Introduction

Let us turn to Chapter 12 of 2 Samuel. In this passage, do we see ghosts? No. Are there spirits present? Certainly. What do these spirits look like? Are they the legendary specters, floating in the air clad in white, headless and terrifying? I often hear people recount seeing something somewhere and being frightened. But do ghosts truly appear that way? It seems not, for I have a keen interest in this subject. My research suggests that ghosts are not as frightening as people are.

Indeed, when we watch horror movies, ghosts are often portrayed with green faces, sharp fangs, and twisted visages. But do ghosts truly look like that? These are largely human constructs. Without human intervention, such imagery would not exist. My research has led me to believe that ghosts do not resemble these depictions at all. They are more beautiful than the spirits in the movie Painted Skin and speak sweeter than angels. If ghosts were frightening, they would not be ghosts. What do ghosts typically do? They deceive. Once a person is deceived, the ghost stands by and laughs, watching the person bring about their own downfall.

The ghosts people describe are often terrifying, and death itself is often viewed as frightening! But what is there to fear? Ghosts cannot harm us while we are alive, so how could they harm us after death? Why do people fear? Because they overthink. For example, among the five siblings in my family, some are timid, while others are brave.

When we were young, our parents had to work and would leave us five children at home, locking the door behind them. Among us siblings, the more timid ones would say, Listen! Everyone be quiet and listen. And they would hear: Click, click, click, which was frightening! What is that sound? Are there bad people? Are there ghosts?! They would panic, and all five children would tremble. But there was nothing there; they were simply frightening themselves.

If we have some understanding of the spiritual realm and a correct view of the essence of things, there is no need to fear. I must tell you, if I saw a dead person, I would not be afraid. What is there to fear? What we should fear are the lies released by the devil. Like the sound we imagined as children, it came from the spiritual realm. The timid child would say, Listen to the clicking sound, but it was all in their imagination. This is how lies originate, and people become frightened. The five children trembled because one of them said, Listen! What's that sound? But there was nothing there.

Therefore, we must understand the spiritual realm. The devil deceives through lies. The devil can create various sensations in people, such as fear, pain, itchiness, discomfort, and depression. These are closely related to spirits. The devil is particularly adept at creating strange sensations. A person has a headache—does that person truly want a headache? No, they do not. But the headache persists because a spirit of headache has come. Fear arises because a spirit of fear has come. Confusion arises because a spirit of confusion has come. So, we must understand where these feelings come from. They are released by the devil to make us believe these lies.

Another sensation people experience is sexual impulse. Have you heard of sexual impulse? We adults should understand it fairly well. It is a sudden, intense sexual urge. This is very spiritual. How did this happen to David? David woke up from sleeping from dawn until evening, and his feelings became uncontrollable. He suddenly had a very strong urge. At that moment, Bathsheba was bathing in the courtyard, not trying to hide herself. She wanted to do this. Isn't that peculiar? We must understand what was happening behind the scenes.

The Spiritual Realm Determines Our Affairs on Earth

You must remember this: What happens in the spiritual realm determines our affairs on earth. Whether a person experiences misfortune or blessing, success or failure, many things are closely related to the spiritual realm. Therefore, I must teach you this. People always look for reasons for what happens: It was an accident, it was a coincidence, it was a chance occurrence. But the truth is, the spiritual realm determines our affairs on earth.

So, what really happened? If we look with our physical eyes, David woke up in the evening and saw Bathsheba bathing. But that is not the whole story. What was it, then? It is quite interesting. Satan, the devil, specializes in tempting people. He walks back and forth before God and says, God, you are so good to David that, of course, he trusts you. God asks, What is it? What do you want to do? Satan replies, What if I were to test him? What do you think? God is in a dilemma. If He does not allow Satan to test David, He will not know whether David can withstand temptation. But if He allows the test and David fails, what then?

God chooses to believe that David will be able to withstand it. In His heart, God says, Good luck, David! What happened next? Satan obtained permission from God to orchestrate a farce. First, he made Bathsheba bathe in the courtyard and simultaneously released a series of messages into her mind. The lies the devil releases enter a person's mind as quickly as copying from a USB drive to a hard drive, especially with the latest M.2 technology, which can copy 7GB per second.

The devil's information quickly entered Bathsheba's mind, and her thoughts were quite high-sounding: How wonderful it would be if I could sleep beside David! Yesterday, David woke up at four in the afternoon, so he will probably wake up at the same time today. I will go to bathe at that time. Do you see how the devil orchestrates things? It is all so coincidental.

David tossed and turned in bed the night before because he had a strong feeling inside him. He finally fell asleep very late and woke up at four in the afternoon. What perfect timing! He went up to the roof and saw Bathsheba bathing, and his feelings became even stronger. Did that feeling come from the devil? David said to his attendants, Find out who that woman is and bring her to me. As in ancient Chinese novels: it was like dry wood meeting a blazing fire. As a result, David caused trouble!

At this moment, God's name was blasphemed by the enemy. The theme of this chapter is Giving the Enemy an Opportunity to Blaspheme. David did not prevail; he suffered a defeat. As we can imagine, Satan triumphantly came before God and said, What do you think of David, your favorite? As a result, Satan seized the opportunity to blaspheme.

Therefore, in life, whenever you obey your feelings, you reap corruption; whenever you obey the Spirit of God, you reap eternal life. If a person obeys their feelings, and it just so happens that they cannot control themselves, even a spiritual giant like David can become confused about controlling his feelings! One wrong step can lead to eternal regret!

Brothers and sisters, our flesh is closely related to the spiritual realm. If you have jealousy inside you, that feeling certainly comes from the devil and is related to your flesh. The feelings in the body are real. Do not think that I am strong; I am not. I simply do not want God's name to be blasphemed. In my heart, I say, God, may you keep the thoughts and intentions of my heart and make them acceptable in your sight for my whole life.

Fortunately, we brothers and sisters all know this: feelings will certainly arise, but whether you can control them depends on your own creation. You must know that these feelings produced in the spiritual realm, if not controlled, are called the lusts of the flesh! It is not the Holy Spirit that contends with evil spirits, but the lusts of our flesh that contend with the Holy Spirit.

What is needed to put to death the evil deeds of the body? It requires comprehension. If your comprehension is not clear, everything will fall apart. If your comprehension is clear but you lack power, God can still add to it, but do not follow your feelings. Following your feelings is deadly! Sisters, do you have feelings of competition? Yes. Do you have feelings of jealousy? Yes. Do you have feelings of comparison and being competitive? Yes, all these feelings are closely related to your flesh.

Every time you obey your feelings, you give the enemy an opportunity to blaspheme God. If you follow your feelings, you will certainly be destroyed. So, you must manage your feelings well. Chinese Mingding Destiny defines feelings as matters of the spiritual realm because feelings are so dangerous. In fact, Chinese Mingding Destiny sometimes categorizes some things as feelings. You might say, I feel peaceful. But what is the use of feeling peaceful? When Ahab went to battle, he also felt peaceful, but he was shot by an arrow.

Christians are particularly fond of feelings, but feelings are too corrupting and too dangerous. I am someone who does not trust feelings. I almost hate trusting feelings. Why? Because feelings are closely related to the spiritual realm, and feelings are closely related to the flesh. Therefore, the Bible tells us to be filled with the knowledge of God's word in our comprehension! When people follow their feelings, their conscience is still there, and their sense of right and wrong is very clear, but they cannot sort things out in themselves.

Do not follow your feelings; follow the Holy Spirit. Now you know that matters in the spiritual realm determine matters on earth. Why have we walked to where we are today? Because we are now reaping what we sowed in the past. But do not be afraid. If you start sowing seeds of blessing from now on and sow according to the Spirit, you will surely reap eternal life from the Spirit in the future. So, stop sowing seeds according to your feelings. If you do, those feelings will corrupt you.

There is a Conscience in the Human Heart

Fortunately, there is a conscience in the human heart, which is also a very spiritual thing. David killed Uriah through the hands of the Ammonites, thinking that no one would know, as if he had planned it very carefully. We must know that people's thoughts and intentions are transparent before God and the devil. It was God who directed this. David was still complacent, thinking that Uriah's death and his marriage to his wife were not against the law because she was single and free. As a result, Nathan came the next day:

The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity. (2 Samuel 12:1-6)

David was a man with a conscience, with compassion in his heart. If, on the other hand, David had said, Hey, isn't this normal? that would mean he had lost his conscience. There is a big difference between having a conscience and not having one. David's conscience was still alive at this time, but some people's consciences have been eaten by dogs. As a result, when God saw that David still had a conscience, He felt that there was still hope. If you lead someone who has no conscience, who not only takes advantage of others but also kills Uriah, and thinks that anyone would do the same, that would be a problem. If there are so many poor people in the city that they eat one after another, that would be a problem. Then there would be no conscience.

This generation is quite tragic, and capital is quite hateful. If you understand capital, you will hate it, because capital plunders the wealth of the people and nurtures a group of compradores. A large part of the world's governments have become compradores of these wealthy people, just to make money. People are able to live well because of God! When have capitalists cared about the people or had compassion? If 98% of the world's wealth belongs to 2% of the people, the common people will die miserably! I am saying this because some people's consciences have been eaten by dogs.

Capitalists think that not making money is immoral, which is to regard immoral things as moral. If capitalists could earn a little less so that the common people could have a better life, that would be fine. But they are all immoral. Capital is very powerful and difficult to manage. However, it is still difficult to theoretically solve these problems. If David thought: I am the king. What is wrong with me taking a lamb from you? Is there a problem with me asking you to live in a pigeon cage? Is there a problem with me raising the house prices? If I don't raise them so high, it would be immoral. If that were the case, David would be beyond redemption. Brothers and sisters must have knowledge and not just parrot others.

Of course, laziness is not a good thing either. But if David had no conscience, then it would be over, and Nathan's mission would be over. That would mean that you not only give the enemy an opportunity to blaspheme God, but you would also be rubbed on the ground by the devil, which would be destructive. If we look at problems with spiritual eyes, money is a very spiritual thing. Does a person still have a conscience inside? If there is a conscience, there is still a chance; if there is no conscience, there is no chance. David still had a little conscience inside, so when David heard Nathan's words:

David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity. (2 Samuel 12:5-6)

When Nathan saw David's reaction, he felt that it was okay, so he continued to the next step:

Then Nathan said to David, You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own.’ (2 Samuel 12:7-9)

David's conscience still remained, but can having a conscience solve all problems? No; he still had to accept judgment. When I say this, those who do not believe in the Lord are happy, because even if Christians sin and repent, they still have to accept judgment. That is because they cause God to be blasphemed before the enemy, completely without face.

What God Gives Us is Abundant and Sufficient

If what God gives us is not sufficient, then we will be penniless, and we will steal, rob, and mess around, and God's name will be blasphemed. But God does not want us to do this, nor does He want us to live in poverty.

Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! (2 Samuel 12:7-8)

The meaning of this scripture is: If you still feel it is not enough, tell Me, for I am your God. If you say, God! I want a concubine, God says, I would have given you much more! If you still feel it’s not enough, then say it again; you can have one more wife, or two more wives. God did not care about this matter at all, but if you feel your wives are not enough, then tell Me, but do not let My name be blasphemed. If you let My name be blasphemed, then I will surely discipline you.

“Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ (2 Samuel 12:10)

One wrong step may cause lifelong regret. If you are a descendant of David, the sword will still not leave your house. It is not because of anything else, but because while our conscience had not yet been extinguished, and while we received many benefits from God, we did something immoral. This is deadly! Many people in the church, before God, after receiving grace, actually ran with the Old Horse. One try with the Old Horse: it is simply trash, even the Old Horse looks down on you, feeling you are too rotten, and not even enough to accumulate a few points. So God says: he is trash and does not count; if the devil had successfully tempted David, then that would have been somewhat meaningful because God’s name would have been blasphemed.

Some people have received a lot of grace from me, not just a little bit, but a great deal! As a result, they become close to whoever opposes me, but I still continue to give them grace; but it is useless, they still lead themselves to ruin and become especially close to others. Such a person can do whatever he wants! Nothing can stop us from following our feelings! If your feelings are very strong, then you must be careful, because your feelings are often tools to ruin you. After being manipulated by the devil, God will judge you.

Those among us with cancer personalities must be careful. Do not wait until the cancer has grown before realizing it is powerful. Quickly ask then, God, heal me! Do not wait until the sword does not leave your house, until judgment has been set; how can it be changed then? It cannot be changed. God gives us grace beforehand, and plenty of it. After receiving grace, whether we are willing to honor and revere God's name, no longer despising God, is key.

God has given us abundantly, but some brothers and sisters are quite interesting, they can even find the one-man-one-woman system in the Bible. Actually, God really did not care about this matter. David had several wives, and if he wanted more, it would not have mattered if God gave him a few more, but do not engage in sneaky behavior, do not secretly kill someone's husband and take his wife.

If You Still Think It Is Not Enough, God Would Have Given You Much More

God does not want you to fall, engaging in those sneaky and unorthodox things, do not give God’s enemies a great opportunity to blaspheme God. God speaks very bluntly: I will give you much more. Sometimes I think: God! May our brothers and sisters serve You with joy and willingness when they are prosperous, because that is what You have given us in abundance. If we do not serve God with joy and willingness, we will serve the enemies sent by God.

I am conflicted, and I can also feel God's conflict: if I let you be poor, you blaspheme God; if I let you be rich, you do not serve God with joy and willingness, but serve the enemies sent by God. Can you give God a way to go? It makes God not know what to do. I can only say: God, may You have wisdom! God originally has wisdom, but having wisdom is also very helpless! In these years that I have served in the church in the past, I still have many feelings! To put it bluntly, sometimes my heart becomes hardened. Because I feel that people are so stupid! God makes you rich, and you do not serve God with joy and willingness; God makes you poor, and you love money. Difficult to deal with! God’s position is not easy to sit in. God said to David:

I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! (2 Samuel 12:8)

Actually, God had already given David much more, so why did he still do this kind of thing? This exceeds our wisdom; we really cannot understand it. I would ask God: God! May You have mercy on me, so that I can do what is right in Your eyes all my life. But I do not know if I will follow my feelings someday. I can only say: God! Have mercy on us! God will still give us much more, as long as we do what is right in God's eyes. If there are still those among us who think it is not enough, I will give you an idea, you should still ask God. If God gives it to you, it will not cause the enemy to blaspheme God.

Even if You Repent After You Fall, You Still Have to Pay the Price

David only yielded to his feelings for such a short while, and did this thing, and as a result, he went further and further astray, killing Uriah and shedding his blood, which was terrible! Wherever Christians fall, they have to pay the price. Because every time you fall, God's name is blasphemed because of you. I say it again, no matter when you fall, when you talk nonsense, when you follow your own feelings, God's name will be blasphemed because of what you do. People have to pay the price for this. Sometimes I am very emotional, I watch with my own eyes as the price is to be paid by you, but no matter how I persuade you, you will not listen, you must follow your own feelings and choose to fall. You say: it doesn't matter, I will repent. But you must know that even if you repent, you still have to pay the price.

So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.” (2 Samuel 12:13-14)

Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ (2 Samuel 12:11-12)

Do not think that no one knows, the devil does not know, God does not know, the devil also does not know. After David finished doing this, retribution also came, that is, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house. Therefore, David later experienced a lot of adversity and had to accept his fate, do not ask God why. There is no why, it is because you have caused God's name to be blasphemed, it is normal to experience these adversities. Brothers and sisters, do not continue to sow seeds that blaspheme God, because you reap what you sow. Be careful! It is not that there is no judgment, nor is it that you do not have to pay the price. Although you repent, you still have to pay the price. Repent well, manage your heart and feelings well, no longer following the lusts of the flesh to reap corruption, but following the Holy Spirit to reap eternal life.

The price David paid was very miserable. Did David pray for the things he encountered? No need to pray, it is useless to pray. Many times, the things Christians encounter are also useless to pray for. Why? Do you not know what you have sown? The problem is that when you are serving others, you can speak clearly, but when it comes to yourself, you do not understand.

People are like this, why do they not understand when it comes to themselves? David thought it was someone else's business, so he said: he must repay fourfold, this person should die! When David discovered that he was this person, he was dumbfounded, and he still felt that he was very good and had a good conscience. But conscience is only used on others, in fact, you should use your conscience on yourself.

A couple came to me. The wife said: Teacher, he looks at my shortcomings with a microscope; he looks at my advantages with a reducing glass. I said: you should thank God that he did not look at you with a funhouse mirror. Reducing is at least not distorting, using a funhouse mirror would distort things. This couple accused each other in this way, and the seller of microscopes made money, where can such a thing be reasoned with?

Brothers and sisters, you must know that falling has a price to pay, do not only use your conscience on others, but use it on yourself. How many points have we talked about in total? First, the things in the spiritual realm determine the things in the world. Remember, all things are closely related to whether they blaspheme God or not. The devil wants to do this, to humiliate God. Second, there is a conscience in people's hearts. Those who do not have a conscience do not count, no one can save them. Third, God gives us abundantly. Christians must live in abundance. In the days to come, God will give you abundantly. Fourth, if you still think it is not enough, God will give you much more, to avoid God’s name being blasphemed. Fifth, if you fall, although you repent, you still have to pay the price.

Even if You Fall, Although You Have to Pay the Price for It, You Still Have to Believe in God

God judges that this child will surely die. After this child was born:

Then Nathan departed to his own house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became desperately ill. David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. (2 Samuel 12:15-16)

It is interesting that the ground at that time was not tile or terrazzo, I guess it was not even a floor, just hardened mud. David lay on the ground praying. Sometimes sitting up, sometimes lying down, sometimes kneeling, tossing back and forth, praying for God to heal the child. And constantly sending servants to see if the child was getting better. One day, two days, three days, four days, five days. On the fifth day, David was so anxious that he was praying while weeping, all over the ground with mud. Tears, snot, mixed with repentance, just believing that God would heal the child.

His servants saw that the child was dead, and they did not dare to tell David, and they did not understand him. In fact, people's views on people are really deadly. David saw them whispering and talking in small groups. He asked them: is the child dead? The servants told him: the child is dead. Then David got up to brush his teeth, wash his face, and change his clothes, no longer tossing around. The ground he had been lying on had been tossed into a mess. He began to eat. Everyone felt strange, because David prayed when the child was alive. When the child died, he was happy instead. This logic is very interesting, confusing these servants, because they do not understand David’s logical system.

Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” (2 Samuel 12:21-23)

This is David’s inner faith, the judgment that God declared to David was very heavy: the sword will not leave his house; I will raise up adversity against you from your own house. The child was going to die, and David was praying desperately to God. Ordinary people cannot do this, because they feel that since this is God’s judgment, then forget it. But David was not like this, he thought: Perhaps God will have mercy on him, God may yet let the child live, as a result the child still died. David thought: Since God let him die, let him die.

So he said: Now the child is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. This shows that David has something in his bones that we all need to have. David sees this matter of life and death clearly: Sooner or later I will die and leave this world. As long as I am in the world, I will let God’s name be glorified. If a person has not seen through life and death, everything else is finished, and there is no way to talk about believing in God.

It can be seen that David is a powerful person, he has seen through the throne, family, life and death, and he has seen through many things beyond our imagination, but no one can see through him. The result of this matter was originally to cause God’s name to be blasphemed, but David turned the tables and made God’s name glorified again. God’s name is glorified because of those who trust in Him.

David saw through the life and death of people, and later David had another child. The past is over, Uriah is also dead, and the first child that Bathsheba and David had died, died, let it be. Anyway, that’s it. Later, God gave David and Bathsheba another child, and God was also pleased with him. David named him Solomon, and God gave him a name called Jedidiah.

Even if people fall, they still have to believe in God. Do not hate God because you are judged. God judges because we have caused His name to be blasphemed. If a person is judged, it is deserved. What we sowed in the past, let us reap now. But as long as we continue to trust in God with faith, we will still see God’s great grace.

God Is Still the God Who Gives Us Victory

What David did was not good, but the ending was particularly good. Bathsheba gave birth to another child for David named Solomon. Later, Joab, who killed Uriah with David, led people to attack the capital of the Ammonites. After breaking through, Joab did not want to gain the glory alone, so he asked David to fight the last battle and take the capital of the Ammonites. The crown of the Ammonite king, weighing more than thirty kilograms of gold, was taken and given to David.

David wore this thirty-kilogram hat, like being sentenced. Who would wear such a heavy hat? If you hold a fifty-kilogram sword in your hand, how thick does your neck have to be to support such a hat? Is this glory? The wooden yoke in Water Margin is not so heavy when it is put around the neck. If it fell from the head to the ground, it could break the foot.

David was victorious, and the Ammonites became slaves under David’s command. God is still the God who gives us victory. Even if we fall today, we stand up again; if we fall again tomorrow, we stand up again, and deal with the feelings inside us again. Are there any of us who have fallen? Sure there are. But don’t be afraid. What you sow is what you reap. Although judged, but God is still the God who saves us and gives us victory.

The theme of this chapter is a reminder to us. Letting the enemy have a great opportunity to blaspheme God is a spiritual insight. In the spiritual world, having such insights often causes God's name to be glorified because of us. How much more will God's blessings and grace be added! Our God is a good God! Amen!

May God bless everyone!