David And The God Of A Second Chance

David and the God of a Second Chance Psalm 51:10-13

I don’t know about you but I am ready for some football. This summer I was reading an article about the 5 greatest personal comebacks in NFL history. Guess who is on that list. DREW BREES. I don’t know if you’re familiar with Drew’s story. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in 2001. In 2004 he led the Chargers to a 12 and 4 season record, posting one of the highest quarterback ratings in the league.

In 2005 he again posted great numbers. But in the last game of the season, Drew suffered what was thought to be a career-ending shoulder injury. When the Chargers learned of the severity of the injury they really didn’t want Drew.

Miami needed a quarterback and Nick Saban wanted to sign Drew, but the team doctors advised against it. The only team left was the up and down New Orleans Saints. The Saints took a chance and the rest is history. One of the most prolific quarterbacks in NFL history, breaking records every season. Headed to the Hall of Fame.

Dr. James Andrews was the doctor who performed Drew’s surgery. When Drew healed and began playing again, Dr. Andrews said, “It is the greatest comeback I have ever seen.”

Today we’re going to talk about one of the great comebacks in the Bible. We’re going to look at David and the God of a second chance. When you take a panoramic view of David’s life, you can see 3 distinct chapters. It begins with…

I. THE MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART

David was born in Bethlehem. He was the youngest of the eight sons of Jesse. He was small compared to his brothers just like Drew Brees the undersized quarterback. David’s job was to take care of the sheep. No one wanted that job. The sheep were always getting lost. They couldn’t protect themselves. While taking care of the sheep, David had to defend them against predators.

But it was in those days that David drew close to God. He had a gift of writing down his thoughts and making them into songs. Most of the book of Psalms was written by David. Samuel said of David that he was A Man After God’s Own Heart.

One day David’s father asked him to bring some supplies to his brothers. They were fighting a war with the Philistines. David went out to where the men were in battle and saw a strange sight. It was a giant named Goliath. David’s brothers were afraid of the giant. But David felt that if God would help him that the giant would fall. And that’s exactly what happened.

And on that day, the shepherd boy became a national hero. There was, however, one problem. Saul was the king at this time and Saul became jealous of David and tried to have him killed. But God protected David because earlier, secretly, David had been anointed king by Samuel. Eventually, David did become king. The little shepherd boy became the ruler of the land. But that brings us to the second chapter of David’s life.

II. THE MAN WHO FELL AWAY FROM GOD

One day when David was supposed to be out in battle with his men, he saw a beautiful young lady named Bathsheba and he became obsessed with her. He seduced her and eventually Bathsheba became pregnant with David’s child. David tried to hide his sin by having Bathsheba’s husband come in from the battlefield but David’s plan failed and in desperation, David had Bathsheba’s husband killed.

The man after God’s own heart became an adulterer and a murderer. How could that happen? Well, we are all sinners, aren’t we? We have not all sinned alike but we all alike have sinned. And sin is something that always has a cost. The cost or the punishment for David’s sin was supposed to have been DEATH. The law said that he was to pay with his life. But David’s sin was, so far, a SECRET SIN.

David’s sin didn’t cost him his life. We’ll talk about that in a minute. But David’s sin did result in a death. The child that Bathsheba had, David’s son, died. David’s family turned against him. Enemies sought to kill him. David’s life was like Drew Brees’ shoulder. It was one big mess. But God wasn’t finished with David yet. David became the Man Who Got a Second Chance.

III. THE MAN WHO GOT A SECOND CHANCE

David’s life was falling apart. He was living with not only the consequences of his sin but also the GUILT of his sin. David would say, “Do you know what it’s like to go to church and hear everyone singing a song that you wrote about praising God when your life is everything but a praise to God?