1 00:00:00,920 --> 00:00:05,600 Lord, we thank you that we have service on a Friday night. 2 00:00:06,560 --> 00:00:10,080 We're so grateful for this, Lord, and we pray that it would 3 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:13,880 only continue because we've been blessed over the weeks, months 4 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:16,360 and years. As our brother and as Pastor 5 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:19,680 Mark mentioned at the opening of the service, this will have 6 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:23,560 generational consequences, generational blessings. 7 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:26,720 We have no doubt about that. And so, Lord, we pray that you 8 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:30,960 would equip us, that You would fuel our faith, our zeal, our 9 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:35,080 passion for you, that You would sharpen our perception of who 10 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:38,200 You are. So, Lord, we ask that every step 11 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:42,840 throughout the study, You would guide us by the Spirit, that we 12 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:46,800 would genuinely sense the empowering work of your Spirit 13 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:50,040 in our hearts. Lord, remove all the clutter in 14 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:53,720 our thoughts and our emotions. Let there be no obstacle for 15 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:56,520 Your Word to be planted deeply in our hearts. 16 00:00:56,920 --> 00:00:59,520 We give you glory and praise in advance for what you have done 17 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:01,400 and what you're going to do this evening. 18 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:06,240 And we pray that everything and everyone would disappear except 19 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:10,640 for the Lord Jesus Christ. May He occupy the forefront of 20 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:14,000 our imaginations, of our thoughts, of our affections. 21 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:18,120 Take over Lord, for we long to give him all the glory. 22 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:20,840 In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 23 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:24,280 Meet me in Second Kings chapter 3. 24 00:01:24,320 --> 00:01:29,800 As we are planning to finish this chapter together, I believe 25 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:33,000 it is helpful to read the text that we are planning to delve 26 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:36,000 into so that we can have an understanding of the framework 27 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:37,720 that we are going to be working with. 28 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:42,840 And so let us begin in verse 13 and finish this chapter in one 29 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:45,800 reading and then we will explain these verses carefully. 30 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:54,440 By the grace of God, Second Kings 3/13 And Elisha said to 31 00:01:54,440 --> 00:02:00,200 the king of Israel, What if I to do with you, go to the prophets 32 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:03,000 of your father, and to the prophets of your mother? 33 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:06,920 But the king of Israel said to him, No, it is the Lord who has 34 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:10,120 called these 3 kings to give them into the hand of Moab. 35 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:15,120 And Elijah said, as the Lord of hosts lives before whom I stand, 36 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:18,720 were it not that I have regard for Jehoshaphat the king of 37 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:22,640 Judah, I would neither look at you nor see you. 38 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:28,960 But now bring me a musician. And when the musician played, 39 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:33,880 the hand of the Lord came upon him, and he said, Thus says the 40 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:37,880 Lord, I will make this dry stream bed full of pools. 41 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:42,200 For thus, says the Lord, you shall not see wind or rain, but 42 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:44,480 that stream bed shall be filled with water, so that you shall 43 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:47,000 drink you your livestock and your animals. 44 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:49,920 This is a light thing in the sight of the Lord. 45 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:52,560 He will also give the Moabites into your hand. 46 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:56,160 And you shall attack every fortified city, every and every 47 00:02:56,160 --> 00:03:00,280 choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all 48 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:03,320 stop up all springs of water, and ruin every good piece of 49 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:07,120 land with stones. The next morning, about the time 50 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:10,120 of offering the sacrifice, behold, water came from the 51 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:13,880 direction of Edom, till the country was filled with water. 52 00:03:14,920 --> 00:03:17,640 When all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight 53 00:03:17,640 --> 00:03:20,480 against them, all who were able to put on armor, from the 54 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:23,440 youngest to the oldest, were called out and were drawn up at 55 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:25,640 the border. And when they rose early in the 56 00:03:25,640 --> 00:03:28,440 morning and the sun shone on the water, the Moabites saw the 57 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:32,600 water opposite them as red as blood, and they said, This is 58 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:34,880 blood. The kings have surely fought 59 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:36,760 together and struck one another down. 60 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:42,200 Now then, Moab to the spoil. But when they came to the camp 61 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:45,520 of Israel, the Israelites rose and struck the Moabites till 62 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:48,800 they fled before them. And they went forward, striking 63 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:52,720 the Moabites as they went, and they overthrew the cities. 64 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:55,320 And on every good piece of land every man threw a stone until it 65 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:57,720 was covered. They stopped every spring of 66 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:00,680 water and felled all the good trees, till only its stones were 67 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:03,720 left. And Kir, Harishet, Seth and the 68 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:05,480 slingers surrounded and attacked it. 69 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:08,800 When the king of Moab saw that the battle was going against 70 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:11,880 him, he took with them 700 swordsmen to breakthrough 71 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:14,240 opposite the king of Edom, but they could not. 72 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:18,240 And he took his oldest son, who was to reign in his place, and 73 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:20,360 offered him for a burnt offering on the wall. 74 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:24,520 And there came great wrath against Israel, and they 75 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:28,200 withdrew from him and returned to their own land. 76 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,520 Let's get straight into it. We have 3 kings, a coalition, 77 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:36,600 the king of Israel, the king of Judah, the king of Edom. 78 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:40,040 They're working together to fight against the Moabites. 79 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:42,800 As they make their way towards the Moabites, they get 80 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,360 themselves in trouble. They have no water. 81 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:50,960 They are in a perilous position and so they find their way 82 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:53,960 towards Elijah the prophet to receive some divine guidance. 83 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:57,840 And as they approach Elijah, what we read in verse 13 might 84 00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:01,320 be quite staggering. Elijah said to the king of 85 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:04,120 Israel specifically, what have I to do with you? 86 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:07,640 Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of 87 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:12,120 your mother. Now, some Christians might look 88 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:16,760 at this and feel like this was a little insensitive, maybe 89 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:22,720 lacking courteous attention and love unbefitting for a man of 90 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:27,240 God. But I make the case, and I 91 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:30,280 believe that what Elijah is doing here by reprimanding the 92 00:05:30,280 --> 00:05:33,640 king of Israel is more gracious than we might think. 93 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:38,760 What's happening here? You again have these kings who 94 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:41,520 are in trouble. They need water and they're 95 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:44,960 looking for some help, specifically from the Lord. 96 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:51,320 But what we see Elijah doing here is that he's touching on an 97 00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:54,760 underlying problem. He could have solved the issue, 98 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:58,640 the immediate problem at hand, but instead he points the finger 99 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:02,960 and he highlights a greater issue, something that is 100 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:05,640 actually contributing to the very problem that they are 101 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:12,200 facing, namely Jeho Ram's idolatry and his wicked ways. 102 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:15,440 We learned at the opening of this chapter that Jeho Ram, the 103 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:19,600 king of Israel, was an evil man. He abandoned the worship of the 104 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:23,880 true God. He clung himself to the idols of 105 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:28,520 Jeroboam. And as he approaches Elijah, 106 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:31,480 he's seeking guidance from God, but he doesn't want to be 107 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:35,800 devoted to God. And Elijah discerns this. 108 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:38,720 He knows about this, and he wants to confront it. 109 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:43,120 And I find valuable truth in this for us as well, that if you 110 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:47,000 and I truly want to help people, then we must be willing to 111 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:51,720 address and challenge the sins of people. 112 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:57,880 People that are harboring certain ways, trespasses, 113 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:02,320 iniquities, disobedience. Even if they are hurting, we 114 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:06,960 must be loving enough to point out the things that are 115 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:10,720 contributing to their pain, whether that's self destruction 116 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:15,000 or destroying others. And to fail to do so only treat 117 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:21,120 symptoms, and it never promises the long lasting cure that 118 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:25,840 repentance offers. I was reading Lamentations the 119 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:28,960 other day and I stumbled upon a passage that revealed one of the 120 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:32,200 strongest characteristics of a true prophet. 121 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:37,200 And the traits of a true prophet can be applied to ministers, 122 00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:40,760 leaders, and pastors today. I want you to see it with me. 123 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:42,840 It's in the book of Lamentations chapter 2. 124 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:45,760 It's after the book of Jeremiah and most people believe 125 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:48,000 Limitations was written by the prophet Jeremiah. 126 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:54,200 But look at verse 14 as he spells out one of the traits of 127 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:58,200 a true and faithful man of God, Prophet of God, messenger of 128 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:08,060 God, Limitations 214. Your prophets have seen for you 129 00:08:08,060 --> 00:08:12,060 false and deceptive visions. They have not exposed your 130 00:08:12,060 --> 00:08:14,100 iniquity to restore your fortunes. 131 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:17,880 But I've seen for you oracles that are false and misleading. 132 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:23,560 Did you see it? One of the signs of a false or 133 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:30,560 unfaithful prophet is that they refuse to uncover iniquity. 134 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:35,520 What this means is that they're willing, unwilling rather, to 135 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:39,520 acknowledge sin as sin. They are refusing to call people 136 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:43,240 to repentance and point out the trespasses in people's lives 137 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:45,360 that are clearly violating God's law. 138 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:50,880 And the condemnation of this kind of cowardice is highlighted 139 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:55,680 by the fact that uncovering 1's sins is connected to a blessing. 140 00:08:56,920 --> 00:08:57,880 So what does he say? Look back. 141 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:02,240 They have not exposed, not exposed your iniquity. 142 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:05,800 And he follows that with to restore your fortunes. 143 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:10,560 Other translations would say to push away captivity or to return 144 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:14,960 your captives. It's so obvious, right? 145 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:19,360 There is a level of restoration that can only be realized with 146 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:25,880 repentance. And to refuse to call people, 147 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:28,280 whether it's on an individual basis or from the pulpit or in a 148 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:32,200 counseling session, to refuse to discern the obvious sins in 149 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:38,600 people's lives and not call them to turn away and to pursue 150 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:41,400 holiness and righteousness and forgiveness, but not just a 151 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,560 forgiveness that cleanses your record, but empowers you to 152 00:09:44,560 --> 00:09:46,400 overcome the very things that shackled you. 153 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:49,040 To refuse to do that of selfishness or fear or whatever 154 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:55,640 the case may be, is devastating. And depending on the situation, 155 00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:59,360 sometimes that call, that instruction, requires loving but 156 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:02,480 stern rebuke, just like what we see here with Elijah and Jerome. 157 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:05,720 Jerome was a king. His influence was toward the 158 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:08,720 nation. He was long standing in his 159 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:10,480 rebellion. It deserved this kind of 160 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:15,000 confrontation. So remember, if you and I are 161 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:19,600 wanting to help people, whether Saints who are struggling or 162 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:23,840 sinners who have not yet put their trust in Christ somewhere 163 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:26,680 in that equation. We must be willing to have an 164 00:10:26,680 --> 00:10:32,840 honest, bold, wise, compassionate conversation about 165 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:37,080 sin and to not do so would bring us on the the indictment of 166 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:41,160 Jeremiah 614, where Jeremiah also says a false prophets there 167 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:48,960 that they heal the wound of my people lightly lightly. 168 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:53,040 There are many places, many churches, many services, many, 169 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:57,040 many pastors, unfortunately, that are attempting to heal the 170 00:10:57,040 --> 00:10:59,880 wounds of people. But it's surface level. 171 00:11:00,560 --> 00:11:03,840 And how does Jeremiah finish that verse saying peace, peace 172 00:11:04,560 --> 00:11:09,200 when there's no peace? So there's a way of dealing with 173 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:14,120 people's sins and the bruises and the hurt that comes from 174 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:16,440 their disobedience. There's a way of doing it 175 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:19,920 lightly and there's a way of doing it surgically. 176 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:23,960 And I would say that this, the scalpel of repentance, is what 177 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:30,400 really digs out the root of sin. So Elijah here makes it clear 178 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:33,400 that he wants nothing to do with an idolater. 179 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:39,280 And, and perhaps this was really a indirect rebuke to 180 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:42,800 Jehoshaphat, who was what he was always linking himself to those 181 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:47,040 who are unrighteous, right? So he says, I don't want to, I 182 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:48,680 don't want to have anything to do with you. 183 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:52,480 But before walking away, General Ram says something to him in 184 00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:55,120 verse 13. At the end of it he goes, no, 185 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:56,840 no, listen, this isn't just dealing with me. 186 00:11:56,920 --> 00:12:00,360 You have two other kings here who are also going to suffer 187 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:03,440 great loss if we don't get your help. 188 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:06,760 So Elijah is willing. But notice what he says here in 189 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:10,080 verse 14. As the Lord of hosts lives 190 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:12,640 before whom I stand where not that I had regard for 191 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:16,480 Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, I would neither look at you nor 192 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:18,920 see you. Ouch. 193 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:27,080 Elijah here wants to remind Joram that he is not doing this 194 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:29,360 because of him. He's doing this because of 195 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:33,840 another. Now, Jehoshaphat is not the most 196 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:37,240 exemplary standard of righteousness, right? 197 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:41,080 We've seen him compromise with the same problem over and over 198 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:43,880 again. Nonetheless, the Bible does 199 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:49,120 refer to him as a righteous man. The Bible does show him to be a 200 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:51,800 devoted man. He had his problems, but he was 201 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:55,040 still linked to the true God. And one of the greatest 202 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:57,360 demonstrations of that is in Second Chronicles 20. 203 00:12:57,360 --> 00:12:59,640 You don't have to turn there, but that's a reference for you 204 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:03,400 to consider. And So what Elijah wants to do 205 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:07,800 here is he wants to make sure that everybody in this scene 206 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:11,640 understands that he is only willing to help because he has 207 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:15,320 respect for Jehoshaphat, ultimately, because Jehoshaphat 208 00:13:15,560 --> 00:13:17,400 worships the true and living God. 209 00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:22,280 And I meditated on this and I thought, what what point can we 210 00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:24,880 draw from this? And I believe we have something. 211 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:28,120 And it is this that we should never underestimate the blessing 212 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:34,960 of the company of the righteous. Jairam would be blessed not 213 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:39,200 because of Jairam, but because of another of another man in his 214 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:40,920 life, another man who was associate with him. 215 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:46,400 And I've mentioned on so many occasions Psalm 7328 where Asaph 216 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:49,760 says, But As for me, it is good to be near God. 217 00:13:51,640 --> 00:13:54,960 But we can also make another statement based on plenty of 218 00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:57,680 evidence in the Bible. Not only is it good for me to be 219 00:13:57,680 --> 00:14:00,800 or not God, it is also good for me to be near those who are near 220 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:05,800 to God. There's so many examples and so 221 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:08,400 many instructions that highlights that blessing the 222 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:11,600 company of the righteous. You know, I have different 223 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:13,960 people that come up, you've probably heard this, I've heard 224 00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:17,320 it plenty of times. They genuinely inquire, how can 225 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:20,520 I be more passionate for God? And I guess there are many 226 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:22,560 answers to that. And one of my go to answers is, 227 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:25,000 well, why don't you hang around people who are passionate for 228 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:29,800 God? How do I get excited about the 229 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:31,760 Bible? Well, I think it would help if 230 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:33,840 you go to a church that's excited about the Bible. 231 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:40,880 How do I learn how to pray? Get around people who pray. 232 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:46,600 That's not the only remedy, but it's a major one. 233 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:52,200 And we see it even here, that Jehoshaphat's association with 234 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:57,920 Jeharam would bless Jairam. And so you and I should never 235 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:00,400 underestimate the company of the righteous. 236 00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:04,240 My mind even went to a particular passage in First 237 00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:08,000 Corinthians Chapter 7 where Paul is giving instructions to 238 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:11,200 spouses who are married to unbelieving spouses, and he 239 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:15,240 emphasizes the sanctifying benefits of a believing spouse, 240 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:20,440 what they have on the household, even if the household outnumbers 241 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:23,080 the one who was saved. So let me read this to you in 242 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:28,200 First Corinthians 714. For the unbelieving husband is 243 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:32,800 made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made 244 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:37,000 holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be 245 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:41,280 unclean, but as it is, they are holy. 246 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:47,000 That is so profound. So one of the incentives that 247 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:51,880 Paul's gives to people in the church who are married to those 248 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:54,920 who don't come to church because they don't believe in Christ is 249 00:15:55,360 --> 00:16:00,840 don't underestimate what your presence in close proximity to 250 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:03,560 those who are intimate with you can do for those people. 251 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:08,320 What he is not conveying is that because you're saved, those in 252 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:10,360 your household are automatically deemed saved whether they 253 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:12,520 believe or not. That's erroneous. 254 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,320 There is no family package for salvation. 255 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:21,040 You have to make a personal choice of crowning Jesus Christ 256 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:23,000 as Lord. So what does he, what does he 257 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:27,000 mean here by making them holy? There's an influence that 258 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:30,080 happens. There are there are blessings 259 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:34,200 that overflow from the righteous in the household of unbelievers. 260 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:39,560 They they receive something indirectly because of your close 261 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:42,680 proximity, because of your shoulder rubbing with them, 262 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:46,720 because of your interactions. And so will you. 263 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:52,520 And I have to rediscover what we can provide to those who don't 264 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:56,320 love God, who don't know God and what those who love God can even 265 00:16:56,320 --> 00:17:00,360 do for us. Do not underestimate the company 266 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:02,720 of the righteous. Now, let me say this because 267 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:05,440 somebody might hear this and get very excited and now get 268 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:08,400 licensed to missionary date and find somebody who's not a 269 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:12,079 believer and say I heard a Bible study that I shouldn't 270 00:17:12,079 --> 00:17:13,640 underestimate the company of the righteous. 271 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:16,839 So here I go. There's a difference between 272 00:17:19,079 --> 00:17:22,480 being saved and marrying somebody who's unsaved and being 273 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:25,440 unsaved while you're marrying and then being saved and now 274 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:27,319 being unsaved married to an unsaved person. 275 00:17:27,319 --> 00:17:30,440 Big difference. OK, so don't misunderstand 276 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:34,560 Paul's words here. Now we continue. 277 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:39,320 We read here in verse 15 that Elijah made and very interesting 278 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:42,480 inquiry. But now bring me a musician. 279 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:47,160 And when the musician played, the hand of the Lord came upon 280 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:48,440 him. I have two questions reading 281 00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:57,400 this verse #1 why did Elijah ask for a musician #2 Why did the 282 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:02,120 hand of the Lord come upon Elijah after the musician 283 00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:06,800 played? Let me start off by saying that 284 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:15,360 this is not an isolated instance of prophecy and music working 285 00:18:15,360 --> 00:18:19,440 together. One reference that comes to mind 286 00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:22,000 is First Samuel chapter 10. And you don't have to turn there 287 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:25,400 unless you want to see it with your own eyes in verse 5, where 288 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:27,800 we're told they're of a company of prophets who are coming from 289 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:32,320 the high place and they were coming with harps, liars, flutes 290 00:18:33,360 --> 00:18:39,120 while they were prophesying. And so this is not unique. 291 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:42,360 There are other examples in Scriptures that inform us that 292 00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:46,520 there's a clear marriage between the assistance of music and the 293 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:49,440 effectiveness of spiritual activity. 294 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:55,520 And the reason is quite clear. Music possesses powerful 295 00:18:55,520 --> 00:19:00,040 properties, and its influence is undeniably spiritual. 296 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:04,480 So you recall, I'm sure, when David was instructed to play for 297 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:07,640 Saul when he was tormented by a harmful spirit. 298 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:13,440 The music was the means to provide remedy to his troubled 299 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:16,440 soul. And I believe that what we see 300 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:19,080 here is something similar. There are no evil spirits at 301 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:24,200 work in the scene, but the context suggests that Elijah is 302 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:27,240 agitated. He's disturbed. 303 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:29,760 Does anybody have an idea why Elijah is disturbed? 304 00:19:35,120 --> 00:19:38,200 One of the clues of discovering a meaning of a passage is to 305 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:42,240 read what came before it and to read what came after it. 306 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:44,960 Anything that we've read up to this point that might give us a 307 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:50,800 clue to why Elijah needs for his mind and his heart to calm down. 308 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:57,080 Yeah. Notice that he wasn't too 309 00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:59,720 excited about the presence of the king of Israel. 310 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:02,800 And not just the presence of the king of Israel, but what the 311 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:05,280 king of Israel said. What was the last thing he said? 312 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:08,680 Look at the end of verse 13. He says, no, it is the Lord who 313 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:11,080 has called these three things, these 3 kings to give him to the 314 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:12,760 hand of Moab. What is he doing there? 315 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:16,400 He's blaming God for their predicament. 316 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:22,680 Elijah didn't like that. And so here's this man who. 317 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:25,880 Is disturbed Elisha, even as a prophet. 318 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:31,240 And so before he even ministers, before he's really able to serve 319 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:35,640 this purpose and his irritation, he calls for the presence of a 320 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:38,840 gifted musician that would come to his aid. 321 00:20:39,360 --> 00:20:42,920 So in order to be in the right frame of mind, this man, before 322 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:46,920 he hears from God, before he speaks on behalf of God, he asks 323 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:51,040 for a musician to play in a manner that would wash away all 324 00:20:51,040 --> 00:20:54,440 inner commotion and would posture them in a manner to be 325 00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:57,080 greater, a greater focus for the task ahead. 326 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:02,720 I'm not sure if you notice, but this is the reason why we even 327 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:07,960 have some of our gifted musicians play music, tunes of 328 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:09,640 praise before the service starts. 329 00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:11,000 Have you ever noticed why we do that? 330 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:15,040 In great part so that as people come in, no matter how they come 331 00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:20,720 in, they would sit under beautiful God honoring music so 332 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:25,040 that they would be soothed, they would be calmed, and they would 333 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:30,680 be even realigned to better give and receive from the Lord. 334 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:35,680 The Bible is so emphatically clear that music is powerful. 335 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,480 And not only is it powerful, we must recognize that it's a gift 336 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:45,320 from God that carries the ability to enhance other aspects 337 00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:49,600 of our worship. But please know this, if music 338 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:54,640 can help us spiritually, then it can definitely harm us 339 00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:58,720 spiritually. To think that you and I, in the 340 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:04,520 privacy of our homes or in our cars with our friends, be at 341 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:08,920 liberty to listen to absolutely anything with no standard, with 342 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:19,240 no filter, is extremely naive. You're making an impact whether 343 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:24,760 you realize it or not, and that's true for even the church 344 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:29,880 service. The music, what we sing is not a 345 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:34,760 secondary component to our gatherings and that is why we 346 00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:38,520 make it a serious thing when it comes to the selection, our 347 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:41,920 songs, the melodies, the singability of what we sing 348 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:47,400 because we know that it can enhance the other aspects of our 349 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:51,960 worship or it can hinder it. It can distract. 350 00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:57,880 Hey, I've been in meetings and conferences where it killed the 351 00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:01,560 meeting. I'm telling you, I've been to 352 00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:05,200 enough of those kind of meetings were because there wasn't a 353 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:10,280 discerning and spirit LED selection and not just 354 00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:14,720 selection, but the spirit, the spirit in which such things were 355 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:18,400 performed and done before and after the message. 356 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:24,320 Oh, devastating effects, devastating. 357 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:29,280 So let us realize together that this is 1 instance among many 358 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:34,240 that music has been granted us by God to bless the people of 359 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:39,560 God, to help the people of God and many other things with it. 360 00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:43,160 So he asked for a musician. The musician comes, and he is 361 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:46,520 ready now at last to give a word from the Lord. 362 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:48,760 Look at verse 16 again. And he said, Thus says the Lord, 363 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:51,920 I will make this dry stream bed full of pools. 364 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:55,960 For thus says the Lord, you shall not see win or rain, but 365 00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:58,120 that stream bed shall be filled with water, so that you shall 366 00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:01,040 drink you, your livestock, and your animals. 367 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:04,560 Now so many things stand out to me about these verses here, 368 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:08,840 especially the way in which God said He would provide this water 369 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:11,200 to quench the thirst of these armies. 370 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:15,440 Notice that He says here that He would do so and they would not 371 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:19,320 see what? They would not see wind, they 372 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:23,960 would not see rain. Now here's me thinking, OK, if 373 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:29,960 God is going to provide water in the desert, then it has to be 374 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:32,480 through rain. Obviously there's no other 375 00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:35,240 source of water near, or else they would have taken advantage 376 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:38,240 of that. So how else is God going to 377 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:44,240 provide these waters? And that's exactly the point in 378 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:48,960 the Lord's provision. He can give, and He does give 379 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:52,280 through ordinary means, but He's not bound by those methods. 380 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:56,440 We must be aware and open to His extraordinary ways. 381 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:02,440 He can use things that you and I interact with on a daily basis, 382 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:05,960 and from time to time He can blow our minds. 383 00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:09,440 I'm reminded of how He provide daily for the Israelites in the 384 00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:12,120 wilderness, providing bread. Bread. 385 00:25:13,360 --> 00:25:16,080 It would arrive in due form and then they would go out and fetch 386 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:18,160 for it. But then when you read Joshua 387 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:20,360 earlier in the chapters of that book, they arrived to the 388 00:25:20,360 --> 00:25:23,320 promised land the moment they plant their feet there and they 389 00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:25,440 benefit from the fruit of the land, it says. 390 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:29,560 And there was no more mana given to the children of Israel. 391 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:32,960 So they went from extraordinary to ordinary. 392 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:35,160 Now they would have to farm and now they would have to trust God 393 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:39,040 for seasonal rain. Now they would have to work so 394 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:41,720 God can go from extraordinary to ordinary and he can go from 395 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:44,640 ordinary to extraordinary. Just be open for anything. 396 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:47,720 And in this case it would be a miracle. 397 00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:51,720 And I love what Elisha states, the beginning of verse 18, this 398 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:53,840 statement after telling them what was going to happen. 399 00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:57,160 This is a light thing in the sight of the Lord. 400 00:25:58,040 --> 00:26:00,280 Don't you love that? I love that. 401 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:04,360 I kicked back and I thought to myself, what do I consider to be 402 00:26:04,360 --> 00:26:10,760 easy in my life? I won't say it, but you can just 403 00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:13,360 use your imagination. What's easy to you in this life? 404 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:15,440 What's easy for you on a day-to-day basis? 405 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:16,920 You know what's easy to the Lord? 406 00:26:17,360 --> 00:26:20,960 Making water appear in the desert to feed kings and armies 407 00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:23,160 and their livestock, That's easy. 408 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:28,680 You making a bowl of cereal in the morning is like God doing 409 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:32,160 this to give you a very poor illustration. 410 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:37,400 And I began to think, because you see this phrase worded 411 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:39,960 differently throughout the Scriptures, is anything too hard 412 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:41,760 for the Lord? There's nothing too difficult 413 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:43,560 for the Lord. Nothing's impossible for the 414 00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:45,480 Lord. And I began to just reflect on 415 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:48,680 all the things in the Bible that God considers easy. 416 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:52,480 That would be a wonderful Bible study, wouldn't it? 417 00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:54,560 All the things the Lord that for the Lord that are not too 418 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:56,960 difficult for him at all. Can I give you one of my 419 00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:59,280 favorite ones? It's actually similar phrase 420 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:00,920 used here. It's an Isaiah. 421 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:06,240 And look at this in Isaiah 49, verse 6. 422 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:17,000 This is concerning the Messiah. And at verse 6 of Isaiah 49 he 423 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:21,400 says it is too light a thing, that you should be my servant to 424 00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:26,960 raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of 425 00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:30,480 Israel. I will make you as a light for 426 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:34,600 the nations that my salvation may reach to the end of the 427 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:35,920 earth. You understand what he's saying 428 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:39,960 here. It's too easy for Messiah just 429 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:43,880 to redeem and renew and restore the Jewish people. 430 00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:47,280 I'm going to have you win the world to my Kingdom. 431 00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:52,560 I'm going to have your message reach to the ends of the earth. 432 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:54,760 And we're seeing it happen, right? 433 00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:57,680 We are the we are the consequences of this. 434 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:02,680 You and I here are enjoying this where He is building His church 435 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:06,280 and He is gathering people from all tribes and tongues because 436 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:10,720 it was too easy to just rescue one nation, one people group. 437 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:14,880 You know why it's important to consider what's easy for the 438 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:20,200 Lord because it will help you stay tranquil and trusting and 439 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:22,200 filled with praise. Whenever you endure anything 440 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:26,200 that is difficult or what you consider to be hard, just 441 00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:29,800 reflect on what's easy for Him, what He can make appear, who He 442 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:35,120 can save, what He can provide that will do something to your 443 00:28:35,120 --> 00:28:36,560 soul. I promise you. 444 00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:40,640 I promise you. And that's why we continually 445 00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:45,000 have to come to the Word because our default is to make something 446 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:49,720 of God that likens to us. And what this word does is it 447 00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:53,400 reminds us and it cleanses us and it sharpens our 448 00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:56,960 understanding so that we realize just how transcended He is. 449 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:01,320 Put it there under a list of what's easy for the Lord. 450 00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:06,120 He can make water appear out of nothing, and He can save anyone 451 00:29:06,120 --> 00:29:10,920 in any part of the world. This is a light thing in the 452 00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:12,600 side of the Lord. Let's finish verse 18. 453 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:14,880 He will also give the Moabites into your hand. 454 00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:17,280 Oh, there you go. Not only is he going to provide 455 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:19,000 water, He does more than what we asked. 456 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:24,120 He's going to provide the Moabites because He's good and 457 00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:28,040 He loves to give more than what we ask, but he also tells them 458 00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:29,480 what they're going to do. Look at verse 19. 459 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:34,440 And you shall attack every fortified city and every choice 460 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:38,040 city, and shall fell every good tree and stop of all the springs 461 00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:41,520 of water, and ruin every good piece of land with stones. 462 00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:46,360 So I'm going to do something and it's going to energize you to do 463 00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:50,800 something. So this is a pattern that we see 464 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:55,200 in the Bible that God's supernatural provision never 465 00:29:55,200 --> 00:30:00,320 encourages passivity. It never justifies our lack of 466 00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:04,600 participation. It never makes us in our waiting 467 00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:08,200 on the Lord inactive. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever. 468 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:12,240 He says you're going to receive water and that's going to give 469 00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:15,600 you the necessary strength to finish the job. 470 00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:20,880 In fact, if you have any other word for word translation, King 471 00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:25,000 James, New King James NASB, the beginning of verse 16 is 472 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:29,040 actually worded as a command. So look back at verse 16, the 473 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:33,040 ESV it writes and he said thus says the Lord, I will make this 474 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:36,120 dry stream bed full of pools. But when you look at other 475 00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:41,760 translations, it says make this valley full of ditches or 476 00:30:41,760 --> 00:30:44,040 trenches. You've probably seen that in 477 00:30:44,040 --> 00:30:47,960 your Bible if you don't hold the ESV, which would mean that even 478 00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:52,960 before the water came, these kings had to play a part in 479 00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:54,720 preparing themselves for the blessing. 480 00:30:57,280 --> 00:30:59,920 They had to do something before the Lord would do something. 481 00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:04,440 And what this means for us again, is that we can never 482 00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:09,680 justify God willing to come through for us to not do 483 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:12,480 something. In the meantime, you and I must 484 00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:15,360 do what we can as we trust God to do what only He can do. 485 00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:20,360 That is always the blueprint of how we see God move. 486 00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:30,960 Verse 20 The next morning about the time of offering the 487 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:34,040 sacrifice, behold, water came from the from the direction of 488 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:37,040 Edom to the country was filled with water. 489 00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:44,160 Something struck me after my first reading of this passage in 490 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:47,280 this verse, the timing of when the miracle came. 491 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:52,640 You know, the Holy Spirit could have just told us the next 492 00:31:52,640 --> 00:31:56,520 morning, behold, water came from the direction of Eden. 493 00:31:56,520 --> 00:31:59,320 But He doesn't do that. He writes to the next morning 494 00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:03,080 and then he adds about the time of offering the sacrifice. 495 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:06,600 Why include that? If this is just purely about 496 00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:08,840 timing, then we could have just OK the next morning. 497 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:14,120 But He wants to include and bring to our attention that this 498 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:18,280 miracle came at the same time as when a particular offering was 499 00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:21,840 made, most likely at the Temple in Jerusalem. 500 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:26,240 You remember that there are many offerings that were given to the 501 00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:29,120 people of Israel as instructions for their worship, but there is 502 00:32:29,120 --> 00:32:30,840 one that happened every single day. 503 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:35,800 It was a perpetual burnt offering twice a day, in the 504 00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:40,240 morning and at night. According to Exodus 29, there 505 00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:43,200 would be a one year old lamb that would be given on the altar 506 00:32:43,200 --> 00:32:46,520 at the entrance of the Temple. So one would be there placed, it 507 00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:49,880 would be completely consumed, and then another would be placed 508 00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:53,360 at twilight and then it would be repeated the next day and the 509 00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:57,280 following day. It would be an unending act of 510 00:32:57,280 --> 00:33:01,200 worship. And what did that symbolize? 511 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:05,560 It was a means of expressing to God and a reminder for the 512 00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:11,200 nation of their constant consecration unto the Lord that 513 00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:16,400 it was every day, every night. That is what this sacrifice 514 00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:19,600 symbolizes. And I find it so interesting 515 00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:24,960 that it's this sacrifice that is mentioned when it came to this 516 00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:28,480 miracle. And here's what I believe the 517 00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:30,160 Holy Spirit is trying to teach us. 518 00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:34,320 It's not a coincidence, but it's meant to show here that the 519 00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:37,360 miracle coincided with the moment of Israel's leadership 520 00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:41,360 showing and exhibiting their complete devotion to the Lord. 521 00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:45,520 Could it be that there is a lesson here that God's blessings 522 00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:51,600 are connected to our total devotion to Him, yet He's 523 00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:56,640 gracious even to those who are severely inconsistent in their 524 00:33:56,640 --> 00:33:58,440 walk with Him? That is true. 525 00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:01,680 But what do we open ourselves up to? 526 00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:06,680 What kind of blessings do we open ourselves up to as we daily 527 00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:10,760 give ourselves to Him? I think this is what the reader 528 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:13,280 is supposed to come to terms with. 529 00:34:13,760 --> 00:34:17,360 The sacrifice took place and that's when the miracle came. 530 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:20,520 That's when God's favor came. That's when his light came. 531 00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:23,719 That's when his power came. Surely to encourage us and to 532 00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:27,920 remind us, readers of this time and readers of of our day, that 533 00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:33,760 there is particular blessing unlocked when we choose to live 534 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:38,239 as living sacrifices unto Him. Because the burnt offering is, 535 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:41,040 yes, a picture of Christ, but it's also a picture of our 536 00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:44,320 devotion to Him. From top to bottom we are set 537 00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:46,679 apart. Every part of us is consumed to 538 00:34:46,679 --> 00:34:50,120 be a pleasing aroma to Him. And in this case, that is what 539 00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:53,280 leads the way for God to do wonderful things in US and 540 00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:59,320 through US. Verse 21. 541 00:35:00,360 --> 00:35:04,040 When all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight 542 00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:07,280 against them, all who were able to put on armor, from the 543 00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:11,760 youngest to the oldest, were called out and were drawn up at 544 00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:14,000 the border. And when they rose early in the 545 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:17,640 morning and the sun shone on the water, the Moabites saw the 546 00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:19,880 water opposite them as red as blood. 547 00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:28,120 This is wonderful. Why would the Moabites conclude 548 00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:33,440 that what they saw in the horizon was blood, when in fact 549 00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:37,560 it was water? What would lead them to that? 550 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:44,560 Let me let me pose it this way. Why wouldn't the Moabites 551 00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:47,920 conclude that the substance they were beholding was, in fact, 552 00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:49,440 water? Any idea? 553 00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:53,160 It's a desert one. What else? 554 00:35:54,920 --> 00:35:58,640 It hadn't rained. It didn't rain. 555 00:35:58,840 --> 00:36:00,880 There was no indication. There was no clues. 556 00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:03,760 There was no evidence that this could potentially be water. 557 00:36:05,080 --> 00:36:06,480 Do you see the wisdom of God now? 558 00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:12,160 Did you catch it? So he tells the Israelites, 559 00:36:12,720 --> 00:36:15,680 tells the southern Kingdom and the Kingdom of Edom, I'm going 560 00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:18,080 to give you water, but you're not going to see wind, you're 561 00:36:18,080 --> 00:36:20,440 not going to see rain. And you know, here's what I love 562 00:36:20,440 --> 00:36:22,040 about this. He doesn't explain why. 563 00:36:23,360 --> 00:36:25,200 He just tells them I'm going to do this. 564 00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:27,680 And yes, he's demonstrating his sovereignty. 565 00:36:28,920 --> 00:36:31,160 And when you go back here, verse 20, it says that it came from 566 00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:34,760 the direction of Edom. What this means, most likely, is 567 00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:38,200 that there was a torrent, there was rain upon the mountains of 568 00:36:38,200 --> 00:36:41,920 Edom, and then there was this silent but abundant stream of 569 00:36:41,920 --> 00:36:45,680 water that was led precisely to the location of these kings in 570 00:36:45,680 --> 00:36:50,440 the wilderness. He doesn't explain the whole 571 00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:52,440 thing, but we get the explanation. 572 00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:55,320 We get at least another dimension to this whole story 573 00:36:56,080 --> 00:36:59,480 that He doesn't allow it to rain so that the Moabites would not 574 00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:04,600 perceive that there was water out there and this would lead to 575 00:37:04,600 --> 00:37:08,480 their own demise. And thinking that this is 576 00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:11,840 actually blood, there's a turning on each other that 577 00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:14,320 happened. Let's just go get the spoil. 578 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:19,040 So here you and I are thinking that God is solving one problem 579 00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:21,320 when in fact He's solving 10 of them at the same time. 580 00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:23,000 And you might not even know about it. 581 00:37:25,840 --> 00:37:28,480 And This is why this is in our Bible, so that we can rejoice 582 00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:31,920 and we can take these truths and we can use them as filters for 583 00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:35,960 our own lives and realize God might be doing one thing here, 584 00:37:36,520 --> 00:37:40,040 but He is surely doing much more that we may not perceive it. 585 00:37:41,120 --> 00:37:44,040 And even in the unknown we should worship God because we 586 00:37:44,040 --> 00:37:49,400 have timeless things presented to us to remind us of just how 587 00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:55,400 glorious He is. So when there is no answers, 588 00:37:55,400 --> 00:37:58,280 when things seem to be moving steadily, when things seem to be 589 00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:02,440 moving at only one step at a time, you have no idea the other 590 00:38:02,440 --> 00:38:05,240 factors that are at work, the things that are being 591 00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:07,200 positioned, the things that got us in mind. 592 00:38:08,760 --> 00:38:11,040 And I see that clearly here. I hope you do as well. 593 00:38:12,080 --> 00:38:14,040 But I also learned something about the Moabites when they 594 00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:16,360 look out and they see blood instead of water. 595 00:38:17,360 --> 00:38:22,640 It's a striking illustration of how dangerous it is to operate 596 00:38:22,640 --> 00:38:29,040 purely by our senses, isn't it? Read again with me the end of 597 00:38:29,040 --> 00:38:31,320 verse 22. The Moabites saw the water 598 00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:36,320 opposite them as red as blood and verse 23 and they said this 599 00:38:36,320 --> 00:38:37,680 is blood. No it isn't. 600 00:38:40,080 --> 00:38:46,440 It's a mass body of water and the early sun rising and shining 601 00:38:46,440 --> 00:38:49,640 and reflecting on it to make it look like something else. 602 00:38:52,920 --> 00:39:00,320 Quick analysis, hasty action mingled with lack of discernment 603 00:39:01,240 --> 00:39:07,680 is a lethal combination, very dangerous, and this is just one 604 00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:09,880 of many examples of that in our Bibles. 605 00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:19,000 The answer to how we can avoid pursuing things, believing 606 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:21,840 things, adopting things, rejecting the right thing, 607 00:39:21,840 --> 00:39:25,120 accepting the wrong thing, the way we can protect ourselves 608 00:39:25,120 --> 00:39:28,200 from that is found in this very story, I believe. 609 00:39:28,960 --> 00:39:36,200 What did the Moabites lack in their misunderstanding of what 610 00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:38,480 they saw? Here's what I believe. 611 00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:43,720 Scroll back to verse 12 of the same chapter and Jehoshaphat 612 00:39:43,720 --> 00:39:48,240 said the word of the Lord is with him. 613 00:39:48,760 --> 00:39:51,360 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom 614 00:39:51,360 --> 00:39:57,480 went down to him being Elijah in essence. 615 00:40:00,520 --> 00:40:03,160 The Israelites and the Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom of 616 00:40:03,160 --> 00:40:04,240 Eden, they understood it was water. 617 00:40:04,320 --> 00:40:06,120 Yes, they were in close proximity, but they understood 618 00:40:06,120 --> 00:40:08,280 what God was going to do for them, what this was all about. 619 00:40:08,560 --> 00:40:10,400 The bull bites were left in the dark. 620 00:40:11,920 --> 00:40:14,720 And I make the case that the word of the Lord for them would 621 00:40:14,720 --> 00:40:17,000 have helped them understand and perceive rightly. 622 00:40:17,280 --> 00:40:21,360 And it's no different for us what we've been given access to 623 00:40:21,360 --> 00:40:24,880 That, that precious treasure that you are holding in your 624 00:40:24,880 --> 00:40:29,040 hands is the means by which you will be protected from 625 00:40:29,040 --> 00:40:34,120 deception, is the means by which you enhance and strengthen your 626 00:40:34,120 --> 00:40:37,960 discernment. So while the world and the 627 00:40:37,960 --> 00:40:44,960 church are looking at the same thing, the world might say this 628 00:40:44,960 --> 00:40:47,000 is righteous and this is permissible. 629 00:40:47,440 --> 00:40:51,760 But because we have the word of the Lord, we are told this is 630 00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:55,520 actually sinful and wrong. The world might look at 631 00:40:55,520 --> 00:40:58,840 something and we're looking at the same thing and they will say 632 00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:01,440 this is evil and it will hinder you. 633 00:41:01,960 --> 00:41:05,160 While the word reminds us this is holy and it will bless you. 634 00:41:07,240 --> 00:41:11,400 While the world says this, what we have in our hands will tell 635 00:41:11,400 --> 00:41:13,960 us otherwise. So whenever we look upon the 636 00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:17,520 same things and make our own judgments void of the word of 637 00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:24,760 God, it is hear me deadly. And in this case it would be 638 00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:28,760 physical and in our day could be physical but is primarily 639 00:41:28,760 --> 00:41:34,600 spiritual. So if two groups looking at the 640 00:41:34,600 --> 00:41:38,160 same thing and perceiving it differently, the difference 641 00:41:38,160 --> 00:41:42,720 maker is that God gave insight to one and left others in the 642 00:41:42,720 --> 00:41:44,280 dark. You don't have to be in the dark 643 00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:48,240 because God has blessed our generation with the Bible unlike 644 00:41:48,240 --> 00:41:53,200 any other generation. Look at verse 23. 645 00:41:54,600 --> 00:41:56,880 And they said this is blood. The kings have surely fought 646 00:41:56,880 --> 00:41:58,680 together and struck one another down. 647 00:42:00,200 --> 00:42:03,120 I just think it's sad. Edom is one thing, but for 648 00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:06,560 Israel and Judah to be perceived by the world as capable of 649 00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:09,480 killing each other is a sad testimony for the people of God, 650 00:42:09,480 --> 00:42:13,120 don't you think? Yeah, it's a sad testimony for 651 00:42:13,120 --> 00:42:16,240 the world to look in the church and to believe that it's 652 00:42:16,240 --> 00:42:19,480 possible for us to turn on each other to devour one another, 653 00:42:19,480 --> 00:42:24,120 that that should never come to mind for the unbelieving world. 654 00:42:26,160 --> 00:42:30,160 Now then, Moab to the spoil. When they came to the camp of 655 00:42:30,160 --> 00:42:33,200 Israel, the Israelites rose and struck down the Moabites till 656 00:42:33,200 --> 00:42:35,680 they fled before them. And they went forward, striking 657 00:42:35,680 --> 00:42:38,840 the Moabites as they went, and they overthrew the cities. 658 00:42:38,840 --> 00:42:41,480 And on every good piece of land every man threw a stone until it 659 00:42:41,480 --> 00:42:44,280 was covered. They stopped every spring of 660 00:42:44,280 --> 00:42:46,240 water and felt all the good trees. 661 00:42:46,920 --> 00:42:48,440 And then we read something interesting. 662 00:42:49,680 --> 00:42:52,440 We read here that the slingers surrounded and attacked at the 663 00:42:52,440 --> 00:42:55,240 end there, verse 25. But that's not where the story 664 00:42:55,240 --> 00:43:00,480 ends. Verse 26, when the king of Moab 665 00:43:00,480 --> 00:43:03,000 saw that the battle was going against him, he took with him 666 00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:06,560 700 swordsmen to breakthrough opposite the king of Edom. 667 00:43:07,280 --> 00:43:09,280 But they could not. So now they're getting 668 00:43:09,280 --> 00:43:12,440 surrounded. The Moabites are are realizing 669 00:43:12,440 --> 00:43:14,520 that they're not going to they're not going to win this 670 00:43:14,520 --> 00:43:18,160 war. And so with the last attempt of 671 00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:20,720 breaking through, they look at probably the weakest link, the 672 00:43:20,720 --> 00:43:26,360 Edomites, and they try to overtake them to no avail. 673 00:43:28,960 --> 00:43:30,640 But the king of Moab won't give up. 674 00:43:31,320 --> 00:43:35,280 He won't surrender so easily. And so there's this very 675 00:43:35,400 --> 00:43:40,680 disturbing verse provided to us in verse 27. 676 00:43:41,600 --> 00:43:46,120 Then he took his oldest son, who was to reign in his place, and 677 00:43:46,120 --> 00:43:49,400 offered him for a burnt offering on the wall. 678 00:43:50,480 --> 00:43:52,720 And there came great wrath against Israel, and they 679 00:43:52,720 --> 00:43:55,280 withdrew from him and returned to their own land. 680 00:43:56,360 --> 00:44:02,960 So out of sheer desperation, he gets above the armies, he stands 681 00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:06,800 on the wall, and he makes this public act of abomination. 682 00:44:06,800 --> 00:44:09,520 He takes his oldest son, the one who's supposed to take his place 683 00:44:09,520 --> 00:44:12,120 as king. He slaughters him, and he makes 684 00:44:12,120 --> 00:44:15,600 him into his sacrifice to his false God. 685 00:44:19,600 --> 00:44:22,600 But what's more interesting is this phrase that follows it. 686 00:44:23,080 --> 00:44:27,520 And there came great wrath, you would think, against Moab, but 687 00:44:27,520 --> 00:44:29,840 we're told that it came against Israel. 688 00:44:32,760 --> 00:44:35,720 And then after this, we're told that they withdrew the 689 00:44:35,720 --> 00:44:37,720 Israelites, the Kingdom, the southern Kingdom, and the 690 00:44:37,720 --> 00:44:39,360 Kingdom of Edom. They withdrew and they went back 691 00:44:39,360 --> 00:44:41,000 home. And you get the sense that this 692 00:44:41,000 --> 00:44:47,440 was a incomplete victory. What's happening here, this 693 00:44:47,440 --> 00:44:53,120 verse is, is up for much debate. And the primary question is, 694 00:44:53,120 --> 00:44:57,160 what is the source of the origin of this wrath that came against 695 00:44:57,360 --> 00:45:02,440 the people of Israel? So there are many, many, many, 696 00:45:02,440 --> 00:45:06,240 many answers because it's not clear there were some who would 697 00:45:06,240 --> 00:45:11,760 believe that this is the wrath of Hemash, the war God of Moab. 698 00:45:11,760 --> 00:45:16,320 We've seen him reference in the Bible before so that when the 699 00:45:16,320 --> 00:45:19,400 king of Moab makes this sacrifice, he is in essence 700 00:45:19,400 --> 00:45:24,320 enables the God of Moab to fight and resist against this 701 00:45:24,320 --> 00:45:29,040 coalition and they won. Some would say that this wrath 702 00:45:29,960 --> 00:45:35,120 is coming from the true God, and the reason why it came from the 703 00:45:35,120 --> 00:45:39,800 true God is because Israel took it too far with Moab. 704 00:45:40,120 --> 00:45:43,600 And there are incidents in the Bible where you find God using 705 00:45:43,600 --> 00:45:47,920 human agents to discipline or to overtake another nation or 706 00:45:47,920 --> 00:45:50,560 another people group. And they abused that. 707 00:45:51,440 --> 00:45:54,520 Where He wanted little, they did far more. 708 00:45:54,960 --> 00:45:58,160 So many references to that. That's why God later condemns 709 00:45:58,160 --> 00:46:01,120 Assyria and Babylon, because they abused the opportunity that 710 00:46:01,120 --> 00:46:05,360 was granted them. So you have the transcendent 711 00:46:05,360 --> 00:46:09,040 explanation and then it boils down to the human explanation. 712 00:46:09,760 --> 00:46:12,800 Could it be that the wrath that came against Israel was the 713 00:46:12,800 --> 00:46:17,120 wrath of the Moabites? That they were put in a position 714 00:46:17,280 --> 00:46:19,960 of such desperation that they sacrificed? 715 00:46:19,960 --> 00:46:23,240 Though they did offer child sacrifice in this case it was a 716 00:46:23,240 --> 00:46:27,000 precious one because they gave up the succeeding king. 717 00:46:27,520 --> 00:46:33,160 And so in their wrath, they were so angry with Israel for what 718 00:46:33,160 --> 00:46:37,560 they were led to do. Or could it be actually the 719 00:46:37,560 --> 00:46:43,440 wrath of Judah and Edom? Because notice that it's very 720 00:46:43,440 --> 00:46:45,720 specific. There came great wrath against 721 00:46:45,720 --> 00:46:47,880 who? Israel. 722 00:46:49,640 --> 00:46:56,880 Could it be that this gross savagery created disgust in 723 00:46:57,600 --> 00:47:01,040 Judah and Eden where they looked at Israel and they thought you 724 00:47:01,040 --> 00:47:03,320 caused this? In a sense you you led it to 725 00:47:03,320 --> 00:47:07,160 this and they retracted and decided to end the operation 726 00:47:07,160 --> 00:47:10,600 here. Could it be a mixture of many 727 00:47:10,600 --> 00:47:13,040 things? Sure it could be. 728 00:47:13,680 --> 00:47:16,080 We're not explicitly told so we can't be dogmatic. 729 00:47:17,680 --> 00:47:23,960 But one thing is for certain, it is a foolishness of this 730 00:47:23,960 --> 00:47:28,640 despicable crime. What is the king of Edom or 731 00:47:28,640 --> 00:47:31,440 rather Moab? Do he sacrifices his son? 732 00:47:32,320 --> 00:47:35,560 Can anybody remind me what is the reason for this war to begin 733 00:47:35,560 --> 00:47:38,200 with? You can say it if you know the 734 00:47:38,200 --> 00:47:39,840 answer. What's the reason for this war? 735 00:47:43,920 --> 00:47:48,760 What, why? Why is Israel and Judah and Edom 736 00:47:48,760 --> 00:47:53,600 partnering to come against Moab? The answer is in this chapter. 737 00:47:53,600 --> 00:47:55,760 You just have to go to the first few verses. 738 00:47:56,520 --> 00:47:59,560 But does anybody know why? Why are we even doing this? 739 00:48:01,040 --> 00:48:09,200 What causes what triggered this? It's in the single digits of 740 00:48:09,200 --> 00:48:14,000 Second Kings chapter 3. They rebelled. 741 00:48:14,000 --> 00:48:17,160 How did they rebel? Very good. 742 00:48:17,160 --> 00:48:20,840 Look at verse 4. Mesha, king of Moab, was a sheep 743 00:48:20,840 --> 00:48:24,640 reader, and he had to deliver to the king of Israel 100,000 lambs 744 00:48:24,840 --> 00:48:28,640 and the wool of 100,000 Rams. But when Ahab died, the king of 745 00:48:28,640 --> 00:48:31,240 Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 746 00:48:33,680 --> 00:48:37,280 Do you know what could have very likely solved this whole thing? 747 00:48:38,720 --> 00:48:42,840 If Moab had just went back to giving and sacrificing those 748 00:48:42,840 --> 00:48:47,160 lambs and those Rams, right? What does he do instead? 749 00:48:49,000 --> 00:48:54,720 He sacrifices his son. How do you explain this? 750 00:48:55,800 --> 00:49:02,080 You are willing to give up the life of your boy instead of some 751 00:49:02,080 --> 00:49:08,240 lambs and Rams. Behold the destruction of pride. 752 00:49:10,240 --> 00:49:16,520 Pride causes us to be foolish. It's it's ugly, it's hideous, 753 00:49:17,600 --> 00:49:22,000 and it can blind us and lead us to do devastating things. 754 00:49:23,760 --> 00:49:28,720 Unrestrained pride, unchallenged pride over time can destroy the 755 00:49:28,720 --> 00:49:33,360 most precious things, the most beautiful relationships, the 756 00:49:33,360 --> 00:49:38,440 most vibrant ministries, most abundant resources. 757 00:49:38,960 --> 00:49:43,560 Pride has a way of driving things to the ground and the 758 00:49:43,560 --> 00:49:48,600 most things that don't even make sense following somebody's 759 00:49:48,600 --> 00:49:52,280 arrogance because they refused to humble themselves. 760 00:49:52,840 --> 00:49:56,200 Here's a man who wanted to fight tooth and nail, who would not 761 00:49:56,560 --> 00:50:02,400 give in. And so he gave up arguably one 762 00:50:02,400 --> 00:50:03,880 of the most valuable things to him. 763 00:50:05,280 --> 00:50:13,360 And so this is how this ends. It ends with a very gross, vivid 764 00:50:14,000 --> 00:50:20,440 example of what pride can do. It kills, kills us, it kills 765 00:50:20,440 --> 00:50:25,400 others, and it's meant to in some way encourage us to remain 766 00:50:25,440 --> 00:50:30,280 humble, to remain humble. And that's what I pray we would 767 00:50:30,280 --> 00:50:33,680 leave this Bible study with that kind of exhortation. 768 00:50:33,680 --> 00:50:42,600 Lord, keep me low and help me just give in and surrender where 769 00:50:42,600 --> 00:50:44,400 you call me to give in and surrender. 770 00:50:45,840 --> 00:50:50,240 More importantly, if there is a blessing that is linked to 771 00:50:51,200 --> 00:50:53,760 complete and total sacrifice, then let me be a complete and 772 00:50:53,760 --> 00:50:56,960 total sacrifice. I don't want to hold anything 773 00:50:56,960 --> 00:51:00,760 back because when you and I hold anything back, no matter what we 774 00:51:00,760 --> 00:51:03,080 think we gain, we ultimately lose. 775 00:51:04,160 --> 00:51:07,280 We always lose. We refuse to give what God asks 776 00:51:07,280 --> 00:51:09,840 of us. I think that's enough for 777 00:51:09,840 --> 00:51:11,520 tonight. Let's pray. 778 00:51:11,720 --> 00:51:29,840 Let's thank Him together. Is it possible, like Elisha, the 779 00:51:29,840 --> 00:51:31,840 call for the musicians to come up here? 780 00:51:32,560 --> 00:51:39,160 Please come. We'll pray in a moment here. 781 00:51:44,780 --> 00:51:46,540 I praise God for our praise team. 782 00:51:48,340 --> 00:51:54,100 They take their ministry very seriously, and we all are 783 00:51:54,100 --> 00:51:59,680 blessed because of it. Why don't we calm our hearts? 784 00:51:59,720 --> 00:52:07,160 Why don't we allow even a soft tune to just assist us? 785 00:52:13,350 --> 00:52:15,430 Well, we thank you for this Bible study. 786 00:52:20,550 --> 00:52:24,630 Oh Lord, our words fall short of ascribing to you the praise and 787 00:52:24,630 --> 00:52:26,110 the glory and the honor that you deserve. 788 00:52:32,560 --> 00:52:35,280 We pray, Lord, that the the meetings here at NBC would 789 00:52:35,280 --> 00:52:41,960 always create the atmosphere necessary for us to receive it. 790 00:52:41,960 --> 00:52:44,600 To give unto You what you deserve and what we need. 791 00:52:46,800 --> 00:52:48,760 May this place always be holy ground. 792 00:52:50,720 --> 00:52:55,360 May those who serve in their giftings, especially the gifting 793 00:52:55,360 --> 00:53:07,360 of music, be led by Your Spirit always, Lord. 794 00:53:07,360 --> 00:53:11,200 Surely there is more to unpack in this passage, but we trust 795 00:53:11,200 --> 00:53:17,320 that what was granted to us suffices for this evening. 796 00:53:18,640 --> 00:53:21,240 Oh Lord, it's so easy to hear a Bible study and to just gather 797 00:53:21,240 --> 00:53:24,120 knowledge. Please speak to our hearts, 798 00:53:29,430 --> 00:53:32,150 Lord. Soften us. 799 00:53:34,990 --> 00:53:42,200 Make us tender again, Lord, help us the hunger for your ways, 800 00:53:57,900 --> 00:54:00,700 or for anybody in this place that is waiting on you. 801 00:54:03,860 --> 00:54:07,340 May they believe that as they trust you, and as they lay that 802 00:54:07,340 --> 00:54:14,700 need before you, that you are magnificent in your plans. 803 00:54:15,820 --> 00:54:19,680 And though we may see one thing, you're doing a multifaceted 804 00:54:19,680 --> 00:54:21,720 work. Help us believe that. 805 00:54:21,720 --> 00:54:24,360 Help us believe that for this church, as we are waiting on you 806 00:54:24,600 --> 00:54:27,840 for a big need. And we may not understand the 807 00:54:27,840 --> 00:54:31,520 timing. We may not know where resources 808 00:54:31,520 --> 00:54:34,720 will come from below, we trust you. 809 00:54:35,960 --> 00:54:39,640 We trust that as we continue with you, You will give us maybe 810 00:54:39,640 --> 00:54:45,600 a glimpse of why you did what you did, how You did it, and 811 00:54:45,600 --> 00:54:47,800 when You did it. We believe You, we trust in You, 812 00:54:47,800 --> 00:54:52,000 we rest in You, and we believe Your Word provided us the means 813 00:54:52,000 --> 00:54:58,040 to rest tonight. Lord, help us be loving enough 814 00:54:58,040 --> 00:55:02,080 to call out sin when we need to, with the right tone, the right 815 00:55:02,080 --> 00:55:06,240 words. May that be true of this pulpit. 816 00:55:06,240 --> 00:55:08,200 May that be true of our relationships with those that we 817 00:55:08,200 --> 00:55:14,240 care and love for. We just want to say thank you 818 00:55:14,240 --> 00:55:17,680 Lord for tonight. We bless you and we want to 819 00:55:17,680 --> 00:55:21,360 worship you with gratitude for what you have given to us. 820 00:55:22,040 --> 00:55:25,920 In Jesus name we pray, Amen. Why don't we stand and worship 821 00:55:25,920 --> 00:55:30,560 the Lord? Thank Him for the spiritual food 822 00:55:33,040 --> 00:55:34,000 that we ate of tonight.