WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.620 If you're visiting with us this morning, let me tell you that we have been working our way through the book of 2 Samuel together on Sunday mornings, and we have arrived at chapter 20. 00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:20.300 The story so far, in very, very brief terms, the story of 2 Samuel is the story of King David, Israel's most famous king. 00:00:20.900 --> 00:00:31.719 And in recent times, he has had a difficult time because his eldest son Absalom had rebelled against him, had turned him out of his palace, turned him out of Jerusalem, and taken the kingdom from him. 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:39.100 Then what we found is that actually David and his army were able to conquer Absalom and his army. 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:48.540 Absalom got caught in a tree by his hair and dangled there and was killed, and David recovered the kingdom and went back to Jerusalem. 00:00:48.539 --> 00:00:52.500 And that's where we left it, and now we're picking it up in chapter 20. 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:55.879 So let me read 2 Samuel chapter 20 to you. 00:00:57.399 --> 00:01:03.299 Now, a troublemaker named Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite, happened to be there. 00:01:03.799 --> 00:01:05.840 He sounded the trumpet and shouted, 00:01:06.599 --> 00:01:12.359 We have no share in David, no part in Jesse's son, every man to his tent, Israel. 00:01:12.359 --> 00:01:18.319 So all the men of Israel deserted David to follow Sheba, son of Bichri. 00:01:19.060 --> 00:01:23.900 But the men of Judah stayed by their king all the way from the Jordan to Jerusalem. 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:32.920 When David returned to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to take care of the palace and put them in a house under guard. 00:01:33.460 --> 00:01:36.640 He provided for them, but had no sexual relations with them. 00:01:37.299 --> 00:01:41.099 They were kept in confinement till the day of their death, living as widows. 00:01:41.099 --> 00:01:43.640 Then the king said to Amasa, 00:01:44.039 --> 00:01:47.500 Summon the men of Judah and come to me within three days. 00:01:47.839 --> 00:01:48.599 Be here yourself. 00:01:49.919 --> 00:01:55.599 But when Amasa went to summon Judah, he took longer than the time the king had set for him. 00:01:56.319 --> 00:01:57.419 David said to Abishai, 00:01:57.819 --> 00:02:00.939 Now Sheba, son of Bichri, will do us more harm than Absalom did. 00:02:01.299 --> 00:02:06.299 Take your master's men and pursue him, or he'll find fortified cities and escape from us. 00:02:06.299 --> 00:02:13.620 So Joab's men and the Kerethites and the Pelethites and all the mighty warriors went out under the command of Abishai. 00:02:14.280 --> 00:02:18.379 They marched out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba, son of Bichri. 00:02:19.759 --> 00:02:24.519 While they were at the great rock in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. 00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:32.560 Joab was wearing his military tunic and strapped over it at his waist was a belt with a dagger in its sheath. 00:02:33.100 --> 00:02:34.340 He stepped forward. 00:02:34.580 --> 00:02:36.260 It dropped out of its sheath. 00:02:36.640 --> 00:02:37.480 Joab said to Amasa, 00:02:37.479 --> 00:02:39.239 How are you, my brother? 00:02:40.159 --> 00:02:43.659 Then Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. 00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:47.500 Amasa was not on his guard against the dagger in Joab's hand, 00:02:47.719 --> 00:02:52.379 and Joab plunged it into his belly and his intestines spilled out on the ground. 00:02:52.819 --> 00:02:55.379 Without being stabbed again, Amasa died. 00:02:56.179 --> 00:03:00.459 Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba, son of Bichri. 00:03:00.460 --> 00:03:05.099 One of Joab's men stood besides Amasa and said, 00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:09.180 Whoever favours Joab and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab. 00:03:10.120 --> 00:03:13.140 Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the middle of the road, 00:03:13.659 --> 00:03:16.680 and the man saw that all the troops came to a halt there. 00:03:17.600 --> 00:03:20.520 When he realised that everyone who came up to Amasa stopped, 00:03:20.840 --> 00:03:24.760 he dragged him from the road into a field and threw a garment over him. 00:03:25.800 --> 00:03:28.180 After Amasa had been removed from the road, 00:03:28.180 --> 00:03:31.860 everyone went on with Joab to pursue Sheba, son of Bichri. 00:03:32.980 --> 00:03:36.819 Now Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel Beth Malach, 00:03:37.379 --> 00:03:40.599 and through the entire region of the Bichrites, 00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:43.680 who gathered together and followed him. 00:03:44.219 --> 00:03:48.120 All the troops with Joab came and besieged Sheba in Abel Beth Maka. 00:03:48.939 --> 00:03:51.240 They built a siege ramp up to the city, 00:03:51.400 --> 00:03:53.620 and they stood against the outer fortifications. 00:03:54.200 --> 00:03:56.379 While they were battering the wall to bring it down, 00:03:56.379 --> 00:03:59.000 a wise woman called from the city, 00:03:59.419 --> 00:04:03.659 Listen! Listen! Tell Joab to come here so that I can speak to him. 00:04:04.519 --> 00:04:06.680 He went towards her, and she asked, 00:04:06.840 --> 00:04:07.519 Are you Joab? 00:04:07.939 --> 00:04:09.139 I am, he answered. 00:04:09.740 --> 00:04:12.620 She said, Listen to what your servant has to say. 00:04:13.180 --> 00:04:14.460 I am listening, he said. 00:04:15.019 --> 00:04:15.840 She continued, 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:17.240 Long ago, they used to say, 00:04:17.579 --> 00:04:19.220 Get your answer at Abel. 00:04:19.579 --> 00:04:20.500 And that settled it. 00:04:21.060 --> 00:04:23.399 We are the peaceful and faithful in Israel. 00:04:23.699 --> 00:04:26.579 You are trying to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. 00:04:26.939 --> 00:04:29.620 Why do you want to swallow up the Lord's inheritance? 00:04:30.860 --> 00:04:32.819 Far be it from me, Joab replied. 00:04:32.939 --> 00:04:35.420 Far be it from me to swallow up or destroy. 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:37.079 That is not the case. 00:04:37.560 --> 00:04:39.319 A man named Sheba, son of Bichri, 00:04:39.399 --> 00:04:40.639 from the hill country of Ephraim, 00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:43.819 has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. 00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:46.800 Hand over this one man, and I will withdraw from the city. 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:49.300 The woman said to Joab, 00:04:49.539 --> 00:04:53.319 His head will be thrown to you from the wall. 00:04:54.459 --> 00:04:57.779 Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice, 00:04:57.959 --> 00:05:00.060 and they cut off the head of Sheba, son of Bichri, 00:05:00.159 --> 00:05:01.620 and threw it to Joab. 00:05:02.099 --> 00:05:03.639 So he sounded the trumpet, 00:05:04.300 --> 00:05:06.019 and his men dispersed from the city, 00:05:06.579 --> 00:05:08.039 each returning to his home. 00:05:08.040 --> 00:05:10.920 And Joab went back to the king in Jerusalem. 00:05:12.020 --> 00:05:15.220 Joab was over Israel's entire army. 00:05:15.580 --> 00:05:16.740 Benaniah, son of Jehoiada, 00:05:17.300 --> 00:05:19.400 was over the Kerithites and the Pelethites. 00:05:20.220 --> 00:05:22.040 Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor. 00:05:22.980 --> 00:05:25.980 Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, was recorder. 00:05:26.580 --> 00:05:27.600 Sheba was secretary. 00:05:28.439 --> 00:05:30.300 Zadok and Abitha were priests. 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:33.340 And Ira the Jerrite was David's priest. 00:05:34.420 --> 00:05:35.920 Well, keep that passage open. 00:05:35.920 --> 00:05:38.800 Let me pray and ask for the Lord's help as we consider it together. 00:05:41.259 --> 00:05:45.460 Lord, we pray now, acknowledging our need of you and our weakness, 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:51.860 we pray that you might help my words this morning to be useful and effective. 00:05:52.879 --> 00:05:56.120 We pray that you might be at work by your spirit in our hearts, 00:05:56.300 --> 00:05:59.759 that we might hear you speak to us from these ancient words. 00:06:00.259 --> 00:06:02.379 In Jesus' name, amen. 00:06:02.379 --> 00:06:02.620 Amen. 00:06:04.779 --> 00:06:08.040 What I want to try and show you this morning 00:06:08.040 --> 00:06:11.800 is that the horror of Amasa's murder 00:06:11.800 --> 00:06:14.459 is right at the center of the passage. 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:19.240 In other words, I think that the really gruesome picture 00:06:19.240 --> 00:06:21.779 of a man by the side of the road, 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:24.819 wallowing in his blood with the intestines spilled out, 00:06:24.819 --> 00:06:30.719 is exactly what 2 Samuel, inspired by the Spirit of God, 00:06:30.860 --> 00:06:33.939 wants us to be mostly thinking about this morning. 00:06:34.899 --> 00:06:38.600 And I want just to show you two ways that he does that for us this morning. 00:06:39.180 --> 00:06:42.180 The first one is by using some clever symmetry. 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:44.219 Let me try and show you what I mean. 00:06:44.259 --> 00:06:45.300 If you look down at the passage, 00:06:45.420 --> 00:06:49.699 you might notice that it begins and ends with a trumpet sounding. 00:06:49.699 --> 00:06:54.839 In verse 1, Sheba, the son of Bichri, the Benjamite, blows a trumpet. 00:06:55.680 --> 00:06:58.319 We're told that he is a worthless man. 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:00.039 He is a troublemaker. 00:07:00.779 --> 00:07:02.500 And he's from the same tribe as Saul. 00:07:02.819 --> 00:07:05.659 It's pretty clear that he wants nothing to do with David's kingdom. 00:07:05.819 --> 00:07:08.240 So he blows a trumpet to gather the troops for war. 00:07:09.639 --> 00:07:11.939 Then down in verse 22, at the end of the passage, 00:07:12.180 --> 00:07:16.019 Joab is also blowing a trumpet to bring the fight to an end. 00:07:16.019 --> 00:07:22.439 By this point, Sheba's head has been thrown over the wall of the city of Abel. 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:24.959 And so Joab's mission is completed. 00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:27.419 But the symmetry continues. 00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:29.779 Not only does the story begin and end in the same way, 00:07:29.859 --> 00:07:32.299 if you come to the next verses, to verse 3, 00:07:32.740 --> 00:07:37.419 we are told how David deals with his concubines who Absalom has defiled. 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:40.159 David makes them live in widowhood. 00:07:40.740 --> 00:07:43.859 I don't think we're to understand here that David is being cruel. 00:07:43.860 --> 00:07:47.300 Rather, I think we're to understand that these women are innocently caught up 00:07:47.300 --> 00:07:49.080 and damaged by all that is going on. 00:07:50.100 --> 00:07:54.520 Now, dealing with those innocent women is matched in symmetry 00:07:54.520 --> 00:07:57.480 by what goes on towards the end of the passage, 00:07:57.860 --> 00:08:00.840 that Joab's pursuit of Sheba is concluded not by him, 00:08:01.300 --> 00:08:05.480 but also by another innocent woman, the wise woman of Abel. 00:08:06.500 --> 00:08:08.860 Sheba has fled to that city for safety, 00:08:08.860 --> 00:08:13.199 and Joab and his men are trying to pull the city down to get him out. 00:08:13.900 --> 00:08:16.660 And this wise woman calls to Joab, telling him, 00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:19.480 listen, this city that you're just about to destroy, 00:08:19.819 --> 00:08:21.080 this is a good place. 00:08:21.259 --> 00:08:22.220 We are good people. 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:23.620 We are faithful people. 00:08:23.819 --> 00:08:28.080 And you are destroying and swallowing up part of Israel's heritage. 00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:29.860 I'll be it for me, says Joab. 00:08:30.259 --> 00:08:32.019 All I'm after is that one guy. 00:08:32.600 --> 00:08:34.300 She says, leave it with me. 00:08:34.899 --> 00:08:36.599 And she goes to the city and she says, 00:08:36.719 --> 00:08:38.779 if we throw this guy's head over the wall, 00:08:39.179 --> 00:08:40.399 everything will be all right. 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:42.059 And so she does that. 00:08:42.519 --> 00:08:44.500 And then so you've got the symmetry between that woman 00:08:44.500 --> 00:08:49.279 and the innocent concubines caught up in the mess of Absalom. 00:08:50.579 --> 00:08:55.219 And she, coming further in, the symmetry continues. 00:08:55.359 --> 00:08:57.799 So then back at the beginning of the passage in verse four, 00:08:57.879 --> 00:08:59.159 you've got David telling Amasa, 00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:02.519 who he's appointed over his army to gather the troops. 00:09:02.519 --> 00:09:04.960 He's given a deadline to do it. 00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:07.500 And verse five tells you that he tries to do it, 00:09:07.539 --> 00:09:09.159 but he can't seem to get it together. 00:09:10.319 --> 00:09:12.620 He doesn't return in the requisite three days. 00:09:12.799 --> 00:09:16.559 And David asks Abishai in the end to gather the army. 00:09:17.419 --> 00:09:19.500 The people follow the old commander, 00:09:19.699 --> 00:09:23.379 who David has tried to sack, Joab later on in the story. 00:09:24.379 --> 00:09:27.819 It's matched then in symmetry with Joab's success 00:09:27.819 --> 00:09:29.100 in verses 11 and 15, 00:09:29.100 --> 00:09:35.420 that he is able to gather an army where the other guy, Amasa, was not able to. 00:09:36.080 --> 00:09:36.659 So there you go. 00:09:36.720 --> 00:09:38.159 You've got symmetry working in. 00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:40.399 And that means that right at the heart of the story, 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:43.779 you have this really unpleasant murder of Amasa by Joab, 00:09:44.379 --> 00:09:47.139 Amasa's body wallowing in its blood. 00:09:47.139 --> 00:09:50.659 But it's not just the symmetry that makes this point. 00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:54.840 It also makes sense of why there is so much detail at this point of the story. 00:09:55.399 --> 00:10:00.860 The story really slows down as we think what we're reading is the story of another coup against David. 00:10:00.860 --> 00:10:03.100 But it turns out that it's not really about that at all. 00:10:03.439 --> 00:10:07.939 Actually, where the story really slows down is by the great rock of Gibeon. 00:10:08.720 --> 00:10:12.620 Now, the great rock of Gibeon in verse 8 is only a few miles north of Jerusalem. 00:10:12.940 --> 00:10:17.420 Abel, the city that they're traveling to eventually, is right up in the far north of the region. 00:10:17.540 --> 00:10:21.920 So the point the writer's making to you is, listen, they haven't got very far yet. 00:10:22.040 --> 00:10:23.500 They've only just set off. 00:10:23.500 --> 00:10:26.940 So Amasa might be late, but he's not actually that late. 00:10:27.040 --> 00:10:29.460 Not late enough to justify what happens. 00:10:30.200 --> 00:10:34.100 Next then, in a kind of weird turn of events, you get the detail of Joab's outfit. 00:10:34.100 --> 00:10:41.080 It's Joab, we're told, is wearing a soldier's uniform, which is perhaps not that surprising given what his job is and given where he's going. 00:10:41.820 --> 00:10:49.659 But the writer wants you to know that his uniform is held together by a belt, a belt which has a sword, probably a dagger attached to it. 00:10:50.100 --> 00:10:55.279 And then you're given the detail of Joab's kind of military skill and cunning. 00:10:55.279 --> 00:11:01.680 He seems deliberately to allow the dagger to fall to the ground as he approaches Amasa. 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:06.099 Oh, it just fell out on the floor just in front of him. 00:11:06.319 --> 00:11:07.219 Interesting detail. 00:11:07.839 --> 00:11:12.939 He picks it up with his left hand, which again just seems a slightly pointless detail. 00:11:13.019 --> 00:11:21.879 But in a world of right handedness, someone holding a sword in their left hand meant that they weren't going to attack you because they couldn't. 00:11:21.879 --> 00:11:39.679 But that means that Amasa is unguarded when Joab goes in for a kiss, holding his beard with his right hand and goes to kiss him and then stabs him in the stomach with his left hand and spills his intestines to the ground. 00:11:39.679 --> 00:11:43.700 No second blow, you're told, as if you needed that detail. 00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:45.559 Amasa's guts are on the floor. 00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:47.259 He's dead, wallowing in his blood. 00:11:47.259 --> 00:11:49.279 Now, I know that that's gross. 00:11:49.379 --> 00:11:50.639 In fact, it's so gross, isn't it? 00:11:50.659 --> 00:11:54.639 Verse 12 is so gross that people walking past get kind of distracted by Amasa. 00:11:55.259 --> 00:12:02.179 So much so that they get held up and one of Joab's men ends up pulling his body out of the way and covering him up so that people aren't distracted. 00:12:02.539 --> 00:12:10.220 But for you and I, as we read the story, what we're to notice is that the whole story is swinging on Amasa's death. 00:12:10.220 --> 00:12:23.000 Not so much, I don't think, because the writer of 2 Samuel is like some kind of horrible histories guy who thinks that these physical gruesomeness are the funny parts of history and you might be mostly interested in that. 00:12:23.100 --> 00:12:26.779 No, the point is that you notice the wickedness of this. 00:12:26.779 --> 00:12:38.600 The writer is saying to you, listen, notice Amasa in his blood, because if you notice that and see what's going on there, you will see a portrait of the sinfulness of sin, the wickedness of wickedness. 00:12:40.199 --> 00:12:46.039 Chadwick and Freeman, who are two scholars, have written a book on the manners and customs of the Bible. 00:12:47.159 --> 00:12:51.879 An interesting book, I am sure, but I only really looked at this bit about Joab's actions. 00:12:51.879 --> 00:12:59.700 They say this of Joab's actions, taking hold of someone's beard and kissing his cheek was customary oriental greeting. 00:13:00.100 --> 00:13:04.100 Just for the record, it's not a greeting today. 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:09.100 Don't do this to me at the door or to anyone else who has a beard. 00:13:09.720 --> 00:13:14.200 So taking hold of someone's beard and kissing them on the cheek was a customary oriental greeting. 00:13:14.200 --> 00:13:24.600 By so doing, Joab showed the base treachery of his heart by coming to Amasa as a friend and thus entirely concealing his murderous intent. 00:13:25.400 --> 00:13:28.520 This is the wickedness of wickedness. 00:13:29.060 --> 00:13:30.800 The wickedness is supposed to shock you. 00:13:31.700 --> 00:13:39.100 Here is not so much a gruesome murder or not just a gruesome murder, but a selfish, self-interested commander. 00:13:39.100 --> 00:13:49.060 An army commander who is so angry at his demotion from army captain that he is willing to take matters into his own hands, literally slaughtering in cold blood. 00:13:49.379 --> 00:13:53.759 A man who is on his side, who he pretended to be friendly with. 00:13:54.600 --> 00:14:02.659 In other words, the horror at the center of the passage is not just the blood and guts of Amasa, but the horror of Joab's heart. 00:14:02.659 --> 00:14:13.639 The human heart, that it can be so full of its own self-importance, its own desires for glory, that it would go to such lengths of deception that we see here. 00:14:15.539 --> 00:14:23.740 Now, I think it's probably fair to say that if Joab had read 2 Samuel, he would be quite shocked by this definition of the events. 00:14:23.879 --> 00:14:28.120 Right. I think if Joab was writing 2 Samuel chapter 20, he wouldn't focus here, would he? 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:33.480 I'm sure the focus would be on the way that he was able to gather the troops in a way that Amasa was not able to. 00:14:34.220 --> 00:14:37.820 I don't suppose Joab was a journaling type, right? 00:14:37.860 --> 00:14:40.179 He doesn't have that kind of aura about him, does he? 00:14:40.179 --> 00:14:45.580 But if he did write a journal, he'd write, dear diary, today, I smashed it. 00:14:46.340 --> 00:14:47.539 Absolutely smashed it. 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:49.560 Amasa, worthless guy. 00:14:50.299 --> 00:14:50.700 Rubbish. 00:14:51.019 --> 00:14:52.220 He wasn't able to gather the troops. 00:14:52.779 --> 00:14:53.259 I was. 00:14:54.180 --> 00:14:54.799 I was. 00:14:54.799 --> 00:15:02.500 I persuaded the city of Abel to throw the head of this nasty guy, Sheba, over the wall. 00:15:02.799 --> 00:15:04.099 I absolutely killed it today. 00:15:04.139 --> 00:15:04.659 It was amazing. 00:15:05.079 --> 00:15:05.959 I think that's what he'd think. 00:15:06.679 --> 00:15:12.579 But when, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the history actually gets written, what do we find? 00:15:13.240 --> 00:15:16.779 Well, God is not so concerned with a day of victory, but a day of treachery. 00:15:16.779 --> 00:15:21.919 And so much so that the sinfulness of Joab's heart becomes the focus of 2 Samuel 20. 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:29.779 I think there's a metaphor, isn't there, for this in the way that Amasa's body is pulled off the road and covered up with a garment, which stops people seeing it. 00:15:30.219 --> 00:15:33.259 It's like the definition of an inadequate cover-up of sin. 00:15:33.799 --> 00:15:39.039 You know, he, like, just drags the body out of the way and throws a coat over it, as if that covers it over. 00:15:39.399 --> 00:15:40.360 But it doesn't really, does it? 00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:42.779 Because the whole story is focused in on it. 00:15:43.199 --> 00:15:48.399 You can't hide the wickedness of Joab's heart by dragging the body to the side and throwing the coat over it. 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:52.840 Now, that I suggest to you is the story, but think with me, what does it mean? 00:15:53.179 --> 00:15:53.740 What does it mean? 00:15:54.539 --> 00:15:57.799 Why would you have a story like this in the Bible? 00:15:57.980 --> 00:15:59.519 Why is that the focus of the passage? 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:03.159 Well, let me suggest to you that the detail of the passage is here, 00:16:03.220 --> 00:16:08.579 because the question that you and I are being posed with this morning from 2 Samuel 20 is this. 00:16:09.779 --> 00:16:11.439 Where is your Amasa? 00:16:12.500 --> 00:16:14.059 Where is your Amasa? 00:16:14.059 --> 00:16:22.759 What is it that you or I in selfish envy have done that we've dragged off to the side of the road 00:16:22.759 --> 00:16:25.579 and thrown a blanket over it in the hope that no one will notice? 00:16:26.019 --> 00:16:31.579 Because 2 Samuel 20 wants to say, no, let's just bring that back into focus for a moment. 00:16:32.339 --> 00:16:33.319 Let's not ignore it. 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:35.039 Let's not think that it doesn't matter. 00:16:35.739 --> 00:16:40.939 Let's talk for an uncomfortable moment about the wickedness of sin. 00:16:40.940 --> 00:16:45.600 You see, I think the uncomfortable truth is that for all of us, 00:16:45.680 --> 00:16:52.820 our lives are actually littered with the evidence of envy, pride and self-interest. 00:16:53.680 --> 00:16:55.300 And though we tell ourselves that it doesn't matter, 00:16:55.480 --> 00:16:57.980 2 Samuel 20 wants to stop us in our tracks and say, 00:16:58.440 --> 00:17:01.060 I know you think this doesn't matter very much, 00:17:01.880 --> 00:17:06.519 but pause, will you, and think about it and think about the horror of it. 00:17:06.519 --> 00:17:11.779 Let me try and show you how Jesus makes the same point in Mark chapter 7. 00:17:11.879 --> 00:17:13.259 You might want to turn to it in your Bibles. 00:17:13.379 --> 00:17:15.420 It will come up on the screen behind us. 00:17:15.480 --> 00:17:20.240 But Mark chapter 7, Mark chapter 7, it's on page 1010. 00:17:21.559 --> 00:17:25.599 Let me read to you these words of Jesus from verse 14. 00:17:25.599 --> 00:17:32.879 Jesus says this, 00:17:32.959 --> 00:17:35.659 Again, Jesus called the crowd to him and said, 00:17:35.899 --> 00:17:39.939 Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 00:17:40.579 --> 00:17:43.879 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. 00:17:44.500 --> 00:17:47.639 Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them. 00:17:49.059 --> 00:17:52.139 And after he had left the crowd and entered the house, 00:17:52.199 --> 00:17:53.879 his disciples asked him about this parable. 00:17:53.880 --> 00:17:55.840 Are you so dull? 00:17:56.440 --> 00:17:57.180 He asked. 00:17:57.720 --> 00:18:01.640 Don't you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 00:18:02.100 --> 00:18:05.220 For it does not go into their heart, but into their stomach and then into the body. 00:18:06.280 --> 00:18:08.380 And saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean. 00:18:09.300 --> 00:18:09.900 He went on, 00:18:10.220 --> 00:18:12.880 What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 00:18:13.400 --> 00:18:16.080 For it is from within, out of a person's heart, 00:18:16.180 --> 00:18:20.580 that evil thoughts come, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, 00:18:20.579 --> 00:18:24.960 malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. 00:18:25.539 --> 00:18:28.559 All these evils come from inside and defile a person. 00:18:30.379 --> 00:18:34.939 Now, Jesus here is talking at first to a crowd of religious Jews and their leaders, 00:18:35.099 --> 00:18:36.740 people who thought that they were winning at life, 00:18:36.819 --> 00:18:39.419 because on the outside, as far as anyone could tell, 00:18:39.500 --> 00:18:41.819 as far as you and I could tell if we'd seen them or met them, 00:18:42.259 --> 00:18:43.779 they were good people. 00:18:43.779 --> 00:18:45.119 They kept the rules. 00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:46.099 They looked good. 00:18:46.599 --> 00:18:50.500 But Jesus says to them in one of the most penetrating paragraphs in the New Testament, 00:18:50.940 --> 00:18:54.920 listen, on the inside, you're dirty and unclean. 00:18:55.779 --> 00:18:57.680 And he hits them with a list of terrible things, 00:18:57.740 --> 00:18:59.740 which are not imposed on people from the outside, 00:18:59.899 --> 00:19:01.899 but come from the inside out. 00:19:02.460 --> 00:19:03.940 Just have a look at the list with me. 00:19:04.660 --> 00:19:05.759 Evil thoughts. 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:10.039 Sexual immorality is the Bible's catch-all word 00:19:10.039 --> 00:19:13.079 for all sexual activity outside of the marriage of a man to a woman. 00:19:13.779 --> 00:19:17.720 From pornography, lust, to adultery and casual sex. 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:19.539 Theft, murder. 00:19:20.160 --> 00:19:22.220 Adultery, again, in case you missed it the first time around. 00:19:22.559 --> 00:19:24.059 Greed, wanting more and more. 00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:26.019 Malice, deceit or treachery. 00:19:26.500 --> 00:19:30.539 Sensuality or lewdness, as in crudeness, perverted talk, rude joking. 00:19:31.099 --> 00:19:33.500 Envy, slander, literally blasphemy. 00:19:33.619 --> 00:19:34.960 Not towards God so much here, 00:19:35.059 --> 00:19:38.220 but as words spoken with the intent to damage someone's reputation. 00:19:39.279 --> 00:19:41.539 Pride or arrogance and foolishness. 00:19:41.539 --> 00:19:45.079 These, says Jesus, these are the motives of the human heart. 00:19:45.420 --> 00:19:47.599 These are the driving forces of our lives 00:19:47.599 --> 00:19:50.579 that flow out from us into our actions. 00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:53.700 It's not hard, is it, if you come back to 2 Samuel 20 00:19:53.700 --> 00:19:56.579 to see which ones of those are at play in this chapter. 00:19:56.879 --> 00:19:59.519 Murder, deceit, foolishness, pride for a start. 00:20:00.379 --> 00:20:04.039 But I want us just to zoom in on the word envy here. 00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:10.159 The word envy in the New Testament here is literally evil eyes. 00:20:11.159 --> 00:20:14.440 In other words, envy is not so much looking at something 00:20:14.440 --> 00:20:15.980 that someone else has and saying, 00:20:16.119 --> 00:20:17.379 I want that for myself. 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:19.659 That is jealousy, right? 00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:21.240 Envy is different to jealousy. 00:20:21.460 --> 00:20:24.539 Envy looks at something that someone else has and says, 00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:29.680 I want to see the pain of them losing it and me gaining it. 00:20:30.139 --> 00:20:31.220 Do you understand the difference? 00:20:31.220 --> 00:20:35.559 Envy looks at the joy or the happiness 00:20:35.559 --> 00:20:37.720 that someone else is enjoying and says, 00:20:38.120 --> 00:20:41.120 I will not be happy until they are miserable. 00:20:41.660 --> 00:20:45.460 Until they lose it and I gain it, I will not be happy. 00:20:46.559 --> 00:20:47.860 And Jesus says, incredibly, 00:20:48.259 --> 00:20:49.960 that is what the human heart is like. 00:20:50.140 --> 00:20:51.680 In its twisted sinfulness, 00:20:51.799 --> 00:20:55.140 it is persuaded that the happiness of the human heart, 00:20:55.519 --> 00:20:59.220 my happiness depends upon your unhappiness. 00:20:59.220 --> 00:20:59.579 Happiness. 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:01.700 That's Joab, isn't it? 00:21:01.740 --> 00:21:02.900 In 2 Samuel chapter 20. 00:21:04.180 --> 00:21:06.559 Joab, notice Joab doesn't just want to be 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:08.759 the most important person in David's army. 00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:13.240 At no point in 2 Samuel 20 is Joab waving his hand saying, 00:21:13.339 --> 00:21:14.519 David, give me my job back. 00:21:14.559 --> 00:21:15.559 I really want my job back. 00:21:15.860 --> 00:21:18.559 He doesn't actually care so much about getting his job back. 00:21:18.839 --> 00:21:20.960 He cares that Amasa doesn't have it. 00:21:21.079 --> 00:21:22.000 That's what he wants. 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:25.079 He envies, he evil eyes Amasa, 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:27.940 even to brutally killing him. 00:21:28.559 --> 00:21:30.440 And the horror of 2 Samuel chapter 20 00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:33.140 is the horror of human envy. 00:21:33.640 --> 00:21:37.099 The glory bloodbath that the human heart plays out. 00:21:38.099 --> 00:21:40.559 Now let me suggest as gently as I can to all of us, 00:21:41.180 --> 00:21:42.059 me included, 00:21:42.839 --> 00:21:45.279 that this is exactly how envy works today. 00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:48.500 And it's still as horrific as it ever was. 00:21:52.039 --> 00:21:53.839 Maybe you look at a friend 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:58.279 and it's not just that you want their good looks. 00:21:58.700 --> 00:22:02.599 It's that you are bitterly angry that they have them. 00:22:03.859 --> 00:22:05.579 Their good skin, their beautiful hair, 00:22:05.680 --> 00:22:06.379 their nice clothes, 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:07.579 their lots of friends. 00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:08.920 Makes you angry. 00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:12.279 Twists you up inside in a way that you can't describe, 00:22:12.359 --> 00:22:13.139 in a way that you suppress 00:22:13.140 --> 00:22:14.420 and you dare not speak of. 00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:16.600 Maybe at work, 00:22:16.680 --> 00:22:19.360 it's not just that you want to be promoted. 00:22:20.100 --> 00:22:21.259 It's not just that. 00:22:21.900 --> 00:22:24.100 It's how dare they promote them. 00:22:24.740 --> 00:22:25.880 They don't deserve it. 00:22:26.460 --> 00:22:27.700 They're lazy good for nothing. 00:22:28.420 --> 00:22:30.720 And you won't be happy until it's taken from them. 00:22:32.120 --> 00:22:33.780 You know, it's not just that I'm heartbroken 00:22:33.780 --> 00:22:35.120 that my children and my grandchildren 00:22:35.120 --> 00:22:36.280 don't follow the Lord. 00:22:36.580 --> 00:22:38.740 I'm resentful that their children 00:22:38.740 --> 00:22:40.040 seem to follow the Lord. 00:22:40.340 --> 00:22:41.640 They're terrible Christians. 00:22:41.640 --> 00:22:43.780 Why have they got children 00:22:43.780 --> 00:22:45.220 who want to come to church? 00:22:45.860 --> 00:22:47.380 Grandchildren who want to hear about Jesus? 00:22:47.560 --> 00:22:48.560 They don't deserve it. 00:22:50.660 --> 00:22:52.780 I think you can see this kind of envy 00:22:52.780 --> 00:22:54.100 in our culture as well, 00:22:54.160 --> 00:22:55.120 in the way that our culture 00:22:55.120 --> 00:22:56.520 views the rights of the individual. 00:22:57.160 --> 00:22:58.120 So that if there's a choice 00:22:58.120 --> 00:22:59.700 between the life that I planned, 00:23:00.440 --> 00:23:02.180 the happiness that I think I deserve, 00:23:02.800 --> 00:23:04.560 and the life of an unborn child, 00:23:05.100 --> 00:23:06.860 I will choose my happiness 00:23:06.860 --> 00:23:08.720 and not their life. 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:10.700 I think it's the same 00:23:10.700 --> 00:23:11.960 with the assisted suicide bill 00:23:11.960 --> 00:23:13.180 that's going to come before Parliament. 00:23:14.039 --> 00:23:15.160 It will open the door, won't it, 00:23:15.220 --> 00:23:17.799 for relatives pursuing their happiness 00:23:17.799 --> 00:23:20.279 at the expense of their relatives' lives. 00:23:21.420 --> 00:23:23.660 My happiness at the cost of you. 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:26.360 And 2 Samuel 20 says, 00:23:26.440 --> 00:23:28.319 listen, this kind of envy, 00:23:29.019 --> 00:23:30.000 it's a bloodbath. 00:23:30.460 --> 00:23:31.140 It's a bloodbath. 00:23:31.600 --> 00:23:32.299 And it will be. 00:23:33.159 --> 00:23:35.559 And 2 Samuel 20 says to you and I this morning, 00:23:35.980 --> 00:23:37.339 listen, I know this is uncomfortable 00:23:37.339 --> 00:23:38.579 and I know this is gross 00:23:38.579 --> 00:23:40.279 and I know you don't want to think about it, 00:23:40.339 --> 00:23:42.119 but look, will you think about it for a moment? 00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:44.519 Will you think about the fact 00:23:44.519 --> 00:23:48.419 that your heart is full of this kind of envy? 00:23:49.079 --> 00:23:51.599 That my heart is full of this kind of envy? 00:23:52.019 --> 00:23:53.500 Will you just for a moment 00:23:53.500 --> 00:23:54.799 not try and cover it up? 00:23:55.279 --> 00:23:56.259 Will you just have a look 00:23:56.259 --> 00:23:57.839 at what envy does to you? 00:23:58.419 --> 00:23:59.039 Will you have a look 00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:00.599 at what envy does to your culture? 00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:02.059 Will you have a think 00:24:02.059 --> 00:24:03.799 about who your amasses are? 00:24:05.139 --> 00:24:06.059 And I think perhaps 00:24:06.059 --> 00:24:07.240 the most uncomfortable thing 00:24:07.240 --> 00:24:08.319 about 2 Samuel 20 00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:10.019 is that it does nothing 00:24:10.019 --> 00:24:11.480 to resolve it for you, does it? 00:24:12.579 --> 00:24:13.879 It just leaves you there. 00:24:14.159 --> 00:24:14.740 If you want, 00:24:14.799 --> 00:24:15.879 you could summarise the message 00:24:15.879 --> 00:24:17.500 of 2 Samuel 20 like this. 00:24:17.779 --> 00:24:19.379 Listen, in David's kingdom, 00:24:19.500 --> 00:24:20.519 David's a brilliant king, 00:24:20.639 --> 00:24:21.619 as brilliant as he is, 00:24:21.639 --> 00:24:22.659 as much as he loves the Lord, 00:24:22.759 --> 00:24:23.779 in David's kingdom, 00:24:24.220 --> 00:24:25.420 there is blood on the floor 00:24:25.420 --> 00:24:27.399 because David, for all his brilliance, 00:24:27.400 --> 00:24:29.060 can do nothing about the human heart. 00:24:29.120 --> 00:24:29.740 He can't. 00:24:30.460 --> 00:24:31.740 And it leaves you there. 00:24:32.160 --> 00:24:32.980 It leaves you there. 00:24:33.740 --> 00:24:34.780 There's no security, 00:24:34.900 --> 00:24:35.900 no love, no joy, 00:24:35.980 --> 00:24:36.420 no mercy, 00:24:36.519 --> 00:24:37.800 no reconciliation and forgiveness. 00:24:38.440 --> 00:24:39.620 David just can't bring it. 00:24:40.060 --> 00:24:41.900 The wickedness of the human heart 00:24:41.900 --> 00:24:43.640 means that, well, 00:24:43.840 --> 00:24:45.280 people in his kingdom can't help 00:24:45.280 --> 00:24:46.420 but grab people by the beard 00:24:46.420 --> 00:24:47.040 and kill them, 00:24:47.940 --> 00:24:48.940 ruining the lives 00:24:48.940 --> 00:24:50.860 of 10 innocent women, 00:24:51.220 --> 00:24:52.240 turning a peaceful city 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:53.220 into a battleground, 00:24:53.700 --> 00:24:55.900 being run by worthless traitors. 00:24:55.900 --> 00:24:58.400 And so 2 Samuel 20 00:24:58.400 --> 00:24:59.360 leaves us again, doesn't it, 00:24:59.360 --> 00:25:01.000 with this vision of the horror of sin 00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:02.360 and a huge void 00:25:02.360 --> 00:25:04.180 where salvation needs to be. 00:25:05.259 --> 00:25:06.800 But the brilliant truth is, 00:25:07.019 --> 00:25:08.240 and we're going to end here this morning, 00:25:08.780 --> 00:25:09.700 the brilliant truth is 00:25:09.700 --> 00:25:11.280 that the Bible doesn't leave you there. 00:25:12.920 --> 00:25:13.860 Let me tell you 00:25:13.860 --> 00:25:15.480 that there is in the Bible 00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:17.920 the story of another 00:25:17.920 --> 00:25:19.800 gruesome body 00:25:19.800 --> 00:25:21.519 at the side of a road 00:25:21.519 --> 00:25:23.300 just outside Jerusalem. 00:25:23.299 --> 00:25:25.240 It's a body 00:25:25.240 --> 00:25:26.579 which has also been stabbed 00:25:26.579 --> 00:25:27.480 in the side 00:25:27.480 --> 00:25:29.700 where water and blood 00:25:29.700 --> 00:25:30.519 are flowing out. 00:25:31.579 --> 00:25:32.480 This time the body 00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:33.779 is hanging from a cross. 00:25:34.819 --> 00:25:36.399 And just like with a Massa, 00:25:36.899 --> 00:25:38.279 you can look at this body 00:25:38.279 --> 00:25:39.200 and you can see 00:25:39.200 --> 00:25:40.200 the horror of sin, 00:25:40.940 --> 00:25:42.019 the horror particularly 00:25:42.019 --> 00:25:43.019 of envy. 00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:44.779 Because that body, 00:25:44.879 --> 00:25:45.980 the body of Jesus Christ, 00:25:46.039 --> 00:25:47.119 was put there 00:25:47.119 --> 00:25:48.519 as a response 00:25:48.519 --> 00:25:49.759 to a crowd 00:25:49.759 --> 00:25:50.659 who were driven 00:25:50.659 --> 00:25:52.059 by jealousy and envy. 00:25:52.059 --> 00:25:54.399 We don't only want 00:25:54.399 --> 00:25:55.460 Jesus' popularity, 00:25:56.099 --> 00:25:57.960 we want him not to have it. 00:25:58.819 --> 00:26:00.220 And so they pin him 00:26:00.220 --> 00:26:00.980 to a cross 00:26:00.980 --> 00:26:02.759 to rob him of it. 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:04.980 And if 2 Samuel 20 00:26:04.980 --> 00:26:05.779 slows down 00:26:05.779 --> 00:26:06.879 so that you get a good look 00:26:06.879 --> 00:26:07.379 at the horror 00:26:07.379 --> 00:26:08.179 of a Massa's body, 00:26:08.539 --> 00:26:09.599 well then it's fair to say 00:26:09.599 --> 00:26:10.779 that the whole Bible 00:26:10.779 --> 00:26:11.639 slows down 00:26:11.639 --> 00:26:12.259 that you might get 00:26:12.259 --> 00:26:13.599 a good look at this body 00:26:13.599 --> 00:26:14.960 on the cross. 00:26:15.700 --> 00:26:16.899 But not just 00:26:16.899 --> 00:26:18.539 and not even so much 00:26:18.539 --> 00:26:19.440 that you might see 00:26:19.440 --> 00:26:20.839 the horror of human sin, 00:26:20.839 --> 00:26:22.799 but so that incredibly 00:26:22.799 --> 00:26:23.980 you might see 00:26:23.980 --> 00:26:25.240 the wonders of salvation 00:26:25.240 --> 00:26:26.419 from that sin. 00:26:26.919 --> 00:26:29.079 Because as Jesus dies there, 00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:30.199 hanging there, 00:26:30.659 --> 00:26:31.500 it's not just 00:26:31.500 --> 00:26:32.179 that he's taking 00:26:32.179 --> 00:26:33.199 the penalty for sin 00:26:33.199 --> 00:26:33.859 for those who would 00:26:33.859 --> 00:26:34.439 trust in him 00:26:34.439 --> 00:26:35.579 like an innocent, 00:26:35.839 --> 00:26:36.639 sacrificial lamb, 00:26:36.679 --> 00:26:37.699 although he is that. 00:26:38.539 --> 00:26:39.379 But we are to look 00:26:39.379 --> 00:26:39.980 at his body 00:26:39.980 --> 00:26:41.119 and we are to understand 00:26:41.119 --> 00:26:41.759 this, 00:26:42.179 --> 00:26:43.599 that in his body 00:26:43.599 --> 00:26:45.500 he is taking 00:26:45.500 --> 00:26:46.519 on himself 00:26:46.519 --> 00:26:48.199 our very sinful nature 00:26:48.199 --> 00:26:49.319 described in Mark 00:26:49.319 --> 00:26:49.839 chapter 7 00:26:49.839 --> 00:26:50.720 that we read together. 00:26:51.399 --> 00:26:52.319 So much so 00:26:52.319 --> 00:26:52.980 that if you were 00:26:52.980 --> 00:26:54.200 a Christian this morning, 00:26:54.700 --> 00:26:55.679 what you're seeing 00:26:55.679 --> 00:26:56.939 as you look at Christ 00:26:56.939 --> 00:26:57.679 on the cross 00:26:57.679 --> 00:26:58.899 is not just 00:26:58.899 --> 00:27:00.279 the death of your Lord, 00:27:00.500 --> 00:27:02.019 although you are seeing that. 00:27:02.279 --> 00:27:03.539 What you are seeing 00:27:03.539 --> 00:27:04.059 as well 00:27:04.059 --> 00:27:04.859 is this, 00:27:05.079 --> 00:27:05.740 the death 00:27:05.740 --> 00:27:07.619 of your sin. 00:27:08.279 --> 00:27:09.039 Your sin 00:27:09.039 --> 00:27:10.740 has through our faith 00:27:10.740 --> 00:27:12.000 union with Jesus Christ, 00:27:12.139 --> 00:27:12.679 he takes 00:27:12.679 --> 00:27:14.159 our old natures 00:27:14.159 --> 00:27:15.119 onto himself 00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:17.099 and we die with him. 00:27:17.099 --> 00:27:19.059 You see, 00:27:19.539 --> 00:27:20.659 I think what you're seeing, 00:27:21.159 --> 00:27:22.500 if you see a master's body, 00:27:22.959 --> 00:27:24.299 you see Jerob's envy. 00:27:24.899 --> 00:27:26.480 If you see Jesus' body, 00:27:26.959 --> 00:27:27.939 you see the opposite 00:27:27.939 --> 00:27:28.519 of envy. 00:27:29.240 --> 00:27:29.539 You see, 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:31.539 envy takes a good thing 00:27:31.539 --> 00:27:32.240 off another 00:27:32.240 --> 00:27:34.799 to try and receive it itself. 00:27:35.859 --> 00:27:36.859 Jesus' death 00:27:36.859 --> 00:27:37.419 on the cross 00:27:37.419 --> 00:27:38.199 is taking 00:27:38.199 --> 00:27:39.319 a bad thing 00:27:39.319 --> 00:27:39.939 off another 00:27:39.939 --> 00:27:41.319 to receive it 00:27:41.319 --> 00:27:42.000 for himself 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:43.980 that we might receive 00:27:43.980 --> 00:27:44.619 his forgiveness 00:27:44.619 --> 00:27:45.339 and his blessing 00:27:45.339 --> 00:27:45.959 and his mercy. 00:27:46.179 --> 00:27:46.740 Isn't that incredible? 00:27:48.099 --> 00:27:48.579 Listen, 00:27:48.679 --> 00:27:49.439 if you're not a Christian 00:27:49.439 --> 00:27:50.059 this morning, 00:27:50.599 --> 00:27:51.399 maybe this has been 00:27:51.399 --> 00:27:51.879 a bit shocking 00:27:51.879 --> 00:27:52.559 to you this morning. 00:27:52.699 --> 00:27:53.980 I guess that 2 Samuel 20 00:27:53.980 --> 00:27:54.659 is perhaps not 00:27:54.659 --> 00:27:55.339 the kind of story 00:27:55.339 --> 00:27:55.939 that you expected 00:27:55.939 --> 00:27:56.779 to find in the Bible, 00:27:56.980 --> 00:27:57.199 right? 00:27:58.399 --> 00:27:59.379 I love that about 00:27:59.379 --> 00:28:00.539 Club on a Friday night 00:28:00.539 --> 00:28:01.519 is that I think 00:28:01.519 --> 00:28:02.000 they're shocked 00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:02.659 by some of the stories 00:28:02.659 --> 00:28:03.039 in the Bible 00:28:03.039 --> 00:28:03.619 because they think 00:28:03.619 --> 00:28:04.519 the Bible's full of 00:28:04.519 --> 00:28:06.579 nice squeaky clean stories, 00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:07.319 but it's not. 00:28:07.539 --> 00:28:08.819 The horrors of human life 00:28:08.819 --> 00:28:09.439 are all here 00:28:09.439 --> 00:28:10.259 in the pages of the Bible 00:28:10.259 --> 00:28:10.959 for you to read. 00:28:12.240 --> 00:28:13.119 But let me ask you 00:28:13.119 --> 00:28:14.519 to consider this morning 00:28:14.519 --> 00:28:15.399 if you're not a Christian 00:28:15.400 --> 00:28:17.660 that it might be true 00:28:17.660 --> 00:28:19.240 that the problems 00:28:19.240 --> 00:28:19.820 in your life 00:28:19.820 --> 00:28:20.740 are not the fault 00:28:20.740 --> 00:28:21.400 of other people, 00:28:22.240 --> 00:28:23.140 but are the things 00:28:23.140 --> 00:28:25.680 coming out of your own heart. 00:28:27.740 --> 00:28:28.860 Not imposed on you 00:28:28.860 --> 00:28:29.940 by work or home, 00:28:30.320 --> 00:28:31.300 as real as those problems 00:28:31.300 --> 00:28:31.860 might be, 00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:32.980 but the problem 00:28:32.980 --> 00:28:34.220 might be the wickedness 00:28:34.220 --> 00:28:35.640 and envy of our own hearts 00:28:35.640 --> 00:28:36.800 that we are capable 00:28:36.800 --> 00:28:39.380 of twisting into horror 00:28:39.380 --> 00:28:41.140 what has been good 00:28:41.140 --> 00:28:42.060 and given to us 00:28:42.059 --> 00:28:42.720 for our blessing. 00:28:44.319 --> 00:28:45.799 And that the only solution 00:28:45.799 --> 00:28:46.899 for those kind 00:28:46.899 --> 00:28:47.960 of internal problems 00:28:47.960 --> 00:28:49.879 is to find someone 00:28:49.879 --> 00:28:50.559 who is able 00:28:50.559 --> 00:28:52.299 to take them out of you 00:28:52.299 --> 00:28:53.240 onto themselves 00:28:53.240 --> 00:28:54.859 and pay the penalty 00:28:54.859 --> 00:28:56.940 for them on the cross. 00:28:57.259 --> 00:28:58.759 And that is Jesus Christ. 00:28:59.519 --> 00:29:00.899 There is nobody else. 00:29:01.839 --> 00:29:03.200 You can't go anywhere else 00:29:03.200 --> 00:29:03.980 and hear this message 00:29:03.980 --> 00:29:04.440 this morning. 00:29:04.980 --> 00:29:06.440 You will only hear it 00:29:06.440 --> 00:29:07.019 in the church 00:29:07.019 --> 00:29:07.940 of Jesus Christ. 00:29:08.639 --> 00:29:09.899 You will only there hear 00:29:09.900 --> 00:29:10.720 of the solution 00:29:10.720 --> 00:29:12.420 for our internal problem, 00:29:12.980 --> 00:29:14.019 which we all have. 00:29:15.380 --> 00:29:16.080 And for many of us 00:29:16.080 --> 00:29:16.420 this morning, 00:29:16.460 --> 00:29:16.960 we've been Christians 00:29:16.960 --> 00:29:17.700 for a long time, 00:29:17.780 --> 00:29:18.720 but the application for us 00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:19.780 is very much the same. 00:29:20.240 --> 00:29:21.640 Because Christian maturity, 00:29:21.840 --> 00:29:22.080 right, 00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:24.080 is not about diminishing 00:29:24.080 --> 00:29:25.380 the horror of your sin, 00:29:25.780 --> 00:29:27.700 but is about noticing it 00:29:27.700 --> 00:29:29.000 and seeing it 00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:30.360 and owning it 00:29:30.360 --> 00:29:32.440 as you also look 00:29:32.440 --> 00:29:32.940 to the one 00:29:32.940 --> 00:29:34.600 who is able to solve it 00:29:34.600 --> 00:29:36.440 and save you from it. 00:29:37.140 --> 00:29:38.120 Christian maturity 00:29:38.120 --> 00:29:39.420 grows in its view 00:29:39.420 --> 00:29:39.779 with the cross 00:29:39.779 --> 00:29:40.960 as it sees the horror 00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:41.660 of its sin 00:29:41.660 --> 00:29:42.519 was greater than 00:29:42.519 --> 00:29:43.240 it thought before 00:29:43.240 --> 00:29:44.740 and so the mercy 00:29:44.740 --> 00:29:45.200 of Jesus 00:29:45.200 --> 00:29:46.039 is greater than 00:29:46.039 --> 00:29:46.740 you thought before. 00:29:48.420 --> 00:29:49.080 So that much, 00:29:49.700 --> 00:29:50.400 as our lives 00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:50.900 and our world 00:29:50.900 --> 00:29:51.740 are very much like 00:29:51.740 --> 00:29:52.600 2 Samuel 20, 00:29:52.740 --> 00:29:53.820 a sort of merry-go-round 00:29:53.820 --> 00:29:55.080 of unsolvable wickedness, 00:29:55.200 --> 00:29:56.000 there is still 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:56.680 this body 00:29:56.680 --> 00:29:58.640 whose violent death 00:29:58.640 --> 00:30:00.180 tells a better story 00:30:00.180 --> 00:30:01.039 than Amasa's. 00:30:01.960 --> 00:30:02.519 And really, 00:30:02.620 --> 00:30:03.480 the story of the Bible 00:30:03.480 --> 00:30:03.800 for you, 00:30:03.860 --> 00:30:04.360 if you're a Christian 00:30:04.360 --> 00:30:04.720 this morning 00:30:04.720 --> 00:30:05.279 and if you're not 00:30:05.279 --> 00:30:05.640 a Christian, 00:30:05.779 --> 00:30:06.100 is listen, 00:30:06.220 --> 00:30:06.840 don't just stare 00:30:06.839 --> 00:30:07.319 at Amasa. 00:30:08.339 --> 00:30:09.139 Stare at Jesus. 00:30:10.199 --> 00:30:10.939 Stare at Jesus. 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:12.740 Let me pray 00:30:12.740 --> 00:30:14.000 and then we'll sing 00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:15.240 in response. 00:30:25.720 --> 00:30:26.619 Just take a moment 00:30:26.619 --> 00:30:27.039 of quiet. 00:30:27.159 --> 00:30:27.699 Maybe you want to 00:30:27.699 --> 00:30:29.259 respond in your own heart. 00:30:29.319 --> 00:30:29.879 Maybe there's a prayer 00:30:29.879 --> 00:30:30.779 that you want to pray. 00:30:30.779 --> 00:30:33.720 Maybe if you've never 00:30:33.720 --> 00:30:34.399 trusted Christ, 00:30:34.440 --> 00:30:35.440 you want to do that now 00:30:35.440 --> 00:30:36.579 and turn to him. 00:30:37.759 --> 00:30:38.379 Maybe if you've been 00:30:38.379 --> 00:30:39.460 a Christian for a long time, 00:30:39.519 --> 00:30:40.240 you just want to turn 00:30:40.240 --> 00:30:41.099 to Jesus again 00:30:41.099 --> 00:30:42.460 and thank him 00:30:42.460 --> 00:30:43.480 for what he's done for you. 00:30:43.480 --> 00:30:43.559 Amen. 00:30:43.559 --> 00:30:43.639 Amen. 00:30:43.639 --> 00:30:43.700 Amen. 00:31:00.779 --> 00:31:07.680 Heavenly Father, 00:31:07.859 --> 00:31:08.859 it would be wrong 00:31:08.859 --> 00:31:10.420 for us to try 00:31:10.420 --> 00:31:11.220 to pretend 00:31:11.220 --> 00:31:13.220 that we are better 00:31:13.220 --> 00:31:14.180 than we really are 00:31:14.180 --> 00:31:16.339 or that the sins 00:31:16.339 --> 00:31:16.940 that we see 00:31:16.940 --> 00:31:18.000 in Joab's heart 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:18.799 played out 00:31:18.799 --> 00:31:20.460 so gruesomely 00:31:20.460 --> 00:31:22.319 are really any different 00:31:22.319 --> 00:31:23.160 from the things 00:31:23.160 --> 00:31:24.559 going on in our hearts. 00:31:26.139 --> 00:31:27.279 We might not be 00:31:27.279 --> 00:31:28.759 an Iron Age warrior, 00:31:28.759 --> 00:31:31.079 but in our own ways 00:31:31.079 --> 00:31:32.019 we see the mess 00:31:32.019 --> 00:31:33.279 that comes from our envy. 00:31:36.200 --> 00:31:37.240 Please, we pray, 00:31:38.140 --> 00:31:39.099 forgive us 00:31:39.099 --> 00:31:40.240 and show us mercy 00:31:40.240 --> 00:31:41.440 through the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:31:42.720 --> 00:31:44.140 Thank you that in him 00:31:44.140 --> 00:31:45.539 you have taken our sin 00:31:45.539 --> 00:31:46.359 to the cross 00:31:46.359 --> 00:31:47.500 and punished it 00:31:47.500 --> 00:31:48.879 and given us 00:31:48.879 --> 00:31:49.539 his righteousness. 00:31:50.940 --> 00:31:51.660 How we pray 00:31:51.660 --> 00:31:52.299 for ourselves 00:31:52.299 --> 00:31:53.019 as a church 00:31:53.019 --> 00:31:53.980 that you might help us 00:31:53.980 --> 00:31:54.980 not to downplay 00:31:54.980 --> 00:31:55.660 the seriousness 00:31:55.660 --> 00:31:56.460 of our sin 00:31:56.460 --> 00:31:58.539 but to stare it 00:31:58.539 --> 00:31:59.159 in the face 00:31:59.159 --> 00:32:00.700 whilst also rejoicing 00:32:00.700 --> 00:32:01.740 that Christ's cross 00:32:01.740 --> 00:32:02.659 pays for it all. 00:32:04.480 --> 00:32:04.920 And so, Lord, 00:32:04.940 --> 00:32:05.339 we pray 00:32:05.339 --> 00:32:06.460 that you might make us 00:32:06.460 --> 00:32:07.000 humble, 00:32:07.899 --> 00:32:08.240 gracious, 00:32:08.700 --> 00:32:09.539 kind and loving 00:32:09.539 --> 00:32:11.480 as we reflect 00:32:11.480 --> 00:32:12.319 on the Lord Jesus 00:32:12.319 --> 00:32:13.059 who has been 00:32:13.059 --> 00:32:13.500 gracious, 00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:15.019 kind and loving 00:32:15.019 --> 00:32:15.680 to us 00:32:15.680 --> 00:32:16.920 in whose name 00:32:16.920 --> 00:32:17.359 we pray. 00:32:18.079 --> 00:32:18.420 Amen. 00:32:18.420 --> 00:32:18.619 Amen. 00:32:19.079 --> 00:32:19.420 Amen. 00:32:19.420 --> 00:32:19.539 Amen. 00:32:19.980 --> 00:32:20.420 Amen. 00:32:20.420 --> 00:32:20.480 Amen. 00:32:20.480 --> 00:32:20.920 Amen. 00:32:20.920 --> 00:32:21.420 Amen. 00:32:21.420 --> 00:32:21.480 Amen. 00:32:21.480 --> 00:32:22.480 Amen. 00:32:22.480 --> 00:32:22.500 Amen. 00:32:22.500 --> 00:32:23.480 Amen. 00:32:23.480 --> 00:32:23.500 Amen. 00:32:23.500 --> 00:32:23.539 Amen. 00:32:23.539 --> 00:32:23.559 Amen. 00:32:23.559 --> 00:32:23.579 Amen. 00:32:23.579 --> 00:32:23.599 Amen. 00:32:23.599 --> 00:32:23.619 Amen. 00:32:23.619 --> 00:32:24.559 Amen. 00:32:24.559 --> 00:32:24.579 Amen. 00:32:24.579 --> 00:32:28.519 Amen.