2 Samuel 5 (Part 2) Bible Study (David Anointed King of Israel) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Second Samuel chapter five. Meet me there. And as you come to this chapter, meet me in verse six. Second Samuel chapter five verse verse six. And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land who said to David, you will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off, thinking David cannot come in here.

Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is the city of David. And David said on that day, whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack the lame and the blind who are hated by David's soul. Therefore, it is said, the blind and the lame shall not come into the house. And David lived in the stronghold and called it the City Of David, and David built the city all around. And my lord, n word.

And David became greater and greater for the Lord, the God of hosts was with him. Lord, this is your precious word. We wanna savor it tonight. We wanna be nourished by it tonight. And father, we are excited to be in your house tonight.

Lord, open our minds, disarm our hearts, and let the implanted word save our souls. Save it from sin. Save it from fear. Save it from discouragement. Save it from deception.

We pray that there would be a special touch on this Bible study. Lord, we long to fellowship with you, and you have given us the means through your word. Now let this word wash over us, cleanse us, polish us, whatever needs to be done for us to have a greater reflection of the person of Jesus Christ. Oh, we are we are so honored, father, to be in this place in your presence with your people. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. In a brief five verses, if you were here last week, you and I read the fulfillment of Samuel's prophetic word and God's promise to David because he was finally inaugurated as the king over all of Israel, not just Judah, but over all the tribes. And in our study tonight, we will quickly note how David proved to be God's chosen man for the assignment because almost immediately, he is going to make great advancements for the nation. And when we see this, what we will also recognize is that in the following chapters, it will really be just like a series of conquest and campaigns that David is able to achieve, and it will be a direct result of his gifted leadership and his love for God and for God's people. And each story will give us the necessary instructions to understand who God is and his ways with man.

But even with that general observations of this new section in our study of the life of David as the king of Israel, we already have something to consider and meditate. And it is this, in the same way that David brought about immediate blessing the moment Israel recognized and elected him as the king, So it is with the person who submits to the lordship of Jesus Christ. There is sudden reward. There is immediate blessing. And if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, you know you know that the moment you've truly repented and believed on his name, there was this infusion of peace, this overwhelming joy, this burden of sin that rolled off of your back.

And as a follower of Christ, you know that that is just the beginning. That is just the genesis of the rewards that will follow us who chose to follow him. And here's what's amazing. In this in this study, the way we're gonna frame our application is that in the same way we see unique features that are attributed to the kingship of David, it will point to the ultimate fulfillment of the characteristics that are found in the kingdom of Jesus Christ when he takes up ownership of a life, and when he will ultimately take ownership of our world. And so we read it.

What was the first thing that king David sought to do as the newly established leader? He he thought it necessary to to create a headquarters, a political capital for Israel, and the choice was Jerusalem. Any idea why Jerusalem? Not many reasons, but there are some reasons. Has anybody been to Jerusalem other than our elder?

You've been? Anything unique about Jerusalem that would make this a good choice for a capital? Very good. Did you hear it? This was a strategic move, geographically speaking.

Jerusalem is a mountainous region. It it it is hilly. It is rocky, and so it provides natural fortification. And this is what David sought to do to to create his citadel in a place where any enemy invasion will be much more difficult to accomplish. And so he goes and there there are other reasons.

There are other political reasons, but here is one to consider that this is a a great move in terms of military genius. But as we read, David would not plant his flag so easily in Jerusalem because it was already occupied by the Jebusites. And in case we have forgotten, the Jebusites are just one of the people groups who were the inhabitants of the land of Canaan before Joshua led Israel into the promised land to overtake it. And, apparently, we read it, the Jebusites resided with the Israelites for centuries. And the main reason why is because there was a lack of ability or rather a lack of willingness, a lack of faith from a particular tribe of Israel to remove the Jebusites from the scene so that they can have all that God purchased for them in the promised land.

Can you guess which tribe it was that failed at the assignment of removing the Jebusites? Very good. The tribe of, go to Judges chapter one so you can see it. Judges one. Rewind a little bit and look at Judges one chapter one verse 21, and you'll see the answer.

Our brother said it, but it's good to see it in our Bibles. Here's a tribe that failed. Judges one twenty one, but the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. So the Jebusites had lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. And hundreds of years have passed from that moment, and up to David's dynasty starting, we see the Jebusites are still there.

Now we we went through judges to see why this was the case. It was a lack of faith ultimately because God promised them that every single one of the enemies can be overthrown. And because of their own human wisdom or their fears, they allowed some of these inhabitants to remain as neighbors when that was not the will of God. It would have generational consequences as we see here in our study. But isn't this isn't this something telling about someone from Benjamin?

Who who was one of the main characters that we studied who was from Benjamin again? Saul. And Saul was the king of Israel for forty years. And isn't it strange that he did not take it upon himself to do what Benjamin was supposed to do, and that was overthrow the Jebusites? I mean, just add that to the list of failures that he already he already did and he already failed to do.

He failed to overtake the Philistines. He failed to defend the people from outside forces, and he ultimately failed here doing what was originally commanded for this tribe, and that was to ransack the enemy from within. But here's what's significant. Benjamin, as we heard last week, a portion of them at least, they they humble themselves and they looked at David and they said, this is God's choice. This is this is the king, the true king.

Not Saul, not his descendants. This man has truly been anointed of the Lord. And the moment that they chose to submit to the will of God, David could deliver what Saul can never provide. That that's Jesus. When you and I stubbornly try to govern our own lives, our dreams, our passions, our flesh, our sin, thinking that we can rule ourselves well, and refuse to bow before the anointed one of the Lord, then you will never when I mean never, I mean never, you will never know triumph over that which seeks to have dominion over you.

And you have people who who are not even Christian who can confess that there are certain habits and decisions that are self destructive, destructive to others. They may not label it as sin, but it is sin. And you might even have professing Christians, not truly born again, but they profess to be Christians, and they can never seem to overcome certain things in their lives. And I wanna tell you the reason is is because you have refused to give yourself to the lordship of Christ. In totality, in in in the truest sense of the word, you have not arrived there because the only solution for you to know genuine freedom is to genuinely submit to Christ as Lord.

And if not, then you will be like many people and just like the tribe of Benjamin. You will resolve that, you know, I guess I cannot overcome this and I will just live comfortably and tolerate these ungodly habits in my life that are eating up my soul and destroying me and others. That's what people do. They just they just live with their sin when there is one who can conquer, as we say, every sin. Every sin.

And some might object and say, well, I I do profess that Jesus Christ is lord. He is my king. He he is my king, and yet at the same time, you are a slave to lust, a slave to pride, a slave to greed, a slave to envy. I encourage you to be honest with yourself and ask this question. Is is Christ king of all?

Remember, David before he was king of Israel was king of one tribe, tribe of Judah. And what's interesting is that Judah was a neighboring tribe to Benjamin. Meaning, David as king of Hebron was very close, physically speaking, to the tribe of Benjamin, and yet they still never knew victory over the Jebusites. And so you have some people who who think Jesus is close to me. He's close.

He takes up my Sunday afternoon. He he he takes up my my my conversations with my godly mother, who tries to remind me of what it means to be a true follower of Christ. Yeah. He takes up my one of my apps, some out of my 100 apps, I get a verse of the day. He's close, but you haven't crowned him yet.

You haven't truly crowned him as Lord. And so he he's he's somebody that trails behind you that you take a peek at sometimes, but he doesn't rule over you. And so you will never know victory in this way, no matter how close Jesus is until you remove yourself from the throne of your will and take the crown of your life and place it on his blessed brow, you will remain defeated. You will not know the maximum force of God's promises that have been purchased in Jesus Christ, but can only be unlocked and accessed through surrender to his lordship. So look at this example and never forget it.

This happens in so many ways. I remember speaking to somebody who I've never met. It was through a a friend who said, please, there's somebody, and this person was was successful on YouTube. And this person said, I suffer with anxiety. I suffer I just talked over the phone with with a lack of, assurance of my future.

Can you give me any biblical verses or truths that can help me? And what came to mind was Philippians four seven. Right? That the the peace of God the peace of God can provide such a healing and guard your minds and your hearts in Christ Jesus. And here's the thing, you can give that to somebody who's unregenerate.

You could point them to that truth. But if you read on in verse nine of the same text, Paul speaks not about the peace of God, but about the God of peace. In other words, you can't have the peace of God until you first have the God of peace. You can't have the blessings and the benefits unless you crown him as Lord, unless you determine when your heart, everything and all that I have belongs to you. And some of the the best ways of evaluating whether this is true in our lives I mean, you know in your heart of hearts if he's truly lord, but cut up the segments of your life and ask yourself, does this belong to Christ?

Does this belong to Christ? Does this belong to Christ? Do I submit to Jesus as lordship here? Do I submit to Jesus as lordship here? See, David was lord of one tribe, but not all tribes, so the the tribes would not know total blessing.

And in the same way, if you give Christ part of your life, you will not know all of his blessing. In fact, you won't know none of it because he's either lord of all or not lord at all. And so we see that David here finally becoming king of all the tribes, namely and more specifically Benjamin. Benjamin can finally know after centuries of bondage, after centuries of bondage, the moment David was crowned, their freedom came. I believe listen.

I believe this gospel is more powerful than a thousand years of counseling. A thousand years of it. It's better than any rehab program. It's better than any and I'm not against those things. I'm just saying if they're not laced with biblical truth and empowered by the spirit, you will not know true freedom.

True freedom is in Christ, is in this gospel, the wisdom of God's word received by faith. I've seen it in my own life. I've seen it in other people's lives, and I will believe it for those who need freedom. Did you notice the taunt of the Jebusites in the second part of verse six? They said to David, you will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off, thinking David cannot come in here.

Unfortunately, this is an ugly picture of pride, and this pride was bred because of this undefeated resistance against the Israelites. The Jebusites knew a history of strength, so to speak, and success because of the uniqueness of the fortification. And so now when David comes as a challenge, like, if we put blind and deaf people on these walls, they can defend against you. And so there's scorn here, there's mockery here, there's belittlement here, and this is prophetically a picture of the wicked today who mock Jesus, who think they can resist against the sovereignty of Jesus, who can thwart Jesus, who can ward off Jesus. And what was true here with David will be true one day when Christ himself will invade, not just the world, Jerusalem, and set up his headquarters for a thousand years.

And no matter what anybody says or thinks, they will not be able to stop him. He will have his way. He will conquer the nations. He will rule and reign, and the kings and the presidents and the prime ministers will have to accept it. They will have to.

I love that in verse seven, the first word. Nevertheless, despite the mocking and the blaspheming and the hating, nevertheless, Jesus will ultimately have his will. And he will conquer what seems to be unconquerable. He will make his presence and power known, and everybody will be able to realize it. And here's what's so encouraging because, look, it says, nevertheless, right, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is the city of David.

Now let me relate that back to sin. No matter how strong that sin has been in your life, no matter how pesky it's been, no matter how stubborn it's been, no matter how relentless it's been, Christ can overcome it. He really can break bondages. He really can break chains. And so don't believe the lies of sin.

Don't believe the the temptations. Don't give up. Give yourself to Christ over and over again, and watch him create a a true citadel as he bull brings down strongholds by his power. Nevertheless so we see here that there's a prophetic picture, but here's the practical picture. What a dangerous illustration for the proud.

Here's the lesson that the fate of the proud is ultimately a downfall for any kind of person, for any kind of individual, for any kind of project, for any kind of ministry. Anything that is done with arrogance or anything that is that produces a a sense of strength and self glory will result in God finding a way to bring it to the dust every single time. And and they seem so confident. Right? The Holy Spirit could've could've hidden this thing about how these Jebusites were flaunting their strength in the face of David and God.

He could've hidden it, but he wants to surface it to teach us a valuable lesson. The proud cannot get away with their pride. And God takes into consideration every boast, every high and lofty thought, and he will indeed do something about it. In fact, what do you see here in verse eight? And David said on that day, whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack the lame and the blind who are hated by David's soul.

Hated by David's soul. Well, what did he hate? He hate he hated the pride that was spewing out of their mouths. The stench of conceit and arrogance, that's what he hated. And like our Lord, Jesus has a special hatred for pride.

He does. I know that might conflict with the Sunday school version of Jesus who who would not dare blush with righteous indignation, but is always happy and glad, meek and mild. He hates with a perfect hatred. And one of the things that arouses his judgment is pride. Is pride.

In fact, there is a prophecy about what Jesus will do like David in in in a grander way when Jesus, the son of David, the descendant of David will come and establish his worldwide empire. And the prophecy, which is really encouraging to me, is in a book that perhaps many people don't read. Zephaniah. Have you heard of him? He's in there.

Zephaniah. Find him. If you can't find him, there's a table of contents that's there for the humble to say, I will go there to find Zephaniah. When you go to Zephaniah, go to chapter three, and I want you to see prophecy about what the king of kings will do when he invades the nations. Zephaniah three eleven.

Are you there? Yes. You brought your textbook to school. Zephaniah three eleven. On that day on that day, you shall not be put to shame he's speaking to the nation of Israel.

You shall not be put to shame because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me. Pause there. Isn't that wonderful? We will not be put to shame. We will not be put to shame because of the redeeming blood of Jesus.

As we stand before him, he will not rub our deeds of rebellion against us or in our faces. I praise God for that. But look at this. For then I will remove from your midst your proudly exalted ones, and you shall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain. One of the first things that Jesus Christ will prioritize in his return is that he will rid the earth of those who are proud.

He will cleanse the lands from those who have a sense of independence, defiance against God, who glory in their positions, who boast in their possessions, who think they are not accountable to anybody, who have no thought or regard for the one who created them, one of the first things on Jesus's to do list when he returns is, let's get rid of the lands from those who are exultant and who who believe they are something apart from me. And it will be a successful campaign. No matter what these proud men have accomplished, no matter what kind of strength or resources they have behind their name, they will be removed. But not just that, they will be replaced. In other words, there will be a remnant left, and that's in verse 12.

But look what the Lord says, I will leave in your midst a people humble. Humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord. Those who are left in Israel, they shall do no injustice and speak no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouth a deceitful tongue, for they shall graze and lie down, and none shall make them afraid. So here's what you have.

In contrast to the wicked who will be judged in the millennial reign, the citizens of God's kingdom will be characterized by humbleness and lowliness. And although this is a future promise, understand something. As believers, we believe in a present and future reality of God's kingdom. So we believe that we are citizens of God's kingdom now, That Christ rules in the heavens triumphantly, that he abides in our hearts, that we have been commissioned as ambassadors from a heavenly embassy into these worldly embassies. And as we faithfully represent him, we await the physical manifestation of his worldwide domain.

So there is a present and not yet aspect of God's kingdom. Why do I bring that up? I bring that up because if Christ truly rules over a life in the now, then I am under the conviction that the realities of the future kingdom will be present in the heart of the believer today. In other words, if Christ will be king, will cause pride to be removed and replaced with humility, then Christ who rules in the heart now will have the same effect, will have the same work, will have the same result. And this is what I want to present to you.

Because if you wanna know whether or not the rule of Christ is in effect in your life, then here's just one examples among many. If Christ is really my king, then you will know something of a work, a removal of self adulation, and a replacement of integrity that reflects the lowliness of Jesus Christ. And if we desire to know that, then all you have to do is see how Zephaniah describes what humility looks like, what humbleness looks like. If you really if you really wanna be honest before God and before yourself, Lord, are you really the king of my life? Because I see that one day you will become king.

And when you do become king, you will do something of a work of a removal of pride and a replacement of humility. Is that true of me? Well, look at the effects. Look at the features of the humble and lowly who will be citizens of God's kingdom. What do you see there in verse 12?

What's the first thing? What will the humble and lowly do? They will seek refuge in the name of the Lord. That's how you know there's there's a work of Christ kingship in a heart. You now have this new understanding that God himself is the source of your strength, that he is the source of your power, he is your provider, he is your protector, and he is the one that receives all the credit for any good that you enjoy here and now.

And so there is this realization, I cannot depend on myself anymore. I I do not find anything within myself. All that I need and all that I have comes from my refuge who is God himself. And so that's an inward acknowledgment that comes to life when Jesus, Jesus lovingly takes his place in your heart, and it becomes an outward acknowledgment as well. There is this boasting, so to speak, in Christ.

He is the one who is my all in all. He is the one who has control. He is the one who determines all things. My hope is in him, not just for my salvation, but in everything. In all things, he is my refuge.

This is where I live under the canopy, under the banner of God is my fill in the blank. And so the first thing that you can expect from somebody who has truly made Jesus king is that they know that from him and through him and to him are all things. Did David believe that when he became king? He did. I don't want you to turn there, but but we read it later on in the very same text that we're studying.

When he actually overtakes the Jebusites, we have a we have an awesome commentary about David's attitude. Here it is. In chapter five of second Samuel verse 12. Listen to this. Just listen to this.

And David knew that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his sake. No. For the sake of his people Israel. What a frame of mind that even after success over an enemy that could not be taken down for hundreds of years, David knew as a response, this is God. This is him.

Not only is it him, but I know that I brought to this prominent position, not not for my ego, not because I have some special favor, in God's eyes so that I can enjoy authority and enjoy access to whatever I want. No. But for the sake of God's people. Can you imagine that? I mean, no wonder this man is a man after God's heart.

He realized that whatever he had came from him. We studied that at Maranatha. And so it is with those who have Christ ruling in their hearts. They have that recognition brimming in their souls. But look at verse 13 in Zephaniah.

You're still there. Right? What else is mentioned about those who are humble and lowly? What are the characteristics that describes such such people? What does it say?

Yes. Yes. First thing, they shall do no injustice. One of the main reasons you wanna know one of the main reasons why there's injustice in, like, our legal system, for example? Selfish gain.

Selfish gain. There there is a personal agenda. Though they have a duty for the common good of the people, they will step on anything and anyone in order to protect and provide for themselves. Even if it's corrupt, even if it's evil, they don't care. And the reason why I say that is the main reason is because that is a main thing that the Lord himself brings up.

Whenever he deals with leaders who are unjust, he tends to always point to bribery as the cause. Right? Self preservation. Them being the top of the list in in terms of prioritization, that is the reason. You can replace injustice with unfairness.

And the reason that there is unfairness is is not because I'm talking from a leadership standpoint, is because not because of a lack of competence per se, but because of self. Self. And so I I bring that up because those who have Christ ruling in their hearts will not be unjust, which also means will not be selfish, will not be unfair. So let's break that down. True citizens of the kingdom of God who are under the administration of the humble leader of the nations, leader of the universe, they're not gonna show favoritism.

Right? They're not gonna they're not gonna manipulate others and slander their neighbors so that they can promote self. They're they're not gonna allow themselves to be guided by emotions or or by human wisdom. The standard of their judgment, the standard of their decisions out of the fear of the Lord will be God's word supremely. It will be God's will no matter what it costs them.

And so you have to understand that there is a a work that is done in terms of how we deal with others. We do not become priority number one. We see that the good of others, the glory of God takes place of of us. We're in the back seat of this whole thing. We're in the back seat.

That's what Jesus does when he becomes king of a life. There is there is this this fear of us elevating ourselves in a holy way, fear of of bringing ourselves to a place where everything revolves around us. And there is this conscious awareness. Yes. Our flesh gets strong sometimes, but there's an awareness that this is not not what we're made for.

This is not what it means to be a Christian, and we try to imitate the servanthood of the one who is also king. Our brother mentioned that there's a third thing. Zephaniah highlights the work of Christ when he sets up his millennial reign, not just in the fact that those who are humble and lowly will be what? Taking their refuge in the name of God, or will refuse to do injustice, but there's another thing. They will speak no lies, nor shall there be in their mouth a deceitful tongue.

I'm gonna be very bold in my statement here. Okay? If a person can comfortably deceive, if a person can bend the truth without a sense of conviction, I know one thing about that person. Jesus Christ is not their king. Because he is truth and we are people who have been saved by truth and we prize the truth.

We are sanctified by the truth. And so we are of truth and about truth. And so people who can who can live in a habitual state of lying and twisting and even exaggerating have some serious questions to ask of whether or not the truth is really their king and God. Because I see that when Jesus becomes king, his his population, his people will have pure speech. They will have pure speech.

They will be honest. They will be forthright. They will not seek to imitate any kind of manipulation, but they will seek to instead imitate the character of their king. Their testimonies will be reliable. You don't have to question their yes or their no.

Any anything that would even resemble a shade of of questionable integrity will be will be expelled by the strength of the spirit. And so I'm just I'm just giving this to you to help you read the Bible with a deeper lens. Right? If Christ will become king one day, and and we love to talk about the end times. Right?

We love to talk about what Jesus will do, and and out of curiosity, we talk about how a lion will lie with a little puppy, and and the wolf will be with the snake. Okay. That's that's all wonderful, but but look at the implication. What happens when Jesus becomes king? And if it's gonna happen then, should it not happen now to some degree?

Yes. It should. And so the same way David comes in and removes the proud and exalted ones in the Jebusites, that's what Christ will do when he invades your heart. All those voices and all those those justifications that try to make this whole thing about you and me, they die. Yet, Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins.

Amen. Hallelujah. But Jesus Christ also wants to crucify you and me. He does. Not for our salvation, but so that he can live through us.

Pop quiz. Yeah? David, when he announced that he would invade the Jebusites, did not say he would do it, but he offered it up as an assignment, as a challenge. He invited his men to take it upon themselves to go in and to lead the attack. And presumably, if they would do that, if one would do that, then he would offer them some kind of reward and we learn later on that it was actually a promotion to a certain position.

So here's my question, who did it? Any idea? Who accepted it and who achieved it and who was promoted? Any ideas? I'm gonna give you the answer in a few seconds, but it's gonna be in a reference and you have to turn there.

You you guys understand what I'm saying. Right? Okay. Good. Because the teacher always wants to make sure they're clear.

You guys understand? Look, re reread verse eight to see what I'm saying. Whoever would strike the Jebusites so he he he's not he is not leading the charge. He is trying to test the loyalty and the strength of his men by making this an opportunity for them to prove themselves. So who said yes and who received it?

Any idea? Another lesson of how we need to know other portions of the bible to comprehend whatever we're reading in the moment. Okay. If you wanna know the answer, I'm not gonna give it to you. You're gonna have to turn to first Chronicles.

First Chronicles chapter 11. You have it? Well, let me give the reference, and then I'll ask you. In first Chronicles chapter 11 verse six. Do you have it, Vivian?

What is it? Did you hear the answer? Well, let's find out if you're right. First Chronicles chapter 11 verse six. Sometimes that beats people to their bibles.

So David said, whoever strikes the Jebusites first shall be chief and commander. That's the reward. And Joab, the son of Zuriya, went up first, so he became chief. Joab. Joab succeeded.

I learned something from this. Joab was was very gifted. He he was very gifted. He could strategize and then you couple that with this fearlessness and he was top tier soldier. He he would he was somebody that you wanted on your team.

But here's what I take out of it, because we already have a background on Joab to know something about this achievement. And it is this, that it is it is possible to be to be overwhelmingly talented or have great ability and at the same time, walk in poor character. If we were introduced to Joab at this point, we would think he was a man of faith, a man of courage, a man who trusted in God's power and intervention, but we already have been introduced to Joab and he has been brought to us in a negative light. Because Joab, although he was a military genius, was a cold blooded murderer. And what's what's amazing here is that when you read on in second Samuel, we come to the end of David's rule and reign, and there is a portion of this book that gives us a list of David's mighty men.

Have you read that chapter? It's just one name after the next, and sometimes with that name comes with the very thing that made them stand out in David's ranks as they were recognized for their faithfulness to his his government. Here's the thing. We'll get there when we go there. But when you go to that list of men in chapter 23 of second Samuel, you know what you'll realize?

Somebody's not mentioned. Guess who? Yeah. Joab is not mentioned. Hold on.

The chief and the commander of David's army is not even once recognized for his faithfulness and fidelity to David. How can that be? In fact, do you wanna see something even more shocking? I'm not gonna tell you. You gotta turn the leaves of sacred scripture and go to chapter 23.

I want you to see this with your own eyes. And look here in verse 37 of chapter 23. This is near the end of the list of the mighty men who served alongside David, and the Holy Spirit honors these men. There's great, great, great instruction in this. But notice second Samuel chapter 23 verse 37, and this might astound you.

Zelik, the Ammonite, Nahari of Beeroth, the armor bearer of Joab, the son of Zuriah. So you're telling me that the guy's secretary, his assistant was named among the mighty men of David, and Joab was excluded? Jesus, on the last and final day, will exalt and esteem those that we did not think he would and will not recognize those that we thought he should. If you're if you're shocked by this, you're in for you're in for a shock that might last hundreds of years in eternity. When you see who the Lord will promote and lavish with reward and who he will not even identify as a servant despite their history or their ministry on earth.

That's that's how much character means to the Lord Jesus. That's how much holiness means. Not our achievements, not our accomplishments, not our accolades, not what we have on our walls and frames, not how many people love us and share our stuff. None of that. What he will esteem the most is faithfulness done in humility and running this race, as Timothy says, with the rules that he has established.

And so I see something here for myself. Lord, I I don't care if I'm an armor bearer on earth if if you will praise and commend what I was able to offer you from my redeemed status, not for my redemption, but from my forgiven place. I'd rather be an armor bearer than take over cities and nations. Give me a local church somewhere tucked in some rural area instead of preaching crusades with thousands of people if it means that at the end of the the day, you will look at me and and smile. I hope you have the same heart.

Let's come back to second Samuel. Let's look at verse nine. And David lived in the stronghold and called it the city of David. That's not an arrogant thing. That's just a way of identifying his headquarters.

And David built the city, right, all around from the milo inward. And David became greater and greater for the Lord, the God of hosts was with him. Now, in the in the in the next few verses, what you and I are gonna behold is really just like a snapshot highlight reel of all these good things that happened. Right? So almost as as if you saw it on film, it'd be that time where you see just like, just b roll shots with like dramatic music where just one good thing is happening after the next.

But here's the issue, if you read this too fast, you might lose sight of something that actually is a hint of another spiritual lesson that is instrumental in our own sanctification. And so let's just read it. So we see here that he takes over the city. Not only does he take over the city, but he builds the city. He expands the city and it goes beyond those borders.

Verse 11, and Haran king of Tyre sent messengers to David and cedar trees, also carpenters and masons who built David a house. And David knew that the Lord had established him king over Israel and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. So now what do you have next? You have a foreign pagan king who who realizes this this this King David is is somebody special. And so he wants to have, some kind of allegiance with him, and so he he sends a gift.

And what does he do? He sends resources, he sends workmen, he says, let me build you a palace in the city of David. And on top of that, more importantly, despite the fact that there's great success here, he maintains the health of his soul. How? We see here that in verse 12, as we heard, he acknowledges God as the source of all his success.

God is the one who did this for me, and God brought me here to serve others and not serve myself. And so we this is great. This is wonderful. And then we read on, verse 13. And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem after he came from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to David.

And these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem. Shamua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Eladiah, and Eliphhelet. Did I do okay? The Hebrew speaking man. So now we we see that not only is his kingdom expanding, we see that his family is expanding.

It's growing. Good thing or a bad thing? Bad. Thank you. Red flag.

Not a good sign. If you get caught up in the hype of the highlight reel, you think, yeah, what look at this. Look, they're building the city, it's becoming beautiful, it's becoming stronger than whatever the Jebusites could do. We see that even now there's alliances outside. We see that there's there's international recognition.

Look at David, his family is growing too. Red flag. Red flag. Because you and I know our Bibles enough to realize that David having more wives and more kids with those wives is a direct violation of Deuteronomy 17, which instructs the nation of Israel that no king should have more than one wife. What's happening here?

Everything was so good up to this point, and if we're not familiar with that context, we would think that this is harmless. This is okay. This is this is just part of the success. This is a warning. This is a warning, and here's the warning.

When we see how much God is doing to us and through us, we become strangely confident, if we're not careful, that there are certain compromises that God will not take into consideration. When we see how much God is doing to us, if I can use the word for us, and how much he's doing through us, strange suggestions begin to surface that attempt to convince us that there are certain doors that we can open and God will wink at it. And this is the temptation not for the suffering, but for the successful. You know, you have many people who think that when you're suffering, you're the most vulnerable to sin. And I say it is equally true, if not more true, that when you're walking in success, that strange suggestions begin to surface in our hearts that cause us to entertain certain things that don't seem to disturb us though they are clearly wrong according to God's heart.

I remember, I don't remember the details of it, but I remember reading it and it making an impression on me years ago of a study of different pastors who have morally failed. And when they sought to dig in to see why this was the case, one of the reasons was that some of these men thought that because they were serving the Lord for so long that they can please themselves because they thought that in doing so, they would receive relief and God would understand because they've they have worked so hard for his kingdom. This is what I'm trying to say. Strange suggestions begin to surface in the place of consistent service to the Lord, especially when there is promotion and more effectiveness being realized. And what happens really is people begin to think that rules don't apply or that God obviously is using me to the degree that he cannot remove me.

And so a well known minister in the eighties, and I won't mention his name, was was exposed for a moral failure. And the one of the back stories behind that was that God had sent many warnings to this man, And one of those warnings said, you have you have clearly neglected your personal time in prayer, your personal time in the word of God, and, you're neglecting your time with your wife. And if you need to shut down all the ministries so that you can get back to the basics, so the very thing that will anchor you in your sanctification. And the response of this man who did fall was something along the lines of, we're bringing in a million dollars either a day or a week. We're reaching this many people.

I've been anointed by God and you think I'm gonna shut this all down? And he dismissed the warning. And not only that, but with arrogance, he responded to his accountability. And within a few months, he was caught with a prostitute. And so what we see here are are seeds of sin that will later on bring about sorrow to David and the very kingdom that he thought would not be affected by these decisions initially.

And so let me make that point again. We often think that we are most vulnerable to sin when we are suffering, when in fact, we are more vulnerable when we are succeeding. And so David, at this concluding point, had a foothold. There was a foothold there that as we will find out later on, would come back to bite him. And so, we have to be careful.

We have to be on watch. We have to be on watch especially when the fruit of our lives seems to be just falling everywhere and and so many people are benefiting from our lives and being blessed by our lives. Let's look at that in a ministry con in a ministry context here. If God so chooses to overwhelm us with with greater success and greater influence and greater reach, it is in those times that we need to be prayerful all the more. Look, I'll be honest.

The the the times where we feel like we don't need to pray are the times where we feel like everything's going right. It's it's amazing what chaos and havoc does. It throws us on our knees. But we must be a people who know early on that not just when things are troublesome, but especially when all is well. That we would be even more vigilant.

That we would be even more desperate and more careful than if things were not going our way. That this is the kind of caliber that that we need to reach as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. Right? This is why stories like this are given to us so that we ourselves would be equipped to know how to endure not just suffering, but success. Success.

I'll conclude with this. I'll conclude with the gospel truth, making it full circle. Perhaps you're in this place. You've heard of Jesus Christ. You you've heard of the essence of the Christian message.

Right? You could talk to heathens, and I've talked to them. I've talked to them on the streets. I've talked to them, not knowingly at the moment, intoxicated. I talked to them when they stumbled out of clubs, And you ask them what Jesus did for sinners, and they'll say, he forgave us on the cross.

God sent it to die for our sins as they're stumbling over their own their own breath. And so you might have that general knowledge, but I have a question for you and it is this, is he king of your life? Is he king? Have you declared that he is the owner, He is the savior and he is the master of your soul. And there's this prophecy.

Remember, I've been pointing to a lot of prophecies of what is yet to come, but there is a well known prophecy. Has anybody ever memorized Isaiah nine six? We we usually bring it up at Christmas time. Does anybody know Isaiah nine six by heart? Yes.

For unto us a child is born, a child is given. Right? Yes. Anybody know it by heart? Go for it, if you know it.

Okay. That's Isaiah nine seven. So many of us know Isaiah nine six, but we don't continue to see Isaiah nine seven and its implications there. Isaiah nine seven tells us something concerning the second coming of Christ. The first coming is in Isaiah nine six, and the second coming is Isaiah nine nine seven.

Isaiah nine seven tells and reads, of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end. So when he actually sets up his government, with his government will be unending peace. That's what this world is looking for. Right? But here's the thing, the theme of unending peace will not be known until Christ is made king without rival.

Only when Christ is unrivaled king, will we know unending peace. And listen, what is true globally is true individually. I've been trying to make that case all night. That if you want to know a peace that doesn't make sense, if you want to know resolve and rest and wholeness in your soul, then you must make him king today. And only then will you know the benefits of his kingship.

Is your soul at peace with God? Or are you are you concerned about your eternal faith, your eternal destination? Is your soul at rest to know that you are living in the very purpose and design that you were created for, and that is fellowship with God? Is your sin under the blood of Jesus? Or do you have this concern that as you stand before the living God, which we all will, and the account of your life is brought forth, that you have no substitute, you you have no payment, it will be it will be on your shoulders.

I present to you the king, Jesus Christ, who is here to rescue you. He is. He wants to save you from your sin. He wants to save you from that hollowness in your soul. He wants to fill it with himself.

He wants to give you the assurance that you are safe for all of eternity, and he wants you to know the blessings that will be in full fruition when he actually physically returns on this earth today and day by day. He is a good king. There is no one like him. He's a better king than you are of your own life. You showed up in this world.

He made you and determined when you would come into this world. I think he will be a better king than you. And here's the thing, he he is not a king who comes with an iron fist. He is a king who comes to die, and he did, to make that bridge between you and him so that you can enjoy his presence forever. And how do you do that?

You repent and believe. You realize how good he is and has goodness brought himself to the cross for your name and for your sake and for your soul, and then you acknowledge that by saying, I don't want the sin that put him on the cross. I don't want the sin that condemns me. I want to be rescued by this, this man who is the king of all things, and he will save you. Lord, we thank you for this study, and we ask, Lord, that in this time, there will be a renewed found love for the realities that you've purchased for us when you become king.

And we pray and we ask that for those who might who might not know you in this place, That today they will bow the knee at your throne, and they will say, Lord Jesus, I confess you as my savior. I confess that God raised you from the dead. I confess that you are the living Christ and that you have come to rescue sinners. I am a sinner. Save my soul.

I long to be a citizen of your kingdom. I long to live with you for all of eternity. And, Lord, may this may this night be a turning point for someone, and may your kingdom grow through the ministry of Maranatha Bible Church. Help us be faithful ambassadors of your kingdom. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. Let's stand and worship this king together.