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🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 Alright, good evening everyone. Welcome to First Works Baptist Church. Let's all make our way inside and find a seat. Grab a song book, open that song book up to song number 183, Oh How I Love Jesus. And let's all stand together for this first song, If You Are Able. Song number 183, Oh How I Love Jesus. Everyone all together nice and strong on that first verse. 🎵There is a name I love to hear. I love to sing its worth.🎵 🎵It sounds like music in my ear. The sweetest name on earth.🎵 🎵Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus.🎵 🎵Because He first loved me. It tells me of a Savior's love who died to set me free.🎵 🎵It tells me of His precious blood. The sinner's perfect claiming.🎵 🎵Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus. Because He first loved me.🎵 🎵It tells me what my Father hath and swore for every day.🎵 🎵And though I tread a dark sun path, yet sunshine all the way.🎵 🎵Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus. Because He first loved me.🎵 🎵It tells of one whose loving heart can fill my deepest woes.🎵 🎵Who in each sorrow bears a part that none can bear below.🎵 🎵Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus. Because He first loved me.🎵 Amen. Let's all run our service with a word of prayer. Father, thank you, God, Lord, for allowing us, God, 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. That you would fill Pastor Mihir with your Holy Spirit, Lord, as he preaches to us, God, and be with us, Lord, in the congregation, God, as we hear your word. 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 15, lead me to Calvary. For our second song, song number 15, lead me to Calvary. Everyone, all together, nice and strong. King of my life, I crown thee now, thine shall the glory be. Lest I forget thy thorn, crown, brow, lead me to Calvary. Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget thine agony. Lest I forget thy love for me, lead me to Calvary. Show me the tomb where thou wast laid, tenderly mourned and wept. Angels in groves of light arrayed, guarded thee whilst thou slept. Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget thine agony. Lest I forget thy love for me, lead me to Calvary. Let me, like Mary through the gloom, come with a gift to thee. Show to me now the empty tomb. Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget thine agony. Lest I forget thy love for me, lead me to Calvary. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. Even thy cup of grief to share, thou hast borne all for me. Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget thine agony. Lest I forget thy love for me, lead me to Calvary. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget thine agony. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. May I be willing more to bear, daily my cross for thee. Now I belong to Jesus. Song number 248. Lift it up together nice and strong on that first verse. Jesus my Lord will love me forever. From him no power of evil can sever. He gave his life to ransom my soul. Now I belong to him. Now I belong to Jesus. Jesus belongs to me. Not for the years of time alone, but for eternity. Once I was lost in sin's degradation. Jesus came down to bring me salvation. Lifted me up from sorrow and shame. Now I belong to him. Now I belong to Jesus. Jesus belongs to me. Not for the years of time alone, but for eternity. Joy floods my soul for Jesus has saved me. We eat from sin that long had enslaved me. His precious blood he gave to redeem. Now I belong to him. Now I belong to Jesus. Not for the years of time alone, but for eternity. Great singing, at this time the ushers are going to take the offering. Go ahead and take your Bibles and go to 2 Samuel chapter 17. Go ahead and take your Bibles and go to 2 Samuel chapter 17. Go ahead and take your Bibles and go to 2 Samuel chapter 17. Go ahead and take your Bibles and go to 2 Samuel chapter 17. Good evening, we're in 2 Samuel chapter 17. And the chapter reads, Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night. And I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed, and will make him afraid, and all the people that are with him shall flee. And I will smite the king only, and I will bring back all the people unto thee. The man whom thou seekest is as if all returned, so all the people shall be in peace. And the saying pleased Absalom well and all the elders of Israel. Then said Absalom, Call now Hushai the Archite also, and let us likewise hear what he saith. And when Hushai was come to Absalom, Absalom spake unto him, saying, If the fellow hath spoken after this manner, shall we do after his saying, if not speak thou? And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath given is not good at this time. For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her wealth in a field. And thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he is hid now in some pit or some other place, and it will come to pass, when some of them be overthrown at the first, that whosoever heareth it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom. And he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt. For all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they which be with him are valiant men. Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee from Dan, even a bear Sheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that thou go to battle in thine own person. So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will be light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground, and of him and of all the men that are with him there shall not be left so much as one. Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there be not one small stone found there. And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom. Then said Hushai unto Zadok and Ubaithar the priests, Thus then thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and thus have I counseled. Now therefore sent quickly and tell David, saying, Lodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass over, lest the king be swallowed up and all the people that are with him. Now Jonathan and Hymaz stayed by Anrugal, for they might not be seen to come into the city, and a wench went and told them, and they went and told King David. Nevertheless the lad saw them and told Absalom, but they went both of them away quickly, and came to a man's house and beheared them, which had a well in his court whither they went down. And the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth, and spread ground corn thereon, and the thing was not known. When Absalom's servants came to the woman to the house, they said, Where is the Hymaz and Jonathan? And the woman said unto them, They be gone over the brook of water. And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, after they were departed, that they came up out of the well, and went and told King David, and said unto David, Arise and pass quickly over the water, and thus hath Ahithophel counseled against you. And David arose, and all the people that were with him, and they passed over Jordan, by the morning light their lack, not one of them that was not gone over Jordan. And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and gave him a home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the civil court of his father. Then David came to Manhaim, and Absalom passed over Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him. And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab, which Amasa was a man's son, whose name was Ithra, an Israelite, that went into Abigail, the daughter of Nahash, his sister to Zerahiah, Joab's mother. So Israel and Absalom pitched in the land of Gilead, and it came to pass when David was come to Manhaim, as show by the son of Nahash of Reba, of the children of Ammon, and Makar the son of Emiel, of Lotabar, and Berzillai the Gileadite of Rogillim, brought breads and basins, and earthen vessels and wheat, and barley and flour, and parished corn and beans and lentils, and parished pearls, and honey and butter and sheep, and cheese of kind for David, and for the people that were with him to eat. For they said, The people is hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness. 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 tonight. We ask that you please bless our pastor as he preaches your word unto us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay, we'll continue this evening with our Bible study here of 2 Samuel, and we are in chapter 17. Let me just give you a little bit of review from the previous chapter of Shimei, who was essentially the accuser of the brethren. Of course, we know that Shimei is deriding David. He's saying all manner of evil against him, calling him essentially a reprobate, saying that he's the son of Belial. And David is basically at his lowest point right here because he's been essentially kicked out of his kingdom, him and his men, and his son Absalom has taken over the kingdom, not by honorable means. He's obviously conspiring against his father, and there's essentially somewhat of a civil war between the two because of Absalom. And so as David is departing out of the city, he's going with his men. You have Shimei coming and casting rocks and accusing him and saying all manner of evil against him. And then we also see that Ahithophel, who is David's primary counselor when David was on the throne, stays with Absalom and essentially works for Absalom thereafter. Now, we obviously know that Ahithophel is not a man of principle. He's not a noble person. He's not necessarily an individual who is a man of integrity because of the fact that he's not going with David and his men. He's going wherever there's job security, right? He's staying with Absalom. And we know that Ahithophel also has ought against David. He doesn't have his best interest in mind. And it kind of shows you here that Ahithophel was just kind of waiting for the right moment to turn on David. You know, while David was the king, Ahithophel couldn't really do anything. He would speak right words into him. He would counsel him and kind of do his job. But as soon as he found David in a compromising position where he didn't necessarily have the authority or power, that's where his fangs came out. That's where his claws came out. Kind of his true colors really came out. And we see that Ahithophel really hated David. And we also see at the latter end of chapter 16 that Ahithophel gives this really despicable counsel and advice to Absalom, right? And, you know, at the latter end of chapter 16, it talks about the fact that Ahithophel's counsel was as if a man had inquired at the oracle of God, right? In other words, it's referring to the fact that he is essentially a person of authority. He's a person who's esteemed as being a man who has wisdom. You know, if you have, if you need a solution, you need an answer, you go to Jordan Peterson, right? You go to Jordan Peterson. You go to the Joe Rogans of this world. You go to Ahithophel to see what it is that you should do. You go to Ahithophel to overcome depression even though he's struggling with depression, how to get off antidepressants even though he's still on antidepressants kind of a thing, right? This is essentially Ahithophel right here. And people are going to him because they think he has some credibility, that he's a man of integrity. And so he has a lot of credibility within the eyes of Israel. But one of the last things that he tells Ahithophel is basically what he needs to do is sleep with his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel, okay? And the reason he wants him to do this is because once that act, that wicked act is accomplished, he's essentially severing ties with his father. I mean, there is a certain level of animosity and enmity between David and his son once that treachery is committed, once that adultery, that wickedness is taking place. He's essentially sealing his deal, his fate as far as being an enemy of David is concerned, and sealing his fate before all of Israel as well. Because now Israel sees like, wow, this is really happening. There's no coming back from this, right? But this isn't godly counsel. This isn't righteous. I mean, obviously we know that Absalom is not a righteous person. He took the kingdom over by wicked means. And so, you know, it shouldn't surprise us that he has wicked people working for him as well, also giving him wicked counsel. Not necessarily saying, hey, be a servant to the people, try to reconcile with your father, let's try to go about this the right way. You know, you can still obtain the kingdom, but, you know, why don't we do this the right way? He wants to get back at David for David's adultery with Bathsheba, and of course we know that Ahithophel is related to her. So we see that there is some animosity here, there's some vengefulness that Ahithophel has towards David. Now in chapter 17, the counsel continues. So Ahithophel is not just content with severing David off of the kingdom and having Absalom take over and destroying that relationship. Now he wants to go after David literally, like he wants to kill David, okay? Look at verse number 1, it says, Well, hold on a second, I thought Absalom was the king. You see, really, at the end of the day, Absalom knows who's the real king. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh, my friends. So it's not like he's not as steaming him as the king, he knows he's the king. Because, you know, he plainly said there who the real king is, which is David. And so he says, you know, give me 12,000 guys, we will go on this reconnaissance mission to go after King David, and once we get rid of him, the kingdom essentially shall be yours. And he's the one who wants to take out David. Obviously he has some personal vendetta against him. Verse number 3 says, So, Ahithophel comes up with this plan, this mission to take out David. And, you know, he's basically saying, once this takes place, everyone's going to return to you, everyone's going to be at peace. And Absalom and all his idiot elders, who are obviously just a bunch of yes men, they're just like, hmm, that's a good idea, you know. Just take out this guy, everything's going to be good. The kingdom will be officially handed over to Absalom. This is the council of Ahithophel. Now, I want to remind you that David, as he was leaving the city, hears about Ahithophel defecting to his son Absalom, and in light of that, what does he do? He prays, Lord, turn the council of Ahithophel to foolishness. He's like, take whatever he says and make it foolish to the ears that so-called wisdom is going to fall upon. And obviously we know that at the end of chapter 16, even though it was Ahithophel who advised Absalom to go sleep with the concubines, that was basically a prophecy from Nathan as a punishment upon David for his sin with Bathsheba. I mean, God had told him that that was going to happen, and it was through the wicked council of Ahithophel. Now, here in chapter 17, this seems like a really good idea, but we're going to see right now that it's going to be turned into foolishness because Absalom is going to go with the council of Hushai. Look at verse number five, it says, Then said Absalom, Call now Hushai, the Archite also, and let us hear likewise what he saith. Now, hold your place there and go to Psalm 55, if you would. Go to Psalm 55. Psalm 55. Let me talk about Ahithophel for just a moment here. What's interesting is that Ahithophel likes this plan. The elders like the plan. Like, this is good. And all of a sudden, he's just like, well, you know, why don't we just ask Hushai? You know, if it was such a good plan, why would he recommend talking to this other councilor to get a second opinion? Well, I'll tell you why. Because the Bible says that the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord, and as rivers of water, he turneth it whithersoever he will. And so even though we all have our own will, there could be instances where God can change the heart, or tenderize the heart, or cause someone just like Absalom essentially to kind of second guess, doubt, or even want a second opinion, thereby going with Hushai, and we're going to see the council of Hushai in just a bit, and then essentially favor David. Now, I'm sorry, Ahithophel, really, when you read this story, you see that he's a really wicked person. But here's the thing. As I mentioned in times past, you know, David is one of the most powerful pictures of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament, right? I mean, just throughout his life, we've seen so many parallels of his life and how it matches up with Jesus Christ. The fact that he came into his own, his own received him not. And when he left the city, the vast majority of the people that were supporting him were foreigners, essentially the Gentiles. But even in this particular story, he exemplifies Jesus Christ because he's being betrayed by one of his closest friends, right? And I believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Ahithophel pictures Judas Iscariot, okay? Now, look at Psalm 55 and verse number 11. It says here, David writing this states, Wickedness is in the midst thereof, deceit and guile depart not from her streets. For it was not an enemy that reproached me, then I could have borne it. Neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me. Then I would have hid myself from him. But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together and walked into the house of God and company. So obviously he's referring to Ahithophel because Ahithophel was his counselor. And he's, you know, this is basically explaining the fact that some of the most painful experiences that you will have, that I will have, this side of eternity, is being betrayed by a friend, right? Someone who claims to be a friend, someone who claims to be a close associate, just all of a sudden do a 180 and just completely turn their backs on you. Someone who we would say, you know, oh, a man of mine equal, my guide and mine acquaintance. Someone who would take sweet counsel together. We went into the house of God together. This is like a co-laborer in Christ, so to speak. And then he just turns on you. And this is basically, he's referring to Ahithophel because Ahithophel was under David's administration. So you can obviously see the pain that he's experiencing here over this betrayal. And I like what he says in verse number 12. It was not an enemy that reproached me, then I could have borne it. You know, when the enemies of God reproach us, it doesn't really bother us. When the Sodomites and the reprobates of this world and the atheists and the God-haters say all men are of evil against us, we crack a smile at it. You know, it doesn't really bother us. It's just kind of like, all right, whatever, you know, haters make me famous kind of a thing. And, you know, we don't lose any sleep over it. It's not like, oh, man, you hurt my feelings or something like that. How will I ever recover from this slander? How will I ever recover from all these videos that Loza is putting together? How in the world am I? How will I financially recover from this reproach upon me? How am I going to sleep tonight knowing this person is just attacking me over and over again? Well, I'll tell you how. I sleep like a baby. Because, you know, when you're approached by an enemy, when you're approached by some wicked individual, we expect that. You know, it's just like, well, obviously, that's what they do. They threaten, they reproach, they speak ill of you, they rail on you. They'll say all men are of evil against you falsely for the name of Christ. And so it's like water off a duck's back. Now, I will say that not all Christians respond in that manner. Some people just can't take any criticism whatsoever. You know, there's Christians out there that it doesn't matter where the criticism is coming from. It could be from the most wicked, vile person where the Bible says that that's going to happen and it'll still bother them. They will lose sleep at night. They don't know what to do with themselves. But that's, you know, they just got to develop some thicker skin and have a spirit of expectation when it comes to the persecutions that comes upon a person when you live godly in Christ Jesus, right? For us, it's just like another day in the office. It doesn't bother us at all. But here's the thing is that, you know, when these enemies reproach us, we bear it. It's like whatever, you know. Or if we know that, you know, some enemy is going to come against us, we can hide ourselves. The prudent man foreseeth evil and hide himself, right? The ones that catch us off guard are those who claim to be our friends. It's when they blindside us. It's when they sucker punch you, right? It's by those who claim to be the closest, like, you know, one of the twelve or something, right? Who you serve the Lord with, you go to church with, you've got sowning with, you have shared the ministry with. When that individual turns on you, that hurts, okay? Now let me explain to you why it hurts when people like that do that. And I'm referring to individuals who are just a bunch of fakes and phonies, obviously, okay? I'm not talking about people who are saved, okay? We're talking about like the Judas Iscariots. The reason it initially hurts is because of the fact that we are surprised by the person that they become thinking that they were like a completely different person to begin with, right? And often it's just like, oh man, you know, I couldn't believe this person would do this or would say this or, you know, I miss this relationship with this person. But really what it is is you miss the relationship with the person you thought that person was, right? But Judas was a wicked person from the beginning. I mean, he believed not from the beginning, the Bible says. And Judas was out there, you know, preaching the gospel, not getting anyone saved, by the way. You know, he's out there probably preaching the gospel and amongst the 12, doing the work, having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof. And obviously the only one he's pulling the wool over their eyes is the disciples themselves. Jesus Christ already knew that he was a devil. He knew that he was wicked from the beginning. He just knew that he was going to be used to fulfill scripture, right? But David is writing this psalm about Ahithophel, but because David is an archetype of Jesus Christ, it fits the bill of Judas Iscariot. And, you know, we should take it to heart as well because this will happen to you and I. Throughout our lives, throughout our ministry, some of the closest people that you have to you will sometimes turn on you, okay? And whether they're wicked or not, you know, is besides the point. We don't know if Ahithophel was saved or not. But according to this psalm, it sounds like David didn't think it was saved. You say, why is that? Well, look at verse 15. Let death seize upon them and let them go down quickly into hell. For wickedness is in their dwellings and among them, okay? Oh, man, he's reprobating him. Well, I mean, can you blame him, though? It's like, oh, who do you think you are, David, reprobating these people or something, you know? Well, you know, based upon his behavior and his vile, wicked behavior to just turn on someone without any remorse and the type of wickedness that he's capable of and that he's stirring up in the kingdom, you know, David's probably like, this guy's wicked. You know, how can you just turn on a friend like that and have my son commit those wicked acts with my concubines in my kingdom and just turn on me like that? He's probably thinking, this person's wicked, he's evil. Let him go down quick into hell. By the way, that's a good imprecatory prayer, amen? You know, people get mad when we tell people to go to hell, but that's actually a biblical concept, my friends. Now, don't get mad when we say that because it's not like we have the ability to actually make them go to hell sooner than they should. You know, we don't have that. We're just telling that person to go jump in the lake of fire and it makes us feel better and we're just kind of reminding them where they're going to go, right? And so people are like, oh, you know, you're cussing or, oh, that's filthy talk. Oh, you should pray for your enemies. Well, that's a form of praying for your enemies, right? People don't realize that imprecatory prayers is praying for your enemies. You didn't specify which one when you told me to pray for my enemies. You know, when people are like, pray for your enemies, be specific, be specific. Because when I pray these imprecatory prayers, don't get mad because imprecatory prayers are our prayers. All right. But he says, let death seize upon them. Let them go down quick into hell, meaning alive into hell. Verse 16 asks for me. I will call upon God and the Lord shall save me evening and morning. And at noon, will I pray and cry out loud and he shall hear my voice. Now, as I mentioned, you know, a hit the fella is a picture of Judas Iscariot because of his betrayal towards David. And the fact that we see that he turns against them. He was the one who was closest to him, but also in the manner in which he dies. Right. Because how does a hit the fella die? He goes and hangs himself. How does Judas Iscariot die? He goes and hangs himself as well. OK. And so obviously this is symbolically representing Judas Iscariot. And Judas Iscariot represents those individuals who we think to be believers or Christians, who we think to be on the right side. But all of a sudden they just kind of turn on a dime. They just do a 180. They turn on you. And that will happen. That's going to happen in our church over the span lifespan of our church. It's going to happen because of the fact that God told us it was going to happen. OK. And we need to expect these things and not stumble when it happens. Does it hurt? Absolutely. Does it bother us a little bit? Yeah, of course. But it shouldn't cause us to stop serving God. Or it shouldn't stop us from trusting people, too. Right? You know, just because someone turns on you, don't just throw out the baby with the bathwater and say, Well, I'm never going to trust anybody ever again. I can't trust anybody. I can't trust any guy. I can't trust any woman because of this one particular person. OK. Allow yourself to be defrauded. Allow yourself to, you know, for people to do evil upon you, of which you cannot control, and just put yourself in the hands of God and recognize, You know what? God's still keeping me. He's protecting me. He's going to deliver me out of the hands of these wicked people. And when their folly is made manifest, thank God for that. You know, would you rather that person not expose themselves for being a wicked person and just remain as your so-called friend? No, I'd rather have that person just expose themselves for who they are. Yeah, it may hurt a little bit, but I'd rather know that that person is evil so I can get them out of my life. Right? And not associate with that individual. And so, it's very important. Look what it says in verse number 21. Look at verse 20, actually. It says, He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him. He hath broken his covenant. The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart. So it's like his counsel that he was giving David, it was like, you know, butter. Right? It's just smoother than butter. But really what it was is like he hated David in his heart, though. So what do we see here with Ahithophel? Well, he's probably a flatterer is what he is. Okay? Because when the Bible talks about smooth as butter, that's not a good thing. Don't try to use that as a compliment or something. Brother, you're as smooth as butter. Your words are as smooth as butter. That's not a compliment. Okay? What does smooth as butter mean? Well, often the term smooth in the Bible is associated with flattery, which is also associated with deceit, lying, someone who is laying a net before your feet. They're flattering you in order to deter attention from their true intentions against you. So if someone is flattering you and they're saying, you know, they're just kind of be overly excessive in their praise of you, that person, and you feel like, man, I feel like I could make toast with these guys' words. I feel like I could take this guy's words and just kind of like lather my toast with this. You know, that person probably has war in his heart. Okay? You know, a person who just gives you a regular compliment, and even if it's like, you know, it's a sincere compliment, they're very grateful, there's nothing wrong with that. Right? And I always got to make that disclaimer because sometimes people go like the opposite way, and they don't want to feel like they're flattering anybody. So then they're just like really mean or something. They're just rude. It's like you don't have to be rude. Okay? You can be kind and gracious. You can be loving and speak the truth in love and have your speech always seasoned with grace. But, you know, flattery is this excessive praise, these excessive compliments, and the reason people do that is because they want to, first of all, puff up the individual that they hate so that that person will think, well, this person must be a good individual. This person must be my ally. This person must be my friend because they have such a high opinion of me. Okay? Now, I've known people like this personally and even in this church. None at this moment. Okay? At least I don't think so. But I've had people, I remember there's one particular individual, they're no longer in our church. They're actually kicked out. I mean, surprise, surprise, right? But this individual, when they first came, I mean, I'm talking about butter. It was just like buttery. I mean, you can use that butter for toast. You can lather your, I mean, what do we put butter on here? Popcorn. Popcorn. Cupcakes. Oh, pancakes. How do you guys do it over there in Texas? No wonder everything's bigger in Texas. No, I'm just kidding. Yeah, pancakes for the Marcel. You know, what else? Steak. Okay, yeah, steak. So this guy had so much butter in his speech, you can take care of all that stuff over there, okay? And I remember, and by the way, anytime some person is like that towards me, it really makes me uncomfortable. To the point where I kind of want to end a conversation and just kind of walk away. Because, like, you know, you kind of blush, you're kind of just like, okay, you know, I'm not that good of a preacher. Or, you know, I know that this is not true about me. And initially, you don't really catch it until they just keep, you know, just churning that butter and just, you know, giving you more butter. And he wouldn't let me go, and so he just kept kind of buttering me up. Hey, that's where that term comes, yeah? Buttering up a person. Just flattering them. Obviously, when you butter someone up nowadays is in a positive way, but so is the term flattery, right? When you just flatter someone, that's used in a positive way today, but it's not a good thing. Because it means you're being deceitful towards them. And, you know what, at the end of the day, this person, I don't know if they had war in their heart for me, but they had some sort of animosity towards me that came out about a year later, okay? Where they would take these cheap shots at me and make certain remarks and criticize me indirectly. And it was one of those things where I would just tally it up, tally it up, tally it up. And I would always go back to that first conversation that I had with that person that made me feel really uncomfortable and made me think to myself, this individual doesn't really like me, but the reason they said all these great things about me and my ministry and my preaching that was just a little too buttery is because they had war in their hearts for me. They didn't really like me to begin with. And it was very evident a year later, okay? And that's one of the reasons why that person got kicked out. You know, they're just a dumb person who just, you know, who knows what their intentions were. I don't really care. I'm just glad that that person exposed themselves for who they are and they're no longer here, amen? And so beware of the buttery speech. Beware of the fact when they have enough butter coming out of their mouths that they can just pour it all over their popcorn and their pancakes and their muffins and their steak and, you know, you have enough butter to go around. You've got to beware of those things. And this is a concept that isn't really taught in the old IFP. I'll just be honest with you, okay? Because when I was in the old IFP, I didn't really know much about this, about flattery. And the reason why I didn't know much about it is because everyone did it. Everyone did it, okay? Now one thing was for sure is that I didn't know how to flatter people because, you know, I have an impetuous personality. And so I just kind of tell it like it is and I've always told it like it was. So, you know, I just, you know, kind of said what was in my mind at the time which got me in a lot of trouble in the beginning. Because, you know, I just kind of blurred out whatever was in my mind, you know. Whereas flatterers, they kind of, they articulate their phrases and their ideas in such a way because they want to please the person that they're speaking to. Well, that takes place a lot in the old IFP. Now people in the old IFP don't see it because they're around it all the time. It's like homeless people who smell like piss, right? You guys know what I'm saying? You know, when you have homeless people that smell like piss, they don't really know they smell like that. You understand what I'm saying? It's when you approach them and you're like, whoa. But they don't really smell it because they've been around it for so long. Now you take one out of the picture, he bathes and all that, you get him away from that. When he comes back, then he views it and he's like, whoa, man, we did smell bad, you know. Well, and the same thing with the old IFP. I know that's a crazy example, but I think it drives home the point. They don't really know that they smell like flattery because they're around it all the time, right? And, you know, I'm sure there's individuals in the old IFP who flatter, but they don't necessarily have, you know, evil, nefarious intentions. That's just kind of like part of their character. Maybe that's what they learn on how to get something from people or how to talk to other individuals. Just instance your praise. But I guarantee you there's a lot of people in the old IFP who do it because they do have a really bad underlying intention behind that. And so we didn't really learn about those things because we didn't have anybody to teach us. But this is an important virtue to learn, my friends. It's an important virtue to learn to detect the buttery speech and not allow people to just butter you up. And when they do, let that red flag go up and say, you know, just think to yourself. You don't have to tell them, but just think to yourself, you know, I've got to keep an eye on this person because this person turns out butter. You know, she or he is producing a lot of butter here, and so we need to be aware of this. He says in verse 21, the words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart. His words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords. Now, often, even in the Book of Proverbs, for example, when the Bible wants to describe the strange woman, it often describes her as being, you know, having oil on her lips and speaking with oil. Why? Because it's that flattery, right? The strange woman captures a man by the flattery of her words and tries to deceive him into thinking he's, you know, a stud or something like that. And then eventually destroys his life because the Bible tells us that the whore seeks to destroy the precious life. He says in verse number 22, cast thy burden upon the Lord and he shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved, but thou, O God, shall bring them down into the pit of destruction. Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days, but I will trust in thee. And of course, that's exactly what Ahithophel is. He's a bloody and deceitful person. He's using his position to try to get back at David. He doesn't have David's best interest in mind, nor Absalom's best interest in mind, nor the kingdom's. He is a self-willed individual, okay? Now, thankfully, you know, after Hushai gives his counsel, Absalom likes that counsel and he forsakes the counsel of Ahithophel. Along with the elders, they forsake it and they go with Hushai. Now, this teaches us here that Ahithophel essentially represents the wisdom of this world, right? Because the wisdom of this world is wicked, it's one of these, it's this type of wisdom that says, you know, by any means necessary. Gain power by any means necessary. Even if you have to go into your father's concubines, even if you have to destroy the competition or whatever, even if you have to do this, by any means necessary, you got to get this done, that's how you got to get it done, right? Go to James chapter 3, if you will, James chapter 3. James chapter 3, and yet you need to beware of who you're getting your wisdom from. We talked about Jordan Peterson last week and, you know, his lame wisdom that he has, his evil wisdom. And by the way, the guy dresses like a clown too, can I just mention that? I forgot to mention that, the guy dresses like a clown. I saw him in some, I think it's called a suit, you know, but he looks like a joke because of the fact that he doesn't smile, yet he looks like a clown. Clowns at least smile. But a lot of people go to him, a lot of people go to the Joe Rogans of this world, the Candace Owens of this world, to gain wisdom when the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them for they're spiritually discerned. And that's not to say that, you know, the children of this generation can be much wiser than the children of light. Sometimes they just know things practically, on a practical level. But when you go to unsaved people for spiritual advice, you're basically going to a Hithophel. You're not going to profit from it, it's not going to do you any good. Look at James chapter 3, James chapter number 3 and verse number 12 says, Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries, either of vine figs? So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. Now wouldn't you say that a Hithophel had bitter envying and strife in his heart, right? Look at verse number 15, this wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion in every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. The fruit of the righteous is sown in peace of them that make peace. Go to 1 Corinthians chapter number 1, 1 Corinthians chapter number 1. So ask yourself, you know, when you're listening to that favorite podcast of yours, when you're listening to that YouTube channel, whatever it may be, you know, ask yourself, Is this wisdom devilish? Is it sensual? Does it have this mentality of by any means necessary, even if it comes to compromising biblical standards, biblical doctrine, you know, biblical concepts? Does it require for me to step outside of the boundaries of God's word to accomplish something? Does it require me to compromise the boundaries of God's word in order to achieve something? Does it require for me to be dishonest? Does it require for me to deny anything of the faith in order for me to accomplish it? Then that wisdom is not from above. It's earthly, it's sensual, it's devilish. We should have nothing to do with it, okay? You say, yeah, but that's what the popular thing is, though. That's how the people of this world become successful. And if I just follow, you know, Joe Rogan's 10 Steps to Success, if I just follow whatever person is the most famous philosopher or, you know, whatever Jordan Peterson is saying, that's how I'm going to find success. No, you'll find success when you actually learn God's word and you do it. This book of the law shall not depart out of their mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Well, I know, but I think we need to add something to that. The only thing that's added to Joshua 1-8 is Joshua 1-9, which thereafter he just says, be courageous to obey the Lord, because sometimes it takes courage to obey God's word, okay? But here's the thing. I know it's not fancy to obey God's word sometimes in the eyes of the world, but who cares what's fancy and what's not? We need to go with what God's word says. Look at 1 Corinthians 1 and look down at your Bibles at verse number 19. It says, for it is written, think about Ahithophel here, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? I mean, isn't that what David prayed about Ahithophel? Turn the counsel of Ahithophel to foolishness. Now, I don't think God made the counsel of Ahithophel stupid or foolish in the sense of like, you know, oh, that was a bad idea, because Absalom liked the idea. I think what it did is that he changed the frequency of the hearers, the spiritual frequency to say, actually, I don't think that's a good idea. I think we're going to go with this idea. If we can't control the ideas that people come up with, the inventors of evil things, all we can do is pray that the receivers of that information discards it, doesn't view it as being, you know, important or valuable or godly, which is exactly what Absalom did. He just discarded that information. He turned the wisdom of this world into foolishness. Verse 21 says, for after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God about the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Now, don't misunderstand me here. I'm not saying that, you know, if we want to gain practical wisdom, that we could only just stick to the Bible. Obviously, this is where wisdom stems from, right? God is the source of all wisdom. There are books out there. There's information out there with practical wisdom that we could all learn from. I mean, I read self-help books all the time and by people who are not even saved, but just on a practical level, they know how to become successful in a particular area by being disciplined or, you know, by implementing certain steps. I think that stuff is good. I'm talking about the stuff that causes you to compromise the word of God. You know, there's Christians out there that don't mind compromising God's word to be successful, right? Where they have to partake in some, you know, amount of dishonesty or something like that or some sin in order to be successful because they're getting it from some guru out there that's telling them to do so. And so, you know, we can't side with the wisdom of this world. God's turned it to foolishness. We need to forsake that. You say, well, is it really that popular out there? I mean, Jordan Peterson is selling out stadiums. You know, there's thousands of people who are buying tickets just to hear him speak gibberish. For what? How many hours is that RRS conferences? Somebody tell me. Somebody tell me. Ah, you guys have gotten good at this. Somebody guess how long it is. I don't know, like an hour or two hours or something? I mean, how long can an idiot talk for? I mean, is that correct? Two hours? Brother Maury, is that true? He's giving me the two, so I don't know. I'm assuming it's about two hours. And so we need to forsake the wisdom of this world. We need to forsake the wisdom and the counsel of Ahithophel. Ahithophel is going to tell you, oh, you know, Andrew Tate is going to tell you, it's okay to get married and have a bunch of girlfriends. Ahithophel is going to tell you, go and sleep with your father's concubines. But yet you have these sigma Christians out there who think that's, oh yeah, I guess that is true. David did it. And they take the stories of the Bible as though that's God giving you permission to partake in those acts. Right? No, why are you saying stuff about Andrew Tate, man? Did he platform them? They needed to deplatform him. And you know, I got on Andrew Tate a couple weeks ago or whatever, but I guarantee you there's still Bible-believing Christians who adhere to his form of wisdom. And unfortunately, it comes from men who obviously have a sincere desire to get back to true masculinity, but in their desire to do so, they go so far into that that it delves into this worldly masculinity that is not biblical at all. Forget the sigma. It's all about the alpha and the omega, amen? Get your wisdom from the alpha and the omega and, you know, adultery is wrong, committing fornication is wrong. I don't care what your bugay, what color your bugay is. You know, all we should care about is the salvations of souls, turning people to righteousness. Well, he's right in some areas. No, he's not because the guy is like an orthodox. I mean, isn't he for Islam now? I mean, he's tossed to and fro. He changes religions like every couple of months depending on what his audience is. Because as far as I know, from what I've seen, sigmas online, a lot of them are Muslim. I mean, don't quote me on that, but from my personal observation, a lot of these so-called sigmas, they elevate Islam as being the true masculine religion, which obviously that shouldn't surprise you because when you have a bunch of unsafe people trying to adopt biblical concepts without Jesus Christ, you're going to go into a false religion. Anytime you try to go for any philosophical thing that the Bible teaches as being true, but you do it without Christ, you're going to delve into some false religion, which is exactly what they do. Because, you know, these sigmas, they have all these types of philosophies and stuff, and being masculine, and that's great, and don't be feminine, and that's great, and you should work out, and that's great, and don't be a simp or whatever, and that's great. That's a good message, amen? I'm for telling dudes not to be a simp. I'm old, so in my day we used to say they were sprung, but you guys have no idea what that word is. How many of you have ever heard the term sprung before? Okay, we've got a couple of old people here. You're not old. But I appreciate the effort, though. But now, you know, they call them simps, and you know, that's a great message, but guess what? The Bible already gave that message. So if the Bible's already given that message, why do you need to go outside of the Bible and find someone popular to say it? Why don't you just be the one to be on the forefront proclaiming that message using the Bible? Too many Christians, they go to these accounts, and these leaders, and these influencers or whatever, and they're saying biblical concepts, but these people have hijacked those biblical concepts from Christianity, and then they promote their false religion. This is an account online called Alpha, Omega, and Sigma or something like that. You guys know what I'm talking about. Some of you follow that. Some of these guys right here follow right here. I'm pointing at these guys right here. You know? And then, you know, the memes are great, and I'll tell you why the memes are great, because they jack my meme, man. They jack my meme. I told the guy, I was like, hey, no credit, man. Then people started hitting him up. They were like, hey, you stole this meme. They're like, no, this is all original content. I told him, I was like, my face is on the meme. I was like, me and Ruben. I was like, me and Ruben, what are you talking about? And people like those that account because of the fact that they promote essentially good things, working out, going to church on Sunday, you know, Jesus Christ. You're like, oh, that sounds pretty good, you know? Yeah, but the only thing is, they're like orthodox, so they like worship idols and stuff. Their leaders are a bunch of dudes in dresses. Hello? Stop following Ahithophel. Ahithophel, you know, he's over here trying to promote this brand of Christianity. It's not really Christianity now, is it? Okay. You know, you're like, well, there is no other account, you know, I can, there's shame and stuff. Then you make one then. Oh, that's right, you don't work out. Oh, sorry. I guess you can't because you don't lift. Yeah, that would require for you to actually, like, lift and actually work out and actually be Sigma in order to make that account or something like that, right? You know, stop going to the wisdom of this world. And obviously, some of the memes are great. I'm not down on the memes, amen? Those memes are great. But they're great because they're using biblical content to make them great, okay? And you know what? Some of those guys don't even use the King James Bible, my friends. So if you're liking polls that use ESV, how gay is that? It's just like, oh, that's such a great, it's a great meme, but it's using a false version of the Bible. Anyways, go back to 2 Samuel. Ahithophel is not who you want to go with. Even though his meme, Ahithophel's meme, as though you had inquired at the oracles of God or something like that, doesn't mean nothing, okay? But this is the state of Christianity today where a lot of the young people, we can't lose these young people, my friends. We don't want to lose them to liberals, but we don't also want to lose them to false religions either. You know, the Daily Wire's religion or Steve Crowder's religion. Ahithophel are all Christians. They're not Christians! They're phonies! The Orthodox people and all these, yeah, but they say Jesus. I'm sure the devil has said that name many times. It doesn't mean anything. So what? And it's a lot cooler to be a fundamental Baptist than an Orthodox anyways. I'm not going to wear a dress. Orthodox is basically Catholicism. Actually, it's like Catholicism on steroids. Well, they don't worship idols. They worship icons, which are idols. Okay? It's like, well, he's not gay. He's bisexual. It's the same thing. It's the same thing. I'll get off of that. All right. So Ahithophel pictures Judas Iscariot. We see that there. And from verses 5 to about verse 13, Hushai comes up with this plan. And man, Hushai is a very wise person. Because you've got to put yourself in his shoes. Think about the situation here. He's listening to Ahithophel, because remember, when David left the city, Hushai wanted to go with him. And David told him, no, you need to stay back so that you can found the council of Ahithophel. And then also the priest wanted to go with them. He's like, no, you guys should stay to be like spies. Let me know what's going on kind of thing. So Hushai has this responsibility of essentially deceiving Absalom to thinking that he's loyal to him. But he's kind of there on David's behalf. But he can't let Absalom become suspicious of that. He needs to let him know that he's still loyal to him. So now when Absalom says, well, let's ask Hushai. So Hushai now has to come up with a plan, some sort of council that will protect David, but also favor Absalom. It requires a lot of wisdom, my friends. So either one, the Bible doesn't mention it. Maybe he just prayed at that moment, like Nehemiah did, right? When he's appealing to the king. Or God just endowed him with wisdom to say what he's about to say. And basically what he tells them is like, well, let's read it. It says in verse number seven, it says, Hushai said unto Absalom, the council that Ahithophel hath given is not good at this time. So I like the way he worded that. Because he didn't just say it's not good. What did he say? It's not good at this time. Implying that it's good, it's just not the right time. Good words. Verse eight, four said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men. And that they be chafed in their minds as a bear robbed of their whelps in the field. And thy father is a man of war and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he is hidden now in some pit or in some other place, and it shall come to pass when some of them be overthrown at the first, that whosoever hearth it will say that there is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom. And he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt. For all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they which be with him are valiant men. So he gives his counsel. He's like, hey, you know, this is not a good idea because, you know, your dad can, he's basically saying, you know, your dad could just whoop anybody who just comes to him. This guy's valiant. He's probably just going to, and he's like tired in his mind. You know what I mean? He's like weary. So when people get weary in their minds, they kind of act a little crazy sometimes, you know. You think of David, he's not going to show any mercy to anybody who comes at him. And then here's the thing, you know, some of the most valiant men in Israel whose heart is a lion, they're going to be afraid of David. You know, it's going to melt because you know, you know, your dad's a man of war. You know what? Absalom does know that. All of Israel knows that. Everyone knows that David is the man's man. This guy collected all kinds of foreskins and Philistines. And I mean, this guy's put in a lot of work for the kingdom, right? He's earned himself a reputation as being a man of war. And everyone knows it, including Absalom. So in Absalom's mind, he's thinking to himself, yeah, actually that's not a good idea. You know, because then he's just going to whoop us all. Verse 11 says, Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee, from Dan even to Bathsheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that thou go to battle in thine own person. Now think about this. Listen to Hushai, okay? Because, you know, he presents the problem, but what does he bring with that problem? A solution. By the way, that's a good principle, my friends. When you go to your boss or whoever and you bring a problem, make sure you bring with that problem a solution. No one just wants to hear problems. They want to hear a solution. You know, it's easy to find problems. We can all pick out a problem. Oh, pastor, you know, okay, but did you bring a solution to that? You know, hey, we got a problem over here. Okay, so what's the solution, though? Oh, I'm just here to bring the problem to you, you know? Hushai presented the problem in order to turn the counsel of Ahithophel to foolishness, but now he's going to offer a solution that will in turn kind of puff up Absalom's ego. Okay? Because then he's saying, look, what you should do is wait a little bit and then gather everyone from Dan to Beersheba, you know, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and he says this, and that thou go to battle in thine own person. Don't have Ahithophel go, because then he gets all the glory. You go in your own person. So he's appealing to Absalom's ego, and we know that Absalom has a huge ego. I mean, he thinks he's the business, right? So he gives this great counsel here. What is he doing? He's buying time, because Ahithophel's counsel is like, let's just go right now. Let's go get him right now. Hushai's counsel is, let's wait a bit, get a bigger army, and then go after him, and then you be the one who's like on the forefront, because then you would get all the glory type of thing. Verse 12, so shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falls on the ground, and of all the men that are with him, there shall not be left so much as one. Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring robes to that city, and we will draw it into the rivers until there be not one small stone found there. And Absalom and all the men of Israel said the counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. Ouch. I mean, Ahithophel has an eagle too. You know that must have hurt him a lot. For the Lord hath appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom. So he's like, wow, that's actually better. Now Ahithophel, let me just say this, is a weenie. The guy's a really sensitive person. Now, obviously, this is all speculation here, because we don't know why exactly it is that he hung himself. It could be for various reasons. Here are the two main reasons that I think it's either one of these two or both. One, he's just really sensitive, or two, he knows that David's going to win, and if David wins, he's going to get the kingdom, and if he gets the kingdom, Ahithophel shall be tried for treason. He's probably going to be executed. But I think it's just both. I think it's the fact that he knows he's going to die by the hands of David, because he knows that David's a mighty warrior, but I think he also has a hard time with rejection. Because verse 23 says, And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass and arose and got him home to his city and put his household in order. He's like, these are the bills that need to be paid. Here's who gets what. He's given his will and hanged himself and died and was buried in the sepulchre of his father. So this is a great principle here that we need to learn. We need to learn how to receive rejection. I mean, it's a good point, right? I mean, this guy hung himself because he was rejected. And you know what? Sometimes you think you're going to have the greatest idea or the greatest proposition, and then someone just shuts you down for it. Don't be like Ahithophel. Obviously, don't go hang yourself, for sure. But don't even go into a state of depression or whatever because you're rejected. Hey, guys, when you're looking for a prospect to marry and they say no to you, they just don't like you, and you get rejected, don't go hang yourself. Just kind of brush it off your shoulders, you know what I mean? And just kind of move on and say, well, it's her loss. It sucks for her. Just kind of walk away kind of thing. Don't be like Ahithophel. It's just like your world just comes apart. And look, again, this is a big thing, by the way. I mean, the vast majority of what I see on social media, because I always get these videos of powerlifting and people going into the gym and stuff, is like dudes who go lift because they're brokenhearted or something. What do you use for pre-workout? I use this, I use this. And the guy's like, I use a broken heart. What? I thought people were broken hearts. Broken hearts don't even get out of bed or something like that. It's like, I use our former text messages. It's like, you guys sound like wusses. Go use the pre-workout instead. But you have all these people who are young guys. They just are fixated on some relationship that they can't have. They become fixated on this one person, and this one person has rejected them, or maybe God doesn't want them to have that person, or just doesn't work out for whatever reason, and then they just hit the fell themselves. They may not go to the extreme, but they go into this great state of depression where they create an account and just talk about how depressed they are or whatever. Back in my day, when we got rejected, we made it seem as though we rejected them. How'd it go with her? Nah, I didn't like her. Whatever. She had a sixth finger. I'm not really into that. You just make something up or something. I'm just saying, in my day, it's just like, okay, someone rejected you. You just go move on. Now, by the way, I will say this. In order to be rejected, you actually have to go talk to a person face-to-face. Maybe I need to talk about that first, actually. And when I say face-to-face, I don't mean like your phone, like FaceTime, or like in the DMs or whatever. I mean like there's a person there, like the woman is right there, and she has to like, see, I'm telling you, people. I'm telling you, he thought that was crazy. He thought that was a wild idea because this generation thinks it's wild, but it's like you have to be in person. But you know what? You need to be rejected every once in a while. You say, why? Because what does rejection do? What does it cause people to feel? Someone tell me. Discomfort, sorrow, but there's another word I'm looking for here. Humility. You're humbled. Right? You get humbled. Marcus' voice trembled. Humility. You get humbled, and you know what? God gives grace into the humble, right? So it's important that you face rejection well. It's important that you face rejection at your job, with your boss, with people, with your leaders. There has to be some form of rejection because you need to know what it feels like to be wrong. Okay? No consolation prizes in life, my friends. It's not like, well, you know, we're not going to fall out of you, but great job, though. You get an A for effort on that, and you're still great. You need to hear, like, that idea sucked. That's the worst idea ever. You need to come up with something better than that. See, you know, it's just like, you need to hear that sometimes. Because if not, then you're just going to go through life being in a hit the fell, a hit the felling it, you know, just kind of being hurt because you're always rejected, and no one is accepting you. You know, we're accepting in the beloved, amen? Be thankful for that, and build your confidence, and come up with better ideas. Look, I remember when I used to be under my old pastor, my father-in-law, he had no problem. He would take ideas from his staff members, and, you know, it was like Russian roulette giving an idea because if the idea was bad, you would essentially just be, like, embarrassed in front of the entire staff. Okay? You throw in an idea, and it's just like, that's a bad idea. We're not going to do that, no. You know, it's just like, oh, okay, well, I never want to give another idea ever again. You know, or some sort of advice or counsel, what do you think we should do? And then you tell them, and it's just like, no, that was, no. They're not even giving you an explanation. It's just like, no, that's, yeah, what do you think? You know, it's just like, completely ignore yourself. But you need that sometimes. You need someone to just kind of humble you and be rejected, and so young people, don't fear rejection. It's part of life. You know, if you don't get the promotion, you don't get the job, you don't get the girl, you don't get the leadership position or whatever it is, you know, just deal with it and allow it to humble you and to teach you to be a better person. Don't go and be in a hit that fell, okay? And so he gives his counsel. They follow that. He goes and he warns Jonathan Ahimaaz. Actually, he goes and warns Zadok and Abiathar, who are the priests, and the priests tell their sons, who are Jonathan and Ahimaaz, and then they go convey that message to David. And then, of course, you know, he's able to deter the threat that's coming upon him. And I will say this, you know, Hushai, as wise as his counsel was, he still understood there's a possibility that Absalom might follow Ahithophel's counsel, because when he goes to the priest, he basically tells them, like, hey, Ahithophel has it out for you. He has it out for you, and so you need to go run. Even though Absalom already said, like, I'm going to go with your counsel, you know, he's going to play it safe and say, you know what? This is a possibility, though, so you should get going, which kind of shows you let's not put all our eggs in one basket, right? And God's hand was on Ahithophel's counsel, but even then, he was kind of like, you know, just in case it doesn't happen, you need to make sure you protect yourself and do what you need to do to escape out of the hand of Absalom. I'm out of time here, but towards the end of the chapter, we see that David is still being taken care of by the surrounding nations, which shows us that, you know, again, he represents Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. He's a symbolic representation of him. And so just as the Gentiles essentially were ministering to Jesus Christ of their substance, and they were the ones who were really open to him, and also just when the disciples went out to all nations, you know, it was the nations, it was the church at Corinth, it was the church at Philippi that, you know, gave a lot of resources and provided for the needs of many of the believers there, etc. And so great chapter here to show us that Ahithophel is an archetype of Judas and some of the things that we can learn from him. Walk away with this. Don't be an Ahithophel. Don't be this individual who you have some underlying motive. Stay away from the Ahithophels of this life and recognize the buttery speech, the oily speech, and allow those red flags to go up to say, OK, I've got to be careful with this person. He or she might be laying a net before my feet because they intend to do something nefarious based upon their speech. But also, you know, take rejection well. Don't be a person that just gets upset when someone doesn't like your idea, doesn't go with your whatever take or whatever it may be. Just take it in stride and learn from it. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word. So thankful for the examples that we see tonight. I pray that you'd help us, Lord, as your people to have the wisdom that descendeth up from above and not follow the Ahithophels of this life, the influencers of this life who do not have their beliefs from the word of God. They have some other underlying motive. They're trying to make merchandise off the people of God. Or maybe they have some other underlying motive. I pray that you'd help us to be aware of that, to make sure we stay away from individuals like that, Lord. And I pray, Lord, that you'd help us to be like Hushai, that we're able to deliver the right type of wisdom at the right time and to be discreet about it as well. Lord, we love you. We thank you. Pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. We have one last song. Song number 187, Jesus Loves Me. Song 187. Going all together nice and strong. Jesus loves me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong. They are weak, but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so. Jesus loves me, He who died. Heaven's gate to open wide. He will wash away my sin. Let His little child come. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so. Jesus loves me, He will stay. Close beside me all the way. Thou has fled and died for me. I will henceforth live for thee. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so.