Good morning. I'm going to begin our service with a hymn, 179, written by William Rees many, many years ago. A hymn that was sung during the great Welsh revival of 1904. Here is love, vast as the ocean, loving kindness as the flood. Just two verses, but it's a beautiful hymn that was used in a mighty way by God. just over a hundred years ago. We'll stand as we sing. One, seven, nine. Where in love will love remember? Who can cease to sing His praise? He can never be forgotten, through the death's eternal days. Oh We'll sing that last verse again. It's so beautiful. On the Mount of Crucifixion. The Welsh revival began in 1904. It lasted about 18 months. And in 18 months, 100,000 people were saved. in just a short time. So, this was called the love song of the revival. This song they kept singing in all the services. On the Mount of Crucifixion. Let's sing it. On the Mount of Crucifixion, found in scope and deep and high, to the floodgates of God's and gracious God. Grace and love, like mighty rivers, Lord and Savior. You may be seated. 6-6-4, we're going to sing this little chorus. Send it this way, Lord, humbly we pray, a mighty revival. Send it this way. Send him this way, Lord, humbly we pray. A pliny revival, send him this way. It's coming this way, yes, it's coming this way. A mighty revival, it's coming this way. Keep on believing, just turn away. A mighty revival, it's coming this way. Come in this way, Lord. Come in this way. A mighty Revival is coming this way. Jesus wants to sing a third time. Let's pray and ask the Lord's help on our service this morning. Father, we thank you that God is here. and that to bless us with the Spirit's quickening power. Spirit of God, we ask that you would come into our meeting this morning, that you would touch lives, that you would change lives, that you would meet those who need your help at the very point of their need. We believe that God is at work, not just in this place, All over this planet, we see the signs of the times as God puts all the jigsaw pieces in the right section. God works all things together according to his great will and for his great glory. We thank you Lord that the word of God teaches us that a mighty revival will come to this planet. particularly to the Jewish people, and a great multitude will be swept into the kingdom of God. We believe through them, many others from the Gentile nations will truly be touched by God's power. Lord, we say even so, come Lord Jesus. We pray for the town of Larn, a most needy town, a most desperate town, A place where the gospel light has been hidden for many homes and many lives for many generations. We pray, oh God, that you would just lighten this place with the truth of the gospel. So many are going past church after church, meeting after meeting with no concern for their souls. And Lord, we pray that you would move, that you would convict, that you would stir up those who are empty, those who are needy. Lord, we want to pray this morning for not just this service, but for all your churches of Jesus Christ in this town and throughout our land, that you would move, that you would presence yourself with us. For we ask these things in Jesus' precious name. Amen. 2 Samuel chapter 10 this morning, if you have your Bible, We've been going through the life of King David, 2 Samuel chapter 10. Last week, we read the story of how God used King David to be a blessing to this man, Mephibosheth. Well, here in chapter 10, the next chapter, the next episode, that the Spirit of God records about the life of this man, David, we'll see David extending kindness to someone else. But this time, he's going to get a very different reaction. And of course, the lesson is obvious, that not every good deed will be rewarded, will be returned with thankfulness or gratitude. Let's read the story of how this occurs. And as you're reading chapter 10, here's a little test for you. Because chapter 10 is connected to chapter 11. Because in chapter 11 is David's greatest fall, his greatest failure as a man, as a husband, as a king. And there's going to be clues seeds of his own downfall that you start to see emerging in chapter 10. Because no one falls overnight. No one falls in a moment of time. There's always a slippage, falling away, leading up to a great fall like this. So you read this very carefully and notice what's not missing as well as what is missing in this chapter 10. It says, and it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun, his son, reigned in his stead. Then said David, I will show kindness unto Hanun, son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness unto me. David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon, and the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their father, their lord, thinkest thou that David doth honor thy father, that he has sent comforters unto thee? Hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it? Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away. When they told it unto David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return And when the children of Ammon saw that they stank before David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth Rehob and the Syrians of Zobah, 20,000 foot men and of King Mahaka, a thousand men and of Ishtob, 12,000 men. And when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the host of the mighty men. And the children of Ammon came out and put the battle in array at entering in of the gate. And the Syrians of Zobah and of Rehob and of Ishtob and Ma'aka were by themselves in the field. When Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel and put them in array against the Syrians. and the rest of the people he delivered into the hand of Abishai, his brother, that he might put them in array against the children of Ammon. And he said, if the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me. But if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee. Be of good courage. Let us play the men for our people and for the cities, of our God, and the Lord do that which seemeth him good. And Joab drew nigh, and the people that were with him, unto the battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him. When the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, then fled they also before Abishai, and entered into the city. So Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem. And when the Syrians saw that they were smitten before Israel, they gathered themselves together. And Hadad Arizer sent and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river. And they came to Hilam. And Shobak, the captain of the host of Hadad Arizer, went before them. When it was told David, he gathered all Israel together and passed over Jordan and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against David and fought with him. And the Syrians fled before Israel. And David slew the men of 700 chariots of the Syrians and 40,000 horsemen and Smot Shobak, the captain of their host who died there. And when all the kings that were servants to Hadda saw that they were smitten before Israel. They made peace with Israel and served them. So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon anymore." Amazing, isn't it? All these names are in our news every week. The Syrians and the Israelis and peace and war and threats. and insults. Solomon once said this, there's nothing new under the sun. Humanity remains the same. The children of Ammon, today is the land of Jordan, just to the east of the nation of Israel. Colin, would you come and give us the announcements? Thank you. Very warm welcome to each one gathered for a morning service. It's just lovely to see each one of you here this morning, particularly if you're visiting with us. I trust the Lord will indeed richly bless you for coming, and you'll enjoy a sweet fellowship with us today. Do you remember communion on immediately after the service? You know and love the Lord. You're very welcome to stay for just that short time as we remember what the Lord has done for us, children's church and communion. is available today as well. Then this evening, at seven o'clock, our evening gospel service. The pastor will be with us. The title is The Glorious Millennium, and Stephen Patterson will be along to sing. A youth fellowship will be on immediately after the service. There will also be a ladies' choir practice tonight after the service. Then the announcements for the rest of the week. Tuesday, eight o'clock, indoor football for secondary school and above. Wednesday at 6.30, Bible Explorer for the boys and girls. 10 to 12.30 in the morning, I should have mentioned there, Emanuel Cafe will be on. If you haven't been there, make sure you get there. If you're free at all on a Wednesday morning, you can go and enjoy scones. And there's even more things than scones. We were there this week. And a cup of tea and good fellowship. So don't be sitting at home and moping on your own on a Wednesday morning. do come out to the Emanuel Cafe. Then at 8 o'clock, the midweek Bible study and prayer time. Again, I encourage you to come along to that time on a Wednesday evening, 8 o'clock, as we meet around God's Word, and then as we have a short time of prayer, and particularly this week, as we pray for the special weekend coming up. Thursday mumps and tots in the morning there at 10 o'clock, Friday, I haven't got full details, but we're probably running Young Life starting at 7 o'clock on Friday evening. It's just then with the special weekend of mission. And then that starts at 8 o'clock with John Weir, and there'll be many taking part right throughout the weekend. So John will be here on Friday at 8 o'clock. And then Saturday, again, that evening service will be an evening of music and song. And then the Sunday services, John will be with us for both services. So do come along, don't miss any of the services. John's a busy man. You have to book him early to get him at all. So come along, invite others to those services. It's a wonderful time just to try and invite others to hear the gospel message. That's that special weekend. I'm sure the pastor will mention it as well. And there are invites there at the back as well. Sunday at then 10.30, Sunday school and Bible class, our morning service at 11.30 with John, and then our evening gospel service at 7 o'clock. Thank you. Thank you, Colin. Yes, I do want to emphasize this weekend coming up and We will be going around the doors this week, knocking doors, talking to people. And John will be here on Tuesday morning at 10 o'clock. Those who would like to join him and myself will be going out around the area. And we have these leaflets with all the details at the front and the back. Friday night, Everett Smith will be here to share a word of testimony. John Porter will be singing. And then on Saturday night at 7.30, We have this great night of music, which we tend to do. Alan Craig, the flutist, will be here. Castle Gore Men's Choir will be here. And then to balance it up, we have Our Lady's Choir singing as well. And then Catherine and Ruth Mitchell will be here. And the Ballyboly Pipers, I don't know how many, but there'll be at least two, will be playing for us as well. And then on Sunday, We have the Sunday morning and Sunday evening services, and the ladies will be singing again Sunday morning. And Sunday night, Keira from our own congregation will be here, Keira Lester, to give her testimony of how God saved her. So a lot of things on. It's very hard to get these meetings organized. It's very hard to book John. I tried to book him for another mission, and he gave me the next available date, which was November, 2027. Just shows you how hard it is to get these people booked. So November, 2027, after our mission in September was the next time he will be here with us. Tonight, we will be looking at the most controversial chapter in the Bible. You say, well, which one is that? Well, you come along, And you'll hear, and I'm going to give you the best opinion, my opinion, of what the interpretation is. An old minister used to say to us, everybody's entitled to my opinion. So tonight you come along and I'll give you what I think is the truth of what is going to happen in Revelation chapter 20. It's an amazing story. We'll probably only do the first six verses tonight because of time. But I believe there's a very clear and a very transparent way to understand the book of Revelation chapter 20. So you come along this evening and listen to God's Word. I'm going to sing a hymn before the children leave us. There is only one gospel that's on the screen on which I stand for all eternity. It is my story, my Father's plan. The Son has rescued me. Remain seated while the offering is received. I stand in the gospel of Jesus Christ. ♪ There is no gospel to which I cling ♪ ♪ Alas, I'm found at last ♪ ♪ For there where justice and mercy meet ♪ ♪ He's stayed beyond the cross ♪ ♪ And no more I will sing what I have sinned ♪ Oh There is a gospel where hope is found, the end is in its days. Forgive the one you, my Savior, love, keep his truth and I am free. Now I'm my Savior and this is my house. If you're going to give these out this week in your neighborhood, you should, you let me know, all right? Because we don't want to replicate what everybody else is doing. So if you're taking these leaflets, please send me a message or let me know what streets you have done this week. I know some people have already started. So will you please do that? The children can now leave as we sing this last verse. And in this church, the gospel, the church is one. And in this gospel, the church is one. We do not walk alone. We have this spirit as we preserve to lead us safely home. I'm going to ask the Lord's help as we come to this chapter, 2 Samuel chapter 10. this morning. Lord, we thank you that there is only one gospel. We thank you that in this church we only preach one gospel about one Savior, about one way. We're not confused about this great gospel of Jesus Christ. Lord, we thank you that the gospel that we preach really works. really changes lives, really touches individuals and transforms them. People who come into this place going to a lost eternity have left going to heaven. Not because there's anything special in this building, but because of the one that we preach about. He's called Jesus, the Savior of the world. Mary and Joseph were told Thou shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. We're here this morning to lift up, to worship, to magnify the name of King Jesus. And as Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians, in the chapter 11, we do so till he comes. He's coming soon. Bless your word to all of our hearts. Speak to us as individuals. Put your finger upon us and touch us personally. We ask of you this morning. We ask these things in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Now, King David is at this golden moment of Israel. His enemies have been put down. He has his capital city in Jerusalem. The ark of God is beside him in the tabernacle. His family, his children are relatively at peace. God has blessed him in so many ways. And we saw last week that in chapter nine, David took the opportunity, as soon as God had settled him down and settled his kingdom down, to bless this man, Mephibosheth. And we saw how David was active, not passive in this, how he went out looking to bless, looking to help, looking to show kindness to Mephibosheth. But in chapter 10, David will repeat his gestures of kindness that he exhibited in chapter nine, but this time the response will be very different. And by doing it again, David will demonstrate that what he did in chapter nine was not just a one-off gesture. You know, there are people who can be generous, be kind one time, but that's it. But David wasn't a man who lived like that. He was a man who kindness and generosity and love flowed out of him all the time. There was a consistency which made him the man after God's own heart. And here, even dealing with a stranger, David tries to show kindness to this young king, Hanun, the son of Nahash. Now, even though David is going to respond or react the same way to Hanun as he did to Mephibosheth, Hanun is going to react very differently to him from Mephibosheth. And David is going to discover something you're going to discover in life if you haven't discovered yet, that people react different ways. There are some people who react positively to kindness. But there are those, sadly, who don't. There are those who are suspicious. There are those who are hostile. There are those who will turn their back on you. In fact, there are those who will become a greater enemy to you and against you. when you seek to be a kindness to them. And of course, no better example of this in all of history, in all of scripture, than the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says of Jesus Christ, he went about doing good. That was his life. It wasn't a one-off. He didn't just do good on the Sunday or the Saturday. Christ's life was one of doing good, but as you read the gospel accounts, you will see people reacted very different ways to him. Some loved him. Some were indifferent to him. Some were jealous of him. Some were hostile to him. Some hated him. Some even tried to murder him. And as you walk the Christian walk, and talk the Christian talk. Don't expect to be treated any different. In fact, Jesus said this, the servant is not greater than the master. In other words, if they did it to him, the perfect one, whose life was a life of doing good, expect similar reactions to you. Now, the Ammonites, lived in a kingdom that today we call the land of Jordan, roughly in that territory, to the east of the Jordan River. They were relatives of the Israelites through Lot. Lot's descendants, or at least one of the branches of his family tree, were the children of Ammon. And clearly David and the king of the Ammonites, a guy called Nahash, had at least a friendship of sorts. We know from reading 1 Samuel that King Saul fought with the Ammonites. And probably what happened was that when Saul drove David from the land, that the king of the Ammonites saw an opportunity to establish a friendship with David. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. And he reached out the hand and David never forgot it. One of the things you'll see about King David is he was a very loyal person to those who were good to him. He never forgot. And clearly Nahash, the father of Hanun, had done some act of kindness to David. Might have been for the wrong motive. so that he could harm Saul or undermine Saul, but whatever the reason, David never forgot it. And when Nahash died, David sent a diplomatic group of men to represent David to the kingdom of Ammon to show sympathy with his son. He didn't just send a message. He didn't just send him an email or a text message or a letter. David sent a group of men representing his kingdom to show his concern, to show his interest in this new king, this young king who had lost his father. Now, what will be the reaction of this young king, Hanun? Well, we're told in verse three, and the princes of the children of Ammon, so these are the young up-and-coming elite. These are the advisors. These are the relatives of the prince of Ammon, the new king of Ammon. And they say to Hanun, their lord, when you see these men arriving, they said, thinkest thou that David doth honor thy father? They begin to sow seeds of suspicion, malice, And they said, do you think David's really doing this out of love and concern for you? They says that he sends comforters onto thee. Hath not David rather sent his servants onto thee to search the city and to spy it out and eventually to overthrow it? David's motives are not kind. David has sent these spies into your city so that they can see the lie of the land, see your defenses, and eventually send an invading army. And of course, these young advisors judged King David by the values they lived by, not by the values that David lived by. And the Bible says, in the multitude of counselors, there is wisdom. That's a general principle, but it's not an exclusively true principle. In a general sense, it's true that in the multitude of different opinions, you can find wisdom. But in this context, it's not true because in the majority of these counselors or advisors, there was no wisdom. In fact, there was false analysis, wrong analysis. One commentator said this. They said, it's common for liars to assume that everybody else is lying. Well, that's true, isn't it? If you surround yourself with people like that, if you surround yourself with paranoid, deceitful, corrupt people, ungodly people, expect them to think in an ungodly way. Expect them to be cynical. Expect them to attribute false motives to everybody's actions. And sure enough, Hanun was given the wrong analysis. by these men, and let me say this in just passing. Be careful, be careful who you listen to for advice. Be careful who becomes your closest friends and confidants. Be careful who you hang around with and share secrets with. Because if those people are not walking with God, who don't have the mind of God, who are not close to the Lord, you'll discover that they'll be like Hanun's counselors. They'll give you the wrong assessment. They'll give you the wrong advice. And Hanun here, he listens to the wrong advisors. And how many times in life have relationships and friendships been broken because of the wrong advice, because of people listening to the wrong opinions and the wrong analysis, because of suspicion, ungrounded suspicions. And here a relationship that clearly meant something to King David, between Nahash and him, is now going to be torn apart because of suspicion, because of wrong advice. And you know, it'll probably shock you and I if we counted up or we truly understood how much misery and divided and split relationships in homes, in churches, in societies, between nations, have occurred because of people giving the wrong advice, people looking at things in an immature way, in an ungodly way. Now, what does Hanun do? Will he listen to these young punks that have now come to power beside him? And like Rehoboam did many years later, He ignores any wisdom from those maybe who are older than him, those who are mature. And Hanun, it says verse four, wherefore, instead of investigating this, instead of testing this advice, instead of even questioning or watching David's ambassadors, what does Hanun do? He acts in a rash. in a foolish way. And it says, he took David's servants, took them all, the plural, and he shaved off one half of their beards. Now, why is this considered a mark of disrespect and shame? And I want to tread carefully here because we don't live in the Middle Eastern society. And there are people here who have a beard and the people here who won't have a beard. So don't be upset. But in the Middle East, for a man not to have a beard, it's a sign of immaturity. A man is considered a man when he has a beard. And it's considered a mark of shame to have your beard shorn off. And here Hanun deliberately acts in a way. He could have just said, thank you for your kindness. Thank you for your greetings. Now we're asking you to leave. And that would have dealt with the problem. But instead he has to act to bring shame and humiliation. Because remember, these men are David's ambassadors. They represent the king. And in hurting them and shaming them in a very public way, he's shaming Dean David. He's letting everybody know that he has no respect for this man and his throne and his authority. And it says he cut off their garments in half to make them a laughing stock so that people would mock at them. And he dismisses them out of his kingdom. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ made a statement about how to act in life in Luke's gospel chapter 14. If you turn to Luke's gospel chapter 14, and you know there's tremendous wisdom in what he says here. In so many areas of life. Luke's gospel chapter 14 and verse 28. And I just wish people would read these verses and understand these verses and apply them not just to young people, but to middle-aged people and to old folk. Would apply them not just to people who are Christians, but non-Christians. Would apply them not just to church life, but business life, home life, studies, careers, because what Jesus Christ is going to teach here is very, very wise, very profound. And he says this in verse 28, for which of you intending to build a tower? You know, there are lots of people with lots of ambitions, lots of dreams. And the Lord Jesus Christ says, before you even think about doing something, He says, In other words, what's Jesus saying? Before you act, think. Before you get married, think. Before you choose a particular career, think. Think through carefully the implications. Think through carefully the cost emotionally, energy-wise, time-wise, financially, socially, relationship-wise. Think it all through. Don't act precipitously, rashly, foolishly. Think about the responsibilities. Think about the costs. Think about the impacts and the consequences of getting it wrong. And he's not saying here, don't do it. Don't just sit in a paralyzed state for the rest of your life in an inertia. But he's saying a wise person thinks. And one of the problems we have in our generation, particularly, but it's not exclusive to our generation, is most people don't think. Don't think. And that's why we have all the broken relationships That's why we have all the financial disasters, people bouncing from one credit card to another. That's why we have people bouncing from one job to another, people who probably don't work. Because they don't think. And Jesus Christ says, listen, don't start something unless you're prepared to finish it and unless you're prepared to go through with it. Now that's really good advice, isn't it? That's not coming from law and mission, that's coming from the one who's the source of all wisdom. In him we're full of grace and truth, the Bible says. And in him was all the knowledge of wisdom. And then he says in the next verse, verse 31, well this is particularly applicable to this context. In 2 Samuel chapter 10, he says, or what king, you almost could say, Hanun, Listen, he says, what king going to make war against another king sitteth not down first and consulteth whether he be able with 10,000 to meet him that cometh against him with 20,000? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassador and desireth conditions of peace. Well, isn't that wise? If you've been watching the news this week, everybody wants to go to war, have you noticed? All these wee boys are threatening all these big boys. Big boys who have weapons that could destroy the world. Big boys who are ruthless. Big boys who have proven that they have no fear of shedding blood. And all these little tiny Thames are strutting around the world stage. And they're shaking their fists and they're saying, we need to have an army and we need to do this and we need to have war with this. Oh, the Lord Jesus Christ says, listen, before you act, think. Think. Think carefully. Think what resources you have. Think who you're up against. and be prepared for the cost. And if you're not prepared to pay the cost, if you're not prepared for the consequences, don't throw the first punch. And here Hanun decides to throw the first punch against David. And the problem with that is this, David has never been defeated in every battle. David has never even been wounded in a battle. David has faced down Goliath. He's faced down the Philistines. He's humbled every enemy that's come against him. And here, Hanun, in his ignorance, in his naivety, in his stupidity, decides to poke the bear in the eye. And there's going to be a price. Because David understands the law of the jungle, which is this. If someone starts a fight, you have to finish it, or else you're finished when you're dealing with ungodly people. That's why Israel's had to deal with Hamas over the October the 7th, and everybody's decrying them and complaining about them and calling them all the names. But the Israelis understand the law of the jungle. They're not saved people, they're not godly people, but they understand this. that the only way to defeat a foe like that is to destroy them. And that's what they set out to do in this battle or in this war. And here David understands that Hanun has thrown the first punch, but Hanun doesn't understand. That's how foolish he is. He thinks that he can humiliate David and impress all those standing around him, but there'll be no consequence. Well, there's going to be a payday because what happens? Go back to 2 Samuel 10. Verse five, when they told it unto David, oh, here's the problem now. Well, it's easy to talk big in Amun. but it's different when you have to face the man in Jerusalem. When they told it unto David. Now David has two choices here. And it says an awful lot about his character, the one he goes for. David could have said to these men who were humiliated in this very public object lesson, he could have brought them to Jerusalem. He could have shown them to all his army. and all his people, and he said, look what these people have done to our ambassadors. And he could have whipped up a frenzy of hatred against the Ammonites and incited his people to go to war. That was one option. No doubt a lot of leaders would have chosen that option. But the other option was to be a shepherd, to show care for the humiliation of those who had served him so faithfully. David chooses a second. He says to these 10, these men, he says, you go to Jericho. Jericho is the nearest city to the border with Ammon. And he says, there you stay there until your beard is fully grown again. There you go until the mark of shame is removed from you, where there can be no mocking of you. And then you come back and join the rest of us. David chooses that option. But having dealt with the shame of his own servants, in taking care of them, David now will deal with the shame of this man Hanun towards him. We're told in the next verse, verse six, and when the children of Ammon saw that they stank, the Hebrew word there is a very graphic one, dead animals. A stench. It says, when they saw that they stank before David, comma, if they were wise, you should read next, then they apologized. As Jesus said in Luke's gospel, you send someone to represent you to say, I want to have peace. But no, what do they do? They sent messengers to the Syrians and the King of Ma'aka to hire thousands of mercenary soldiers. Now the problem with mercenaries is this. They fight for the highest bidder, number one. And number two, when their life is at stake, they'll turn and run. Because they're not there because they're loyalty. They're not there because they love you and love their country. They're there because they love their wallet and love their lives. And this man, Hanun, he hires 33,000 foreign soldiers. In fact, 1 Chronicles tells us he paid 1,000 talents of silver. So that's what they're doing. Now what? will David do? Because our focus in this study is not really about the Ammonites. We expect the Ammonites to act like Ammonites. They're ungodly. But David's a man of God. He's a man of experience. He's a man of wisdom. He's a man who walks with God. What would we expect from him? We expect a far higher standard from him. And here in the next verse, is where the warning lights start to go on, start to go off. You know, like your little dashboard in your car and it starts to flash. What is the light flashing? Nowadays, these modern cars, they annoy me because they tell you, you need to service your car and you need this or that. They cry wolf for about 400 different things before there's a real problem. But the old cars, you'll know what I'm saying, the oil light starts to flash, or the heat temperature light starts to flash. And what does this light flashing tell you? It tells you that if you don't fix the problem and fix it urgently, there's going to be a big problem. And here in this next verse, verse seven, There's two big flashing lights going off. And these two lights are not going to be heated by King David because when we get to the next chapter, he's going to fall. Now, what were the two big flashing lights? I told you at the start of the Bible reading to look for them. Number one, notice what's missing. There's no asking the Lord. What to do? There's no asking the Lord for guidance. There's no asking the Lord for wisdom. There's no asking the Lord for help. David has been so successful now for so long, it's as if he's forgotten about God. In fact, in this conversation David has with Joab and his men in this chapter, there's no mention of God by David. And you know what can happen? That things go so well for you for so long, and you get so many experiences with God and blessings from the Lord that you can start to forget him. Here's the first warning light. And the second warning light is connected to that. Because if you remember, a king was chosen to lead his people into battle. And David was a man who every time understood that, even when he had to face Goliath alone, he went alone. He went from the front. He led his army. He led by example. And for the first time, in David's life. For the first time in this book, as king, David is ignoring God and David is living life his way. And he sends Joab and all the hosts of the mighty men. This is a formidable force. Thousands of mercenaries, plus the soldiers of the King of Ammon. And David decides, I don't need to bother. Let somebody else take care of it. I've got other things to do. I've done my time. I fought the wars. I fought the giants. Let someone else do the work. God hadn't retired David from leading his nation. But David had decided he didn't need to do it anymore. I just jump ahead to the next chapter, to chapter 11, just to see where this is going to end up. It says in verse 1, and it came to pass after the year was expired, at the time, and notice what the Holy Spirit underlines in that verse. When, what? What's the next word? Kings. Kings. Go forth to battle. that David sent. He didn't go. He's got used to this, sitting at home, taking things easy, ignoring God, ignoring his duties. No doubt there are people that said to him, David, you have a big family now. And you've got big responsibilities and you're very, very wealthy now. You have billions of dollars worth of gold in your treasury. You have this great army with mighty men. You've even got Joab leading it. And he's a formidable general. He's undefeated in battle too, David. Why don't you just take things a bit easier? Let someone else do it. You've done your time. And it says at the end of verse one of chapter 11, but David tarried still at Jerusalem. And then it says, verse two, and it came to pass in the evening tide that David arose from off his bed. He's still lying in bed by lunchtime. He's like a teenager now, isn't he? He's going full cycle. You ever had a teenager who can't get out of bed? I'm gonna say nothing. They're lying in bed, that's David. He should have been on the battlefield. He should have been leading his men. And here he is lying at home. And the devil has him in the right place at the right time. And Satan has a woman that he knows will attract David's attention in the right state of undress, in the right place to catch his imagination and his eye. And David falls for it. That's how it all began, not in chapter 11, but in chapter 10, when David decided to ignore God, decided to go live life his way. Now, God's very gracious. Go back to chapter 10. Because even though David should have been leading this army, even though David should have been leading his men in worship and prayer and seeking God's will in this matter, God is gracious to him. And we're told that Joab comes to lead the army. And you have to almost smile at Joab, because Joab's a real bluffer. I mean, have you ever, he's like one of these politicians, you know. I saw Donald the other day, he was talking about how God spared his life and all the rest of it, and then he's effing and blinding. These guys, they know how to play both sides of it. And here's Joab, the murderer. Here's Joab, the liar, who murdered Abner in cold blood, who lied to Abner, who deceived Abner. Here's Joab. And Joab's able to give a great speech. And notice what he says. He says in verse 12, be of good courage and let us play the man. Oh, here's Joab. For our people and for the cities of our God. Not your God, Joab. You have no respect for him. And then he throws in, and the Lord do that which seemeth in good. Joab just weaves in the name Jehovah. You know, he doesn't mind throwing in a bit of religion if that works for some people, if that manipulates some people, if that fools some people. And Joab, he's a hypocrite, a man who talks about God and talks about Jehovah and has no time for him. But that's the man that's leading the armies of Israel instead of David. Instead of the man after God's own heart, he has a hypocrite and God is so gracious. Verse 13, as Joab draws near with his men, the mercenaries run away. They've heard about Joab. They've heard about David and his armies. And they get out of there. Money wasted. Hope he got the receipt. But they don't give up. they come back again. And I think God allows them to come back again because he's trying to get David to waken up. And we're told The Syrians, verse 15, saw that they were smitten. They gathered themselves together and Hadad Rezer sent and brought out the Syrians that were beyond. They came to Hilam. And verse 17, and it was told David. So David hears. Problem not solved, David. Now again, God is saying to David, knocking on David's heart, David. You failed the first time, you didn't win, you just ran away. David, I want to see some humility. David, I want to see you ask for help. David, I want to see you lead your army. And in part, David gets the message because notice what happens. It says that David gathered all Israel together. What he should have done the first time, And he passed over the Jordan and he came to Helam. Now, again, what's missing? This time he's there, yes, physically. This time he's no longer delegating to Joab. But again, no thought for God. No talk about God. No prayer to God, no seeking guidance from God. This is David now acting, oh, Joab couldn't fix it, I'll go and fix it. And God is so good to him because we're told, verse 19, when all the kings, well, sorry, verse 18, the Syrians fled before Israel and David slew the men of 700 chariots of the Syrians and 40,000 horsemen. And Shobak, the captain of their host, who died, There, David is given a measure of success. God continues to honor him. God continues to show mercy to him. God continues to bless him with victory over his enemies. But underneath, it's like that apple you see in the green grocers. It looks red on the outside. And you can polish it with your hand or with your glove and it'll shine. But unknown or unnoticed by David, the worm has got into the center. And when David's about to bite in the next chapter, he'll discover the apple is what? Rotten. You know, the easiest person to fool in life is yourself. It's yourself. That everything's okay. That I'm all right with God. That my circumstances are fine. That my relationship is fine. That my situation is fine. And God's happy with, after all, everything's going my way. Look, I just defeated them all. And I've won respect. And people now fear me. In fact, the end of the chapter says, the Syrians came and served them and feared to help the children of Ammon anymore. David won. He not only won the battle, he won respect. He won more wealth. But this chapter will take us into the next chapter. And the next chapter will reveal the consequences of David not truly changing, not truly repenting, not truly dealing with David's greatest problem, not the giant of Goliath, but the giant of lust that he allowed to slay him. What does this story tell us? Well, it tells us that God gives us warnings often before we fall. And when we refuse to heed them, God sometimes gives us more warnings. He's very gracious. But if we keep on ignoring the warning lights, just like your car, if you keep on ignoring the lights telling you it's heating up or the oil is running out or the petrol is running out, eventually, the real problem will come. One that can't be solved in two minutes or with a small solution. Number two, learn the lesson from this chapter. You're often misunderstood. Often when you try to be a blessing to others and people Some people, shouldn't say all people, many people, some people will often return evil for good. You'll see that in this chapter, sure. You'll also see in this chapter, there are people that you should be gracious to, but there are other people you have to stand up to. You have to deal with them. Hanun had to be dealt with. David understood that. David was right to understand that. It was the way David did. deal with it was the problem, not the fact that he had to deal with Hanun and his armies. But you know, as I close, I notice this. The best thing in life, the greatest thing in life, is to leave this world not with the applause, the acclaim of the world around you. The best way to leave this world, and the only way to leave this world that's worth anything, is to leave this world with the testimony of God ringing about you. That's it. I often say this, Noah went into the ark a minority, despised by the world, didn't he? Mocked by the world around him. But he had one person who believed in him. One person who said of him, he's a just man and a perfect man in his generations. Who said that about him? God said it. Noah went into the ark, a minority, a tiny minority. And he came out of the ark, a majority. with the applause of God. And if you read Hebrews chapter 11, you read the New Testament, the only person that lived in Noah's generation that earned the applause and the acclaim of God was not the millions of people who mocked Noah. was not the millions of people who sneered at Noah and his gospel and his beliefs and his testimony and his marriage and how he got his three sons to marry three women and got them in the ark. What a story that was. In a world where everybody was living with everybody, he got his three sons to believe that marrying one wife was enough. And when Noah left this world, He left as a winner because he walked with God. That's all that matters. May God help you and me to not ignore the warning lights, but to listen and to make sure that we walk with God. If King David could roll back the clock, and he was here tonight or here this day, He would say to you, don't make my mistake. Don't be foolish. When God rings your bell, pay attention. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for your word this morning. Yes, in many ways it's a solemn word. It's a word that rings in our hearts a sense of fear, but it should. The apostle Paul says, knowing the terror of God, we persuade men. He said, let every man examine himself. Let every woman examine herself, whether he or she truly is off the faith. Lord, that's an accountability that we're all required to engage in, self-accountability. Bless your word to all of our hearts. Continue to speak to us, even as we leave this place. For we ask these things in Jesus' precious name. Amen. I'm going to close with 667. 667. Under the burdens of guilt and care, many a spirit is grieving. who in the joy of the Lord might share life everlasting receiving. We'll sing the first and the last verse, please. With the joy of the Lord I share, I forever ask Him receiving. One life eternal life, Jesus alone is to give her. Oh, for the plants on the thirsty land. Oh, for a mighty revival. Oh, for a scent in my dearest land, ready to pay the price for my blood. I'm thy return. Let us receive the benediction. Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be with you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen. Please be seated.