Click here to listen to a Real Audio presentation of this message as it was recorded at the High Street Church of God on 02FEB76.

    Heavenly Father, we thank you tonight for the soul cleansing blood Lord Jesus Christ. We ask that your Spirit would just be in the midst of us, Lord. And speak to everyone that's here, Lord. And teach us all things- and bring to us all things you have taught us Lord, in you word. We ask this in the name of Jesus with praise and Thanksgiving- Amen.

    I want to give glory to God tonight- by speaking about the cleansing power of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. In doing this, I have to tell you a little bit about my own experience.

    Sometimes the children of God fall into sin. Sometimes we get caught in the tempter's snare. Now, as we grow older in the Lord -- as we read more and more of his word -- we get stronger. And we have more victory over the world and ourselves.

    But nevertheless sometimes we do fall into sin. And when a child of God falls into sin it hurts him in his very soul. Because being exposed to so much righteousness -- he gets very sensitive to use sin. But God in his mercy has made a provision for us when we do fall into sin. And that provision is 1st John 1:9 where the word of God reads --

    "If we confess ours sins he is faithful and just to forgive us ours sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

    But you see the problem with me was, I understood that verse with my mind but not with my heart. You see I could understand God's forgiveness in that verse, and believe, in my mind, that God forgives me... but in my heart I would wonder, "How could he?" Because I made the same mistake over and over again and I would wonder, you know, "How could He?"

    And as a result of this, I fell into a period of guilt feelings- which is very bad, because guilt feelings break your fellowship with God. You can go to bed at night and you feel so low that you can hardly hold your head up to the Lord.

    But, just recently the Lord spoke to me about this verse. And he let me know in my heart what it meant. And I thank him for it. And since he did this I have deliverance from these things that hindered my fellowship with God. And incidentally I remember it in a service of ours not too long ago that we came together as a body and prayed for deliverance. Do you remember that? So evidently -- God answers prayer.

    Now, the Lord spoke to me from his word, and I would like to read two passages of scripture tonight... the first being the first book of Kings chapter 11. Where we have an account of Solomon. And we've remember us Solomon as a man who was extremely blessed by God. I mean, God just poured out blessings on Solomon. We remember Solomon as the man who asked wisdom of the Lord when he was in Gibeon. And the Lord poured out so much wisdom on Solomon that people would come from all around just to hear his words. From Solomon's hand we have the book of Proverbs.

    Not only did the Lord give Solomon wisdom, but he gave him the thrown of his father David- to use his wisdom to rule over Israel. And not these two blessings alone but he also gave Solomon many material blessings -- and I just want to look at a couple of those. In the previous chapter -- chapter 10 verse two- it says that when the queen of she the came to visit Solomon it says that she came "with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones:" She's come with gifts. Later on in chapter 10 in verse 14 it says-

1st Kings 10:14 14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold,

    Verse [15] says that he had the best of the traffic of spice that was going around among the Kings. You see, he was being blessed. Verse 16 says that Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: Verse 17 says that "he made three hundred shields of beaten gold;"...pure gold. Verse 21 says that all the vessels in Solomon's house were made out of gold. It says that none were made of silver.

    Then it goes on to explain about his blessings. In verse 22 it says that Kings Solomon had a Navy that once every three years would come from Tharshish and they would bring bringing gold, and silver, ivory, it says peacocks and apes. Now, you know ivory was very precious then because the world was much "larger" then.

    So chapter 10 sums up Solomon's material blessings in verse 23 as it says --

1st Kings 10:23 23 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.

    So Solomon was blessed by God but after all of this -- Solomon made a mistake. He took his eyes off of the Lord. As we move into chapter 11 we find that Solomon's wives turned his heart away from the Lord- even though he was warned. He began to commit abominations to the Lord. In verse five its says that he "went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians,and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites." He even went to the point of building high places for these falls gods like "Chemosh, the abomination of Moab".

    So, what is going to happen here is that Solomon is going to have to go. Because if you are not going to do the Lord's will, you are not going to be in the way of it either. So what God is going to do is to remove Solomon rain over Israel- except for one tribe. And the reason for God's allowing Solomon to continue his reign over the one tribe is very interesting. Because our subject is really not Solomon but it is David. He said it was for David's sake- what the Lord bought of his servant David that he would allow David's son to continue to reign over the tribes of Israel.

    Now, what I would like us to do is to look at the language used in verse 4 -- this is chapter 11, of verse 4, verse six, and verse 34 concerning the way that the Lord speaks about David. Verse 4 reads-

1st Kings 11:4 4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.

Verse 6 says-

6 And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.

And in verse 34 it says-

1st Kings 11:34 34 Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes:

    Now, that's a nice way for the Lord to talk about a man. (laughter) That's a very nice way for the Lord to talk about a man. But you know -- one day I was reading from another part of the word of God- and that was 2nd Samuel Chapter 11... which is our second passage of scripture. Maybe you've heard the story of David and Bathsheba.

    It seems that David was doing fine with the Lord until one day he was walking upon the roof of his house. And he took his eyes off of the Lord and put them on Bathsheba. And he went on to inquire about Bathsheba -- find out who she was, until in verse 4 we read --

2nd Samuel 11:4 4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.

    So there you have, a mighty man of God falling into sin because he took his eyes off the Lord. Not tempted by God -- but lured and enticed by his own desire. So -- this falling into sin was the beginning of a whole web of sin for David. We read on in verse 5 --

2nd Samuel 11:5 5 And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.

    Now, David is in trouble already. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not trying to refer to a baby who is an innocent victim of circumstances as a trouble, but we all know the situations that can arise from these circumstances. So inverse six you have David saying, " Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David."

    Now David begins to go into a series of plans to correct this problem -- every way except the right way. And in verse 7 we have plan A.

2nd Samuel 11:5-6 7 And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered. 8 And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.

    Now can you picture that? David calls Uriah to him and says "Hello Uriah How is the war going? As if David wanted to know how the war was going. But he did not want to know how the war was going. He wanted Uriah to go down to his house and sleep with his wife so that he would think that that was his baby. So now not only is David a fornicator, but he is a deceiver.

    But you know, Uriah, I find to be a very interesting person because -- and this being brotherhood night I think that we can take a few lessons off of Uriah. Because Uriah was a very devoted man... devoted to his King, devoted to his captain, devoted to his brethren, devoted to Israel. And I believe that we will see that every time David approaches Uriah with one of these plans -- Uriah counteracts that plan with righteousness. Or shows some type of [virture] that counteracts David's unrighteousness. Verse nine Reads --

2nd Samuel 11:9 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.

    Now, that's strange isn't it? A man comes back from war, and doesn't go down to his house -- but sleeps at the King's door. The servants of David thought that was so strange that they went to him an in verse 10 they went to him saying "Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?"

2nd Samuel 11:11 11 And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.

    And that's a great deal of devotion, that he would think of his brother and in the fields and not go into another form of life as he remembers them. And the interesting part about this is verse 10 because it seems as though David is a little bit upset with Uriah's devotion. Because -- Uriah is messing up his plan. He expects everyone to be unrighteous just because he is. Uriah is messing up his plan. Have you ever experienced anything like this?

    The only thing that I can't compare this to is if you remember back in elementary school, and you are sitting in class, and you have come to school on a day when a you haven't done your homework. And there is somebody over here that always does his homework. So the teacher is getting ready to do over the homework, so she says

    "What else did Napoleon do?

    So -- this guy over here, disk hand goes up. And your sitting there pretending like you have your paper there or something. And so he gives the right answer. She says, "Well that's fine." So she asks again,

    "Alright, what else did Napoleon do?

    So he raises his hand back up, all the time, and your trying to stay cool so that she won't see you. So he gives another right answer.

    So she [asks again], "Alright, what else did Napoleon do?

    So he raises his hand, and your beginning to get a little bit annoyed with this person... i.e. "How do you like this guy, thinks he knows all the answers!" When he's done, see he's done his work, see, he's done his work and you haven't, and yet you have a little attitude ...and that seems like what David had. Then we move on to Plan B. in verse 12;

2nd Samuel 11:12-13 12 And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow. 13 And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.

    Now, here David those into plan base. These going to try an get Uriah drunk. Now, not only is David of fornicator, but because of this original sin that he fell too, in taking his eyes off of the Lord, Now he is not only a fornicator, and a deceiver but he is imposing drunkeness on another man.

    Does that sound like the same David to you that we just saw back in 1st Kings? (crowd answers no) Well evidently we are going to see some soul cleansing power coming up.

    The interesting part about this is that Uriah counteracts this again because something inside of Uriah, something stronger than wine, somekind of devotion, some kind of truth just spoke to his heart and overcame that wine, so that he did not go down to his house but slept with the rest of the servants. So now David is a little more annoyed as he goes into Plan C, into the pit of sin as he plans the murder of Uriah. Verse 14-

2nd Samuel 11:14-16 14 And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die. 16 And it came to pass,when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.

    So there is David's plan of murder. But you know Uriah's devotion and truth can even be seen in this, because if you'll notice in verse 14 it reads that David, after he wrote this letter that he "sent it by the hand of Uriah". Now here is Uriah, devoted to his King, all he's doing is following orders, and not knowing that he is carrying his own death sentence in his hand. So he is a devoted man. And then when he arrives there Joab takes part in David's sin, and commits Uriah to the hottest battle where these valiant men were. And Uriah brings forth his last bit of devotion as he goes into this battle, obeying his king, obeying his captain Joab as he gives the most that he can give, his life... as he dies.

    But even though this is the end of Uriah's devotion, it is not the end of the web of sin because it seems as if Joab hasn't been such a good captain.

    It you will read down through verses 18 through 21, it seems as though Joab had sent his men to close to the wall, and many of them got arched -- they were killed. It seems as though an Joab is worried whether or not David is going to be mad at him. So Joab tells his messenger to David and he tells them, now you go tell David the results of the war and if David gets mad did you tell him as it says in verse 21, "Uriah the Hittite is dead also" . Do you see the level of deception, the deceit, the dishonesty? ... to tell him "Uriah the Hittite is dead also". He just whispered that little bit of evil in there.

    And David is so worried about his sin, that he did not even worry about his men. Because when he heard--,when the messenger brought David the word, David does in verse 25 the worst thing that a man of God can do when he is faced with sin. Instead of facing up to it, instead of mending the hole in his net, he lies to himself and tries to say that he didn't do it. You read verse 25 --

2nd Samuel 11:25 25 Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.

    So he goes one step more into this web of sin -- where he tries to tell himself, "Uriah is in the Army -- and he got killed, I didn't do it." When he knows in his heart what he did. And then David wraps up this web of sin by taking Uriah's wife, Bathsheba, into his own house. But -- that chapter ends with the words, "But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD". And whenever he says that something is going to happen. Because the Lord is not going to let it go on. Because with out his chastening love we could never make it.

    The Lord sends his servant Nathan to David with a parable. It seems to be a man over here with a whole flock of sheep, and a poor man over here that has one little lamb. And the servant Nathan tells David that there was a traveler coming through the midst of them, and to feed this traveler this rich man -- instead of taking of his own flock comes over here and kills this poor man's little lamb. This is a symbol of course for David taking Uriah's wife, the only thing that he had.

    And now David does something that I really believe enforces what Paul says about his two different natures, about how he battled himself. Because I really believe according to verses five and six that David really loved righteousness deep in his heart, (this is chapter 12) because when David hears of this unrighteousness- he goes into a rage as a king... verse 5;

2nd Samuel 12:5,6 5 And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: 6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.

    And then the Lord lays it on him!

2nd Samuel 12:7-12 7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; 8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. 9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.

    Now, can you imagine how David felt? He had just been up in this rage, and was going into revenge on behalf of this poor man who suffered. And I imagine as Lord laid it on him step-by-step- all the things that he had given him, and how he would've given him more... as he brought down the condemnation... I just imagine him being humbled, and humbled, and humbled until he probably just stared straight out into space and shook his head, and said in verse 13 -- "I have sinned against the LORD"... the thing which he should have done in the beginning. And just as soon as he did that -- the Lord's servant then said, "The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die."

    But what I want us to look at is the degree at which the Lord took away his sin. He took away his sin to the point where he could state back in first king's Chapter 11, that David's heart was *perfect with the Lord... that David went *fully after the Lord! He was even able is say in verse 34 that David KEPT My commandments and walked in my statutes!

-You see- though his sins were as scarlett, they became as white as snow,

-Though they were red like crimson, they became as wool

-Though the wages of sin is death, the free gift of God is eternal life

-and though I was lost, now I'm found and thought I was blind, now I see...

ALL BECAUSE of the soul cleansing power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

    And I tell you tonight that this is a miracle. You have people today wondering if miracles still exist. But I am telling you that miracles happen *every day They happen every time a man says -- "I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me [not;]" (Job 33:27)

    And just as soon as he does that... [GOD] is faithful and just to forgive as our sense and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

    Heavenly father we thank you for the soul cleansing blood of the Lord Jesus Christ And that's why we say Worthy! Worthy is the LAMB that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessings, and all our praises day and night for ever and ever --- Amen!