Alright, let's turn to 2 Samuel
chapter 3. Now, the last part of 2 Samuel
3, as we covered just only up through verse 5 last time, I
want to get to the end of the chapter because I want you to
see there in verse 36 of 2 Samuel 3, a point that is
so well made here. There are several things we'll
see as we look at three men in this passage. We'll look at Abner,
a little bit at Joab, not much at Joab, but some. But mainly
at David as a type of Christ. And I've entitled the message
from verse 36 here, the King pleasing all the people. The King pleasing all the people. It says, and all the people took
notice of it, and it pleased them. as whatsoever the king
did pleased all the people." You know, Abraham Lincoln said
you can please some of the people all the time, and please all
the people sometimes, but you can't please all the people all
the time. That's not what he said, was
it? He said you can fool. But I thought about that. It's
the same way with pleasing as with fooling. You can fool all
the people some of the time, some of the people all the time,
but not all the people all the time. with us and trying to please
people. Paul wrote to the Galatians,
he said, if I seek to please men, he said, I'm not the servant
of God. So we're not seeking to please
men. But in a sense, this is what this is talking about David
and all of Israel coming unto him by God's providence. And he pleased all the people.
He didn't please all the people all the time. But the one whom
David typifies, the Lord Jesus Christ, he pleases all his people
all the time. Now, that's not to say that we're
always pleased. We're not always pleased. But
our displeasure is not brought about by our Savior or in our
Savior, because He does all things right, and we know that. Sometimes
we may lose sight of that. But let's go back to 2 Samuel
3 here. Remember, it opens up with a
long war. There's a long war between the
house of Saul and the house of David. Continued about five years,
this war. And this conflict can illustrate
two things concerning the gospel and the experience of the gospel.
Certainly, it illustrates the conflict between Christ's church
and the world. There's a long war. Now, the
battle's really been won. The war's really been won, rather.
The battles are being fought. Christ won the victory on the
cross when he put away the sins of his people. But Satan is still
allowed for a time to attack, and the world is always against
the Church. Christ told His disciples that
the world would hate us, because it hated Him before it hated
us. And He said it would be so bad that they would even throw
us out of their synagogues, out of their religious gatherings,
because we will not, we will not attest to their salvation,
which rests upon something other than or added to Christ. and him crucified and risen again.
You see, we're the people of grace. And that's why we're in
a war, in a conflict with the people of works. That war was
first exemplified in the lives of Cain and Abel. And you know
how Cain hated Abel. But now this long war between
the house of David and the house of Saul can also illustrate the
conflict that goes on within every believer's heart, the warfare
of the flesh and the spirit. There is always a constant warfare
between the Holy Spirit who indwells us continually and the flesh
with its desires. And that war has actually been
won because Paul, as he described it in Romans chapter 7, and at
the end of that chapter he cried out in desperation almost, but
with hope. He said, O wretched man that
I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? And he
said, I thank God through Jesus Christ my Lord. So we're going
to be delivered from that war. We're going to be finally and
eternally conformed to the image of Christ. We have a little foretaste
of it now, in the sense that we've been born again, resurrected
from the dead, and we have the indwelling presence of His Spirit
within us. But I'll tell you what, John,
in 1 John, chapter 3 there, He said, Beloved, it doth not
yet appear what we shall be. In other words, what he's saying
is we haven't even seen what it's going to be like when we
see him as he really is in all the perfection. In other words,
I'll look at him with sinlessly perfect eyes. It won't be a big
blur like you are right now. But not only perfect physically
or spiritually, but in a spiritual way. And we'll have no sin within
at that time. Now in this chapter, in the context
of this long war, we're confronted with three men who dominate this
chapter. The first one is a man named
Abner. You've heard of Abner. He's the one. who was Saul's
captain of the guard, general of the army. He was a highly
respected man in Israel, highly regarded. Even David said he
was a prince and a great man. David was referring, we'll see
that referring to his physical prowess, his accomplishments
as Saul's general. At one time David derided him
for not protecting his king. You remember that when David
went over and took the king's spear and the crews of water.
And he told Abner, he said, you ought to go out and just commit
suicide because you've shirked your responsibility. But generally,
Abner was known as a man of accomplishment, well-respected in Israel. And
that's why he had so much influence. to take Ish-bosheth, you remember
Saul's fourth son, and put him on the throne, and all Israel
followed him except one tribe, the tribe of Judah, which were
under David. And here's this conflict, and
here comes Abner, verse 6, it came to pass, while there was
war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that
Abner made himself strong for the house of Saul. Now this Abner
made himself strong to the fact that God, compare this to the
fact that God made David stronger. David waxed stronger. It means
he grew stronger. It was the power of God and God's
grace that made David stronger. And you know, notice that first
thing David did was inquire of the Lord. That's where our strength
is. Our strength is Christ. And we
are strengthened as we look to his word, which leads us to him.
and constantly causes us to rest in. But Abner, it says, made
himself strong. That's the work of the flesh
he's talking about. I told somebody, it's a common
theme about those who are like this, and it says, and we can
say it of Abner, he was a self-made man and he worshipped his creator. And that's Abner. I know some
folks like that. Self-made men and they worshipped
their creator. And Abner was consumed with one
passion. He wanted to have the preeminence.
In this struggle between the house of David and the house
of Saul, which Abner was the one who instigated it, whereas
he should have willingly, like Jonathan and the tribe of Judas,
submitted himself to God's will in the rule of David, Abner was
set on having the preeminence. He wanted to keep his job. He
wanted to keep his status. And that was his one passion.
And here's the thing, he sought to use spiritual things as a
means for position and power and material gain. That's what
he did. We've seen that in scripture.
The Bible tells us in the book of Acts about a man named Simon
Magus who did that. He heard Peter and James and
John preaching, saw that they healed some people, and saw that
they could bestow the gifts of the Spirit by the laying on of
hands, and he tried to buy that. He said, let me buy that power.
And Peter told him, he says, perish with your money, basically
is what he's saying. You can't buy the spiritual gifts. You can't buy salvation or any
part of it. The Bible teaches of a man named
Diotrephes in 3 John 9-10. Diotrephes who loved to have
the preeminence. You know that name Diotrephes
has been kicked around probably just about as much as Judas.
Most preachers will label people Diotrephes and all you have to
do is just disagree with them. And you're a Diotrephes. But
that's not what Diotrephes was. He was a man who wanted the preeminence. And always remember that. And
in order to gain the preeminence, he would reject certain people. He says, you don't go to this
one, you don't invite John or anybody associated with John
in to preach for you, see, because he saw them as a rival. Well,
this is what Abner's like, you see. He saw Joab as a rival,
but he wanted to keep his position and his one passion caused him
to disobey what he knew to be the will of God. In the first
verses here, the first thing Abner did is he went into one
of Saul's concubines. Now, it's not clear whether or
not he really did this, or whether Ish-bosheth just accused him.
But look at it, verse 7. Saul had a concubine whose name
was Rizpan, the daughter of Aiah. And Ish-bosheth said to Abner,
Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father's concubine? Now, if
Abner really did that, that would have been, at that culture, considered
an act of high treason, whereas he was trying to take Saul's
place and keep the throne for himself. And so Abner said in
verse 8, he was very angry for the words of Ish-boseth, and
said, Am I a dog's head, which against Judah do show kindness
this day unto the house of Saul thy father, to his brethren,
to his friends, and have not delivered thee in the hand of
David, that thou chargest me today? with a fault concerning
this woman. In other words, Abner is offended. He said, are you treating me
like a dog? Here I've put you on the throne.
I've taken sides with Saul's house against David, and this
is the way you're treating me just because I've gone unto a
woman? And so look at what he says here
in verse 9. So do God to Abner, and more also, except as the
Lord hath sworn to David, even so I do to him. Abner now turns
to David. He said, I'm going to turn against
you. And he says, to translate the kingdom from the house of
Saul and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over
Judah from Dan even to Beersheba. And he could not answer, Ish-bosheth
could not answer Abner a word because he feared him. Ish-bosheth
was a weak man. He was a puppet king. But you
know what Abner says here, he says in verse 9, as the Lord
has sworn to David. What does that tell you? It tells
you that Abner admits here that he knew that God had appointed
David to the throne, and yet he would not bow to that because
it didn't fit his plan and his scheme. He seeks to exalt himself,
and he admits that God had promised the kingdom to David. Now, if
Abner knew that David was God's choice for king, why did he fight
against him before this? Somebody said Abner is a good
example of those who know things to be true but don't live as
if they were true. In other words, it's my will
or my way. And Abner did the right thing
in joining David. He's going to go over to David.
Verse 12, it says here that Abner sent messengers to David on his
behalf saying, whose is the land? Also make thy league with me.
Come together with me." Now, you know, Abner was the general
now. David is to be king of the whole
land. And so in verse 13, he said,
well, I will make a league with thee, but one thing I require
of thee, this is David, he says, thou shalt not, that is, thou
shalt not see my face, except thou first bring Michael, Saul's
daughter, when thou comest to see my face. So David demands
that Abner brings Michael, his first wife, back to him. That's
probably a political move. He wants the people to see that
he and the House of Saul are together. And so somebody said,
well, that's not a right thing to do. I don't know. I mean,
it doesn't really make a comment on it. But you see, Abner's going
to join David because he was now mad at Ish-bosheth. And so
he does the right thing for the wrong reason. His motives are
wrong. And then he says, bring Michael's daughter. And then
Abner does what he promises. He brings Michael's daughter.
Notice in verse 18, it says in verse 17 here, and Abner had
communication with the elders of Israel saying, you sought
for David in times past to be king over you. Now listen to
verse 18. He says, Now then do it. Set David as king over you. For the Lord hath spoken of David,
saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel
out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their
enemies." Now Abner spoke the truth. Israel's salvation physically,
temporally rested upon David and his lordship. And that's
a beautiful type of Christ because you see the whole salvation and
eternal well-being and blessedness, even our glory, rests upon Christ,
God's anointed King, the King of Kings, and His doing the work
that He was sent to do. His David will save His people
Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. Christ saved all
His people, spiritual Israel, the elect of God, Jew and Gentile,
out of the hands of sin, out of the hands of Satan. out from
under the curse of the law, and He did it by His death on the
cross. That's the gospel. Christ saves
sinners by His bloody substitutionary death on the cross, by His suffering. And by Him, we're delivered out
of the hands of all our enemies. The flesh couldn't deliver us,
just like Saul couldn't deliver Israel. Ish-bosheth, the man
of shame, couldn't deliver Israel. Even Abner, the prince, and the
great man. He couldn't deliver Israel. It
had to be one who was, number one, appointed of God and equipped
of God. And that's what David was. And
that's what our Lord was as God-man mediator, as the one who was
sent of the Father to do the will of the Father, willingly. And he took our place in his
obedience unto death and saved all his people. Now, that's key.
all his people, all Israel, spiritual Israel, from the hand of the
Philistines who represent sin and bondage and the curse. So
what a great type that is. It says here that David made
a feast. Abner came to him, brought Michael
to him. In verse 20, look at verse 20,
it says, So Abner came to David, to Hebron, and twenty men with
him. And David made Abner and the men that were with him a
feast. Most commentators, and I agree with them, say David
was using some wisdom and generosity towards a former adversary here.
But I thought about that. You see, David, he could have
just ordered Abner to be killed. He could have taken vengeance,
but he knew vengeance belonged to God. He knew that the throne
of Israel was not to be taken that way. I'll say more about
that in just a second. But he could have, within his
rights, had Abner killed. But he exercised some caution
and some wisdom. But I thought about this. You
know, Christ could have, in his own rights, according to strict
justice, have set every one of us in hell. O Lord, if thou,
Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, who would stand? But there was
a covenant made before the foundation of the world wherein God chose
a people and gave them to him and sent him to exact out mercy
with justice so that we wouldn't have to be cast into hell. And
not only this, you see, David, he made a feast for a former
enemy. Christ died for us when we were
yet enemies. Look over in Romans chapter 5
real quick. And you know, that's an amazing
thing that sometimes we'll read over it and we just don't stop
and think of the magnitude of this. Romans chapter 5. You think
about that in verse 6 of Romans 5. It says, For when we were
yet without strength, had no strength to save ourselves, in
due time, And that is according to the time. There's an appointed
time for him to do this. This was no accident. It was
no afterthought. It was no plan B. But in due
time, Christ died for who? The ungodly. Now, one thing I
know about the ungodly, they don't deserve mercy. They don't
deserve grace. They don't deserve to be loved.
They don't deserve to be blessed. That's one thing you can mark
it down about the ungodly. They don't deserve, they haven't
earned any part of salvation. That's right, they haven't earned
it, they don't deserve it. But Christ died for such people.
Now why did he do that? I'll tell you why, for the Father's
glory and for his love. He loved his own until the end.
But let's go on, verse 7, for scarcely for a righteous man
will one die. We could look at somebody who
deserves such a sacrifice and we could say, well, that makes
sense. Yet, perventure for a good man, some would even dare to
die. We could look at somebody that we call good and say, well,
I can understand somebody giving their life for them. But that's
not the way it is in the gospel. That's not the way it is in my
salvation or your salvation. Here's the way it is in ours.
Verse 8, But God commendeth his love toward us in that while
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. You see, there's no qualification
in us. There's no deservedness in us.
In verse 9, much more than being now justified by his blood, we
shall be saved from wrath through him. Just like David was the
salvation of physical Israel, Christ is the salvation of spiritual
Israel. Verse 10, for if when we were
what? Enemies. Not former enemies.
Like Abner. Abner changed. He wrote a letter.
He sent messengers. He came, he brought David, what
David told him to bring, brought Michael, and then what did David
do? He threw a feast. That's not
the way it is here. Christ died for us when we were
enemies. We were reconciled to God by
the death of His Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be
saved by His life. Now think about that. Don't let
that just pass over you. That's why we sing amazing grace. That's why it's so amazing. Look
back at 2 Samuel 3 now. So Abner did what he promises.
He spoke the truth. Back here in verse 18 of 2 Samuel
3. Some people are kind of ambivalent
about Abner, whether or not did he really in his heart repent
or was he just trying to get in and keep his status. I have
a tendency to think that way. Joab did. Of course, Joab did
wrong, we're going to see, but he thought Abner was just trying
to be a spy. But whether Abner was still an
enemy or a friend, he spoke the truth here, that the people were
going to be saved by David. There have been times in Scripture
where the enemies of Christ spoke the truth. I can think of Caiaphas
when he said, it's expedient that one die for the people.
He really didn't know what he was saying, but he did. He spoke
the truth, didn't he? I can think about Pontius Pilate
when he said, I find no fault in this man. He didn't really
know what he was saying, but he spoke the truth. I can think
about others. Balaam. He spoke the truth at
one time, didn't he? But he didn't know it. Well,
let's go on. Look down here at Now, we come to Joab. Now, I'm
not going to say a whole lot about Joab. He pops up later
on. But Joab, you know, he was David's
nephew. He was captain of David's army.
On the whole, as we read from him in the scripture, he's a
violent man. He's kind of wily. He's kind of unscrupulous. And
he'll appear throughout the story of David. And finally, he's ultimately
slain himself. But look at verse 22, it says,
Behold, the servants of David and Joab came from pursuing a
troop and brought in a great spoil with them. But Abner was
not with David in Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he
was gone in peace. I suspect that David probably
knew that Joab and Abner would mix like oil and water. And he
says, verse 23, When Joab and all the host that was with him
were come, they told Joab, saying, Abner, the son of Ner, came to
the king, and he has sent him away, and he is gone in peace.
And then Joab said, why have you done that? What have you
done? What was Joab's problem? Well, you remember that Abner
was the one who killed Joab's brother. Esahai is his name. And there was bad blood between
these men. So what happens? Well, Joab kills
Abner. Look at verse 27. He murdered
him, and when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside
in the gate to speak with him quietly. Literally, that's outside
the gate, took him outside the city quietly. Some commentators
say, well, he had to take him outside because Hebron was one
of the cities of refuge. And while Abner was in the cities
of refuge, he had judicial protection. Because you see, when he killed
Asahai, Asahai came after him. He was defending himself. He
didn't want to do this. But Joab didn't see it that way.
So he took him outside the city and smote him there under the
fifth rib. That's got him in the heart.
That's what that means. Got him right in the heart. That
he died for the blood of Asahel, his brother. So Abner, or Joab,
murdered Abner outside the gate of the city of refuge. Joab should
have followed his king's example and left vengeance to God, but
he didn't do it. So what do we see in Joab? We
see the flesh. We see the man who takes matters
into his own hands. And we won't go into all this
now, but he suffered for it. But now, let's come to David.
David's the main subject here. He's the king, God's chosen king. It says in verse 28, "...afterward
when David heard it, He said, I and my kingdom are guiltless
before the Lord forever from the blood of Abner, the son of
Ner. David is saying, I didn't have anything to do with this.
I didn't order Joab to do it. Didn't even suggest it. He says,
verse 29, let it rest on the head of Joab and on all his father's
house, and let there not fail from the house of Joab one that
hath an issue, that's like a hemorrhage, or that is a leper. or that leaneth
on a staff, someone who's lame, or that falleth on the sword,
or that lacketh bread." What's David doing here? Well, he's
renouncing Joab's act of murder and pronounces a curse upon Joab's
house. What's he showing? The fact that
sin, sin brings a curse. Always sin brings a curse, doesn't
it? Nothing good can come from it.
That's why Christ had to be made a curse for us, because sin cursed
us. The law of God demands payment. Sin brings its curse. We feel
the effects of the curse, even though we're not condemned, for
there's therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ.
Christ became a curse, and cursed is everyone that hangeth on a
tree. He was crucified because he was cursed of God. Christ
was actually cursed of God. Why? Because of our sins laid
to his charge. That's what Peter wrote about.
That's what Galatians talks about. He was made a curse in the same
way that he was made sin, by imputation. He came under the
law to redeem them that were under the law. He was made sin,
Christ who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. And the total, complete curse
was removed by the shedding of His blood. And Joab is under
this curse of his own sin, just like we were. We were cursed
in Adam when we fell, ruined by the fall, cursed because of
our own sin, sin upon sin upon sin, and that's why Christ had
to be made a curse for us. Now you know what's happening
here is David is realizing something that is key to an understanding
not just of his position as a king, as an earthly king, but of his
position as a type of Christ. And here's the key. David was
keenly aware that his victory over his enemies up to this point,
and his coronation as king, that it had to be the work of God
alone. And listen, his kingdom, David's
kingdom, could not be established by war and by the blood of men. See, that was Joab's mistake.
That was Asahi's mistake before, going after Abner. They wanted
to take the kingdom by blood, by war, by force, by the power
of the flesh. But David knew that the kingdom
could not be taken and established, and he could not be put on the
throne. Not by works, not by the works
of men, not by plots and schemes, and not by force of men. Well,
how is the kingdom going to be taken? The kingdom had to be
taken by sacrifice, not by war. And who's doing the sacrificing?
Well, David's been, from the time that it was known unto Saul
that David was God's anointed, He went after David. David started
on the run. He was an outcast. He was a renegade. He was a reject. He was a rebel
in Saul's eyes. He suffered. He had to live in
caves. He had to go here. He had to move there. And it's
still going on, isn't it? Right now, he's king of Judah,
but not all Israel. He's still suffering. He's still
sacrificing. And that's how the kingdom has
to be taken. That's a picture of Christ. who
did not come the first time as a conquering warrior king, as
the Jews expected, coming in the clouds on a white horse,
bearing a sword to conquer all their enemies, and reigned from
Jerusalem, and with them as his lieutenants, patting them on
the back, saying, you've all done such a great job, now here's
your reward. No. No. How did he come the first
time? To ascend into the throne of
glory as the God-man mediator, he came as the suffering servant
of Jehovah to die on the cross. That's the Messiah. That's the
Messiah King. That's the suffering sovereign
Savior, Isaiah 53, who was bruised for our transgressions. His victory
was God's work of power against sin. And Christ, the Son of God,
submitted Himself to all the justice of His Father and all
the humiliation that He could suffer from men before He ascended
unto the throne of glory as the God-man mediator. And that's
what David's picturing here. Joab may draw his sword, but
that's not the way. Now, you remember a time when
our Lord admonished one of his disciples for that very thing.
You remember when they came to get him in the garden of Gethsemane?
And what happened? Peter drew a sword, didn't he?
Cut off a man's ear. Christ picked up the ear and
put it back on the man, healed the man. And he told him, he
said, no, this is not the way, Peter. Just like David should
have and could have said to Joab had he known what was going on.
This is not the way. He said, I must go to the cross. The kingdom has to be established
by the suffering under death of the Son of God. He must shed
his precious blood. But you see, in his blood shedding,
in his death, there's victory. The world couldn't see it. Satan
didn't see it. But in his death, there was victory. The conquering, suffering Savior. That sounds like a contradiction,
but it's not. So here David is showing then,
verse 31, says, David said to Joab and all the people that
were with him, rend your clothes, gird you with sackcloth, and
mourn for Abner. And King David himself followed
the beard, the coffin. He followed it. And they buried
Abner in Hebron. The king lifted up his voice
and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. You
see, David knew that the people loved Abner. In their eyes, he
was a great man. He says in verse 30, And the
king lamented over Abner, and said, Died Abner, as a fool dieth? Verse 34, Thy hands were not
bound, nor thy feet put into fetters. And as a man faileth
before wicked men, so failest thou. And all the people wept
again over him. And when all the people came
to cause David to eat meat while it was yet day, David swore,
saying, So do God to me. And more also, if I taste bread,
he's fasting. That was a sign of mourning,
or all else till the sun be down. And verse 36, And all the people
took notice of it, and it pleased them, as whatsoever the king
did pleased all the people. David knew what he was doing.
He was led by God. is the one who will have his
vengeance, not Joab, but God would. But here we see David
as a type of Christ who always pleases his people. He says they
took notice. That means not only just observed
what happened, but perceived it, understood it, and they were
satisfied. And this is the way Christ's
disciples perceive and follow him. You know, before Christ
could please his people in their hearts, He had to please his
father first. Scott Richardson, I believe one
of the men, I don't know if it was Gary or if it was Jim, mentioned
that, how Scott Richardson said one time, he said, before God
does anything for us, he must do something for himself. Because
you see, this thing of salvation is for his glory. And you know,
everything that's happening in this history is for God's glory.
That's why it was so wrong for Joab to do what he did. And it
was so right for David. David's not just Acting like
most people do today at a funeral, when they know that the person
in the coffin was a scoundrel, but they get up and preach him
into heaven, or preach his accolades like he was a model citizen.
That's not what David's doing here. He's simply acting the
part of a king. A king who acts wisely by the
power of God and does right, and one who tempathizes the King
of Kings, the Lord of Lords. Before Christ could please us,
he had to please his Father. His Father commissioned and sent
it, and said it at His baptism, this is my beloved Son in whom
I am well pleased, hear ye Him. It pleased the Father to bruise
Him, the Scripture says, because God's justice had to be satisfied
against our sins. And because Christ satisfied
His Father, because Christ satisfied justice, He satisfies by His
Spirit all who are redeemed and regenerated called. And listen
to this, we're satisfied. Aren't you satisfied with Christ?
Aren't you pleased with Him? Everything He is and everything
He does pleases His people. All His people. Doesn't please
everyone. It didn't please the high priest and the priest of
the temple in His day. Didn't please the Jews or the
Gentiles. Herod, Pontius Pilate, didn't
please them. Didn't please us for a long time, did it? But
when God the Holy Spirit comes in and breaks us and puts us
in the dust, and shows us our sinfulness and our depravity,
and shows us the glory of Christ. He shows us all that He accomplished
on Calvary, and where He is now. Then this old sinner is pleased,
because more than pleased, satisfied, overflowing, our cups overflow
with the glory of Christ. We're satisfied with Him and
His person, who He is. Who is He? He's God and man in
one person. How in the world could anybody
be pleased with anyone else as far as salvation is concerned?
Because it takes one who is God and one who is man to save me
from my sins and to save you. He has to be both. You see, God
cannot die. Isn't that right? And that's
why he took not on him the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham
that he might suffer death. This person who is God did die. That's to be attributed to his
humanity. But it was an act of his entire
person, God and man. Now, you explain that. You can't.
Don't cry. I'm not going to. I'm going to
stop right there and just marvel at our Savior. Man cannot give
and sustain life. Can't do it. No man can give
and sustain life. But this person, who is man,
does. And you know what? That's because
he's God. God can give and sustain life. He's the God-man. Are you
pleased with that? Who he is? We're pleased, satisfied
with his great work of redemption, shedding his precious blood,
puts away all my sins, past, present, and future. Does that
please me? If it doesn't, there's something
bad wrong, isn't there? Oh, I'm pleased with all that
he accomplished in Calvary. I'll tell you how pleased I am
and how pleased you are. Don't you say, God forbid that
we should glory save in the cross of Christ. I'm pleased with his
righteousness. Men want to talk about another
righteousness, one that they do or one they're unable to do
or one shot into them some way. No, sir, I'm pleased with Christ
the Lord, my righteousness. I'm pleased with his righteousness
imputed. I heard a man say on a tape one
time, he said, I'm becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the doctrine
of imputed righteousness. I said, oh, no, not me. I'm very
pleased with it. How about you? I'm pleased with
Christ. Jehovah said canoe. I'm more
than pleased. I'm satisfied. I'm eternally
justified in Christ. And you don't want all the people
are pleased. with him all the time. All what
people? All his people. All for whom
he died. I'm satisfied with his lordship
and his glory. I tell you, I can honestly say
from my heart of hearts that I want Christ. I desire that
Christ get the glory. I really, I really do. I'm not
trying to get glory for myself, and I hope you're not trying
to get glory for yourself. I want Christ to have all the
glory. I've thought about this a lot, and I've prayed about
it a lot. And listen, I've got the flesh to fight too. Just
like you, I'm a weak vessel. There are times when somebody
says something about me or accuses me with an empty accusation,
and I get mad. But you know what? I really shouldn't
get mad. Because I know that it's all going to work out. God's
going to take vengeance. God's going to deal with it.
He's going to deal with it. And Christ will get the glory.
Some way. I mean, I'll get so mad, I want
to go knock somebody's head off. But that's not the way. I don't
want to be like Joab. Let me go out there, I'll get
Adonis and get him under the fifth rib. But that's not right. That's sin now. You know what?
That's sin. Because it's going to work out.
Just keep your focus on Christ. Let's keep our eyes set towards
Him and His glory. And that's enough to satisfy
us. That's enough to please us, isn't it? I'm satisfied with
his leadership and his guidance. You know, there are many times,
and I'll read something in God's Word, and the old flesh will
just love my enemies, pray for them that despitefully use me.
That's not an easy thing. I heard a preacher say one time,
well, that just comes naturally to a believer. You better go
home and look in the mirror. Done. I know we have the Spirit
of Christ, and I know we've been born again by the Spirit. We
have a desire to do those things. But it's a war, isn't it? It's
a warfare. But I can honestly say I am satisfied. I know it's the right thing to
do, and I'm pleased with it. I'm satisfied with His intercession. When I sin, I have an advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he's the propitiation,
the reconciliation, the satisfaction for all my sins. I'm satisfied
with all his promises and blessings. There are things I pray for that
I don't get. Things that I think I need. I
guess if I needed them, it means I'd be dead if I didn't have
them. I don't have them. I'm not dead, so I don't guess I need them.
There are things I pray for that I don't get. But I know God knows
best. He knows if I had, I'd probably
go out and act like a fool. Just be an idiot, you know. But
I'm satisfied with all his promises and with all his blessings. I'm
pleased with it. How about you? Well, look here, it says in verse
37, For all the people and all Israel understood that day that
it was not of the king to slay Abner the son of Ner. And the
king said unto his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince
and a great man fallen this day in Israel?" Speaking of Abner
in his earthly position. And he says in verse 39, And
I am this day weak, though anointed king, and these men, the sons
of Zeariah, be too hard for me. That was Joab and Asahi and Abishai. But listen to this, he says,
The Lord shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness. Now, that is a good lead-in to
chapter 4 when I get to it, Lord willing, Sunday night. But you
see, we don't want the reward of our works, of our efforts,
of our best, do we? Because you see, the Lord shall
reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness. And if God
requires perfection as to attaining and maintaining salvation, I
can tell you right now, my best could only fall under the category
of wickedness. That's right, my best. The Bible
says man at his best state is altogether what? Vanity. And you know what that means?
Worthless. Worthless. So Lord, I pray, do
not reward me according to my best. Reward me according to
your best, Christ. Reward me according to his best,
and I'll be satisfied. And that's something of what
David meant when he said, I'll be satisfied when I awake in
thy likeness.