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1 Kings 18 (Part 3) Bible Study (Elijah Prays / The Lord Sends Rain) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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First kings together, and as you turn there, place your finger.
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Verse 41. We're going to read the verses
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up to the closing of this chapter, beginning in verse 41.
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And Elijah said to Ahab, go up, eat and drink, for there is a
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sound of the rushing of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to
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drink. And Elijah went up to the top of
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Mount Carmel, and he bowed himself down on the earth, and
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put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, Go
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up, now look toward the sea. And he went up and looked, and
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said, there is nothing. And he said, Go again seven
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times. And at the 7th time he said,
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Behold, a little cloud, like a man's hand is rising from the
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sea. And he said, Go up, say to Ahab,
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prepare your chariot, and go down, lest the rain stop you.
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And in the little while the heavens grew black with clouds
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and wind, and there was a great rain.
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And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel.
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And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah.
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And he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the
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entrance of Jezreel. Father, we ask for your help.
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We are forgetful creatures. And so we plead with you that
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you would bind these truths in our hearts and that we would be
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able to recall these things in the days to come so that we can
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be more faithful and we can remember your faithfulness.
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And so, Lord, we ask for the help of the Holy Spirit as we
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expound on these truths, trusting, oh God, that you have
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much to say to us personally as believers, as a church, we
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anticipate the voice, your voice through your word in our lives.
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In Jesus name we pray, Amen. The Lord he is God, the Lord he
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is God. Who would have thought that such
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words would gush out of the hearts of a people who have been
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apostate for decades? And that is what we read last
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week. In one miraculous moment, you
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had a people who were experiencing a spiritual drought
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that cemented their devotion and all of a sudden was cascaded by
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the mercy of God. And as a result, you had worship
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springing out of unexpected wells.
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And that was the site that we've held together in our last study.
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And as refreshing as that site might have been, I'm here to
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excite you and let you know that there's still more mercy to be
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seen and discovered. Because the spiritual drought
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that was taken care of will now be followed by physical
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provision for a dry land. This is what Elijah has come to
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pray for. Now.
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We examined last week how this man of God got before the Lord
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and prayed that fire would be shot down from heaven.
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And it was answered. And now the same man of God on
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the same mountain will come before the Lord and ask for
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rain, and the rain will be provided.
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And you and I should expect that the Holy Spirit in this section
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will give us many things that will feed our faith.
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Listen, as we climb with Elijah back up on Mount Carmel, and as
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you and I look up to the heavens again with him, we should
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believe that God is going to say something to our hearts.
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And so I know we read from verse 41, but I want to scale back to
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verse 39. Look at verse 39 quickly.
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And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and
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said, the Lord he is God, the Lord he is God.
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And Elijah said to them, seize the prophets of Baal and let not
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one of them escape, and they seize them.
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And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishan and slaughtered
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them there. We didn't touch on verse 40 last
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week. We mentioned it briefly as a
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cliffhanger, but we have to address this because this seems
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to be a disturbing verse in light of the grace of God that
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we enjoyed in verse 39. God sending fire, not on the
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people of Israel, but on a substitute, on a sacrifice, a
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picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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And we would think it would end there, we would transition from
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that point. But instead we see Elijah
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commanding that these false prophets who failed to call upon
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Baal, and Baal failed to hear him because he is no God at all,
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now have a death sentence and they were slaughtered.
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How can this be? How can Elijah ask for such a
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thing? How can it be done?
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Did he overreact? Well, it's important to remember
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that in our three-part series within this chapter alone, what
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have we realized? What have we learned about
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Elijah? That he was completely in step
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with the will of God. And even in this showdown with
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these prophets of Baal, Elijah did not miss a beat.
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Everything that he did was completely ordained and revealed
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by God, and he satisfied the wishes of his master, and we
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should have no reason to believe otherwise concerning this
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command in verse 40, Elijah is still in complete alignment to
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the will and the heart and the mind of God and commissioning
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the people of Israel to gather these false prophets and to have
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them killed. And This is why you're here on
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Fridays. I pray that you and I will
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continue to grow in the knowledge of the Hebrew
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Scripture so that you can grow in your knowledge of the
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character of God. Elijah here actually, in asking
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for this, is encouraged by the law.
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What these false prophets experienced was to be expected
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because God already made a demand from His law before the
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people even entered into the promised land.
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And I want you to see it with your own eyes.
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So it's in Deuteronomy chapter 13, beginning in verse one.
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Here's where Elijah is getting the license to do such a thing.
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This man's call for the slaying of these rebel priests was
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founded upon what God had asked of the people in Deuteronomy 13
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verse one. Read it with me, please.
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If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and
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gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he
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tells you comes to pass, pause. Even if a miracle transpires,
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even if a wonder happens through the hands of a man who does not
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represent the true and living God, what are you to do?
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And if he says, let us go after other gods which you have not
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known, and let us serve them, you shall not listen to the
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words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams.
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For the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the
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Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
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We touched on that inner study of Deuteronomy.
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Why is there all this heresy? Why are there all these false
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religions? Why will be somebody in the name
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of Christ performing even signs and wonders, but don't preach a
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true and pure gospel? Let me give you one reason.
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God's testing every generation. Will you love me?
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How are you going to show your love for God that despite the
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miracle, despite the sign, despite the wonder, despite the
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charisma, despite the programs, despite whatever, because it's
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contrary to God's Word, you will cling to the Word about whatever
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you see or feel or experience. So God allows it to test our
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love and devotion to Him. But that's not the main point.
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Scroll down to verse five. That prophet or dreamer must be
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put to death for inciting rebellion against the Lord your
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God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the
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land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to
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turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to
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follow. You must purge the evil from
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among you. That's exactly what Elijah is
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obeying here in First Kings 18, verse 14.
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This kind of crime is worthy of capital punishment and it's not
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because you had a group of people within Israel believing
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differently. No, this group of prophets were
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again enticing the people of God, the true people of God,
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from turning away from the true and living God.
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And mind you, Please remember this, put this filter every time
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you read something in the in the Scriptures, especially in the
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Hebrew Scriptures, that seems to be concerning in terms of what
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God demands concerning false religion or false prophets.
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The Messiah is on his way and he's coming through this seed.
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And what Satan has been doing for centuries throughout the
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Hebrew Scriptures is to try to corrupt that seed there.
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There's no playing around here. The salvation of the world is at
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stake, and that attempt to corrupt the seed of humanity
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goes all the way back to Genesis chapter 6, and it's happening
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throughout here in Israel's history.
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And so this demanded severe repercussions.
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And so this is not that's a side point, but this is not just them
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believing differently, this is them trying to lure them away
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into self-destructive false religion.
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And so it demanded severe confrontation.
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And that's exactly what Elijah is calling for.
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You know, it's even possible that these false prophets of
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Bill were the instruments that Jezebel used to kill the true
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prophets of the Lord. And so we see that this man is
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obeying the word of God. And what you and I are going to
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learn in this study and in the studies to come, that for such
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false prophets to remain in the land would prove to be an
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existential problem for the nation of Israel.
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And we're going to see that because not all these false
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prophets in Elijah's day were present on Mount Carmel.
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What's our call in a new covenant concerning false
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religion, concerning those who would try to entice other
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believers away from the truth, those from from within, or those
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are outside? You and I have our marching
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orders plain and clear in the New Testament.
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The domain of our judgment and the degree of our judgement has
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been spelled out clearly and there should be no confusion
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about it. You have no right to hurt
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anybody because they believe differently or try to even
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convince you to believe differently.
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We're told there in First Corinthians 5, and you don't
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have to turn there about verse 11 and 12 as a reference that
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our call as the church is to deal with those within the
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church. We don't go chasing those
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outside of our church and conquest them.
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And when people buy the sword, we don't do that.
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Our domain of judgement and chastisement and discipline as
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demanded by the Lord Jesus is within the church, and Paul
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declared that himself as an apostle.
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And the severest form of judgement that we can apply to
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somebody who is unrepentant morally or unrepentant
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doctrinally is that they must be removed from the fellowship of
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the believers because a little leaven leavens the whole lump.
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And even in that severest form of discipline.
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What's the aim? Tell me restoration good is that
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we would hope that they would see the error of their ways.
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They would see the privileges that they let go of.
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They would see that the church does not agree with what they
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believe in and they prove it from Scripture that they would
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turn back to the truth or turn to the truth rather.
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And so this is a picture for us. And when God calls us to even do
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something difficult, though our our our orders are different.
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We must do it nonetheless. And there's another lesson.
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Look again at verse 40. And Elijah said to them, seize
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the prophets of Bill, let no, not one of them escape, and they
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seized them. And Elijah brought them down to
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the brookish on and slaughter them there.
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Who did he ask to seize these false prophets?
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Was it Israel? It was Israel.
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Elijah didn't arrest these men himself.
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He did kill them, but he did not arrest and he called the people
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of Israel to do so. Why is that important?
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Think of the larger context. You go back to verse 39, when
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God showed up with his power, Yes, power, but mercy.
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They confessed the Lord. He is God, the Lord he is God,
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and we're blessed by that. But that's not where their faith
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stopped. That's where many people today.
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That's where their faith stops. Verbal confession and
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profession. Yeah, Jesus Christ is God.
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Yeah, the gospel is true. Yeah.
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Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins.
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Israel didn't stop with professing it.
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They demonstrate that he was God because when a very difficult
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command was issued, they did not hesitate to obey.
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So I want to say that the encouragement of the response of
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the nation of Israel is more encouraging than you might have
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thought, that they went beyond where most people go.
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They didn't just say it. They said, OK, now what does he
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want from me? If he is God, then let me show
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that he is God. And we would hope that this kind
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of frame of faith would last. We're going to find out that
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perhaps it doesn't. But for the time being, we can
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take a breath and rejoice in the fact that something happened in
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their hearts. Now we come to what?
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We read verse 31. Excuse me, 41.
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And Elijah said to Ahab, we didn't forget about Ahab, did
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we? So the people of Israel, what
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did they do? They repented the prophets of
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Bill. What happened to them?
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They were killed. What's now going to happen to
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the king? What is going to happen to the
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ruler? Here's what Elijah tells him to
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do. Go up, eat and drink.
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Why? That's a very strange command.
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Go up, eat and drink. In other words, have lunch or
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have dinner because rain is coming and you need to be
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energized for your journey. You know what my first question
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was? Why wasn't he lined up with the
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prophets of bail and slain with them?
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Don't you wonder the same? We're going to touch on why he
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said go up, eat and drink, but why wasn't he killed?
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We do not equally guilty of being a rebel and leading the
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people of God astray. Here's the answer is a simple
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answer, but it's important because it's consistent with how
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God works in the world. Every man's verdict concerning
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their sin that's unrepented is dealt with differently case by
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case, according to God's wisdom and his justice will.
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I have completely escaped God's discipline.
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No, it's just going to happen at a different time and through a
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different way. Do you remember how Ahab will be
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chastised by the Lord? Let me remind you in First Kings
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22. Look at verse six with me, First
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Kings 22. And this is where it's going to
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happen for Ahab. This is when the king of Israel,
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Ahab, wanted to go to war against Ramoth Gilead, and he
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tried to recruit the king of Judah.
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And in first Kings 22 six we read then the king of Israel
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gathered the prophets together, about 400 men, and said to them,
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shall I go to battle against Ramoth Gilead or shall I
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refrain? And they said, go up, for the
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Lord will give it into the hand of the king.
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Pause. Who are these 400 prophets?
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Does anybody remember? They're the 400 prophets who
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didn't show up on Mount Carmel. You had the prophets of Baal
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450, and then you have the prophets of Ashraf 400.
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They were kept from going. We don't know how or who kept
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them, but we can be pretty confident that it was the
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leadership of Israel that said no, no, no, we're not going to
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send all our guys out there. We don't know what Elijah's up
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to. So you have the same 400 now who
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are gathered into the courts of the king and they begin
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prophesying with a consensus. You should go up against Ramos
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Gilead. Oh, Ahab, and I'm sure you've
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read this before. If not, it's a riveting chapter
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because a true prophet of the Lord arrives and he gives the
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insight of what's taking place here.
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And here's the summary of it. Look at verse 23 of First Kings
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22. Now therefore, behold, the Lord
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has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your
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prophets. Why the Lord has declared
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disaster for you. So God allowed a lying spirit to
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speak through all four hundred of these false prophets.
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For what reason? So that Ahab would believe the
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lies and walk into his own demise.
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Why? Because God is going to judge
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him in this way. Do you?
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Do you realize how heart wrenching the sentencing is?
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The very same 400 that Ahab try to preserve and keep have now
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been the agency for his own death.
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You can't fool God. You can't run from God, you
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can't hide from God. If you're going to remain in
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your unbelief and your sin, judgement will come.
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And what a what a picture, Another picture of so many
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examples in the Bible that if you and I are not quick to kill
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our sin, it will find a way to kill you always.
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I've never seen anybody hold on to their sin and be successful
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in doing so. The very same prophets that he
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tried to keep to himself, thinking that they would be to
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his benefit, ended up turning on him, lying to him, just like how
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your sin lies to you, and then end up destroying his life.
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If Ahab had repented anytime before, we know that the Lord
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would have been extremely merciful.
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But this man kept going back to him himself, kept going back to
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his false beliefs and rebellion against the Lord.
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So now Elijah says go up, eat and drink.
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Thinking about this, why out of all the things that Elijah could
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have said to this man, and I believe it's because Elijah
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discern what kind of man he was dealing with, Ahab here at this
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moment is showing no remorse, is he?
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He's showing no concern. There's no contrition.
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There's no admission of guilt. Perhaps the only thing that's
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going on with Ahab is that he is just standing there absolutely
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shocked as he's witnessing his false prophets being slain right
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before his eyes. But but there's no heart change.
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There's no even inquiry. There's no even concern about
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what happened with his men. And I believe Elijah recognizes
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that. So what is he doing here by
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saying go up, eat and drink? It's as though he's just
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dismissing him. I just get out of here, go, go,
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go eat and drink. Go have a meal.
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Because he realizes that this man is completely caught up in
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the flesh. Here's what Ahab teaches us at
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this point in our Bible study, that a person can witness the
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miraculous, that a person can have his world view overcome and
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dismantled by the truth, that an individual can even be defeated
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by his sin. All of that taking place and
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still do what remain in the flesh.
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Do you realize what a have witnessed?
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He witnessed a man praying to the true God, the God that he's
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been rebelling against fire came down from heaven.
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All his men, they, they availed to nothing.
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They died and what's this man concerned with more than
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anything else? Eating and drinking.
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Why? Because when Ava AAP says go do
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it, he does it. And you get frustrated when you
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witness to a sibling or a friend and they don't seem to get it.
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That's not new. Don't think it's because we live
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in a technological age and people are more distracted than
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ever know you have people who are concerned with eating and
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drinking even then. And this is what we're supposed
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to see by looking at a hand, that there are going to be some,
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that no matter what they see, what they learn, what they hear,
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what they experience will be bound up and caught up by the
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temporal. Should it frustrate us?
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Yeah, I should frustrate us. But let it frustrate you to the
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prayer closet and not to give up.
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You know, I'm reading in my own time.
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I'm in Ezra now. But this past week I was reading
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through Second Chronicles and looking at different kings from
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the Chronicles vantage point. And there was another king and
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his name was Ahaz, not a have a has.
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And he did a lot of wickedness. The catalogue of evil that he
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performed was severe in its own way.
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But then he experiences discipline from the Lord, like
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obvious discipline. What did a have experience here?
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Mercy. He wasn't consumed.
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God demonstrated that he's the real living God and it still
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didn't move him. A has, on the other hand,
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experienced severe chastisement. And there's this one verse and I
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just, I plucked that verse from the Scriptures and I've been
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just letting it sit. On my heart all week listen to
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this I'm just going to read it to you.
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This is powerful in Second Chronicles 28.
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Listen to this verse and verse 22.
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In the time of his distress, he became yet more faithless to the
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Lord. The same king A has.
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Isn't that amazing? It's as though the author, yes,
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inspired by the spirits, like yes, the very same A has that
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you've been reading about. Even with all the distress that
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he underwent, he still became more faithless.
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What this flesh is capable of is astounding and the Scripture
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does not hold back in declaring the truth about it.
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Ahab is no different here. This man is stiff necked.
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But then you got guys like Elijah.
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Look what Elijah said back in verse 41 of our main text.
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And Elijah said to Ahab, go up, eat and drink.
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Why? For there is a sound of the
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rushing of rain. I hear rain coming.
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How can he say that when not drop one droplet of rain fell on
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that dry land? How can he say that when not one
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crack of Thunder or lightning has visited those skies in
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years? How can he say that with no
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sight of even a shadow from the heavens because no cloud has
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visited Israel in such a long time?
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I can tell you how. Look back at verse one of our
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main text. What do you read here in verse
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one that the Lord said, go show yourself to Ahab because rain is
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coming. So you know why Elijah could say
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this with a great confidence? Because God said something and
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He believed it. God said something about a
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future event that did not yet take place.
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But listen to this. Elijah framed his life based on
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what God had said about the future.
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And that is what faith is all about.
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You perceive it, though you do not experience it.
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You believe it, and you make your way and you order your life
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around it, though you have not yet been visited by it.
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That's what faith looks like and it's the opposite of the flesh.
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Look at verse 42. So Ahab went up to eat and drink
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and Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel.
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So these these men, you have a men, a man who represents the
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flesh and a man who represents faith.
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And guess what? They go their separate ways.
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You know why? Because if you're a brother or
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sister in this place and you are a person who truly believes
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God's word and live according to God's word, it will be very
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difficult for you to fellowship with those who are of the flesh.
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Doesn't mean you're unloving, doesn't mean you're
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self-righteous. But it's very difficult because
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obviously here Ahab has no intention or zero appetite to do
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what Elijah is about to do on the top of Mount Carmel.
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What is Elijah about to do? Read the rest of the verse.
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And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between
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his knees. He went up to go pray.
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And what did Ahab do? He went to go eat and drink.
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Is there anything wrong with eating and drinking?
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Absolutely not. But there's a time and place for
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everything, and Elijah understood that in light of what
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God had just done here, this, this profound, powerful display
23:52
of His Majesty, it was time to posture himself, to inquire of
23:56
the Lord and seek the Lord for the next thing, the thing that
23:58
was ultimately promised. And what does Ahab do again?
24:01
He's unmoved, unfazed, and he just goes about like nothing had
24:04
happened. So now Elijah goes up to Mount
24:07
Carmel, and this man who goes up here now seeks the Lord in a
24:13
very humbling way. He get, I'm not going to
24:15
demonstrate it for you, but let your imagination go there.
24:18
He gets on his knees and he puts his face between his knees.
24:21
We're going to touch on that in a moment here, But the careful
24:25
reader will realize in our first initial reading that though
24:28
there is a picture being painted of this man praying, it's not
24:32
explicitly stated. We're not being told here
24:34
directly that Elijah prayed, but this is where the harmony of
24:38
Scripture comes to our aid. Go to James chapter 5 and verse
24:42
17 and 18, and you get the commentary of this very same
24:44
passage, and it's clarified of what Elijah is exactly doing
24:48
here. James 517 to 18.
24:57
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed
25:01
fervently that it might not reign.
25:03
And for three years and six months it did not rain on the
25:06
earth. That's what we covered earlier.
25:09
But hear what we see at the end of chapter 18 of First Kings is
25:12
what we see in verse 18 of James chapter 5.
25:15
Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore
25:23
its fruit. So when Elijah climbs back the
25:25
mountain and puts his face between his knees, James tells
25:27
us he went up there to go pray. He's praying.
25:33
And in what we're about to read in detail, you're going to have
25:37
the insights to strengthen your prayer life.
25:39
Can I tell you something when you read about Elijah praying
25:41
and fire coming down in a miracle and revival breaking
25:44
out, that that should excite your prayer life?
25:47
But there's something in this part and this section of his
25:50
praying that will resonate a lot more, I believe.
25:54
So let's look at a few components of what's happening
25:57
here with this praying. The first thing that you and I
25:59
learned from verse 42 is that Elijah, after experiencing this
26:05
wonderful, fruitful, successful feat, pulls himself away and he
26:12
meets with God in private. Here's an important lesson about
26:16
this man of God. No matter what kind of things he
26:18
experienced publicly, he maintained and secured his
26:21
private time with the Lord. Many people miss that.
26:26
Many people miss that especially when they're doing really well.
26:32
I believe why Elijah is doing this is because Elijah is
26:34
disclosing the secret to the effectiveness of his ministry,
26:37
communion with God, staying on his knees before God, sitting at
26:43
the feet of God, pouring out his heart privately before God.
26:50
And this man was willing to separate himself from the crowd,
26:54
separate himself from the audience of the king.
26:57
And he realized that the God who gave me success yesterday is the
27:00
same God who must give me success today and must give me
27:04
success for tomorrow. You have many people over time
27:08
in ministry and even in their Christian mark, they get very
27:12
comfortable with the routine. They realize that they have a
27:14
gift, and so they serve, they sing and they preach.
27:19
And over time, that time with the Lord becomes thinner and
27:24
thinner and thinner. But this man is not fooled.
27:29
This man realizes that unless I meet with the Lord consistently,
27:32
I will not know the fullest measure of His power, of His
27:35
mercy, of His wisdom, of His protection.
27:40
Do you know the number one common denominator for
27:43
backsliders? Maybe I'll get your attention
27:45
now more than before. I've talked to many of them, and
27:49
I know people who have talked to big ministers who have fallen
27:52
from grace. Can I tell you the number one
27:55
common denominator, even from men who have preached the Word
27:58
of God faithfully, who had wonderful history and
28:00
reputation? And if for some reason falling
28:03
off, they all can confess with confidence.
28:06
We stopped meeting with the Lord in private.
28:11
We stopped reading the Bible for ourselves.
28:14
We stopped spending time in prayer on a daily basis to
28:18
commune with the Lord. Got busy, got confident, got
28:24
caught up. And it's like, you hear that I
28:27
I've heard that. I've seen it happen to people.
28:31
And yet you can still feel the temptation to pull yourself away
28:35
from exactly what Elijah is doing here.
28:38
You can't afford to do it. People ask all the time, how do
28:42
you discipline yourself to be able to seek the Lord every
28:45
single day? How do you do it?
28:46
And I say, it's not a matter of what I what I want, it's a
28:48
matter of survival. So you don't see it that way.
28:52
You just see it as a luxury. You see it as an optional thing.
28:55
But you have to come to the point and believe in your heart
28:58
that this is not something that I can afford to miss out on if I
29:01
want to know this thing for long term, if I want to know
29:04
longevity. So let that little truth there
29:09
just add a spark to the fire that you know that that might be
29:13
getting weaker. And it's not because you're
29:14
necessarily sinning. You just fight for it if you
29:17
have to. If days go by where it's not
29:20
realized, get back to it. Don't get comfortable coasting
29:23
away from that place. I love you too much to say
29:27
otherwise. And so this man does it.
29:32
But notice the second thing, the humility of Elijah.
29:35
He bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between
29:37
his knees. And this is something so
29:40
significant for many reasons. And the main reason is because
29:42
it happened after a great experience of ministry.
29:49
This man saw a nation, not a couple people after a Bible
29:53
study or Sunday servant you're talking about.
29:55
Let's just imagine the state of Illinois coming to one of your
29:59
meetings, you preaching God, backing up your message with
30:02
power. That's undeniable.
30:03
And you see the state of Illinois getting on its knees
30:07
saying the Lord Jesus Christ is God, the Lord Jesus Christ is
30:11
God. What do you think that would do
30:14
to the common man? Wow.
30:18
I'm a pretty good preacher, I think.
30:23
Wow. Surely after this I'm going to
30:26
get a lot of invitations to conferences.
30:29
Now, you know what you see this man doing?
30:31
He goes up and he humbles himself before God and he gets
30:36
low. So yeah, he stood tall before
30:38
kings, and he pointed his Bony prophet finger before a nation.
30:43
But when it came to the presence of God, he humbled himself.
30:45
He says, God, this is all about you.
30:49
This couldn't have happened without you.
30:51
And now for this next thing, I'm going to need you.
30:54
I can't produce this. I can't cause anything to
30:57
happen. It has to be Your grace.
31:00
And so true servant of the Lord will never allow even the
31:03
success of his spiritual journey caused him to waver from
31:07
acknowledging, praising, loving, worshipping, and attending to
31:09
the presence of God. It will only reinforce and
31:13
strengthen him in that place because He realizes what God
31:16
allowed me to experience yesterday and what He did
31:18
through me yesterday is by His grace.
31:21
And anything I'm going to know or do for him today or tomorrow
31:23
is also going to be by His grace.
31:26
They never lose touch with that reality.
31:28
And this man did not. There's still more to learn.
31:34
Remember James said that this man is a model for prayer
31:36
concerning the Christian. So look at verse 43.
31:39
And he said to his servant, go up now look toward the sea.
31:44
And he went up and looked and said there is nothing.
31:47
And he said, go again seven times.
31:51
This lesson is obvious is not it's a lesson on perseverance 7
31:56
times. So he prays, tells a servant,
32:00
go, comes back, nothing prays. And he does that several times.
32:06
And we're all we're we're all very familiar about Jesus
32:09
teaching the Bible's examples of how to persevere in prayer, how
32:11
to persevere, how to. But this is what blessed me even
32:14
more about Elijah's example. It stands in such contrast to
32:17
his previous experience of prayer.
32:20
So you read last week with me that the moment he comes down
32:23
before the Lord, as he stands before this altar, and he asks
32:27
for the fire of God to come and consume that sacrifice, the
32:30
moment he said Amen, so to speak, the fire came.
32:36
And then now you have this man, the same man on the same
32:38
mountains praying to the same God, and he's asking for rain
32:42
this time and this account. The first time does it come?
32:44
The second, does it come the fifth time?
32:46
Seven times. What are you supposed to take
32:51
from that? You and I are supposed to learn
32:53
that unless you're not careful, you will be weighed down in
32:59
prayer. There are times when God can
33:02
answer in the very before you even say Amen, He can answer
33:06
even if your prayer is in thought form and you haven't
33:08
even expressed that you can answer it.
33:11
And there are other times where you will pray and you will pray
33:14
and you will pray and you will pray and never mind hints, there
33:18
will be nothing, nothing. Expect both from God.
33:26
Expect both. Why do I say expect?
33:29
Let me put it this way. Every time I pray, I pray and
33:31
anticipate that God will do it. Every time I pray I want to see
33:34
a miracle, but I'm also ready for it to come in a different
33:38
way, which is really the next point because look what happens.
33:44
Go up. Now look toward the scene.
33:45
He went up and looked and said there is nothing.
33:47
And he said go again seven times.
33:49
And at the 7th time, verse 44, he said, behold, a little cloud
33:54
like a man's hand is rising from the sea.
33:57
And he said, go up, say to Ahab, prepare your charity and go down
34:00
unless the rain stop you. Look at verse 45.
34:04
And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds
34:07
and wind, and there was a great rain and Ahab road and with the
34:11
Jezreel. So again, compare it to Elijah's
34:15
experience for praying. When he prayed for fire, he
34:18
prayed once fire came. Did the fire come like with a
34:23
spark? And then he had to feed the
34:24
fire, and then he grew up into a flame.
34:26
Is that what happened? No, look at verse 38.
34:29
Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering
34:32
and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water
34:36
that was in the trench. You know why I love that verse?
34:39
Because all was needed for the challenge was the the sacrifice
34:42
to be consumed. That's all that was needed to
34:44
prove that this was the true and living God.
34:46
You know what God does when he sends the fire?
34:48
He consumes more. You know what that's a picture
34:51
of? You pray for something and God
34:52
does more. But look at this.
34:57
So he prays and fire comes right there and then.
35:01
Now he prays for rain, right? Does he pray once, seven times?
35:07
And on the 7th time, do the clouds just suddenly appear and
35:12
it just starts raining and pour? Is that what happens?
35:16
No, a little cloud like the size of a man's hand comes.
35:20
And in verse 45, you read why? And in a little while the
35:24
heavens grew black with clouds and wind.
35:28
It's not very dramatic, is it? It's those are not the kind of
35:33
prayer testimonies you hear or asked to be shared at the prayer
35:37
meeting. It's the fire coming down right
35:39
away. Wow, is this any less of a
35:42
testimony? So you know what God can do when
35:46
you pray. God can heal your loved one
35:48
instantly. God can provide for your need
35:54
with your next blink. God can put a stop to that trial
35:59
with a breath. God can halt persecution right
36:04
away. He can do all of that like he
36:07
did with Elijah and the fire, but you know what else he might
36:11
do? You can pray for that loved
36:13
one's healing and you know how He's going to do it in stages.
36:17
And you need some. You need something.
36:19
You need a financial breakthrough, so to speak.
36:21
You need a job. Whatever the case may be, you
36:22
need something to be taken care of.
36:24
And how does God do it? Little by little, you need an
36:28
opportunity. And God can swing wide open a
36:32
door. A random guy calls you, doesn't
36:34
even know you, and it's this opportunity of a lifetime.
36:37
He can do that, or it can be several calls and a few
36:41
interviews. He can stop the persecution, or
36:47
he'll let it go for some time. So it can purge you in a certain
36:49
way. He can extinguish the fiery
36:52
trial, or he can extend it and manifest his presence within it.
37:01
So don't get frustrated if it doesn't come right away.
37:04
And if it doesn't happen when you pray once, and if you feel
37:07
discouraged, remember that some of God's greatest men are
37:11
experiencing what you're experiencing.
37:13
And here's one of them, Elijah. So I don't, I try not to allow
37:20
myself to go to a place where I think what's going on here?
37:24
Because I see a man who prayed 7 times.
37:27
So OK, if you have to pray a week, pray a week.
37:29
If you have to pray a year, pray a year.
37:30
If you have to pray years, pray for years.
37:32
You're saying, well, when do I stop praying?
37:35
I can't keep my head between my knees for too long, can I?
37:39
Can I? Can I tell you when you stop
37:40
praying? When God makes it clear when to
37:42
stop praying depends on the request, but I trust based on
37:46
the testimony of the Word of God, If you're persistent and
37:49
God hears you and there's an answer coming in terms of when
37:53
you should stop, He'll make it abundantly clear and you will
37:56
know it as he did with David with his sick newborn, when he
38:01
interceded on behalf of that little baby who is dying and he
38:05
did not get up from the floor until his men said the baby is
38:08
dead. He anointed his face, he washed
38:10
himself, he worshipped the Lord and he had his meal.
38:13
He stopped praying. What about Paul with a thorn in
38:15
his flesh? He prayed, he prayed the third
38:18
time the Lord said, I'm not removing this.
38:20
My grace is sufficient. So here's how I want to
38:23
translate. I know it might sound difficult.
38:25
I'm, I know it might might sound even daunting, but be encouraged
38:29
to know that if you're praying for that backslidden child of
38:32
yours, don't give up until God makes it clear when to give up.
38:38
And if God needs to make it very, very clear, there are
38:40
examples of prophets who are praying for a nation or praying
38:43
for an individual and God says enough, it's time to move on.
38:45
I have a different program here. So don't lose hearts, don't lose
38:50
focus and remember this as a testimony to keep you in that
38:54
place. So we see here that Elijah prays
38:57
and he prays and he prays. Now look at here verse 44.
39:01
In a little while, while the heavens grew black with clouds
39:05
and wind and there was there was a great rain and Ahab rode and
39:08
went to Jezreel. So here, this this is so
39:13
important because we could have ended here with the rain coming.
39:15
But he instructs Ahab to do something else.
39:20
He tells Ahab, I want you to get up, take your car and drive up
39:26
to Jezreel. Why Jezreel, go to 1st Kings 21.
39:29
Look at verse one and a certain, excuse me now neighbor, the
39:39
Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel beside the palace of
39:45
Ahab, king of Samaria. So the capital was in Samaria,
39:49
but Ahab had a palace in Jezreel, and that was probably
39:53
his main place of abiding. And so he tells him, go to your
39:58
home. And Ahab listens.
40:02
But we're not done here with a miracle or the theme of
40:06
miracles. Rather look at verse 46.
40:11
And at the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he gathered up
40:13
his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
40:16
That's how the chapter ends. So Ahab says the rain is here.
40:21
Excuse me. He tells Ahab the rain is here,
40:24
get in your chariot and go to Jezreel.
40:26
And then we're told the hand of the Lord comes upon the prophet.
40:30
And he runs ahead and he beats him to Jezreel.
40:35
Can anybody explain the miracle behind this?
40:38
What's the miracle behind it? In one sentence, What's the
40:44
miracle behind this? The rain didn't stop him.
40:53
That's one. Yeah.
40:55
So this wonderful overflow of rain didn't hinder him.
40:58
The Lord, what the Lord wants. The Lord was on Elijah and what
41:06
was he on him to do exactly to what I feel like people are
41:11
scared to answer. It's not teleportation.
41:14
He ran before the chariot speed. I think that's the general
41:22
commentary of this, right? That this man was able on foot
41:26
to run ahead of a chariot and beat the chariot.
41:32
That's pretty significant, and perhaps that's part of it,
41:35
because this man worked all day, did he not?
41:39
He challenged false prophets. He didn't eat or drink himself,
41:42
at least yet. And with all that he spent, all
41:45
that he gave out praying, seeking the Lord.
41:47
Interesting. Praying is hard work too.
41:49
He was able to be energized by divine power and make his way to
41:52
Jezreel on foot. Is that?
41:56
Although I wonder if that's it. Can I ask you another question?
42:03
Is this the only time where you see a man running before a
42:06
chariot in the Bible? I think people are scared to
42:14
answer still. OK, let me show you one example.
42:17
Go to second Samuel with me in chapter 15.
42:23
I won't just give you one man. Look at Second Samuel chapter 15
42:28
and verse one. After this Absalom got himself a
42:36
chariot and horses and 50 men to run before him.
42:42
And I can show you other examples of others doing the
42:44
same. So Elijah running before a
42:48
chariot is often understood at being a miraculous enablement
42:52
from heaven to outrun horses. But there are other places where
42:59
men run before Chariots. Now you can make the case that
43:02
maybe it was at a different pace.
43:04
Elijah here is out running something that's full throttle
43:07
perhaps. But can I remind you of a
43:10
command in our study of First Samuel?
43:13
In First Samuel, when the prophet told the people what
43:17
they should expect by having a human king, he warns them
43:22
because God was their king and God was going to bring a
43:26
tangible king at the right time. It was a premature request and
43:29
it was in the flesh. They didn't want to be like God.
43:31
They don't want to be according to God's program.
43:33
They wanted to be like the world.
43:34
So Samuel tells him, you want it.
43:37
OK, let me tell you what you're getting yourself into.
43:39
And here's one of the things that they should have expected.
43:42
Look at First Samuel 8 with me. It's worth it.
43:46
First Samuel 8. Look at verse 10.
43:56
So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were
43:59
asking for a king from him. He said, these will be the ways
44:05
of the king who will reign over you.
44:07
He will take your sons and appoint them to his Chariots,
44:10
and to be his horsemen. And to do what?
44:15
And to run before his Chariots. So one of the things that kings
44:21
would demand following this is that they would have some of the
44:24
men of Israel, as an act of service and loyalty to the king,
44:31
run before him as a way of displaying the majesty of that
44:37
king. Look at these men who are
44:39
running before me. It's almost as though it's a
44:41
parade. And these men, in doing so,
44:44
we're doing so in service, in humility, before this king.
44:51
I believe Elijah is doing more than just trying to outrun Ahab.
45:00
I mean, think about it, why is Elijah not just telling Ahab to
45:04
go, but meeting him there? What does that have to do with
45:08
him? Here's a thought that Elijah and
45:14
commanding Ahab to go is also going to follow him, but lead
45:18
the way, running before the chariot, perhaps with the high
45:22
hopes that this man would have some kind of change of heart,
45:25
especially as he is experiencing this rain flowing over him.
45:30
And he's going to now come to the palace and testify before
45:33
Jezebel, maybe with the hopes of a royal repentance.
45:37
Perhaps if that is not necessarily the desire of
45:43
Elijah. What he is doing by running
45:45
before him is pretty clear. Elijah up to this point has been
45:50
very confrontational, very direct, bold, and by running
45:56
before the chariot, what it would communicate to Ahab and
45:58
even onlookers when you connected to First Samuel 811.
46:02
That this Elijah is not personally against a that his
46:08
rebuke, his challenge to the king is not to dishonor his
46:13
authority or his position, but as a prophet to fulfill his role
46:16
as a duty. And so by running ahead of this
46:20
chariot, if First Samuel 811 means what it means that to run
46:23
before his chariot is some kind of a demonstration of loyalty,
46:28
then perhaps Ahab here is trying to communicate.
46:32
I'm not against you, Ahab. I'm against your sin.
46:36
I'm against your idolatry. And I want to show the people
46:39
here that I'm not trying to overthrow you.
46:42
I want to see you saved. I want to see you one over to
46:46
the truth. And, and with all that I have
46:49
done, with all that I have performed, in the end it's for
46:53
you to come back to the Lord and let me show it in this way.
46:57
I'll, I'll run before your chariot.
47:00
Let people see even up to your palace that I'm going to run
47:03
before your chariot. If that is the case, then you
47:09
have a great miracle I play here, one that is greater than
47:14
somebody who is now working with superhuman strength and is
47:17
running on his feet in a way that an older man shouldn't.
47:22
You have the hand of the Lord who comes upon Elijah to do
47:25
what? Perform a great act of humility
47:29
to run before a chariot. Not just any chariot, a chariot
47:34
that is unworthy, a chariot with a man in it that has caused much
47:39
trouble and dishonour to the Lord and his people.
47:42
And yet still you have Elijah willing to after great victory,
47:46
after great showdown to say, OK, Ahab, I'm going to show you and
47:50
others now that I want you to come to the truth.
47:55
And so he does it. You know, there might be people
47:59
in your life that you have great trouble honoring, great trouble
48:03
respecting. Could even be your husband.
48:07
It could be a friend, it could be a sibling.
48:09
It could be somebody from your. I don't it doesn't matter who it
48:11
is. It could be a Christian in the
48:13
church. It could even be elders and you
48:21
are going to be called at times. Actually, we're called all the
48:23
time to humble ourselves and to with the wisdom of God know how
48:29
to navigate between challenging yet respecting, standing against
48:37
yet showing that you're still for them and you want them to
48:40
know the truth and all the scenarios vary.
48:42
The spectrum is very wide and long.
48:46
You know what you're going to need in order to do what Elijah
48:48
did in this time. What was on him to do this?
48:52
The hand of the Lord. You can't do it without God's
48:56
help you. You won't be able to submit
49:01
without God's help. You won't be able to respect and
49:05
be patient and gentle and kind without God's help.
49:07
You won't be able to endure patiently with other believers
49:12
who in the flesh deserve dishonor, disrespect, but in the
49:17
Spirit you know you're a call to hire.
49:18
You can't do it without the hand of the Lord.
49:22
Elijah had the hand of the Lord upon him to run before this
49:25
chariot. I could point to the other
49:28
couple examples where men ran before Chariots and they did not
49:30
have the hand of the Lord upon them.
49:33
There's something more significant here, more personal,
49:36
more real, more relatable, even to you and I.
49:39
But how do I get the hand of the Lord upon me to love and respect
49:44
and honor and care and cherish and submit?
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In some cases, we'll think about what Elijah did before this.
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What was he doing? He was on a mountaintop alone
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with God. And I believe that continuation
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is no accident. There he is with the Lord,
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praying. And not only did God provide
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rain, He provided a power on him to do what we read here at the
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end of this chapter. You know how we're going to end
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this Bible study? Not by saying a quick prayer,
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singing one song, and then leaving, but you're going to ask
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for the Lord. I hope for His hand to be upon
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you so that when you leave here, you're more energized to relate
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to other people in the way Jesus Christ asked of you.
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I can't do without the hand of the Lord, and I'm not going to
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get the hand of the Lord unless I get on my knees before the
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Lord. So maybe you came as Pastor Mark
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opened up. Maybe you came in here a little
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defeated, little deflated. Maybe you argued with your wife
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or husband or your kids on your way here.
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Maybe you dishonored your father, your mother on your way
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here. Maybe you're struggling and
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doing what Elijah was able to do for a person that really didn't
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deserve it. I invite you not just to take
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this truth into treasured in your heart, but to act upon and
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say, Lord, I'm going back to an environment tonight that is very
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difficult and I need your hand on my life.
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I need your hand on my tongue. I need your hand on my temper, I
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need your hand on my reactions. People often want fire, they
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want rain, they want miracles. That's all wonderful, but how
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often do we hear of this miracle in Elijah's life that he was
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able to run before Ahab's chariot with grace and humility?
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Lord, we ask you that you help us, please, to recognize our
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neediness. Thank You that we can pray and
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You can place your hand on our lives, and not just in a general
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way. You can place your hand in an
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area in our life that requires your help, your power, your
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energy, your animation for it to be realized in a way that
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glorifies you and testifies before watching world that we
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are servants of the living God. Lord, tonight we pray that you
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would bring things to mind that we would ask you for, to help us
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do what may even be impossible. And Lord, sometimes, often
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times, what seems to be impossible are the relationships
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that we have to deal with so low.
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We pause now, and we want to respond to this Bible study.
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We're truly seeking you. Help us not be like Ahab after
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hearing a study like this. Be concerned with the flesh.
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Help us respond to these wonderful truths in the way that
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this man of God did so. Lord, even in the silence of
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this moment, we seek your face and we ask, Oh God, that your
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hand would be upon us in Jesus name, Amen.
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Why don't we do that? I'm going to join you.
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I'm going to join you in seeking the Lord and saying Lord, I want
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your hand on my life, yes, to deal with maybe certain people,
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but also your hand on my life to administer more effectively, to
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endure more in prayer, to know how to protect and maintain that
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time alone with you. Let's just make this a time of
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responding to God's voice, his speaking in this past hour,
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shall we? Don't rush out of here.
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Don't waste this moment. Just sit there and focus on the
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Lord and trust that he hears you even now and he will honor your
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request before we close in prayer together, shall we?
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Let's do that and as as a praise team comes and prepares to lead
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us in worship, we're not going to sing right away, but just
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seek the Lord and He will be found.