Wednesday Night Service 7PM - When Good Kings Fall - II Sam. 10-11 - Pastor Ryan

is a sign that you are with me here's a guiding light to my feet you found me you freed me held back the wall all right good evening glad you all are here it's good to see everybody i want to invite you to stand with us or stand with me and we'll pray and we'll get started

father we thank you for the day lord we just give you praise for who you are for how much you love us for all the ways you take care of us father or just ask your blessing upon this evening lord and uh just help us to lift a joyful noise to you and to set everything else aside that's going on in our lives and just to simply focus on you and let your holy spirit minister to our hearts this evening we love you we praise you in jesus name amen i thought that's my lord let's pray that that would be our prayer this evening that we would come to the realization of how much we truly need you i ask that you bless this evening lord your name you guys can go and have a seat if you like

christ is my firm foundation the rock on which i stand when everything around me is shaken jesus he's never let me down he's faithful through jenna i've still got joy and chaos i've got peace that makes no sense so i won't be going on strength because i built my because he's not he's faithful and he's shaken so i won't be going or this evening i just want to take a moment lord and just thank you for how good and faithful you are to us lord god lord you're always faithful lord even when we're not even when we fail or we know that you don't lord when when the world just seems to surround us and outnumber us lord we know that you're there to defend us we know that you are there to deliver

us lord god and we just we just thank you we thank you for who you are and that you've always been who you said you've been lord you've never changed with the god who brought an entire nation out of captivity and slavery lord you're this that same god today as you were then don't forget the wonder of his name of my heart you found me held back the waters for my relief lord god we just again thank you for how faithful you are to us lord for making a way out of sin and death lord god into newness of life and resurrected with you lord god and that promise lord we just uh we ask your blessing upon this evening lord pray that as pastor ryan comes that you would just overflow him with your

holy spirit with your word with your gift of teaching father we love you we praise you in your precious name amen good evening if you would open up your bibles to the book of second samuel chapter 12 second samuel chapter 12 the last time that we were together david had committed a great sin he had allowed himself to be distracted didn't go into battle when he should have gone to war he didn't go into battle when he should have gone to war he didn't go into battle instead he stayed home and because he stayed home and allowed himself to get distracted he fell into sin he uh he had an illicit relationship with bathsheba and then when it came to light that she was pregnant he sought to hide that sin and the way that he hid it was by

putting uriah to death it was a plan that was a little bit more than him just killing him but but he put him to death nonetheless and so between chapters 11 and chapters in chapter 11 and chapter 11 he was killed and he was killed and he was killed and he was killed chapter 12 there's most believe somewhere in the neighborhood of about a year that elapses a year that takes place and i don't know about you but i always wonder what was that time like right like sometimes scripture leaves it a little bit unclear uh when there's these particular times what was what was that year like what did david feel like during that time what was happening in his life what was happening in the kingdom well this is one of the times when there is a little

bit of a window and there's a little bit of a window and there's a little bit of a window and there's a little bit of a window and there's a little bit of a window and there's a little bit of a window into what things were like during that year that year between the time when uriah dies and nathan confronts david as a matter of fact hold your finger here i want you to go one place with me i want you to go over to psalm 32 because david writes about this year in psalm 32 in pretty vivid ways matter of fact there's going to be two major psalms that come out of this entire event we'll look at the other one in just a little bit but psalm 32 is kind of an interesting psalm to

look at starting in verse one psalm 32 is the psalm that says that the king of the world is the king of the world psalm 32 says this how blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven whose sin is covered how blessed is the man to whom the lord does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit notice verse three when i kept silent about my sin my body wasted away through my groaning all day long for day and night your hand was heavy upon me my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer say law so what happened during that year what was that year like well i think we're given a really good glimpse into what that year was like david had kept silent

about his sin he and basheba knew about it joab knew about it maybe even a handful of his servants but for the most part david had concealed the sin there was one person that knew about it that was really heavy upon him and that was the lord because remember how we closed out chapter 11 that the lord was despised the lord was despised the lord was despised the lord was despised the lord was despised and so god was bringing conviction and so what was happening to david is that his body was wasting away through groaning god's hand was heavy upon him and his vitality was drained away in other words you can picture how things went for david that year right you can imagine that for that year every day he got a little bit more depressed for that year every

day he got a little bit more irritable with the people that were around him perhaps he kind of started to lose some weight the color was gone from what he had normally looked like there was not that joy about him that was kind of known that david was probably kind of known for as the worship leader if you will of israel the psalmist of israel was probably somewhat known for for uh for the psalms that he wrote and perhaps even music the music didn't flow from his harp the way that it did instead he was a waif of who he was at one point in time just wasting away every day and you can imagine how everybody viewed him they said what are you supposed to do with him he was just wasting

away and the people that were around him were together trying to keep him quiet allow everybody else to sit around before and pray just because i could do nothing with you god is going that kid was repenting so at some point they we go to david he's ped развising a dangerous Holy place with leaving God constantly wasting away because of sin in my life. And I've been around people that I've watched this happen to. And the whole time you're going, what's going on with this person? And then the sin comes to light, and you go, that's what it is.

That's what's going on. Because here's the thing about sin. Sin convinces us that the only thing we can do is hide it. That the only thing we can do is conceal it. And we don't realize in the middle of sin that the freest place we can be is in the place of confession. And that's what David's gonna find right now. So go back over to 1 Samuel chapter 12, or 2 Samuel chapter 12.

This is what it says. It says, then the Lord sent Nathan to David. Now before we get into what Nathan has to say to David, I want you to think about the difficulty of the task that's now presented to Nathan. David is arguably the most powerful man in the kingdom at this point in time. Maybe not even arguably, he is the most powerful man in the kingdom at this time.

He's the king. He's the greatest warrior Israel has ever seen. He has ultimate authority, and he's in a very bad place in his life. And so God commissions Nathan to do something. He commissions Nathan to go and to speak to David. Only it's not the joyful words that he's spoken in the past. As a matter of fact, the last time that Nathan had a word for David,

it was a very good word. God had told David, I'm gonna make of you a household that will last forever. Your kingdom, will last forever. And I'm going to anoint a son after you, and he's gonna build a temple, and there will never fail to be someone of your line sitting on the throne. That was the last time that Nathan got to make some kind of a proclamation to David.

But the fact of the matter is, when you're willing to declare the word of the Lord, sometimes you get to declare really joyful things, and sometimes you have to declare really hard things. And you have to be faithful to both. And so Nathan is sent to David. Now, notice that Nathan is David's friend. And so he's sent on a mission, not only as a friend, as a counselor,

but as a spiritual authority. And there's an important truth that we need to know about Nathan, because it's the truth that needs to be within us if we are gonna be this kind of person. If you're gonna do the job of Nathan, you have to number one, stand on the truth, but you have to number two, stand on compassion. If you are going to confront someone in their sin, the only thing that will qualify you for it, is a heart of truth and compassion.

Because truth without compassion is cruel. And compassion without truth is license. You have to have a heart full of both. And Nathan's heart in confronting David was not only to penetrate his heart with the truth of his sin, but to offer the truth of God's forgiveness. It had to be a heart that was willing to restore. And so Nathan, Nathan, is sent to David.

It says, and he came to him and he said, there were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a great many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb, which he bought and he nourished and grew up together with him and his children. It would eat his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom. It was like a daughter to him.

And the traveler came, to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd to prepare the wayfarer who had come to him. Rather, he took the poor man's ewe lamb and he prepared it for the man who had come to him. Now, we're not told how Nathan presented this story to David, whether he said, I have a case that I need to solve and I need some wisdom on it. Or if he was just like, I've got a little story to tell you.

Either way, David is gonna bring about judgment in this particular case. And you can imagine, as David's listening to this, he's probably a little bit thinking of his own sin, but he's really thinking about the sin that this man committed. Because truly, Nathan presents a picture of a pretty cruel man who's willing to look at this poor man that only has one little ewe lamb that's like a family member to him. And he's willing to take this ewe lamb and slaughter it to feed his guest because he doesn't want to take from his own.

And as David hears these words and as he hears the story, the anger begins to well up in him. That year of pushing down God's conviction, begins to well up in him. That year of God's hand being heavy upon him begins to well up in him and he bursts out in anger. Notice what it says in verse five. David's anger burned greatly against the man. And he said to Nathan,

as the Lord lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die. He must make restitution for the lamb fourfold because he did this thing and had no compassion. Isn't it amazing that when we see our sin displayed on someone else, it becomes the ugliest thing we've ever seen in our lives. It becomes the thing that we are willing to judge the most. I almost wonder if that's not why Jesus said,

judge not lest you be judged. And then he went on to say, you should make sure that you remove the beam from your own eye before you, remove the speck from someone else's. Because when those feelings of judgmentalism begin to well up inside of us and we find ourselves so outburst with anger at sin, the first question we should ask is, do I see my own sin displayed on someone else? Am I angry because I see my own sin being displayed in them?

It should cause us to check our own hearts and say, Lord, is it me? Lord, is it me? Is the thing that I'm really angry with the sin in my own heart? And so David decries, the guy should be put to death, which is not what the law said, but he does go on to soften his stance and say what the law does say. He should restore fourfold everything that he had taken.

And then Nathan looks at him and he says, verse seven, you are the man. Can you imagine the crumbling, in David's heart, that took place as Nathan looked at him and said, it's you. You're the guy that I'm talking about. Now, here's the beautiful thing. Because Nathan was willing to be bold, because Nathan was willing to stand on the truth, and because Nathan had a heart of compassion and restoration,

God is going to use him in a powerful way to bring about true confession and repentance on the part of David. But he's not done yet. He says, you are the man. Thus says the Lord God of Israel, it is I who anointed you king over Israel, and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul. I also gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your care,

and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things, just like these. Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil? Why have you done evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.

Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the Lord, behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household. I will even take your wives from before you, from before your eyes, and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. Indeed, you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and under the sun.

Now, if it were me, and I were the one in Nathan's position, I would have been content to stop with you are the man. Right? But Nathan doesn't do that. Instead, he continues to drive the point home. He drives the point home to say, don't you understand? Because this is what God says. What God says is, I gave you everything. And I would have given you even more had you asked for it.

But what you did, and this is important, is you have forsaken the word of the Lord. In my reading in Jeremiah this week, one of the lines that really stuck out to me the most is that Jeremiah is listing all the sins of the people. And then he says, because. And I always pay attention when it says because. For that tells us what the true heart behind the sin is.

And what he says is, because you have forsaken God. And I think that's so important for us to pay attention to. Because sometimes we view sin innocently. Sometimes we put this sugarcoating over sin, like yes, I made this mistake. Yes, it was a failure. But ultimately what we did is we have forsaken God and his word. We have forsaken God and the word that gave us life.

That's what we do. That's what sin really is. And so he continues to drive it home. And even when he says, and you have forsaken God's word, he goes on to tell him, and because of that, I will raise up evil against you. The sword will never depart from your house. As a matter of fact, your companion will take your wives. And you did it in secret. He'll do it in public.

Interestingly enough, we're gonna find that that is exactly what's going to take place. And it's going to be his own son that takes. He takes one of his wives.

Why does he drive it home so hard? Because his sin was so deep. You know, we never read of David committing adultery again. We never read of it. You know why? Because he didn't. Because we want to soften the truth and we want to stop when it hurts just a little bit. But God says if it doesn't hurt deep enough, you'll continue to do it. And there's some things about God

that are really hard to understand. There's some things about God that are really hard to accept. But the fact of the matter is, if God will restore us fully, he has to first hurt us deeply. And that's exactly what God does with David. Because those weren't Nathan's words that he was speaking. I think if Nathan had his druthers, he would have stopped with you are the man as well.

But he had to drive it home because he needed to know the full impact of his sin. Sometimes, sometimes, if we don't truly understand the full impact of our sin, we'll just continue in it and we'll say, oh gosh, I'm sorry. I'll try not to do that again. But God in his grace at times allows us to see the depth of what our sin actually does. And that's what he does with David.

And I want you to notice David's reaction. David says in verse 13, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, the Lord has also taken away your sin. You shall not die. I want you to notice first of all what David does not do. But Lord, you don't understand, she was on the roof. But Lord, you don't understand, I had to cover some things up. But Lord, you don't understand

what it would have done to the kingdom had they found this out. Lord, you don't understand. He never once tried to defend himself. That's the difference between David and Saul. I want you to pay attention to that. Because when Saul was confronted with what I would consider a much lesser sin, even though God didn't consider it a much lesser sin, when Saul was confronted with a much lesser sin,

he said, yeah, but I mean, come on, it wasn't that big of a deal, right? I pretty much obeyed. He defended himself. David never once defends himself. He just simply says, I've sinned against the Lord. He acknowledges the reality of what he did, and he acknowledges the one who he truly sinned against. One of the commentaries that I read said, some have criticized David that he did not use more words.

But the fact of the matter is, when you're cut that deep, you don't have very many words. That's exactly what it is with David. He just confesses his sin to the Lord. I've sinned. Now, he does go into, a little bit more depth into this. Matter of fact, I want you to go one more place with me in the Psalms. I want you to go over to Psalm 51.

Psalm 51. If you can't make it there in time, that's fine. You might just write it in the margin of your Bible if it's not already written there.

Psalm 51 starts like this. For the choir director, Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had gone into Bathsheba. Be gracious to me, O God, according to your loving kindness. According to the greatness of your compassion, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from sin. For I know my transgressions

and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight so that you are justified when you speak and blameless when you judge. I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, you desire truth, and the innermost being, and in the hidden part you will make me know wisdom. Purify me with hyssop and I will be clean.

Wash me and I will be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness. Let the bones which you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation

and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways and sinners will be converted to you. Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation. Then my tongue will joyfully sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips that my mouth that may declare your praise. For you do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it.

You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a broken and a contrite heart. O God, you will not despise. By your favor do good to Zion, build the walls of Jerusalem, and then you will delight in righteous sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole offering. Then the young bulls will be offered on your altar. It's a truly beautiful Psalm when you know the reality

of the story behind it. But I think what gets me the most of all in that Psalm is that David says, you didn't want sacrifice or offering, otherwise I would have given you that. No, what you truly wanted is a broken spirit and a contrite heart. Because it is in brokenness that there is true healing. It is in brokenness that there is true work of God's Holy Spirit inside of us.

Because quite frankly, the book of Isaiah tells us that he is the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, and he is the one who will keep us alive. He is the one who will keep us alive. He is the one who will keep us alive. He is the one whose name is holy, and he dwells in a high and holy hill. But he dwells in that high and holy hill with those who are of a broken spirit

and a broken and a contrite heart. You see, David may have reached the pinnacle as far as the kingdom was concerned, but it wasn't until he was truly broken that he reached the pinnacle as far as his relationship with the Lord was concerned. And so back to 2 Samuel,

Nathan immediately announces, the Lord has also taken away your sin. You shall not die. Now, I don't know if you realize just how important that is, but according to the law, both David and Bathsheba should have been put to death because that was the penalty for adultery. But because of David's broken spirit, because of his broken heart, God said, I will not put you to death.

But that did not mean that there would not be consequences. Notice what it says in verse 14. Because by this deed, you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. The child also that is born to you will surely die. And Nathan went to his house. You see, just because God forgives the penalty of sin doesn't mean that there aren't consequences

because of sin. Natural consequences that come about because of sin in our lives. A wise man once said, we can choose our sin, but we cannot choose our consequences. God forgives, and David did not face death on this side of eternity because of his sin, nor did he face eternal separation from God because of his sin. But the rest of his life was marked by his sin.

And because of that, there were consequences. As a matter of fact, there was a handful of consequences that came about. It starts off by Nathan saying, you need to understand what's taking place because of your sin. Because of the position that you were in, your sin has given an occasion for the enemies of God to blaspheme. In other words, all of God's enemies

who could speak against the nature and the character of God would stand up and say, see, that God is no different than ours. You are no different than we are. And that's the problem that we face as believers in Jesus Christ when we fall into sin is that we give the enemies of God an occasion to blaspheme. Because they look and they say, I thought you were a Christian.

I thought your life was supposed to be different than mine. And so because of that, there had to be consequences for the sin. The first was already mentioned, that the sword would not depart from David's house. As a matter of fact, starting in the next chapter and on through almost the end of 2 Samuel, there will be consequences. There will be war within David's house.

He will face the rebellion of his son. He will face the rape of his daughter. There will be things that he has to deal with because of this. But the second aspect of those consequences is that the child that he and Bathsheba bore, would die. And we find ourselves saying, why? Why would God do that? Why would God allow that to happen? That child did nothing.

Because we have to understand that sin carries unintended consequences. And often times when there is sin, it is the innocent that are injured the most. It's a warning to all of us about sin. And so the story continues. The Lord, middle of verse 15, struck the child that Uriah's widow bore to David so that he was very sick. David therefore inquired of God for the child.

And David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground. And the elders of his household stood beside him in order to raise him up from the ground. But he was unwilling and would not eat food with them. Then it happened on the seventh day that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, Behold, while the child

was still alive, we spoke to him and he didn't listen to our voice. How then can we tell him that the child is dead since he might do himself harm? But when David saw his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead. So David said to his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is. And so David arose from the ground, washed,

anointed himself, changed his clothes, and came into the house of the Lord and worshipped. Then he came to his own house and when he requested, they set food before him and he ate. And his servants said to him, What is this thing that you've done? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept. And when the child died, you arose and ate food. He said, While the child was still alive,

I fasted and wept. For I said, Who knows that the Lord may be gracious to me? Who knows that the Lord may be gracious to me that the child may live? But now he has died. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me. And so there's this story that takes place. The consequences had been laid out, this child that you

and the wife of Uriah, which by the way, I didn't point that out, but it is something to be pointed out. Have you noticed up to this point in time in this chapter, Bathsheba's not been referred to by her name. Did you notice that? She's only referred to as the wife of Uriah. There's a point in that because it's continuing to drive home. The author wants to continue

to drive home that what David did was to steal from another, was to take the wife that did not belong to him. Therefore, she remained unnamed until this point. There will be a change that takes place at the end of the chapter. We'll talk about that in just a minute. But this child of the wife of Uriah was struck with a sickness. So David did what any good dad would do.

He lay on the floor and he wept and he prayed. He prayed, seeking God, if God would maybe be gracious and spare the child's life. And of course, God kept his promise because God not only keeps the good promises, he keeps all the promises. And he took the life of the child. When David found out, he went and he washed himself and he went into the temple of the Lord.

And you notice what he did? He went into the temple of the Lord and he worshiped. He worshiped God because he knew that ultimately God had done what he said he was going to do. And that even though God had brought consequences into his life, God was still God. So he went into the temple and he worshiped and everybody, all of his servants are going, we don't get you, dude.

Like you were absolutely distraught while the child was alive and now that the child's gone, now you go and you worship the Lord and you eat. And David said, I know a reality. I know a truth. And the truth is this. That child is gone. And even though he will never return to me, I know that one day I will go see him. And David said, this along with a couple of other places in scripture

are where we get the idea that when a child who has not reached that age of accountability, that age of understanding yet, passes away, we know that because God is righteous, he is a just God, that that child goes to be with him. And there will be a reuniting that takes place. And can I say for all of us that at some point in time have lost one, it's a really beautiful truth to know that there will be a day that we will be a day when you enter into the gates of heaven that there will be that child that you were looking forward to seeing and you didn't get to see. Because even though they can't come to us, we will be able to go to them.

And so we've got this hope. And David says, I've got this hope in God. I've got this hope in who God is. And so he finds that hope in the Lord. And then it comes on to the place of restoration. So we've dealt with the confrontation and the confession. We've dealt with the consequences. But the beautiful thing about God is that even though we have to deal with the consequences

of our sin, God is always faithful to bring restoration. Notice what happens. The restoration begins in verse 24. It says, Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went into her and he lay with her. And she gave birth to a son, and he named him Solomon. And the Lord loved him and sent word, now the Lord loved him and sent word through Nathan the prophet,

and he named him Jedidiah for the Lord's sake. Now, I want you to take note of what she was just referred to. Did you take note of it? Her name now is Bathsheba. She's no longer Uriah's wife because David has dealt with the reality of his sin. He has faced the consequences of his sin. And now he gets the restoration from the Lord because the beautiful thing

about the Lord is that the weeping may last for the night. Joy always comes with the morning. And God's mercies are with us. We are new with every morning. And so, David comforts his wife Bathsheba and she bears a son and the son is named Solomon. Now, there's a beautiful play on names that begins to take place here. So, first of all, the name David means beloved, right?

And so, he has this child and he names him Solomon. Do you know what the name Solomon means? The name Solomon means peace. Now, I think that's a really beautiful thing because when God begins to bring restoration into our lives, what is the fruit of the restoration that he brings into our lives? The fruit of the restoration that God brings into our lives after we have fallen

into sin and had the hand of God heavy upon us, have had the vitality sucked out of us and our bodies wasting away because of the guilt of sin, we lack peace. And when our lives are restored, when we confess our sins, when we know that we are forgiven of our sins and God brings restoration into our life, what always results from it? Peace. Because the peace of God that surpasses all understanding that comes from the God of all peace, knowing that we are now at peace with God, we begin to experience the peace of God.

And so, David, this beloved man who had fallen into sin is finally restored back to the place where he should be and he has a child and he says, ah, peace. Isn't that a beautiful thing? And then, for the Lord's sake, it says he names him Jedidiah. You know what the name Jedidiah means? It means beloved of the Lord. And so, David, the beloved one, has a child

and he names him beloved of the Lord. Why? Because God had brought restoration into the life of David and that son, Solomon, was the perfect picture of the fact that David was beloved of God and this child would be beloved of God. And I referenced this last week but I referenced it again. God will take what started off to be the most illicit relationship, the most

horrific situation ever and he turns it into something for his glory because Bathsheba will be the one through whom the Messiah will come because Solomon will be the line through whom the Messiah will come. And what the enemy intended for evil, what sin intended to destroy, God used for his good and it's a picture of grace for us. Amen? And so, the first aspect of restoration is that we see that this child is born to David named Solomon.

Peace comes into his life and the knowledge of God's love is restored to him. But now we come to verse 26 and it says, now Joab fought against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon and he captured the royal city. And Joab sent messengers to David and said, I have fought against Rabbah. I have even captured the city of waters. Now therefore, gather the rest of the people

together and camp against the city and capture the city. And he said, I will capture it or I will capture the city myself and it will be named after me. So David gathered all the people and he went to Rabbah and he fought against it and he captured it. And then he took the crown of their king from his head and its weight was a talent of gold and in it was a precious stone and it was placed on David's head and he brought out the spoil of the city in great amounts and he also brought out the people who were in it and he set them under saws, sharp iron instruments, and iron axes and he made them pass through the brick kiln and thus he did to all the cities of the sons of Ammon.

Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem. Now I want to point something out to you. This battle against the Ammonites actually began in chapter 10 of 2 Samuel and it started with David doing what he was supposed to do. He was defending his soldiers, remember? The servants of David went and they made a kind gesture towards the king and the king said

it's not really a kind gesture. I think you're actually coming to spy out the land and so they shaved off half their beards and they cut off their clothes up and uncovered their buttockses which is just an amazing translation. And so David said you hang out there and I'll restore you and I'll take care of you but the battle wasn't finished. And then in chapter 11 when David should have gone back out to battle against the Ammonites he stayed home and that was where all of the trouble started.

Well now at the end of chapter 12 the battle against the Ammonites had continued. Why? Because when we're living in sin it's hard to have victory. When we're living in sin it's hard to defeat the enemies of God. But now that restoration has come the victory will be accomplished. And so Joab goes back out to battle and he's having that victory that God had promised

would come when one walks with God when one walks in peace with God. And Joab sends a message back to David and he says listen you better gather the people and you better show up and take the city otherwise I'm gonna take the city and I'm gonna call it by my name. You know sometimes as much of a rascal as Joab could be Joab was important in the life of David because he always forced him to do what he knew he was supposed to do. And I love that because sometimes we need that person in our life when we have fallen into sin when we have fallen into the things that we're not supposed to do we need that person in our life that says suck it up and get back in the battle.

Right? You can imagine David still sitting at home God has brought restoration to his relationship God has brought peace into his life but he's still like but am I really the king? Am I really the one who can win the battle? Because I know what happened last time maybe I'm not really supposed to be the guy leading the men anymore I don't know if they'll respect me anymore I don't know if they'll really see me as their leader anymore and Joab says suck it up and get back in the battle.

We all need that person in our life don't we? Because sometimes we fall sometimes we fail sometimes we screw up and we say I don't know if anybody can use me anymore and we need that person that says suck it up and get back in the battle. Go back to doing what you know you're supposed to do. Go back to being the man or the woman that God has called for you to be but you don't understand how I've fallen.

Yes I do and it's time for you to forget it and move on. And that's what Joab does with David. Do you need that person in your life today? Maybe you're the person who's fallen into sin maybe you're the person who's failed and you need somebody to come into your life and say hey quit wallowing in your past failures and get back in the battle. Maybe you're the person

that needs to do that for somebody else. Maybe God's calling you to be bold and to tell someone I know that you failed I know that you fell I know that you did some things you weren't supposed to but God's not done with you yet. We need those people in our lives and sometimes you need to be that person in someone's life. And so Joab tells him you better get back in the battle because otherwise I'm calling this city after my own name.

And so David in this ultimate act of restoration that God does in his life gets back to where he belongs. Being about his master's business. Being about the battles that God wants him to fight. Because remember when all of this started in chapter 11 what did we say the biggest problem that David had was? He was not about his master's business. And because he was not

about his master's business he fell into the sins of the flesh. Brothers and sisters I can't say it enough. I can't say it strong enough. Be about your master's business. And if you've been going through a time when you've not been about your master's business don't wallow in the guilt. Just get back to the business at hand. Just get back to the battle. And get back to doing

what God has called you to do. And that's what David does. He goes back into the battle. He wins the battle. And he has this crown that's placed upon his head and he brought the spoil of the city and great amazement. And man for just a moment for just a moment everybody gets to relive the glory days of David. Everybody gets to relive David the good king. Because he puts his enemies

to forced labor and it's victory for the children of Israel. I don't know if I can continue to reiterate this enough but when sin comes into our lives brothers and sisters confession is so key. Confession is so key. Confession is key and listen if you have sinned publicly confess it publicly. If you've sinned privately confess it privately. If you've sinned against the Lord

confess it to the Lord. Confession amongst us is for the restoration of relationships. Confession to the Lord is for the restoration of our relationship with him. But don't hide it any longer. Take it to the Lord and let him bring about that ultimate restoration. That only God can bring. Amen. Let's pray. Father we come before you and I thank you for what your word has to say.

Lord I thank you for the example of David and Father that you were willing to write such a horrific story about one of the Bible's greatest heroes. And it gives hope to the rest of us that struggle with our flesh. And so Lord may we find our hope in your grace. May we find our hope in your peace. May we find our hope in the blood of Jesus. That is enough to cover

all of our sins. Father we thank you and we praise you for who you are. And I thank you Lord that your word tells us that the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a broken and a contrite heart. Because those you will never despise. In Jesus name. Amen. Be blessed.