say I'm not going to 

249
00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:24,160
head down this path that has 
been set for me because of a 

250
00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:29,000
lack of example, because of what
I've seen and heard my whole 

251
00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:31,960
life thinking this is how my 
worldview should be that can be 

252
00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:35,200
broken in one moment of the 
truth being declared over that 

253
00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:38,960
person. 
And so if you're in that person 

254
00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:42,400
saying, yeah, I'm with somebody 
that's not really working with 

255
00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:44,880
me and wanting to see God 
glorified and my children 

256
00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:50,640
sanctified, you do you in living
wholeheartedly for God and trust

257
00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:57,560
that that has the ability to 
rescue anyone and you do your 

258
00:15:57,560 --> 00:16:00,000
part also. 
And being able to 1 exemplify 

259
00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:05,000
truth and to convey it, because 
the truth can set anyone free 

260
00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:08,120
from any kind of shackle from 
any kind of closed environment 

261
00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:10,000
to light. 
It can all change like it did 

262
00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:12,800
for this man. 
He had a mother and mothers are 

263
00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:16,560
powerful, are they not? 
He had a mother who worship 

264
00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:18,920
false gods and all took was a 
man of God to step in the scene 

265
00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:21,400
saying obey God. 
And we'll we'll learn later on 

266
00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:23,440
that chapter that he was 
encouraged and he brought 

267
00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:26,760
revival. 
That wasn't the case for 

268
00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:29,160
Rehoboam, unfortunately. 
So let's come back to our main 

269
00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:30,840
tax. 
We're still in verse 21. 

270
00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:33,680
Now. 
Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, 

271
00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:37,160
reigned in Judah. 
Rehoboam was 41 years old when 

272
00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:43,160
he began to reign, and he 
reigned 17 years in Jerusalem. 

273
00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:45,560
The city of the Lord had chosen 
out of all the tribes of Israel 

274
00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:50,120
to put his name there. 
He was king for 17 years, and 

275
00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:54,040
left to this text alone, you'd 
be under the impression that all

276
00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:57,360
17 years were wasted by 
unfaithfulness. 

277
00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:02,360
All 17 years were just thrown 
into the trash because of a man 

278
00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:05,079
who was confused and 
compromised. 

279
00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:11,040
And that's something that you 
might be left with if we don't 

280
00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:13,920
honor the consistent, regular 
reading of God's Word. 

281
00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:16,880
Because if you were to say I'm 
going to read my Bible, as I 

282
00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:19,240
believe you should, from cover 
to cover, then you would read 

283
00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:21,680
this in First Kings 14. 
But then you would journey 

284
00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:24,680
through Second Chronicles and 
you would discover something 

285
00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:28,040
that sheds light on this, that 
it wasn't all 17 years of 

286
00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:32,400
apostasy. 
So Second Chronicles and we come

287
00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:37,320
here verse 14 of Chapter 11. 
Now we read the section in a 

288
00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:40,560
recent study, but we didn't 
continue on as we are about to. 

289
00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:44,920
So in Second Chronicles 1114, 
notice what we read here by the 

290
00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:47,880
Spirit. 
For the Levites left their 

291
00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:51,480
common lands and their holdings 
and came to Judah and Jerusalem 

292
00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:54,600
because Jeroboam and his sons 
cast them out from serving as 

293
00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:56,400
priests of the Lord. 
Remember that right? 

294
00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:59,640
Remember when Jeroboam became 
king and he he started a false 

295
00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:01,800
religion and because of that the
Levites left. 

296
00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:04,240
They migrated. 
S not just the Levites. 

297
00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:07,600
Verse 15 And he appointed his 
own priest for the high places 

298
00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:09,960
and for the goat idols, for the 
calves that he had made. 

299
00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:13,480
And those who had set their 
hearts to seek the Lord God of 

300
00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:16,560
Israel came after them from all 
the tribes of Israel to 

301
00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:20,520
Jerusalem to sacrifice the Lord,
the God of their fathers. 

302
00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:21,640
That's where we stopped last 
time. 

303
00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:23,840
But notice what's this said here
in verse 17. 

304
00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:30,520
They strengthened the Kingdom of
Judah, and for three years they 

305
00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:33,520
made Rehoboam, the son of 
Solomon, secure. 

306
00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:38,200
For they walked for three years 
in the way of David and Solomon.

307
00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:44,120
Wow, So 17 years according to 
First Kings 14 He reigned. 

308
00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:49,440
But the first three years were 
secured and fruitful and 

309
00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:51,880
pleasing to the Lord to an 
extent. 

310
00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:58,280
The added strength that we're 
read about here is not stemmed 

311
00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:01,480
from a growing number of people 
that came to the southern part 

312
00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:04,080
of Israel. 
It's speaking about the 

313
00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:07,480
empowerment that came to the 
Southern Kingdom through the 

314
00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:11,720
piety of the people. 
It was their fervor, it was 

315
00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:15,760
their devotion, it was their 
sacrificial spirit that brought 

316
00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:17,920
a strengthening to the Kingdom 
of the South. 

317
00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:23,000
And when you think about how 
this godly caliber and quality, 

318
00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:26,520
this influx, contributed to the 
Southern Kingdom strength and 

319
00:19:26,520 --> 00:19:29,480
makes you think about something 
concerning you and I, something 

320
00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:32,640
that we often don't think about.
Because here's what we see. 

321
00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:36,160
The nation's spiritual growth 
and security did not come 

322
00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:40,240
exclusively from leaders. 
It came primarily from the 

323
00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:45,240
common people, all whose hearts 
were set on seeking the Lord. 

324
00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:49,520
It was the general population of
common families and fathers and 

325
00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:52,440
wives. 
And they made something of a 

326
00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:55,040
contribution because of their 
consecration to the Lord. 

327
00:19:56,880 --> 00:19:59,960
And if it's true that a nation 
was strengthened in that way at 

328
00:19:59,960 --> 00:20:03,720
this time in history? 
Is there any less true today in 

329
00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:07,040
our context? 
Look, leadership in the local 

330
00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:11,280
church is extremely important. 
The strength of that leadership,

331
00:20:11,360 --> 00:20:13,600
the seriousness of that 
leadership, the devotion of that

332
00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:15,120
leadership. 
Yes, it's all, it's all true, 

333
00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:20,040
It's all needed. 
But the maximum potential of the

334
00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:23,640
testimony and the glory and the 
beauty of the local church 

335
00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:27,720
cannot be known if the people 
who come to that church apart 

336
00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:31,320
from the leadership, treat the 
services and ministries as pep 

337
00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:34,120
rallies. 
It's not going to happen. 

338
00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:37,160
It's not going to happen where 
you're going to have a handful 

339
00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:41,400
of people who are in leadership 
pulling the load while everybody

340
00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:43,840
else just watches and applauds 
and talks about how grateful 

341
00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:46,240
they are because of how godly 
their leadership is. 

342
00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:50,520
Very limiting. 
Here's how you're supposed to be

343
00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:55,120
encouraged that you play no 
small part as you participate 

344
00:20:55,120 --> 00:20:58,160
and make your presence known in 
a body of people who believe in 

345
00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:00,520
Jesus Christ. 
In the same way that these 

346
00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:04,440
people, whose hearts were right 
with God, nourish and flourish 

347
00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:06,120
the people that they join 
themselves to. 

348
00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:10,440
You can as well. 
Yes, you stay at home, Mom. 

349
00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:13,240
Yes, you construction worker. 
Yes, you engineer. 

350
00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:17,840
Yes, you, full time student. 
Your walk with the Lord can have

351
00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:21,480
greater blessing. 
It can be monumental to wherever

352
00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:24,360
God in His Providence places 
you, and it could be equally 

353
00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:27,640
detrimental. 
It could be detrimental to the 

354
00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:30,240
testimony, to the witness, to 
the potential of a place that 

355
00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:33,720
wants to glorify God. 
Here you have just a people, 

356
00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:39,120
nameless, who come to the people
of the South and join themselves

357
00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:42,160
to a questionable leadership, 
and that's the kindest way of 

358
00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:44,200
saying it. 
And yet something happened to 

359
00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:46,880
them. 
Do not underestimate your 

360
00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:49,480
membership. 
Do not underestimate your 

361
00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:51,400
gifting. 
Do not underestimate what your 

362
00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:56,320
white hot love for Christ can do
to another people around you as 

363
00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:57,840
they stay around you long 
enough. 

364
00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:04,760
I'm reminded of one of the laws 
in Exodus when when it came to 

365
00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:08,120
one of the the furnishings in 
the Tabernacle, the lamp, the 

366
00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:10,000
people were to bring their own 
oil. 

367
00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:14,760
It was not the priest who were 
to fetch out in the vineyards 

368
00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:17,400
for for olives, to crush him and
make oil, for the lamp to be 

369
00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:19,560
burning continually. 
He says that the people were 

370
00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:23,960
supposed to bring their own oil.
That speaks about the communal 

371
00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:27,400
effort, not just leadership, but
the church as a whole, members 

372
00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:30,200
of the same body working 
together to say we're going to 

373
00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:32,760
sharpen each other and we're 
going to look brighter and more 

374
00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:36,240
polished so that people can see 
Christ in the face of this 

375
00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:39,400
people group. 
That's what I see here at that. 

376
00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:41,800
That's not meant to convict you 
more than it is to encourage 

377
00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:45,280
you. 
You can do something to the 

378
00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:49,400
overall testimony and experience
of this place and whatever place

379
00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:52,280
you represent. 
I think about what just happened

380
00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:54,600
recently when we had our recent 
members meeting concerning our 

381
00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:58,800
need to transition and the faith
of the people and the excitement

382
00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:04,400
of the people and the ideas of 
the people, the people is really

383
00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:06,120
was really the catalyst for 
everything. 

384
00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:07,880
And we have no problem admitting
that. 

385
00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:13,040
We're excited to know that that 
there are people here who sit 

386
00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:15,800
here who observe and listen, 
yes, but also participate, 

387
00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:19,080
saying that they believe in what
God is doing here and they want 

388
00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:21,320
to move forward and see God do 
more. 

389
00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:23,800
We rejoice and give God glory 
for that. 

390
00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:26,760
And that's what you see here. 
The people came to the Kingdom 

391
00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:29,080
of the South, the King of the 
Judah, and they brought 

392
00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:31,440
something with them. 
Now you might be wondering why 

393
00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:33,160
only for three years? 
And that's a good question. 

394
00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:36,360
Why not for all those 17 years? 
Well, the answer is in Second 

395
00:23:36,360 --> 00:23:39,040
Chronicles 12. 
Look at verse one. 

396
00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:48,720
When the rule of Rehoboam was 
established and he was strong, 

397
00:23:50,120 --> 00:23:52,760
he abandoned the law of the 
Lord. 

398
00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:56,840
Now look at this and all Israel 
with him. 

399
00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:01,600
He abandoned the law of the Lord
and all Israel with him. 

400
00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:04,080
Here's the idea. 
It's not that power and 

401
00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:08,720
prosperity led to his downfall, 
is that the enjoyment of these 

402
00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:13,480
blessings led to his demise. 
Because he failed to attribute, 

403
00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:16,400
pay attention. 
Now he failed to attribute and 

404
00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:21,080
maintain the spiritual obedience
that brought forth these 

405
00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:24,560
blessings to begin with, let me 
make it more plain. 

406
00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:28,320
What Rahobaum did here is what 
many people do in life in their 

407
00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:33,080
spiritual journey. 
He began to abandon his 

408
00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:37,400
neediness of God, his observance
of God, his worship of God, when

409
00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:43,720
all was well. 
When he became strong, he became

410
00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:49,040
weak, and this time the people 
who once inspired him now 

411
00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:51,880
followed him. 
Did you read that he abandoned 

412
00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:54,400
the law of the Lord and all 
Israel with them? 

413
00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:57,080
What a sad thing. 
What a sad reversal. 

414
00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:01,280
The same people who came and 
strengthened the Kingdom are now

415
00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:03,560
the people who are being 
weakened by a weak leadership. 

416
00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:05,720
And what do we to make of this? 
It's very simple. 

417
00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:10,000
It shows just how dangerous it 
is for anyone, anyone, whether 

418
00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:13,480
you're a leader or not a leader 
for anyone to cruise through a 

419
00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:16,760
season of life where there is 
little to no turbulence. 

420
00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:21,840
You got the job that you wanted.
You got the girl that you 

421
00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:23,320
wanted. 
You got the guy that you wanted.

422
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:25,200
You got the house that you 
wanted. 

423
00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:30,280
Your body is healthy. 
The bank account is good. 

424
00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:33,520
You have a good group of 
friends, and you do things 

425
00:25:33,520 --> 00:25:35,760
almost every weekend. 
You have a nice church that 

426
00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:39,560
makes you feel good every week, 
and you're not guarding your 

427
00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:42,480
heart. 
You're not vigilant over how 

428
00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:45,600
quickly you can wander. 
If anyone thinks he stands, let 

429
00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:50,360
him take heed, lest he falls. 
And that's what this man did. 

430
00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:53,960
Can I? 
Can I tell you what the true 

431
00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:57,480
test of genuine devotion is? 
Talking about? 

432
00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:00,800
Devotion to the Lord. 
It's not when you come close to 

433
00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:02,920
the Lord, when your world is 
falling apart. 

434
00:26:03,760 --> 00:26:06,440
It's not when you come close to 
the Lord when your world is 

435
00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:10,320
falling apart. 
It's choosing to stay close to 

436
00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:14,160
the Lord as time goes on without
troubles or trials. 

437
00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:20,440
That's a true test of devotion. 
When you can worship with equal 

438
00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:21,640
strength, if not greater 
strength. 

439
00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:24,120
When you still come to the 
prayer meetings, not because you

440
00:26:24,120 --> 00:26:26,960
need something, just because you
know you need to be sustained by

441
00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:29,080
Him in the good times and the 
bad. 

442
00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:33,080
When you serve, whether you feel
like it or not, when everything 

443
00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:35,880
is going well and the sun is 
shining and the clouds are 

444
00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:40,640
cleared and you still have this 
fervency in your bones, that's 

445
00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:46,600
true devotion. 
And these people became strong 

446
00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:50,480
economically, politically, and 
that was a result of God's 

447
00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:52,320
blessing in their lives for 
their obedience. 

448
00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:55,840
There was a direct correlation 
there, but when everything was 

449
00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:58,800
going well, everything was not 
really well. 

450
00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:04,160
It was the beginning of a 
decline, and that's what we read

451
00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:10,880
right in the 25th verse. 
The 22nd verse actually 

452
00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:15,840
highlights it and Judah verse 
Kings 14 did what was evil in 

453
00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:18,680
the sight of the Lord and they 
provoked him to jealousy with 

454
00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:20,800
their sins that they committed. 
Now look at this. 

455
00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:26,400
More than all that their fathers
had done, they they've reached 

456
00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:30,720
the place of sinfulness and 
disobedience that has not been 

457
00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:33,960
known yet. 
They they broke a new record, so

458
00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:38,880
to speak. 
But then when we come back to 

459
00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:43,720
verse 25, we haven't read this 
yet, so let's read it. 

460
00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:49,120
In the fifth year of King 
Rehoboam, Shishak, King of 

461
00:27:49,120 --> 00:27:51,040
Egypt, came up against 
Jerusalem. 

462
00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:54,880
He took away the treasures of 
the House of the Lord and the 

463
00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:58,000
treasures of the King's house. 
He took away everything. 

464
00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:01,200
He also took away all the 
Shields of gold that Solomon had

465
00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:03,640
made. 
And King Rehoboam made it in 

466
00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:06,760
their place, Shields of bronze, 
and committed them to the hands 

467
00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:10,440
of the officers of the guard who
kept the door of the King's 

468
00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:13,560
house. 
So for the first three years 

469
00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:16,880
Rehoboam and the Kingdom of 
Judah were faithful. 

470
00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:23,000
They were strong. 
And after those three years they

471
00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:25,280
abandoned the Lord And at the 
5th year. 

472
00:28:25,280 --> 00:28:30,640
So we can say that a little over
a year, close to two years even,

473
00:28:30,840 --> 00:28:33,640
they were walking in these 
abominable practices. 

474
00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:37,840
Male cult, prostitutes, false 
worship, just things that you 

475
00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:41,400
can't even think about and 
imagine we're going on before 

476
00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:43,440
now. 
The king of Egypt invades and 

477
00:28:43,440 --> 00:28:46,360
surrounds Jerusalem. 
This is not accidental. 

478
00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:50,120
This is not merely A surprising 
military stunt. 

479
00:28:50,720 --> 00:28:53,000
It's not again until you go to 
Second Chronicles where you 

480
00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:57,480
realize that God's Hand is 
behind this invasion, because in

481
00:28:57,480 --> 00:28:59,840
Second Chronicles 12/2 and you 
don't have to go there unless 

482
00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:02,120
you want to. 
We're told that because they had

483
00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:06,560
been unfaithful to the Lord 
Shishak, the king of Egypt came 

484
00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:10,440
up against Jerusalem. 
So what do we see here in verse 

485
00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:13,880
25 of First Kings 14? 
God's discipline on full 

486
00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:17,200
display? 
You walked away from me. 

487
00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:20,360
You chose to liberate yourself 
from my Lordship. 

488
00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:22,840
Then let me bring another king 
into your life and let's see how

489
00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:26,280
you like it. 
So the king of Egypt comes and 

490
00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:30,080
he surrounds the people. 
And surprisingly, out of all the

491
00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:32,680
things that he could have done, 
the thing that is highlighted is

492
00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:36,880
that he goes into one of the 
edifices and he removes the 

493
00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:40,320
Shields of gold that we studied 
about how Solomon made and he 

494
00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:44,400
put on display. 
And King Rib home in in response

495
00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:47,520
to that makes the Shields of 
brass and he replaces the 

496
00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:52,240
Shields of gold with that. 
What are we to make of this? 

497
00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:54,520
Very simple. 
We heard about this many weeks 

498
00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:57,080
ago, but we need to hear it 
again sometimes. 

499
00:29:57,360 --> 00:29:59,600
This is a principle, an 
illustration of what sin does in

500
00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:01,240
your life. 
Sin always impoverishes you. 

501
00:30:02,560 --> 00:30:07,960
Sin always steals from you. 
Sin always weakens you. 

502
00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:13,680
And that's what we see here. 
We see a diminishing beauty and 

503
00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:17,560
majesty and glory taking place 
in the Kingdom of Judah. 

504
00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:20,400
What was once gold is now bronze
brass. 

505
00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:25,520
It's diluting sin diminishes 
your quality of life. 

506
00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:28,320
It strips you of the spiritual 
treasures that the Lord longs to

507
00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:31,560
furnish you with and fill your 
life with always. 

508
00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:34,240
And you know what Rehoboam does 
here? 

509
00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:37,880
What Rehoboam does does here is 
what people do when they walk 

510
00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:42,400
away from God and want to try to
sustain themselves as much as 

511
00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:45,800
possible without wanting to 
admit or maybe because they 

512
00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:48,000
haven't felt convicted about 
their abandonment of the Lord 

513
00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:51,640
just yet. 
You try to fill the void that 

514
00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:54,720
sin creates in your life with 
cheap substitutes. 

515
00:30:56,880 --> 00:30:59,880
That's what always happens. 
Can I tell you something? 

516
00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:02,640
I have never in my whole walk 
with the Lord. 

517
00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:03,840
Never. 
Never. 

518
00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:04,400
Never. 
Never. 

519
00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:09,120
And I've seen, unfortunately, 
too many people who have walked 

520
00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:13,840
away from the Lord or people who
have become lukewarm toward the 

521
00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:15,720
Lord. 
I've never seen anybody do that.

522
00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:19,400
And them ending up better off 
than they were when they were 

523
00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:21,080
walking closely with the Lord. 
Never. 

524
00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:23,840
Not once. 
I've never looked at anybody who

525
00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:26,120
walked away from the church, 
walked away from the truth, or 

526
00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:29,240
walked away from a true total 
devotion to the Lord and said to

527
00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:32,520
myself, they look like they're 
doing better than ever. 

528
00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:35,920
Have you? 
If you have, please tell me. 

529
00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:37,240
Let's pull up their social 
media. 

530
00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:39,600
I want to see it for myself 
because I've never. 

531
00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:45,680
And that's the case here, 
because part of Solomon's 

532
00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:49,880
prosperity where silver became 
like like common stone, was 

533
00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:52,920
because God promised him that he
would make him wealthy. 

534
00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:55,880
Obviously he went overboard with
that because he acquired too 

535
00:31:55,880 --> 00:31:59,280
much, but a part of it shows 
that the gold signified his 

536
00:31:59,280 --> 00:32:04,560
favor, his blessing, and that 
gold now is reduced to brass for

537
00:32:04,560 --> 00:32:08,120
one reason, turning your back on
the Lord. 

538
00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:13,320
And as heartbreaking as this 
scene might be, when you know 

539
00:32:13,320 --> 00:32:16,480
the full story, you realize that
it's not just divine display 

540
00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:19,400
that's on display here, Divine 
disciplines on display here. 

541
00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:22,240
You actually see mercy and 
motion. 

542
00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:27,920
You read First Kings 14 and then
you skip over to the New 

543
00:32:27,920 --> 00:32:29,600
Testament because you don't want
to continue in the Old 

544
00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:31,280
Testament. 
And you would miss this again 

545
00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:34,520
from Second Chronicles because 
Second Chronicles highlights 

546
00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:38,640
what really is going on here. 
So go there with me. 

547
00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:43,640
And Second Chronicles 12, I know
your arm might be tired. 

548
00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:49,440
Second Chronicles 12. 
Look at verse 5. 

549
00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:57,080
Then Shamaya the prophet came to
Rehoboam and to the Princess of 

550
00:32:57,080 --> 00:33:01,520
Judah who had gathered at 
Jerusalem because of Shishak. 

551
00:33:01,520 --> 00:33:03,440
We heard of him in First Kings 
1425. 

552
00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:08,200
So this prophet comes and he 
interrupts this council meeting 

553
00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:12,920
and said to them. 
Thus says the Lord, You 

554
00:33:12,920 --> 00:33:18,400
abandoned me, so I have 
abandoned you to the hand of 

555
00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:21,200
Sheshak. 
Look at verse six. 

556
00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:26,040
Then the Princess of Israel and 
the King humbled themselves and 

557
00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:31,760
said the Lord is righteous. 
This text excited me so much I 

558
00:33:31,760 --> 00:33:35,280
had to gather myself. 
And I had to tell myself, Don't 

559
00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:38,320
get overly excited when you 
share that truth because you 

560
00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:41,120
want to clearly present at least
two important points from this 

561
00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:43,320
text. 
So I'm doing that now. 

562
00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:46,600
Give me a second first thing to 
draw from this. 

563
00:33:46,600 --> 00:33:48,560
You ready? 
There's two things I want you to

564
00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:49,880
see from this. 
Here's the first thing, because 

565
00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:51,080
we didn't see this in first case
14. 

566
00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:52,520
We're seeing it here in this 
parallel count. 

567
00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:57,640
Here's the first thing. 
It's never too late to call 

568
00:33:57,640 --> 00:34:02,440
anyone to repent. 
It's never too late to call 

569
00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:07,400
anyone to repentance because 
Shamaya the prophet comes on the

570
00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:13,040
scene when Shishak and his 
armies were just underneath the 

571
00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:17,480
nose, the noses of this 
leadership, They were right at 

572
00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:20,000
the front door. 
And this man of art comes with a

573
00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:22,560
true word from the Lord and he 
gives the biblical and 

574
00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:27,000
theological explanation for what
may seem just as a political 

575
00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:31,360
move from Egypt. 
Hey, add this to your meeting. 

576
00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:34,239
The reason why this is happening
is because you abandoned God, so

577
00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:37,600
God abandoned you. 
This is confrontation. 

578
00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:41,000
This is truth colliding with a 
stubborn people, a callous 

579
00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:43,280
people. 
And maybe you need to revisit 

580
00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:48,360
First Kings 1422 to 24 to 
realize just how hopeless this 

581
00:34:48,360 --> 00:34:52,000
nation has become. 
Male cult prostitutes. 

582
00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:54,159
You know what that means? 
I don't want to be too gravity 

583
00:34:54,159 --> 00:34:57,960
here, but you had men, you had 
sodomites, you had homosexual 

584
00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:01,080
behavior happening in these 
false places of worship as an 

585
00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:05,280
expression to these deities of 
fertility to answer their cry, 

586
00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:11,040
That's disgusting, That's 
depraved, That's horrible. 

587
00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:15,200
And we we read it that they had 
done more than all their other 

588
00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:18,840
fathers had done. 
So at this point in Israel's 

589
00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:21,160
history, this is the worst that 
it ever was. 

590
00:35:23,120 --> 00:35:26,280
And yet still a man of God comes
on the scene and preaches A 

591
00:35:26,280 --> 00:35:29,720
brief message to them, and it 
was enough to melt their hearts.

592
00:35:30,720 --> 00:35:33,160
You know, I thought about that 
when I was reflecting on these 

593
00:35:33,160 --> 00:35:35,760
truths about our own generation 
in this nation. 

594
00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:39,640
The suicide rate, the 
depression, the confusion, the 

595
00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:43,040
entertainment, the things that 
people are allowing and paying 

596
00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:45,080
money for. 
The anger. 

597
00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:49,200
All these different vices that 
are just piling up, making us 

598
00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:51,400
feel as we stand the shadow of 
this filth. 

599
00:35:52,320 --> 00:35:57,280
Is there even a point that we 
just celebrate people barely 

600
00:35:57,280 --> 00:36:01,200
making it to church and our 
minds don't even go beyond, hey,

601
00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:04,360
it, it's possible for this 
gospel to still save people. 

602
00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:08,040
This gospel can still save 
people in America. 

603
00:36:08,920 --> 00:36:12,440
It can save, yes, this new 
generation that doesn't know 

604
00:36:12,440 --> 00:36:14,840
they're left from the right, It 
still can save. 

605
00:36:14,840 --> 00:36:16,960
We're still, the church is still
here for a reason. 

606
00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:21,280
The Holy Spirit is still in us, 
working through us for a reason.

607
00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:25,480
We're not a bunker that's just 
hiding from the world, hoping 

608
00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:27,840
not to be contaminated until 
Christ comes back. 

609
00:36:28,160 --> 00:36:32,960
We're on the offensive. 
And so I see from this that no 

610
00:36:32,960 --> 00:36:37,800
matter how twisted, darkened, 
confused and insensitive 

611
00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:42,840
anybody, maybe a leadership, a 
political leadership, maybe it's

612
00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:45,840
never too late, nor should we 
give up calling them to the 

613
00:36:45,840 --> 00:36:48,200
truth. 
But here's the second point. 

614
00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:51,400
Not just that it's never too 
late for us to call people to 

615
00:36:51,400 --> 00:36:54,840
the truth, but it's never too 
late to repent either. 

616
00:36:56,560 --> 00:36:59,560
What do we see in verse six? 
Then the Princess of Israel and 

617
00:36:59,560 --> 00:37:06,080
the King humbled themselves and 
said the Lord is righteous all 

618
00:37:06,080 --> 00:37:08,600
to be there in that meeting room
to see Shema. 

619
00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:09,920
I wonder if he kicked the door 
down. 

620
00:37:10,880 --> 00:37:12,560
I wonder if he just surprised 
them. 

621
00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:18,560
Hey, Princess of Israel and real
bomb, you've been in God. 

622
00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:22,240
So this is the outcome of it. 
What did it look like for them? 

623
00:37:22,240 --> 00:37:25,560
I wonder if there was a pause. 
I wonder if they held their 

624
00:37:25,560 --> 00:37:27,920
breath. 
I wonder who was the first one 

625
00:37:27,920 --> 00:37:30,760
to break the silence of 
conviction. 

626
00:37:31,720 --> 00:37:34,360
And they collectively said the 
Lord is righteous. 

627
00:37:34,360 --> 00:37:37,880
You know what that means? 
God is right in disciplining us 

628
00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:39,280
in this way because we are 
wrong. 

629
00:37:39,640 --> 00:37:42,560
That's repentance. 
That's brokenness. 

630
00:37:42,680 --> 00:37:47,000
That's contrition. 
And here's the point that moves 

631
00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:47,920
me. 
It's verse seven. 

632
00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:52,520
Look at this. 
When the Lord saw that they 

633
00:37:52,640 --> 00:37:56,600
humbled themselves, the word of 
the Lord came to Shamaya. 

634
00:37:57,040 --> 00:38:00,960
They have humbled themselves. 
I will not destroy them, but I 

635
00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:03,400
will grant them some 
deliverance, and my wrath shall 

636
00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:06,560
not be poured out on Jerusalem 
by the hand of Shishak. 

637
00:38:08,920 --> 00:38:13,000
When did Lord make the decision 
to diminish the severity of His 

638
00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:18,000
judgment? 
When the Lord saw that they 

639
00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:21,520
humble themselves. 
The very moment that they humble

640
00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:25,760
themselves was the very moment. 
Not a second later, God's mercy 

641
00:38:25,800 --> 00:38:29,920
was activated. 
Not a blink later, not a breath 

642
00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:34,240
later, the very moment they 
humble themselves, God sent a 

643
00:38:34,240 --> 00:38:36,280
word from heaven to the same 
prophet, He says. 

644
00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:41,800
Did you just see what happened? 
And He changed the verdict on 

645
00:38:41,800 --> 00:38:46,600
the spot. 
We're told that he he would not 

646
00:38:46,600 --> 00:38:48,520
destroy them by the hand of 
Sheshak. 

647
00:38:50,880 --> 00:38:52,960
Now here's what you and I should
glory in. 

648
00:38:53,440 --> 00:39:00,240
If God's mercy can be awakened 
so speedily, so swiftly under an

649
00:39:00,240 --> 00:39:05,920
inferior covenant, how much more
is it excited when you and I 

650
00:39:05,920 --> 00:39:08,200
embrace His Son, the Lord Jesus 
Christ? 

651
00:39:09,880 --> 00:39:13,560
Is he slower to receive you the 
moment upon your confession and 

652
00:39:13,560 --> 00:39:16,200
belief in your heart that he is 
Lord and that God raised him 

653
00:39:16,200 --> 00:39:21,400
from the dead? 
No, in so many ways and in 

654
00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:27,800
numerous ways and verses. 
Rather, are we comforted to know

655
00:39:27,800 --> 00:39:32,600
that when we confess our sin 
with a repentant faith, in that 

656
00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:36,520
very moment we are justified and
we are secured. 

657
00:39:37,160 --> 00:39:41,560
Not momentarily, not until you 
prove yourself, but forever. 

658
00:39:42,720 --> 00:39:46,000
Forever. 
I'm saved. 

659
00:39:47,080 --> 00:39:50,560
I'm saved because of my faith in
Christ. 

660
00:39:51,160 --> 00:39:55,120
I'm delivered. 
My verdict has been changed for 

661
00:39:55,120 --> 00:39:59,720
eternity, and that's important, 
the sufficiency of what Christ 

662
00:39:59,720 --> 00:40:02,000
has done. 
Because you will never know true

663
00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:05,280
joy that the joy that God wants 
you to know in your salvation 

664
00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:09,000
unless you believe in the 
permanency of your redemption. 

665
00:40:10,960 --> 00:40:12,920
Yes, He's a gracious God in the 
Old covenant. 

666
00:40:12,920 --> 00:40:17,440
He's a gracious God in the New 
covenant and giving us His son 

667
00:40:17,440 --> 00:40:19,520
and all how He is ready to 
forgive us. 

668
00:40:19,720 --> 00:40:25,520
When you are ready to humble 
yourself and erase all that sin 

669
00:40:25,760 --> 00:40:29,080
and cleanse your record 
completely, completely, like 

670
00:40:29,920 --> 00:40:36,000
blank blank, I have a couple of 
illustrations that would give up

671
00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:38,400
my own life, of how I was 
relieved when something was not 

672
00:40:38,400 --> 00:40:41,080
given to me, when I deserved it.
But I'll spare you those 

673
00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:44,040
illustrations. 
Instead, I want you to see 

674
00:40:44,040 --> 00:40:45,280
something interesting in verse 
eight. 

675
00:40:45,280 --> 00:40:47,040
You're still in Second 
Chronicles 12, are you not? 

676
00:40:51,160 --> 00:40:58,560
Nevertheless, they shall be 
servants to him that they may 

677
00:40:58,560 --> 00:41:03,440
know my service and the service 
of the kingdoms of the 

678
00:41:03,440 --> 00:41:07,240
countries. 
So yes, I'm not going to allow 

679
00:41:07,240 --> 00:41:11,720
the King of Egypt to completely 
swallow up Jerusalem. 

680
00:41:12,680 --> 00:41:17,640
Yet, because of Judah's historic
inconsistencies and because the 

681
00:41:17,640 --> 00:41:20,320
Lord is a good father, he's 
going to allow the King of Egypt

682
00:41:20,320 --> 00:41:23,480
to have some mastery over the 
people of Judah. 

683
00:41:25,360 --> 00:41:28,800
I'm going to let the king of 
Egypt have some kind of control 

684
00:41:28,800 --> 00:41:33,000
over you for a season. 
I'm going to let you be under 

685
00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:34,760
his leadership. 
Why? 

686
00:41:35,240 --> 00:41:38,240
So they can compare. 
Did you read it? 

687
00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:42,840
That they may know my service 
and the service of the kingdoms 

688
00:41:42,840 --> 00:41:46,120
of the countries? 
OK, so if they thought that 

689
00:41:46,120 --> 00:41:49,000
living under my rule was so 
limiting, so joyless, so void of

690
00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:52,760
meeting and satisfaction, then 
they have to learn the hard way.

691
00:41:53,840 --> 00:41:56,560
And here's the hard way. 
They're going to have to 

692
00:41:56,560 --> 00:42:00,400
experientially know what it 
means to have a different Lord 

693
00:42:00,400 --> 00:42:05,360
on their lives. 
You know, unfortunately, there 

694
00:42:05,360 --> 00:42:10,040
are many people who have seen so
much, who have heard so much. 

695
00:42:10,320 --> 00:42:13,240
I mean, the unparalleled 
testimonies that the people of 

696
00:42:13,240 --> 00:42:16,240
Israel have experienced, the the
manifestations and the miracles.

697
00:42:16,240 --> 00:42:18,440
Paul even speaks about how 
privileged they were as a people

698
00:42:18,440 --> 00:42:22,600
group. 
And with all of that, all of the

699
00:42:22,600 --> 00:42:26,080
witnessing and all of the 
experiences, they were still 

700
00:42:26,080 --> 00:42:27,880
tempted to run after other 
lovers. 

701
00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:33,400
And so there's some people even 
today that no matter how, no 

702
00:42:33,400 --> 00:42:36,240
matter how eloquent this is, no 
matter how profound, no matter 

703
00:42:36,240 --> 00:42:39,200
how much the grace of God is 
being pounded into your 

704
00:42:39,200 --> 00:42:43,080
unbelieving heart, your 
skeptical heart, though you may 

705
00:42:43,080 --> 00:42:47,880
believe it here, there are some 
people who are not convinced and

706
00:42:47,880 --> 00:42:52,920
won't be convinced until they 
look for other saviors and 

707
00:42:52,920 --> 00:42:57,080
realize they can't be saved. 
And I'm not talking about other 

708
00:42:57,080 --> 00:42:59,400
gods. 
I'm talking about things that 

709
00:42:59,400 --> 00:43:02,200
try to save you from loneliness.
Things that try to save you from

710
00:43:02,200 --> 00:43:05,720
a life that is void of pleasure.
Things that promise you 

711
00:43:05,720 --> 00:43:08,000
something in this life that 
you're so longing for. 

712
00:43:08,200 --> 00:43:11,440
And there are some people, you 
know them and I know them, that 

713
00:43:11,440 --> 00:43:16,760
will not bend the knee 
completely and guaranteed until 

714
00:43:16,760 --> 00:43:19,800
they discover and get bruised by
other idols. 

715
00:43:20,960 --> 00:43:24,640
That was true for real, Bomb. 
OK, you're obviously not 

716
00:43:24,640 --> 00:43:26,360
convinced because it doesn't 
take you much long for you to 

717
00:43:26,360 --> 00:43:29,000
turn your back on me. 
So here's another king. 

718
00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:32,160
See how you like it. 
See how you like it. 

719
00:43:33,520 --> 00:43:34,800
That was true for Aeroboam's 
day. 

720
00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:36,960
And listen, that was true in 
Hosea's day. 

721
00:43:38,120 --> 00:43:40,640
It turned there with me. 
Hosea, I want you to see this 

722
00:43:40,640 --> 00:43:46,200
verse. 
Hosea. 

723
00:43:46,200 --> 00:43:53,200
Chapter 2, verse 7. 
What a. 

724
00:43:53,360 --> 00:43:58,400
This is a heartbreaking book. 
Prophet Hosea And early in this 

725
00:43:58,400 --> 00:44:03,560
book we get a verse that 
explains exactly what I'm trying

726
00:44:03,560 --> 00:44:07,520
to explain to you. 
Hosea 27 She, being Israel, 

727
00:44:07,520 --> 00:44:10,520
shall pursue her lovers, but not
overtake them. 

728
00:44:10,840 --> 00:44:13,680
She shall seek them but shall 
not find them. 

729
00:44:14,080 --> 00:44:20,840
Then she shall say, I will go 
and return to my first husband, 

730
00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:23,440
for it was better for me then 
than now. 

731
00:44:25,920 --> 00:44:32,240
You see what God is saying? 
Yeah, you know, go do your thing

732
00:44:32,240 --> 00:44:34,560
and run after these things and 
you're going to realize that 

733
00:44:34,560 --> 00:44:36,040
what you're looking for you'll 
never find. 

734
00:44:36,240 --> 00:44:40,400
And only then will you pause and
ponder and think to yourself, I 

735
00:44:40,400 --> 00:44:44,960
think it's time to go back to 
Jesus, because it was far better

736
00:44:44,960 --> 00:44:47,560
for me then than it is now. 
That's the prodigal son. 

737
00:44:49,120 --> 00:44:50,160
That's not just the product of 
son. 

738
00:44:50,160 --> 00:44:53,480
That's the worship leader Asaph 
from Psalm 73 in the last verse,

739
00:44:53,480 --> 00:44:55,360
after he struggled whether or 
not it was worth it to be 

740
00:44:55,360 --> 00:44:59,640
righteous because the payoff 
didn't seem right. 

741
00:44:59,640 --> 00:45:02,560
In this life at least, you see 
all the wicked enjoying having 

742
00:45:02,560 --> 00:45:05,200
families and vacations in good 
health and dying in peace. 

743
00:45:05,360 --> 00:45:10,240
Is it really worth what's in it 
for me to follow the Lord and 

744
00:45:10,240 --> 00:45:12,680
you begin to think and feel? 
I mean, look, if you think that 

745
00:45:12,680 --> 00:45:15,520
this is not true, Asaph was a 
worship leader in the temple. 

746
00:45:16,080 --> 00:45:18,440
This worship leader who led 
people to sing the praises of 

747
00:45:18,440 --> 00:45:22,640
God felt this way. 
He felt tempted to think maybe 

748
00:45:22,720 --> 00:45:25,920
me being sold out for the Lord 
is not really worth it. 

749
00:45:26,640 --> 00:45:29,800
And then he comes to the House 
of God and he's reminded of 

750
00:45:29,800 --> 00:45:33,480
these eternal truths. 
And the last verse of Psalm 73, 

751
00:45:33,480 --> 00:45:38,240
verse 28 says this. 
As for me, it is good to be near

752
00:45:38,240 --> 00:45:40,960
God. 
Can I ask you a question on this

753
00:45:40,960 --> 00:45:43,080
Friday night? 
I love seeing you every single 

754
00:45:43,080 --> 00:45:45,640
week, but it's amazing what can 
happen from last Friday to this 

755
00:45:45,640 --> 00:45:47,320
Friday. 
So let me ask us as a brother 

756
00:45:47,320 --> 00:45:50,040
who cares for you, and I hope 
you feel the love throbbing in 

757
00:45:50,040 --> 00:45:52,880
my heart for you. 
Are you near God tonight? 

758
00:45:54,640 --> 00:45:59,480
I'm asking if you believe God. 
I'm asking if you are near God. 

759
00:46:00,520 --> 00:46:04,680
How do I know if I'm near God? 
You know, you know not to give 

760
00:46:04,680 --> 00:46:06,800
you a theological masterpiece to
figure that out. 

761
00:46:07,360 --> 00:46:08,720
You know where your affections 
are. 

762
00:46:09,120 --> 00:46:10,560
You know where your meditations 
are. 

763
00:46:13,040 --> 00:46:15,840
You know when you voluntarily 
worship the Lord, when nobody's 

764
00:46:15,840 --> 00:46:17,360
around, you know what it's like 
to be near God. 

765
00:46:17,360 --> 00:46:21,000
So here's my question. 
Are you near God, Near Him? 

766
00:46:21,120 --> 00:46:24,960
Are you walking closely with 
him, in fellowship, in love, or 

767
00:46:24,960 --> 00:46:27,080
do you feel yourself getting 
further and further away from 

768
00:46:27,080 --> 00:46:30,080
him? 
If you are, let this Bible study

769
00:46:30,080 --> 00:46:33,560
remind you that the best place 
to be is not just around people 

770
00:46:33,560 --> 00:46:37,720
who are near God, but you being 
near God, not having pastors who

771
00:46:37,720 --> 00:46:40,440
are near God, you being near 
God. 

772
00:46:42,600 --> 00:46:45,960
It's good for me to be near God 
and no matter where I am in this

773
00:46:45,960 --> 00:46:48,480
world, put me in a palace. 
Put me on an island with all 

774
00:46:48,480 --> 00:46:51,520
access to all foods and 
services, there is nothing that 

775
00:46:51,520 --> 00:46:54,800
can compare to the satisfaction 
of being near God. 

776
00:46:55,600 --> 00:47:00,080
Stuff me in an igloo if I'm near
God, I'm the happiest. 

777
00:47:00,600 --> 00:47:03,640
Put me anywhere else where any 
amount of money can buy 

778
00:47:03,640 --> 00:47:06,160
anything. 
I don't care if as long as I'm 

779
00:47:06,160 --> 00:47:11,440
far from him I'm miserable. 
But As for me it is good to be 

780
00:47:11,440 --> 00:47:13,280
near God. 
Let's conclude this Bible study 

781
00:47:13,280 --> 00:47:15,720
with the last couple verses of 
First Kings 14. 

782
00:47:19,440 --> 00:47:21,800
You're saying? 
Remind me why you brought me to 

783
00:47:21,800 --> 00:47:25,960
Second Chronicles 12 with 
Sheeshak Sheeshak robbing the 

784
00:47:25,960 --> 00:47:33,680
people of the gold Shields, Was 
God limiting his destructive 

785
00:47:33,680 --> 00:47:36,240
power? 
In other words, when you read 

786
00:47:36,240 --> 00:47:38,520
First Kings 14 and compared to 
Second Chronicles 12, what 

787
00:47:38,520 --> 00:47:42,520
you're seeing is it could have 
been a lot worse if Rehoboam did

788
00:47:42,520 --> 00:47:47,120
not repent, but because Rehoboam
repented, then God only allowed 

789
00:47:47,120 --> 00:47:50,640
him to take some things. 
It makes you wonder, what if 

790
00:47:50,640 --> 00:47:53,080
Jeroboam had repented at any 
point? 

791
00:47:53,320 --> 00:47:54,640
What could he have been spared 
from? 

792
00:47:55,120 --> 00:47:57,680
What could he even rescued from?
But he never repented like this 

793
00:47:57,680 --> 00:48:01,080
man did? 
Now we come to the concluding 

794
00:48:01,320 --> 00:48:05,840
remarks of Rehoboam's life 
before the rest of our study. 

795
00:48:05,840 --> 00:48:09,080
In this book we will evaluate 
different kings succeeding kings

796
00:48:09,080 --> 00:48:10,920
of both the Northern and the 
Southern kingdoms. 

797
00:48:11,680 --> 00:48:15,080
Look at verse 29. 
Now the rest of the acts of 

798
00:48:15,080 --> 00:48:18,680
Rehoboam and all that he did, 
are they not written in the book

799
00:48:18,680 --> 00:48:20,680
of the Chronicles of the Kings 
of Judah? 

800
00:48:21,800 --> 00:48:25,800
And there was war between 
Rehoboam and Jeroboam 

801
00:48:25,800 --> 00:48:30,080
continually, and Rehoboam slept 
with his fathers and was buried 

802
00:48:30,080 --> 00:48:31,760
with his fathers in the city of 
David. 

803
00:48:32,160 --> 00:48:35,280
His mother's name was Nama the 
Ammonite and I be John. 

804
00:48:35,280 --> 00:48:41,280
His son reigned in his place. 
Here's the final testimony of 

805
00:48:41,280 --> 00:48:45,760
the first King of the Northern 
tribes and the third King of the

806
00:48:45,760 --> 00:48:48,160
Southern Tribes. 
It's verse 30. 

807
00:48:49,080 --> 00:48:51,800
And there was war between 
Rehoboam and Jeroboam 

808
00:48:51,800 --> 00:48:57,880
continually. 
What a regretful thing to be put

809
00:48:57,880 --> 00:49:03,480
on your obituary. 
The last thing that you read 

810
00:49:03,480 --> 00:49:07,560
about these two men is that they
were at war with each other 

811
00:49:07,840 --> 00:49:13,720
always. 
And the keyword here is 

812
00:49:13,720 --> 00:49:17,080
continually. 
And what's fascinating here is 

813
00:49:17,080 --> 00:49:20,800
that these two men who should 
have been working together, who 

814
00:49:20,800 --> 00:49:24,320
should have united the Kingdom, 
divided the Kingdom. 

815
00:49:24,320 --> 00:49:26,560
And they were not one in faith. 
They were not one in mind. 

816
00:49:26,560 --> 00:49:28,560
They were not one in purpose. 
They were not one in love. 

817
00:49:28,560 --> 00:49:31,040
What should have been one thing 
became two things and not just 

818
00:49:31,040 --> 00:49:32,680
two things. 
What should have been a family 

819
00:49:32,680 --> 00:49:36,960
became a civil war. 
Do you think that's just true 

820
00:49:36,960 --> 00:49:39,640
for Israel, or can it happen in 
the Church of Jesus Christ? 

821
00:49:41,080 --> 00:49:43,760
Is it possible for people's 
experience of the church and 

822
00:49:43,760 --> 00:49:46,160
Christian relationships to just 
be war continually? 

823
00:49:47,240 --> 00:49:52,720
Yeah, unfortunately. 
And perhaps we don't know just 

824
00:49:52,720 --> 00:49:57,320
how damaging persistent strife 
and discord can have on the 

825
00:49:57,320 --> 00:49:59,600
people of God. 
But Paul tells us at least one 

826
00:50:00,320 --> 00:50:04,360
one way it is so harmful. 
And this is our final verses in 

827
00:50:04,360 --> 00:50:06,400
the New Testament. 
Before we close, look what he 

828
00:50:06,400 --> 00:50:09,120
says in Galatians 5 and I'll 
I'll pause and wait here. 

829
00:50:09,120 --> 00:50:12,600
I won't say anything till you 
get there in Galatians 513. 

830
00:50:14,040 --> 00:50:19,120
Let this discourage you from 
justifying unnecessary discord 

831
00:50:21,760 --> 00:50:24,000
or fighting in the family of 
God. 

832
00:50:27,800 --> 00:50:28,840
And listen as you're turning 
there. 

833
00:50:28,840 --> 00:50:30,320
Know this. 
Within a community, there will 

834
00:50:30,320 --> 00:50:33,920
be moments of disagreement and 
conflict that that's that's a 

835
00:50:33,920 --> 00:50:36,360
given. 
That's true of your natural 

836
00:50:36,360 --> 00:50:38,640
family, and that's true in your 
spiritual family. 

837
00:50:39,200 --> 00:50:43,000
But every single problem, every 
single issue should be resolved 

838
00:50:43,600 --> 00:50:45,760
with the truth and with humility
and love. 

839
00:50:46,120 --> 00:50:47,960
And again, as I said earlier, 
the problem with these two is 

840
00:50:47,960 --> 00:50:50,880
that it was continual. 
It just marked the relationship.

841
00:50:51,760 --> 00:50:54,240
And here's what Paul speaks 
about concerning Christian 

842
00:50:54,240 --> 00:50:56,320
community and the dangers of 
this kind of attitude. 

843
00:50:57,360 --> 00:51:00,600
For you were called to freedom, 
brothers only. 

844
00:51:00,600 --> 00:51:04,440
Do not use your freedom as an 
opportunity for the flesh, but 

845
00:51:04,440 --> 00:51:08,880
through love. 
Serve one another through love, 

846
00:51:09,040 --> 00:51:10,680
Sir. 
Not just serve one another 

847
00:51:11,400 --> 00:51:14,520
through love. 
Get the love thing right first, 

848
00:51:14,840 --> 00:51:18,720
Get that impartation of God's 
love 1st and watch serving one 

849
00:51:18,720 --> 00:51:22,480
another come naturally as an 
outcome through love. 

850
00:51:22,480 --> 00:51:25,320
Serve one another for the whole 
law is fulfilled. 

851
00:51:25,320 --> 00:51:28,160
In one word. 
You shall love your neighbor as 

852
00:51:28,160 --> 00:51:30,440
yourself and he gives the 
alternative. 

853
00:51:30,440 --> 00:51:34,480
In this next verse, what happens
within a community of believers 

854
00:51:34,480 --> 00:51:37,000
when they are not lovingly 
serving one another? 

855
00:51:37,400 --> 00:51:42,320
When they don't see it to be a 
happy thing to invest in your 

856
00:51:42,320 --> 00:51:46,560
happiness as I would want to 
have my happiness invested in 

857
00:51:48,040 --> 00:51:50,000
here. 
Here's the potential verse 15. 

858
00:51:50,040 --> 00:51:56,640
But if you bite and devour one 
another, watch out that you are 

859
00:51:56,640 --> 00:52:00,160
not consumed by one another. 
That's the alternative. 

860
00:52:01,560 --> 00:52:06,120
Suck the love out of this place.
Have a bunch of people who are 

861
00:52:06,120 --> 00:52:11,880
not regulated by a Holy Spirit 
driven service to one another. 

862
00:52:13,160 --> 00:52:14,840
And you know what? 
You open that place up to 

863
00:52:15,560 --> 00:52:19,920
animalistic kind of contention. 
Have you ever, have you ever 

864
00:52:19,920 --> 00:52:21,800
heard the term he he's like an 
animal. 

865
00:52:22,040 --> 00:52:24,040
He acts like an animal. 
She acts like an animal. 

866
00:52:24,040 --> 00:52:26,360
That's what Paul is getting at. 
He's using very graphic imagery 

867
00:52:26,920 --> 00:52:30,680
where you put two beasts in a 
place and they're ferociously 

868
00:52:30,680 --> 00:52:34,280
unconcerned about the other and 
they're willing to devour. 

869
00:52:34,280 --> 00:52:37,000
Look at the language, bite and 
devour. 

870
00:52:38,640 --> 00:52:41,080
What does it mean for Christians
to bite and devour? 

871
00:52:41,080 --> 00:52:43,480
I'm sure it means many things, 
but I know it includes mainly 

872
00:52:43,480 --> 00:52:45,800
the mouth. 
When you bite something and 

873
00:52:45,800 --> 00:52:49,680
devour it requires this. 
And he goes, You Christians, you

874
00:52:49,680 --> 00:52:51,920
be careful, because here's the 
thing. 

875
00:52:52,280 --> 00:52:56,480
Christians can reach a place of 
Holy Spirit inspired love that 

876
00:52:56,480 --> 00:52:59,640
these meetings and these 
relationships can be a piece of 

877
00:52:59,640 --> 00:53:02,360
heaven on earth. 
We can reach such heights by the

878
00:53:02,360 --> 00:53:05,520
grace of the Holy Spirit. 
And yet we can be so 

879
00:53:05,520 --> 00:53:11,240
disconnected to the heart of God
that we can reach lows where 

880
00:53:11,280 --> 00:53:13,720
Christians who should reflect 
Christ, are actually acting like

881
00:53:13,720 --> 00:53:21,000
dogs do not bite or devour one 
another. 

882
00:53:21,240 --> 00:53:23,600
And he says watch out. 
And he's saying like be careful.

883
00:53:23,600 --> 00:53:26,680
Meaning it's it's possible for 
Christians to act this way, so 

884
00:53:26,680 --> 00:53:27,960
don't be surprised if you've 
seen it. 

885
00:53:28,080 --> 00:53:29,880
Don't be surprised if you have a
history of church hurt. 

886
00:53:30,000 --> 00:53:33,560
It's possible, apparently, but 
notice the extent of the 

887
00:53:33,560 --> 00:53:35,800
warning. 
But if you bite and devour one 

888
00:53:35,800 --> 00:53:41,480
another, watch out that you are 
not consumed by one another. 

889
00:53:41,960 --> 00:53:46,840
In other words, when this 
aggression and when this 

890
00:53:46,840 --> 00:53:52,120
division is is so prevalent and 
unresolved, it can lead to a 

891
00:53:52,120 --> 00:53:56,960
point where there is a consuming
you know what that word consumed

892
00:53:56,960 --> 00:53:59,360
is? 
It's the same word used in Luke 

893
00:53:59,360 --> 00:54:02,760
954 when James and John, the 
sons of Thunder, asked Jesus 

894
00:54:02,760 --> 00:54:05,040
because they were rejected by 
that village in Samaria. 

895
00:54:05,640 --> 00:54:08,480
And they said, Lord, shall we 
call down fire from heaven and 

896
00:54:08,480 --> 00:54:14,080
let them be consumed, Let them 
be consumed. 

897
00:54:14,600 --> 00:54:15,720
What does that mean to be 
consumed? 

898
00:54:15,720 --> 00:54:21,240
When fire consumes something, it
it becomes nothing, it's turned 

899
00:54:21,240 --> 00:54:26,320
to ash. 
And here's what one person said,

900
00:54:26,320 --> 00:54:29,520
and here's how he put it, That 
ongoing strife within a 

901
00:54:29,520 --> 00:54:34,280
Christian community can have the
potential of bringing that 

902
00:54:34,280 --> 00:54:40,480
community to extinction, 
consuming one another. 

903
00:54:40,640 --> 00:54:44,080
We're in essence, everything 
becomes non existent. 

904
00:54:44,720 --> 00:54:46,000
It's gone, it disappears. 
You're saying? 

905
00:54:46,000 --> 00:54:47,680
What does that mean? 
I don't know. 

906
00:54:48,040 --> 00:54:51,760
Have you ever seen churches no 
longer become churches because 

907
00:54:51,760 --> 00:54:56,160
of biting and devouring? 
That's at least one way that can

908
00:54:56,160 --> 00:55:01,040
manifest consuming and biting 
each other's flesh with your 

909
00:55:01,040 --> 00:55:05,520
mouth to the point where what 
once was alive is now no more. 

910
00:55:07,320 --> 00:55:09,800
And that can happen to our 
testimony before the world. 

911
00:55:09,800 --> 00:55:13,120
That can happen to the 
fruitfulness within this place. 

912
00:55:13,120 --> 00:55:16,800
The ministries that God breathed
on at one point and used so many

913
00:55:16,800 --> 00:55:21,200
things can become extinct. 
When you have a party against 

914
00:55:21,200 --> 00:55:25,280
another party in one place, void
of love, void of being 

915
00:55:25,280 --> 00:55:31,680
stimulated to serve one another 
and left to the flesh, it can be

916
00:55:31,680 --> 00:55:34,840
avoided. 
We can be saved from such a 

917
00:55:34,840 --> 00:55:38,440
thing. 
So maybe said of this ministry 

918
00:55:38,440 --> 00:55:40,480
and the ministry that you're a 
part of in the relationships 

919
00:55:40,480 --> 00:55:44,760
that you have in Christ. 
Not that you go to war 

920
00:55:44,760 --> 00:55:50,480
continually, but that with those
people, you go to war with the 

921
00:55:50,480 --> 00:55:53,520
enemy. 
You go to war against unbelief. 

922
00:55:53,520 --> 00:55:56,760
You go to war against sin. 
You go to war against 

923
00:55:56,760 --> 00:55:59,920
selfishness. 
You go to war against pettiness.

924
00:56:00,040 --> 00:56:02,480
You go to war against your 
personal preference being the 

925
00:56:02,480 --> 00:56:04,520
priority of the church that 
you're a part of. 

926
00:56:04,640 --> 00:56:08,000
You go to war with those things.
There are too many people 

927
00:56:08,000 --> 00:56:11,360
professing Christ going to war 
with the church instead of with 

928
00:56:11,360 --> 00:56:13,440
the church against darkness and 
evil. 

929
00:56:15,200 --> 00:56:17,560
I don't get it. 
So many people are so invested 

930
00:56:17,560 --> 00:56:22,520
and so caught up and church 
drama and problems, and I think 

931
00:56:22,520 --> 00:56:25,440
to myself, if you just use that 
energy for what really matters, 

932
00:56:27,000 --> 00:56:30,120
you are at war. 
Just turn the gun away from your

933
00:56:30,120 --> 00:56:32,960
your fellow soldier and turn it 
and face it towards the one who 

934
00:56:32,960 --> 00:56:34,560
is actually causing you to do 
this. 

935
00:56:36,280 --> 00:56:40,680
So what a testimony here and 
there was war between Rehoboam 

936
00:56:40,680 --> 00:56:44,400
and Jeroboam continually may not
be so of us. 

937
00:56:44,400 --> 00:56:48,240
Instead, may it be said, 
according to Galatians, that 

938
00:56:48,240 --> 00:56:53,000
there is a loving service toward
one another continually only by 

939
00:56:53,000 --> 00:56:56,040
the grace of God, only by the 
help of the Holy Spirit, only 

940
00:56:56,040 --> 00:56:57,960
when the fear of the Lord reigns
in our hearts. 

941
00:56:58,320 --> 00:57:00,640
And So what a way to end this as
we close as a church to say, 

942
00:57:00,640 --> 00:57:02,720
Lord. 
We're going to ask you now that 

943
00:57:02,720 --> 00:57:05,080
as we've read this and studied 
this together, that the opposite

944
00:57:05,080 --> 00:57:10,120
testimony would be true of us. 
Lord, give us greater love so 

945
00:57:10,120 --> 00:57:12,280
that we can serve each other 
with greater strength. 

946
00:57:12,640 --> 00:57:14,360
Let's pray and do that together,
shall we? 

947
00:57:24,280 --> 00:57:30,120
Lord, you are holy. 
Your word is incredible. 

948
00:57:33,880 --> 00:57:39,080
We're humbled by how loud it is,
how accurate it is, how 

949
00:57:39,080 --> 00:57:44,040
surgically precise it is, how 
applicable it is, and All in 

950
00:57:44,040 --> 00:57:50,160
all, how life giving it is. 
We thank you, Lord, that we are 

951
00:57:50,160 --> 00:57:56,000
recipients of the truth, that 
you've made our hearts ready and

952
00:57:56,000 --> 00:58:00,880
hungry for such things. 
We thank you, Lord, that you 

953
00:58:00,880 --> 00:58:04,640
have indeed fed our fire for 
fellowship with you and 

954
00:58:04,640 --> 00:58:06,720
fellowship with one another the 
way you designed it. 

955
00:58:08,880 --> 00:58:11,240
Or there's a reason why you 
mentioned that these two were at

956
00:58:11,240 --> 00:58:12,920
war with one another 
continually. 

957
00:58:14,360 --> 00:58:17,480
It's to remind us what is 
possible in the negative for the

958
00:58:17,480 --> 00:58:19,680
people of God who have the word 
of God, who have seen the 

959
00:58:19,680 --> 00:58:22,440
miracles of God, who have the 
warnings of God. 

960
00:58:23,640 --> 00:58:26,760
Lord, may our hearts remain soft
and learn from the mistakes of 

961
00:58:26,760 --> 00:58:30,840
the past. 
May we instead walk and run in 

962
00:58:30,840 --> 00:58:34,120
the opposite direction. 
Lord, we don't want to ever 

963
00:58:34,120 --> 00:58:40,360
entertain or explore the depths 
of darkness or the flesh that we

964
00:58:40,360 --> 00:58:42,480
can attain. 
Instead, we want to soar high. 

965
00:58:43,160 --> 00:58:45,400
Lord, bring us higher here at 
NBC. 

966
00:58:46,120 --> 00:58:50,720
Higher in love, higher in honor,
higher in holiness. 

967
00:58:51,120 --> 00:58:53,240
And for every other church 
represented here, the same, oh 

968
00:58:53,240 --> 00:58:54,600
God. 
And for those who are 

969
00:58:54,600 --> 00:58:56,800
discouraged, maybe, of the the 
ministry that they are a part 

970
00:58:56,800 --> 00:59:00,880
of, to know that their saltiness
and their light in that place 

971
00:59:01,040 --> 00:59:06,120
can have the potential power to 
influence others, well, there's 

972
00:59:06,120 --> 00:59:08,320
so many things we heard. 
We will not rehearse him in this

973
00:59:08,320 --> 00:59:10,480
prayer time. 
All we want to do is ask that 

974
00:59:10,480 --> 00:59:13,760
whatever we need to hear for our
lives, that you would, you would

975
00:59:13,760 --> 00:59:17,240
make it so obvious and that we 
would be soft enough, even like 

976
00:59:17,240 --> 00:59:20,320
Rehoboam and those leaders, to 
admit that we're wrong and that 

977
00:59:20,320 --> 00:59:22,680
you're right. 
And to trust that in that 

978
00:59:22,680 --> 00:59:25,840
admission you see from heaven 
and you're willing to do 

979
00:59:25,840 --> 00:59:29,200
something about our future right
there and then right there. 

980
00:59:29,200 --> 00:59:31,320
And then, though we believe that
as we're humbling ourselves 

981
00:59:31,320 --> 00:59:35,760
before you and as we confess or 
as we rejoice, you hear us, You 

982
00:59:35,760 --> 00:59:39,560
hear us. 
So even Lord, if there's anyone 

983
00:59:39,560 --> 00:59:43,840
here who is not near you, as the
Psalmist said he was, we pray 

984
00:59:43,840 --> 00:59:47,240
that Lord, in our admission of 
that we would feel closer to you

985
00:59:47,240 --> 00:59:48,920
than ever. 
Because you promise when we draw

986
00:59:48,920 --> 00:59:50,440
near to you, you draw near to 
us. 

987
00:59:50,840 --> 00:59:53,280
That's your promise. 
So even in this time let this 

988
00:59:53,280 --> 00:59:56,840
not just be a a mindless sign 
off of this Bible study. 

989
00:59:57,000 --> 00:59:59,000
May this be a time where we draw
close to you. 

990
00:59:59,560 --> 01:00:02,240
We're in our faith and in our in
our thoughts and our words. 

991
01:00:02,240 --> 01:00:05,040
We we take a step forward and we
say, God keep me close to you. 

992
01:00:05,040 --> 01:00:11,680
Please bind my wandering heart 
to thee and so Lord tonight as 

993
01:00:11,680 --> 01:00:15,320
one body, as one church, as one 
Kingdom. 

994
01:00:15,520 --> 01:00:19,320
We say thank you. 
May the glue of this community 

995
01:00:19,320 --> 01:00:22,760
be love. 
May the truth always reign over 

996
01:00:22,760 --> 01:00:26,280
our ideas or opinions. 
May you dominate every aspect of

997
01:00:26,280 --> 01:00:27,440
who we are. 
For your glory. 

998
01:00:28,160 --> 01:00:30,240
In Jesus name we pray. 
Amen. 

999
01:00:30,600 --> 01:00:32,000
Amen. 
Amen. 

1000
01:00:34,320 --> 01:00:36,600
Let's stay in church, worship 
the Lord. 

1001
01:00:38,880 --> 01:00:42,920
Thank him, honor him. 
Spill your heart to him. 

1002
01:00:43,520 --> 01:00:44,440
He hears us tonight.