Latest / One Voice Many Conversations / Truth Be Told Ep #004 Gods Genuine Character an example of correct response. Hosts Mickey & Bethany

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Truth Be Told Ep #004 Gods Genuine Character an example of correct response. Hosts Mickey & Bethany · One Voice Many Conversations

• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, everyone.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to another great episode of Truth Be Told.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: I am Mickey, your host, and with me I have Bethany, our co-host.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: And today we are going to be talking about 2 Samuel 12.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: And the title of our message today is God's Genuine Character and an example of the correct response.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: And so today we want to talk about with this podcast being the truth be told, we want to share with you exactly what 2 Samuel is talking about.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: And today, Bethany's going to start us off with a recap of our last episode where we were talking about 2 Samuel 11 and talking about David and Bathsheba.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: And that was such a really, really, really good message.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like I didn't even want to end that podcast, but we had to.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm excited for today's lesson.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's going to be exciting.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: And we just want to get the truth out there.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: We just want to teach you the word of God and share what it what it is that we're supposed to be doing and how we're supposed to be reacting, how we're supposed to be responding.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: And just kind of keeping our eyes open too to being deceived because the enemy is such such a liar.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_02: Great to be here.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: So do you want to um share with our listeners?
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: You want to just dive right in and share with our listeners about um 2 Samuel 11?
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: Now um we see in 2 Samuel 11, verse 1, at the end of that verse, but David tarried still at Jerusalem.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_02: And that was a mistake.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_02: That was a choice that he made.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_02: And as you read the rest of the chapter, you see how that unfolds.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_02: And yet we also notice in Second Samuel eleven, verse twenty-seven, the end of that verse says, But the thing that David did displeased the Lord.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_02: And that's right, it did displease the Lord.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_02: Now, if we don't take time to read chapter twelve, then we're missing how God uses situations.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: And it's so easy, I think, for us to not take time to really understand things, to take time to study um the Bible to understand God's true genuine character.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_02: And that's what Satan uses.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_02: He uses situations to distract us.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_02: But let's remember it's our choice.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_02: But that doesn't mean we have to give in to that influence.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_02: And yet we see in chapter 11 that David did just that.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_02: He gave in to Satan's influence and it cost him.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_02: And we see how it displeased the Lord.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_02: And yet, noticing now chapter twelve, and the first few words of verse one, and the Lord sent Nathan unto David.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_02: God still sent the prophet Nathan to David.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_02: And I I truly believe that is something that we need to get a hold of more, that Satan may influence us to believe that you've done wrong, you've sinned, God doesn't care about you anymore.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_02: Or any form of that lie.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_02: We need to understand God's true character.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_02: And so if there's two chapters in the Bible that we need to study on every occasion where it seems like Satan is just attacking us.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_02: Not just to read and check off boxes that, well, I read a portion for today, so I guess I'm good.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_02: No.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, Mickey.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's funny because our faces switch screens, but um, so yeah, what what this was making me think of was that um um so in chapter 11, um, first David sins with Bathsheba, you know, because he's enticed by her beauty um out on the out on the balcony.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: And and it took just a moment, like it literally happened super quickly, but that one moment um just flipped so many things in his life and um for Bathsheba and her being married and you know, all of that.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: It flipped all of that.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: Now, when you get to the end of chapter 11, where it talks about um God being displeased, the enemy loves to use both of those.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like first, he he he throws in the line and he hooks you, and then he keeps reeling you in by letting you know how displeased God is with you, and that you can't overcome that.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why I love um chapter um 12 talking about Nathan coming, because we often think once we've once we've messed up and we've displeased the Lord, that there's no way good, there's no going back from it.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so with our listeners today, I want everyone to know that even though we mess up, God God knows our mess.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: He wants us in our mess always.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: And if we we run from him because we mess up, um we will end up lacking repentance and our behavior will can only can worsen on honesty, um, because we can become destructive with that.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: I've seen people really um go downhill because they've made mistakes, and instead of overcoming the mistakes they made, they it it burdened them so bad that um they just spiraled downhill.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a really good reminder to know that even though we make mistakes, God still seeks after you.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: He created you and he still loves you.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: So I just wanted to point that out to you.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_02: Amen.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_02: And that's powerful right there.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, it um and even thinking about that, um, you know, Satan loves to get us influenced, choosing to um go down that spiral of, you know, okay, what you know, I've I've done this wrong, and how how can God see me as worthy or whatever, and yet um, like I say, well we will notice how God does respond, how he um forgives David, and how he forgives us as well.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_02: And so it's quite powerful.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_02: Um now the the illustration that Nathan uses.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, Mickey, would you go ahead and read um verses one through six of chapter twelve, please?
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so 2 Samuel 12.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: And the Lord sent Nathan unto David, and he came unto him and said unto him, There were two men in the city, or in one city, the one rich and the other poor.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing save one little o lamb, which he had bought and nourished up, and it grew up together with him, and with his w and with his children.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: It did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he sp he spared to take of the own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was to come unto him, but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was to come to him.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done the thing shall surely die, and he shall restore the land fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he did, he had no pity.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_02: And then verse seven, the beginning of that verse.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: And Nathan said to David, Oh, I'm sorry, go ahead.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_02: And Nathan said to David, Thou art a man.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_02: And I no matter how many times I read that verse, I'm always struck by the directness of that, and yet let's look at verse twelve.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_02: Verse twelve is a in the midst of what the Lord is saying to David through Nathan the Prophet, and um so verses seven to ten are good verses to study, to see what God says to Nathan, and yet verse eleven, the first part of the verse, or verse twelve, sorry.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_02: Strikes me as um because that's another area I think where Satan or the enemy influences us.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_02: He influences us to think that oh you can do whatever you want to in secret, as long as nobody physically is around you.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_02: Go ahead, do whatever you want.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_02: But here when it says in verse twelve, the beginning of it, for thou didst it secretly that should help us understand that it doesn't matter whether people see what we do, or if we're all alone.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_02: God sees, and yet God still is merciful and gracious enough to forgive us, to help us be restored to Himself.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_02: I I always go back to thinking about before Satan became Satan because God did not create Satan.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_02: God created Lucifer as one of his angels.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_02: And in Isaiah fourteen, verses twelve through fourteen, we have that experience that that shift that happened in Lucifer's mind to become Satan, and that always is interesting to me that God created Lucifer, and Lucifer chose to do what he did.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_02: And so it's not that God created evil, it's not that God created negativity or any other bad circumstance or thought, whatever.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_02: It's that Satan, our ultimate enemy, chose to do what he did to have those five statements of his found in Isaiah 14, verses twelve through fourteen.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_02: I believe that that was the statement that sealed it for God that says, No, you're not.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not having anyone be like myself.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's what I believe caused Lucifer then becoming Satan, being banished from heaven.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_02: And so, but now getting back to 2 Samuel chapter 12 and understanding that God does see, He sees everything, and our minds are not meant to comprehend how, or to trust that God understands things, or to trust that he in his timing, in his way, will make all things new.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_02: And so, but just to point that out as well, that yes, even though David did what he did secretly, God mentions that he would do what he would do.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_02: Let's notice twelve, for thou didst it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_02: Now, continuing on, noticing verse thirteen now.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_02: And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_02: Correct response.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_02: Very correct response.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_02: Now, Satan may influence you to be like, man, you don't have to worry about what you did.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_02: You don't, you know, it's not important for you to confess that, or um, you can just keep living your life as you want to, and it'll be okay.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_02: Oh.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_02: But continuing on, verse thirteen.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_02: And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also has put away thy sin.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_02: Thou shalt not die.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_02: And even that shows us that God is ready, willing, able to forgive us.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_02: He's not He's not up in heaven holding grudges.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_02: He's not being like, Man, you did this.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_02: How could you?
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not forgiving you ever again.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: That was your last straw.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_02: He's he's not like that.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_02: And yet the enemy, Satan, comes and influences us to think, well, man, I really messed up.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_02: And I think I'll just, you know, live discouraged and defeated and depressed and with this pit in my soul, in my stomach, and just try to survive somehow.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_02: No, please don't.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_02: Don't feel you have to live that way.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_02: Because there's there's so much freedom and understanding God's genuine character.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_02: And like I said, I do believe that 2 Samuel chapters eleven and twelve are powerful chapters to continually study, to continually bring to remembrance.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_02: When Satan influences you to think that, you know, God has given up on you and you're worthless, and you know, you should just give up.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_02: No, no, no, no, no, no.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_02: Never.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_02: Wherever, ever.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_02: Never.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_02: Because I believe to give up is to give in to the enemy.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_02: And remember that's what the enemy wants, but he's a liar.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_02: He never tells the truth, never draws people closer to God.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_02: He always draws them further away.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_02: And that's not who God is.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_02: Like we say, God loves you.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_02: God wants you to live your most abundant life, even here on earth.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_02: And that means understanding God's genuine character.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_02: And so as we continue on here in Second Samuel twelve.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_02: Since God forgave Nathan, since God forgave David, sorry for that.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_02: Since God forgave David, does that mean that David didn't suffer any more consequences?
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_02: No.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_02: Look at verse 14.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_02: How be it because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_02: The child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_02: If that was them receiving that news.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: And he's gonna torture you with it over and over and over and over again until you come to the reality of what God's character is all about.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: Because once we realize God's character is okay, you've asked for forgiveness, and there might be some consequences to your behavior, but um, because you know, when you do things that are bad, you get punished for them.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_00: But um, I I accept your apology, you know, I get you recognize that you've done wrong.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: I forgive you.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_00: And God doesn't keep coming back and going, but remember when you, remember when you remember when you.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: Only the enemy does that.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_00: The enemy is the one that keeps you staying stuck in that sin.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: And also what also keeps people from continuing into that sin because we feel like we can't let go of it after, like God's never gonna forgive that sin.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: He forgives you the moment you ask for it, and then it's done, it's washed away.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_00: There's there's it's no more.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_00: We are the ones that hold on to the grudge.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_00: Like you said, God doesn't hold that grudge, we do, and we need to make sure that we understand that God's characteristic is not one of um he doesn't go back into our um our memory of all of the bad things we did and bring them up just to prove a point.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: He's not that kind of a God.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_00: Now, as human beings, because we're fleshly, we live in this body that we have, and we're not supernatural.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_00: We we tend to act like that um because the enemy literally tantalizes us with it.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_00: But God being, you know, all almighty and supernatural, we can't even fathom what God really thinks about us as much as he does, because God is just so magnificent and so gracious that we think one little wrongdoing and we're doomed.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: We're doomed.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: But the thing is, is we're we're we would all be doomed.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: And it would have been pointless for Jesus to come and die on the cross for us um if we didn't realize that once we've accepted that gift of salvation, we're free from that that from being doomed.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_00: We don't have to be doomed anymore.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_00: Now we need to have a change of heart.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: We need to, we need to like what you said, um David's response was correct in knowing that he displeased the Lord.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: He knew he made a mistake.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_00: That is a heart posture, and when you recognize that and it allows you to have your heart changed with it, God will see and recognize that as well.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where the blessings and the promises come in because when he sees that you actually have a heart change to the things that you did wrong and you want to do right and correct it, God's gonna bless you for that, and he'll bless you abundantly.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I just wanted to share that with you because I thought that was an um interesting point to add in there.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and to understand that God does not condemn us once we're Christians.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_02: Romans 8:1, there is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_02: It's Satan, our enemy, who brings the condemnation.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it's interesting, we hear so much about well, self-condemnation or condemnation in general, and it's like, no, not for the Christian.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_02: And so even to recognize God doesn't condemn us, it's Satan who condemns us, it's Satan who keeps bringing up our past in that, it's the Holy Spirit who convicts, and so to understand just that, even, is important, I think.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_02: And so to continue on here in chapter twelve, we see here in verse sixteen.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_02: David therefore besought God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night upon the earth.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_02: Verse seventeen and the elders of the house arose and went to him to raise him up from the earth, but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_02: And then verse 18 tells us on the seventh day the child died.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_02: And then it goes on to say how that those same elders of the house were nervous about telling David what had happened because they knew what he had done when he found out that the child was sick.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_02: But in verse twenty, after David receives the news that the child is dead.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_02: Then he came to his own house, and when he had and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_02: Verse twenty one Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done?
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_02: Thou didst fast and weep for the child while it was alive, but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_02: Verse twenty two and he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me that the child might left?
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_02: Verse twenty three But now he is dead.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_02: Wherefore should I fast?
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_02: Can I bring him back again?
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_02: I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_02: No.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_02: Today, if there would be a situation like this that would happen what would some how would some people respond to that?
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_02: They might respond like David did, but how often do we see when a negative circumstance comes up in a person's life, in a Christian's life?
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_02: And what's their response?
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_02: They reject God.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_02: They give in to Satan's attack of well, you know, why did why did God do this?
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_02: This horrible thing.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_02: Why did God do that?
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_02: Now we need to remember though, Satan is a liar, but Satan is also a thief who steals, kills, and destroys.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_02: And so, yes, I believe that God understands when we would initially have, you know, questions about why something happened.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_02: But the key there, I believe, is to not dwell on that to understand that God is not the thief.
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_02: God loves us with a love that we can't understand with a the most pure unconditional love that you know we as humans don't even have of ourselves because we do live in a sin cursed world.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's why I say David's response here should be an example for us to be like really understanding that God's not the thief.
• 41:41
  SPEAKER_02: God didn't create negativity or anything like that.
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_02: God wants us to live with him, and Christians will live with him.
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_02: And so to recognize that, yes, I do believe God does understand when we have those initial moments of okay, um what what what's going on here?
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_02: I I don't understand, but when we would choose to give in to that negative circumstance or thought, we are wise to confess that, to trust that God will rescue us from going any further in that direction.
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_02: And as we continue on, then in chapter twelve, verse twenty-four tells us that God did bless David with another son, Solomon.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_02: We also see in verse twenty nine how David did the Of what he did at the beginning of chapter eleven.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_02: At the beginning of chapter eleven, he tarried.
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_02: But here in chapter twelve, verse twenty-nine, and David gathered all the people together and went to Rebel and fought against it and took it.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_02: And then at the end of verse thirty one, so David and all the people returned onto Jerusalem.
• 44:58
  SPEAKER_02: And so we see within these two chapters God's true, genuine character, David's correct response, which should be a testament to us that we don't have to reject God when negative circumstances or negative thoughts come into our minds.
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_02: We need to draw closer to God during those times.
• 45:49
  SPEAKER_02: And again, that's why I strongly believe that 2 Samuel 11 and 12 are two of the foundational chapters that people need to consistently study to help them understand God's genuine character.
• 46:19
  SPEAKER_02: That God doesn't forsake us when we sin.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_02: He wants us to come to him, to confess, to be renewed, restored.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_02: And so I do believe that Second Samuel twelve ends on a high note for us to really understand the truth and to grab hold of reality.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_02: So study it for yourself.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_02: One of the greatest tools, I believe, is Blue Letter Bible dot org.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_02: And you can go in there and just study, dig deep into God's truth, into God's word.org.
• 48:01
  SPEAKER_02: And I don't I don't know if the narration caught that correctly.
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um but Mickey, I think you can put it correctly in the show notes.
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_02: But that's another great resource to not only study verses, but to study similar verses to um individual verses.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_02: And so um that's one great thing about the advancement in technology, is that now there's no excuse for not studying the Bible because it it is literally at our fingertips.
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_02: Are we choosing to study it as I believe God wants us to?
• 49:15
  SPEAKER_02: And so this has been a great time.
• 49:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I trust that you all will join us again for our next um session together.
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_02: And so, Mickey, do you have anything to close us out with?
• 49:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I wanted to mention um, though, before we we we finalize our closing today, is that in the beginning in chapter 11, you were talking about how David made a choice.
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_00: He he he was able to choose.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_00: And we live in a world where God actually gave Satan um rulership over the whole entire world, basically.
• 50:04
  SPEAKER_00: But in the Bible it says we are not to conform to the world.
• 50:09
  SPEAKER_00: So as Christians, it it can be difficult because we live in the world, we live on earth, we're not in heaven yet, we're we're not up with God yet.
• 50:17
  SPEAKER_00: So it it's it's really a battle.
• 50:19
  SPEAKER_00: That's where the battle of um you know the warfare in our mind comes from because we battle every day what Satan is trying to achieve.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_00: And he's not gonna stop trying to achieve his goal.
• 50:30
  SPEAKER_00: He has a goal, and that is to get every person that he can to turn against God.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_00: And so when we're making these decisions and these choices, sometimes I know for a fact that sometimes people, if God were to take their child, like he did here with David, that would that would turn them against God.
• 50:52
  SPEAKER_00: That would turn them the other direction, you know.
• 50:55
  SPEAKER_00: But but David did the right thing.
• 50:57
  SPEAKER_00: David didn't do that.
• 50:58
  SPEAKER_00: He he went, he prayed, he fasted, um, and um God blessed him with another child.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_00: Now, some people would be like, Well, is God really that mean?
• 51:07
  SPEAKER_00: Well, there are consequences to our behavior.
• 51:10
  SPEAKER_00: When when we spank our children, are we mean or are we just disciplining them?
• 51:15
  SPEAKER_00: Some people nowadays we live in a world where parents aren't allowed to spank their children, and then we wonder what's wrong with them because we're too soft, you know, and and and we um have allowed the world to tell us how to raise our children instead of how the Bible tells us how to raise our children.
• 51:34
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 51:34
  SPEAKER_00: And so with these consequences and stuff, we have to understand that God is a sovereign God.
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_00: He He is He is just, He is loving, He is kind.
• 51:43
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, it may look as though, man, that's a real cruel thing to do.
• 51:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's a real cruel thing to do, is God punished me by taking my child.
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um sometimes I think God knows us so well that He knows that that is the only consequence he can do to get you to straighten up.
• 52:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, he has to go to that extreme because because we we won't stop.
• 52:07
  SPEAKER_00: And he he wants you to be great at what you're doing, he wants you to thrive, but sometimes he he has to put you through that consequence in order for you to overcome it.
• 52:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, so it as horrible as it may seem, in the chapter, um David handled himself the correct way, he did the right thing, and that's what outcome we were supposed to have.
• 52:30
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I know some people don't always have that outcome.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, sometimes they they go against God, they retaliate against God, they blame God for everything, they go back to the why, why, why, why, why.
• 52:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's because they don't know his character.
• 52:42
  SPEAKER_00: Right, they don't understand his genuine um characteristics, and he does they don't understand how God actually designed us to handle certain circumstances, um, how to handle living in the world, how to handle the enemy's attacks when he comes, and how to be armored up all the time.
• 53:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I love what you're saying to get into this word and actually dissect it and read it.
• 53:10
  SPEAKER_00: And don't just, like you said, don't just check off the box.
• 53:13
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, I read that verse, I read that verse.
• 53:16
  SPEAKER_00: Take each verse apart and find out what it means, and you can compare it to other verses and and chapters in the Bible and see what it says about it.
• 53:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um I hear a lot of people say, Well, reading the Bible is so confusing.
• 53:28
  SPEAKER_00: I don't I don't find it confusing.
• 53:31
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like the more I read it, the more I have to read it, the more I want to read it, the more I gotta have more.
• 53:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's like a it's like a good book.
• 53:37
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to put it down, you know?
• 53:39
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 53:39
  SPEAKER_00: And um, or you just don't want the the series or the movie to end.
• 53:43
  SPEAKER_00: You just want it to keep coming because it's so good.
• 53:46
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, there are some times that I get confused, but that's because we live in a fleshly body.
• 53:50
  SPEAKER_00: We don't have the mind of Christ.
• 53:53
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 53:53
  SPEAKER_00: So, but this this word will help us to develop a mind like Christ.
• 54:00
  SPEAKER_00: We won't have the mind of Christ, but we will have a mind like Christ.
• 54:04
  SPEAKER_00: And one thing I I was talking to someone about the other day about when you pick up your cross, Jesus doesn't say go pick up my cross.
• 54:12
  SPEAKER_00: He says pick up your cross.
• 54:14
  SPEAKER_00: So he's not saying that when you pick up my cross, you instantly become Christ.
• 54:19
  SPEAKER_00: He's saying you pick up your cross and you become accountable for yourself.
• 54:23
  SPEAKER_00: You take accountability for you and you make the decisions.
• 54:26
  SPEAKER_00: You get to choose, is it gonna be the right way or the wrong way?
• 54:29
  SPEAKER_00: Are you gonna be David?
• 54:31
  SPEAKER_00: Are you gonna choose, you know, Bathsheba and and and steal her away from her husband and have a child with her and do all of that horrible stuff with her?
• 54:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, could you imagine how horrible that was for Bathsheba to lose her child because of what David did?
• 54:45
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and and and this happens so much in the world today.
• 54:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like we have no idea how much this really happens.
• 54:51
  SPEAKER_00: Even still today, this is happening, actually, more so, more so than back then, because we live in such a corrupted world.
• 54:58
  SPEAKER_00: Our world is very um, we are very, we don't have any morals, basically.
• 55:05
  SPEAKER_00: No integrity, we don't feel bad.
• 55:07
  SPEAKER_00: If we hurt people, we don't even feel bad for it.
• 55:09
  SPEAKER_00: We have no remorse, we have no empathy, and um it's so discouraging because um God wants us to have everything that he planned for us if we just get into his word and find out what it is that he wants for us, and then we go after it because we we are going to be better people and we are going to um rise up to the occasion to live up to God's given purpose for our life because that is his characteristic.
• 55:39
  SPEAKER_00: He actually designed us with a God-giving purpose and um and an assignment.
• 55:46
  SPEAKER_00: I I love to tell people, what is your assignment?
• 55:48
  SPEAKER_00: And they're like, What do you mean?
• 55:49
  SPEAKER_00: I have an assignment.
• 55:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, God created you with an assignment in mind, he has something for you to do.
• 55:55
  SPEAKER_00: What are you doing?
• 55:56
  SPEAKER_00: If you're not doing anything and you say you're a Christian, I worry about your Christianity.
• 56:01
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 56:02
  SPEAKER_00: It makes me question it.
• 56:03
  SPEAKER_00: And and I'm not gonna judge you um with people that say, Oh, I'm a Christian, but I'm I'm like, okay, well, how how often do you read the Bible?
• 56:12
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, never.
• 56:12
  SPEAKER_00: Well, how often do you go to church?
• 56:14
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, I go on Easter and Christmas, you know, you know, twice a year, maybe.
• 56:19
  SPEAKER_00: It may be.
• 56:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, how often do you pray for yourself and others?
• 56:23
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, I only pray like when there's a car wreck and and and it's detrimental to, you know, to I'm gonna lose someone I really care about.
• 56:30
  SPEAKER_00: Then I go run into God.
• 56:32
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and God is not made of convenience.
• 56:35
  SPEAKER_00: He's not a convenient God, he's a just God.
• 56:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I try to explain to people if you're not living up to your assignment, you know, I would definitely dive into the word and make sure that you are Christian, that you really are living out the Christ like because it does say in in the Bible that He's there's gonna be people that He's gonna say, Department from me because I do not know you.
• 56:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 56:57
  SPEAKER_00: So we have to be careful with that in the decisions that we're making.
• 57:00
  SPEAKER_00: And we also need to understand, though, that when we truly do accept Jesus Christ into our heart, God doesn't take that back.
• 57:08
  SPEAKER_00: I I give this example with my Sunday school kids back in the day when I used to teach.
• 57:15
  SPEAKER_00: I used to tell um the parents, I used to say, How often do you give your kid a sucker?
• 57:20
  SPEAKER_00: And they say, Oh, you know, whenever you give them a sucker.
• 57:22
  SPEAKER_00: Now, how often do you just walk over and just take it out of their mouth and take it back?
• 57:26
  SPEAKER_00: Well, never.
• 57:27
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, that's how that's our salvation.
• 57:29
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus doesn't do that, he doesn't give you your sucker and then rip it out of your mouth and say, I want that back.
• 57:34
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry, you know, and and and it's kind of a weird analogy, but it really makes you see a picture in it, you know, like God really wouldn't do that to us.
• 57:44
  SPEAKER_00: He wouldn't send his only begotten son to die for us just to take it back.
• 57:49
  SPEAKER_00: That would be ridiculous.
• 57:52
  SPEAKER_00: So it um it's crazy.
• 57:54
  SPEAKER_00: There's so much talk in the I don't know if you're following media or not, but there's so much talk in the media.
• 57:59
  SPEAKER_00: Once saved, always saved, not saved, never saved.
• 58:02
  SPEAKER_00: You know, like all of the am I saved, am I not saved?
• 58:05
  SPEAKER_00: If you're not sure, I just I just suggest, like you said, get into the word and study it for yourself.
• 58:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um pray about it, ask God.
• 58:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yes, you can ask God a hundred times over to come into your heart.
• 58:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's nothing wrong with asking over and over again, but you need to have faith.
• 58:24
  SPEAKER_00: You need to believe that what God says is also true.
• 58:27
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you keep doubting that, then you're actually doubting God.
• 58:30
  SPEAKER_00: And that's actually an insult.
• 58:32
  SPEAKER_00: That's actually an insult to God.
• 58:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we're not supposed to be doing that either.
• 58:36
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're really not sure, it is okay to pray.
• 58:40
  SPEAKER_00: But once you pray it, you need to stand on that faith and be like, you know, I'm saved now.
• 58:44
  SPEAKER_00: God loves me.
• 58:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, even though I'm still a mess, I'm still gonna mess up.
• 58:48
  SPEAKER_00: David messed up, but he fessed up.
• 58:50
  SPEAKER_00: You know, he he corrected his behavior.
• 58:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and God loved him still.
• 58:56
  SPEAKER_00: God even sent the prophet to him to keep him in line with Solomon all the way through the Bible to where, you know, he put him right in the place that he needed him to be, even with his mistakes.
• 59:06
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what God does.
• 59:08
  SPEAKER_00: God loves us no matter what, even our mistakes.
• 59:10
  SPEAKER_00: And just like your own child, when your kid messes up, you don't just kill them because they messed up.
• 59:17
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's days you want to choke the snot out of them, but you know, you don't, you know, you still love them.
• 59:22
  SPEAKER_00: And you just you you what you do is you get burdened for them because you want to see them do the correct thing and you see them doing the wrong thing.
• 59:30
  SPEAKER_00: And it and it does, I I I mean, I can only imagine how how much it hurts God when we are like just misbehaving all the time, you know.
• 59:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 59:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but when I when I compare that with like children of my own, it's like, oh, I wish they would stop doing that.
• 59:44
  SPEAKER_00: Do they understand how reckless that is, how dangerous that is, how unsmart or whatever it is?
• 59:48
  SPEAKER_00: And you try to teach them and teach them and teach them, and they just don't want to learn.
• 59:52
  SPEAKER_00: And um, that doesn't mean I will ever stop loving them.
• 59:57
  SPEAKER_00: Ever.
• 59:58
  SPEAKER_00: And so God will never stop loving us, no matter how many mistakes we make.
• 1:00:03
  SPEAKER_00: But we do have to own up to them.
• 1:00:04
  SPEAKER_00: We have to, we do need to confess to them, and we just need to ask God to forgive us.
• 1:00:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's really that simple to say, Lord, forgive me.
• 1:00:11
  SPEAKER_00: Help me, help me so I don't do it again.
• 1:00:13
  SPEAKER_00: And if you do do it again, just ask for forgiveness again.
• 1:00:18
  SPEAKER_00: That doesn't mean you get a card of merit, you know, I'm gonna give you 10 Hail Marys and you can run off and do it 10 more times.
• 1:00:24
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't work that way.
• 1:00:25
  SPEAKER_00: There's no merits.
• 1:00:27
  SPEAKER_00: You don't get the card of here, I'm gonna give you the go go go sin freely card.
• 1:00:33
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it doesn't work, and that doesn't even exist.
• 1:00:36
  SPEAKER_00: And people that talk about that drives me crazy because um we are sinners.
• 1:00:42
  SPEAKER_00: Naturally, we're sinners because we were born right into sin, thanks to Adam and Eve.
• 1:00:47
  SPEAKER_00: But um, we also were given with a mind to be able to make a decision and a choice in the matter.
• 1:00:54
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes it's hard.
• 1:00:56
  SPEAKER_00: It can be really hard, and God knows that.
• 1:00:58
  SPEAKER_00: God knows that.
• 1:00:59
  SPEAKER_00: That's why He tests us.
• 1:01:00
  SPEAKER_00: But having that being said, that was a great lesson.
• 1:01:03
  SPEAKER_00: I I loved it.
• 1:01:04
  SPEAKER_00: I thought it was wonderful.
• 1:01:06
  SPEAKER_00: I can't wait to um to to hear about what you want to do next week, what lesson we're gonna dive into.
• 1:01:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, are you thinking that you might stay in Samuel, or do you think you're gonna shift over?
• 1:01:20
  SPEAKER_02: Pardon me?
• 1:01:21
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm not sure yet.
• 1:01:23
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay.
• 1:01:25
  SPEAKER_00: Well, with with today's lesson, it was it was really good.
• 1:01:28
  SPEAKER_00: You you taught us a lot, and um, it really is an eye-opener for us to consider that, you know, um when we talk about God, we don't talk about God as having a characteristic.
• 1:01:40
  SPEAKER_00: We don't ever think about what what he is all about, the type of um God that we actually serve, you know.
• 1:01:48
  SPEAKER_00: And his characteristics are some of them are far beyond our measure.
• 1:01:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we can't we're we're never gonna know until the day we get to to be with God.
• 1:01:56
  SPEAKER_00: When we get to heaven and we have our our new bodies and we're in the spiritual realm with him, we will actually get to see the how much how ma magnificent God really is, is what I'm trying to say.
• 1:02:09
  SPEAKER_00: And how much power he holds, and how you know it's and it's funny because as as minute as sometimes as we think we are, God still loves us abundantly.
• 1:02:19
  SPEAKER_00: So, and I love that because people will be like, well, there's millions of people on the earth, you know, what does God care about?
• 1:02:25
  SPEAKER_00: All of these people, he cares about every single one of us.
• 1:02:29
  SPEAKER_00: Without it, without he's not even a respecter of persons, he doesn't love you know Joe Joe Blow more than Marianne or whatever.
• 1:02:36
  SPEAKER_00: You know, he loves you equally.
• 1:02:38
  SPEAKER_00: There is no, you know, we do that in our fleshly lives, and Satan teaches us to do that, by the way.
• 1:02:45
  SPEAKER_00: Be like, oh, that person doesn't love you as much as that person, or you know what I mean?
• 1:02:49
  SPEAKER_00: And it gets you thinking, and then you think, oh, we're not loved as much, you know.
• 1:02:53
  SPEAKER_00: That's the enemy.
• 1:02:54
  SPEAKER_00: Those are the lies of the enemy.
• 1:02:55
  SPEAKER_00: And it's good to expose those because we need to understand how much God truly does desire just to love us.
• 1:03:03
  SPEAKER_00: He's not out to hurt us, he's out to love us.
• 1:03:06
  SPEAKER_00: You know, just like we want to love our own kids.
• 1:03:09
  SPEAKER_00: Like we want every day to be honky-dory with our kids, and we know they're gonna mess up.
• 1:03:13
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 1:03:13
  SPEAKER_00: Every day they're gonna mess up.
• 1:03:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, it would be, you know, we don't live in that perfect world where we get to have that that that greatness, but we will one day when we get to heaven.
• 1:03:24
  SPEAKER_00: So with that being said, um, would you like to close us out in prayer today?
• 1:03:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 1:03:30
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:03:31
  SPEAKER_02: All right, dear Lord, I thank you so very much for this time.
• 1:03:37
  SPEAKER_02: Lord, we we need to take time for your truth.
• 1:03:47
  SPEAKER_02: We need to not only read it, but to truly study it, to truly understand that yes, we do have an enemy, but you love us, and you want us to know you for who you are.
• 1:04:22
  SPEAKER_02: You want us to come to you.
• 1:04:26
  SPEAKER_02: So Lord, we thank you for 2 Samuel eleven and twelve.
• 1:04:34
  SPEAKER_02: We thank you for so much truth within those chapters that people are wise to study.
• 1:04:49
  SPEAKER_02: So Lord, we thank you again for what you will do through this time to those who listen, those who watch, that you would impact them to know you know you more and not to give in to Satan, to understand that Satan is a liar, he is the thief.
• 1:05:26
  SPEAKER_02: So, Lord, we thank you for what you will do in our lives in Jesus' name.
• 1:05:33
  SPEAKER_02: Amen.
• 1:05:34
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 1:05:35
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for that.
• 1:05:36
  SPEAKER_00: So, for all of our listeners out there today, this was another great episode of Truth Be Told.
• 1:05:40
  SPEAKER_00: If you have any questions, don't don't be afraid to engage.
• 1:05:44
  SPEAKER_00: Just reach out to um Bethany or myself.
• 1:05:48
  SPEAKER_00: You can reach out to wherever you're watching this, whatever platform you're on.
• 1:05:51
  SPEAKER_00: You can go to our website.
• 1:05:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um both websites will be in the show notes, so you can reach out to us there.
• 1:05:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, if you have any questions or you want to know more, or you don't understand anything that we've talked about today, just reach out and ask us.
• 1:06:03
  SPEAKER_00: We'll be glad to share it with you and and um give you some guidance in that area.
• 1:06:07
  SPEAKER_00: And if you need any type of coaching or you need some reassurance, um Bethany has a really good program and she's got some really good information.
• 1:06:16
  SPEAKER_00: She's got some really good books for you to um check out.
• 1:06:18
  SPEAKER_00: She's got a lot to offer in her webpage, so go check her out.
• 1:06:22
  SPEAKER_00: And um, we just want to thank you all for being here today.
• 1:06:24
  SPEAKER_00: It was another great episode.
• 1:06:25
  SPEAKER_00: And Bethany, I thank you for for co hosting with me.
• 1:06:29
  SPEAKER_00: And um to all of our listen listeners today, I just hope you have a great and blessed day, and y'all take care.