Sermon
1 Kings 1 (Part 2) Bible Study (Nathan and Bathsheba/Solomon Anointed King) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Meet me in First Kings chapter one, where we left off, verse
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11, First Kings one, verse 11. And as returning there, allow me
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to give you a brief recap from the 1st 11 verses of this
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chapter. David, we are told, is very old
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in age, so old and he is ready to depart from this world.
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One of David's sons by the name of Adenija sees this as a great
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opportunity to seize the throne for himself.
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Though he was not the king chosen to succeed his father,
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his pride was so inflated, his ego was so great that he thought
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that he can actually thwart the purpose of God, and so he
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attempts to overthrow the purpose of God for the people of
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Israel, which is a very sad thing for Adenija to do.
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Does anybody know what the name Adenija means?
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You can probably guess based on his name if you understand basic
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Hebrew words. Adonai ya.
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Adonai ya. Any guess?
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No more specific Daniel, you're not allowed to answer.
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Did you hear it? The Lord is Jehovah or my Lord
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is Jehovah. That is what David named his son
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telling me and you that he had great hopes for Adonaija.
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Did he not that he would live to serve God, honor God, reflect
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the character of God, and instead Adonaija resists God,
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challenges the will of God, exalts himself as king.
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Which tells me that it doesn't matter what kind of hopes and
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dreams, as godly as they are, you have for your children.
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David named him Adonaija. But David didn't do his part as
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a father to discipline Adonaija. He did not fulfill his role as a
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father to chastise him, admonish him, rebuke him, correct him,
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and direct him. And so now we see the maturity
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of a of a unhinged boy who now is a man who can make adult
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decisions. And all his life he has never
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been told no. And so what's going to stop him
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from saying and from pursuing something that doesn't belong to
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him? And things seem to be promising
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for Adenija because he was able to recruit people and two
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prominent figures. Who are the two prominent
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figures that Adenija was able to recruit?
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Job is 1. And the other.
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Yeah, sorry, the priest. So you have the commander of
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David's army, and you have one of the chief priests in David's
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camp now switching their allegiance over to Adenija.
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There are other key figures who are with him and they are
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celebrating his self promoting coronation at a legend, verse 9.
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Sacrifice sheep oxen and fat and cattle by the serpent stone
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which is beside and Rogle. And he invited all his brothers,
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the king, sons, and all the royal officials of Judah.
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But he did not invite Nathan the Prophet or Benaiya or the mighty
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man or Solomon his brother. This looks pretty promising, and
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it often does when you and I choose to resist the will of
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God, oppose God, and to live according to our selfish
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desires. It would be alive for me to
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stand here tonight and tell you that there is no pleasure in
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sin. There is pleasure in sin.
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But Hebrews 11 is very careful to tell us that that pleasure is
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fleeting. It's a season of reward, It's a
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season of promise, but it's very short lived and the reward is
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not really reward to begin with. Adam and I just plans are going
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to crash and burn very quickly. And for the rest of this chapter
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we're going to see how his plans are actually going to be
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overturned by God's sovereign power and the primary ways
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through one of David's most faithful friends, Nathan.
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So let's read what happens now In verse 11 the Nathan said to
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Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, Have you not heard that Adonija
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the son of Haggeth has become king, and David our Lord does
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not know it. Now therefore, come, let me give
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you advice that you may save your own life and the life of
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your son Solomon, going out once to King David, and say to him,
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did you not, my Lord the king, swear to your servant saying,
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Solomon, your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my
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throne. Why then is Adam I Jack words?
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Let's pray. Lord, your word is before us.
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We are eager to understand your mind and your heart.
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Give us the grace. Give us the spirit of wisdom and
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revelation that we may know you and be conformed to your image
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and walk in greater obedience to your purposes.
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For our lives. We sincerely pray this together
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as a church family. In Jesus name we pray.
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Amen. Nathan.
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Nathan realizes that Anaija is doing something quite dangerous,
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something that David and the Kingdom of Israel has seen
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before. And so Nathan reports about this
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with emergency protocol. And right from verse 11, we have
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something to learn. Nathan, as a faithful servant of
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God, teaches us that as also servants of God, it is our duty
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to expose sin. It's our duty to expose sin.
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It's our duty to expose the darkness in the world.
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It's our duty to expose sin in a brother or sister's life.
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It's our duty to continually come to the presence of God and
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allow His Word and His people to expose our sin.
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But in the case of a community, in the case of let's say in our
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context the local church, Nathan provides an example that there
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are times where it is our responsibility to make known
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things that are probably not known to others who are in
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danger of not knowing it. Nathan here sees and understands
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that if Adenide continues in the pattern that he is walking in,
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there will be a massive disruption in the Kingdom.
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And understanding the potential consequences of this, Nathan,
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make sure, and he makes it a priority to bring this news to
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those who would be at risk if this continues on.
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And in like manner. As I just said, there are
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moments and there are circumstances and there's the
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nature of certain sins that demands us to be vigilant and
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willing to be uncomfortable to deal with matters before they
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get really ugly. In my brief time in ministry,
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I've learned something very quickly that there are problems
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in the local church. Usually, if not most of the
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time, if not all the time, it's relational problems, right?
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And most of those relational problems are very complicated to
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untangle. They become very knotted.
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And one of the reason why they become so knotted is because
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parties involved who are aware of the issue were unwilling to
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take the stance and expose certain sins, whether that sin
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be slander, whether that sin be the spread of doctrinal error,
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whether that sin be strife among parties within the Church.
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Often times the reason why things get to a place where
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there is damage, sometimes severe damage, that can cause
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even trauma and and distress and broken relationships on the long
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run, is because again, there are some who are unwilling to get
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uncomfortable and to put themselves out there to say this
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is wrong. We have to deal with this.
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Nathan didn't care because Nathan understood that, one, it
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was his duty and two, that there would be, there would be blood
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on his hands and other people's hands based on what he
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understood. And so the way that you and I
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are going to see peace and protection in our family, in our
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church family, it's not to be nosy individuals, it's not to
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sniff out sin in people's lives. But when there is legitimate
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concern within the church that we take the appropriate steps to
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cut Satan schemes short. And one of the best ways to do
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that is that when he attempts to sow discord among the brethren.
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That you and I surfaced that while it is still in seed form,
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I was meditating on Nathan's actions here.
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And there were so many examples that came to mind.
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And one example that came to mind.
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Just a brief observation that I would like to bring to your
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attention, but it it shows how significant that step can make,
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what kind of what kind of reward and blessing and security it can
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provide if we are people who honor the culture that Jesus
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called us to have as a church. And what did he say, Matthew 18?
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That if a brother sins, you rebuke him, you approach him,
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and it becomes a community effort to ensure that sin does
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not have breath to breathe in our midst.
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That's the culture Jesus wants us to have.
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One of humble, sincere, broken, loving, confrontation when
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necessary, exposure of sin when necessary.
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Did you know the Apostle Paul had his sister?
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Anybody know that? Anybody know the impossible?
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Had a sister? Can I show it to you in the
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scriptures? Go to Acts 23.
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I love quoting Acts 2311 whenever teaching about the
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Providence and sovereign will of God for our lives in Acts 2311.
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This is where Jesus appears to Paul when he was in prison in
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Jerusalem and was promised. You must also testify about me.
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Where? Where was Paul supposed to
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testify at that point? Rome.
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You're going to Rome, Paul, I assure.
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You're going to Rome. And immediately after we're told
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that, we're told that this band of Jews who conspired and came
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up with a plot to kill Paul. And there was more than 40 who
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even faceted until it was accomplished.
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And so they had this whole plot to try to get Paul to, to enter
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into a certain region, for them to create an ambush and to take
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his life. And then we're told of an
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interesting character, somebody who flashes into the scriptures
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and then disappears just as quickly.
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It's in verse 16 now. The son of Paul's sister, Paul
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had his sister, and Paul had a nephew.
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Now the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush.
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So he went and entered the barracks and told Paul, let's
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look at this from a heavenly perspective.
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This is an encouragement to you and I, Paul's nephew, unnamed,
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never to be seen again. Oh, there's so much to say about
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Paul's nephew, even in this one verse.
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But from a heavenly perspective, we see that Paul's nephew chose
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us. God's eyes and ears are
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everywhere, and if you, like Paul, are serving the Lord, you
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have nothing to worry about. Even when the enemy is brewing
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up a scheme against you, God's already ahead of it.
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He already knows about it, he already sees it, he already
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considers it, and he already knows what he's going to do
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about it. You have nothing to fear every
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waking and sleeping moment of your life.
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Because what I see here is that in Providence, nobody knows how
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Paul's nephew heard about this. Nobody knows how he was.
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It's just Providence. He was at the right place at the
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right time. He received the news and he
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brought it to Paul. Paul was able to pass that to
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the Roman soldiers and they were able to evade a disaster.
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God's eyes and ears are everywhere for his glory.
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For your good. But let's look at this from a
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human standpoint. Paul's nephew here, and
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understanding what he has seen in this moment felt the urgency
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to make this problem known and it saved Paul's life.
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It saved Paul's life. When we are willing to get
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uncomfortable, to expose and to correct, to bring things to even
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spiritual authority for the sake of the preservation of the
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unity, the love and the holiness of God's people, we could be
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saving so much. I'm telling you you, you don't
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know how many people I've talked to that are aware of certain
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things. People committing spiritual
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suicide. People committing spiritual
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collateral damage and for fear of I don't know what they're
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unwilling to step forward and say in the name of Christ, in
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the name of His Holiness and the name of unity.
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I have to say something, whether it be stripe, slander, doctrinal
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error, anything and everything in between.
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But Nathan here makes that decision, and and it's really
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the hinge to what we're about to discover.
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And his wisdom is proven further by this.
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He comes to Bathsheba, not amazing Nathan, a prophet of
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God. Knowing what this woman's past
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was. He's the one who exposed the sin
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between Bathsheba and David. And here's a man who's still
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willing to relate to her, to work with her, to care for her.
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Nathan was more than just a courageous, fearless man of God
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who exposed sin. He was a man who was also
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willing to relate to those who have repented of their sin, no
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matter how grotesque their sin was.
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What a man of God he he brings in Bathsheet and he says listen,
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your life is in danger, Your son Solomon's life is in danger.
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You need to listen to me. You need to go into your
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husband's chamber. You need to ask him what
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happened to the plan that you told me about that God had given
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you. Where is this going?
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And while you're explaining that I'm going to walk in at the
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right time and I'm going to confirm, I'm going to confirm
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your words. Now.
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Why? Why this scheme?
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Why this whole plan? Any ideas why?
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Why didn't Nathan just barge into the chamber and
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thunderously announced to David? Hey, listen, you're in trouble.
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You're negligent here. We got to get things into order.
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Why didn't he just do that? Any idea why?
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Why work with Bathsheba? This is very good.
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We're going to get to that in a moment.
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There's something about David. There's a weakness in David that
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required this kind of approach. So let's talk about the two
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things. I think the first thing is
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David's ignorance. So what are we told here in
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verse 12, verse 11? Rather David at the end of it.
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Our Lord does not know it. He's unaware, he's ignorant and
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so this requires a specific kind of approach, right?
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We have to come and make this known to him.
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But more than just his ignorance, there is a weakness.
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What's David's weakness when it comes to his children?
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We learned about it last week, verse six of chapter one.
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What is it? His father had never at any time
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displeased him being out of Niger by asking why have you
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done thus? And so David had already proven
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that he has a history of not willing to confront and
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discipline his children. More than that, he always seemed
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to believe the best about his children.
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He always had that kind of hope and desire, and even if they did
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wrong, even in in the face of obvious evil and disobedience,
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he was reluctant to deal with them.
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Nathan is David Trent. Nathan has seen this throughout
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the decades, and so he understands that in order for
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this to be something that David considers, we have to present it
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with urgency. And so, Bathsheba, you go in and
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then I'm going to come in and confirm it, and together we're
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going to bring this to David's attention for him to not be so
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quick to deny it or downplay it, right.
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Vividly speaking also in Duran, we were told that through two
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witnesses, I think is established right?
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So Nathan comes with this plan. Bathsheba is willing to listen.
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So Bathsheba does, and let's read it.
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Here Bathsheba went and verse 15 to the king and his chamber.
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Now the king was very old, and Abhishek the Shunamite was
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attending to the king. Bathsheba bowed and paid homage
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to the king. And the king said, Why do you?
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What do you desire? She said to my Lord, You swore
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to your servant by the Lord your God, saying, Solomon, your son
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shall rain after me, and he shall sit on my throne, And I'll
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behold that. And I just came, although you,
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my Lord king, did not do not know it.
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He has sacrificed oxen, fat and cattle and sheep in abundance,
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and has invited all the sons of the king.
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Have you asked the priests? And Job the commander of the
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army? But Solomon, you're serving.
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He is not invited. And now, my Lord the king, the
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eyes of all Israel are on you to tell them who shall sit on the
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throne of my Lord the king after him.
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Otherwise it will come to pass. When my Lord the king sleeps
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with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted
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offenders. Bathsheba listens.
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And again, Nathan here, by what he's saying to Bathsheba, is
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providing us yet more principles of what we should do, what we
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should do with somebody who is ignorant and through their
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ignorance or causing problems. And if they are weak, if they
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are frail, if they do lack courage, if they do lack
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boldness and stepping out in obedience and dealing with
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things, what are the I'm reading something okay.
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What are the three things you that stand out to me?
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Maybe more or less, but I see that when Nathan instructs
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Bathsheba, he first tells her to go respectfully.
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And she does. These are wonderful lessons
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about how to confront respectfully Bathsheba, verse
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16, bowed and paying homage to the king.
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So she comes with the sense of honor.
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She comes with the sense of respect.
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But more than respect, she comes carefully and at least with his
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advice, he he brings the Bathsheba a format.
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And the format was bring it in the forms of questions.
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Remember we had her Q&A. Somebody asked how do I?
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How do I confront with somebody in regarding to their sense?
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Ask questions, even even with evidence.
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Give them a chance to come clean.
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Give them a chance to be honest. Give them a chance to prove
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their integrity and their repentance.
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Ask questions. And sometimes when people are in
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error, we assume that they do things intentionally.
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And when you come with questions, you might learn that
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they were doing it really just out of ignorance and foolishness
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and a lack of understanding, so respectfully, carefully, but
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also urgently, urgently. The most unloving thing that you
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and I can do when somebody is clearly in error is to prolong
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and to delay. Our willingness to confront them
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because of whatever selfish reason that puts that delay can
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even cause more harm. Has anybody here ever eaten at a
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restaurant and you were devouring your lunch?
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So much so that there was something in your teeth and you
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went through that whole day fellowship, been going out for
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ice cream after the fact, All that's come into your car, put
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down the mirror and realize that there's something in there?
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Why didn't anybody tell me? Right.
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Why didn't anybody tell me about the smudge on my face?
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Isn't it a nice thing when somebody says, hey brother, you
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got something here. Hey, brother, sister, you got
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something here. You've done it, haven't you?
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You've seen it and you've just like, I'm not going to deal with
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that. Just let them figure it out
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themselves. There's something about us that
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we we really, most people are not confrontational and
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unfortunately that transfers over spiritually.
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If if I see correction in that way, as as much as that's a
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simple example, that's a gift. If you come up to me, say
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something, brother to see your brother.
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This is this like this. Can you fix it?
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I say thank you for that. I didn't want to continue in
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that way. I appreciate it.
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I look silly. I look wrong.
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I look like I didn't take care of myself.
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I look like I don't care about my hygiene.
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I appreciate that. Thank you.
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Well, take correction the same way.
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It's a gift. It's a gift.
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Thank you for that. I didn't see.
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I didn't know. My attitude was.
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I didn't know. I didn't know I was.
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That's how I came off when I say certain things.
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Thank you for that. Don't get all uptight.
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And if they love you, if they're in Christ, and bless them for
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that, respectfully, carefully, urgently.
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Bathsheba tries to obey. She tries to do it the way that
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she was instructed to do it. And so she comes to her husband,
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and she tells him with warning in verse 20.
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Now, my Lord the king, the eyes of all Israel on you to tell
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them who shall sit on the throne of my Lord the king after him.
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Otherwise it will come to pass. When my Lord the king sleeps
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with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted
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offenders. Like, listen, if you don't take
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this seriously, people will die. I will die.
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Your son Solomon will die. Do you understand the
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repercussions? Do you see how serious your
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delay is? When God wants to spring us into
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action, when we are in that place of whether that be
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weakness or hesitation or ignorance, He will often often
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use how we use Nathan, a messenger of the word.
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That's his primary means through sessions like this, where God's
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worth is being brought forth. And pray that the preachers of
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this place and preachers across this land are men who are filled
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with the Holy Spirit. So they don't just give nice
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lessons, but they speak with power and insight and
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sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, so they can actually speak into
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people's lives through the word of God.
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That's how the Lord speaks to us, to stir us, right?
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But that's not the only way the Lord can uproot us from a a
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place of concern to a place of His desired will and purpose.
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God has many means, and He is so acquainted with you and I that
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He knows how to bring us where He needs to bring us.
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One of my favorite examples of that truth, which I praise God
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for, is the early church in the book of Acts.
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God gave clear directions of their evangelistic outreach of
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the regions they were to cover, and that's found in Acts 18.
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You're very familiar with that, right?
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What are we told in Acts 18? Where were they supposed to
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start with the gospel? Jerusalem.
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And then where? Judea.
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Very good. And then where very good.
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And then the ends of the earth. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria.
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The ends of the earth? That's what the Lord said for
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the first seven chapters. Where were they?
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Jerusalem. They made no progress to the
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outside regions. They stayed in Jerusalem, for
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whatever reason, there was some form of stagnation.
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What did the Lord do to get them to Judea and Samaria?
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So we love Acts 18. Go to Acts 81 and you'll see how
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God brought them from where they were staying to where they
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needed to be. And just look at the ways of
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God. Look at the means of God.
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Look at the Providence of God, and that it caused your heart to
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rejoice. He didn't send another Angel.
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He didn't make his voice from Acts 18 be heard again in the
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churches. He does this in Acts 81.
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In Acts 81, we're told, and Saul approved of his execution.
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And there arose on that day a great not just persecution, a
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great persecution against the church in Jerusalem.
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And they were all scattered throughout the regions of where
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Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
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How many? How am I going to get this
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church, my church, to get to Judea and Samaria?
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Ah, persecution. Not a prophet, not a messenger.
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Persecution. You want God to lead your life
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in mine, huh? Very strange, the way he leads
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us. Very strange the way he brings
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us from one place to the next. So God wants you to get
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somewhere. And what does he do?
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It's not a promotion. You get fired.
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What's this all about? And how many scenarios can we
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give where it seems to be a negative?
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It seems to be a resistance. It seems to be a challenge.
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When in fact it's the doorway. It's the doorway.
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And so God knows how to get your attention, especially if you
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didn't hear Him after the 1st 10 sermons after the 15 Bible
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studies to move you. Isn't it a wonderful thing to be
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in the will of God? Isn't it a wonderful thing to be
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a child of God? He patiently knows how to lead
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us sometimes, even if it's there's some bruises that need
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to come with it ultimately so that we can be conformed to His
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will. All things work together for the
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good of those who are called according to His purpose.
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All things. And so here's David.
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He has his world shook, so to speak, and he has to deal with
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this. And So what happens, Verse 22,
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while she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the
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prophet came in right according to plan.
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And they told the king here is Nathan the prophet.
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And when he came in before the king, he bowed before the king
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with his face to the ground. Let me pause and just say this.
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Earlier we praised Nathan for being a person, a prophet,
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willing to care for and love someone like Bathsheba of all
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people. David, right?
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But I also see something praiseworthy of David here is
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David still near the end of his life, clinging to Nathan as a
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friend, having his life open to a friend like Nathan still.
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Do you know why that's significant?
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If you remember when we were introduced to Nathan, we studied
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how every mention of Nathan in connection to David, every
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mention of David and Nathan together, Nathan is giving David
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some kind of direction. Second Samuel Chapter 7, when
2 Samuel 7 chapter mention
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when David wanted to build a temple.
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Second Samuel chapter 12 when David was in sin and Nathan
2 Samuel 12 chapter mention
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rebukes him. And now we see him here in First
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Kings near the end of his life. He's telling him what to do.
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That's a real friend. That's someone that you should
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have in your life. I hope you have a person in your
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life that is loving enough to speak into your life, even if it
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cuts you at 1st. That draws you closer to the
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will of God, not away from the will of God.
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I hope you have someone like that, that whenever you hang out
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with them, you want to be godlier.
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Whenever you hang out with them, Do you have anybody like that?
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Whenever you talk to me, like, man, I want to read my Bible
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now. I have friends like that.
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It's like I don't know my Bible. I didn't see it that I got to go
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back and read or or somebody's just that person makes me want
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to pray. A person wants me to be, makes
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me want to be more holy, more committed, more zealous.
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Ask God for that kind of a friend.
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And when you have that kind of, and if you do have that kind of
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a friend, if you do have that kind of a church, don't take it
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for granted. Thank God for that.
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Praise God for that. David made a willful choice.
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He had the authority to kill him if he wanted to.
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He was the king. Prophets have been slain before
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for standing up against disobedient kings.
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But this king says you're my friend.
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In fact, one of David's children was named Nathan.
-
I wonder if he named them after his friend.
-
And there's evidence here that perhaps David did praise God for
-
Nathan in some way. Because look here.
-
So Nathan says. Now let's read it.
-
There's a lot of verses, by the way, he says here, verse 24.
-
Nathan said, My Lord the king, have you said I don't?
-
I just shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne free
-
has gone down this day. And I sacrifice oxen fattened
-
cattle and sheep and abundance, and has invited all the King's
-
sons the commanders of the army, and have you after the priest.
-
And behold they're eating and drinking before him.
-
And saying, Long live king out of Nyjah.
-
But me your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Bennaya the son
-
of Jehodia and your servant, solemn he is not invited.
-
Has this thing being brought about my Lord by my Lord the
-
king and you have not told your servants who should sit on the
-
throne of my Lord the king after him?
-
You see the attitude. Hey, David, King did you did
-
something change And we're not not.
-
He didn't point his finger. The way is confronting so much
-
wisdom. Look what David does.
-
Then King David answered call Bathsheba to me.
-
So she came into the King's presence and stood before the
-
King. And the king swore saying, As
-
the Lord lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity,
-
as I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying,
-
Solomon, your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my
-
throne in my place. Even so will I do this day.
-
Notice the explosive praise before the promise that Solomon
-
will succeed him. Look at this beautiful
-
declaration as the Lord lives who has redeemed my soul out of
-
every adversity. David has gone through a lot of
-
adversity, has he? Not a lot, whether that be
-
foreign armies or internal betrayals and strife, his
-
fatherinlaw, his son, other people from different tribes.
-
This man went through a series of adversities, and yet at this
-
time he pauses. He lifts his heart to heaven,
-
and he said the Lord. The Lord redeemed my soul out of
-
all of them. Why is he saying this?
-
Why is he saying this here? It seems out of place.
-
It just seems kind of random. It's noble.
-
It's it's, it's beautiful. But why is he saying this?
-
Here's why I believe he's saying this.
-
I believe he is saying this because he's not just reflecting
-
on what the Lord has done. He's realizing in this moment
-
that the Lord is doing what he has always done by delivering me
-
yet from another adversity. Do you see what I'm saying?
-
David is praising God for the deliverances that he has known
-
because in this very moment he is being delivered.
-
Because through Nathan the Prophet, something is made aware
-
to him out of Nyjah's wicked plan to try to overthrow his
-
throne. And he goes, oh God, you have
-
delivered me from all these adversities even now to this
-
last moment of my life. What?
-
What's the lesson? God is faithful.
-
God is faithful. I hope you and I will live for
-
the glory of God long enough for the rest of your life, for you
-
and I to be able to say the same thing David says here.
-
He has redeemed my soul out of every adverse.
-
Just because God is God in your life, just because he's your
-
shepherd, doesn't mean you're not going to go through
-
adversities. You're going to go through them,
-
but he will bring you out of them.
-
That's the difference. But a lot of people's theology
-
is I'm never going to be touched.
-
I'm never going to be visited. I'm never going to know harm.
-
I'm never going to go to the heat of the fire.
-
I'm never going to know the rising waters.
-
I'm just going to just just float through this life.
-
That's not what the Lord says out of How are you going to know
-
God's faith in this until you have a problem?
-
How are you going to know God's miracle power unless you stand
-
before Red Sea? How?
-
Be careful what you're asking for, Lord, show me your wisdom.
-
Lord, show me your power. Lord, show me your mic.
-
All right, well, here's the situation that requires it.
-
But David could say confidently, he could say to something you
-
and I could say at the end of it, he's saying something that
-
you can believe now and you can, you can lock it in your heart.
-
He will deliver me out of every adversity.
-
He will. Do you want to know the New
-
Testament equivalent to David's declaration here?
-
It was through the lips of the Apostle Paul and Second Timothy
-
418 Look what Second Timothy 418 is.
-
This is a powerful prompt. This is a powerful thing for you
-
and I to be able to say over and over again, especially as you're
-
living for the glory of God. And Second Timothy 418 Look what
-
he says. The Lord will rescue me from
-
every evil deed and bring me safely into His heavenly
-
Kingdom. To him be the glory forever and
-
ever. Amen.
-
Amen. Indeed, he will.
-
From every evil deed, no matter how creative, no matter how
-
overwhelming, no matter how surrounding every evil deed, I
-
will be delivered from nothing, will be able to sabotage the
-
will of God for my life. No affliction, no assault, no
-
ailment, nothing. Every evil deed will be recycled
-
for the glory of God. And David is praising God for
-
that. And he he responds with urgency.
-
Nathan approaches him with urgency, and he responds with
-
urgency, and he says, this day, I'm not waiting.
-
God has made this known to me. I'm going to act on this right
-
now. And so they do.
-
And as they are now planning, David gives this list of
-
specific instructions to Bathsheba and to Nathan.
-
And we see here in verse 34 what happened.
-
Specifically, let's read verse 32.
-
King David said call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the Prophet,
-
and Bennaya the son of Jehodia. So they came before the king.
-
And the king said to them, take with you the servants of your
-
Lord, and have Solomon, my son, ride on my own mule and bring
-
him down to Guyon or Guillon. And let Zadok the priest and
-
Nathan the prophet there anoint him king over Israel.
-
Then blow the trumpet and say, Long live King Solomon, you
-
shall then come up after me, and he shall come and sit on my
-
throne, for he shall be the ruler over Israel and over
-
Judah. So here are these instructions.
-
But something stands out to me in verse 34.
-
Look at verse 34. I wonder.
-
I'm asking you this now I'm. I'm wondering if something
-
stands out to you. Look at it and if you can notice
-
it has to do with these three individuals that are named verse
-
34. What positions do each
-
represent? What do you have there?
-
Prophet, Priest. And who?
-
King. Those are the three major
-
leadership offices in the old covenant that God instituted to
-
serve the nation of Israel. The prophet spoke on behalf of
-
God. The priest was the mediator
-
between God and man and the king govern God's people, and here we
-
see them working together to accomplish the will of God.
-
And this is a good place to be reminded that Jesus made an
-
astounding claim about himself that he was the greatest.
-
He's the greatest prophet, the greatest priest, the greatest
-
king. If you're at the conference, you
-
remembered where Jesus said that.
-
Who remembers where Jesus said that?
-
That's what the Thursday night session does.
-
You're still getting acquainted and settled in.
-
Where did Jesus say I'm the greatest priest, I'm the
-
greatest prophet, I'm the greatest king.
-
Somebody said Matthew. Where in Matthew?
-
See. Review is good, isn't it?
-
It's good. Very good.
-
Grace Matthew, chapter 12. I want to show you where Jesus
Matthew 12 chapter mention
-
said he's the greatest priest, He's the greatest prophet.
-
He's the greatest king. Matthew, chapter 12.
Matthew 12 chapter mention
-
Let's look at verse 6. All in the same chapter.
-
Matthew, chapter 12, verse six. What does he say?
Matthew 12 chapter mention
-
I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.
-
He's declaring his superior priesthood, and with that, him
-
being the superior and all sufficient sacrifice.
-
He's not just a priest, he's a sacrifice as well.
-
Hebrews declares that over and over something greater than the
-
Temple is here. Whatever the temple represents
-
the priesthood and the sacrifices there.
-
And I'm greater than that. Matthew 1241 What is he saying?
-
Matthew 1241 The men in Nineveh will rise up at the judgment
-
with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the
-
preaching of Jonah and behold, something greater than Jonah is
-
here. Not only in the sense that the
-
miracle of Jonah being in the belly of the fish pointed to the
-
resurrection, but the office of Prophet as well.
-
I am the greatest prophet. Matthew 1242 Can you guess what
-
the next one is? You should know you got a tshirt
-
with a verse on it. The Queen of the South will rise
-
up of the judgment with this generation and condemn it.
-
For she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of
-
Solomon. And behold, something greater
-
than Solomon is here. Something greater than the
-
temple, Something greater than Jonah, Something greater than
-
Solomon, Priest, prophet, King. The concept of those things
-
being mixed together in one person was totally foreign.
-
It was actually illegal in the old covenant.
-
There was one king who thought that he can presume to be the
-
king or the priest at the same time.
-
Who was that king Salt attempted to sacrifice?
-
And there was another one. He became a leopard because of
-
it. King Guziya, when he attempted
-
to give incense in the temple and God struck him with leprosy.
-
You could not overlap those offices.
-
And yet Jesus, by claiming he's the greatest prophet, greatest
-
priest, greatest king, you know what he's saying?
-
I'm all of those things in one person.
-
I'm not just one of those things.
-
I'm all of those things, he declared it.
-
Did the New Testament authors believe that about Jesus?
-
Did the apostles believe that? Can I show you one place?
-
Just this is just really, really exciting.
-
I want to show you one place, just one example of how the New
-
Testament authors, the authors of the Epistles, believe that
-
about Jesus. Hebrews chapter one.
-
Let's look at the 1st 3 verses. I love the book of Hebrews.
-
You know why? It is saturated with Old
-
Testament references, Old Testament imagery, Old Testament
-
shadows pointing to the substance in Jesus Christ.
-
But look at Hebrews one. We're very familiar with this.
-
I wonder if you've seen this before.
-
Verse one long ago at many times, and I want to see if you
-
noticed this. And in many ways God spoke to
-
our fathers by the prophets. But in these last days He's
-
spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the air of all things.
-
Through him also he created the world.
-
He is the radiance of the glory of God in the exact imprint of
-
his nature. And He upholds the universe by
-
the word of His power. After making purification for
-
sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
-
Did you see it? Where's the reference to
-
Prophet? Look at verse one.
-
God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.
-
Verse 2. But in these last days he has
-
spoken to us. By his Son.
-
By his Son. Now he speaks.
-
This is the true messenger. This is the one who would bring
-
forth not just the word. He is the word.
-
Where do we see priests? Did you catch it?
-
Good. Look at verse three.
-
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of
-
his nature. And he upholds the universe by
-
the word of his power after making purification for sins.
-
Priest, where's king? Right after he sat down at the
-
right hand of the majesty on high.
-
So verse one, you have Jesus speaking forth the word of God.
-
In the old all these prophets came, and now the prophet of
-
prophets has come. In the old all these purified
-
sins have come, but he has for one time at all time, for all
-
time made purification for sins. And not only that, he has been
-
exalted and he has sended into majestic glory, sitting today as
-
a ruler and the sovereign overall the universe.
-
Isn't that exciting? I hope so.
-
Priest, Prophet, King, Prophet, Priest, king, king.
-
Now do you believe that even though each?
-
One of these offices occupied their own lane.
-
Do you believe that? There was an anticipation for
-
the Messiah to occupy all three. Let me ask you this way was.
-
There any anticipation where? Is there any prophetic
-
indication that when this Messiah comes, he will in fact
-
be these things all in one because we kind of limit the
-
Messiah? Son of David as the king, sure.
-
But is there any other clear indication, prophetic utterance
-
that he would be more than that? That he would be the unification
-
of these offices to prove something?
-
That he is the greatest leader? He is the only deliver.
-
He's the one that eclipses every other attempt of delivering the
-
people of God, yes. Very good.
-
One of the most favorite psalms. Utilize in the New Testament by
-
the Holy Spirit. What's that Psalm Psalm 110.
-
Psalm 110 What are we told? Well, let's look at verse one.
-
You have your Bible as a Bible study, right?
-
Good. I love the screen, but
-
sometimes. It makes me nervous, the Lord
-
says to my Lord. Sit at my right hand until I
-
make your enemies. Your foot still sit at my right
-
hand. That's royalty sit where I sit
-
so to. Sit in this place of authority.
-
But then you read on. What is it saying?
-
Verse 2. The Lord sends forth from Zion
-
your mighty scepter rule in the midst of your enemies.
-
That's still kingly language. Verse three, your people will
-
offer themselves freely on the day of your power and holy
-
garments from the womb of the morning.
-
The dew of your youth will be yours.
-
Now look what? Here it says.
-
The Lord has sworn he's still speaking about the Lord.
-
The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind.
-
You are priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
-
I wonder what David's reaction? Was to that when the Holy Spirit
-
inspired that in him. Here is one of my.
-
Sons is not just going to be my descendant, he's also going to
-
be my Lord, and the Lord is going to exalt him to the place
-
of heavenly glory and authority. Wow, one of my sons is going to
-
be exalted to such a status. And then, as the Holy Spirit is
-
revealing, this time he's also learning.
-
But he's also going to be a priest.
-
Uziah was stricken for attempting to be both king and
-
priest, but my son is going to be exalted as king and also
-
occupied the office of priest, not after the order of Levi but.
-
After the order of Melchizedek, wow, can I show you one of my
-
favorite prophecies concerning Jesus, the Messiah being King
-
and priest at the same time? Zachariah Chapter 6 Go to
-
Zachariah chapter 6 quickly I. Want you to see this because I
-
want you to be absolutely amazed of how these ancient scriptures
-
point to the Jesus you love and adore today.
-
Jesus didn't just. Surprise, Israel.
-
Jesus was anticipated, predicted, prophesied about, and
-
it was the ignorance of the Jewish leadership that caused
-
them to reject them in such a way, with all their sin and envy
-
and all that stuff. But look at Zechariah 6.
-
Let's look at verse 11 and Zechariah 6.
-
Let's go to verse 12. Actually, here's a prophecy.
-
Look at this. And say to him Thus says the
-
Lord of hosts, behold the man whose name is the branch capital
-
B. Do you know what would make a
-
fascinating study? Studying all the places in the
-
Old Testament where Jesus is referred to as the branch.
-
Amazing references. Amazing promises and
-
prerogatives that are tied into that title.
-
The branch. Have you heard Jesus?
-
The Branch. The branch.
-
For he shall branch out from his place, and he shall he shall
-
build the temple of the Lord. Some would say that's the
-
spiritual. That's the Church of Jesus
-
Christ. Yes, he is building a temple,
-
but there's also physical temple to come.
-
Look at the next verse Now this is where he.
-
Gets exciting. It is he who shall build the
-
temple of the Lord, and shall bear royal honor and shall sit
-
and rule on his throne. Now look at this and there most
-
translation says he King James, New King James.
-
And a SVESV says there, but it says, And there shall be a
-
priest on his throne, and he shall be a.
-
Priest on his throne, Huh. Priest on the throne?
-
Unheard of, unheard of, but. This branch, this Messiah, he
-
will build a temple, and from that temple will be his
-
headquarters. And that headquarters will not
-
only be the temple, it will be where he exercises his sovereign
-
rule as king priests on his throne and the council.
-
Of peace shall be between them both.
-
So yeah, the prophets. Understood that there is a
-
Messiah to come. That will occupy something that
-
has never been known and was not permitted to be known.
-
Prophet, priest, king, one person, Jesus Christ of
-
Nazareth. That's who it is and what's
-
gonna happen is. To this, most of the chapter,
-
Jonathan is going to spell out in detail what just occurred in
-
the city concerning Solomon becoming king and taking over
-
his father's place. I would read the rest of this,
-
but I'm going to. Pause and ask this question.
-
Have we seen this character, Jonathan, the son of Abby
-
Athler, before? If so, where?
-
OK, good. So we've.
-
Seen him back in Second Samuel. We've seen him back in Second
2 Samuel 15 chapter mention
-
Samuel, Chapter 15, and if you want to turn there, you can.
-
I want you to see who this Jonathan is because it's going
-
to be very important understanding what he's doing
-
here. And second Samuel 15.
-
We're told here in verse 27, the king also said to Xanax the
-
priest, Are you not a seer? Go back to the city in peace
-
with your two sons, Ahimaz, your son, and Jonathan, the son of
-
Abiath. I remember this is this is David
-
now in exile. Absalom kicked him out and here
-
he is trying to figure out what to do.
-
And one of the plans is that. The son of Zadok and the son of
-
Abiatra remain near the premises of Absalom and his throne so
-
that they can have Intel about what Absalom is going to do
-
next. Jonathan, the son of Abiatra.
-
Was a spy for David during Absalom's revolt.
-
He put his life on the line. He risked his life.
-
He was loyal to David. And now we see him again, right?
-
We see him next in Second Samuel 17, when he almost gets caught
-
after the news about abstinence plan to attack came to him.
-
And then there's silence. And then we see him again in
-
First Kings chapter one. So is Jonathan a good guy or a
-
bad guy with that knowledge, with that background?
-
He's a good guy, we can honestly say.
-
He's a faithful servant to the cause of Yahweh.
-
Now we see him here. And he does something that he
-
did back in Second Samuel 17, where he gives report.
-
But there's something strange going on because he's giving
-
report to who out of Naija? What happened to Jonathan?
-
Do we have any right to question his loyalty now?
-
Any clues? Based on what I read there that
-
would give you the right to question Jonathan's fidelity?
-
Very good observation. Abby Yathar, remember, was at
-
this party. He, with Jo AB joined and
-
changed their allegiance over to AD and Naija.
-
Yes, but was it just his father? Any clue on what we read here?
-
Any insight that might cause us to question Jonathan, Yes,
-
that's a very. Good point.
-
Did you hear that? Notice what AD and I just said.
-
Jonathan as and I just said, come in for you are a worthy man
-
and bring good news. Now generally that would be a
-
good commendation. That would be something
-
honorable, but not from a guy like this ad.
-
And Nigel was very strategic on who to invite and who not to
-
bring in and who to bring in right to his little get
-
together. He didn't invite Nathan, he
-
didn't invite Benai. He didn't invite Zadok because
-
he understood their strong. Stance that he understood that
-
they would not compromise. So what does it say about
-
Jonathan, the son of Abbie Athar?
-
For Adam and I just say, oh, he's a good guy.
-
Come on in. Question mark.
-
Right Flag. So is he a traitor?
-
Could be. But then you read what he says
-
and then you're even more confused.
-
So now he explains, right. So he brings good news.
-
And Jonathan's like, not really. Verse 43.
-
Jonathan, answered. Adam and I just no for our Lord
-
King. David has made Solomon a king,
-
and the king he has sent with him Zach the priest, Nathan the
-
prophet, Benign, the son of Johadada Joyada and the
-
Carothites and the Pelothites. And they had him ride on the
-
King's mule. And Zach the priest and Nathan
-
the prophet have anointed him king, a guy on.
-
And they have gone up from there rejoicing so that the city is in
-
an uproar. This is a noise that you have
-
heard. And he goes out to explain in
-
great detail what happened. Any clue in what Jonathan said?
-
That might actually indicate the opposite of what we might think,
-
that he is in fact still loyal to David, King David, and not
-
just King. David, what does he say?
-
Jonathan verse 43 answered Anaija.
-
No, for our Lord King David so at Anaija.
-
At least from what we see here, still believe that David was the
-
rightful king, that David still had authority that it wasn't.
-
King Adan Ija, It's still King. So there's some sense of honor
-
of the process here, honor of who's still truly in the
-
position of authority. So is he with David?
-
Is he against David? Is he with Adan Ija?
-
Is he against Adan Ija? Do you know what I believe about
-
it? He's a confused fellow.
-
He's conflicted. He's torn.
-
As our brother brought up, his father is with Adan Ija.
-
You don't see. Benai you don't see.
-
Zadok, you don't see Nathan coming to this camp and giving
-
them a heads up of what's taking place, do you?
-
Why is Jonathan here at the same time?
-
There's something in him that still recognizes David for who
-
he is, for our Lord, King David. So there's some kind of internal
-
struggle. Here's the lesson from this Your
-
testimony shouldn't be confusing.
-
Shouldn't be confusing to people.
-
People shouldn't wonder that you are a follower of Christ and
-
also how are you that and also a lover of the world.
-
It should be clear. Cut it.
-
We should be like Nathan and these other fellows where even
-
the world even at the Nyjah and those guys who are rebels could
-
say those guys are for real. Those guys are truly pledged to
-
the anointed one. People shouldn't wonder where.
-
We stand on these things and let's talk about your heart.
-
There shouldn't be in your heart and in mine, this division,
-
this, this one foot in one. Foot out.
-
He is king. But I also see this and I want
-
to be part of that as well. You can't do that.
-
He's not going to let you do that.
-
He won't. He wants.
-
Everything, every single part of you to belong to him.
-
And so Jonathan here is a very sad.
-
Picture of somebody who can't figure out where he stands.
-
It may not be so of us, but you know what stands out to me here?
-
If you look back here in verse 39, Zanuk anoints him and all
-
these. Things take place, but look at
-
the description of the celebration when Solomon is made
-
king. And all the people went up after
-
him, playing on pipes and rejoicing with great joy, so
-
that the earth was split by their noise.
-
Think about it was so loud. It was so resounding with shouts
-
and cries and laughter, perhaps, that the earth shook.
-
I mean, they heard it. They weren't too far, but they
-
heard it. Compare that kind of atmosphere
-
with how Nathan describes the celebration for King Adenija.
-
Go to verse 25. Look at this.
-
It's very similar but. You'll see a difference.
-
For he has gone down this day, and has sacrificed ox, and
-
fattened cattle and sheep, and abundance, and has invited all
-
the King's sons, the commanders of the army, and Abiath of the
-
priest. And behold, they are eating and
-
drinking before. I'm saying, Long live King
-
Adanaija. What's the difference?
-
Both had people, both had. Specific protocols and.
-
But there's something that stands out.
-
Not the eating and drinking, not the.
-
Music even. No, not even that necessarily.
-
Look at verse 40 again. Rejoicing with great joy.
-
Rejoicing with great joy. There is tangible, observable,
-
genuine true joy when Nathan describes this.
-
We see here that they're eating and drinking before.
-
I'm saying Long live King Atanaija, but here we see that
-
there's something. Deeper going on, I wonder if
-
this is a lesson about how true joy is found in being an
-
obedience to the will of God. You want to live according to
-
your selfish. Pleasures you want to build your
-
own little Kingdom. You can do that.
-
You can try to think that you can conjure.
-
Up a better plan for your life than if you just submit to the
-
will of God. But you will never know true
-
joy. Never.
-
That's why you should never envy the wicked.
-
Ever. Ever envy the wicked?
-
And Psalms tells us repeatedly, do not envy the wicked.
-
Why would we told that? Because there's something,
-
especially in this day of age where everything is plastered
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before you, you can't ignore it. And we wonder why there's a rate
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of anxiety, hiking and depression and self esteem
-
issues. Because all you're seeing is
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fake images of people in their lives and what do you think is
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being posted godly? Things appraise God.
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There are people who are doing that, but most of it is all look
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what my life is without God. And there's a temptation, right?
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Their life looks so easy. Their life looks so fun.
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Their life looks so easy and wonderful and joyful and
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memories and experiences. Oh, and here you are on a Friday
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night. Week after week at a Bible
-
study. Amen.
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Indeed. And so here's the thing that I
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want to make. I want to make known to you even
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in a world where people want to present themselves in a certain
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way. All the little events, all the
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little gatherings, even manmade ministries, if they are not
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submitted to the will of God, you have one thing guaranteed
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they will not know true joy. It's only when you align
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yourself to. God's will, His purposes.
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And like Zadok and these other men, give yourself over to every
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detailed instruction that God has revealed to you, and conform
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your life to that will, you know, rejoicing.
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A deep seated happiness that can never be taken from you where
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you can say Amen. I want to be here on a Friday
-
night because I know my God. I want to know him.
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I want to live for him and it is my delight to be in his
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presence. With God's people, That's
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Supernatural. Why are you here?
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Like this is Supernatural. You're here on a Friday night
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talking about First Kings Chapter One, and you're actually
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happy about it. That's the Holy Spirit.
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That's the miracle of regeneration.
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That's God in you. And isn't it a genuine joy?
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Isn't it true rejoicing? Absolutely.
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Let's end it here. Adenija's little party came
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crashing down, and soul will the purposes and plots of the.
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Wicked verse 49 Then all the guests of Adenija trembled and
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rose, and each went his own way. And Aden?
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I just feared Solomon. So he arose and went and took
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hold of the horns of the altar. Then it was told Solomon,
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Behold, Aden, I just fears King Solomon, for behold he has laid
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hold of the horns of the altar, saying, Let King Solomon swear
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to me first that he will not put his servant to death with the
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sword. Why is he holding on to the
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horns of the brazen altar? It's very good.
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Not many people know that reference because in Exodus 21
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we are told there by inference that there was permission to
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come. To the altar of sacrifice and
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hold onto the horns. On the corner right, there's
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these little pieces that stuck out like horns, and people would
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run there as a place of safety. If they have done any wrong, and
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that was permitted to some extent, unless they've committed
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a a capital crime that required them to be punished by death.
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And so it was a practice for people who knew they were in the
-
wrong to flee to the altar and to cling.
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Why the altar? Because it represents God's
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mercy. This is where God accepts
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sacrifice to cover your sin, to overlook your your error and
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your faults. And so in in the same way they
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would run not with a sacrifice, but with their guilty hands and
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say, I'm clinging to the mercy of God, surely you will not slay
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me Where God receives sinners. In some sense, the altar
-
symbolizes the mercy of Jesus Christ.
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I wonder if that's where the term.
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Altar call comes from come to the altar.
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Maybe that is it. I don't know.
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And so they they clung to this. And this is exactly what Adenija
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is doing. He's fearful of King Solomon and
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look what Solomon does. And Solomon said, if he will
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show himself a worthy man, not one of his hair shall fall to
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the earth. But if wickedness is found in
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him, he shall die. So King Solomon sent and they.
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Brought him down from the altar, and he came and paid homage to
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King Solomon. And Solomon said to him, go to
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your house. He paid homage to King Solomon.
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What goes up? And pride will come down.
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Here's a man who was willing to stand up against the will of
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God, against Solomon. And now at the end of the
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chapter, he's bowing down before Solomon.
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And what is Solomon doing here? Does he show mercy or not?
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Incredible mercy. Incredible mercy.
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Not only does it say I'm going to let you live, he lets him
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keep his house, his estate. Go to your house, just don't
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cause trouble and I'll let you live.
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And here at the end of chapter one.
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We see Solomon now finally coordinated as king, but we also
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see where He establishes his Kingdom, how we establish it.
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He builds it upon mercy. He builds it upon.
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He builds it upon forgiveness. This says something about
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Solomon. This is how he starts.
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And I was reading this today. You know what came to mind?
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How Solomon ended? Does anybody know?
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I wonder, does anybody know the last recorded thing that Solomon
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does before we told that he sleeps with his father's?
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The last recorded thing he begins his reign.
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By choosing not to kill Atanija, Let me show you how he chooses
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to end his reign. Go to Chapter 11.
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Please meet me there and verse 40.
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This is where Solomon was going to be disciplined for his
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apostasy. And the prophet Ahad Jau now
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comes to a man named Jerabom and was told that he would receive
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the Kingdom at least in part. Somehow Solomon hears about this
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and verse 40. This is the last thing Solomon
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chooses to do before we're told that he sleeps with his
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father's. Solomon sought therefore, to
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kill. Jeraboam But Jeraboam arose and
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fled into Egypt to Shishak, king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until
-
the death of Solomon. That's how he ends.
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He begins by choosing not to kill a man.
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He ends by trying to kill a man justly or unjustly.
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Unjustly, it's not how you start.
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It's how you and I finish. This is a different person, and
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it's very possible for us to start so well, so zealous, so
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pure, so humble. And if we're not on guard, if
-
we're not careful, we can end up looking completely different
-
than how we did begun. May it not be so of us.
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Stay close to the Lord. Listen, finish this race well.
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Finish well. Keep going.
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Don't give up. Don't give in.
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Don't surrender to the flesh. It will be worth it in the end,
-
for the sake of God's glory. Would we finish well?
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And may people not see a different horrendous,
-
questionable testimony at the last of it.
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But may they see someone who is brighter, holier, lovelier than
-
when they started? By God's grace, he can do it in
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us. Let's pray
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how rich is the? Banquet of your word, O Lord,
-
how full of truth it is. And, Lord, with a lengthy
-
chapter like this, we have indeed felt that we have sat
-
before an. Abundance of revelation.
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Thank you that. In the same chapter, you can
-
teach us theology and you can teach us practical godliness.
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Lord, there is nothing like this word.
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There's nothing like your word now.
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Lord more than becoming acquires of insights and connections in
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your word made this producing us worship worship more than a A.
-
Song because our emotions are stirred, but worship?
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That translates into a life of sacrifice laid on the altar, a
-
living sacrifice. We pray, Lord, that in this.
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Place we would indeed hear your voice, and hear it in a way that
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causes us to. Bow before you to live, for you
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to deny the flesh, carry our cross, renounce the world, and
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shine brighter for your glory. Lord, as we close this time
-
together as a family, would you receive these last few moments
-
of singing sacrifice, of praise, and may be pleasing to your
-
ears? Lord, we bless you again for
-
first kings chapter one. We thank you for speaking to our
-
hearts. Comfort us, convict us,
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challenge us, encourage us. Whatever we need to be brought
-
into greater conformity. So be it.
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We ask this of your Holy Spirit tonight in Jesus name.
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Amen. Amen.
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Amen. Saints.