09.12.2010 2 Sam. 11 - David's Power Corrupts (David and Bathsheba)

09.12.2010 Grace Summit Sermon - David's Power Corrupts (David and Bathsheba) from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

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We have been looking at the life of David – we've been going through it pretty quickly – Matt made some good progress last week – covering several chapters... (I usually cover several verses... he covers several chapters!)
You've probably heard this quote: Power corrupts – and absolute power corrupts absolutely...
It actually goes back a long way – but is that a true statement?
Not absolutely! God has absolute power – and He is not corrupt – but there is a tendency in human nature that allows power to corrupt.
David – power corrupted David – his success caused him to fall – the story of David and Bathsheba – a story that defines the remainder of David's life.
2 Sam 1-2 – Death of Saul, David anointed king – then for 10 chapters, a string of victories. They became the regional superpower under David in this period of maybe 10 years. As you read it – David went out and beat this enemy, and then David went out and beat that army...
What happens, like many successful people – David is about to throw it all away. Think of all the great athletes and politicians – entertainment celebrities – who have everything and throw it away on sex or money or gambling or drugs. They are unable to handle success and David was unable to handle his success.
I think we all need to be cautious when things are going well – because it is at that point that we are most vulnerable. We don't think that way, do we? It is the same for us.
2 Sam. 11:1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
Those are the famous words. In those days, the king was supposed to go out with his armies to battle. But David has been so successful that he allows his success to make him complacent. He rests on his laurels and ignores his God-given responsibility – to lead Israel over her enemies. He ignores the things that made him successful in the first place.
When you are seeing victory in areas of your life where you struggled – there is a tendency to stop doing the hard work that gave you that victory – and that is what happens here, with David. He stops – and what we'll see – he'll attempt to throw it all away.
All the men of Israel are gone off to battle – David stays...
2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,
His undisciplined life creates the opportunity and environment to fall. Idle hands find trouble – and because he is not at what he is supposed to be at – he has time to get into trouble. What is interesting – you know this happens with kids – it happens with adults too. When kids have idle time – they get on one another – that is why it is important to have structure. For our own lives – it is the same – if you have nothing to do and just plop in front of the TV, the tendency is to lose it – to lose your relationship with God. There is a question that is not answered in the text – we know the situation – but the question is – was this premeditated? It doesn't tell us. It was his house – he is the king – he has probably been on the roof before – I think the text allows us to wonder whether it was coincidence or not. When we find ourselves in a situation where we are casting our eyes on something we are not supposed to be casting our eyes on – whether it was an accident or not – there were two core issues that David had – Violence and lust. By this time – he had at least 6 wives – listed in, I think, chapter 2. What he does – in going to the roof – he makes provision for his area of weakness – giving himself opportunity to fall in his area of weakness.
Make NO PROVISION for the flesh in regards to its lust (Romans) – don't give yourself opportunity to fall.
3 and David sent someone to find out about her.
He isn't just asking if she was having a good day...
He inquires about her. And the guy is like, What are you asking me?
The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"
He identifies her based on whom she belongs to. The men in her life. What he is saying – David – she is not yours. She belongs to someone else. You cannot have her. He is the king – and like Matt said – he killed lots of people... - and this guy probably said it as politely as possible so he didn't end up dead like everyone else.
Michael was 4 and John was 2 – we had a video recorder from my parents – they were eating pop-tarts – and Michael takes John's pop tartt – Mikey stole mypop tartt – it was mine! And we have it on video and every once in a while, we show it to them... David is about to take something that doesn't belong to him.
4 Then David sent messengers and took her.
He took her. He took what didn't belong to him. People in power are used to getting their way. People give and do stuff for you. If you are a politician, people give stuff to you. It is crazy – rich athletes are given stuff for free.
David got used to getting what he wanted – and he abused his power. He used his position of authority to satisfy his lust. All of us have some position of authority – it may be really small – but we all have some authority – it might just be over one person. David used his position to satisfy his lust for sex. Others use their position to satisfy their lust for security, recognition, food, etc. We all have our own lusts that we go toward. There can be the tendency to use our power to satisfy our lust. This is in contrast to what Jesus says:
Mark 10:42 And calling them to Himself, Jesus ^said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. 43 "But it is not so among you,
Jesus often flipped things on its head...
43 "But it is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. 45 "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
What Jesus is saying – real power is only the kind of power that sees that there are no rights – and all you have are responsibilities. They make no demands – they just give. If you wish to exercise power and authority – you must see yourself as everyone's slave. Who wants that type of success and power? If that is the way you approach it, you will not take advantage for your lusts.
She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."
There are consequences to sin.
There are always consequences for sin.
From this point on – David has trouble for the rest of his life – a life of trouble. There are consequences for sin. David – will be forgiven. He will receive forgiveness and be restored. He will experience God's healing and blessing – but he will also experience trouble in all kind of areas of his life. We make this mistake – we think – if we say Jesus forgive me – and he does – we think that God will erase the consequences – but that is not how it works. We are forgiven – but there are still consequences. We see this in finances – if you practice bad financial habits for a long time – you can't just say Jesus forgive me – MasterCard will still demand the 20000 you owe them! If you sin and are forgiven - – God will forgive, restore, and bless you – but sometimes relationships are ruined – families are torn apart – marriages end in divorce, churches split, friendships are lost. There are consequences.
So what does David do? David is king – the husband is off fighting for him – and David has to come up with this plan – this great cover up – that is what happened with Adam and Eve, isn't it? We hide from one another and from God.
He comes up with this plan – Uriah comes home
6 Then David sent to Joab, [saying,] "Send me Uriah the Hittite." So Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked concerning the welfare of Joab and the people and the state of the war. 8 Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house, and wash your feet." And Uriah went out of the king's house, and a present from the king was sent out after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.
Here is David's plan – send Uriah home – the baby will be born 'early' and no one will know! Uriah doesn't take the bait! We don't know if Uriah suspects anything or not.
10 Now when they told David, saying, "Uriah did not go down to his house," David said to Uriah, "Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?" 11 And Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing."
Uriah is just a whole lot more righteous than David the king.
So David comes up with a bigger plan – he tries to get him drunk. But that doesn't work. Often the coverup is bigger than the crime. Then David comes with a plan to have Uriah killed.
That is what sin does – it is a progression that leads us farther and farther down. It doesn't stop until we repent and turn to the Lord.
26 Now when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. 27 When the [time of] mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house and she became his wife; then she bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord.
We are all at risk – do not think that you are not at risk – if you think you are not at risk – just because you might not be at risk at the sexual sin that you are not vulnerable to something else.
That is step 1 – Guard yourself in times of success. When things are going well spiritually – that is the time to be on guard. Keep doing the things that made you successful – the things that brought you to victory. That is the problem – we stop doing it.
This fall – 30 years ago, I preached my first message. I spoke on – How to win your parents to the Lord – and 49 other things (because that is how you preach your first message). Today, I could throw a message together in an hour – and I know sometimes it seems like that – but I take three sets of notes – and I do it every week – and then I read all the people who might disagree with me -
STICK TO THE THINGS THAT ALLOWED YOU TO GET VICTORY!
What did you do when you got the best time in your spiritual life? Keep doing those things!
Next – understand where you are in a position of power – where you are in authority – and where is your lust – what is the thing you gravitate toward – and don't write it off lightly -
Clearly understand what repentance and restoration is all about if you have fallen. If you have 'done the David thing' in one way or another – we don't have time to go into it – but David has a direct recognition of his sin – it was an affront to God – and that is what our sin is – a rejection of God in our life. It is standing against Him when we sin.
David was also able to accept the consequences of his sins. Then we need to be transformed by the experience – we need to allow – that experience can and will transform our lives. We need to recognize our issues – and how can we change? I have things wrong where I am not like Jesus – do you know? And how do you change? Do you want to know? It is easier not to! It is easier to say there is nothing wrong – it is hard work to change. God wants us to change – to go through that pain to make the changes that make us like Him.
Even though there are consequences – David has all these problems – people turn against him – but still God is faithful to that covenant that Matt talked about last week – through that covenant – Jesus comes. The one who sits on the throne next is Bathsheba's son! This is the power of the cross to restore us from the gravest sin we could commit. If you put your faith in Christ – His promise will never fail you. Oh yeah, there will be consequences in this world for our sin, but God will be faithful to you.