Okay, good morning everybody. I'm glad you all made it and I'm glad that I'm happy to be here with you all. It's always a blessing to be with my brethren, whether it's on a Sunday or any day of the week, it's always a blessing. It's freezing tonight, don't forget to drip your faucets and for the next couple days as well. So today's lesson is going to be over 2 Samuel chapter 2. And before we start the introduction, let's bow our heads and say a little prayer for this lesson. Lord, our dear and gracious Father, we ask you, Lord, that Your spirit may be with us today as we dive into the analysis of your book, 2 Samuel 2, Lord. We ask that all that is being said from all that I say today, Lord, it will be glorifying your name, Lord, and that all who hear it learn and that I learn as well too, Lord. I ask that your spirit be with us in this sweet time and that we may all be edified in your word of 2 Samuel chapter 2. And I ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay. It's been a while since I've been up here, y'all, so if I'm a little shaky, please forgive me. Just kidding, just kidding. But anyway, so 2 Samuel chapter 2. So while walking in this world, we must take heed of where we step. We must keep our eyes forward lest we lose track of the narrow path on which we walk. All who belong to Christ are secure in Him, but we must not fool ourselves into thinking that we're invulnerable to sin. Right? Although it is true that Christ is with us, we still possess a nature that is contrary to righteousness. A nature that our spirit, if you are belonging to Christ, battles against daily. Right? The evil thoughts, temptations, and desires of the flesh that constantly invade our everyday lives. So brothers and sisters, This is not just a struggle, it is all out war. We once belonged to the nations, to the darkness, to the prince of the power of the air. But our allegiance was destined to change before the foundation of the world. It has not gone unnoticed either. The evil one sees it. He knows it. And we are attacked, not just by our own evil thoughts, but the evil influences of the world and the evil powers that we cannot see. So this is all out war. In 1 Samuel, there is lots of war. I mean, pretty much from chapter four to 31, Israel is involved in some sort of conflict. So much like Israel, we too are engaged in war, right? From the time that we're born again to the sweet victory over our last enemy, right? We are too at war. We are at war too. So in the last chapter, we got a break in the action. David had time to mourn the loss of his king and his brother, Jonathan. The Lord's provision of this time of mourning and rest was much needed, and it came at the Lord's perfect timing. So isn't the Lord merciful in extending to us things like rest, time to mourn, just the small breaks in the action? So, here in 2 Samuel chapter 2, David inquires of the Lord of where to go and the Lord tells him to go to Hebron. He is made King of Judah, where he is made King of Judah. So, meanwhile, the rest of Israel, still under the influence of darkness, Right? Stick another of Saul's sons into the role of king over Israel. He is not anointed by God, but rather appointed by Abner, the commander of Saul's army. And the people accepted it. There's no mention of protest. The time of rest. The time of rest for David comes to an end and war reignites between the split nation of Israel. And we'll see that battle today in this lesson. And this time, the enemy is not a pagan Gentile nation, right? No, the enemies are brothers. So the two main themes in this chapter are to walk in faith and patience because God is trustworthy. And the second is that God's will is not impeded. I'll repeat those points. To walk in faith and patience because God is trustworthy. And the second, God's will is not impeded. So in our analysis of the chapter this morning, the Lord gives us a few examples. Yes, sir. The God's will is not impeded. Yes. Or thwarted. You know, nobody can stay in the hand of the Lord. God's hand, God's will cannot be stopped. Okay, you're making me crack up up here. Anyway, thank you brother. So in our analysis of this chapter, the Lord gives us a few examples, many examples from which to learn, but for time's sake, I can't touch every single thing and dive deep into them. We'll touch them. So in verses one through seven, the example that we have is to humble ourselves before the Lord, inquire of him for all things because his plan for our lives is ultimately good and will be... His plan for our lives is ultimately good and will be fulfilled. In verses 8 through 11, we have somewhat of a contrast of unbelievers to believers, response to dire situations. in verses 12 through 32. Yes. Sure, 8 through 11. It will be a contrast of unbelievers to believers response to dire situations. In verses 12 through 32, this one's long, so, because there was a lot in it, so bear with me. The spiritual battle that takes place, it's the spiritual battle that takes place in the lives of believers. And I think I'll flesh that out because it's, there's certain subsections inside of that last long paragraph that I've broken down in the lesson. So spiritually we see that the battle between this, we see a battle between this spirit and flesh, right? And the house of David being a spirit made holy and blameless by the Lord, the house of Saul being the body of flesh, but they're both Israel, one body. So I'll get more into that later and I'll be able to clear because to me that just sounded a little confusing, but I'll clear that up when I get to that point of the lesson. So now if you will open your copy of God's Inerrant and Living Word to 2 Samuel chapter 2. I will begin reading verse 1. 2 Samuel chapter 2 and verse 1. After this, David inquired of the Lord, shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the Lord said to him, go up, go up. David said, to which shall I go up? And he said, to Hebron. So David went up there and his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. And David brought up his men who were with him, everyone with his household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron. And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah when they told David, It was the men of Jabesh-Gilead who buried Saul. David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-Gilead and said to them, may you be blessed by the Lord because you showed this loyalty to your Lord and buried him. Now may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you and I will do good to you because you have done this thing. Now therefore let your hands be strong and be valiant for Saul your Lord is dead and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them. But Abner, the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, took Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim. and he made him king over Gilead, and the Asherites, and Jezreel, and Ephraim, and Benjamin, and all Israel. Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, was 40 years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years, but that house of Judah followed David. And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah. He was seven years and six months. So Abner, the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim, my name to Gibeon. And Joab, the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool and the other on the other side of the pool. And Abner said to Joab, let the young men arise and compete before us. And Joab said, let them arise. Then they arose and passed over by number, 12 for Benjamin and Esh-bosheth, the son of Saul, and 12 of the servants of David. And each caught his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent's side. So they fell down together, therefore the place was called Helkath Hazarim, which is at Gideon. And the battle was very fierce that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David. And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was swift of foot as a wild gazelle. And Asahel pursued Abner, and as he went, he turned neither to the right nor to the left from following Abner. Then Abner looked behind him and said, is it you, Asahel? And he answered, it is I. Abner said to him, turn aside to your right hand or your left and seize one of the young men and take his spoil. But Asahel would not turn aside from following him. And Abner said again to Asahel, turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I lift up my face to your brother Joab? But he refused to turn aside. Therefore, Abner struck him in the stomach with a butt of his spear so that the spear came out of his back. And he fell there and died where he was. And all who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died stood still. But Joab, And Abishai pursued Abner. And as the sun was going down, they came to the hill of Amah, which lies before Giyah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. And the people of Benjamin gathered themselves together behind Abner and became one group and took their stand on the top of the hill. And Abner called to Joab, shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you tell your people to turn from the pursuit of their brothers? And Joab said, as God lives, If you had not spoken, surely the men would not have given up the pursuit of their brothers until the morning. So Joab blew the trumpet and all the men stopped and pursued Israel no more, nor did they fight anymore. And Abner and his men went all that night through the Ereba. They crossed the Jordan and marching the whole morning they came to Joab returned from the pursuit of Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing from David's servants, 19 men beside Asahel. But the servants of David had struck down of Benjamin 360 of Abner's men. And they took up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was at Bethlehem. And Joab and his men marched all night, and the day broke upon them at Hebron." There's a lot to unpack here, but we're going to give it a go. OK. So, in verses one through three, we see that David is entrusting his life, the life of his wives and his men and their families in the hands of the Lord. Now, how do we see this? Let's go back a little ways in history. So, To begin with, Saul had just died two chapters ago. David knows the Lord anointed him King of Israel. David is an experienced elite soldier and he has an army behind him with just about the same amount of skill. So if he wanted to, he could have just went to Ish-bosheth and this is my, Throne, this is my kingdom. I'm the anointed one. But David with a humble mind inquires of the Lord, his heart is humbled, right? So maybe he did learn something in Ziklag amongst the Philistines. And he choirs of the Lord in verse one, right? So what we see is a dialogue between David and the Lord. Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the Lord says to him, go up. David says, well, which to which shall I go? And the Lord tells him, go to Hebron. So there's Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Lachish, Beersheba, Engadi, Tekoa, and Ziph. Cities, these are all cities in Judah, but God specifically told him to go to Hebron, right? So I suppose the question then is why Hebron? And the short and direct answer is because God said so. But, Let's just take a look at the historical significance of Hebron, just to have a little bit of a history lesson here. So in Genesis chapter 13, 14 through 15, the Lord brought Abraham to Hebron to see the land that the Lord was going to give his offspring. And in Genesis 13, chapter 18, Abraham settles in Hebron. And he builds an altar for the Lord, right? In Genesis chapter 23, 17 through 20, verses 17 through 20, Abraham purchases a cave, which is later called the Cave of the Patriarchs, to bury Sarah. and Hebron became a permanent place of residence for Abraham and his family. So the first patriarch, Abraham, the second, Isaac, the third, Jacob, and all of their wives are buried there in that cave, the cave of patriarchs. Okay. Abraham the patriarchs were there. Okay. So the what else in Joshua chapter 21 verses 11 through 13 Hebron is declared to be a Levitical city of refuge and every tribe had to have Levites live among them and Hebron was where they lived. So a political, so a city of refuge would be if someone accidentally caused the death of someone and the family of the deceased sought out to avenge the death, the accused could seek refuge from the avengers. Now the Levites were the descendants of Aaron and so they were priests. So we can call this a priestly city, Hebron. So all that is helpful to understand the significance of Hebron, but what is the purpose? So the purpose is revealed to us in verse four. And the men of Judah came and they anointed David king over the house of Judah. So David was essentially, prior to all this, he was essentially walking as a Philistine, right? So he had to come out from among them. And the first place that the Lord tells him to go is go to the priestly city, right? Because there he could be cleansed from being among the Philistines and to be anointed by the elders, the King of Judah. as King of Judah, right? Not that the first anointing went away, but think of it as being refreshed, right? Coming to repentance, turning away from your sin and coming to Christ, right? And another point is that this time the anointing was public. It was on a larger scale. There were more witnesses to see this happen. And the house of Judah accepted him as king. And not to mention David being of the tribe of Judah was home. So in verses five through six, King David's first action as king was not to take over Israel, was not to go and take it by force or make a proclamation to everybody saying, I am the king of Judah, therefore I'll be the king of Israel. No, he didn't say that. The Lord's anointed me king over Israel, not just Judah. He didn't say that. His first action was to reach out to the men of Jabesh Gilead, the servants of Saul. and blesses them for their loyalty and service to Saul and for honoring God's anointed by burying his body. Right? By that action, by that action, they not only honored Saul, but they saved, they saved Israel, the grief of the shame of his displayed body for all of, you know, for the whole people, the whole nation. And at the end of verse six, he extends his hand of kindness to them and promises to be good to them, right? I will do good to you because you have done this thing. So why would he do that? Well, the very next verse, verse seven, David, David has, he's already rise to the throne and the pathway is already being cleared for him to be the king of Israel. And he would need loyal servants like the men from Jabesh, Gilead. And he makes it known by stating, hey, I'll be good to you. I know I, so strengthen your hands, right? Be and become valiant. I need people like you to serve. under my kingship." So pretty much it's like an invitation to them. He's not forcing them, not forcing his hand on them, but he's inviting them to understand that he has been made king over Judah. Therefore, eventually he will be king over Israel. So much like David in Christ's first advent, he didn't force people to believe he was king. He didn't force people to serve him. He extended his kindness and his love, his wisdom. He stayed in constant communion with the Lord through frequent prayer and was obedient even to death. So beloved, we must set aside the thoughts that do not align with the Lord. and whoever humbles himself will be exalted, right? We must inquire of him for all things and trust that his plan for our lives ultimately leads to eternal life in Christ Jesus. So this next section, in the next verses, in verses eight through nine, we see Saul's cousin, Abner, is driven by evil motives, maybe keeping his command over Saul's army, don't know. In this, verse 8 and 9 demonstrates that Abner's not in alignment with God's will. The successor to Saul's throne was to be Jonathan, right? In 1 Samuel, chapter 14, verse 49. In that verse, it only acknowledges that Saul had three sons, right? Jonathan, Ishuai, and But since all three of Saul's sons died with him, Abner rushes to make what seems to be an illegitimate son of Saul, Ish-bosheth king of all Israel. Now this shows us the complete disregard and rejection of God in that Abner appoints a person who is not revealed to us as being a son of Saul until this chapter, or by God, right? And the sons of Saul were named in 1 Samuel 14-49. he appointed him to a position that is appointed by God and God alone. So he's making moves that he has no authority to make decisions upon, right? But because his mind is clouded and he doesn't fear the Lord and he doesn't know the Lord, it's obvious that he doesn't because he's making these decisions without a king, right? And the rightful king we all know is God, right? Yahweh, he's the king. He's the appointer of kings. And by seeing this, we could see their spiritual blindness because they don't remember what happened, what Samuel had told them, right? Samuel had communicated to them that you rejected God as your king. Now you have a king, Saul. and he gave him all the warnings. He's gonna enslave you, he's gonna take your money, he's gonna take everything from you, and you're gonna cry, right? And they've forgotten about that. And Abner here demonstrates the unbelief in God, and he just makes decisions on his own. I remember the last time a person who made a decision on his own ended up dead, and that guy was Saul, his king. So he didn't fall too far from the tree in that aspect of command goes. So here in verses, in verse 10 through 11, we see the times, the Lord gives us the times that the two kings serve. or one a false king and the other the true king being David. So in verse 10, the Lord gives us a hint that the imposter king, Ish-bosheth's reign comes to a quick end, right? Two years of weak rulership or lack thereof, right? And David had every right to claim his throne from Ish-bosheth, right? He did, but he waits, he waits on the Lord. David is a king of Judah and he reigned from, he reigned from, he reigned in Hebron for, he reigned from Hebron. So he was headquartered there for seven years and six months. And two of those years were during the Ishbosheth's reign. Now we're in verses 12 through 32, which this is, there's a lot of lessons here to be learned, a lot of things to unpack, examples that we can use in our spiritual life and things that we can apply to our lives are found in this section of, well, the whole book, but I mean, You can make several different lessons on this chapter. So let's try and get through this. So in verses 12 through 17, there's a standoff between the house of David and the house of Saul. They're sitting across the pool from one another. And this had to have been an uncomfortable situation because they knew each other, right? And they fought in battle against the enemies of Israel together, right? They were side by side and they had gone through and had many victories under Saul and against the nations. And now they're just staring at each other from across the pool like, okay, what now? What are we gonna do? It's a standoff. Right, they're brothers, right? The division of Israel is in full display here, just in this scene, right? And I feel like, I feel like, I like to see it, in this way, right? Israel being one body, the spirit that is righteous, the house of David and the house of Saul, which is the flesh. And I feel like this is relatable to the internal war of the believers spirit and the flesh right in verses 14 through 15 David. So so let's move on to verses 14 and 15 David and Goliath comes to mind in these in these in these verses, right? So 12 of Benjamin and Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, and 12 of the servants of David, they all sent out, right? In verse 14, we see, let the young man arise and compete. This is Abner's idea. Okay, let's take a note there. Abner's idea, instead of, They're sitting across the pool from each other. They're like, OK, what happens now? And Abner's bright idea was, let's let the young men compete before us and let them arise. Let's send these young men out and fight each other to the death. Let's have a duel. Yeah, that's the best. That's the ticket. Let's have a duel. So 12 from each side rose, and they, let's get there. And so I guess the idea was to settle it, to settle whatever the issue is between Joab and Abner. They were going to send these guys to fight, to battle, and the losers will concede victory to the winner of this single combat event. So the next part is they all gather up and they kill each other, all at the same time, in the same fashion. And well, they are part of the same army at one point, so they have the same skill set and they have the same moves. So when they all went out there, they went for the finishing move and they all died, all 12 of them. They all died right there for no reason, reasons Because the reason is, is because it was Abner's idea, which could have been solved. This whole problem could have been solved by a conversation, but we'll talk about that later. So as we move through past those verses and we move into verses 16 through 17, we see that David's forces just after that battle, the name of that place was called the Field of the Sharp Swords in Gibeon. And David's forces prevailed over Abner's army. So David's forces started to just beat up Abner's army, like they were destroying them. This fierce battle followed this duel, right? And David's forces are coming out on top. So that was kind of painful, but the standoff in a believer's life, right, is internal. Galatians 5.17 tells us, for the desires of the flesh are against the spirit and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh. So they oppose each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do. So looking at this in the spiritual edge, the battle is not just internal, but there are external forces and the influences. the flesh by means of temptation. Our spirit is willing, but our flesh is weak, right? So our hope is not in swords made of hands, but it is in Christ Jesus and his sword, which is his word, right? So that's how we fight our internal struggle. So in verses 19 through 21, Asahel is determined. So let me go back a little bit. So in verse 18, Zoriah, so Joab, Abishai, and Asahel, excuse me, I got lost in my thing here. I'm sorry, forgive me. So after the battle had started, we shift to another portion of the battle where Abner, the guy who started everything, starts to run. He starts to retreat. He's running away. And Asahel, who was the swiftest of Joab, so Joab, what's his name? Joab, Abishai, and Asahel, they're all brothers. They're all nephews of David. And Asahel is the fastest, so he's pacing. Abner and he's determined, right? He's just determined to showcase his bravery and skill in his relentless pursuit of Abner, right? I get it. He's a young warrior with an opportunity to end the war or this skirmish by killing Abner, right? He has that opportunity. He's headstrong. He's laser focused and he's, I'm going to get this guy, right? So Abner is armed. But Abner is armed and dangerous and he is a warrior too, right? He's got experience in battle. He knows how to use his weapons. So, you know, Abner warns Asahel to stop his pursuit of him, right? But Asahel's determination and relentless pursuit seems to have given Asahel tunnel vision. And he disregards the preliminary warning. He doesn't consider the consequences of what can happen. So brothers and sisters, relentlessly pursuing desires without considering spiritual insight is risky. It's very risky. Relentless determination can lead us to completely miss or deliberately ignore preliminary warnings and dismiss considering consequences. If you're going to relentlessly pursue something, pursue righteousness, Right? Matthew 6, 33 tells us, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. In verses 22 through 23, right, we see that Asahel is still pursuing Abner, even after that first warning, he just, whatever, I'm gonna get this guy. He ignored that first warning and the second warning carried a more considerable, carried a more considerable warning of being struck down or aka killed. Right? Why should I strike you down to the ground? How then could I lift up my face to your brother Saul? Right? I mean Saul, Joab. Abner tries to reason with him. We just see that. How would he be able to look at Joab? That was his partner in the past. They were brothers. They fought together. They may have had a a rough relationship or friendship, but no matter what, they were brothers at arms and they were in the thick of it. How could he lift his face? How could I look at him? How could I look at my brother and tell him that I just killed his brother, my brother? Can you imagine the shame and the sorrow he would have? And that's what Abner's appealing to with this warning. How could I do that? But in 23, he still just doesn't want to hear it. And we read in the last portion of 22 Abner struck him in the stomach with the butt of his spear and the spear came out of his back. He fell there and he died. And when he died, everybody stopped where he died and stood still. They just looked at him, like what just happened? Well, brothers and sisters, we must not ignore warnings, right? They can lead to potentially tragic or severe and far-reaching consequences. And that can affect many, as we read in 23B, right? Everybody stood and stopped at where Asahel fell and died and looked at him. They stopped. They were awestruck. They didn't know what to do. They couldn't do anything. They were dumbfounded. Didn't know what to say, couldn't fight, they just stopped in their tracks. So we should not ignore wise counsel, right? We should be merciful and pursue peace. We shouldn't be trying to chase and ignore warnings and things like that, right? James 1. Verse five, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him. So that's how we should be, how we should pay attention to things and warnings, especially warnings, right? Because it's easy to be blinded by determination You miss the first warning, maybe, or you disregard it. The second warning, you don't pay attention to that one, and you fall into a hole, right? Evil lies close at hand, right? Stay on that path. All right, in verses 24 through 25, We get the details after the death of Asahel. His brothers Joab and Abishai continue the chase of Abner which they never catch. Abner makes it to his other troops and they gather on a hilltop taking the high ground. in a defensive position. So I think it's interesting that Abner had regrouped with his troops. They have the offensive upper hand by being on the top of a hill, but Abner's uninterested in continuing the fight. He just killed Asahel. He probably feels bad about that. Listen to what he says in verse 26. So the interesting about this statement is that it was Abner's idea to start the battle, right, by suggesting the duel between the twelve. Instead of pursuing a peaceful resolution, Now, now, instead of pursuing a peaceful resolution, so now when his life is on the line, he wants to resolve this peacefully. Hmm. And, you know, thankfully, in the next verse, Joab responds, as God lives, if you had not spoken, surely the men, surely the men would not have pursued their, giving up the pursuit of their brothers. So he agrees, right? He agrees to stop fighting. And that just takes me back to the beginning. If they would have just talked, maybe they could have had a different resolution, but that's just not what was in the plans, right? That's not what the Lord wanted to happen. And that's what the Lord allowed to happen is what we read. So he blows the horns and the men stop their attack and notice that the word brothers is used twice to emphasize the fact that this is truly a war between kin. It's not just we're brothers because we were in the army together. No, it was we're brothers because we are truly kin. Like my parents are related to your parents and so on and so forth and their blood and the civil war that could have been avoided. This is a civil war that could have been avoided a Civil War battle that could have totally been avoided, but it wasn't. So as believers in Christ, we should always seek the wisdom of the Lord in all circumstances. Our battles against our internal sin is spiritual things. I keep saying that because it's important. Therefore, we need spiritual counsel. James 4, chapter 4, 7 through 10. Submit yourself, therefore, to God. Resist the devil. We're getting instructions on how to battle these internal struggles. Resist the devil. Flee and external. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you. In the last Verses 29 through 32, they start marching, the battle's over, but it gives us some numbers here, right? By the end of the battle, the House of David's losses were 20. and compared to the House of Saul's loss at 360. So the Lord is on the move here. He's clearing the path for David to be exalted as king over Israel. As we see this battle, David's forces took a very minimal loss compared to Israel. Saul's kingdom, so we see that the Lord's will, the Lord's judgment is still being laid upon the house of Saul. So, brothers and sisters, David is a type, right? He's a foreshadowing of our holy priest king, Jesus. And in this chapter, we see that David inquires of the Lord and obeys the Lord's commands. Jesus says this in John 5 30, I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge and the judgment is just because I seek not my own will, but the will of him who sent me. So Jesus fulfilled the will of the father perfectly by entrusting his life to the father and obeying him even to his death. So the division in David's kingdom that we saw in this chapter that eventually is reconciled and unified points to Jesus fulfilling spiritual unity in his kingdom. And we see that in Ephesians 2, chapter 2, verses 14 through 16. For he himself is our peace who has made us both one and broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances that he might create in himself one new man in the place of two. So making peace and reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. All right, so the war that we fight is internal. It's against principalities, against demons, right? That is why we have armor and we are armed with the sword of truth, which is the word of God. And he did not leave us unarmed. He strengthens us. He protects us. So guard your hearts and your minds with prayer, fasting, meditation on the Word of God. Feed your souls with the living bread. Drink from the living water. You don't go days or weeks or months without eating food, do you? If you do, you probably wouldn't be here, but don't go days and weeks or months without feeding your spirit his word. That's how we arm ourselves. That's how we guard our hearts and our minds. That's how we fight that internal spiritual battle. That's how we have victory in those moments where we're being attacked. So stand fast on Christ, brothers and sisters. He will guide you. He will sharpen you, fortify you, and protect you, and keep you forever. Let us pray together. Our Father and our God, we thank you, Lord, for 2 Samuel chapter 2 and the many lessons that you teach us through the mistakes that Abner and us a hell and awe made in their walks of life, Lord. We thank you, Lord, for being our rock of refuge. We thank you, Lord, for fulfilling the law and ordinances through your perfect life, Lord. We ask that you are here in the next hour, Lord, that your spirit is with us and that you might bless the worship and that we might worship you well, Lord, in the next hour. And I ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen.