"Which Man are You?"
II Samuel 12

Are we in the shoes of David or of Nathan?
 

I.    We see a Man on a Mission. (vs. 1)
                Here are some other people who were also on a mission:

                        Genesis 50:20--Joseph
                        Exodus 4:19a--Moses
                        Nehemiah 2:5--Nehemiah
                        Matthew 26:42--Jesus
                        II Timothy 4:1-5--Timothy

                No better to place to be than to be where Jesus has sent you.

                We need people to come to GRBC who has been sent on mission from God. If not, then find
                        where your mission is and go to that place.

                Nathan was sent by God to hold the king (David) accountable.              
                                                                
        

II.    We see a Man of Me. (vs. 2-4) 

                David was all about "me" at this time in his life.

                In this story that Nathan is telling the characters are: 
                    The Rich Man--David
                    The Poor Man--Uriah
                    Ewe Lamb--Bathsheba

               
                A. David was a selfish man. 
                        David was willing to sacrifice all of Uriah's happiness and none of his own.
                        Even though Uriah was losing all he had and David was planning only an evening of pleasure.

                            In these verses where Nathan is telling the story, David was angry with the man. In fact, he
                            hated the man. David hated someone that was doing the exact same thing he was doing.
                            David condemned the man to death for what he had done, so therefore he condemned
                            himself to death!                                         

III. We see a Man with a Message. (vs. 7-12)                
           
            A. His message was for a specific man. (vs. 7)                   

                    Nathan had a message for David.

                    Your sin is your fault and is no one else's. It is your responsibility.

                   
            B. His message gave a specific reminder. (vs. 8-9)

                    Nathan gave him all that he was told to say to him and would have given him more if that had
                        been his mission
 

            C. His message gave specific consequences. (vs. 10-12)

                    David was not allowed to build the temple.
                    Absalom, his son, were given his concubine and laid with them in public. David's sin was
                        committed in secret.

IV.    We see a Man of misery. (vs. 13)

                    David had realized that he had sinned against God!!
                    God sees all!! We cannot hide anything from Him.

                    God has forgiven the sins, but the consequences are still there.

                    God is a gracious, loving, merciful God, but we cannot sin willingly. He will give us
                        forgiveness and will give us grace to get through the consequences.