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1 Kings 18 (Part 1) Bible Study (Elijah Confronts Ahab) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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First, Kings 18. We're starting in verse one, so
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place your finger there. Lord, we are grateful that we
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have access to the truth. We are so thankful, Lord, that
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we live in a time where we have the full revelation needed for
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us to know how to be saved and how to walk as the saved.
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Well, we pray tonight. Please let this be more than
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just words and thoughts transmitted to our ears.
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Let there be a powerful transmission through the
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energizing work of the Holy Spirit that would bring our
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hearts to greater life and strength and devotion to the
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person of Jesus Christ. We do pray, O Lord, that all men
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would disappear at this time except for the God man, Jesus
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Christ. That we would see Him, we would
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see His wisdom, we would see His love, we would see His power and
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that we would fall deeper in love with Him.
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So Lord, tonight we pray that as the word goes forth and as we
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study together as brains, that we would experience the life
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giving, life sustaining power of your word.
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Please Lord, let this be a powerful time together.
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We can't do it apart from the Holy Spirit.
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And so we petition and plea that this would be a moment where we
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can look back and say God touched me on that Friday night.
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We ask for that. Lord we trust that only you can
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provide that lest this become just a lecture, let's this
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become just the time where we look at some words on on white
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pages. Lord, no, we need your power and
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we look to you and trust that you will provide it because we
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are hungry and thirsty for righteousness.
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We long to know you in a closer way.
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Meet us now as we look at the man Elijah and his story and
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what it is that you've preserved for us to know for our own walk
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with you. In Jesus mighty name we pray.
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Amen. First Kings 18.
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Let's begin in verse one and let's read the 1st 6 verses
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together before we pause and unpack these truths.
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After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third
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year saying, go show yourself to Ahab and I will send rain upon
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the earth. So Elijah went to show himself
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to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in
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Samaria, and Ahab called Obadiah who was over the household.
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Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly.
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And when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah
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took 100 prophets and hid them by 50s in a cave and fed them
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with bread and water. And Ahab said to Obadiah go
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through the land to all the springs of water and to all the
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valleys, perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and
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mules alive and not lose some of the animals.
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So they divided the land between them to pass through it.
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Ahab went in One Direction by himself, and Obadiah went in
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another direction by himself for three years.
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Elijah obeyed the Lord, who instructed him to be removed
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from the public eye, first to remain by the brook and careth,
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and then following that through the concealed care of a widow
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and Zarephath. But after many days we are told
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the one who said in first Kings 17 three depart and hide
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yourself, now says, go show yourself.
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And what we see here by Elijah's example in his connection and
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walk with the Lord is a wonderful illustration of the
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spheres of our obedience to the Lord.
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Meaning our obedience to the Lord looks just like this.
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We are called, like Elijah, to obey God in private, and we are
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called to obey God in public. We are called to obey and honor
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the Lord in seclusion, and we are also called to obey the
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Lord. When everyone's watching,
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whether we have an audience or not, we are called to honor God
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as our supreme goal. And that is precisely what
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Elijah does, without any hesitation.
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When he was called to hide himself, he did not question, He
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did not present reservation. He immediately obeyed.
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And now we see the same attitude When he was called to now make
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an appearance on a nationwide platform, He obeyed with the
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same sincerity and earnestness. And this is important to learn
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and know, because for some, serving God and obscurity,
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serving God while you are hidden is frustrating.
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And it's discouraging because we tend to measure our success or
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our fruitfulness based on the people that we are touching or
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observable measures and metrics. But there are also people who,
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in serving God before a crowd or on a platform, is daunting and
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absolutely undesirable for different reasons.
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Fear of criticism. Fear of failure on a larger
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scale, fear of the temptation of pride creeping in and
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intensifying as they receive more recognition or
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acknowledgement or praise, whether it's hiddenness or
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whether it is publicity. Regardless, you and I must learn
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contentment and confidence in the Lord no matter where He
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calls us, no matter what the setting is.
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Because you know why. The ultimate aim is to please
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him. The ultimate aim is to honor
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him, And this is what Elijah is modeling here.
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For years, no one saw him, and yet he trusted the Lord and he
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allowed God to mold him and to stretch faith from him.
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And now, as he's arriving to a place where it's going to be a
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lot different than it was in the past three years, he's going to
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show the same level of obedience and trust in God.
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So that's what we can learn already from verse one.
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But now we come to verse two and we get a description of how
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severe the famine was in these past few years.
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We're told here now the famine was severe in Samaria.
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The severity of the famine is important to note in connection
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to the appearance of Elijah on the scene.
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Elijah appears when the temperature was just right after
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God initiated and controlled this drought, bringing it to
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this point. This was the right time now for
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Elijah to appear as a prophet, to declare his message and to
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manifest the power of God. Why?
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Because, like this time, devastation deprivation is often
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needed for the spiritual posture of others to take heed to the
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word of the Lord. In other words, it often takes
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severe situations before a people or a person take heed to
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what God has to say. It's unfortunate, but that is
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human nature. And so in a sense, here the Lord
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knowing what was going to take place in the land, sees and
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permits really this to happen. And now, says Elijah, it's time
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to go. The people will be more open to
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hearing what you have to say than when this whole thing
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started. But understanding the severity
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of this famine is also important when we link it to the character
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of another individual in this testimony.
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And that character is Ahab, and we're going to see why.
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The severity of this famine sheds light on just how depraved
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Ahab was as a king and as a person altogether.
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But before we examine Ahab, we are introduced to this
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interesting character. You read his name, Obadiah.
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Obadiah appears now, and there are many Obadiahs in the Bible.
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But this is a unique Obadiah and the first thing that we are told
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about Obadiah is what verse 3 and Ahab called Obadiah who was
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over the household. Over whose household?
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Ahab's. In other words, he was the chief
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manager. He was the administrator, the
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lead administrator over the palace and right there, knowing
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Ahab, knowing what his regime was like, we might have our
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guards up, we might have flags concerning this Obadiah.
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But it's as though the Holy Spirit wants us to swat away any
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suspicions, because in the same verse we are told by the author,
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was ultimately God. What?
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Yes, he was over the household. But look, now Obadiah feared the
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Lord greatly. Look, there are people in the
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Bible who are told fear the Lord, but if you are attributed
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with fearing the Lord greatly, that is worthy of further
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meditation. In fact, there's something
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obviously that the Lord wants us to learn about Obadiah, because
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not just this description, but the dialogue that has been
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preserved between Obadiah and Elijah, There's something that
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God wants you and I to pull out of this man's story, the
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situation that he's in, the things that he says.
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And so we're going to look at that.
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But see, we hear that he He feared the Lord greatly.
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He feared the Lord greatly. And we are told how this
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reverential awe for God manifested through Obadiah's
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life. What did he do?
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Well, he feared the Lord greatly.
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Verse 4. And when Jezebel cut off the
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prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took 100 prophets and hid them
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by 50s in a cave and fed them with bread and water.
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So this Obadiah had these skills, these managerial skills,
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if you will. And he used those skills to
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what, honor God by preserving the lives of a remnant of
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profits and by providing for them regularly.
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Can I remind you that this is more than just a nice gesture?
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This is a life and death occupation.
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This is a major operation. Can you imagine what would have
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happened to Obadiah if Ahab found out that during a famine,
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out of all the people that he was taking care of, it was the
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enemies of Baal? And this is what this man
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endeavored to do. He risked his life.
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And right there, by way of principle, you and I learned
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something about what it means to fear the Lord greatly.
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Here's what it means to pursue and secure honoring God as your
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chief ambition even more than life itself.
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You know there are some people who are hesitant to honor God
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for the fear of potential embarrassment.
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And then you have guys like Obadiah who are willing to honor
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God with the potential price tag of death itself.
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And that's what it means to fear God, where you are willing to
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love him, obey him, worship him, even if in pursuit of that, your
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life is at risk. And so this man had a great love
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for God, a great awe of God. And this is something to keep in
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mind because you have some who are critical of Obadiah.
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There's a lot of debate around this character, like people are
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trying to figure out what kind of label do we give him?
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And what do you think the major criticism is concerning Obadiah?
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Any idea? It's pretty simple, but I'm
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asking, I'm actually asking what do you think it is that would
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cause us to hesitate to believe that he was a man who completely
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feared the Lord? Yes.
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Lying to Ahab? In what way?
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And I know exactly what you're saying, so just confirm that
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this is what you mean by that. How is it that Obadiah can work
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for Ahab? Is that what you're saying?
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Exactly? That is the major criticism that
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Obadiah receives. How is it that with such
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hostility against the true and living God, can you have a man
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who feared the Lord greatly but was able to adapt in the
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atmosphere of Ahab's Kingdom? How is it that you can have a
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man who was tolerated and accepted and even given the
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responsibility to manage the Kingdom if he was a man who
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truly Revere the Lord? And so you have many people who
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think differently about Obadiah. They can't deny the fact that
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we're told by the Spirit of God that he feared the Lord greatly,
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but they're more convinced that there is something compromising
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about him. Now some would say, well look,
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how can you say that about Obadiah when there are other
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instances in the scriptures of people who are working for
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terrible, evil, anti God, governments, administrations and
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we don't give them equal criticism.
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Give me some of the names of the people that we praise who worked
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in similar settings as Obadiah. Tell me, Moses.
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OK, any other ones? Joseph is a strong one.
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Daniel is a strong one. Come on, ladies.
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There's one that you should know.
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Esther. Esther.
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So you have these different figures in the Scripture who
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worked in the political sphere and for some reason we are not
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so quick to give them the same criticism that we give to
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Obadiah. And here's the counter argument.
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What do Daniel, Joseph and Esther have in common?
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There are many things but exactly they were captives.
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They were all captives. So in other words the counter
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argument is they didn't really have a choice.
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They didn't really have a choice in the other argument that you
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can make too about them is that they did not keep their faith
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private, did they? But you can also say this, that
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those kings that they served were not as hostile and
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aggressive against God like Ahab was.
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So Pharaoh respected the fact that Joseph served another God.
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He couldn't deny it. He couldn't deny those dreams of
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those prophecies. He was fine with with Joseph
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doing what he wanted to do with his relationship with the Lord.
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And you think of Daniel and Esther.
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Yes, they were obviously worshipping idols, but whenever
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at any point there was any kind of attack against the truth or a
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call to disobey the true and living God, there was protest,
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were there not. Daniel protested, Esther
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protested. Yes, that's true.
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And so you can see the contention here, You can see the
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difficult and trying to label Obadiah here.
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How? How is it that he was able to
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not just camouflage these prophets, but it seems like he's
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hiding his own witness, Seems like he's adapting and and
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that's concerning. So is he completely right?
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Is he totally wrong? Is he like, a lot?
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Who when you read his account in Genesis, you're like, this guy
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can't be saved. And then you go to Peter and you
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realize he's called righteous three times.
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So he he's, he's a compromising, worldly believer.
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Is that what Obadiah is? So after the service, not now.
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After you guys can debate all the people who are on this side.
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And that's it. You can go out of here.
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OK, but let me give the reasons why I believe Obadiah is more in
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the right than he is in the wrong.
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I believe that there are two internal clues that indicate
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that he should not receive the criticism that he often gets.
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The first indication is the tribute that the scriptures give
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him. He feared the Lord greatly.
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Full stop, plain and simple. The second one is something that
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is often overlooked, and it is Elijah's conversation with
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Obadiah. How Elijah approaches and
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responds to Obadiah when they meet one-on-one, and we're going
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to explore that in a moment. But look quickly at verse 15 and
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get a hint of the final words that Elijah gives to a very
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fearful and hesitant Obadiah to obey the word of the Lord.
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Verse 15. And Elijah said, as the Lord of
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hosts lives before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him
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today. He says that in light of Obadiah
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being afraid that if he goes and tells Ahab, I found Elijah that
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Elijah would have disappeared and Elijah comforts and
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reassures him. Now compare that tone with
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Elijah's words to the nation of Israel when they gathered
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together at Mount Carmel in verse 21.
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Look what he says to them. And Elijah came near to all the
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people and said, how long will you go limping between two
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different opinions. If the Lord is God, follow him,
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but if bail then follow him. You don't you don't get that
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kind of aggression and that rebuke toward Obadiah.
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He he tells it to the people, but he doesn't say it to this
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man. I wonder if Elijah himself
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recognize and honor the fact that Obadiah did fear the Lord.
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Who's to say that Obadiah recognized that in occupying the
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position that he had, he could have done greater service to the
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Lord And protecting these prophets and having insight and
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Intel, knowing their moves and their whereabouts and their
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plans and being able to maneuver this remnant of messengers.
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Who's to say that that's not possible?
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And so based on, I mean, you can disagree with me if you'd like,
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but based on what I see here, I think Obadiah leans more towards
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being in the right and being in error.
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And that's an encouragement to me.
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Because then, if that is the case, and Obadiah teaches us
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something about what it means to fear the Lord, he teaches us
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that it's possible to fear the Lord, greatly despising the
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compromising, spiritually senseless, and even hostile
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environments we find ourselves in.
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Does anybody know what the name Obadiah means?
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Servant of the Lord? You're right.
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And that man lived up to his name.
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Servant of the Lord, showing us that listen, despite the
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Antichrist atmospheres you find yourself in, whether that be
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your workplace, whether that be your home or anywhere else,
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being a living sacrifice unto God is achievable.
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And listen, this man who feared God even teaches us something
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else about how and the depth of how one can fear the Lord.
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Look at verse 12 quickly and notice what he mentions about
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himself in verse 12. The second part in verse 12.
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Look at it quickly. Although I'm looking at the last
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part of verse 12. Although I, your servant, have
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feared the Lord from when? From my youth, so this is a this
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is a plea of sincerity. Obadiah, who the Scripture says,
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objectively fear the Lord greatly, says of himself.
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Look, I fear the Lord since my young days that encouraged me so
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much. You know why?
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Because it gives you, and I hope that our children do not have to
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fit into the common narrative of drifting away from God when they
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become teenagers or young adults.
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They don't have to. They don't have to.
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Obadiah proves to you and I that they can stand in sincere,
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reverential awe of God in their youth.
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We should believe God for that. We should disciple with that
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goal in mind, our children, our siblings.
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We should trust that even in their youth you can have men
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like Obadiah, who have history with God, who have history with
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God. It's almost like people.
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Are expecting that their children who grew up in the
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church, who grew up with the truth are are are are going to
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drift away from God and just brace yourself for impact and
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hope that they come back sooner than later.
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Who says that has to be their story?
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Who says that has to be the case?
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Why don't believe God for more? Why don't believe and trust God
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that they can actually serve him and love him without skipping a
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beat? And let me speak to those who
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grew up in the House of God, who feel as though.
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Let me stop and ask this. When you read a man like Obadiah
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who says, I fear the Lord since my youth, does that encourage
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you? Does that warm your heart?
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Does that move you? Doesn't that inspire you?
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It should. It did to me.
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OK, so why do you discount your testimony because you didn't
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drift from God? Why do you discount your
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testimony? Because you, as long as you can
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remember, love the Lord Jesus, Serve the Lord Jesus.
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You look at your arms and your heart, you look at your mind and
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you say we're I don't have scars from sin that I can show people
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so I can have a more dramatic response to my testimony.
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I'm just a plain old boring Christian that just grew up in
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the church and stayed put and love the Lord and didn't have
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any dramatic roller coaster to my testimony.
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Don't ever discount that testimony.
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The fact that you feared the Lord all those years is a
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testimony. You should praise God for it.
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You should rejoice in it. The same way that you're moved
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by Obadiah being able to say, I fear the Lord, you know some
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people, and I'm excited to hear the testimonies of those who are
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getting baptized this Sunday. I hope not one person in writing
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their testimony feels any hesitation, feels any
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embarrassment, feels as though they can't be as impactful as
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they stand up here and say, you know what I fear the Lord, since
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my youth, and I'm ready to now make a public declaration that I
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want to honor him. Praise God, if your testimony is
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that long, 10 seconds we're going to rejoice just as much as
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the one who came from the mud in the mire.
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So this man fear the Lord. He shows us that it's possible
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to be young and fear the Lord. It shows us that we should
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believe the same for those that we know that are young as well.
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Let's come back to First Kings 18, verse 5.
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And Ahab said to Obadiah, go through the land, to all the
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springs of water and to all the valleys, perhaps we may find
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grass and save the horses and mules alive and not lose some of
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the animals. How bad was this drought?
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You know how bad it was that the king had to get up from his
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throne and look for grass himself?
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That's bad. And so he brings Obadiah on this
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trip with them. And he says, look, we got to
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find something. And we've heard of Ahab before,
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but this is the first time that we read of Ahab speaking.
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And what he says in this passage says a lot about him.
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You can't read quickly through these things.
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You got to pause and and contemplate based on what Ahab
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says in assessing the situation in the land, what does it reveal
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about him? Let me make this even more
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clear. What is Ahab's main concern?
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The animals. The animals.
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So in a crippling famine, the one thing that Ahab is concerned
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about is his horses and mules. So you have a man who is so
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darkened in his heart not only listen, the indication of him
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having horses is what? That as a king he's defying
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God's law for kings that you should not acquire many horses.
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1-2 You are more concerned about beasts than you are about those
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who are created in the image of God.
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That's what this man reveals about himself.
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He's more concerned about his economy.
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He's more concerned about his military might than he is about
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the families and the children and the parents that are
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starving. And more concerning than that is
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the omission of God in this whole plan of action.
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You know what Ahab should have been concerned about?
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Not seeking grass, seeking God. What do we see here?
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Plain ignorance of how what's happening around him, the
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afflictions he and his people are experiencing, is being
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orchestrated by divine intervention.
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He could not interpret that, or he was willing to at least be
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ignorant of that and be content in his ignorance.
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I'm reminded of another time in Israel's Kingdom where there was
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a three-year famine and how the king of that time responded
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completely differently from Ahab.
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Can you think of the king and the time that I'm thinking of?
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If you were here during our study of First and Second
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Samuel, you'll remember I kind of gave it away, did I not?
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There was another time where there was a three-year famine.
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OK, fine. You have to go there, though.
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I'm not going to give you the answer.
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It's in Second Samuel, Chapter 21, and you're going to get your
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answer in verse one. Second Samuel 21, verse one, are
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you there? Here's what it says Now there
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was a famine in the days of David for three years, year
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after year. And David, what did he do?
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Do you think he sought for grass And David sought the face of the
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Lord. And the Lord said there is blood
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guilt on Saul and on his house because he put the Gibeonites to
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death and that that's a fascinating study.
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You can always go back to Second Samuel 21 because we explored
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that in greater detail. But here you have a three-year
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famine. You have a king and notice the
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contrast. You have King Ahab looking for
26:08
grass and you have King David looking for God.
26:14
Here's what we learn from Ahab. Supernatural judgments do not
26:18
automatically promise. Softened hearts do not
26:24
automatically promise spiritual awakening.
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And I think that's a timely word for us in the day that we're
26:33
living in because we are witnessing the collapse of
26:35
Western society. And we hope that with the
26:40
increase of perversion and calamities and disasters and
26:45
evil, something would click and we would stop grasping for
26:50
temporary relief and pause and say we need to seek God.
26:56
And though these judgments that are given by God, these
27:00
permissions were when God and his passive wrath, let's go of
27:04
His preserving grace, are designed to cause us to seek the
27:09
Lord, they don't automatically guarantee it.
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So I want to just throw out a couple references to make that
27:15
case. I think of two passages in one,
27:18
in one book, in Isaiah, in Isaiah, Chapter 9, verse 13, you
27:22
don't have to turn there, but listen.
27:23
You can write this down and look for look for it yourself later.
27:26
Listen to the words of Isaiah 913.
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The people did not turn to him who struck him.
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The people did not turn to him who struck him, nor inquire of
27:39
the Lord of hosts. What was the intent of striking
27:43
the people? That they would turn to the Lord
27:44
of hosts. That they would inquire of him
27:46
like David. Did the prophets repeat this?
27:49
In so many ways? I'm just staying with Isaiah.
27:52
You think of Isaiah 42, verse 25, Isaiah 4225.
27:57
Just listen carefully to these words.
27:59
So he poured on him. Being Israel, He poured on him
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the heat of his anger and the might of battle.
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It set him on fire all around, but he did not understand.
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It burned him up, but he did not take it to heart.
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So it's possible for God to stretch forth his hand and wound
28:24
a person, wound a nation, and they still don't get the hint.
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And they harden themselves in their sin and they remain an
28:33
unbelief and they don't even have an iota of humility to
28:37
pause and say, maybe God is trying to get my attention.
28:40
Maybe God wants to say something to me.
28:44
So what do you have here? In verse five of First Kings 18,
28:47
you have Ahab's pursuit of grass, symbolizing what the
28:51
wicked often do in their pain and misery.
28:54
They go searching for temporary relief.
28:57
See, if he would have found grass, he might have fed his
28:59
mules and his horses for a few days.
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But what was God intending in this?
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That he would, instead of looking for trivial things, he
29:08
could look to the permanent relief in the Redeemer's grace.
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And he doesn't. And it's a shame.
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He's looking for grass when he should be looking for God.
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Let's come back to verse six of first Kings 18.
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So they divided the land between them, that is Ahab and Obadiah
29:27
to pass through it. Ahab went in One Direction by
29:31
himself and Obadiah went in another direction by himself.
29:35
Now look what happens in verse 7.
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And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him, and
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Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, Is it you,
29:48
my Lord, Elijah? And he answered him, It is I go
29:55
tell your Lord, Behold, Elijah is here.
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Now, up to this point, our study of Elijah, we've been inspired
30:06
by this man's obedience, by this man's growth in his faith, that
30:11
even in those years of seclusion, the Lord challenged
30:13
him to not depend upon natural resources, to even believe in
30:18
him. For when a person even dies,
30:19
that God can raise him from the dead.
30:21
Elijah was being taught and trained and prepared, and what I
30:25
find so interesting is that God told Elijah go show yourself to
30:28
who, Obadiah. No, he said, go show yourself to
30:32
who Ahab. Go to Ahab.
30:36
And what's so interesting is that you have Ahab and Obadiah
30:38
splitting ways and going on different paths in different
30:41
directions. And you would think that Elijah
30:45
would have been steered towards Ahab and to meet with him
30:48
directly, right? And he was told, go and show
30:50
yourself to Ahab. But he doesn't.
30:54
Instead, he has to meet with Obadiah.
30:59
And it's going to be through Obadiah's participation that
31:03
Elijah and Ahab are going to have a confrontation.
31:08
Why? Because God is not just
31:12
concerned with prophets. God is equally invested in all
31:17
of His servants, no matter how or where they serve him.
31:23
And so, in the same way God was doing a work in Elijah's heart
31:27
and stretching his faith and hoping that he would graduate
31:31
from glory to glory, God now is showing that he wants to work in
31:35
Obadiah's life to a greater degree.
31:38
He feared the Lord greatly, but now he's giving Obadiah a chance
31:42
to trust him more and to witness more of his power and his might
31:45
and his mercy. And it's going to take a trial.
31:48
It's going to take an invitation to step out on obedience for
31:51
that to take place. And so remember that as a
31:55
beautiful picture here. We also think that God is more
31:58
concerned with those who have mighty ministries, who have
32:00
great, incredible gifts. No, no, no.
32:02
He he's just as concerned with Oba Obadiah than he is with the
32:05
Elijah's, and so he has Elijah meet with Obadiah, and Obadiah
32:13
here is going to be commanded to do something.
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But unfortunately, unlike Elijah who showed who showed quick
32:22
obedience, swift compliance, and submission to the will of God,
32:25
Obadiah is not. Obadiah is going to have some
32:28
reservations. Obadiah is going to hesitate
32:32
greatly to step out in the way that God's going to call him to
32:36
step out. And what I want us to do at this
32:38
portion of our Bible study is to examine 33 reservations that
32:44
Obadiah has in obeying the Lord and get this.
32:48
It applies to common temptations that you and I have when we know
32:52
what God's word says about something and we fail to apply
32:56
it to that certain situation. Are you ready for that?
32:59
Well, let's do it. We come here to verse 8 and I
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want you to look at the first point.
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Verse 9 says, And he said in response to Elijah saying, go
33:11
and tell your Lord Elijah is here.
33:12
Verse 9 And he said, how have I sinned that you would give your
33:19
servant into the hand of Ahab to kill me As the Lord your God
33:24
lives. There is no nation or Kingdom
33:28
where my Lord has not sent to seek you.
33:31
And when they would say he is not here, he would take an oath
33:34
of the Kingdom or nation that they had not found you.
33:38
I before anything, I always want to pause and rejoice in the
33:41
protective care of God. Can you imagine the leader of a
33:45
nation investigating other nations and the kings to try to
33:49
find you? You're talking about an
33:51
international investigation, and God was able to preserve his
33:56
servant Elijah. Listen, when you're walking with
33:59
the Lord, you're a greater advantage.
34:02
And even if the nation's collaborate against you, I hope
34:06
you really believe that. You know what bothers me
34:08
sometimes about how people look at the Old Testament?
34:10
They treat it like Sunday School stories to get children excited
34:15
and to open up their imagination and hopefully their faith in
34:18
God. These are not children's
34:19
stories, and they're not just meant for Sunday School.
34:22
They're meant for you and they're meant for me until we
34:25
see him face to face. So Elijah here was protected.
34:29
But notice what the reasoning is for Obadiah to not step out.
34:35
Here it is. Some people do not obey God #1
34:38
because we wrongly excuse ourselves from certain tasks.
34:43
We wrongly excuse ourselves from certain tasks.
34:46
What do I mean by that? Obadiah felt as though this
34:48
command was more of a punishment than it was an honor.
34:53
And what we see here is that he sought to absolve himself from
34:56
such a dangerous mandate. Seeing that look, I didn't sin
35:02
or do anything to deserve such such a miserable job, and so he
35:09
he almost excuses himself based on his own righteousness.
35:14
Why are you picking me to do this?
35:18
I don't see anything in my history.
35:20
I can't think of anything in my conscience that would that would
35:22
call me to be a candidate for such a thing.
35:27
And so he presents himself as one who is worthy to be excused.
35:32
You know, when God calls us to obey him in certain ways, you
35:36
have some who hesitate #1 because they think they're not
35:40
good enough. That's Moses to lead a nation
35:45
out of captivity, and he gave a catalogue of excuses why he was
35:50
not the man for the job. So you have some who reserve
35:55
their faith and their trust because they feel as though as
35:57
they look at themselves. I don't know if I'm the guy, I
36:00
don't know if I'm the gal for the mission.
36:04
And you have others when it comes to certain tasks and
36:07
obedience who think they're too good and think they should be
36:12
excused. The latter part is more
36:16
relatable than you might think, because again, we look at this
36:20
in a very 1 dimensional way. This is Obadiah asked to stand
36:23
before an unpredictable king, and so he's fearful of even
36:29
mentioning the name Elijah in his presence.
36:31
And we're like, OK, that's that's good.
36:33
No, no, dig deeper and look at the principle.
36:37
You know, there are some people who when called to do something
36:42
by Providence or by invitation, feel as though they're too
36:48
qualified. They feel this surge of self
36:52
righteousness or they overestimate their value and not
36:56
necessarily for dangerous tasks like this.
36:58
But I'm thinking more for humble chores.
37:04
I don't. I don't know if I'm part of the
37:07
praise team. You can't ask me to do that,
37:13
right? A lot of people, and christened
37:15
them today, want to be celebrities, especially in the
37:18
singing world. I'm a preacher.
37:23
I speak before people. You can't ask me to do this.
37:28
And I was meditating on this today and I thought of one of
37:30
the mightiest men of God that the world will ever know.
37:33
Paul and all the mighty things that God did through his words
37:38
and did through his hands. And I and I and my mind went to
37:41
a place in Acts, in Acts 28, where he was abandoned and there
37:45
was shipwrecked on an island called Malta.
37:48
And in Providence God uses Paul to lay hands on someone and it
37:55
brought healing and it brought many hearts to be awakened.
37:59
I want, I want you to hear these words in Acts 28, verse 8.
38:02
Just listen. It says it happened that the
38:04
father of Publius lay sick with fever in the century.
38:08
And Paul visited him and prayed and putting his hands on him
38:13
healed him. He imagined that a major figure
38:18
in a foreign land. And God uses your hands to be
38:21
laid upon him, and for him to be healed miraculously, and for
38:25
that entire neighborhood to hear about it and for that news to
38:30
spread. And I thought about Paul's
38:32
hands, how he was used to do the miraculous, and with those same
38:36
hands in the same chapter. You read Paul doing this.
38:38
Just listen to this. You heard him laying hands on
38:40
the sick and then recovering. You know what he did earlier
38:42
with those same hands. Let me read it to you.
38:44
In Acts 28, verse three, when they came to this island
38:47
initially, when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and
38:52
put them on the fire, a Viper came out because of the heat and
38:56
fastened on his hand. I don't know if that moves you.
39:01
It moves me. The very same hands that God
39:03
used to raise the sick were used to humbly pick up sticks and to
39:08
feed a fire. There are hundreds of other
39:10
people on that beach that day, but Paul saw it necessary to
39:14
just be a servant in that setting, and they just pick up
39:16
sticks and put them in the fire. You know what Paul could have
39:19
said? I'm not sure if I want to damage
39:22
these hands. God's used them to touch many
39:25
people's lives. I wonder if these prisoners and
39:28
these citizens of Malta know who I am.
39:32
Maybe I should let them know. They'll be more eager to feed
39:34
this fire so that I don't come down with a cold.
39:37
And, you know, because God needs me to bring revival to this
39:39
island. Do you think that's how Paul
39:41
thought? Absolutely not.
39:43
Here you have this man without question, still dripping wet,
39:46
skin wrinkly from the ocean water picking up sticks,
39:51
demonstrating humility. And so you have Obadiah here,
39:56
who is hesitant to obey God because he wrongly excused
39:59
himself from this task. And some people do that for many
40:01
reasons. But we have a second reason why
40:04
Obadiah hesitated to obey God. Let's read it together in verse
40:06
11 says here. And now you say, Go tell your
40:15
Lord, Behold, Elijah is here, and as soon as I have gone from
40:20
you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you.
40:23
I know not where. And so when I come and tell Ahab
40:28
and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I, your
40:32
servant, have feared the Lord from my youth.
40:37
So you you see how this man is thinking, right?
40:40
It's faulty, but he's working off something.
40:43
Factoring in how the Lord caused Elijah to vanish and disappear
40:47
for three years, he now has this suspicion that if he goes to
40:52
Ahab and says, look, I found Elijah, the spirit of Lord at
40:56
any moment can just rapture Elijah and cause him to be gone
41:02
for an undisclosed amount of time, putting Obadiah in a
41:05
dangerous position for an unmet expectation.
41:11
And so knowing what Elijah has been doing these past few years,
41:16
namely being hidden, thinks what What makes me think that you're
41:20
not able to do that again? I'm I'm not sure if I'm up for
41:25
that task knowing that at any moment God can pull a trick and
41:28
and I'm more in trouble than anything else here.
41:33
Here's some people and another reason why they are hesitant to
41:38
obey the Lord. Number two, people are hesitant
41:40
to obey the Lord because they assume that obedience will set
41:43
them up for harm more than good. So here you have Obadiah saying
41:50
the Lord is telling me to do this and it's going to rob me,
41:52
it's going to endanger me. And there is a wide spectrum of
41:58
risk when you and I contemplate consecration in a certain
42:01
circumstance. It's not uncommon for believers
42:06
to think of the worst possible outcome when they want to obey
42:09
the Lord or when they're called to obey the Lord, no matter what
42:13
that call of obedience is. So here the Lord is nudging on
42:16
your heart to ask somebody for forgiveness.
42:18
And what goes through your mind? Well, I'm going to look
42:22
vulnerable. I'm going to look weak.
42:23
I'm going to look like I'm in the wrong here.
42:26
They're the ones who should be asking me for forgiveness, not
42:28
me asking them for forgiveness. And here you are called in a
42:33
moment where you can be dishonest.
42:35
And in being dishonest you can preserve a little bit more money
42:39
in your bank account. But if you're honest, you're
42:42
going to have to add a little bit more figures to the report,
42:45
and that's going to cost you more and you're in a very tight
42:47
place. So maybe I can just God will
42:51
understand because if I'm if I'm true to this then it might rob
42:56
me. Or then here you are in a moment
43:01
where you can defend the truth, stand up for righteousness.
43:05
But now all these crashing thoughts come in because if you
43:08
do stand up for this you might come off as a self-righteous,
43:13
out of touch Puritan. Not sure I want to stand out for
43:18
this when everybody else seems to be OK with it, when I know
43:21
the word of God says else elsewhere and otherwise.
43:26
So there are times in those moments where we feel like this
43:29
is. If I do this, I think it's going
43:32
to hurt me more than anything else.
43:34
And in this case, he thought he was going to be killed.
43:37
Listen, you can never go wrong with obeying God.
43:41
Never. You will never lose.
43:44
And no matter what losses you may gain, they are temporary
43:49
losses. And they will always, always,
43:51
always be outweighed by the rewards.
43:54
Always, always remember that no matter what that call is, and no
43:59
matter what the hesitations are, trust and obey, for there's no
44:03
other way. So Obadiah here is worried if I
44:07
do this, I'm going to be in more perilous position.
44:13
But that's not the only hesitation he has in obeying the
44:15
Lord. There's a third and final one.
44:17
It's found in verse 13. Let's read it together.
44:22
Has it not been told, my Lord, what I did when Jezebel killed
44:27
the prophets of the Lord? How I hid 100 men of the Lord's
44:32
prophets by 50s in a cave and fed them with bread and water?
44:36
And now you say, go tell your Lord, behold, Elijah is here,
44:40
and he will kill me like he can't.
44:41
He can't stop thinking about it. He's like, I can't believe
44:44
you're asking me to go and say Elijah is here and you just
44:50
think everything's going to be OK.
44:51
He keeps saying that it's so human.
44:53
I love it. It's like you keep saying that.
44:55
No. What's the third excuse here?
44:59
What's the third reservation? Hesitation.
45:02
There are some people who are hesitant to obey because they
45:05
wrongly excuse themselves from certain tasks.
45:08
There are some were hesitant to obey because they think
45:10
obedience will harm them more than bless them.
45:14
And lastly, there are some people today who are in current
45:20
disobedience because of their justification of past obedience.
45:28
So what does he tell Elijah? He's like, hey, do you know what
45:31
I did for the Lord? I hid these men like your guys,
45:36
like prophets. I hid them.
45:38
I risk my life for them. And he's rehearsing history.
45:42
He's rehearsing what he's done in the past, and he's allowed
45:47
that to soothe him to the degree where now he is paralyzed in
45:52
further obedience. This is far too common among
45:57
Christians, who currently, presently, are not as zealous as
46:03
they should be, are not as committed as they should be, and
46:06
not as willing as they should be.
46:09
And part of the reason why is because they recall and even
46:12
retell of a time where they were devoted to the Lord, and they
46:17
did this and that for the Lord. And they did give this amount
46:20
and they did go there and they did step away and they did step
46:24
in and they just look back at that and use that as a means, as
46:30
though nothing else is required of them anymore.
46:35
That one time deal is enough. And that's a dangerous way of
46:39
thinking, because your recollection and testifying of
46:42
what God has done in and through you is important.
46:46
It's wonderful, but it should never encourage idleness.
46:51
If anything, it should stimulate you to be further expectant that
46:55
God would do greater things in and through you.
46:58
You know, if Obadiah was in the right frame of mind when he
47:01
heard this instruction from Elijah, he should have felt OK.
47:04
The same God who protected me while I protected those men is
47:07
going to be the same God who's going to walk with me now.
47:09
And the same God who has shown me His wisdom and care and love
47:13
in the season of hiding these men.
47:15
Surely now He's ready to demonstrate greater power,
47:18
wisdom and mercy as I'm about to face Ahab, But that's not how
47:22
he's thinking. And listen, you have
47:25
unfortunately too many people in the church who are indifferent
47:29
or inactive in the things of God because Once Upon a time they
47:33
were and they're happy to just live in memory lane.
47:39
I've talked to people like that, and it's a sad thing to see
47:43
because God has so much more for you and I.
47:47
One of my favorite passages that reignites my faith, it's in the
47:51
Old Testament and it's about Moses when he's so desperately
47:55
wanted to go into the promised. And this is after he disobeyed
47:57
God. This is after God had given him
47:59
the verdict. You are not going into the
48:01
promised land. You dishonored me before the
48:03
people, and because you are a leader, there's greater
48:06
accountability for you than the average person.
48:08
And so he's so wanted these you could just feel his pain and
48:11
saying, Lord, please let me go in and in one of the please.
48:15
In Deuteronomy 3, I often go to that place whenever I feel as
48:19
though my faith or my expectation begins to get stale.
48:24
Notice what Moses says in Deuteronomy 324.
48:26
He tells the Lord, oh Lord God, you have only begun to show your
48:33
servant your greatness and your mighty hand.
48:36
Wow, did you hear the reference? Here It is.
48:39
So you never forget it. Deuteronomy 324.
48:41
Oh, Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant.
48:48
Are you kidding me? Do you know what Moses witnessed
48:52
up to this point? The miracles, the interventions,
48:57
the suspension of natural things, judgments and
49:01
provisions. All that Moses experience and he
49:04
dares to say in a form of a prayer you only started.
49:08
You only started to show me your greatness and your might Well
49:12
hold on. If that's what Moses says in his
49:14
experience of God, what makes you and I think that we have the
49:17
right to get bored with our walk with the Lord.
49:20
What makes you? What makes you?
49:22
And I feel as though we can just go into cruise control mode and
49:26
and limit our Christian experience to making sure we get
49:29
to church on time. There's so much more, and the
49:35
only reason why you and I are not seeing more, or at least
49:38
positioning ourselves to do so, is because we don't take the
49:40
commands of God seriously. If you position yourself and
49:44
frame your life just with this, just with the Great Commission,
49:49
whether you are the sent out one or you are helping those to be
49:52
sent out, that alone frames your life to see God do mighty and
49:57
wonderful things. Never mind a prayer life, never
50:01
mind being part of a local church, never mind all the micro
50:04
ministries that you and I are invited to.
50:06
Never mind all of those things. But see, if you and I position
50:09
ourselves in a way the Bible calls us to, we go from glory to
50:14
glory. And unfortunately Obadiah was
50:18
satisfied to remain in what he has done at one time and was
50:22
hesitant to not see what God wanted to do in his today and
50:26
his tomorrow. How does Elijah respond to this?
50:30
Look at verse 14 again, says And now you say, go tell your Lord,
50:34
behold, Elijah is here and he will kill me.
50:37
And Elijah said as the Lord of Hosts lives before whom I stand,
50:41
I will surely show myself to him.
50:44
Today again, Elijah is known as a fire breathing prophet, is he
50:48
not? You're going to read that as we
50:51
move on. But here you have Elijah in the
50:54
presence of a cold laborer, and it's so clear that Obadiah loves
50:59
God, right? It's so clear.
51:01
But this man who loved God was in a moment of weak faith, And
51:06
Elijah teaches you and I how we deal with such people who are
51:10
standing at the threshold of obedience, but can't seem to
51:13
make that first step. What are you and I called to do?
51:17
Build them up with the truth? Out of all the things that
51:21
Elijah could have said to Obadiah to reassure him, how
51:24
does he address him? In what name?
51:26
The name of the Lord? Of what?
51:29
Of Hosts. That is an appropriate title to
51:32
resurface in the mind of Obadiah's foggy faith.
51:37
The Lord of Hosts. You know what the translation of
51:40
that is? The Lord of Angel armies.
51:44
The Lord who has innumerable spiritual agents at his
51:48
disposal. I'm talking to you, and I'm
51:51
admonishing, admonishing you in that name.
51:54
What a truth that Obadiah would need to hear as he stands before
51:57
a king. The one who is by you has Angel
52:01
armies by him and by you, Obadiah.
52:05
So it's with a specific tailor made truth that Elijah deposits
52:10
in the heart of Obadiah that gives him the grace and the
52:12
strength to actually do it. But there's something else that
52:14
I'm inspired by concerning Elijah's words here.
52:16
Look again with me. Look at verse 15.
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And Elijah said, as the Lord of hosts lives before whom I stand,
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I will surely show myself to him today.
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Is there a phrase in that verse that stands out to you?
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Yes. Good, you are careful students
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of the Bible. Notice that Elijah says before
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whom I stand. Is that the first time that
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Elijah says that? Go back to verse one of chapter
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17. What do we read now, Elijah?
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The tishbite of Tishby in Gilead said to Ahab, as the Lord, the
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God of Israel is before whom I stand.
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It's the very first statement that Elijah makes when he is
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introduced to us in the word of God and when he says before whom
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I stand. This is what it means.
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Let me remind you, the Lord before, before whom, whose
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presence I live in, and before whom I am standing ready to be
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at His service, no matter what he asks of me.
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To be standing means I am ready to be called upon, to perform
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anything that you desire. And to say before whom I stand
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also means that you are in the very presence of the one who is
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superior to you, namely the Lord.
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Here's what blesses me about this, He says in the First
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Kings, 1713. Years later, in First Kings 18,
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he's able to still say the same thing.
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You know what my prayer is for you?
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Each and every single one of us Is that three years from now you
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can say, I live before the presence of the Lord, and I
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stand ready to do whatever he asks of me.
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And my prayer is not that you would only be able to say that
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three years from now. I pray that you'd be able to say
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that 13 years from now, not just 1330 years from now, that you
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would be able to say the Lord before whom I stand, the Lord
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Jesus Christ, the one that I worship, love and adore.
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I still live for him. I still love him.
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I still serve him. We say, well, Elijah is a unique
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case, my friend, It's easy for you to say in an inspirational
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message like this, but Elijah had experiences that all of us
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combined cannot even come close to.
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And Elijah had unique dispositions.
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Maybe he was a very disciplined man to begin with.
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And yet James comes to say, oh, hold on, let me remind you that
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Elijah was a man with a nature like ours.
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And So what is the excuse? Yeah, sure, he is unique in his
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prophetic ministry in office, but the heart posture towards
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the Lord can be shared and we have to believe that if we want
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to experience it. So now let's come, because it's
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not since First Kings 17 one where Ahab and Elijah meet face
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to face. Here's where we're wrapping up
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verse 16. So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and
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told them. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.
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See, nobody died. What were you afraid of?
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Obadiah? God was with you.
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Verse 17. When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said
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to him, is it you, you troubler of Israel?
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You thought he was messed up when he was looking for grass,
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and Elijah is not slow to respond.
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Verse 18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel, but you
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have and your father's house, because you have abandoned the
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commandments of the Lord and followed the bills.
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I love Elijah, so gentle with Obadiah, but when he came to
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Ahab's straight to the point cutthroat contrast the greeting
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that Ahab gives with Obadiah. What does he say?
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Look at verse 17. Is it you you troubler of
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Israel? Now scroll back to verse 7.
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And Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, Is it
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you my Lord Elijah? What a difference, huh?
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Is it you, my Lord Elijah? And then Ahab, is it you, you
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troubler of Israel? And looking at this, you're
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supposed to understand that one offered respect while the other
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one spewed disdain. And if you are going to serve
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the Lord to the degree that Elijah did, then you must be
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ready to expect. You may not get the admiration
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of Obadiah's, but you should definitely expect the false
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accusations of Ahab's. We We think that if we serve the
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Lord and live holy in our good and charitable and bless our
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neighbors and give the truth, the truth that sets people
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through, that everybody's going to love us or at least tolerate
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us. Yeah, you might get some of the
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flowering compliments of Obadiah's the respect of some
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who recognize the hand of God on your life.
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But don't expect everybody expect some Ahab's to arrive and
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blame you and accuse you and slander you.
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Is it you you troubler of Israel?
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It's it's amazing how short sighted this man is.
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It's amazing how this man can't recognize what this famine is
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about and can't even recognize the reason for it.
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And Elijah is quick to remind him you're the reason for the
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trouble in this land. And he gives the significance of
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this moment by reminding him that it's not because of Ahab's
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anything other than his abandonment of the commandments
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of the Lord. Here's where I want to end off
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trouble. Trouble with your conscience,
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trouble with your relationships, trouble in your marriage,
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trouble in the streets, trouble in society can all stem from one
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thing abandoning the commandments of the Lord.
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And when you and I experience trouble while we're obeying God,
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we can take comfort to know that this is a trial that's going to
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purify us. But I'm not talking about that
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kind of trouble. I'm talking about the trouble
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that could have been avoided if you had just obeyed, if you had
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just elevated the word of God and submitted to it.
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If not, trouble is on its way. And for the rest of this
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chapter, we will pause and wait till we recollect next week to
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see how this man will usher in revival in a troubled land.
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Let's pray and thank God for our time tonight.
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Father, we thank you for giving us the grace to not just be
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attentive to the Word, but to absorb the personal applications
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of it. Yet once again, we are amazed at
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the depth of the wisdom of your Word.
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We are moved by how these truths are undoubtedly authored by a
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perfect, holy, loving God, Lord. Tonight we believe that what's
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been installed in our hearts would give us the fuel to be
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just like Elijah. Whether in hiddenness or out in
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the open, being able to say with confidence, I stand before the
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Lord, I worship the Lord, I love the Lord.
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Lord may not be true of any person here, that they walk away
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from the Lord in the years to come, but may be said that we
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walk closer with thee, and we know that you will help us do
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that as we hunger for a day after day.
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Lord, if there is any hesitation in any person's heart to obey
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you for the reasons that we gave her, for the reasons that were
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not mentioned, may this Bible study serve as a reminder that
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we can never go wrong and trusting you and obeying you.
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Lord, if there's anyone here who is frustrated because they feel
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as though no one sees them, they're overlooked.
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They're hidden. They love you, they serve you,
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but they they want to see more. May they rest with contentment.
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It's all about you anyway. And for the one who might be
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fearful because they feel as though a more attention is being
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given to them than they desire, may they trust you in that as
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well. Lord, we thank you that you know
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all things. We thank you that you're not
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just concerned with the Elijah's, you're concerned with
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the Obadiah's and every person in here.
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You are committed to completing the work that you began in US.
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And there is not one accident in our lives, not one surprise to
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us. That is a surprise to you.
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We bless you for that, Lord, and we want to worship you now.
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Oh God, we want to give you thanks and song and glorify you,
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for you have spoken to our hearts today.
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We bless the name that has saved us.
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We bless the name that will preserve us.
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We bless the name that has provided for us, protected us,
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and will go before us forever and ever.
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That precious name, that sweet name.
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That lovely name. That that name that calms and
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soothes and heals and redeems. The name of Jesus.
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In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
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Precious Saints, let's stand and worship the Lord together.
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Give him glory and honor for this time in His word.
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I wouldn't want to be anywhere else on a Friday night.
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To be with God's people in God's Word is my delight.