Together But Unchanged

Arn’t you thankful that God would love you so much that he would make a way for you to be right with him???

Recently I preached a message about moving onward, don’t stay in the same spot as the day when Christ saved you, but go for more go further in your walk with God....

I need to know if there is someone here who truly wants more???

(NLT) — 33 So Joab told the king what Absalom had said. Then at last David summoned Absalom, who came and bowed low before the king, and the king kissed him.

You need to understand that before we finally get to this verse; , there is a crazy long complicated story…

In the previous chapter Absalom’s sister was raped by Absalom’s half brother; Amnon.

The King David finds out about this and is obviously furious, the Bible isn’t clear about what if anything King David did about this, but it’s obviously complicated…

Absalom for 2 years hated Amnon until finally he plots to kill him…

He has a big party at his place and invites all the family. King David says he can’t go, but gives his blessing and tells the family to go to the large feast Absalom is having…

Absalom instructed his servants, “

28 Absalom told his men, “Wait until Amnon gets drunk; then at my signal, kill him! Don’t be afraid. I’m the one who has given the command. Take courage and do it!” 29 So at Absalom’s signal they murdered Amnon. Then the other sons of the king jumped on their mules and fled.

Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2013. Print.

Absalom escapes and lives with his grandfather for three years.

David deeply mourns the loss of his son Amnon, and shortly there after mourned Absalom and longed to be reunited with Absalom.

There is prosses that happened over the course of , but long story short David has Joab retrieve Absalom and Absalom comes back home and we find ourselves at .

(NLT) — 33 So Joab told the king what Absalom had said. Then at last David summoned Absalom, who came and bowed low before the king, and the king kissed him.

Talk about a situation being, “complicated.” But despite all this, we see the amazing power of reconciliation.

KEY- That day the heart of the father triumphed over the duty of the king, and only through the power of reconciliation could David and Absalom be connected once again.

KEY POINT- Reconciliation is bringing again into unity, harmony, or agreement what has been separated.

POINT- Reconciliation doesn’t just happen! It is an intentional decision typically requiring some type of process.

KEY- There is a great need for reconciliation between God and people because of the separation between them. Our sin and God’s righteousness is what causes this separation.

God himself provided the means of reconciliation through the death of His son Jesus Christ.

KEY POINT- God doesn’t allow sin to come into his presence, instead he put’s on us his righteousness.

(NLT) — 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

“Reconcilation is bringing again into unity, harmony, or agreement what has been alienated.  According to Biblical teaching, there is need for reconciliation between God and man because of the alienation between them which has its source in human sin and the righteous aversion to it and hatred of it on the part of God. The Bible teaches that God Himself has provided the means of reconciliation through the death of His Son Jesus Christ."

(NLT) — 18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

How awesome is this reconciliation!!! That we can be made right with God!

… But there is more to our story in 2 Samuel…

(NLT) — 1 After this, Absalom bought a chariot and horses, and he hired fifty bodyguards to run ahead of him. 2 He got up early every morning and went out to the gate of the city. When people brought a case to the king for judgment, Absalom would ask where in Israel they were from, and they would tell him their tribe. 3 Then Absalom would say, “You’ve really got a strong case here! It’s too bad the king doesn’t have anyone to hear it. 4 I wish I were the judge. Then everyone could bring their cases to me for judgment, and I would give them justice!” 5 When people tried to bow before him, Absalom wouldn’t let them. Instead, he took them by the hand and kissed them. 6 Absalom did this with everyone who came to the king for judgment, and so he stole the hearts of all the people of Israel. 7 After four years, Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron to offer a sacrifice to the Lord and fulfill a vow I made to him. 8 For while your servant was at Geshur in Aram, I promised to sacrifice to the Lord in Hebron if he would bring me back to Jerusalem.” 9 “All right,” the king told him. “Go and fulfill your vow.” So Absalom went to Hebron. 10 But while he was there, he sent secret messengers to all the tribes of Israel to stir up a rebellion against the king. “As soon as you hear the ram’s horn,” his message read, “you are to say, ‘Absalom has been crowned king in Hebron.’ ” 11 He took 200 men from Jerusalem with him as guests, but they knew nothing of his intentions. 12 While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel, one of David’s counselors who lived in Giloh. Soon many others also joined Absalom, and the conspiracy gained momentum.

In case you didn’t pick it up… Absalom completely back stabbed his father, and later in the story tries to kill his father.

How is it that there can be reconciliation and then this betrayal?!?!?

QUESTION- What would cause a person to go from being reconciled to God to choosing to become an enemy of God once again???

(NLT) — 4 You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. 5 Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him.

MAIN POINT- You can be reconciled back to God, but you must walk out the inward change, otherwise practically you are unchanged.

QUESTION- What would cause a person to go from being reconciled to God to choosing to become an enemy of God once again???

1. Absalom’s Pride

3 Then Absalom would say, “You’ve really got a strong case here! It’s too bad the king doesn’t have anyone to hear it. 4 I wish I were the judge. Then everyone could bring their cases to me for judgment, and I would give them justice!”

KEY- It was Absalom executing his form us justice that got him in trouble in the first place!

(NLT) — 2 Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

ILLUSTRATION- Me and my brother not drinking water at an amusement park on the hottest day of the year to prove that one of us could go longer without water.

POINT- Pride has this ability to push you away from the very thing that you need.

Don’t you realize that reconciliation was there. Absalom was a child of the king, HE HAD NOTHING TO PROVE.

CHALLENGE- Are you trying to prove something in your ministry, or are you putting action to your love?

(NLT) — 6 And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

KEY POINT- The enemy would love to use your pride to make you resentful of God’s process.

POINT- Pride is the barrier that keeps us from receiving strength in our weakness.

2. Absalom’s Plan

6 Absalom did this with everyone who came to the king for judgment, and so he stole the hearts of all the people of Israel.

I have heard people talk about how they fell in to sin… This would indicate it was an accident, but if you are plotting to sin you can’t convince me you just slipped.

PONIT- God’s plan is better than your plan.

KEY POINT- Walking out your purpose might mean eliminating your plans.

(NLT) — 13 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” 14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. 15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” 16 Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.

KEY- Absalom’s plan to take the throne from his father David shows us how our plans are all about control.

You can be here tonight and worship with all your heart, you can be reconciled and forgiven, but you will run the risk of walking away and becoming an enemy of God if you don’t drop your plan and pick up God’s plan.

KEY POINT- The more we hang on to our plans our ambitions the more we try to control the less we will gain.

KEY POINT- God’s plans involve the supernatural, yours do not!

3. Absalom’s Priorities

12 While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel, one of David’s counselors who lived in Giloh. Soon many others also joined Absalom, and the conspiracy gained momentum.

Here we see into the heart of Absalom…

The power of God’s love for us is so great that WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS he made a way for us to be reconciled… This is one of the biggest reasons people walk away from God, though we were reconciled, we were made right we never allowed God to fully change our hearts.

KEY POINT- God’s intention is always more powerful than human motive.

Conclusion…

What will stop you from walking away from reconciliation is a real change.

ILLUSTRATION- Broken sink, tape won’t fix it…

MAIN CHALLENGE- Will you allow God to fully change your heart today?

There is more than just grace for you, there is more than just love for you…. As if his love and grace wasn’t enough, he gives even more for those who want more of God.

What God is doing In you is more important than what you’re asking him to do for you

KEY POINT- The things that drive you away from reconciliation are often the things that will end in your demise.