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💀️ 🎵 🎵 🎵 🎵 🎵 🎵 🎵 🎵 🎵 You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You So if you want to go ladies you're welcome to go But you gotta it's teen girls and up only unless it's a child that is nursing. Okay. Otherwise anyone that is not It that falls within that void is not permitted. So Just because there's a lot of sharp needles and scissors. It's not because they don't like them up there. They do But it's because you know, you don't want kids running around getting poked in the eye Christmas caroling also if you have You know, I'm not a the the the the ornament thing is probably not a big pull for me either, you know it's not a real draw, but the The Christmas caroling on the other hand is another story and not just because there's cookies and hot cocoa afterward But because of the fact that actually going out and spreading Christmas cheer is funner than you might think So if you've never gone Christmas caroling if you're kind of those people who like me in the past Found it to be kind of hokey and just kind of not my thing, you know Sometimes you just got to try new things, you know, sometimes you just got to dip your toes in those waters You might find out you like them. You might say this is comfortable, you know And you might want to do it like I do now every year every year I go out there and sing and enjoy The lights and everything. So if you're if you're shy if you're apprehensive about going don't be because we go in a group of 20 You can fade away into the crowd that you're in and and mumble You know through the through a couple of you don't have to know all the carols will give you sheet music It's a really good time. Trust me. I wouldn't lie to you Okay, so if anyone here wants to go I know my i'm taking my whole family up there in the church van but that's going to leave us I think like Probably comfortably we could fit three or four people But uh, you know that so I have some seating but if you want to go i'd really encourage you to go Plus it's a great time to fellowship with the Tempe church around the holiday So you I don't know if you picked up on the fact that I really want you to go if you can make it so anyway Just because I like it so much but then again, you know, it might not be your thing either. So Anyway, we're gonna go ahead and count up the soul winning going back to Monday And then Tuesday Wednesday And then there was nothing today unless oh you got some what'd you get? How many five? Nice Praise the lord Did you go this afternoon with a group or something? No, you did great. Well, you have to tell me where your neighborhood is because that sounds like a pretty good neighborhood So that'll do it for announcements. We'll go ahead and sing another song before we get to the people tonight All right We're 23 Yeah, all right, let's turn our handles to song number 423 Joy to the world Oh Oh Oh Oh Pass the offering plate as it goes around you can follow along with me answering from second kings 13 The second kings 13 tonight Second kings chapter number 13 beginning in verse 1 the bible reads The three and 20th year of joash the son of aaziah king of judah johoa has the son of jay who began to reign over israel and samaria And reigned 17 years and he did that which was evil in the sight of the lord and followed after the sins of jaraboham The son of nebap which made israel to sin He departed not there from and the anger of the lord was kindled against israel and he delivered them into the hand of hazael King of syria and into the hand of ben hadad the son of hazael all their days and johoa has besought the lord And the lord hearkened unto him For he saw the oppression of israel Because the king of syria oppressed them The lord gave israel a savior so that they went out from under the hand of the syrians And the children of israel dwelt in their tents as before time Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of jaraboham who made israel to sin Who made israel sin, but walked therein And there remain it rained the grove also in samaria neither did he leave of the people of johoa has but 50 horsemen And 10 chariots and 10 000 footmen the king of syria had destroyed them and made them like the dust by threshing Now the rest of the acts of johoa has and all that he did Now the rest of the acts of johoa has and all that he did And his might are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of israel? And johoa has slept with his fathers and they buried him in samaria and joe ash's son reigned in his stead In the 30 and seventh year of joe ash the king of judah began johoa ash the son of joe has to reign over israel in samaria And reigned 16 years and he did that which is evil in the sight of the lord And he departed not from all the sins of jereboam the son of nebat who made israel sin, but he walked therein And the rest of the acts of joe ash all that he did in his might wherewith he fought against amaziah king of juda Are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of israel? And joe ash slept with his fathers and jereboam sat upon his throne And joe ash was buried in samaria with the kings of israel Now elisha was fallen sick of the sickness whereof he died and joe ash the king of israel Came down unto him and wept over his face and said oh my father my father the chariot of israel and the horseman thereof And elisha said unto him take bow and arrows and he took unto him bow and arrows And he put to the king of israel Excuse me He said to the king of israel put thine hand upon the bow and he put his hand upon it And elisha put his hands up upon the king's hands and he opened the window eastward and he He said, excuse me And he said open the window eastward and he opened it and elisha said shoot and he shot And he's and he said the area of the lord's deliverance and the aerial arrow of deliverance from syria For thou shalt smite the syrians in afec till they'll have consumed them And he said take the arrows and he took them and he said unto the king of israel smite the ground And he smote thrice and stayed the man of god was wroth with him and said thou shouldest have smitten five or six times Then said hadst thou smitten syria till thou was consumed Whereas now thou shalt smite syria, but thrice And elisha died and they buried him and the bands of the moabites invaded the land at the end coming in of the year And it came to pass as they were burying a man Behold they spied a band of men and they cast the man into the sepulcher of elisha And the man was let down and touched the bones of elisha. He revived and stood up on his feet But hasael the king of syria oppressed Uh israel all the days of jehoahaz and the word excuse me and the lord was gracious unto them And had compassion on them and respect unto them because of his covenant with abraham isaac and jacob It would not destroy them neither cast he them from his presence as yet So hasael king of syria died and ben hadad his son reigned in his stead and jehoash the son of jehoahaz Took again out of the hand of ben hadad the son of israel The cities which he had taken out of the hand the hand of the joe has his father by war Three times did joe ash beat him and recovered the cities of israel. Let's go ahead and pray dear lord again Thank you for this time to come together I pray that you would meet with us tonight and lord that you would just bless the preaching of your word Be asked in christ's name. Amen So in chapter 13, we're kind of dealing with these Next couple of succession of kings going through the land of israel kind of picking the story out back there that the northern kingdom And it kind of gives us that point of reference there in verse 1 and 3 and 20th year of joash the son of aaziah king of judah Jehoahaz the son of jehu began to reign over israel in samaria and reign 17 years. So we're starting out with Jehoahaz And it says about joe has in verse 2 and he did that which was evil in the sight of the lord And followed the sins of jeroboam the son of nebat which made israel to sin He departed not from them. So there's nothing really new here as we're just kind of seeing the same thing play out. You're just seeing another King go bad stay in idolatry not getting right and we're just seeing you know We're about halfway down that downward spile and just utter destruction when it comes to uh, the king of israel or the the the the nation of israel rather so they're kind of We're we're rounding third here with israel. They're about to just be completely wiped out, you know in just a few more kings but we've got joe has here and notice, you know as close as they are to the end and all the things that they've already kind of suffered thus far That they're still continuing in that specific sin of jeroboam, right? Who's the guy who originally set up? These calves right so this sin is just carrying on that one sin is just going from generation to generation to generation to generation one after the next You know that should tell us something that you know, we think in our lives. We're just going to have one sin We're just got this one, you know, it's it's it Maybe to us. It's not a big deal. We don't always understand the repercussions That our sin could have on other people even for generations, you know, this is something that If you've been paying attention through the this book You've just seen that specific sin just being mentioned repeatedly the sin of jeroboam the sin of jeroboam just over and over This is coming up. We should take heed to that Why well verse three and the anger the lord was kindled against israel and he delivered them into the hand of hasael king of syria And into the hand of ben hadad the son of hasael all their days. So, you know God doesn't take this lightly, you know, god wants us to Be obedient and to do the things that we ought to do And he is a god that judges, you know, maybe we're never going to fall into such a gross sin probably none of us is gonna You know start leading god's people into just full-blown idolatry and things like that However, you know, we could also have other sins that upset god don't get this idea That you know, it's god only gets mad about big sins Like what jeroboam did what israel's doing here that god is only upset when we do really bad things, you know, god Gets upset and god has anger and god is you know, uh bothered, you know by our sins no matter how big or small they are Because god is a righteous and holy god, you know, god is is pure and holy and righteous You know nothing that makes a lie can enter into his kingdom You know, he can he is you know So holy and so righteous we can't even fathom it, you know, why why would we sit there and think That some little sin, you know isn't going to upset god obviously some sins are worse than others You know, obviously, you know Somebody doing something, you know stealing some minuscule thing that nobody's going to miss or whatever Isn't as bad as you know adultery or something like that, you know That's important to understand because people they get completely out of whack. They just think all sins equal. We know that's not true Right, but we don't want to go to the other extreme and think Well, my sin's not as bad as so-and-so's sin or you know, I I'm I know I'm not as bad as I used to be and You know, we don't want to fall into that either because those sins still upset god I mean why read a story like this and just kind of think well I'm, no jeroboam, you know, I mean you say who would do that? Uh, the people were reading about You know the people they're they're getting some things right, you know, they're turning to god They're seeking god we see it in the story It says in verse four and jahoa has besought the lord and the lord hearkened unto him Right. However, you know the grove remained he did not depart from these other sins We've seen that you know play out throughout this book multiple times So, you know people need to have a proper understanding of the fact that god Is upset by all sin and again, I I get it we're not going to be Sinless i'm not up here preaching that we're all need to be these sinless people that are just going to be perfect in every way That's an unrealistic expectation It boggles the mind to think that there's people out there that actually think that that there's people out there that actually preach and teach That you need to be sinless in your life And if you aren't you're going to go straight to hell that The blood of christ isn't enough to atone for your sin praise god for the blood of christ that washes us from all sin That even in our sinful condition, you know, uh that that permanent sinful condition that we all have We can still go to heaven being made new in him, right? But don't go to the other extreme and think well, you know, i'm good, you know because I have the blood of christ It's all by grace anyway, so let me just have these little pet sins in my life, you know Those little things upset god and to whom much is given shall also much be required, you know people can You know, maybe uh clean up their life or maybe not have a life that needs cleaned up And start to think that you know, they're going to be okay because they're not as bad as somebody else You know the bible says they that compare themselves among themselves are not wise You know who who's the person you should compare yourself to it's christ You know, you should get in any you know in any type of comparison When it comes to sin saying well, i'm not as bad at so-and-so. Well, are you as good as christ? Okay, then you still have some work to do buddy You know or it might be when you're comparing people Inter in other terms maybe not when it comes to things thinking well, you know, this person's better than this person in something You know, they might they might be start being like the corinthians, you know, they might start to be carnal and think you know I am of paul and I am of apollos What did paul say to that was paul crucified for you? No It was christ You know christ is the one that has has died for you not paul. We so we shouldn't get this carnal attitude of comparing people you know in any way in terms of of You know who's who might be better than another person there. No one's as good as christ. That's the point i'm making You know, we all have that work to do And god is not a god to just be treated like he's not going to You know Clean house or take care of business, you know And this is an important message because you know again people think well i'm i'm doing i'm not as bad as some other people I mean, i'm not i'm reading the bible and i'm like wow, of course they had it coming. I mean look at what they did and we might not be doing that but You know, it's not like god doesn't see those little things, too And that's why the christian life is a battle and will be every single day of your christian life It will be a constant process of always trying to get better Maybe even falling back and having to start over again. The point is to always keep moving forward Because stopping is just going to make it worse staying in sin is just going to make it worse It's not like god's going to let up. Okay I mean god's just going to continue to put the pressure on Till one or two things happen You either get right You know or Who knows, you know, it could get to the place where he kills people takes him home You say god's mean man, that sounds rough well, you know, i'm just showing you what the bible says, you know This is the word of god. So Uh, you might think god's mean it's just that he's stern You know, we often get upset with the people in our lives that You know, uh are or maybe come across as stern or strict You know because of the the the hammer that they're bringing down because the rules that they put in place But are we really upset with them? Or are we upset for what they're standing for? Are we upset with the messenger? Or are we upset with the actual message, you know when you get angry about what the preacher preaches or angry about? Mom or dad says or some brother comes to you or whoever and someone points out something in the bible and says You know, well you're doing this. This is what the bible says you get upset with this, you know That person you need to check yourself because who you're really mad at is god, okay And obviously god is stern, you know, god is a very stern god He's strict You know because he's righteous. It's his nature to be that way. How could he not be that way think about it, right? But also, you know god is very merciful and we see that in the story as well Which is also required of him It's it's got by god his nature requires him to be both stern and merciful Stern because he's righteous and holy but merciful because of the fact that he's loving, you know, god is love And to be merciful and to be compassionate and to take pity on people You know is one of the greatest manifestations of love that there is so we would you know, obviously you would expect to see that Manifest from god his love his mercy And we do in the story he's he's in verse three his anger is kindled He's delivering them into the hand of hazale king of syria And into the hand of ben hadad the son of hazale all their days. He's just spanking them And jahoa has besought the lord and the lord hearkened unto him Before he saw the oppression of israel so it's not just that he hearkened unto him because of the fact that jahoa has Besought the lord, I mean jahoa has definitely had to seek the lord The lord had to be besought, right? And that got you know god's attention in a manner of speaking, right? But it says that he hearkened unto him not just because of the prayer of jahoa has like, all right I'll do it just because you keep bugging me But because he saw the oppression of israel You know speaking of god saw and it it bothered him. He doesn't like to see his people oppressed God's not this sick god who likes to punish his own people He's a righteous god who will punish his own people. He's a holy god who will chasten every one of his children You know any any loving parent who chastens their child and by the way If you don't chase your child the bible says you don't love them It says the complete opposite says you actually hate that child if you do not chase them physically with corporal punishment, okay But any parent who does that doesn't get it's not like they're looking forward to it It's not like they with glee are spanking their children You know, they would prefer to never have to do that again You know, but because they have to be stern and make sure the rules are followed Just like we have the god has to make sure his rules are followed, you know They have to be stern they have to be even, you know come across even as maybe a little cold Right a little hard But you know, don't forget also that god is compassionate he doesn't enjoy seeing the oppression he doesn't enjoy People being hurt unnecessarily it saddens him It says that he saw the oppression of israel Because the king of syria oppressed them right and it was like well, wait a minute. Who is it that sent him? Well, he sent him right God doesn't like seeing having to send the judgment that he sends It doesn't bring him pleasure. God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, right? Let alone his own people And then it says in verse five again showing us god's compassionate hatred the lord god gave Israel a savior so that they went out from under the hand of the syrians And the children of israel dwelt in their tents as before time, okay So he's sending them a savior they're going out from the hand of their oppressors the syrians And they're dwelling in their tents As before time the bible says so what does it mean by they're dwelling in their tents, right? Because it's out you read that you're like there's a savior god's you know Seeing the oppression he's delivering them and then they're dwelling in tents Now I know some of you really like the idea of dwelling in tents I know some of you that just is just filling you with excitement to even hear it. You just think about the idea Of getting some plastic bag on some sticks on some rough ground And just think that's the greatest thing since sliced bread And more power to you, you know go out there and and And sleep in the woods, whatever I get it. I enjoy it for like The first 10 minutes of the first night. It's a lot of fun, right? You know, it's great time But you know, so so, you know, you might read the story and think how is that being delivered when you're dwelling in tents, right? Because it's not like there are some nomadic people at this point. They're they are the nation of israel, right? This isn't abraham or isaac or some other Semi-nomadic, you know patriarch that's just kind of going around as a herdman this is the an established nation with walled cities with You know fortifications. So how is so I know you read that it's like well, how how is that being? It sounds like you'd be more vulnerable to dwelling in a tent you know some of you that Enjoy sleeping in tents. Maybe that's why you enjoy it so much You don't understand how vulnerable you are sleeping in a tent You know wrapped up in your sleeping bag looking like a little Little burrito to a bear, you know, but you're like you're already pre pre wrapped If you sleep out there long enough, you're even pre-seasoned Right and he's smelling you and he's just licking his chops. But oh, you're okay Because there's this thin layer of polyester between you and like a 900 pound bear with razor sharp claws You're going to be fine out there, right? Okay You can see what a fan I am of camping tents So you read that you think how is this a blessing to be dwelling in a tent, right? You think well, maybe it's referring to The feast of tabernacles, you know, that's something that they would do. They would make those booths. Is it referring to that? No, I don't believe that's it at all just because of the context it says in verse six Nevertheless, they departed out from the sins of the house of jeroboam Who made israel sin? the walk they're in and they remain the grave also in samaria, so it's not like you know israel hasn't been the The the picture of of godly worship in a long time. It's not like they just all of a sudden Are digging out some old testament You know some old testament practice out of the law and saying well, let's get back to this And that's not what it means. I I don't believe that Well, I think it's showing us here Excuse me By the fact that they're dwelling in tents Is that god is delivering them miraculously? in their hardship Just remember they're beings. They're being oppressed right by the king of syria and by oppression, it doesn't mean that he's just Excuse me, you know Ah that he's just uh You know taxing them or something he's like attacking them with armies Excuse me, i'm having a fit up here But it says that they departed not from the sins of the house of jeroboam who made israel sin but walk there in Ah and remain in the grove also in samaria What was I saying Uh The context was uh, oh, yeah, so they're they're uh, forgive me i'm trying not to keep keep coughing Can someone bring me a water anybody? Sometimes I have these time to time I swear i'm not smoking Cigarettes or anything else Anyways, let's just move along here i've lost my train of thought So, oh, yeah, so they the god's protection is miraculous. That's what I was trying to say because they're dwelling in these tents, right? And uh, that doesn't sound like it's very like they're being protected. That's not a very protective covering You know, they're they're out there vulnerable, but it's because you know, they're being oppressed So to be in a tent after you've had some kings just stomping on your head, you know, it's a proof of god's miraculous deliverance notice verse seven Neither did he leave of the people to jahoa has but 50 horsemen and 10 chariots and 10 000 footmen. So it's not like They were delivered by their own hand the bible is very specifically telling us their numbers have just been utterly depleted And in spite of that fact, they're still able to just dwell in tents meaning they're safe to just be In these tents, they're not having to move their tent from one location to another Quickly trying to evade the enemy they're able to just pitch their tent wherever they please in their land And just be at ease and be safe. It sounds pretty nice, doesn't it? And not just for the campers amongst us It sounds very nice To be blessed by god in that way to have god's protection in your life It does to me anyway, I mean I I really like the idea of having god's protective hand in my life Having god shield me and protect me from enemies that want to Harm me harm those around me From the snares of the devil the fiery darts of the wicked that are out there From the principalities and powers in high places. It's nice to know that god Is protecting us To know that we that camp the angel lord campeth about them that fear him, right? It's a great blessing in the christian life So Which is an important thing to think about this time of year Because of the fact This time of year people think about all the things they don't have or all the things that they want Look if god never gave you another blessing, you know, the fact that he's just protected you He has permanently sealed you from the fires of hell What else what else do you need like if you've got no other blessings you could You should be able to just live the rest of your life with a smile on your face because you're saved and it's important to remember this time of year because everyone's thinking about All the stuff they're going to get all the things that they want you know all you know, and i'm not against giving gifts or people getting things and Enjoying nice things but i'm just saying look if not having those things Just leaves you depressed and just not enjoying life You know You need to take inventory of what's really important to you and and as the song says count your many blessings one by one It just might surprise you what the lord has done, you know You could start with salvation and just kind of you could start at that whole list and just stop with salvation But you know god is so good that that's not where the list stops. God protects us in this life miraculously In some instances when we don't even deserve that protection what has israel done here to deserve to dwell so safely They cried out they prayed Oh Wow, great What what a coincidence you got chastened and all of a sudden it made you upset and you cried out to god What you know, that's just a natural reaction to that kind of thing you'd expect But here they are being blessed miraculously by the lord You know because god is that good, you know, we want this in our life to be protected How do you get that it's through obedience? You know, that's that's what's so frightening when you see people just You brush off the word of god Or just knowingly do things just completely contrary to the bible You know people doing it's like oh is it gonna upset you it's like i'm the least of your worries You know if you want to start going and doing things That you know aren't right that you know upset god's like don't worry about me Don't worry, you know about upset mom. I mean go ahead and worry about that, too But you know a lot of times that's not enough of a deterrent for people to not to do things that that Are going to upset god they that's where their thinking ends Oh, if i'm not gonna you know, if I do this, it's only gonna upset You know some you know Earthly figure some carnal person who's just who has no power really to do anything other than maybe Tell them how upset they are or whatever But what about if it's upsetting god God can reach down and touch you wherever and whenever he wants god can do that So we should desire to have rather be on the blessing side of god to be protected from these things Through obedience Our obedience god's compassion come together leads to a life of blessing really does I honestly think we're going to get to heaven And and god's going to just show us. I protected you here. I mean, I think god protects us sometimes and we don't even realize it happened We just moved and like god just orchestrates something and says no that's i'm not going to let that happen to them today And he's just shielding us through life So then why do bad things happen because god still allows things to come into our life godly people still suffer right Right It's not like just because you're saved you're never going to suffer It's just that you're not going to suffer above that which you are able to to handle Unnecessarily obviously there's things to be learned from suffering there inherently there is suffering in life Let's not add god's, you know anger on top of it Let's not go make life harder than it needs to be You know good people are still going to suffer let's jump ahead in the story for sake of time I mean look at verse 14 Now elijah was fallen sick of the sickness wherewith he died So think about that phrase there. He thought he was felling sick With the sickness where of he died It seems to me. It's like it didn't just it doesn't just say he well elijah was sick And he died He got sick and died. He got sick with the sickness of which he died Meaning he's probably suffering some physical ailments Along the way You know when he's getting maybe he's getting in his old age here And he's he's being he's sick more often. It's finally it's the sickness, but it's not just Another bout of whatever chronic thing he's suffering from perhaps, but it's actually the sickness that's going to finally take his life It's not you know, it sounds when I read that it sounds to me He didn't just live his life with a perfectly clean bill of health and then just at the last minute got sick and died Showing us what That godly people still suffer that they still are going to go through things You know and and we shouldn't get this attitude that if we go through something that you know God hates us or god's angry or god, you know, god's blessing is in our life. God just might be blessing us in some other way Just not that way Or god maybe god's not allowing things to get as bad as they could be So he's sick here and it says He was sickness of the sickness where he died and joe ash the king of israel came down unto him and wept over his face And said oh my father my father the chariot of israel and the horseman thereof and I think he's just kind of referring to You know that they're they're being impressed here because we're you know We just saw that they're they're being oppressed through all these generations. He's kind of it's kind of just an exclamation of You know, we're in such a bad way. What are we going to do without you? You know, we need the man of god And it goes to show you that you know because this joe ash is not the best guy either You know, he's these guys are committing sin, but it goes to show you that Even when wicked people seek god, they seek counsel from the man of god They can still Recover and do things that god can still show because god's compassion and mercy is so great He won't even be able to extend grace unto them. Maybe not to the degree which they could have had but to some degree It says and elijah said unto him take bows and arrows and he took him bows and arrows He said to the king of israel Put thine hand upon the bow and he put his hand upon it And elijah put his hands upon the king's hands And he said open the window eastward and he opened it Then elijah said elijah said shoot and he shot And he said the arrow of the lord's deliverance and the arrow of the deliverance from syria for thou will smite the syrians in afek Till thou have consumed them I mean, that's good news. He's getting there, right? I mean put yourself in in in the king's shoes in the story You're coming to the man of god who's about to pass off and you're lamenting The fact that you're being oppressed. Oh the chariot of israel the horseman thereof Because to me that's what it sounds to me He's complaining about he's concerned about because then he's giving him this armament, you know, he's giving him the bows the arrows he's telling him to shoot and then He and it's and then he's telling him. Oh, you're gonna smite them, you know, you're going to defeat the syrians It's it's they're related. Okay, that's there's a Why would he just shift gears and talk about some military victory if that's not what he was complaining about to begin with Okay, hopefully you're following along with that But think about how excited you would be if you had received your unanswered prayer If you went to somebody and said hey, I need help. I need counsel and then they gave you the answer They said oh, yeah, I got this problem. I have this trial i'm going through this thing. I need this prayer, whatever And they're like, oh, well, here you go. This is exactly what you need to do This year you go You'd be like, yes. All right, I mean do this. I mean, wouldn't you be excited about that? Think about you know the things you want and when you get them don't aren't you excited? Are you people ever excited about anything ever? I'm just kidding Think about like, you know, maybe you're applying for that job you really want. I this is just a personal example Needing a better job. Have you ever literally leapt in the air over receiving good news? None of you. Oh some of the kids have all right. Well, you don't lose that son Don't let the world snatch that away from you Because apparently some of these other people it's already happened, you know, you don't be like them, you know Not me though. I have literally leapt in the air Might not have been that high But it was as high as I could leap Okay, because I was what I was excited about getting good news right When we hear good news, it ought to make us excited I mean if i'm this king here and i'm going oh You know our military woes we're oppressed and he's like shoot the arrow you're gonna win I mean think about the opposite you're i'm sorry buddy tough luck. Hey. Hey, good luck. I'll see you on the other side You know, good luck with that. No, he's like you got it you asked for it. You got it. I mean you just right That's not really what happens in the story though You know, he's one of these people i've never met them, you know who don't get excited about receiving good news He's not one of these people, you know Who or or he is one of these people rather. I don't know who they are who have never leapt They're receiving good news. I mean, I I don't know anyone like that. But here we have an example of that Say how is this an example of that? It says uh there that he shot and then in verse 18 and he said take the arrows and he took them And he said unto the king of israel smite upon the ground and he smoked thrice and stayed right So he's he's like take it. Okay, take the arrows i'll smite three times Right, he smites he smites the ground But Notice there it says that he it says that he uh, he said he took them and he said unto the king of israel Smite upon the ground. Did he tell him how many times to smite? He just says smite the ground He gives him this great news. He gives him this fabulous news that he wanted to hear about a victory and he says smite the ground So he's like, okay and he hits the ground three times And then he kind of stops that's what it's that's what the bible's it's painting this picture He smote upon the ground and he smote three times thrice and he stayed so he's kind of stopping like was that enough? Is that enough? I know it's verse 19 And the man of god was wroth. It's like what did I do wrong? I smote the ground just like you said He's disappointed. He's angered by the fact that this person is not excited About the good news that he'd just gotten He's it's bothering him that that he that this guy, you know, it's just one of these three smiting Three, you know these one of these three smiters, you know He he how many times that he's the kind of guy that would only smite thrice, you know That's not the kind of guy I want to hang around You know one of these three times smiters It's bothering him he's wroth about it. This guy is not excited enough. He has no zeal That's what it is. It's an absence of zeal He's real. He's real emotional. He's really worked up when he comes to him with his problem When he comes to him and says, oh the chariot, uh, and the horseman thereof. Oh You're dying. What are we gonna do? He's real man. He's real He's real animated You know, he's real passionate He's real excited to go there and weep over the man of god and lament his condition And then when he actually gets the answer that he needs he's like, okay. All right. Yeah, okay Cool You know and then he's like smite the ground with these arrows Yeah Thanks for that answer And he's just like why aren't you why aren't you just exuberant over what you just heard? Why aren't you just leaping? Why aren't you just Fired up, you know and he says Uh, it says there and he smote the ground thrice and the man of god was wroth with him and said thou shouldst have smitten five or six times Then thou had smitten the syrians till thou hadst consumed it Whereas now thou shalt smite theory of syria, but thrice he's like you could have wiped them out but because you just have this kind of ho-hum attitude just this kind of I guess i'll just take what I can get, you know Well, then you're that's what you're going to get out of it You smite thrice. You're only going to get thrice You know, so the the application here is stay excited About the good news of the gospel stay excited about the fact that you're born again stay excited and look I know sometimes We have to we have to make ourselves excited You know sometimes, you know newsflash, you know, this might come as a shock, but sometimes I have to come here and i'm not Always thrilled to get up here in front of everybody and try to Spur everyone on that's my job. You know, I gotta do it i'm privileged but i'm i'm carnal and fleshly too. I'm just a man You know, I get it when people come in they kind of it's been a long week I get it You know, but that can't become the the prevailing sentiment in our life where we're just kind of That's not good That's not how we want to be in the christian life just It's not good enough That's not that's not going to get us what we need. It's not going to help anybody The syrians are still going to be there. You know, they're still going to you're not going to do everything you could have done And sometimes we have to make ourselves and that's kind of what you see in the story. He's just like smite Doesn't tell him how many times Let's see what you got and see how much how excited you really are. Let's see how What you really want to do? Says well you smite thrice that's all you're going to get And elisha died and they buried him it says in verse 20 and the bands of the mobites invaded the land at the in At the coming end of the year, so that's a whole other group of people I'm real Sorry about all the coughing tonight and it and it came to pass as they were burying a man that behold They they spied a band of men and they cast him into the sepulchre of elisha And the man was let down and touched the bones of elisha that he revived And stood up on his feet by hasael king of syria oppressed israel all the days of johaz So these last this last section it kind of jumps back. I don't know if you're catching that i'm, not going to Bore you by trying to you know, all follow along with how the story is laid out But it kind of jumps back to the previous king If you read it through you can figure it out Verse 23 is just more of this kind of recap and the lord was gracious unto them and compassionate Because he respected them because of his covenant with abraham isaac and jacob so again, it's not because they have just become so righteous and are dwelling, you know observing the feast of tabernacles and have turned themselves around it's because he's Doesn't like to see his people oppressed He doesn't like having to judge them and he's going to preserve them a little longer because of the covenant he made with their forefathers It's because of that promise that he made to them in the past. That's the only reason he at this point is still Preserving them and at that last phrase is important Because it says neither he cast them from his presence as yet meaning at some point God is going to cast him them from his presence You know and this is what you'd like to see get through the zionists head That at some point god was just said said i'm done with israel That he said, you know, he's going to You know take the kingdom of god get from them and give it unto a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof You know those two little words as yet at the end of that verse there in verse 23 Carry a lot of weight don't they doctrinally? He's never going to be done with israel He was finished with them Thousands of years ago and scattered them Into all lands, you know israel and then and then later judah and I know he brought them back You know and then put them under roman rule And then ultimately dispersed them again completely and destroyed their whole city, you know in 70 a.d after they crucified christ You know, it's but but yet we have people today thinking that somehow The people that are over there in that land today are god's chosen people Simply by virtue of the blood that's in their veins Which is polish blood They're not even you telling me those are arabs over there because they're not You know who the arabs are are the people they're oppressing The people they're oppressing are probably more closely related to their so-called, you know ancestors than they are by a long shot Okay, so it's kind of ironic, isn't it? But that's what's happened. You know, you say why why is that not understood in baptist churches? It's because people don't read their bibles They can't even understand little words like as yet because they probably because they've never read them and just and the you know The devil through false doctrine and bible colleges You know being infiltrated their skull-filled reference bibles and all this other nonsense has just pulled the wool over their eyes On this particular doctrine Which is why we don't fly the flag of any nation in here america or you know, i'm going off I gotta stop but It's just frustrating folks. It's just frustrating to have something so plain as day in your face in the scripture and to just see people Is that really what it means though? Yeah Neither cast you from them from his presence as yet And that casting was a scattering And and mixing it wasn't there's no one there to bring back There's a remnant but even they are eventually mixed in with the assyrians that became what is known as the samaritans in jesus day I gotta wrap it up I want to make this last point here If you would go to john four real quick, we'll go there real quick I'll read to you for the last verse of second kings 13. We're going to come back. So Let's make one last point It says there At the end that joe joe ash the son of joe has took him again unto him the son of ben hadad And joe has his father by war three times to joe ash beat him and recovered the cities of israel So just like was prophesied by elisha you smite thrice you're gonna get thrice You're gonna beat him three times you could have wiped him out all he gets three because that's all you put into it, right? And that's a principle that is repeated throughout scripture if you go to john four look at verse 36 jesus said Let's back it up 35 say not in there are yet four months and then cometh the harvest he's saying Don't wait sit around waiting to work. He's saying now's the time to work the day cometh when no man can work, okay Walk in the light while you have the light, right? We have the light of the gospel now we have To the ability to go out and shine it, okay But he's basically he says here behold I say unto you lift up your eyes and look on the fields for they are White already to harvest, you know, he said in matthew pray ye the lord of harvest that he may send forth labors into his harvest And he that reapeth receiveth wages Who's receiving the wages? He that reapeth meaning if you don't reap You don't you know if you don't receive right? So, you know the lesson here is to work, you know You need to work if you want to receive you need to be out there reaping right and if all you reap is All you get is If you're one of these people that reaps more and wants to or work more and is excited and is zealous Well, you're going to get more back, you know How is it that some people go out, you know And I know sometimes the areas that we have or and not everybody can do As much as other people but it's still the principle applies people that do more get more I mean it applies an area area of life anything you focus on in life. You're going to get better at hopefully You know unless you know, I understand there's probably exceptions to that rule where you're just never going to get this or whatever I know i've struggled in those areas. Probably more i'd like to admit but You know, that's a pretty you get in what you put you get out what you put in I mean, that's just a kind of a thing you you know whatsoever man. So it that shall he also reap You know, i've gotten really good at x y and z But i'm really lacking in this other area. Well, how are you spending your time? You know, that's right. That's the answer. That's it's that really that simple And you know and I say that as kind of a warning but that should also be very encouraging isn't it To know that if you apply yourself at something you will get better at You apply yourself at something you're going to obviously there's a great spiritual application here But you know that should encourage us in any area of our life You spend your time studying or reading or working at something you're going to get you're going to know more about it You're going to be better at it. You're going to you're going to improve You know, and this is something that people I think don't understand and they sell themselves so short in life They sit there and they and they they think that there's some kind of like unique snowflake in the wrong kind of way and by and there I don't know if there is a right kind of way to be a new snowflake, but They sit there and think oh that would never work for me because I have all these these uh, You know things about me that are a detriment that prevent me from improving Me from improving You know, they think they have an inferiority complex so to speak You think that wouldn't work for me? Well, you know, I don't believe that Obviously sometimes we have a where people are more inclined to excel in certain areas Sometimes we need to find out what that thing is that we're good at and and and then apply ourselves but you should that should encourage you that if you apply yourself at something that you're You know have some level of ability in you will excel You know, it's kind of like when I first moved here, you know, i'm just trying to pull out a personal example here You know, I knew nothing about locksmithing Nothing I watched a few youtube videos about how to back out a cylinder out of a out of a Lock and put it back in without freezing the thing up. None of you have any idea what i'm talking about Right, but that's about all I knew You know, but I applied myself I took that low level job I went in I read books I watched videos I talked to guys I listened I wrote notes down I applied myself You know, I went out and I reaped and I received wages I sewed and I reaped i'm only illustrating that because You know, I use myself as a good example because obviously if I can do it you very well know you could do it You I shouldn't have to say that to you at this point you should be I should be telling you that you should all be Encouraged by that about the fact that's coming out of my mouth That it's me that's telling you that that oh you succeeded at something brother corbin, huh? Well if he can do it Because he really is that special unique snowflake. That's flawed Right Just kidding. Okay. I am flawed, right? Right I was cleaning about this this whole thing here, but You know, i'm just saying look apply yourself. You can succeed you will receive wages now Let's apply it real quick at the end here to spiritual matters Because obviously that's something that we see working in the real world all the time You have some skill You learn about it. You get better at it. It profits you more in the real world a lot of times you can see those Wages right then there, right? You apply yourself on the job you do well on the job You get the raise It's it's tangible. It's right now. You have the results when it comes to spiritual things. It doesn't always work that way. Does it? Sometimes when it comes to spiritual things We won't see the benefits of it maybe for years if ever We might not see some of the our think about it. Have we been rewarded for our work here on earth? I mean unless you guys got some glorious mansion I'm looking around. I don't think I don't Don't take this the wrong way, but i'm not seeing any new bodies self-included right Please tell me there's not a glorified body out there in the crowd tonight because i'm going to be sorely disappointed Okay Right, but think about it What do we obviously the glorified body is something we get just through our inheritance in christ, right? But you know the wages that we're going to see the reward that christ has When he comes with him to give every man according to his works When do you get that when he comes to give every man we don't get that now. That's This principle doesn't always work in spiritual things, but it will work for you in this world. I believe that And it will work for you in spiritual things too. You just won't see it now Sometimes it comes later look at verse 38. He said I sent you to reap That where on ye bestowed no labor right Other men labored and he entered into their labors and reaped So he's referring that there's these other this other group of people that went out and they labored And you're the one that's going in and reaping it meaning the people that labored there. They didn't reap They had to wait for that reaping to come, okay That's the principle i'm trying to pull out of that. All right go back to second kings 13 We'll look we'll see another example of this with elisha elisha's last act Brings a guy back from the dead When does he do it when he's already dead when his corpse is already rotting and rot head sounds like It says it touched the bones there in verse 21 of elisha and he revived and stood up I mean elisha is reaping after he's dead and gone He's still doing works down here you know So the here's the application is that You know if you are like an elisha in life, you know, if you are an obedient person if you follow the lord You're going to still have trials. You're still he was still sick You know, none of us is going to live forever But you could through your obedience do great things and reap Not just in this life but afterwards and you kind of see the application here too of leaving a legacy behind of leaving something behind for the next generation You know, that's something that should motivate us You know, we might not have the biggest church But what if we raise up the next generation? And someone goes out of this church and starts a great church, you know, what if we what if you know? A hand just a few handful of people come out of a church like this and go on to do great works and look There are great works This is one of them. I believe that But there are other great works that could be done all across this country great churches that could be started I mean whole cities that could be reached You know and it just very well may be that they are touched, you know, and by another generation That those cities those places those souls are revived there by you know Somebody that's somebody that comes out of here, you know, maybe a church that is not as big numerically But can still do great things even into the next generation. I mean this maybe this church, you know in my lifetime Never becomes some great huge big thing But it goes on to become that later I mean that'd be that would be a huge blessing even if it just stayed the way it was for generations that in itself would be A huge blessing that if god just what kept his protected hand on it as he has thus far that would be a huge blessing But how are you going to get it through obedience? Because god as we started in the beginning Is a is a is a stern god a just god a holy god. He will punish but there's also just these all Kinds of innumerable blessings that wait for us All kinds of reaping and receiving that can be done if we obey and then we will be blessed Let's go ahead and pray dear lord again. Thank you for the promise that we have Lord that if we labor we will reap lord help us to Not be weary in well doing lord so that we may reap in due season. We ask these things in christ's name. Amen Let's go ahead and have one more song before we go You You You You Me Thank you You