Transcript
Speaker: The following podcast is a Jill Devine Media production. Jill Devine, your host of Normal Goes a Long Way. And in this week's episode, we will be covering Chapter 12, The Trials of a King.
Speaker: i'm jill devine your host of normal goes a long way and in this week's episode we will be covering chapter twelve the trials ah a king All right, hey, good morning. God's continued great blessings to you on this first Sunday in April. Ah, April, here we are. Rain or shine, you just can't beat April in Missouri, although it does kind of feel lately like February.
Speaker: But nevertheless, speaking of April in Missouri, I'm going to tell you a little tale that I came across in a Randy Frazee book. I tweaked it just a little bit, but the story goes like this.
Speaker: Many years ago, a little boy lived way out the country. You know, backwoods. on the sticks, you know, somewhere in the rural part of Southern Missouri.
Speaker: ah know what you're thinking. Isn't to all of Southern Missouri rural? Yeah, it is. You're right. You're right. um it was so rural, in fact, that this family had to use an outhouse for a facility.
Speaker: And this little boy absolutely hated that outhouse because it was always cold in the winter and hot in the summer. And, well, you can imagine all the other reasons, too.
Speaker: But this outhouse, it sat on the bank of a creek and that boy fantasized about it pushing that outhouse over the edge and into the water someday. Well, one morning after a hard April rain, that little creek became so swollen that the boy decided this was his perfect chance to get rid of that much hated outhouse. And so he got an old two by four from the barn and he used it as a giant crowbar and he wedged that board in place. And with one big push, that outhouse toppled over backward into the creek and it floated away.
Speaker: Problem solved. But later that night, his dad told him that after supper, that they were going to take a trip out to the woodshed.
Speaker: Yeah, the boy knew what that meant, that he was going to get spanking. Yeah, like good old days, right? And he asked his father, why? and the father said, well, son, because somebody pushed the outhouse into the creek today.
Speaker: I'm supposing it was you, wasn't it, son? The boy answered his father, yeah, yes it was, pa, I'd done it.
Speaker: Then the little boy thought and said, you know, pa, I read in school last week that when George Washington was a boy, he chopped down a cherry tree, but he didn't get in no trouble because he told the truth.
Speaker: The father responded, well, yes, son, that is correct. But you see, son, George Washington's father wasn't in that cherry tree.
Speaker: There you go. All right, I'll give some of you some time. All right, you got it. You got it. Now, most of us have never toppled over outhouse, but all of us can identify with that little boy in three ways.
Speaker: ah First, you and I have something inside of us that always wants to do wrong. The word for that is called sin. ah Secondly, our sin affects other people.
Speaker: And thirdly, there are always consequences that come along with sin. And this morning, we are going to see all three of these things come into play in chapter 12 of the story.
Speaker: Their title for this chapter is called The Trials of a King, specifically King David. Now, David is a fascinating guy. Have you been watching that Amazon Prime, the house of David? Ooh, it's good stuff.
Speaker: But he is a true Renaissance man. A shepherd, king, he's a poet, musician, he's a leader, a warrior, a giant slayer. He was said to be a man who is after God's own heart.
Speaker: David had a lot of great things going for him. you know He was king of the hill, literally. Jerusalem, it's called the city of David. It sits on a sloping hill and David was riding high. It's good to be the king and life is good for David.
Speaker: until he decides to topple the outhouse. Here's how it all went down. In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent his commander, Joab, out with all the king's men and the whole Israelite army.
Speaker: They defeated the Ammonites, but David remained in Jerusalem. And that there, friends, is called a tip-off. That a tip-off verse because it's telling us something is not right here.
Speaker: At the time when kings went off to war, David is in the wrong place at the wrong time. One evening, David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace.
Speaker: From the roof, he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. And the man said, "'Isn't this Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?' Then David sent messengers to get her.
Speaker: She came to him and he slept with her. but Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David saying, and I'm pregnant.
Speaker: Happened just that fast. One minute, David is the treasure king of a special nation, a righteous man with a heart for God. the next minute, he's just kind of going his own way to satisfy his own appetites.
Speaker: Ever find yourself wondering, how in the world did I get here? How did I get so far from God?
Speaker: And if you've ever asked any of those questions, maybe you've asked yourself this one too. Once I've blown it, is there a way back for me? When someone finds themselves at such a crossroads, there are really only two ways to go. They can either conceal it or confess it.
Speaker: Well, let's take a look at which path David chooses. Unfortunately, his first move is to cover it up. And it snowballs in one of the most diabolical schemes anyone could ever conceive.
Speaker: He sends Uriah, that's Bathsheba's husband, who is a man of great integrity, a loyal soldier to the king. Good guy.
Speaker: David arranges with his commander to put Uriah at the front of line in the next battle where he will be surely killed. And that's exactly what happens.
Speaker: but With Uriah out of the picture, David marries Bathsheba. She delivers a son. David daas dodges a bullet. not quite.
Speaker: You really can't topple an outhouse without anyone knowing, especially God. Nothing in all creation is hidden from his sight.
Speaker: Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. See, with with God, there are no cover-ups.
Speaker: And in David's case, his secret isn't hidden for long because God is not going to allow David to be alone with this sin. God loves David too much for that.
Speaker: And so he's going to soften David's heart. He's going to get David to deal with reality. And God sends David, the prophet, Nathan, a prophet.
Speaker: That is someone who hears God and someone who speaks for God. And Nathan comes to the palace one afternoon says, hey, I have a little story that I want to tell you, your majesty. it It's about a story about two men who live not too far from here.
Speaker: Go on, says David. Well, one of them is rich and has plenty of sheep and cattle, ah but the other man ah next to nothing except for this one little pet lamb.
Speaker: He raised it from infancy. It grew up with his children. They named her Fluffy. And she ate his food, drank from his cup, slept in his arms.
Speaker: And that little lamb was regarded as a member of the family. Well, one day, the rich man had a traveler come to stay at his house. But instead of sending one of his farmhands out to his field to get one of his sheep and prepare it for his guests, no.
Speaker: He sent for the little lamb that belonged to the poor man. And they had that lamb killed and cooked. And that's what he served his guests for supper that night. What do you think of that?
Speaker: And David jumps up with anger, you know. He says, the heartless man who did that deserves to die. Who is this sorry excuse for a human being? i' He's going to pay dearly for what he's done. What's his name? Give it to me.
Speaker: And Nathan says to David, um it's you. You are the man. His name's David.
Speaker: that's quite a zinger, ain't it? Now, there are plenty of lessons to learn from that story. One that I find in my heart, and maybe you find it in yours too, is the tendency to quickly detect the failings in someone else while ignoring the sin that's in me.
Speaker: Each of us, if we're honest, are inclined to condemn the faults of others while passing over much more lightly on our own sin.
Speaker: Now, maybe there's an example in us today. We look at David and we're like, okay. David commits an ultery. David steals another man's wife.
Speaker: And then he arranges ah for them the murder of this man. and We might be going, oh, well, there's nothing here for me, Shlee.
Speaker: I ain't that bad. don't commit an ultery. I don't murder people. I'm glad I'm not like that hypocrite David. You might think that.
Speaker: cross my mind anyway.
Speaker: But then along comes Jesus.
Speaker: He says, I want to tell you a story.
Speaker: You've heard that it was said to people long ago, don't murder. And anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who is angry at his brother will be subject to judgment.
Speaker: Again, you've heard that it was said, do not commit adultery, but I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Speaker: Oh, I guess there is something here for me. That's quite a zinger, ain't it? You see, no matter your age and no matter your gender, you are the man.
Speaker: I am the man. Have mercy on me, O God. According to your unfailing love, according to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions.
Speaker: Wash away all my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sins.
Speaker: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit it from me. Some of you know this.
Speaker: Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and remove me with thy free spirit.
Speaker: Amen. David wrote that. David sung that. Ultimately, David got on the right path by choosing confession.
Speaker: which is a remarkable thing if you think about it. Right? He's the king. After hearing Nathan's rebuke of a story, i mean, shoot, David could had him killed.
Speaker: Right?
Speaker: Or he could have, you know, just laughed in his face and denied it up and down. Get out of here with that. Weird.
Speaker: What proof did Nathan have?
Speaker: He could argued it, rationalized it, minimized it. David could have done any of those things, but he didn't. He confessed.
Speaker: David repents, and God grants forgiveness. Now, that's a really good singer. It is. But we want to be careful not to confuse David escaping God's eternal wrath with escaping earthly consequences for sin.
Speaker: If you've read chapter 12 of the story, then you know it. And if you haven't read it yet, you'll see it. That David is going to have to endure some very tough earthly consequences from here on out.
Speaker: There's gonna be a lot of fallout, including the child.
Speaker: The son of David will die. And that is a hard lesson to take, much less understand.
Speaker: Forgiven, yes, but there is a consequence. The son of David would die.
Speaker: Now here's something that's more than interesting. Jesus is known as the son of David. That's what they called him. and Next Sunday is the start of Holy Week.
Speaker: It'll be Palm Sunday, and Jesus is going to ride into Jerusalem, the city of David. And the crowd's going to come out, and they're going to cheer him on, and they're going to shout, Hosanna to the son of David.
Speaker: Jesus is heading to the woodshed of the cross, not because he sinned, but because we sin.
Speaker: And the son of David is going to die. You see, there is a consequence for your sin
Speaker: my sin, but it's not our child who dies. It's God's child who dies because he loves us.
Speaker: And that is something I'm still trying to wrap my head around. That's something we just don't truly understand.
Speaker: Who could comprehend the wild, uncontainable love of God? How far and how wide and how deep and how long is the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord? His mercy deep.
Speaker: His grace is wide and you, dear child, are loved.
Speaker: As was David, God did not leave David alone in his sin. and he did not leave him alone in dealing with the consequences for that sin.
Speaker: and so David would sing, the Lord is my shepherd.
Speaker: I shall not want you. I will fear no evil. You are with me. Your rod
Speaker: and your staff, they comfort me. God's treatment of David reveals that God cares deeply about the state of his children's hearts.
Speaker: And he will break out the rod. He'll do it. Because that's what love does. God will go to great lengths to bring you back.
Speaker: When we wander away from him, he will bring the rod, the staff. More than anything else, God wants you to have a broken and a contrite heart but when we come before him.
Speaker: And then then that is what confession is. That's what it is. Confession is not about telling God something he don't already know. That is impossible.
Speaker: Confession is about being honest with yourself and with God. And it's about relying on God's grace and trusting in God's promises and his goodness.
Speaker: And that's a very good thing. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man and woman.
Speaker: whose sin the Lord does not count against him. When I kept silent, my bones, they wasted away through my groin all day long. Then i acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover up my iniquity. I said, i will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Speaker: David wrote that.
Speaker: David sung that.
Speaker: Confession acknowledges our sin and it acknowledges that God's mercy is more.
Speaker: Yeah, one thing is, yeah, I'm a sinner.
Speaker: But God's mercy is more. We're going to sing that one today. It's going be our last song. Get ready for it. If you understand that God's grace is small,
Speaker: your confession's gonna be pretty small too. and what's more, if you pretend to believe that you're just a little sinner, then you tend to think you need just a little bit of grace, just a little.
Speaker: Can you handle another zinger? Proverbs 28, 13, whoever conceals their sin does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them, yeah just confesses, can't,
Speaker: yeah No more. Finds mercy. David found mercy. He could sing about it. And that's the thing I like most about David.
Speaker: I like most is the comeback.
Speaker: The comeback.
Speaker: And through it all, he never lost his hallelujah. Hallelujah. came back to God and he worshiped. And that's the difference between King David and King Saul. A couple of weeks ago in chapter 10, we looked at Saul and you know what? It didn't turn out well for him.
Speaker: He loses his mind. he loses his throne.
Speaker: And today we look at David and David lost his mind too. He sins, but he keeps us strong. How come? How come, What's the difference?
Speaker: Here it is. Saul chose concealment.
Speaker: And David chose confession. It's a big deal. It really is.
Speaker: Saul's story ends with brokenness. But the story of David ends with broken hallelujah.
Speaker: David not only confesses his sin, he also confesses God's ability to overcome that sin. This is important. you know Our sins, they are many. We're gonna sing it. But his mercy is more.
Speaker: David came to know that he could not cover up his sin, but he knew who could do it. And also in his brokenness, David writes, wash me and I will be whiter than snow.
Speaker: Oh Lord, open up my lips and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice or I bring it. You don't take pleasure in burnt offerings.
Speaker: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. Oh God, you do not despise. Did you catch that? The way back to God is not about your sacrifice.
Speaker: You can't pay God back. You can't earn it back by being a goody person, whatever that is. You can't earn it.
Speaker: You can't work for it. You can't do it. No, simply you can't. You can't pay for your sin. You can't. No.
Speaker: It's almost like you need a savior or something. Yeah. You simply come to God with a broken heart.
Speaker: And have God draw you to himself, his mercy. as deep as grace is wide and you dear child, our love.
Speaker: Well, you know, we have a lot in common with the man, David. He got back on the right path through repentance, confession, worship, praise.
Speaker: And ultimately, God used him, blessed him, forgave him, all that. ah David was able to offer God his broken alleluia, and we can too.
Speaker: If you head to normalgoesalongway.com, you will find some discussion questions that we have written based on this week's episode. And you can answer one, all of them. There are no rules.
Speaker: It's just designed to help you dig a little bit deeper. And come back on Thursday. Ms. Hannah and Ms. April will present this week's episode in kids form for Normal Goes a Long Way for kids.
Speaker: A programming note as we get ready to enter into Holy Week. We will not have new episodes for two weeks. So come back on April 29th as we start back in with the story, chapter 13.
