“Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.” (2 Samuel 12:7 NKJV).
*”How does the Lord ‘meet’ us with blessings of goodness and loving kindness?
The Holy Spirit drives out all fear from us – fear of falling, of being cut off from God, of losing the presence of the Holy Spirit – by implanting in us His joy. We are to go forth rejoicing, as David did, because God assured us we will prevail.
Yet so few Christians have this joy and exceeding gladness. Multitudes never know rest of soul or peace of Christ’s presence. They walk around us if in mourning, picturing themselves under the thumb of God’s wrath, rather than under His protective wings.
They see Him as a harsh taskmaster, always ready to bring a whip down on their backs. And so they live unhappily, with no hope, more dead than alive. But in God’s eyes, our problem isn’t sin; it is TRUST.
Jesus settled our sin problem once and for all at Calvary. He doesn’t constantly harp on us. ‘This time you have crossed the line.’ No, never! His attitude toward us is just the opposite. His Spirit is constantly wooing us, reminding us of the Father’s loving kindness even in the midst of our failures.
When we become focused on our sin, we lose all sight of what God wants most: ‘But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.’ (Hebrews 11:6 NKJV).
This verse says it all. Our God is a rewarder, and He is so anxious to shower us with His loving kindness that He blesses us way ahead of schedule. This is the concept our heavenly Father longs for us to have with Him. He knows contriteness is coming.
But He can’t wait for the due date. So He jumps in saying, ‘I want to assure my child he won’t be judged, because I’ve already forgiven him through my Son’s cleansing blood.”
“David is an example of someone who was blessed with God’s goodness even though he went ‘too far’
You know David’s story. He went way beyond temptation, falling into blatant adultery. Then things got worse: David lied to cover his sin. When that didn’t work, he committed murder to keep from being found out. David became a hypocrite, sinning in the face of God’s blessings, causing God’s enemies to rejoice, and bringing shame on the name of the Lord. Yet, we all know how the story ended. David was forgiven and fully restored, though he was disciplined severely.
My question is, at what point was David forgiven? God sent the prophet Nathan to confront David about his sin. The Lord said ‘I want you to tell David about how evil his sin is in my sight. As a result of his iniquity, the sword will not depart from his house.”*
We will continue in Part 5. CHRIS
*This teaching is paraphrased from the World Challenge Pulpit Series. This message was delivered by David Wilkerson at the Times Square Church in New York City, February 26, 2007. “The Preventing Love of the Lord, An Encouraging Message for Those In Need of Hope”
Covenant Chronicles with Chris Lovett 