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Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Alright, good evening everyone. Welcome to First Works Baptist Church. Let's all make our way inside and find a seat. Let's all grab a song book. Open that song book up to song number 114, The Great Physician. Let's all stand if you are able for this first song. Song number 114, The Great Physician. Everyone all together nice and strong on that first verse. The Great Physician now is near, The sympathizing Jesus. He speaks the truly heart to cheer, O hear the voice of Jesus. Sweetest load and seraph song, Sweetest name on mortal tongue, Sweetest carol ever sung, Jesus blessed Jesus. Your many sins are all forgiven, O hear the voice of Jesus. Go on your way in peace to heaven, And wear a crown with Jesus. Sweetest load and seraph song, Sweetest name on mortal tongue, Sweetest carol ever sung, Jesus blessed Jesus. All glory to the dying lamb, I now believe in Jesus. I love the blessed Savior's name, I love the name of Jesus. Sweetest load and seraph song, Sweetest name on mortal tongue, Sweetest carol ever sung, Jesus blessed Jesus. And when to that bright world above We rise to be with Jesus, We'll sing around the throne above His name, the name of Jesus. Sweetest load and seraph song, Sweetest name on mortal tongue, Sweetest carol ever sung, Jesus blessed Jesus. Amen. Let's talk about our service with a word of prayer. Father, thank you, God, Lord, for allowing us, Father, to be here tonight, Lord, and hear your word preached unto us, God. We pray, God, that you would bless the service, Lord, every aspect of it, God. We feel pastored with your Holy Spirit, Lord, as he preaches to us, God, and also, God, just be with us in the congregation, Lord, that we would hear that, that we would apply that which we hear to our lives, Lord, and leave here differently than when we came in, God. We love you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You may be seated. Song number 22, Are You Washed in the Blood? Song number 22, Are You Washed in the Blood? Going all together nice and strong. Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you fully trusting in his gracious sound? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you washed in the blood, in the soul cleansing flood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless all day wide as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you walking daily by the Savior's side? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Do you rest each moment in the crucified? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you washed in the blood, in the soul cleansing flood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless all day wide as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? When the bridegroom coming through the roads be white, Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Will your soul be ready for the measures bright? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you washed in the blood, in the soul cleansing flood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless all day wide as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Pray aside the garments that are same with sin, Can't be washed in the blood of the Lamb. There's a fountain flowing for the soul unclean, Won't be washed in the blood of the Lamb. Are you washed in the blood, in the soul cleansing flood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless all day wide as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? All right, great singing. Thank you for being here this evening. Welcome to First Works Baptist Church. Just a few announcements here before we sing our next song, which will be 121, Like a River, Glorious. 121 if you want to get that ready in your songbooks. If you did not get a bulletin, go in and raise your hand. One of the ushers can get one for you. Some important information on there. Ms. DJ needs one right here. Of course, our services are as follows. Sunday morning is at 1030 Sunday evening at 5 p.m. And then we have our Thursday night Bible study at 7 o'clock. Of course, tonight we are currently going through the book of 2 Samuel. And then you see the soul-winning teams and times, the list of expecting mothers, and the important reminders there at the bottom, some of the upcoming church events. Monday, January 30th, we have the Barstow soul-winning. And we just, we went there this week. It was a great turnout. A good amount of soul-winners and, of course, a good amount of salvations. A lot of receptive people there. And so if you're interested in participating in the evangelism there, you can see Brother Ulysses Hernandez for more details. We'll essentially just meet here at 1130 for lunch. We'll head out and do soul-winning for a couple hours. And then we'll have dinner out there and then return. And so if you have any questions, you can see him. If you want to catch a ride with us or if you want to meet us there, just keep in mind it's on the 30th. And then the ladies' prayer breakfast is coming up on Saturday, February 4th. Miss Angela's baby shower is on Sunday, February 12th. You can see Miss Kelly Franceschini for more details about that. And then the Belize missions trip is coming up on Saturday, February 26th, through Sunday, March 5th. Please be in prayer that we see a lot of people saved and that we'll be able to collect a lot of information there. Just kind of establishing relationships with the natives there. And we can keep in contact with them that, Lord willing, we can have a preaching service there in November. And so that's the plan. We'll see what the Lord does. But we're heading out there, and so please be in prayer over that. You see the regular reminders there at the bottom. Please make sure you silence your phones during the preaching so as to not be a distraction during the service. And we're going to pull out your prayer sheet there. We're just going to go over that briefly, and then Brother Gio is going to come on up and pray over these needs. Of course, continue to pray for God's favor on our church, for the sowing and the teams. Of course, as I mentioned, the missions program, as we're heading out to Belize twice this year, the Lord would guide us, lead us to those who are receptive, and of course that we would be able to have good relationships with the people there and disciple the people there. And so who knows, maybe a church can get started there. And so we'll see if there's an open door there. And then of course continue to pray for a church fan, for spiritual numerical growth, more laborers, and pray for the new people in our church as our church continues to grow, that they would get grounded and they would continue the grace of God and just grow in the knowledge of the Bible and their church attendance and their prayer life. And then you see just the regular reminders there at the bottom, the church families, just all the different needs there. I want to particularly, I want to encourage you to pray for Brother Morrie's mom, Princess Lemons, and for recovery from surgery, and then for Brother Chevy, whose father is still in the hospital, and he's not doing too good, and so please keep him in prayer that he will make a full recovery and be able to come home. And so please pray for that. If you have any additional prayer requests you'd like to be mentioned, you can put that at the bottom. We'll make sure, tear that off and put it into the offering plate, and we'll make sure that it gets on the bulletin for the following week. Brother Gio is going to come on up now and pray over these needs. All right, let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Dear Lord Heavenly Father, thank you for bringing us here together. Thank you for keeping us safe as you traveled here from work or from wherever we came from, Lord. Lord, we want to pray to have your continual favor on our church, Lord. Obviously, we have been in a time of peace right now. Our church is growing. We see a lot of people saved on a weekly basis, Lord. Continue to be with our church and to bless our church, Lord. We also want to pray for the soul winning, that we continue to see a lot of people saved, and the soul winning teams, that new people get plugged in, and it's our soul winning, Lord, and that our soul winning teams continue to do a great work, Lord. And we also pray that the soul winning team leaders also continue to guide the new people and to guide the people and their teams to help them soul win and to get the great work done for you, Lord. Lord, we also want to pray for the mission trips, especially to Belize. We're going twice this year, Lord, and we pray that it's still receptive, Lord, and the door is still open for us, Lord. And we pray that, God willing, eventually we can have a church service over there, maybe in November, and hopefully in the future we can even start a church there, Lord. So we pray that that door stays open to us, Lord, and that you protect us as we travel there, Lord. Lord, God, we also want to pray for the protection of our church and our church family, Lord. We pray that as we go to and from work and to and from church, Lord, that you have a hand of protection over all of our church members, Lord, and that you keep us safe as we do the work for you, Lord. Lord, we also want to pray for the church van. We know that we've been pretty close to getting a church van, Lord. We pray that you help guide Pastor Mejia to find a good deal on a van, Lord, that it can help us get people to and from church and potentially have more labors for you, Lord, and it would just be a great blessing for our church, Lord. Lord, we also want to pray for the spiritual and numerical growth and all of the new people, and that we have more labors, Lord, that we pray that, obviously, we want to grow numerically, but also, more importantly, spiritually, Lord, that when new people come into church, Lord, that they get plugged in, they get on a soul-wanting team, they start doing the labor for you, Lord, and that our church continues to grow numerically as well, Lord. Lord, we also want to pray for the family's salvations, Lord. I'm sure there's people in all of our families, Lord, that need salvation, Lord, and either they haven't heard the gospel yet, Lord, or that maybe their heart's hardened to it. We pray that you soften their heart and that they come to the knowledge of the truth, Lord. Lord, we also want to pray for the expecting mothers and the new mothers and newborns, Lord. In this new chapter of their lives, Lord, we pray that you're with them and that you guide them, Lord, and that you just have a hand of protection and a hand of healing over everything that happens there, Lord. Lastly, we want to pray for Brother Chevy's dad. We pray that you have a hand of healing and protection over him, Lord, during this trying time. We also pray that you're with Brother Chevy and his family. It can be a very hard time to have a close loved one in the hospital, Lord, so we pray for a quick recovery and that you have a hand of healing over him. And we also want to pray for Brother Maury's mom. Ms. Princess Lemons, Lord, we pray that you have a hand of healing over her. After her surgery, Lord, we pray that she recovers to her full extent, Lord, and that it's a quick recovery, Lord. And we also want to pray for Steadfast Baptist Church and Show the Faith Baptist Church, Lord. Obviously, they've been persecuted a lot, so we pray that you have a hand of protection over them, Lord, and that you fill Pastor Shelley and Pastor Joe Jones with your spirit, Lord, and you help guide them and help strengthen them so that they continue to do the work for you over there, Lord. And lastly, we pray that you fill the congregation with your spirit, and they're attentive to the teaching, and you fill Pastor Mejia with your spirit so that he can preach the message boldly to us, Lord. And we just pray that you're with us this night in the congregation, Lord. We pray all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Song number 121 for our third song, Like a River, Glorious. Song number 121, Like a River, Glorious. Everyone, all together, nice and strong. Like a river, glorious, is God's perfect peace. Over all victorious, it is bright in peace. Perfect getting flowing, cooler every day. Perfect getting flowing, deeper all the way. State upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed. Finding as He promised, perfect peace and rest. Written in the hollow of His blessed hand. Never folk can follow, never traitors stand. Not a surge of glory, not a shade of care. Not a blast of hurry, touch the Spirit there. State upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed. Finding as He promised, perfect peace and rest. Every joy or trial, fallen from above. Trace upon our dial by the Son of God. We may trust Him wholly, love for us to do. We may trust Him wholly, find Him wholly true. State upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed. Finding as He promised, perfect peace and rest. And at this time, the ushers will collect the offering. Tonight will be in 2 Samuel, chapter 15. 2 Samuel, chapter 15. 2 Samuel, chapter 15. 2 Samuel, chapter 15. We're in 2 Samuel, chapter 15. And the chapter reads, And it came to pass after this that Absalom prepared himself chariots and horses and fifty men to run before him. And Absalom rose up early and stood beside the way of the gate. And it was so that when any man had a controversy, came to the king for judgment. Then Absalom called on to him and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. And Absalom said unto him, See thy matters are good and right, but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee. Absalom said moreover, O that I were made judge in the land that every man which hath any suit or cause might come on to me, and I would do him justice. And it was so that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand and took him and kissed him. And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. And it came to pass after forty years that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow which I have vowed unto the Lord in Hebron. For thy servant bowed a vow while I abode at Gecher in Syria, saying, If the Lord shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord. And the king said unto him, Go in peace. So he arose and went to Hebron. But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron. And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem that were called, and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not anything. And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gileanite, David's counselor, from his city, even from Gilo, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong, for the people increased continually with Absalom. And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom. And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee, for we shall not escape from Absalom, and make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword. And the king's servant said unto the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint. And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, which were concubines, to keep the house. And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried into a place that was far off. And all his servants passed on beside him, and all the Cherithites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Githites, six hundred men which came after him from Gath, passed on before the king. Then said the king to Ittai the Githite, Wherefore goes thou also with us? Return to thy place, and abide with the king, for thou art a stranger, and also an exile. Whereas thou camest with yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? Seeing I go, whether I may, return thou, and take back thy brethren, mercy and truth be with thee. And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the lord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be. And David said to Ittai, Go on, pass over. And Ittai the Githite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him. And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over. The king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over toward the way of the wilderness. And little Zadok also and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out of the city. And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city. If I shall find favor in the eyes of the lord, he will bring me again, and show me both it and his habitation. But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee, behold, here am I. Let him do to me as seemeth good unto him. The king said also unto Zadok the priest, Art not thou a seer? Return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, a high Maz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. See I will tarry in the plan of the wilderness, until there come word from you to certify me. Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem, and they tarry there. And David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered. And he went barefoot, and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up weeping as they went up. And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O Lord, I pray thee, turn the council of Ahithophel into foolishness. And it came to pass that when David was come to the top of the mount, where he worshipped God behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head. Unto whom David said, If thou passest on with me, then shalt be a burden unto me. But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king, as I have been thy father's servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant, then mayest thou for me defeat the council of Ahithophel. And hast thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priest? Therefore it shall be, that whatsoever thou shalt hear at the king's house, thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priest. Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimeh, Zadok's son, and Jonathan, Abiathar's son. And by them ye shall send unto me everything that ye can hear. So Hushai, David's friend, came to the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem. Let's pray. We thank you, Heavenly Father, for the King James Bible, dear God. We thank you for every precious soul in this church, dear God. We thank you for our pastor. Please bless him as he preaches your word tonight. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay, we're continuing this evening with the book of 2 Samuel, and tonight we're in chapter 15. Let me just give you a little bit of review from chapter 14, and what's taking place here in this particular story. David has just reconciled with his son Absalom over this five-year ordeal where Absalom obviously has killed Amnon because Amnon raped Tamar, his half-sister, and so Absalom strikes vengeance upon him. He takes vengeance, he takes his life, and he flees into a foreign land in order to essentially avoid persecution, avoid the consequences of his actions. But eventually he comes back through the efforts of Joab. He brings him back to the city. But it's a partial reconciliation, so even though he embraces him, he kisses him, it's kind of already too late for all that stuff. He brings him back, and it's quite some time before he's actually able to see the king to his face. So it's very much a superficial type of reconciliation. It's not necessarily sincere. It's not necessarily heartfelt. It's more so as a public type of affection so that the kingdom of Israel sees that everything's okay in the house of David. They're trying to calm the people. But obviously things are going awry, and everything's going wrong. And we're going to see here that Absalom returning to Jerusalem is not necessarily a good thing because he has some ulterior motives. He wants to take over the kingdom himself, and we're going to see him put in that effort here in chapter 15. And essentially what chapter 15 deals with is Absalom stealing the hearts of the people. That's pretty much the main theme of chapter 15 is the fact that he's trying to steal the hearts of the people. Now what does that mean? Because we see that phrase used here in this particular chapter. What does it mean that he's trying to steal or that he's stealing the hearts of the men of Israel? Well, think about this. You know, Absalom is essentially the next in line to be king, right? He's the king's son. He's the next in line. He is essentially the heir to the throne. However, he's kind of forfeited that privilege because of his crimes, because of his bad reputation. And so he seeks to take that position by nefarious means. He's not taking the throne by being an honest person, being a person of integrity, being a person who's serving the king, being a person who is essentially being a servant to the kingdom. He's doing it by wicked means, okay? And he's obviously not going to take over the kingdom by means of war because his dad would just whoop him on that. You know, King David is obviously a mighty warrior and he leads a mighty army, David's mighty men. So he's not necessarily going to have the capabilities of taking down the king and his army by sheer force and manpower. He has to do it deceptively by stealing the hearts of the people. You know, there's nothing wrong with winning people's hearts by good means as far as, you know, establishing good relationships with them, being a servant, being humble and allowing the Lord to exalt you. But it is wrong to steal their hearts by essentially putting the leadership down. So he's not lifting himself up along with David. He's lifting himself up by causing the people to become discontent with David. So this is a wicked thing to do. And he's doing it because he wants to win the people over to have favor with the kingdom. So when the time comes, he could essentially revolt and usurp the authority of David and take over. And before it even gets to that point, David realizes obviously too late that this is taking place and he ends up fleeing with his men. So we're going to talk a lot about Absalom and him stealing the hearts of the people. And we're going to give some principles in that regard. Let's look at Absalom seizing power here. In verse number one, it says, And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses and fifty men to run before him. Now, this isn't referring to as soon as they reconcile, he just starts using these horses and these men. He starts riding through the city with the chariot. He's not doing that immediately. The Bible says that he prepared that. Now, why is he preparing it? Well, because he's going to create this conspiracy with these other men. He has this plan to put himself in a position of authority in Hebron, which is the original capital of Judah, the southern part of Israel. And so he's conspiring. He's putting this together. He's preparing the chariots. He's preparing the men because of the fact that once the time hits and he's going to come out as the leader, so to speak, he wants to be prepared to have that visual aid. You understand? If someone's riding into the town with chariots and horses and fifty men, this essentially signifies authority. It signifies that he's the king. This is something that kings would do. So he's already planning this long before and he's preparing for this to take place in Hebron. Now, look at verse number two. It says here, And Absalom rose up early and stood beside the way of the gate. And it was so when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment. Then Absalom called unto him and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. So I want you to notice the subtlety of Absalom. He's not going to go and criticize David to his face. He's not going to try to get him to step down. He's not going to try to go to war with him. What does he do? He actually stands outside of the gate of where David resides. And when individuals come to David to resolve a specific issue, because in those days, you know, people can basically go to like the local court. And if the local court was incapable of resolving a issue, that person can appeal to a higher power, the Supreme Court, so to speak. And in those days, the Supreme Court, quote unquote, was the king. So he not only governed the land, he also judged the people and matters if it got to a point where they needed to come to him. So you have these individuals who have really large matters, problems, and they're going to the king to resolve this issue. But Absalom is right there at the gate to intercept that and to essentially give him his advice. And through that subtlety, what is he going to do? He's going to cause people to become discontent with the true judge. You understand? So he rises up early. Now, what does this signify? It signifies from the time he wakes up, he's going to make sure he's at the gate meeting every single person that comes before the king. You know, you wonder what David's doing during this time. You know, David's probably finishing off the day like, hey, today was pretty good. No problems. No one came to me with divorce issues or, you know, someone burned this. And can you help me with this? Looks like everything's going A-OK. But it's actually a lot worse. And this is a good principle for us to learn that it's good when everything is hunky dory. But, you know, when there's like no problems whatsoever, then there's a problem. OK, because life should be filled to a certain extent with problems, with tribulation, with trials. And so any time someone had a controversy, they came and he essentially intercepted that. And he asked them, what city art thou? And he said, thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. Verse three, and Absalom said to him, see, thy matters are good and right. Like a good old politician, right? You don't care what these people, problems these people are going through. He's like, thy matters are good and right, but there is no man deputed of the king to hear these like, man, you deserve the best. You deserve someone to like listen to you. Unfortunately, there's no one here to actually listen to you and fix your problems. What is he doing? He's causing the people to have a critical attitude towards the king because there is someone deputed. This is the king. But this idiot is standing in front, intercepting so that the king can't give advice. You understand? So Absalom is lying. He's causing the people to become discontent with the leadership. Verse four, Absalom said, moreover, oh, that I were made judge in the land and that every man which hath any suit or case might come down to me and I would do him justice. What is he implying? David's not doing anybody justice. That's what he's implying. So I want you to notice the discretion and subtlety of David. Okay, because again, he's not outright, you know, blaming David or criticizing his leadership. He's doing it indirectly. And let me say this. I prefer someone to criticize me directly than indirectly. If you got something to say, say it to my face. Because then we could just deal with it right then and there. The dangerous person is the one who does it indirectly where a criticism is given. And, you know, if suspicions arise and people start to wonder whether you are criticizing the leadership, you know, people can't really point fingers back to you because you did it. People can't really go to Absalom and say, hey, you've been criticizing David. Hey, you are putting down his leadership. And he's like, I never said anything about David. I never said anything like that. So he was covering his tracks in such a way. He was criticizing David in such a way indirectly that if it came down to it, no one, you know, there's no evidence to prove that he was actually criticizing the leadership. He'd just kind of be like, oh, no, I just, you know, I'm just trying to help people. You know, it's my death kingdom and I'm just trying to be a blessing here or whatever. Those are the types of criticisms that are the most dangerous. Okay. And this not only happens in the kingdom and happens in a church. It happens at work. Okay. Where there's certain individuals who are trying to move up the ladder, so to speak. Okay. But they can't do it honestly. They can't do it justly. So they do it by tearing down the boss, tearing down the pastor, tearing down the leaders. But they do it in such a way that it's indirect so that people can't point fingers back at them if the leader suspects that they're up to something. Understand? Oh, that they might come unto me and I would do him justice. Says in verse number five, and it was so that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand and took him and kissed him. So what's going on here? Well, aside from the fact that he's at the gate, and keep in mind, Absalom is obviously this title or this description was given to Saul, but he also was kind of like head and shoulders above everyone else is very much beloved in Israel. People loved Absalom. He was a good looking guy. And for some reason, you know, Israel, they kind of obsess over what people look like. Okay. Like to them, it was important for that, for the leader to actually look like a leader rather than to just be a man of God, a person of justice. They were more concerned with the outward appearance, so to speak, than, you know, having a heart that actually feared the Lord and love God. Okay. But at least I think when you turn on that AC back there. And so Absalom was that guy. You know, he was a good looking guy. He's in the front of the gate. He's making people discontent with the leadership. He's also giving his own advice. But then when people come to him and they make obeisance, meaning they essentially respect him to give him a little bit of reverence because he's the king's son. You know, they're kind of like bowing before him. He kind of lifts them up and takes them by the hand and he takes them and he kisses them. Basically saying, hey, we're equal here. You don't need to do all that. You know, we're equal here. We're friends. What is he doing? What is he doing? He's again creating more discontentment with the leadership because he's saying, hey, you don't have to call me by my last name. Just call me Absalom. Call me Abby. We're friends here. Okay. You know, you don't have to kiss me or do obeisance to me or worship me. We are on level planes here. And, you know, from the outside, it's like, well, we're all kind of equal, right? But he's not doing this because he sincerely believes that he's equal with the people. Again, he's doing it because he's obviously the king's son. He's the next in line to take the throne. And he wants to create a picture in the minds of the people that, oh, well, hold on a second. David's not like this. David's up there. We're down here. We do obeisance to David and he's never done something like this. So, again, he's not criticizing him openly, but his actions are speaking that, right? And so he begins to spread discontentment for the leadership. You know, he places himself before the gates. It says in verse 6, and on this man who did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment, so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. He took something that was not rightfully his, which were the hearts of the people, okay? Now, there's nothing wrong with if Absalom would have gone about this the right way, which is, you know what, Dad? I messed up. Let me just serve you in the kingdom and, you know, whatever God wants for, you know, to happen to me. And if I'm going to take over, I just want to serve you and I want to serve God and I just want to be content with where I'm at. And then, you know, he's serving the people. And the people, he would eventually have won the hearts of the people, right? In an honest way. However, he's deceptive. He's being nefarious about the whole situation and he's pulling people aside. He's judging them and creating discontentment within the hearts of the people. This is very wicked, okay? Now, let me just say this is that obviously, you know, in a church setting, so to speak, you know, we need to be careful with this, right? First and foremost, we need to be careful and we need to have the spiritual discernment and maturity to know when someone's criticizing the leadership indirectly, okay? Because, you know, sometimes people who don't have spiritual maturity, they don't have discernment, they can't really decipher if someone is actually doing that because of the fact that it's indirect, okay? It requires a level of understanding and discernment to be able to say, I think this person is trying to indirectly criticize pastor. I think he's trying to indirectly criticize another pastor by this particular statement, okay? You know, if someone comes to you and begins to essentially put down our church by saying that other churches are better, for example, you know what I mean? Oh man, but this church does it way better though. But hey, you know, this church is great. You know, what are they doing? They're indirectly putting down this church. You know, oh I know pastor, I love pastor, I love pastor Mejia. But you know what? You know how they do it at this other church, this is how they do it over there, okay? Obviously he's not criticizing me with his words, but essentially he's criticizing me with his words. And someone who really doesn't have the discernment will be like, oh yeah, that is true, they do do it like that over there and maybe it is better over there. What are they doing? They're creating discontentment with the leaders, with the church. This is a common tactic of people who are trying to exalt themselves by putting others down, okay? They seek to win the hearts of the people. They can't do it honestly by just loving people and serving. They have to do it by tearing down the leadership one person at a time, okay? And we need to be aware of that. Now in our church we have team leaders and people who are designated to disciple others and train others and spend time with others. And that's completely, you know, that's okay because that is essentially the operation and the administration of our church. But even then, team leaders, you need to be careful that you don't become like an Absalom, okay? Where you have this attitude that you want to exalt yourself as being some great one, some great team leader or something like that by putting down other team leaders. It's just like, yeah, well this is the best team right here, you know what I mean? All other ones, they're... You want to believe that you have the best team because you want to have a good team spirit, right? But not at the expense of putting other teams down. Not at the expense of putting other team leaders down. Like this is the way they do it over there, but I'm not for that. You know, Hike, he does his thing, that guy's... It's good that you're here with us. You should be here with us. Hey, if a pastor ever wants to switch you, by the way, you just tell him no. You just tell him, stay right here. That's not a good attitude. That's an Absalom right there. And they'll typically try to sandwich it too. Hey, but man, I love Brother Hike though. He's been such a blessing to me. Oh, I love Brother Cody, he's such a good guy, you know what I mean? Him and his wife, they're a blessing, they're really good people. But again, I would not recommend for you to go with them though. You're not going to get the training you can on my team. This is not the proper attitude to have, okay? You know, obviously, and I'm not calling out the team leaders here, okay? Because we only have like seven of them, so... But I guess I am calling out the team leaders, right? Since there's only seven, right? You know, the attitude should be that we want to exalt Christ, right? And we want to follow the program of the church and dear the hearts of our team to the Lord, to the pastor, to one another and recognize that we're all on the same team, working towards the same goal, right? And not have cliques, you understand? And so, you know, we need to endeavor to keep the spirit of unity in our church through the teams and recognize not one is better than the other and recognize that not one is better than the other. Recognize that, hey, you know what I mean? Some other team might do it a little different than you, but hey, that's okay because that's what makes our church great is the diversity of administrations and operations and we all have the same goal to help people mature spiritually, okay? But don't be like Absalom who wants to steal the hearts of the people, you understand? And do it by unrighteous means by putting down others, putting down the pastor, okay? And let me say this, I've experienced this personally in my Christian life and I didn't know that this person was criticizing the pastor. I didn't see it because I was spiritually immature, but I remember spending hours and hours with a leader, okay? Not here, of course, it was at a different church. Spending hours and hours with the leader and this leader for those hours would constantly criticize my father-in-law, who was the pastor, he's not my father-in-law at that time, but he would constantly criticize my pastor, but he'd do it indirectly, you know what I mean? He would praise him and talk about how he wanted his mind and what a great leader he was, but in between that he would just kind of talk all kinds of crap about him. And you know what, it gave me a critical spirit towards my pastor for a while because it was like, man, maybe this guy's right. Yeah, maybe he did make a bad decision about this. Maybe he did, you know, it made me think that way, but then I started realizing that later on, of course, unfortunately, a little too late, years later, that this person, you know, that was their method of moving up, you understand, is by putting down the leadership and, you know, my pastor wasn't the only one he would put down. He put down multiple leaders and exalted himself as being some great one, and you know what, I took it hook, line, and sinker because I respected him as being a legitimate leader, but you know what, he exalted himself by abasing others, by criticizing other people's methods, and the pastor, I mean the pastor who gave him that position, you understand? You know, that I would consider to be an Absalom type of a mentality. And by the way, he did it in such a way that, you know, later on when I came to a leader and I said, hey, this person's saying this, you know, they couldn't, we couldn't really trace it back to him because of the way he would make the statements, and he could just outright deny it and say, no, why would I say something like that, you know? But it was very clear that he had some ulterior motives, a nefarious agenda, or to seize a power, a position in the church, not by righteous means, but by criticizing the leadership, okay? And look, we should never be characterized by criticism of leadership, period. First of all, we shouldn't be characterized by criticizing, period, right? But especially leadership, because that's a character quality of really wicked people known as reprobates, right? That they despise governments, they speak evil of dignity, on governing them, and so they hate them, they despise them, and so it's important, new Christians, that you are able to discern that. Don't be suspicious of everyone, but be able to fine-tune your discernment to recognize, I think this person is criticizing, you know, the leadership here, and I need to go to the proper authority, okay? You know, come tell me. Go tell Brother Ulysses, go tell one of the team leaders and say, hey, this person keeps undermining the leadership in an indirect way, and they're making these statements, and I don't want that to spread, and so I just want to let you know that. Snitch them out, amen? Hey, hey, you know, in the Christian life, snitches don't get stitches. In the Christian life, snitches get riches. Because it's about being honest. You know what I mean? And if people don't like it, people are like, no, you shouldn't say nothing. Well then, you know, you're wicked because you're trying to keep dishonesty and ill practices to yourself. This is something you should be honest about and go to the leadership about. We're Christians. We're not a part of the world, my friends, okay? We don't operate in that system. So he has this agenda. He's fulfilling it by creating and spreading discontentment in the kingdom. He is flattering the people, trying to make himself as though he is equal with them. He's not, and he is essentially behaving like a politician. Look at verse number seven. And it came to pass after 40 years that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pray now my vow which I have vowed unto the Lord in Hebron, for thy servant vow to vow will I abode at Gesher in Syria, saying, If the Lord shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord. And the king said unto him, Go in peace. So he rose and went to Hebron. Now what's going on here? Well, when it says that after 40 years, I don't believe this is referring to literally after 40 years of doing all that, because David reigned total 40 years, right? That wouldn't obviously make sense. I think this is just saying when Absalom turned 40 or in the 40th year of, you know, that he turned 40 or whatever, that this is the decision that he made. So he goes to the king, and he says, Hey, I'm going to go to Hebron, which is the capital of Judah. If you remember, when David became king in the southern kingdom, he wasn't the king of all Israel, just the southern kingdom, okay? And his capital was Hebron, right? So that's where they anointed him king. This is where everyone essentially recognized that he was the official king of Judah. And then later on, he became king of all Israel. So Hebron plays a special role when a king is anointed as the official king. You understand? So in order to deter attention from what his true motives are, he's like, Hey, let me go to Hebron because, you know, when I was in Gesher, when I was away, I vowed that if God will bring me back safely, that I would make a sacrifice in Hebron. So he's going under the guise of spiritual talk, right? Now you say, Well, what is he doing then? He's going to Hebron with his chariots, his 50 men and horses, and a bunch of other guys that we're going to see, including Ahithophel, which is David's counselor, so that when the people see this great crowd of individuals following Absalom, automatically in their minds they're thinking, Oh, he's about to be king right now of the southern kingdom or of all Israel. So he wants to portray as though, Hey, I'm about to be king, which would, you know, news spreads fast, rumors spread really fast. And even though no one said that he's the king, meaning the rumor will spread, and by the time it gets to whoever, you know, like ten people later, it's just like, Yeah, David anointed his son as the new king. I mean, we played that game before, right? Telephone, where you sit in a circle, and you tell something to the person to the left of you, and you see what you get by the time it comes back around to you, right? Now, I'll be honest with you. I hated that game. And so what I did is I purposely just said something completely different, because how boring would it be if it got all the way around and it was just the same exact message that you passed to the left, right? That's a stupid game. So I would just say something completely different just to kind of mix things up a little bit, okay? But there's something different from, you know, playing telephone and doing this, you understand? So he's basically doing this so by the time it spreads to the rest of the kingdom, the rumor would already be that he's the official king. But he's doing it under the guise of something spiritual, which is another mark of Absalom that's very dangerous. Why? Because of the fact that, you know, he is essentially, in order to deter attention from himself, by his father, by others, I'm going to go do a sacrifice in Hebron. Oh, it just sounds so spiritual, you understand? This is something we have to be aware of, okay? That's why we have to be aware of the hyper spiritual. Things that are done in the name of spirituality, but in actuality they're doing it in order to deter suspicion away from their true intentions, okay? So he's like, I'm going to go to Hebron, and then the king's like, go in peace, okay? So he arose and went to Hebron. Verse number 10, But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as he hears the sound of a trumpet, then he shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron. So everything is going according to plan with Absalom. He's sending people all throughout the land, so that when someone blows the trumpet, they start spreading this rumor that now he's reigning in Hebron. And with Absalom went 200 men out of Jerusalem that were called, and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not anything. Now what does this show us? It shows us the people who are carried away with these types of individuals are those who are simple-minded, right? Now let's apply this to a church setting, okay? You say, what would you do if there was someone in your church who was going around stealing the hearts of the members of First Works Baptist Church to follow them and to forsake you? I'd be like, there's the door, see you later. Take whoever you want. Do you want any more? You say, why would you do that? Why would you do that? Because of the fact that if you're dumb enough to follow some person who's not ordained, then you should go with that person. And you know what? More than half the church can forsake the assembly. Guess what? I'm still the pastor here. 99% of the church can say, you're not the pastor, and I can tell them, go jump in the lake. And I'll give you directions to the lake. You go out, right that door. There's an LA River somewhere out there. That's the one you can choose and jump into. Because it doesn't matter if 99% of the church says that I'm not the pastor because they follow some other person, it doesn't change anything. You say, yeah, but what if the whole congregation leaves? We'll get a new one. We'll get a new congregation. You say, yeah, but if all the laborers are taking... Folks, God is the one who builds the church, and if more than half the church leaves, it's God doing me a favor. By removing all the simple ones. Now, what does simple mean? Let's use a modern term. Because simple, we don't really use that term too much. Let me give you a modern term for simple. Stupid. Okay? Because these people are like, oh, just walking, like, oh, Absalom's going to Hebron. Okay, I don't see anything. And they're just kind of dumb about the whole situation. Okay? Now, here's the thing, I think David is willingly ignorant about this whole situation. Because he has enough sense to know what someone was up to if they're doing all this. But I think he's turning a blind eye to this because he's just trying to avoid issues here. Whereas these individuals are simple-minded, they don't know anything, and they're being carried about by this wicked person known as Absalom. Okay? And so, you know, pastors, there's so many pastors out there that are just afraid of a church split, they need to, you know, adopt the new IP mentality that if there's a church split, it's a good thing. But the reason pastors are afraid to lose church members like that is because they're afraid to lose money. You understand? Because they view church as, you know, job security or whatever, and they don't want to lose tiding members, and the building fund, and all these things. Forget all that. Forget all that. You know, if people leave because they want to follow a wicked person, that wicked person would be doing me a favor by taking out the trash. Now you say, why are you saying that, pastor? You know, like, are you calling it simple? Well, if you leave, you would be. If you're to leave to follow some person who's not ordained because they criticize the leadership, because they hate First Works Baptist Church, and you can't see through lies and deception and that they're being an Absalom, then yeah, you're simple, you're stupid, and you probably should go, okay? But, you know, you might be in here being simple-minded. This is a good reminder to you to get you some sense, get you some smarts, get some discernment, get some knowledge, get filled with the Spirit, and don't allow yourself to be taken by the Absaloms of this world, okay? And be able to discern when someone's criticizing your husband, leadership, someone's criticizing the pastor. You know, I'll be honest with you, I don't even allow criticisms of other pastors in our church, especially if they're like my friends, because they're an ordained pastor of a legitimate church. They were sent out by another church. They did things in a biblical manner, and so it's not right to come here and start criticizing Pastor Jimenez or Pastor Anderson or Pastor Shelley. I've had that in the past, where people came to my church and, you know, they will indirectly criticize other pastors by praising our church, you know what I mean? And obviously we don't have a problem with someone praising our church because they love to be here, but I do have a problem if you put down another church and another pastor in order to exalt our church. You know, I've had people do that with Pastor Shelley, not recently, but, you know, a couple of years ago, people were just talking all kinds of smack about it, and I'm just like, what's your problem with my pastor friend? Because you know me, I have zero issues with confrontation. It's not like I just keep it in and I'm like, maybe I should have said something. I just blurted out right then and there. Why are you saying that? You got a problem with Pastor Anderson or something, or what's the issue? I have no problem with making a person feel as uncomfortable as possible right on the spot. Because then you can just deal with it right then and there. You know, and I don't like it when people criticize my pastor friends or churches. Obviously we have disagreements. You know, my pastor friends and I will criticize each other out of fun, and maybe we don't agree with the way we do certain things, but that's between pastors, right? But often a person who criticizes another pastor or another church, it's not because they disagree with something that they're doing. They actually have ought against that ministry for some reason. Maybe that pastor preached a sermon that they didn't like or something like that, and you know, they didn't like that sermon, and so they begin to kind of indiscreetly criticize. I remember, I don't remember what year it was, but I preached at the Red Hot Preaching Conference a sermon on tattoos. You guys remember that? I preached a sermon on plastic surgery and tattoos and piercings, and that went over like a screen door in a submarine, okay? There's a lot of people who got really mad at that. Even in the actual conference itself, there's a guy who was tatted from head to toe, like basically where Paul was sitting right there, and he was red-faced and he was just very upset, and I think he was sitting in front of Brother Cody, if I wasn't mistaken, right? Brother Cody was like, that guy was not happy about the whole thing. But here's the thing. There's another guy who's ushering, who's literally tatted from head to toe. I think his eyelids were even tatted, and he told me, he was like, that was a great sermon. I loved it. I wish I would have heard that when I was younger, right? But then I went to go preach at another church, and my pastor friend would not mind me saying this, and there's a person who was a big fan of my preaching, big fan of my sermons, but oh, after that sermon though, they didn't like me at all. And I remember I went to go preach at that church, and they purposely wore sleeveless shirt because they wanted to show all their artwork on their arms, kind of be a reproach or something like that. Now, I mean, it should be no surprise, that person ended up leaving the church because they didn't like the leadership. This person has a problem with authority, my friends, okay? And so I have no problem backing up my pastor friends, backing up my pastor's friends' churches and even members because of the fact that we're like-minded churches, and so let's keep criticism outside of our church, okay, and make sure we don't criticize other ministries. Now, don't mistake criticism for rebuke either though. You're like, well, I heard you criticize another pastor. Well, what did I say though? Well, you said that X, Y, and Z, and he's doing this. Well, yeah, that's called calling him out. That's called rebuking him. That's called reproving him, okay? And that's a responsibility that pastors have, so you need to differentiate the two. But Absalom is over here just stealing the hearts of the people. He's creating this conspiracy, okay? And by the way, this is why it's important, folks, that in a church setting, we want to make sure we keep conversations out in the open unless it's a private matter where you have to talk to the pastor and you need to talk to me in my office or something like that. You know, that's perfectly fine, you understand? But other than that, don't be in a dark corner talking to someone, you know what I mean, because that looks suspicious, my friends. You know, you got to make sure you keep it out in the open, and if it's a private matter, if it's a matter of shame and embarrassment, then you know you should probably tell that person you probably need to go talk to the pastor about that, okay? Don't be an Absalom. Don't be an Absalom. It says in verse number 12, And Absalom sent for Ahithophel, the Gilonite, David's counselor from his city, even from Gilo, while he offered sacrifices, and the conspiracy was strong for the people to increase continually with Absalom. So Ahithophel is David's counselor. He's his chief counselor. And he's the uncle of Bathsheba, by the way, okay? And so Absalom obviously is making a strategic move to get Ahithophel on his side because of the fact that Ahithophel obviously has respect in the eyes of the people, being David's chief counselor, okay? So if he can get Ahithophel on his side, it's just like, oh, he is legitimate, legitimately ruling the kingdoms. You know, he's reigning in Hebron. This is the guy here. And, you know, Ahithophel had no issue with joining Absalom too, by the way, okay? And it could be because he's bitter about the whole Bathsheba thing. We don't know why. But he just kind of joins him. Verse 13, And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom. Yeah, you think? Where were these messengers before? You know, this kind of reminds me, it's like, bring bad news before it gets to that point. You know what I mean? It's just like, hey, you just lost the kingdom. You know, bring bad news when you can actually fix it. Right? Don't bring it when it's already too late. Hey, hey, don't state the obvious. Okay? It's just like, don't bring a problem without a solution. It's already too late. Messenger, verse 14, And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise and let us flee, for we shall not else escape from Absalom. Make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, listen to this, and smite the city with the edge of the sword. This is how you know that David is a man who loves his people. Because in all actuality, David could essentially whoop Absalom. Okay? But he's saying, we need to get out of here, because if not, a civil war is going to break out, and the city will be smitten with the edge of the sword, referring to just innocent people, innocent bystanders are going to die. He doesn't want that to happen, because he loves his people, amen? So he's like, instead, why don't we just flee? We'll just run away and escape from Absalom. Verse 15, And the king's servants said unto the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint. And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, which were concubines, these are his living girlfriends, to keep the house. And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried in the place that was afar off, and all his servants passed on beside him, and all the Cherithites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men, which came from him, from Gath, passed on before the king. Now, I want to mention a couple things here, in regards to this particular passage, okay? This is very devastating for David. It's very heartbreaking. This is his kingdom, and then he's kind of being run out. And so, the Pelethites, the Cherithites, the Gittites, they're not necessarily natives of Israel. These are actually foreigners, okay? And what do we see here? We see that his own people are essentially turning against him, and that the foreigners are for him. Now, why is that important to note? Well, because David is one of the greatest pictures of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament, my friends, okay? And the Bible says that he came into his own, and his own received him not. He had a three and a half year ministry reaching out to the Jews, reaching out to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and they rejected him. But who were the people that embraced him with open arms? The Gentiles! Everyone else who was not a Jew, all the other areas, all the foreigners, they're the ones who gladly received the word of God, they received it with joy, they loved the Lord Jesus Christ, and they followed him, okay? You know, even though a lot of people got saved and were reached during that three and a half year ministry, a lot more people got saved when they were actually able to go out into all the world, okay? Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the world, the Gentiles were the ones who were the fish that were biting, so to speak, okay? And by the way, there's still the fish that are biting. The worst area to go to for soul winning is Israel. You don't need to take a missions trip to the Holy Land, because let me say, first of all, let me say this, there's nothing holy about it. A bunch of queers and people who hate the Lord Jesus Christ live there. Now you can pay a plane ticket to go over there if you want and see for yourself, but I'm trying to save you money here by helping you to realize that it's not a holy land, it's the unholy land, it's the profane land, is what it is. And people want to call it a holy land because it's where Jesus walked and it's where he had his ministry, and the Jews obviously have no issue with capitalizing on that in order to make money, even though they want to spit on the ground every time they hear the name of Jesus Christ, and you're not allowed to do soul winning or evangelize over there, okay? But there's nothing holy about the holy land, okay? You know, if you go to Israel, you don't have to take off your shoes from off your feet, because the place where you're not standing is not holy. And in fact, keep your shoes on. It's the worst place to go soul winning. You say, where is the good place to go soul winning? Barstow, Belize, these Gentile nations that readily receive the word of God. You know, we're out in Barstow, we're out preaching the gospel, and the majority of the people there are black, you know, from this part of California. But you know, they're some of the most kindest receptive people that I've actually met, aside from Belize. I'm talking about people who are tatted, head to toe, they're a little gangster, and you know what? They're very kind, they're very sweet, and they're extremely receptive. You know, it's just like, on Monday I got one of the lowest hanging fruits that was there, that I've ever experienced in Barstow. And this guy, you know, he's just like, he's going through a trial, and he's just, he listened, and it was freezing out there, I mean for us, obviously, you know. It's freezing out there, and he has the door open, his shirt's off. He just lost his kids, and you know, I thought like, oh man, these kids died, but then he was just like, yeah, no, it's okay though, because I'm going to see them in court, you know, in a couple weeks or whatever, I'm like, oh, you know, all right. But that guy ended up getting saved. A lot of these people get saved. You know, these are the receptive ones. But these are the same ones that Israel would claim to be unclean. You understand? But throughout the Word of God, even in the Old Testament, we see that the foreigners are always the ones who are backing David, they're always the ones who are backing Jesus Christ. He's the light of the Gentiles, okay. They're the ones who want Jesus Christ. And you know, that's why the Apostle Paul in the New Testament, he's like the apostle to the Gentiles. Instead of sticking around in Jerusalem with James and Peter, and just building a megachurch there with a bunch of Jews, and compromising because they don't want to preach replacement theology there, what did he do? He expanded, he went further. He went to Cyprus, he went to Pisidia, he went to Asia Minor, he went to Pontius, Galatia, Bithynia, he went to Thessalonica, he went to Greece, he went to Athens, and he started a bunch of churches with Gentile believers. I mean, he was the apostle who essentially did some of the greatest work in the New Testament. And Peter finally caught on, and then he wrote 1 and 2 Peter, to the churches of Galatia, Bithynia, Cappadocia, all these Gentile areas, because he realized these people are the most receptive ones, and they're ones who don't bat an eye at replacement theology. Because, you know, Peter's writing about replacement theology in 1 and 2 Peter. He's like, well, did you preach that message in Jerusalem though, Peter? Did you ever say that to your fellow Jews there? But, you know, this shows us that David went through this trial to exemplify Jesus Christ in the New Testament, that he was rejected of his own, he was essentially cast out of his kingdom, so to speak, he was forsaken, but yet the ones who backed him up, the ones who were loyal to him, were the foreigners, okay? Were the ones who were not of Israel. Now, obviously, in the New Testament, the Bible teaches us that, you know, he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision outward in the flesh made of hands, but he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart and of the spirit, not of the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God. So, according to the Bible, believers are the true Jews. That's not a title I'm going to be using any time soon, though, you know what I mean? I'm not going to start calling myself a Jew, even though I'm spiritually more Jew than the so-called Jews in Israel. But it's just not a title that I want to use, okay? You know, I just prefer Christian, amen? If people want me to get more specific, I'll say Baptist, and more specific than that, an independent fundamental Baptist, and then, you know, we just go on from there. But, you know, and by the way, the Bible says, you know, there are not all of Israel who are of Israel, referring to the fact that not everyone who is in the land of Israel is legitimately a saved person. The Bible talks about the Israel of God, referring to saved people. That's who God recognizes as being his people, you understand? You know, I guarantee you, if you were to ask David, these are your people, he'd be like, these are my people. The ones who are coming with me, the ones who are suffering with me, the ones who are cast out with me, okay? Look at verse 19, Now, keep in mind David's attitude. Is Absalom the king? No. But he's telling Itzhai, he's saying, go home and go be with the king. Like, he's willing to just kind of relinquish that title from himself, so that Itzhai could just have a peaceable life with the so-called king. Kind of shows you that David's not about position. He's not about titles, you understand? Don't get caught up in titles. Don't get caught up in, you know, well, when can I be an evangelist, or where can I be a deacon, or when can I be a team leader? Why don't you just be a good Christian, right? Be a good Christian, let leadership come to you, let the title come to you. You know, David was the king, he's like, go be with the king. He's like, you're a stranger, you're in exile. Whereas thou camest, but yesterday should I this day make thee go up and down with us, seeing I go whither I may, return thou and take back thy brethren, mercy and truth be with thee. Now again, this is another great picture of Jesus Christ. Because of the fact that Itzhai had just gotten there yesterday, and he wants to follow Jesus Christ, or he wants to follow David, who's a picture of Jesus. It's like the maniac of Gadara. You know, he was crazy, he's cutting himself, he's naked, he's in the graveyard, in the tombs, and then Jesus cast the demons out of him, and then he's sitting and clothed and in his right mind, and what's the first thing he wants to do? He wants to go with Jesus. He's like, let me go with you. And what does Jesus tell him? Go back home and tell what great things the Lord had done for thee. Basically what David did here, right? I see a lot of parallels here. Let me say this, we all should be like the Itzhai, the Gitai, right? And by the way, all of us in here are. Because you got saved, you believed on Jesus Christ, and you could have just lived your life however you wanted, if you wanted to. Obviously there's consequences, but you could have just gone out and done your own thing, but you chose to actually follow the Lord, serve him, come to his church, read his word, pray to him, you know, have a life that consistently revolves around Jesus Christ. And so Itzhai, the Gitai, props man, because he wanted to go with David, right? It says in verse 21, Itzhai answered the king and said, As the Lord liveth and as my Lord the king liveth, surely in what place my Lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be. Talk about loyalty. He's like, if I live or die, I just want to be with you. And you know what? I love this attitude. And you know, I think we as believers should adopt that. To say, you know what, Lord, no matter what happens in my life, no matter what takes place in death or life, I just want to be with you. I want to serve you. I want to be in your house. Because people have the decision not to do that. I just got news this week that a friend of mine from Bible college, he's 35 years old, he died on Monday. He died of a brain aneurysm. And he was a really close friend of mine in Bible college. I mean, we did Bible college together. And you know, we served in the ministry together. We won souls together. We discipled people together. He was a really close friend of mine. And you know, he just, he got out of God's will. He just got out of church and got out of God's will. And you know, and he just died on Monday. And I've been thinking about him these last couple days, or since yesterday, actually I got the news yesterday. I've been thinking about him since yesterday. And it just made me think like, you know, life is a vapor. And you know, don't waste your life trying to sold your wild oats out in the world. It's not worth it. I'd rather be in the center of God's will serving Christ as best as I possibly can. Win souls as best as I possibly can. Lead my church as best as I possibly can. Preach sermons as best as I possibly can. And have God just let me live for years on end to do that. Than to, you know, live fast and die young. And I can't say if God took them. But you know, if I were to make the assessment, you know, and I don't mean that in a disrespectful way. But the truth of the matter is, folks, you know, we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. After salvation, he gives us the choice to actually do something for him. But if we choose not to, there's consequences to our actions. Especially if much knowledge has been given to you. You wonder why some of these people who get saved out there never come to church. Maybe they don't suffer the consequences of their actions. Because maybe they don't know any better. They don't know better. But hold on a second. If someone is in a fundamental Baptist church, they've read the Bible, they serve God, and they still choose to forsake the ways of the Lord, you know, to whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required. I mean, think about that, my friends. And you know what? He's not the only one. Throughout my Christian life, I've seen this time and time and time again. And sometimes, you know, in the very beginning of my Christian life, I just thought it was a coincidence. But here I am 15 years later, and I can tell you, you know what? This is a consistent thing. When someone chooses to just forsake the Lord, it just always happens, you know. And you know, in the 15 years that I've been saved, I've seen leaders forsake me. I've seen contemporaries forsake me as far as like just no longer serving God with me. And I've seen followers do that. And I remember years ago when I first got saved, I had someone who I discipled, and I led to the Lord, and I helped serve God. And I remember we were serving God, we were just winning souls, and I was just thrilled to death that this person was serving Christ. And then one day he just came up to me, he's like, I'm not coming here anymore. I'm like, what? And he's just like, I'm leaving, I'm kind of tired of this. And I literally just started, I started just crying right in front of him. Because I just didn't understand how someone could just do that. And it broke my heart, I was devastated, and I didn't know what to tell him. And he just walked away, and he just stopped serving God. And I remember I went to one of my leaders, and I could barely even get the words out because I was trying to get across to him that this person just like forsook the Lord. Just went to go do his own thing. And it shattered my heart because I heard so much preaching of what would happen if you do that. It broke my heart. And you know what, I've seen that time and time again, but you know what? As the years go by, not that my heart becomes hardened, but it's almost as if I kind of expect it now. My heart's still tender, and it breaks for people who forsake the Lord, and get out of church, and they stop serving God. It hurts momentarily, but you know what? It's one of those things where it's just like, it hurts so much the more in the beginning, but it just kind of doesn't hurt as much anymore because it's something that you expect. We need to be like, it's high. It just says, you know what? Until death. Until death. I will be in church until death. I will win souls to Christ until death. I will serve my family and the Lord Jesus Christ until death. Just have that mentality. And stop being in church for all the wrong reasons, too. You know what I mean? Be in church for the right reasons. That's one thing I learned through that experience is like, you know, some people were just in, my leaders, some of the leaders that I lost, they were in church for just the wrong reasons. Some of my contemporaries, they were in church for the wrong reasons. Some of the people I discipled, they were in church for the wrong reasons. Because it just took one little thing, and it just took them out. Well, you know what? Even as a babe in Christ, I remember thinking to myself, well, you know what? If everyone just screws me over, I'm just going to keep serving the Lord because He deserves it. And you know what? If I'm just a doorkeeper in the house of my God, then so be it because He saved me, and this is the least I can do for everything He's done for me. Being it's high. I mean, the guy just got there. He just got there. He saw the kingdom for like one day. And then he's just like, all right, where are we going to now? Great guy. But I'm done here. Later on, from verse 24 to verse 29, we see the loyalty of the priest. I mean, David had all the right people following him, by the way, because the priests were like, all right, let's get the Ark of the Covenant. They started taking the Ark of the Covenant or taking it out with them, and David's like, whoa, take it back. Let it abide in Jerusalem. Take it back. Now, why was David able to do that? Because he knew that what the Ark represented he already had, which is God's presence. He's like, take it back. I know God's with me. And you know what? If God, He just put His life in God's hands because He basically said, you know, if God chooses to do something about this, then let Him do it. Regardless of what happens, God's on my side. He'll take care of me. And then we see the disloyalty of Ahithophel in verse 30 to 37, you know, because he's like, he's joining his son. And David is like, Lord, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. Just let him say the stupidest thing, you know? And you know what? He ended up answering that prayer. Later on, we'll see. And then Ahithophel is so butthurt about it that he ends up killing himself because, you know, Absalom didn't take his advice later on. And by the way, Ahithophel is who David talks about in Psalm 55 when he talks about his acquaintance, how they went into the house of God together. He's referring to Ahithophel. And what does that show us? It shows us that David was also forsaken just as Jesus Christ was, even of his closest people. And the last thing I want to mention is the fact that David goes into the Mount of Olives. In verse 32, it says, Now, what's interesting here is that throughout this entire thing, we see that David represents Jesus Christ. And even at this point, the difference being when Jesus Christ went to the Garden of Gethsemane, he went because of the sins of the world. David's going there because of his own sins. He's suffering from the sins that he committed because of the fact that this entire thing was David's fault from the beginning. You understand? Because of his sin with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah and his bad parenting skills. But, you know, what does this chapter teach us? It teaches us a lot of things, first of all, not to be an Absalom. OK? But also, you know, be loyal to the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, it's OK to be loyal to the pastor, to your spouse, to one another. But you know what? People fail you. People will fail you because we're fallible people. OK? We'll make mistakes. We'll fail you. Lord willing, I won't fail you as a pastor. I plan to be here for decades on end. That's my plan. OK? But I can't promise that because you just never know what might happen. At the end of the day, you need to follow Christ. May the love of Christ constrain you. Love the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, hey, young kids, you know, I know you're here because your parents made you come. But I hope you love the Lord Jesus Christ, though. I hope that you love Jesus. I hope that you want to follow Jesus because Mom and Dad are not always going to be around. You know, and God wants you to love Him, not because Mom and Dad bring you to church and we taught you about salvation and we taught you about the Bible, but because you can love Jesus Christ yourself. Being it's high that when Mom and Dad are gone, you're like, you know what? I'm still going to serve Jesus no matter what. I'm still going to be in church serving God, winning souls, because the God of my mom and my dad is my God. The God of my fathers is my personal God. I speak to my God. He's my Savior. He speaks to me through His Word. I have that personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I'm saved and, you know, it's not just because my mom and dad are dragging me to church. Be an it's high. Be loyal to Jesus Christ no matter what takes place. And so let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your Word. And Lord, help us to be like it's high and help us to be like the foreigners, Lord, that we would follow David even into the wilderness. What a great passage that is, Lord, that when you take us through the wilderness of trials and tribulations, may we not be like the people who, in a time of tribulation where persecution arises because of the Word, by and by we're offended that we forsake the Lord because the going gets tough. Lord, when you lead us into the wilderness, when you lead us into trials and tribulations and persecutions, may we abide faithful like Antipas. And I pray that you'd help us, Lord, to be so like it's high. Be loyal to you, Lord, and serve you unto death, that we would just die serving you, die doing the will of God. What a wonderful life to be able to spend it serving you and die serving you, Lord. And it wouldn't be a waste. We will look back on it and be thankful. And I believe we would hope that even in those times that we would think that we would wish that we have done more. And so I pray, Lord, that you'd help us as your people to remain loyal to you. And, Lord, help us to be aware of the absolums in our life, in our ministry as well. And may we not adopt any of his characteristics in our personal life. We love you. We thank you. Pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. All right. We have one last song. Song number 44. We'll work till Jesus comes. Song number 44. We'll work till Jesus comes. Everyone nice and strong all together. O land of rest for thee I sigh, when will the moment come? When I shall lay my armor by and quell in peace at home. We'll work till Jesus comes. We'll work till Jesus comes. We'll work till Jesus comes and we'll be gathered home. To Jesus Christ I fled through rest. He made me cease to roam and lean for succor on his breast till he conduct me home. We'll work till Jesus comes. We'll work till Jesus comes. We'll work till Jesus comes and we'll be gathered home. I sought at once my Savior's side. No more my steps shall roam. With him all brave deaths chilling tight and breach my heavenly home. Amen. We'll work till Jesus comes. We'll work till Jesus comes. We'll work till Jesus comes and we'll be gathered home. Amen.