You Da Man!: Reaping What We Sow

You're listening to A New Beginning with Greg Laurie, a podcast made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God.

Visit our website and learn more about Harvest Partners at harvest.org. We'll do things, we'll sin against God, and then we'll say, okay God, I'm sorry, and we expect everything to do this. It's gone. Just because God forgives you doesn't mean you still won't reap what you sow. If our child takes money out of our wallet, when we've said no, and later apologizes, we may forgive him, but he still has to pay the money back, and he's still grounded. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out there are still consequences to our sin, even when we repented, and even when God has forgiven us. Today, a case in point in the Bible. One of Israel's most celebrated kings sin, adultery, murder. He repented, but still paid a high price for his actions. Let's grab our Bibles and turn to 2 Samuel 11. I want to talk to you about a man that had to face the music.

He's a man you probably know well. One of the most notable characters in the Bible. I'm talking about King David. Now when we think of David, two other names come to mind. David and Goliath, and David and, you got it right, David and Bathsheba.

Those two names identify his life. Goliath, his greatest victory, Bathsheba, his greatest defeat. Goliath, a nine foot six inch Philistine, solid muscle, covered head to toe in heavy duty body armor. A warrior meets David in the valley of Elah, and David, the obscure shepherd boy plucked from obscurity to be the king of Israel, brings this giant of a man down with a single well placed stone.

He became a celebrity overnight. Everybody loved and appreciated David. Ultimately he ascends to the throne and he's such a great king in Israel that people love him. In fact even today when you go to Israel there's sort of a folk song.

Most people still know. The lyrics are, David, David, malech Israel, hi, hi, lechayim, which means David is the king in Israel. And so they still speak of David today. But of course this man after God's own heart as he's described in scripture fell into a great sin.

But how did it happen? Well that's what we're going to read about now in 2 Samuel chapter 11. I'll read verses one to five and by the way I'm reading from the New Living translation. The following spring, the time of year when kings go to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to destroy the Ammonites. In the process they laid siege to the city of Rabbah but David stayed behind in Jerusalem. Late one afternoon David got out of bed after taking a nap. He went out on a stroll on the roof of the palace and as he looked out over the city he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. He sent someone to find out who she was and he was told oh that's Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliim and the wife of Uriah the Hittite. David sent for her. When she came to the palace he slept with her. Then she returned home. When Bathsheba discovered she was pregnant she sent a message to inform David.

We'll stop there. So David, he's been ruling for a while, 20 years. Great king. Everyone loves him. He's a warrior. He's a worshiper. He's a poet. He's a spiritual man. He's a whole package.

He was firing on all cylinders you might say. But now he's around 50 and he's just kind of cruising around on the rooftop. You know they have a little kind of veranda there, a little patio and he's looking out and then he sees the beautiful Bathsheba bathing herself right.

So he brings her up to a chamber. So here's a roadblock number one. You know God makes it hard for us to sin.

Have you noticed that? I want to do this God. Whoa whoa whoa. Roadblock.

Something happens that kind of make you think twice about it right. Roadblock number one. Who's that woman of unusual beauty? One of his servants says, that is the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Translation, she's not your wife. She's another man's wife. Don't go there. David's like yeah whatever. Bring her here now. So she's brought into his chambers.

The roadblock was put there. He didn't listen. Now once he had sexual relations with her what should he have done then? Repented of his sin. But now he's thinking I'm going to cover this up.

I'm not going to confess it. I'm going to cover it. So he summons Uriah back from the battle. As he's on his way I wonder what Uriah's thinking. Oh I can't believe it.

I'm so privileged. The king of Israel. The sweet psalmist.

The man after God's own heart. The giant killer wants to meet me. So he walks into the palace. Oh king it's good to see you. Yeah come on over here and sit down and talk. So how's it going out in the battle?

Oh we're fighting for the kingdom and yeah whatever. Hey listen. Why don't you go on home and have a nice night with your wife.

You know nod nod wink wink. And to go. Well that night turns out that Uriah sleeps outside of his house because he doesn't want the luxury of being with his wife while his fellow soldiers are out there fighting this battle. David hears about it. Great.

I've got a do-gooder. So he brings Uriah back to his table. This time he gets him good and drunk. Now go home son and be with your wife. What's wrong with you? Again Uriah will not do this. So there's another roadblock. He should have just said Lord this is sin. What am I doing?

This is crazy. I repent. No David sends a note with Uriah. Seals it. Give this to General Joab. So Uriah goes back to the battle here. General Joab. This is from David.

Loose paraphrase of the note. Dear Joab. Send Uriah to the front of the battle. Leading a charge. Have all the other troops fall back.

Leave them there alone. Sign David. The man after God's own heart. And that's exactly what happened. Uriah is killed on the field of battle. In effect David murdered Uriah.

He was responsible. So then the news comes back. Oh Uriah was killed in battle. Oh isn't that just too bad. Hey Bathsheba looks like you're free now.

Why don't we get married. Yeah and it's all great they get married and nobody knows about their sin. Well except God. God knew. And the Bible says your sin will find you out. And David's sin was about to find him out as well. It was going to catch up with him. Enter the prophet Nathan.

I love this guy. He's not intimidated by someone in authority. He spoke truth to power. And so the Lord sends in Nathan. So hey when Nathan showed up in the king's palace David paid attention. Though David was powerful Nathan was the prophet of God.

Nathan walks in. Sire I need to talk to you about a situation in the kingdom. Speak on. Ok king here's the deal. There's a guy in your kingdom. He's very wealthy. Has a lot of sheep. Tons of sheep. He had a friend come over and he wanted to serve this guy a leg of lamb and instead of serving one of his sheep to this guy he goes to a neighbor who has one lamb. In fact it's not just a lamb. It's a pet lamb. In fact they feed the lamb from the table.

It's like one of the kids. You know how some people are with dogs today. You know they feed their dog from the table. They take their dog everywhere.

They push their dog in a stroller. Please never do that. Never.

Ever. Don't. I think it's wrong. The dog needs exercise and you don't look good when you're doing it. But anyway this was their pet lamb. They love the lamb. So what does the guy do? He takes the pet lamb of the neighbor.

Kills it. When he had all these other lambs of his own and serves it to his friend. So Nathan says what should be done to this man? Well make David's like his blood is boiling.

His face probably turned red. He grips the throne. He says this man should restore four times what he took and this man should be put to death. Put to death?

I mean four fold. That's legit. That's in the Mosaic law but you don't usually kill a man for doing something like this. And then Nathan points his finger in David's face and says you are the man. Or you the man.

You are the man. This is what you did. You had all these wives. And you went and took one man's wife Uriah Bathsheba for yourself. And then you had that man killed.

You're the man. And then Nathan says listen the sword will never depart from your house. David is like I have sinned. And David repented. And to his credit.

Let's give him credit where it is due. He repents before God. And God forgives him. But he still has to face repercussions. You see here is the thing sometimes we forget about. Is that just because God forgives you doesn't mean you still won't reap what you sow.

It doesn't mean everything goes away. Let's say you know tomorrow morning I decide I am going to go rob a bank. So I walk in.

I rob the bank. I am arrested immediately. I say God I don't know what I was thinking. I am sorry and I repent. Will God forgive me? Yes. Will I still go to jail? Yes.

Will I go to prison? Most likely. I am going to reap what I sow. So we will go out and we will do things.

We will sin against God and then we will say okay God I am sorry. And we expect everything to do this. It is gone. All the effects. All the things.

All the actions. It is all gone. Well you are forgiven. Let's go back to the scenario of being unfaithful to your wife or your husband.

It is a two way street isn't it? And by the way of all the people I know who have been caught in adultery. I have been a pastor for 40 years plus.

Of all the people I know I can't think of one instance where someone has come to me in the middle of this and said I am in an affair. I need to repent. My conscience is killing me.

Pray with me. Never. It is always when they get caught. And when they get caught they usually deny it. And when they get caught and deny it they will only acknowledge what they did as long as you already know it. But if you don't know about the other stuff they will never tell you.

When my boys were young and I was raising them I had a little tactic I used. Maybe it is not right. A little misleading. But I knew they did something wrong. I could just tell by looking at their faces.

And I would say this. I know what you did. I know everything you did.

Everything. I know all of it. And if you admit it to me right now there will be a certain punishment. But if you lie the punishment will be greater. Now I didn't know all the other things but I got a lot of good information out of them.

Has anybody else ever done this? Just a few of you. Ok. And then they kind of wised up to it and after a time they are like, he doesn't know anything. But God does. Coming up, Pastor Greg explains how David saw sin's after effects in the lives of his own children.

More on that in just a moment. So many listeners have commented on the help they received from Pastor Greg's teachings, his books, and God's Word. Hi Pastor Greg. I want to thank you for writing about your personal loss and hope for hurting hearts. I've read your book many times in the past two years after my dear son went to heaven three days before his 25th birthday. I continually refer to your book for encouragement and hope as you know firsthand what it's like to lose your own precious son. I also appreciate your podcasts and glean wisdom from them.

Please pray for me as I still cry. God bless you, your ministry, and your dear family. Thank you for being God's messenger. For information on Pastor Greg's book, Hope for Hurting Hearts, search for that title at Harvest.org. And if you have some words to share of how Pastor Greg studies and God's Word have touched your life, drop them an email at Greg at Harvest.org.

In fact, do it today, would you? That's Greg at Harvest.org. Well, we're studying the aftermath of David's sin with Bathsheba and Pastor Greg's message today called You Demand.

And you can hear anything you missed by going to Harvest.org. Well, God says, I know everything. He literally knows everything. But people try to cover it up. David tried to cover it up.

The Bible says he that covers his sins will not prosper. So David admits it. But now the prophet says the sword will never pass from your house.

What does that mean? That means that he was going to see the repercussions in his own children. And sure enough, that's what happened. David saw his own children repeat his sins because he had all these wives and all these kids that were not, you know, they were half brothers and sisters. One of David's sons treated his sister as David treated Bathsheba, taking advantage of her sexually. And another of David's sons, Absalom, treated this brother as David treated Uriah, killing him, murdering him.

And then Absalom even led a rebellion against his father. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as they say. So here's what we don't think about when we sin. Here's a man who says, I'm going to be unfaithful to my wife. And he does it. And then he comes to his wife and asks her to forgive him. And let's say she finds it in her heart to forgive him. He said, psh, dodged a bullet.

Yeah, you did. Marriage still going strong. Amen. Praise God for that.

Isn't forgiveness great? But here's what the man doesn't think about. His children. Maybe his kids are young, you know, eight, nine years old, maybe older.

And now fast forward ten years. And he has a daughter who's promiscuous. And he's saying, honey, you can't be that way. You know, you're a Christian girl. We've raised you in the way that, Dad, you did it.

True, but. And then we have a son who lies and covers up his sin just like Dad did. And then we have these two children grow to be adults. And let's say they go out and repeat the same sin. And then their kids grow up and be adults. And they go out and commit the same sin.

You say, what are you talking about, Greg? I'm talking about the sins of the parents being visited on the children. And the Bible warns about it. Now I don't believe in some generational curse as some have suggested. Listen, there's no curses on a Christian. Don't worry about that. Jesus took the curse of the law at the cross of Calvary. No one can put a curse or a hex on you.

Forget about that. Having said that, though, there's something called repeated behavior. You commit a sin. It's not surprising when your children commit that sin. Divorced people often come from divorced homes.

Alcoholic people often come from alcoholic homes. You get the drift, right? That's what it means when it says the sins are visited upon the children.

You say, this is the most depressing sermon I've ever heard. Okay, but let's go right back there again now. And let's change the story. And let's say there was no adultery. Let's say you resisted the temptation. And you were faithful to your husband.

You were faithful to your wife. You passed these values to your children. And then they got those values. And they passed those to your grandchildren. And they passed it to your great-grandchildren. So just as the sin can be passed, so can that godly example. So think about the big picture when you make those decisions.

Okay, yeah, you'll reap it. But let's not stop there because we serve a God of second chances, right? And God gave a second chance to David. He forgave him. He stayed on the throne. He had his problems. But he was remembered as a great king.

And check this out. Even more, David ended up in the most exclusive genealogy in all of human history. What genealogy was that? He's in the family tree of Jesus Christ. Who's Jesus Christ?

He's the root and the offspring of who? David. When Jesus walked this earth, people would say, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. Jesus Christ himself identified with David. He said, I'm the son of David. Man, it seems like God would have taken David out. Forget you man. You're damaged goods. I'm going to put someone else in. No, he left him in there.

God gives second chances. And Jesus was connected to David. Why did Mary and Joseph have to go to Bethlehem to be taxed? Because that was the boyhood town of David. And they were both descendants of David. And the Messiah, according to Scripture, was going to be coming through the line of David. And not only did David make it into the most exclusive genealogy in human history, so did, wait for it, Bathsheba. She's there too. Bathsheba is in the Messianic line.

And then we have Tamar and Rahab, two other women of ill repute. So what does this say? It says, you think you have the only messed up family out there?

Check out the family tree of Christ. But more to the point, if it says nothing else, it says this. God forgives, God forgets, and God gives second chances. So in closing, do you need a second chance? Are you the man? Or are you the woman? Has God spoken to you? And just like, like a knife in your heart. That's me. Because you've been thinking about it. Maybe you've been taking it to the next place. You've been plotting, sending little texts back and forth.

30 little texts. Or kind of getting a little too close to that co-worker. Or looking at that porn. Or something else. Forget lust and stuff.

Let's shift gears. Maybe it's vengeance and anger. You want to get him. That person. Whatever it is. It's some sin. And God has spoken to you right now.

What do you need to do? Repent right now. Repent. There was a woman caught in the act of adultery. She was thrown at the feet of Jesus. He forgave her. Do you know what he said? Repent and sin no more. Reminds me of a story of a guy who went to paint a church. He thought, these Christians, what do they know?

I can take advantage of them. So he really thinned out the paint. That's why he would make more money.

Use less paint. So he's at the top of the church and had a tall steeple. You know. Like a country church. And he's doing the finishing touches of his thinned out paint on that steeple. And he's almost done. He's thinking about all the money he's going to take home. Suddenly a bolt of lightning hits the church and he loses his footing. And he's hanging on by a rope. And he hears a voice from heaven say, repaint and thin no more.

And I'm here to tell you today, I am that painter. No. That's a joke. Okay. But here's the truth. Repent and sin no more.

Okay. God will forgive you. But now turn your back on it. Do some of you need to do that? You know there might be some of you who have never asked Jesus Christ to come into your life. You don't know right now that if you were to die you would go to heaven. But Jesus died on that cross for you 2,000 years ago and paid the price for your sin. And if you'll turn from it he'll forgive you no matter what you've done. But there might be others here or listening that, well they're prodigals. They know what's right. They were raised in the church even.

Hey check it out. David. He was a man of God. And he did this. He didn't do this as a non-believer.

He did it as a believer. And maybe you're doing something you know is wrong and your conscience has been working overtime and the Holy Spirit has been speaking to you. And this could be your wake-up call. And if you don't hear this wake-up call I kind of tremble to think of what might be coming next.

When the ton of bricks comes crashing down on you and you face it in full force. Hey what better time than right now to say, I'm sorry God. I repent. I'm throwing the brakes on that. I'm not going to go there. And if I'm there I'm going to stop going there and I'm going to go back to where I should be. I'm going to make the appropriate changes right now.

If you need to do that. If you need to come to Jesus or come back to Jesus. Why don't you do it as we close in prayer.

Let's all bow our heads. Father thank you for your word to us today. Now I pray for any that may not yet know you. Help them to see their need for Jesus Christ and help them to come to you right now. In Jesus name I pray.

Amen. Today's message is You Demand. And if you missed any part of the study you can hear what you missed by going to our website. Today's full broadcast is available there. In fact you can even download an MP3 and listen at your own convenience.

Either way it's free of charge. Or subscribe to our podcast by going to Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And then we're so happy to make available an outstanding new book called Person of Interest by author J. Warner Wallace. Jim Wallace is a retired cold case detective. And he takes a look at the uniqueness of Christ. The way an investigator would look at one of his cases.

A case where there's no crime scene. It's fascinating. And it's a great tool for helping us tell others about Christ. You know Pastor Greg you've mentioned how some believers are reluctant to share their faith. But at the very same time they'll freely offer recommendations. You know they'll recommend a movie or a restaurant or an auto mechanic. So why not recommend that people consider the Christian faith?

Exactly. How would a resource like this book, Person of Interest, help in making that kind of recommendation? Well let me tell you how it would have helped an 18 year old Greg Laurie. I was a newly minted Christian. I heard the pastor say go share the gospel. So I went out and I started telling people about Jesus.

In fact I ran into one of my old friends that I grew up with and I was telling him about the Lord and what Christ had done for me. And suddenly some guy steps into the conversation. I didn't invite him to step in. But he came and barraged me with about four to five questions. I don't even remember what they were. But all I remember is I didn't have the answers. I was humiliated. I was embarrassed.

My friend I was talking to didn't want to talk to me anymore. And I went home and I realized I've got to study and prepare myself to answer questions that non-believers ask. We need to be equipped. You know the Bible says we should be able to give to every man an answer concerning the hope that is in us. But with meekness and fear.

This is key. It's the way you deliver information. Sometimes Christians take data, information, facts that are all true and they deliver them with a sledgehammer.

Sometimes they say put your gospel guns away. The objective is not to win the argument. It's to win the soul.

The objective is not to burn the bridge but to build the bridge. And if you want to win some, be winsome. Be a nice person. Don't be a know-it-all. Maybe you know a lot more than that person but don't be the know-it-all. And take an interest in the person you're listening to.

The woman at the well. How easily Jesus could have just cut her off and said, give me a break. No, he listened to her. He engaged with her. He went back and forth with her.

Same with the Godemus. He took time for people. And I think it's very important to deliver this information with compassion.

And Jay Warner Wallace is a former cold case detective. He knows what he's talking about. But yet he delivers this with great passion and clarity. So this is the book the 18-year-old Greg Laurie needed to equip him to share his faith with people he was talking to. And this is the book that you need. If you're 18 or if you're 80, you're going to learn as you read through it. It is so well researched. Footnotes galore at the end. But then what I love about it, because you're thinking, oh, this is some textbook.

I don't want to get this. It's illustrated all the way through because Jim is an illustrator. He's a designer. So he's giving this to you in an understandable way so you effectively see it as well as read it. So this is a resource you're going to use time and time again. And we want to rush you a copy of Person of Interest by Jay Warner Wallace.

Yeah, that's right. It's such a fascinating read. You'll uncover facts and perspectives on Jesus you've never heard before.

And it'll not only strengthen your understanding of the uniqueness of Christ, it'll equip you so well in sharing your faith. And we'd be glad to send you Person of Interest to thank you for your investment that we can put right to work keeping this program and coming your way. And this is our last opportunity to mention this resource. So write us today at a new beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California, 92514. Or call 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300.

Or go online to harvest.org. And then, Pastor Greg, just before we go, would you mind praying with that person listening who wants to make a change today in their relationship with the Lord? I'd be happy to, Dave. You know, as you've been listening to this today, maybe you've heard another voice. By that I mean, yeah, you heard me say a few things, but you heard God's voice speak to you deep in the recesses of your heart. And it suddenly dawned on you, this is what I need. Or to state it more accurately, this is who I need. I need Jesus, and I want Jesus.

But maybe you don't know how to make that connection. Let me help you. Pray this after me right now if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life. Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sin, and I need your forgiveness right now. Would you come into my heart and my life as Savior, as God, as friend?

I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Thank you for calling me, and accepting me, and forgiving me. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. I know that was a relatively short prayer. Maybe you felt something as you prayed it.

Maybe you felt nothing. That doesn't really matter, because God's word says these things we write to you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. It doesn't say, so you may think you have it, or you may hope you have it if God's in a good mood.

No, that you can know it. And I want you to know, if you pray that prayer in a minute, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has come into your life. So congratulations. You're now a Christian. Now continue to follow the Lord. To help you as you follow the Lord, we'd like to send you some follow-up materials we call our New Believers Growth Packet. It'll answer many of the questions you might have, and get you started in your new relationship with the Lord. So get in touch and ask for it.

We'll send it free of charge. You know, sometimes we can't always make it to church, but here's the good news. Church is coming to you.

It's coming to you on your TV screen or on your tablet or your computer or even your phone. We do it every weekend, and it's called Harvest at Home. We have worship. We have a message from the Word of God.

If you want to find out more, just go to Harvest.org and join us this weekend for Harvest at Home. Well, next time, something special. Pastor Greg launches an epic series studying the Book of Revelation. What's your first reaction when you hear Revelation? Oh yeah, I know that book well.

Or, oh boy, that's a little beyond my grasp. Well, Pastor Greg will help us all understand the book well, beginning next time. Join us here on A New Beginning. The preceding podcast was made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God. Learn how to become a Harvest Partner, sign up for daily devotions, and find resources to help you grow in your faith at harvest.org.