Now, please turn with me to 1 Kings chapter one. And by the grace of God, we'll be looking at David appoints Solomon King. David appoints Solomon King. Now we saw that the object of 1 and 2 Samuel was not simply to trace the history of a nation or person, but it was to trace the course of divine revelation to illustrate to us God's way of dealing with the people he chooses. It is the people that God chooses, how he deals with them, and to lay the foundation, as it were, here in God's word for Christ's work, in whom all the people will be blessed, even as was promised to Abraham. Now, in 1 Chronicles, David's history in terms of the theocracy, that is, the government or the system in which God rules over his people by those he has chosen and appointed to lead his people. In terms of that theocracy, one chronicles shows us in David's history, it closes with his charge to Solomon, the charge that David gives to Solomon in regard to building the temple. But in 1 Kings, it takes, if you like, up the thread of prophetic history. That is, that history written from the standpoint of the promise that God made even to his servant David there in 2 Samuel chapter 7 and verses 12 to 16. It is from that standpoint that 1 Kings takes up the history of David and rounds it up. in 2 Samuel chapter 7, there in verses 12 to 16, the Lord had spoken to his servant David and had said this to him and had made this promise. And this prophecy is given there in 2 Samuel 7, 12 to 16. When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you who will come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father and he shall be my son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him and with the road of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But my mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever." So it is from this Angul, from this standpoint, that one king takes up the history of David. It is in terms of the prophecy, this promise that was made to him. Now, Solomon's birth by Bathsheba, of course, was the beginning of the fulfillment of the promise, which gave spiritual meaning to the institution of royalty in Israel. For remember, this was as a result of promise. God had promised. From his body, one will sit upon his throne. And then Bathsheba was given to give birth to Solomon. And the promises and the warnings that are embodied in this prophecy that was given to David. They form the background of the subsequent history of the people of God here in the scriptures, especially of the Old Testament. So as we continue now, and as we look at David appoints Solomon king, I want us to consider this evening Adonijah's bid, or sorry, Adonijah bids for the throne. Secondly, Nathan informs Bathsheba. And then thirdly, Solomon anointed King. So the first one, Adonijah bids for the throne. He goes for it. He wants to grab it. He wants to get it for himself. David's sin of adultery and even murder, that had brought God's displeasure upon David. and has made rebellion less difficult in Israel and sometimes seemingly possible and successful. It seems to make it have something of success in Israel. We saw that David's two eldest sons, Amnon and Absalom, they had died violent deaths. He had a third son, Chilea, who seems to have also died, but not as Amnon and Absalom. We are not given that in scripture. Now, the next in line among his sons and the next in age was Adonijah, the son of Haggis, who like Amnon and Absalom had been born in Hebron. in 2 Samuel, and in chapter 3, there in verses 2 to 4, we're told about them, how they were born in Hebron before David moved the capital to Jerusalem. So in 2 Samuel, chapter 3, in verses 2 to 4, sons were born to David in Hebron. His first born was Amnon by Ahinoam the Jezreelites. Sorry, the Jezreelites. His second, Chelieb, was born by Abigail, the widow of Nabal, the Camelot. The third, Absalom, the son of Meraka, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshu. Verse four. The fourth, Adonijah, the son of Haggis, the fifth, Shephateah, the son of Abitur, and in verse five, the sixth, Ithrium, by David's wife, Eglah. These were born to David in Hebron. So at the moment, Adonijah was next in line. The first three are gone. Like Absalom, he was good looking. Like Amnon and Absalom, he was all his life fatally indulged by their father, David, as we read here in verses five and six of 1 Kings. In verses five and six, we read, then Adonijah, the son of Haggith, exalted himself saying, I will be king And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen and 50 men to run before him. And his father had not rebuked him at any time by saying, why have you done so? He was also very good looking. His mother had borne him after Absalom. So he was good looking like Absalom and like his older brothers. He'd been indulged by their father, David. In other words, he had not given them proper upbringing. He had not given them proper upbringing. Now, as the eldest son now, Adonijah felt he was next in succession to the throne of their father, David. He felt he should be next. He should be the king after David. And as such, he decided to make a bid for it. If he knew truly that it should come to him and that it was rightly his own, he didn't need to do that while his father was still alive. He could have waited. But he wanted to make a bid for it at this point in time because he knew something else. The fact that David was old and so weak that he was bedridden seems to have provided an opportunity and favored Adonijah's plot to seize the throne at this point in time. As we read in verses one to four, Now King David was old, advanced in years, and they put covers on him, but he could not get warm. Therefore his servants said to him, let a young woman, a virgin, be sought for our Lord the King, and let her stand before the King, and let her care for him. and let her lie in your bosom that our lord the king may be warm. So they sought for a lovely young woman throughout all the territory of Israel and found Abishag the Shunammite and brought her to the king. The young woman was very lovely and she cared for the king and served him but the king did not know her. So seeing that the king was very weak bedridden. He saw his opportunity and he made his bid. Now, David's inability at the age of about 70 years was clearly the result of a life of extreme exposure. David had known that. It was a life of battles, fighting here and there. It was a life of carrying the burdens of his family and his people. And it was a life of fatigue. The man was tired. He was fatigued at this point in time. And it was showing in his physical body. Now, according to Josephus and Galen, The use of a young person to restore vital bodily warmth was an ancient medical practice. So it was an ancient medical practice. It was on the advice of the medical experts of the time that this young girl, Abishak, was brought to help revive David. Now, since a young girl of marriageable age, Abishak, was employed, The emphasis, if you notice here, is of the absence of sexual relations with her. In verse four, the young woman was very lovely and she cared for the king and served him, but the king did not know her. The king had no sexual relations with her. She was there for a purpose and she served the purpose. It was at this time that Adonijah then conferred. He conferred with Joab, we remember Joab, the general of the army, and Abiathar, one of the great priests of the time. So Abiathar the priest. And they followed and helped Adonijah, we are told in verse seven. Then he conferred with Joab, the son of Zeruah, and with Abiathar the priest, and they followed and helped Adonijah. They followed and helped Adonijah. But Adonijah excluded all those who were loyal to the king. All those who were loyal, he knew were loyal to the king, he excluded them. So he made his bid for the throne under the guise of a sacrificial fist, which he had arranged. And if you remember to Samuel, there are echoes. It will remind you of things that had happened and we'd seen there, especially of his older brother Absalom and of what he had done. Now to outward appearance, when you think of what we have here in verses eight to 10, where it says, but Zadok, the priest, Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, Nathan, the prophet, Shimei, Ray, and the mighty men who belong to David were not with Adonijah. And Adonai just sacrificed sheep, and oxen, and fattened calf by the stone of Zohelet, which is by En-Rogel. He also invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants. But he did not invite Nathan, the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or Solomon, his brother. So they were invited for a sacrificial feast. They gave it a religious appearance, even though, of course, it was treason that he was plotting. And at this time, to all outward appearance, of course, the danger was urgent. There they are, going at a place where he will be pronounced and proclaim the king, and he will come, and he will take over. It will seem time is over. It's all done. More so that it was not known in the palace where the king himself was bedridden anyway. However, a higher power was in control, and a higher power will overrule. So secondly then, Nathan informs Bathsheba. Nathan informs Bathsheba. Adonijah has made his bid. Nathan informs Bathsheba. Already, hell was at hand. Nathan, the prophet, he hurries. And he goes to Bathsheba, and he urges her of the necessity for her to immediately decide, take action, and go and see the king. He says to her, and he makes it very clear, if Adonijah were proclaimed king, He reminds her, Solomon, yourself, Bathsheba, and all your supporters will immediately be put out of the way. You know how these things work. If it becomes, we are done. We read in verse 11, so Nathan spoke to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, saying, Have you not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has become king and David, our Lord, does not know it? Come, go please now, give this advice so that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon in verse 12. And of course, that includes all those who were supporters of Solomon. And the plan, he says, It's simple. First, you, Bathsheba, go and tell the king what was going on. And of course, Bathsheba goes in, and she does it fully, and she does it respectfully, but she does it earnestly. she makes sure the king understands what is going on and the necessity of action at this point in time. Because from verse 15, we read Bathsheba went into the chamber of the king and the king was there with the Shunammite woman and Bathsheba in verse 16 bowed and paid homage to the king. Then the king said to her, what is your wish? Then she said to him, my Lord, you swore by the Lord your God. to your maidservant saying assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me and he shall sit on my throne. This was exactly what Nathan the prophet had told her to remind the king. So that it wasn't only Peshiva that knew, clearly the prophet knew. Those other priests knew. It's clear that many in the royal family knew. And many outside also knew that this was what King David had said. However, he had not clearly acted upon it. And that will tell us very clearly, as I hinted earlier on, Adonai Janim. And that was why he sought to take the opportunity of the weakness of his father and act in order to take over the throne. And while Bathsheba was talking to the king, it will appear then that Nathan the prophet was introduced. Because from verse 22, we read, and just then, while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet also came. So they told the king saying, here is Nathan the prophet. That was the plan. He goes in. And usually when one is introduced and brought in, the one who is in the presence of the king is taken out so that the person who is brought before the king has that privacy so that he can talk to the king freely. And it will appear, of course, that was what happened in this case. So Nathan comes in, and he tells King David of Adonijah's fist. He has planned this fist. And they are all there at this point in time. And he says to him, Solomon and the king's trusted men are excluded. They have not been invited. None of them is invited. And then he says to the king, is it possible that the king had ordered this? Is it possible that you gave the orders? And you have asked Adonai to do exactly what he's doing at this point in time, and that you did that without informing your very loyal servant, even myself? Is it possible that you did that without informing even your son, Solomon, to whom you had made a promise? I am your old and faithful counselor. Could you have given this order without telling me? Is it possible that you gave this order without telling your son? Look at how he puts it. So they said, in verse 23, they told the king saying, here is Nathan, the prophet. And when he came in before the king, he bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. And Nathan said, my lord, oh king, Have you said Adonijah shall reign after me and he shall sit on my throne for he has gone down today and has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance and has invited the king's sons and the commanders of the army and a beer for the priests and look they are eating and drinking before him and they say long live king Adonijah but he has not invited me. Me your servant, nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon. Has this thing been done by my lord the king and you have not told your servant who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him? Is it possible that you gave the orders without informing even me, your humble, old, long-serving servant? Is that possible?" Nathan had told Bathsheba to remind the king of his oath to her concerning Solomon, about the fact that Solomon will succeed him on his throne, which she did in verse 13. And later on, in verse 30, we'll see the king confirms that. He confirms to her that, yes, he made that promise under oath, and that it was on the ground of express divine appointment. This was based on God's promise to him, and that it was part of the fulfillment of God's promise to him. And clearly, the prophet Nathan and all the leading men in both church and state were in agreement with that. They had heard the promise. They had heard the king make that promise even to Bathsheba. And they agreed with it because they knew it was of the Lord. And they concurred. And so Nathan was saying to King David, is it possible that you have changed your mind? Is it possible that you have now ordered this? But how is it possible that you have done it without even informing us, your trusted, long-serving friends? And how could you do that without informing your own son, to whom the promise is? And as I've mentioned, it's clear that Adonai is anew. But of what importance is all this to one? Somebody like Adonijah, who had never learned all his life to subject his personal desires and feelings to any higher authority. Remember, we have been told that he was indulged by their father. In verse six, his father had not rebuked him at any time by saying, why have you done so? So he's always gotten away with whatever he wanted. And so whether there was a divine promise, or whether his father David had made a promise to Solomon, it didn't matter to him. As far as he was concerned, he was next in line, and this was his opportunity. If his father will not give him, under normal circumstances, now he's weak, he's bedridden, it was his opportunity he would take it. So Adonijah's bid, we have seen that. And now we have considered how Nathan informed Bathsheba, and of course, through her, the king, King David. Thirdly, Solomon anointed king. Solomon anointed king. Although it hastened the anointing of Solomon, but like the others, Adonijah's rebellion, Adonijah's trouble must ultimately be traced to David's weakness, especially to his parental weakness. This action of Adonijah, this rebellion, this treachery, actually hastened the appointment of Solomon as king. But like the others, by Amnon and Absalom, This trouble must be traced to David. In other words, you can say he brought it on himself because he failed as a father to bring up these sons of his. He showed them the kind of love that spoils children. This is what scripture is telling us. This is one failure of David. the trouble must be traced back to the weakness of David himself. However, whatever may be David's weakness, he is always decisive when either the non-will of God or the interest of the kingdom is at stake. Whenever the non-will of God or the interest of this kingdom, the kingdom that God is establishing, whenever those two, any of those interests are involved or at stake, David seems to resurrect and wake up and act decisively. And the same is the case even here. In this instance, his measures were immediate. and they were decisive. He recalls Bathsheba, remember Nathan the prophet has come in, Bathsheba has withdrawn. Now we're told he recalls Bathsheba, he calls her back and he brings her as it were along with the prophet Nathan. So he recalls Bathsheba, he reaffirms his previous oath to her. even in the presence of the prophets. We read from verse 28. Then King David answered and said, call Bathsheba to me. So she came into the king's presence and stood before the king and the king took an oath and said, as the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress, just as I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel, saying assuredly, Solomon, your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place. So I certainly will do this day. I will do it today. It will happen today." And so he instructs Zadok, the priest, Nathan, the prophet, and Benaiah. Benaiah was the head of the royal guards. So he instructed them to immediately go and anoint Solomon to be king over Judah and Israel. And they go to Gihon, and that is successfully done. Because from verse 32, the king said, the king called to me, Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Bernad the son of Jehoiada. So they came before the king. The king also said to them, take with you the servants of your lord, and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule. That was already a symbol. riding on the king's mill, and take him down to Gihon. There, let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel and blow the horn and say, long live King Solomon. And this is exactly what they do. They take him and We read that Solomon is taken to the Valley of Gihon, where he is anointed king by the joint ministry of the high priest and the prophet, so that the two of them together anoint him king. And that we have spelt out in verses 38 to 40. So Zadok, the priest, Nathan, the prophet, Bernard, the son of Jehoiada, the Terifites, and the Pelifites, who were the royal guards. went down and had Solomon ride on King David's mule and took him to Gihon. Then Zedab the priest took a horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon and they blew the horn and all the people said, long live King Solomon. And all the people went up after him and the people played the flutes and rejoiced with great joy so that the earth seemed to split with their sound. So Solomon is anointed King of Israel by the direct instructions and command of his father, even King David. Now, when Adonijah and all his guests, when they hear the news, when they hear of what was happening in verses 41 to 49, we're told that Adonijah himself went and took hold of the horns of the altar. For from verse 41, Adonijah and the guests who were with him heard it as they finish eating. And when Joab, this is very interesting, when Joab heard the sound of the horn, remember, he is the military commander, he hears the horn, he said, Why is the city in such a noisy roar? Because he understood the significance of blowing the horn, whether it is to rally the people to war or to rally the people to the anointing of the king. And while he was still speaking in verse 42, there came Jonathan, the son of Abiathar, the priest. And then he tells them, oh, that was happening. And look at how he puts it. When he comes, Adonijah says to him, come in, in verse 42, for you are a prominent man and bring good news. Bring good news, he says. Then Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, no. In other words, I do not have good news, not for you at least. Our Lord, he changes. Our, that is you Adonijah, all of us, our Lord King David has made Solomon king. He literally says to Adonijah, the party is over. It is over. For the king has anointed Solomon. Solomon is the king. And when he gets to verse 47 or verse 46, he says also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom. He is already there. He is sitting. He is not bidding for it. He is there. Verse 47 and moreover the king's servants have gone to bless our lord king david saying may god make the name of solomon better than your name and may he make his throne greater than your throne then the king bowed himself on the bed also verse 48 the king said thus Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne this day while my eyes see it. So all the guests, verse 49, all the guests who were with Adonijah were afraid and rude, and each one went his way. And it was at this time in verse 50, that Adonijah was afraid of Solomon. So he arose and went and took hold of the horns of the altar. And the horns of the altar were there in the tabernacle. And what that signifies is simple. That is the place of refuge. He runs there, and he holds the horns of the altar where the sacrificial animal was being offered. And he says, as it were, I am. seeking asylum here. I am seeking refuge here. And once somebody takes that, it's like coming to the city of refuge, where indeed everything about that person has to be looked at very carefully, very carefully. And this is what he does when he gets there. And he refuses to let go. And he makes it very clear he will not let go until Solomon assures him with an oath. Until Solomon assures him with an oath that he will not be killed, that he will not be put to death. And Solomon does that. He assures him. But he assures him that he will not be put to death on the condition that he behaves himself. that he causes no more trouble. And so in verses 51 to 53, we read, and it was told Solomon saying, indeed Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon for look, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar saying, let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with a sword. Then Solomon said, if he proves himself a worthy man, not one hair of him. shall fall to the earth. But if wickedness is found in him, he shall die." So King Solomon sent them to bring him down from the altar. And he came and fell down before King Solomon. And Solomon said to him, go to your house. Go to your house. I want to make some observations and then just make one or two applications at the end. Adonijah had reckoned that in David's utter and complete physical witness, he could execute his scheme without any interference from the king, without any interference from the palace. Absalom's rebellion failed because David was in full strength at the time And he was also ably supported by Abiepha, the priest, and by Joab, the captain, the general of the army. Adonijah understood that, and he knew that. Adonijah gets these two men, Abiepha, the priest, and he gets Joab, the captain of the army. He gets them both on his side. And at this time, the king is weak. And already, like Absalom before him, Adonijah had sought to make the people see him as their future king, just as Absalom did. We saw that in verse five. In verse 5, then Adonijah, the son of Haggith, exalted himself, saying, I will be king. And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen and 50 men to run before him, just as Absalom before him did. That's exactly what Adonijah did. Now, it is not difficult to understand the motives of Joab, the captain. of the army in trying to secure the succession of Adonijah onto the throne. Because when he does that, then Adonijah will owe his elevation to the throne to him, as it were. And Adonijah will not forget that easily, because he will know that it is through the help of the head of the army that he got there. And not to mention the fact that, as far as Job was concerned, the rival for the throne, Solomon, was not an alternative for him. The rival for the throne, Solomon, was a man of peace. In addition, he was Nathan's student, Nathan the prophet. And remember. Joab was not particularly a religious man. Also, it will appear that Solomon represented the religious party for Joab now. That is not it. So the rival or the alternative, as far as Joab was concerned, Solomon was not good. So he had better go with Adonijah. So it's clear to see why he made his choice. But it is difficult to account for Abiathar's conduct, Abiathar the priest. It's hard to see why he did what he did, unless, of course, if he was jealous, perhaps jealous of Zadok the priest. Remember, they were the two high priests. Unless if he was jealous of Zadok, Because Zadok served and ministered at Gibeon, and Gibeon is where the Ark of the Lord is. If you look at chapter 3 of 1 Kings and verse 4, you'll see in chapter 3 and verse 4, we read, now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there. This is King Solomon now. went to give you unto sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At this point in time, that was where the earth was. That was the high place of worship when compared to the tabernacle in Jerusalem. Abiyafa may have felt that the high priest who was officiated perhaps there at Gibeon will probably become the chief high priest whenever the temple was built and completed. And since Zadok was the one that was at Gibeon, he may have thought that Zadok will be the one that will be appointed chief high priest. Now, if that was his motive, then Abiyeva may have wished, actually, to place now the new king, Adonijah, under personal obligations to himself for helping him to gain the throne, even though he knew the king's reference. Now, those who were faithful to their god and were loyal to the king will normally not associate, of course, with people like Adonaija and his party and his group. They may not be able to interfere in any way, but they will certainly not associate with him or his party, especially because they know whom King David prefers. So they may not be able to interfere like the prophet Nathan, but they will stand aloof and maybe they will watch. Adonijah knew that. He understood that. And so he excluded any of those from his invitation to the feast, which he had planned, at which his succession to the throne was to be proclaimed. He made sure they were not there. He excluded them. So in the first place, I want us to observe that God's kingdom frequently passes through times of serious crisis, when all seems lost and there's nobody to help. And that was the situation at this point in time. And it does happen. And it happens even in the contemporary church today. The contemporary church today is in a time of unprecedented moral decadence. And there is so serious ethical liberalism, if you like, in the church today. And by that, I'm talking about where even in the church, some people and ministers are afraid to say white is white, black is black. They are always given a shade of gray, as it were, in order to avoid offending, for example. And that's why we have in the church today, in a place where when you preach and you talk of how the Bible is very clearly against sodomites, that is gay, lesbian, whatever you may call them, some ministers will choose to be more diplomatic, to avoid scriptural language, to say things that will appease the people. And that we have in the church, not just outside the church today. It is not a battle that the church is fighting outside of itself. No, it's inside the church even today. And I'm not talking about some outright heretical churches. I'm talking about even evangelical churches. We have that difficulty, we have that problem in the church today. So it's inside and it's outside the church. And sometimes you notice that the kingdom of God suffers from unqualified leadership, like this unqualified man, Adonijah, who thought he could take the kingdom at will. The church also, has to deal with unqualified leadership within it today. There are those who have been made leaders in the church that are not qualified to be there. And when you look at what is given as the qualification, for example, for elders and deacons in the church, and this is very significant. When you look at the qualities that are given there for elders in the church and deacons, when you go through 1 Timothy chapter 3 and you see the qualifications that are listed there, you will notice there that almost totally the stress is on godliness rather than giftedness. The emphasis there is on character rather than skills. But in many churches today, these things are overlooked. And what people look for, there is giftedness, as it were, in some people. They forget and neglect godliness. And sometimes, instead of looking at the character of the person, they look for the skills that they have. whatever you have got to offer in terms of your skills, your abilities, instead of looking at the character of the person that should be appointed leader in the church. But the Bible is very clear and the scripture is clear. And the fact that the church exists today, in spite of all the upheavals and all that it has gone through and is going through, makes you see and understand clearly that there is a hand that is higher than all. There is a hand that is in control, the hand of the Almighty God, that in the midst of all the crisis that the church goes through, there is one who steadies the ship. And that is the Almighty God, the one whom we serve through our Lord and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is in charge. And that is why the church is still here today. And that is why we have not been consumed because the Lord is still in control. When all seems bleak and everything seems to be over, then you see the hand of God. But secondly, when we are thinking of the crucial role, for example, that the prophet Nathan played here, Remember, Nathan literally saved the kingdom from Adonijah. That's what he literally did. And when you think of that, you then wonder, why doesn't God, when things seem bleak, almost at the edge, why doesn't God, as it were, act in some supernatural way to show all his enemies that he is in control, that this is his church, This is his kingdom, and they have no right to do what they're doing. You wonder, and you think of that. Because when you look at everything that we have looked at, God uses ordinary human beings, and he uses ordinary means to bring about that which he wants. You see, God had promised to establish David's dynasty, as we have seen in 2 Samuel chapter 7, and there in verses 12 to 16. But David has a responsibility. There's always a human responsibility. He has a responsibility and he must not be indifferent to God's promise. When God promises, it doesn't mean that you sit down, fold your hands and legs and let things work out. No, when he promises, you seek the fulfillment of the promise by prayer and by action. There is a human responsibility. And David had to realize that. And he did, thankfully, when it became necessary for him to act. And he did. I want, in conclusion, for us to note this. Note what stirred David to action. What was it that stirred David to action at this point in time? It was the remembrance of God's promise. And it was the fact that the interest of God's kingdom was at stake. So that he who was weak and bedridden suddenly was stirred into action. And what he had left undone for years, he said, today it will be done. And that day it was accomplished. And I want to ask you, what is it that stirs you? What is it that stirs you into action and into service for the Lord? What does it take to move you, to stir you, to cause you to see the necessity of acting now, of serving the Lord, of witnessing, of preaching the gospel? The Lord has said, I will build my church. The Lord has said very clearly, go into the world and make disciples. and there are many unsaved, we know, just next door to us, around us. There are many who are not saved all over the place. What does it take to stir you into action and to go and share the gospel, yeah, with your family, with your colleagues, with your neighbors, with those around you, those you meet, those whom God bring your way. When God gives you the opportunity, what does it take to stir you to serve him? Do you say, because the Lord has said, I will build my church, well, he will build his church? No. He said, I will build my church, but he also say, go. You go and preach. You go and witness. and when you see all the multitude out there going to hell, doesn't that bring to your remembrance the promise of God he will build his church, the Lord Jesus said, I will build my church? Doesn't that bring to your remembrance the great commission and the command of the Lord Jesus Christ to you and me? Doesn't that motivate you and stir you and cause you to want to go out there and witness? If it doesn't, then you need to pray. that the Holy Spirit will make you again sensitive to the things of God and the things of the Spirit, that the Holy Spirit will grant you that burden, that when you see souls out there going to hell, you will not get used and comfortable to it, but that you will be determined by the grace of God and by the power of the Spirit to seize every opportunity that God gives you to witness, to share the goodness, to share the gospel, to tell of the good news that the Lord Jesus saves and he saves to the uttermost. And I just pray that the Lord will truly motivate us and stir us up by his spirit as he reminds us every day when we see sinners going to hell, he will remind us of what he has said. He will build his church and also he will remind us of his command to go and witness for him. May the Lord help us to do that. for Christ's sake. Amen.