In 1991 Peter Kim and James Patterson authored a book, which they titled, "The Day America Told the Truth." It was published by Prentice-Hall. They said they had interviewed 50 people in every state and found that 91 percent of us are liars. Hey! Wait just a minute, please! Well, maybe not. What would you say or what would you think if I said my sermon today is titled, "Wanted: A Liar." It's true. It is biblical. Don't go away. I'll be back. And that's no lie.
Welcome, my friend, to our Bible study, In Search of the Lord's Way to become a Christian and to live the Christian life. We're grateful to you for your interest in what we are saying and doing in these programs. And, we are encouraged by your many letters and telephone calls. If the programs have been helpful to you, or if we may be helpful to you in the future in some way, we're always glad to hear from you.
All Scripture (Old Testament and New Testament) is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." That is 2 Timothy chapter 3, verses 16 and 17. Of course, the Scriptures that have to do with Christianity are in the New Testament. The Christian's use of the Old Testament is explained in the words of Romans chapter 15, verse 4: "Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." The Holy Spirit says in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 11 that the things that happened in the Old Testament period are for our example and admonition. So, there are many lessons revealed to us in the Old Testament for our learning, our example, and our admonition. In today's program, we're going to be looking at a passage that serves all three of those purposes. In fact, it's so timely that if you didn't know better, you might think it was an article taken from this week's maybe "Time" or "U.S. News & World Report."
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Our scripture reading today is from the 22nd chapter of the book of First Kings in the Old Testament. We will begin reading at verse one. “Now three years passed without war between Syria and Israel. Then it came to pass, in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went down to visit the king of Israel. And the king of Israel said to his servants, do you know that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, but we hesitate to take it out of the hand of the king of Syria? So he said to Jehoshaphat, Will you go with me to fight at Ramoth Gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses. And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Please inquire for the word of the Lord today. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to fight, or shall I refrain? So they said, Go up, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.” Now we stopped reading now with verse six. We will continue with that study after the prayer and the hymn. Let’s now go to God in prayer. Holy Father, we are so thankful to You that You have given us the examples of these things in the Old Testament that they can encourage us and support us in our faith in You. We pray Your blessings on our study today. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
In the 19th and 20th chapters of the Old Testament book of First Kings, we are given an historical account of a war between Syria and Israel in which Israel was the victor. The passage which we read from the 22nd chapter began with, "...it came to pass in the third year that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel" (who was Ahab). Ahab had been king in Israel three years when Jehoshaphat began to reign in Judah. If you're a Bible student, or even a Bible reader, you know about Ahab, don’t you? It would take more time than I have today in one program to speak of the wickedness of old king Ahab. The Bible says it more briefly. It says that "Ahab ...did evil in the sight of the Lord above all the kings before him" (1 Kings chapter 16, verse 30). And here's an amusing verse. I don't suppose the Lord intended for it to be amusing, but it strikes me as rather humorous-- as well as sobering. God says, "as if it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam...he took as wife Jezebel" (16:31). How about that? Chapter 21, verse 25 says, "...there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord, because his wife stirred him up." If there was any evil Ahab couldn't think of doing, he married a wife that could.
But Jehoshaphat was not that kind of a person. The Bible says of him that he did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord; and he made peace with the nations around him, including Israel. And Judah prospered under the reign of Jehoshaphat.
Apparently this visit he made to Ahab was in response to an invitation, and when he arrived, Ahab told him of the city of Ramoth in Gilead, a key city, and the city of refuge for the tribe of Gad, which had been captured and held by Ben-Hadad, king of Syria in one of the wars between Syria and Israel. Apparently, it had been a part of one of their treaties that Ramoth-Gilead was to be returned. But, it hadn't been, and Ahab wanted it. And he told Jehoshaphat that it belongs to us and we're just sitting here and doing nothing to regain it. "Will you go to war with me against Syria to regain what is rightfully ours?"
Remember now that Jehoshaphat was a good man, so he wanted to know the will of God in the matter. Every right thinking person, every God fearing person wants to know and to do the will of God. So at Jehoshaphat's insistence, Ahab called his prophets. Now these were not the prophets of Baal: these were prophets in the name of Jehovah (verses 11 and 12 and 24 reveal that). Well, there were about four-hundred of them! Then old King Ahab asked them, "shall I go up to Ramoth-Gilead to fight, or shall I refrain? So they said, go up: for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king" (chapter 22, verse 6). Well, there was perfect unanimity among them! I mean, there was not one dissenting voice. Well, that should be enough for anybody, shouldn't it? All the prophets promise God's blessings on Ahab and the armies of Israel and Judah.
But that wasn't enough for good king Jehoshaphat. He was a wise man and he immediately sensed that, well, there was "something rotten in Denmark." "And Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not still a prophet of the Lord here; that we may inquire of Him?" And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “there is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord: but I hate him: because (get this now) he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil." Well-- Micaiah doesn't tell Ahab what he wants to hear. He doesn't give consent or approval to Ahab's evils. He speaks the "truth," God's word. "And Jehoshaphat said, let not the king say such things. Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said to him, Bring Micaiah the son of Imlah quickly! The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, having put on their robes, sat each on his throne, at a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. Now Zedekiah...had made horns of iron for himself; and he said, thus says the Lord: With these you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed. And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the king’s hand."
Meanwhile, "the messenger who was sent to bring Micaiah" had a bit of sage advice for him. "Now listen," he said, "the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Please, let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement." That sounds like a good idea, doesn't it? If you expect to gain favor with the king, and get very far in your preaching ministry in this country, you should join the chorus and preach what all the others are preaching and saying. After all, what do you hope to gain by being the only dissenting voice? Why be negative about it? Make the king feel good about what he's going to do, and he'll reward you.
But that wasn't Micaiah's thinking. He said "as the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak." That is verse14. Did you ever hear the likes of this man? Well! What are you going to do with a "long headed" fellow like that? He's just going to speak what the Lord speaks and remain silent when the Lord is silent? That is "extremism" if I ever heard of it, someone says! How about you, friend? Ahab said he was "too negative: he never leaves me feeling good about myself and I don't like him." Did you ever hear anything like that before in all your life? Oh, I have! People don't want to hear Micaiah preach-- then or now-- even if he does tell them the truth. They prefer to hear four hundred liars, even if they do lead them astray. People today are as they were in Micaiah's day and as they were in the days of Isaiah. They said then, "Do not prophesy to us right things; speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits" (Isaiah 30 and 10). In other words: "Tell us lies." Well, let's see. What was the title I gave this lesson? Oh yes, "A Liar Wanted."
"So, Micaiah came to the king. And the king said to him, Micaiah,” (and here's precisely the same question that he put to the 400 prophets) "shall we go against Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or shall we forbear?” And he answered him, "go, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king." But, well, there must have been enough sarcasm or irony in his speech that Ahab detected it immediately, because he said, "how many times shall I adjure you that you tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord." Micaiah then told him that if he went into that battle, it would be certain death and defeat for him and death for the king. And Ahab sentenced Micaiah to prison on a diet of bread and water, but it didn't change the truth. What he said was still true, and Micaiah never recanted or retreated at all. You read the rest of the story in 1 Kings chapter 22.
Yes, there have always been false prophets who have led the people in false ways to their own destruction. And, there's nowhere that it is more true than in religion-- modern religion. The Holy Spirit sounds a warning about it. He says, "But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive (the King James Version says "damnable) heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed [or evil spoken of]" (2 Peter chapter 2, verses 1 and 2). There are false teachers among us today, friend, and many still follow their deceitful, destructive ways, and by them the way of truth is evil spoken of. And through covetousness they do with feigned words make merchandise of the public. The great masses of people today are like old King Ahab, who actually wanted God's prophets to lie to him.
Micaiah was a prophet of a different kind-- one, as opposed to four hundred hireling prophets who professed to prophesy in the name of the Lord. One thing that's obvious in this situation: it’s that you can't always learn the truth from the polls. You can’t always hold up your finger and say which way the wind is really blowing. One of these four hundred prophets distinguished himself by putting on a show for Ahab and Jehoshaphat. Oh, he made him some horns of iron; he danced around before the kings saying, "With these you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed (or-- you have destroyed them) as another version says." Horns were the symbols of kings. His were made of iron to indicate strength. When you're not telling the truth, you need to put on the best show in town. Remember that!
However-- hear me now, will you? Showmanship will not suffice for truth. We are living in a period of "show-time religion" in America. Though far removed from the people of Berea in time -- we can learn from them to be "noble-minded" or "fair-minded" (Acts 17:11) when listening to the sermon. And you say, well, "How so?" Well, "In that they received the word (of God) with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so," which the apostle Paul had been preaching to them.
Jesus, the loving Savior Himself-- oh, we never question His love for us, do we? And rightly so because He died for us. But, He also warned us against false teachers in Matthew 7:15. "Beware!" He said. Oh say, friend, when you see that word "beware" it grabs your attention, doesn't it? It does it quickly! No, Jesus was not being "mean-spirited," or "bigoted" or "intolerant." No, no, no He wasn’t! He was speaking the truth in love when He said, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves" (Matthew 7:15).
Back to our story: Micaiah spoke the truth. He said, "I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. And the Lord said, who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead? So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him. The Lord said to him, in what way? So he said, I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said, you shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go and do so.” Now that is verses 19 to 22 in that 22nd chapter. Then Ahab gave the order: "Thus says the king: Put this fellow in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and water of affliction, until I come in peace. But Micaiah said, if you ever return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me. And he said, Take heed, all you people!" (verses 26 to 28). Let’s pray. Father, help us to buy the truth and never sell it. Help us to have a strong desire to know so that we may do Your will in all our life. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen!
My friend, God's word is true. That is why you need to read and study it for yourself. I pray you won't be as old wicked king Ahab, and follow the hundreds of prophets (or preachers) of our day. They won't tell you, but you need to be an obedient believer in Jesus Christ to be saved. It was Jesus Himself, who said, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved." That is Mark 16:16. The first time the gospel of salvation in Christ was preached, the believers were told to "repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." That is Acts 2:38. Oh, I pray that we may hear from you this week, that you did so; just like we have heard from many others.
It has been a great pleasure and an honor to be invited into your home today. The medical profession has an association which purges itself of Quacks. The legal profession has its Bar Association which exposes and removes shyster lawyers. And the business community has a Better Business Bureau who protects the unwary public of the cheats and unscrupulous business people. But religion is open territory for all kinds of deceivers and frauds, because nobody wants to "row upstream" or "be negative" or "rock the boat." Micaiahs are just rare and just as despised now as they were with Ahab. But, I hope we have learned something from our study today.
If you think an audio cassette tape of today's program, music and all, will be useful to you, we would like for you to have a sample of it or have it free. Simply write us, In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083. Our e-mail address is searchtv@searchtv.org. If you don't remember the title, just ask for the message about "False Prophets." And if it would be more convenient for you to call, our toll-free telephone number is 1-800-321-8633. The tapes are free because they're paid for by some of your friends in churches of Christ in the area of the station to which you are tuned. Somewhere not too far from where you live there's a church of Christ. And they would love to have you study and worship with them and I hope you will do that. We plan to be back next week, and we hope you will, too. We hope that in the meantime you will be telling some of your friends about the program and inviting them to be with us as well. God bless you now. We love you.
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