2 Samuel 17 (Part 1) Bible Study (Hushai Saves David) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Please meet me in second Samuel chapter 17. I hope you're okay to pray with me again. Lord, we invoke your name, and we ask that your power would be in the midst of this place. I thank you, Lord, for the precious saints who are able to be here. We thank you, Lord, for the saints who are watching.

Lord, we ask that in this very moment, your word would come forth, and it would do what only it can do. As James says that it would save us, not just in salvation, but save us from our sins, save us from lies, save us from temptation, save us from ideas that are not in alignment with your truth that can lead to confusion and deception. Lord, we pray that there would be a rescuing, and at the same time, that there would be, a stirring of adoration for you, Lord. We don't wanna just know things. We wanna know the God of the word.

Please draw us closer to you. Help us, oh, God, through this study, love you personally, and then reflect you closer and more accurately than we did before this meeting. We bless the name of your son, and we ask that he would be glorified in this study. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Last week, if you were here, you know that our study concluded with Ahithophel's horrific advice for Absalom about how to better secure the throne that he sabotaged, his father's throne. And the advice that was proposed was for Absalom to violate his father's concubines publicly so that the nation would receive that statement, and that statement would be that a new revolution has arrived. A new government has been placed and that it is the real deal. As aggressive and as audacious as such a move was, Ahithophel's advice is not gonna cease here. It's gonna continue into chapter 17.

And what you're gonna learn very quickly is that his proposal in these verses will prove to be more severe than what we learned last. But Ahithophel's counsel here is not the only thing that you and I are gonna read of. There's gonna be another set of instructions that are gonna be presented, and it's gonna be presented by no other than Hushai. Hushai, who is the secret friend of David, who is strategically in the courts of Ahithophel, and who has the plan to thwart the council of Ahithophel. We're we're coming to that point.

This is a very critical chapter for David's life, for the kingdom of Israel, for the future of this nation. And what you and I are gonna do as we examine these opposing views is that we ourselves are gonna receive counsel. Meaning, as we look at these words, as we look at these instructions, these statements, these promises, we are also going to learn some things about our own walk with the Lord. Because the Holy Spirit obviously preserved the details of what Ahithophel had to say and what Hushai had to say. For more than just a historical account or a colorful episode in the Bible, there's something instructive here.

And I say that every single week to reassure you that when you come to the Old Testament, you're not just reading something for you to get some more data for a Bible trivia. K? You're getting something for your walk with Christ. You're getting something pertaining to your worship for Him and how to navigate through this life as you represent find that, God willing, in these verses. So as we come, let's read the first three verses.

Right? We're continuing. There's no chapter breaks in the original text. And so the word begins in verse one with moreover moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, let me choose 12,000 men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight. I will come upon him while he is weary and discouraged and throw him into a panic, and all the people who are with him will flee.

I will strike down only the king, and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband. You seek the life of only one man, and all the people will be at peace. So Ahithophel just finished telling him, take David's concubines, go up to the rooftop and violate them. That was a political statement as you learned last week. And now he continues because Ahithophel doesn't wanna just sever the potential reconciliation between father and son.

Ahithophel wants to eliminate David completely. And he wants to apparently give Absalom the assurance that you can now completely destroy any potential future threat from David and his men by listening to what I have to say, but there's something deeper going on here. Is there not? We learned that last week, and it's just reinforced here again. Actually, there are three things that I personally have observed in these verses, and maybe you will see them as well.

What are some things? And maybe you see something that I didn't see, which will be great to discover. But what are some things that you discover here with the first three verses, with Anathofel's advice that stand out to you? And I know some who revisit this, they've they've told us we we listened to the study, but we didn't hear what the people have to say. It's very difficult to pass the mic around, so I'm going to repeat what you have to say, which is gonna require something from you.

Please don't let your answer be too lengthy and try to be as concise as possible so that I can repeat it for future people who do watch, who can't make it or work, and they wanna watch the study later. Okay? Does that make sense? Just an added rule to our study. What stands out to you from these first three verses?

Yes. Aethophel. Yeah? Yes. For him to be the one who would kill David because it's like he's taking revenge.

Okay. Very good. I'll stop you there. Aethophel is proposing that he kill David. Let's hold on to that thought.

Any other observations? Yes. That's fine. He wants to do it now. He wants to do it immediately.

He wants to do it this very night. So there's urgency here. Very good. Yes. Why does he need 12,000 men?

Why does he need 12,000 men to kill one man? Interesting thought. Yes. So he has some kind of a strategy here. And he uses I will a lot.

Very good observation. We'll get to that in a moment. He uses I will quite a bit. Yes. Very good.

You guys are doing great. Look at look at the condition of David described here by Ahithophel, while he is weary and discouraged. Very good. Last one. Yes.

Oh, you guys are doing so well. He promises Absalom that if all goes through with his plan, there will be peace among the men as a result. Very good. You guys are excellent students of God's word. Let's notice the first thing here.

Notice first the amount of times that Absalom says I will, strongly suggesting that he wants to be the one to lead the attack on David. So he says, Let me choose. Then he goes on to say, I will, I will, I will, I will. There's no mention of you will. There's no mention of we will.

Ahithophel wants to take on this campaign himself, and it's because Ahithophel is motivated by personal interest. And that personal interest, as you know, is stimulated by lodging bitterness. There should be no doubt in our minds that the reason why this plot is proposed is because Ahithophel wants to satisfy the the thirst of vengeance because of what David did to his granddaughter Bathsheba. Let me have David myself. So we should not believe for a second that the reason why Ahithophel is standing in the presence of Absalom is because he's somewhat convinced that Absalom is the legitimate king appointed to be the ruler of the people of God.

In fact, by virtue of a slip up, we actually have evidence of what Ahithophel really believed about this whole predicament, about this whole feud, about this whole conflict. Did anybody catch it? Let's look back again here in verse two at the end. He says at the end of verse two, I will strike down only the who? The king.

Hold on. I thought I thought, Absalom was the king. Isn't that why you are where you are? No. He refers to David as the king.

Goes to show what he really believed about who the true king was, and it's it's sad to see that even though he knew the truth, he was still willing to side with rebellion. He was still willing to side with falsehood. And I believe here we have a little glimpse, a little insight of who it is and why it is some people are deceived and embrace wickedness. There is a great amount of people who are deceived because they are naive. And there are others who are willing to walk in deception, not because they are concerned about what's true or what's not true, but because whatever system of belief they are ascribing to will ultimately gratify the flesh.

This will satisfy my personal agenda, my personal interest, my personal itch. And so they give themselves over to something just like Ahithophel, again, not because they care about what's right or what's wrong, but be because they're motivated by self interest. You know, I've talked to many atheists throughout my walk with the Lord, and I've come to this conclusion that most atheists, if not almost all of them except for a few, most atheists are atheists not because of the evidence, supposed evidence, but because of the implications of what it means to admit that there is a God who has a moral standard. That's why they're atheist. Because to to ascribe to an idea that there is a God who has objectively provided truth for humanity demands accountability, and I don't want accountability.

I want my sin. So don't be duped by all the smokescreen of scientific evidence and all the other things that they try to persuade people with. It's fascinating to me how most of these people are very angry at something that doesn't exist. And it's amazing how when you when you even when you push on the the real reason why it is that they don't want to even entertain the possibility of a god being true, It comes down to this. I want to be the God of my own life.

I wanna be the master of my own fate. I'm telling you, there are probably only a handful of people that I've encountered with that were in that place of unbelief because they just needed some questions answered. You can answer as many questions for so many, and they'll still not be satisfied because, ultimately, they wanna satisfy themselves, not please God. Ahithophel presents that as an example here. He is driven by bitterness, and he wants to satisfy that bitterness.

And to him, it didn't matter if David was the true king or not. David was the object of his desire. And you know what? Paul says something about those who are walking as enemies of Christ. He says that there are there are people who are walking as enemies of the cross of Christ.

Why? Because in Philippians three nineteen, their god is their belly, and their minds are set on earthly things. Right? And that is why for some, no matter how much truth you give them, no matter how many answers you give them, no matter how much evidence you provide for them, they will not change. They will not budge because, ultimately, they are anchored in one thing.

I want to please myself and not please this god that you're proposing to me. There's a second thing, and some of you have mentioned that we can't move forward here without acknowledging something that you and I have learned in the past few studies at this point of David's life. Look at the description of David again. Ahithophel wanted to attack him at this point because he knew that David was weary. He knew that he was discouraged.

And remember, when Ziba and Shammai approached David in the wilderness, we concluded those very two things about David when he was deceived by Ziba and slandered by Shammai. Right? That he was emotionally dejected, and he was physically depleted. And we obviously see here that that's confirmed by Ahithophel's human wisdom, and he realizes this is the time now to overtake him. This is the time now to come after him, and Satan is no different.

Just to reinforce something that you and I learned about that, Satan is no different. He looks for an opportune time. He considers the whole man. You are you are spirit, soul, and body. Right?

And what we do with this body can affect what happens to our soul. And so the enemy considers the whole man, and he evaluates when and how to come and to pounce. Right? And if it's true that discouragement is is one of his sweetest opportunities for him, if it's one of the the footholds that he uses and enjoys the most, then we have some insight of how to do warfare. We have some insight of know how to to shield ourselves against his tactics and to help our brothers and sisters out in Christ.

And here's the one thing I wanna drive into your heart, encourage one another often. Often. Guys, there's enough garbage out there. There's enough discouragement out there in the world. Right?

Let the house of God be a charging station of hope. Let that be what we should expect when we come into this place. So so just lay off on the drama. We have enough at work. Some people here are not and and Christian households, they have enough drama at home.

We we we see enough of it on our YouTube headlines and all the things that pop up on our phones. It's all out there. May this place be an oasis. And what that will require, my brother and my sister, is for you to be filled with god's word so that your counsel and your encouragement can be laced with the promises of god because there's no greater encouragement than that. And at the same time, it will also require us to reveal our wounds from from time to time and to expose ourselves to others so that we can receive the sweet counsel of a friend.

Scripture says that he who isolates himself, what is he doing? He's escaping all sound judgment. There is an importance in community as you're gonna see here. There's an importance of coming together. And if if Satan feeds off of discouragement, then let's give him nothing to work with.

Right? And and one of the ways in which we can do that is by pouring out it's such a small thing to do. Right? It's such a small thing, but it holds dynamite power. It it it can it can blow away anxiety, blow away fear, blow away concern.

In just a few words, The ministry of encouragement. Oh, you may not be a preacher. You may not be a prophet. You may not be an evangelist. You may not be a musician, but everybody here can encourage.

Right? Said he's discouraged. Let's come now. Let's throw him into a panic before he finds strength and hope. Well, the enemy is no different.

Please remember that. And please remember when you are discouraged to escape that place, that state as quickly as possible, find a way to encourage yourself in the Lord. Call a brother. Call a sister. Call a leader.

Open your heart. Pray with someone, and you will know lasting protection against the the schemes of Satan. Lastly, another thing. Look at how Ahithophel mentions, as we heard from our sister, a promise if everything goes well according to his plan. And the promise was this, all the people, at the end of verse three, will be at peace.

Temptation always promises us some level of reward for our compliance with sin. Always. Whether that's advancement and promotion, whether that's lasting gratification, whether that's a peace of mind, whether that's material gain or escape from trouble. Whenever there is premeditated disobedience, it is always accompanied with false promises. Always.

And the idea here is to see pass through that. I mean, who would have thought that the death of a righteous man, of a faithful leader, would promote tranquility in society? Yeah. At best, a false peace among the wicked, but not the true and lasting peace that comes from reflecting God's justice and his law. So remember that.

When temptation comes your way and you meditate on it, the reward that's attached to it is just as much of a lie as the temptation itself. Don't forget that. In verse four, we read, and the advice seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and all the elders of Israel. Well, we expected that. Why did we expect that?

Because we know how chapter 16 ended. In the last verse of chapter 16, we are told we are given a commentary about Ahithophel's council. It was godlike. It was highly esteemed. It was sought after.

It was trusted. And so to see this response to this proposal is no shock to us. But what is a shock is verse five. Then Absalom said, call Hushai the archite also, and let us hear what he has to say. Why?

You guys already made a unanimous decision. It's it's already settled. It's right. It seems good. And yet all of a sudden, we see that there's this inspiration in in the man's heart to seek a second opinion from Hushai, and so he summons him.

Now humanly speaking, this doesn't make sense. It doesn't. You have the best counselor, the top guy who gave some every all the elders are nodding their head. They they all give their thumbs up. And then something in Absalom says, well, it doesn't hurt to hear another perspective.

So fetch for. Humanly speaking, it doesn't make sense. But when you put God in the equation, it really does make sense. Did we forget the prayer that David prayed while he was in the wilderness and when he learned that Ahithophel joined forces with Absalom? What was the summation of his prayer?

It was a very short prayer. Lord, turn the wisdom of Ahithophel into what? Foolishness. If you want a reference for that, second Samuel fifteen thirty one. When David learned what happened with Ahithophel, his reflex was a cry, and he sighed a supplication to heaven.

And he said, oh, lord, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. And what you're seeing here in verse six of chapter 17 is God answering that prayer. God is fulfilling what David requested. And here's the point that I wanna make upon meditation. Prayer does the unexplainable.

It really does. Prayer is a force that you cannot imagine, but you have every right to utilize if you understand what it can do to some degree. If you just believe God's word about what prayer can do, prayer prayer can touch the most unlikely heart. Prayer can reach and arrive where no man can go. Right?

Prayer can intervene in the most classified political conferences. Prayer can also direct the future of nations. And prayer I love this point about prayer. Prayer outlives the lives of those who prayed them. Prayer is powerful.

And I wonder if that is what the Holy Spirit intended to teach us at this moment, to connect what David prayed two chapters earlier to this moment seeing the fulfillment of it, for you to realize at least one thing, that a man broken and shattered wandering in the wilderness, praying can effect the plans and the counsel of wicked men in high places. Yeah. Well, that's Old Testament. God answered prayer differently. Then why did James use an Old Testament figure to encourage New Testament Christians?

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. And when he prayed, something happened to nature itself. I mean, if if if you're telling us that we're in a new dispensation and God answers prayer differently, don't use Elijah of all examples to inspire Christians to pray. A man who was also a prophet who entered into palaces and courtrooms and who saw God do mighty things when he prayed. And you and I are encouraged to do the same.

Another thing about prayer is that God remembered David's prayer. You might have forgotten that he prayed that prayer in chapter 15, but God did not forget. So much has happened, so many updates between fifteen and seventeen, and yet we know that God heard that cry, held onto it, and at the perfect time answered it. God remembers when you pray. God holds on to you.

You might have forgotten that you've prayed something. God didn't. This is how faithful the Lord is, and he does it for his glory. Prayer has power. God remembers prayer.

Can I ask you a question? How many times did Abraham rescue Lot from Sodom? How many times? Good. Twice.

The first time, how did it happen? Well, this is when initially, Lot decided to move into Sodom. Bad move. Bad move. Chapter 13, chapter 14, there's a war that breaks up between five kings and four kings.

And who's caught up in the conflict? Lot, because Sodom was one of those kingdoms. Abs rather, Abraham, his uncle heard about it, and he recruits 318 trained men, and they go into the camp, and they rescue Lot. Right? By the strength of the arm, God did help them.

It was a miraculous thing for 318 men to come into an army to bring out Lot. It's it's wonderful. It's a great testimony. But what was the second time? Genesis 19.

The lord and two angels visits Abraham in Genesis 18, and Abraham receives revelation about what's gonna come to Sodom and Gomorrah. So what does he do? Does he get 318 men again? Does he get the sword? Does he get javelin?

What does he do? He prays. He stands before the presence of God, and he intercedes on behalf of his nephew, Lot. And we're told there after Lot is rescued at the end of Genesis 19, and the Lord remembered Abraham. The Lord remembered Abraham.

I love that parallel. I love how God gave us two stories of Lot being rescued. The first one was with the sword. The first one was with weapons and men and strength. Right?

Flesh. It's not negative. It's just a different tactic. And yet, when that same man needed to rescue the same man, he relies on prayer, and it was just as effective as an army. It was just as effective as weapons.

It was just as effective as a strategy to go in physically and to come out. Prayer went, and prayer did what we often think only our ideas and our abilities can do. It does more than that. Pray. Pray often.

I'm gonna end this bible study in a certain way. I'm gonna ask you by faith to actually pray about something before you leave this place. Because we're not here to just acquire information. We wanna respond to the truth that we receive. Pray.

How much do you pray? How much do you believe in prayer? How much do you believe prayer can do? I'll be reminded today that you can even sigh a prayer. You can be distracted, and yet in a little mustard seed faith, utter a prayer.

God will hear it, and he can change the heart of kings. So they called for Hushai, and and Hushai comes. And look at verse seven. Then Hushai said to Absalom let's read verse six. And when Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, thus has Ahithophel spoken.

Shall we do as he says? If not, if not, you speak. Very direct. If I was Hushai, personally, I would be intimidated. Why would Hushai be intimidated?

Any idea? Okay. So you already had a consensus. Everybody agreed with what Ahifophel had to say. Yes.

That is part of it. Let's add to that. When Absalom came into Jerusalem and he was met by Hushai's, long live the king. Long live the king. Was Absalom suspicious?

He was suspicious. He's like, is this how you treat your friend? Is this your loyalty to your friend? And, Hushai cleverly presented his apparent shift of loyalty without being too detailed. So some suspicion subsided, and here's the here's the dilemma.

Not only do you have the popular vote, if you have Hushai now standing against the council of Ahithophel, he might revive those initial intuitions that Absalom had and put himself in danger. This is a critical point for Hishai. This is actually a dangerous place for Hishai. The danger is that in this moment, depending on how he answers can expose himself and put himself at great harm. But there's another danger, and the danger is this, to miss out on a golden opportunity to make a difference for why he originally was sent to this place.

A very unique instance, a very unique moment, but the principle can be applied to believers and what they should expect in their pilgrimage. Believer, there will be times if you're a person who really loves the gospel and wants to be used by the Lord, there will be times where you'll be put in situations in which you will have the opportunity to speak up, and it might cost you something to speak up. There will be times where you have the opportunity and you might be the only source, the only voice of reason to oppose evil and to propose God's view, God's will, God's truth on a matter, whether it's controversial or not. And in those decisions, you have to make a choice before you make that choice. And that choice is, am I willing to do this no matter what it cost me?

Now we've all been in those different situations, I'm sure, in the past. Past. If you walk with the Lord long enough, even in the early phases of walking with the Lord, you felt the pressure to remain quiet while there is falsehood being presented or blasphemy being uttered. Whether that's at work, whether that's at in the classroom, whether that's at the family gatherings, we've all felt the intimidation to just remain quiet and let it pass by, although you know that you must say something. Can I can I give you a word of encouragement to help you overcome those hurdles if you're visited by them again?

Right? Ask yourself this one simple question. It's very simple. And and train yourself to ask this question when you walk into the places that god has placed you. Why am I really here?

It's not deep, but it's really helpful. What is this all really about? Why did God in his providence put me here with this opportunity for this season at this time? What is it? Is is it like Hushai?

Hushai was sent by the king to go there with a specific duty. Do I have the heavenly mandate of the gospel in the forefront of my thinking, or are my goals and are my pursuits muddied with temporal causes and rewards? See, oftentimes, the the obstacles and the hurdles to our witness have to do with things tied to to the stuff under the sun, reputation, preservation, promotion. And this is a very important word of advice here in in exhortation where now we're seeing companies asking you to use certain pronouns, certain titles for things that are obviously and blatantly a violation of God's word. So be encouraged by this.

Right? Ask yourself this. What am I really doing? What is this really all about? And if you're a Christian, you can answer that easily.

I'm an ambassador. I am a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ, and my purpose in life is not to be prettier, not to be more in shape, not to have a more comfortable retirement, not to make as many friends as possible, not to be a successful person. It is to preach the gospel. That's your goal in life. No matter what you do, what your gifts are, that is ultimately the reason why you're here.

And if you can convince yourself of that over and over, I'm telling you, it will energize a holy boldness. Because if that's your purpose, then it doesn't matter what happens here. It doesn't matter what happens to you. It doesn't ultimately affect why you're here and where you're going. So let that strengthen you.

Oh, I might lose my job. Okay. He's gonna take care of you. Well, I might lose this person. It might make things awkward.

That's fine. What's gonna be more awkward is if that person knew that you knew the truth and you didn't tell them and it cost them their eternal soul. That's more awkward. Trust me. And at the same time, I get it.

There are some people who hear this kind of message and they feel a guilt and they feel this this sense that I I gotta touch every passing person and I gotta minister to at least one, two, three people a day. That's not the case. There's still a call to wisdom. And Hushai here is is gonna implement wisdom in his approach. I'm not saying go wild and be crazy and just stand on cars and and yell and stand in the bus and and just shout at people and stand in the office at lunch break and don't do that, please.

At the same time, don't let the threats or the intimidations of this world silence you. This is gonna this could potentially cost Hushai's life. But why is Hushai even here to begin with? Because King David said, go back. I need you there, and I need you to represent me.

I need you to help me. Just remind yourself of that. When you wake up and you get into your car and you grab your coffee and you go to work, lord, help me remember it's more than a paycheck. It's more than a paycheck. God will help you.

He'll give you wisdom. And so this is what happens. He's about to speak up, and he realizes this is an opportunity that I might not have again. This is a vital opportunity because of Ahithophel's advice is received. David might be finished.

Verse seven. Then Hushai said to Absalom, this time, the counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good. Oh, a very wise man. Why do you think this is wise? Because he's not altogether discrediting Ahithophel.

He's saying this time is not good. I like Hushai. He says, this time it's not good. And then we read here in verse eight. Hushai said, you know that your father and his men are mighty men and that they are enraged, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field.

Besides, your father is expert in war. He will not spend the night with the people. Behold, even now he has hidden himself in one of the pits or in some other place. And as soon as some of the people fall at the first attack, whoever hears it will say there has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom. What we see here is something very, very interesting.

The first thing that he says as you look at verse eight is that he reminds Absalom that the task ahead is not as simple as Ahithophel made it to be. Right? This is more difficult, and this is more challenging than what you may think it is. And he says a few things about his father. Your father is a mighty man, and he has mighty men with him.

He's an expert in war, and they are mad. They've been driven from their home. They've been driven from their their their families, their friends, their positions, their comforts, their livelihood. They are not at the best place right now. They are extra motivated to deal with us.

And so he encourages Absalom to plan carefully. He encourages Absalom more than that to really count the cost of what he is about to do. And the the tactic here, the strategy here, though Hushai's motive is different, has been used by the lord Jesus. Jesus also, in his call to discipleship, encouraged and charged people to sit down and think before they actually endeavor to commit themselves to his cause. And he actually uses two illustrations, very short parables side by side to communicate and to illustrate what it is that he requires of his hearers before they actually make any type of confession.

What are those two illustrations? Do you know what I'm speaking about? While you're thinking about it, turn to Luke 14. Though the answer will be in verse 28. But if you know before then, what are the two parables that Jesus has used that Jesus used in order to communicate the need to contemplate before committing to his cause?

Anybody have an idea? Okay. You're that's another one. Right? He uses that when it when it came to Luke chapter nine, and several different people came up saying, I wanna follow you.

And one said, you know, I really wanna do this. And he's like, you don't understand what you're getting yourself into in terms of comfort and leisure. The other one says, I wanna bury my father. He tells another one, follow me, and and there's all these excuses and delays. But that's not that's not what I'm referring to.

There's another two sets of parables, a little lengthier than that, that Jesus uses while you're there so you know it. Look at verse 28 of Luke 14. For which of you, desiring to build the tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him saying, this man began to build and was not able to finish. Then in verse 31, or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with 10,000 to meet him who comes against him with 20,000.

And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. Two parables. They both have something in common. They're different ideas, but they share something in common. And Jesus actually reveals it.

What is it? What do they both share in common? The builder and the king. They both have to sit down. They're both expected to sit down and count.

Both of them. Sit down and meditate, reflect, evaluate what it is that you're really going to do. Oftentimes, in in modern gospel presentations, we get people to reach the heat of emotion. We put we we we make things happen so that there is, there is more heart than there is head, and then we call for people to make a decision, when they don't really realize what they're getting themselves into. Urgency is undeniable with the gospel, but urgency with self reflection, urgency with self evaluation, urgency with thoughtfulness, urgency with clarity on the part of the messenger to to remind you, to tell you, and to inform you what it is it means to follow Jesus and for that person to really contemplate their life and what they're willing to do with this message.

And though they share the parable shares something in common, there's two differences. The builder had to think about whether or not they can afford to commence this project. Can I really give what it takes for me to do this very thing? Am I willing to make the expenses necessary to go full force with this thing? Whereas the king has a different way of thinking.

The king, on the other hand, is not necessarily counting what it might cost him to move forward. The king is contemplating whether or not he should resist or make terms of peace with opposing force. So the king had to think, I have 10,000. This king who wants to come against me has 20,000. Will I go to war, or will I submit to his demands?

And so what you have here is really a complete picture of contemplation. At first, we ought to always think, at least initially, am I willing to go full force with this? Am I willing to give everything that I have, whatever is required of me to fulfill my call to discipleship? But the second presentation, the second parable is a different process. It's this.

Am I willing to resist this king or make terms of peace with him? What I mean by that is the first idea presents us the cost of following Jesus because there is a cost of following him. Right? The second one has a different emphasis, the cost of not following him. Do I think that I can overpower, overthrow, reject, stand as an enemy to this coming king and think I can succeed?

Or will I bow the knee and surrender before it's too late? There is a cost of following Christ. There's a greater cost of not following him. And the person who hears the gospel should think about both paths. Am I willing to pay the price to follow the Lord, or am I willing to pay the price to resist him and reject him, to have my way?

And Jesus' plain description here shows that that's a that's a failing idea. Because this king has 20,000, you have 10. You will not be able to overcome. He will be king. He will be lord.

He will receive worship whether you give it to him or not. Didn't present that kind of argument. Hushai does, and he says, Absalom, realize what you're up against, and really think about it and plan accordingly. And then he goes into verse nine. You heard it.

He makes a different emphasis. He reminds Absalom now of the planned counterattack that is prepared by David and his men because they are experienced warriors. And if Absalom is not ready, the men that will be sent out with Ahithophel will be taken by surprise, and they will have consequences for the morale of the rest of the people who are on his side. And so Hushai is reminding Absalom what you and I need to be mindful of concerning our foe. Right?

The principle is alive and well for us. Though this is specific to a context, the principle is still applicable. We have an enemy. We have a foe, and he's not inexperienced. He's not inexperienced.

And listen, he is not unprepared to come against the people of God from different angles. And I'm afraid that people who believe in spiritual warfare, because it's a scriptural thing, don't understand the mechanics of spiritual warfare. It happens all the time. Paul says, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. And that's where many Christians fail already because when they experience certain trials or persecution or irritation from fellow professing Christians, what do they do?

They fight against flesh and blood. You're already you're already lost at the ABCs of spiritual warfare. If you can't see past the understanding that we don't wrestle against people, we wrestle against cosmic powers, spiritual forces, principalities in high places, if you can't get that, that's the ABCs, and there's more to that. And here's what Paul says, and you know this verse very well. He tells the Corinthian church in second Corinthians two, and he says in verse 11, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan so that we would not be outwitted by Satan.

Why? For we are not ignorant of his designs. So Paul expected Christians, not just pastors, not apostles, not prophets, Christians who go to work, who make a living in humble ways, you are not ignorant of Satan's designs. Right? Corinthian Christians?

K. What was the context in which Paul said that? Anybody know? Why did Paul say that at this point in second Corinthians chapter two? Let me remind you.

Second Corinthians chapter two, This is his second letter to the Corinthians. There was a man that was excommunicated from the church, the very same church that he wrote in first Corinthians. He was excommunicated from the church because of unrepentant sin, because of a gross sexual violation. He was he was having affairs with his father's wife, and the people did not care. They they tolerated it.

And Paul says, get him out. Get him out, which is important because for those who believe that, Christians can be possessed and that, it's the spirit of lust that comes over you, Paul didn't say, I'm gonna cast that demon, that spirit of lust out of that man. He says, no. He needs church discipline. He needs to go.

Just throw that out there forever. He might be watching. And so this man ends up leaving the congregation. Right? The people were obedient to Paul's authority.

But in second Corinthians chapter two, you learn something. You learn that the same man repents, And the same man is broken over his sin, and he's seeking forgiveness. He's seeking reconciliation with the very same church that was faithful in confronting his sin. And Paul is urging them, forgive him. Paul is urging them, please restore him.

Reassure him of your love for him. And then he throws in that verse, for we are what? We should not be outwitted by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his designs. I want you to think about how conniving the devil is. When the people were willing to let the man remain in his sin, Satan had victory to some degree.

Satan would have enjoyed destroying that congregation by allowing a little leaven to leaven the whole lump. Right? And once the people stepped in obedience and dealt with that person's sin, Satan was right there to ensure that they would not continue in obedience. In what sense? When this man repented, the enemy who was willing to allow this man to justify his sin and was pleased to see this church justify his sin is now ready to convince them not to forgive this man for his sin and to withhold mercy and restoration from this very same man.

So his schemes were right there every step of the way. When the sin was tolerated, in some way, he was there. When the sin was repented of and this man was broken over his sin, he was right there to make sure that this man would not know the forgiveness of Christ through the people of God. He's very, very conniving. And his schemes were not just hovering over this local church.

They were equally at work in this individual. What I mean by that? Again, when he was living in his sin, that's a wonderful victory for the enemy. That's just one other person who's failing in his testimony for Jesus Christ. Satan applauded it.

Satan loved it. Satan encouraged it. And the same man who overcame and repented, we read here that the enemy was seeking to crush him, not by his sin, but by his remorse for his sin, excessive sorrow and despair. Do you see how he's so conniving, and he's so present, and he always seeks an opportunity to wedge himself in whether that's with the toleration of sin or being merciless regarding people's sin. And so we need the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

We need a sensitivity to the word of God. And, you know, I was meditating on this this afternoon, and I thought to myself, there's there's so many profound truths that just shoot forth from that from that text and that truth. And here's one of them. How essential the local church is for us as individuals. Think about this for a second.

The local church was used by God to confront this man's sin, and the local church was also used by God to comfort this man regarding his sin. You can't do all that you think you can do without the people of God. You're a fool if you think so. This man teaches me that God uses the local church to not only promote holiness, but to promote the loving kindness of God. That is how God expresses this to us as individuals through the members of his body.

And this man would know that. He would know the loving rebuke of God's truth through the people who uphold the truth, but he would also know the balm of healing from the very same people when this man learned his lesson, turned from his wrong, and fell into their arms. It's the church, the local church. A healthy, God fearing, wise church is so necessary for each of us. Never forget that.

Never forget that. There are many people who wanna make many decisions about their life, moving here, taking a job there. Can I ask you something? In your decision process, in your thinking, is there any place or what priority does the local church have in your life? I I'm so encouraged when I meet people that say, we feel like God is calling us here.

And and in in the very same breath, there's a local church that preaches God's word faithfully, that has godly people who wanna imitate him, and we're so excited to be part of that community. Like, that's how Christians think. We don't go places and move places and do things for for just the same reasons that the Gentiles do. That's not how we operate. Right?

Another thing just throwing out there. So what happens? We see that he reminds him of the strategies of David, and we also have to be mindful of the strategies of the evil one. Now let's come here. We're closing very soon.

In verse 11 of of second Samuel 17, it says, but my counsel is that all Israel be gathered to you from Dan to Beersheba as the sand by the sea for multitude and that you go to battle in person. So we shall come upon him in some place where he is to be found, and we shall light upon him as dew falls on the ground, and of him and all the men with him, no one will be left. K. This is where we see a strong contrast between the council of Ahithophel and the council of Hushai. What stands out to you in the concluding remarks of this man?

How many men did Hushai advise Ahithophel or Absalom to take? The whole nation. Take them all from Dan to Beersheba. Don't just take 12,000. Take as many as you can.

So Absalom's hearing something different. Absalom is hearing, yeah, the more the merrier. The more number, the greater our our strength. The more number, the more intimidating will be to to my father and his mighty men. In Hushai's mind, what is he thinking?

Let's buy some more time. It's gonna require much more time for you to gather all these men from the different tribes of Israel, and that's precisely what he is doing. He wants David and his men to be better prepared for what is inevitable, and that is an attack from Absalom. Delay, in this sense, is good. It's good for David.

But delay can be deadly depending on what we hold off on. Apart from salvation, there are many things that the lord Jesus calls us not to wait on. There are many instructions to wait upon the lord. There are many things that you don't need to pray about. You just don't.

You're saying, what do you mean by that? Well, there's some things that are so clear in the scriptures that to pray about it would just to to hinder you from doing what you know you're supposed to do. Here's one thing you're supposed to do. When there is anger, when there's animosity, when there's potential strife, when there's tension with a brother or sister, what are you supposed to do? Matthew five twenty five says, to meet with your accuser and to settle with them quickly.

Matthew five twenty five, quickly settle the matter with your accuser quickly. And so there is emergency protocol in some regards. Right? Or else like we just heard, we give we give footholds to the enemy. And so we should be equally mindful of the things that call for us to rush into and things that we should wait on God for.

And so this, concept of delay is important for us. It was important for David. It's important for us in different ways in in concerning our warfare. And, unfortunately, some believers don't realize that, and they don't understand that their delay in certain areas can actually empower the enemy more and more as each day goes by. But there's a second thing.

What else stands out to you from Hushai's concluding remarks? In comparison to Ahithophel. We oh, very good. What was Ahithophel saying over and over again? Let me choose.

12,000 men. And I will, I will, I will, I will. Now Hushai comes, and he does say we, but he does something else. I want you to look here at the end of verse 11. He says, you go to battle in person.

And Hishai said, I'll do it. I'll be more than willing to do it. When Eushai comes, oh, who's shy? Hey, Absalom. Gather all the men, but don't let those men go without you.

Lead that great army. Make your presence known. Go in there and show yourself. Let there be no confusion about who's gonna receive credit for this victory. What Hushai is doing is appealing to Absalom's pride.

He's seeking to further inflate his ego, and he knows that Absalom is a man who cannot refuse the opportunity of potential vainglory. Right? And so Absalom is getting excited. He likes this because, again, it just feeds his own pride. It feeds his own self esteem, and he's willing to he's willing to do this, and he does comply.

He does agree with it. And we look here at verse 14, and we read, and Absalom and all the men of Israel said, the council of Hushai, the archite, is better than the council of Ahithophel, and it's not because of anything other than what we read following that. For the lord had ordained to defeat the good council of Ahithophel. This was a decree by God. Was it an arbitrary decree?

No. God didn't just decree this randomly. God decreed this because God has a law. There are many things in his law that apply to this day, and one of the things in his law is this, that he exalts the humble, and he brings down the proud. In fact, James says that he opposes the proud.

That word oppose in the Greek is a military term, meaning God will actually raise up our rank against the person who harbors and holds on to his pride. That that to me is one of the most frightening verses in the New Testament. Do you know why? Because I already have the devil fighting against me. I have Satan fighting against me and you.

I have the flesh. I have this world. The last thing I need to fight against me is God. Right? I need him to be on my side, and I wanna be on his side.

And the one thing that will cause God to oppose a man is when he is proud. And so because of Absalom's pride, God had determined his destruction. And he's actually going to use the very pride that he hates to destroy Absalom. For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel. Now look at this.

So that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom. Remember the prayer that David prayed? Oh, Lord, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. Full stop. Wasn't this long elaborate strategy that he asked of God?

No. It's a simple prayer. And what I see here is that after praying that God was willing to answer. He's going to defeat the good counsel, but there's something added to that. So that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom.

David didn't pray for that. In fact, when you see that there's a war that will break out in the next chapter, David wanted to preserve Absalom. Remember he asked, whatever you do, don't kill my son. Remember? That seems heartfelt, but the very mess that David is in is because when he should have implemented discipline, he didn't, and Absalom caused a revolt.

Right? So no matter how strong David's feelings were for his son, God knew what he needed, and what he needed was for his son to be removed from his life. David didn't pray that, but God knew he needed that. And what I want you to understand is that when you pray, God always does more than what you ask. That's what Ephesians tells us.

Right? That he is able to do abundantly more than we can ask or imagine. And so even with our limited view on things, even even with our little faith that we've got, even though we have a linear one dimensional perspective on matters, when we partner with God, he he does and he performs more than we thought we needed or we knew we needed, and we should trust him in those things. And so I'm encouraged to see that that the Holy Spirit included that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom. That wasn't part of the prayer, but that was a needed part of David's life, and the Lord knew how to provide exactly that.

And so I'm grateful that even in the New Testament, we're told that we don't know how we ought to pray. We don't know how we ought to pray, but the spirit of God intercedes for us. You know what that means? It means this, that when you pray and you don't have the right words or you don't know how to exactly pray about the situation, the Holy Spirit takes your fragmented, even sometimes your ramblings, your incoherent cries, and he perfectly presents it before the throne of grace. And God perfectly answers it.

All he asks of you is that one simple step of faith. God, I need you. God, I don't know where to go from here. I don't know how to deal with this. God, I think that the answer to this is this prayer.

Would you would you do that? Sometimes God doesn't in his wisdom. Sometimes God does, and oftentimes he doesn't. He does more. He does more.

Here's how I want us to end our time tonight. I want you in all sincerity in your heart. There's so much more in this, but we're gonna pause to do something that is, I think, important from time to time, to respond immediately to what we learn. Just in your heart, whatever you're dealing with at this very moment, whatever it is that you're asking God for, it could be it could be anything to believe in the power of prayer. And you might be facing a situation where somebody's heart has no heartbeat, as cold as can be, as dead as can be, as confused as can be.

And there's Absalom. Right? He had no reason to ask for secondary counsel, and yet he did. There's something inspired in his heart to reach out. Yes.

It was for his discipline because he was unrepentant, but let's pray the way Abraham prayed, not for the destruction of those that we care for necessarily, but for their redemption, their rescue, their deliverance. And God will remember your prayer. He will. So in this in this very moment, I'm gonna ask you before we sing a song, before anybody even comes up to to play, to believe afresh in the power of intercession and supplication. Say, god, I might be tired.

It might be the end of a work week. But what I heard, I believe, and I wanna present this to you and trust that you will remember this and that you will bring it to fruition. Can we do that? I'm gonna join you. I'm gonna put my microphone down, and I'm gonna sit in that pew and and do that very same thing.

Come up here and call for us to worship together. I grabbed the mic again intentionally this quickly to encourage you that you can pray short prayers, and they are just as significant to God. Scripture says, rejoice always. Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Make it a habit to pray always as you walk, as you drive, as you work with your hands, as you type on your computer to remain in communication with your heavenly father.

I'm gonna ask the worship team to come and and help us lead us in a final song. And I wanna encourage you to worship the lord Jesus tonight with many things that were said, but with the one revelation that he remembers our prayers. He hears our cries. He is working when we don't see him working. He is faithful to his word.

Amen? Would you stand? And, Lord, we do pray together now, thanking you for your goodness. And we ask, oh god, that you would be exalted as we end this night in your presence with God's people, thanking you for the truths that were laced in this chapter. And Lord, we are reminded again of the powerful purpose of the local church in our lives, That you have ordained for your people in local assemblies to push us into further holiness and to receive us when we are broken.

Lord help us love your church, your bride, your people afresh. We glorify you and we exalt you as we sing to you. In Jesus' name, amen.