I'm going to have you turn to 2 Samuel chapter 12. This morning, Brother Nick, is it? He stole a portion of my message this morning, so when I get to that point, I'll shut up, okay? I appreciate the sows and the blessing they've been to our family. I'm indebted to entourage from Rochester, New York. Brother Camilleri and some of the with him this morning have been a great blessing to us and helped us and good to see them. I'm not going to read the background of this text here. I won't take the time. Most everybody knows. the background, but in 2 Samuel 12, verse 20, it says, Then arose from the earth, David arose from the earth and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped. Then came he to his own house, and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. As I said, most everybody knows the story of David's sin and Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah, Bathsheba's husband. This is a grievous, wicked sin and that cannot be denied. In addition to this, he tried to cover his sin by bringing Uriah back from the battlefield so he would be with his wife. Then when this didn't work, he had Joab place Uriah in a position where he would be killed in battle. A lot of sin involved there, amen? A baby was born as a result of this foray into licentiousness. And this would tell us that David successfully, quote unquote, covered his sin for a better part of a year at least. But God was watching and sent Nathan the prophet to rebuke the king. Part of the judgment to come was the death of the baby. What a lot of people forget about this wicked behavior is the mercy and grace of God extended to David. If I read my Bible right, David should have been stoned. Yet God was very kind to David and forgave him. Praise God for His mercy to us. With thou, O Lord, our God full of compassion, and grievous, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth, I thank God for His mercy to me. But back to the subject at hand, the baby became ill and David lay upon the earth and besought the Lord. fasted that the child might be spared. But after seven days, the child died. The member of his household feared to tell David that the child was dead because of the behavior before he died. When he saw them whispering about the death, he asked them if the child was dead. They assured him that it was. Then he got up and went about his business. David's household was surprised that he did not keep on praying and mourning. They asked him about it, and he told them basically there was not anything he could do to bring back the boy. So it just as well go on with his life, and that's what he did. I'm going to speak to you this morning for a few moments about what to do when you can't do anything about it. Father in heaven, we ask that you'd bless us as we look into your word. And Lord, I just want to be a help. I want to be a blessing. And I want to please you. So Lord, I pray that you would help me and that folks would pray for me. And we thank you for the word that we heard before, the blessing of that message and reminder. Lord, that we need to go to you in times of famine. Help us, Lord, today. We pray and speak to our hearts in Christ's name. Amen. The first thing we see here that he got up. He arose. He didn't stay on the ground. You know, I want to do something this morning. I want to show you what this says to me, what this reminds me of. I think of a missionary that I was with in Haiti years ago. He had taken me up in the mountains with him. He told me this story, and a lot of you probably won't believe this, but Ed Shreve, was a real man. He reminded me so much of his father. And he and his wife served there in Haiti for many years until he died of cancer of the brain. But he told me about one time, didn't have very good devotions in the morning, and he was getting, went to bed early, and he was getting tired and He's laying there in bed and he said that all of a sudden he heard a noise. It sounded like a pig, but it was making pigly noises as it came towards his bedroom window. And what he told me was that the witch doctor will send out packs on people and they will use an animal or they'll use a person. They have a pact out on them to kill them, to destroy them. And so he recognized that there was something strange about that pig and he felt like that was what was taking place because the witch doctor had threatened him, I believe he said. So he'd been told certain scriptures to quote. at a time like that, and he couldn't think of them. His mind just went blank, and he said, then he felt like he was falling into a pit, a black pit. He said, after a while a song came to him, and he began to sing that song, and then he had some scriptures come to him. He began to quote those scriptures, and he fell asleep. He slept late. The next morning he got up and his wife, Jessie, came in and said, Ed, get up and look out this window here. He looked outside the window and there was that pig dead. You can say you don't believe that, but I believe him. He was a sincere man. He wasn't making up a story. And sometimes we have situations where we need to get up. And the only way he really got the victory over that pig was through quoting scriptures. It might be through a song, it might be through a passage of scripture, but you need to get up. You need to make a decision like the prodigal son, when he came to himself, he made a decision to go back to his father. And there are times in our life when we need to just make a decision. I don't know what's happened in your past life. I don't know what you've been involved in. I don't know what sin you're involved in right now. That's none of my business. I think about this one time when we're out in the lobby of a church and people are getting right with God and This was after service was over, and this lady came up to me and said, wouldn't you like to know what they've been into? And I said, I don't want to hear about it. I don't want to know what they've been into. I don't know what you've been into, and I don't know what's going on in your life. I think of Stephanie Wesko and her husband in Cameroon. They're just a few days and got killed. And she's been posting on social media about her life and about what she's going through with. And it looks like now she's gained a victory over it. Have you heard about her? Many have. And she's still going through problems and will for years. But what do you do when you can't do anything about it? You can't bring him back? David couldn't bring back this baby? What do you do? First of all, you just get up. Make a decision. I'm going to get up, I'm going to arise. So he arose. I want you to know something. Second, he did. He applied water. Said he washed himself. I imagine there were some pretty strong odors coming off of David by that time. On the ground there, fasting. Don't you imagine? Hadn't taken a bath? I think he needed one. I think about this woman that we picked up out west one time. Seemed like we were always picking somebody up. I believe we've picked up at least over 50 people. Some have lived with us for a year or so. But this woman hadn't had a bath in a long time evidently. And she came in on the bus and the girls wanted to get away from her. And so we stopped at a truck stop. I don't know which one it was. It might have been Pilot. My wife took her in and got her a bath. And we sent her on her way. She didn't stay with us very long. Think about what my brother said to him when he was high school. You know, we were raised on a little farm and we had cows and we had to take care of the cows. And somebody's already mentioned out here about the odor and so on. But you get that cow stink on you, you know. And that girl in high school in class said to my brother, who's now in eternity, said, you smell like a cow. And he said, that's nothing, you look like one. Water, I believe, is a picture of God's Word. It says in Ephesians 5.26 that he might sanctify and cleanse it by the washing of water by the Word. Also in Hebrews 10.22, let us draw near with a true heart of full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Now, I don't know what all that means. Is this thing secure? Okay. But I'll tell you what. I might not get something, some sparkling gem out of the Word of God every day I read the Bible. I read it every day. But what I get, I get my soul bathed in the Word of God. That's what I get. And that's a blessing. It helps my day to go right. The third thing he did here was he anointed himself. It's recorded, as I read, there are counseled people using oil on their face and on the exposed parts of their skin to protect them from the heat. And I don't know what all they used it for, but the Bible talks about oil will make your face shine. And Jesus talked about it, but thou, when thou fastest anoint thy head and wash thy face, in other words, If you put oil on your face, you're going on with the day, you're not fasting. Some people want you to believe that you're really suffering and fasting and so on, or they want you to have pity on you and whatever. But anyhow, in 1 John 2.27 it says, "...but the anointing which ye have received of Him abides in you." So, I see in that anointing, referring to the Holy Spirit, 2 Corinthians 121, now He would establish us with you in Christ and has anointed us with God. The Bible tells us we have anointing of the Holy Spirit. You ever have the Holy Spirit say something to you, don't do this, or if you do that, you're going to be in trouble? I remember one time in Northern Japan, in the barracks, I was sleeping, I bunked right beside a Mormon. And he wanted me, I had just been saved before I went into the service, and he wanted me to study with him. And there was something inside me that told me, don't you study with that man. I told him I was saved, and of course, those are the people they want to get a hold of, because, you know, you have a desire to learn things about God and so on, and you want to know the truth, and so they'll go for those people. And talking about dogs and wicked people we heard about last night that want to snare you and get you into their way of thinking. But I know that God, through His Holy Spirit, told me, even though it wasn't an audible voice, it might have been stronger than that, said, do not study with that man. And when he left, went somewhere else to another outfit, he said, I'm sorry I wasn't able to win you, in other words. I said, well, I'm sorry I didn't win you either. I tried to win him. Number four, I see that he not only arose and applied water to himself and anointed himself, but he attired himself. The Bible says he changed his clothing. We're talking about David here. It would be good for some folks to do that, to change some clothing. Churches are fighting a battle again about dress and so on. And sometimes it just, it's one of the things sometimes that just causes more trouble in the church than anything else. Isaiah 61 10 says, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my God. For He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation and covered me with the robe of righteousness. as the bridegroom decked himself with ornaments and the bride adorned herself with her jewels. God changed our clothing, didn't he? We got saved, he gave us the clothes of salvation. There's two things there. the robe of righteousness and the clothes of salvation. Salvation, being justified by faith, seeing ourselves as a sinner, realizing our need, coming to God and getting saved, and all the things that go with justification. But then, how are we going to live? Psalm 56.13 says, Thou hast delivered my soul from death. Will thou not deliver my feet from falling as I walk in the light of the living? And so there's a matter of getting our souls saved from hell, from death, but then how are we going to walk in the world now, now that we're saved? That's righteousness. And Paul said, I've done away with my own righteousness. The righteousness I have now is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. I remember in our missions class in Springfield, Missouri, Brother Donaldson would sing this song. Have us sing this song. The windows of heaven are open. The blessings are falling tonight. There's joy, joy, joy in my heart since Jesus made everything right. I gave him my old tattered garments. He gave me a robe of pure white. I'm feasting on manna from heaven, and that's why I'm happy tonight. And that's why I'm happy tonight. Are you happy this morning? Amen. Talking about He changed his clothing. What is the difference between a man in ragged clothing on a bicycle and a nice gentleman dressed up nicely on a unicycle? What's the difference? It's not what? One wheel. A tire. Number five. He appeared in the house of the Lord. He came into the house of God, the house of the Lord. Notice that he did not say... he stayed outside and smoked cigarettes. You ever been to one of those churches? They've got some family inside. They're here to take him home. They're out there smoking cigarettes. I want you to know something else about this. He did this before he ate anything. We've been talking about food and we're going to talk about it some more. But he went to the house of the Lord before he ate. Isn't that amazing? Would you go down to Texas Roadhouse before going to church? Hey, we found out something. You can go to Walmart, go to the meat section, and there will be discounted different cuts of meat. And I would buy those, and I'm talking about filet mignon, some of that. and T-bone steaks, and New York strip steak, New York strip steak. And my wife had something that she would put on it and we'd put it in the oven baking, that would be our Sunday dinner. And since we've gone on the road, I do miss some of those things, but I miss her bread that she used to bake, talking about bread. But that was good. You don't have to go to Texas Roadhouse or Long John's or whatever it is. The psalmist said in Psalm 121, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. And Brother Rogers mentioned just last night, isn't it good to be in the house of the Lord? He's getting ready to preach. It's good to be in the house of the Lord. I remember a few weeks ago when Buddy Blunkall was here. He came walking up through here to preach and he said, isn't it good to be in the house of the Lord? It is good to be in the house of the Lord. My earliest memories are going to the house of the Lord, being taken to the house of the Lord. I was carried. Well, sometimes I would walk, I guess you're supposed to walk back and forth across here when you're preaching. Maybe I could preach better if I did. Well, keeps people awake anyhow. Hopefully, when I think about the summer afternoons, Sunday's afternoon, Sunday afternoons, in Calhoun County, West Virginia, walking along that rocky road, sweat beads stinging me. We'd go to hear preachers. My cousin told me that one of them was B.R. Lakin. I didn't remember that, but I just remember falling behind with those new shoes on and wearing blisters on my feet and the heat beating down on me, and I started crying, and Dad never liked crying. And so he'd come back and pick me up and carry me. That's some of my earliest memories. I thank God that he did that, that carried me to church. They didn't just send us to church, they carried us. And as a result, when I got away from home, I continued to go to church. And as a result, one Sunday morning I got another conviction. of my lost condition, though I was reading my Bible, and I was praying, and I was talking to others about Christ, and I was, of all things, tithing. I've been taught that. I remember my brother at this one community church, my younger brother, He was singing I'm My Own Grandpa. He sang that song and men would get him to, while they were out there, a break between Sunday school and preaching, would be out there smoking and they would ask him to sing that song and they would give him some money, a nickel or dime or something. And my mother got after him and said, you didn't take money for that, did you? And he said, but mom, I tithed on it. Those were good memories, folks. Going to the house of God, as a result, I got saved. He appeared in the house of the Lord and he adored the Lord. The Bible says he worshipped. Nehemiah 9.3 said, they stood in their place and read in the book of the law of the Lord their God. One fourth part of the day, another fourth part, they did what? They confessed. worship the Lord their God. So according to their day, it was like 12 hours, right? So I would be doing my math right, about three hours of confessing and worshiping God. I heard a preacher say one time, I bet you can't think about Christ or think about God for five minutes straight without your mind wandering and think about something else. And that's so true. I want to tell you something. When the Holy Spirit moves in and starts to fill you and work in your life, you'll be able to think about Him a lot more. We need to worship the Lord. I start off my prayer in the morning. I get my guitar down off the wall and I start pulling the strings. As this old black preacher said, Anytime I get the feeling, he said, I get my guitar down off the wall and I start pulling the strings. He said, I don't see any place in the Bible where it says in the New Testament where it says you can't do it, so I go ahead and do it. And so, I get that guitar out and I play a song unto the Lord. And that's a good way to start your approach to the Lord. Number 7, he arrived at home. Page 3. Home. What do you think about when you think about home? Did you have a good home? I think I had a good home. There's more that could have been done, as there's a lot more I could have done in our home, but home is not the house. Thank God, if you've got a home, a good home, young people, you've got parents that love the Lord and are trying to lead you in the right way. Thank God for it. It's not the house. We moved out of a 4,500 square foot house, sold it on April 2nd, signed the papers. We moved in to 248 square feet. We feel happy. I feel free. Our preacher preached a couple times about men that had, well, he had visited a home and was way out in the woods someplace and there was just a lady there, an old lady, and said, what are you doing out here? He said, well, my husband wanted this home and he built it and got it done, he died. And so, well, shortly after. So I didn't want that to happen to my wife. But not only that, God was dealing with me. This house has become an idol to you. That motor home will never be an idol. Had a lot of good memories, though, about home. my home with my father and mother, my brothers and my sister. I think about sitting around the table eating. I remember one time dad said, it was during the depression. Folks, you haven't seen anything. You haven't seen anything yet. You're going to eat cornmeal mush and milk for supper. You haven't seen anything. It's coming. The famine is coming, by the way. It is coming. But remember Dad said one morning, he said, we're going to tap maple trees this year. And I about jumped out of my seat, oh boy, how great. And Dad had a way of looking at you. He'd raise those eyebrows up and he wanted me not to get too excited about it. My brother used to call it the war of raised eyebrows. Dad would raise his eyebrows up like that. And I found out it wasn't all fun. I had to go every morning and every evening and bring the sap in to boil down. Some of these memories, though, cutting wood with a crosscut saw, some of you don't even know what that is. I think about raising the sorghum cane. and stripping it down in the fall and cutting it down and cutting the heads off of it and it'd be somebody come through with a mill and they'd have a horse. that would go around the circle and those rollers would roll together and you'd run those stalks in there and take that juice out and carry it over to a big, long cooker, be sectioned off and start down here with juice on one end and then a circle of molasses down here on that end and we would skim those, what they call skimmings off the top of that molasses and eat that. That's where all the dirt is. It tasted good to us. I remember those days. I think I had a good home. The songwriter wrote, mid pleasures and palaces, though we may roam, be it ever so humble, there's no place like home. A charm from the skies seems to holla us there. A charm from the skies. which see through the world and are met with us elsewhere. There's no other place like it, he's saying. Home, home sweet home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home. Thank God one of these days I'm going home. I have a heavenly home bought and paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this last verse because I don't have a lot of time, but Number eight, he ate. It says, when they required, talk about David, when they required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. And I think of the meat of God's Word. Jeremiah 15, 16 says, thy words were found, and I did eat them. And thy word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart. What to do when you can't do anything about it? You do what David did. You know, you get up. You make a decision in your mind. It starts in your mind first. I'm going to get out. I'm going to overcome this. This is not going to get me down. And I get up and I'm going to wash myself. I'm going to change my clothes. I'm going to anoint myself. I'm going to appear in the house of the Lord. and I'm going to worship the Lord. And then I'm going to fellowship when I'm going to get back where I'm supposed to be. God, we thank you for this time. We ask you to bless these words to our hearts and minds today. We ask it in Christ's name and for His sake. Amen.