Pasto Jon Burgess
February 16, 2020 - W2007

"Coming Clean Before The King"

Life Lessons From A King: A Study In The Life Of David

Pastor Jon Burgess

February 15 & 16, 2020 

Aloha, New Hope Ohana!  Welcome to part three of our study in the life of David. 

Our senior pastor, Wayne Cordeiro, is not only one of the premier orators in the body of Christ, but also a great author with13 books to his credit and is now on a retreat writing his next book!  In talking with Pastor Wayne about writing books, he said that editing is essential: “I probably edit my book several times, and the editor goes over it several more times, and then the publisher goes over it probably seven to eight more times—that editing costs $10,000 per book!”  That's a lot of money but he says it's crucial because one mistake would be multiplied thousands of times if not edited before going to print.  Correction at the beginning is less costly than correction down the road!  

It doesn't matter how much heart is poured into a book—the author must be willing to submit his book to an editor to make corrections so that the best version of what God has shown is presented.  How much more so a life?  The story that God is writing for our lives must be handed over to the Holy Spirit for editing.  Pastor Wayne would be the first to say that the story God is writing in us is much more important than any of his books combined.  Our stories are unique, precious, and powerful, but they need editing to correct things that we aren’t yet aware of—blind spots. Proper editing points us in the direction that God wants us to go.

As we continue the series, Life Lessons From A King, we're learning from King David’s life that when he had an editor speaking into his life, things went very well; but when he didn't have an editor speaking into his life—things went downhill very fast! 

Matthew 18:15 NIV says, “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.”

If we truly love somebody, we won’t just let them descend into a place of sin or error without pointing that out in love. If we are truly loved by somebody, we will see that they're not saying this because they hate us, but because they love us and are trying to realign our purpose back to the Lord. No one wants to be edited, corrected, or have their errors pointed out; but GOD corrects us because His love is eternal. Although God loves us the way we are, He loves us too much to leave us that way!

Hebrews 12:6 NLT says, “For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”

If we allow God to edit our story and speak into our lives even if it’s difficult at the beginning, we will be glad to see how God uses our edited story to impact others around us.  

1. After 15 Minutes of Fame, We Need A Reality Check 

It's easy to believe our own press and to let our accomplishments make us think we're awesome beyond reproach; but it’s when we are in the place of success (as David found himself), that we need an editor to correct us by the Holy Spirit and come clean before The King!

1 Chronicles 17:1-4 NLT says: “¹ When David was settled in his palace, he summoned Nathan the prophet. “Look,” David said, “I am living in a beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant is out there under a tent!” ² Nathan replied to David, “Do whatever you have in mind, for God is with you.” (Right off the bat you may think that's good advice; but last week, we saw that David inquired of the Lord all the time—yet, in this moment, neither Nathan nor David does that!)  ³ But that same night God said to Nathan, ⁴ “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord has declared: You are not the one to build a house for me to live in.”

Nathan knows that God is with David, but neither of them stop to ask God for His will.  We are like that, too.  We don't want to hear God because we don't want Him to change our plans.   We're afraid that if we truly surrender our plans to Him, He’ll say, “Listen, I know what's best for you, and you should not be dating that person,” or, “You can't keep receiving stuff under the table on the job because that's stealing.” We don't want to hear any of that; we would rather keep busy and pretend that as long as we think it's a good idea, God will be fine with it and we’ll get His stamp of approval.  This is when we need a good editor, someone who has allowed God to be their editor and is willing to speak truth to us.  

If anyone tries to speak into your life but they aren't actually letting anyone else speak into their life, do not give their words weight!  They are not like Nathan, who has a plan but is willing to let God say, “That's the wrong plan,” and he owns up to his mistakes. Nathan is, of course, a wise sage and prophet.  He's been speaking into David's life since he anointed him; but now he must go before the King of Israel and say, “What I said was wrong.”

We all need someone who will tell us what we don't want to hear, but what we need to hear!  If someone tells you, “Just be yourself,” don’t listen to them—it’s bad advice!  Don't just be yourself; God wants you to be like Christ!  If someone tells you, "God loves you, but He loves you too much to leave you that way, and here's some things that you can do to become more like Christ," that's someone you want speaking into your life!  

1 Chronicles 17:15-16 NIV says: “¹⁵ Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation. ¹⁶ Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “Who am I, Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?”

David was on top of his game.  He could have completely ignored Nathan, but, instead, he humbled himself and let God cut out a complete portion of his plan for his life and say, “That's not actually part of my story—that’s my son Solomon's story!”

Are we willing to let someone with authority, give us a reality check that we are not the center of the universe, but God is?  It's not easy, but we would see so many marriages and relationships saved if they just had an editor like Nathan—a person willing to ask uncomfortable questions.

I came across some accountability questions when I was a teenager and had used them to keep me grounded.  It's from Neil Cole’s book, Cultivating a Life for God.  These questions are posted on our Facebook page, so you may get a copy and work them into your life group or personal devotions.

2. After 15 Seconds of Foolishness, We Need A Fierce Conversation

To speak truth in love requires not an angry or condemning conversation, but a fierce conversation, letting someone speak into your life and say, “Listen, I noticed a couple things going on in your conversation (or in your life), let's talk about that.”

Ephesians 4:15 NIV says: “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”

Before 15 seconds of sin, David had 15 seconds of foolishness…     

2 Samuel 11:1-2 NIV says: “¹In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. ² One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful.”

Before sin was committed, a foolish choice was made—that's when David needed an editor to say to him, “You're not supposed to be here.  God's anointed you to fight and be with your men on the battlefield.”  But he's the king, and who wants to question him?  No one was willing to actually call him on this wrong decision; that wrong decision led not only to adultery, but to murder as he decided to have Bathsheba's husband killed on the battlefield.  One lie led to another to cover up his bad decision. He thought he was scot?free. But one year later Nathan confronts him:  

2 Samuel 12:7-9 NIV says, “⁷ 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. ⁸ 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.  ⁹ Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes?” 

Nathan is not soft selling it.  This is a fierce conversation:  It's not a mistake, a flub, a white lie—it's sin!  We tend to want to call it something else that makes it sound not as bad.  A fierce conversation requires that we come out from behind the comfortable. 

Is it confrontational?  Yeah.  But you and I are living in a world of fake news, sexual scandals, a world of air brushed realities and digital makeovers.  We need something real to remind us that we are not perfect.  If we don't have somebody that can have a fierce conversation with us, it's just a matter of time before we find ourselves in the same situation as David. When someone speaks into our life and have a fierce conversation with us, it's not because they want to condemn us but because they love us.  God disciplines those He loves.

2 Samuel 12:13-14 (NIV): “¹³ Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied,“The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. ¹⁴ But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.”

This just breaks my heart because the reality of sin is that it's never done in a closet.  Sin tries to convince you that the choice you're making isn't affecting anybody else, but it does!

God will remove sin, but He will not remove the effects of the sin that will affect families the most. This is the reason we need an editor to stop us at the place of foolishness and temptation—before our story gets hijacked by sin!

This past September, a 15?year?old young man in Washington State was ruled by an Oregon judge to pay $37 million for starting a major wildfire in the scenic Columbia River Gorge because of fifteen seconds of foolishness—lighting matches or playing with fireworks in Eagle Creek Canyon. The fire resulted in evacuations and extended shutdown of the area, and he was ordered to 1,920 hours of community service with 5 years of probation. He also had to write more than 150 letters of apology to those affected by the fire that burned 75 square miles of the Columbia River Gorge national scenic area.  Fifteen seconds of foolishness in the name of fun, and this kid's entire life will be spent trying to pay off that debt. 

3. Let’s Take 5 Minutes to Let The Holy Spirit Edit Our Hearts

This is David's response to Nathan's correction, when caught in his sin: 

Psalm 51:10-13 NKJV says, “¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. ¹¹ Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. ¹² Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. ¹³ Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.”

David is saying, "God, take the pages where I have written all kinds of stuff, and I want you to erase and edit them so that I can become a story that you will use to teach others, so they don't make the same mistakes I did."  David is saying, “God, if you will cleanse me, you can use me to help others.” Please let that be our story. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:     

1. How have you been a testimony this week to the greatness of Jesus Christ?  How have you shared the good news of repentance and restoration?

2. Who in your life can you share your deepest concerns and be honest with?

3. How will you find the person or persons you need to be accountable to?

4. What corrections are in your life that you need to hear but you don't want to hear about? How will you be restored to the “editor”

5. What fierce conversation have you recently engaged in, and the result?