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Welcome to the Liberty Baptist 
Sermon Archives. 

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The message you're about to hear
was preached at Liberty Baptist 

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Church in Easton, MA. 
You can find out more about us 

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or contact us at my 
libertybaptist.org or just look 

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us up on Facebook. 
And now we hope that this 

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message from God's Word will be 
a blessing to you. 

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Let's show your Bibles, please. 
The second Samuel chapter #14 

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this evening as we continue our 
series, A Man after God's Own 

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Heart. 
And that series has focused 

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greatly on David. 
But tonight, we're going to take

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our gaze from David, actually 
look at his son Absalom. 

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Of course, we've looked at 
Absalom the last few weeks in 

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this series. 
However, we'll give you a little

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bit of an update in just a few 
moments and let you know where 

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he is and why we need to look at
his life here this evening. 

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It was Abraham Lincoln who once 
said this. 

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Better to remain silent and be 
thought a fool then to open your

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mouth and remove all doubt. 
Have you heard that before? 

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I like that one, that's from 
Abraham Lincoln. 

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However, really as many of those
common Proverbs and Maxim's are,

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they really are filled with 
biblical truth. 

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And really, Abraham Lincoln 
probably borrowed that from 

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Proverbs 1728 where it says even
a fool when he hold of his peace

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is counted wise, and he that 
shutteth his lips is esteemed a 

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man of understanding. 
Now I have to wonder when 

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Solomon, by the inspiration of 
the Lord wrote Proverbs 1728, if

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he had Absalom in mind when he 
was thinking about the fool. 

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Because Absalom, of course, has 
acted in a fool in many ways, as

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we've seen previously in our 
text, certainly in how he 

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handled the situation with Amnon
and then beyond. 

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But we're going to see Absalom 
take things to new heights 

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tonight. 
We're going to see his absurdity

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and we're going to see his 
buffoonery, if you will, enter 

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to whole different territory 
this evening. 

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He was a man who considered 
himself to be quite beautiful. 

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But as we see, once he opened 
his mouth, he removed no doubt 

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about what his real nature was, 
and it was anything but 

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beautiful. 
Tonight. 

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The message is called this, the 
Ballad of the Beautiful Buffoon.

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I'll say this. 
I don't know if the message is 

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going to be good, but I like 
that title. 

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Amen. 
All right, the ballad of the 

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beautiful buffoon. 
And that's what we're going to 

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look at here in the Word of God 
tonight. 

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Would you stand, please, for the
reading of God's Word? 

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Second Samuel chapter #14 and 
we'll begin in verse #23 it says

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this. 
So Joab arose and went to Gesher

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and brought Absalom to 
Jerusalem. 

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And the king said, Let him turn 
to his own house, and let him 

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not see my face. 
So Epsilon turned to his own 

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house and saw not the King's 
face. 

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But in all Israel there was done
to be so much praise as Absalom 

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for his beauty from the sole of 
his foot, even the crowd of his 

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head, there was no blemish in 
him. 

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And when he pulled his head, for
it was at every year's end that 

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he pulled it, because the hair 
was heavy on him, therefore he 

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pulled it. 
He weighed his the hair of his 

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head at 200 shekels after the 
King's weight. 

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And unto Absalom there were born
three sons and one daughter, 

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whose name was Tamar. 
She was a woman of a fair 

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countenance, and will end in 
verse #28 where it says so. 

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Absalom dwelt 2 full years in. 
Jerusalem. 

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And saw not the King's face. 
And you might wonder why that's 

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a problem. 
And really it kind of connects 

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with what we looked at the last 
time We're in Second Samuel. 

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There was supposed to be some 
sort of reconciliation. 

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There had not been for three 
years. 

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And then when this was 
anticipated, now it's been 

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another two years and Absalom 
and David still haven't seen 

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each other. 
And the way absolutely handles 

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this situation gives us some 
instructions about how well we 

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shouldn't handle situations that
are complicated and messy 

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because you don't want to be a 
beautiful or maybe not so 

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beautiful buffoon. 
All right, so why don't you be 

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seen to Let's pray together and 
consider the message tonight. 

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Heavenly Father, again, we thank
you for this time and we thank 

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you for this place. 
And I pray that you just give me

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what I need to be able to say 
what needs to be said tonight 

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from your word, Lord, your word 
is no what matters, not my own. 

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And I say that not as something 
just to say when we pray. 

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It's the heart that I have this 
evening. 

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And I pray that you would just 
allow that to show tonight that 

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your word is what is can change 
lives and help us in every area.

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It's profitable. 
So I pray that that would be 

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what is shown tonight. 
And I pray your Spirit would 

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show us where we need to be in 
our own spiritual walk, that we 

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not even take any of the 
characteristics of Absalom 

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within our own life. 
Lord, thank you for this warning

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of which we will have tonight. 
And we ask it all in Jesus name.

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Amen. 
Now, how did we get here? 

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Well, we really could get to 
this place where things were 

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going along swimmingly in the 
Kingdom until the issue with 

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David and Bathsheba. 
Of course, it was at that point 

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when things started to change, 
and we find it at that point. 

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Now you're going to have turmoil
within the House of David that 

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first manifested itself with the
issue of Amnon and Tamar, where 

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Amnon took by force as sister 
Tamar, and then from that point 

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on, David not doing the right 
thing, not just as the father, 

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but as the righteous king and 
taking care of the situation by 

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putting Amnon to death. 
Absalom, who had anger and 

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perhaps even righteous anger, 
but it ended up manifesting 

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itself a few years later in a 
way that was unrighteous. 

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He took the law within his own 
hands and then slew his brother 

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Amnon, and then fled to the land
of Gesher where he was for three

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years. 
And as we saw the last time we 

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were in the book of Second 
Samuel, we saw that David was 

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really feeling like maybe there 
should be some reconciliation, 

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but couldn't bring himself to 
reconciliation. 

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But yet at the same time, what 
was needed was not 

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reconciliation as much as 
justice because Amnon was worthy

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of death because of what he had 
done. 

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But now Absalom was also worthy 
of death because he had taken 

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the life of Amnon unjustly. 
It wasn't that he shouldn't have

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died. 
It's just that there was 

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vigilante justice of which 
Absalom was not allowed to do. 

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And then you'll remember Joab 
concoct this plan to have an old

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woman come in and to be able to 
explain that she was a widow 

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woman who had two sons that were
fighting. 

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And I'm not going to re preach 
that whole message. 

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But the end result of this was 
that David's emotions were 

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stirred. 
But really the word of God was 

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not honored through that because
if the word of God was honored 

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then well, what would have 
happened was Absalom would have 

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been brought to justice. 
But instead David's emotions are

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stirred. 
He tells Joab and he tells the 

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old woman, go get Absalom and 
bring him back to the Kingdom. 

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Bring him back to me so we can 
get back together and reconcile.

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Well, what happens is as we 
opened our text is that 2 years 

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have passed after that's taken 
place. 

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So now it's been five years 
total that Absalom and David 

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have neither one of them seen 
each other. 

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And from that point, we kind of 
have an aside. 

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It's, it's almost like the we 
take a time out in the text for 

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just a moment. 
And from that place, the Bible 

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gives us a little bit of 
biographical information about 

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Absalom. 
We don't hear much about 

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Absalom, really, his 
characteristics or who he is in 

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this type of way, but a lot of 
what we know about Absalom was 

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actually found here in our text,
beginning in verse #25 this 

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biographical information we find
out first. 

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He is beautiful, you know. 
Hey, listen, I don't know what 

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he looked like. 
I don't really care what he 

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looked like, but I do know this.
The Bible says that he didn't 

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have a blemish from the top of 
his head to the bottom of his 

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feet. 
I can't even imagine what that 

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would be like. 
I can't even fathom what it 

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would be like. 
Just look in the mirror and say,

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wow, I wouldn't change one 
thing. 

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But apparently, according to the
word of God, that's the way he 

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was, that he had a beautiful 
countenance to him. 

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He wasn't just beautiful though,
He was also bountiful. 

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It said that he have four 
children. 

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He had three sons and one 
daughter, but he also was 

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brotherly as well. 
How do I know that? 

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It's interesting that the name 
of his daughter was Tamar. 

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Why is that interesting? 
Because his half sister who was 

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raped was also named Tamar. 
So there was something within 

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him, a love. 
Listen, he wasn't just an 

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arrogant villain in and of 
himself. 

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That there was something 
redeemable, if you will, or good

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within him. 
That he had this love for his 

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sister, his half sister who was 
treated so awfully by and that 

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out of honor to her, that when 
he had a daughter, he decided to

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name her Tamar after his sister 
who had been so poorly treated. 

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So he was bountiful, He was 
beautiful, he was brotherly. 

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There's a lot going on in a lot 
of ways for this man Absalom. 

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But this is where the story 
begins to take a turn after we 

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get that brief aside that we 
just saw and that really we just

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read. 
We ended the text with David 

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still not seeing his son for two
years. 

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Now, let's be honest about 
family issues here for just a 

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moment. 
Family issues can often be 

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messy. 
Family issues can often be 

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difficult. 
Family issues can sometimes be 

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very hard to navigate. 
And you don't have to say Amen. 

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I'll say Amen for you. 
All right, then when it comes to

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family issues, they can be 
interesting. 

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Listen, I'm an only child and 
family issues can be hard, all 

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right? 
It's just the way that it is. 

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And, and this is no different 
here. 

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Absalom has a father who really 
should put him to death. 

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But at the same time, he said 
that he wants to reconcile with 

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him. 
And so Absalom is expecting 

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reconciliation. 
But then for two years, his 

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father, who says he wants to 
reconcile with him, just says, I

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don't want to see you. 
So what is Absalom to do here? 

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It's a messy situation in every 
way. 

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Now, this is where Absalom had a
choice. 

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Am I going to handle myself as 
wise or I handle myself as a 

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fool? 
Now when it comes to the messy 

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situations we have in life, not 
just with family. 

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It can be in church, it can be a
work, it can be at school. 

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The situations that maybe aren't
always as cut and dry as we 

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would want them to be. 
We have a choice to make when we

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handle ourselves as wise or we 
handle ourselves as a fool. 

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By the way, you don't get to act
like a fool because the other 

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person's acting like a fool. 
I'll run that by one more time. 

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You don't get to act like a fool
because the other person's 

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acting like a fool. 
We are Christians, we have a 

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higher calling that's been 
placed upon us that we are 

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believers and we ought to act 
the way that we believe. 

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Amen. 
And so here Absalom has been 

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treated poorly, even though he 
was also. 

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In the wrong for. 
What happened before? 

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And so Absalom could take a 
moment here and take the High 

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Road. 
By the way, there's not usually 

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a traffic jam on the High Road. 
You're not going to find a lot 

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of people that are on the High 
Road. 

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And certainly Absalom didn't 
have himself on the High Road. 

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And so he makes some decisions 
about how he is going to deal 

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with this. 
And he's not a problem solver, 

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but he becomes a problem 
spreader. 

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And a wise man is a problem 
solver, but a fool is a problem 

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spreader. 
Absalom, instead of going in 

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with a scalpel and trying to fix
this in a way that is wise, he 

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takes a sledgehammer to 
something and believes this is 

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the way that it is going to be 
fixed. 

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Absalom does have a very real 
grievance, but this is where he 

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has a crossroads and he has to 
decide how he is going to handle

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this very messy yet very 
delicate situation. 

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Now listen, Absalom is 
absolutely the villain of the 

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story. 
Absalom is the villain. 

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But you know what I found about 
villains? 

224
00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:12,640
Villains don't usually think of 
themselves as villains. 

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00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:15,120
In fact, if you go through 
history and you find the 

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00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:17,360
villains of history, usually 
those villains think of 

227
00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:21,720
themselves as well, heroes, just
a little bit misunderstood. 

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00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:25,960
Just if someone had only heard 
him out, if someone had just 

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00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:29,920
seen their own point of view. 
Villains rarely see themselves 

230
00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:33,400
as villains, and spiritually 
destructive people almost always

231
00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:36,240
cast themselves as the heroes. 
I've seen this. 

232
00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:39,520
More often than not, spiritually
destructive people can cast 

233
00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:42,920
themselves as the hero, all 
while they're doing the devil's 

234
00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:45,920
bidding. 
David is wrong in handling the 

235
00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:48,960
situation as he is. 
But it does not give Absalom the

236
00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:54,080
right to not just act wrong in 
turn, but then to double down 

237
00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:58,320
and be even more unwise that 
David is acting. 

238
00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:01,680
Absalom shows his foolishness in
four different ways. 

239
00:12:01,680 --> 00:12:05,440
There's four different scenes, 
if you will, to this act. 

240
00:12:05,480 --> 00:12:07,360
And the first scene that we find
is this. 

241
00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:11,280
He shows his foolishness as a 
destroyer, as a destroyer. 

242
00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:13,280
Look with me, if you will. 
We'll pick up where we left off 

243
00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:16,680
in verse #28. 
So Absalom dwelt 2 full years in

244
00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:18,760
Jerusalem and sought out the 
King's face. 

245
00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:23,480
Therefore Absalom sent for Joab 
to have him sent to the king or 

246
00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:26,320
to have sent him to the king and
he would not come to him. 

247
00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:29,600
And when he said again the 
second time he would not come. 

248
00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:33,160
Therefore he said to his 
servants, see Joab's field is 

249
00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:36,520
near mine and he had barley 
there go and set it on fire. 

250
00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:39,040
And absolute servants set the 
field on fire. 

251
00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:42,840
Now a couple of things here 
Absalom sends to Joab and he 

252
00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:45,120
says, hey Joab, remember how you
wanted me to come back? 

253
00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:47,320
Remember how you set up that 
whole thing where I was supposed

254
00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:51,080
to come back and be back here 
and dad was going to come and we

255
00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:52,920
were going to reconcile? 
Well, that's not happening. 

256
00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:54,680
So Joab let's meet and talk 
about it. 

257
00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:57,600
And Joab didn't get the message.
You know, it's like that text 

258
00:12:57,600 --> 00:12:59,960
message when it says read and 
they pretend they didn't read 

259
00:12:59,960 --> 00:13:01,480
it, you know, And you're like, 
what's going on here? 

260
00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:03,000
That's kind of exactly where it 
was. 

261
00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:05,160
Those bubbles start moving. 
You know, that they're typing 

262
00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:08,400
something, but nothing shows up.
That's what happens here. 

263
00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:12,120
And so he calls again. 
Second time he says, hey, Joab, 

264
00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:15,280
remember how this is supposed to
reconcile reconciling? 

265
00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:18,160
Let's get together. 
Joab didn't get the message or 

266
00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:21,640
pretended you'd get message. 
And so Absalom says, let me send

267
00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:24,360
a different kind of message. 
Hey boys, get over here. 

268
00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:28,320
Who set Joab's field on fire? 
I bet he'll come talk to me 

269
00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:30,480
after that. 
Now interestingly enough about 

270
00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:35,000
Absalom and Absalom's life is 
that every time he had something

271
00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:37,200
that needed to be done, he never
did it himself. 

272
00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:38,720
He always said someone else do 
it. 

273
00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:42,000
Technically, Absalom was not the
one who killed Ammon. 

274
00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:43,920
What did he do? 
He told his men to go kill him 

275
00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:46,400
here. 
He doesn't go and light the. 

276
00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:48,360
Fire, he said. 
The guys light the fire. 

277
00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:52,240
There's a lot of people who have
a lot of toughness. 

278
00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:54,560
If you will. 
But then when you get down to 

279
00:13:54,560 --> 00:13:56,440
it, they say, you know, if you 
guys could do that for me, 

280
00:13:56,440 --> 00:13:59,720
that'd be great. 
Hey boys, I bought some torches 

281
00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:01,120
and some matches. 
You think maybe you go down to 

282
00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:03,840
Absalom's or rather Joab's house
and do some work for me, and 

283
00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:06,800
that's exactly what happens. 
But in the end result, where he 

284
00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:09,800
did not fan the flames, he might
as well have because he was the 

285
00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:12,960
one that sent the word. 
Well, it got Joab's attention. 

286
00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:14,800
It says in verse 31 that Joab 
arose. 

287
00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:17,480
And came to. 
Absalom unto his house, and said

288
00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:20,320
unto him, Wherefore have thy 
servants set my field on fire? 

289
00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:23,000
Absolute answer, Joab. 
Behold, I sent them to thee, 

290
00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:25,760
saying, Come, hit her, that I 
may send thee to the king to 

291
00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:28,080
say, Wherefore my come from, 
Gesher? 

292
00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:30,560
It had been good for me to have 
been there still. 

293
00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:33,440
Now, therefore, let me see the 
King's face, and if there be any

294
00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:38,280
iniquity in me, let him kill me.
Now, interestingly enough, the 

295
00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:41,040
fact that he would even say that
shows a great lack of. 

296
00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:43,920
Spiritual awareness in his life.
If there's any iniquity in me, 

297
00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:45,160
kill me. 
Well, guess what? 

298
00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:47,520
There's iniquity in you, and 
that's what. 

299
00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:49,120
Started this whole thing in the 
1st place. 

300
00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:54,040
The lack of humility and 
awareness is startling because 

301
00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:58,080
he did deserve to die, but yet 
he tries to put Joab into this 

302
00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:01,360
vice and try to make Joab feel 
bad about what happened when 

303
00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:02,880
Amnon. 
Or rather, Absalom. 

304
00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:04,440
Was the one who started this 
all. 

305
00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:07,600
But in the end. 
Verse #33 Joab came to the king 

306
00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:10,840
and told him, and when he called
for Absalom, he came to the king

307
00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:14,440
and bowed himself on his face to
the ground for the king, and the

308
00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:18,680
king kissed Absalom boy. 
Verse #3 is a happy ending. 

309
00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:20,280
Now bow your head and close your
eyes, all right? 

310
00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:22,560
No, you can't be that easy, can 
it? 

311
00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:28,760
This destructive method that 
Absalom used to try to gain an 

312
00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:33,880
audience with the king may have 
had a short term solution, but 

313
00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:38,040
when you have the heart of a 
destroyer, it never ends when 

314
00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:42,160
you get what you want because 
there's always something else to

315
00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:44,920
conquer. 
There's always something else to

316
00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:48,000
rectify. 
The heart of a believer that is 

317
00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:52,080
a heart of a destroyer is one 
that is a very dangerous thing. 

318
00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:55,200
And I've watched many believers 
over the years who have no 

319
00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:58,680
problems lighting relationships 
on fire, that have no problems 

320
00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:04,000
lighting family ties on fire, 
that have no problem inviting 

321
00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:06,680
things or or rather lighting 
things that that they don't 

322
00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:09,920
agree with on fire. 
And I'm not saying there isn't a

323
00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:13,160
time when things that are not 
right need to be pointed out. 

324
00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,600
If you have a home that's on a 
faulty foundation, you know what

325
00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:18,440
you got to do? 
You got to RIP the foundation 

326
00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:21,120
and put in a new one. 
I knew a family in Florida once 

327
00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:25,480
that literally in their home, 
they started to see cracks in 

328
00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:30,160
the, in the, the, the cement, or
rather cracks in the side of 

329
00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:31,560
the, the house. 
What was it? 

330
00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:34,120
They were on a sinkhole. 
So what do you do? 

331
00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:36,000
We'll just get a little plaster 
and cover that up and you're 

332
00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:36,960
good. 
You know what you do? 

333
00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:38,920
You go right down the foundation
they had to fill. 

334
00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:42,120
Into the ground and go from 
there and start over. 

335
00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:44,800
I'm not saying there are times 
that things need to be torn out.

336
00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:48,760
Rot and a wood frame has to be 
taken care of, A dented panel or

337
00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:50,880
a bumper in a car has to be 
removed. 

338
00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:53,880
And as I mentioned this morning,
Jesus even overturned the tables

339
00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:56,040
in the temple. 
But in each of these cases, 

340
00:16:56,200 --> 00:17:00,000
something good couldn't be built
until that which was bad was 

341
00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:02,360
removed 1st. 
And there's nothing wrong with 

342
00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:06,280
being in a situation or being in
a relationship where you say, 

343
00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:10,319
before we go on, this thing that
is not right, this thing that is

344
00:17:10,319 --> 00:17:13,920
not biblical, this thing that is
sinful must be recognized, 

345
00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:18,560
diagnosed, removed and corrected
before we moved on. 

346
00:17:18,599 --> 00:17:21,680
That's a biblical thing. 
There's something much different

347
00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:24,920
to say, this is not right. 
It's not what I want. 

348
00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:29,040
Burn it all to the ground, and 
that's what Absalom does. 

349
00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:34,160
What Absalom is doing is not 
destroying for accuracy, he's 

350
00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:36,800
destroying for attention. 
And that's what he got. 

351
00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:41,560
Absalom seems to have won. 
He got what he wanted, but again

352
00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:45,440
when that heart is not right. 
There's a much deeper problem 

353
00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:47,840
that's there, and that's what 
takes place with Absalom. 

354
00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:50,800
Because the message is not over.
It's hard to spoil it because 

355
00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:54,160
chapter #15 continues to take a 
downward spiral. 

356
00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:57,360
In the life of Absalom, because 
he wasn't just a destroyer, he 

357
00:17:57,360 --> 00:18:00,760
was also a destabilizer #2 he 
was a destabilizer. 

358
00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:03,040
Look at chapter 15 verse #1 it 
says. 

359
00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:05,240
And it came to pass after this 
that Absalom prepared him 

360
00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:08,600
Chariots and horses and 50 men 
to run before him. 

361
00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:12,200
And Absalom rose up early and 
stood beside the way of the 

362
00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:14,520
gate. 
And it was so that when any man 

363
00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:17,640
that had a controversy came to 
the king for judgment, that 

364
00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:21,400
Absalom called unto him and 
said, Of what city art thou? 

365
00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:24,520
And he said, Thy servant is one 
of the tribes of Israel. 

366
00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:26,080
Stop right there for just a 
moment. 

367
00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:30,280
As chapter #15 begins, Absalom 
is going to start a 

368
00:18:30,360 --> 00:18:34,080
destabilization plan where he 
starts to make the people 

369
00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:37,960
question whether David is truly 
a righteous king of Israel or 

370
00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:39,520
not. 
You say, well, pastor, what did 

371
00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:42,000
we just read here that would 
even suggest that? 

372
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,640
Well, we'll start with this. 
He goes to to prepare for 

373
00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:49,080
himself, Chariots and horses and
50 men to run. 

374
00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:51,760
Before Now, I don't know a lot 
about Chariots and I don't know 

375
00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:54,040
a lot about horses. 
But I could imagine if you had 

376
00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:56,600
Chariots and horses, you were 
probably trying to get somewhere

377
00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:58,280
fast. 
But you probably aren't going to

378
00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:01,400
get somewhere fast if you have 
Chariots and horses and 50 men 

379
00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:02,760
before the Chariots and the 
horses. 

380
00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:05,880
Do you understand what I'm 
saying here tonight? 

381
00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:09,520
Because if that's the case, the 
Chariots and horses can only go 

382
00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:12,240
as fast as the 50 men that are 
in front. 

383
00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:14,560
And again, I don't know a lot 
about Chariots and horses, but I

384
00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:16,440
imagine the horse ought to be 
faster than the man. 

385
00:19:17,360 --> 00:19:20,720
So this wasn't for speed, this 
was for show. 

386
00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:24,680
There's a beautiful man who's 
trying to make a beautiful 

387
00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:27,520
impression on the people. 
He wants people to see how 

388
00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:31,240
important he is. 
He wants people to know Absalom 

389
00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:34,640
is back, baby, and you're going 
to pay attention. 

390
00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:37,160
And it says in verse #2 that he 
rose up early. 

391
00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:41,680
I found even lazy people will 
rise up early sometimes if they 

392
00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:43,760
want to get something that they 
want. 

393
00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:47,040
And here's a man that probably 
had no need to get up early 

394
00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:48,880
because he had all the luxuries 
of the world. 

395
00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:51,040
But now he's trying to get up 
early because there's something 

396
00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:54,920
he wants that he can't have yet.
The Kingdom, he rises up early. 

397
00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:56,760
He stood beside the way of the 
gate. 

398
00:19:56,760 --> 00:19:59,560
What's the way of the gate? 
Well, that's where leadership 

399
00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:02,440
would often be. 
And it was so that when any man 

400
00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:04,080
had a controversy came to the 
king. 

401
00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:06,560
Absalom said, And what city art 
thou says? 

402
00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:08,160
I served as one of the tribes of
Israel. 

403
00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:10,360
So what is he doing? 
He's first of all, trying to 

404
00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:14,120
show leadership by standing at 
the gate, Leadership that he 

405
00:20:14,120 --> 00:20:16,520
does not have. 
Sure, he's of royal blood, but 

406
00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:18,240
he has no leadership. 
So what? 

407
00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:21,720
He's trying to show leadership, 
but #2 he's trying to siphon 

408
00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:25,760
people off that are going to 
talk to David before they go to 

409
00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:27,720
talk to David, Say, hey, hey, 
hey, hold on a second. 

410
00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:29,720
Where are you from? 
Where you been? 

411
00:20:30,560 --> 00:20:32,840
And they'll answer, Well, we're 
from the tribes of Israel. 

412
00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:35,560
Pick up in verse #3. 
And Absalom said unto them, See,

413
00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:38,920
thy matters are good and right, 
but there is no man deputed of 

414
00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:41,680
the king to hear thee. 
He says, you know, listen, 

415
00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:44,400
you've got troubles, man. 
You're coming to see the king. 

416
00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:45,960
If only there was somebody that 
would really. 

417
00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:47,880
Listen to you. 
Do you see what he's doing? 

418
00:20:48,360 --> 00:20:51,920
He's a destabilizing force, 
Verse 4, Absalom said. 

419
00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:53,440
Moreover. 
Oh, that I. 

420
00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:57,360
That I were made judge in the 
land, that every man which hath 

421
00:20:57,360 --> 00:21:02,640
any suit or cosmic come to me, 
and I would do him justice. 

422
00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:07,560
And it was so that when any man 
came nigh to do him, to do him 

423
00:21:07,560 --> 00:21:10,840
obeisance, he put forth his hand
and took him, and kissed him, 

424
00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:14,440
and gave flattery. 
Now this matter did Absalom to 

425
00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:16,920
all Israel that. 
Came to the king for judgment. 

426
00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:20,080
So Absalom stole the hearts of 
the men of Israel. 

427
00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:24,680
There's something interesting 
that I see in verse #4 and it 

428
00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:27,720
happens. 
In these types of situations, 

429
00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:31,920
that there's always a kernel of 
truth that starts the descent. 

430
00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:35,080
Again, Absalom in his own eyes 
is not a villain. 

431
00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:39,640
Absalom in his own eyes is 
probably righteous, and David is

432
00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:42,080
unrighteous. 
Why would I say that? 

433
00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:44,640
Well, there's that kernel of 
truth that's found in verse #4, 

434
00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:47,760
when Absalom says, moreover, Oh,
that I was made a judge in the 

435
00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:50,800
land, that every man which hath 
any suit or cause might come to 

436
00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:54,400
me, and I would do him. 
What justice? 

437
00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:59,160
What's Absalom's real beef and 
grief with David? 

438
00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:05,240
It's that David did not do 
justice with the issue of Amnon 

439
00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:09,760
and Tamar. 
So here Absalom, maybe even with

440
00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:12,720
his own within his own mind, is 
thinking, I'm doing the people 

441
00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:15,560
of Israel a favor. 
I'm helping them out. 

442
00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:20,040
They don't realize it yet, but 
David is not a man who is just. 

443
00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:25,280
David is not a man who will hear
them properly and David needs to

444
00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:30,120
be removed and what better man 
to take his place than me? 

445
00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:33,760
And I say this tonight because 
we must be very careful that 

446
00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:36,640
even when we are aggrieved, even
when we have been done. 

447
00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:39,880
Wrong, even when we have been in
a situation where someone has 

448
00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:42,400
done something to us that ought 
not to be done to us. 

449
00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:45,120
I'm not making excuses for the 
things that might have been done

450
00:22:45,120 --> 00:22:46,760
to you. 
If they're wrong, they are 

451
00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:49,040
wrong. 
But I will say this once again, 

452
00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:53,120
that does not give us the 
license or the right to take the

453
00:22:53,120 --> 00:22:58,440
wrong road, to correct or wrong.
That is Bible believers. 

454
00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:01,360
We must take the right Rd. 
We must take the High Road. 

455
00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:06,360
Instead he is destabilizing a 
situation here instead of giving

456
00:23:06,360 --> 00:23:10,800
it what it needs, stabilization,
something that is biblical and 

457
00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:14,080
good and right. 
And Absalom feeds into the fact 

458
00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:18,200
that Israel loves the looks. 
Remember why they love Saul? 

459
00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:20,880
He look like a king. 
And So what is Absalom doing 

460
00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:22,600
here? 
He's making himself look like a 

461
00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:24,760
king. 
He has put himself in the gate. 

462
00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:27,040
He's treating people right. 
They're trying to bow to him. 

463
00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:28,880
He's like, no, no, no, no, no, 
no, don't do that. 

464
00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:30,440
Hey, hey, I'm just like you, you
know? 

465
00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:33,400
And he didn't feel like he was 
just like them, but he was 

466
00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:36,520
giving. 
All the right things and doing 

467
00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:40,320
all the right things. 
And it worked because it says 

468
00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:42,840
so. 
Absalom stole the hearts of men 

469
00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:46,000
of Israel, and if he stole them,
that means this they didn't 

470
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:49,800
belong to him in the 1st place. 
Absalom is stealing that which 

471
00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:53,080
is not his. 
He was a destroyer, He was a 

472
00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:56,040
destabilizer. 
This third scene now we see is 

473
00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:58,280
that he was a deceiver. 
He was a deceiver. 

474
00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:01,400
Look at verses 7 through 9. 
And it came to pass after 40 

475
00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:03,360
years. 
Now that 40 years there, what I 

476
00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:07,120
I would believe is Absalom's age
when he was 40 years old, that 

477
00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:10,560
Absalom said unto the king, I 
pray thee, let me go and pay my 

478
00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:12,920
vow, which I have vowed unto the
Lord in Hebron. 

479
00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:17,960
For thy servant vowed a vow 
while I abode at to the Gesher 

480
00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:21,200
in Syria, saying, If the Lord 
shall bring me again indeed to 

481
00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:23,360
Jerusalem, then I will serve the
Lord. 

482
00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:25,480
And the king said unto him, Go 
in peace. 

483
00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:29,000
So he arose and went to Hebron. 
So David is approached by 

484
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:32,000
Absalom, and Absalom says, I 
have a vow that I need to pay, I

485
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:34,560
need to be able to go and 
perform that which I have 

486
00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:37,640
promised the Lord to do, and I 
need to do it in Hebron, which 

487
00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:39,160
would have been away from 
Jerusalem. 

488
00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:41,560
And David says to him, Go in 
peace. 

489
00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:45,680
Ironically enough, those 3 words
go in peace are the last words 

490
00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:49,160
that David will say to Absalom. 
And there wasn't going to be 

491
00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:52,360
peace that was going to follow 
from the actions that would take

492
00:24:52,360 --> 00:24:57,440
place and he was a deceiver. 
If you are in the place in your 

493
00:24:58,120 --> 00:25:02,840
issues, if you were in the place
in the the messy situations of 

494
00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:05,920
life where you're trying to 
untangle these things and trying

495
00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:09,680
to make things right, you will 
not be able to make things right

496
00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:13,800
by deceiving or lying or 
twisting the truth. 

497
00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:17,440
Often times when we think we're 
on the side of the angels, we 

498
00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:19,960
think that we can play it loose 
and free with the truth, because

499
00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:23,440
after all, we're on the side of 
the right and everyone else is 

500
00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:25,680
on the side of the wrong, on the
other side of the issue. 

501
00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:29,080
But Absalom here takes spiritual
language. 

502
00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:33,160
He talks. 
Like a believer, No, he has no 

503
00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:36,160
intention of revealing to David 
what he's about to do, but he 

504
00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:40,920
talks as one who is spiritually 
sounding when he says, I just 

505
00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:45,120
want to go pay my vow. 
But yet he has no desire to do 

506
00:25:45,120 --> 00:25:47,000
so. 
He is a deceiver. 

507
00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:51,160
And then finally #4 in the last 
scene, we see that he's not just

508
00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:54,360
a destroyer, A destabilizer, A 
deceiver, but he's also a 

509
00:25:54,360 --> 00:25:57,200
dethroner. 
Look at verse #10. 

510
00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:00,200
But Absalom sense spies 
throughout all the tribes of 

511
00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:03,200
Israel, saying, As soon as you 
hear the sound of the trumpet, 

512
00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:06,520
then you shall say Absalom 
reigneth in Hebron. 

513
00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:10,040
And now we understand the true 
extent of what he's trying to 

514
00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:12,840
do. 
He's trying to overthrow David 

515
00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:17,080
as the king. 
And with Absalom went 200 men 

516
00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:20,800
out of Jerusalem that were 
called, and they went in their 

517
00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:24,480
simplicity, and they knew 
nothing, any going or not knew 

518
00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:27,640
not any going or anything. 
And Absalom sent for. 

519
00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:32,080
Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's
counselor from a city, even from

520
00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:36,080
Gilo, while he offered 
sacrifices and the conspiracy. 

521
00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:39,880
Was strong for the people, 
increased continually with 

522
00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:42,880
Absalom. 
Remember that a wise man is a 

523
00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:45,840
problem solver, not a problem 
spreader. 

524
00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:51,160
And Absalom now is taking his 
own grievance and he's spreading

525
00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:54,240
it to the general population. 
The hearts of Israel are 

526
00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:57,560
starting to turn against David 
because of what Absalom is doing

527
00:26:57,560 --> 00:26:59,640
at the gate. 
And the Bible says that he 

528
00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:02,080
invites 200 men to go with the 
Hebron. 

529
00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:05,080
The interesting thing about 
these 200 men, these 200 men 

530
00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:08,240
have no idea about what 
Absalom's about to do. 

531
00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:12,080
He has drawn them into his 
conspiracy by going to Hebrew 

532
00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:14,400
with 200 men. 
He's giving the impression to 

533
00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:17,280
the people that he is important.
He's giving an impression to the

534
00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:21,360
general population that he is of
some sort of great importance 

535
00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:25,040
and someone that should be 
recognized and realized as 

536
00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:28,200
someone who can be a leader. 
And these men are going, not 

537
00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:32,480
realizing that they're about to 
lend credibility to what he is 

538
00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:36,040
about to do and even calls a man
named Ahithophel, who also had a

539
00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:38,720
grievance against the king, of 
which we will not go into 

540
00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:40,760
tonight. 
But it's very interesting when 

541
00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:42,880
we get to him. 
I'm looking forward to talking 

542
00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:45,080
about Ahithophel in greater 
manner. 

543
00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:48,200
But the idea is this, that he 
took people that really should 

544
00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:50,480
have been involved, but he also 
found other people had 

545
00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:53,800
grievances. 
I will say this, people who have

546
00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:57,760
grievances very typically don't 
take care of their grievances on

547
00:27:57,760 --> 00:27:59,720
their own. 
They find other people with 

548
00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:02,320
grievances if they're going to 
handle them in an unbiblical 

549
00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:04,360
way. 
Again, there are real grievances

550
00:28:04,360 --> 00:28:07,280
in life. 
I understand that there are real

551
00:28:07,280 --> 00:28:09,120
bad situations that happen in 
life. 

552
00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:11,680
I do get. 
That, but we do have to be 

553
00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:14,320
careful, even we're in the midst
of that, that we are not trying 

554
00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:17,760
to get other people involved 
into something that could turn 

555
00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:23,400
into something very unbiblical. 
What do we find here? 

556
00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:27,320
That the buffoon believes that 
his own authority. 

557
00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:32,520
Is wiser than the authority he's
supposed to be serving. 

558
00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:38,680
There's no doubt in my mind here
that Absalom thinks that he is 

559
00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:41,920
the smartest guy in the room. 
He knows more than David, the 

560
00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:44,320
sweet psalmist of Israel. 
What is that? 

561
00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:47,080
What is Absalom know about life?
He's. 

562
00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:51,480
Lived in the royal palace. 
He's lived at really leisure. 

563
00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:54,440
He's never really killed anyone 
with his own hands. 

564
00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:57,760
He's sent other people to do it.
His father was the one who 

565
00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:02,000
killed a lion and a bear. 
His father was the one who slew 

566
00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:06,440
Goliath with a sling and then 
took the sword. 

567
00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:09,800
And chopped off his head. 
His father was the one who had 

568
00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:12,480
did great exploits. 
But Absalom didn't believe 

569
00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:16,320
wisdom lied within the heart of 
David, and he believed that he 

570
00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:18,760
was smarter than his. 
Own authority. 

571
00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:22,160
There's someone else who had 
that same idea as well. 

572
00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:25,800
Isaiah 14 verses 12 through 15 
says this. 

573
00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:29,880
How art thou fallen from Heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning? 

574
00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:32,600
How are there cut down to the 
ground which did weaken the 

575
00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:35,080
nation's? 
For thou has set in thine heart.

576
00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:38,280
I will ascend into Heaven. 
I will exalt my throne above the

577
00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:41,560
stars of God. 
I will sit also upon the mount 

578
00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:43,920
of the Congregation in the sides
of the north. 

579
00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:46,160
I will ascend above the heights 
of the clouds. 

580
00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:48,240
I will be like the most. 
High. 

581
00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:54,320
But verse 15 says this. 
Yet thou shalt be brought down 

582
00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:57,040
to hell, to the sides of the 
pit. 

583
00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:02,360
What happened? 
He got to the place as a 

584
00:30:02,360 --> 00:30:08,400
destroyer, A destabilizer, A 
deceiver, and a dethroner that 

585
00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:12,360
he decided that he knew more 
than everyone. 

586
00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:15,520
And what I've often found are 
those who do not handle 

587
00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:20,680
situations rightly often find 
that their way of handling it is

588
00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:22,240
not even. 
I'm not even talking about that.

589
00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:24,760
Their way would be handling it 
would be better than there are 

590
00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:27,040
authorities because oftentimes 
we can have authorities that 

591
00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:29,920
maybe aren't right with the 
Lord, but who is our ultimate 

592
00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:34,120
authority? 
The Lord and that they will take

593
00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:38,840
the authority of God's word of 
how we were to handle situations

594
00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:41,480
biblically and how we were to 
handle ourselves even when 

595
00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:45,080
people treat us wrongly. 
And that person will dethrone 

596
00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:46,360
King. 
Jesus. 

597
00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:52,240
And say I'll handle this my own 
way because I'm in the right and

598
00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:57,440
they're in the wrong. 
Now, am I worried about there 

599
00:30:57,440 --> 00:31:02,160
being conspiracies by Christians
here tonight amongst this church

600
00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:06,520
or amongst the family or amongst
the workplace or in the 

601
00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:08,280
schoolhouse or anything like 
that? 

602
00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:12,640
The answer is no, I'm not not 
looking over my shoulder on any 

603
00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:14,520
fields for you to burn. 
So there's nothing like that 

604
00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:15,800
that I'm worried about here 
tonight. 

605
00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:22,680
But I will say that the spirit 
of Absalom can rest in US even 

606
00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:26,280
if the deeds of Absalom do not. 
And this is where we must be 

607
00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:30,400
careful as believers, because it
is easy when we see people who 

608
00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:35,440
are doing wrong to be able to 
handle the wrong situations in 

609
00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:38,480
the same manner. 
You got to fight fire on fire, 

610
00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:40,800
Hey, the Bible says an eye for 
an eye. 

611
00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:42,960
And a tooth for a tooth. 
You know, I always love that, 

612
00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:45,960
right? 
But again, the whole idea of an 

613
00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:50,320
eye for an eye and tooth for a 
tooth is an idea of equitable 

614
00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:53,600
justice and not vigilante 
justice, as we talked about with

615
00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:57,640
Absalom some weeks ago. 
And we as believers now, we 

616
00:31:57,640 --> 00:32:00,960
don't like this because we often
feel like we're the heroes. 

617
00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:04,000
Of our own stories. 
But if we are acting in a way 

618
00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:06,440
that's against God's word, we're
not the heroes. 

619
00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:08,680
We're. 
Acting more like the villains, 

620
00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:13,240
say, Pastor, what? 
What are you trying to say to us

621
00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:15,520
tonight? 
There's complicated issues in 

622
00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:20,040
life that we deal with. 
It's complicated issues you can 

623
00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:23,800
deal with, with your family, 
with a mom, with a dad, 

624
00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:28,160
siblings. 
Maybe they know the Lord, maybe 

625
00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:31,600
they don't know the Lord. 
Maybe they've treated you wrong.

626
00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:33,720
Maybe they treat your family 
members wrong. 

627
00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:35,920
Not treated you wrong, but they 
treated others in the family 

628
00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:37,280
wrong. 
And it's hard for you to watch 

629
00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:39,640
that. 
And there comes a place where we

630
00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:44,520
say, you know what? 
I'm done, and I'm done in such a

631
00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:46,840
way that you're going to know 
that I'm done. 

632
00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:51,560
And you maybe burn something 
down that doesn't belong being 

633
00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:56,600
burnt down or you cause a 
destabilization in the family. 

634
00:32:56,600 --> 00:32:58,800
Well, if I'm not happy, nobody's
going to be happy. 

635
00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:04,040
Or maybe even you don't mind 
bending the truth a little bit 

636
00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:07,880
because after all, they wouldn't
understand what truth is all 

637
00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:11,960
about anyway. 
Well, these are issues where we 

638
00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:15,760
must be very, very careful that 
we are acting in a way that is 

639
00:33:15,760 --> 00:33:23,000
ethical and good and right. 
What happened to Absalom with 

640
00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:25,080
all this? 
Did it go well? 

641
00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:29,000
Why? 
Don't we go to Chapter 18? 

642
00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:29,880
We're going to go ahead a 
little. 

643
00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:36,040
Bit a wise man is a problem 
solver. 

644
00:33:36,320 --> 00:33:41,840
A fool is a problem spreader. 
Let me get ahead a little bit. 

645
00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:44,880
Of course, we'll look at this 
later, but Absalom ends up going

646
00:33:44,880 --> 00:33:48,080
to war with David. 
It doesn't go well. 

647
00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:51,680
Do you remember back in chapter 
#14 it talked about how 

648
00:33:51,680 --> 00:33:54,280
beautiful Absalom was. 
It talked about how great his 

649
00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:55,960
hair was. 
Did you feel like that was maybe

650
00:33:55,960 --> 00:33:59,680
a little bit of an odd thing to 
have written in the Word of God?

651
00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:03,520
There's a literary device called
foreshadowing that means this 

652
00:34:03,520 --> 00:34:06,160
we're going to mention. 
Something now and it might be 

653
00:34:06,160 --> 00:34:08,760
important later and in Absalom 
the. 

654
00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:13,400
Whole issue with how beautiful 
his hair was ended up coming 

655
00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:17,280
back to haunt him. 
Look at what it says in verse #9

656
00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:19,639
And Absalom met the servants of 
David. 

657
00:34:20,159 --> 00:34:23,440
And Absalom rode upon a mule, 
And the mule went under the 

658
00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:27,320
thick boughs of a great oak, and
his head caught hold of the oak,

659
00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:30,520
and he was taken up between the 
heaven and the earth. 

660
00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:33,679
And the mule that was under him 
went away. 

661
00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:36,920
Lester Roloff preached a message
years ago called this. 

662
00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:41,760
The mule walked on about Absalom
and the idea was this that he 

663
00:34:41,760 --> 00:34:42,520
got. 
Caught. 

664
00:34:43,040 --> 00:34:46,440
By the his hair got caught in 
his glory. 

665
00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:49,159
He was so caught up in the 
beauty of his hair and it was 

666
00:34:49,159 --> 00:34:51,920
what he got so caught up in that
ended up being his demise. 

667
00:34:52,199 --> 00:34:56,840
He was hanging in a tree by his 
hair and guess who happened to 

668
00:34:56,840 --> 00:34:58,640
wander by? 
Joab. 

669
00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:03,440
Now Joab was told not to kill 
Absalom and the people of 

670
00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:07,440
Israel, but Joab took that 
opportunity, he and his men and 

671
00:35:07,440 --> 00:35:09,600
he did what David told him not 
to do. 

672
00:35:10,200 --> 00:35:15,360
And the Bible tells us that 
Absalom died, that beautiful 

673
00:35:15,360 --> 00:35:21,720
buffoon died unnecessarily 
because he handled the situation

674
00:35:21,720 --> 00:35:24,360
in a way that was destructive. 
You know, he thought he was 

675
00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:26,200
going to destroy David. 
You know what he ended up doing?

676
00:35:26,720 --> 00:35:29,280
He destroyed himself. 
If you think you're going to go 

677
00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:33,200
to the mat with somebody that 
needs to be taken down and you 

678
00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:36,320
handle it in a way that is 
contrary to God's Word, you be 

679
00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:39,720
sure that you may end up exactly
like Absalom. 

680
00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:42,800
You know, if you're going to 
take them down, take them down 

681
00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:45,600
in the prayer closet. 
If you're going to take them 

682
00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:49,240
down, you take them down doing 
that which is right by exposing 

683
00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:52,360
sin in a way that is good and 
righteous and even trying to 

684
00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:58,520
build or rebuild a relationship.
But no, here we see it's quite 

685
00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:02,000
the opposite. 
Drop down to verse #18 he lost 

686
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:03,920
his life, but he also lost his 
legacy. 

687
00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:07,920
Now Absalom in his lifetime had 
taken and reared up for himself 

688
00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:10,080
a pillar which is the King's 
Dale. 

689
00:36:10,560 --> 00:36:13,240
For he said I have no son to 
keep my name in remembrance. 

690
00:36:13,240 --> 00:36:17,080
Now stop there for a moment. 
Do you remember we saw back in 

691
00:36:17,080 --> 00:36:18,760
chapter 14 how many sons did he 
have? 

692
00:36:19,440 --> 00:36:21,760
Three. 
And now it says he has no sons 

693
00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:24,560
for his remembrance. 
The best that I can tell by 

694
00:36:24,560 --> 00:36:27,280
reconciling the word of God is 
those sons didn't live very 

695
00:36:27,280 --> 00:36:30,720
long, that they died in early 
childhood. 

696
00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:34,960
Because here is Absalom sometime
in his life, who says I have no 

697
00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:38,240
sons to bear my name forward. 
That was a difficult thing in 

698
00:36:38,240 --> 00:36:41,120
that time, particularly when you
didn't have an heir, to be able 

699
00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:44,640
to extend your family's name 
forward another generation. 

700
00:36:44,800 --> 00:36:46,400
He had nothing. 
He had no son. 

701
00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:50,680
They died when they were young. 
And it says this, he called the 

702
00:36:50,680 --> 00:36:53,680
pillar after his own name, that 
pillar that was mentioned the 

703
00:36:53,680 --> 00:36:56,720
top of verse 18. 
And it is called unto this day 

704
00:36:56,800 --> 00:37:02,520
Absalom's place, Absalom. 
Went to all this trouble 

705
00:37:03,360 --> 00:37:07,920
fighting an unholy war. 
In a messy situation and he 

706
00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:11,520
handled it foolishly. 
Instead of the wisdom of God and

707
00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:16,440
all he had left of his life that
was a legacy was a piece of 

708
00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:18,440
stone that stood 10 or 20 feet 
tall. 

709
00:37:20,160 --> 00:37:22,160
That's not the way his life was 
supposed to end. 

710
00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:24,400
That's not the way it was 
supposed to be. 

711
00:37:24,480 --> 00:37:28,320
His legacy was left behind and 
all he had. 

712
00:37:28,320 --> 00:37:32,160
Left was a piece of stone that 
was called Absalom's Place. 

713
00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:35,960
I know people who left a 
business to their kids, but 

714
00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:38,040
their kids don't love them 
because of how the parents acted

715
00:37:38,040 --> 00:37:40,920
in their life. 
Where's the legacy there? 

716
00:37:41,600 --> 00:37:44,760
I know people have plaques and 
churches or pews with their 

717
00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:48,000
names on them, but nobody even 
remembers who they are because 

718
00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:51,160
they left in an explosion of 
anger and never. 

719
00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:57,000
Did the right thing you say, 
Pastor, are are you saying that 

720
00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:59,880
when somebody does something 
wrong to me that I should just 

721
00:37:59,880 --> 00:38:02,840
let it go? 
The answer is when have I said 

722
00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:05,000
that? 
Any time in the last 30 minutes 

723
00:38:06,240 --> 00:38:09,240
because people do wrong things 
to us all the time. 

724
00:38:09,240 --> 00:38:13,600
By the way, you do wrong things 
too, but people are wrong to us 

725
00:38:13,640 --> 00:38:17,240
in lots of situations. 
What I'm saying tonight is only 

726
00:38:17,240 --> 00:38:22,920
a fool would take the wrong and 
then decide to also do wrong to 

727
00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:26,280
fix the right. 
We have a different calling. 

728
00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:30,040
We have a higher calling. 
And if you want to have a hope 

729
00:38:30,040 --> 00:38:33,720
of being able to bring 
restoration to a situation, 

730
00:38:34,320 --> 00:38:38,280
restoration to something that is
taking place, the best way to do

731
00:38:38,280 --> 00:38:42,400
it is to do what is to be able 
to show them the love of Jesus 

732
00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:44,440
Christ. 
And even when you are pointing 

733
00:38:44,440 --> 00:38:47,600
out their sin, to do it in such 
a way that there could be hope 

734
00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:49,720
of restoration. 
Not that you tear the whole 

735
00:38:49,720 --> 00:38:55,120
thing down. 
When I first got saved, I've 

736
00:38:55,120 --> 00:38:56,560
told you about the day that I 
got saved. 

737
00:38:58,440 --> 00:39:00,720
I went home that day and I 
expected my parents would be 

738
00:39:00,720 --> 00:39:03,440
rejoicing that I just got saved.
I mean, why wouldn't they? 

739
00:39:05,240 --> 00:39:07,240
I forgot the reason they 
wouldn't was because I was a 

740
00:39:07,240 --> 00:39:09,280
Lutheran. 
We were all Lutherans. 

741
00:39:10,360 --> 00:39:14,280
I went home that day and I told 
my parents I got saved and their

742
00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:18,120
answer was why? 
And so I explained to them what 

743
00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:20,720
I had done. 
They were not happy. 

744
00:39:20,720 --> 00:39:24,840
And when I say not happy, I mean
they were not happy. 

745
00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:28,800
About 16 years old, I just got 
saved. 

746
00:39:29,640 --> 00:39:31,760
And by the way, when you get 
saved, you know you don't know 

747
00:39:31,760 --> 00:39:36,760
everything the next day. 
It takes a whole lifetime and 

748
00:39:36,760 --> 00:39:38,080
you still don't know until you 
get to glory. 

749
00:39:38,680 --> 00:39:40,920
But but just because you're 
saved and you are a new creature

750
00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:42,680
doesn't mean all of a sudden 
you're supposed to understand. 

751
00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:45,480
Hey, layoff some of the new 
believers that have some 

752
00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:48,640
difficulties with what they are 
doing because they need to learn

753
00:39:48,640 --> 00:39:50,000
and grow in their 
sanctification. 

754
00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:52,600
Help them along. 
But at the same time, they'll 

755
00:39:52,600 --> 00:39:54,520
say, well, I don't even know. 
I don't even know if they even 

756
00:39:55,080 --> 00:39:57,200
give them some time to grow. 
Like you need some time to grow.

757
00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:01,640
All right, I'm done with that. 
But anyway, I remember. 

758
00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:05,760
Over the next weeks and months, 
my parents and I had a struggle 

759
00:40:06,120 --> 00:40:09,520
over whether I should go to a 
Baptist Church or not. 

760
00:40:10,040 --> 00:40:12,840
And I said, you've got to let me
go to the Lutheran Church or let

761
00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:15,120
me go to the Baptist Church and 
not let me go to the Lutheran 

762
00:40:15,120 --> 00:40:16,160
Church. 
I'm going to go to the Baptist 

763
00:40:16,160 --> 00:40:17,040
Church. 
I'm going to get baptized. 

764
00:40:17,040 --> 00:40:20,080
They said no. 
And I argued more and more and 

765
00:40:20,080 --> 00:40:21,000
more. 
You know why? 

766
00:40:21,480 --> 00:40:25,000
Because I was right. 
There's only one problem. 

767
00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:28,800
I handled it so unwisely instead
of. 

768
00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:32,360
Also, I forgot the fact, you 
know, that I was supposed to 

769
00:40:32,360 --> 00:40:35,480
honor thy father and mother and 
that was still a minor. 

770
00:40:36,040 --> 00:40:38,920
And maybe I should have just 
obeyed them for a while and 

771
00:40:38,920 --> 00:40:42,040
listen to them that I caused 
such a stir. 

772
00:40:42,040 --> 00:40:44,600
Do you know what I did? 
I set them against the very 

773
00:40:44,600 --> 00:40:46,720
message I wanted them to 
embrace. 

774
00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:51,680
You know, you can be so emphatic
about somebody that's not saved 

775
00:40:51,680 --> 00:40:54,520
trying to get them to get saved.
You can actually set them 

776
00:40:54,520 --> 00:40:55,960
against the message you want 
them to receive. 

777
00:40:57,480 --> 00:41:00,120
That's what I did. 
And if I'm being exceptionally 

778
00:41:00,120 --> 00:41:04,640
honest with you, I'm still 
dealing with the fruit of that 

779
00:41:04,640 --> 00:41:13,040
decision almost 30 years later 
because I was relentless and I 

780
00:41:13,040 --> 00:41:14,640
was at the point, you know what,
burn it down. 

781
00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:18,800
I'm going to serve Jesus. 
And that sounds so spiritual, 

782
00:41:19,360 --> 00:41:21,880
kind of like a man saying. 
I'm going to go pay my vows in. 

783
00:41:21,880 --> 00:41:26,280
Hebron Now here's the thing. 
I was ignorant in a lot of ways.

784
00:41:26,960 --> 00:41:30,040
Absalom was not. 
Just because you were in the 

785
00:41:30,040 --> 00:41:34,840
right doesn't mean you get to 
handle the wrongs the wrong way.

786
00:41:35,480 --> 00:41:37,440
Say, what is the right way? 
Well, Matthew 18 tells what to 

787
00:41:37,440 --> 00:41:39,640
do to the other person. 
If you go to the person that 

788
00:41:39,640 --> 00:41:40,840
doesn't work, you bring someone 
with you. 

789
00:41:41,440 --> 00:41:44,640
If that doesn't work, says take 
it under the church, bring it to

790
00:41:44,640 --> 00:41:47,080
the group. 
So I've never seen that happen 

791
00:41:47,080 --> 00:41:48,120
before. 
Take it under the church. 

792
00:41:48,160 --> 00:41:50,320
Maybe that's why we have so many
problems at Christianity Today, 

793
00:41:51,200 --> 00:41:53,720
because we just sweep stuff up 
or burn things down and never 

794
00:41:53,720 --> 00:41:55,240
actually get to the heart of the
matter. 

795
00:41:56,720 --> 00:41:58,400
Are there churches that have had
problems? 

796
00:41:58,760 --> 00:42:01,520
Oh, yeah. 
Are pastors perfect? 

797
00:42:01,760 --> 00:42:05,000
Oh, no. 
Interestingly enough, sometimes 

798
00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:10,920
these verses can be abused where
David would not kill Saul. 

799
00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:13,760
And he said I won't stretch my 
hand against the Lord's 

800
00:42:13,760 --> 00:42:16,200
anointed. 
I've heard pastors say that they

801
00:42:16,200 --> 00:42:18,400
are the Lord's anointed and you 
don't stretch your hand against 

802
00:42:18,400 --> 00:42:20,720
them. 
Maybe you've heard that line of 

803
00:42:20,720 --> 00:42:22,320
theology before. 
I've heard it independent 

804
00:42:22,320 --> 00:42:24,760
Baptist churches before. 
I am the Lord's anointed. 

805
00:42:24,760 --> 00:42:27,320
You don't strike your hand 
against me, just as David did 

806
00:42:27,320 --> 00:42:31,280
strike his hand against Saul. 
Could I just explain to you that

807
00:42:31,280 --> 00:42:35,680
that is such damnable heresy, 
You say Heresy. 

808
00:42:35,680 --> 00:42:38,080
Yes. 
For a pastor to call himself the

809
00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:42,760
Lord's anointed, as if he was 
anointed by God as Samuel and 

810
00:42:42,760 --> 00:42:44,320
Saul and Solomon. 
What? 

811
00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:48,800
Is insanity. 
I'm a fallible man. 

812
00:42:49,640 --> 00:42:53,560
I have made mistakes and I will 
make mistakes and I will 

813
00:42:53,560 --> 00:42:54,920
continue to make mistakes. 
I'm not proud of it. 

814
00:42:54,920 --> 00:42:57,680
I'm not, I'm not aiming for it. 
I'm not like out there driving a

815
00:42:57,680 --> 00:42:58,680
car like, hey, am I going to hit
this? 

816
00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:00,880
Can I hit this? 
You know, hey, what can I mess 

817
00:43:00,880 --> 00:43:01,840
up in the church? 
Can I mess this up? 

818
00:43:02,160 --> 00:43:04,440
Can I mess this up? 
I'm not trying to. 

819
00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:07,320
It just happens even by God's 
grace. 

820
00:43:08,480 --> 00:43:15,600
But if that happens, the way to 
fix it is not to burn the place 

821
00:43:15,600 --> 00:43:19,440
down. 
The way to fix it is to would 

822
00:43:19,440 --> 00:43:22,480
you come to me and maybe we can 
fix it together. 

823
00:43:22,480 --> 00:43:23,960
You say, well, what if you're 
not receptive? 

824
00:43:23,960 --> 00:43:26,640
Well, the Bible tells you what 
to do next. 

825
00:43:28,440 --> 00:43:31,440
What does the Bible tells you 
what to do next? 

826
00:43:32,480 --> 00:43:34,280
And you take it to the church 
and maybe the church says no, 

827
00:43:34,280 --> 00:43:36,680
the pastor's in the wrong, he 
needs to go. 

828
00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:39,720
You know what happens? 
If it's done biblically, the 

829
00:43:39,720 --> 00:43:43,200
church can move ahead. 
Now there are times maybe you 

830
00:43:43,200 --> 00:43:45,280
have a situation where that 
can't happen, the pastor won't 

831
00:43:45,280 --> 00:43:46,920
let happen and you have to 
depart. 

832
00:43:48,360 --> 00:43:50,200
That may happen and it does 
happen. 

833
00:43:51,000 --> 00:43:54,520
Just make sure when it happens, 
you do it right and that you 

834
00:43:54,520 --> 00:43:56,000
don't burn the thing around to 
the ground. 

835
00:43:56,640 --> 00:43:58,040
Say, but but what? 
But what? 

836
00:43:59,040 --> 00:44:00,560
But pastor, he's not doing 
right. 

837
00:44:01,080 --> 00:44:06,600
They're not doing right. 
I'm going to say something to 

838
00:44:06,600 --> 00:44:09,680
you that's not satisfying, but 
it's biblical. 

839
00:44:10,960 --> 00:44:14,440
Just give it to God. 
Give it to God. 

840
00:44:14,440 --> 00:44:17,440
You're not going to be able to 
be, you're not going to be able 

841
00:44:17,440 --> 00:44:20,360
to fix every problem. 
You're not going to be able to 

842
00:44:20,360 --> 00:44:24,720
solve every bad practitioner of 
the word of God or every person 

843
00:44:24,720 --> 00:44:27,720
who has hurt you or every person
who has done wrong. 

844
00:44:28,440 --> 00:44:31,120
The Bible teaches this. 
Give it to him. 

845
00:44:31,400 --> 00:44:33,000
See. 
But that's not satisfying. 

846
00:44:34,480 --> 00:44:37,080
But it's biblical. 
You know why it's not 

847
00:44:37,080 --> 00:44:39,320
satisfying? 
Because it doesn't satisfy our 

848
00:44:39,320 --> 00:44:42,120
desire for vengeance and 
justice. 

849
00:44:43,040 --> 00:44:47,520
It doesn't satisfy the flesh. 
You know it. 

850
00:44:48,280 --> 00:44:49,680
If I try to take something on my
own, I'll. 

851
00:44:50,440 --> 00:44:53,480
Probably make it worse. 
If God takes care of it and I 

852
00:44:53,480 --> 00:44:55,800
give it to him, He's the 
righteous judge. 

853
00:44:57,040 --> 00:45:02,000
Give it to him. 
If Absalom prays before he even 

854
00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:08,520
kills Amnon, if he commits 
himself, let David do right. 

855
00:45:09,040 --> 00:45:12,640
Make David do right. 
I wonder if this story ends 

856
00:45:12,640 --> 00:45:14,880
differently than him saying, you
know what I'm going to do? 

857
00:45:14,880 --> 00:45:17,800
I'm going to take a knife. 
I'm going to hand it to my boys 

858
00:45:18,160 --> 00:45:20,760
because I'm not going to do it. 
I'm going to kill him. 

859
00:45:21,760 --> 00:45:24,880
And then once I try to get back 
together, my dad and it doesn't 

860
00:45:24,880 --> 00:45:27,160
work, you know, I'm, I'm going 
to lead a coup. 

861
00:45:27,160 --> 00:45:30,880
That's what I'm going to do. 
I wonder what would happen if 

862
00:45:30,880 --> 00:45:33,680
you'd said, you know what? 
I'm going to act as a wise man 

863
00:45:34,560 --> 00:45:37,960
and be a problem solver instead 
of acting like a fool, being a 

864
00:45:37,960 --> 00:45:42,760
problem spreader. 
Again, I'm not saying that I am 

865
00:45:43,760 --> 00:45:46,200
perfect. 
I'm not saying the people you 

866
00:45:46,200 --> 00:45:49,120
dealt with are perfect and 
you're you're in the wrong and 

867
00:45:49,120 --> 00:45:51,520
they're in the right. 
You have to get with the Lord 

868
00:45:51,520 --> 00:45:53,080
about each situation that's 
messy. 

869
00:45:54,000 --> 00:45:56,560
But will you do that? 
Will you get with the Lord about

870
00:45:56,560 --> 00:45:59,960
each situation that's messy? 
And as you do, ask Him how to 

871
00:45:59,960 --> 00:46:03,840
handle it in a way that is 
honoring to God and gives 

872
00:46:03,840 --> 00:46:07,600
opportunity for there to be 
restoration and not just burn 

873
00:46:07,600 --> 00:46:08,720
the whole thing down to the 
ground. 

874
00:46:09,200 --> 00:46:13,160
The interesting thing about The 
Ballad of the Beautiful Buffoon 

875
00:46:13,640 --> 00:46:17,360
is that if it was a song, it 
will be the Blues, because 

876
00:46:17,360 --> 00:46:21,080
nothing good comes from it when 
you act like a fool when 

877
00:46:21,080 --> 00:46:24,320
problems need to be solved. 
Thank you for listening to the 

878
00:46:24,320 --> 00:46:26,960
sermon from the pulpit of 
Liberty Baptist Church. 

879
00:46:27,280 --> 00:46:30,560
If this message was a blessing 
to you, or if there's any way we

880
00:46:30,560 --> 00:46:33,680
can serve you, please let us 
know by contacting us at 

881
00:46:33,840 --> 00:46:38,560
info@mylibertybaptist.org. 
Or you can visit us this Sunday 

882
00:46:38,800 --> 00:46:42,480
at 800 Washington St. in Easton,
MA. 

883
00:46:42,760 --> 00:46:45,560
May the Lord bless you as you 
grow in His Word.