Absalom, Men-Pleaser

I. EXORDIUM:

Are you a man pleaser?

No, men hate me because I please the LORD.

Luke 6:22 (Amplified Bible)

6:22 Blessed (happy—with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, apart from your outward condition—and to be envied) are you when people despise (hate) you, and when they exclude and excommunicate you [as disreputable] and revile and denounce you and defame and cast out and spurn your name as evil (wicked) on account of the Son of Man.

Luke 21:17 (Amplified Bible)

21:17 And you will be hated (despised) by everyone because [you bear] My name and for its sake.

II. AUDIENCE PROFILE:

Believers

III. OBJECTIVES:

To show that we have an audience of 1 - the LORD. It's better to get applause from the LORD than from men.

IV. TEXT:

2 Samuel 15:4-5 (Amplified Bible)

15:4 Absalom added, Oh, that I were judge in the land! Then every man with any suit or cause might come to me and I would do him justice!

15:5 And whenever a man came near to do obeisance to him, he would put out his hand, take hold of him, and kiss him.

V. THESIS:

Praise, worship and thank You very much LORD JESUS I am blessed on Your account and no human effort blessed me but it's all because of You.

VI. TITLE:

Absalom, men-pleaser

VII. EXPLICATION:

A. Author: unknown

B. Date written: 973 B.C.

C. To whom written: Nation of Israel

D. Keyword: David

E. Main theme: Reign of David

F. Keyverses:

2 Samuel 5:12 (Amplified Bible)

And David perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel and that He had exalted his kingdom for His people Israel’s sake.

2 Samuel 7:12-13 (Amplified Bible)

And when your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers, I will set up after you your offspring who shall be born to you, and I will establish his kingdom.

He shall build a house for My ame [and My Presence], and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

VIII. MAIN BODY:

A. Absalom speaks his concern to men like him

"15:4 Absalom added, Oh, that I were judge in the land! Then every man with any suit or cause might come to me and I would do him justice! "

Proverbs 25:6-7 (Amplified Bible)

25:6 Be not forward (self-assertive and boastfully ambitious) in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men;

25:7 For better it is that it should be said to you, Come up here, than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince, whose eyes have seen you.

Luke 14:8-11 (Amplified Bible)

14:8 When you are invited by anyone to a marriage feast, do not recline on the chief seat [in the place of honor], lest a more distinguished person than you has been invited by him,

14:9 And he who invited both of you will come to you and say, Let this man have the place [you have taken]. Then, with humiliation and a guilty sense of impropriety, you will begin to take the lowest place.

14:10 But when you are invited, go and recline in the lowest place, so that when your host comes in, he may say to you, Friend, go up higher! Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit [at table] with you.

14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled (ranked below others who are honored or rewarded), and he who humbles himself (keeps a modest opinion of himself and behaves accordingly) will be exalted (elevated in rank).

Don't let your mouth promote you, but let GOD, who alone can promote people and lift you up.

Psalms 75:6 (Amplified Bible)

75:6 For not from the east nor from the west nor from the south come promotion and lifting up.

1 Samuel 2:7 (Amplified Bible)

2:7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and He lifts up.

James 4:10 (Amplified Bible)

4:10 Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant].

Example of lucifer's fall:

Isaiah 14:13 (Amplified Bible)

14:13 And you said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit upon the mount of assembly in the uttermost north.

Proverbs 16:18 (Amplified Bible)

16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Look to the LORD as your Real Boss.

B. Absalom serves men like him

"15:5 And whenever a man came near to do obeisance to him, he would put out his hand, take hold of him, and kiss him."

Ephesians 6:6-7 (Amplified Bible)

6:6 Not in the way of eye-service [as if they were watching you] and only to please men, but as servants (slaves) of Christ, doing the will of God heartily and with your whole soul;