THROWING ROCKS DOWN BY THE RIVER SIDE?
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
Matthew 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
I. INTRODUCTION:
A. Years ago I was dreaming. In my dream I saw four letters. The four letters were about 10 feet high. R-A-Z-E.
I woke up and thought about RAZE? What could this mean?
I got up and grabbed the Dictionary and looked up RAZE.
IT MEANT TO UTTERLY DESTROY, TEAR DOWN, LEVEL OR DEMOLISH...
AS TO BULLDOZE ...
B. We have an ENEMY?
Our enemy operates under a three fold directive:
1. Steal --- TO TAKE WITHOUT RIGHT OR PERMISSION
2. Kill --- to cause death, to put to an end (feelings) defeat, render ineffective.
3. Destroy --- to demolish, to pull down, spoil, make useless, raze.
C. This three fold directive is not just against the individual, it is against the family, the church and our society.
D. We can enhance our ENEMY’S POWER BY FALLING INTO THE TRAP OF
NEGATIVISM AND JUDGMENTALISM.
E. THERE IS A TERRIBLE TRAP THAT HURTS THE INDIVIDUAL, THE FAMILY,
THE CHURCH AND THE FAMILY --- THIS TRAP IS A NEGATIVE SPIRIT.
F. PESSIMISM / PESSIMISTIC:
Misery.
Tendency to expect the worse, to be gloomy.
The belief that all things tend to be evil, bad, hard.
Defeatism,discourage, gloom.
G. NEGATIVE:
To be cool, apathetic.
Denial, refusal.
ATTITUDE LACKING POSITIVE INSIGHT.
Opposition, opposing.
Less than zero.
II. CONFLICT IS PART OF REAL LIFE. CONFLICT IS NEITHER GOOD OR BAD, IT IS NEUTRAL. IT IS WHAT WE DO WITH CONFLICT THAT WILL MAKE US BETTER OR
BITTER. IT IS OUR CHOICE AT HOW WE LOOK AT PROBLEMS.
A. What kind of message are we sending to others?
Do we PROJECT the image that we are TRUSTING THE UNSEEN HANDS OF
GOD?
B. Does fear, doubt, pouting, grumbling, complaining send the message that GOD IS GOD?
1 Cor. 14:8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
C. Perhaps today we send MANY MIXED MESSAGES FROM THE PULPIT.
NOTHING CREATES MORE DEEP SEATED ANXIETIES THAN THE ASSUMPTION
THAT LIFE SHOULD BE FREE FROM ANXIETIES.
D. When I taught school I had a brilliant student, named EDDIE.
He had a good mind and was very good at problem solving.
When he would do his school work the problems started easy and progressively got harder to solve. Eddie would do a few problems and then he would start crying. At first Eddie would cry silently, then he would get louder and louder.
He would work answering the questions but by the time he finished his
assignment he would be so worked up and crying, he would be totally upset.
I would grade his paper and Eddie rarely made a mistake.
Eddie had little to no confidence in himself.
I would try to encourage him, EDDIE --- YOU CAN DO IT.
E. I WILL TELL YOU RIGHT NOW MY FRIEND, YOU CAN DO IT!
QUIT CRYING, GET YOUR HEAD UP! TRY! TRY AGAIN!
III. SOME SEEM TO LOVE TO THROW STONES --- DOWN BY THE RIVER SIDE!
A. MEET A SMART MAN WITH A LOT OF FRIENDS.
Shimei was a famous man of the BENJAMITE tribe.
B. Shimei was kin to King Saul.
C. SHIMEI WAS ANGRY AND BITTER ...
1. Shimei was of THE HOUSE OF SAUL, and Shimei thought he had a
greater claim to the throne than David did.
2. Shimei had a DYSFUNCTIONAL HOME.
3. Saul had heard the song: Saul has slain his thousands, and David
his TEN THOUSANDS. The JEALOUSY of Saul RAN IT’S COURSE IN SAUL’S
FAMILY.
IV. SHIMEI WAS VERY NEGATIVE AND HE HAD EVERY RIGHT TO BE ...
SHIMEI KNEW THE PAST. DAVID --- AIN’T WHAT HE IS SUPPOSED TO BE...
I CAN JUDGE --- I KNOW THE TREE BY THE FRUIT IT BEARS???
A. SHIMEI KNEW THE FACTS ON THAT ROTTEN MAN --- DAVID...
1. Shimei knew of David’s shepherd job. Shepherds were not high on the
TOTEM POLE of life.
2. Shimei knew THE GARBAGE ON THE KING.
3. Shimei knew DAVID DID NOT GO TO BATTLE WHEN HE SHOULD HAVE...
(II Sam. 11:1)
4. Shimei heard the whispers about BATHSHEBA.
5. Shimei heard the LOUD WHISPERS about URIAH THE HITTITE, and what a
brave soldier URIAH had been.
6. Shimei heard about the PREGANCY OF BATHSHEBA --- they all could
count
to 9 --- Uriah had been gone to battle over 9 months.
7. Shimei heard about NATHAN’S MESSAGE’S ---"THOU ART THE MAN!"
8. Shimei was glad when he heard about the judgment and the baby
dying...
B. LET US NOTE SEVERAL THINGS THAT PREPARED SHIMEI FOR TROUBLE.
1. Shimei did not recognize the ANOINTING OF GOD ON DAVID.
2. Shimei was BITTER and UNFORGIVING.
3. Shimei picked bad friends, they were rebellious and did not
respect authority.
4. Shimei sided with ABSALOM, King David’s son.
5. Absalom was a whisperer and worked behind his Father’s back
to bribe people.
6. Absalom in great bitterness took JUSTICE IN HIS OWN HAND and
had his brother AMNON KILLED.
7. Absalom worked a GREAT CONSPIRACY AGAINST DAVID ---
8. Absalom was not just under-minding his Father, ABSALOM WAS NOT
MOVING BY THE ANOINTING OF GOD AND WAS BUILDING HIS CAUSE BY THE
ARM OF THE FLESH.
C. TEXT: LIVING BIBLE
2 Samuel 16:5 As David and his party passed Bahurim, a man came out of the village cursing them. It was Shimei, the son of Gera, a member of Saul’s family.
6 He threw stones at the king and the king’s officers and all the mighty warriors who surrounded them!
7 "Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!" he shouted at David.
8 "The Lord is paying you back for murdering King Saul and his family; you stole his throne and now the Lord has given it to your son Absalom! At last you will taste some of your own medicine, you murderer!"
9 "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?" Abishai demanded.
"Let me go over and strike off his head!"
10 "No!" the king said. "If the Lord has told him to curse me, who am I to say no?
11 My own son is trying to kill me, and this Benjaminite is merely cursing me. Let him alone, for no doubt the Lord has told him to do it.
12 And perhaps the Lord will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses."
13 So David and his men continued on, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing as he went and throwing stones at David and tossing dust into the air. 14 The king and all those who were with him were weary by the time they reached Bahurim, so they stayed there awhile and rested.
V. DO WE HAVE TO MAKE OURSELVES LOOK GOOD AND THEN TO MAKE
OTHERS LOOK BAD?
SHIMEI DENIES THE REALITY OF FAMILY SAUL SIN AND DOWN FALL.
A. Saul was impatient and did not WAIT ON SAMUEL.
B. Saul was disobedient and spared the King Agag and the best show cattle.
C. Saul denies and blames others for his SIN.
D. In great ANGER --- Saul pulls the Preacher’s coat off him and the Preacher Samuel warns Saul the KING HAS BEEN REMOVED.
E. SAUL HAD OUT LAWED ALL MEDIUMS AND WITCHES AND THEN IN GREAT
FEAR SAUL GOES TO EN-DOR AND SEEKS THE POWER OF WITCH CRAFT.
F. Shimei would not admit how LOW his family had fallen.
VI. WHY ARE YOU THROWING ROCKS SHIMEI? SHIMEI DON’T YOU KNOW
THAT IS DAVID?
A. SHIMEI BLAMED DAVID FOR KILLING SAUL.
LET US GET THE REAL FACTS.
1. The battle was PRESSING ... on MOUNT GILBOA
SAUL SAW HIS THREE SONS --- ALL DIE THE SAME DAY ... JONATHAN,
Abinadab, and Malchi-shua.
2. SAUL WAS BADLY WOUNDED BY THE ARCHERS...
Saul begged his armor-bearer to THRUST him through and kill him.
3. SAUL PLACED HIS SWORD IN THE MUD AND FELL ON IT AND DIED.
B. DAVID HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH SAUL’S DEATH.
C. David could have killed Saul while Saul slept in the valley and Saul’s garment was cut.
D. David could have killed Saul in the CAVE while he slept.
David proved that fact by taking SAUL’S SPEAR and his CRUSE of water---(Spear represents POWER. Water represents ESSENTIALS.)
VII. IN SHIMEI’S OWN EYES --- HE WAS A GOOD MAN, DAVID WAS A BAD MAN.
SHIMEI WAS BITTER AND UNFORGIVING --- THAT IS WHY HE COULD PICK UP
ROCKS AND THROW THEM AT DAVID ...
A. PSALMS 32 AND 51 IS THE GREATEST CHAPTER IN THE BIBLE ON
CONFESSION AND REPENTANCE. DAVID’S PEN COULD WRITE OF GOD’S MERCY AS HE HAD EXPERIENCED IT.
Acts 13:22 But God removed him and replaced him with David as king, a man about whom God said, ’David (son of Jesse) is a man after my own heart, for he will obey me.’
B. We are like a wild horse... we need God to bridle us and keep us NEAR TO HIS HEART!
Psalm 19:13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
C. Sure, DAVID WOULD WALK THE TRAIL OF TEARS AND KNOW MANY DARK
DAYS, then David would make the PREPARATIONS TO BUILD THE MOST WONDERFUL
TEMPLE TO HIS HOLY GOD.
D. Sure, according to the NEGATIVE FACTS SHIMEI WAS RIGHT...
Shimei had every right to THROW ROCKS AND STAND BY THE RIVER ---
AND CURSE --- OUR GOD MOVES BEYOND THE REALM OF FACTS...
VIII. DAVID KNEW THE FACTS. THE FACTS AT TIMES WERE DISCOURAGING ---
DAVID PONDERED MAYBE SHIMEI IS RIGHT? --- DAVID’S OWN SON WAS OUT TO
DESTROY HIM --- DON’T KILL SHIMEI --- LET TIME TELL...
A. David had to learn CREATIVE USE OF CONFLICT.
B. GOD FORGIVES --- LET HIM!
C. You can’t focus on EVERY UNHAPPY CAMPER --- GO ON AND TRY AGAIN!
KJV
2 Samuel 16:14 And the king, and all the people that were with him, came weary, and refreshed themselves there.
NIV
2 Samuel 16:14 The king and all the people with him arrived at their destination exhausted. And there he refreshed himself.
NLT
2 Samuel 16:14 The king and all who were with him grew weary along the way, so they rested when they reached the Jordan River.
IX. HAVE YOU EVER THROWN ROCKS? ANY PERSON THROWING ROCKS MUST
SOMEHOW JUSTIFY THE ROCK THROWING. ON DAVID’S DEATH BED HE WARNS
HIS HEIR TO THE THRONE...
WATCH OUT FOR SHIMEI --- HE IS NEGATIVE AND YOU MUST SET LIMITS ON HIM.
A. DAVID WARNS HIS SON SOLOMON BEWARE---
WATCH OUT FOR THE NEGATIVE MAN --- SHIMEI ...
1 Kings 2:8 And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.
B. THE NEGATIVE MAN IS WARNED AND HIS LIMITS ARE SET.
SHIMEI AGREES WITH THE WARNING.
1 Kings 2:36-38 And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither.
[37] For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt
surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head.
[38] And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem
many days.
C. SHIMEI ’S NEGATIVE ATTITUDES TELL --- MATERIALISM IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN SUBMISSION AND ORDERS. THE REAL SHIMEI COMES OUT...
1 Kings 2:39-44 And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath. [40] And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath.
[41] And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again.
[42] And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the Lord, and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good.
[43] Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the Lord, and the commandment that I have charged thee with?
[44] The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the Lord shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head;
D. THE NEGATIVE SPIRITUAL ATTITUDES WILL EVENTUALLY TELL.
E. SHIMEI’S NEGATIVE ATTITUDE SHOWS DISRESPECT FOR THE MAN OF GOD ...
BUT MORE THAN THAT SHIMEI’S ATTITUDE SHOWS A LACK OF RESPECT FOR GOD!
ISN’T IT STRANGE ( unknown)
Isn’t it strange how big a $20 bill looks in the offering basket and how small it looks at the gas pump?
Isn’t it strange how hard it is to witness to someone but we can tell a dirty joke?
Isn’t it strange how big 2 hours seem at church and at the movie you don’t care about the time?
Isn’t it strange how hard it is to find words to pray, but when you are talking about others there are plenty of words?
Isn’t it strange how hard it is to read your Bible, but that magazine and Romance book is easy?
Isn’t it strange how quickly your priorities about the church can be bumped by a ball game?
Isn’t it strange how we doubt what the Bible says, but believe everything in the newspaper?
Isn’t it strange how we forward jokes by email, but we can’t send a Gospel tract or message?
Isn’t it strange how everyone wants to live like a sinner and die like a saint?
IT SEEMS SO STRANGE DOESN’T IT?
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
Help me? Pass this on?
