SPEAKER_00: Yesterday we saw the tragedy of Ahab, a man who wanted something that did not belong to him, a man who allowed desire to become entitlement and entitlement to become injustice.
SPEAKER_00: Today the story continues, but something unexpected happens.
SPEAKER_00: God confronts him.
SPEAKER_00: Elijah arrives with one of the strongest condemnations in all of Scripture.
SPEAKER_00: There's no ambiguity, there's no sugar coating this.
SPEAKER_00: God sees the murder of Naboth.
SPEAKER_00: God sees the corruption he sees the abuse of power, he sees everything.
SPEAKER_00: And Elijah speaks the truth.
SPEAKER_00: What strikes me is that Ahab can no longer hide.
SPEAKER_00: For a while he probably convinced himself that he had gotten away with it.
SPEAKER_00: Naboth was dead, the vineyard was his.
SPEAKER_00: The witnesses were gone, the deal was done.
SPEAKER_00: But then God sends Elijah.
SPEAKER_00: Because there's a truth that every generation needs to hear.
SPEAKER_00: Nothing is hidden from God.
SPEAKER_00: We can fool other people, we can manage appearances, we can build an image, we can even convince ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: We could keep running.
SPEAKER_00: But sooner or later every one of us stands before truth.
SPEAKER_00: And that can be frightening.
SPEAKER_00: But it also can be a grace.
SPEAKER_00: Because God does not reveal our sins in order to destroy us or to shame us, he reveals them in order to save us.
SPEAKER_00: Notice what happens next.
SPEAKER_00: Ahab tears his garments, he puts on sackcloth, he fasts, he humbles himself.
SPEAKER_00: Now let's be honest, Ahab is not a saint.
SPEAKER_00: His repentance is imperfect.
SPEAKER_00: The consequences of his actions remain.
SPEAKER_00: Yet something remarkable happens.
SPEAKER_00: God notices.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, God points it out to Elijah.
SPEAKER_00: Have you seen that Ahab has humbled himself before me?
SPEAKER_00: Think about that.
SPEAKER_00: The same God who condemned Ahab's wickedness immediately notices the first signs of repentance.
SPEAKER_00: The moment Ahab takes one step towards God, God responds with mercy.
SPEAKER_00: This is one of the most beautiful truths of our faith.
SPEAKER_00: God is infinitely just, but he is also infinitely merciful.
SPEAKER_00: The devil wants us to believe that our sins define us.
SPEAKER_00: That's who you are.
SPEAKER_00: God says our repentance can redefine us.
SPEAKER_00: The devil wants us to believe it's too late.
SPEAKER_00: God says, Come back to me.
SPEAKER_00: The devil wants us to stay in shame.
SPEAKER_00: God wants us to live in conversion.
SPEAKER_00: Now, if we turn to the gospel, Jesus takes us even deeper.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
SPEAKER_00: Of all the teachings of Jesus, this may be one that most clearly reveals the heart of God.
SPEAKER_00: Because you see, anyone can love someone who loves them back.
SPEAKER_00: That's easy.
SPEAKER_00: Anyone can be kind to the person who is kind to them.
SPEAKER_00: Anyone can greet their friends.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says disciples must go further.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Well, because that's how God acts.
SPEAKER_00: Every morning the sun rises on good people and bad people.
SPEAKER_00: Every day the rain falls on the just and on the unjust.
SPEAKER_00: God continues to offer grace even to those who reject him.
SPEAKER_00: God continues to seek those who run from him.
SPEAKER_00: God continues to call sinners back to himself.
SPEAKER_00: And if God can show mercy to Ahab, then who are we to withdraw or withhold mercy from others?
SPEAKER_00: This does not mean we pretend evil is good.
SPEAKER_00: It does not mean we ignore injustice.
SPEAKER_00: Elijah certainly didn't.
SPEAKER_00: He spoke the truth clearly.
SPEAKER_00: But after truth comes the possibility of conversion.
SPEAKER_00: The Christian never gives up on a soul, never.
SPEAKER_00: Because we know what God can do with a humbled heart.
SPEAKER_00: Perhaps there's someone in your life right now who has hurt you.
SPEAKER_00: Someone you struggle to forgive, someone you would rather avoid than pray for.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is not asking you to feel affection for them.
SPEAKER_00: He's asking you to place them before the Father.
SPEAKER_00: Pray for them.
SPEAKER_00: Pray for their conversion.
SPEAKER_00: Pray for their healing.
SPEAKER_00: Pray for their salvation.
SPEAKER_00: Because when you do that, something happens.
SPEAKER_00: Not only can God change them, God begins to change you.
SPEAKER_00: The goal of Christian life is not simply to avoid sin.
SPEAKER_00: The goal is to become like the Father, to love as he loves, to forgive as he forgives, to show mercy as he shows mercy.
SPEAKER_00: And that's why Jesus ends with this astonishing words Be perfect just as your Heavenly Father is perfect.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, let your heart become more and more like his a heart full of truth, a heart full of mercy, a heart that never gives up on the possibility of conversion.
SPEAKER_00: Even for the worst sinner, even for an enemy, even for us.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.