Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / 1 Kings 22 (Part 2) Bible Study (Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

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1 Kings 22 (Part 2) Bible Study (Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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Let's pray together, shall we? Well, we thank you that we get
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to be here as a family. This hunger for the word, this
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thirst for righteousness, it comes from you.
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And the fact that we get to sit here out of a desire, with joy
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and anticipation, we give you the glory for that because we
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know what we're capable of. We know, some of us know what we
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were like before we were saved and what our appetites were and
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what our longings and passions were.
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But Lord, you changed us. And we pray, Lord, that you
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would continue to change us tonight as we come to these
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concluding verses of this amazing book in your book.
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So, Lord, we ask that you would apprehend every way we're
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thought, every rebellious conviction, anything that would
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grieve the Spirit. We pray that all of that would
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be dealt with by the fire, the water, the sword of Your word.
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We want to know the full power that this word has to give to a
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willing vessel. So we yield to you.
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Now we do ask that in this delivery that there would be
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liberty, that there would be unction, that there would be a
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grace so that Christ would be exalted, and that our hearts
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would be drawn to Him individually and as a as a
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whole. We ask these things in Jesus
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name. Amen.
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Mimi, please, in First Kings chapter 22 and today in our time
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together, we will be covering verse 13 down to verse 28.
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So meet me at verse 13. And if you are a student of the
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Bible, you know this very well, that there are many instances in
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the Scriptures where we catch a glimpse of how our world
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parallels with an unseen realm, a spiritual realm to be exact.
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And based on what the Word of God declares, this spiritual
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realm not only exists, but it interacts with and it influences
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events and people in this physical world.
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And there are staggering examples of this throughout the
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Bible. And one of the strongest samples
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of the supernatural colliding with the natural is here in this
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very chapter. And at times this realm works in
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obvious ways, ways that are undeniable, ways in which we
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with these senses perceive. But one thing is for certain,
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whether we perceive what is happening or not, there is
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always a functioning, there is always an operation that is
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behind the scenes. And the framing of that, the
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window in which we're going to be able to look through to
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perceive that reality is provided here in summary as a
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platform in verse 10. We've touched on this last week,
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but let's look at verse 10 once again.
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We read now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of
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Judah. We're sitting on their Thrones
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arrayed in robes at the threshing floor at the entrance
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of the gate of Samaria. And all the prophets were
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prophesying before them. You and I, with the king of
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Israel and the king of Judah, await the arrival of another
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prophet, a man by the name of Micaiah.
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Micaiah had a special reputation.
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He was known as a true prophet of the Lord and he had a
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tendency of speaking what Ahab did not like to hear, not for
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any other reason other than that he spoke with the Lord, told him
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to speak, and nothing else. And we're going to learn a lot
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of things about this man of God named Makaya, including what you
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just heard at the introduction of this study, that there is an
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unseen realm that is very real and very relevant to our
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day-to-day experience. So let's begin by reading the
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1st 5 verses of this portion of Scripture and then we will do
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what we always do and take time to explore every verse in
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detail. And the messenger who went to
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summon Micaiah said to him, Behold, the words of the
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prophets with one accord are favourable to the king, let your
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word be like the word of one of them and speak favourably.
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But Micaiah said, As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me
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that I will speak. And when he had come to the
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king, the king said to Micaiah, Shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to
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battle, or shall we refrain? And he answered him, Go up and
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triumph, the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.
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But the king said to him, How many times shall I make you
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swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the
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name of the Lord? And he said, I saw all Israel
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scattered on the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd.
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And the Lord said, These have no master.
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Let each return to his home in peace.
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And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell you
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that he would not prophecy good concerning me, but evil?
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Let's stop there. Have you wondered in studying
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this text that when Jehoshaphat inquired about a true prophet of
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the Lord, that Ahab did not bring up Elijah?
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Did that ever cross your mind? Why didn't he include Elijah as
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a possible prophet to bring a true word from the true God?
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I think the best explanation is this, that Ahab can never figure
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out where Elijah was, right? He just arrives unannounced and
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shortly after he disappears for an undisclosed period of time,
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then he arrives again. So Elijah was very difficult to
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locate and that was purposely done.
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So I believe the reason why Ahab brings up Mikaya is because he
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knew exactly where Mikaya was. Where was he?
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Well, you're going to discover in the same study that Mikaya
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was apprehended by Ahab, more likely that he was under house
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arrest and then he would later be put into jail because of his
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unpopular sermon as we're about to study together.
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And so Mikaya was the choice servant to bring a word, a word
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from the Lord. And on his way, after this
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messenger was sent to Mikaya, this unnamed individual attempts
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to persuade Mikaya. Hey, look, you're going to head
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into this atmosphere and there are 400 prophets who are all
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saying the same thing, and you're going to see the king of
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Israel and the king of Judah sitting on their Thrones and
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their splendor. I suggest that you you say what
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these other messengers are saying.
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And we paused on that thought, wondering, is this scene going
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to bend Makaya in another direction?
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Will the pressure of these prophets finally persuade him to
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cave? Will the pomp and the grandeur
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of these kings as they sat there with their their robes sway him?
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And we're going to discover that it's not going to move him an
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inch. You see, the temptation that
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Makaya is facing here is not a unique, it's not a unique
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temptation. It is a temptation that every
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single individual who believes and shares the truth will face
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at one point in their lives with a variety of pressure with it,
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different degrees of intimidation and persecution or
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even persuasion. And this request that this one
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individual makes to Makaya actually ends up becoming a
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national request of the people of Israel in the days of Isaiah.
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I want you to see it in Isaiah chapter 30 and look here at
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verse nine of Isaiah 30. They're going to be a lot of
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jumping around here with different references.
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I couldn't help it just to see how the Bible complements every
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passage is so moving to me and so I want you to see it with me
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and Isaiah 30 is one place in verse nine.
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Look at the Holy Spirit says about that particular
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generation. Are you there with me?
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Good. For they are a rebellious
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people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the
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instruction of the Lord, who say to the seers.
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Seers is another word for prophets do not see, and who say
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to the prophets do not prophesied to us what is right?
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Speak to us. Smooth things, prophecy,
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illusions. Leave the way, turn aside from
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the path. Let us here know more about the
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Holy One of Israel. There's so many things to draw
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out of this devastating commentary.
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The 1st is what caught my attention is how the Prophet by
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the Spirit identifies this generation as lying children.
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What are they lying about? I believe the context tells us
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exactly what they're lying about, That they claim to
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acknowledge God, but they refuse to know Him and to understand
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Him the way he desires to be understood.
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They claim allegiance, but they refuse to apply how he presents
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himself in his true form. And it's complete character.
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They're liars because notice here that their protest is not
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that they didn't want to hear from the prophets at all.
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Is that what they said? Look here again at verse 10, who
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say to the seers do not see, and to the prophets do not Prophecy
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doesn't stop there. Do not prophecy to us what is
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right. So the issue here is not with
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preaching, it's what's being preached.
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It's not the fact that there's a presence of a messenger.
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It's the message, it's the content, and that is why they
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requested for a specific subject matter to be omitted from the
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prophets message. What is it?
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Do not tell us any more about the Holy One of Israel.
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Even up to this point, God has identified Himself and
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manifested himself in many ways as a Father, as a savior,
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Redeemer, rock provider, miracle worker, so many ways.
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But there is one particular message that these people did
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not want to hear about. And I say it's the same message
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that people don't want to hear about today, the holiness of
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God. The holiness of God.
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We don't want to hear about how He is transcendent and different
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and pure. We don't want to hear it.
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We don't want our sin to be exposed in light of His
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character being expounded and declared.
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We don't want to hear, in other words, don't disturb our
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consciences, speak to us smooth things.
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You know, there are entire ministries who operate under
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that philosophy that we just want to give smooth things and
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let people leave here coddled and and encouraged purely and
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not even a true encouragement. And this is what they're asking
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for. Give that to us.
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That's what we want in this menu.
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That's what we want from these profits.
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Has the demand change in 2024? It hasn't.
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You know this passage very well. In Second Timothy 4 three where
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Paul prophecies, he tells Timothy was a pastor.
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There is coming a time, Timothy where a people will not endure
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sound teaching. That that tells me something
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that at one point they were able to endure it.
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At one point they were listening to it, but they'll come to a
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point where they can no longer endure it.
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Enough is enough. And what would they do as a
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result of that? They themselves will accumulate
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teachers to suit their own passions.
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You know, people know this verse, but they misinterpreted.
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Generally, people tend to think that what Paul's saying here is
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that there's coming a time where prophets will arise, false
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prophets, and they will persuade people away from the truth into
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myths. That's not what Paul is talking
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about. Paul is not pointing the finger
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at wolves on platforms who are going to deceive the masses.
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He's actually condemning a people who out of their desire,
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out of their wanting to be deceived, further encouraging
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false prophets to arise. They will ask for these.
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Have you ever watched something, a ministry that you know is
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questionable, it's heretical, and you think, how are so many
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people in attendance? Why is there an audience?
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And we would think, oh, because they're naive and because of the
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the charisma and the false promises and the false signs and
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wonders. That's why.
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Not always the case. Paul indicates that, yes, in
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other places, some are duped because of their naivety, but
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others are there because they want to be there.
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They want that. They want exactly what's being
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preached. Though it's false, it caters to
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exactly what they desire. And so as much as the Bible
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condemns false teachers, the Bible also condemns a people who
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make false teachers successful. Who are these false preachers?
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If they didn't have an audience? The only reason why they get the
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continuous people still send their money, they still sit in
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those meetings, they still support them in various ways.
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And Paul speaks about a time where people will make a demand
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to be cemented in their deception, and there is no
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shortage of people who will help make that possible.
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We come back here and we realize that Makaya was not one who
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would bend to any demand that calls for doctrinal dilution.
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I mean, with all the disappointment in the Book of
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Kings, this man is exhilarating and he's refreshing, is he not?
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Here's this individual telling him, listen, just just say what
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they have to say. And he goes, I'm only going to
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say what God tells me to say. And the integrity of this
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individual, I believe, is expounded upon by Paul and his
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teachings. There is a particular place in
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an epistle where Paul tells us the motives that a man of God
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will reject in his ministry in order to be effective and
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pleasing to God and truly fruitful to those who would
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benefit under his ministry. And in three sequential verses,
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you have 3 motives that Paul spells out.
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That a true leader in the church, a true man of God, will
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denounce, will fight, will resist, will reject.
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And though the context applies to preaching and preachers, it
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can be applied by any of us who serve the Lord in any capacity.
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Would you like to know the three motives that a man of God will
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reject as he stands in integrity before God and God's people?
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It's in First Thessalonians chapter 21 is found in verse
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four and other is found in verse five, and the other is found in
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verse six. And what's interesting is that
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following that, Paul speaks in the positive and he says these
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these are the qualities that a man of God will adopt, but we
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don't have time to go into the positive.
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Let's just deal with the negative.
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What will, like Micaiah, a true servant of God, reject and his
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faithful service to the Lord? Let's read beginning in verse 4.
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But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted
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with the gospel, so we speak not to please man, but to please God
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who tests our hearts. That's the first thing.
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The first motive that a man of God will reject is the ambition
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to please man. And what Paul is speaking about
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here is an all out absorption, a priority to satisfy the wishes
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of others at any cost, even at the expense of disappointing
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God. But a true man of God will have
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the goal of satisfying God's heart.
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Ultimately, that's going to be his drive and what he prepares
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to speak and how he deals with God's people, how he manages the
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resources of the ministry, how he lives with his family
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privately before the unbelieving world.
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What drives him in the morning, The energy of his soul is I want
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to please my God, even if it means I'm going to drive other
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people away. As a result, he will know total
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contentment in that. That will be where he finds his
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true pleasure in the decision that he makes and whatever he
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accomplishes, he knows that this brought true delight to God.
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Whether people smile as a as a result of that or whether they
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frown is no concern to the true servant of the Lord.
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That doesn't that doesn't influence him because he's
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absolutely intoxicated by this one goal and that is making sure
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that his God and his will was made true.
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That's not the only thing. Look at the second thing, verse
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5. For we never came with words of
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flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed.
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So the first thing that a man of God will reject and maintaining
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the integrity of his ministry is he's not going to please man as
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his ambition. The second thing is that he will
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not use ministry as a means to become wealthy.
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He will not have this aspiration to become rich through his
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ministry. Notice that flattery is
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mentioned in the same breath, right?
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He speaks about not using words of flattery, and then he talks
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about not coming with the pretext for greed, indicating
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that there are some who put on a mask of kindness, who will lace
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their words with unusual encouragement and uplifting
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comments as a deceptive tactic to gain some support from others
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on an individual basis, in simple conversation and even
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from a public stance where they they preach in a manner in which
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they know that they will win more support, they will win more
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financial support more specifically.
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And a true man of God listen to this very carefully when he
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enrolls in ministry and when he endures the ministry, his
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ambition is not money, it's not promotion, it's not a salary,
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it's not royalty fees. It's none of that.
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It's the salvation of souls and the glory of God.
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That's what he's consumed by. And a true man of God, at the
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same time as he surrenders in his service to the Lord, will be
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completely at rest and trusting in God's providential provision
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for him. I could testify on a personal
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basis, God has taken care of me all these years.
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God has taken care of me and I've seen Him taking care of so
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many others. And it's true for you whether
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you're in full time ministry or not, is it not?
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But this is specifically about those who fall into the
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temptation of catering to the donors in the church, especially
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the bigger donors, or to his salary to try to impress the
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board. He will never allow such
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influences to alter his allegiance to the Word of God.
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Never. If he's if he's going to speak
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somewhere, he's never going to allow the amount of an
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honorarium, whether that is even given in the 1st place, to
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determine the degree of his sacrifice as he serves.
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In that context, money doesn't move a man of God.
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It doesn't. If it's there, it's there.
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If it's not there, it's not there.
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What consumes him are eternal things.
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And the greatest men of God, the men of God who have been free
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from scandal and who had the greatest empowerment of God upon
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their ministries, were those who knew how to have appropriate
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understanding and relations with this thing called money.
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That's not the only thing that a man of God will reject in order
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to maintain the integrity of His ministry to be effective for God
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and fruitful for God's people. Look at verse six.
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Nor did we seek glory from people, echoing what He says in
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verse 4. But there's something else here,
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whether from you or from others. Though we could have made
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demands as apostles of Christ. So where Bible study?
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I have every right to ask these questions.
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What is the first thing that a man of God will reject as he
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serves the Lord in order to maintain the integrity of his
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ministry? He will not seek to please man.
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What's the second thing? He will not use his ministry or
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his gifts to satisfy his greed. He will not allow the aspiration
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to become wealthier to influence his service to the Lord.
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And the third thing is this. A man of God will reject
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leveraging his authority to make burdensome demands on the people
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that he is called to serve. In other words, a man of God
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will reject the lust for power, the lust for power.
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And it's a very real lust. You think the lust for money is,
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is a real temptation for ministers.
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No, power is up there. Power is up there.
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And, and there are some who, when they are entrusted with the
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gospel, they taste the respect that they get from people.
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They begin to realize the admiration that comes just by
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virtue of their position, and they now manipulate others
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through it. And some do so through spiritual
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abuse, some by guilt tripping. But the real way that a servant
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of God will encourage people in any direction is through
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humility, is through humility. I can't help about one instance
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where Paul spoke to an individual named Philemon.
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Philemon had a servant named Anusimus.
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An SMS escaped him, he hurt Philemon.
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He became a believer under Paul's preaching and Paul's
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writing to Philemon encouraging him to receive his servant
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again. And he says this in Philemon
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verse eight. There are no chapters in verse
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8:00 and 9:00. This just echoes Paul's attitude
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and what he says here in First Thessalonians 26.
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This isn't, this isn't part of the Bible study, but it came to
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mind. And Philemon verse 8, I want you
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to see what he says to this man. If it's not going to come up
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there, then we'll just read it here.
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Accordingly, though, I am bold enough in Christ to command you
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to do what is required. You see what he's saying there.
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As an apostle, I can write to you with a different tone, and I
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can demand. I can command you to comply with
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my desires, with my leadership. But what does he say instead?
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Look at verse 9. Yet for Love's sake, I prefer to
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appeal to you. I'm not going to twist your arm.
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I'm not going to threaten you. I'm not going to intimidate you,
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but I'm going to appeal to you. Do you see how he lowers
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himself? Do you see that he doesn't
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utilize his authority? I mean, an apostle, one of the
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apostles who would lay the foundation of the church.
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And this is how he is speaking to others.
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I, Paul, an old man. I love that.
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An old man, old man. And he's a prisoner.
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If God makes me an old man, I don't mind having the same
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future as Paul. For the gospel sake.
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You see that? Yeah.
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For Love's sake, I prefer to appeal to you, to appeal to you.
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Remember at the end of there in Corinthians when he, he asked
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Apollos to visit the Corinthian church and Apollo said, I don't
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want to go. And Paul says there at the end
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of the letter, I I didn't force him to go.
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He'll come when he's ready. That's a true leader.
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He's a push and shove. He doesn't stand above.
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He comes down and he serves and he appeals, and he persuades
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with gentleness and humility. But not all ministers operate
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that way. And Paul says we didn't come to
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you in this manner. And he says our demands even
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influence our refusal to request glory from you.
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You know, there are people who, when they're introduced, they
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want all the accolades they want.
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They want just this amazing kind of presentation.
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And Paul, we weren't like that. We didn't.
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We don't want anything from you. We're not fishing for anything.
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We're not moved by your praise or lack of praise.
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We don't care about titles and what you call us and listening
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about what we've accomplished and telling other people about
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it. We do not care.
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My satisfaction is from the Lord alone.
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And we can continue to discuss the positives, but we have to
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come back to our main text so we can finish.
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So we come back to First Kings 22, right?
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And we read here in verse 14 what Makaya says.
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I believe the New Testament expounds on this kind of
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mindset. And Makaya finally arrives,
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verse 15. And when he had come to the
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king, the king said to him, Makaya, shall we go to Ramoth
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Gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?
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And he answered him, go up and triumph.
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The Lord will give it into the hand of the King.
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Do you think Makani is being serious here?
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No, he's being sarcastic. I wonder how he said it.
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This is one of the places where I wish there was an audio
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version of it. The original audio.
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How did he say it? I wonder if it was like go up
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and triumph. The Lord will give it to the
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hand of the king. However, he said it Ahab and had
26:16
enough sense to realize that he wasn't meaning what he was
26:19
saying because of his response. He says, but the king said to
26:22
him, how many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me?
26:26
Nothing but the truth and the name of the Lord?
26:28
How many times? You know what that indicates?
26:30
This isn't the first time Makai has spoken to the king in this
26:32
way. So already we have an idea of
26:35
his personality. He has a humorous personality.
26:38
So Makai has pulled this stunt off before where he's like, I
26:43
know what you want to hear, so let me just tell you what you
26:45
want to hear and he just cuts him off.
26:47
There he goes. How many times do we got to tell
26:49
you? Now look at this.
26:51
Whatever you feel about Micaiah's strategy here, it
26:54
exposes something about Ahab and Ahab's answer.
26:59
He indirectly confesses something terrible about
27:02
himself, right? Because he says, how many times
27:06
shall I make you swear you speak to me?
27:08
Nothing but the truth. This is why we have to read our
27:12
Bible slowly. Do you see what he's saying
27:14
here? I'm asking you to speak to me
27:18
the truth in the name of the Lord.
27:23
So let's step back here. Micaiah initially echoes what
27:27
the 400 false prophets said, And they all said go up to battle in
27:31
Ramoth Gilead. When Ahab hears it, he rejects
27:36
it and he says, I'm asking you to speak the truth to me,
27:39
Micaiah. So what's the equation?
27:44
Based on this demand, he is obviously implying that what the
27:47
false prophets are saying was false, right?
27:52
Which tells me that Ahab knew it was false and he still wanted to
27:57
abide by what was false. Some people are naive,
28:04
unlearned, simple, and they get deceived.
28:08
Other people are deceived because they want to be
28:11
deceived. I know that's hard for you to
28:13
imagine, but it's it's not it's not.
28:16
You see instances of it in the Scriptures.
28:18
And it's only become going to become increasingly true as we
28:20
approach the culmination of the age.
28:24
And if you doubt that this is how Ahab is thinking, Scroll
28:26
down to verse 30 very quickly. And this is when him and
28:30
Jehoshaphat and the armies of Israel are ready to go to
28:33
battle. And notice what King Ahab says
28:36
to Jehoshaphat. And we'll explore this next
28:38
week. And the king of Israel said to
28:40
Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and go into battle.
28:44
But you wear your robes. And the king of Israel disguised
28:48
himself and went into battle. What a snake.
28:53
So you dress up as a king, Joe Osifat?
28:56
I'm going to dress up as a soldier.
28:57
So I'm camouflage more. And if they're obviously going
29:00
to be looking for the king, it'll be harder to find me.
29:04
Now, why would you do this unless something about what
29:07
Makaya said resonated with you down deep inside, you knew that
29:12
there was something true about Micaiah's prophecy, as we're
29:15
about to read in a moment here, essentially where he says if you
29:17
go to battle, you're going to die.
29:20
So Ahab and his pride still goes into Ramoth Gilead, but he feels
29:26
as though I got, I got to do something to make sure that what
29:29
the Lord said about my faith will not come to pass.
29:31
So you're essentially admitting that it's true.
29:34
It's true. There are many who are in their
29:40
sin. There are many who are also in
29:44
false beliefs, and they know it. And for a variety of reasons,
29:49
whether that be pride, whether that be persecution, whether
29:53
that be pleasure, they are willing to stay in that sin.
29:58
They are willing to remain in that false belief even if it
30:02
kills them, even if it kills them.
30:08
And so don't look at Ahab as just a unique case, as an
30:10
anomaly. No millions are thinking the
30:12
same way Ahab is thinking. So he says speak to me the
30:19
truth. You want the truth, Ahab, you're
30:20
going to get the truth. Look what he says in verse 17,
30:24
Makaya and he said I saw all Israel scattered on the
30:30
mountains as sheep that have no shepherd.
30:33
Does that sound familiar to you? Should I saw Israel, all Israel,
30:39
scattered on the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd?
30:42
And the Lord said these have no master.
30:44
Let each return to his home in peace, pawns.
30:49
Micaiah now switches from sarcasm to seriousness, and he's
30:53
going to answer Ahab's request for truth by giving two visions.
30:59
The first one is what we just read here.
31:00
The next one is going to explain the reason for why this parable
31:05
is going to be fulfilled. And the parable is very obvious,
31:09
is it not? He says.
31:10
I see the people scattered like sheep without a shepherd,
31:14
without a leader. And Ahab was smart enough to
31:20
understand what Makai was trying to convey.
31:23
Israel will be scattered, though.
31:25
They're going to be OK though, right?
31:26
Because they're going to be able to go home in peace.
31:29
Israel will be scattered, but they will have no master.
31:34
So what's the code? Why will they have no master?
31:40
Why will they have no leader? Because he's going to die.
31:44
He's going to be removed from the scene.
31:47
And that's why I right after this he goes, see, then I tell
31:49
you, George about this guy doesn't say anything nice about
31:51
me. So he understood what he was
31:53
saying here. And we find similar language
31:57
being used about the condition of the nation of Israel during
32:00
the days of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.
32:04
It's found in Matthew 936. If you write down these
32:06
references, but let me just read it to you to remind you.
32:11
Says here in Matthew 936, when he saw the crowds, he had
32:15
compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless like
32:21
sheep without a shepherd. Just as Ahab's death would
32:27
create an instability for the people of Israel, the spiritual
32:32
deadness of the religious leaders in Jesus Day would have
32:36
clear consequences and a significant impact on the people
32:40
as well. What's more dangerous?
32:44
What's more dangerous when you have weak politicians who leave
32:49
the people vulnerable in the natural or when you have
32:53
spiritually dead leaders who endanger the souls of people?
32:57
I hope you know the right answer.
33:01
And I I argue that a nation is in greater peril not when they
33:04
have inadequate people in the White House, but when you have
33:09
inadequate leaders in God's house, when you have hirelings
33:16
instead of true shepherds. Because whatever is happening in
33:19
this election year, in the future elections to come only
33:22
deals with this life and this life alone.
33:27
What happens with the truth being heralded and explained or
33:30
lack thereof deals with your eternity.
33:36
So like sheep without a shepherd.
33:37
In the context of of First Kings 22, though there is an element
33:40
of spirituality there because they were a theocracy mainly
33:43
speaks about a king being removed and now the people
33:45
feeling the obvious consequences of that.
33:48
When Jesus saw the people the the nation of Israel, his heart
33:52
was moved with compassion because they had no spiritual
33:55
leadership or guidance. And that has far greater
33:58
ramifications than if you don't have somebody at all in or as
34:04
the commander in chief. I don't want my heart to be less
34:10
stirred about what's happening in the spiritual aspect of this
34:14
nation than what's happening in the political world.
34:19
Micaiah gives us first parable. He says, look, you're, you're
34:23
going to be out of here very soon.
34:25
And how does he answer? Look at verse 18.
34:27
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, did I not tell you
34:30
that he would not prophesied good concerning me about evil?
34:33
Well, you asked for it. You asked for the truth.
34:35
Are you willing to receive the truth no matter how it makes you
34:38
feel? Now there are some people who
34:43
say, I want biblical exposition. I want verse by verse.
34:47
And then when that Sunday comes along where they speak about
34:51
something that affects you personally, then then you're
34:53
upset, right? If you're if you're going to
34:59
want the truth, you have to take the whole truth.
35:03
But now he comes to his second vision.
35:07
And this is not a parable. This is a real event that's
35:11
going to explain why what's about to happen is going to
35:15
happen. Let's read it in its entirety
35:17
from verse 18 or 19 rather down to 23.
35:21
And Micaiah said, Therefore hear the word of the Lord.
35:25
I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of
35:29
heaven standing beside him, on his right hand, and on his left.
35:34
And the Lord said, Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up
35:39
and fall at Ramoth Gilead? And one said one thing, and
35:43
another said another. Then a spirit came forward and
35:47
stood before the Lord, saying, I will entice him.
35:51
And the Lord said to him, By what means?
35:54
And he said, I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth
35:58
of all his prophets. Notice that he's saying all his
36:01
prophets, they're not God's prophets.
36:05
And he said, you are to entice him, and you shall succeed.
36:09
Go out and do so. Now therefore, behold, the Lord
36:13
has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your
36:18
prophets. They're not my prophets, your
36:22
prophets. The Lord has declared disaster
36:26
for you. There are many ways to go about
36:30
this very staggering picture, this vision.
36:36
I want to approach it by providing for vital
36:39
observations. For vital observations.
36:42
There are many others, but I want to just present for, for
36:44
the sake of time, the first thing that you and I can take.
36:48
First truth that we can take from this passage is obvious.
36:51
It speaks about the sovereignty of God.
36:54
So here's Micaiah, right? And he's standing before 2 kings
36:58
sitting in their portable Thrones at the gate at Samaria.
37:03
And the first thing that he says here in verse 19, I saw the Lord
37:06
sitting on his throne. I'm speaking to you, but I'm
37:11
telling you that I appealed to and I saw a throne greater than
37:16
yours. The one sitting on that throne
37:20
is greater. The throne itself is greater.
37:23
And so right away he makes this call and He reminds these two
37:26
kings that there is one who sits above them, and there is one who
37:30
demands and governs whether they agree or not.
37:35
I'm reminded of Isaiah 6. What happened in Isaiah 6, the
37:38
year that King Uzziah died? Isaiah has a vision of one who
37:43
is sitting upon the throne, and he is high and lifted up.
37:47
And he had that vision in the Revelation of what when King
37:50
Uzziah was brought down, when he was removed from the throne.
37:53
And that's a picture of God being in control.
37:56
Even when leaders that we depend on fall, he's still in control,
38:02
but now Makaya, Not Isaiah, but Makaya.
38:05
He sees the same Lord on the same throne, but in a different
38:08
context. Not when Thrones were vacant,
38:11
but when evil, incompetent, compromising kings were ruling.
38:16
And as much as God was in control when there was no one on
38:19
the throne, God is just as much in control when people who
38:23
shouldn't be on the throne are on the throne.
38:27
He's sovereign all the way through.
38:29
He's sovereign all the way through.
38:31
When leaders are living the way they should be living.
38:33
When they're not, or when there are no leaders, He's still on
38:35
his throne. So the first vision, the first
38:38
thing from this vision is the truth of God's sovereignty.
38:41
But that's not the only thing. Secondly, we learn about the
38:45
wide range of Gods resources and instruments and executing his
38:51
will. So Makaya has this vision of
38:55
what really heavenly counsel he walked into this heavenly board
39:00
meeting, so to speak. And interestingly, he, he sees
39:05
the Lord on his throne and he sees a vast amount of angelic
39:07
beings on his right and a vast amount of angelic beings to his
39:11
left. And he wants to summon an agent
39:16
to be the means of judgement against Ahab.
39:21
So he asked who will do it? And some are talking and there's
39:24
conversation happening. Finally, one spirit, we're told,
39:27
approaches the throne and he says, I'll entice him.
39:31
And the Lord says by what means I'll, I'll be a, a lying spirit.
39:36
He was a lying spirit. But I, I will put these lies in
39:39
the mouths of His prophets, and they will convince him to his
39:41
own demise. What do we make of this?
39:48
Here's what we make of it. First things first, this is not
39:51
the Lord, and this would be a terrible way to apply this text.
39:54
This is not the Lord showing that He requires the counsel of
39:58
others, even if they're supernatural creatures.
40:02
Why? Because the Bible testifies
40:03
otherwise. This is the reference that came
40:05
to mind when I was reading this. If anybody would try to use this
40:08
as ammunition against the omniscience of God, they don't
40:10
know their Bibles because in Isaiah 40 verse 13 and 14,
40:15
here's what the Spirit says about the Spirit of the Lord.
40:18
Who is God? Who has measured?
40:21
He's who has measured the Spirit of the Lord?
40:23
Who or what man shows him his counsel?
40:26
Isaiah 40 verse 14, Whom did he consult and who made him
40:31
understand? Who taught him the path of
40:33
justice and taught him knowledge and showed him the way of
40:35
understanding? Answer No one, no one, no one
40:40
can tell God something that he doesn't know.
40:42
Nobody can give God instruction. He knows everything.
40:45
He knows how to do everything perfectly.
40:48
And so the idea that God is there in heaven because he's
40:51
missing some information or he feels like he doesn't know how
40:53
to deal with this AHAB issue, it's totally wrong.
40:56
It's erroneous. It's crazy.
41:00
Instead, what you do see here is that God, as the Lofty One, is
41:05
sovereign and supreme over all things seen and unseen, holy
41:11
angels and demons, because these are not all holy angels in His
41:16
presence. You understand that, right?
41:20
You have a mixed attendance. You have some who are holy
41:24
creatures and you have some who are evil.
41:27
And that kind of baffles people's imaginations because
41:30
they think, how can evil beings be in the presence of God?
41:32
Tell me a book where that's that happened.
41:35
Exactly, Job. And that is continually going to
41:40
be the case where you have Satan and his minions access to the
41:44
throne until you read the Book of Revelation where they're
41:46
going to be cast to the earth and they're going to know that
41:48
their time is short. And so his venom is only going
41:51
to intensify before we come to the return of Christ.
41:56
So you have this demonic being saying, I will be a lying spirit
41:59
in the mouth of his prophets. And the Lord, not the author of
42:04
sin, the Lord, not the author of evil, will often allow evil to
42:11
be a means to a righteous end. And so he permits it.
42:17
And if you think this is the only time that God will do
42:20
something like this, there is coming a time that Paul
42:24
prophesied about in another place, when the Antichrist will
42:27
come and the masses will be deceived.
42:31
And you think people are deceived now you have no idea
42:37
the confusion and the spiritual anarchy that's coming.
42:42
Why? Can I tell you why?
42:44
Because Paul said in 2nd Thessalonians 211.
42:48
Therefore God, God sends them a strong delusion.
42:56
Who permits the strong delusion? God.
43:00
Is God a deceiver? No God.
43:03
God is pure, He's light, He's holy.
43:06
That's what you have to interpret the Bible carefully.
43:08
God will send him a strong delusion so that they may
43:11
believe what is false. Why would God do that?
43:13
Does he want all men to be saved?
43:15
He does all want all men to be saved.
43:16
But there's a reason why. In order that all may be
43:19
condemned who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure and
43:22
unrighteousness. So this is God's response to a
43:28
continual hardening against the truth, where what they
43:34
ultimately desire will be given by God as an act of vengeance
43:39
and judgement. Which is the third observation
43:42
of our passage in First Kings 22.
43:44
The first one being God's sovereignty, the second one
43:46
being the vast way, the wide spectrum of God's sovereign will
43:51
being executed on the earth. But thirdly, God will give men
43:55
what they want. Is this the first time that God
44:00
is dealing with Ahab? No.
44:02
We've studied week after week after week of how much Ahab
44:05
witnessed the manifestations of God's goodness, His power
44:09
proving himself over and over. I'm the truth.
44:11
Your beliefs and your behavior are way off, Ahab.
44:14
And Ahab continually stiffened his neck and refused to
44:17
surrender to the Lord. And we discovered about Ahab
44:20
that by his own admission, what these false prophets are saying
44:24
was untrue, and he's still willing to believe them.
44:26
So God says you want to be deceived, Here's some more
44:29
deception. You want to reject me over and
44:32
over again. You want to refuse to repent,
44:35
though my light has shone favorably upon you time after
44:38
time after time. If you want to live in a lie, if
44:40
you want to still live in that place of darkness, then here you
44:43
go. What this teaches us is that God
44:46
will eventually give men over to their desires.
44:49
And that's not a gracious thing, that's an act of judgment.
44:55
And that's in part why church discipline is church discipline
45:01
the way it is, that if a person is unrepentant in the church and
45:04
they want to remain in that state, though they've been
45:06
approached by 1 believer, then a set of believers, then the
45:09
church, what does Jesus say? If they don't want to embrace
45:13
the law of the Kingdom of God, then let him go into the domain
45:16
of darkness and let them see what it's like to be in that
45:20
domain of darkness. Ultimately for them to repent.
45:22
And unfortunately, some people don't repent.
45:25
So it's, it's his law in the way God works with man that he is
45:29
intensely gracious and merciful and he persuades and he pulls
45:32
and sometimes he moves in power. But when you continue to say no,
45:36
no, no, OK, if you don't want me, here's your alternative
45:41
option. If you don't want truth, here's
45:44
lies. If you don't want holiness,
45:46
here's unholiness. That's why when you read the
45:50
Book of Revelation, near the end, he says, let him who is
45:53
filthy still be filthy. Have you ever read that verse?
45:58
Let him who is holy remain holy as though at the end of the
46:02
book, at the end of describing the end of all things.
46:05
If a man has been exposed to all those things and still wants to
46:08
be in sin, OK, then stay in sin, stay in unrighteousness.
46:14
But the 4th and final point of this passage that I want to draw
46:17
for you and I is that God is merciful.
46:21
How would you, how would you explain God's mercy in this
46:25
proclamation of judgement against Ahab?
46:28
Any idea he's still alive? He's still alive.
46:35
Sure, He warned him. He's telling him what's about to
46:43
happen. He's he's telling him.
46:47
I had a vision of the Lord. These are the false prophets.
46:50
There's a demon operating through them.
46:52
Like Ahab is hearing this and they're going to convince you to
46:56
your own detriment, Ahab. So Ahab is Ahab is receiving one
47:00
final appeal from God. Don't miss that.
47:05
The Lord could have executed this plan without Ahab's
47:07
knowledge. But instead he pulls away the
47:09
curtain and he says, I'm showing you what this is really about.
47:12
I'm letting you know that your fate has been sealed.
47:14
But will this move you in any way, Ahab?
47:18
Like imagine of a true prophet coming to you saying this
47:22
afternoon, you're going to die because of your sins.
47:24
You love lies. So God's going to give you over
47:26
to a lie that will actually kill you.
47:29
If that's being conveyed to you, that's that's meant to stir you,
47:33
surely. So what?
47:36
What's Ahab going to do? How is he going to respond?
47:41
Because as much as you see the Lord seated on his transcendent
47:44
throne, governing both the scene and the unseen, you also see a
47:48
God of immense grace communicating to Ahab even in
47:52
this extending mercy. Because God, God gets more
47:58
pleasure in extending mercy than than thundering his judgement.
48:04
You would think like you're almost like exhausted with Ahab.
48:07
I am. At least it's it's Ahab and
48:11
Saul. Those two are still on the top
48:12
of my list of guys that just they take my breath away, not in
48:17
a good way. So you think, OK, after this,
48:21
after this vision is wrapped up, Ahab's going to fall to his
48:25
knees. He's going to rip his robe.
48:27
He's going to cry out to God. No, look at verse 24.
48:31
Then Zedekiah the son of Canaan came near and struck Makaya on
48:36
the cheek and said, how did the spirit of the Lord go from me to
48:41
speak to you? And Makaya said, behold, you
48:46
shall see on that day when you go in in a inner chamber and to
48:49
hide yourself. So that's what he tells
48:51
Zedekiah. So imagine like you, you just
48:53
share what the Lord told you to speak.
48:56
And somebody gets out of the Pew and they extend their arms and
48:59
you think they're going to give you a hug and instead they slap
49:01
you in the face and composed. He looks at Zedekiah and he
49:07
goes, You're going to realize that what I said is true, and
49:10
you're going to find yourself in fetal position in the corner of
49:13
your inner chamber. How does Ahab respond?
49:20
Verse 26 And the king of Israel said, seize Makaya and take him
49:25
back to aiming the governor of the city and to Josh, the King's
49:28
son, and say, thus says the king, put this fellow in prison
49:33
and feed him meager rations of bread and water until I come in
49:39
peace. I can just envision this, this
49:44
last part. And Micaiah said, if you return
49:47
in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.
49:52
And he said here, all you peoples.
49:54
I wonder if he said that while he was being dragged by the
49:58
heels and dust is flying up in the air, but go back again to
50:04
what he originally said to him in verse 26.
50:07
And the king said, seize Micaiah and take him back, take him back
50:14
to him and the governor of the city and to Jewish, the King's
50:16
son. So he came from somewhere.
50:20
So he was obviously apprehended. He was obviously being
50:23
supervised by this administration.
50:26
And he's not telling him only go back.
50:28
He's saying when he goes back, put him in worse conditions and
50:31
make sure he gets meager rations.
50:33
That's going to be his payment for this prophecy.
50:37
Now if that is the case where Makai was already arrested and
50:41
under unpleasant circumstances and he came out because he's
50:45
supposed to give a word to Ahab, that just adds to this man's
50:49
integrity and credibility and character.
50:52
Because on top of the pressure of the false prophets were
50:55
saying go and you will devour, you will win, you will subdue
51:00
and the presence of these kings, you also had the potential
51:04
opportunity of escaping house arrest.
51:10
So it's not just those two things.
51:12
It's not just the prophets and the kings, it's your present
51:14
circumstances where now you have this little window of
51:17
opportunity to just say what they all are saying and to
51:21
reinforce it, even if he doesn't believe you at 1st and
51:24
potentially Ahab would say Micaiah, this is the first time
51:28
that you said something that I like.
51:32
Tell Amon and tell my son to release Micaiah.
51:38
He's free to go. I wonder if that's swirled in
51:41
his mind at any point. But it doesn't influence him one
51:47
bit. None of those.
51:50
The fact that after he gives us prophecy, he says you're
51:53
actually going to go into a real jail and this is what your daily
51:55
diet is going to look like. You would think that somebody
51:59
who receives even a worse sentence would say, did I say
52:04
that was a vision from the Lord? Actually, no, no, no.
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Go up to Rhemoth, Gilead, King Ahab.
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Imagine being in jail for two years and then you have a chance
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to stand before the judge and after what you said is to go to
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jail for 20 years now, now you feel a little bit more.
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It's not just a Sunday school story.
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Feel it. Put yourself in his shoes.
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How is he able to do this? How is he able to endure despite
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all the external, even internal potential struggle?
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How is he able to still with boldness and courage and
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faithfulness, say this is what the Lord said?
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I'm going to stick with it no matter what it costs me.
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Can I tell you what I believe? One major contribution is the
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vision he had. Surely that played something.
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Surely that influenced him as much as it was supposed to
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influence his audience. The Lord sitting upon his
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throne. He's the one who ultimately
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determines the fate of this whole thing.
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He's the one who writes the story, not these kings.
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And that's true for Israel and the people of Israel.
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Surely it's true for me as an individual servant of his.
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Listen, I'm ending here. Your perception of God will
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influence absolutely everything, even how you suffer, how you
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experience the suffering, how you endure the suffering, what
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will make all the differences, how you see the one that you
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serve. This man saw the Lord sitting on
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the throne. And so when more punishment was
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granted to him, it didn't push him, didn't pull him.
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He was exactly where he was when this thing all started.
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And so the way to end this Bible study is to ask the Lord to
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sharpen our perception of Him for that to really have an
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impact and not to give you a greater chance at winning Bible
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trivia to actually have it move your soul to the point where
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when you're visited by persecution problems,
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prosperity, even I serve God doesn't move me.
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All for men and even woman of God like that in this day.
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In the same way Makaya was refreshing to us.
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We need great refreshment in this time and hour.
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That's going to ultimately derive from servants of God who
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say what the Lord says. That's what I'm going to do.
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Whether it comes with reward or not, whether I feel like it or
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not, it does not make a difference to me.
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Oh, that there would be more of such in this place and beyond.
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Let's pray as you have your head bowed and
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your heart bound, before the Lord can ask you a question, a
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reflective question. What part of the Bible study
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touched you? What part spoke to you?
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Now identify that and then pray it.
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Identify that and then pray it. Pray it to be true of you.
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Pray for it to be not true in you.
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Lord, we ask you tonight that you would make us like this man,
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immovable and steadfast. Lord, perhaps for some of us in
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here, all it takes is the opinion of our fathers, our
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mothers or siblings to make us doubt our faith.
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For others, it's a certain amount of money that will cause
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us to dwindle in our devotion. Lord, for others, humble service
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is unattractive and we want position and power and authority
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because we couldn't get in the world.
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We might take advantage of the church to satisfy our our
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desires or just wash over us. Please cleanse us and make us
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clean, completely clean. Lord, in the same way Paul could
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say, God is my witness, God, who tests our hearts.
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Regardless of what men may say or not say, may you be able to
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look upon us and be pleased. Thank You that your son's
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righteousness is ours. But Lord, we want to live out
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His righteousness. Make it possible for us.
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Finally, Lord, help us see that you are high above all else.
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Help us believe that not just over the affairs of this world,
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the politics, the banks, the education system, the wars
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happening in this very day and hour, though we're asking for
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our own lives. Help us really believe that
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you're got you're governing every single aspect of who we
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are. And for this we rejoice in Jesus
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name, Amen. Amen.
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Let's stand together. Let's worship the Lord Almighty.