It's been 2000 years since
the glorious light of the cross
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illuminated a world veiled in
darkness and confusion about the
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character of God. And
still today the greatest need of
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mankind is a revelation of God's
love as revealed in the life of
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Christ. Amazing Facts presents
the Everlasting Gospel with
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Pastor Doug Batchelor coming
to you each week from Sacramento
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Central Church in sunny
California. Discover hidden
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treasures in God's word today.
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The message this morning I've
titled Where Is Micaiah? Where
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Is Micaiah? It's based upon a
couple of passages in the Bible
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that you'll find it's one of
these examples where the story
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can be found in two places.
One is I Kings chapter 22.
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That's the last chapter in I
Kings. The other place you're
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going to find the story we're
talking about this morning is
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II Chronicles 18. And in both
places the entire chapter pretty
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much is the theme for our story.
Now I'd like to start with an
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Amazing Fact. Have you ever
heard someone use the expression
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before they had a bullet with
their name on it. During World
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War II it was not uncommon for
people to write names on their
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bombs. They might write the name
of Adolph Hitler. During the
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Gulf War they wrote Saddam
Hussein on the bombs when they
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came from the air force
factories or warehouses where
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they were loaded up and they
had bombs with people's names
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on them. You know soldiers
do that. But there is a very
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interesting story about a young
man who found a bomb with his
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father's name on it. Back during
World War II there were a couple
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of American GI's in Australia
and they were riding a patrol
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that happened to be down a long
air strip, a dirt air strip, out
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in the outback somewhere and
Japanese planes suddenly were
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heard approaching to bomb the
air strip. Well the GI's knew
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there was nowhere to drive
the jeep off the road in time so
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they parked it real
quick, jumped out of the jeep,
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dove into the ditches on the
side of the air field just in
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time. They could hear the bombs
whistling down and among the
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many bombs that hit the air
strip one made a direct hit on
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the jeep that they had just
been driving in. Pretty soon the
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Japanese planes hummed off in
the distance and left. And the
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soldiers crawled out of the
ditch and they could see the
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smoldering ruins of their jeep
that had suffered this direct
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hit of one of the bombs. And
as they were picking through the
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rubble right in the vinyl
seat they saw a large piece of
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shrapnel. One of the soldiers
as it cooled off he pulled out
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this piece of shrapnel that
struck the seat where he was
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sitting. And he noticed there
was something engraved on the
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shrapnel and it was the name
Ray Ewing. Well this really got
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his attention because this young
man was Curtis Ewing and his
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father's name was Ray Ewing.
And he tried to figure out how
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in the world did somebody with
the same name as my father get
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his name etched on a piece
of shrapnel here in Australia.
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And they put two and two
together and they realized that
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back just before World War
II his father had sold an old
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Plymouth that he had. He had
etched his name on a piece of
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the engine, oil lid or something
underneath the hood. That was
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then sold to scrap which much of
it went to Japan before the war
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and somehow that piece of
shrapnel, that piece of scrap
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iron was put as ballast in this
bomb and the reason that bomb
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could not hurt him is because
it had the love of his father's
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name written on it. At least
that's the spin I'm putting on
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the story. However you want to
spin it that's fine with me but
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that's a pretty amazing fact.
Well before our story's over
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today you're going to find out
that there was another missile
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with someone's name on it. Just
park that and we'll get there.
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Turn with me to our passage
in I Kings chapter 22, a very
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important piece of biblical
history. For most of the time
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the Northern Kingdom, the
10 tribes, and the Southern
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Kingdom of Judah were at
war. But eventually there was a
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delicate peace that was forged
between the Northern Kingdom
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then ruled by Ahab, does that
name sound familiar, and the
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Southern Kingdom then ruled by
a good king called Jehoshaphat.
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Sometimes confused as jumping
Jehoshaphat. Nowhere does it say
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he jumped. But that's the
man. It turns out that Ahab's
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daughter, Ahab and Jezebel's
daughter, Athaliah, married the
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son of Jehoshaphat and so they
thought well since we're kin we
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probably need to stop warring
together. Now it was during this
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time it tells us
that Jehoshaphat went down
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to Samaria to visit Ahab. It
says in verse 2 chapter 22: It
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came to pass in the third year,
this was the third year of this
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tenuous peace they had. It may
also be the third year after the
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marriage of Jorum with Athaliah,
Jehoshaphat the king of Judah
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went down to visit the king
of Israel. Israel was now deeply
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involved in idolatry.
You remember Elijah with the
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prophets of Baal? That happened
just before this event. And the
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king of Israel said to his
servants, Do we not know that
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Ramoth Gilead is ours but we
hesitate to take it out of the
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hand of Syria. So he said to
Jehoshaphat, Will you go with
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me to fight against Ramoth
Gilead against the Syrians?
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Now Ramoth Gilead was one of the
cities of refuge. It used to be
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part of the territory of Israel.
It had been captured by the
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Syrians. Ahab was very
upset about this and he said the
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Syrians have had this city
that is part of our territory.
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We need to fight and get it
back. They were constantly at
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war with each other. Matter of
fact if you read the headlines
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they're still at war today,
Israel and Syria. And he said
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to Jehoshaphat, look this used
to be part of the 12 tribes.
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Why don't you join me in this
battle. The Syrians are common
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enemies. And Jehoshaphat, he's
at this visit with Ahab, he's
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surrounded by Ahab's court and
he wants to sound generous and
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he says, I will go. He says, I
am as you are. My people as your
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people, my horses as your
horses. We're with you. And then
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he started reflecting and he
said, well we want to make sure
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the Lord is behind this. And he
gets into trouble. Now you know
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the reason he gets into trouble;
Jehoshaphat nearly gets killed
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before the story's over
is because he got into a
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compromising alliance. He
got himself into a compromising
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alliance. The Bible tells us
that we should not be friends
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of God's enemies. Jesus said,
Can two walk together unless
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they are agreed. And again,
the Bible tells us, Do not be
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unequally yoked. Christians
sometimes go into business
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partnerships with unbelievers
and you're going to find
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yourself in a compromising
situation when that happens.
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Ahab was worshipping
Baal. The prophets of Ahab were
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worshipping Ashtoreth and
different pagan gods and here
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Jehoshaphat, he had the
priests, the Levites. They were
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worshipping Jehovah. He said
this is going to be a problem.
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So for him to say, we're going
to go to war together, that was
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a mistake. And he realized that
maybe this didn't feel right and
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so he said well let's pray about
this. Let's inquire of the Lord.
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That's always a good principle.
Before you're going to make any
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big decision inquire of the Lord
Before you're going to go to
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battle... every so often we just
run off to war and we don't say
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is this really what God wants us
to do? Pray about it. So he says
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let's consult with the Lord and
let's pray and so Ahab said, hey
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no problem. We've got priests
here we've hired. They're on the
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payroll, let's put them to use.
Now let me remind you about the
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difference between the priests
in Judea and the priests in the
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Northern Kingdom of Israel.
In Judea the priests were the
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Levites, the sons of Levi
or they were the sons of Aaron.
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They worshipped in the temple.
They went by the word of God and
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they did not pray to idols. In
the Northern Kingdom, they had
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turned to idolatry as soon as
the Northern Kingdom separated
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during the time of Jeroboam. He
set up these golden calves and
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they began to worship the calves
and pray to them. Then by the
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time of Ahab they were praying
to Baal, they were praying to
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Ashtoreth, they were praying to
all the pagan gods that Jezebel
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was setting up. You remember
when Elijah had the showdown
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on Mount Carmel between him
and 400 prophets of Baal and 450
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prophets of Ashtoreth and there
was this big showdown. This just
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happened. Evidently there were
still some false prophets left.
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And so Ahab said no problem,
I'll call in my prophets.
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In verse 6 the king of Israel
gathered the prophets together
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about 400 men... In the
10 tribes they had about 40
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assigned per tribe. And he said
to them, shall we go against
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Ramoth Gilead to fight or
shall I refrain? Well you know
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prophets don't like to give bad
news when they're on the payroll
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they want to tell the king
what he wants to hear. Everybody
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heard Ahab say we ought to get
Ramoth Gilead back. That's ours,
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I want it back. So they didn't
want to tell the king something
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that he didn't want to hear so
they preached something pleasing
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to him. And they said to the
king, go and prosper. Go up for
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the Lord will deliver it into
your hand. Well we don't know
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where they got their information
but it wasn't from the Lord.
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They didn't serve the Lord. And
Jehoshaphat noticed something
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was wrong. He saw all of the
fanfare, the way the prophets
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were carrying on and he realized
these are not prophets of
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Jehovah. They don't act like
that. Remember how the prophets
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of Baal acted. They
danced on the mountain, they cut
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themselves with lances, they
carried on, they beat the drums
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and they put on this
big ceremony and said go and
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prosper and he said this doesn't
look right. This is not how they
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worship Jehovah. These are not
prophets of Jehovah. I can't be
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getting my message from
these prophets of Baal or these
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prophets of Ashtoreth. You
know we don't know who they were
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exactly because Elijah we
thought had eradicated most
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of the prophets of Baal. It
didn't take long for new ones
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to come in. But they were all
Ahab's false prophets. Jezebel
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probably sent out for resumes
as soon as Elijah had killed all
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the prophets, she began to hire
a whole new crew, a whole flock
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of other prophets. And
Jehoshaphat said, notice this.
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Verse 7, I'm in I Kings 22 verse
Is there not still a prophet
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of the Lord, and the word Lord
there means Jehovah, that we may
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inquire of him. I mean you know
just out of respect for me have
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you know that I worship Jehovah.
The temple is still in Jerusalem
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and not to say anything unkind
about your prophets but I'd
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really like to have Jehovah's
word on this. Don't you have any
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prophets of Jehovah left in
Samaria? And listen to Ahab's
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response: The king of Israel
said to Jehoshaphat, there is
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one man. How sad that Israel had
come to the place where there
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was only one man left. When it
came to false prophets how many
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were there? At least 400. When
it came to true prophets there
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was only one left. You now that
statement when I read it gives
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me goose bumps. There is still
one man. How did the church get
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to the place where they could
have 400 false prophets that
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would tell the people what they
were itching to hear and only
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one true prophet? And that's
not the first time that it's
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happened. You remember
Nebuchadnezzar. He brought in
00:12:53.58\00:12:57.03
all of his wise men and
counselors and none of them
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could interpret what the dream
meant, but there was a man and
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they called for Daniel. The
Pharaoh, he brought in all of
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his wise men and counselors
to help him understand his
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prophetic dream. Couldn't find
anybody and then all of a sudden
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the butler remembered. He says
you know there is a man left
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that does understand dreams and
they sent for Joseph. Through
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history it seems like
the majority often goes with
00:13:22.31\00:13:24.88
conventional wisdom and false
prophecy but God still has his
00:13:24.92\00:13:29.74
people out there that will tell
the truth. Now he had all of
00:13:29.77\00:13:33.60
these false prophets lined up
that were saying go and prosper.
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But Jehoshaphat said you know
this just doesn't sound right,
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it doesn't feel right. They're
not worshipping their God the
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way we worship Jehovah. But they
were doing it in the name of
00:13:45.76\00:13:50.84
Jehovah. Has the church come to
the same place today as back in
00:13:50.87\00:13:55.56
those days? You've got a lot of
people who are telling the kings
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what they're itching to hear,
telling the people. This was
00:14:00.29\00:14:03.26
sort of like a military
war party. I could see it now.
00:14:03.29\00:14:06.19
All of them together beat the
drum and say go and prosper, go
00:14:06.22\00:14:10.18
and prosper, prosper, prosper,
go and prosper. And they carried
00:14:10.22\00:14:15.83
on and they called it a praise
song. You know it just didn't
00:14:15.87\00:14:21.30
sound like what Jehoshaphat was
used to hearing in the temple
00:14:21.34\00:14:27.15
back in Jerusalem. And he said
can't we bring a prophet of the
00:14:27.18\00:14:32.01
Lord? And it's interesting. Ahab
knew there was still a prophet
00:14:32.04\00:14:36.36
of the Lord but he said he's
a party pooper. There is one man
00:14:36.39\00:14:41.29
left but I really don't want
to call him. Now I want you to
00:14:41.32\00:14:45.92
make sure you've got a picture
of what's going on here. It says
00:14:45.96\00:14:50.12
in verse 10: The king of Israel
and Jehoshaphat the King of
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Judah having put on their robes,
they sat each on his throne.
00:14:54.23\00:14:58.23
They set up a throne for
Jehoshaphat and of course Ahab
00:14:58.26\00:15:00.75
had his throne and here
they are at this great threshing
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floor. Those were great big flat
areas where they would thresh
00:15:03.23\00:15:06.35
the wheat and it was not being
used for wheat then because it's
00:15:06.38\00:15:09.62
spring... big threshing floor
at the entrance of the gate of
00:15:09.66\00:15:12.66
Samaria and all the prophets
prophesied before them and the
00:15:12.70\00:15:16.05
military is there and all the
courtiers and the regalia and it
00:15:16.08\00:15:19.39
is a very impressive scene.
Two kings of Israel, finally
00:15:19.43\00:15:22.86
together at last after all these
years of civil war. And now they
00:15:22.89\00:15:27.24
are going to show their unity
because they're going to go
00:15:27.27\00:15:30.32
fight together the same battle.
But it's not what God wanted.
00:15:30.36\00:15:33.37
So everyone could get caught
up in the scene. And as the
00:15:33.41\00:15:39.78
musicians played and
the prophets prophesied
00:15:39.81\00:15:42.75
Jehoshaphat's squirming. He says
maybe I shouldn't have come.
00:15:42.79\00:15:46.05
This doesn't feel right. Am I
getting roped into something I
00:15:46.08\00:15:50.10
shouldn't be involved in? He had
just made this vow, my horses
00:15:50.13\00:15:54.12
are like your horses, my
chariots are like your chariots,
00:15:54.15\00:15:57.79
my men are like your men. We're
going to be with you in the war.
00:15:57.83\00:16:02.52
Why would the king of Jerusalem
and Judah want to hand over his
00:16:02.56\00:16:07.22
soldiers to a king
that's married to Jezebel.
00:16:07.26\00:16:10.45
That wouldn't seem like a safe
thing to do. Why would you want
00:16:10.49\00:16:14.30
to put your forces at the
disposal of someone that had
00:16:14.34\00:16:17.55
been rebuked by Elijah for his
wickedness. He got caught up in
00:16:17.59\00:16:23.42
what was politically correct. I
can't think of any better way to
00:16:23.46\00:16:29.26
say it. This was an example
of the king of the Lord getting
00:16:29.29\00:16:33.35
caught up in what was
politically correct. This is a
00:16:33.39\00:16:35.57
politician's fall. And he says
isn't there are prophet of the
00:16:35.61\00:16:41.56
Lord left. And the king says,
there is still one man. His name
00:16:41.59\00:16:47.12
is Micaiah the son of Imlah
by whom we might inquire of the
00:16:47.15\00:16:52.60
Lord. Now I want to just pause
here for a moment. When he talks
00:16:52.64\00:16:57.21
about Micaiah the name Micaiah
means who is like Jehovah. It's
00:16:57.25\00:17:02.09
similar to the name Micah or
Michael. It means who is like
00:17:02.12\00:17:05.68
God, who is like Jehovah.
And he's the son of Imlah. Imlah
00:17:05.72\00:17:09.73
means full and basically his
name means who is like Jehovah
00:17:09.76\00:17:13.79
and he is full of the Holy
Spirit. Now how many of you have
00:17:13.82\00:17:18.26
heard of Elijah before? How many
of you have heard of Elisha?
00:17:18.29\00:17:23.14
Heard of John the Baptist,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Moses, Daniel?
00:17:23.17\00:17:28.59
How many people really
know about Micaiah. You know one
00:17:28.63\00:17:33.98
reason you don't know much about
Micaiah is because every time he
00:17:34.01\00:17:38.32
told the truth Ahab would throw
him in jail. And it's probably
00:17:38.35\00:17:42.12
where he spent a good time of
his prophetic ministry but even
00:17:42.16\00:17:45.90
after he got out of jail
he still was going to tell the
00:17:45.93\00:17:49.87
truth. Now talk about an
introduction; if you were going
00:17:49.91\00:17:54.63
to be brought out to be the
after-dinner speaker. He says
00:17:54.66\00:17:59.32
there is one prophet left. His
name is Micaiah the son of Imlah
00:17:59.35\00:18:04.23
by whom we might inquire of
Jehovah, but I hate him because
00:18:04.27\00:18:08.89
he doesn't prophesy good
concerning me but evil. I don't
00:18:08.92\00:18:12.99
like him one bit. He never
says anything good about me.
00:18:13.03\00:18:17.02
I suppose he could have said the
same thing about Elijah, right?
00:18:17.06\00:18:20.27
You remember what Ahab said
about Elijah. Have you found me
00:18:20.30\00:18:24.88
oh my enemy? Why was he the
enemy? Because Elijah told him
00:18:24.91\00:18:29.45
the truth.
Galatians chapter 4 verse 16,
00:18:29.49\00:18:38.95
Paul says to the church: Have
I therefore become your enemy
00:18:38.98\00:18:44.73
because I tell you the truth?
Truth is usually the enemy of
00:18:44.77\00:18:50.80
the world. Jesus said in Matthew
24 you will be hated of all
00:18:50.83\00:18:56.02
nations for my name's sake.
If you tell the truth, if you
00:18:56.06\00:19:00.26
preach the truth, if you live
the truth, you're going to be
00:19:00.30\00:19:04.31
hated. And the world will look
upon you as their enemy. Matter
00:19:04.35\00:19:08.32
of fact, the Bible tells us
whoever is the friend of the
00:19:08.36\00:19:10.54
world is the enemy of God. And
don't try to be popular with the
00:19:10.57\00:19:14.99
world. That's not very good
because Jesus said Woe unto you
00:19:15.02\00:19:19.04
when all men speak well of
you for so they did of the false
00:19:19.07\00:19:23.81
prophets. True prophets are
almost never popular. And if you
00:19:23.85\00:19:27.69
live in the truth and if you're
speaking the truth, you can't
00:19:27.73\00:19:31.54
do that and also run for a
popularity contest. But we're
00:19:31.57\00:19:34.87
living in the days where
instead of preachers reading the
00:19:34.90\00:19:37.67
word of God they're reading how
to make friends and influence
00:19:37.71\00:19:41.65
people. Instead of the pulpit
being a place where the truth is
00:19:41.68\00:19:45.59
proclaimed it's becoming a
sounding board where people
00:19:45.63\00:19:48.01
can hear what they want to hear
echoed back at them. And that
00:19:48.05\00:19:54.02
doesn't save people. Woe unto
you when all men speak well of
00:19:54.05\00:19:59.82
you. Somebody said one time, I
don't judge a man by the friends
00:19:59.86\00:20:05.59
he keeps, I judge him by
his enemies. And it's actually a
00:20:05.63\00:20:11.17
compliment when Ahab says he's
your enemy. I mean would you
00:20:11.21\00:20:16.18
want to be a friend of
Goliath or the enemy of Goliath?
00:20:16.22\00:20:21.12
Not only should you choose your
friends very well but choose
00:20:21.16\00:20:25.59
your enemies well. You know what
I mean by that? Friendship with
00:20:25.62\00:20:30.68
the world is enmity with God.
You can't serve both. So if you
00:20:30.71\00:20:34.70
want everybody to love you, and
I'll be the first to admit, I
00:20:34.73\00:20:38.39
like to be liked and I think if
you're honest you would say you
00:20:38.42\00:20:43.38
like to be liked too. But you
can't be liked by everybody in
00:20:43.41\00:20:47.41
this world if you're living for
truth. If you stand up for truth
00:20:47.45\00:20:51.41
some are going to count you
their enemy and you just got
00:20:51.45\00:20:53.67
to get used to it. You can't
make everybody happy. I'd go
00:20:53.71\00:20:56.43
crazy if I tried to please
everybody. Now I get a lot of
00:20:56.47\00:20:59.74
mail and I get a lot of
very nice mail. People say kind
00:20:59.78\00:21:02.98
things, encouraging things
and I really do appreciate that.
00:21:03.02\00:21:05.86
I can't keep up with it all.
I do my best to try to respond
00:21:05.90\00:21:10.03
as much as I can. But not
all my mail is nice. Some of the
00:21:10.07\00:21:14.14
mail is criticism and I try
to read that. Matter of fact, I
00:21:14.17\00:21:17.75
value that in some ways even
more. You know you stand at the
00:21:17.78\00:21:20.94
door after church and people
want to be courteous. They say
00:21:20.98\00:21:23.39
thank you very much, good sermon
and you know what else you
00:21:23.42\00:21:25.76
supposed to say. So I appreciate
that. But when someone comes to
00:21:25.80\00:21:29.85
me at the door and they say
pastor you made a mistake, that
00:21:29.88\00:21:33.09
gets my attention. And sometimes
there's a critique and I
00:21:33.13\00:21:35.78
appreciate that. Sometimes
they're wrong and I say well
00:21:35.81\00:21:38.39
thank you very much but I just
don't agree with them. Sometimes
00:21:38.43\00:21:42.70
they're right and I have to
store that and try and process
00:21:42.73\00:21:46.65
it. But you can't live where
you're a slave to everybody's
00:21:46.68\00:21:50.30
likes and dislikes. You've got
to make up your mind what truth
00:21:50.33\00:21:54.91
is and follow the truth and just
realize you're not going to be
00:21:54.95\00:21:59.72
popular with everybody. Micaiah
made up his mind he was going
00:21:59.76\00:22:04.06
to live for the Lord. And you've
got to pick your enemies very
00:22:04.10\00:22:07.72
well. I hate him because he
never prophesies good concerning
00:22:07.76\00:22:12.01
me. Why didn't he prophesy good
concerning Ahab. Because Ahab
00:22:12.04\00:22:16.26
was bad. You can't prophesy
good concerning a bad king.
00:22:16.29\00:22:23.07
And evidently he had been put
in jail more than once for that.
00:22:23.11\00:22:28.16
You know it was too bad that
Ahab thought of Micaiah as his
00:22:28.19\00:22:34.48
enemy because really Micaiah was
the best friend that Ahab had
00:22:34.51\00:22:40.01
because if Ahab had listened
to Micaiah his whole reign would
00:22:40.04\00:22:44.83
have been different. It's your
friends that tell you the truth
00:22:44.87\00:22:49.59
even when the truth hurts. Isn't
that right? It's like if you've
00:22:49.62\00:22:53.16
got a friend and they're getting
ready to get in their car and
00:22:53.20\00:22:56.40
they've been drinking and you
don't say anything, you're not
00:22:56.44\00:23:00.70
their friend. You want to keep
your friends from destroying
00:23:00.74\00:23:05.53
themselves. You know what I'm
saying? Friends do tell you when
00:23:05.57\00:23:10.63
you're doing wrong. Proverbs 27
verse 6: Faithful are the wounds
00:23:10.66\00:23:16.28
of a friend but the kisses of an
enemy are deceitful. Back to our
00:23:16.31\00:23:21.39
story. So Ahab is complaining to
Jehoshaphat and he says I hate
00:23:21.42\00:23:26.46
him. He never says anything good
concerning me but only evil. And
00:23:26.49\00:23:30.00
Jehoshaphat said Ah come on,
give him a chance. So the king
00:23:30.04\00:23:34.50
of Israel called an officer.
He said bring Micaiah the son of
00:23:34.53\00:23:38.46
Imlah quickly. Now we don't know
if he was just living in Samaria
00:23:38.50\00:23:42.39
or they knew where to find him
because he was still jail. The
00:23:42.43\00:23:45.45
Bible is not clear on that
but they knew where to find him.
00:23:45.48\00:23:48.73
So the king of Israel and
Jehoshaphat, they're on their
00:23:48.77\00:23:51.41
thrones and in the meantime
while they're waiting to fetch
00:23:51.44\00:23:54.37
Micaiah this is turning
into quite a pep rally. All the
00:23:54.40\00:23:57.58
prophets are saying go and
prosper, God's going to give you
00:23:57.61\00:24:01.25
victory over the Syrians. And
one of the false prophets, his
00:24:01.28\00:24:04.89
name is Zedekiah the son
of Chenaanah. He made horns of
00:24:04.92\00:24:09.30
iron for himself and he
said thus: With these you shall
00:24:09.34\00:24:13.65
destroy the Syrians, you shall
push the Syrians till they are
00:24:13.69\00:24:17.94
destroyed, the same way that a
bull pushes and gores his enemy.
00:24:17.98\00:24:22.27
He made these horns and boy
it was quite a show. He began to
00:24:22.30\00:24:26.55
push and say this is how
victorious you're going to be.
00:24:26.59\00:24:29.34
And they were all applauding and
hooting and saying amen, this is
00:24:29.38\00:24:34.64
wonderful. It all sounded good
but that service that they had
00:24:34.67\00:24:40.20
that day was embedded in a lie.
It doesn't matter if you've got
00:24:40.23\00:24:44.84
400 people saying something,
it doesn't make a lie the truth.
00:24:44.87\00:24:49.88
It doesn't matter if you've got
10,000 denominations that say
00:24:49.92\00:24:53.58
something and they all agree
and they have a meeting and they
00:24:53.61\00:24:56.81
vote it, if it's different from
the word of the Lord it doesn't
00:24:56.85\00:25:02.52
make it true. A lie is a lie no
matter how you cloak it. But the
00:25:02.56\00:25:08.20
truth is not always popular.
People want smooth things
00:25:08.23\00:25:11.72
preached to them. As they're
fetching Micaiah the messenger
00:25:11.75\00:25:17.77
brings him and he says look
Micaiah you've got a reputation
00:25:17.80\00:25:22.59
for being a real party pooper.
They're having a good time there
00:25:22.62\00:25:27.37
everybody's there, the kings are
dressed up, the music is great.
00:25:27.41\00:25:31.45
Folks are excited. We're going
to go fight the Syrians, we're
00:25:31.49\00:25:35.15
going to win, we're going to get
back Ramoth Gilead. So something
00:25:35.18\00:25:38.81
positive, be up and positive.
You know, periodically I have
00:25:38.84\00:25:44.48
people come to me and they
say Pastor Doug you know we
00:25:44.52\00:25:48.47
appreciate your preaching
but you're just a little bit too
00:25:48.51\00:25:52.93
works oriented. We'd like
to hear more grace. You know we
00:25:52.97\00:25:57.32
have enough problems during the
week. When we come to church we
00:25:57.36\00:26:01.36
need encouragement. And I want
to be encouraging and I believe
00:26:01.40\00:26:06.33
in grace but I don't think it
should only be grace. If all you
00:26:06.37\00:26:10.34
do is play one note on the piano
all the time then pretty soon
00:26:10.37\00:26:14.31
it might be a nice note,
it might be a major key but if
00:26:14.35\00:26:19.24
that's the only note you play
it doesn't make music after a
00:26:19.27\00:26:22.90
while. So many sermons that
I hear these days are just so
00:26:22.93\00:26:28.00
insipid, I got that word from
Pastor Mike I've been waiting
00:26:28.04\00:26:32.39
for chance to use it and they're
so watered down and everything
00:26:32.42\00:26:38.13
is just positive thinking and
prosperity preaching and people
00:26:38.16\00:26:42.99
aren't just... There's no grist,
there's no fiber in the food.
00:26:43.03\00:26:48.63
It's all so hyper refined
all they get is empty calories.
00:26:48.67\00:26:54.47
Smooth things. And so this
messenger says let your word be
00:26:54.51\00:27:00.25
like the word of one of them and
speak what is good. It reminds
00:27:00.28\00:27:05.09
me of Isaiah 30 verse 9: This
is a rebellious people. By the
00:27:05.13\00:27:08.90
way the reason I'm preaching
this message is I believe that
00:27:08.93\00:27:12.17
we're living in a generation
right now that is repeating the
00:27:12.20\00:27:16.41
history of ancient Israel. God's
people like Jehoshaphat, he was
00:27:16.45\00:27:20.23
a good king, Southern Kingdom,
and by wanting to be popular
00:27:20.27\00:27:23.99
are compromising our convictions
with the other tribes that used
00:27:24.02\00:27:29.56
to worship the Lord and we're
wanting to be accepted. We're
00:27:29.59\00:27:34.71
wanting to be like them. We're
making alliances and so we're
00:27:34.74\00:27:39.83
inquiring of these false
prophets. It reminds me of the
00:27:39.86\00:27:44.63
time when the King of Israel got
sick and he sent his messengers
00:27:44.66\00:27:48.57
to Beelzebub the god of Ekron
to find out whether he was going
00:27:48.61\00:27:52.48
get well or not. And Elijah
interrupted the messengers.
00:27:52.52\00:27:55.38
He said you go back and tell
the king of Israel you're going
00:27:55.41\00:27:57.83
to die. Is there no God in
Israel that you would inquire
00:27:57.86\00:28:00.20
of the God of Israel that you're
going to Beelzebub, the god of
00:28:00.24\00:28:04.36
Ekron to get the truth? And
you know I wonder sometimes the
00:28:04.39\00:28:09.26
things I hear in the background
noise. It's like I hear the
00:28:09.29\00:28:13.07
pastors are consulting political
parties to find out what the
00:28:13.10\00:28:17.05
truth is. Or they're looking and
finding out what churches are
00:28:17.09\00:28:20.82
growing irrespective of what
they believe and they say let's
00:28:20.85\00:28:24.43
go and study under these
pastors to find out how we can
00:28:24.46\00:28:29.36
grow. And they're going to
Beelzebub the god of Ekron to
00:28:29.40\00:28:34.36
find out how to grow God's
church. And we end up getting
00:28:34.39\00:28:39.71
caught up in their battles and
God has given us our mandate.
00:28:39.74\00:28:43.94
It's the three angels message.
Babylon is fallen, come out of
00:28:43.97\00:28:47.44
her. How can we give the message
Babylon is fallen, come out of
00:28:47.47\00:28:50.90
her if we're now fraternizing
with Babylon. While we're
00:28:50.93\00:28:54.81
supposed to be calling people
out of Babylon we're drifting
00:28:54.85\00:28:59.86
in. This is a rebellious people.
Lying children. I'm still at
00:28:59.90\00:29:04.54
Isaiah 30 verse 9. Children
who will not hear the law of the
00:29:04.58\00:29:09.00
Lord who say to the seers, the
prophets, do not see and to the
00:29:09.04\00:29:13.34
prophets do not prophesy to us
right things. Speak to us smooth
00:29:13.37\00:29:19.30
things. Prophesy deceits. You
know one of the biggest crises
00:29:19.33\00:29:25.09
that we have in North America
right now is obesity. Sorry,
00:29:25.13\00:29:30.82
don't want to be unkind. I'm not
picking on any one in particular
00:29:30.85\00:29:36.27
because you realize according to
the statistics now it's 60 per
00:29:36.30\00:29:41.72
cent and above. And not just
adults, children. How'd we get
00:29:41.76\00:29:47.13
that way? Cause we like smooth
things. We want an easy life.
00:29:47.16\00:29:52.21
We want autodial on our phones,
remote controls and cruse
00:29:52.24\00:29:55.69
control and the only muscles
we've got in our bodies are our
00:29:55.72\00:30:00.85
forefinger and thumb for dialing
our PDAs and because we don't
00:30:00.88\00:30:05.97
rough it anymore we're killing
ourselves. Smooth things.
00:30:06.00\00:30:11.68
I heard about years ago this
missionary was working down in
00:30:11.71\00:30:16.36
some of the South Pacific
Islands and they worked among a
00:30:16.39\00:30:20.31
noble people there and through
his labors the chief who was a
00:30:20.34\00:30:25.39
wonderful physical specimen,
tall, strong, muscular, well
00:30:25.43\00:30:30.40
defined and mouth full of pearly
white teeth and noble high cheek
00:30:30.44\00:30:35.35
bones and physique and his
whole tribe ended up embracing
00:30:35.39\00:30:39.12
Christianity and the mission
was prospering and so the pastor
00:30:39.16\00:30:42.66
said you know we need to go on
a furlough and I need to bring
00:30:42.70\00:30:46.19
you back to the states with me
because if we go from church to
00:30:46.23\00:30:49.29
church we can do fund raising,
we can build a new school, we
00:30:49.32\00:30:52.71
can build churches all over the
islands and the king Ajit said
00:30:52.74\00:30:56.09
okay I'll go. This is a true
story. He flew back to North
00:30:56.13\00:31:03.20
America and of course he could
barely get his feet in American
00:31:03.24\00:31:07.99
shoes. He kept all of his
regalia that he wore, you know
00:31:08.02\00:31:12.60
the feathers and the dress so
that when he'd do a presentation
00:31:12.64\00:31:15.39
in the church and talk about the
mission work and this is what we
00:31:15.42\00:31:18.14
used to look like and we were
a war-like people and we were
00:31:18.17\00:31:21.06
cannibals and Christianity came
and now here I am. I'm dressed
00:31:21.09\00:31:25.87
up in a suit and I can fit my
feet in these shoes and. Boy it
00:31:25.90\00:31:29.72
would really impress people when
they saw the transformation that
00:31:29.75\00:31:33.59
the gospel would make. But in
the six months they were on this
00:31:33.63\00:31:36.58
furlough as they made their
circuit across the country with
00:31:36.62\00:31:39.21
this denomination, visiting
their different churches and
00:31:39.25\00:31:41.66
fund raising for the mission
work was very successful. But
00:31:41.69\00:31:44.82
something started happening. The
king was eating all this mush
00:31:44.86\00:31:47.95
that we eat. I mean, he was
used to breaking coconuts with
00:31:47.98\00:31:52.06
his teeth and chewing on palm
fronds and things and now all of
00:31:52.10\00:31:57.41
sudden he was just eating all
these Twinkies. And instead of
00:31:57.45\00:32:01.20
hiking around the island
and working with his people and
00:32:01.23\00:32:04.91
fishing and rowing now he's just
sitting in a car and a bus and
00:32:04.95\00:32:09.27
sitting in a church and he
started getting a little rotund
00:32:09.31\00:32:13.46
very quickly. Some of his teeth
started getting loose on him.
00:32:13.49\00:32:18.65
His color changed, he began to
look kind of hollow. By the time
00:32:18.69\00:32:23.81
he came back to his people
after six months they barely
00:32:23.84\00:32:25.93
recognized their king. He was
just a shell of the man he used
00:32:25.97\00:32:29.33
to be and what nearly killed him
was the smooth living that we're
00:32:29.37\00:32:32.70
so accustomed to. Our
idea of success. Well that same
00:32:32.73\00:32:37.15
principle applies to theology.
If we don't have enough fiber
00:32:37.18\00:32:42.18
in our messages it destroys us
spiritually. You not only need
00:32:42.21\00:32:47.17
to hear about the grace,
you need to hear about the law.
00:32:47.20\00:32:49.18
You not only need the promises,
you need the warnings. What you
00:32:49.22\00:32:52.72
need is the whole truth because
it's the truth that sets you
00:32:52.75\00:32:56.22
free. But it's part of
my personal entertainment
00:32:56.25\00:33:01.71
is cruising around the radio
stations and the television
00:33:01.75\00:33:04.80
stations Sunday and listening
to the different messages and
00:33:04.83\00:33:08.81
messengers and you hear some
good things. But prevalently it
00:33:08.84\00:33:13.01
is peace, peace. It is smooth
things. It is feel good. It is
00:33:13.04\00:33:17.33
how can I have what I want from
God now in this life to make me
00:33:17.37\00:33:22.10
comfortable? How can I feel good
about myself and have my esteem
00:33:22.13\00:33:26.83
bolstered? Instead of hearing
what Jesus said and what John
00:33:26.86\00:33:30.26
the Baptist said. You know what
they said? Repent of your sins.
00:33:30.30\00:33:33.66
If you do not repent you
will perish. Do not make unholy
00:33:33.69\00:33:39.65
alliances with the world. Come
out, be separate, be different.
00:33:39.68\00:33:42.97
Don't be
conformed, be transformed.
00:33:43.01\00:33:46.57
And Jehoshaphat was beginning to
conform. Very dangerous. So the
00:33:46.60\00:33:54.06
messenger gets Micaiah and he
says don't ruin the party. Say
00:33:54.09\00:33:59.51
good things and you know what
Micaiah's response was. I Kings
00:33:59.55\00:34:04.85
22:14, you might underline this.
And Micaiah said, As the Lord
00:34:04.88\00:34:11.13
lives whatever the Lord says to
me that will I speak. I am going
00:34:11.17\00:34:16.31
say what the word of God says.
And he might have gotten taken
00:34:16.35\00:34:20.50
out of jail in order to give
this message but he still gave
00:34:20.54\00:34:26.61
the message. I'm going to tell
the truth. Truth's not always
00:34:26.65\00:34:31.30
popular. Lies are pretty popular
Who was it, Mark Twain, that
00:34:31.33\00:34:34.82
said a lie can travel half
way around the world while truth
00:34:34.86\00:34:39.11
is putting on its shoes. A lie
will usually have 400 prophets
00:34:39.14\00:34:42.91
where the truth will have only
one. And if you're waiting for
00:34:42.95\00:34:46.86
the day for the truth and God's
church to be popular, to be
00:34:46.90\00:34:49.97
accepted, God have mercy on
us if we ever get to that place.
00:34:50.00\00:34:53.10
Because Jesus said if they've
hated me they're going to hate
00:34:53.14\00:34:58.78
you. I'd like to read something
from the book called Historical
00:34:58.81\00:35:04.42
Sketches page 290. Where
are the soldiers of the cross of
00:35:04.45\00:35:09.38
Christ. Let the god-fearing, the
honest, the single-hearted look
00:35:09.42\00:35:12.73
steadfastly to the glory of
God prepare themselves for the
00:35:12.76\00:35:16.59
battle against error. There are
too many faint, cowardly hearts
00:35:16.63\00:35:21.02
in this hour of spiritual
conflict. Oh that out of
00:35:21.06\00:35:23.75
weakness they might be made
strong, they might wax valiant
00:35:23.79\00:35:28.11
in the fight and put to
flight the armies of the aliens.
00:35:28.15\00:35:32.40
You know Jehoshaphat said is
there a prophet of the Lord that
00:35:32.44\00:35:36.29
we can find out what the Lord
wants. Do you really want to
00:35:36.32\00:35:40.58
know what the Lord wants?
And are we willing to do what he
00:35:40.61\00:35:45.35
says? Micaiah said As the Lord
lives whatever the Lord says
00:35:45.39\00:35:50.04
that will I speak. Verse 15:
Then he came to the king and the
00:35:50.07\00:35:54.51
king said to him, Micaiah,
this is Ahab speaking, shall we
00:35:54.55\00:35:58.69
go to war against Ramoth Gilead
or shall we refrain. Go fight,
00:35:58.72\00:36:03.73
don't fight. Now he saw what
was happening when he got there.
00:36:03.76\00:36:08.65
The floor show was still in full
swing. He saw the prophets, he
00:36:08.68\00:36:13.03
saw Zedekiah running around with
his iron horns. He heard every
00:36:13.06\00:36:17.38
one shouting go and prosper,
go and prosper as he was
00:36:17.41\00:36:20.32
approaching the assembly. He
saw the kings there with their
00:36:20.35\00:36:23.72
sequins glittering in the sun
and the band and all the royal
00:36:23.76\00:36:27.96
courtiers. I mean, it was a very
impressive scene. And then this
00:36:28.00\00:36:32.17
one lone man is brought
into this pep rally saying we're
00:36:32.20\00:36:35.03
going to win, we're going
to beat them, we're going to
00:36:35.07\00:36:37.83
trounce them. And they said what
do you want us to do. What's
00:36:37.86\00:36:42.19
your message from the Lord. Talk
about pressure. Boy it takes
00:36:42.22\00:36:45.86
real courage to be in an
environment like that where what
00:36:45.90\00:36:49.35
you say is going to be just
a wet rag on the whole party.
00:36:49.39\00:36:53.39
And so you know what he did?
He was very clever. He used a
00:36:53.42\00:36:57.33
little bit of humor and sarcasm
to show them what they were
00:36:57.36\00:37:00.63
doing. They weren't really
asking him what the Lord was
00:37:00.67\00:37:03.86
going to say. They were asking
him to say what they wanted him
00:37:03.90\00:37:08.50
to say. You tell us what we want
to hear. Preach smooth things.
00:37:08.53\00:37:13.10
So you know what he said?
Shall we go up to fight? And he
00:37:13.14\00:37:17.56
answered go and prosper for the
Lord will deliver it into the
00:37:17.60\00:37:21.56
hand of the king. And he looks
around at all the false prophets
00:37:21.59\00:37:25.51
and evidently it was obvious
from the way he said it that
00:37:25.55\00:37:28.80
there was something wrong.
That he didn't really mean it.
00:37:28.84\00:37:31.79
He said you really want me to
say the truth or do you want me
00:37:31.83\00:37:34.30
to just say what you want me to
say. Here, let me tell you what
00:37:34.33\00:37:38.48
you really want me to say. Go
and prosper. There's sarcasm in
00:37:38.52\00:37:42.43
there. You know how I know that?
King Ahab, next verse, the king
00:37:42.46\00:37:46.34
says how many times shall I
make you swear that you tell me
00:37:46.37\00:37:49.26
nothing but the truth in the
name of the Lord. Boy, of all
00:37:49.29\00:37:52.11
people to say that, Ahab was the
last person that had the right
00:37:52.15\00:37:54.32
to say that. You know there's
a lot of preachers in other
00:37:54.36\00:37:57.29
churches that preach lies and
they say the word of the Lord.
00:37:57.33\00:38:00.07
We go by the word of the Lord.
They say that but they don't.
00:38:00.11\00:38:03.53
They don't really mean it. I
mean, here's Ahab of all people
00:38:03.56\00:38:06.99
saying you tell me what the word
of the Lord is. What right does
00:38:07.02\00:38:11.01
he have to say that? But he knew
that Micaiah was being sarcastic
00:38:11.05\00:38:15.22
didn't he? Or he wouldn't have
said that. Micaiah said okay you
00:38:15.26\00:38:19.66
really want the truth? Do you
really want the truth? Let me
00:38:19.70\00:38:23.40
ask you. Do you really want
the truth? Do you want the truth
00:38:23.44\00:38:26.30
because you're curious or do you
want the truth because you want
00:38:26.33\00:38:30.69
to live it? He said all right.
Here's the message from the Lord
00:38:30.73\00:38:35.55
Verse 17: I saw all Israel,
that's the 10 tribes, scattered
00:38:35.59\00:38:39.90
on the mountains as sheep that
have no shepherd. And the Lord
00:38:39.94\00:38:44.33
said, these have no master. Let
everyone return to his house in
00:38:44.37\00:38:48.95
peace. What does that mean? The
shepherd, the king, no more king
00:38:48.99\00:38:53.21
he's gone, he died. It's a very
clear message and as soon as he
00:38:53.25\00:38:57.44
says that Ahab turns to
Jehoshaphat and he stomps his
00:38:57.48\00:39:01.16
foot, I threw that in, it
doesn't say that. And he said
00:39:01.20\00:39:04.47
didn't I tell you that
you wouldn't say anything good
00:39:04.50\00:39:07.70
concerning me but only evil.
He's bad news. I mean isn't the
00:39:07.74\00:39:11.51
gospel supposed to be good news?
What's all this about judgment?
00:39:11.54\00:39:16.68
Bad news. The Micaiah said look
I'm not done yet. Micaiah said,
00:39:16.71\00:39:21.34
and now he tells an allegory to
help illustrate what's going on.
00:39:21.38\00:39:26.12
And Micaiah says therefore
hear the word of the Lord. I saw
00:39:26.16\00:39:30.86
the Lord sitting on his throne
and all the host of heaven
00:39:30.90\00:39:34.66
standing by on his right hand
and on his left. Right and left
00:39:34.69\00:39:38.93
would mean the truth and
falsehood. And the Lord said who
00:39:38.97\00:39:43.14
will persuade Ahab to go up that
he might fall at Ramoth Gilead.
00:39:43.17\00:39:47.40
So one spoke in this manner and
one spoke in another. Evidently
00:39:47.43\00:39:51.54
all these angels, these spirits
are up there and they're making
00:39:51.57\00:39:55.58
suggestions to the Lord about
how can we ensnare Ahab to fall.
00:39:55.62\00:39:59.60
By the way, friends, does
the Lord need counselors? Trick
00:39:59.63\00:40:07.26
question. Does God need to learn
anything? Does God ever go to
00:40:07.29\00:40:12.91
school? Does the Lord need
counselors to tell him what to
00:40:12.94\00:40:17.41
do or is this an allegory? I
mean only one of the few times
00:40:17.45\00:40:20.80
I can think of in the Bible
where Jesus asked anybody's
00:40:20.84\00:40:23.89
advice was when he, for the
purpose of teaching a lesson,
00:40:23.93\00:40:26.50
he said to Phillip, where
will we find bread for all this
00:40:26.53\00:40:28.84
multitude? But Jesus already
knew what he was going to do
00:40:28.88\00:40:32.00
didn't he? I mean, he doesn't
need counselors. So this is an
00:40:32.04\00:40:35.28
allegory to teach a lesson.
Who will persuade Ahab to go?
00:40:35.31\00:40:38.66
One said this, one said that,
then, verse 21, A spirit came
00:40:38.70\00:40:42.04
forward and stood before the
Lord and said, I will persuade
00:40:42.08\00:40:46.05
him. And the Lord said, in what
way? He said I will go out and
00:40:46.09\00:40:50.49
be a lying spirit in the mouth
of all of his prophets. And the
00:40:50.53\00:40:55.40
Lord said you shall persuade him
also and prevail. Go out and do
00:40:55.43\00:41:00.85
so. Now Micaiah still speaking,
therefore look the Lord has put
00:41:00.89\00:41:04.93
a lying spirit in the mouth of
all these prophets of yours and
00:41:04.96\00:41:08.54
the Lord has declared disaster
against you. You're going to
00:41:08.58\00:41:12.46
listen to the majority of the
liars instead of the few who are
00:41:12.50\00:41:15.75
teaching the truth. What's going
to happen in the last days?
00:41:15.78\00:41:19.22
It says that three unclean
spirits like frogs come out of
00:41:19.26\00:41:22.52
the mouth of the beast,
out of the dragon and the false
00:41:22.56\00:41:25.21
prophets and they go forth,
false prophets, to the kings of
00:41:25.24\00:41:28.38
the earth. They're the majority
and they persuade them to go
00:41:28.42\00:41:31.52
to the battle of Armageddon
where who's going to perish
00:41:31.56\00:41:33.82
there? They're going to perish.
This is a repetition revelation
00:41:33.85\00:41:39.70
of what you're reading here
in I Kings. He knew he wouldn't
00:41:39.73\00:41:44.27
listen. Oh, by the way,
you might be saying Pastor Doug
00:41:44.31\00:41:48.78
I'm still struggling with that
spot where it said the Lord sent
00:41:48.82\00:41:51.47
a lying spirit. Why would
God send a lying spirit? Again,
00:41:51.51\00:41:54.50
we're speaking in allegories
here. Only good and truth comes
00:41:54.53\00:41:58.26
from the Lord, but the Lord
withdrew his Spirit from those
00:41:58.30\00:42:01.74
prophets and he allowed the
lying spirits on the left side
00:42:01.78\00:42:05.45
to go and to persuade Ahab.
Is that clear? The Hebrews often
00:42:05.48\00:42:08.89
spoke in this language
believing that God is ultimately
00:42:08.92\00:42:12.25
sovereign and so he would take
credit for everything because
00:42:12.29\00:42:15.66
God must at least withdraw
his power for the devil to do
00:42:15.70\00:42:19.00
anything. Remember the story
of Job? And so Micaiah basically
00:42:19.04\00:42:23.80
in the presence of all these
400 prophets he says they're
00:42:23.83\00:42:28.27
filled with the spirit of the
devil. They are filled with a
00:42:28.30\00:42:33.01
lying spirit. They are not
telling the truth. They're lying
00:42:33.04\00:42:37.12
Boy that's pretty bold to do
that. It certainly won't get you
00:42:37.16\00:42:41.32
a raise as a prophet on the
king's payroll to say something
00:42:41.35\00:42:45.44
like that. But there's a lot out
there that are saying Lord, Lord
00:42:45.47\00:42:48.94
and they're doing their own
thing. So Zedekiah one of the
00:42:48.97\00:42:53.08
false prophets who had just
put on the show, he's feeling
00:42:53.11\00:42:56.90
convicted by this and so
to resist the conviction he...
00:42:56.94\00:43:00.66
it says he struck Micaiah on the
cheek. You remember when Jesus
00:43:00.70\00:43:05.35
stood before the high priest
when he was being tried and the
00:43:05.39\00:43:09.50
soldier standing by when Christ
told the truth, he was struck on
00:43:09.53\00:43:14.44
the face. And Jesus said look,
if I'm lying tell me what I said
00:43:14.48\00:43:19.35
wrong but if I'm telling
the truth why did you hit me?
00:43:19.39\00:43:21.62
Why did Zedekiah hit Micaiah?
Because Micaiah told the truth.
00:43:21.66\00:43:26.89
And then he says sarcastically,
Zedekiah says, which way did
00:43:26.92\00:43:31.14
the Spirit of the Lord go from
me to speak to you? I've got the
00:43:31.18\00:43:34.14
Spirit of the Lord. I don't
remember him leaving me to give
00:43:34.18\00:43:39.45
you any message. And Micaiah
said, Indeed you will see on
00:43:39.48\00:43:44.30
that day when you go into an
inner chamber to hide. You have
00:43:44.34\00:43:48.16
been so bold in claiming that
you've got the Spirit of the
00:43:48.19\00:43:51.94
Lord and this is the message of
the Lord and when you are proven
00:43:51.98\00:43:55.27
wrong you're going to go be
hiding and quivering, not only
00:43:55.31\00:43:57.96
from embarrassment but because
the Syrians are going to sweep
00:43:57.99\00:44:02.76
across the land. Then the king
of Israel said... Now he's got
00:44:02.80\00:44:07.04
to make a decision. He's trying
to get the additional forces.
00:44:07.08\00:44:10.94
You see Ahab's got a dilemma.
He wants to fight the Syrians,
00:44:10.98\00:44:14.90
he wants to get Ramoth Gilead
back for himself. He can't do it
00:44:14.94\00:44:18.91
without the additional forces of
Jehoshaphat. Here he's got 400
00:44:18.95\00:44:22.57
prophets that are saying go
and win. One prophet who says I
00:44:22.61\00:44:26.56
serve Jehovah that says it's
going to be a disaster and Ahab
00:44:26.60\00:44:30.49
is going to die. And he says
look, this is one out of 400.
00:44:30.52\00:44:34.38
What are you going to
do Jehoshaphat? And now
00:44:34.41\00:44:36.66
Jehoshaphat's in a dilemma and
Ahab sends off Micaiah. He says
00:44:36.70\00:44:40.69
he's crazy. I told he never says
anything good. It's always bad.
00:44:40.73\00:44:44.68
Don't listen to him. Negative,
Negative, Negative. We don't
00:44:44.72\00:44:48.80
want the listen to him. But
he was telling the truth even
00:44:48.83\00:44:52.88
though it's not
popular sometimes. And the king
00:44:52.91\00:44:56.54
of Israel said, put this fellow
in prison. Take him and return
00:44:56.58\00:45:00.44
him to Amnon the governor of the
city and to Josiah the king's
00:45:00.48\00:45:04.95
son and say thus says the king:
Put this fellow in prison and
00:45:04.98\00:45:09.42
feed him with the bread of
affliction and the water of
00:45:09.46\00:45:11.96
affliction until I come again
in peace. That's not a very good
00:45:11.99\00:45:15.50
sentence. Not only is he saying
bread and water, he's saying
00:45:15.54\00:45:19.03
bread of affliction and water
of affliction. That means he's
00:45:19.07\00:45:22.50
probably put in a dingy cell,
put in the stocks, given bare
00:45:22.53\00:45:25.93
survival rations. The
king doesn't want to kill him
00:45:25.96\00:45:29.00
because of course there's always
that remote possibility that he
00:45:29.04\00:45:32.79
is right. Did Ahab have that
experience before where he's
00:45:32.82\00:45:35.82
got one Elijah who's right and
hundreds of prophets that are
00:45:35.85\00:45:38.82
wrong? He said just in
case. Don't kill him, put him in
00:45:38.85\00:45:42.70
prison. And Micaiah is very bold
He said, if you ever return in
00:45:42.73\00:45:49.62
peace the Lord has not spoken
by me. And then for all the
00:45:49.65\00:45:53.45
people to hear Micaiah says
Listen to me now people, you've
00:45:53.48\00:45:57.62
all heard this people, you've
heard the truth. And you know,
00:45:57.66\00:46:01.97
my question for you, summed
up in the sermon title. Where is
00:46:02.00\00:46:06.47
Micaiah today? Where are
the prophets who are telling the
00:46:06.51\00:46:12.26
truth. They are talking
about sin and salvation. They're
00:46:12.30\00:46:16.21
telling us that we shouldn't
be involved in these unholy
00:46:16.24\00:46:20.08
alliances with unbelievers and
the world or even Christians in
00:46:20.11\00:46:25.66
apostasy. That we shouldn't
be seeking for popularity but we
00:46:25.70\00:46:30.57
should be living for Jehovah.
Fighting in the wrong battles
00:46:30.60\00:46:35.40
that are not ours. You know the
devil's got so many diversionary
00:46:35.44\00:46:39.63
tactics out there and if
everything else fails the devil
00:46:39.67\00:46:45.75
will try and get us to just
waste our time. So, verse 29:
00:46:45.79\00:46:50.09
The king of Israel and
Jehoshaphat the king of Judah
00:46:50.13\00:46:54.37
went up to Ramoth Gilead. What
are you doing Jehoshaphat? You
00:46:54.40\00:46:57.25
asked for a prophet of the Lord.
You got a prophet of the Lord.
00:46:57.29\00:47:00.11
He said don't go and you're
still going. Evidently he felt
00:47:00.14\00:47:04.76
the peer pressure and he said
well you know maybe Micaiah is a
00:47:04.80\00:47:09.38
little negative and he
went against his conscience.
00:47:09.42\00:47:14.69
Now Jehoshaphat was a good king
but he shouldn't have been there
00:47:14.73\00:47:17.07
So the king of Israel
and Jehoshaphat went up to
00:47:17.10\00:47:20.89
Ramoth Gilead. They're going to
battle anyway. And the king of
00:47:20.93\00:47:24.92
Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I'll
disguise myself and go into the
00:47:24.96\00:47:28.92
battle but you put on your
robes Now I would have been real
00:47:28.95\00:47:32.94
suspicious. Why do you think
Ahab said that? He said you know
00:47:32.97\00:47:36.16
if I'm dressed up like the king
and if the prophecy said the
00:47:36.20\00:47:39.04
king is going to die maybe
if I'm dressed up like a common
00:47:39.08\00:47:41.64
soldier and I'll stay on the
outskirts of the battle. I'm not
00:47:41.68\00:47:44.71
going to go right on the front
lines. I am going to play it
00:47:44.74\00:47:48.22
safe. I'm not going to let
anything happen to me. If I see
00:47:48.26\00:47:51.16
them starting to approach me,
I'm in my chariot, I've got the
00:47:51.20\00:47:54.06
fastest horses. We're out
of here. He's being extremely
00:47:54.10\00:47:58.05
cautious. He's thinking that
he's going to somehow confound
00:47:58.09\00:48:00.81
the prophecy of Micaiah.
He should have known better.
00:48:00.85\00:48:03.68
After all his experience with
Elijah. I'll disguise myself and
00:48:03.72\00:48:11.44
then he tells Jehoshaphat
you put on your robes. Now Ahab
00:48:11.48\00:48:15.81
might be thinking to himself
my daughter has married the
00:48:15.85\00:48:20.11
son of the king of Judah. Why I
could get all of Judah, southern
00:48:20.14\00:48:23.27
and northern kingdom all under
me if Jehoshaphat dies. Yeah you
00:48:23.30\00:48:26.39
go ahead, put on your crown
Jehoshaphat. You put on your
00:48:26.42\00:48:29.90
robes. Jehoshaphat was a good
man but he maybe wasn't very
00:48:29.93\00:48:33.34
smart this day. And he does it.
Now little did he know, verse 31
00:48:33.37\00:48:38.39
the king of Syria had commanded
his 32 captains of his chariots
00:48:38.43\00:48:43.57
saying fight with no one small
or great but only the king of
00:48:43.60\00:48:48.71
Israel, that's Ahab.
He especially hated Ahab.
00:48:48.75\00:48:51.64
He said if you can get rid of
that king the people will lose
00:48:51.67\00:48:54.15
heart. Don't mess around with
all the other forces. Find out
00:48:54.18\00:48:57.39
where the king is and get
him. Strike the shepherd and the
00:48:57.43\00:49:00.59
sheep will scatter. So it
was when the captains of the
00:49:00.63\00:49:03.72
chariots, the Syrian chariots,
in the midst of the intensity
00:49:03.75\00:49:07.37
of the battle the captains
of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat
00:49:07.40\00:49:10.46
and they said to themselves,
this is the king of Israel.
00:49:10.50\00:49:13.31
They could not tell from a
distance. He was in royal robes.
00:49:13.34\00:49:16.58
Therefore they turned aside to
fight against him and all these
00:49:16.61\00:49:19.96
captains are charging and just
trying to get Jehoshaphat. He's
00:49:20.00\00:49:23.31
totally outnumbered
and Jehoshaphat cried out.
00:49:23.35\00:49:26.16
That might be when he started
jumping, jumping Jehoshaphat.
00:49:26.19\00:49:31.36
He was praying. Well he prayed
earlier about what to do and God
00:49:31.39\00:49:36.04
said don't go to battle. And now
he's disobeyed the Lord and he's
00:49:36.07\00:49:40.68
gone to battle. Don't forget
that sometimes you disobey the
00:49:40.72\00:49:45.08
Lord can you still pray that God
will get you out of the trouble
00:49:45.11\00:49:48.49
you're in because you did
the wrong thing. Ah God is so
00:49:48.53\00:49:52.08
patient. He could have just
withdrawn his protection and
00:49:52.11\00:49:56.87
said I told you not to go.
But God heard his prayer again.
00:49:56.91\00:50:01.04
He cried out and it happened
when the captains of the
00:50:01.08\00:50:05.14
chariots saw him that he was
not the king of Israel that they
00:50:05.18\00:50:08.92
turned back from pursuing him.
Maybe when he was praying they
00:50:08.95\00:50:12.41
realized that's not Ahab. Ahab
doesn't pray to Jehovah. Turn
00:50:12.45\00:50:17.11
away. And it happened when the
captains of the chariots saw him
00:50:17.15\00:50:21.43
they turned back. Verse 34, this
is the amazing story about a
00:50:21.47\00:50:26.73
bomb with your name on it. Now
a certain man drew back a bow
00:50:26.76\00:50:32.02
at random and he struck the king
of Israel between the joints of
00:50:32.06\00:50:38.29
his armor. You know, you can't
miss this. He drew his bow at a
00:50:38.33\00:50:43.96
chance. That almost sounds like
they're just firing into the air
00:50:44.00\00:50:48.28
in the general direction of the
enemy. He's not aiming at any
00:50:48.32\00:50:52.38
specific target and the way it's
worded makes it sound like this
00:50:52.41\00:50:56.44
arrow was almost a stray arrow.
It's almost like it was...
00:50:56.47\00:50:59.70
You know sometimes they had
buzzards beginning to circle the
00:50:59.74\00:51:02.95
battlefields even before the
battle was over. It's like the
00:51:02.99\00:51:07.26
arrow ricochets off the beak
of a buzzard and God guides that
00:51:07.29\00:51:11.46
arrow with the little wisps of
the wind and the configuration
00:51:11.50\00:51:15.76
of the feathers, God guides that
arrow. Ahab is on the outskirts
00:51:15.80\00:51:20.35
of the battle. He's covered from
bow to stern with armor, but he
00:51:20.39\00:51:24.91
had a little joint in his
armor in his side and that arrow
00:51:24.94\00:51:29.28
managed to find that one spot
because it had his name on it.
00:51:29.31\00:51:33.79
It was an arrow of prophecy
and an arrow of judgment and you
00:51:33.83\00:51:37.38
can't escape the word of God.
There's nowhere, you can be at
00:51:37.41\00:51:40.83
the bottom of the ocean.
He's going to find you. He found
00:51:40.87\00:51:44.43
Jonah out in the middle of
the sea. You can't run from the
00:51:44.47\00:51:49.39
word of God. And it says he
drew his bow and it struck him
00:51:49.43\00:51:54.12
between the joints of his armor
and he felt it and he said to
00:51:54.16\00:51:57.58
the driver of the chariot, turn
around take me out of the battle
00:51:57.62\00:52:01.00
for I am wounded. I am seriously
wounded. And the battle
00:52:01.04\00:52:05.72
increased that day and the king
was propped up in his chariot.
00:52:05.76\00:52:09.49
They thought look if my soldiers
see that I'm down they're going
00:52:09.52\00:52:13.01
to get discouraged. Ahab was so
stubborn. Instead of going and
00:52:13.05\00:52:16.00
getting medical attention. Who
knows what would have happened
00:52:16.03\00:52:19.95
if he had humbled himself.
Stubbornly he propped himself up
00:52:19.98\00:52:23.99
so everyone could see him and
there he was propped up bleeding
00:52:24.02\00:52:27.99
to death pierced in the side.
That's interesting to think
00:52:28.03\00:52:34.51
about. And finally around the
setting of the sun he died. You
00:52:34.54\00:52:40.33
know, Ahab is really getting
what he deserves as a wicked
00:52:40.37\00:52:45.80
king but you can't miss the
point that here you've got a
00:52:45.84\00:52:51.20
king that laid aside his royal
robes and he came down dressed
00:52:51.24\00:52:54.38
up like the common soldier and
he gets pierced in the side and
00:52:54.41\00:52:58.42
he's propped up and he bleeds
to death and then the war is
00:52:58.46\00:53:03.92
over when he bleeds to death.
In a sense even Ahab is a type
00:53:03.96\00:53:08.10
of Christ here in that story.
I mean you find all through the
00:53:08.14\00:53:12.29
Bible even Absalom was when
he dies suspended between heaven
00:53:12.32\00:53:16.31
and earth. God has these little
vignettes, these shadows, there
00:53:16.35\00:53:22.12
through the Bible. Well that was
a guided missile. You know you
00:53:22.16\00:53:26.76
don't need to be afraid of those
arrows of judgment if you're
00:53:26.80\00:53:31.65
following God's word. If you're
listening to Micaiah you're safe
00:53:31.68\00:53:35.83
Psalm 91 verse 5 said you'll
not be afraid of the terror by
00:53:35.87\00:53:40.13
night nor what? Nor the arrow
that flies by day. You won't
00:53:40.17\00:53:43.72
have to worry about covering
up every chink in your armor
00:53:43.76\00:53:47.24
because if you're in the middle
of God's will that is your armor
00:53:47.27\00:53:50.91
and you're safe. But today
God is looking for his Micaiahs.
00:53:50.95\00:53:56.92
Education chapter 57: The
greatest want of the world is
00:53:56.95\00:54:02.85
the want of men. Men who will
not be bought or sold, men who
00:54:02.89\00:54:06.87
in their inmost souls are true
and honest. Men who do not fear
00:54:06.91\00:54:11.35
to call sin by its right name.
Men whose conscience is as true
00:54:11.39\00:54:15.91
to duty as the needle is to the
pole. Men who will stand for the
00:54:15.95\00:54:21.02
right though the heavens fall.
Did Micaiah go to jail? And I'd
00:54:21.05\00:54:24.97
like to think that after the
battle somebody came slinking
00:54:25.00\00:54:29.03
up the corridors with the keys
in his hand and said, you know,
00:54:29.06\00:54:33.56
Ah you were right. I'd like
to think that they let him out.
00:54:33.59\00:54:38.02
It could be that Ahab's son just
to be vindictive left him there
00:54:38.05\00:54:44.35
till he died. Sad truth is
you never hear about him again.
00:54:44.38\00:54:50.02
One thing I know is he was
willing to die rather than lie.
00:54:50.05\00:54:54.88
He was willing to die in order
to tell the truth. The word of
00:54:54.92\00:54:58.82
God was so precious to him
no matter how popular it was, no
00:54:58.86\00:55:02.21
matter what it did for him
personally, he was going to tell
00:55:02.24\00:55:06.11
the truth about God's word.
You know I almost need to add a
00:55:06.14\00:55:10.55
little caveat at the end here
about Jehoshaphat. You remember
00:55:10.59\00:55:14.96
Jehoshaphat was not
supposed to go into this battle.
00:55:15.00\00:55:18.82
As Jehoshaphat's on his
way home a prophet rebukes him.
00:55:18.85\00:55:22.60
He's coming home with his tail
between his legs. God told him
00:55:22.64\00:55:25.92
not to go. He shouldn't be
listening to these prophets of
00:55:25.95\00:55:29.20
Baal, he shouldn't be
fraternizing with Ahab and
00:55:29.24\00:55:34.34
Jezebel. And Jehu the son
of Hanani he went out to meet
00:55:34.37\00:55:40.30
Jehoshaphat and he said to king
Jehoshaphat, should you help the
00:55:40.33\00:55:44.60
wicked and love those who hate
the Lord? Therefore the wrath of
00:55:44.64\00:55:48.88
the Lord is upon you.
Nevertheless good things are
00:55:48.91\00:55:52.29
found in you in that you
removed the wooden idols from
00:55:52.32\00:55:55.72
the land and prepared your heart
to seek God. You know, it says
00:55:55.75\00:55:59.32
here you've got a king and God
says I blessed you, there are
00:55:59.35\00:56:02.61
good things in you but I'm
mad at you, I'm upset with you
00:56:02.64\00:56:07.97
because you dishonored me by
getting into a confederacy with
00:56:08.00\00:56:13.71
this apostate kingdom, the
kingdom of Israel. Blessed is
00:56:13.74\00:56:19.38
man who walks not in the counsel
of the ungodly, and that's what
00:56:19.41\00:56:23.74
Jehoshaphat had done. God has
sent us the truth. This is our
00:56:23.77\00:56:27.72
Micaiah, the word of the
Lord and God is looking for more
00:56:27.76\00:56:31.08
people like John the Baptist
and Elijah and Micaiah in the
00:56:31.12\00:56:33.90
last day who will stand up for
the truth and not wait for it
00:56:33.94\00:56:36.77
to be popular. Even though we
know we're hated by the world.
00:56:36.81\00:56:40.97
I want to be a follower of the
truth. I want to seek first his
00:56:41.01\00:56:44.54
kingdom. You're going to be
tested. You think we're in bad
00:56:44.58\00:56:47.89
shape now friends. You just
wait in the last days when the
00:56:47.93\00:56:51.56
final test comes it's going to
be so deceptive to go with the
00:56:51.59\00:56:54.79
crowd that if it were possible
that even the very elect would
00:56:54.82\00:56:58.45
be deceived. We've got to take
a stand for the word even though
00:56:58.49\00:57:02.08
the heavens fall.
Let's bow our heads.
00:57:02.11\00:57:04.76
Our high King of heaven, Lord
I pray that our mind's eye will
00:57:04.79\00:57:10.48
be fixed upon thee. There are
so many forces in the world that
00:57:10.52\00:57:15.58
want to impress us to say what
is politically correct and the
00:57:15.61\00:57:20.64
pressure is going to
increase Lord to compromise our
00:57:20.67\00:57:23.85
convictions. Help us be resolved
to keep our eyes on Jesus, to
00:57:23.89\00:57:28.57
seek to be like him. I pray that
you'll wake us up and shake us
00:57:28.60\00:57:32.93
up and help us to come out of
this hypnosis of seeking after
00:57:32.96\00:57:37.43
smooth things that's really
suicide. I pray Lord that we
00:57:37.47\00:57:41.87
will embrace the truth whatever
the cost. Send us more Micaiah's
00:57:41.90\00:57:46.56
and then I pray that we'll
be willing to listen. Bless each
00:57:46.59\00:57:50.75
person. I pray through the Holy
Spirit we'll know how to apply
00:57:50.79\00:57:54.38
the things we've heard today
in our lives and may we reflect
00:57:54.41\00:57:58.83
Jesus as we go from this place.
In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
00:57:58.87\00:58:03.25