Sermon for 08/27/06

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Sermon for 08/27/06
(First time visitors: Please read the notes HERE about these sermons first!)

David: A Man After God’s Own Heart! – Trouble at Home

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, AMEN

Main Theme: This summer we will study the amazing story of David – a shepherd boy who became King! Today, in our 9^th week, we find David learning, as we all must, that sin ALWAYS has consequences. His sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah, will have great consequences. It is wrong for believers to think that asking for forgiveness makes the consequences of our sins go away. We may be forgiven, (hence, will not die), but we still have to face the suffering that our un-Godly actions created. We still have to harvest what we sowed. There are 8 consequences David had to endure: 1) the loss of a child, 2) one of David’s sons rapes his half sister, 3) a brother hates a brother, 4) murder, 5) rebellion, 6) a son leads a conspiracy against his father, 7) Absalom cohabitates with David’s wives, and 8) Joab murders Absalom. God’s grace means more than just forgiveness, it also means receiving the strength to face the consequences realistically and straight on. (Based on Chuck Swindoll’s book “David” and other research.)

1) STILL BROKEN! Here’s a hypothetical situation to chew on this morning: your teenage child decides to sneak out of the house to go to a rock concert you already said “no” to. In climbing out the second story bedroom window, they slip and fall, breaking their arm. After returning with them from the hospital, your teenager genuinely asks for forgiveness, and you give it. Then in disbelief, your teen asks you – “Why is my arm still broken?” Not sure what they mean, you rely, “Hey that’s what happens when you fall from a 2^nd story window.” But they protest, “Yes, but I asked for forgiveness and you gave it to me – why is my arm still broken?” Some of you are looking at me strangely, thinking, “Pastor, even a child knows that when you break your arm, it’s broken! Just because the sin that caused it is forgiven, doesn’t mean the physical consequences of the fall will not have to be dealt with over the next 6 months. The arm is still broken.”

2) FORGIVEN STILL SUFFER! Seems that when it comes to the physical realm, we understand; a broken arm is a broken arm. And yet, it is amazing how many modern Christians confess our sins and somehow expect God not only to forgive us, but wipe out all the emotional and spiritual consequences too. Today David will show us that while sins are forgiven, believers still must ride out the storm of suffering created when we broke God’s commandments. To think that we can add to the “brokenness of the world” and no one has to suffer, is misunderstanding the concept of grace. Yes, grace IS a product of unconditional love that is given to God’s children despite the fact they do not deserve it, cannot earn it, and will never be able to repay it. BUT… do not be deceived, grace is given freely, but forgiven people still suffer emotionally and spiritually because of earlier sins!

3) DO NOT BE DECEIVED!Anyone remember what Genesis tells us is the wages of sin? That’s right: death! So, grace amazingly stops us from being eternally separated from God, and restores our heavenly relationship! But Paul clearly says in Galatians 6:7-8, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction…” See, Grace, as wonderful as it is, does not free us from the suffering effects of sin – as David’s story continues to show us today.

4) WE REAP WHAT WE SOW! Last week, David acted upon his lustful desire for another man’s wife – and his adultery even led to murder as he tried to “cover up” his sin. Then the prophet Nathan not only trapped David into recognizing his sin, but went on to declare that there would be consequences! Last week we emphasized that SIN ALWAYS HAS CONSEQUENCES! But many of us naively expect our confessions mean that everything gets magically fixed! What did Galations say? “DO NOT BE DECEIVED!” We reap what we sow! There are some bizarre teachings about “grace” out there trying to dupe us into believing that repentance will whisk all our consequences away! We turn to God and say, “Lord forgive me! I did wrong! You know it, I know it – and now I claim your forgiveness and I count on you to get me back on track!” And we expect then that everything is hunky-dory, and all the consequences are gone. If David were here today, he’d declare: Grace means that God forgives and then gives you strength to ENDURE the consequences! Suffering is NOT automatically removed. We still have to deal with the ramifications that sin creates! We still have to reap what we sow!”

5) HARVEST! We all laugh at that old saying, “I’ll repent when I’m 99.” IF a person actually lived to 99, and actually DID repent, there is no doubt that God’s love and grace would usher that person into the gates of heaven. But what the saying neglects to recognize is that the seeds we plant always lead to a harvest day! Confession and forgiveness in no way stop the harvest! David’s harvest for the seeds of sin he planted were not pleasant and they led to suffering throughout his life! And believe me, the pain of the harvest eclipses the pleasure of the planting! David’s one night stand with Bathsheba was pleasurable, exciting, but short lived. Her unexpected pregnancy brought them panic and led to other sins. Their adultery temporarily satisfied the desires of their lustful cravings, but like we said, 1) “We reap what we sow!”, 2) confession and forgiveness in no way stop the harvest, and 3) the pain of the harvest eclipses the pleasure of the planting!

6) LOSS OF A SON! Remember what Nathan had told David about the future consequences of his sin:

“the sword will never depart from your house…”

“I will raise up evil against you from your own household…”

“I will even take your wives before your eyes, and give them to another…”

Watch how this played out in 8 parts. The first part was 1) the loss of a son. After David declared, “I have sinned against the Lord!” (2^nd Samuel 12:13), we read “Nathan replied, ‘The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.’” (vs 14) Did this happen? Sadly…yes. “After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had born to David, and he became ill.” (12:15) Verse 18 tells us “On the seventh day the child died…” This loss of a son was but the beginning of David’s pain.

7) RAPED! You’ll also remember that David built up quite a little harem of wives and concubines, against the wishes of God. One of the consequences of having so many half sisters and brothers running around the palace manifested itself in this event, when 2) one of David’s sons raped his half-sister. How could such a horrible thing happen? Well, in the 13^th chapter of 2^nd Samuel we read “In the course of time, Amnon, son of David, fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom, son of David. Amnon became frustrated to the point of illness on account of his sister Tamar for she was virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her.” (verse 1-2) Incest is a disgusting kind of lust! And it becomes worst when a friend shows him how to trick Tamar into coming to his bedroom by faking an illness. When he made his move, she protested strongly, but we’re told, (verse 14) “But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.”

8) HATE AND MURDER! Step three grows out of this horrible act: 3) a brother hates a brother. See, Tamar, ashamed and disgraced, confided in her brother Absalom, who is furious! Lust has led to rape, and rape to hatred. It was only a matter of time before it led to step 4) murder! Absalom and Amnon did not speak for two years; Absalom simply let his bitterness and hate eat away at him for all that time! Where was Dad while all of this was happening? The only thing we’re told in 2^nd Samuel 13:21 is “Now when David heard of all these matters, he was angry.” Woe! That’s it? David was angry? Talk about classic passivity! It’s obvious that David was more comfortable running a kingdom than raising kids! These spoiled brats had been left to raise themselves without the loving discipline of a caring and strong father. They themselves are another consequence of David’s sin. Imagine living in a palace with a bunch of jealous, scheming children that lacked any “tough love.” It was just a matter of time, before Absalom made his move – he murdered his half-brother and got his revenge. He then flees and hides in a neighboring city. David has lost both of his eldest two sons! One dead! The other in hiding – add two more consequences to David’s sins – hate and murder!

9) REBELLION/CONSPIRACY! Knowing he can’t go home, Absalom then moves on to step 5) rebellion! He licks his wounds and plans to lead a revolt against his father, David. And that is exactly what he does! Step 6) Absalom leads a conspiracy against his father. To make a long story short, after two years, Absalom sneaks back to Jerusalem and begins to steal the heart of the people. He daily sits at the gate and intercepts the people hoping to talk to the king. Absalom hugs them, kisses them, and skillfully lies about his father in order to win them over to his side. After getting the majority vote, he makes his move! And what does David do? (2^nd Samuel 15:14) “Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, ‘Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom.” Rebellion and conspiracy – more consequences of David’s sin.

10) COHABITATED! The 7^th is more bizarre of them all – making day-time soap operas look normal. It happens when the power hungry Absalom moves into Jerusalem and is advised to show his royal authority by 7) cohabitating with the ex-king’s wives! I read it, but still can’t believe it: (2^nd Samuel 16:20-22) – Absalom’s adviser told him… “‘Go lie with your father’s concubines whom he left to take care of the palace. Then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself a stench in your father’s nostrils, and the hands of everyone with you will be strengthened.’ So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he lay with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.” Where we wonder, would a spoiled young self-centered son have learned such horrible things? Then, you remind yourself that David, his father, had laid his lustful eyes upon women, and taken every one of them – when he wanted them! No doubt EVERYONE in the palace heard of the Bathsheba incident – and now Absalom would rub David’s face in it. As in all “dysfunctional families”, the sins of the father will impact the children so that they themselves continue on the brokenness! Imagine the pain, shame, and suffering that the women of the palace endured because ABSALOM cohabitated with them! Consequences – there are always consequences to sin!

11) ABSALOM KILLED! And finally, we discover what Nathan meant when he declared that the sword will never depart from David’s house. The day came when David’s men and Absalom’s men met in battle. And despite David’s warning to spare Absalom, 8) Joab, (commander of David’s men), finds and kills David’s son. David is crushed. “And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And he said as he walked, ‘Oh, my son, Absalom, my son, my son, Absalom! Would I have died instead of you, oh Absalom, my son, my son!’” David is a beaten man. He’s broken and bruised, twisted and confused. The harvesting of his sins is almost more than he can bear! “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” (Galatians 6:7) First Amnon is murdered, and now Absalom is killed! Oh, how David came to loathe the day he acted upon his lust for Bathsheba!

12) DON’T HAVE TO SIN! Last week we reflected upon the amazing grace found in 1^st John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness!” 1^st John 1:9. This is phenomenal news for those of us who expected rejection and found mercy and love instead! But this is the good news that happens AFTER we sinned. The truth is, there is a better answer to sin, and that is to prevent it from happening! We have a choice – we don’t have to sin! Paul explains it in Romans 6: 12 “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey it’s evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” In other words, the more you surrender yourself to God, the more you can say “NO!” to sin when it approaches. The more Christ is in living in you, the more you can turn away from sin! We don’t have to sin hour after hour, day after day!

13) RESIST THE SIN! And I think we might take God’s words more seriously IF we paid more attention to the rarely discussed consequences of sin. Grace and forgiveness does NOT automatically take away the consequences of sin! Asking God to keep you away from it, resisting the sin, …leaning on the power of the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you – THAT’S how to avoid the consequences! And that’s better than having to endure them later. Better than letting God forgive and purify us AFTER making a big mistake, is allowing God to help us resist the sin and the painful consequences! And David would say “Amen” to that if he were here!

14) POWER TO ENDURE! Well then, if confession and forgiveness does NOT take away all the suffering sin produces, then where’s the Good News in all of this? You mean besides NOT dieing – which is the penalty of sin? You mean besides NOT being separated from God’s light, and truth, and love forever? Simply this: God’s grace helps you endure the consequences! Where do you think David’s strength came from to survive all the suffering and pain his sin brought: it came from God! Grace brings us the power to endure not only the brokenness of the world, but the suffering our sin produces!

15) UNFAITHFUL! I have counseled several couples in which a husband has been unfaithful. The very first impulse of the men was to try and get past it – they beg for forgiveness and want to put it behind them just as quickly as possible. They naively want everything to be the same as it was before. Friends, it can never be the same as it was before. The marriage pledge was broken, trust was severely damaged! Yet, several women, whose heart had been broken, managed to eventually forgive their husbands: only God could have empowered them to do that. But it would take years and years to repair the damage done to the relationship. Every time the husband said he was working late, or glanced at another woman – the earlier pain and suffering returned. In many cases, the husband will spend the rest of his life working to prove his faithfulness to his wife – dealing with the painful consequences of his earlier unfaithfulness. But God’s grace will help him endure!

16) THE HARVEST ALWAYS COMES! And the wife will for many years struggle with the suspicions that place her husband’s every action underneath a microscope. That may fade over time, but not right away. The relationship can be restored, even made stronger - given enough time. But the suffering caused by that infidelity will not go away just because confession and forgiveness occurred. In one case, the man sinned just one time, and caught a life-threatening venereal disease. Though the couple are still together, they can never share physical intimacy again without infecting the wife. True, God’s grace saw to it that a precious marriage was not shattered, but those individuals will testify to the truth: we reap what we sow. The harvest always comes!

17) GOD’S WILL! Friends, unfortunately there are people who misuse the word grace to portray your Father in heaven as a loving but tooth-less teddy-bear! But that is not the case! Our God is powerful and righteous and will not be mocked! We will sow what we reap because God’s will must not be taken lightly! Yes, God’s grace forgives and restores us! Yes, His grace mercifully brings us back into a loving relationship, because He just plain loves us too much to let sin, Satan, or death have the final say in our lives! But, because we walk as broken people in a broken world, we reap what we sow. Perhaps our suffering will awaken us, and send us back into God’s arms! That is God’s will!

18) CUP OF SUFFERING! 2000 years ago, Jesus was also impacted by the world’s sin! As He prepared for death on the cross, He prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42) The cup was not removed. David, like Jesus, had to deal with the full reality of sin-produced suffering. Jesus and David are NOT advertisements for a trouble free life. You and I must drink from the cup of suffering – the results of a complex web of interconnecting sins and God’s mercies. We’re broken people living in a broken world – what can we expect if not suffering? And suffering can either make us better or bitter. But… we see in the end that drinking from the cup brought out the best in David. Because the cup of suffering was not taken from him, David recovered his humility, returned to a life of prayer, and recovered his compassion.

19) THAT’S GRACE! Friends, God’s grace surrounds us now – and His Holy Spirit miraculously offers you and I the strength to endure suffering. He offers to walk with us, live within us, and guide us - that might we grow spiritually from our experiences with sin. Christ is here 1) to lovingly warn us and empower us to resist sin, 2) to forgive and purify us if we do sin, and 3) to strengthen us to endure the consequences of our sins, each and every day!That’s grace!

Praise God!

AMEN

Sermon/Confessional Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we confess our selfish desire for a pain free life! We do not want to reap what we sow – because we so often sow seeds of disobedience and rebellion. We do not want to face the truth that we will harvest pain and suffering because of our sin. And it is hard for us to see how suffering can benefit us. Forgive us, and give us the strength to endure the consequences of our sin, learn from them, and grow wiser as we get closer to you!

Lord, you have presented David’s story to us that we may learn from it and not have to experience the same painful consequences – but we too often believe we are the exception to the rule. Forgive us! And fill us so full of your Holy Spirit that we may resist those sins designed to separate us from you! Teach us not to flee from drinking from the cup of suffering, but empower us to lean on you every step of the way.

And now Lord, although you know us better than we know ourselves, listen as we share in a moment of silence, those other parts of our lives that need to be forgiven, washed clean, healed, and recommitted to you! (made anew.)

(Silence)

Lord, like your servant David, we rejoice in your merciful and gracious gift of forgiveness that purifies us and restores the relationship that our sin tore apart. But help us to also face the reality of drinking from the cup of suffering and dealing with the consequences of our sins. Strengthen us and draw us ever closer to you! In Jesus Name We Pray. AMEN

Assurance of Forgiveness:

Friends, listen to the good news: The Lord, who strengthens us to endure the painful consequences of sin, …that Lord has mercifully heard your confession and eagerly forgives you all your sins. Go now, and remember: God’s grace frees us from the power of sin, Satan, and death AFTER we have sinned. Still our best move is to get closer to God now so that we are empowered to resist sin. But should we stumble – God’s grace will also help you endure the sin-produced consequences of a broken life and a broken world. Praise God! AMEN

Opening prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, every where we went this week – we saw broken people. We saw broken people at work, at school, at home, on TV, and in our neighborhood. And when we looked into the mirror – another broken person looked back. But here, in this place, we come to give you praise because you continue to break into our sin-producing lives with unconditional love and amazing grace. Some of the pain we suffered this week was due to our own actions Lord, while many other troubles came to us because of the sins of those around us. Yet there is no one to turn to who can help us make it through this broken world – but you. You have the power, and the love, and the desire to fix what we cannot! So we bring you our sins, our problems, our brokenness …our lives Lord. And we place them in your hands. Wash us clean, renew our souls, make wise our minds, and faithful our hearts! Though we do not deserve it, cannot earn it, and will never be able to repay you for the love and grace you provide, we praise you for pouring those blessings down upon us now! In Jesus Name We Pray! AMEN!

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