The Ups & Downs & Ups of a World Changer: Why We Need Spiritual Momentum

The following message from Pastor Greg Laurie is made possible by some special friends of this ministry. Pastor Greg? I wanted to say a special word of thanks to the Harvest Partners who make this ministry possible. Next time you're online, check out Pastor Greg's personal blog at blog.GregLaurie.com. It should be in and out, in for worship, out for service.

And you go out into that world to be a world changer. Ups and downs are the enemy of Christian growth. It takes consistent forward momentum to make progress in our walk with God. And yet we see a number of our spiritual forefathers had ups and downs. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie shows us the ups and downs in the life of David. He's known for two stories, his great victory over Goliath and his great fall with Bathsheba. Today we'll learn from his mistakes and chart a course for consistency in our own walk of faith.

We're in two passages today. 2 Samuel 11 and Psalm 32. 2 Samuel 11 and Psalm 32.

And the title of the message is The Ups and Downs and Ups of a World Changer. The character we're going to look at in this message, well everyone knew his story. And it's interesting because in Hebrews 11 very little is said about him.

In fact his name is mentioned but everyone knew the story of this man I'm talking about. King David. David was just an ordinary shepherd boy.

But world changers are faithful in little things so God gives them bigger things. Ok. What was David's responsibility? Watching his flock of sheep.

I mean think about this. You're David. You're out in the field tending your flock. You're called in. You meet the prophet Samuel. He pours oil on your head. He says you're the next king of Israel. And then you just go back to your flock of sheep. No crown was given to him. No stretched chariot with Secret Service protection was waiting.

Just everything back to normal. So David's around. Go watch the sheep. And he was a good shepherd. And I'll tell you what.

Any predator comes along that predator is going down fast. David would take it out. He was very adept with that sling and that stone. And he would kill bears and lions. And he was faithful. So one day his dad says, Son I want you to go visit your brothers.

They are out there in the military on the front lines facing off of the Philistines. The father says take some bread and cheese to your brothers. So he shows up and his brothers see him.

And Eli have his older brother who still ticked off that he wasn't anointed. And the king says, Oh have you left your little flock of sheep to come see what the big boys are doing? And David is looking around going, Who is that guy down there? And there down in the valley of Elah was this oversized man.

Nine feet six inches of solid muscle covered in body armor with a massive sword asking for someone to come fight him. And he was saying, Come fight me. And if I lose we will serve you.

But if you lose you will serve us. And everyone was terrified. Including David's brother Eliab. Including King Saul. David says, I will take him on.

You in what army? Oh me and the Lord. Because I am looking at that giant in the light of God.

I am not looking at God in the light of that giant. David picked up that stone. He got it slinging around.

And he got the momentum and let it fly. And it hit the giant in the forehead. And Goliath came crashing to the ground. That was the rise of David. Now the fall of David. 2 Samuel 11. The following spring the time of the year when kings go to war David sent Joab and the Israelite army to destroy the Ammonites. And in the process they laid siege to the city of Rabbah.

David stayed behind in Jerusalem. Late one afternoon David got out of bed after taking a nap and went for a stroll on the roof of his palace. He looked over that city and he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. He sent someone to find out who she was and he was told she is Bathsheba the daughter of Eliab and the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Then David sent for her and when she came to the palace he slept with her. Then she returned home and when Bathsheba discovered she was pregnant she sent a message to inform David.

We will stop there. David was around 50 at this point. He had been ruling Israel for 20 years. He had gone from victory to victory. He had distinguished himself in so many ways. Man of God. Skilled musician. Gifted poet. Writing psalms of praise. A wise and compassionate ruler and a man of great courage.

He was on an absolute roll and that is when the devil hit him. He sees the beautiful Bathsheba bathing herself. By the way when the Bible says something that a man was strong, that a woman was beautiful the Bible does not exaggerate. This means that Bathsheba was incredibly attractive. Actually the word used for her here. Beautiful. Translated beautiful is from the Hebrew word babido foxido.

You probably never heard that Hebrew word. Babido foxido. She was a babe. She was a fox. I made all that up.

Ok. I think she was a babe. I think she was a fox. But there is no word that babido foxido.

But you can use that name to name your child if you want. Maybe your dog. I am not sure. You know what. Name a cat that. That would be good punishment for them.

So he couldn't have avoided the first look. I mean there it is. Boom.

Ok. Walking around. Kicking back. Filled with lust.

There is the beautiful Bathsheba. It is usually not the first look that gets us into trouble. It is the second look. Right.

You know what I am talking about. You look at him. Huh. Right. David's first look was probably a really long one.

Drinking it in. Oh my. Oh ok now look.

He should have just. Lord I wish I hadn't seen her. She is beautiful but just give me strength right now. I am going to go write a new psalm or something. Take a cold shower and stop looking in that direction.

Maybe put a wall up there. I don't know what. No but he immediately acts on it. Who is that woman? So one of his servants comes up. Verse 3. She is Bathsheba the daughter of Elahim the wife of Uriah the Hittite.

Man you got to give this servant credit. He knew exactly what was going on with David. He knew David was a womanizer.

And he knew what David saw. Excuse me sire. She is the wife of Uriah the Hittite. In other words she is married and you are married. So forget about it. Yeah whatever.

Bring her up here right now. He gave the order. And now he is in a mess of a situation.

But ok don't do it. He does it. Roblox number one. He goes for it. And now of course Bathsheba lets him know that she is pregnant.

Roblox number two. Now you have already done it. Repent. Maybe tell Uriah what you have done. Confess to Bathsheba.

Maybe the kingdom. You know. But he didn't do that. He didn't call the press corps of Israel and say, I didn't have sex with that woman. That is a wrong story. I got confused. Ok. He wasn't coming clean. Instead of just saying, All right Lord I sinned.

I am sorry. No he has an idea. I know what I will do. I will bring Uriah back from the battle.

He will go spend the night with his wife and he will think it is his kid not mine. So he gives the order. Bring Uriah back.

Uriah comes back. He is sent to his home. But he is such a courageous guy he can't bear the thought of having this wonderful luxury of being with his wife while his fellow soldiers are still in the front lines of the battle. So he sleeps outside of his house the first night. David thinks, Oh great.

I have some do-gooder. He gets him drunk. Sends him home. Still Uriah will not sleep with his wife.

Another roadblock. But David won't give up. He says to his general, Send a charge against the enemy and have everyone fall back and leave Uriah by himself. Which happens and Uriah is killed in battle.

The word comes back. Uriah is dead. Yes. Ok. I am going to marry Bathsheba. No one will ever know.

Ah. The Lord knew. And the Bible tells us that our sin will find us out. And we read here that this thing that he had done displeased the Lord.

2 Samuel 11 27. Ok man. David is messing up so bad. You are saying, Wait.

He is a world changer. This is horrible. I know. But you know here is why he was still a man after God's heart. Despite this.

Here is why. Because he was miserable. And he did repent. He should have done it sooner but he did repent. See a person who really is not a man or a woman of God will live in sin without guilt and they won't repent.

A person who is really a man or woman of God will live in guilt when they are sinning and they will eventually get right with God. And that is who David was. He was still the man after the heart of God. So what happened after David repented?

And what does that mean for us today? Pastor Greg answers that as he comes back to his message in just a moment. Hey everybody. Greg Laurie here inviting you to join me every weekend for what we call Harvest at Home. It is a church service. It is a worship service.

It is a Bible study. And it is wherever you want it to be. In your home. In your car. Sitting on a beach. Walking down the street.

Watching it on your phone. Wherever you are you can take it with you and be ministered to every weekend. Join us for Harvest at Home at Harvest.org. Well as Pastor Greg continues his message now the ups and downs and ups of a world changer. We will pick up the story just after David's fall sinning with Bathsheba. Now it is time for his comeback. We have seen his rise. His fall.

Now the comeback of a world changer. Go to Psalm 32. I had you turn there as well. Psalm 32. And he wrote this in the aftermath of being confronted by God. And he says, Oh what joy for those whose rebellion is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight.

Yes what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin, whose lives are in complete honesty. When I refused to confess my sin I was weak and miserable and groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.

My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Selah. By the way the word selah means pause and think about it. So if this were a song it would be like an instrumental break. And the point of the selah or the musical interlude was to contemplate what had just been said. So David is saying think about this.

Ponder it. This is how miserable I was. Selah. Finally I confessed my sins to the Lord.

I stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, I will confess my rebellion to the Lord and you forgive me and all my guilt is gone. Psalm 32 describes the futility and misery of sin that is unconfessed. For 12 months David fought the conviction of the Holy Spirit. He was not experiencing God's presence as he had before. Was he still in a relationship with God? Yes.

Was he in fellowship with God? No. When your child disobeys you and disappoints you are they still your child? Yes they are.

Are they in a good relationship with you at the moment? Probably not. And that is where David was at. But when he was confronted he repented.

And you know what is interesting? How the Lord dispatches a prophet. This time it is the prophet Nathan. And the Lord waited until David was ready to come clean. So Nathan wants an appointment.

He gets one immediately. That is what happens when you are a prophet. He shows up and says, Sire I have a story to tell you. Something is going on in the kingdom you need to be aware of. Ok. Speak on.

Alright. There is this guy. He is very poor. He has one little baby lamb. He loves the lamb. The lamb eats off his plate.

It sits at the table. It is like a family pet. He loves this lamb like a daughter.

Anyway there is this other guy. He is really rich. He has a bunch of sheep. A bunch of cattle.

So this other guy has a friend come into town to visit him who wants to have dinner. And so instead of slaying one of his many sheep he kills the guy's lamb who has one little baby lamb. What should be done to a man that would do that? David's blood is beginning to boil. He is gripping his throne. And he says he should restore four times what he has taken and he should be put to death. Kind of overkill. I mean it is bad.

But death. Put him to death. Nathan points his finger in David's face and says, You are the man. You the man.

You the man man. I just described you. That didn't even happen. You are like the guy who had the many sheep and the many cattle and you took Uriah's wife and then you had him killed so now David has sinned and he has committed adultery and he has effectively committed murder.

But then I love what happens there. It says that David repented of his sin. Ok so the prophet said, The sword will never depart from your house. God forgave David but he still faced repercussions for his sin.

So know this. If I go out and rob a bank this afternoon, you read about it in your Twitter feed, Pastor Greg robs bank. I won't be preaching the next Sunday. Now if I repent of my sin will God forgive me? Yes. But I am going to jail and probably to prison.

Alright. So if you go out and you commit a sin, I am not going to rob a bank I promise, but if you go out and commit a sin and you say, God forgive me, He will forgive you. You will be restored to immediate fellowship with Him again.

But you could still face some of the repercussions of your sin. In David's case he saw it played out in the lives of his children. His sons and daughters behaved badly. They rebelled against him and they did some of the very things that he himself did. So he lost a lot of moral authority there. But having said that he was forgiven by God and he made his way into the messianic line.

He got himself in the Christmas story. Ok. Let's test your Bible knowledge. Where was Jesus born? Bethlehem.

Very good. Bethlehem. Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem? Because that is where David lived. And Christ was from the root and offspring of David you see. Both through Mary and Joseph. So our Lord was born there in Bethlehem because this is the hometown of David. So David is in the most exclusive genealogy in human history. And guess who else made it into that genealogy? Bathsheba.

What? How did she get in there? Well that is called the grace of God isn't it? How did I get my sin forgiven? God's grace was extended to me. I didn't deserve it.

You didn't deserve it. But the Lord gave it to us freely. And for that we say, Lord thank You.

It is an amazing thing. So God gives second chances. Yeah David fell. He fell big.

But he came back and he came back strong. And that is what we want to do. We want to admit our sin to God.

See here is the problem. We have ups and downs in our life. I have called this message the ups and the downs and the ups of a world changer. The Christian life should not be up and down. The Christian life should be in and out. I know some of the guys are thinking mmm in and out burger. No.

I don't mean in and out burger. It should be in and out. Not up and down. You mean some Christians are up one day. Oh the Lord is so good. Next day I don't even know if there is a God. Next day I would be great serving God. Next day is I don't. Come on.

Stop it. It is not up and down. It is in and out.

You say what do you mean in and out? In for worship. In for worship out for service. Jesus said in John 10, I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved.

They will come in and go out and find pasture. So we are in for worship. Here we are today. We are getting refueled. We are getting fed.

We are getting perspective. We are worshiping. We are serving. We are giving. That is coming in. Now we go out.

Listen. The holiest moment of this church service is when you walk out those doors. And you go out into that world. To be a world changer.

And the only way you are going to be a world changer is if your world is changed first. And I wonder if there are some of you here today who don't even have a relationship with God yet. I mentioned that statement by Jesus where He said, I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved.

Listen. There is only one way into a relationship with God. There is only one road that leads to heaven. And that is the road through Jesus Christ because He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life and no man comes to the Father but by Me. You say, well that seems so narrow.

Yeah. It is narrow. It is a narrow road that leads to life. And you know what?

Few there are that find it. That is what Jesus said. But listen. The reason Jesus is the only way to the Father is Jesus was God walking among us and He was the only one qualified to die for us on the cross. And that is what He did. He died in our place and took all of our sins upon Himself. And that is why today I don't have to stand here facing the consequences of my sin because Jesus died for me. And He died for you. And He rose again from the dead three days later. And He is with us here right now.

And He is ready to come into your life if you would like Him to. David could have lived in sin. David could have ended in sin. But He came to the Lord.

He came back to the Lord I should say in His case. But you can be forgiven of your sin. And the Bible says, If you will confess your sin, God is faithful and just to forgive you your sin and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

But listen to this. God cannot forgive the sin that we will not confess. So you have to say, Lord I am sorry. David had to say, I am sorry God. And you have to say, Jesus come into my life and He will do that for you today.

And you can leave here today knowing your life is right with God. And there might be some of you that have been flirting with the sin we have been talking about. Sexual sin.

It might be something else. But whatever it is you need to get right with God. You need to repent. I encourage you to do that today as well. Let's pray. Father thank You for Your Word to us.

Now help us respond. And I pray for any that are here or are watching that do not know You in a personal way. Lord I pray that Your Holy Spirit will convict and convince them of their sin and bring them to Yourself now. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen.

We can take your call anytime 24-7 again at 1-800-821-3300. And then Pastor Greg, over to you. Hey everybody. I'm in studio with our special guest Sally Lloyd-Jones and my wife Kathy. And we're talking about an incredible resource that we're offering this month called the Jesus Storybook Bible Christmas Collection. It's a collection of stories, songs, and reflections for the Advent season. Now you may be aware of the Jesus Storybook Bible. If you aren't you ought to have a copy. It's amazing.

But now she has taken that approach working with the same artist, Jago, and with some special interactive features including the voice of the amazing actor David Suchet. Everything was ready. The moment God had been waiting for was here at last. God was coming to help His people just as He promised in the beginning. But how would He come? What would He be like?

What would He do? In addition to that, there are some songs, some Christmas songs included. And Sally, what songs did you include as a part of this project and why did you choose those in particular? We chose some favorite carols that everyone would know. And then we chose them specially because there would be an interesting fact behind them that would add to the devotional aspect of singing the song. So I'm not going to give them away because I think people will really enjoy.

I really enjoyed finding these facts out. But they're really well-known carols. Is one of them, I saw, Mommy Kissing Santa Claus? No, unfortunately we had to cut that one. That's Kathy's favorite song. She sings it all Christmas long. It drives us all crazy. Yeah. Sally, you know better than that, right?

I do, but I like that idea. So if you want to find out what these mysterious songs are that Sally Lloyd-Jones has selected, then you need to order your copy of the Jesus Storybook Bible, a Christmas collection. This is very special. And if you were to go and purchase this online at a place like Amazon or in a store, you'd pay quite a bit of money for it because of the fact that it's hardcover, it's beautifully glossy paper, amazing illustrations, interactive features, etc. But we're offering it to you this month for your gift of any size.

Yeah, that's right. We want you to have this resource for the holidays. And we really appreciate your support that helps these studies continue to come your way.

As Pastor Greg has said recently, we've seen more than 100,000 Professions of Faith this year. And we're so thankful for listener support that helped make that possible. And if you can help us continue to reach out by making a donation right now, we'll thank you with the Jesus Storybook Bible, a Christmas collection. Write us at A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514. Or call us anytime day or night at 1-800-821-3300. Pastor Greg, no doubt somebody listening, they realize they need the kind of personal relationship with Jesus you were talking about today. And they need to take that next step. What would you say to that individual?

I would say the time to take it is right now. Don't hesitate. Don't say I'll do it another time. The Bible says today is the day of salvation. And if you would like to ask Christ to come into your life as your Savior and your Lord, I would ask you to stop what you're doing and pray with me. And as you pray this prayer after me, this is a prayer of asking Christ to come into your life. So pray this with me now. Lord, I ask you to forgive me of my sin. I know that I've broken your commandments and I'm sorry for it.

I thank you for sending Jesus to die on that cross on my place. Now, Lord, come into my life. Be my Savior. Be my Lord. Fill me with your Spirit and help me to follow you from this day forward.

Thank you for coming in. Thank you for forgiving me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Now, if you just prayed that prayer, you may have felt something wonderful happen.

Then again, you may have felt nothing. But I want you to know on the authority of God's Word, if you meant that prayer from your heart, God has forgiven you. For He promises if we confess our sin, He's faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now please, let us send you some free materials that will encourage you in your spiritual growth. Yeah, we'd like to send you our New Believers Growth Packet to help you get started as a Christian. Just get in touch and let us know you prayed along with Pastor Greg today. You can call us at 1-800-821-3300. We can take your call anytime 24 hours a day at 1-800-821-3300.

Or write, A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514. Or go online to harvest.org and click on Know God. Ever wonder how long your life will last? Pastor Greg says your life will last exactly as long as God planned it from the very beginning. More on that as Pastor Greg continues his World Changers series next time on A New Beginning. This is the day, the day when life begins The preceding message from Greg Laurie was made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God. Sign up for Pastor Greg's free daily email devotions at harvest.org