David began so well. The Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him (1 Samuel 16:13). God’s Spirit is given for power to serve and witness for Him. We need to be GOD-DEPENDENT. When David was a teenager, he faced Goliath – his confidence was God-centered, and claimed the truth that the battle is the Lord’s (1 Samuel 17:45-47). Surrender your giants – be prayerful; lean on the Lord’s instructions. David was also threatened by King Saul, but he was prayerful and communicated to God about what to do (1 Samuel 23:2,4). When he had the opportunity to kill Saul, he did not because Saul was the Lord’s anointed (1 Samuel 24:5-6). He honored God, and respected whoever God anointed as king. When given another opportunity (1 Samuel 26:8-11), David did not allow the end to justify the means. He depended on God’s plan and power – and so even if it was a stressful life, it was still a rested life for David! Adversity draws men to God. We depend on God when we face problems. But once everything is okay, we forget God and become self-sufficient. David experienced success – he became king, won battles, and became independent.

At the height of his power, we find his greatest failure (2 Samuel 11). Idle in his palace while his men were at war, David was caught in temptation; instead of listening to the Spirit, he gave in. David knew Bathsheba was married, her husband was Uriah, her father was Eliam, her grandfather, Ahithophel – all trusted men of David. David made a choice – give in to temptation (2 Samuel 11:4-5). David had to cover up, lie and scheme so his sin will not be found. This was, “evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Samuel 11:27). It broke apart his family as consequence to his one sin!

David sinned, and hid it. However, he was not at peace and was very troubled by guilt (Psalm 32:3-4). One of the assurance that you are a child of God is that when you commit sin, you feel awful (Hebrews 12:6,10-11). God allows consequences of sin to wake us up and sanctify us, letting us union with God.

The Lord sent the prophet Nathan to rebuke David (2 Samuel 12). Nathan risked his life by rebuking David. He told David a story, and David believed the rich man who stole a poor man’s lamb must be punished. Nathan tells him he was the man! Confronted by this truth, David immediately confessed (2 Samuel 12:13-14) and was immediately forgiven. But the consequences of sin would still come. How did David repent?

• Admit
• Assume responsibility
• Accept consequences
• Appropriate God’s forgiveness

We see David appeal to God’s grace, lovingkindness, and compassion (Psalm 51:1-3). He assumes personal responsibility, claiming the wrong doing as his own (10 times in 3 verses). He confessed that he had done evil and accepted that he deserved the consequences (Psalm 51:4). There are collateral damages when we sin! David’s sin was “despising the word” of God (2 Samuel12:9). David deliberately disobeyed God’s commandments! The consequences were given (2 Samuel 12:10-12) because the sin was ultimately done against God and His Name. True repentance is metanoia (2 Corinthians 7:10) – a change of mind, heart and behavior, resulting to a new direction from following yourself to following Jesus. William Taylor said “… repentance hates the sin… because it has discovered and felt God’s love.” Ultimately, sin is serious because it’s against God! “A thousand years of remorse over a wrong act would not please God as much as a change of conduct and a reformed life” (AW Tozer ). Repentance is a command (Acts 2:38) and is also a gift by God’s grace (Acts 11:18). Our “entire life” must be of repentance (1 John 1:9). A Christian who had stopped repenting had stopped growing (Arthur Pink)!

Worship is our proper response to who God is, what He has done, and what He continues to do in, through, and for us. If we have been forgiven, by God’s grace, we will choose to worship, please, and honor God. Psalm 51:10,12,13 are verses in David’s prayer that shows he understood his need of a clean heart and a renewed, steadfast spirit. He asked for restoration of joy and sustenance of spirit and chose to worship God with a broken spirit and a contrite heart (vv. 15-17). In our brokenness and humility, we can approach His grace and as we worship Him form the heart, He will empower us to continue living a life pleasing to Him! At the end of David’s life, God described him as a man after His heart (Acts 13:22) and one who had served the purpose of God in his generation (Acts 13:36). May we always choose to go after God’s heart, do His will, and by his grace, power, and Spirit, FINISH WELL!

(Leaders: Please choose questions that are appropriate to the level of spiritual maturity of your members)

How do you know if you are dependent on God? What distinct things are you doing as you depend on God?

What step/s in repentance do you find the hardest to do?

What does it mean for you to worship and surrender to God?

Pray for those who may be caught sin, that they will hear God’s word and be repentant, turn to Jesus.
Share the truth of the gospel in love to them, including sin and its consequences.
Share your own story of God’s grace and redemption, and the blessings of walking in the Spirit so that others will be encouraged to live in God’s presence!

16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.