Address—Doug Buchanan
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We can open our meeting with him #11 in the appendix.
What hearing words are these? There's weakness. Who can tell in time and to eternal days? Tis with believers well.
#11 in the back of the book.
And.
Cloud like my sister paper.
Of the Lord in prayer.
Gracious God our Father, we thank thee that through the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Thou hast given us an optimistic view of life.
In spite of all that surround us here on earth.
We thank our God and Father that Thou hast sent a man to walk perfectly here on earth, to live a perfect life and give us an example.
Who fought the fight of faith?
And who endured even to the cross in faithfulness?
O our God, we are surrounded by.
Many things that weigh our spirits down.
And we looked at easy for help.
For encouragement.
For that which would raise up our eyes to see.
Where it all ends.
To see the Lord Jesus on high in glory. Not only is the example the author and finisher of faith, but the one who.
Helps us along the way.
Intercedes for us and cares for us.
We're here together at these meetings in our God and.
We believe it's going to be a like a mountain top experience.
But we've been in valleys too, Lord.
And there may be valleys before us to go through to prove thy loving kindness.
To make our faith grow. And so, Lord, we seek for help at this time.
As we look up, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. Amen.
I have it on my heart to speak this afternoon.
On the subject of going through tough times.
I have been reading the book Samuel.
Of King David.
Who was a man?
We had a lot of experiences that are recorded for us.
He was a man of light passions like we.
I know it's wonderful when.
Our feelings and our emotions don't always have to be covered up. And when we can share them.
And when others can partake with us and encourage us.
We look at the life of David. He went through quite a few tests, quite a few hard times.
He wrote more songs than anybody else.
And in those songs.
We have lots to comfort, lots that health.
None of us would probably choose that kind of a life.
By choice.
Wonderful things that God knows how to choose for us.
That's part of the reason we could sing to him like we just sung.
Because we know the one who is in control.
Still, we have to go through those experiences.
And I believe in my own soul, without a doubt.
That the hardest thing that David went through.
Because what we're going to read about.
You know, problems within your own house are the hardest sometimes. Probably the hardest always. The closer to home things are, the more tender we feel them.
And so when his own son rose up against him.
And it would seek to usurp the Kingdom.
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It was a hard thing.
And I trust that as we read through this that I found encouragement myself in that.
Not that there's anything particularly really hard that I'm going through right now, but I know this is so common to us.
And we feel these things.
So if you'll turn with me to Second Samuel Chapter 15, we're going to start going to start by reading a little of the background here rather quickly in the first part of the chapter. But I want to get on to the last half of the chapter to touch on the points that we want to highlight this afternoon.
In Second Samuel chapter 15, beginning with verse one.
And it came to pass after this that Absalom prepared him Chariots and horses and 50 men to run before him.
An Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate. And it was so that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him and said.
Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is one of the tribes of Israel. And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right, but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee.
Absalom said, moreover, Oh, that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice. And it was so that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand and took him, and kissed him. On this manner did Absalom to all Israel.
That came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
And we'll drop down to verse 10.
Uh, but as Salem sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel.
Saying, As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron. And when Absalom went 200 men, and Absalom and with Absalom went 200 men out of Jerusalem, that were called. And they went in their simplicity, and they knew not anything.
An Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gylanite, David's counselor, from his city.
Even from Guyla, while he offered sacrifices and the conspiracy was strong for the people, increased continually with Absalom and there came a messenger to David saying the hearts of the men of Israel.
Are after Absalom, and David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee, for we shall not else escape from Absalom. Make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword.
Now we'll drop down to verse.
23.
And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over. The king also himself passed over the Brook Kidron, and all the people passed over toward the way of the wilderness.
And we'll stop there because the Knicks verse I want to take up individually.
As we.
Consider what is transpiring here in the life of Absalom.
We can look back and think of what must have gone through the heart of the king.
That could cause him to behave the way he did.
When I used to read this story, I always wondered why.
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Did he run away?
Why did he leave the city? Why did he give up that place that God had set him as king? This was at the end of the life of David. Probably write down maybe even the last year of his reign.
Now I have a family.
I have children, grandchildren.
I love them.
And if a situation like this would arise, I do not know how I would behave.
This really tries you to the core.
To deal with the situation like this, what Father is there that is valued to rise up in faithfulness in such occasion as this?
Ben said David was a good king, but he was a poor father. That's partly true, but he was also a good father in one sense. He loved his children.
Perhaps David had not been able to deal with this when it was a small problem. And so it is as we go through life, brethren.
Little things grow, the things that are not dealt with when we, when they begin, are not dealt with and they grow and become big things. But God is faithful and even in his governmental dealings like in this chapter.
I hope that after this meeting is over.
That each one of us is encouraged to trust the Lord in whatever circumstances the Lord may put you into.
Because I believe this story teaches us that those difficult circumstances that God allows.
Our God's way of helping us through and to deal with what He sees we need.
And to bring us along in whatever way God wants to form us, to make us what He wants us to be. We can trust God in his governmental dealings to only allow that which would for the believer, be for good one of our all. All of us will have that favorite verse. All things work together for good.
To them that are called, we believe that.
And yet when the when it comes down to the situation of going through those all things, it's still hard, isn't it? It's still hard.
And so David here.
When there's a rebellion.
And and David had dealt with this young man, Absalom. This wasn't the first attempt of Absalom.
To become someone.
And yet.
It went on and it went on.
And so as David looked back and as he marched out of that city, weeping.
All those thoughts that would come over his soul. I failed here. I did this wrong, I did that wrong. I should have done this and all these kind of things that could come to the mind.
So David leaves the city.
Perhaps he had.
Dealt with the situation that way in the past. I don't know.
It would seem that he couldn't really deal with what needed to be dealt with.
Now I want to get to the verse 24.
It says, And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God, and they set down the ark of God, and Abayas there went up until all the people had done, Pennsylvania passed, passing out of the city.
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And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city.
And if I shall find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again, and show me both it and his habitation. But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee, behold, here am I, Let him do to me, as seemeth good unto him.
I think this is very instructive and lovely to see.
The attitude that the king had toward the ark of God.
And it's he behaves in almost exactly the opposite way.
That earlier on, the Children of Israel had behaved in connection with the Ark when they were fighting against the Philistines and they had lost the battle.
And they suggest that they should take the Ark up with them in the battle.
As if its presence would help them.
There's a difference between the Arc and the person who dwells in the Ark.
This is a very key point here if we only see the arc for.
As a representation of something, then it is an it.
But with David, it was Jehovah God's dwelling place.
And David would not make himself the focal point and use the art to go along and company him.
As if he were more important than the Ark.
Jehovah God.
I hope you see the point I'm making.
I'll tell you what Abraham Lincoln said during the Civil War War to illustrate the point further. When the Civil War was going on, both the North and the South claimed that God was fighting for their cause.
And they went to war in the name of God.
To fight the 'cause that each side thought was right to defend and to stand for. And someone, I'm told, asked President Abraham Lincoln.
Is.
Is God on your side?
How would you answer that?
How do you answer that in your life right now?
Maybe you are going off to college.
Is gone on your side? Maybe you're seeking a job?
Is God on your side? Are you raising a family and have difficulties in your family?
Is God on your side?
President Lincoln was a wise man, a man of thought.
And he said something like this. I can't quote it exactly.
I would never.
Venture to say that God is on my side, but I trust that I am on God's side.
Oh, brethren, the presence of the Lord, is that everything to us?
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It the arc, the dwelling place of God, was of more importance to David.
Than taking it along with him in passing through what he was going to have to do.
You know, sometimes when problems come in our assembly.
Sometimes we can think the best way to handle this is to take up our bags and go somewhere else to worship.
OK.
And there have been those who have been gathered to the Lord's name and strongly believed.
That they were gathered where the Spirit of God would lead them on the ground of the one body, and that this was the place where all believers.
Have the privilege and should be gathered.
I believe that. I believe that many and all, if not all of you believe that too and would seek to practice that. But you know, we get tested on this when there's some problem comes along.
And there have been those who packed up their bags. Now they're saying the Lord is somewhere else where they meet.
Does the lowered accommodate himself that way to the problems? Does he have to change his position?
Of gathering when things get difficult.
Gave the Lord his right place in this problem.
No blaming of God for what allowed here. In fact, we'll notice it later on. He says God sent him.
When a man was speaking evil of David.
Accepting these circumstances from the Lord, this is a great key. This is the first point I wanna make.
In going through problems.
Never get lose the focus of the Lord Jesus.
And where he gathers, and where you have the privilege of worshipping him.
And being a witness that there is one body, by breaking bread there and giving the Lord his rightful place.
So, David?
Gave the Lord his rightful place.
He submitted to the governmental dealings that God was putting him under to have to leave.
I believe every one of us ought to be able to look at our own license, see enough in our lives to say yes, Lord, to whatever circumstances he puts us in.
It's so easy.
To blame someone else.
To say if old brothers so and so hadn't been such a hard nosed person or brother so and so hadn't been so loose in his life.
All of these things the enemy will throw at us when we're down, when we're going through a tough time, when things are not easy.
This is the time, brethren, for us to stand firm.
When the going is hard, it was hard here for David.
While he's facing all of these critical decisions.
All this background of his life. Why, Lord, are you putting me through this? What have I done? What am I supposed to learn? Teach me, Lord, all of these things would be flowing over a soul at such a time as this.
So he says, carry back the ark of God into the city, and if I shall find favor in the eyes of the Lord?
He will bring me again and show me both it and his habitation. Isn't that lovely?
This confidence, this faith that David had in the Lord.
It carried him through.
This difficult day.
Or days.
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Now in.
Verse in verse 26 and.
But if he say, I have no delight in thee, behold, here am I, Let him do to me, as seemeth good unto him.
Let's just change the perspective now a little bit.
God looking down on David and hearing these words, what kind of an answer is God, Jehovah going to give to this man that has this kind of attitude before him?
You don't have to know very much about God.
To know how God would respond to one who had this kind of an attitude.
This is not a man who's saying, Lord, I did everything to do it right, or at least I tried to do everything right.
Now, which plank do you want to stand on today? You want to stand before God as you're going through your difficulties on Lord, I've tried to do everything the best I can. Or do you wanna stand on this plank and say, Lord, if you delight in me, help me through this and bring me back?
There's your choices.
I know where I want to stand.
David, that's standing on Grace.
If he delight in me, oh, the more we get to know the Savior, the more we'll trust Him. And this will help us through these kind of experiences.
Now go drop going on down.
Versus umm.
27.
The king said also unto Zadok the priest, Art not thou a seer? Return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ajay Miyaz.
The son, thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abayathar.
See, I will tarry in the plane of the wilderness until there come word from you to certify me.
Zdog, therefore, antibiotic, carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem, and they tarried there. And David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet and wept as he went up and had his head covered, and he went barefoot, and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up weeping.
As they went up.
Now here we have the second point I wanna call attention to, and that is, I believe, humility.
Weeping, owning their condition as it was.
No justification of what he had done faithfully for the many years as a king.
No arguing with God over why he allowed this to happen.
And it had its effect on the rest of them too.
Isn't this a strange sight? A king leaving a city with a large group of people around him weeping?
Yes.
It is.
I was struck by a comment that someone made recently and some writings that I was reading of concerning who God used to write the scriptures.
You know, we have approximately 40 authors, human authors that God used to pin the scriptures that we read and the comment was made like this.
God seemed to have chosen pretty much the normal run of people to do his work, to write his book and so on. He didn't choose people that were exceptionally a lot better than all the rest.
Nor did he choose those who were poorer or less capacitated to do his work. He took people that were normal.
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That had failures and good points and strong points, and he used them to do his work. And we read through the Bible of the various authors and that is it.
King David himself is one of them.
So God is passing David through this experience, not just because he had failed miserably in the past.
We're gonna notice it towards the end of the meeting how the results of these different ones that.
Came to pass before David at this time.
Uh, and some of some of the evil becomes evident with some and others.
The, uh, deception comes to light others, the kindness is brought out and so on. So things are being brought to light by passing the King and his people through a a set of circumstances.
And God is working with the whole.
For good and blessing in the end.
Solomon was to be the next king, not Absalom.
The stage is being set for the choicest king of all.
Brethren, as we go through life, we're down to the end here. We're at just at the close of this time before the Lord comes and the circumstances that we're going through now, those of us gathered to the Lord's name.
We don't have much to lift up our heads about of what concerning what has happened in the recent years and how strong our testimony is for the Lord.
There's a lot to hang our heads over, there's a lot of failure, there's a lot of weakness, but the Lord is with us and the Lord is preparing.
All of us.
And he's keeping us.
He's guarding us.
He's not letting one little thing happen, but what there's a purpose for it. And so here was with David.
So they are humbled.
Verse 31 and one told David saying Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, Oh Lord, I pray thee, turn the council of Ahithophel into foolishness.
The next point I want to mention is prayer.
It was beyond his power as a king to change the circumstances.
David was well aware of the potential of a wise counselor helping out his son Absalom in his rebellion, and so he offers a prayer.
This is our resource too.
Rare.
Verse 32 And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the mountain where he worshipped God, behold who Shai the architect came to meet him with his coat, ramp, and earth upon his head. Unto whom David said, If thou passest on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me.
But if thou return to the city and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king, as I have been thy father's servant hitherto, so now will I now also be thy servant. Then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. And hast thou not there with these? Zadok and Abayath are the priests. Therefore it shall be that what things soever thou shalt hear.
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Out of the King's house thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abaya through the priest.
Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ah, Honeyes, Zadok's son, and Jonathan Abayathur's son. And by them ye shall send unto me everything that ye shall hear. So who Shield, David's friend came into the city, and Absalom came.
Into Jerusalem. Now I'm not going to comment on all of these verses, but simply to mention.
The the fourth thing here that we characterized out of that David at this time, when he got to the top there of the mouth, he worshiped.
Nothing.
Of problems.
And hard circumstances should hinder us from giving God His rightful place.
I am thankful.
That in the few problems that I have been through in my life.
The Lord has given me to be able to never give up this thing.
Being at the meetings to worship the Lord.
Things can come in that make it hard to go to meeting.
There can be problems there, there can be internal struggles that a soul goes through that make it difficult to be with your brother that you love.
And David, while he was in that kind of a circumstance, he worshipped God.
Was his soul full of troubles? Was he? Was he passing through deep waters? Yes, he was.
You know the Lord Jesus himself in the in the Garden of Gethsemane went through sorrow like no man in contemplating what was before him.
And if we had never been through any kind of a problem like that.
How would we relate to what the Lord Jesus went through to redeem us?
It is a privilege to go through these kind of circumstances in one in one way of looking at it.
When our souls are broken down, When we are overwhelmed.
We can still worship God.
We cannot do that if we blame God for any of our problems.
And that is a pit that the devil will try to throw us into.
No doubt.
And many have fallen into that.
I don't care how bad things get.
Never stop worshipping God.
In your life.
It will keep your soul through the hard times.
The intimacy of what your Savior went through can become more precious to you.
Having gone through that kind of a circumstance.
So we have 4 things here. Before we go on, I want to.
Recount them.
Keeping the Lord in focus the 1St place.
Is so important, making everything how it relates to God. Do not let the enemy put yourself in the center and make everything focus around you. You'll lose your bearings.
Make the Lord your focus. You know what's interesting? Just as I note on this, that in the second word in our assembly back home in Lawrenceville, we are going through the 2nd epistle of John where they have the instructions to the elect lady. And there in that chapter she is instructed as to who she lets in that house. And the test is not whether.
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The person at the door has something that appears good or not.
The test is how does it treat the Lord Jesus Christ, his deity and his humanity?
It's the same thing. The focus, the the criteria point is how does this touch the Lord Jesus Christ?
Does it honor him or does it not? Does it give him his right foot place or not? That's the test. Now, there are other things to consider too, but this is the first Test. This is what the Lord, this is what David is doing here. He's making the God's center in Jerusalem.
The focal point.
2nd humility.
3rd.
Prayer and 4th worship.
I believe these things help David this time.
Now I want to just go on and briefly and the rest of the time go over some of the other people that were involved to see some of the benefits to those around David. Because David as he faced different circumstances, different people that came to him. Now in the following verses, he has to make decisions. Is this a person, a true person or is this false and so on.
And so he is tested and I believe.
In general, the Lord helped David and he made the right decisions even though he didn't know all and there was deception in some cases.
Umm, now we'll drop down in Chapter 16.
Umm uh, and adverse umm.
Well, in verse, just start with verse one down to verse three we'll read. And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Zybid the servant of Mephibosheth, met him with a couple of ***** saddled, and upon them 200 loaves of bread, 100 bunches of raisins, and 100 of summer fruits and a bottle of wine.
And the king said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, The ***** are for the King's household to ride on.
And the bread and the summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine that such be as faint in the wilderness may drink. And the king said, And where is thy master's son? And Zybus said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem. For he said, Today shall the House of Israel restore me the Kingdom of my father. Then said the king to Ziba, Behold.
Thine are all that pertaineth unto Mephibosheth, as Ibis said, I humbly beseech thee that I may find grace in thy sight, my Lord, O King.
Murphy Bishop was the one that David had taken and called up to remind him of his father Jonathan to sit with him at his table, and Mephibosheth had responded to that by sitting at the King's table and so he was a special one for David.
Now you have a serpent who had been given in charge of all of Mephibosheth, and he portrays before the king that Mephibosheth.
Was a trader.
Or gonna go back to his heritage as a family of Saul as if he was going to get the Kingdom now that David was.
No longer the king. Now there's a saying that when the boat sinks, the rats come out.
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It's true that when problems come, you find things that were hidden under come to light.
This is one of the things that God is dealing with.
Maybe not the primary thing, but.
Zyba here now, I don't know. I believe that, uh, Zyba was not speaking honestly here. If you go on to read the end of the story, we're not gonna have time to deal with all of these things. But David later on when when he comes back after Absalom is dead and he comes back into Jerusalem again at Mephibosheth comes out to meet him and then David asked him why he didn't go well.
And so Mephibosheth tells him another story.
And so you have two stories.
Which one was the RO the the true story?
I know which one I believe is true.
But I don't know that.
It's, uh, Scripture plainly tells us.
I believe that, uh, Zyba was slandering here.
But it doesn't look that way, does it? All these goods and all these things here.
Making friends with the right man at the right time. Zyba is here. Was this a true heart?
You see, when these tests come, we oftentimes are faced with this kind of thing. We don't know who's true and who's who's not real.
The Lord has to put us through problems and difficulties sometimes.
To reveal these kind of things.
Eventually Mufibrissa comes back and he's forgiven Zyba and David, it's interesting. I will give you my, my take on that. When, when, uh, when David asked Cyber, uh, when David asked Miss Fibbyshith why he didn't go.
Mephibosheth told him that he had been slandered and and so David says to him, Well, I told Zaida that thou and Zyba divide the land. But that's not what our verse here said.
Our verse here says you take it all. I give you all verse uh, verse 3 here.
What I believe David was doing was testing Mephibosheth. If he was really honest, he wanted to know who was really speaking the truth and so he put a test to Mephibosheth and he said uh I'll give you half and him half. And Mephibosheth answer proves who had the true heart. He says. Mephibosheth says yay, let him take all.
For as much as my king has come in peace again.
He was an occupied with the goods.
It was occupied with the person.
We can attend meeting, we can go along for the goods, for the good atmosphere, for the good food and for the fellowship, the friends that we can find at a place like this.
But there needs to be something more than that, and that is the person that's here, the Lord Jesus.
So that's one thing.
Umm, going on to, umm, in verse, umm, the following verses we have about CMI. I'm not gonna read them, but I'm gonna read verse 10, uh, to see David's answer when Abishai wanted to go up and slay, uh, Shimmyai, who was a Benjamite who was cursing David and throwing dust up in the air and making it a hard time for him.
Notice David's answer.
And the king said, Well, umm, verse 9 Then said Abishai the son of Ziroi, unto the king, Why should this dead dog curse? My Lord the king? Let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head.
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And the king said, What have I to do with you, he sons of Zerwayia? So let him curse, because the Lord hath sent him.
Curse said to him unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so?
And then David goes on.
What a man of faith to be able to accept his circumstances from the Lord in this way. God sent him to curse.
This was true humility. This was true acceptance of what God would put upon the King.
Did did David deserve this kind of a treatment? Well, I'm sure we could reason why he didn't deserve this. No king should be treated this way, and David had had some failures in his past, but it didn't merit this.
David humbly accepts it.
God sent you.
What a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus who went all the way to the cross to be made a curse. David couldn't do that. He couldn't suffer in atonement for our sins. But he could be an example.
And so this is a a great thing to learn to see beyond the second causes.
The hand that moved them.
And so when problems come in our life, let's not be pointing our fingers to our brethren.
Or the one who's God uses to curse or to cause a problem, or throw dust in the air, or whatever.
It's not right that people do that.
But it's not our place in this in such a circumstance to be the one to correct it.
This was corrected later on.
Solomon did it as a wise man, and he did not even put to death Jimmy I because of how he treated David or how he treated Solomon, his son. He put him to death for his own disobedience.
Because he went out of the city when he wasn't supposed to do it.
So.
We, even a king like David, did not take upon himself to set everybody right that he dealt with.
God will do that.
And he did.
And he set David back on the throne again.
Well, there are, there are others. There are strivings over the Benjamites, 3 people and so on. Interesting little details you can see of, uh, how there was a strike and so on.
Well, I trust that this will encourage us to look to the Lord to go through the hard times. In closing, I want to read in Hebrews.
Chapter 10. Uh, these words, uh, trust that they'll be encouragement to us.
Hebrews 10.
Verse 35. Cast not away, therefore, your confidence, which has great recompense of reward. For you have need of patience, that after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise for yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tear.
Great, our God and our Father, we thank Thee for the promises.
Of encouragement to us.