Lindsey Blair and Bobby Gilles recap and discuss Pastor Jonah's sermon from 2 Samuel 12:1-10.
Lindsey Blair and Bobby Gilles recap and discuss Pastor Jonah's sermon from 2 Samuel 12:1-10.
Bobby: Welcome to the Midweek Checkup. My name is Bobby Gilles and I’m joined by Lindsey Blair. This past Sunday Pastor Jonah preached Second Samuel Twelve, verses one through ten. He taught us that the only way you will live with a willing Spirit, the only way you will ever receive the difficult words of friends, the only way your eyes will ever be opened, is if you see that Christ has set you free.
Jonah said that Psalm Fifty-One is David crying out for for the hope of the Gospel. One who would come as God and as a human being from David’s own line, who would show compassion, open the eyes of the blind, live for us, die for us, and be raised for us, so that in him we could be given a new heart, a new spirit, and be made willing to obey him.
Lindsey, what did you think?
Lindsey: I am so encouraged that God kept pursing David, and that God continues to pursue us, in spite of our blind spots. Pastor Jonah said that God is more committed to our good than we are. If we open our eyes and begin to pay attention, we will see reminders of God’s particular love for us and his provision all around us. He is a good God who wants good things for us.
Now, for anyone who missed the sermon or needs help remembering, let’s do a quick recap.
Bobby: The story begins with alarm bells. While King David naps and then goes for a walk, his army is fighting. He should be with them. Then from his unique position atop the palace, he spies a woman bathing. He sends someone to find who this beauty is…she is Bathsheba, the wife of one of David’s soldiers. She’s not flaunting herself; she’s completing the purification rites prescribed in the Law following her period.
Lindsey: David orders his palace guards to take her, like rebellious spiritual beings “took” human women back in Genesis Six. Bathsheba is forced to sleep with David. Then if it can get any worse, later David tries to cover things up when she sends word that she is pregnant. He brings her husband Uriah home from the war so he will sleep with his wife, and David can pretend the child is Uriah’s. When that plan doesn’t work, David arranges for Uriah to be killed.
Bobby: So God sends the prophet Nathan to tell David a story about a rich man stealing the only lamb of a poor man. David is furious, but then Nathan says, “You are the man. This is what you have done to Uriah and Bathsheba. Just like God keeps pursuing us when we sin, he kept pursuing David, convicting David of sin and leading him to repentance. God’s mercy and love is relentless. We do reap what we sow, and David paid a heavy price for his sin, but David was not too far gone for God’s grace.
Lindsey: David’s own words in Psalm Fifty-One show us the way to restoration. He prays, “Create in me a clean heart, and renew a loyal spirit within me.” And this is what God does for us, in Christ. The only way you will live with a willing Spirit, the only way you will ever receive the difficult words of friends, the only way your eyes will ever be opened, is if you see that Christ has set you free. The payment of your guilt has been made with the blood of Christ. The pain of your shame has been healed with the love of Christ. And the fear that drives you to hiding is quieted with the presence of Christ.
Bobby: Amen. This coming Sunday we will continue our current series, learning how our brokenness extends far beyond individual acts of disobedience. And in next week’s Bible Fellowship we’ll study Second Corinthians Five, a classic passage about the ministry of reconciliation, and God reconciling us to himself through Christ.
Join us, and bring a friend.