Good morning, great to see all of you here this morning. Don McClure was a missionary in Sudan for nearly 50 years from 1928 until 1977. And he and his wife ran a school there. And being in that school, running that school, allowed them the opportunity to also share the gospel in conjunction with the education. And they had room for about 80 kids. But one year, 150 kids showed up, and they had to turn away many kids, leaving 30 out. But one of the kids that they kept was a child named Orop. However, Orop could not learn at all. And he had some kind of learning disability because of a possible brain injury. They didn't really know. But he never even got to the point where he could write his name after an entire year of education. And so the following year, Don had to tell him that he was going to have to not be at school because they needed that seat for another student. And not to be deterred, Orop would sit outside of the schoolhouse, because it just had open windows, and he would sit out there and just listen to the stories of Jesus. He loved to hear the stories of Jesus. And then he would leave and go tell other kids in the town, and he would go to other to homes and he would tell the stories of Jesus but because of his difficulty in learning and understanding he was constantly telling them wrong and constantly confusing who was who in the stories and so he caused a lot of confusion among people in the village. And so Don had to talk to him and tell him he needed to stop telling these stories of Jesus. But he said, there is one thing you can help me with. I'm traveling a lot, preaching also, and I want you to come with me every time I go and carry my Bible for me. And so Orop would be there before the sun was up, sitting on his steps as in the dark, waiting for Don to come out of his door so that he could carry his Bible and go travel around with him as Don preached. And speaking of him, Don said this, Orop was serving the Lord in the only way he knew how. He was always faithful in his task and proud of his part in it. And one day Orop and a group of boys were playing by the river and suddenly Don heard a bunch of screaming and yelling and came out to see a crocodile dragging one of the little boys away out into the water and all of the other boys running away screaming in fear. But he saw Orop running into the river and fighting the crocodile to try to save the boy's life. Don ran out with his gun, but the crocodile turned on Orop as the rescued boy fled to shore. Don wrote this, I got to the river just in time to see the crocodile come up for air with Orop in its mouth. I could not shoot then, but I followed the crocodile down river and shot it when it came up again. Orop was gone. Greater love has no boy than to lay down his life for a friend. He couldn't serve Jesus in the ways that others could, but he served as selflessly as he could. And likewise, when we come to the second half of 2 Samuel 19, we see two characters who couldn't serve King David as others could, but they served as selflessly as they knew how. They will stand in a stark contrast to the others that we are about to see. And they will stand in stark contrast to the others that we have seen who serve out of spiritual pride. So if you have your Bibles, turn with me if you're not already there to 2 Samuel chapter 19. We are going to begin in verse 24. 2 Samuel 19 verse 24. We covered the first half of this chapter last week, and we're going to cover the rest of it this morning. Let me begin for us in verse 24. Now Bephibosheth, the son of Saul, came down to meet the king. And he had not cared for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes from the day the king departed until the day he returned in peace. So it was, when he had come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth? And he answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me, for your servant said, I will saddle a donkey for myself, that I may ride on it and go to the king. But because your servant is lame, and he has slandered your servant to my lord the king, but my lord the king is like the angel of God, therefore do what is good in your eyes, for all my father's house were but dead men before my lord the king. Yet you set your servant among those who eat at your own table. Therefore what right have I still to cry out any more to the king? So the king said to him, why do you speak any more of your matters? I have said, you and Ziba shall divide the land. Then Mephibosheth said to the king, rather let him take it all, inasmuch as my lord the king has come back in peace to his own house. And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Herobgelum and went across the Jordan with the king to escort him across the Jordan. Now Barzillai was a very aged man, eighty years old, and he had provided the king with supplies while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very rich man. And the king said to Barzillai, Come across with me, and I will provide for you while you are with me in Jerusalem. But Barzillai said to the king, How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? I am today eighty years old. Can I discern between the good and the bad? Can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Can I hear any longer the voice of singing men or singing women? Why then should your servant be a further burden to my lord the king? Your servant We'll go a little way across the Jordan with the king. And why should the king repay me with such a reward? Please let your servant turn back again, that I may die in my own city, near the grave of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham. Let him cross over with my lord the king and do for him what seems good to you. And the king answered, Chimham shall cross over with me, and I will do for him what seems good to you. Now whatever you request of me, I will do for you. Then all the people went over to Jordan, and when the king had crossed over, the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his own place. So remember, as we've been going through this chapter, Absalom is now dead. David is making his way back to Israel after being driven out by Absalom, his son. And Israel knows they need a king, and they remember all that David has done for them. So they are inviting David to come back, summoning him to return. But if you remember, he would not return unless Judah would be on board as well. And they eventually were. though it seems only seeing that David was not going to seek vengeance on them because the revolt started in Judah. And then last week we saw Shimei and Zeba rushing out to greet. They were the first to greet David, but we saw it was for selfish reasons. They were looking out for themselves. And thus we bring to the first point this morning, content with the King. The language in this section right here with Mephibosheth is a little bit confusing, but the meaning is crystal clear. And that is Mephibosheth, when he heard that David was alive and returning, he immediately traveled over to where David was crossing at Gilgal. And this was no small feat. As you remember, Mephibosheth is crippled. which he has stated later on here. And then the author tells us that Mephibosheth has not cared for himself. He has not trimmed his feet. He hasn't cared for his feet. He hasn't trimmed his mustache. He hasn't washed his clothes ever since David has fled from Jerusalem. And so what we see here is that Mephibosheth has remained in a state of mourning ever since David left. And this is significant because it's not that once he heard David was coming back, he suddenly put on clothes of mourning. No, it's evidence he had been in mourning since David had left for the entirety of the time David was out of Jerusalem. And what the author is doing here, I think, is showing us that the previous words of his Mephibosheth servant Ziba to David were, in fact, lies. You may remember when David is fleeing from Jerusalem, it's Ziba who comes on a donkey and brings other donkeys and brings some supplies for David. And Ziba said to the king at this time, indeed he, speaking of Mephibosheth, is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, today the house of Israel will restore the kingdom of my father to me. Mephibosheth had not rejoiced, though, in David's fleeing. He had actually been in mourning. And if we think about it, this is a risky stance for him to be in, because he's staying in a state of mourning in Jerusalem while Absalom is there. Clearly, he's indicating, I am not happy with this situation. That was dangerous with Absalom's mentality. Mephibosheth had stayed loyal to David, contrary to what Ziba had said. But you may remember, David had believed Ziba's words here in 2 Samuel 16. And thus, he's somewhat confused. Why are you here, Mephibosheth? Why didn't you go with me if you're here now? And Mephibosheth's response is that he had told Ziba to go get a donkey for him so he could flee with David. And instead, Ziba had taken the donkey for himself and all the other donkeys so that Mephibosheth couldn't have any. And he brought those supplies as well as lies to David. He says, David, remember, I'm lame. I can't just get up and run with you. He was helpless to go after David. And thus, the best that he could do is publicly show his support for David by remaining in a state of mourning. Dale Ralph Davis writes, his disheveled appearance showed that he had forced himself to share David's exile in spirit. There's much to commend here in Mephibosheth. We're going to look at two points in particular where we see his incredible humility. At the end of verse 27, he says to David, do what is good in your eyes. He's casting himself here upon David and entrusting himself to David, trusting David to do what is best. Friends, we would be wise to consider that this should be our posture towards our King as well. Towards Christ. Towards God. This was the posture of Christ in the garden, right? Before the crucifixion, he says, not my will, but your will be done. And what peace can come into our lives when we submit ourselves to before God and say, God, do what is good in your eyes? And what anxiety and bitterness and despair and loss of joy comes when we do not have this posture of entrusting ourselves to the Lord? Our God is good, and he is wise, and he is sovereign, and he is loving. And we can cast ourselves upon him. But then Mephibosheth says something else that demonstrates incredible humility at the end of verse 28. He says, What right do I have to still cry out to the king? What right do I have? The language here means to make no appeals for one's self or to complain. It means to be content and satisfied. This is stunning humility from Mephibosheth. Why would he say these things? Well, because he knows as the grandson of Saul, he has no right to anything. And yet David has treated him like a son and has given him a place forever at the table. And David has promised to supply his need forever. He understands that he has already experienced David's generous kindness, and he has no right to ask David for more. He was content, and even more so because David has now returned. And likewise, as we think about this for ourselves, we have been saved by Christ. We have been cleansed by His perfect sacrifice. on the cross. And not only that, but then he has clothed us with his holiness and he has declared us to be sons and daughters of God. He has declared us to be heirs of God's kingdom. And he has promised to take us home, to be with him forever. It's incredible thing that God has done for us through Christ. And when we stop and we step back and look at that, what more would we demand? What more would we ask of? What more would we want? And so the question has to be, what right do I have to complain? What right do you have to complain? We have No, right, like Mephibosheth, we should say. What right have I still? To cry out any more to the king, not in the sense of prayer, but in the sense of demanding more. And yet complain and grumble we do over and over and over again. We complain about our hardship. We complain about our job. We complain about our spouse. We complain about our children. We complain about our church. We complain about our situation. We complain and we complain and we complain and we complain. I see it in me and I see it in you. Even this weekend as I was hunting with my two youngest daughters, we were hunting on private property and one of the things I love, it's a good friend of mine, one of the things I love about hunting on private property is I don't have to worry about competing with all of the people who are out there right now. And that day number two we get out there and somebody's there. They were trespassing and they had completely messed up our hunt. Oh, it would have been so easy to complain. And in my heart, I was battling, don't complain. And I told my girls, God is sovereign. God is sovereign. But see, we want to complain. We complain as if what God has already given us is not enough. We're entitled to more. We should have what we want. And I'm convinced this is a far bigger issue in our lives than we are willing to admit. we're far more discontent than we realize. And contentment is as elusive to us as the perfect day is. We get there once in a while, but not very often. And one day, one way to discover how much you really battle with this, take note. Train yourself to listen to every word of complaint that comes into your mind. And think about how often it passes through your lips. Even with the simple, I wish. I just wish. Paul wrote in Philippians 4.11, I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. We know that passage, right? For many of us, that's not a new verse. And yet, it's a verse that just, if we're honest, mystifies us. Whatever state I'm in, be content. Paul likewise later told Timothy, he said in 1 Timothy chapter 6, he said, In other words, if you and I have food and clothing, we should be content. Mephibosheth is content because David has returned. And may we be content as well, because He didn't know if David was going to return. We know our Savior is going to return. And we know that we will be with Him forever, never battling sin and sorrow and death ever again. And we can be content. Now, I can't help but wonder if, I mean, we know Ziba's here. I can't help but wonder, did Ziba see Mephibosheth coming and go, uh-oh, uh-oh, I just told a bunch of lies to David, and now here comes Mephibosheth, did not expect that. It's clear Ziba had primarily been looking out for himself as he had much of his life. He wanted Mephibosheth's land, he wanted the comforts that it brought. And it resulted in him lying to David as David fled Jerusalem, and David believed him and gave all the land to him. We read in 2 Samuel 16, the king said to Ziba, here, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours. And Ziba said, I humbly bow before you that I might find favor in your sight, my lord, O king. What would happen to Ziba now that Mephibosheth has showed up? Would he lose it all, all that he had schemed for? And David seems dismissive when he says in verse 29, why do you speak any more of these matters? And then he says, you and Ziba divide the land. However, we need to remember David is just coming back. He hasn't even fully crossed over into Israel yet. And he has no idea what has transpired in his absence. And he can't solve it now. And it's likely that David here is being both wise and pragmatic. It would have seemed to him, I think clearly, that Mephibosheth is telling the truth. But he doesn't 100% know for sure. But the surest way to know, it's actually really wise, is to say, you and Ziba divide the land. Because if Mephibosheth starts to argue with David here, or complain, or grumble, It may indicate that Mephibosheth was indeed pleased David had left and fled. And not only that, but David likely felt some obligation for Ziba had helped him. And so to cast him aside would be detrimental. But Mephibosheth's response to David's words demonstrates his true loyalty and his true faithfulness and truthfulness, for he says, let him take it all. It's all fine because you, my Lord the King, have come back. Just let Him take it. It's fine. Again, we see tremendous humility. Possessions don't mean much to Him when compared to the return of the King. And likewise, may our possessions and materialistic desires mean little compared to having Christ. Richard Phillips wrote this, he said, Now I wonder if Ziba saw Mephibosheth coming and thought, uh-oh. But there's another person I wonder of who's standing there. Was Solomon standing there? He likely was. Or he at least heard this conversation. Because you may remember later in 1 Kings chapter 3 when two women who lived in the same dwelling place had two babies and one of the babies died in the night and they came to Solomon and they said, Solomon, this woman says the baby is mine. I think the baby is mine. They both claim to be the mother. What does Solomon say? Divide the baby in half. I wonder if you learned that from David right here. Because what happens? Well, the one woman says, sounds like a fair plan. And the other says, no, no, let her have it. And Solomon says, that's the mom. The true mother of the baby is revealed. Well, the second thing we get is content with one's lot. We see next here the character in chapter 19 that I most would have liked to have met and hoped to see in heaven someday, Barzillai. What an incredible character this dude is. He'd earlier come to David's aid, supplying David with all that he had needed. And he had done so while Absalom is camped in his land, but he doesn't care. It's like, I'm still gonna go and give all of these things to David, because David needs it, and I know Absalom's a treasonous man. And we know two things about him. He's very old, and he's very rich. He has a lot of wealth. But we also know he's very loyal to David. And despite his age, he has traveled 50 miles to see David cross the Jordan River at Gilgal. And it's clear David has warm affections for this man, for he asked him to go with him and return to Jerusalem and live in Jerusalem. And he promises to care for him. In other words, David is saying, I will give you a life of luxury. And prominence in the most important city in all of the land. David here is seeking to repay Barzillai for his generosity. His response though, bars Elias, is to humbly and graciously turn it down. We see it in verse 35. It says, I am today 80 years old. Can I discern between the good and bad? He's not talking about morality there. He's talking more about being able to discern. These are really enjoyable things. These are not enjoyable things. He says, Can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Can I any longer hear the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be a further burden to my Lord, the King? I'll go a little way across the Jordan with the King. Why should the King repay me with such a reward? It's an incredible statement. He says, I'd rather just die at home. I don't have much time left. Be with my family. and die there. And then he says in verse 36, which we just read, why should the king repay me with such a reward? Friends, don't skip over these words of Barzillai here. These are incredibly humble words. humble words. He's content to just simply return home, desiring nothing for his generous support of David. And in all reality, he knows and David knows that he has essentially saved David's life. If it wouldn't have been for his life-giving support, David probably wouldn't have made it. And yet he wants no reward, he wants no recognition, he wants no special treatment. He, like Mephibosheth, is just simply content to serve the king how he could. John Woodhouse says this, he says, Barzillai's speech to the king is a model of contentment with his lot, happy to know that his king has returned. He just saw himself as being faithful to God, faithful to David. And just as Mephibosheth could only serve David through mourning, so Barzillai was content to serve David with his wealth. He wasn't bound by his wealth. He used it for God's glory. Dale Ralph Davis says, Barzillai had been faithful to Yahweh's covenant king. Besides that, what else matters? Whatever could one want beyond that? It's amazing here. Barzillai. He so easily could have been a little bit puffed up with spiritual pride. Yeah, I did that. Yeah. David is back on the throne because I sustained him while he was in the wilderness. It's a little bit of spiritual pride there. Yeah, I sacrificed a lot for David. But he doesn't do that. And friends, we need to remember there's freedom in simply living for Jesus and knowing one is just simply seeking to be faithful to him. And one of the lies of Satan and one of the lies of our world is that dying to yourself will lead to disappointment. You know, that just isn't true. I've never seen a Christian who is resisting dying to themselves who has true joy. Never. I just see angst. I mean, just consider here the parable that Jesus tells in Luke chapter 17. There Jesus tells this parable and he describes how when one owns a servant, that person doesn't do the work of the servant, the servant does the work of the servant. That's the expectation. And we think, yeah, that's good, that's true. But then what Jesus says next really strikes us to the core when he says in verse 10, so likewise you. So now he's turned this parable on the disciples and the believers of Christ. You, when you have done all those things which you're commanded, say we are unprofitable servants. We have just done what it is our duty to do. Boy, that's hard, isn't it? That's really hard for us. We want some recognition. We want some respect. We, in a sense, want to add some things to our Christian resume. We want to be seen as a faithful Christian. We want God to have the glory, yes, as long as we get a little bit of glory on the side, too. It's hard for us to be quiet about what we have done for the Lord and not care if anyone knows about it. I remember many years ago watching a woman's children so she could go to the women's retreat. And at one point I took a picture of the kids and sent it to her and I wanted her to know they were fine. But to my shame, I also wanted her to see, look, I'm doing great with them. They're just fine. I had to repent of my desire there for recognition. Some questions to consider. Do you tend to slip into conversations what you have done for the Lord? In the past or even now. Do you make sure key people know where you have done ministry or minister? You tend to make known where you have served the Lord. You see, it's so easy for our pride to begin to creep in these things. And begin to corrupt a genuine desire to serve the Lord. No wonder Jesus has this in Matthew six, three, when you do a charitable deed, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret and your father who sees in secret will himself reward you openly. Now, there's one more thing we need to see about Barzillai before we leave this incredible character. He's 80 years old. In this culture, that's incredible. That's old. You're done. And he knows it. It's like, I don't have much time left. And yet he doesn't kick back and cruise until he dies. Richard Phillips says this Barzilai showed his quality and that advanced age had not made him indifferent to the cause of God's kingdom. I fear there will be many from our country. Who will be grieved? When they have to give an account to Christ for the latter years of their life. We live in a culture that says when you get to a certain age, you're done. You get to just kick back, relax, and do all the things that you'd always wanted to do before. And tragically, this mentality has crept into the church at large. And one thing that I've seen over the decades is a massive hole being left in the church of older saints who are no longer really engaged. They're not investing into the younger generation. Bill Newton, in his book called Endure, shared this with the men at Fight Club in September. He challenges older men with this. In that book, he says, the idea of quitting work and entering into an existence of self-indulgence and constantly seeking pleasure through leisure activities is antithetical to any biblical principle that I can discern. He's an older man saying that. David desires to extend kindness still to Barzillai, and thus Barzillai sends with David Chimham, who is likely his son or his grandson. And David promises to do what is good for him. We see this in verse 38. One can only imagine this sweet parting between David and Barzillai. Probably just content joy, happiness and thankfulness, and some sorrow, because both knew they would probably never see the other again. And what we see later in scripture, David must have been faithful to his word for hundreds of years later. Think about this, hundreds of years later. We read in the book of Jeremiah of an estate near Jerusalem owned by Chimham. In Jeremiah 41, 17, and they departed and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is near Bethlehem, as they went on their way to Egypt. David was faithful to his word, to Barzillai. Well, as we finish this chapter, let's look at the last three verses, four verses. Look at verse 40. And we see the tone change. Now the king went on to Gilgal. And Chimham went on with him. And all the people of Judah escorted the king, and also half the people of Israel. Just then all the men of Israel came to the king and said to the king, Why have our brethren, the men of Judah, stolen you away and brought the king and his household and all of David's men with him across the Jordan? So all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, because the king is a close relative of ours. Why then are you angry over this matter? Have we ever eaten at the king's expense? Or has he given us any gift? And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah and said, We have ten shares in the king. Therefore, we also have more right to David than you. Why then do you despise us? Were we not the first to advise bringing back our king? Yet the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel. This brings us to our third final point this morning. Discontentment breeds division. Discontentment breeds division. Mephibosheth is content, Barzillai is content, but Israel is not. Judah escorts David across the river, as does half of Israel. This may indicate that not all of Israel was fully united on David's return. But then we read, Israel took offense at Judah being there. And so, think about this. David is crossing. What relief, what sweet parting with Barzillai. They're going across the river. He gets to the other side, and there's a bunch of Israelites complaining. Why did Judah bring you over? We were the first. Is that not such a clear and accurate representation of humanity? Even God's people? Maybe you were like this. I remember as a child when my parents would dish us kids up dessert, what was the first thing we did? Who got the bigger piece, right? Maybe you were more righteous than me when you were kids. I don't know. But the sad thing is, is we still do it. We just disguise it with better Christianese language. But we still want what we want, the way we want it, when we want it. I can't help but think and have sympathy for David here. As soon as he comes over, he's got these people complaining. And like most of our complaining, in the grand scheme of things, it's so petty. So petty. How come Judah got to bring you over? We should have. That's when we just want to be like, who cares? But our complaining is mostly the same. It's petty. And what's interesting here, David doesn't even have a chance to respond to their complaining. Because what is complaining to? It riles things up. It stirs the pot. And immediately Judah's right there, boom, in the face, like, no, no. Let me set you straight. And you might not catch it right away, but there's a subtle jab right here. Have we ever eaten at the king's expense? Or has he given us any gift? It's a jab because that's what Saul, their king, had done in 1 Samuel 27. Because that's what I've been doing. Is David going to do that for you? And Judah here is saying, that's what you wanted then. Well, then this further inflames Israel. They go on to say, what right? We have 10 shares. Why do you despise us? Referring to there's more tribes in the north. Thus they say they have more right. We read the argument is fierce, but Judah prevails. What we see here is that just because David has returned doesn't mean he has returned to a unified nation. Certain Israelites are still looking out for their interests. And Israel wants recognition for bringing David back. They're not content, as Barzillai and Mephibosheth were, to just serve where they could serve. They wanted to serve and they wanted the glory. They wanted recognition. They wanted to be praised. And thus, they then accused Judah of wanting what they actually wanted themselves. Gordon Keddy writing on this, he says this, when suspicion rules a person's heart, all the evidence just proves the other fellow guilty. The truth is, however, that Israel was only attributing to Judah what it had wanted to do itself, get the glory for bringing back the king. It's just pride. A desire to be recognized. A desire for things to be how one wants them and it leads to viewing others with suspicion that then begins to sow the seeds of division. And these seeds that have just been sown right here are very shortly going to result in civil war and in just a few years time will result in a completely split and divided nation who are at times at war with one another. What we see here continues in our churches today. Richard Phillips writing on this text, he says this, so it continues today. Inflamed pride leads to injured sentiments, responding with inflamed suspicions and unwarranted accusations. See, when one becomes discontent, the heart becomes fertile soil for the seeds of division. And as we look at this, it's a wonder that the kingdom ever survived at all. In fact, it's a wonder that the church survives, because the spirit of discontentment marked by grumbling and complaining is alive and well today. We're constantly chasing our idols, having our feelings hurt, being stubborn, and pridefully clinging to our preferences. Dale Ralph Davis observes this on this text. He says, I used to marvel that a congregation ever survived between the petty bickering and flagrant sins, between hurt feelings and asinine stubbornness, between trivial priorities and tragic apathies. Surely Jesus is building his church or it would have vanished long ago. I think he's right. And so what are we to do with this? Well, first, we must remember how much Jesus yearns for unity in his churches and how he died to make that unity possible. You've heard me say it before, but of the two things, or I'm sorry, of all the things Jesus could have prayed for in his priestly prayer in John 17, one of the two things he prays for is unity. He says in John 17, 23, I in them and you in me, that they may be made perfect in one, that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them as you have sent me. So that's the first thing we have to remember, what Christ has accomplished for us in His sacrifice and what He desires for us. But then secondly, we must remember how we have been called to live within the church. Ephesians 4, 1 through 3 says, The prisoner of the Lord beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Why does Paul use such a strong verb like endeavor? Because he knows that unity is hard to maintain. And our natural inclination is to be like Israel and be discontent and sow seeds of division. And yet Jesus calls us to die to ourselves. As we look at this, we sure wish it was ending differently, don't we? We wish 19 was ending differently. Couldn't David have returned to a unified kingdom? And there's no complaining, and no grumbling, and this grand swell of music, and the words come across the page on the last verse, and they live happily ever after. But no, not in this fallen world we live in. where Satan and sinful heart desires are always lurking. In fact, it's only going to get worse for David. Quick preview, trailer for next week. Two verses later, so every man of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba. The discontent heart sowed seeds of division that blossomed into the fruit of division. There's coming a day when the final King will return. Jesus will come and the disunity and the disharmony and the complaining and discontentment and grumbling that we have just grown so accustomed with, so familiar with, will forever be gone, never to be seen again. We will dwell together in perfect unity, loving Christ, loving one another. In fact, writing on conflict in the church, Dave Harvey in one of his books said this, he said, Friends, don't let petty things extract you from our future. The day is coming when we will experience joyful unity, untainted by our sin. Paul tells the Thessalonians Chapter four, verse 16, for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout and with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And don't miss the last part. And thus we shall always be with the Lord and with one another. Let's pray. Father, we thank you That though our sinful hearts grumble and complain, want recognition. So quick to be discontent. So quick to chase after what we want, when we want it, how we want it. that despite all that, you are still working, you have not abandoned us. All we have to do is look at the church at Corinth to see that, as we've been doing on Wednesday nights. And Father, we praise you that you are working. You are working in our midst, you are working in other churches who are faithfully teaching your word, and we can rejoice in that. And Lord, help us, for we are so quick to become discontent. It's so hard for us to be content. Help us, Lord. We desperately need your help. Lord, help us to dwell on the realities of the gospel, as Mephibosheth did, in that he marveled at the blessings that he received from David and says, what right do I have to ask more? May we be in the same place as we look at the blessings of the gospel and say, what right do we have to ask more and demand more? Father, we see bars alive, just content to serve the Lord, to serve David, desiring no recognition, no praise. May we be the same. And then our hearts break as we watch division break down over grumbling and arguing and complaining. And yet we recognize that that's our battle as well. So help us, Lord. Help us to strive towards what we read in Philippians 4.11. I've learned whatever my lot to be content. Father, we thank you that you sent Christ for us to die for all of our sins, even the sins that we so often don't even realize are there. And that if we've been revealed this morning, our hearts have been revealed of areas where maybe we've complained or we've grumbled or we've been discontent, that we can run to Christ. For as John wrote, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And so, God, collectively, we ask for your forgiveness. And Lord, individually, we pray that you would help us to cling to these truths of the gospel. And finally, Lord, we look forward to that day when we will be with you, and we will be with one another, free from sin. We won't view you through sin-tainted eyes. We won't view one another through sin-tainted eyes. We will see, as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13, clearly. We long for that day. And Lord, help us to live in light of that day as we live now. and grow us in these things that we would love you more and fervently love one another better. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Guys are going to come forward and take the offering