It is not often that I am shocked.
But, as I sat in our seat at church yesterday, I was truly, deeply..intimately….
Shocked.
And, in a good way…
Truth was told from the “pulpit” of the church I attended yesterday.
Painful truth.
The minister’s story began with beloved King David…the “man after God’s own heart”. I have always loved King David…I think because he is the author of at least some of the Psalm and because he was not perfect in his life but he was a man who wanted so badly to give God his whole heart.
Even as a very young girl, I loved the Psalm.
Real life is portrayed in the Psalm.
| They were written in the language of the human spirit. They record, in powerful, poetic language, a person's response to God. From a desperate cry for help to an ecstatic shout of joy, each Psalm attempts to reach out and communicate with the God of the universe. The Psalms of complaint are a model of Godly response to suffering. Rather than expect us to remain stoic through our suffering, God wants us to pour out our hearts and souls to him. He also, however, wants us to remember His loving care for us and how he has forgiven our sins. This will help us trust Him in the future. |
| Written by: Ted Phillips |
It was not a “neat and tidy” lesson we heard yesterday. Yes, the minister had an outline for his listeners to follow as he poured through scripture, the staff of his words telling us about King David. Yes, he stayed on task with the outline. Scripture was read and we were given time to find and reflect on each passage.
From that perspective, I guess it was “neat and tidy” and I, who love organization, was able to follow in rapt attention…
But, then I heard these words and everything changed…
“You are only as sick as your secrets”….
He told David’s story….which most of us in the fellowship have heard and know and understand. David, King, rather than going into battle, stayed home and committed adultery, deception, murder and sins which go hand in hand with such behavior. He told how this beloved David had begun as a simple shepherd boy, grown to become King and fallen to great sin. The minister explained to us that while David’s sin was horrific as is all of our sin, it was his seeking to cover up the sin which caused David’s heart to flood with guilt and in that guilt David fell and in that falling, David came to know God in an even more real and intimate way….
David learned three things about the Agony Of Guilt:
It draws you into silence and in silence, you are removed from seeking forgiveness
It draws you into great sorrow which robs you of the joy God would call into your life
It draws you into great secrecy as you hide your sin, so you hide your real self
But, while David was not faithful to God, God was faithful to David. He sent Nathan with a mirror to show David his sin’s reflection in a way David could see and understand. And then, David did what God calls all of us, sinners to do:
· Accept full responsibility for his sin
· Acknowledged the sinfulness of his sin
· Addressed his confession of his sin to God
I don’t think any of this part of the lesson was new to most of us in the sanctuary. But, it was presented in such a way as to renew our understanding that God is a forgiving God, a loving God, a compassionate God and a disciplining God.
“How can an adulterer and a murderer be called a "man after God's own heart?" I believe it is because when he failed, he repented and then turned back to God (see Psalm 51). I love the fact that this man who failed grievously could still be called a man after God's own heart. This is good news for all of us who want to honor and please the Lord and yet fail in our Christian walk. And all of us fail!”
Had the minister ended his lesson here, we could have walked away with a great lesson on which to base our life. We would have learned that sin can be forgiven if we but turn from it, repent, and choose God.
We could have walked out of the sanctuary and into the sunshine of our Sunday and pocketed our notes and been filled for the day with God’s message to us.
But, this minister did what few have the courage to do…
Something I have never heard done before…
I am 50 years old, I have been raised in the church for all of those 50 years. I can count NO times in all of my church attendance when a minister of God’s word stood from the pulpit and shared his own personal sin by name.
Never.
In fact, I have sat in the pew and heard one say that in his life he had very little hardship and issues which drew him to stumble and sin. I confess, I did not then nor do I today, relate.
So, it caught me totally off-guard, no it shocked me to the core of my being….deep in my soul where God’s voice calls the loudest, to hear this minister tell another story of a “man after God’s own heart” who struggled with a sin for over 20 years – who had a Nathan (or two or three) who confronted him…
This minister told of the path…the journey….the sin in his life. He was not melodramatic. He was not seeking pity. He did not make excuse.
He did what David did…Acknowledged his sin, called it what it was…and sought forgiveness from God Almighty. He acknowledged how his sin hurt his wife, his children, his family, his friends and his church.
He acknowledged that there were consequences for his sin.
He did not cry, he did not try to evoke emotion from his church family.
He just exposed what had been a secret…one which he could not overcome until he did what David did.
Told the Truth
And, in so-doing, made God’s word come to life in a way it would not have had he not been willing to share with us.
Humility lived in that sanctuary.
Compassion lived in that sanctuary.
Love grew in that sanctuary.
Guilt was washed away in that sanctuary……guilt which wraps his ugly arms around a soul with a thousand links in its chain of bondage. Guilt which can seek and destroy was lifted.
And, joy was restored.
And, just as David was a man after God’s own heart, so, too, was it evident is this brother….
But, he did not stop with his own story….he gave his listeners the tools to remove guilt from their own lives.
· Ask God to remove your sin – you are dead until God forgives
· Ask for your joy to be restored – in joy there is deep satisfaction from God
· Ask to be renewed in his fellowship
· Refocus on your future – recommit – reconnect with God
When a soul bears itself to you in its beauty it is a precious thing. When a soul bears itself to you in humble contriteness, it is a tender thing. When a soul bears itself to you in abstract bold expression of its sinfulness, it is a Godly thing.
Courage was abounding in that sanctuary. Courage real and true.
And, while I don’t know what the future will hold for this dear minister. I do believe this.
Lives were changed.
Hope was born.
God was present.
Blessings,
Lesa
PS. He added a side note and a challenge….”let’s not kid ourselves…we are all sinners….if we read One Thousand Shades of Gray, we are reading pornography; if we place value on things to the extent we remove God from our center, we are sinning….if we talk of another person in gossip, we are sinning…if we turn away our brothers and sisters because they sin, we are sinners. Let’s tell the truth…starting with ourselves…and that truth-telling draw ourselves closer to God and one another.”
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