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1 Samuel 11-12; Psalm 51 (today will potentially be frustrating for those of you who like everything tied into a neat little package each week) REVIEW: ● In my own personal journey of faith, one thing is continually becoming more clear to me: that the goal of life is to BE WITH God and BE WITH others. - to be “with” someone requires that nothing prevents me from being present (can’t be preoccupied). ● However you would identify “sin” (missing the mark, falling short, failure to live up to God’s creative purposes for us, etc.), it keeps me from being with God and being with you. But, sometimes, I don’t want to be with God (or with you), so sometimes I hide. ● James 4:6 “God opposes the proud, but gives (we must receive) grace to the humble”. It means that God has nothing to offer to those who think they can do life without him. ● I’m not just interested in being “forgiven”…I’m interested in being “restored”; becoming more fully human! (living up to my potential) - I’m not just interested in knowing that when I do sin, I’ll be forgiven… I’m pursuing a way of being more “with” God and “with” you that eliminates a casual approach to sin. * My default impression of “confession” has always been… … an image of being confined to a small, steamy and dark room, … restrained in a seat (angels pressing on my shoulders should I attempt to escape), hearing God say, “I have ways of making you talk!”, … after hours of mental abuse, I admit to this list of heinous sins I had committed (and many that I actually had not!), … and finally, having spewed the confession, I hear God shove his chair back and leave the room in total disgust; being left to deal in isolation with my own feelings of worthlessness. * Our approach to this often misunderstood practice also causes us to reach some inaccurate conclusions about God. We often feel as if God’s intentions are to coerce some type of confession from us; to get us to “spill the beans”. That God continues to intensify the pressure until we “break” (not consistent with the biblical concept of “brokenness”). * Sometimes as parents, we utilize various tactics designed to coerce a confession out of our children (i.e. “I saw your car at ___________ last night. I talked to _____ last night; they told me what you guys did!”) We resort to deceptive and unethical tactics to teach our children ethics! * One of the things that I love about the Bible is that it doesn’t appear interested in “glossing over” our defects; it is not hesitant to tell the reveal the really ugly truths about humanity and the really self-destructive things we do! David’s story with a woman named Bathsheba is just one example. 2 Samuel 11-12 - David is king of Israel (experiencing tremendous success; which, in and of itself, makes us vulnerable). - Takes the day off. - From the roof, he sees Bathsheba bathing (coincidence?) - Sends for her…has sex with her…gets the “call” (“I’m pregnant!”)…and plots to have her husband killed! Here’s the “kicker”…in Acts 13:22, David is referred to as a “man after God’s own heart”. ►Following God means you’ll never have to fake it! - David is identified as a “man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22), yet we discover in his life some serious character issues and incredible lapses in judgment. I realize how easy to live a life that is not authentic; that’s not honest; that’s not from the heart. Matthew 15:8 “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me”. - I also realize that I occasionally behave in ways that are inconsistent with my heart; are not really a good representation of who I am (they are particular instances which don’t really define who I am). In those times, God gives us the gift of conscience…the ability to recognize and respond. 1 Kings 15:5 For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not failed to keep any of the LORD's commands all the days of his life--except in the case of Uriah the Hittite. - this is the life that I am pursuing… where sin is exceptional. ►Confession, by its very definition, is voluntary, but it’s not our first instinct. “confession”- ‘to hold out the hand’. Psalm 32:5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"-and you forgave the guilt of my sin. * Please know that God will never “coerce” a confession out of you. ►Confession is not a tactic that we use to get God to love us, but our voluntary response to the fact that he already does! Psalm 51:1-2 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. - David appeals to God’s very nature…love. Mercy allows God to forgive our sin if we will stop making excuses for it! (forgiveness only looks appealing to those who are willing to admit that they are wrong!) - There is one word that will always be absent from a genuine confession… “but” (i.e. Did you see her, God?! Wow!) * Restoration requires both “grace and truth”. John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Grace means that I am “acceptable”; truth means that I am “accountable”. ACCEPTABLILITY WITHOUT ACCOUNTABILITY LEADS TO INDIFFERENCE. (my life becomes disorderly as I separate belief and behavior). “I like to sin and God likes to forgive…it seems like a pretty good arrangement, right?!” ACCOUNTABILITY WITHOUT ACCEPTABILITY RESULTS IN AN UNHEALTHY EMPHASIS ON PERFORMANCE. (never knowing if I have done enough to please God). - we have an idea that God might love us (i.e. out of obligation: like we love that uncle or cousin who’s obnoxious), but for the most part, he’s fairly disgusted with us. ACCEPTANCE, IN AN ATMOSPHERE OF LOVING-ACCOUNTABILITY, PROVIDES THE COURAGE FOR ME TO PURSUE AUTHENTIC LIFE-CHANGE.
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