This sermon deals letting christians know that once they have faller, they can get back up. Donnie McClurkin lets us know in more than one way, "We Fall Down, but we get back up.
The significance in getting back up is that fact that the believer realizes that God is standing right there saying, "Here I Am." I love what James 1:2 says, "Count it all joy when you fall into various temptations or trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience." I am glad to know that when I fall, God is right there besides me reaching for my hand.
Define fall, it means to: descend, to bring. The Hebrew word is: yaw-tsaw, which means to bring forth. I like those definitions. When I fall, God is bringing me forth and out of the bondage that has held me bound into the places of my prosperity and liberty.
It is imperative as Christians to know, don’t let nobody persuade you, because God is much closer that you realize. People will have you to think that you can’t make it and they will have you to think that God is remote from you because you have fallen. It saddens me that christians will rather go to the telephone and call there prayer partner than to call you.
Galatians 6:1 says: "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in a fault, you who are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted." The writer Paul lets me know to go to my brother and not to my prayer partner and the whole prayer service is about Sis. June and how she felled.
Today, I would like to deal tell a story. In telling this story, I need a narrator and some characters. Jesus is the narrator and my characters are: David, Bathsheba, and Uriah.
Uriah the Hittite was one of David’s mighty men. The name Uriah means "Flame of the Lord" or "The Lord Is Light." The fact that he is called a Hittite suggests that he may have been a foreign mercenary who had become a worshipper of Israel’s God. Immediately, a constrast is set before the reader. On the one had there was David, the Lord’s anointed, the regent of God on earth. On the other hand there was Uriah, a convert-a man who was not born in the faith of Israel, but who willingly chose it for his own.
David used his authority as king to take advantage of Uriah’s wife Bathsheba while Uriah was fighting a war for Israel. As a result of David’s sin, Bathsheba became pregnant. David attempted to cover things up by calling Uriah home from battle. If Uriah had relations with is wife while on leave, he might believe the child was his.
Here I need to interject a thought to the husbands and wives. Husbands, when you don’t take care of business at the house with the wife, look for someone else to do it. Don’t be in the pastor’s study worrying the pastor because while you were trying to work twenty jobs and three on the weekends, you should have been taking business at the house. It is shameful and disgraceful to see wives go through what they go through because either the man is so tied up in church, work, or himself. The three will cause wives to leave you by yourself lonely self. God didn’t call nobody to be no fool. I love church and I love church, but when it’s time to go home, even though, I am not married, I go home. Wives, I have not left you out. You stay in the beautician face more than your husbands. Every week you’re getting your hair done, or should I say, every two days. Then you wander why Johnny don’t want to spend no time at home.
In understanding the text, we also find that Uriah, the ever-dedicated soldier, refused to enjoy the comforts of his home while his comrades were on the battlefield. In this, he showed himself to be more righteous than David. Uriah’s words in 11:11 must have stung David’s conscience. He had neglected his duty. Moreover, he had stolen the wife of one of his best soldiers while his warriors risked their lives for him. Yet David presisted in covering up his sin; he attempted to break Uriah’s resolve by giving him too much to drink. But even the effects of alcohol did not soften Uriah’s determination. Once again, he refused to enjoy the comforts offered him.
In this history, we find that not only did David fall, but Uriah fell also. Uriah was not a good husband to his wife. His desire was to please the army and fight battles.
We as the church and christians are fighting a battle. We are so much into ourselves and pleasing others that we have forgotten about what God would have us to do. I am here to let you know today that I have fallen short of God’s grace. I understood that in order for God to get the glory out of my life that I had to get back up. God is not looking for no punk christians who are scared and frightful because somebody said that you can’t make it.
You need to remind yourself daily that you are somebody and that God has given you the key to life: destiny.
Our character Daivd, we see him and we see him going over to the window. As we go back to our text, we find that this window David looked out of was peculiar. Many pastors, preachers, etc., will tell you that Bathsheba was outside bathing and David looked outside. That isn’t true! In ancient times, Israelite houses had an enclosed courtyard. Bathsheba was actually in her own house. So we see that David looked a little too long. Looking with these physical eyes can cause damage to us spiritually.
As soon as we see a beautiful pass by us, we get to looking and we can’t stop looking. I need you to know men that this leads to lusting. I need my women to know that they have the same problems. Denzel Washington comes on television and they get crazy as if he’s going to go out with them. Don’t fool yourself! I don’t see why christians are in the prayer line talking about they need deliverance from lust. When you find out what they are lusting after, you’re ready to study a second language: cursing. I need you to pray for me because I can’t stop lusting over Denzel. First of all women, and men(it’s a joke,actually truth) lust is not temptational until it’s desired. How can you lust after Denzel and he ain’t stune you. I know that I have just broken the english language, please forgive me, it’s truth.
We Fall Down, but we get up. The reason we get up is because we realize the need for God to use our lives for the glory of God. When you look at David ,we find that David fell. We still have not told the true story. David later sends his soldiers down to Uriah with a letter telling him that they were going to put him before the hottest battle. David is now going to commit another sin, he has already committed adultery, now he’s going to commit and break the commandment: murder. David has two accounts on him now.
In Psalms 51, we find that David has realized the wrong he has done. We find David asking the Lord to forgive him of his sins. We all need to read Psalms 51 because it is a prayer of "REPENTANCE." Honey, I don’t care what you think you may be and what you may have, we all need to repent because we all have skeletons in our closets. I don’t care how many vocabulary words you may know and I don’t even care about your degrees. Until you recognize the christian degrees, you will never attain God’s richest blessings. I have my christian degrees and they are: BA-Born Again, BS-Baptized & Sanctified, MBA-My Belief Affirmed, and PHD-Praise Him Dialy. One day, I want God to allow me to preach about the christian degrees.
Honey, if you have these degrees, when you fall down, it’s no problem in getting back up.
I love what David says, "Lord, I have sinned." David didn’t try and fix it up because he knew that God knew he had sinned and done evil. It bothers me when Christians try to come to God as "BIGSHOTS." Honey, you don’t impress God with your lies. It reminds me of the tax colletor and the publican. The tax collector comes to God and tell all what he has done and how he did it. The publican comes to God and sys, "Lord, deliver me!" He didn’t come with is agenda and he didn’t come talking about what he had done, he came and said three words.
Later, David in v.10 David says, "Create in me a clean heart." I like this. David recognizes the need for God to create in him all new things. II Corithians 5:17 says, "If any many be in Christ he is a new creature, old things are passed aways and behold all things are new." David realized his need for God to make him a new man so that he may fulfill the call of God upon his life.
Please don’t get me wrong! Just because you are new in christ, you have the permission to redundantly sin and think God will continue to have mercy. God will continously forgive you, but in the midst of his forgiveness, you will be judged. For the bible says in Galatians 6:7; "Be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows that he shall also reap." I don’t care what you do, God will forgive, but you will also reap that which you have sowed.
God wants to restore unto to us the joy of his salvation, if only we do as David did. David fell down, but he got back up and inherited the kingdom of Israel. There are times when we have to go through temptations and trials so that the love of Jesus may be manifested within us. I have learned that nobody wants to go through anything but everybody wants the anointing. In order to receive the anointing of God upon your life, you need to know that you got to go through. As a prophet of God, I had to go through many things so that God can produce the maturity and character in me that I needed for ministry.
God bless you and I pray that this sermon helps you in your walk with God.
