2 sam 12:15-23 Walk in Faith and Victory
- Life is uncertain. We don’t know what tomorrow holds or what will happen. I wouldn’t have expected a month ago that I’d be livestreaming church
- What we take for granted in times like this- I look forward to our church coming together physically soon- don’t know when but we’re assessing daily. I don’t like it- pray pray pray
- The value of the gathered church cannot be overstated- What a treasure and gift to be able to gather! Maybe finally we understand the heart of the persecuted church- those who cant
- Jesus said- Matt 6:25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
- We can’t worry in this hour. We can’t be afraid. This is nothing compared to what the early church endured. This is the moment for us to walk in Faith and not in fear.
- 1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
- Keep checking on your neighbors. Don’t just think about yourself. Think of others in this time
- Been going through 2 sam- and today it plays- 2 Sam 12:15-23
- This is the judgment that God promised David for his adulterous affair with Bathsheba
- If you knew that you had done God wrong and he said he was going to kill your son because of your unfaithfulness, you would have a choice- fear or faith- They can’t co-exist
- In this story we see David. We see how he responds when calamity is coming- what will he do?
- Faith fasts and Prays- or live in fear
- What to do when you have a need- David went and fasted unto the Lord. He knew that the Lord was the only one who was going to be able to fix the problem. NO ONE ELSE
- When you come to this point in your life- you have a choice- go to God- or yourself
- 16 David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.
- David went straight to fasting and prayer- humbled before God- GOD ONLY YOU CAN DO IT
- Fasting prepares you not God- Nehemiah, Ezra, Isaiah, Jeremiah, stories of fasting ACTS
- Fasting can move the hand of God- but it changes YOU Matt 6 says to do in SECRET
- In that secret place- God does something to your heart- prepares you for what is to come
- Learning to lean on God- to say “Lord, I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow”
- Joel 2:12 “Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
- Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
- What does it mean to you?
- We’re in Washington state- Unprecedented times- School closures, NBA, NCAA, Church, travel, jobs, etc etc. Never seen something like this in my lifetime-
- Crystal and I were at Costco a couple weeks ago- and everyone was losing their mind- I’m like- just doing my shopping- but its clear online and in person who is leaning into God-
- This isn’t the first time you’ve heard this message, but it may be the first time you’ve applied it
- I’ve been preaching for years- FULLY SUBMIT TO JESUS- HE IS YOUR PORTION- ONLY JESUS
- And you may have agreed in thought- but not in action- but TODAY is your day
- You are either going to choose to lean into God- or yourself- WHERE WILL YOU TURN???
- We’re in a storm right now- I think Jesus would say “where’s your faith”- NO MATTER WHAT
- Mark 4:40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”
- Matthew 8:26 But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
- That doesn’t mean to go around licking doorknobs, but it does mean that you can trust God during this time. Are you sick? Are you fed? Are your bills paid?
- Psalm 9:10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.
- HE WILL NOT FORSAKE YOU- HE WILL NOT- TRUST IN HIM DURING THIS TIME> FULLY>
- Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
- The people around you will want you to give up- V 17 So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them.
- Don’t give yourself over to them. Don’t relent. Stay firm. Trust God- Fast and Pray.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:16 Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.
- Faith worships God- or act in fear
- How you respond to calamity says a lot about your faith- During these times and ALL times we show the world who we believe in and what our actions are when we are faced with calamity
- The child dies- they need to go and tell David- but they are fearful- worried about what he will do
- What we see in this part of the story is These guys were internalizing their own fears and doubts- “If this happened to me I’d act this way”- I would be UPSET- I couldn’t make it
- READ v 18- They expected him to be upset- so they acted that way towards him.
- But no- we See David’s response to calamity- worship
- 19 -20 went into the house of the Lord and worshiped.
- THAT was David’s response- I fasted, I prayed, I went before the Lord- and my son died
- He had to have remembered it was the punishment for Bathsheba- But he still prayed
- Reminds me of Daniel 3: 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
- David may not have agreed with the outcome- but he had the right response- WORSHIP
- I’m going to worship the Lord. I’m going before God- I’m going to praise him and lift him up
- This is why he was able to say- Psalm 122:1 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
- That’s whats hard about right now- I want us to be together- worshipping the Lord- In the same room- calling out to God and worshipping his name collectively.
- What does it mean to you
- Where is the first place you turn when things are going sideways in your life- who do you trust and where do you turn?
- Family, friends, finances, your own plans and purposes? Or do you choose to WORSHIP
- Worship is hard in times of distress- Its not natural- but its what God desires
- You may not be able to control anything- but you can control what your mouth and heart does
- Psalm 95:6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
- You can choose to worship. You can choose to lift up his name.
- You may be scared, worried, doubtful. Worship the lord
- You may have just committed sin- worship the lord
- You may not know what the future holds- worship the Lord
- Psalm 84:10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
- I realize for many people- this is the scariest time you’ve lived in. been through 9/11 and the first gulf war. Parents got through JFK and pearl harbor. WWI and WWII
- We will get through this with worship. What about the early disciples? Death, Crucifixion?
- Isaiah 2:3 Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.”
- Faith trusts God- or give yourself over to fear
- Trust God’s outcome- David didn’t want his son to die- but he still trusted God.
- READ V 20-21. You fasted and prayed when he was alive, but now you eat?
- They would have been devastated- but David kept his heart in check.
- READ v 22-23
- David was trusting God through this process—“Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me”?
- David believed that God would be gracious to him even tho God said his child would die
- He TRUSTED GOD- he picked himself up and moved on- He didn’t let it destroy him
- Psalm 9:10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You;
- For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.
- Why do you think he was the one who wrote most of the psalms? He trusted God
- He experienced more in this one episode than most of us experience in our whole life
- But we don’t trust God. We trust the government. We trust our employers. TRUST GOD
- Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
- What does it mean to you
- You need to trust God- not anyone else. I’ve been preaching this for years. Its what our faith is- Not just in the middle of an epidemic. When everything is good
- Matthew 24:43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.
- Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
- Romans 8:35-39 Nothing will separate us
- Psalm 112:7 He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
- Jeremiah 17:7-8 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
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