A Man After God’s Own Heart - Part 6 - David: A Man of Great Failure

Temple Baptist Church - 11-7-2021

2 Samuel 11:1-25

Introduction: 

 

A.  I love the bible and have many favorite chapters and verses but here is one story that I would call my “not favorite” one.  In these verses that we will read, we find one of the saddest days recorded in the Bible. 

 

B.  A day when a great man of God fails!  I read of the faults and failures of other men such as Noah, Moses, Peter, and Demas but this one is so different for me.  The “sweet psalmist of Israel,” a man after God’s own heart, the king of all Israel has fallen!  After killing a giant and his “ten thousands,” after subduing many of the nations that were enemies to Israel, he succumbed to the desires of his flesh.

 

C.  It is not an event that needs to be relished or broadcast to either the church or the world.  So many times, when the failure of a Christian is great and the man or woman notable, the sinfulness becomes public in the news.  What a shame and disgrace when the papers and TV stations make public such failures.  Those who fail may not be of our “stripe,” but they are linked to our Lord Jesus Christ by the words that they speak and the faith that they profess.

 

D.  To many times, the fallen is among true bible believers as I believe that Satan has “pulled out the stops” in his attack upon men of God, churches, families, and a “Christian” nation. 

 

1.  So often, it is a fellow believer or even a pastor who is the spreader of gossip and the bearer of the bad news.  I have a problem with the gossip that goes on in our churches and pulpits. 

 

2.  I believe that it is our obligation to pray for them, not spread the “bad news” across the land.  The less who know of such failure the easier it is to do “damage control” and ultimately make restoration.

 

E.  God recorded the event in such detail as to show the church both the cause and effect of such failure.  God recorded it so we will read it; God recorded it so that we will heed it.  You may look at the life of David and say, “This will never happen to me,” but take heed lest you or I become prey to the same sinful ness that captured the heart of God’s man.

 

1 Corinthians 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

 

F.  One would not think that our failures could have positive affect upon our lives, but we will find that the Lord brought something clean out of an unclean situation. 

 

G.  David’s sin brought about some bad consequences.  Sin may be finished and forgiven but often the results are ongoing.  David was never the same as before.  You can read David’s life and see that there was an innocence lost.  The man who kept the sheep on the hillside surrounding Bethlehem while writing the Psalms was no longer!  Yes, he would rise from the “dust” of failure to serve his God again, but he would never be the same.  It is not that God cannot or does not forgive, it is that now, when he slays a giant or kills his ten thousands, the world will only remember Bathsheba!  With Noah, it was his drunkenness; with Moses is was his anger; with Peter it was his denial; with Demas, it was his forsaking; with those of us who have fallen, the reproach and damage is ongoing.

 

H.  The question that I want to answer this morning is this:  What does personal failure have to do with being a man after God’s own heart?

 

THE STORY OF DAVID'S SIN.

 

1.  There Was Great Failure  (I have personally known pastors, evangelists, and missionaries as well as laymen and women who have fallen into gross sin and it is both devastating and heart breaking.)

 

a. The Condition Of The Sin – 2 Samuel 11:1 – David was out of the battle!  (The moment you quit serving the Lord and become a pew sitter, you became a potential liability!)

 

b. The Carrying Out Of The Sin – 2 Samuel 11:2-4 – David looked, lusted, and took Bathsheba.  (David exposed himself to seeing the wrong things and, instead of correcting the problem of downcast eyes by directing them back to the heavens and God, he lingered in his gaze, hungered in his heart, and became defiled his life.)

 

c. The Covering Of The Sin – 2 Samuel 11:5-27 – David not only killed Uriah the Hittite, but also others who died with him.  (Sin must either be confessed or covered and the covering never stops.)

 

d. The Continuance Of The Sin – 2 Samuel 12:14-15  David continued unrepentant for at least 9 months.  (There is a finishing of sin before the judgment as a general rule.  God gives you all of the “rope” that you need to hang yourself!)

 

2.  There Was Great Consequence

 

a. Consequence Of Loss Of Power And Peace With God – 2 Samuel 11:27 – The Lord knew and David knew!  (There was no peace with God or power of God on David’s life as he continued to try to serve the Lord in his sin.)

 

b. The Consequence Of Loss Of Testimony – 2 Samuel 11:14 (before Joab); 12:1 (before Nathan); 12:17 (before household); 12:18 (before his servants); 12:20 (before Israel).  (Be sure your sin will find you out!)

 

c. The Consequences Of The Sin

 

1) Loss Of Respect From All Of The Above

 

2) Defilement Of His Concubines – 2 Samuel 12:11-12

 

3) Loss Of Testimony Before The Wicked – 2 Samuel 12:14

 

4) Death Of His Child – 2 Samuel 12:18

 

5) Continuance Of The Sword Of Chastisement – 2 Samuel 12:10  (Rape of his daughter by his son, death of that son by another brother, Absalom’s rebellion and ultimate death!)

 

3.  There Was Great Restoration – Psalms 51 (We will not go into that as of yet.)

 

LESSONS ABOUT A MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART.

 

1.  There Is The Capability Of Great Failure.  (Even in the life of David!  We can as easily go from service to sin if not careful.)

 

a.  David was a man of content who became discontent.

 

b.  David was a man of character who became a character.

 

c.  David was a man of worship who failed to worship.

 

d.  David was a man of war who lost the war with the flesh.

 

2.  Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out.  (Even the best-hidden sins will eventually come out if not dealt with.)

 

3.  God Will Bring About Chastening and Consequences In Our Lives.  (Our sin neither goes unnoticed nor escapes His perfect judgment.)

 

4.  Though Failure Sometimes Brings About Chastening (both short and long ranged), We Can Get Right With God And Still Be A Person Useable For The Lord.  (In the New Testament, God said nothing concerning Bathsheba and only said that David was a man after God’s own heart.  Though there are certain failures that will limit our usability, even those with these failures can find a place of repentance and service.)