The Vineyard Next Door - DJ Dickerson - 6/14/26

In your Bibles, I would encourage you to

go to 1 Kings chapter 21. 1 Kings

1 Kings 21 · chapter mention 1 Kings 21 · chapter mention

chapter 21.

We are continuing our our Sunday evening

lessons we do from time to time that is

uh

connected to what our kids are learning

in their Bible classes. And one of the

blessings of doing this is that uh we

are reminded uh

that children's Bible lessons are not

childish truths. And as we've noted in

previous lessons, uh the language may be

simple, the pictures may be colorful,

uh the memory verses, they they may be

short, but the truth is deep enough

to search every heart in this room.

Well, recently, our children were

studying a powerful account from the Old

Testament, Ahab and Naboth's vineyard.

And as I've entitled this lesson, The

Vineyard Next Door. The vineyard next

door. Now, at first glance, it may

it may seem uh like a simple story. You

know, sometimes we might summarize some

of this and say, "Well, you know, a king

wanted a vineyard, a man refused to sell

it, uh and trouble followed." Uh but

like so many biblical accounts,

uh there's more here than first meets

the eye. Uh because really, when you get

down to it, this this is not a merely a

story about land, okay? Um

it's a story about contentment, it's a

story about covetousness, it's a story

about integrity, it's a story about the

abuse of power, it's a story about God

seeing what men try to hide.

And perhaps one of the most sobering

truths

in this account is

Ahab was a king,

but he was ruled by his desires.

Naboth

was a common man,

but he was governed by God. And I

believe that's worth our attention.

Because our children may learn names,

right? Ahab and Jezebel and Naboth and

Elijah, they may learn that Naboth, you

know, or that Ahab wanted Naboth's

vineyard. They may learn that Jezebel

arranged Naboth's death. They may learn

that Elijah confronted Ahab with God's

judgment. You know, those right there

are some things that they're learning.

But when you again think about the deep

spiritual lessons here, because the sins

that we're going to look at in 1 Kings

21, the sins in this chapter are not

ancient sins only.

They still live in human hearts today.

Ahab still teaches us what happens when

a person cannot accept being told no.

Naboth still teaches us

what it means to stand on conviction.

Jezebel still teaches us the danger of

using influence for evil.

And Elijah still teaches us that God's

word will confront sin

even when sin

sits on a throne.

So, let's walk through this account

together and let's draw out those

spiritual applications for our lives

this evening.

Well, let's talk about how Ahab. Ahab

had much, but he wanted more, okay? You

can already see the issue there in that

in that very title.

Look at verse 1, 1 Kings 21:1. Look at

1 Kings 21:1

it from God's word here. And it came to

pass after these things that Naboth the

Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in

Jezreel next to the palace of Ahab, king

of Samaria. Uh

now,

that little phrase that that you that

you're seeing there,

uh

depending on the translation that you

may have, you might not just see next to

the palace. It may have the wording hard

by the palace of Ahab, uh king of

Samaria. And I I want to just kind of

make I want us to understand we're

looking at this that that that

little phrase matters because Naboth's

uh vineyard was close

to Ahab's palace.

So, when you think about it, well, of

course Ahab could see it. Uh perhaps he

might have passed by it many times. Uh

perhaps every time he looked out, he

thought, "Well, that would be a nice

place for an herb garden, you know?"

May- maybe that's it.

But so, Ahab said to Naboth in verse

two,

"Uh give me your vineyard that I may

have it for a vegetable garden because

it is near next to my house, and for it

I will give you a vineyard better than

it, or if it seems good to you, I will

give you its worth in money."

Now, you know, we read that, and I would

say uh and I've read this so many times

in my life and studied it. I've done

lessons and after lesson after lesson on

this.

And you know, when you first read that,

um

on the surface, Ahab's offer really

doesn't seem unreasonable. I mean, does

it? I mean, does it seem unreasonable?

No. He He offered to give Naboth a

better vineyard

or pay him its value in money.

Isn't that what you see?

Where's the problem then?

Well,

the problem was not merely that Ahab

asked. The problem was what happened in

his heart when Naboth said, "No."

Naboth answered, verse three,

"The Lord forbid that I should give the

inheritance of my fathers to you.

Now, I want us to notice something.

Naboth wasn't being difficult.

Um

I don't believe he was being rude.

He was not simply attached

to family property in a sentimental way.

Naboth understood that the land

inheritance in Israel was tied to God's

law and God's promises. I don't know if

you ever recognized that or looked at

that.

Uh the land ultimately belonged to God

and family inheritance were were not to

be treated as disposable possessions.

You see that? And this actually takes

you back to a passage in Leviticus

Leviticus 25 · chapter mention

chapter 25

and verse 23.

Leviticus 25 and verse 23. The land

shall not be sold permanently for the

land is mine, for you are strangers and

sojourners with me.

So, when you even look back at it and

kind of understand what what what Naboth

is saying, "The Lord forbid that I

should give the inheritance of my

fathers to you." There's a connection

here, okay? Uh Naboth's refusal to

sell

the property to Ahab or or or or barter

or whatever you want to call it

was spiritual before it was personal. He

was saying in effect, "Ahab, I I cannot

sell what God has entrusted to my

family. I can't do that."

You know, when I read that, the fact is,

friends, that's called conviction.

That's what that is.

But Ahab doesn't take that very well,

does he? It doesn't matter if if uh

Naboth has this very good reasoning

behind it. What what bothers

Na- uh Ahab

Well,

he was told no.

And, you know, somebody who's in his

position and has the pride issue that he

has,

well,

he don't take no very lightly, does he?

So, Ahab went to his house sullen and

displeased. We call that pouting, okay?

That's what That's what I'm looking at.

I can just see his lip kind of sticking

out, you know, like a child. Uh because

of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite

has spoken to him, for he had said, "I

will not give you the inheritance of my

fathers." And he lay down on his bed,

and he turned away his face and wouldn't

and would eat no food.

Man,

I I think about it. A grown man lying on

his bed pouting because he didn't get

what he wanted, right? Uh

I mean, now let's just stop and think

about it. Ahab had a palace. Ahab had

position. Ahab had wealth. Ahab had

authority. Ahab Ahab had more than most

people would imagine.

But he didn't have Naboth's vineyard,

did he?

And because he didn't have that,

what he did have was not enough.

And friends, that's the very nature of

covetousness. Y'all know?

Because covetousness does not say, "I

have nothing." That's not what

covetousness says. Covetousness says,

"What I have is not enough as long as

someone has what I want."

That's covetousness.

We know in the New Testament Jesus

warned about this, didn't he?

Luke 12 and verse 15, Jesus uh he he

said to them, "Take heed and beware of

covetousness, for one's life does not

consist in the abundance of the things

he possesses."

So, really when you get down to it,

Ahab's problem was not a vineyard

problem.

Okay? It's not a vineyard problem. It's

a heart problem.

That's what it is.

Now, this is where we

you know, kind of we focus on Ahab, and

we kind of like, "Oh, Ahab, Ahab, Ahab."

What's wrong with you, Ahab?

Well, let's let's put the mirror on

ourselves, okay?

Uh this is where we got to examine

ourselves, and we got to ask ourselves

some questions.

I mean, how often do we let what we do

not have rob us of gratitude for what

God has already given?

Uh

how often do we become restless because

someone else has something that we want,

something else we desire?

How often do we act as as though peace

will come, and I'll have happiness and

all these things when we finally get

that one more just one just one more

just one more thing?

One more purchase, one more position,

one more compliment, one more

opportunity, one more acre, one more

vineyard.

It's always one more, isn't it?

It's always just one more.

That's what's in the mind.

And that's where the deceit comes in.

But what the scriptures make abundantly

clear,

contentment never grows in a heart

that's ruled by covetousness.

Never.

That's why Paul told Timothy in 1

1 Timothy 6 · chapter mention

Timothy chapter 6 and verse 6, "Now

godliness with contentment is what?"

Great

gain.

Ahab had earthly gain

without godliness.

And therefore,

he didn't have what?

He didn't have contentment.

And that's the way it works.

That's what the Bible reveals so

so much.

Well, let's talk about Naboth now. He

you know, he shows us the courage of

conviction. I mentioned that a moment

ago about how he was convicted about not

selling. And And Naboth only speaks

really, when you look at this entire

account, he he really only speaks

one sentence

in the in the account.

You ever You ever notice that? That's

all he That's all That's all that's

recorded of Naboth

is I'm not selling.

That was it.

That's what it says there in verse 3.

So, Naboth stood before a king, said

this sentence. He said, "No."

And I And I I think we we we have to

give Naboth some credit here because

that's not an easy thing to be standing

before a king and telling a king, "No."

So, really, when we kind of play this

back, would it been easier for him to

compromise?

Yeah.

It'd been easier.

It would've been easier to reason. Let's

reason it out. Well, he is a king. Well,

see See, we just kind of moved that one

a little bit, didn't we?

Uh How about it would've been easier to

say, "Well, maybe God will understand."

What about that one?

Or Or maybe he said, "It'd been easier

to take the money and just avoid

trouble."

But again, Naboth understood something

important. You know what that is? Some

things are not for sale.

Some things are not for sale.

His inheritance was not for sale, his

conscience was not for sale, his

obedience to God was not for sale. And

And you know, that's the lesson our

children need. Absolutely.

As children, they need to learn that

lesson, but I'll tell you something now,

it's a lesson that adults need, too.

There are still things that must not be

for sale.

Truth

is not for sale.

You remember the proverb writer it about

that. Buy the truth and sell it what?

Sell it not.

Conviction, that's not for sale.

Faithfulness, that's not for sale.

Worship according to God's word, that's

not for sale. Our influence, not for

sale. Our children's souls are not for

sale and the church identity is not for

sale. Now, the world may offer a trade.

The world may say, "Well, you give me

your convictions and and and I will give

you comfort." You know, those types of

thing. "Give me your standards and I

will give you acceptance. Give me your

faithfulness and I will give you

popularity. You give me your conscience

and I will give you success." You see,

we can keep going, couldn't we?

Is that not what society does all the

time?

But Naboth reminds us something very

powerful here, that there are times when

the faithful answer must be, "The Lord

forbid that I."

The Lord forbid that I.

That's a phrase that really ought to

live in our hearts.

When temptation says, "Well, here's a

shortcut."

The Lord forbid it.

The world ask us to compromise truth.

Well,

the Lord forbid it.

When bitterness ask for a home in our

hearts,

the Lord forbid it.

When dishonesty seems profitable, the

Lord forbid it.

When sin says, "Just this once."

The Lord forbid it.

Naboth was not powerful in the eyes of

men, friends.

But he was faithful in the eyes of God.

And that

is greater.

Thirdly,

let's talk about Jezebel.

Well, you know, we said we know Jezebel,

don't we?

Jezebel shows the danger of ungodly

influence. There's so many lessons in

this 1 Kings 21. Ah.

Okay, so Ahab, her husband, he comes

home pouting, doesn't he?

I I sometimes picture him just throwing

himself on the bed.

And Jezebel asks him, you know, "W- Why

are you so sad?"

We might say, "What's wrong?"

You know.

And of course Ahab, he explained that

Naboth would not give him the vineyard.

And Jezebel, look at verse 7. Jezebel

his wife said to him, "You now exercise

authority over Israel. Arise, eat food,

and let your heart be cheerful. I will

give you the vineyard of Naboth the

Jezreelite." Well, I said she's sweet.

Now,

this is important.

What Jezebel

doesn't do.

Jezebel did not rebuke Ahab's

covetousness.

She did not say,

"You know, honey, you're the king and

that's enough."

Uh she didn't say,

"You know, Naboth is actually obeying

God's law."

She doesn't say, "Well, you know, you

should just be respectful. That's, you

know, his vineyard and

inheritance and

right?" That sounds That sounds good,

don't it?

Kind of what she should have said.

Instead, she she was feeding, you know,

we call it's kind of just fueling the

fire here.

She was feeding his sin, and that's the

danger of ungodly influence, friends.

Ahab's desire was sinful enough, but

Jezebel though, Jezebel gave his desire

a plan. She took his covetousness and

turned it into conspiracy.

Oh, no.

I mean, she wrote letters in Ahab's name

that the scripture goes on to say, she

sealed them with his seal

and arranged for false witnesses to

accuse Naboth.

Ooh, being married to that woman. How

about that?

She said, "I'll get I will give you the

revenge." And she was she was she had

That's what she going to do.

The accusation was that Naboth had

blasphemed God and the king.

Then Naboth was taken out and he was

stoned to death.

Now, you know, I've

Can't you look at it? You say, "That's

wicked on every level."

Every level.

I mean, listen.

Misuse of authority, corruption of

justice, false testimony, it was murder

disguised as righteousness.

And after Naboth was dead, Jezebel told

Ahab, here it comes. And it came to

pass, verse 15, when Jezebel heard that

Naboth had been stoned and was dead,

that Jezebel said to Ahab, "Arise, take

possession of the vineyard

of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he

refused to give you for money, for

Naboth is not alive, but dead."

You know, I've read that. It just sent a

chill down my spine.

What a sobering lesson here. You know

what the sobering lesson is? Sin rarely

travels alone.

Sin rarely travels alone.

What What mean by that?

If you're following the thread through

this passage, you're going to see it

very loud and clear.

Covetousness

led to resentment. See, sin rarely

travels alone. You'll see how they those

are companions there, aren't they?

Covetousness led to resentment.

Resentment opened the door to

manipulation. Manipulation produced

lies. Lies led to murder. And murder led

to theft. And theft brought judgment.

See, sin rarely travels alone.

As that James described in James

James 1:14–15

1:14-15,

"But each one is tempted when he is

drawn away by his own desires and

enticed. Then when desire has conceived,

it gives birth to sin. And sin, when

it's full grown, brings forth death."

Ahab wanted a vineyard,

but sin did not stop at wanting. Sin

kept growing until an innocent man was

dead.

That's why we can't treat sinful desire

lightly. We can't do that.

Cuz that's what Again, this is where

that

try to justify, you know, we try to

justify things, you know, because

sometimes we'll excuse the early stages

of sin because we think, "Well, I have

not acted on it yet."

You got to watch that three-letter word

yet is dangerous.

But if a sinful desire is welcomed and

it's protected, it's fed, and justified,

I can tell you it's not going to stay

small. It's going to grow.

Cuz Ahab shows us the danger of a heart

that wants what it should not have.

Jezebel shows us the danger of

surrounding ourselves with people who

help us get what God has forbidden.

We say our circle. You know, who's in

our circle? Inner circle, outer circle,

you know, think think about that in that

kind of sense.

We need people in our lives in our

circle who will help us obey God.

Not help us excuse sin.

Because I'll tell you a good friend will

not help you take neighbor's vineyard.

A godly spouse will not help you cover

up wrongdoing.

A faithful brother or sister will not

flatter you while your heart drifts from

God.

Proverbs 27 and verse 6 says, "Faithful

are the wounds of a friend, but the

kisses of an enemy are deceitful."

Wow.

See, a lot of times we say, "Oh, I don't

like the the kisses." We don't like that

part better than we like the wounds

part, don't we?

There's a lot of wisdom here, right? The

wisdom of Proverbs 27 and verse 6.

"Faithful are the wounds of a friend,

but the kisses of an enemy are

deceitful."

Think about Jezebel's words. Jezebel's

words may have comforted Ahab,

but they led him deeper in sin.

We have to be quite careful

about what we're choosing.

Who we're choosing to be around.

Who is in our inner circle?

We got to take some time and evaluate

that in our lives.

And it's not just for kids to think

about who's their circle of friends, and

who they're going to be picking for

spouses, and those types of things.

Friends, it carries This goes throughout

our entire adulthood even.

We have to be careful.

Well, the fact is from the text Naboth

was treated unjustly.

But God saw everything.

I think one of the hard parts of of this

account is that Naboth dies.

You know, we we would like for this

story to to be different.

You know,

it's like wait a second, he was treated

unjustly and he's he he died.

For doing the right thing.

He did the right thing and he suffered.

He told the truth and the lies were told

about him. He honored God and wicked

people used God's name to destroy him.

You know, that bothers me. It It does

and I'm sure it bothers you.

Because we want justice to happen

immediately. We want the righteous

protected and the wicked stopped before

they do damage.

We still hold to that principle, don't

we?

But what 1 Kings 21 reminds us that

sometimes the righteous suffer at the

hands of the wicked.

Go read Psalms.

Psalms has a lot prayers regarding the

wicked who are flourishing

while the righteous

are downtrodden.

You see,

Naboth's story is not the only story

like this in scripture though. Y'all

know that?

Joseph was lied about.

David was hunted.

Jeremiah was rejected. Daniel was

plotted against. Stephen was stoned.

Paul was beaten and imprisoned.

But you know, I was thinking

about some similarities here.

Naboth said it was not for sale.

He was treated unjustly.

He died.

And I thought about how he was falsely

accused.

You know, Jesus Christ

was falsely accused. He was condemned

and he was crucified.

The presence of injustice

does not mean God is absent.

It's one of the greatest lessons of this

chapter.

Naboth died and Ahab went down to take

possession of the vineyard. And it may

have looked like evil had won.

But God spoke to Elijah in 1 Kings

1 Kings 21:18

21:18, "Arise, go down to meet Ahab,

king of Israel, who lives in Samaria.

There he is in the vineyard of Naboth,

where he has gone down to take

possession of it." Ooh. What does that

say to you? God saw it.

God saw Ahab. God saw Jezebel. God saw

the letters. God saw the false

witnesses. God saw Naboth's blood. God

saw the stolen vineyard. Nothing was

hidden from God.

Hebrews 4:13 gives us this reminder.

Hebrews 4:13

Look at it. Hebrews 4:13. And there is

Hebrews 4:13

no creature hidden from his sight, but

all things are naked and open to the

eyes of him to whom we must give

account.

Now, I'll tell you that truth right

there.

That should comfort the righteous

and sober the wicked.

Cuz friends, if we're suffering

unjustly, God sees it.

If we've been mis- misrepresented, God

sees it.

If you've tried to do right and paid a

price for it, God saw it. He sees it. If

others know never know the full story,

God sees.

But also, if a person is hiding in sin,

God sees that, too.

If someone has wronged another and and

pretended innocent, God sees that, too.

If someone has used power and position

and influence to harm another, God sees

that, too. Ahab may have taken

possession of Naboth's vineyard,

but he could not take possession

of it without

meeting the word of God.

Oh, and then Elijah.

He shows us that God's word must

confront sin.

Look at verse 19. God sent Elijah to

Ahab, and there's a difficult message

that he took to Ahab. Look at verse 19.

You shall speak to him saying, "Thus

says the Lord, have you murdered and

also taken possession?"

And you shall speak to him saying, "Thus

says the Lord, in the place where dogs

licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall

lick your blood,

even yours."

Ooh.

That's That's a That's piercing.

Some people say, "Well, wait a second.

Hold on."

This is where This is where

justification comes in.

You know, reading this passage,

>> [clears throat]

>> I don't find anywheres where Ahab

personally threw the stones. Y'all see

that anywheres?

Mhm.

But although Ahab may have not

personally thrown the stones

where Naboth was murdered and killed,

he was responsible.

He benefited from evil.

He accepted what sin provided.

He took possession of what had been

obtained through blood.

See, that That's That's even laws today

in our books.

Pretty interesting, isn't it?

You may not have done throwing the

stone,

but there's still responsibility

in benefiting and accepting.

Ahab said to Elijah in verse 20, look

what he says, "Have you found me, oh my

enemy?"

See, Ahab called Elijah his enemy.

But here's the fact, Elijah was not

Ahab's enemy. Elijah was telling Ahab

the truth. Sometimes people uh mistake

the one who tells the truth uh for the

enemy, but the real enemy is not the

word of God. The real enemy is sin.

And when God's word exposes us, we have

a choice. And that choice is we can

resent the messenger or we can repent

before God.

See, Paul dealt with this in Galatians

Galatians 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4 and verse 16. What he say?

"Have I therefore become your enemy

because I tell you the truth?"

See, the preacher is not the enemy when

he preaches the truth.

The elder is not the enemy when

he warns with scripture.

The parent is not the enemy when they

correct a child.

The brother or sister is not the enemy

when they lovingly call us back.

God's word confronts sin because God

loves souls.

Now, the message is certainly severe.

There's no doubt about that.

Elijah's message was severe. Judgment

would come upon Ahab's house. Jezebel

would also face judgment. Sin had

consequences. You know, sin,

consequences. What's Romans 6:23 say

Romans 6:23

about sin?

For the wages of sin is death, but the

gift of God is eternal life in Christ

Jesus our Lord.

Where do we start in this lesson? Ahab

wanted a vineyard.

But here we are

what he truly received was judgement.

And that is always how sin works.

It promises satisfaction

but it pays in sorrow.

Well,

Ahab

here

reminds us that sin has consequences

even when mercy is shown. You know,

sometimes we look at these scriptures

and

you know, you go down to verse 27, after

Elijah's message, something surprising

happened. Y'all remember what happened?

So it was when Ahab heard those words

that he tore his clothes and put

sackcloth on his body and fasted lay in

sackcloth and went about mourning.

You know,

that that was moving to Ahab. Ahab was

upset, wasn't he?

Verse 27 says,

Now now we know Ahab was a wicked king.

I mean, verse 25, there was no one like

Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness

in the sight of the Lord because Jezebel

his wife stirred him up.

And yet here you have Ahab who

well, humbles himself.

That's the very thought we get in verse

29.

See how Ahab has humbled himself before

me? This is what the Lord saying to

Elijah.

Because he has humbled himself before

me, I will not bring the calamity in his

days, in the days of his son, I'll bring

calamity on his house. Now,

this is something very remarkable cuz

God is you know, he's not eager to

destroy.

God takes notice when one humbles

himself and and God delayed the judgment

during Ahab's days is what we find. So,

this does teach us something about the

mercy of God that even a wicked man like

Ahab was not ignored when he humbled

himself

before the Lord.

But, there's something else here

that we don't need to miss.

That although judgment was delayed, the

consequences still remained, didn't it?

What an important truth.

God forgives, but sin still leaves

scars.

God shows mercy,

but sin still produces consequences.

God may pardon the soul, but the damage

of sin may still affect families,

relationships,

influence, and friends' future

generations.

David is a prime example. David was

forgiven after his sin with Bathsheba,

but consequences still came to his

house.

So, we should never think lightly of sin

and say, "Well, I can always repent

later."

Yes, God's merciful and yes, God

forgives and yes, the blood of Christ is

powerful enough to cleanse every sin,

but sin

is never harmless.

Ahab's temporary

humility reminds us that God sees

repentance,

but his story also

reminds us not to waste our lives in

rebellion

and only humble ourselves when

judgment's at the door.

The better path is to humble ourselves

now. What's James 4:10 say? Humble

James 4:10

yourselves in the sight of the Lord and

he will lift you up.

We need to have that humility always.

Well,

the vineyard that we've been talking

about here as well points us to our

spiritual inheritance.

You know, Naboth's vineyard was his

inheritance, wasn't it?

He would not sell it because it had been

entrusted to him.

And I think that's a powerful

application that we can draw from. As we

also have an inheritance, something that

Peter talks about in 1 Peter 1 and

verses 3 and 4.

Blessed be the God and Father of our

Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his

abundant mercy has begotten us again to

a living hope through the resurrection

of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an

inheritance incorruptible and undefiled

and that does not fade away, reserved in

heaven for you.

That's Christians he's talking about.

Naboth, as we noted, would not surrender

an earthly inheritance because of his

reverence for God.

And the question that's posed is how

much more should we refuse to surrender

our spiritual inheritance?

We don't trade our soul for the world's

vineyard, friends. We don't do it.

Jesus said, Mark 8:36 and 37, "For what

Mark 8:36

will it profit a man if he gains the

whole world and loses his own soul? Or

what will a man give in exchange for his

soul?"

Oh, yeah, Ahab, he gained the vineyard,

but he lost far more.

And that's the tragedy

of sin. It always costs more than it

gives.

A person may gain pleasure, but they'll

lose purity.

They may gain money, but they lose

honesty.

They may gain popularity, but they're

going to lose conviction.

They may gain revenge, but they're going

to lose peace. And they may gain the

world, but they're going to lose their

soul.

And that's Bible.

Naboth's vineyard asks us what are what

what are we willing to trade for our

inheritance? What are we willing to

trade?

Would we trade faithfulness for

convenience?

Would we trade worship for recreation?

Would we trade truth for acceptance?

Would we trade the church's

distinctiveness for popularity?

Would we trade our children's spiritual

future for worldly success? Would we do

that?

But Naboth has reminded us this evening

in this study

to simply be able to stand up and say

with him, "The Lord forbid that I

Lord forbid that I

And may God help us

say the same.

As we bring the lesson to the close,

I must mention yet again Christ

who was the greater innocent one who was

falsely accused.

You know, as we read

about Naboth, we cannot help but think

forward to Jesus. You know, yes, Naboth

and Jesus, they were both innocent.

Naboth was falsely accused by wicked uh

witnesses, and you know what? Jesus was,

too.

Naboth was condemned

though he had done no wrong. You know

what? Jesus was, too.

Naboth was taken outside and killed, and

Jesus himself suffered outside the gate.

Naboth's death exposed the very

wickedness of Ahab and Jezebel.

Jesus' death exposed the wickedness of

sin and the love of God.

But there is a great difference.

Yep, Naboth's blood cried out

for

for justice.

But Jesus' blood offers mercy. Hebrews

12 and verse 24 says, "To Jesus, the

mediator of the new covenant, and to the

blood of sprinkling that speaks better

things than that of Abel."

The blood of Christ speaks better

things, friends.

It speaks forgiveness, it speaks

redemption, it speaks reconciliation, it

speaks hope.

Ahab took a vineyard through the death

of an innocent man, but through the

death of the innocent Son of God,

we are offered entrance into the true

vineyard of God's grace. And you may

have thought, "DJ's going to bring John

15 and verse 1." If you thought that,

you're right.

Jesus said, "I am the true vine,

and my father is the vine dresser."

The true vineyard of God's grace. What a

wonderful thing.

The question that Jesus goes on in that

very passage, John 15, is we have to

answer is, "Will we truly abide in him?"

And that's the lesson, friends.

There's a lot to cover in that. I know 1

Kings 21, you probably heard lessons

many times on that, and I have

I've really enjoyed looking at these

again and studying and and preparing

these lessons.

There's there's so much power in these

lessons, isn't there?

I'm asking, "What will we learn from the

vineyard?" The vineyard next door.

Well, what do we take home from Ahab and

Naboth?

Ahab taught us something tonight. You

don't let desire rule your heart.

Naboth taught us, don't sell what

belongs to God.

Jezebel taught us something. What she

teaches don't use influence to help

others sin.

Elijah taught us something. What was

that?

Elijah taught us, don't be afraid to let

God's word confront wrong.

And the Lord teaches

he sees, he judges, and he shows mercy

to those who humble themselves.

Friends,

as we have been reminded yet again in

this evening's lesson, this is not

simply This is not simply an Old

Testament story that children are

learning in their Bible classes.

It is a biblical account that reaches to

where we are today. And you know what it

does? It gives us a present-day warning.

There are still vineyards we may be

tempted to covet.

There are still inheritance we must

refuse to sell.

And there are still voices that will

encourage compromise. And there is still

a God who sees everything. And you know

what else?

There's still a savior who calls us to

come.

If you're not a Christian, I want to

tell you in this vineyard next door

we've learned, don't trade your soul for

temporary things

of this world.

You do exactly as God tells you. You

believe in Christ, repent of your sins,

confess Jesus to be the son of God, and

be baptized for the remission of your

sins to rise and walk in newness of

life.

You can do that this evening.

As a disciple of Christ, maybe you've

allowed these things we talked about,

covetousness, compromise, bitterness,

dishonesty, worldliness, all those

things to take root in your heart. And

I'm saying again from the scriptures,

humble yourself before God. Don't wait

until the vineyard has become a place of

judgment.

You come back to the Lord.

May our hearts be like Naboth's when the

when the world offers its trade to us,

what is our words we say? The Lord

forbid that I.

Learn that phrase.

Cuz there's going to be a vineyard next

door at some point.

And there may be one right now in your

mind, and you say those words, the Lord

forbid that I.

And that we leave here determined this

evening that some things are not for

sale.

They're not for sale.