1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:06,700 Now, the life of David is a story as we’ve seen in three chapters. His trials, his triumphs, 2 00:00:06,700 –> 00:00:11,180 and then his troubles. We’re in the last of these three chapters, and we saw last week 3 00:00:11,180 –> 00:00:18,219 as we began this journey that many of the troubles that dominated David’s life were 4 00:00:18,219 –> 00:00:25,940 troubles that he actually brought on himself through his own sin and through his own folly. 5 00:00:25,940 –> 00:00:33,439 We saw that David committed the sins of adultery and of murder, and that what he did displeased 6 00:00:33,439 –> 00:00:40,459 the Lord. That’s chapter 11 and verse 27. So here we have a man who loved the Lord, 7 00:00:40,459 –> 00:00:44,000 but we saw last week that what he had done over a period of time was he had actually 8 00:00:44,000 –> 00:00:52,520 carved out an area of his own life that was never actually submitted to the Lord, and 9 00:00:53,480 –> 00:01:01,459 allowed sin to grow in its power and gain a position in his life. So that as he gave 10 00:01:01,459 –> 00:01:07,839 way to a particular temptation, sin got to a place when it eventually overpowered him 11 00:01:07,839 –> 00:01:14,320 and he ended up committing sins that he never thought in his earlier years he would ever 12 00:01:14,320 –> 00:01:21,000 have found himself doing. And that’s where we came to at the end of last week, and we 13 00:01:21,139 –> 00:01:26,400 take it up today in chapter 12. Now it’s sometimes helpful when you’re 14 00:01:26,400 –> 00:01:33,400 reading the Bible to ask the question, what do I think should happen next? What would 15 00:01:34,580 –> 00:01:41,160 you expect to happen after 2 Samuel chapter 11 where we’re told of these heinous sins 16 00:01:41,160 –> 00:01:46,239 that were committed by David? And I want very simply today for us to look at what David 17 00:01:46,239 –> 00:01:53,239 did next, and then what God did next, these two things. Let’s start with David then. And 18 00:01:54,360 –> 00:02:00,459 what would you expect that would come after such serious sins in the life of David? I 19 00:02:00,459 –> 00:02:07,459 know what I would expect that after two heinous sins like this, there must be next the most 20 00:02:07,800 –> 00:02:15,039 profound repentance. Surely David of all people is going to come and to seek the face of God 21 00:02:15,160 –> 00:02:20,339 and to recognize the depth to which he has fallen, and to turn to God in radical repentance. 22 00:02:20,339 –> 00:02:26,639 And what I want you to see today is that that is precisely what does not happen. By the 23 00:02:26,639 –> 00:02:33,639 time you get to chapter 12, the child that was conceived has been born. So, more than 24 00:02:34,800 –> 00:02:41,339 nine months have passed since David committed these sins, and has there been any repentance 25 00:02:41,460 –> 00:02:48,460 in these nine months? Answer, none whatsoever. What has David done? He has simply covered 26 00:02:49,100 –> 00:02:56,100 up, and he has moved on. And so, here’s the first thing that we learn from the Bible straight 27 00:02:56,300 –> 00:03:03,300 away today that the natural sequel to sin is not repentance, not in this story. And 28 00:03:04,699 –> 00:03:10,539 just so you know that this isn’t an isolated incident, if you go all the way back to the 29 00:03:10,559 –> 00:03:16,619 beginning of the Bible, you’ll find exactly the same sobering truth. Remember, God places 30 00:03:16,619 –> 00:03:21,639 Adam and Eve in a beautiful garden in which everything’s provided for them. They have 31 00:03:21,639 –> 00:03:26,860 the companionship of a loving marriage. They have meaningful work. They have all the food 32 00:03:26,860 –> 00:03:32,139 provided right there on the trees. And God says to them, I give you just one command 33 00:03:32,139 –> 00:03:37,259 that there’s one tree that you shall not eat from. And you remember how Eve was tempted 34 00:03:37,300 –> 00:03:42,380 and she ate and she gave to Adam, and he ate as well. Well now, what do you think would 35 00:03:42,380 –> 00:03:49,639 happen next? Here is a couple who have walked in fellowship with God. They’ve been walking 36 00:03:49,639 –> 00:03:54,820 with the Lord in the garden, in the cool of the day. Surely you would think what Adam 37 00:03:54,820 –> 00:04:01,179 is going to do immediately is to go and seek the face of God and to say, God, I have something 38 00:04:01,220 –> 00:04:08,460 to confess. I’ve sinned against you, I’ve done the one thing that you told me not to 39 00:04:08,460 –> 00:04:14,059 do, I’ve eaten from this tree, and I’m cut to the heart by what I’ve done and I want 40 00:04:14,059 –> 00:04:19,420 to ask for your forgiveness. But if you know the story in Genesis in chapter 41 00:04:19,420 –> 00:04:24,940 3 you’ll remember that that is exactly what does not happen. What does happen? We’re told 42 00:04:24,940 –> 00:04:29,040 this, they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in a garden in the cool of the day 43 00:04:29,640 –> 00:04:35,179 and a man and a wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord among the trees of the 44 00:04:35,179 –> 00:04:42,179 garden. In other words, the natural sequel to sin is not repentance, it is hiding. It 45 00:04:43,420 –> 00:04:50,420 is to cover up. It is simply to move on. Adam knows that he is a sinner and the natural 46 00:04:51,119 –> 00:04:57,559 reaction of a sinner is not to come to God but to run from God. You see the same thing 47 00:04:57,739 –> 00:05:03,779 in the New Testament in the story of Simon Peter. And early on, he catches a glimpse 48 00:05:03,779 –> 00:05:10,380 of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ through a miraculous catch of fish. And what is the 49 00:05:10,380 –> 00:05:15,500 response of Peter to seeing the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ? Is it to say, oh Jesus, 50 00:05:15,500 –> 00:05:21,559 I see your glory, I’m going to follow you forever? No. It is for Peter to say depart 51 00:05:21,619 –> 00:05:28,619 from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man. That’s the natural reaction you see, of a sinner 52 00:05:28,679 –> 00:05:35,679 in the presence of God. It’s not to come to God. It’s to run from God. Now, if the 53 00:05:36,279 –> 00:05:42,820 natural reaction then, the natural sequel to sin is not repentance, but it’s simply 54 00:05:42,820 –> 00:05:49,820 covering up and moving on, what hope is there then of reconciliation with God? And the answer 55 00:05:50,220 –> 00:05:56,519 of course is that if we were left to ourselves, there’s no hope whatsoever. So what did 56 00:05:56,519 –> 00:06:03,519 David do? Covers up. Moves on. In regards to returning to God, he does absolutely nothing. 57 00:06:08,420 –> 00:06:13,320 Now what is his experience during this time? What was it like for David during these nine 58 00:06:13,739 –> 00:06:19,839 months and more in which he covered up and tried to move on? Well, David actually tells 59 00:06:19,839 –> 00:06:25,519 us this himself in one of the Psalms that he wrote sometime after this period in his 60 00:06:25,519 –> 00:06:31,480 life and he reflected back on what his experience was during these months of covering up and 61 00:06:31,480 –> 00:06:36,859 moving on. Let me quote to you from Psalm 32 where he speaks about this. 62 00:06:37,519 –> 00:06:39,700 When I kept silent. 63 00:06:41,260 –> 00:06:46,500 In other words, when, during these months I did not confess, I just covered up and I 64 00:06:46,500 –> 00:06:53,679 moved on, what was his experience? Well, when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through 65 00:06:53,679 –> 00:07:01,899 my groaning all day long. For day and night, your hand was heavy upon me. My strength was 66 00:07:01,899 –> 00:07:06,559 dried up as by the heat of summer. 67 00:07:07,640 –> 00:07:12,440 So don’t think for a moment, you see, when David covers up and he moves on that everything’s 68 00:07:12,459 –> 00:07:19,320 hunky dory in the palace, it was not. This was without doubt the most miserable year 69 00:07:19,320 –> 00:07:26,140 in David’s entire life. And he describes it very vividly here. He speaks about his 70 00:07:26,140 –> 00:07:36,779 groaning all day long. Think about that. Here’s a man in a palace. He has money! He has 71 00:07:36,899 –> 00:07:46,459 privilege and he has the wife that he wanted. But he lives with a nagging groan in his spirit. 72 00:07:47,440 –> 00:07:54,440 Even when he savors the greatest of pleasures, the groan is still there. He groans when he 73 00:07:54,440 –> 00:07:59,899 goes to bed at night. And when he wakes up in the morning, he groans at the thought of 74 00:08:00,040 –> 00:08:07,040 another day. And it was like that for months. This was my experience. And then he says, 75 00:08:07,040 –> 00:08:13,880 my strength was dried up. I try to cover up and move on. Here’s what I found as a child 76 00:08:13,880 –> 00:08:20,880 of God. I found I lost all my energy. I found that the things that I was interested in doing 77 00:08:20,880 –> 00:08:27,640 in life, they seem to lose that interest for me. I found that my strength was dried up. 78 00:08:27,640 –> 00:08:33,840 The blessing of God seemed to have departed from my life. I didn’t see any point in it 79 00:08:33,840 –> 00:08:42,000 anymore. Now, do you see what we are learning here. The natural sequel to sin is not repentance. 80 00:08:42,000 –> 00:08:47,599 Just left to ourselves. That’s not what we do. The natural sequel to sin is not repentance. 81 00:08:47,599 –> 00:08:53,200 It’s covering up, it’s moving on. It’s hiding from God. And that experience for a Christian 82 00:08:53,200 –> 00:09:01,900 believer always proves miserable. By the way, David’s misery, as he records it in 83 00:09:01,900 –> 00:09:12,760 Psalm 32, is the sure sign that he really was the Lord’s. You see, a person who has 84 00:09:12,760 –> 00:09:19,159 never really loved the Lord will not miss Him when he is gone. That’s one of the ways 85 00:09:19,159 –> 00:09:23,119 that you know a person who has never really loved the Lord. They may have been religious 86 00:09:23,119 –> 00:09:31,059 or whatever. But a person who has never really loved the Lord will not miss Him when He is 87 00:09:31,059 –> 00:09:38,700 gone. But you see, if you are the Lord’s you can never be happy as long as you’re 88 00:09:38,700 –> 00:09:45,880 hiding from Him. And that was David’s experience. And it will be ours in any situation where 89 00:09:45,880 –> 00:09:55,299 we try to cover up and simply move on. So, where are we gonna go from here? It 90 00:09:55,299 –> 00:10:00,940 seems like the story has stalled. David is miserable but he’s not repentant. There’s 91 00:10:00,940 –> 00:10:09,340 no confession. Nine months have passed, there’s no seeking the face of God. In all of this 92 00:10:09,559 –> 00:10:17,659 probably more than a year has passed, and there has not been a single flicker of repentance 93 00:10:17,659 –> 00:10:25,559 in this man’s heart. Not at all, not once. So, you see, it is very easy for us to assume 94 00:10:25,559 –> 00:10:33,760 that repentance will be the natural sequel to sin. Not at all. Wherever there is genuine 95 00:10:34,539 –> 00:10:41,179 it is a miracle of God’s grace, and if it were not for the grace of God, then Adam and Eve 96 00:10:41,179 –> 00:10:47,020 would have remained hiding forever. David would have remained hiding forever. If it 97 00:10:47,020 –> 00:10:53,440 was not for the grace of God, you and I would be hiding from God forever, too. So, thank 98 00:10:53,520 –> 00:11:00,520 God that David’s inactivity is not the end of the story. What will David do? Nothing. 99 00:11:02,280 –> 00:11:07,960 What will God do? Well, let’s focus in on what God does, because 100 00:11:07,960 –> 00:11:12,840 that is the subject of chapter 12 that’s before us today, and it’s a very wonderful 101 00:11:12,840 –> 00:11:18,880 and a very important chapter. Let’s frame it again in our minds. What’s the situation? 102 00:11:18,900 –> 00:11:28,679 David has committed two heinous sins, adultery and murder. One commentator points out that 103 00:11:28,679 –> 00:11:36,059 actually David had broken at least six of the ten Commandments. He had put his own desires 104 00:11:36,059 –> 00:11:41,659 before God – that breaks the first commandment. He had committed murder – that breaks the 105 00:11:41,659 –> 00:11:46,940 sixth commandment. He had committed adultery, which breaks the seventh commandment. 106 00:11:47,159 –> 00:11:54,239 He had stolen another man’s wife – that breaks the eighth commandment. He had lied and deceived 107 00:11:54,239 –> 00:12:01,340 Uriah and lies breaks the ninth commandment, and he had coveted – and that breaks the tenth 108 00:12:01,340 –> 00:12:10,119 commandment. And think about this. This is the sin of a man who has been uniquely privileged and 109 00:12:10,119 –> 00:12:16,739 blessed by God. Right back from the days when Samuel came and poured that oil over the young 110 00:12:16,739 –> 00:12:23,760 lad’s head. God has chosen you to be king, a man after his own heart. And all the way in which God 111 00:12:23,760 –> 00:12:30,400 has stood with him in his fight with Goliath and in his flight from Saul, and protected his life 112 00:12:30,400 –> 00:12:35,760 and brought him to the great triumphs that we looked at last year. God’s blessing has been 113 00:12:35,760 –> 00:12:42,640 upon this man in a singular way, and yet this man goes and breaks one commandment after another of 114 00:12:42,679 –> 00:12:48,500 the Lord’s. And I want you to notice the Word of God that comes to him in verse 9, 115 00:12:48,500 –> 00:12:58,580 why have you despised the Word of the Lord? Verse 10, you have despised me God says. 116 00:12:58,580 –> 00:13:06,859 Verse 14, by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord. What a phrase that is. 117 00:13:06,859 –> 00:13:16,260 Now here’s the question, what is God going to do next? How will God deal with this man so 118 00:13:16,260 –> 00:13:27,219 privileged who has scorned him, who has despised him, and has broken one commandment after another? 119 00:13:27,219 –> 00:13:40,400 What will God do next? Now God might justly have said to David, this is the end of the 120 00:13:40,400 –> 00:13:51,200 line for you, it’s all over for you, that’s how it was for Saul, why should it not be the same 121 00:13:51,200 –> 00:13:59,260 for David? Who would be surprised, if we were to read something like this in the Bible, that the 122 00:13:59,260 –> 00:14:07,599 Lord raised up the Ammonites, or some other enemies of his people and they routed the armies 123 00:14:07,599 –> 00:14:16,119 of Israel on the field of battle and David and all his sons died by the sword on that day. I mean, 124 00:14:16,119 –> 00:14:19,979 if we read something like that, we’d say well that’s exactly what happened to Saul and his sons 125 00:14:19,979 –> 00:14:26,500 and the line ended right there. Who would be surprised, who could complain if such a thing 126 00:14:26,500 –> 00:14:33,320 was the outcome for David? And maybe you think that’s what God should have done and said in 127 00:14:33,320 –> 00:14:42,760 regards to David. I mean, how can God allow this man to remain as king after this? But that is 128 00:14:43,099 –> 00:14:54,760 not how God dealt with David because retribution is not how God deals with His children. Thank God 129 00:14:54,760 –> 00:15:02,320 for that. That is not how God dealt with David because retribution is not how God deals with 130 00:15:02,320 –> 00:15:11,799 His children. If it was, there was not a single one of us would be here today. Or God might justly 131 00:15:11,840 –> 00:15:22,119 have said, David, you have despised me and you have scorned me therefore I wash my hands of you. 132 00:15:22,119 –> 00:15:30,159 You can continue as king, but you will not have my spirit. My presence will be taken from you 133 00:15:30,159 –> 00:15:36,679 and my blessing will no longer rest on you. I will leave you to your own devices. You’re on 134 00:15:37,280 –> 00:15:47,039 now. I will have nothing more to do with you.” Now, who could complain about that? And is that 135 00:15:47,039 –> 00:15:55,159 not precisely what we find in Romans and chapter 1 when wicked men set their hearts on evil? How 136 00:15:55,159 –> 00:16:01,919 does God’s judgment operate in their lives? Answer, God gives them up! That’s Romans chapter 1 verse 137 00:16:01,919 –> 00:16:08,080 24 and verse 26 and verse 28. It’s repeated three times. The judgment of God on those 138 00:16:08,080 –> 00:16:16,340 who pursue evil, God gives them up. But we don’t find anything like that here. Why? Because 139 00:16:16,340 –> 00:16:25,619 that is not how God deals with his children. When it comes to his children, he never gives 140 00:16:25,619 –> 00:16:36,400 them up. Or again, God might have said, if David comes to me, then I will forgive him. 141 00:16:36,400 –> 00:16:39,940 But he’s got to make the first move. He’s the one that departed. He’s the one that 142 00:16:39,940 –> 00:16:47,780 has sinned. Oh, I’m always, God might have said, open to reconciliation, but the ball 143 00:16:48,260 –> 00:16:57,500 firmly in David’s court. He must make the first move. And unless and until he does, 144 00:16:57,500 –> 00:17:04,359 I’m done with him. Who could complain about that? But you see, in the light of what we 145 00:17:04,359 –> 00:17:11,660 have just learned, if that was God’s response to the sin of His people, we would all be 146 00:17:11,660 –> 00:17:16,780 lost forever. Why? Because we would never make the first move. None of us would ever 147 00:17:16,780 –> 00:17:21,920 come back to God, because the natural sequel to sin is not repentance, it’s to cover up 148 00:17:21,920 –> 00:17:28,680 and to move on. And if God simply stood back passively and waited for David to make the 149 00:17:28,680 –> 00:17:38,819 first move, it would never have happened. It would never have happened. So thank God 150 00:17:38,819 –> 00:17:45,359 that He does not deal with His own children through retribution, and He does not deal 151 00:17:45,359 –> 00:17:52,900 with His own children through renunciation. What He does is He deals with His own children 152 00:17:52,900 –> 00:17:59,140 through the most marvelous restoration, and that’s what we have right here in 2 Samuel 153 00:17:59,140 –> 00:18:05,859 and chapter 12. David wrote later in Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd, and here is what 154 00:18:05,859 –> 00:18:13,699 that means, He restores my soul. When there might have been retribution, when there might 155 00:18:13,699 –> 00:18:21,079 have been renunciation, there was instead restoration and it was the Lord who did it. 156 00:18:21,079 –> 00:18:28,400 He restores my soul. Now, how does God restore the soul of one 157 00:18:28,400 –> 00:18:34,800 of His own children? Let me point out three ways in which God does this directly from 158 00:18:34,800 –> 00:18:40,979 this chapter that’s before us. How does God restore? Thank god He does. How does He do 159 00:18:41,859 –> 00:18:54,400 it? Number one, God speaks. God speaks. Verse 1, the Lord sent Nathan to David. Who is Nathan? 160 00:18:54,400 –> 00:19:03,380 Nathan is a prophet. What does a prophet do? A prophet speaks the word of God. 161 00:19:03,380 –> 00:19:09,439 So how God restores one of His own children is rather than standing back and waiting for 162 00:19:09,439 –> 00:19:15,619 his children to make the move, God speaks and he speaks through His Word and His Word 163 00:19:15,619 –> 00:19:20,640 accomplishes a change in David that had not been accomplished by anything in the previous 164 00:19:20,640 –> 00:19:27,880 nine months. It is the same with Adam and Eve in the garden when they were hiding. Do 165 00:19:27,880 –> 00:19:32,900 you remember how they did they come out of hiding? Simply this, the Lord called to Adam. 166 00:19:32,900 –> 00:19:37,680 Where are you? So the way in which God restores His own 167 00:19:37,680 –> 00:19:43,439 children who are covering up and hiding from Him is he cuts through the hiding and he speaks 168 00:19:43,439 –> 00:19:51,599 through His Word. That’s where restoration begins for any of us. 169 00:19:51,599 –> 00:19:59,119 Now Nathan speaks the Word of God to David and he does it by presenting a story. Commentators 170 00:19:59,119 –> 00:20:07,079 often refer to what Nathan says here is is a parable. But I want you to notice that Nathan 171 00:20:07,119 –> 00:20:13,959 does not say to David that it is a parable. Nathan presents this to David as an actual 172 00:20:13,959 –> 00:20:20,839 case on which David is being asked to pronounce judgement. Remember that David is the king 173 00:20:20,839 –> 00:20:25,339 and that means he is the Chief Justice in the land and so it would not have been unusual 174 00:20:25,339 –> 00:20:30,199 for situations of injustice to be brought to David for him to pass Judgement and to 175 00:20:30,199 –> 00:20:35,579 announce a sentence. And Nathan comes, he doesn’t say I’ve got a parable to tell you 176 00:20:35,579 –> 00:20:40,000 he presents a case. And David is glad to hear the case, it’s part of his job to hear 177 00:20:40,000 –> 00:20:47,780 cases like this. And so Nathan lays out this case. It is a case of two men in a certain 178 00:20:47,780 –> 00:20:53,819 city and one is rich and the other is poor. And the rich man has many flocks and many 179 00:20:53,819 –> 00:21:02,280 herds, the poor man only has a single ewe lamb, which he loves greatly. The lamb eats 180 00:21:02,540 –> 00:21:10,699 the man’s food, the lamb drinks from the man’s cup and the lamb lies in the man’s arms. 181 00:21:10,699 –> 00:21:18,479 Well, a traveller arrives at the home of the rich man. And the rich man wants to entertain, 182 00:21:18,479 –> 00:21:24,359 welcome this traveller and to lay on a feast for him. But he doesn’t want to take one 183 00:21:24,359 –> 00:21:30,719 of his own lambs, he doesn’t want to take from his own flock, and so he steals this 184 00:21:30,719 –> 00:21:37,900 dearly loved lamb from the poor man and uses that lamb to prepare the feast for himself 185 00:21:37,900 –> 00:21:46,119 and for the traveller. And as this case is laid before David, who is being asked to pronounce 186 00:21:46,119 –> 00:21:55,099 judgement on it, David becomes angry, more than angry, outraged, verse five, and David’s 187 00:21:55,099 –> 00:22:04,400 anger was greatly kindled against the man. It’s amazing how angry we can become at our 188 00:22:04,400 –> 00:22:09,160 own sins when we see them in the lives of others, but we don’t realise it’s our own 189 00:22:09,160 –> 00:22:17,040 sins that we’re actually seeing. And David says to Nathan, as the Lord lives, the man 190 00:22:17,040 –> 00:22:27,839 who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold because he 191 00:22:27,839 –> 00:22:41,540 did this thing and because he had no pity. Now, that was more than the law demanded. 192 00:22:41,880 –> 00:22:46,380 you check out the law of God on a situation like this in the Old Testament where 193 00:22:46,380 –> 00:22:50,660 there was the theft of a lamb, it’s specifically addressed in Exodus chapter 194 00:22:50,660 –> 00:22:56,520 22 in verse 1. If someone steals a lamb then the restitution is that four lambs 195 00:22:56,520 –> 00:23:00,780 must be given back in its place, and so what David says here reflects the law of 196 00:23:00,780 –> 00:23:06,479 God, but there is nothing in the law of God that imposes the penalty of death 197 00:23:06,699 –> 00:23:14,199 for the theft of a lamb. Why does David say this? Because he’s making a judgment 198 00:23:14,199 –> 00:23:19,920 out not of justice, not out of the law of God but out of pure anger. He was greatly 199 00:23:19,920 –> 00:23:25,140 enraged and for this I want to make this observation that is worth keeping in 200 00:23:25,140 –> 00:23:34,260 mind, if you are ever tempted to think that God’s judgments are harsh remember 201 00:23:34,339 –> 00:23:40,020 that the judgments of sinners are invariably harsher. If you are ever 202 00:23:40,020 –> 00:23:44,500 tempted to think that God’s judgments are harsh 203 00:23:44,500 –> 00:23:55,099 remember that the judgments of sinners are invariably harsher. God is just. A man 204 00:23:55,099 –> 00:24:04,060 would get justice from God did not get justice from David. Now, Nathan then says 205 00:24:04,420 –> 00:24:13,219 to David in these extraordinary words you are the man. What a moment that was. 206 00:24:13,219 –> 00:24:16,660 David, this is actually a picture of precisely what you have done and when 207 00:24:16,660 –> 00:24:21,099 you have said this man deserves to die actually you have condemned yourself out 208 00:24:21,099 –> 00:24:26,339 of your own mouth because your sin is not stealing a lamb, it is committing 209 00:24:26,339 –> 00:24:30,300 adultery and it is committing murder and the death penalty is the penalty for 210 00:24:30,300 –> 00:24:39,739 that in the law of God. And finally, after months of silence and covering up 211 00:24:39,739 –> 00:24:44,739 and moving on and suppressing conscience, 212 00:24:44,939 –> 00:24:53,219 David says I have sinned against the Lord and that confession was the 213 00:24:53,219 –> 00:25:00,000 beginning of repentance in David’s life. What I want us to see at this point is 214 00:25:00,000 –> 00:25:05,739 this, that it was the word of God that broke through in David’s life and 215 00:25:05,739 –> 00:25:12,000 brought about restoration when nothing else could. Don’t ever underestimate the 216 00:25:12,000 –> 00:25:22,540 power of the Word of God. Time did not bring David to repentance. Conscience 217 00:25:22,540 –> 00:25:29,920 didn’t bring David to repentance, he just pushed that down. Months of misery did 218 00:25:29,959 –> 00:25:32,859 not bring David to repentance. He just carried on in it, 219 00:25:33,359 –> 00:25:39,900 groaning day and night and he would have carried on like that forever. But God’s 220 00:25:39,900 –> 00:25:46,459 Word got under the defences of this man and brought about confession that was 221 00:25:46,459 –> 00:25:51,400 the beginning of repentance. Never underestimate the power of God’s Word. 222 00:25:51,400 –> 00:25:57,859 My word will not return to me empty, it will accomplish the purpose for which I 223 00:25:57,920 –> 00:26:01,900 have sent it. And you know what? God’s Word can change your life from the 224 00:26:01,900 –> 00:26:10,219 inside out in a way that nothing else can. How does God restore? He speaks. Thank God 225 00:26:10,219 –> 00:26:16,140 because otherwise David would just have remained as he was forever. Second, God 226 00:26:16,140 –> 00:26:21,760 disciplines. And this is a very important part of how God restores his own 227 00:26:21,760 –> 00:26:29,020 children. Now the principle by which God disciplines, exercises discipline in the 228 00:26:29,020 –> 00:26:34,500 life of a believer, is stated in many places in the Bible. I’ll quote it from a 229 00:26:34,500 –> 00:26:39,079 number of places today, but perhaps what it’s most clear is Galatians Chapter 6 230 00:26:39,079 –> 00:26:41,920 and verse 7 where we read, 231 00:26:42,479 –> 00:26:52,780 God is not mocked for whatever a man sows that will he also reap. Now think of 232 00:26:52,780 –> 00:27:00,500 what is happening in this moment where Nathan speaks to David. Nathan looks into 233 00:27:00,500 –> 00:27:09,060 the eyes of David, you are the man. Nathan speaks the very word of God to David. 234 00:27:09,380 –> 00:27:14,479 And so for David what is his experience he hears the very voice of God through 235 00:27:14,479 –> 00:27:20,859 the prophet the Word of God indicting him on the sins that he has covered up 236 00:27:20,859 –> 00:27:25,160 and sought merely to move on from. 237 00:27:25,160 –> 00:27:27,760 In other words in this moment David’s 238 00:27:27,760 –> 00:27:32,579 palace where this scene takes place is as it were turned into God’s own 239 00:27:32,579 –> 00:27:37,640 courtroom and the charges against David are read. And what is the charge verse 240 00:27:38,479 –> 00:27:46,079 You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, you have killed him with 241 00:27:46,079 –> 00:27:49,939 the sword. 242 00:27:49,939 –> 00:27:55,560 Verse 10 now therefore the sword shall never 243 00:27:55,560 –> 00:27:59,439 depart from your house. 244 00:27:59,439 –> 00:28:04,280 Do you see how God’s discipline is a direct 245 00:28:04,520 –> 00:28:11,939 reflection of David’s own sin? You’ve sinned with the sword, now you’re 246 00:28:11,939 –> 00:28:17,239 going to find that you live with the sword. Do not be deceived, God is not 247 00:28:17,239 –> 00:28:24,599 mocked. That which a man sows, that will he also reap. 248 00:28:24,599 –> 00:28:30,979 Now this is a very important principle in the Bible and I want us to grasp it and 249 00:28:31,000 –> 00:28:36,260 then I want to apply it in two particular ways, but let me give to you 250 00:28:36,260 –> 00:28:40,339 another place where the Bible states this very simply and that is in Jeremiah 251 00:28:40,339 –> 00:28:45,920 chapter 2 and verse 19. Jeremiah 2 and verse 19 we read these words, 252 00:28:45,920 –> 00:28:55,380 your own wickedness will correct you. Did you know that God said that? How is 253 00:28:55,380 –> 00:28:58,680 God going to correct you? Well actually your own wickedness will play a role 254 00:28:59,000 –> 00:29:03,660 within this, because this is how the discipline of God operates in the life 255 00:29:03,660 –> 00:29:09,959 of a believer. Your own wickedness corrects you. Now let me give you an 256 00:29:09,959 –> 00:29:13,819 illustration of that from the Bible and we’re going to see it of course 257 00:29:13,819 –> 00:29:19,239 illustrated again in the life of David in the weeks that lie ahead. But do you 258 00:29:19,239 –> 00:29:25,140 remember the story of Jacob? Now what was Jacob’s great sin? 259 00:29:25,699 –> 00:29:31,780 It was that he was a deceiver, he was really good at it. Jacob was the kind of 260 00:29:31,780 –> 00:29:37,400 person who could pull the wool over anyone’s eyes. The sort of person who 261 00:29:37,400 –> 00:29:42,099 could look you in the eye and lie to your face and you would not know even a 262 00:29:42,099 –> 00:29:46,680 flicker looking into his eyes that he was not telling you the truth. He was the 263 00:29:46,680 –> 00:29:52,920 master of deception. He deceived his own father and thereby got the blessing that 264 00:29:52,920 –> 00:29:56,660 would have gone to his brother, he impersonated his brother as 265 00:29:56,660 –> 00:30:00,339 his father’s eyesight was failing, his brother was a hairy man. You might 266 00:30:00,339 –> 00:30:05,040 remember this story.And so Jacob puts animal skins so that the father will be 267 00:30:05,040 –> 00:30:10,880 deceived. He was the master deceiver. He loved deception. He was really good 268 00:30:10,880 –> 00:30:18,479 at it. And how did the discipline of God, how was that discipline exercised in 269 00:30:18,880 –> 00:30:26,160 life? The answer is that what he had sown he actually reaped. And you remember how 270 00:30:26,160 –> 00:30:31,859 some years later he’s on the other side of a great deception when his father 271 00:30:31,859 –> 00:30:40,920 in law Laban, who has promised to marry his daughter Rachel to Jacob, deceive 272 00:30:40,920 –> 00:30:47,439 Jacob. On his own wedding day, and after that day, Jacob discovers that he is not 273 00:30:47,760 –> 00:30:54,300 to Rachel at all. He’s been married off to her sister Leah, and it brings untold 274 00:30:54,300 –> 00:31:01,040 agonies into his life. And you remember how years later the same thing happened 275 00:31:01,040 –> 00:31:07,520 again with his own children? His own sons came to him. And they said to Jacob 276 00:31:07,520 –> 00:31:12,939 their father, now Joseph your dearly loved son he’s been killed by wild 277 00:31:13,380 –> 00:31:19,520 animals. And here’s his robe and you see that it’s, it has blood all over it and 278 00:31:19,520 –> 00:31:25,739 Jacob experiences grief for years. Why? Because he’s on the other side of a 279 00:31:25,739 –> 00:31:34,479 horrible deception. I’ll tell you by the end of Jacob’s life there was no sin 280 00:31:34,479 –> 00:31:40,079 that he would have hated more than deception. God dealt with him in such a 281 00:31:40,300 –> 00:31:47,280 way that he came to hate the sin he used to love. And you see that’s how the 282 00:31:47,280 –> 00:31:56,280 discipline of God operates in the life of a believer. Now let’s apply that 283 00:31:56,280 –> 00:32:02,560 principle that’s very clear in the Bible. Your own sins will correct you. Let’s 284 00:32:02,560 –> 00:32:08,520 apply it in these two ways. First, knowing that principle in the Bible will be a 285 00:32:08,579 –> 00:32:16,640 restraint to you when you are tempted to sin. Listen to our Lord Jesus puts the 286 00:32:16,640 –> 00:32:21,699 same principle. He says this, with the measure that you use it will be 287 00:32:21,699 –> 00:32:29,520 measured back to you. Or he says it again this way, whatever you wish that others 288 00:32:29,900 –> 00:32:40,280 do to you do also to them. Now you see the point, the principle is that your own sin 289 00:32:40,280 –> 00:32:48,520 will correct you. So at a time when you may be tempted to act with harshness or 290 00:32:48,520 –> 00:32:56,439 deception or any form of unkindness, ask yourself, How would it be if I was on the 291 00:32:56,439 –> 00:33:04,479 receiving end of this? Would I want to be on the other side of this? If I go down 292 00:33:04,479 –> 00:33:09,680 the road of this form of action and it comes back upon me in my life, is that 293 00:33:09,680 –> 00:33:15,079 something that I would welcome or is that something I would shun? And let 294 00:33:15,079 –> 00:33:21,880 therefore that principle act as a restraint to you in times of temptation, 295 00:33:22,560 –> 00:33:31,040 your own sin will correct. That’s how God’s governance works in regards to his 296 00:33:31,040 –> 00:33:36,599 own children in this world. That’s how God brings us to a place where we really 297 00:33:36,599 –> 00:33:42,439 hate what we used to love. And you see it in the life of Jacob, and we’re gonna 298 00:33:42,439 –> 00:33:47,319 see exactly how it worked out in the life of David in the weeks that lie 299 00:33:47,800 –> 00:33:54,760 in this series. Now, let me apply this very important Bible principle that 300 00:33:54,760 –> 00:34:00,760 isn’t spoken about very often, I fear. Let me apply it in this way by way of help 301 00:34:00,760 –> 00:34:07,000 and encouragement. I want to speak right now to the person in the congregation 302 00:34:07,000 –> 00:34:14,080 today who feels, wow, I can see this in my life. I can see that I’m under the 303 00:34:14,080 –> 00:34:19,320 discipline of God right now. I can see that I am reaping what I have sown. And 304 00:34:19,320 –> 00:34:25,600 it’s not pretty. And it is very painful. Is there any help and is there any hope 305 00:34:25,600 –> 00:34:32,860 and is there any encouragement for me? Yes, there is. Listen. The Lord disciplines 306 00:34:32,860 –> 00:34:40,479 the one he loves, the book of Hebrews says. The fact that God is exercising 307 00:34:40,620 –> 00:34:49,479 discipline in your life means he has not given you up. It does mean that he has 308 00:34:49,479 –> 00:34:56,399 future work for you to do and he is committed to purging out of your soul 309 00:34:56,399 –> 00:35:04,239 the love of a particular sin to make you a different and a better man or woman. 310 00:35:04,239 –> 00:35:08,879 There’s a comment from dr. Artie Kendall that I find very helpful. It’s in his 311 00:35:08,879 –> 00:35:14,540 book on Jonah who, of course, also experienced the discipline of God and 312 00:35:14,540 –> 00:35:18,280 experienced it because God wanted to bring him back, because there was more 313 00:35:18,280 –> 00:35:21,959 work that God had for him to do. God didn’t give Jonah up the same way as 314 00:35:21,959 –> 00:35:28,899 he’s not giving you up and Kendall says this, God’s chastening, that is his 315 00:35:28,899 –> 00:35:34,820 discipline, is not meted out in proportion to our sins. You have to 316 00:35:34,939 –> 00:35:40,260 understand this, this is not retribution, these are two different things God’s 317 00:35:40,260 –> 00:35:44,739 discipline is not retribution, it’s not meted out as punishment in relation to 318 00:35:44,739 –> 00:35:50,580 our in proportion to our sins but God’s discipline is in proportion to the 319 00:35:50,580 –> 00:35:58,300 lesson we have to learn and the greater the work that is ahead of us the greater 320 00:35:58,300 –> 00:36:05,899 the trial right now. You see restoring is more than forgiving, it’s not less it’s 321 00:36:05,899 –> 00:36:15,340 more. Restoring involves purging out of the heart that which brought a person to 322 00:36:15,340 –> 00:36:22,580 love a particular thing that was a scorning of the Lord to make you hate 323 00:36:22,860 –> 00:36:28,620 what you used to love. And it is for that purpose and with that goal that 324 00:36:28,620 –> 00:36:32,699 God’s discipline is exercised in the life of a believer. That’s why it’s 325 00:36:32,699 –> 00:36:36,300 exercised in this way that you reap what you sow so that you actually come to 326 00:36:36,300 –> 00:36:43,260 hate what you used to love. The Lord disciplines those who he loves. And if 327 00:36:43,260 –> 00:36:47,540 you’re saying today, boy I can see this pattern in my own life, then thank God 328 00:36:47,540 –> 00:36:52,219 for this. It means you are a child of God, it means that he has not given you up, 329 00:36:52,939 –> 00:36:57,379 it means that he will not let you go, it means that he has work yet for you to do. 330 00:36:57,379 –> 00:37:04,139 And so, receive this from the Scriptures, all discipline seems painful at the time, 331 00:37:04,139 –> 00:37:11,100 the Bible says, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those 332 00:37:11,100 –> 00:37:19,360 who have been trained by it. How does God restore? Thank God he restores. Thank God 333 00:37:19,360 –> 00:37:23,899 it’s not retribution and it’s not renunciation, it’s restoration. That’s 334 00:37:23,899 –> 00:37:30,820 what God’s doing and how does he do it? He speaks and he disciplines. And number 335 00:37:30,820 –> 00:37:40,020 three, he forgives, he forgives. David said to Nathan, verse 13, 336 00:37:40,020 –> 00:37:47,679 I have sinned against the Lord and Nathan said to David the Lord has put 337 00:37:47,679 –> 00:37:56,820 away your sin, you shall not die. I’ve been very struck as I pondered this 338 00:37:56,820 –> 00:38:06,060 over these last days about the difference between Saul and David. So you 339 00:38:06,060 –> 00:38:11,379 remember in the story of Saul that Saul broke the law of God and it was all over 340 00:38:12,260 –> 00:38:25,179 There was no repentance from Saul. There was no restoration of Saul. But when 341 00:38:25,179 –> 00:38:31,659 David sinned God went after him. When David sinned God spoke to him. When David 342 00:38:31,659 –> 00:38:37,560 sinned God disciplined him. When David sinned God forgave him. Why did God do 343 00:38:37,620 –> 00:38:43,540 that for David? And the answer surely has to be this. That God had bound himsef 344 00:38:43,540 –> 00:38:50,639 to David with a covenant promise. We looked at that a while ago in 2nd 345 00:38:50,639 –> 00:38:56,800 Samuel chapter 7 and verse 14. I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a 346 00:38:56,800 –> 00:39:05,600 son. And notice this. When he commits iniquity I will discipline him with the 347 00:39:06,560 –> 00:39:15,899 but my steadfast love will not depart from him. God says to David, I’m binding 348 00:39:15,899 –> 00:39:22,360 myself to you in a covenant promise in which I’m a father and I’ll treat you 349 00:39:22,360 –> 00:39:29,040 like a father treats a dearly loved son. That will involve discipline where there 350 00:39:29,060 –> 00:39:36,840 is iniquity but my love I will never, never, never take from you. We saw when we 351 00:39:36,840 –> 00:39:41,479 looked at that promise that it all related to what God would one day do in 352 00:39:41,479 –> 00:39:46,080 regards to the line of David to which he committed himself. Someone would come 353 00:39:46,080 –> 00:39:49,800 into that line and his kingdom would be established forever. 354 00:39:49,800 –> 00:39:56,939 David’s greater son would be the Lord Jesus Christ and that Lord Jesus Christ 355 00:39:56,939 –> 00:40:02,020 who never sinned would be the one who would go to the cross and would die for 356 00:40:02,020 –> 00:40:08,699 the sins of others so when God says to David here, the Lord has put away your 357 00:40:08,699 –> 00:40:18,739 sin. Where did God put his sin? God put his sin on Jesus. He bore our sin in his 358 00:40:18,739 –> 00:40:25,100 body on the tree and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. The 359 00:40:25,100 –> 00:40:34,540 covenant promise that God made to David pointed to Jesus and David is included 360 00:40:34,540 –> 00:40:43,020 in the covenant promise of the Father’s commitment to his own son and everyone 361 00:40:43,020 –> 00:40:49,620 who looks in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ is included in that promise as 362 00:40:49,620 –> 00:40:58,739 well for someone who is smarting under the discipline of God I want to say 363 00:40:58,739 –> 00:41:08,399 today that in Jesus Christ you are a child of God that in Jesus Christ God 364 00:41:08,399 –> 00:41:16,399 has put away your sin that in Jesus Christ he still has work for you to do 365 00:41:16,739 –> 00:41:27,860 and in Jesus Christ he will never never never let you go let’s pray together 366 00:41:28,300 –> 00:41:33,320 father in heaven we are so profoundly grateful for your amazing gifts without 367 00:41:33,320 –> 00:41:41,219 which we would be completely and utterly lost forever thank you for your promise 368 00:41:41,219 –> 00:41:46,620 that you never abandon your children that in Jesus Christ the good shepherd 369 00:41:46,620 –> 00:41:52,300 you come after the lost sheep to restore the lost sheep precisely because it’s 370 00:41:52,300 –> 00:41:59,540 your own thank you for your word by which you speak and waken us up so that 371 00:41:59,540 –> 00:42:05,699 we do not languish in our cover-ups forever thank you for the gift of 372 00:42:05,699 –> 00:42:09,659 repentance that we see doesn’t come to us naturally but comes through the work 373 00:42:09,719 –> 00:42:16,780 of your spirit thank you for your discipline because it means that you 374 00:42:16,780 –> 00:42:22,179 have not abandoned us and that you still have work for us to do and you’re 375 00:42:22,179 –> 00:42:29,139 changing us to equip us for it thank you most of all for your son and for your 376 00:42:29,139 –> 00:42:36,500 covenant promise which is ours in him thank you that he bore our sins in his 377 00:42:36,760 –> 00:42:40,939 on the tree and that the death that would have been ours was on him so that 378 00:42:40,939 –> 00:42:47,820 the life that is in him will be in us thank you dear father that you do not 379 00:42:47,820 –> 00:42:55,520 deal with your children in retribution not in renunciation but in Jesus Christ 380 00:42:55,520 –> 00:43:01,540 you bring restoration and for this we give you our thanks and our praise 381 00:43:01,540 –> 00:43:05,620 through Jesus Christ our Lord