Sometimes we all need that encouragement. We all have been at points in our lives where we need to rise up again. The Lord has not called us to give up. He's called us to rise up. Not in our own strength, but in the strength of the Lord.

They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Praise the Lord for his mercy, his grace, his patience toward his creation.

We are going to be in chapter 18 in just a moment. I do want to start back in chapter 15 and verse 31. Again, Absalom, David's son, out of bitterness and vengeance took advantage of his father's mercy and grace, used it against him to turn the hearts of the people away from David that he might take the throne away from his father. Now, didn't know what was going on, but did God know what was going on? Yes, he did.

Matter of fact, God knew exactly what was going to happen. He told David back in chapter 12 after David shin with Bathsheba that this kind of thing was going to plague his home, in part as consequences for what he had done. Though God in his grace spared David's life, spared David's throne, there were still things set in motion by his sin that played out in his life, his home, and his kingdom. But God had not abandoned David. And when his son turned against him, forced David to flee the throne in Jerusalem, and then David found out that his most trusted counselor, Ahithophel, had turned against him.

What did David do? Chapter 15 verse 31. And one told David saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, oh Lord, I pray thee, turn the council of Ahithophel into foolishness. This is a turning point in this series of events.

Things have been building up since Bathsheba to this point in David's reign. This is a turning point. What does David do? He humbles himself and he prays earnestly for the help of who? For the help of the Lord.

And in our story, we see things begin to change. Matter of fact, in the next verse, in verse 32, God sends another man, Hushai, to David that gives David an opportunity to send Hushai in to Absalom and cause dissension within his ranks and confound, and overcome the counsel of Ahithophel. So God indeed did answer David's prayer, and he did it actually quite quickly, by the appearance of another counselor of David, Hushai, in in the moment. We read later on in chapter 17 that Ahithophel counseled Absalom to let him, that is Ahithophel, take a small group of special forces to catch up with David's with David and to kill David on the spot and thus end end the conflict. Because once you killed the king, then, well, the forces that were with David no longer had a purpose because the king was dead.

And now Absalom is in the palace, and so Ahithophel said, just send forces out, kill David, be done with it. They won't have to have some big, huge, horrible battle, and it'll be over with, and you can assume the throne. But Hushai whispered in Absalom's ear, no. No. No.

That's Ahithophel's counsel. That's not right. No. You wait till tomorrow, and you gather forces from all over the kingdom and you lead them for that's appealing to Absalom's pride because he was a very proud person. And you go and just crush the insolence against you.

And so Absalom thought that was better counsel. So that's the counsel he went with instead of the counsel of Ahithophel. What did that do? Well, it gave David and his soldiers time to cross the Jordan River and take refuge in a city called Mahanaim, a fortified city on the other side of the Jordan River in Gilead. It gave him time to find refreshment for his troops and to help gather some allies to his side.

As we see in chapter 18, it gave him time to fortify their position and to organize his army for battle. And though David, David's decisions were part of what made this possible, in the end, it's it's it's God who made this possible. It's God who turned Absalom against the wisdom of Ahithophel. It's God that that brought Hushai at the very right moment, to help, to help David. And so in 18 verse one, we see, and David numbered the people that were with him and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them.

And David sent forth a third of the people under the hand of Joab and a third part under the hand of Abishai, the son of Zeruiah Joab's brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said unto the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also. But the people answered, thou shalt not go forth for if we flee away, they will not care for us. Neither if half of us die will they care for us. But now thou art worth 10,000 of us.

Therefore, now it is better that you that thou secure us out of the city. And the king said unto them, what seemeth you best I will do? And the king stood by the gate side and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands. And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captain's charge concerning Absalom.

So David, gathers his army. David, strategizes, sends a third here, a third there, gets them under their captives, gets organized for battle. He has not given up on his people, on his men. More importantly, he has not given up on who? On his God.

We read about that in Psalm three at the conclusion of the service last week. He laid down and slept. Why? Because the Lord sustained him. And he knew that the Lord could give him victory over forces much greater than the ones that were with him.

Yes, he had confidence in his men. Yes, he had confidence in his strategy. But over time, David had gained more and more confidence in his God. Time and time again, as God had shown himself mighty. And when David particularly gave God the opportunity to get the glory, God did indeed, deliver him, his people time and time again.

And then this little thing there right at the end. What did David say? He said, do not harm who? Do not harm my son Absalom. Deal kindly with him.

Despite David's plight, despite that all Absalom had plotted and done, despite the fact that Absalom was seeking to kill his father, his father did not want his son to be killed. This is a God thing. Although he knew in some form or fashion punishment was coming, He did not want to hurry it. He still loved his son. He did not desire his suffering.

He did not desire his death. He still loved and he still cared for him despite all of this. Bible says in in Peter, the Lord is not slack concerning his promises, some now count slackness, but is long suffering to us. We're not willing that, what? Any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

God isn't desirous that any. Not one human being should perish, but that all should find repentance and salvation in Jesus Christ. That is the love of God for his creation. We see that echoed in a man after God's own heart. Yes.

There are times when we don't see that in David's life, but then again, here it pops up again, and we can clearly see. Unlike pagan kings who killed off their own offspring to ensure their continued reign, David sought to protect the one who was trying to take his throne and his life from him because he was his son. In Romans chapter one, it lists, a terrible list of sins and reprobacy that results when man turns his back on God and and society spirals downward. One of the things in that list is without natural affection. Without natural affection.

God gives us a natural affection for our our children regardless of what they've done. We we can't always just trust them with everything. We can't enable them in their sin. But yet, if you know the Lord and the love and the forgiveness of God, you will have that same love and forgiveness toward who? Towards your children.

And a desire, no matter what they've done, to see them come to the Lord. David had that for his son Absalom, just a 180 degrees different from most of the kings of the world in David's day and, yeah, in days since. Later on, one of David's descendants would marry one of, Ahab's daughters. Ahab and Jezebel, bad king and queen of Israel. And Jeroboam's daughter married Ahab's daughter, Athaliah.

And when Jehoshaphat's son died, Athaliah wanted the throne. You know what she did? She killed off every last one of her children and grandchildren in order to claim the throne for herself. She missed one. She missed one.

Joash. She missed Joash. Jehoiada, the priest, hit him. King Herod, Herod the Great remember ever heard Herod the Great? He was great because he was a great architect.

He wasn't a great king, and he didn't have great character. And he killed off several of his own sons and relatives in order to keep them from taking his throne. So but not David. David, a man after God's own heart, still had an affection and love for his son. However, the battle ensued.

Verse six. So the people went out into the field against Israel. Now Israel here would be the armies that were worth with Absalom. Okay? The armies that were worth that.

The people, that's David's people, went out into the field against Israel, and the battle was in the Wood Of Ephraim where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David, and there was there a great slaughter that day of 20,000 men. That's a lot of people to die in one battle. In one battle that day, 20,000, were slain. For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country, and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured. More dying as a result of the perilous terrain than directly, due to the the skill of the weapons, people using the weapons.

And so David's army, though it'd be small, was mighty. Mighty because, well, they were David's mighty men. They had fought in many battles. They were indeed mighty. They were well trained.

They were skilled warriors. But more importantly, they had God on their side because God was not done with David yet. David God was not done with David yet. But in verse nine, we read about the demise specifically of Absalom. In a way, an ironic death.

If you look in verse nine, Absalom met the servants of David, and Absalom rode upon a mule. And the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak. And he was taken up between the heaven and the earth, and the mule that was under him went away. And a certain man saw it and told Joab and said, behold, I saw Absalom hanged in the oak tree. Joab said unto the man that told him, and behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground?

I would have given thee 10 shekels of silver and a girdle. Man said unto Joab, though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in mine hand, yet would I not put forth my hand against the king's son. For in our hearing, the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, beware that none touched the young man Absalom. Otherwise, I should have wrought falsehood against mine own life, for there is no matter hid from the king. Thou thyself would have set thyself against me.

Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, he thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was yet alive in the midst of the yoke. And 10 young men that bear ab Joab's armor compassed around about and smote Absalom and slew him. And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel for Joab held back the people. And they took Absalom and cast him into a great pit in the wood and laid a very great heap of stones upon him, and all Israel fled, everyone to his tent.

David's great friend, Joab, once again, Joab takes matters into whose hands? His own hands. Joab is politically and militarily wise, but there was a wisdom that Joab was missing, a wisdom that came from from God. And you can be wise in the ways of the world and not wise at all in the ways of the Lord and in regards to the character of the God that you serve. And so Joab killed Absalom despite David's David's command.

Yes. That dispelled the battle. It was over. It was done. The enemy fled once Absalom was killed.

But David was the king and not Joab. And Joab should have done what the king said, but Joab thought he knew better. In the end, we'll see, his decisions on this in this way will eventually catch up with him. Be sure your sin will what? We'll find you out, even if you happen to be the commander of the great army of king David.

But having said that, we see an ironic death of Absalom himself. If you look back in chapter 14 verses twenty four and twenty five, Absalom had a problem with bitterness. That wasn't the only problem he had. As we talked about this morning, he also had a problem with pride. And if you look in verse 25, it says, but in all Israel, there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty.

From the sole of his feet even to the crown of his head, there was no blemish in him. And when he pulled his head, for it was at every year's end that he pulled it, because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he pulled it, he weighed the hair of his head at 2 100 shekels after the king's weight. Absalom was an what's the word? Adonis. He was one they would have built a statue of a Greek God after.

He was tall. He was beautiful. He was handsome. He had beautiful hair. He let it grow all year, at the end of the year, he'd cut it off and evidently, it grew really fast and really thick and he'd weigh it.

I mean, who who would weigh their hair? I mean, come on. And how did he die? He died hanging from it in the bow of a tree, and thus ended the life of Absalom. Be sure your sin will will find you out.

The problem was not his hair. The problem was his pride, And his pride drove him to take that which was not his to take, like Satan tried to take that which was not his to take. And it destroyed it destroyed Absalom. Exactly what Satan wanted it to do. Satan comes and whispers in our ear and says, hey, you know, this isn't so bad.

You deserve this. They don't deserve that. You shouldn't be treated that way. Let them have you know? Whatever it is that Satan whispers in our ear, God just or your parents or whoever doesn't want you to have any fun.

And we, for a moment at least, think, yeah, he's right, but he's not. He doesn't care for us, and he doesn't want the best for us. He wants to do to us what he did to who? What he did to Absalom. He wants to destroy us.

And because Absalom wouldn't humble himself under the mighty hand of God, he was humbled. In this world, God will get the glory one way or another. He will get the glory in blessing those who love him, and showing great grace and mercy through them and power. Or he will get glory by bringing justice upon those who reject and refuse him and work against him. Either way, God will get the glory.

He got the glory here despite David's sin and David's own issues because David repented and turned to the Lord and everybody knew it. Remember, even as even as David was leaving Jerusalem, Shimei was cursing him. And Joab said, let me kill him and shut him up. And David said, no. Let him what?

Let him curse. Why? Because in part, David thought, I deserve it. David was willing to allow himself to be humbled that God might get the glory and that he might take it from his hands and put it in whose hands? God's hands.

And upon his return, he had the opportunity once again to take care of Shimei, and he didn't. Once again, he showed mercy upon him in chapter in chapter 19. But Joab died a ignominious death hanging from a tree by the beautiful hair that that he Absalom. I said, I Absalom. Yeah.

I won't ask what I said. I meant Absalom. And and thus ended the rebellion of Absalom. Thus brought on the bitter cry of David. Verse 33, David got news.

The battle had been won. The people had fled, but his son had been what? His son had been killed. So rather than a time of rejoicing and celebrating immediately, it became a a time of weeping. In verse 33, we see, and the king was much moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept.

And as he went, thus he said, oh, my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom, would God, I had died for thee. Oh, Absalom, my son, my son. And again, we see the love that David had for his son despite all that he had tried to do against him. We see the sorrow. We see the death.

And in some part, in some way, and David knew, a result of actions that that he had taken. Bible says our heart is desperately, what? Wicked. Listen to the spirit of the Lord. Listen to the word of God.

Listen to the principles that you find therein. Don't just listen to your heart because until you get to heaven, your heart is still affected by sin. David followed his heart for just an hour, a day, a week, and look what it cost. Galatians six, seven, and eight say this, be not deceived. God is not mocked.

For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption. Is that what David did? He sowed to his flesh. And of his flesh, he reaped a lot of corruption.

He that soweth but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. Even as Christians, can we still sow to the flesh? Yeah. We can. Does it still bring some pretty rotten consequences?

Yes, it can. That's why we need to be walking in the what? The spirit. For you walk in the spirit will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. So we see the sorrow of a man having lost his son.

Having seen the devastation of the death that all of this brought. However, it was over. It was over. Chapter 19, and we'll read verses one through eight to conclude this evening, and we see the beginning of the aftermath. Aftermath follows for a couple chapters, but but look if you would in, 19, and we'll read verses one through eight.

We continue again, the chapter breaks are man made. So if you go from verse 33 into verse four verse one, it just continues on the same theme. David was weeping. David was distraught. Verse 19 chapter 19 verse one, and it was told Joab, behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom, and the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people.

For the people heard say that that day how the king was grieved for his son and the people gapped them by stealth that day into the city as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. So rather than being a great party and a great celebration, everybody kinda just sunk back in the city. Now the city here is Mahanaim. That's the battle took place outside of that city on the other side of the Jordan. That's where they are at the moment.

Verse, verse four, but the king covered his face and the king cried with a loud voice, oh, my son Absalom. Oh, Absalom, my son, my son. And Joab came into the house to the king and said, thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters and the lives of thy wives and the lives of thy concubines, and that thou lovest thine enemies and hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared this day that thou regardest neither princes nor servants. For this day I perceive that if Absalom had lived and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well.

Now therefore, arise, Go forth and speak comfortably unto thy servants. For I swear by the Lord, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night, and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now. Then the king arose, sat in the gate, and they told unto all the people saying, behold, the king does sit in the gate, and all the people came before the king for Israel had fled every man to his tent. So David's mourning, and Joab really doesn't give him a lot of time to mourn. Again, Joab is not spiritually wise, but he is politically and militarily savvy.

And he does recognize something and that is when the people should be lifting up David and cheering David, they're all kinda going back into the city kind of, you know, discouraged and confused because they want a great victory and they're not allowed to celebrate because David is what? Because David is sad. I mean, Joab goes as far to say some of the you know, it it almost seems that you would have rather Absalom lived and we all died. Now, obviously, that's not the case. But Joab's trying to motivate David to get off of his place of mourning and to rise back up and take up the mantle of the what?

Of the king. Remember, had fled the palace And he needed to get back up, and he needed to take back that mantle, that place, that responsibility that God once again had delivered had delivered unto him. Although his advice, that is Joab's in this matter, was political in nature and could even be perceived perceived as as a veiled threat from one who's wielded so much power. It was proper advice that David needed to pull himself together and trust in God as he did in the past and move what? Forward.

Showing himself to be God's chosen leader of the people. Now was that that was that easy? No. Did he have a right to be sorrowful? Yeah.

He did. But Israel needed a what? They needed a king. God desired David to be that king. God had delivered David once again that he might be that king.

I do believe God does expect his leaders and, for that matter, all his children to rise above their circumstances and sorrow to fulfill their responsibilities in behalf of their Lord. Sometimes that is very difficult. Sometimes it's slow going. Sometimes you may feel like you're you're walking through quicksand. But God doesn't want you to quit.

God doesn't want us to give up. God doesn't want us to wallow in our sorrow and pity. God wants us to rise up again. It is part of the responsibilities of a leader not to allow feelings and other things to keep him or her down. Often today, make excuses for our leaders, and we make excuses for ourselves.

When times get tough, we we just think we have the right sometimes to just ball up in a thing and go hide in a corner. Sometimes you may need to go hide in the Lord, but not to walk away completely from being pastor, a mother, father, a Sunday school teacher, a neighbor, son, whatever the case may be. Because greater is he that's in us than he that's in the world. Because there is a peace that passes what? All understanding.

That is to be found in Jesus if we will lay our burdens upon him and not choose to carry them all on our own. I think of Joseph. Joseph was taken and thrown in a pit by his brothers. They're going to leave him there to die. Instead, they pulled him out.

Maybe an additional thought was, oh, great. Wow. They're pulling me out. What did they do? They pulled him out to sell him.

He ended up a slave. He ended up in prison for a crime he didn't commit. But Joseph Joseph didn't quit. He kept day by day, he just trusted the Lord and he kept going. And time and time again, and Satan pummeled him down, Joseph rose back up to the top.

Moses God called Moses to lead the children of Israel. Time and time again, things would go a little bit awry and the people would be ready to stone Moses. They'd say, Moses, we're through this. Let's go back to Egypt. And Moses had to, again and again, had to to rise above those who didn't want him to lead them.

And that must have been tough when things went bad, but he did. Daniel, after being taken captive as a young man and later as an older man having been thrown in the lion's den because he prayed to the Lord. Each time, he rose up again. John, on the Isle Of Patmos, Paul, city after city, they mocked him, they stirred up trouble, they threw him in prison, they beat him, they whipped him. In one case, they stoned him and left him for dead.

What did he do? Well, he got up off the ground. He got his bearings, cleaned himself up, and he said, Lord, where to next? And he rose up again. Job.

What did Job do? Well, he said, the Lord has given, the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. And our savior Jesus Christ, who in the Garden Of Gethsemane said, not my will, but but thine be done. God will ask us never to do something that he was not willing to do himself for us.

In Philippians chapter three, it says this. Paul writes, brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Paul says, forgetting those things which are what? Behind. Those hurts, those failures, those whippings and beatings, the the mocking on the part of his own people.

He said, his own mistakes and failures. He left them all. He said, I I'm not gonna grovel and let that keep me down. By God's grace, I'm getting back up and I'm moving what? I'm moving forward.

And that's what God desires of us as well. Isn't always easy? Sometimes it looks grim. Sometimes the loss of certain things in our life weigh heavy upon us. God knows it.

He's merciful. He's patient, but he's there. He's there. And by his grace, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. And in Galatians six nine, he says, and let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.

Rise up again. So did David. It wasn't easy going at first. There was a lot of headwinds. We'll read about them next week.

But the Lord Lord carried him through. The Lord put him back on the throne. And the Lord continued his legacy all the way to Jesus Christ who is our legacy. Let's pray. Dear God, thank you, Lord, for the power and strength that you you give, for the loving and kind God that you are.

Lord, give us wisdom and give us grace and give us strength. Lord, I know there are some that even tonight reminded of losses and hurts. But, Lord, if we'll turn those over to you, you can help us to rise up again. And, Lord, to do to be used of you, to bring glory to your name, to experience hope and joy and peace because we have you. And we thank you, Lord, for that.

Lord, help us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and on a home that is awaiting us that he has he has built just for us. In Jesus' name, do pray. Amen.