Ryan King – Class 1: The Voice in the Wilderness

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So, my dear brethren, friends,
and young people, without any

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further delay, I’ll invite or
beloved Brother Ryan to come and

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deliver to us his first class
for our study or fraternal

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weekend, which is entitled The
Voice of 1 Crying in the

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Wilderness, Brother Ryan.
Thank you very much for the

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Nigel and good afternoon,
brothers and sisters.

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It’s nice to be here.
And I thank you for the

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invitation to to join you and to
share what I think is a

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wonderful study, one of the
greatest characters that has

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ever lived and.
I’m sure you’re thinking as I

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say those words.
Well, you know, every speaker

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who gets up here starts off by
saying that the study you’re

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about to hear or the study that
he’s just done is the greatest

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whatever that you’ll ever hear.
Let me let me give to you

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another statement among those
born among women there have not

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risen.
A greater prophet than John the

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Baptist.
And that statement is given by

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our Lord Jesus Christ himself of
all of the prophets.

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And you think about the great
prophets that God has sent to

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men down through time.
He’s the greatest of them all.

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That’s the man that we have
before us this weekend.

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There was never anyone like John
the Baptist.

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It wasn’t just the statement of
our Lord, but his own father, in

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describing him, called him the
prophet of the highest in Luke

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chapter one.
It’s in that same chapter where

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the Lord Jesus Christ is
described as the Son of the

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highest.
Now, has there ever been any

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greater son than that?
Well, here’s his prophet, the

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prophet of the Highest.
You know, his influence had

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spread far and wide.
This man who was a nobody.

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It is spread all the way down to
Alexandria and Egypt.

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Alexandria was the great
university city where the

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Ptolemys had collected all of
the writings from all over the

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world.
There was a man down there named

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Apollos, and Luke’s record and
act says that he was skilled in

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what the teachings of John.
The Baptist and the word skilled

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is a word that’s used of one of
our pieces of literature

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catachesis.
He had categorized John’s

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teaching, he was all the way
down in Egypt, and of course

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later he made his way to
Corinth.

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An eloquent man mighty in the
scriptures.

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And knowing what the baptism of
John in the next chapter of Acts

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we read of certain disciples who
had had separated themselves

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from the law and what did they
know?

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They knew the teachings of John
the Baptist in Asia Minor.

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In Ephesus, which was the
capital of Asia Minor.

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His teaching had spread all the
way down there to the to the the

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far-flung regions of the empire
at that time.

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And so you you look at those
points and you ask yourself the

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question, well, who was John?
You know?

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Was he a great man?
Was he a CEO?

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Was he a millionaire?
Lee was a nondescript living in

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the wilderness.
And eating grasshoppers.

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And if I if I said that to you
and you didn’t know who he was,

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you would laugh.
But that’s who he was.

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There was nobody like him, a man
who came into this world as a

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monument of difference and a man
who wore his message in his

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person.
There was never anybody quite

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like John the Baptist, except
for maybe one.

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And that, of course, was Elijah.
In whose spirit and power he

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came, dressed almost exactly
like John in the the clothing of

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nature and living on sparse food
in the wilderness.

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And there was a single message,
brothers and sisters, that

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emerges from John the Baptist
life.

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Here.
The point of these studies is

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not really going to be hard to
grasp.

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It’s really just one single
message that emerges from John’s

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life.
So let’s begin in Luke chapter

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one and verse 17 and see the
motivation and the reason why

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John was sent into the world.
Luke chapter one and verse 17.

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Here’s a statement which helps
us to introduce our study and

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this encapsulates really all
that John the Baptist was about

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verse 16 of Luke chapter one and
many.

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Of the children of visual shall
he turn to the Lord there God,

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and he shall go before him in
the Spirit and in the power of

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Elijah.
Now there is the principle of

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John’s life.
If we can grasp the essence of

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what this is all about, then we
will understand the purpose of

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John’s work.
What did Luke mean when he said

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that he came in the Spirit and
the power of Elijah?

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We don’t turn some of these
references up just to save our

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time, but you may remember that
in Luke Chapter 9 the Lord Jesus

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Christ was making his way
through the village of the

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Samaritans and they wouldn’t
receive him.

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The two sons of Thunder, James
and John, said, shall we not

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bring down fire from heaven and
consume them like Elijah did?

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And Jesus answer was, you know
not what manner of spirit you

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are of, so the spirit of Elijah
bells and sisters.

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Was not terrible awe inspiring.
It was persuasive.

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Jesus said the Son of Man came
not to destroy men’s lives, but

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to save.
The spirit of Elijah is all

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about saving, not destroying.
What about the power of Elijah?

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What was the power of Elijah
that John came in?

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We know in John chapter 10,
verse 41 that John did no

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miracles.
Not one.

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But he came in the power of
Elijah, who did. 8 So it wasn’t

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that sort of power that John
came in.

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The the power of John the
Baptist and the power of Elijah

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was in his voice.
It was his voice They asked him,

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Who are you, John?
He said, I’m nothing, just a

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voice.
So he came in the spirit and in

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the power of Elijah.
It was the voice of Yahweh to

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save.
And that’s going to be the

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reason why John was sent.
He was nothing else but a voice.

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But what a powerful voice that
was the voice of Yahweh to save

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men and women, getting all of us
to see, brothers and sisters,

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that the Kingdom of God is
almost here and we need to be

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ready.
Now, that doesn’t sound like the

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Elijah that I know.
The Elijah that I know is

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famous, of course, for bringing
down fire from heaven twice on a

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captain and his 50.
So what we’ve got to do,

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brothers and sisters, and what
we’ll do in this first session,

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is we want to go back to where
Elijah learnt that lesson.

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That it wasn’t about destroying,
but rather it was about saving.

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Because that was the reason why
John was sent to exercise this

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spirit and power that God fully
intended Elijah to exercise but

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never did.
In which we will see John will

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do as he goes forth to proclaim
the voice of Yahweh to save.

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First, King’s Chapter 19.
Let’s see what it was that

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Elijah was meant to do but but
never ever did, But which One

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day he will again come and stand
on this earth to practice the

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voice of Yahweh to save.
And 1st King’s Chapter 19.

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We know the story.
Elijah thought the nation was

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converted.
He saw the sacrifice consumed

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upon Mount Carmel.
He heard them screaming in his

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ears his own name, the Lord, he
is God.

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He ran before the charity of
Ahab, believing Ahab had been

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converted.
As he followed or ran before

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Ahab into the gates of Jezreel,
that imperious woman Jezebel

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said, God do more to me, God do
so to me, and more also if I

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don’t have his blood by
tomorrow.

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Elijah went away depressed.
Dejected, he thought the nation

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had changed.
He thought the nation was

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repentant as he saw the
sacrifice being consumed upon

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Mount Carmel, but he just runs
away from Jezebel.

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Depressed, the man who had stood
in Tribe upon Carmel was next

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found beneath the juniper tree,
saying, I want to die, I’ve had

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enough and I want to die.
And so he went, brothers and

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sisters, inexorably, to Mount
Sunny Eye.

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It’s the only time in his life
Elijah ever moved without that

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commandment.
He’s going to tell God he’s been

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let down.
He’s going to tell God he’s

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frustrated.
And when he gets down here in

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First Kings 19, we’ll pick up
the record.

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Now he had to learn a tremendous
lesson.

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First Kings 19 and verse 9.
And he came, sit there unto a

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cave, and lodged there.
And behold, the word of Yahweh

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came to him.
And he said unto him, What doest

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thou hear?
Elijah, now in that ninth verse,

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Frozen.
Sisters, the emphasis in the

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Hebrew is on the word here.
What are you doing here, Elijah,

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in this place in Sania?
What is it that you associate

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with me here?
And of course, Elijah had

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remembered that place, hadn’t
he?

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When when the mountain was all
on fire, when the law was given,

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and the sound of the trumpet and
the voice of words, which voice

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they that heard were unable to
withstand.

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That even an animal approaching
the mountain, they couldn’t,

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they couldn’t spear it with an
arrow.

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They had to to stand back.
And that was what Elijah

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associated with God.
What are you doing here, Elijah?

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And he came to a cave.
You know the Hebrew has the

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definite article there in verse
nine.

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He came unto The Cave.
Now it was either in that cave

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or beside it.
Then another man stood and said,

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Don’t destroy Israel, Block me
out of the book.

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But save that.
And of course Elijah had had

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totally missed that spirit,
hadn’t he?

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In his depression, in his
despondency, he had forgotten

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the history of the man who had
stood there so, so many years

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before, and when the question
came from the Angel in verse 10.

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It all comes out, doesn’t it?
Here is what Elijah was

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thinking.
Here is why he went mount down

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to Mount Sonii.
I have been very jealous, he

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says for the Lord God of armies.
And there it is.

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If he just said Lord God Yahweh
Elohim, you know we would have

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said well the covenant name God
writing his his name upon the

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hearts of men and women.
But Elijah adds to it the word

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for.
Armies.

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That’s only the second time the
whole Bible that that name

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appears.
The Lord God of armies.

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You see, Elijah felt, brothers
and sisters, that God should

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take Israel by the scruff of
their neck, shake the lifeout of

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them, and wake them up to to see
that they have to obey the

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truth.
But what good is that, brothers

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and sisters, without the heart?
What good is is, is shaking

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people.
And forcing them to do what God

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wants.
If they’re not doing it with

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their whole heart, what good is
it?

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It’s not worth anything.
You know.

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God will never brothers and
sisters, forces, covenant or his

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ways upon any of us.
It is neither his will nor is it

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his method.
John came in the spirit and

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power of Elijah.
It’s not that.

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And we know what happened here
at Sania.

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In verse 11, Elijah was made to
feel the the sting of the the

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power they’d hoped God would
unleash upon Israel, and he

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would have been terrified.
Go forth and and stand upon the

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mount, says verse 11.
And the glory of Yahweh was

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revealed to him in wind,
earthquake, and fire.

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You know, Elijah would have been
absolutely terrified as he as he

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felt the effects of all of those
things, the earthquake, the

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wind.
Of the fire.

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You know there.
There’s nothing at Sinai Bros

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and Sisters.
Really, that’s combustible.

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You can’t burn anything.
It’s solid granite.

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But but fire burnt that granite
as though it was temper, and

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Elijah would feel the steering
heat.

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You went back into The Cave, but
you notice what it says there in

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in both in verse 11 and in verse
12 says God was not in those

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things.
God was not in the wind.

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He was not in the earthquake.
He was not in the fire.

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In other words, God doesn’t
change, you or me, brothers and

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sisters, by dramatics, by
miracles.

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All that miracles can do is is
tell you that you’re in the

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presence of divinity.
But that’s that’s all they can

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do.
He uses a different method.

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He was not in any of those
things.

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He changes us by another method,
and that method is there at the

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end of verse 12.
After the fire, a still small

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00:14:28,600 –> 00:14:33,600
voice, and it’s that voice we
know that gets Elijah out into

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00:14:33,600 –> 00:14:35,800
the open.
It’s that voice that gets him to

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00:14:35,800 –> 00:14:42,400
see what his problem was.
A thin, crushed voice is what

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00:14:42,400 –> 00:14:47,520
the Hebrew is.
It’s that which changes us the

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00:14:47,560 –> 00:14:50,240
unobtrusive influence of the
daily readings.

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00:14:51,670 –> 00:14:54,630
The humble and and simple
principles that are put forward

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00:14:54,630 –> 00:14:59,230
by a brother at the Bible class.
When we go home and we think

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00:14:59,230 –> 00:15:01,950
about those things and we
meditate upon them, it’s it’s

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00:15:01,950 –> 00:15:05,310
those things that change.
It’s not the dramatics, not the

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00:15:05,310 –> 00:15:08,670
earthquake, wind and fire.
But what fixes the heart,

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00:15:08,670 –> 00:15:12,350
brothers and sisters, is the
still small voice getting to the

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heart of the issue.
That’s what Elijah had to learn.

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And when Elijah saw that he was
ashamed, you know, he he wraps

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00:15:21,790 –> 00:15:23,950
his face, says verse 13 in his
mantle.

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Now the mantle was a symbol of
the prophetic office.

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He’s ashamed of it because he
realizes now that that that

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still small voice that he heard
there from the Angel was nothing

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like what he had been doing in
Israel.

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And it was the voice, brothers
and sisters, that got him out in

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00:15:43,670 –> 00:15:46,230
the open.
It was the voice, the gentle

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00:15:46,230 –> 00:15:50,280
whisper, as the Hebrew has it.
It’s the gentle whisper of God’s

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00:15:50,280 –> 00:15:53,920
word that perfects us, that
changes us, that got Elijah out

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00:15:53,920 –> 00:15:57,720
of that cave and made him
realize that that is what God

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00:15:57,720 –> 00:16:01,360
uses to save men and women.
He’d gone down to Soni I to to

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00:16:01,360 –> 00:16:05,320
bring judgment upon Israel.
That look, if if they’re not

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going to do this willingly, then
you should force it upon them.

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God says no.
I use a different method.

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I use the still small voice
which gets to the heart of the

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00:16:15,680 –> 00:16:18,840
issue.
There’s a subtle difference here

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00:16:18,840 –> 00:16:21,280
in the record.
In verse 13 you see what the

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00:16:21,280 –> 00:16:26,080
Angel does is repeats the same
question as verse nine.

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You know in verse 9 the word of
the Lord came unto him.

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What are you doing here, Elijah?
But in verse 13 the question

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00:16:33,440 –> 00:16:35,640
comes again from God, but with a
difference.

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And note that difference.
Verse nine said the word of the

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00:16:40,760 –> 00:16:45,880
Lord came, but in verse 13 there
came at the end of the verse.

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A voice unto him, What are you
doing here, Elijah?

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00:16:54,780 –> 00:17:00,820
And he’s absolutely shaken.
And he repeats his prepared

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00:17:00,820 –> 00:17:03,340
statement in verse 14, and I
think he would have done so this

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00:17:03,340 –> 00:17:08,220
time with a little bit less zeal
and a little bit less fervor.

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00:17:10,020 –> 00:17:12,900
I have been very jealous for the
Lord God of Host.

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00:17:13,380 –> 00:17:15,740
It would have been said with
with much less gusto.

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Is verse 10 and the Angel
doesn’t even answer him.

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00:17:20,599 –> 00:17:25,400
The Angel says in verse verse 15
you go back on your way.

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You go back on your way to
practice the spirit and the

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00:17:32,320 –> 00:17:36,880
power of that voice.
Elijah, I want you to return to

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00:17:36,880 –> 00:17:39,360
Israel and practice a different
spirit.

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00:17:39,360 –> 00:17:43,640
Not a spirit that wants to call
down 5 from heaven, but my

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voice.
Still small voice.

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Rotherham has the voice of a
gentle whisper and speak to the

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hearts of your brothers and
sisters.

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That’s what converts us, that’s
what changes us.

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00:18:01,060 –> 00:18:03,860
It’s the goodness of God, says
the apostle Paul, that leads us

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to repentance, not law driving
us to obedience, but the

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goodness of God.
Romans 2 verse four that leads

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00:18:10,740 –> 00:18:14,590
us to repentance.
Yeah, What is it that’s more

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00:18:14,590 –> 00:18:20,870
useful?
Do this or I’ll belt you or, you

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00:18:20,870 –> 00:18:27,710
know, we choose this principle,
brother, because this is what

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00:18:27,710 –> 00:18:29,790
happens.
Here’s an example from the

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00:18:29,790 –> 00:18:32,950
Bible, brothers and sisters.
Or here’s an example young

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00:18:32,950 –> 00:18:35,990
person of of of why we do what
we do.

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00:18:36,590 –> 00:18:39,390
This is why this is the best
course of action.

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00:18:39,390 –> 00:18:42,150
And we entreat and we appeal
based on that.

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00:18:42,150 –> 00:18:43,470
We get to the heart of the
matter.

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00:18:44,020 –> 00:18:48,980
Elijah, I’ve got 7000 in Israel
that desperately need your

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00:18:48,980 –> 00:18:51,820
input.
They could really use this

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00:18:51,820 –> 00:18:55,740
council, the voice of God, to
save.

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00:18:55,740 –> 00:18:58,420
You know, Elijah, both and
sisters never really did

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00:18:58,460 –> 00:19:00,140
exercise that during his
lifetime.

290
00:19:00,140 –> 00:19:02,260
He struggled with that even
after this point.

291
00:19:03,860 –> 00:19:08,380
But we know one day Elijah will.
And how do we know that?

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00:19:09,180 –> 00:19:11,540
Let’s come to the last words of
the Old Testament.

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00:19:11,900 –> 00:19:17,070
Malachi Chapter 4.
Here is the still small voice

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00:19:17,390 –> 00:19:23,430
now being practiced by Elijah.
He’s now learned from his

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00:19:23,430 –> 00:19:27,310
experience at Mount Sania what
it is that changes the hearts of

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00:19:27,310 –> 00:19:30,630
men and women.
Not the earthquake, not the

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00:19:30,630 –> 00:19:34,070
dramatics, but the still small
voice.

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00:19:34,470 –> 00:19:39,030
Let’s just read this carefully.
Malachi chapter 4 and verse 4.

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00:19:41,650 –> 00:19:44,850
Remember ye the law of Moses, my
servant, which I commanded unto

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00:19:44,850 –> 00:19:49,410
him in hora for all Israel with
the statutes and the judgments.

301
00:19:49,930 –> 00:19:55,690
Behold, I send you Elijah.
Why send us, Elijah?

302
00:19:56,850 –> 00:19:59,890
To remember, Moses?
Why not send Moses?

303
00:19:59,890 –> 00:20:01,810
Wouldn’t it be better that’s the
one he’s talking about?

304
00:20:03,370 –> 00:20:06,850
Well, for this reason, brothers
and sisters, Elijah is far

305
00:20:07,050 –> 00:20:10,640
better educated.
Remember he the law of Moses, my

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00:20:10,640 –> 00:20:12,520
servant.
He had gone to Sania to stand in

307
00:20:12,520 –> 00:20:17,360
Moses shoes.
And God showed him what really

308
00:20:17,360 –> 00:20:20,400
changes the hearts of men and
women, what what the law was

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00:20:20,400 –> 00:20:25,320
really about, what God was
driving at, the spirit of the

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00:20:25,320 –> 00:20:29,520
still small voice.
And so he doesn’t send the Moses

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00:20:30,120 –> 00:20:33,320
when he goes back again to to
gather the Jews out of all lands

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00:20:33,320 –> 00:20:36,320
in in in the few coming years.
Who does he send?

313
00:20:37,120 –> 00:20:41,140
He sends Elijah.
Because here is the man who now

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00:20:41,180 –> 00:20:45,660
understands what really changes
the hearts of men and women.

315
00:20:45,660 –> 00:20:48,020
And This is why John the Baptist
was sent to speak to their

316
00:20:48,020 –> 00:20:51,180
hearts.
It was the still small voice of

317
00:20:51,700 –> 00:20:54,340
God’s word.
And the other interesting thing

318
00:20:54,340 –> 00:20:58,660
about this, this passage here,
is that there are two keywords

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00:20:58,660 –> 00:21:01,740
in verses 5:00 and 6:00, and we
have them highlighted here on

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00:21:01,740 –> 00:21:04,930
the the screen for you.
He says, Behold, I send you a

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00:21:04,930 –> 00:21:07,930
lie to the prophet before the
coming of the great and dreadful

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00:21:07,930 –> 00:21:11,010
day of Yahweh.
And he shall turn the hearts of

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00:21:11,010 –> 00:21:14,890
the fathers to the children, and
the heart of the children to

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00:21:14,890 –> 00:21:20,450
their fathers, lest I come and
smite the earth with a curse.

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00:21:20,450 –> 00:21:23,410
And the two words that stand up
there like monuments on the

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00:21:23,410 –> 00:21:28,450
earth are before.
And lest you know, Elijah went

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00:21:28,450 –> 00:21:33,410
down to sonii.
To procure a curse upon Israel.

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00:21:34,470 –> 00:21:37,350
To bring that curse upon them
because of their disobedience to

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00:21:37,350 –> 00:21:41,110
God’s law.
And Paul and Romans 11 picked

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00:21:41,110 –> 00:21:43,950
that up and he said what she not
what the scripture sent of

331
00:21:43,950 –> 00:21:48,310
Elijah, how he went to make
intercession against Israel.

332
00:21:49,270 –> 00:21:50,550
What’s he going to do in the
future?

333
00:21:51,190 –> 00:21:54,230
God sends Elijah to Israel to
prevent it.

334
00:21:55,750 –> 00:22:00,310
To prevent that curse, he went
to Sania to bring the curse.

335
00:22:00,750 –> 00:22:03,350
In the future Elijah will come
and.

336
00:22:04,800 –> 00:22:07,600
He’ll try to prevent it, and he
will.

337
00:22:08,680 –> 00:22:12,640
All Israel will be saved.
Despite a few rebels in the

338
00:22:12,640 –> 00:22:14,640
wilderness.
Elijah will speak to their

339
00:22:14,640 –> 00:22:17,160
hearts.
How ironic that he was the one

340
00:22:17,160 –> 00:22:19,360
who went down to Sunni eye to
bring the curse.

341
00:22:20,400 –> 00:22:23,000
The last words of the Old
Testament say I’m sending Elijah

342
00:22:23,000 –> 00:22:26,760
back, not Moses.
I’m sending Elijah back to

343
00:22:26,760 –> 00:22:29,280
prevent the curse.
Now how is Elijah going to do

344
00:22:29,280 –> 00:22:31,840
that?
Well, he’s going to speak to

345
00:22:31,840 –> 00:22:35,210
their hearts, isn’t he?
You can imagine Elijah leading,

346
00:22:35,490 –> 00:22:38,690
leading that nation back as they
they go up into the Judean hills

347
00:22:38,690 –> 00:22:41,650
to meet their Messiah with with
all the eloquence that, you

348
00:22:41,650 –> 00:22:44,770
know, a man like Elijah could
bring to bear to talk about the

349
00:22:44,770 –> 00:22:48,170
goodness of God that that leads
people to repentance.

350
00:22:48,410 –> 00:22:49,930
He says.
I want to tell you, my people,

351
00:22:49,930 –> 00:22:53,130
about the Law of Moses.
I’m going to tell you, not

352
00:22:53,130 –> 00:22:54,730
Moses.
I’m going to tell you because

353
00:22:55,010 –> 00:23:00,210
I’m now equipped, because I
understand really what the

354
00:23:00,210 –> 00:23:02,890
Spirit.
Of the truth is all about it’s

355
00:23:02,970 –> 00:23:05,490
it’s talking to people.
It’s appealing to them, it’s

356
00:23:05,490 –> 00:23:08,050
speaking to their hearts.
And that’s what motivates them

357
00:23:08,050 –> 00:23:12,610
to change the goodness of God
that leads men and women to

358
00:23:12,610 –> 00:23:14,050
repentance.
You know, what is it that gets

359
00:23:14,050 –> 00:23:16,490
you to break an old habit in
your life, brothers and sisters?

360
00:23:17,650 –> 00:23:20,290
Is it when somebody reads you
the Ryan act?

361
00:23:20,290 –> 00:23:22,170
I mean, that might get your
attention.

362
00:23:23,010 –> 00:23:24,610
Is it when somebody gives you a
lecture?

363
00:23:26,450 –> 00:23:28,570
Or is it when you think about
all the things that God’s done

364
00:23:28,570 –> 00:23:31,520
for you?
And he’s think about how good

365
00:23:31,520 –> 00:23:35,040
he’s been to you, how he sent
his Angel to to guide your life.

366
00:23:35,880 –> 00:23:37,600
And you think about all the
things that he’s given you that

367
00:23:37,600 –> 00:23:40,920
you don’t deserve.
Isn’t isn’t that which changes

368
00:23:40,920 –> 00:23:42,280
you.
It makes you better.

369
00:23:43,280 –> 00:23:44,680
That’s what Elijah is going to
do.

370
00:23:45,400 –> 00:23:49,680
Behold, I send you Elijah the
prophet before the coming of the

371
00:23:49,680 –> 00:23:50,880
great and dreadful day of the
Lord.

372
00:23:51,040 –> 00:23:53,800
And he’d gone to Sony I down
there to bring it.

373
00:23:54,840 –> 00:23:58,120
So all that was a real to Elijah
as we saw in First Kings 19 by.

374
00:23:58,570 –> 00:24:00,330
The voice.
It was the voice that drew him

375
00:24:00,330 –> 00:24:03,570
out into the open.
It was the voice that let him

376
00:24:03,570 –> 00:24:06,490
move out of that cave and and
wrap his face at his mantle,

377
00:24:06,490 –> 00:24:09,050
because he knew he could see the
point that God was getting at.

378
00:24:09,050 –> 00:24:13,850
It was the voice, and you win.
John the Baptist voice sounded

379
00:24:13,850 –> 00:24:17,130
in the wilderness.
Frozen sisters, the record of

380
00:24:17,130 –> 00:24:24,770
Matthew Chapter 3 says, and all
Judea went out to hear him.

381
00:24:24,770 –> 00:24:27,570
They were drawn inextively to
that man they came from.

382
00:24:28,010 –> 00:24:32,210
From Judea they came.
From Galilee, they came from

383
00:24:32,210 –> 00:24:34,930
beyond Jordan.
They all went out to hear him.

384
00:24:34,930 –> 00:24:38,610
It was the voice that drew them,
the golden voice that drew them

385
00:24:38,610 –> 00:24:43,650
just like like bees on honey.
Now, where is the great prophecy

386
00:24:43,890 –> 00:24:47,050
in your Bible about John the
Baptist?

387
00:24:48,170 –> 00:24:53,810
And the voice, of course, it’s
it’s Isaiah 40, Isaiah, chapter

388
00:24:53,810 –> 00:24:57,050
40.
Here it was a voice.

389
00:24:57,750 –> 00:24:59,670
In the wilderness.
And of course, where did Elijah

390
00:24:59,670 –> 00:25:01,950
hear it?
It was at the very apex of the

391
00:25:01,990 –> 00:25:04,070
the wilderness in in Mount
Sonia.

392
00:25:04,270 –> 00:25:07,990
Here is the voice.
Of course John had quoted this,

393
00:25:07,990 –> 00:25:11,790
didn’t he, About his own work?
He said, I’m the voice, They

394
00:25:11,790 –> 00:25:14,950
said, Who are you, John?
And he quoted the 40th chapter

395
00:25:14,950 –> 00:25:18,830
of Isaiah to say I’m the voice.
And what kind of voice was it?

396
00:25:20,110 –> 00:25:25,870
Was it the voice that Elijah
went to Sonia with the verse one

397
00:25:25,870 –> 00:25:30,160
says.
Comfort ye, comfort ye, my

398
00:25:30,160 –> 00:25:31,520
people.
Here’s the voice.

399
00:25:32,080 –> 00:25:35,320
Elijah didn’t go to Sinai to say
comfort ye, comfort ye my

400
00:25:35,320 –> 00:25:37,600
people, but this is what the
voice will do.

401
00:25:37,760 –> 00:25:40,920
Speak ye comfortably to
Jerusalem.

402
00:25:40,920 –> 00:25:43,720
Now if you have a margin, the
margin of the the Authorized

403
00:25:43,720 –> 00:25:50,880
Version says, speak to the heart
of Jerusalem, getting to their

404
00:25:50,880 –> 00:25:54,320
hearts, speaking to them in in
comfortable words.

405
00:25:55,220 –> 00:25:59,900
Just like you do in a thin,
crushed voice, which is is the

406
00:26:00,140 –> 00:26:02,300
the Hebrew meaning of that voice
at Sonyeye.

407
00:26:03,380 –> 00:26:10,580
It’s a thin, crushed voice.
That’s how you change men and

408
00:26:10,580 –> 00:26:12,700
women.
That’s how you change hearts.

409
00:26:13,420 –> 00:26:16,500
This is what John the Baptist,
Coming Brothers and Sisters was

410
00:26:16,620 –> 00:26:19,820
all about.
But where is the voice heard?

411
00:26:21,980 –> 00:26:24,140
Where do we hear that voice?
Do we hear it out on the streets

412
00:26:24,140 –> 00:26:29,340
here today?
Where is the voice heard?

413
00:26:30,540 –> 00:26:36,060
Well, Josea said.
I will allure her and bring her

414
00:26:36,060 –> 00:26:42,380
where into the wilderness, and
I’ll speak to her heart, which

415
00:26:42,380 –> 00:26:44,820
is the same expression in the
Hebrew as Isaiah 40.

416
00:26:45,500 –> 00:26:48,700
Now Josea too is all about
Gomer, you know, the the

417
00:26:48,700 –> 00:26:53,660
unfaithful wife of Josea, who’s
really a symbol, isn’t she of.

418
00:26:54,730 –> 00:26:58,010
Wayward Israel.
And how did Jose I get her to

419
00:26:58,010 –> 00:27:01,650
come back?
Wasn’t by reading or the riot

420
00:27:01,650 –> 00:27:06,690
act, was by alluring her and
speaking to her heart.

421
00:27:06,850 –> 00:27:10,810
The persuasive voice of God is
what changed Gomer, and that

422
00:27:10,810 –> 00:27:16,010
voice was heard where it was
heard in the wilderness.

423
00:27:17,010 –> 00:27:19,090
We’ve got to get out into the
wilderness, brothers and

424
00:27:19,090 –> 00:27:22,810
sisters, if we want to hear the
voice of God.

425
00:27:23,700 –> 00:27:27,180
God or Hosea took Gomer.
Or God took Gomer, but he did it

426
00:27:27,180 –> 00:27:30,300
through Hosea took Gomer out
into the waters, where she had

427
00:27:30,300 –> 00:27:36,500
nothing.
No distractions, no cell phones,

428
00:27:37,100 –> 00:27:41,620
no Wi-Fi, none of that.
And when she was out there,

429
00:27:41,620 –> 00:27:44,540
isolated and alone, God was able
to speak to her.

430
00:27:45,100 –> 00:27:47,820
And that’s the great message of
John the Baptist life.

431
00:27:48,520 –> 00:27:50,480
That is the point of these
studies.

432
00:27:50,480 –> 00:27:53,040
We’ve got to get out into the
wilderness, pros and scissors.

433
00:27:53,200 –> 00:27:57,320
If we’re ever going to hear the
voice of God, because it’s not

434
00:27:57,320 –> 00:28:03,600
heard anywhere else, you know we
can’t escape our society, can

435
00:28:03,600 –> 00:28:05,640
we?
You know, we we’re all like rats

436
00:28:05,640 –> 00:28:08,480
caught up in a trap.
But unless we can create within

437
00:28:08,480 –> 00:28:11,640
our minds a wilderness
atmosphere, then we can never

438
00:28:11,640 –> 00:28:17,920
hear God speaking to our hearts.
But hear it we must.

439
00:28:19,480 –> 00:28:21,120
And Gomer stood in the
wilderness, where she had

440
00:28:21,120 –> 00:28:24,800
nothing and God was able to get
through to her, that

441
00:28:24,800 –> 00:28:27,480
illegitimate, wicked woman God
was able to get through to her

442
00:28:28,160 –> 00:28:31,000
by speaking to her heart in the
wilderness.

443
00:28:31,000 –> 00:28:33,240
And that’s why John is in the
wilderness.

444
00:28:33,880 –> 00:28:37,640
That’s why he wore a camel skin.
That’s why he ate grasshoppers.

445
00:28:37,640 –> 00:28:39,600
Because he’s telling us, Clear
your mind.

446
00:28:40,000 –> 00:28:43,600
Come out here and listen to the
whisper.

447
00:28:44,880 –> 00:28:49,670
It’s only in the wilderness.
Where the voice of God can be

448
00:28:49,670 –> 00:28:57,070
heard.
Simplify our lives, narrow down

449
00:28:57,070 –> 00:29:01,750
your influences and open the
word in peace and in quiet.

450
00:29:02,830 –> 00:29:06,510
You know many, many years ago at
Shippensburg Bible School

451
00:29:07,070 –> 00:29:12,870
whether John Martin was there
and after the Class A bunch of

452
00:29:12,870 –> 00:29:16,430
us young guys went up to him and
and we said, you know.

453
00:29:17,670 –> 00:29:20,510
Brother John, you know, where do
you find all these amazing

454
00:29:20,510 –> 00:29:22,910
points that you’re sharing in
your classes?

455
00:29:24,270 –> 00:29:28,070
And he said, boys, they’re not
down at the mall.

456
00:29:30,390 –> 00:29:33,270
Well, this is back when we had
malls in the late 90s.

457
00:29:34,070 –> 00:29:36,310
They’re not down at the mall, he
said.

458
00:29:36,590 –> 00:29:42,350
They’re in the wilderness.
That’s where you find the voice

459
00:29:42,350 –> 00:29:44,870
of God.
You’ll never hear him in the

460
00:29:44,870 –> 00:29:49,050
hustle bustle of this world.
You have to go out into a

461
00:29:49,050 –> 00:29:51,570
wilderness.
And when we get out into a

462
00:29:51,570 –> 00:29:54,690
wilderness where there’s
nothing, it’s remarkable When

463
00:29:54,690 –> 00:29:58,690
you get out there, how clear
God’s voice is and it’s

464
00:29:58,690 –> 00:30:01,370
comfortable.
Words, it’s soothing words.

465
00:30:01,370 –> 00:30:03,530
It’s not the the gong of this
world.

466
00:30:03,530 –> 00:30:05,890
It’s soothing.
It’s peaceful.

467
00:30:06,610 –> 00:30:10,490
It filters the heart.
And when there’s no incessant

468
00:30:10,490 –> 00:30:16,810
dinging, it’s absorbed.
They said to John, who are you?

469
00:30:17,050 –> 00:30:20,210
They said, well, I’m the voice
in the wilderness.

470
00:30:20,690 –> 00:30:22,850
Prepare you the way of Yahweh.
If the people wanted to hear

471
00:30:22,850 –> 00:30:25,610
John, where did they have to go?
They had to go out into the

472
00:30:25,610 –> 00:30:30,010
wilderness.
John wasn’t in the Judean Hills

473
00:30:30,010 –> 00:30:33,290
going shopping.
He wasn’t mingling on Mount

474
00:30:33,290 –> 00:30:37,930
Garazine with the Samaritans.
He was in the wilderness.

475
00:30:38,730 –> 00:30:42,050
And if they wanted to hear that
whisper, they had to go out and

476
00:30:42,050 –> 00:30:45,320
listen to him.
I just come back a few pages to

477
00:30:45,400 –> 00:30:49,240
to Isaiah 32.
While we’re in Isaiah here, this

478
00:30:49,240 –> 00:30:51,840
is the same sort of of idea
about getting out into the

479
00:30:51,840 –> 00:30:54,120
water, and it’s getting away
from society.

480
00:30:55,200 –> 00:30:58,320
There is the the great lesson of
this man’s life.

481
00:30:59,520 –> 00:31:05,320
Verse 13 of Isaiah 32, upon the
land of my people shall come up

482
00:31:05,320 –> 00:31:08,840
thorns and briars.
Yeah, upon all the houses of joy

483
00:31:08,840 –> 00:31:11,890
and the joyous city.
Because the palaces shall be

484
00:31:11,890 –> 00:31:14,970
forsaken, this this 14th verse
is talking about the cities of

485
00:31:14,970 –> 00:31:18,210
our present world.
Okay, New York, Philadelphia,

486
00:31:18,210 –> 00:31:23,730
This is what’s about to happen.
The cities will be forsaken, The

487
00:31:23,730 –> 00:31:27,650
multitude of the city shall be
left, the forts and the towers

488
00:31:27,650 –> 00:31:31,250
shall be for dens forever a joy
of wild asses, a pasture of

489
00:31:31,250 –> 00:31:38,330
flocks, until the spirit be
poured upon us from on high and

490
00:31:38,330 –> 00:31:41,970
the wilderness.
Become a fruitful field.

491
00:31:42,170 –> 00:31:45,290
You know, that verse isn’t just
saying that one day God’s going

492
00:31:45,290 –> 00:31:49,250
to change this world to be an
Agricultural Society, whereas

493
00:31:49,250 –> 00:31:51,730
now it’s an urban one.
You know, it’s saying that

494
00:31:51,730 –> 00:31:54,450
people that live in these
concrete jungles like New York,

495
00:31:55,090 –> 00:31:59,490
like Philadelphia, where the
whisper of God’s word today is

496
00:31:59,490 –> 00:32:02,370
never picked up.
One day God will shape this

497
00:32:02,370 –> 00:32:03,570
world.
Brothers and sisters with an

498
00:32:03,570 –> 00:32:06,730
earthquake, you know, they say
in that 14th verse there that.

499
00:32:07,560 –> 00:32:10,640
You find every single Hebrew
word for a city that you can

500
00:32:10,640 –> 00:32:14,120
have.
Every single word for a city or

501
00:32:14,120 –> 00:32:19,320
tower is in that 14th verse.
Every conceivable thing you can

502
00:32:19,320 –> 00:32:21,640
think of when you think about a
city is there in that 14th

503
00:32:21,640 –> 00:32:22,600
verse.
But what’s it going to be?

504
00:32:22,600 –> 00:32:25,720
Soon?
It’s going to be a joy of wild

505
00:32:25,720 –> 00:32:28,760
asses.
They’re all going to be empty.

506
00:32:29,440 –> 00:32:32,000
When Zechariah 14, when the
earthquake of that chapter

507
00:32:32,000 –> 00:32:35,640
happens, there is not going to
be a city on this earth.

508
00:32:36,070 –> 00:32:39,230
Left standing, and that’s not my
opinion, That’s the opinion of

509
00:32:39,230 –> 00:32:43,110
seismologist in Australia.
They have said that people that

510
00:32:43,110 –> 00:32:45,070
don’t believe the Bible have
looked at the earthquake of

511
00:32:45,070 –> 00:32:48,790
Zechariah 14 and said if that
happens, there will not be a

512
00:32:48,790 –> 00:32:50,350
city on this earth left
standing.

513
00:32:51,430 –> 00:32:52,590
Well what?
What’s it going to be?

514
00:32:52,590 –> 00:32:54,830
What are people going to do when
their cities are gone?

515
00:32:55,670 –> 00:32:58,750
Well, verse 15 says they’re
going to go out into the

516
00:32:58,750 –> 00:33:03,030
wilderness.
They’re going to go out where

517
00:33:03,030 –> 00:33:05,270
God’s spirit has been poured
upon high.

518
00:33:05,680 –> 00:33:09,280
And the wilderness will become a
fruitful field.

519
00:33:09,680 –> 00:33:13,800
And when that earthquake levels
every city in this world, and it

520
00:33:13,800 –> 00:33:17,960
becomes a joy of wild asses,
people will drag themselves, and

521
00:33:17,960 –> 00:33:20,280
they’ll have their families and
their children, and they will go

522
00:33:20,280 –> 00:33:25,880
out into the wilderness where
there’s nothing, and there God

523
00:33:25,880 –> 00:33:29,920
will speak to their hearts.
That was why John the Baptist

524
00:33:29,920 –> 00:33:33,400
was sent to get people out of
this world where there’s

525
00:33:33,400 –> 00:33:36,020
nothing.
And there he will speak to our

526
00:33:36,020 –> 00:33:37,580
heart.
Now, what generation that has

527
00:33:37,580 –> 00:33:40,700
ever lived in human history has
got to hear this lesson more

528
00:33:40,700 –> 00:33:43,980
than ours.
There are so many distractions

529
00:33:43,980 –> 00:33:47,380
today.
The attention span of people is

530
00:33:47,380 –> 00:33:49,020
only until they hear the next
Ding.

531
00:33:50,820 –> 00:33:53,300
We’ve got to get out of that.
We’ve got to create a wilderness

532
00:33:53,300 –> 00:33:58,380
atmosphere in our minds. close
the door, turn the Wi-Fi off and

533
00:33:58,380 –> 00:34:03,140
open this book and allow God to
speak to our hearts.

534
00:34:04,110 –> 00:34:05,390
And we’ll leave Isaiah 40 for
now.

535
00:34:05,390 –> 00:34:07,710
But in each session this
afternoon we’re going to have to

536
00:34:07,710 –> 00:34:10,510
come back here because this is
John’s chapter all the way back

537
00:34:10,989 –> 00:34:15,949
in the prophecy of Isaiah.
I’d like to just end this first

538
00:34:15,949 –> 00:34:19,310
session where we we started off
coming back to Luke, chapter one

539
00:34:19,909 –> 00:34:27,270
and verse 16.
So the spirit and power of

540
00:34:27,389 –> 00:34:31,230
Elijah was the the still small
voice of Yahweh to save men and

541
00:34:31,230 –> 00:34:33,550
women to to speak to their
hearts.

542
00:34:34,540 –> 00:34:37,659
Isaiah picked that up
beautifully in chapter 40.

543
00:34:38,060 –> 00:34:43,060
A voice crying in the wilderness
prepare ye the way of Yahweh at

544
00:34:44,380 –> 00:34:47,260
the end of his life and on the
mouth of transfiguration.

545
00:34:47,260 –> 00:34:50,460
Elijah learnt that.
And now John is going to go

546
00:34:50,460 –> 00:34:53,620
forward in front of us in our
studies over the next two days

547
00:34:53,620 –> 00:34:59,300
and show us that still small
voice, Luke, chapter one in

548
00:34:59,300 –> 00:35:03,940
verse 16 and many.
Speaking of what John would

549
00:35:03,940 –> 00:35:09,100
accomplish, many will he turn to
the Lord their God, and he shall

550
00:35:09,100 –> 00:35:13,700
go before him in the Spirit and
the power of Elijah.

551
00:35:14,020 –> 00:35:19,900
Let’s just solidify the Elijah
John connection, because this

552
00:35:19,900 –> 00:35:22,540
this is incredible.
Both men came at a time of

553
00:35:22,540 –> 00:35:26,820
extreme wickedness, a time when
the fathers had had filled up

554
00:35:26,820 –> 00:35:31,660
the measure of their iniquity.
Ahab’s father means to fill up.

555
00:35:32,960 –> 00:35:36,400
Amra means to fill up and Ahab
means his father’s brother.

556
00:35:37,160 –> 00:35:39,400
So they had filled up the
measure of their fathers.

557
00:35:39,880 –> 00:35:41,840
So had the men of Israel when
John came.

558
00:35:42,880 –> 00:35:46,480
Both men, as we’ll see, were
dressed in nature, very, very

559
00:35:46,480 –> 00:35:49,360
similar in appearance.
He was.

560
00:35:49,360 –> 00:35:52,400
Elijah raced down the the valley
of Jesreel in front of Ahab,

561
00:35:52,400 –> 00:35:54,080
believing Ahab had been
converted.

562
00:35:55,240 –> 00:36:00,240
So John raced before the royal
majesty of the Kingdom, our Lord

563
00:36:00,240 –> 00:36:04,570
Jesus Christ.
Elijah had to give way to the

564
00:36:05,210 –> 00:36:11,530
gentler Elijah and John, as
we’ll see, had to decrease.

565
00:36:11,530 –> 00:36:14,810
He had to stand outside.
As John chapter 3 uses a

566
00:36:14,810 –> 00:36:19,570
description, he had to stand
outside as he made way for the

567
00:36:19,570 –> 00:36:25,010
greater Jesus.
Elijah means the salvation of

568
00:36:25,010 –> 00:36:29,290
God.
Jesus means the salvation of

569
00:36:29,290 –> 00:36:31,650
God.
They had very similar names.

570
00:36:32,060 –> 00:36:36,180
And the mantle, as we’ll see,
change in exactly the same

571
00:36:36,420 –> 00:36:41,140
location.
Elijah’s career, you could say

572
00:36:41,140 –> 00:36:43,940
as an effective career, was
brought to an end when he dared

573
00:36:43,940 –> 00:36:48,820
to denounce the unholy alliance
of Ahab and Jezebel.

574
00:36:50,100 –> 00:36:53,660
And John was brought tragically
to death, as we’ll see in our

575
00:36:53,660 –> 00:36:57,500
expectation, God willing on
Sunday when he dared to denounce

576
00:36:57,500 –> 00:37:01,220
the unholy alliance, the unholy
marriage of Herod.

577
00:37:02,030 –> 00:37:05,430
To A Rhodius, his brother
Philip’s wife, you imagine just,

578
00:37:05,990 –> 00:37:08,270
you know, doing that with some
sort of fictitional book.

579
00:37:09,070 –> 00:37:11,590
You’re just taking bits and
pieces of it and and lining it

580
00:37:11,590 –> 00:37:12,790
all up.
This is the word of God.

581
00:37:13,190 –> 00:37:18,110
He will go before him in the
spirit and in the power of

582
00:37:18,830 –> 00:37:20,190
Elijah.
You know, it’s a remarkable

583
00:37:20,190 –> 00:37:23,870
parallel, but but it’s also a
really interesting difference

584
00:37:23,870 –> 00:37:29,350
because verse 16 here says and
many of the children of Israel

585
00:37:29,350 –> 00:37:31,390
shall he turn.
To the Lord their God.

586
00:37:31,430 –> 00:37:38,310
You know Elijah turned nobody to
the Lord their God, I mean true

587
00:37:38,310 –> 00:37:40,670
he he left an indelible
impression upon that nation.

588
00:37:40,670 –> 00:37:42,190
He shook them to their
foundations.

589
00:37:42,190 –> 00:37:45,350
They didn’t know what hit him,
but apart from the widow of

590
00:37:45,350 –> 00:37:47,910
Xerafath, there wasn’t even a
Jew.

591
00:37:48,590 –> 00:37:53,150
Elijah turned nobody to the
Lord, their God of John.

592
00:37:53,150 –> 00:37:55,990
Here it said in verse 16 that he
would turn many.

593
00:37:56,710 –> 00:38:03,340
He would turn many to.
The Lord their God, so none in

594
00:38:03,340 –> 00:38:06,860
the first instance, when Elijah
came the first time.

595
00:38:07,740 –> 00:38:10,900
Many in the second instance,
when John was sent at the first

596
00:38:10,900 –> 00:38:14,540
Advent, and then his equal 20
and Malachi force, say that

597
00:38:14,540 –> 00:38:17,860
Elijah shall turn the hearts of
the fathers to their children

598
00:38:18,460 –> 00:38:21,700
when he sent before the Lord at
his second Advent.

599
00:38:22,860 –> 00:38:24,620
And what would he do?
He would turn the hearts of the

600
00:38:24,620 –> 00:38:28,390
fathers to the children.
And the heart of the children to

601
00:38:28,390 –> 00:38:29,990
their fathers.
Now what’s that saying?

602
00:38:30,670 –> 00:38:32,990
Well, the heart of the fathers
there is.

603
00:38:32,990 –> 00:38:34,950
The fathers are Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob.

604
00:38:35,910 –> 00:38:39,750
If they were around today, and
if they were around in Christ

605
00:38:39,750 –> 00:38:42,470
day, and they look at their
children, they would be ashamed.

606
00:38:43,550 –> 00:38:45,910
When Abraham sees that
disgusting display at the

607
00:38:45,910 –> 00:38:49,750
Western Wall of of an open show
of righteousness, he would be

608
00:38:49,750 –> 00:38:54,110
totally ashamed of his children.
But what?

609
00:38:54,560 –> 00:38:57,080
Elijah And what John would do is
he would turn the heart of

610
00:38:57,080 –> 00:39:01,760
Abraham to his children and in
turn the heart of the children

611
00:39:01,840 –> 00:39:04,000
who really don’t understand
their fathers.

612
00:39:04,080 –> 00:39:06,520
They don’t really know what
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob taught.

613
00:39:06,760 –> 00:39:09,000
If they did, they would accept
the Lord Jesus Christ.

614
00:39:09,560 –> 00:39:13,040
The heart of the children will
look up to their fathers.

615
00:39:13,600 –> 00:39:17,280
They will go out to their
fathers, as Luke says, the

616
00:39:17,280 –> 00:39:21,120
disobedient to the wisdom of the
just.

617
00:39:22,310 –> 00:39:25,150
They’ll see that their fathers,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were

618
00:39:25,150 –> 00:39:29,750
wise.
Abraham rejoiced to see my day.

619
00:39:29,750 –> 00:39:32,990
He saw it and was glad.
And one day they will see that,

620
00:39:32,990 –> 00:39:36,070
well, it’s John now who’s going
to be sent forth to make that

621
00:39:36,070 –> 00:39:38,270
happen, That the heart of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will

622
00:39:38,510 –> 00:39:43,350
will be proud of his children,
and the heart of the children

623
00:39:43,350 –> 00:39:46,270
will look with honor upon their
father and see that in being

624
00:39:46,270 –> 00:39:51,630
justified by faith, he was wise.
That is the work that John.

625
00:39:52,170 –> 00:39:55,250
Is now going to do And he said,
don’t you tell me you’ve got

626
00:39:55,250 –> 00:39:59,130
Abraham as your father.
You bring forth fruits meat for

627
00:39:59,130 –> 00:40:02,930
appentance like he did that’s
exactly what John is going to do

628
00:40:03,690 –> 00:40:08,290
to make ready a people prepared
for the Lord And and I don’t

629
00:40:08,290 –> 00:40:10,730
know brothers and sisters of
another study that is as

630
00:40:10,730 –> 00:40:15,050
relevant to us.
We’re on the edge of the return

631
00:40:15,050 –> 00:40:19,410
of Christ.
We’re about to gaze into the

632
00:40:19,410 –> 00:40:21,370
blue eyes of divinity very
shortly.

633
00:40:23,680 –> 00:40:28,200
And John was sent right on the
very edge of the Lord’s

634
00:40:28,200 –> 00:40:32,760
appearing to get the people
ready for his coming.

635
00:40:34,320 –> 00:40:37,040
The disadvantage for you and I
is, is that we don’t have a John

636
00:40:37,640 –> 00:40:41,880
to walk in that door and to tell
us he’s coming.

637
00:40:42,680 –> 00:40:45,680
So what we’ve got to do is we
got to tell ourselves, we’ve got

638
00:40:45,680 –> 00:40:49,680
to tell ourselves he’s coming,
he’s coming, and we’ve got to be

639
00:40:49,680 –> 00:40:52,130
ready for it.
So what are we going to do?

640
00:40:53,330 –> 00:40:56,050
Well, we’re not going to learn
really many new lessons in this

641
00:40:56,050 –> 00:40:58,970
study.
I just want you to learn one.

642
00:41:00,330 –> 00:41:02,890
And it might be the most
difficult of all ages to learn

643
00:41:02,890 –> 00:41:05,490
it.
But learn it we must, and that

644
00:41:05,490 –> 00:41:07,970
is we have to learn to listen to
God’s voice.

645
00:41:09,010 –> 00:41:11,250
And in order to do that, in
order to allow it to penetrate

646
00:41:11,250 –> 00:41:14,530
our hearts, we have to make,
brothers and sisters, the

647
00:41:14,530 –> 00:41:18,690
circumstances of our lives
conducive to it, Conducive to

648
00:41:18,690 –> 00:41:22,910
hearing the voice.
To go out there where there’s

649
00:41:22,910 –> 00:41:26,710
nothing to turn the Wi-Fi off or
or even better, get it out of

650
00:41:26,710 –> 00:41:31,030
our house so that we have a calm
and quiet atmosphere in which to

651
00:41:31,470 –> 00:41:37,190
to give ourselves to this book
and allow his voice to speak to

652
00:41:37,190 –> 00:41:39,590
our hearts.
That is the great lesson of John

653
00:41:39,590 –> 00:41:43,390
the Baptist life and it’s really
the only one allowing that voice

654
00:41:43,390 –> 00:41:47,390
to speak to our hearts and and
making our lives conducive so

655
00:41:47,390 –> 00:41:50,550
that we can hear it.
And hear it very, very clearly.

656
00:41:51,590 –> 00:41:54,070
Now God doesn’t ask us to leave
house and home.

657
00:41:54,070 –> 00:41:57,750
He doesn’t ask us to to go out
and and to to buy a camel skin

658
00:41:57,750 –> 00:42:01,630
and live like John did.
But what he is saying in that

659
00:42:01,630 –> 00:42:03,390
man is that we’ve got to get out
of this world.

660
00:42:04,430 –> 00:42:07,390
We’ve got to leave our
environment and listen to the

661
00:42:07,390 –> 00:42:13,710
voice of Yahweh, which we’ll
make ready a people prepared for

662
00:42:13,710 –> 00:42:15,950
their God.
Well, the good news is, brothers

663
00:42:15,950 –> 00:42:18,790
and sisters, there’s still time.
It’s not too late.

664
00:42:20,190 –> 00:42:24,430
And to that end, this weekend we
had before us the example of He

665
00:42:24,430 –> 00:42:30,390
who is the greatest prophet born
among women, and in stark

666
00:42:30,390 –> 00:42:32,990
reality, he’s going to lay U.S.
Open.

667
00:42:32,990 –> 00:42:35,510
He’s now going to be brought
forth before us as we see His

668
00:42:35,510 –> 00:42:39,790
spirit and power, the voice in
the wilderness which will speak

669
00:42:39,790 –> 00:42:40,630
to our hearts.