Well, we are back in Hebrews chapter 11. After a furlough of a little while, Coming back to that chapter that we often call the hall of faith, because it sets before us a whole array. Of Old Testament people who by faith served the Lord, persevered in trials, accomplished great victories. and demonstrated to us what true faith looks like. We have been dwelling on verse 32 of chapter 11 for several weeks now because we find a number.
of names there. Previously, throughout the chapter, we have had a number of individuals, each who had a verse or more of description about their life of faith. But in coming to chapter or verse 32, rather, we have a succinct list of six. names and several We don't know how many unnamed prophets who are all lumped together. And so the author of this book is coming to an end of his discourse.
On the Hall of Faith, simply because of time, as he tells us. Time would fail me to tell of all of the people that ought to be honored in this way. And so, thus far, just by way of reminder, we have considered the faith of. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham. Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph Moses, Joshua, Rahab, And then in verse thirty-two, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, And there are two more, one for this week, David.
and one for another time, namely Samuel. David. David. How to address The life and faith of David, it's so, the record of it is so vast. In our Bible, there's so much to consider.
I have counted 42 chapters in the Bible devoted to the life of David. 16 in 1 Samuel, 24 in 2 Samuel, 2 in 1 Kings, plus the Psalms that tell us a whole lot more about. his life, his thinking. His relationship with God. A.
W. Pink penned two volumes entitled. The Life of David, nearly 800 pages in those two volumes. And Marty and I recently attended a church in another state where the pastor was in an extended series on the life of David. I don't know how many.
How many sermons he'd already preached, but he wasn't near done. He'd been at it for several months and probably would be continuing for a great deal longer. And it is a subject that certainly could occupy many months, many years, even of pulpit. ministry on this one. person.
In fact, I don't think there's anybody in the Bible to whom more space is devoted. Then the Lord Jesus Christ. If you count all the chapters that are devoted to his life, they would exceed those of. Of David, but David is amazing, I suppose you might say, in the The fact that God chose to devote so much of the Bible to his life. his victories and his failures.
But particularly the quality of his walk before God. The Bible tells us that he was a man after God's own heart. And we look at some of the things that transpired in his life, and we wonder: how can God say that about him? And we'll try to learn, at least in part, why God. may have said that.
about him as we get into the consideration of his life to day.
Now, I still had the d had the The task of trying to figure out how to address this vast subject and. Here's what I'm Planning to do. And that is to pick out six episodes in the life of David. Consider three of them this week, three of them next week. and then move on.
Now, considering that the writer of Hebrews only Just mentioned his name without anything else. I don't know how appropriate it is for us to linger too long, and yet, considering all the material that there is about him, I don't know that we can just say, don't forget David and pass on. I think we need to look at his life a little more carefully.
So that's what we will do. And that each of these episodes we are going to be focusing upon David's faith and what this episode teaches us about David's faith. And so what are we going to be looking at this morning? Number one, David's youthful faith. 1 Samuel 17.
Number two, David's grateful faith, 2 Samuel 9. Number three, David's repentant faith. Second Samuel Chapters 11 and 12. To consider David's youthful faith, we have to go back to 1 Samuel chapter 17 and that well-known story. of David and Goliath.
That's the one that every child knows, that's the one that I think virtually Every adult knows. I threatened my wife with singing the song about that, but I decided not to do it. But most of you know the song. I really didn't take the time to look it up so that I could be sure of all the words, but The majority of us here in our lives earlier on, we sang something like. Only a boy named David.
Only a little brook. See, I've already broken my word, haven't I? Only a boy named David and five little stones he took. Uh-huh. You know the song.
Well, the record of that is found in 1 Samuel 17. That interesting account of David and Goliath. The chapter opens by telling us about this contest, military contest, between. The Philistines in Israel. And it appears that on this occasion the Philistines had Begun The strife begun the warfare.
They marshalled their armies and marched Into the territory of Israel. They were in the territory of Judah. And David was the lion of the tribe of Judah.
So they were fighting very close to his home in Bethlehem. And so they marshaled their armies, and the Israelites marshaled their armies.
so that the Philistines would not Run over. Israel's territory and become the overlords of the Israelites as they had on. previous occasions and so We have the Philistine army on one side of the valley. We have the Israelite army on the other side of the valley. But instead of the two armies coming together to fight one another, The Philistines had another plan.
And out from their army down into the valley came a giant of a man by the name of Goliath. Goliath of Gath, one of the five principal cities of the Philistine people. And we are told that he measured six cubits in a span. in height. A cubit is approximately a foot and a half, so six cubits puts him at nine feet.
A span is a Hand breadth, and so a few more inches on top of that. This man was about somewhere in the neighborhood of nine feet. four or five inches tall. And not only was he tall, but he was. Strong.
The Bible describes the armor that he wore, huge pieces of armor that he handled without any difficulty. The Bible describes the spear that he had and says the shaft of the spear was like a weaver's beam. This man was huge, this man was strong, and he marched out into the middle of the valley, and he challenged the armies of Israel, and he said, Send a man to fight with me. We'll fight one on one. And whoever prevails, then the other side will surrender to that side.
So if I beat your man, then you become our servants. If you beat our man, then We will become your servants. By the way, Israel through David did beat. their man and they did not do what Goliath promised they would do. They didn't surrender to Israel.
You can't trust your enemy, can you, to tell the truth. But at any rate, that's what they were doing. This contest was going on day by day. And the Israelites had nobody that was willing to go out and challenge him.
Now it occurs to me that the most promising individual to do that would have been King Saul. Because the Bible tells us that he was the tallest man in Israel. He was head and shoulders above everybody else.
So if there was anybody in Israel who would have been at least somewhat comparable to this Goliath of Gath, it would have been Saul. But he wasn't interested in going out there and tackling this man, was he? And neither was anybody else. In the midst of this, we learn that there was a man in Judah by the name of Jesse. who had eight sons.
Three of which went out, the oldest three went out with Saul to the army to fight against the Philistines, but up until now there had been no fight. It's interesting. When David comes, into the cap. We're told that they were out there shouting at each other. Acting like they were getting ready to fight, but they kept.
putting it off. not engaging in the fight. and then listening to the taunts of Goliath. But Jesse's three oldest sons had gone to be with Saul in his armies in the battle. And his youngest son David was tasked with keeping the sheep, but was also, and by the way, there must have been a lot of sheep because when David left the sheep, to go to the to the location of the of the of the uh contest.
He left the sheep in the care of other servants.
So This tells me a lot of things about David. It tells me at this time he wasn't a grade school age boy. He was probably an older teenager at the very least. He was keeping the sheep, to be sure, but he was in charge of a crew of people that were keeping apparently a vast flock of sheep. But Jesse had given David basically two different jobs.
One is to keep track of what's going on with the sheep and make sure that. The servants are doing what they're supposed to do and keeping the sheep. superintending them. But also I need you, Jesse said, to go back and forth from time to time and check on the welfare of your three brothers. And so David was making trips back and forth between the battle lines and the sheepfold.
And on one occasion, Jesse said, I've got some grain, I've got some bread for you to take to your brothers, and I've also got some cheese. for you to take to their commander. Time to go again. And this time when David goes, He hears the taunts of Goliath, who apparently had not been carrying on on previous occasions for David's travels back and forth. And when he hears the taunts of Goliath, he's Perplexed.
Why is nobody answering this guy? Why is nobody taking up the challenge? Why is nobody fighting him and defeating him? And it's clear that David had a different perspective on this than virtually anybody else, from Saul all the way down. Everybody seemed to view this strictly from a perspective.
What shall I call it, a human standpoint, a physical standpoint? And David saw it from a spiritual perspective. We're beginning already to get an idea of the difference between David, even and his own family, which I would take to be considered a godly family in Israel. He had a spiritual perspective on what was going on.
So David rose early in the morning. Verse 20 tells us, left the sheep, with the keeper, took the things, and went as Jesse had commanded him. and he came to camp as the army was going out to fight, And shouting for the battle, it looks like every day they went out and shouted at each other. For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper.
ran to the army, came and greeted his brothers. Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines. And he spoke according to the same words.
So David heard him. Verse 26, Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For, and here's the key part: For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? That was David's perspective. We're not measuring which army is the largest.
We're not measuring which army has the largest.
Soldier, champion. To cariano. One-on-one fight. We're measuring who has the greatest God. The Philistines with their idols.
Dagon and others who are not real gods at all. They're foolish Imaginations with no real power, or Israel. The ones who worship the true God of heaven, Almighty God, the creator of the universe.
Now, viewed in that perspective, why should we be afraid of the Philistines? Is what David is saying. Why should we be afraid of Goliath? Good question. His perspective was very different.
His older brother Eliab scorned him and rebuked him, but David cast it off. And I'm going to have to hurry because I could take up the whole... Morning, talking about this one episode. I may end up doing that. I'm not planning to, but I'm.
Time goes by quickly, and I very easily could. But um David gets called to to King Saul.
Somebody reports that There's a guy down here. who's talking about his willingness to fight this giant. And Saul says, Well, bring him here. Let's check him out. And here he comes and he's just uh A handsome Strong.
Boy. Older boy. Probably, I mean, who knows? Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen years old, but a youth. Not battle-tested Never been in the army, never showed himself able in military.
Conflict. And so he comes in and Saul takes a look at him and says, Well, Um Thank you for your good thoughts, but I don't see this happening with you. And David said, wait a minute, let me tell you. When I was Keeping the sheep. On one occasion, a lion came out and snatched the sheep and started dragging it away.
And I attacked the lion and released the sheep from the lion's mouth and killed the lion with my bare hands. You did? Yeah, and not only that, but another time a bear came out and snatched a lamb out of the flock and started to carry it away. And I did the same thing again. I chased the bear, I rescued the lamb, and I killed the bear, tore it apart with my bare hands.
You did? Yes. By God's help and God's grace, And since God enabled me to do that when there was a need, I'm confident God will enable me to beat this guy because there's obviously a need. He's defying the God of Israel. We can't let that pass.
He's defying the God of Israel. Somebody in the name of the God of Israel needs to go up against him and show him who is God. Show all of them who is God. Saul said, okay, okay, if you want to give it a try, here, take my armor and put it on and go out and fight this guy. David puts it on, and he can hardly walk.
Klum, clump, clump. He said, I don't know how to use this stuff. I've never. had a breastplate. I've never had these um Shhh.
Um Leg t leg um whatever they call them, that goes on the legs. In soccer, we used to call them shin pads. I don't know what they called them in the army. I've never had a helmet like this. I've never had a shield this heavy.
Just let me go with the things I'm I'm accustomed to. And Saul said, Alright, whatever. And David just takes his staff and takes his sling and takes his little bag and he goes down to a brook and he picks out five nice smooth stones. And he puts them in his bag. He took five.
He only needed one, but he took five. And um He goes out there and confronts Goliath, and Goliath is also incredulous. Look at the one you sent out here. Of all the people you could have sent, you're sending this little guy? I can't really say that David was little.
Compared to Goliath, he was, of course. But you're sending this youth This this one who obviously is not Not battle-tested, you're sending him out against me. Why, you're adding insult to injury. I can. Conquer that guy with one swipe.
David said, Don't be too sure. I'm coming in the name of the Lord God of Israel. And he puts a. stone in his sling, and What do the songs say? Round and round and round and round and round and round.
And zip! He slings that stone, and by the guidance of God, it hits Goliath in the forehead, and down he goes dead as. A log. And David runs out there and takes Goliath's own sword. Chops off his head.
Carries it back. And the Philistines start Running away, they're not going to keep their word to surrender to the side who wins this contest like Goliath said they would. But nevertheless, they run, and Israel runs after them and kills a great many of them. Great victory over the Philistines that day, won by David. A boy Who more than any of the others Had a faith in God that convinced him that when God's honor was at stake, when God's reputation was at stake, that God was going to fight the battle for them, and he was willing to be the one to prove that, and he did, and he won the victory.
Quite a story.
Well, let's take a second example of David's faith. And we read about that one in 2 Samuel chapter 9. The story of David and Mephibosheth.
Now many, many years have passed. David is now the king. Saul is dead, Jonathan is dead. Other sons of Saul are dead. The kingdom has been now committed to David.
And as David is thinking about all that has happened to him and how God has been so gracious and good to him. It comes to his mind that he really ought to demonstrate some gratitude to Someone Who is in the line of Jonathan, because Jonathan had been so kind to him. And so He inquires about that in 2 Samuel 9. Verse 1. David said, Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?
What a godly desire. And the only one who is left of the house of Saul. Is a man crippled in both of his feet because, and we read why in 2 Samuel 4. The nurse fled with him. When When Saul was killed and and his And Mephibosheth's father, Jonathan.
was killed and others were killed. Israelites were killed in battle. by the Philistines. And so the nurse was running away. We read in 2 Samuel 4, 4, Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son who was lame at his feet, so this would make him Saul's grandson.
He was five years old. When the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, And his nurse took him up and fled and it happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.
So from the age of five onward, he has been a cripple. dependent upon others to carry him from place to place. And as Ziba, Saul's servant, David had summoned to get this information told him. He lives in the land of Lodibar, that's a location across Jordan, on the east side of Jordan, and the name Lodibar apparently means something like lack of pasture. He's in a desolate place.
He's apparently living in poverty. He's crippled. And He lives in a barren part of the land. And David said, Fine, that's just what I'm looking for. I'm looking for someone that I can Bestow.
goods, bestow kindness to. For the sake of Jonathan. And it's all for Jonathan's sake. We read that in verse 1. We read it again in verse 7.
David said to him, Do not fear. I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan, your father's sake. and will restore to you all the land of Saul, your grandfather. and you shall eat bread at my table continually. And so from then on out, Mephibosheth.
Ate at the king's table like one of the other of the king's sons, and David had quite a few sons. princes in Israel who were eating at the king's table. And He enjoyed a favored position. David gave him lands back that had belonged to his father Jonathan and his grandfather Saul. David appointed.
A servant that formerly had been a servant of Saul to now manage the property on behalf of Mephibosheth, the servant. Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants, so there's a workforce of 35 people that are going to be taking care of the land that has been given to him. It must have been a pretty sizable property. And all of the income that comes off of this land is going to go to Mephibosheth, but You're going to stay here in the king's palace and eat at the king's table. and you're going to be treated just like one of the king's sons.
And yet the Chapter ends by reminding us, verse 13, So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king's table, and He was lame. In both his feet He still was a cripple. He still was lame, even though his position had been exalted. In other words, his bestowed position is high. He's a son of the king.
His true natural condition is still low. It is a crippled man.
Now, there's so many things in this story. It's a great. Illustration of Salvation. If you are saved today, It's not for your sake. It's for the sake of another.
For Mephimosheth, it was for the sake of Jonathan. For you and for me, it's for the sake of Jesus. It's because we belong to him. It's because he represents us. It's because he has done for us what we couldn't do for ourselves in living a righteous life.
Before God, it's because He has borne on the cross the judgment that was due unto our sins. And it's because of God's great love for him. that He bestows such grace upon us who are identified with Him, We are In position, sons of the king. We can sing, I'm a child of the king, a child of the king. With Jesus my Savior, I'm a child of the king.
And yet, our true position, our true condition, our position is high, but our condition is. We're still sinners, aren't we? Only a sinner. saved by grace. That's what we are.
Crippled. Internally. crippled spiritually. Because of sin. We are.
Poor Cripples. who have been Claimed by grace and exalted by grace in our.
Sons of the king sitting at the king's table feasting. At the riches of his grace.
Now, one day, Our crippled feet, our crippled hearts, our sinful condition is going to be completely restored. Praise God. I'm looking forward to that. But right now, we are sinful cripples who are being treated like. Children of the King the Most High God.
Episode number three. The one everybody knows. Yeah. Second Samuel chapters eleven and twelve. David and Bathsheba.
David's youthful faith with David and Goliath. David's grateful faith. David and Mephibosheth. David's repentant faith, David and Bathsheba, and you know this story. You know it well.
It begins with a lustful encounter. The Bible tells us it was the time when kings went forth to battle, and David stayed in Jerusalem. What conclusion are we to draw from that?
Some have included that David was Negligent in not going to battle when he should have, but we also read in the account that David was getting older and his.
soldiers his his his uh commanding officers in his army. were doing their best to keep him out of battle, to protect his life. And so I don't know. We don't know really why David stayed in Jerusalem because the Bible doesn't tell us. But it does tell us that his army was out in battle, in warfare.
And David was in the comfort of his home at Jerusalem. and apparently was in the custom of taking an afternoon nap. I think pretty customary for the people of that day in that hotter climate, Mediterranean climate. And had gotten up from his nap and was walking in the cooler air of the evening on his rooftop. And he happened to look over on the rooftop of an adjacent house.
It no doubt would have been a bit lower, because I can't imagine that another house would be as big as the Palace of the King, but there he saw. A woman who was bathing, and she was beautiful, and his heart was stirred up in lustful desire, and he sent for her and learned or inquired about her, and found out she was the wife of Uriah, one of his captains, one of his noble captains. Uriah the Hittite, a Gentile who had come into the into the people of Israel. and was serving David, the king of Israel, and was worshiping Jehovah the God of Israel. And Had a beautiful wife, and David saw her, and he called for her and took her.
Committed adultery with her. and sent her back home. And then got a message a few days later. I'm pregnant.
Now what? Wonder how many times, how many Thousands of times, how many millions of times around the world in the history of mankind?
Something similar has happened. The word comes, I'm pregnant.
Now what? Now what? Sexual activity outside of marriage. is wrong.
Some people think they can get by with it, and maybe they seem to for a while. But Eventually, it's going to catch up with you one way or another.
Sometimes it catches up with an unexpected pregnancy. And so not what?
So David Goes into cover-up mode. He shifts gears, quickly starts scrambling to cover up this sinful, shameful act. He tells Joab to send Uriah home from the battle. He figures he'll come home, spend the night with his wife, and when her pregnancy Develops and a child is born, everybody will assume that it belongs to Uriah. But Uriah is more noble.
He comes home, but he won't go into his bedroom. He sleeps outside. David asks why. He said, Because. Mike Fellow soldiers are out in the battlefield.
They're sleeping out in tents in the open air. It would be shameful for me, it would be dishonorable for me to come home and enjoy the comforts of my wife and my home when my fellow soldiers are in this condition. I'll have to wait until the victory's won and everybody comes home.
So, David even does his best and succeeds in getting him drunk. I think surely he'll He'll forget his noble ideals now, and even... Though he was drunk, He didn't go into his wife. He stayed by his principles. And so.
David writes a letter to Joab. Delivered by Uriah himself in his own hand, but sealed, he didn't know what it said. He delivers it. To Joab, and what it basically says is: Joab, do something to make sure this man dies in battle. Job surely knows something must be going on, but he.
Doesn't question, he just does it. He puts Uriah in a vulnerable position, a place he never would have sent soldiers if this had not. been the command. sends them close to the city wall where Uriah, along with several others, lose their lives. The consequences of sin are never confined to just The little area that we think they're going to be.
And so, not only does Uriah lose his life, but several other noble soldiers lose their lives, who never should have been sent to that place of battle, but. In order to carry out David's murderous Commission That's what happens, and Uriah dies and the word comes back Uriah is dead and David says to the messengers who bring the news, Don't worry about it. It happens all the time. No big deal.
So when when war is on, soldiers die. It could be one as much as another. Uriah died. He's a good soldier, but after all, that's what happens. David's heart is so callous at this point.
because it's hard for him. To communicate sorrow with the death of Uriah when he's actually relieved that he's dead. Whew. And so as quickly as propriety allows After Bathsheba spends an appropriate time mourning the death of her husband, David calls her to him and marries her. and thinks that it won't be too obvious, but people can count.
And from the date. of the wedding to the delivery of the child was not nine months. Probably not. Even a full eight months, we don't know exactly. How much here?
But whether people know what went on or not, I'm sure many people suspected. God does. That's the whole point. In fact, at the end Of chapter 11, we read these words. The last words of chapter 11.
But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. David may have thought he got by with it, but it displeased. The Lord. And so God sent a prophet to David because David seems to be going on without remorse, without repentance. And God sends a prophet to David by the name of Nathan, and he tells a story about a rich man who had lots of sheep and a poor man who had only one lamb.
And a visitor comes to the rich man's house, and the rich man sends someone to snatch the poor man's lamb, and he kills that for dinner when he's got all these lambs of his own. And David said, that is reprehensible. He shall pay the price. He shall die for doing such a thing. And Nathan says, thou art the man.
Whoops. That's what you did, David. And Nathan, speaking for God, says these words. It sounds strange to us. Didn't I give you all of Saul's wives?
Didn't I give you other wives? Didn't you have all the wives you wanted? And certainly more than you needed. And if you'd wanted more, I would have given you more.
So why did you have to take another man's wife? Hmm. You can shoe on that one. I'm not going to try to explain it, but I just point it out. That that is what the text tells us.
And now David is struck with conviction.
Now David will evidence repentance. And there's so many evidences of it. But I hasten to say this before I show you. what I consider one of the most Clear evidences of his repentance in Psalm 51. But I assure you that even though God forgives his sin, he still pays.
lifelong consequences because of his sin. The eternal guilt, the Guilt before the judgment bar of God in heaven is dealt with. He is cleansed from that, but he's not freed from all of the earthly consequences of his wrongdoing. And they go on and on and on and on. But here's what David pens in one of the several penitential psalms.
Have mercy upon me, O God. according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. and cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions. And my sin is always before me. Against you. You only are you supremely Have I sinned? and done this evil in your sight.
that you may be found just when you speak. and blameless when you judge. A repentant faith.
Now I hasten to make some applications that pertain to these Episodes in the life of David. Let's go back to youthful faith, David and Goliath. We learn there that young people can have genuine faith. David did. Younger than all that vast army of thousands of people, and David had.
The strongest Faith of all. But I also hasten to add that youthful faith needs to be tested. It's not always easy to tell. Our children grow up, they make a profession of faith sometimes, they seem to be interested in spiritual things. We say, Glory, hallelujah, they've been saved, until they sometimes hit their teenage ears and whoop, there they go.
And unless our theology is right, we don't know how to interpret that. We say, oh, they backslidden, they're far from the Lord. And then maybe years later, they come to the Lord and we say, no, they finally. came back from their backslidden condition. And the truth of the matter is they were probably never genuinely saved at all until The evidence Because That youthful profession of faith needs to be tested.
God sees the heart. It is possible for a very young child to be genuinely saved. But for us to get evidence of conversion, we need to see a tested faith. But youthful Faith is genuine, can be genuine. Youthful faith can be very real.
And youthful faith is sometimes stronger than mature faith. All of these people who'd been following God for years in Saul's army didn't have the strength of simple faith that David had. Youthful faith often believes implicitly, whereas Mature faith believes more analytically. Christ commends Childlike faith. You've got to believe like a child.
In other words, just believe it completely because God said it and trust Him for it and not try to figure it out, not demand answers. I'll believe it if you'll show me this. I'll believe it if you show me that. That's not the kind of faith that honors God. But the kind of faith that David demonstrated as a youth, he just believed God.
God's able? I believe that. And I'm going to act upon it. That's biblical faith. Faith is believing the promises of God and acting upon it.
And David demonstrates youthful faith. youthful faith may accomplish great exploits. It should be encouraged. It should be emulated. We all need faith like that.
But it should also be guided because sometimes it's faith. without zeal with zeal, but without knowledge. Moving on from youthful faith to grateful faith, David and Mephiboshep. God's grace teaches his people to be grateful. Grateful to God.
Grateful to others that have helped us. along the way. And God's grace teaches us to express that gratitude. We don't just feel it, we express it. to God.
And to others. We express it verbally, we express it tangibly. David wasn't content to just send a thank you note to Mephibosheth and say, I want to thank you for what your father Jonathan did. But he rolled out the red carpet and put Mephibosheth at his table at his expense and tangibly showed his gratitude. to Mephibosheth's father, and to Meship Phibosheth because of his father.
And so we realize that grateful people, if they're truly grateful, are giving people. Selfish people are lacking grace. How many times I have dealt with people that God had made very wealthy and they talked big like how much they were gonna do for God's kingdom, but a lot of times They didn't do as much as Just the regular old people members of the church without a lot of wealth but who have been touched by grace and just gave generously and and um They're the ones that carry the load. We thank the Lord for those who are. Made wealthy and also are touched by grace because it doesn't matter whether you're poor or rich, if you've really been touched by grace, you give as a result of it, you demonstrate.
That Grace that God has bestowed upon you. And that's what David did: generous manifestations of God's grace for Jonathan's sake. making Mephibosheth one of the king's sons, though lame on both feet. Why did David do that? Because of faith.
He believed the promises of God.
Some kings are so paranoid that they kill every last living relative of their predecessor because they're afraid that that one may rise up and take their place. Why didn't David have that kind of attitude? Because of faith. He believed that God had given him the throne and God would protect the throne and he didn't need to worry about that. God would take care of him.
If God didn't want him on the throne, God could take him off the throne, and that was all right with David, too. Don't you see the difference? And the attitude of David, and the attitude of so many of the kings we read about in the Bible, who, as soon as they got to the throne, slaughtered everybody that was related, even to them, sometimes their own close relatives, to make sure that they wouldn't rival them on the throne. David's grateful faith, and then finally. David's repentant faith.
David and Bathsheba. This tells us that even when we're saved, God's people are still sinners. I am. You are? This tells us that God's people may fall into grievous sins, as David did.
Adultery? Murder? But God's people. are always repenting people. If they fall into sin, they don't stay in sin.
If they fall in sin, they don't. condone their sin. They are repenting people, convicted by God's Spirit. And their repentance is a repentance that leaves no doubts. It's more than a worldly sorrow.
The Bible Tells us about worldly sorrow that some people have, but only because they got caught, not because of the sin they committed. Only because they lost their reputation, they feel bad about that. Only because they experienced suffering, consequences for their sin, and some loss because of their sin. If it hadn't been for any of those things, if their sin had not been found out, they never would have acknowledged it, never would have repented of it, because they don't have this kind of repentance. But true repentance is a determination to accept the full blame.
For what I have done wrong, without trying to divide up the guilt and blame between me and somebody else. Many times there are others. You know, when it comes to this episode with Bathsheba, I mean, the Bible isn't clear enough to say, but it looks to me like Bathsheba may have been angling for what happened. Out on her roof, bathing in a place where she could be seen. And she knew whose palace was next door.
She knew that the king probably walked on his roof at that time of the day. I don't know. The Bible doesn't really tell us that. It could have all been a total accident, but. And I don't hear David saying.
God, you know I fell, but if Bathsheba hadn't done that, if Bathsheba hadn't. Hadn't seduced me the way she did, then I wouldn't have fallen. None of that. We don't hear that, do we? We don't hear David trying to...
put some of the blame on Bathsheba. No. It's me. It's me. It's me, O Lord.
That's true repentance. No blaming others. No instructing others as to how they ought to treat you. Seen people like that. They fall into sin, they get caught, and now they want to tell us how we're supposed to treat them.
Here's what the Bible says about how you should treat me. As a result of the sin, I say, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. How about you letting us deal with that? You deal with what you did and make it clear that you're not. Blame shifting, and you're not.
In the teacher's seat, you're not instructing others. You are bowed in humility and in repentance. No excuses. Yes, David sinned and sinned greatly. grievously.
But David repented and repented seriously. And here's the point. If you repent like David... Your sins are forgiven. They're gone.
Buried in the depths of the deepest sea. As far as the East is from the West. They're gone, gone, gone, gone. Yes, my sins are gone forever. If you repent.
like David repented, and cast yourself totally upon the Lord Jesus Christ. But listen to me, if you dismiss or minimize your sins, you are still unforgiven because that's evidence that you haven't truly repented with a godly repentance. If I had Let's say $10 for everybody I have heard. Bring up David's sin to excuse their own immorality, to excuse their own adultery. As if that makes it all right, because David, a man after God's own heart, did it.
If I had $10 for everybody I've heard, Use David's episode that way, I'd probably be a rich man today. But When you're using it that way to excuse your sin and going on in your sin and not repenting of your sin. You are not like David, and you aren't forgiven like David was. And your sin is a barrier between you and God. And God's judgment will come crashing down upon you.
And there is no remedy for your sin unless you go to Christ and genuinely repent and say, Have mercy upon me, O God. I am a great sinner. I blame no one but myself. I cast myself upon your mercy. I'm a debtor to mercy alone and ask for your forgiveness.
I repent. I repent of my sins. Help me never to do that again. That's genuine repentance. And if that's your attitude, I'll see you in heaven.
God bless you. I'm looking forward. To fellowshipping with you now, and I'm looking forward to spending eternity with you in heaven. Shall we pray? Father.
Thank you for your word. Thank you for your mercy. Thank you for your Your forgiving spirit, when we repent, how gracious you are. We love you because you first loved us. Amen.
