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All right, my Bible in 365, 
brothers and sisters, we are at 

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the Book of First Kings and boy 
oh boy, oh boy is this one a 

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doozy. 
Now I want to get right into it,

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but I first want to say if you 
want to get more in depth with 

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these passages, you can. 
It's very easy. 

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Go to jamescadice.com. 
We can give you all the 

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information that you need to 
know about all the content 

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represented by the summaries 
that I give. 

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But this one, I have been 
looking forward to this. 

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Why? 
Because the book of First Kings 

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begins with a promise, but the 
heart starts to drift. 

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And I want to point this 
outlook. 

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First Kings opens with the 
Kingdom of Israel at its all 

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time high. 
It is doing incredibly well. 

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Solomon receives wisdom. 
The temple is built. 

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The glory of the Lord literally 
fills the house. 

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Israel is wealthy, it's 
respected, it's powerful. 

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And boy, does that feel very 
similar to some things we've 

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seen in the United States of 
America over the years. 

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But the problem is not external,
folks. 

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It's internal. 
And Solomon's failure was not 

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that he lacked wisdom, his 
failure, it was that his heart 

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actually turned first Kings 
Chapter 11 verse 4 says it. 

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It says for it came to pass when
Solomon was old and that his 

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wives turned away his heart 
after other gods. 

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And his heart was not perfect 
with the Lord his God, as was 

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the heart of David, his father. 
What a tragedy. 

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And as a father that gets me to 
think about so much related to 

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how I raised my children. 
Now that's the seed. 

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I love the whole book. 
I want everybody to understand 

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that. 
And it's really, really critical

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because it takes us to the place
that we need to go. 

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And I promise you, if you stick 
with me, this may be one of the 

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longer ones, but you are going 
to love every minute of what you

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get because it is absolutely 
powerful. 

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The Kingdom does not collapse 
because God is weak. 

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The Kingdom doesn't collapse 
because God doesn't keep his 

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word. 
It literally collapses because 

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the hearts of men drift from 
God. 

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OK, the greatest danger in First
Kings was never a foreign army. 

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It was a divided heart. 
And people often think collapse 

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begins with some major public 
figure. 

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You know, they look at all look 
at what this president did or 

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that president did. 
A lot of people are beating up 

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our dear president right now 
over this memorandum with it on.

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But those issues become somewhat
superfluous. 

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Why? 
Because in First Kings, collapse

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begins privately. 
It began quietly, spiritually. 

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The heart turns 1st and then the
consequences come after. 

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That's exactly what happened 
here. 

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It was a divided heart that 
produced a divided Kingdom. 

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After Solomon, the Kingdom 
literally splits in half. 

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We've talked about this story on
multiple occasions. 

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Rehoboam, his son, rules the 
southern Kingdom of Judah. 

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Jeroboam rules the northern 
Kingdom of Israel. 

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But Jeroboam knows that if the 
people return to Jerusalem to 

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worship, their hearts may return
to the House of David. 

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So he creates A counterfeit 
system of worship. 

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We spent a lot of time talking 
about this. 

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Look what it says in First Kings
1228. 

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Whereupon the king took counsel.
He made two calves of gold, and 

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said unto them, It is too much 
for you to go up to Jerusalem. 

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Behold, by gods, O Israel, which
brought thee up out of the land 

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of Egypt. 
And you know what he did. 

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He made it convenient. 
He brought in people that were 

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familiar to those that were in 
the north with the worship in 

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the temple, and he created 
something evil. 

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And this is the pattern of 
idolatry. 

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It's always convenient. 
It's very political in many 

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cases, it's religiously packaged
and it gives people a substitute

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for obedience. 
Remember, they didn't have to 

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obey God and go to the southern 
Kingdom if they chose to worship

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their false God. 
And Jeroboam doesn't tell Israel

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to stop being spiritual, he just
gives them a false spirituality.

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Idolatry does not always ask 
people to stop worshipping. 

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Sometimes it simply gives them 
something else to worship. 

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And I want you guys to see this 
now. 

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This is where first be king. 
First I was I was put 2 words in

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one. 
First the kings. 

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We're first kings becomes very 
modern. 

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This is where it becomes the, 
the, the time and day that we're

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actually looking at. 
Right now. 

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The enemy does not. 
That's my alarm. 

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I'll turn that off. 
The enemy does not always tempt 

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people into things like atheism.
Sometimes he tempts them into a 

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version of religion that keeps 
God's name out. 

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In some cases, he'll keep God's 
name right back in the right, 

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smack dab in the middle. 
But God's authority will be 

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removed because the true God 
isn't being worshipped. 

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And by the time we reach Ahab in
the Book of First Kings, 

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compromise has become the 
national rebellion. 

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That's exactly what's going on. 
The kings of Israel go from bad 

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to worse. 
Ahab then arrives and the Bible 

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tells us in First Kings chapter 
16 that Ahab was an evil man. 

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Look at verse 30 of First Kings 
chapter 16. 

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Ahab, the son of Omri, did evil 
in the sight of the Lord above 

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all that were before him. 
And Ahab doesn't just merely 

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continue in the sin of Jeroboam,
he actually escalates it. 

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That's what the Bible tells us. 
It says that he took a wife 

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named Jezebel, the daughter of 
Iphbile, the king of the 

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Zidonian. 
So this was part of a, a treaty 

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that he made and he went and 
served by L and worshipped him. 

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The phrase is devastating. 
And and I think it's it's, it's 

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one that's like super, super 
critical. 

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He literally chose to do this 
thing in darkness as if it had 

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been a light thing. 
That's what the Bible says. 

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Look, sin becomes extremely 
deadly when it's casual, and 

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we're watching people in social 
media trying to win your heart 

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over to make sin casual. 
We have movies in Hollywood that

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are trying to create that within
your very heart. 

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Ahab treats rebellion like it's 
literally nothing. 

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He marries Jezebel. 
Battle worship becomes like an 

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entrenched part of their lives, 
and the prophets of the Lord are

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persecuted as a result. 
The nation is spiritually 

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broken. 
The Northern Kingdom is 

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devastated at this point. 
We read all about this in First 

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Kings. 
What one generation tolerates, 

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the next generation will 
eventually celebrate. 

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So you might say, hey, live and 
let live. 

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You can let these people live 
this lifestyle. 

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By the time you get to the 
second generation, from what we 

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know from First Kings, they'll 
be celebrating it. 

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This is why this book matters. 
First King is warning us that 

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spiritual compromise does not 
stay small. 

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I want you guys to see this. 
It grows, it organizes, it 

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becomes policy in many ways, and
it literally turns into, it 

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morphs into culture. 
Eventually, it demands that the 

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truth is silenced. 
Elijah enters the story at this 

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point. 
And this is the part that I've 

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been waiting for. 
I've been, I've been waiting for

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this. 
He does not come with a 

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popularity strategy. 
Let me say that again. 

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He doesn't care about 
popularity. 

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He doesn't come to negotiate 
with bail. 

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He comes to confront the nation.
First Kings, chapter 18, it 

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tells us this in verse 17. 
And it came to pass that when 

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Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said 
unto him, Art thou he that 

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troubleth Israel? 
Love it. 

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And he answered, I've not 
troubled Israel, but thou and 

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thy father's house, in that you 
have forsaken the commandments 

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of the Lord, thou hast followed 
by them. 

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Think about what he's saying. 
Ahab calls Elijah the 

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troublemaker, and Elijah tells 
the truth. 

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And he says, the trouble is not 
the prophet, the trouble is the 

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sin. 
And you've given yourself to 

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that. 
By the way, guys, that's still 

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very true today. 
A faithful voice is often blamed

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for the damage caused by 
disobedience. 

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Have you seen the way they've 
been treating Erika Kirk lately?

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Have you seen the way they've 
been treating all kinds of 

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people that stand up for the 
truth? 

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Then Elijah gathers, he brings 
the people into play, and he 

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asks the most important question
that can be asked in this whole 

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book. 
Let me read this to you. 

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Elijah speaking here in verse 21
of first Kings chapter 18 and 

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Elijah came unto all the people 
and said how long? 

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That's a good question. 
How long halt you between two 

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opinions. 
If the Lord be God, follow him, 

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but if bail, then follow him. 
And the people answered him, not

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a word, not one word. 
That is the most chilling 

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sentence in that verse and 
probably in that chapter. 

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And the people answered him not 
a word. 

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They were not ready to choose. 
They were not even what we would

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call atheists today. 
They were literally a divided 

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people. 
They wanted by his benefits and 

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the Lord's blessings. 
What were the benefits of 

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worshipping by rampant sexual 
activity? 

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All kinds of things. 
They wanted false worship and 

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they wanted some type of 
covenant protection that they 

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felt like God could give them, 
but they didn't feel like they 

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needed to worship the Lord in 
order to do it. 

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This is the thing with doing a 
one take video. 

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Hold on. 
It shows you no editing here. 

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Here's something we have to keep
in mind. 

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Let me bring it back to where we
were. 

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The issue on Mount Carmel, which
is what we're reading about 

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right now, the issue on Mount 
Carmel was not that Israel had 

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no religion. 
The issue is that Israel had too

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many loyalties. 
They were distracted. 

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The most dangerous place to live
is not an open rebellion. 

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It's in divided allegiance. 
Guys, I want you to understand 

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that because divided allegiance 
let's people feel spiritual 

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while refusing to surrender. 
I feel passionate about this 

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because I think it's important. 
I think it's critical. 

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The prophets of bad cry out. 
They leap on this altar, they 

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cut themselves, they make noise,
they perform, but nothing 

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happens. 
That's what happens here, 

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because Elijah makes the 
challenge If your gods are real,

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then let them literally light 
the fire on this altar. 

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And the prophets of Bail did 
everything that they could. 

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First Kings 1826 tells us this. 
They took the Bullock which was 

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given them, they dressed it. 
They called on the name of Bail 

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from the morning until the noon,
saying, O bail, hear from us. 

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But there was no voice nor any 
of that answered. 

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And they leaped upon the altar 
which was made. 

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The summary of every idol is the
same thing. 

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It always works out the same 
way. 

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There's no voice, no answer, and
certainly no power. 

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Idols always demand more than 
they can give. 

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It always works out this way. 
They take your time, which is 

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the most valuable asset that you
have. 

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They take your affection, they 
take your energy, they take your

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obedience, your family, your 
purity, your peace, your 

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identity, and yes, in many 
cases, your life, as we're even 

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about to find out here. 
And when you need salvation, 

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guess what? 
They can't answer. 

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Every false God eventually goes 
silent, and every false God in 

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its silence takes you away, 
destroys you. 

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Money cannot answer. 
Politics can't answer. 

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Celebrity can't answer. 
Power can't answer. 

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Pleasure can't answer. 
Comfort will never be able to 

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answer. 
False religion can't answer. 

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When the fire isn't needed, bail
is silent. 

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Why? 
Because false gods are 

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incapable. 
Elijah goes back and he repairs 

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the altar of the Lord. 
Now that matters. 

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That detail matters. 
Why? 

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Because the altar had been 
broken down before the fire 

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falls. 
The altar has to be restored. 

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You guys get that? 
I think that's a detail that 

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doesn't get looked at much. 
Elijah said unto all the people,

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hey, come near me. 
That's what the Bible says in 

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Second Kings 1830. 
All the people came near to him,

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and the Bible tells us that he 
repaired the altar of the Lord. 

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That was broken down. 
That in and of itself is a whole

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sermon. 
I could literally spend the next

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hour talking about the 
significance of that line alone.

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Fire does not fall on the Isles 
altar. 

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Fire falls where the altar of 
the Lord is restored. 

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I want you to understand that 
the altar of the Lord must 

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exist. 
Look at what happens in verse 

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363738 and 39. 
The Bible tells us that the Lord

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God did the work that He did. 
Let me read it to you. 

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And it came to pass at the time 
of the offering. 

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Let me bring this up, 'cause I'm
not going to be able to remember

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this. 
And it came to pass at the time 

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of the offering of the evening 
sacrifice, that Elijah the 

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prophet came near and said, Lord
God of Abraham, Isaac, and 

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Jacob, sorry, I read that wrong.
Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and 

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of Israel, sorry. 
Let it be known this day that 

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thou art God in Israel, and that
I am Thy servant, and that I 

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have done all these things at 
Thy word. 

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Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that 
this people may know that thou 

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art the Lord God, and Thou has 
to turn their heart, and that 

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has turned their heart back 
again. 

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It's heavy. 
Then the fire of the Lord fell 

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and consumed the burnt sacrifice
and the wood and the stones and 

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the dust and licked up the water
that was in the trench. 

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And when all the people saw it, 
noticed this, they fell on their

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faces and they said, the Lord, 
he is the he is the God, the 

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Lord he is the God. 
I don't need to read much more. 

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Notice Elijah's prayer. 
I want, I want you to pay 

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attention here. 
He's not trying to prove that 

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he's impressive. 
He's asking God to reveal 

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himself to the to the people's 
hearts. 

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He wanted them not to turn back.
That's the thing about this 

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passage that is just filled with
mercy. 

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It's the thing about this 
passage, it's filled with 

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redemption. 
God confronts them, but the 

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confrontation is designed to 
restore them, the people of 

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Israel, not the prophets of they
all die. 

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God's fire was not only an act 
of judgement against Bahel, it 

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was an act of mercy towards 
Israel. 

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I need you to see that sometimes
the most loving thing that God 

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does is expose the idol that's 
been stealing the heart and 

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literally in many ways burns it 
down. 

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First Kings is a book about 
kings, but none of the kings are

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ultimate. 
Solomon fails Rehoboam. 

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He acts foolishness. 
Foolishly he does. 

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Jeroboam corrupts every aspect 
of worship. 

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Ahab sells himself to the devil,
literally, by marrying this 

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demon woman. 
But through it all, the Lord 

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remains king. 
Human Thrones are going to rise 

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and they're going to fall, and 
God's throne will never move. 

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That's why Mount Carmel. 
The story on Mount Carmel 

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matters. 
The question is not merely who 

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is Israel's king. 
The real question is who is God?

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And the answer is the Lord. 
He is God, the Lord, He is God. 

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If you haven't listened to 
anything, please listen to this.

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God help me to orchestrate this 
the way I know it needs to be 

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heard. 
The Book of First King forces 

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every generation to face the 
same question Elijah asked 

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Israel. 
I think about this often times 

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when I think about the Ministry 
of Charlie. 

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Here's the question. 
How long halt you between two 

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opinions? 
How long will you waver between 

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two opinions? 
Every generation has to answer 

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that question. 
Not how long will you admire 

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God? 
Not how long will you keep 

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religious language? 
Not how long will you respect 

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the Bible? 
The question is, if the Lord be 

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God, follow him. 
A divided Kingdom began with a 

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divided heart. 
A divided heart produced divided

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worship. 
Divided worship brought a 

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national ruin, but the mercy of 
God still called his people 

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back. 
So the message of first Kings is

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not simply that kings fail. 
The message of first kings is 

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that God remains faithful even 
though we're faithless. 

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Why? 
Because he cannot deny himself. 

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God confronts idolatry and he 
calls his people to undivided 

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allegiance. 
Fire fell on Carmel so that 

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Israel would know that we must 
never forget it was for us. 

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The Lord doesn't compete with 
idols, guys. 

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He doesn't. 
He reigns over them. 

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Let's decide today where our 
allegiance goes. 

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He needs to be with Him. 
Don't let anybody distract you 

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from that, including the social 
media troposphere. 

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Let me say this one more time. 
The fire fell on Carmel so 

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Israel would know that we must 
never forget. 

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Let's give it all to the Lord. 
Thank you, by the way, for 

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listening to me all the way 
through. 

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I got to get over it. 
Your dedication to the word of 

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God, your ability to say I'm 
going to make a commitment this 

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year and I'm going to read it 
through already shows that you 

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have been fixing the altar of 
God, preparing the altar of God,

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repairing the altar of God. 
And I can promise you soon, and 

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very soon, you're going to watch
some fire come down in ways you 

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never thought and it's going to 
be glorious. 

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So stay in the fight, continue 
to put God first and watch him, 

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watch him do great things. 
I love you guys, God bless you.