2 SAMUEL 17-18 PURSUE GODS HEART FOR YOUR ROLE IN HIS PLAN2018 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 2 Samuel 17-18 Pursue Gods Heart For Your Role In His Plan

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2018. Well, this evening we're going to be here in 2 Samuel chapter 17. We're going to finish up the chapter and then begin a couple verses into chapter 18 as well.

But let's get started just by reading verses 15 through 22. It's been a few weeks since we've been here because I was gone with my family for so long. So we're jumping in here at this point where David is on the run from his son Absalom. Absalom has claimed the throne, has kicked David out of Jerusalem, and he is

been on the journey, on the road out of Jerusalem for a couple chapters, and we've been kind of slowly working our way down, and that continues today. Now David is still on his way out of Jerusalem. It's still the same day. All those events are happening as we get started, and then we'll see that develop more throughout our passage this evening. So 2 Samuel chapter 17, verses 15 through 22. Here's what it says.

Then Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, thus and so Ahithophel advised Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and so I have advised. Now therefore send quickly and tell David saying, do not spend this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily cross over, lest the king and all the people who are with him be swallowed up.

Verse 18. Verse 18.

Then the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth and spread ground grain on it, and the thing was not known. And when Absalom's servants came to the woman at the house, they said, Where are Hamaz and Jonathan? So the woman said to them, They have gone over the water brook. And when they had searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

Now it came to pass after they had departed that they came up out of the well and went and told King David and said to David, arise and cross over the water quickly for thus has Ahithophel advised against you. So David and all the people who are with him arose and crossed over the Jordan by morning light. Not one of them was left who had not gone over the Jordan. Here in this passage, we see David's flight continue out of Jerusalem and

Now he's finally at the point where he is crossing the Jordan River. And it's not that far from Jerusalem to the Jordan River. It's just a short stretch, a few miles. And so here, you know, it's been a lot of detail on that journey as we've been working our way through. But now David is encouraged to cross over the Jordan for protection because of Ahithophel's advice.

And to remind you of that, Ahithophel's advice was, let's go get David right now, Absalom. Let's go take him out right now before he's prepared, before he has a chance to, you know, get anything ready. We'll just go surprise them and kill David, and then it'll be over. But then Hushai gave contrary advice and said, no, no, don't go fast. Wait slow. Gather the whole army of Israel, and you, Absalom, lead that army. You be in charge. And so that was...

Hushai's counsel, Ahithophel's counsel was to do it right now. And so just in case they would follow Ahithophel's counsel, he sends word to David, hey, you better cross the Jordan because that'll give you a little barrier of protection, give you a little bit of distance and a chance to defend yourself if they do attack.

Now, as we look at this situation develop, and as I was reading through chapter 17 here and on into chapter 18, God really directed my attention to not so much the battle, not so much some of the details that I would normally pay attention to, but what I began to notice was the different roles that

that people played in this process and in this work that was going on. And so as we look at this tonight, I've titled the message, Pursue God's Heart for Your Role in His Plan. And I want to encourage you as we look at these things to consider the different aspects and the different parts that people played in this work because this truly was a work of God.

We see in verse 14, as the different counsel is given by Ahithophel as well as Hushai, it tells us at the end of verse 14, for the Lord had purpose to defeat the good advice of Ahithophel to the intent that the Lord might bring disaster on Ahithophel.

And so this whole situation, you know, we might have a lot of variety of thoughts about how things played out and so on and so forth, but God's at work. He has a plan in the midst of this, a plan for David, a plan for Absalom. He has a plan that he's working out and that is unfolding today.

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for what his plan is and what your role is in that plan. Now, you can consider that in a variety of ways. You can stop and understand that God has a plan for your family. And in his plan for your family, well, there's different types of needs. There's different types of roles that are going to be needed for that plan to be fulfilled and for that work to be accomplished. And so you can pursue God's heart

in regards to your role within the family that God has given to you. God has a plan for living water, and it's appropriate for us to take it before the Lord and consider, Lord, what is your plan, and what is my role? And maybe we don't have the details of the plan, but

We can come before God and understand this is my role. We can be given our assignments by the Lord for the part that he wants us to play in the work that he is doing. Right now we're praying about light the night, right? Coming up in October and the opportunity, the possibility there for an outreach on the 31st again. And we can easily kind of fall into our normal every year roles, but we can also stop and consider maybe thinking

God wants to change that up. And maybe there's a different role that God would have for you. And so it's appropriate to pursue God's heart because there's a lot of different things that are involved in those kinds of events and those kinds of outreaches.

You could be praying about perhaps a new work that God wants to do, a new ministry, something different, something unique, something distinct, something separate than you've done before. And perhaps there is a new role for you in that. You could think about God's plan for whatever it might be. God has his plans. And what we need to do is to be pursuing his heart for those plans and specifically for the part that he wants us to play in

And I know this is stuff that is, you know, familiar to us. And yet it is important for us to reflect on these things that we don't just get stuck in the same role as always, but perhaps the Lord wants to do something new. Remember what Paul told us in Romans chapter 12.

What we see play out in chapter 17 and 18 is the

the things that happen in David's life. And we're looking at the history, but it's interesting to know all the different people that were involved and all the different functions that they had. And there's a good variety of functions that are in operation through this process and through God's work in David's life.

at this time. And so there's one plan, it's one work, it's one body, but it's a variety of functions and it's different people fulfilling different roles in the plan.

Similarly, in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul kind of elaborates on that a little bit and jumping into the middle of his illustration, he says, And if they were all one member, if they all served the same function, did the same thing, where would the body be? And it's important to note there that God is the one who sets the members. Right?

And so that's why we need to pursue God's heart because it's his plan and we need to know what his heart is for us in that plan, in the function that he wants us to serve. And where has he set us?

In the plan for our families. And for the plan for living water. And the plan for light the night. And the plan for you know whatever it is. That we might be involved in. Regarding the Lord and his work in our lives. And so we need to pursue God's heart.

He sets the members. We need to find out what that is, not fight against that, but to live out that role that he has set for us. And so we'll look at six different thoughts and different roles that we'll see throughout this process. And there's many more that could be considered. It's not meant to be this is every role that exists, but just to kind of get the wheels turning and give you opportunity to pursue God's heart regarding these things and in his plans.

So, first of all, we're going to look at verse 15 and 16 for the first role, and that is information roles. And it's plural because, well, there's different types of information and different types of roles regarding that. But looking again at verse 15 and 16, here's what it says. Then Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar the priest, thus and so Ahithophel advised Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and so I have advised Absalom.

Here in verse 15 and 16, we get to see Hushai fulfilling his role. And David defined his role in 2 Samuel chapter 15 when David was first on his way out of Jerusalem and Hushai tried to go with him and David said no.

It would be much better for me if you stay in Jerusalem. Because I've heard Ahithophel is there in Jerusalem advising Absalom. And Ahithophel was known for his great wisdom. And so it would be better for me, Hushai, if you stayed back. Part one of your role, defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. In verse 34 of 2 Samuel 15 says,

David says that you may defeat the council of Ahithophel for me. That's your role. You're going to stay behind. You're going to infiltrate the enemy's camp. And you're going to be contradicting the advice and casting down the advice and the council of Ahithophel on my behalf. And so he was bringing...

misinformation or disinformation. He was there to, you know, defeat the counsel that was being given by Ahithophel. But at the same time, he's also there to gather information, to gather intel. You know, it's like, you know, he's a secret agent and that way he's uncovering the enemy's plots and plans in order to deliver that information. And

In verse 35 of 2 Samuel 15, that's what David tells him. You have Zadok and Abiathar the priest, and whatever you hear from the king's house, you need to pass on to them. And so he was there to gather information, to cast down the information and the counsel of Ahithophel, and to gather information to keep David up to speed on the things that are going on.

In the work of God and in the plan of God, there is going to be some roles for things regarding information, for gathering information. Now, let me give you just a couple examples. So one first and foremost pretty clear example, I think, is it involves prayer and a direct hearing from the Lord. And so if you're praying for God's plan for your family, you're going to be hearing from the Lord.

Well, there is a role of getting information from God about what that plan is, what he wants for your family. And somebody has to fill that role. Somebody has to hear from the Lord about your family.

Who fills that role? Who receives from the Lord his word and his direction for the family? And so spending time with God and hearing from the Lord is an opportunity, is a way to fulfill this role and to get information about what's going on, to be informed. And maybe you're not the one to necessarily act on that information, but

But the Lord is speaking to you about it. You're getting the information so that others in other roles and other functions can take that and use that according to what God desires. An information role may involve actual research. I was thinking about, and I don't know if I actually have his name right, but I think it's his name, David Wilkerson.

the cross and the switchblade, that guy, right? Yeah. So, you know, they had it on their heart. The Lord called them to reach out to, you know, these gang members and stuff. And there was some information that needed, we needed to find out where they hang out, who are they with, you know? And there was information that was gathered there.

Sometimes it's just very basic research, you know, some scouting out, you know, think about the 12 spies being sent into the promised land. They were filling this information role. They're just, they're going to scout out the land to find out the details, to find out the limits and the boundaries and what it's like. And many times in God's plan, there's a role for someone to go get information, go find out.

Sometimes it's from the Lord. What is the Lord saying? Sometimes it's just actual, here's the demographics. Here's the geography. Here's the statistics. Here's, you know, how this works. Maybe the Lord would, you know, want to do something. Let's just, I'm just throwing out examples. So, you know, ministering to those who are depressed.

Maybe that's a ministry. Well, you need to get some information. There needs to be someone who understands depression, understands how that works, understand how the system works, understand how the doctors and the hospitals operate, understand how, you know, those things work together. There's a need for information to be gathered, to be collected, for research to be done. If God's going to perhaps get you involved with some missionary opportunity,

Well, someone needs to get some information about what are the local customs? What are the laws? What's allowed? What's not allowed? How can we do this? And what are they going to understand? And so on and so forth. And there's just that gathering of information in order to take the next steps, in order for other functions to...

to operate. Maybe it's going to involve maintaining relationships, staying in contact with people, just to stay in touch and know and understand what's going on. I think a good example of this is like what we do for the missionary of the month. There's an information role. Someone connects with the missionary and

Finds out what are your needs, what is God doing, and then that information is given to us, the body, and then we can pray with them for those needs. And so this is a role that oftentimes God will use in his plans. Now, God could just supernaturally speak to everybody all the information and there'd be no need to gather it or collect it or, you know, but that's just not usually how God chooses to work. Instead, he picks someone and says, you, fulfill the information role.

Go find out what's going on. Do some research. Do some digging. Discover what it is that is there, what it is that is happening. And so there's an opportunity for us to pursue God's heart for our role. Does he call us to be the one gathering information?

for your family, for living water, for light the night, for the youth retreat perhaps, or for some new ministry or some new mission trip. What is the Lord called you to do? What is your role in his plan? Moving on to verse 17 through 22, here we see the messenger roles.

In verse 17, it tells us, So now we see a chain of messengers that are involved. It's Hushai who's gathering the information. Then he tells the priests, the priests,

have their sons who eventually go to David but they can't

with their sons because Absalom is watching them. And so then they pass that information on to a female servant who then passes the information on to Jonathan and Himaz. And then they bring that to David. And so there's this chain of messengers that are involved in this plan and what God wants to do. Now, again, God could just speak to David. David, here's what Ahithophel said to Absalom. Here's what the plan is. Here's how it's all going to work out.

but God didn't work it that way. And he usually doesn't. Oftentimes as he's at work, he's going to have people involved and maybe it's a group of people. Maybe it's a chain of people. Maybe it's a variety of different methods that God might use, but there's going to be this passing on of a message. Some messengers that will be sent forth in verse jumping down to verse 21.

It says,

And so the message comes to David. David, you need to cross the Jordan right now. Don't camp out here on this side. Get over to the other side because there is an imminent danger. Now, David, we know he was a man who often heard from God. He could have just heard from God. Cross over the Jordan. He didn't just hear from God. He heard from God through Hushai, through the priests, through the female servant, through the

the sons, Jonathan and Ahimez, who gave him the information, who gave him the instruction to cross over. And the Lord brought forth his message this way to fulfill his plan. And many times, this is how God works. I was thinking about the Apostle Paul and how he would often have his messengers, right? In 1 Corinthians 4, verse 17 says,

He tells the Corinthians, for this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ as I teach everywhere in every church. He sends Timothy as a messenger to remind the Corinthians of the things that Paul had taught them.

Timothy is there not to come up with a new message, not to deliver something different or unique or come up with his own insights or anything like that. But Timothy is there as Paul's messenger to teach them the things that Paul teaches everywhere and in every church. When it comes to the Thessalonians, Paul told the Thessalonians, I was really disappointed

about you guys. I only got to spend a little bit of time with you. And so when I could no longer endure it, I sent Timothy so that I could find out about your faith. So he's a messenger who gathers information, fulfilling roles one and two here of the examples we're looking at tonight. But so Timothy would go collect the information and then bring it back to Paul.

Paul that he would be able to pray with them and minister to them and write 2 Thessalonians to address their questions. And you get the point that there's those connections. And maybe instead of messenger, you could think about relationships and that connecting with people and building some bridges or some relationships is appropriate to consider in that as well. And so

in the plans of God, there is a need, there is an opportunity for there to be some messengers, for there to be those who collect the information or pass on the message, for those who are establishing those relationships in order to bring forth what it is that needs to be brought forth and

And so as you consider your family and God's plan for your family, there's a need for a messenger. There's a need for God's message to be brought, not just the information to be gathered or known, but for the message to be brought. The message that came to David wasn't just, here's all the data, but it's cross the Jordan, right? It's a message. It's some instruction and direction from the Lord in that way. And in a similar way, we need to have a

those messengers involved in the plan of God, because God chooses to use us, his people, to deliver his messages to our families. What is God's plan for living water? Well, we need some messengers. We need some people who are willing to connect and share and speak. And if you think about, so again, just throwing out some examples, light the night.

The messenger role, you know, one opportunity, one function of that perhaps is, you know, to be spreading the word to neighborhoods, to communities, to people around us and giving the invitation and, you know, inviting people to come and participate.

for the youth retreat. Maybe the role is more of a social media role, and it's not so much a physical knock on doors, but there's an opportunity there to bring forth a message and to connect with people and engage with people in what it is that God is doing. And you can consider that for

God's plan for a new ministry perhaps, or some new endeavor, or some new work, or some, and the list goes on and on. Whatever God's plan is, he's going to be connecting people through it. And so there is that opportunity to be a messenger and to fill that role in the plan of God.

Well, staying within those same verses, verses 18 through 20, we'll take a look at here and consider some support roles. In verse 18, it says, Nevertheless, a lad saw them and told Absalom. But both of them went away quickly and came to a man's house in Baharim, who had a well in his court, and they went down into it. Then the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth and spread ground grain on it, and the thing was not known.

And when Absalom's servants came to the woman at the house, they said, where are Ahimez and Jonathan? So the woman said to them, they have gone over the water brook. And when they have searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

As hard as they tried to be undercover, they were not that great of spies and they were spotted. And so a young lad, one of Absalom's servants, sees these two spies, Jonathan and Ahimaz, as they're on their way to bring the message to David. But they see him see them, so they go and hide. And they go to this particular house and

And this particular house has a well. And so they go down inside the well in order to hide. And the woman of the home...

helps out, contributes. She spreads a cloth over the mouth of the well. So it just looks like, you know, there's nothing there. It's just flat ground and spreads grain on it. Like, hey, this is, we're processing grain here. We're drying grain here. And so, you know, it hid. Unless you knew that the well was there, you wouldn't know that there was a well there. And so as the servants of Absalom come and investigate, they're

They don't find these men of David. They don't find these two spies, the messengers. And so they go on their way. But of course, it's interesting in verse 20, they ask her, well, where'd those guys go? And she said, well, they've gone over the brook.

And they've already left and they've crossed and so they've gone already. And it's an interesting thing to consider because as you look at this, you can understand they're in the well. They haven't crossed over the brook yet. So here's this woman who's lying to these guys and it raises some questions which I'm not going to like try to resolve.

But just to consider with you for a second. So here's this woman, first of all, and I put her in a support role because she's not a soldier. She's not on the battlefield with David. She's not a messenger. She's not the one, you know, carrying or delivering the word. She's not the one gathering information. What she is doing is she is helping someone else fulfill their role.

And so it's a support role. It's someone who's come alongside and she is helping these guys fulfill their role to bring forth the message to David. Now in the process of that, she tells a little white lie. And as you consider this and

Look over this. There's a lot of thoughts that you could consider. Of course, you probably are reminded a little bit of Rahab, right? Rahab told a similar lie. And we see that in the book of Joshua chapter 2.

And yet, even though she lied, you know, God still saved her and her family. So apparently lying isn't the unpardonable sin, if that's the case. And so we see that, you know, there was some mercy there perhaps. And there's a little bit of debate about whether or not it was okay for this woman to mislead these guys, to tell this lie to these guys. And it's interesting to consider. I remember Pastor David Hawking.

And when I was going to Bible college, so many years ago now, but he was, I don't know why, we were in Romans, probably in 9, 10, 11, talking about Israel. But he got into this discussion about World War II and hiding the Jews. And, you know, there were people who the Nazis would come and knock on the door and, you know, hey, where are the Jewish people that you're hiding? And the people, the Christians would say, there are no Jews here.

when there were Jews hiding, you know, in the back room. That they would lie direct, you know, to the soldiers in order to hide the Jewish people in the midst of the war. And if you want to get involved in that, there's all kinds of, you know, debates and discussions about whether or not that's okay. Whether or not

God would allow that or God would approve of that and all of that. But I remember it because he had a very strong opinion that, look, there's a higher law. You're protecting someone's life, so that's more important than saying the exact truth at

at the time. And it was very hotly debated amongst, you know, the college students who knew everything at that time. And so I remember that, you know, there was a lot of discussion on the campus about whether or not that was okay, whether or not God allows that. And again, I don't bring all this up to say here's all the right answer, but there is some room for discussion. I would suggest that there's a little bit of room for that kind of consideration. If you think about the difference between murder and killing,

I mean, killing is involved in both, but murder is wrong because of what's happening in the heart and the motivations and the purposes behind it. And so perhaps there's a little bit of room for you to lie. Now, I'm not encouraging you to lie. You're not facing life and death situations, probably, but

But, you know, if you can't lie a little bit, then it'd be impossible for us to throw Harvey a surprise birthday party. Because, you know, you got to be able to mislead a little bit. And when does that become wrong? I mean, we would all agree, hey, throwing a surprise party and telling Harvey, hey, we're going to do something else, but really we're going to do that. Well, you know, that's not really a lie and God wouldn't condemn that, right? So where does it cross the line? And

You can wrestle with that a long time if you'd like to, but I would suggest it this way. It crosses the line when you're no longer pursuing God's heart. When it's for some other purpose, when it's your own desires, when it's your own thoughts, when it's your own ways, your own wills, your own, whatever. When it's no longer pursuing God's heart, if God wants to throw Harvey a surprise party, hey, game's on, man, whatever he wants. Remember God told Abraham, take your son and go sacrifice him.

But God wasn't going to actually have him sacrifice him. But that's what he told him at the time to get him where he needed to be to reveal his heart. And that's allowed. God could do that. Was that a lie? Well, hey, you can wrestle with that and debate about that if you want to. But the point is, it comes back to pursuing God's heart. Where's your heart? And where's God's heart on the matter? So here we have this woman and her role was to

Just provide some support for these other guys who are doing their role. And in a similar way, you can be going before the Lord to pursue his heart for his plan in your family. And maybe his plan for your family is not for you to have maybe a direct, you know, front lines type of role, but

But maybe your role is to support and to help someone else who is to be involved in a more direct and front lines kind of way.

God's plan for living water as you pursue his heart. Maybe, you know, that it is a direct, you know, role and front lines position that God has for you. Or perhaps it is primarily to support others who are doing the work and you're able to come alongside and help. For Light the Night, for the Youth Retreat, for a new ministry, you know, whatever it might be. I would suggest, you know, driving to the Youth Retreat. If you're

Maybe you can't stay for the whole battle, and battle is the appropriate word for a youth retreat, right? Maybe you can't stay for the whole battle. Your place isn't on the battlefield with all those junior high and high schoolers, but driving youth to the youth retreat can be an important part of that support that is necessary, that is needed in helping to fulfill the plan that God has set.

And of course, as we think about support, prayer is one of those great things. And I referenced it earlier, Romans chapter 15, verse 30, Paul says, I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the spirit that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me, that we have the opportunity to fight on the battlefield.

even if we're not on the battlefield with our missionaries, with one another, with Richard who's home not feeling well. We can be part of that spiritual battle in prayer. And so that role of support that we can provide through prayer can be a powerful one and is a valid role for God to give us. And so pursue God's heart. Is that his heart for your role in different aspects of his plan that you're involved with?

So we have the support roles, the messenger roles, the information roles. As we continue on and look at verse 23, here I'll kind of change up the point a little bit and just say that all roles require selflessness.

So this isn't a look at a particular role, but this is just a look at this man Ahithophel and a reminder that when we're talking about pursuing God's heart, we're talking about his plan, his heart, what he wants. And when we lose sight of that and are trying to accomplish our plan and our heart for what we want, well, things go sideways and south pretty quickly. Verse 23 says,

Now when Ahithophel saw that his advice was not followed, he saddled a donkey and arose and went home to his house, to his city. Then he put his household in order and hanged himself and died. And he was buried in his father's tomb. Here we see the sad and tragic end to Ahithophel.

He was David's friend and counselor for many years. He was hurt by David, probably in the whole situation with Bathsheba and Uriah because of his relationship. They were family. And so that's probably what happened. And his heart turned bitter against David. And so now he joined with Absalom to try to defeat David and kill David. And he was out to get David. And

What he wanted, his heart, his plan was for David to be put to death. But his heart, his plan was contrary to God's plan. But he did his best. He worked as hard as he could to get his own plan accomplished. And when he saw that it failed, he went home, he put all his affairs in order, wrote out his will, and then hanged himself. This, well, it's the results of selfishness, of pursuing our own hearts.

When we're trying to pursue our plans and accomplish what we want, and it's contrary to God's heart, it is going to be an exercise in frustration and depression. It's going to end up maybe not in this exact place,

uh, same, you know, practical scenario, but in a similar way, it's going to end up in death. It's going to end up in tragedy when we try to fight against God's plan. And so whatever God's plan is and whatever role that he has appointed for us, understand first and foremost, it's going to require selflessness. Now you think about God's plan.

And you could easily think about, wow, that's a cool plan, God, and assign yourself a role, right? And it's maybe your favorite role, the role that you prefer, the role that you want, the role that you desire, the thing that you want to see happen, the way that you want to see it played out. And as we consider the different roles in God's plan, understand it's not yours to assign. You don't get to choose the role that you have.

Remember again, 1 Corinthians chapter 12, it says God sets the members in the body as he pleases. It's his choice. He sets the roles. And so we need to be careful that we're looking at these roles in a selfless way. This is not about me and what I want and what I get out of it and what I can, you know, my ideas and my plans and what I think should happen or could happen or my wisdom or my experience. This is not about me. This is about God. What is God's

plan and what does he want for us? I was thinking about this this past week when I saw this article come across my news feed from Christianity Today. The title of it is, If You Really Want to Help After Hurricane Florence, Set Out to be Humble, Not a Hero. And it's

preparing people already, you know, as there is oftentimes relief efforts and those who want to jump in and help. And that is good and desirable, but it also is highlighting that there is the issue that some people jump in and help because not so much that they want to help, but because they

There's that desire to be a hero and they go on and talk about that. But I like the first line of the article. It says, leave the cape at home before leaping into action because it's humble hearts and hands that are needed.

to save the day. And they go through in this article to talk about some steps and some things to reflect on. Knowing your motivation. Why do you want to help? What's driving you? Why is it that, you know, you're stepping in at this time? Understanding your strengths and weaknesses. That you have strengths, you have weaknesses, and understanding those is an important part of evaluating what's your objective here? What is it that you're wanting to get involved for? And

And the third thing they said to consider is don't assume that you know the best way to help. And a lot of times as we jump into things, it's because, well, I know what to do and they should just listen to me. And if only I was in charge, everybody would have an awesome life. And we, of course, know that's not the reality, but we still many times assume we know the best way to help. They go on to encourage you to be a team player and admit when you make mistakes. But

My point this evening is all roles require selflessness. And so if you are going to be involved in some relief efforts, it's not going to be for you to be glorified. At least that's not God's plan for you. It's going to be for you to be humble.

for you to die to yourself, to set your needs and desires and wants aside in order to fulfill God's plan and what he desires. And that's the model that Jesus set for us. Harvey referenced it earlier as well in Mark chapter 10, as the disciples are arguing about, you know, who's going to be the greatest and such. Jesus says, it shall not be so among you.

But whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. And then he gives himself as the example. For even the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Jesus, the most important person who, you know, had the right to selfishness more than anybody else,

Said, I didn't come for that. I didn't come to meet my own needs. I came to serve. And that's the example for us. Now, he doesn't rebuke that, hey, you want to be a hero? He doesn't say, shame on you. He says, if you want to be great...

Here's how to be great, and that is to become the servant, to become the slave. Die to yourself, lose your life that you may find it in Christ, and so on and so forth. And so all roles in the work of God, in the plans of God, require selflessness. We have to lay down our desires and what we want and submit ourselves to what God wants, his plans, his heart. And so that's why, again, pursue God's heart.

for your role in his plan. Because whatever he calls you to, it's going to require some selflessness. It's going to require some death to self. It may be the role that you always hoped and dreamed for, and it may be the role that you always hoped and dreamed God wouldn't call you to. And either way is just as valid, and God may, you know, call you to that. So it requires that willingness to be humble, to be selfless, and to submit to the Lord in that way.

Moving on to verses 24 through 29, we get the fifth point, and that is hospitality roles. There are different kinds of roles, and some of them involve just some meeting of practical needs and providing hospitality. First, in verses 24 through 26, we see the preparations for battle. In verse 24, then David went to Mahanaim, and Absalom crossed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him. And Absalom made Amasa captain of the army instead of Joab.

This Amasa was the son of a man whose name was Jethro, an Israelite, who had gone into Abigail, the daughter of Nahash, the sister of Zeruah, Joab's mother. So Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead. And so we're seeing the camps begin to develop. The battle lines start to be formed. David now is across the Jordan in a city and kind of a little bit north of where he crossed over, north of Jerusalem in Mahanaim.

And so he's camped out there. And then Absalom is crossed over the Jordan. Also, he's preparing. He's put Amasa in charge of the army in Joab's place because Joab is with David. Joab and Amasa are related. And so it gives all the details about that in verse 25. And so now they're both camped out. The battle lines are prepared. But before the battle actually happens in verse 27, it says, now it happened.

When David had come to Mahanaim, that Shobi, the son of Nahash, from Rabbah of the people of Ammon, Makir, the son of Amiel, from Lod-debar, and Barzillai, the Gileadite from Rojalim,

brought beds and basins, earthen vessels and wheat, barley and flour, parched grain and beans, lentils and parched seeds, honey and curds, sheep and cheese of the herd, for David and the people who are with him to eat. For they said, the people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.

So before there's a battle, the battle lines are starting to form, but before it moves on into that, it stops to just reflect on these three guys. You can do some interesting studying about these three guys. We do know a little bit of information about each one of them mentioned in other passages of scripture. And if you want to dig into that, it's a kind of an encouraging and fascinating thing to consider their backgrounds. But here we have these three guys.

Their role is not on the battlefield. They're not in Jerusalem getting information. They're not bringing forth a message. They're just looking at all these people who are with David and saying, they're hungry and they're thirsty and the ground's hard and they're not getting much sleep. And so they come and they bring beds and

They're hauling mattresses. And some of these guys, there's three of these guys, but one of them is quite old. And so here's this old guy, you know, carrying a mattress. And, you know, just to minister. He's being selfless, you know, just to provide a bit of rest to one of the soldiers.

Bringing some earthen vessels and some basins for them to be able to wash and cook and just very practical things. As well as food, the different kinds of barley and flour and grains and lentils and even some sweets with honey. All of these things that are just very practical things and that's why I referred to it as hospitality because it's just meeting some very real practical needs for people who are out there

in the preparation for the battle. And so there is the opportunity for this. Now God could have sent ravens instead of these three guys, right? He provided for the prophet that way. And so it could have been like that, or God could have just, you know, rained down manna for the soldiers, but he didn't choose to do that. He chose to use three guys to accomplish his plan, which was to provide these resources, these necessities for,

for the people, the soldiers who are about to battle. When Jesus sent out the 12 disciples, he specifically commanded them, don't provide for yourself. Instead, in Matthew chapter 10, verse 9, he said, provide neither gold, nor silver, nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs, for a worker is worthy of his food. And so when he sends out the 12, he says, look, don't provide for yourself. That's not your role.

Remember, who gets to set the rules? God gets to set the rules. Your role is not to provide for yourself. Now, later on, he says, okay, if you have a tunic or extra tunic, if you have a money bag, take it. So the roles can change depending on the plan, depending on, you know, the instance and what God wants to do. But there in Matthew 10, he says, that's not your role. You go and let the people provide for you.

And so sometimes these roles, it's important to understand our role, but it's also many times important to understand what's not our role. And we don't try to do things that God hasn't called us to do. But this is one thing that they would go and other people would fill that role. They would stay at people's houses. They would be fed. And that was part of the plan that the Lord had in sending out those 12 disciples.

We see this worked out also in the life and ministry of the apostle Paul as he writes to the Philippians, thanking them for their gift. And he says, you sent aid once and again for my necessity. Several times you've done this. You've shared abundantly with me. And it's interesting to note verse 17, not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Similar to in prayer, how we can participate and strive together in

in fulfilling the hospitality role, there is a joining together and there's a fruit that abounds to our heavenly account as we fill this role. And so it's not, you know, a division of roles in that one is more glamorous or more important or more special as far as God is concerned, that it's just different aspects to his plan. And we all have different parts to play and there's rewards all along the way for those who fulfill the role that God has given to them.

And so pursuing God's heart for your role in his plan. What's God's plan for your family? And what's the role that he's assigned to you? And perhaps you want the preaching role to your family. You want to be the one to tell all your family what they're supposed to do, but maybe you're just supposed to give them a good meal and a good place to stay and a good night's rest. And maybe that's what the role that God's given to you. And let that be the role. And then don't try to take on other roles that God hasn't given to you.

Or maybe that's not your role. And maybe, you know, your family would thank you if you'd stop trying to cook them meals. And that's certainly the case for me, right? It's just, it's not my role. And so I've learned to not try to fill that role because I'm not good at it. But sometimes God's going to call me to it anyways. And then I need to pursue God's heart and fulfill that role and provide hospitality in that way. What's God's plan for living water? And there is a need for just some nourishment.

needs being met, you know, for some basic hospitality and welcoming and meeting of practical needs. As we think about as we're heading into, you know, holiday season and we often will do the Thanksgiving baskets or do something special for Christmas. Maybe there's a role that God wants us to play. Maybe that's a plan that he has. Maybe it's not, but if it is,

there will be those who will have that role, and is that God's heart for you? God's plan for light the night. God's plan for the youth retreat. God's plan for a new ministry. God's plan for some other work or something in your life. Whatever it may be, pursue God's heart, and you can specifically consider the role of hospitality if God has that for you. Well, then there's battlefield roles.

There's a variety of different ways that God will use soldiers and various ranks of the soldiers. We're going to jump now into chapter 18 and just look at verses 1 through 4 to finish up our time together this evening. In verse 1 it says, And David numbered the people who were with him and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. Then David sent out one-third of the people under the hand of Joab.

Verse 1.

Then the king said to them, whatever seems best to you, I will do. So the king stood beside the gate and all the people went out by the hundreds and by the thousands. Now as they prepare and that's the final step before the actual battle takes place, David numbers the people. He's a wise man who knows war and knows battles. And so he has to start with some, well, information. Let's find out how many are with us.

And there is some organization that's necessary. And so David is involved in the battlefield. We'll see he wants to go in the battlefield. I just realized all those say 1 Samuel. I'm sorry. Those are all 2 Samuel, those points. If you're writing them down, don't write them down wrong. I apologize. 2 Samuel. Anyways. Okay. So David, someone failed on the information role or is the messenger role and putting the slides together. I'm not sure.

But David numbers the people. He figures out, okay, here's how many we have. And then he begins to organize them. He groups them into hundreds and then thousands and then divides the whole army into thirds. And so you have captains or leaders over different groups of people, different amounts of people with various capacities and various responsibilities and so on and so forth. And so on the battlefield, there's roles for leaders over many, many, many people.

And there's roles for leaders over a few, over less, over just a couple. And then also what's not really highlighted necessarily is so there's these captains over hundreds and thousands and over a third. But the bulk of this army is the people who are not the captains. It's the soldiers. And they have their role also. So you have the soldiers...

who have captains over them. And you have captains who have captains over them. You have captains who have captains over them. And then the generals who are over them. And then David who is over them. So there's this structure. There's this organization. There's these roles that are given to the soldiers on the battlefield. And so this is how the Lord organizes things.

He appoints leaders and he gives, you know, this kind of structure to his work and to his plans as well. And there are those that we are to be submitted to. And even when we are leaders, there are those that we are to be submitted to as well as those that we are to lead and so on and so forth. And so there's these different roles on the battlefield of soldier, of captain and captains of, you know, various degrees, right?

And then there's also the possibility that God doesn't have you on the battlefield at all. And David wasn't ready for that yet. But in verse 2, at the very end of the verse, the king said to the people, I also will surely go out with you myself. I'm going to, okay, I'm dividing it between you three, but I'm going out into the battle with you guys. And in verse 3, it tells us that people say, no, no, no, that's not a good idea. Because this whole battle is about you, David. And

This was not a battle against the Philistines for territory. This was a battle between David and Absalom. And so if David's on the battlefield, he's the target. He's the focus. Everybody focuses. They say, look, if 10,000 of us die, they don't care as long as they get to kill you. No, we need to protect you. It's better for you. It's better for us for you to be in the city where we can focus on the battle and not be so concerned about you. It's better you can help us more by just staying back in the city.

And so as much as you want to be on the battlefield, that's not what's best for you and it's not what's best for the rest of us soldiers and captains. And the admirable thing here in verse 4 is we see that David submits to that. So here's David, the general in charge of the generals, in charge of the captains, in charge of the captains, in charge of the captains, in charge of the soldiers. Here's David submitting to the counsel of his advisors and

The king said to them, whatever seems best to you, I will do. So the king stood beside the gate and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands. Pastor David Guzik says, David was not stubborn. He knew how to submit to the good advice of others. He practiced good leadership by listening to the wise advice of the people around him. And so here we have David as a good model for us. On the battlefield, there's a variety of roles. On the day of an event, there's a variety of roles.

Sometimes our roles are as soldiers where we're just doing what we're told. Sometimes our roles are as captains where we have people that we are responsible for and we need to lead and to help them fulfill their role. And sometimes we have captains over us and we are submitted to those authorities that God has placed over us. And sometimes our role is on the sidelines and that's not where we want to be.

But maybe that's the role that God has apportioned for us. Again, it's not what we want. It's not what we desire. It's not our heart. It's God's heart for the role in his plan. And that role may change. It wasn't that long ago that David got in trouble because he should have been on the battlefield, but he wasn't. So his role was to be the commander, the general, you know, on the battlefield back a few chapters earlier with David.

with the battle that was going on, but he stayed back and then he saw Bathsheba and then, you know, that started this whole chain of events that leads us to where we are today. But that was his role then and he wasn't on the battlefield. Now for this battle, his role is to not be on the battlefield. That's different for this battle. And again, it gives that opportunity, that reminder that our roles may change. It depends on God's plan. And so we need to pursue God's heart.

And we can approach an event. We can approach a church service and just fulfill the role that we always fulfill. We can approach a family gathering and just, well, this is what I am. I'm the grumpy uncle or whatever. That's the role that I fulfill. But there's the need for us to pursue God's heart. What's God's plan for your family? What's God's plan for this family gathering, for this occasion, for this event? And what's his heart for your role in that?

How does he want to use you as part of his work for your family or for living water or for light the night or for the youth retreat or for some new ministry or work or some other thing that God's been speaking to you about that he has a role for you. He has a variety of roles that he'll use to accomplish his purposes, but you need to find out from him. What is it that he wants, whether it's the role of gathering information and

getting the insights and collecting that data and doing the research or bringing forth the message and sending out invitations and connecting with people and building relationships and bridges in that way or just helping others and providing support so that other people can accomplish what it is that God has called them to do or maybe it's hospitality and just meeting some practical needs and helping people be able to get a good night's rest and to be fed or

Maybe it's to be on the battlefield and to do some actual battle, to do some leading, to do some submitting. Whatever the case may be, all of the above, though, requires selflessness. It requires that humility and for us to be submitted to the plan of God. And all of this may change for each event, for each gathering, for each occasion. And so, again, the point is we need to pursue God's heart. What does God want to do? And what's my part in

in it. And so Jonathan's going to help us spend some time with the Lord and pursue his heart a bit. And so...

I would encourage you as he leads us in this worship song to be in prayer. What's God's plan for your family, for the church, for light the night, for the youth retreat, for the holidays, for whatever else he may be stirring up within you. I would extend that even to say, what's God's plan for tonight? And as usual during this time, if the Lord's prompting you and leading you, maybe he wants to use you as a messenger,

to pray for someone, to bring forth something that he's put upon your heart, or maybe as a support to pray and encourage someone, or maybe it's just for you to sit here tonight and just pursue his heart and think about, pray about, lift up the things that are going on and what role he wants you to have in that. And so let's take some time and just pursue God's heart this evening to close our time together.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.