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Welcome to the live big broadcast with Derek Greer. We believe this teaching from God's word will empower you to live a full, impactful life in Christ. Let's dig in.

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We're going to be in second Samuel, two Samuel, chapter 12. And we're going to begin a series. I don't know how long this series will go. It could go two weeks, could go five, 10 weeks. I'm not quite sure. But we're going to start today in two Samuel, chapter 12 and verse 9. And it begins with Nathan the prophet asking a question. It starts with why David had just sinned with Bathsheba, but he had gone on with life like nothing happened. And you know, how many of y' all have done that? Yeah. And God had left him to conscience for over nine months because she already had the baby. And actually the baby died. But all that time, he ignored his own heart and ignore your own conscience at your own peril. So God then at that point, had to send a prophet named Nathan to the king to announce judgment. A writer said this. He said, the reason we're still alive is not because God is giving us more time to party, but because he's giving us more space to repent. So Nathan said, why have you despised to make light or minor the commandment of the Lord? David got into this mess because although he was a leader of God's people, God had promoted him from a shepherd to a king. But over time, he started to, you know, listen to the scriptures. And maybe, you know, they didn't really have church back then, but let's just say he kind of attended church. He kind of listened to some of the things that were said. But over time, he began to take the scriptures, to take God's word lightly. It all started with ignoring a little bit here and a little bit there. Started thinking, you know, all the other kings are doing whatever they feel like doing, and they seem to be getting away with it. How about me? Why can't I? But no one ever makes a difference being like everyone else. When God's word becomes minor in our lives, major pain always follows. So all of us will have this temptation. At first, God's Word is exciting. I mean, just like, you know, Bishop Tutu, he was telling a parable. And I was watching the DC young man listening to him preach. And he said, you know, those stained glass windows are always wrong. You always see this young little lamb in the arms of Jesus. He said, no, it's not the young lambs that stray. The young lambs want mother's Milk. They're not wandering off. They are hungry and they want the milk. It is the old sheep that's stray. And David had become an older sheep. And it's like, well, yeah, you know, I used to be serious about this stuff. I used to, you know, pay attention. But you know what? I've got a little bit more sophisticated in my age. And you know what? I think God's going to cover me. So the prophet Nathan asked David a question that God is going to ask each of us one day. Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight? You see, God's word is not intended to be a burden. Jesus said, my yoke is easy, My burden is light. Meaning with everything God asks us to do, he gives us the grace to get it done. So the word of God is really intended to be the guardrails in our lives to keep us from harm. And ignoring them is like getting on a roller coaster ride and not waiting for the safety restraint bars to go click. And he said to David, now all of this happened not because David was instinctively a killer or just a man worse than others. It all happened because he stopped taking God's word seriously. And listen, I'm watching a lot of, yeah, yeah, I know what the Bible says, but I know what bishop been teaching. But he said, david, the problem started with you not taking the word of God seriously. And here's the result. And I don't care what my title is, I don't care how long I've been with the Lord, if I stop paying attention to God's word, I'm gonna be just as backwards, just as messed up as any other man. He said, you have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword. Now this may surprise you, but the chief charge against David was not adultery. It was murder. Then it says, you have taken his wife to be your wife. The second charge was adultery. And we tend to focus on the salacious, but miss sometimes the equally important and have killed him with the sword of the people of Amnon. Now, many of us know the story. The third charge was really about the abuse of power. David did not kill Uriah personally. He just withdrew military support. We're not only responsible for what we commit, we're also responsible for what we permit. You're here with me this morning. I feel somebody pulling some good stuff out of me. Now, therefore, God has spoken. Listen, he left him to conscience. He wouldn't listen to conscience. Every day and night, you know, God was, you know, working, working on his heart The Holy Spirit was working on his heart, but he wouldn't listen. So finally, the prophet had to come with judgment. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house. You see, God is poetic in that David was willing to destroy Uriah's family and that act would actually bring ruin to his own family. Life is an echo. What we send out comes back. Stop being so surprised. What we give, we get, and what we sow, we reap. The sword shall never in your lifetime depart from your house. Why? Because you despised me. You made my word little in your life. You started listening to the psychologists, the motivational speakers, and you stopped paying attention to my word. There are good psychologists and good motivational speakers. I'm just talking about half of them. And have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. When God shrinks in, you're living, you're giving, you're loving, you're serving. It's just a matter of time before you do something even dumber than letting God shrink. I used to think that obedience was mainly a faith test. But with more life and more experience and more years. I see. Really, obedience is just God's way of getting me the best. It's not just about a test. It's about God's best. God's best is whatever God tells me to do. Because he's a good God, the only wise God. He's a faithful God, a kind God, a loving God. And obedience to him is really the beginning of wisdom. Verse 11. Thus says the Lord. So Nathan put his bony finger in the king's face. Behold, I will raise up adversity. One translation says rebellion. So here we see. David rebelled against God, so he would receive or experience rebellion with his own children in his own house. So how you treat Father God, you will see. Show up at home, it's already getting tough. But please don't mishear me. Every rebellious child is not necessarily the result of God's displeasure. Because we know the Bible. Adam and Eve had the best father possible. Can anyone get better than Father God? But they rebelled. The prodigal son. How many know that story? Yeah, he had an incredibly loving and patient father, but he still went left. The best practical advice I could give you when your child goes sideways is simply most rebellion is a sign of a child fighting to be seen. And kids don't always know how to communicate and they don't know how to say it. And some kids, they. They act out in order to be seen. And a lot of times we try to reprimand the Behavior, but we're not really looking at the fruit of the issue. And they just want to be seen. They want to be acknowledged. They want to be recognized for who they are. You understand what I'm saying? So make sure you're seeing not just controlling, but seeing your children. Thus says the Lord, behold, I will raise adversity against you. Watch this from your own house. When God's chastisement shows up in your own home, it is the most painful and the closest to your heart. And by this time, with David, his household was actually a small army. He had more children than Nick Cannon. He did. David had eight known wives, not counting the unknown number of wives and unnamed concubines as well. The Bible records at least 21 children from his known wives. So imagine what was going on with the concubines and the unknown wives. David was not just playing the harp all the time. 2nd Samuel 13, verse 1. So in the next chapter after the tryst, it says after this, Absalom, the son of David, his third son from another wife, Maacah, or Maacah, who was the princess of Geshur or Gushur, he would Solomon actually learn this from him. He would make allegiances with countries through marrying the princess of that land. So Absalom the son of David had a lovely sister whose name was Tamar, who was actually Amnon's half sister. And Amnon, the son of David, Watch this. Loved her. So, Amnon, just so we get the narrative clear here, is David's firstborn son, but Amnon is actually from yet another wife, Ahinnaim, the Jezreelite. So obviously David stayed really, really busy here. But stories like these are why I believe the Bible. Because if the writers of the Bible were not under inspiration to tell the truth, how many of y' all know I would have left stuff like this out? Yeah, you just leave this stuff out. But truth is often stranger than fiction. Yes, Amnon, watch this. Was so distressed over his sister Tamar that he became sick. My generations would call this the Love Jones, for she was a virgin. So the fact that she was marryable and he could not marry her made him sick to even think about it. But watch. Just like his daddy with Bathsheba, Amnon had a problem telling himself no. And it was improper for Amnon to do anything to her. So this made him sick. And you better believe it should have made him sick. But this will soon be okay in our culture if we keep going in the direction we're going in. But Amnon had a friend whose Name was Jonadab, the son of Shimea, David's brother. In other words, his cousin. Some of the most poisonous people can come disguised as family and friends. It's impossible to live a right life listening to the wrong friends, the wrong people. Now, Jonadab was a crafty man, but the problem was these guys weren't children anymore. Called him a man. These were highly intelligent and capable men about to play a very, very, very, very dangerous game. They were about to learn that people are not toys. You can't just put them back in the box when you're done. And he said to him, that's why you need good friends that can speak the truth to you. In love. Say, what's wrong with you, man? What are you doing? But instead, his cousin said this. Why are you, the king's son, becoming thinner day after day? Will you not tell me? Then Amnon told him a secret, really wasn't so secret. People could tell by the look in his eye. I love Tamar. The difference between love and lust is. Lust is just about the physical. Love includes the emotional and the spiritual. Lust blinds us to reality, but love deepens our reality. Love without integrity is lust. Love without me caring for your integrity is lust. Love that only cares about what I get and what feels good to me is lust. So he's in lust, calling it love with his sister. And you're going to have to read some of this story after me because he ends up kicking her out of the bed. It's a whole ugly thing that he does. He says, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister. So Jonadab said to Amnon, lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. This is why you need good friends. You see, Jonadab knew his dad, David had a blind spot. And he knew that David could not say no to his children. And just because you're anointed or good in one area of your life doesn't necessarily mean you're good in every area of your life. Somebody once said this. If you raise your children, you can spoil your grandchildren. But if you spoil your children, you're going to end up raising your grandchildren. How many are learning from David? Let's learn from David. All right, I'll say it again. If you raise your children, you'll be able to spoil your grandchildren. But if you spoil your children, you end up raising your grandchildren. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, please let my sister Tamar come and give me food. Watch this and prepare food in my Sight that I may see and eat it from her hand. Now, David knew that his son was both spoiled and lusty. He also knew that his daughter Tamar was particularly beautiful. But when it came to his son, he thought his son could do no wrong. And you hurt your children when you don't honestly look at them. The first thing we learn about parenting from David now, we learn things we should do and things we should not do from our mentors. So the first thing we learn about being a good parent from David is beautiful, honest with yourself about your child's strengths and your child's weaknesses. You will never, ever help a child overcome their weaknesses by pretending they're not there. Then Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. And when the king came to see him, Amnon makes the appeal to his father, you know, based on what Pukey and Ray Ray told him to do. He said, dad, please let Tamar, my sister, come and make a couple of cakes for me in my sight that I may eat from her hand. He did not say, let Tamar come because she's a great cook. She's the best cook in the family, and you know that. Dad, that's not what he said. He said, I want her to cook so I can watch in my sight, and I want to be personally fed from her pretty hand. Am I the only one that would be just a little bit suspicious if my lusty, crazy son said this about his beautiful sister? You see, David was a great king, a great singer, a great warrior, but a terrible father. You see, every father must live with the fact that one day his sons will only follow his example, not necessarily his advice. And this was the case with David. And David, blinded by his affection for his son, sent home to Tamar. The second thing we learn from David is a good parent knows their child's not always telling the truth. We lied as children. Okay, y' all quiet. How many of you listening by livestream or in this room, never lied to your parents as a child? Lift your hand. Thank you. We all lied as children. I can't even count how many times I lied as a child. If I was Pinocchio, man, my nose would be dragging on the ground beneath me. We all lied as children. Why do you expect your child to be any different? He wasn't born in a manger. So David sent home to Tamar, saying, now go to your brother. This is going to cost David Amnon's house for him and prepare him food. The third thing David's teaching us about being a good parent is you can't always tell your child. Yes, no can be a powerful in an anointed word parent. It's okay to tell your child every now and then? No, not always. No. But every now and then a well placed no will help them. They won't die. True story. They might even grow. A well placed no can help your child succeed. So Tamar innocently went to her brother Amnon's house because David was not honest enough with himself about his son to check his son. Neither was he invested enough in his daughter to teach her about the ways of the world so she could better protect herself. Dads, it's our responsibility to teach her. Everything is not dandelion. Everybody don't love you. Everybody's not for you. We live in a dangerous world. Everyone's not always good. Make sure your children know God, but also make sure they can handle themselves in the world. So Tamar comes in and he was lying down. Doesn't say the type of music he was playing because it's not there. But she might have been a little suspicious, but maybe not yet. But then she took flour and she kneaded it. And she's doing all this stuff and. And he's watching. Yeah, I know. And make cakes in his sight. She could feel his eyes on the back of her neck. And she baked the cakes. But she's trying to be a good daughter. She's trying to be a good sister, but she's a little bit naive. Give, but know when you're being used. Love, but know when you're being abused. Listen, but don't lose your own voice. Trust. But please, please, young ladies, pay attention. And she took the pan and placed them out before him. Watch this. He refused to eat because it really wasn't food he was hungry for. And you can guess the rest of the story. Parents, we will all make mistakes. Like David, God had to judge him. And he said, listen for all your days, basically what you did to Uriah's house is going to come back in your own house. But what's important here is if we learn the lessons when it's over, God can turn it into blessings. I want you to watch what God says in Joel 2:25. This was the promise that God made to Israel after they went into 70 years of judgment. So even though David was dealing with the discipline of God, and even though some of us may be dealing with God's discipline in some area of our lives, I want you to still see God's heart in the midst of all of it. And by the Way I kind of cut my message short on this because it just got too ugly, the narrative, and I just had to pull back. It was just too hard. But let's go to Joel 2. 25. Watch God. So I will restore. Some translations say repay. Others say pay back, compensate, give back, or make up to you the years. How many have some years, not just some hours or a month or. But years you'd like to get back. How many of you have some losses, some mistakes you just wish you could get back? Yeah, but what I want to show you here is the same God who judged his rebellious people with 70 years of Babylonian captivity. Afterward came with a promise. It was almost like he's not apologizing because God was right, but I want you to see the tenderness of God. We sung earlier about God's reckless love. We're not saying God is reckless. God can't make a mistake. But to be reckless is not to consider yourself. It's not considered a damage or the danger that you could bring on yourself. God loved us so recklessly it caused him to be willing to hang himself on you. Hear what I'm saying? To die a terrible sinner's criminal's death, it was reckless. No regard for self or his own safety. God loves us recklessly. So here God judges them, but then he promises them, almost as if to apologize. But he can't apologize, because he was right. They had what was coming. It's like spanking a child, saying, I'm sorry I had to do that. This was the spirit of God here. So I restore, I will restore you. The years, everything God's judgment caused them to lose, he wanted to restore, repay, give back and make up for. And if he was that way, under an inferior covenant, how much more after the blood of Jesus, even if you deserve everything that happened in your life and family, this promise is for us. Actually, if you're properly looking at the scriptures and exegeting properly, you'll find later in this chapter, he was referring to the New Testament Church. This whole promise is really to us. He says, so I will restore. And actually, the apostles quoted, I'll restore to you the years the swarming locust has eaten. Now, if you read your Bible, actually, the Bible says in verse 10, God set the locusts on the people. They were God's army. You see, locusts were not dangerous individually, but only when they swarmed. You see, when they swarmed, they showed up by the billions and the trillions. They could darken the sky for miles that they could eat everything a Farmer had worked all year to develop and to raise, including future seed. See, that's what's so horrible about locusts. Because a drought, at least you could get seed from the plant that was dying on the vine, that when the rains come back, you could plant again. But with the locusts, they not only eat the vegetation that's there, they eat it down to the seed. And Satan doesn't want to just impact you, he wants to impact your seed. He wants to eat you down to your seed. Yep. But here's God's promise. Even when your seed has been swallowed up, this is God's promise. I will restore to you the years the swarming locust has eaten down to your seed, not only your life, but your seed's life. Hallelujah. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Hallelujah. Yes, Lord. Thank you, Lord. He said, I will restore you the year. How do you get time back? Only God knows how to do that. But God is saying he can get you back stolen time, lost time. God is that good? I mean, we're straining. God, it's like, you know, Lord, if you pay my light bill, it's like all the lights in heaven are going to dim because God has used so much energy to pay your light bill, your water bill. We ask so small. We have not. Because we ask not. God's a big God, a loving God, a gracious God, the almighty God. Start praying. Big prayers. God, restore to me everything. The canker worm, the pomer worm, the gnawing worm has stolen from my life and my family. How many have some. Not only a couple weeks, but years. The devil has stolen from your house, from your family, from your marriage, from your life. But God's promise is bigger than your mess, bigger than your mistakes. He said, I myself, I'm not sending an angel. The great I am who parted the Red Sea. The I am that was with Daniel in the lion's den. The I am that caused the sun not to set for Joshua. The I am who calls Jesus to raise up from the dead. I even I will restore for you. For you. For you. Thank God for what he did for somebody else. I restore you the years that the swarming locusts has eaten. And what he was saying is, he was saying, because you submitted to the process, you submitted to my discipline, you went through what you needed to go through. I'm going to reward you. God is so good, he'll spank you, then reward you for taking the spanking. He's a good God. A good God. He said, I will and listen, don't just let this be me preaching here. Take this promise and apply it to your house. God, you said that you'll restore the years that the swarming locust has eaten. You see individually a little locust is not dangerous. But when he gets together with all his pals and in life sometimes you know it's not just one problem. There's a swarm of issues. There's a swarm of mistakes. A swarm of stuff that has occurred. It's just eaten our lives up. But God promises. He looks at our lives and sees everything eaten. And with full awareness studying every single thing down to the toenail of it. I will restore you, Hugh. Hu hu hu. You you. The years, the swarm. Anybody been in the swarm? The swarming locust has eaten. Even things that feel like God's harshest discipline are rigged in our favor. Maybe you didn't parent right. Maybe you deserve every bad thing that's happened to you in your life. But if you give it to him, if you give it to him, if you give it to him, every wrong choice, every self inflicted loss, every regret Jesus can repay, restore, compensate, give back, make up for. But you're going to have to believe the promise.