The Book of 1 Kings

0:09 This week we read through the book of 1 Kings, but before we get into that, I just want to review from last week a little bit. When we talked about 2 Samuel, and at the end I was just talking about the cleansing of David and how David moved on from his sin. And I encouraged you to get alone with God and really believe in his forgiveness. I just have to ask, did you do that? Did you really do that? Did you really go back to Psalm 51 and see the words of David where he says, God, if you cleanse me, I will be whiter than snow. Do you believe in your forgiveness that much that there's not this stain? I was telling a friend of mine, I sometimes would look at my life almost like one of those dry erase boards where you write on it with this marker and you erase it and it's almost white but if you look close enough you still see some stain and how I kind of felt that way before God with some of my sin because I didn't apply his holiness and his power towards his mercy. I didn't think about how God when he does something he does it a hundred percent and how if he washes me, it's not going to be like when I wash something.

1:33 But that type of power, when he cleanses us, he cleanses us completely, makes us whiter than snow. See, 2 Corinthians 5.21 says that he made him who knew no sin become sin on our behalf, that in him we might become the righteousness of God. That the power of the cross didn't just turn Francis into a cleaner version of Francis. He turned him into the righteousness of God. See, somehow David understood the cleansing of God, the power of God, that he wasn't even the tiniest bit dirty. If we were the tiniest bit dirty after the cross, then we couldn't come before the throne of God. Remember what he says in Habakkuk, that God's eyes are too pure to look upon evil, but because God cleansed us and cleansed us completely and by the cross, we become the righteousness of God that we can come before him totally pure, speaking to him.

2:42 But have you claimed the word of God? Have you taken the time to just trust in his promises and say, God, there's no stain left in me. you're that powerful that holy that pure and like david says have mercy on me oh god according to your steadfast love according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions his mercy isn't partial it's complete i really hope you spend some time before him confessing everything and then walking away, believing in his word, that he doesn't do anything partway, that he cleansed us and he cleansed us completely and you are not just a cleaner version of your old self. You became the righteousness of God. That's why we celebrate Easter this week.

3:35 That's why we're going to celebrate Good Friday because the power of the cross was that strong. And then this week we move into 1 Kings And the message of 1 Kings is really simple. I mean, David kind of sums it up, or maybe even prophesies about it, when he's speaking in 1 Kings 2, and he speaks to his son Solomon in 1 Kings 2. He says, I'm about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn. That the Lord may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, If your sons pay close attention to their way to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.

4:45 So simple. David, as he's dying, looks at his son and says, Look, I am dying and I am just telling you this one thing. Be a man. Keep the charge of the Lord your God. Walk in his ways. Keep his statutes. Keep his commands, his rules, his testimonies. Just look at what he said. Look at what he's commanded and take it seriously and everything's going to be great. You go this way and God's going to cause you to prosper. You turn from this and everything's going to change. And that's exactly what the book of 1 Kings is about. It's about kings who followed God's ways and God blessed them. And some of those same kings turned partway through their lives. And exactly what God says happened. He abandoned them. There's others who just never even walked with God and things were miserable for them.

5:43 It's just back and forth, this roller coaster. And then even Solomon. Solomon, who it says in 1 Kings 3, gosh, he started off well. It says in 1 Kings Solomon 3, Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father. So there was this start. There was a start that was good. and you see it when God says to Solomon in that same chapter, he goes, what shall I give you? What do you want, Solomon? And Solomon's answer is, you've shown great and steadfast love to your servant David, my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, in uprightness of heart towards you. And you've kept for him this great and steadfast love and you've given him a son to sit on his throne today. And now, O Lord my God, you've made your servant king in place of my father.

6:42 Although I am but a little child, I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of your people, whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. Give your servant, therefore, an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil. for who is able to govern this, your great people. I mean, this is a beautiful prayer. I mean, listen to the purity of Solomon's heart. He's just going, God, I know it was your steadfast love. You were so good to my dad because he followed you. And I want to do the same thing. He goes, what do I ask? God, just give me some wisdom. Give me some understanding because you've given me, You've given me such a huge task ahead of me, and this is such a huge group of people.

7:41 I just need to see between good and evil. I just want to govern them well. Give me wisdom, Lord. And God is so pleased with this. And yet, you read a few chapters later, and it's the saddest thing. In chapter 11, the same Solomon who prayed like that starts falling in love with these other women. And there's a phrase in 1 Kings 11, too, where it says, Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives who were princesses, 300 concubines, and his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.

8:40 That phrase, though, Solomon clung to these in love. Remember, this was the same word that Joshua used back in Joshua 23.8, when he says, you know, as Joshua is dying, he pulls his leaders together. He says, you are to cling to the Lord. This is who you cling to. And that's what Solomon, it seemed like that's the way he started. But then later, his heart was turned and he saw these women and it says Solomon clung to them in love. And his heart wasn't wholly true to the Lord his God. then in verse 9 it says and the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord the God of Israel who appeared to him twice God gets angry with Solomon it's like gosh I revealed myself to you remember what I revealed to you in that dream is that you can have anything you want and I've shown myself to you and then you did the exact thing that you knew that would lead you away from you.

9:55 You clung to other things, these foreign wives that have taken you to their gods, and you've lost it. Just look at your heart right now. Gosh, some of us, we start off with this purity, and there's so many things in the world that can pull us. and there are other things we cling to that we hold on to maybe a little bit of fame or recognition and you're like i'm not gonna let go of that or maybe there's a relationship that you just go no i'm just not gonna let go and you're clinging to something you're not wholly devoting yourself to God. That's what got these people in trouble. That's what got Solomon to his downfall and the destruction of the kingdom and the kingdom was divided. Why? Because David said, once you go down this way, things are going to fall apart. But you see stories of, there's that strange story in chapter 13. I don't know why this one always hits me about the prophet who, you know, when the king, verse 8, the man of God said to the king, if you give me half your house, I will not go in with you.

11:16 I will not eat bread or drink water in this place. For it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying you shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came. You've got this, you remember the story of that prophet who the king's like, okay, just stay, just spend the night. He's like, no, I can't stay here. I said what I need to say. I need to go. God told me I need to move on. But then another prophet comes and tricks him and convinces him to stay. And so then after the very one that tricked him says to him in verse 21, he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, Thus says the Lord, because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and have not kept the command that the Lord your God commanded you, He says, your body shall not come to the tombs of your father.

12:10 And it says in verse 24, as he went away, a lion met him on the road and killed him. And that story, I mean, it's strange to us. But there's such a powerful message there. That look, when God tells you something. you don't back off of that. When you know it's the word of God, there may be others that come along to deceive you. Even people that may be leaders, may have a reputation of this or that.

12:50 Look, when you hear from the word of the Lord, when you read something black and white in scripture, when you pray, that's why these times are so important. because we are going to be lied to. And there are times when you have to get alone with the word of God and go, no, this is what it says. That's why, just like when Solomon prayed for wisdom, you can pray for that same wisdom. And James 1 promises, I mean, you read it for yourself. James 1 says, look, if you ask for wisdom, he'll give it to you generously without finding fault. But he says, but when you ask, you better not doubt. because if you doubt, you're not going to receive anything. This is the word of God. You pray and you come before the God of this book and say, Lord, you promised me wisdom and I'm going to claim this.

13:42 I'm going to believe in your promises and I'm not going to let anyone talk me out of this. You've got to know the word of the Lord. I love the story in chapter 22 when all the prophets, remember all the prophets are saying the same thing. And so here's 400 prophets together who are all lying. And in verse 8, the king of Israel says to Jehoshaphat, Well, there's yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah, the son of Imla. But I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.

14:29 So there's this man, Micaiah, he goes, Okay, I know everyone's saying this, there's this one guy, but I don't like him. Because he doesn't tell me what I want to hear. He tends to just prophesy evil. When everyone's saying, safety, safety, it's good, it's going to be fine. This one guy always stands up and they go to him and sure enough, here goes Micaiah telling the truth. And what happens is in verse 26, King Israel said, Seize Micaiah, take him back to Ammon the governor of the city and to Joash the king's son and say, Thus says the king, put this fellow in prison, feed him meager rations of bread and water until I come in peace. And he gets arrested. He gets tortured for telling the truth. Look, that's why this time alone with God is so important.

15:29 This is the meaning of this podcast. We want everyone alone with God drawing such strength and conviction. Because there are times when you will need to stand alone in the word of God. And say, look, I'm not going to be lied to. And I'm not going to lie, even though these 400 prophets say the same thing. Here's what the Word of God says. I'm not saying be arrogant. I'm not saying be rebellious. I'm not saying there are no good leaders out there. I'm just saying there are times when we have to just be so close to Him to discern truth from lies. And we need to be so deeply in the Word and trusting the Word of God. because there are times when we are alone and it's okay. It's okay.

16:21 I mean, that was Elijah, right? Elijah on Mount Carmel. I mean, when he goes against all those prophets of Baal and he alone gets on his knees and says, Oh Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and that I've done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord. Answer me that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have turned their hearts back. It's just that beautiful story of one man who got on his knees and trusted God and knew of his power. And what I love about that is the New Testament says in James 5 that Elijah was a man just like us. Elijah was a man with a nature just like us, but it says, but Elijah prayed earnestly.

17:21 this is what God wants of us. Our creator wants us believing his word, trusting his word, studying his word, and clinging to his word, letting go of everything else but trusting in his promises. And I pray for that type of power in you this Easter, just to believe in that resurrection power, that same power that called fire down from heaven through his prayers that Elijah had. These are not just stories of the Old Testament. That's why God points out in the New, Elijah was a man just like us. But he prayed earnestly. That power is available to us, and I believe in greater portion now with the Holy Spirit in us. This is what we celebrate this Resurrection Sunday.

18:17 Get alone with the Word of God. Cling to him no matter what anyone tells you. And claim the truth of his promises. By his spirit he can cleanse you and empower you.