The Cost of a Covenant With the World - 8/9/26 - Meadows Baptist Church - Pastor Charlie Branch

Welcome to the [music] podcast of

Meadows Baptist Church of Walnut Cove,

North Carolina.

We're so glad [music] you joined us

today.

If you enjoy today's message, be sure to

subscribe, [music] follow, and share

with your friends.

Now, let's join Pastor Charlie [music]

Branch

with a word from God.

>> I appreciate you tonight. We find you

blessed if you would stand on the

reverence of the reading of God's word,

1 Kings chapter 20.

1 Kings 20 · chapter mention

1 Kings chapter number 20. I need to

read about 20 verses tonight, but just

to save some time, we'll look in the

last part of the chapter this evening

and I'll give you the thought and then

we'll go home. Amen. And at least the

choir won't. We're going to have choir

practice. Amen. But

anyway, this text tonight, I was

thinking today

studying this afternoon, looking over

some things for tonight and I like

preaching this way and the reason I like

preaching this way is cuz it gets me out

of

accusations that I'm preaching at

people. Amen. And you say, "What do you

mean?" Well, I don't choose the message.

I just preach where he puts me. Amen.

And wherever he puts me, I stay there as

long as he keeps me there and I enjoy it

and he always gives me something. Man,

I'm telling you, I hear people all the

time, "Man, I read my Bible and I just

don't never seem to get nothing." Well,

you just ain't looking hard enough. And

I think a lot of us many times we just

quit they say and the day of

convenience, this microwave generation

that we live in, if it don't just

automatically happen in about 30 seconds

or less, we just lose intention and lose

interest. But I'm going to tell you

this, you're going to get something out

of this book, you're going to stay with

it. Amen. And I appreciate the Lord

speaking to us and I appreciate his

blessings. 1 Kings chapter 20 and let's

1 Kings 20 · chapter mention

read in verse number 41.

For sake of time, we'll look back back

all the way to about verse number 32

this evening but notice what your Bible

said there in verse 41.

And he hastened and took the ashes away

from his face. The king of Israel

discerned him that he was one of the

prophets that he was of the prophets.

And he said unto him, "Thus saith the

Lord, because thou has let go out of thy

hand a man whom I appointed to utter

destruction, therefore thy life shall go

for his life

and thy people for his people." And the

king of Israel went to his house heavy

and displeased and came to Samaria. Look

back with me in the chapter and you say,

"Preacher, what is the context of this?"

Well, I'll give you this verse here and

then we will

give you the thought tonight. Verse

number 34,

Ben-hadad said unto him, that is King

Ahab, "The cities which my father took

from thy father I will restore. Thou

shalt make streets for thee in Damascus

as my father made in Samaria."

Then said Ahab, "I will send thee away

with this covenant." So he made a

covenant with him

and sent him away.

Now we read those first verses and you

are seeing the fruit that has taken

place from this folly in verse 34. And I

want to preach for just a little while

tonight if the Lord will help me on the

cost of covenanting with the world.

The cost of a covenant with the world.

Now I was thinking today, you can be

seated this evening we'll pray in a

minute. I was thinking today actually

just while I was sitting over there.

Today my mind often drifts to the music

industry for this reason. I think that

it is the most manifest place in the

world, probably that and Hollywood, that

represents this truth well and you say,

"What do you mean?" Well, when you think

about what fills up Hollywood and what

fills up the music industry, whether it

be country music or rock music or pop

music, just about every one of those

people that's been sex successful has

made a covenant with a devil.

They've sold their soul.

You say, "What do you mean?" Well, you

you don't have to look too very far to

find that.

And it looks like they're doing all

right on this side.

But I'll tell you this, the the whole

story has not been written yet.

And I want to tell you where it's

headed, it's headed to a place of

destruction. Amen.

And I want to give you some principles

out of these this text here about how

you get there, what happens when you get

there, and how you going to end up.

Amen. And now you say, "Preacher, what

would that have to do with us tonight?"

Well, I don't know where you might be 20

years from now, but God does. Amen. And

so I hope there's nobody here made a

covenant with the world. Amen. Or sold

their soul. Amen. But I'll tell you

this, I've I've heard stories in days

gone by of men, young men, young ladies

that sit in Baptist churches and have

sold their life away. And they walked

out the doors only to make it a few

steps from the church and drop dead. I

want to say this, that God then is still

the same God now. Amen. And this thing's

serious. All right, it's serious

tonight. And so let's pray and let's God

to help us. Father, thank you God

tonight for the word of God. Thank you

for the privilege that we have to

proclaim the truth. And God I ask you

tonight that you would give us liberty

and vocabulary tonight as we preach. I

pray you'd hide us behind the cross.

Remove uh Lord every sinful thought,

Lord every fleshly uh idea tonight. And

God I pray that you would fill us with

our spirit, cleanse us of all sin and

self. Fill us with the spirit of God.

Anoint us tonight, we pray. God I pray

Lord for whatever needs are present or

missed tonight, you'd get glory and

honor unto yourself. Thank you for

loving us. Thank you God that you are

God on the valley, the God in the valley

just as you are God on the mountain. And

Lord I know that you can help us Lord to

keep ourselves unspotted from this

world. God I ask you to help us tonight.

Use us for your glory. What you do,

we'll thank you. We love you. We ask it

all in Jesus name. For his sake we pray.

Amen and amen. This morning we left off

in verse number 20 when the uh the

Israel Israelites here in the text had

pitched over against the Syrians in the

text, and they work a great victory in

verse 29 and 30. 127,000

Syrians die in the text. Ben-Hadad flees

in verse number 30. And you notice in

verse 31, I got an introduction tonight,

so I need you to stay with me and we'll

get to the message tonight. You notice

that Ben-Hadad, as he has made it into

the city, his servants have come unto

him in verse number 31, and they begin

to tell him their plan. Now, I want to

say this tonight, these are the same

servants that told him in verse number

23 that their gods are gods of the

hills. Therefore, they were stronger

than we, but let us fight against them

in the plain, and surely we shall be

stronger than they. And so, what's

happened is him listening to his

servants has caused him 130,000

of his men. Let me say this, if it don't

work one time, amen, it would be insane

to try it again a second time. But what

happens here in the text is they're

going to try it again. And so, their

plan comes together in verse 31. Look

what your Bible says. "Behold now, we

have heard that the kings of the house

of Israel merciful kings. Let us, I pray

thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and

ropes upon our heads, and go out to the

king of Israel. Peradventure, he will

save thy life." And so, they are calling

upon the mercy of these kings of Israel.

Now, it's a righteous thing that the

nation of Israel and their kings would

be known for being merciful. But I want

to say this tonight, when there is a man

that is unrepentant and has no desire to

get right with God, there is no mercy

for that man. Amen. I'm saying to you

tonight, if you are in your sin and you

are steeped in your sin, and having no

desire to get right with God in that

same, there is no mercy for you this

evening. And I notice out of their plan,

you see their performance in verse 32.

The Bible says, "So, they girded

sackcloth on their loins, and but ropes

on their heads, and came to the king of

Israel, and said that the thy servant

Ben-Hadad saith, I pray thee, let me

live." And so they come to him. Notice

how they're clothed in the text. They

girded sackcloth on their loins trying

to create a persona of repentance. And

not only that, they put ropes on their

heads to display that Ahab could do with

them what they will. Basically saying

those ropes would signify that if Ahab

so chose, these servants would allow him

to hang them for their coming unto him

in the text. And you know what they're

doing? They're putting on a front of

repentance. They're putting on a front

wanting to say that they're going to get

right with this king, but we know the

truth behind the matter. They are

praying upon the mercy of this man. And

we notice that out of their performance,

you see that his predilection, that is

King Ahab, in verse number 32, look what

the Bible said. And he said, "Is he yet

alive?" Notice it again, "He is my

brother." So, in the text, Ahab is

deceived by them. And I want to say this

this morning, we noted in Sunday school

that Ahab was a weak man. And it is

further illustrated to us in verse

number 32 that Ahab is a weak man. He's

not thinking about conflict. He's not

thinking about retribution. When in

reality, he should have killed every one

of these servants and went and got

Ben-Hadad and killed him as well. But

you see in the text his predilection is

that he's decided, "All right, I'm going

to love this man because he's royalty

like me."

Now, here's what you say, "Preacher,

what does that have to do?" Well, here's

what happens in our lives. We find

somebody that's got a hobby that we

share or or got a friend that we share

or something that we like and

automatically we yoke up with them and

we hook up with them and we've got a

mindset about them. But what you'll find

after a while is that thing turns back.

Amen. And the Syrians, you say,

"Preacher, how is it?" Well, they'd done

tried to take Ahab out. But all it takes

is one little claim in the text and Ahab

is right back in the position he was in

in the beginning. Let me say this to you

here in the text. You'll find later on

in the book of Kings that Ben-Hadad

comes back again. What I'm saying is as

he allows Ben-Hadad to get an advantage

over him in this text. Notice not only

the predilection of Ahab, but consider

the perception of these servants in

verse 33. Now the men did diligently

observe whether anything would come from

him, and did hastily catch it. And they

said, "My brother Ben-Hadad." Then he

said, "Go ye and bring him." So what

this simply means in verse 33 is that

these servants were listening for what

Ahab would say. They were wanting him to

denote some kind of relationship with

Ben-Hadad and pray that they would be

casting themselves upon the mercy of

this man, and there is a law in these

oriental countries that you can read

about. I'm not got time to preach it

tonight, but if there was any mercy that

was shown from the king that would be on

this side of the fight here in the text,

that they would take that and they would

run with that, and it would be a

covenant. If this king did not

immediately denounce them, they would

take that and accept that as they are

forgiven. And you notice what happens in

the text. They perceive there in the

verse number 33, they said, "Thy brother

Ben-Hadad." So they played off the words

that Ahab said in the text, and they've

already hooked in. Now here's what I

want to tell you tonight about this

before we go any further. You need to be

careful in your conversation with this

world.

You need to be careful with your

fellowship, with your conversation, with

the way you carry yourself in this

world, cuz if you're not careful, amen,

you'll get yoked up with something you

ain't got no business being involved in.

I'm saying, friend, you give the devil

an inch and he'll take a mile, amen. I'm

saying here in the text, his their

perception is they've got Ahab hook,

line, and sinker in this text.

Notice verse 34. And Ben-Hadad said unto

him, "The cities which my father took

from thy father I will restore.

Thou shalt make streets for thee in

Damascus as my father made in Samaria."

Then said Ahab, "I will send thee away

with this covenant. So he made a

covenant with him and sent him away. So

you see in verse number 34, Ben Hadad's

working deceitful again. The enemy's

trying to deceive him. And you think

about this. He said, all right, I'll

give you the cities back that we've

taken. What should Ahab have done? He

should have destroyed the whole crowd

and took every city that Ben Hadad had.

Amen. He should have utterly wiped them

off the face of the map. He should have

took care of them and there'd been no

more remembrance of them. But I want to

remind you again, we said it in Sunday

school this morning, Ahab was more

concerned about his perception of men

than he was concerned about obeying God.

And that's manifest in the fact that he

did not care for his family. And you

notice his perversion in verse 34, then

said Ahab, I will send thee away with

this covenant. So he made a covenant

with him and sent him away. Let me say

this to you this morning, and this ain't

a part of the message, but it goes to it

goes to truth just the same. Donald

Trump can write up as many peace

treaties as he wants to write up. That

towel head rug riding crowd over there,

they're not going to listen to any of

that, okay? It don't matter what they

sign that pen on their paper, amen,

don't mean absolutely nothing to them.

And they would destroy us now if they

could. Amen. I'm saying, friend, there's

going to be people in this world, you'll

go and covenant with them, you'll yoke

up with them, you'll lock up with them,

and what you'll find is that's what's

happened to you. You've got locked up

with them, amen. And what they're going

to try to do is they're going to try to

play upon your mercies SO THEY CAN

DESTROY YOU, AMEN.

You say, how is that? Well, Ben Hadad

didn't care nothing for Ahab.

And it shows Ahab's foolishness. Think

about all that God has done for Ahab in

this text. You say, what do you mean?

Well, twice the Syrians have been

delivered into his hand. He had the

opportunity to utterly wipe them out,

twice. He takes them out the first time,

God gives victory, God does it all for

him. He didn't have a plan, he didn't

have an army put together, God just

comes in and works it out and says, all

right, you're going to be in charge of

it." God works a great victory. Second

time rolls around, the Syrians have got

another plan. They all go up against the

Israelites in the taste. God works it

out again. Less than six 8,000 people go

up against over 125,000

men and utterly destroy them. God works

in their favor. The king escapes and

here we have Ahab whom God has WROUGHT

VICTORY FOR TWICE IN THIS CHAPTER is

taking care of the king.

Let me ask you something tonight.

Why is it that sin in your life you've

got victory over over and over and over

again?

Why are you petting on the king of that

thing?

Why are you allowing that thing to

continue in your life?

You say, "What do you mean?" Well, Ahab

wasn't trusted with so much. I like

Matthew Henry said this. He said, "There

are those on whose success is

ill-bestowed. They know not how to serve

God or their generation or even their

own true interest with their

prosperity." God has been blessed or

Ahab has been blessed by God in this

chapter. He has allowed him to have

victory, but he doesn't even know what

to do with it.

You say, "What do you mean?" Because

he's living in his sin.

SOME OF YOU HAVE VICTORY EVEN TONIGHT

and because of the issues that you have

in your life, you can't enjoy it.

Notice this, Isaiah chapter 26

Isaiah 26 · chapter mention

verse number 10.

Very interesting verse. Isaiah 26 verse

number 10.

Listen to this now. I encourage you to

write this in your margin.

Let favor be showed to the wicked.

Yet will he not learn righteousness. In

the land of uprightness will he deal

unjustly and will not behold the majesty

of the Lord. Listen to that again.

Let favor be showed to the wicked. Yet

will he not learn righteousness. In the

land of uprightness will he deal

unjustly and will not behold the majesty

of the Lord. Ahab has been given every

opportunity to get right with God. What

does he do? The first thing he does when

he gets out of this battle, victory's on

the other side, he goes and hooks up

with the man that he should have

destroyed.

Notice what happens in the text, all

right? I got to move quickly tonight.

You see out of this, verse 35, look what

your Bible says. And a certain man of

the sons of the prophet said unto his

neighbor in the word of the Lord, "Smite

me, I pray thee." And the man refused to

smite him. Then said he unto him,

"Because thou hast not obeyed the voice

of the Lord, behold, as soon as thou art

departed from me, a lion shall slay

thee. And as soon as he was departed

from him, a lion found him and slew

him." So, after Ahab has made a covenant

here in the text, there's a man in the

sons of the prophets that God comes to

and says, "All right, you get your

neighbor to smite you." That other boy

in the sons of the prophets, you get him

to smite you. This young man refuses to

smite him. And notice the sudden

punishment in the text, verse 36.

"Because thou hast not obeyed the voice

of the Lord." Now, when we think about

this fact tonight, doesn't that just

sound crazy?

That the prophet would say, "All right,

you need to what? You need to knock me

out."

You need to take You need to smite me.

And he says that, the Bible clearly says

that, it's in the word of the Lord. And

so, you know what? The man refuses to do

it. Now, we think, man, that's a good

thing. He shouldn't have done that. But

you know what? It was a commandment from

God.

And so, what happens in the text? Well,

you notice this sudden punishment. "As

soon as thou art departed from me, a

lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he

was departed from him, a lion found him

and slew him." You say, "What does that

represent, preacher?" Well, it

represents the disobedience of Ahab. God

had given him every opportunity to do

right. He's given him opportunity after

opportunity in this chapter. They

literally had Ben-Hadad in their

clutches in this text, and they allow

him to go free. And what is illustrated

here by this prophet is the sudden

punishment that was soon to come on him.

Notice verse 37. Not only the sudden

punishment, notice but notice the

stricken presentation in verse 37. I

know this is a running commentary

tonight and some of y'all are looking at

me like I'm crazy, but this is true,

okay? Stay with me. I'm going somewhere.

Then he found another man and said,

"Smite me, I pray thee." And the man

smote him, so that in smiting he wounded

him. So the prophet departed and waited

for the king by the way and disguised

himself with ashes upon his face. So

this other this other this prophet in

the text, he comes to another man. He

tells him to smite him in the word of

the Lord. The man is obedient and he

smites him in the text and so there's a

wound. There's a mark that's left upon

him. And so he has done this in verse

number 38, it reveals that the prophet

departed, waited for the king by the way

as he is journeying in and disguised

himself with ashes upon his face. Why

did he do that? Because these sons of

the prophets look different than

everybody around them. And so he wanted

himself to look like a soldier. Notice

what happens in the text. Verse 39. And

as the king passed by, he cried unto the

king and he said, "My servant went out

into the midst of the battle and behold

a man turned aside and brought a man

unto me and said, 'Keep this man. If by

any means he be missing, then shall thy

life then shall thy life be for his life

or else shalt thou shalt thou pay a

talent of silver.'" And so this prophet

speaks a proverb. Now remember, he's got

a mark upon his body. The battle has

wounded him. He has tried to make an

image of himself to the king in the

text. He speaks this proverb in verse 39

and verse number 40, notice the sad

pronouncement. And as thy servant was

busy here and there, he was gone. Listen

to this now. And the king of Israel said

unto him, "So shall thy judgment be."

Listen to this. "Thyself hast decided."

That principle right there in that verse

is the principle from Genesis chapter

number two

all the way until the end of time.

You say, "What do you mean?"

Notice the verse.

So shall thy judgment be.

Thyself

hast decided.

You know what the judgment that you and

I would have faced as lost sinners, you

know what that judgment was? That was

judgment that we decided for.

It was your decision. It was your sin

that put Jesus on the cross. You say,

"Preacher, what do you mean?" Ahab in

this text, what he's doing is or this

prophet has come to Ahab and he's

painted this picture

of what's happened to him. And Ahab

looks at him and says, "Well, you're

going to die because you didn't do what

you said you was going to do."

But you know what the prophet was doing?

He was turning around and putting it in

the face of Ahab. You say, "Preacher,

that sounds familiar." Well, yeah, it

sounds a whole lot like David in 2

2 Samuel 12 · chapter mention

Samuel chapter 12

when Nathan come to him and told him

about the man that had the little lamb.

Amen. That come to him and he said that

traveler come, amen, and he took that

little lamb from that little man, amen,

and gave that lamb unto that traveling

that warfare man in the text and Nathan

looked at David and said, "David, thou

art the man." After David had just said,

"The man shall surely die and he shall

restore him fourfold." And you know

what? David, the Bible says God said

"The sword shall never depart from thy

house." Ahab in this text, by speaking

to this young prophet here in these

verses, has decided his own judgment.

You say, "Well, what do you mean?" Well,

notice it in the text, verse 41. And he

hasted, that is the prophet, and took

the ashes away from his face and the

king of Israel discerned him that he was

of the prophets. You know what that king

realized when he was a man of God? He

realized his judgment had already been

declared. He realized that he himself

had spoken his sentence. Let me say this

to you tonight. If you are walking in

disobedience to God, if you are walking

against the clear command from the word

of God, and deciding to live your own

way, and covenanting this with this

world. Lost or saved tonight, I'm saying

if you're lost, you will die and go to

hell because of your covenant with this

world. But if you're saved tonight, you

will have the destruction of your

physical life by covenanting with this

world.

Say, "What does that look like?" Well,

we notice sin's price in the text.

The Bible said in verse 42, "And he said

unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Because

thou hast let go out of thy hand a man

whom I appointed to utter destruction.

Therefore, thy life shall go for his

life,

and thy people for his people."

Ahab in the text has decided his own

consequence.

You know what? We don't realize how many

times we do that.

Say, "What do you mean?" Well,

oftentimes the sin that we are involved

in the most

is the sin we are quickest to call out

in others.

The thing that we want to condemn in

everybody else,

we can real easily point it out in

others because it's in us.

And what happens in this text is Ahab

signs his own sentence.

He decides his own judgment. He's made

his decision. He's declared. He said

just He said, "So shall my judgment be.

Thyself has decided it." And just like

David, Ahab has decided what his

sentence will be. And sin's price in the

text, the Bible says, "Therefore, thy

life shall go for his life, and thy

people for his people."

Now, I want you to think about this with

me tonight. What got Ahab to this point?

This is the message tonight. This is all

it is. Three things. All right, what got

Ahab to this point? All right. This is

what happens when you end up covenanting

yourself with this world. And this is

the cost. All right, it's death. That's

what it is. All right, from the text.

Number one, I will say this. The number

one thing that led Ahab to this point is

there was no consultation.

Say, "What do you mean?"

Not a single time in 1 Kings chapter 20,

1 Kings 20 · chapter mention

do you see Ahab calling for a prophet?

Not a single time do you see Ahab asking

God, "Lord, what do I do?"

The covenant that Ahab makes is a

presumptuous, prideful, personal, he's

only propping up himself by this

covenant.

If you was here in Sunday school this

morning, you'll know that I said when

Ahab was willing to turn his family over

to Ben-Hadad, he was just doing this, he

was allowing himself to fall upon them

because he knew if they come and take

him, he'll still get to eat with them as

a king.

Much like the government which we live

in today.

They'll sell us out to fill their own

pockets up.

But I notice this, there's no

consultation. You say, "Preacher, what

do you mean?" He never asked God for any

help.

You know what? We get ourselves in the

middle of the mess and we ask God,

"Where you at?"

He says, "I've been here the whole

time."

You know what our problem is?

In the business.

You say, "What do you mean in business?"

Well, notice the text, the prophet calls

him out on it. Notice this. Verse number

40. The prophet's telling this story,

but look what he says, "And as thy

servant was what? Busy here

and there."

Do you know why Ahab didn't have time to

call on God?

Cuz he was too pre pre uh

What's the word I'm looking for?

He was too concerned with himself.

He's too focused on him.

You see, in our life, there's no time

for consultation

with him

cuz we're too busy consulting with

everything and everybody else.

Ahab had his gods, Ahab had his people,

Ahab had his family and his kingdom and

really he felt like he was doing all

right. I've got victory twice, surely

God will allow me to make it out this

time. I'm saying, friend, it's just like

Lot, when he left Sodom and Gomorrah,

God told him to get out of there and run

away. And what did Lot do? He went just

as close as he could stay to Sodom and

turned into Zoar, that little city. He

said, "Can I not flee to this little

city?" He said, "It's just a little

one."

And what did he do there?

His two daughters defiled him.

In that city, destroyed his lineage,

destroyed his children. He lost all his

right all his children that could have

had an opportunity to repent. The two

that he kept, they defiled him.

I'm saying, friend, what what what this

represents to us is is that there was no

consultation

with the master.

You know,

you've heard it said, I've heard it

said, I believe it tonight, every

failure in the life of the believer is a

prayer failure.

Every time you misstep,

every time you miss the mark is because

you've not been in conversation with

him.

Anytime that I've gotten out of sorts

with that little lady you're sitting

right there in our marriage is just

because I've not been consulting him.

And let me say this to you, sir, this to

you, ma'am, before you consult your

spouse about anything, you need to talk

to the Lord about it first.

Cuz there's some things that you go to

them with that's going to cause a lot of

strife and the Lord will get it out

before you get there if you'll just go

to him with it.

Your family will be destroyed.

You say, "Preacher, what was he going to

lose in this text?" Well, you think

about it. He's going to lose what he

wanted to keep and that was Ben-Hadad.

But you know what? He's also going to

lose his family that he was going to

give away to Ben-Hadad.

But you know what? He's not only going

to lose Ben-Hadad and his family, he's

going to lose his own life.

You say he thought he was just going to

be turned over to them.

But you know what? His sin in

covenanting with the world, you know

what it got him?

It made him lose everything.

Cuz there was no consultation. Number

two,

there was no consultation with the

sovereign. That's what got Ahab to this

point in the text that he is going to be

destroyed. Thy life for his life and thy

people for his people. LET ME TELL you

something TONIGHT, FRIEND. GOD DON'T

PLAY GAMES with his children. HE DON'T

PLAY GAMES WITH HIS PEOPLE, AND YOU

BETTER TAKE IT SERIOUSLY.

There's no consultation. Number two.

There's no consultation with a

sovereign. I'll say the second of all,

there was no consideration for his sin.

Say, what do you mean? Well, I would say

first of all, Ahab didn't consider the

sin of Ben-hadad.

Say, preacher, what do you mean? Well,

you think about the fact that he's

literally just tried to destroy him

twice.

He's tried to take him out twice.

Why would we want to house a lion that's

going to eat us alive?

Let me ask you something. Why do you

want to protect something that's going

to try to destroy you?

Some of you got pets in your houses.

Amen. Lester Roloff used to preach a

sermon called The Mule Walked On. He

talked about those pets that you got in

your house. All they can't handle that

kind of preaching. Amen. But, it's just

true.

Some of you got pets in your houses.

Amen. That you keep around. What they're

doing, they're eating you alive.

You say, preacher, but everybody's got

one.

Last time I checked, everybody ain't the

standard.

Be good some of us learn how to live

without a telephone again.

Or learn how to live with one that ain't

got the internet. Somebody say amen

right there.

Say, preacher, what do you mean? I'm

saying if you can't handle it, THROW IT

AWAY.

IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TV, HEY,

YOUNG'UNS, listen to me. You young'uns

in here. If you can't handle the TV in

your bedroom, throw it out. You don't

need one in there anyway.

I'm saying that what destroyed Ahab in

this text was there WAS NO CONSIDERATION

OF HOW DANGEROUS THIS MAN WAS. BEN-HADAD

WANTED HIM DEAD, BUT HE NEVER STOPPED

ONCE TO THINK ABOUT THAT.

THERE WAS NO CONSIDERATION OF HIS

SINFULNESS. HE WAS LITERALLY GOING TO

DESTROY HIM AT THE FIRST CHANCE HE GOT.

BUT, NOW, we're just going to He He's

peaceful now.

It'll be okay now.

You know what you'll find? You'll walk

out of here and you say, "Man, that

preacher was crazy. I can handle that."

But you know what? 3, 4 days down the

road, you headlong into something

that you wish you'd never been involved

in.

You say, "What does it lead to?" Well,

the prophet says this way.

He said, "Because I have let go out of

thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter

destruction, there therefore thy life

shall go for his life."

You'll lose it all.

Notice this, I'm done tonight.

There's no consultation with the

sovereign. There's no consideration of

sin, and that is the indictment of our

generation.

We don't We don't We don't weep over sin

anymore.

Sin don't make us bitter.

Sin don't make us broken. That's the

word I was looking for.

Sin don't turn us away like it used to

do.

We don't We don't turn our nose up at it

anymore, but it's just like a pet, just

hangs around.

You better start considering that sin.

You say, "How is that?" Well, the

prophet done told Ahab to consider his

ways one time.

Listen to this, verse 22 of chapter 20.

"Go strengthen thyself and mark and see

what thou doest." God's done given the

warning one time.

But now he's messed up and he's on the

wrong side of the warning.

There was no consultation. There was no

consideration, but

I'll say this tonight and I'll be done.

Ultimately, what got Ahab was that there

was no condemnation.

You say, "What do you mean?"

Well, there was no condemnation of

Ben-hadad.

You say, "What do you mean?"

His crimes was enough to convict him.

Are you listening to me?

That thing that's got you in sin so many

times,

it's messed you up enough times. It's

It's It's time for it to be condemned.

You say, "What do you mean?" I'm saying,

"If you don't condemn it, it's going to

condemn you."

You say, "What do you mean?" Well,

notice the text. HE SAID, "THY LIFE FOR

HIS LIFE."

IF YOU DON'T TAKE it out, it's going to

take you out.

Ben-Hadad got what he wanted

because of this covenant. And you know

what? Ben-Hadad didn't even have to

raise a finger.

You think about this. They fought him

twice and ain't been able to win.

But you know what? Ben-Hadad got him

destroyed

because of this covenant.

You know what? There's a lot of people

that the devil destroys and he don't

even have to lift a finger.

You know why? Because you've destroyed

yourself.

Are you listening to me?

Hey friend, it's serious.

No condemnation. What was there no

condemnation for? This sinner, you see

the sin that you refuse to condemn will

ultimately condemn you.

Notice what happens, verse 43.

You say, "Preacher, how can I tell one

of these people?" And notice in verse 43

and I'll tell you. And the king of

Israel went to his house heavy and

displeased and came to Samaria.

You know the people that are under the

judgment of God?

You know how you tell them?

When they hear a word from God,

they get mad.

Bible says he was heavy. That means he

was angry. But then that word displeased

in the text, it literally translates to

the word sullen.

He was quiet He was silently bitter.

There's a lot of people that don't

really say anything, but what they do is

they walk around and they mumble under

their breath

the pain that they have.

You say, "Preacher, how do you know

that?" Well, I've been there before.

We've all been there before. That sullen

state that we get in.

You say, "How is that?" Well, Ahab, he

finds himself here again, chapter number

21. Notice this.

He asked for Naboth's vineyard, verses 1

verse number 2. He wants Naboth's

vineyard. Naboth says, "I'm not giving

you the inheritance of my fathers" in

verse 4. And look what the Bible says in

verse number four.

And he laid him down upon his bed and

turned away his face and would eat no

bread. But Jezebel his wife came to him

and said unto him, "Why is thy spirit so

sad that thou eatest no bread?" Notice

the first part of verse four. And Ahab

came into his house heavy and

displeased, the same description.

You say, "What is that?" Well, he'd

gotten the call from God that there was

judgment coming upon his house. It made

him heavy and displeased. But you know

what else made him heavy and displeased?

When he didn't get what he wanted.

People that are under the judgment of

God a lot of times when they don't get

what they want,

they'll show the same kind of response.

They get mad.

You ever seen somebody like that?

Always searching, always seeking for

their way.

You've heard the saying it's their way

or the highway.

This is the way Ahab operated his life.

And isn't it funny that he funny that he

was merciless with his own people?

He killed Naboth in chapter 21. But the

man who tried to take his life,

he keeps him for himself

as a buddy.

You see, this is the vanity of somebody

who makes a covenant with the world. The

people that really love them, they want

nothing to do with them.

The people of God, they want nothing to

do with them. They want what the people

of God had, but they don't want to do

the work the people of God have to do to

get it and keep it.

So you know what they do? They yoke up

with the world.

The world that wants to destroy them,

the world that wants to defile them, and

the world that would care could care

less what happens to them.

Those are the people they yoke up with.

Why? Because their God is themselves.

And you know the reason why people that

come into this church

can't hook up with us?

They can't get along with the preaching,

they can't get along with the word of

God. This is what happens.

Ultimately, their religion is self.

That's right. And you know what somebody

whose God is himself, they'll never hook

up with anybody who's God is the Lord.

>> That's right.

>> You won't be able to have fellowship

with those people that love God cuz you

won't understand us.

And you know what? Something I've said a

lot here lately. I don't understand

them.

Say preacher, what do you mean? You know

what it is for yourself to be God in

your life? Of course I do. But man,

that's the most miserable life anybody

could ever live. I lived that way as a

young man. My flesh and my self was my

God and I want to tell YOU THIS TONIGHT.

THERE IS NO SATISFACTION IN THAT.

THERE'S NO PLEASURE in that. It's

nothing but misery and wretchedness. I'M

SAYING FRIEND, I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY

ANYBODY WOULD WANT TO FOLLOW AND WORSHIP

THEMSELVES AND HONOR AND GLORIFY

THEMSELVES. WHEN WE GLORIFY AND HONOR

HIM, HEY FRIEND, HE LIFTS THE

CONDEMNATION. OH FRIEND, THERE'S

FORGIVENESS AND MERCY IN HIS HAND and

aren't you thankful THAT WHEN WE DO

WRONG, THERE'S A GREAT THERE'S GRACE

THAT MEETS US RIGHT WHERE WE ARE AND

HE'LL cleanse us from our sin.

And do it every time. You know what the

problem with worshipping self? It'll

never cleanse you.

You'll never be free.

Never enjoy the blessings of God.

And the cost of a covenant with the

world

is still death.

You say preacher, what do you mean?

Well, to put the whole summary the whole

sermon in summary in short, Paul said it

this way.

For the wages

of sin

is death.

That's not just for those who are lost.

There's been a lot of saved people went

to an early grave

cuz they couldn't turn loose.

Every head bowed and every eye closed

tonight,

I want to ask you tonight,

I don't know where you're at but

what kind of covenant have you made?

Say what do you mean? Well,

there's plenty of

avenues and areas of life where

if we're not careful,

we'll slip up and end up yoked up with

the world.

You'll end up hooked up with people that

would love to destroy you.

Those of you that's been in the

corporate work world, you know that

most people, their desire, their only

desire is another rung on the ladder.

And if they have to step on your head to

get there, it's not going to bother

them.

Yeah, they'll go and they'll they'll

drink and party with you after work.

They'll fellowship with you, but the

first time they get an opportunity to

get past you, they going to push you

away push you away.

I want to say this, won't you yoke up

with the church?

Won't you get right with God?

You see, Ahab had the people of God

before him, and if he could if he would

have done right with done right before

God, God had already blessed him, but

I'm reminded of what Matthew Henry

sayeth.

He said, "Some people, they are given

the most prosperous life."

He said, "But yet they don't know how to

honor God with it.

They don't know how to take care of the

generation around them, and they do not

know how to even supply their own

interest."

You see, the thing is, even in Ahab's

own interest, why would he keep

Ben-Hadad safe?

Cuz Ben-Hadad wanted him dead.

You see, it's not even reasonable for

him to keep him around. Listen to me,

young'un.

That friend you've got that causes you

nothing but trouble,

why do you even keep them around?

Why do you keep those people around?

They're not benefiting you.

You need to give those people up. You

say, "Preacher, but it's the only friend

I have." No, it's not.

I can tell you two people right now

that's your friend.

You say, "Who's that?" Well, I promise

you the Lord Jesus Christ is.

And I can tell you this preacher loves

you.

I want to tell you tonight you don't

have to live that way

cuz the cost of a covenant with this

world is too high.

Young lady,

that young man you're seeing, he's not

causing you anything but trouble.

Young man, that young lady you're

seeing, she's not causing you anything

but trouble. You're doing things that

you would never otherwise done.

Why would you stay up with that?

You say, "Preacher, but I love them."

Here's the thing about that.

There's a lot of difference between love

and lust.

I'm going to tell you this tonight.

If your relationship with that young

lady or that young man doesn't bring you

closer to God, but if it brings you away

from God, it's not right.

If it keeps you from church, it's not

right.

If it keeps you from loving your family

and listening to your mom and daddy,

if you have to question what you're

doing, you probably shouldn't be doing

it.

Hey, that's for us older people as well.

That job you've got,

that hobby you have, those friends you

hang out with,

you say, "Preacher, I've not made a

covenant with them."

Why don't you ask them?

You see,

Ben-Hadad had it all worked out.

He had it all written down. You know

what they have all he had to do is sign

his name to it.

And let me tell you, child of God, every

one of you in here, from the youngest to

the oldest, from the and the wisest to

the one that don't have much knowledge,

let me say this to you, it doesn't

matter where you're at. There's somebody

that's waiting to get in an agreement

with you to destroy you.

Father, I pray in Jesus' name tonight.

Lord, I don't know what situations are

here,

but God, I know how dangerous

this world is.

And God, it amazes me that a man that

you'd given so much means, or that you'd

given so much blessing to, you allowed

him to see so much victory,

yet he still wanted to harbor sin in his

life. And Lord, you destroyed him for

it.

And God, I pray you'd help us remember,

Lord, that if we harbor things in our

heart and our life, God, that you will

judge us for that.

And Lord, I'm reminded of what your word

tells us that you're keeping a record of

the lost.

But Lord, you're also keeping a record

of the saved. And you told us in your

word that we'll be judged when we stand

before you in the book of Corinthians

for those things done in the body,

whether they be good or bad. And there's

a record, Lord, and if we fail,

God, you know it.

And Lord, we'll be judged for that one

of these days. I'm thankful that you

forgive us and you have mercy on us.

But Lord, I know this this morning, this

evening, God, that you know that record,

Lord, and we'll stand before you and

have to give account of that.

Lord, help us to draw near to you.

Lord, I pray, God, you would cleanse us

of all sin and self tonight. And help

us, Lord, I pray.

In this time of invitation for just a

moment, she's going to play just a

verse.

Somebody may need to come tonight.

Let me ask you this.

Say, "Preacher, I'm going back to

school. Would you pray for me that

God would give me strength not to lock

up with the wrong people?"

Not to yoke up with the wrong people.

There may be a young person in here say,

"Preacher, would you pray for me that

God [music] will protect me?

God will help me

from getting around the wrong

influences." Yes, God bless you, son.

Amen. Any of you other young people in

here tonight, you say, "Preacher, would

you pray [music] for me that God will

help me?" God bless you, young lady.

Amen. I tell you, he's able tonight.

He is able to help you.

I tell you this, he'll be your strength.

The world may [music] hate you,

but Jesus said, "Marvel not that the

world hates you." He said, "Know that it

hated me before it hated you." I want to

say this, he [music] loves you tonight.

And he will help you. Amen. And this

preacher's praying for you. [music] This

preacher loves you. And if you need any

help, I don't care what time of day or

night, you call me and I'll do whatever

I can. But [music] I'm thankful that

when you can't reach me, there's a God

in heaven. Oh, hallelujah. There's

somebody that loves you, and he cares

for you, and he wants to give you

victory.

I pray for you, folks, [music] this

morning that's in that corporate work

world as well.

God knows what you face.

God knows the language you hear.

The things you have to deal with. I'm

praying that God would give you strength

and help you with that.

Say, "Preacher, would

you pray for me? I'm dealing with

something in my family."

Preacher, I'm struggling with my family.

I've got some Yes, God sees that.

Got some in my family that just don't

want to do right, don't want to live

right, and they want to condemn me for

trying to live right.

Would you pray for me?

God sees those hands. I'll say this

[music] to you tonight, he's able.

He is able. You just keep living right.

As I tell you this, [music] you're

living for one, and that's him. He's all

that matters, child of God.

He is all that matters. And you know

what? The world can say what they want

to, even [music] your friends and family

can say what they want to. If you do his

will,

he'll be pleased with you.

Father, thank you again for this time.

Thank you for these young people. Thank

you, Lord, for each individual [music]

that's here. God, I pray you would help

us to resolve in our heart, Lord, that

we wouldn't yoke up with this world.

God, help us not [music] to covenant

with the king

Lord, that would destroy us.

Lord, I love you in Jesus' name.

Amen.

>> Thank you for joining our service today.

[music]

We'd love it if you join us in person

the next time you are able at Meadows

Baptist Church.

Our physical address is 2988

Stuart [music] Road in Walnut Cove,

North Carolina.

Our service times are Sunday school at

10:00 a.m., Sunday morning [music]

worship at 11:00 a.m., Sunday evening

worship at 6:00 p.m., and Wednesday

evening Bible study at 7:00 p.m.

For more information, visit us at

[music] meadowsbc.com.

Thanks again for tuning in.

>> [music]