This sermon delves into the life of David as depicted in 2 Samuel, highlighting his reign, victories, fall into sin, and family struggles. It emphasizes the importance of studying Scripture for personal application and spiritual growth, focusing on lessons learned from David's attitude towards enemies, seeking God's guidance, waiting patiently, repentance, and the consequences of sin. The sermon also touches on the significance of worship, grace, trials, leadership qualities, and the principle of not offering to the Lord that which costs nothing.

Let's turn today to 2 Samuel, 2 Samuel chapter 1. We saw in our last study how God picked up David when he was a young man and in 2 Samuel we read about the reign of David. The whole book deals with that from the time of the death of Saul and David is made king and then how he wins a number of victories, his fall into sin and then the problems he has in his family right on to the end of his life and ministry as king. So we'll try and look at the important points in this chapter and the spiritual lessons that we can learn. You remember in the first session I said that all scripture has been given by inspiration of God for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work, for our life and for our ministry. If we keep that verse before us as we study all these books, we will receive something that will equip us. See, there are many ways in which we can look at the Old Testament. We can look at all the types of Christ in the Old Testament and the clever brain can discover many, many things there, but we don't find the New Testament emphasizing so much of typology. A little bit, we saw a little bit in when we studied the Tabernacle of what Christ was born, but there are many other types that we could study. We could study Joseph as a picture of Christ and there are many, many ways in which he's a type of Christ. We could study Boaz and Ruth, which we looked at yesterday, as a picture of Christ redeeming us and making us his bride. Now, all that is interesting, but I have not placed too much emphasis on it because the New Testament doesn't give too much emphasis to that type of typology. A little bit is all right. Ultimately, God's Word is given for our life and not for intellectual stimulation. It's very important to remember that, that we can study the Bible like we study a book of chemistry and that's not the way God wants us to study it. He wants us to study in a way that it applies to our life, that it equips us for better living and for more effective ministry. That's what we must always keep in mind and we must set aside the temptation to be intellectually stimulated because if we go into that line, gradually what will happen is our ministry to people also will be just intellectual stimulation and we'll find people remain carnal, defeated by sin, even though they are getting a lot of intellectual stimulation from Scripture. So, let's keep that in mind and let's look at 2 Samuel chapter 1. Now, in chapter 1, we read of the death of Saul and I want you to see something about David's attitude when he hears about the death of Saul. Now, remember Saul was David's sworn enemy. More than once he tried to throw a javelin at him to kill him. He chased him all over the caves and villages of Israel to try and find him to kill him. More than once David spared his life when Saul was at his mercy, sleep in a cave and this is the man whom David now hears is dead. It's something like you're hearing that the man who was trying to kill you is finally dead. The man who once had an anointing but lost that anointing and it says here a man came to from the camp of Saul verse 2 and he told David I have escaped verse 3 from the camp of Saul and David said how do you know verse 5 that Saul and Jonathan are dead and this man tells a lie. Now, we know that Saul committed suicide that we already saw in 1 Samuel 31 but this man in order to get some favor from David tells him that I was the one who killed Saul. He says I by chance verse 6 I happened to be in Mount Galilee and Saul was leaning on a spear and he asked me to kill him verse 9. He said please stand beside me and kill me. Verse 10 so I stood beside him and killed him and I took the crown and his bracelet and I brought it to you and he expected David to say wonderful but David took hold of his clothes his own clothes verse 11 and tore them. See that was the sign of weeping when a man was in great sorrow he would tear his clothes that's what David did and they mourned and wept and fasted from morning to evening for Saul and then David called this Amalekite and said to him verse 14 how is it that you were not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed and David called one of the young men and said kill him. You see David's attitude there and he said to him your blood is on your head because with your own mouth you said that you killed the Lord's anointed. This is one of the things that made David a man after God's own heart. He was a new covenant man in old covenant times. Jesus said love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hurt you and harm you pray for them that persecute you and David was one man who did it. You see just like I said the other day you can be an old covenant Christian in this time and in old covenant times there were a few men like Moses and David who lived by new covenant principles and here was one of them. He did not hate his enemies and particularly even if once upon a time that man was anointed even if he's lost the anointing he said I will not touch him. Once his heart convicted him deeply when he even cut off a bit of Saul's robe and David made him wrote a lament we read and he lamented verse 17 over Saul and Jonathan his son verse 17 and he says such wonderful words in praise sincerely from his heart about a man who was a backslidden person who had lost the anointing and who had been chasing him all through his life. Here is a lesson for us to learn how a man of God should behave towards those who are evil towards him and David says verse 19 your beauty O Israel is slain on your high places and a number of times he says how are the mighty fallen verse 27 verse 25 how have the mighty fallen how have the mighty fallen and he says Jonathan for Jonathan to praise him is understandable because Jonathan was a close friend of David's and he says you've been very pleasant to me but to praise Saul and to call him Almighty man and to praise him for the victories he won and that they were swifter than eagles and stronger than lions verse 23 to appreciate the good that he saw in Saul and not to speak evil a tremendous example there are very few people like that today and that is why I say there are very few people who are men and women after God's own heart here is point number one that we can keep in mind and it is such a man that God picked up and placed upon the throne of his kingdom Israel. Now I want you to notice here in chapter 2 verse 1 it came about afterwards that David inquired of the Lord saying shall I go up to one of the cities of Judah this was a habit with David we saw that earlier when we looked at 1 Samuel 23 verse 2 and 4 we see that also in 1 Samuel 30 verse 8 whenever he went was going to battle he said Lord should I do this should I do it you see it here you see it in chapter 5 verse 19 when he goes in the battle he says Lord shall I go up to against the Philistines a few days later again he prays when another battle verse 5 23 shall I go and this time the Lord says don't go you shall not go directly go behind them see each time the Lord changed the strategy for the warfare David was a man of war but he got a strategy from God and that's why he always won when there was a famine in the land 2nd Samuel 21 1 he again sought the Lord there was one time when he didn't seek the Lord when he saw Bathsheba he didn't ask the Lord what shall I do a warning for us one more time in the last chapter of 2nd Samuel 24 when he wanted to count the people to see how strong his army was depending on the strength of his army then on the Lord he did not seek the Lord Joab his commander-in-chief said don't do it but he didn't seek the Lord and that was another time that he sinned but whenever he sought the Lord he said Lord what shall I do and waited on him he always got an answer that protected him here's another point a man off to God's own heart but his failures also encourage us because we say there was a man who failed and you and I have failed if I tell you the failures I have had in my life I'm not going to list all of them I'll have to take many sessions for that it'll encourage you to know that God doesn't pick up people who never fail we fail we blunder we do stupid things but God is merciful to us and if you can finish with those stupid things in your younger days at least if it becomes less that you know those stupid things like some older people do then that's good if you can learn lessons in your younger days we are zealous in our youthful days and we do things in a very unwise way we speak in a very unwise way but God is merciful and so brave encouragement to know that even people like David failed but yet God calls them even in the New Testament Acts chapter 13 in a man after God's own heart that's how Paul referred to him and spoke about him so we see here that David inquired of the Lord and each time the Lord told him where he should go and this time the Lord told him to go to Hebron and the men of Judah came there and anointed David King verse 4 over the house of Judah later on he was anointed King over Israel also we read in chapter 5 verse 4 and 5 he was 30 years old perhaps he was 17 or 18 when he was anointed but he took him 12 more years to be anointed King to actually become King and another seven and a half years because before he ruled over all Israel only the tribe of Judah accepted him initially so we see here that David was willing to wait patiently imagine from the age of 17 to the age of 37 20 years before he became King over all Israel and he recognized as it says in chapter 5 and verse 12 David realized that the Lord had established him as King over Israel there were many times when David's colleagues had told him here is Saul at your mercy kill him and take over the kingdom one God is anointed you second the people are with you because you are the great leader who killed Goliath take it and David said no I will not grab for myself I will wait for God to give me in his own time here's another lesson if you want to be a man after God's own heart or a woman after God's own heart learn not to grab Jacob was a grabber and as long as he was a grabber he could not become Israel you see a child comes into the world with its fists closed have you seen little children small babies you put your finger there they'll grab it this is man's nature always grabbing we spend our life grabbing and grabbing grabbing grabbing grabbing position honor money Jesus opened his palms on Calvary that's the example we are to follow he yields God will give us a ministry a position everything if we wait for his time and it's far better to get it from God than having grabbed it ourselves Jacob did not have to tell a lie and deceive his father Isaac to get the birthright he could have waited God would have given it to him just like David we are so it's a it's a expression of unbelief when I grab supposing you are attracted to some young man or young girl whom you feel you should marry here is a time when you can think now if I don't get her quickly somebody else will get her or if I don't get him quickly somebody else will get her that is unbelief you trust God you won't grab you say Lord what you have reserved for me I will get nobody else will be able to get that person the ministry you have reserved for me in some part of the world I will get you learn to trust God and don't complain about people and if God makes you wait 20 years wait you'll become a much better leader at the end of that I told you yesterday how Saul never got this training of trial and running around trying to save your life save his life like David had that's why he was a useless king Solomon never had that people who are born into comfort and born into ease without trials and pressures I feel sorry for you if your life is like that if your parents have made life so easy for you that you've never faced any trials and pressures you've not had spiritual battles you have not faced rejection from people you're not fit to be a leader you'll be pretty useless it's the one who has been through rejection whom God has given a ministry is going to be a good king that's what we learn about David between Saul and Solomon who were useless kings stood David a man after God's own heart so he waited for God to make him king but he made his mistakes in more ways than one we read in chapter 3 in verse 2 sons were born to David at Hebron his firstborn was through one wife and the second was through another wife and the third was through another way and the fourth verse four was through another wife chapter three verse four and the fifth was through another wife verse four and the sixth verse five was through another one is a man after God's own heart he didn't inquire he didn't inquire of the Lord shall I marry a second one shall I marry a third one shall I marry a fourth one we can't say it was like that in those days no Isaac had only one wife that was long before David Moses had only one wife and that was long before David we can't say it was like that in those days there were people who lived before David who had only one wife as far as we know Joshua had only one wife why should David have so many because that's how the kings of the world were God overlooked it now don't think God overlooks it today we are living in more light today we are living under the new covenant there are people who fall into adultery and say well David also fell but that was old covenant he did not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in him the spirit of the Lord only rested upon David we have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside unlike Samson who upon him so they could only have the Holy Spirit for ministry but we have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside like Jesus for character so you cannot equate yourself unless you have not received the Holy Spirit you cannot equate yourself with David and Samson no I just mentioned that in passing that there is where David made his mistake and he suffered a lot because of these children that he had and so many wives and I want to turn to chapter 4 verse 8 we see of a time when Ishbosheth chapter 4 verse 1 was Saul's son and somebody brought the head of Ishbosheth to David at Hebron and said behold the head of Ishbosheth here was another man who thought he could get favor with David by killing one of Saul's sons and said to him thus the Lord has given my Lord the king vengeance this day and David said somebody once brought news to me verse 10 that Saul is dead and he thought he was bringing me good news and I seized him and killed him and how much more when wicked men have killed a man verse 12 David commanded the young men and they killed that man too and cut off his hands and feet and hung him up you see he steadfast there that he believed that vengeance belongs to God and that's a very important principle that you and I must remember revenge does not belong to us Romans chapter 12 is very clear vengeance belongs to me says the Lord now what would you do if somebody fell down at your feet to worship you you would do what Peter did lift him up and say don't worship me worship belongs to God now do you believe that's right you believe that just like worship belongs to God vengeance also belongs to God when you try to take revenge you are it's the same as accepting worship no difference worship belongs to God vengeance belongs to God you have no right to take revenge on another person whatever harm that person has done to you leave it to God to deal with him in his own time never never even desire evil towards that person it's a very important requirement as you serve the Lord in different places in different ways you will find many many temptations to take revenge on people even on other believers who try to destroy your ministry or speak evil of you you know I discovered one thing you cannot serve the Lord in any effective way without having lots and lots of people speaking evil of you speaking false stories about you accusing you of teaching false doctrine and so many things and if you try to take revenge on them you'll go astray leave them to God they cannot destroy your ministry your ministry comes from heaven and all the people accuse Jesus and they accuse Paul of being false teachers and being casting out demons of the prince of the devils and all that Jesus never wasted his time answering them those who want were to be led astray went astray but those who did not listen to all them followed Jesus and got blessed it'll be like that so don't worry about people who try to harm you whether believers or unbelievers or anyone leave it to God to take vengeance on them it's very very important most Christians don't follow that we read even one Corinthians 6 of believers who take other believers to court what for to take revenge what else they are doing what God should be doing has done somebody done something wrong to you don't you think God sees that don't you think God can deal with that that's what David learned now we turn to chapter 5 and sorry chapter 6 David had a great desire to bring the ark of God verse 2 up to Jerusalem but he did not do it in God's way in the early chapters of Samuel 1 Samuel 4 or anything it is we read that when the Philistines had captured the ark and they got in a lot of problems because of that they put it on a bullock cart and sent it back and that news had spread around and David had heard it as a young man that the Philistines sent the ark on a bullock cart so he knew that the law of Moses said the ark must be carried by the Levites the sons of Levi and not only that there was a law in Numbers 4 verse 15 which said that even the sons of Levi were not supposed to touch the ark the ark was to be covered and there were poles they were to carry it on poles God was teaching them the sacredness of that of his name of his presence they were not to touch it that which was in the most holy place this was a law but David said well that was that's okay for short distances but we got to go to long distance and I think the Philistine method is better put it on a bullock cart and that's what caused all the problems that when they put it on the bullock cart and as they stumbled on the rough roads the ark began to shake and Uzzah one of the sons of Abinadab reached out his hand verse 6 to hold the ark because the oxen nearly upset it and the anger of the Lord burned against his hand God struck him down there for his irreverence and he died there you see he did it with a good motive you can do things with a good motive but if it's a violation of God's laws you still suffer motive is not enough motive is very important but it's wrong to do a good thing with a bad motive and it's wrong to do a good to do a bad thing with a good motive that's also wrong and here was something God had forbidden whatever your reasons if God has forbidden it it's forbidden that's what Uzzah had to learn first of all he was not a Levite secondly even those Levites were not supposed to touch the ark but who was the cause of all this David because he followed this worldly method of a bullock cart instead of God's method of carrying it on his shoulder and you and I face that problem today in churches when we decide to spread the gospel the question is how you're going to do it God's way or man's way the Holy Spirit's way or the multinational company's way of advertising is your dependence on money or on the Holy Spirit today a lot of people say well we don't have money to do evangelism what you should say is we don't have the Holy Spirit's power if you have the Holy Spirit's power whether you have money or not God's work will be done companies in the world cannot survive without money they can survive without the Holy Spirit every company in the world can survive pepsi coca-cola they all survive without the Holy Spirit they can't survive without money when the church comes to the place where we say if we have money we'll go on but we can go on without the Holy Spirit the church has come to the level of these companies you read the acts of the apostles and you find hardly any emphasis on money at all occasionally they would send money for the poor people poor believers that's about all they were not worried and praying to God for money money money money money all the time like so many people do today they were praying for the Holy Spirit all the time and that's the difference the methods of the world the bullock cart has replaced God's method and that's why there's death that's why there was death there and there's death in a lot of churches today and we need to listen to that we need to understand what God is trying to say to us through this and that was a lesson that later on we read that David did it the proper way in the rest of that chapter he brought the ark finally on the shoulders of the Levites and this time he was so full of happiness chapter 6 verse 14 he was dancing before the Lord with all his might that was the way they expressed their worship and praise to God they clapped they raised their hands they shouted they danced they used musical instruments and they praised God with all their heart David was a worshiper but it says here that as he was coming his wife verse 16 the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw David dancing like this and was very upset and she despised him in her heart despised an anointed servant of God who was worshiping in a way that she did not like there may be people worshiping God in a way that you don't like you don't have to imitate them but don't despise them the Bible never says the Bible never said that Michal also should start jumping and dancing no but she was not to despise another don't think that the way you do it is right you see this is the trouble with a lot of Christian groups the way we do it is right everybody must do it the way we do it you have some groups when they have Sunday worship meeting everybody sits quiet like in a funeral service and they worship the Lord okay I don't want to do it that way to me Jesus has risen from the dead for these people he is still in the grave so I don't despise them if they want to do it that way that's them do it then there are other people who are the other extreme who they say you shout and shout and shout and shout and shout and shout and shout and shout and shout and then the Holy comes only then the Holy Spirit comes the Holy Spirit doesn't come when you raise the volume on your amplifier I wish it were so easy but it's not so easy you got to have a clear conscience whether the amplifier inside your sound system inside or outside the Holy Spirit's not dependent on these things but I don't despise them I said brother if you want to do it that way do it but leave me free to do it the way I want to do it I say if you want to raise your hands raise your hands I do it if you want to clap clap I do it but I'm not going to force you to do it that's the lesson we learn from here don't despise the way another person worships and don't think the only way you the way you worship is the only right way give freedom God looks at the heart and so David wanted to dance I say fine don't despise the person who does it and don't compel a person to do it and the result was that when David it says in verse 20 look at this verse David returned to bless his household what a beautiful verse I wish servants of God after they have gone out to ministry they are tired and particularly if you have danced a lot on the streets for many miles you're pretty tired would come back to bless their homes that's how we should be a man who wants to come to bless his home and unfortunately he's got this nagging wife at home as soon as he enters the door she yells at him some servants of God have got wives like that what to do but he still comes to bless her and she treats him like that and he says that's okay the Lord appointed me as ruler and I will celebrate before the Lord and I'm not going to listen to you dear wife verse 21 and the Lord judged Michal verse 23 that she never had any children in chapter 7 we read about David's desire to build a temple for the Lord and I really see something wonderful there his heart nobody told him he's thought in his heart see verse 272 I dwell in a beautiful house but the ark of God is intense oh I wish that there were many people like that Lord look at how what a comfortable house I have built for myself how much money I have spent on my house my clothes my food and how little I have given for your work how little I'm concerned about your work today we know that God's house is not a physical building but God's work requires money and God is looking for people who say Lord I've spent so much on myself through these years can't I spend a little bit for you I've lived so many years doing things in the world can't I spend my life doing things for you in the world they work overtime late through the night to please their companies and to make profit for their companies can't God's servants work overtime and they don't get any extra pay for that can't God's servants work overtime without complaining David was a man of God's own heart he was concerned about God's house he says Lord look at my house and where's your house I want to say to you my brothers and sisters have that heart always till the end of your life where you think about God's house more than your house God will take care of your house many years ago I said to the Lord I said Lord I have a house and you have a house give me grace to look after your house and you look after mine I made little exchange with the Lord and I want to say God's been more faithful in looking after my house than I have been looking after God's but have a concern in your heart for God's house that's the thing I'd like you to see but God said to him no you can't build his house the reason he tells in 1 Chronicles 28 verse 3 that you have been a man of war and only a man of rest must bring build God's house there's a principle there a man of war cannot build God's house we have to go beyond the war to rest the war is necessary David did his job by defeating the enemies clearing the ground for Solomon producing all the gold and silver required for the temple and giving it and Solomon built it can you do that can you do all the hard work and let somebody else get the honor for doing the work or do you want the honor yourself David did not say no no I want to build it here's a man after God's own heart was willing to do all the work in the background to help it and make it easier for another man to build a church build a house get honor there's a little verse in chapter 8 verse 15 which I want you to notice it says here in David administered justice and righteousness for all his people the living bible says he was fair to all the people to everyone a leader must be fair to everyone that's just impossible in chapter 9 we see of his kindness to another son of um descendant of Saul a son of Jonathan called Mephibosheth there was a son of Jonathan called Mephibosheth who was lame who'd been crippled and we see there David's kindness to him and saying that Mephibosheth will verse 10 will eat at my table regularly it's a picture of grace Mephibosheth felt that now my grandfather is dead and he even said in verse 8 lord I mean what is your servant that you should regard a dead dog like me he felt he was like a dead dog and David said no you're not a dead dog you're going to sit at my table and eat with me it's a picture of grace a picture of Christ lifting us up like we were like dead dogs lifting us up and saying you're going to sit with me at my table now we come to chapter 11 where we find David's great sin and there again we can learn some lessons to see how he felt that first verse in chapter 11 is very very important it happened in the spring kings you know the kings did not go to battle in the winter when it was cold and raining they went to battle in the springtime and in the spring at the time when kings go out to battle every time when there was a battle David led the armies of Israel kings used to lead the armies of Israel in those days they used to go right out in front not like today but this time David decided to relax you know it's when you stop fighting the battles that you that you start sinning it's when you are not in the place where God wants you to be that you fall into sin David's place was on the battlefield instead of being in the battlefield he was sleeping in the palace if he was in the battlefield this story would never have been there it's when you begin to relax because things have gone very well with you and now you say I send my juniors to do the Lord's work and I sit at home like the Maharaja who is sending the juniors to do the Lord's work the hard work in the fields because those juniors will be all right the Maharaja sitting at home is going to have problems you see you're not like that today you're all juniors and most of you anyway and you're okay but wait till the day comes when you think you have now become a little senior and you're going to appoint all the juniors to do the work I say God please save me from that day I always want to be a junior to the end of my life I want to be out in the field working for the Lord when I'm 85 years old sure I want to be on the battlefield for the Lord right to the end of my life and I hope you also want to be there on the battlefield for the Lord there's no danger on the battlefield the danger is in the palace David was perfectly safe as long as he was on the battlefield he was in danger in the palace the opposite of what people think people think the danger in the battlefield physical danger yes the spiritual danger is more in the palace it's when you have comfort think of the times some of you who are older who when have you fallen into sin was it in the days of trial and pressure and sickness in your home and problems and financial difficulties no it's when things became good and you had plenty of money and you know business prospered and your work was okay and everything's going well nobody's sick at home that's the time you sin and that's the time we must be more alert David stayed at home stayed at Jerusalem verse 11 verse 1 and not only stayed at Jerusalem at least he stayed at Jerusalem and he was like Moses praying for Moses prayed when Joshua was fighting if David had been praying for Joab who was fighting in the battle then at least he would have been safe even then but he wasn't praying he was sleeping it says in the evening David rose from his bed I don't know whether he slept the whole day or just in the afternoon but he was just he was a big king now he relaxed and he was asleep and he got up from his bed and he had no time to pray now got up from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house and he saw this pretty woman and he was tempted you see all the stages that led to that temptation and if you like they say nip it in the bud stop it at an earlier stage he would never have got to the final stage and even when he looked he said oh that's dangerous and when he inquired and said who is that somebody said that's the wife of Uriah the Hittite that it should have been verse three should have been a warning signal oh somebody else's wife then I've got nothing to do God bless him but no he was powerful somebody else's wife so what I'm gonna lust after her is it only David do you look and admire the beauty of somebody else's wife he may not be a king powerful enough to grab her but nobody can stop you from looking and lusting you can't be a servant of God that's that failure of David the whole world has known about it for three thousand years yeah it's very sad that there was such an incident in his life but it need not have happened and then after he sinned with her and she became pregnant he didn't know what to do he had to cover it up now and to cover it up he calls back her husband from the battlefield and tells him to go and stay at night in his home so that at least he'll get the blame for the child and he is such a godly man he doesn't go to his house the next morning he's sleeping at the king's door and the king said hey why don't you go to your house he said my colleagues are fighting in the battlefield and can I go and sleep with my wife that man was a better man than David at that time that junior worker that junior worker is sometimes a better and a more godly man than the mission director that's a sad thing very often you see that incident unfortunately and David didn't know what to do so his mind schemes you know when you when you sin you have to do so many other things to cover up that sin and if he had honestly gone to your eye and say listen I've got to apologize to you for something I committed adultery with your wife would you please forgive me instead of doing that he schemes and wants to protect his reputation sends him back to the battlefield and tells Joab put him right up in front where the battle is the hottest and let him die withdraw so that he's killed what an evil thing to do is this a man after God's own heart to do such a terrible thing commit adultery with a man's wife and then kill him I thank God that scripture is absolutely honest and as you and I look into the corruption of our own flesh we will discover we are no better than him I wouldn't judge David I hope you don't we are all made of the same flesh capable of the same sins God has had mercy on us and thank God there was one brave prophet there Nathan you know it's a very dangerous thing in those days to confront a king and tell him about his sin think even today how many preachers are there who would get up in their pulpit and point out the sin of the rich people sitting in their congregations it's very difficult to find such prophets today who couldn't care less for the face of the rich take an example from Nathan a fearless prophet 2nd Samuel 12 he came to David and he told him a story he said there were two men in the city one rich and poor the rich man had great flocks and herds the poor man had only one little lamb and when a visitor came to the rich man's house the rich man wanted to make a lamb curry for him and he did not take from the multitudes of his own flock he went and took that one poor man's lamb and killed him killed it to make a curry for his traveler that poor man lost the one little lamb he had and David's verse 5 anger burned greatly you know sometimes our anger burns greatly at the sins of other people till Nathan said you are the man you are the one who took that poor Uriah's little lamb he had only one you had so many wives and David suddenly realizes the truth but you know what David said he said he was so angry he says the as the Lord lives verse 5 that man deserves to die now the law did not say that a man should be killed for stealing another person's land but David was so strict we can become so strict the sins of other people and not realize grosser sins in our own life and he says in verse 6 he must make restitution four times for one lamb he took he must give four back how many four you know how many of David's sons died the baby born to Bathsheba Amnon Absalom Adonijah killed exactly like David said from his own mouth four four we say something with our mouth God says your judgment will be according to what you have said the way you have judged other people you will be judged yourself remember that be careful not to judge other people you will be judged exactly as it was said Nathan said you are the man I anointed you king over Israel why have you despised the word of the Lord verse 9 therefore verse 10 the sword will never depart from your house I will raise up evil from your own household verse 11 and David here you see the man after God's own heart coming into his own again he says to Nathan I have sinned against the Lord and he wrote that wonderful Psalm Psalm 51 where he says Lord I've sinned against you have mercy on me please don't take your Holy Spirit from me he doesn't try to cover up his sin like Saul Saul said please honor me don't let anybody know my sin he told Samuel but David never thought that he didn't tell Nathan don't tell anybody about it he wrote a Psalm and told everybody about it see that's a wonderful thing we see about David he didn't pretend to be a spiritual person when he was not when he sinned he admitted it and I want to say to you my brothers and sisters however great you may be before the Lord one day when somebody points out to you something wrong in your life admit it don't become so big that nobody can correct you don't become so great that nobody can come up to you and say you're wrong or you need to change in this area I say Lord till the end of my life I want to hear I want to listen to any man who can come up to me be much younger than me and come up to me and say and make me more Christ-like thank God for all those who can correct us David took it in the right way but the Lord struck the child Uriah's widow and widow's child in verse 15 and David fasted and prayed but the child died see God deals with us in grace forgiving us but he also deals with us in government that means making us reap what we sow for example think of a man has filled his mind with pornographic filthy literature for many years and then he asked God to forgive him God will forgive him but all through his life he will be plagued in his thoughts and his dreams with those images that he saw in those filthy magazines in his younger days why doesn't God take away those images is it because he is not forgiven he is forgiven totally but he doesn't take away those images to warn you don't do it again be careful and if you're faithful and fight and fight and fight and fight against those dirty thoughts one day those images will gradually won't disappear it will sink to the bottom like files more files come on top of the word of God and this one sinks to the bottom and it doesn't cover your dreams anymore like it did in your younger days okay we read in chapter 13 about one of David's sons raping his sister step-sister and Absalom killing that son because that girl was Absalom's sister in chapter 15 we read about David's son Absalom starting a conspiracy against David Absalom wanted to be the king and he won the hearts of people he stood in the gate chapter 15 verse 2 and told people who are coming with some problems yeah your case is right he said your claims are good and right chapter 15 verse 3 but the nobody listens to you the king has not appointed anybody and he turned there's a verse here which says in this way verse 6 Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel towards him you see that sometimes in Christian circles that somebody who steals the hearts of people away from the leader because he wants to be the leader it's happening today Paul said to the elders in Ephesus I know after my departure some of you will draw disciples after yourself Absalom did it but it didn't go well with Absalom and David had to leave his throne and flee and God brought something good out of that you know what I don't have time to show you psalm 39 psalm 41 psalm 55 psalm 61 and psalm 63 all those psalms we would never have had in the bible if Absalom had not chased David out the trials that God takes us through are the means by which God gives us a ministry you read those psalms those are wonderful psalms let me just show you one verse in one of those psalms in psalm 55 it says in verse 22 cast your burden upon the lord and he will sustain you that's what he did when Absalom he learned something from experience and he wrote that psalm and I want to encourage you not to be afraid of trial God uses it to bring out a ministry from you and finally Absalom was killed and David came back to the throne God knows how long he should let you go through a trial he will not allow you to be tested beyond your ability Ahithophel was the counselor for Absalom Ahithophel was originally David's counselor you read about him in chapter 16 verse 21 and you know who Ahithophel was Ahithophel was Bathsheba's grandfather and he said this is the opportunity to get a little revenge on David for the way he treated my granddaughter Bathsheba and so he schemes with Absalom to destroy David but God brought the counsel of Ahithophel to confusion he was like a Judas Iscariot of the old testament who betrayed David and just like Judas Iscariot we read in chapter 17 verse 23 Ahithophel also hanged himself but I want to you one thing in here in David when he was running away there was a man called Shimei in chapter 16 verse 5 who came out cursing David he was a relative of Saul and he was waiting for a chance to get at David and he couldn't do anything when David was on the throne now David was running away he came out cursing verse 6 he threw stones at David verse 7 he said get out you worthless fellow you're good for nothing the Lord has returned to you all the bloodshed you said on the house of Saul verse 8 and one of David's soldiers said let me go and chop off that man's head and David said no verse 11 if the Lord has told him verse 10 if the Lord has told him to curse me why should I fight against the Lord look at God David's understanding of the sovereignty of God nobody can curse me without God's permission now the sad thing I want to tell you is that at the end of David's life he forgot to be merciful I'll come to that later but in another session but here we see that when Absalom died 1833 we find that David weeps oh Absalom my son my son I wish I had died in your place this is the spirit of Christ those who rebelled against him he wished he had died for them he was a new covenant man with all his failings there were some glorious things in his character he did not have hatred even for his son who tried to kill him I want to turn now to the last chapter there are a few things in between we you see a song of David in 22nd Samuel 22 which is repeated in Psalm 18 read it sometime it's a beautiful picture of salvation you see that he was a great leader he describes how a good leader should be in 2nd Samuel 23 verses 1 to 7 and he must rule in the fear of God there are many qualities he describes there of how a godly leader should be he did not work alone we read in 2nd Samuel 23 verse 8 to 39 he had mighty men he was a man who knew how to delegate responsibility to good men who could lead Israel forward and we see finally in 2nd Samuel 24 his last sin one day he decided to count the number of people either to see over how many people he is king or to see how strong his army is and the and Joab said please don't do it verse 3 24 3 let the Lord add as many people as he likes but don't do it but he went ahead and did it and God punished him that 70,000 people were killed in Israel in verse 15 God said you didn't trust me there it's a failure of faith and David finally repents and he makes an altar to the Lord in verse 18 onwards that last part of that book chapter 24 18 to 25 is very beautiful he goes to offer a sacrifice at the threshold of Arona the Jebusite just like God told him to and Arona says oh Lord my king you have come please take the bullets for the sacrifice free please take the wood free and David says no I will pay a price I will buy it from you verse 24 because this is the verse I want you to notice I will not offer to the Lord that which costs me nothing a verse that all of you should remember all through your life I will not offer to the Lord that which costs me nothing and on that site the same place you read in 2nd Chronicles 3 verse 1 the temple was built the temple was built in a place where a man said I will never give to God that which costs me nothing Christendom is full of people who give to God that which costs them nothing what has it cost you to serve the Lord what has it cost you to live for God don't ever offer to God that which costs you nothing if you are like that the house of God will be built through you even today