If you'd open your Bibles with me to 2 Kings Chapter 6, Verse 24 through Chapter 7 and Verse 2. We're looking at the tragic consequences of disobeying God. And as we do, I want us to look at these last two verses that Pastor Larry read out of Chapter 7, Verses 1 and 2. Elisha now is talking to the king because the king has hurried behind the master that he sent to cut off Elisha's head. And he's hurried behind him apparently begging off, don't cut off his head. This is the man that has done all the miracles. 22 miracles he did in all. No, I don't know if I want you to cut off his head. He's coming right behind him as quickly as he can. They've stopped the door. They've not let anyone in. And now the captain and the king come in the house there in Samaria where Elisha and the sons of the prophets and there the elders are. And Elisha finally has a prophecy relating to the siege. because there had been a siege by Syria now for an extended period of time. The famine was not in the land. It was in Samaria. They could not get out to get anything. They couldn't go out to the crops. They couldn't do anything. They're completely, completely surrounded. And Elisha says, Hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord, Tomorrow, about this time, a say of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two sayers of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria. Then the captain, on whose hand the king leaned, said to the man of God, If the Lord should make windows in heaven, could this thing be? But Elisha said, you'll see it. You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not taste it. You shall not eat of it. Let's pray and ask the Lord to teach us from this powerful passage of his word. Father, we bow down before you for your Lord of all. Sing Hallelujah. Christ is risen. Lord, we need to hold on. We need to hold on to You in difficult times and we need to learn. The Scripture says that we're to learn from what happened in the past. These things were given to us for our learning that we through perseverance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures might have hope. Teach us, Lord, the consequences of disobeying You. teach us to obey you for Jesus sake we pray amen thank you Andrew today God is turning our attention to the act the very act of obedience the gift of surrender to the Lord. He is as well, He is introducing to us the dire distress of disobedience, the solemn agony and consequence of rebellion. To introduce our message, I want to quote part of a poem by Robert Frost, one of my favorite poets. He wrote it to tell the American story of how we became a free land when once we were a part of England. The poem is called The Gift Outright. It's for me a picture of what God can do for any people who will truly follow him. The poem was written in 1936, but Robert Frost didn't publish it until 1941, a few months after the United States entered World War II. Although it achieved a good level of familiarity and fame, it really wasn't the poem everyone thought it was until 1961 on January 20th, when the gift outright was quoted by Robert Frost at the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy. That was an interesting day because of the glare of the sun and his poor eyesight, Robert Frost could not read his own writing that was in front of him. He had written an inauguration poem for John F. Kennedy. It was called Dedication. And since he couldn't read, all he could do was quote. He was up there to give a poem. And so he quoted The Gift Outright, which he had written many years before and he knew so well. And I want you to listen to part of the words. I won't give them all. But they introduce something that I believe illustrates the Christian life better than I've heard it in almost any other way by a secular poet. Speaking of America, he said, the land was ours before we were the lands. She was our land more than 100 years before we were her people. She was ours in Massachusetts and Virginia, but we were England's, still colonials, possessing what we still were unpossessed by. Possessed by what we now no more possessed. Something we were withholding made us weak until we found that it was ourselves. We were withholding from our land of living and forthwith found salvation in surrender. For me, Robert Frost pictures how we as Christians can possess salvation, but not let salvation possess us. I see it all the time. People that are truly saved, but they won't let salvation possess them. He pictures how we can withhold from ourselves what Jesus bought for us at Calvary. if we would just only surrender. Oh, come to the altar. Oh, come to the altar. The Father's arms are open wide. We sang this morning. It's available. It's available the moment we're saved by grace through faith. The front of our bulletin cover says it in another way. Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him. And you'll find that the consequences are blessings. They're blessings beyond number. Now this picture of having something given to us outright, a gift, a gift, but not possessing it, reminds me of millions and millions of American men and women who have received the gift of salvation. And they have received another gift. They have received the gift of marriage. And yet, in the absence in the absence of loyalty to a wife or a husband. Millions upon millions upon millions have taken this gift that was given outright to them, this most satisfying state on earth. They bartered it and relinquished it and forsaken it for a mess of pottage. As Rudyard Kipling once said, the more you have of the others, the less you settle for one. And I want you to know, beloved, the same is true of the cross. Temptation makes us think, as believers, we're stuck in a rut. Here I am, stuck in the rut. I'm reading my Bible every day. I'm going to church. I'm going to this. I'm going to that. I'm going to small groups. I'm going to the Ladies Bible Study. I'm going to the Revival Prayer Fellowship. I'm doing all of these things. I'm stuck in a rut. I'm stuck in a rut being married to my wife. Or stuck in a rut being married to my husband. I'm stuck in a rut being faithful in worshiping God and God alone. I'm stuck in a rut coming to this church. I'm stuck in a rut. It's just same old, same old, same old. This is the word of the devil when you hear it. It's the word of the devil. But he comes over and over. Just same old, same old, same old. Spice up your life a little bit. And so with jaundiced eyes, we begin to look at the gifts of God, the gifts that are outright gifts, given by His grace. And we see them as no better than moldy bread or clabbered milk or maggot-infested fresh meat. Temptation leads us to believe the devil's lies, just like Adam and Eve did. And then in bondage, in bondage, For the first time in years, perhaps with repentant eyes and open eyes, we say, Oh God, I've spurned the Son of God. I've profaned the blood of your covenantal love. I've outraged the Spirit of grace. That's what King Joram and the people of Israel did with God. And in the face of their sin, they were not repenting. It's one thing to sin terribly and repent. It's another thing to sin terribly and continue without repenting. That was King Joram, and that was the land of Israel that were worshiping the Baals and the Asherahs and the Molochs and the Qemashes, throwing their own little children into the molten arms of these gods, these gods who were no gods. Now, the land of Israel in the days of Elisha was under the rule of one of Israel's most wicked kings. He was the son of the most wicked king Ahab, his name was Jehoram or Joram. The blessings of believing God were over and over being illustrated in miracles that had happened first in Elijah and now under Joram. under Elisha, all the miracles. And yet Joram and the people of God were slaves. They had committed spiritual adultery with God. They had gone outside spiritual union with God. They had become captives, faithless prostitutes in bondage to Baal, Asherah, Malak, and Qamash. These dead idols, they could do no miracles. They could do nothing. I don't know how many of you are old enough to remember a book that was written about 40-some years ago by Francis Schaeffer. It was called How Shall We Then Live? How Shall We Then Live? And people, they criticized the book because of what he prophesied. He was a prophet in his day and from Switzerland, from Labrie, over there where he trained many people that came. He said to them, the path that America has taken will soon have Americans killing their own babies, not just in abortion, before birth, and that's 63 plus million, but they will kill them when they're young children, infanticide. And people said, oh, that's wrong, that's wrong. It's right, it's right, folks. You may be saying, how can things ever get this bad? How can they ever get this bad with God's people? Why would God's people ever stoop to such awful actions as this text presents to us? I want to tell you something, there is no limit to how low we can go if we let go of the promises of God. There is no limit. to how low we can go if we let go of the promises of God, if we disobey His Word, His will, and His divine promptings, if we decide to do our own thing, to do it our own way, and we reject obeying God's commands, I want us to take time this morning to examine five consequences of disobeying God. Five consequences. And the first one is when we cling to sin, we make others to sin with us. And together we face the siege of sin on our souls. You'll notice in verse 24 that afterward, what's afterward? Well, you remember this great miracle? They fed the Syrians, you remember they fed the Syrians who had been blinded? Elijah blinded them and afterwards Lord opened their eyes and they were inside some area and Joram said, shall we kill my master? He said no, give him a feast. So they gave him a feast. They sent him home and there were no more raids. But now Ben-Hadad says, let's get the whole thing done. Let's not make any more border raids. Let's take all of Israel. Let's surround them. Let's Let's just completely, let's completely smoke them out. Let's get them out of their hole. Let's get them out of their capital. And so he musters his entire army. He went up and besieged Samaria, 2 Kings 6.24. And if you'll notice, who was this King Joram in 2 Kings 3.2? He had not repented, though we may not realize it. All of us are being watched. If you think to yourself, well, I'm just 10 or 11 years old. Nobody's watching me. I want you to know there's some little children watching you. Nobody's watching me, my children are grown. Many are watching you. We're not just watched by our children, we're watched by our spouse, we're watched by other believers, we're watched by many other unbelievers. When we sin, and especially then after we've sinned, if we cling to our sin and we refuse to repent, the result of our continued rebellion against God in sin takes a toll not only on us, but on those who have been modeling us. Now, if you'll read in 2 Kings 3, 1 and 2, I want to tell you about King Joram. In the 18th year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, Jehoram, or Joram, the son of Ahab, became king over Israel and Samaria. He reigned 12 years. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He clung to the son of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. He did not depart from it. He would not repent. He led a nation who would not repent. Now that was 896 B.C. or somewhere around there. Three years later, we have our text in 893. And unrepentant sin in King Joram led to unrepentant sin in all of Israel. And God promises us that when we cling to sin, the consequences on us and others will become awful. We'll face a siege of judgment. A siege of judgment. Here all Israel, especially the capital city of Samaria, was under the Syrian siege. They're completely locked in. The walls weren't locking them in. Syria on the outside of the walls was locking them in. They couldn't go to their crops. Here all Israel was in distress. A siege that Elisha told them was a siege not by the Syrians, but from God. This is the consequence of disobedience. The Israelites knew the consequences of disobeying God. They knew the law, Deuteronomy 28, 48, where God says, If you will not obey me, therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you in hunger, and thirst, and nakedness, and lacking everything. A city besieged for months or years ultimately will fall. Once more in Israel, this people of Samaria, they were in great straits. A besieging army was at their gates, and the horror of famine was inside their walls. Within, the people inside Samaria's walls were reduced to insane extremities. Their women began to cook and eat their own children. To open the gates to the Syrians meant death or captivity, but the longer they remained inside, the more certainly death and starvation was staring them in the face. This is the promised consequence of Israel forsaking God. Ultimately, our sin will bring us to our knees. If you don't believe that, I'll tell you this today, beloved. Sin will ALWAYS bring you to your knees. Will it be in time? For the prodigal, it was in time. He finally came to his knees, eating hog slop. How many of you enjoy eating hog slop? He had nothing else to eat. He was to the end of himself. We sang, Have You Come to the End of Yourself? Jesus is calling. They had forsaken the living God. It's an evil day for us when we turn our back on God's Word, His commandments, His will, and His promptings. When we turn our back on the Son of God, repeated sin always brings calamity. Sin hardens our hearts, it blinds our eyes to hope or repentance. So number one, when we cling to sin, we make others to sin with us, and together we face the siege of sin on our souls. Number two, When we walk away from God's commandments, we place ourselves outside God's divine protection. If you'll notice here in verse 25, and there was a great famine in Samaria. Why? They couldn't get outside the walls. They couldn't find any crops. There was a great famine in Samaria as they besieged it, until a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of doves dung for five shekels of silver. I want you to know the blessings of believing are myriad. He said, and I said, same old, same old, same old. Well, just let me tell you what same old, same old is. Listen to same old, same old from Deuteronomy 28, one to 14. What happens when you obey the Lord and obey his word? It is same old, same old, it's same wonderful. Listen, if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, and you're careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. This is Deuteronomy 28. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb, and the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your cattle, and the increase of your herds. and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in and blessed shall you be when you go out. This is what God gives for us. He says the Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. The Lord will command the blessing on you in your barns, and in all that you undertake, and He'll bless you in the land that the Lord your God has given you. The Lord will establish you as a people holy to Himself, as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and walk in His ways. And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, and give you rain to your land in its season. And bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail. And you shall only go up and not down if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God. which I command you today, being careful to do them. And if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them." If you want to call that same old, same old, is Lord, pour it on. Pour it on. That's what we need. That's His hand of protective blessing. That's His anointing. That's His loving care. But listen to the word of the Lord in Proverbs 13, 15. If you walk away from God, the Bible says the way of the transgressor is hard. You won't be safe outside of God's hand of protection. For Samaria, this long siege of Syria was working like a neutron bomb inside Samaria's walls. Things were tragic, desperate, and collapsing on their heads. Jeremiah the prophet, as he wrote, told about a donkey's head being sold for 80 shekels of silver. How many of you would pay a dime, a thin dime, for a donkey's head? Well, if you were starving, you just might. Who today would even want a donkey's head? And yet in desperate times, every part of an animal is worth something. There's something there to eat. Head cheese from a donkey, anyone? Can you imagine it? Can you imagine it? Sounds pathetic. The price is only 80 shekels of silver. A shekel of silver today is worth $20.70. So a donkey's head was costing the equivalent of $1,656. You didn't stay rich very long in Samaria. And a cab of dove's dung. Now I know a cab sounds like a taxi, but a cab is a pint. It's a pint. And so they were making dove's dung soup or whatever you make with dove's dung. Can you imagine it? Bird droppings. A cab is a pint, so a fourth of a pint is half a cup. A dove's dung costs five shekels of silver. That's the equivalent of $103.50 today. Beloved, you can minimize this passage and you can say, I'll never let things get that bad for me. I want to warn you, there's no LIMIT to how bad things will get if you forsake God and His Word. How bad can they get? Worse than you ever imagined. Like the prodigal, you can pick your food out of hog slop. Stay inside God's will. Stay close to Jesus. Obey His word. He says in Psalm 138, seven, David says, though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies. Your right hand delivers me. Which is it for us? Do we want God's blessing or a costly donkey's head or a half a cup of a dove's dung? It's up to us. It's up to us. Number three, the third consequence of disobeying God. When we rebel against God, we become so adulterated, we turn in misdirected passion on those we love. Notice what the king asked the woman in distress. Now, you have to get the picture of the wall here, because the picture of the wall here is that the walls of these cities usually could have at least a chariot go on top of them. Jericho was so thick, two chariots could pass on it. And so this is a place where people could walk and see the enemy way down below. And the king's up there looking at the siege, looking down at his people, and he's walking the wall. And it says, verse 26, As the king of Israel, that's Joram, was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him. saying, Help my Lord, O King! And he said, If the Lord will not help you, which by the way He doesn't appear to be helping, how shall I help you? The threshing floor, there's nothing there, there's nothing from the wine press, it's dry. And the king asked her, What is your trouble? And she answered, this woman, there's a woman right there beside her, this woman said to me, give your son that we may eat him today and we'll eat my son tomorrow. So we boiled my son and ate him. And on the next day, I said to her, give your son that we may eat him. But she has hidden her son. You say, Pastor, this is awful. It really is. It really is awful. Here the king says, don't ask me for help. Ask the Lord if he won't help you. Just know inside these walls of Samaria, we have empty barn floors. We have dry wine presses. And then he hears her revolting tale when he says, what's wrong with you? What's wrong with you? And now you can imagine anyone would be, we're just emotionally busted. I know it's not the right word to use, but that's what comes to me, just busted. He can't believe what he's hearing, he's a wreck. Think of it, this woman has made a proposal to eat her son and tomorrow we'll eat your son and she has lived up to her part of the bargain and the other lady has hidden her son. Can human nature in dire extremities descend to such revolting deeds? And the answer is, history records that the prophecies of God are true. The instances in history are not a few, even Josephus. What Josephus shares, it happened often. Can such consequences come on us if we continue to rebel against God? Yes, they can. The Word of the Lord promises that revolting passions take over in our lives when we continue to sin. Now, in case you don't believe what I'm going to say, I'm going to beg you to open your Bibles to Deuteronomy 28, 52 to 57, so you don't think I'm just reading to be reading something. This is the Bible. This is the holy word of God. Hear the word of the Lord. Here is what will happen. Chapter 28, 45 says, all these curses will come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you're destroyed because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you. Now, just six verses I want to read you. Thus says the Lord, they shall besiege you in all your towns, until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout all your land." That hadn't happened yet. And they shall besiege you in all your towns, throughout all your land, which the Lord your God has given you. And you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the Lord your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you. The man who is the most tender and refined among you will begrudge food to his brother, to the wife he embraces, and to the last of the children whom he has left. so that he will not give to any of them any of the flesh of his children whom he is eating, because he has nothing else left in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you in all your towns. The most terrible and refined woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her feet on the ground because she is so delicate and tender, will be grudged to the husband she embraces, to her son and to her daughter. her afterbirth that comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears, because lacking everything, she will eat them secretly in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you in your towns. Thus saith the Lord. It's a sacred blessing when we walk with the Lord in the light of His word. What a glory He sheds on our way. When we do His goodwill, He abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey. Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. It's a divine warning that we have no idea how bad life can get if we choose to rebel against the word and against the commandments of the Lord. Here's the most tragic tale of consequence. We're rebelling against God. The true story makes our stomachs turn. It makes our hearts quail and quiver. It makes our spirits filled with anger and horror. We revolt at it. And yet I want to tell you, how many of you have been hungry lately? Every one of us. That's why we've eaten breakfast. That's why we've eaten lunch or dinner, whatever we call it. That's why we had supper. Hunger means we're healthy. Hunger stimulates us into action. Hunger is the main spring that keeps us alive and moving and working and living and loving. But when hunger becomes intense and unappeasable, hunger will set aside all moral commandments in defiance. Hunger will break through stone walls. It'll shatter thrones. It'll break up empires. Hunger is among the primary duties of rulers to keep their people appeased. to keep them filled. Alas for Joram, he got to know now too vividly about the groans of his people becoming like the grumblings and the rumblings underground of a soon volcanic eruption. He's seen something happen in Samaria that he can't believe his ears. God save us all from rebelling against God and coming into his judgment. Oh, how strong his judgment can be. Number four. When we see the awful results of disobeying God, we blame God and his servants rather than repent of sin. Isn't it amazing how often when God judges us, when we begin to come under his discipline, We have our finger pointed at Him and at others, rather than confessing our own sins. Notice verses 30 through 33. When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes. Now he was passing by on the wall, and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth beneath on his body. And he said, May God do so to me, and woe also if the head of Elisha, the son of Shaphat, remains on his shoulders today. Elisha was sitting in his house and the elders were sitting with him. Now the king had dispatched a man from his presence, this is his captain, that he leans on. He sent him out with a sword to kill Elisha. And before the messenger arrived, Elisha said to the elders, Do you see how this murderer, he's speaking of Joram, has sent to take off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold the door fast behind him. Is not the sound of his master's feet behind him? So here's the picture. Joram kind of at least half repents. He's madder than the hops of Elisha. But no, no, let's not take off his head. All the miracles we've ever had have come through him. So he's running behind. And while the captain was still speaking, or while Elisha was still speaking with him, the messenger came down to him and said, He had said what Joram had said. He had heard it from the king, and what had he heard is this, THIS TROUBLE IS FROM THE LORD! That's because Elisha TOLD HIM, THIS TROUBLE IS FROM THE LORD! And then, this is ALSO what Joram said, I'VE HAD IT WAITING ON THE LORD! WHY SHOULD I WAIT FOR THE LORD ANY LONGER? I'M GOING TO TAKE YOUR HEAD OFF! That's the implication. He's at the door saying, We've waited on God long enough. Picture the scene. King Joram was a hypocrite of a man. He's playing both sides of the picture. He's worshiping Baal, the Asherahs, Moloch, and Chemos, and yet he's also trying to play the part of at least partly repentant king. Now do you know verse 30? When he hears the words of the woman, he tears his clothes. He really looks like he's in awful distress. Probably really was. And when he does and he passes by on the wall, everybody looks up and they sees when he tears off his royal robes, his undergarments, his underclothes are sackcloth. He's got that underneath his royal robes. He's got both. He's playing both sides. He could play the part of worshiping Almighty God or he could play the part of worshiping his idols. The Bible says in Exodus 20 verse 3, you shall have no other gods before me. So playing the part of a believing Israelite, he tore his clothes, he revealed what he'd been covering up. He was playing both ends against the middle. He was pretending to support both sides, God and Kamash or Malik or Baal or Asherah. Why? To gain an advantage. How many of you have ever said, I'll play a little of the world, I'll play a little of this and see where I get the most from. I'm going to play both ends against the middle. Now, Joram did what millions do today. He acted like a humble, humiliated king, but his religion didn't go very deep. rather than repent and call his nation to repentance, he immediately blamed God, and he blamed his prophet, Elisha. There was a measure of mixed sincerity in his penitence, or he wouldn't have run behind his captain to stop him from beheading Elisha. He had learned to listen some to the counsels of Elisha. He tried waiting on the Lord for deliverance, but he was done with that. Trusting in his other gods hadn't helped, and so in this outburst of angry passions, He uttered a death threat on the prophet. And then after he sent for his head, he repented and he hurried behind the captain to reverse his order. Now I wanna tell you something about what happens when we are sinning and we won't repent. We know we're still living in unrepentant sin when we refuse to admit our guilt before God and when we refuse to admit it to others. We know we're still unrepentant when we blame God. And when we blame others, we blame our spiritual leaders, we blame our pastors, we blame our counselors, we blame everyone but ourselves for our own misery. We know we're still living in unrepentant sin. God forgive us, God forgive us. And last of all, when we hear God's word and we don't believe it, We will see God's miracles, but we will never taste them for ourselves. We'll never taste them for ourselves. Notice verse one and two of chapter seven. And so Elisha finally lets them in. He's talking now to the captain, he's talking to the king. Hear the word of the Lord, thus says the Lord. Tomorrow, about this time, a saya of fine flour will be sold for a shekel, and two sayas of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria. Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, ha, if the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be? And Elisha said, you shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not taste of it. You shall not eat of it. Let's look at this for a moment. God looked down on Elisha under his death threat. He saw Israel in the awfulness of his judgment. And this captain, this captain whom Joram sent to cut off Elisha's head. He had quoted no doubt what Joram said, �This trouble is from the Lord,� and Elisha never corrected that a bit. It�s true. �But waiting at the door held fast, the captain went on to say the king�s words, �Why should I wait any longer for the king to act? Off with your head!� Now, I want to tell you something that�s one of the strongest warnings I�ve ever given, but I give it to every last one of us. Waiting for the Lord. I rebuke these words. I've heard them year after year after year among God's people who say to God, I've waited long enough for a job. I've waited long enough for a husband. I've waited long enough for a wife. I'll take matters into my own hands. I've waited long enough for God. I'll go find myself a man. I'll go get me a woman. I'll get a house. I'll go into deep debt. I'll get what I want. I'll live in poverty in a house I can't even make the payments for. I'll do what I'm going to do because God won't come through. And I warn you when you say you won't wait on the Lord. I warn you. It will go badly for you. It will go badly. It will go harshly for you. Now listen to the captain when Elisha delivers. There's an answer. There's an answer for Samaria. I've got another miracle. Hear the word of the Lord, thus says the Lord tomorrow about this time. Asaiah, seven quarts of fine flour will be sold for a silver shekel. So seven quarts of fine flour will cost $20.70, the equivalent. Still a bit high, but when you think about for $103.50. Sounds pretty cheap. What a dramatic shift. Two sails of barley, that's three and a half gallons for a silver shekel, $20.70. What a dramatic reversal would be by tomorrow. Then the captain said what he believed. He countered the Word of the Lord. Have you ever countered the Word of the Lord? When God says it clearly in His Word, or you know God's telling you something and you counter it. He mocked Elisha. Ha! If the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be? Notice verse 2. You'll see it with your own eyes. You'll see the miracle, but you won't taste any of it. We'll find that out in the next message. Joram had come to the end of his waiting, He had come to the end of waiting for God. Just like Saul when he wouldn't wait for Samuel. Couldn't wait any longer. Gotta do it. It's dangerous. It was dangerous. He had his kingdom snatched away from him because he wouldn't wait on the Lord. Beloved, wait on the Lord. He had come to the end of his waiting, but God's prophet said, guess what, King Joram? You gotta wait 24 more hours. Tomorrow about this time. the miracle will happen. The captain that had the sword in his hand now turned from killing Elisha and mocked him. I want to say in closing, to the humble heart that's open to the Word, faith is generated by the Word, but to the proud the Word makes the heart harder. The same sun that melts ice also hardens clay. The captain would see the miracle, but he would never taste it. That story is ahead for us. I wanna read in closing. The word of the Lord out of Psalms 34, eight to 10. Psalm 34, eight to 10. I have to tell you, I hope you're never one of those like Aaron that loved to hear the truth but wouldn't receive it. He never got to taste it. Here's what David says. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack. The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Psalm 37, 25 says, I have been young and now I'm old. I've never seen the righteous forsaken or his seed begging bread. God has blessings for us. His blessings come when we obey, when we disobey and we will not repent. There is no end to how low we can go. May this resonate in our hearts. May it create within us a reverence for obedience to the one who died on the cross for our sins. Let's bow our heads. As our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, I just ask you, Have you countered the word of the Lord? I ask you. Have you said, I'm tired of waiting on God. I'm not gonna wait any longer. I rebuke that in you and in me. Whenever we say, I won't wait on God. Oh, beloved, wait on the Lord. Be of good cheer and he'll comfort your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. If God is speaking to your heart and you say, I know God is preventing me from dire consequences and I simply want to raise my hand and say, I'm turning and repenting today. I'm turning and repenting today. I don't want to have to wait to see it grow worse. If God's speaking to you in that way, just raise your hand and I'll pray for you. I know. Yes. Are there others? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Are there others? Yes. Anyone else? Yes. Father, I pray for each one of us. Let us not quit waiting on you. Thank you that your timing is perfect. And now, maybe God is speaking to your heart. And maybe today you say, I'm done opposing the Lord. I need him in my life. I want him in my life. He died for me. I'm gonna receive him today. And if you will, will you share a prayer? He'll come into your life. Maybe just raise a hand or just look at me and say, today's my day. Today. Yes, praise God. Anyone else? Thank you, Jesus. Just say this prayer. Dear God, I need you. Thank you for dying for me. Please come into my life. Be my Savior and my Lord. I receive you by faith. Thank you for coming into my life. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jesus. Pastor Larry, just close us in prayer, would you? Father, we thank you for the Word of the God, the Word of the Lord that charges us to be obedient to us of consequences when we are disobedient. This is a solemn warning to all of us, Lord, to walk in the light as you are in the light, not to resent or to resist the checkings or the leadings of the Holy Spirit. sensitize all of us deeply as believers that we would walk in faith and in complete obedience to every command and teaching of the Word of God in our lives. We pray in Jesus' name.