Folks, if you would please open your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 10. 2 Kings chapter 10. Jehu has killed the king, taken the throne, And now he has killed Jezebel. I mean, he ordered her killed. She was thrown down out of a tower and splattered on the ground and eaten by dogs, and that's kind of where we left it. So Jezebel's body was to be like refuse on the ground in the plot at Jezreel so that no one will be able to say this is Jezebel. And that was not Jehu's judgment on her, that was God's judgment on her, and it was fulfilled under the action of Jehu. Now, beginning in 2 Kings chapter 10, this is God's word. Now, there were in Samaria 70 sons of the house of Ahab. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the officials of Jezreel, to the elders and to the guardians of Ahab's children. He said, as soon as this letter reaches you, since your master's sons are with you and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city and weapons, Choose the best and most worthy of your master's sons. Set him on his father's throne. Then fight for your master's house." They were terrified and said, if two kings could not resist him, how can we? So the palace administrator, the city governor, the elders, and the guardians sent this message to Jehu. We are your servants and we will do anything you say. We will not appoint anyone as king. You do whatever you think best. Then Jehu wrote them a second letter saying, if you are on my side and will obey me, take the heads of your master's sons and come to me in Jezreel by this time tomorrow. Now the royal princes, 70 of them, were with the leading men of the city who were rearing them. When the letter arrived, these men took the princes and slaughtered all 70 of them. They put their heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel. When the messenger arrived, he told Jehu, they have brought the heads of the princes. Then Jehu ordered, put them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning. The next morning, Jehu went out. He stood before all the people and said, you are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him. But who killed all these? Know then that not a word the Lord has spoken against the house of Ahab will fail. The Lord has done what he promised through his servant Elijah. So Jehu killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his chief men, his close friends, and his priests, leaving him no survivor. Jehu then set out and went toward Samaria. At Beth-Ached, of the shepherds, he met some relatives of Ahaziah, king of Judah, and asked, who are you? They said, we are relatives of Ahaziah, and we have come down to greet the families of the king and of the queen mother. Take them alive, he ordered. So they took them alive and slaughtered them by the well of Beth-Ached, 42 men. He left no survivor. After he left there, he came upon Jehonadab, son of Rechab, who was on his way to meet him. Jehu greeted him and said, are you in accord with me as I am with you? I am, Jehonadab said. If so, said Jehu, give me your hand. So he did. And Jehu helped him up into the chariot. Jehu said, come with me and see my zeal for the Lord. Then he had him ride along in his chariot. When Jehu came to Samaria, he killed all who were left there of Ahab's family. He destroyed them according to the word of the Lord spoken to Elijah. Then Jehu brought all the people together and said to them, Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him much. Now, summon all the prophets of Baal, all his ministers and all his priests. See that no one is missing because I'm going to hold a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come will no longer live. But Jehu was acting deceptively in order to destroy the ministers of Baal. Jehu said, call an assembly in honor of Baal. So they proclaimed it. Then he sent word throughout Israel, and all the ministers of Baal came. Not one stayed away. They crowded into the temple of Baal until it was full from one end to the other. And Jehu said to the keeper of the wardrobe, bring robes for all the ministers of Baal. So he brought out robes for them. Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rechab went into the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the ministers of Baal, look around and see that no servants of the Lord are here with you, only ministers of Baal. So they went in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had posted 80 men outside with this warning. If one of you lets any of the men I am placing in your hands escape, it will be your life for his life. As soon as Jehu had finished making the burnt offering, he ordered the guards and officers, go in and kill them. Let no one escape. So they cut them down with the sword. Guards and officers threw the bodies out and then entered the inner shrine of the Temple of Baal. They brought the sacred stone out of the Temple of Baal and burned it. They demolished the sacred stone of Baal and tore down the Temple of Baal, and the people have used it for a latrine to this day. So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit, the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan. The Lord said to Jehu, because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation. Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit. In those days, the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel. Hazael overpowered the Israelites throughout their territory east of the Jordan, in all the land of Gilead, the region of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh, from Aror by the Arnon and Gorge, through Gilead to Bashan. As for the other events of Jehu's reign, all he did, all his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? Jehu rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria. Jehoahaz, his son, succeeded him as king. The time that Jehu reigned over Israel and Samaria was 28 years. May God add his blessing to this reading from his holy and inspired word. Man, Pastor Wood, that's a lot of people being killed. Yes, a lot of people. Some of them were young people. There were princes who were minors, who were in the care of others, and they all got killed. I mean, they all got slaughtered. I mean, wow. Is that really? Is that really okay? I mean, I just, this is kind of Old Testament. Yes, it is. It is the Old Testament. So, let's see. New Testament. Don't lose your place here, but just take a look at Luke 13. Now, there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered in this way? I tell you no, but unless you repent, you too will all perish. or those 18 who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you too will all perish." Wow, that's kind of a rough statement that Jesus makes there. Yeah, we'll go on over to 2 Peter chapter 3. 2 Peter chapter 3, verse 3 of chapter 3, first of all you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, where is this coming, he promised. Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation. But they deliberately forget That long ago, by God's word, the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged, that is, flooded and destroyed. By the same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. Do not forget this one thing, dear friends. With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promises, some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. Please understand this, folks. God makes it very, very clear. Judgment is not only coming, judgment is deserved. Judgment is deserved. We look at this and we say, yeah, but children? Yes. Children, may I have your attention, please? You deserve hell. You really do. You need to know that. I knew that when I was a preschooler. Say, I think that's going to warp a child's self-image. Well, it might fix a child's self-image. Because if a child thinks that he's basically good and that God would be lucky to have him on the team, that child is going to hell. And I'm concerned about that. Now, you need to know that God loves sinners and sent his son to save sinners. But if you think you're a pretty good person and you don't deserve to go to hell, you're never going to appreciate why Jesus came. Because Jesus didn't come to be our coach. He's just here to help us have a better attitude. OK? Because we're really a bunch of natural born winners if we just believe in ourselves. No. We are by nature rebels. God put Adam and Eve in a paradise, said you can eat the fruit of any of the trees in the garden except this one right here. What did they do? They ate the fruit of that tree. They had freedom to choose right or wrong, and they used that freedom to sin against God. All of us born since then have been bent in that direction. We are by nature's not free, but bound in sin, dead in trespasses and sins. That is our natural state. As one old preacher said, all of us were born with one foot in a bear trap. I think that's a nice picture. We're trapped. We can't get out. We need a savior. We can't clean up our act, fix ourselves, turn our attitude around. We need someone to take us out of death and make us alive. We need someone to take away the heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh. The only hope for any of us is that God miraculously intervenes and graciously gives us new life. It is His Spirit who causes us to be born again. God doesn't give us new birth if we do the right thing. Unless God gives us new birth, we can't do the right thing. A lot of people believe that somehow we're supposed to get dead people to do the right thing and then God will give them new birth. That's not in the Bible. That's not in the Bible. Imagine coming on somebody whose heart is stopped and saying to them, hey buddy, if you'll come over here, I'll give you CPR. It doesn't work that way. It doesn't work that way. The only hope is when God mercifully does for people who are dead in trespasses and sin what only he can do, and that is to give us new life. But let me tell you something. If God is dealing with you and you sense his call on your life and you resist and refuse, please understand, you're not going to be able to stand before God and say, well, I didn't have a chance. Jesus says, come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. And if you say, no, I don't need it, no thanks, uh-uh, mm-mm, you're going to stand before God someday. And you're not going to be able to say, well, I never heard. Well, I didn't know. Yes, you did. You're hearing it right now. God is offering you eternal life. What is your answer? Will you bow to him? Will you surrender your life to him? Or are you determined that I'm doing pretty well, thanks? I think I have a lot of potential. A lot of people tell me that. I believe great things are in store for me if I'll just apply myself. And I'm really planning on working hard and becoming a great success. And someday, you're going to be very glad that you knew me. You're going to be able to say, yeah, I knew him before he was famous. I knew her before she was a star. Someday, you'll see me on American Idol. And then you'll wish you'd been nicer to me. Let me just tell you something. You might be an American Idol. You might be an NBA player. You might be an NFL star. But what does it profit a person if they gain the whole world and lose their soul? Nothing else, nothing else really counts. It all goes away. I know so many former stars, so many people who We're in the big leagues. Now they hobble around, say, yeah, I played in the NFL for eight years. And I'm scheduled for surgery next month. Pray for me, pastor. I'm just telling you, it does not last. Millions of dollars, woo-hoo. But you can't take it with you. Jack Benny said, if I can't take it with me, I'm not going. But he went. I mean, it was a cute little quip, except for the fact that some things we shouldn't joke about. You and I have appointed a time when we're going to die, and then we're going to face the judgment. And the only, only, only hope for any of us is in Jesus Christ. That's our only opportunity for life. So, we look in this passage and we see, first of all, that Jehu offered those who were guarding Ahab's sons the opportunity to protect them. But they would have to put their own lives on the line in order to do so, and none of them were willing to do that. I want to ask you a question. Who are you hoping will protect you? I was hoping that my house parents would protect me. Well, your house parents are good folks. I mean, they are. We've got great house parents, praise God. But you know what? Every single one of the house parent couples we've ever had here at the ranch have all been humans. I know a guy who runs a children's home in another state. His habit was for years to tell people, I'll never lie to you, I'll never abuse you, and I'll always be there for you. I've told many kids who've come here, I will never lie to you, I will never abuse you, but I won't always be there for you. But I'd like to introduce you to someone who will. I only know one person. who can never fail you, never let you down, who will always be there for you. And you need to trust in him. Because everybody else is human. Got it? And if you're thinking, well, the government will protect me. I live in the United States of America. And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. Well, isn't it great? We're the USA. Hooray. Guess what? Once upon a time, the Romans thought they were invincible. But these days, most people aren't terrified of the Roman Empire, are they? And you know who had it before the Romans? The Greeks. You know who had it before the Greeks? The Persians. You know who had it before the Persians? Oh, no, I can't think back that far. I'm telling you. Was it Egypt? I mean, it doesn't matter. The power keeps changing. The USA is a vain thing for safety. If that's where your confidence is, just a short time ago, Wall Street was roaring ahead. Then we had an election. Now people are a little discouraged. It may turn around. Wall Street may roar ahead again. Hooray! But it's all a house of cards. If that's where your hope is, you don't have hope. You have a sham. You have a delusion. Well, Pastor, I am a vegan. I've discovered that by eating a vegan diet, I can have really excellent health. For how many years? You know what the life expectancy is for vegans? Very similar to non-vegans. The mortality rate is 100%. Now I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't try and eat a healthy diet. What I'm telling you is if that is your hope, you're lost. So those who had trusted in the leading men of the city to protect them lost their lives. The leading men of the city, many of them lost their lives. All Ahab's friends got killed. All his relatives got killed. All his advisors got killed. All who trust in man, their hope is in vain. And then, Jehu throws a huge, huge religious ceremony. And he gathers all the priests of Baal, all the prophets of Baal, all the servants of Baal, and he says, we're going to worship Baal. I'm going to offer Baal a sacrifice. Guess who got to be the sacrifice? All the worshipers. Jehu told the soldiers outside, if you let anybody escape, I'll take your life in place of theirs. So you can bet they didn't let anybody escape. And all the servants of Baal were slaughtered. Wow. That's gruesome. And then they turned the place, after they burned it out, they turned it into a public toilet. Well, I don't think that shows respect for religious diversity. That's just calling things what they are. The worship of idols, which as we said yesterday, is greed. In that category, greed is part of the worship of idols. Greed is idolatry. That amounts to basically a bunch of poo. Okay? Nasty. Yes, it is nasty. Yes, it is. If you devote yourself to something other than God, God says you're just chasing after waste. You're chasing after something that is absolutely empty, unsatisfying, and it stinks. And so it was very appropriate for them to turn this shrine to Baal into a place to go to the bathroom because it made a permanent reminder on the part of those people that we don't want to worship Baal. Baal was not able to protect the people. Baal is a bunch of poo. So did all this really please the Lord? All this slaughter? All this death? Well, actually, what pleased the Lord was someone who was obedient and did what God had said needed to be done. And in this case, that involved a whole bunch of people facing God. I like the bumper sticker that somebody put on the back of their vehicle. It was a military family. They said, it's God's job to judge our enemies. It's the US Marines' job to arrange the meeting. Well, don't you like that? That's what Jehu did. He didn't judge these people. He just arranged for them to meet God. My dad, years ago, was Living in Chicago during a time of economic downturn, it was called the Great Depression. Nowadays we call it economic downturn. Dad was eager to serve the Lord and he had made a commitment that he would try and share his faith with at least one person every day. preacher had come to Moody Bible Institute where he was studying and had encouraged the students to make that commitment that at least once a day they'd try and share their faith with someone, try to witness the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And Dad thought, well, that certainly is reasonable. Once a day, I ought to be able to do that, living here in a bustling city. So yes, I'll do that. By God's grace, I will try to share my faith at least once a day. Dad did pretty well honoring his commitment, but one day he'd been working a double shift at the Ford plant. He was on his way home, and he was tired, and he realized as he stood at the little streetcar stop that he had not shared his faith with anyone that day. There was a man standing next to him, very formally dressed, nice suit and tie, nice overcoat, gloves, hat. briefcase, newspaper. Dad thought, this guy's probably my last chance. Dad was standing there. By 5 o'clock in the afternoon, Dad looked like he needed to shave again. This is about 10 or so at night. So Dad was looking kind of scruffy. He had the collar on his jacket turned up. It was not a nice overcoat. It was just something to keep him warm. And he's standing there. And he looks at the guy, and he thinks, this is it. I've got to share my faith. And so he kind of moves over toward the fellow a little bit. And the guy glances at dad and kind of moves away a little bit. Dad takes another step over toward him. The man takes another step away. There's a lot of crime going on during the Depression, a lot of robberies, especially in that part of Chicago. Dad was nervous. Dad was shy. But here came the streetcar, and Dad thought, it's now or never. I've got to do this. So he stepped up into the man's face, and he said in his wonderful bass voice, which is much deeper than I can talk, mister, are you ready to meet God? The man ran and jumped into the streetcar door while it was still moving. terrified by my father's question. He thought he was about to be killed if he didn't hand over his wallet. Dad stood there for a moment and tried to process what had just happened. I would like to think that my daddy, who's now in heaven, has gotten to see that man there. I would like to think that perhaps that guy couldn't get that question out of his head, and that maybe as he went home that night on the streetcar, He began to realize what every single one of us needs to realize. And that is, if you're not trusting in Jesus Christ, you're not ready to see God. You're not ready to see Him. Because if you try and come to Him in your own righteousness, you will be destroyed. If you try to come on the basis of what you've done for Him, you will be destroyed. He will say to you, as He says in Matthew 7, depart from Me. I never knew you, you who practice lawlessness. The only hope for any of us is in Jesus. And when we're trusting in Him, then we don't have to be afraid to die. My father faced death on a number of occasions since then. And finally, I got to be with him as he slipped away from this world and went into the presence of his Lord. It is a beautiful thing to be able to face death unafraid. Can you face death unafraid? Are you trusting in Jesus Christ? Do you know for certain that you are secure and safe in Him? Because if you're trusting in anything but Jesus, you need to repent. You need to trust in Him. He offers you eternal life. He offers you forgiveness. He offers you Himself. But you can't just take the forgiveness and go on your own way and do your own thing. Jehu was given four generations on the throne. But please notice that the text tells us even though he did eradicate Baal worship in his land, he did not worship God alone. God blessed him with four generations of successors on the throne. That's pretty major. God blessed him with almost three decades of his own reign on the throne. But he did not, sadly, get rid of all the idols. He just got rid of Baal. The Bible tells us who are in Christ Jesus Keep yourself from idols. Greed is idolatry. Don't think that because you don't chase this idol and because you don't chase this idol, it's okay to keep this one. It's not. There is no God but our God. All imposters must be eradicated. I'm not telling you that we're supposed to rise up as a little right-wing militia and run out and try and clean up America. I am telling you that God is calling His people to repentance. And we must ruthlessly rid our lives of anything that would rival for our love. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength. And we're to love our neighbor as ourselves. And we're to be ready to lay down our lives in obedience to him. That's the call.