Sermon Tone Analysis

*Even More*

 

2 Samuel 12:1-7a /The Lord sent Nathan to David.

When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought.

He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children.

It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms.

It was like a daughter to him.  4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him.

Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”  5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!”/

2 Samuel 12:7b-8 /This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms.

I gave you the house of Israel and Judah.

And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more./

The Bible gives us some “even mores” that we can look at and understand this concept.

Proverbs 11:24 instructs us that those who give freely gains even more.

In Mark 4:24, Jesus is teaching his disciples and tells them that with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you, and even more.

The Egyptians, in Exodus 1 were afraid of the Israelites and oppressed them so that they could not become even more numerous.

Pilate was even more afraid of the decision he was to make upon hearing that Jesus claimed to be God’s son.  2 Chronicles 28:22 says that in the time of trouble, King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to God.

In Philemon 21, Paul, knowing his obedience, writes that he knows that Philemon will do even more than Paul is asking.

The fact is that your life has just that in store for it….Even more.

Even more.

Even more!!!

 

See what God has done here.

He walked into David’s right now, cut him to the core through Nathan, and turns right around and affirms him.

His sin is exposed, and immediately, God begins the healing process.

That’s what I pray God will do in this house this morning.

I look for God to cut some to the quick, and then draw you into His healing, loving arms.

There are some incredible lessons to be learned from scripture.

Consider the life of David.

We think about his psalms.

We remember his triumphs and trials.

We refer to him as a man after God’s own heart.

But something we often overlook is David’s passion.

He fought and defeated lions and bears that attacked his flock.

He wrote and we recite his psalms.

He danced extravagantly before many people, and remarked that he would become even more undignified.

He slung a stone into a giant’s forehead because he mocked the Lord God Almighty.

When you think about it, writing and singing psalms and fighting lions and giants don’t go together.

But I want you to hear something:  *The talents and passions that you have been blessed with can also be the very things that the enemy will use to destroy your life.*

God has placed special abilities within you that allow you to accomplish things that others cannot.

They are factory installed options that are “you-specific”.

But if you do not purpose those things under God’s supervision at all times, the devil will find ways to pervert them and use them to tear down others.

Once God comes in and cleans out your heart and mind, it’s not enough just to settle on that thought…His desire is that you obtain even more of Him every day of your life.

If you clean an empty vessel, and sit it back on a shelf for some time, it will require your hand to clean it again before it can be used.

So it is with our lives.

When the devil is removed due to God’s Spiritual washing, he watches for any opportunity to slip back in and destroy the regeneration that has taken place.

And when one demon is removed, given the chance, comes back in with 7 more spirits.

The same things that the devil may be using to destroy your life are the exact talents that God gave you to accomplish His plan for your life.

What I’m trying to say is that the same things that make you bad for the devil will make you great for Jesus.

But you have to choose to fight.

It’s not such an easy road…you may have to make decisions that will leave scars.

But when you fight for Jesus it empowers you in such a positive way that mountains fall.

It’s time that you get up, just like they did with Gideon, and shout a little to let the enemy know we’re still in the battle.

We’re too accustomed to sitting back and staying contained, but if we were backed into a corner, or our lives threatened, we would be very vocal in finding a way of escape.

David was backed into a corner.

He chose to stay back from the fight.

In a restless evening he saw a woman bathing and lust set in.

After inquiring about the woman, found out she was Bathsheba, Uriah the Hittite’s wife, called her to him and slept with her.

She then conceived and sent word back to David.

David tried to cover his sin by calling in Uriah from the battle grounds so that he would sleep with her.

Two nights in a row he attempted the deception, and the second night even got him drunk, but Uriah’s passion and dedication for his fellow countrymen brought him to sleep at the entrance to the palace with the servants.

At that, David sent word to Joab to place Uriah at the front of the line where the fiercest fighting was, then to withdraw, leaving Uriah to be killed.

And so it happened.

And God was displeased with David’s actions.

God was displeased.

But look at the story.

After David is set up and indignantly responds to the “hypothetical” situation, God points out that David was called to such a higher office that he was portraying.

He points out that David is too anointed to stay in the mess he caused himself to be into.

The same applies to you.

You are too anointed to stay in the mess.

When God brought you out of where you were, He anointed and appointed you for service.

You can’t come into God’s house and sleep and daydream.

You can’t allow yourself to kick back and be unmoved by needs and hurts of others.

You cannot look at sin’s face and not be saddened by the ignorance and selfishness.

You must choose to walk in the anointing God has placed on your life.

Ignite your church with the fire and passion that God has placed within you!!!

God said “I delivered you from the hands of Saul.”

To be delivered, in the world of Fed-Ex means that something has been bound up, picked up, and shipped to a location where the contents can be unloosed and used for its intended purpose.

What has God delivered you from, and where has He sent you, and for what purpose?

The answer is simple….you

were delivered from a life of sin, sent to a world that is unseasoned and dark, and to share a message that holds eternal value to all that accept its contents..which is Jesus Christ.

Understand this from David’s story.

God pointed out all the things that He had given to David, and then made this remark….”and

if that had not been enough, there was more I would have given to you!!”  What do you have today?

Don’t let the cares of this world or the pride of life rob you of what God has in store for you.

All that He has already done for you, and has planned for your eternity, and yet He has even more to offer you in this world….all

you have to do it place yourself into His care!!!

God is standing here with us today ready to move in our lives.

He has even more than you can ask or think.

The measure you use to serve Him, He’ll turn it around to bless you, and even more!!!  Do you stand and cheer for a movie or sporting event?

You should worship God with even more intensity.

How willing are you to spend extra money you have on a hobby or desire around the house?

It’s time today for you to choose to bring Him even more than you’ve trusted Him with in the past.

How faithful are you to doctors and medicines and treatments?

Even more should your prayers go up to the Throne Room of Heaven to see a miracle take place in your life.

Your passion and desire for doing things that go against the nature of God is the very passion and desire that God will use to transform this world.

It’s time right now for your Even More, so that His Even More will become reality for you.