1 00:00:01,520 --> 00:00:05,400 Oh man, Crossing family. It is so good to be with you. 2 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:10,400 It is Thanksgiving week and I am thankful for you and all the 3 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:13,880 incredible work that God is doing all across this region. 4 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:15,640 I want to welcome those of you joining out of different 5 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:19,280 locations, those of you watching online and those of you who are 6 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:23,520 part of The Crossing inside. Got to meet with a couple Friday 7 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:27,080 night who brought a report of what's happening at the Crossing 8 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:29,800 inside in Vandalia. Not all of the people who I'm 9 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:32,200 about to mention go to our church, but some of them do. 10 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:35,440 They had over 40 baptisms this past week in Vandalia. 11 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:38,560 Isn't that incredible? I don't know how many of those 12 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:42,000 are going to be crossing ones, but the fact that God's moving 13 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:44,760 is great. I am getting ready to go 14 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:46,680 celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. 15 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:49,560 It's like the Hensel holiday. When you marry into the family, 16 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:52,880 you have to forego Thanksgiving with your family. 17 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:55,800 That's just part of the deal. But you get every other holiday, 18 00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:59,360 so you can go see your mom on, you know, 4th of July and 19 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:00,840 Christmas and all the other ones. 20 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:04,319 But for the Thanksgiving belongs to the Hensels and it's going to 21 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:07,560 be an epic celebration. I'm just telling you, we went to 22 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:09,080 Sam's Club. I don't like to brag, but we 23 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:15,880 have a membership and I picked up 3 turkeys, 12 racks of ribs, 24 00:01:15,960 --> 00:01:19,680 2 briskets and 120 pieces of chicken. 25 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:24,600 So I'm going to be wheeled in here sometime next week, but I'm 26 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:28,240 I'm leaving today, not coming back till a week from today and 27 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:30,720 I cannot wait to go. My boys are there right now 28 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:33,800 riding 4 Wheelers trying to get their mom to buy camo. 29 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:36,320 It's a redneck holiday and we love it. 30 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:40,560 Now, we've been in this series Handle with Care, and it's been 31 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:43,240 talking about your heart. And there's this tagline that I 32 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:45,040 probably should have done a little bit better job of 33 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:48,480 highlighting because it's incredibly important to what 34 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:50,040 we're going to be talking about today. 35 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:52,520 If you look at this graphic, it's really good graphic, great 36 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:55,000 job. But right here it says this 37 00:01:55,600 --> 00:02:01,040 getting your heart right before it's too late, That if we don't 38 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:07,520 get our hearts right now, it might be too late later. 39 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:10,039 There are things that every single one of us are putting 40 00:02:10,039 --> 00:02:13,400 off, things that we know we're supposed to do, things we're 41 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:16,920 supposed to own, behaviors that are supposed to change. 42 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:21,200 And as Christians, we need to get our hearts right before it's 43 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:23,760 too late. And people who don't have an 44 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:26,600 intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we're so glad 45 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:29,200 that you're here. But I need you to know it's 46 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:33,680 important that you get your heart right before it's too 47 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:35,360 late. Now you got to be honest with 48 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:36,760 you. Some of you, you probably 49 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:38,520 brought a friend today and like, you should come to church. 50 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:40,720 It's going to be great. And because everybody could use 51 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:44,440 a little bit of hope, this sermon is not one of those 52 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:46,320 sermons that you walk away going. 53 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:50,560 So glad I came to church today because I'm going to take us 54 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:54,920 down a dark road to the dark places in our heart. 55 00:02:55,640 --> 00:02:57,520 The parts of our heart that we don't talk about. 56 00:02:57,560 --> 00:02:59,720 The parts of our heart that we maybe haven't turned over to 57 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:01,320 Jesus. The parts of our heart that 58 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:03,960 maybe we haven't even owned ourselves. 59 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:07,360 But I think if we do it right, we'll be better for it. 60 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:10,360 Because today what I want to talk to you about is this. 61 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:15,120 A heart that ignores God, causes harm. 62 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:21,760 There were a couple of kids in junior high and high school that 63 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:25,360 were pretty rough on me. There was one, we'll call him 64 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:28,600 Timmy. And he had a crew of people. 65 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:31,800 And while I was pretty sure that I could beat Timmy up when he 66 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:36,160 was mean to me, I didn't believe that I could handle all of the 67 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:40,320 people that he ran with. Then there was this other kid. 68 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:42,480 We'll call him, or what I call the first one, Timmy. 69 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:47,040 OK, We'll call this one Tommy. And it seems like every day 70 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:50,240 Tommy would look for a way to inflict pain. 71 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:56,680 The most significant was I was getting a a drink of water. 72 00:03:56,680 --> 00:03:59,720 And when you're my size, a water fountain's down by your knees. 73 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:01,880 And so I'm bending all the way over like this. 74 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:06,240 And he came over and he smashed my head down on the metal. 75 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:09,160 Whatever thing that comes out, this piece, you put my head on 76 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:13,880 it. And I remember getting ready to 77 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:18,440 go to bed at night, and it was just always weighing on my mind, 78 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:22,040 How am I going to navigate Timmy and Tommy tomorrow? 79 00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:28,840 And I would get proud of myself because I never retaliated. 80 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:34,680 I never lost my anger. And it was kind of like a badge 81 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:38,080 of honor, You know, Timmy and Tommy, they're just really bad 82 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:41,560 kids. And then there's me, you know, 83 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:43,680 heart just dedicated to the Lord. 84 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:51,680 However, there was this kid in my class, we'll call him Bob, 85 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:59,720 And in my school we all gathered in the cafeteria before school 86 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:04,600 started and they had round tables where eight chairs could 87 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:09,320 be placed around them and we would pack in 10 to 12 people 88 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:11,400 around there every day before school started. 89 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:18,720 And Brian would always be outside the circle. 90 00:05:19,840 --> 00:05:25,000 And the moment somebody would get up, Brian would like, just 91 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:35,720 appear desperate to be included. He wanted to have his own friend 92 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:40,000 group. He wanted to have people to make 93 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:47,200 memories with, but he was always on the outside. 94 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:54,000 And then one night, me and a couple of my friends, we decided 95 00:05:54,000 --> 00:06:08,080 to invite him to come hang out with us and he showed up in his 96 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:13,520 dad's work truck at my parents house and we started messing 97 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:15,840 around. And I'm one of those people that 98 00:06:15,840 --> 00:06:18,680 when I get spun up, I'm pretty hard to slow down. 99 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:21,160 Some of you guys, you've heard me like in a sermon say 100 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:23,240 something I shouldn't have said. And you're like, yeah, well when 101 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:25,640 he gets spun up, you know he's an idiot. 102 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:27,280 He's our idiot, but he's an idiot. 103 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:31,360 But when I get spun up, I'm pretty hard to slow down. 104 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:34,840 And so we all piled up into his dad's work truck and he was 105 00:06:34,840 --> 00:06:38,760 driving and we got him to go down the drive and we took a 106 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:41,200 right. And then about 1/4 of a mile we 107 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:43,480 got him to take a left and we got to drive through this little 108 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:48,000 gate. And then we got him to start 109 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:52,920 driving down the train tracks. And then after we were 110 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:56,720 sufficiently down the train tracks in his dad's work truck, 111 00:06:57,120 --> 00:06:59,600 we pulled out a mag flashlight in the rear and made it look 112 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:02,160 like a train was coming in the rearview mirror. 113 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:06,520 And we set off an air horn and then we all acted a fool and 114 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:10,200 pretend like we were incredibly scared for our lives. 115 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:14,040 And he was in a position where he was trying to figure out how 116 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:18,040 does he navigate an incoming train in his dad's work truck 117 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:19,800 where there's no place to turn around. 118 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:23,560 And you can imagine all of the drama unfolding in that. 119 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:26,120 And then how do you navigate those pressures when you're in 120 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:27,760 high schoolers? Not well. 121 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:30,840 And so the decisions you make to correct the position you're in 122 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:33,760 are not ideal. And then we took the liberty of 123 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:36,840 the chaos to act even more a fool. 124 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:43,480 And we we messed up his dad's truck. 125 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:50,280 We messed up the interior, the exterior and we messed up him 126 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:59,160 and after we were done it was real quiet and he drove back to 127 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:02,920 my parents house up the hill and said would you guys please get 128 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:05,640 out? And he drove home. 129 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:16,080 That night, as I laid in bed, I realized I had been to Bob what 130 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:23,160 Tommy and Timmy had been to me. Every single one of us. 131 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:29,000 We have a spiritual enemy. He is trying hard to limit your 132 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:32,159 impact, to rob you of your purpose, to dim your 133 00:08:32,159 --> 00:08:35,640 evangelistic light, to 'cause you pain, destroy your 134 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:38,280 relationships and your reputation. 135 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:39,799 You hear me talk about this all the time. 136 00:08:39,799 --> 00:08:41,840 I love pointing to this first John 1010. 137 00:08:42,039 --> 00:08:46,680 This is Jesus talking the thief that Satan comes only to steal 138 00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:51,240 and kill and destroy Jesus. I have come that they may have 139 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:56,880 life and have it to the full. Every single one of you. 140 00:08:57,640 --> 00:09:02,480 Satan is looking for opportunities to steal, to kill, 141 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:06,400 to destroy. What I want to do is I want us 142 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:11,760 to take a look at David's life. And my hope is by looking at 143 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:17,520 this particular story, you will recognize the harm that you have 144 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:24,400 caused, that I have caused and do our best to avoid it in the 145 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:27,680 future. It starts off innocently enough. 146 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:32,680 Second Samuel, Chapter 11, verse one in this spring at the time 147 00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:36,480 when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the King's 148 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:39,320 men and the whole Israelite army. 149 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:43,640 They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David 150 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:50,560 remained in Jerusalem. The story starts off with David 151 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:53,840 not doing what he was supposed to be doing. 152 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:57,920 He wasn't doing something he wasn't supposed to do. 153 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:02,560 He wasn't doing a bad thing. He just wasn't doing the thing 154 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:06,480 he should have been doing at a time when kings go off to war. 155 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:12,440 King David stayed home. He stayed behind. 156 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:15,840 David had lost sight of his role. 157 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:23,280 His purpose? His mission as a king. 158 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:27,000 And since it's David as a warrior king, he should have 159 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:29,160 been leading the charge in battle. 160 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:35,760 But instead he stayed back. Maybe he was giving himself a 161 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:39,160 pass. Maybe he was riding himself a 162 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:41,440 permission slip. We've all been there. 163 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:43,400 He's going, guys. I've earned it. 164 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:48,080 I've deserved it. No, I mean, after all, remember 165 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:50,640 Goliath? You guys just held back and I 166 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:56,120 went out there all by myself. You go on this battle, I'll stay 167 00:10:56,120 --> 00:11:00,320 behind. Have we ever done that? 168 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:07,120 Have you ever done that? It's somebody else's turn. 169 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:10,120 You write yourself a permission slip. 170 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:12,960 It's not that big of one, but it's just enough. 171 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:16,400 And this time, somebody else can serve in the ministry. 172 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:18,320 Somebody else can set up for the event. 173 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:20,280 Somebody else can lead the small group. 174 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:24,000 Somebody else can. At the time when kings go out to 175 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:28,600 war, somebody else can go. But that was all that Satan 176 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:34,040 needed in David's life. Just a little bit of space, just 177 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:38,240 a little bit of entitlement. Just a little permission slip. 178 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:46,720 Satan wants to get his foot in the door so he can take the 179 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:49,440 whole house. Look what it says in First Peter 180 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:53,280 chapter 5. Be alert and of sober mind. 181 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:56,880 Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion 182 00:11:57,080 --> 00:12:05,200 looking for someone to devour. Resist him standing firm in the 183 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:09,120 faith because you know that the family of believers throughout 184 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:14,600 the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings he's saying. 185 00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:22,440 Stand your guard, be alert. Satan is always attacking and if 186 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:25,720 you can give him just a little bit of room, he'll take the 187 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:28,880 whole room. Now watch how this snowballs in 188 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:35,800 David's life into a much bigger issue, because Satan can take 189 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:41,640 small drifts in your faith and use them to cause major 190 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:49,680 disasters and destruction. Verse 21 evening, David got up 191 00:12:49,680 --> 00:12:52,960 from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. 192 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:56,240 From the roof he saw a woman bathing. 193 00:12:56,680 --> 00:13:02,440 The woman was very beautiful and David sent someone to find out 194 00:13:02,560 --> 00:13:07,280 about her. The man said she is Bathsheba, 195 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:12,440 the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. 196 00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:16,600 Then David sent messengers to get her. 197 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:20,320 She came to him and he slept with her. 198 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:23,800 Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness. 199 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:30,040 Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent 200 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:36,000 word to David saying I am pregnant. 201 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:42,040 The only reason David sees Bathsheba is he's not where he's 202 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:46,040 supposed to be doing what he's supposed to be doing at a time 203 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:50,920 when kings go out to war. David remained in Jerusalem and 204 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:53,920 he's walking on the roof and he's sees her. 205 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:58,720 He may have seen her before, but there were men in the house 206 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:02,320 before. There were men there to protect, 207 00:14:02,560 --> 00:14:06,680 to object. But those men are off to war. 208 00:14:08,680 --> 00:14:11,720 He sends to find out about her. And they come back and they tell 209 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:17,440 us three things about her. She has a name, she has a 210 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:23,600 father, she has a husband, She's someone's daughter. 211 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:29,960 She is someone's wife. The painful truth is the people 212 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:34,960 that you and I have sinned against have a father and a 213 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:40,320 mother and a sister and a brother who are carrying around 214 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:46,960 a broken heart To those you are being mean to bullying, watching 215 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:50,800 when you consume porn, gossiping, body shaming. 216 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:54,080 Hear me? There are tears that have soaked 217 00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:59,760 the floor of their house because of our actions. 218 00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:06,160 I wonder what it was like when Bob got the phone call to come 219 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:10,720 hang out with us. Did his mom finally feel like 220 00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:13,640 the son that she was hoping would have relational 221 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:16,160 connections? All those prayers were finally 222 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:19,520 coming true. I wonder if his dad was like, 223 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:25,200 take the nice truck. I wonder if they were going. 224 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:29,600 He's not going to be alone anymore. 225 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:41,200 And then he came home. If you're wondered if the people 226 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:46,440 you're mean to harsh to, condescending to, are your 227 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:50,600 interactions with them making them a better wife or a worse, 228 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:59,120 1A better father or a worse one. And it's sad that we act on our 229 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:02,960 best behavior around people we don't care about and we take it 230 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:05,880 out on the people we care about the most. 231 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:17,280 And so parents and and kids deal with someone who's in so much 232 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:20,280 pain because of the pain that we have caused them. 233 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:25,760 The reason David felt like he could invite her over was 234 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:27,920 because her husband was off to war. 235 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:32,320 Her husband was doing what he was supposed to be doing, and 236 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:35,720 David was not doing what he was supposed to do. 237 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:40,240 That little bit of space, that little bit of entitlement. 238 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:45,160 Well, when it's all over now, there's a baby. 239 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:50,480 A woman who was more than likely forced to have sex against her 240 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:54,960 will with someone powerful now has to deal with a baby that 241 00:16:54,960 --> 00:17:05,599 does not belong to her husband. The joy of being pregnant is 242 00:17:05,599 --> 00:17:11,880 overshadowed by the logistics of what do I do now? 243 00:17:13,599 --> 00:17:17,319 How's her husband going to feel when she comes home? 244 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:21,359 How is the community going to respond to her? 245 00:17:22,839 --> 00:17:27,640 Verse 6 So David sent this word to Joab. 246 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:33,000 Send me Uriah the Hittite, and Joab sent him to David. 247 00:17:34,120 --> 00:17:39,440 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the 248 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:42,160 soldiers were, and how the war was going. 249 00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:46,440 David's asking these questions because at the time when kings 250 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:50,840 go out to war, David stayed in Jerusalem. 251 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:53,880 Let's keep going. Then David said to Uriah. 252 00:17:54,360 --> 00:17:57,760 Go down to your house and wash your feet. 253 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:04,560 So Uriah left the palace and a gift from the king was sent 254 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:06,520 after him. You guys are going to fall in 255 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:10,520 love with Uriah. But Uriah slept at the entrance 256 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:14,520 to the palace with all of his master's servants and did not go 257 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:18,440 down to his house. You're going? 258 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:20,320 Why'd he do that? Check this out. 259 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:26,600 David was told Uriah did not go home, so he asked Uriah, haven't 260 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:28,920 you just come from a military campaign? 261 00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:32,280 Why didn't you go home? He tells him. 262 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:37,320 Uriah said to David. The Ark and Israel and Judah are 263 00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:41,600 staying in the tents, and my commander Joab and my Lord's men 264 00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:46,520 are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house and 265 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:53,360 eat and drink and Make Love to my wife as surely as you live? 266 00:18:54,120 --> 00:19:01,320 I will not do such a thing. Then David said to him, Stay 267 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:04,840 here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back. 268 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:09,560 So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 269 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:13,920 At David's invitation. He ate and drank with him and 270 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:18,960 David made him drunk. But in the evening, Uriah went 271 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:22,840 out to sleep on his mat among his master's servants. 272 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:31,080 He did not go home. Uriah is just such a bad to the 273 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:34,880 bone, dude. David is trying to execute a 274 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:37,440 carefully crafted cover up campaign. 275 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:40,360 It's a full blown damage control. 276 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:44,280 He brings her husband home and he sends him to spend the night 277 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:48,240 with her so that way he'll think that the kid belongs to him. 278 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:53,000 But he doesn't. He has too much integrity to 279 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:57,360 write himself a permission slip. All of the men that I serve with 280 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:01,840 are sleeping in the open country, living in tents and you 281 00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:06,200 want me to go home to my wife? Can't do it. 282 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:09,600 Sleep on the steps of the palace. 283 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:12,480 David's like, are you kidding me? 284 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:16,280 Look at the contrast between him and David at the time when kings 285 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:19,040 go out to war. David stays home. 286 00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:23,320 Uriah comes home, gets a permission slip from David to go 287 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:26,200 home to his wife and said can't turn it in. 288 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:32,800 Now think even deeper here, David. 289 00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:36,760 You know this is trying to get Uriah to think that the baby is 290 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:44,560 his, but what he's also doing is he is introducing a lie into the 291 00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:54,680 marriage, because Bathsheba will know that it's not forcing her 292 00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:58,080 to live with a lie in her own marriage. 293 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:01,680 Imagine Bathsheba if the plan had worked. 294 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:10,640 Watching Uriah playing baseball in the backyard and coming in 295 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:16,360 before dinner and going boy, he He throws just like me and her, 296 00:21:16,360 --> 00:21:18,280 knowing. No, he doesn't. 297 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:23,840 Watching Uriah go and work incredibly hard to provide a 298 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:28,640 better future for his children, For his child, knowing that the 299 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:38,720 future he's working for isn't actually his, that doesn't work. 300 00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:43,880 So David goes, all right, obviously I can't compete with 301 00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:47,640 this man when he's sober minded, so I'm going to bite him over 302 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:51,720 and I'm just going to keep pouring drinks until I get him 303 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:56,000 drunk. But Uriah, even when he is 304 00:21:56,000 --> 00:22:01,120 drunk, doesn't give up on his plan. 305 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:04,760 David is trying to use all of his power to turn everybody 306 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:06,920 around him into puppets and his cover up. 307 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:11,000 However, Uriah, even when he is in a drunken state, will not 308 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:14,520 break his commitment to his fellow soldiers. 309 00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:19,560 And you know this, if David was in his right mind, he would have 310 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:24,360 loved this about Uriah. He would have been like my dog. 311 00:22:25,360 --> 00:22:29,200 You're just too bad that the bone won't come inside, won't 312 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:31,880 sleep with your wife. You're not coming home till the 313 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:37,160 men come home. My man David would love this 314 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:41,000 about him. But when you're trying to cover 315 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:44,920 up sin, somebody with integrity is hard to deal with. 316 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:54,360 For David, because he's in cover up mode, because he's sinning, 317 00:22:55,880 --> 00:23:00,280 everything changes. You see things differently. 318 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:04,880 Up becomes down, Left becomes right. 319 00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:10,880 Integrity becomes inconvenient. So what does David do? 320 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:16,480 Well, verse 14 in the morning, David wrote a letter to Joab and 321 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:22,120 sent it with Uriah in it. He wrote, put Uriah out in 322 00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:26,480 front, where the fighting is fiercest, then withdraw from him 323 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:30,000 so he will be struck down and die. 324 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:36,800 His two previous attempts to cover up his sin have been 325 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:42,640 unsuccessful, so now he takes matters even further and he goes 326 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:49,720 down an even darker alley to a place that nobody in their right 327 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:55,680 mind would go. He sends Uriah with his own 328 00:23:55,680 --> 00:24:02,680 death sentence to the commander of the army, and David knew that 329 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:07,720 he wouldn't read it because of how Uriah had been upright in 330 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:11,880 his dealings with him so far. Verse 16. 331 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:17,200 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place 332 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:19,200 where he knew the strongest defenders were. 333 00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:22,600 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, 334 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:24,760 some of the men in David's army fell. 335 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:30,120 Moreover, Uriah the Hittite died. 336 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:36,880 David has now gone from being one who lusts to one who commits 337 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:40,920 adultery, to one who tries to conceal sin through deception, 338 00:24:41,120 --> 00:24:45,480 to getting someone drunk, to now having someone killed. 339 00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:54,600 Verse 26 When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she 340 00:24:54,600 --> 00:25:00,800 mourned for him. After the time of mourning was 341 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:06,200 over, David had her brought to his house and she became his 342 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:12,320 wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done 343 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:18,720 displeased the Lord. Look at the harm that David's 344 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:22,720 sin has caused. He took advantage of a woman 345 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:24,680 while her husband was away fighting. 346 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:30,000 He ends up murdering the husband of this child's mother. 347 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:34,680 And then he loses the respect of Joab, his army commander. 348 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:39,880 Imagine being Joab, being commissioned to go out and fight 349 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:41,720 the war. Lead the charge on David's 350 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:44,440 behalf. He'd heard stories of David's 351 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:46,920 conquests. He grew up with him, with a 352 00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:50,520 poster of David on his wall. He was his hero. 353 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:54,640 I mean, people have written songs about David's conquests. 354 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:57,960 Saul has killed thousands, but David his ten thousands. 355 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:04,400 And now Joab gets to be a leader in that guy's army, only to read 356 00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:08,640 a letter about having Uriah, the Hittite killed. 357 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:13,080 There's a tough truth we have to swallow here. 358 00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:20,120 A heart led by desire leads you down roads you never wanted to 359 00:26:20,120 --> 00:26:26,280 walk and turns you into someone you never thought you would be. 360 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:30,800 You end up doing things you thought you would never do. 361 00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:34,640 And then, because your heart is not turned towards God and 362 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:37,360 filled with the Holy Spirit, you come up with all kinds of 363 00:26:37,360 --> 00:26:41,960 solutions in your flesh. And so you go deeper and deeper 364 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:46,640 down the road, turn after turn, dark alley after dark, alley, 365 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:50,240 until when you find yourself looking in the mirror, you no 366 00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:56,720 longer recognize who you are. Some of you, you've started this 367 00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:01,360 innocently enough. The decisions you made at the 368 00:27:01,360 --> 00:27:05,120 moment weren't all that bad. But over time, the compounding 369 00:27:05,120 --> 00:27:08,760 interest, the snowball effects, they've taken you into the 370 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:13,160 darkest of places. What started out on Instagram is 371 00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:16,040 now taking you to Pornhub. What started out on Snapchat is 372 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:18,120 now taking you to cutting in self harm. 373 00:27:18,120 --> 00:27:21,440 What started off as a joke now turned into bullying and body 374 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:27,520 shaming. And you find yourself with a 375 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:30,120 life you never thought you'd have to live, making choices you 376 00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:32,040 never thought you'd have to make. 377 00:27:38,510 --> 00:27:40,590 I'm asking that you give me grace here for just a second 378 00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:44,640 because I am not trying to be condescending or make light of 379 00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:47,400 anybody who would put themselves in this category right now. 380 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:49,960 I just want to make a bigger point in a second. 381 00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:56,640 Right now it is fashionable in our culture for everybody to be 382 00:27:56,640 --> 00:28:02,400 a victim. Everybody dawns the victim 383 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:08,240 identity, and it is an incredible identity because it 384 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:11,880 allows you to write yourself an awful lot of permission slips 385 00:28:13,120 --> 00:28:17,680 and it allows you to assign blame to a lot of people, just 386 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:22,760 not you. It allows you to bypass the 387 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:25,640 consequences of your own decisions. 388 00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:30,280 It allows you to frame, make a mental framework for how to 389 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:34,560 process all of the adversity that life throws at you. 390 00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:41,360 And so everybody is a victim. They aren't as wealthy as they 391 00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:44,440 were supposed to be, and their parents weren't as nice as they 392 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:48,520 were supposed to be. Now let me be clear before I get 393 00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:49,320 any emails. Hear me. 394 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:49,880 Hear me. Hear me. 395 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:54,280 I am in ministry. We have an incredible team of 396 00:28:54,280 --> 00:28:57,720 people who do ministry at this church, and we know that there 397 00:28:57,720 --> 00:29:05,440 are way too many of you who have been victims of Absolute 398 00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:11,240 horrible circumstances. And I am not trying to discount 399 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:17,480 that at all. I'm just asking you to push a 400 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:24,360 little bit further. Push past the attention of being 401 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:27,560 the victim. Push past the pity that you get 402 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:33,480 from being the victim, and ask yourself a darker, deeper, 403 00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:42,680 tougher question. Am I also an abuser? 404 00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:50,240 Am I also a bully? Am I also the one who has power 405 00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:54,800 over some people, and I'm using it to step on them even though 406 00:29:54,840 --> 00:30:02,360 Jesus died for them? You see, last week, David was 407 00:30:02,360 --> 00:30:05,920 the victim who needed to figure out how to forgive Saul. 408 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:12,760 But in this sermon, David is the abuser, and Uriah and Bathsheba 409 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:17,960 are the victims. In the last sermon, you and I, 410 00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:21,760 we were the victims that needed to learn how to forgive. 411 00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:27,280 But in this sermon, we're the abusers who need to repent. 412 00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:31,840 I'm not asking you to look at this sermon through the eyes of 413 00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:35,680 Bathsheba, the victim. I'm asking you to look at this 414 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:39,000 story through the eyes of David the abuser. 415 00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:43,880 Because if we spend our whole lives allowing ourselves to just 416 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:51,880 be the victim, we will fail to recognize all the people that we 417 00:30:51,920 --> 00:30:57,640 have hurt, all of the people that we are hurting. 418 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:05,960 Who are the people in your life that are in pain right now 419 00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:12,920 because of you? Because of how you treated them? 420 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:23,120 Because of how you treat them? How many people got a bad view 421 00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:25,560 of Jesus? Because we have the audacity to 422 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:29,000 call ourselves Christians, but we acted more like the ones who 423 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:33,760 crucified Jesus? Who are the people in your 424 00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:39,800 sphere who you've lied to, gossiped about, shamed, abused, 425 00:31:40,120 --> 00:31:43,920 spoke hurtful words, reacted, became violent? 426 00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:52,830 How have you treated your parents, your kids? 427 00:31:53,750 --> 00:31:57,870 How have you treated people who have less than you, people that 428 00:31:57,870 --> 00:32:10,500 struggle more than you? But the thing David had done, 429 00:32:10,860 --> 00:32:17,640 displeased the Lord, is not just a verse about David, it's a 430 00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:23,280 verse about me. The things that Clayton had done 431 00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:32,640 displeased the Lord. We're not always the victim. 432 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:41,640 Sometimes we're the abuser and what we have done displeases the 433 00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:44,600 Lord. It breaks his heart. 434 00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:48,840 We end up stepping on the very people that Jesus came to save. 435 00:32:48,840 --> 00:32:53,400 We end up pushing away the very people that Jesus is trying to 436 00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:55,880 pursue. We end up hurting the very 437 00:32:55,880 --> 00:33:00,120 people that Jesus came to heal. We end up shaming the very 438 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:12,280 people that Jesus came to save. So I was in ministry when I was 439 00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:20,440 in Macomb and I could not shake the events of that night. 440 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:26,400 And our church was launching campuses and I didn't grow up 441 00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:29,680 too far from here. And I'm going, there might be a 442 00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:33,920 day where we have a church in Fort Madison and you know, the 443 00:33:33,920 --> 00:33:36,520 history of my life has kind of been you're either a really big 444 00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:39,840 fan or you want to protest me. Like, I don't have a whole lot 445 00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:42,360 of people that are in between. Like, I really don't know how I 446 00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:45,440 feel about Clayton. People have an opinion and I'm 447 00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:47,440 going when we go to Fort Madison, there's going to be 448 00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:52,360 protesters. And I couldn't shake it. 449 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:57,400 I felt so much guilt over how I behaved that night that I tried 450 00:33:57,400 --> 00:34:06,440 to track down Bob. And so 10 years plus, after this 451 00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:13,360 night had occurred, I felt like I had to call him and own what I 452 00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:17,719 did. And so I got his number and I 453 00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:27,889 called him. I said, hey Bob, it's Clayton. 454 00:34:30,449 --> 00:34:42,800 And like an idiot, I said, well, you might not remember, he said. 455 00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:51,080 I remember. And I said, I'm a Christian, I'm 456 00:34:51,080 --> 00:34:56,239 a pastor, and you didn't deserve what I did to you that night. 457 00:34:57,240 --> 00:35:03,800 Nobody does. And I am so, so sorry. 458 00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:16,600 And he gave me a gift I did not deserve, he said. 459 00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:32,920 Ah, Clayton, I forgive you. Sometimes we're not just the 460 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:37,080 victim. Sometimes we're the bad person 461 00:35:37,080 --> 00:35:44,880 in another person's story, and that impacts our ability to help 462 00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:48,200 them find the one who changes everything. 463 00:35:51,160 --> 00:35:59,000 And sometimes we carry around the weight of our sin and we 464 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:02,240 don't own it and we don't give it to Jesus. 465 00:36:03,040 --> 00:36:07,240 And that is why an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus 466 00:36:07,240 --> 00:36:11,240 Christ is so incredibly necessary. 467 00:36:12,040 --> 00:36:15,160 And I hope you'll consider one as we move to a time of 468 00:36:15,160 --> 00:36:23,840 decision. So normally I talk to those of 469 00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:26,400 you who are here who don't have a relationship with Jesus yet, 470 00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:28,720 and I just want to flip it up for just a second. 471 00:36:28,720 --> 00:36:31,160 So, Christians, you know, you're used to tuning me out. 472 00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:38,720 TuneIn for a second Christians in God's game plan. 473 00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:42,840 You and I are supposed to be a city on a hill, a lamp on a 474 00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:45,280 stand. People are supposed to take 475 00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:49,920 notice of us. There's supposed to be something 476 00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:53,000 different, a guiding light about us. 477 00:36:55,800 --> 00:37:00,920 And I'm guessing that there are bits and pieces in your past. 478 00:37:02,800 --> 00:37:12,040 Bits and pieces in your present where your behavior and your 479 00:37:12,040 --> 00:37:17,040 actions have gotten in the way of God's plan to redeem the 480 00:37:17,040 --> 00:37:22,920 world. And normally, you know, you guys 481 00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:24,320 are really good. You know, when we get done with 482 00:37:24,320 --> 00:37:26,640 the sermon, you guys love to get right with God, and a lot of you 483 00:37:26,640 --> 00:37:28,760 will come to the steps and get down your knees and pray. 484 00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:30,480 And you're going to have the opportunity to do that about 485 00:37:30,480 --> 00:37:32,200 whatever you're going through and whatever you need to do. 486 00:37:32,960 --> 00:37:35,480 But there might be some of you today that your response is you 487 00:37:35,480 --> 00:37:46,840 need to call someone and you need to say, I'm sorry, you 488 00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:55,360 don't need to justify it. Do you think it would have 489 00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:58,880 mattered to him, to Bob, if I said, well, listen, man, you 490 00:37:58,880 --> 00:38:01,240 know, Tommy and Timmy have just been really mean to me. 491 00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:04,960 So the way I processed it was I just decided I'd be really mean 492 00:38:04,960 --> 00:38:07,120 to you. So I just wanted you to know why 493 00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:10,480 it happened. You think you'd be like, Oh, 494 00:38:11,200 --> 00:38:18,720 well, thanks for clearing it up. I just needed to own my part. 495 00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:25,120 And there might be nothing more powerful than them knowing that 496 00:38:25,120 --> 00:38:28,800 Christians are just built different, that when we screw 497 00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:33,520 up, we own it and we say we're sorry for it. 498 00:38:37,920 --> 00:38:41,080 The great news is, Christians, hear me. 499 00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:45,000 The Bible says that when we go to God and ask for forgiveness, 500 00:38:45,800 --> 00:38:54,040 He is faithful and just to forgive us, that he will meet us 501 00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:57,560 in that moment and bring about the healing that you and I 502 00:38:57,560 --> 00:39:01,120 desperately need. So if you're a Christian, I'm 503 00:39:01,120 --> 00:39:04,520 pushing you out of your comfort zone to go. 504 00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:06,200 What kind of business do you need to do? 505 00:39:06,440 --> 00:39:09,480 And more than likely, some of your business is not with God, 506 00:39:10,160 --> 00:39:11,880 it's with people that God died for. 507 00:39:14,560 --> 00:39:16,640 Now to those of you who don't have a relationship with Jesus 508 00:39:16,640 --> 00:39:18,920 Christ, let me let me level with you here for a second. 509 00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:24,720 You are in the process of hurting people every day as you 510 00:39:24,720 --> 00:39:27,720 move through life, there are ripples going out and people are 511 00:39:27,720 --> 00:39:31,280 navigating the pain that you cause, and you know it and you 512 00:39:31,280 --> 00:39:33,520 see it. And you wish that you could put 513 00:39:33,520 --> 00:39:37,440 Humpty Dumpty back together again, but you can't do that. 514 00:39:38,640 --> 00:39:42,480 However, when you begin an intimate, personal relationship 515 00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:46,560 with Jesus Christ, he not only makes you new, but he gives you 516 00:39:46,560 --> 00:39:50,120 His Holy Spirit. And this Holy Spirit produces 517 00:39:50,120 --> 00:39:53,920 fruit in your life. The kind of life, the kind of 518 00:39:53,920 --> 00:40:01,000 fruit that the people around you desperately need and want and 519 00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:06,440 allow you to make the difference that deep down, you know you 520 00:40:06,440 --> 00:40:20,920 want to make. And I know for many of you, or 521 00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:25,200 maybe just some of you, probably a very few of you, because most 522 00:40:25,200 --> 00:40:29,600 of you are just better than me. When I preach A sermon like 523 00:40:29,600 --> 00:40:33,400 this, you know exactly what it is in your life. 524 00:40:34,840 --> 00:40:37,480 You know the memory. You know the story. 525 00:40:37,720 --> 00:40:43,000 You know what it is. For 10 years I carried the story 526 00:40:43,360 --> 00:40:57,560 of Bob around like a weight. This past summer we took you 527 00:40:57,560 --> 00:41:00,760 through Romans, and in Romans chapter 5, verse eight, one of 528 00:41:00,760 --> 00:41:05,800 the top five verses in all of Scripture, it says this while we 529 00:41:05,800 --> 00:41:10,240 were still sinners. Christ died for us. 530 00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:19,560 And the reason that verse is so meaningful to me is the worst I 531 00:41:19,560 --> 00:41:27,800 have ever felt about me is the night I ruined Bob. 532 00:41:30,160 --> 00:41:36,000 That was me at my lowest, darkest and I realized what I 533 00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:40,680 was capable of. And if any of you had ever seen 534 00:41:40,680 --> 00:41:44,800 me on that night, you would run from this place. 535 00:41:51,760 --> 00:42:01,360 While Clayton was ruining Bob's life, Christ died for us. 536 00:42:04,120 --> 00:42:08,760 That is why we're such big fans of Jesus and we proudly proclaim 537 00:42:08,760 --> 00:42:13,960 the gospel, because when we were at our worst, our God was at his 538 00:42:13,960 --> 00:42:16,480 best. And I tell you that. 539 00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:20,120 So that way you know whatever it is that you are navigating right 540 00:42:20,120 --> 00:42:25,480 now will not keep you from God unless you let it. 541 00:42:26,560 --> 00:42:32,760 Because God is ready right here, right now to introduce the hope 542 00:42:33,160 --> 00:42:36,360 and the healing and the forgiveness and the new life 543 00:42:36,440 --> 00:42:41,360 that can only be found in Him. And if you'll take it, and 544 00:42:41,360 --> 00:42:46,400 you'll place your life, your sin, your situation in His 545 00:42:46,400 --> 00:42:51,880 hands, you won't regret it. And in just a moment, when I get 546 00:42:51,880 --> 00:42:53,600 done praying, there's going to be people right over there by 547 00:42:53,600 --> 00:42:56,920 the baptistery that would love a chance to talk with you so you 548 00:42:56,920 --> 00:43:00,400 can find what we found in him. Would you guys stand with me? 549 00:43:15,040 --> 00:43:16,600 God, I just want to see you move. 550 00:43:23,520 --> 00:43:26,840 I want to see you move in hearts and lives. 551 00:43:29,040 --> 00:43:31,760 God, I know there's pieces of us that we've turned over to you, 552 00:43:32,800 --> 00:43:36,040 but there's also pieces of us that we're too afraid to talk 553 00:43:36,040 --> 00:43:38,600 about and too afraid to let you in. 554 00:43:44,840 --> 00:43:47,440 God, I'm praying that you'd give people the courage to trust you 555 00:43:48,280 --> 00:43:53,440 with the darkest parts of who they are because they could see 556 00:43:53,440 --> 00:43:56,760 that you're good and you're faithful and you redeem and you 557 00:43:56,760 --> 00:44:01,600 restore and you can make things new. 558 00:44:06,640 --> 00:44:12,120 So God, do a work in US right here, right now. 559 00:44:12,120 --> 00:44:14,840 You're near my pray. Amen.