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1 Kings 21 (Part 1) Bible Study (Naboth's Vineyard) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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First Kings Chapter 21, I believe that it will be helpful
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to remind ourselves of how First Kings chapter 20 ended in order
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for us to capture the essence of this new chapter that we are
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going to delve into together. And so though you are going to
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1st Kings 21, I want to read the last two verses of our previous
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study, and then we will open up chapter 21 together.
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So look at verse 42 of First Kings chapter 20.
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And he said to him being the prophet, speaking to Ahab.
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And he said to him, thus says the Lord, because you have let
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go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction.
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Therefore your life shall be for his life and your people, for
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his people. And the king of Israel went to
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his house, vexed and sullen, and came to Samaria.
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Remember, Ahab was called by God to completely destroy Ben Haddad
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and the Syrian Army. He disobeyed by making a
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covenant with Ben Haddad. A prophet comes on the scene and
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says you disobeyed God. So it's going to be your life.
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Your life is going to be the price for this disobedience.
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Your people are going to feel the pain of your rebellion.
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And the response to that was Ahab being frustrated, annoyed,
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gloomy. He makes his way, dragging his
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feet back into his home, and you would think that such a
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declaration of certain judgement would drive him into his knees.
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That though perhaps at first you were ruffled a little bit.
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Because that's not the most pleasant news to get for your
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future. You would at least sober up by
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the time you got into your living room and got right with
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God, or at least sought God for clarity, for mercy.
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That's what you would think would follow this.
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That's what you would think the sequence would be to this
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profound judgement looming over a man who deserved it far before
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this time. And instead, when you honor the
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flow of thought, this is what you discover about Ahab.
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Keeping this in mind as the backdrop in verse one of chapter
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21, look at this with me now, Nabeth the Jezreelite had a
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vineyard in Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria.
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And after this, Ahab said to Nabeth, give me your vineyard
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that I may have it for a vegetable garden because it is
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near my house. And I will give you a better
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vineyard for it. Or if it seems good to you, I
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will give you its value in money.
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Now, if you looked at this as as an isolated scenario, you may
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make different judgements. You may think that some time has
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lapsed and now Ahab is thinking about other things.
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But it's placement is confirming something very concerning about
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this man's character. Again, what's the backdrop?
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He received news that death is imminent, that he he's going to
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pay a high price for turning his back on a clear command from
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God. And what you read here is that
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though judgement was pronounced against him, the very next thing
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you discover is that he's preoccupied about a garden.
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What's this man thinking about real estate.
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What's this man thinking about? How to enlarge his estate, how
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to advance in his personal projects.
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I know you're tempted to do something, because I was tempted
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to do the same. And let's jeer at this man.
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What a fool. What an imbecile, what a
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careless man. Your soul is hanging by a
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thread. It's a damnation.
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And what are you caught up by? How to make your little land a
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little prettier? How to make your possessions a
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little bit more glamorous? How to add glory to your house.
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And again, you might be tempted to mock such a thing, but you
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must be aware, as I am, that this demonstration of misplaced
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priorities is not uncommon. How many millions today are
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doing the same this very hour? Hopefully not you that they're
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so concerned about these earthbound pursuits.
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And even after being confronted by gospel truth, maybe even week
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after week. Oh sure, they might get stirred
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emotionally. They might have a an afternoon
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of sobriety, of clarity. But it doesn't take much time
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before they go back to their default.
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And that is to make their little brief existence about little
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trivial things while completely ignoring the confrontation of
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truth that demands a decision. So Ahab here is not an anomaly.
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Ahab here is a reflection of a universal human symptom that we
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are easily distracted, that our concern for matters that are
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eternal lasting a very short, very brief.
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And Ahab here is proving something that is happening
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across the world and throughout generations.
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But now he's thinking about this and we read the offer that he
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makes to this introductory man, Nabith, right?
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We'd never heard of him before. You're not going to hear much
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about him. I mean, he appears and he's
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going to disappear in the same chapter, less than a chapter.
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But he makes this offer. He extends this this invitation
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for an exchange. And it's a pretty good one.
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So here's this vineyard on the same St. as the palace, and he
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just says, hey, look, I'll take your vineyard and I'm going to
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even give you a better one. And if you don't want another
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vineyard, name the price and I'll give it to you.
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There's nothing dishonest about this offer.
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There's nothing aggressive about it.
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This is essentially profitable for Nabeth.
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At least this is something that's sensible.
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This is a good thing. Even his tone, it's admirable.
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It's it's just somebody who wants to make a deal and you,
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you and I might see it that way, but Nabith quickly is going to
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show us that he does not see it that way.
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In fact, he doesn't even entertain it.
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He doesn't counteroffer. He doesn't do anything.
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He just shuts it down right away.
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So we read here in verse three, look at it with me.
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But Nabith said to Ahab, the Lord forbid that I should give
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you the inheritance of my father's full stop.
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I'm not looking to have a conversation about this.
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I'm not looking to discuss this. I'm not looking to hear, you
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know, you would think that if he was, if he was unimpressed, that
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he would again kind of go back and forth and bargain.
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He doesn't do any of that. He squashes it right there and
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then. And the question that we have to
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ask is why there's nothing inherently sinful about this.
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Or is there? This is why you and I need to
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know the Old Testament. And we get a clue from Nabith's
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answer. What does he say in verse three,
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the Lord forbid? Is he just invoking the name of
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the Lord carelessly? No.
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He is aware of what God's law has to say about this very
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matter. So if you want to know what
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God's law has to say about this, here's one verse among many.
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Numbers 36, verse seven. And this reveals something about
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this precious man named Nabith. Numbers 36, verse 7, This is
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what the Lord says. This is what He established for
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the people of Israel even before they entered into the Promised
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land. It says here.
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Numbers 36, seven, The inheritance of the people of
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Israel shall not be transferred from one tribe to another, for
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every one of the people of Israel shall hold on to the
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inheritance of the tribe of his Father's.
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They can't get any more clear than that God had designated
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that whatever land belonged to tribes were supposed to remain
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among those tribes. You're not supposed to transfer,
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make sales. It's supposed to remain among
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your specific clan. And this prohibition applies to
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Ahab and Nabith. Nabith understood that what this
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suggests is illegal, and he's not going to entertain it.
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He's going to immediately shut this thing down.
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And instead of expanding more about this law and the wisdom
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behind it and how we can apply it, we, we did a whole study in
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Joshua. There's a lot of conversation
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about real estate and how that applies spiritually, at least in
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the new covenant. I want to take the time to
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explore what this reveals about Nabeth.
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Again, you don't get his lineage.
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All you get is his name, the area of his residence, the first
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words recorded words at least in Scripture, and his strong stance
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against illegitimate allurement to disobey God.
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Do you remember what the Lord told Elijah when Elijah felt
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like he was the only prophet standing for the truth?
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He already learned that there were other prophets being hidden
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by Obadiah, but then the Lord decided to highlight even a
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greater truth, that there is a remnant of how many who have not
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bowed their knee to bail, nor have given their mouths to kiss
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him. Here's one of the 7000.
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And what's so impressive about this man's faithfulness is when
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you consider the wider context that Israel was an apostate
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nation. Yes, they got a little taste of
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revival through Elijah's ministry there in First Kings
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18, but what makes it even more impressive is where this
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faithful man demonstrated his loyalty to the true and living
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God. He's in Jezreel.
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We learned that that's where the palace of the apostate king and
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queen was placed. And not only that, I mean, it's
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one thing to live in Jezreel, but you're living on the same
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St. as the guy, the same St. of the guy who made it very clear
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and known on a national level that he does not.
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He does not like people who are exclusive to worship the true
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and living God. In fact, they've demonstrated
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that by killing prophets. And yet this man, without
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blinking, without hesitation, has the audacity to invoke the
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name of the Lord before this king.
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But this man's faithfulness stands out not just in his
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willingness to be faithful in times of persecution, but to
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remain steadfast in a time of potential prosperity and
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opportunity. Yeah, because Ahab doesn't show
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up to his front door threatening to take off his head if he
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doesn't surrender his vineyard. He offers him a better one.
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I mean, think about it. Can you imagine?
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I mean, these days, people don't make much of national leaders.
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I get it. But but pretend even with even
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with leaders. OK, let's just talk about a
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renowned person, like a internationally known figure
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showing up at your door, showing up personally at your door with
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a little entourage and you possessing something that they
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are interested in and them making a deal with you is on the
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table for something. They might feel the pressure of
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that they they might feel just the natural pressure to budget
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in because of this affluent individual or this prestigious
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man. But more than that, it's the the
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the offer. I mean, again, he doesn't
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threaten him. He says, I'm willing to give you
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something even better than what you have.
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You can enhance your life. Whatever you're enjoying now,
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you can enjoy it even more. I can make it happen.
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I just want this one because it's near to my backyard.
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So you have a lot here on the table.
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But you know what I see about Nabin?
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He refused. Still, you know why?
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Because he understood that to be materially wealthy at the cost
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of spiritual blessing is absolutely foolish.
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I wish most people would think that way, that to be materially
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wealthy at the price of spiritual loss is not even in
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the conversation. It's absolutely foolish to this
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man. And guess what?
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It's not just foolish to Nebith. It's foolish to somebody else
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who's much more important than this man.
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You remember when Jesus gave a sermon and somebody responded to
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it? And this gives me great comfort
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because it shows me that even when Jesus preached, people were
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not listening sometimes. Let me prove that to you in Luke
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chapter 12. Go to Luke 12, and I want you to
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see this with your own eyes. Luke 12.
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I was going to originally read just a couple of verses from
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this text, but it's Friday night.
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Where do we have to go? Matthew, Mark, Luke 12, Luke 12
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and look here at verse 13. Now Jesus talks about hell
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before this. He talks about not fearing for
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your life. He talks about God taking care
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of you. He talks about persecution and
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trusting yourself to the Holy Spirit who will teach you in the
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very hour what you have to say. Brilliant eternal truths are
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being offered here and here's what you read in verse 13.
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Someone in the crowd said to him, teacher, tell my brother to
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divide the inheritance with me. Jesus isn't teaching about
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inheritances and the Lord of glory discerns exactly where
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this question is coming from. So look how the Lord responds in
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verse 14. But he said to man who made me a
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judge or arbitrary over you, and he said to them, So now he's
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using this moment now as a lesson for the whole crowd.
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Take care and be on your guard against all covetousness.
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For one's life does not consist in the abundance of his
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possessions. How many people make their lives
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just about that? Not just about possessions, but
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abundance of possessions, expansion of possessions,
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updated possessions. Jesus is saying clearly to you
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and I hey, be on guard for that kind of ambition being your
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reason for life. Then he gives a lesson, verse 16
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And he told them a parable saying the land of a rich man
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produced plentifully. And he thought to himself, what
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shall I do? For I have nowhere to store my
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crops. And he said, I will do this.
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I will tear down my barns and build larger ones and there I
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will store all my grain and my goods.
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Sounds like Ahab a little bit right wanted to expand his his
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crops and his garden. Verse 19 and I will say to my
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soul, so you have ample goods laid up for many years.
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Relax, eat, drink and be merry. Look what God says about that
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kind of an attitude. But God said to him, fool this
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night your soul is required of you and the things you have
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prepared whose will they be now pause.
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Is there anything inherently wrong with projects like this
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and advancing in business and promotions?
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Not necessarily, but revisit the way this man spoke and realize
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that God is excluded from his thinking.
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Go back again to verse 18 and he said, I will do this.
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I will tear down my barns and build large ones, and there I
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will store all my grain in my goods.
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And I will say to my soul, I, I, I, I, I just me, myself, and I,
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that's what my life is all about.
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And the Lord interjects and he says, you're a fool.
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Oh yeah. In people's eyes, you might be
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successful, you might be clever, you might be well off, but
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you're a fool because this very night your soul is required of
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you. But look what he says here in
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verse 21. It's not just this man in this
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parable. So is the one.
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So anybody. So is the one who lays up
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treasure for himself and is not rich toward God profound?
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I know people. I know a lot of people who
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believe in God. I know a lot of people who serve
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God. Who do you know that is rich
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toward God? I think that's a category in
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itself. Rich toward God.
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Implying what? That you can be poor in your
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relationship with God. You can be just giving the
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bottom of the barrel toward God. You know, if my heart is moved
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to any kind of action, if anything grabs my attention, it
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should for you as well is a person who's not rich in this
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life but rich spiritually. You know what I mean?
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What does it mean for someone to be rich toward God?
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I think it means a lot of things.
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I think it includes people who are rich with testimonies
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because they've invested in prayer.
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I believe it's in part Colossians 316 where we're told
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there, let the word of Christ dwell in you.
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How richly, richly. There's some people that I
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talked to when they talk about the Scriptures, it's, it's like
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John Bunyan. They said to John Bunyan, if you
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cut him, he would believe the Bible.
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He'd believe the Bible. And so I look at this and I
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think there are so many people in this, in this life who are
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stimulated and inspired by those.
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You know, you see it on YouTube, these guys who are motivational
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speakers and knock you over the head to get disciplined so you
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can get rich or die trying. That doesn't move me an inch.
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In fact, most of it is cringe actually.
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You know what does move me though?
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When a man in humility, when a man without advertising himself
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is so rich toward God, he just oozes.
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He oozes the fragrance of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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I want that. I want my life to be about that.
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I want to be as close to him as possible.
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And here you have Nabith, who has an opportunity to get
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richer, but at the expense of disobeying God.
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And he says I'd rather keep my smaller vineyard if it means
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that I'm going to bless my Lord. And unfortunately, Ahab thought
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the exact opposite. So let's come back to our main
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text in first Kings 21. And what do we read here?
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The reaction of Ahab. You and I are inspired by
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Nabith, but not this king we read in verse four.
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And Ahab went into his house, vexed and sullen because of what
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Nabeth the Jezreelite had said to him.
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For he had said, I will not give you the inheritance of my
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father's. And he laid down on his bed and
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turned away his face and would eat no food.
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Is this a king? Sounds like a child, right?
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This is a temper tantrum here. So this man again drags his feet
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back into his palace. He curls up in a little ball in
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his royal bedroom. And when his servants called for
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dinner, he says, no, I'm not eating dinner.
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And this is the ruler of a nation.
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And when we consider it, meditate on it, as funny as it
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may be, it's actually revealing about something deeper.
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Don't you find it strange that somebody who has so much feels
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so strongly about not receiving something so little?
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This man is way advanced in comparison to Nabeth in terms of
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possessions, prestige, power, and yet he's not content.
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You know what you learn from this verse 4?
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Contentment ultimately is not found in sustaining stuff.
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Is it because you can have. You can be a king and still not
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be satisfied. You can be royalty and still
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pout. You can still feel that vacuum
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in your heart sucking any pleasure you think it's lasting
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and the next day it's gone. Because contentment was not
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designed to be unlocked in the physical.
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And then you look at this and you compare it to what Nabeth
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and what he is totally content to remain as he is, to keep what
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he has. Why?
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Because he has something Ahab doesn't have, a relationship
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with the Lord and enjoyment of the truth.
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He has his roots established in something that Ahab had a
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opportunity to but refused. And So what we have here is
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again, a man who teaches us that if you pursue things apart from
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God being primary, you're never going to be settled.
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Never. And so we've seen Ahab do this
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before, have we not? We read it in the beginning of
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this study. Go back to the last verse of
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chapter 20, verse 43. And the king of Israel went to
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his house vexed and sullen and came to Samaria.
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And are you seeing him doing the same thing in verse 4, vexed and
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sullen. What's what's the similarities
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between these two responses that a have had in a short amount of
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time? Yes, vexed and sullen, but as a
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reaction to what the will of the Lord being known to him.
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So back in the end of chapter 20, a prophet said thus says the
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Lord, and then you have Nabeth saying what the Lord forbid it.
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So both times Ahab's reflex is to God's wishes being known to
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him and him being disappointed by it because it didn't honor
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his wishes. And this is the lesson about
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Ahab at this point. He shows us frustration with
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what God revealed. And that's a dangerous place for
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your heart to remain in. Listen very carefully, my
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precious brother and sister. Offence is a breeding ground for
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the seed of temptation to flourish.
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Offence is the breeding ground for the seed of temptation to
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flourish. If you're not careful.
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Aggravation, bitterness, unforgiveness.
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Towards people, sure, but towards the Lord?
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Mainly when you're unpleased with how Providence has LED you
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thus far. If you do not challenge that, it
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can eventually impair so much about you, especially your
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judgment, which will leave you more attracted to sinful
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suggestions to try to solve and to heal your disappointment.
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Do you know what I mean by that? When you live long enough
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serving the Lord and something happens maybe once, maybe more
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than once, and it doesn't line up with your blueprint.
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Temptation becomes stronger when you allow your heart to remain
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in that place of unmet expectations or God's will
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seeming to make life more difficult for you.
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If you harbor that you're creating unknowingly, but I'm
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making it known now a foothold for Satan saying what do you
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mean? Here's what I mean, because in a
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moment you're about to read, Nabeth is going to have his life
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taken from him unjustly by the order of royalty.
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But it's not going to come from Ahab's thinking.
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It's going to come from his wife, Jezebel.
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When does Jezebel appear on the scene?
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We haven't seen her in a bed. She appears on the scene when we
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find Ahab with his heart prepared for her scheme, a
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scheme that will apparently provide the remedy to medicate
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his disappointment. So what do we read in verse
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five? Look at it with me, please.
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But Jezebel, here she is. But Jezebel, his wife came to
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him and said to him, why is your spirit so vexed that you eat no
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food? And he said to her, because I
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spoke to Nabeth the Jezreelite and said to him, give me your
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vineyard for money, or else if it please you, I will give you
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another vineyard for it. And he answered, I will not give
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you my vineyard. Let's just pause there for a
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moment. What about Ahab's explanation
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stands out to you look at it again compare it to the actual
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conversation that he had with the man and you're going to
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notice a difference. Yes, very good.
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He omits the Lord from the whole thing.
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Look at it again. Look at verse seven.
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It says here verse six rather than he said it because I spoke
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to name of the Jesuit and said to him give me your vineyard for
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money or else if it please I'll give you another vineyard for
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any answered. I will not give you my vineyard.
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Is that what Nabith said to him? The Lord forbid, the Lord forbid
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that I give you what belongs to my father's.
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So what do you have here? You have a man who is righteous,
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who stands for righteousness, who vocalizes his righteous
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conviction. And you have a wicked king who
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does what Something you should expect as the righteous
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misrepresent him, misrepresents him.
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Settle it in your mind today, please, that if you're going to
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live for the Lord, if you want to live with the conviction of
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truth driving every part of your life, not everybody is going to
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agree with it. Not everybody's going to praise
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it. In fact, people won't see it at
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all and will mischaracterize you.
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You're doing the right thing. You're saying the right thing,
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You're standing for the right thing.
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But what we see here is a reminder that there are people
26:14
who don't care. They don't, they don't care that
26:17
you serve God. They don't care that you're
26:18
living a consecrated life. They don't care that you are
26:21
trying to honor the Lord and honor holiness.
26:23
They could care less. And I'm reminded with what
26:26
happened here to what happened with the Lord Jesus.
26:28
Here's what I'm trying to prepare you for.
26:31
Serve God long enough and you can expect to be misunderstood.
26:34
You can expect to be slandered. You can expect to be lied about.
26:37
Happened to Nabeth. More importantly, happened to
26:39
the Lord Jesus. Answer this for me please.
26:42
When Jesus was cornered in question about giving taxes to
26:45
Caesar, Caesar, what was his answer?
26:49
Get to Caesar. What belongs to Caesar and who
26:51
God? What belongs to God?
26:54
Now many people know by heart, virtually every Christian or
26:57
churchgoer knows that answer. Even the world knows that famous
26:59
phrase. But what many people don't
27:01
remember is what people did when Jesus said that down the line
27:05
when he was on trial. Let me remind you from Luke 23
27:08
verses one and two, we've touched on this before in our
27:11
study of Mark when we touched on that very passage, but maybe
27:13
you've never seen this before. But again, just because you're a
27:16
part of Club Jesus, I want you to be prepared for every
27:19
potential attack let down. Shocking things may be shocking
27:25
to you, but it shouldn't if you're familiar with the truth.
27:27
Look at Luke 23 one and two. Jesus said that so clearly.
27:31
And notice what happens when He stands before Pilate.
27:35
Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before
27:37
Pilate, and they began to accuse him, saying we found this man
27:40
misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to
27:44
Caesar. Did Jesus forbid them from doing
27:48
that? Give to Caesar what belongs to
27:51
Caesar. How did they misrepresent him?
27:53
He's actually telling us and he's forbidding us to give
27:55
tribute to Caesar. So even the righteous, even the
28:01
Son of God himself have had his words taken out of context,
28:05
misrepresented, lied about. It's part of the package.
28:08
It's part of the package. And if you're not going to
28:12
soothe your heart, your soul, and knowing that there's one day
28:15
coming where the Lord Jesus is going to vindicate everything,
28:20
these kind of things will weigh you down in your joy, in your
28:24
service. So, so be prepared.
28:28
Be prepared for that and when it happens, learn how to take that
28:31
and bring it before the Lord, saying, Lord, you know me.
28:34
One famous minister said it this way.
28:36
I left my reputation where I left my soul in the hands of
28:38
God. Navith was misrepresented.
28:43
Jezebel asked this question about her husband who was
28:47
throwing a little temper tantrum gives us this honest answer, at
28:51
least an incomplete one. How does she respond to that?
28:53
Look at verse seven. You would think that if Jezebel
28:56
was a Good Wife, which she isn't far from it.
28:59
You would think if she was a helpmate, the way God designed
29:02
wives to be, that her response would be something like, well, I
29:04
just sat back today and thought if she was a holy woman, if she
29:07
was an if she was godly, she had just a, a, a hint of the fear of
29:11
the Lord. Perhaps her answer would have
29:13
been Ahab. You know what the the law of the
29:17
Lord says concerning one tribe giving their land to another.
29:20
This doesn't apply to you. I know you want it, but this is
29:23
prohibited. You have to trust God's wisdom
29:26
above your desires. He would think that she might
29:29
add to that by saying and besides that, Ahab, you already
29:31
have so much. Instead of focusing on the
29:35
things that you don't have, look at all the things that you've
29:37
been lavished with. Look at your robe, look at your
29:40
throne. Look at this position that God's
29:42
elevated you to. You would think that she would
29:44
help him in this way. Instead, she adds gasoline to
29:48
the fire of greed and covetousness.
29:51
Verse 7 and Jezebel, his wife said to him, do you now govern
29:56
Israel? Arise and eat bread and let your
30:01
heart be cheerful. I will give you the vineyard of
30:05
Nabeth, the Jezreelite. God says it doesn't belong, but
30:08
you know what she's saying. I'm going to give it to you.
30:09
It doesn't matter what God said. God's not even in that
30:12
conversation, but indirectly she is saying that, you know, I was
30:16
reading this and I thought to myself, there are many ways to
30:21
categorize relationships there, There are many ways for you to
30:25
be able to frame your relationships in life.
30:28
One of my favorite filters to apply, I brought up over the
30:31
years because I think it's one of the most helpful ones, puts
30:34
language to how you know what to invest in and what to be aware
30:37
of and what to cut off completely.
30:39
One of my favorite filters that I apply is this.
30:42
Does this person help me fight my temptation or do they fuel my
30:46
temptation? I ask that question all the
30:50
time. Like when I spend more time with
30:52
this person, do I leave that meeting?
30:54
Do I leave that time? Do I leave that outing with my
30:57
spirit strengthened or with my flesh more flared up than when I
31:00
than when I came? Yeah, that's just one filter
31:05
among many. Does this person, do they help
31:08
me fight for my sanctification? Do they inspire me to be more
31:13
godly? Do they do they help me?
31:16
Not even directly, just just their presence and the way they
31:18
think? Do they help me look to and rely
31:20
on the Word or do I get more carnal?
31:23
Do I feel my old man resurrecting the more I linger
31:28
and engage with them? Have you ever thought about that
31:30
with your relationships, your friendships, the potential
31:33
spouse that you're talking to? Have you ever thought about
31:36
that? If you don't apply such filters
31:40
in life that are derived from the Word of God, then I promise
31:44
you problems down the road. Problems that you could have
31:46
avoided because such a question will help you again.
31:49
Know what to cut off know. Know what to limit.
31:51
Know what to embrace and invest in in terms of horizontal
31:55
relationships. Because you know what's going to
31:58
happen to Ahab. Ahab is about to fall off the
32:00
same Cliff that many kings before him have and that is
32:03
receiving the wrong counsel. This is going to be the turn
32:07
around for Ahab's life right here.
32:09
We're going to see it in the rest of the chapter.
32:10
We're not going to cover that today, but Ahab is going to fall
32:13
in the same trap that many notable kings of Israel have by
32:16
what? Receiving wrong advice to make a
32:19
decision that will be detrimental.
32:21
So it just keeps appearing over and over again, and it's no
32:25
different here. And unfortunately, the person he
32:30
is hearing this from is his wife.
32:32
So she's pretty inescapable, right?
32:35
Some people jokingly say that back in chapter 20, Jezebel must
32:38
have been on vacation because for Ahab to obey those two
32:42
instructions from the prophets means that she must have been
32:44
out of town. Because here she is again.
32:46
It doesn't take her very long to meddle in his affairs and to
32:49
cause more problems for him. So his wife.
32:54
Here's a realistic picture. Really.
32:56
I know their royalty. I know they have to make
32:58
decisions that you, I might not have to make, but you're going
33:00
to make decisions in life. Here's a realistic picture of
33:02
what it means to be unequally yoked.
33:06
You have a man who knows better, and he marries a Phoenician
33:09
Pagan Princess. Remember, she's not a Jew.
33:13
He marries her. And she grew up as royalty,
33:17
observing the way her father and her family did things governing
33:22
a nation. And when she hears that Ahab
33:24
doesn't enforce his authority, it's it's strange to her, like
33:28
she has a different way of thinking about things.
33:30
So Ahab, though he asked and though he doesn't get it, he has
33:32
enough sense to be like, I don't have any authority to demand
33:36
this. So I'm just going to go back and
33:37
pout about it for a few days. Just about hears this.
33:40
And she goes, don't you govern Israel?
33:45
Come on, you're the king here. Do something about it.
33:47
Where did she get that idea from?
33:48
Surely her upbringing, where she came from, Do you now govern
33:54
Israel? In other words, why are you
33:56
letting this happen since you are the ruler of this people?
34:00
Remember Jesus spoke about how Gentiles rule over their people,
34:03
right? They lorded over them and he
34:05
tells the people who belong to his Kingdom.
34:07
That's not how you lead. But here's you have a perfect
34:09
example of a Gentile woman who can't fathom a king letting
34:14
somebody determine what he desires.
34:18
So that's just another, again, one of many examples of what
34:21
happens when you get linked up with the wrong lady, brothers,
34:25
when you get linked up with the wrong guy, ladies.
34:30
So what happens? She says, I'm going to take care
34:32
of it. You know, it's not going to be
34:34
good. I mean disastrous.
34:37
This woman's wicked. You're going about to find out
34:39
how wicked she is. Look at verse eight of our main
34:41
text. So she wrote letters in Ahab's
34:46
name and sealed them with his seal.
34:50
And she sent the letters to the elders and the leaders who live
34:54
with Nabeth in his city. And she wrote in the letters,
34:57
proclaim a fast and set neighbor at the head of the people and
35:02
set two worthless men opposite him and let them bring a charge
35:08
against him, saying you have cursed God and the king, then
35:13
take him out and stone him to death.
35:18
What's concerning about that? There are many, many things.
35:20
I mean, this is diabolical. This is absolutely horrible, but
35:26
the most horrific thing about it is, if you read carefully,
35:30
Jezebel, this hater of God, this hater of the truth, is
35:34
implementing the law of God to accomplish her murderous plot.
35:41
How do we know that? What clues in here do we do we
35:43
see are linked to God's truth, at least in the old covenant?
35:48
Any ideas? OK, when you blasphemy against
35:53
God, according to Leviticus 2416, it's punishable by death.
35:56
It's a capital crime in the old covenant.
35:59
Yes. Anything else?
36:01
Two witnesses, right. So she she even goes to the
36:04
extent of honoring the protocol of making a legitimate
36:07
accusation by saying make sure there are two of you worthless,
36:11
but at least there's two of you one more.
36:13
It's a it's a little bit more difficult.
36:20
Yes, yes. So even that, and that's what we
36:23
find in Leviticus. Absolutely.
36:24
So even the way that the capital crime should be punished is
36:29
biblical. The fast, absolutely.
36:32
The fast. So what you have here is her
36:35
calling for a fast in this specific region for the purpose
36:38
of disclosing or receiving divine clarity about supposedly
36:42
a sin issue in the area. And so she implements a fast.
36:46
She calls for these two witnesses and she, she wants to
36:48
do all of that so she can get to this, this punishable thing
36:53
where she can execute this man unjustly.
36:56
It's wicked. And here's what you and I have
37:00
to remember. Evil people, evil people feel
37:03
very comfortable enacting their iniquity by weaponizing the word
37:09
of God, by implementing the Word of God, by applying the word of
37:13
God, by quoting the word of God. Evil people are very, very
37:17
comfortable taking God's truth and using it in a way to
37:21
manipulate others so that they can receive something at your
37:25
expense. Listen to this.
37:27
If it was true in ancient times, do you think that Satan's
37:30
strategy has changed in modern times?
37:32
No. There are too many gullible
37:35
Christians even today who are disarmed just because somebody
37:40
is quoting the Bible. It's it's not enough for
37:44
somebody to quote the Bible. It's not enough.
37:45
For somebody to hold the Bible. It's not enough.
37:47
What are they saying about the Bible?
37:49
How are they interpreting the Bible?
37:51
How are they applying the Bible? How are they honoring the
37:54
context of the Bible? And so this is what we see here.
38:00
We see a woman, Jezebel, giving us a warning that there will
38:04
always be those who interpret and apply Scripture wrongly to
38:08
harm God's people. Nabeth is a servant of God.
38:13
And if you think that this is an isolated thing, if you think,
38:15
brother, you're kind of you're kind of drawing too much out of
38:17
this, let me remind you that this is not the final place
38:20
where Jezebel is mentioned. She's not she's not going to
38:22
just end here in first and 2nd Kings.
38:24
Did you show up somewhere else? Tell me where she shows up.
38:28
Revelation. So in the final book of of
38:31
divine Scripture, Jezebel shows up not reincarnated.
38:37
Let me show you what I mean. Revelation chapter 2.
38:40
This is one of the seven churches that were addressed by
38:42
the Lord Jesus Christ. This church, Church of Thyatira,
38:49
the Lord Jesus, says something quite interesting to this one
38:52
particular local assembly, and it goes to show that our study
38:58
of Jezebel is much more applicable and relevant than we
39:01
might have imagined. Look at verse.
39:03
Let's read from the beginning. Why not?
39:04
Verse 18 of chapter 2? And to the Angel of the church
39:07
in Thyatira, write the words of the Son of God, who has eyes
39:12
like a flame of fire, and who has feet, and whose feet are
39:17
like burnished bronze. Verse 19.
39:20
I know your works, your love and your faith and service and
39:24
patient endurance and that your latter works exceed the first
39:28
positive. That's, that's quite a
39:29
commendation. Like I recognize that you're a
39:32
loving church. I recognize that you're faithful
39:34
in some ways. I recognize that you're, you're
39:37
busy, like there's ministry happening and, and not that your
39:40
works are actually exceeding, You're actually growing in your
39:43
efforts. You're actually growing in your
39:45
ministry. You're actually growing in your
39:46
impact. That's a good church.
39:49
Many people would love to pass their church like that, but
39:54
notice verse 20. But I have this against you.
39:56
Scary words, but I have this against you that you tolerate
40:00
that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is
40:06
teaching and seducing my service servants to practice sexual
40:09
morality and to eat food, sacrifice to idol.
40:12
It's very unlikely that somebody, even at this time,
40:15
decided to call their daughter Jezebel.
40:20
It's very, very unlikely that this is her literal name.
40:23
It's more likely that this is symbolic, that Jezebel had
40:26
developed such a reputation for being evil and being an agent
40:30
for the Kingdom of darkness and affecting the Kingdom of God,
40:34
that whoever this woman was, a real woman in the church
40:39
resembles Jezebel in her tactics, in her attitude, and in
40:43
her influence. So she's one like Jezebel and
40:48
Jezebel, this woman here, notice she calls herself a prophetess.
40:55
She's not a true prophetess. Self appointed, self-proclaimed,
41:00
self-made prophetess. And what is she doing?
41:05
Manipulating the people of God through teaching.
41:10
She's in a teaching position, which is a problem on its own,
41:12
right, isn't it? It is because God has called for
41:16
the teaching role in the church to be for men.
41:21
And so you have a woman who's being tolerated as a teacher in
41:24
a local church already a flag and more of a flag is that she
41:30
is teaching the people through her teaching, whatever her
41:33
doctrine is, it's encouraging people to practice sexual
41:38
immorality and to eat food, sacrifice idols.
41:40
It's very likely that her doctrine was this form of free
41:43
grace. Just do what you want.
41:45
God will forgive it. It's very, very likely that's
41:46
something along those lines. But notice what her teaching is
41:50
doing. It's not impacting the world.
41:54
It's not giving people false assurance of salvation.
41:57
Notice again, and it's teaching and seducing who?
42:02
My servants, The Lord is very intentional in the way He
42:07
speaks. My servants, my people are being
42:11
duped by this woman. So that same spirit that, that
42:17
that persuasive, intimidating, authoritative spirit that you
42:23
find in First Kings chapter 21 and throughout many chapters is
42:28
found here in Revelation chapter 2.
42:33
And so this is what you and I have to be mindful of, that
42:36
there will be people who will take God's word.
42:39
And if you're not discerning, if you, if you don't use this as a
42:42
filter, if you don't, if you do not like the brains who even
42:45
tested Paul after his sermon, then even God's servants can be
42:52
tricked. That's a dangerous reality.
42:56
But let's come back to First Kings.
42:57
We're not going to cover this whole chapter, in case you were
42:59
wondering, but we come back to First Kings.
43:03
We notice that after the scheme was conjured up, it is executed
43:09
and there's something quite insightful about the way the
43:11
Holy Spirit words it. First Kings 21 let's go to verse
43:15
11. And the men of his city, the
43:20
elders and the leaders who lived in his city did as Jezebel sent
43:25
word to them as it was written in the letters that she had sent
43:29
to them. They proclaimed the fast and sat
43:32
neighbor that the as the head of the people and two worthless men
43:36
came in and sat opposite him and the worthless men brought his
43:39
charge against Nabeth and the presence of the people saying
43:42
Nabeth curse God and the king. So they took him outside the
43:47
city and stoned him to death with stones.
43:50
Then they sent to Jezebel saying Nabeth has been stoned he is
43:53
dead. I'm not sure if you see it, but
43:57
when I read these set of verses over and over again, a certain
44:01
word surfaced for me at least. I don't know if you see it as
44:05
well, other actors in this story, Nameless, but very
44:09
important still. Who are they worthless?
44:14
And it's a second word. Who worthless?
44:18
Who men, Men. And not just the two worthless
44:24
men that we find here in verse 13, but the men of verse 11.
44:26
Look at the beginning of verse 11 again.
44:28
And the men of his city, the men of his city, the elders and the
44:32
leaders, assuming they're all men.
44:35
We've been talking a lot about the wickedness of Jezebel, and
44:37
rightfully so. But Jezebel's wickedness is not
44:41
the only problem in this whole predicament.
44:44
I argue that you have to consider the combination.
44:49
Jezebel's wickedness is one thing, but you also have the
44:52
weakness of men, the weakness of men, these men here, and the
45:01
main guy, Ahab, who is equally weak.
45:05
So you have a weak husband, a weak king, a weak leadership in
45:09
this particular city, weak men in that city, weak men.
45:14
Can I tell you something about a wicked society?
45:17
If society is prevailing in wickedness, in great part it's
45:21
the outcome of weak men in that society.
45:27
If if wickedness is prevailing in a culture, I can tell you
45:32
that that's a symptom of something more significant in
45:35
that culture. You have weak men.
45:37
Weak men, He's saying, what's the connection?
45:40
Because when a man does not honor their God-given role as a
45:43
gatekeeper and the spheres that he's been called to lead, namely
45:50
the local church in the house, you should expect nothing less
45:53
than problems to ensue. And overtime, the issues that
45:57
arise in those areas will bleed into the wider culture.
46:04
So I want to think about it. This whole thing, this whole
46:06
idea of chaos, chaos as a result of roles that got designated for
46:12
men and women not being honored, goes back to the beginning.
46:16
How did this whole thing even start?
46:18
What am I speaking about? The mess that we're in, this
46:21
universe being impacted by sin. How did this all start?
46:24
You had a woman who was being spiritually seduced by Satan,
46:28
and not just her being seduced by Satan, but you had her
46:31
husband standing idly by and letting it happen.
46:35
People forget that part of the whole story.
46:39
Is that any wonder why over and over in the New Testament, we're
46:42
told about Adam being held responsible, Adam being the
46:47
federal head. So as as Satan is having a
46:50
conversation with Eve, we read that Adam is there passively.
46:58
And this is something for you and I to consider.
47:00
Because the chaos that entered into the garden and overall our
47:03
world is in great part the fruit of a man and a woman who did not
47:10
recognize and honor what God had called them to do separately and
47:15
together as men and women. That's why feminism is so
47:20
destructive, because the message of feminism, supposedly it's
47:25
uplifting woman, right? It's not uplifting women.
47:27
It's demeaning woman one and two, it's demonizing men because
47:34
in the pursuit of trying to exalt and champion women, what,
47:38
what are they doing? They're trying to erase the
47:41
gender roles. And now what you have is not men
47:45
being encouraged to lead and to protect and provide, but to step
47:48
aside and that woman take what God called to be for men to
47:54
honor and observe. So whether you delete the idea
47:58
of a role or you replace it and you switch the the actors, both
48:03
are going to result in the same thing.
48:04
And no matter how much the culture might push it and
48:07
advertise it and make psycho analytical arguments for it, God
48:11
has. God has put in the fabric of the
48:14
world a law. So no matter what we do, what
48:17
switcheroos we make, what clever ideas, no matter how progressive
48:20
we want to be, if we don't honor what God says, we're never going
48:22
to know the blessings and you're only going to have issues.
48:27
So what are men called to do? They're called to be exemplary
48:29
leaders, models. They're called to be sacrificial
48:34
providers. They're called to be ready for
48:36
this word, strong protectors. Yes, men are supposed to have
48:41
backbones. Men are supposed to, at the
48:44
right time, wisely protest evil when it knocks on the door of
48:48
your house, when it tries to creep into the church, and we're
48:51
supposed to give our voices when we see it happening in society.
48:56
But you don't have these men protesting Jezebel.
48:58
They roll over. Jezebel says that we'll do it.
49:02
Sure. What would have happened if they
49:04
sided with Nabeth? Because, you see, it doesn't
49:08
take all men. All it takes is for a majority
49:12
of men, and this is something for you and I to consider
49:17
because this is what we're seeing under attack in our day.
49:21
More and more are we seeing it attack and we're seeing it in
49:23
the church, this blurring of distinctives.
49:27
All in the name of what equality?
49:29
All in the name of what justice? All in the name of what love.
49:32
Call it what you want. If it doesn't line up with God's
49:34
Word, I'm not interested in it. I'm going to trust God's wisdom,
49:40
and that's what Nabeth did. He trusted God's wisdom, not
49:42
knowing that this was planned against him.
49:45
So what do we read? These men come, these weak,
49:47
worthless men. Verse 15, As soon as Jezebel
49:51
heard that Nabeth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel
49:54
said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of
49:57
Nabeth, the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money.
50:01
For Nabeth is not alive, but dead.
50:03
You know, I couldn't help but think to myself, if Nabeth had
50:06
just complied, if if he had just said, you know, I know what
50:12
God's word says about this, but you're the king.
50:18
Yeah, I know you're supposed to have a copy of God's law and
50:21
read it every day, but I do love my vineyard.
50:27
OK, let's do it. He could have just, you know
50:28
what could have happened? He probably could have saved his
50:31
life. Not just saved his life.
50:33
He could have known a better life, bigger vineyard, maybe
50:37
open up a business and sell some of those grapes.
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He could have done something for himself, but he doesn't.
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And what makes this so heartbreaking is when you
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actually continue to read in your Bibles, which you're
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supposed to do unless you miss out on greater revelations and
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you discover that it wasn't just Nabith who who faced capital
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punishment. Go to 2nd Kings.
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And I want you to see this with your own eyes in Chapter 9,
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verse 26 of Second Kings, Second Kings 926 as surely as I saw
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yesterday, the blood of Nabeth and the blood of his sons
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declares the Lord, I will repay you on this plot of ground.
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Now therefore, take him up and throw him on the plot of ground
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in accordance with the word of Lord.
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You see that in verse 26 in the beginning, Who else blood was
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spilled? Not just Nabeth, the blood of
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his sons. So it makes you wonder what
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happened. It makes you wonder that in this
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trial, Nabeth was falsely accused and his sons were in
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attendance, said that that's not true and decided to shut him up.
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And even if they didn't protest, even if they were at home while
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Nabeth was was there being accused, I'm fully convinced
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that Jezebel called for those sons to be to be murdered as
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well. Why?
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Why do you think? Yeah, because they would be the
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the heirs to the land. So being pre emptive and wanting
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to avoid potential challenge and protest, check.
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Let's get rid of the competition and let's just get straight to
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it. Kill the sons, kill the heirs.
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So Neva didn't just pay a price for his righteous stance for the
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truth. His sons did.
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His family did tragedy right? Actually, I can think of a worse
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tragedy. Tell me what's worse than this.
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You might disagree with me, but I believe that if Nabith had
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compromised, what kind of precedent that would have set
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for his sons, huh? Assuming that these sons even
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died as righteous men, what what kind of temptation would you
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have opened them up to Nabith if you had just given yourself over
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to disobeying the Lord for just temporary gain?
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And your kids witness when they go to the vineyard and they
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realize that there's a for sale sign and there's a sold sign on
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it. Dad, where did the vineyard go?
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The king asked for. But Dad, this is for our tribe
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alone. I know.
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But guys, come on, It's we're going to get a better vineyard.
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What kind of example, what kind of spiritual corruption would
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have Navis compromise caused his children?
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That to me is greater tragedy than them dying early.
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And so I see a man who made a stance and listen, if I was one
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of the sons of Navis, as heartbreaking as it would have
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been to see my father, OK, if my life would have been taken,
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that's another thing. But the witness, my father died.
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But to know that he died because he stood for the truth, I'll
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take that over him getting a better vineyard, a better car,
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better house and the pursuit that he compromised the God that
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he claimed to laugh. I know you don't hear that much
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these days like that. That's true consecration when
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there's a price attached to it. So Jezebel gets the news.
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She goes to her husband and says, honey, Nabeth's dead.
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How does how does Ahab respond to this verse 16 in our final
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verse of our study. And as soon as Ahab heard that
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Nabeth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of
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Nabeth the Jezreelite to take possession of it.
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What a pathetic man. Like if you had any hint of
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dignity, any pulse of love left, you would at least maybe ask how
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did he die? Or this is revealing that he Co
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signed on the whole thing to begin with and he wasn't taken
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by surprise. He knew exactly what his wife
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was going to do. Either way, pathetic.
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And somebody made this observation, and it's a really
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good one. When it came to Ahab killing a
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man he was supposed to kill Ben Haddad, was he not?
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And what does he do? He preserves his life.
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And the one man he was not supposed to kill, but to
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preserve and protect, he kills. Woe to those who call good evil
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and evil good. Ahab is yet another example to
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us in a in a long series of studies, another illustration
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within the man himself, just him, of how corrupt we can be,
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of how corrupt government can be, of how corrupt leadership
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can be. But you know what I'm wondering?
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Here's the cliffhanger. Where is God and all of this?
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Where's God's intervention? Why didn't God step in?
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He's going to step in, but you have to come to church to find
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out when and how. Let's pray, shall we?
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You have a new historical character to add to your list of
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inspirational men and women of God.
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Nabeth the Jezreelite. Yeah, I love the way he answered
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Ahab. I just wonder what it looked
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like. Here's this royal knock on the
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door and Nabeth answers as yes. How can I help you, knowing what
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this man has caused concerning compromise in the nation?
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Nabeth, I'm willing to buy your land, give you a better one and
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whatever price. And you can just imagine the
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entourage and the whole spiel and the impressive presentation.
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And he was like, the Lord forbid that I do any business with you.
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More importantly, because this belongs to my father's and this
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is according to his law. It just slams that door.
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I love it. I love it.
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I wish he lived a little longer, but the Holy Spirit honor this
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man by placing him in the word. Though he had a brief
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appearance, it's enough for us to be stirred to realize that
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God is worthy to be honored even in what we might consider
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obscure commands. So, Lord, we ask you tonight
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that you would give us such hearts that whether we are aware
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of the price of our obedience or not, that we would give it to
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you anyway. And we do ask, Lord, that you
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would in this house, raise up strong holy men that will bless
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their homes, bless their churches, bless their
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businesses, bless any context that they come into contact
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with. Strengthen our fathers,
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strengthen the new fathers husbands.
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And Lord, we do ask that this church would also know strong
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helpmates to help their husbands.
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We don't want Jezebel's that only fuel the flesh, Lord.
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Not just in the context of marriage, but in all our
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relationships. We've seen enough kings throw
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themselves headlong because of the wrong counsel.
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Give us discerning ears. Oh God, make us careful, Lord.
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May we take the commands of our fathers and bind them on our
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hearts and the commands of our mothers and tie them around our
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necks. May we be men and women who know
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your words so that even if somebody tries to manipulate us
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with the Scriptures, we can smell it from a mile away.
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So protect Maranatha Bible Church, protect every church
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represented here. May we not tolerate that which
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you hate. So Lord, we want to give you
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worship because you've spoken to us even from a scene in the
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Bible that deals with a vineyard, a king, and a faithful
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man. Lord, we love you.
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Your word is your voice, and now we give you our voices and song
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as we rejoice in your truth in Jesus name, Amen.
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Is he worthy? He's worthy.
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Let's stand and worship him. So, so good to see you on a
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Friday night to gather around the truth of God's Word.
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Let's praise Him for a faithful house and praise Him for all the
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things that He's going to do through our lives.