Yeah. Good afternoon, everybody. Special welcome to any guests that are worshiping with us today, as well as those that are watching online. Also, a special welcome again to Reverend Dong, who will be leading us in worship this afternoon. Consistory is pleased to welcome Tanisha Hopefleur as a communicant member of this congregation. Tanisha, we welcome you officially into this church family here in Sardis, and we pray that you will feel blessed by the communion of the saints here, and that you will also soon become a blessing to those around you. Our call to worship this afternoon comes from Psalm 96, verse 7 and 8. Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples. Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come into his courts. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him. Bless his name. Those who are able, please rise. Congregation, from where does our help come? Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Amen. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Now let's sing Psalm 42, stanza one, three, and five. ♪ For refreshing water cross ♪ ♪ So for you, O God, I languish ♪ ♪ So my soul for comfort lusts ♪ ♪ To the living God above ♪ Why are you is a is my I will sing and pray at night to the God of our demise. He will in His mercy dear me, and forevermore be near me. Let's now listen to the 10 words of God's covenant and submit ourselves to them with obedience. And God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord, your God, brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven above, in the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me. but show instead fast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male servant or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day and made it holy. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not cover your neighbor's house. You shall not cover your neighbor's wife, his male servant, his female servant, his ox or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's. Our Lord Jesus Christ summarizes the law as follows. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and the first commandment. And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets. Now let's respond by saying Psalm 25, stanza three. ♪ Lord, remember your great mercy ♪ ♪ Which has ever been at all ♪ ♪ Call to mind your steadfast love ♪ Lord, forgive my sins anew. I rebelled in my transgression. God of goodness, grace, and truth, ♪ Think of me in your compassion ♪ Let's now draw before God in prayer and ask him to bless our worship service. Let's pray. Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, we come to you with shouts of joy. We worship you with joy that fills our hearts and sing songs of gladness before you. Father, we declare that you are God. We praise you because we know that we are your people. the sheep of your pasture. Father, we now joyfully enter your gates with thanksgiving, your courts with praise. We thank you, true and living God, and praise your great name. Father, we declare that you are merciful and just and faithful to the covenant of grace you made with us. Father in heaven, we also pray that our faith will be strengthened as we hear your message today, which will come from your Word. We ask that you use your Word, which is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the divisions of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Heavenly Father, please use your word to uncover the thoughts and desires of our hearts so that we may further recognize ourselves in your word, confess our sins and repent, draw closer to you. and become more hopeful for the future. Heavenly Father, in today's worship service, please fill us with your spirit and your power, so that when we leave and go out into the world, we can boldly preach your word. Forgive us also for all our offenses against you and our neighbors during the past week. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. The scripture reading is from 2 Samuel, Chapter 12. For the first of 15 verses, and these verses are also the base for this afternoon, the first services sermon. So 2 Samuel, chapter 12. And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, there were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb which he had bought. and he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. He used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lying in his arms, and he was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock and all hers, to prepare for the guests who had come to him. But he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him. Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man. And he said to Nathan, as the Lord leaves, the man who has done this deserves to die. and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no mercy. Nathan said to David, you are the man. Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel. I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. and I give you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms and give you the house of Israel and of Judah and if this were too little I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun. David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, the Lord also has put away your sin. You shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die. And Nathan went to his house. so far with this scripture reading. Now let's respond by saying Psalm 102, stands one, five, and six. Turn your ear to me and hear me With my vows and mystery ♪ Do not hide your face from me ♪ ♪ When I pray in grief and worry ♪ ♪ Lord, to me your answer hurry ♪ ♪ Listen to my lamentation ♪ ♪ Then we come with consolation ♪ ♪ The evening shadow fleeting ♪ ♪ Swiftly its breeze can completing ♪ ♪ So my days all quickly pass ♪ ♪ For I'm bitter like the grass ♪ ♪ But you bore him from forever ♪ are the one who changes never. Every passing generation sees your glorious exultation. For you will arise in pity On your house in holy city It is time to show your face The appointed time for grace ♪ You will hear our supplication ♪ ♪ When we pray for restoration ♪ ♪ Those who serve you, Lord, sincerely ♪ ♪ Love the souls of Zion dearly ♪ After the sermon, we will respond by saying Psalm 51, stanza one and two. Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, King David himself was sinking deeper and deeper into the swamp of sin. Neglect of duty and being in the wrong place at the wrong time led him into sexual temptation and refusing to escape. He took possession of Beth's Sheba. He engineered the murder of her husband, Uriah. Eventually, David took Beth Sheba as his wife. Everything. everything went according to David's plan. Having gotten his hand on Bathsheba at this point, David having satisfied his desires and continued to worship the Lord according to God's law, he offered sacrifices of praise and sin as if there was nothing between him and his God. but he no longer had a true spirit of worship and praise. His heart and his acts of worship were hypocritical. David thought he had successfully covered his sin and would continue to do so. His behavior was a classical cover-up. Chapter 11. Chapter 11 ends with these words, the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. How much more are we not like David who wrongly tries to deal with our sins? Too often After we have sinned, we're trying to work around the consequences of our sins instead of dealing with the real problem. We work overtime to come up with ways to get away with sin. While committing idolatry and murder did not trouble David, It did grieve the Lord. The Lord may not stop us from sin, but still, we are responsible for our sins. We can hide our sins from man, but we cannot hide our sins from God. God would not let David continue to roll around in sin. God had to teach David a hard lesson. So God sent prophet Nathan to David to expose his sins in the parable, bring him to confession and repentance, and announce his punishment and grace. The faithful God does not abandon the work he has began in David, but continues and perfects it. David had failed God, but God would not forsake David. God will deliver David from his sin. This matter of how God dealt with David's sin is significant for us today. We can also learn lessons from it about our sinfulness, true repentance, and God's marvelous grace. So I preach to you under this theme, you are the man. Under this theme, we have three points to share. At the first point, David's sin revealed. At second place, his confession of sin and God's grace. And the last point, the consequences of his sin. Now the first point, David's sin revealed. Brothers and sisters, the Lord sent the fearless prophet Nathan to David. Nathan conveyed to David a special message from the Lord. The message began with a parable, a poignant, shocking, simple story that would offend the sensibilities of any man. The story goes like this. There were two men in the city, one rich and one poor. The rich man had many sheep, and cattle, and the poor had only one little lamb. he had bought and raised. And the lamb grew up in his house with his children, and the lamb ate of his food, drank of his cup, and slept in his arm as his daughter. What we can see here is a picture of beauty, simplicity, and great poverty. David's heart would no doubt have been touched by these contrasting pictures of the rich and the poor. Verse four tells us that a traveler came to the rich man, and he could not spare one of his flocks of cattle or sheep to entertain the traveler who came to him, but he took the little lamb of the poor man to entertain his guests. Thus, the rich man took his neighbor's lamb, even though it was his neighbor's only lamb, and even though the poor man cherished it as a family member. Think about what it would have been like when the rich man went to his neighbor's house to get the lamb. We don't know why the rich man did what he did, only that the lamb was taken by force. After hearing the parable, we notice that David could not control his feelings. The story seemed so real, but David did not realize what it had to do with him. His anger suddenly erupted violently. He told Nathan that he would take immediate steps to right the wrong. David told Nathan, as the Lord leaves, the man who has done this deserves to die. In this statement, David first emphasized what he would do about the man who had done such a bad thing. Then he says, this man is damned. Immediately afterwards, David asks, he shall restore the lamb fourfold because he did this thing and because he had no pity. This reaction of righteous indignation on David's part may sound extreme. But don't forget, this man's crime was not just robbery. It could also be considered kidnapping, since this little lamb was treated as a family member. Under the law, kidnapping must be punished by death penalty. So David's assessment was correct. What this rich man did was wrong. David saw the ugliness of sin and recognized that this lack of mercy and heinous sin deserved death. In addition, a fourfold in demnity was required, as required by God's law. However, from another perspective, David's reaction to such a vehemence also shows that David at this time was a hypocrite before God. David felt compassion for the poor man. His anger was aroused, but his conscience was still asleep. He was almost ready to condemn, to condemn the wrongdoing of others when he had committed the most horrible sins. Isn't it amazing that a man who excuses sin in his own life is so harsh and critical in dealing with sin in the lives of others. Sin is ugly, sadly and truthfully. It's easy to see the ugliness of other people's sins, but not the ugliness of our own. This story is simple. Yet it reveals the ugliness of sin. You will often see situations where people who are hypocritical before God become very extreme in their condemnations of the sins of others. Such people are always ready to pass the harsh, the harsh judgment on others to come and appease their conscience. A Christian who does not live day in and day out in a deep awareness of the forgiving mercy of his God will become rude and cruel to others when he encounters even the slightest offense against him. Hypocrisy. is a challenge for any man. And it was so for King David. David's righteous indignation at the rich man's behavior was entirely justified, but also hypocritical. David's response to the parable was a condemnation of himself. As verses from seven to nine explain that David's behavior was just as bad if not worse than that of the rich man in the story. That's why the prophet Nathan pointed to David and said, you are the man. God was so angry with David as David was with the rich man in the parable. Brothers and sisters, let's take this to heart. For this parable was written for our benefit and admonition. We should see the beam in our own eyes before we judge others. In the story told by Nathan, David was a terrible man. God gave David many, many last favors. Notice that everything God gave David is emphasized in verses from 7 to 8. God anointed him king over Israel, delivered him from Saul, put his master's house and concubines in his arms, and gave him the house of Israel and Judah. If this were not enough, God would have given David more. But David was only interested in taking for himself and not seeking God to give. Verse 9 is crucial for David's condemnation. You have defiled the word of the Lord. You no longer care about what God has said, but do what you want. You don't care what God instructs you to do. Furthermore, the condemnation is based on how David dealt with his sin. Notice that verse 9 does not mention does not mention sexual impurity with Bathsheba. Instead, the condemnation lies in his cover-up. All that is mentioned is what happened after the idolatry. David killed Uriah and took Bathsheba as his wife to cover up his sin. He compounded his sin by making things so much worse. David was condemned because he did not seek to repent. Instead, David wanted to further his will. Nathan says to David in verse 12, for you did it sacredly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the Son. David thought he had a perfect cover up for everything he did. He covered one thing with another and covered it all very skillfully with the deceitfulness of his heart against God. But God exposed his gall and made it known to all. Not only that, God went further. Others would have done the same thing to David, cruelly and openly despising David. Brothers and sisters, none of us have committed precisely the same sin as David, but But we must recognize that we all fall short of God's standards to a greater or lesser extent. For example, none of us is a perfect human and none of us is grateful for God's gifts. Our sins may not be on the same order of magnitude as David's, but they are still sins. If we are honest, we are all guilty before a good God, just as David was. Now David's life hung in the balance deserving murderer, would God deal with David according to justice? And this leads us to the second point, his confession of sin and God's grace. Thankfully, David repented his wrongdoing and received God's grace and forgiveness. According to verse 13, David's mind was suddenly cleared after Nathan's admonition and accusation. He saw things clearly for the first time in Memphis and made a full and honest confession. David finally confessed his sin. He said, I have sinned against the Lord. David did not put Nathan in prison or put him to death. We know later kings of Israel and Judah react severely to those condemnations. You may remember that King Jehoiakim burned Jeremiah's condemnations and prophetic writings against him. He tore up the words of the Lord and threw them into the fire. But David simply said that he had offended the Lord. David did not attempt to justify or excuse his sin. No excuses. No cover-ups. There was no search for loopholes. Notice he did not say, Lord, if Bathsheba hadn't bathed, wouldn't have stumbled. Oh Lord, if Bathsheba hadn't been so beautiful, I wouldn't have fallen. He simply said, I have sinned. He openly and honestly admitted his sin without denying any of the facts. Too often Too often we want to make excuses. Our society tells us not to take responsibility. We can blame others, blame circumstances, blame anything but ourselves. David took responsibility for his actions. Although he had wronged Uriah and Bathsheba, he had offended God. David realized the depth of his sin. He had stolen other man's wife, which was far worse than stealing a pet lamb. In reaction to Nathan's parable, David as king had already sentenced himself to idolatry and the murderer to his own death. David knew he could not escape the wrath of God. He did the only thing he could do. He judged himself and he repented. David did not presume on God's grace. He did not say, God is good, he must forgive me because all of the good thing I have done. It wasn't like that. David said, I have sinned against the Lord. The words were few, but it was a good sign that David's spirit was completely broken. David's repentance is described more fully in Psalm 51, a psalm David wrote after this event. Listen to the beginning of the psalm. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love, according to your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions, wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. Brothers and sisters, Have you ever been brought to that place where you see yourselves as you are before God, and you have nothing else to see, but I have sinned against you? I have sinned against the Lord. Do you have the courage to call your sin by its name? God, I'm a murderer. I have committed adultery and the theft. I have sinned against your grace. I have sinned against you and provoked you to your face. Brethren, sisters, how many of this genuinely repentant spirits are there in your lives? David heard the words of grace immediately after he repented. Nathan told David, the Lord also has put away your sin, you shall not die. Under the law of Moses, the death penalty was the logical consequences of David's sin, yet God graciously said, you shall not die. be put to death for this. Neither shall you suffer for it in hell forever." It's an amazing grace. God is rich in mercy. He will not take the Holy Spirit from His elect, even if they sometimes fall into sin, nor will He allow them to plunge themselves into eternal destruction. God is indeed a faithful God who favors Israel. As David said in Psalm 32, I will confess my transgression to the Lord and you forgive the iniquity of my sin. True repentance. True repentance in man's heart will be forgiven because of the multitude of God's tender mercies. is most important. David said with emotion in Psalm 51 verse 17, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God you will not despise. Notice David received not justice, but mercy and grace. He received forgiveness and pardon, The days of estrangement from God were over. He was restored. God forgave David's sin, not because of David's repentance, but because of God's mercy. Because of mercy, God sent Nathan to David. Because of mercy, God's Spirit brought David to repentance. Because of mercy. God's Spirit healed a broken heart. It's why David prayed in Psalm 41 verse four, O Lord, be gracious, heal me, for I have sinned against you. Nathan tells David, the Lord also has put away your sin, you shall not die. God took David's sin away from him, but then where did he put it? God sent David's greatest descendant, Jesus, to our world to be stared down on the cross in God's eyes. David's sins were taken from him and added to Christ on the cross. On the cross, Jesus endured the just judgment that David's sin deserved, thus bringing forgiveness to him. The benefits of Jesus' saving mission go back to David's time and extended to today. It makes it possible for anyone today to receive God's complete forgiveness immediately, as David did. God's forgiveness is always available to all who repent and turn to Christ. This brings us to the last point, the consequences of a sin. Brothers and sisters, in real life, in real life, you can be forgiven for breaking a door or a window, But we still must clean up the broken glasses, the debris, and you have to repair the window. You have to repair the door. There will always be consequences for our actions. Whether we want them or not, we must live with it. Just as David did, even God, forgiving David's sin, will not erase the damage. he has already done. Forgiveness does not mean that the consequences go away. God often deals with us harshly after we have sinned. In the book of Hebrews, chapter 12, verse 6, it says there, for the Lord disciplines the ones he loves. and chastise every son he receives. David had to live with the consequences of his actions for the rest of his life. The following verses tell us that David paid a heavy, heavy price for his sin. Verse 10 says, now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house because you have despised me and taking Uriah, the Hittite's wife, to be your wife. What a terrible judgment that was to come upon David. David has destroyed a family with a sword. This same sword will come back to break up his family. God promised David that there will be violence and bloodshed among his family from that day forward. In verses 11-12, the Lord says, Behold, I will raise evil against you out of your own house, and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of the Son. For you did it secretly, but I will do the same before all Israel and before the Son of In verse 14 it says, nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die. After hearing Nathan's parable, David said that this man must pay four times as much for the lamb because he had done this. The reality. The reality is this, four of David's sons dead. We know first was the baby he had with Bathsheba, who died shortly after birth. Then there was Abba Salome, who killed Amun, because he sexually abused his half-sister. Then came Abba Salome, also killed for his rebellion and usurpation of the power. And later, Abba Salome killed his brother, Adonijah, for treason. David took one man's life. And as a result, he lost the lives of his four sons. As the head of the rebellion, Abba Salome had pitched a tent on the flat roof of the palace to be intimate with his father, David's concubine, before the eyes of all Israel. It may have been on that terrace that David first gazed upon, liked, and lusted after Bathsheba. David dealt with sin in the lives of his children, his sin paralyzed him, paralyzed him. Being aware of his own sin, he was powerless to do anything about the sins of his sons. These judgments show that a person reaps what he sows. He reaps what he sows. David reaped what he sowed, even with profit. Not only that, but David's saying gave the enemies of the Lord a great opportunity to blaspheme the Lord. David allowed unbelievers to say that David's true religion was no different than their false religion. When we sin openly, we allow unbelievers to say we are no different than non-Christians. So brothers and sisters, we do need to live carefully. The sword that never left his house reminded David that sin was at the door of his heart. Therefore, he needed God at every moment of his life. brothers and sisters if we do not confess our sins we will become slave to sin there's no need for us to do so the Lord is gracious merciful and always ready to forgive our sins in his righteousness he may treat us harshly even after forgiving us but he's always for our ultimate good. So do not continue to sin and trying to escape the consequences. Do not try to cover it up because guilt will enslave you. There may come a time when you will hear God say to you, you are the one. That time may be today. If issues in your life need to be addressed, now is the time to bring them to God. You need to confess your sin to God and run away from it. Jesus' death made forgiveness possible, and if you come to him, you will be treated with mercy. for baptism is the seal and undoubted witness that was having covenant of grace with God. God's grace toward His children endures forever and His mercy never, never fails. You are in the greatest trouble if you have never trusted Jesus as your Savior. Therefore, come to Jesus now and be saved. Amen. ♪ O gracious one, be merciful to me ♪ infinite compassion. Lord of my sins, remove all my transgression. ♪ Mercy, listen to my plea ♪ ♪ From every taint of evil wash me clean ♪ ♪ And from my guilt and misery relieve me ♪ ♪ Conscious of my sin ♪ ♪ When all in all my misdeeds ♪ ♪ Fought and freed me ♪ ♪ How few have I offended you alone ♪ In mercy, hear my sorrowful confession. How evil in your sight is my transgression. You rightfully condemned what I have done. Justice, O God, the sentence I receive, I am from earthly guilty ever sinning. For in iniquity was I conceived, Tainted with sin right from my life's beginning. Let's pray for our God in prayer again. Lord, our God, we come to you as David did many years ago. We come to confess our sins. We come in humility, confessing that our sins are offenses against your holiness, righteousness, and love. Lord, have mercy on us. Heavenly Father, through the parable of the little lamb, you have shown us how our thoughts, words, and actions have led us away from you and your protection. We can see how the consequences of our sin have affected our relationship with you and our relationship with our brothers and sisters. Lord our God, in your loving mercy, blot out our transgressions. Wash away our iniquities and cleanse us from sin. Wash away our iniquities. Father, through faith in you and the death and the resurrection of your son, Jesus Christ, we believe that we are redeemed. We believe you can cast our sins away from us as far as the east is from the west with confidence, not in ourselves, but in your power and mercy. We confess our sins and ask you to forgive us. Lord, we can experience forgiveness, healing, and restoration in your reconciliation. Therefore, we come to you, Father, to be preserved by your favor and to begin anew. Father, words alone cannot describe what it feels like to come back to you and feel your embrace again. You promised through your prophets that our sin, though red as vermilion, would become white as snow. How can anyone fully express the feeling of being made so clean? Being forgiven is like having a great oppressive burden lifted from our backs so that we can stand upright again. It's like lifting a heavy weight from our chest, enabling us to breathe freely again. Heavenly Father, may you keep our faith wonderfully strengthened so we are able to say no to temptation. Father, your covenant love and mercy are everlasting. All this, in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You now have an opportunity to bring your gifts to the Lord, after which we shall Stand to sing in conclusion hymn 14. Stand 1, 9, and 10. so so Earth and tidings appear, and on your right, your deeds reveal your greatness, light, and hope, and your sight. Lord, in our time, renew them, in our day, make them love. In wrath remember mercy, do not forget your own. No victories we have lost, no dead finds, no fruit may yield. ♪ The wallets be a-failure, and therein be the wheel ♪ ♪ Oh, when the bold and straight old Jerry, the father heard ♪ ♪ That I will sing and worship, rejoicing in the Lord ♪ The Lord, my God and Savior, in Him I will rejoice, I am Now let's receive blessing from above and depart in peace. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace. Amen.