After King Ahab dies; his wicked son inherits the throne. The new king falls from a window and solicits false gods for his injury—ultimately rejecting God and dying.
#Religion
#Relationship with God
#Presence of God
#Hand of God
#Walk with God
#Love of God
#Truth
#Atonement
#Savior
#Lifestyle
#David Jeremiah
#1 Kings 22:51-53
#2 Kings 1:1-16
#Matthew 27:47-49
Closed captions
Show Timecode
Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah | Whatever Happened To God? | June 19, 2022
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- male announcer: We have no shortage of stories
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- of ordinary people who changed the world;
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- people born of humble beginnings
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- who came out of obscurity; the unexpected,
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- the unknowns, the unlikely heroes, the underdogs.
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- It's hard to imagine lives so recognizable being anything like
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- you or me, but no matter the achievements,
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- everyone is human, and to some degree, ordinary.
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- So the question then becomes, what can someone like you and I
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- do to change the world?
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- Even further, what can someone like you and I do to impact
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- the world for eternity like those who have gone before us?
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- Regardless of age, station, stature, past,
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- or assumed future,
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- when we offer God a life no matter how ordinary,
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- God takes it and uses it for extraordinary impact.
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- That's the story we find in the Bible again and again.
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- God's people, His prophets, His apostles all appeared average
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- and unexceptional until God worked in and through them.
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- So then someone like you can walk in the footsteps
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- of the greats who have gone before.
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- Like them, someone like you can live with purpose,
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- meaning, and intent, bearing witness
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- to God's extraordinary actions through you.
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- God was looking for someone like them,
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- and He is also looking for someone like you.
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- Dr. David Jeremiah: I'm David Jeremiah.
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- Welcome to "Turning Point."
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- The prophet Elijah's world was no less complicated than ours,
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- and this ordinary man who God called to be a prophet
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- found himself right in the middle
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- of one complicated situation after another,
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- often dealing with kings.
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- The lesson from Elijah's life in today's message
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- carries lessons for leaders at every level of society,
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- from nations to families, and those who seek
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- to stand for God.
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- This series is called "Someone Like You"
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- because Elijah was an ordinary man who sought
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- to live an obedient life for God in an ungodly society.
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- We can and should learn everything we can from Elijah.
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- Today we see Elijah's words to a king who sought counsel,
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- not from God, but from a pagan idol,
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- and we will see the result of that king's choice.
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- My message is called "Whatever Happened to God?"
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- It's coming up today on this edition of "Turning Point."
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- announcer: Dr. Jeremiah first released
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- "Understanding the 66 Books of the Bible,"
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- helping thousands of Bible readers
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- fully comprehend the place and purpose
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- of every book in the Bible.
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- Now Dr. Jeremiah wants to help you live out
- 00:03:03.666 --> 00:03:06.236
- the entire breadth and depth of scripture
- 00:03:06.236 --> 00:03:08.504
- in his new companion volume,
- 00:03:08.504 --> 00:03:09.973
- "Living the 66 Books of the Bible."
- 00:03:09.973 --> 00:03:12.275
- In its pages, Dr. Jeremiah identifies
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- each book's purpose, theme, challenge, verse, and prayer,
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- which will help you learn and live
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- all 66 books of the Bible, to put them into practice,
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- and to be a doer of the Word.
- 00:03:23.953 --> 00:03:25.855
- Request "Living the 66 Books of the Bible"
- 00:03:25.855 --> 00:03:28.458
- when you give a gift of any amount
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- in support of this program.
- 00:03:29.959 --> 00:03:31.494
- And if you give $60 or more, Dr. Jeremiah will also send you,
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- in appreciation, the first companion volume,
- 00:03:35.531 --> 00:03:38.268
- "Understanding the 66 Books of the Bible"
- 00:03:38.268 --> 00:03:40.637
- and the "Genesis Through Revelation in 66 Scenes" DVD.
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- Understand the Bible and live the Bible
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- with these resources from Turning Point.
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- Call or go online today.
- 00:03:49.112 --> 00:03:51.014
- announcer: Thank you for watching "Turning Point."
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- Now here is Dr. Jeremiah with his message,
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- "Whatever Happened to God?"
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- Dr. Jeremiah: Surely the people who were living in Israel
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- under the leadership of King Ahab were looking
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- to the future with the hope that something better was
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- in the wings.
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- You see, Ahab was a burden to his people.
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- He was an embarrassment to God.
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- To take the Word of God at face value, he was
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- one of the most wicked men ever to walk on the earth.
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- He married a pagan princess by the name of Jezebel,
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- and the two of them sponsored the worship of a false god
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- by the name of Baal.
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- Because of their rebellion, their nation suffered
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- for 3 1/2 years of drought and misery.
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- And at the end of his time as king, he led the nation
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- into a disastrous military campaign against the Syrians.
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- And you can read about that in 1 Kings chapter 22.
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- Finally, Ahab's wicked rule comes to an end
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- in the most amazing and unusual way.
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- The Bible says that a faceless, nameless bowman
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- shot an arrow into the air, and the arrow came down
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- and lodged in the space between the harness
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- of Ahab's armor.
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- When Ahab died, I suppose everybody in Israel
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- sighed a sigh of relief and thought,
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- "Now there's going to be a change in our government.
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- The next king has got to be better
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- than the one we just had."
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- Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
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- We read in 1 Kings 22,
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- "Ahaziah, the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria,
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- and he reigned two years over Israel
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- and did evil in the sight of the Lord,
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- and walked in the way of his father
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- and in the way of his mother, for he served Baal
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- and worshiped him,
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- and provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger,
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- according to all that his father had done."
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- He was so captured by his culture
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- and so into what he had learned to be comfortable with
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- that he became deaf to the voice of God.
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- And as he ascended to the throne,
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- there were at least three things in his life that
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- should've turned his attention back to the God of Israel.
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- First, there was the tragic death of his father.
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- And I mean, Ahab died in an unusual death.
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- It came about exactly as Elijah had predicted.
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- And if you had heard the story of Ahab's death,
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- you would've thought, "Now, wow, that's not normal,"
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- for someone just to shoot an arrow in the sky,
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- a random arrow, according to the scripture,
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- and it find the only place on this man
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- where it could do any damage, the little space
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- between the harness of his armor,
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- and it hits him and takes him out.
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- You might want to say, you know, "Something's going on here."
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- Secondly, Ahaziah should have learned
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- from the defiance of Moab, because if you read the story
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- carefully, 2 Kings 1 tells us that as soon Ahaziah became
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- the king, Moab rebelled against Israel
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- after the death of Ahab, 2 Kings chapter 1, verse 1.
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- Now, why is that important?
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- It's important because Moab had always been
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- angry with Israel, they were their enemies,
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- but during the reign of King Ahab,
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- he somehow kept them at bay.
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- When he died and Ahaziah became the king, Moab rose up,
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- and they began to be active against the nation of Israel.
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- And finally-- and this is the one
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- that should really have settled it for him that maybe God
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- was trying to get his attention--
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- he had a most unfortunate accident.
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- And let me just read it to you, because this is what it says
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- in verse 2 of 2 Kings 1.
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- "And Ahaziah fell through the lattice
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- of his upper room in Samaria and was injured."
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- He fell out of the window.
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- Apparently, in the houses, they had little lattice
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- in front of the window; he leaned against it too hard,
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- and the Bible doesn't tell us how far he fell.
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- What it does tell us was he hurt himself big time.
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- So, his father gets shot with an arrow
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- that was randomly launched,
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- an enemy that hasn't done anything in a long time
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- all of a sudden becomes active,
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- and the dear old boy falls out of the window.
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- Hmm. Hmm.
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- The narrative says that the fall led
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- to serious injury that Ahaziah was in doubt
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- as to whether he would recover from his injury, and that
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- resulted in an intriguing series of events which I'm going to put
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- under the heading of "The Abomination of the King."
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- Here he is now, the son of Ahab, the newly crowned king.
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- Verse 2, "So Ahaziah sent messengers and said to them,
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- 'Go inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron,
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- whether or not I shall recover from this injury.'"
- 00:08:58.120 --> 00:09:03.192
- And according to the word of the Lord, what Ahaziah did
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- was an incredible abomination and sin.
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- Here is a man who is king over Israel, the chosen people
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- of Almighty God.
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- He is hurt, and instead of going to the Lord
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- to inquire of the Lord God, he sends messengers
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- to a Philistine city to inquire of an idol, a wicked idol.
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- He sent someone to call on the lord of the flies
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- to see whether or not he's going to get better.
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- Now, as Ahaziah was sending his messengers to Ekron--
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- I like to think about this sometimes in the scripture.
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- I want you to think about it this way this morning.
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- Split screen, all right, something's going on over here,
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- something's going on over here, sort of like once in a while
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- on television, that's the way it is.
- 00:09:54.076 --> 00:09:56.078
- So, over here, Ahaziah is sending messengers to Ekron
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- to find out if he's going to get better from his injury;
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- and over here in this screen, God is sending his messenger
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- to Elijah.
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- And the prophet is minding his own business.
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- I think Elijah was trying to retire,
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- if you want to know the truth.
- 00:10:14.230 --> 00:10:16.032
- How many of you know that's really hard?
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- A lot of people tell me it's hard.
- 00:10:18.034 --> 00:10:19.368
- I don't know 'cause I haven't tried yet,
- 00:10:19.368 --> 00:10:21.137
- but I hear it's hard.
- 00:10:21.137 --> 00:10:22.772
- And so when the angel of the Lord tapped him
- 00:10:22.772 --> 00:10:25.875
- on the shoulder, I don't think Elijah was looking
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- for another assignment, but he gave him
- 00:10:28.944 --> 00:10:32.281
- one more assignment, and you read about this.
- 00:10:32.281 --> 00:10:34.450
- Now, remember, over here, the messengers of Ahaziah
- 00:10:34.450 --> 00:10:37.386
- are going to Ekron, and over here is Elijah.
- 00:10:37.386 --> 00:10:40.489
- He's kind of cooling his jets.
- 00:10:40.489 --> 00:10:42.491
- And here's what we read:
- 00:10:42.491 --> 00:10:44.226
- "But the angel of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite,
- 00:10:44.226 --> 00:10:46.662
- and he said, 'Arise, go to meet the messengers
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- of the king of Samaria and say to them,
- 00:10:49.498 --> 00:10:51.801
- "Is it because there is no god in Israel
- 00:10:51.801 --> 00:10:54.336
- that you're going to inquire of Baal-Zebub,
- 00:10:54.336 --> 00:10:57.006
- the god of Ekron?"
- 00:10:57.006 --> 00:10:58.507
- Now therefore, thus says the Lord,
- 00:10:58.507 --> 00:11:00.710
- "You shall not come down from the bed to which
- 00:11:00.710 --> 00:11:03.446
- you have gone up, but you shall surely die."'
- 00:11:03.446 --> 00:11:05.748
- And Elijah departed."
- 00:11:05.748 --> 00:11:08.417
- So, here comes the messengers from Ahaziah.
- 00:11:08.417 --> 00:11:11.220
- Here comes Elijah, and they have this little meeting.
- 00:11:11.220 --> 00:11:13.656
- And in essence, Elijah says, "No need to go any further.
- 00:11:13.656 --> 00:11:17.093
- I'm gonna tell you what's gonna happen.
- 00:11:17.093 --> 00:11:18.494
- Your boss is history.
- 00:11:18.494 --> 00:11:22.398
- He's gonna die."
- 00:11:22.398 --> 00:11:25.401
- "And when the messengers returned to Ahaziah,
- 00:11:25.401 --> 00:11:27.770
- he said to them, 'Why have you come back?'
- 00:11:27.770 --> 00:11:30.840
- And they said to him,
- 00:11:30.840 --> 00:11:33.008
- 'A man came up to meet us and said to us,
- 00:11:33.008 --> 00:11:34.944
- "Go tell the king who sent you and say to him,
- 00:11:34.944 --> 00:11:37.413
- Thus says the Lord: 'Is it because there's no God
- 00:11:37.413 --> 00:11:39.415
- in Israel that you're sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub,
- 00:11:39.415 --> 00:11:41.650
- the god of Ekron?
- 00:11:41.650 --> 00:11:42.985
- Therefore you shall not come down from the bed
- 00:11:42.985 --> 00:11:44.620
- to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.'"'"
- 00:11:44.620 --> 00:11:48.124
- And Ahaziah is sitting there thinking,
- 00:11:48.124 --> 00:11:50.392
- "I bet I know who that was."
- 00:11:50.392 --> 00:11:53.496
- "And he said to them,
- 00:11:53.496 --> 00:11:54.997
- 'What kind of man was he who came up to meet you
- 00:11:54.997 --> 00:11:58.534
- and told you these words?'
- 00:11:58.534 --> 00:12:01.170
- And they answered him,
- 00:12:01.170 --> 00:12:02.505
- 'He was a hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist.'
- 00:12:02.505 --> 00:12:08.744
- And Ahaziah said, 'I knew it.
- 00:12:08.744 --> 00:12:10.946
- It's Elijah the Tishbite.'"
- 00:12:10.946 --> 00:12:14.717
- In his heart of hearts, Ahaziah knew the rebuke of his life was
- 00:12:14.717 --> 00:12:20.523
- from none other than Elijah the prophet.
- 00:12:20.523 --> 00:12:24.627
- Now, you would think that would make him
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- a little sensitive to maybe there's something I can do
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- to get back in the good graces with this prophet.
- 00:12:29.365 --> 00:12:32.735
- But we go from the abomination of Ahaziah
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- to the arrogance of him.
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- Watch what he does.
- 00:12:39.208 --> 00:12:40.743
- "Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty
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- with his fifty men.
- 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:44.814
- So he went up to him; and there he was,
- 00:12:44.814 --> 00:12:46.982
- sitting on the top of a hill.
- 00:12:46.982 --> 00:12:49.385
- And he spoke to him and said, 'Man of God, the king has said,
- 00:12:49.385 --> 00:12:52.955
- 'Come down.'"
- 00:12:52.955 --> 00:12:54.857
- So, anyway, Elijah is sitting up on this hill meditating,
- 00:12:54.857 --> 00:12:59.528
- having a sandwich, you know, just cooling it.
- 00:12:59.528 --> 00:13:03.833
- I mean, that's kind of the picture I get.
- 00:13:03.833 --> 00:13:05.234
- He's sort of in retirement.
- 00:13:05.234 --> 00:13:06.569
- He's up there on the top of the hill.
- 00:13:06.569 --> 00:13:08.137
- Some people think he might've even been sitting
- 00:13:08.137 --> 00:13:09.471
- on the top of Mount Carmel reviewing his victory up there.
- 00:13:09.471 --> 00:13:12.474
- That wouldn't be a cool thing to do when you're retiring.
- 00:13:12.474 --> 00:13:15.744
- And they come to him, and they see him up there,
- 00:13:15.744 --> 00:13:18.113
- and they arrogantly say, "Man of God, come down.
- 00:13:18.113 --> 00:13:22.952
- The king wants you."
- 00:13:22.952 --> 00:13:26.455
- "And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty,
- 00:13:26.455 --> 00:13:30.059
- 'If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven
- 00:13:30.059 --> 00:13:34.263
- and consume you and your fifty men.'
- 00:13:34.263 --> 00:13:36.832
- And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty."
- 00:13:36.832 --> 00:13:41.904
- Whoa. Whoa.
- 00:13:41.904 --> 00:13:45.374
- Of course, you know Elijah was a prophet of fire,
- 00:13:45.374 --> 00:13:48.210
- and he had called down fire on Mount Carmel,
- 00:13:48.210 --> 00:13:50.679
- and now he calls down fire on a delegation of men
- 00:13:50.679 --> 00:13:53.048
- who were doubting his credentials as a prophet of God.
- 00:13:53.048 --> 00:13:56.485
- So, the word gets back to Ahaziah of what happened,
- 00:13:56.485 --> 00:13:59.688
- and he sent to Elijah another captain of fifty
- 00:13:59.688 --> 00:14:03.425
- with his fifty men.
- 00:14:03.425 --> 00:14:05.194
- How would you like to have been in that detail?
- 00:14:05.194 --> 00:14:08.497
- "And he answered and said to him,
- 00:14:08.497 --> 00:14:09.999
- 'Man of God, thus has the king said,'"
- 00:14:09.999 --> 00:14:13.435
- and he adds a extra word, a little more intensity
- 00:14:13.435 --> 00:14:15.838
- in this guy; he says,
- 00:14:15.838 --> 00:14:17.239
- "Man of God, the king has said, 'Come down quickly!'"
- 00:14:17.239 --> 00:14:22.211
- And we would say it this way:
- 00:14:22.211 --> 00:14:23.779
- "Look, we sent some other guys up here once,
- 00:14:23.779 --> 00:14:25.748
- and you didn't listen.
- 00:14:25.748 --> 00:14:27.249
- I've come back to tell you the king wants you to come down
- 00:14:27.249 --> 00:14:30.786
- right now."
- 00:14:30.786 --> 00:14:34.323
- "So Elijah answered and said to them,
- 00:14:34.323 --> 00:14:36.492
- 'If I'm a man of God, let fire come down from heaven
- 00:14:36.492 --> 00:14:39.695
- and consume you and your fifty men.'
- 00:14:39.695 --> 00:14:42.097
- And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him
- 00:14:42.097 --> 00:14:45.067
- and his fifty."
- 00:14:45.067 --> 00:14:49.371
- I mean, what does it take to get through to this king?
- 00:14:49.371 --> 00:14:52.708
- Ahaziah still isn't impressed with Elijah's authority,
- 00:14:52.708 --> 00:14:55.711
- so he sends another captain.
- 00:14:55.711 --> 00:14:59.748
- And the Bible says in verse 13
- 00:14:59.748 --> 00:15:01.317
- that the third captain of fifty went, and he came,
- 00:15:01.317 --> 00:15:05.087
- and he's been taking good notes on what's happened so far.
- 00:15:05.087 --> 00:15:09.959
- And he fell on his knees before Elijah
- 00:15:09.959 --> 00:15:12.294
- and he pleaded with him,
- 00:15:12.294 --> 00:15:13.629
- and he said to him, "Man of God--"
- 00:15:13.629 --> 00:15:15.631
- He's already believing now this Elijah is the man of God.
- 00:15:15.631 --> 00:15:18.300
- That's not an issue anymore.
- 00:15:18.300 --> 00:15:19.935
- "Man of God, please let my life and the life of these
- 00:15:19.935 --> 00:15:22.538
- fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight.
- 00:15:22.538 --> 00:15:26.275
- Look, fire has come down from heaven and burned up
- 00:15:26.275 --> 00:15:29.144
- the first two captains of fifties with their fifties.
- 00:15:29.144 --> 00:15:31.947
- But let my life now be precious in your sight."
- 00:15:31.947 --> 00:15:37.252
- Now, Ahaziah may not have been humbled, but this captain was
- 00:15:37.252 --> 00:15:40.155
- really humbled.
- 00:15:40.155 --> 00:15:42.091
- In contrast to the arrogance of the first two captains,
- 00:15:42.091 --> 00:15:45.494
- the third captain approached Elijah with respect and asked
- 00:15:45.494 --> 00:15:48.797
- if he would accompany them back to the King's palace in Samaria.
- 00:15:48.797 --> 00:15:55.371
- And in verse 15, we read,
- 00:15:55.371 --> 00:15:57.439
- "And the angel of the Lord said to Elijah,
- 00:15:57.439 --> 00:16:00.609
- 'Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.'
- 00:16:00.609 --> 00:16:05.447
- So he arose and went down with him to the king."
- 00:16:05.447 --> 00:16:10.452
- Now, Elijah's gonna have the chance to tell the king
- 00:16:10.452 --> 00:16:12.621
- what he's already told 102 people.
- 00:16:12.621 --> 00:16:17.760
- He's going to tell it to him face to face,
- 00:16:17.760 --> 00:16:20.362
- and that brings us to the annihilation of Ahaziah.
- 00:16:20.362 --> 00:16:23.232
- Here's the interesting thing.
- 00:16:23.232 --> 00:16:24.566
- Elijah wasn't afraid of anything.
- 00:16:24.566 --> 00:16:26.769
- When you're in the power of God, and you know God's power is
- 00:16:26.769 --> 00:16:29.138
- in your life, you don't have to be afraid.
- 00:16:29.138 --> 00:16:32.074
- So, Elijah walked right into the presence
- 00:16:32.074 --> 00:16:33.742
- of wicked Ahaziah, delivered this message from Almighty God.
- 00:16:33.742 --> 00:16:37.813
- And he said to him, verse 16,
- 00:16:37.813 --> 00:16:39.448
- "Thus says the Lord: 'Because you have sent
- 00:16:39.448 --> 00:16:41.884
- messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron,
- 00:16:41.884 --> 00:16:45.888
- is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire
- 00:16:45.888 --> 00:16:48.590
- of his word?
- 00:16:48.590 --> 00:16:50.059
- Therefore, you shall not come down from the bed
- 00:16:50.059 --> 00:16:52.861
- to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.'"
- 00:16:52.861 --> 00:16:58.333
- And he dies an unrepentant and lonely man.
- 00:16:58.333 --> 00:17:03.672
- Now, that's the story, and you say,
- 00:17:03.672 --> 00:17:06.275
- "Well, what does that have to do with us?"
- 00:17:06.275 --> 00:17:09.044
- So, I want to tell you what I've learned from this,
- 00:17:09.044 --> 00:17:11.080
- and there's four takeaways.
- 00:17:11.080 --> 00:17:12.881
- Number one, this story tells us how God warns us.
- 00:17:12.881 --> 00:17:18.253
- Stop and reflect on all that had happened in Ahaziah's life.
- 00:17:18.253 --> 00:17:22.224
- His father dies in a strange accident.
- 00:17:22.224 --> 00:17:24.660
- Suddenly, a nation that had been friendly rebels against him.
- 00:17:24.660 --> 00:17:27.062
- And one day, he's minding his own business
- 00:17:27.062 --> 00:17:29.164
- and he falls out of a window and almost kills himself.
- 00:17:29.164 --> 00:17:32.768
- And when a series of events like that happens,
- 00:17:32.768 --> 00:17:35.003
- you might want to stop and say,
- 00:17:35.003 --> 00:17:37.005
- "Lord, is there anything you want me to know?"
- 00:17:37.005 --> 00:17:41.677
- Let me ask you a question here, class.
- 00:17:41.677 --> 00:17:43.545
- God ever get your attention?
- 00:17:43.545 --> 00:17:46.014
- Did he ever give you a wakeup call?
- 00:17:46.014 --> 00:17:48.250
- Just to wake you up and make you start to listen again,
- 00:17:48.250 --> 00:17:50.486
- get you off the path you were on and get you in a new path,
- 00:17:50.486 --> 00:17:53.922
- so now you're back walking with the Lord.
- 00:17:53.922 --> 00:17:56.158
- God loves us so much, once in a while
- 00:17:56.158 --> 00:17:57.926
- he'll break our leg.
- 00:17:57.926 --> 00:18:00.496
- He'll break our leg.
- 00:18:00.496 --> 00:18:03.265
- How God warns us.
- 00:18:03.265 --> 00:18:07.302
- Second thing is how God woos us.
- 00:18:07.302 --> 00:18:10.339
- When Jesus Christ went to the cross
- 00:18:10.339 --> 00:18:12.141
- and paid the penalty for our sin, the fire came down
- 00:18:12.141 --> 00:18:17.079
- on all that we have ever done wrong or will ever do wrong.
- 00:18:17.079 --> 00:18:22.985
- And Jesus introduced at that day the age of grace.
- 00:18:22.985 --> 00:18:27.189
- Today God's method for dealing with rebellion is not to send
- 00:18:27.189 --> 00:18:30.659
- down fire from heaven, but to send the love
- 00:18:30.659 --> 00:18:33.462
- of Jesus Christ into the heart of the rebel.
- 00:18:33.462 --> 00:18:36.198
- Listen to these words from the Apostle Paul.
- 00:18:36.198 --> 00:18:39.201
- "Do you despise the riches of His goodness,
- 00:18:39.201 --> 00:18:41.470
- forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness
- 00:18:41.470 --> 00:18:44.840
- of God leads you to repentance?"
- 00:18:44.840 --> 00:18:49.111
- There's coming a day, according to this scripture,
- 00:18:49.111 --> 00:18:51.513
- when the Old Testament way will return.
- 00:18:51.513 --> 00:18:54.449
- How many of you know the Bible teaches that when
- 00:18:54.449 --> 00:18:56.318
- the seven years of tribulation happens in the future,
- 00:18:56.318 --> 00:19:00.455
- it's gonna be an awful lot like the Old Testament was?
- 00:19:00.455 --> 00:19:03.926
- In those seven years, fire will fall from heaven again.
- 00:19:03.926 --> 00:19:09.198
- But here's the good news, brothers and sisters.
- 00:19:09.198 --> 00:19:11.700
- We live in the parentheses
- 00:19:11.700 --> 00:19:14.436
- between what's in the Old Testament
- 00:19:14.436 --> 00:19:16.672
- and what's coming in the tribulation.
- 00:19:16.672 --> 00:19:18.807
- We live in the age of grace, and in this age,
- 00:19:18.807 --> 00:19:22.511
- the fire that falls is the fire of God's love
- 00:19:22.511 --> 00:19:26.114
- that penetrates our hearts and blazes within us
- 00:19:26.114 --> 00:19:29.518
- until we can't stand it any longer
- 00:19:29.518 --> 00:19:31.453
- and we have to respond to the love of God.
- 00:19:31.453 --> 00:19:34.489
- Thank God we live in this age.
- 00:19:34.489 --> 00:19:38.560
- Some 800 years after Elijah delivered his message
- 00:19:38.560 --> 00:19:41.964
- to Ahaziah, there was another faithful messenger
- 00:19:41.964 --> 00:19:45.567
- who came from God.
- 00:19:45.567 --> 00:19:47.803
- He was Jesus Christ, God's own Son, and he was worthy
- 00:19:47.803 --> 00:19:52.107
- of the reverence and devotion of all people.
- 00:19:52.107 --> 00:19:55.077
- Yet, what happened to him?
- 00:19:55.077 --> 00:19:56.812
- They hung him on a cross, and no fire came down
- 00:19:56.812 --> 00:20:01.183
- from heaven to rescue him.
- 00:20:01.183 --> 00:20:04.553
- In fact, isn't it interesting?
- 00:20:04.553 --> 00:20:06.288
- Elijah is mentioned in that narrative.
- 00:20:06.288 --> 00:20:09.258
- In Matthew 27, it says, "Some of those who stood there,
- 00:20:09.258 --> 00:20:12.094
- when they heard Jesus's words, said,
- 00:20:12.094 --> 00:20:14.529
- 'This man is calling for Elijah.'
- 00:20:14.529 --> 00:20:17.899
- And immediately, one of them ran and took a sponge, and filled it
- 00:20:17.899 --> 00:20:21.336
- with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it
- 00:20:21.336 --> 00:20:23.872
- to Jesus to drink.
- 00:20:23.872 --> 00:20:25.941
- And the rest of them said," listen to this,
- 00:20:25.941 --> 00:20:28.010
- "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come
- 00:20:28.010 --> 00:20:32.214
- and save Him."
- 00:20:32.214 --> 00:20:35.517
- Now, I'm here to tell you, Elijah did not come to save him.
- 00:20:35.517 --> 00:20:40.956
- If Elijah had saved him, we all would be lost.
- 00:20:40.956 --> 00:20:45.694
- The full penalty, the full price,
- 00:20:45.694 --> 00:20:48.063
- the fire from heaven fell on Jesus completely.
- 00:20:48.063 --> 00:20:52.567
- He suffered it all.
- 00:20:52.567 --> 00:20:54.169
- We can't even comprehend it.
- 00:20:54.169 --> 00:20:55.771
- I don't even know how to explain it.
- 00:20:55.771 --> 00:20:57.472
- He was the infinite Son of God suffering the infinite penalty
- 00:20:57.472 --> 00:21:00.842
- for the sin of the world.
- 00:21:00.842 --> 00:21:04.513
- But Elijah didn't save him.
- 00:21:04.513 --> 00:21:08.583
- Elijah didn't call down fire.
- 00:21:08.583 --> 00:21:11.286
- Elijah wasn't the Savior of Jesus.
- 00:21:11.286 --> 00:21:15.957
- Jesus was the Savior of Elijah.
- 00:21:15.957 --> 00:21:21.530
- Last thing-- how God warns us,
- 00:21:21.530 --> 00:21:23.799
- how he woos us, how he wins us-- finally, how he wants us.
- 00:21:23.799 --> 00:21:29.538
- Do you remember what Elijah said to Ahaziah after Ahaziah
- 00:21:29.538 --> 00:21:32.407
- had sent to inquire after Baal-Zebub?
- 00:21:32.407 --> 00:21:34.943
- Let me refresh your memory.
- 00:21:34.943 --> 00:21:36.345
- Verse 16 of chapter 1 of 2 Kings, he said,
- 00:21:36.345 --> 00:21:39.748
- "Thus says the Lord: 'Because you have sent
- 00:21:39.748 --> 00:21:41.983
- messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron,
- 00:21:41.983 --> 00:21:45.787
- is it because there is no God in Israel
- 00:21:45.787 --> 00:21:49.124
- to inquire of His word?'"
- 00:21:49.124 --> 00:21:51.526
- I wonder sometimes if God in heaven isn't saying to us,
- 00:21:51.526 --> 00:21:54.830
- "You're running after all this stuff
- 00:21:54.830 --> 00:21:56.565
- trying to find satisfaction for your life.
- 00:21:56.565 --> 00:21:58.667
- Is it because there's no God?"
- 00:21:58.667 --> 00:22:02.637
- Was Ahaziah dismissing the God of Israel?
- 00:22:02.637 --> 00:22:05.107
- No, he wasn't getting rid of Jehovah God.
- 00:22:05.107 --> 00:22:07.676
- He was not subtracting.
- 00:22:07.676 --> 00:22:09.378
- He was adding.
- 00:22:09.378 --> 00:22:10.879
- He was hedging his bets.
- 00:22:10.879 --> 00:22:12.347
- He was practicing idolatry.
- 00:22:12.347 --> 00:22:15.784
- He was going to bow down before an idol.
- 00:22:15.784 --> 00:22:21.256
- Kyle Idleman says, "Idolatry isn't just one of many sins.
- 00:22:21.256 --> 00:22:24.926
- It's the one great sin that all others come from.
- 00:22:24.926 --> 00:22:28.530
- So, if you start scratching it, whatever struggle you're dealing
- 00:22:28.530 --> 00:22:31.833
- with, eventually, you'll find something underneath
- 00:22:31.833 --> 00:22:34.703
- that's a false god.
- 00:22:34.703 --> 00:22:36.938
- And until that god is dethroned and the Lord God takes
- 00:22:36.938 --> 00:22:39.875
- its rightful place, you will not have victory."
- 00:22:39.875 --> 00:22:42.744
- That is why when Moses stood on Mount Sinai and received
- 00:22:42.744 --> 00:22:46.448
- the Ten Commandments from God, the first one was this:
- 00:22:46.448 --> 00:22:49.451
- "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt,
- 00:22:49.451 --> 00:22:52.888
- out of the land of slavery.
- 00:22:52.888 --> 00:22:54.322
- You shall have no other gods before Me," Exodus chapter 20.
- 00:22:54.322 --> 00:23:01.029
- St. Augustine said, "Stress, worry, anxiety, strife,
- 00:23:01.029 --> 00:23:04.800
- jealousy, and dissatisfaction, all of that is just
- 00:23:04.800 --> 00:23:08.470
- the smoke rising from the altars
- 00:23:08.470 --> 00:23:11.006
- that we have erected to false gods."
- 00:23:11.006 --> 00:23:15.811
- The God of the Bible demands our highest allegiance,
- 00:23:15.811 --> 00:23:18.914
- our total adoration, and our unconditional obedience.
- 00:23:18.914 --> 00:23:23.885
- We know there's only one enjoyable way to walk with God,
- 00:23:23.885 --> 00:23:26.555
- and that's with God at the center.
- 00:23:26.555 --> 00:23:28.457
- You can't fling God out into the circumference
- 00:23:28.457 --> 00:23:30.759
- of your life and visit him every seven days.
- 00:23:30.759 --> 00:23:33.995
- He will never, ever allow that.
- 00:23:33.995 --> 00:23:36.765
- You talk about some warnings?
- 00:23:36.765 --> 00:23:39.734
- He will get your attention, if you're a follower of Christ.
- 00:23:39.734 --> 00:23:43.472
- When people say, "I can't believe
- 00:23:43.472 --> 00:23:45.907
- you really believe God is a jealous God,"
- 00:23:45.907 --> 00:23:47.876
- I flat out believe God is a jealous God.
- 00:23:47.876 --> 00:23:49.911
- He is the only one who has the right to be jealous.
- 00:23:49.911 --> 00:23:52.547
- And because of all that he has done for us
- 00:23:52.547 --> 00:23:54.416
- and all that he desires for us, he is jealous,
- 00:23:54.416 --> 00:23:57.752
- that we put him first in our lives,
- 00:23:57.752 --> 00:24:00.722
- that everything that we do revolves around him,
- 00:24:00.722 --> 00:24:03.391
- God at the center, not us.
- 00:24:03.391 --> 00:24:08.697
- And, ladies and gentlemen, in the way in which we do that
- 00:24:08.697 --> 00:24:11.466
- and as much as we do that, that is the measure
- 00:24:11.466 --> 00:24:14.202
- of whether or not we will be happy in Jesus.
- 00:24:14.202 --> 00:24:18.607
- That's the simplicity of the Christian life,
- 00:24:18.607 --> 00:24:20.842
- giving it all down till you realize,
- 00:24:20.842 --> 00:24:22.611
- "I'm responsible to one person, and that's Almighty God
- 00:24:22.611 --> 00:24:25.514
- in heaven."
- 00:24:25.514 --> 00:24:26.848
- Let me tell you what I've learned about that:
- 00:24:26.848 --> 00:24:28.483
- you please him, you'll please the people that count.
- 00:24:28.483 --> 00:24:31.520
- But if you try to live your life to get your response
- 00:24:31.520 --> 00:24:34.890
- back from the people that you're with,
- 00:24:34.890 --> 00:24:37.125
- if you're always trying to get the acclaim
- 00:24:37.125 --> 00:24:38.927
- of people around you, you will live a frustrated,
- 00:24:38.927 --> 00:24:42.063
- stressful life that will send you to your grave early.
- 00:24:42.063 --> 00:24:46.334
- How blessed it is to know the God who is one
- 00:24:46.334 --> 00:24:54.943
- and the God who is at the center.
- 00:24:54.943 --> 00:24:57.679
- announcer: Dr. Jeremiah will return
- 00:24:57.746 --> 00:24:59.347
- to close today's program right after this.
- 00:24:59.347 --> 00:25:02.450
- announcer: Dr. Jeremiah would like to offer you
- 00:25:03.718 --> 00:25:05.921
- "Living the 66 Books of the Bible"
- 00:25:05.921 --> 00:25:08.056
- to help you put the entire breadth and depth of scripture
- 00:25:08.056 --> 00:25:10.926
- into action and live out every book in God's Word.
- 00:25:10.926 --> 00:25:14.563
- Yours in appreciation of your gift of any amount
- 00:25:14.563 --> 00:25:17.232
- in support of this program.
- 00:25:17.232 --> 00:25:18.700
- And for a gift of $60 or more, Dr. Jeremiah will also send you
- 00:25:18.700 --> 00:25:23.738
- his first companion volume,
- 00:25:23.738 --> 00:25:25.440
- "Understanding the 66 Books of the Bible,"
- 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:28.243
- beloved by many readers,
- 00:25:28.243 --> 00:25:29.744
- to help you journey through God's Word
- 00:25:29.744 --> 00:25:31.713
- and comprehend the place and purpose of each book.
- 00:25:31.713 --> 00:25:34.983
- Plus, the "Genesis Through Revelation in 66 Scenes" DVD.
- 00:25:34.983 --> 00:25:38.820
- Thank you for your support of Turning Point.
- 00:25:38.820 --> 00:25:40.789
- Call or go online today.
- 00:25:40.789 --> 00:25:43.058
- Dr. Jeremiah: I am continually amazed at Elijah.
- 00:25:45.026 --> 00:25:48.463
- He lived in the world, but he wasn't of the world.
- 00:25:48.463 --> 00:25:52.267
- He wasn't afraid to speak truth to power and trust God
- 00:25:52.267 --> 00:25:55.804
- with the consequences.
- 00:25:55.804 --> 00:25:58.273
- How did Elijah get to be such a man of God?
- 00:25:58.273 --> 00:26:01.476
- Well, as I've said, scripture tells us he was an ordinary man,
- 00:26:01.476 --> 00:26:05.747
- but he followed God's direction daily and allowed himself
- 00:26:05.747 --> 00:26:09.250
- to be used in extraordinary ways.
- 00:26:09.250 --> 00:26:12.354
- That's the kind of life God wants each of us to live,
- 00:26:12.354 --> 00:26:16.224
- and it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from.
- 00:26:16.224 --> 00:26:19.694
- The life God wants for you begins with trusting Christ
- 00:26:19.694 --> 00:26:23.765
- as Lord and Savior, and then following his lead every day.
- 00:26:23.765 --> 00:26:28.937
- I would love to send you two free gifts
- 00:26:28.937 --> 00:26:31.239
- from "Turning Point" that can help you begin
- 00:26:31.239 --> 00:26:33.642
- and continue such a life.
- 00:26:33.642 --> 00:26:36.778
- One is our booklet called "Your Greatest Turning Point"
- 00:26:36.778 --> 00:26:39.948
- and the other is our monthly devotional magazine
- 00:26:39.948 --> 00:26:43.118
- "Turning Points."
- 00:26:43.118 --> 00:26:45.220
- We will gladly send both of these resources to you
- 00:26:45.220 --> 00:26:48.089
- free of charge if you will contact us
- 00:26:48.089 --> 00:26:50.625
- here at "Turning Point" today.
- 00:26:50.625 --> 00:26:53.361
- announcer: Next time on "Turning Point."
- 00:26:54.863 --> 00:26:57.499
- Dr. Jeremiah: Elijah ends up on the Mount of Transfiguration
- 00:26:57.565 --> 00:26:59.901
- for one reason.
- 00:26:59.901 --> 00:27:01.236
- Elijah's always been about Jesus, and the books
- 00:27:01.236 --> 00:27:04.339
- of the Old Testament are all about Jesus.
- 00:27:04.339 --> 00:27:06.574
- If you study them enough, if you watch them enough,
- 00:27:06.574 --> 00:27:08.677
- if you read them enough, you'll find Jesus
- 00:27:08.677 --> 00:27:10.478
- almost everywhere.
- 00:27:10.478 --> 00:27:11.813
- There really aren't many messages in the Bible.
- 00:27:11.813 --> 00:27:13.982
- They're one message, and the message is
- 00:27:13.982 --> 00:27:15.850
- the message of Jesus Christ.
- 00:27:15.850 --> 00:27:18.053
- announcer: Thank you for being with us today.
- 00:27:18.119 --> 00:27:19.854
- Join Dr. Jeremiah next time for his message,
- 00:27:19.854 --> 00:27:22.490
- "Passing the Torch," here on "Turning Point."
- 00:27:22.490 --> 00:27:27.729
