(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Amen, I apologize right away if I do a lot of sniffing and snorting tonight, but I'm assuming it's allergies are really getting the best of me. I kind of resemble, you know, this first verse there where it says the son of Jeroboam fell sick. So, Corbin, the son of John, is falling a little sick tonight, so. But this is a great chapter, this is a chapter I really, always jumps out at me whenever I read it, and it's one I really appreciate, especially this prophet Ahijah, there's just some, you know, as a preacher he's somebody I kind of look to, and, you know, I can really admire just for the fact that, you know, even in his old age here, we see him just still standing strong, preaching a hard message, and telling it like it is, you know, and that's something that we really need today. We need men of God who are just going to get up and preach the whole counsel of God that aren't going to shy away, that they're not going to pull punches when it comes to the scripture, they're not going to avoid certain passages, that they're just going to tell it like it is, and, you know, not spare people's feelings, but just say what needs to be said. You know, that's something that's a real dearth in our land today, you know, preachers like that are getting fewer and far between, unfortunately. And even here in the time of 1 Kings, you can see it's kind of a similar situation. If you remember 1 Kings 12 and 13, we're seeing, you know, this is kind of the beginning of the end for Israel and Judah as they're going to continue to go farther and farther down into idolatry, and until eventually they're going to be taken captive, you know, but it's a similar situation where you have, you know, they're setting up these idols just so where it's convenient, you know, he's putting a calf, you know, in one part of Israel and another just so nobody has to go back to Jerusalem, and just saying, oh, just worship here, you know, we'll have our own religion, you know, you don't have to go so far, you know, it's that same parallel that we see today is where people just want things to be convenient, and they just want, you know, they only care about the man of God, they only care about God's house, you know, when they need something, you know, when their life is a wreck, you know, when someone falls sick, you know, proverbially, kind of to speak here, when they, you know, when something happens in their life, then all of a sudden it's, oh, and forget the idols, let's actually go and talk to the man of God, I'll hide you, let's see what's actually going, see if we can get some help here, and that's what you see taking place in the beginning of the chapter there, it says, and at that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick, and Jeroboam said to his wife, I rise, I pray thee, disguise thyself, that thou be not known to thy wife, to be the wife of Jeroboam, and get thee to Shiloh, behold, there is a hyge of the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people, so you can see already that Jeroboam knows full well that, you know, he's worthy of the judgment of God, it's because of the fact that, you know, he's telling his wife to go and disguise herself, that, you know, don't let him know you're my wife, you know, just go and seek him, because he already knows that these, you know, caused Israel to sin, and he's already back sinned, he's already taken over of it, as we preached a few weeks back, so he's sending her there, and notice it says in verse 3, take with you ten loaves and crackles, now I don't know what a crackle is, but I'm sure it's something good, right? So we're taking ten loaves and a cruise of honey, so he's already thinking, you know, I know what this Abijah's like, I know what kind of a preacher he is, you know, he'll tear your coat up like he did mine, you know, he'll talk about rending the kingdom, he'll preach a hard message, so, you know, take the honey with him, maybe you can sweeten him, but maybe you can get him to get a little soft in his old age, right? And he says, and go to him, and he shall tell thee what shall become of the child. So the girl born and his wife did so, and she rose and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Abijah, and Abijah could not see, so old, we've got so long in years, that, you know, he's just stuck in his house, and he's blind, he can't see, his eyes are set by reason of age. And this is what I really love about Abijah, as I mentioned, the fact that in his old age, you know, he doesn't compromise, he keeps just preaching it, and telling him for so long, and going at it for so long, that they've taken their stands, they've taken their shots on the chin, they've already, you know, done the things that they need to do, maybe the temptation in their old age to say, well, you know, I fought that battle for so long, that can soften up a little bit in my old age. You know, that is a possibility, that's something I'm always reminding myself, you know, hey, if I want to stay at this thing, if I want to be in the ministry and stick with it all the way to the end of my life, that means I can't get soft in my old age. You know, and I can't be, obviously, you can never be soft at any point, but, you know, the tendency is, I think the danger is, is that we as a people, as preachers, as God's people, as we get older, we can start to let our standards slip. You know, the grandparents, you know, aren't as hard on the grandchildren as they were their own kids. You know, say, oh, it's all right, you don't have to worry about them dressing that way, or watching this, or listening to that. You know, that's the tendency of human nature, that as we get older, you know, we want to just take it easy, back off, and just kind of let things go, and say, well, I already did my part. You know, not a Hijjah. You know, Hijjah, even in his old age, where he's blind, is still just going to tell it like it is, and I just really admire him for that. Now it says there in verse 5, and the Lord said unto Hijjah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing for thee, for her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shalt thou say unto her, Where it shall be when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman. And it was so when Hijjah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam, why feignest thou thyself to be another? For I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. You know, he doesn't, that's, that, how would you like to get that greeting when you go to somebody's house? Oh, I'm so glad you're here, I got some really bad news for you. Oh, I'm glad you can make it, let me just go ahead and, you know, break your heart. Let me go ahead and just put some heavy tidings on you. Right? You know, and this is what, you know, sometimes, I mean, how would you like to come to church and hear that? Oh, hi, welcome, visitor, you don't even get on the door. Hey, I got some really bad news for you. I got a really hard message to deliver you. Right? Look, most people aren't going to want to do that. You know, you get the visitors in church, and it's like, you know, the temptation is, well, I guess maybe I can pull back, maybe I shouldn't say that. Maybe you'll have a message prepared, you know, the Lord will speak your heart and say, say thus and thus, and then you're like, oh yeah, my people are going to love this, and then that new face shows up, and you're like, well, you know, I don't know if I should teach that. I mean, I've had to deal with this. I remember I had one message where I was talking about, you know, ladies' dress standards or something like that, you know, and I thought, well, you know, all the ladies here are on board, it's going to be pretty easy, and I said, well, I'm going to go off on makeup, too. I'm going to talk about Jezebel and painting up her face and how, you know, she made herself to look like a whore and everything else and just really let it rip, you know, and then the visitors walk in, right, and they just got it caked on, you know, the thick mascara, they got the short dress and everything, and I was just like, well, thus and thus, you know, that's what I wrote before they walked in, you know, hey, I'm glad you made it, I'm glad you're here, I got some heavy tidings for you. You know what, and they never came back. You know what, and I'm not surprised, okay? You know, but that's the temptation, isn't it, to not preach the heavy tidings, to not preach, you know, the hard message, because the truth is, when you preach the heavy, you know, the heavy tidings, when you preach the hard message, people just, I'm not going back there, and they don't, they don't come back, and the temptation is, you know, if you're not in the ministry for the right reasons, that you'll soften up. You know, and honestly, you know, being in the ministry, being a preacher, it causes you to do a lot of self-introspection, you know, at least when it comes to, you know, obviously, I'm the one that's trying to, like, lead this thing, you know, so you ask yourself, well, why is it that you would want a bigger church? You know, why is it? You know, and I'm not against the big church. I'm not against running hundreds, thousands of people. I think that's great. You know, if it's the right kind of crowd, if you're still about the right message, you know, if you can still do it without being a compromiser or being a coward, you know, if it's not going to cause you to pull back and not say what needs to be said, and preach the hard things out of the word of God, not just all the sweetness and light. You know, I'm not against that. You ask yourself, well, why is it that you would want a bigger church? Why would you want to run a hundred, two hundred, three hundred? Is it for your own self and grandisement? You know, is it so you can feel approved by men? And so that you can say, hey, maybe you can get, you know, other preacher friends to look at you and say what a success you are because you're running such a big church? And again, I'm not against big church. I'm not. You know, but you have to ask yourself, what's the point? Why get the big church? Why try to run a hundred? Why try to run? Well, you know, if the motive is to preach God's word, to see lives change, and to reach the city with the gospel of Jesus Christ, then by all means, let's get as big as we can. You know, if people are going to show up and love the word of God, and love the preaching the word of God, and not just all the easy stuff in it, but the hard things too, all the gnarly bits that are in there too, if they're going to show up and say, I love that, I want to do that, I want to live my life that way, I want to take this on, I want to do the work that God has given us to do, then let's get as big as we can. You know, but if me having to grow a big church means I have to pull back, and not preach the word of God, and compromise, and not turn to the harder things in the word of God, you know what, then I don't want it. Then I don't want it. You know, I would rather drag a dozen people out, you know, to church, out soul winning, week in and week out for the rest of my life, if they're the right kind of people, than to pack this place out with 200 people that don't really care about the things of God. You know, that are just there for a show. And look, if all you're looking for in church is a show, I know where to send you. I mean, I can tell you where to go, specifically. And you can go there, and it'll be King James Bible, and the preaching will still be good, because you know what the problem is, a lot of these churches, it's not what they say, it's what they don't say. It's the things that are not preaching. That's the problem. They say a lot of good things. They say a lot of the same things I want to say. It's a lot of the same things I have said, and we'll say it again. You know what the problem is, is the things that they don't want to say. Because they've been around so long, and they've gotten so big, and they've gotten so comfortable, and they got the purple lights, and they got the big show, and I'm not joking about the purple lights, I'm talking literally, purple lights. They got the big show, and they don't want to risk anything. You know, they've gotten comfortable in their old age, as they've gotten, you know, more and more settled in to their program. You know, you can go watch the show, and I'm telling you, it's 45 minutes of a song service. You think our song service is long? You know, I'm not against song servicing. You want to have a longer, I'm just saying this, if you're going to have a 45 minute song service of duets, and solos, and everything else, get the choir up there, you're going to do all that, you know, that better be one good sermon when it's done. That better be the best sermon I've ever heard in my life. You know, I've got to sit through 45 minutes of this borderline CCM, you know, music, and it's out there, and it's King James, you know, and look, if that's what you're interested in, I can tell you where to go. But if you, you know, what I would rather have, rather than just trying to put on a show and entertain everybody, is to fill this place up with people that love God's word, that want to go out and win solos to Christ. And pull people out of the fire. Say, why do you guys go on and on soul winning so much? Why is it the first, when I walk in the door, the first thing I see is that map with the red eye and all the soul winning maps next to it. Why is it that you guys are so geared toward soul winning? Because people are dying and going to hell. Constantly. In this city, people are dying and going to hell. Dying and going to hell. Dying and going to hell. You know, and I have to just keep harping on it and dragging people out and pushing people and motivating people to go out and win solos because that's what we're here to do. That's the mission. Not to just come here and have, you know, entertainment. And look, we have fun. We have fun along the way. You know, there's ping pong here. You know, we get a little bigger. Maybe I'll throw the foosball table in. You know, we have our events and things like that, but that's not the point. You know, the point in this church is the preaching of God's word in the pulpit and out on the street. You know, and a Hijjah here is somebody who gets it. You know, he's saying, thus and thus saith the Lord. He said, well, that's what I'm going to say then. You know, and that's, this is somebody that I admire because that's a philosophy that I try to have. You know, I'm reading through 1 Kings, whatever, or whatever book I'm in, whatever passage I turn to say, well, that's what it says. You know, and if it's something that's going to you know, hair lip every dog in the county, I don't care. If it's going to make people mad and cause them to not come back, you know, so be it. Because I'll get to the end of my life like a Hijjah, you know, and I might not be the big shot in Shiloh. You know, I might, I might, you know, people might not be clamoring to come hear me speak, but I'll be right with God. But I'll be right with God, and I'll be able to say like, Paul, I finished my course. I kept the faith. I didn't compromise. I didn't pull back. I might not have been the most popular guy. I might not have some of the biggest numbers, but you know what, as long as I'm doing it for the Lord, as long as I'm faithful to Him, that's all I care about. And if, you know, people want to come along with me and get on this train, let's do it. But that's not going to, you know, I'm not going to try to win a popularity contest, especially at the price of compromising in God's Word. I want to be like a Hijjah who's just true all the way to the end. And it says there, you know, he says, come in, you know, I'm sent to thee with heavy tidings. He said, and let's hear his hard message. Now, I've preached, I like to think I've preached a few sermons that have some teeth in it. I like to think I've gotten up and preached a few hard messages here and there. But I've never preached anything, I've never had to say anything like this to anybody. He said, go tell Jeroboam, that's saying the Lord God of Israel. You know, he's saying, oh, you want to know what's going to happen, Jeroboam? You're interested in what God has for you? Well, let me tell you. For as much as I exalted thee from among the people and made thee prince over my people Israel, rent away the kingdom, excuse me, rent the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it thee, and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, to do only that which is right in my eyes, but has done evil above all that were before thee. For thou hast gone and made the other gods and molten images to provoke me to anger and has cast me behind thy back. So, you know, this is making God, you can see why God's upset here. You know, because God's going to get, he's about to get pretty, pretty rough here in chapter, in verse 10. He says, therefore, don't forget that therefore. Remember what Jeroboam's done in this past, what we've seen him do. I mean, he's casting off God. He's making, you know, false gods, molten images. He's causing Israel to sin. He says, therefore, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall and him that is shut up and left in Israel and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam as a man taketh away dung till it all be gone. Now, I've gotten up and I've said some hard things to people. I think I've preached pretty hard, but you know what? That's a pretty hard message, isn't it? Especially for a first time visitor, right? It's the first time, and she shows up there, you know, Jeroboam's wife, at the, you know, at the Hijam's church, and he's saying, oh yeah, you're going to be carried away like dung. And I love, I love the terminology here. I love the words that God uses. And you know what? We're living in a time where even Baptist preachers would be ashamed to just read those words from pulpit. They'll say, oh, you know, this is just an old way of talking, and it's like, well, every word of God is pure. Or they'll get mad at some preacher because he says piss. You know, they get all mad when the preacher gets up and uses biblical words like hell, whore, bastard, piss, dung. They get all upset about that, but you know what? They're like a whole lot plainer than that at home on their television, don't they? Those hypocrites. But then they'll turn around and watch some filthy movie with people cussing and everything else, and then they'll come and criticize some man of God for saying, oh, I can't believe he said hell. I can't believe he said whore, bastard. I can't believe he said a Bible word. Oh, man, how crass. How crass of, you know, this prophet here, Abijah, to use words like piss and dung. Yeah, you know, it is crass, isn't it? You know, that's not exactly how I don't really talk like that in every situation. You know, that's not the kind of talk I just, you know, in passing conversation I'll use at home with my wife to start throwing out words like piss and dung and everything else. You know, you try to have a little tack, but you know what? There's a time and place for it, isn't there? You know, when you got the wife of the man who's led your nation into hell and turned it against God, you know, words like piss and dung are probably pretty mild, to be honest. You know, maybe it's not the talk you would use just on a lazy Sunday afternoon at home, but you know, there's a time and place to get a little crass because you know what this is expressing? This is expressing how the Lord feels, isn't it? This is what the Lord said. Hey, you know what? I'm going to cut off him that pisses against the wall, and they're going to carry you away like dung. You know, for us that, you know, have small children or have had small children, we can relate to this dung metaphor, can't we? You know, that diaper gets filled you know, it's not a pleasant experience. You carry it a certain way, don't you? You know, you don't keep it close. You're doing this, right? I mean, you can see why God is using this expression because he's trying to get across. This is what I think of you, Israel. This is what I think about you, Jerobo, and this is what I think about the nation. You know what, you remind me of that filled diaper. You remind me of dung. And I can barely, I have to keep you at harm's length and I can't get to the can fast enough to get rid of you. You know, then I got to get the bag out of here. That's how, this is why he's using this language. You know, and people want to blush at that and go, and clutch their pearls over, you know, these words in the Bible. You know, well, there's a purpose behind it. It's expressing how God feels about these people. You know, and I'm kind of getting ahead of myself, but it makes me wonder today, do you think maybe God might feel this way about our country and our world today? There might be some people where he feels like, man, you guys are like dung to me. You smell, you stink, I can't get rid of you fast enough. Of course there is. You know, I'm getting ahead of myself, but this is how the Lord expresses himself. This is how he feels about these people. You know, and that's something that he uses, the expression that he uses, you know, often in Scripture. Now if you would, go to Matthew chapter 3, Matthew chapter number 3. He said in Malachi chapter 2, behold, I will corrupt your seed and spread dung upon your faces. I mean, that's worse than this when you think about it. I mean, it's one thing to say, hey, I'm going to carry you away like a dirty diaper. And it's another thing to say, hey, I'm going to take what's in that diaper and smear it on your face. But that's what God said, isn't it? Well, I don't think you should talk like that from the pulpit. Well, you know, the Malachi is a book that's in the Bible. That was a prophet of God that said that, speaking in the spirit of God, who said, I will corrupt your seed and spread dung upon your faces. You know, and this is what I'm saying. This is what's lacking today, is the hard sayings. There's a lot of churches out there, they're saying a lot of the right things. It's the things they're not saying. I mean, this is mild into my book compared to some of the other things that we find in Scripture. I mean, yeah, it's a very crass illustration, but it has a point. And yet so many today would just shrink away from talking like this or even, you know, expressing any kind of a sediment like this, that God is disgusted with some people. That sometimes God is just thoroughly disgusted with what He sees going on in this earth, in this country. And even in His own house. Zephaniah chapter 1, he says in verse 17, And I will bring distress upon men, they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord. And their blood shall be poured out like as dust, and their flesh as dung. You know, what did He say to Jezebel? That she won't be buried, right? That she would be spread in the field as dung. Because the dogs would eat her flesh. I mean, these are the things that God says and does in Scripture. To express how He feels. So who am I, who am I as a preacher to get up and say, well, God, I think He went a little too far there. You know, I don't think we should talk like that to the people. I mean, you know who I'm not? Is I'm not a Elijah at that point. Excuse me, I'm not a Hijjah at that point. I'm not a true prophet of God if I'm saying, well, I know that's how God feels, but, you know, let me soften the message. You know, the Lord said, thus and thus, thou shalt say. Well, you know what, I'm trying, Lord, you don't understand, you know, I've got a lifestyle to maintain here. I've got a program I'm trying to build. I've got this church that I'm trying to build. You know, I don't want to upset anybody. You know, I've got money bags in the church. And, you know, if I preach that, if I say that about, you know, whatever the subject, you know, there's a good chance that they won't come anymore. You know, that's not what you see from a real man of God. They'll get up and say the mean things. They'll get up and say the hard things. The nasty things that need to be said. You know, a Hijjah, when you think about it, is seeker and sensitive. I mean, think about the story. Jeroboam's wife is showing up in a Hijjah, you know, she's seeking help, right? And isn't that like a big thing in churches today, to be seeker sensitive? And that's the thing a lot of churches will say is, oh, we're very seeker sensitive here. We're a seeker sensitive church. And when you hear that, you can usually count on a few things. You know, they're going to have very liberal music that probably not can use the King James Bible, because that's too hard to understand. Because people today are just too stupid to figure out what the and thou. They're too dumb to pull out a dictionary and figure out what a word means. You know, even though it's in their pocket 24-7 on a phone. You know, but when you hear that term seeker sensitive, you know, there's a few things you can bank on. You know, that it's going to be, you know, it's going to be a real emotional message all the time. Look, I'm not against the emotional message, but that's all it's ever going to be. Just the real motivation. There's not going to be any doctrine. You know, it's just going to be real motivational stuff all the time. They're not going to say anything hard. You know, they're going to spend weeks, you know, on the love of God. And look, let's preach the love of God. We preach the love of God. But there's more in the Bible than just the love of God. There's the wrath of God. You know, and everything else in between. You know, so that's what you hear in these seeker sensitive churches. You know what seeker sensitive churches are? They're just churches that are just trying to see how big they can get. For that purpose alone. They want to get as big as they can get, just so they can see how big they can get. If they don't want to get big so that they can get accomplished more for Christ. So they can knock more doors and get more saved and get more people on their way to heaven and out of hell. That's not what they want. They just want to get big. So, for the sake of getting big. You know, what's the point? So they want to just bring everybody and everybody they can in. So they're going to be seeker sensitive. Right? You know, they're going to soften the message. They're going to bring in the music. Well, what kind of music are you guys into around here? You know, maybe we should take a poll of all the Tucsonians around here. I'd probably have to get, you know, like a tuba and a mariachi band up here. Right? And we could bring in a crowd, right? You know, we'll start playing the hip hop. We'll get the Christian wrap up going up here. Get some Christian hip hop. That'll bring the people in, right? Oh, look, don't you think that would work? Sure it would. Of course it would. It works. Give people what they want and they'll show up for it. You know, I'll start, you know, I'll dress down. I'll get a graphic tee. You know, and I'll get some jeans that are ripped up a little bit. Stonewashed jeans or whatever the style is and put some holes in them. And I'll get rid of this old wood pulpit. Get a nice little plexiglass thing and we'll get the sign down. We'll just, you know what, we'll just put the words up on a screen with a little bouncy ball. You don't even have to open a book. You know, we'll get rid of those old hymns. And I'll illustrate all my sermons with PG-13 and R-rated movies that you recognize. Because then I'll be, but it's all because I'm secret sensitive. You know, well, you know what, when I read this story, I come and walk away from saying, Well, you know what, Hijjah is not a very secret sensitive person. I mean, he's got a person who's seeking, right? Coming to his door and even bringing gifts. You know, looking for help. They've got family issues. They've got problems. And, you know, that jerk, Hijjah, just lets her have it. And says, you know what, your husband's wicked, you're wicked, and God's going to take you guys all the way like dung. Now, join us again next week. You know, come back next week, and I'll continue the series on why you're like dung. No, they're not going to come back for that. You know, they're never going to darken the door again. You know, but here's the thing. Is secret sensitive really going to help people? If you come to church and all I ever did was just, you know, never told you that anything was wrong, you know, that sin is bad, try not to do it, but never got specific, never preached hard, never preached on the hard passage of the Word of God, would that really help you? You know, it would build the church. We could all come here and feel like we're just this huge success because we just have all these people. You know, and then we could all just go out and live wicked lives, backslidden lives that God looks at just and says you stink like dung. And that's what we could do. And that's what we could do. But how are we doing any people any favors that? Really and spiritually, how are we doing anybody a favor at that point? Here's the thing. You know, you can't coddle people if you expect them to get right. That's what I've learned as a teacher. You know, and even then, you know, you can't, even then when you just finally say, you know what? I'm just going to let it rip. I'm just going to say it. You know, even then people still won't get right. So what's the point of coddling them to begin with? You know, save the coddling for the children at home, you know. Save it for your elderly, you know, grandmother or whatever. But you know, God's people can't, you know, shouldn't expect to be coddled by the man of God. You want people to get right and get the sin out of their life and start doing what they need to do to serve God so they don't smell like dung in front of God. You know, you can't coddle them. When they show up at your door, you can't just be, oh, come in and sit down. I know your life's full of idolatry and I know you're wicked, but you know, I'm just here to just tell you everything's going to be okay when it's not going to be okay. You know, a hydra had the right message. Right? Hey, it's judgment, it's chastening, it's gloom, it's doom because of your actions. That's not coddling people. And that's not how you're going to help people. Okay? You can't coddle them. He said in verse 11, I'll just read to you, it says, him that dieth of Jeroboam, because, you know, you think, man, taking away his dung, verse 10, I mean, what else could you say? How much harder could this message get? Oh, it gets harder. Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat. Oh, yeah, you know, your husband's kids are all going to be eaten by dogs. You know, and dogs aren't very nice about it, are they? You know, dogs don't tuck in, you know, and put a little napkin in and get the knife and fork out. I mean, it's like you're going to be torn to shreds bit by bit. Let me fill in between the lines here for you a little bit so you can get the picture of what he's saying. He's saying, hey, you know what? The sons of Jeroboam are going to be eaten by dogs. But that's not very sensitive. And him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat. For the Lord hath spoken it. He's saying, don't get mad at me. God said that. Arise, therefore, get thee to thine own house. And you would think at this point, like, he's kind of like, man, Elijah, lay off, man, you're really calling, saying, you know, they're going to be taken away like dung. All the men, those that piss against the wall are going to be taken away, they're going to be eaten by dogs. In the city, they're going to be eaten by the birds of the air. They're going to have a dishonorable death. No one's going to remember them in their death. They're not going to have a funeral. That's what he's saying. They're going to be forgotten. No marker. They're just going to be fodder for the beasts and the fowls of the earth. I think you let her have it, Elijah. Can you back off a little bit? Nope, it's not done. Arise, therefore, get thee to thine own house. The child shall die. That's a tough message, isn't it? You know, and I look at a guy like a hygienist and say, wow, I hope I have that level of integrity. I mean, I'm not looking for opportunity to tell somebody that their child's going to die or deliver them heavy tidings. I'm not looking to, you know, give people bad news. You know, if the Bible says thus and thus sayeth the Lord, I hope I have enough authority to say thus and thus sayeth the Lord. Even in my old age. Even when it's not going to profit me anything to preach to people like that. You know, that's what I get out of that story. And he's saying, look, the child's going to die. That's a tough message. He's saying, well, this is just an isolated incidence in scripture, you know. I know Elijah's not being very sensitive here. You know, that's really not the model that Jesus set for us. That's not the model Jesus set for us. That's the Old Testament God. We're in the New Testament now. This is all about love. And Jesus never calls anybody names. Look, that's what people say. You'll get up, some man of God will get up, preach God's word and start calling people out and rightly so and telling it like this and calling people names. Calling them for what they are. Calling them to be heretics, liars, or whatever. You'll just call them out and call them names. That's not the spirit of Christ. We can take you out. You're there in Matthew 3, right? Verse 7. This is John the Baptist, you know, the forerunner to Christ. The one who was sent to prepare the way before him to make straight his paths. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and the Sadducees come to his Baptist and he said unto them, oh, I'm so glad you're here. I'm so glad you could make it this Sunday. I'm so glad you're here. It's wonderful to have so many great visitors out here for our baptism Sunday. Oh, it's so wonderful. It's fake. Is that what he did? Oh, I'm just so glad you're here because we're seeker sensitive here. It doesn't matter if you're a false prophet or whatever. We're just glad you're here. Glad you could join us. No, what's he say? But he said unto them, oh, generation of vipers who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come. Bring forth fruits therefore and meat for repentance. He's like, oh, you're here? You better prove that you belong here. Right, you vipers. Well, that's not very seeker sensitive. What does he think he is? Go to Matthew 23. Well, that was John the Baptist. Jesus wouldn't ever say anything like that. He'd never call anybody a viper. Look, there's a lot of things you can call people and in order to make them feel welcome, vipers are usually not it. Unless you're trying to make some heavy metal rocker feel welcome. Hey, you're a viper, man. You don't sweet talk your wife like that. You viper. You venomous reptile. You creature that's despised by a man that people want to kill as soon as they see it. You animal that God cursed in the beginning. You know, this isn't a love language he's speaking here. Jesus said in Matthew 12, oh, generation of vipers. How can ye, being evil, speak good things? I mean, he's really letting them have it. You can't even say anything good, you vipers. Because you're so evil, because you're so wicked. Does this sound very seeker sensitive to me? Matthew 23 verse 37, Woe unto you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites. You are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward but are within full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness. Verse 33, ye serpents, generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Saying you're all lost, you're damned, you can't do anything about it. That's not a, and you say, well, you know, that's Jesus preaching to the Jews, and I understand that. And look, I'm not saying that, you know, every preacher's got to get up and say these words and tell them, you're all going to hell, you're all damned, you vipers, ah. This is a pretty extreme circumstance, isn't it? But what the problem is, is that today we have preachers who can't even get up and say, you know, fornication's wicked. Being a drunk's wicked. You know, they can't even call out the tiniest little sin. Because they don't want to offend anybody. Because they're just, they're just so like Jesus. They're friendlier than Jesus. They're more seeker sensitive than the Lord. They know better than him. Go to 1 Timothy 4. 2 Timothy 4. That's the problem. You know, the Hijas are few and far between. I mean, I could probably count the ones I know on both. I wouldn't have to take my shoes off. I hope there's others out there. But to me, I look around, I look at some of these other Baptist churches and I'm just thinking, it's great what you're saying, but there's so much more that needs to be said that it seems like you just never say it. It just seems like you're avoiding a hard topic here. You know, you just want to turn a blind eye and pretend that, you know, this country isn't turning into a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah. You say, boy, you sure talk about that a lot. Yeah, because they talk about it a lot. Hey, I don't know how you get up and claim to be a man of God and a preacher of God's word and not address that issue of the Sodomites. Just year in, year out, year in, year out, never talk about it. Never bring it up directly. Oh, you might just kind of, you know, people will go, did he just make a mess? Was he referring to the homos? You know, but leave yourself enough space to say, oh, I wasn't talking about that. I wouldn't want to offend you because you got a gay nephew or whatever. I want to offend you because your kids are turning out that way. You know, but the irony is that's exactly why we are where we are. That's the irony. You know why Jeroboam's family is being destroyed? Because there aren't enough Ahijus saying, you smell like dung! Fix it! That's what we need today. More Ahijus who, you know, that would spare the, you know, the Abijas of this world and having them to have to die and be destroyed, families destroyed. If more creatures were like Ahija and would just say, hey, you stink! The sin in this country stinks! Instead of just every Sunday, this big fake smile because all they're really interested in is just having a crowd and just putting on a show and impressing other people. They're in 2 Timothy, chapter number 4. I mean, that's where we're at today. You know, and this is what these preachers are like. You know, they don't want to use these hard words. They don't want to say the hard things of the word of God, like piss. And yet, today, you know, Satan's pissing on our shoes and the false prophet's going to get up and say, oh, it's raining! That's not sin! That's not Satan pissing on your shoes! It's raining! Praise the Lord, it's showers of blessing! That's where we're at. Because they don't want to preach the hard things. They don't want to get up and talk about the hard things today. They'll never get a strike on their YouTube channel. They'll never have their channels taken down within 24 hours and just have to keep repeatedly making them. Google's not trying to censor them. Facebook isn't trying to censor them. You know why they're not, oh, it's because we're just so great. No, it's because you're not a threat. That's why. Because they already know this guy's soft, washed up, and weak. He's no a Hijjah. Say, well, I just don't know. Does a preacher really have to preach like that? Well, 2 Timothy chapter number 4. Verse 1. I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ. That's a pretty serious charge, isn't it? You know, if someone comes and says, hey, God is witness. I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ. And Timothy is a preacher. You know, he's Paul's protege. And he's saying, look, keep something in mind, Timothy. Everything I'm telling you, you want to be right with God. Not right with your Bible college. Not right with the circle you run in. You want to be right with God? You want to be right with the Lord Jesus Christ? You got to keep this charge right here. We shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing in his kingdom. Preach the word. Now, that sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? Just preach the word. You know what? If you do that, if you just preach the word, and you preach all of it, the whole counsel of God, if you don't hold anything back and you declare the entire counsel of God, you just do what you've been charged to do as a preacher and preach the counsel of God, you're going to make people mad. Without even trying. You know, it's not like you sit at home and say, well, who can I piss off today at church? All you've got to do is just get up and preach this log enough, and eventually it's going to make people mad. I mean, I went to church, and I sat out in the pew for a long time. It was 20 years. And I had plenty of message around the pike at me, and I was thinking, man, was the preacher following me this week? How did he know? Does he have a spy? I'm driving like that. Is he spying on me? Is he following me? No, that's called the Holy Spirit. That's called just preaching the word. You just preach the word, because no one's perfect, you're bound to get on somebody's sin. You know, if you just preach the word, you're going to land in Genesis 19. You're going to land in Judges 19 if you preach the word. You're going to land in Leviticus 20. You're going to land in Romans 1. You're going to land in 2 Peter. You're going to land in the book of Jude at some point if you're a preacher who's preaching the word. And at that point, you're going to have to decide are you going to keep this charge or not? And look, that's just one example of one sin, a combination before God that makes a nation smell like dung in the sight. These instant insees and outsees reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. That doesn't sound very sensitive though, Paul. Can't we just exhort? Can't we just stay with exhorting? Because exhorting is easy. The encouraging, uplifting sermons, you know, why can't every sermon just be a Mother's Day sermon? You know, why can't we just preach that? Every sermon is the Easter Sunday sermon. Every sermon is Christmas Eve sermon. Every sermon is just about the love of God and how you can do it and everything else. Just all the exhortation. Because that's not the charge that we've been given as preachers. That wasn't what Hijjah was told to say. Hijjah, here's what I would like you to say. You know, you figure out, you have a better idea of what needs to be said to Hijjah. You put it in your own words. If you don't want to say tisith and dung, then, you know, and if you want to leave out that part about her child dying as soon as her feet enter the city, you know, that's up to you. That's at your discretion. No, it's a charge from God to preach the Word. All of it. Not just the parts that you like. The parts that you don't like. Because newsflash, you know, it's not always a pleasure cruise for me either to get up and preach the Word of God. You know, I'm not some kind of sicko up here, just like, oh, man, I can't wait to just get up there and make people feel like dirt. That's not me. You know, never seek, never set out to do that. But you know what? That's the charge. Why? Verse 3. Well, why? Why does it gotta be that way? Why do you gotta charge him to preach like that, Paul? Just soften up and back off a little bit. I know you're kind of cantankerous, but you know, this is the next generation. It's a new age. It's different now. It's Timothy. It's the next generation coming up. You don't need to be preached at like that. You gotta reach in where they're at. You gotta be more sensitive. You gotta use this voice, Paul. I hate that voice. I hate it when a preacher... I hate it when preachers preach like this. I can't stand it. When you get up, you get that soft, sweet little voice. He pulled your little hands. That's that hokey Christianity that turned me off for so long. Why do you gotta preach like this, verse 3? For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. But after their own lust shall they heed to themselves teachers having itching ears. Just say, Jeroboam, just set up those calves and we'll just worship there. And we don't have to hear about the Lord anymore. We don't have to get all bloody with those sacrifices and we don't have to listen to all those commandments and we can just do away with the law and you know what, we'll just do things our own way and Jeroboam, you just preach all the sweetness and light and what. That's what we want. We've got itching ears. It's the same thing. There's nothing new under the sun. It's the same problem in Paul's day. It's the same problem today. People today just have itching ears. That's why those churches are full of people and these ones are. Because they're over there just, Oh, you want your ear itched? Don't get both hands involved. You want to just heed to yourself teachers having itching ears and they shall turn their ears away from the truth. You don't need to hear that part. Let me turn to another part. Let me find something. Oh yeah, we're just going to skip that passage. We're just going to go over that in the Bible. You don't need to hear that. They shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things and notice this, endure afflictions. You know, preaching the word and enduring afflictions don't end there like this. Because if you're going to preach the word, people aren't going to like it. And you're going to have to endure some afflictions. That's why a lot of guys just don't want to get in the ministry because they know that's true. And we know it's true because we see it happen all the time. We see this pastor over here getting up, keeping the charge that he's been charged before God, preaching the word, reproving, rebuking, exhorting with all long suffering and doctrine, using the words the Bible uses, saying it like it is, and you know what? He has to endure afflictions. We see it happen here, we see it happen over there, we see it happen here, and then some guys just go, Look, I'm not saying you're a bad person if that's you. It's good to think soberly. You know what? God has not given us a spirit of fear. The power and the love and the sound mind. You know, and we need more people to just preach the word of God. More men of God, not less. More. You know, we're not a seeker-sensitive church here if you haven't noticed already. We're not. You guys are a bunch of jerks over there with that Faith the Word Tucson. And you guys are a bunch of jerks. That preacher, he's a jerk. You know, I'm not the most polished guy, I'm not the most, the best, I'm not the most goodest speaker. You know what I try to be? Is faithful the word of God. That's it. I don't know what else to do. I don't know what else to do. Because I just preach the word of God and win souls. Who's gonna build this church? I don't know. I don't know. I'm just gonna have faith. And that's what Peter did. Whom do ye say that I am? Thou art Christ, the Son of the Living God. And he said, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. Build this church on what? On faith. On the declaration that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That's what I'm just gonna declare like Peter and let God do the rest. I'm just gonna declare his word. We're gonna go declare his word. We're gonna go out there and just preach the faith of the Son of God and just let God take care of the rest. And if he says, you know what? I'll build that church. He'll find people, lead them here, put them in there. Great. And if he says, you know what? That 40 to 50 people you got, that's all you're getting. Great. It'll just take longer. We'll just get the work done. Hey, more souls for us. More for us. More rewards for us. That's how I'm looking at it. And I'm not gonna, you know, try to color coordinate my tie and everything else and make sure I have the perfect this and the sensitive message that and start some show up here just to build a crowd full of people who smell like dung. We aren't seeker sensitive. Let me repeat that in case you haven't. I'll tell you what we are sensitive to. Seeking. We're seeking sensitive here. You know, we might not be seeker sensitive but we're seeking sensitive. You know, my goal as a preacher isn't to just preach people down an aisle to make some, you know, get saved. And look, God bless them if that's what you want to do. If they're preaching the gospel and people are getting saved, however you think you need to do it, go ahead and do that. But here we're seeking sensitive. We're not gonna sit here and just hope some sinner walks in the door and then I'm gonna preach the gospel for the hundredth time to, you know, everybody else that's already saving them just to get one person to come down the aisle. Well, I can't believe you wouldn't do that. Yeah, but you know what? You know where you'll find us on Sunday afternoon? You know where you'll find us on Tuesday afternoon? You know where you'll find us on Thursday afternoon? You know where you'll find us on Saturday morning? Triple digits or not? Out there seeking. Cause that's what we're sensitive to here. To seeking. To actually, you know, putting the G.O. to actually, you know, putting the G.O. in the gospel. We go here. We actually go out and do the work. And that's what just bother- and that's what's so frustrating when you see these other churches that are running hundreds of people. It's like how have you not knocked every door in the city twice over? Why is it that, you know, we gotta send one of our guys down here to do the job that you should have done decades ago? Well, we just have a different approach. Your approach isn't working. Have you noticed your approach isn't working? That we aren't smelling any less like dung in this country today? That's what's frustrating about it. You know, Hijjah was not seeker sensitive. We're not either, but we're seeking sensitive. We'll go when and where they are. We'll go out just like he said. Go out into the highways and the hedges. The highways and the byways. That's where we'll go find them. Instead of just trying to build some edifice in here. Instead of just trying to build some edifice in here. And just lure people in with the flesh. Because you know what? What you're winning with is what you're keeping with. What you're winning with is what you're keeping with. That's why I'm not just gonna try to win a bunch of people in here with, you know, all the seeker sensitive methods. Because that's not an act I care to keep up. Because, you know, I like to think I have more integrity than that. Because I actually do want to preach the whole counsel of God. If that has to make people get mad and leave, then so be it. You know, a hydra warned the wicked, didn't he? That's what this story is about. He's like, look, it's gonna happen. Go back there, verse 13. I know I'm going along tonight, but I gotta get something off my chest. And he said in verse 13, And all Israel shall mourn for him, you know, the child that's gonna die when she enters back in, that child that had fallen sick at the beginning. And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave. Oh yeah, all Israel shall remember, they're all gonna be eaten out in the field and in the city by the animals. But you know this child that you're worried about? He will come to the grave. Because in him, that child, there is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. You know, God, this is a great passage about, you know, how God is, you know, all knowing. He's omniscient. He knows, you say, why is God so quick to just judge people like that? Why is God so quick to judge people like that? Why is God so quick to judge people like that? Why is God so quick to judge people like that? Why is God so quick to judge people like that? Why is God so quick to judge people like that? Because he already knows how wicked they are and how wicked they're gonna be. But he knows about this child that there was some good thing in him. So you know what? So you know what? Instead of letting him be eaten by an animal, he actually gave him an honorable death. So you know what? You will bury him. There will be a mourning and lamenting people who will remember him. He's still gonna die. You know, this is the mercy of God. But you know what? He's gonna die, but he's not gonna be eaten by dogs. You know, that's an interesting passage. But verse 14. Moreover, the Lord shall raise him up a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day. But what, even now? The Lord shall smite Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of his good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the Lord to anger. Look, I'm not gonna sit here and belabor the point about all the times that God has sent his prophets to Israel and just preached. Judgment. I mean, it's the whole Bible, folks. Anyone that's read their Bibles knows what I'm saying is true. Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, I mean, just right on down the list, major, minor prophets, you just go down the list. It's just judgment, judgment, judgment. And then it's like, if you listen to these other guys today, it's like, where's the talk of judgment? Where is the wrath of God? Where is the judgment of God? How is it, you know, and then they'll allude to it with the spirit of judgment. And then they'll allude to it with a smile on their face. It's like you don't even mean it. That's not God's best for you. How about that God thinks he'll smell like dung? U.S. and the United States? I can't let you say something about the, you know, you know, the old, the old God bless America. I can't even say that about America, the old U.S. of A. Look, the United States smells like dung in front of God. It's true. How can it? It's a modern, it's Sodom and Gomorrah today. You know, I'm not going to be one of these prophets that gets up and doesn't warn the wicked. You know, we saw the charge that Timothy got. You know, Ezekiel received a similar charge saying, Son of Man, I set thee a watchman to warn the wicked. And if you don't warn them, their blood's on your hands. I mean, there's just so many, Isaiah, saying, look, go prophesy. Go write it in a table and note in a book that it may be for the time to come for whenever that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord. I mean, isn't that an exact parallel to what we see in our country today? People do not want to hear the law of the Lord. Am I out to lunch here? Am I taking crazy pills? Am I the only one that sees this? It just seems to me like we're living in a country where people don't want to hear the law of the Lord anymore. They want to take any mention of God. They took him out of the public school decades ago. They don't want the Ten Commandments up anywhere. They want to sandblast it all down. They want to cancel it and everything else. They don't want them in the schools. They don't want them in the public square. They're like, you just keep them in your little church house and we'll all get along just fine. But you know what? They do, aren't they? You know, you got all these churches waving their rainbow flag flags out there. Just right along with them. You know why? Because they don't want to hear the law of the Lord. Because the law of the Lord condemns that filthy lifestyle for the abomination that it is. And I'm, you know what? I'm sorry I had to keep bringing that up and keep kicking that dog, but that's, you know, pun not intended. That is the dog that needs kick today. That's what sodomites are for in scripture. Dogs. That's the bell that needs to be rung. Because we're living in a country like Isaiah where they're rebellious, they're liars. Oh, everything's fine. Children that will not hear the law of the Lord. Which say to the seers, the prophets, right, the preachers, see not. And to the prophets, prophesy not unto us right things, but speak unto us smooth things. Prophesied deceits. We have itching ears. Give us the teachers that we can heed to ourselves that are gonna just prophesy deceits to us. That's where we're at. That is an exact parallel to our country. Even in Baptist churches today, it's gotten so lukewarm and watered down that preachers are getting so soft and effeminate behind the pulpits, it's disgusting. You say, well, why is it? Because my people love to have it so. They love it. They love it. They don't wanna hear the law of the Lord anymore. They don't wanna hear the preaching against fornication and adultery and divorce and everything else that comes along with the word of God. They don't wanna hear all that. Said Jeremiah, a wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land. The prophets prophesy falsely and the priests bear rule by their means. But is that really that wonderful of a thing? Is that really that horrible? I mean, it's a horrible thing. It's something that leaves you in wonder. Like, you see it, you're just like, I can't believe it. Your jaw drops, right? And he's saying, look, a wonderful thing and horrible is committed in the land. The prophets prophesy falsely and the priests bear rule by their means. They're getting out and prophesying lies. Is that really the wonderful thing? Is that really the horrible thing? You know what's really amazing? Is that my people love to have it so. My people, he said, love to have it so. They love to be lied to. They love to have people just speak to them smooth things and prophesy deceits and lie to them. And look, we could build a big church like that if we all just wanted to compromise on the word of God, drop the standards, not preach the hard things and just start prophesying deceits. We could just be like any one of these other churches. Fill this place up. You know, maybe you'd have to get somebody to lie to you. You know, maybe you'd have to get somebody to lie to you. You know, maybe you'd have to get somebody to lie to you. You know, maybe you'd have to get somebody a little bit more eloquent than me. I don't know. But we could do it. It can be done. That's not an offer, though. That's not a suggestion. I'm just making a point. You know, I got to close. I know I'm going long. You know, and I don't want to just, you know, I know I'm kind of getting after the people, but, you know, you notice this passage, if you go back there, it's leadership that's held responsible. It kind of ends his message here after he telling him, oh, you know, you guys smell like dung. All the men are going to be dead, eaten of dogs. Your child's going to die. You're all going to be carried off and destroyed. And he shall give up Israel. Israel up, verse 16, because of the sins of Jeroboam. I mean, who's ultimately responsible? It's leadership. Because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin and made Israel to sin. I mean, leadership's the one to blame. You know, and that's why I'm kind of taking a little bit of time tonight and not getting through this whole passage and kind of parking it and getting after these preachers who aren't prophesying all the counsel of the word of God, that aren't saying everything that needs to be said. They are the ones that are responsible. And I'm so sick of this accusation. Oh, it's preachers like you. You're the reason why people are turning for Christianity. You know, maybe there's a grain of truth to that. You know, if me getting up and preaching the word of God the way it's written and telling it like it is, is making people go away, so be it. But you know what I can say about a lot of those other preachers? They are the reasons why these bags are out in the open like they are. They're the reason why, you know, the devil is just having a heyday in this culture. It's honey. It's just, you know, we all kind of live in our little bubble here. But if we were to go back to some of that, I mean, it's bad. I mean, the sodomy is just, it's just so in your face now. The queerness, right? They declare their sin a Sodom. That's where we're at. And who's responsible? The Jeroboam's of this world. The leaders. The ones who should have been the one to put their foot down and say, thus saith the Lord. It's not a Hijjah. Hijjah's the last man of God that they had left in that, in that wicked country. Who stood by his stuff all the way to his old age. And he said, and the prophet of nothing, he still said, you know what? And when that seeker came in looking for a solution to their problems, he just said, well, here's your real problem. You know, no things aren't going to, you know, peace, peace when there is no peace. There is no peace. It's going to be destruction and gloom. You know, I'd like to say, I'd like to get up and say, oh, you know, America is just blessed with God and, and we're all just, you know, it's just a matter of time until we're all just, there's going to be a great big revival and America's just, God's going to keep blessing it. No. That good land, which was given to our fathers, has been desecrated with innocent blood and oppression and lies and deceit and covetousness and idolatry. No different than Old Testament Israel. It's over. Put a fork in the United States. Okay? And the point of the sermon is this, though, is that I am not endeavoring as a preacher to get up and be one of these people that's going to sugar coat that. I'm not going to be a Jeroboam. You know, I want to be the Hijjah, and hopefully you do too. And hopefully, you know, you're the type of people that want to get alongside of a Hijjah-like preacher. Because this is what you got in Tucson. There's, you got other options. I'm not saying there aren't other, you can go to another Baptist church. It's probably a good church. You can be blessed to the Lord and serve God there to whatever degree they will make it possible for you to serve God and raise your family. But you know what? It might come at a price if they're the type of preacher that's not willing to get up and say, thus and thus, sayeth the Lord. So we might not be the most popular game in town, but that's really not the point. That's not the point of the ministry. Let's try to just build some giant thing for the sake of being big. So we can all just pat ourselves on the shoulder and go, look how big we are. I'm more impressed with that map. This keeps getting redder and redder. More and more gets shade in. Week in, week out. It's only been three years, folks. So that's my message tonight. Ultimately, you know, what are we in this for? What are we about here? It's not about being sensitive to bring it in a crowd. It's about being sensitive, about going out and finding people that are preaching the gospel and preaching thus sayeth the Lord to those that are here. Go ahead and pray.