Kings and Kingdoms | Sin Sucks

Currently, we are sinking our teeth into the section of this Big Story known as Kings and Kingdom. This great and complicated part of Israel’s history, the nation who represented the people of God in Scripture, depicts scenes of victory and tragedy, hope and despair, gain and loss.

Let’s pray as we begin together…

If you’re sitting on the side aisle seat, then please take the Bibles underneath your chair and pass them to the people sitting in your row.

This next section in our series addresses the latter years of the life of David, and I want to separate this section into 6 unique scenes, beginning in the book of 2 Samuel, chapter 11. It is page _____________ in your Bible.

This slice of history into the life and reign of David highlights an important and very real part of his life as king… and our lives as human beings:

Scene 1 - The Pain and Problem of Sin.

Let’s read scene 1 together: 2 Samuel 11, verses 1-3:

1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. [[all in all a good day for the Israelite army]] But David remained in Jerusalem.

2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful.

Uh oh… you know what happens… Even if you don’t know the story, you still know what happens next.

The latter part of the life of David fires a laser beam focus directly into the reality of sin.

I define sin as anything that you would think or not think… anything you would say or not say… and anything you would do or not do… that falls short of the standard that God set for every single one of us in the person of Jesus Christ.

Jesus summed up this standard for us in just two sentences, saying, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Obviously, so much more could be expounded upon this, but at the core of what it means to live a life that seeks after the heart of God, the very description that God used for David in Acts 13, is this:

Love God

Love Others

Love Yourself

Respect…

Sacrifice…

Uphold…

Anything that distracts your eye off of these 3 core distinctives of love sins against the standard that God set for every single one of us.

I want to teach you a complex theological term that we learn from the latter years of David. I typically do not use weighty terms like this one, but I think the topic today warrants it. The term is this… Sin Sucks!

Sin sucks… say it with me… sin sucks!

I just made all of you say the word suck today in church. I’m either going to get a high five from some of you or an email telling me off - one or the other.

But regardless, sin does suck, doesn’t it?

Sin sucks you in.

During the time when kings go off to war, David stayed back. Call it arrogance, call it pride, call it the desire to live like the god of his own life, but David made a fateful decision to stay home alone in Jerusalem. One sleepless night - anyone else been there - he walked along his rooftop and scanned the roofs of his neighbors - the places where people did private things. Essentially, David went searching for his equivalent of internet pornography.

And he found instant gratification for his loneliness in a beautiful woman bathing on her rooftop.

David sinned the moment that he failed to execute his God-given responsibility as King of Israel. That first sin… as trivial as it may have seemed to David at the time… sucked him in and set into motion a series of events that would nearly destroy him.

Sin does this every time. It almost always begins small with an untamed thought or spontaneous action. It did for David, and it always does for us.

Sin sucks us in. End of Scene 1.

Scene 2 - The Dilemma

Let’s read on in verse 3:

David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” [[[somebody’s wife, somebody’s daughter - a real human being with real consequences]]] 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”

David learns that his one night stand just got complicated, and now, David faces a dilemma caused by his sin: Do I make this right, or do I cover it up?

At one point or another the problem of sin always makes us confront this question, and depending on how we choose to answer it will determine whether or not sin sucks our character and integrity?

As sin sucks you in, the first part of you that begins to deteriorate is the same part of David that began to deteriorate… your character and integrity.

End of Scene 2.

Scene 3 - The Cover Up

Let’s continue on with how David chooses to burn the evidence, beginning in 2 Samuel, chapter 11, verse 6:

6 So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. [[[I would imagine this gift contained a bottle of wine, some massage oils, chocolate]]] 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.

10 David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?”

11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”

12 Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. [[[because when the king tells you to drink, you say yes.]]] But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”

David could no longer tolerate the integrity of Uriah - sin cannot tolerate that kind of behavior - so he took the most brutal stance possible to cover up his sin. He ended Uriah’s life. David ended the life of a man - one of his mighty men - one of his closest and most devout warriors - so that he would not be forced to bear the reality of his sin.

Sin can only survive in the dark, so we cover it up. We hide it.

Sin sucks you in… it sucks your integrity and character…

And Sin also sucks the virtues of your life.

God promised a set of virtues to those who belong to Jesus. Paul named these virtues, “the fruits of the Spirit” in his letter to the Galatians, chapter 5:

“Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

Let me ask you this question: at the times when you feel totally sucked into sin - whatever it might be - sucked into behaviors that inevitably hurt your relationship with God, others, and yourself: do you feel love… joy… peace… patience… kindness… goodness… faithfulness… gentleness… and self-control?

No.

Let me ask you this question: when your life feels totally sucked into sin, how open are you to receiving these fruits of the Spirit from others?

Probably very little to none - because sin sucks these virtues, the fruit of the Spirit, directly out of your life - from receiving them from God and from others and from believing that you possess them yourself.

Whenever I talk with folks who feel sucked into the throngs of sin, I always hear them say phrases like, “I feel so disconnected from God;” “I am doubting my faith;” “I lack community;” “I am at odds with my loved ones;” “I don’t like the person I see in the mirror;” and so on.

Of course you feel that way because you feel trapped in the muck, mire, dirt, grit, and shadow of your sin. And 100% of the time every time, the result of your sin sucks your love for God, others, and yourself.

Sin sucks the virtues of you life.

End Scene 3

Let’s move onto Scene 4 - The Secret

Read along with me in chapter 11, verse 26 and following:

26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.

The Lord sent the Prophet 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 must 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!

You know that feeling that washes over you when you get caught? That hot, weighty, shaking feeling? David felt that a thousand times over.

Secret sin never stays a secret forever. At the very least, but most important, God knows. Yet, sooner or later, someone else always finds out, right?

And the consequences can be devastating. In fact, we learn in Paul’s letter to the Romans that the wages of sin is death. David foreshadowed his own consequence. Indeed, he did deserve death for what he did, and so do we for our sins because of the rejection that we committed against our Heavenly Father.

Ultimately, Sin sucks your life.

Sin sucks you in… Sin sucks your integrity and character… Sin sucks your virtues, and ultimately, Sin sucks away your life. Sin had sucked so much of David’s life away that he did not even recognize himself in the parable.

Sin sucks your life. End Scene 4.

Scene 5 - The Confession

Read with me in chapter 12, verse 13: Listen to what happens here: David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.”

What an amazing interaction! David knew that he deserved death because of his sin. Yet, God spared him. Why? Because David confessed. God saved David because he surrendered, gave up, waved the white flag.

That seems almost too good to be true, but the same offer stands for you.

This confession marks why God described David - a sinner, adulterer, murderer - as a man after his own heart, as recorded in Acts 13. Obviously not because David lived a perfect life. Not even because the people of God considered David their greatest king.

God called David a man after his own heart because rather than killing Nathan and continuing the cover up and living in the secret shadow of his sin, David surrendered. He surrendered to the power, grace, and trust of his Heavenly Father.

David humbly confessed his sin, repented into the saving arms of his Heavenly Father, and allowed God to begin the healing process of heart restoration.

I know that some of you here this morning need to shut down the sucking power of sin. You need to drop the vacuum and let God take the broken and mangled pieces of your life and make them whole again.

For some of you, your sin may go back 20 plus years, but my response to you would be the same God who freed David and the same God whose power resurrected a man from the dead in the person of Jesus WANTS to also restore your life.

If we know anything from the life of David, anything from the life of Jesus - our true and perfect King - then we know that if we humbly confess, turn from our sin and raise our hands to the open arms of our Heavenly Father, then God promises to lift us out of our pain and restore our life anew.

Paul wrote about this a number of times - 2 times in particular in his letter to the Roman church. Here this great news for you:

Romans 3:23-24 - For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

What does it require?

True and humble confession… True and humble confession breathes life into a weary soul. It is like fresh air. Sin will kill your heart and ultimately destroy your life, but as James wrote,

“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed - Sin destroys, but CONFESSION HEALS!

You cannot know what it means to feel rescued until you admit that you feel trapped. (REPEAT)

Perhaps the greatest words penned about confession came from David himself in Psalms 32 and 51. Let me read part of Psalm 32 to you, and then I want us to pray through Psalm 51.

Oh, what joy for those

whose disobedience is forgiven,

whose sin is put out of sight!

2 Yes, what joy for those

whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,

whose lives are lived in complete honesty!

3 When I refused to confess my sin,

my body wasted away,

and I groaned all day long.

4 Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.

My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.

5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you

and stopped trying to hide my guilt.

I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”

And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.

Hear the words of Psalm 51 for you as your first words of confession:

Have mercy on me, O God,

because of your unfailing love.

Because of your great compassion,

blot out the stain of my sins.

2 Wash me clean from my guilt.

Purify me from my sin.

3 For I recognize my rebellion;

it haunts me day and night.

4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;

I have done what is evil in your sight.

You will be proved right in what you say,

and your judgment against me is just.

5 For I was born a sinner—

yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.

6 But you desire honesty from the womb,

teaching me wisdom even there.

7 Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Oh, give me back my joy again;

you have broken me—

now let me rejoice.

9 Don’t keep looking at my sins.

Remove the stain of my guilt.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God.

Renew a loyal spirit within me.

11 Do not banish me from your presence,

and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and make me willing to obey you.

In Your Name, Lord, Amen.

Hear these words of confession, take them to heart, trust them, and live in freedom and health.

Now, I must be truthful with you. There is a sixth scene to this historical narrative that also corresponds to the reality of sin in our life, and it is told in one simple verse:

Scene 6 - The Consequence

14 But because by doing this [[[ by committing this sin]]] you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.”

David certainly faced the consequences of disobeying God, killing his mighty men, and leading his army into harm’s way.

Because… Sin bears a consequence.

Yet, for David, nothing could squash the joy of his newfound restoration!

The Lord promises to cleanse you and make you white as snow, pure and innocent in the eyes of your Heavenly Father. Just like for David - and for me - and for others of you in here who can speak to this truth - I hope this promise frees you to dig into the work that you may need to do in order to repair what your sin broke.

What are the consequences of your sin that you need to face?

You might need to call someone as soon as this service ends and offer an apology. You might need to sit down with your spouse this afternoon and talk about some things. You might need to seek a therapist. You might need to pause some of your extracurriculars, and instead, invest that time into repairing your broken relationships.

Whatever you need to do, do it… do it right now… do it today… I urge you to do it. You cannot afford to keep your sin a secret. Confess, repent, and restore. The Lord promises healing, so let it begin today.

Let’s pray…