Scripture Text:
2 Samuel 11: 2 – 7, 14 – 18, 23 – 27 (King James Version)
2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
5 And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
6 And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.
7 And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered.
14 And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.
16 And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.
17 And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war;
23 And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entering of the gate.
24 And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and some of the king's servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.
25 Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.
26 And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.
The title of today’s message is “Dying to Live”
Message Points
- We are now in our eighth and final message in our series entitled “Watchmen on the Walls” and I pray that you have been blessed over the last few months that we have been learning about how to pray more effectively. In doing some studying for this final word, I came across some research that I thought fit the context of prayer well. From the website “helpmegrow.org”, an article entitled “Talking to Your Baby Helps Communication Development” intrigued me. In this article, the author states “talking to your baby is an important way to help him/her grow. It promotes communication and language development. It also supports social and emotional development.” The article goes on to say that “even before a baby starts to talk, he/she communicates through facial expressions, body language, and crying. A good parent responds to the signals given by a child. This type of response lets the baby know that a parent is listening and that he or she can communicate to have his or her needs met.” When I read this, of course I began to think about my son and how he has learned to communicate with me and Kristen over the course of his 4.5 years here on this Earth. Kristen and I decided early that we would be responsive to Paul’s needs. And while we did not promise that every response we gave would be the one that Paul would always want, what we did agree upon was that he would find himself in a place where when he cried out to his parents, he knew there would be a response. Just as the article said, talking to Paul has been an important part of his growth, and he has developed language that I do not believe would be possible without that communication. Even more important than that, however, is the fact that being responsive to his needs has created a sense of trust from Paul that we care about his well being. I knew that Paul understood our role as his parents when one day he asked us for something that he needed, and when I replied with “son, I’ve got you, give me just one minute to finish this up and then I will help you,” his response to me was “okay daddy, I’m trusting you!”
- This is a great example of what prayer can do for us. Prayer opens the line of communication with our heavenly father in a way that even when it seems as if what we need is delayed, we can respond with “okay daddy, I’m trusting you!” Prayer has us to not take stock in false narratives nor give life to false doctrine. Prayer has us to recognize false prophets that seek to satisfy our ears with things that will not convict, change, or improve us, but instead seek to excite, pacify, and placate us. Prayer allows us to mute the noise of this world and traffic within the realms of heaven to get divine answers. And for those who have been following the strategy in just the first few months of this year and have been both praying and fasting, I believe that there are some results that are on the way that your only response will be “only God could do it.” Is there anyone who still believes that prayer and fasting still works? I am not asking this to illicit a certain congregational response or to even break up what the Spirit is saying to the church in an effort to get you to help me preach… no… I am learning that while the message that God sends from week to week in the house is universal enough that it ought to reach everyone at one point or another, it is not my job from week to week to preach you happy. Instead, it is my responsibility to tell you what thus said the Lord and allow the Word that He speaks to demonstrate to somebody that He has heard your cry. And today, for those who just like a baby are in a place that is so emotional, so real to you, that the only way you can communicate right now to God is through facial expressions, body language, or crying, the Lord sent me this morning to share with you that He is placing a Psalms anointing upon your life in this season of your crying.
- Here we go– Psalm 34:17– the righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles
- Here we go– Psalm 40:1– I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined to me and heard my cry.
- Here we go– Psalm 116:1-2– I love the Lord because He heard my cry. He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
- Here we go– Psalm 18:6– In my distress, I called upon the Lord and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears.
- Here we go– Psalm 102:17– He shall regard the prayer of the destitute and shall not despise their prayer.
- Have you ever felt so low in your current situation that you began to feel like you will never find any relief? Maybe you haven’t been at a place where you felt like you couldn’t take one more minute living the way you were living and you prayed the prayer “Lord if you just get me through this!”
- Well here you go– last one for this section of the Psalm anointing– Psalm 61:1– Hear my cry, Oh God, attend unto my prayer. From the ends of the Earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I! For thou hast been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy. That is a song that got me through many trying times– Intercessor Glenora used to stand up during testimony time and sing “hear my cry oh Lord, attend unto my prayer. From the ends of the earth, will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I!”
- It is prayer that–
- Develops our relationship with God
- Gives us understanding of His loving nature
- Provides answers to our questions
- Gives you direction for your life
- Aligns your will to God’s will
- Works miracles on your behalf
- Gives you the strength to avoid the temptations and traps set for you
- Causes you to be crucified with Him
- God has each of us on this Earth to fulfill a unique purpose that will leave a mark on the Earth, and have us return back to Him. God has programmed us with His nature, and endowed us with the power we need to overcome obstacles, defeat temptations, and be victorious in the midst of seemingly insurmountable odds. We are able to see this example as we look at the life of David.
- David was anointed King well before he actually assumed the position by the prophet Samuel. Based upon David’s spiritual DNA, He was the right man for the job. What do we mean by spiritual DNA? God created us in His image and in His likeness. More than that even, Ephesians 2:10 proclaims that we are God’s workmanship, His handiwork, His creation that is ordained to walk in the good works established by Christ. Because of this and the mantle bestowed upon David at an early age, David built an impressive resume in the Old Testament. David is known for defeating every enemy that rose against him; not only the famous battle between him and Goliath, but David also defeated any enemy that rose against Israel. Under David’s reign, the Amalekites, Philistines, Moabites, Syrians, and Ammonites were all defeated. David is also credited with respecting the leadership that God had in place. Even though he had many opportunities to kill King Saul, and probably had a right to do so to protect himself, David respected the fact that King Saul was the first anointed King, and did not harm him even though Saul continually tried to harm David. Instead, he became good friends with Saul’s son, Jonathan.
- What David is probably most known for is becoming a man after God’s own heart. In looking at the early life of David, it seems as if he knew who he was and Who’s he was, and his identity was sure.
- Scripture Text
- Verse 2: Evening Tide: considered to be right before dusk, or right before the 6:00 PM hour of the evening; this time is during the 8th prayer watch, where we are in an hour of dying to self and rejoicing in the power of Jesus Christ. Remember that in the 7th prayer watch, between the hours of noon to 3PM, Jesus died on the cross; during the 8th prayer watch, between 3PM and 6PM, supernatural spirits of sin, darkness, and suffering are ramping up and are calling meetings to strategize on how to cause the Christian to get out of alignment with the Holy Ghost.
- Early Mistakes of David
- Arose from his bed, walked upon the roof, saw a woman, lusted for her, put the lust into action (pride of life, lust of the eye, lust of the flesh).
- David did not put himself in position to fulfill the purpose God had ordained. At this point his men were in battle. If David wasn’t out there with them (which he should have been as their leader) then the only thing he should have been doing at this time of the evening was praying for them. David fell into the trap of
- Neglecting his business
- Developing a love for an easy life (EKG Example)
- A wandering eye
- David’s sin showed– James 1:12-15
- 12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
- David tried to cover the sin
- Plot to get Uriah to lay with his wife (first commanding that he goes home, second trying to get him drunk to go home)
- Uriah’s response is one of character
- David loses his identity in desperation
- Plot to commit murder (put Uriah on the front line)
- Uriah’s name means “Jehovah is Light”. What is done in the dark will come to light.
- David is in an identity crisis when he has a hardened heart involving Uriah’s death.
- Basically says this is the price of war
- Thinks his sin is finished now that everyone is deceived.
- But be not deceived, God is not mocked! For whatever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
- Where are we experiencing an identity crisis in the church?
- Knowing what to do, but not doing it—We are stuck in religiosity
- Trying to live a life that God has not ordained for us—We are stuck in delusion
- Recognizing that we are in trouble, that we are in too deep, and suppressing it and acting like the problems don’t exist despite countless warnings from God—denial
- Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof—Rejection
- Seeking pleasure from things that are temporary instead of connecting ourselves to the ultimate source—dilution
- Our identity crises don’t just hurt us; hurt everyone that is connected with us
- Prophet Nathan comes to David and tells the story about the rich man and the poor man and his one, beloved sheep. Flips the script and says David thou art the man!
- David’s punishment for displeasing God—his son with Bathsheba would die in 7 days.
- The Good News
- God is the CEO of the crisis management team!
- David’s response—repentance and worship (Psalm 51)
1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
- God’s response—Restoration, and the birth of David’s son, Solomon.