Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / 1 Kings 20 (Part 1) Bible Study (Ahab's Wars with Syria/Defeats Ben-hadad) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Transcript

1 Kings 20 (Part 1) Bible Study (Ahab's Wars with Syria/Defeats Ben-hadad) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

• 0:01
  Meet me in First Kings chapter 20 in your Bibles, please.
• 0:09
  I know Brother Brian prayed so beautifully.
• 0:11
  I I would like for us to pray again because I'm aware of my
• 0:16
  neediness at this time and I want to be of service to you by
• 0:20
  the help of the Holy Spirit. Father, I, I genuinely posture
• 0:24
  my heart with my brothers and sisters before you and ask that
• 0:28
  you would be gracious to us by using this time for us to know
• 0:34
  Christ at a greater level through the empowering work of
• 0:37
  the Holy Spirit. So Lord, please, may we have a
• 0:41
  real, genuine, unforgettable moment with you through your
• 0:46
  word. Imprint these things so deeply
• 0:49
  in our hearts and may we leave here genuinely transformed by
• 0:54
  the things that you've prepared in this chapter, the moment you
• 0:57
  authored them. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
• 1:01
  I believe it is appropriate to give a brief recap since there
• 1:05
  was a small pause last week as Pastor Mark spoke through and
• 1:10
  from the book of Jonah. God Almighty at this point in
• 1:15
  Israel's history sanctioned a three-year drought.
• 1:20
  And it was during those three years that God was seeking to
• 1:23
  get the attention of an apostate nation.
• 1:27
  And after three years, God would do so by using Elijah the
• 1:30
  prophet as his main instrument to absolutely humiliate the
• 1:35
  prophets of Baal and Baal ISM. By positioning the nation to
• 1:40
  witness a man who prayed to the true and living God to send fire
• 1:45
  down from heaven to consume a sacrifice, prove that he is the
• 1:50
  true God. And more than that, to follow
• 1:53
  that act of judgement, though not directly towards the people,
• 1:57
  with an act of absolute grace and mercy in providing rain from
• 2:02
  the same heavens, the nation of Israel confessed that the Lord
• 2:07
  is God. Ahab and Jezebel remained
• 2:12
  unrepentant, and Elijah shortly after, with a withering faith,
• 2:19
  ran into the wilderness at the threat of Jezebel.
• 2:24
  And God, in the chapter that we studied prior to this, gently
• 2:29
  restored him and brought him to a new work.
• 2:32
  And so that is where we ended in our study of First Kings.
• 2:37
  And we are ready now to open this up, realizing that Elijah
• 2:41
  is now rejuvenated, Ahab and Jezebel are still unrepentant,
• 2:46
  and the nation as a whole is recovering from a crippling 3
• 2:51
  year drought. Here's what's going to be
• 2:55
  interesting about First Kings chapter 20.
• 2:57
  You're not going to find Elijah or Jezebel mentioned once.
• 3:01
  It's just going to be Ahab. Now to some, that may give them
• 3:05
  the impression that this chapter may not be as significant as the
• 3:08
  neighboring ones. And that would be a great
• 3:10
  mistake. When you come to this chapter,
• 3:13
  you have to have the same ex expectation as the one
• 3:16
  surrounding that is jam packed with action and obvious truths
• 3:20
  that were in those chapters. It is no different with this
• 3:22
  one. Some may dismiss it because they
• 3:25
  feel as though doesn't have relevance to the whole story,
• 3:27
  doesn't seem to connect with the overall theme.
• 3:32
  But you and I are going to conclude otherwise as we study
• 3:35
  this chapter, that it very much is place where it is for good
• 3:39
  reason and it does seamlessly flow with what we have been
• 3:42
  doing together on a weekly basis.
• 3:45
  And so we're ready to read this. We're not going to treat it
• 3:49
  lightly. And one way we're not going to
• 3:50
  treat it lightly is there is no way we're going to cover all of
• 3:52
  this in one session. So here we are on a Friday
• 3:55
  night. Hopefully we'll cover the 1st 21
• 3:58
  verses together. But I want us to just read verse
• 4:01
  one with the recap brought to our minds and pause right from
• 4:05
  verse one to ask some questions. Ben Haddad, the king of Syria,
• 4:11
  gathered all his army together, 32 kings were with them and
• 4:17
  horses and Chariots, and he went up and closed in on Samaria and
• 4:23
  fought against it right there. I want us to stop because my
• 4:29
  question is in light of what we studied in the previous weeks,
• 4:33
  what do we make of this? And you have to consider what
• 4:38
  we've gathered so far. And the main thing that we must
• 4:41
  gather as Ahab is the focus of this chapter is Ahab is still
• 4:45
  unchanged. Though God showed his discipline
• 4:49
  with that famine unchanged, though God showed his great
• 4:52
  mercy through providing rain unchanged, He's still the same
• 4:56
  Ahab. Despite all that the Lord has
• 4:59
  done, He is remaining in a place of what?
• 5:03
  Deadening his conscience. And what we read here seems to
• 5:07
  be random, but it's not. It's a divinely orchestrated
• 5:10
  attempt for God to awaken this man's heart.
• 5:16
  It's another plan orchestrated by Providence for Ahab to
• 5:21
  realize something of his neediness of God, of how God is
• 5:25
  the true God, of how he needs to return to him.
• 5:28
  So when you read this, you might get the impression, OK, here it
• 5:31
  is everything that God has done. Have you still stiffen your
• 5:35
  neck? Judgement has arrived at your
• 5:37
  front door. But that's not the case.
• 5:42
  Judgement isn't coming by means of foreign forces.
• 5:44
  No, no, no, no, no, no, no. What the Lord has prepared to do
• 5:47
  is He is setting the stage to provide Ahab deliverance.
• 5:52
  Deliverance instead of defeat, mercy instead of destruction.
• 6:01
  And this might seem strange to us, maybe hard to believe, but
• 6:04
  let me let me squash any doubt without any delay.
• 6:08
  When you go down to verse 13, you'll see what I mean.
• 6:10
  Look at First Kings 20 verse 13, and behold, a prophet came near
• 6:16
  to Ahab, king of Israel, and said, Thus says the Lord, have
• 6:20
  you seen all this great multitude?
• 6:22
  Behold, I will give it into your hand this day.
• 6:26
  And you shall know that I am the Lord.
• 6:30
  So a prophet will enter into the scene in in a few verses, and
• 6:34
  he's here to give Ahab God's mind behind this whole
• 6:38
  circumstance. God is ready to bring victory to
• 6:43
  you, Ahab, and he wants you to see further evidence that he is
• 6:46
  a true God. You might have difficulty
• 6:50
  accepting that, but no matter how much challenge you are
• 6:54
  experiencing and grasping the grace of God, it will never the
• 6:57
  it'll never erase the reality of it.
• 7:00
  That's exactly what you see here.
• 7:02
  You see yet another example of God giving to the most
• 7:06
  undeserving of himself. And it is exemplified by His
• 7:11
  promise to actually save Ahab and not destroy Ahab.
• 7:15
  And you think this is a familiar truth.
• 7:17
  And it is a familiar truth. And notice how it is beautifully
• 7:21
  bridged with what you and I studied about Elijah.
• 7:24
  What was chapter 19 all about? Mainly a dejected,
• 7:30
  disillusioned, confused prophet who doubted God's goodness,
• 7:37
  doubted God's wisdom, doubted God's power.
• 7:40
  And what did the Lord do? He personally attended to him
• 7:43
  and patiently restored him to where he needed to be.
• 7:48
  And as heart moving as it was to see the Lord coming as the Angel
• 7:53
  of the Lord and being somewhat of a personal Butler, we see
• 7:59
  God's compassion extending even further.
• 8:02
  Because now in chapter 20, he, he's not now tending to a
• 8:06
  servant who's just wounded and broken, not a prophet, not a man
• 8:11
  of God, no one who has consistently resisted and
• 8:15
  despised the Lord Almighty. That's what the Lord is doing
• 8:20
  here. So your breath was taken away by
• 8:23
  seeing Elijah being taken care of by God.
• 8:27
  Now try to catch your breath again as you see the Lord doing
• 8:31
  it with the most unlikely Ahab. It seems scandalous and that's
• 8:39
  perhaps the reason why Behold chose up in verse 13.
• 8:42
  You read it with me, right? Twice it says, and behold, in
• 8:46
  the beginning of the verse, and then later, Behold, I will give
• 8:48
  into your hand this day. It appears twice as though the
• 8:51
  prophet's gracious appearance and this unthinkable promise is
• 8:56
  meant to amaze you. It is meant amazing.
• 8:59
  God's grace is meant to do that to you.
• 9:01
  And we're going to explore this further in a moment, but I want
• 9:05
  us to see what happens in verse two.
• 9:07
  So Ahab is surrounded by not just one king, a coalition of
• 9:12
  kings, 33 in total. And verse two we read and he
• 9:16
  sent messengers into the city of Ahab, king of Israel, and said
• 9:19
  to him, thus has been Haddad, your silver and your gold are
• 9:23
  mine, your best wives and children are also mine, also are
• 9:28
  mine. Verse four.
• 9:29
  And the king of Israel answered, as you say, my Lord, O king, I
• 9:34
  am yours and all that I have. So Ben Haddad is very bold here
• 9:41
  because he realizes that he has a clear military advantage.
• 9:45
  Not only does he have the partnership of these neighboring
• 9:47
  kings, he understands that Ahab and his people have just crossed
• 9:52
  and are just trying to gather themselves from a a three-year
• 9:58
  disabilitating kind of experience economically in a
• 10:02
  military standpoint. They're they're trying to
• 10:04
  recover from a drought. So this is the right time to
• 10:06
  come and to siege these people. And he comes with this claim
• 10:11
  that everything that Ahab owns, at least most of it is now his.
• 10:16
  So I'm just letting you know, I'm not asking you.
• 10:19
  I'm telling you what you own. Even your family belongs to me.
• 10:23
  And you know what Ahab does? He rolls over.
• 10:29
  No objection, no question, no defense.
• 10:33
  He just says it's yours. Take it now.
• 10:37
  If Ahab had the eyes of faith, then he would realize that his
• 10:40
  victory and his ability to overcome this would not, would
• 10:43
  not depend on any of his resources, no matter how great
• 10:45
  or small. But he doesn't have the eyes of
• 10:48
  faith. He doesn't know the true and
• 10:49
  living God. And so this is not surprising.
• 10:52
  He's yielding. He gives into this and this
• 10:55
  heartless request of the Syrian king is easily surrendered to.
• 11:00
  And when you meditate on Ahab's response, you get even more
• 11:04
  insight about about some principles that apply to you.
• 11:08
  And I look at verse four again. He says, as you say, my Lord, O
• 11:13
  King, I am yours and all that I have.
• 11:15
  What comes to mind when you read his response to the orders of
• 11:19
  this menacing ruler? Can I tell you what comes to
• 11:23
  mind? I was absolutely infuriated that
• 11:28
  Ahab was so willing to quickly surrender to this king, but not
• 11:32
  God. Listen to the words again.
• 11:36
  All that I am, I am yours, and all that I have.
• 11:41
  Why? Why wouldn't you give yourself
• 11:43
  in that way to the Lord? Why give yourself slavishly to
• 11:47
  this man? Why so easily surrender to a
• 11:52
  cruel king? And yet you have hesitated to
• 11:55
  give yourself to the merciful King.
• 11:58
  And you read this, and you might be moved with disgust, but can I
• 12:02
  tell you that millions today imitate the condemnable kind of
• 12:07
  surrender that Ahab presents here?
• 12:12
  Is it a strange thing that there are so many in life and
• 12:15
  throughout human history that have given themselves over,
• 12:19
  whether through fear or faulty persuasions to inferior masters?
• 12:29
  You might be a person here today who's dedicated to something
• 12:33
  more than God, and I'm afraid that Ahab's attitude here is
• 12:41
  replicated in different ways, sure.
• 12:45
  Different kind of master, sure, but in the same truth, in that
• 12:49
  what belongs to God is often given to something or someone
• 12:52
  else. And this is something that moves
• 12:55
  me. But again, there's still more to
• 12:56
  learn about Ahab through this. Consider his self centeredness.
• 13:01
  What did the king ask of him? I understand the first part.
• 13:05
  It says here in verse two. Thus says Bennett had verse
• 13:09
  three. Your silver and your gold are
• 13:10
  mine. All right, you want to take my
• 13:11
  money. If this is about money, take the
• 13:13
  money. But he doesn't say that.
• 13:15
  He says your best wives and your children are also mine.
• 13:20
  Any good father, any reasonable husband, would absolutely reject
• 13:28
  such a disgusting claim because you're wired to defend and give
• 13:35
  your life if you have to, to those whom have been entrusted
• 13:39
  to you, namely your spouse and your children.
• 13:42
  And yet this guy just gives it over like it's nothing.
• 13:45
  Now, jokingly, maybe one reason why he was willing to do is
• 13:48
  because who's this guy's wife? We're taking your best wife.
• 13:55
  Take her. I don't want her.
• 13:59
  She's caused me a lot of trouble, but I don't want to see
• 14:03
  it that way. What you see instead is a man
• 14:06
  here is so self absorbed to the degree that even when the
• 14:10
  closest people to him were threatened, as long as he wasn't
• 14:16
  touched, he didn't mind. If you have difficulty believing
• 14:19
  that this is Ahab's mindset, Scroll down to verse five and
• 14:22
  six because this is not the only request that Ben and Dad will
• 14:25
  make. When he realizes that there was
• 14:28
  no resistance from Ahab, he goes even further and notice this in
• 14:31
  verse five and six, the messengers came again and said,
• 14:34
  Thus says Ben Haddad, I sent to you saying, delivered to me your
• 14:38
  silver and your gold, your wives and your children.
• 14:40
  Nevertheless, I will send my servants to you tomorrow about
• 14:43
  this time, and they shall search your house and the houses of
• 14:47
  your servants and lay hands on whatever pleases you and take it
• 14:54
  away. So notice the king of Syria.
• 14:57
  He highlights that he is now coming to seize what pleases
• 15:02
  Ahab. under score that. And it wasn't until that nerve
• 15:06
  was touched does Ahab get off his throne, stand to his feet,
• 15:10
  and is willing not to defend himself.
• 15:14
  The money, the wives, the children, shore.
• 15:17
  But coming in to place your fingertips on what pleases me.
• 15:21
  No, no, no, no. You got another thing coming.
• 15:25
  This is messed up. This is ugly.
• 15:30
  Yes, it's a unique situation, but the principle lives on.
• 15:34
  Selfishness is hideous. It's despicable.
• 15:41
  And not only is it ugly, it is relationally deadly.
• 15:46
  Relationally deadly In this case, Ahab's self focused way of
• 15:51
  life cost them. Would cost them his relationship
• 15:55
  with his spouse and the well-being of his children.
• 15:59
  You know you have a lot of people who want to get married.
• 16:01
  That's wonderful. Let me tell you something heads
• 16:03
  up. If you're a selfish person, stay
• 16:05
  away from marriage. Stay away from having a family.
• 16:09
  You have no idea what you're signing up for.
• 16:12
  Because with all the joys of companionship and
• 16:16
  responsibility, even there is a high call of dying to self in a
• 16:22
  way that you never knew when you're walking this world alone.
• 16:26
  And if you are a person who hasn't already disciplined
• 16:29
  themselves in the context that you find yourself in or in this
• 16:32
  time of life to to say, Lord help me, have I set on others
• 16:38
  more than myself, then you are in for a great surprise.
• 16:43
  Ahab's a sad example to remind you and I that when you try to
• 16:47
  when you make your life about protecting what you want in your
• 16:52
  little world, it will always cost you more.
• 16:56
  That pursuit will always cause you to give up more than
• 17:00
  whatever you think you're gaining.
• 17:02
  What are the Apostle Paul saying quoting Jesus?
• 17:05
  Interestingly in Acts 20, will you never find these words in
• 17:07
  the gospel where Paul tells the elders in the Church of Ephesus
• 17:11
  that it is more blessed to give than it is to receive?
• 17:15
  And there's a whole reason why I think Paul quoted Jesus, though
• 17:18
  you can't find it in the four Gospels.
• 17:21
  It's the way Christ lived. It's it was the motto of his
• 17:25
  earthly existence, giving, giving, giving.
• 17:28
  And there's greater blessing in that.
• 17:30
  And there's a similar truth that we can identify in this story
• 17:34
  from an unlikely vantage point, not from Ahab, but when you
• 17:36
  actually look at it from Ben Haddad's perspective.
• 17:39
  So again, look back at verse five and six.
• 17:43
  Benedad sent messengers, they came again and said, Thus says
• 17:48
  Benedette, I sent to you saying, delivered me your silver and
• 17:52
  your gold, your wives and your children.
• 17:53
  Nevertheless I will send my service to you tomorrow about
• 17:55
  this time, and they shall search your house and the houses of
• 17:58
  your servants and lay hands on whatever pleases you and take it
• 18:01
  away. So when the the king of Syria
• 18:04
  realized that was easy, all we had to do is ask the guy.
• 18:10
  And he said, here you go, I'm coming for more.
• 18:15
  And so Ahab, heads up, I'm actually going to take more than
• 18:19
  I had originally planned. Whatever I want previously, I'm
• 18:22
  coming to to acquire more than I had planned.
• 18:28
  And what's so interesting here is that, yeah, he's taking
• 18:30
  advantage of a weak minded individual.
• 18:32
  But let's be clear here. The the request of the king of
• 18:35
  Syria is reprehensible. It's evil.
• 18:38
  But I want you to see again the principal truth here.
• 18:41
  He had already gained in his first request something, but as
• 18:47
  he asked for more, that's actually going to lead to his
• 18:50
  downfall. In other words, if Ben Haddad
• 18:54
  had just been content with what he had originally won, he he
• 18:59
  probably would have escaped this whole situation, but because he
• 19:03
  reached out, it would actually lead to his demise.
• 19:08
  You know what you read here? You read something about
• 19:10
  covetousness. What is covetousness?
• 19:13
  Very Simply put, it's desiring something or someone that
• 19:17
  doesn't belong to you. You know, I heard somebody speak
• 19:20
  about a priest who throughout decades of hearing people
• 19:25
  confess in, you know, one of those booths, and he has heard
• 19:29
  so many people confess a large and wide spectrum of sins,
• 19:36
  horrific sins, secret sins, unthinkable sins.
• 19:41
  But somebody interviewed him and asking about his experience as a
• 19:44
  priest hearing these things, and the priest said something quite
• 19:48
  insightful. He said, out of all the things
• 19:49
  that I've heard over the decades, I've never heard one
• 19:51
  person confess the sin of coveting.
• 19:58
  It's not a sin that we consider to be sin.
• 20:00
  It's what some would deem as a respectable sin, and it doesn't
• 20:05
  necessarily materialize. Maybe that's why we don't see it
• 20:08
  as heinous as it is. It can just live in the heart,
• 20:11
  it can manifest an action, but ultimately it's there.
• 20:14
  It's something that's unchallenged and harbors you
• 20:18
  wanting and craving something that God has not prescribed for
• 20:21
  your life. And this is a wonderful
• 20:25
  illustration of a man who went beyond the means.
• 20:29
  And that would actually be his death sentence.
• 20:35
  Yeah, selfishness is relationally lethal, no doubt.
• 20:38
  And equally dangerous are the crushing effects of
• 20:41
  covetousness. Know this, when you allow your
• 20:44
  heart to pump a covetous thought or patterns of thoughts and
• 20:49
  meditations and fantasies, it will murder joy, it will
• 20:55
  slaughter peace, it will kidnap personal gratitude unto God and
• 21:04
  let it live there long enough. And I promise you it will birth
• 21:08
  ugly children. Their names are envy, jealousy,
• 21:13
  slander, and even strife. I can tell you this for certain.
• 21:19
  To harbor harbor a covetous heart heart is to entertain
• 21:23
  spiritual suicide. You will you will know a a death
• 21:31
  in the inner man and listen, it can even reach a point where you
• 21:35
  will cause physical harm, various degrees of it.
• 21:39
  Paul said something so fascinating about this subject.
• 21:42
  I would encourage you to turn that in our study.
• 21:44
  It's in Philippians, not chapter one like how we open the
• 21:47
  service, but in chapter four, he said something that I think will
• 21:50
  help us, encourage us and it will sober us in the Philippians
• 21:57
  four. Look at verse 11, he says, not
• 22:04
  that I am Speaking of being in need, for I have learned in
• 22:08
  whatever situation I am to be content.
• 22:12
  Notice those few words there in verse 11, For I have learned.
• 22:17
  What does that imply? Somebody tell me what that
• 22:19
  implies for Paul the apostle, the mighty spiritual giant, to
• 22:24
  say, I have learned to be content.
• 22:26
  What does that imply about human nature?
• 22:32
  Is it your disposition and mine to be content?
• 22:35
  It's not your disposition. It's actually your disposition
• 22:38
  and mine to be discontent in every situation you're in.
• 22:43
  That's your wiring, you son and daughter of Adam.
• 22:47
  That's your wiring and mine, to be discontent, to be
• 22:51
  complaining, to be void of worship in every situation you
• 22:56
  find yourself, no matter how good it is.
• 22:58
  And yet Paul can say I have learned to be content, which
• 23:03
  also tells me that it might take a few classes in the class of
• 23:06
  contentment to finally get it. I have learned.
• 23:13
  And then he goes on with this language in verse 12.
• 23:15
  I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound in any and
• 23:18
  every circumstance. I have again, I have learned.
• 23:23
  I have learned the secret. Oh, OK, So that's what that's
• 23:27
  what Paul learned. There's a secret to contentment.
• 23:33
  So it's not this drawn out curriculum necessarily.
• 23:35
  It's just you being convinced of one simple thing.
• 23:38
  And notice the way Paul describes his experience with
• 23:40
  contentment. It's not theoretical.
• 23:42
  It's not theological merely. It's experiential.
• 23:45
  He's saying, look, I know. I know what it's like to be
• 23:48
  brought low. I know what it's like to abound.
• 23:49
  And then he goes on to cover all bases and saying in every
• 23:52
  circumstance, no matter what you name, I have learned the secret.
• 23:57
  So there's a secret that you have to unlock if you can even
• 24:01
  know the ABC's of contentment. And here's the secret.
• 24:06
  I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger,
• 24:09
  abundance and need. You know what the secret is
• 24:10
  verse 13, one of the most taken out of context verses in modern
• 24:15
  Christianity. I can do all things through Him
• 24:19
  who strengthens me. I can do all things.
• 24:24
  This is why honoring the context makes singular truths or verses
• 24:30
  more impactful. What is he speaking about in
• 24:32
  context? He's not speaking about bench
• 24:34
  pressing. He's not speaking about beating
• 24:38
  a world record for a track meet. He's not speaking about that.
• 24:42
  He's speaking about being content in all ways and in all
• 24:45
  things. What's the secret of being
• 24:47
  content with your lot in life, with the season of life, Christ
• 24:53
  strengthening you, so you can't know this perpetual,
• 24:59
  uninterrupted contentment apart from Christ.
• 25:03
  And if if Paul's experience of contentment was experiential,
• 25:07
  may I say this? So should and must your
• 25:09
  experience of Christ. If Christ is just a mere
• 25:13
  theological point in your thinking, you're never going to
• 25:18
  know real contentment. You're just going to be stirred
• 25:21
  for the time that the preacher talks about, and it'll dissipate
• 25:24
  before you get to your driver's seat.
• 25:26
  But until you know what it's like to actually have Christ do
• 25:30
  a work in your soul where you know him to the degree where
• 25:33
  it's like I'm the richest person on this planet, it's just going
• 25:38
  to be an idea. And I feel bad for so many
• 25:41
  professing Christians because they are wandering in a
• 25:44
  proverbial wilderness looking for something.
• 25:47
  They can't settle. They can't settle.
• 25:51
  The thought of remaining in one place without change is haunting
• 25:55
  to them. And I'm trying to tell you, you
• 25:59
  can know a stabilizing grace from heaven if you tap into your
• 26:03
  realization that only Christ in me, His strength through my
• 26:07
  relationship with him is the secret for me.
• 26:09
  Knowing contentment. No Christ, no contentment.
• 26:14
  You have Christ, you don't need anything else to be content.
• 26:18
  Too good to be true, One of the greatest treasures of the
• 26:22
  gospel. So if you park yourself in any
• 26:27
  corner of the earth with a palace on the beach, whatever
• 26:31
  your ideal is, if you don't have Christ, you'll be a miserable
• 26:35
  creature. Stick me in an igloo with Christ
• 26:38
  and I'll be the happiest. This is Paul either exaggerating
• 26:44
  or being poetic, or it is an invitation to a life which Jesus
• 26:49
  called an abundant life. So here we have Benedad
• 26:53
  reaching, and when he reaches, he's actually going to be
• 26:58
  signing his own death sentence. So his aggressive military
• 27:02
  strategy has more to teach us, believe it or not, primarily
• 27:07
  about spiritual warfare. So we're back here.
• 27:09
  We're still in verse five and six.
• 27:14
  I want to, I want to talk to you about two things concerning
• 27:16
  spiritual warfare in this real scenario of war.
• 27:19
  One is personal, one is for the corporate church.
• 27:23
  Benedad is a wonderful, wonderful illustration of how
• 27:27
  sin operates in our lives. Sin doesn't want just some of
• 27:33
  you, it wants to dominate you. Sin is not happy with robbing a
• 27:41
  part of your life. It wants to destroy your life,
• 27:46
  and I need you to please you and I together to remember that we
• 27:51
  can never negotiate with temptation, never.
• 27:56
  When an opportunity arises for you to entertain something that
• 28:00
  is contrary to the will of God to try to make a deal with.
• 28:05
  That is a dangerous game to play.
• 28:07
  It never works out in the end because sin is deceptively
• 28:11
  merciless and it will never settle for affecting only part
• 28:15
  of your existence. You have to realize always that
• 28:19
  temptation is like that bait dangling before your face.
• 28:23
  But the mature, the spiritually mature, will realize there's a
• 28:26
  hook behind that thing that seems to be so tasty and
• 28:30
  beneficial at this time. And even if I nibble on it, it
• 28:34
  has the potential of hooking to my jaw and pulling me in a
• 28:38
  direction with a level of pain that I did not expect.
• 28:47
  So again, if you want to know a life where you don't experience
• 28:51
  scars from sin, I believe this is one of the things that you
• 28:55
  need to do. You need to be mindful of the
• 28:58
  fact that I can't, I can't try to make a deal with this.
• 29:02
  I'm cutting it off completely. I'm going to give it no oxygen.
• 29:05
  It's not going to have a chance to even breathe one breath in my
• 29:08
  presence. See, that sounds a little
• 29:11
  intense. Yeah, that's war.
• 29:16
  That's war. And you wonder why so many are
• 29:20
  stumbling and fumbling. I'll tell you one reason why.
• 29:24
  Because they don't realize how deadly this thing is.
• 29:27
  So Benedette says, I want to take your gold, your silver.
• 29:29
  I want to take your wives and your children.
• 29:31
  Yeah, sure. Take it.
• 29:32
  I'm actually here to collect more.
• 29:34
  Sin will do the same. Sin will do the same, but let's
• 29:40
  talk about it from a corporate perspective.
• 29:42
  Ben Haddad's conquering scheme here is a wonderful example of
• 29:46
  how Satan operates within the church.
• 29:48
  Yes, in many ways, but in the way I'm thinking is particularly
• 29:50
  with doctrine. You and I are hearing the
• 29:54
  buzzing and are seeing the constant reels of new and
• 30:00
  strengthening agendas that fly in the face of what you and I
• 30:03
  believe in this book. And I'll tell you one of the
• 30:06
  strategies of the evil one in the world that he rules, that he
• 30:09
  is constantly through these different masks, knocking on the
• 30:13
  front door of the church and saying, why don't you just
• 30:17
  budget here? Why don't you just tolerate
• 30:20
  this? Why don't you just accept this?
• 30:23
  It's not necessarily tied to the gospel.
• 30:26
  You can still be a Christian and believe here.
• 30:28
  You can let loose here and still be called evangelical, whatever
• 30:31
  you want to call it. And many have already given into
• 30:34
  that, not realizing that the way the world works is when you give
• 30:38
  it some, it's not going to be happy with some.
• 30:41
  It wants to conquer all, everything.
• 30:47
  So yeah, it might be one truth. And I'm not talking about Gray
• 30:51
  matter. I'm talking about black and
• 30:53
  white. It's obvious.
• 30:54
  And you given in that place. I'll tell you something.
• 30:57
  Whenever a church or denomination gives over 1 clear
• 31:00
  truth in the word of God, it's the beginning of many other
• 31:03
  compromises. Guaranteed.
• 31:06
  Guaranteed. So it's the duty of the church
• 31:09
  to be able to say we're not giving you any space in what we
• 31:13
  believe. We're not compromising in any
• 31:15
  area. Because the way this thing works
• 31:18
  is it starts with one, then it's two, and then you become
• 31:22
  unrecognizable. So guard everything and make no
• 31:29
  room for negotiation. Unfortunately, Ahab was too
• 31:34
  late. The movements of our time echo
• 31:38
  what Benedad does here. And sometimes it's delivered in
• 31:41
  the package of a threat or reward, and in this case it was
• 31:44
  a threat. Let's read on a verse 7.
• 31:47
  Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and
• 31:50
  said, Mark now and see how this man is seeking trouble.
• 31:54
  For he sent to me for my wives and my children and for my
• 31:57
  silver and my gold, and I did not refuse him.
• 32:01
  And all the elders and all the people said to him, do not
• 32:03
  listen or consent. So he said to the messengers of
• 32:09
  Benedad, Tell my Lord the king all that you first demanded of
• 32:12
  your servant I will do, but this thing I cannot do.
• 32:15
  And the messengers departed and brought him word again.
• 32:20
  So Benedad is being reckless. This is arrogance on full
• 32:24
  display. Ahab calls for the elders around
• 32:27
  him, and he seeks their wisdom in the plurality of of men in
• 32:31
  his life. And surprisingly, listen, their
• 32:33
  words are actually noble. They're they're commendable.
• 32:37
  This is this is the right thing. He's like, don't listen, don't
• 32:39
  consent. Stand your ground.
• 32:42
  And you can applaud Ahab for this.
• 32:44
  But there's something that makes you wonder if it's from the
• 32:48
  place of complete humility. I don't know if it is.
• 32:53
  I think what we're seeing here is what desperation can do to
• 32:55
  men. Desperation has a way of bending
• 32:57
  us. And so Ahab really doesn't have
• 33:01
  a choice. And though he seeks the counsel
• 33:04
  of these men, there is an omission.
• 33:06
  There's something that he doesn't do that you should be
• 33:08
  well aware of and familiar with as a people who know how and who
• 33:13
  to ask of in times of need. Who did he fail to ask?
• 33:19
  I'm not surprised he doesn't go to Bail because just two
• 33:22
  chapters ago, Bail bailed on him.
• 33:26
  See what happened there? Building a deliver.
• 33:30
  So at least at this point he doesn't call out to his false
• 33:33
  God. But what about the true God?
• 33:36
  Where is him humbling himself before the Lord Almighty and
• 33:39
  say, Oh God, please, I seen you bring fire down from heaven.
• 33:42
  I've seen you defeat your enemies, come to my aid, come to
• 33:47
  the rescue of your people. No sign of that.
• 33:51
  So there's no hint of him coming before the Lord, the one who
• 33:53
  answered by fire and provided rain.
• 33:55
  And the reason why I'm bringing this up is because when you read
• 34:00
  on, you realize that despite the lack of faith on Haab's part,
• 34:05
  God does something in response to it.
• 34:08
  Ahab, following this, never, never takes a step towards the
• 34:12
  Lord. What does the Lord do instead?
• 34:14
  Look at verse 13. Once again, he sends a prophet
• 34:16
  to him. Ahab doesn't go to a prophet.
• 34:22
  Ahab doesn't go anywhere near God.
• 34:25
  And you know what God does? He comes and meets Ahab.
• 34:29
  So we read and behold, the prophet came near to Ahab.
• 34:32
  Look at that wonderful language, came near to Ahab and said, so
• 34:39
  listen very carefully. There are times where there are
• 34:43
  men like Cornelius in Acts chapter 10, who, though they do
• 34:47
  not have a complete or even accurate understanding of God
• 34:52
  with what revelation they've been given, will seek the Lord,
• 34:55
  and God will honor that man and manifest himself to him.
• 35:00
  And then there are other times when the Lord makes himself
• 35:02
  known in a special way to those who aren't estimation, don't
• 35:06
  deserve it because they showed no interest in him to begin
• 35:11
  with, and they show it through their rebellious lives, and yet
• 35:13
  the Lord still will make himself known to them.
• 35:19
  To which some might say that sounds unfair.
• 35:22
  Have you ever wondered that? Have you ever heard testimonies
• 35:25
  and thought to yourself, why did the Lord show himself in such
• 35:28
  power and might to that individual and not his neighbor?
• 35:33
  Why that celebrity and not that celebrity?
• 35:37
  Why that politician, not that politician?
• 35:39
  Why that Muslim group and not this other Muslim group?
• 35:44
  Have you ever wondered that? And perhaps you wrestle with to
• 35:47
  the point you thought, Lord, can you give us a little bit of an
• 35:51
  insight into the way you think here?
• 35:54
  Can you show yourself evenly to everybody and give them all the
• 35:57
  same chance? And I believe there are many
• 36:00
  answers to this. I know it can get very
• 36:02
  philosophical, but it's it's not too philosophical.
• 36:04
  It's it's actually you have evidence in the word of God.
• 36:06
  And I believe one of the strongest cases to answer that
• 36:09
  question is found in the Apostle Paul's own testimony.
• 36:13
  I want you to see this with your own eyes in First Timothy 116.
• 36:16
  Notice what he says as he's encouraging Timothy, who's very
• 36:19
  timid and doubtful of his call as a pastor of one of the
• 36:24
  largest churches of their time. And Paul says something in first
• 36:27
  Timothy 116. He says, But I received mercy
• 36:35
  for this reason, that in me as the foremost Jesus Christ might
• 36:43
  display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to
• 36:49
  believe in him for eternal life. Do you realize how profound this
• 36:55
  is? Paul is saying, and it was
• 36:57
  revealed to him surely by Christ.
• 36:59
  Timothy, I want to let you know the reason why me, a terrorist,
• 37:03
  a murderer, one who vehemently attacked the Christian faith,
• 37:07
  the reason why the Lord appeared to me, though, yes, He loved me
• 37:11
  and gave himself for me. He says that in Galatians was
• 37:13
  not only for me. This was not purely
• 37:19
  individualistic. The Lord made himself known to
• 37:23
  me on that road to Damascus. Open my eyes so that others can
• 37:29
  see who God is and what He's like, so that in saving me and
• 37:35
  providing the world a radical testimony of grace, those whom
• 37:40
  the Lord might not have shown himself in such a way would now
• 37:43
  begin to pursue the same. God that I experienced.
• 37:49
  So sometimes the Lord will do a work in one person's life and
• 37:52
  what he has in mind, yes, is that individual because he loves
• 37:55
  us individually, but he also has a grander plan that through this
• 38:00
  one-on-one exchange, there are others who will witness it,
• 38:03
  understand the character of God, and then make their way towards
• 38:06
  him. So even when you read about
• 38:10
  Ahab, you're like, come on, out of all people, you're
• 38:14
  persistently pursuing this king. And I hear Paul's words even in
• 38:21
  this, for you and I to realize what kind of God is this and to
• 38:26
  understand that this God, though he is uniquely maneuvering in
• 38:30
  this man's life, his heart is the same for me.
• 38:34
  And so I will gladly surrender myself to him.
• 38:39
  I hope that makes sense. The Lord chooses sometimes to do
• 38:42
  spectacular work and one person's life, but not just for
• 38:47
  that one person. It's for others to learn the
• 38:50
  character of him and to encourage them to approach them
• 38:54
  for themselves. So a prophet comes, but let's go
• 38:59
  back. Let's not get ahead of ourselves
• 39:00
  here. The messengers were sent back to
• 39:03
  Ben had dad where Ahab says look I'll I'll agree to the first
• 39:07
  contract, not the second one and notice what happens at 1st 10.
• 39:10
  Ben had dad sent to him, and said, The gods do so to me, and
• 39:14
  more also if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls, for
• 39:18
  all the people who follow me. And the king of Israel answered,
• 39:22
  tell him, let him who straps on his armor boast himself as he
• 39:26
  who takes it off. When Ben Haddad heard this
• 39:30
  message as he was drinking with the kings in the boots, he said
• 39:33
  to his men, Take your positions. And they took the positions
• 39:37
  against the city. So Benedad could not fathom the
• 39:41
  thought that somebody would reject his request, no matter
• 39:45
  how Atlantic it is. This is this is pride at its
• 39:48
  fullest. So he says, listen, I'm going to
• 39:53
  crush you to such fine powder that we're going to carry you
• 39:59
  like sand back to our own place. And this is crazy.
• 40:04
  This seems so out of character of Ahab.
• 40:06
  Like Ahab. Ahab was king, but he wasn't
• 40:09
  really the king, it was his wife.
• 40:10
  And he always cowers and he's always afraid.
• 40:13
  But notice what he says here in verse 11.
• 40:15
  He says, tell him, let not him who straps on his armor boasts
• 40:18
  himself as he who takes it off. In other words, here's a
• 40:21
  translation. I encourage you, Ben Haddad, not
• 40:24
  to boast as though you have the victory before you've achieved
• 40:28
  it. I'm surprised that we're
• 40:34
  actually going to say this, but. I like what Ahab said, and it
• 40:41
  would do us good as Christians to learn what he is saying.
• 40:43
  You're in principle because even Christians can face the
• 40:47
  temptation of boasting, of boasting in many things, even in
• 40:52
  things that have not yet taken place.
• 40:54
  James highlights that right. James tells us in terms of our
• 40:57
  business relationships, in our business endeavors, he goes,
• 41:00
  don't get ahead of yourself and say we will.
• 41:03
  James is so specific, he's not against you and I planning and
• 41:07
  being strategic. He's saying don't develop the
• 41:09
  mindset where you can make these definite declarations about your
• 41:14
  tomorrow's. So he says instead of saying we
• 41:18
  will you tell me what does James encourage us to do by the Spirit
• 41:22
  if the Lord wills, we will do this and we will do that.
• 41:27
  James 4:15 If the Lord wills, that's not license for you and I
• 41:32
  to tag everything that we say with if God wills.
• 41:37
  This is not empty. You know, sayings that James is
• 41:40
  promoting. What he's saying is as a
• 41:42
  believer, if you want to enhance in your worship to the Lord as a
• 41:46
  living sacrifice, you're going to do this.
• 41:48
  You are going to constantly in your planning, in your dreaming,
• 41:52
  in your desires, acknowledge the sovereignty of God and gladly
• 41:58
  proclaim to yourself and to others your dependency on Him.
• 42:04
  And then he follows that by saying because all such boasting
• 42:08
  it's actually evil. What does he mean by that?
• 42:10
  He's not saying that you being confident in certain things is
• 42:13
  wrong necessarily. What he's saying is to be absent
• 42:16
  minded of God's permission in your life, God's power and His
• 42:21
  leading in your life. That kind of way of thinking and
• 42:24
  talking is abhorrent before the Lord.
• 42:29
  So me on the altar of a as a living sacrifice, one of the
• 42:32
  things that will be fragrance unto him is to be caught and to
• 42:35
  train yourself to think. No matter what I plan, even if
• 42:38
  it's 24 hours from now, it can only happen by God's grace and
• 42:42
  permission. And even if I get there, I can't
• 42:45
  do it successfully unless he helps me.
• 42:47
  That's how Christian things. And that's what Ahab is
• 42:51
  essentially telling to Ben Haddad.
• 42:52
  He's like, look, you're putting the armor off, but you're
• 42:55
  boasting as though you're taking it off in terms of being
• 42:58
  victorious. Don't boast until you take it
• 43:00
  off. So what is Ben had that do in
• 43:06
  movie like fashion? You can imagine the scene the
• 43:09
  news comes from in verse 12. He takes a sip of his drink,
• 43:12
  puts it on his table and he says to your man, his men take your
• 43:15
  positions and they're about to go to war.
• 43:18
  Hang tight. We're going to go through these
• 43:20
  verses quite quickly. Verse 13, We touched on this a
• 43:24
  couple times already, but can I tell you something?
• 43:26
  Even in this one verse, there's still nectar for you to suck
• 43:28
  from. There's amazing sweetness even
• 43:31
  in this one verse. And behold, the prophet came
• 43:33
  near to a king of Israel and said, Thus says the Lord, have
• 43:36
  you seen all this great multitude?
• 43:38
  Behold, I will give it into your hand this day, and you shall
• 43:42
  know that I am the Lord. In other words, you've seen
• 43:44
  Mount Carmel, you've seen the rain, and you're still not
• 43:47
  persuaded. God's going to give you more
• 43:48
  evidence. Ahab.
• 43:53
  Is it just me that's stirred by this?
• 43:56
  Ahab Yes. I'm going to do something for
• 43:59
  you to see even more that I am the Lord.
• 44:04
  Who? Who's saying this?
• 44:06
  The Lord? Yes.
• 44:07
  But who's the prophet you have? Some people are making the case
• 44:13
  that this is Elijah. And if not Elijah, it's Elijah.
• 44:17
  One of them are in disguise because he's anonymous.
• 44:20
  I just want to take it at face value and believe it's neither.
• 44:24
  This is not Elijah nor is it his successor.
• 44:27
  So who can he be? Tell me who can it be?
• 44:30
  Any idea what the previous studies?
• 44:37
  I'm not looking for a specific name by the way, or an identity,
• 44:42
  but what stock is this guy coming from?
• 44:46
  Thank you. So you have the Lord telling
• 44:50
  Elijah there's a remnant of 7000 who have not bowed their knee or
• 44:53
  kissed bail. And earlier before that, you had
• 44:56
  Obadiah informing us that there are at least 100 prophets
• 45:00
  stuffed into two caves that were being protected under his
• 45:03
  supervision. So I'm under the impression this
• 45:06
  is one of the prophets from the remnant, though unnamed.
• 45:11
  This is one of the guys that God commissioned to fulfill this
• 45:14
  task and that blesses me tremendously.
• 45:16
  Let me tell you why, Because you have one person here doing a
• 45:21
  very wonderful work and he's unknown.
• 45:26
  You would think that this kind of job would be somebody for
• 45:29
  somebody like Elijah, but the Lord commissions this man out of
• 45:33
  obscurity. And what it's supposed to inform
• 45:36
  you and I is whether you are known or not known, God has a
• 45:40
  work for you. God has a ministry for you.
• 45:44
  God has a job for you. Elijah and Elijah are not in the
• 45:49
  scene. You have this unnamed man coming
• 45:52
  before us. And what moves me here is that
• 45:55
  the Lord surely called him and directed him to stand before the
• 45:59
  king to speak this message. What's your responsibility?
• 46:03
  That because God can raise any one of us up in a moment's time,
• 46:07
  it's to be like this prophet in this way, to be yielded.
• 46:11
  To him and ready at all times, he is one of those who have not
• 46:15
  bound his knee to bail or kissed him.
• 46:18
  And because of his steadfastness, though, perhaps
• 46:20
  he was one of those that were hiding in a hole at the right
• 46:24
  time. The Lord says I need you.
• 46:26
  Come. You want to know one motivation
• 46:31
  to be consecrated. My ultimate motivation is to
• 46:33
  please the heart of my master, whether he uses me or not.
• 46:36
  My ultimate desire is because here's the whole thing.
• 46:39
  I'm going to stand before him and have a conversation with him
• 46:41
  about my life and so will you. So my ultimate ambition is to
• 46:47
  please my savior. But if there's any sub reason to
• 46:54
  be motivated in holiness, it's that holiness positions you to
• 46:59
  be used as the master at any at any time.
• 47:04
  So I'm not, I'm not looking for how I can tread that line
• 47:08
  between sin and being right. I don't want to play that game.
• 47:12
  I'm not interested in playing that game because second Timothy
• 47:16
  tells us and he motivates Timothy by saying that the Lord
• 47:19
  wants clean vessels ready for the masters use.
• 47:25
  So if you want to be worldly, go ahead, be worldly.
• 47:27
  You might just be missing on a call.
• 47:29
  I'm not looking. I'm not even the thought of that
• 47:31
  is just daunting. I want to be used of God and if
• 47:35
  he's at any time ready to call somebody, I want to be at least
• 47:38
  considered on that roster. This prophet arrives on the
• 47:42
  scene and he speaks this message.
• 47:45
  I love this for another reason. Can I tell you why You don't
• 47:52
  have a choice? I'll tell you why because Ahab
• 47:56
  looks for counsel from these elders and they gave good
• 47:59
  advice. They said don't consent, but
• 48:03
  that's all they can offer him. It wasn't until a prophet
• 48:07
  arrived with a word from the Lord where Ahab would find what
• 48:10
  he needed to know. True deliverance.
• 48:15
  No matter what kind of wisdom you acquire from brilliant men,
• 48:19
  successful men, prestigious men, if what they have to say doesn't
• 48:26
  ultimately come from the Word of God, it will always be limited
• 48:29
  in its promises and its effectiveness.
• 48:34
  That's why when I look for counsel, I look for people who
• 48:36
  are. Drenched in the Bible
• 48:38
  personally, but not just people who know the Bible, people who
• 48:41
  live the Bible and can testify that the Bible works because of
• 48:44
  their own obedience. I know a lot of people who stuff
• 48:46
  the Bible in their heads. And I would be very careful
• 48:50
  asking for their advice because by the way they're living, I
• 48:53
  don't think they're taking their own advice, whatever knowledge
• 48:56
  that they're gaining. But people who have their lives
• 48:59
  ordained by the scriptures and know the the scriptures richly,
• 49:03
  I want to hear from them because I know what well they're going
• 49:07
  to draw from. I know what kind of thing I'm
• 49:11
  going to be sipping on in my thirst for answers, for
• 49:16
  predicaments in my own life. So what those men had to say
• 49:21
  took Ahab one step closer to where he needed to be.
• 49:24
  But when this prophet came, it swung open the door to true
• 49:27
  freedom and true deliverance. Verse 14.
• 49:36
  And Ahab said, ready to be surprised further.
• 49:40
  And Ahab said, By whom he said, Thus says the Lord, by the
• 49:45
  servants of the governors of the districts.
• 49:48
  Then he said, Who shall begin the battle?
• 49:51
  He answered you. Then he mustered the servants of
• 49:56
  the governors of the districts, and they were 232 And after them
• 50:00
  he mustered all the people of Israel. 7000 Summarize what
• 50:07
  Ahab's doing here in response to the word of the Lord.
• 50:11
  Anybody. What is what is Ahab doing here?
• 50:16
  Well, let me ask you this way, is it good or is it bad?
• 50:20
  Bad. Why is it bad?
• 50:23
  How is it bad? The prophet said you're going to
• 50:26
  do this, you're going to do this.
• 50:27
  He seeks clarification and what does he do?
• 50:31
  He does it. It's very simple.
• 50:34
  Maybe because it's so shocking, because it's Ahab.
• 50:37
  Ahab obeys. Ahab listens to the prophet.
• 50:44
  I know it's striking, but people have their moments.
• 50:49
  So not only does he obey, he obeys when the instructions seem
• 50:54
  to be very strange. What do I mean by that?
• 50:56
  So he says, who's going to actually engage in this war?
• 51:00
  Because we don't really have much going on here.
• 51:02
  And what does the prophet say? He says by the servants of the
• 51:04
  governors of the districts. I take that to mean that he's
• 51:08
  saying the actual ones who assist these governors in these
• 51:11
  different regions in Israel. In other words, inexperienced
• 51:15
  men. Some transistors would say, the
• 51:17
  young men, those are the guys that you're going to put on the
• 51:20
  front line. And he gathers 232 of them.
• 51:25
  So in the way that you and I know God, we have yet another
• 51:28
  testimony of the Lord intentionally stacking all the
• 51:31
  odds against himself. See, I want you to actually make
• 51:35
  this more difficult than what it needs to be.
• 51:37
  I'm not asking you to find war. War like men or experienced
• 51:42
  fighters. Get the get the servants of the
• 51:45
  governors to lead the charge. And Ahab doesn't peep with a
• 51:52
  hesitation, a denial. He doesn't.
• 51:55
  He goes, all right, let's do it. I'm willing to do it.
• 52:00
  And if you find that Providence makes a trial or a challenge
• 52:04
  more difficult than it needs to be, consider this aspect of
• 52:08
  God's character. Why does God do this again back
• 52:10
  at verse 13? So that he would know that the
• 52:13
  Lord is God. I'm going to do this again in
• 52:16
  such a manner. How did he do it on Mount
• 52:18
  Carmel? He asked Elijah to drench his
• 52:20
  sacrifice and water over and over again so that no fabricated
• 52:24
  flame can be excused. It would have to be an act of
• 52:27
  God and hear the Lord in chapter 20 is doing it in a different
• 52:30
  way. Put those kind of men on the
• 52:32
  front lines. Really yes.
• 52:34
  Why back to verse 13 because I want you to be absolutely
• 52:38
  persuaded that this is an act of God.
• 52:42
  And if I find myself there where it's like no matter how much I'm
• 52:45
  praying about it, no matter how much I'm doing what I need to do
• 52:47
  in God's way for it to be done with God like results, and it
• 52:51
  seems to only be getting darker and closing in and more
• 52:55
  impossible. Here's what the Lord is trying
• 52:57
  to do. He wants to make it more
• 52:59
  difficult so that the praise and the glory would be stronger on
• 53:02
  the other side. That's why I get excited when
• 53:08
  things try to suffocate the situation even more, because the
• 53:12
  Lord just wants to maximize the opportunity.
• 53:17
  So he asks what do I need to do? He tells them exactly what to do
• 53:22
  and. If you think this is where the
• 53:25
  story ends, it doesn't. And if it did, you might be
• 53:28
  convinced Ahab's changed. This is a different guy.
• 53:33
  He's asking the Prophet, and the Prophet gives him more
• 53:37
  instruction. He actually submits.
• 53:38
  It wow, all it took is a little time for Ahab to change and I
• 53:43
  would say not so fast. Realize that there's still more
• 53:46
  to this chapter and there's a chapter 21.
• 53:50
  And so I just want to let you know in advance that this is
• 53:53
  going to be short lived. And why is it short lived?
• 53:57
  Because it models what men do today.
• 54:00
  They tend to find obedience to divine ordinances more
• 54:03
  attractive when their troubles seem more inescapable.
• 54:10
  I think it's one of the greatest stains on humanity's testimony
• 54:16
  in their disobedience to the Lord and their unwillingness to
• 54:19
  surrender. I think it's one of the greatest
• 54:21
  things this cycle that only in dire circumstances does God get
• 54:26
  the best of us. If you're going to be a true
• 54:32
  worshiper, can I encourage you to do something?
• 54:34
  Sing with the strength and the vigor and the devotion.
• 54:38
  Serve with that same intensity when all things are well.
• 54:45
  I don't want my Pearl life to look better when I need
• 54:48
  something from the Lord. I don't want my devotion and my
• 54:54
  consecration to shine brighter when this body is afflicted with
• 54:59
  a disease or when I need money. But Ahab, unfortunately, reminds
• 55:08
  us that men tend to fall in that trap far too often.
• 55:15
  What is Ahab going to learn when he obeys the prophet?
• 55:18
  Let's read the last five verses together.
• 55:22
  And they went out at noon while Ben Haddad was drinking himself
• 55:26
  drunk in the booths. He and the 32 kings who helped
• 55:30
  them pause. This is the second time we're
• 55:31
  told of Ben Haddad's drinking. That's not by accident.
• 55:37
  It's meant for you to connect that his pattern, his personal
• 55:40
  patterns and shortcomings will produce the consequences that
• 55:44
  you see here. And we already saw it.
• 55:46
  He was drinking earlier, and he makes these questionable
• 55:49
  judgments and requests, and now you see him drinking yet again,
• 55:53
  and it's going to lead to his downfall.
• 55:55
  So I hope I don't have to spend too much time in a Bible study
• 55:58
  to remind you that our God champions sobriety.
• 56:03
  And I think in some Bible studies that needs to be
• 56:05
  emphasized because you have a lot of Christians who want to
• 56:08
  justify intoxication of different kinds.
• 56:14
  God understands how your faculties work, how your mind
• 56:17
  works. And he calls us to be people who
• 56:20
  take care of our our discernment and our judgement so that we can
• 56:24
  reflect his glory the better. Ben Haddad is going to show us
• 56:30
  that alcohol is going to be a contributor to his destruction
• 56:35
  and alcohol in many cases has done and created havoc and so
• 56:42
  many spheres of society when it is not taken in moderation at
• 56:48
  least. So 17 the servants of the
• 56:52
  governors of the districts went out first, and Ben Haddad sent
• 56:56
  out scouts and they reported to him men are coming out from
• 56:59
  Samaria. Verse 18 and it you're going to
• 57:03
  read this and it makes you think if this is the alcohol talking
• 57:08
  or Ben Haddad talking, see if you see what I I'm saying.
• 57:12
  He said if they have come out for peace, take them alive or if
• 57:15
  they. Have come out for war.
• 57:17
  Take them alive. Brilliant.
• 57:21
  I don't know what kind of general this is, but I wonder if
• 57:29
  verse 16 sheds light on verse 18.
• 57:31
  I'm just saying. So these went out of the city,
• 57:36
  the servants of the governors of the districts and the army that
• 57:39
  followed them, and each struck down his man.
• 57:41
  The Syrians fled, and Israel pursue them.
• 57:45
  But Ben Haddad, king of Syria, escaped on a horse with
• 57:48
  horsemen, and the king of Israel went out and struck the horses
• 57:52
  and Chariots, and struck the Syrians with.
• 57:55
  A great blow. Or would you know it, Ahab?
• 57:59
  When you obeyed, there was victory.
• 58:04
  When you trusted, there was blessing.
• 58:07
  When you submitted, there was reward.
• 58:13
  And too bad that Ahab would only ride that wave for such a short
• 58:19
  period of time. Because for the rest of this
• 58:20
  chapter, you're going to see him go back to the Ahab that we were
• 58:25
  accustomed to and what we have for the rest of this chapter, or
• 58:30
  other threads of gold awaiting to be woven on our hearts.
• 58:33
  But until then, let's pray and thank God for this banquet
• 58:37
  tonight. We thank you, God Almighty, that
• 58:51
  on this Friday night we are confident to be in the company
• 58:54
  of those who have burning hearts when they hear the Scriptures.
• 59:00
  And we pray, O God, that we would be good Bereans, noble men
• 59:05
  who know how to test everything with the Word of God as our
• 59:08
  ultimate authority and standard. We ask, Lord, that even this
• 59:12
  portion of Sacred Scripture would play a role in influencing
• 59:17
  something of our lives. If there's a sin that's been
• 59:22
  flirting with us these past few days or weeks and our guard has
• 59:26
  been down, and we think to ourselves that we can tolerate
• 59:30
  it, entertain it, or enjoy it without consequence.
• 59:34
  Lord, may this be a sharp reminder that sin is to be put
• 59:39
  to death. That is the only response of the
• 59:41
  Christian. Lord, if we have trouble
• 59:47
  understanding your grace for ourselves or for others, help
• 59:51
  us. Remember Ahab story at this
• 59:54
  point that you are relentless, that you give so many chances
• 1:00:02
  before you judge. And we thank you, O Lord, that
• 1:00:08
  if you're willing to treat the wicked in such a way, how much
• 1:00:11
  more your children. So I pray for the believer who
• 1:00:15
  struggles with the understanding that you actually forgive them.
• 1:00:20
  Lord, may they be washed over by the truth of your love tonight.
• 1:00:26
  And Lord, as we consider in the Hebrew Scriptures, your constant
• 1:00:31
  attempts to get man's attention, to repent and turn to you, help
• 1:00:37
  us never forget your ultimate attempt, your ultimate mission,
• 1:00:40
  your ultimate expression of love in the person of Jesus Christ.
• 1:00:46
  Lord, in Ahab's case, you sent the prophet, but at one point,
• 1:00:52
  at the perfect time, you sent your son.
• 1:00:55
  And we are the benefactors of it.
• 1:01:00
  Lord, we choose to worship you and to pray to you and to hear
• 1:01:03
  you and to obey you, not because we need something from you, but
• 1:01:07
  because you've already given us everything in Christ.
• 1:01:10
  So teach us contentment, practical, real, raw,
• 1:01:14
  experiential, testimonial, contentment.
• 1:01:19
  Help us learn that. Help us experience that.
• 1:01:23
  In Jesus name we pray, Amen. Let's stand sing a song, Amen.
• 1:01:33
  Hang out a little bit maybe and get some sleep for our mission
• 1:01:38
  tomorrow morning. Praise team, thank you for
• 1:01:41
  leading us tonight. Thank you for your service.
• 1:01:44
  Let's sing loudly unto the Lord. Shall we give him thanks for his
• 1:01:48
  word?