Let's start our service with a word of prayer.
Dear God, Emily Father, we thank you so much, O Lord, for just allowing us, Lord God, to be back
in your house tonight. Lord, we do pray that you please just bless every aspect of the service, Lord.
We do pray that you please just bless the singing unto you, help us to sing boldly and powerfully,
Lord God, unto you. And I pray that you'd also just please be with us, Lord God, tonight as we
hear the preaching of your word. Please be with our pastor, fill him with your Holy Spirit, Lord God,
guide him through the scriptures, Lord God, bring to remembrance of the things that he has studied,
and also please be with us, Lord God, in the congregation that you would help us to have
open ears and open hearts with God as well. We pray in all these scenes in Jesus' name. Amen.
You may be seated. Song number 129. Song number 129. Rock of Ages. Song number 129.
129. We'll see you on that first verse.
Rock of Ages, plant for me, let me hide myself and eat.
Let the water and the blood from thy wound inside which flood
be absent, the double cure, save from wrath and make me pure.
Forever though, could my zeal no longer know?
These four sin could not atone.
Thou must save and Thou alone.
In my hand I Christ I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I bring,
When I rise most close in depth, When I rise to worlds unknown,
And behold, beyond thy throne, Lock a gate to this flat for me,
That we hide myself in deep.
All right, great singing.
Welcome to First Works Baptist Church,
just a few announcements here.
Before we sing our next song, which will be 206.
Oh, say, but I'm glad if you want to get that ready, 206.
Of course, we welcome you to come back for our midweek Bible study on Thursday at 7 o'clock.
We're currently going through the book of Isaiah verse by verse.
I hope to see you then.
You see the soul winning times there in the middle of the list of expecting mothers
and the stats for salvations and baptisms on the bottom left hand corner
on the right hand side, some of the upcoming events.
We have the TJ Missons trip coming up this coming Saturday, March 29th.
Meeting at the building at 9.15, if you need a ride, you can see Brother Ulysses Hernandez
for that.
Just make sure you bring your passport and of course the expenses are paid for and keep
us in prayer that we would get a lot of people saved on Saturday.
And then we have the ladies prayer breakfast coming up on Saturday, April 5th.
Meeting at the building at 10 a.m.
You can see Ms. Janelle Gonzalez.
If you'd like to help or participate, you can talk to her.
Our big thing coming up is Easter, our Easter service on Sunday, April 20th and we're gonna
excuse me at 945 so if you're bringing visitors when you bring visitors the visitors that you will
bring on that day you know make sure you bring on that 945 for that breakfast amen and then also
keep in mind that we're going to have an Easter egg hunt for the kids after the morning service
there's invites actually there's no more invites but we're going to have more invites for Easter
for the following week to get out and so thank you for taking those while you're out sowning
and pray that we'd break record attendance on that Sunday as well.
And then we have the science meetup on Sunday, April 27th,
after the evening service. I mentioned this morning, if you can continue to pray
for John Michael, he's still in the hospital and they haven't gotten word
yet as far as his numbers are concerned, but he still, they still don't really
know what's going on with him. And so please keep him in prayer that God
would heal him and that he would recover and come back home.
And so pray for him. And then I mentioned, if you can continue to pray for our
May 11th. You have a prayer card there. There's 10 needs but one of them has
already been met. We've got that unit and so the goal is to have that unit ready
to go by Easter. I would say we probably have it ready within the next three
weeks or so and so pray to that end and pray for the May 11th offering that
God will bless tremendously so we can have a good fun to work off with in the
coming years.
As we prepare to purchase a building and then lastly, please make sure you silence your phones during the preaching
So it's the not be a distraction during the service. That is it for our announcements 206. Oh save, but I'm glad
So number 206 oh save
on the 206, sing on that first verse.
There is a song in my heart today,
something I've never had.
Jesus has taken my sins away.
Oh, say, but I'm glad.
Jesus has come and my cup's over run, oh, say God, I'm glad.
Wonderful marvelous love He brings into all heart and sad.
The soul just sings, oh, say God, I'm glad.
It says, come and my cup's overrun Oh, say, what a fact
We have a fellowship rich and sweet Tons can never relate
That comes over, Ron.
wonderful seeing it. At this time our ushers will be receiving the offering
and please turn your Bibles to 1st Kings chapter 20.
Good evening, tonight we're in First Kings chapter 20.
First Kings chapter 20, the Bible reads.
And Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria,
gathered all his hosts together,
and there were 30 and two kings with him,
and horses and chariots.
And he went up and besieged Samaria and warred against it.
And he sent messengers to Ahab, king of Israel,
into the city, and said unto him,
thus saith Ben-Hadad, thy silver and thy gold is mine,
thy wives also and thy children,
even the goodliest are mine.
And the king of Israel answered and said,
My Lord, O King, according to thy saying,
I am thine and all that I have.
And the messengers came again and said,
Thus speaketh, Ben-Hadad, saying,
Although I have sent unto thee,
Thou shalt deliver me, and thy silver,
and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children.
Yet, I will send my servants unto thee tomorrow,
about this time, and they shall search thine house,
and the sows of thy servants, and it shall be
that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes,
they shall put it in their hand and take it away.
Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said mark
I pray you and see how this man seeketh mischief for he sent unto me for my wives and for my children and for my silver
And for my gold and I denied him not
And all the elders and all the people said unto him harken not unto him nor consent
Wherefore he said unto the messengers of ben haydad tell my lord the king all that thou didst send
For to thy servant at the first I will do but this thing I may not do and the messengers departed and brought him word again
And ben haydad sent unto him and said the gods do so unto me and more also if the dust of samaria
Shall suffice for handfuls of all the people that follow me
And the king of Israel answered and said,
Tell him, let not him that girdeth on his harness,
boast himself as he that puteth it off.
And it came to pass when Ben-Hadad heard this message
as he was drinking, he and the kings and the pavilions,
and he said unto his servant, set yourselves in array,
and they set themselves in array against the city.
And behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab, king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the Lord,
as thou seen all this great multitude, behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day,
and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
And Ahab said by whom?
And he said, Thus saith the Lord, even by the young men of the princes of the provinces.
Then he said, Who shall order the battle?
And he said, Thou.
Then he numbered the young men of the princes and the provinces and they were
232 and after them he numbered all the people even all the children of Israel being
7,000 and they went out at noon
But Ben-Hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions
He and the kings the 30 and two kings that helped him and the young men of the princes of the provinces went out and
Ben-Hadad sent out and they told him saying there are men come out of Samaria
And he said, whether they be, come out for peace, take them alive, or whether they become
out for war, take them alive, so these young men of the princes of the provinces came out
of the city and the army which followed them.
And they slew everyone his man and the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them, and Ben-Hadad,
the king of Syria, escaped on an horse with the horsemen.
And the king of Israel went out and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.
And the prophet came to the king of Israel and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself and mark, and see what thou doest.
For at the return of the year, the king of Syria will come up against thee.
And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, their gods are the gods of the hills.
Therefore they were stronger than we, but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
And do this thing, take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms.
And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot,
and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.
It came to pass at the return of the year that Ben-Hadad numbered the Syrians and went up to Afec to fight against Israel.
And the children of Israel were numbered and were all present and went against them.
And the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids, but the Syrians filled the country.
And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord,
Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys,
Therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand.
And ye shall know that I am the Lord.
And they pitched one over against the other seven days,
And so it was that in the seventh day the battle was joined,
And the children of Israel slew of the Syrians a hundred thousand footmen in one day.
But the rest fled to Afec into the city, and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left, and Ben-Hadad fled, and came into the city into an inner chamber.
And a servant said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel.
So they girded Sackloth on their loins and put ropes on their heads and came to the king of Israel and said,
Thy servant Ben-Hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? He is my brother.
Now the men did diligently observe whether anything would come from him and had hastily catch it.
And they said, Thy brother Ben-Hadad, then he said, Go ye, bring him.
Then Ben-Hadad came forth to him and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
And ben Hadad said unto him, the cities which my father took from thy father, I will restore,
and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria.
Then he said, Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant, so he made a covenant with
him and sent him away.
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbor in the word of the Lord,
Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord,
Behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, A lion shall slay thee,
And as soon as he was departed from him, A lion found him and slew him.
Then he found another man, And said, Smite me, I pray thee,
And the man smote him, So that in smiting he wounded him.
And so the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.
And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king, and he said,
Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle, and behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man.
For if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.
And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone.
And the king of Israel said unto him,
so shall thy judgment be, thyself has decided it.
And he hasted and took the ashes away from his face,
and the king of Israel discerned him
that he was of the prophets.
And he said unto him, thus sayeth the Lord,
because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man
whom I appointed to utter destruction,
therefore thy life shall go for his life
and thy people for his people.
And the king of Israel went to his house heavy
and displeased and came to Samaria.
Let's pray to look on just thank you for this opportunity that we have here to listen to the preaching of your word Lord
Just please bless this service and be with us tonight Lord as we hear this message that pastors prepared for us
Please fill in with the Holy Spirit Lord. We pray this all in Jesus name. Amen
Amen. Okay, we're in 1 Kings chapter 20 verse number 1 says in Ben Haydad the king of Syria gathered all his hosts together
and there were 30 and two kings with them and horses and chariots
And he went up and besieged Samaria and ward against it and the time I sermon this evening is
Ahab the compliant weakling
Ahab the compliant weakling now a couple months ago our priest determined on Ahab
And I think I called it something to the effect of the henpecked husband or something like that.
And then I preached another sermon on the humbling of kings.
And quite frankly, I still haven't covered everything there is to say about Ahab.
And let me just be real honest with you.
I hate Ahab. He's one of those characters in the Bible that I just absolutely cannot stand whatsoever.
Let me explain to you why.
Obviously, he's a super wicked king. He's evil. He does evil on the side of the Lord.
But one of the reasons I don't like him is because of the fact that he kind of leaves you wondering,
are you saved or what?
You know, because obviously he humbles himself
before the Lord in his story
after he's preached against with Elijah.
But he does all these wicked things.
He's such a weakling of a leader.
He's such a compromiser.
He's always backing up the wrong people.
And therefore it kind of makes me think like,
you know, I don't know where you stand
and that's why I don't like you.
You know, I like people who are just completely honest
with you and they say, look, this is where I stand.
This is who I'm for.
This is what I believe.
I can't stand people who are just kind of straddling the fence.
And Ahab is one of those people that you just kind of,
as you read their story,
and it's not like there's anything lacking
in the story of Ahab that makes you just wonder,
it's just kind of one of those things where it's just,
who are you?
What are you?
What do you stand for?
And so we obviously see that Ahab,
One of the reasons why he's so evil and wicked,
the Bible tells us later on,
is because he's constantly being stirred up
by his wicked wife Jezebel, right?
In other words, the blueprints,
the one who's really behind the whole thing is Jezebel.
She's the one who's kind of egging him on to be evil
and to be wicked.
You know, Ahab is the king of Israel,
who is the nation that belongs to the Lord,
but yet in spite of this,
he essentially,
foregoes the responsibility of being a godly king,
and he ends up being a really wicked person.
He ends up getting destroyed.
And so in those sermons that I covered a couple months ago,
this is one story that I did not cover.
So I'm gonna cover it tonight,
here in First Kings chapter 20,
and it's a very unique story where God helps Ahab.
He actually delivers Ahab, but yet in spite of this,
you know, Ahab still doesn't repent.
He doesn't get right with God, and he behaves wickedly.
So I'm gonna go through this entire chapter
and just kind of pull out some principles
that we can learn as a church, as Christians.
First and foremost, let's look at Ben-Hadad's threats.
Now, Ben-Hadad is the king of Syria,
and right off the bat, we see that Ben-Hadad
is trying to conquer Samaria, which is the capital of Israel.
And of course, Ahab is the king thereof.
and he brings some pretty brazen threats.
Okay, look at verse number two.
It says, and he sent messengers to Ahab,
of course, Ben-Hadad,
as sending messengers to Ahab,
king of Israel into the city,
and sentenced him, thus sayeth Ben-Hadad.
Now I want you to notice this.
Thy silver and thy gold is mine.
Thy wives also, and thy children, even the goodliest are mine."
Now that is a brazen threat, right?
Because he's saying, once I take you over, all this is going to belong to me.
I'm taking all your silver, I'm taking all your gold, I'm taking your wives, I'm taking
your children.
Everything that's goodly, everything that's beautiful, everything that's attractive, I'm
So that doesn't sound like a threat.
Well, the mere fact that he is claiming possession
over these things is implying
that I'm gonna have all these things, okay?
So this is a brazen threat by Ben-Hadad.
And obviously, this is a picture of Satan, right?
Satan comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy.
He's coming to take everything that we have,
all the blessings that we have inherited from the Lord
he's seeking to take from us.
Now, if someone came to you with that type of a threat
and you're a king,
You know, I would hope that you would say something to the effect of, over my dead body.
Like, this is not going to happen, like, who do you think you are coming into my nation
and claiming that you're going to steal not just my resources, but my family, my wives,
my children, and everything that is goodly, like, we're going to war, okay?
And you can have these things over my dead body.
That's the reasonable thing to say.
Look at verse look at verse four if you would and the king referred to a app the king of Israel answered and said my lord
Oh king according to thy saying I am thine and all that I have
What?
So instead of saying like you know come and take it
You know like you let me know the time and the day we're gonna catch fades. We're going to war, you know
You what you have belongs to me instead. He's just like my lord. Hey, whatever is mine. You can have now look
If he was just robbing him of his resources, that's one thing
But he's literally saying like my wives and my children are yours
You know that wasn't left out of the contract. He's saying I'm taking your wives and your children and a have is just like hey
whatever you want
According to thy saying, what is that?
That's a compliant weakling.
It's like how in the world did this guy get promoted
to be king?
He's such a weak, compliant, just, you know, push over.
He's a hemp heck king and a husband, amen?
So Ahab isn't a strong leader at all.
He's a major pushover and provides zero resistance
when the enemy comes.
And let me just say this, that as Christians,
you can't be a pushover.
You know, we need to be able to offer resistance
when Satan comes with temptations,
when people of this world come to tempt you and to try you.
We need to be able to resist temptation,
resist the devil in the evil day,
and not just fall over and just give in
to whatever threats, whatever compromises
or come forth our way.
We need to say, no, I'm not giving into that.
We're not making a contract.
There's no affinity over my dead body, right?
Whether physically or spiritually speaking as well now go to chapter 18 if you would first Kings 18
Because this isn't the first time to ahab has shown himself to be a pushover
In fact, we could point to many portions of scripture where we see that he's a major pushover
He's a hemp act husband, but you know early on
We actually see that he's just not the not the fighting type
You know during this particular time you have the prophets of Baal and they've essentially overrun the nation
We have 7,000 prophets who have not bowed the knee to Baal
But they're kind of in hiding right Obadiah who's essentially you know the governor
He's hiding these 7,000 prophets from Jezebel because Jezebel is killing the prophets of God
And of course we know that Elijah is not hiding.
He's confronting Ahab.
He's preaching against him.
He's confronting him over these things.
And then we have the great confrontation
on Mount Carmel, right?
Where Ahab, excuse me, Elijah confronts the prophets of Baal
and he says, all right, let's see who's of God.
And of course all of Israel's there.
They're watching what's gonna happen.
They set up an animal sacrifice and he,
He tells the Prophet to bail.
All right, let's see if your God is able to just like the sacrifice on fire.
You call upon your God and let's see if fire comes down and consumes these sacrifices.
So they're calling on their false God, they're cutting themselves from morning till evening and nothing happens, right?
And Elijah is even mocking them.
He's like, hey, you know, it's...
You know, is your God like sleeping?
Maybe he's taking a trip or something like that?
What's going on?
How come he's not listening?
Obviously, because it's a false God.
So then comes, enters Elijah.
Now it's his turn.
And he's like, pour water on this sacrifice,
pours multiple barrels of water on it,
and he calls down the fire of God upon the sacrifice,
and it consumes and licks up all the water,
and he just cooks them, right?
He just mobs the floor with them so then after this great miracle of fire coming down from heaven upon the sacrifices
The children of Israel like oh God is the God you know was like well duh
So then at that point Elijah the victor says alright now take the 450 prophets of Baal and go kill them
So now all 450 prophets of Baal are slaughtered,
they're destroyed.
And of course, Ahab is in favor of these false prophets
because his wife is in favor of these false prophets
because he's following his wife's lead, right?
So he slays all of these prophets of Baal,
he destroys them, you know, he preaches a great sermon,
just a great exploit is accomplished.
And you gotta keep in mind, Ahab is the leader here, right?
Look at verse 40 of chapter 18.
It says in verse 40, in Elijah said unto them,
take the prophets of Baal, let not one of them escape,
and they took them, and Elijah brought them down
to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
In Elijah said unto Ahab, get thee up, eat and drink,
for there is a sound of abundance of rain.
So Ahab went up to eat and to drink.
Push over.
Now, obviously, he should have resist the words of the prophet,
but I don't think he's not resisting the words of the prophet
because he respects the prophet.
I just think he's a pushover.
So Eli's just like, after he kills them all,
he's like, go over there and just eat and drink.
And he's just like, OK, and he just goes to eat and drink.
He does what he's told, because he's not a good leader.
This guy's a pushover, offers no resistance.
So this isn't someone that you would want
in a position of authority to defend you
against the foreign army.
This is not someone you want defending you
against the enemies of God.
Why?
Because he has no grit about himself.
Which is why he constantly has to go to Jezebel
to defend him, right?
You know, later on, we're not gonna look at it tonight,
but we looked at it previously,
where he wants Naboth's vineyard.
He tries to negotiate for Naboth's vineyard. Naboth just tells him no and just like a little kid. What does he do?
He goes home. He lays down. He starts crying. He's starting a little hissy fit
And then Jezebel comes like why are you why are you crying?
And he's like I can't have been your you just she's like I'll get it for you. I
Mean what a whip
And of course, she's super wicked and evil. She ends up getting Naboth killed by the false witness of reprobates
The sons of Belial and once he dies a have gets up and he's like, oh goodie. He goes collects his vineyard
He has other people fight his battles. He's a complete pushover offers zero zero resistance. This guy's lame
Look at chapter 19
So after he does that right after he kills all the prophets
He's like go eat and drink and he's just like all right. I'm gonna go eat and drink
Look at chapter 19 verse 1 and they have told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and with all how he had slain all the prophets with
The sword so the first thing he does it goes home and he tells his wife what Elijah did
You wouldn't believe what Elijah did he killed all the prophets
And it's no surprise that when Ben-Hadeath threatens him,
he just gives in without a fight.
And let me just say this as a Christian,
don't be this non-resistant Christian
where you can't seem to resist temptation.
You can't resist when Satan comes to you with a trial.
You can't resist a season of difficulty,
a season of attacks, a season of spiritual warfare.
You just can't handle it.
You just get involved in sin right away.
You know what, this applies to the young men in our church.
Let me just say this, if you can't resist pornography,
your strength is weak.
You have no strength.
You know, we live in a society today
where young men try to make it permissible
to say, well, you know, I'm just gonna watch pornography
until I get married because I just can't handle
you know, the temptation.
So once I get married, it'll just fix everything.
You're a weakling.
That's a weak attitude to have be strong in the Lord and the power of his might stop being a little a hab
Where when the when Satan and benedad a pornography comes at you you just gave in well
I'm not married so I guess I just got to give into this temptation
That's wicked stop being so weak if thou faint in the day of adversity that strength is small
Quit you like men
Arm yourself with the armor of God and have the willpower and the resistance to when the temptation comes a no
Not giving into this
You're like well, you know, I guys just it's so easily accessible then throw away the accessibility of it be a man
Don't just give into every whim and temptation that you have because well, I just this corruptible flesh
I just can't do anything about it. Of course you can
Make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the luster of.
And let me just say this,
don't be offering advice in our church
if you're a married man and say,
well yeah, I was into pornography,
but once I got married, everything just went away.
You know, so it's okay to just watch pornography
or something like that until you get married.
That's disgusting, that's filthy,
you're not right with God if that's you.
Stop giving unbiblical advice, wicked advice,
promote righteousness, not filth and fornication.
Uncleanness, you're promoting weakness in our church,
if that's you, you're promoting being
an effeminate man who can't resist temptation.
You know, we want to raise up young men
who are able to resist the temptations of Satan,
not just through pornography, but just discouragement,
depression, laziness.
We need to overcome that as men, amen?
And look, I'm not saying that men don't struggle with lust
because if you don't, then you might be a fag or something.
I don't know.
Every man struggles with lust.
Let me just be honest with you,
that's a sin that is common to man.
And if some dude says, well, I don't struggle with lust,
well, you ask some sugar in your tank, or what?
What's going on here?
Everyone struggles with lust,
everyone has to, we all have to fight it
every single day.
That's a normal thing for us to do,
but you know what, what's not normal,
what shouldn't be normal is for you just giving in.
Every time it comes your way cast down
Imaginations in every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God make no provision for the flesh
That's what the Bible says
You know pick up the sword of the spirit and quote some scripture when you're tempted or how about when you're tempted?
You have a wicked thought just say Lord forgive me for this thought help me to cast this down
Help me to love you with all my heart so mine and strength and said no wicked thing before my eyes
I hate the work of them to turn aside. It shall not cleave into me. I made a coveted with my eyes
How then can I look upon a maid?
And so it's important for us to have that attitude,
not promote some stupid, godless,
worldly ideology out there that's not found in scripture.
Don't be an Ahab.
We don't want to raise Ahabs in our church, amen.
And you know what, parents, don't raise an Ahab.
Teach your sons how to resist teach your sons to be strong in the Lord teach your sons to be men of might in
The Lord okay, so a hab you know been hey dad comes and you know if you're been a dad been hey dad
You're probably like well. I was easy. I
Didn't even have to send a third messenger
It was just like I'm gonna take all this and they have is like sure
Anything else sir?
Paper or plastic
Would you like that to go?
Now let me just say this is that you know when you give into temptation it becomes harder
to
Negotiate the terms later on
Because what do we see here look at verse 5 of chapter 20?
So you know ahab throws this little weakling of an answer there
Verse 5 says and the messengers came again
And said thus speaketh ben hay dad because obviously you know the messengers bring back the message of what ahab said and
Ben hey dad was like really?
Well, let's let's let's let's go ahead and crank it up here
Thus speaketh ben hay dad saying although I have sent unto thee saying thou shall deliver me thy silver and thy golden
Thy wives and thy children yet
I will send my servants unto thee tomorrow about this time and they shall search thine house
and the houses of thy servants.
And it shall be the whatsoever's pleasant in thine eyes.
They shall put it in their hand and take it away.
So I say, look, I know I said that I was gonna take
all these things, but I'm actually gonna send
some messengers just to kind of take inventory
of what you have.
And you go ahead and let them know what is pleasant
in your eyes and that's what we're gonna take.
Good night.
So this is, I mean, he's trying to punk them.
Right, he's trying to punk him. He's trying to like I don't know. He's just I guess he sees the ahab just a little weenie
Verse seven then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said mark
I pray you and see how this man seeketh mischief for he sent it to me for my wives and for my children for my
Children for my gold and I did not him not
So he's just like can you believe the gall of Ben Haydad? He asked for my wife and my kids. I said I was fine with it
It's like what in the world, you know, what does it show us?
It shows us that when you take when you allow Satan to take an inch, he's gonna take a foot
You know when you give him temptation when you compromise as a Christian
It's gonna be harder later on down the road to negotiate those terms. Don't negotiate with Satan
Don't give in to the whims and the demands of Satan.
You say this is where we draw the line
and don't allow yourself to be tempted by Pharaoh
who says, well, you can take your flocks
but just don't take your children.
No, I'm taking it all.
We're not negotiating this.
Here's the terms and services.
I'm not gonna give in to this.
Ben-Hadad, you can kick rocks.
I'm not giving you anything. I'm not giving you my wives. I'm not giving you my kids. I'm not giving you my goodlies
I'm not gonna give you anything. I'm gonna first a second Kings chapter 18 second Kings chapter 18
He said well, I think it's good to just kind of you know, it's a two-way street
I think you should maybe compromise just a little bit absolutely not and
There's another story. We're not gonna get too much into it, but there is a story in second Kings
Chapter 18 with Hezekiah and Hezekiah was a godly king. He's the opposite of Ahab, but unfortunately Hezekiah was kind of weak, too
You know, even though he was godly, he was a little bit of a weakling, too
And when the king of Assyria came to him
demanding
Some things from him. He kind of gave in to look at verse 14 Hezekiah king of Judah
Sent to the king of Assyria to Lakers saying I have offended return from me
That which thou putest on me will I bear and the king of a seer at appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah
300 towns of silver and 30 towns of gold so
The king of a seer comes to Hezekiah and says, you know, I'm gonna take you over. I'm gonna destroy you and as the guy's like
I'm so sorry for offending you
Hey, you know you come up with the terms and services whatever I can bear I'll give to you and he's like oh great
I'll take 300 towns of silver and 30 towns of gold
Look at verse 15 and Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord and
In the treasures of the king's house at that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord
And from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria
So he's like yeah, I'll take this much. He's like, okay, you know strip the house of God and give it to him
But let me just spoiler it here that didn't placate the king of Assyria
Because after that he's like oh, I'm coming for more
In fact, I'm going to send messengers to threaten your people in your language to let you know that we're coming to besiege the city
And we're going to take you over. What does it show us? You can't compromise
You can't compromise with the devil don't compromise with your flesh don't compromise with the world
As Christians we need to set clear
Boundaries and not compromise not given to the demands of Satan the world or whoever's trying to get you to compromise your convictions
Go back to first Kings chapter 20 first Kings chapter 20
You know, and the world is constantly trying to get churches and Christians to compromise, right?
Well, this is how you should have run church. Don't tell me how to run church. You're not a Christian. You don't believe in Jesus
And you know what you can bring your demands all you want if you have an opinion if you have you know
If someone in the world wants to tell me how to run the church they can write it down
We have this we have a place where you could put all of the recommendations in our church for that
I will take all the recommendations,
right there, it's right there,
you guys still look behind you?
That's where all the recommendations go.
Right there, it's called a trash can.
Because at the end of the day,
we're not taking recommendations from unsafe people
on how to run a church.
Well, that's not very Christ-like.
Well, it's funny you say that
because you don't even know Jesus.
How are you as an unsafe, unregenerated,
atheistic, agnostic or whatever,
person who hates the Lord Jesus Christ
has never read the Bible going to tell me
what Jesus is like.
I'm not taking any opinions of what Jesus is like.
I know what Jesus is like because I read the Bible.
But you know you have Christians out there
who are a bunch of Ahab's who just fold
at the first threat that they get from the world,
the first threat that they get from the Sodomites,
the first threat that they get from the Atheists.
Well, we don't want to fight or anything.
We just don't want them to come and protest here
and it'll be a bad testimony.
No, you'll be a good testimony to the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you stand your ground and you don't negotiate with Satan
Because at the end of the day if you do
They're asking for an inch, but let me just tell you once you give them the inch. They're gonna take a foot
Go back to 1st Kings chapter 20
So he's you know, he's given to him. He's like, you know, I'm gonna take everything look at verse 8
And all the elders and all the people said unto him harken not unto him nor consent
So the elders seem to have more sense than they have
And they're like, don't listen to him.
Don't consent.
And I don't know if the elders understand
that they have a military, they have God.
God can deliver them, but they have enough sense.
At least they have, you know, dignity.
Right?
And they're like, don't consent, say no.
Verse nine, wherefore he said unto the messengers
of Ben Hayden, tell my Lord the king,
all that thou didst send forth to thy servants
at the first I will do.
But this thing I may not do and the message is the pardon and brought him word again. This is so ridiculous
So the elders like say no. He's all right. Yeah, you're right. Oh, I'll say no. He's a hey
Those first demands you gave
We're good with that
But the second no way
So it's just like okay. Yeah, take the wives and kids
But just you know, don't take inventory of everything else that we have in our house. Oh, what a great stand you got there
You know, hey, let's protest target because we're letting sonomizer. Oh, man. What a great stand you got there
So, you know, I have really thinks he just took a really big stand there against against Ben Hadad and I don't know
You know, you know, Ben Hadad's like I'll take your why is maybe maybe a half is like well
You know, it doesn't sound so bad because I married to Jezebel
Maybe that's why he's saying that it's all speculation, but you know if that was the case then I get you
Look at verse 10 and Ben-Hadah sent unto him and said the gods do so unto me and more also if the dust of Samaria
Shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me the king of Israel answered and said
Tell him let not him that girdeth on his heart and his boast himself as he that put it off now
What is the king Ben-Hadah saying he's saying you don't even understand that how much people I got backing me
They're gonna take you over
I'm gonna destroy you, this is what he's saying,
trying to intimidate Ahab.
And this is the only time Ahab actually says something good.
Cause it broke and clogged right twice a day, man.
So he actually says like a really good statement
and you're almost shocked.
Like where did that come from, you're such a weakling.
Like where was this in the beginning?
Like, this is a really cool statement, verse 11.
Tell him, let not him that girdeth on his harness
boast himself as he that puteth it off.
What does he mean by there?
The modern way of explaining this would be,
don't count your chickens before they lay, right?
You know, the Bible says, boast not thyself of tomorrow
for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
So he's telling Ben, hey dad, hey, don't count the victory
before you've actually gained the victory.
Don't start taking off your harness
The Bible says in James chapter 4 verse 13 go to now ye that say today or tomorrow
We will go into such a city and continue there a year and buy and sell and get gain
Whereas you know not which I'll be on the moral for what is your life?
It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanish at the way for they ought to say if the Lord will
We shall live and do this or that but now ye rejoice in your boastings all such rejoicing is evil
So Ben hated is obviously prideful. He's arrogant
He's boasting and obviously physically speaking you probably could take over Israel
But because Israel has God backing them that's not going to happen, right?
The point that I want to make with this is that we need to be careful boasting ourselves of tomorrow
And I don't think it's wrong to be ambitious, right?
I think men need to be ambitious.
I think we need to plan and have goals
and set goals for ourselves and plan for the future
and even talk about what may be.
But we always have to finish that sentence
with, if the Lord wills.
Because if not, then we're just being presumptuous.
What is Ben-Hadad guilty of?
Being a presumptuous person thinking that
because he has more military might,
that somehow that means he's gonna win.
Well, stop boasting yourself of tomorrow
for you don't know what a day may bring forth, Ben-Hadad.
Look what it goes on to say in verse 12.
It says, and it came to pass when Ben-Hadad
heard this message as he was drinking.
He and the kings and the pavilions that he said into his servants set yourselves an array and set and they set themselves an array against the city
And bill there came a prophet unto a have king of Israel saying thus say at the Lord
Has thou seen all this great multitude?
Behold I will deliver it into thine hand this day and thou shall know that I am the Lord
So what do we have here? He says, you know, Ben-Hadad
Sets his arming array. They're ready to fight. They're ready to go to battle
And obviously, this is probably terrifying for Ahab, the weakling that he is, right?
So he needs the prophet, the man of God, to come to him with the word of the Lord
to remind him of the spiritual battle. And he says, look, you see how big that army is?
He's basically saying, like, they can destroy you.
But of course, I'm going to deliver it into your hand.
Now, why is God allowing Ahab to have victory over Ben-Hadad,
even though Ahab is such a wicked king?
Is it because righteousness is found in Ahab?
Is it because he's a great person?
No, it actually says like the latter in verse 13,
and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
So God allows, or should I say God delivers Israel,
why? Because so his name may be glorified.
And you know what?
I've learned throughout my life, you know, I want to live righteously and do things
for God and win souls to Christ, but let me just be real honest with you, real frank.
If anything good comes out of my life, it's probably because God allowed it so that his
name may be glorified.
Now I would hope that he would do it because he wants to honor my service unto him.
He wants to reward me for serving him and for dedicating my life to serving the Lord
Jesus Christ.
But at the end of the day, you know, I'm not perfect.
And sometimes he blesses me beyond my flaws not because of who I am but because that the world may know that he is the Lord
Because when God uses a person like you he uses a person like me and we do great exploits
Sometimes people are gonna look at you and be like that has to be all God
Because how can God use this person?
Like how how is this even possible I'll tell you how
It's the Lord has to be all God God gets glory because of it
Brother Ulysses and I have a joke where we can't figure
something very basic out, and then it just comes to us,
it's just like God gets all the glory here,
like God gets all the glory.
Hey, you know what, when you get someone saved,
yeah, you probably put in the work to memorize the verses
and put the time, but let me just say this,
it's crazy that you can get someone saved.
You say, oh, what do you mean?
I'll tell you what, it must be that God is using you
to get that person saved.
You know, it's amazing that I can get someone to say,
but I'll tell you what, it's the Lord who's doing that.
And you know what, live your life with that in mind.
You know, if God allows you to do great exploits,
just recognize, it's probably not because you're talented,
gifted, good looking, for sure that's not the case.
For sure, no, I'm just kidding.
You know, it's not because there's anything special
about you, it's because God wants to use this vessel
to bring glory to his name.
So it's not because of Ahab.
You know, and you think of like pastors out there who are just a bunch of compromisers.
They're just, they take weak stances. They're not strong on doctrine.
They're just, you know, they got a lot of flaws about themselves, and you think to yourselves like, how are they even getting people to say,
well, I'll tell you how. It's probably God allowing them to prosper, not for their sake,
but so that his name may be glorified. So we look at a pastor like that and be like, that has to be God because you're such a weak leader.
You're such an Ahab of a leader.
You're such a weakling, compromising,
compliant leader that has to be the Lord.
And you know what, it is.
It is God that worketh in you both to will
and to do of his good pleasure.
So the Bible says, look at verse 14,
and Ahab said, so he tells them like,
I'm gonna deliver into thine hand
this multitude this day.
Verse 14, and Ahab said, by whom?
And he said, let's say at the Lord,
even by the young men of the princes of the provinces,
then he said, who shall order the battle?
And he answered, thou.
It was like, oh man, God's for sure
gonna get all the glory.
Ahab is gonna do this.
But let me just say this, obviously we're not Ahab,
but you know what, the same principle applies though.
And sometimes the least likely candidate
is the one that God wants to use to do something great.
Right?
because God gets more glory from that.
Look at verse 15,
then he numbered the young man of the princes of the provinces
and they were 232.
And after them he numbered all the people,
even all the children of Israel, being 7,000.
Let me read to you from Romans chapter nine verse 15.
It says, for he saith to Moses,
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
So then it is not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runeth,
but of God that showeth mercy.
For the scripture said, saith unto Pharaoh,
even for this same purpose I have raised thee up,
that I may show my power in thee,
and that my name might be declared
the earth, therefore he hath the mercy
on whom he will have mercy
and whom he will harden it.
You know, and again,
going back to the illustration of churches,
you know, I can think of a lot of churches
where I'm thinking like,
how is that thing still running?
So obviously not because of the pastor,
because the pastor is just like toss to and fro.
The pastor is just not a credible person
to be pastoring that church.
And if anything good comes out of that church,
it's not because of the pastor,
it's because of the Lord, right?
And so, you know, there's a lot of Ahabs out there.
You know, Ahabs, they can't, they're run by their wives.
Ahabs, where the wife really runs the whole operation.
Where, you know, he's the pastor,
but really, she's the pastorette.
And he operates more like as the assistant pastor.
You know, he's like, you know, he's supposed to be like Moses,
but it's Aaron who's doing all the talking,
kind of a thing.
And at the end of the day, you kind of wonder like,
how is this thing still afloat?
I'll tell you how, it's not because of him,
it's because the Lord wants it to be as such.
You know, God still wants people to have a church
to go to or whatever it may be.
And so we want to make sure, and again,
no one's in Ahab here, but the principle still applies,
is that if anything good comes out of you,
don't think because it's because how great you are.
How great I, you know, this church is growing.
You know and it's so many people so many visitors have been showing up a lot of people been getting saved
We have to expand into the new unit, and you know what we never want to think like
Sounds about right
First works is the bomb
And just think like oh man
We're the business obviously that by the way, I love the song the song is great. I
Think that song is awesome
But let's let's go ahead and recognize though. Like this has to be God though
Because the kind of preaching that I do I should be scaring people
And I'm not the best leader, you know, I have flaws I have areas that I'm not the best organized the most organized
I'm not the best preacher. I don't know the most Bible
But at the end of the day, obviously God is utilizing this church for his glory and you know what I'll take that over anything else
You know if people look at our church and be like yeah, that that has to be the Lord then you know what mission accomplished
Because we want to glorify God and if it requires for us for people to look at us and say how can this happen through you?
How can this happen through first works about this church? This has to be the Lord and so be it
Because I want God to continue to bless our church
Look at first Kings chapter 20
And verse 16, so Ben Haydad is so presumptuous that you know, you would think like a king who's getting ready to battle
He's sober. He's focused. He's locked in. He's got his plans together. What is he doing? He's drinking
He's getting drunk
So he's just like he's bringing rule flippant and careless about this which kind of shows us that he really thinks like this is
Going to be a piece of cake
Look at verse 16 and they went out at noon and but Ben Hada was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions
He and the kings the 30 and two kings that helped him and the young men of the princes of the provinces
Went out first and Ben Hada sent out and they said and they told him saying there are men come out of Samaria
So they're like oh, hey, they're coming to actually fight
Samaria a habs coming out to fight
Verse 18 and he said whether they become out for peace take them alive or whether they become out for war take them alive
That statement makes no sense whatsoever
Because what he's saying is like hey if they come out for peace take them alive. What if they come out for war take them alive like what?
He's not being coherent
And obviously it's because he's drunk. He's not sober
Verse 19, so these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city and the army which follow them and they
Slew everyone his man and the Syrians fled and Israel pursued them and benedad the king of Syria escaped on a horse
With the horsemen of the king of Israel went out and smote the horses and chariots and slew the Syrians with the great slaughter
So Israel ends up beating benedad
They mopped the floor with them
And why? Not because of Ahab, but because the Lord allowed it to be as such.
He was fighting on their behalf.
If God be for us, who could be against us?
There was more with Ben-Hadah than there was with Ahab,
but yet, Israel was able to win because of it.
Look at chapter 20 verse 22.
So after this great victory, it says the prophet came to the king of Israel.
And said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest, for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.
So this is very wise, because after this great victory, you know, just in any victory, we have a tendency to put our guard down.
Get a little lazy, right?
want to essentially rest on our laurels
and think to ourselves, well, you know,
hey, we whooped them, let's eat, drink, and be married
because everything's going great.
But the prophet comes to Ahab and says,
hey, go ahead and strengthen yourself and take notes.
You need to prepare yourself
because you beat Ben Haida at this time,
but he's gonna come again.
Now this is very wise counsel from the prophet.
Because even though God is the one who delivered Ahab, God wants Ahab to do his part too.
And you know what?
How can we apply this?
You know, you may have had a great victory over sin this week, but take notes.
Because this is going to come back around.
You know, you may have been able to overcome a great trial this last month or the beginning
of the year or last year.
Hey, great job, but let me just say this, strengthen yourselves and mark.
What does that mean?
You better take some notes and be prepared for when it comes again.
Why?
Because the Bible tells us that Satan flees for a season.
And you know what?
He may be gone during the spring season.
He may be gone during the summer season, but he might be coming in the fall and he might
be coming in the winter.
Don't ever think that just because you experienced a great victory yesterday that you can ride
on those victories today.
Hey, you know what, you may have had a great walk with God yesterday, you may have had a
great walk with God today, but you better take notes, strengthen yourself for tomorrow
though.
But we don't know what a day may bring forth.
Don't rely on the victories of yesteryear for the victories that you want to experience
tomorrow.
Mark well, strengthen yourself, see what thou doest.
Why? Because Ben-Haydad's coming back.
You think he's just going to take it like that?
You think you're just going to be able to overcome him like that
and he's just never going to come back?
Of course he's going to come back.
The Bible says in Proverbs 20 verse 18,
Every purpose is established by counsel,
and with good advice, make war.
Showing us that, you know what?
Obviously we need to rely upon God.
We need to pray unto the Lord. We need to read the Bible and and ask God to help us
But at the end of the day, we need to do our part as well
Okay, we can't just be careless and flipping about the whole thing and think well, you know
I'm just gonna leave it all in God's hands. Yeah, but is there something you can do on your on your end though?
You know, I think about this May 11th offering
I'm praying but you know, I'm not just praying though. I'm doing
My wife and I are giving even my kids are gonna give
My kids every week are just like,
this is how much we got right now,
we got this much,
and they be laboring every single day.
Not for an allowance, by the way.
We don't believe in allowances
necessary in our household
unless you do some projects or whatever,
but they're putting a project together
where they're collecting recyclables
because they want to be a part
of the May 11th offering.
Folks, I hope that you also have
that same umph about yourself that little kids do.
And you're like, well, I'll pray for the May 11th offering.
Yeah, but mark yourself and strengthen yourself
and actually do something about it too, though.
You know, pray about it, yes, but you know what?
Let's not only rely upon the Lord,
let's make sure we do our part as well
and participate in it as well.
And this goes all across the board for anything that you do.
You're like, oh, I'm just praying I get a good job,
but did you go look for it, though?
I'm just, you know, I know God.
God is gonna provide for me this perfect job.
Like earn that promise though. Like have you gone to like fill out applications? No, I just know God's gonna
You think he's just gonna drop it in your lab. Well, I just know God has something prepared for me
Yeah, but hold on a second. Have you strengthened yourself and marked yourself to actually go and look for one?
You know, I'm all for prayer. I'm all for relying upon the Lord
I'm all for having faith, but I'm also for you getting your lazy rear end up and going to look for a job
And let me just park it here for just a teeny tiny little bit.
Just a little bit.
No job is perfect.
There's no such thing as a Christian job
other than what I'm doing here.
And he's just like, well, I'm just looking for a job
that's not godless.
Well, look, if you don't have to sell liquor,
you're not selling crack and marijuana and fentanyl,
whatever, you get to go.
Yeah, but my boss I think my boss though might be a rep or bait. So what?
Who cares?
Go earn that earn that check bring that money pay those bills
It's just like yeah, but this job requires every job requires something
What do you expect? Yeah, but this one requires like tools and stuff. Yeah
Yeah
What what do you?
But this job is gonna require like some like blood sweat and tears. Yeah
For sure
Comes with the price. That's what it work
You know a job is basically something you do that sometimes most of the time you don't even like
That's how it is. So stop looking for this unicorn job that doesn't exist
Just go get a job application at Target
Yeah, but there's blue-haired liberals there.
I know, so you can outrank them pretty easy.
Hopefully, I think.
Point that I'm making here is like,
yeah, you know, I know you're praying and fasting.
I know you're asking God, but good night,
can you actually go do something about it, though?
And you know, you said, what's the right job?
The one that pays.
One of these yeah, but it's only like part-time. Hey, that's better. What you got going on here right now is no time
So what's better part-time or no time?
Sounds like part-time is better
Or you could get two part-times, and then that makes like a full-time
And I always you know the thing I think is just like well how much are you making now nothing well?
That's a that's a that's a raise then
Part-time job is a raise
You know what, it's just like one of those things where,
you know, it's like what God told Joshua.
After Aiken took of the accursed thing,
he's like crying, he's like, what do you mean, that is?
And God comes, he's like, up, get up,
and go do something about it.
I don't have a job, get up!
And you know what, as a Christian,
you can probably get promoted and excel
more than anybody at that job.
Well, I'm just looking for there's no unicorn job. I got it. Sorry. I already got the unicorn job
But even pastoring comes with this difficulties
Working with people is difficult
At least you could get a job where you're not really have to deal with people. Maybe you're just stalking things. I don't know
But in either case just get the job
You know some things don't even require prayer
Like if you just if you just apply, I'm sure God will be like I get it
You know, he's just to get the job
I'm not saying don't pray
But you know for me, it's just like pray this much do this much
But honestly, I think even if you do if you pray this much and you're like laboring to get this much
I think God will still get you a job. I
Know I said a little time. I took a little more than a little time, but you know, I just need to get that off my chest
All right, let's move on here
Look at verse 23 of 1st Kings 20 and the servants of the king of Syria said unto him their gods are gods of the hills
Therefore they were stronger than we but let us fight against them in the plane and surely we shall be stronger than they
So what is Ben Haydad in Syria doing? They're actually underestimating the Lord
They are essentially
compartmentalizing God viewing him essentially as a local deity
Like, well, the only reason they beat us is because, you know,
their God is the God of the hills,
but let's find out the plans and we'll get them.
But no, no, no, God owns the cattle in the Thousand Hill.
He's the God of the universe.
He whooped you because you guys suck
and you don't serve him and you don't worship him.
That's why you lost.
Look at verse 28.
And there came a man of God, I love this, and spake unto the king of Israel and said,
Thus saith the Lord, because the Syrians have said the Lord is God of the hills,
but he's not the God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand,
and ye shall know that I am the Lord."
So he's like, I'm going to allow you to whoop them again, and this time it's for two reasons,
and none of them include Ahab.
One reason is because so you can know that I am the Lord because you know what?
I think God is trying to get a get ahold of a have
He already has the position as a king. It's just like
Brother, can you just like wake up and start acting like a king of Israel?
So he's like I want you to know that I am the Lord
But then he also says but I'm also gonna deliver you because I'm not gonna take no insult because they're insulting God
So God's like, oh Ben-Heda is gonna insult me like that then I'm gonna I'm gonna allow Ahab who's such a weakling of a leader
To destroy you for your insult and your blasphemy against me because they're saying oh, yeah
He's only the God of the other hills not of the valleys or whatever
He goes on to say in verse 29 and they pitched one over against the other seven days
And so it was that in the seventh day the battle was joined and the children of Israel slew all the Syrians a hundred thousand
Footmen in one day
And the rest fled to AFFEC into a city
and there a wall fell upon 27,000 of the men that were left.
But they had fled and came into the city
into an inner chamber.
So like, you know, the army whoops is the multitude.
The guys who get away, they go into the chamber
like, all right, we're safe.
It's like, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh,
and it just destroys the rest of them.
The guy was very creative, you know?
So, you know that they they ran to a wall
Okay, I just love the fact that it's just like, you know, God's just like a wall just fell on them
But you know, that's another that's that's more proof that you know, God is getting more glory because ahab didn't do that
Like who beat this multitude a wall
Was it wasn't an app knows a wall wall fell on them
And you know what, that's great.
And you know what, I think to myself sometimes,
Lord, do something so that it's like the only reason
what explanation is like you.
If a wall has to fall down, just miraculously do it
so that you get all the glory for it.
So it's a great, great story.
So you beat them twice, two to zero.
All right, look at verse 31.
And his servants, referring to Ben Haydad,
they're defeated of course, it says,
said unto him, behold now we have heard
that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings.
These guys are being kind of cunning, you know,
they're like, these guys are righteous.
Now obviously Ahab is not, but what he's saying is like,
these guys have a reputation of being kind,
gracious, merciful because they believe in God, right?
He says, let us, I pray they put sackloth on our loins
and ropes upon our heads and go out to the king of Israel
for adventure, he will save thy life.
So they girded sackloth on their loins
and put ropes on their heads and came to the king of Israel.
So what are they saying?
They're like, hey, these guys are a bunch of pushovers.
These guys are a bunch of softies.
They're bleeding hearts.
They're a bunch of compromisers.
Just act like you're just humble.
Put some sackloth about yourself
Okay
Now this you know obviously Christians should be merciful a man, but let me just let me just explain something
We need to be merciful, but never at the exclusion of justice though
And let me just say that you can have both justice and mercy
You can be gracious and have judgment
You can have mercy and grace and still have righteousness and in fact you're supposed to have both
Never one at the exclusion of the other.
Don't be an unbalanced Christian where it's just like,
well, you guys are just so mean, just unmerciful.
No, we're all about mercy, but hold on a second.
Do we just completely ignore and negate all the verses
about being just and righteous and holy?
No, we got both.
So they know that they're merciful,
so they're essentially trying to take advantage
of their mercy, take advantage of their grace,
in order to save their own skin.
So they do this and it says verse 32 said he girded sackcloth under Lorne's and put robes on their heads and came to the king of
Israel and said thy servant been hay that sayeth I pray thee let me live
Now this is what they have should have done. Oh
Is that what he said?
Oh, is that what he wants? Yeah, it's funny. I did last time I check a rumor been hay dad wanted to take my wife and
My kids off with his head
The Lord delivered you into my hands
The fact that you have been delivered into the hands of Israel is an indication that you deserve to die
Because all your men have been slain. This is the righteous thing to do. Okay?
That's fact and look these guys aren't sincere
right
They have this superficial sincerity. We're just like
That doesn't sincere
And look, this is why it's important
that we are able to perceive and discern
when people are being sincere or not.
Oh yeah, just go to that church,
and if you just say brother to them,
you say God bless you, you flatter them a little bit,
Christians are so easy to take advantage of.
There's people that think that way.
They go into churches to try to take advantage
of the members because they know Christians are god-fearing
people who love people.
And you know what?
We are.
But not at the exclusion of discerning,
hey, you're being a phony, you're being a fake.
You're trying to take advantage of people
with your love with dissimulation,
you dissimulated love, flattery,
you're trying to set a net under my feet
to take advantage of God's people.
So they did this and it's crazy how Ahab responds look at again verse 32
They girded on the sackcloth on their loins put robes on their heads came to the king of Israel and said nice servant
But hey that's it. I pray that he let me live and he said is he yet alive? He is my brother
What
So I was like, oh, he's alive. Hey, he's my brother
What is the problem here? Ahab loves the wicked
He loves the wicked
What do you mean he's your brother?
Bro was about to take your wife and kids.
Bro wanted an inventory of all your goods
and he wanted to destroy you.
And all of a sudden he's your brother?
Bro preaches a repent of your sins gospel.
How is he your brother?
Bro teaches a works based salvation.
How in the world is he your brother?
And let me just make it very clear,
anybody who preaches a repenting or sins doctrine
is not really not my brother, he's a false prophet,
he's unsaved.
And unless he calls me up and clarifies
what he really believes and allows me
to just rebuke him wholeheartedly over the phone,
you know what, he's a false prophet.
Shiflet.
Got a nickname for Shiflet, I just can't say it
in the house of God.
What are you doing, Ahab?
You have no integrity he is my brother
The guy wanted to destroy you the guy is contrary to you and the mere fact that God delivered him into your hand is an
Indication that he's an enemy of God
Well, you should be merciful to well, let me ask you was God merciful to his guys to his men
No, did God allow them to be destroyed? Yes
Have some discernment here
He's not your brother
So this stuff like this makes me wonder like hey
Maybe he is your brother because maybe you're just not even saved
You know when you get along better with false prophets and people who preach false
Gospels better than God's people, you know, I'm kind of wonder about you
Makes me wonder I
Don't know about you man
Sound like a bastard there
Sound like someone who's not truly born of God, you know when you are willing to deliver
Wicked false prophets who preach a false gospel
You want to deliver them and make excuses for them?
It just kind of makes me wonder and then you're constantly fighting against the man of God the righteous people who are preaching the right things
Yeah, it makes me wonder
Are you saying like there's pastors out there who just not say I'm sure there's pastors out there that are not saved
But there's some there's just they're like a hab
You just don't really know
You just look at every like
Don't know about you man
You're calling repenting your sense preachers your brother and you're constantly making excuses for their false
Gospels and their false doctrine you kind of make me wonder a little bit
Look at verse 33 now the men did diligently absurd observe whether anything would come from him and did hastily catch it
I hope you notice what's happening here.
So, you know, they're coming to Ahab and they're like,
hey, you know, he's like repenting,
he's sorry about this, and he's like,
oh, he's alive, he's my brother.
And so they're literally listening to all the words
that Ahab is saying so they can catch and say,
oh, his brother, oh, okay, we're in.
Because look what it says.
And did hastily catch him, they said,
thy brother, Ben-Hey-Dad.
That was quick.
He's like, he's my brother, oh, no, no, no, no.
Brother Ben-Hadad, they're playing into it.
Then he said, go ye bring him,
then Ben-Hadad came forth to him
and he caused them to come up into the chariot.
He caused them to preach at his church.
And Ben-Hadad said unto him, the cities,
you know this is Ben-Hadad talking right here,
the cities which my father took from thy father,
I will restore.
And now shall make streets for thee in Damascus
as my father made in Samaria.
Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant.
So he made a covenant with them and sent him away.
So basically, you know, Ben-Hadad is flattering Ahab.
He's like, hey, everything my dad took from your dad,
I'm gonna give it back to you.
Let it restore.
You can rebuild the streets and stuff like that.
We're good.
And you know, AI was just like, oh yeah,
let's make a covenant.
So he's making a covenant with the wicked.
He's making an agreement, a contract with the wicked.
You know what the Bible says?
He that justified the wicked, and he that condemned it,
that just, even both of them are in abomination
unto the Lord.
You better be careful who you defend.
Cause you just might become an abomination.
You better make sure they're not wicked.
You know God's not pleased with this at all
It's just like a have you know, you don't really have a good track record. You know you hate Elijah
You hate the prophets of God and you seem to just get along better with the false prophets
What's wrong with this picture?
Look at verse 35
now
Verse 35 we're gonna see another certain man of God like you see these certain prophets that are coming there nameless, right?
Which I think is pretty cool, like you have Elisha that everyone knows,
but then you have these other prophets who are just also beasts.
You know, and they're serving God too, you just don't know what their names are.
But I personally believe that this prophet is actually Makaya.
Now, do you guys remember who Micaiah is?
Micaiah is the one who later on,
you know, Ahab is talking to Jehoshaphat
and they want to overcome Syria
and then Jehoshaphat, he's a righteous man
but he's just kind of carried about with Ahab's stupidity.
And you know, Jehoshaphat is like,
isn't there a man of God here that we can inquire of?
You're like, oh yeah, so they bring up all these prophets,
these lame, non-denom preachers, right?
And they're like,
God's gonna prosper you. He's gonna bless you. It's yours. And you know, you know, just
Just how's that? You know money though. You got any money for me?
You know, I can send you a cloth and an anointed cloth. Yeah, you got it. You got it
It's in the back and then Jehoshaphat's like, you know, I kind of grew up under Baptist preaching like is there someone else
You can inquire of and then Ahab says well, there's like one guy
Like but I hate him
because he never prophesized good concern to me,
but only evil.
And the only other time that this happened prior
to that story was this, right here, okay?
So Micaiah is like the legitimate one.
And then you know, Jehoshaphat is like,
let not the king say so.
In other words, like, oh, don't exaggerate so much.
So then they bring Micaiah and he actually stands out
and he actually condemns the king, right?
King Ahab, he pronounces judgment upon him
and Ahab ends up dying.
Ahab is awesome, okay?
And it's just funny, he's like, this is one guy,
but I hate him.
And the funny thing about that story is just like,
you know, Makai comes in and he's like,
yeah, you're gonna live.
He's like, I knew you weren't gonna say anything right
about me, just tell me the truth.
He's like, all right, you're gonna die.
He's like, see, he never prophesized good concerning me.
Throw him in jail.
There's this famous story with the Spartans in the 300
where like, I think it's Art Exerxes,
he sends like a letter to Leonidas
and he says like, we're gonna do all this,
we're gonna take this,
and we're gonna take over your land.
He gives them like a list of things that they're gonna do
and then they respond with if, if.
Basically saying like, yeah, you can do all that
if you're able to overcome us.
But there's one statement I like better than that one,
and that's what Makaya says.
Because Ahab's just like, I'm gonna throw you in here,
and I'm gonna, when I come back,
and he's just like, if you come back.
If you come back, which obviously he did.
So I believe this is Makai here look at verse 35 and a certain man of the sons of the prophets sent him to his neighbor in the
Word of the Lord
Smite me I pray thee and the man refused to smite him
Then said he unto them because thou has not obeyed the voice of the Lord
Behold as soon as thou are departed from me a lion shall slay thee and as soon as he was departed from a lion found him in sleuthing
So it's pretty interesting
Makai comes he finds it and I believe he's talking to another prophet and he's like a I gotta I gotta go to work hit me
You know the word of the Lord says to smite me. That's needs to hit. It's sock me
You know punch me just wound me. He wants to be wounded and he's like, I can't do that. He's like, okay
You're dead. You know you disobeyed. All right, you know, then when you walk away a lion's gonna slay you and
You know the principle there is obey God
If you feel like the commandments of the Lord are extreme
Don't disobey them. They're not extreme
Just do as God says.
Now there's no one in the Bible that says
that we should smite one another, okay?
This is obviously unique to this particular story here.
But you know what?
A lion found him and slew him
because he disobeyed the word of the Lord.
Look at verse 22.
Oh, I'm sorry, verse 37.
Obviously the principle there is that to obey
is better than sacrifice.
Verse 37 says, then he found another man and said,
smite me, I pray thee, and the man smote him
so that in smiting him he wounded him.
So it's possible this other guy was maybe a little far off.
And he's just like smiling, he's just giving him a nice little hug and says he wounded him.
So he probably, you know, I mean if I was that guy and I saw the other guy do that, I'd be like, say less, you know?
I just, I take flight on him.
Like maybe this isn't enough, you know what I mean?
I want to make sure I avoid the lion.
Verse 38 says so the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way and disguised himself with ashes upon his face
And as the king passed by he cried into the king and said thy servant went out of the midst of the battle
Behold a man turned aside and brought a man unto me and said keep this man
If by any means he be missing then shall thy life be for his life or else thou shall pay a talent of silver and
As thy servant was busy here and there he was gone
And the king of Israel sent him to him,
so shall thy judgment be, thyself has decided it."
So, you know, the prophet comes up with this made up story.
And the reason he's wounded is because he wants to look
as though he just came out of the battle.
He's like, hey, I have this issue.
You know, we got this captive from the other side.
And, you know, this guy told me to watch over him.
And I was busy doing other things and he escaped.
And then Ahab is just like, oh, then you deserve to die in his place because you let the enemy get away
Verse 42 or verse 41 and he hates it. It took the ashes away from his face. So he's like after he says all that he's just like
And then Ahab realizes like oh no because he recognizes it
Because he says and the king of Israel discerned him that he was one of the prophets
He's like, oh man, the whole David and Nathan thing again.
You know, like, you know what Nathan gave him that story?
And then he's like, now we're at the run.
He's like, this is these prophets, man.
I like these kind of prophets.
It's creative, right?
And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, because that was let go out of thy hand, a man whom I appointed to utter destruction.
Therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.
And the king of Israel went out to his house, heaving displeased, and came to Samaria."
What is he saying? You know what? Because you don't respect my judgments, you're gonna die now.
You know, you're over here telling me that I deserved a guy for letting a captive go. You let the king go!
And above all else, you backed him up.
You called him brother.
You made a covenant with him.
Of course you deserve to die.
You know, what does it show us?
It shows us that we need to make sure
that we obey the commandment of the Lord
whether we think it's right or not.
You know what?
All the commandments of the Lord are right
and if ever you think one seems to be off,
one seems to be too extreme,
one seems to be too radical,
you need to radicalize yourself
to fall in line with what the Bible says.
The problem is you're just a weakling of a person.
You say, that's kind of rough.
Well, here's the thing is that,
isn't this what we see with Ahab?
Ahab is making excuses for the commandment of God.
You know, whatever God commands us to do
is always right to do.
It's always right.
And if you think it's too extreme,
we just need to bring our minds
into alignment with what the Bible says.
And you know what, I could first attest to this
that as a Christian, I've read things throughout the years
and I'm just like, this seems extreme.
Lord, forgive me for feeling that way.
It just kind of shows that my mind is weak.
My mind has been duped by this world.
I need my mind to be renewed.
I need my mind to be transformed.
And I need to obey you and have the right attitude
towards the commandments of God.
And not be like this guy.
You know, not be like the first guy who's like,
I can't hit you.
He's like, God told me to tell you to hit me.
And he's just like, no, I can't do that.
That's too mean.
That's not nice.
I was like, all right.
You ever been eaten by a lion before?
Condemnation of Ahab.
Here's the last part.
Go to First Kings 21, First Kings 21.
So he does that and you know the king he's like heavy and displeased. He's you know, and what what does he do?
He does the same thing what he does when he is
You know refused the Naboth's vineyard. He's just like
He's not really repentant
He doesn't really care because he's still doing wickedly thereafter
And of course then we have the story with him in Jehoshaphat and that's where he ends up dying
But before that Elijah comes to him and he preaches against him to let him know that this is what's gonna happen to him
What it says in verse 17 the word of the Lord came to Elijah the tishbite same arise go down to meet a half king of Israel
Which is in some area behold he is in the vineyard of Naboth whether he has gone down to possess it
And now she'll speak in some saints does say the Lord has thou killed and also taken possession
Also, that shall speak unto him saying does say the Lord in the place where dogs lick the blood of Naboth shall dogs
Lick thy blood even die. Hey, I want to see verses like this at Hobby Lobby amen
So he gives him this preaching, this condemnation.
And I don't know, but I feel like if I was Ahab,
I'd be like, all right, I repent.
What can I do to get right?
You know, Lord, forgive me,
just repent and sack, loth and ashes.
And later on we see that he repents,
but he still doesn't get right thereafter.
But I want you to notice verse 20,
and it's a fantastic verse here.
And Ahab said to Elijah, has thou found me,
oh, my enemy?
You know, he's preaching against me.
He's like, oh, you found me, huh?
And he answered, I have found thee,
because thou hast sold thyself to work evil
in the sight of the Lord.
What's the point that I'm making here?
The point is, is that Ahab made a distinction
between him and the prophets of God.
He's calling Elijah his enemy.
He's like, you're my enemy.
Oh, but who's his friend, Ben Haydad?
Oh, I'm sorry, not his friend, his brother.
And yet he's telling Elijah,
and this is like for like a movie here.
I say, I stopped found me all my enemy,
and Elijah's like, oh yeah, I found you.
And you're gonna die.
You know, what's the principle that we can learn from Ahab?
Don't be a weakling, compliant, leader, Christian,
man of God, woman of God.
You say, well, Ahab's a man.
Yeah, but he's kinda acting like a girl, though.
So you can apply this, too, ladies.
You know, don't be the type of person
that just is a compromiser.
Don't be a person who supports the wicked who supports the evil who sides with the wicked. That's an ahab mentality
You know, we want to be like Hezekiah
We want to be like Asa
We want to be like Josiah
We want to be like King David, right?
Where we side with the Lord and not with the enemies of God and so that's pretty much it. Let's pray father
We thank you so much for your word. Thank you for the example of a hab and everything that we should avoid as Christians
Lord help us as your people never to become bleeding hearts and
to side with wicked people
To side with people who preach the false gospel to preach a workspace salvation and
Always seems to be fighting against the men of God
fighting against the Lord himself.
I pray that Lord, you'd help us to avoid that
as much as possible, and may you be honored and glorified
in all that we do this week.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.