Hated For Speaking The Truth!

Well, let's begin our worship this evening. We're singing in Psalm 106, Psalm 106 in the

St. Psalms. That's from page 140, the tune is Ottawa.

Praise the Lord, extol His goodness, for His love endures always. Who can tell His mighty actions

or in full declare His praise? Blessed are those whose way is right, acting justly in His sight.

We're singing down to the end of verse 13, Psalm 106. Praise the Lord, extol His goodness.

Praise the Lord, extol His goodness.

Praise the Lord, extol His goodness.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We have sinned just like our fathers. We have done what was not right.

When our fathers wedded Egypt, they despised your peace of mind.

All your mercies, they ignored, at the Red Sea's firm, the Lord.

Yet for His men's sake, He saved them, and revealed His mighty hand.

By His word, the seed-hearted led them through us all dry land.

From the hand of the force set free, rescued from the enemy.

Then in adversaries found there, not a single one survived.

So the people sang His praises, and His promises believed.

But His words made soon for God, and His counsel set an all.

Let's now call upon the Lord in prayer.

Let's join together in prayer.

Almighty and gracious God, as we come and as we bow in Your presence in prayer,

as we lift up our voices in praise to You, as we hear Your word, and as we give our mind to its teaching.

O Lord, help us to believe all that Your word tells us about Yourself, about ourselves, about the world in which we live.

Help us truly to relish in our hearts those things of salvation that it speaks about, and that it brings to us with Your own authority, and with that unerring authorship of Your Spirit.

We give thanks, Lord, tonight that we come to worship You in a world that so largely ignores the importance of worshiping and acknowledging God.

And we thank You for the testimony and the witness that this itself brings to the world.

For, Lord, we think perhaps that few people see us as we come to gather in church, and yet we know that there are those who take note of our comings and goings from these places of worship.

And we give thanks, O Lord, tonight for the opportunities that You give us to serve You and to testify to the world about You.

And we pray that we may do this unashamedly, and in a way that would depend upon Your own blessing, so as to carry this further.

We give thanks, O Lord, for all Your goodness to us.

We come before You as a people who know that Your goodness to us has been displayed in so many ways over so many years.

That You still continue to bless us.

That You still continue to give us from Your Word that which encourages us.

That You still continue to speak to us and to speak into our hearts.

That You still continue at times to rebuke us, to bring us the reproof that Your Word itself contains.

Help us, Lord, we pray, to receive all of these facets of Your truth in a way that would wholeheartedly acknowledge them as Your Word and as Your wisdom.

And we pray tonight as we gather here, O Lord, and as we are joined online by those who join us in that way.

Help us, we pray together, as we come to worship the Lord.

Help us to look to You and to look to Your Spirit.

We come, Lord, to use Your Word.

We come to read Your Word and to hear its teaching.

And we acknowledge, Lord, that we need the blessing of the author of the Word, Your Holy Spirit, whom You used to bring men of old, to bring these things together in these books that we have in our Bible.

We thank You for the wonder, O Lord, that down through many centuries, so You caused these things to be written and caused them to be brought together so that we have them now as Your Word in its wholeness.

We thank You for Your preservation of Your Word down through the years.

We pray tonight that You would bless Your Word throughout the world in all the various languages into which Your Word has been translated.

We pray that that work of translation will go on, that the work of Bible societies and other agencies that seek to bring Your Word before the world.

Lord, we ask that they may be furthered in their attempts to bring Your Word into the public domain.

And we pray that every agency that is true to Yourself and to Your Word, that they will know Your blessing and Your continued provision for them to bring Your Word before the world.

And to translate it into the many languages that yet don't have a Bible in their own native tongue.

And Lord, we ask Your blessing to be with all attempts to bring that about.

We thank You for the way in which we gathered on Friday evening last to commemorate and to launch the new recordings of the New Testament.

And we pray that these may be widely used when they become finally fully available to us.

We pray especially that they may be of use in our children's education.

And that they may prove to be valuable materials for the teaching of our young people, the things of God, the teaching of Your truth.

And we ask that they may be a blessing to many in the years to come.

And we pray, O Lord, that Your blessing will be with all Your people this evening.

Once again, we remember fellow Christians in different parts of the world, very different to ours in their circumstances.

But yet we give thanks that You are able to deal with them and bring them the help that they require.

Lord, we thank You that we call upon a God who is the commander of the universe, who has Himself the infinite wisdom and ability to do for us far more abundantly, exceedingly, than we are able to ask or think.

We thank You for the riches of Your grace, for the fullness, Lord, of Your blessing that You keep in store for those who fear You and love You.

And we pray that out of that store this evening, there will be many who will come to be blessed and to be fed from Your truth.

And remember, we pray, those who carry Your Word into different parts of the world and face difficulties and trials beyond what we ourselves can experience.

We ask that You would bless those whom we know ourselves, O Lord, who serve You in this capacity.

We pray that You would grant blessing to Marsalee Campbell as she goes forth shortly to Bolivia to begin help with a new work there.

We ask, O Lord, that You would bless her and keep her and use her.

We thank You for the news that she brought us of that work.

And we pray that You would continue to uphold and strengthen her fault.

And we pray for our own Muriel as well, as she anticipates going back to Cambodia.

Lord, we pray that Your blessing will be with her in her preparations.

We pray that You would grant to her, Lord, as she anticipates with a desire to go back to that work.

And we pray that Your blessing will accompany her in that work itself.

And that all that she does there will know Your continued hand upon her.

And all that she meets with and all that she does, Lord, in Your name, that it will be pleased, O Lord, You will be pleased to grant Your blessing to this.

Lord, we pray for our nation at this time, O Lord, when we find so much in our news about the impending election of a new leader for the SNP and potentially to be the first minister of Scotland.

Lord, we pray that You would guide us as a people in that regard in our prayers, in our concerns, and especially those who have a direct hand in such an election.

We pray for the parliament itself, and we pray that You would grant them wisdom, Lord, to make the right decision.

We pray again for Kate Forbes.

We thank You for her testimony, for the brightness of her witness, for her faithfulness to Your truth and to Your calling of her.

We pray for her, for Your protection of her, for Your strengthening of her, for Your confirmation to her, O Lord.

Not only that she is where You have called her to be, but that You are her God and that she is precious in Your sight.

And we pray that as she seeks to withstand the many different assaults from many angles that have been directed against her in past days.

Lord, make her strong, we pray, in the grace that is in Jesus Christ.

And grant that to Thee witness that she is born and been witnessed to over the different types of media where that is brought to public notice.

O Lord, we pray that that itself will prove to be a blessing and a means by which others will come to think deeply upon that position and relation to You throughout our land.

And will be used by You as an instrument towards reaching into the hearts and minds of people who may be very unfamiliar with the gospel.

And yet know integrity and honesty when they see it.

And we pray, gracious one, for Your blessing to continue to be with her.

Remember all others in our parliament, both here in Westminster as well, who are Your people and who serve You in the ways in which they do.

Lord, we pray that You would keep them faithful.

And we pray that their testimony publicly will be in accordance with Your truth, that You would grant them the grace, Lord, by which they will adhere to Your ways.

And not be brought aside by the subtleties of false teaching, by the subtleties of political pressure or any other way in which they may have these temptations placed before them.

And we ask, O Lord, for Your people in public life everywhere, locally here as well as elsewhere, that they may know Your continued blessing upon them.

And we ask, Lord, in our own community here locally, where we find increasingly a distaste for the gospel,

where we find, O Lord, so few and high prominence in public life locally that are prepared to come to know You and to follow You and to commend You and to commend Your ways,

even to the point of resisting them.

Lord, we ask in Your mercy that You would remember us as a people, that You would restore to us, Lord, a relish for Your Word, for Your day, for Your cause,

for all the things that have prospered as in the past.

And we commit all of this to You and seek Your blessing.

Lord, help us to believe that when we pray to You for these things, that You are a God who hears us and answers our prayer.

Help us not to be surprised or amazed when You show Your hand in those who stand for You publicly,

and do so in a way that unashamedly confesses Christ.

We thank You for Your upholding of us at all times.

Bless now those who can't be with us this evening.

We pray especially for those who are ill, for those in hospital, for those in our care homes.

We pray again for those who have had death in their experience recently in their families.

Bless all these families, we pray, and all who have still the wound of mourning and loss and sorrow in their lives,

though it be many years since their loved ones passed away.

Continue, we pray, to bless them and to comfort them.

Receive our thanks now and pardon us and cleanse us from all our sin.

We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

Let's sing again to God's praise this time.

It's in Psalm 119.

That's in the Scottish Psalter version 119 from verse 129.

Singing that section to 136.

The tune this time is Ayrshire.

Thy statutes, Lord, are wonderful.

My soul them keeps with care.

The entrance of Thy words gives light, makes wise who simple are.

Readings and singings this evening are particularly focused on the Word of God

and the importance of the Word of God to us in our lives privately and publicly.

And so we're following the psalmist here as he expresses to God how precious his Word is to him

as he lives out his life in the presence of those who may well be his enemies.

So we'll sing the section, Thy Statutes, Lord, are wonderful.

Thy Statutes, Lord, are wonderful.

Thy soul and feet will hear.

The angels of Thy Word desire.

May twice decipher I.

My mind, Thy heart, Thy open head,

Have planted earnest me.

While after Thy commandment,

Thy love exceedingly.

Look on me, Lord, and merciful to have and to be true.

As Thy heart, O Lord, are wonderful.

As Thy heart, O Lord, are wonderful.

To do to those Thy name who truly are.

O let my first steps in Thy Word arise,

To your life shall order free.

Let no iniquity of shame

No lenient over me.

From man's oppression save Thou need.

So keep Thy laws, Thy will.

Thy faith be gone,

Thy servant shy.

Teach me Thy statutes still.

Teach me Thy statutes still.

Rev'ers, O waters, call my night.

They run down when I saw.

Thy wicked men run on its day,

And do not be thy law.

Now let's turn to read God's Word.

We'll find it tonight in the first letter of Kings.

First book of Kings, rather.

The first book of the Kings, chapter 22.

And reading from the beginning.

First Kings, chapter 22.

1 Kings 22 · chapter mention

We'll read the passage down to verse 28.

It's a lengthy passage, but there are important issues in it connected together.

So we'll read these verses 1 to 28.

For three years, Syria and Israel continued without war.

But in the third year, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, came down to the king of Israel.

And the king of Israel said to his servants,

Do you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us?

And we keep quiet and do not take it out of the hand of the king of Syria.

And he said to Jehoshaphat,

Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth Gilead?

And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel,

I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.

And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel,

Enquire first for the word of the Lord.

Then the king of Israel gathered all the prophets together,

About four hundred men, and said to them,

Shall I go to battle against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?

And he said, Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.

But Jehoshaphat said,

Is there not here another prophet of the Lord, of whom we may inquire?

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat,

There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord,

Micaiah the son of Imla, but I hate him.

For he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.

And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said,

Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imla.

Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah

Were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes,

At the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria.

And all the prophets were prophesying before them.

And Zedekiah the son of Hinnana made for himself horns of iron,

And said, Thus says the Lord,

With these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.

And all the prophets prophesied so, and said,

Go up to Ramoth-Gilead and triumph.

The Lord will give it into the hand of the king.

And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him,

Behold the words of the prophets with one accord are favourable to the king.

Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favourably.

But Micaiah said, As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, that I will speak.

And when he had come to the king, the king said to him,

Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?

And he answered him, Go up and triumph.

The Lord will give it into the hand of the king.

But the king said to him, How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me

Nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?

And he said, I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd.

And the Lord said, These have no master.

Let each return to his home in peace.

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat,

Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me but evil?

And Micaiah said, Therefore hear the word of the Lord.

I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him,

And he died on his right hand and on his left.

And the Lord said, Who will entice Ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?

And one said one thing, and another said another.

Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, I will entice him.

And the Lord said to him, By what means?

And he said, I will go out, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.

And he said, You are to entice him, and you shall succeed.

Go out and do so.

Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets.

The Lord has declared disaster for you.

Then Zedekiah the son of Hinnana came near, and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, How did the Spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you?

And Micaiah said, Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.

And the king of Israel said, Seize Micaiah, and take him back to Ammon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son.

And say, Thus says the king, Put this fellow in prison, and feed him meager rations of bread and water, until I come in peace.

And Micaiah said, If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.

And he said, Hear, all you peoples.

May the Lord bless to us that portion of his word.

Let's sing again in Psalm 37 this time.

Psalm 37, and that's on page 252.

The tune this time is rest.

We'll sing verses 1 to 7.

Amen.

For evildoers, fret thou not thyself unquietly.

Now do thou envy bear to those that work in equity.

For even like unto the grass soon be cut down shall they.

And like the green and tender herb, they wither shall away.

Set thou thy trust upon the Lord.

And be thou doing good, and so thou in the land shalt dwell, and verily have food.

We'll sing six stanzas to the end of the verse mark seven.

For evildoers, fret thou not.

For evildoers, fret thou not thyself unquietly.

Nor do thou ever spread thou not thyself unquietly.

Nor do thou envy bear to those that work in equity.

For evildoers, fret thou not thyself unquietly.

For evildoers, fret thou not thyself unquietly.

For evildoers, fret thou not thyself unquietly.

For evildoers, fret thou not thyself unquietly.

Nor beindoers, fret thou not thyself unquietly.

For evildoers, fret thou not thyself unquietly.

For evildoers, fret thou not thyself unquietly.

By the wobbles, fret thou not thyself unquietly.

For evildoers, fret thou not thyself unquietly.

For evildoers, fret thou not

darn theirирÍs unquietly.

榮 whether oub Taste thy biennospietly.

wither shall away.

Set thou thy trust upon the Lord,

and be thou doing good.

And so thou in the land shalt dwell,

and many have lain.

Be like thyself, then God he'll give,

thine heart's desire to lead.

Thy way to God, go with interest,

it bring to us shall be.

And thy come to the light,

he shall thy righteous death display.

And he thy judgment shall bring forth,

like noontide all the day.

Rest in the Lord, not patiently,

wait for him, do not pray.

For they who cross drink in his way,

such that sin sin shall be.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, turn with me now, please,

to 1 Kings chapter 22.

1 Kings 22 · chapter mention

We're going to look at certain aspects of this passage.

We can focus our mind on verse 8,

and then see how other aspects of the chapter relate to that.

So, 1 Kings 22, as we read in verse 8,

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat,

There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord,

Micaiah the son of Imla, but I hate him.

For he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.

I'm taking a sidestep tonight from our series in 1 Corinthians 15.

It's really in relation to the things that have been happening in our own nation over the last week or so.

Just to look at these things, hopefully, in the light of this passage,

in the light of Scripture,

and to let the Word of God shine upon these events,

which I think is always wise for us and good for us to do.

We'll come back to 1 Corinthians 15, God willing,

next time we come together in the evening.

Well, this was an alliance doomed to failure, wasn't it?

This was never going to work,

because here is an alliance between the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat,

a good man with some failures, as we all have,

a man who was by and large obedient to God and serving of God,

but yet here made a very near fatal mistake for himself.

He very nearly got killed as a result, if you read down to the end of the chapter.

And here he is himself coming to ally himself

with one of the worst kings ever in the history of Israel.

At this time, the two nations, Judah and Israel, are often at war.

But here is the king Ahab,

and you notice in, go back just to chapter 21 and verse 25,

you find a description there of Ahab in a summary fashion.

There was none like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord,

whom Jezebel, his wife, incited.

He acted very abominably in going after idols,

as the Amorites had done,

whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel.

Here was a wicked man, an evil man,

a man who was opposed to God,

a man who was opposed to God's people,

a king who hated God,

who hated the truth as God gave it to him

whenever he heard it through faithful prophets,

which was seldom.

Although, of course, we remember Elijah

as well at this particular time in history.

Well, this was an alliance

that really was bound

to failure from the very start.

Because what's happening here is that

Jehoshaphat is really putting his politics

above his piety.

He's putting his political situation

before his own faithfulness to God.

Not the first time it happened.

Certainly wasn't the last time it happened,

and it still happens.

Putting his politics

before his piety.

Putting his own political career

before his relationship to God

and to the truth of God.

And that's what you find

happening in our own land as well.

But there are, of course,

exceptions, very prominently.

The exception of Kate Forbes at this time.

I don't want to focus too much on her at all,

but nevertheless, it's important

that we see what's taking place

and give our support to those

who are standing for God's cause.

And one of the reasons we admire Kate Forbes

is by the grace of God.

She's come to say, for example,

she said when she was questioned

about her view of same-sex marriage,

her view of other issues

in that ethical sphere,

and she said,

politics will pass.

Politics will pass.

I was a human being

before I was a politician.

And she meant by that, I think,

that whenever her political career is over,

it's not going to change anything

in terms of her relationship with God.

Politics will pass.

And whatever political persuasion we're of,

that's going to be the case.

We're never to put our politics

above our piety,

above our principles,

above our relationship with God.

And it's important in all ages

and for all age groups

that our personal morality

is the morality of the Bible.

I say to the young folks here tonight,

you're ethical,

you're moral standing,

you're the quality of your life

as you want to live it out

and as you're growing up in the world.

Make sure that it's the morality of the Bible.

Don't be taken in by

the kind of stuff you're listening to these days

that you hear so often,

that the Bible is completely irrelevant

and outmoded

and old-fashioned for these days,

for 2023.

The Bible has always been

directly relevant

for every age of the world,

and it will be so to the end of the world.

And so, that's why we're saying to you,

young people,

that the Bible continues to be so

centrally and foundationally

important to your life.

And if you give in to

the kind of pressure that you get,

maybe from some of your own age group,

it's not going to be a good thing for yourself

or for the age group that you live in.

God has given you the advantage

of being brought up in the church,

in a church that believes the Bible,

a church that values the Bible,

a church that holds out the Bible

as the Word of God.

And it's an appeal to you all tonight,

as we do at all times.

Please take the Bible seriously.

Please have the Bible

as the foundation of your life

morally and spiritually,

because that's really what this passage

is telling us about.

Micaiah, as we'll see,

he was not prepared

to turn aside from his obedience to God

despite the pressures

that were brought to bear upon him.

So, we're looking at two things.

First of all, we're looking at

Ahab and his advisors.

He had 400 of them,

at least 400 prophets,

Ahab and his advisors.

And then secondly,

we're looking at Micaiah and his God.

Because it comes across in this passage

as somebody who's standing on his own

against Ahab and his advisors,

and yet Micaiah has God on his side.

And as one of the Reformers once said,

if you have God on your side,

you're always in the majority,

however many people are against you.

The important thing is to have God

as your support and on your side.

That's what Micaiah really is

in the chapter before us.

He's a man who's standing

very much on his own

against the pressures

of Ahab and his advisors,

yet he continues to speak the truth

as he knows it from God.

So, Ahab and his advisors,

you see what's happening here,

the context is given us

as we look at Ahab and his advisors.

Verses 1 to 6,

and there's verse 3.

The king of Israel said to his servants,

Do you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to me,

to us, and we keep quiet

and do not take it out of the hand

of the king of Assyria?

He said to Jehovah,

Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth Gilead?

In other words, he's saying,

This land, this particular area of Syria,

Ramoth Gilead,

actually belongs to us.

And I want to take it back into our possession.

So will you join me in trying to do that?

Will you go with me to battle there,

to get this back under our control?

There's very much aspects of that

that remind you of what's happening in Ukraine,

what's happening with Putin.

He's been a kind of an Old Testament,

Putin at that stage.

He wants this territory for himself,

and he wants others to join with him

as far as possible

to bring it back under his control.

And that's why he's asking the king of Judah,

Jehoshaphat,

Will you join me in this?

Will you come to join me?

If you go to the equivalent passage

in 2 Chronicles chapter 18,

2 Chronicles 18 · chapter mention

it uses an interesting word

that the king, Jehoshaphat,

was induced or enticed

into this relationship,

into this alliance.

And that's an important word.

He was taken in.

He was taken aside.

And that passage in 2 Chronicles 18

tells us that Ahab put on a great show.

He made a great party.

He really entertained Jehoshaphat,

and he fell for it.

He fell into the trap.

And so Ahab here calls his 400 prophets

because Jehoshaphat in verse 8 there,

Jehoshaphat is a little bit uneasy

about just going along with Ahab's word.

He's saying,

well, first of all,

let's inquire for the Lord.

Let's get a word from the Lord

just to make this sure.

I'd like to know what the Lord thinks about this.

And of course, in those days,

that was largely through prophets.

So Ahab called his prophets.

He gathered together the prophets,

about 400 men,

and he said to them,

shall I go to battle against Ramoth Gilead

or shall I refrain?

And they said,

go up,

for the Lord will give it

into the hand of the king.

He had an instant response

on the part of the prophets.

They say, yes, do this.

Come on, go up.

Of course you're going to win.

You're going to take it back.

The problem for Ahab is

his prophets are false prophets.

His prophets don't know the Lord.

His prophets are prophets

that tell the king

what he wants to hear.

They're in his employ.

They're in his payment.

They actually are concerned

only to give out something

that will gratify the king.

Whether they're afraid of him or not,

we don't know.

But that's what they're there for,

the 400 of them.

They're all concerted together,

and all they want to do

is please Ahab.

And they just give him things

which they know he wants to hear.

It's not new there either,

is there?

Nothing new there either.

That's the situation

as it's described there.

They are false prophets.

Now you know that

throughout the Old Testament

and indeed into the New Testament,

you have this constant tension

between the false prophets

and the true prophets of the Lord

or the true apostles of the Lord.

And when you go to

the book of Jeremiah, for example,

more than any other book in the Bible,

I think he speaks about

the false prophets.

And the false prophets

are saying to the people

of Jeremiah's day,

peace, peace.

Listen to what we're saying.

This is what the guarantee of peace is.

Never mind the likes of Jeremiah.

Never mind this man

that's so attached

to the word of the Lord.

We'll give you our opinion,

and our opinion is the one

you need to really take.

If you really are serious about peace,

listen to what we're saying.

Of course, Jeremiah knew.

They were talking falsehood.

They didn't know the mind of the Lord.

And so,

these 400 prophets,

here they are,

they come to Ahab

and they say to him,

go up.

You're going to be successful.

Why should you hold back?

Just do it.

But,

Jehoshaphat's still not

very easy in his mind,

is he?

Because he says,

is there not

another prophet,

someone else here,

a prophet of the Lord,

of whom we may inquire?

He knows

the kind of man

that Ahab is,

and yet he's still

prepared to go into

an alliance with him.

And so,

he comes and says,

is there anybody else here

that can give us

the word of the Lord

just to offset it

against these 400?

And of course,

Ahab comes and says,

yes,

there is.

There is one man here

by whom we may inquire,

Micaiah,

the son of Imlah,

but I hate him,

for he never prophesies

good concerning me,

only evil.

And you see,

what's happening

in Ahab's mind

is that he's really,

he's putting truth

and error

the wrong way around.

What he's actually doing

is for Ahab,

as you find him here

speaking about

this Micaiah,

he doesn't like Micaiah

because Micaiah

always speaks to him

in the name of the Lord,

the truth of the Lord.

And Ahab hates the truth.

The last thing Ahab wants

is the truth of God.

It's fine on the surface

saying,

yes,

I want to know the Lord

and His will

and I want my prophets

to actually give me

the word of the Lord,

but it's the word

that he wants to hear.

It's the word

that will please him.

He's very unhappy about it.

He's scathing about it

if somebody comes to him

with a word from the Lord

that's actually the truth.

So that brings you

to see Micaiah

and his God.

That's the situation

in which Micaiah

is placed.

That's Ahab

and his advisors,

but look at Micaiah

and his God.

Now,

Micaiah only appears

in this chapter

and in the equivalent chapter

in 2 Chronicles.

The only time

it's mentioned

in the Bible.

And there's a point

made by that itself

and it's this,

that although he's not

prominent like Elijah

or Elisha

or Moses

or somebody like that

who is demonstrably

and publicly powerful

in the name of the Lord,

yet Micaiah here,

as he stands for the Lord,

is doing just as important

at work in many respects

as the ones

who are prominent

in the ways of the Lord.

And it reminds you

and I ourselves,

even if we say,

well, I can't do

the kind of things

that other people

are doing for the Lord.

I don't have the gifts

that other people have

that are more public,

that are actually

obviously more to the front,

to the forefront

of the cause of Christ.

I'm not like that.

The Lord is saying,

I don't want you

to be like that.

What I'm saying is,

what he's saying to you is,

whatever he has given you

to use, use it.

Whether it's prominent or not.

Here's a man

who's faithful to the Lord,

facing all of these pressures.

He's not really

a man who's given

to being in the public eye,

it seems,

from this passage.

And yet,

here he is,

presenting the will of God

to 400

of Ahab's prophets

and to Ahab himself.

Now, you don't have to be,

you don't have to be prominent.

You don't have to be

to the fore publicly.

Wherever God

has placed you in life,

that's where you serve him.

Whatever your view is

of how he has endowed you

or otherwise,

or how you compare

with other people

or otherwise,

what the Lord

is calling for you to do

is to use

what he's given you,

where he's placed you,

and to do that

in dependence upon himself.

And you can see Ahab's

hatred of the truth,

as we're seeing here,

Micaiah and his God.

But then, you see,

as the narrative moves on,

this is what Ahab says,

I hate him,

for he never prophesies

good concerning me,

but evil.

And you see,

what Ahab is doing is

he's calling good

what pleases himself.

And he's calling

what is a word from the Lord

through the likes of Micaiah

as evil.

He's turned his own world

upside down

because he is so much

against God

and in favor of just hearing

something that flatters himself.

And you know,

that's still the truth.

That's still true

of the world

in which we live.

How many times

over the last week

have you read something,

whether on Twitter,

Facebook,

news reports,

or whatever,

wherever you've seen it,

but you've seen

more than once,

I'm sure.

The idea,

the statement,

something like,

here is someone

who believes

the Bible literally,

something that's not fit

for this century,

something that's not fit

for 2023.

How can anyone

who actually believes

these things

be thought of

as a suitable leader

of a country

in this day and age?

Well,

Micaiah faced that.

Micaiah faced

that same philosophy.

Micaiah faced

the same thing

as he faced

Ahab and these

false prophets

who would say,

no,

your version of

the word of the Lord,

that's completely outdated.

What we want

is people

who are actually

progressive.

People are progressive

and don't actually

have that old-fashioned way,

this is what the Lord

is saying,

this is the word

of the Lord.

You see,

Ahab

really calls

good

what pleases himself.

That's what's suitable.

That's what fits

with the society he wants.

That's what really

is so much different

to the likes of Micaiah.

And what Micaiah says to him,

oh, that's evil.

That's not good.

That's bad.

Don't want to hear that.

That's not suitable.

That's not relevant.

That doesn't fit

the situation at all.

Put that behind you.

Give me something

that's up to date.

Something that pleases myself.

Something that flatters

my human ingenuity.

And that's Ahab's

hatred of the truth.

And that's

countered by

Micaiah's love

of the truth.

There's an attempt,

you see,

in,

incidentally,

Micaiah's name

actually means

who is like

the Lord.

Who's like

Yahweh or Jehovah.

That's interesting

that that's the meaning

of his Hebrew name

Micaiah.

Who is like

the Lord?

And, you know,

if people were really

taking account

of names in those days

as they often did,

here is Ahab

knowing who Micaiah is

and what he stands for.

And there before him

in the very person

and the name of Micaiah

is this great question

that he should really

be facing.

Who is like

the Lord?

And that comes

across to ourselves,

doesn't it?

Who is like

the Lord?

That's what we're

standing for.

The uniqueness,

the greatness,

the glory of this

God we worship

unlike any other,

superior to any other,

above everyone else,

and alone worthy

of our worship.

Well, here is

a first attempt,

you see,

in verse 9,

if you read these verses

from verse 9,

Jehoshaphat said,

let not the king see.

So then the king of Israel

summoned an officer

and said,

bring quickly Micaiah,

the son of Imlah.

So he's going to send

a messenger

to get Micaiah

wherever he is

to come to where the king

and where Jehoshaphat are.

But meantime,

what does he do?

What does Ahab do?

Well, he calls

these prophets

of the Lord.

They were sitting,

these kings,

two of them

were sitting on their thrones,

arrayed in their robes,

very grand.

And then this man,

Zedekiah,

one of the false prophets,

the son of Hananah,

he made for himself

horns of iron.

And he said,

thus says the Lord,

with these you shall

push the Syrians

until they are destroyed.

And all the prophets

prophesied so.

They said the same thing

and said,

go up to Ramoth,

Gilead,

and triumph,

the Lord will give it

into the hand of the king.

See what's happening?

They're trying to actually

put on such a show

and such a persuasive show,

such a thing for Jehoshaphat

that will persuade him

and really bring his mind

to be confirmed that,

yes, these people

are telling you the truth.

You see,

they want to do it

before Micaiah comes.

Because when Micaiah comes,

Ahab knows full well

he's not going to go along

with us.

He's not going to go along

with us,

Sharad, at all.

And so he wants,

as far as possible,

that Jehoshaphat

will be convinced

what Ahab is doing

is a good thing.

What these prophets

are saying

is really the truth

from God.

And he wants to persuade

Jehoshaphat,

you can easily,

you can very readily

go along with this.

It's fine.

Everything's okay.

This is the way to go.

And that's why

he has this performance.

And you know,

that's what's really serious.

We know that

the truth of God

will always be opposed

by what is not true,

by false teaching,

by heresy,

by what is completely

at odds with the Word of God.

We know that

that's what's going to happen.

We know that

that's what's happening now.

We know it happens

in every generation

to some extent.

But what you find here

is a step further than that.

The serious thing is

that truth is now,

the false rather,

is now seeing itself

as being the true.

These people

look to be themselves.

Perhaps they are

just convinced.

That's what happens,

you see,

when you give yourself

over to the lie,

when you give yourself

over to be swallowed up

by the heresy

that you yourself

are promoting.

Eventually,

you come to believe it.

And eventually,

you come to believe

that this is in fact

the truth.

That this is really superior

to anything the likes

of Micaiah is saying.

And here are these

400 people

going through this performance

headed up by

Zedekiah,

the son of Henanah.

And there is the lie.

There is the falseness.

There is the heresy

parading itself

as the truth,

believing itself

to be the truth.

And that's when

it gets really serious.

Because that's what

we're facing

in our generation.

We're not just

aware of a clash

between that

which is false

and that which is true.

We're aware of

the false

passing itself off

as the true.

We're aware of

church people

being taken in

by the false

because they've come

to believe

that it's the true.

And it doesn't matter

whether they're moderators

or bishops

or archbishops

or priests

or ministers

whatever they are.

Once you start believing

that the false

is the true

you have a real crisis.

And you have a crisis

because

people are going

to follow that

because it's a lot easier

than to stand

where Micaiah is standing

and actually say

no this is the truth.

This is what God

is saying.

That's where

it's a challenge.

That's where

it's difficult.

That's where

you really need

the grace of God

to steal you.

And especially

when you're outnumbered

400 to 1.

And that's why

Paul wrote

as he did

to the likes

of Galatians.

Listen to what he says

in the first chapter

verses 6 to 10.

I am astonished

that you are

so quickly

deserting him

who called you

in the grace

of Christ

and are turning

to a different gospel.

Not that there is

another one

but there are some

who trouble you

and want to

distort the gospel

of Christ.

But even if we

or an angel

from heaven

should preach

to you

a gospel

contrary to the one

we preached to you

let him be

accursed.

As we have said

before

so now I say

if anyone

is preaching

to you

a gospel

contrary to the one

you received

let him be

accursed.

As strong

words as even

an apostle

could write.

Why?

Why is he so vehement?

Why is he using

such language?

Because he knows

that something

is happening

that's going

to destroy

the gospel.

That's going

to get people's

minds to think

that the false

is actually

the true.

When you go

through the

the New Testament

you'll find

that the

second last

book of

the Bible

the book

of Jude

very short

book

but a very

important

dynamic book

in its own

right

and Jude

tells those

who are

receiving his

letter

as to

why he's

chosen

to actually

write

in the way

he does.

I meant

to write

to you

he said

about

a common

salvation.

You're going

to write

something

of a treatise

whether it

be justification

or whatever

but he said

I found

it necessary

to write

to appeal

to you

to contend

for the

faith

that was

once for

all delivered

to the saints

for certain

people have

crept in

unnoticed

who were

already designated

for this

condemnation

ungodly

people

who pervert

the grace

of our God

into sensuality

that's right

up to date

isn't it?

Who pervert

the grace

of God

into sensuality

and deny

our only

master

and lord

Jesus

Christ?

And that's

you see

what's happened

it's come

from within

when the

people of the

church

when the

ministers

of the

church

when the

bishops

of the

church

when they

actually

come to

believe

the false

to be

the true

this is

what happens

it spreads

like a poison

and it

weakens

the cause

and it

becomes

totally

ineffective

of changing

people's

lives

I remember

one time

when I was

doing agriculture

and my

father said

when you

go back

to the

college

this was

on holiday

and he

said

ask one

of the

folk

in the

college

of agriculture

they ask

them

if they

know

what's

happening

to the

potato

plants

because

there's

a little

worm

that's

been

growing up

inside

the

potato

stalks

and it

kills

off

the

plant

and see

if you

can find

out

what

that

is

so I

went

and asked

one of

the

lecturers

what this

was

and he

said

I know

what that

is

that's

the

rosy

rustic

moth

and when

it lays

its eggs

and develops

into a

larvae

the larvae

of the

rosy

rustic

moth

it burrows

inside

the

potato

stem

it works

its way

it eats

its way

up the

inside

of the

stem

and eventually

of course

the plant

dies

there's no

growth

so there's

no

product

that's

what false

teaching

does

it doesn't

come out

unashamedly

and say

look at me

I'm false

teaching

it's like

the rosy

rustic

larvae

it gets

inside

and it

starts

eating

from within

and before

you know it

the plant

is beginning

to die

and if

it's not

changed

it will

die

and here

is

the first

attempt

to take

Micaiah

aside

to take

him out

of the

equation

to knock

out what

he's going

to say

but of

course

the next

attempt

is the

man who

went to

fetch

Micaiah

in verse

15

this is

what

you read

there

in verse

15

here's

the man

who went

to

Micaiah

when he'd

come to

the king

he said

to

this man

who was

sent as a

messenger

to win

Micaiah

over

he said

to him

now all

of these

prophets

of the

Lord

all these

prophets

have said

the one

thing

and

I want

you

you should

really

just

comply

with

that

all

of

these

prophets

have said

favorable

to the

king

in verse

13

behold

the words

of the

prophets

with one

accord

are

favorable

to the

king

let

your

word

be

like

the

word

of

one

of

them

and

speak

favorably

you can

just

always

picture

that

you can

always

picture

this

man

coming

to

Micaiah

and

really

putting

his

arm

around

him

on

his

shoulder

and

saying

now

look

Micaiah

all

of

these

the

400

of

them

unanimously

have

come

to

speak

favorably

to

the

king

why

should

you

be

a

fool

and

go

differently

why

should

you

say

something

different

to

them

what's

the

point

of

making

trouble

for

yourself

and

danger

for

yourself

just

actually

go along

with what

they're

saying

for the

moment

you can

keep

your own

views

to

yourself

you can

believe

what you

do

believe

you can

go on

believing

what you

want to

believe

but just

keep it

quiet

for the

moment

will

you

he's

trying to

actually

bring him

alongside

so that

he won't

be a

troublemaker

but he

meets

as much

as the

Lord

lives

what the

Lord

says to

me

that

will

I

speak

what

the

Lord

says

to

me

that

will

I

speak

and

that's

what

we're

committed

to

it

doesn't

matter

whether

we

in

pulpits

or

whether

we're

serving

the

Lord

in

whatever

way

we're

serving

him

whatever

we

have

as a

privilege

of

upholding

the

truth

of

God

when

the

world

comes

and

says

look

just

go

along

with

this

why

do

not

fall

in

with

the

majority

surely

they

can't

all

be

wrong

these

400

and

you

as

one

person

you're

going

to

stand

surely

you're

not

going

to

say

I'm

actually

of

Lord

that

I

believe

it

doesn't

matter

what

anybody

tells

me

this

is

where

I

stand

this

is

what

I'm

going

to

stand

for

and

that's

what

Kate

Forbes

is

doing

in

her

own

sphere

of

serving

God

where

she

is

that's

why

it's

difficult

that's

why

it's

difficult

for

Micaiah

he's

facing

the

prospect

as

it

turned

out

indeed

he's

facing

the

prospect

of

imprisonment

which

is

what

happened

he knows

he's

going

to

face

real

difficulty

if he

stands

up

and

says

this

but

he

did

and

the

attempt

failed

to

take

him

aside

and

there's

his

answer

in

verse

14

as

we

said

as

the

Lord

lives

what

the

Lord

has

said

that

I

will

speak

that

I

will

speak

what

is

it

that

gives

a

person

to

be

loyal

to

the

truth

of

God

well

in

a

word

it's

love

for

God

if

you

love

God

you

will

love

his

truth

if

you

love

the

Lord

you

will

stand

up

for

his

truth

if

you

love

the

Lord

you

will

not

give

away

his

truth

for

a

mess

of

pottage

for

political

whatever

advantage

but

this

is

the

new

tolerance

you

see

this

is

the

new

type

of

tolerance

we

are

told

is

what

we

need

to

follow

in

our

generation

you

accept

all

moral

positions

as

equals

that's

a new

way

relatively

new