I can't tell you how much I appreciate
you praying for your pastor, both when I'm here to preach
to you and when I'm away. I've been doing this a while
now, and I'm more thoroughly convinced than ever, more keenly aware of this fact
than ever. My most ardent labor or utter
vanity, less than vanity, except God be pleased to bless His Word
through those efforts. And my efforts at preaching the
gospel to you this hour, unless God speaks through this worthless,
dirty, empty, broken vessel, will be nothing but sounding
brass and clanging cymbals. May he speak to your heart by
his word. This morning we saw God's portrayal
of a righteous man in that righteous man lot. Tonight I want us to
look at another righteous man as he's held before us in the
book of God. Our subject tonight is David.
a man after God's own heart. Turn with me, if you will, to
2 Samuel chapter 11. God's servant David, a man of remarkable character. Grace made him a man of integrity,
principle, courage, strength, boldness in the cause of God's
honor. He went out against the giant
Goliath with nothing but a sling and five stones in the name of
God. And when his brothers mocked
him and spoke of him being haughty and arrogant, he said, is there
not a cause? He was a man devoted to the cause
of the God he worshipped. David was a man humble before
God because he believed God, faithful, holy, righteous. Even as a young man, he stood
head and shoulders above all his peers. The Lord God himself
tells us that David was just such a man as I've described. He was no better man than any
other by nature, but grace made him different from other men.
Grace made him a new creature. This is how God himself describes
David. He said, I have found David,
the son of Jesse. a man after mine own heart, which
shall fulfill all my will." What a man! David was a man chosen
of God, redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, born again and
called by God the Holy Spirit, a righteous man. a man mightily
used of God such as no other in his generation was. Like Lot,
David was the man God had chosen through whose loins the Lord
Jesus Christ would come into this world. Our Savior, who is
the Son of God, came into this world as the Son of Man through
the line of David. Jesus Christ is both the root
and the offspring of David. He is that one from whom David
sprang, and he is that one who sprang from David. Truly, David
was a remarkable, remarkable man. But when you think of David, I try my best, I try my best
to think of David as I've just described him. But like most
people, and I suspect you, when you think of David, what comes
to your mind first. Adultery, murder, deceit, betrayal, those things are the things for
which David is most commonly known. Many look at David and
will use these things as a cloak for their own ungodliness. I
had a very dear friend, and I accosted him plainly with regard to his
behavior with another man's wife. And he said to me, well, I guess
I'm like David. And I said to him, I guess not. I guess not. What a horrible blight upon the
name of this remarkable man. Murder and adultery. Yet it is written in the book
of God in bold letters for all to read to teach us. To teach us the things of God
concerning ourselves and concerning him. Let's pick up 2 Samuel 11,
verse 26. When the wife of Uriah heard
that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
And when the mourning was passed, David sent and fetched her to
his house, and she became his wife and bare him a son. But
the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. And I've
told you repeatedly, and I want to say it at the outset of this
message, God's people in Christ are a people in whom God is well
pleased, always. But we often do that which displeases
God. And God deals with it accordingly. Now keep your Bibles open here.
We're going to look at chapter 12. This chapter is written by
divine inspiration, not to sully the name of God's servant David,
but to teach us both to be aware of our own sinfulness and to
adore God's marvelous free grace in Jesus Christ, who is the Lord,
our righteousness. Once David had committed his
horrible crimes. God left him alone. God didn't speak to David and
God wouldn't be heard, would not hear David as he spoke to
him. He left him alone. David had no Psalms to pen during those days. His heart was out of tune. He
had no song to sing, nothing but heaviness. Heaviness. I don't have any question. As
a matter of fact, I'm sure if you read Psalm 32, one of the
David's Penitential Psalms written in this regard, he said that
his soul was heavy day and night. God's hand laid heavily upon
him. I don't have any doubt that David
went to bed night after night after night. He shut his eyes
and all he could see was the face of his faithful servant,
Uriah, murdered by his hand. Can you imagine the overwhelming
sense of guilt? And here he is laying beside
Uriah's wife. for nine months at least. Somebody says, well, God's people
fall, they'll repent right now. I beg to differ. I dare say David tried his dead-level
best to repent and couldn't. He couldn't. Not until God turned him. could
he be turned to God. Nothing could change his heart,
nothing could move him, nothing could melt him, nothing could
turn him to God except God himself turn him to himself. And the
Lord left David to himself for at least nine long months, probably
a little more than a year. And this is how David spoke of
it. When I kept silence, my bones
waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and
night thy hand was heavy upon me. Thy moisture is turned into
the drought of summer." To all that David could say with regard
to himself, with regard to everything he felt within, with regard to
all appearance of things, David appeared to be a dead man, spiritually
dead. Then after nine months of barrenness,
desolation and isolation, from the Lord his God. After nine
months without hearing from God or being heard by God, look at
these words in verse 1 of chapter 12. And the Lord sent Nathan unto
David. Learn this first. This book. is the Word of God. I have read countless books over
the years on the formation of Holy Scripture in defense of
inspiration, explaining inspiration, countless books demonstrating
the validity of claims to inspiration, showing proof after proof after
proof of things that could not be explained except by the fact
that this is the Word of God. Not a word from God, the Word
of God. This is the Bible. I choke when I hear folks talk
about this is the Bible on mechanics, this is the Bible on carpentry,
this is the Bible on cooking. This is THE BIBLE. The word means THE BOOK. THE BOOK. There is no other word
from God except this book. Now here's the greatest evidence
of it I've ever seen. When God describes His people
in His words, He doesn't just paint the picture
warts and all. He puts warts right out front. He makes no attempt in any way
to hide, to excuse, or to justify the evil of those who are held
by him as most eminent examples of faith. No attempt. No glossing
over. No attempt to cover it up. I have some folks who would like
to write a biography of me, and they'd like me to be dead right
now so they can get started. And they would find out everything
they possibly could to tell you why you should never even speak
the name Don Fortner. But should it come to pass, and
I don't give permission, I don't want it, and I'm telling you
now, don't you allow anyone to do it. Don't write a biography
of this man of any kind. But should you do so, should
you do so, every one of you, you would probably be compelled
with honesty to explain that he had a few little eccentricities. Maybe even some faults, but you'd
explain them away the best you could. But you didn't know, you
know, what he had to go through. You didn't know how he was raised.
You didn't know this. Not God. Here's Noah, a man who
found grace in the eyes of the Lord in a drunken stupor. Here is God's servant Moses,
the meekest man who ever walked on the earth until his day was
ended in a fit of anger with God. took his rod and smoked
the Savior! He smoked the Savior! He understood
God and that rock was Christ. And he took his rod out and smoked
Him twice. He was Abraham. God's high priest. God's high priest. Moses is up
in the mountain, been gone for a while, and still invisible,
forgetting to murmur. And Moses said, give me your
gold. And he made him some calves. And he said, These be thy gods,
O Israel, and let Israel, in the worship of Jehovah, dancing
naked around golden calves. Now what was it you told me a
believer won't do? What was it you imagined he wouldn't
do? Peter. Next to Paul himself in usefulness,
the greatest of the apostles. Peter, remarkable man. Say what
you want to about Peter, I'd like to be one-tenth the man
Peter was, a remarkable man. But Peter, three times in one
dark, dark night, denied the Master, and as far as he was
concerned, utterly abandoned him. He said, I'm going back
to fishing. Oh, what a man he must have been.
But after fighting with legalists and Judaizers all his life as
a preacher, all the days of his life, and seemingly getting nowhere
with so many, he finally succumbed to the snare of legalism briefly. James persuaded him, now Paul,
while you're here at Jerusalem, go ahead and take this vow, shave
your head, and these folks will listen to you. Why are these things so plainly
set before us in Scripture? I'll remind you again of these
three things. They're written to remind us
and teach us God's saints, righteous men and women, those who are
justified by the blood of Christ and those who are sanctified
by Christ dwelling in them in the new birth. God's saints in
this world. at their very best are nothing
but fallen, depraved, corrupt sinners by nature. That includes
Rex Bartley, Mark Henson, and Don Ford. Paul said, I am, not I was, I
am the chief of sinners. William Huntington used to sign
his name. He was an illiterate man. By
that I mean he had no academic education of any kind except
that which God gave him in his providence as he taught himself
after God saved him as a grown man. So he had no degrees. He had no pedigree. He was a
poor man, came from a background that was reproachful in the society
in which he lived. And folks used to ask him what
degree he had. And he finally started Signing
his name, William Huntington, S.S. Sinner saved. That's what we are. Sinners saved. That's all. That's all. I am
a poor sinner and nothing at all, but Jesus Christ is my all
in all. These things are written to teach
us and teach us plainly that salvation is altogether by God's
free grace. We stand before God as guilty
sinners all the time on the footing of free grace. Grace chose us,
grace redeemed us, grace called us, grace keeps us, and blessed
be his name when we fall. Grace restores us. Would you care to explain to
me the difference between Peter and Judas? Would you care to explain to
me how Judas' crime was any less horrible or any more horrible
than Peter's? Care to explain to me what made
the difference after the crime between Peter and Judas? I'll
explain it to you. The steps of a good man are ordered
of the Lord, and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he
shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth him with
his hand. For a just man falleth seven
times and riseth up again, but the wicked shall fall into It's the only difference. The
difference between God's people and others is that when the righteous
fall, the Lord raises Him up. Not sometimes does, He always
does. When the wicked who profess to
be righteous fall, the Lord leaves them falling. I didn't say when
the righteous fall, they raise themselves up. They don't. I
didn't say when the righteous fall, they will turn, they will
not. I said when the righteous fall,
they fall just like the wicked, except for one thing, God won't
let go His own. He holds them in His hand and
He raises them up. Now Brother Don, if that's the
case, if that's the case, This thing is altogether God's work.
You got what I said. It's altogether God's work. These
things are written, thirdly, to teach us that the whole of
our acceptance with God is Jesus Christ alone. Our acceptance
with God is not in any way determined by or dependent upon anything
we are or anything we do, be it good or bad. It is not in
any way conditioned upon those things. It is altogether Jesus
Christ alone. Now third, or second, we have
a warning here. Let us never cease to beware
of our personal weakness. Weakness arising from our own
corruption and our own depravity. How often have you, like I have,
thought to yourself, well, I don't see how anybody can do that. Remember what we're really saying
in our foolish pride is I don't see how I could ever do that.
Doctrinally, we've got the doctrine of depravity down pretty good.
Folks in this congregation understand the total depravity of man. I
preach it. You acknowledge it. You believe
it. Especially when I'm looking at
James Jordan. But somehow, we all constantly
convince ourselves, as we look in the mirror, I'm the exception. I'm the exception. Now, I'm bad.
I'm bad. I know I died an atom, but totally,
you pray, nothing but corruption, nothing but evil in me, nothing
but sin in me. We should never, never, never
think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. Peter's
terrible fall arose from his pride. And I suspect David's
dead, for it is written, Pride goeth before destruction, and
a haughty spirit before the fall. The secret, the secret to steadfast
commitment, to steadfast consecration to God. And I say the secret, not as though I can speak of
anything by example. But as that which is plainly
written in this book, the secret to it, is the realization, the
constant realization of what we are by nature. Turn to Romans
chapter 12. A genuine awareness of our personal
depravity, forcing us continually to come to God, trusting Christ
alone. Romans chapter 12. You remember
how Paul described his weakness? He asked God three times, take
away the messenger Satan. God said, live with it. My grace
is sufficient for you. And Paul said, I will gladly
glory in my infirmities, for when I am weak, then am I strong.
And when he says that, he's not suggesting that we walk away
and have the notion of what Paul teaches us, that we ought to
be delighted that we're so vile. That's not it at all. But we
ought to delight to acknowledge what we are. Because knowing
what we are, we're compelled to come to God on the footing
of free grace through Jesus Christ alone. That's what Romans 12
teaches. I beseech you therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service." Now there he's writing to these Roman believers, he
writes to them in the plural, and he urges them collectively,
let's turn that thing around. Paul is addressing you, meaning
women, right here tonight. You folks who have experienced
God's free grace. He's writing to us collectively.
And he says, now, you present your bodies, plural, collectively,
as one thing. As a living sacrifice. How on
this earth can that be? It's saying that you who've experienced
God's grace in Christ, present yourselves to God continually
on that one living sacrifice that stands before God in the
heavens as your representative. But you don't. Holy, acceptable
unto God, which is your reasonable service. ever come to God, trusting
His Son. And be not conformed to this
world, but be ye transformed. Transformed how? Trusting His
Son. By the renewing of your mind,
that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect
will of God. Now are you sure that's what
Paul means by all this? I'm positive. Look at the next
word. For I say through the grace given unto me, to every man that
is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought
to think, but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to
every man the measure of faith. Don't think more highly of yourself
than you ought to think. Think of yourself as nothing
but sin, nothing but corruption, nothing but weakness. We are
in great danger. when we imagine that we are above
that position. Here's the third thing. We are all very naturally blind
to our own faults, but so quick to see those of
others. The Lord sent Nathan unto David,
verse 1, and he came unto him and said unto him, There were
two men in one city, the one rich, the other poor. The rich
man had exceeding many flocks and herds, but the poor man had
nothing save one little ewe lamb, which he had brought and nourished
up, or bought and nourished up. And it grew up together with
him and with his children. It did eat of his own meat, and
drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him
as a daughter. And there came a traveler unto
the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of
his own herd to dress for the wayfaring man that was coming
to him. But he took the poor man's lamb and dressed it for
the man that was come to him." When Nathan told David that story, David was enraged. filled with what we like to call
righteous indignation. Filled with fury, David quickly
judged the man to be worthy of death, never imagining that Nathan
was talking about him. It just flew right over his head. He never imagined Nathan was
talking about him. Verse 5, David's anger was greatly
kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, as the Lord
liveth, he said, I swear by God, the man that hath done this thing
shall surely die, and he shall restore the Lamb fourfold, because
he did this thing and because he had no pity. And Nathan said
unto David, Thou art the man. You know what I immediately thought
of when I read that? Our Lord's words, Judge not, that ye be
not judged. For with what judgment you judge,
you shall be judged, and with what measure you meet, it shall
be measured to you again. Thus saith the Lord, the God
of Israel, I anointed thee King over Israel, and I delivered
thee out of the hand of Saul. How quickly, how quickly, how easily, how haughtily we
look down our noses at other people and judge them wickedly
while excusing and justifying ourselves in all manner of evil. I keep praying like this. I hope I'm sincere. Lord God,
teach me to be lenient, merciful, and forbearing to my brothers
and sisters. If I have any severity, let the
severity of my judgment be directed against me. Be lenient with one another.
Be forgiving with one another. Be forbearing with one another.
Be kind one to another, tender hearted. forgiving one another,
even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. Be ye imitators
of God, followers of God as dear children. Walk in love as Christ
has loved us and given himself a sweet-smelling savor to God
for an example to us. Here's the fourth thing. This
sad event in David's life teaches us that all God's people need
a preacher. All of them need a prophet. All
the time. David is that man to whom the
Lord sent Nathan. What a blessing. Blessed is that
man to whom God sends his Nathans. Nathan came to David because
he had a message. A message from God to deliver
to David. David was a king, but he needed
a preacher. David was a writer of inspiration,
but he needed a preacher. David was a prophet, but he needed
a prophet. You see, when God has grace to
convey to his elect, by one means or another, he sends a preacher
with a message to his chosen. How shall they hear without a
preacher? God always sends a preacher.
to the lost sinner he's about to call. He always sends a preacher
to the languishing soul he will revive. He always sends a preacher
to the fallen one he will restore. For wise, holy, and good reasons
known only to himself, God allows his saints to fall into sin. Sometimes he leaves them to see
for a long time. But he won't leave them forever.
Let me show you something I read earlier this week. Isaiah 57. Isaiah 57. Verse 17. For the iniquity of his covetousness
was Iroth, and smote him. I hid me and was wroth, and he
went on forwardly in the way of his heart." God forgive me. I have seen his
ways. Isn't that amazing? He delights in the way of the
righteous, not the ways. He says, I've seen his ways. And I'm going to kill him. He doesn't say, I've seen his
ways, but he says, I've seen his ways and will heal him. I will lead him
also and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. Nathan was the prophet by whom
God In chapter 7 of 2 Samuel, I promised David so many good
things. And now he's the prophet by whom God sends a word of stern
reproof. Oh, I could spend a little while
talking about Nathan. What a prophet he must have been. All David had to do was this.
Nathan, dead man. That's all he had to do. This
is it. These day preachers bow and scrape. cuddle up to folks and compromise,
do anything they possibly can to win the favor of a man or
to keep somebody from frowning at them. Not a prophet. God said, Nathan, go to David,
tell him you're the man. I'm going to deal with you because
what you've done has displeased me. I want to expose your sin. I'm going to bring the sword
on your house. I'm going to kill your son. Lord, just exactly what was it
you wanted me to tell David? You sure you want me to go to
David? Remember he's the king. No. David is confronted with
Nathan because Nathan was God's servant and he was faithful to
God's people. He didn't say David's the king.
I dare not reprove him. But it went with God's message.
In verses 7 and 8 of chapter 12, he reminds David of all the
great good God had done for him. And the Lord said, if that had
been enough, if that had been too little, I would moreover
have given unto thee such and such things. Nathan said, David,
remember all God's done for you. Remember what God has sacrificed
for you. Remember the thousands God has
slain for you. And if that wasn't enough, He'd
have done anything for you. He plainly exposed David's sin
for what it was. Look at verse 9. Thou hast despised
the commandment of the Lord. That's what every act of rebellion
is. Every defiance of God who got
his word And having his word, see what God says, throw it on the ground and say,
I'll have my way. Now let's despise what a word, the commandment
of the Lord. Verses 10, 11, and 12, he told
David what the consequences of his sin would be. He said, I'm
going to raise up evil out of your own house, verse 11. He
did this thing privately. I'm going to take your wives.
Not, I'm going to let it happen. He said, I'm going to take your
wives from before your eyes and give them to your neighbor. And
he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this son. He
said, you did it secretly. I'll do it openly. And when he
did, David bowed. Oh. I told you he was a righteous
man. Verse 13. David said unto Nathan,
I sinned against the Lord. What a confession. Open, plain,
simple, forthright, no covering. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord hath. Not shall, hath. Before he made
the confession, hath. Before he committed the transgression,
hath. The Lord accepted him in Christ,
his Redeemer, before ever he drew life, breath in this world
into his lungs. David said, I've sinned. And
God's next word to David is, the Lord hath put away thy sin,
thou shalt not die. No wonder David sang, oh, blessed
is the man unto whom God will not impute sin. If we confess
our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But Nathan told David, he said, verse 14, how be it because by this deed thou hast
given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the
child also that is born unto thee shall surely die. David's
child, the child of his lust, was killed. God killed him. He said in verse 10, the sword
will not depart from your house. And David wreaked the consequences
of it in his son's and Amnon and his friend Ahithophel. Yet, we see here in wonderful,
glaring light, these things are written to teach
us again that the Lord our God is merciful. and faithful in
the extreme, where sin abounds, grace superabounds,
and grace reigns through righteousness in pouring out mercy upon us,
because Jesus Christ is the Lord our righteousness. David was
so overwhelmed when he heard this word from Nathan, and put
away thy sin, thou shalt not die. Read the 32nd and the 51st
Psalm. He couldn't find words to express
his gratitude and his praise. He was forgiven immediately.
He was forgiven completely. He was forgiven as soon as he
confessed his sin. Forgiveness was declared. And
it was forgiveness accompanied with a promise. Thou shalt not die. Yet, an innocent child had to
die. You see, God's justice and God's
honor, God's truth must and will be vindicated. God will be honored. And he will act in such a way
that he will show himself honored in all things. And so an innocent
victim died in his stead. And David comforted himself.
Go ahead and read the rest of the chapter. He comforted himself
while the child was sick. He wouldn't eat. He fasted. He prayed. His eyes wept. Tears continually. And when he
found out the child was dead, he said to the servant, fix me
a steak. I'm ready to have some meat. What's wrong with you? He said,
well, while the child was alive there was hope, but now he's
dead and he cannot come to me, but I will go to him. And David's
comfort was that one day soon he would see the child, his sin
destroyed, face to face with joy. And one day, soon, I will see
the child of God, the man-child, the Lord Jesus Christ, the innocent,
the righteous, whom my sin killed, face to face
forever in peace, with not a word between us. Not a thought between
us, but all delight and joy. And then David and Bathsheba
had a son. He went in to comfort his wife,
Bathsheba. And here we have a tremendous
picture of God's faithfulness, especially to his father. They named their son Solomon. David went in. He said to her,
he said, Honey, I brought horrible pain on you
and on myself. Done terrible things. But the
Lord has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordering all things
ensured. This is all my salvation, all
my desire, although He make it not to grow. Everything's going
to be alright. Because God's faithful. God's merciful. He will fulfill his covenant
and bear a son. He said, we'll name this boy
Solomon. Peace. And God sent Nathan to him again.
He said, don't call him Solomon. Call him Jedidiah. Not just peace. Remember, David,
you are beloved of the Lord. And this is God's declaration.
to the man after his own heart. In the teeth of all you are! In the teeth of all you do! Beloved of the Lord, let our
workers out. David, remember, gives birth
to Solomon, through whom came, I repeat, All is well. All is well. Because God is faithful. Amen.