WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.960
Day 85, or March the 26th. Don't you love a really

00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:09.820
good story? Our thoughts today are rooted in

00:00:09.820 --> 00:00:14.240
2 Samuel chapter 12, verse 1. The Lord sent Nathan

00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:18.140
to David. When he came to him, he said, There

00:00:18.140 --> 00:00:21.780
were two men in a certain town, one rich and

00:00:21.780 --> 00:00:25.920
the other poor. First, the big picture surrounding

00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:30.440
this verse. Uriah the Hittite is killed so that

00:00:30.440 --> 00:00:34.600
David can take his wife Bathsheba. Then Nathan

00:00:34.600 --> 00:00:37.420
the prophet confronts David about his sinful

00:00:37.420 --> 00:00:41.579
actions. Unfortunately, the baby conceived during

00:00:41.579 --> 00:00:45.939
this adultery dies, but God hears David's true

00:00:45.939 --> 00:00:49.820
repentance, and a second child is born and named

00:00:49.820 --> 00:00:54.619
Jedidiah. He is renamed later and is better known

00:00:54.619 --> 00:00:59.740
by his new name, Solomon. Solomon goes on to

00:00:59.740 --> 00:01:04.579
become the next king of Israel. Now our action

00:01:04.579 --> 00:01:08.359
step for today. Stories are not just for children.

00:01:08.659 --> 00:01:11.920
Very often, they are the only bits we remember

00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:16.239
after a sermon. That and any mistakes or gaffes

00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:19.900
the preacher makes. They are powerful tools which

00:01:19.900 --> 00:01:23.579
can penetrate even the hardest heart. Nathan

00:01:23.579 --> 00:01:26.569
knew this very well. and that is probably why

00:01:26.569 --> 00:01:30.469
he tells David a story rather than simply confronting

00:01:30.469 --> 00:01:33.930
him with the factual accusation, and he gets

00:01:33.930 --> 00:01:38.069
just the reaction he is hoping for. He does seem

00:01:38.069 --> 00:01:41.390
to ham it up a bit in verse 3 of chapter 12,

00:01:41.629 --> 00:01:44.450
but I find it very acceptable in the circumstances.

00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:49.019
The verse says, The poor man had nothing except

00:01:49.019 --> 00:01:52.840
one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised

00:01:52.840 --> 00:01:55.439
it, and it grew up with him and his children.

00:01:55.659 --> 00:01:59.239
It shared his food, drank from his cup, and even

00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:02.859
slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to

00:02:02.859 --> 00:02:07.420
him. Beautiful details in a powerful story, and

00:02:07.420 --> 00:02:10.800
the results were excellent too. Nathan declares,

00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:15.219
You are the man. very reminiscent of Pilate's

00:02:15.219 --> 00:02:20.000
words about Jesus, son of David, behold the man.

00:02:20.599 --> 00:02:24.620
Don't ever demote stories to for children only.

00:02:25.210 --> 00:02:27.849
They can be the most powerful, disarming way

00:02:27.849 --> 00:02:31.530
of ministering the Word of God in a society that

00:02:31.530 --> 00:02:35.069
is full of technical wizardry, but always has

00:02:35.069 --> 00:02:38.629
time for a good story, or so it seems from the

00:02:38.629 --> 00:02:42.169
large audiences watching the soaps on TV every

00:02:42.169 --> 00:02:46.490
week. True stories from the Bible are even more

00:02:46.490 --> 00:02:47.050
powerful.