The Ruler
Notes
Transcript
Intro; Last Sunday we looked at “Temptation, A Solicitation to Sin”. In that we saw that Temptation is a different type of weapon of Satan. It is not forced upon a person like deception or accusations are, it is a solicitation from satan to draw out that which is inside of all men, SIN!
We sin because we want to. Sin is a choice we make but the devil will place things in front of us that he knows we will respond to.
Also the scriptures tell us that Satan is the Ruler of this World.
31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.
These scriptures mean that God has granted Satan rule [influence] over men for a time because man in the garden chose to serve Satan instead of God.And even when a person comes to faith in Christ, Satan’s influence still looms in the world we live in and therefore he has the ability to rule area’s of our lives and hinder or destroy our witness of Christ if we let our guards down. When satan has rule in our lives it also hurts those whom we love and those who are lost seeking hope in this world.
If I ask the question, “What was David’s great sin, what would be your answer?” Adultery, which led to lying to cover it up and then to murder of Uriah
The adultery of David cost the lives of at least four people; Uriah, the child that Bathsheba bore, Amnon and Absalom the sons of David
But do you know that David committed a sin that cost the lives of 70,000 Israelites?
Text; 1 Chron. 21:1-17
1 Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.
2 So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring the number of them to me that I may know it.”
3 And Joab answered, “May the Lord make His people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?”
4 Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem.
5 Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to David. All Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who drew the sword.
6 But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s word was abominable to Joab.
7 And God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel.
8 So David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing; but now, I pray, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”
9 Then the Lord spoke to Gad, David’s seer, saying,
10 “Go and tell David, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ”
11 So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Choose for yourself,
12 either three years of famine, or three months to be defeated by your foes with the sword of your enemies overtaking you, or else for three days the sword of the Lord—the plague in the land, with the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now consider what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”
13 And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
14 So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell.
15 And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was destroying, the Lord looked and relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the Lord stood by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
16 Then David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, having in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. So David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.
17 And David said to God, “Was it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and done evil indeed; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, O Lord my God, be against me and my father’s house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”
Prayer
This account is also recorded in [2 Sam. 24]. In that account it says that “God moved David to go and number Israel”. So the question is which account is right and did God make David sin?
Well God never tempts anyone nor does He make one sin. So how do we reconcile these accounts? Easy, God gave the devil permission to test David the same way he gave the devil permission to test Job.
1. The Ruler;
1. The Ruler;
What is a ruler? A person exercising government or authority over others
Government- the system by which a nation, state, or community is governed: the action or manner of controlling or regulating a nation, organization, or people:
The government of God and the government of Satan are total opposites. One exalts holiness and righteousness where the other encourages evil and wickedness. One is pure light and the other is deep darkness!
So how did Satan move David from the government of light to the government of darkness so easily? Especially as the scriptures reveal;
22 And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’
Satan appealed to David’s pride!
[1 Chron. 20] records four great victories of David over the Ammonites and the Philistines and how David took the crown of the Ammonite king and placed on his own head and begin to become a little arrogant or full of himself.
18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.
23 A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.
Pride makes one work independent of God’s government/will. When we become independent of God’s rule over our life, then we invite Satan to rule over us.
1 “Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess,
2 that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.
3 Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
10 “So it shall be, when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build,
11 houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant—when you have eaten and are full—
12 then beware, lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
13 You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name.
14 You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you
15 (for the Lord your God is a jealous God among you), lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth.
Jesus says it this way in the NT;
15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.
2. The Sin of Numbers; 2-7
2. The Sin of Numbers; 2-7
What was wrong with David numbering the people of Israel by taking a census?
[Ex. 30:11-16] there was a census taken of the children of Israel for the purpose of giving a sacrifice [ransom payment] acknowledging God as redeemer from their bondage in Egypt so there would be no plagues come upon them.
[1 Chron. 21] David numbered the people of Israel out of pride to know how powerful he had become instead of giving God glory for the victories won.
David brought the wrath of God upon the nation of Israel because he sinned and gave Satan rule over his will instead of God.
6 … Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
3. Restoring God as Ruler; 8-13
3. Restoring God as Ruler; 8-13
David immediately knew he had sinned and he repented with great sorrow.
Repentance is the process of restoring God as Ruler in our lives and kicking satan out. But too often our sin causes consequences that are not removed. And according to our role in life our sin can affect many, just like David’s did.
David was given a choice of chastening for his sin and none of them were to his liking because it hurt others. So as a godly king David made the best choice, he cast himself on the mercy of God! [v.8]
22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!”
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Close;
This scripture shows how a king, who loves God and is loved by God, can fall into the trap of thinking success is due to his own strength. Pride blinds us to our dependence on God's provision and protection, setting one up to fall into sin and its consequences.
Regardless of which political party is in power, we should never let that have influence/rule how we live our lives. It’s easy to let politics influence our thoughts and actions and become the rule in our lives instead of dependence upon God who raises up kings and removes them.
Who is your Ruler? Self, Satan or God
