How to Face the Giants That Keep Winning | Cloud Of Witness | Pastor Steve Poe

Good morning, Northview. Wanna welcome all of you and all of our campuses. Turn to somebody next to you at all of our campuses and say, you look good. Okay, that's enough. Yeah, if you're our guest today, I'm Steve Poe. I'm one of the pastors here at Northview. And we would be honored to have you a part of our church if you don't have a church home. We're so glad that you are here today. So, did you hear about the talking dog? So, this guy was walking down the street and he sees a sign on a fence that says, talking dog for sale. And so, he knocks on the door and he says, I'm interested in your talking dog. And he said, well, he's around back. Just go around the fence, he's out there. So, he goes around back and he sees a dog and he said, are you the talking dog? And he said, yes, I am. And he said, well, man, I wanna hear your story. And so, he said, well, I discovered I could talk when I was a puppy. And he said, then the word got out that I could talk. And he said, the CIA came and they hired me and I became a spy. I traveled the world being a spy for the CIA. And then after a decade with them, I decided I just wanted to slow down.

So, I came back home and retired here. Well, the guy goes to the door and he goes, that is absolutely amazing. Why would you sell that dog? He said, he's a liar. He didn't do half that stuff. Tough crowd. I got in the car last night. The first thing my wife said to me, she goes, that was a terrible joke. Anyway, let's pray. Thanks God for your faithfulness. What an incredible opportunity to be able to gather together and just to worship you in spirit and in truth and to sense your presence that you are alive and well in this place. And I just pray to God that you just continue to pour your blessings out on all that Northview is doing. And I pray that you'd pour your blessings out on all that churches are doing all throughout Central Indiana. Thank you for those that are preaching your word and I pray your blessings in favor will be upon them. Now God, as we get into your word this morning, I pray you open up our eyes and ears that we might see and hear all that you want to do in our lives. Thanks God.

We love you and praise you. We just ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen. Remember when you were a kid in recess, grade school, and you were either, it was either softball or kickball and they're picking teams. Can you recall the dreaded feelings for those of you that got picked last? Can you remember those dreaded feelings and you really never knew why? Maybe you weren't a very popular kid, maybe you weren't very athletic, maybe you were small in stature, but for whatever reason, you got picked last. And it was embarrassing and it was hurtful. I know there's others of you in the room that you were athletic and so that was never the case for you, but I'll bet there's another area of your life where you felt overlooked. Another area where maybe you felt insignificant. Well guys, that's exactly what happened with David in 1 Samuel chapter 16. God tells the prophet Samuel to go to the house of Jesse and pick out the next king. Well Jesse presents all of his sons, he has all of his boys line up, but Samuel says,

the Lord has not chosen any of these. Are these all of your sons? And Jesse replies, well, there is still the youngest, but he's out in the field watching the sheep. I think about that. Guys, can you imagine how hurtful that had to be for David? He wasn't even invited to the selection process. God says to Samuel in 1 Samuel, it says, but the Lord said to Samuel, don't judge by his appearance or height, for I've rejected him. The Lord doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord, well, he looks at the heart. So David, the least likely son of Jesse, would one day become Israel's greatest king, and yet overlooked by his own family, hunted by another king, broken by his failures, and yet described as what? As a man after God's own heart. His story is a great reminder that God specializes in using ordinary people just like you and just like me to do extraordinary purposes and plans. When you think of David, there's probably two stories that come to your mind. There's David and Goliath, and David and Bathsheba. While Goliath was David's greatest victory,

Bathsheba was probably his greatest defeat. It seems as if David was either sailing or sinking. He has great moments in his life, and he certainly has some low moments in his life, and I don't know about you guys, but that's certainly true for me. I've had moments in my life that I'm proud of, but I've had other moments that I regret and maybe have some embarrassment about. A principle that we learn from David is faith is not about perfection. Faith is about learning to trust God through every season of your life. Life. Another big thing that we learn from David is that even when you do mess up, and we're all gonna mess up, it's important that you own it. To repent of your sin and to make your heart right with God. That's exactly what David did, and again, he became known as a man after God's own heart because of that. Listen to me, friends, we're all gonna sin, we're all gonna mess up, but what then? Do you just wallow in self-pity, or do you own it and ask God for his forgiveness? And that's why prayer is so important. I know you think, well, you know, they always talk about that in church, because it's true.

Prayer is such a privilege in our life that God gives us the opportunity to be able to talk with him. But it's also important in our life because it keeps us refocused. It helps us to refocus on God and to hit reset at times. Listen, I'm sure you've heard it before, but what God is most interested in when it comes to your life, it's not how much money you give, it's not how often you attend church, it's not all the things you do to serve God. What God is always most interested in is your heart. Do you remember what Jesus said? He was asked by a young attorney, comes up to Jesus and he said, what's the most important commandment? You have to remember that in those days, a Jewish boy had to learn and memorize 600 commandments. And so this young attorney is saying, which one's the most important? Jesus didn't even hesitate. He looked at him and said, the most important commandment is love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. Paul tells us in Galatians chapter five, so I tell you, live by following the Spirit. Then you will not do what your sinful selves want. Again, guys, if you do sin, don't ignore it

or try to justify it, but repent of it and get right with God. We also know that David was a part of the genealogy of Jesus. In fact, if you remember when Jesus walked the earth, he identified himself as the son of David, not the son of Abraham, not the son of Moses, but he identified himself as the son of David. When blind Bartimaeus, for instance, saw Jesus walking by, he cries out, son of David, have mercy on me. The title is more than a statement of physical genealogy, it's a messianic title. When people referred to Jesus as the son of David, they were saying that he was the long way to deliver, that he was the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. We also know that other than Jesus, there have been more chapters that have been written about David than any other person in the Bible. Did you know 14 chapters were written about Abraham and Joseph? 11 chapters were written about Jacob. 10 chapters were written about Elijah. David, more than 66 chapters are dedicated to his life. So yes, yes, there's a lot that we can learn from this hero of the faith. In fact, I would venture to say, I love all the Old Testament characters. I think there's things that we can glean, there's things that we can learn,

but I think there's probably more that you and I, ordinary people, can relate to in David's life than probably any other character of the Old Testament. Also, I wanted to mention, if you haven't seen it yet, there is a TV series called The House of David. Hopefully you've seen it. If not, I highly recommend it. There's two seasons that are out right now. Sandy and I have seen all the episodes in both seasons. It's excellent, and it stays true to Scripture. There's been a couple times where I'm like, I don't remember that, and I'll go to my Bible, look up 1 Samuel, and sure as world, they have stayed true to Scripture. It traces David's journey from a shepherd boy to his epic battle with Goliath, and then his eventual rise to the throne of Israel. So if you haven't and you're looking for something to watch, I would highly recommend it. Okay, so fortunately for you, we've got 66 chapters of David's life. Fortunately for you, I'm not gonna try to cover all 66 chapters today. But as we look at David, we know that David was a shepherd boy. We know that he was an outcast. We know that he was a warrior. We know that David was the king of Israel. He was also a musician as well as a poet.

We could certainly dive into his relationship with Jonathan, and there's several principles about friendship that we could learn from that story. Or we could explore the historical and spiritual contact of his anointing as king by the prophet Samuel. We could also talk about the Psalms that he wrote. You realize there's 150 Psalms in the Bible. David wrote 75 of them. One of the most well-known Psalms that many of you in this room probably have memorized is the 23rd Psalm. The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his namesake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, well, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. It's an amazing psalm. It's an amazing psalm for someone that's struggling with the enemy, that's struggling with hurt or struggling with pain. I've been in ministry for over 35 years

and I've done hundreds of funerals. But I can tell you that I think I've read that psalm at almost every funeral that I've ever done because it's just so comforting. Okay, so we're not gonna cover all the stories of David's life today, but I do wanna touch on those two stories that I mentioned. One would be his greatest moment of life, the other his greatest failure. His greatest moment in life would be found in 1 Samuel chapter 17, and it would be the story of David and Goliath. Even before David became a king, he demonstrated an unshakable courage when he stepped up to face the giant Goliath. Now, you have to realize here, guys, David is only 17 years old. He's just a boy. This is a big deal. A lot of times we picture David, this man, mighty man going out and fighting Goliath. He was just a 17-year-old kid. In fact, his brothers are all off to war fighting in the battle. David's too young to go. But David's father says, I want you to take some food to your brothers who are on the front line, to who are fighting the Philistines. But when he arrives,

he discovers that for the last 40 days, this champion of the Philistines, this giant who's over nine-foot-tall Goliath has been taunting and blaspheming the name of the God of Israel. And yet, fear of this giant has kept the armies of Israel, as well as King Saul, from fighting. Guys, fear is a powerful force that the enemy will use in your life and in my life to keep us from being obedient to God. Because fear can paralyze us. Fear can keep us from making the next move. Fear can keep us from doing what we know is the right thing to do. In fact, I believe that fear and worry are the most common tools in Satan's toolbox. Fear anticipates a negative outcome, and as I said, can paralyze you. Because it focuses on the obstacles. On the other hand, faith focuses on God. Faith anticipates a positive outcome and empowers us to action. Faith points to the hope in Jesus Christ and gives you courage to move forward, even when the path seems very unsure. So I'd ask you guys, is fear keeping you from fighting the giants in your life? Because every one of us have giants in our life. All of us are dealing at times with problems and struggles and issues,

and they appear as a giant in our life. I'm telling you that because if you allow fear and worry to come in the front door of your life, I'm telling you, faith will slide out the back door. Unless, unless you make a conscious decision that faith is gonna rule. Because here's the deal, we all face times of fear and experience a situation, a circumstance scares us. And it's easy to get paralyzed. And that's when you have to stop and say, time out. I trust God. I know that he's on the throne. I know that he has my back. So absolutely, I'm gonna walk forward in faith. I'm unsure of what's gonna happen. I don't like this circumstance. It scares me, but I trust God. You have to decide, my friends, for yourself that you're gonna walk in faith. David showed up on the scene full of faith. And he couldn't stand it that someone speak evil of the Lord God Almighty. And he was shocked that the army of Israel was not gonna do anything about it. So he asked the question, who is this uncircumcised Philistine that should defy the armies of the living God? David then went to the king, he went to King Saul, and he said, I'll fight the Philistine. Everyone was afraid to fight this giant.

David said, I'll fight him. And I'm sure they're like, kid, get out of here. I mean, he's a 17-year-old kid, and the soldiers are all afraid. King Saul was a big man, the Scriptures tell us. He was afraid to fight him. But David is persistent, and he just keeps, I will fight this Philistine. And finally, somebody probably stepped up and said, what do we do? We got to lose, let the kid fight. So they all decide, let's put Saul's armor on him. Again, Saul's a big man, David's a small kid. They put the armor on David and he just about falls over, it's too big. He didn't want Saul's armor. You see, David had been a shepherd boy and as a shepherd boy, he had fought lions and he had fought bears in the past using only his bare hands and a sling. So he believed, you know what, I can do the same thing with this Goliath. So he chose five smooth stones from the riverbed and he rushed out to fight Goliath. I love this story. I've taken four groups to Israel on tours and there's a spot that we stop where we pull off the road with the bus and we all go down into this valley and it's the Valley of Elah

and it's the valley where David fought Goliath and it's a dry riverbed. And so we go down into this dry riverbed and it's there, I always do a devotion. And at the end of the devotion, I always tell the people, you need to find five small stones and take them home with you. And when you get home, share the story of David with your children. Share the story of David with your grandchildren because it should inspire them to walk in faith. It should inspire them to trust God. Friends, I'm telling you, David's battle cry has echoed throughout history. In 1 Samuel chapter 17, it says, David replied to the Philistine, you come to me with sword, spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of heaven's armies the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today, the Lord will conquer you and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals. And the whole world will know that there is a God of Israel and everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord's battle and he will give you to us.

As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him, reaching into his shepherd's bag and taking out a stone. He hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone. For he had no sword. Then David ran over and he pulled Goliath's sword from its sheath. David then used it to kill him and cut off his head. I love that story. It's amazing. I don't know how anybody cannot see that's a story to inspire us, to recognize that we serve an almighty God and we can put our trust in him to win our battles and defeat the Goliaths in our life. He said, David said, this day the Lord will deliver you into my hands. Listen, when you read this, it sounds like David's talking trash, but he's not talking trash, he's talking God. While everyone else saw the size of Goliath, David saw the greatness of God. While the soldiers complained he's too big to fight, David said he's too big to miss. Friends, listen, while the giants in our life

may not carry a sword, they may not have a shield, we're all gonna face these giants. Maybe it's an overwhelming illness, maybe it's a shattered relationship, maybe it's unemployment, maybe it's a financial crisis, maybe it's some insurmountable obstacle. Whatever it might be, my friends, the principle is always the same. We don't have to fight these giants alone, but we do need to fight them. See, you can't just stick your head in the sand and hope that these problems in our life will go away. You can't just ignore them and hope that everything, it'll go away, it'll be okay. We have to fight them or they will overcome us. We need to get our focus off the problems and refocus on God. I was here last time, I talked about Joshua, and I used this illustration. Hopefully you'll remember it, and hopefully you'll use it in your life to remind you. Let's assume that my four fingers are my problems. These four fingers are the giants in my life. And while they're out here right now, sometimes we let these problems get bigger and bigger and get right in front of our face. And when they get right in front of our face, I can no longer see God because my focus now goes right to my four fingers.

And so that's why you have to make a decision that you're gonna look beyond the four fingers, push the problems out of the way, and once again, refocus on God. You say, how do I do that? Prayer. Prayer is absolutely how you refocus on God. Prayer is how you hit reset. Prayer is how your faith rises up and grows. Now obviously, David can see the giants in his life. David can see the problem, but he teaches us a powerful but a very simple concept when he says, focus on the giants in your life and you will go down. Focus on God and your giants will go down. Listen, when you decide to trust God, and please hear me, I come back to that again, you have to decide, it's an intentional decision. Faith isn't just gonna come out of nowhere, it has to be something that's growing in your life. Faith is growing in your life because you keep refocusing on God. You keep putting your trust in God, and as you do, faith begins to expand. When you decide to trust Him, when you put your faith in Him, when you decide to trust God with your struggles, you will no longer be the underdog. David, it tells us, ran into the battlefield carrying a sling and five stones. By the way, five stones, why five stones? Everybody has their own theory on that,

but if you read farther in Samuel, it tells us that Goliath had four brothers. And so some believe that David went out prepared, said, I'll fight this giant and I'll fight his brothers too. He was prepared to take them all on. Now, I don't know whether that's true or not, but what I do know is true is that he went into that battle prepared. He didn't just sit down and say a prayer and sit idly by waiting for something to happen. He prepared himself by using the gifts and talents that God had given him. But again, it wasn't that his confidence was in his sling. His confidence was in his God. Some of you push back and say, Steve, but I'm not David. I'm not like him. I'm not as gifted as David was. I just don't know that I can do all those things. Guys, I'm gonna push back right here because that's exactly why this story is so powerful. That's exactly why the story of David is so relevant to your life and to my life. It's why the story should inspire us because David, he had no formal training. He didn't come from money. He was not a large man. He simply was a shepherd boy. And you have to understand at the time, a shepherd was a low life. A shepherd was the bottom of the totem pole.

A shepherd was as low as it got in society. He was a young man who fell as often as he stood. He was a young man who stumbled as often as he conquered. He could lead armies, but he couldn't always manage his own family. And yet God used him in a magnificent way. Friends, in the same way, God wants to use you and he wants to use me if we'll just use the gifts and the talents that God has given us. So again, David, he runs into battle with only a sling and a few stones. He loads the first stone into the sling. He swung it at Goliath's head. He hit him right between the eyes and he falls forward to the ground. David runs up, he picks up Goliath's sword. He cuts off his head. He holds up his head for the Philistines to see. When they saw their hero, Goliath, was dead, they ran with fear with the armies of Israel charging right after them. Friends, without a doubt, this was one of David's greatest moments. But I can tell you, he also had his failures. His greatest failure was probably Bathsheba. Now let me give you some context. Several years have passed since the story of David and Goliath. David is now king. He's experienced victory, success, and prosperity.

In fact, at this stage of David's life, things could not have gone any better. Things were really hitting for David. And yet, it was during this period of success, it was during this season of comfort that David faced his greatest temptation, his greatest test. And oftentimes, I think that's true for you and me. Sometimes we think, boy, everything's just going really well. And just when we least expect it, Satan's gonna come and try to tempt us. He's gonna try to derail us in any way he possibly can. In 2 Samuel chapter 11, it says in the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, I need to stop right there. He's telling us right there what the problem was. In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem. Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told she is Bathsheba,

the daughter of Elam and the wife of Uriah, the Hittite. Then David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification. of rights after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home. Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message saying, I'm pregnant. So one evening, David finds himself at home in Jerusalem when he should have been off to war with the soldiers. So we can see right out of the gate that his first mistake is that he's not where he's supposed to be and he's not doing what he's supposed to be doing. Listen to me, guys. More times than not, the reason we end up in sin is because we're somewhere we shouldn't be, reading what we shouldn't be reading and doing what we shouldn't be doing. Well, one evening while on the rooftop of the palace, he sees a beautiful woman, Bathsheba, taking a bath. And as you might imagine, immediately he's tempted. At that moment, guys, at that very moment, David had a choice to make. He's being tempted by the beauty of this woman and he's watching, taking a bath. He's either gonna justify his actions and say, well, come on, it wasn't my fault. I'm just on my rooftop, I couldn't help it. Or I'm the king, it's all right for me.

He could have made excuses and justified his actions or he could turn and walk away. But at that moment, just like you and me, he had a choice to make. And at the moment of temptation in your life, you have to make a decision as well. You're either gonna justify your actions or you're gonna turn and walk away, especially when it comes to sexual temptation. In 1 Corinthians chapter six, it clearly says, run from sexual sin. It doesn't say turn and walk away slowly. It's like, get out of there. Get away from it, it's dangerous. Run from sexual sin. No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. I believe that every single one of you in this room have at one time or another in your life faced sexual temptation. I believe that it is a common temptation. I believe it's one that Satan uses often. And we know that's true by the society we live in. And it's not just our society. The problem of sexual temptation goes all the way back to the beginning of time. So it's always been one of Satan's biggest tools. I know I've certainly been tempted at times in my life. I thought back when the last time, or one of the times in my life where I was faced with it,

and I thought back when I was in my late 20s, and I was owned, before I was in ministry, I owned three restaurants. And I was at one of the restaurants and I was closing out the day's receipts. And as I'm sitting at the desk, closing out the day's receipt, one of the young girls that I was with, one of the young girls that was closing that day, we always had one girl stay and she would close, run the vacuum, get ready for the next day's business. And so she comes in, I'm in the kitchen where the table is in this restaurant. I'm working on the receipts. She sits on the counter behind me and she starts talking to me. And she starts talking, first of all, about her marriage and that her marriage is in trouble. And I'm trying to finish the receipts. I'm only paying half attention to her. And then from there, she's like, the reason we're having so much trouble is he doesn't gratify me sexually. And then she starts going down that road and getting more explicit. And all of a sudden, it has my attention. And I realize it's a young girl and I realize we're alone here. Nobody's here. And I realize where she's trying to go with this.

And I knew at the moment, fortunately, I had to make a decision. I'm either gonna continue to engage this girl in conversation or I'm gonna get out of here. And so fortunately, I said, you know what? I need to step outside and do something. Why don't you finish up and I'll be back in a little bit. And so I just went outside and I just waited. I just leaned against the building and waited a while until I felt like she was finished and gone. So fortunately, I made the right choice that time. But all of us have to make a choice at the moment of temptation in our life. Unfortunately, too often, we make the wrong choice, not because we wanna sin, but because we wanna play around with it. Because we wanna see how close can I get to the edge without falling? How close can I get here and tease around? It's kind of fun, it's kind of exciting without actually sinning. And what happens when we do that is more times than not, we end up falling. So at this point, David, he could have walked away. He could have gotten off that roof. Instead, he allowed his lustful thoughts to get a hold of his life. Listen, allowing lust to take hold is often described in Scripture as a progression from inward desire to outward actions

that will distance you from spiritual peace and lead to sin and guilt. which is exactly what James is talking about in chapter one. He says, temptation comes from where? Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires, what do they do? Well, they give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, when you make the decision to keep going down the wrong direction, it's a downward path. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. Can I just say here, guys, that's why suggestive teasing should be reserved between a man and a woman should be reserved for a husband and a wife. Statistics tell us, and I saw it true, certainly I counseled a lot of couples throughout the years that had fallen into adultery. And I would tell you the two biggest problems is a man and a woman that work together and get too close, or two couples that start hanging out together and they start traveling together and they get too close. Because there is a guardrail that's intended to be there to protect us from getting into that sexual place. And it's meant for a husband and a wife. It's all right for me to tease my wife sexually. It's not all right for me to tease a close friend sexually. It's dangerous, it opens up a door that was never intended to be open.

And that's where it falls. A man and a woman that work together and they start teasing one another, they start flirting with one another, and they'll say, oh, we don't mean anything by it, we're just close, we've worked together now for 10 years, we're just close. Yeah, until you're not. Or two couples traveling together, they're a really close friend, there's nothing wrong with two couples hanging out and traveling together as long as everybody knows there are guardrails that are intended to be there. Because once you take the guardrails down and all of a sudden this man is sexually teasing with this woman, I'm telling you, you're headed for problem. You're headed for a serious problem. Listen, the downward progression of sin usually starts as something that you think is innocent. Something you think it's not a big deal, it's an innocent flirt, no. This story of David and Bathsheba is a great example of just how far sin can lead you if you don't nip it in the bud, if you don't deal with it right out of the gate. What started with David as a quick look turned into a lustful desire which led to adultery, which led to a pregnancy, which led to a coverup,

and ultimately to the murder of Bathsheba's husband and David's close friend, Uriah. David's trying to cover up his sin. He brings Uriah home from battle thinking that he'd sleep with his own wife and then they could blame the child on Uriah and say it's your boy. But that plan failed when Uriah ended up being too loyal and wouldn't sleep with his wife. In 2 Samuel chapter 11, it says when David heard that Uriah had not gone home, he summoned him and asked, what's the matter? Why didn't you go home last night after being away for so long? Uriah replied, the ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents and Joab and my master's men are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear I would never do such a thing. Well, that didn't work well for David. So David's determined to cover this thing up so he has Uriah sent to the front lines of the battle. Look at this, this is amazing. So the next morning, David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. He gave his own death sentence to Uriah. He didn't, Uriah obviously didn't know. The letter instructed Joab, station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest, then pull back so that he will be killed.

I just, that story always, it has all my life, blows me away. David actually killed, to cover up his sin, he actually killed his friend, Uriah. And for a time, if you read on, it appears that David's gotten away with all of it, but the Scripture says, the thing that David, the Scripture says the thing that David has done displeased the Lord. Yeah, you think? Let me tell you something, guys. If you're trying to fool somebody with your sin, if you're trying to cover up sin in your life right now, you may be able to fool some of the people some of the time. You may even be able to fool all the people. But I'm just telling you, you will never fool God. There's nothing hidden from him. We think we've pulled a fast one. Nobody knows what I've done. My parents don't know, my kids don't know, my spouse doesn't know, my employer or friends, none of them know I've done a good one here. But again, the only one that really matters, the one that only matters is God, and he sees it all. And that's why confessing your sin and bringing it to the open is the only way, my friends, to break the shame and to get right with God. In James chapter five, it says confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Guys, if you really wanna make things right, you have to own it. So God, he sends the prophet Nathan to speak with David, and Nathan tells David a story. He tells David a story about a rich man who stole a poor man's only lamb. Well, David became incensed and angry and demanded justice. Nathan listens for a moment or two, and then he points his finger at David and says, you're the guy, you're the man. You see, it was a wake-up call to the king. It was a wake-up call as David stood before God exposed. His sin was revealed. And now all of his excuses have disappeared. Well, David's heart was absolutely broken, but friends, what happened next is really important for us to hear, because what happened next is what God is looking for from each one of us, what God is hoping will happen in your life and in my life. David repented, and he said, I have sinned against the Lord. In fact, I would encourage you later, I don't have time this morning, but I would encourage you to read Psalms 51 that records David's prayer of repentance. He cries out, create in me a clean heart, O God. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. David understood that his greatest need

was not damage control. He understood now that his greatest need was forgiveness from God. Listen, guys, God's mercy is beyond what I can ever wrap my brain around. I was working on this talk at home, and I stopped for dinner, and Sandy and I were eating dinner, and she wanted to know what I was writing, and I told her about David, and I said, all my adult life to this day, I've heard this story all my adult life, and I still can't wrap my brain around the fact that God forgave David. That one's hard for me. I think, my gosh, David, who this man that inspires me and was such a hero of the faith, he killed his friend to cover up his sin, and God forgave him. If I were God, I wouldn't have forgave him. Aren't you glad I'm not God? I would have not forgiven him. I can hardly, when I think about this, I can hardly grasp the kind of love and forgiveness and mercy that God demonstrates toward us. My goodness. Guys, I don't know what you've done or what sin you've committed, but I'll promise you, it can't be any worse than what David has done.

You know, there is no sin that's too big for God's grace and mercy. I know some of you, even right now, are pushing back, saying, Steve, you don't have any idea what I've done. You have no clue. Most of the people around me have no clue what I've done, and you're right, I don't, but I just don't think it could have been worse than what David did. No matter what you've done, no matter how dark the past feels, true repentance and confession leads to complete forgiveness and a fresh start. But then, before I go any farther, let me also be very clear here. Yes, God forgave David for his horrific sin, but there were consequences for his sin. His family suffered, his kingdom experienced turmoil. Friends, you can be forgiven, but sin will always leave a scar. You can be forgiven, but there's always consequences, and yet, in the end, God's grace proved greater than David's failure, and that, my friends, is why David is considered a hero of faith. A lot of times, we think it's because he defeated Goliath. That's not why. The reason David is considered a hero of faith is because he was always repentant with God. He always made sure that no matter how he messed up,

that he got his heart right with God. So please, my friends, don't allow the guilt of failure to drive you away from God today. Don't allow. How the giants in your life, and there are many at times, to drive you away from God either. The same God who was faithful to David is faithful to you and to me. There is no giant too large. There is no failure too great. There is no person that is beyond the reach of God's grace. So can I just ask very simply, are you away from God today? There may be some of you in the room that you're like, I just, I don't think God can forgive me. Well, he can, and he will, and he wants to. And he stands with his arms open wide, just waiting for you to come back home, just waiting for you to come back to a relationship with him.