you were there on that day. This is a picture of the Passover here, and it says there at the beginning of the text that there was no Passover that was kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet. No other person kept such a Passover as Josiah Capp. Okay? And this is the most glorious one. It's the most special one. And it happened in the 18th year of Josiah. And it was just a momentous moment. Revival. The idols were destroyed. We're worshiping God again. The king is here. The Levites are here. The priests are here. And we're doing what God called us to do. 20 years later, you're standing there, and a chariot rolls in. And you get off your phone, and you say, what is this? And there's a body in the chariot. And you say, who's that? And they said, that's Josiah, king of Israel. And you just start weeping. And you're like, our king? God said there was no king like him. That loved the Lord. And he's rolling in a chariot. Why did he die? He disobeyed God and God's arrow got him the same way that it got Ahab. Ahab was the worst king. So the best king died the same way the worst king did. And how does that happen? And how do we prevent that from happening to us? Because you're here this morning and you love the Lord and you want to serve Him, but would you agree with me that there were a lot better Christians than me or you that have been taken out? And so how do we prevent that from happening? Well, I think it's evident in the text, number one, you have to keep growing. Look what it says there in verse 20. This is very key. After this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho, king of Egypt, came up to fight against Carchemish by Euphrates. So this is 21 years later. He prepared the temple, and Necho came. And you know what? This is showing you that there was a turning point in Josiah's life. There was a shift in Josiah's life, and a shift in focus. He'd reformed the land, he prepared the temple, he did the Passovers, he's serving God, he completed what he set out to do, and then he was done. And you know, there's a temptation. There's a lot of young Christians here, and you've either recently got saved or recently got right with God, and you've set out serving the Lord. And when you first start out serving God, there's a lot of things that happen that are very exciting. You get the Lord involved in your life and you start overcoming sin. You see God start working in your marriage. You see God start working in your children's life. You see God start using you to give the gospel to your friends. And a lot of things start happening and it's very exciting. But you know what the temptation is? We're good now. We're good. We got it all straightened out. Everything's good. Let's go to church. And God doesn't want you to arrive. God wants you to keep growing spiritually. If you don't look like Jesus exactly, then you haven't arrived. You haven't arrived. You have to keep growing. The Lord wants to make you like Jesus Christ, and He will not stop, and He doesn't want to stop. until that's accomplished. And you have to embrace in the Christian life a life of growth. And unfortunately, you know what it is? We're done with high school. We're done with college. We got this. We're done. We've arrived, and we don't need to do any more. That is not how the Christian life is. You just have to embrace the road of growth, and just learn to love it, and just keep advancing, and keep growing, and keep focusing on what God wants you to do. In the Bible, you see this over and over. King David, I'm in Jerusalem, I've won some battles, I've trained my men, I don't think I need to go to battle today. I'm just gonna lay here. Guess what happened? He failed. Uzziah, when he succeeded, his heart was lifted up. Hezekiah, when he did rel, he went into the temple and tried to take the praise of the priest. You know what happened to King Saul? He stopped being little in his own eyes. Remember Solomon? He got wisdom. He became rich. He built the temple. And then his heart started to wander. Remember Nebuchadnezzar? Is this not great Babylon that I've built? I've arrived. And I'll tell you something, that we never arrive in any area, we only think we do. You never arrive. No preacher ever arises. No Christian ever arrives. And you know what happens with preachers? They are content with last year's sermons. They're content with last year's messages. And they stop going to the Word of God and getting things new, because I already have it, I know what to do, and I don't need to do more. I've gotten into this routine. And that can be okay in work if you're like, you know, I'm happy here. I don't want to grow anymore. That's okay. But don't ever bring that over to the spiritual life. Don't ever do that. God is always working on us. He's always continually doing that. And let me ask you, is there anywhere in your heart A sense of arrival. Yeah, I got it. I'm wise. I'm spiritual. I got it. Watch out for that. It took down the best king. And if it took down the best king and can take down you and I, the struggle is good for you. It's good for you. Look, without the struggle, the crown doesn't matter. You don't want a participation trophy. You don't. You want to stand before the king, all beat and bloody and bruised up. And he said, well done. You fought a good fight. Listen, God doesn't take the struggle out of our lives because he knows we need it. Keep going. Number two, you know what you have to do? You have to stay focused. Don't get distracted. Look here in verse 20. Necho, he said after he repaired the temple, Necho, king of Egypt, came up to fight against Carchemish by Euphrates, and Josiah went out against him. You know what happens when you arrive? you get interested in other things. When you're worshiping God no longer interests you, then something else begins to interest you. And you know what happened to Josiah? The world was changing in a major way. And it always does. There's changing of empires. And he started paying attention to the politics. And, you know, historically, if you'll put this map up here, there was two empires. There was Egypt and there was Assyria. But you know what happened? There's a new empire coming on the scene. Babylon. And they're growing up. And they've defeated Nineveh. And the world, it's changing. Before, all we knew was Egypt and Assyria. And for a hundred years, Israel and Judah dealt with Assyria. They either oppressed them, or there was always this influence from them. And when this is happening, and influences are changing, it's making people nervous. And so what happens is the Babylonians came up and they defeated Nineveh, and they're going to defeat them at the Euphrates River, because they want, and the Assyrians and the Egyptians, they don't want to lose Palestine as that buffer there. And so you know what Necho does, the king of Egypt, is he comes up from Egypt, And he goes all the way up there to the Euphrates River, to the top of the map, and he says, I'm going to help the Assyrians hold off the Babylonians because we need this buffer here. And Josiah misreads the situation and he wants to help the Assyrians because he feels like he has some kind of responsibility there. And he wants to stop the Egyptian from going against the Assyrians. But you know what he did? He just made a mess of things. He met a mess of things because he stopped the Egyptian army from getting there to help the Assyrian army. And you know what happens? The Babylonians defeat the Assyrians and the Egyptians. And he hurt the ones he was trying to help. And he got the thing that he feared, the problems in his life. He involved more people in his life than would have been involved if he stayed out of it. And he got distracted by these things. And we live in a changing world too, don't we? Don't we hear on the news, all the dollar, and China, and Russia, and India, and, oh no, what are we going to do? And we start getting nervous. And we start being distracted by Tucker. You know? And we start getting all worked up. Listen, you know what? If you want to be successful in media, you know what you do? You take the thing that people are fearing or desiring, repackage it, and sell it back to them. And you know what Tucker does? He takes all the fears of middle-income America and sells it back to them. What? What? And that's what they do. And you know what happens is we get distracted by these things. And you know what? They're things that are too big for us to understand. This was too big for Josiah to understand. And what's happening in our world, it's too big for us to understand. The devil is the god of this world. And according to your Bible, you know what is going to happen? All the nations of the world are going to come together under 10 kings that are ruled by the Antichrist. That's going to happen. And you're not going to stop it. And Tucker's not going to stop it. And the Republicans and the Democrats are not going to stop it. And if you just get worked up about it, you know why that's happening? You're distracted from the thing that God wants you to do. And you get that going. Listen, you know how all that stuff happens and those empires come together? There's spirits that control all that. And the Bible talks about that, and he talked to Daniel about that. And, you know, what is happening there is no matter of mine. I mean, I do what I can, but that's no matter of mine. And, you know, the older you get, the bigger this temptation is. When did he get distracted? The 18th year of his reign. He's 30 years old. And this is when people start becoming interested in the world scene and what's happening. And you can't let Bible prophecy, you can't stop it. You know when he died? He died at 47. Because he made this move. And who's more angry about politics than people that are 47? Don't get distracted. You'll waste your life. I remember my father, I would come home and visit him. And he'd be telling me about how bad George Bush is and the 9-11 commission report. Do you know how hot it has to be to melt steel? I'm like, Dad, what do you want me to do about it? What am I supposed to do about it? How is this helping me? How is this helping what God's called me to do? And towards the end of his life, it was sad, and I loved my father. But he spent his days watching RT News and talking about how great Putin was, and how bad politics were. I said, Dad, nobody cares what a middle-aged country guy in Tennessee, in his little dump, thinks about this. It just doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what you think about it. It doesn't matter what I think about it. I have nothing, literally nothing to do about it. There's nothing I can do about it. And I said, it's just a distraction. And the problem is, as much as I loved him, it distracted him from the temple and the things that he was supposed to be doing. And I know that I'm talking to somebody here. I know, I am. And don't die a spiritual death like Josiah. You know what else you need to do? You need to fight the right fight. Look what he says in verse 21. He goes out there to fight this guy, and he says, what do I have to do with you, King of Judah? I have not come against thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have war. For God commanded me to make haste, forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he destroy them not. You know, he went out against him. This was not his fight. It wasn't his fight. And you know what we need to do? We need to fight the right fight. And he engaged himself in a fight that wasn't his fight. He inserted himself into something that was not his business. He got mad at the changing tides and where the country was going. And so you know what he did? Put this Nezka map up here. He left Jerusalem at the bottom of the map and went a hundred miles up to Megiddo at the top of the map. Now, here is a picture of the Megiddo. And you know where Megiddo is? That's Armageddon. That's where the Antichrist comes with his army to fight against Jesus Christ and gets destroyed. Napoleon said it's the most natural battlefield in the world. And he went up there and he died there in the same area Saul died fighting the Philistines. He was going to do something about what was going on. And this guy said, I haven't come against you. That's not why I'm here. I'm passing through and I'm going somewhere else. I'm actually trying to help you. And what he did led to his death. Because he involved himself in something. The Bible says in Proverbs 26 and verse 17, He that passeth by and enter-middleth with strife not belonging to him is one that taketh the dog by the ears. It doesn't matter what you do, if you let go, you're gonna die. Don't involve yourself in a fight that's not your fight. Do you remember this picture? This next picture here, you remember this? You remember the lady, the Air Force vet, 41 years old that died? Remember the other people that died? You know how many people there got their lives destroyed because of being there? And I am, listen, I am not talking about politics this morning. What I'm talking about is you know what happened to those people? They involved themselves in a fight that wasn't their fight. And it destroyed them. They lost their life. And you know what I'll tell you? There's a lot of things that people are fighting that it's not your fight, it's not your business. Go vote, yes! But you know what your business is? It's the temple. It's the things that God's called you to do. You know what the Bible says? It says, fight the good fight of faith. The transgender fight is not your fight. You know, you are to focus on the temple and spiritual things. Listen, we can't change illegal immigration, but you know what we can do? Is we can witness to the people that are coming into our country. And the mission field that is coming to our neighborhood. We can give them the gospel. We can teach them how to behave in our country. We can help. That's what our fight is. It's not this other thing. You know, if you study the New Testament, and if you ever study the culture that the New Testament was written in, the Roman society was very pagan. They would make men eunuchs, mess with their gender. They would involve themselves in all kinds of evil relationships. And the church never waged a political battle against that. You know what the church did? It waged a spiritual battle. You know how the church fought against that culture? Servants, be kind to your master. Do all things as unto the Lord. Not trying to please your master, but the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's how they fought against it. Pray for kings and those that are in authority that we can lead a quiet and peaceable life. You know how they fought against it? Romans chapter 13, the ordinance that the powers that be are ordained of God, submit yourselves to them. And it was a spiritual thing. And you know what the church in America has forgotten? We are here to wage a spiritual battle. We're to fight the good fight of faith. We're to put on the whole armor of God. We are to run the race that is set before us looking unto Jesus Christ. We are to endure temptation. You know how you know you're in the wrong fight? You go to the fight, it doesn't come to you. Don't go to the fight. He sent ambassadors to him saying, what have I have to do with thee, thou King of Judah? I'm not coming against you. But he went there and he made it about him. In most fights that people get in, it doesn't involve them. It's none of their concern. You know, we can't straighten everybody out. And we don't know the will of God for everyone on the planet. Josiah didn't know the will of God for this man. But he thought he did. And he thought he knew what was right. And he went there to tell him what the will of God was for his life. And you know what he was? He was meddling with God. And we have to remember God can lead people. And sometimes prayer does more than a conversation. You know what the Lord said? This guy come to the Lord in Luke chapter 12 and verse 13. He said, Speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance. You know what the Lord said? Think about this. It's God that said this, Jesus Christ. He said, who made me a judge or ruler over you? You know what he recognized? That guy didn't recognize the authority he had in his life, and he was just trying to use him. And he said, I'm not getting into this. It's none of my concern. And we have to remember that. The Bible says don't meddle. And there's people we shouldn't meddle with. We shouldn't meddle with tailbearers. People that flatter with the lips. Those that are given to change and with strife not belonging to you. Remember the guy that died at Walmart here? Because a husband and wife were arguing and he went in the middle of it and got shot. That would have been me. Lord, help us. Here's some practical things. When things happen on social media, what you think about it doesn't matter. It really doesn't. What happens in the workplace, if it doesn't involve you, don't get involved with it. When there's arguments happening with the family, if you're not part of it, don't get involved with it unless you absolutely have to. It's not your battle. Church matters. And you know what else you need to do? You have to keep listening. You have to keep listening. He says here in verse 22, Nevertheless, Josiah would not turn his face from Him, but disguised himself, that he may come fight with Him. And he hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of... who? God. And he came to fight. He stopped listening to God. He didn't ask God if he should do this before he did it. He didn't say, Lord, I'm thinking about doing this. What do you think? He wasn't listening to God. And when God took a more direct approach, he did not listen. And why didn't he listen? Well, who is this guy to tell me? He's not a Christian. This is Pharaoh. He's a lost man. He's the enemy. Be careful not to discount the message because of the character of the messenger. God talks to us sometimes through lost people. God speaks to us sometimes through our enemies. The Bible says, or I mean, not the Bible, Charles Spurgeon says, and they're not the same, okay? Get a friend to tell you your faults. He said, better still, welcome an enemy who will watch you and sting you savagely. What a blessing for an irritating critic to a wise man. And what a nuisance he will be to a fool. Love your enemies because they tell you your faults. Benjamin Franklin. An honest enemy is better than a friend who tells lies. Martin Luther King Jr. said, I want to thank my enemies. They helped me discover myself. Isn't that a blessing? Have you evaluated and prayed about what your critics say? Why didn't he listen? Because of who he is, he didn't listen because of what he was doing. Look, you're trampling through my country You didn't ask permission from me. He committed the first act of hostility. This is you. This is your fault. And so he didn't pay attention to it. Don't let other people's actions excuse your actions. Don't let that happen. You're responsible for your emotions and your actions. And if you lost your temper and did something wrong, that's a personal failure on your part that's not their fault. Don't let the actions of the enemy distract you from what God wants you to do. You're responsible for it. And you know how else you know if you stop listening? Look at this in verse 22. He would not turn his face from him, but he disguised himself that he might go and fight with him. You know, if you are going forward with this, you should be honest and upfront about it. You know what? I know you say that God told me not to be involved in this, but you've got to open your Bible and prove it. I don't agree with you, and I'm going to go against you, and I'm going to fight against you. But you know what he did? He disguised himself, and he disguised his intentions and his identity so he could fight without being hit. And if you're fighting the right battle, and you're listening to God, you're not doing it in secrecy, you're not disguising your attentions, you're not on the telephone and in the back hallways, you are making the thing known that you think God wants to do. But it said the archer shot at him, in verse 23, and he said, I'm sorely wounded, and he died. The disguise didn't protect him. The real person is the one that got hurt, and the real person is the one that died. And you may think you're hiding, but you can't hide from God's arrow. You can't. He knows where it is. He knows where you are, no matter if you're wearing sheep's clothing. He knows where the wolf is. And you know what the serpent was? The serpent was a disguiser. Judas was a disguiser, and Ahab was. And then lastly, I want to say this, you know what you need to do? You need to count the cost. It says here in verse 25, look at this, Jeremiah, when he found all this out, you know what he did? He wept. He lamented. And you know what everyone else did? They lamented. They cried. And it was over. His goodness, according to what was written in the law, it's gone. And you know what happens? Look at the next chapter in verse 3. Look what happens. The king of Egypt. Put him down at Jerusalem and condemn the land and a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. You know, if you keep engaging yourself in the wrong thing and if you get distracted and you don't keep going what God wants you to go and you think you've arrived, somebody's going to pay a price. Somebody's going to pay a price. This was the end of the nation. This is the last time that they were sovereign and self-governing. From now on, Babylon and Egypt installed their kings. And they put them to town and they paid a price. Let me ask you, if you are taken out of the spiritual fight, who's going to pay a price? You know who paid a price? His kids did. One of his sons was taken to Egypt and died there. Two of them were taken to Babylon and died there. They paid a price. They were taken captive. And the nation was over. Let me ask you this. Think about this. Josiah, he's a great king. He's doing good things. The land, judgment is being postponed. He's protecting them. He's helping them. And now our good king is gone. Our nation's destroyed. This is the end. If you get taken out of the fight, it's the end for somebody. Who's it going to be the end for? If you get taken out of the fight, I guarantee you that somebody's going to pay a price. Who's going to pay that price? Look, what I'm trying to say is it matters that you're living for God. It matters that you're serving the Lord and you're trying to do things right and you want to do something for God. That makes a difference in people's lives and in our country and in our neighborhood and in our church and our city. It makes a difference at the workplace. It matters. When you think about getting distracted and complacent, think about this. Somebody's going to pay a price for that. And God wants you to stay at your post. He doesn't want you to be taken out at 47. He wants you to keep going. So I'm going to have the piano player come forward. And as we close, I want you to consider Josiah. He was the best, but he lost it all because of this turning point. And his life is a lesson. We see the potential to have a life that's pleasing to God. So let's not just be spectators of what happened here, but wise students. And as we bow our heads and close our eyes, I'm going to ask you this question. Are you making choices that lead you closer to God? Have you arrived and stopped preparing the temple? Are you fighting the right battles? Think about what bothers you. What gets you angry? what you put your energy into. Are you fighting the right battles? Are you listening to what God's trying to tell you? Have you stopped asking him, God, should I do this? And when he takes a direct approach and he tells you something through other people, are you listening? And why don't you say, Lord, what will be the cost? What will be the long-term effects if I get taken out? And then just say to the Lord, Lord, I want to fight. I want to go on. Thank you for this reminder. Help me to re-engage in the right place. you Lord, we thank you, Father, for this lesson in the life of Josiah. Father, thank you for his goodness and the things that he did for you and for your people that were just a great example to us, Lord. And thank you for putting this in here at the end to show us, Lord, that it matters how you finish. It matters what you pay attention to. You don't have to overtly get into sin. But you can just get complacent and that can be the end of it. God, please speak to our hearts in Jesus name. Amen. All right, let's stand.