transcript july 11/12,...
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Transcript July 11/12, 2015
Flawed Hero: Family Dysfunction Jake Barker | 2 Samuel 13-15
Well hey Traders Point. I hope that you are doing well. Hopefully you’re having a great weekend so far. I want to issue a special welcome to those of you who are new around here. Maybe this is your very first time. We are so honored that you would choose to spend some time with us. We know that there are a lot of different places that you could be right now and you are here. We don’t take that lightly. So, thank you for joining us. We would love to meet you and help you get connected. So stop by Connection Central on your way out. That would be great. Also want to welcome those of you who are tuning online through our live streaming. Each weekend we have around 400 different devices from all over the country and all over the world—people watching online. So glad that you could join us wherever you are on the globe for week eight of our summer series called Flawed Hero. Now, over the summer our lead pastor, Aaron, has been out on sabbatical. Our elders are very intentional about providing periodic times of rest for our leaders. So he has been out spending time with his family, spending time with God, getting ready so that he can operate on a full tank this fall for all of the incredible things that God is going to do in and through this church. So, if you are praying this week I’d love for you to pray for Aaron, pray for all the leaders at Traders Point. Now, over the summer we’ve been working our way through a highlight package in the life of David. And if you’re not all that familiar with the Bible then you need to know that David is a central figure in the grand scheme of things. He was the greatest king in the history of Israel. He was referred to as a man after God’s own heart. He was from this small town called Bethlehem and he grew so famous and influential that people started calling it the Town of David. When you become such a big deal that people rename your home town after you—that is pretty influential. Someday I hope that in Kentucky there will be a Jake Town, or maybe like a Barkeropolis. That would be super-‐cool. But, I’m not famous—yet. Just wait. You never know. David is a massive deal in the whole scheme of things. We have seen him in multiple roles. We have seen him as a shepherd, we’ve seen him as a warrior, and we’ve seen him as a king. Today we get to see David in a brand new light in a role that we’ve yet to discover. We’re going to see David as a dad. What kind of family man was King David? If you have your Bible or a Bible app I’d love for you to join me in 2 Samuel, chapter 15—2 Samuel 15 is where we are going to be hanging out and you can head that way and get a head start. Personally, I’ve been a dad for about six years and I can say one thing with supreme confidence. Being a dad is hard. It’s hard. This is not revolutionary information to many of you. I think we are at a disadvantage as dads because moms, they just know stuff that dads do not. I don’t know if you knew this—it’s science. Look it up. Moms just know stuff.
Flawed Hero: Family Dysfunction July 11/12, 2015
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I don’t know about you but my wife, when she became a mom, it unlocked this encyclopedia of knowledge in her brain that was previously… She just knew stuff. So she knew the proper amount of formula to give to a six-‐month-‐old baby. And she knew what allergens were in food. And she knew well all the deadly diseases you could catch from a public restroom, alright? She just knew all of these things. I didn’t know any of that. I didn’t know where she was reading it. I don’t know where she was finding it. And then on top of that I feel like the majority of my parenting, most of my fathering is preventing my kids from doing the thing that will kill them. That is—kids just like to find the most dangerous things. So often I’m just saying, “Hey, don’t touch that fire,” or, “Don’t eat that food off the floor,” or, “Don’t walk into the street.” We have a patio behind our house and there’s this one part where it kind of dips a little. So, every time it rains there’s a puddle right there. And the other day I found our middle child on his hands and knees drinking the water out of the puddle like a wild animal. And I said, “Dude, I will get you a cup of water. Why are you doing that?” He thought it was hilarious. He will not be winning a Noble Prize. That’s just not… I don’t think Einstein did that when he was four. Now one of the most terrifying parts of parenting—really the scariest part of being in a family at all is how much alike we all end up. Maybe you’ve done this. Maybe you’ve responded to a situation and then you realize, “Wow, that’s exactly what my mom would have done.” Or you said something, and you heard those words, and you realize, “That’s exactly what my dad used to say.” Parents, you know this is true that when you watch these little people, and they are growing up, and they become miniature versions of you, and you see yourself reflected in their lives, you sit back and think, “Wow. That is unattractive. Is that really what I am like? Where did you learn that? It must be from your mother’s side. It must have been her set of genes that made you do that.” That’s exactly what we are going to see in 2 Samuel, chapters 13 – 15. David is a dad. And as a dad he’s the leader of the family and he is the most influential man in the lives of his kids. That’s true of all of us. No matter whether you had a good dad or a bad dad, whether he was super present or completely absent, his relationship with you in your life affected who you are. So David is wildly influential in the lives of his kids for the good and for the bad. And David made the same mistake that you and I have made multiple times in our lives. See David was hoping, probably wishing, that he could make a decision and it would be singular in nature, and it could be insulated, and it could be isolated from the rest of his life. He was hoping he could make a choice that would exist outside of the other parts of his world and they would never meet, and they would never touch. The problem is that’s not really how life works. You see, when we make decision, when we make choices—especially when it comes to choices of pleasure, or pursuing things that we desire—especially when it cuts a few corners or maybe it just flies in the face of what God has told us, those decisions are not insulated and isolated, up on a shelf, so that they will never interact with the rest of our lives. In fact, all of our decisions are integrated. The way that we live—every time we make one of those decisions that we want to keep away from everything else always ends up right in the middle and it kind of makes a mess. So David, as a father, his choices not only influenced the lives of his kids but we’re going to see that his choices are immediately replicated in the lives of his kids.
Flawed Hero: Family Dysfunction July 11/12, 2015
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I could say this as a dad, and if you have ever considered yourself a person of influence, someone who actually affects the lives of others—for my life to be replicated in the lives of my kids is a very intimidating thought. Let me remind you of David’s choice. In 2 Samuel 12 a few weeks ago we talked about a choice that David made on a rooftop one afternoon. See, David was the king, he was taking a walk on a rooftop, and he had slipped into spiritual cruise-‐control—maybe you’ve had a season like that where you were just going through the motions with God. You weren’t connecting, you weren’t praying, there was nothing between you and God—you were just going through the motions. That’s where David was. So, his spiritual guard was down and when he was confronted by temptation he was not ready to fight back. And there on that rooftop, across the way, he saw a beautiful woman and she was bathing. He wasn’t ready to fight back against that. So he saw her, he wanted her, and he took her and used her to gratify his need for pleasure when she couldn’t say, “No.” And then he sent her away. At that moment he thought that that was a decision of choice that could be insulated and isolated for the rest of his life. It happened. It was over. It was on the shelf and it was not going to have any effect on the rest of his life. But David found out the hard way the same thing that you and I have experienced. There is no such thing as an insulated, isolated decision. There is no such thing as a singular choice that doesn’t affect the rest of our lives. David got a note that said she was pregnant which launched a series of cover-‐ups, and lies, full of deceit by the king. That didn’t work. He realized that the only way to fix this was to have her husband killed and to take her as his wife—a very dark moment in the history of David. There was David. He made a choice to take what wasn’t his and a choice to clean it up with an act. And those choices—not only were they not on a shelf not touching stuff, they influenced the lives of his kids and they were replicated in the lives of his kids. See, in chapter 13 we meet two of David’s children. He had a son named Amnon and a daughter named Tamar, they were half-‐brother and half-‐sister. They had different mothers. And it says that Tamar was a very beautiful woman. Amnon took notice of that and he was attracted to her. And the seeds of attraction grew into lust. And out of his lust he developed a plan. He had scales of lust on his eyes and he did not recognize the consequences of his choices. So he developed a plan to get alone in his house. When they were alone together he made an advance on her. She protested because she understood the consequences of his actions but again he was blinded by his lust. So, despite her protest, he overpowered her and he violated his half-‐sister, Tamar. So watch this, a man of position and power abused a woman to get what he wanted—just like his dad. Like father, like son. Now once Amnon was finished with his act, the scales fell from his eyes and he saw his decision for what it was—despicable, filthy sin. And he saw himself for who he was—a filthy sinner. And he experienced what you and I have experienced multiple times in our lives—unbearable shame, debilitating shame. He took his shame out on Tamar and cast her out of his house. She would live the rest of her days with the stigma of a victim abused by a family member.
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Now, Tamar found comfort in the home of her full brother, Absalom. He met her in that moment and realized what happened. He welcomed her into his home and from that moment—for two years—he plotted his revenge on Amnon. For two years bitterness grew in his heart. For two years anger developed into a murderous plot. And his plan played out and he had Amnon killed in revenge for what he had done to his sister. So watch this. A man with a mess on his hands murdered another man to clean up the mess—just like his dad. Like father, like son. See, David was making a choice on a rooftop that he thought was singular in nature. He thought it was a one-‐night-‐stand. He thought it was isolated, it was insulated, and he could put it on the shelf and it would never affect the other areas of his life. But not only did it influence his kids it was replicated in the life of his kids. Our choices always have more impact than we ever assume. I know that in my life when I have a choice on my hands, a decision, especially when it comes into the area of sin, I always downplay the ripple effects. I always assume—because I rationalize in my head to feel better about it—I always assume that it’s just going to affect me. No one has to know. It’s not that big of a deal. It’s just this one time. But David’s one time turned into a whole lifetime of dysfunction. So, I need to ask you a question. Right now, in this moment, an application question—and the question that I would love for you to consider is… In a room like this, with a crowd like this there is bound to be someone who is on the edge of a decision and they have downplayed its impact. So I want to ask you this. What decision are you currently, right now, considering that might have long-‐term consequences? What decision have you rationalized in your head? What decision have you brought down assuming it’s just about you? It’s just this one time. You can quit when you want. No one will ever have to find out. Can I suggest from the life of David that those one-‐time, in the afternoon, on the roof-‐top kind of decisions do not have a small impact? They may have a life-‐altering impact. David’s life was never the same. His family was never whole again. Much like throwing a massive rock into a still pond, the ripples touched everything. Right now Absalom has carried out his plot to kill his half-‐brother, Amnon, and he doesn’t wait around to see what his dad thinks of it. He knows that he is going to be angry. And so he takes off running. Chapter 13, verse 38 says it like this, “So Absalom fled and went to Geshur, and was there three years. And the spirit of the king longed to go out to Absalom, because he was comforted about Amnon, since he was dead.” So Absalom does not wait around and say, “Hey, Dad. How do you feel?” He knows that he is going to be angry so he takes off running. And he runs away for three full years. Three years that he’s away from his dad, three years he’s away from his hometown, three years he’s away from everything he’s known because of that one choice, that very plotted choice with a two-‐year lead up to the choice to kill Amnon. He’s out for three years. At the end of verse 38 it says that David’s heart went out to his son. He longed to be with his son. He’s still his dad. He still loves him even though he killed Amnon. But he never did anything about it. King David was heartbroken but he didn’t put a plan into action. He didn’t send out a search party to
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welcome his son home. He never sent the invitation. So he wanted it, he desired it, and he wished it would be true but never did anything about it. So now we have a father and a son separated by a sin. That’s going to be really important for us to hang on to later. So Absalom is gone for three years and in chapter 14 we find one of David’s closest advisors, his commander, Joab, sees that his heart is broken. He sees the king being torn apart about his son, Absalom. So he says, “Okay, king. If you’re not going to do anything about it, I’m going to get you two back together.” So he sets into motion these plans to get Absalom and David back together. Now, if you remember anything from chapter 12, you remember that when you are ready to confront a king you don’t come in guns blazing with accusation. You don’t come in with a stomach punch. You have to warm him up. So much like chapter 12, David is now warmed up with a story. Joab sends in a woman and she tells David a story of two brothers who were in a field. And one brother killed the other. Then she begs for mercy for the guilty son and King David grants mercy for the guilty boy. Now, the woman pulls back the curtain and says, “King David, this is you. This is your son. It’s time for you to welcome Absalom home. You guys need to be reunited.” So David is convicted and he’s moved. And he says, “Okay, you’re right. It’s time for us to be back together—father and son reunited.” Now, this is not one of those Hallmark movies where there’s soft music playing, and a slow motion embrace, and so many feelings. That’s does not happen. In fact, David does it kind of weirdly. Watch his instructions about how his son should return. Chapter 14, verse 24, “And the king said, ‘Let him dwell apart in his own house; he is not to come into my presence.’ So Absalom lived apart in his own house and did not come into the king’s presence.” So David says, “Okay, you can come back. You can be in the city but not in the same room. We can share a zip code but we’re not sharing a meal. I don’t really want to be with you. So Absalom is welcome back but only half way. David keeps him at arm’s length. Now David’s son grows tired of this arrangement, understandably. Like, “Hey, Dad. What was the point of that? Why would you invite me back only to have me live in my own house?” And he throws down an ultimatum to the king. He said, “Either we’re going to be together or you can kill me but I’m not doing this half-‐way stuff.” That’s the ultimatum that Absalom throws down for his father. Watch how the king responds in verses 33 through 34, chapter 14. It says, “Then Joab went to the king and told him, and he summoned Absalom. So he came to the king and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king, and the king kissed Absalom.” Okay, so this is not the most heart-‐warming story of reconciliation between father and son that you’ve ever read but at they are in the same room. At least they’re talking together. Maybe this will be a happily-‐ever-‐after movie where the father and son play a game of catch as the credits roll like Field of Dreams. Maybe that will finally be the way that it goes down. But what we read next is that, over those five years of separation—the three years while he was away and the two years that he was in the city—that distance did not make his heart grow fonder for his dad.
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In fact distance made his heart grow bitter, and he grew angry, and he developed a plan to where he was going to hurt his father. So even though they are in the same room they are not healed. Watch what Absalom does at the beginning of chapter 15, verses 1 through 6, “After this Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him. And Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way of the gate. And when any man had a dispute to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, ‘From what city are you?’ And when he said, ‘Your servant is of such and such a tribe in Israel,’ Absalom would say to him, ‘See, your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you. “Then Absalom would say, ‘Oh that I were judge in the land! Then every man with a dispute or cause might come to me, and I would give him justice.’ And whenever a man came near to pay homage to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. Thus Absalom did to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.” It appears that Absalom was not interested in reconciliation to play a game of catch with his dad. The reason that he wanted to be back in the city was to steal his dad’s throne. Here’s what he’s doing. First things first, Absalom went to Kings-‐R-‐Us and got the king kit. He got the chariot, he got the horses, and he got all of the servants. So he looked super official. He looked royal. And then he stood at the gate of the city and he intercepted people who were coming to see David. See, one of the roles of the king in this day was to serve as judge. So when people would have a dispute the king would hear their grievance and then he would issue a judgment as to who was right, who was wrong, and who owed what—all that kind of thing. So Absalom stood at the gate and he intercepted them before they could get to the king. He said, “Hey, man. Tell me your name. Where are you from? Tell me why you are here. What’s your problem? What’s your grievance?” And that man would say, “Well, here’s how that person hurt me,” or “Here’s what I need.” And Absalom would day, “Man, you are totally right and if I were the judge I would absolutely see it your way. And if I were the king I would do what you want.” He was scratching the itch of these men and telling them what they wanted to hear. And over and over again, as he did this every day, he would steal their hearts. They would say, “Man, I wish Absalom was king. He loves me. He’s telling me what I want to hear. He’d be way better as a judge. He should be the king.” So this conspiracy grew as he stood at the gates of the city. In fact, it says that Absalom did this for four years. For four years he stood at the gates stealing the hearts of men. So, if Absalom deserved any credit he is, by far, the most patient terrorist that I’ve read about in my entire life. That is a long game—four years. For four years he is stealing the hearts, undermining his dad as the king, and trying to steal the throne. One of my questions as I was reading this week is, “Where was David? “Four years, man. What were you up to where you missed this for four years? Were you in one of those YouTube wormholes where you just watched video after video after video for four years and then you woke up and you realized, “My son has stolen my throne, that’s unfortunate.”? No, where were you David? I have two proposals for you. Number one is this. As a parent, no one wants to think that their kid would be “that” kid. You know what I mean—like “that” kid? No one sits in the delivery room holding his
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newborn child and says, “Oh, you’re going to be such a big bully. You are going to be the worst. You are going to give me an ulcer.” No one has that dream for his kids. No one thinks that his kid could be “that” kid. But really, when you consider David’s track record as a dad he’d been through some pretty tough stuff. In chapter 12, because of his decision on a rooftop—the one he thought was going to live on a shelf—he lost a baby which is a very, very painful experience. On top of that, one of his sons violated one of his daughters. And then to get revenge, one of his sons had become a murderer. So David watched his same decisions, his same sin, live out in the lives of his kids. And after a while, a person can only take so much. I think he was just worn down, he was a tired parent. Tired of consistently disciplining, tired of being disappoint by his kids, tired of feeling like a failure. For whatever the reason, Absalom stood there for four years undermining his dad and stealing the hearts of the men. It says that one day Absalom went to his dad and said, “Dad, I want to go worship God in this distant land.” And David said, “That’s fine.” But it was all a lie. He wasn’t going there to worship he was going there to spread his conspiracy across other towns in the country making loyalists to himself and undermining David. Now, there is one problem. The only way to steal a king’s throne is to kill him. That’s the only way. No one hands over his throne. You kill the king and then the throne is yours. So, David’s son was looking at his dad and saying, “I plan on killing you and I plan on taking everything that is yours.” David might have been a really good king, he might have been a really good warrior, but his family was a mess. This is big time family dysfunction. Once the conspiracy gets back to David watch his response in verses 13 and 14. It says, “And a messenger came to David, saying, ‘The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.’ Then David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, ‘Arise, and let us flee, or else there will be no escape for us from Absalom. Go quickly, lest he overtake us quickly and bring down ruin on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.’” Skip down to verse 30, “… But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, barefoot and with his head covered. And all the people who were with him covered their heads, and they went up, weeping as they went.” So here’s king David, the greatest king in the history of Israel, the soldier who was brave enough to face a nine-‐foot Goliath, the shepherd who was courageous enough to fight bears and lions to protect his sheep and now he is running from a man that he held as a baby, running away for his life from his son. How the mighty has fallen. David’s reconciliation did not produce love and affection in the heart of his son. In fact, in the five-‐year gap when they were apart bitterness, anger, even a murderous plot had developed. David had lost his son. Now, what does this have to do with you and me? What about David and his son, what in the world does that have to do with how we’re going to live out our lives? How does that change our Tuesday?
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This is the point in the sermon when we say—like we have been doing all summer—this might feel like it is about David but really this is going to be about Jesus. In fact, David is not the main character of his story any more than you and I are the main characters of our stories. Jesus is the main character. In fact, the most important part about you is how you respond to Jesus. If you have your Bible open, I’d love for you to join me in 2 Corinthians, chapter 5. You can flip over there— 2 Corinthians 5 is toward the end of the Bible there in the New Testament and there we’re going to find out what David’s story has to do with us. You see, David needed to reconcile with his son. We need to reconcile with God. But here’s the big difference: David’s reconciliation failed; God’s did not. David’s reconciliation with his son, that reunion failed. It fell apart. It didn’t work. God’s did not. See, there are actually similarities between our story and David’s but there are three major differences. So we’re going to compare and contrast our story with David’s. Let’s begin with the similarities. The first similarity between our story and David’s is this: The separation is caused by sin. The separation between David and his son was caused by sin. Absalom made a very intentional decision. For two years he considered his choice and he chose to kill his half-‐brother, Amnon. That is sin. It is against God’s law. So their separation as father and son was caused by that sin. And you and I, we have separation between God and us because of our sin. The Bible is really clear. It says that all of us have fallen short of the mark of God. The standard, the bar that God set—we have all fallen short. We are sinners in need of a Savior. Now, you may not yet self-‐identify as a sinner. You might be like, “Look, man. That might be you but it’s not me. I’m glad you’re here. And I’m really glad that you are considering all of this but the Bible is super clear—all of us have fallen short. And the most devastating consequence of our sin is the gap that it puts between God and us. There is now a distance. He is perfect and holy and He can’t be around sin so now we are separated. The worst of it all is that we can’t do anything about it. This gap between God and us—there was nothing that we can contribute to getting closer. No amount of good works, no level of perfection was going to get us an inch closer to God. We were separated with no solution. So the first similarity is that we are separated by sin. The second similarity is this: Absalom ran—and so do we. Absalom ran away from his dad because he knew that he would be angry. And we run away all of the time. See, a lot of us, because of a decision in our past, we decided that because God doesn’t do imperfect, God doesn’t do failure, God doesn’t do sinners so, “I can’t be around Him so I’m going to take off running. There’s no way that I can be accepted anymore so I’m going to run as far away from God, as far away from friends, as far away from the church, as far away from my family as possible. There’s no getting back from where I’ve been. If you only knew, you would have run too.” Maybe that’s you right now. And it’s been weeks, or months, or years since you’ve ever considered being in a good place with God again. It’s been a long time since you’ve been in a place like this, even considering things like this. All of us have experienced that running away from God.
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That’s where the similarities end. In fact there are three big differences in our story and David’s and they change everything. Let’s talk about the first difference. The first difference between our story and David’s is this: God initiated our reconciliation. God initiated. He’s the one who took the first step. In David’s story, his heart went out to his son like he longed to be together but he didn’t do anything about it. There was no rescue mission, there was no invitation back home. He didn’t do anything. And that could not be any more different than the way that God has treated us. Look at 2 Corinthians 5, verses 17 through 19, actually, 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17. That’s where we’re going to begin. It says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; …” Notice those five words at the beginning of at the beginning of verse 18. If you’re taking notes, if you’re highlighting, if you’re writing this down these five words change everything, “All this is from God…” All of this is from God. The fact that we are reunited is because God did it. He’s the one who took the first step. He acknowledged the separation between Him and us, and even though it wasn’t His fault, He’s the one who took the first step. He initiated the reconciliation process. This changes everything. This is like foundational stuff in our relationship with God because it is so different than the message of religion. See, the message of religion says, “Yes, there’s a separation.” We agree about that. But religion tells us that it is our job to close it. In fact, it is our responsibility to do enough good, to do enough right, to live a good enough life to where we can take gradual steps to where God will eventually consider us good enough to be accepted again—maybe He’ll reconsider our relationship. But the God of the Bible is saying, “No, no, no. It is way different. There was a separation. You couldn’t do anything about it but I took the first step.” This is from God. So God, because of His love and His character, took the first step before we ever cleaned up our act. In fact the Bible is really clear. It says that while we still sinners God sent Jesus on a rescue mission to save us from our sins. It says that we love God because He first loved us. He didn’t wait until we had our act together, He didn’t wait until we were perfect, He took the first step because He loved us and cared for us. So, that should entirely change the way that we see God. Now that we can be back in the presence of God without any danger to ourselves it changes everything about our lives. I don’t know how your night went last night but I have a six-‐year-‐old daughter, and there was a thunderstorm, and those two things don’t go together. I don’t know if you knew that. I was awakened about three a.m. by a small voice that said that she was very scared of the thunderstorm. So with groggy eyes and not very clear thinking I said, “Alright, come in here.” So she laid on me and I had knees and elbows in my side for a good amount of time. And she explained to me why she was scared of the loud noise and bright lights. And all I said is, “Okay, you can stay here with me.” The fact that she was with me gave her the ultimate confidence, gave her the comfort she needed to feel safe. And she felt that it was okay. Now notice, I did not stop the storm. I did not tell the thunder to
Flawed Hero: Family Dysfunction July 11/12, 2015
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go away. I did not stop the lightning. I did not stop the storm but she felt comfortable and confident because she was in the presence of her dad. The same can be true for you and me. When God welcomes us back into His presence it doesn’t mean that the storms are done, and it doesn’t mean that life won’t be hard, and it doesn’t mean that when we get baptized that all of a sudden all is perfect and life is easy. But it does mean that we are in the presence of our Father and we have ultimate confidence and comfort in that. This changes everything—everything. Our whole life is completely different because God took that first step. He brought us back together. Here’s the second difference between our story and David’s story: It’s that God reconciliation went all the way. When David brought his son back he only did it halfway. He said, “Look, we can be in the same city but not the same house. You stay over there and I’ll stay over here. We’re not going to be together. That could not be more different than the way God did it. Let’s add verse 19 on to what we already read, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” God did not invite us to be close but not too close. God did not invite us back into the city to live in our own house. God went all the way. Paul’s language is very clear. He says, “Look, you are a new creation. The old is gone the new is here to stay.” Now, some of us look at Paul and say, “Look, man. Maybe you’re a new creation, maybe you are brand new, but I don’t know if I can be that. My past is so dark and the decisions I made are so sinful, there’s no way that God could forgive all of that. Maybe I’m not a new creation. Maybe I’m one of those refurbished creations. I’m one of those iPhones that someone dropped and the screen cracked, and he put it back together, and now he’s selling it on eBay for half of the price. “I can be refurbished, but no way that I’m brand new because if you knew, Paul, if you knew the things that I have said, if you knew the people whom I have hurt, if you knew my reputation with the people who really know me—no way, God, forgives that. Maybe He forgave the small stuff that I did as a teenager, but that was my worst choice. That worst sin, that worst decision where I fully knew what I was doing and I went for it anyway—no way that God can let that go.” And Paul is saying, “You can believe that. That’s your choice. You can live under that assumption. It’s just not what the Bible says. The Bible is wildly clear. It says brand new creation—old completely gone, brand new. And the way that that happens is that Jesus was sent on a rescue mission to save us. When He died on the cross, He paid the debt that we could not pay. We were in debt up to our eyeballs with God. There was no getting out of it. But with one act on a cross He paid it all, 100 percent—all of it. Now when you and I refuse the 100 percent payment, when we take 50 percent, we say, “God, I’m like 50 percent redeemed but I’m still a mess,” what we do is live a life of 50 percent joy. I could have a few good days and I stack them on top of each other but eventually my guilt creeps up in me and robs me of
Flawed Hero: Family Dysfunction July 11/12, 2015
Intellectual materials are the property of Traders Point Christian Church. All rights reserved. 11
the joy. If I feel like I’m 50 percent redeemed, I can live 50 percent courageous, I can take some small steps for God, but when it comes to that big thing that He’s calling me to—no way I will go for it. I just need you to know that if you’re living a life of 50 percent redemption you are turning down an incredible offer. The Bible is wildly clear. Jesus’ death on the cross is not just for some of you, it’s not for most of you, it’s for all of you. You are a new creation. And God’s reconciliation went all the way. So, He took the first step. He forgave it all. He went all the way. And this is the biggest difference between us and David’s story: God’s reconciliation inspires devotion. It inspires devotion. David and his son, that five-‐year gap, it was insurmountable. There was bitterness, and anger, and cynicism just filled all in. And that is so different than the way that we respond to God’s reunion. Watch it. We’re going to read all of it, verses 17 through 20. Here’s how Paul describes it one more time, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” God took the first step, He went all the way. And now our response—the appropriate response—is a life of devotion. When we realize how bad the bad news is, it makes us appreciate how good the good news is. When we realize how far away we were we can appreciate that now that we’re back together. And our life is one of devotion. Paul uses the term being an ambassador for Christ—representing the things of Jesus. Now here’s our job. For those of us who have received grace, and we have said, “I’m not 50 percent redeemed, I’m not a refurbished creation, I’m a new creation—all in, now my job is to go and tell other people.” We are given the message of reconciliation. Our world, right now, needs to know God in a new way, in a better way. And the world is trying to figure out who God really is. It’s debated on TV talk shows. It’s all over the internet. Who is God? And we get to come to them and say, “Here’s His message. Once we were far apart and now we are together. Once you were lost and now you are found. Our God is a God of reconciliation. He has forgiven us. He has gone all the way. He took the first step. You are back together again. Because God saved me, I know that He can do it for you too.” It’s an incredible opportunity. We get to carry that message of hope to everyone we know. So, as we wrap up I just want to ask you one question. I want to ask you one question and it’s simple but it can be profound. With whom do you need to be reconciled? With whom do you need to be reconciled? In a room like this I know that there are multiple kinds of people. So, let me throw out some options. First of all there are some of us who need to be reconciled to God. That offer of grace is still sitting on the table if you haven’t taken it. God took the first step, He went all the way, He’s done everything that
Flawed Hero: Family Dysfunction July 11/12, 2015
Intellectual materials are the property of Traders Point Christian Church. All rights reserved. 12
needed to be done and you’re still sitting there saying, “Thanks but no thanks.” Man, if you are separated from God right now, just know that it’s not His fault. He has done everything that He needed to do and now it is your opportunity to receive a gift, receive the gift of grace. It changes everything. Some of us need to be reconciled to a family member much like David. Something happened and it was hard, and there were feelings involved, and words were said and now that relationship has been broken. There’s a great separation between you and them. And it may not even be your fault. Maybe you were the hurt person. Maybe you were wronged. Can I ask you a question? Just something for you to pray about. Is it time for you to take a step, the first step, because God took the first step with you? And is it time for you to reach out with the message of grace because God has given you grace? Wasn’t your fault. You’re not wrong. But you can reach out and forgive. And you get to tell them, “Hey, the reason I’m doing this is because God loved me enough to take that first step so I’m stepping out for you.” Maybe it’s not God. Maybe it’s not a family member. Maybe it’s just a relationship that, for whatever reason, it faded over time, and distance grew, and you haven’t talked as much and you know that he needs this hope—he needs this message of reconciliation that God’s not through with him, that there’s no such thing as too far gone. That God’s grace is big enough to save the biggest of sins and the biggest of sinners and that offer is for him. God took the first step. He went all the way. Now life to its fullest is available to him. I want to pray for you. I want to pray for courage to take that first step. And then we’re going to do two things that help us remember God’s reconciliation. The first thing is this. It’s called communion. It’s our weekly opportunity to remember that there was a gap and Jesus closed it. There was a debt and Jesus paid it. And so through the bread and the juice we remember Jesus body and blood on the cross. The one time, the one moment that took care of it all. And after that we are going to celebrate with some people who are being baptized. And baptism is our acknowledgement of the gap closing and that our life is now all about devotion. We’re going “All In” for Jesus. He changed everything. So let me pray and then we’re going to celebrate together. Father we are humbled by this truth. We’re humbled by the Author of grace. We know that we don’t deserve it, we know that we haven’t earned it, never-‐the-‐less we are grateful. Expose the areas of our lives that You need to expose. Speak truth into our world. Give us the opportunity to tell other people the story of You, the message of reconciliation, that You stepped out for us and now we get to carry that to others. Father we love You. It’s in Your name I pray. Amen.