WEBVTT 00:00:02.310 --> 00:00:09.410 Let's take our Bibles now and open up to 2 Samuel 00:00:09.410 --> 00:00:15.210 chapter 12. 2 Samuel chapter 12, we're going 00:00:15.210 --> 00:00:18.769 to look at verses 1 through 15 this morning. 00:00:20.170 --> 00:00:22.469 We're continuing our sermon series through the 00:00:22.469 --> 00:00:25.829 life of David. We're not hitting every location 00:00:25.829 --> 00:00:29.660 in David's life, not hitting every chapter. of 00:00:29.660 --> 00:00:32.000 first and second Samuel. We're hitting the highlights, 00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:35.320 but if you know your Bibles well and you were 00:00:35.320 --> 00:00:37.420 here last week, you noticed that we're skipping 00:00:37.420 --> 00:00:39.740 over a very important chapter. You might say, 00:00:39.859 --> 00:00:44.140 why are we not looking at chapter 11? Because 00:00:44.140 --> 00:00:47.780 indeed you need to know chapter 11 in order to 00:00:47.780 --> 00:00:51.979 know chapter 12. Well, what I'm going to do is 00:00:51.979 --> 00:00:54.299 we're going to focus our efforts in chapter 12, 00:00:54.299 --> 00:00:56.820 but I am going to summarize chapter 11 because 00:00:56.820 --> 00:01:00.179 we need to understand it. We need to hear it. 00:01:00.359 --> 00:01:02.719 It needs to be explained. It needs to be applied. 00:01:03.579 --> 00:01:06.640 So we'll spend time in both chapters this morning, 00:01:06.939 --> 00:01:11.799 2 Samuel 11 and 12, but for now I'll read chapter 00:01:11.799 --> 00:01:16.780 12, 1 through 15. Let's give careful attention 00:01:16.780 --> 00:01:29.060 to the reading of God's holy word. in a certain 00:01:29.060 --> 00:01:32.579 city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich 00:01:32.579 --> 00:01:35.439 man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor 00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:39.959 man had nothing but one little yew lamb, which 00:01:39.959 --> 00:01:43.620 he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew 00:01:43.620 --> 00:01:46.680 up with him and with his children. It used to 00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:49.519 eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and 00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:52.760 lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to 00:01:52.760 --> 00:01:56.719 him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man. 00:01:57.240 --> 00:02:00.480 And he was unwilling to take one of his own flock 00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:02.540 or herd to prepare for the guests who had come 00:02:02.540 --> 00:02:06.459 to him. But he took the poor man's lamb and prepared 00:02:06.459 --> 00:02:11.120 it for the man who had come to him. Then David's 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:13.719 anger was greatly kindled against the man. He 00:02:13.719 --> 00:02:16.580 said to Nathan, as the Lord lives, the man who 00:02:16.580 --> 00:02:19.979 has done this deserves to die. And he shall restore 00:02:19.979 --> 00:02:23.139 the lamb fourfold because he did this thing and 00:02:23.139 --> 00:02:26.750 because he had no pity. Nathan said to David, 00:02:27.689 --> 00:02:32.150 you are the man. Thus says the Lord the God of 00:02:32.150 --> 00:02:35.689 Israel, I anointed you king over Israel and I 00:02:35.689 --> 00:02:38.650 delivered you out of the hand of Saul and I gave 00:02:38.650 --> 00:02:41.189 you your master's house and your master's wives 00:02:41.189 --> 00:02:44.590 into your arms and gave you the house of Israel 00:02:44.590 --> 00:02:47.110 and Judah. And if this were too little, I would 00:02:47.110 --> 00:02:50.750 add to you as much more. Why have you despised 00:02:50.750 --> 00:02:54.490 the word of the Lord to do what is evil in his 00:02:54.490 --> 00:02:57.969 sight? You've struck down Uriah the Hittite with 00:02:57.969 --> 00:03:00.830 the sword and have taken his wife to be your 00:03:00.830 --> 00:03:03.330 wife and have killed him with the sword of the 00:03:03.330 --> 00:03:07.250 Ammonites Now therefore the sword shall never 00:03:07.250 --> 00:03:10.389 depart from your house Because you have despised 00:03:10.389 --> 00:03:13.330 me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite 00:03:13.330 --> 00:03:18.110 to be your wife thus says the Lord Behold I will 00:03:18.110 --> 00:03:20.830 raise up evil against you out of your own house 00:03:20.830 --> 00:03:23.629 And I will take your wives before your eyes and 00:03:23.629 --> 00:03:26.199 give them to your neighbor And he shall lie with 00:03:26.199 --> 00:03:28.419 your wives in the sight of the sun, for you did 00:03:28.419 --> 00:03:31.960 it secretly. But I will do this thing before 00:03:31.960 --> 00:03:36.560 all Israel and before the sun." David said to 00:03:36.560 --> 00:03:40.759 Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan 00:03:40.759 --> 00:03:43.659 said to David, the Lord also has put away your 00:03:43.659 --> 00:03:48.000 sin. You shall not die. Nevertheless, because 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:50.740 by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, 00:03:50.819 --> 00:03:55.240 the child who is born to you shall die. Then 00:03:55.240 --> 00:03:59.680 Nathan went to his house. This is God's word. 00:04:00.180 --> 00:04:07.840 Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this word, 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:12.240 as convicting as it is. Lord, would you help 00:04:12.240 --> 00:04:16.279 us to see from this how badly we need your grace, 00:04:16.779 --> 00:04:19.680 your mercy, and your forgiveness? And would you 00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:23.480 help us cause us, Lord? to do the work of spiritual 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:26.720 restoration of one another. Make us like Nathan 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:30.139 and put Nathan's in our lives and grant us understanding 00:04:30.139 --> 00:04:39.259 now we pray in Christ's name, amen. What do you 00:04:39.259 --> 00:04:44.620 think Jesus says in Matthew chapter 21? Jesus 00:04:44.620 --> 00:04:48.040 we know can tell a parable just like Nathan. 00:04:48.300 --> 00:04:51.660 So in Matthew 21 Jesus says what do you think 00:04:51.660 --> 00:04:55.680 a man had two sons and He went to the first and 00:04:55.680 --> 00:05:00.600 he said son go work in the vineyard today and 00:05:00.600 --> 00:05:05.759 the son said To his father. I will not do it 00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:09.399 But then later he came to his senses and he did 00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:12.639 But the man also had a second son and so the 00:05:12.639 --> 00:05:17.279 man said to his son go son work in the vineyard 00:05:17.800 --> 00:05:22.019 And the son said, I will do it. But then he did 00:05:22.019 --> 00:05:25.680 not. And Jesus said to the religious rulers, 00:05:25.759 --> 00:05:28.279 the chief priests and the Pharisees, he said, 00:05:29.399 --> 00:05:31.959 which of the two did the will of his father? 00:05:32.980 --> 00:05:36.620 And those religious leaders said, the first one. 00:05:37.220 --> 00:05:40.939 Jesus said to them, truly I say to you, the tax 00:05:40.939 --> 00:05:43.759 collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:50.029 of God before you. sometimes with a parable can 00:05:50.029 --> 00:05:53.290 be really difficult to understand, right? But 00:05:53.290 --> 00:05:57.290 sometimes with a parable, it's very direct. And 00:05:57.290 --> 00:06:00.230 that's what happens in Matthew chapter 21 as 00:06:00.230 --> 00:06:02.509 Jesus tells this parable to the religious leaders, 00:06:02.730 --> 00:06:06.129 he's saying in effect, you are the man. You are 00:06:06.129 --> 00:06:09.149 the ones who do this. And so if you're reading 00:06:09.149 --> 00:06:13.170 Nathan's parable about this little lamb and you're 00:06:13.170 --> 00:06:17.019 getting like tastes of Jesus' parables, I think 00:06:17.019 --> 00:06:20.399 you should, right? Because that's exactly what 00:06:20.399 --> 00:06:23.939 Nathan does. He tells a parable just like Jesus, 00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:27.540 right? And so today we're gonna look at this 00:06:27.540 --> 00:06:31.639 parable from Nathan, and we're gonna see what 00:06:31.639 --> 00:06:36.199 Nathan was doing here. Nathan is cutting David 00:06:36.199 --> 00:06:40.639 to the heart with truth. He's saying, David, 00:06:40.660 --> 00:06:45.420 you have done this. And so let's see. what David 00:06:45.420 --> 00:06:49.939 has done in summarizing chapter 11. You can see 00:06:49.939 --> 00:06:53.980 in 2 Samuel 11 from the very get -go, from the 00:06:53.980 --> 00:06:57.819 very start of verse 1, something is amiss. Something's 00:06:57.819 --> 00:07:01.120 wrong in this text. Look there. In the spring 00:07:01.120 --> 00:07:04.160 of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:10.120 what does David do? He doesn't go out to battle. 00:07:10.660 --> 00:07:15.810 He doesn't do it. David instead stays home. David 00:07:15.810 --> 00:07:19.850 is idle here. That's his first problem. That's 00:07:19.850 --> 00:07:24.209 his first offense. And what I want to show you 00:07:24.209 --> 00:07:28.149 here is there's one little verb within the text 00:07:28.149 --> 00:07:30.810 that kind of carries the narrative and it's this 00:07:30.810 --> 00:07:33.750 one word send. I don't remember who pointed this 00:07:33.750 --> 00:07:35.529 out to me, but once you see it, you won't be 00:07:35.529 --> 00:07:38.810 able to unsee it. This verb send occurs over 00:07:38.810 --> 00:07:41.449 and over and over again in the text. Instead 00:07:41.449 --> 00:07:43.889 of David going off to battle, what does he do? 00:07:44.170 --> 00:07:48.949 He sent Joab and his servants and all of Israel. 00:07:50.129 --> 00:07:52.490 He sends them out to do the work that he should 00:07:52.490 --> 00:07:55.850 have been doing with them. But let's look at 00:07:55.850 --> 00:07:59.009 the second verb there, the second send. You can 00:07:59.009 --> 00:08:03.670 see it in verses three and four. David spots 00:08:03.670 --> 00:08:07.269 a beautiful woman as he is up top on the roof 00:08:07.269 --> 00:08:10.810 of his house. He sees this beautiful woman Bathsheba 00:08:10.810 --> 00:08:15.389 bathing and what does he do? He sends for her. 00:08:16.589 --> 00:08:21.410 He sends for her. After this has happened some 00:08:21.410 --> 00:08:25.129 time passes and what does she do? She sends word 00:08:25.129 --> 00:08:27.709 to David and these are words that David doesn't 00:08:27.709 --> 00:08:32.659 want to hear. She's pregnant. So what does David 00:08:32.659 --> 00:08:37.620 do now? He tries to cover this up and So he sends 00:08:37.620 --> 00:08:44.059 word to Joab send me Uriah the Hittite So David's 00:08:44.059 --> 00:08:46.240 thinking if I can get Uriah the Hittite back 00:08:46.240 --> 00:08:49.700 here, I can cover up my sin, right? Well, the 00:08:49.700 --> 00:08:53.360 problem is that Uriah is just just about the 00:08:53.360 --> 00:08:56.299 most upstanding man in all of Israel because 00:08:56.299 --> 00:08:58.960 he comes back as David summons him, as David 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:02.299 sends for him, Uriah comes, but he will not go 00:09:02.299 --> 00:09:06.279 to his own house. He says, I will not go there 00:09:06.279 --> 00:09:09.840 while my men are out fighting or while the Ark 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:12.419 of the Covenant is out in the field. I will not 00:09:12.419 --> 00:09:16.659 enjoy the comforts of my own home. David's like, 00:09:16.679 --> 00:09:18.679 I got to try something else here. So what does 00:09:18.679 --> 00:09:22.409 he try and do? He tries to intoxicate him with 00:09:22.409 --> 00:09:26.590 strong drink and Uriah still won't go for it. 00:09:26.590 --> 00:09:29.110 And so you just get this, imagine, you have this 00:09:29.110 --> 00:09:32.330 thought here, I do, that David is probably at 00:09:32.330 --> 00:09:35.289 this point pacing around the house, all right, 00:09:35.509 --> 00:09:37.990 around the palace. This isn't going right. I 00:09:37.990 --> 00:09:39.950 can't believe this is happening. What am I going 00:09:39.950 --> 00:09:44.149 to do? I got to come up with a new plan. So what 00:09:44.149 --> 00:09:49.860 does he do now? He sends a letter to Joab. and 00:09:49.860 --> 00:09:54.720 he sends it by way of Uriah the Hittite. Put 00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:58.779 Uriah on the front lines of the fighting and 00:09:58.779 --> 00:10:04.500 then draw back. Uriah doesn't realize he is traveling 00:10:04.500 --> 00:10:09.899 with this word about his own death. No doubt 00:10:09.899 --> 00:10:12.100 this is what they intend to do, but something 00:10:12.100 --> 00:10:14.759 goes wrong on the battlefield because it's not 00:10:14.759 --> 00:10:17.960 just Uriah who is killed. When people pull back, 00:10:18.220 --> 00:10:21.139 not everybody does. And so we learn from this 00:10:21.139 --> 00:10:24.519 that it's not just Uriah the Hittite who dies, 00:10:25.240 --> 00:10:30.659 it's other men. And the word of this catastrophe 00:10:30.659 --> 00:10:34.539 is sent back to David. There's that word send 00:10:34.539 --> 00:10:40.389 again. The damage is done. and the word reaches 00:10:40.389 --> 00:10:44.669 Bathsheba about the death of her husband. And 00:10:44.669 --> 00:10:48.429 then what does David do? One more time, he sends. 00:10:48.909 --> 00:10:53.649 He sends for Bathsheba. Friends, what this story 00:10:53.649 --> 00:10:58.929 really illustrates for us is that sin unchecked 00:10:58.929 --> 00:11:03.450 runs amok. It runs wild. Think of all that David 00:11:03.450 --> 00:11:08.309 does wrong in chapter 11. Idleness, lust, adultery, 00:11:08.649 --> 00:11:11.830 abuse of power, causing drunkenness, murder. 00:11:12.830 --> 00:11:15.809 He does all of these things. Friends, what we 00:11:15.809 --> 00:11:18.070 need to learn here is that when we sin, we need 00:11:18.070 --> 00:11:21.350 to immediately repent. We do not need to let 00:11:21.350 --> 00:11:27.190 sin fester in our hearts. Think about our assurance 00:11:27.190 --> 00:11:31.990 of pardon and grace today. The assurance of pardoning 00:11:31.990 --> 00:11:37.769 grace from Psalm 32, when I kept silent my bones 00:11:37.769 --> 00:11:41.210 wasted away through my groaning all day long. 00:11:41.610 --> 00:11:45.509 Sin eats at us, doesn't it? Sin, unrepentant 00:11:45.509 --> 00:11:50.169 sin, can destroy us. We do not need to treat 00:11:50.169 --> 00:11:53.769 sin like it's a joke. We do not need to treat 00:11:53.769 --> 00:11:55.870 sin like it's no big deal when we do that We 00:11:55.870 --> 00:11:58.889 are doing injustice to the very holiness of God. 00:11:58.970 --> 00:12:02.149 We don't need to make light of sin We need to 00:12:02.149 --> 00:12:05.970 repent of sin again the assurance of pardoning 00:12:05.970 --> 00:12:11.470 grace 32 5 this is what we need to do. I Acknowledged 00:12:11.470 --> 00:12:15.490 my sin to you and I did not cover up my iniquity 00:12:15.490 --> 00:12:19.269 I said I will confess my transgression to the 00:12:19.269 --> 00:12:23.919 Lord and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. 00:12:24.779 --> 00:12:28.399 Friends, the sinful bent of our hearts is to 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:32.259 try and explain away sin. The sinful bent of 00:12:32.259 --> 00:12:35.500 our hearts is to try and hide sin. We don't want 00:12:35.500 --> 00:12:38.879 to look bad, right? So what do we do? If you're 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:41.559 like me, at times I would lie, I would cheat, 00:12:41.700 --> 00:12:47.440 I would steal just to protect my own name. What 00:12:47.440 --> 00:12:53.299 should we do instead? We should repent. We should 00:12:53.299 --> 00:12:56.600 repent. Because when we try and hide our sin, 00:12:57.279 --> 00:13:01.299 we're forgetting one very important fact. You 00:13:01.299 --> 00:13:03.480 can hide your sin maybe for a little bit from 00:13:03.480 --> 00:13:06.259 one another. You might even be able to hide it 00:13:06.259 --> 00:13:10.039 from those who are very close to you. But children, 00:13:10.120 --> 00:13:15.559 can you hide your sin from God? No, why is that? 00:13:16.019 --> 00:13:19.659 Because God is omniscient. God knows everything. 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:22.340 God knows you better than you know yourself. 00:13:22.679 --> 00:13:29.840 So trying to hide it is foolishness. David recognizes 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:32.299 here, and we're gonna talk about his repentance, 00:13:32.340 --> 00:13:35.019 but we've read a little bit of Psalm 51. David 00:13:35.019 --> 00:13:38.340 recognizes in this that we can try and hide our 00:13:38.340 --> 00:13:41.159 sin, but ultimately we really can't. And so what 00:13:41.159 --> 00:13:44.799 does he say in Psalm 51? Against you, you only 00:13:44.799 --> 00:13:48.080 have I sinned and done evil in your sight. And 00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:50.580 sometimes we look at Psalm 51 and we say, David 00:13:50.580 --> 00:13:53.200 didn't just sin against the Lord, right? He sinned 00:13:53.200 --> 00:13:55.080 against your eyes, he sinned against Bathsheba, 00:13:55.139 --> 00:13:56.960 he sinned against all kinds of people within 00:13:56.960 --> 00:13:59.940 this text. But what he is doing is he's acknowledging 00:13:59.940 --> 00:14:06.259 that most obviously when we sin, we're sinning 00:14:06.259 --> 00:14:11.620 against God. And you can't hide it. Do you remember 00:14:11.620 --> 00:14:14.200 Cain? Do you remember when Cain killed Abel? 00:14:14.759 --> 00:14:17.549 And what does God do? He's talking to Cain and 00:14:17.549 --> 00:14:21.529 Cain says, I'm not my brother's keeper. He also 00:14:21.529 --> 00:14:26.070 forgot God's omniscience, right? Or maybe you 00:14:26.070 --> 00:14:31.110 remember Numbers 32, 23. It says, your sin will 00:14:31.110 --> 00:14:36.450 find you out. Your sin will find you out. And 00:14:36.450 --> 00:14:38.570 it's very much like what we tell our children. 00:14:38.710 --> 00:14:41.049 Parents, you do this for your children, I'm sure. 00:14:41.809 --> 00:14:44.009 Is that you tell your children, I'm here for 00:14:44.009 --> 00:14:47.570 you. And if you ever get in trouble, you know 00:14:47.570 --> 00:14:50.750 you can come talk to me, right? Don't keep things 00:14:50.750 --> 00:14:54.669 from me. But when our children do keep those 00:14:54.669 --> 00:14:56.809 things, or they try and cover it up, or they're 00:14:56.809 --> 00:14:59.330 dishonest, that's when there's trouble in the 00:14:59.330 --> 00:15:02.490 maple household, right? It's the same way with 00:15:02.490 --> 00:15:05.710 God, isn't it? When we try and keep things from 00:15:05.710 --> 00:15:08.190 God instead of repenting, that's where we're 00:15:08.190 --> 00:15:10.509 in real trouble and you can see from this text 00:15:10.509 --> 00:15:14.169 that what happens is that sin compounds sin. 00:15:15.190 --> 00:15:16.970 So what do we need to do? We need to be honest 00:15:16.970 --> 00:15:21.929 with God and we need to repent, right? But we 00:15:21.929 --> 00:15:24.629 also see from this text and specifically from 00:15:24.629 --> 00:15:27.970 chapter 12 that we need a lot of help with our 00:15:27.970 --> 00:15:32.710 sin, don't we? Look at the parable that Nathan 00:15:32.710 --> 00:15:37.250 tells David, verses one through six. This is 00:15:37.250 --> 00:15:41.029 a heartbreaking story, right? So he tells this 00:15:41.029 --> 00:15:43.870 story. There's two men in a city. The one is 00:15:43.870 --> 00:15:47.169 rich and the one's poor. The rich man has everything 00:15:47.169 --> 00:15:49.850 you could possibly want. He's got all kinds of 00:15:49.850 --> 00:15:53.090 animals. He's got herds and he's got flocks. 00:15:53.250 --> 00:15:56.070 But what about the poor man? What does he have? 00:15:56.769 --> 00:16:01.320 Just this one little lamb. and he treats this 00:16:01.320 --> 00:16:05.480 lamb like it's his daughter. But then a traveler 00:16:05.480 --> 00:16:10.460 comes into town and he needs to be fed. What 00:16:10.460 --> 00:16:14.120 does the rich man do? He takes from the poor 00:16:14.120 --> 00:16:19.940 man. He takes the lamb from the poor man. Why 00:16:19.940 --> 00:16:24.019 is Nathan telling a story about lambs to David? 00:16:25.840 --> 00:16:28.220 Well, When we start to look at this parable, 00:16:28.419 --> 00:16:32.100 we see that it very much describes David, doesn't 00:16:32.100 --> 00:16:36.779 it? Think about who is the rich man within the 00:16:36.779 --> 00:16:41.580 text. That's obviously David, because he takes 00:16:41.580 --> 00:16:46.320 what is not his. But David's also abusing his 00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:50.039 power here, isn't he? How was David even able 00:16:50.039 --> 00:16:54.539 to spot Bathsheba? He was able to spot her because 00:16:54.539 --> 00:16:58.940 of his lofty perch as king of Israel. His house, 00:16:58.960 --> 00:17:01.960 his palace is taller than everybody else's and 00:17:01.960 --> 00:17:04.500 so he's able to look down and see her. This again, 00:17:04.660 --> 00:17:08.079 it's an abuse of power and it starts because 00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:11.279 of his idleness, but it gets worse when he doesn't 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:13.779 repent. Now as you read this you're thinking 00:17:13.779 --> 00:17:16.460 this is David. This is a man after God's own 00:17:16.460 --> 00:17:19.680 heart, right? What happened to the David who 00:17:19.680 --> 00:17:22.990 was more concerned about God having a house. 00:17:23.650 --> 00:17:27.150 What happened to the David who the Lord made 00:17:27.150 --> 00:17:30.089 covenant with? What happened to the David who 00:17:30.089 --> 00:17:32.890 essentially adopted Mephibosheth at the table? 00:17:33.710 --> 00:17:37.970 Where is that David? Well, friends, this is the 00:17:37.970 --> 00:17:41.569 danger of sin. It's part of our fallen condition. 00:17:42.710 --> 00:17:44.849 We've all fallen short of the glory of God. It 00:17:44.849 --> 00:17:47.430 doesn't matter if you're a prince or a pauper, 00:17:47.529 --> 00:17:51.960 right? We are all going to battle with this for 00:17:51.960 --> 00:17:58.859 the rest of our lives and sin is blinding Consider 00:17:58.859 --> 00:18:07.180 the book of James James chapter 1 verses 14 through 00:18:07.180 --> 00:18:12.039 15 actually I'll read 13 through 15 Let no one 00:18:12.039 --> 00:18:14.980 say when he's tempted. I'm being tempted by God 00:18:15.660 --> 00:18:18.579 For God cannot be tempted with evil and he himself 00:18:18.579 --> 00:18:23.039 tempts no one But each person is tempted when 00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:28.140 he is lured and enticed by his own desire Then 00:18:28.140 --> 00:18:32.380 desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin 00:18:32.380 --> 00:18:36.259 and sin when it's fully grown brings forth death 00:18:36.259 --> 00:18:39.680 In other words desire gives birth to sin which 00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:45.549 grows into maturity and brings death Sin is a 00:18:45.549 --> 00:18:49.109 dangerous thing friends our sinful desires. We 00:18:49.109 --> 00:18:52.509 have to put those away I like how God puts it 00:18:52.509 --> 00:18:54.690 again to go back to Cain if you were to go to 00:18:54.690 --> 00:18:57.150 Genesis chapter 4 You would see the way that 00:18:57.150 --> 00:19:00.730 God speaks of sin there as he says essentially 00:19:00.730 --> 00:19:04.349 that sin is crouching at the door friends sin 00:19:04.349 --> 00:19:09.210 is a predator Waiting to pounce upon us. That's 00:19:09.210 --> 00:19:12.130 we have to keep our guard up So how do we do 00:19:12.130 --> 00:19:16.420 that? How can we ensure that we don't fall into 00:19:16.420 --> 00:19:24.500 unrepentant sin? Well, this might seem very simple 00:19:24.500 --> 00:19:26.500 and I don't mean to oversimplify it, but how 00:19:26.500 --> 00:19:31.279 do we guard against sin? Read your Bible. Read 00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:38.079 your Bible. Consider this from Psalm 119. Don't 00:19:38.079 --> 00:19:41.279 worry, I won't read the whole chapter. Psalm 00:19:41.279 --> 00:19:44.799 119, 9 through 16, and this is specifically addressed 00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:47.460 to young people. So children, young people, listen 00:19:47.460 --> 00:19:51.839 up, but all of us too. How can a young man keep 00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:55.779 his way pure? By guarding it according to your 00:19:55.779 --> 00:20:00.440 word. With my whole heart I seek you. Let me 00:20:00.440 --> 00:20:03.440 not wander from your commandments. I have stored 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:06.019 up your word in my heart that I might not sin 00:20:06.019 --> 00:20:09.759 against you. Blessed are you, O Lord. Teach me 00:20:09.759 --> 00:20:12.920 your statutes with my lips, I declare all the 00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:18.019 rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies, 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:22.900 I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate 00:20:22.900 --> 00:20:25.880 on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. 00:20:26.279 --> 00:20:30.119 I will delight in your statutes. I will not forget 00:20:30.119 --> 00:20:37.299 your word. Friends, do you love the word of God? 00:20:38.190 --> 00:20:44.049 Do you spend time with it regularly, daily? David 00:20:44.049 --> 00:20:47.150 acknowledges really two great things within just 00:20:47.150 --> 00:20:50.990 that portion of Psalm 119. One, yes, God's Word 00:20:50.990 --> 00:20:54.630 has the ability to keep us from sin as we meditate 00:20:54.630 --> 00:20:56.690 on it, as we hide it in our hearts, but also 00:20:56.690 --> 00:21:01.809 secondly, we should delight in it, right? We 00:21:01.809 --> 00:21:05.170 should enjoy God's Word. God's Word is good food 00:21:05.170 --> 00:21:08.829 for us. And so we can enjoy it. And when we enjoy 00:21:08.829 --> 00:21:12.690 it, I think we will keep it even better, right? 00:21:13.170 --> 00:21:16.009 Perhaps you've had an experience where you've 00:21:16.009 --> 00:21:17.789 studied a book of the Bible or you've been doing 00:21:17.789 --> 00:21:20.609 some reading and you're just like, I love this. 00:21:21.170 --> 00:21:23.390 And then you have to remind yourself to do this 00:21:23.390 --> 00:21:26.269 again and again. Why? Because it's so good for 00:21:26.269 --> 00:21:29.869 you. but you thoroughly enjoy the word of God. 00:21:29.869 --> 00:21:33.809 Friends, as you spend time with the Bible, you 00:21:33.809 --> 00:21:37.069 will enjoy it more and you'll see that it's good 00:21:37.069 --> 00:21:44.230 food for your soul. So we need God's word. But 00:21:44.230 --> 00:21:49.130 secondly, we also need a Nathan. We desperately 00:21:49.130 --> 00:21:53.210 need to be Nathan and to have Nathan's in our 00:21:53.210 --> 00:21:56.029 lives. So let's talk about him for a few minutes. 00:21:56.490 --> 00:22:00.890 You can see that Nathan is indeed an instrument 00:22:00.890 --> 00:22:04.269 of the Lord. In chapter 11, I was pointing out 00:22:04.269 --> 00:22:07.630 to you all those times when the Bible uses the 00:22:07.630 --> 00:22:13.849 word send. Look at 12, verse one. And the Lord 00:22:13.849 --> 00:22:21.170 sent Nathan to David. Nathan here is God's instrument 00:22:21.170 --> 00:22:26.299 to help him to see the heinous nature of his 00:22:26.299 --> 00:22:31.480 sin. We need people in our lives who can do this. 00:22:32.339 --> 00:22:34.819 Do you know that you are to be a Nathan to others? 00:22:35.960 --> 00:22:39.740 Do you know that? It's so very true. This is 00:22:39.740 --> 00:22:41.799 one of the reasons why we desperately need the 00:22:41.799 --> 00:22:45.579 church. If you will, and I've used a lot of scripture 00:22:45.579 --> 00:22:48.640 here, but if you will, just go to Galatians for 00:22:48.640 --> 00:23:02.230 a second. Galatians chapter 6. verse one And 00:23:02.230 --> 00:23:06.690 take these words to heart Galatians 6 one brothers 00:23:06.690 --> 00:23:11.829 if anyone is caught in any transgression You 00:23:11.829 --> 00:23:15.289 who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit 00:23:15.289 --> 00:23:19.410 of gentleness Keep watch on yourself lest you 00:23:19.410 --> 00:23:25.940 too be tempted so Who is supposed to be doing 00:23:25.940 --> 00:23:29.079 the work of spiritual restoration? Is it just 00:23:29.079 --> 00:23:34.240 the elders? Is it just the deacons? Is it just 00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:38.099 the Sunday school teachers? Is it just the wisest 00:23:38.099 --> 00:23:41.259 woman or man within the church? No, Paul is very 00:23:41.259 --> 00:23:45.059 clear. You who are spiritual. Who is supposed 00:23:45.059 --> 00:23:47.079 to be doing the work of spiritual restoration 00:23:47.079 --> 00:23:50.779 looking out for one another? It's to be all who 00:23:50.779 --> 00:23:53.079 believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and are mature 00:23:53.079 --> 00:23:56.279 enough to look out for temptation and say no 00:23:56.279 --> 00:23:59.779 to it themselves. Meaning that every single one 00:23:59.779 --> 00:24:02.140 of you who believes in Jesus, especially those 00:24:02.140 --> 00:24:04.460 who are maturing, we're supposed to look out 00:24:04.460 --> 00:24:07.279 for one another. We're supposed to help one another 00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:10.779 when we're caught in sin, right? So do you do 00:24:10.779 --> 00:24:13.960 that? Do I do that? We need to ask ourselves 00:24:13.960 --> 00:24:18.640 these questions here. Realizing the work of spiritual 00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:22.859 restoration is the job of the spiritual. Why? 00:24:23.240 --> 00:24:27.180 Because sin is too sinful and temptation is too 00:24:27.180 --> 00:24:31.119 tempting to go it alone. And so you can see how 00:24:31.119 --> 00:24:34.420 effective Nathan was here as the Lord speaks 00:24:34.420 --> 00:24:40.240 through him. Look in verse 13. He goes through 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:45.099 all of this and then David says to Nathan, very 00:24:45.099 --> 00:24:50.940 simply, I have sinned against the Lord. I've 00:24:50.940 --> 00:24:55.279 sinned against the Lord. Nathan says, the Lord 00:24:55.279 --> 00:25:00.160 also has put away your sin. You shall not die. 00:25:02.440 --> 00:25:05.900 David's heard all of this from Nathan. He's been 00:25:05.900 --> 00:25:08.859 cut to the heart by it, and so he says probably 00:25:08.859 --> 00:25:11.019 the only words that he could possibly utter, 00:25:11.299 --> 00:25:13.539 and it's the words that we need to utter when 00:25:13.539 --> 00:25:17.759 we sin. Lord, I've sinned against you. Forgive 00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:21.059 me of my sin. Help me not to continue in these 00:25:21.059 --> 00:25:24.799 sins any longer. We need to understand how heinous 00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:29.519 sin is. And no doubt David here is confronted 00:25:29.519 --> 00:25:34.819 with this sin in a very upfront kind of way. 00:25:36.319 --> 00:25:41.900 But we can tell from passages like Psalm 51 and 00:25:41.900 --> 00:25:46.339 from Psalm 32 that Indeed David did repent and 00:25:46.339 --> 00:25:49.740 yet there can be lasting Consequences from our 00:25:49.740 --> 00:25:52.220 sin can't there and so you see that's what Nathan 00:25:52.220 --> 00:25:57.140 continues on to say right His house is going 00:25:57.140 --> 00:26:00.119 to be plagued by violence He's going to lose 00:26:00.119 --> 00:26:04.539 his wives to someone else there are lasting Consequences 00:26:04.539 --> 00:26:07.480 to our sin, but friends just because there are 00:26:07.480 --> 00:26:11.279 those consequences This does not mean somehow 00:26:11.420 --> 00:26:15.700 that David is not forgiven. When we sin and especially 00:26:15.700 --> 00:26:18.240 when we do so in a very egregious way there can 00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:21.420 be consequences that are ongoing that are enduring 00:26:21.420 --> 00:26:24.480 and for David actually when you look at the narrative 00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:29.000 of his entire life what you realize this episode 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:31.519 with Bathsheba and Uriah this is the beginning 00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:35.240 of the end for David. He's going to continue 00:26:35.240 --> 00:26:38.200 battling all these things for the rest of his 00:26:38.200 --> 00:26:43.269 life but this is the beginning of the end. And 00:26:43.269 --> 00:26:46.009 yet, what a good work that Nathan did in confronting 00:26:46.009 --> 00:26:48.549 him in his sin. Friends, I know it's not a fun 00:26:48.549 --> 00:26:51.269 thing. It's a very hard thing to talk to one 00:26:51.269 --> 00:26:55.950 another about sin. But imagine how much worse 00:26:55.950 --> 00:26:58.390 it would have been for David if Nathan never 00:26:58.390 --> 00:27:01.289 did that. Or imagine how much worse it would 00:27:01.289 --> 00:27:04.089 have been for you if no one ever came to you 00:27:04.089 --> 00:27:06.970 and said, brother, sister, I'm concerned about 00:27:06.970 --> 00:27:09.569 you. Let's talk about this. This is the work 00:27:09.569 --> 00:27:15.019 we all need to be doing. And so just three points 00:27:15.019 --> 00:27:18.819 further of application. When we sin, we need 00:27:18.819 --> 00:27:21.400 to repent quickly. We do not need to let sin 00:27:21.400 --> 00:27:25.720 fester in our hearts. We need to understand how 00:27:25.720 --> 00:27:29.160 badly we need to repent. And we need to have 00:27:29.160 --> 00:27:33.339 Nathans in our lives. Secondly, let me jump to 00:27:33.339 --> 00:27:37.720 1 Corinthians 10 13. And this indeed might be 00:27:37.720 --> 00:27:40.339 one that you have memorized before because it's 00:27:40.339 --> 00:27:47.250 so good for us. 1 Corinthians 10, 13. No temptation 00:27:47.250 --> 00:27:50.210 has overtaken you that is not common to man. 00:27:50.849 --> 00:27:53.710 And God is faithful, and He will not let you 00:27:53.710 --> 00:27:56.730 be tempted beyond your ability. But with the 00:27:56.730 --> 00:27:59.569 temptation, He will also provide the way of escape 00:27:59.569 --> 00:28:03.690 that you may be able to endure it. I don't know 00:28:03.690 --> 00:28:06.250 what temptations are bothering you these days. 00:28:06.289 --> 00:28:08.470 I don't know what is going to confront you this 00:28:08.470 --> 00:28:12.720 week, but I know this. From scripture God will 00:28:12.720 --> 00:28:17.359 provide the way out so go to him and repent thirdly 00:28:17.359 --> 00:28:20.839 and lastly Today if you've never repented of 00:28:20.839 --> 00:28:25.119 sin Don't wait another minute Do not wait another 00:28:25.119 --> 00:28:30.700 minute remember Jesus's words The time is fulfilled 00:28:30.700 --> 00:28:34.599 and the kingdom of God is at hand repent and 00:28:34.599 --> 00:28:39.039 believe the gospel We need to recognize that 00:28:39.039 --> 00:28:43.039 Jesus has come, and He has come to take our place 00:28:43.039 --> 00:28:46.180 on the cross. He is the substitute for sinners. 00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:49.559 He has offered up Himself on the cross such that 00:28:49.559 --> 00:28:53.019 you would be justified, such that you would be 00:28:53.019 --> 00:28:55.480 forgiven, such that you would have a place with 00:28:55.480 --> 00:28:59.579 Him forever. Friends, today realize that what 00:28:59.579 --> 00:29:03.359 Jesus has done, He's given you Himself, He's 00:29:03.359 --> 00:29:06.440 given you the gift of faith, and in doing so, 00:29:06.509 --> 00:29:09.789 He's taken your sins and He's cast them into 00:29:09.789 --> 00:29:18.609 the bottom of the sea. Let's pray. Father, in 00:29:18.609 --> 00:29:22.269 heaven, thank you very much for your mercy and 00:29:22.269 --> 00:29:25.150 your grace and your love. It is very true. You 00:29:25.150 --> 00:29:28.309 have loved us before we loved you. You've chosen 00:29:28.309 --> 00:29:30.450 us from before the foundation of the world. You 00:29:30.450 --> 00:29:34.450 have poured out your grace upon us. Even though 00:29:34.450 --> 00:29:37.579 we're sinful, Lord, we do sin daily and thought, 00:29:37.599 --> 00:29:41.960 word, and deed, and yet you still pursue us. 00:29:42.220 --> 00:29:44.880 You've still given us your Son, and you've given 00:29:44.880 --> 00:29:47.460 us your Spirit. Lord, help us to be those who 00:29:47.460 --> 00:29:50.680 repent quickly, and help us to be like Nathan, 00:29:50.799 --> 00:29:54.619 to do the hard but necessary work of spiritual 00:29:54.619 --> 00:29:57.359 restoration for our brothers and sisters in Christ. 00:29:57.839 --> 00:30:00.200 This we pray in Jesus' name, amen.