The God Who Weaves It All Together - 6/14/26

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Transcript

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Will AI be the greatest thing humanity has ever created? Or the worst? That's kind of the question of our day right now. You know, you see the tension of that question all over the place. Like I love seeing it in the news stories a few weeks ago during kind of college graduation season when you had the kind of tech CEO commencement speakers talking about the amazing moment we live in and AI transforming society. And then they were being loudly booed by the graduates who are not that excited about the fact that AI has completely destroyed the job market for entry-level positions, you know, all of that. And we see it even right now, like this weekend news came out that the US government has forbidden anthropic from using its latest model and giving access to any non-US citizen because of some of the fear of what can happen. Maybe you've felt some of this fear. There's a lot of fear about AI right now. And I was thinking about the fear of AI rebelling against us, you know, developing a mind of its own and doing what it wants, not what we want. And it's really interesting because that fear, it predates the existence of AI by a lot. You probably don't know this. The first sci-fi novel ever written that depicts machines gaining consciousness and rebelling against humanity was written in 1870. It's crazy, right? And I mean, think about the way that that idea has just captivated us. I mean, think about Hollywood for like the last 50 years. How many different movies have given us some version of the plot of we create AI and it rebels against us? I mean, here's just like a handful. There's so many more. I mean, you know, all the way back to you know, 2001, a space odyssey, the computer howl turns on the crew, you got Terminator, Cyberdyne Systems creating Skynet that destroys the world, The Matrix lives in this post-apocalyptic AI-controlled world. I mean, we're just we're fascinated by these movies. You know, I realized too late I should have included the Disney Channel original movie, Smart House. Yeah? Where are my millennials at? Okay. So we love this story. Um, it it captivated us, it it makes us afraid. And I was thinking about why have we been so captivated by this idea of creating AI that rebels against us way before it was even possible. And I think there's a reason. The reason is because we recognize the story, it's our story. We are the creation that was given free will and used it to rebel against our creator and destroy the world. That's who human beings are. God made us with the ability to choose, and we used our choices to go against him, and so how fitting is it that we are terrified of us creating something that does the same thing to us that we did to our creator. We're not gonna talk any more about AI this morning, but we are gonna talk about this reality, this amazing truth of what God has done. That God, who is completely uh in control, that's all powerful, God who can do anything, that he created us in his image with the ability to make real choices that actually affect the world, that he actually gave us the ability to go against his will, to say no to him, and we do it all the time. And yet somehow he's still God and he's still in control. And we're gonna we're gonna try to dive into that mystery of the universe, of how God is all powerful and in control, and yet we make real choices this morning. We're gonna see that in our story in the life of David today. It's a story of chaos, it's a story of human beings making all kinds of choices, some good, some bad, some in line with God's will, some against it, and yet God working behind the scenes to bring that about. And it's an important reminder for us today because we also live in chaos. We live in a world of that same thing, of people making good choices and bad choices and deciding to submit to God's will and go against it or whatever. And that is true, and yet God is still in charge. I love how God spells this out for us in the book of A of Isaiah. Uh this is what we're gonna see this morning, and I'll show you the verse. We're gonna see this idea that people make their choices, but God weaves them together to accomplish his will. We make real choices that actually matter, that affect things, but but God weaves them together to accomplish his will. And look at God saying this. Okay, this is this is from the book of Isaiah. This is God speaking. He says, Remember what happened long ago. For I am God and there is no other. I am God and no one is like me. Now look at this. I declare the end from the beginning and from long ago, what is not yet done, saying, My plan will take place, and I will do all my will. This world is chaotic. We make choices, people make good choices and bad choices, it affects things, and yet God says, Don't ever forget, I'm God, and I actually determine what will come. My plan will come to pass. And we're gonna look at this mystery of how this works in this story this morning, and we're gonna kind of look at it uh with three different chapters. In this moment of chaos, we're gonna look at the human choices of three sets of people, and we're gonna see how those choices matter and how they make a difference, and yet ultimately how God is behind them all bringing about his will. And so here are the three chapters of our story this morning. Three sets of choices. Chapter one, we're gonna look at the choices of David and Absalom, then we're gonna look at the choices of Ahithophel and the unnamed woman, and then we're gonna look at the choices of the three strangers in the wilderness. And all through that, I hope you gain an appreciation for how amazing God is and how he works. Let's start with chapter one, the choices of David and Absalom. What we're gonna see is that Absalom chooses to exalt himself, and David chooses to humble himself. This is how we got here in this story is Absalom has chosen to exalt himself. Absalom is David's son, and he is next in line to the throne. He will become king when David dies. And yet Absalom and David have had a bit of a rift. David has made some really bad choices. He's been a failure as a father, he's been a failure as a king. Absalom has lost all respect for David. And so Absalom has made the decision not to wait on God's timing, not to humble himself and let God take care of what should happen to David. Absalom has chosen to take things into his own hands and grab power to take the throne. He's led a coup against David, and he has driven David and David's uh family and his people out of the palace now. So David is on the run and they're running for their lives because Absalom has momentum, he has the support of the people, and he could defeat David right now, and so David has no choice but to run. And Absalom's choice to exalt himself, it is what has created this chaotic moment, not just for David, but for the whole nation. And yet, what we see in that is while David has been really far from God for a long time now, this moment of the coup against him by his own son, uh, it's a wake-up call. And David, seeing what God is allowing to happen and seeing all that's taken place, he decides to humble himself and to accept that God is allowing this to take place. You see this really clearly as David and his people are fleeing the palace, fleeing Jerusalem. They've gotten outside of the city and they're running out into the wilderness for their lives. And in the midst of that, this crazy thing happens as the kind of royal processional is fleeing. Uh, this guy named Shimei starts heckling them. He starts yelling at David and you know, insulting him. You know, he's yelling, David, this is your fault. You deserve this. You're a man of bloodshed, you have this coming. This is because of how you mistreated Saul, who was before you, and all these people. Like, you deserve everything you have coming. And that was shocking in that day. Okay? Like in our world, we're kind of used to people treating politicians that way. Like, there's people who make millions of dollars on late-night TV shows every day heckling the president. That's just like we have free speech. This is the whole thing. None of that existed in that day. Like, you did not disrespect the king. And I'll tell you why. The reason why is because of what David does, or or what David's bodyguard does, I should say. As they're being heckled by this guy, David's bodyguard says, Hey, look, I know we're in a hurry and we're like running for our lives and everything, but can we just take a break? Can I go kill that guy, please? Uh why are we letting him talk to us like this? Let's go kill him and then we'll continue on our way. And everybody would expect David to be like, yeah, of course, like kill that guy, because that's just what Kings did in that time. But David doesn't. He doesn't defend himself, he doesn't elevate himself, he humbles himself. This is what he says. David says, leave him alone and let him curse me. The Lord has told him to. Perhaps the Lord will see my affliction and restore goodness to me instead of Shemaai's curses today. He sees a human being making choices. He sees Shemai choosing to curse him. He sees the human choices that Absalom has made in the coup and the people that have turned against him and all of that. But he also sees beyond that reality to the reality of God who's in control. And he recognizes I brought this on myself. It's my sin that is leading to this. This is the consequence for my action. And so I'm going to humble myself before God and let God do what he sees fit. See, this goes all the way back to David's sin with Bathsheba when he committed adultery and he lied to cover it up and he had her husband killed. And in the aftermath of that, God said, Part of the consequence of your sin is that I'm going to bring disaster on you from within your own family. And it's happening now. And David says, I am going to accept that God is allowing me to face the consequences for my sin. So we see all these human choices taking place, but behind that, there's a reality that God allows David to face his consequences, but graciously limits the damage of his sin. God has allowed this to take place, and it is because of what David has done. And yet, God is not going to turn his back on David. He's not going to abandon him. He's not going to let this coup be the end of the story. He is going to graciously limit the consequences of David's sin, though he is going to let David face them. And we'll see how God limits those consequences as we move on. This is chapter two of our story. After the choices of David and Absalom, we have the choices of Ahithophel and the unnamed woman. And what we're going to see is that Ahithophel chooses betrayal, while an unnamed woman chooses faithfulness. Alright, who is Ahithophel? A lesser known character in our Bibles, it wouldn't be surprising if you've never heard that name before, though it is quite fun to say. So Ahithophel, who is he? He is a super, super important person in David's royal court. He's an advisor, and he's such a good advisor. He is so wise and so brilliant that people treat his words as if they were the words of God. Look at how people treat Ahithophel. We're told this in 2 Samuel 16, 23. Now the advice Ahithophel gave in those days was like someone asking about a word from God. Such was the regard that both David and Absalom had for Ahithophel's advice. And so he's like this secret weapon almost. And the reason why that's a problem is because Ahithophel betrays David. When the coup is happening, when Absalom is taking over, Ahithophel stays behind at the palace. And when Absalom shows up, he gives his allegiance to Absalom. And more than that, in the chaos of the transition of power, Ahithophel speaks up, he gets Absalom's ear, and he says, Let me tell you what to do. He uses his wisdom and his brilliance to tell Absalom how to put an end to David once and for all. Ahithophel says, Look, give me 12,000 troops right now. This is the moment to strike in the midst of the chaos. David and his men, they're exhausted, they were unprepared, they're unsupplied, they're not ready. Let me go chase them down, and I will kill David. And then, once David is dead, will show mercy to his men, and in that moment, Absalom, you will consolidate total power, you will be in charge of everyone. It is brilliant advice. It is exactly what Absalom should do. It would work. See, David had left behind another advisor as well. It was a little bit of a trick. He was a double agent. His name is Hushai. And Hushai is not nearly as brilliant as Absalom, but he is faithful to David, and he's faithful to God. And David leaves him behind and says, Hey, pretend to be loyal to Absalom, but really look out for me. That's exactly what Hushai does. And God gives Hushai exactly the words to say to convince Absalom not to take the good advice. What Hushai says is, look, hey, uh, this plan, it's too risky, it's too dangerous. We're a little scrambled still. We don't have everything figured out. If the battle goes the wrong way, everything could turn against us. We need to take a deep breath. And then, Absalom, you should be the one to go kill David. Don't let Ahithophel get all the glory. Raise up an army, and when you're ready, march out against David and destroy him. Then you get the glory. And Absalom, he likes the sound of that. He takes Hushai's advice over Ahithophel's. And we're told why. All these human choices are happening, people making free choices of their own will. And yet, look at how it's reflected upon in chapter 17. This happens since the Lord had decreed that Ahithophel's good advice be undermined in order to bring about Absalom's ruin. Absalom and all the men of Israel said the advice of Hushai the Archite is better than Ahithophel's advice. People are making their choices, but God is weaving them together to bring about his will and to keep Absalom from being successful. We see that God thwarts Absalom's rebellion by using the humble and humiliating the proud. We forgot. The unnamed woman, the humble. Of course, it's fitting that we forgot her because that's kind of the point. She's forgettable, she's ordinary, she's not even named in our story. But what happens here is that uh the camera pans away from Absalom's courtroom, from the seat of power, where the important men are making important decisions of great consequence. And it seems like you know, everything hangs in the balance on what is decided by these important people. And it pans to this random woman, just somebody who lives on a farm outside the city, and her choice. See, what takes place is that David has spies in Jerusalem who have now learned of what Absalom's plan is. And their job is to go to David and to tell David what Absalom's about to do so that David can prepare and protect himself and defend himself. And the spies have been caught, or they've been found out. And Absalom has his secret police chasing after them. They're running away from the palace, and Absalom's men are right behind them. And these two spies, they run on to this woman's farm, and she hides them in her well. And right as that happens, Absalom's secret police show up at her door and they say, Where are the spies? And she has a choice to make. She can give them up and likely be greatly rewarded by Absalom. Or she can risk her own life and lie to stay faithful to God's anointed one, David, and the one that she's given her allegiance to. And that's what she chooses. She lies. She sends the Absalom's men on a wild goose chase, and while they're looking in the wrong spot, the spies escape and they make it to David and they tell David the plan. And in large part, like the rebellion hinges on that moment of her protecting the spies. And I just love how God works, right? Because everyone would think that the things that really matter are the decisions being made in the palace by the important people with the with all their wisdom and their brilliance and their titles and all of that. And yet what God does is he uses one faithful decision from somebody whose name we don't even know to accomplish his will and thwart what's happening with all the important people making their important decisions. That's chapter two. Chapter three. It's the choices of three strangers in the wilderness. David and his men, uh, they're running, and they weren't prepared, and they don't have supplies, and they get out into the wilderness, and they're a mess. I mean, they're exhausted, they don't have food. And what we see is three strangers decide to show up and provide for David. A group of strangers in the wilderness choose to generously bless David and his men. We're given the names of these strangers and a little bit about their backstory, but really the point is just that they are people who don't owe David anything. In fact, they may even have reason to be okay with David losing his power. One of them is uh a descendant of the Amalekites, who David just defeated several years ago. And yet, these strangers who owe David nothing, they see David and his men in the wilderness in need, and they say, We can help these people. That's the decision that they make. And they go all out. They show hospitality to this unending degree. It's really spelled out for us in great detail in the passage. We're told that they bring beds so they can sleep, and basins and pottery items so they can wash up. They also brought wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, honey, curds, sheep, goats, and cheese from the herd for David and the people with him to eat. I mean, just unending. They put a feast in front of David and his men and were told what's going through their head. They had reasons. The people must be hungry, exhausted, and thirsty in the wilderness. These are people who saw a need that was not their problem. And the choice they made was we can be generous and we can help, even though we don't have to. And see, David, he sees God's hand at work through the choices of these three strangers. See, what's happening behind the scenes is that God shows faithfulness to David and provides in his time of need. And the reason why we know that David sees this is because likely this is the place, this is the setting where David writes Psalm 23. He's on the run from Absalom, his enemies are right at his door. He's in the wilderness, and they're feasting when they shouldn't be. They're feasting when they should be starving. And David writes Psalm 23, one of the most famous Psalms, and you'll recognize this line. He says to God, You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. All these human choices are all around him, and yet he lifts up his eyes and he sees the reality of a God who's behind it all, who's showing up and providing for him in his time of need. Human beings make their choices, but God weaves them together to accomplish his will. What do we do with that truth today? I want to make this real for us because I know some of you are like interested in the philosophical idea of this and this concept that God is all powerful and we have choices, and I love that too. But I know some of you are just like, all right, but like what do I do with this tomorrow? You know, like what does this mean for my life? Ask that question. What does this mean for us as followers of Jesus? What do we need to grasp when we read a story like this and we see how God's hand is at work? And I'll leave you just three things. Here's the first thing we need to take away is this truth. That because we have free will, our choices really matter. Absalom's choice to exalt himself, it really changes his destiny. David's choice, his sin, and then ultimately humbling himself, it changes everything about his life. Like we see this reality of human beings making choices that really affect them in profound ways. And you have many choices in front of you right now that really, really matter. One of the things that has concerned me right now, looking at the moment we're in, and you know, I talked about these college graduation ceremonies and this next generation who's growing up. One of the things that really concerns me for our young people right now is that there's a little bit of hopelessness. There's a little bit of fatalism of this reality of just like the world is just controlled by powerful people and decisions that are made outside of us, and like I'll never get a job because AI destroyed it all, and I'll never own a house because the boomers own all the property. And you know, like uh like the world is just set against me, and it doesn't matter what I do. Like I maybe you felt that, maybe you've seen that. And I'm not saying there aren't structural things going on, but God created you in his image, and he gave you this incredible power, this agency, this ability to affect your life and the decisions you make and how you choose to live, it will matter in huge, huge ways. I mean, right now, okay, right now, your decision whether to repent of the sin in your life that you know about or whether to hide it, my goodness, that is gonna affect your life. And maybe the people closest to you as well. You know, your decision right now, whether to do the hard work of investing in community and real relationships with people, whether you're gonna put in the time and the effort and be vulnerable in all of that or not, or to do the easier thing and just watch Netflix every night, you know, like that choice is gonna have a profound impact on your life. Your choice of what you're gonna live for. If you're gonna give your life for others and serve people and give your time away and your money away, or whether you're gonna live for yourself in material gain and comfort, that choice has so many effects on you and the world around you. The choices you make, they matter. And yet, we also need to remember that that's not the full story. We need to remember that because God always accomplishes his will, we can completely trust him. See here's the thing. If you only think about the way that human choices matter, and they matter, but if that's all you think about, very quickly you will end up in despair. Because our choices do matter, and we make the wrong choice a lot, and the people around you make the wrong choice a lot. And if you think about the world as just being controlled by the choices of human beings, you will become hopeless and you will end up in despair. And yet the reality is God says, look, that's not the whole story. It is true that human beings make choices, that they that they matter, but God says, nothing stands in the way of me accomplishing my will. And that includes you. That includes me. What that means is that my failures won't stop God from doing what God's gonna do. Your failures won't stop God from doing what he's going to do. And we see that in this story, right? God made a promise to David. He said, I'm gonna use you, David, and your family to bless all the nations. I'm gonna redeem all of creation through you. And David has failed epically. I mean, he has done so many horrible things, and it's still not gonna stop God from doing what he promised he would do. He's gonna redeem David, he's gonna use his family, he is gonna let David face these consequences, but he's not gonna abandon him, and the same is true for you. God's promises in your life, his forgiveness, his mercy, the future that he has for you, life with him, like nothing can stop those promises from coming true. Even you. That's point two. And the last thing is this reality, it points us to Jesus and who Jesus is and what it means to follow him. What we need to see is that Jesus invites us to follow him by aligning our wills to God's will. So if you think about how this is supposed to work, we have free will, God's in control, God has a will of his own. How's it supposed to be? Well, we're made in God's image, and what we're made is we're given the ability to use our free will to worship God, to choose, to submit to him, to pursue what he wants, to love what he loves, to hate what he hates. Like we're all we're designed to align ourselves to God so that we live not for ourselves, but for him. And when you follow Jesus, Jesus asks you to live that way. You know, he prays, Father, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That's our prayer as Jesus followers as well. And I love that Jesus doesn't just ask this of us, but he shows us this. He lives this way. And we see this so clearly as Jesus goes to the cross. The night before he's crucified, he's in the Garden of Gethsemane and he's praying, and he knows what's coming. He knows the cross is right around the corner. And Jesus doesn't want to go to the cross. He is a human being. He's fully God, but he's fully man. And as a human being, Jesus wants to avoid suffering, just like you want to avoid suffering. And so he's on his knees and he's praying to his father in heaven, and this is what he prays. He says, Father, if you're willing, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. Jesus says, Look, I don't I don't want to go to the cross. But, Father, more than I want getting my way, I want your will to be done. And so I lay my will down at your feet. And because Jesus makes that choice, he saves us. He takes our sin onto himself, he dies the death that we deserve, he's raised to life and gives us life that we could never earn on our own. And in that reality, he invites us to follow him and to live that way as well. Say, God has given you the amazing ability to make choices that matter, to use your free will. He says, Will you follow me in saying to God, God, I want to use my will, not for myself, but for you, for your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Let's ask God to give us the power to live that way together. Jesus, we come before you this morning and we just confess all the ways, the countless ways, that we have used our will and our choices, not for you, but for ourselves. And God, we bring that to you, and we're just grateful for your mercy, for your grace, for your forgiveness. And God, we ask that you would continue your work by your Holy Spirit of shaping us, of making us more into the image of Jesus, of renewing our hearts and our minds. And we ask that you would use our lives and our decisions and everything that we have, not for our own good, but for the good of others, for your kingdom, to accomplish your will and your purposes. God, that's what we we want, that's what we want our lives to be for. And we fail so often and we are so weak, but Lord, we know that nothing gets in the way of you accomplishing your will. And so would your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, in us, in our family, in our church. We ask all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.