LIFE IN THE HANDS OF THE POTTER: DAVID

Sermon Notes, September 18, 2016

Rev. Garry McGlinchy

Pastor Garry’s sermon Sunday was titled “Life in the Hands of the Potter: David,” and was based on 2 Samuel 12:1-14.  Last week, looking at Joseph, we learned that when we live life in the Potter’s hands God uses our suffering to develop strong character and deep wisdom, and  God uses any situation for His glory.  In this passage we will take a look at a crucial point in the life of David. 

Let’s look at who David was. He was the greatest king of Israel; a mighty warrior, who took down Goliath and hundreds of thousands of Israel’s enemies; he brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem; he was a man of faith as stated in Hebrews 11; he was a “man after Gods own heart”; he was one of Jesus’ ancestors.  He had weaknesses: he committed adultery with Bathsheba; he had her husband murdered to cover up the affair; he fathered an illegitimate child with Bathsheba; he directly disobeyed God’s command in taking a census of the people; and he did not deal directly or decisively with the sons of his children.  Most of his story takes place in Bethlehem and Jerusalem.  He was a shepherd, a musician, a poet, a soldier and a king.  He was the son of Jesse, husband to Michel, Ahinoam, and Bathsheba, and father to Absalom, Amnon, Solomon, Adonijah, and his daughter Tamar.

There are many things we could take out of this passage, but we will focus on two:  When we live life in the hands of the Potter REPENTANCE is our first response to our sin.  The second area of focus is that even though we may make mistakes we find GRACE and FORGIVENESS in the hands of the Potter,

Repentance is our first response to our sin. As a prophet, Nathan was required to confront sin wherever he saw it, even if the sin that needed to be confronted was the king’s! Nathan could only do this with God’s power, that’s for sure.  It had been a year since David committed adultery with Bathsheba and ordered her husband’s murder.  Probably Nathan had been seeking God’s guidance on this issue for a while.  So he told a story to get David to a place where he could be confronted with his sin.  Nathan used great courage, skill and tact to speak to David in a way that would cause him to become aware of his actions.  It is through Nathan that we see the importance of seeking God first before we confront someone with their sin.  We also learn that the way we present our message oftentimes speaks louder than the message itself.  Over the year, David had become so desensitized to his sin that he didn’t even realize that Nathan’s story was really about him!  But look at what happens when Israel’s greatest king fully understands what Nathan is talking about.  David responds by saying, “I have sinned against the Lord.”  He took full responsibility.  He could have made excuses, but he didn’t.

We find grace and forgiveness in the hands of the Potter.  The predictions that Nathan gave David came true.  Because David had Uriah murdered and stole his wife, murder was a constant threat in his family.  His descendants rebelled against him.  His wives were given to other men in public view, and his firstborn child with Bathsheba died.  If David had known and understood the weight of the consequences of his sin, would he have pursued his lustful desires in the first place?  We need to understand that it is possible to step away from the hands of the Potter, to step outside of His will.  However, should this be the choice that you make—and it is a choice—you’d better be ready for the consequences that WILL come.

David wrote Psalm 51 at this time of his life.  In this psalm he gives some incredible insight into his character that offers us hope as well.  In Psalm 51 we learn that no matter how awful our guilt may make us feel, no matter how wretched our sins may be, we can pour out our heart to God and seek His forgiveness, just as David did.  Know this to be true: there is grace and forgiveness in the hands of the Potter when we repent of our sins!  David also wrote psalm 32 to express the deep joy that he felt after he had been forgiven. 

He confessed and repented of his sin, but there was still a consequence.  God’s judgment was that the child that was conceived during David’s lustful endeavor would die.  These consequences were irreversible, just as they are with us today.  Sometimes a simple apology just isn’t enough.  When God forgives us and restores our relationship with him—and He will—it doesn’t mean that all the consequences are eliminated.  When we sin we must understand that we may be setting into motion events with irreversible consequences!  Understand that this judgment had nothing to do with the child, but it had everything to do with David’s disgrace against God.  The reality is that both David and Bathsheba deserved to die; however God spared their lives.  God was not done with David.  He was still needed to build the kingdom.

When it comes to God, the only thing that will keep us from Him is if we utterly reject Him.  In other words there is no sin so severe that would make God reject us and throw us off to the side.  WE are the ones who reject Him.  There is no limit to God’s grace and forgiveness.  He uses our missteps for His glory.  David stepped away from God’s will when he allowed sin to take up residence in his life.  Through his story we learn that sin shows no bias: it will overtake anyone that willingly opens the door and lets it in!  Even the “spiritual giants” of the world.  More importantly, we learn that if we are to seek the heart of God, then we must come clean with the sin that separates us from Him.  We need to remember that even though there will be consequences for our actions we can find grace and forgiveness in the hands of the Potter!