Competing Kingdoms (2 Samuel 2:1-3:5)

[Music] Welcome to the Green River Bible Church podcast, where each week we take a look at a scripture passage from God's Word. If you'd like to find out more about us, you can find us on the web at www.greenriverbible.com or you can find us on Facebook @GreenriverBibleChurch. Thanks for joining us today as we take a look at this scripture passage from God's Word. [Music] Our God would thank you. This morning that we can gather and worship you, Lord, you are good. Your name is worthy to be praised by your people in this assembly. So, Lord, now as we turn to your Word, I pray that you would open our hearts and our minds to understand what we're going to be discussing this morning that your name may be glorified through our hearing and obeying the Word. We love you, Father, and we commit this time to you in Jesus' name. Amen. I love college football, but one of the criticisms of it that I think is deserved is that in the early season, usually the first three games, you get what I like to call "gimme games." And these are games where the big universities will contact smaller universities and often a huge paycheck to basically come to their home stadium and just get the snot knocked out of them. We know how these games are going to end, but we watch them anyway. We know they're pretty much just scrimmages with the rare occasion that the big team that cut the check loses the game, but for the most part, we're pretty sure we know how it's going to happen. So this season Ohio State opens up against the ball state, and if you don't know who ball state is, that's exactly the point that I'm trying to make. We know how it's going to end, but we're going to watch anyway. I'm going to watch if you want to watch with me, of course you're invited to do so. But likewise, we see in our text this morning two rival kingdoms who are going to serve as an image for us of the kingdom of God and then the rival kingdom of the world that faces inevitable defeat. So we're going to examine this and see what it means for us as members of God's kingdom and how God's kingdom ought to shape our lives in a message I have titled "Competing Kingdoms." So if you have your Bibles, your tablets, or your smartphones, we're going to be in second Samuel 2, and we're going to look at verses 1 through chapter 3, verse 5. So a big chunk of text this morning. Now last week we saw David responded to the death of Saul, and we talked at length about how this response was really rooted in how David lived out his life in light of God's promise. The present reality that he lived in, that we live in is set against the backdrop of the coming kingdom of God. So for the Christian, our future hope shapes our present reality. And I want us to keep this in mind as we move into our text this morning because what we will see is the establishment of a rival kingdom. This transition into ruling over the nation of Israel was not a smooth one or an easy one. His reign begins over Judah, which is just one tribe of the whole nation of Israel, but it would be several years yet before his reign is completely established. And during that time he's going to have to contend with what amounts to a civil war. So there's a lot for us to be learned in the events of this text, so let's read it together and then we'll study it. Would you stand with me for the reading of God's Word? 2 Samuel 2, chapter 2, verse 1 through chapter 3, verse 5. After this David inquired of the Lord, "Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?" And the Lord said to him, "Go up." David said to which shall I go up?" And he said to Hebron. So David went up there and his two wives also, Ahinom, Mujezreal and Abigail, the widow of Nabal, of Karma. And David brought up his men who were with him, everyone with us household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron, and the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. When they told David it was the men of J. B. Galliad who buried Saul, David sent messengers to the men of J. B. Galliad and said to them, "May you be blessed by the Lord because you showed this loyalty to Saul your Lord and buried him. "Now may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you, and I will do good to you because you have done this thing. "Now therefore let your hands be strong and be valiant for Saul your Lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them." But Abner, the son of Nehra, commander of Saul's army, took Isbashet, the son of Saul, and brought him over to Maha'iname, and he made him king over Giliad and the Asherites in J. B. Galliad and E. B. Galliad and all Israel. Isbashet, Saul's son, was 40 years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David, and the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. Abner, the son of Nehra, and the servants of Isbashet, the son of Saul, went out from Maha'iname to Giliad, and Joab, the son of Ziraya, and the servants of David, went out and met them at the pool of Giliad, and they sat down, the one on one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool. And Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men rise and compete before us," and Joab said, "let them rise." Then they arose and passed over by number, 12 for Benjamin and Isbashet, the son of Saul, and 12 of the servants of David, and each caught his opponent by the head, and thrust his sword in his opponent's side so they fell down together. Therefore, the place was called Helkef Hazarim, which is at Ghibin, and the battle was very fierce that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of Saul. And the three sons of Ziraya were there, Joab, Abashet, and Azahel. Now, Azahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle, and as a help pursued Abner, and as he went, he turned neither to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner. Then Abner looked behind him and said, "Is it you, Azahel?" And he answered, "It is I." Abner said to him, "Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and seize one of the young men and take his spoil, but Azahel would not turn aside from following him." And Abner said again to Azahel, "Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I lift up my face to your brother, Joab?" But he refused to turn aside. Therefore, Abner struck him in the stomach with the butt of his spear so that the spear came out his back, and he fell there and died where he was, and all who came to the place where Azahel had fallen and died stood still. But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner, and as the sun was going down, they came to the hill of Emma, which lies before Gaia on the way to the wilderness of Gibyan, and the people of Benjamin gathered themselves together behind Abner and became one group and took their stand on the top of the hill. Then Abner called to Joab, "Shall I sword Devour forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you tell your people to turn from the pursuit of their brothers?" And Joab said, "As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely the men would not have given up the pursuit of their brothers until the morning." So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the men stopped and pursued Israel no more, in order they fight anymore. And Abner and his men went all that night through Areba. They crossed the Jordan and marching the whole morning they came to my name. Joab returned from the pursuit of Abner, and when he gathered all the people together, they were missing from David's servants 19 men besides Azahel. But the servants of David had struck down of Benjamin 360 of Abner's men, and they took up Azahel and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was at Bethlehem. And Joab and his men marched all night, and that day broke upon them at Hebron. There was long war between the House of Saul and the House of David, and David grew stronger and stronger, while the House of Saul became weaker and weaker. And sons were born to David at Hebron. His first was Amon of Ahanom of Jesreel, and his second chileab of Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel, and the third Absalom, the son of Mecca, the daughter of Talima, King of Jesher, and the fourth Abnajah, the son of Hagath, and the fifth Shephataya, the son of Abital, and the sixth Ithrium of Eglah, David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron. May God bless the reading of this word. You may be seated. So that is a lot of text we just went through, so let's kind of set the stage as we start to dive into this. Ultimately, as we said, there's two kingdoms in this text, both of which are claiming to be the legitimate kingdom led by the rightful king. Ishbasheth is the surviving son of Saul, so as the son, it would make sense that he would be the heir by birthright. So Abner, one of Saul's top generals, makes him king. Now we should note that he does this with the full knowledge of David having been anointed by God. This was no secret. He admits as much when he eventually joins David in chapter 3 verse 18, saying, "The Lord has promised David, saying, 'By the hand of my servant, David, I will save my people from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.' So he knows that David has been anointed. Why would he do all of this in that case? Well, the best answer is that it's either selfish personal ambition or blind loyalty to a fallen king. Regardless of the why, the point we should see is that he's not just resisting the rightful king. rule of David. He's resisting the rule of God and this is not going to end well for him. Now God on the other hand as the true Lord of Israel has anointed David to be the king. So we who are in Christ know and understand that there's only one true legitimate king and it's Christ. And yet as in this text there is a counter kingdom that is set up to you serve the rule of Christ. So our text then becomes an image of the kingdom of the world and their rebellion against the kingdom of Christ. And that rebellion is futile. As the kingdom of Christ is only ever going to increase until the day he returns and establishes that kingdom on the earth. So with all of this in mind this is what we're going to discuss today. This is our sermon and a sentence. In the midst of two rival kingdoms God's people need to live their lives under the rule of the rightful king of the only true kingdom. So we're going to walk through this passage this morning by examining it through three main points and then we're going to look at the implications of those. So what do we see in the text? We see a fight between two rival kingdoms. We see false peace between those kingdoms and then we see the rise of the rightful king. So let's look first at the fight between rival kingdoms. So after morning Saul and Jonathan David inquires of the Lord first and foremost and verse one. Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah and the Lord said go up. David said to which shall I go up and he said to Hebrew now this is a significant detail because like his response to Saul's death this is going to give us a look into the type of king that David is going to be. And his first action is to look to God. He is not inherited an ideal situation here. The problem with monarchical rule is that when the king dies there's a power vacuum that almost always results in multiple people making claims to the throne so that they can rule. It's a power grab. You see it in the Israelite monarchy and scripture you see it in world history when the ruler dies there's a rush to take the throne. And that's what happens here. So upon arriving at Hebrew and the first thing he does is he extends an invitation to the men of J. Beshgiliad to come under his rule. Now if you do not remember who these guys were in first Samuel at great risk to themselves they go behind enemy lines to retrieve the body of Saul and bring him back to give him a proper respectful burial. And this was an act of great courage on their part. But David has an option here. He can look at these guys as a sort of a threat. They were obviously very loyal to Saul. And yet instead of seeing them as enemies and threats which would not have been unreasonable he extends an offer of real genuine peace and fellowship. But there is a condition to that offer verse seven "Let your hands be strong and valiant for Saul your Lord is dead and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them." Effectually David is saying "Peace is extended but you have to come under my reign." Now on the other side of this we find shockingly that Abner Saul's one of Saul's top generals and then one of Saul's sons have both survived the fight with the Philistines that resulted in the death of Saul and his sons. We don't know how they made it but they did. And Abner decides to anoint Saul's son Ishbeshath as the king of Israel. Now had God not already anointed David this would have made sense since he's the only surviving son of Saul but God is the one who decides who rules the nations. And David is God's chosen king. So now we have two kingdoms with two different rulers and really two different sets of values since one is set up and willful rebellion against God's chosen king. So what that tells us is that conflict should be the expectation when you have competing kingdoms with competing values and principles. Which is exactly what we've gotten in this text. Now what Gibbian the story gets a little stranger. Abner and Joav have their men gather around this pool or pond or lake or whatever it is and participate in like a series of gladiatorial battles. They put 12 guys to each side against each other one on one and everybody kills everybody else. It's kind of weird and if it weren't for the fact that people died it might almost be a little silly. But this then doesn't stop there it spills out into a larger fight that ultimately claims the life of the younger brother of Joav. Joav is David's abner. He's under David as the top general. So again as we've seen already there are a lot of dead men in this conflict who would be alive if people submitted to the will of God. Which again was no secret. It wasn't that people didn't know they're making an active choice to rebel. And what makes it exceptionally tragic is that it was all in vain. There was never a chance that Ispasheth was going to be king in the long term. This is going to fail and he and Abner's spoiler alert are both going to end up dead. They seem to have failed to learn from Saul and in doing so repeated his same foolishness with the same results. Again this isn't about David resisting David. He's just God's chosen instrument of rule. This is resistance against the Lord God. So we move on from this part of the text understanding that resisting the rule of God is not going to end well for those who do. Song 2 reminds us why do the nations rage in the people's plot in vain? The kings of the iris set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against is anointed who sits in the heavens and laughs. The Lord holds them in derision. Finding against God is the ultimate exercise in futility. It may not seem that way at times as we stop and we look at the world with its spiral into immorality, with rebellion, with the renouncing of godly values, with people in power choosing to hoard that power to oppress others. As we look at that we go it sure seems like evil is winning. It doesn't seem futile from where I sit but you cannot judge success or goodness based on outward appearance. You have to get to the core. I remember when I was a little kid my parents had bought this Pontiac Grand Prix. I don't remember what year it was. I remember vividly what the car looked like. It was this dark hunter green. It had really cool rims, it had white letter tires. It was clean on the outside, it was clean on the inside. As a little kid I'm probably like oh nine, ten years old or whatever I'm thinking man this car is cool. And I remember just impassing asking my parents, "You would have happened to that Pontiac." Oh that pile of junk. We cursed the day we bought that thing. It was broke more than it ran. They almost tried to get it replaced under the lemon law. It was that bad. But all I remembered was how cool it looked. Like this is a great looking car man. I wish I had a car like that but you get under the hood and it was garbage. Looks were deceiving. It is tempting to conclude right now based on the appearances of what we see that the kingdoms of this world are winning. Evil is having its day but you get to the core of it, you get under the hood so to speak and you will see that evil is having its day under the sovereignty of God. And all of the rebellion, all of the wickedness, all of the appearance of power is nothing more than the finite rebelling against the infinite. And nothing is more futile than that. You ever see the old loony tunes, cartoons, I think they have got like two bulldogs as the big bulldog and little bulldog and the little one wants to fight. So he starts taking swings as the big one and he just holds him back while he swings. That is a little bit of a funny image of what you are seeing happen in the world right now. The finite rebelling against the infinite. It is the ultimate exercise in futility. But that is what the rival kingdom of this world does. Because by its nature, its values, its principles, everything run contrary to the rule in the kingdom of Christ. So we see the fight between rival kingdoms and then secondly, we see false peace between rival kingdoms. Now we find two instances of this. First, Joebs brother Azahel is chasing down Abner to kill him and Abner tries to convince him to stop but Azahel will not listen and eventually the inevitable fight happens with Abner emerging victorious. And then immediately after that, the fighting stops but only long enough to mourn the loss. The second half of verse 23 says, "He fell there and died where he was and all who came to the place where Azahel had fallen stood still." So for a minute, the fighting stops. Well then immediately after this, Joab and Abesha take up the pursuit again. So our second example of this false peace comes as Abner convinces them to cut off the pursuit, verse 26. Abner called to Joab, "Shall the sword devour forever? How long will it be before you tell your people to turn from the pursuit of their brothers?" And Joab shows more wisdom than his little brother and calls everyone back and they go home. And then we're given a short summary of the losses as the end of chapter two. So I want us to take note of the fact that there is a pause in the fighting, but the conflict itself is not over. They didn't fight anymore that day, but they were by no means finished fighting. And that's underlined for us in chapter three, verse one. There was long war between the House of Saul and the House of David. So the peace we find here is not peace at all. And there will be no peace so long as there is a rival kingdom to the rightful kingdom. In Matthew 5 chapter nine, Jesus says, "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God." And I want us to note with that, there's a big difference between being a peacemaker and a peacemaker. You can keep peace by convincing someone that the fighting's not beneficial. That's what Abner does with Joanne. We're not going to get anywhere by killing each other all day. So let's just not. Sorry I killed your brother by the way, my bad. But let's just get along. Let's have our bygones be bygones. Go home, have a snack in a nap and learn to coexist. You can keep peace by giving someone what they want, just to shut them up. If you've got kids, I don't even have to finish that sentence, do I? You get a screaming kid, you can stick candy in their mouth and they'll be quiet. But the next time they scream, they're going to expect it. You can keep peace by compromising your convictions. I know what the Bible says, but if I insist on that, I'm just going to make people mad at our finance, so I just won't. Peace keeping is actually pretty easy, but it's not necessarily good. I might do all of the above, but none of it resolves the actual conflict. Peace is not just the absence of conflict. Peace is getting to the core and the cause of the conflict and resolving it. That is what Jesus met when he said, "Blessed are the peace makers." Peace has to be made through reconciliation. And in the case of this text, there's only one way for there to be peace. And it's for everyone to come under the banner of David as the ruler whom God has anointed over Israel. But again, this is just an image of the greater truth that there will be no lasting peace on earth until all the earth is under the banner of Christ. Just as David extended true peace to the men of J. Bessigilied, whom he could have considered enemies, Christ extends true peace and reconciliation to all people, even though all people are his enemies. But just as J. Bessigilied had to come under David's rule and reign, so must people come under the rule and reign of Christ if peace and reconciliation is to be experienced. There is no other way for there to be peace with God apart from coming under the lordship of his son. Anything outside of that is false peace. And with false peace, the expectation should be that of Abner and Isbeshaf conflict and eventually removal from the rightful kingdom. So we've seen a fight between rival kingdoms. We've seen false peace between rival kingdoms and now we see the rise of the rightful king. Chapter three verse one, there was long war between the House of Saul and the House of David. And David grew stronger and stronger while the House of Saul became weaker and weaker. That is a foreshadowing statement. It's not over, but we know how it's gonna end. God's king is going to rule. And the author interestingly follows this with what seems to be just this random insertion of the list of David's sons. So while David is at war with Isbeshaf and Abner, he has six sons. That's actually a pretty significant note by the author because David's house was literally increasing through the adding of sons. And that's how the author qualifies that David's house was increasing. Now Isbeshaf on the other hand had no sons. Saul's line effectively ends with him. We're gonna see one more descendant in second Samuel, a grandson named Mephibeshaf. But the point the author makes for us is that David's line increases and Saul's line decreases. God's king is increasing while the rival king is decreasing because God can't be thwarted. It would be good for us to consider that in light of what we have already seen. There's this consistent fight between the rival kingdoms and there have been weak attempts at achieving a false peace and yet while all of this is going on, almost in the background and as an afterthought, we find God's chosen king gradually but surely increasing in power. We're reminded again that we cannot let what we see with our eyes be the soul determining factor of what is true. All of this conflict that we find in the opening chapters of second Samuel should not be examined outside of the sovereignty of God. God is overseeing all that is going on here with the end goal of eventually David ascending the throne and ruling Israel as a man after his own heart. You have to carry that interpretation into the here and now. There's nothing in this world for all of it's chaos and moral bankruptcy that's happening outside of the sovereign rule of God. It might not all make sense to us but it makes perfect sense to him. That's not to say that everything that happens got a proofs of. He does not approve of the death and the destruction in this passage. There are a lot of acts and events described for us in the narrative text of Scripture that are horrible and evil and we aren't given those things to say God approves of them. We are given those things to show us what happens when we reject the rule and reign of God and we live according to what is right in our own eyes. This is, these are illustrations of the extent of human sin when we reject his kingship. So as we hear and as we read about and even experience the sin and the evil of this world that still has to be filtered through the truth that as this is happening, the rightful King Jesus Christ has already come and established his kingdom and one day he's going to come again to complete it. The kingdom of God and the rule of Christ is here and it's increasing and you are a part of it. Every new person who's added to the kingdom of God is just like David adding sons. The kingdom is getting stronger and stronger. It is growing. New stones are added to the temple. Pick whatever biblical analogy you want. The fact remains in the midst of all the craziness of our world, the kingdom of God is increasing and you're a part of it. You're a builder. We've seen this fight between rival kingdoms. We've seen the false peace between those kingdoms and now we've discussed the rightful king and his rise. So as God's people, we're under this reign now. We're under the rule and reign of Christ as members of this church. So how do we respond then to rival kingdoms? What does it look like for us to live as citizens of the kingdom of God? I'm going to give you three implications of that, true. First, live by kingdom principles. As David sought the Lord, so also we need to seek him. He inquires of the Lord. We don't know exactly what means through which he does that. It's probably casting lots. If you don't know what casting lots was, think of it just kind of like rolling dice or something along those lines. Somehow those were interpreted as understanding the will of God, so that's what happens. Now, thankfully, our remains of seeking guidance is consulting the scriptures and seeking the Lord in prayer. And there's something important here about that we need to understand. See, David got a very clear yes to do this type of answer from God, right? And that's what we want. We want to just say, okay, I want to do this thing. Where's the Bible passage that says, yes, do this thing or no, don't do this thing? Well, here's the thing. We don't always have that. There is not always going to be a yes, do this. No, don't do that sort of answer when you are consulting the guidance of the Lord. You're not going to have a scripture passage that deals directly with every situation that you will face. But what you will find are a set of guiding principles. Now, given the text that we're in, I want to focus specifically on what I will call the kingdom principle. And when it comes to seeking guidance, it ultimately involves asking this question as we are praying about guidance for a specific situation. We should ask ourself this question, how does what I am seeking from God affect my ability to participate in and advance his kingdom. By participate, I mean being integrated into the local church family as a manifestation of the kingdom of God, and by advancing, I mean, winning people for Christ. So again, how does what I am seeking guidance from God affect my ability to participate in and advance his kingdom? Why would David seek God's help because it was about God's glory? He wants to do what God wants him to do. He could have just made a decision without consulting God. In fact, he's done that before in 1 Samuel 25, I think, almost leads him into another battle, except for somebody who speaks and sends him to him, but he did that just off the cuff. He got mad, made a decision and ran, and never consulted the Lord. Here, thankfully, he does not do that. But instead, he seeks the Lord who's the ultimate ruler. Now, you and I are redeemed and brought into the kingdom of Christ to glorify Christ through the participation in and the advancement of his kingdom. So if you're seeking guidance for something and a decision you have to make, this is probably one of the most important guiding principles there is in order to seek the wisdom and what decision to make. So as an example, you want to take a new job? Does that job help you or hinder you from participating and advancing the kingdom of God? You want to move out of the region, out of the country? How is that going to help or hinder you from participating in and advancing the kingdom of God? It may very well be that God's calling you to do one or both of those things. I did that. I'm telling you, this is a guy who moves 750 miles from home to join and lead a church. It happens, but it shouldn't happen without filtering it through this guiding principle of the kingdom of God. You need to be able to draw a direct line without jumping through hoops from what you believe God is leading you to do and a biblical principle that supports that. And the reason for that is we tend to hear phrases and sometimes use phrases, God told me fill in the blank, where I feel the Lord leading me to do fill in the blank. And yet we don't filter that through this kingdom principle. Now I don't know if you've noticed, but God has a funny habit of leading people to do what they've already decided they want to do. What's really happening is we've made our plans without consulting the Lord. So we just kind of slam the square peg into the round hole by saying, "Well, God told me so." That's disorder thinking. You don't make the decision and look to God for approval. You look to God for the decision. So to summarize before we move on, whatever it is that you're seeking guidance on, I would encourage you to ask a very simple question. Does this help or hinder me from participating in and advancing the kingdom of God? Does this help or hinder me from participating in and advancing the kingdom of God and then go to God in prayer? Study the scriptures. Seek counsel from a trusted believer. David sets an example for us here before he takes another step. God, what do you want me to do as it relates to leading your kingdom for us that's participating in and advancing? And questions like this force us to think critically and biblically about why we do what we do. And this is something we need to ask ourselves not just as individuals, but also as the church. We can't just do whatever seems good to us and hope that God blesses it. We need to be intentional with this and seek what is the biblical model that God has for his church, for his kingdom on the earth. And this brings us to our second implication. Keep the kingdom central. If you're going to honor God as a church and as the members of that church, then we need to have the kingdom of God as the centerpiece of our lives. Now as the church is the manifestation of the kingdom on the earth for you, that means that your church family, GRBC, this is your home church, needs to be not just a part of your life, but at the center of your life. And I want you to think about that for just a moment, especially for those of you newer to the faith because this is not how we're taught to view and understand church. And the greater kingdom of God, in fact, in some instances, what I'm telling you might actually be a provocative statement. We see churches the place we go for once a week, for an hour and a half, but that's it. Our commitment ends at 10.30 Sunday morning. Maybe we'll do a small group or a home group or something, but even then we're really busy. So if we have time, we'll do it, but only if we have time. This is something that has been grained into us. It's what I've come to call the institutionalizing of church. Church is the place we go to check the box to learn some stuff and I'm done until next Sunday. That is not the biblical model for church. That's not something that is central to your life. That's something on the periphery. When something's a priority, you will make time for it. We make time for a lot of things. And if we all sat down and really examine how we lose our time, we would quickly realize two things. Number one, busyness doesn't keep us from what's important to us. And two, we waste a lot of time. And the response to this argument that I'm making is something to the effect of calling it legalism. Will you tell me I got to go to church otherwise I'm not safe? No, I'm not. But even that argument shows a misunderstanding of the principle because I'm not talking about church attendance or home groups attendance as boxes to check. That would be legalistic. Make sure you do this thing or God's going to get grumpy with you. That is not at all when I'm telling you. I'm talking about understanding and living out the identity you have under the kingship of Christ. The biblical reality is you examine acts and the epistles is that for the early church, life was centered on the church because the church was the plan of God to bring about the kingdom of God. Salvation by definition means you've been called out. You've been saved from one kingdom into another better kingdom. And part of the reason that we have lost this is because in our culture, it doesn't cost us a whole lot to follow Jesus. When people in the early church made the decision to call on Christ and get baptized, they were rejected by their families, by their friends, by their synagogues and persecuted in some cases unto death. In other parts of the world, when someone makes the decision to follow Jesus, that's all well and good. But the moment they get baptized, they get a target on their back because they publicly identified themselves with the kingdom of God to the rejection of wherever they came from. We don't have to deal with that. So therefore, church family doesn't seem as important as it actually is because we don't lose a whole lot for following Jesus. Yet, you've been called out of the kingdom of the world. This rival kingdom to Christ. And you've been called and saved into a better one, into a family that will teach you, mentor you, and disciple you, and the values and the principles and the conduct of that better kingdom. When you look at it that way and not as a thing that you do, that change in perspective should help you realize this is not something you're doing to be saved, it's something you're doing because the king saved you. Going back to last week, this is what parallax living looks like. We are keeping the kingdom that we have joined as our backdrop and the lens through which we view present reality. If the kingdom of God is what we long for and look to, then that should shape our current reality and we should be keeping that kingdom at the center of our lives. So another implication question here, what would it look like for you to have the kingdom of God, the church, at the center of your life? I sent that question out to our home group leaders and I want you guys to spend some time on that question this week. What would it look like for you to have the kingdom of God at the center of your life? That's a big implication question. What would you have to change? What would you have to prioritize? Reprioritize. I can give you a step-by-step checklist, but that would do you no good because this is contextual to your life and you need to think critically and biblically and answer this question because the truth of the matter is we will be shaped by the principles of whatever kingdom is at the center of our lives. Write that down. We will be shaped by the principles of whatever kingdom we have at the center of our lives. And I want you to hear me on this because I can anticipate some of the arguments that might come as a result of this. I'm not trying to guilt you into being more involved. I'm not telling you this so you'll attend more, give more, whatever. I'm telling you this because as your pastor, I love you and I want you to experience the fullness of the life that you've been given in Christ and truth be told, the modern Christian sells themselves way short on this because the kingdom's not at the center. You are guided by the values and the principles of this kingdom. That's not a question. Whether or not we're functioning by guiding principles is not a question we are. The question is, who's values and principles are guiding us? And if you examine your life, you're gonna be able to answer that question in what you prioritize and what you make time for. We've only got two choices. We have the values of the kingdom of the world, of the values of the kingdom of God and whatever is at the center is what guides you. And that is a matter of significance for every single one of us. And our last implication then, is we look to the king, the coming kingdom. David was a good king in general, but still not a perfect one. And his reign, as we'll see when we get there, is gonna end on a down note. And the turning point in that reign comes in chapter 11. Really as a consequence of taking his eyes off the Lord. But his imperfections and his shortcomings remind us that his reign was not supposed to be the end all be all. But that it was pointing to a coming king and a coming kingdom to end all kings and all kingdoms. There will be no genuine lasting peace until that kingdom comes. And until that day comes, there is the call for us in Christ to persevere. That means working hard, enduring hardship, looking to God in times of suffering and difficulty, being willing to bear reproach for the sake of the name of Christ. No amount of coexisting, no amount of tolerance, no amount of compromise is going to bring peace. The kingdom of this world promises you a utopia, it cannot deliver. It promises you a utopia, it cannot deliver. Because even the best ruler is still only ever a finite fallen man. David had to seek the Lord, which was good he should have, but he needed to seek the Lord because in his finite nature, he needed guidance. Christ is the Lord, he needs no guidance, he is sovereign. He knows the end from the beginning because he determined it. It all begins and ends with him. David was a good king speaking generally, but yet an imperfect one. But Christ is the king of kings. There's no imperfections in him. There's no shortcomings to his rule. Nothing Jesus ever did or does, needs improving or reworking. He doesn't need a plan B. David's reign ended with his death, and yet Christ is alive forever and will reign forever. David's kingdom increased in strength through the addition of sons, and the kingdom of Christ gained strength with every new soul added by grace through faith. And when the fullness of those whom he has called has brought into the kingdom of God, he will return and establish his rule and reign on the earth for eternity, and we will reign with him for eternity. Church, that's your hope. That's what's got to shape everything that's going on right now in your life and in this world. Because everything that we see in 2 Samuel points us to that kingdom, that in the end we'll have no rival, we'll have no equal. And if you're in Christ this morning, he's brought you from this defeated kingdom of the world into the victorious kingdom. And your hope is there. The dawn has broken. David's reign was like the dawning of a new day to the dark night that was Saul's reign. And yet we haven't hit full daylight yet. Full daylight is coming. Look to that kingdom. Be guided by its principles. Put your hope in its king. And if you're not yet in Christ, just as David invited the men of J.B.B.S. Gilead and do his kingdom, so does Christ invite you. John 1232 says, when I am lifted up, this is Jesus talking, when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself, meaning when I am crucified, people will know that I'm the only way to be saved. The cross is an invitation to you. If you are not yet in the kingdom of God because you have not turned from your sin and believed in Jesus, you have an open invitation from the crucified king to join his kingdom. The crucified king who is yet alive because he rose from the dead and he will rule and reign forever. But like the men of J.B.G.B.G.B.G.B.S. Gilead with David, you have to reject the rival kingdom of the world, turn from sin, believe in him, and come under his lordship. He is Lord and Savior to the glory of God, the Father, or he's neither. May we all live under his reign then, keeping his kingdom central to our lives, and may our lives together declare the glory and the majesty of Christ to the people of the world so that they can leave the kingdom of the world and come into the kingdom of Christ and be with him forever, to him be all glory now and forever. So I've titled today's message competing kingdoms. We looked at 2nd Samuel 2, 1 through 3, 5, and we saw in the midst of two rival kingdoms, God's people need to live their lives under the rule of the rightful king of the only true kingdom which led us to three primary implications. Live by the kingdom principles, keep the kingdom central and look to the coming kingdom. Again, I love college football, but the first games are predictable, right? So it is with this. We know how it ends because we've been told how it ends. And we know it ends with Christ victorious. And we know that we who are in him have been brought from defeat and death into life and victory. And so that invitation stands for anybody who would have it. And if you hear again today and you don't know Christ, I encourage you to come talk with me afterwards about this and learn more about this gospel that will save you from the condemnation of God and instead of being his enemy to become his son or his daughter and rule and reign with him forever. This is the hope that is extended to all people. I'm gonna ask our worship team to join us on the platform as we close and would you stand with me as we do so. Thank you for joining us today. I just wanna close us in a quick word of prayer and then we'll close with our final song, our God. We thank you that we can look to you in any and all circumstances. We thank you that we can know that despite what we see that there is victory in Christ, that Christ has won. And what we're seeing in the world is all happening under the sovereignty of God. And we don't understand everything that happens Lord. We don't profess to. Sometimes we really struggle with this. But Lord in those moments remind us that you are good and that you are doing good even as the people of the world do evil. We love you Father God. Help us to live by the principles of your kingdom, keeping your kingdom central in our lives. Show us the ways in which Lord that we have decentralized the kingdom of God. So that we may come back to having that as the center and being engaged in just these family relationships that you have blessed us with in the local church. And may we look to the coming kingdom in times of despair, knowing that the way things are is not how they will always be because Christ is victorious and He will rule and reign for eternity. We thank you Lord and we love you and we commit these things to you in Jesus name. Amen. If you'd like to find out more about Green River Bible Church, you can find us on the web at www.greenriverbible.com. There you can find our service times, statement of faith, where you can even plan a visit if you're in or near the Greenfield, Massachusetts area. Thanks for listening and may God bless you this week. [MUSIC PLAYING]