2 SAMUEL 12 PURSUE GODS HEART IN CONFRONTING SIN2018 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 2 Samuel 12 Pursue Gods Heart In Confronting Sin

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2018. 2 Samuel chapter 12 is where we're going to be this evening as we continue to look at David.

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The baby has been born. There's, you know, things that have transpired, but not much is recorded on the in-between time. But now the prophet Nathan is going to come on the scene and deal with this situation and call David to repentance in that. And so we want to begin by looking at verses 1 through 9 this evening here in 2 Samuel chapter 12. And then we'll get into the message that God has for us this evening.

2 Samuel 12, verse 1 says, Then the Lord sent Nathan to David, and he came to him and said to him, There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished, and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom,

Verse 6.

And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb because he did this thing and because he had no pity. Then Nathan said to David, you are the man. Thus says the Lord God of Israel. I anointed you king over Israel and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping and gave you the house of Israel and Judah and

And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more. Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword. You have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. Let's pray. Lord, as we consider this passage, this account here of

David and his sin and the correction that is brought to him here. Lord, I pray that you would prepare us for what you want to speak to our hearts this evening. And God, as we look at these things, I pray that you would minister to us by your spirit. Lord, that you would lead us by your spirit to be able to be those who are pleasing to you. Lord, those who pursue your heart in regards to the issues of sin and the issues surrounding sin. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Well, this evening, as we look at 2 Samuel chapter 12, of course, it's pretty heavy, this passage that we're looking at, pretty intense, as David is being called to account, really, by Nathan the prophet. And as we continue to consider this subject of pursuing God's heart, we see David, and we recognize that the Lord says he is the man after God's own heart. We also recognize that doesn't mean that he's perfect. And we see David, and we recognize that he's the man after God's own heart.

But even in the midst of this situation and his failure, his response to the failure and recovery from the failure still presents David as a man after God's own heart. And how he recovers is a way that is pleasing to God. And how he repents is a way that is honorable to the Lord. And so, you know, even though he falls, just like all of us,

He continues to be an example for us of a man after God's own heart and teaches us how to pursue God's heart. And so we'll continue to look at this, you know, account through that lens and understand David's part in that.

also this evening as we look at this passage, I actually want to shift a little bit of the focus this evening and not so much consider David, but consider Nathan and his role in this account and the way that he was a man who pursued God's heart and used by God in this situation. And so I've titled the message this evening, Pursue God's Heart in Confronting Sin.

We'll deal a little bit more later next Wednesday with David's response and repentance. And there's some great insight there in responding to and recovering from sin.

But first, we're introduced to Nathan the prophet, who comes on the scene now, and he's going to bring this issue to the forefront. David's tried to cover his sin. He's, you know, kind of was successful at it for a little bit, except for it wasn't hidden from God. And so now, through the prophet Nathan, God is going to uncover this sin and begin to deal with it. He's going to confront the

the sin. And God's agent in this is the prophet Nathan. And as we look at this this evening, I want to encourage you to consider you, you know, kind of as a, with a similar calling sometimes as Nathan, and that is that there are times there are

situations where we, in order to pursue God's heart, and again, the idea of pursuing God's heart is to seek, you know, God's will, to do what's pleasing to God, to be obedient to God. And that includes, although we may not always be excited about it, that includes sometimes, many times, occasionally confronting people in regard to issues of sin.

And so we can look at Nathan and get some great insight into how that is to be done and what is appropriate in dealing with these kinds of situations in the lives of people around us. Sometimes God is not pleased at the way that we live.

confront people about their sin. Sometimes God's not pleased about the way that we ignore people's sin. Sometimes God is not pleased at the way that we handle the issues of sin in the lives of people around us. And if we are to be those who are pursuing God's heart and desiring to please God and to honor Him and to do what He wants us to do,

Well, that is going to require from time to time that there be confrontation, that there be some conflict, that there be some uncovering and this dealing with the issues of sin. And so we're going to look at Nathan this evening and four points we'll consider about confronting or confrontation in regards to sin. The first point is found in verse one, and that is confront sin when God sends you.

Confront sin when God sends you. Notice at the beginning of verse 1, it says, Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said to him, There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. Now he's going to go on to tell this story as he begins to have this conversation with David. But I would pause for a moment to just look at the first line here in this verse. And that is that the Lord sent Nathan to David.

There's basically kind of two things I want to emphasize here in this point. Number one, confront sin when God sends you. That there's that deliberate, there's that specific call that God gives you the conviction, the commission to confront sin. And that is important. That there is...

Well, there are situations where you're not the person that's meant to confront the sin, where it's not appropriate for you to do it, and God hasn't called you to do it. But then also there are those situations where God has called you to do it. And you could wish, like Jonah, that you could run away, or you could wish that God would send somebody else, like Moses, right? But God's commissioned you to confront sin. And so the Lord sent Nathan to David, and it reminds us that God sometimes sends us to

to deal with issues of sin. But then also, I would highlight and emphasize that we need to confront sin when God sends us.

It says, then the Lord sent Nathan to David. So there's a timing thing that's happening here, and there's a specific person, specific calling of God in this. And so we need to consider both of these things, that we are to confront sin when God sends us, when at the appropriate time, but also when he gives us the commission to confront sin. Think about what Paul said in Galatians 6, verse 1.

He says, I think this verse is important to consider because it shows us that there's room for discussion. There's room for discretion. There's room for consideration about who is involved in dealing with a situation of sin.

It's not that every person or every believer is responsible to deal with every instance of sin. That's not, you know, the way that God has established things. There is an appropriate person. Paul says, you who are spiritual, restore such a one. He gives this commission to those who have, well, some experience walking in the Spirit, as he talked about in Galatians 5, that

Those who have experience in walking in the Spirit, those who have some maturity, that there is, well, this group of people who are able to handle this kind of situation, there is an appropriate person for this situation. And so, right into the Galatians, it's not just every, you know, person in the Church of Galatia, their responsibility to deal with every sin situation that happens, but

Again, here we see God sends Nathan to David. Now, other people knew about David's sin. Joab knew about David's sin, but obviously he wasn't going to correct David. Some of the servants in David's house, they knew about David's sin, and he inquired of Bathsheba, and they were involved in bringing her, and you know, they saw these events transpire. They saw it unfold, but

It was Nathan who God selected and identified and said, you are the one who needs to address this situation. It can go too far the other way, though, and we can always exclude ourselves or always think, well, I'm not spiritual enough or I'm not mature enough, and I'm never going to be the one that God calls to deal with sin, and so we can kind of talk ourselves out of that. And so there has to be the balance, but recognize that there are times when God wants to send you out

to deal with a situation of sin in someone's life. That you are the appropriate person, that you are the one that, well, it's God's will that you have the conversation, that you have the discussion. And so Paul indicates here that there is a requirement, there is a maturity that's required, but there's room for discussion. It's not just up to anybody or it's not just, you know, whoever speaks up first.

If we're going to be looking at what God desires, there's going to be those that he will call to address sin. So it's not just anytime you see sin, you must answer, you know, you must deal with it, you must have a conversation about it. That is not...

the picture that we're given in the New Testament. And sometimes we kind of approach that sin that way as believers. You know, it's kind of like, you know, going back to, you know, grade school or something. It's like, you know, we're telling on, you know, we're the tattletale. Like every wrong thing you see, teacher, you know, like you have to address it, you know, it's like you have to call it out. And that's not necessarily what God's calling us to do. That instead there should be this commission, this conviction on our heart that God has called me

God has sent me, just like God sent Nathan to David, that God selected me. He's put this on my heart to go and have this conversation, to go and deal with and have this confrontation regarding sin. And so perhaps you are the appropriate person for that situation that you're familiar with. Perhaps you're not, but you need to have that conviction, that commission from the Lord. But also I would consider the timing in this.

So he talks about if anyone is overtaken in a trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. That there is this room to, there's timing involved here as far as, well, there's time to pray about, well, how do we approach this? How do we have a spirit of gentleness? That it's not an instant thing. You have to address it the moment you find out about it.

That's not necessarily the case either, that there is an appropriate timing as well as appropriate technique. And so there's things to consider in this, but understanding that sometimes God's going to send things

And sometimes he wants you to address the situation of sin. Now, if you think about Nathan, there's some important things to consider. This was not David's first encounter with Nathan. Nathan was a prophet of God who was around David already. And it describes earlier in 2 Samuel 7, Nathan hanging out with David. And that's when David says, hey, I want to build a house for the Lord.

And Nathan says, yeah, go do what's on your heart. And then the Lord speaks to Nathan. And so they already have an established relationship and they already have this, you know, type of situation that's going on. Nathan is a prophet of God. And I would point out that Nathan had authority in David's life because God gave him authority in David's life. And I think that's an important aspect to consider in this idea of confronting sin or confronting people about their sin is that

there needs to be this God-given authority that we are sent by the Lord, that God has placed us in their lives in order to have this kind of influence, in order to have these kinds of conversations. And so before we confront people about sin, I think it's appropriate to stop and consider, am I Nathan? Am I sent by God? Is this a God-given authority and a God-given commission that I have in this conversation?

Now, there are some instances where automatically you have authority. You already have this commission because God's already established it. And so for that, you could look at an example in Matthew 18 when Jesus talks about the situation when someone sins against you personally.

And so that, you know, kind of changes the picture a little bit because, well, now you're personally involved. You're the one being sinned against. And so you have the authority and the responsibility to go and confront sin.

that person about their sin privately. And so, you know, there is a God-given responsibility and authority there because he's established that pattern there in Matthew chapter 18 about how to deal with someone who is sinning against you personally. And so there are some, you know, aspects of that that you need to consider and things that we need to walk through. But

In that case, you know, God is sending you because you're personally involved. Now, at the same time, I would say there's room for us to pray and we don't have to confront every sin that anybody ever does to us, but we have a little bit more room and authority when it's, you know, us personally involved as opposed to when the sin is not directly against us.

So confront sin when God sends you, when he convicts you, when he commissions you and sends you like he sent Nathan to David. But also the timing. Confront sin when God sends you. And the timing here is interesting because with Nathan and David, the child has already been born, right?

So, you know, at least nine months have passed from, you know, the initial adultery. We don't know how long exactly it took for, you know, the death of Uriah and all of that. We don't know exactly how old the child was. Most Bible scholars will refer to the time period being about a year.

So, you know, the child is a few months old, probably, that this has gone on for some time that the sin has gone kind of unchecked. It hasn't been addressed. It hasn't, there hasn't been repentance. And God hasn't, you know, called David to account or brought it out into the open until right now, until right this moment when the Lord sends Nathan to David.

And that's important to consider, that the timing is, it's not always immediate. That there is that place where God gives room for the Holy Spirit to work and to bring conviction and for people to come to repentance on their own and to deal with the issues that God is, you know, calling them to account on between them and the Lord. And the

The Lord likes to give us that kind of opportunity. And when we resist that, well, then often the Lord will step it up and then he will send a Nathan. He will send a messenger to us. Pastor Charles Swindoll puts it this way. In confronting someone in his sin, the timing is as important as the wording.

Simply to tighten your belt, grab your Bible, and at your convenience, confront a person who is in sin is unwise. Most importantly, you need to be sure that you're sent by God.

So he points out the thing I've been talking about already. Make sure that you're the one that's called by God to confront the sin. But when you determine that, okay, now you need to seek the Lord as far as what's the timing? Not just when it's convenient for me. You know, I have a busy schedule and so, you know, this is when it fits my schedule to have this conversation. But

But when does the Lord want this to happen? And the way he describes it, to grab your belt, because you're going to bring a beating, right, because of the sin, and grab your Bible. Hey, I know a verse that talks about that. And, you know, so I'm going to go and I'm going to use my belt, I'm going to use my Bible, and I'm going to talk to them about their sin. Well, that's not necessarily the most...

wise approach is what he said. And so we need to consider the timing, that there is appropriate timing that God has in mind when he calls us to confront people about sin. Now, there are some occasions, again, where waiting is not necessary. When people are in direct danger, you know, that's not, well, I have to stop and pray, you know, and when, you know, no, no, when there's, you know, imminent danger, you can think about, you know,

So someone who is dealing with or struggling with or involved in drunkenness versus someone who is a drunken, abusive person. Well, when families are in danger or people are in danger as a result of drunkenness, that changes the timing aspect quite a bit, as opposed to someone who's involved in drunkenness, which is sin and does need to be addressed and dealt with. But

but it's not, you know, directly, you know, putting people in harm's way that there's a difference there. And so there are occasions where waiting is not necessary. And yet at the same time, I would ask that we would consider what is the timing that God wants? He's commissioned me. He's called me to confront this sin. So Lord, when do you want me to do that? And how do you want me to do that is important for us to consider. I think it's important for us to take note that

Let me say it this way. God does not want you to point out or address every sin that you see. God has not called you to, you know, highlight and to point out and to, you know, have a conversation with every person you know or even every Christian you know about every sin that you're aware of or that you're familiar with or that you've seen take place.

Now, in the world, we obviously can see that clearly. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 5, he says, look, I'm talking to you about sexual immorality and stuff and how to deal with that, but I'm not talking about people in the world. And sometimes we do make the mistake of kind of dealing with people in the world or even dealing with people who...

you know, they're familiar, they should know better, you know, but they're not really believers in walking with the Lord. And we kind of like deal with them as if they are walking with the Lord, you know, as if they are in a different place and they're not. And we need to be wise in how we relate to people regarding these issues of sin, that

We don't have to address every one, every instance, every occasion. That is not necessarily what God is calling us to do. Again, we're not going back to grade school and your job is to raise your hand and, you know, be a tattletale and to, you know, say about, you know, how many cookies Susie took or whatever. Like, that's not the commission that God has given to us, generally speaking. But there are those times where God commissions us to confront sin.

where he sends us directly, and we need to seek him for that timing and that commission. Also, unfortunately, you know, it kind of also has to be pointed out, I am not at all advocating any kind of cover-ups for sins, and, you know, there's been a lot of, you know, those kinds of things happening over the past few years, you know, like uncovering things that have been, you know, long hidden and unknown, and all of a sudden, you know, it's starting to come out, and all of those

past sins and offenses and hideous things, you know, are becoming public instances and people are going to jail and things like that. And, you know, none of this is to say, you know, yes, we should cover up things. That is not when it comes to legal matters and things like that. There are, you know, different kind of circumstances that apply as well.

But just for us, you know, as we consider these things, for us as believers in relating to one another, that there are times when God is going to commission us, when he's going to call us, he's going to say, look, I want you to be part of this resolution or this situation to bring a resolution to the sin that is going on. And so confront sin when God sends you.

I like what David Guzik says about this, and I would ask you to consider this. He says, David's sin displeased the Lord, but David wouldn't listen to the conviction of the Holy Spirit or to his conscience. Now God will send someone else to speak to David. God mercifully kept speaking to David even when David wouldn't listen. And to think about yourself in the midst of this, that

Here you have the opportunity to be part of a work that God wants to do in someone's life. He's already been speaking to them. By the time he commissions you to have the conversation, he's been speaking to them. He's been bringing conviction. He's been sending the Holy Spirit. Perhaps he's also brought other things to their attention. There's an awareness. He's been reaching out to them. Now,

If there's a resistance to that, God gets to bring you into the mix and you get to be part of God's mercy. You get to be part of God still trying to reach out to someone who is not listening to him. You get to be part of, you know, God showing mercy and grace to someone who is in sin. And that is a difficult place to be many times, but what a privilege and an honor to be an agent of God's mercy and grace.

in reaching out with a confrontation. And again, confrontation, it maybe isn't our favorite thing, but it is an expression of the mercy and grace of God because it's always a call to repentance, an opportunity for forgiveness and for God to deal with the person who has been broken in their fellowship with him. And so confront sin when God sends you. It's a good opportunity for you to be an agent of God's mercy and grace.

Well, moving on to point number two, we're going to look at this account and the story that Nathan tells to David. And here we get in verses one through six, point number two, which is confront sin with the spirit of gentleness. Confront sin with the spirit of gentleness. Now we know that God hates sin, right? And yet the way that God calls us to deal with and address sin is

is not with hatred, not with anger and bitterness and yelling and screaming, but typically the way that God calls us to confront sin is with gentleness. Think about this. How does Nathan address David after he has committed this severe sin? David did not, you know, accidentally tell a lie. And so Nathan is now sent to confront him, right? No, I mean, the sin that David committed is hideous. If I committed this sin,

Just, I mean, maybe that's a little bit hard for you to think about. Maybe it's easy if you think about Harvey committing the sin. So, no, I'm just kidding. Like, it's us, right? How would you feel if all of this came out and suddenly it was me that had done what David did? You're like, Jerry, you're a murderer? You arranged for someone to be killed to cover up your sin?

I mean, sometimes we're a little bit too distant, you know, from the accountant and we kind of miss the, wow, this is huge. Nathan is David's friend. He hung out with David and talked about the temple. They dreamed about, you know, having a place for people to come and worship God together. Like, oh, this is going to be great. And Nathan is now sent by God to David to confront him about sin. And how does he do that? He starts by telling David a story.

Again, in verse one, the Lord sent Nathan to David and he came to him and said, there were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished. And it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom. And it was like a daughter to him.

Nathan comes to David with a story, with a parable. It's not presented that way, so David doesn't know it's just a story yet. He starts telling David about the

Something he's seen. Now, again, we don't always know all of the background and we don't know how well David and Nathan knew each other, but I kind of imagine Nathan often would come in and say, hey, David, guess what I saw? And that this situation is kind of like that. It's kind of like it's not the first time that Nathan has told David a story.

It's not the first time that Nathan has told David about something he's seen, you know, or some situation that it's something they've done before. And so as Nathan tells this story, it's not like shocking to David. You know, he's not like, Nathan's never told me a story like this before. You know, like what's going on? He's not suspicious. He's not like wondering what's happening. It's just like David's pretty convinced he's covered up his sin. He's settled in it. He's not suspecting anything. It's just shocking.

Him and his buddy Nathan have a conversation like they usually do. And in that, Nathan here begins this conversation in a way that I think gentleness is the right word to describe that. He introduces the subject. He begins the conversation. He, you know, comes at this in a way that is very gentle.

That is done with the spirit of gentleness. And again, in Galatians 6.1, that's what Paul says. If anyone is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. There's a softness here. There's a softness that Nathan uses in having this conversation with David. Now, he's very clear and direct, and we'll get to that in the next point also. But

But he doesn't come at David with a two by four, with yelling, and you dummy, I can't believe what you've done. I just found out the Lord just told me what you did, and I am horrified. I am disgusted by you, David. I can't believe, you know. And I think David,

For any of us, that would be the temptation, right? We would want to respond that way. We perhaps would be so emotional in finding out about a sin of this magnitude, you know, by our friend that we wouldn't be able to do this gently. And again, this is why we need to go back to point number one, confront sin when God sends you. Maybe you're not the right, maybe you are too emotional. You are too close. You're not able to do this in a spirit of gentleness. And so,

Maybe you're not the right person for the confrontation. Maybe God isn't sending you. You're just worked up about it. There needs to be a little bit of discipline and self-control where even when the sin is horrendous, the confrontation can happen with a spirit of gentleness. H.A. Ironside, the great commentator, says this. He says,

but rather to manifest compassion for the one who has failed and to seek to bring him back to fellowship with God. It is only in the spirit of meekness that this can be done. Sometimes we can be mistaken and think of harshness as evidence of spirituality, as evidence of holiness, you know, as evidence, like I'm so holy, this is so incredibly shocking to me. And so there's this harsh response, but that's not an evidence of spirituality, he says.

spirituality, maturity. It's coming with compassion for the one who has failed, with a desire to bring him back to fellowship with God. And that can only happen, he says, with the spirit of meekness or spirit of gentleness. Man, this can be really challenging. And this is why, going back to Galatians 6, Paul says there's a level of maturity that's required. Because sometimes the sin that people are involved with is not just

you know, hey, you know, you weren't really supposed to do that, you know. Sometimes it is flat-out deliberate rebellion of the grossest kind. And God calls us sometimes, He calls us specifically, individually, to confront that. And when God calls us to do so, we need to do so with a spirit of gentleness. And again, I would remind you, these guys knew each other. They knew each other. They fellowshiped together. They worshiped together. And here, David has sinned severely.

He sinned severely. How do you respond when someone that you know, you know, it's uncovered, it's brought out, there's been severe sin. There can be a very emotional response. And if God is calling us to do the confrontation, we need to recognize that we can't allow the emotions to override the spirit of gentleness that God has called us to have.

Check out verse five and six. It says, so David's anger was greatly aroused against the man. And he said to Nathan, as the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die. And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb because he did this thing and because he had no pity. So David hears the story about this rich man who has a bunch of lambs, but he takes from the one guy who had one lamb and it was like his child. And, you know, he takes that and feeds that to his friends and travelers. And

David gets so worked up. He gets so upset. His anger was greatly aroused, it said. Greatly aroused. David is furious. He pronounces the death penalty for this guy and says he must restore fourfold for the lamb, which was what the law prescribed if you stole a lamb. So it says you must keep the law. Restore fourfold and then you die. That was David's sentence.

And he says, because he had no pity. He didn't show compassion. David's response to this simple story shows that he was in a place of great sensitivity. And this is important to reflect on in this point of confronting sin with a spirit of gentleness. David's response was harsh because his conscience was hurting him. You ever have a headache?

And then something that, you know, usually is just a mild irritation to you. Something like, you know, it's just minor. But it happens and you have a headache. And then now suddenly your response is exaggerated. Because you're already in pain. And then that thing happens. And it's just you can't take it. You're already hurting. And then that pushes you over the edge. In a similar way, here's David. He's already hurting.

Because the Lord is convicting him. And again, we'll look at that more next week. We'll see the conviction and the way that he describes the conviction in the Psalms. But so he's experiencing conviction. He's experiencing the conflict within. He's burdened. He is troubled. He is sensitive because he's hurting so much. And so when he hears this story, his response is harsh because he's in pain. And so Nathan didn't need to be harsh, right?

Because David was already experiencing the harsh. He was already feeling the harsh. And so Nathan could come with gentleness because in sin, David was miserable. And this is something that we need to consider and reflect on when God calls us to be the one, when he sends us to be the Nathan and to confront sin, to come with a spirit of gentleness because the person who is in sin is miserable, is hurting. God is convicting.

Now, there are situations where there are people, you know, in flat-out rebellion, and their heart is hard against God. And there is room for, sometimes, God calls us to be a little bit more firm or harsh. And you look at Jesus in dealing with the Pharisees, that, you know, there was quite a bit of a difference in the way that he related to them, as opposed to the way he related to the others. And yet, even in that situation,

I would encourage you to consider that Jesus, you would look at Jesus' response to the Pharisees and think, wow, that was harsh. But it was bold statements done, I would suggest, still with a spirit of gentleness. That you would never look at what Jesus did and say, well, he wasn't gentle. That it wasn't done with a spirit of gentleness. That it wasn't done in love. That it's still with a spirit of gentleness, even in some of the most difficult and challenging things that Jesus did.

said to the religious leaders and his dealings with them. And in a similar way, that there needs to be that governing rule of gentleness, that we allow the gentleness of God to be evident in confronting sin. It can be very challenging. Again, these guys knew each other well. David had sinned severely, but this was the way that was best representative of God's heart. This was the way that was pleasing to God. Now, I also would point out, this is not a formula.

So if you ever have to confront sin, here's what you do. First of all, come up with a good parable and just start out the conversation with the parable. So let's pretend, you know, again, I would suggest this isn't the first time Nathan had this kind of conversation with David. David wasn't suspicious because it wasn't strange. It wasn't some weird parable that Nathan had just kind of made up out of the blue. No, no, this was Nathan responding with wisdom to what the Lord was putting upon his heart and having this conversation.

you know, there's kind of the concept, you know, well, if you're going to say something bad, you know, say good, 10 good things first. And so, you know, I really think you're handsome, Harvey, but, you know, I think you're a murderer too. So, you know, I have to tell him he's handsome first and then tell him, like, like there's room for the Lord to lead you in that. And so,

allow the Lord to lead you in that and show you how to be gentle, but don't take it as a formula. Like you have to do it this way and tell this parable or say these good things and then confront it. Maybe sometimes it is more appropriate to just rip off the bandaid and say, hey, I've heard about a situation. I know what's going on in your life. And that might be the best approach. It needs to be led by the Lord and how to be gentle in each situation the Lord can lead us in.

Finishing up point two with this quote from Albert Barnes, you are to act as if you felt it possible that you might also be overtaken with a fault and you should act as you would wish that others should do toward you. In confronting sin, there needs to be somewhat of a compassion, an understanding that I'm capable of such things and how would I want to be dealt with if that was me in their shoes?

And again, that can be really hard. And sometimes maybe you're not the right person because you can't relate. You can't put yourself in those shoes. You can't have that kind of compassion with the person who has sinned. But in dealing with confrontation and dealing with sin, there does need to be that gentleness that comes from, it's a terrible sin. It's wretched. It's going to bring great destruction.

But I'm capable of such sins. And it doesn't necessarily have to be the exact same sin, but I'm capable of that severity of sin. I understand what that's like and how would I want to be treated. And gentleness, of course, would be the answer. Now, point number three, found in verses seven through 12, confront sin clearly and directly. So there's the balance. There does need to be the gentleness, but at the same time, there does need to be some

and direct discussion about the sin. Confronting sin can be very difficult. I've said many times before, not today, but in previous years, talking about these kinds of situations. If you enjoy confrontation, don't do it. God's not calling you to do it if you're happy about it and excited and you just can't wait to have the conversation. You can't wait to rebuke them. God's not commissioned you. I can just tell you that. If you enjoy it, don't do it.

So that means, though, that for the most part, we're not going to enjoy this. We're going to have these confrontations because God tells us to, not because we love to do it or because we want to, but because it's necessary and because we love one another. But one aspect of that is because it's difficult and because it's under those circumstances, sometimes we can be vague and ambiguous about the sin because we're so uncomfortable, we don't want to actually talk about it.

And Nathan doesn't take that approach. Notice what he says in verse 7. Then Nathan said to David, you are the man. Remember all that parable, that whole story I told you? David, that's you. You, rich man, wealthy and abundant. You stole from the guy who had one and took it for yourself. You're the man. You have behaved this way. He says, thus says the Lord God of Israel.

This is crazy. Verse 9. Verse 10.

And here, Nathan lays out, I don't know the right legal terms for this, but you know, in a case, you know, where the charges have to be presented, right? He lays out the charges. Here's count one, here's count two, here's count three. Like, it's very clear that

David, you are the man. You have sinned. You have done evil. And God has been so good to you. And God says, I was so good to you. And I would even give you more if that wasn't enough. If that wasn't enough goodness for you, I would have given you more. But instead, you've turned around and despised the Lord, done evil. And very clearly, you killed Uriah the Hittite.

Nathan doesn't say, you know, the way that you treated Uriah really wasn't nice, David. I mean, it's kind of mean, you know, it's kind of gruesome. He doesn't just kind of like talk around it, you know, beat around the bush. He lays it out. You killed Uriah. Oh, no, no, it was in battle, you know, like he's not going to play that game, you know, like he told Joab, you know, one dies in battle, the sword devours one as well as another. No, no, you killed Uriah.

and you have taken his wife to be your wife. You have stolen that rich man who stole the sheep from the other guy. That's you. You stole Uriah's lamb, what was precious to him, valuable to him. He loved Bathsheba, and you took her. You stole her. He very clearly lays out

the charges against David. He's clear. He's direct. David, you are the man. You have done evil. And he calls David to consider what God has done for him. God says, I have anointed you king. I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

I have given you wives. I've done so much for you, and I would have given you much more. So clearly lays out God's goodness and God's blessings, clearly lays out David's sin before him. It's clear, it's direct, it's how sin needs to be confronted. With a spirit of gentleness, again, not just, you know, harshness, not just unleashed, you know, anything, but

clear and direct. Sometimes we are so afraid to be clear and direct, and sometimes that's good. There needs to be, you know, wise tact in our words, and there does need to be, you know, wisdom in how we handle conversations. But at the same time, sometimes we get so wishy-washy, so ambiguous. We say it every which way except for saying exactly what it is,

And it's not clear, but here the Lord lays out before David, through the prophet Nathan, here is what happened. You're the man, you've done evil, you committed murder, you've stolen his wife, you've committed adultery. This is what you have done. The apostle Paul did something similar with Peter. In Galatians chapter two, he talks about the situation. When Peter came to Antioch, he says, "'I withstood him to his face.'"

Because he was to be blamed. And he talks about the sin that Peter was involved with and how he was causing these issues within the church that come from hypocrisy, that come from the things that were involved with the religious leaders and the Pharisees. But the point is, Paul says, I confronted Peter, withstood him to his face. There was a clear and direct, this is sin. This is a problem. This is an issue.

And it doesn't necessarily mean that Paul did that, you know, to Peter's face before the whole church. That's not what Paul is saying. This could have been private. We don't actually know the specific details about the event. But the point is, whether it was in public or private, there was this face-to-face. There was this clear and direct, this is a sin. This is a problem. This is an issue. And it needs to be dealt with.

I think it's interesting in verse 9, he says, why have you despised the commandment of the Lord? You've despised the commandment of the Lord. But then in verse 10, now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Here, Nathan also makes it clear, you've despised the commandment of the Lord, which is despising God.

You can't despise God's commands without despising God. There's this permanent connection. You have done wickedly before God. You have treated God despicably. You've despised him.

by despising his command. He clearly lays out the consequences now in verse 11 and 12. Thus says the Lord, behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor. And he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this son. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the son. Now, if God is calling us to confront sin,

We may or may not have this kind of insight as far as what the consequences are. In this case, God tells Nathan, here's what's going to happen. Here's what you need to tell David is going to happen as a result of his sin. And so he clearly lays out the sin, the issue of despising God, the consequences and the things that result. He's clear. He's direct. There's no escaping it. David, this is what you have done. Confront sin clearly today.

and directly. God may not be calling you to be the one who has the confrontation, but if he does, do so in a spirit of gentleness. But don't be so gentle that you don't actually communicate anything. Also, you need to be clear and direct. Gentleness, it's the truth in love, that gentleness, but here is what happened. It's horrible, it's wretched, you despise the Lord, but here is the sin issue.

And there needs to be that kind of clarity in the confrontation. Well, finishing it up in verse 13 and 14, we get point number four, and that is communicate forgiveness when there is repentance. And we must never forget, this is ultimately the goal. This is the whole purpose. If we're talking about pursuing God's heart, this is what God wants. God wants reconciliation. He wants restoration.

He wants to forgive. God is anxious to forgive. He is looking for excuses and opportunities to show mercy and grace. And as his agents, when we are called to confront sin, we need to be able to communicate that to those that we're talking to. In verse 13, it says, "'So David said to Nathan, "'I have sinned against the Lord.' "'And Nathan said to David, "'The Lord also has put away your sin. "'You shall not die.'"

Here, Nathan, well, first of all, David responds, I have sinned against the Lord. He responds to Nathan's rebuke, his confrontation, and there's immediate repentance. It's not long. It's not elaborate. It's not wordy.

If you and I were there in the court as this happened, we'd be like, hmm, that's all he said. I don't know. I'm not really convinced. Is he really repentant? You know, I don't know. We know, not just from this verse, but from the rest of the scriptures, there's a genuine repentance. And real repentance doesn't have to be long and elaborate.

We may not know for quite some time if there is real repentance, no matter if it's, you know, a simple confession of I have sinned against the Lord or some elaborate, you know, woe is me and I wrote a psalm and here it is. You know, whether someone responds one way or the other, that's not necessarily an indication of actual repentance. There is some time that has to transpire for that to be manifested and to be known for sure. But at the same time,

there is the confession. I have sinned against the Lord. I have sinned. And Nathan here, he's authorized by the Lord to forgive. The Lord has put away your sin. You shall not die. Now the law required adultery and murder. Those were capital offenses. But David, God has put away your sin. God forgives you.

You and I, when we are involved, when God sends us to deal with a confrontation of sin, he also sends us authorized to announce the forgiveness that God has offered to the person when they repent. We're not just the agent who comes to confront. We're the agent who comes to restore, to declare forgiveness. Think about what Jesus did in John chapter 8.

Remember the woman caught in the very act of adultery? They threw her before Jesus. What do you say we should do? The law says we should kill her right now. We should put her to death. We should execute her. And Jesus says, let him who is without sin cast the first stone. And writes on the ground and they walk away one by one. And finally, it's just Jesus and the woman who's left. And Jesus asked the woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you? And she says, no one.

And Jesus said, neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. Such gentleness, such forgiveness. The way that Jesus related to this woman is the way that God calls us to relate to those that he sends us to. When there is repentance in the confrontation, there's forgiveness. Now, we talked about this on Sunday, that

There's forgiveness, but also at the same time, the sin is not undone. And there are some residual consequences many times for sin. And so Nathan tells him in verse 14, however, because by this deed, you've given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. The child also is born to you shall surely die. You're forgiven. And I'm sorry to tell you that there's also some issues you're gonna experience. There's some hardship. There's some heartache that's gonna come from this, David. Nathan says,

He's not communicating this in anger. He's not, you know, it's not a lack of forgiveness. It's just, I'm very, this is part of the reality of sin. This is why God calls us not to sin. It brings destruction. And David, here's some of the destruction that's going to happen. The child from this relationship is going to die. It's not going to be the end of the story.

And later on in chapter 12, we're going to get to see some restoration and reparation and things take place. And God is able to do something new from this. And that's important to keep in mind because, well, the new things that God does can only take place because of the confrontation that happens and the repentance that comes and the forgiveness that is offered. This is why God works.

God orchestrates and calls us to confrontation so that the sin issue can be resolved and then new things can happen and Solomon can be born. New things can happen and God can move forward, do new things in the life, but he can't move forward and do new things in the life while the sin issue is persistent. And so there is that need for confrontation. But again, we must not lose sight of the objective.

It's for restoration. It's for that offer of forgiveness when there is real repentance. That's God's heart. He desires. He's anxious. He's looking for opportunity and excuse to show mercy, to forgive, to pour out his grace, even upon that one who has sinned in such a hideous way. Pastor David Guzik puts it this way, that this job of restoration is often neglected in the church.

We have a tendency either to pretend the sin never happened or we tend to react too harshly toward the one who has sinned. I think we need to stop and reflect and stop and consider God's heart in confronting sin. And sometimes we're not accurate in representing God when people around us have been involved in sin. Sometimes we don't represent God well. He's not necessarily pleased always with the way that we handle that and the things that we communicate well.

In regards to God's heart, the sin, and God's desire for forgiveness and restoration, we need to consider God's heart. As those who desire to be men and women who pursue God's heart, men and women after God's heart, we can't just allow how we feel about it or what we think about it or our initial gut reaction to govern the way that we then interact. And so sometimes it's appropriate for us to

Respond immediately. Sometimes it's more appropriate for us to wait and confront sin when God sends you. Wait for God's calling. Wait for God's commissioning. Wait for God's timing so that you can do it with a spirit of gentleness, so that you can do it with great clarity and direct dealing with the issue while maintaining an accurate representation of the heart of God. And if there's repentance...

If there's confession, well, then we get to be part of that and extending the grace of God, the mercy of God and saying, God forgives you. You confess your sin. He is faithful and just to cleanse you of all unrighteousness. And it doesn't mean that everything goes back to normal and like, you know, nothing happens. No, there's no, you know, difficulty or affliction out of this situation. No, there might be some pain, but the relationships are restored. The forgiveness is offered and

That's always the goal, and that's what pleases the Lord. So let's take some time this evening to consider the heart of God. Jonathan, if you could lead us in a closing song, and I would just encourage you to present these things before the Lord, and obviously if, you know, the Lord's speaking to you about some issue of sin, and maybe the Lord's allowed me to be a gentle correction towards that, well, then you can

have that forgiveness. You can have that restoration of your relationship as you, you know, spend this time with the Lord and confess your sin to him. But also, you know, there's situations in our lives, people around us, people that we know, people that we love. There's sin issues that perhaps we're aware of, perhaps we don't know, but God wants to show you and speak to you about so that you can be part of the healing process. Let's just take some time before the Lord to allow him to minister to our hearts.

about where we're at with him, but also about our role in the people around us and how God wants to use us to bring people back into right relationship with him. So let's worship the Lord together.