Pride

Have your Bibles with you directly if you want to second Samuel chapter 24 were looking at starting with just verse one. Again, the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and the inside to David against them, saying, go, number Israel and Judah that with me as we got our Lord in prayer.

Heavenly father day we look at the sin of pride's not an outward sin like drunkenness, child molestation, or adultery is a sin of the heart can be often hidden for extended periods of time. This end of the first sin ever committed, as Lucifer stood up and said I will exalt myself over the stars of heaven, I will be like the most high God is the first human sin. Satan tempted Eve and said eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will be like God, he was not tempted by the beauty or delicious taste of the fruit she is tempted by pride, wanting to be like God, knowing good and evil. The high price to pay. As you look at David's capitulation to pride. May we see the horrible consequences, and may we be humbled by the word of God, keep my lips from arrow help this congregation to get serious about spiritual warfare. What is the precious and holy name of Jesus that we pray. Amen. You may be seated. If I had never read second Samuel chapter 24 someone asked me.how would you think David would close out his life.

I would've probably said I think that David would close out his life heroically, triumphantly and gloriously, I would think that David would say. I will these last months of my life to bring glory and honor to the name of my Lord.

I think he would say I really want to finish whale for God's glory and I would've been dead wrong.

Somebody asked me years ago this question. They said that was the difference between the Bible and all the other so-called holy books of the other religions and and I answer them this way. I said well the primary difference is this.

The Bible is totally inspired infallibly and errantly by the Holy Spirit of God and in the Bible there are no errors.

There are no contradictions. Every statement, every word, every jot and every tittle is perfectly exactly as God wanted it as it came off the PMs of those men who were inspired by God to write said that was not true of the other so-called holy books of the other religions you go to those books and you will find errors and contradictions on almost every page, but not only that, I also said to them, it's interesting that as you go read through the Scripture what you find out is that God never whitewash his over the sins of God's people he doesn't do that God does not somehow forget about the errors in the sins and the mistakes in the blunders of God's people.

In other words, there is only one he wrote in the Scripture, and that he wrote is the Lord Jesus Christ. We as the children of God at our best are just sinners saved by God's grace. Having said all that, I'm still shocked that David doesn't really finish his whale as he could have.

He is seen God do so much here. David was the 16-year-old kid and of all the men in Israel. God chooses him to be the king that will take the throne of King Saul.

Someday David went out to fight the toughest Philistine warrior that ever live Goliath and when he went out God empowered him with us on the physical agility of the military wisdom and he took nothing but a slingshot and a stone with the and defeated and killed Goliath with nothing but that in God.

David became the greatest military strategist on the face of the earth. David became the sweet psalmist of Israel. He wrote half the Psalms in the Psalter. He was a man who was a man after God's own heart. He was the apple of God's and we see David's sin. We see David's adultery with Bathsheba. We see this conspiracy to murder of Uriah the Hittite we see his failure as a deity failure with Amnon and Absalom and Adonijah you think that David would have learned from ACN that David would've come to this point in his life knowing that he doesn't have much longer to live. And he would've said I want my life to glorify God. How will the rest of my days to really count for the Lord's sake, but that didn't happen. And for those of you in this congregation who are elderly.

Hear me out.

You can't lay down your spiritual armor until the day that you die because you might have retired from your job. But you know retire from the kingdom of God and at first we as God's people are going to have to wield our spiritual weapons until the day that we die and we all have a desire in our heart that by the grace of God. We want to finish whale for the glory of God's kingdom.

We also want that. In fact, you want to want to have a great obituary. I do one like the apostle Paul had that he wrote down himself in second Timothy chapter 4 where Paul Cynthia's prime now ready to be offered in the time of my departure is at hand frothed all the good fight, I finished my course of The faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day and not to be only burned all them also who who love his appearing. Got six points I want to share with you today .1 is the temptation to sin.

Look with me again at verse one. Given the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and he incited David against him say and go to number Israel and Judah. The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.

Anger the Lord was also kindled against David very interesting that this particular story that we have here is not only recorded for us here in second Samuel 24 but it's also recorded for us over in first Chronicles chapter 21 and if you check that out if you go to those passages and you read the first verse in each chapter you will find that there is a word change and it's a pretty big word change we read those two first two sentences of our first sentence in each one of those chapters to you seeking pick out that word change second Samuel 24 one says God incited David to number Israel first Chronicles 21 one says Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel, son who incited David to number Israel was a God or Satan was it David Roger Ellsworth get some great counsel on this.

He said this, how are we to reconcile these things. A reasonable synopsis would be to say God allowed Satan to tempt David and David yielded to that temptation. In other words, God read the pride in David's heart decided to allow Satan to tempt him as a judgment of punning. We can also say God allowed Satan to tempt David because God had a controversy with the whole nation. Keep in mind that David was God's choice to be king over Israel and that Israel had flagrantly rebelled against God and going after Absalom. Up to this point, the people of Israel had not repented of that sin and by allowing Satan to tempt David God was essentially bringing judgment upon the nation for her sin. What we have here the end is essentially the same thing that happened with Job you are in Sunday school this morning that you would know this, Satan to try Job, and he allowed him to try David God allowed Satan to try Job, and he allowed him to try David, but we must remember that neither the fact that God permitted the temptation for the fact that Satan carried it out for one moment release David of guilt folks. God doesn't tempt anyone to sin, but sometimes if a person's heart is hungry to sin. God will take his hand of restraining grace off of that person. Let them do what their wicked heart wants to do and in the process. God will use that to bring about his perfect sovereign glory.

That's very important for us to see sometimes God will even use Satan and Satan's temptation to bring about his sovereign purpose. It was Martin Luther who wisely said that God is so sovereign that even the devil is God's devil.

Folks, if that's important for us to see because Satan cannot go one step further than God will allow him to go. And God is so sovereign that he can even use his evil is a question what is so bad about taking a census and then seem so bad. Doesn't we have other places in the Scripture we are the Lord sanctions a census numbers chapter 1 numbers chapter 26 so what's the problem here in John MacArthur's study Bible had a footnote that I thought was very good. Is is a census of Israel's potential army did not have the sanction of the Lord and proceeded from wrong motives, possibly pride and ambition. David either wanted to glory in the size of his fighting force her to take more territory than the Lord had granted him folks David knew better than this.

Psalm 20 verse seven God inspired David to write that Holy Spirit infallibly inspired him to write it.

What is it say this is some boast in chariots and some boast in horses, but we will boast in the name of the Lord our God.

So David's temptation to sin, was a temptation of pride and of ungodly ambition, I point to the committing is seen at look at verse 239 so the king said to Joab, the commander of the Army who was withing go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people that I may know the number of the people but Joab said to the king.

May the Lord your God add to the people.

100 times as many as they are allies of my lord the king still see it. Why does my lord the king delight in this thing. But the king's word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the Army to Joab and the commanders, the Army went out from the presence of the king to number the people of Israel across the Jordan and began from a roar and from the scene, he that is in the middle of the valley toward Gad and onto jazz or then they came to Gilead into Canaan – in the land of the Hittites and they came to Dannon from Dan. They went around the side and came to the fortress of tire and all the cities of the Hittites and the Canaanites and they went out to the kneecap of Judah, Beersheba, so when they go into all the land they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and 20 days, Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to the king in Israel, there were 80,000 valiant men who drew the sword. The men of Judah worth 500,000. David gave his general his commander. He gave him the responsibility of going out and and and doing a census of the nation, but primarily of the Army and Joab didn't feel good about that. And Joab essentially said to David, David, I pray that God will multiply our number. I pray that he will multiply 100 times. I pray that that the Army will growing its size and be everything.

It's called ability.

I pray that we will have the greatest Army on the face of the earth that nobody will be able to defeat us.

But David, I think you need to rethink this idea about doing a census was the purpose and it David, I don't think that this census is going to glorify God. I think you're using this for bragging rights. I think that that this is going to somehow stroke your ego.

I think you're going to do this in and you're gonna find out with the numbers. The other you think that people's respect for you is going rise up because the number is so great.

I do think this was a pride issue. It was a CS Lewis.

He said that those who are most proud very seldom see it in themselves and so here's Joab in these point out to David that this is probably not a good thing for him to do.

David needs to listen to that David didn't really want to hear that and so Joab gives him good counsel godly counsel coming from Joab essay and something really getting counseling. David doesn't want to take it. He would not take it with me ask you something. Folks can that happen in a church, you better believe that can happen in church.

How many churches today are are primarily concerned about numbers.

That's really all that matters to them get their numbers up, get their numbers up folks. We want to see people coming to Christ. I will have a growing church.

If we you don't want to have a growing church or some wrong with you. You want to be able to reach people on the outside, bring them and disciple them. We want a church is healthy and maturing and growing, but there are too many churches today that are called up in this numbers game. Too many churches that are doing that they moved from warship to entertainment and they they start watering down the word of God because they are afraid that it might offend the unbelievers and it might offend those professing Christians in the church who are probably not Christians at all and folks. The goal is more people more money and more fun resident sisters. I want Grace Church to grow but never never at the expense of God's glory.

As I said three weeks ago where an ordinary church.

What does that mean it means that we that we function by the ordinary means of grace, by prayer, by the preaching of God's word by the administration of the sacraments baptism and the Lord's supper and folks God his use that for the last 2000 years. He is use the ordinary means of grace in his church to bring glory to himself and I don't really give a rip off.

The one churches think he's going to continue to use that because that's what he said in his word to continue to use that until the Lord Jesus Christ returns who did David want to honor when he took the census wasn't trying to honor God. Trent honor David that brought damage to David. It brought great harm to Israel Richard Philip Cynthia's the delight of God's people, and especially of their leaders should be in the Lord himself and his glorious attributes, covenant promises and demonstrated faithfulness and never in worldly resources. However good they are, in themselves. David CN is at least a warning to us not to be simplistic about numbers in the church and certainly shows us the folly of equating mere numbers with the blessing of God. That's true. So what did David do with the wise counsel of Joab. He shrugged it off.

He said Joab listen on the king of Israel. You're not.

I'm not really concerned about your opinion.

I don't really care too much about what you think that David was essentially saying I don't really care what God thinks here, I'm gonna do what I want to do verse four tells us that that the teams word prevailed over Joab. Other words there in this big argument and David David will not back away. He would not budge. I think got back with me to first Chronicles chapter 21 verse one we just read that to you again. Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel at the site most often attack us the attacks, our thought life primarily now does otherwise, but primarily most of the time he's attacking the thought life and in Ephesians chapter 6 verse 11. The Scripture says put on the whole armor of God, that you might stand against the schemes of the devil in second Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 11. The Scripture says that we are not ignorant of his skiing board schemes is very interesting word and in the Scripture, the root word for schemes is is mind we read your paraphrase.

We are not ignorant of his ability to get into our minds and direct our thoughts assess what's going on with David. Satan is nudging him in his thought life.

He is saying to David, you don't seem very happy.

You need to be happy. David and in the way that you get happy is when you get your ego stroked the way that you get happy is when your heart feels up with pride. So David number the people and when you number the people. Everybody will have all this great respect for you and you'll get all the credit.

That's what you need to do David it was an attack on David's thought life.

David bought into Satan's lies and he refused to listen to Joab's counsel, and for over nine months. David push this ungodly census height .3 is the confession of sin. Look at verse 10.

But David's heart struck him after you number the people and David said to the Lord. I've sinned greatly in what I have done, but now will. Lord, please take away the iniquity of your servant drive done very foolishly. When you read this phrase from a few different translations that first phrase, the NASB says. But David's heart troubled him. The new King James version says David's heart condemned him the CSV says that David's heart troubled him.

The King James version says that David's heart smote him the ESV says that David's heart struck him. I think the ESV probably says it best. David's heart was struck. The Hebrew word it for that is not cough and it's a severe word, it means no attack or to assault David is under such deep conviction that the Holy Spirit of God is pummeling his heart with guilt and there is shame and there is regret, and there is sorrow several years ago is a lady that called both Eugene and one after the other and she was crying on the phone. They've since moved away from here like live of up north somewhere but they called us and both of us and and she was crying so hard I could hardly understand her. She said to Joe, please come down the house.

We both got to their house at about the same time. We walked into their front door.

The lady was crying her baby was crying and her husband was laying on the floor in a fetal position absolutely sobbing. We started trying to talk to him and he confessed us that he had had an adulterous affair and he's just was weeping and he said I can't believe I was so stupid he said I can't believe that I hurt my wife this bad. I can't believe that I hurt Jesus this bad. I can't believe that I did not listen to my own conscience. He said oh God, I'm sorry Eugene and I tried to minister to that family. We prayed with them. We shared Scripture with them. We told him of the possibility of reconciliation and that family. We told them of his need of genuine repentance and praise God that man did repent family stay together with the price he paid was more painful than he ever imagined.

Eugene and I walked back to the car together and asked when that meeting was over and we looked at each other and we said to each other while sin is costly and we said about our own sales. We better be careful and we better find temp Tatian with everything that's in this, I was reminded of Adrian Rogers quote sin will take you further than you want to go that will keep you longer than you want to study and it will cost you more than you want to pay what our friend was feeling in his heart as he lay on that floor just weeping like a baby was exactly what David was feeling David's heart was struck and brothers and sisters. That's a good thing because it proved God's love for him.

It proves that God was his father and he was God's child, Hebrews chapter 12 verse six is for whom the Lord loves he chastens and scourges every son whom he receives. So what did David do the David shrugged his shoulders and say well not not do about it now. Did he say well this is just some spilt milk and not used to to cry over spilt milk. No, David was broken and he prayed to listen to his prayer.

Oh Lord, I've sinned greatly. Please forgive me. Take away my iniquity. I've acted foolishly true Christians are perfect, true Christian sin but but if you are a true Christian chastisement is going to come when you sin because the Lord loves you. And if you're a true Christian. There's going to be confession and there is going to be genuine repentance takes us to point for the chastening forcing in verses 11 through 13 when David arose in the morning. The word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad David Cyr saying go and say to David thus says the Lord. Three things offer you choose one of them that I may do it to you.

So Gad came to David and told him and said to him shall three years of famine come to you in your land or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you, or shall there be three days pestilence in your land that consider and decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me. David is given a choice to make concerning the chastisement that he and Israel will experience far as I know this is the only time in the Bible that we ever see this very strange, but David had to make the choice, and when David made the choice I think that it brought heartache to him. It was even brighter than anything else he experienced folks I talked to people all the time. We believe that confession and repentance promises you that the consequences of that sin will be gone.

I want you know that's not true confession and repentance will remove the guilt of sin, but it will not necessarily remove the consequences of sin. I believe that's very very important for us to understand if a person spends years.

Rick and his body a drinking way too much alcohol it comes to the end of his days in any genuinely repentant and he comes to know Christ. Praise God for that.

He's genuinely forgiven, but it may be that that body that he's destroyed over all these years is not going to get better and most the time it's not the man that Eugene and I went to see that night was forgiven by God, I don't doubt that at all. I believe that his repentance was real only tell you something is wise heart did not automatically just stop hurting. He was known as a professing believer at his work in the snide comments in the smirks and the attitude of his fellow workers toward him did not change funds even the consequences of God's judgment is as tough as they are there still feel with grace for the consequences remind us that sin is just not worth it also reminds us that we belong to him. It reminds us that we don't get away with sin when you spank your children you are not just disciplining them for their past, but you are also training them for the future the day after Eugene and I had that meeting. I saw them over and in the church and walked up to him. I said did you find it easier to day to fight temptation and he said man. Yes, AA said Doug.

He said I will never forget that man lying in that floor in a fetal position, weeping his heart out.

He said, sin is costly. When I left that man's house that night.

Going back to my home. I pray for that man but also pray for myself. Lord, give me a heart to fight temptation because sin is just not worth it. So God sent the prophet Gad to David any day in the Gad gave him three options that God given him and listens options number one, three years of famine on human your land number to your enemies will pursue you for three months. Number three.

Three days of God sent pestilence in the land.

David said I will take the three days of judgment from the hand of God takes us to .5 the distress of sin. Look at verse 14 with me. Then David said to Gad, I am in great distress.

Let us fall into the hands of the Lord for his mercy is great, but let me not fall into the hand of man. David knew the discipline was going to be deep. He knew it was going to be harsh it was.

Not only going to affect him is going to affect the entire nation as a David stands before this prophet and he says to the prophet. With tears streaming down his cheeks. I am in great distress or distress is an interesting word. It means tied up restricted common strict if it means that his stomach was just Todd in a not as he was having to deal with is the judgment that God sent on Israel was not sin on the innocent Israel, for God had had called David to be the king of Israel, and Israel had had walked away from that calling of God and they said we don't want David to be our king anymore. We want to put the wicked Absalom on the throne. We think it'll be better for us. With somebody that God did not call and so God didn't let that happen. God stopped all that but when God did we see no remorse.

We say no regret, and we certainly see no repentance on the part of Israel.

So as you look at this story. David is the primary one at fault.

We need to realize that Israel is very very guilty as well and David knew that the discipline was going to be severe, but I wonder if David said to himself while if I just know the consequences of my actions not expressing this kind of nasty pride.

I think he would've said I would have never done it. I don't think he would've done it if he could have seen the outcome if he could've seen seen the conclusion. How often do men and women have adulterous affairs, and they look at their spouse is just absolutely shattered and they look at their children that are heartbroken and they look at their families that are just following apart and I saw if I could have just seen the conclusion of the us, I would have never done it. How many alcoholics get to a point in their life with a look at the addiction that they have. They look at the family members that they have hurt. They look at the the power of benediction in their life and what it's done to them, and how it's destroyed their body and and how it has brought great devastation in their own personal life and they said, oh, if I just know in this never would've taken that first drink. Sin pays a terrible wage.

One man said it this way.

Sin does not serve well as a gardener of the soul. It landscapes the contour of the soul until all that is beautiful is been made ugly until all that is highs made load until all that is promising is wasted then life is like a desert parched and barren is drained of purpose is bleached of happiness. Sin then is not wise but wasteful is not a gate, the grave .6 is the fruit of chastisement. Look at verse 15 through 19 with me. So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and there died of the people from Dan to Beersheba, 70,000 men, and when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it. The Lord relented from the calamity said to the angel was working construction among the people.

It is enough now.

Stay your hand and I angel the Lord was by the threshing floor of a room of the Jebusite. Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who striking the people and said, behold, I've sin. I've done wickedly, but the sheet what if they done. Please let your hand be against me against my father's house. Gad came that day to David and said to him, go up raise an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor, Verona, the Jebusite, so David went up against word as the Lord commanded. No decent parent enjoy Spike in his child. I know I certainly didn't. But if we love the child will spike them if that spanking is needed. Proverbs 1324, says he who spares the rod hates his child. God knows the value of godly discipline and a spanking should produce not only a change in that child's behavior but also a change in that child's attitude. Oftentimes I despite my children twice the first time I had to spike him to correct their disobedience with the second time it was for an attitude adjustment and serve often as needed. In this story the pestilence kill 70,000 Israelites and you know what happened. What happened was this. There was a nationwide heart change. I not sure but I think this came pretty close to reliable. It took place when these people solve the devastation that sin brings in the life once you listen to David's prayer.

He says I've sinned and I've done wickedly with the sheet. What have they done essentially what he's saying is this, he said, Lord, let me take the wrath of God for them. We ask you some things that sound like that not sound like Jesus would let me take God's wrath for them. Now what's going on in David's heart. What is this chastisement done for David think several things.

The pride is absolutely gone absolutely. His pride is broken his disrespect for God's word has vanished is just desire to glorify God has multiplied exponentially and is his value for others is growing like crazy.

I submit you today that God's chastening did its intended work was a message for us we share with you three things I think we ought to go away thinking about today number one no matter how long we've been serving the Lord. We never outgrow the temptation to be proud and self-serving number two, we cannot sin without profamily harming other people.

A lot of times we don't think that within one do this, some only hurt myself never works that way if you're a believer and you sin, it's gonna hurt somebody else and in three sin is not worth the cost. It's never worth the cost. May we learn this from the word of God and not have to learn it from the from the rod of God is pray. Heavenly father. What a humbling story we have before us today. David, the apple of God's eye the man after God's own heart ignores God's warnings, thumbs his nose at the chasing hand of God and purposely, intentionally and wickedly disobeys God. This is not Haman or Jezebel or Judas.

This is not Herod or Nero or Felix this is David. David can yield to temptation.

So can we help us to be strong in the Lord through faith in Jesus and dependence on the Holy Spirit. Help us to realize that there is nothing good in us. But Christ, we love you Lord for its in your holy, precious and wonderful name that we pray. Amen