From Capitulation to Conquest - Part 1
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Intro
Intro
1 And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it. 2 And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Ben-hadad, 3 Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.
Satan isn’t interested in your opinion…
He could care less what you think…
He is coming to take what you have… including your silver, your gold, your wives, your children...
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Devour: to eat up; to eat with greediness; to eat ravenously; to destroy spiritually; to ruin the soul
Story / Illustration:
Imagine this: A ruthless criminal walks up to your front door in broad daylight. He doesn’t sneak around or whisper threats in the shadows—no, he looks you dead in the eye and tells you exactly what he’s about to do.
"At 3 AM tomorrow morning, I’m coming for you. I will walk right past your security cameras, past your locked doors, past your barking dog. None of it will stop me. I will take everything you have, everything you cherish, and I will do it while you stand powerless to stop me—because you won’t even try."
"I will walk into your bedroom and rip your wife from your side. I will steal her heart, her joy, her very identity. She will no longer be the woman you vowed to protect—she will be broken, twisted, unrecognizable."
"I will step into your children’s rooms while they sleep, their innocent faces resting on their pillows, and I will plant something in them that will poison them for the rest of their lives. I will twist their minds, fill them with fear, anxiety, and doubt. I will make them question you, question authority, question the very Word of God. They will grow up cynical, distrustful, wandering through life wounded and lost. Their relationships will be shattered, their homes broken, their futures dark. And if I have my way, I will lead them so far from the truth that they will live in rebellion against everything good—until they step into eternity, separated from God, tormented forever."
"And you? You will watch it happen. You will sit there, knowing I’m coming. Knowing I’ve promised to destroy everything you love. And you will do nothing."
If you’ve surrendered and are waiving the white flag of surrender:
to just be content living in disappointment and discouragement forever
You’ve surrendered to simply remain hurt and bitter towards people forever
You’ve surrendered to be an angry person forever
You’ve surrendered to be a lying, stealing, cheating person forever
You’ve surrendered to be addicted to pornography, alcohol, drugs or anything that separates you from God forever
You’ve surrendered to an ungodly marriage where children are out of order, wives are ruling the home and the husband is no where to be found
You’ve surrendered to be envious and consistently wishing your circumstances were different
You’ve surrendered to a life of unhappiness and continuous contention
You’ve surrendered to a life of pride and insecurity
You’ve surrendered to unfaithfulness to God forever
Maybe you’ve been wore down by someone in your life and have given up having any sort of Biblical standards because you’re just too tired to fight anymore…
Don’t let satan write your history in advance…
He doesn’t get to choose what you are and what you become…
He only wins the victories in which you surrender and yield yourself to Him…
You don’t have to live a life of defeat… you can live in victory through the power and presence of God…
In the text: Benhadad, King of Syria, surrounded Samaria and sent messengers to King Ahab saying, “Everything you have is mine, including your wives and children.”
King Ahab must’ve stood his ground and said, “Not so, Benhadad, if you want them you have to go through me!”
4 And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have.
Wicked and wimpy King Ahab capitulated to the enemy…
Wicked and wimpy King Ahab capitulated to the enemy…
There was no fight…
There was no argument…
There wasn’t even any negotiation…
He 100%, all-out, completely and wholly surrendered himself, his family and everything he owned to the enemy…
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
5 And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children; 6 Yet I will send my servants unto thee to morrow about this time, and they shall search thine house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.
Once Ahab capitulated, the enemy wanted more, down to every detail…
Once Ahab capitulated, the enemy wanted more, down to every detail…
Satan is not satisfied with only some of you…
He wants all of you…
It may be a little bit at a time, but satan won’t stop until he was taken all of you…
31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
When you give into satan in one thing, he sends his messengers to search every inch of your life to see what else he desires to take as his…
7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeketh mischief: for he sent unto me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I denied him not. 8 And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent.
The counsel to Ahab was to “not hearken or consent to King Benhadad!”
The counsel to Ahab was to “not hearken or consent to King Benhadad!”
9 Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Ben-hadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do: but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again. 10 And Ben-hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me. 11 And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off. 12 And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city.
13 And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
In spite of a wicked and wimpy king, God was still working in His people’s lives and showing Himself powerful!
In spite of a wicked and wimpy king, God was still working in His people’s lives and showing Himself powerful!
Key to the message:
Key to the message:
God required the one who capitulated and surrendered all to the enemy to be the one to reengage in warfare
God required the one who capitulated and surrendered all to the enemy to be the one to reengage in warfare
14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou.
If you have waived the white flag of surrender to the enemy…
The one to get back in the fight and start standing up to that “evil one” is you…
YOU must be the one to order the battle…
No one can do it for you…
15 Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two: and after them he numbered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand. 16 And they went out at noon. But Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him. 17 And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria. 18 And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive. 19 So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them. 20 And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen. 21 And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.
God always comes through…
Conclusion:
Have you capitulated… surrendered to the enemy and given free access to satan to yourself and your family?
Are you ready to get back into the battle? You are the one to reengage in the warfare…
