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All right, amen. So 1 Kings chapter 21, I want to preach a sermon out of here entitled A Better Vineyard. And really what I want to preach about is the fact that God has a will for a life. God wants us all to serve Him with our life to some capacity or another, but that the world also wants us to serve them. The world wants what God has given us, and the world wants to take our lives and repurpose it to make it their own inheritance. They want to take what God has given us in this life and use it for their own ends. We see that here with Ahab. Ahab is looking at Naboth's vineyard, and he wants it for himself. He sees what Naboth has inherited, and he's saying, boy, I could use that. I could take that, and I could do something else with it. I really appreciate the character Naboth and his attitude where he just says, no way. You can't have this. This is mine. This is what I have inherited. And I want to apply this spiritually because of the fact that we have received an inheritance from God. We're saved. God has given us a great opportunity, all of us. And I don't want you to tune this out because I know at one point here pretty quick, I'm going to get real specific about serving in a certain way, but we all have been given an inheritance. We've all been given an opportunity to serve God. We've all been given a vineyard. And the Ahabs of this world, they want to come along, and they want to offer you something else in place of that and say, oh, don't serve God. Serve us. I could do something with that life that God has given you. I could do something with the inheritance that the Lord has given you. If you look there in 1 Kings 21, verse 2, it says, An Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs. And Naboth, verse 3, said to Ahab, The Lord forbid it me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. So he called what he had, what Naboth had, was what? The inheritance of his fathers. We have that as well. We have what has been passed down to us spiritually from generation to generation, the inheritance of our fathers in our faith. The faith of our fathers is something that's been passed on. And the world would love to take that life, that take that faith that you have, and repurpose it and use it for something else, use it for something other than serving God. Our spiritual forefathers, they've planted a vineyard. They've gone, and they've plowed those fields. They've worked those fields. They've borne fruit spiritually. And now we've inherited it. Now it's our time, it's our opportunity to serve in that field, to use that vineyard that God has given us. And Ahab, he wants it. The devil, the world, they want to take that from us and repurpose it. And here's the thing. What exactly is our spiritual inheritance? Well, it's the opportunities, it's the abilities to serve and earn what? Heavenly rewards. Obviously, there's no literal vineyard somewhere that we're going to go work in. But we have a spiritual vineyard and the soul winning and the living of our lives and so on and so forth. It's the opportunities, it's the abilities that God has given us to do what? To bear spiritual fruit in eternity. See, it's not just about the number in the bulletin. It's not just about the colors on the map back there, shading that in. Those are just gauges. Those are just ways that we can kind of see how we're doing. Those can be things that can either encourage us or motivate us. We can use those. But those things in and of themselves, that is not the end goal. The end goal is the spiritual rewards in heaven. Jesus said, Behold, I come quickly and my reward is with me to give every man according to his work. And if any man's work shall abide, he shall receive a reward, is what Paul said. So we have the opportunity. We've been given this vineyard that's called this life to live for Christ. And that's all we have. And we have this one life to serve God with. And whatever spiritual fruit that that's going to bear for eternity, that's all you're going to have. And it has real potential. Ahab wanted this specific vineyard. It was hard by his house, but he also saw that it was fruitful. It wasn't just the convenience of it, that it was at hand, but it was also that it bare fruit. He wouldn't want just some rundown garbage piece of land, otherwise it wouldn't suit his purposes. The devil, he looks at our lives, he looks at the opportunity that God has given us to bear fruit spiritually in eternity, and he wants to rob us of that. He wants to take that away from us. And it's up to us to not let him do that. And again, this applies to everybody. I'm going to narrow it down here in a minute, but don't tune me out. As mothers, as fathers, as lay people, as just soul winners, as people that are just even kids. We all have an opportunity to serve to some capacity in our lives. We all have been given opportunities. We've all been given abilities to serve and earn rewards. Keep something to the first Kings. Go over to Ephesians chapter four. Ephesians chapter four. The Bible says in first Corinthians chapter three, you're going to Ephesians four, according to the grace of God, which is given unto me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth there upon, for another foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus. Now, if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, and precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. What's Paul saying? He's saying, look, there's a foundation that's been laid. There's been an inheritance given. There's a vineyard for you to work in, and it's up to you to work it. It's up to you to not let the Naboth or excuse me, the Ahabs of this world come and rob you of that inheritance or cause you to grow what? Just the wood, the hay, and the stubble that's going to burn up. You're there in Ephesians chapter four, verse four. Look, everyone has been given opportunities. Everyone has been given abilities to serve God. There is one body, it says in verse four, and one spirit and even as you are called and one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. It's not like there's another option for us. This is our faith. Naboth was only given one piece of land. He had one inheritance that was handed to him and said, do something with this. That's what it is for us. There's one body, one spirit. We are all called and one hope, one Lord, one faith. Look at verse seven. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Every one of us is given some measure of grace to work for Christ, given to the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, verse eight, when he ascendeth up on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. So we've all been given, right? There's one faith and it says in verse seven, every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Every one of us is given grace. Every one of us is given opportunity to serve God and to work in that vineyard spiritually. Every one of us. We all have that ability. But here's the thing. Some of us are given abilities and opportunities in more specific ways. Some people are given other opportunities to serve in roles that other people can't serve in. And it's not because they're better. It's just because that's the way God has laid it out. And specifically, I want to talk about the pastorate or serving in the local church. That's not an office that's open to everybody. We're waiting. We're pulled up this morning and I'm unloading the family and I see this lady there. Look, obviously, two ladies and a young kid. They're dressed for church. And we're here on the front of the building. People who come here for church, they immediately come to our building because the door opens and it covers the sign because I don't know who thought to put the information on that window. They should have moved it over when whoever's responsible for that. So people just see church. They see people in suits say, oh, that's where I'm supposed to go. They really want this church over here. And it became real evident she was in the wrong place because she came over and said, oh, yeah, I'm supposed to speak. I was asked to speak. And it's a good thing I was in a good mood this morning because I might have said, well, shame on you. It's not permitted under a woman to speak at church. So yeah, the place you want is definitely over there. And I'm not just trying to tell a funny story. I'm trying to make a point. Look, there's some positions that are only open to certain people. And I just preached on that. I don't want to re-preach all that. But women are not to usurp the authority of the man, or to teach nor usurp authority of the man. That's what the Bible says. So men have been given an opportunity to serve in a way, and I just mean in a way, that women can't. They have been given the opportunity to be what? To be pastors, to be bishops, to be deacons, to be evangelists, to serve God to another capacity. Not because they're better, just because that's what the Bible says. That's the way God has ordained it. If you have a problem with it, take it up with Him. I don't think you're going to change His mind. And I want to focus in on that, because there's a great need today for men to step up and fill that role. And it's unfortunate that there's not a line forming of people that want to do this job. And I get it. It's not for everybody. And obviously, there has to be a desire. And we'll get into that. But look here in Ephesians 4, if you're still there, look at verse 11. He gave unto every one of us the measure of the gift of Christ, it said in verse 7. Everyone's been given opportunity, but then He has in verse 7, and He gave some apostles. So is that given to everybody, or is it just some people? Well, it's a very specific group of people that were called to be apostles, isn't it? And some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. Not everybody's going to be all these things. Some people are called to serve God, or have been given the opportunity, I should say, to serve God in a capacity that other people can't. For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Now go to 1 Timothy chapter 3. I know these are familiar passages, but we're going to look at them again. We've all been given the abilities and opportunities to serve, but some people have been given opportunities to serve in more specific ways. And there's a real need for this today. There's a real need for people to fulfill this role. And again, if the desire is not there, then obviously it's probably not for us. People have got to want it, because it's not the most glamorous job in the world. It's not exactly the easiest, and there's a lot that comes with it, and we want to make sure we have the desire. Look at 1 Timothy chapter 3 verse 1. This is a true saying, if a man desires the office of a bishop, he desires the good work. And it's always worth pointing out that it says, if a man desires the office of a bishop, not just meaning it's got to be the pastor's son, it's got to be some guy who's just got all of his ducks in a row, or there has to be a bright shining light. If some guy, if all the hair on his arm stands up or he gets goosebumps at some preaching service, then he's called to come serve in the ministry. If you do enough time in the old IFB, it sounds like you're going to county or something. I was in for 11 years, brother. You see this type of thing. You know what I'm talking about, where these guys, they talk like this. You'll be at the camp meeting, you know, has anyone got a testimony? I was here. God moved, and He spoke to my heart, and I've been called to the pastorate tonight. Maybe God does put the desire in these people, but it says if a man desires the office of a bishop, meaning it's open to anybody who can do what? Meet these qualifications. If he has the desire, and it goes on and gives the qualifications, if he has that, he can meet these, you know what? He has that opportunity to do what? To serve in a way that other people can't. It's an opportunity for people that not everybody has. Look at verse 2. It says, a bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach. This is the qualification. Where's the bright shining light? Where's the voice from heaven? Where's the sunbeam, the clouds parting, and the sun falling down upon me, and me just being moved in the pastorate? No. If the desire's there, and then I can use this as a checklist and say, blameless? Check. The husband of one wife? Check. No striker? You know, not somebody who's, you know, doesn't mean, you know, grappler. It just means, you know, you're not somebody who's a brawler, right? It goes on and explains that. You know, not around, going around and getting into fistfights and starting, you know, starting things with people. Not greedy of filthy lucre? Can't be somebody who's just in it for the money? You know, for the riches of the Baptist ministry? Anyway, that's kind of an inside joke. You know, it can't be greedy. Because why? Because if you're just in it for the money, you know, you're gonna start preaching lies and heresy. That's how the Naboth's work, or the Ahab's work. They see some church, they see some vineyard that God has planted where people are doing work. He says, hmm, I could use that. We'll let, you know, and we'll see here what he offers, right? They offer something. Ahab offered something to Naboth. You know, the world could come in and say, hey, you know what? We could fill that church up for you, preacher. You know, we could line those pockets. We could get that plate nice and full. You know, all you'd have to do is just get rid of that old King James Bible. Put on that graphic t-shirt. Get some smoke and some lights up here. Get you a nice little glass pulpit. One of those queer looking little microphones right here. And then I could change my voice and I could start preaching like this. And, you know, I could just say, I'm here to share with you this morning. I could have my holy jeans on. Literally holy. You know, not because they're sanctified, but because they literally have holes in them. You know, and we could just have nice, soft, easy messages, and everyone come in. I could just reach out and just rub your little earlobes, and we could just fill this place up. You know, look, the Ahabs of this world are out there. They offer that. I mean, how else do you explain some of these churches? These mega churches that are just packed to the brim. It's not because they weren't preaching like they were this morning in here. That's not the kind of preaching that's going on in there. They're not using the word fag multiple times in a sermon. They're not even going near that subject. Or if they are, they're just talking about how everyone's welcome and whatever. You see, that's the point I'm making. And that's why this is one of these qualifications. That if this is a desire you have and this is something you want to do, you know, being greedy of filthy lucre is not an option. Because you will give in. You will say, well, let's bring in the contemporary music. Let's bring in the ESV. Let's change some doctrine. You know, after all, it's all about just bringing people in, right? It's just about filling our Father's house and just, you know, and changing lives and everything. And look, we're all about that. But, you know, hard preaching can change lives too. So anyway, I don't want to go on about that. But he goes on and gives these qualifications. But patient, not a brawler, not covetous. It's kind of repeating itself, right? Saying, not no filthy lucre. He can't be covetous. Not a striker. Not a brawler. One that ruleth well his own house, having children, his children in subjection with all gravity. For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God? Now, this doesn't mean he has to be perfect in this area. It doesn't mean he has his robot-like children that just obey his every command. It just means that he rules it well. That when there is an issue, it gets dealt with. Okay? That's what that means. Not a novice. You know, it can't be just someone who's new to the faith. You know, it can't just be somebody that's just, you know, brand new, has only read the Bible a few times, you know, doesn't really know doctrine, so on and so forth. It's got to be somebody who knows the Scripture and has lived the Christian life. Not just the doctrine, but actually lived the Christian life. You know, because that's, you know, that's a whole other ball of wax right there. You know, just living this life. Living a separated life. Living, you know, a sanctified life. Living a godly life. That's something you have to kind of get into a groove with. You know, that's something you can't just be new at. Lest being lifted up with pride, you fall in the condemnation of the devil. You know, if you put the new guy behind the pulpit, it might go to his head. You might start feeling like, wow, I'm really, everyone's paying attention to me. Wow, I've got every, you know, I've got something to say. I'm a real big shot. And what is he doing? He's being lifted up with pride, and we talked about that this morning. Moreover, he must have a good report of them which are without lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Now that report, you know, that report of them which are without, it just means he's not accused of any gross sin. You know, some people will say, oh, I would do it, but you know, 20 years ago, I shoplifted as a teenager. It's like, I don't think that's what he's talking about. You know, it's talking about you're not known for being an adulterer. You're not into embezzlement. You know, you don't have this bad reputation out in the world. Go over to Titus chapter 1. You know, this is something that's repeated. Titus chapter 1. Look, this is a real need that we have today. It's like every day and multiple times a week at the least where people are contacting our church. Is there a church here? We need a good church here. Send one to this country. Send one to this part of the world. Send one to this state, this city. It's all the time. You know, and I'd love to say, hey, yeah, just the next one out the gate. You know, that's where they're going. But that's just, you know, people aren't lining up for this position. People just aren't, you know, forming a line to do this. And I get it. It's not for everybody, but I have a hard time believing that there aren't some people, there aren't people that if they wanted to do it, they could. If they wanted to do it, if they could fulfill these qualifications and they could be a bishop and they could do what? A great work for Christ. They could take that vineyard, that opportunity that has been given to them and do a great work for God somewhere. And it's not something that's given to just everybody. Look at Titus chapter 1 verse 5. For this cause I left thee in Crete that thou should have set in order the things that are wanting, you know, the things that are lacking and ordained elders in every city. So that's God's will. See, what's God's will for to evangelize the world? Oh, to ordain elders in every city? I mean, has that changed? Crete's an island. It's not even that big of an island. And God said, even on that one island, I want elders in every city. I want there to be a church, a Bible believing, soul winning church in every city of Crete. Now, you know, that's like a picture of the world. Why wouldn't God want that? He said, as I had appointed thee, he wants one in every city. If any, be blameless. You know, here's the qualifications again. The husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless as the steward of God, not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy luger, but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate, holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. You say, well, I don't know about that. Look, that's a list we should endeavor to check off anyway, every single one of us. We should all desire, well, maybe not every single one of us, you know, the husband of one wife, but you know, being faithful to our spouse. But look, being holy, sober, just, temperate, not a striker. These are things that we should all want for our lives. Now look at verse 10. He says, for there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, especially they of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped. Look, there's a real need for sound doctrine to be preached in every city in this world. That's what we need. There's a lot of other churches out there. There's a lot of other people that are getting up and preaching lies and heresy, that are getting up and deceiving people, that are taking Ahab up on the filthy luger and building these mega churches and damning souls to hell. That's why it says their mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not for filthy lugers sake. Go back to 1 Kings chapter 21. Actually, you should have something there. You're going to want to go to Matthew 13, but we're going to look at 1 Kings 21 again. You know, there's plenty of people in this world, you know, I have a hard time believing that there aren't men, you know, if not in this room at least, you know, that are going to hear this sermon maybe on the internet, you know, or wherever, or maybe even in this room, I don't know, that there aren't men who can't, if they wanted to, could fill this role. If they really wanted to do it, they could do it. They could check off these things and do this. And look, and I'm not saying if people don't do it that it makes them a bad person. I get it. It's not for everybody. I understand that. I don't want to keep repeating myself. But, you know, sometimes I wonder if there aren't people who could do it that just don't want to do it because they want to take up Ahab, they want to take Ahab up on the offer. If they just say, well, you know what, I could do that, but I'd rather just make all this money. I'd rather just, you know, do whatever with my life. Okay. Ahab made Naboth an offer, didn't he? And look, the devil does the same thing to us, whether it's, you know, in this regard to being the, going into the pastorate or it's just you as a Christian, you know, the devil, the Naboth, the world, they want to come to you and they want to lure you away from working in that vineyard. Then I say, you know what, you're real busy on Sundays. You know, church, you know, church, you can catch it on, you can catch the replay online. You know, maybe you can get a few more hours in at work. You don't need to go soul winning so much. There's other people that'll do it until everyone gets that attitude. You know, they want to take, he wants to take you out of that vineyard and get you busy doing something else. Okay. He's going to make you an offer. That's how he starts out. 1 Kings 21 verse 2, and Ahab spake on an Ahaboth saying, give me thine vineyard that I may have it for a garden of verse because it is near to my house and I will give thee, for thee, for it a better vineyard than it if it seemed good to thee. Saying, look, I'm not just going to leave you empty handed. I'm going to give you something in return. Look, you know, and it's not that you're just going to stay home from church. You know, you can get a boat and go to the lake unless you live here, right? Then as you get a set of clubs and go down to the, you know, the, and play golf or whatever, you know, you fill that in. But that's what he does. He makes an offer. He doesn't just, you know, that's how he gets people out of serving God by giving them another option that looks good. A better vineyard, right? That's what he calls it. See, people are not going to serve God to the capacity that they could because they're going to look at what the world's offering, what Ahab is offering and say, that's better to me. I think that that's a, I think Ahab's right. It is a better vineyard. I think it's better for me to do whatever, other than serve God. They're not going to take, they're going to take him up on his offer because they think the world has something better to offer. You know, and often it's the same thing that Ahab's offering. Make more money. You know, you can make more money. You know, there's people that could get up and they could preach a sermon. They could edify the body of Christ. They could, they could study the Bible. They could know sound doctrine. They could win souls. They're apt to teach. They could, they're well-spoken. They could do this job, but you know what, maybe they'll make more money as a public speaker. Maybe they'll make more money, you know, using their gifts and their abilities to go, you know, be the head of some corporation or go, you know, do whatever. They'll find some other career where they can use those same skills to, to profit just themselves. That's how the Naboth, that's how the Ahab's work. They come and they offer you something in place of that vineyard that you have inherited from your fathers. It's that same offer often is money. But here's the thing about that, you know, Ahab put Naboth, this is really hard to say, Ahab put Naboth, you know, put him in a position where he had to make a choice, didn't he? He had to look at these two things that were on the table and say, look, I can serve, I can keep this vineyard that I was inherited. And you know what, maybe that other one, maybe that offer he's making, maybe it is a better vineyard. Maybe it's bigger. Maybe the soil's better over there. Maybe it'll be more fruitful. You know, but that's probably not the case. I mean, I don't, I don't think Ahab is somebody you can really trust. He's not exactly a man of integrity, right? For all you know, he was lying. And people, but people could look at that offer and they could say, well, it does look better. And maybe it even will, you know, temporarily it might even be better. But you know what, that inheritance is gone. And a lot of times, you know, if we choose, well, I'm not going to serve God. I'm going to take up the Ahabs of this world. I'm going to take them up on their offer. You know what, then we might profit in this world. We might do well in this world, but it's all going to be for naught and eternity. It's not going to translate into heaven. Did I have you go to Matthew 13? Look at verse three. And he spake many things under them in parables saying, behold, a sower went forth to sow. And I know I've preached this, but I'm bringing it up again. Verse seven, and some fell among thorns. We know this parable. The sower goes out. He sows the seed. The seed falls on different types of ground. In verse seven, it says some fell among thorns. And the thorn sprung up and choked them. What's the problem with this ground in this parable? It's not the ground, is it? Is it the ground that's the problem? Because remember the other one, you know, the wayside, it could get no deepness of earth because of the fact that it was hard packed. You know, there were rocks in it. The wayside is where everybody walked. The seed couldn't penetrate and germinate. It couldn't get down in the soil. And the ravens of the world came, you know, they came at the foul of the air and they picked it up. They got eaten. The ground was the problem. Is the ground the problem in this parable? No. What's the problem? It's the thorns that spring up with them, meaning this ground is perfectly capable of supporting life. It's good ground. I mean, the thorns are thriving. The thorns are doing great. The thorns are growing. They're choking out anything else that tries to grow. You know, they're well watered. The soil's good. It's growing. So the problem is not the ground, but it's what's growing in the place of the seed that was sown, isn't it? Verse 22, he explains and he says, he also that receives seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word and the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and choke the word. So what are the thorns that are growing up? It's the care of this world. It's all the things, all the responsibilities and burdens, the other things that we get distracted with. And that's not necessarily wicked or bad things, just things that we're more concerned with than the things of God. The deceitfulness of riches. Those are the things that choke the word and he becometh unfruitful. The vineyard gets full of thorns. It gets overgrown. There's no spiritual fruit. There's a lot of great thorns in there. You know, and if somebody could find something profitable to do with thorns, boy, you'd be sitting on something, but they're worthless, spiritually speaking. There's no, you know, the cares of this world, the riches of this world, they're nothing to God. You know, God's not going to look at our bank account and say, well, good job, boy. He's not going to say, oh, I'm so glad, you know, you skipped out on church and you skipped out on soul winning and you didn't serve me. And, you know, I'm glad you were real successful doing whatever else and not using the opportunity that God has given us. So Ahab, you know, he makes this offer, and again, it's an offer. You know, this is something that he does to Naboth. He puts him in this position where he has to make a decision, where he says, look, I'm either, I can give you a better vineyard or you could do something with what God has given you. And Naboth, you know, he, I love his reaction. He's just not going to part with his inheritance, right? He said, you know, God forbid that I should do this, right? He said, these are the inheritance of my fathers. And I know you're in Matthew, right? Matthew 13. Go back to Matthew 4 real quick. We'll look at this real quick. You know, Matthew 6, Jesus said, no man can serve two masters. And I talked, I mentioned this the other day, but I want to mention it again. He said, you know, no man can serve two masters, otherwise he'll love the one and hate the other, or else he will despise the one and hold to the other, right? And I just, and I pointed this out the other day in verse 25. He just assumes we're going to make the right decision. Therefore, I say unto you, take no thought for your life. He says, look, you can't serve to a master, so now that we've settled that, I just, I'm just going to assume you're going to choose me, is what he said. And he says, so take no thought for your life, you know. He doesn't say, so you decide whether or not you want to take a thought for your life. You decide if you want to, you know, worry about what you're going to eat and your body and what you're going to put on. You know, you worry about all that. You decide. He just says, you know what, take no thought for your life. No man can serve two masters, therefore take no thought for your life. You see how he just instantly assumes we're going to make the right decision? That we're all going to be like Naboth. They just say, God forbid that I should give up my inheritance. Jesus said, then Jesus saith unto him, Satan, right, get thee hence day, and for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. You know, that was the example that Jesus set, is that you're, you know, we can only serve one master. You can't serve both, and we have to make that decision. Are we going to hang on to the inheritance God has given us, or are we just going to give it up for an exchange for whatever, you know, Ahab has to offer? You know, here's the thing. You know, you think, well, I'm just going to resist the devil, and he will flee. You know, I'm just going to go ahead, you know, Naboth, he said, well, I'm not going to, he says, no, I'm not taking that offer, but is that where it ended? Is that how the story ended for him? No, and you know what? Jesus, he said, get thee hence Satan, and Satan left, but was that the end? No, Satan came back, didn't he? You know, we know how the story goes. He, you know, he takes over Judas. He works, and he, you know, and all of that, and that's how it is in our own life. You know, that's just kind of a subpoint here is that the Bible says resist the devil, and he will flee from you, and that's true. That doesn't mean he's gone forever. That doesn't mean he's like, okay, I tried to get this, this Christian. I tried to tempt them. I tried to get them off the path. They resisted. You know, they prayed. They stayed right with God, so I'm going to go bother somebody else now, because the devil's not omnipotent. You know, he's not, he's not omniscient. He's not, he has to, he has to move around, right? He can't be in all places at all times, so he's like, well, I'm not going to waste my time here. I have a short time. I'm just going to move on to this guy, but that doesn't mean he might not come back later and try you again. That's what he did to Jesus, and that's what happened to Naboth too, and I'm just saying this, that if you decide, you know what? I'm going to work this vineyard. What God has given me, I'm going to use it. I'm going to serve God with my life to whatever capacity he's given you the ability to do that. Just understand that you have to face Jezebel next. That Ahab just doesn't go without a fight, okay? Well, he lets his wife do his fighting for him, okay? So, you know, he goes home and pouts like a little baby. You know, he wouldn't give me my vineyard, right? We know, we read the story. Verse, 1 Kings 21, if you're there again, you know, Ahab, when his offer doesn't work, that's when Jezebel steps in. You say, I'm going to serve God. I'm not giving up. I'm going to, I'm going to live for God. I'm going to work this vineyard that God has given me. Okay, well, here comes Jezebel, and she's not going to make you any kind of an offer. She's pretty underhanded. It says in verse 3, and Naboth said to Ahab, the Lord forbid it me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee, and Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased. It doesn't mean he gained weight, right? He was just depressed, right? He came in his house heavy, displeased, because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken unto him. For he said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. He's pouting. Such a silly story. Like, what a weakling. But Jezebel's wife came and said to him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread? I'm trying to do my best, Jezebel, okay? And he said unto her, Because I spake to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money, or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it. And he answered, I will not give me my vineyard. You can just see the picture. He's just this whining, sniveling little man, and his wife's doing all his fighting for him. And Jezebel, his wife said to him, Dost thou now govern the king of Israel? Arise, and eat bread, and let that height be merry. Okay, I gotta stop. I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. And then we know how the story goes. They sold the feast, right? There's the flattery, and then she sets up the false witnesses, and they accuse him for blasphemy, and they get him killed, right? When Ahab's offer doesn't work, and you decide, I'm not going to sell out for God, that's when the real battle begins. When you say, Well, you know what? I am going to fulfill that role that God has given me. I am going to stay in this vineyard. I am going to use the inheritance of my fathers. You think that's the battle, having to choose that? Jesus just assumes that's what you're going to choose. He just says, Take no thought for your life. Therefore, take no thought. That's the easy part. The hard part is when Judas came back, and Satan entered into him and had him arrested. That was the real battle for the Lord. The real battle for Ahab or Naboth wasn't when Ahab came along and made this offer. He said, I'm not giving up the inheritance. That's easy decision to make. My fathers gave me this. This is my father's, and my father's father's, and so on and so forth. This is the land I know. This is what God has given me. I'm going to use it for him. I'm going to be fruitful. That's an easy decision. The hard part is when Jezebel comes back and gets vindictive and starts to resist and start to fight. Then, verse 14, then sent to Jezebel saying, Naboth is stoned and is dead. Look, the world is going to play dirty to get their way. They're going to try and do whatever they can to get us out of church or serving God in general. Think about a lot of times people have struggles with their employers. They say, hey, I've had bosses where I said, they're hiring me. I say, I don't work Sundays. Okay, yeah, sure. Then you work for a little while. It's like, hey, I'm going to need you to work Sunday. It's like, no, I told you when you hired me that I don't work Sundays. Yeah, I know, but I'm just like, well, I'm not doing it. Obviously, you've got to stand your ground on that issue. Now, I'm not saying your boss is going to set you up and have you stoned. But isn't that kind of how the world works? They'll play dirty. They'll start to try and get you to do things the hard way. They'll try to go ahead and just be vindictive even. And you know what? Think about going back to specifically about a pastorate, being a pastor, being a preacher. You say, well, you know what? I'm going to preach then. Okay, I'm going to go ahead. I'm going to fulfill that role. I'm going to be a preacher one day. And then you get in behind the pulpit, and it's time to start preaching. And then you get to that passage where it's going to make people mad. You know, you start preaching about the homos like we did this morning. And then the Jezebel start to show up, don't they? And then that's the real battle, isn't it? When they're going to try and come and shut you down and do whatever. That's when the real battle begins. And a lot of preachers, that's why they're just going to go, well, I'm not going to preach that. Let's just skip over Leviticus. Let's just skip over Deuteronomy. Let's just skip over Genesis 19, Judges 19, Romans 1, 2 Peter 2, Book of Jude. Let's just not read those passages. Let's just gloss that. Or let's just give another interpretation. You know, we just won't read it all. Why? Because they're afraid of Jezebel. So, haven't they already, isn't that kind of selling out in your inheritance then? Maybe you didn't give up the whole thing, but you're going to give Ahab a little just corner lot for his herbs. They don't take up much room. They're just herbs. And you could grow those on a windowsill. You know, but he can have his little corner plot in my vineyard, and I just won't preach that because I don't want Jezebel. It's not Ahab I'm worried about. It's Jezebel showing up, you know, and protesting or whatever. Well, how about this? You know, that's not going to apply to the vast majority of people in the room. But what about people that are never going to serve God out of fear of, what, knocking a door? And look, I'm not trying to minimize that fear because that's a real thing that people go through. You know, and it's worse for some people than others. It can be nerve-wracking to walk up that first time and, like, I'm going to talk. Someone's going to answer this door, and I'm going to have to start talking, right? And anyone who started doing that knows what that's like. It's nerve-wracking, right? And then eventually it gets easier. And even after, like, years of soul-witting, I would go out and, like, the first door was always nerve-wracking for years. And now it's just because I've been doing it so long, right? So I'm not trying to minimize that. I know what that's like. But you know what? You shouldn't let that stop you. Say, oh, I'm going to serve God. I'm going to go soul-witting. Great. Well, here comes Jezebel. You know, I'm not trying to say the people you're preaching to are not Jezebel. But you know what? That fear is like Jezebel. She's going to try and put the fear into your heart. Now it's time to do the real work of actually knocking the door and preaching the gospel to somebody. We already talked about, you know, the preacher behind the pulpit. You know, he might be afraid of having to rip some face or deal with something. You know, he might, he doesn't want to deal with the consequences. He doesn't want to deal with the Jezebels that are going to come. But here's the thing. We can't give in. You need to be like Ahab and say, no, sir. You can't have my inheritance. I'm going to serve God. This is mine. It's what God gave me. I'm going to use it for Him. You're still in 1 Kings, right? 1 Kings 21. Just stay there. You know, unfortunately, a lot of people are. A lot of people are going to give in. They're going to go ahead and take up the Ahabs of this world. They're going to take them up on his offer. They're not going to serve God. They're not going to do the soul-witting. They're not going to do the preaching. They're not going to be in the church. They're going to have all their excuses. And you know what? Maybe they'll never have to face a Jezebel, but they're not going to have an inheritance either, are they? Their inheritance is gone. So, you know, it doesn't come easy, but it's worth it. Abraham, or Abraham. I don't know why I'm struggling with the names. It's been a long day. Ahab misappropriated, right? He took, he wanted to take that by force, but notice what he wanted to do with Nabal's vineyard. He wanted to misuse it. You know, it's a sad thing when people give in, when they go ahead and just say, well, I'm not going to serve God with my life. You know what the sad thing is? You watch the way the world uses their life, and it's a misuse. I mean, look at what Nabal, look what Ahab wanted to do with Nabal's vineyard. 1 Kings 21, verse 2. And Ahab, if it's in the notes, I read it, okay? 1 Kings 21, verse 2. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for what? A garden of herbs. I mean, he has a vineyard, right? Now, that's a lot of work. I mean, I'm not a horticulturist up here, but I mean, to me, it just seems like that's the wrong use for a vineyard. To say, well, let's tear down all these vines. Let's tear down all these grapes, or whatever else he was growing in there, and let's just grow some herbs. I mean, don't you think there's more value in a cluster of grapes than some oregano? I mean, if you were starving, and I came up to you and said, hey, I've got a cluster of grapes or some cilantro. Now, some of you might take the cilantro. I don't know. No, you're going to reach for the grapes, right? You know, I'm going to give you, hey, how about a box of raisins, or, you know, what's another herb? I can't think of any right now. Basil. How about some basil? That'll fill you up. You want to fill up on some basil? Or would you rather have some nice, you know, juicy, well, I guess raisins aren't juicy, but delicious raisins. We take the raisins, right? And they grow in the vineyard. Look, the world just wants to take your life, and they want to use it for something that's going to produce something of less value in eternity. It might have some value. You know, it might make the Ahabs happy when they sit down to dinner, and they have a little something to sprinkle on whatever they're eating. But, you know, your inheritance is gone. There's not going to be any grapes. There's not going to be anything really fulfilling, anything of real eternal value in a life that gets just, you know, misappropriated by Ahab. The world is never going to use the child of God to His full potential. No matter how successful you are in the world, it will never compare to a life lived for the Lord, the fruitfulness of that life lived for the Lord. No matter how successful you are in the world, how much money you make, how well off you become, if you sell out for Ahab, and you might not have to face the Jezebels, you're going to get to heaven in about two seconds. You're going to realize it wasn't worth it. You know, the Bible says God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love. You know, it doesn't always pay off in this life, right? We understand that. But do you think Paul is going to get to heaven and just wonder, well, I wonder how far I could have gone in the Jews religion. What if I just stayed with the Jews religion? I wonder how much more successful I could have been. I mean, I was, after all, you know, I was a Hebrew of the Hebrews. I wonder how far I could have taken that. Do you think he has any regrets of that in heaven? Not one bit. The world's only going to use us to serve themselves. You know, it was near unto his house. That's why he wanted it. It was convenient for him. He didn't care about the outcome for, you know, Ahab didn't care about the outcome for Naboth. He didn't care that he was going to lose an inheritance. He just said, you know what? It's convenient for me. It's right there. You know, I want to spice up my dinners a little bit. Let's get a garden of herbs here. He didn't care that it was somebody's inheritance. He didn't care that it was somebody's, you know, something that they had been given and that was theirs. I got to hurry up and close this, but I'm going to close on this thought. You know, Ahab, he called it a better vineyard, right? He called it, he said, hey, I'll give you a better vineyard for it or some other thing. So he said in 1 Kings chapter 21 verse 2, and Ahab spake on Naboth saying, give me thy vineyard that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house, and I will give it for thee a better vineyard than it. You know, Naboth, he didn't fall for the trick. Naboth, he says, you know what? That's a Naboth. Naboth says, you know what? My vineyard is just as good because it's not going to get turned into a garden of herbs. I mean, he's looking at it and saying, you know, what good is this? Is it really a better vineyard if you're going to take it and turn the one I have right now into a garden of herbs? You're downgrading what was given to me. Yeah, it's better in that sense because you're making what I was given, you know, worse. You see what I'm saying? Saying, yeah, you're going to give me a better vineyard because you're making this one so bad. And I know I'm getting a little wordy. And let me just, this is what I'm trying to say, okay, is that the true value of something is not found in owning it, but rather the way it's used. You know, the true value of your life is not just because you're alive. It's how you use it that gives it value. You know, you're not going to get to heaven and say, well, you know, I was sucking air for 80 years. Good job. What'd you do for the Lord? You know what I mean? Yeah, it's what you do with that life that matters. I mean, here's an example, okay. If the church, let's say the church just bought a fleet of brand new, beautiful vans. I mean, just luxury, tinted, brand new AC. I mean, that sounded pretty nice right about now. Just decked out, you know, all the bells and whistles, just a fleet. And then we just, we parked them in the parking lot, and then we just looked at them. So there they are. There's our vans. They never won't, they don't go anywhere. They look nice. They're very expensive. And you know what, but they, we don't use them. You know what would be more valuable in the attorneys if we just bought everybody a bike and say, here, go soul winning on that. Be a Mormon, be like a Mormon. You know, helmet, optional. Okay. Name tag, no. All right. No short-sleeved white shirts. Don't call yourself elder, you know, but here's a bike. You know, those bikes would actually be more valuable than that whole fleet of church vans. If we had a whole fleet of church vans and we just bought one guy a bike and said, here's a bike to go soul winning on, that bike would be of more value than that whole fleet. Because it's actually doing something for the Lord. You see what I'm saying? It's the way it's being used that makes it valuable. It's not just the owning of it. And that's what Nabal understood. He said, yeah, you know what, maybe in your mind, did I say it again? He said, you know what, maybe in your mind Ahab, that's a better vineyard, but this is the one I have. And the way I'm using this is the way better than the way you want to use it. And the fact that I'm using this vineyard that God has given me, you know, that's what gives it its value. So Nabal, you know, he was resolute. Nabal was resolute, right? He said, there's no way I'm going to give up my inheritance. And, you know, there's people, and we're all going to be made this offer. You know, we're all going to be told, hey, you know what, stop serving God, pursue some career, you know, or stop going soul winning, you know, don't serve God, just, you know, be worried about all the cares and the riches of this life. Those are the things that that offer is going to be, you know, put to us. And there might be even people that are, you know, even pondering that better vineyard, thinking, well, I wonder how good it is out there in the world. There might be teenagers in the room thinking, you know what, I wonder what it's like out there in the world. I wonder how much fun I could have out there without all these rules and restrictions. You know, I wonder how much, you know, money I could make or whatever, you know, what I could get into out there in the world. It's not worth it. You know, just take my word for it. Take the Bible's word for it. The way of the transgressor is hard. And, you know, Ahab wants, he's going to make you an offer, young people. He's going to come to you and say, hey, you know what, you know, there's something else I could give you in place of that vineyard. And what? The world say it's better. But is it really? It's not. What to do is he's trying to rob you of something that is of true value. We need to respond like Nabal. The Lord forbid it that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. Nabal said, no way am I giving this up. I don't care what your I got this from my fathers. It's what was given to me. This is my inheritance. I'm not just going to give it up. I'm going to hang on to it. Even if you want to try and give me something that's better. I mean, imagine, you know, Nabal gets to heaven and he finds out, you know, his godly forefathers that built that vineyard. They get there. Oh, tell us what you did with it. Oh, I gave it to Ahab. You did what? Oh yeah. He wanted, what's he doing with it? He made it into a garden of herbs. They'd be like, they'd be furious. They'd be really upset. It reminds me of this story. I knew a guy. He sold me a shotgun that he'd had for a long time, right? And he shot, and I'm kind of telling it myself, he shot a lot of ducks with this gun. It was this nice Mossberg. It was all camoed out. And it was, but it was kind of rough. And he sold it to me. I don't even think he sold it to me. I think he gave me this gun. And then I got hard up or something and I pawned that thing for like 50 bucks. I said, hey, what'd you do with that gun? Oh, I pawned it. He was furious. It's like, what do you mean you pawned it? And that was years ago. And it still bothers me. You know, I gave you that. You could have used that. You could have done something with that. If you needed 50 bucks, you could have come ask me, you know. Well, you know, that's kind of a carnal illustration, but what about us? We get to heaven and the Lord says, all right, well, what'd you do with that inheritance? What'd you do with that vineyard I gave you? Well, I gave it to Ahab. Well, what'd he do with it? Well, you know, he had me, you know, working some job. He had me taking part in some sinful pleasure, whatever. He had me not serving God the way I could have been serving God. I mean, what excuse are you going to offer up? There's nothing. So what I'm getting at this evening is the fact that, you know, we've been given a spiritual inheritance, all of us, that affords every single one of us some degree, some measure, some kind of opportunity to serve God. To take that vineyard that's been given and have a spiritual harvest. We've all been given that opportunity. And I just don't want anyone to be fooled by the Ahabs of this world. They're going to come along and say, well, I've got a better vineyard. It's not better because it's going to rob you of the inheritance. What they have to offer is not better. You know, so don't let somebody downgrade you from your heavenly inheritance for earthly comfort. Don't let them rob you of your heavenly inheritance by offering you earthly comfort. You know, the inheritance that God has given, that is the better vineyard. No matter what Ahab says, no matter what the world says, this inheritance that we have been given, our faith, the opportunity to serve God, it is the better vineyard. What makes it better is the fact that it can yield fruit unto eternal life. And I just want to encourage us to not give that up. You know, not to let the Ahabs of this world rob us of the opportunity to do great things for God. Let's go ahead and pray.