Solomon established in the kingdom — A.J. Higgins

David Charges Solomon to Walk in God's Ways

1 Kings chapter 2 and verse number 1,. Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth. Be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and with us wherever thou turnest thyself, that the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth, with all their heart, and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee, said he, a man on the throne of Israel.

Moreover, thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two captains of the host of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jethar, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.

Do thou to do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his forehead go down to the grave in peace. But show kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Geliarite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table, for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom my brother.

And behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gerah a Benjamite of Ahuram, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.

Now therefore hold him not guiltless, for thou art a wise man. And knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him, but his forehead bring thou down to the grave with blood. So David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David.

And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years. Seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem. Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was established greatly.

Adonijah's Attempt to Secure the Kingdom

Adonijah the son of Haggath came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, and she said, Come and stop peacefully. And he said, Peacefully. And he said, Moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on.

And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine. Imagine that, he still thinks he deserves it. Thou knowest the kingdom was mine, that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign. Howbeit the kingdom is turned about and become my brothers, for it was his from the Lord.

And now I ask one petition of thee. Deny me not. And she said, Say on. And he said, Speak I pray thee unto Solomon the king. He will not say thee nay, that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife. And Bathsheba said, Well, I will speak for thee unto the king.

And Bathsheba therefore went unto King Solomon to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused the seat to be set for the king's mother, and she sat on his right hand.

Now I'll just stop there for a moment and just mention one unrelated thing to our theme, and that is here's a man who's king, who bows himself to his mother. He shows respect, doesn't he? Still showing respect, honoring his mother, gets a seat for her, allows her to sit next to him upon the throne.

He's a man who is honoring his mother even despite his own honor and his own place of exaltation. And of course she then relates the request of Adonijah. Verse 22, King Solomon answered her and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask for Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah?

Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is my elder brother, even for him and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah. Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, God, do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah hath not spoken this word against his own life.

Now therefore, as the Lord liveth which hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, who had made me in a house, and promised Adonijah, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day.

And King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he fell upon him that he died. And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth unto thine own fields, thou art worthy of death.

But I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord God before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted, and all were in my father was afflicted. So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being high priest unto the Lord, that he might fulfill the word of the Lord, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

Solomon Removes Joab from Power

Then tidings came to Joab, for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord, and caught hold of the horns of the altar. And we have then Benaiah sent, and he first comes back, and then he returns in verse 31,.

The king said unto him, Do as he has said, fall upon him, and bury him, thou mayst take away the innocent blood which Joab shed, from me and from the house of my father. And the Lord shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and so on.

Verse 34,. So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell upon him, and slew him, and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in the room over the host, and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar.

Solomon Judges Shimei's Disobedience

And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, go not forth thence any whither, for it shall be that on the day thou goest out, and pass over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die, thy blood shall be upon thine own head.

And Shimei said unto the king, Thy saying is good, as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. So Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. And it came to pass, at the end of three years, that two of his servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish, the son of Macha, king of Gath.

And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath. And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath, to Achish, to seek his servants. And Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath.

And it was told Solomon, Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again. And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did not I make thee to swear by the Lord, and protested unto thee, saying, Knowest thou for certain from the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad, anywhere that thou shalt truly die?

Thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good. Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the Lord, and the commandment that I have charged thee with? The king said unto Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness thine own heart is privy to, what thou didst to David my father.

Therefore the Lord shall return thy wickedness upon thine head, and the king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord for ever. So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, which went out, and fell upon him, that he died.

And the kingdom was established in the hand of king Solomon. Now God will add his blessing to the reading of his word. I don't know if you noticed in the readings that in verse 12 we read there that the throne was established.

Verse 24, we read there as well. Now therefore the Lord liveth, which hath established me, and sent me on the throne of David my father. Verse number 45, the throne of David shall be established. Verse 46, the kingdom was established.

So no difficulty then in entitling this chapter the establishment or the kingdom established in the hand of king Solomon. Now, as mentioned in the last ministry meeting, difficulty is not constantly going back to what is prophetic here.

Solomon's Kingdom as a Picture of Christ's Reign

You recall, don't you, that when the Lord Jesus Christ gave perils concerning the coming kingdom, he spoke of a day when he would send his angels and they would gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and he will remove from the earth all that will offend and be inconsistent with the righteous character of his kingdom.

And that's exactly what Solomon is doing here. Removing from the kingdom all that would lead to weakness, all that could lead to rebellion, all that could lead to a lack of unity in the kingdom, all being removed.

Just as in a coming day when Christ reigns, everything that offends will be removed, and he will reign in that day without a voice of dissent, without a hint of rebellion, at least at the beginning of that kingdom, everything will be established in his hand.

So we do have a prophetic view, a prophetic gleam of future things, but from a practical standpoint, Solomon was concerned with the establishing or the stability of his kingdom. Could his kingdom be established as long as there was a rival?

Could his kingdom be established as long as there was a rebel? Could his kingdom be established as long as there was a man who was ruthless like this man, Joab? Could his kingdom be established as long as there was someone who was a reviler like Shimeon?

But then we can look at this on a practical level. What I mean by that is personal. Anything competing within me for the place Christ deserves, any competition going on inside my heart, inside my conscience, is there any cold calculating of how to get ahead, how to use other people like Joab did?

Just a politically astute individual who knew exactly where the cards were falling at every moment and carefully orchestrated his moves to advance himself? A man interested in self and really not in David or the kingdom?

Anything like that in my heart? Just wanting to advance myself. Anything like a Shimei, cruel and hard, then all those things have to be removed. So we can look at this chapter on several different levels and we may move back and forth between them.

Four Movements in David's Charge to Solomon

But I just want to break the chapter down. The first four verses. David reminding. David reminding Solomon. And we'll look at that. And I want to especially, even though only four verses, dwell on that with you for a while.

Verses 5 to 12, David recalling both cruelties and kindnesses. When you come to verse 13, down to verse 46, we have Solomon removing. Removing what is going to be a hindrance to the kingdom. And we have in one instance with Abiathar, Solomon remembering mercy amidst judgment.

So David reminding. David recalling. Solomon removing. And Solomon remembering. This chapter begins with a concern that David has. That the concern of everyone here with gray hairs has. And it's not how to dye your hair and make it look black and younger again.

Okay? I should have done that years ago. It's too old now. It's too late now to start dying. You'll notice it. Okay? David's concern was with the continuity of testimony for God. The continuity of testimony for God.

I want to see God's testimony continue. It's what burdened Paul as he's writing to Timothy. In fact, there are many similarities. These are almost the identical words that Moses spoke to Joshua. Be strong and of good courage and observe all that God has said.

It's almost like a... I'm going to say a record. You don't know what records are. You don't even know what a tape is. Okay? It's almost like an MP3 that gets stuck, which they do at times. Okay? The same thing is being told time and time again.

Be strong and of good courage and seek to observe all that God has said. So Moses tells it to Joshua. Paul will tell it to Timothy. And now David is telling it to Solomon. The great burden, the concern that testimony continue for God.

The Continuity of Testimony Across Generations

Now look, reality is you are the next generation of leaders. You are the next generation of those who are going to bear responsibility for testimony for God. Do you realize that assembly testimony is only one generation away from extinction?

It's all it takes. Assembly testimony is one generation away from extinction. So that to every generation comes the great responsibility of picking up the burden and moving forward for God. But I want you to notice the background of course is a passing generation.

And reality is we are a passing generation. What does David begin with? First of all, you'll notice that the very first thing he says to Solomon is be strong. Be strong. Personal integrity. Now let me just give you some encouragement.

Strength Comes from Faith in God's Word

Because you might say, look, I am so weak. I feel as though I can't. That's not the idea at all. Would it help you to know that every time in the New Testament where believers are told to be strong, it's always in the passive voice.

Will you allow grammar for just 30 seconds? You know what the passive means? It means someone else is doing the strengthening for you. You never strengthen yourself. You always are strengthened by something outside of yourself.

So when he tells us to be strong, it would be better translated, allow yourself to be strengthened. What's going to strengthen you as a believer? What is it that's going to give backbone and give strength and vigor and enable you to?

Well, when you're reading about a man named Abraham in Romans chapter 4, it says he was strong in his faith, not wavering, because he counted him faithful who had promised. And again, he was strengthened in his faith.

You know what strengthened him? The Word of God. The Word of God strengthened him. That's what's going to strengthen you in Christian life, is the Word of God. Now if we took a survey, and we're not going to do it, but if we took a survey and asked everyone here under 25, how many times this week you opened your Bible and read it?

Some would say every morning. A few would say every night. Maybe a few more would say both morning and night. But I think there would be more than we would like to admit who would say, well, maybe once or twice.

Because, you know, I read it, I don't get anything out of it, and I can't understand it, and I can't find the time, and the excuses go on and on. Listen, you will not be able to be strengthened by watching a DVD, by going bowling, by spending hours on Facebook.

I am not demeaning and crying against any of those things. I'm talking about priorities. Priorities. If you're going to be strengthened, it has to be through this book. Even, and I say this guardedly, even Christian fellowship, even going to meetings, this is icing on the cake.

This is not the bread and butter that is going to make you the Christian you need to be. This is the icing on the cake. The secret to the Christian life is the secret Christian life. What you are alone with God, with your book on your knees, that is what is going to make you or break you as a Christian for God.

Yes, go to conferences. Yes, come to meetings like this. But in the end, what is vital is the time you spend alone with God and His Word, and what you learn of God for yourself. Do you know the most important thing, the most important thing for the continuity of assembly testimony?

Godliness Matters More Than Spiritual Gift

What is it that's going to enable us to move forward as assemblies, and rather than to shrink by attrition, to actually grow and to flourish and to be what God intends? You may say, well, gift. I read of an assembly, and I think I can say it without fear of contradiction, that was the most gifted assembly that ever existed upon the face of the earth.

There has been no assembly to rival it as far as gift. It's an assembly called Corinth. And Paul said, you came behind in no gift. You had every gift in spades. They were all there. Preachers, teachers, men with tongues, men with prophecy.

I mean, you name the gift, it was there. And yet, it was an assembly about to implode on itself. You know why? Because the most important thing in assembly testimony is not gift. The most important thing is character.

Christian character. And assembly will survive without gift. It will not survive without godliness. This may sound strange, but could I say, don't worry about your gift. Put all your effort into becoming godly.

The Lord Jesus Christ said, follow me. Become like me, and I will make you. I'll take care of what I want you to be. I'll take care of making you into whatever useful instrument I want you to be. You just follow me.

You just become like me, and I will take care of the making. So put most of your energy into how can I know God better? How can I become more Christ-like? How can I develop Christian character? How can I become the person God wants me to be as a person, rather than as a preacher, as a teacher, as a Sunday school teacher?

I mean, all those things are vital. We're going to come to that in some of the other chapters, but it cannot be stressed enough. The tremendous importance of personal character and integrity for God. That's where he starts.

Internal Character over External Conformity

Be strong. Allow yourself to be strengthened. Become the person God wants you to be. I almost hesitate saying certain things, but I think you'll take it in the right context. One of the tremendous failures, and it starts here, men that come to the platform such as myself.

One of our tremendous failures is we have stressed the external. Long hair, long skirts, silence, men with ties, jackets, everyone dressed appropriately, head coverings, everything. All the externals.

You know, you dot the I's, cross the T's, and we're all good because we all are following the externals just so perfectly, and we have never stressed the internal. Now, you understand, I am not demeaning the external in the least, but we can have the external without the internal.

On the other hand, you cannot have the internal and not have the external with it. So there's a great danger just in majoring on the externals like we're some cult, and we've all got to conform to certain rules, and all look the same, and act the same, talk the same.

God is interested in character, and he has made us all different, unique, distinct, and so David begins with this. Solomon, the most important thing, not your gift of wisdom, not your building of a temple.

All those things are fine for you to do, Solomon, but the most important thing is if this throne is going to continue, it will continue because, number one, personal character, and secondly, perfect obedience.

Just make sure you carry out all the word of God says. Keep the charge of the Lord by God to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, his judgments, testimony, and so on, that you can prosper.

So the very first thing then here, the continuity of testimony, personal integrity, perfect obedience would lead to prosperity, and to the perpetuation of the kingdom, and in this case of the throne. Now you would understand more could be said there.

We have to leave that. Hopefully it will impress you the value of character individually, character collectively in God's assembly, and the preservation, the continuity of testimony for God as a result of individuals who are godly in life.

David Recalls Cruelty and Kindness

Let me talk then about David recalling cruelties and recalling kindnesses. Now these words of David are not words of bitterness. It's not like David is finally trying to get his revenge. Banish that thought from your mind altogether.

It is rather the recognition that David has that the kingdom will never be stable, will never be stable if these elements exist in the kingdom. Could I bring it down to assembly life? Assembly life will never be stable if these things exist.

Where there is competition for place, where there is calculating for self-advancement, where there is cruelty one to another, there will never be peace. There will never be the security, the idea of establishing, the idea of something settled and secure and moving forward.

There will never be that if these things are existing in God's assembly. So let me talk then first of all about competition. It's interesting that really there's really no mark of repentance in this man Adonijah.

And he is going to use a strategy that Absalom used when he revolted against David. You recall that when Absalom revolted against David and David fled, he left behind in the city of Jerusalem the concubines and the counsel of Ahithophel was to Absalom to go in in the sight of all of Israel and to have relationships with all the concubines because then that's in a sense claiming the kingdom.

You've taken his concubines and therefore you now are the king. And it was a mark of tremendous assertion that Absalom made when he came in revolt against his father David. Adonijah is going to do the same.

He of course thinks that Abishag was a concubine and he will take her and it will be a subtle and not so subtle message to the nation that really he was a rightful king having the one that had been the king's concubine.

And so he is going to try to work in that way. And he's going to work through a woman and he thinks that he can work his way, manipulate his way around and he is seen in competition for the throne. Rivalry and strife are something that have no place in God's assembly.

Rivalry and Strife Destroy Fellowship

Rivalry and strife. Now let me just take you to a few places in the word of God. You remember, don't you, that when you're reading in Matthew and Mark in those gospels and you're in the upper room at the time of the last Passover and the institution of the Lord's Supper.

Remember that Matthew and Mark very touchingly tell us that when they had sung a psalm they went out to the Mount of Olives. Very likely that psalm was Psalm 118. Very touching to think of the Lord Jesus singing that psalm going out to Calvary.

Lovely words ending with his praise of a God who is good. Oh give thanks unto the Lord for he is good for his mercy endures forever. The Lord Jesus sang those words knowing he was going out to face the wrath of God at Calvary.

Yet he sang them in the upper room. So Matthew and Mark tell us that they sang a psalm and they went out to the Mount of Olives. When you come to Luke's account Luke doesn't mention the psalm. There's no mention of them singing in the Gospel of Luke.

And yet Luke if you know anything about the Gospel of Luke Luke is the Gospel of songs. That's how it begins isn't it? There's the song of Zacharias. There's the song of Elizabeth. There's the song of Mary.

There's the song of the angels. So Luke is the Gospel of song and yet strangely when you come to chapter 22 in the upper room there's no mention of singing in the song. But Luke mentions something that Matthew and Mark doesn't.

Matthew and Mark do not mention. Here's what Luke says. There was also strife among them who would be the greatest. So wherever there is strife we lose our song. You know what I mean? Wherever there's strife when strife comes in the singing goes out.

We can still sing. You know what I'm talking about. You can still sing. But the joy, the delight in God, the heart moving in reverence and worship to God it's all gone. Whenever strife and competition comes in.

So when it comes to the table strife meant the song went out. When you're in the assembly at Corinth there was strife as well. Not now relative to the table but relative to the testimony. One wanted to they all were striving to have the best gift and striving to be acclaimed the greatest of the ones speaking in tongues and there was competition.

He says in chapter 3 of 1 Corinthians that whereas there is strife among you are you not carnal? And he says there are you not carnal? For whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions are you not carnal and walk according to the standard of men?

So as far as the use of their gift there was strife. Who was going to have the most important role? Who was going to look the best? Who was going to be considered the most important? Could I just I was going to bring this up later but let me just bring it up now since it comes to mind relative to gift and relative to place and relative to strife.

You realize don't you that you will not you will not be rewarded at the judgment seat of Christ for your gift. Because that was something given to you by God. What credit can you take for a gift? What credit can any one of us take for any gift that God has given us?

We're not going to be rewarded for our gift. We are going to be rewarded for how faithful we were in the use of our gift. That's my responsibility. So if you are a Sunday school teacher trying to keep children 3, 4 and 5 quiet so you can impress them with something from the word of God once a week.

If you do that to the very best of your ability the very best of your ability you will likely get the same reward that the preacher or teacher gets who is using his gift to the best of his ability. It doesn't have to do with the success.

It doesn't have to do with the prominence. It all has to do with your faithfulness with what God has given you to do. There's no need to view things the way it's viewed in society that whoever is in charge is top man and whoever, you know, pecking order of hierarchy.

No. If you do what God has given you to do to the very best of your ability your reward will be as full at the judgment seat of Christ as the most gifted individual who uses his gift or her gift for God.

You remember, don't you, in the parable and I know it's in Matthew 25 and it's more Israel and the kingdom but you remember the parable of the talents. First of all, the man says thy talent hath gained.

Right? Thy talent, not mine, thine. So he's recognizing that the gift was from the master, the householder not from me. And then you recall that the man that had gained 10 and the man that had gained 5 got the very same reward because they used what was given to them to the very best of their ability.

There is no need for strife and competition. No need for people to try to have their place. Well, you know, I really want to be a Sunday school teacher. I really want to be an elder. I really want to preach the gospel.

If that's what God wants you to do we learn from chapter 1 God will bring you to that. There's no need to push yourself. This man Adonijah is marked by he's a rival. He's marked by a competitive spirit.

Theotrophes was a man that wanted preeminence and so strife. We could talk about other areas but just remember there's no need for rivalry. There's no need for competition within God's assembly. In a body we all have different functions.

And so when Paul is dealing with this whole subject in Corinth he says, the ear doesn't say to the eye I have no need of thee and a hand to the foot and so on. It's interesting that he uses that analogy of the eye and the ear, right?

I mean, when was the last time someone said to you, Ma, you have very intelligent looking ears? Right? I mean, it doesn't happen, right? Very intelligent looking ears? But, you know, you have lovely eyes or you have very intelligent looking eyes really beautiful eyes but no one ever talks about your ears, right?

The ears kind of get a minor role but look how important they are. Just lose your hearing, okay? And you suddenly realize how valuable hearing is. But the eyes are the thing that get all the attention.

And Paul says, you know, look, yeah, some have to play a lesser role in terms of prominence. Some have to be less visible. But how vital, even though not visible, how vital to the functioning of that body.

There are believers and it's tragic but it's reality. There are believers who are not missed until they're gone. And you suddenly realize all they were doing in God's assembly and they're gone. And there's this huge vacuum that's left because quietly, without looking for credit, without looking for attention, without trying to somehow project themselves, they were quietly working away doing so much for the assembly and everyone just took it for granted.

You know, we will take people for granted. We will quietly, if you want to do it, good, you go ahead and do it. That's fine. It's not a very important job. It's very menial and not much limelight. So you go ahead and do it.

That's fine. That's your gift. And we're happy to have them do it. And then suddenly they're gone and there's all this that has to... and we don't appreciate them as we ought to. So, no need for competition.

No need for rivalry. But then we're reminded of this man, Joab. Not now competition but calculating. Not now a rival but ruthless. Joab is one of those enigmas of the Word of God. And the only way you can understand him is to understand him as a man who was politically astute.

One of those shrewd, calculating, cunning individuals who knew exactly the opportune moment to move and the opportune moment to hold back and he seems to make perfect steps until he comes to the case of Adonijah and he finally falters.

Self-Interest and Ruthless Ambition

Because the reality is that a ruthless man will eventually trip himself up. Self-advancing. He appears never to really have had a true love for David but he rode David's coattails into prominence and into the kingdom.

But the unmasking of Solomon or rather the crowning of Solomon unmasked him as someone who was only interested in Joab. He could see that Benaiah was the man who was in favor of Solomon and he cast his lot in with Adonijah.

Why did David put up with Joab? We've already touched on that. It's a story in itself. But here was a man that only cared about Joab. The antithesis, the opposite of human nature is what Christianity calls for.

Please never lower the standard of Christianity. You know what the standard of Christianity is? To think of others rather than self. Now I will tell you that that is a lifelong struggle. To put the welfare of others before your own welfare.

It's a lifelong struggle. Because the most natural thing, our default position, our default position as Christians, I'm sorry, as human beings, is to look out for ourselves. Right? I mean that's what we come to constantly.

And so when Paul is writing to the Romans, he says, in honor, preferring one another. That means outdoing each other in honor. Outdoing another person, trying to outdo them and honoring them rather than them honoring me.

When he's writing to the Philippians, he reminds them that every man look not on his own things but the things of others. Esteeming others better than self. Doesn't mean you esteem them better that you walk around very humble like a Uriah heap, rubbing your hands, telling yourself how unworthy you are, how poor you are as a Christian.

No, no, no. Nothing to do with that. Because the example is the Lord Jesus. And he never did that. But it is rather the idea that I place your welfare before my own welfare. I place your advancement ahead of my own advancement.

And so this man, Joab, was marked by self-interest, self-calculation, and self-advancement. So when was the last time? When was the last time you not only thought of someone else in the assembly who you could help move forward?

Now, I don't mean you make a project of people. That's another danger we can fall into, that you become my project and, no, no, you're a human being. You're a soul. You're a valuable Christian to God.

But when was the last time you thought, how can I be a help? How can I advance the welfare of that person? Someone says, well, I'm just a young Christian. What can I possibly do for others? Well, you can certainly pray for them.

That's one thing. That's something that requires no gift, requires no age. You can do it. You can pray for the leadership. You can pray for other believers. But what about visiting older shut-in Christians?

You mean take my Friday night when I could be watching a DVD with my friends and actually go visit some shut-ins? Yes. Sorry. It sounds radical, I know, but Christianity is a pretty radical thing, thinking about others.

What about some of you single younger sisters? Do you ever think that there are married couples with three and four children that hardly get out and breathe without their children? Do you ever think of volunteering, even without pay, to babysit for a night, just to allow them to go wander through the mall on their own or do something on their own without worrying about luggage of children, you know, what it's like when you have children?

Five bags, three things to push, and all the rest. Just give them a night out. You may say, well, is that really... That's thinking of others. You may say, well, that's not very spiritual. Well, but it's going to help them.

Anything which helps their marriage is spiritual, let me tell you, in this day in which we live. Anything which enables them to have time together is tremendously valuable. Now, those are just a couple of minor examples, but advancing the welfare of others rather than just always thinking about self.

If you ever hear someone say, I am leaving the assembly because they don't appreciate me, they don't love me, they don't me, they don't me. You see, the whole focus is totally wrong. The moment you begin thinking about me and your language becomes first-person singular, you have missed God's standard for the assembly.

God's standard is never all about me. Some of you would know, some of you wouldn't, but that's okay. Some of you would know the name of Victor Hugo, who was a writer, a French writer, and he was not known for his modesty.

In fact, he was nicknamed the walking personal pronoun. I kind of like that. He was the walking personal pronoun, the I. Just all he thought about was himself. That's Joab. And all of us have at least a little Joab in our hearts.