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Trusting His Correction | Pastor Kami Palmer | Faith Church · Faith Church Podcast

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So we've been talking about, from the book of
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Hebrews, and I've been telling you that I'm going
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to be preaching this word. And I really wanted
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to set it up, though, because the verses leading
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up to the middle of Hebrews 12 are all verses
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that should encourage you and cause you to, with
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anticipation and joy, receive what the middle
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of Hebrews 12 says. And so the previous sermons,
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we've been talking about running our race and
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how God wants us to do well in our race, and
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he's setting us up to run it well. Last week
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we talked about thriving, right? Being a green
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leaf and thriving. All of that is to set us up
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for Hebrews 12. And one of my favorite verses
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is in Isaiah 48, 17. And it simply says, the
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Lord teaches you to profit. The Lord teaches
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you to profit. Now that's not just about profit
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financially. This is about profiting in my spiritual
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life, in my emotions, in my family. It's profit
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in all areas. Do I figure that out on my own?
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No. The Lord teaches me to do that. And so our
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text is out of Romans chapter 12. And we've just
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finished. Talking about running our race, and
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we finished with, here's how you run the race
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well. You consider him who endured, right? You
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look to Jesus who endured. And so directly following
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that verse, in verse 5, it says, and have you
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completely forgotten this word of encouragement
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that addresses you as a father addresses his
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son? It says, my son, do not make light of the
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Lord's discipline and do not lose heart when
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he rebukes you because the Lord disciplines the
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one he loves and he chastens everyone he accepts
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as his son. Endure hardship as discipline. God
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is treating you as children. For what children
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are not disciplined by their father? If you are
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not disciplined, and everyone undergoes discipline,
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then you are not legitimate. You are not true
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sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have
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all had human fathers who disciplined us, and
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we respected them for it. How much more should
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we submit to the father of spirits and live?
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They disciplined us for a little while as they
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thought best. But God disciplines us for our
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good, in order that we may share in his holiness.
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No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but
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painful. Later on, however, It produces a harvest
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of righteousness and peace for those who have
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been trained by it. Now, this passage is coming
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from a time in a culture where they assume that
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there are fathers and mothers that are training
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up their children, right? And we know, I was
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blessed to have that, and I'm thankful for the
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discipline of my parents and my grandmother.
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But not everybody has had that kind of a relationship
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with a father or a mother where they have been
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trained and disciplined. Or if they have, it's
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been on the extreme side of abusiveness that
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is not discipline and is not training. That is
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the fruit of temper, anger, and perverseness.
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And so for some of us, this is going to be hard
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to truly get what it looks like for a father
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to truly discipline. You've never experienced
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it. You just don't really have much clue what
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that looks like. This is why it says the Lord
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teaches us. What I don't want is for those of
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you that experienced that to feel like, well,
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that's not for me because I've not ever experienced
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that. No, you have a perfect father that will
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teach you, if you are open to it, what that looks
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like. And will, in the process, heal woundedness
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from that. He's fully able to do that. And so
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I just want to say that as we're looking at that,
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looking forward into this sermon, there's that
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understanding that for some of you, this might
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be a whole new concept you need the Lord to teach
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you and what it looks like for a father to discipline
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and to train. And so this morning, we're going
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to start with a story from a man after God's
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own heart, King David. And this is following
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King David's affair. and subsequent murder of
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another person, not himself, right? So it starts
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in the story of King David not being where he
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should be in the spring. All of the other kings
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were out fighting in battle, and he was still
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at home. He was lounging at home when he should
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have been out to war. So to begin with, he wasn't
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where he should have been. And so his gaze found
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Bathsheba bathing on the housetop. And he desired
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her. And so he took her. I'm the king. I can
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take whoever or whatever I want. And so she became
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pregnant. Well, now his sin is going to find
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him out because her husband was where he should
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have been. He was out fighting on behalf of King
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David. And so while Bathsheba's wife is fighting
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for King David, King David had an affair with
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his wife. So now she's pregnant, and David has
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to cover his sin. And he does that through having,
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through a set of circumstances, her husband killed
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in battle. And so this is where we find King
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David. Now, I also want to say this about discipline
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and correction of the Lord. For King David, this
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is the result of his sin. Not every discipline
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and correction is because you have some big sin
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in your life. Sometimes God is just wanting to
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train you. He's wanting to prepare you. He's
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wanting you to learn the ways of the kingdom.
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In fact, in Proverbs 30, it says there are some
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things that the earth can't tolerate. The earth
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can't abide. And that is a servant that becomes
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a king. Well, why is that? Because servants don't
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have the mentality, the paradigm of what it is
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to be royalty. And so there's no way they can
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occupy the role of a king. They only know what
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it is to be a servant, to have a servant mentality.
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And so it says the earth can't abide that. Well,
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think about what we've all come out of in our
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sin, in our past, in all of our willfulness before
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we met Jesus. And now it says we have Abba Father.
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Now we are stepping into the place of royalty.
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I think there's some things we need to learn
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about the kingdom, right? And so when we're talking
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about correction and discipline, it's not about
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just punishment. It is about consequences for
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sure, but it's also about training us in the
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ways of God's kingdom. And although David here
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is going to learn that there were consequences
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to his sin, really what this is about is that
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he was not doing his life kingdom -minded. And
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so it wasn't just a consequence, but God's trying
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to teach him, David, here's what you need to
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be to be a king of Israel. And so David has done
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all of this, and in 2 Samuel 12, the Lord sends
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to David a prophet who is a trusted friend of
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David's, and his name is Nathan. And so when
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Nathan comes to David, he says, he tells a parable,
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kind of like Jesus. And I know all of you that
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have watched VeggieTales are thinking of the
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king's duck, right? I know what you're all thinking.
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There were two men in a certain town, one rich
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and the other poor. The rich man had a very large
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number of sheep and cattle. But the poor man
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had nothing but one little ewe. He raised it,
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and it grew up with him and his children. It
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shared his food, it drank from his cup, and it
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even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter
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to him. Now a traveler came to the rich man,
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but the rich man refrained from taking one of
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his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for
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the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he
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went to his neighbor, he took the ewe lamb that
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belonged to the poor man and prepared it for
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the one who had come to him. Oh, it says in verse
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5 that David burned with anger against the man
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and said to Nathan, as surely as the Lord lives,
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the man who did this must die. He must pay for
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that lamb four times over because he did such
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a thing and had no pity. Oh, then comes the kicker.
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Nathan looks at David and says, David, you are
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that man. You are that man. And then there follows
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God's rebuke to David. over what he had done
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with Bathsheba and her husband. And so I want
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us, there's just a couple of takeaways today
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that I want us to look at to help us, because
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this is a gift. The correction, the discipline,
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the rebuke of the Lord is a gift to you. It means
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that he considers you. He's not pushing you away
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from him. What he's doing is trying to bring
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you closer to him. It means you're his daughter.
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It means you're his son. And he's trying to draw
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you closer into him. That's what the discipline
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and correction means. And so the first thing
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in our ability to endure and undergo that kind
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of rebuke and discipline and correction is that
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we first have to understand the heart of God
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in it. Okay? We have to understand the heart
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of God. And you guys, you hear me read this passage
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over and over. And I want us to go to it today.
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I started us out with it. But in Isaiah 48, this
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is another life passage for me. I should just
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write them all down. I don't know. I have so
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many of them that have truly been such foundational
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transformative verses. And this is one of them.
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And so it starts out in verse 13. This is what
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the Lord said. Now, he wrote this after addressing
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Israel as being strong -willed. They were exerting
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their own will. And so this is what God says
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to them in the face of that. I am the Lord your
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God who teaches you what is best for you. What
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I read earlier was a different version, who teaches
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you to profit. I think this is the NIV, it says
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he teaches what is best for you. And we often
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think we know what's best, right? Who directs
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you in the way you should go. If only you had
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paid attention to my commands, your peace would
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have been like a river. Your well -being like
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the waves of the sea. Your descendants would
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have been like the sand. Your children, like
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its numberless grains, their name would never
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be blotted out nor destroyed from me. This is
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such a powerful passage, and there's a couple
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of takeaways from it that I want us to get. And
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the first one is that he wants your best. And
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some of us, that's hard to really believe. Because
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nobody in life has wanted my best. And so now
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I believe I don't deserve best. But can I say
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to you, he is wanting to teach you what is best.
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He wants your best for you. He wants you to profit.
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He desires you to profit. He desires to establish
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a way of life that is peaceful. He desires a
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life for you that is one of well -being. He desires
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this to be a family legacy. Some of you, the
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legacy you inherited was not one of peace, was
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not one of well -being. He wants to establish
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a new family legacy through you. That's his best
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for you. That's why he gives his correction and
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his discipline. He's establishing a new family
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legacy. And so this means that his goal for you
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is not your creature comforts, how you're feeling
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and how comfortable you are right now. That's
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not his goal for you. His goal is a transformational,
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transforming legacy. to pass on to the generations.
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We cannot be short -sighted in this. He's creating
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a legacy that is ongoing and eternal beyond you
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being comfortable today. And that's hard because
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we like being comfortable. We don't like things
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like fasting. Because we get uncomfortable. But
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fasting is a way of training ourselves in righteousness.
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Now, once we trust that he wants what is best
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for us, we can then trust his direction. It's
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hard to trust his directing in your life if you
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don't trust his heart that he wants what is best
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for you. And so I actually asked, Gage and Kenzie
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aren't here today, and I asked her last night
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if I could share this testimony. What some of
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you older ones don't maybe know, because when
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you got married 50, 40 years ago, we had a different
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culture and society. But for our young adults,
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our younger families, getting married and not
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just living together, is a real sacrifice. It
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is very, our society and our government has not
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made it easy for our young people to get married.
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It costs them a lot of money when most of them
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don't have a lot of it to begin with. And so
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for them to take that step of obedience, I remember
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when Destiny and Les did that, they immediately
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lost money in child care. Thousands. So I've
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been going through marriage counseling with Gage
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and Kenzie. They're getting married in May. And
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if you don't know this yet, Kenzie has begun
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this semester with nursing school. And so in
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our discussion has arisen, well, if we can have
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just a ceremony and file the legal paperwork
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later, save her thousands of dollars with her
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FAFSA. And so Darren and I had the conversation
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with them just a couple weeks ago saying, there
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is this point in the process where we begin to
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trust the blessing of the Lord over the aid of
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the government, right? Now we can all agree,
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but that's a hard step to take because you will
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feel it. So they were, okay, we're going to do
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it legally. They'd made that decision, we're
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going to do it legally. Well, Darren had made
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that statement about trusting the blessing more,
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and so she messaged me Thursday, and she said,
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I had to share this with you. Ever since our
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meeting, I've been repeating that to myself every
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day about trusting the blessing. She said, I
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got a phone call today that... Through certain
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funding, not her FAFSA, but from funding from
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elsewhere, all of her schooling, all of her schooling
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has been covered. All of it. I read it and I
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laughed, didn't I? I laughed. What did they do?
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They decided to trust. That God wanted their
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best. And so they aligned their life to that.
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And God came through. God came through. Praise
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the Lord. So when we begin, what is she doing?
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What is her engaged doing now in that moment?
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They are beginning to build their story of God's
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faithfulness to them. Right? That's now become
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a foundation to build their family on when God
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reveals his faithfulness to them in that way.
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And so now the next time they feel a direction
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of the Lord, what are they going to do? They're
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going to be a little more likely, aren't they,
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to come into alignment with God's direction.
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Now they can trust the heart of God for them.
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And so they will now. much easier follow in the
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direction that he wants them to go. And so that's
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our second point there is that now we're trusting
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his direction. So I learned something in small
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group on Wednesday night that aircrafts, if they
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by one degree, there's a rule, a rule that is
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called the one in 60 rule. Okay, everybody say
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one in 60 rule. A one degree, often stated as
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a 1%, course deviation. So just one degree, 1
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% of a course deviation results to being one
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nautical mile off track for every 60 nautical
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miles traveled. Okay, so you say, what does that
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mean? You boil that down to this. A one degree
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error on a flight from Los Angeles to Rome will
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land you in Africa. A one degree, a 1 % off from
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Los Angeles to Rome will land you in Africa.
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And see, sometimes we're just, Lord, we're just
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a little bit. I'm not hugely walking in a direction
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foreign to God, but there's this one area that
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I really want my will to be done. And it won't
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hurt anything. It's just 1%. It's just one degree.
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For the most part, I'm still going in his direction
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that he wants me to go. I'm still doing it his
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way. Listen, that 1 % is all that stinking devil
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needs, and we will find ourself in a place we
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never thought we would be, out in Africa. We
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think it's not much. This is why we sing what
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we do this morning. We're going to be completely
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consumed. We give it all. We don't hold anything
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back. Because it doesn't take much for us to
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begin to veer off track. In our passage in Hebrews
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12, it said, how much more then should we submit
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to the Father of spirits and live? They disciplined
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us for a little while as they thought best. But
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God disciplines us for our good that we may share
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in holiness. And so once you trust, he wants
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your best. You can trust his direction. And once
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you trust his direction, now you are truly open
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to correction. Now you have a teachable spirit.
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Have you ever tried to teach somebody that doesn't
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have a teachable spirit? Oh, she's here. I'm
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going to use her as an example. Chris Northrup
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down here. I tell this story a lot, Chris. Steve
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and Chris are from our church in Galesburg. And
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I have said, I can teach anybody to knit. Anybody.
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I have taught so many people to knit. I can teach
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anybody to knit. And then I would try to teach
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Chris. And I will tell you, she's been the only
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person I have failed to teach to knit. And do
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you know why? I don't know if you remember this,
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Chris. The whole time she kept saying, I just
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can't do this. I just can't do this. The whole
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time she was repeating, I just can't do this.
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Finally, I was like, no, you can't. Do you know
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why? Because she was... She was determined. She
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couldn't do this. Listen, there are things in
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your life that you think because of your past,
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because of your family, because of this or what
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you've done or before Jesus, the things that
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you did, that you can't do what God wants you
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to do. You can't live in accordance with his
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ways. And I'll tell you, it's just not true.
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If you will be open, we're going to have to have
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another knitting lesson, Chris. I'm determined
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now. We're going to change the narrative that
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you declare while we're doing that. Once you,
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it is that open, teachable spirit that is what
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gives you the ability to be empowered by and
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guided by the direction of God. It's being teachable.
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And so the correction of God that we find. Here
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in verse 7 of 2 Samuel, Nathan had said to David,
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remember, you are that man. And God began to
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then do what? Rebuke him. He began to, in fact,
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down in verse 12, God said to him, you did it
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in secret, your sin. This is why I'm always on
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about making the secret place beautiful. Because
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you win it in the secret place. You did it in
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secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight
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before all of Israel. He was going to rebuke
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and correct David. I love, though, David's immediate
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response. Because, see, David messed up a lot,
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but David did have a heart for God, and he was
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teachable, and he said, I have sinned against
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the Lord. And what you need to hear and be encouraged
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by is Nathan's response. Immediately, he says,
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the Lord has taken away your sin. You are not
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going to die. Immediately, the mercy of the Lord
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was showered down upon David on his confession.
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Now he said, but because by doing this you have
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shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born
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to you out of this sin will die. Now a couple
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of things in that. First of all, we said it,
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the secret place matters. The second thing we
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see here, and this might feel harsh to you, is
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that God was going to expose it in public. And
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there's just a couple of things I want us to
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be mindful in this verse. First of all, David
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was a king. And when you are king, you have greater
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responsibility. You live in public. And so he
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was going to be exposed in public. I feel that
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as I minister the word publicly. I am going to
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have a greater accountability for what I say
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and how I live because I have a public place
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here doing that. And so we need to take that
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in mind, that David was in that public office
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of being king. We see that across the board with
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the ministers that have been taken out of ministry
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in the last year across the nation. And it happens
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very publicly. Why? Because they are... people
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in the public face, right? And so they can't
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just repent and it all just be okay. No, they
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had to be removed from that place. So we take
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that into consideration. The other thing that
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I find fascinating in this is that David's life
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has always been a foreshadow of the Messiah.
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How he did worship, how he led, even his heart
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of worship. He had revelation in the old covenant
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that nobody else had of what the new covenant
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was going to be. So David is always, his life,
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his kingdom, his reign has been a foreshadow,
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right? Jesus came from the lineage of David.
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And I think that this is a beautiful foreshadow
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that all of our sin in the secret places, Jesus.
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publicly took on the cross. All of our sin and
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shame was exposed there on the cross. He didn't
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do it in the secret room in the back, take our
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sin. No, he did it on the cross in front of everybody.
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Now, having said all of that, I believe in the
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kindness of our Father, of God. And I believe
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that, like any good parent, that he brings us
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along in the easiest way that we will come. And
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some of us are very quick to respond when he
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brings that correction. Yes, Lord, I have sinned.
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And it's dealt with. Some of us have to learn
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our lessons a little bit harder. Some of us are
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a little more teachable than others. And so it's
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however we learn to respond to the Father. I
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believe he is not a God of humiliation, that
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he is not trying to deal with your stuff in front
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of everybody. It's the beauty of the secret place.
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And so just as in raising my four kids, they
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got a lot of correction, right? I did not correct
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them in front of other people. I was not wanting
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to humiliate my children in front of other people.
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That was the place of the secret place of their
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home. And I believe that's the heart of our Father.
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He's always, he's not the God of humiliation.
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Jesus took that humiliation. And so this is part
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of the ability to trust his correction and guidance.
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That he's always trying to cover you. He's always
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trying to do it in the easiest way possible.
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And he's always trying to do it in a place where
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you will feel safe and secure in receiving it.
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Amen? And so I just feel like we need to say
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that. That if we think that, oh, he's going to
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be like he was with David in front of everybody,
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expose my stuff. That's not the heart of our
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Father. Okay, and so it does say though in Hebrews
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12, and I want to throw this in again because
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we're not just talking about sin. We're using
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that example of King David, but it said in verse
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7 to endure hardship as discipline. God is treating
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you as children. And so your hardship, am I saying
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your hardship is a result of sin? I am not. I'm
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saying that hardship, if we will trust that he
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will use all things for our good, I'm saying
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hardship will train us for what is to come. Hardship
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will teach us what it is to not live as a servant,
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but to live as a son and a daughter of a most
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high God. When I am in the places of hardship,
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I will tell you, I understand that we said it
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last week, an enemy that is out to steal, kill,
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and destroy you. And when I'm talking to the
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enemy, I'm always rebuking and resisting. But
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when I'm turned toward the Father, I am embracing
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the hardship as the way that the Lord is teaching
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me and training me, disciplining me. Because
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in Hebrews 12, 11, later on in that passage,
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it says that later, once you have endured, later.
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And if you remember, we used that word endure
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when we talked about running our races, didn't
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we? That was a key word we saw, endure, endure,
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endure. It's the theme word for those Hebrews
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10 through 12, endure, endure, endure. When we
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endure, we will see then the harvest of righteousness
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and peace is a promise for us. And so we go through
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all that hard stuff, and it's not fun. Did any
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of us as kids enjoy being disciplined? No, we
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didn't. You're like, yeah, I'm getting a spanking
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today. No, we didn't. And I've always been such
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a one that wants to receive affirmation from
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my leadership because I want to please them.
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Even to think that, oh man, they're upset with
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me. It's hard. It's hard. We have to endure it.
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But let's just walk through the aftermath, can
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we? Once we have endured it, let's look at the
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beauty of the aftermath. Once David had gone
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through the rebuke of the Lord, And his child
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had died. Here's what it says in verse 20. Then
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David got up from the ground, because he had
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been in a place of grief, a heap of ashes, praying
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for his son. After he got up from the ground,
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After he had washed, put on lotions, and changed
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his clothes. What was he doing? He's saying,
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that isn't my identity anymore. I'm not in the
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place of grieving and mourning anymore. It says
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he went into the house of the Lord and worshipped.
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He went into the house of the Lord and worshipped.
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Then he went to his own house, and at his request
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they served him food, and he ate. What David
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didn't do in the face of all of the direction
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of the Lord, all of that, he did not wallow in
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shame. He did not wallow in regret. He did not
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wallow in sorrow. He began to worship. He began
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to worship. I think he learned his lesson well,
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didn't he, in that moment. And so in Hebrews
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12, verse 12, at the end of our passage there
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on the correction of the Lord, it says, Therefore,
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now that you have endured the correction, now
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that you've endured the hardship, therefore,
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strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. He's
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acknowledging that at the end, you're not going
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to feel all strong and glorious and ready to
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go forward in victory. No, you're going to feel
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weak. You're going to feel all of that lack of
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strength. And we think there's something wrong
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with our season because we feel weak, because
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we don't feel victorious. Can I just say, just
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maybe God is wanting to do a work of correction
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and training. And at the end of it, you will
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strengthen. your feeble arms and weak knees.
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You will make level paths for your feet so that
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the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
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He is not wanting you to go forever disabled.
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If you're going from that place of correction
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disabled, then you're missing something in the
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process. You're missing the healing. Because
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he always heals and restores. He always heals
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and restores. And so I'm going to ask if the
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worship team would come up. There was a time
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frame when David first had committed his adultery
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and murder. Nathan didn't come to David until
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the baby had, she had gone through nine months
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of pregnancy. So David had gone through a long
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season of thinking he's doing okay. And when
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it says that He got up and he changed his clothes
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and he went into the house of the Lord to worship.
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Do you know what I think that he wrote? Do you
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know what song I think he wrote when he went
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and worshiped? I think that's where we had Psalm
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51 come out of. I think that's where, I think
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it was in that moment. Where he had gotten up
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and he had gone into the house to worship. I
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think that's when he wrote Psalm 51. And we're
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not going to read all of Psalm 51. But I do want
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to read probably the passage we are most familiar
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with. And this would be a great one for you just
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to meditate on this week. Because when he's writing
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Psalm 51, he's talking about even emotionally.
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His nine -month season where he doesn't, because
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when it says, it says, restore to me the joy
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of my salvation. Well, what does that say to
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me? During that season, he didn't have the joy
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of salvation, right? And so I think it was a
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quiet season. I think it was a season where he
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didn't feel connected to God. I think it was
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a season where probably his worship songs were
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not flowing out of him. I have a feeling Psalm
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51 may have been one of the first he had written
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in a long time. But he writes in Psalm 51 in
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this prayer of repentance. Purge me with hyssop
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and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be
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whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness.
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That the bones you have broken may rejoice. That's
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the heart of the shepherd. That sometimes disables
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sheep because they will not stay with the shepherd.
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And it's an act of mercy and kindness. That the
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bones you have broken may rejoice. Hide your
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face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities.
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Create in me a clean heart, O God. And renew
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a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me
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away from your presence. And do not take your
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Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of
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your salvation. And uphold me by your generous
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spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your
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ways. and sinners shall be converted to you.
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I think he wrote this when he went to the house
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to worship. And he's being restored. What is
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he doing? He's making the path straight for his
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feet. He's saying, I'm not going to continue
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on as king, disabled and broken. I'm going to
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receive the joy of salvation again. I'm going
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to be upheld by the generosity of the Spirit
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of the living God. And some of you today, we're
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all in different places. And listen, we're all
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going to experience, because we're all sons and
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daughters, the correction and discipline of the
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Lord. And there's just something in us being
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willing to embrace it. Can I just say, the more
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we embrace and the more we... are teachable the
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quicker quicker we get through our lessons right
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and so this morning we're going to take a moment
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as the team leads us in worship and we're just
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going to make this a place of altar you can in
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your seat or if you need to come to the altar
40:39
itself but can we just have a few moments where
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we Come to God as our Father and say, Lord, maybe
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you're not in that teachable place right now.
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Maybe God's not doing that work in you now. I
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guarantee you he will be because he's continually
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wanting us to learn and to grow from glory to
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glory to glory. And there's a process. And so
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this morning I want us to just take a moment
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before we leave to just say, yes, Lord. We sang
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it today. When we sing things like, I want to
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be tried by fire. It really feels like a fire.
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He's not going to refine us while we're sitting
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back eating chocolates and enjoying life. It
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really feels like a fire. It really is painful.
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It really is uncomfortable. And so we can sing,
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oh, that's such a great song. I love to sing
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that song. But as soon as he puts a fire under
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us to reveal what's in us, like, oh, wait a minute,
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where's the bucket of water? Holy Spirit, rain
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down on me. I'd rather have the rain than the
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fire. Can we just today, before we leave, take
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a moment to embrace, Lord, we sang it. We sang,
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I want to be tried by fire. But right now I'm
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feeling the fire and I've been resisting. But
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would you teach me your ways? Would you teach
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me your direction? I open up my difficult places.
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I open up the hardships. I open up my places
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of grief and difficulty. I open up the season
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where I can't really hear you. And I just invite
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you in as my father to do in me what needs to
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be done. Can we just take a moment to do that?
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And so I want to just invite you to stand. And
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the team is going to lead us. And you are welcome
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to make where you're standing an altar. You're
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welcome to come down to the front. Sometimes
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we need to get away, even from our family members,
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just to have one -on -one with God. But let's
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make space for a few moments to just embrace
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the work that the Father wants to do in us.