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[0:00] Please open your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 5. 2 Samuel chapter 5. Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, Behold, we are your bone and flesh.

[0:17] In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led us out and brought in Israel. And the Lord said to you, You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.

[0:34] So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.

[0:47] David was 30 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 40 years. At Hebron he reigned over Judah 7 years and 6 months, and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah 33 years.

[1:03] And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, You shall not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off, thinking David cannot come in here.

[1:22] Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David, and David said on that day, whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack the lame and the blind, who are hated by David's soul.

[1:40] Therefore it is said, the blind and the lame shall not come into the house. And David lived in the stronghold and called it the city of David, and David built the city all around from the Melo inward.

[1:54] And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him. And Hiram, king of Tyre, sent messengers to David, and cedar trees also, carpenters and masons, who built David a house.

[2:12] And David knew that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to David, and these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem.

[2:35] And David said, When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David, but David heard of it and went down to the stronghold.

[3:03] Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the valley of Rephaim. And David inquired of the Lord, Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?

[3:15] And the Lord said to David, Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand. And David came to Baal-Perezim, and David defeated them there.

[3:28] And he said, The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking flood. Therefore, the name of that place is called Baal-Perezim.

[3:40] And the Philistines left their idols there, and David and his men carried them away. And the Philistines came up yet again and spread out in the valley of Rephaim.

[3:53] And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, You shall not go up. Go around to the rear and come against them opposite the balsam trees.

[4:04] And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself. For then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the enemy of the Philistines.

[4:17] And David did as the Lord commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer. This is the word of the Lord.

[4:27] Thanks be to God. Man, it's good to be actually gathered today, this Sunday. What an awkward week last week it was.

[4:42] For any of you who were curious, I wasn't actually here when the sermon was unrolling. Okay? They call me Houdini.

[4:53] I recorded it on Saturday once we made the call, got everything together, came here. My son was running slides. My other son was doing the sound.

[5:05] And then we recorded it, posted it, and got home and let the snow fly. So it was kind of weird. I was sitting at home watching the sermon play. It was premiering. So, and then seeing all the responses, I kind of felt guilty because I just let the narrative play out.

[5:21] People thought I was here. Asking me how the roads were, I'm like, I don't know. So, maybe that's part of my confession today.

[5:32] But consider it confessed and all my cards have been revealed. And it's good to be gathered. Hopefully, last week was actually awkward for us.

[5:44] It kind of felt like COVID, didn't it? And that's good. It should feel awkward because the church cannot exist virtually, online, can't.

[5:56] And I'm glad that that felt awkward because when we get comfortable with that world, we lose touch with sanctification, lose touch with the community of God.

[6:06] And before we know it, we're falling for sin and we're struggling in our lives. And so, maybe that's a sermon for another day. But being part of this church body for the last 10 years, I've learned something about unity.

[6:26] Not that it's unimportant or something that sort of happens by chance, but that unity is costly. Unity is costly.

[6:39] And we have to think that unity isn't necessarily openly, or it isn't necessarily thwarted upon and opposed with this open hostility.

[6:54] Like, oh no, the threat of unity is happening. We have to buckle up. But it's actually more strained by sincere people who think that their way is right.

[7:08] Who are convinced that certain people know best. I've learned that over the last 10 years. In my experience, and even looking at statistics all around, you probably know the numbers.

[7:21] You've experienced the numbers at the last church. We don't often fracture by heresy. The church fractures and unity fractures because of music.

[7:33] Because of paint colors. Because of calendars. Because of personalities or leadership decisions.

[7:44] Or maybe the good old phrase and the saying, well, we've always done it this way. Right? And yet, when Jesus prayed for his people, for us and the churches everywhere globally, the deeper question is this.

[8:06] How does God create unity in the first place? And how does that unity endure in a world where conflict is inevitable?

[8:20] Not just around, but even within the church. In 2 Samuel 5, we will see those questions answered.

[8:35] And I'm going to break this passage up into two sections. And I think that it's going to be helpful. However, I'm going to throw a couple sub points within the first section.

[8:49] And so I'm going to break my old routine. I'm going to do something new. Praise the Lord. Same old Brent. Same old song.

[9:00] But I'm going to answer that question. How does God create unity in the first place? And how does it endure? And I want us to see this central truth unfold within these two sections.

[9:14] I want us to have our Bibles open for our ears to be attentive to this. That God unites his people under Christ the King.

[9:25] And preserves that unity through obedient faith. And that's how it happens. And I want us to see that with our own eyes in 2 Samuel 5.

[9:37] But before we do, let's pray as we enter into verse 1. Let's pray. Father, thank you for gathering us this morning for the first Sunday of our institutes and our classes.

[9:55] To help us to grow and to know how to honor you. Not just in looking into the Old Testament, but also biblical stewardship.

[10:06] With all the things in our lives that you've given us. How do we do this? And we're learning. We're growing in this way. Thank you for our teachers.

[10:17] We've asked for you to continue to bless them as they lead. And we pray that at this moment, as we turn to your word, that we are challenged and changed. And may even be encouraged by your word this morning.

[10:32] We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. My clicker isn't working today, Kevin. If you could take it over. But the first section that I'm going to kind of piece out in like little like notes, like points within this section.

[10:51] I want us to see that, number one, unity. I want to see unity established under God's King. And for four chapters since we started this series in 2 Samuel, we have watched a nation completely fracture.

[11:16] The nation of Israel, it was in complete disarray. There was brother, brother against brother. There was strength that was exercised without submission.

[11:29] There was ambition without obedience. And Israel has been divided, not merely politically, but they've been divided spiritually for the past four chapters in this book.

[11:45] But here, something happens here. In chapter 5, something vitally changes. All along, unity did not begin with agreement.

[12:01] It didn't belong to agreement. It begins with submission. And this nation is finally starting to get it.

[12:14] Who knew? All along, trying to work it out through just agreements and contracts and politics. Who would have thought the issue was theological?

[12:25] It is. It begins with submission. And so, when unity is established under God's King, we see something.

[12:37] That that unity does have a beginning. And we see the beginning of that. And it begins with confession. This is the first point that I want you to understand. Is that unity begins with confession.

[12:52] Look, in verse 1, it says, Look at that confession here.

[13:22] This is the turning point. This is the beginning of unity. Confession. All Israel comes to David, not by force, not by David saying, Hey, I'm the king.

[13:37] I'm the guy in charge. They were convinced in their own heart, having reached the end of their means of achieving unity. And they said, It's not our way.

[13:50] They submit themselves in confession to God's king. They speak three simple world-shaping truths and a book-shaping truth here in chapter 5.

[14:01] They say, We belong to you. We're your bone and flesh. That's really deep unity. Very grafted together unity.

[14:14] It says that you saved us. You let us out and you brought us in. And they say, You are God's promise to us. David is appointed shepherd.

[14:26] These confessions aren't like sentimental statements either. To say that we are your bone and flesh.

[14:37] Think about that. They're saying that we are your body. We submit to your rule. We trust in your care.

[14:52] You see, this is how unity is born. Not through contracts, not agreements. It's not made by minimizing differences, but by maximizing the truth about the king.

[15:07] Confession. If you're here today and you wouldn't call yourself maybe a Christian, you have to notice something here. Israel did not become unified by improving their behavior or resolving conflicts or negotiating their differences, giving a little, taking a little.

[15:26] But everything remained fractured until they confessed the truth about their king. You should find that very interesting for anybody not in Christ today.

[15:40] So that means that the deepest division in your life is not ultimately between you and other people. You and the last church, you and so-and-so. It's actually between you and the king that God appointed for you.

[15:54] It's a rejection and rebellion against that king. And so the gospel, if unity with God is to take place, the gospel doesn't begin with you fixing yourself.

[16:06] It actually begins with you coming to the end of your ways and your means. It begins by asking whether you have confessed the king, and that king being Jesus Christ, crucified for sinners and risen in power.

[16:21] And in doing so, these men, in these short verses, they received salvation because they submitted to their king.

[16:33] And so they experienced the greatest miracle of salvation. And that same thing exists today for those who confess their need and dependence on Jesus Christ.

[16:45] These people enter into salvation by confession. Unity nationally in the context, but unity spiritually for you here and now if you confess.

[17:01] Entrance to the kingdom begins simply with surrender to the king. Isn't it so easy to say that, but so hard to actually do it? I think it's interesting.

[17:14] David doesn't seize it by the throne in verse 3. He receives the people. He makes a covenant with them before the Lord. The Lord is witness and placing his kingship under divine authority, not his authority.

[17:36] Salvation has come to this nation. It's come. narrator summarizes this reign. David was 30.

[17:48] Y'all thought I was young 10 years ago. I don't know. How old was I 10 years ago? 28. David was 30 and served for 40 years in total.

[18:01] Thanks. 40 years in total. Seven and a half years in Judah, like we saw in the first couple chapters of the Bible, or not the Bible, the book.

[18:12] And then another 33 years of all Israel. We should find it interesting and a reminder here, too.

[18:23] Think about what I just said. David reigned for seven and a half years in Judah and 33 years over all Israel.

[18:36] What a reminder that God's purposes are often slow. They unfold slowly, but surely. Whenever people ask me how ministry is going at Steel Valley Church, I'm like, slow, steady.

[18:53] Because that's the way that God works. Through the steady, consistent preaching of the word, the rule of his word changing our lives, correcting us, confessing.

[19:03] And we do this until we're dead. And that's it. What a reminder of God's purposes. God is never late in your life.

[19:16] And God is never rushed. He's always on time. So confession creates unity. This is unity established under God's rule of our first section.

[19:29] It creates, or it's created by confession. But unity must live somewhere. If unity is established under God's king, not only does it have a beginning, but it has a place.

[19:40] And we see that from verse 6 to 12. We see that unity is visible because it's communal. Remember what I said about the virtual church?

[19:51] That's just make-believe land? It certainly is. There's people to reach because some people don't take their eyes off of the computer and screens. But unity is visual because it's communal.

[20:06] And David's first royal act is not administrative. He's not writing out his executive orders and showing them to the camera.

[20:18] It's not administrative. It's actually theological. It's theological. He goes to Jerusalem, which is a neutral city in this land, with unfinished business from a failed conquest of Benjamin that's noted in our, if you remember, Judges, our Judges series in Judges 1.21.

[20:37] The Jebusites were not driven out of this land that they were supposed to, and Benjamin failed to do that. And so we meet the Jebusites again in verse 6.

[20:48] And the king, look with me, and the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, listen to this, and I want you to hear it in a way of mocking, okay?

[21:02] This isn't them confessing. This is them mocking. It says, you will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off. You see that sort of tone? They're saying, well, the blind and the lame will keep you out.

[21:14] You're nothing. You mean nothing. Your authority means nothing. Do you hear that in their mocking as he's taking Jerusalem? And so thinking that David can't come in there, right? They're untouchable.

[21:26] So the Jebusites, they taunt. Even the blind and the lame can stop you. My 10-year-old son can stop you, right? This is insolent rejection of David's authority.

[21:40] David throws back their insult at them. And in my first read of this, I'm like, wow, that's actually kind of offensive, David. But he actually takes what they're doing and throws it right back at them, not to give a judgment on disabilities or anything like that, but as a judgment of their defiance, using their own rhetoric against them.

[22:01] And then in verse 9, see, and David was afraid of the Lord that day. And he said, or I'm sorry, that's chapter 6.

[22:16] I'm like, that doesn't line up. And David lived in the stronghold and called it the city of David. And David built the city all around from the millow inward.

[22:30] And so we see this movement of assembly. Not only did it begin with confession of this establishment under God's king, but we see this movement towards a visible testimony of God's rule and reign.

[22:48] David takes the stronghold in Zion. The first time Zion appears in all of Scripture, you should circle in your Bibles. The first time it ever appears. And Jerusalem becomes the city of David from this moment forward.

[23:03] Even a Gentile king, we were mentioned this morning, even a Gentile king recognizes his reign. Someone who doesn't even know God. He's like, here, here's some stuff. You need some wood?

[23:14] You need a cup of sugar? You're the guy. Even unbelievers were saying he's the man. And look at this. In verse 12, And David knew that the Lord had established him king over Israel, just like our first section, king over Israel, and that he exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people.

[23:42] The people Israel. We see something very interesting. That as the movement goes from confession to a visual pronunciation of this kingdom, it is actually on the basis of community.

[24:02] The gathered people of God, community. For the sake of the people of Israel. And so unity exists for the good of the flock, not the glory of the shepherd.

[24:20] For the good of the flock. Augustine explains in one of his Tracks of John, he says, This is God's king.

[24:37] This is God's leader. This is God's design for his people. So God is the author of this functional unity.

[24:50] Unity that serves not merely inward comforts. Like we all like the songs that they sing and everything like that. That we all like the clothes that each other wears.

[25:03] Like these kind of superficial means of unity. We see here that unity, this unity is functional unity. It doesn't serve our inward comfort, but it actually becomes an outward witness even to pagan nations.

[25:18] Where they're sending us wood and cups of sugar to help. This is a deep theological emphasis of how God unites his people under his reign.

[25:32] I mean, it makes us think of the gathered church. I've kind of been hinting at that, all this sermon, but for good reason.

[25:43] Because every church gathered through the gospel of Jesus Christ, through the essentials of the gospel, his death, burial, resurrection, burial, ascension, and his second coming.

[25:56] We all participate in this visible participation in this testimony that God reigns here. We are part of this visible pronunciation of that kingdom.

[26:10] The church is Christ's body, bone and flesh. Did you know that? Paul writes about that a lot in 1 Corinthians. Not because we are strong, not because we are equipped for things, but because God reigns in our midst.

[26:29] This has the power to restore our joy in our assembly, doesn't it? Knowing that it's not just about preferences and things like that. That assembling together is not a duty, but it's a delight to gather.

[26:46] We shine, not because we are impressive, but because the King is present. Isn't that interesting? But not only is unity begun by, does unity begin by confession and it assembles visibly, it's also not man-centered.

[27:09] We get a tragic reminder of this. And we get this in this mention in verse 16.

[27:20] Well, the end of, so 13 to 16. Once everything feels triumphant, things are going well, it's almost as if the narrator has a goal in mind for us.

[27:38] Maybe to refuse to let us romanticize this, what might appear as like a utopia experience, he mentions, meaning at the height of unity, David begins to rule like the kings that Israel was warned about.

[28:12] Way back in our 1 Samuel series in chapter 8, Samuel told him, the kings of this world will take and they will take and they will take.

[28:24] What does it say here? And David took more concubines and wives.

[28:39] A direct violation of Deuteronomy 17, 17, which says for God's king, he shall not have multiple wives lest his heart turn away. This is disobedience.

[28:49] And so what we see here is that as glorious as the kingdom can be, as glorious as our confession can be, the kingdom can be very real and experienced, but on this earth it is never final.

[29:07] It's never final. This detail is not meant to be a distraction as it was for about half the week for my own study on this passage. I'm like, what is going on?

[29:20] This doesn't fit. But then I started realizing that it's actually a mercy that we're seeing. It teaches us that unity without righteousness cannot last.

[29:33] It prepares us for a better king. It's the tension that we realize when we realize as we just learned in our Old Testament survey class today, that there's a lot more pages following this utopian time.

[29:53] And that shouldn't leave us with tension. Jesus Christ is the only king who never took what was not his.

[30:05] He did not take wives. He gave himself for his bride. He did not accumulate all this power, but he laid his power down.

[30:17] He did not rule by some chance or playing his cards right. He actually ruled by obedience alone. The church is Christ's body.

[30:31] Bone and flesh. Not because there's anything in us that we can boast about, right? We mess things up. Constantly.

[30:43] The church is his body, not because we're strong, but because God reigns. He reigns. From our confession to our visible community to not being about any leader in this church, but about God alone.

[31:04] And so in verses 1 through 16, we see that unity established under God's king. And he's gathering his people, right?

[31:17] From verse 1 to 16. But whenever God establishes his kingdom, unity never goes uncontested, doesn't it?

[31:29] There always comes a storm. And we see that in the second section. Not only is unity established under God's king, but unity is preserved through obedient faith.

[31:44] And we see that from verse 17 to 25. In verse 17, when the Philistines hear that David has been announced king, they mobilize.

[32:03] Look with me. The Philistines heard that David had been anointed king. All the Philistines went up to search for David. But David heard of it and went down to the stronghold.

[32:16] And now the Philistines had come and spread out over the valley of Rephaim. I mean, that was quick, right?

[32:26] The crown was barely settled. I don't know if he got a nap in yet. But a war begins. Tension. David hears the threat.

[32:39] He retreats to the stronghold as the Philistines spread out among this valley. Imagine the stronghold being the peak of a mountain up on a hill.

[32:50] Looking around, you see all these ants starting to establish and surround them. I mean, this was actually a grace this week for me.

[33:01] I was like, well, praise God that finally there's some warfare that's legitimate. I mean, this nation has been at odds with each other from within. Finally, there's something outside that this nation has to deal with.

[33:14] It was actually very relieving. And it should be relieving to us this morning. But theologically speaking, when we think about unity, unity doesn't end conflict.

[33:26] It never ends conflict. It actually provokes it. Isn't that interesting? It's kind of like the reason we know of evil is because we know what good is.

[33:38] We know what death is because we know what life is. Well, we know what unity is because it provokes division. And war begins.

[33:51] Luther says, where God builds a church, the devil builds a chapel beside it. But David. David responds as a true king should.

[34:06] He's got his flaws, right? Author already established that in verse 13 to 16. And we'll see what happens come a couple more chapters. But he responds as a true king here.

[34:20] Responds as a true king. He inquires of the Lord, seeking both commands and promise. He says, You see, David models here kingship, God's way.

[34:50] Kingship is exercised habitually under God's word, under God's authority. Not by instinct or by strength.

[35:01] Never by instinct or strength. Unless you want things to get a little dicey. As this nation has been experiencing. But those most useful to the Lord are the ones that are found on their knees before the Lord.

[35:16] Obedience. Faith, we might call it. David came to Baal-perazim. And David defeated them there.

[35:29] And he said, The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking flood. Therefore, the name of that place is Baal-perazim.

[35:41] That's what Baal-perazim means. The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like a flood. The Philistines left their idols. They were out of there.

[35:53] And David and his men carried them away. Which is a complete reversal of the Philistines' previous triumph over Israel. Where they took the ark of God. Now, Israel triumphs over them in this great reversal.

[36:06] And takes their idols from them. Not saying that the ark was an idol. But that the ark was a symbol of God.

[36:18] And their idols were false gods. And we see in verse 22 through 25, even when the Philistines regroup, they get back to their drawing table.

[36:29] Guys, we got a problem, they say. They talk to their commander. Like, this is a united nation here. They're together. And they're fighting like one for the first time.

[36:41] They regroup and they return. Right? The king submits again. The Lord commands. Not the same. He said not to go up just like before.

[36:52] But don't use the old playbook. Keep this new, fresh playbook at hand. Go around. And when they hear the marching, take control. And so, the Lord promised that it would be in their hands.

[37:08] There was no formula that David had to conjure up on his own. There was no presumption that the Lord would do kind of like what Moses did with doubting the Lord of striking the rock to bring water and everything like that.

[37:21] And actually just went by the old playbook that he went by in his leadership. But David continuously went back to the Lord saying, Lord, what do you want me to do next?

[37:33] This is everyday faithfulness. This is everyday faithfulness. This is obedient faith. And God preserves his people through obedient faith.

[37:47] The same expression of unity is expressed in the church today. The church does not defend with our swords. I don't know if that might be a public service announcement to us.

[37:59] But we don't. We don't defend by swords. We don't defend by culture wars. We don't. We don't defend. By coercion.

[38:14] But we defend with faithful obedience to God's word. That's what David did here. And yeah, it entailed swords in this time and period.

[38:28] But we as a church, it is faithful obedience to God's word. This is quite a guiding principle in the face of opposition.

[38:44] The church is actually not called to fight. The church is actually called to stand firm. Paul reinforces that constantly.

[38:57] We're called to listen. We're called to trust. And we're called to obey. To stand firm. And God preserves the unity of his kingdom by going before his people.

[39:10] It's not our fight. He goes before his people. And calling for obedient trust in his word amid that opposition. It makes me think of, you probably saw the Minneapolis church that got stormed by protesters and everything.

[39:26] Everything's like instant news anymore. Gives us a headache probably if you're like me. It's so instantaneous. So stressful. But they did such a superb job of not fighting fire with fire.

[39:44] Even in an interview outside of that church after they got completely disrupted. And the guy is just like, we just want to worship Jesus, brother. And he's like, I don't want to comment.

[39:55] He's trying to get provoked by Don Lemon and everything. Well, I want you to take a stance. I want you to reciprocate. Bring retribution. As far as to my knowledge, that church did a pretty good job of just saying, we're here to worship Jesus.

[40:15] Right now is the Lord's day and the Lord's time. All of that, those issues out there depend on this to be right. And God preserves the unity of his kingdom by going before his people, calling for that obedient trust in his word amid opposition.

[40:34] Amid disruption. Amid disruption. And even today, as we're in like this middle ground of the already, like Christ has come, but he hasn't returned. So the already, but not yet.

[40:46] And even the kingdom we see when we gather in this church body is still just but a taste of what's to come.

[40:58] I like to call it a taste of heaven. I like to call it a taste of heaven and the gathered church because what's to come? The new Jerusalem. As David is establishing the city of David on the old Jerusalem, there will be a new Jerusalem where all tribes, nations, tongues will declare that Jesus Christ is king.

[41:19] That day will come and we're in this mix of a mess of opposition, protesters, complete division and chaos around.

[41:33] But the unity of the body is supposed to be very strategic in proclaiming Jesus Christ actually reigns. And it invites the chaos of the world under his reign to join.

[41:50] And so will you declare today, perhaps maybe for the first time in your walk on this earth or maybe the hundredth time, will you declare that Christ is king?

[42:02] Because when you do, God goes before you. He preserves you. Why does he do that? Well, because God still unites his people under a king.

[42:14] For us, it's King Jesus and preserves unity through obedient faith. I opened the message today with a question of how does God unify his people?

[42:33] And how does that unity endure? I love how 2 Samuel 5 really answers that for us. I don't actually have to answer it.

[42:45] We just need our Bibles open. It gives us an honest answer. God's kingdom does not unify people by erasing their differences, of making them all look the same and act the same and agree on everything.

[42:58] It's not by managing personalities or enforcing authority and conformity, right? No, God's kingdom unifies his people by gathering them under a king and that unity endures only as they remain obediently dependent upon him.

[43:14] And so I want to pose three questions that may be aspects of unity blockers that can challenge us even in our own walks.

[43:29] And they're pointed, they're direct, because we don't have all day for me to smooth it out or anything like that or make you feel better. But three questions to ponder.

[43:42] Number one, and I'm going to ask myself these questions along the way. Where am I asking others to submit to my preferences instead of submitting myself to Christ's rule?

[43:56] Where am I asking others to submit to my preferences instead of submitting myself to Christ's rule? Like, maybe to bring about some thoughts.

[44:10] Like, is my vision of unity shaped more by what I want or by who Jesus is and what Jesus commands, right?

[44:25] Number two, when conflict or resistance comes, protesters were marching in right now or something like that, or if it's like China and we're meeting in some house in a basement and if they find out we have a Bible, we're going to die, right?

[44:46] I mean, there's some real issues going around the world. And so when conflict or resistance comes, that will come, do I treat it as an interruption?

[45:01] Have we gotten so used to things being easy that we treat protesters and things like we're flabbergasted that they would storm a church? We should actually expect that.

[45:16] We should expect it. Do we treat conflict or resistance as an interruption or do we treat it as confirmation that Christ truly does reign and the powers of darkness do not want to accept it?

[45:33] We need to think, am I surprised by opposition or am I strengthened by the reminder that we belong to something that the enemy wants to destroy? Number three, finally, when I gather with the church, do I see it as this strict obligation to fulfill or an anticipated preview of the kingdom to come?

[46:00] Is it hard to get up and get the church? Is it hard to get up and get the church and commit to things? Are you rehearsing eternity or just attending events?

[46:14] When I gather with the church, do I see it as just an obligation to fulfill or a preview of the kingdom to come? I think in all of this, all of this proves that we are not only under the lordship and the reign of Christ, but if we can obediently fulfill his commands, continue to strive together, we know that he will preserve that unity until he comes or we kick the bucket, right?

[46:46] God unites his people under Christ and preserves that unity through obedient faith. May we get both of those right lest we fall and fail them all.

[47:03]  Let's pray.