When God Has Nothing Good to Say - 10/4/26 - Meadows Baptist Church - Pastor Charlie Branch

Welcome to the podcast of Meadows

Baptist Church of Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. We're so glad you joined us

today. If you enjoy today's message, be

sure to subscribe, follow, and share

with your friends. Now, let's join

Pastor Charlie Branch with a word from

God.

>> Oh, that's good. You glad you're saved

this morning? Amen.

>> Amen. Well, take God's word. Turn with

me to the book of First Kings, chapter

1 Kings 22 · chapter mention

22.

First Kings, chapter number 22.

Amen. If you want to brag on the Lord,

don't let me get in your way. Amen.

First Kings chapter 22. find you place

1 Kings 22 · chapter mention

if you would stand on reference to the

reading God's word if you're able don't

have to but if you're able invite you to

stand with us this morning

thankful for that night 2009

August Bible school Greater Vision

Baptist Church Miller Street North

Carolina God saved my soul amen he's

made a difference in my life I ain't

never been the

never will be the same.

>> Ain't never going to get over it either.

Amen.

>> Oh, it's good to be saved.

>> Oh, bless your name.

First Kings chap 22 verse number one

where we'll begin reading.

The Bible says, "And they continued

three years without war between Syria

and Israel. It came to pass in the third

year that Jehoshaphat, the king of

Judah, came down to the king of Israel.

The king of Israel said unto his

servants, "Know ye that Rayoth and

Gilead is ours. We be still, and take it

not out of the hand of the king of

Syria." And he said unto Jehoshaphat,

"Wilt thou go with me to battle to

Ramoth Gilead?" And Jehoshaphat said to

the king of Israel, "I am as thou art,

my people as thy people, my horses as

thy horses." And Jehoshaphat said unto

the king of Israel, Inquire, I pray

thee, at the word of the Lord today. And

the king of Israel gathered the prophets

together about 400 men, and said unto

them, Shall I go against Raoth Gilead to

battle, or shall I forbear? And they

said, "Go up, for the Lord shall deliver

it into the hand of the king." And

Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not here a

prophet of the Lord besides that we

might inquire of him?" And the king of

Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, "There is

yet one man, Micaiah, the son of Imla,

by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but

I hate him, for he doth not prophesy

good concerning me, but evil." And

Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say

so." Then the king of Israel called an

officer and said, "Hasten hither Micaiah

the son of Imla." And the king of Israel

and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah said,

each on his throne, having put on their

robes in a void place in the entrance of

the gate of Samaria, and all the

prophets prophesied

before them. Our father, we come before

you this morning and ask humbly, God,

that you would help us, Lord. I'm not

trying to get in the way of this

service. And Lord, you know my heart

this morning, God, if there's somebody

that needs to share, Lord, what's on

their heart, I pray they do that after

we finish praying. But God, I ask most

importantly this morning, God, that your

will would be done. I pray you'd get

glory and honor unto yourself. I pray

that your son would be exalted, Lord.

The church would be encouraged and

strengthened this morning, God. We need

something from you, God. We don't need

to hear from me, Lord. We don't need to

hear from anybody's opinions, Lord. But

God, we need to hear from you this

morning. And God, I ask humbly that you

would speak to every heart and get glory

unto yourself. Save the sinner that's

nearest hell this morning. God, you

know, there may be some, Lord, that

might not make it the rest of this day

today. God, we don't know what tomorrow

holds. Lord, we ask God today that your

hand, God, would intervene in the life

of that sinner today. And Lord, I pray

God for all those who are saved here

this morning. you would help us to

strengthen ourselves, Lord, for the

battle that's at hand, God, to die to

ourselves, Lord, and to give you glory

and honor and make sure that we're

living in accordance with your word and

your will. And Lord, I pray most of all,

God, that you'll get glory out of

everything that's said and done in this

service today. And what you do, we'll

give you thanks for it because we ask it

in Jesus' name. And God's children say

it.

>> You can be seated this morning. Thank

you for standing.

First Kings chapter number 22 opens to

us a passage of scripture with two men

being the main characters in this text.

One by the name of Ahab and the other by

the name of Jehoshaphat. And if you know

your Bible this morning, you are aware

of the fact that Jehoshaphat at this

time is king of the uh southern kingdom

over Judah and Ahab is king over that

northern kingdom that is the 10 tribes

of Israel. We know that it was divided

because of the seed of Solomon, the

division, the sin of Solomon that

divided the nations. Those 12 tribes

became 10 and two. And there would be a

total of about 40 different rulers that

would reign over these two tribes. I

believe if my if my mind serves me

right, um I believe there was 19 in the

northern kingdom and 20 in the southern

kingdom. And all of these different

kings, the northern kingdom never did

have a good king. Every one of them was

evil. and wicked in the sight of God.

But out of those 19 or 20 that was in

the southern kingdom, only eight of them

were righteous. And what we find in this

text here is a a mixture. What this

mixture is that Jehoshaphat was one of

those eight righteous kings. He did

write in the sight of the Lord. And the

Bible tells us that in the latter part

of this chapter concerning his life, but

Ahab being one of the kings of the

northern kingdom, he was a wicked man.

And we find the Bible describes to us in

another place that Ahab was the most

wicked king that ever reigned over the

northern tribes of Israel. The Bible

literally describes his wickedness as

being greater of any that preceded him

or any that would follow after him. And

Ahab is a very wicked individual. But

what we find in this text immediate

before this text in chapter number 21

and in verse number 27 we find a foxhole

repentance that takes place in the life

of Abraham. You or Ahab in this text and

you say what do you mean by that? Well,

it's almost as if in this text Ahab for

a moment in time comes to himself and

realizes his sinful state. I want you to

notice what the Bible says in chapter 21

and verse 27. And it came to pass when

Ahab heard those words that he ran his

clothes and put sackcloth upon his flesh

and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went

softly. And the word of the Lord came to

Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Seeest thou

how Ahab humbleth himself before me,

because he humbleth himself before me. I

will not bring the evil in his days, but

in his son's days will I bring the evil

upon his house. And so what we find here

in this chapter number one by way of

introduction you'll see that there is a

period of rest or a rest period here in

verse number one the Bible says and they

continued three years without war

between Syria and Israel. Now you

remember there several weeks ago we

preached a message there about victory

in the valley where the Lord gave the

children of Israel victory over the

Syrians. Matter of fact, he gave Ahab

victory over the Syrians in two

different places. And what did God say?

He said it was so that all the nation

might know that I am the Lord. And that

thou thyself, Ahab, might know that I am

the Lord. But what we discover in this

chapter is that Ahab here in the text

has not changed his mind. What we

discover is later on in the text that

Ahab is just as bad as he's ever been.

And I want to say this to you this

morning. Turning over a new leaf is not

going to help you. Amen. You need more

than just a fresh start. Amen. You need

more than rehabilitation. You need

regeneration. Amen. You say, "What is

that, preacher? That's oldtimey Holy

Ghost salvation." Amen. And when you get

that, then you can deal with the

problems that are in your life. But we

notice in this text, out of this restful

period, you see there comes a righteous

pursuit that's mentioned in verse number

three. Jehoshaphat comes down to Israel

there in the text to meet uh meet Ahab.

And the Bible said in verse three, "And

the king of Israel said unto his

servants, know ye that Ramoth and Gilead

is ours and we be still and take it not

out of the hand of the king of Syrian."

So the Assyrians are currently dwelling

in one of the cities here that belong to

those 10 tribes. Matter of fact, this

city Rayoth, if you look it up

geographically speaking, it now

presently belongs to the province of

Syria. But this tribe of Manasseh, this

city of Rayoth belonged to them. It was

a part of their promised allotment. And

so the Bible says here that their

righteous pursuit is described that they

are going to go and take back something

that belongs to them. And I'm all for

this morning getting back what the

world's taken from us.

>> Amen. We need to take and recover the

ground that the world has taken away

from the people of God. And so we see

this restful period brings about a

righteous pursuit. Then we know to stay

with me. Verse number four, we notice a

regal partnership that's mentioned. The

Bible said in verse four, and he said

unto Jehoshaphat, "Wilt thou go with me

to battle to Ramoth Gilead?" And

Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel,

I am as thou art. My people as thy

people, my horses as thy horses. And so

for this moment in history here, we

discover that the 10 tribes of that

northern kingdom and the two tribes of

the southern kingdom are united under

the rulership of Ahab and of

Jehoshaphat. And so these royalties in

this text have decided to lock arms for

the greater good. But you remember what

I said that Jehoshaphat was a righteous

king. He was a holy king and a king that

feared God. But we know that Ahab was a

wicked man in this text. And obviously

their partnership is brought together

because their pursuit is right. But let

me say this to you this morning. Just

because somebody who's wicked gets the

right mindset does not mean that we're

going to lock arms with them.

>> Amen.

>> You hearing me? Just because somebody

gets the right direction in mind, if

their character does not approve that,

we're not going to hold hands and lock

arms with them and join in affinity. And

that's Jehoshaphat's mistake in this

text. But you notice out of this regal

partnership, you see Jehoshaphat's

righteousness begins to display itself.

Notice in verse number five, and

Jehoshaphat said unto the king of

Israel, that is Ahab, inquire, I pray

thee, at the word of the Lord today. And

so out of this regal partnership,

Jehoshaphat requests a precept. And you

say, what do you mean? Well, he says,

inquire at the word of the Lord. He

said, we need to hear from God. Amen.

And wouldn't you agree this morning, you

and I need to hear from God in this day

and time. But I notice what happens in

this text. You see, Jehoshaphat asked

this question, the king of Israel. In

verse number six, he says, "He gathered

the prophets together." Now, I want to

say this to you this morning. If you're

a casual Bible reader, you'll miss the

point that's being made in this text. He

gathered the prophets together. In verse

six, about 400 men. Now, these 400

prophets that are mentioned are Ahab's

prophets. These are prophets that belong

to Ahab.

>> They've not been schooled by Elijah.

They've not been brought in with Elisha

in the school of the prophets. But these

men are not prophets of God, but they

are prophets of Baal and prophets of

Asharoth. But because of events prior to

this chapter, they have mingled

themselves in with the religion of

Judaism, and they are calling upon the

name of Jehovah. But it does not change

who they really belong to. Now, I want

to say this to you this in this day and

time that about anybody and everybody

will call on the name of Jesus for about

anything. But I want to tell you this.

It does not change who they are on the

inside. Amen. And what we what we see in

this text that though there's 400 of

them, notice what Jehoshaphat says in

verse number seven. They tell him there

in verse six, the Bible says, they

answer and say, you shall I forbear.

Shall I go to battle or shall I forbear?

Ahab says, "And they said, go up, for

the Lord shall deliver it into the hand

of the king." Now, all that sounds fine

and good, but Jehoshaphat notices they

something wrong. Look what he says in

verse 7. And Jehoshaphat said, listen to

this now. Is there not here a prophet of

the Lord besides that we might inquire

of him? There's 400 men here, and 400

men all say the same thing. But

Jehoshaphat being that righteous king

that he was, he sees something in all of

them. Amen.

>> That they're bought and paid for by the

king

>> and that they're religious psychopants.

In other words, they're just going to do

whatever the king's already set his

heart to do. They've decided that

whatever the king wants, well, it helps

our pocketbook if we just go his

direction. But Jehoshaphat says, he

said, "I wanted a precept." And he said,

"I'm going to get one." And he said,

"You going to have to find me a real

prophet."

>> Amen.

>> Amen. And listen to what your Bible

says. He said, "Is there not here a

prophet of the Lord besides that we

might inquire of him?" And verse number

eight, "And the king of Israel said to

Jehoshaphat, there is yet one man,

Micaiah, the son of Imla, by whom we may

inquire of the Lord." Notice this

statement, "but I hate him." And I want

to preach on this thought this morning

out of that next phrase in verse number

eight. He says, "But I hate him, for he

doth not prophesy good concerning me."

And I want to preach on this thought.

All right? I want to preach on the

thought when God has nothing good to

say.

When God has nothing good to say. You

see, in this text, we find a man, two

men here in this text that are fixing to

go to battle. One has decided that his

men and all of those around him says,

"The Lord says it's all right. We're

going to go on to battle." But

Jehoshaphat says, "I can see right

through them. And I know that there's

something that's just not right about

what they're saying. Is there not here a

real prophet? Is there not here a real

man of God? And Ahab says, "There is

one, but I don't really like him.

I just don't like what he has to say."

And I want to give you four things this

morning out of this text on when God has

nothing good to say. Now, let me say

this to you this morning. I believe that

most of the nations of the world and

majority of the people in this day and

time, the way nations are running, I'm

not going to say down personally. I

could take it to that level, but I could

say this this morning. There are many

nations that God could find nothing good

to say about them

>> just simply because they have not

acknowledged even the existence of God.

They don't even recognize Jehovah as

God. And when he looks at them, there is

nothing good that he can say about them

this morning. And I I will let me just

do this. Take it down personally. I

think there's many sinners lives this

morning that when you look at their

life, they have absolutely nothing that

can be said good about them because they

do not know God. Number one, and the

Bible says there's what? None good, know

not one. Amen. And so the goodness in us

is his goodness imparted to us. Amen.

And so God in this text has nothing good

to say. But you know what? I find

something that is a resounding theme all

the way down through history even before

Christ's coming all the way back to Cain

and Abel's days is this truth. Number

one, when God has nothing good to say,

you see one thing that reveals itself

always and that is the hatred of the

sinner.

The hatred of the sinner. You say, "What

do you mean?" WELL, WHEN GOD SPEAKS a

word that is not desirable, always

sinners alike, they always come out with

a with a a a burden and a a really a

bitterness against the things of God.

>> And you notice in this text, the hatred

is mentioned. Ahab literally says in the

text, Micaiah, he says, "He's the only

one that I know of that's going to give

us a word from God." He says, "But I

hate him.

>> I don't like him." Notice what he says

about him. He hates number one, his

person. Look what he says. I hate him.

He said, "I don't like what he's about.

I don't like what he looks like. I don't

like the way he carries himself." Amen.

I just don't like him. You ever been

around somebody like that? You just

don't like him. No, y'all are wearing

your halos. Okay? Truth is, you've all

thought that before.

>> Now, that's not good. Amen. It ain't

good for any of us. But I'm telling you

the truth. Ahab didn't like his person.

Number two, because he did not like his

prophecy. Look what he says. He says in

verse number eight, "But I hate him

colon for he does not prophesy good

concerning me." He said, "Every time I

go to him to get a word from God, he

never has anything good to say about

me." Now, there's some of you here this

morning, you probably thinking, if

you've been here for a little while, you

probably thinking by this time, can this

preacher ever preach anything

encouraging? I can, but the Lord won't

let me. Amen. And so what I'm giving you

this MORNING IS JUST LIKE the story of

Micaiah here in this text. He's not

wellliked by society. But you know who

else wasn't wellliked by society. Jesus

wasn't wellliked by society. He told his

disciples, he said, "Marvel not that the

world hates you." He said, "No, that it

hated me before it hated you." And when

we look at reality this morning and we

think about who we're called to be,

sinners do not like who we are.

>> Amen.

>> Sinners do not like what we have to say.

Amen.

>> They don't like it when you walk up to

their door and you ask them if they go

to church somewhere and you ask them if

they know the Lord Jesus Christ as their

savior. YOU'VE MESSED UP THEIR DAY.

>> You know why? BECAUSE THEY WERE

COMFORTABLE AND COZY IN THEIR HOUSE

UNTIL SOMEBODY BREACHED their privacy.

>> But you know what? Every time Ahab has

come to Micaiah, he's had the same word.

And what you discover in this text is is

that Jehoshaphat rebukes Ahab in the

text in verse number nine. He's a softy.

Amen. But I'll say this, he still does

rebuke him softly. In verse number

eight, he said, "I hate him for he does

not prophesy good concerning me. He

hates his person. He hates his

prophecy." Jehoshaphat said, "Let not

the king say so. A dayhab, don't talk

about him like that. We need to hear

what he has to say." And look what

happens in the text. Well, they come

here in the text to make a long story

short. All the prophets of God give

their proph All the prophets of Baal

give their prophecy and they're all in

agreement. And let me say this, just

because the majority is all in agreement

does not mean they're right.

>> Amen. 400 of them all decided the same

thing. Gee, I wonder why. Because they

was all getting paid from the same

person.

>> Amen, friends. You know that's right.

Amen. That's the reason why our

government's so wicked.

>> Both branches. Amen. What I'm looking at

here in this text is these prophets were

paid off. And Micaiah, the Bible says

that he speaks to them. He said in verse

14, "As the Lord liveth, what the Lord

saith unto me, that will I speak." So he

came to the king, the king of Israel

asked him, "Shall we go against Rama

Gilead to battle, or shall we forbear?"

Notice what he says. "And he answered

him, go and prosper, for the Lord shall

deliver it into the hand of the king."

Now, for a minute, it seems like Micaiah

is in line with them. But you know what

king the king of Israel knows that that

ain't right because look what he says to

him in verse number 16. And the king

said unto him, "How many times shall I

adjure thee that thou tell me nothing

but that which is true in the name of

the Lord?" Ahab says, "I'm serious. You

going to have to tell me the truth." You

know why sometimes it's hard for the

servants and people of God to tell the

truth because they know the person

that's asking for it really don't want

to hear it.

>> Micaiah is going to lay it out there

here in just a minute. Listen to what he

says. King Ahab speaks to him in verse

17. And here the Bible says that Micaiah

speaks to him in verse 17. He said, "I

saw all Israel scattered upon the

hills." Notice this statement, "As sheep

that have not a shepherd, and the Lord

said, these have no master. Let them

return every man to his house in peace."

And so what discovers here in this text

is as the story goes on. The Micaiah

tells this story that he sees a vision

in heaven and the Lord says, "All right,

who's going to go and tell Ahab to go to

battle for me because he needs to die,

so to speak." You can study the text,

find it for yourself. But this is what

Ahab says about Micaia. And this is

where I want to get to for the moment.

Notice verse number 18. And the king of

Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, "Did I did

not did I not tell thee that he would

prophesy no good concerning me, but

evil?" You see, Ahab hated his person.

He hated his prophecy. But you know what

he really hated about Micaiah was his

persistence.

Over and over and over again, he said,

"I told you what he's going to say. I

TOLD YOU WHAT THAT PREACHER DOWN THERE

WAS GOING TO SAY WHEN I WENT TO HIM.

when we inquired, "HE HAS NOTHING GOOD

TO SAY ABOUT ME." Let me just be real

with you. I don't have anything good I

can say about myself. Amen. And the

truth is, there's none of us that can

say anything good about anybody because

the only goodness in us is from him.

>> AND SO MICAIAH'S TELLING THE TRUTH IN

THIS TEXT. AND HE TELLS AHAB, the Bible

says here in the text, he warns him of

this lying spirit that the Lord is going

to send and put in the mouth of all of

Ahab's prophets, God in the text in

verse numbers 22. And the Lord said unto

him, wherewith and he said, I will go

forth, that is this lying spirit, and I

will be a lion spirit in the mouth of

all his prophets. And he said, thou

shalt persuade him and prevail also. Go

forth and do so. And Micaiah said in

verse 23, "Now therefore, behold, the

Lord hath put a lying spirit in the

mouth of all these thy prophets, and the

Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee."

Micaiah tells him the whole story. He

says, "This is what's going to happen to

you." And he said, "You're going to do

this. This is how it's going to happen.

This is why it's going to happen, and

this is the way it's going to happen."

He tells him every bit of that. But

notice what happens in the text. Verse

24. But Zedekiah the son of Chinah went

near and smoked Micaiah on the cheek.

Now, who is that? Zedekiah is one of

those 400. So, we see number one, when

God has nothing good to say, there is

the hatred of the sinner that's

manifest. But I want to say this. Second

of all, number two, there's the harm of

the servant that is given. You say,

"What do you mean?" Well, notice what

happens after he gives the word from

God. But Zedekiah the son of Chinaw went

near and smoke on the cheek and said

which way went the spirit of the Lord

for me to speak unto thee. You know what

he's doing? He's making fun of him.

>> He's saying all 400 of us agree on the

same thing and you're saying something

totally different off the wall. That

sounds crazy. He said you tell me when I

slap you which way the spirit of God

sent my hand to hit you in the face.

You say, "What is that?" Well, it's the

harm of the servant of God. Who's he

harmed by? Number one, he's harmed by

false prophets. You know who real

preachers are attacked by more than

anybody else?

>> The false ones.

>> That's right.

>> Let me say this. That goes down to your

level. If you're a real child of God,

you know who's going to attack you more

than anybody else? The counterfeit.

>> Somebody who don't have the spirit of

God on the inside. They're going to

attack you. They're going to worry you

out. They're going to worry you to death

because they don't like what you have to

say.

>> Amen.

>> They don't like how you live. They don't

like the God you serve. And they may

even say to serve the same God that you

do. But the truth is when you look at

their life, does it line up with that

book?

>> Come on.

>> Amen.

>> And so the first injury that was smitten

to this given to this man after that he

prophesied the truth was by a false

prophet. And let me say this, a false

prophet will be the first one to rear

their head against the truth when it's

given.

>> You listening? But notice not what not

only what happens from the false prophet

here, the harm of the servant, but you

see the fixed punishment that's given.

The Bible said Micaiah speaks against

Zedekiah in verse 25. He prophesies

against him. Behold, thou shalt see in

that day when thou shalt go into an

inner chamber to hide thyself. He says,

"Look, friend, you're going to realize

that what I said was from God one of

these days." And let me say this. I I

can tell you the truth from now until

the day I die. But there's coming a day

when the truth's coming to call.

>> Are you listening to me? I'm saying,

friend, I'm not just telling you

something to hear myself talk. Amen. I

don't like to do this. Amen. in the

sense of hearing myself talk. I'm trying

to tell you the truth to warn you to

flee from the wrath to come.

>> Amen.

>> In spite of all THAT ARE AGAINST THE

TRUTH, LOOK WHAT HE says in verse 26.

The king of Israel said, "Take Micaiah

and carry him back unto Ammon, the

governor of the city, and to Joash the

king's son, and say, thus saith the

king, put this fellow in the prison, and

feed him with bread of affliction, and

with water of affliction until I come in

peace." You know what he's saying here

in this text? He's saying, "You take him

back where I got him from."

>> You know why he had such readily

available access to Micaiah? Because he

was already locked up.

He'd already heard too much. He got

tired of listening to that. You know

what he did? He locked him up. Just like

Herod did when he got tired of John the

Baptist. And you know what? Even when

John the Baptist was in the prison, you

know what he was doing? He was telling

those prison guards, he was calling out

the sin of Herod. And you know what

Herod got tired of hearing it. And so,

you know what THEY DID? THEY CUT OFF HIS

HEAD. THAT'S RIGHT.

>> CUZ THEY GOT TIRED OF HEARING THAT VOICE

of one that would speak out against the

sin that would warn of the judgment. I'M

SAYING, FRIEND, THEY FIX their

punishment. But I want to say this. In

spite of those false prophets and in

spite of that prison that he was in, I'm

thankful his prophecy was still

faithful.

>> Look what he says. The last words of

Micaiah here in the text in verse number

27 he said you could he said in verse 27

the king said thus said the king put

this fell in the prison and feed him

with bread of affliction with water of

affliction. Notice this statement this

statement of pride by Ahab until I come

in peace. He said I'm going to make it

back here. I've done defeated him twice.

I'll do it again. But listen to what

Micaiah said in verse 28. And Micaiah

said if thou return at all in peace the

Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said,

'Hearken, oh people, every one of you.

Micaiah said, 'If you come back at all,

God didn't speak by me.' You know why

Micaiah said that? Because he ain't

concerned about his own reputation. He

was more concerned about the word of

God.

>> I really don't care. And let me say this

to you this morning. If you're saved by

the grace of God, you don't really care

what people think of you.

>> Amen.

>> The truth's all that matters.

Now, I'm for you having a good testimony

this morning, and you need to, and you

should live righteously and holy and

honorable before God. But the truth is,

you need to take a good dose of I don't

give a rip and quit worrying about what

everybody thinks about you.

>> The truth is the truth, and we're to

stand ON IT AND NOT APOLOGIZE FOR IT.

>> If it puts our head in a charger, Amen.

And the king standing there laughing at

us. I want to tell you this. JESUS WAS

PLEASED WITH HIM. AMEN. HE SAID,

"THERE'S NOT A MAN BORN GREATER THAN

ONE, GREATER OF WOMAN THAN JOHN THE

BAPTIST." HE WAS PLEASED WITH HIS

MINISTRY. AND I'D RATHER HIM BE PLEASED

WITH WHAT I HAVE TO SAY THAN ANYBODY

APPROVE OF WHAT I HAVE TO PREACH TO YOU.

AND YOU OUGHT TO FEEL THE SAME WAY ABOUT

YOUR LIFE.

>> I want to say this. When God has nothing

good to say, the sinners are going to be

hating.

>> That's right. Amen.

>> But let's just be real. The saints are

going to be hurting, too.

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

Well, I'm afraid my babies I'm afraid I

may live to see it, but I know my babies

may live to see a day of

>> the church being hurt in this country.

>> Why? Because the hatred of sinners is

getting worse and worse in our land.

That's

>> right.

>> Notice what happens here in the text.

Are you with me this morning? Say amen.

>> Amen.

>> We see out of the US, the king tells

Joash, you feed him bread of affliction,

water of affliction. That simply means

dirty water. He said, "You go get water

out of the muddy puddle and you go get

the driest bread that we wouldn't even

feed to the dogs and you give that to

him to punish him for it just enough so

he can live." And the Bible says in the

text verse 29, "The king of Israel,

Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up

to Rayoth Gilead." And I I wonder in my

mind, this is just a side thought. I

wonder if Jehoshaphat's like, "Man,

I really I know what he said and I

believe what he said. Why am I doing

this?

You know what? I think there's a lot of

righteous people in this country is

going along with things just because

they're trying to keep the peace.

>> You better stop worrying about keeping

the peace.

>> I'm telling you the truth. Because

Jehoshaphat goes on in this text, look

what happens. Verse 30, "And the king of

Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will

disguise myself." So I want to show you

thirdly, we see when God has nothing

good to say, there's the hatred of the

sinner. There's the harm of the servant.

But I see this thirdly, this always

happens when God doesn't have a good

word to say to humankind. You see,

thirdly, there's a hiding. You say,

"What do you mean there's a hiding?"

Well, there's a hiding from the sword.

You see, the word's already been given.

He said, "Look, you're going to die."

But look what he says in verse 30.

Joshuat, he tells Josh, "I'm going to

disguise myself and enter into the

battle and put thou on thy robes." And

the king of Israel disguised himself and

went into the battle. So you see his

disguise. He makes himself as a common

soldier in the text. And out of that you

see the desire of the Syrians in verse

31. But the king of Syria commanded his

30 and two captains that had rule over

his chariot saying fight neither with

small nor great save only with the king

of Israel. You know what they had one

job to do? And it was to take out Ahab.

You see that in the text. Ahab's

disguised himself. You know what it

seems like his plan should work. You

know what Ahab has done? He's put

Jehoshaphat Jehoshaphat on a platter to

die.

>> You say, "What do you mean? He's got his

royal robes on. Ahab's disguised

himself." Let me say this to you. This

world, friend, you yoke up and offended

to this world, they'll send you out to

the battle and roads just so you they

can watch you die.

>> Amen.

>> You listening? And so out of this, it

looks like his plan's coming together.

His their desire is just to take out the

king. And so Jehoshaphat's wearing the

robes. Verse 32 it said when they saw

the captains of the chari when the

captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat

that they said surely it's the king of

Israel and they turned aside to fight

against him and Jehoshaphat cried out. I

can hear that that feminist manly voice

crying out in that

>> he's so weak. He's righteous but he's

weak.

>> And so he cries out and they're like man

that ain't Ahab. Look at the text. Said

Jehoshaphat cried out in verse 33. And

it came to pass when the captains of the

chariots perceived, notice this, that it

was not the king of Israel that they

turned back from pursuing him. You say,

"What does that mean?" Well, they

realized that the one with the king's

robes on wasn't Ahab. Notice verse 34.

The Bible said, "And a certain man drew

a bow at a venture." Now, you don't need

to miss this. Are you listening to me?

>> Some of you, are you listening to me?

Say amen. Amen.

>> The Bible says that he drew a boat back

at a venture. You know what that word,

that phrase at adventure means? It means

at random. It means this old boy,

>> he ain't aiming at nothing.

>> He's just shooting the bow at random.

And look what the Bible says. And a

certain man drew a bow at a venture and

smoked who? The king of Israel between

the joints of the harness. Now, I tried

to study this, but I couldn't find

nothing about it. Okay? And so, this is

what I'm going to give you. All right?

The king has disguised himself. He's got

warriors armor on and he's on a chariot.

He looks like just like anybody else in

the army. And one of the Syrians just

fires an arrow and it just happens to

find Ahab. But not only does it happen

to find Ahab, it finds him in a place

where two pieces of his armor meet.

>> It goes between his armor

>> and kills him.

Look what your Bible says. Verse number

34, it says, "He, wherefore he said unto

the driver's chariot," turn thine hand

and carry me out of the host, for I'm

wounded. And the battle increased that

day, and the king was stayed up in his

chariot against the Syrians, and died at

even, and the blood ran out of the wound

into the midst of the chariot. You see,

Ahab in this text, he was defeated by a

random arrow.

>> Let me tell you, that arrow wasn't

random,

>> right? He was defeated by a divinely

directed arrow to commit his death. You

say, "Preacher, what are you saying?"

I'm saying you cannot hide from the

judgment of God. You cannot escape your

condemnation. The Bible says that the

wrath of God abides on you right now if

you're lost without God. And I submit to

you, you he won't have to look to find

you. He knows where you're at. And I

DON'T CARE HOW MUCH ARMOR YOU GOT ON

SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING. HE CAN GET AROUND

ALL OF THAT. HE'S NOT GOING TO BE

HINDERED WHEN IT COMES TIME FOR YOUR

JUDGMENT. THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE A

SINGLE SOUL OF MAN. THERE'S NOT GOING TO

BE ONE LEFT OUT. EVERY SOUL THAT'S SAVED

WILL GO INTO ETERNITY AND LIVE FOREVER

and ever IN A PLACE CALLED HEAVEN. BUT

EVERY SOUL THAT'S LOST WITHOUT GOD. ARE

YOU HEARING ME? WE'LL ENTER INTO A

CHRISTLESS ETERNITY TO DWELL IN A PLACE

CALLED HELL. AND NO ONE WILL SLIP

THROUGH THE CRACKS.

>> His defeat brought his death. You see

this arrow that was shot at random, took

Ahab out in this text. And you say,

"Preacher, what does that mean?" Well,

it don't matter. Hey, when God has when

God has nothing GOOD TO SAY, YOU BETTER

REALIZE IT AIN'T GOING TO do you any

good to hide from the sword that's

coming today on this earth. When the

judgment of all judgments, the

tribulation of all tribulations is going

to BE PRESENT ON THIS EARTH. And the

sword, friend, IS GOING TO COME TO THIS

EARTH. And the souls of MEN ARE GOING TO

DIE ONE RIGHT AFTER ANOTHER. THEY'RE

GOING TO BE KILLED and taken. AND THE

BIBLE SAYS THAT THEY'RE GOING TO HIDE

THEMSELVES in the mountains and in the

rocks and they're going to WISH FOR

DEATH, BUT THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE

TO FIND IT. WHY IS THAT? BECAUSE THE

SWORD, FRIEND, CAN'T FIND WHERE YOU'RE

AT.

>> AMEN.

>> You can't hide from it.

>> That's why I plead the blood of Jesus.

>> In my hand, no price. I bring SIMPLY TO

THE CROSS I CLING. I HAVE NO OPPORTUNITY

OR NO ABILITY TO SAVE MYSELF THIS

MORNING, BUT ONLY FOR THE BLOOD OF

JESUS. I'VE ESCAPED THE JUDGMENT HAND OF

GOD. I'M NOT HIDING FROM THE SWORD THIS

MORNING. JESUS TOOK MY SIN ON CALVARY

AND TOOK MY JUDGMENT AND BLESS HIS NAME.

I'M NOT HIDING THIS MORNING, BUT I CAN

STAND LIKE THE PROPHET AND I CAN PRO

PROCLAIM TO YOU THAT JUDGMENT'S COMING.

But thank God, those of us that are

saved, we'll never know what that

sword's like. As far as I can see in the

text, brother Shane is Ahab's only one

dies in this battle.

>> You know why that is?

Because Micaiah said it was going to

happen.

>> I'm going to give you this and I'm done.

I'm going to say it does you no good,

child of God, to hide from the sword.

>> You say, "What do you mean, preacher?"

I'm saying when God has nothing good to

say. You know what? His word is still

the word of God.

>> Are you listening? His word is still the

word of God and you cannot hide from

him.

>> You can't escape his all-seeing eye. I

give you this and I'm done. We see when

God has nothing good to say, there's the

hatred of the sinner. There's the harm

of the servant. There's those that try

to hide from the sword. But I want to

give you this and I'm done. There's the

honor of the scriptures. You say, "What

do you mean?" Well, the Bible says in

verse number 35 that he died at evening.

The blood ran out of the wound into the

midst of the chariot. The image is that

as Ahab's stayed up in his chariot, he's

wounded with that arrow went through his

armor and he's cripped up in that

chariot and he doesn't even go home from

the battle. You know, that's the tragedy

about sinners. They'll spend all their

life fighting themselves. That's right.

>> And they don't even get to go home from

the battle.

>> They'll die in their own pool of blood.

Ahab's cribed up in that chariot. And

the Bible says that the blood dripped

out of his body into the floor of that

chariot and it literally falls through

the cracks of the chariot. You say,

"Preacher, what is that?" Well, it's

significant. I I want you to keep that

in your mind. It says that the blood ran

into the midst of the chariot, and there

went out a proclamation, listen to this,

throughout the host about the going down

of the sun, saying, "Every man to his

city and every man to his own country."

So the king died and was brought to

Samaria. They buried the king in

Samaria, and one washed the chariot in

the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked

up his blood, and they washed his armor.

And I want you to notice this last

phrase, according unto the word of the

Lord, which he spake.

You see, all of this happened just

exactly like God said it would. No less

than three prophecies are given about

Ahab's death. I want you to write these

in your margin if you could. probably

already there. But chapter number 20

verse 42, chapter 21 verse number 19,

and chapter number 22 and verse 17. I

want you to listen to what these

prophecies say. All of these are

fulfilled in this one moment. Chapter

number 20 and verse number 42. The

prophet cries out to Ahab and he says,

"And he said unto him, thou thus sayeth

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." You know who's the only man

that died in this battle that day? Was

Ahab. You know who's still alive?

Binhad.

all the Syrians and all the Israel

Israelites.

Ahab died for the Syrians, for the

Israelites, and for Benhad because of

his sin. That's

>> right.

>> Prophesied of notice this chapter number

21 verse number 19. Elijah is

prophesying this three different men

that are given. Some say that the

prophecy in chapter 20 is Micaiah. Could

be. But notice chapter 21 and verse

number 19. You see, Ahab stole the

vineyard of Nabboth, right? You remember

he killed Nabboth. Look what the Bible

said in verse 19. He tells Elijah, "Thou

shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus

sayith the Lord, hast thou killed and

also taken possession, and thou shalt

speak unto him, thus sayith the Lord, in

the place where dogs licked in the lick

the blood of Nabboth, shall dogs lick

thy blood, even thine."

the same place where the dogs

where he killed Nabboth and he laid over

dead. God said, "You're going to be in

that same place and those same dogs are

going to lick your blood."

Notice this and I'm done.

You see, Micaiah had word too, didn't

he?

And remember what he said in verse 17 of

chapter 22. He said, "I saw all Israel

scattered upon the hills as sheep that

have not a shepherd, and the Lord said,

"These have no master. Let them return

every man to his house in peace." What

was the word that was given to the

Israelites after the battle was fought?

In verse 36 of chapter 22, and there

went out a proclamation throughout the

host about the going down of the sun,

saying, "Every man to his city and every

man to his own country." It happened

exactly like he said it would.

>> Amen. And the Bible says in verse 38,

they washed the chariot in the pool of

Samaria. The dogs licked up his blood.

They washed his armor. And I give you

this statement. And the truth of all of

this message is found in one word in

verse 38. And it's that word according.

According unto the word of the Lord

which he spake. Do you realize that

everything in this Bible is true?

>> Right.

>> Here's our problem. We don't like what

God has to say. We don't like the person

that says it. We don't like the prophecy

that it tells and we don't like the

persistence of those that give it. But

let me tell you something. Just because

God has nothing do nothing good to say

doesn't mean that it's not his word.

>> That's right. Amen.

>> Just because God can't say anything good

about you don't mean it's not true.

>> We've got it somehow in our deluded mind

that anything negative against us, well,

that must not be God.

I'm talking about saved people. We think

that when conviction comes, well, I

ain't been doing that. That must not be

the voice of God. But you know what you

find when you open that book? His word

starts speaking. And you know what you

find out? That that thing that you

thought God had nothing good to say

about you, that must not be God. You

find out it was him after all.

>> You know why that is? You said,

"Preacher, I thought when I got saved,

God was he would forgive." And he does.

He does. He cleanses. He draws you near

unto himself. But you know what part of

getting close to God is? Is the closer

you get to him, his the brightness of

his reflection.

>> That's right.

>> Starts to show up all of your

imperfections.

>> And you know what his word begins to

tell you? You better deal with that.

You better fix that.

You may be here this morning. You're

lost.

I want to tell you the truth today.

The truth is for every one of us this

morning, just because God has nothing

good to say does not mean that he's not

right about you.

>> Does not mean that he's not right about

me. I can promise you this morning, he's

right.

>> And not only is he right, but what he

says will

you listening? It will come to pass

>> right

>> as we all stand, every heads bowed and

every eyes closed.

when God has nothing good to say.

You see,

truth about your life and mine this

morning is this.

If you spend it living for yourself,

you're going to stand before him one of

these days. Upon the authority of that

book, you better listen to me. You will

stand before him one of these days. And

if you are lost, you will stand before

him and have to give an answer for

yourself why you refused his blood.

And this is what you're going to find.

You're going to find there's no answer

to give.

You know what you're going to have to

say?

God, I really don't like you.

I really don't like what you're saying

about me.

You say, "Preacher, I would never say

that in the face of God." There will be

millions who stand before God's face and

say that

>> the rich man in hell still thought that

Lazarus was his servant. He said,

"Father Abraham, you send Lazarus, he

still belongs to me anyway.

Send Lazarus, he may dip the tip of his

finger in water and cool my tongue."

Truth is, if you leave this world in

your pride, God will let you live

throughout eternity in your pride.

And he's right.

You'll be in a good place when you

realize he's right. Let me say this.

You'll be in a better place when you

realize he's right and you do what he

says.

She's going to play this morning. I've

got one question. Sinner, why do you

wait?

Why do you wait? There's no reason to.

The only thing that's keeping you from

getting saved is your pride.

That's the only thing. The only reason

that you have not asked Jesus to forgive

you of your sin and save your soul, THE

REASON YOU ARE STILL living the same

life and that very life's going to take

you to YOUR DEATH WHERE JUST LIKE AHAB,

THE DOGS WILL LICK UP YOUR BLOOD IN THE

JUDGMENT OF GOD. AND WHAT'LL HAPPEN TO

YOU IS YOU'LL LIVE OUT YOUR LIFE AND

YOU'LL do that because OF YOUR STINKING

ROTTEN PRIDE.

Why would you do that?

Why would you do that? Let me plead with

you this morning something. You see,

God is speaking to your heart this

morning. He showed you your sin. He may

have even showed you your future,

what it looks like.

You may God may have even revealed to

you where you're going to end up if you

continue down that path.

But I can tell you this. If he's

revealed to you where you're headed,

he's also revealed to you what can

happen to you. You say, "What do you

mean, preacher?" Well, I'm saying he's

revealed to you there's an alternate

path.

There's a way of escape. There's

deliverance that's offered.

Why would you refuse that?

Why? Say, "Preacher,

God showed me my path this morning. He

showed me where I'm headed.

Preacher, I know that I'm lost. Would

you pray for me? There's nobody looking

around but me. I got to ask you,

preacher, I'm lost. Would you pray for

me? I want you to slip your hand up and

hold it high.

If you're not saved, preacher, I'm not

saved.

God sees that little hand.

Someone else.

Preacher, I'm not saved. I don't know

Jesus.

There's people on this altar praying for

you. There's people in our seats praying

for you.

There's some precious little widow

ladies at home watching over the

internets praying for you.

We love you this morning.

Said, "Preacher, but you ain't said a

thing to comfort me." I'm telling you

what'll comfort you is when you get on

this side of it. There is no comfort on

the side you're on. There is no peace.

Say, "Preacher, maybe if YOU MADE ME

FEEL A LITTLE BETTER ABOUT MYSELF." I'M

TELLING YOU, THERE'S NOTHING TO FEEL

BETTER about

until you get saved BY THE GRACE OF GOD

AND HE DOES A WORK ON THE INSIDE AND

CHANGES YOU FROM WHO YOU ARE INTO WHAT

HE WANTS YOU TO BE. THERE'S NOTHING TO

FEEL BETTER ABOUT.

And I can promise you, you'll feel worse

than you do right now when you're in

hell.

How about it center? These people on

this altar people's come even since

moment ago and they're praying for you.

Why would you wait?

Jesus is calling.

Say, "Preacher,

be honest. I I made a profession

ago.

Preacher, my life doesn't reflect

salvation.

And I know that.

Preacher, I'm not really sure if I'm

saved, but I know I'm right not right

with God. Would you just pray for me?

Pray Pray God will help me.

You be honest this morning. Slip your

hand up.

There's nobody looking but me.

Be honest.

some on this altar. We're in no hurry.

Let me tell you something, Sinner. That

that alcohol, that drug,

that sensuous lifestyle you're living,

you're never going to find peace in it.

You'll get to the bottom of that bottle.

You'll take the last pill. You'll shoot

the last shot.

You'll be with that individual the last

time.

And you'll still be without God.

The tragedy is you going to walk out of

here lost.

Father,

Lord, I just fill my soul this morning,

God. I know we don't go off feelings,

but

Lord, you spoke to my heart a while ago

in that song we sing in Sweet Hour of

Prayer.

That last verse,

one of these days we'll shout while

passing through the air,

Lord, you spoke to my heart.

Lord, the tears began to flow. And I'm

thinking about that day,

Lord. When passing through the air, I'll

say farewell.

Bye out of this world.

Bye of to the will of the flesh. Bye of

to sin and Satan and self.

And Lord, I won't never pray again

because Lord, I'll be in your presence

and I'll see you face

and I'll shout. But I'll lift my voice

and say farewell. Farewell sweet of

prayer.

Lord, I pray God to tear us not a person

in here, Father, that's going to die

without you,

Lord, to know that peace that one of

these days our faith will become sight.

I pray you wouldn't let them leave lost

today.

And God, I pray for the children of God,

that you would help us to realize.

Lord, as the Apostle Peter said, for

even here and unto where you called,

that as Christ suffered for us, that we

should follow in his steps.

Lord, you told us in your word, "Yay,

and all that will live godly in Christ

Jesus shall suffer persecution."

That this world will hate us. But God,

I'm thankful they can't they can't harm

us spiritually. They can't take our joy.

He can't take our soul. Lord, help us to

live in light of that. Help us to be

assured, to be settled, to be

established. God, in spite of what the

world says about the truth, we proclaim,

God, that it is the truth. Lord, I love

you in Jesus name. God's children said,

>> "Amen."

>> Thank you for joining our service today.

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

Stewart Road in Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. Our service times are Sunday

school at 10:00 a.m., Sunday morning

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

worship at 6:00 p.m. and Wednesday

evening Bible study at 700 p.m. For more

information, visit us at

meadowsbaptisturch.com.

Thanks again for tuning in.