WEBVTT 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:02.980 1 Kings, Chapter 16 is where we're gonna be. 00:00:02.980 --> 00:00:08.980 But I do wanna set this up because we're in a new series together on the Book of 1 Kings. 00:00:08.980 --> 00:00:11.280 We're gonna study the life of Elijah. 00:00:11.880 --> 00:00:16.870 A very important book I think, especially when you consider the time period in which Elijah exists. 00:00:17.980 --> 00:00:21.820 But to set that backdrop, you can just hold your place there in 1 Kings. 00:00:21.820 --> 00:00:23.220 It'll take me a few minutes to get there. 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:28.520 But I do wanna just begin that by priming the pump with some thoughts on our own life. 00:00:28.560 --> 00:00:35.660 You know, last week we talked about how God has created us and who God has 00:00:35.820 --> 00:00:36.640 created us to be. 00:00:36.720 --> 00:00:41.640 The beauty of just humanity and in every soul in this world. 00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:43.820 How special, how precious that is. 00:00:45.060 --> 00:00:52.160 I think it would be wrong to just simply assume because of the way God makes us that would necessitate that 00:00:52.160 --> 00:00:54.720 is who we all desire to be. 00:00:55.920 --> 00:01:03.080 That's really the question I wanna just pose for us, not simply who God created you to be, but what is it that you desire to 00:01:03.080 --> 00:01:03.430 be? 00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:08.800 Because who you desire to be can often be in conflict with who God created you to be. 00:01:09.480 --> 00:01:11.700 In fact, Jesus warned us of that throughout scripture. 00:01:12.620 --> 00:01:19.700 I would say and argue it's even the reason you have the Bible, is because within the soul of every human being there is a war taking place of who will be 00:01:19.700 --> 00:01:20.800 Lord of your life. 00:01:21.700 --> 00:01:25.180 And if I'm being really honest, that battle really rests between God or you. 00:01:26.200 --> 00:01:33.420 You can start all the way back from the Book of Genesis, that's where it began with Adam and Eve telling God that rather than He be God, they're gonna become God and they're gonna determine what's right and wrong. 00:01:34.320 --> 00:01:37.800 You see that pronounced very prominently in the Book of Judges. 00:01:39.500 --> 00:01:42.050 The Book of Judges continues to remind us that everyone does what's right in their own eyes. 00:01:42.160 --> 00:01:49.200 The pursuit of their life is to wake up every day and say, "I'm Lord, so what makes me happy?" But in that pursuit, really, we find 00:01:49.200 --> 00:01:51.620 ourselves in lives never truly content. 00:01:53.460 --> 00:01:55.240 Who do you desire to be? 00:01:56.160 --> 00:02:00.100 I think that's an important question, not only just for the moment, but really every day. 00:02:08.360 --> 00:02:15.480 To refine our hearts and the intentions for which we are created because God in designing us knows what's best for us, and so aligning our heart with His plan for our destiny is significant, to live the fullness for which we have been created. 00:02:18.060 --> 00:02:20.980 Who do you desire to be today? 00:02:22.580 --> 00:02:27.640 I think early in my marriage, my wife and I... 00:02:27.700 --> 00:02:34.780 It's fun, those first years of marriage, you kind of just get to feel out who both of you together in that relationship 00:02:34.780 --> 00:02:39.040 and who's gonna carry what forward in the home to make it run well. 00:02:39.780 --> 00:02:46.540 I think when we first got married we both recognized that neither of us had the ability to cook and so how that ended up anyone could guess. 00:02:46.620 --> 00:02:50.060 We could have been on peanut butter and jelly for the rest of our lives all we knew. 00:02:50.260 --> 00:02:52.260 But I'm good with anything. 00:02:52.300 --> 00:02:54.620 I can eat anything except for pronghorn, just don't give me that. 00:02:55.120 --> 00:02:57.020 But anything else, I'm good with that. 00:02:57.020 --> 00:02:57.440 Right? 00:02:57.440 --> 00:03:01.840 My wife and I begin the venture of cooking and it turns out I've given her a nickname since then. 00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:03.080 She's Betty Crocker gone wild. 00:03:03.400 --> 00:03:05.280 Anything the woman touches turns to gold. 00:03:05.540 --> 00:03:08.160 She makes this Mississippi Pot Roast that is so good. 00:03:08.380 --> 00:03:12.690 I don't even have to have it in my mouth, I already know how it tastes, and I could just dream about it every night. 00:03:13.500 --> 00:03:14.180 Amazing. 00:03:14.540 --> 00:03:19.900 I get my turn, and my turn is what led me to become permanent dishwasher in our family. 00:03:20.640 --> 00:03:27.830 I decide pre-Pinterest days, Pinterest can tell you how to make anything now, but if it's good and you put it together, 00:03:27.880 --> 00:03:28.720 then it's gonna make greatness. 00:03:29.060 --> 00:03:30.100 That was my philosophy. 00:03:30.340 --> 00:03:30.620 Right? 00:03:30.620 --> 00:03:32.200 You start with rice. 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:32.790 I love rice. 00:03:32.920 --> 00:03:36.690 Where else can you go to have a million of something and it doesn't really add a whole lot to your body? 00:03:37.420 --> 00:03:41.900 A million things of rice and then throw in some pineapple and some meat and some kind of sauce. 00:03:41.920 --> 00:03:43.140 Who cares, as long as it's good sauce. 00:03:43.660 --> 00:03:50.920 And then when I got to the end of that thing, I just remember early in our marriage giving her a bite and just the gag reflex, it really kicks 00:03:50.920 --> 00:03:55.160 in and it's like I have been banished from the kitchen. 00:03:55.160 --> 00:03:58.440 And I have worn this label that is so bad that even my kids... 00:03:58.900 --> 00:04:01.260 my kids have heard of this day and now they won't even... 00:04:01.320 --> 00:04:02.840 I can't even make them scrambled eggs. 00:04:02.880 --> 00:04:07.800 I'm like, "Come on, I promise, it's good." Like, "Dad, leave it at the sandwiches for you. 00:04:07.820 --> 00:04:14.920 Just go do the dishes." When you think about who you desire to be, I know that chef is 00:04:14.920 --> 00:04:16.040 not in the cards for me. 00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:20.019 But I can easily let that go because when... 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:21.880 because my wife is way better... 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:27.740 but when you ask the question, "Who do you desire to be," it's really not about what you desire to do. 00:04:29.460 --> 00:04:31.220 Who you desire to be is much deeper than that. 00:04:32.320 --> 00:04:36.960 Now, who you desire to be in the content of your character will reflect in the way you live your life. 00:04:38.340 --> 00:04:41.420 But the question of who you desire to be really rests more in your heart. 00:04:43.380 --> 00:04:45.220 I think it's especially true when life gets difficult. 00:04:47.480 --> 00:04:52.120 When things are coming at you, what comes out? 00:04:53.660 --> 00:04:56.470 When you get cut, what do you bleed? 00:04:58.320 --> 00:04:59.420 Real blood, right? 00:05:01.640 --> 00:05:02.520 But what comes out of your heart? 00:05:05.580 --> 00:05:08.320 What's the character that is possessed within your life? 00:05:08.400 --> 00:05:13.790 I think it's when we're under pressure that we oftentimes see what really rests in our lives. 00:05:15.500 --> 00:05:19.630 Who do you desire to be? 00:05:20.520 --> 00:05:24.480 Who you desire to be is determined by where you surrender your life. 00:05:26.300 --> 00:05:28.440 Show me what you love, and I'll show you who you'll become. 00:05:30.260 --> 00:05:37.260 You have resources in life as a human being, your time, your energy, your money and what 00:05:37.260 --> 00:05:40.440 you give that towards really determines what is God of your life. 00:05:42.160 --> 00:05:46.620 The beauty of when God made us, God making us in his image to connect and Him, God made you a worship being. 00:05:49.180 --> 00:05:50.700 And you will worship something. 00:05:51.980 --> 00:05:59.240 And what you worship is determined by what you value, and the way that you see what you value is where you spend the resources that God's given you, your time, talent, 00:05:59.280 --> 00:05:59.480 money. 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:02.110 That reflects what you love. 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:09.880 Oftentimes you can meet people in this world that tell you they stand for something and then when you walk away their life doesn't emulate it at all. 00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:12.880 Is that where their heart truly belongs? 00:06:15.500 --> 00:06:23.280 One of my favorite passages of scripture, which happens to be every time I throw up a verse, I say that I think, but in Acts 4:13 00:06:23.300 --> 00:06:30.340 talking about Jesus' followers, the early church by Acts, Chapter 4 not a whole lot of history has happened since 00:06:30.340 --> 00:06:32.020 the time of Jesus' crucifixion. 00:06:32.680 --> 00:06:34.740 But this is where persecution really starts for the church. 00:06:35.960 --> 00:06:44.200 And Jesus' 12 disciples are going around preaching the kingdom and the gospel which I think are one in the same but in Acts 4:13, they're 00:06:44.200 --> 00:06:47.440 brought before the leaders of the day and this is what it says. 00:06:47.480 --> 00:06:54.740 "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and they realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note." Look 00:06:54.740 --> 00:06:55.230 at this. 00:06:55.960 --> 00:07:03.620 "They took note that these men had been with Jesus." The love of their life became 00:07:03.620 --> 00:07:04.860 a reflection of who they were. 00:07:07.040 --> 00:07:10.140 Spending time with Jesus began to modeled in their own world. 00:07:12.840 --> 00:07:14.360 How does that happen in your life today? 00:07:15.620 --> 00:07:23.100 When I think about these individuals and pursuing after God, they weren't pursuing after the popular movement of 00:07:23.100 --> 00:07:23.420 the day. 00:07:23.460 --> 00:07:25.500 They weren't interested in popularity. 00:07:25.620 --> 00:07:31.000 It's what brought them to this moment, but rather the desire their heart was to look like their savior. 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:34.200 The one that they cared about. 00:07:34.200 --> 00:07:41.000 And so they had spent this time with Jesus and it begins to be remarkable in front of the others around them that they didn't stand for Jesus. 00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:48.060 They saw these individuals reflecting Christ in the world to the point that a few chapters later the term, Christians starts to be used as a 00:07:48.060 --> 00:07:48.700 derogatory remark. 00:07:49.640 --> 00:07:51.640 These little Jesus people walking around. 00:07:54.520 --> 00:07:56.090 Who do you desire to be? 00:07:57.280 --> 00:08:00.800 I think this is a beautiful passage of scripture, but maybe I ask the question for us. 00:08:01.080 --> 00:08:02.400 How do we get to this place? 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:10.940 Where in our own lives, when someone looks at you that you just don't have to tell them that you're a Christian, that they look at your life and you 00:08:11.160 --> 00:08:14.840 reflect the beauty of who Jesus is. 00:08:14.840 --> 00:08:21.500 That when you read the gospels, Jesus is just so loving, caring, gracious and still honest. 00:08:22.760 --> 00:08:23.080 Truthful. 00:08:25.780 --> 00:08:33.200 What a beautiful life for people to say, when I'm next to them I feel like I'm walking with Jesus because their love of Jesus is so prevalent 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:34.120 in their lives. 00:08:36.059 --> 00:08:36.880 Who do you desire to be? 00:08:38.799 --> 00:08:42.620 I think that question is important for us because it expresses one of intentionality. 00:08:45.800 --> 00:08:48.640 It's purposeful in its existence. 00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:50.350 I read a meme the other day... 00:08:50.920 --> 00:08:52.070 I think it was actually, it might have been yesterday. 00:08:52.520 --> 00:08:54.000 Every day runs together for me now. 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:57.140 But I read a meme the other day, and you know memes are always true, right? 00:08:57.360 --> 00:09:03.160 Everything on the internet is, don't fact check this at all, this does not confirm fake news, I'm just kidding. 00:09:03.400 --> 00:09:05.820 I don't know if it's true or not, but it's about Usain Bolt. 00:09:05.820 --> 00:09:07.960 It has to be pretty close to true so I'm gonna use it. 00:09:07.960 --> 00:09:08.120 All right? 00:09:08.680 --> 00:09:14.660 Usain Bolt, it's said in his professional career, only ran 119 seconds. 00:09:15.100 --> 00:09:17.450 If you don't know Usain Bolt, he's the fastest man in the world. 00:09:17.480 --> 00:09:22.140 He has the records for the 100 meter, the 200 meter, the 4x100 meter with a team. 00:09:22.140 --> 00:09:23.160 He's the fastest man in the world. 00:09:23.580 --> 00:09:26.350 But when you categorize his life, you just kinda summarize it. 00:09:27.420 --> 00:09:28.820 It's 119 seconds. 00:09:29.520 --> 00:09:33.620 And in 119 seconds of running, he made $120 million. 00:09:33.620 --> 00:09:35.180 That's incredible, right? 00:09:35.180 --> 00:09:35.980 That's the best job... 00:09:35.980 --> 00:09:37.410 I wanna apply for his position. 00:09:37.840 --> 00:09:39.720 Until you see what it took to get there. 00:09:42.220 --> 00:09:42.600 20 years. 00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:45.580 20 years of training. 00:09:48.100 --> 00:09:52.470 For 119 seconds. 00:09:52.480 --> 00:09:53.100 What dedication. 00:09:55.300 --> 00:09:59.520 Without even recognizing it or not, our hearts pursue loves because we're worshipful beings. 00:09:59.840 --> 00:10:01.300 And what you love, you will become. 00:10:02.840 --> 00:10:09.900 Being intentional in that pursuit is important not just to say, "Look, I'm a Christian," but how do you really meet with 00:10:09.900 --> 00:10:17.480 that Jesus to where people say about your life, "He's been with Jesus." Proverbs 00:10:17.480 --> 00:10:24.480 4:23 says this, "Be diligent to guard your heart for from it flows the wellsprings of life." That what God 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:30.040 created in you can pursue all these loves, but guard your heart, be diligent to guard your heart. 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:32.540 And it's not just saying, "Look, live life on the defense. 00:10:32.660 --> 00:10:39.680 Be afraid of everything," but rather what it's saying is, "Look, there's something in your life that you need to protect because what God has called you to, how God desires for 00:10:39.680 --> 00:10:45.800 you to live, how God desires for you to reflect His glory in this world, it is so important because this is the reason He has created you. 00:10:45.880 --> 00:10:53.220 So guard what's significant so you can live the life that God has called you to live." How 00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:55.600 do you pursue this? 00:10:57.440 --> 00:10:58.230 Who do you wanna to be? 00:10:58.940 --> 00:11:01.090 How do you get this said of you, what's said in Acts 4:13? 00:11:03.860 --> 00:11:06.630 I would say for us the answer's pretty plain and easy. 00:11:07.420 --> 00:11:14.480 It's the responsibility of walking in that I think we often wrestle with, and I believe the answer 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:16.410 really is found in special revelation. 00:11:16.580 --> 00:11:17.380 How do you meet with God? 00:11:17.380 --> 00:11:18.680 Well, the answer is special revelation. 00:11:19.840 --> 00:11:26.880 You want God to transform your life and begin to mold you in the image of Jesus so when people see you they see the goodness of 00:11:26.880 --> 00:11:28.200 who Christ is in your life. 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:35.280 Well the answer special revelation, and when you study in theology these terms of how God gives 00:11:35.280 --> 00:11:38.940 us revelation, there's this idea of general revelation, special revelation. 00:11:38.940 --> 00:11:40.400 General revelation is God's creation. 00:11:41.800 --> 00:11:47.320 You look around the beauty of things in this world and you can see the evidence of a divine creator in the glory of who He is. 00:11:47.320 --> 00:11:48.760 But then God gives us special revelation. 00:11:50.020 --> 00:11:56.160 It's not just this arbitrary idea of God but we see Him specifically, that God desires to make Himself known in our lives. 00:11:56.200 --> 00:11:58.700 And there's two ways theologians have told us that this happens. 00:11:58.960 --> 00:11:59.880 One is in Jesus. 00:12:01.420 --> 00:12:02.440 He's God incarnate. 00:12:03.340 --> 00:12:04.350 God in the flesh. 00:12:04.760 --> 00:12:10.840 To see Jesus is to see the Father because Jesus reflects the exact nature of the Father. 00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:14.300 Jesus is God in the flesh. 00:12:15.600 --> 00:12:16.860 The disciples walked with Jesus. 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:21.530 You don't walk with physical Jesus on the earth today so what do we have for special revelation? 00:12:21.640 --> 00:12:23.270 The answer for us in God's word. 00:12:25.780 --> 00:12:27.140 God gave us His word for a reason. 00:12:29.180 --> 00:12:37.120 I think it's because He knows within our humanity, that there is a war within our souls of which we like to walk contrary to Him. 00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:44.420 Throughout scripture, you see the stories of individuals who war sometimes against God, sometimes in the conflict of both sides, 00:12:44.420 --> 00:12:46.700 sometimes a life devoted to the Lord. 00:12:47.580 --> 00:12:52.880 But even in devotion to the Lord, Paul himself referred to himself as a wretched man, the chief of sinners. 00:12:52.980 --> 00:13:00.080 He recognized in his life there is a war, but what God desires to do is something new in him that God desires to refine him and 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:03.320 continue to focus him on who God has called him to be. 00:13:03.460 --> 00:13:09.240 And to grab his heart and that desire and who he wants to be so it matches who God has called him to be. 00:13:11.120 --> 00:13:11.720 God's word. 00:13:13.380 --> 00:13:14.020 Guard your heart. 00:13:15.520 --> 00:13:20.320 The place in which our heart is found to be guarded is in the content of His word. 00:13:20.340 --> 00:13:24.400 In fact, in Matthew, Chapter 4 when Jesus goes into the wilderness. 00:13:25.520 --> 00:13:31.240 Jesus, it tells us is tempted by Satan for 40 days and every temptation that Satan brings against Jesus, you know what Jesus does? 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:34.180 He quotes the Bible. 00:13:36.280 --> 00:13:37.660 He quotes from the Book of Deuteronomy. 00:13:39.320 --> 00:13:40.680 He says this to Satan. 00:13:40.680 --> 00:13:48.400 "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." Peter was asked once in John, 6:68 00:13:48.400 --> 00:13:51.040 his followers, Jesus' followers had left him. 00:13:51.320 --> 00:13:58.380 He turns to the disciples and said, "Do you wanna leave me too?" And Peter says, "To where shall we go?" Because you 00:13:58.380 --> 00:13:59.560 have the words of eternal life. 00:14:01.400 --> 00:14:03.580 Peter understood the significance of who Christ was. 00:14:03.620 --> 00:14:05.920 In fact, you can just see that throughout all the Bible. 00:14:05.920 --> 00:14:09.860 Acts 17:11, "They received the word with readiness of mind. 00:14:09.860 --> 00:14:17.000 Search the scriptures to see if it was so." Joshua 1:8, "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; Meditate on it night and day, so you may be careful 00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:24.540 to do everything written in it." Deuteronomy 6:6, "These commandments that I give to you today are to be on your hearts." Psalm 63:1, "You 00:14:24.540 --> 00:14:25.600 God, are my God. 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:26.600 Earnestly I seek you. 00:14:26.600 --> 00:14:27.360 I thirst for you. 00:14:27.600 --> 00:14:29.200 My whole being longs for you. 00:14:29.400 --> 00:14:37.320 In a dry and parched land where there is no water." God calls us to Him. 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:43.090 To reflect His goodness in our lives, that it can be transformed to become all that He has called us to be. 00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:50.810 When it comes to God's word, especially if you're starting to read it for the first time, it can be intimidating. 00:14:52.600 --> 00:14:54.600 It's 66 books of what... 00:14:54.600 --> 00:14:59.930 I tell you to turn to 1 Kings, you're like, "I didn't even know there was a King." Where is this book? 00:15:00.220 --> 00:15:04.620 I talked to someone this week that was mesmerized by the fact that Nahum was a book of the Bible. 00:15:04.860 --> 00:15:07.250 "Well, Nahum, huh?" There's a lot of great names. 00:15:07.380 --> 00:15:09.340 Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah. 00:15:09.340 --> 00:15:10.580 Name your kids. 00:15:10.800 --> 00:15:13.340 There are a lot of crazy books in the Bible. 00:15:13.340 --> 00:15:17.180 You're like, "I didn't even realize this is a book." But God's word can be intimidating. 00:15:17.720 --> 00:15:18.320 So where do you start? 00:15:18.540 --> 00:15:19.440 How do you launch into that? 00:15:19.440 --> 00:15:20.660 And especially the Old Testament. 00:15:20.680 --> 00:15:25.960 When I say 1 Kings, context matters where we're about to land in Chapter 16. 00:15:26.300 --> 00:15:27.520 How do you approach this? 00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:30.500 How do you even navigate through God's word? 00:15:30.740 --> 00:15:35.330 If you read it, maybe you probably spend most of your time in the New Testament but what about the Old Testament? 00:15:35.700 --> 00:15:38.540 How does this fit in our lives? 00:15:38.740 --> 00:15:44.130 I think if we're not careful and we're not looking at context, we can come up with some crazy things. 00:15:44.260 --> 00:15:46.360 I remember years ago reading about this group in Canada. 00:15:46.940 --> 00:15:48.710 This type of thing can only happen in Canada. 00:15:49.340 --> 00:15:56.540 But these people read the Bible and read about something about being naked and something about setting things on fire and so they started a religious group 00:15:56.540 --> 00:15:58.220 where they run around naked and set things on fire. 00:15:58.220 --> 00:16:01.700 It's like, "Ah, I kinda missed that one. 00:16:02.470 --> 00:16:03.740 Isn't it cold in Canada? 00:16:03.760 --> 00:16:07.010 You guys should put some clothes on." Context matters. 00:16:07.640 --> 00:16:13.080 In fact, when you read God's word, I would say the most important thing is before you understand the here and now, you need to understand the there and then. 00:16:13.940 --> 00:16:18.480 That when the authors wrote the Bible, they had the original audience is what they had in mind. 00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:25.280 God's word is timeless and relevant for all of us but it begins with a particular people in a particular place for a particular reason. 00:16:26.440 --> 00:16:30.080 And when you go to read the Old Testament, I think it's important to know the Bible's not put together chronologically. 00:16:31.780 --> 00:16:33.520 It's put together according to literary genre. 00:16:34.740 --> 00:16:41.800 When you ask the question, "God who do you want me to be, and you've written your words to direct my heart to become what you've called me to be, understanding how your word is written becomes significant 00:16:41.800 --> 00:16:49.080 for me to walk in that path." When you look at the Old Testament, the first 17 books are considered historical 00:16:49.080 --> 00:16:49.580 books. 00:16:50.740 --> 00:16:52.450 The first five books are really referred to as the Pentateuch. 00:16:52.660 --> 00:16:53.960 They're what Moses wrote. 00:16:54.140 --> 00:16:56.410 But by and large you can look at them as historical books. 00:16:56.540 --> 00:16:57.780 They lay out Israel's history. 00:16:57.980 --> 00:17:00.800 For the most part they follow a fairly good timeline. 00:17:00.800 --> 00:17:03.430 Some cover a large span of time, some just a brief period of time. 00:17:03.600 --> 00:17:05.819 But they're the historical books. 00:17:06.680 --> 00:17:13.800 When you get to a place like the Book of Kings, what we're gonna read today, you'll read in Samuel and Kings the story of how the Kings came about. 00:17:14.020 --> 00:17:16.940 And then when you get to Chronicles, it tells all the stories all over again. 00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:20.920 When you read that book you're like, "Why in the world are they telling me the same story two times? 00:17:21.339 --> 00:17:25.099 I could have skipped this and went onto another book, but now I have to read all the stories again. 00:17:25.400 --> 00:17:32.880 Why is it like this?" Well, historically understanding the significance of First and Second Chronicles helps you put in place what's 00:17:33.040 --> 00:17:33.680 happening here. 00:17:34.600 --> 00:17:41.640 In 1 Samuel and 1 Kings, it starts to share with us how Israel goes from a theocracy to following after a King. 00:17:43.320 --> 00:17:46.880 The tone of 1 and 2 Kings especially is one of darkness. 00:17:48.580 --> 00:17:52.040 Because it's showing to us the decline of Israel as a people. 00:17:53.700 --> 00:17:55.380 Further and further they move away from God. 00:17:57.260 --> 00:18:04.310 Where God ultimately sends the northern kingdoms into captivity under the Assyrians in 722 and the southern kingdom, 00:18:04.700 --> 00:18:07.540 which was made up of two tribes into captivity in Babylon in 586. 00:18:08.660 --> 00:18:10.120 I'll tell you a little bit more about that in just a second. 00:18:11.220 --> 00:18:13.000 Kings into darkness. 00:18:14.780 --> 00:18:15.300 Into captivity. 00:18:16.500 --> 00:18:19.220 But Chronicles is written after captivity. 00:18:19.780 --> 00:18:25.000 The focus of Chronicles isn't so much on the northern kingdoms that were taken into Assyrian captivity. 00:18:25.060 --> 00:18:26.030 They were never heard from again. 00:18:26.080 --> 00:18:26.430 They were gone. 00:18:27.720 --> 00:18:29.780 But rather the Chronicles focus more on the southern kingdom. 00:18:30.700 --> 00:18:30.980 Judah. 00:18:31.660 --> 00:18:34.500 'Cause after the Babylonian captivity, 70 years passed and they returned to the land. 00:18:35.700 --> 00:18:37.880 The focus of Chronicles is one of promise. 00:18:39.100 --> 00:18:45.120 God promises people that through Abraham all nations would be blessed, that God would bring the Messiah to them in their promised land. 00:18:46.100 --> 00:18:49.960 They're thinking about the Davidic covenant and all that is to come and God fulfilling his promises. 00:18:50.780 --> 00:18:58.180 While they were unfaithful in the Kings, God fulfills his promises in the Chronicles and so the tone of the book is different in what the pursuit 00:18:58.180 --> 00:18:59.940 is and why the author wrote what he wrote. 00:19:01.040 --> 00:19:02.840 It's one of hope for his people and stuff. 00:19:02.860 --> 00:19:08.480 When you approach God's word, it's important and looking at the first 17 books, it's written historically. 00:19:09.160 --> 00:19:10.560 Much of it is in narrative form. 00:19:11.640 --> 00:19:12.600 Narrative form's a little unique. 00:19:13.220 --> 00:19:18.740 When you study literary genre, it's important to know the type of genre you're reading and narratives are unique. 00:19:18.740 --> 00:19:21.780 Narratives are no prescriptive but descriptive. 00:19:21.800 --> 00:19:22.520 You know what that means, right? 00:19:22.800 --> 00:19:24.560 Prescriptive is telling us something to do. 00:19:24.810 --> 00:19:26.190 Descriptive is just telling you what happened. 00:19:27.040 --> 00:19:31.060 When you go read the historical books, the first 17 books of the Bible, it's not necessarily telling you to do those things. 00:19:31.400 --> 00:19:32.600 In fact, some of those things are crazy. 00:19:34.320 --> 00:19:35.260 You read it, you're like, "Whoa. 00:19:35.540 --> 00:19:42.700 This happened?" I know God is powerful and God moves in unique ways, but God does this unique thing and doing 00:19:42.700 --> 00:19:44.320 this unique thing, that's why it's written. 00:19:44.320 --> 00:19:50.600 Not so you see it as prescriptive for everyone's life but just descriptive because God wants to get darkened hearts' attention. 00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:55.200 And sometimes to get the heart of dark, the life of darkened hearts, you gotta some wild things. 00:19:56.380 --> 00:19:58.000 When you read the narratives, that's what's happening. 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:04.760 You're showing the scene, this faithful God show up in the life of Israel to produce what God desires to produce. 00:20:04.760 --> 00:20:07.260 So when you read the Bible, the incredible thing about the Bible. 00:20:09.740 --> 00:20:10.400 40 plus authors. 00:20:11.620 --> 00:20:13.220 Three continents. 00:20:13.660 --> 00:20:14.360 Three languages. 00:20:14.740 --> 00:20:15.860 1,500 years. 00:20:15.880 --> 00:20:15.980 One theme. 00:20:19.300 --> 00:20:22.120 When I write down my thought, I can barely hold it to the end. 00:20:22.260 --> 00:20:25.540 I just write one thing and I'm off [inaudible 00:20:24] a squirrel and I'm done. 00:20:27.360 --> 00:20:30.100 But to think that God's word written over 1,500 years, one theme. 00:20:31.380 --> 00:20:31.780 What is it? 00:20:33.520 --> 00:20:34.420 The redemption of your soul. 00:20:34.460 --> 00:20:35.700 The pursuit of your life through Christ. 00:20:37.840 --> 00:20:44.840 In the midst of the darkness, the battle of my life where I say to God, "I wanna be king." Jesus comes graciously as 00:20:44.840 --> 00:20:46.220 the king to redeem my soul. 00:20:47.300 --> 00:20:48.120 God is after my heart. 00:20:49.580 --> 00:20:50.960 When I ask the question, who do you wanna be? 00:20:52.620 --> 00:20:54.780 I want you to know God's not satisfied with half of you. 00:20:56.040 --> 00:20:57.570 I didn't make you for half of you. 00:20:59.640 --> 00:21:00.970 God made you for all of you. 00:21:02.940 --> 00:21:04.460 And that's the best place you could be. 00:21:06.460 --> 00:21:07.460 What does your heart long for? 00:21:09.460 --> 00:21:10.200 Who do you wanna be? 00:21:10.460 --> 00:21:14.540 Guys, when you get to the end of your life, people aren't gonna care about your accolades. 00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:17.940 They're not gonna care about your accomplishments. 00:21:20.080 --> 00:21:20.800 You know what they're gonna care about? 00:21:22.020 --> 00:21:22.760 Did they love me? 00:21:24.060 --> 00:21:25.080 Were they gracious to me? 00:21:26.100 --> 00:21:27.260 Were they forgiving to me? 00:21:28.840 --> 00:21:30.040 Did they spend time with me? 00:21:31.420 --> 00:21:32.260 That's what people care about. 00:21:34.280 --> 00:21:34.960 Who do you wanna be? 00:21:37.040 --> 00:21:40.220 God's words given to us to shape our lives in the image of Jesus. 00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:44.900 I should go faster. 00:21:44.940 --> 00:21:46.800 There's historical books and there's poetic books. 00:21:46.960 --> 00:21:49.920 There's five poetic books after the 17 historical books. 00:21:50.140 --> 00:21:51.170 Poetry is written in parallelism. 00:21:52.760 --> 00:21:56.800 What that means is when poetry's written, we write poetry today and you gotta rhyme. 00:21:57.120 --> 00:21:58.320 You gotta get a sick beat behind you. 00:21:58.480 --> 00:21:59.120 But rhyming. 00:21:59.520 --> 00:21:59.940 That's what it's about. 00:22:00.520 --> 00:22:02.650 In Israel's day, that's not what it was about. 00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:09.800 It was about parallelism, which means they would write one line, and then the second line would either agree with the first line or be directly opposed to the first 00:22:09.800 --> 00:22:10.180 line. 00:22:10.680 --> 00:22:15.660 It would highlight what the first line said by either being the opposite of it or directly connected to it. 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:16.570 And then there's proverbs. 00:22:17.080 --> 00:22:19.460 Proverbs aren't always true, they're just generally true. 00:22:20.100 --> 00:22:22.420 They're just wise statements for living and life. 00:22:22.780 --> 00:22:25.540 And the last is the prophetic books. 00:22:25.720 --> 00:22:27.120 Prophetic books are a little bit unique. 00:22:27.380 --> 00:22:34.420 They're the last 17 books of the Bible and the prophetic books, about five percent of it deals with the New Covenant. 00:22:35.240 --> 00:22:36.650 But here's what's important to know about the prophetic books. 00:22:36.760 --> 00:22:38.240 These are definitely not in chronological order. 00:22:38.850 --> 00:22:42.340 Mid-700s to about mid-400s are the prophetic books, most of the prophetic books written. 00:22:43.240 --> 00:22:45.300 When you go to these prophetic books, they're not in chronological order. 00:22:46.120 --> 00:22:50.560 But to understand when they were written adds to the context of what's taking place in really the story of the kings. 00:22:51.840 --> 00:22:53.220 And so understand the historical context. 00:22:53.220 --> 00:22:56.770 When you go to read the prophetic books, what makes them really unique is that they're written in oracles. 00:22:57.560 --> 00:23:02.680 When you read the other books of the Bible, they're written more like letters. 00:23:03.140 --> 00:23:05.640 You can just start in the beginning and read all the way to the end sort of in letter form. 00:23:05.760 --> 00:23:06.840 But the prophetic books are oracles. 00:23:07.620 --> 00:23:10.900 What's tricky about them is you can't tell when one oracle ends and another one begins. 00:23:10.900 --> 00:23:18.020 If you read it like it's a letter, here's the prophet saying something to a people group at a certain time, and then six months later he gets another prophecy unrelated to 00:23:18.020 --> 00:23:18.420 the first one. 00:23:19.200 --> 00:23:24.600 And when you just try to sandwich them all together, you don't have that type of understanding, so it's good to know that about the prophetic books. 00:23:25.760 --> 00:23:26.900 But all that to say this guys. 00:23:29.340 --> 00:23:31.320 The context of scripture matters. 00:23:32.740 --> 00:23:39.740 And understanding what's taking place allows you to make the application to your own life and determining who it is that God desires for you to be. 00:23:40.340 --> 00:23:42.080 As your heart looks like Jesus. 00:23:44.120 --> 00:23:49.300 In the book of 1 Kings Chapter 16, what you see in the Israel's heart is that this conflict taking place in their own life. 00:23:50.680 --> 00:23:54.350 And rather than pursue God, Israel continues down a path of wickedness. 00:23:56.040 --> 00:23:57.440 Further and further from God they go. 00:23:58.420 --> 00:24:04.900 Israel didn't wake up and was like, "You know, we just," they had right after these kings they had King Saul, King David, King Solomon. 00:24:04.980 --> 00:24:05.540 Three kings. 00:24:05.760 --> 00:24:06.410 And then the civil war. 00:24:07.900 --> 00:24:10.430 And to the north goes 10 tribes and the King Jeroboam. 00:24:10.500 --> 00:24:12.710 To the south goes two tribes and the King Rehoboam. 00:24:13.900 --> 00:24:14.740 Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 00:24:14.780 --> 00:24:15.440 There's lots of boams. 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:31.060 And never in those 200 years, never did the northern kingdom ever have a Godly king. 00:24:32.780 --> 00:24:35.450 And they didn't wake up one day and it was like, "You know what, we had a civil war. 00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:40.580 I just feel like today we should be all about wickedness." And then just pursue a life of wickedness. 00:24:41.440 --> 00:24:48.980 What you see as you study the life of Israel, especially the northern tribes, is one king started encouraging ungodly living among 00:24:48.980 --> 00:24:49.660 his people. 00:24:49.740 --> 00:24:51.230 As a leader goes, so goes the people. 00:24:51.840 --> 00:24:59.440 And one king after another, they just continued down the trajectory where the king after the first king becomes more wicked than 00:24:59.440 --> 00:25:00.140 the first king. 00:25:00.140 --> 00:25:01.700 And then after the second king comes the third king. 00:25:01.700 --> 00:25:03.380 And third king's more wicked than the second king. 00:25:03.640 --> 00:25:04.710 And down they went. 00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:12.120 And before long, they look back and they think, "How did we ever get here?" Unintentional 00:25:12.120 --> 00:25:12.820 about their pursuit. 00:25:12.920 --> 00:25:15.260 They just woke up every day saying, "You know what, I wanna be God today. 00:25:16.700 --> 00:25:22.560 What does my own heart desire?" And into wickedness they continued. 00:25:22.880 --> 00:25:27.780 Could you imagine that for 19 kings in 200 years? 00:25:28.560 --> 00:25:29.950 Here in American man, we are lightweights. 00:25:30.440 --> 00:25:38.780 We'll have an election and 50% of us hate the next four years and 50% of the other ones rub it in the other one's face like, you 00:25:38.780 --> 00:25:40.960 would think that we're stuck with someone for eternity. 00:25:41.360 --> 00:25:42.640 Like at most, eight years. 00:25:42.910 --> 00:25:46.880 The government's shut down right now, and it's done nothing to my life. 00:25:47.460 --> 00:25:53.160 But nonetheless, Bible encourages us to pray for your leaders guys. 00:25:57.480 --> 00:25:58.120 Not to be hateful. 00:26:01.640 --> 00:26:02.120 Pray for your leaders. 00:26:03.960 --> 00:26:05.680 Now think about the life of Israel right now. 00:26:07.300 --> 00:26:09.400 19 kings and they didn't rule for four years. 00:26:09.460 --> 00:26:10.940 They ruled for as long as they lived. 00:26:12.800 --> 00:26:13.460 200 years. 00:26:14.920 --> 00:26:15.760 Just wickedness. 00:26:17.340 --> 00:26:19.540 What would it be like to be in that kind of leadership? 00:26:20.600 --> 00:26:21.530 Under that kind of leadership? 00:26:23.380 --> 00:26:25.060 How difficult life could have been. 00:26:26.220 --> 00:26:33.240 When you read 1 Kings, Chapter 13, it says this, "The first king Jeroboam in the northern tribes, after this event Jeroboam did not return from 00:26:33.240 --> 00:26:37.360 his evil way." But again, he made priests of the high places from all the people. 00:26:37.400 --> 00:26:41.200 The high places were ungodly worship of false deities. 00:26:42.380 --> 00:26:43.380 He didn't return from evil. 00:26:43.380 --> 00:26:44.580 He continued down the path of evil. 00:26:44.580 --> 00:26:45.760 This is their first king of the north. 00:26:47.700 --> 00:26:55.000 And you continue on to that when you get to 1 Kings 16 where we're gonna be, it says this, which we'll be here quickly but it say this 1 Kings 16... 00:26:55.340 --> 00:26:56.000 that's not it... 00:26:58.100 --> 00:26:59.300 yes it is. 00:26:59.380 --> 00:27:07.010 "It came about as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam." This is talking about Ahab, the son of Nebat that he married Jezebel, 00:27:07.380 --> 00:27:12.040 the daughter of Ithobaal, king of Sidonians and went to Sir Baal and worshiped him. 00:27:12.080 --> 00:27:15.660 So he erected an altar from Baal and the House of Baal, which he built in Samaria. 00:27:15.900 --> 00:27:22.880 Ahab also made Ashara, thus Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him. 00:27:24.480 --> 00:27:26.800 Ahab's only seventh in the list of 19 to come. 00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:33.680 And Ahab does more to provoke God than all the kings previous. 00:27:35.660 --> 00:27:37.010 Down the slope they go. 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:40.300 Further from the Lord, further into wickedness. 00:27:40.600 --> 00:27:47.700 But you know what's unique about this story is that when you read about the kings, it mentions the first six kings, who they are and how their hearts 00:27:47.700 --> 00:27:54.800 are wicked, some of the things they did, but one of the unique things here in Chapter 16 is rather than just talk about the king here, it talks about the king's influencer. 00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:56.860 It mentions his wife. 00:27:56.860 --> 00:27:58.180 None of the other kings it talks about their wife. 00:27:59.380 --> 00:28:01.760 But here in this section is pauses and talks about the wife. 00:28:01.780 --> 00:28:06.180 And the reason it pauses, talks about the wife is that it wants us to recognize something significant about her own life. 00:28:07.540 --> 00:28:14.940 And her own life is as dark as it gets, and it begins to recognize where that darkness came from being influenced by her father and the deities in which they worshiped 00:28:14.940 --> 00:28:16.660 in life, which we talked about last week. 00:28:18.100 --> 00:28:24.810 Around Israel were people groups that worshiped these false Gods that would heat up these Gods that arms extended like this and upon those arms they would place their children. 00:28:25.200 --> 00:28:27.400 And they would sacrifice their children to these false Gods. 00:28:29.020 --> 00:28:29.360 Wickedness. 00:28:31.100 --> 00:28:38.160 And Ahab comes in and he builds these statues to these false Gods and it goes on verse 34, "And in his day Hiel, the Bethelite built 00:28:38.160 --> 00:28:38.860 Jericho. 00:28:38.860 --> 00:28:45.940 He laid his foundations with the loss of Abiram, his firstborn and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub according to the 00:28:45.940 --> 00:28:53.000 word of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun." The author wants 00:28:53.000 --> 00:28:56.580 us to get to this place and just let our hearts ache. 00:28:59.660 --> 00:29:02.380 That their lives are surrendering to the darkness. 00:29:04.080 --> 00:29:05.700 That this didn't happen overnight. 00:29:08.040 --> 00:29:08.710 Who do you wanna be? 00:29:11.480 --> 00:29:12.240 And then God responds. 00:29:14.200 --> 00:29:17.100 Chapter 17, verse 1. 00:29:17.200 --> 00:29:24.480 And what does God do?You think Ahab, this powerful wicked king united now with another kingdom of wickedness, what's 00:29:24.480 --> 00:29:30.200 God gonna do to stop this or how is God gonna present His grace to His people in the midst of this darkness? 00:29:30.700 --> 00:29:34.790 Like is He gonna send an army, a powerful people group, what's God gonna do? 00:29:34.840 --> 00:29:42.320 And then all of a sudden you get to 1 Kings, 17:1 and it says about the land, "That now Elijah the Tishbite, 00:29:42.440 --> 00:29:44.880 who was the settler of Gilead said to Ahab," and I wanna stop there. 00:29:46.820 --> 00:29:49.560 Enter Elijah from Tishbite. 00:29:51.060 --> 00:29:52.340 Can I tell you what we know about Tishbite? 00:29:53.900 --> 00:29:54.960 Nothing. 00:29:55.220 --> 00:29:56.600 Nothing about the place. 00:29:56.640 --> 00:29:56.940 You know why? 00:29:57.480 --> 00:30:00.780 'Cause nobody cared about Tishbite then, and nobody cares about Tishbite now. 00:30:00.920 --> 00:30:02.430 It was the most insignificant place. 00:30:02.660 --> 00:30:04.340 It was on the east side of the Jordan River. 00:30:04.840 --> 00:30:09.930 This is where I would say for us maybe today like the modern day cowboy land. 00:30:10.780 --> 00:30:17.800 These are the guys that spent all day in the sun, they worked with their hands, they labored hard, they had the leather skin, they were tanned by being in 00:30:17.800 --> 00:30:18.280 the outdoors. 00:30:18.280 --> 00:30:19.640 They were known for their physicality. 00:30:19.920 --> 00:30:20.660 Tough dudes. 00:30:22.520 --> 00:30:23.400 Not known for their scholarship. 00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:25.620 Not known for their academics. 00:30:27.980 --> 00:30:28.680 So who does God send? 00:30:30.860 --> 00:30:31.480 Nobody from nowhere. 00:30:33.760 --> 00:30:40.390 But this all powerful king in the midst of this wicked dark place before Jezebel, who wouldn't care just to cut your head off the minute you disagreed with her. 00:30:42.920 --> 00:30:44.010 That's who God sends. 00:30:45.960 --> 00:30:53.080 Elijah, in the stand throughout these chapters we're gonna read, Elijah is heralded in Biblical history, especially 00:30:53.080 --> 00:30:56.220 among the Jewish people as a prominent figure. 00:30:56.240 --> 00:31:03.220 In fact, if you read about Jesus' transfiguration in the gospels, when Jesus goes on the Mount of Transfiguration, he goes with three of his disciples. 00:31:03.620 --> 00:31:10.820 And his disciples are so amazed by this transfiguration on the mountain, they ask Jesus, "Can we erect some stones to remember this moment?" And when this 00:31:10.920 --> 00:31:14.380 transfiguration happens, it tells us two individuals come down from Heaven to meet with Jesus. 00:31:15.340 --> 00:31:16.100 Moses and Elijah. 00:31:17.980 --> 00:31:22.220 Moses represents the law, and Elijah becomes the representative of all the prophets of the Old Testament. 00:31:23.200 --> 00:31:27.740 In fact, when the Jews celebrate Passover today, they still talk about waiting for Elijah to return. 00:31:28.440 --> 00:31:30.160 In the scripture you'll see Elijah never died. 00:31:31.420 --> 00:31:33.540 Elijah's considered the picture of all the prophets. 00:31:34.440 --> 00:31:36.660 He is the leader of leaders when it comes to the prophets. 00:31:37.100 --> 00:31:39.140 But Elijah didn't start like that. 00:31:40.920 --> 00:31:43.300 Elijah was a nobody from nowhere. 00:31:44.960 --> 00:31:51.740 And then you see what Elijah does, Chapter 17, verse 1, the second half here and Elijah goes before Ahab and this is what he said. 00:31:52.060 --> 00:32:01.460 "As Lord the God of Israel lives before whom I stand surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years except by my word." Nobody 00:32:01.460 --> 00:32:07.180 from nowhere coming before somebody about something and saying this. 00:32:07.720 --> 00:32:12.600 This is an agricultural society where you depended on the day in order to live. 00:32:13.360 --> 00:32:16.300 And now you're gonna tell them they're not gonna have the water to produce the crops in order to have life? 00:32:17.120 --> 00:32:22.260 That's like saying today, look, we're gonna have this come and sweep across their land. 00:32:22.440 --> 00:32:25.020 There will be no more internet, so now you have to think again. 00:32:25.680 --> 00:32:27.900 No more credit cards. 00:32:27.920 --> 00:32:28.610 No more cash. 00:32:29.000 --> 00:32:30.040 No more grocery store. 00:32:30.040 --> 00:32:30.640 Nothing. 00:32:30.780 --> 00:32:31.480 No phones. 00:32:31.500 --> 00:32:32.440 No electricity. 00:32:32.680 --> 00:32:33.680 We're back to the Stone Ages. 00:32:35.440 --> 00:32:36.260 Lives will be lost. 00:32:38.620 --> 00:32:40.310 A difficult place to live. 00:32:41.180 --> 00:32:46.860 And Elijah goes before this king and before Jezebel and gives this pronouncement. 00:32:49.060 --> 00:32:51.340 How could such a nobody from nowhere do this? 00:32:53.240 --> 00:32:59.130 Where does he get the fortitude to even stand before this king and make such a statement? 00:32:59.340 --> 00:33:04.280 The seventh king out of 19 of all this ungodliness, how could he do this? 00:33:04.480 --> 00:33:08.080 Guys, I want you to know, Elijah wasn't a superhero. 00:33:08.940 --> 00:33:15.340 In fact, when we see these chapters ahead of him, you're gonna find that Elijah gets so depressed in his life he asks God just to take him out of this world. 00:33:18.160 --> 00:33:19.080 Elijah struggled. 00:33:21.260 --> 00:33:22.780 And in the midst of it all, Israel didn't get better. 00:33:24.580 --> 00:33:27.560 They continued another dozen kings down the path of wickedness. 00:33:28.980 --> 00:33:30.160 How did Elijah do this? 00:33:31.660 --> 00:33:36.680 I think the first indication the author gives us is really found in Elijah's name. 00:33:38.440 --> 00:33:41.000 Elijah the Tishbite means something. 00:33:43.100 --> 00:33:44.140 This word, Elijah... 00:33:44.460 --> 00:33:51.540 names in the Bible are significant because it doesn't just mean your Mom thought of a really cool name and spelled it in a really cool way and now you get to be 00:33:51.540 --> 00:33:51.840 cool. 00:33:52.140 --> 00:33:53.800 That's not how they decided names. 00:33:54.300 --> 00:34:00.100 That might be how we do it today, but back in Biblical days they chose a name that reflected identity. 00:34:01.780 --> 00:34:06.840 When you think about Jesus, we call Jesus by his name but his name's also an identity. 00:34:07.100 --> 00:34:07.860 It's salvation. 00:34:09.500 --> 00:34:10.600 And the same is true with Elijah. 00:34:11.739 --> 00:34:14.880 L is short for the word Elohim, which is a generic word for God. 00:34:16.219 --> 00:34:22.330 The jah at the end is short for Jehovah, which is the specific name of God, the name that God gave to Moses. 00:34:23.219 --> 00:34:24.719 And the i in the middle means me or mine. 00:34:26.340 --> 00:34:28.489 Elijah's name is a pronouncement in the midst of wickedness. 00:34:30.080 --> 00:34:30.659 My God is Jehovah. 00:34:32.260 --> 00:34:33.300 Or Jehovah is my God. 00:34:35.980 --> 00:34:36.780 Who do you wanna be? 00:34:39.179 --> 00:34:41.920 Elijah's name was a pronouncement of his identity. 00:34:44.100 --> 00:34:47.300 Where he shaped the character of who he was. 00:34:48.880 --> 00:34:53.800 To Elijah, his name shows us that he had a personal walk with God. 00:34:55.159 --> 00:34:56.540 His strength wasn't in himself. 00:34:57.900 --> 00:34:59.100 He was a nobody from nowhere. 00:35:00.520 --> 00:35:07.600 Rather, his strength was found in the power and the promises of God and living in God's promises he had all the 00:35:07.620 --> 00:35:08.920 strength he ever needed. 00:35:12.180 --> 00:35:14.940 The author writes the story as if to pose the question in the midst of this wickedness. 00:35:15.600 --> 00:35:17.320 Who do you want to be? 00:35:18.710 --> 00:35:20.620 Your heart will surrender to something. 00:35:22.580 --> 00:35:24.220 God doesn't want half of you. 00:35:25.760 --> 00:35:27.850 God wants all of you. 00:35:29.700 --> 00:35:31.220 The disciples had been with Jesus. 00:35:33.100 --> 00:35:34.050 And where do you go today? 00:35:35.700 --> 00:35:37.920 To the word that reflects the nature of who Jesus is. 00:35:39.780 --> 00:35:44.020 That we could know this Jesus and our lives begin to emulate him. 00:35:45.560 --> 00:35:46.840 'Cause when we come to God's word. 00:35:48.080 --> 00:35:49.910 I know sometimes the temptation is to do this legalistically. 00:35:50.340 --> 00:35:52.200 I could tell you today, God wants you to read His word. 00:35:52.240 --> 00:35:52.760 He wrote it. 00:35:53.400 --> 00:35:56.760 It's obvious that the reason He wrote it is so that we would read it. 00:35:56.780 --> 00:35:56.900 Right? 00:35:57.660 --> 00:35:58.660 And that we could treat it like this. 00:35:58.740 --> 00:36:02.610 That God wants me to know His word and therefore I'm supposed to know His word so tomorrow I'll get up and read His word. 00:36:03.140 --> 00:36:05.720 But God doesn't just simply want you to know His word for information. 00:36:09.020 --> 00:36:10.140 God wrote His word for transformation. 00:36:12.300 --> 00:36:13.540 The Bible says lots of good things. 00:36:13.910 --> 00:36:20.960 Everything it says, but 1 Timothy, Chapter 2, it tells us to, "Study to shew thyself approve, a workman 00:36:20.960 --> 00:36:25.600 needs not be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth." Study. 00:36:25.720 --> 00:36:32.800 Our 1 Peter, Chapter 3 tells us to, "Sanctify Christ as Lord in your heart and to give an account for 00:36:32.800 --> 00:36:35.480 what you believe," basically. 00:36:35.540 --> 00:36:37.000 But it says to do it in gentleness and reverence. 00:36:39.100 --> 00:36:40.200 There is some study. 00:36:42.100 --> 00:36:43.410 I want you to know it doesn't end in study. 00:36:45.240 --> 00:36:46.940 It's not about your intellect or knowledge. 00:36:48.220 --> 00:36:49.560 It's about transformation of the heart. 00:36:51.860 --> 00:36:53.370 You can't impart what you don't possess. 00:36:53.660 --> 00:36:54.740 Right? 00:36:55.420 --> 00:37:01.240 When you see God's words talked about throughout scripture, it doesn't just end in study, information, academic. 00:37:02.300 --> 00:37:05.040 Oftentimes what's stated in the scripture is meditate. 00:37:07.140 --> 00:37:09.740 Not just to get it in your mind, but to get it in your soul. 00:37:11.380 --> 00:37:12.560 Let it become who you are. 00:37:13.920 --> 00:37:16.320 So that when you're cut, what you bleed is Jesus. 00:37:17.780 --> 00:37:20.920 In fact, one of the most beautiful passages of scripture, Psalm 1:19. 00:37:20.920 --> 00:37:22.320 Love this passage of scripture. 00:37:22.360 --> 00:37:26.330 It's what William Wilberforce used when he was on the British Parliament. 00:37:26.500 --> 00:37:29.160 When he would walk to work every day he would quote Psalm 1:19. 00:37:29.460 --> 00:37:31.460 And all it is a reflection on the beauty of God's word. 00:37:32.780 --> 00:37:40.000 And in the reflection, the beauty of God's word over eight times, it uses this word meditate on God's word, meaning not just know it but to let it ingrain 00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:42.180 in the depth of who you are. 00:37:42.400 --> 00:37:44.110 In one of those verses it says it like this. 00:37:44.240 --> 00:37:48.860 Psalm 1:19:10, "I seek you with all my heart." Look, God doesn't want half your heart. 00:37:50.140 --> 00:37:51.840 "You are my treasure. 00:37:52.920 --> 00:37:54.000 You are what I love. 00:37:54.900 --> 00:37:57.240 When people see me they will say I have been with Jesus. 00:37:57.400 --> 00:37:59.200 I seek you with all my heart. 00:37:59.540 --> 00:38:01.150 Do not let me stray from your commands. 00:38:01.200 --> 00:38:08.340 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." It's about what God wants to do in you. 00:38:10.360 --> 00:38:11.570 That's why you have His word. 00:38:13.720 --> 00:38:14.760 We don't just study. 00:38:16.940 --> 00:38:18.260 It becomes us. 00:38:20.240 --> 00:38:23.400 The reality is none of us are where we should be. 00:38:24.760 --> 00:38:26.080 That's the conflict of inscripture. 00:38:27.140 --> 00:38:28.860 The conflict within our own soul. 00:38:28.860 --> 00:38:30.320 None of us are where we should be. 00:38:31.300 --> 00:38:36.470 But this is exactly where God desires to intersect our lives and deliver to us His grace. 00:38:37.860 --> 00:38:45.240 One of the things that frustrated me in studying the life of Elijah, which I in turn ended up loving, is that when I looked at Elijah I 00:38:45.240 --> 00:38:46.480 realized Israel didn't change. 00:38:48.560 --> 00:38:50.740 Temporarily, there was some pursuit of God. 00:38:52.380 --> 00:38:53.420 But by and large it didn't change. 00:38:55.500 --> 00:38:58.670 19 wicked kings, Elijah steps in on Ahab, who's seventh. 00:38:59.060 --> 00:39:00.540 And there's 12 ungodly kings. 00:39:02.880 --> 00:39:03.760 Israel didn't change. 00:39:05.840 --> 00:39:07.340 Why would you do that? 00:39:09.180 --> 00:39:13.000 Why call Elijah in those moments to know that the people were only gonna walk in darkness? 00:39:16.000 --> 00:39:23.700 And then I find in the midst of that struggle, my heart also being relieved or I should say ending in relief. 00:39:25.280 --> 00:39:32.580 Because I think when it comes to ministry, ministry doesn't begin based 00:39:32.580 --> 00:39:33.480 on what I produce. 00:39:35.340 --> 00:39:39.200 Ministry's not about what I can produce. 00:39:41.460 --> 00:39:44.200 In fact, that's I don't think ever been God's goal. 00:39:44.320 --> 00:39:45.620 It's not about what I can do. 00:39:45.620 --> 00:39:46.620 It's not about me. 00:39:49.640 --> 00:39:54.050 Serving the Lord in my life and in my life, it's not about me and what I can produce. 00:39:54.160 --> 00:39:57.080 In fact, God can pick anybody to do what I do. 00:39:59.580 --> 00:40:00.340 God doesn't need me. 00:40:03.680 --> 00:40:10.120 It's not about what I can produce, but rather it's about what God wants to produce within me. 00:40:13.520 --> 00:40:14.960 That's the beauty of Elijah's story. 00:40:16.440 --> 00:40:23.540 In the midst of darkness rather than just end the story by saying, "And everyone followed God after that," what God 00:40:23.540 --> 00:40:26.780 is showing us in this is that someone was still faithful despite what happened around them. 00:40:28.920 --> 00:40:30.310 Because ministry's not about accomplishment. 00:40:31.840 --> 00:40:32.710 It's not about accolade. 00:40:32.820 --> 00:40:33.660 It's not about what I've done. 00:40:33.860 --> 00:40:34.620 It's not about what you do. 00:40:36.820 --> 00:40:39.920 But rather the beauty of what ministry is what God wants to do in me. 00:40:39.960 --> 00:40:40.640 I could tell you it like this. 00:40:41.860 --> 00:40:45.080 In living for the Lord and serving the Lord, not done it perfect at all. 00:40:46.900 --> 00:40:50.500 But selfishly maybe it is to even say this, that my favorite thing God's done... 00:40:50.580 --> 00:40:51.800 I've seen God do some great things... 00:40:51.820 --> 00:40:54.940 My favorite thing is what God has done in me. 00:40:57.540 --> 00:41:04.620 And just stepping out for the Lord and trusting His promises and seeing Him faithful, God's done a 00:41:04.620 --> 00:41:05.580 work in me. 00:41:06.360 --> 00:41:07.240 It has been a delight. 00:41:07.720 --> 00:41:09.560 In that, I won't stop doing ministry. 00:41:10.380 --> 00:41:10.620 Why? 00:41:10.620 --> 00:41:13.060 Because I wanna be close to my God and experiencing that way. 00:41:14.240 --> 00:41:16.450 And that's exactly what you're gonna see in the life of Elijah. 00:41:18.280 --> 00:41:21.920 As he's doing ministry, he starts off as a guy from Tishbe whatever. 00:41:23.400 --> 00:41:23.780 Who cares? 00:41:25.600 --> 00:41:26.260 But it's what he becomes. 00:41:28.060 --> 00:41:31.920 As Jesus molds in him who he desires for him to be. 00:41:34.140 --> 00:41:35.740 Ministry's not about what you produce. 00:41:37.000 --> 00:41:37.780 It's never been about that. 00:41:39.400 --> 00:41:42.220 God doesn't need you to do anything that He calls you to in this world. 00:41:42.220 --> 00:41:42.940 He could pick anybody. 00:41:44.760 --> 00:41:46.620 Rather, it's about what God wants to do in you. 00:41:48.500 --> 00:41:49.220 And that is a beautiful thing. 00:41:51.120 --> 00:41:54.710 And God uses His opportunities in this world to shape our lives. 00:41:56.300 --> 00:41:57.700 What will you surrender to? 00:41:59.560 --> 00:42:06.840 And can your life say just like Elijah, that Yahweh is my God. 00:42:07.960 --> 00:42:09.200 And that's who I desire to become like. 00:42:10.460 --> 00:42:12.640 Modeling him in the way I live.