Turning in your Bibles this morning to 2 Chronicles chapter 18. 2 Chronicles chapter 18 and we want to read verse 1. Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor and abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab. Let's look to the Lord in prayer. Our Father, we thank you for this service today. We thank you for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who makes this service possible. We thank you that He is the I Am, that this is His name forever, and this is His memorial. to all generations, the I Am who came into this world and went to the cross of Calvary and shed his blood, that we might be saved, that we might have life. Father, we thank you for, as we consider Memorial Day here in this country, we thank you for those who've given their life, that we might enjoy the freedom that we enjoy today. We pray that you would speak to our hearts from your word today. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Last Sunday we spent some time looking at Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah. and we want to continue to think about him today. We looked at Jehoshaphat in the context of a remark that was made by someone a number of years ago describing the problem with this country's dealings with our enemies. They summed it up very succinctly. we would rather die than offend. That's a statement that applies not only to our nation, but it's a statement that I believe has great spiritual application for us in this hour. We noted last week that we're living in days when the Church of Jesus Christ would rather die, would rather see its influence and its effect and its testimony here in the world die than to offend. That thought is what brought us to this man, Jehoshaphat, to think about. He's a man who knew the Lord. The Bible tells us in 2 Chronicles 17 that he walked in the first ways of his father David. He sought to the Lord God of his father and walked in his commandments. And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord. Here's a man who knew the Lord. He had a testimony for the Lord. He loved the Lord. He walked in His ways. But he had a weakness. And it's the same weakness that you and I have. And the weakness is embodied in these words that we, by nature, would rather die than offend. 2 Chronicles 18.1 tells us that Jehoshaphat joined affinity with Ahab. We noted Sunday night that the words joined affinity mean to make marriages. It also means father-in-law. We saw last week in 2 Chronicles 21 that Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, had the daughter of Ahab to wife. The affinity that was joined, the marriage that was made was between the house of Jehoshaphat and the house of Ahab. Jehoshaphat became the father-in-law of Ahab's daughter. It was a marriage between a young man who I believe was saved, and I believe that because we find his name in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 1. And so it was then a marriage between saved and lost. This young man married a lost girl, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. And there's not one mention, there is not one word in the record of the Word of God that Jehoshaphat raised even one word of resistance to his son. We talked last week how Jehoshaphat strengthened himself against Israel militarily, And spiritually, Jehoshaphat sent his princes and the Levites with the book of the law of the Lord, with the priests to go out throughout all the cities of Judah and teach the people. Jehoshaphat fortified his kingdom without militarily and within spiritually. He thought he was prepared for the attack of the enemy. But the attack came in a way that Jehoshaphat wasn't expecting. The enemy does not attack his kingdom, he attacks his heart. He attacks his home. The enemy doesn't come as the roaring lion, he comes as the serpent. And he attacks Jehoshaphat's heart and he attacks his home through his firstborn son. This is the first place that we saw this philosophy in Jehoshaphat's life. Jehoshaphat would rather die. He would rather see his influence and his effect in his son's life die than to offend his son and take a stand. To tell him that he was not to marry into a family of those who are the enemies of the Lord. This is where this philosophy begins in the lives of many believers. Begins in the home. and it manifests itself in the parent-child relationship. Many Christians would rather die, they would rather see their influence and the effect of their influence and the effect of their ministry to their children die than to offend them. Jehoshaphat went along with his son and he lost him. That's the opposite of the way that we think. Our idea, and apparently Jehoshaphat's idea, is that the way to have peace in the house and the way to keep our children is to go along with them. We never help our children by going along with them in their sin. The fact is that we become supporters of their sin. We become enablers. And if we're not careful, we'll become partakers of their sin. That's what happened to Jehoshaphat. Look again at 2 Chronicles 18 and verse 1. Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance and joined affinity with Ahab and after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. We notice the first sentence of verse 2. And after certain years he, Jehoshaphat, went down to Ahab to Samaria. He went down. Those are such simple words, and yet they are profound words. They're very instructive words. Jehoshaphat's philosophy of being willing to die rather than offend led him into a wrong alliance. It led him into a wrong association. It led him into an unequal yoke with unbelievers. And the result is that he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And that's the way it will always be. Sinful alliances, wrong associations, being unequally yoked together with unbelievers will always take the child of God in one direction. In one direction only. And that's down. See, Jehoshaphat would not offend his son. He wouldn't stand against the marriage between Jehoram and Ahab's daughter. He wouldn't take God's side against his son, and as a result, he went with his son down to Ahab to Samaria. Another thing that's interesting in that first sentence are the words, certain years. This move down to Ahab to Samaria didn't happen right away. It took certain years to happen. There was a time in Jehoshaphat's life when he didn't walk after the doings of Israel. When he had no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. But gradually, over time, his philosophy, that he would rather die than offend, that he would rather die than take a stand, moved him. gradually over a period of years, and he went down to the very place that he once stood against. How many Christians do you know this morning that have made the same trip? But before we answer that question too quickly, it's always easy to answer that question, because we can think about other Christians pretty easily. But before we do that, let's look out our own spiritual window and see where we are. Are we standing where we stood certain years ago? Or has this same philosophy moved us down to Ahab, to Samaria? Are we headed toward, or perhaps are we embracing the very things that we once stood against? As we look out our spiritual window this morning, who do we see? Is it the same companions that we had when we were walking and serving and in fellowship with the Lord? Or do we look out our spiritual window this morning and see Ahab? If we're saved, we ought to look out and see where we are. Who's around us? If Jehoshaphat had looked out his spiritual window, he would have seen that he was with the ungodly. He was with those that hated the Lord. Who are your companions today? What are your associations? What are your alliances? Would you rather die than offend them? Would you rather compromise than offend them? Verse 3, And Ahab, king of Israel, said unto Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, wilt thou go with me to Ramoth-Gilead? And he answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people, and we will be with thee in the war. Jehoshaphat says something pretty incredible here. He says to Ahab, The man who God says, there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord. Jehoshaphat says to this man, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people. Jehoshaphat says to this ungodly man who hated the Lord, who was the enemy of the Lord, I am as thou art. We're brothers. We're united together, and we're going to come together in this common cause. There are no differences that are important as we seek to accomplish this common goal. And what was the goal? Raimuth Gilead was the goal. And the meaning of that name is very important. The name Raimuth means heights. The name Gilead means heap of witness. That was the goal that brought, saved Jehoshaphat and lost Ahab together. And the thing that we ought to think about this morning is that Ramoth Gilead is the goal today. The goal of evangelism in this hour is to build a Gilead, a heap of witness. And the rameth, the height of that heap of witness is to bring Christians together in a bond of brotherhood, in a bond of love and unity where doctrinal differences are just cast aside. And Christians, Christians, look at apostates, those who hate the Lord, those who are the enemies of the Lord, and they say, I am as thou art. I am as thou art, and my people as thy people, and we will be with thee in the war." Jehoshaphat uniting together with Ahab for the goal of taking Raimath-Gilead is a picture of the philosophy of New Evangelicalism in the closing hours of this age. Verse 4, and Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the Lord today. Here's Jehoshaphat, and I want you to think as we read through these verses this morning. The spiritual depths that, and I don't mean that in a good way either. The depths of rebellion and disobedience that Jehoshaphat has gone to. Here's Jehoshaphat giving spiritual standing to Ahab. suggesting that Ahab inquire at the word of the Lord. Folks, Ahab doesn't even know the Lord. How can he inquire at the word of someone he doesn't even know? But that doesn't stop him. Verse 5, Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of prophets four hundred men and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up, for God will deliver it into the king's hand." Ahab's answer is four hundred prophets. Notice that number because it is not without significance, I believe. We talk from time to time. about the extra information that the Spirit of God gives us here in His Word. And this is one of those cases. He didn't have to give us the number of the prophets. He could have just said in verse 5, Therefore the king of Israel gathered together prophets and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle or shall I forbear? That's what he could have said. But the Lord wanted us to know how many prophets that they have gathered. And the question is why? I believe that the Lord gives us a number of these prophets because He wants us to know who these prophets are. Keep your place and turn back just a few pages to 1 Kings chapter 18. 1 Kings chapter 18. Here in this chapter, The Lord has told Elijah to go and show himself to Ahab. There hasn't been dune or rain for three and a half years. There's an unbelievable drought in the land. And so the Lord tells Elijah to go and show himself to Ahab. And you remember that when Ahab sees Elijah, the first words out of his mouth are, are thou he that troubleth Israel? And Elijah's answer is that it's not he, it's not me, Ahab. I'm not the troubler of Israel. It's you and your house. You're the troubler of Israel. Because you've forsaken the commandments of the Lord and you've followed after Baal. Now look at 1 Kings 18 and verse 19. Elijah says, now therefore send and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel and the prophets of Baal 450 and the prophets of the grove 400 which eat at Jezebel's table. Elijah tells Ahab to call all Israel to Mount Carmel. He tells him then to call two groups of prophets. The prophets of Baal, there's 450 of them. And the prophets of the groves, 400, which eat at Jezebel's table. And you remember the contest that takes place on Mount Carmel between God and Baal, between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. And you remember the challenge that Elijah gives, the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. We know what happened, the God that answered by fire is Jehovah, the Lord God of Israel. Now look at verse 39, and when all the people saw it, remember Elijah, the prophets of Baal, they got no fire to come down on their sacrifice, Elijah, drenches his sacrifice in water and the fire of the Lord comes down, consumes the sacrifice and the water in the trenches. So when the people saw it, verse 39, they fell on their faces and they said, the Lord, He is the God. The Lord, He is the God. Now look at verse 40. And Elijah said unto them, take the prophets of Baal. Let not one of them escape. And they took them, and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slew them there." Notice Elijah's words. Take the prophets of Baal. That's the 450 that we read about in verse 19. Take the prophets of Baal. And they took them, and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slew them there. There's no mention of the prophets of the groves. The 400 which sat at Jezebel's table. What happened to them? I believe they escaped. And I believe they went straight back to Jezebel's table. Now, with that in mind, let's go back to 1 Chronicles chapter 18. I believe this is why the Spirit of God gives us the number of the prophets that they have gathered together in verse 5. He gives us the number so that we would know who they are. They are, I believe, the 400 prophets of the groves which ate at Jezebel's table. This is who Ahab calls in response to Jehoshaphat's request, inquire I pray thee at the word of the Lord today. This is the spiritual air that Jehoshaphat is breathing. 400 preachers preaching the same message. 400 preachers preaching about God and deliverance. 400 preachers speaking the language of the Bible. Go up, for God will deliver it into the King's hand. That's biblical language. These are preachers who know the language of the Bible, but they do not know the God of the Bible. These are false prophets. false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. These are Satan's ministers, transforming themselves as the ministers of righteousness. But the God that they are talking about is not the God of the Bible, it's another Jesus. That sounds just like our day. Hundreds of thousands of preachers preaching a positive message that's couched in biblical language. But it's a false message. It's a message that presents another Jesus. Look at verse 6. But Jehoshaphat said, is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides that we might inquire of Him? I guess there are different ways to read this verse, to think about it. But one thing that strikes me is that it's very non-confrontational. Jehoshaphat should have gotten up and identified these men for who they were. I believe he knew who they were. He came to the throne of Judah in the fourth year of Ahab's reign. The drought in Israel lasted three and a half years and those events and the events on Mount Carmel were not done in a corner. Jehoshaphat, I believe, knew what took place there. He knew that these were the 400 prophets of the groves which ate at Jezebel's table. And I believe that he knew that they escaped. And it's interesting, I can't give you chapter and verse, but I believe these events tie together. I believe that all of it overlays. It's interesting that it's in the third year of his reign, Jehoshaphat's reign, that he sends the princes and the Levites and the priests to teach the book of the law in the cities of Jerusalem, to fortify Judah spiritually. Why? Because There was an attack that had come, not from the armies of Israel, but a spiritual attack, the infiltration of these 400 prophets of the groves which ate at Jezebel's table. And yet here's Jehoshaphat, and he says nothing. He should have called these 400 men what they were, false prophets. Satan's ministers and he should have left. But he didn't because Jehoshaphat would rather die than offend. Why? I can't get up and leave now. Can't get up and leave now. And we get an idea of the lengths that Jehoshaphat was willing to go to to keep from offending from one word in verse 6. Notice the word besides. I've never noticed that word before. And maybe it gets back again to how you read this verse. Maybe I'm reading it wrong or reading more into it. The word Jesus did say, take heed therefore how you hear. And I think we can apply that to how we read, and so we want to do that. But I believe there's a difference in saying, is there not here a prophet of the Lord that we might inquire of Him? to ask the question that way would have made it plain that Jehoshaphat was recognizing and stating that these 400 were not prophets of the Lord. But by adding that word besides, Jehoshaphat is asking, in effect, is there not here a prophet of the Lord beside these prophets of the Lord that we might inquire of Him? You see, by adding this word besides, Jehoshaphat is not offending, not offending a soul. And he actually acknowledges these 400 prophets of the groves which ate at Jezebel's table as prophets of the Lord. Folks, we've seen this very thing happen in our country. We've seen evangelists that once stood for the Lord Jesus Christ. We've seen them come together with the enemies of God, and yet when you listen to them describe those enemies, oh, they're not enemies of the Lord. They're not the 400 prophets that eat at Jezebel's table. We are as they are. It's happened in this country. Jehoshaphat would rather die than offend. This is where compromise will always take the people of God. Always. Another thought that comes to mind in verse 6 is the important truth that the Lord's will is not always found with the majority. It's not the crowd that's serving the Lord today, folks. It's not the crowd that's seeking the will of the Lord today. It's not in numbers. It's the minority that's serving the Lord. It's a prophet. It's a man. It's a woman. It's a young person that is serving and standing for the Lord. Jehoshaphat is bothered by the one voice of the majority. And so he says in verse 7, or in response there in verse 7, the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, there is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord. But I hate him, for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil. The same is Micaiah, the son of Imlah. And Jehoshaphat said, let not the king say so." Ahab says, there's one man here we can call, but I hate him. And notice why Ahab hated him. For he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil. Ahab's measuring stick for preaching was whether it agreed with his will and his plan. He wanted preaching that made him feel good. It wanted preaching that made him feel comfortable with his plan and what he wanted to do. Ahab wanted positive preaching, not negative preaching. That negative preaching, that's evil. Again, I think the Spirit of the Lord would draw our attention to this hour. Ahab's attitude is the attitude of our generation. People want to hear positive preaching. They want to hear preaching that reinforces their will and their plan and the lifestyle that they're living, preaching that makes them feel good about themselves. They want preachers who say good things. The people of this generation say to the pastors and the preachers of the churches of this nation, prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things. They hate the people. They hate the churches who say negative things. Folks, there is nothing positive for the self in this book. You'll never find it. There's nothing positive for you and me at the cross. The cross condemns us. The cross exposes us in all of our sin and rebellion. It exposes us as full of wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. It exposes our hearts as deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. The cross reveals our minds as a place where every imagination of the thoughts of our heart are only evil continually. And we don't want to come to that place. And our Ahab generation says, I hate that message. The people who preach it, I hate them because they never preach good unto me. You see folks, they have a misunderstanding of good. The message of the cross is good. is positive because it exposes us and shows us our true selves and our true condition before God. And it shows us our need of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And when we see ourselves as we really are, and we understand our condition and the desperate need of our heart, and we humble ourselves, and we take our place as a sinner, who's worthy of nothing but death and hell for all eternity. We come to the cross of Calvary and we cry out to God, be merciful to me, a sinner. He'll take us and He washes us from our sins in His own precious blood. And He gives us His righteousness. Have you been to the cross? Have you been there? Have you trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? Ahab rejected the message of the cross. It interfered with his life. He wasn't willing to give up his life so that he might receive the life of the Lord Jesus. And so he hated this one man, this man by the name of Micaiah. This fundamentalist, if you will. He never prophesied good unto me, but always evil. That's the world's definition of a fundamentalist. And so Ahab sins for Micaiah. And notice what we read in verse 12. And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spake to him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one assent. Let thy words, therefore, I pray thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good. This messenger from the king puts the pressure on Micaiah. And it's the pressure of death. They have had that kind of power. And all Micaiah had to do was to go along with the majority. All he had to do was say what the majority was saying. By the way, that's easy. Because by nature, that's what we want to do anyway. And folks, this is the pressure of this hour. The god of this world, the king of this world, Satan, has his messengers, his preachers in the majority of the pulpits of America, and they're declaring good to the king with one assent. They're preaching a positive message of good and deliverance and prosperity. And the king sends his messengers to the few Micaiahs that there are and the message is, Behold the words of the prophets declared good to the king with one assent. Let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like one of theirs and speak thou good. Why can't you just preach like everybody else? And the pressure is great. Because it's the pressure of death, not physical death, at least not yet in this country, but the death of your ministry, for example. Satan says, look, if you don't go along with the majority, if you don't let your word and your message be like all the other preachers around you, if you don't speak good, if you continue this negative and evil preaching about the cross and death to self and losing your life, If you don't quit preaching that message that people hate, then your ministry is going to die. It's going to shrivel up and it's going to go to nothing because people are going to go where they can hear the smooth words. That's pressure. Pressure that so many pastors and churches and schools and ministries and those who lead them will not and have not stood up to. It's the pressure this church has been under since its founding. It's the pressure that this church and others are under today. Yet, by the grace of God, the Lord is continuing to allow this place and these other places, few though they be, to stand. And young men of the next generation that are coming on and will be the leaders here one day, The pressure is going to be the same on you. Change the Bible. Leave the old normal, the King James Bible, and embrace the new normal, the new international version, or the new American Standard Bible, or the new English version, or whichever one happens to be in vogue today. Whatever version people want, whatever they're comfortable with. Change the music. Leave the old normal of the hymns of the faith. Embrace the new normal. Contemporary Christian music. Get out of politics. Don't take stands on political issues. Be like this Baptist church here in North Carolina. I'm not going to give you the name of it or the pastor's name. But they withdrew their support for Return America this week. And in a letter to Dr. Beatty, the pastor said this, while we acknowledge that there are times in which churches must rise up and voice their opposition to government overreach or government-sanctioned immorality, we believe that the actions of the governor at this time have been reasonable and have not infringed upon our right to worship or pursue our want with God, neither as individuals or as a congregation. There may well be a time when that would be the case. Yet at this point, with the intervention of lawmakers and the law enforcement of the state, we believe it would be prudent and of good testimony to allow time for the process of government to take its course. This is the mindset that we're talking about. Churches and pastors that would rather die than offend. that would rather compromise than take a stand. Dr. Beatty pointed out in his reply that the attitude of this pastor is the same as that of Frederick Muhlenberg, a Lutheran pastor in New York City from 1774 to 1776. He's the brother of Peter Muhlenberg, the pastor that we're familiar with who preached his message on a Sunday morning and took off his robes and he was dressed in the uniform of a Continental soldier. But Frederick Muhlenberg criticized his brother for getting involved in politics. until the British came and ran his congregation out of the building and then burned it to the ground. That's what happens when pastors quote, believe it would be prudent and of a good testimony to allow for the process of government to take its course. Folks, the process of godless humanistic government, the course that it will ever take is to eliminate and destroy the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. And government will do it in the face of the unalienable right given to us by God and enshrined by our founders in the First Amendment and secured by the blood of more than 1.1 million patriots who we honor and remember tomorrow as we observe Memorial Day. And so the question for the next generation at this church is this, are you going to be a Micaiah or a Jehoshaphat? But the pressure is not just on ministries, it's on individuals. Every day Satan says to believers in the home, in the school, in the workplace, let your words be like the majority. And speak thou good, be positive, don't be negative, don't take a stand. And the pressure is the pressure of death. To stand for the truth in your family might mean the death of your relationships with your children, or with your brothers, or with your sisters, or with your mother, or with your father. To stand for the truth in the school, young people, may mean the death of your popularity. It may mean the death of friendships and relationships that are important to you. To stand for the truth in the workplace may mean the death of your promotion. It may mean the death of your career. And the question is, how are we going to handle the pressure? Notice how Micaiah handled it. Verse 13, Micaiah said, as the Lord liveth, even what my God saith, that will I speak. There's the definition of a fundamentalist. As the Lord liveth, even what my God sayeth, that will I speak." Notice the contrast. Jehoshaphat would rather die than offend. That's why he's in this mess that he's in. But in contrast to Jehoshaphat, we have Micaiah. Micaiah would rather die and offend. Micaiah would rather die to self and speak what my God saith, no matter who it offended. Jehoshaphat would rather die than offend man. Micaiah would rather die than offend God. For believers this morning, and that's really who we're talking to. The message just comes down to this one question. Are we going to be like Jehoshaphat? Or are we going to be like Micaiah? May we allow the Lord this morning to examine us. Show us where we stand. Show us where we're standing. May help us to look out our spiritual window. See who our companions are. See what our alliances are. Father, we thank you for your word. We pray that we would allow you to take it this morning and pierce our hearts with it, discern the thoughts and intents of our hearts with it, to cause us to examine ourselves before you. If there's anyone here who is lost, we pray that they would see their need this morning to trust you as their Savior before it's too late. And Father, we pray that for those who are saved, that we would Allow your word to speak to us today. Help us to stand for you in this hour. Help this church to continue to stand for you, no matter what the cost. And we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.