Guilty

Your Bibles with you. Please turn with me if you would second Samuel chapter toil and I'm just gonna read the first sentence of the chapter 12 will get into the rest of the chapter in the sermon and the Lord sent Nathan to David that with me as we got our Lord in prayer.

Heavenly father. Last week we studied David's sin of adultery is murder of Uriah the Hittite. David's attitude was Holly arrogant, unloving son, feeling it was dishonoring to you and your people Israel. David's spiritual apathy, letting down wrong paths. Somehow he was able to rice thoughts of you out of his mind that enabled him to commit sins that he thought he was incapable of committing Lord we got angry with David last week he was a man of God. He knew the word of God.

He wrote some of it. We think he should've known better. We didn't like seeing David get away with his sin. This week we say that David didn't get away with his sin. You broke his pride you shattered his arrogance he drove him back to yourself.

Lord we all need second Samuel 12. We all need to see that sin is not a game. It is evil and destructive your wisdom in breaking David's heart over sin is not punishment to destroying it was discipline to saving Hebrews 12 six reminds us that if we be without chastisement.

Then we mastered Sinnott sons.

Thank you Lord for loving us too much to not deal with our sin. Thank you for the gift of repentance, for it is the precious holy name of Jesus that we pray. Amen. Maybe seated the last sentence in second Samuel chapter 11 says the thing that David had done.

Just please the Lord. David had committed adultery with Bathsheba, he orchestrated the death of Uriah the Hittite Bathsheba's husband and he did that in order that he might cover over his sin. What does God do when a true believer does something like that. Does God just turned his face away and ignore it. No, does God take that person salvation away and when that person dies he goes to hail the answer that is known Hebrews chapter 12 verse six is that if we be without chastisement, then then God deals with us for whom the Lord loves he chastens and scourges every son whom he receives puts what is that mean it means that if you can break God's law and if you can just ignore God's principles. And if you can quench the Holy Spirit of God, and there is not genuine God sent discipline in your life than what that proves is that you are not a true believer when when God's people sin.

God disciplines those people. I will share with you how it comes. It usually in stages, therefore stages of God's discipline and and number one is that he removes the joy from us. God sends conviction when we see and that brings about guilt and that guilt sets the joy out of our life and accept it.

So much so that we might try to move on.

We might try to act as if nothing had happened.

We might go through the motions but were not happy where were not happy because that joy has left us then there's a second stage that second stage is that God removes his conscious presence in Psalm chapter 66, verse 18. The Scripture says this if I regard iniquity in my heart. The Lord will not hear me. That doesn't mean that God's presence completely goes away from us, but his conscious presence is not there. It's like he steps away from us and only tell you something when you are are praying to the Lord and and and you praying and it's the heavens or brass and you know that your words are empty and you know exactly why because there's unconfessed and repetitive sin in your life that hurts and there's 1/3 stage in this third stage is that God may bring sickness or calamity into your life. He loves you so much that he will bring that in your life to wake you up to bright future drive you to repentance and then if you still won't repent. After that, and there is a four stage and that stages confrontation. Sometimes there be confrontation from the pulpit. You may have experienced that you're listening to a sermon, and the preacher preaches and it's like nobody else is in the room but you and him and what he says to you, just goes right to your heart.

It might be through a Scripture. It might to be be through an illustration. It might be through any number of things that him explaining the passage to you, but those words hit you in boom. It just breaks your heart. Sometimes it happens from a passage of Scripture that you're just reading and it just drives is driven to your heart and you know that it's the Lord speaking very powerfully to you. Sometimes it happens by Christian friend and that Christian friend comes to you because he loves you and cares for you and he knows that you're not walking with the Lord as you should, and he shares with you what the problem is on their forget Bible conference that I went to back 35 years ago Al Martin was preaching and now Martin is a reformed Baptist preacher from New Jersey powerful powerful preacher is preaching on first Corinthians chapter 9 verse 27 from Buffett my body and bring it under subjection last after I preach to others I myself should become a castaway. Any priest on the discipline that is needed to maintain holiness in your thought life. Lenny Taylor was not a preacher in that room that day did not feel like God he taken his heart and just peeled it back like an onion that particular day. Al Martin was like a Nathan to to David it was like a Nathan to me that day I been convicted and brought to my knees by just reading the Scripture remember not long after I came to know the Lord, the Lord spoke to my heart very powerfully through a passage in Luke chapter 6 went to work one morning, 3 o'clock in the morning is working for associated grocers, mutual and I was supposed to unload a beach truck that morning and and I got there nobody else was there at the warehouse, but me and the beach truck was late, and so I said well I got my little New Testament here in my pocket so I pulled it out and I started reading Luke chapter 6, I got down to verse 46 and the Lord it was like just like I got a slap in the face like a dagger in the heart. Luke chapter 6 verse 46 is Jesus bacon and he said why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things I say it that could not have been any more real to me as if Jesus was just standing before me with tears in his eyes, St. Doug, why do you call me Lord, Lord, and don't do what I tell you to do as were David is here.

God has brought him to the confrontation stage. He is the Holy Spirit is prompted him to turn from the sea and over and over again and David is pushed away the Holy Spirit.

Finally, God is said that's enough are the four principles are points that I want to share with you today. As we look at God's chastisement of David the first one is God's merciful commission once again verse one. The first part and the Lord sent Nathan to David this was not a situation where Nathan just heard some gossip that was going on in decided that he would go and talk to his friend David and just see what was really happening and see where David's heart was nothing like that at all. The Scripture says that God sent Nathan and God given a Nathan a revelation of what was going on in David's life and so he didn't go just having to guess what David it done. He knew exactly what David it done now. He was Nathan. Nathan was a statesman prophet. He was a prophet who would go before his king and give him political and spiritual direction when David was going through a tough time when he did know exactly what to do. He would go to Nathan and say Nathan, please help me out here I go to the Lord.

Find out what God would have me to do. Give me a word from God and Nathan would do that.

So David knew he loved, he respected Nathan and they were friends.

Don't you know this is not a friendship meeting the Scripture says that God sent Nathan to David in France when God sent Nathan to David. All hail couldn't keep Nathan away.

I believe that he went with the boldness and resolve to to our David to let David know that this was not just a human criticism to let David know that this was not just a little nitpicker that had some complaint against David, but that he was a messenger that was sent from God the picture Nathan walking into the into the palace. He walks into the palace or soldiers that are all standing around there and the guards that are there… Cannot walk right through them and the guards patients are white men.

You can't do this and they scream at Nathan and they say look, did you have an invitation from King David and he says no I don't but I have a invitation from King Jehovah's or move out of the way will there's there's some commotion that's going on because of all that the soldiers are trying to stopping David season is going on.

And David said no knows letting go. This is Nathan the prophet Nathan come to me and Nathan walks up to the throne before David. David has no idea of the magnitude of this meeting is fellowship with God. Over the last months has been almost nonexistent. And he knows that David at that Nathan is God's spokesman. He knows that beyond a shadow of a doubt, so I can imagine his heart just jumping up and is in his throat just beaten his Adam's apple to death. He knows that this is not going to be a fun meeting David he committed a capital offense. He was guilty of murder. He was guilty of adultery and if Nathan did come in there for the purpose of killing him. That would've been a just thing to do.

But that's not what happened. What happened was a very merciful thing that that happened. Nathan came to share the word of God with David.

They came to share the word of God that David might fall under deep conviction of sin, and that David might be led to repentance. That's mercy folks, that's mercy. A read article not long ago by a liberal preacher who was castigating a Christian conservative pastors because they were intolerant of homosexuality, they would just castigating them and I can member him saying in that article. What don't you understand that God has called us to love these people in Austin to the Rusty of yes God has called us to love these people. But what does love to them look like if God is said that that homosexuality is an abomination before God, and that no practicing homosexual will enter into the kingdom of God is a loving thing for me not to warn them of what's coming, is it a loving thing for me not to warn them that there's a cliff up ahead, and they go to be falling into a a spiritual damnation. That's not loving what's loving is what happened right here with Nathan and David that Nathan called David to repentance that takes us to point to a wise confrontation with verses one through six and the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, there were two men in a certain city.

The one rich, and the other poor.

The rich man had very many flocks and herds with the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and he brought it up and he grew it up with him and with his children used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and line his arms like a daughter to him became a traveler to the rich man he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or heard to prepare for the guest would come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to doing then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man he said to Nathan as the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserve to die, and he shall restore the lamp fourfold because he did this thing and because he had no pity injustice to the poor.

That's a topic that is truly explosive puts people who have any semblance of compassion become very angry and very volatile when they hear about poor people being mistreated and taken advantage of. Back in 1995. Our government just kinda grind Brown down to a halt for several days. They were working on the budget they were trying to balance the budget and President Clinton didn't want to balance the budget. The Congress did. President Clinton wanted to keep on spending, and though the Congress said no that will destroy our economy.

We can't do that. So President Clinton made a very crafty move.

He told the American people that the Congress was neglecting and purposely ignoring the needs of America's poor people the budget cuts that Congress was proposing had nothing to do with the poor, but the president knew that mistreating the poor was a volatile issue and within days before calling Clinton's opponents names they were saying they were harsh. They were cruel. They were uncaring to brilliant political move because the president knew if America believes that his poor people are being mistreated, then then they get mad they take up an offense and then they would side with Bill Clinton and that's exactly what happened. As we move into chapter 12 we see the prophet Nathan doing pretty much the same thing, but only in a very godly manner. God tells his prophet Nathan to go and confront the most powerful man in the face of the earth. King David and he goes to confronting think he was scared David if he got mad he could have him put to death, and so he could been shaken in his boots, but I don't think he was.

You see, Nathan knew that this was King David. He was the king of Israel, but he had a commission from another king and that was King Jehovah, who was king over everything the king of the universe.

He went to David with respect, but not fear. So after much thought, Nathan decides to use the same issue that Bill Clinton used and that was injustice to the poor. He would tell a parable to David about injustice to the poor and they believe that that would be used in David's life to wake him up licenses. David don't you listen carefully. I need to tell your story and and David just perked up and he looked right into the eyes of Nathan. Nathan said there was a man who was a very, very rich man tremendously rich. He had great flocks of sheep. He had many herds of of of cattle is a very, very rich man right next door to him. There was a very poor man who lived in the little shack and he did have hardly anything about all he had was a little ewe lamb and the children and and him. They love that lamb.

It was almost like family to them. It was everybody's pet. They played with the like cared for in it's almost like family.

I think a lot of you know Ray Grange, one of our deacons here. Race got a little dog named Henry and Ray loves Henry to death.

I'm he takes him everywhere he goes. If the rice going to a restaurant to eat. He'll take Henry with him leaving in the car him.

He knows what's coming race will bring them a piece of chicken or sausage or a piece of ham and he knows it's common right treats at little dog like family. The little dog sleeps up on his chest at night right was in the hospital two weeks ago for two weeks and Pat told me that that that little dog sat by the door and wailed for Ray for that entire two weeks until he finally came to the door. I think Ray's love for Henry was a whole lot like this this man in the stories wrote love for the little lamb by this time Nathan despite it's such a picture of pathos that that David is sitting there with tears in his eyes thinking about the plight of this poor man and Nathan continues this is one day a traveler came by the rich man's house and and he needed to make supper for him and so instead of going out get one of his own lands he went right past all of his flocks and all of his cattle and he went to the poor man's house is shack. He walked back behind the shack. Nobody's there that day and and there's a little lamb it's tied to a tree with a rope and he walks over to the to the root to the little lamb looks around to see if anybody's layer takes out a short life. He cuts the rope and then he leaves the little lamb back to his own property when he gets back to his own property throws the lamb down on the ground and he takes a short life, and he slits his throat and then he scans the little lamb he cuts took the meat off the bones and throws them into a pot for supper and they are they have a meal, a feast, a feast with the poor man's lamb prints Nathan described the children's dismay is a children get home they run back into the backyard and in the little lamb is gone and they see as the rope is been cut. Maybe Nathan tells them about the father who goes with the children. They follow the footsteps and and those footprints go all the way to the neighbors property they get to the neighbors property and they look in there on the blood they see the bloodstain saying where their little lamb had been slaughtered. I can imagine Nathan telling the story of of this little girl.

The little daughter is tears are just flowing down her cheeks and she's crying him and the father just reaches around her and holds her and hugs her to his chest, trying to give her comfort, but whatever. David is furious and David jumps up from the throne, he is a he is coming steams coming off his head and he said this is the meanest thing I've ever heard. Does that man have no conscience.

They have no sense of right and wrong. He said I tell you what you do you go out you bring that mantra may and as I live.

That man will not live I will take his life. Verse five and six again. Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man and he said to Nathan as the Lord lives.

The man was done. This deserve to die, and he shall restore the lamp fourfold because he did this thing because he had no Highpoint three is David Sinton DM versus seven through 12.

Nathan said to David you are the man, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel. I anointed you king over Israel. I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into your arms gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if this were to little. I would add you as much more. Why do you despise the word of the Lord to do what is evil in his sight.

You struck down your the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife have killed him with the sword of the ammonites.

Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house because you despise me and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife thus says the Lord. Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. I will take your wise before your eyes and give them to your neighbor. He shall lie with your wise in the side of the sun.

For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun. That reaction from David was exactly what Nathan was waiting on David standing there is face is red as a beet steam coming off his head and his that's going on. Nathan the prophet takes his arm and starts lifting it up slowly. Many points that long bony prophets finger right in the face of David, and he saved says to David.

David you are the man thou art the man, David. You are the man in the store you are the rich man, David, thou art the man, David. You could have had any single woman in Israel, but in no what did you do, you took you took the wife of someone else, you stole that wife away and the wife that you stole away from was one of the most loyal soldiers in the Israelite army.

He was one of your most loyal servants, and then not only did you take his wife but you had them killed in order to cover over your sin puts those words came out of the mouth of Nathan, but by the time they got to the ears of David.

They were the words of God. Nathan used a parable to break into David's heart. Who else taught in parables Jesus. Why did Jesus teach in parables because people remember parables what is house. People forget a principal.

And then forget a command, but when a parable is told with power, people don't forget that I think also another spiritual truth about parables. A parable will speak a message only to those who God intends it to speak to in Matthew 13.

After Jesus told the parable of the sower and the seed the disciples asked the question look to Jesus, why do you teach in parables, and Jesus said this in Matthew 1311 to 13 and he answered them to you.

It has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not been given to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance but from the one who has not even what he is has will be taken away. This is why speak to them in parables because see and they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand the soldiers and the guards who were there heard that story too, but they only heard it with their physical ears. It didn't have the impact on them because it didn't really relate to them. But folks when David heard the story was a different ballgame for David heard this story went, not to his physical ears, but to his spiritual years. You see this story was a parallel of his life and God was speaking a message to David's heart that only David could understand.

And Nathan continues. He says David the sword shall never depart from your house. The rest of your life.

Pace is David God will raise up at adversity against you and even your wives and your concubines who are in your house will will cheat on you and they will they will be unfaithful to you and your heart will be broken and David. You did what you did and tried to cover it up. But what God does in punishing you will be open before the world takes us to .4 David's confession. Look at verse 13 to David said to Nathan, I've sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, the Lord also is put away your sin, you shall not die. There's ever been a case of heartfelt, genuine repentance. This is the place and if you want to see what God does to the human heart.

When repentance is real and what it takes for repentance to be real and go to Psalm 51 Psalm 51 is David's prayer after his encounter with the with Bathsheba and how soon did it take place after that encounter. There are some scholars who think that David actually prayed that prayer right in front of Nathan.

I don't think so. It might have, but I don't think so. I think this was a one on one prayer between David and God thing. Nathan is left David when often got by himself before the Lord and cried out to the Lord we share with you what verses one into sales and Psalm 51, have mercy on me, of God, according to your steadfast love. According to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions, wash me thoroughly for my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

This is a prayer from a broken heart but this is not a situation where David feels remorse. You see, remorse is just being sorry that you got caught. David is not just sorry that he got called David is glad now that is sin is in the open. God is dealing with it. He is glad that God loves them enough that he's not in the living continue in this lie.

AES is not it a point where you just sorry that he got caught. He sorry that he broke God's heart and he sorry that he's destroyed a family and he longs for that fellowship that he is missed with God that he hasn't head in the last several months, but this is not remorse is not regret this is true repentance. In Isaiah chapter 66 verse two God said to this man will look to that one who is poor who is contrite in spirit, and who trembles at my word.

A better description could not have been found for David at this point in time. He is he is so broken that he falls prostrate before Nathan.

He's crying great tears of anguish and repentance and he cries out to Nathan. I've sinned and cries out to God.

I sent. Remember this is a man, David, who knew the word of God that he wrote some of the word of God.

They wrote Psalm 101 verse three reset. I will set no wicked thing before my eyes. He was a man who knew the law of God love the law of God. I think the 10 Commandments were emblazoned on his mind. Don't think for a minute that David did not know the seventh commandment, that shalt not commit adultery. David knew the sixth commandment thou shalt not kill.

In some hundred 19 verse 11 David said I worded. I had my heart that I might not sin against the this prayer of repentance that God led David to pray is recorded for us in Psalm 51 I'm gonna move away from second Samuel for just a few weeks, and for the next few weeks will be looking at Psalm 51 in order that we might understand what is necessary in genuine God sent Christ exalting repentance Roger Ellsworth book called the Shepherd King. He ended this section by giving us four principles that we should take home with us and when we read these principles to you.

It's of the Bible never glosses over the sin of his greatest heroes, but he lays them bear before our eyes. Its purpose in doing so is to help us learn some very important and vital principles that govern in our own lives.

When we learn from the part of David's life that we have been examining the following lessons emerge with crystal clarity number one, a true child of God can fall into horrible sin and remain in it for a time but he will never be happy. And it and will ultimately come to repentance.

Number two, the messenger of God. He refuses to tiptoe around our sins, but faithfully rebukes them does us a great service and should be prized as a true friend number three. True repentance is no light matter. It does not shrug off sin or sink to excuse it in any way, but sees the enormity of it condemns it resolves to break with it. This is done with the spirit of true brokenness and deep sorrow for God's mercy is such that he does indeed forgive the sins of his people and restores to joy but is forgiveness of their sins is not necessarily mean the removal of the consequences.

God leaves those consequences so that others will take note and will guard against sin. These lessons shine like beacons. From David's experience, we can look at his experience, except these lessons and guard diligently against sin in our own lives or we can refuse to learn from David's example we can assure ourselves that we are in the exception to the rules that we can play with the fire sin and not get burned.

The choice is ours. Someone pointed out that those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. We might say that those who refuse to learn from David's experience are doomed to find the minute misery that he found that with me as we got our Lord in prayer. Heavenly father. Today we studied a profit.

His name was Nathan. David had great respect for this man.

Nathan love David.

She led David to do a very dangerous and difficult thing Nathan was commanded by you to confront David with his sin.

David was most powerful man on earth. He could have turned on Nathan and executed him. Most kings would've done that David did not. Nathan spoke riveting truth tonight to David's heart truth that ripped through David's callused heart like an arrow.

Nathan truth was just God's truth.

David knew it they could hide no longer he could no longer run away. He had to quit running from God and start running to God's confrontation with Nathan sent David to his knees were your Holy Spirit inspired him to write Psalm 51. We praise you for that Psalm for every child of God.

Here needs those truths every day. Lord forgive us like you for gave David and restored us the joy of our salvation. Forts in the precious and holy name of Jesus that we pray. Amen