No. All of the things that you have going on in your life that you are doing well, you are staying healthy and that all is well with your family. We are in first Kings chapter 18 this evening. First Kings chapter 18, uh, for our members and for anyone else who’s following along with us. There are questions, uh, in a PDF that are available on our website. We’ll go over those at the end of our class. So if you go to the front page of our website,
you’ll find a link to download the questions for this evening, uh, for our local members. If you would like to come by and pick up, uh, one of the questions sheets, they will be in the lobby, uh, both from this lesson and the previous lessons we’ve covered to this point. Uh, there’ll be stacks of those in the lobby. You can come by and pick those up, uh, at your convenience. First Kings chapter 17 introduces us to align you and we mentioned that last week that Alijah is probably the most prominent of the old Testament prophets.
Once you moved into the era of the Kings, Alijah is one who stands as a representative of the prophets throughout the old Testament. Elijah is the one who was prophesied, would come before the Messiah came to the earth. And as a result of all of those things, Alijah is seen very prominently both in old and new Testament passages. But in chapter 18, we find probably the most well known event of Alijah his life except perhaps how Elijah left the earth because in L in first Kings chapter 18, we will find the confrontation between Alijah and the 450 prophets of bale that occurs at Mount Carmel.
But some things that we find out before then, remember in chapter 17, as we studied last week, that Alijah comes on the scene. And the very first thing we hear from Elijah is Alijah tells King Ahab the King of the Northern kingdom of Israel, the Northern 10 tribes, he tells a helm there will not be any rain nor do on the ground in Israel until he says though. And having delivered that message from the Lord through, uh, to the King Ahab. He then turns around as it were and leaves and God tells him to go to this Brook,
the Brook Cherith and to there, and God provides both the water from the Brook to give him water and the Ravens of the air bring him bread and meat. When the water at the Brook dries up, God sends him to Sidon, sends him to the city of Zara Fest and sends him to a widow who according to God, God had commanded to provide for him there. And so Elijah will go to this widow. He will dwell with this widow and her son all throughout the remainder of the drought.
It is at this point that chapter 18 begins, but I want to say this about chapter 17 before we leave it behind in our discussion. One of the things that I’ve failed to make mention of this last week that we see in this account of Alijah being sent to this woman who was not in Israel, Israelite, she was not a descendant of Abraham. She was potentially not even at least exclusively a believer in Jehovah as being God. She would later understand who Jehovah was and the truth of what Elijah said.
We find that out at the end of verse or the at the end of verse 24 and chapter 17 but we get this. We get this clear perspective and understanding as we’ve pointed out time and time again, as we’ve seen throughout the old and the new Testament, God is not a God of a single nation. Jehovah is not the God of Israel. Jehovah is not the God of Judah. Jehovah is not the God of America or any other nation. Jehovah is God of gods and Lord of Lords, King of Kings,
the almighty. He is God of heaven and earth and there is no other God. And so what you see in chapter 17 is a clear picture that God doesn’t just care for Israel. The, it may be the case that the old Testament focuses on Abraham and his descendants and those through whom the Messiah comes, but it focuses on them, not because God has a special attachment to them over every other people, but because they were the lineage through whom the Messiah would come. The focus of scripture on Israel has very little to do with Israel and has everything to do with the salvation of all humanity because it wasn’t Israel that sinned and brought death into the world in the garden.
It was humanity and it was that humanity that God would send his son Christ to save. Jesus didn’t come to be the exclusive savior of Israel. He came to be the savior of all mankind. And so here in passages like this, you glimpse God’s provision, God’s acting on behalf of even those who are not Israelites chapter 18 verse one and it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Alijah in the third year saying, go present yourself to Ahab and I will send rain on the earth.
Now, you might remember that Alijah said it wasn’t going to rain again until he said so, but Elijah is just simply a prophet. This was not a statement to say that Alijah was now in charge of what the Lord was doing. No, not at all. Elijah is the spokesperson. Alijah is the go between. Aligna is the messenger and now the one who’s really in charge says, okay Elijah, it’s time for the message to go out. Alijah it’s time for you to go to Ahab because I’m going to send rain again.
But God did this act. God brought forth this drought and this famine and all of the things that that came with having no rain for three years. He did it for a reason. He did it to establish two things. Number one, bail is not God. You might remember how many times in the book of Exodus we studied and read concerning God telling Pharaoh that the objective was for him to realize and for Egypt to realize, and for everyone who hears about the plagues, I realize that God is the Lord and there is no other beside him.
And so the objective in all of this is to prove bail is not God. If bail was God, then why didn’t bail bring the rain? Why didn’t bail bring back that which this nation needed? But that, uh, that lesson and that, that focus, because it’s going to be brought to a head here in this chapter, he says, I will send rain on the earth. So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab and there was a severe famine in some area, in a Hab called who was in charge of his house.
Now, Obadiah feared the Lord greatly. This is one of those moments where you have a parent theoretical statement, uh, by those who are, are writing this down, say, Hey, uh, you need to know this about Obadiah. There’s something that is important to the plot line to the story. A Hab goes to Obadiah. And by the way, there’s, there’s no indication, at least unless I have completely missed it, that the Obadiah here is the writer of the book of Obadiah. Uh,
the, the, the two events and the two people are separated by time. So not the same person. This Obadiah is one who is a servant in the house of Ahab. He is the overseer of the house of Ahab. And so much like if you think back to the time of Joseph and Joseph was put over Potiphar’s house, this is the same idea here. A house has a nation he’s ruling over, but he has his own personal house, his own personal effects, his own personal business as it were probably his own business doings.
And as a result of that, that is Obadiah’s position. He comes to Obadiah and he says, we got to think about our flocks and our herds. Notice a called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly for. So it was when Jessebelle massacre the prophets of the Lord that Obadiah, uh, had taken 100 profits and hidden them 50 to a cave and had fed them with bread and water. And Ahab said to Obadiah, go into the land, to all the Springs of water,
to all the Brooks. Perhaps we may find grants to keep the horses and mules alive so that we will not have to kill any livestock. Okay, so Ahab’s desire here is for himself and Obadiah to go out and to search throughout the land and to find water because of the drought, because of the things that are going on. Because where there’s water, there’s plant life, they need food for the animals. They need water for the animals, and so they’re seeking to preserve them. They’re seeking to not have to slaughter them just to get through this drought.
But in the midst of this, as we’re introduced to Obadiah, we find out something about this man. We find out that he is one who defied the queen. Now, did he defy the queen publicly or secretly? Well, every indication is that defied the queen. Secretly the queen Jezza bell would bring about a massacre of the prophets of the Lord. Now here’s something important to realize is as we’re introduced to align Jah, and as we’re going through this old Testament history, even though we’re not reading about prophet after prophet,
certainly not hundreds of profits in the Northern kingdom of Israel, they were there in order for Obadiah to have hidden a hundred prophets of the Lord. There had to event at least a hundred prophets of the Lord and Elijah’s not in that number. So something that we need to be careful that we don’t do is that we don’t jump to assumptions as if, okay, we hear about one prophet doing this. He was the only one. Uh, there will be a point later on in, in our discussion of Elijah where Elijah will claim to be the only one and God will make it clear he’s not,
but yet with a hundred plus profits of the Lord active and working and laboring and teaching and instructing and counseling and rebuking with all of those men in the Northern kingdom of Israel, notice what was still true. The nation still departed from the Lord. The nations still turned its back on God. The nation still refused to repent, and the King and the kingdom went further and further and further down a path of destruction to the point at which now Ahab comes to the throne. And you remember at the end of chapter 16,
we read, Ahab did more evil than all those who had come before him. Well, there’s no indication that Jeroboam,
even though he built the golden cows, and even though many left the Northern came to them and went down to the Southern kingdom because of the changes that Jeroboam made,
there’s no indication that Jeroboam ever set forth his goals to destroy the profits of God. Yeah, there’s no indication that the blood of the profits was ever running in the street because of Jeroboam.
But for Jezza bell, Oh, that’s a whole nother story. Jezza bells set out, not just to introduce male worship into the Northern kingdom of Israel.
She set out not only to take and to turn the Northern kingdom of Israel from a nation that still had some tenuous grasp of the Lord to a nation that would kill and execute and massacre the profits of the Lord.
But Obadiah here, the chief individual, the highest individual in the house of a Hab Obadiah feared the Lord.
Obadiah hid a hundred of these profits and then fed them with bread and water. Obadiah is certainly one to be commended in all of this.
And yet it’s interesting because Obadiah still retains his position in the house of Ahab. He seemingly as one as one who fears the Lord is not worshiping bail,
is not serving the idols. And yet he’s there and he’s active within the house of Ahab. And I think there’s some lessons for us there about the ability to do good even when we don’t always have the ability to shout it from the rooftops.
Now is it important to stand up for the truth? Yes, it is. It is important to speak the truth.
Yes it is, but there is an appropriate way, time and place to do such things. Uh,
and sometimes we’re in situations as for instance, Daniel would have found himself in standing before Nebuchadnezzar or as a Nehemiah would have found himself in standing before Xerxes,
uh, situations where you don’t have the Liberty to say everything you’d like to say, but you still have the responsibility to do everything you can do.
And so we learned some lessons there, hopefully in our country and in our day and in our lives.
There are lessons that may be we won’t ever have to fully realize, but maybe we will. Maybe a time will come where even we will have to decide whether we can open our mouths and say anything and loo and forfeit our lives or whether we must simply act in secret.
So Obadiah will hide the profits and as Jessebelle seeks to massacre the profits of the Lord, and Ahab will come to Obadiah and he’ll say,
we’ve got to go find water. We’ve got to go provide for these animals where we’re going to have to kill them.
So then we read a verse six. So they divided the land between them to explore it. A Hab went one way by himself,
and Obadiah went another way by himself. Now, as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him and he recognized him and fell on his face and said,
is that you? My Lord Elijah, it’s been three years since anyone in Israel has seen Alijah three years where you can imagine the,
the questions, the stories, the front page news, the man who says there won’t be any more rain disappears.
Where did he go? What happened to him? Did he die? Is he alive? You can imagine the headlines as it were going through the,
the, the people discussing this, what happened to Alijah. We’re gonna find out in a moment that Ahab really wanted to know what happened to Elijah,
but Obadiah having saved these hundred profits from being killed by Jezza. Bill is out on this mission sent by Ahab and he sees Alijah and he doesn’t just question is that you?
He recognized him. He fell on his face and said, is that you? My Lord Elijah. This man not only has fear of the Lord,
he has a great respect for Elijah as the prophet of the Lord. Very much in contrast to his master a Hab.
But notice he answered and said, it is Ivor. Say, go. Tell your master Elijah is here.<inaudible> now,
before we go any further might stop and think, well, this is going to be interesting. Let’s see,
let’s see how Ahab responds. But before we get to how Ahab responds, it’s very interesting to see how old the dire response Elijah shows up before Obadiah and he says,
go tell Ahab Elijah is here and notice the response of Obadiah. So he, Obadiah said, how have I sinned that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab to kill me?
Imagine how many times in Obadiah’s life as one who feared the Lord as one who saved these prophets as one who’s in the house of Ahab,
probably day in and day out seeing Jaza bell. How many times do you think Obadiah is on the razor edge of a knife thinking,
I’m going to die if I make the wrong choice or the wrong statement? And yet he’s still being faithful to the Lord.
He’s still fearing the Lord. He’s still acting on behalf of the Lord. And now he says, what have I done?
However I sinned, what I do to deserve this, Elijah, how have I sinned that now you’re going to send me to Ahab and he’s going to kill me?
Notice his reasoning here as the Lord your God lives. There is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you.
And when they said he is not here, he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you.
And now you say, go tell your master Elijah is here and it shall come to pass as soon as I am gone from you that the spirit of the Lord will carry you to a place I do not know.
So when I go and tell a Hab and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I you’re serving a fear of the Lord from my youth.
Obadiah is afraid because perhaps now Elijah has a reputation. I mean there you’ve got to think through this as,
as the potentials, if a have is searching this diligently for Elijah, how many different Elijah spottings do you think had been reported over the last three years?
Hey, Hey, I’ve saw, I’ve seen Elijah goes, tell a ham, he’s here, he’s here.
And they have send somebody and there’s nobody there and the L, it’s not Alijah. It’s somebody else.
How many times do you think maybe that’s happened and what do you think the reaction has been by Ahab to the person who says,
I found Elijah? Well, I think you get a glimpse of it right here because Obadiah says, you’re going to disappear.
The spirit of the Lord is going to take you away and Ahab is going to kill me. But he also says something about his history.
He says, and I have feared the Lord from my youth. We need more men like Obadiah. We need more young men who decide when they’re young.
I’m going to do what the Lord says, and it doesn’t matter what it costs, I’m going to do with the Lord says,
and it doesn’t matter the danger that puts me in. I’m going to do what the Lord says. It doesn’t matter who my master is on this earth.
I’m going to do with the Lord says, no matter what the nation around me does, we need more Obadiah’s.
We need many, many more Obadiah’s but Obadiah says, Elijah, if I go tell a Hab that you’re here and then I come back and you’re gone because the spirit of Lord has whisked you away,
it’s going to be my life. Verse 13 he says, was it not reported to my Lord? What I did when Jessebelle killed the prophets of the Lord?
How I hid 100 men of the Lord’s prophets, 50 to a cave and fed them with bread and water?
Elijah, didn’t you hear what I did? Why are you putting my life in danger? When couldn’t you think about me for a moment here?
Now you say, go, tell your master Elijah’s here he will kill me. Then Alijah said, and notice the change when Elijah first shows up to Obadiah,
Alijah says, go tell a Hab. I’m here, and Obadiah’s reaction is to argue with Elijah and be concerned about himself,
but notice the drastic shift right here. Then Elijah said, as the Lord of hosts lives before whom I stand,
I will surely present myself to him today. That is to Ahab. So Obadiah went as soon as Obadiah knows,
it’s not just Elijah determining to CA Hab, but it’s the Lord now. Obadiah will go now. Obadiah turns and leaves and goes to Ahab to carry the message.
So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him and Ahab went to meet Elijah. Then it happened when Ahab saw Elijah,
that Ahab said to him, is that you? Oh, troubler of Israel. Ahab wants to know,
uh, Elijah that you the one who’s caused all of this, the one who’s brought destitution to our nation,
the the one who’s brought this drought, the one who’s brought this famine, the one who’s destroyed us is that you,
Elijah. And just imagine, imagine, I mean, here we are in the middle of a pandemic.
Imagine if the world tomorrow saw on the front page of every website on the front line of, of every headline story.
Here’s the person who caused the pandemic. Here’s his name, here’s his address. Here’s his date of birth.
Here’s all the information needed to know about them. Here’s the guy responsible. That’s what they have saying.
Hey, have saying all of this is because of you. Alijah but Elijah’s not going to let a Hab get away with that.
Elijah not going to allow that one to stand. He says, is that you? Oh, troubler of Israel.
And he answered, I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the bales.
Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the 450 prophets of bale and the 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezza Bell’s table.
It may be that there’s a famine in the land. It may be that there’s a drought in the land.
It may be that people are dying, but not the prophets of Asherah. Yeah, not the profits of bail.
They’re well fed. They’re taken care of. They’re sheltered by the King and by Jezza bell. And so Alijah tells the King,
you go get all Israel. Now it’s been three years. Everyone knows they’re waiting on Alijah. I mean,
there’s no doubt. Everyone in Israel knows what Elijah said three years ago. Everyone’s clear. Alijah is the one who can change this.
So if a Hab sends out word to the nation, Elijah’s going to be at Mount Carmel and Elijah said to come,
you better believe everybody showing up. Yeah. This, this isn’t a question of, well I don’t know.
I’m not sure I’m going to get out. No, everybody’s going to be there and Ahab will respond and do exactly as stated.
Why? Because they have needs his nation back. A Hab needs rain. It doesn’t matter how great Ahab’s control is of the nation or how powerful he wants to be in the midst of a famine in the midst of a drought.
He is powerless. So he’s going to act. He’s going to do what he’s told by Elijah because he needs the rain to come back.
So Ahab’s going to send all and send for all the children of Israel. Verse 20 and gathered the prophets together on mountain Carmel and Elijah came to all the people and said,
how long will you falter between two opinions if the Lord is gone, follow him. But if bail follow him.
But the people answered him. Not a word. Alijah does not confront Ahab when all the people are gathered because Ahab is not the important person in this story.
A hub is not the discussion or the focus of Jehovah or Elijah. Their mission is Israel. Their desire is to return Israel to Jehovah.
Three years they’ve undergone a drought and a famine and the destruction of their nation. Three years they’ve received the curses that Moses told them they’d receive when they turned away from the Lord.
Leviticus chapter 26 for three years and now Elijah shows up and says, Israel clock’s ticking. It’s time for you to decide.
It’s time for you to determine who you’re going to follow because you can’t follow both. This passage ought to remind us of what Jesus said in Matthew chapter six Jesus said,
man cannot serve two masters for either he will hold to the one and despise the other or he will love the one and hate the other.
You cannot serve God and money. You can’t serve Jehovah and bale either. You can’t serve yourself and Jehovah either.
You can serve one or the other and the one who you decide to serve as a, as Elijah says,
you follow him, whichever one you believe is the one who really exists, you follow him. And so there will be a contest because when he confronts the people,
now they could have made a choice right there. They were just confronted with a choice. They were confronted as a people.
Could you get the rain to come back? How many times did you cry out to bail? All of these things were just implied in this statement.
Did bail help you? Could bale overcome the word of the prophet of the Lord for three years? No.
So they had a choice right here. Same as in Joshua chapter 24 verse 15 when Josh was his choose you this day,
who you will serve whether the gods of Egypt or the gods were the other side of the river that your father served.
But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. So Israel then had a choice and Israel now has a choice,
but their response is dead. Stone silence. Book of Mark. Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees with a man on the Sabbath who has a withered hand,
and they bring this man to Jesus because they want to see if he’ll heal him on the Sabbath because their philosophy is if he heals him on the Sabbath,
he performed work. If he performs work, we have some way to indict him on breaking the law.
And Jesus knows what they’re doing. Yeah, they bring the man with the withered hand to Jesus. They show him this man’s got a withered hand.
Let’s see what Jesus does. Let’s see if Jesus will heal him. Okay? And Jesus asks the question he looked about on them and ask the question,
is it better to do good or to do evil on the Sabbath? And they answered him, not a word.
And we read in that text and Jesus looked upon them with anger for the hardness of their hearts. Here’s Israel.
How many people had they seen die from the famine? How many of their loved ones died from the lack of rain and the lack of water and the things that were going on?
How many of the profits of the Lord had they seen killed by Jezza bell and all of this. They should have known Jehovah’s God.
When Elijah comes back and offers them a choice and opportunity to repent, they’re silent and so aligned just speaks again.
He says, then Elijah said to the people, verse 22 I alone am left a prophet of the Lord,
but bales, profits are 450 men. Therefore, let them give us two bowls and let them choose one bull for themselves.
Cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put on, put no fire under it and I will prepare the other bowl and lay it on the wood,
but put no fire under it. Then you call on the name of the Lord of your gods. Now notice this statement is to the people he talks about what the prophets of bail will do.
They will do this, those third person. Yeah, you will do this because that’s your God. That’s your God bale over.
There you go. Call upon bail. Go find out if he’s listening. Now as we get into this,
we’re going to find the prophets of bail being the active participants. But Elijah’s telling the people, this is not,
Hey, let’s see which profits or the profits of of the true God, and you all stand over here and be be the audience.
No, he’s confronting them. He’s telling them, you go do this. That’s your God. So notice what he says.
He says, then you call on the name of your gods and I will call on the name of the Lord.
And the God who answers by fire, he is God. So all the people answered and said it is well-spoken.
Now, Elijah said to the profits of mail, choose one bowl for yourselves and prepare it first for you are many,
and call on the name of your God, but put no fire under it. So they took the bull,
which was given them, and they prepared it and called on the name of bale from morning even until noon saying,
Oh, bail here us. But there was no voice, no one answered. Then they leaped about the alter,
which they had made. And so it was at noon that aligned. You mocked them and said, cry aloud for he is a God.
Either he is meditating or he is busy or he is on a journey or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.
You’re not crying loud enough, cry louder. Maybe he can’t hear you. So they cried aloud and cut themselves as was their custom with knives and lances until the blood gushed out on them.<inaudible> when you realize the things that people will do when they are desperate for a belief,
without evidence, when they’re desperate to retain their power, their influence and their authority, when they’re crazed by evil,
these people are cutting themselves. We’re not talking about slicing through the top layer of skin. They’re cutting themselves and the blood is gushing from them and this was normal<inaudible> and when midday was passed,
they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice, no one answered,
no one paid attention. Then Elijah said to all the people come near to me. So all the people came near to him and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.
Alijah hasn’t come to Mount Carmel by sheer accident. Elijah hasn’t come to mountain Carmel for no reason. There was an altar of the Lord there.
There was a time in the past where that Alder meant and something, but it didn’t anymore. Not to this people,
they had allowed it to be broken down. They had allowed it to come into disrepair. They had allowed it to be ignored.
But notice what’s happened. The more the profits of bail kept trying, the more the people stopped believing because they were faced with a situation they couldn’t solve.
And so you can just imagine Israel’s becoming dis, you know, unsettled. They’re becoming restless, they’re getting tired of this is gone on all day and they’re tired of the,
of the things that the profits of Baylor doing and it doesn’t accomplish anything. So Elijah tells them, come near,
pay attention. And he said, or then Elijah took 12 stones according to the number of the tribes of the son of Jacob,
to whom the word of the Lord had come saying Israel shall be your name. Then with the stones,
he built an altar in the name of the Lord and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold to she is of seed and he put the wood in order,
cut the bulls in pieces and laid it on the wood and said, fill four water pots with water and pour it on the burn off Erbert sacrifice and yes,
on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood. Then he said, do it a second time and they did it a second time and he said,
do it a third time. And they did it a third time. So the water ran all around the altar and he also filled the trenches with water.
Elijah is taking what very well might be the most precious substance in the entire nation at this point in time.
And he’s pouring it out on the ground. He’s pouring it out on the altar, he’s taking it and he’s getting the people to give the water to pour on the altar.
And you’ve gotta be looking at the people thinking, what? What’s he doing? This is water. It hasn’t rained in three years and he’s pouring water on the altar.
He pours water on it the first time, the second time, the third time, and then he fills the trough around it.
It came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice that Elijah the prophet came near and said,
Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and I am your servant and that I have done all these things at your word.
Again, the clarification at the beginning, Elijah says, there’s not going to be any rain until I say so.
And that’s probably how the people heard it. It’s a lie just stopping this. But now Elijah wants it to be clear the same way Joseph made it clear to Pharaoh the same way Daniel made it clear to Nebuchadnezzar,
this isn’t me. This is God. Okay, so Elijah wants it to be clear that everything he’s said and everything he’s done to this point has been at the word of the Lord.
And notice what we read. He says, hear me. Oh Lord, hear me that this people may know that you are the Lord gone and that you have turned their hearts back to you again.
Heres the point of the entire three years to tell Israel, it’s time to repent. It’s time to turn back.
Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust and it licked up the water that was in the trench went.
Now, when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and they said, the Lord,
he is gone. The Lord, he is God. Elijah’s made his point. Elijah proved his case.
No one doubted it, and Elijah said to them, seize the profits of bale. Let do not let one of them escape.
So they seized them and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Keshawn and executed them there. And some would immediately go,
wait a minute, that’s not right. You can’t just kill people. This is murder. No, it’s not because there’s still a law in Israel.
Deuteronomy chapter 13 beginning in verse six going through verse 10 the law says, if any man will come you to Israel and will tell you to depart from the Lord and serve other gods,
he forfeited his life. He was to be stoned with stones and those who were closest to him were to cast the first stone.
They were tried and found guilty because they prophesied and what they prophesied didn’t come to pass and they led people away from Jehovah.
This is an act of judicial justice against 450 prophets who had disobeyed the law of God and the law of their nation.
Then Elijah said to Ahab, verse 41 go up, eat and drink for there is a sound of the abundance of rain.
Elijah says they have as it were. Do you hear that? Do you hear that? A lot of a Hab.
The rain’s coming and Ahab went to eat and drink, so Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel.
Then he bound down on the ground and put his face between his knees and he said to his servant,
go up. Now look toward the sea. So he went up and looked and said, there is nothing.
And seven times he said, go again. Alijah goes to the top of Mount Carmel and he bows himself down.
Now who’s he bowing down to? What do you think he’s bowing down to? He’s bowing down to the only one who’s really in charge because even though Alijah said it’s going to be a,
my word that the rain comes, Elijah knows he’s not in charge, and Elijah is humbly being the intercessor between Israel and their God and praying for rain.
And there’s a point to be made here just because the Lord said, I’m going to send rain. Doesn’t mean Elijah was going to get four,
get it the first time he asked. So Elijah bows down and then Elijah sends his servant, go look at the sea serve server,
comes back and there’s nothing bows down again, says to the servant, go again. He bough the servant goes,
comes back. There’s nothing seven more times. And then finally we read, then it came to pass the seventh time that he said,
there is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising out of the sea. So he said, go up,
say to Ahab, prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you is this tiny little cloud.
Uh, I see it. It’s, it’s, it’s rising up out of the sea. I mean,
here’s the mountain Carmel. It’s right on the edge of the Mediterranean sea and he’s looking out over the sea and he sees this cloud just,
it’s just a small little cloud. The Lord’s not contained in the size of the cloud. Immediately Elijah sends his servant to go tell a Hab.
You better go now. You better get on your chariot and go, or the rain will stop you.
So then notice it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind and there was a heavy rain.
So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. Then the hand of the Lord came upon a Lija and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel Elijah outruns.
The chariot of the King of Israel, the power of the Lord. I had Alijah me day habit home.
What do you think the look on a Hub’s face was? I don’t have any idea, but in my mind here,
he’s just witnessed the 450 prophets of bale die and now it’s raining. And here’s the man who he called the troubler of Israel who told him,
no, the problem’s not me. It’s you probably wasn’t a really happy sight to see Alijah standing there when he came home.
Yet Elijah was right where God wanted him to be. All right, let’s go through the questions and then we’ll close.
First Kings chapter 18 verse one question number one, Elijah told Abraham that there would be a drought. How long did the drought last?
Answer is three years. Question number two. This is a multipart question. Yes or no. Did Jezza bell destroy all the prophets of God?
The answer is no. Explain. Uh, Obadiah hid a hundred of the prophets of God. 50 in a two caves.
Describe Obadiah as a youth. He is one who feared the Lord from his youth. Why did, and the question number three,
why did Elijah tell him that Ahab himself had caused the drought in Israel? He told him because he and his father’s house had followed the question number four on Mount Carmel aligned just said,
the people were trying to follow bale as God and Jehovah as God. How did Elijah prove that God is really God?
Of course, the answer to that is the test of sending fire from heaven to light the sacrifice. Uh,
and here on question number five, I think I know what the correct answer is, but I’ll be honest with you.
You may, you, you may look at it and think this is another one of those where the answer is D or E all the above.
But we’ll go through this. Um, on Mount Carmel when the 450 prophets were trying to get their God bale to put fire on their alter,
they did not a pray reverently B cry with loud voices. C leap on the alter or D cut themselves.
Um, now if I, as I read the text, and maybe it’s a difference in the versions,
whether the, where the question came from, but the new King James says they leaped around the alter.
So I chose C, but you may say, well, it way, my version reason, they did all of these things.
Uh, cause at the first they just pray that that veil will, uh, uh, bring fire upon the alter.
And then they begin to cry out and then they begin to leap around and then they begin to cut themselves.
Um, so as we’ve entered into, for those who are local here and know sometimes we run into questions,
they’ll go, well, the answer is they did. They did all those things. There’s none of them.
They didn’t do. So, um, you just let me know what you think about question number five later on number six,
what did Elijah do to the 450 prophets of bale? According to verse 40 of chapter 18, he executed them.
Uh, in correspondence with Deuteronomy chapter 13 verses six through 10, what did Elijah warn a ham to do?
Because of the approaching heavy rain? He warned him to prepare his chariot and to go home. That’s first Kings chapter 18,
verse 44. Specifically, the reference in verse 44 is to prepare his chariot. The implication is to return to Jezreel.
Okay, well that is our study of first Kings chapter 18. Uh, Michael is going to lead us in a closing song and then Eric is going to lead us in a closing prayer.
We appreciate your time, your attention, and our prayers are with you at this time as well. Thank you for your attention.
One, two, three. Testing. One, two, three. We’re good. Destiny. Okay.
We all do. Good morning. Welcome to our the Collierville church of Christ live stream. We are glad that you are with us this morning online and uh,
definitely still be glad when we’re back together soon, but I’m glad we’re still able to do our worship this morning,
this way for announcements. We need to remember Ruby. Brad, she is back at home but continue to be with her.
I’m sure they have a long uh, battle still ahead of them. Uh, pray to be with uh,
Sandy and I’m guessing she’s getting better. I’m hoping that she’s getting better and uh, pray the watch over her and also Francis as she’s helping her and,
and help me take care of her. Be watched over the both of them. Uh, let’s remember Joan Springer and pneumonia.
She has pneumonia, Tina Lance and Russell Klein and his wife Tracy as they’re recovering from the Corona virus. That is all the announcements I have this morning.
If there is any more, you can definitely text Aaron or I and let us know and we will mention them at the end of us live stream this morning.
But to start us out, we’ll start with number five, four zero number five, four zero Oh four,
faith that will not shrink. Five four, zero Oh four, that well, not shrink though. Brass by every uh,
uh, well naturally well, uh, uh, bring uh, Annie, uh,<inaudible> that uh,
um, uh, uh, plane being at uh,<inaudible> uh,<inaudible> of grief or pain.<inaudible><inaudible> uh,
faith that shines right and clear.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> thick as this and then<inaudible><inaudible> uh, ha,
uh, uh, Annie let us pray our father in heaven. We are grateful for you. We are grateful for what you do for us each day.
We know that you take care of us and you are always watching over us. We pray at this time that you be with those that are on our minds,
that are sick, that are struggling with this virus and struggling with many other ailments. Watch over Sandy and pray that she will recover soon and be a Francis as she is helping her and taking care of her and,
and be with them both. We pray that you’d be with Joan and Springer. She has dealing with pneumonia and pray that she can get better soon.
I pray that you watch over the mini those dealing with this coronavirus and pray that you be with our country.
We’ll be with our leaders as they make decisions, as we move forward, that they’ll make the right decisions and pray that they will look to you for guidance.
We are thankful that we can come to you when we have struggles and in our life and things on our minds.
We are thankful to be Christians, to be on our way to heaven. We pray that we strive each day to serve you and all that we do.
And do you assembly. Do pray. Amen. To prepare our minds for the Lord’s supper, we’ll sing number three,
one five.<inaudible>. When I survey the wondrous cross three, 15,<inaudible> and uh,<inaudible> on which,
uh,<inaudible>, uh,<inaudible><inaudible>, uh, uh, uh, uh, and pork amps and all,
uh, uh huh. And full it it lawn, uh, hood<inaudible> say, then, uh,
uh, uh, for a nice, uh, yeah.<inaudible> the things that, you know, I mean,
I sack riff a nice and to eh, uh, see<inaudible><inaudible> I saw borrow, uh, uh,
um, me go, huh. Uh,<inaudible><inaudible> who wore thorns?<inaudible><inaudible> uh, Oh.
Uh, uh, or a, uh,<inaudible><inaudible> a four.<inaudible><inaudible>. Uh, so,
uh,<inaudible>, uh,<inaudible> Jesus’ name, uh, uh, uh, we take this time on the first day of the week as we have been commanded to focus on the sacrifice of Christ made as a song mentioned.
Think about the love that Jesus had to come to this earth to deal, to go through all that he did.
And that night, the mocking the scourging, the crown of thorns being put on his head to mock him and then slammed into his forehead,
his head, he did all of that. He could’ve stopped it, but he didn’t. We take this time to think and remember about what Jesus had done for us as bread as he commanded,
represents his body and the fruit of the vine which represents his blood. And we take those emblems to remember what that sacrifice,
what that sacrifice means to us. So at this time, let us partake of the brightest, pray for the bread,
a father in heaven. We are thankful for you and what you do for us. We’re especially thankful for Christ and that sacrifice that he made.
We pray as we partake of this, this bread which represents his body, that we will think about the love that he had for us and what he went through on that night and that day.
And you say we do pray. Amen.<inaudible> let us pray. I fall in heaven. As we continue,
we were reminded of Christ’s love for us. We are reminded of his sacrifice. And as we partake this through the vine which represents his blood,
we pray that we will focus on what the sacrifice means to us and how that because of what Christ did,
we can be in him with you some day and you seem to pray. Amen.<inaudible> we also take this time to give back a portion that we’ve received this week.
Let us pray. Our father in heaven, we are reminded every day if you’re care for us and how we are able to take care of our families and to live our lives as we need to.
We know that you take care of our needs and we were thankful for that. At this time. We pray,
we pray that we will give back with cheerful heart, a portion we’ve received this week and pray that it can be used to spread your word in this world into the weekend,
be the examples and get your message out to our communities and uh, pray that you will continue to be able to send all the way to and simply pray.
Amen.<inaudible> before the sermon this morning, we will sing number five, three eight, 538. My hope is built on nothing less.
Five 38. My hope is built on nothing less Angie and size spot. And we were a juice,
uh, and a tourist, uh, sweetness for him, but<inaudible> on Jesus’ name on crisis.<inaudible><inaudible> and Oh,
the ground<inaudible> and<inaudible> is a lovely face. Uh, he arrests on is a unchanging grace in every high.
And again, my Hanker horns with on crisis.<inaudible><inaudible> uh, the grind<inaudible><inaudible> his own affairs.
Yeah, it is, uh,<inaudible> the mean weight all around my soul. Yeah. Way.<inaudible> my hope and say on crisis.<inaudible><inaudible> Oh,
the ground.<inaudible><inaudible> now we’re here.<inaudible> my apologies to all of those who were watching the video.
Uh, and who didn’t have the slides for the song during that last song. That was my fault.<inaudible>.
There’s a substance in this world that the ancient Egyptians, if you translate their, their hieroglyphs at least by way of the research that I’ve found called the metal from heaven or the stone from the heavens and it was iron.
The ability and the recognition of what iron could do, change the face of the world because iron had the strength that other metals didn’t and was able to provide a military with the ability to conquer other nations and truly iron and metals like it that we know more about in our modern day have a place in history that is a determining place.
Well, what I want to do in our lesson this morning is I want to notice some lessons that come from biblical discussion of this metal called iron.
No, because there are some interesting places, especially in the old Testament where this substance and what it meant in the ancient world shows up.
We’re going to begin in Deuteronomy chapter four Deuteronomy chapter four. We read here concerning the events that are going on.
Of course, this is the last year of the wilderness wandering Moses and the people of Israel are there on the East side of the Jordan and in Deuteronomy chapter four beginning in verse 20 we read this,
but the Lord has taken you and brought you out of and notice the phrase, the iron furnace out of Egypt to be his people and inheritance as you are this day.
Furthermore, the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I would not cross over the Jordan and that I would not enter the good land,
which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, but I must die in this land. I must not cross over the Jordan,
but you shall cross over and possess that good land. Take heed to yourselves lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God,
which he made with you and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you.
Moses speaks to this second generation of Israelites. He speaks to these who were either children when they came out of Egypt or had not even been born yet,
and he says, God brought your parents. God brought your people out of, and he describes it,
the iron furnace. We can think of another time when a fiery furnace is described and that’s in the Babylonian empire where Nebuchadnezzar has built a furnace to hold anyone who refuses to obey.
The commandment has been sent forth to all those who are present. When you hear the music, you fall down and worship this image that I have created,
and of course we are familiar with the story. At least we should be. How Hannah and I as Ryan Michelle refuse to bow down.
So the music was played and all the leaders, all the governors, all the people who were present fell down and worship the image except these three Jews who stood there and refuse to bow.
Nebuchadnezzar was incredibly angry when he heard that these three governors refused to balance. So he brings them a form and says,
I’m going to give you another opportunity. When you hear the music, you bow down and the music played and they didn’t bow,
and Nebuchadnezzar wants them to know that he has the ability to take their life. He has the ability to throw them in a fiery furnace and their response is,
you can do paraphrasing here. You can do whatever you want. Yeah, but we have a God in heaven.
We believe in the true God of heaven and he can save us if he chooses to. Now, here’s an interesting connection between these two,
not just the use of a furnace, but here you have a situation where these Israelites were tested. They were tested to see whether or not they would be faithful.
Hannah and I, as Riley, as Ryan and Michelle came through that test with flying colors because they were thrown in the furnace and then they were removed from the furnace because the furnace didn’t touch them.
It didn’t singe their hair. They didn’t even have the smell of smoke on them when they came out and yet it killed the soldiers that threw them in.
They were tried, they were tested and they were found to be those who were faithful. Yeah. But Moses describes to these Israelites in Deuteronomy chapter four about the Israelites that came out of the iron furnace of Egypt and they came out of the iron furnace of Egypt.
They came out of this place, they hadn’t been tested. They’ve been tried, and by and large,
they had failed. And yet because of the covenant made with Abraham and because of the faithfulness of Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and those who had gone before, they were brought out into a new land.
And Moses is going to warn them, don’t you build images to other gods and fall down and worship them?
Now, I want you to notice a comparison that’s made here in verse 24 because in verse 20 he says,
the Lord took you or brought you out of the iron furnace. But in verse 24 he says, for the Lord,
your God is a consuming fire. Moses wants Israel to know, right? Your people pass through the iron furnace of Egypt and they came out the other side.
But if you turn your back on God, if you worship idols, if you turn against him, your God is a consuming fire in,
you won’t come out the other side. Turn over to the book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 10 this same idea is brought forward concerning Christians.
Yeah. The Hebrew writer is writing to these Christians and he wants them to know they have a better path into eternity.
There’s a new and a living way that has been created by the blood of Christ that they need to hold fast.
They need to hold fast. The profession of hold. They need to be those who consider one another and stir up one another to love and good works.
They need to be those who do not forsake the assembling of themselves together as the manner of some is.
He encourages them to remind and reminds them of all of these things and then warned them about turning back.
He says in verse 26 of Hebrews chapter 10 for if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth,
there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.
What is it that Moses said about the Lord? He said, the Lord, your God is a consuming fire.
The Hebrew writer says, do you not understand that the one who turns his back on God, the one who walks on the the the blood of Christ,
that’s verse 29 where you get to that in a moment. He says, do you not understand? There’s a fiery indignation waiting for the one who does that?
He goes on in verse 2128 anyone who has rejected Moses’s law dies without mercy. On the testimony of two or three witnesses of how much worse punishment do you suppose will he be thought worthy?
Who has trampled the son of God under foot counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing and insulted the spirit of grace.
Yes. And notice this statement for we know him who said, vengeance is mine, I will repay,
says the Lord, and again, the Lord will judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
The Hebrew writer writes to these Christians and says, do you remember what the law said? Do you remember the punishment that came upon those who had two or three witnesses that testified against them?
Do you remember the cost of turning your back on God under the old ball and now he’s provided a new,
a better living way? And you’re thinking of going back. Do you not remember? This is the God who said vengeance is mine.
I will repay. But then thing back to Deuteronomy four you came out of an iron furnace, you pass through the other side,
you survived it. God brought you through it. But if you turn your back, God will be the consuming fire that devours you.
He’s talking about, have you experienced, have you been tested enough to say, I will not turn back.
Okay. And you pick up here in Hebrews chapter 10 and you read verse 32 he says, but recall,
recall the former days in which after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings, partly while you were made a spectacle,
both by reproaches and tribulations and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated. He says,
do you remember when you first became a Christian? Do you remember the hardships that you endured? Imagine this as Moses speaking to the second generations,
and do you remember seeing your parents? Do you remember seeing them at Mount Sinai? Do you remember seeing them during the plagues and the things that occurred in the wilderness because they refuse to obey?
Have you learned their lesson? Will you choose to be faithful? So the Hebrew writer reminds these Christians about the time when they were faithful.
He says there in verse 34 for you had compassion on me and my chains and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods,
knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. Therefore do not cast away your confidence,
which has great reward for you. Have need of endurance so that after you have done the will of God,
you may receive the promise. Hebrew writer writes to these Christians and he says, I know you can do this.
You bore with me when I needed your help and you sent money to me. You allowed yourself to be plundered for my benefit and for others benefit who were suffering.
You can go through it too. You can be faithful, but you turn over to chapter 12 as he continues this concentrated discussion about faithfulness and continues to tell these Christians,
you can get through this. He comes to chapter 12 he talks about the those who were present at the Mount uses the old old Testament and the the situations there as an example,
but he says in verse 25 of Hebrews chapter 12 see that you do not refuse him who speaks for if they did not escape who refused him,
who spoke on earth much more shall we not escape if we turn away from him who speaks from heaven,
whose voice then shook the earth? But now he has promised saying yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also heaven.
The reference here, the discussion about the one who spoke on earth is a reference to Exodus chapter 19 where God there at the Mount spoke to that first generation and they heard his voice and they heard it as if it were thunderings and lightenings and all of these things.
They heard it and they were afraid and ultimately that generation never saw the promised land because they did not obey.
They were consumed. He says, if that first generation that heard his voice on the earth was consumed,
how much more do you think could happen to us having heard his voice from heaven having had his son come down to this earth to die for us?
How much more do you think we might go through? He says, now this yet once more indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken as of things that are made that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.
He’s talking about the old Testament and the old law and the law, Moses and the Jewish society and all of these things that were being done away with to bring in the kingdom and the law of Christ.
He says, therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear for our God is a consuming fire.
So the first thing that we see is we enter into this discussion about iron and some lessons from iron is that while we go through this life and we might pass through the difficulties and the struggles and the trials and even the persecution that comes with being faithful to God in this life,
we better make it through. We better determine we will never turn back because the punishment that comes in the next life,
well cause anything we suffer in this life to pale in comparison because old Testament and new Testament alike agree on this thing.
Our God is a consuming fire and our God will consume his adversaries. The question for you and I is,
are we his ally or his adversary? Jesus said, you are my friends. If you do whatsoever,
I command you. It’s up to us to choose, but then consider a second lesson. This one comes from Deuteronomy chapter eight Deuteronomy chapter eight we kind of see this idea of iron flipped on its head in,
in the past, the iron furnace of Egypt was was a symbol of destruction. It was a symbol of torment.
It was a symbol of of their demise and their persecution. Think about those furnaces. They must have used to make bricks to build the great structures of Egypt.
They were familiar with those furnaces. They meant something to them, but as Moses is now going to turn to talking to them about the land,
the inheritance, the promised land that they’re going to receive. Notice what he says in Deuteronomy chapter eight and verse eight verse seven beginning for the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land,
a land of Brooks, of water, of fountains and Springs that flow out of valleys and Hills, a land of wheat and barley of vines and fig trees and pomegranates,
a land of olive oil and honey. Now you read all of this and it sounds like this is great.
God’s bringing us into a land that’s prepared. As a matter of fact, Moses is going to tell them that you’re going to raise,
you’re going to receive cities you didn’t build. You’re going to harvest vineyards, you didn’t plant. You’re going to receive the sustenance from the land that you did.
Nothing to put there, but he goes on beyond this list of things that are naturally going to be provided for them.
And he says this, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity in which you will lack nothing.
A land whose stones are iron and out of whose Hills you can dig copper<inaudible>. Moses tells Israel,
God’s putting you in a land with untapped resources. God’s putting you in a land where when you put forth the effort to take those resources out of the ground,
when you put forth the effort to cultivate those resources and turn them into something useful, you will realize that God is not just giving you what is already there.
He’s giving you resources in abundance that came can be come something useful for you. Now, step back and think about our lives.
Yeah. How many times do we find that the resources we need the resources to evangelize the resources, to teach the resources to do what we need to in a local congregation.
The resources to make our homes what they ought to be the resources to, to guide a family into righteousness are all resources we already have except maybe we’re not using them.
It’s interesting in this time of a pandemic that we’re going through right now, how people have changed their views on resources.
They have just even right now we’re utilizing an internet connection and we’re utilizing a stream and we’re utilizing a broadcasting method and churches all over the world are utilizing this and they weren’t.
Many of them weren’t utilizing it four months ago. They had a resource. It was sitting there and it was being ignored because it wasn’t being utilized.
It wasn’t seen as valuable. You go through and you walk over land day in and day out and if you don’t realize maybe there’s in in their case a vein of iron in that land,
you walk over that land and you see nothing useful. Maybe that land won’t grow anything. Maybe that land you’ve tried to plant those crops.
You’ve tried to plant the barley and the vineyards and all those things and it dies year in and year out and you think this land is worthless,
but you dig a little bit underneath the surface. You find a completely different set of resources. There are lessons for us to be learning about utilizing resources,
utilizing what God has put there and not ignoring it because it’s not the resource we were looking for so many times we overlook and we bypass potential value because it wasn’t the thing we were looking for.
We need to step back and look at our spiritual lives. We need to step back and look at our home lives.
We need to step back and look at our congregations and we need to evaluate what resources are we ignoring because they don’t look like the resource that I need right now.
But then consider Deuteronomy chapter 28 yeah, Deuteronomy chapter 28 is a passage that we alluded to, at least it’s,
it’s a parallel reference to the first generation, a passage that we alluded to a few weeks ago as we discussed the drought during the days of Elijah and Deuteronomy chapter 28,
the curses that were presented to Israel if they turned their back on God are re presented to the second generation.
And in Deuteronomy chapter 28, verse 22, we read the Lord will strike you with consumption, with fear within,
uh, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew.
They shall pursue you until you perish. And your heavens, which are over your head shall be bronze and the earth which is under you shall B iron.
Now here, God’s not talking about untapped resources. God’s not talking about potential use. God’s saying when you turn your back on me,
when you turn away from me and begin to do evil, I’m going to turn your resources into worthlessness.
I’m going to take that resource, which is your ground, which is your soil and the things that you’re able to grow from it that gives you food and plenty and sustenance,
and I’m going to turn it as hard as iron because I’m going to withhold the rain. We look at what is important to us and we go day in and day out and say,
you know what, I’ve, I’ve got to work for a living. I’ve got to provide for my family.
I’ve got to do this, and I’ve got to that and sometimes we get our priorities backwards. Sometimes we get so focused on what we have to have right now to continue living that we forget the priority of putting God in the proper place.
Israel never turned their back on God. When God was the priority, Israel always turned their back on God.
When God stopped being the priority and they started to become the priority. I’ve known Christians who have said their excuse for working on Sundays instead of assembling with the saints is,
well, somebody’s got to pay the bills. Do you know what that says that says, I can’t trust God enough to prioritize him over my sustenance.
How many times could it have been true that the reason they could never manage to pay the bills it was because God was making sure they never did.
Now you say, Whoa, Aaron, I mean, are we talking about God’s miraculously Holy? No,
I’m talking about what you, so you also reap and he who sows sparingly reaps sparingly. One of the things that the new Testament teaches is if you want to sow or if you want to reap bountifully,
you sow bountifully and the reaping will be in view of the sewing. Someone who doesn’t assemble, someone who doesn’t put gone for someone who prioritizes their stuff over God,
do you think they give the way they ought? Okay. Do you think they’re giving back to God as he’s prospered them?
It’s doubtful. We need to look at our lives and we need to examine how many times we’ve decided to set our personal desires in the place of God’s commandments.
Jesus said, seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.
Jesus said, God’s in control whether you like it or not and he will bless you or he will withhold from you based upon whether or not you will see Kim or not.
Now this is coming from an individual who said to one who said, I’m going to be your disciple.
I’m going to follow after you. He said, I have no place to lay my head. Foxes have holes.
Birds of the air have NES. I have nowhere to lay my head and yet there was never a time where Jesus accused God,
the father of not providing for him. Sometimes it is our view of provision that is messed up our view of necessity.
There’s desolation that comes from disobedience. The analogy of the old Testament prophets was that Israel was working day in and day out to get money to put it in the bags that had holes in the bottom of it.
And that’s exactly how some people’s financial lives work today and yet they don’t have time to prioritize God. But then consider Deuteronomy chapter 33 Deuteronomy chapter 33 we have another reference to iron and this is in verses 24 and 25 and of Asher,
he said, Asher is most blessed of sons. Let him be favored by his brothers and let him dip his foot in oil.
Your sandals shall be iron and bronze as your days, so shall your strength be. This is a statement that may not readily connect with us during the Roman age.
The sandals that the soldiers wore would have metal spikes on them. Okay, you’re familiar with this. We’ve all seen the football players dig their cleats,
the spikes in the bottom of their cleats into the ground so they won’t be moved. And God is saying concerning Asher is he speaks prophetically through Moses concerning the future.
He says, Asher, your sandals will be as if they’re of iron. Your strength will be as your days.
You will stand and you will not be moved. You know, there’s an analogy in the new Testament made concerning sandals and Ephesians chapter six as Paul there is writing to the church at Ephesus and he’s telling them about the whole armor of God.
He says that we are to have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel. It’s not just the idea that we have our feet,
you know, with our sandals on and we’re ready to walk, but we’re ready to stand. We’re ready to not be moved.
We’re ready to be pushed against and give no ground because we’re prepared. We’re prepared by the gospel to go into the fire,
to go into the furnace, to go into the difficulties of life and not turn back.<inaudible> God said concerning ancient Asher that they would be able to stand if they were faithful.
If they were his servants, they would be able to stand and no one would push them back. One last and final lesson from iron comes in.
Judges, chapter four judges chapter four, reminding ourselves that the time of the judges was a time of exceeding unfaithfulness,
where there was a progression of unfaithfulness generation after generation after generation in judges chapter four verse one when he hood was dead,
the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord sold them into the hand of J Ben King of Canaan who reigned in Hazel or the commander of his army was Cicero,
who dwelt in, uh, Harris. Chef Hagley yum. And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord for Jabon had 900 chariots of fire.
And for 20 years he harshly oppressed the children of Israel. Part of the reason why the Egyptians called iron the metal from heaven.
It’s because of the Egyptians. We’re ones who heavily utilized the chariot and they heavily utilized this armor and battled,
but that gave them victory over others. Yeah. But in chapter four and in verse four we read now Deborah a prophetess,
the wife of Lapidoth was judging Israel at that time and she would sit under the Palm tree of Deborah between a ref AAM,
or excuse me, before between Ramo and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim, and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
Then she sent and called for Bayrock, the son of a benewin from K dash in NAFTA. Lion said to him,
has not the Lord God of Israel commanded. Go and deploy your troops at mountain Tabor. Take with you 10,000 men of the sons of NAFTA lie and of the sons of<inaudible> and against you.
I will deploy Cicero, the commander of<inaudible> army with his chariots and his multitude at the river kind of Sean and I will deliver them into your hand.
Here’s the cry that comes up from Israel for 20 years. God deliver us from Cicero, deliver us from this army with 900 chariots of iron.
Deliver us from this people who we cannot overcome because of the strength of their military might. So as Deborah is judging,
she commands Bay rack to come prepare his forces 10,000 from one drive and 10,000 from another. And to go to this place and to be ready because God is going to deploy Cicero.
God is going to bring these 900 chariots of iron. God is going to bring this multitude of men that belong to the Canaanites and he’s going to put them in battlement and he’s going to destroy them for Israel.
May Iraq will determine that he’s not going. He’s not going unless Deborah comes to. So Deborah will declare that the victory will co it will go into the hands of a woman,
that the glory that would have been Bay racks will not belong to him. But instead Cicero would be put to death by the hands of a woman and he will.
But I want you to notice this. When we turn against God, when we become unfaithful, and when we strive,
strive to solve our problems from an earthly perspective, using earthly resources, we will find ourselves defeated by someone who’s stronger in earthly mind than us.
But when we rely on God, when we rely on the Lord, it doesn’t matter how many chariots of iron a nation has.
It doesn’t matter how many modern terms, tanks, bombs, or airplanes a nation has because in all of history,
no matter how hard nations have tried, they’ve never been victorious against the one thing they can never destroy.
The sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, and God has laid waste to nation after nation after nation that believed they could stop God.
You and I know that if we’re going to be faithful, we have to pass through the furnace. We have to continue to be faithful in spite of hardship.
We have to choose to be faithful even when things aren’t going our way. We have to look for the resources God has put in our place and in our hand and we’ve ignored and we have to remember that when difficulty arises and when the enemies of God rise up and they do,
we don’t rely upon our own resources for deliverance, but we rely upon the Lord. If you’re one who’s outside the body of Christ,
you are in a condition. The the Ephesians writer describes as an enemy of God. He says, you’re an alien,
separated from the Commonwealth of Israel. You are an enemy of Jehovah and if you leave this life in that state,
you have nothing to look forward to except for the consuming fire of the Lord and our God is a consuming fire.
God doesn’t desire for you to serve him out of fear. God doesn’t desire you to serve him because you’re terrified of him.
God desires to bless you and provide for you and do good to you and heal you from this day through eternity because God made you and he desires to have fellowship with you and you have become separated from him by sin,
but that sin can be washed away. Just yesterday I was out in front and back of my house and I was pressure washing and it’s amazing the color of the cement outside my house.
I had no idea what color it was because it had been so overlaid with the grime and the grit of time.
It didn’t look like it’s real self. You may become, have become accustomed to how you look right now spiritually,
but that doesn’t mean that’s how you’re supposed to look. That doesn’t mean that’s how God wants you to look.
God wants you to be washed. God wants you to look like your real self. God wants you to be sanctified by the blood of Christ and you can do that by being obedient to the gospel,
hearing the word of God and believing that Jesus Christ is the son of God, confessing the name of Jesus Christ.
Having repented of your sins changed your mind about the way you’re going to live and determined to serve the Lord,
and you can be buried in a watery grave of baptism and die to sin. And when you rise up out of the water,
if you had filled on your flesh, it might still be there. And unlike all the hours I spent pressure washing the other day,
when you come up out of water, you’ll come up a new creature as clean and as pure as the day you entered into this earth.
If you’re not in that state today, contact us. Allow us to help you understand the truth and be obedient to the gospel.
We thank you for your time, your attention, and we pray for your continued faithfulness and the difficulties that face us right now.<inaudible> again,
we thank you for being with us this morning. I did not receive any messages of any more announcements.
So we will close with our song and a closing prayer by Aaron. We’ll close with number 396 no,
not one, three, nine, six. There’s not a friend like<inaudible>. Geez. Uh, no,
nah, nah.<inaudible> no. Uh, jeez. Uh, no, but a us or a cause.
Hey God.<inaudible> uh, there’s not a friend the low. Holy geez. Uh, no. Ah,
new a friend. Like, yeah, man. So, uh, and Oh, no, no,
nah. And yeah. No friendliness. Um, meek and lowly. No, no, nah. Jeez.<inaudible><inaudible> Hey<inaudible><inaudible> uh,
there’s not a friend like, uh, well only, geez. Uh, no, no, nah,
there’s not an a that he is NA ni WRA. No, no, nah, no night. So dark mud is,
uh, and cheer. Uh,<inaudible> no, jeez, us, ah, uh, goals. Hey,
well, God’s day is, uh, there’s not a<inaudible>. Jeez. Uh, no, uh,
yeah. Let us pray. Gracious, heavenly father, we come before you at this time grateful for the day that you’ve blessed us with,
for the life that you’ve given to us and the health that we have. We’re mindful of those that have undergone difficulties,
undergone, uh, struggles because of the recent pandemic. We pray for those nations that are just now beginning to feel the effects of this disease and we pray that they might have the support and the strength and the ability to deal with it.
Laura, we are mindful of those who have lost loved ones as a result of this disease or any other in recent days and months.
We know that they sorrow the loss of those who they’re separated from and we ask that you will give them comfort and strength in this time of sorrow.
We pray for those who are in the medical field and are dealing with the brunt of the difficulties that are going on right now.
We pray that you give them comfort and peace and sound mind to be able to do the things that they need to do most especially God.
We pray that people will be open to the word of God, that they will be open to hearing the truth,
that their mind will be turned away from physical things to spiritual matters. We pray for every evangelist effort that goes forth throughout the world,
that as they remain faithful to you, they might always be bountiful and fruitful in your kingdom. All this we pray in Jesus name.
<inaudible><inaudible> testing. One, two. Testing. One, two. Testing one, two. Yeah. Test. Test. This is only a test<inaudible> and a song to start us off this evening will be number 480.
Bless it. Assurance for the, those of you that have a book at home, it’s four, eight zero.
Bless it. Assurance. Bless it.<inaudible> Jesus’s ma. Oh.<inaudible><inaudible> purchase of God. Born of his speech.
Washington is blah nurses. Mice.<inaudible> this is mine. Praising my savior Jane Long.<inaudible><inaudible> this is mine.
Praising mice. Save your all that day.<inaudible> perfect.<inaudible> perfect visions.<inaudible><inaudible> angels Z sending,
bringing from up.<inaudible> uh, goes up. See whispers, uh, nurses, mice.<inaudible> this is my<inaudible>.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> this is mine.<inaudible> praising.
Nice.<inaudible><inaudible> perfect. Nah, John<inaudible> a and mice.<inaudible> I’m happy and just watching and waiting,
looking up.<inaudible> filled with his<inaudible> is lost in his, uh, this is my<inaudible>. This is mine.<inaudible> praising mice.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> this is mine.<inaudible> praising.
Nice.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> yeah, please bow with me for our opening prayer. Yeah. Our father in heaven,
how awesome you are. We thank you so much for this time that we have to come together as a church and worship you.
Whether it be here at the building or home online, we know that all of our hearts are in the right place and we ask that you look down upon our worship as a sweet savor to you.
Lord, we thank you so much for the blessings that you’ve given us to be able to do the things that we need to do during this trying time and we asked during this trying time that you be with all of those who are suffering illness and use this time for us to reach out to them and plant a seed and help them to come to you.
Lord, all those that are in the church that are ailing at this time, whether it be from this virus or any other element,
we ask that you be with them and get them through the situation that they’re going through. Thank you again,
Lord, for all the many blessings you’ve given us and your son’s name. Amen. Yeah. The song before our lesson will be number 742 bless.
Count your blessings. Seven 40 to count your blessings when upon lifespan as you are 10th is when you are discouraged thinking,
uh,<inaudible> count your many blessings. Name them one by one and it will surprise you. Uh,
the Lord hath de and count your blessings. Name them one by one. Come down to your blessing.
See what God ha, uh,<inaudible> name them one by one. Count your man. He blessing.
See why God uh, uh huh. Oh, are you a burden with a load of<inaudible>? Does the cross seem heavy?
You are called to count your many blessings. Every job well and you will be singing as the days go.
Ah.<inaudible> blessings. Name them one by one.<inaudible> blessing. See why God ha ah,<inaudible> name them one by one.<inaudible> count German blessing.
See why God uh, uh, so, um, man, the conflict where the great or small do not be discouraged.
God is<inaudible> count Jim man, he blessings angels. Well, uh, and hoping comfort. Give you two.<inaudible> your blessings.
Name them one by one. Count your blessing. See why God ha, uh,<inaudible> name them one by one and count Germany blessing.
See why God, uh,<inaudible><inaudible> Kings chapter 17. So we’ll be continuing with our study in first Kings as we go through the lesson this evening.<inaudible> the questions,
uh, for the lesson are at least should be linked in, uh, the Facebook feed and the comment and then uh,
I’m going to attempt to also make sure they get here on the homepage of the website as well. Um,
we’ll, we’ll deal with those as we get towards the end of the lesson, but they will be available if you don’t get a chance to get them,
uh, during class, then we will make sure they’re up on the website. Uh, after the classes over in first Kings chapter 17,
we are introduced to one of the most significant prophets in the old Testament. How do we know he is as significant as,
as that claim makes him out to be? Because of the all the people in all of old Testament history that are present in order to see Christ there at the Mount of transfiguration,
you have only two. You don’t have Abraham. You don’t have Noah. You don’t have Joseph or Jacob.
You don’t have Isaac. You don’t have David. You don’t have Solomon. You don’t have job. You have Moses and Elijah here.
You have in the presence of Christ there in Matthew chapter 17 there in the Mount of transfiguration. You have in his presence two individuals who represent two very specific things.
You have one who represents and embodies via law. Moses stands there on the Mount of transfiguration with Christ and carries with him as it were in his own self,
the law. How many times do you read Jesus saying, did have you not read what Moses wrote?
Have you not read and goes on to quote the law. When Jesus was tempted by Satan, he did not bring out of him of his own self,
out of his own proclamation or even out of his future teachings. He did not bring out a response to push back against sin from himself.
In that sense from his physical life or his life on this earth. Instead, he quoted the law.
He quoted Moses. So Moses stands there on the Mount of transfiguration with Jesus and with him is the image,
okay? The representation of the law. But it’s not just Moses. We read that Moses and Elijah are present.
Now, why aligned yah? Elijah is there. And again, some of this is is, is,
um, trying to glean into the passage, Ryan gleaned from the passage what’s there for us, what’s there to,
to be understood. What’s, what’s not stated. Okay? But Elijah stands as the representative of the profits throughout the remainder of the old Testament and throughout the new Testament,
Elijah’s name comes up. Alijah is referenced. You remember when Jesus in Matthew chapter 16, asked the disciples,
who do men say that I am? And they replied that they believe that some believed he was Moses,
some believed he was Elijah, some, one of the other prophets. Elijah was one of those prophets who comes to mind and is the one who really stands as the focal point and the,
the beginning of the profits that would carry them forward to the end of the old Testament history. Add into that Elijah was the one that was prophesied would return before the coming of the Christ.
It is again in Matthew chapter 17 and in the record of the Mount of transfiguration where the disciples questioned Jesus about Elijah because they want to know,
we thought Elijah was going to come before the Christ and Jesus will make it clear that the Elijah that was prophesied was John the Baptist.
So Alijah is now introduced in first Kings chapter 17 and we find him coming on the scene. No background.
Uh, we, we know that he is from the region of Gilliad in chapter 17 verse one. But no family history,
no lineage, no tribe. Just here’s a Lija. It’s chapter 17 verse one and a reminder, by the way from last week,
chapter 16 us that uh, armory, the father of a Hab who came to the throne in the Northern kingdom of Israel,
did more evil than all the Kings who were before him, did more evil than Jeroboam, did, more evil than Jeroboam.
Son did more evil than the individual who killed Jeroboam and took the throne, did more evil than all of them.
But then Omri lives reigns and dies and Ahab, his son comes to the throne and he does more evil than Henri.
He does more evil than all the Kings who came before him. He takes it to a whole nother level.
And on top of that he marries Jessebelle. And so here we have, okay, this introduction to Ahab,
this introduction to his evil, this introduction that even includes the rebuilding of Jericho to say this people has gone so far from God that they have dismissed even the curses that were placed on a city that when it was rebuilt,
the person who rebuilt it would kill their own children. They would lose their own children as the cost for rebuilding this city.
This is how far Israel has departed from God. Yeah, and so in chapter 17 verse one we read and Alijah the Tishbite of the inhabitants of Gilead said to Ahab as the Lord God of Israel lives before whom I stand.
There shall not be dune or rain these years except at my word. As Elijah comes on the scene,
he enters on the scene. We don’t have his background. He’s, he’s a Tish bite. That’s probably a family name.
He’s from the region of Gilliad, but it’s interesting, the original language there indicates that he is one of the soldiers of Gilliad indicating that perhaps while he may have been from the region,
the city of Gilead, that perhaps he is not even an Israelite. Yeah, he comes on the scene and the very first proclamation out of his mouth,
no introductory thoughts, no introductory statements, a hub. It’s not going to rain until I say so.<inaudible> this is fulfillment of what God told Israel would occur when they began to follow after idols.
God told Israel, Leviticus chapter 26 and other places that when you begin to follow after the idols that I destroyed the Canaanites for worshiping.
When you begin to serve the idols that I said, this people is going to be annihilated off the face of the planet because they follow after this wickedness.
When you do what they did, you’re going to receive what they got. And one of the things,
one of the curses there, the Mount of blessing and cursing, one of the curses that God pronounces is the heavens will turn the bronze and the earth will turn to iron and you will have no rain.
I will destroy your crops. I will destroy your productivity. I will destroy your economy because realize that the majority of this culture is agrarian.
If they can’t grow food, they don’t have any money. If they can’t grow food, they can’t feed the livestock.
If they can’t feed the livestock, they can’t sell the livestock. So they have no food and they have no money.
So Elijah comes to the King and he says, no rain, no rain, except by my word,
and Alijah will be the one who stands as the voice of the Lord. Now when it comes time for that rain to occur,
it’s going to be the word of God. It’s going to be God saying, okay, it’s time God sending a line,
jump back to a rehab. And it’s going to be the case that Elijah will pray to God, that the rain returns and God will grant it.
But Elijah says, except at my word, then the word of the Lord came to him saying, get away from here and turn eastward,
hide by the Brook. Cherith which flows into the Jordan. Uh, some have suggested that this, uh,
Brook Cherith is on the edge of the Jordan Valley, uh, North of the Jabbok river on the East side of the Jordan.
Uh, whether it is or not, I’m not a hundred percent certain, but some have suggested that is the case and it will be that you shall drink from the Brook.
And I have commanded the Ravens to feed you there. So Elijah’s told you leave you get away because God knows that they have is going to be coming for Elijah and God knows there’s not going to be any rain and God is going to provide for Elijah.
So during this period of time, Alijah will escape from uh, a house he will as a result of being there by the Brook and being provided for by God.
He will not need to go into a marketplace. He will not need to go into a city. He’ll not need to go into a public place and there therefore,
he essentially goes off the grid. He becomes unfindable even though he’s still right there within the land. And we’ll find out in chapter 18 that Ahab has been looking for him everywhere because he knows Alijah just the connection terrain.
If he can find the lie Jah, he can get Alijah he thinks to either start the rain back again,
command it to rain again or kill him and he thinks maybe perhaps that will achieve the same goal. So he went and did according to the word of the Lord,
verse five for he went and stayed by the, by the Brook Cherith which flows into the Jordan. The Ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening and he drank from the Brook.
So the Ravens are coming day in, day out, morning and evening and bringing him what he needs.
God is taking care of Elijah and aligned JEA is going to be one who recognizes that care recognizes that Providence and relies upon God.
Now you and I perhaps are familiar with the events that will occur after chapter 18 there at the end of chapter 18,
the beginning of chapter 19 when Elijah’s victorious over the prophets of bale. And we’ll get into that, uh,
in the coming studies. But he’s victorious. And then because as Jessebelle seeks his life, he turns and runs and he goes into a period of despair and he believes these the only faithful one left and all of this.
But here at the beginning, he’s, we get this picture of him relying on the Lord. No want to point out something here because there’s a lesson built into this,
that subtle, but it’s here. Elijah goes and obeys the voice of God. There’s, there’s no question that it was God’s command to deliver the message to Ahab that there would be no rain.
He takes his life in his own hands to go before a King to tell him it’s not going to rain until I say so.
And then he having obeyed God in doing that, departs to a place where God tells him to go.
Elijah is one who obeys in the little details. He does exactly according to the word of the Lord.
He doesn’t question the Lord. He doesn’t go. You know what? I think even though I’ve been here,
I’ve been here, I’ve been here a few days, I’ve been here a few weeks, however long there.
I think I’m just going to go into the city. I’m going to look around. I’m going to see how things are going.
No, the indication is that Elijah obeys the Lord to the letter. He goes and he stays and he waits and God provides you and I need to have the same attitude towards the word of God.
When God says do this, it shouldn’t be a question in our minds, well, how serious was it the Lord?
What did he really mean that we had to do that all the time? Elijah’s perspective and attitude towards God’s word is what God says I will do and we need to live that in our own lives happened after a while that the Brook verse seven dried up because there had been no rain in the land so alive.
Just their Elijah’s by the Brooke. He gets his water from a Brook, he gets his meat and his bread from the Ravens<inaudible> and then the Brook dries up.
Well, you can live a decent amount of time without food. You can’t live very long at all without liquid,
without water. But why is the Brook drying up? I mean, this isn’t a normal circumstance. You don’t just have Brooks that just dry up an Oh,
unless there’s been no rain here. You might be one. If, if you think back about Israelite history and how many times the Israelites as they came out of Egypt would see God provide for them.
And then when the thing that God provided goes away, they complain that God’s trying to kill them. You can think about the occasion where Jonah goes and preaches to the city of Nineveh and then they repent and Jonah goes outside the city and sits down under the gourd and there the gourd gives him shade from the sun and then the Gore dies and he complains to the Lord and he’s angry because the gourd is dead and yet he wasn’t angry at all about the possibility of the death of all of the city of Nineveh.
Here you have a situation where it would be very easy for Elijah’s say, well, wait a minute.
What am I going to do now? Lord, you told me not to let it rain. You told me to tell this to Ahab and now here I am and I have no water.
But you see no indication of that kind of attitude from Elijah. And you see as well, not only the faith of Elijah,
but you see God’s continued provision. So then in verse eight, the word of the Lord came to him saying,
arise, go to Zara fifth, which belongs to Sidon Sidon, North of the Northern kingdom of Israel.
So the likelihood is that Alijah will Trek up to the, on the East side of the Jordan above the sea of Galilee and go over to the region of Sidon.
Uh, go to Zara fifth, which belongs to Sidon and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.
Now, at the point at which this statement is made, the point at which that, uh, Elijah is told you,
leave. God says, I’ve commanded this to take place. I’ve commanded a woman to provide for you.
But when we get there, when we get to Xero fifth, when Aline Alijah arrives at this woman’s house,
is there any indication this woman knows that, that a prophet of the Lord is coming? No. The fact that God says I’ve commanded it doesn’t mean that that commandment Ben has been delivered yet Elijah brings with him the commandment.
He’s the prophet. So aligned you goes to Zara fifth he arose verse 10 and went to Xero fifth and when he came to the gate of the city,
indeed a woman was there gathering sticks and he called to her and said, please bring me a little water in a cup that I may drink.
How interesting. He’s left the Brook chair of, he’s left to a land of Israel. He’s gone up to Sidon,
and now there’s water. But that doesn’t mean that there’s abundance. It doesn’t mean that this land is untouched by the drought.
As a matter of fact, pretty much the opposite. While there may have been water, maybe this was a city that was fed by an underground spring or something like that.
The reality is the city is in desperate, a desperate state, and this widow is in a desperate state and this widow is preparing to have her last meal with her son,
and then they’re going to starve to death because they have no food. So Elijah comes to the Gates of the city.
He finds the woman, they’re gathering sticks. He tells her, please bring me water in a cup that I may drink,
and she was going to, and as she was going to get it, he called to her and said,
please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand. Can you remember another time where a prophet of God goes to a city and tells a woman to do something for him?
And her immediate reaction is, why are you asking me for this? Is the attitude of the Israelites towards those non Israelites the way that it was in Elijah’s day?
Is it the same as the way it was in Jesus’s day? I don’t know. Maybe they hadn’t quite developed the mentality yet that said,
we’re better than everybody else, but in this case, Elijah comes to a woman and asked her for something and she immediately responds.
She immediately goes to get it. You see a picture of hospitality here you see a picture of a person who immediately strives to do for others even when she doesn’t have enough to do for herself.
So she goes immediately and gets him water, but then as she’s going, he says and bring with you a morsel of bread that I may eat.
So she said, verse 12 as the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin and a little oil in a jar and see,
I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son,
that we may eat it and die. Elijah asked for a morsel of bread and a cup of water and the woman says,
you see me picking up these sticks? Do you see what I’m doing here? I’m doing this because I don’t have a morsel of bread to give you.
I’m gathering sticks to take the little bit of flour that I have and a little bit of oil that I have and bring them together as a final meal and then we’re going to starve to death.
I don’t have anything for you, but the reality is this woman’s resources aren’t the same as God’s resources.
What this woman has pales in comparison to what God can do for her and it’s the same for you and me all.
I don’t expect to go home and find when I opened the bin of flour at home that it never goes empty.
I don’t expect that the bank account when I check it to just keep on refilling itself if I don’t go work,
that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about what Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter three when Paul told the church,
there are the end of Ephesians chapter three that is able to do far and abundantly more than we can ask or think<inaudible> if we don’t live that way.
If we don’t trust that, then our faith is lacking. When Jesus was on a boat and he was there in the midst of the sea of Galilee and he was asleep in the back of the boat and a storm was raging and the disciples come and wake him up and they say,
master, we perish.<inaudible> Jesus says they have little faith because they thought that their biggest resource was their own ability and their biggest resource was asleep in the back of the boat.
Finally, when they gave up on themselves, they turned to him and the lesson that you and I need to remember is we better be relying on God long before we give up on ourselves.
That’s going to be the lesson Elijah learns later on is that God’s been doing far more than Alijah ever imagined.
Elijah just could only see Alijah his part in it. So the woman says, I have nothing. Elijah says,
do not fear. Go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first and bring it to me and afterward.
Make some for yourself and your son for thus says the Lord God of Israel, the bin of flour shall not be used up,
nor shall the jar of oil run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth. I’ve said this before and it’s because I firmly believe it’s true.
The woman doesn’t go to the bin of flour and suddenly it’s full. She doesn’t go to the jar of oil and suddenly it’s overflowing.
She doesn’t go back the next day and it’s full and there’s abundance. The way I understand the texture Reed is every day she goes and takes everything that’s left.
She takes everything that’s left and she makes what she has as if it’s the last that she has and she goes back again and there’s more and she takes all that’s left and she goes back again and there’s more and she takes all that she has and she goes back again and there’s more.
This is the same principle that we find when the Israelites are leaving Egypt and they are hungry and they cry out to the Lord and the Lord gives them manna.
God says, you’re only allowed to have allowed to have enough for one day. You can’t take any supplies for tomorrow.
You can’t take more than your allotted amount. You can eat more than your portion. You take what you have,
you have your portion, you eat it, and you don’t take any for tomorrow because it won’t last.
If you take some for tomorrow, it will spoil before tomorrow arrives. And every day you get up trusting that there will be provisions waiting for you.
And that’s what happens for this woman every day the provision is there and so the Lord provides for her.
The Lord provides for her son. The Lord provides for Elijah. Then she went away, verse 15,
and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and her and her household ate for many days.
They were sustained through this difficult time. And it wasn’t by her resources. It wasn’t because she used the flower that she had an abundance of oil to go make cakes and sell them and provide for no,
it was a continual daily reliance on God. So then the bin of flour, verse 16 was not used up nor did the jar of oil run dry according to the word of the Lord,
which he spoke by Elijah. Couple of things that are important. Number one, you go back to the beginning when Elijah comes to her and she knows he’s not sidonian,
she knows who his God is. She said at the very beginning, um, verse 12, as the Lord,
that’s the word, Jehovah, as Jehovah, your God lives. This woman knows something about Alijah. This woman knows something about Israel.
They, this woman knows they serve Jehovah. Now, whether or not she trusts in Jehovah and believes that Jehovah is the one and only God and all of that,
I, I, I don’t know yet, but I think we’re going to see the growth in this woman as a Gentile,
as a non Israelite in her understanding of who God is. But it’s made clear to her that it’s Jehovah who declares this.
This is the command being delivered. The Lord said, I’ve commanded this woman to do this for you and right here he does.
And right here he gives her the resources. She goes back to one other point that we need to make and that is God never commands us to do what he doesn’t give us the resources to do.
Sometimes we’re too busy looking at our resources to see his, God says to this woman, you provide for my servant Elijah.
And then he gives her the resources to do it. But then notice this now it happened after these things and that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick and his sickness was so serious that it was,
there was no breath left in him. So she went to Alijah says, what have I to do with you?
Oh man of God. Lija what have I to do with you here? You’ve lived in my house.
I doubt she paid him rent or she charged him rent. You’ve lived in my house. You stayed under my roof.
You’ve been here with me all these many days and yet you couldn’t stop my son from dying. Yeah.
You’ve brought into this house abundance and life and you have prolonged our lives. When we thought we were going to die and the food is not run out,
the flowers not run out. The oil’s not run out and yet you couldn’t keep my son from dying.
If you’re like me, this reminds you of of a different passage. If you turn over to the book of John,
you’ll be reminded that I think it’s Martha says to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here concerning Lazarus,
her brother, he would not have died. Jesus waited until he died. It almost makes you wonder if Elijah’s gone out of the house and he hasn’t come back yet because the child was alive.
Maybe, maybe not. But she comes to Elijah and she says, what have I to do with you?
Oh man of God. Have you come to bring my sin to remembrance and to kill my son? What sin is she talking about?
What sin is it that she is focusing on to say, this is a judgment against me? Is it idolatry?
Is it perhaps that she was under the sway of the side? Odeon King who worshiped bale and his daughter who was a servant of bail and a culture that was serving idols?
Is that the sin? Maybe. Maybe not, but I think there’s a good chance because now she knows who’s God.
Now she knows who the one and living God is. But notice she says, what have I to do with you?
Oh man of God, have you come to bring my sin to remembrance and to kill my son. And he said to her,
give me your son. So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying and laid him on his own bed.
Then he cried out to the Lord and said, Oh Lord, my God, have you also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge by killing her son.
The blame has gone from Alijah to the Lord God. Why have you done this? God, why have you caused this to happen?
And yet with Elijah, it is this expectation that not only did God have control of the situation, but God had a resolution to the situation and he stretched himself out on the child three times and cried out to the Lord and said,
Oh Lord my God, I pray. Let this child soul come back to him. How many times do you think Elijah was going to be willing to do that until the child came back to life?
He did it three times. I think he stopped when the child came back to life. It’s not like there’s a prescription in the law when a child dies and he wasn’t supposed to die yet.
Cry out to the Lord and lay on him three times. Elijah is seeking the Lord to do something and he’s persisting until the Lord does.
Jesus reminds the disciples as he teaches the disciples about the woman who could not receive justice from the judge,
and so she went back again and back again and back again until he tired of her and gave her the justice that she sought.
Jesus makes the analogy to God and the analogy to prayer and makes the point that persistence matters. Not that God doesn’t care,
not that God is, is blind to our thoughts and our prayers, but that our heartfelt persistence makes a difference to the Lord.
So Elijah does it time and time and time again. Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah and the soul of the child came back to him and he revived and Alijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house and gave him to his mother and Alijah said,
see your son lives. Then the woman said to Elijah, now by this I know that you are a man of God,
and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth. What greater testimony could you find in all scripture then for one who’s not in Israelite,
not of the covenant of Abraham, not of the children of Israel, not of the descendants of Moses or Aaron or David,
to see what Elijah did to hand her son over to him and to allow him to take her son,
and then he brings him back alive and for her to say, now I know. Now I know you’re a man of God,
and now I know that every word you said about the Lord is true. You might think, well,
that’s just logical. It’s just logical that she sees that, that she recognizes that, that she admits to that,
that that’s just something to be dismissed. No, it’s not. What did the Jews declare about Jesus after he raised Lazarus from the dead,
they saw Lazarus. They saw the tomb. They waited outside with Mary and Martha for four days, and when Jesus leis raised Lazarus from the dead,
they said, we have to kill him.<inaudible> we need to not. Okay. Be ignorant of what sin does to someone’s heart.
It is for that reason in I think it’s Matthew chapter 11 if my memory serves me correctly or it’s Mark chapter 11 it’s one or the other where Jesus cries out against the cities of Israel because he says,
if these deeds that had been done here were seen in Sodom and Gomorrah, they would have repented. They were not so hard hearted.
They were not so set against God. They were not so established against rely against admitting what God was doing,
that they would have repented. And he says they will rise up in judgment against you because you saw these deeds and did not believe.
Let’s not fool ourselves into believing that just because this woman saw a miracle. Just because this woman’s son came to life,
men, it was a foregone conclusion that she was going to change and obey the Lord because many didn’t.
Let’s go through the questions. Question number one, uh, from chapter 17, verse one aligned to the prophet told Ahab,
King of Israel that there would be neither blank nor blank until he spoke Dew nor rain. There would be neither do nor rain.
Chapter 17 verses two and three, after telling Ahab of the drought, why did Elijah hide? Uh,
because the Lord told him to. Um, now we’re going to find out in chapter 18 that a have was seeking his life.
But the reason why he hid was because that’s what the Lord told him to do. Verse four, and verse six,
while Elijah was hiding from Ahab, what did he eat? What did he drink? He drank water from the Brook Cherith and he ate the meat and the bread that was brought by the Ravens.
Uh, number four, what was the widow’s reply to Elijah when he asked for bread? She replied that she had enough flour and enough oil left for one more meal and that her and her son were going to eat it and then die.
Describe Elijah’s instruction to the widow. He told her, make uh, in, in summary form. Make mine first and then there would be plenty.
Number five, what was Elijah’s promise to the widow concerning her flour and oil? And verse 14, the flower would never run out and the jar of oil would never run dry.
Number six, whom did the widow whose flour and oil never ran out blame for the death of her son.
She blamed Elijah. What did Elijah do when he begged God to return life to the son of the widow?
Question seven, he fell down on top of, or relayed himself, stretched himself out on top of the child three times and cried out to the Lord to bring the child back to life.
Appreciate your presence. And your time. Um, just a, an update on a personal note, uh,
for those, I know there are many who have been wondering where we’re at on the house. Uh,
the negotiations on the house fell through, so, uh, were nowhere on the house. Uh, we’re just gonna keep looking.
Uh, but we appreciate your thoughts and prayers and everyone who’s asked, uh, your thoughts and your concern and your prayers have been greatly appreciated.
Uh, we hope you’re doing well and we’re going to have another song and then a closing prayer and we appreciate your time and your presence this evening song before our closing prayer will be farther along.
If you have a song book at home, it’s 753 farther along tempted<inaudible> me too.<inaudible> why it should the,
no, I saw the day. Well, they’re all, uh, living. Ah, ah, ah,
never<inaudible> and uh,<inaudible> for the well, no. Ah, ah, it falls.<inaudible><inaudible> Dan.
So JIRA my<inaudible><inaudible> well done.<inaudible> dammit. Uh, by and ah,<inaudible><inaudible> uh,
being sir. Hey, if you<inaudible> labor and<inaudible> toss up. Oh, well then same as<inaudible> as we sweep through the beautiful Oh yeah.
Uh,<inaudible> no, uh, yeah. It’s fun.<inaudible> and a Stan<inaudible>. So JIRA<inaudible><inaudible> us<inaudible> well<inaudible><inaudible> uh huh<inaudible> jeez,
us coming and, Oh sorry. When he comes from, um, his home and uh, us<inaudible> then we me damn man.
Uh, and uh,<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> fuck.<inaudible><inaudible> no, uh, yeah. Father<inaudible>,
Dan JIRA,<inaudible> and uh, uh, SHA well<inaudible> Oh<inaudible> uh huh<inaudible>. Let us pray.
Father in heaven. Great and powerful is your name. We are thankful for you. We are thankful for what you bless us with each day.
We are thankful to be able to live stream tonight. This study. We are thankful for technology and,
and the ability to do this and pray that as we continue forward that we will be able to get back together soon and be in one place.
We pray that you watch over those that are struggling at this time with, uh, different sicknesses, um,
things that are, uh, those that are dealing with this coronavirus and, and pray that they will be able to get better soon.
We pray that you’d be with Francis and Sandy and, and pray that Sandy will be able to get better soon and back to a better health.
Thank you so much for what you do for us and watching over us each day. We are thankful for your word that we can go in to dig into and to learn your will for us.
We pray that we strive each day to be examples, to dig into your word and to, to know your will and you say we do pray.
<inaudible> testing. One, two, three.<inaudible>. Good morning. Welcome to our live feed at the Collierville church of Christ.
Uh, for announcements this morning we want to notice that the pantry item for this month is bottled water.
Um, we had some good news that Ruby Brad is at home, so when you continue to pray for her,
we need to continue to watch over our pray for Francis and Sandy, which is her daughter, uh,
dealing with the Sandy’s, uh, recovering from her broken leg. So we need to continue to keep both of them in our prayers.
Joan Springer is dealing with pneumonia. Pray for her. Tina Lance, she’s a nurse and wife of the preacher in Chalmette,
Louisiana. She is recovering from Corona virus. Uh, Ginny Anderson’s aunt Rosie is doing well after having the Corona virus,
so that is good news. Um, Russell Klein and his wife Tracy, he is the preacher at Madisonville church of Christ and Kentucky.
Uh, they both are recovering from the Corona virus. If you have any prayer requests or any announcements,
you can go ahead and post them or send Aaron I a text and we will mention those at the end of our live stream today.
We are thankful you’re with us and we definitely miss everyone and we are definitely ready to be back together.
Hopefully that will happen soon. To start out this morning, we will sing number seven zero one seven zero one.
And that is my Jesus. I love the seven zero one. My God. Geez. Uh, the uh,<inaudible> uh huh.
Four. The uh, uh, Lee’s uh, uh, uh huh. Hm<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> my eyes.<inaudible> uh,
uh, eh.<inaudible> the my<inaudible><inaudible> uh, the baby<inaudible> has<inaudible> and<inaudible> just my<inaudible> ah,
yeah<inaudible> ah, uh,<inaudible> to a degree.<inaudible> uh,<inaudible> uh, uh, my<inaudible><inaudible> uh,
and<inaudible> Jones. Uh,<inaudible>. Yeah. And, and uh, yeah. Uh, uh,<inaudible> the<inaudible><inaudible> so,
uh huh. Uh huh<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> uh,<inaudible> uh, uh, the, my<inaudible><inaudible> we’ll have our opening prayer father in heaven.
Great and powerful is your name. We are thankful for you. What you do for us each day.
We are reminded of your love and care and concern for us and we are put at ease knowing that you are there watching over us and taking care of us each day.
We pray that you be with those that are on our minds, those that we’ve mentioned this morning. We’re thankful that Ruby Brad is home and pray that she continues to get better.
We pray that you be with Sandy and she is recovering from her broken leg from her fall and be with her that she will recover soon and be with Francis as she watches over her and and be with them both.
We pray that you’d be a Joan as she’s dealing with pneumonia, be with Tina and Ann and Rosie and Russell and Tracy as they are dealing with coronavirus and as they are recovering from that and pray that they will get back to a full state of health.
We pray that you watch over our country at this time is with our leaders that are making decisions and our federal government or state government,
city governments and and throughout the world. We pray that you watch over them and pray that they will make wise decisions as we move forward and pray that they look to you for what?
For guidance and to make the right decisions. We pray as we go through this worship this morning, that we will focus on you and focus on what Christ has done for us.
And we pray that you continue to be with us and all we do and you seem to do pray.
Amen. Our next song, prepare our minds for the Lord’s supper. We’ll be number 383, three,
eight, three. Jesus, keep me near the cross.<inaudible> the cross, the rock<inaudible> for it.
Uh, he, you mean stream Filos from<inaudible>. Yeah.<inaudible> uh, uh, yeah.<inaudible><inaudible> or a SPI on duh.
The<inaudible> for us. A trampoline. So a van<inaudible> yeah.<inaudible> okay.<inaudible> on ane so shit,
it’s me names me.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> uh,<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> fun. We’re a SPI on the<inaudible> uh,<inaudible> GRA bring it scenes.
Beef form me, uh, me, uh, from day to day.<inaudible> awesome. Me and uh,<inaudible> me my glory.<inaudible> have a<inaudible> right<inaudible> fund or a speeding on a,
uh, we take this time on Sundays as God has commanded us to partake of the Lord’s supper, to be reminded of the sacrifice that Christ made.
As we go through this time. We pray that we look to the cross, look at what Christ did,
that sacrifice that was planned before the world began, knowing that he was going to have to come and that he was going to have to die because of our sin and be that perfect sacrifice as Hebrews tells us their blood to the blood of bull and go bulls and goats was not good enough.
There had to be that perfect sacrifice, that unspotted sacrifice. And that was Christ. If we did not have his sacrifice,
if he had not done that for us, we would have no chance of going to heaven at all,
no opportunity. But we do because of his sacrifice. And at this time we think about what he did.
We focus on his, on his sacrifice. And as we protect you, this blood, uh, this,
uh, bread which ever since his body and the fruit of the vine, which represents his blood, uh,
prayer. We, we focus on him. Let us pray our father in heaven. We are thankful for you and your love for us.
We are thankful for what Christ has done and giving his life for us. It should have been us.
It should have been us on that cross, not him, but he did it for us because he loves us and we pray as we go through this time as we partake of this bread which represents his body,
that we will focus on him and what he has done for us. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.<inaudible> let us pray.
Father in heaven, as we continue at this time, we were reminded of where we were at one time where we were lost without any,
uh, without any way of getting to heaven. Without, with, without that sacrifice that Christ made.
And we look at where we’re at today and how we have that hope we have, we know that we can go to heaven because of his sacrifice.
We pray as we partake of this for the vine, which since his blood that we will think about what it means to us and pray that we partake of an unworthy manner into you and Jesus.
Somebody pray. Amen.<inaudible> at this time we also have the opportunity to give back, which we received and we’ve talked about how there’s opportunities.
I know we’re not together at this time, but there’s still, um, there’s ways online, the website to give or to drop by the building.
But we, we know that God still takes care of us and we know that God has blessed us.
So at this time, let’s give back a portion we received. Let us pray our father in heaven.
We are thankful for you and your blessings. Each day we were reminded how much you bless us and we reminded that you take care of us every day and we are thankful for what you do for us and we’re thankful for taking care of us.
We pray as we give back a portion where you receive this week that we’ll give back with a cheerful heart and pray that it continue to be used in this congregation to spread your word throughout this community and pray that you watch over the,
that make the choices, make the decisions on that. And in Jesus name we pray. Amen.<inaudible> we will see number 611 before the sermon number 611 heavenly sunlight.
Well, walk<inaudible><inaudible> Jesus<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> I am rich<inaudible> shadows around me, shadows,
uh, uh, me. Never can see, uh, Samuel rank, uh,<inaudible> ever. I’m walking new is a heavenly<inaudible> uh,<inaudible><inaudible> ah,
yeah, I am rich.<inaudible> Jesus is my time.<inaudible> Barresi my way to match June’s up.<inaudible><inaudible> walk in and see,
uh, sunlight.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> I am rejoicing. Singing is pray is a Jesus<inaudible>. Now.
Aaron<inaudible>, I don’t know how else to say this, but this doesn’t feel normal yet and I’m glad I look forward to the day when you and I are here together and for all those who may not be a part of our congregation locally,
I pray for the time when you can again assemble together with your local congregations. Though I want you to know you are welcome here and we’re,
we’re grateful and glad that you’ve been able to join us today. Seeing seeing is for many of us,
fundamental to our very existence. There’s never been a time where we couldn’t see. There’s never been a time where we weren’t able to simply open our eyes and look around us.
Now, some of us may have reached an age where our eyesight is beginning to diminish. Some of us may have reached a point where we look at things and they’re not as clear as they used to be,
but for the majority of us, the majority of humanity, okay, we take our eyesight for granted.
We don’t imagine the possibility that one day we wake up and we open our eyes and we still don’t see<inaudible>.
But what will you see? The question I want us to focus on in our study this morning is what will you see in Matthew chapter five Jesus is beginning what we have termed the sermon on the Mount and in Matthew chapter five he says,
blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn,
for they shall be comforted. Bless it are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall,
and I want you to notice that future tense for they shall see God. Jesus said, predicated upon one being willing to obey God,
one being pure and hard, one setting their heart, their life and their their entire existence into the hands of God.
They will see God. You and I can look around us and we can see the reality of God in Oh so many ways.
We could turn over to Psalm 19 and we could read through that Psalm and the beginning of that Psalm talks about the universe and everything around us showing us the existence of God.
And we can read about God’s laws and his commandments declaring to us the existence of God. And we can read about how those two things combined.
The revelation of the world around us and the revelation of God’s word to us is sweeter than honey in the honeycomb is the Psalmus writer writes there,
but that’s seeing the reality and the evidence of God. That’s not the same as seeing God. There was a time when Moses was there on the Mount Sinai and he was there and there was a time before he was in the presence of God and before he saw the backside of God.
And then there was a time after that and then there was that time and everything that Moses knew for all those years before that for all of those decades that he had lived,
he knew there was a God. He knew about him. He knew what he had said. He saw the university created and then he saw him and it wasn’t the same thing.
And so Jesus says, blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. And the question for you is,
what will you see turn to the book of job, the old Testament. This patriarch endured a great deal.
He went through a a great deal of, of difficulty, a great deal of of hardship and pain and loss and Joe declares in job chapter 19 verse 25 for I know that my Redeemer lives and he shall stand at last on the earth.
Joe looked forward in the midst of his struggle in the midst of his demise, in the midst of all of the pain and the anguish that he had going on around him,
and then the midst of his friends turning against him and declaring him to be a center that he wasn’t.
He said, I know there’s one who will buy me back and I know one day my Redeemer will stand on this earth,
but he goes on to say in verse 25 he shall stand at last on the earth and after my skin is destroyed this,
I know that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself and my eyes shall be hold and not another how my heart yearns within me.
Joe was not perfect in all that. He said Joe was not flawless in all that he did and we read the conclusion of that in the end of the book of Joe where job’s seeks repentance and and brings about repentance and seeks forgiveness,
but Gelb says, I know who my Redeemer is. Joe knew who he offered sacrifices to in job chapter one and two as he served as the patriarch and the intercessor for his family,
Joe knew who his Redeemer was. Joe knew that he had faults. Joe knew that he had sins,
but he knew that he was faithful and Jobe said, I know there’s coming in day where I will be.
Hold him with my eyes. And why is that job? Because Joe knew something about himself and he tried to convince his friends of it.
Joe knew something about his faithfulness. Joe knew that he was pure in heart. So Jesus says it is possible for one who is pure in heart and it is true that for one who is pure in heart,
they will see God and job’s said all the way in those centuries. Before that point, I know I will see God and job longed for the day when his life and all of its pain was over so he could see God,
but then consider another passage in Isaiah chapter six we see another aspect of this because in order to be pure in heart,
in order to be faithful and to be righteous before God, it requires not just a desire to do good.
It requires not just a desire to be pleasing to God, but it requires that one hears and obeys and this enters as well into this discussion of site and what you see in Isaiah chapter six God calls for someone to send to his people.
God desires to have a profit that he will send down and declare a message to Israel and we read in verse eight also,
I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send and who will go for us? Then I said,
that’s Isaiah. Then I said, here am I send me, and he said, go and tell this people keep on hearing but do not understand.
Keep on seeing but do not perceive. Here’s God’s message to Israel through his prophet, as he sends the prophet out on this mission,
as he, as he sends him with this commission, he says, you go out and you tell people that they won’t hear you go out and you tell people that they’ll see and they won’t understand.
He goes on to say, make the heart of this people Dole and their ears heavy and shut their eyes less.
They see with their eyes and hear where their ears and understand with their hearts and return and be healed.
God knows something about Israel’s heart when God gives this commission to Isaiah to go forth and to prophesy and to teach and to tell these people God’s words,
he knows the people will not listen. Yeah. And that the more that Isaiah tells them and the more that Isaiah preaches to them,
and the more than Isaiah declares to them, the less they will listen. Yeah. And the more that Isaiah shows them what’s coming in,
the more that Isaiah declares to them of what will be, the less they will understand. And God says it’s because their heart is wrong.
Ultimately the reason why an individual sees and doesn’t understand, hears, and doesn’t perceive is because that individual’s heart is unwilling to listen and to see the truth.<inaudible> and so in this view and in this question of what will you see,
there is the predicated question, the premise of what do you see now? Not just what will you see in the future,
not just will you see God, not just will you be one who has a pure heart that will see God,
but what do you see now? Is your heart open to the truth? Is your heart willing to see and to perceive and to understand what God is saying to you now?
Because if not, notice the end of what God said concerning Israel. They won’t see with their eyes.
They won’t hear where their ears, they won’t understand with their heart because they won’t return and be healed.
God says, I’ve offered them redemption. You go back to Isaiah chapter one and in verse 18 Isaiah pleads with Israel on behalf of God to reason together to cleanse their hands of the sin that they had to have them wa have themselves washed and wearing white robes washed in the blood and reason with them there God about righteousness,
about holiness, about redemption, and they would not. It’s not as though God’s not doing his part.
It’s not as though God hasn’t offered it to them. It’s not as though God hasn’t placed it before them and said,
here, I will do this for you, but instead they have looked at that offering. They have looked at that option of redemption.
They have looked at what God has presented and they have rejected it whole heartedly. Now, this passage has an interesting connection because if you turn to Matthew chapter 13 Jesus references this passage in Isaiah.
Yeah. In Matthew chapter 13 beginning in verse 10 the disciples come to Jesus because in Matthew 13 in Matthew’s record,
Jesus begins to teach in parables. He begins to use these earthly stories with heavenly meanings. He begins to use these throw besides as the word parable means where he’s putting down a lesson and they’re supposed to understand the spirit application and some of them do and some of them don’t.
And so the disciples come to him in verse 10 and they say, why didn’t you speak to them in parables?
Jesus, what’s the reason? Now you’ve got to get a little bit of the background here. Jesus is the rabbi.
Jesus is the teacher. The disciples are those who walk behind him. The disciples are those who are supposed to be watching his every move and learning how to do what he does.
They’re in training. They are the disciples who follow after the teacher so they can become teachers. Yeah.
And so they’re asking him, why are you teaching this way? And Jesus responds, he answered and said to them,
because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given for whoever has to him or will be given.
And he will have abundance. But whoever does not have even what he has will be taken away from him.
Therefore, I speak to them in parables because seeing they do not see and hearing, they do not hear nor do they understand.
Does that sound like Isaiah? And then he follows it up with this and in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled which says hearing you will hear and shall not understand.
Seeing you will see and not perceive for the hearts of this. People have grown Dole. Their ears are hard of hearing and their eyes are they have closed Les.
They should see with their eyes and hear with their ears less. They should understand with their hearts and turn so that I should heal them.
Then he says, verse 16 but blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear for a surely.
I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desire to see what you see and did not see it and to hear what you hear and did not hear it.
Jesus declares to these disciples that they are privileged. They are privileged in their time to live. In that moment to have their hearts being willing to hear,
being willing to see, being willing to obey and to witness what prophets and righteous men for centuries had desired.
To see the fulfillment of the Redeemer on this earth, the fulfillment of what job’s spoke about when he saw that day,
when his Redeemer would stand on the earth. And here these disciples are, they’re doing it. They’re seeing it and their understanding,
they’re hearing and obeying, but the people generally speaking, not all of them. Some of them would hear and obey,
some of them would understand, but of them, the vast majority of them would not. The vast majority of them would turn away from Christ preferring what was normal,
preferring what they’d always had, preferring what they had always done instead of allowing their heart, okay, and their eyes and their ears to bring about their redemption.
Now notice something else in Isaiah and Matthew. Jesus makes it clear that these individuals whose heart is dull,
whose heart is unwilling to hear the word of God and obey it, he says, these people are sick.
These people are damaged. These people, the English word we’d use is, are handicapped, but they’re handicapped by choice.
It’s not as though these people were born unable to hear. It’s not as though these people were born unable to see.
Notice what he said, verse 15 for their hearts, for the hearts of this, people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing and their eyes notice this phrase, they have closed. They are willfully handicapped as though they go about their day with their hand over their eyes,
refusing to take it away. They’ve got their hands in their ears and they’re refusing to pull their fingers out of their ears.
They don’t want to hear they’re doing everything they can to avoid the truth that they’re broken and that they’re lost and that they need redemption.
So what will you see begins first with what do you see? I want to take you to one more passage before we move forward in this.
And that deals with a man who saw and woodsy turn to John chapter eight in John chapter eight Jesus speaks concerning Jesus has declared to this people that the the truth is available to them.
And the truth would set them free and the Jews rejected the premise that they needed to be set free and Jesus declared to them that they were of their father the devil.
He was a liar from the beginning and they had followed in his steps and in verse 48 then the Jews answered and said to him,
do we not say rightly that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?<inaudible> they go so far as to say you’re not even a Jew.
You go into the Samaritans land and you go into some area and you interact with those people. You aren’t even a Jew and make it even worse.
You’re not even a Jew and you have a demon or you wouldn’t say such things. Jesus replies to them,
I do not have a demon, but I honor my father and you dishonor me. I do not seek my own glory.
There is one who seeks and judges most assuredly. I say to you, if anyone keeps my word,
he shall never see death. Then the Jews said to him, now we know that you have a demon.
Abraham is dead and the prophets, and you say, if anyone keeps my word, he shall never taste death.
Are you greater than our father Abraham, who is dead and the prophets are dead? Who do you make yourself out to be?
They said, you must be a lunatic. You must be insane. You must be possessed. Okay.
To think that you have more power than Abraham, to think that you’re better than Abraham, to think that you’re higher than all the profits that have come before you.
Who do you think you are? But Jesus responds to them. If I honor myself, my honor is nothing.
It is my father who honors me, of whom you say that he is yours, God, yet you have not known him,
but I know him. And if I say I do not know him, I shall be a liar like you.
But I do know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham, and notice this phrase, your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad.
Jesus says that Abraham living before Isaac, before Jacob, before Joseph, before Moses, before Israel, before the nation existed,
he said, Abraham saw my day and he rejoiced. Now they’re going to question that. They’re not going to see the possibility of that they’re going to see and not perceive.
They’re going to hear and not understand. Then the Jews said to him, you have not. You are not yet 50 years old,
and have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, most assuredly, I say to you before Abraham was,
I am in Abraham’s day, according to Hebrews chapter 11 Abraham by faith went out to a land he didn’t know,
and Abraham sojourned looking for a city whose builder and foundation was God, and as he so journey looking for a city,
looking for a home, he testified concerning himself that he was just a Sojourner on this earth, but he looked for a city that belonged to God.
Jesus says, concerning Abraham that he found what he was looking for. Jesus said concerning Abraham, he saw what he wanted to see.
He saw my day. He solved the Redeemer. You might wonder, well, how did, how did Abraham see the Redeemer?
Okay, you’re a member. There was a day when Abraham came face to face with the cost of sin.
God told Abraham, you take your son of promise, you take your only begotten, you take the one who I promised to you,
and you take him up to that mountain and you put him on that altar and you sacrifice. Yeah.
And Abraham went through with every single step. Abraham saw what had to be done. He saw what God commanded.
He saw that he didn’t understand it, but he would do it anyway because he trusted in his God.
And so he took his son and he took those servants and they went to the Mount. And as they prepared to go up to the mountain to worship,
he left the two servants behind. And he and the boy traveled on and they went up and the boy asked him,
where’s the sacrifice? And Abraham replied, the Lord will provide. And so he took his son and he bound his son,
and he put him on the Alderney prepared to take his son’s life. He prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for the sin because this child was innocent.
This child had done no wrong. This child didn’t deserve to die, but he was dying because of someone else and God’s stayed his hand.
And I firmly believe in that day, Abraham saw Jesus’s day hadn’t rejoiced because Abraham came face to face with the cost of sin and the price of redemption and God said,
you don’t have to sacrifice your son. I’ll sacrifice mine. But one more passage on seeding. Turn to the book of revelation.
Revelation chapter 22 the very last book and the very last chapter of our English Bibles as John is seeing a vision and glimpsing,
a vision of the church in a glorified state, in a home with God had full fellowship with the Lord.
We read verse chapter 22 verse one and he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal proceeding from the throne of God and from the lamb in the middle of its street and on either side of the river was the tree of life which bore 12 fruits.
Each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations and there shall be no more curse,
but the throne of God and of the lamb shall be in it and his servants shall serve him. Now wait a minute,
before we go any further, what did we just read in Isaiah six we read less minds. These people see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be healed.
And Jesus said in Matthew chapter 13 less they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and their hearts stopped being goal and they be healed.
And we have this picture of the presence of God where the nations, not just Israel, the nations,
not just the Jews, the nations come continually before the presence of God and the tree of life heals them day after day after day.
And this picture is presented of this continual renewal of this continual healing. And then the very next verse,
they shall see his face and his name shall be on their foreheads. If you go back into the book of revelation,
the idea of the name on the forehead is who do you belong to? Who’s serving are you? Are you the servant of Satan?
Are you the servant of God? These people belong to the Lord. These people have been bought with a price.
These people have been washed in the blood of the lamb and have been redeemed from the one who died for them and stands as there Redeemer,
the one who’s worthy. These people come continually from every nation and they come to the presence of God to find healing and to see what do you have?
You have a group of people whose hearts have been obedient to the Lord. You have a group of people who recognize their need for their God.
You have a group of people who’ve been willing to hear and not only hear but obey and not only obey,
but some even have died for the testimony of their Lord. And these are the faithful. These are the ones God has said.
You may see my face and you may be in my presence, so what will you see? What have you prepared your heart to do?
Is your heart open and willing to hear the truth of God’s word or is it closed? Is it shut down by man’s doctrines?
Is it shut down to the truth of the word of God because we’re too busy? Isn’t it shut down to the word of God because we’re too set in our ways?
Has the word of God declared to you through the the reading of scripture that you need to change and yet you say,
you know what, I’m fine where I am. God will accept it. Well, I just don’t think that’s what the scripture actually says.
As a matter of fact, I know it’s not what it says and I challenge anyone who would have that perspective to find one passage in all of scripture that says any such thing.
God commands all men everywhere to repent. Have you done that? Have you heard the word of God and believed that Jesus Christ is the son of God?
Those in Jesus’s day when Jesus was speaking to them concerning Abraham refused, do you believe that he was who he claimed to be?
They refuse to believe that he was the son of God. They refused to believe that he was deity in the flesh,
but yet Jesus said before Abraham was I am. I existed before he was ever born. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is a son of God and are you willing to change your life based upon his word?
Are you willing to open your ears and to open your eyes and to open your heart to be obedient to the gospel?
Because the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Romans chapter one verse 16 and the gospel is the message of Christ to declare to all men everywhere that they must repent and they must confess his name,
and they must be immersed in water for the remission of their sins to rise up, to walk in newness of life,
and then they must continue faithful unto death. Have you done that? Are you ready to do that today?
If you haven’t done it, you have any need that we can help you fulfill. If you have a need to be obedient to the gospel and you’re not certain,
and maybe we’ve said things that you’re not sure about, please reach out to us because one day I hope you will see God.<inaudible> well,
thank Aaron for the great lesson and we hope that you can be with us again next week as we study some more into worship our God.
We will close with number 736 number 736 to Christ beach room to who? Christ<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> and Paul<inaudible>.
Uh,<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> so you cry.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> two years, uh,
against, uh, uh, uh, sin<inaudible><inaudible> bitch<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> Blitzer, Grice<inaudible> so who cries?<inaudible><inaudible>,
eh,<inaudible> uh, horse. Hey Dan, your fights<inaudible> uh, uh, uh,<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> to cry.<inaudible><inaudible> let us bow our gracious father in heaven.
We come before your throne. Grateful for the day that you’ve given to us. Grateful for all of your many blessings.
We’re grateful for all that you do for us on a daily basis. We thank you for your provision.
We thank you for your blessings. We thank you most of all for your redemption through your son who died on the cross for our sins.
We thank you for the home in heaven that awaits those who are faithful and the crown of life that awaits those who love his appearing.
We pray that you watch over us as we go throughout this week. Help us to remain faithful but also to remain positive and upbeat and encouraged by all of the many good things around us.
Help us to think on those things which are true and righteous and Holy and pure and of good report.
Help us to daily be faithful in service to you and encouraging those who are around us and uplifting those who are weak.
We pray for those who are spreading the gospel throughout the world. May they have safety and may they speak boldly.
Your word. We ask that you forgive us when we sin and fall short of your glory. Bring us back the next appointed time.
All this we pray in Jesus name. Amen. I do want to make mention that Wednesday night there will be a stream available at our normal Bible study time at 7:00 PM.
Hope you all have a great week.
And Beijing King of Israel came up against Judah and built Ramo that he might let none go out or come in to EISA King of Judah. So she comes to the throne in the Northern kingdom of Israel and somehow Bay HSA blocks the pathway, the Kings highway of people coming in to Jerusalem and people coming in to Judah, they can now no longer go that trade route and go through to Judah. Bayshore has closed off that entrance. Verse 18 then EISA took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the treasuries of the King’s house and deliver them into the hand of his servants.
And King EISA sent them to Ben. Hey dad, the son of Tavern, rim tab, rim on the King, or excuse me, the son of hezie on King of Syria who dwelled in Damascus saying, let there be a treaty between you and me. And there was between as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a present of silver and gold. Come and break your treaty with basic King of Israel so that he will withdraw from me. So Ben, Hey dad,
King heated King EISA and sent the captains of his army against the, against the captains of Israel. He attacked I, John, Dan, Abel, Beth maker and general, and all the land of NAFTA lie. Now, it happened when Beja heard it, that he stopped building Ramer and remained in Tirzah. Then King EISA made a proclamation throughout all Judah. None was exempted, and they took away the stones and timber of Ramer, which patient had used for building with and with them. King EISA built Gava of Benjamin and Misbah,
the rest of the acts of AYSO, all his mind and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. But in the time of his old age, he was diseased in his feet. So EISA rested with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, his father. Then Jehoshaphat, his son reigned in his place. Okay, so EISA in his valiance against the armies of the Ethiopians. This army of a million people relies upon the Lord.
But we’ll find out if we go and read the record in Chronicles, that when it came to the problems of the Northern kingdom of Israel, when it came to the problems of Bayshore in the Northern kingdom, EISA didn’t rely on the Lord. Yeah. Instead, he takes the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the things that he had dedicated to the Lord and things his father had dedicated to the Lord, and he sends them to Syria. God will rebuke him for not trusting in the Lord. Now,
he doesn’t depart from the Lord. He’s not taken from the throne. But in this area, in the record and Chronicles, God says, you should have trusted me. You shouldn’t have gone to Syria for your salvation. You should have come to me. And there’s a lesson there for us. There’s a lesson about when we rely on the Lord, when we rely on God, and instead of looking and seeing with our eyes and seeing the problems and seeing the solution being physical, we need to learn that the solution should be spiritual,
that the solution is first to trust God. When we’re looking at our lives and we’re looking at the situations we endure and the things that are coming before us, we need to remember the solution begins every time with the Lord and therefore our faithfulness needs to be a part of that and our assurance and our hope and our peace of mind needs to be a part of that as well. Okay, so that was the reign of EISA. Verse 25 the first Kings 15 now day NEDA, the son of Jeroboam,
became King over Israel in the second year of EISA, King of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. Remember what God told Jeroboam? God told Jeroboam when Jeroboam son was sick and when Jeroboam sent his wife to come to find out what would happen to his son and to try and get his son to be healed.
God told Jeroboam, this child of yours, this child of yours will go to his grave, he will die and he will go to his grave in peace.
But no other child of yours will go to his grave in peace. The ones that die outside the city will be eaten by the birds.
The ones that Dianne inside the city will be eaten by the dogs. None of Jeroboam children would go to their grave.
Peace. Save that one who died as a child. So Nadab comes to the throne for 20 years of bones.
Bones Nate have comes to the throne in the second year of EISA and he rains for two years. Verse 26 says he did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in his sins by which he made Israel sin.
Then Beijing, the son of a hijab of the house of his, a car conspired him and Bayshore killed him at GitHub,
which belonged to the Philistines while Nadab and all Israel later siege to give a phone. So, uh,
nailed down and his armies are besieging a city, the city of<inaudible>. And they’re there, and while they’re besieging the city,
while they’re encamped around the city, this one, uh, Bayshore comes and kills the King. He kills the King to assume the throne.
So it, and so it was verse 29 when he became King that he killed all the house of Jeroboam.
He did not leave to Jeroboam. Anyone that breathed until he had destroyed him according to the word of the Lord,
which he had spoken by a servant, a hijab, the Shiloh night because of the sins of Jeroboam,
which he had sin and by which he had made Israel sin because of his provocation with which he had provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger.
This is God’s judgment on Jeroboam and his house. Remember a hijab, the Shilah night, the prophet comes to Jeroboam during the days of Solomon and says,
Jeroboam, God is going to take away 10 of the nations of Israel. He’s going to give them to you.
He’s going to put them in your hand, and if you will be faithful, if you will be faithful to God as David was faithful to the Lord.
Then your name and your throne and your lineage will be as a shirt in Israel, as David’s Jeroboam had a choice.
He had a choice whether or not to be faithful. He had a choice whether or not to be obedient and he chose not to,
and the Turnitin of a lineage that will be continuing a lineage that will be faithful to the Lord, a lineage that will go on generation after generation in Israel.
The alternative to that was Jarrow. Boams house was completely destroyed. Beja comes to the throne and he doesn’t just take out nae dab.
He finds everyone from Jeremy balms house and kills them all. Now the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel and there was war between EISA and Beja,
King of Israel all their days. In the third year of EISA King of Judah base you, the son of a Hijah became King over all Israel in Tirzah and rained 24 years.
He did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the ways of Jeroboam and in his sin by which he made Israel sin.
Then the word of the Lord came to J Hugh, the son of Hannah, and I against basis saying,
in as much as I lifted you out of the dust and made you ruler over my people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made my people Israel sin to provoke me to anger with their sins,
surely I will take away the prosperity or the posterity of Beja and the posterity of his house and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam,
the son of ni, bat, what are we reading here? We’re reading that God told us<inaudible> that he would give him the throne.
Gone told Neisha that you will receive the throne and you can be faithful to me. But what did they should do instead?
Basic takes the throne and instead of being faithful to the Lord, does exactly what Jeroboam did and follows in the exact same path and steps as Jeroboam.
And so now beiges house is going to be destroyed the same way Jera balms was. Notice Jay who will be told these things,
and verse four we read the same pronouncement against spacious house. The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Beijing and dies in the city and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the fields.
Now the rest of the acts of base show what he did and his mind are they not written in the books of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
So Beja rested with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah. Then Isla is on, rained in this place and also the word of the Lord came by the prophet J Hugh,
the son of Hannah nigh against Beja and his house because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord in provoking him to anger with the work of his hand in being like the house of Jeroboam and because he killed them.
Notice one of the punishments of VEISHA will be there resulting from him killing the house of Jeroboam in the 26th year of EISA King of Judah.
Isla, the son of VEISHA becomes King over Israel and rain two years in Tirzah now his servants, Emory commander of half his chariots conspired against him as he was in Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of ours.
So, uh, ILA, the son of VEISHA comes to the throne. ILA is here in this city and in this house and he is drinking himself drunk.
And then during this time, this one Zimride will come in. He is con, he is the commander of half the chariots of the army of uh,
of ILA and he comes in and kills ILA notice. Zimriyah went in verse 10 and struck him and killed him in the 27th year of EISA,
King of Judah and reign in his place. Then it came to pass when he began to reign. As soon as he was seated on his throne that he killed all the household of Beja,
he did not leave him one male, neither of his relatives, nor of his friends. So here<inaudible> the commander of the of half the chariots comes in,
finds Isla in the house, drinking himself drunk and will kill him and immediately moves to take the throne and to kill off every male of the house of Beja.
And he not only kills off every male of the house of Beijing, he kills off every male of the relatives of Maisha.
You’re going to find out that he does this very quickly. This was a quick execution. Notice how we know that,
uh, for all the sins, verse 13 of Batian, the sins of Isla, his son by which they had sin and my,
which they had made Israel sin and provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their idols. Now the rest of the acts of Isla and all that he did are they not written in the books of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
And the 27th year of EISA King of Judah, Zimmer had rained in Tirzah seven days, not seven years,
not even seven months, not seven weeks, one week, seven days. Zimmer had rained seven days and the people were in camp against GitHub,
which belonged to the Philistines. Now the people who were in camp heard it and heard it said, Zimride has conspired and also killed the King.
So all Israel made Omri the commander of the army King over Israel that day in the camp, Zim Marie will accomplish killing ILA and will accomplish taking the throne.
But what Zemurray didn’t plan on is all of Israel being encamped against<inaudible>. They decide to make someone else King.
And so they make all Murray the commander of the army King instead. Then Omri at verse 17 and Israel with him went up from Gibson and they besieged Tirzah.
And it happened when Zimriyah saw that the city was taken, that he went into the Citadel of the King’s house and burned the King’s house down upon himself with fire and died because of the sins which he had committed in doing evil in the sight of the Lord and walking in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin,
which he had committed to make Israel sin. Now the rest of the acts of Zimride and the trees and he committed,
are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? Then the two people are,
then the people of Israel were divided into two parts. Half of the people followed Timney, the son of guy NEF to make him King and half followed Henri.
But the people who followed Omri prevailed over the people who followed the son of ganache. So Tiffany died and Henri reign and the 31st year of EISA,
King of Judah Omri became King over Israel and reign. 12 years, six years, he reigned in Tizard or Tirzah and he bought the Hill of some area from shimmer,
the two town with four two talents of silver. Then he built on the Hill and called the name of the city,
which he built some area after the name of shimmer owner of the Hill. So Omri will come to the throne.
He was previously the commander, the army, and he will unite by force the nation of the Northern kingdom of Israel.
And eventually after some years he will move the capital city from Tirzah to this new city. He has built some area.
Henri did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did worse than all who were before him. For he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam,
the son of Nebat, and in his sin by which he made Israel sin provoking the Lord God of Israel to eye to anger with their idols.
Now the rest of the acts of Omri, which he did, and the mind that he showed, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel,
so SA, so Omri reigned with arrested with his fathers and was buried in some area. Then Ahab,
his son reigned in his place. Omri we’ll take the throne after Zimriyah will kill the King ILA, go back to Doris or go back to HERSA,
go into the Citadel of the King’s house, but then all Israel and Henri come against him and as they enter the city,
he burns the palace down on top of himself. He rains for one week, Omri will come to the throne.
He will unite the nation by force. He will move the capital to some area, but he will do more wicked,
more evil than all the Kings who were before him. But don’t worry because his son’s coming to the throne after him.
Yeah. And a Hab will do more evil than even Omri did. Notice what occurs during the reign of Ahab.
In the 38th year of EISA King of Judah, a have the son of Omri became King over Israel and Ahab,
the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria. 22 years. Now, Ahab, the son of Omri,
did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him. And it came to pass as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam,
the son of Nebat that he took, his wife Jessebelle, the daughter of<inaudible>, King of the<inaudible>,
and he went and served bale and him. Then he set up an altar for bail in the temple of bail,
which he had built in some area and they have made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the Kings who were before him.
In his days, Heil of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation with uh, Aberam, his firstborn and with his youngest son<inaudible>.
He set up its Gates according to the word of the Lord, which he had spoken through Joshua, the son of nun Ahab comes to the throne and the wickedness of his father was nothing.
And the wickedness of the one who proceeded him was nothing. And the wickedness of Jeroboam before them was nothing by comparison to the wickedness of Ahab and his willingness to bring Jessebelle into his kingdom.
His willingness to marry the daughter of this ETH bale, this worshiper of bale of the King of side one of the<inaudible>.
And there was a time that Seiden was, was a partner and an ally to Solomon. There’s a time when those entire and Sidon were those who knew of the Lord,
but not now. Not now. They’re being rained by, reigned over by someone who is a worshiper of bale and whose daughter worships bale and Aster off and will seek to kill all the profits of the Lord in Israel and they help.
We’ll let her, okay. He will allow her to bring much wickedness into his nation, into an among God’s people,
and he will join her in that evil. It’s a lesson to be learned and a reminder to be had.
You’re the head of a house when you’re the head of a nation, when you’re the head of anything,
the buck stops with you and Hey, have was held accountable for everything that Jesse Bell did that was evil because he didn’t stop it and instead joined in it.
Go through the questions very quickly for chapter 15 and 16 question number one comes from verses three of chapter 15 why did God allow by Jim to rule over Judah even though he was sinful?
The answer is because of the faithfulness of David. Question two yes or no. Were there Wars between Israel and Judah after the kingdom was divided?
Answer is yes. There were Wars continually between the Northern kingdom of Israel and the Southern kingdom of Judah.
Question three did the prophet J Hugh prophesize a good or be bad for Bayshore, King of Israel? He prophesied B bad things.
Why? The question then is why. How did Zimmer’s acts against beiges household fulfill the prophecy of JMU?
The answer is because Batiuk continued the answer to the question of why is because Beja continued in the sins of Jeroboam instead of returning to the Lord and because Beja killed all the house of Jeroboam,
Zimriyah acts against Bayshore fulfilled the prophecy of J Hugh in that all of basis house was killed just as Beijing had done to Jeremy balms.
House question four. What was the sin of Beja and Isla, his son, both Kings of Israel,
so that so provoked God. The answer is there. Idolatry. Question five a have King of Israel married blank,
a worshiper of bale? Of course the answer there is bell. And then question six, why did heils firstborn child dying when he laid the foundation to rebuild Jericho and the youngest die when he set up the Gates?
You go back to Joshua chapter six verse 26 you will remember that God said that the city of Jericho was never to be rebuilt,
and that the one who did rebuild it, his first born would die on the day that they laid the foundations and his youngest child would die on the day that they hung the Gates of the city.
And so here in the wickedness of Ahab’s reign in the wickedness of this nation under the influence of Ahab and Jezebel,
there is one who decides it’s worth it. It’s worth it to lose my firstborn and my last born child to rebuild this city that God said not to build.
And so Heil will rebuild the city of Jericho. And then question seven, how many books are there in the old Testament?
Of course there are 39 thank you for joining us in this study of first Kings chapter 15 and 16 we hope that you’re doing well and staying safe.
We love each and every one of you have a great day.
We’re going to continue our study in first Kings. We will pick up with the questions from chapter 13 that I forgot to record the, uh, we’re going to continue our study in first Kings. We will pick up with the questions from chapter 13 that I forgot to record the, uh, the questions and the review for that, uh, previous weeks. So we’ll cover that and then we’ll go into chapter 15 and 16 of first Kings. Uh, in our study for today in first Kings chapter thirteens questions,
question number one, what would be the fate of Jeroboam according to the prophet of God from Judah. If you look at first Kings chapter 13, verses two and three, we read, then he cried out against the Alder by the word of the Lord and said, Oh, altar altar thus says the Lord. Behold a child, Josiah by name shall be born to the house of David and on you. He shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you and men’s bones shall be burned on you.
And he gave us in the same thing. This is the sign which the Lord has spoken. Surely the altar shall split apart and the ashes on it shall be poured out. And then also verse five, the altar also was split apart and the ashes poured out from the alter according to the sign, which the men and of God had given word of the Lord. So the fate of Jeroboam is that eventually, uh, his house would come to an end and that the alters that he had been, that he had built would be destroyed after the priests of those alders were burned upon them.
What was the sign which proved the prophet’s words? Uh, when Jeroboam reached out his hand, or excuse me, the sign, uh, was the altar splitting apart. In addition to that, when Jeroboam reached out his hand to tell them to arrest him, that is the prophet. Uh, his hand was unable to be drawn back in, uh, first Kings chapter 13, verses seven through nine. Then the King said to the man of God, come home with me and refresh yourself and I will give you a reward.
But the man of God said to the King, if you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you, nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place. For so was commanded me by the word of the Lord saying, you shall not eat bread nor drink water nor returned by the same way you came. So question two, why would the prophet of God not eat and drink with Jeroboam? Of course the answer is because God had told him not to. Question three comes from verse 11 and verse 18 of chapter 13 verse 11 we read now an old prophet dwelt in Bethel and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel.
They also told their father the words which he had spoken to the King. Verse 18 he said to him, I too am a prophet. This is the old prophet speaking to the young prophet. I too am a prophet as you are. And an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord saying, bring him back with you to your house. That he may eat bread and drink water. He was lying to him. The man from Bethel who lied to the prophet from Judah was a a prophet,
be a King, see a judge or D, a priest. The answer of course is a, he was a prophet. Question number four comes from verse 15 and then also from verse 18 describe the line which the prophet from Bethel told the prophet from Judah. The prophet from Bethel told the prophet from Judah that an angel had appeared to him and told him to come to his house. Even though the young prophet from Judah said that he was not supposed to remain in Israel nor eat in Israel. Question five,
what did the Lord say would be the punishment of the prophet from Judah for not obeying in verses 20 through 22. Now, it happened as they sat at the table that the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back and he crying to him, cried out to the man of God who came from Judah saying, thus says the Lord, because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and have not kept the commandment, which the Lord your God commanded you, but you came back,
ate bread and drank water in the place, which the Lord said to you, eat no bread and drink. No water your car.
We’re going to continue our study in first Kings. We will pick up with the questions from chapter 13 that I forgot to record the,
uh, the questions and the review for that, uh, previous weeks. So we’ll cover that and then we’ll go into chapter 15 and 16 of first Kings.
Uh, in our study for today in first Kings chapter thirteens questions. Question number one, what would be the fate of Jeroboam according to the prophet of God?
From Judah. If you look at first Kings chapter 13 verses two and three, we read, then he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord and said,
Oh, alter. Alter thus says the Lord. Behold, a child, Josiah by name shall be born to the house of David and on you.
He shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you and men’s bones shall be burned on you.
And he gave us in the same thing. This is the sign which the Lord has spoken. Surely the altar shall split apart and the ashes on it shall be poured out.
And then also verse five, the altar also was split apart. And the ashes poured out from the alter according to the sign,
which the men man of God had given word of the Lord. So the fate of Jeroboam is that eventually,
uh, his house would come to an end and the altars that he had been that he had built would be destroyed after the priests of those alders were burned upon them.
What was the sign which proved the prophet’s words? Uh, when Jeroboam reached out his hand, or excuse me,
the sign was the altar splitting apart. In addition to that, when Jeroboam reached out his hand to tell them to arrest him,
that is the prophet. Uh, his hand was unable to be drawn back in, uh, first Kings chapter 13,
verses seven through nine. Then the King said to the man of God, come home with me and refresh yourself and I will give you a reward.
But the man of God said to the King, if you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you,
nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place. For SOA was commanded me by the word of the Lord saying,
you shall not eat bread nor drink water nor returned by the same way you came. So question two,
why would the prophet of God not eat and drink with Jeroboam? Of course the answer is because God had told him not to.
Question three comes from verse 11 and verse 18 of chapter 13 verse 11 we read now an old prophet dwelt in Bethel and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel.
They also told their father the words which he had spoken to the King. Verse 18 he said to him,
I too am a prophet. This is the old prophet speaking to the young prophet. I too am a prophet as you are,
and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord saying, bring him back with you to your house,
that he may eat bread and drink water. He was lying to him. The man from Bethel who lied to the prophet from Judah was a a prophet,
be a King. See a judge or D, a priest. Answer of course is a, he was a prophet.
Question number four comes from verse 15 and then also from verse 18 describe the line which the prophet from Bethel told the prophet from Judah.
The prophet from Bethel told the prophet from Judah that an angel had appeared to him and told him to come to his house.
Even though the young prophet from Judah said that he was not supposed to remain in Israel nor eat in Israel.
Question five what did the Lord say would be the punishment of the prophet from Judah for not obeying in verses 20 through 22 now it happened as they sat at the table that the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back and he cried to him,
cried out to the man of God who came from Judah saying thus says the Lord, because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and have not kept the commandment,
which the Lord your God commanded you. But you came back, ate bread and drank water in the place,
which the Lord said to you, eat no bread and drink no water. Your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your.
So what did the Lord say? The punishment would be for the prophet who disobeyed. He would die and not return to the grave of his father.
He would die before returning home. Question six. What did the prophet from Jew, or excuse me,
how did the profit from Judah die? Who buried him and where? Verse 24 of chapter 13 says,
when he was gone, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his corpse was thrown on the road and the donkey stood by it.
The lion also stood by the corpse. So a lion comes, meets him on the way, attacks him and kills him,
but he doesn’t eat him and doesn’t attack the donkey. Just simply attacks the prophet. But then also verse 28 then he went and found his corpse thrown on the road.
That is the prophet from Bethel, goes and finds the young prophets corpse thrown, thrown on the road and the donkey and the lion standing by the corpse,
the lion, and not eaten the corpse nor torn the donkey. And verse 30 then he laid the corpse in his own tomb and they mourned over him saying,
alas, my brother. So how did the prophet from Judah die? He was killed by a lion who buried him,
the prophet from Bethel. And where the profit from Bethel buried him in his own tomb. Then question seven,
what did the prophet of Bethel say concerning the prophecies against the altar in Bethel and against the high places which the prophet of Judah had made beginning in verse 32 for the saying,
which he cried out by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places which are in the cities of Samaria will surely come to pass.
So the prophet from Bethel said that everything which the prophet from Judah had said would come to pass. So those were the questions from chapter 13 now into chapter 15 in chapter 15 and 16 we have Israel and Judah at war with one another.
Notice chapter 15 beginning a chapter 15 verse one in the 18th year of the of King Jeroboam, the son of Nebat,
uh, bine Jim became King over Judah. Now something important to realize and that is that you will read the book of Kings and you’ll read the corresponding chapters and passages in the book of Chronicles and names will not always be identical.
Sometimes this is because one will reference a King by a different name. Sometimes it’s just simply a spelling that is different.
And bear in mind that all in Hebrew, not all the same in the alphabet exists. Uh, there,
there are no vowels in the Hebrew, alphabet, alphabet. So there’s some differences in some times over the years,
different names were spelled differently. So, uh, by Jim here is the son of Rehoboam. He is going to come to the throne in the 18th year of Jeroboam,
but in Chronicles, he will, his name will be recognized as Abijah. And so just keep that in mind because Jeroboam also has a son who comes to the throne named Abijah.
So don’t, don’t get them confused. The one that comes to the throne in the Southern kingdom of Judah,
whose name in first Kings is a bijum, comes to the throne in the 18th year of Jeroboam. So that’s who we’re talking about.
We’re talking about the King in the Southern kingdom of Judah right now, a buying gym became King over Judah.
He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maaco, the granddaughter of abs. Sholom. Now,
here’s another name that is spelled differently in Kings versus Chronicles, at least in modern English translations in Chronicles.
It records that this is the granddaughter of alum, the son of David. And so here we have,
uh, uh, buying gym raining and Rehoboam at some point Mary’s the granddaughter of Absalom. And this is the mother of a buying gym.
He walked in all the sins of his father, verse three, which he had done before him. His heart was not loyal to the Lord,
his God, as was the heart of his father, David. So Rehoboam comes to the throne and then he dies in a bijum.
His son reigns in his stead and a bijum rains for three years and he does evil the same way Rehoboam did.
Remember, Rehoboam continued to follow after idols. Rehoboam allowed the idolatry in Judah cut to continue and continued building up the high places in Judah.
Nevertheless, verse four for David’s sake, the Lord has gone, gave him a lamp in, in Jerusalem by setting up his son after him and by establishing Jerusalem.
Because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not turned aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
So here we have a statement concerning Judah and the lineage of David Solomon departed from the Lord. Rehoboam his son continued down that path and departed further from the Lord of buying Jim.
His son reigns in his stead for three years and continues further down this path of turning away from the Lord.
And the writer of Kings wants us to know that had it not been for the faithfulness of David, had it not been for David’s willingness to obey God and his willingness to remain faithful to the Lord.
Not perfectly, not sinlessly, but continually except for the one matter with Uriah the Hittite word, David turned his heart away from the Lord,
but then repented said in all of this, the only reason that the lamp of David’s house, the throne in Judah remained with David’s family was David’s faithfulness.
Truly it is. It is incapable of being calculated. How much good is lasting generation after generation after generation as a result of one faithful generation,
one faithful man leads two generations of blessings to those who come after him, even if they didn’t obey the Lord.
So then notice what else there was war verse six, between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.
Now the rest of the acts of abide, Jim and all that he did, are they not written in the book of Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
And there was war between a by Jim and Jeroboam. So there’s war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam and the 18th year of Jera bones,
rein Rehoboam, son of buying. Joan comes to the throne and there continues to be war with Jeroboam for the three years of abide Jim’s rain.
So we’ll bind him, rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. Then EISA,
his son reigned in his place. We just mentioned that because of the faithfulness of David, the lamp of the lineage of David and the throne of David wasn’t removed in spite of Solomon’s disobedience,
in spite of Rhea bones, disobedience in spite of a byte, Jim’s disobedience, yet the throne continued in the lineage of David.
And finally we get to EISA. Now the record of ACEs life and his reign in Judah is more complete in the book of Chronicles.
It will record details that Kings doesn’t, but here’s what you need to know. EISA is a good King.
EISA walks in the path of David, his father. Notice what we read about ASAP. In the 20th year of Jeroboam,
King of Judah EISA became King over Judah and he reigned 41 years in Jerusalem. His grandmother’s name was makeup.
The granddaughter of Absalom. EISA did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did his father David.
So EISA is going to be set in contrast to rehabilitate them and to AB bijum. He is going to live a different life.
Now he’s going to come to the throne in the 20th year of Jeroboam, but Jeroboam is only going rain 20 years.
So his overlapping with the reign of Jeroboam is going to be very small, very minor, very small.
Verse 12 reads. And he banished the perverted persons from the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
Also, he removed makeup from his grandmother, from being queen mother because she had made an obscene image of Asherah and EISA cut down her obscene image and burned it by the Brook.
Kidron. So one of the things that we mentioned in a previous class was that as the people in Israel and Judah departed into idolatry,
some of the things that came back with those idolatrous images and with those, that idolatry that had been put out of the land was this sin,
this inequity of sexual intercourse as a religious act. And that’s what this idea of perverted perf persons references here,
those who involve themselves in sexual immorality as a religious act. And so, uh, EISA comes in and he cast these people out of the land.
He drives them out, he destroys them and gets rid of them, and then even goes so far as to take make-a his grandmother,
the wife of Rehoboam, and remove her as queen mother. She is still there. She’s present. She’s been present through the rain of a Rehoboam.
She’s been present through the rain of a bind gym and now she’s being removed the cause of her idolatry.
You might remember a time in the past where we talked about, I think it’s Deuteronomy chapter 13 where Moses gives the commandments to Israel concerning who teaches Israel to follow idolatry.
One who pulls them away and commands them to, to follow after another God besides Jehovah. And Moses made it clear that if it was even a member of their own family,
if you were in Israelite and one from your own house, your brother or your sister or your mother or your father was the one who was telling people to follow after idols,
then your responsibility was to cast the first stone. Your responsibility was to not hide them away, to not keep it secret,
to not keep them safe, but instead to make it public and make it known and be part of the judgment.
It seems like EISA actually follows this command when it comes to make, uh, his grandmother. So he removes her and he removes the image that she made.
The image was cut down and burned at the Brook Kidron, verse 13, but the hind places were not removed.
Nevertheless, ACE, his heart was loyal to the Lord all his days. So AC doesn’t clean up everything that was wrong.
AC is not able to restore Judah to its original faithfulness to the Lord in completeness, but EISA will remain faithful.
Something that I wanted to point out, uh, here concerning EISA is, is from second Chronicles. So if you will turn over to second Chronicles,
I think, I think it’s chapter 14, uh, where we read about EISA and that is one of the events during ACEs reign in chapter 14 verse two,
we read EISA did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God for he removed the altars of the foreign gods in the high places,
broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images. Now something to note here, according to the Chronicle writer,
is that he did remove some of the high places, but he was not able to remove all of the high places.
Uh, he commanded Judah to seek the Lord of their Lord God of their fathers and to observe the law and the commandment.
He not only restored Judah back to following the Lord, but he restored Judah back to the law and to the commandments of God.
He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was quiet under him and he built for to find cities in Judah for the land.
Had rest. He had no Wars in though those years because the Lord had given him rest. Therefore,
he said to Judah, let us build these cities and make walls around them and Gates and bars while the land is yet before us because we have saw the Lord our God.
We have sought him and he has given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered. Go back again to Leviticus chapter 26 and to Deuteronomy in the beginning of the those that book,
and you remember God said, if you’re faithful to me, I’ll give you peace. If you’re faithful to me,
I’ll give you prosperity. If you turn your back on me, I’ll bring destruction. I’ll withhold the land from you.
I’ll bring enemies against you. And so God’s doing exactly what he said he would do. And EISA knows that.
And so AC uses this opportunity to continue to build up the land and to rebuild the land because of all that suffered.
Verse eight and EISA had an army of 300,000 from Judah who carried shields and Spears and from Benjamin, 280,000 men who carried shields.
And drew bows. All these were mighty men of Valor. So he has an army of 580,000 men.
And here of these men, these men are his men of Valor. Some of them are, are swordsmen,
some of them are archers. Uh, but then we read verse nine, then zero, the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots.
And he came to Mersa. And so EISA went out against him and they set the troops in battle array in the Valley of,
uh, Zarephath, excuse me, Zelpha at Marisha and EISA cried out to the Lord his God and said,
Lord, it is nothing for you to help whether many, whether with many or with those who have no power,
help us. Oh Lord, our God for we rest on you and in your name, we go against this multitude.
Oh Lord, you are our God. Do not let man prevail against you. Here’s EISA. There’s an army of a million men knocking at his Southern border.
There is an army, the like of which in modern times you and I have never seen assembled, and they’re at the door.
They’re at the border of Judah and they’re coming. And so EISA prepares his men and he prepares his army and he goes out and sets himself in array against this army that is almost double the size of his army.
And what is ACE ado? EISA doesn’t fret EISA doesn’t worry. EISA doesn’t go in his tent and cry EISA praise to God.
Okay? EISA knows that the numbers don’t matter when it comes to the Lord. EISA knows that. It doesn’t matter how big the army is,
if the Lord decides to be on his side, if the Lord helps him, then victory is assured.
But he also knows this. If the Lord doesn’t help him, does he sues for peace before the battle comes?
ACE is facing this predicament, but ACE is not ready to become a subject of this King from Africa.
And so EISA Morgan and his army.
That you be perfectly joined together. Additionally, in the same judgment, if Paul’s plea to the troubled Corinthian church was realistic, then it must also have been actually possible. Why would he have made such a plate if it were not both realistic and possible in spite of their differences? Paul wanted the Corinthian questions to be United, but not in some sort of all inclusive big tent. Ignore your differences kind of way, but in these key areas, what they spoke in the first place must be in agreement,
the phrase to speak, the same thing had political overtones of warring factions that came to a reconciliation in spite of their warring factions in the church at Corinth, namely differences about the Lord’s supper, about the resurrection, about moral issues, and more in spite of that, Paul wanted them to be on the same page doctrine light. Next, Paul decried their divisions later in the first chapter, it appears that they chose sides, each following various leaders and in the process splintered the precious unity that God and his spirit desire.
Ephesians four one teaches that we must all endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit. In the bond of peace that demands a constant focus on oneness and not on division. The term for division by the way is schismatic split division, the word pictures, the destruction of unity through force and was used of a tear and a garment or political factions engaged in a struggle for power. So far in our broadcast today we have looked at two of the four admonitions or pleas that Paul makes for unity in the church at Corinth.
First that they all speak the same thing and second that there be no divisions among them in our next broadcast. We will continue at this point and noticed number three and number four third but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and number four that you be perfectly joined together in the same judgment. We hope that you can join us as we study God’s word together at that time. What’s the quickest way to reach us? That simple call our toll free number one eight five five I G H six nine eight eight to request free Bible study courses to ask a question or do make a comment.
The number is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Just leave your and we will follow up as quickly as we can. That number again is one eight five five I G H six nine eight eight or if you prefer +1 855-444-6988<inaudible>. Thank you for listening to our broadcast today. We hope first that it glorified God, but second, we hope that it edified you listen to it again if you need to or to other lessons in this series by going to the media tab and our site,
international gospel hour doctor<inaudible><inaudible> hello there. Today is July 15 and this is your daily lift problem. The gospel broadcasting network honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God give a fee. Exodus 20 at verse 12 the first four of the 10 commandments were God word. This is the first. That is men word and Ephesians six two Paul appealed to this old Testament passage describing it as the first commandment with promise. It has always been God’s will that one honor his parents respect and care for them to rebel the games.
The righteous instruction of parents is to rebel against God in old Testament times. Children who were rebellious toward their parents were stoned to death and cotton triste as one honored his parents. His days would be long upon the land and may God bless you and have a great day. In our prior two lessons, we have supplied proof that the being referred to as the angel of the Lord is divine. He is God. We also know that Jesus is divine. He is God. Notice Isaiah 40 verses three through five and John chapter one that concludes the more concrete portion of this study.
Today we will attempt to connect these two points by hypothesizing that the angel of the Lord is in fact the preincarnated Christ. In other words, the second person of the Godhead or the being we know today as Jesus Christ was revealed to mankind in the old Testament as the angel of the Lord in Exodus 23 verses 20 and following God while speaking with Moses, note chapter 20 verse 22 declared quote, behold, I send an angel before you to keep you in the way and to you into the place which I have prepared.
Be aware of him and obey his voice. Do not provoke him for he will not pardon your transgressions, for my name is in him, but if you indeed obey his voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. The point I want to stress here is that the angel of the Lord is distinct from God, the father whom I believe to be speaking to Moses. Yet we observed in prior lessons that the angel is deity or divine.
So based on my present understanding of the Godhead, no. Our lessons from April 13th and 14th 2005 if the angel of the Lord is divine, he must be one of the three persons of the Godhead. Either God, the father, God the son, or God the Holy spirit as we commonly refer to them. If we remove the first option, the more likely choice that remains is that the angel of the Lord is the being we know today as Jesus Christ in a different physical form. Of course, it seems unlikely that the Holy spirit would assume the form of an angel.
Since nowhere else in the scriptures is he stated to have taken on a physical form. The same cannot be said regarding the second person of the Godhead. There was one other argument worth mentioning on this subject. We noted previously in Exodus 1419 and the angel of God who went before the camp of Israel moved and went behind them and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. However, exit is 13 verse 21 States that it was the Lord himself who did this. Furthermore, Paul wrote in first Corinthians 10 verses one through four.
Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea and all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them and that rock was Christ. Here Jesus has identified as the spiritual rock that followed the Israelites during their long journey from Egypt into the promised land. Speculation of bounds as to what exactly is meant by this phrase.
Some believe this refers to a literal rock from heaven that rolled behind the Israel lights and provided water as they journeyed. Others, including myself, are more inclined to accept a less literal perspective here. In either case, Christ miraculously provided water and hen stability like a rock for the Israel lights on at least two occasions. He was undeniably there with them though in what sins? It is impossible to know for sure. Perhaps there is a connection between the spiritual rock that followed them and the angel of the Lord who seemed to move with the pillar of cloud and fire.
Therefore, in closing, I believe that the angel of the Lord of the old Testament is the preincarnated Christ. I believe that the second person of the Godhead was active during those 4,000 years between the creation and his birth as Jesus of Nazareth. Note also John five or 17 let me leave you with this disclaimer. However, due to the difficulty of this subject and the fact that there was some unavoidable speculation in my argument, I am not dogmatic regarding this subject. I can see how others may be less willing to connect the identity of the angel of the Lord to the preincarnated incarnate Christ.
It is certainly not a significant point of doctrine are their way or the scriptures would have been clearer on the matter. Nevertheless, it does make for an interesting study from God’s word.<inaudible><inaudible>,<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible><inaudible>. Thank you for listening to Collierville Christian radio. You are invited to the Collierville church of Christ at five 75 Shelton road in Collierville, Tennessee. Following the new Testament pattern for the church that Christ established, visit our website for more information. Call your Ville coc.org now the most of a minute correcting the mistake,
a woman said that while cleaning out some old boxes in her attic, she came across to an antique book of crochet patterns. It was special because from that book about lace edges on handkerchiefs and dollies for chairs, her grandmother had taught more than crochet lessons. Her grandmother insisted that she must never let a mistake go by without correction, no matter how perfect the rest of the piece looked, and even if it was 12 or 14 rows back to she had one rip out all destined, one stitches down to the Mustang to correct it and start again.
Testing one. Sometimes we need this lesson in lasting the longer one lift. The more people we associate with. For some reasons, there are mistakes made in relationships in the form of quarrels and disagreements, even to the point of falling out with a close friend. When this happens, we need to go back and rip up all the niceties and cover up times we put top of that mistake and start a new in Matthew five verse 23 and 24 Jesus teaches us to do our best to correct our mistakes with our fellow man.
Before we go on with the pattern of our lives, this has been a production of the Collierville church of Christ. To learn more about the Collierville church of Christ, visit us on the web at call your Villa COC. Not org. The most of the men. It was written by Glenn Colley. Your host is Aaron CoSort. Wow.<inaudible> he is<inaudible><inaudible>. He welcome to the apologetics press hour.<inaudible> yes. Testing. Testing, testing. One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine, 10, nine eight seven six five four three, two, one. That’s how you did radio checks.<inaudible> is it not working? Testing one, two, three, Nope. Yup. There it is. Nope. Nope. There it is. There it is. Still working. Oh yeah. Yeah. This is the, uh, only the second. Yeah. Take your time. I’ve ever preached for years in the gospels. Taking the gospel there as it stands and there one does find somethings that do not seem to be very wise.
Dan Barker wrote an article titled by Jesus and in this article he asked this question, why is Jesus so special? It would be more reasonable and productive to emulate real flesh and blood human beings who have contributed to humanity, mothers who have given birth, scientists who have alleviated suffering social reformers who have fought injustice then to worship a character of such dubious qualities as Jesus and then in an essay that appeared on the website evil bible.com one enemy of Christ wrote this. Dear believer, I refuse to accept Jesus as my personal savior for his behavior and teachings often expose one who should be escaped with microphone,
please. Allegedly you can go to the Bible itself. You can go to the gospel accounts, Matt testing. Luke, you’re just trying to look pretty those and allegedly it should cause you to believe that Jesus should not be followed, that Jesus is not divine, that Jesus was not perfect, that Jesus made turned it on yet and committed various sins for good idea, alleged that Jesus was rude, that he was disrespectful. So you can see well then, and we can see when Jesus was at the wedding in Cana of Galilee where there was a depletion of wine,
Mary said to Jesus, they have no wine. Jesus then responded to his mother saying this, you ready? He said, woman, what does your concern have to do with me? My hour has not yet. What is your concern has to do with me? Richard Dawkins commented on this in his book, the God delusion in 2006 and he stayed at Jesus’ family values. It has to be admitted. We’re not such as one might wish to focus on. He was short to the point of brusqueness with his own mother,
Richard Dawkins, probably one of, if not the most famous atheist in the world, uh, in the early 20th 21st century, has something to say about Jesus being rude and impolite to his own mother. Dennis McKinsey had a lot to say about this and his various writings. He said about Matthew 15 four he said in Matthew 15 four he, Jesus told people to honor by father and my mother, yet he was one allegedly. He was one of the first to ignore his own Maxim by saying to his mother and John two four woman,
what have I done? And then he said in his book the encyclopedia biblical errancy as I was quoting from earlier on, page 44 now on page one 34 he said, imagine someone talking to his own mother in such a disrespectful manner and addressing her by such an impersonal noun. As woman talk about an insulin offspring, Jesus allegedly needs to practice some parental respect. What do you think about that? What do you think about Jesus calling his own mother? Woman? No. If you Hayden, if you were to call your mother woman after she told you to take out the trash and you said,
woman, what does that have to do with me? Well, you know, that would sound very rude and in 21st century America, would it not? Wouldn’t it sound rude? Say to respond to your mother with the word woman and then say, you know, I’m not prepared to do that. I’m not willing to do that. It’s not my time to do that. Well, admittedly, in 21st century America, using an English word in America separated from Jesus by about 2000 years. Yes, it sounds rude,
but what critics of Christ seem to forget or totally ignore is that Jesus was speaking in a different country at a different time, in a different language, among a different people, a different culture. The fact of the matter is the Bible itself reveals that Jesus was not rude. How do I know that? Because of how he used this word elsewhere. X morning in the gospel accounts. For example, when complementing the Syrophoenician moments in Matthew chapter 15 verse 28 he said, woman, great is your faith.
Now see, saying that in a disrespectful way. Wow. How great is your faith? Well that that wouldn’t sound, that wouldn’t make any sense. They used it when affectionately addressing Mary Magdalene after his resurrection. John chapter 20 verse 15 woman, why are you waiting? And when speaking to his disconsolate mother, one last time from the cross, John 19 verse 26 he said, woman, behold your son. Are we to suppose, are we to assume the worst about Jesus? That he was on the cross dying for the sins of the world?
He sees his own mother there who gave birth to him, who uh, was standing there at the cross of Jesus, no doubt in terrible emotional pain. And he says, woman, behold your son talking about the disciple that Jesus. Look, it’s obvious when you look at the other<inaudible> testing, one, two<inaudible>, disrespectful mother, they can assume that they can make that charge because it may sound disrespectful in 21st century America, but that doesn’t mean that it was disrespectful 2000 years ago. In fact,
it’s the very opposite when you see how this word is used elsewhere in scripture, but some have charged with Jesus, okay, he, he was disrespectful. But if we can’t convince you Christians that, that he was disrespectful, maybe, maybe we can convince you. Maybe you should believe. In fact, they would say you, you certainly should believe that Jesus was all mixed up. He was a liar or he at least contradicted himself when he made these statements. And John chapter five and verse 31 if I bear witness of myself,
Jesus said, my witness is not true. What did he mean my witness is not true. And and how would he be able to say that? Truthfully, when, and John chapter eight and verse 14 he said to his enemies who were testing him, he said, even if I bear witness of myself, my witness is true, and so it’s been pointed out by skeptics for many years now. Jesus was mixed up. He was contradictory, he was a liar, he did not present valid testimony.
He said, my witness is not true, and then he said, my witness is true. Now granted on the surface, it sounds like those are two contradictory statements on the surface, but aren’t there a lot of things that we may look at on the surface that are not contradictory? When you dig deeper and finding out the sense in which those things were being said, you recall, and I believe it was our third lesson in this series on, is the Bible reliable? We talked about how things can only be a contradiction if we’re talking about the same person,
place or thing at the same time, and in the same sense now consider these phrases. We won the game, we lost the game. Are those contradictory statements? Again on the surface it might sound like a contradictory statement. It may be that most of the time, if those two statements were talked about and you’re referring to the same game at the same time, you may suppose you may assume, yes, that must be a contradictory statement. How could both of these be true? They could both be true if you’re making those statements in different senses.
For example, in 1,990 some of you may be old enough to remember this college football game, Missouri and Colorado played a college football game and with 30 seconds left to go in the game, Missouri was up 31 to 27 Colorado had the ball first and goal at the Missouri three yard line, first and gold guys, so what did they do? Well on first down, if I remember correctly, they spike the ball to stop the clock on first down. Then on second down they ran the ball but failed to score on third down.
If I remember correctly, they ran the ball again and I get this on fourth down. They spike the ball to stop the clock with two seconds left on fourth. Now then on fifth down they ran the ball for a touchdown. They ran the ball for a touchdown on fifth. Now according to the referees, Colorado won the game 33 to 31 but did they really win the game? I imagine if you were a Missouri fan and if you are a Missouri fan that alleged defeat still eats you up because there is a sense in which Missouri won that game.
That ball should have been Missouri’s on the goal line or right there at the goal line at the, the one foot line or one yard line with two seconds left, all they would have had to do was run out the clock. The game was there. They would have won the game. If I remember correctly, Colorado went on that year to share, uh, the national championship. Well, did they win that game or did they lose that game? Could you imagine how some of the the Missouri players must’ve felt and how maybe later as they were having children,
they talked about that game with Colorado in 1990 and they told their children we won that game. But they may also in a different setting, we lost that game. Now can they be telling the truth if they made those two statements that sound different and are different but can both be true? Will you see they can both be true depending on the sense in which you are making those statements. So let’s go back to John chapter five now and John chapter eight and let’s see how these statements were being used by Jesus.
Now in John chapter five verse 31 Jesus made the statement, if I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. What was Jesus doing here in John chapter five was he saying that I just, uh, I cannot present valid testimony. Not at all. The fact of the matter is, Jesus here was recognizing a well known law of his day. Think about Deuteronomy 19 verse 15 which says, one witness shall not rise against a man. Concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits by the mouth of two or three witnesses,
the matter shall be established. Deuteronomy chapter 17 verse six whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses. He shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. You see, there is a well understood law. My understanding was it wasn’t not, it was not only among the Jews, but also among the Greeks and the Romans, that you had to have more than just one witness to testify of something, especially something that is very important, like a murder or something very important like Jesus claiming to be the Messiah,
the son of God. So what was Jesus claiming here in John chapter five and verse 31 that his testimony would not be valid if he was the only one to testify on his behalf. And so what he does in the remaining part of John chapter five is he gives us a list of those who did testify on behalf of who he was. He said, says in verse 33, John, he bore witness to the truth that Jesus Christ is the son of God. Verse 36 he said that the very works that I do bear witness of me in verse 37 he said,
the father testifies of, Mayer has testified in may, verse 39 he says the scriptures, um, he says, these are they which testify of me. And then he specifically mentions the writings of Moses in verse 46 and how Moses wrote about him. So John chapter five, he saying, my witnesses not true, and he’s using that phrase in recognition of the well known law of his day, that it must be backed up by other witnesses, at least one other witness. So then when you turn over to John chapter eight,
you read Jesus making the statement, my witness is true. Well, how could that be true in view of the well understood laws of the day regarding the need to have two or three witnesses? Well, notice verse 13 the Pharisees therefore said to him, you bear witness of yourself. Your witness is not true.
And then Jesus responds by saying, even if I bear witness of myself, my witness is true. You see what I believe Jesus is saying here is that,
listen, I’m telling the truth. Regardless of what the law says, which I’ve already recognized, I am telling the truth,
I am not lying. My witness is true and then just to go the extra mile later here in John chapter five excuse me,
John chapter eight verse 16 he says, my judgment is true for I am not alone but I am with the father who sent me and so he goes the extra mile and saying,
Hey, by the way, the father also testifies with me. So there is a sense in which Jesus statements are true.
Testing one, two, three testing one, two, three<inaudible> are you going to use this? Okay.<inaudible> just to make sure Tommy is video going out on the,
on the computer on the right hand side. Okay.<inaudible> we want to welcome everyone to the worship services of the call your bill church of Christ.
We are still separated from one another and sad that that is true but understandable and we pray that everyone is doing well and remain safe during this time.
Um, where our thoughts and our prayers are with all of you and we look forward to not too many days from now all assembling together.
Once again, a few announcements as we begin, uh, just to make folks aware of the announcements that there are,
uh, if you don’t currently get, uh, the bulletin by email I think almost does. Um,
but if you don’t and you use email, let us know and we’ll certainly add you to the list.
You could call me or call Paula, uh, also during the service this morning. If there are any special prayer requests that you uh,
would like to have mentioned at the closing prayer texts, those, um, to my cell phone during the service and we will make sure that those get mentioned during our announcements and our closing prayer at the end.
Um, pantry items for this month is disposable silverware for, uh, Potter’s children’s house. The men’s business meeting for today has been canceled.
Um, and we will notify people concerning the date for the may men’s business meeting. If there are any details that need to be handled between now and then,
please contact Eric Halvorson and, uh, we will make sure that those issues get handled. Please keep Ruby Brad in your prayers.
Continue to do that. And um, her address for cards or things like that, uh, is in the bulletin this week.
So if you, uh, need that, that is available there. Keep Joan Springer and your, your thoughts and prayers dealing with her pneumonia.
Uh, Tina Lance is a nurse and the wife of a preacher friend of mine down in Chalmette, Louisiana and,
uh, she has been diagnosed positive with Corona virus. The last update that I had concerning her is that she is feeling better,
um, and doing well right now. So keep Tina Lance in your prayers. Uh, Jenny Sanderson’s,
aunt Rosie has Corona virus as well. Russell Klein and his wife, he’s the preacher in the matters that the Madisonville church of Christ in Madisonville,
Kentucky. He and his wife both have been diagnosed with Corona virus. Um, Paul, uh, Paula’s cousin Vester Williamson.
Um, has a form of cancer that I’m not going to attempt to try and pronounce, um, and is scheduled to have mouth surgery on Thursday.
Um, Rebecca’s brother Raymond and, uh, crystal Rushmore both have strep and process possible bronchitis. So keep Rebecca’s family in your prayers as well.
And then just all of the ongoing, um, medical issues and, and folks that we know that are dealing with chronic issues,
keep them in your prayers as we go through this period of time. Remember to contact people, remember to call people.
We’ve got a lot of people stuck at home. Um, and uh, so just stay in touch with folks we know you already do and we appreciate that.
We ask that you continue to do that. Uh, this morning, uh, I will be leading singing and,
uh, doing the opening prayer as well as the Lord’s supper. Eric Richardson will be preaching this morning and we’ll have the closing prayer.
Let’s begin with our worship<inaudible>. Our first song is number two. We praise thee. Oh God.<inaudible> seeing all five verses.
We praise the for the son of<inaudible>.<inaudible> is now gone. Bob<inaudible>, Laurie<inaudible>. Hallelujah.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> we praise thee for the spirit of blah.<inaudible><inaudible> hallelujah.
Laurie. Hello then, huh?<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> all glory and praise the lamb man was laying, Lou has born,
has Quinn’s every stain. Hallelujah. Line the glory.<inaudible> the glory rave<inaudible> yay. Oh, glory and praise to God of all grace who has bought us and song sang a way<inaudible> Laurie<inaudible> the line,
the glory. Uh, and I’ve uh, uh, and fairly tight with<inaudible> with uh, from uh,
uh,<inaudible> Laurie man nine, the glory rave,<inaudible> and<inaudible> our gracious heavenly father. We come before your grateful for the day that you have given to us for the life that you have granted to us for the opportunities that we have to serve you.
We are mindful at this time of many who are separated from their families enduring hardship and difficulties, sorrow,
pain, and we are mindful of all those who are dealing with this virus. We especially pray for those who are medical workers and doctors,
emergency personnel who have borne the brunt of this virus and its consequences. Pray that you be with those who we have mentioned in the our announcements that are positive in their diagnosis.
We pray that they will come through well and that they will recover fully from this virus. We pray for nations all over the world as they as well battle this illness and we pray for especially poorer nations that will struggle increasingly because of this virus.
And we pray that there will be opportunities to aid them and help them and that they will put assigned the struggles and the Wars and the mistreatment of humanity,
uh, that is in, under going in that those countries and we pray that they will come together to help one another and to serve one another.
And that missionaries might be safe and might be protected at this time. They might also be able to help those who are in need.
We pray that you will be with us as we go throughout this service. May all that we do and say be in accordance with your will.
All this we ask in Jesus’ name, amen. Tommy, if you will put up the slide with the number because I didn’t,
I didn’t bring my list down here. Hallelujah. What a savior number 395. Hallelujah. What a savior.
After this song, we will, uh, partake of the Lord’s supper, man. No saw role<inaudible> Oh God.<inaudible> Ruth and uh,<inaudible><inaudible> hi one.<inaudible> yeah.
Bearing shame. Golfing.<inaudible> condom. Geez. Good.<inaudible> with his blonde, huh? One<inaudible> guilty.
Uh, uh,<inaudible> we<inaudible> was, I see. Oh, uh, tone. Uh, can it be a lane?
What<inaudible> lifted? Was he to a guy? Yeah, it is<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> NA<inaudible><inaudible> hi.<inaudible> what?<inaudible>.<inaudible> when he comes,
uh,<inaudible><inaudible> Oh, is right home breathing. Yeah. Then news is song. We’ll sing.
Huh? One<inaudible><inaudible> as we prepare our minds to focus on the Lord’s supper, I wanted to begin with a reading from Isaiah chapter 53,
who has believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord been revealed for he has, he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and we hid as it were our faces from him.
He was despised and we not esteem him. Surely he has born our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of for our peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray.
We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and he was afflicted. Yeti opened not his mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before its shearers is silent.
So he opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment and who will declare his generation for he was cut off from the land of the living for the transgressions of my people.
He was stricken and they made his grave with the wicked, but with the rich at his death because he had done no violence nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He has put him to grief. When you make his soul an offering for sin,
he shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
We shall see. He shall see the labor of his soul and be satisfied by his knowledge. My righteous servant shall justify many for he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he poured out his soul unto death and he was numbered with the transgressors and he bore the sin of many and made intercession for transgressors.
Let us pray as we prepared to partake of the bread. Our great and merciful father in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
We are grateful at this time on this day to remember the sacrifice of your son on the cross for our sins and we’re mindful of this time of his body that was broken for us and we are mindful of this emblem that we were commanded by him to partake of on the first day of every.
And we pray that as we partake of this emblem, we will take our minds back to that cross and to that sacrifice on behalf of us.
For truly, he was numbered with the transgressors and yet he bore the sin of all of us as one who was innocent.
All this we pray in Jesus name, amen.<inaudible> as we prepare our minds to partake of the cup,
let us pray. Our gracious father in heaven, we bound before you once again thanking you for this sacrifice for these emblems,
for this emblem which reminds us of his blood that was shed for many, for the blood that brings about our redemption and cleanses us from the sin and iniquity in this life.
We thank you for the sacrifice that was placed on that cross for us. And we pray that as we partake of this emblem,
we might do so in a manner that is pleasing to you. In Jesus name. Amen.<inaudible> on this day and at this time,
we also have the opportunity to give, to give back as we have been prospered. First Corinthians chapter 16,
verses one and two teaches us that giving is not only a part of a Christian’s life in general to give of their time to give of their abilities and their talents,
but also to give of their money, to promote the work of the church, to increase the borders of the kingdom,
but also to provide for those who are in need. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth to do this on a weekly basis,
just the same way that we find in acts chapter 20 that they were to gather together to break bread,
to observe the Lord’s supper, to pray together, and to worship together on a weekly basis. So we have the opportunity now to give back.
Uh, as we have mentioned before for our members, uh, you can bring a check by the building on Sunday morning and uh,
make um your giving done that way. You can also go on the website, call your Ville, coc.org/give and give that way.
But remember in this time there may be many opportunities as well to give, to help those around you.
And if you know of special needs around you, someone who is in particular need at this time, please let the church know.
We may not be able to do everything, but we can certainly do something. So, uh, just be mindful of that during this time and make us aware when there are needs.
Pray that you will take time at this time to give. We’ll have a prayer for that offering. Laura,
we are mindful of this time of all of your many blessings in a time of difficulty and a time where it is true that many have lost their jobs and many have needs that they did not have a month ago.
We pray that at the same time we remember that everything belongs to you. That Paul reminded us as his mindset was in Philippians chapter four that whether he had much or whether he had nothing,
that his mindset was always to be content in what he had. We pray that we will be able to help those who are in name and do good to those who are in need at this time.
And we pray that we might give with a cheerful heart. And so we ask your blessings upon all the offerings and all the giving that is done this day.
In Jesus name. Amen.<inaudible> well, now have one more song before the sermon. I know the Lord will find a way.
Number 523 seeing all three versus, I know the Lord will find a way. Four. I know the one will find a way forward.
Yeah. If I walk<inaudible> Shung wrong.<inaudible> I know.<inaudible> we’ll find out.<inaudible> form<inaudible> the Lord.
Go preach to all the Lord.<inaudible><inaudible><inaudible> if I walk<inaudible><inaudible> wrong and to the wrong guy,
I know.<inaudible> we’ll find them.<inaudible> four. Whoa.<inaudible> to hear him say who? Uh,
Whoa.<inaudible> to hear him.<inaudible> well, uh,<inaudible><inaudible> Sean though wrong and do the wrong line.
Whoa.<inaudible> to hear him.<inaudible> well, no. Well good morning. It’s a nice stormy morning.
I like stormy weather but it’s a good day to be inside. I want to say thank you. I’m glad that we are.
Even though we’re not together, we’re still able to um, use technology to be together in a sense.
I’m glad that Tommy’s here and Aaron’s here and we’re still able to get together, but I’ll tell you,
we definitely miss each one of you and we are definitely looking forward to a day that we are back to there in one place.
This morning, topic of my lesson is what is essential, what is essential. Now a lot of people can think of some things that are essential right now,
but I want us to think about how life right now just really has slowed down. Tommy and I were talking about this last Sunday and the fact that this rat race of going here and there and back and forth has really is gone right now for most people,
things have slowed down. I know for the NGOs and the tech world like Aaron, they’re still busy and it’s probably busier than ever at this time with a lot of technical things being done right now since we’re all at home,
but things have slowed down. We’re not running our children to this game, to that game. We’re not going to this event,
that event, that gathering, we’re at home and we have time to think about what is truly essential in our life.
Now, if you think about the government and you think about businesses, our mayors of our cities, our governors,
they’ve had to really sit down and think about during this, this time what is essential. They’ve made lists.
They’ve decided that certain businesses are essential, that they need to stay open before us for eating. I grocery store,
some restaurants, things like that that are essential, that need to stay open. But for us, we also think about what is essential.
Each of us could probably make a list of what is important to us, but this morning I want to focus on some key essential things that we can find in the scriptures that the should be essential at all times,
not just a time where we’re isolated at home, but also in the rest of our life. And I want to start with looking at an example.
When I was thinking about an exhibit, cool example of a family that’s isolated. I thought about Genesis chapter seven go to Genesis chapter seven and notice verse one we have Noah and his family.
Verse one it says, then the Lord said to Noah, come to the Ark, you and all your household,
because I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. Go down to verse four for after seven more days,
I will cause it to rain on the earth, 40 days and 40 nights and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.
Now notice verse seven. So Noah with his sons, his wife and his sons wives went into the arc because of the waters of the flood.
This is a family that was isolated. They were in the art together. Eight souls were saved and the arc.
Think about what was going through their minds. This had it. They had a time to think about what was truly essential.
We noticed that they were there in the arc for a year. In 10 days, we think a month or few weeks and our on our home is a long time,
but in Genesis seven verse 11 it tells us when they go in and chapter eight and verse 14 when they come out,
it was a year and 10 days. That was a long time to be isolated. They had time to focus on what was essential and I want to look at some things this morning,
starting with family. Family is essential. Many times with this busy world that we are in, we get focused on our jobs on this event,
that thing, sports, this and that. Many you can, you can just fill the blanks there.
But there’s so many things that pull us from different directions and sometimes we forget about our family. Yup.
Um, our family is, I think with Noah, we don’t know what they did in the arc,
but we do know what he was like before. I think he definitely looked at his family as essential.
Some people would say, well, Moses or that Noah, not Moses, Noah, he’s preached for 120 years and he didn’t save anybody but his family.
And they would say, well, that’s not a success. It is. His family was there with him in the Ark.
If he looked at his family as he looked at his family as essential because he saved them. If his family was essential outside the arc,
I’m sure they were also in the Ark. And with that, the first thing that we notice about what is essential in our life is our spouse.
Our spouse can sometimes we can forget about them. We have too busy with other things. We forget about how important our spouse is in our life.
Notice. Genesis chapter two in verse four says, therefore shall a man leave his father and mother and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh.
Not two separate people, but United helping one another supporting one another. Caring for one another. Think about what it was like to be in this arc and this,
this situation with all of this stuff going on around them for a year and a half, Noah needed his spouse,
his wife needed him, they helped one another supported one another. They were their support group. We need our spouse.
We are one United together in helping one another. We noticed that during this time. That would be a great time to focus on building that relationship.
Go with me to Ephesians chapter five<inaudible> Ephesians chapter starting in verse 25 we have the example of the husband and wife as Christ being the husband and the church being the bride of Christ.
Notice verse 25 husbands speaking to the husbands. Love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her that he might sanctify and cleanse her with a washing of water by the word that he might present her to himself,
a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be Holy and without blemish.
So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife, loves himself for no one ever hated his own flesh,
but nourishes and cherishes it. Just as the Lord does a church for we are members of his body and of his flesh and of his bones.
For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.
This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless, let each one of you in particular so love his own wife has himself and a lot the life wife see that she respects her husband.
We noticed that the relationship should be like between a husband and wife and how that there to be one there to be joined together to love one another and we see the example of Christ.
Notice what Christ was to his bride. He had SA sacrificial love. He gave his life for her,
for the church. He had a purifying love. This type of love is where we can be pure.
We can be presented to God pure without sin and an enduring love. The church is made up of people,
isn’t it? People aren’t perfect, but God is long suffering towards us. I think about that in a husband and wife situation.
The husband is to love, cherish, care for his wife, protect and provide for her, for his family that love that he has to have for her.
It’s a purifying love. That purifying love is they work together to study God’s word, to keep themselves pure.
The husband is to be the spiritual leader in the home and he and him and his wife spend time together studying God’s word,
keeping themselves pure, keeping themselves on track, following God’s word, and it’s an enduring love. Now we’re spending more time together.
Sometimes we’re going to get on each other’s nerves. Sometimes things are going to happen, but we’re not perfect are we?
Therefore, our love endures. Those things. This, this, this love is more than just a romantic love,
but it’s a committed love. Christ MiFID, his love for us. It’s just like for the why for the husband is a committed love that in the last part of that section that Paul tells us,
the wife needs to shown they are loved. They need to be told, their loves. The husband needs to be reverenced and respected.
This time that we have two more time together in our homes as if we’re isolated, we need to spend that time building that relationship.
Sometimes we can be torn apart and just slowly a little bit at a time because we’re so busy with other things in life,
we don’t focus on that relationship. We don’t focus on how much we need one another. We should build that relationship.
Notice with me. First Peter, first Peter chapter three and verse seven first Peter three verse seven it says,
husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding. This is talking about the husband’s willing with his wife,
giving honor to the wife as to the weaker vessel. Notice this and as being heirs to gather of the grace of life that your prayers be not hindered.
Notice the husband and wife are joined together on the with the same goal. They are working together to get to heaven to inherit the same reward.
Many times we may not focus on that. We’re not focused on the fact that we’re working together to get to heaven.
Our spouse is essential and we do not need to forget about that. What about our children? Children have a responsibility.
Also, children is, I know my children can quote Ephesians six one through three. We want them to know this.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise.
Now, children are home more now. They’re not in school. They’re going to have to work on obedience.
They’re gonna have to work on respecting and honoring their parents. Why? Well, this is to help him to understand that instruction in life will help them later on.
They have to learn these principles now or later on in life. I tell my children many times, no matter how old you are,
there’s always someone you’re going to submit to. There’s always someone that you have to show respect to, no matter if it’s a parent,
when you’re younger or a boss later on down the road. But guess what? We always submit to God.
We need to learn to have respect when we’re younger so that when we’re older, we have already instilled that characteristic in our life.
During this time, we need to focus as children to those that are children that are listening need to focus on obedience.
I’m thinking about children. What about as parents? Sometimes we don’t focus enough on the things, the responsibilities that we have.
Fathers, I’m speaking to fathers at this point, as myself as a father, fathers have the responsibility to focus on the spiritual needs of their children.
Ephesians chapter six in verse four says, fathers provoke not your children or wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
As a father, we have the responsibility to be the spiritual leader in the home. That means that we are making sure that they are learning the word,
that they are showing their crock correct respect for God and understand his word and understand who God is. Notice with me,
go back to Deuteronomy. The Israelites, um, took great responsibility in doing this and Moses in his speech to them.
And Deuteronomy chapter six. Notice what he says. Deuteronomy chapter six, verse four through nine. Here,
O Israel, the Lord our God. The Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
First. Notice the parent is to put this in their heart. There’s to be there to be ones that love God,
that put him first in their life with all their heart, soul, and strength. But notice what they are to do next.
You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them. When you sit in your house,
when you walk. By the way, when you lie down and when you rise up, you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
You shall write them in the doorpost of your house and on your Gates. Every aspect of the father’s life,
and this is also talking to the mothers there to be focused on teaching their children about God using the opportunities that you have to show and to teach about to teach them about God.
One thing that always goes away when we’re busy, especially as fathers is the Bible study at home. How important is that study to be sitting down with your family,
with your children, reading God’s word, teaching them God’s word. This is something that always goes out the door.
When we have games going on, when we have this going on, that going on, it seems to always go by the wayside,
but right now we’re isolated at home or in the life is not like a rat race. We have more time to sit down and focus on this study of God’s word,
but this should not be just now, but it should be throughout the rest of our life. Think about how important it is for children to see their parents in God’s word,
studying, showing that they love God and our children and enjoy it. They love learning about the different stories and the different things in the Bible.
They love that and they soak it in. Let’s not put it to the side, but not only do we have a responsibility to care for their spiritual needs,
but notice in Deuteronomy six four through nine again, if you read this, you notice that the children are with the parents quite a bit.
Both parents were to focus on teaching them life skills. During this time, a son would spend time with his father learning the trade of his father.
The daughter would spend time with the mother learning how to do the things that she did. Many times we’re so busy in life,
we don’t focus on teaching our children life skills, how to cook, to clean, to work on a vehicle,
a change, a tire. I know this last couple of weeks I’ve been working on a truck and Matt’s been helping me and he’s enjoyed it.
He’s learned now what many of the tools are so when I say go get me this, he knows what it is.
They enjoy that. That is going to help them later on in life. We have a responsibility to teach them life skills,
but sometimes those things go to the side. I know I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the family this morning,
but I think this is extremely important because the way the family goes so does the nation and many times the family gets put to the side because of our jobs,
because of fun things in life that we want to do and we put the family to the side. Let’s not forget how essential our families are.
What about food and clothing? Now you’re telling me I, well, I understand food and clothing are important.
I needed. I needed to have clothes on every day and I need to have food. I understand that.
Think about Noah. Here he is here with his family in the arc for a year and 10 days.
Did they have everything they needed? I’m sure they did. We see them come out of the arc healthy and get in a good condition.
God took care of them. That’s the important thing to notice here. It’s not the fact that food and clothing are essential cause we know that,
but it’s our focus on who is taking care of us. God is go to Matthew chapter six Matthew chapter six look at verse 25 Matthew six it’s 25 therefore,
I say to you, do not worry about your life. What you shall eat or what you shall drink,
nor about your body. What you shall put on it is not life more than food and body more than clothing.
Verse 28 so why do you worry about clothes, clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.
They neither toil nor smell. Ben. Okay, verse 31 therefore do not worry saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we shall wear?
But notice verse 33 God says, but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.
When we are focused on God, when we put God first in our life, he takes care of those essential needs.
Food and clothing are important. We know that, but we also may forget about the fact that God is the one taking care of us,
that God is watching out for us. Noah probably understood that even more when he was in that arc.
We’re in this time of isolation where food is disappearing off of shelves. We go to the grocery store and there’s a limited amount of food.
There’s a limited amount of toilets, paper. There’s a limited amount of different things and we’re worried about are we going to have food or do we need to stock up,
but yet we’re all still here, aren’t we? God’s taking care of us. We put him first.
He’s going to take care of us. Let’s not forget about how blessed we are. That’d be Christians say have our food and our clothing taken care of.
What about prayer? Prayer. Lots of times when we are busy seems to go to the side. Now we may sit down to eat food and we’ll think,
okay, I need to say a prayer, but how important is prayer? Think about Noah and his family in that arc.
You think, think about the noises they heard, how all of the ground was shaking, this the water was pouring down and coming up out of the grounds.
Maybe hearing the screen of people scratching upon the side of the arc. What do you think they did?
Probably weren’t prayer with God when times are hard, when we’re in an isolation, when there’s worry about what could happen,
we need to pray. See, prayer was an essential part of many Bible characters. Think about Daniel.
We’re talking to a, we’re reading a Daniel with the children at home and Daniel spends a lot of time in prayer.
Every time something happens, he praise the God and even when he was told he cannot pray to someone to pray to God and he only had to pray to the King,
he went home and still pray three times a day. Why? Because he knew it was essential and he had made that a part of his life already.
Daniel was a praying man. What about Paul, but how many times Paul wrote letters to the different congregations and he would say,
I’m praying for you. I’m thinking about you. I think God, every day for you, he would pray for their persecution.
The struggles they were going through, Paul was in prayer a lot. What about Jesus? How many examples do we have of our Lord praying to God go off by himself into the garden?
It was known that that’s why Judas could find Jesus in Gardner guest symphony because he knew that was the place that Jesus went to pray.
Prayer was essential to them and when life gets busy, we seem to think we’ve seem to forget about prayer,
but prayer works. James chapter five in verse 16 says, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man.
Availeth much prayer works as a person that has been in a situation where you need prayer. You know it works.
God hears our prayer. First Thessalonians five verse 17 says, to pray without ceasing. This doesn’t mean that we’re in a constant prayer every minute of the day,
but it’s the idea of when things are well, when things are going good, we pray to God when things are bad,
we pray to God. We need to have prayers, essential aspect of our life. Look at Philippians chapter four we looked at Philippians four um,
a couple of weeks ago, but notice verse six and seven says, be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving,
let your request be made known to God. Don’t be worried. Take those worries and put them on the shoulders of God.
Pray to him when things are good, when things are bad, but notice verse seven and the peace of God which passed surpasses all understanding will guard you.
Guard your hearts and minds through Jesus. Think about that piece. When things are tough, when we have worries,
think about this time. Some people, many people are worried about what could happen. The stress that that comes from that take your cares and lay him upon his shoulders.
Pray to God. That brings us peace. Great peace. Prayer is extremely essential. What about our church family?
There’s some things that we can’t do right now. We can’t be together on Sunday morning. We can’t be together in one place on Wednesday because of the regulations and things that are going on and the scare of the virus.
There’s some things that we miss, don’t we? Some things we don’t know how important they are until they’re gone and our church family is one of those things.
Think about Noah. Do you think he cared to be with people of like faith? I don’t think he would have spent 120 years preaching to people to change their lives if he didn’t want to have people of like faith with him on that boat with him.
Our church family is important. Why? First Thessalonians chapter five in verse 11 it says, wherefore comfort yourselves together and Edify one another even as also you do.
They were a people that edified and built each other up. Paul tells them to continue to do that.
Notice what our brother can do for us and times are hard when when things are good in our life,
they help comfort us and build us up. I know we can still call one another. We can still text so we can still send cards,
but that face to face is something that’s missed that time together. You can’t. You can’t replace that.
Our church family is essential to us. In Deuteronomy chapter three in verse 28 Moses was told he could not go into that promised land and he was told that Joshua was,
Joshua was going to lead the Israelites into the promised land. And what did God tell Moses to strengthen and encourage Joshua why he needed it?
Joshua was getting ready to go through a time where it was hard for him. He needed encouragement. He needed Moses to encourage him.
We have times where we need encouragement. HomeAway, we need strengthened by our brethren and that’s what they do.
Do we truly miss our brother? Think about that. Do we truly miss our brethren? If we don’t,
maybe there’s a ch a priority in our life. It’s not there. Maybe the church has not as a true a priority too for us.
We should miss our brethren. We should want to be together. Think about how much midweek Bible study is important.
It’s hard to go a long period of time without that encouragement and strength and it shows how important those times that we are together are important to us and in essential to us.
Our family is essential. What about the next one? Evangelism or you think evangelism. We’re stuck in our homes.
We can’t go out and door knock. We can’t go out and meet people in the store as much and people don’t want to be around you,
but evangelism is important. Think about Noah. He thought evangelism was essential, didn’t he? He spent a hundred years preaching to a people that didn’t listen and while he was in that boat probably listening to scratches and the screams of people on the outside that were lost.
I’m sure he wished they could be saved in this time of turmoil. I looked last night. I didn’t look this morning,
but there was over 20,000 people have died in America as of last night. Over 20,000 people from this virus that is 21 people that more than likely are not going to heaven.
They’re lost. When times like this and tragedies, things that are going on, it should make us think how important evangelism is.
Making sure talk to every person we can and teach them. Think about Jesus and John chapter four verse 35 as the Samaritans were coming out of the city,
Jesus looked upon him. He told his disciples, he says, the fields are white unto harvest. They’re ready.
There is many people desiring to find the truth. They’re widened to harvest. When Jesus fed the 5,000 Mark chapter six and verse 34 Jesus looked upon them as sheep having no shepherd.
Jesus had compassion on them and what did he do? He taught them Jesus had compassion on those that were blocked.
EAD do we? God wants all to be saved. Thing about in second Peter chapter three in verse nine second Peter three in verse nine says,
the Lord is not Slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness but as long suffering to us,
we’re not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And first Timothy chapter two in verse four says,
who will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth? God wants everyone to be saved.
We need to do our part. We have the command to go. Matthew chapter 28 verse 18 through 20 Mark chapter 16 verse 15 and 16 we have the command to go to.
How do we go? Especially at this time, how can we evangelize? Well, we can call someone,
we can text someone. We can use social media, we can share videos. We can share the lesson today.
Share the lessons that Erin has done the last few weeks that he has done over the past few years.
Share videos. Who knows someone that needs to hear this, send it to them, send them material.
There’s the possibilities are endless, but we need to realize evangelism is essential. Many times evangelism is put to the side because we’re busy with our life and we hear about it on a Sunday here and there,
we hear about how we need to evangelize, but in a time of crisis and a time where people are slowed down,
we think about how important evangelism truly is, but there’s one more that I want to look at and this is the most important one.
It’s our own personal salvation, but Noah and his family, when they were on the Ark, we’re thankful that they were saved.
The question for us today is, are you saved? Many times people put thinking about their eternal salvation to the side.
They’re too busy to think about that. I’m not worried about that. That’s something I’ll do later down the road,
but then when there’s a crisis, when there’s people that are possibly losing their lives. Excellent, thanks.
Where am I going? Where am I going to go when I die? You know, in Philippians chapter four with to this in verse seven just a few minutes ago,
there’s a peace that passes all understanding. Think about the peace that it brings, a person to know where they’re going to know that they are on the way to heaven.
Doesn’t matter what could happen. This virus could get me, I could leave right now and drive on the road and get hit and killed.
It doesn’t matter because I know where I’m going. What great peace that brings a person. There’s many people that are scared to die right now,
but yet we can have peace knowing where we’re going. We don’t know what tomorrow holds at all. Look at James four verse 13 through 14 says,
go to now ye that say today or tomorrow we will go into a such a city and continue. There are a year and buy and sell and get gained,
whereas you know not. What shall be on the Morrow for what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
Our life here earth is just but a short time a vapor. It comes, it shows and then it goes away.
But think about this. That short period of time determines where our eternity is. We have to make the decision,
make the choice to obey Christ in that period of time. In first Peter chapter one verse 24 it says,
all flesh is grass. Grass comes up in the spring and the winter it dies. It goes Brown.
It doesn’t. It’s it’s only for a short period of time. We do not know what tomorrow may bring,
but look at Philippians chapter one look at the example of Paul. Philippians one verse 21 Paul says, for to me to live as Christ and to die is gain.
Paula said to die is gain. Look at verse 22 but if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit for my labor.
Yet what I shall choose, I cannot tell for I am hard pressed between the two. Having a desire to depart and be with Christ,
which is far better. Paul understood that when he died that he knew where he was going was a greater place.
Do you know where your eternal home is and times that we are busy? We don’t think about our eternal salvation,
but it is the most important thing we can think about. Most essential thing. Ask you a few questions as we finish today.
Have you taken for granted your family and your responsibilities to them? Have you let this life get in the way and now you look back and you focus and you look,
look at your life now. As things have slowed down, you say, I should have spent more time with my family.
I should have been showing them God’s word, teaching them God’s word, showing them life skills, doing the things and treating my wife the way I should have my spouse.
Have we taken for granted how greatly God blesses us each day by chance? Have we forgotten about how important our prayer lives are?
Have we not missed our church family? Do we need to reexamine our priorities in life? To know that the church is important and that our brethren are important and essential in our life.
Or have we forgotten about our need to command that command to evangelize? Great. Now is a great time to look at what is essential to write it down,
put it on a piece of paper, put it in our minds and not forget it because when we get back to normal,
we need to realize we have to make sure that those non-essential things, those things that are, we’re not as important as we thought.
Do not get in the way of what truly is essential. Our families, our spouses, our children,
our priorities in life, prayer, God, Fanjul, ism, our church family. Let’s not forget about that,
but I left one out. Have we took for granted our eternal salvation? What must I do to be saved?
Romans chapter 10 verse 17 says, hear the gospel. Hear that plan of salvation. Know that you can be saved through the gospel.
And Mark chapter 16 verse 15 and 16 tells us that we are to believe that through the gospel and through Christ we can be saved.
John chapter 14 verse six and acts chapter three, verse 19 that we are to repent of your sins and turn to God.
And Romans chapter 10 verses nine through 10. It’s to confess that Jesus Christ is the son of God and to be baptized,
having our sins washed away. Acts chapter two and verse 38 have you done that? If you haven’t,
don’t put it off. The most essential thing you can do is to make sure that you know where you’re going to know that your eternal home is in heaven.
Don’t put it off. If you need to study, contact us. Let us know. If you have questions about salvation,
let us know. Please don’t put it off at any time. Talk to us or maybe you have put these essential things to the sock.
Make the decision today to focus on these essential things and don’t let those non-essential things get in the way anymore.
Thank you for your time this morning. We will have one more song and then uh, Eric will lead us in a closing prayer.
Um, I have not received any additional announcements other than one. I will go ahead and mention it now.
Um, we will have this coming Wednesday. We will have a similar stream, a similar broadcast to this mornings,
uh, available for Bible classes. And we’ll have the, um, we’ll have the phone call available as well.
So those who might want to participate in a Wednesday night Bible, uh, we will have that available this Wednesday night.
Uh, I tried to make preparations for that this last Wednesday, but, uh, sometimes even technology fails me.
So, uh, it, it didn’t work and, and was what it was. Uh, let’s sing this song.
Jesus paid it all and then we’ll be led in the closing prayer. Uh, Hey, he save yours.<inaudible><inaudible> it is child swatch and Bray find him nine.
All in Jesus pain to him I sin had left, uh, grim sons.<inaudible> he<inaudible> wine as Lauren a win.
Indeed. I have a nine, nine, uh, I know Dan change the law.<inaudible> ah,
uh, uh,<inaudible><inaudible> to him. I<inaudible><inaudible> had left, uh, grub sons<inaudible> Hey<inaudible>.
Yeah. Wide as<inaudible>. Ah, man.<inaudible> for the<inaudible><inaudible> him complete, ah,<inaudible> trophies.
Um, all nah, Jesus three Jesus paid it<inaudible> to him I<inaudible> HUD left a grim son<inaudible><inaudible> wine as no.
Let us pray. A father in heaven, great and powerful as your name. We are thankful for you and your care and your love for us especially this time we we know that you care for us and you love us and you take care of us each day.
We pray as we go through this week and as we continue forward we pray that we focus on what is essential and what is important to our spiritual lives and our physical lives and to focus on them.
We pray that we will always strive to put you first in our life to shine our lights throughout the world and to be that example that you would want us to be.
We pray that you continue to be with those that are dealing with this virus at this time and pray that they will be able to get better soon and pray that things will be back to normal quickly.
We pray for those that are at home that are struggling at this time, and pray that you watch over them and give them comfort.
We thank you for all you bless us with. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
