Lesson of Ahab
Key Passage: 1 Kings 16:29-33
Date: June 7, 2024
Turn in your Bibles to First Kings chapter number 16. First Kings chapter number 16. We had the privilege of traveling to Illinois this week for our grandson’s first birthday. And we celebrated it on Tuesday, I believe it was.
We went to the park, and they gave him that cake, you know, and put it right around his high chair there. Man, it took him just a minute or two. Once he got the taste of that icing in there, he began to realize what was going on. It started off with just a finger, you know, and it went there, of course, and then pretty soon both fingers, both hands, you know, and he had it on both cheeks and everything real good. And then he got his eyebrows—that makes it special, you know.
Sarah had gotten him some overalls. He had those overalls on. So he began to just take the whole cake and try to dump it on his face and everything. It began to go down the overalls. It was great. I tell you what, you know, just nothing like it. And we enjoyed being there. And I brought back some kind of bug. I wish I had left it there.
I’ve been to the doctor. I don’t have COVID, so you don’t have to worry about that; I’ve been tested and good on all that. But I do have my nasal drops. Amen, I’m ready to go for today. I’m making it through with those things right now. But I’m glad to be home. Amen, no place like home in Tennessee. Praise the Lord for Tennessee, you know. I was talking to some other folks. They just made it back from vacation. They said, “Well, we’re glad to be back in Tennessee.” And praise the Lord for it. Good to be back with you.
On Wednesday night, on Sunday mornings in the month of June, we had said we’re going to cover the kings and lessons from the kings. Last Sunday we took a break from that. But the first Sunday of June, we covered lessons from Asa, King of Judah. Then the next week, lessons from Jehoshaphat. And then today, believe it or not, we’re going to get a lesson from Ahab.
You said, “Wow, I can’t believe we’re getting any lesson from Ahab.” How many in your mind have already formed somewhat of an opinion, you know, at least a little bit about Ahab? Raise your hand if you know somewhat about Ahab. That looks like the vast majority. How many have ever heard—I know you heard of Jezebel, his wife. How many of you know about Jezebel, his wife? Yeah. Brother Anthony’s had the mercies going today.
Mercy, yeah, we’re going to talk about Ahab and just a little bit about Jezebel. We’re going to learn, believe it or not, a good thing from Ahab. And it might surprise you, but from Ahab. We’re going to start over here in 1 Kings 16. I got you listening now—a good thing from Ahab. You’re like, “Whoa, what in the world?” you know? First King 16, we’re just going to briefly look at his life and we’re going to try to get to the brass tacks pretty quickly, if you will, on this thing this morning. And how many are you glad you’re in church this morning? Good deal, good deal. How many are you sleepy? Anybody sleepy out there? Oh, my goodness. Wow. It’s too early for all that now, you know. You stayed up to 3 a.m. playing video games. No wonder you’re sleeping out. Now the truth’s coming out.
But First King, 16. And we’ll start in verse number 29. Would you please stand if you’re able to as we read God’s word together to show respect? First King 16, verse number 29 of God’s word.
And in the 38th year of Asa, king of Judah, began Ahab, son of Omri, to reign over Israel.
And Ahab, son of Omri, reigned over Israel in Samaria 22 years. And Ahab, the son of Omri, did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal and worshipped him. And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a grove, and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.
Would you pray with me that God would speak to our hearts about this life of Ahab?
Father, Lord, we come. Lord, we don’t want to just go through a ritualistic service. Father, I don’t want to just follow an outline. Lord, we ask for you to intervene and you to speak to hearts. Would you take this truth and use the life of Ahab to make it so real to your people? And Lord, I do pray that some would remember it for life in times of need and remember to call on you, to humble, to confess, to seek your mercy. Lord, please use this morning to let in, Father. Would you do so? And we’ll thank you for it. Father, we’re asking in faith, Lord, not because of me, but because of Jesus. We’re praying in his name and by his merits, so we’ll thank you in advance for it. And it’s in Jesus, then we pray. Amen.
Thank you so much for standing. You may be seated.
Ahab is really the icon for a wicked king. He is the mile marker for wicked kings. He’s really the one that they would use as a landmark. “Well, he was almost as bad as Ahab.” If you’re close to as bad as Ahab, you’re awful. A very wicked, sinful man.
Verse number 30, what we just read. It says, he did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. I mean, he was known up to that point. Nobody was as wicked and as awful as Ahab. Verse number 33: “And Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.” I mean, he was known for being a wicked man. He’s the one that just made the Lord angry more than any of the other kings to that point. He was the most wicked king that ever lived at this point. Just a wicked man, an awful man.
Not only that, but he married Jezebel. And the Bible says Jezebel would stir him up to work wickedly. I can imagine already a wicked man, now he marries a very sinful, wicked woman. They worshiped Baal together. They had many—850 altogether—false prophets, and they supported them, built false places of worship for them. Just a very wicked and sinful couple.
At one point, King Ahab, a little bit later on in his kingship, he wanted a vineyard or a garden over beside him. It was beside the palace. And he went to the man that owned it. His name was Naboth. And he said, “Hey, Naboth, let me buy your garden.” And Naboth said, “Well, man, I can’t do that. You see, the Lord wouldn’t be happy with me if I did that. This garden, this vineyard, is an inheritance. It was my dad’s; he gave it to me. And it was his dad’s, and I just can’t sell this thing. And I can’t do that, Ahab. And I know you’re a king and whatnot, but I can’t sell this vineyard to you.”
Now, you know what Ahab did? Ahab went home, and he cried like a baby. I mean, he just sulked to some pitch to fit. “I want that vineyard!” you know. He just went home and boo-hooed. “Oh, I got to have that vineyard.” And his old wicked wife, she said, “Well, honey, honey, what’s all wrong with you over there, sugar-bones, you know? Oh, honey, I’ll take care of you, sugarplum. It’s okay. You just go over to the corner and suck your thumb. Mommy will take care of you.” And she did. In fact, she had Naboth killed.
Now, here’s the sad thing about it. She had him killed, and she came back home, and she said, “Well, oh, sugarplum, you don’t have to suck your thumb anymore. I want that garden. You can go buy your garden. Ahab is dead.” Here’s the amazing thing: Ahab didn’t do anything about it. He didn’t say, “What? Did you kill him?” He just—he knew what had happened—and he went and he bought the vineyard after his wife had killed Naboth.
Now, right after that happened, God sent the preacher Elijah by. Elijah said, “Look, Ahab, you’ve just gone too far this time.” And Ahab—“The place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, they’re going to lick your blood, buddy.” And so now with that, your king, your throne—it’s not going to go down to your boys because all your boys are going to be dead; they’re going to be killed. And that was a big statement because Ahab had 70 sons, a whole lot of boys. And all of them are going to be gone, and they’re all going to die. And not only that, but Jezebel, the dogs are going to lick her body by the wall of Jezreel.
Now, Elijah, the preacher, just gave that message out. The old king Ahab lived a wicked life. He’s coming to the end of his life. At the end of his life, he’s sucking his thumb, pouting, big old pity party, and his wife kills this guy, and God says, “All right, that’s enough.” That’s where we’re at in the story. Y’all with me this morning? That’s where we’re at.
Now, I want you to see this amazing thing in God’s Word. Look in chapter number 21. And Ahab just got this message from God’s man, Elijah. And let’s see what happens. There’s an amazing thing you’re about to see in God’s Word. If I had not read it, I don’t know if I’d believe it or not. But don’t you see what God has put in His Word? Chapter 21, look in verse number 25, if you would, please. He just got this message. And let’s look and see what happens. Verse number 25 of chapter 21:
“But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel, his wife, stirred up. And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.”
And it came to pass, watch this: “When Ahab heard those words, that he rent 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, “Seest 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.”
Folks, here’s the amazing thing: this wicked man—I’m not talking about mess up a little bit; I’m talking about a wicked man who spent his life doing wickedness—and yet, and yet this man later on in his life, I’m talking about he’s wasted his life, it doesn’t have much time left, but this man humbled himself.
He rent his clothes. That was a sign of agony and a sign of humbling yourself. And he fasted, and he went softly before the Lord. He didn’t come in there all presumption; he went in there confessing his sins. He humbled himself. And here’s the amazing thing: this wicked man, God had mercy on him.
Friend, that’s just amazing. We’re talking about a thrice holy God. We’re talking about a righteous God. We’re talking about one who cannot look on sin. And yet, when this wicked man humbled himself and confessed, God had mercy.
It reminds me of a verse: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh shall have mercy.” That’s a promise from God. The book of Psalms, one chapter in the book of Psalms, Psalms 136—26 verses in that chapter—and every single verse in that chapter says, “The mercy of the Lord endureth forever.” I’m talking about when a man—he is the icon for wickedness, for sinfulness—and yet at the end of his life, toward the end, when God pronounced judgment, and yet he humbled himself, and God Almighty said, “Hey, I’m going to have mercy on that king right there.” It’s amazing for him. I’d have a hard time believing it if it wasn’t in God’s Word.
Friend, I’m saying, you may say, “Well, I don’t know about all that,” but just look at your life for you and for me. That’s a good thing, my friend, because every single one of us here, we need the mercy of God. If we take the mask off and we just get real with each other, we’ll all fail the Lord Jesus Christ every day of our lives. Not one of us have been the Bible student, the prayer warrior. Not one of us have measured up to the standard of God. And, friend, the wonderful thing about it is you serve a God that has mercy. His mercy endureth forever. Amen.
Friend, it’s a shame if I live distant from a God that is so loving and merciful that he’s merciful to a wicked man like Ahab. When you fail God the 10,001st time, you’ve not been everything you wanted to be for him. He still loves you, friend. You come to him, and you come humbly and honestly before God. You see, the problem is that God runs out of mercy. The problem is we stop running to God.
I’m talking about a wicked man. I’m talking about a man—the vast majority of every one of us here knew already before he even started preaching how wicked he was—and yet when he went to God humbly, God had mercy for him. It’s amazing how merciful God is. If I were God, I wouldn’t put up with me, honest truth. I’m so thankful the Bible says, “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” That’s your God. He’s a merciful God.
The boy that grew up in a Christian home, and some things that happened, and he got very bitter against God. What a sad thing. This boy got so bitter, so low—grew up in a Christian home, and it got so low—that it took the pages of God’s holy Word—I mean, he magnified His Word above all the name. The precious Bible, Brother Anthony sang about it. We studied about it at Sunday school this morning, the precious Word of God. And yet that boy took pages out of there, tore them up, and he rolled them, and he smoked them. Is that bitterness?
And yet later on, if I remember right, God got a hold of that boy’s heart, and he wanted to get right with God. And he just tore up God—convicted him, and God drew him. And he thought, “God’s not going to accept me after what I did to His Word. I know how precious this Word is and how much value he’s put on his Word, and I’ve learned His Word, and I’ve rebelled, and I’ve disgraced God so bad.” And he went to the preacher who said, “I want to get right, but God will never forgive me for what I did.”
And the preacher said, “What did you do?” And he was ashamed, and finally the boy, in tears, said, “Preacher, you won’t believe what I did. I took a page out of God’s holy Word, and I defiled it.” And the preacher, through the wisdom of God, looked at that boy and said, “Young man, Jesus died on that cross. He paid for that sin you just committed. God Almighty laid on him the iniquity of us all. And that sin, how vile that is, and yet Jesus Christ paid it in full. And that sin has been paid for by the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and God Almighty will forgive you and have mercy on you.” And that boy that had committed such a vile sin had the mercy of God in his life, and he got right with God, became a good Christian.
Friend, I’m saying the mercy of the Lord endureth forever. A wicked, such a wicked man as Ahab, yet he humbled himself. Can I ask you, when’s the last time you humbled yourself before God? When’s the last time you got really low before God? When’s the last time you didn’t—and I didn’t—try to justify what I am or what I’m not? When’s the last time we just humbled ourselves and said, “Lord, be merciful to me, I’m a sinner. It’s me, Lord. I need your mercy”? That’s when God extends mercy. He never runs out. We often stop running to God.
I think about Bud and Jenny Martin. Many of you know them; Brother Martin’s preached for us before. And years ago—you’ve heard the story, you know the story—years ago, there was a young couple so messed up. Miss Martin just told us more than once, she said, “Man, we’re so messed up, I thought there’s no hope for us. Our life’s too messed up. We did too many drugs and too many things. There’s no hope for us.” But she thought maybe there’s some hope for my kids.
So she had let a Jehovah’s Witness come in and talk with her kid. “Maybe there’s some good with my kids,” you know. And so that night they were arguing. Her husband—they’ve never been in church, but he knew they weren’t right—and he said, “You need to stop those people coming in the house.” And she said, “Oh, no, no, no.” And they’re arguing. And Brother Martin, he’s told me, he said, “Man, I just want to go to bed because the next day I had to go to work,” you know.
And so they said, “Hey, if there’s someone up there”—he said, “I don’t know if they even close my eyes. I don’t know how to pray”—but he just said, “If somebody’s up there, we need to know what’s right or wrong, what the truth is.” And praise the Lord, my parents went by the next day, I believe it was, knocked on the door, told them about God’s love and Jesus’ love and dying for their sins on the cross of Calvary, and there’s mercy and grace available for them. And oh, praise the Lord, they got saved that day.
Hey, and Miss Martin realized there’s not just hope for her kids; there was hope for them. Brother Martin’s pastored a wonderful job pastoring down in Lafayette, Georgia, for almost going on 20 years now. My, because the mercy of the Lord endureth forever. Friend, don’t ever tire going to God. Don’t ever say, “Well, I’ve failed him too many times; he’s not going to take me back.” Oh, friend, his mercy endureth forever.
The wicked king like Ahab got mercy. You get mercy for him. Yeah. Some will say, “Well, God runs out of mercy; that’s why people go to hell.” No, no, friend. Mercy is available for all. Whosoever will may come.
And those thieves on the cross—remember Jesus in the middle, one on each side? The Bible calls them malefactors. What’s a malefactor? It’s someone that they’ve kind of made a career out of jail. You know what I’m talking about. We have some people that come to church and they work in the Rutherford County Jail system, and they’ve told me some of them—some of them are just repeaters. You just know; they’re just kind of their career. That’s a malefactor. And these two guys that were on each side of Jesus, that Jesus was crucified with these men, the thieves from the cross—one of them turned to Jesus and said, “Oh, Jesus,” he said, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.”
That man didn’t have a lot of life left to live, and he didn’t have a lot of things left. He was dying; he had hours to live. And yet Jesus Christ said, “Hey, today thou shalt be with me in paradise.” My old friend, it’s not that God runs out of mercy; it’s that they won’t come to him for salvation. That’s the problem. How can a loving God send anyone to hell? He doesn’t. He doesn’t send him to hell. He leaves the choice up to them. It’s made it available; it’s up to them what they do with it. And all the mercy of the Lord endureth forever.
I think about John Newton. John Newton had a good, godly mother, a very wicked dad. And John Newton’s mother began to try to plant in him from a very young age Bible truth. And my God, just indoctrinating him. And yet when he was a young boy, she died, and he was left to be all raised by his father. His father was a captain of a ship. His father was a captain of a slave ship. They would go to and they would pick up slaves and transport them. And John didn’t grow up in that. In fact, one day he became a captain for a while. In fact, at one point of his life, he became a slave himself. He became a vile man, a very sinful, wicked man.
John Newton got saved. And years later, John Newton became a gospel preacher. And John Newton is the one that God used to pen the song, “Amazing Grace,” “How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.” Friend, I’m saying the mercy of the Lord endureth forever. If a wicked king like Ahab could come to God in the last days of his life and have mercy, God have mercy on you. Oh, I hope you never take it lightly when you get the mercy of God. Never take it lightly.
What about the prodigal son? Was so greedy, wanted all that money, and he spent it on wicked living in him out in the far country and wicked women and all the rest of that, and he spent all that money, and he ended up over there taking care of the pigs. We often say he was eating with the pigs. But can I say this? If you read that over there in John 15th—actually, he says he would fain fill his belly with the husk he wanted to, but I think the owner said, “No, no, you can’t eat the pig’s food. Nope, that’s for the pig, not for you.” That’s how low he was.
And yet that old prodigal son began to think, “Well, my dad’s servants have it better off than I have it.” And that prodigal son began to come home, and the dad’s looking out for the son, and the dad sees him way off, and the Bible—about the only time I know in the Bible where it pictures God the Father running is when the prodigal son’s father ran to the son. It’s amazing. He ran to him. He gave him a hug, loved him. Friend, I’m saying the mercy of the Lord endureth forever.
If Satan—Satan is trying to convince you that God doesn’t want to be close to you, and God doesn’t like you anymore, and God won’t forgive you—hey, he’s a liar, friend. The mercy of the Lord endureth forever.
“Say, preacher, I was going to read my Bible through this year.” And I want you to do that. I try to encourage you. Hey, friend, if you dropped out, get back in there. Say, “I’m sorry,” and get the mercy of God. Get back in that book.
“Preacher, I’ve not been the prayer warrior I wanted to be.” Hey, friend, there’s tomorrow. You get mercy today and get back on your knees tomorrow for the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Preacher, I’ve not been witnessing. I wanted to be a better soul winner in 2021. God’s been plowing the fields with this COVID, and people are listening, and they want to know what’s coming. The end is coming, and I want to be a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ, but I’ve dropped the ball.” Don’t you throw in the towel, friend. Don’t you say it’s too late. No, you get the mercy of God and get that gospel tract back out there and start telling people about Jesus Christ and get back up on your feet. God loves you. He wants to forgive you. He wants to get back in the fight with you for him. Oh, yeah, the mercy of the Lord endureth forever. Even Ahab. Even Ahab got mercy.
I hope you’ll never tire of going to God. If you’re going to stay in there for the long haul, you’re going to have to realize you’re never going to reach perfection until you get to heaven. Yes, the more you grow, the less you commit. Yes, you know, the amazing thing is you climb that hill, and there’s about 20 more hills beyond that. He’ll always have the hill for you to climb. And in climbing and growing and changing for the Lord, you’re going to fall.
Our grandson, he’s walking along the coffee tables and all that, or somebody’s holding his hand in him, but he’s not walking on his own yet. You know what’s going to happen? He’s going to walk a little bit and he’s going to fall. And right before family pictures, he’s going to have that big noggin, right? You know, that’s just the way it is. And then they’re going to go to Walmart, and everybody’s going to look at mom and dad, “Are you beating that boy?” you know, giving all those mean looks. You’ve been there before, especially with a boy. That’s part of him learning to walk.
If you’re going to grow in the Lord, if your life’s going to change—I look at so many people, praise God for the men over the years I’ve watched stop drinking. It’s been a wonderful thing to watch God change their lives. I’ve watched so many people struggle with not smoking. That’s a hard thing to overcome. And here’s the thing that’s going to happen: you’re going to grow a little bit and you’re going to fall. And hopefully you’ll get back up and grow again. And you’re going to fall.
Here’s the key, friend: keep coming back to him. I’m not saying to wallow in your sin. I’m not saying to stay where you have. But, friend, I’m saying the strength for you to overcome that sin is found in the hands, in the feet of Jesus Christ, and you keep going back and get mercy and forgiveness, and it gets you back, and it takes you back, and you get a little bit stronger every time, and you grow a little bit more every time, and that’s the way you grow to a victorious Christian life that way. Satan’s always trying to get you to stop coming back. And God says, “The mercy of the Lord endureth forever.”
O Ahab, as wicked as he was, awful man, the icon of wickedness—and yet Ahab humbled himself. Yes, there were still consequences for his sins. Yes, his boys did die, but God said, “Not in your lifetime.” God had mercy. The mercy of the Lord endureth forever.
I was a boy that was in braces, and he was been in braces since he could walk, just a little fellow, and he was getting a little bit older, and he was with his mom, and he said, “Mom, I know you must get so tired of him always in braces.” And he said, “Mom, I’m going to run.” And he said, “Mom, I’m going to run on my own.” And he let go of Mom’s hand, and he took off running, just as a little boy running, braces the best he could. And sure enough, just a little bit down the street, he fell. And he’s there laying, and Mom ran up to him, and she reached down trying to help him up. And he looked up, he said, “Mom, you’re mad at me, aren’t you? You’re disappointed in me, aren’t you?” And she said, “No, you did a good job. You did a good job. Let’s get back up. Let’s go at it again.” And that’s what God does to you, friend. If you’re honest about it, if we confess our sins, “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Oh, I’m so glad I don’t serve a God that kicks you when you’re down. If you come to him humbly and honestly, his mercy endureth forever. I’m so thankful for that.
Would you look over in Hebrews chapter number four very quickly this morning? We won’t be long. Hebrews chapter number four. And would you look at it just briefly there? Hebrews four, that last couple of verses. Look in verse number 15. Hebrews 4 and verse number 15. Hebrews 4 and verse number 15. If you’re there, would you say amen? Amen. Good deal.
Look at verse number 15: “For we have not a high priest”—talking about Jesus Christ—“which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” He’s not even talking about our infirmities there; that’s weakness. He’s not even talking about our infirmities. He said the feelings of our infirmities. “We have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”
Watch this: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace.” Now, what’s he talking about? When you’re perfect, you’ve got everything together? Well, what does he say? That we may obtain what? Mercy. Do you need mercy when you did everything right? No. You need mercy when you’re not right. He’s not talking about you come boldly when everything’s wonderful in your life and you’re the Christian you want to be and he wants to be. No, he’s talking about when you’re not what you ought to be. He said, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
What’s he saying? Because Jesus is your high priest, he wants you to know that you can come. Come boldly when you’re not what you ought to be. Praise the Lord. He said it’s the throne of grace. If I had to come to a throne of justice, you wouldn’t be worthy to come—not one of us. No, he said it’s a throne of grace. Friend, you get to enter in the throne room of God, if you’re a child of God, and you’re coming honestly and sincerely, you’re coming to a throne of grace, and you can obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hey friend, can I just wrap it up like this and put it this way? The mercy of the Lord endureth forever. Even Ahab. I hope that sticks in your mind. Even wicked, oh, Ahab humbled himself. God had mercy on him. Amazing. I don’t think I’d be a God like that. I think I’d have to say, “Ahab, you big bum, you.” I think I’d have to take my thumb and say, “Squash on you, Ahab.” But the Bible says in Isaiah 55:8, God says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so much higher are my ways than your ways.” And God says, “My mercy endureth forever.” It’s amazing, friend. I hope you’ll never forget it. Never stay away from a God of mercy. Never.
Andrew Jackson, that great president years ago—one of his boyhood friends said about Andrew, he said, “I could throw Andrew nine times out of ten.” Told him out of a wrestle match, a little fight. He said, “The only problem is,” he said, “he had never stayed thrown.” I hope you’re like that with God. You’re going to lose some battles; I hope you always come back to him. That’s the key. The key to the Christian life: you just keep coming back to the Lord, and he gives you strength. The mercy of the Lord endureth forever.
Now Satan, his goal is to keep you from coming back to God. That’s his goal. Let me give you a couple ways he does that. Revelation 12:10, I believe it is, 12:10. It calls Satan “the accuser of the brethren.” And that’s one of the names, the titles of the devil. And so he accuses you. That’s one of his—he does to God, and believe it—but he does it. That’s his title; he’s the accuser of the brethren. And he’ll—he’ll really condemn you; he’ll bring guilt on you.
Can I explain very briefly the difference between guilt and conviction? Conviction is when the Spirit of God comes and says, “Uh-uh-uh-uh, you know, you’re not supposed to be talking critically like that. You’re not supposed to be going around gossiping like that.” That’s conviction from the Holy Spirit of God. You’re not supposed to be watching that. You’re not supposed to be thinking like that. That’s a conviction.
Now, when I go to the Lord and I say, “Lord, I’m so sorry. I know—I’m glad you don’t go spread around town all my sins. I don’t know why I’m going around town spreading these things about these people. I’m sorry; it’s me, Lord. I’m wrong,” and I confess. He says he’s faithful and just; he forgives and cleanses. All right, I’m cleansed. He doesn’t see—the Bible says he’s cast my sins behind his back. The Bible says he will not remember my iniquity anymore. It’s gone, gone, as far as the east is from the west, as far as he’s removed my transgressions from me. All right? Now that was conviction, but now the sin’s gone on the side of God. But now when it stays there and it haunts me, even after I’ve confessed it, that’s guilt. Satan loves to use guilt. He’ll hound you. He’ll say, “God doesn’t want you anymore. You can’t be used by God anymore. You can’t do what you used to do. You can’t be a great Christian anymore.” That’s guilt. That’s the devil trying to keep you from God. Satan loves to use guilt. He’s the accuser of the brethren. By the way, someone said, “When God—excuse me—when Satan reminds you of your past, you remind him of his future.”
Here’s another thing: “Our own heart will condemn us,” 1 John 3 says. “Yeah, my own heart. Well, you’re a sorry excuse of a Christian. God’s not going to hear your prayers. You haven’t witnessed to anybody in the last week? Why do you think God’s going to hear your prayers?” And, friend, I’m for witnessing; you know that. The Bible says, “If you follow him, you’re going to be a fisher of men.” And, friend, you go back and you say, “Oh, Lord, I am condemned by my heart, but you’re greater than my heart,” 1 John 3 says. “And I want your forgiveness and cleansing.” And you get that thing right, and the mercy of the Lord endureth forever. And God welcomes you back. And, friend, he’s the one that gives you the strength to overcome those sins.
Satan will try to keep you from coming back to God. Here’s another thing that will try to keep you from coming back to God: your lack of faith, my lack of faith. “Well, I can never—I can never be the husband I ought to be. I can never be the dad. I can never be the testimony at school.” And this lack of faith: “I cannot, I cannot.” And, friend, hang on for a second. First Thessalonians 5:24 says, “Faithful is he who calleth you, who also will do it.” Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).
Friend, wait a second. No, no, no. You can be what God wants you to be, not through your strength, but through His strength. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” He’ll try to get that lack of faith to keep you from coming back to God and tries to get you on a lower level down here and just get your status quo. You’re just stuck there. My God says, “Keep coming back. I’ve got mercy for you. We’ll get back close. You can have my strength again. You’ll grow. Become the man, the lady God wants you to be.” That’s what he wants.
Friend, can I say this? Don’t stop dreaming for God. For God—“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” He puts that will, that desire in there, and he helps you accomplish it. Satan just wants you to stop dreaming for God. “Well, I’ll never be the Sunday school teacher I ought to be.” Oh, no. Oh, no. The mercy of the Lord endureth forever. Keep coming back to him. He’ll give you strength.
Can I say there’s something that’ll keep you from going back to God time again? Our pride. It’s humbling. Oh, Ahab had to humble himself. Here’s what we want to do: we want to justify our sin. “Well, what’s wrong with me saying what I said?” Well, that might pass for the world, but, friend, you’re not supposed to be of the world; you’re supposed to be a child of God and act like it. “Well, why can’t I go there? Why can’t I watch that? Why can’t I do this?” Friends, because Jesus Christ has purchased you with his blood. You’re not your own anymore. You’re bought with his precious blood. You’re his. Your hands are not your own hands; your hands are his hands. Your eyes are not your eyes; your feet are not your feet to go where you want to. Your feet are his feet to go where he wants you to go. We humble ourselves. So I’m not the Christian I ought to be. And humbling—it’s humbling to come back and confess time and again, but that’s right to do. And that pride seeks in there: “I’m not going to go back to him anymore.” That’s pride, friend. “Well, I’m just going to ignore it.”
The Bible says, “If we confess our sins…” “If” is a big word. Sometimes we’re walking in sins, and we’re not coming back to God, we’re not humbling ourselves and making it right, we’re not close to God. It would be a good day, maybe someone who said, “I need to rededicate my life.” We used to have more rededications. Man, I’ve been living away from God, and I’ve not been the man, the lady God wants me to be. I want to rededicate my life. God’s a merciful God.
Well, you come back and you read that. I think about Brother Fontaine. I was thinking about him this morning a little bit. What a godly man he was for years and years in our church. And I don’t know how many times he rededicated—we’d have a service, “Rededicate your life”—he rededicated his life. It is whatever Christians must do these things continually. Pride will keep us from doing those things. I come back and say, “Lord, I want to get right.” Maybe you say, “I’ve wasted 10 years of my life. I can’t do it now.” Oh, yes, the mercy of the Lord endureth forever. Yes, you can.
Ahab, a wicked man, yet God had mercy on him. Would you look at one more passage, and we’re pretty much done? Would you look over in Psalms 147? I felt like the Lord just wanted us to take a brief look at this. I wrote it out, hand-wrote it out. I think the Lord wants you to see this verse. Psalm 147. Look at verse number 11, if you would, please. Psalms 147, the longest book in the Bible, 150 chapters. 147th chapter. And would you look in verse number 11, if you would please? A wonderful verse here. Psalm 147, would you look at verse number 11?
“The Lord, the Lord taketh pleasure”—it’s amazing—“the Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, and those that hope in his mercy.” You say the people, they think they got it all together; those are the ones that are pleasing to God. No, no, no. The Lord takes pleasure, delight, pleasure, in those that fear him. They got to respect; they know he’s a holy, reverent God, a thrice holy God, righteous God. They fear him. They realize he’s in control of every second of their life. And they hope not in how good they are, not how perfect they are, not in how they got it all together, but they hope in the mercy of God.
Friend, old wicked Ahab, the icon, the measuring stick of wickedness—this man, if he could go to God in the last days of his life, he humbled himself. They put on sackcloth. That was one of their ways to just kind of have an old-fashioned prayer meeting, got along with God. If that king could go, and God Almighty, a righteous God, says, “You know what, Elijah? Won’t you go back and tell him? I’ve seen him humble himself. I’ve got some mercy for him.” The mercy of the Lord endureth forever.
Would you bow your heads and close your eyes, please? Our heads are bowed, eyes are closed. Would you just make a pledge this morning, a commitment? “I’m going to keep coming back to God in humility, honesty.” A righteous man falls seven times and rises up again. I’m going to be that man, a just man. “Preacher, I’m just going to make a commitment. I’m going to keep coming back to him. I’m not going to live apart from him. When I mess up, I’m going to come back and get it right. I’m going to ask for the mercy of God.” And I’m making a commitment this morning: I’m just going to keep coming back to him. I’m going to keep coming back to him. I’m going to keep coming back. I’m going to keep coming back. I’m going to keep coming back. I’m with your friend. I’m with your forgiveness. I’m going to do the same. His mercy endureth forever. I’m not saying live in sin. No, no, no, no. “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” But I’m going to keep coming back and getting the grace and the mercy and the strength to win for him.
Anybody else, preacher? I’m making that commitment. I’m going to keep coming back to him. Anybody else? God bless you. God bless you. Wonderful. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for letting the Lord work in your heart. Thank you so very, very much. You put your hands down. That’s what God’s so pleased with. He taketh pleasure in them that fear him, those who hope in His mercy.
Maybe here this morning, I did not preach on salvation, but there’s never come a time when you’ve been saved. It all starts there. When you come to Jesus Christ for your salvation, your eternal destiny has changed from hell to heaven. Because of your sin, we all had sin debt, and that equals hell one day. But you’ve come to Jesus Christ, or maybe you’ve never come to Jesus Christ and said, “Oh, I need your forgiveness. I need your cleansing. I need to be born again.”
“Preacher, I’ve never been saved.” Friend, the best day of your life is the day you get saved. The Bible says, “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” Friend, we don’t know how much longer we have here. If you hear this morning, you don’t know you’re saved, friend, be the best day of your life if you get saved today. He loves you. He longs to save you. He has grace and mercy available waiting for you.
If you hear this morning or maybe online, you said, “Preacher, I’m not saved. I need to get saved. I’m not a child of God. I can’t have that mercy until I get saved. I need to get saved, preacher. I’m not a child of God.” If that’s you, “Preacher, I’m not saved,” would you slip your hand up? “Preacher, I’m not saved. Never been saved. Never came at a time of my life when I’ve been saved.” Man, woman, boy, or girl, even a young person, “Preacher, I don’t know that I’m a child of God. I don’t know that I’m saved to go into heaven.” That’s you? Just let your hand up. Not going to call your name. I’m not going to embarrass you. I like that. “I don’t know that I’m saved.”
I don’t see any hands. Hey friend, you’re a child of God. He’s waiting. He wants to be close to you. His mercy endureth forever.
Maybe you hear this morning you say, “I need to rededicate my life. I’m living too far away from him. I’ve been listening to the voice of the devil or maybe my own guilt. Maybe the world. I need to get back close. I’m going to get back close to the Lord. I need to rededicate my life.” God spoke to my heart about that right there. “I want to rededicate my life to the Lord Jesus Christ.” That’s you this morning? You slip your hand up. I see some hands already. I see it. “I’m going to rededicate my life to the Lord.” Anybody else? Just slip it up. Just slip it up. Oh, it’s a great thing. It’s a wonderful thing. Maybe there’ll be another. I see that hand. “I’m going to rededicate my life.” Would there be anybody else? “Preacher, I’m reading it.” God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. It’s wonderful. Wonderful. He loves that. He’s so faithful.
Anybody up? “Preacher, I’m going to rededicate my life. I’m just going to get back in there and start serving. I’m going to get the mercy.” We’ll get back in there and start serving the Lord again. Anybody else? Maybe there’ll be one more. One more. God’s working on your heart. You feel that conviction. Just one more. “I need to rededicate.”
You know, the wonderful thing is when we just come humbly, and God gives us mercy, the end result is not that we go around like a peacock, proud and all that. We go around thanking God, bragging on God, loving on God, praising God. That’s the end result. We won’t—God wants you to remember that. I hope you remember for the rest of your life. Oh, Ahab, wicked King Ahab. And yet Ahab, when he humbled himself and got honest with God, he went softly before the Lord. He put on sackcloth. He fasted. God Almighty had mercy on Ahab. Don’t you think he’d have mercy for you? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. He does.
If you’re glad you serve a merciful God, would you say amen? I’m so glad we do. He’s a righteous, holy God, but a merciful God. And I’m glad you’re in his house this morning. Make sure you’re back tonight. And I hope it would be a help for you tonight. We believe the Lord laid it in my heart just a couple of days ago. Excited about it. I hope you’re here in your place and let God work in your heart. Good to have everyone here. Good to have our guests. Thank you for being with us. We’re honored to have you and everyone. Brother Kevin’s got some relatives with him. Amen for that. Good to have them with him. Brother Kevin, would you dismiss us in a word of prayer, please?
Original File: Lesson of Ahab - Pastor Paul Chisgar Sunday AM 62721