Waiting Well: Trusting God's Timing Without Taking Shortcuts

Turn to 2 Samuel, 2 Samuel, chapter 4. This sermon is going to be applicable to everybody. So turn to 2 Samuel, chapter 4. I want you to see some truths in God's scripture that he's going to apply to that we can apply to our lives. Because one of the hardest lessons in the Christian life is learning to trust God's timing. Whether we're waiting on a healing or we're dealing with a relationship or we have an expectation or or a situation that requires us waiting. We're not particularly patient people. We pray and we want answers today. We we face difficulties and we want relief immediately. We we have a problem and we want a solution before the day is over. But God rarely seems to be in a hurry. Abraham had to wait decades before his promised child arrived. Joseph waited for years in prison. Um, Moses spent 40 years in the wilderness. And David, well, David was anointed king when he's a teenager and he's now in his 30s and he still hasn't gotten to the throne. And perhaps maybe that's because God is usually doing a couple of things in the way because while we're focused on changing our circumstances, God's focused on shaping our character. And while we're asking when will this happen, God's asking what are you becoming in the wait? Because I want you to know that God is God of the weight. And in this moment, because we're by the time we've arrived at 2 Samuel 4, David has already endured years of uncertainty. Saul is dead. Abnner's dead. The house of Saul is crumbling. The throne is closer than ever, but the kingdom hasn't fully come. David's having to to wait. And in this moment, some men decided that they're tired of waiting. And they can convince themselves. They convince themselves that they can help God accomplish his purposes. So, they decide, I'm going to remove the obstacle. I'm going to speed up the process. I'm going to ignore God's law. I'm going to take matters into my own hands. So, what follows here is a sobering reminder that God's work never requires sinful solutions and shortcuts because the Lord is fully capable of accomplishing his purpose without our help. He can accomplish his purpose without our schemes, without our manipulation, and most definitely without our impatience. So what 2 Samuel chapter 4 is going to teach us is that faith is not merely believing the promises of God. It's also trusting God's timing. Because the greatest battles of faith that we're about to see are often not fought when God says no. The greatest battles of faith are when God says, "Wait." So, we jump into verse one. And when Saul's son heard that Abnner was dead, and so you know the son that we're talking about is Ishbashef. He is the king of Israel. And when Saul's son heard that Abner, y'all remember Abner, we met him last chapter, he was Ishbashef's general. And when Saul's son heard that Abnner was dead in Hebbran, his hands were feeble and all Israelites were troubled. So Saul's son, Ishbashef, technically king over Israel. But this is the situation. And many of y'all in the corporate world know this. Abnner was the real power. Abnner was the one. Ishbashees was king and title. But the real power that was Abnner. He was the general. He was the leader. He was the one that turned to when things went bad. Abnner was the glue that held the northern tribes together. So when Abner died in chapter three, the kingdom lost its backbone and so did the king. So imagine a corporation whose CEO suddenly resigns. Imagine a football team that loses their starting quarterback the week before the championship game. Imagine a nation losing its military commander during wartime. That's what's happening right here. And this is what the text said. The Ishbashes hands were feeble. Now, there's a an idiom in in Hebrew that doesn't translate that well, but that verb were feeble was actually related to the event of Abner dying. So, Ishbashef, what's going on here is Ishbashef when he found out that Abner Nine didn't just get temporarily scared. He lost it. He lost his backbones. The news didn't just frighten him for a moment. It left him weakened. It left him unnerved. It left him without strength to act. So, it means more than just nervousness. He's lost his courage. He's lost his confidence. He's lost his hope. And all of a sudden, the throne feels really unstable right now. The point is not that just is scared. The death of Abnner exposed the fact that Ishbashef's [snorts] strength

had never truly been in the Lord. It was in Abnner. So his hands were feeble because he learned that Abnner was gone. And I want you to notice what happens here. It's a lesson in leadership. John Maxwell probably will write a book about it someday. It tells us that Ishbah's hands were feeble and all the Israelites were troubled. So, one man's fear spread to an entire nation like a contagion. And that's the way fear often works. It rarely confines itself to the person experiencing it. Leaders, parents, pastors, friends, we all exert influence, whether we realize it or not, on people that are around us. And and when leaders panic like Ishbasheth is doing here, uncertainty will quickly ripple out everywhere. A worried father can [ __ ] a household. A fearful leader can shake an organization. A discouraged pastor can bring down a church. And the tragedy for Ishbashef is not simply that Abnner was die had died. It was that Ishbashef's confidence had been resting in Abnner all along. Because as long as Abnner stood beside Ishbashef, he felt secure. But when Abner was removed, the weakness that had been hidden beneath the surface of Ishbasheth's character floated to the top. And so we can take away something from that because the things that we lean most heavily on are revealed when they get taken away. And if our confidence ultimately rests on our position, on our health, on our finances, on other people, then our peace will rise and fall along with how those other things are doing. But when our confidence rest in God, even when our earthly supports are removed, the foundation will remain strong. Y'all listen. Abnner was dead. Abnner was gone. But God is still on the throne. And if Ishbachef had had his priorities right, it would have been okay. Unfortunately, Ishbashef can only see the empty place beside him instead of the God who rules above him. And so in the middle of this political entry that we just talked about of assassinations, the collapse of a kingdom, the author all of a sudden introduces an unrelated character. Verse four, one of my favorite characters in all of scripture. And Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son that was lame on his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came out of Saul came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezrael and a nurse took him up and fled. And it came to pass as she made haste to flee that he fell and became lame and his name was Mphibicheth. So here we are right in the middle of scripture. Started in chapter three. is going on into chapter 4, spilling over assassinations, political intrigue, uh, murder, death, and all of a sudden we're talking about a baby. Seems a little bit out of place, doesn't it? First glance, it's weird. Chapter's rapidly moving towards the murder of Ishbashef and then all of a sudden the story stops to talk about a crippled child. That seems a little bit random. But you know what? With a sovereign God, there's no such thing as a random detail. There is no accidental verse in scripture. There's no incidental people in scripture. There's no forgotten names in the economy of God. And so what appears as an interruption here and what often in the scripture what appears as an interruption is actually God drawing our attention to something far more important than the events that are unfolding on the stage. Because while the the nation is focused on kings and generals and power struggles, God stops and points us to a child. And while everyone is watching men fight over a throne, scripture says, "Hold on a second. I want you to look over here." Because the politicians, they don't know Mphibicheth. That the generals don't know Mashibbashef matters. And and maybe even Mphibichef doesn't know that he matters, but God knows. And that's one of the greatest comfort of what we refer to as divine providence. God is never so occupied with the large movements of history that he overlooks the individual lives that are caught with him. And the same God who governs kingdoms and commands the angel armies is the same God who watches over crippled children. The same God who directs the rise and fall of nations is carefully prevent preserving one wounded little boy for a future purpose that nobody can conceive. And so while everyone in this chapter, the kings, the generals, the people, while everyone in this chapter is focused on who's going to sit on the throne, God over here is already preparing a future demonstration of his grace. And what we need to understand is something profound because Mashib Mphibicheth appearance is not random because history itself is not random. The God who ordained David's kingdom also providentially ordained this boy's preservation. The God who is moving the large pieces on the board is also moving the dust and the small ones. So what might seem like an interruption in scripture is actually providence at work. And I take comfort in that because it's true in our lives too. There are moments and I think a lot of us experienced it where we have moments that we look back and things seem a little bit disconnected, a little bit confusing, little bit out of place. We wonder why a certain person entered our lives, why a particularly hardship occurred, why God allowed an unexpected detour. And then years later, we discovered what looked random at the time actually led to something that was important. what what appeared to be an interruption was actually part of a much larger story that only God could see. Because here's the thing, with God, there are no footnotes. There are no throwaway details. There's no accidental chapters. With God, he's in control of all things. So, Mphibicheth's story over here is so important for this reason. It's our story because I want you to imagine the moment of Mphibisha. We just read about it. One day an ordinary little boy is playing, laughing, enjoying life as a grandson of the king. And then the next day, his world has collapsed. His grandfather is dead. His father is dead. His home is gone. His future is uncertain. And because of a fall that he did not cause, he's going to spend the rest of his life unable to walk normally. And that is a reminder of how quickly life can change. Many of us knows what it happens and what it means to have a a chapter in a life end so suddenly. A phone call arrives. A doctor walks into a room. Conversation takes an unexpected turn. An accident occurs. And in a matter of moments, life is defined as before and after. And on top of that, Mash Mphibicheth never chose any of this. He didn't choose the battle. He didn't choose the panic. He didn't choose the fall. And yet, he lived with the consequences. And like Mphibicheth, we're all living with the consequences of a fall that occurred long before we arrived. As a matter of fact, the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 5:12, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered to the world, and oh by the way, that's Adam, thank you, Adam. Where by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men." That's and in case we missed it, he says it again in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 22. Wherefor as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. So we collectively were born into a broken world carrying wounds that we did not create and a corruption that we cannot cure by ourselves. We are the Mphibicheth of the world. And yet the beauty of the Mphibicheth is that this is not the last time you're going to hear his name. And in this moment, looks like he's forgotten. Wait on this story. Wait for the postcript. We'll see it in chapter nine. But at this moment, he appears forgotten. Kingdom looks like it has no use for him. The politicians are not looking for him. The generals don't care about him. and history seems to have passed him by, but heaven has not forgotten Mphibicheth and God's quietly preserving him. And then in chapter nine in the future, we'll get to it in a few weeks, but David asks one of the most beautiful questions in scripture. Is is there not any left at the house of Saul? Then I may show you kindness for his my brother Jonathan's sake. So what follows though is not a story about politics. What follows is a story about grace. Crippled man who expects judgment will receive mercy. A forgotten prince is going to be back invited back to the king's table. A man who can offer nothing in return is going to be treated as family. Sounds an awful lot like the gospel to me right here in the Old Testament. So for this reason, Mphibicheth is one of the clearest pictures that we have because all of us stand before a king. Spiritually crippled, unable to save ourselves, unable to earn his favor, unable to repair the damage caused by the fall. And yet the king saves us anyway, calls our name, brings us to a table, no matter what we've done, adopts us into his family. And that's why this verse appears here. That's why this verse is seemingly random and out of order. Because in the midst of the chaos, while kingdoms are rising and falling, while generals are dying and children, kings are being assassinated, God quietly points our attention to a crippled child. Because ultimately, the story of redemption is not about the powerful, not about the men fighting for throne. It's about a gracious king who sees the broken. So let's the story then returns back to Mphibicheth in verse five. And the sons of Remma named Reik and Bana went and came about the heat of the day to the household of Ishbashef who lay on the bed at noon. So dig it. Verse five, we meet two brothers, Reikob and Bina. They're military leaders. They're men of influence, but they're also men who see an opportunity. And opportunity

can be dangerous when character is absent.

These men see a weak king, a collapsing king. They see an ascended David. They see an opportunity and they decide for themselves how to secure their future. They are going to murder Ishbashef and they will bring David proof. So surely David will reward them. David's going to promote them. David's going to thank him. After all, isn't David trying to become king? They completely misunderstand David. But more importantly, they misunderstand God. And their thinking goes something like this. Hey, the outcome is good. Therefore, the method must be acceptable. If the outcome of David being king, that's a good outcome. And any way we get there has got to be okay. In other words, they're saying a philosophy that has permeated since Maveli wrote the prince. The ends justify the means, y'all. That's evil. And it's been with us since the garden. The idea that Satan had in the garden is, "Hey, disobey God and a greater good will come because you'll have the knowledge of good and evil." See the ends justify the means. The desired outcome of wisdom, light, becoming as God supposedly justifies the act of rebellion. And this first temptation is in many ways an appeal to the ends justifying the means. And you can you can trace this pattern all throughout scripture. You got Abraham fathers Ishmael because he believes God's promises needs help. So Abraham fathers Ishmael because you know what? I've been waiting for a decade. Let me help God out. You got Jacob deceiving Isaac to become to obtain the blessing. You got Saul unlawfully sacrificing um sheep because victory seemed more important than obedience. You got Usuza who reaches out to steady the ark because it's a good thing to steady the ark and he gets zapped dead because he's protecting. It seems like it's more important to protect something than to follow God's law. And now you got Reik and Bana murdering Ishbashef because God David's kingship appeared to justify their actions. But here's the thing. Thou shalt not murder. Thou shalt not kill is still the law on the books and the underlying logic of a rebellion is always the same. I know what outcome should happen. Therefore, I am permitted to do what would otherwise be wrong. But cons scripture consistently rejects that kind of reasoning. As a matter of fact, one of the clearest lines in scripture is the Apostle Paul. It's in Romans chapter 8 verse Romans chapter 3:8. Paul says, "And I would rather not we be slanderously reported." They're saying, this is what they're accusing the Apostle Paul and and his they're let us do evil that that good may abound. And he's saying those people that say that their damnation is just. The Apostle Paul just said in King James English, the ends don't justify the means. And the outcome, no matter how bad you want it, don't justify sinful behavior. So Paul doesn't merely disagree with the principle. He condemns it outright and from a biblical perspective. The problem is theological and not ethical. And you know because that whole the ends justify the means. That whole philosophy assumes I know enough, I see enough, I control enough to determine when e to determine when evil is permissible and is a greater good. But the fact of the matter is is that only God sees the entire story. You see, because faith says God can accomplish his purpose without my disobedience. Unbelief says God's purposes depend on my disobedience. And that's exactly what Reikob and Bana were thinking and believing. They knew David would be king. That part was true. What they failed to understand was that God's promise to David did not authorize their actions of murder. In fact, one of the greatest lessons of first s and 2 Samuel is that David repeatedly refuses to embrace this philosophy. He will not king David. This sounds like Dr. 6. He will not kill Saul in a camp. He will not kill Saul in a a cave. He condemns the Amalachites who claims to have killed Saul. He condemns Joab for killing Abnner and he executes Reikob and Bana for killing Ishbashef. Again and again and again, David demonstrates a principle that points us to Christ that the right goal never makes a wrong never makes a wrong action okay and stated another way God's purposes are never advanced by disobedience to God's commands. So, Reika, Reika and Bana are not merely merely murderers. They are they are what we would call practical theologians. They believe the throne belongs to David. And because they know the right destination, they convince themselves that any road leading there has to be acceptable. But scripture teaches otherwise. God's children are not merely called to pursue the right destination.

They're called to walk the right path. So we have Reika and Bana. They're not walking the right path. And we But here's the problem that we have because we live in a culture of instant gratification where a culture that wants everything instantly, instant communication, instant food, instant answers. But the scripture seems to say that God's favorite word is wait because God is actually more concerned with preparing the person than delivering the blessing. So David reminds the brothers of something when he orders their execution. A young Amalachite once came and claimed that he had killed Saul and the man thought that David would reward him, but David executed him instead. Why? because he says, "How dare you touch the Lord's anointed?" You know, so David asks, "Man, if this guy over here touched and died for claiming to kill Saul, what should happen to the man who actually murdered a righteous person in his own bed?" And the answer's pretty clear, judgment. So, I want you to notice what scripture is drawing our attention to because it's drawing our attention to David's consistency.

He didn't change simply because the circumstances changed. Saul was his enemy. Ishbashth was a rival king. Yet David condemned both murders. That's integrity. Integrity means having the same standard even when it cost you. Now, a lot of people got conviction till those convictions become inconvenient. And David refused to let ambition rewrite morality. And that's one reason why God chose David to lead the kingdom. So David orders the execution of Reik and Bana. Their hands and their feet are cut off. Their bodies are displayed publicly. It's not cruelty. It's kind of a declaration. The kingdom of David would be established and would not be built on murder and treachery. The message is clear. There's no reward for wickedness. There's no promotion for betrayal. There's no honor and bloodshed. And so the head of Ishbashef because Reikob and Baan they beheaded they beheaded Ishbasheth and brought it to David and that head is buried with honor in Abnner's tomb. Even in death, David is showing respect even towards a former rival. So let's talk about the gospel according to 2 Samuel chapter 4 because at first this chapter seems dominated by fear, ambition, death. Ishbasheth's kingdom is collapsing. Two opportunities commit murder in pursuit of gain. Another member of Saul's household is carried to the grave. And everywhere we look, power is failing. And while the kingdoms are rising and falling, God is over here working his magic and and clearing and preparing for future grace. While while Raik and Bane are over here trying to advance themselves through violence, God is is quietly moving history towards mercy. And that contra that contrast points us to David's greater son, Jesus. Because this world, this world is often built through force, through manipulation of the media, through self-promotion. But God's kingdom is advanced through faithfulness, through patience, through grace. David refused to seize the throne through sinful shortcuts. He he trusted God's promises. And centuries later, Jesus would do the same thing, perfectly embodying that same kind of trust. I'm not taking a shortcut. He prayed, "Father, if it was possible, take this cup from me." And the father was silent. And Jesus went to the cross. He could have called 10 legions of angels, 72,000 angels. I mean, think about what a strike force that would have been because we know with Elisha and the little servant boy when they're surrounded by the Isra by the armies of Assyria, Elisha, he prayed like, "Lord, you know, opened his eyes and he saw the hills with angels and chariots of fire." We see in another case where there was an angel that struck down 180,000 people in one day. One angel and and Jesus could have called 72,000 of these beings. Anyway, so David one day is going to seek out Mphibicheth and and and he's gonna he's going to show kindness to him. It's in the same vein as as Christ showing kindness to us for for his own name's sake. Grace where the broken are remembered, where the forgotten are sought, where the undeserving have been saved. And that's the beauty that's hidden in this dark chapter. It starts in the dark, dark moment of Israel's history. So here y'all, the great lesson of 2 Samuel chapter 4 is real simple. God does not need our shortcuts or our stress because if God's made a promise to us, and he has, we're going to see him again. He can keep the uh he can fulfill that promise. If he's open the door, he can sustain it. If he's called you, he can keep you. He doesn't need your manipulation. He doesn't need your dishonesty. He doesn't need your compromise. Trust him. Wait on him. Walk faithfully with him. And that then lead the results to him because God's promises have never been dependent on our actions. The throne belonged to David because God said so. The kingdom would come in God's time. So let's land the plane like this. When when your hands grow weak, remember God is on the throne. When when life leaves you wounded like Mphibicheth, remember that God has not forgotten you. When temptations whisper shortcuts like Reik and Bana, remember God's work never requires disobedience. And when you find yourself waiting like David, remember the God who made the promise is the same God who keeps it. If you'd like to worship Christ as we do here at Camp Creek Church, we give you that chance as we stand and sing the first and last stand.

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