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A very quick rundown of all these very wicked kings that are in Israel. We'll get through the whole thing tonight. I don't really want to spend a whole lot of time in this chapter. Because it's pretty much just the same thing over and over. You have one wicked king, and then another wicked king, and then another wicked king. And all the way down to where we get to Ahab. And Ahab really, once we get to him, he's responsible for, or not responsible for, but he's really the emphasis of the rest of the book. Chapter 17 is where we see Elijah come on the scene and things get real interesting. Some really great stories as we round out the book of 1 Kings. But I want to get through chapter 16. And really what we see in 16 is, as I said, is that it's just the succession of wicked kings that are in Israel that the Bible just kind of gets out of the way so that we can focus more specifically just on Ahab. And it's interesting that this all takes place in just the reign of Asa. If you remember, Asa reigned 41 years. And then beginning with Jeroboam, who was on the throne in Israel when Asa came on the throne, you basically, if you include Jeroboam, you basically, in Asa's 41 years, you see seven different kings come and go through Israel. Some of them only reigned for two years. Zimrai only reigns for seven days. I don't know if you caught that. And then the other king reigns for 12. So they all have these much shorter reigns, some very short, obviously. And then some a little bit longer. But the one thing they all share in common is that they're very wicked. And you've got to really emphasize that because you need to understand that these are very wicked men that are doing something very bad. Beginning with Jeroboam, who set up the calves and the golden calves and caused them to commit idolatry. And then you just see it getting worse and worse and worse to the point where sodomites in their land, they're burning incense into many foreign gods. There's just all kinds of just wickedness that just takes over in just those 41 years. So it just shows you how quickly a nation, when it gets away from God, can just go down the drain, so to speak. And that's something that we can identify in our nation. We're getting worse and worse very quickly. And things have already gotten bad, but things are probably going to get, in fact, I'm almost certain of it, are going to get a lot worse. So aren't you glad you came to church tonight? So buckle up for that. But that's the truth. And that's something that you see in the scripture. Why is this chapter here? Why is God showing us this? Because he's trying to show us this is what happens when wicked people get in power. What happens when wicked people get in power? Well, obviously, they lead the nation astray. They get them away from God. And all Israel's kings throughout this whole chapter are wicked people. And you see that God also uses wicked people to punish wicked people. That's the thing. If you caught that in the story, these kings that are coming are rebelling against the other, the former king and killing him. These guys aren't doing it in the name of the Lord. They're not doing it out of some kind of righteousness. They're not doing it because they're seeking God. They're doing it. They themselves are wicked. They have their own evil motives. They have their own wicked agenda. But the thing is is that God is using them. God uses wicked people to punish wicked people. So that kind of helps us answer the question, why is it that God lets wicked people exist? You ever think about that? You ever wonder why is it that God allows these wicked people to prosper, allows them to exist? Well, a lot of times, the reason why he lets them exist is, one, because we understand that their punishment is in hell, ultimately. They all have hell to look forward to if they don't get saved. But also, God allows wicked people to exist to punish other wicked people. God will let wicked rulers take over a country to punish a wicked nation. And often what a wicked ruler, when you see a wicked ruler on a throne, all that should really tell you is that that nation itself has become wicked. Because leadership is always just a reflection of the people that are being led. And that's what we see in our nation. We see that when America was good, when it was still a Christian nation, whatever that might be, when it fell, but people were moral and good and whether or not they were saved, but at least had some respect for the word of God. Some had some morality about them that we had more godly leaders. We had presidents that would get up behind the pulpit, or behind their, I guess you'd call it a pulpit, whatever. They would get up and speak publicly and decry the sin of birth control. They'd get up and they wouldn't preach, but they'd speak against things like the homos and things like that. They would take righteous stands. And why was that? It's because back then the people at least still had a heart for that kind of thing. They would receive that. Now we have rulers that get up and are defending abortion, or promising that they'll keep it legal so that a woman can murder her unborn child in the womb. You know, and all that should tell you is that's where we are as a nation, as a people. Because wicked rulers are simply a reflection of wicked people, and often God uses wicked rulers to punish wicked nations themselves. So to punish the people that they are leading. I mean you look at Nadab there, the son of Jeroboam, right? Who took over for Jeroboam. He was slain by a rebel, right? Somebody rebelled against him. It says in verse 25, And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years. So he gets just his two year reign. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in the sin where he made Israel to sin. And Baasha the son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against him, and Baasha smote him at Gibethon which belonged to the Philistines of Nadab, and all Israel laid siege to Gibethon. So he has this other guy, you know, who rises up and rebels against him. But notice that Baasha's son, you know, was in turn also slain by somebody who rebelled. So Baasha, you know, he rises up against Nadab, right? And he rebels against him, and kills him. You know, this isn't, he's not relation to him. You know, this is totally different. No relation there. He's basically just taking the throne from that family as God prophesied would happen. He said, look, he told Jeroboam, I'm taking it from you. I'm taking it from your house. You know, you and your sons are going to be, you know, like dung on the earth basically. You know, the dogs will eat you, and if the dogs don't eat him in the city, the birds will eat him in the field. But he was in turn slain by a rebel. It says there in 1 Kings chapter 16, if you look at verse 8, and in the 20th year of King, excuse me, in the 20th and 6th year of Asa, King of Judah began Elah, the son of Baasha, to reign over Israel in Terzah two years, and his servant Zimrai, captain of his chariots, conspired against him. So Zimrai, you know, he also rises up and rebels. So it's just one king rebels against another, and then as a punishment, you know, another king rises up and rebels against him. You had Baasha raise up, and he rebels against the king, and then his son, in turn, has somebody rebel against him, Zimrai. It says, and his servant Zimrai, captain of half of his chariots, conspired against him as he was in Terzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, steward of his house in Terzah. So there's a whole other sermon right there on alcohol. You know, when you start drinking, you know, and drinking yourself drunk, and you don't have your wits about you, that's when wicked people will take advantage of you. You know, in more ways than one. You know, a lot of times we just think about, you know, the date rape and the horrific things that can happen there, but what about if somebody, you know, is getting you drunk, and then they do physical violence to you, they mug you, they beat you. You know, in this instance, you know, I'm sure I don't think anyone in the room is holding on to a kingdom that somebody else wants, but the point is this. You know, the principle is there, is that when you drink yourself drunk, wicked people have an easier time taking advantage of you. You know, that's a whole other sermon right there. It says in verse 10, and Zimrai went in and smote him, and killed him in the 20th and 7th year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead. And it came to pass when it began to rain, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha, and he's fulfilling God's word. Because if you remember in verse 3, behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, meaning your children and your children's children. I'll take away your posterity of his house, and the posterity of his house, and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. So that's what Zimrai is doing. He's fulfilling that. He slew all the house of Baasha, it says in verse 11. But notice what wicked people do, as they'll often go even further. And this just shows you how wicked Zimrai is. Yes, he fulfilled God's word. He fulfilled that prophecy, and he punished that wicked man, and killed his whole house, took care of his posterity. But then he goes a step further, and he says that he left him not one that pisseth against the wall, neither of his kin's folks, nor of his friends. Now God didn't prophesy anything against his friends. He said, oh, he's going to kill his friends too. But you know what, this guy's just like, hey, I'm already on a roll. I might as well kill his friends too. You know, and there's another sermon we could preach. You know, I could preach several sermons out of this over the next several weeks, but I'm not going to. You know, be careful who you're friends with. You might be a decent person, you might even be a decent person, you might even be a good person, you might even be a godly person. But you get around ungodly people, you don't know what they're involved in, you don't know who they're associated with, you don't know what they're up to when they're not hanging out with you. And the next thing you know, their enemy shows up and says, well, you're here too, I'm going to take you out. Oh, you roll with this guy? Well, you know what, you just got on my list too. That kind of a thing. That's a whole other sermon, isn't it? But you know, these are the little lessons you can pull out of these chapters if you're paying attention. That there's some principles here that we should pay attention to and glean from. But I want to get through this passage tonight. So Beaasha, he's in turn killed by a rebel. And really, you know, this reminds me of the Proverb. And if you would go to Proverbs chapter 17. Go to Proverbs chapter number 17 and bookmark Proverbs, because we're going to look at several passages of Proverbs. But in Proverbs chapter 17, it says in verse 11, an evil man seeketh only rebellion. Therefore, a cruel messenger shall be set against him. So you have Beaasha's son, who inherited a kingdom from his father, who he got from, you know, doing the same thing as Zimri did. He was an evil man that sought only rebellion. And then you have another evil man who's seeking only rebellion. But notice what happens to Zimri, right? Zimri, you know, he rebels and eventually he gets rebelled against, right? He's a guy that says he loves only rebellion. An evil man seeketh only rebellion. Therefore, a cruel messenger shall be sent against him. It says in 1 Kings chapter 16 verse 15, pick it up there. It says in the 20th and 7th year of Asa, king of Judah, did Zimri reign seven days in Terzah. And the people were encamped against Gibbonoth, which belonged to the Philistines. And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath conspired and hath also slain the king. Wherefore, all Israel made Amorai the captain of the host king over Israel that day in the camp. And Amorai went up from Gibbonoth and all Israel with him, and they besieged Terzah. And it came to pass when Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the palace at the king's house and burnt the king's house over him with fire and died. So, I mean, this is just a wicked guy and he, you know, he just commits suicide at the end and just, you know, that's how he decided end of his life, you know, after just a few weeks of ruling, you know, he doesn't get, he doesn't have a lot of time. But you know what? That's what happens to people who love rebellion. A wicked messenger shall be sent against them. You know, he sees an opportunity to go take the kingdom from his drunk, you know, boss, because remember he's captain of half his chariots. He's a man with rank and he figures all people will just follow me. You know, I love rebellion. I'm selfish. He's covetous. He's just trying to get something that doesn't rightfully belong to him. And what ends up happening? Well, he seeks rebellion and a cruel messenger is sent unto him. You know, he finds out, oh, Israel's not going to go along with this. They're going to set up Amorai instead. That's the message that he hears and he ends up burning the king's house down on his head. You know, and basically, you know, kind of saying if I can't have it, nobody can kind of thing. But I mean, is that really the way we want our life to go? We really want bad things to happen. Do you want to have people, you know, conspire against us? Do we want to get ourselves in tough situations where it just seems like there's no way out? You know, nobody starts out that way. I'm sure Zimrai wasn't thinking, oh, I'm just going to rebel here. I'm just going to do my thing. I'm just going to be cruel myself and then everything's going to go fine. That's probably is what he's thinking. What he wasn't thinking was that, you know, oh, I'll probably end up, you know, committing suicide a short time later. You know, I'll just kill him. I'll kill all his kin's folks. I'll kill all his friends and everyone's going to love me for it. You know, I'm just going to be this rebel and everyone's going to be okay. Everyone's going to be okay with what I do and nothing bad is going to happen to me. You know, that's the way he was thinking. He wasn't thinking, oh, I'm going to do all this. And you know, my life's going to end in a, in a, in a, you know, a fiery wreck. That my life's going to just be a tragedy. That I'm just going to be a byword. That people are just going to, you know, talk about me and say, yeah, don't be like Zimrai. And that I'm just going to be, you know, a cautionary tale. But that's what happens to people who love rebellion. People who want to go against the grain. They don't want to listen to the authorities in their life. You know, they don't, they don't want to respect the God-ordained authority. They don't want to respect the people that are in charge. They just want to go against it. You know, they might not, you know, you might not end up, you know, committing suicide and burning the house down on you. But you know what? You could find yourself in a very tough situation in life. You know, you could spend your, you know, your youth just disregarding God. Disregarding the things of God. Not going along with it. Just saying that, just thinking that, you know, you're better than that. Then you got it all figured out. And then, you know, you get yourself back into a corner. And now all of a sudden, it just seems like there's no way out. And now it's hard. Now life's difficult. Yeah, well, you know, you should have thought of that before you got into that situation. You should have thought about that when you had, before you, you know, rebelled Zimrai. That's what happens to people who seek only rebellion. Cruel messengers are sent unto them. Look at, go to Proverbs chapter 30. Proverbs chapter 30. The other thing that we notice in this chapter is that every generation gets more and more wicked. You know, by the time we get to Ahab, I mean, then we start to read about Ahab and the rest of the book. I mean, Ahab is, and it says in this book, in the end of the chapter, that he was worse than all the other kings that came before him. You know, and that's, that's saying something because these guys were pretty bad. I mean, they're just killing each other left and right. They're killing each other's friends. They're, you know, I mean, they're very cruel. And they're, you know, worshiping false gods. They're doing all kinds of wicked things. But then Ahab comes along and straightens everybody out. No, that's not how things go. Once a nation starts to, you know, get's tipped in that direction towards wickedness and rebellion and disregarding the Lord, you know, it's hard to bring that nation back. Because people just, you know, they forget the Lord. They think that that's just, you know, they're just brought up thinking, oh, this is what we do. You know, that's what, that's what's so frightening with where we're at as a nation. When you think about the things that kids are being taught in school today. When it comes to the homos. You know, there's, there's a whole generation that's already, has already grown into adulthood thinking that there's nothing wrong with that. That there's something wrong with me. That there's something wrong with you. That there's something wrong with this book. They've been convinced of that since childhood. That's where we're at as a nation. You know, that, and I don't know what's going to come up after them. But I can tell you this much, it's not going to get better. It's going to get worse. You know, when I was a young person, it was, oh, they just, just let them get married. You know, just let, just let the fags get married. That's all we want. We just want them to get married. Then they did that, but we all know Romans 1, they're implacable. They cannot be placated, meaning you give them an inch, they're going to take a foot. And it's like, well, now that we're getting married, you know, and we want to adopt. You know, they can adopt. Isn't that wonderful? And now they want to get married, and they want to get married, and they want to get married. And now they want to be behind the pulpits. They don't want anybody to say anything negative about them. They want to shut down anybody that's going to, you know, say what the Bible says about them. They want to cancel them. You know, it's a subject I bring up a lot, but look folks, that's where we are. You know, and I, and trying to bring back a whole nation from that brink, from the, just the slippery slope of sin that we've begun to go down. I don't think there's any bringing them back, but you know what I can do is try to get some of the people in this room back on over towards the Lord and get you to start looking at things the way God looks at things. That's all I'm trying to accomplish. I'm not, you know, we always get accused of like, we're going to start some kind of Christian Taliban or something. Like we're going to go on some kind of, you know, you know, I don't know what you call it. It's not, you know, jihad would be like a Muslim thing, but you know, that's not what our goal is. You know, we'll talk about that in a minute. That's not what I'm trying to do. I'm not trying to start, I'm not trying to overthrow the government. I'm not a wicked man who seeks only rebellion. But what I am trying to do is try to, you know, wake the people up in this room to what's really going on and what the Bible says and to snap out of it and not get lulled to sleep. Because what, you say, well, what's the big deal? Well, what the big deal is, is in this chapter, you just say one generation to one generation just gets worse and worse and worse until you have an Ahab. You know, Ahab embodies this verse here in Proverbs chapter 30 where I had you turn in verse 14. I know I'd read this the other week, but I'm going to read it again. It says in verse 14 of Proverbs 30, there is a generation whose teeth are as swords and their jaw teeth as knives to devour the poor from off the face of the earth and the needy from among men. You know, that's one of the stories we're going to read about later. Naboth's vineyard, where he's willing, you know, his wife, his wicked wife is willing to just kill Naboth just so he could have a garden of herbs and take Naboth's, you know, his inheritance because he's the king and why not? They, they'll, you know, I don't want to get into the story, but they, you know, they accuse him falsely of being a, you know, a worshiper of Baal, a child of Baal, son of Baal, just so they can get his vineyard because he wouldn't sell it to him. You know, but that's, that's how wicked this, and that's just the tip of the iceberg of how wicked this guy was. He's incredibly wicked. But did that happen overnight? It just, it just went from, you know, Jeroboam, you know, who was already an ungodly ruler, but at least, you know, had some, you know, I mean, he had an opportunity. You could say, I mean, we looked at it earlier in the book. Jeroboam was at least given the opportunity. God would have been with him if he had done right, but because he feared the people and losing his position, you know, he did what he did. You know, he didn't start, we didn't start out with an Ahab. We, we, you know, progressed, you know, really, we digressed in this book to an Ahab. And that's the path we're on today, right now. That's why we just keep seeing it get worse and worse. I don't know what the next generation is going to be for. Like I said, my generation, it was just about the marriage. Then it was about, you know, all these other things. Now we can't say anything negative about them. Everybody, everybody's got to love them. He's homos. Next it's going to be, oh, you know, pedophilia is just, is just another, just another form of attraction. Oh, that'll never happen. It'll happen. Give it time. I mean, that's what all the nations of Canaan were into. The sodomy, the bestiality, the pedophilia, that's why God thrust them out. The land vomited them out. And that's what these wicked kings were turning these people back to. That's how wicked they were. I mean, there's already people out there that, that love animals more than they do human beings. And they, you see them, you know, they'll have, they'll say, they'll have some, you know, I love my dog because people suck. That's a bumper sticker I've seen more than once. Just like, well, yeah, if they're like you, I guess they do. You know, you, you do, you're terrible. Put something like that on there. I don't know what's coming, but I know it's not going to be good. Damn, I don't know about that. You know, if we get the right guy in office, he'll turn it all around. No, that's not what's going to happen because we're, it's, rulers are a reflection of the people. It's the people in this country that are wicked, that have been brainwashed to accept the agenda, that are promoting the filth, that are going along with it. So there isn't going to be a righteous ruler, a righteous leader who rises up and turns this nation back. It's not going to happen. It's not what we see happen with Israel. You see Israel just get worse and worse and worse, and then just eventually the Syrians came and just destroy them. And they're just scattered among the face of Europe. They no longer existed as a nation. They're just gone as a people. They're just, they're gone. You know, that's where we're at today. That's where we're headed. Say no, no, you know, it's going to, everything's going to be all right. Look, the Bible says that evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse. You know, I know that's probably not what you wanted to hear tonight. You know, you probably wanted to hear some, me just encourage you or whatever. And look, there is encouragement. There is hope. And I'll talk about it towards the end. Don't worry, I'm not going to leave you on a down note here. But you know what, you got to, you got to be sober about the situation. You got to look at things soberly. Be vigilant. Be sober. You say, no, if we get the right guy in office, Dr. Oz takes over. Is that who's running now? Who's the guy they're putting up next year? Or two years from now, or whatever. Is Trump coming back? Right, he was the great white hope last time, right? I mean, did he turn us around to righteousness? No, but he sure made a good economy. Well, you know, there's a whole lot more to life than money. I mean, is that our problem? A bad economy? We're suffering from a bad economy? Gas is too high? That's the problem in this country? No, the problem in this country is the filth, the moral filth, the moral cesspool that we are. That's the problem with this country. Oh, but a guy like Trump's going to turn that around for us. Give me a break. You know, I don't want to go on and on about Trump and offend a bunch of people. Not because I'm afraid to do it, just because I don't have the time. I got other plans for the next election. I got other plans for the sermon, all right? I'm just making the point as this, though, is that sin is this vicious circle where ungodly people, you know, wicked rulers make wicked people, then wicked people make wicked rulers. It's just this, and once you get that circle going, it's really hard to break. I mean, it takes like a divine intervention from God to snap that. You know, you'll see that later in the history of Judah. Well, not in this book, but if you go read, you know, Second Chronicles, you'll see that where there are, you know, Israel, or Judah, rather, after Israel's just already been destroyed, they're already, they're on their way to be led off into captivity. And then right at the end, you know, a couple righteous kings come up and they get a little bit of peace for a little while. But eventually the judgment comes anyway, because they got to pay for what they've done. But you know, that's an exception to the rule. You know, what we see with Israel is that once a wicked king gets on the throne, it just keeps getting worse and worse and worse until judgment just comes and they're destroyed. You know, and you know, I wrote this sermon and then today my voting card showed up. And I thought, this is worthless. What am I going to do with this? I don't remember registering to vote. I don't know how they got that information. I'm going to call and complain. I didn't register. I don't know. Maybe you automatically get registered or something like that. And look, I'm not going to go on. You know, you want to vote, go vote, have fun. You know, I don't play, I don't participate in rigged systems. I don't play board games with people that cheat. All right. That's my take on voting. Maybe there's some proposition that maybe you can, I don't want to go on about it. But the point is this, you know, that's not what's going to fix this country. Say, what's going to fix it? Nothing. Nothing. There's no fixing it. You know, maybe we'll get a little reviving before the judgment comes. And people are like, oh no, they're going to reverse roll versus wait. Oh no, you don't understand. It's like, it's too late. That's already been going on for 50 years. OK, great. If abortion stopped tomorrow, we still have all those tens of hundreds, was it in the millions? I mean, how many innocent children, how much innocent blood is already being shed just through abortion in this country alone? Not to mention all the wars and everything else. And God doesn't just go, oh, well, you know, you got the right party in office. I can just ignore all that innocent blood that's crying into me from the ground. No, he avenges that blood. It has to be paid for. So that's the vicious circle we see here. Once a wicked ruler gets in there, he makes wicked people. Wicked people produce more wicked rulers. That's why we're not just going to fix things overnight. I just firmly believe there is no fixing it. The best thing we could do is the best thing we could ever do is just go out there and pluck a few firebrands from the fire, go out and save some souls, get the Holy Spirit and some people, and just kind of stem the tide of evil that's just washed over this nation. Go to Proverbs 29, did I have you go there? It says in 1 Kings 14, and the Lord said unto Hijjah, he shall give up and he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam who did sin and who made Israel to sin. So God judged Jeroboam because he did sin and he made Israel to sin. A wicked ruler just, you know, he brings people along with him. The people that he leads, he makes them wicked. The Bible says in Proverbs 29 verse 12, if a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked. You know, if a ruler is someone who just believes lies, promote lies, you know, if he hearkens unto lies, you know what, then the next step in that is that all his servants are wicked because they're just going to go right along with him. Go over to Proverbs 28, Proverbs 28. Yeah, but you don't understand, yeah, but you don't understand, this is America. It's the land of free, home of the brave. Says it right on the coin, God bless America. We have a national day of prayer. You know, we got, we've got, we got presidents who get up there and say all the books of the Bible are their favorite. They can't, they, oh, they love the Bible. Yeah, what's your favorite book? All of them. One of them had some stupid answer once, like it wasn't even right. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? It was like, he was like second James or something or two Corinthians. Yeah, two Corinthians. Like, wasn't it Trump? It was, I think it was Trump, right? Our godly savior, the hope of America, the hope of the right. Anyway, I got to get off that, right? You don't say no, no, you don't understand, we're America, we're exempt from this. This is just an example of the Old Testament. God doesn't really do this anymore. The Bible says in Proverbs 14, you went to Proverbs 28, but I'll read it says, righteousness exalted the nation. That's true. You know, I believe America at one time was a godly nation and it was exalted. I mean, you can't really look back on the past and say that this wasn't a godly nation. I'm not saying it was perfect. I'm not saying it was the model nation. You know, we could, we could talk about that. Not that it would do any good. But they was righteous and you saw a great soul winning, I mean, this was a soul winning powerhouse, America. And we sent out missionaries across the globe. I mean, I believe that. I believe that there was a time when we had a very godly nation, that people were good, decent, moral people. But it says, righteousness exalted the nation, but a sin is a reproach to any people. Unless, of course, you know, they're flying old glory. Unless they got the old red, white, and blue of just flapping in the wind on the front porch. Then sin isn't a reproach to them. No, it's a reproach to any people. Look, there's plenty of sin in this country that is a reproach to us. I mean, it's almost embarrassing to be American today. In some places, we're a joke. You go to some of these African countries where they at least, you know, still, you know, believe the Bible, where they still put Sodomites to death. You know, we go over there, you know, and just promote sodomy in the worst filth imaginable. And we're a joke to them. Look at Proverbs 28 verse 2, it says, for the transgressions of a land, for the transgression of a land, many are the princes thereof. I mean, isn't that what we're reading about in chapter 16? Because princes is just, you know, that just means king. Like principal, the number one. A lot of people sometimes get confused at that, but when you understand that prince can mean king also, not just a prince, not just a king's son. But look, because the transgression of land, many are the princes thereof. That's what you see there in 1 Kings chapter 16. I mean, 41 years. Seven different guys have come and gone off the throne of Israel. Many are the princes thereof. But it says, it goes on, it says, but a man, by a man of understanding and knowledge, the state thereof shall be prolonged. You know, a guy who understands what is right, understanding what? The fear of the Lord. Who has what? The knowledge of what? Of the Holy One. You know, that's what's going to prolong a nation, because a sin is an approach to any nation. You know, but when you have wicked rulers, wicked rulers are just going to come and go, come and go, and come and go. Whether it's every four years or every eight years. I guarantee you, the next guy that gets up there is going to be wicked too. I don't care what color his tie is. Red, blue, I don't care what side of the aisle he sits on. You know, whether his mascot's an elephant or a donkey. Or an ass, right? I don't care which one it is. Because it's just going to be another wicked guy. How do you know? Because there's just been so many other wicked ones not to mention the many princes that are, you know, filling our legislature right now. Go to Psalms 9, go to Psalms 9. Say, no, no, not America though. I don't think you should be drawing these parallels with us and Old Testament Israel. Yeah, but human nature is human nature. You know, these things are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come. God didn't just put there in there because he wanted to tell us a cool story. He was just like, well, I got to write about something. He's putting this stuff in here so that we could read it and go, oh, yeah, that is what happens when you have wicked people getting power. Things just get worse and worse. You know, so I can read 1 Kings chapter 16 and the look that's going around in our country around me and just, and I, you know, I could just say with confidence, well, things are going to get worse as far as the political landscape goes, as far as, you know, our nation's morality goes, as far as the people that make up this country go, they're just going to keep getting worse. They're just going to get more cold-hearted, more, you know, just mocking the things of God, just, you know, contrary to the things of God and, you know, persecuting those that are good, despising those that are good. Well, how do you know that? Because that's the example we see in scripture and that's what the Bible tells us. Because the Bible says in Isaiah 40 that all nations before him are as nothing. I mean, I'm pretty sure the all includes America. And they are counted to him less than nothing in vanity. I mean, they're in the negative. God's not a respecter of persons, let alone a bunch of them that make up a nation. God's not going to be a respecter of persons. You know, if we had a righteous people, if we had righteous leadership, that would exalt our nation. And you go ahead and hold your breath for that righteous leader to come back and turn us all to God. And I'll be there to resuscitate you. And throw, you know, slap you and put some sniffing salts on your nose or whatever I got to do to bring you back out of your unconsciousness. You know, some Christians, that's what they do. You know, spiritually, they're just, things are going to get better. At least the economy's doing all right. You know, this is your spiritual sniffing salt tonight. Like, wake up. Hello? Wake up. It's going to get worse. I mean, how would I be doing you any favors tonight if I just kind of glossed over all this and just kind of said, well, you know, that was then. You know, we still got it pretty good. And look, we still do have it pretty good, obviously. I mean, I was sitting at the table the other day and I turned to my wife and I said, I'm eating like a king. I've got all these exotic spices, like mustard. Stone ground, brother. Organic, right? And I'm mixing that in with my tuna fish. It's, you know, it's my house. Eat what I want. I mean, I'm in the middle of the desert eating a fish that lives in the ocean. Obviously, we've got it good. We know we're prospering. You know what? You know, we shouldn't be like men who are destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness. Because gain is not godliness. Just because, you know, we have a lot of wealth, you know, a lot of wealth can be gotten through ill-gotten meat. You know, it's called ill-gotten wealth because it's gotten the wrong way. And we're no exception as a nation. So enjoy the mustard while you can. Enjoy the canned tuna while you can. Because, you know, it might be in our generation, it might be in the next one where it's, the judgment's finally going to come. Where did I have you go? Psalms 9? Did you go to Psalms 9? It says there that the Lord is known by the judgment which he executed. I love that verse. The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Gaon, Selah. The wicked shall be turned into hell and most nations that forget God. I mean, most of the nations will be. I mean, there'll be some exceptions that there's going to be some nations that can just forget God, that can just cast off God and his commandments, that can just mock the things of God, that can just disregard, that could just spit in God's face and he'll say, oh, that's okay. Not you. Because you're special. No, he said all nations shall be turned into hell that forget God. All of them. You know, so I'm just looking around and I'm going, this seems like I'm living in a country and a nation that's forgotten God. Maybe not everybody, but it just seems like that's where we're trending, right? That seems to be the path that we're on. The country that is just forgetting about God more and more. They might pay lip service, they might say the word God, but they're not worshiping the God of the Bible. They're not upholding these commandments. They're forsaking this book. This is what they're forgetting. Isn't that what Israel did? Isn't that the problem there? I mean, they had a form of godliness, right? They were worshiping. They had their idols. They burned their incense. They were spiritual. Yeah, but they weren't worshiping the true God. They had a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. That's what the Psalmist David here, he said in Psalms 9. He said, look, the wicked shall be turned into hell and all nations that forget God. I can't believe that's what's going to happen to us. Why us? You know, you can't believe that's what's going to happen to us. You can boo-hoo about it, but that's not what David said. He said, well, you know, God's just in doing that because of verse 18. For the needy shall not always be forgotten. The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever. Because wicked nations oppress people. And I hate to break it to you, but that's what we do as a nation. We oppress people. We support people that oppress other people. And people say, well, where's God? You know what? God hasn't forgotten. God's keeping track. And God's not going to let him get away with it. The needy shall not always be forgotten. The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever. There are days coming. You know, but David didn't, you know, go suck his thumb in the corner either about this. Look at verse 19. Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail. Let the heathen be judged in thy sight. You know, that's the sentiment I have when I look around and see where we're headed. I just think, man, I wish God would just judge this country. I think a good economic recession would do people good. I think some hard times would do this nation good. You know, people might be a little bit more receptive to the gospel if they didn't have it so easy in life. You know, maybe if they had to start learning to rely on God and they would actually want to seek God. And then when we knocked on their door, they'd actually put down their stupid video game controller and listen to what we had to say. Instead of having some smart aleck remark, they just shut their mouth and listen because they're wondering what's going on in the world because, you know, it's not just all fun and games anymore because God is judging. That's why I say the same thing. Rise, O Lord, let not man prevail. You know, stop this wickedness. Let the heathen be judged in thy sight. They want to forget you and cast you off and mock you. Judge them. I say, well, what about you? Whatever, I'll be fine. Yeah, but what if you end up going through hard times? So what? I'm going to heaven, folks. And if you were saved, so are you. Now, I remember when COVID broke and we were like, everyone's thinking, oh, this is it. It's the end of the world. So, you know, I'll admit we panicked a little bit, but then I remember telling my wife, you know, even if this is the beginning of something, you know, we know the longest it can last is three and a half years. You know, this is the beginning of the great tribulation. And it wasn't, you know, but that's what people are saying. Like, well, even if it was, you know, it's only three and a half years. That seems so long. Look, that's how long ago this church started. Does that seem like it's been very long to you? You say, brother, it feels like it's been forever. I'm trying. Right. It's gotten better. But to me, it's been like that. Three and a half years. That went by quick. You know what? If that's the worst it can be, and that's as long as it can be, arise, Lord. Judge the heathen. You know, put an end to this. Put them in fear, he said in verse 20, O Lord. That the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah. You know, that's the application tonight. You know, I painted a nice picture of doom and gloom for you. But, you know, it wasn't really me that painted it. It was God. You know, I could only, you know, I just took the brush that he gave me and the color palette that I was available. You know, it was paint by number tonight. And I was like, oh, okay. And that's the picture we get. That nations that rebel and forget God get judged. They get, and not right away. They get worse and worse and worse and worse. And quickly, and quickly, 41 years. How long has Roe versus Wade been a thing? I forgot to look it up. 50 years? About 50 years? Somewhere in there? 73? Oh, I was going to say, man, my math is way off. Get the calculator out here. Came into 73. So yeah, you know, I'm not going to sit here and do the math. But it's been 50-ish years. That's longer than Asa's reign, folks. And we went from a Jeroboam, a wicked king, to a very wicked king in Ahab in 41 years. You know, we might not be on the bobsled to hell that they were on. We might be pumping the brakes a little bit here and there. God might be holding back a little bit. We still have some righteous. We have a remnant, I believe, in this country and in this world. But all I'm saying is, is buckle up. Because we're not coming all the way back to where we were as a nation. It's going to get worse. You know, so here's the application. Say, well, what am I supposed to do that? Detach from this world. Detach. You know, if we're in a nosedive, you know, we're in that fighter plane. And we're just, we're in a tailspin. You know, that's when that voice comes over the radio. Eject. Eject. Eject. That's what we need to do from this world. Is just hit that button and just say, well, I'm out of here. And just serve God. Just worry, you know, just focus on serving God and the things of God. And living for Him. You know, and serving Him. And, you know, God will take care of you. Even in the midst of tribulation, God could still take care of us. I mean, we're about to read about that with Elijah, right? Elijah's living during the time of Ahab. He's being hunted. And God, just miracle after miracle, is just providing for him. Why? Because he was a preacher of righteousness. Because he was a man of God. Because he was somebody who, despite his surroundings, despite living in the midst of a perverse nation, a crooked and perverse nation, he just kept right on serving God. And God provided for him miraculously. Look, things can get really bad. And I believe they will one day. But, you know, if we're right with God and we're doing what we're supposed to do, who's to say a raven won't show up at your door every morning? I mean, we see miracle. I mean, hopefully we're seeing a prayer answered in our life right now. You think that's just going to stop all of a sudden? I don't want to go full charismatic on you. But I believe that God is still on the throne. And God will still take care of his people, no matter how bad things get around them. So why don't we just go ahead and detach from this world? Why don't we just eject, you know, and just not get so caught up in this world? Go to 2 Timothy 1. I'm almost done. And I know we know this passage. I know we know it. But I'm not so certain we're all living it. I mean, none of these wicked kings are worth remembering. If it weren't for first, you know, first kings, we wouldn't even know them. You know, and it's interesting, you kind of caught that phrase that it'll say, you know, King so-and-so, this and that. You know, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel? That's not referring to the books of Chronicles. That's referring to a book that existed at that time. A book that we no longer have in existence. It would have been, you know, something that existed then. But besides that, you know, their deeds are lost to history. That book doesn't even exist. So why would the Bible mention a book that doesn't exist anymore? Just to make the point that some people aren't worth remembering. That wicked rulers are best left forgotten. Look, the only reason we know there was a book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel is because the Bible tells us. And the reason, you say, why does it mention it? Just so we can say, yeah, they wrote about these guys. They wrote these kings. They had their own scribes. And they had their own, you know, their own, you know, journalists following them around recording. They had their own Twitter feed back then. You know what? But it's all gone. None of it's worth remembering. The only thing you need to know about these guys is how wicked they were and how they destroyed the people of God. And how they destroyed a nation and led it into literal destruction. To being just wiped off the face of the earth. That's the only thing you need to know about these guys. Everything else they wrote in their book that the Bible references is gone. You know, that's the point is, you know, don't get so caught up in this world. Politics. You know, what was it? I heard that saying, politics is just Hollywood for ugly people. And it's a big show. The Bible says in Proverbs 10, I'll read to you. The memory of the just is blessed. The memory of the just is blessed. And there's a lot of just people we read about in Scripture. And we read a lot of good things about them. And their memory is blessed. But the name of the wicked shall rot. I mean, that's a pretty, that's some strong language. Think about something, the name of the wicked shall rot. I mean, that's what their name is like. It's like a piece of something, it stinks. All it's meant, all it's good for is just to be cast into the garbage. Just get rid of that. You know, those avocados you were going to eat and you didn't. And now it's all mushy and gross and unedible. You just throw them away. That's what the name of the wicked is like. Just rotten. It's not worth remembering. It's not worth trying to pay any attention to. So that's the application tonight. Is that don't get so caught up in the affairs of this life. It says in verse 1 of 2 Timothy 1, Thou therefore my son be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou has heard of me among many witnesses the same commit thou to faithful men who should be able to teach others also. I mean, there's your priority. Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Be a person of faith. Live for the Lord. That's the emphasis, that's the priority that you need to have in your life. The things that thou has heard of me among many witnesses the same commit thou to faithful men who should be able to teach others also. I mean, that's what I'm doing. That's what we're doing as a church. Hey, these are the things I was taught. These are the things that I've learned. Let me teach them to you so you can go do likewise. We go out and get people saved and we teach them how to get people saved. That is what our emphasis should be. That's what we should be concerned with. Because that's the only thing that's going to have any lasting value in eternity. Is the things that are done for God. Not all the things that we get involved in. All the vain things and especially not the things where we're getting involved with wicked people and playing their game. Whose names are just going to rot. It says in verse 2, And the things that thou has heard of me among many witnesses the same commit thou to faithful men who should be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Now it's hard. It's so hard to just live for the Lord. So hard to make God a priority. Well, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry the Christian life isn't a bed of roses. Tell it to Jesus. Tell it to Paul. Tell it to the prophets. Tell it to the unnamed millions that have suffered for the name of Christ at the hands of wicked people. Therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Look at verse 4. No man that warth entanglement themselves with the affairs of this life. Look, you want to fight a good fight. You want to lay hold on eternal life. You want to finish your course. You want to keep the faith. Then you're going to have to war. That's what we're involved in here. Spiritual war for the souls of men. That's what I'm involved in. That's what this church is about. And not the affairs of this life. Not getting up here and promoting the Republican platform. Because the name of the wicked shall rot. No man that warth entanglement themselves with the affairs of this life. It'd be like, you know, you send that soldier out on a field to go fight a physical battle. You know, but he's too busy on his phone to pick up his gun. You know, he's checking his Facebook status. It's like, dude, we're in a war. What are you doing? Well, I'm just checking out what's going on. Now you got to get involved in the battle that's in front of you right now. Pick up a weapon and start fighting. Why? That he may please him who had chosen him to be a soldier. You know, we're not going to bring this country back to righteousness. Through some kind of Christian jihad or whatever like that. That's not what we're trying to do. We might be accused of that. That's not what we're doing. Jesus said to Pilate, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight? We fight a spiritual warfare. He said, well, what are we going to do about all these wicked rulers? What are we going to do about, you know, all these people that are, you know, ruling over? What are we going to do about all the, you know, the, you know, these, these, these pedophiles, these blood drinking, baby eating pedophiles? There I said it. I mean, that's what a lot of them are, folks. They're wicked people. And it's a shame to even speak of the things which are done of them in secret. And I feel bad for even mentioning what I just did, but that's what they're into. And I believe that. They're that wicked. And that's where we're at. What do you think was going on in Israel when they're burning children alive to false gods? You think anything's changed? You know, you go read the Podesta emails yourself. I'm not going to read them to you. So what are we going to do about them? Grabbing an AR and go to Washington? Nope. Oh, you're so apathetic. You're so, you know, what do you mean you're not going to use your voter card? You're so apathetic. Yeah, but appropriately so. And I'll sleep like a baby. Because I understand that wicked rulers are a temporary problem. It's temporary, these people. God's going to deal with them. Go to Proverbs 24. I promise that's the last place. I know I'm going long. But look, we got to get, we got to understand this. We got to get this through our heads. You know, because here's the other thing. People, a lot of times, they believe what I'm saying. They understand what I'm saying. Yeah, it's a wicked nation. It's horrible. They get it. They understand that. But then, but it's not like they understand that. And then they just go, OK, well, let me fight the fight. They just kind of tune out. They kind of just want to sit on the sidelines and watch, you know, watch God's people fight this battle on their own. They just kind of just, OK, I'll see how this goes. They might even be wearing, you know, our jersey. They might even be safe. They might even be on our side. But they're just like, well, I just want to warm the bench. You know, I just want to stand in the stands with that stupid foam finger on my hand. I want to wear a dumb piece of cheese on my head. Foam cheese, like they do in Wisconsin. And I'll just paint my face and just cheer you on from the side. We don't need more Christian cheerleaders. We need soldiers. We need people down on the field, you know, putting on the gear, getting involved, understanding the plays, and being there. That's what we need. And not so we can, you know, overtake the government or whatever. So that we can rescue people from hell. So we can snag a few more of, you know, Satan's victims before it's too late. Because, you know, I say, well, why don't we do something about these wicked people? Because they're a temporary problem. Christ is coming. And he shall come to be glorified in the saints, it says in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, and to be admired in all them that believe. That's why I don't get involved. That's why I'm worried about trying to promote some politician. I've already got a politician. His name is Jesus. And I'm going to admire him. And, you know, he's going to come and he'll be glorified in the saints. And you know what? He'll clean up this mess. So that's the message. You know, fear God, not man. Because I'll admit it, you know, I painted a pretty dark picture tonight about how things are going in this country. But it's the truth. I didn't offer a lot of hope telling me things are just going to get worse. Yeah, but I told you the truth. Because that's what the Bible says. I mean, that's what the Bible is telling us. Things aren't going to get better as the return of Christ comes. They're going to get worse. You might have heard of this thing called the tribulation. You might have heard of this thing called the great tribulation. You might have heard of that. The anti-Christ. The man of sin. The mark of the beast. Have you heard any of that? You know, it's in here. That doesn't sound like things are getting better. It sounds like things are going to get really hard. So why don't you just start doing the hard things now? Why don't you get involved in the fight now? You know, and stop trying to fight some worldly battle. Fear God and not man. Look at Proverbs 24 verse 19. Don't walk out here afraid of what's coming. It says verse 19, Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked. For they shall be no reward to the evil man, and the candle of the wicked shall be put out. My son, fear thou the Lord and the King, and meddle not with them that are given to change. People are just, oh, the next ruler, the next ruler, the next ruler. The next guy is going to fix it. No. Fear God. For their calamity shall rise suddenly, and who knoweth the ruin of them both? You know, he's saying, basically, don't fear these people. What? But to fear the Lord and the King. Just be obedient to the authority that's been given to us. You know, obey what we've been told to do. Obey that King. You know, obey the godly rulers in your life. Obey what the preacher preaches. Obey what your godly parents tell you. Obey what the Bible says. Obey these things and fear God and not man. You know, it's not a hopeless situation that we're in. That by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, I don't, I mean, I believe all this. I mean, I'd be a pretty big hypocrite to preach all this and say I don't believe it. Obviously, I believe this. But you know what? I wake up every morning and I'm a pretty happy guy. I mean, I sleep just fine. I don't, I'm not, you know, I'm not biting my nails over all this. You know, and I'm not building up some stockpile. I'm not, and look, I'm not against people that want to do that. You know, maybe they just have other motives, but it's, I'm not, I'm not worried about what's coming. Because I can see past all them that are going to come and go. I can see past all these wicked rulers. And I'm looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. And I just see him, you know, and I'll just, I'll read 1 Thessalonians. He said, and you two are troubled. Rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God. I mean, I see how wicked it is. I see how bad it is. I just think, well, God's going to take vengeance on them. And obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord. It's like, oh, well, God's got taken care of. The victory is won. So what am I worried about? You know what? So that I'm just not going to entangle myself with the affairs of this life. And I'm just going to serve him who's called me to be a soldier so that I can please him. Let's go ahead and pray. Dear Lord, again, thank you for.