2 Samuel 23

Okay, okay, I have. I have pressed the red button, so I guess that's a good thing. Good morning. All right, so we're in 2nd Samuel chapter 23 today and You know Mike's out in the water somewhere. I think if I'm not mistaken is that where he went.

When do you know for sure Mike? Yeah, you know I think. But anyway We're glad you're here. Let's go ahead and have a word of prayer Jack. Would you lead us in a prayer?

Praise for our Savior to come to earth to take our sins. We thank you father that we are free to come into your house and study your word and worship you. We ask you to watch over our preacher. Has to watch over us and bless us and open our hearts and open our minds.

We pray in the name of Jesus.

David’s Last Words and the Inspiration of Scripture

All right, well Mike and I decided he asked if I would just go on and continue where he was at. So I am going to continue and we're in chapter 23 today. I kind of got it hopefully you can read that most of my kids sometimes said you just need to quit writing up there Mr.. Jordan because you know you don't know what you're doing so anyway.

But we see David the inspired singer in verses 1 through 7. We see he has privileges of leadership. We see he has responsibilities of leadership. And then we see David the gifted leader in verses 8 through 38.

Now I have done Mike a good favor in the sense that I have left all the David's mighty men all those names. I'll let him pronounce them next week for you, okay? So anyway, just thought I'd let you know that Mike, but anyway all right so let's look at chapter 23 verses 1 through 7 to start with and and if we Get further than that we will he asked.

He hoped that I would get through at least verse 7 and He doesn't know me very well, but anyway all right, so now these are the words of David. Thus says David the son of Jesse thus says the man raised up on high.

The anointed of the God of Jacob and the sweet psalmist of Israel the spirit of the Lord spoke by me. And his word was on my tongue. The God of Israel said the rock of Israel spoke to me. He who rules over men must be just Ruling in the fear of God.

And he shall be like the light of the morning when the Sun rises a morning without clouds like the tender grass Springing out of the earth by clear shining rain. Although my house is not so with God yet.

He has made with me an everlasting covenant ordered in all things and Secured for this is all my salvation and all my desire. Will he not make it increase? But the sons of rebellion shall all be as thorns thrust away.

Because they cannot be taken with hands but the man who touches them must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear and They shall be utterly burned with fire in their place. Actually we see three different portraits.

Yes, I think everything's on the go. I press the red button. Already I've done something right today. My wife's gonna be proud. All right, so anyway let's look first of all at these at this portrait of David as David as the inspired singer and Notice we see that in verses 1 through 7.

We see it's the last words of David now. If we go over to first Kings chapter 1 which is just a couple of pages over we're not going there. But we do know he discusses something with Bathsheba and Nathan, right?

The kingdom's getting ready. Adonijah has overthrown the kingdom and Nathan and Bathsheba both know David is very ill. In fact, he even has someone that's keeping him warm. He has someone tending to his every need.

Yes, he is on his dying bed so to speak. But yet he has enough strength. He can muster up to speak to Nathan and speak to Bathsheba and say this is how this is how History must run out for Israel. Solomon is the king.

Make sure that takes place. And of course they do make sure that takes place. So what are these last words of David? Well pretty well the last words of any spiritual advisement or anything spiritually that he has to say.

One thing I have noticed and this is just me over my years I have really taken notice of people and what they say as they're dying in their last days and many of the things they said and I wrote down a few, you know a few of those and One of them was CH Spurgeon who happens to be.

My wife told me we're not supposed to worship idols. So I took his portrait down out of my study. So anyway, but he you know, I've always had respect for him. Somebody handed me one of his sermons one day and I said I could preach like that boy.

That'd be great. But and so I'm still working on it after 52 years of ministry. So I still not that great anyway. Here's what he said. After 40 years of unexampled ministry entered into rest two of the three days before the end.

He said to his secretary My work is done. Man, I just stopped right there. My work is done. Well done thou good and faithful servant. Is that not what Jesus said? Well done. And It was the last words that really caught me he says now I just wait For him to come that's a moving to you know, it's kind of moving to me.

Matthew Henry who by the way was the first commentaries I was ever given didn't understand any of it. But I read it anyway still didn't understand any of it after reading it and and he said this you have been used to take Notice of the sayings of dying men.

Well, here is mine that a life spent in the service of God and Communion with him is the most comfortable. It's the most pleasant life that anyone can live in this world. I have found that true. I've been blessed to find that and find that true.

I can remember when I graduated from college and I was getting ready to go and I'd actually already had a church and now the church wanted to call me because I guess they thought I was smarter and So anyway, so they called me and I can remember as we graduate and everybody's asking what you're gonna do and this is a well I'm gonna go take my church full-time and they said why I Said because that's what I'm supposed to do.

They said, how do you know that? I Said well God told me so. Oh, so you speak to God? No, he speaks to me. That's all I need. Hmm. Does God hear me? No certainly hears me, you know, thank goodness he does.

Especially those times. I just I don't have one of them real long laid-out prayers. God's the only prayer of God. Hmm, and then he seems to come along and go through that now. Let's look at this last words of David.

Notice he says that he uttered this or that he made this statement. That says David thus says the man of Israel the sweet song the spirit knows in verse 2 the spirit of the Lord spoke by me. Now someone asked is the Bible inspired?

Well, it must have been to David because he said the Lord spoke to me to write these words. And what is the what is inspiration? Let's go over to 2nd Peter a minute. You probably I am sure most of y 'all sitting in here today Are well aware of this passage is I believe it's 2nd Peter Mike.

I may have messed up here I might have mowed down 1st Peter where it talks about the Holy Spirit moved men as They were. It is 2nd Peter. Okay 121 thank you. I thought it was. I'm glad I wrote down the second one.

That's Roman numerals. Well, you let me get over there. For a prophecy never came by the will of man, thank goodness. But holy men of God spoke as what they were moved by the Holy Spirit. David said the spirit of the Lord spoke by me.

So David's last words have a lot of meaning they're inspired not this palms aren't guess what he left. He left a hundred and fifty Psalms now where every one of them by David. But at least 80 something of them were give or take everybody argues over that he wrote a lot of them.

Let's put it that way. It's 150. So he wrote at least half of them and He was called also the sweet psalmist of Israel anyway, so we see them. Now you hear a lot. You hear a lot about and this is something now this is maybe a pet peeve with me maybe it's not with you but There are people today somebody us talks about this.

This new translation that's out now, it's totally, you know, it's totally sitting mine. It's very popular right now. Everybody likes it. In fact a couple of teachers at the school. We get in arguments over it all the time.

We don't get in arguments they're just wrong and. So but anyway, he said that he was inspired by God to rearrange and make people understand the scriptures. Well, well, let's see Mike you're sitting there with King James.

I was I was teased on that raised on that I have a new King James now, which it took me a little while get away from get away from the old King King James. But I still read it quite a bit. But I tell you I didn't have any problem understanding.

Yeah, I had a little bit of problem as far as reading. I had a little bit of problem comprehending. This is the Word of God. He Just don't throw things in your mind in a natural mind. You've got to be in a spiritual state to understand a spiritual book.

Okay, well, I'm starting to preaching. Okay. All right, so it's a. And so anyway, forgive me if I do everybody but anyhow what we see is notice men may be moved with passion. And oh, it's a passion translation.

That's what it's called. Thanks. Yeah. All right. It's the passion translation God moves through him through inspiration through his spirit now some people say well Shakespeare was inspired. That's some pretty bad inspirings.

He's got a lot of heartbreak. He's got a lot of inaccuracies not this book not this book. So notice also when David said I spoke when David said this was my word in his tongue. This word said is used elsewhere all throughout the prophets for one phrase one word one phrase thus saith the Lord.

Now you may ask well, what do we need today when I do my own when I try to do my chapels I try to do something Beneficial to them and of course most of the time we end up in a couple of classes discussing What I stirred up.

I like to do that, you know, it's just you know, but they get to talking. They get to thinking about things. Let me tell you they bring up things about inspiration. Well, well, you know anybody what about an inspired artist?

Well, he may be inspired from the human sense of the word. But I can assure you most likely that the Holy Spirit of God is not moving him to do that. There may be a natural ability. That's already there and what have you so we see in the last hour but I'll tell you one person's dying words or last words that really impressed me greatly and.

And You know, this was a passage that that was always, you know a hospital bed does strange things to you like. You're looking up. Like you're realizing hey, you know, I'm really fortunate to get through this thing.

God has greatly blessed me and Sometimes these words come to my mind as they did Apostle Paul. I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith henceforth. There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.

You know, you rest better. You rest better in that. You rest knowing that God wonder that you've kept the course and now there's laid up for you a crown of righteousness now the privileges of leadership are also mentioned in verses 1 through 2 and We see it the Spirit of the Lord, of course notice.

It says that the Says David in verse 1 the son of Jesse. Thus says the man raised up on High now what happens when we raise someone we're developing them, aren't they? We raise our kids. We're developing.

We're bringing them along as their age matures. We develop them and that's from my into that maturity, right or the maturity where they're supposed to be. Well, this was the same thing that happened in David now.

Would you not think David was a very unlikely candidate to become a king. He was a shepherd. Hey, he was a good shepherd. I can tell you that anybody would take on a bear and a lion by himself. I got a high respect for that type of individual and I can remember in speaking about respect.

I've always liked baseball and I'm going a long way back Steven, but Mickey Mantle. I Liked Mickey Mantle every kid on the block wanted to be Mickey Mantle. Nobody wanted to be anybody else. They wanted to be Mickey Mantle and I can remember there was a Chicago pitcher named early win.

I don't know. I tell you when I got ready to name my kids early was not one of them in the list but early and he was a good pitcher and He says, you know, I don't know why you people give so much respect to Mickey Mantle and they were coming into Chicago to play.

Mickey Mantle had just previously hit a 536 foot home run that went into Queens and left Lake Yankee Stadium and went into the area Queens and there and So he come in Chicago and it was in the paper win says no respect for Mickey Mantle.

First pitch that win throws to him. He knocks at 482 feet and the only thing Mantle does is Before he starts running the bases. He looks at early win and he says this you got respect now. Respect is earned in it.

It just it is just it just isn't dumped out. And so we see then that David spins. He may not have had the respect. In fact, remember they had to go get him. Well, Jesse, do you have anybody else is it?

Yeah. And here was Jesse's remark and and you can read it in the Hebrew. It's just as crude. He says. But he keeps sheep. He keeps sheep. You can't be interested in in him and and Samuel said I like the way Samuel did this he said look go get him because nobody's eating till he comes and David came and of course, he was in the way and then what else happened to him?

Of course, he had to he had to work under Saul, right? He had to flee from Saul here's a guy who's called to be king and Yet he's fleeing another king and not sure if he's ever going to be crowned king.

But he held the course didn't he he held the course, okay. So he said he says that he spent 30 years training David first sheep in the pastures with Saul in the army camp and Finally his own fighting men in the Judea wilderness now.

It is absolutely a biblical fact great leaders are trained in solitude many times. Moses was on the backside of the desert. Was he not. Samuel was raised in the temple all the great leaders of Israel.

There was a quiet time. There was a solitude time. There was a time God was Developing them. Was maturing them was making them into the individuals that they were supposed to be. Any great leaders been trained in private before they go to work in public?

Talents are best nurtured in solitude. Characters best formed in the stormy billows of the world. David had both of them solitude and Deflection. Someone who cannot feel your pain and cannot understand what it's like to live the way you have to live.

It's probably going to be a poor leader. So we see then that David begins developing now a couple of things I want to I want to bring out in the practical terms here. And that's what we're going to try to do all morning is just do the practicality of things in God's work.

First of all you do not step up. Now in some in some Employments and some jobs. There's a certain step you take and then you step up to the next step now. It may be that you take a test or something like that.

I've got a very good friend of mine the police department he just passed the sergeant's test and and You know, and he just running around like crazy and everything else and then he finally understood that.

Oh my gosh. I got more responsibility. I Gotta really work for my money now. I Said oh, but anyway, but he developed himself. He had to work the beat, right? He had to work he had to work the lower levels to get to the higher levels.

And so we see that in God's work. You do not step up notice what David says you're raised up. You don't step up you raise up. Do you deserve it? You know a lot of people step up and don't deserve it a lot of people step up and they don't deserve it.

They're not ready for it. They're not prepared for and so we see notice. You're raised up and I can tell you another thing notice. He says that that the Lord spoke to him and he talked about also about the anointed God of Jacob.

And I can tell you another thing. You won't be raised up unless you're anointed God raised up the anointed he anointed David with the oil. Remember and he and he gave day and he gave David the oil. God's men are not made.

They're raised. Now I don't mean they can't better their gifts right that don't mean they can't better themselves. But basically what it is it boils down to this. God's men are not made. They're raised and they are developed.

Dr. Lloyd D. Martin Lloyd-Jones had the Blessed privilege and he was in his last days of ministry and already another minute James Montgomery voice had been been thinking about taking over, but I remember he said he said this.

It's a tragic thing when a young man succeeds before he's ready for it. I can remember my first church. They were all blessed those people most of them have passed now. I did did a few of their funerals, but most of them have passed but I am a young kid I am so now I have no earthly idea about really Pastoring a pastoring people.

I was learning the Bible. I was developing in the Bible, but I was still what you might call a long stone throws away from where I should be in it. By the way, I still am. So anyway. But they would put up with some of my crazy stuff and and sometimes I'd say well, why don't we?

You know and and I remember one deacon one time told me this Mike he says Well, they go ahead and do he's gonna find out that ain't gonna work either but I developed I developed and That was one of the heart that was my first church.

And by the way, your first church is always the hardest to leave if you have to leave if you feel moving on somewhere else or you just think it's time or whatever and I can remember just how they put up with Me and helped me mature in the ministry.

This is what a good leader does this is what a Inspired leader does this is a privilege of leadership in Developing other people in the Lord. It's a privilege to be able to do that. Also, it's good to be educated by men.

But it's even more important to be trained by the Lord and there's a difference in education and training sometimes. Now some of y 'all are probably going to love this to have the mechanical abilities and stuff like that.

But I can remember when I was going to college for some reason or another I had to make some money or I wasn't going to eat and So this guy that had an electrical company Says well, come on work with me.

I'll teach you this and I'll teach you that. I said, oh, okay, that sounds pretty good and I'll give you this much an hour. That sounds even better. Who cares if I learn anything as long as he pays me?

So I went and we got went to the first job. It was house. And he says he handed me this and he handed me this wire, I thought it was rope, but he handed me this wire. And he says I want you to run that wire to that box there for the light switch.

I go Okay. Run to the light switch wire. Okay one. Where do I start with the wire? How do I get it to the light switch? He didn't tell me that. He didn't say you need to start over here. You need to do this now many times.

We don't train people and it's not it's no mistake of his he had a job to do. I understand that he wanted somebody to help but he didn't necessarily have the time to share. I understand that now. I'm not bitter, I was never bitter or anything like that toward him and then but after a while I was still holding the rope and looking around he comes up to me.

He says you got to get that thing ran. I go. Sure. Then he comes back about two minutes later. Bless his heart. He looks at me. He says this really lifted me up. He says you don't have any idea what you're doing.

Do you? I go mm-hmm. I Said I sure don't he's okay running then he starts. Okay, what you need to do. You're running from one space to another space to the main thing. I said, oh I can do that here here and here.

I got it man, you know now it was one wrinkled mess on the way there. Okay, but it was there so we must be trained by the Lord our Lord was 30 think about our Lord. He was 30 years and preparing for three years service.

30 years for three years service. Oswald Chambers said the modern stamp today is three hours of preparation for 30 years of service. Now we hear a lot about weakness in churches pastors. One of the things is we think you know.

We think a couple years in seminary a couple years with this couple years with that. This person's ready put them in and off we go. It doesn't really work that way does it? Okay. Now think of also the trials that David had to endure in order to give us these the Psalms that he wrote.

Now David made it clear that he was writing the Word of God. Not just religious poetry. Now this is where we get into a day in an Old Testament survey. We're gonna touch on this a little bit. Mike will and I will too.

We're gonna touch on this a little bit in the sense that We like to break down the Bible and the Old Testament and stuff into historical Poetical prophetical all this other stuff. Well, let me tell you it's the Word of God forget it.

Okay. Well, it's it's in poetic form. Okay, I can live with that. I mean I read long, you know I read Longworth and I'll be others and I read John Doane poems and stuff. I can live with that but I'll tell you what they're saying and what God is saying is different.

So to me, it's inspired words. It's not poetry. Now it may be in the form of that but So much to speak for that there is modernism and liberalism that mocks the scriptures today now. Notice a couple of other things we see here notice in verse 3.

His word was on my tongue in the end verse 2, but the God of Israel said the rock of Israel spoke to me he who rules over men must be just the Spirit of the Lord also spoke to me and. Also, he who rules over men must be just.

I want us to look here. First of all notice the Trinitarian concept. That's already in the Old Testament. David says the father that's the God of Israel. Then he says the son that's the rock of Israel and then he says the Spirit.

Which is the Holy Spirit which is all co-equal with God one God all Co-equal we all agree with that now in verses 3 through 7. We see some of the responsibilities of leadership. Now David wasn't notice that the God of Israel said unto me the rock of Israel spoke to me he who rules over men must be just ruling in the fear of God.

England's greatest Queen and England's greatest time that she Leah was under Queen Victoria and she was a God-fearing Loving people Individual and she ruled that way notice she ruled just over men. And she was successful and had a successful kingdom that reached in by in fact.

It was one time said of England that the Sun never set on her Empire also Queen Victoria had much respect for the preachers and keep in mind during her reign there was Spurgeon Parker more I mean there was all kinds of great preachers and things like that, but I remember relating one day That she wanted to go to the Metropolitan Tabernacle where Spurgeon was at and finally hear him she had had him as a guest or as whatever the Queen does when she entertains people or something like that, you know have a Visit with them or something, but she had never been to his church and she said she would really like to Go and also speak with the people and things like that.

The people were kind of against it and what have you her advisor. So they went to Spurgeon and said look Queen Victoria wants to come and be part of the service and He said I admire the lay she knows that I have her.

She is my utmost respect as Queen and what have you and I hope this is not going to be taken in the wrong way. But she's gonna have to get in line like everybody else. Because people stood in line to get into the tabernacle.

Naturally eventually his deacons kind of Bless their hearts deacon concept, you know, mr. You might want to reevaluate what you're thinking on that situation. And so what he did was he said fine she can sit behind us.

Sitting behind the preacher in England times was very humble place to be. Normally, we're just looking out to make sure everything was alright so we see then here's a man who wrote a queen who ruled in the just of God and the fear of God and we See a pastor who also ruled in the fear of God.

So we see then David was to rule over God's people the sheep of his pasture. Psalm 100 verse 3. We are the sheep of his pasture. And I'm sure glad I am. Hmm. It's sure a good place to go and graze under God's care, isn't it?

Great place to go. David was anointed to serve the people of God. How was he anointed to serve the people of God? First of all, he was anointed to serve their civil interest. Their civil interest they he would hear just as Solomon would hear now.

They didn't hear every case but he would hear cases and he would Look at it and look at it according to the Word of God and according to Moses of law. He had priests he had scribes he had prophets right?

He had people advising him what God had said. So he was to take care of their civil interest. I Take I wish we had godly people taking care of my civil interest. Amen. Yes, I do I wish that godly men were that way.

But anyway, then we see that he's also to protect them. So what was he he was their captain wasn't he? He was the captain of Israel. He was what we would call commander-in-chief. And he guided the people and he protected them.

But then he was also to minister justice and serve them Religiously and he says here's how I did it. I'm the sweet psalmist of Israel. Those are kind of wonderful words and the sweet psalmist of Israel.

Now none of us like anything sour, do we. I don't. I don't like I don't like sour lemonade. I don't like sour tea. I don't like sour anything. Yeah, I don't even like, you know, those those sour things the kids blow up in their mouth.

You know, and so I want something sweet. In fact, I've desired sweets so long. My doctor told me if you don't stop, you know, you're reaching already that Level, you don't need to be at and he says I would appreciate if you quit eating sweets.

I said I Said I sure will doc. Don't you worry about me now, you know, alright, so anyway notice then. The three that a couple of things he said notice to rule me and you must be able to do so in character and in integrity.

Just righteous a submissive attitude toward the Lord the fear of God now. If the fear of God is in you you're going to act differently. When it comes decision time whether I should do this or whether I should not do this if you're in the fear of God.

You're going to know what you should not do. You're going to know that and if you don't as I've been well advised during my lifetime if you're not sure it's God speaking then Just wait. Take it easy. Either he's going to answer and you're going to figure and finally figure it out.

That wasn't supposed to be that way anyhow. Now everything was good. They told me that word wait. I'm not real good at that. I have a little patience. But if it has to go into the area called waiting, I have no patience.

All right so we see then that David said I have patience. David said I can administer in character and in Integrity, I'm just and I'm righteousness without righteousness and the fear of God. Guess what a leader becomes.

Adolf Hitler a dictator Saddam Hussein the Chinese government. When you don't rule in the just ruling of God you're going to end up driving people like cattle instead of leading them like sheep and everywhere in the Bible God talks about that we're sheep and Once I studied up a little bit on sheep.

Sometimes I don't like being referred to that way, you know. Because they're not the brightest animals in you know in the world without a shepherd they are. Without a shepherd they're guided. They're taken to where they need to be now.

David was a ruler who served and a servant who ruled and guess what? He had the welfare of the people on his heart. Did he mess up now you and I have read enough Bible and know enough Bible to know he messed up.

And he messed up more than just Bathsheba now. That just wasn't we always get wow, man. That was let me tell you he had messed up long before then he was killing his own people in Ziklag. He was going out and coming back to the king of the Philistine said man made a good route in there today, man.

I got some of those people out of your way. But yet when it came time To do something that was very strongly on his heart. Remember he wanted to build the temple. God said You can't do it even though remember Nathan.

Nathan at night he'd come in they said oh man. Just go ahead and do everything in your heart, man. You're you're great. You're alright. See you later. Have a nice day. God spoke to Nathan that night says no.

He says go back to David and tell him I'll let him prepare for it. I'll let him do this, but he will not build the temple Lord. Why. He's a man of blood. And he was long before Uriah the Hittite. Long before at that time also in 24 as Mike will probably cover he numbered the people also.

There was just numerous things along the line that David did now some things happened to David now. Also, David uses a beautiful metaphor here look in verse 4. He who rules in the fear of God shall be what he shall be like the light of the morning when the Sun rises a Morning with our clouds like the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.

Notice what a metaphor is rain and sunshine. Rain and sunshine now. What does rain and sunshine do. If you've got a garden, you know what it does. If you've got anything that grows. You know what rain and what that means together.

Rain and sunshine mean they produce useful fruit now. Jesus referred to it a little differently. He called it the vine and the branch. He called it the vines here the branches are here. He says you abide in me you're getting the rain.

You Trust in me. You're getting the sunshine. So we see then metaphors are used throughout the Bible and this is a very good one with God's help leaders and what does this mean. It means that a good ruler a good ruler will create a creative atmosphere that co-laborers will be able to grow with him and Produce fruit.

I can remember each church. I've been in. I've tried to do one thing and I've had over the years. Stayed a good lengthy time at one but every time I would go one of the first things it would take me a year or two.

I Would look out and I would observe and I would watch those who had spiritual abilities and Find out if they actually had an ability or a gift if I found out it was a gift. I tried to develop them. We would meet together.

We would meet maybe over some coffee. You know something I never thought I you know, I would do is I remember when I was younger I'd go into a Local shop or something, you know the where the guys hung out and everybody else and I'd see all these older men sitting around drinking coffee.

And I'd hear their stories during the week because I'd be sitting not here behind them and that fish got from three inches to nine. And a half feet long. I listened to all that and I said, you know, I'll never do that.

Well every Saturday morning I get together a bunch of old men. We have coffee. We sit around grumping and complaining and everything else, you know. Well, how's your knee today still crackling still rice crispy snap crackle pop?

You know and this type of thing, but I remember talking to them and developing them and Two of them I was able to leave the church to when I left. Now that's what leadership does. Did I have any great gift of that?

No. But I did see some things in people and when I would talk to them and try to get him up. David also realizes also though That his house was not so with God. Look at verse 5 then we'll have to wrap up with this one.

Notice David realizes now. This is something that we all must come to grips with. Notice David realizes that he had fallen short of this ideal. He had written these he had written these great inspired words.

He finishes them by the clearing shining after rain in verse 5. He says although My house is not so with God yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant. Ordered and all things and secure. This is all my salvation all my desire.

Will he not make it increase? So we see then that David falls short of the idea, but then he rejoices in the covenant. He realizes as a human house. He has failed. But as a divine house with a promise given by God a sure covenant.