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First Reading = Matthew 6:19-33

19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20but store up for yourselves treasures in  heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not  break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; 23but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole  body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness,  how great is the darkness! 24“No one can serve two masters; for a  slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the  one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.  25“Therefore I tell you, do not  worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or  about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the  body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air; they  neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father  feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30But if God so clothes the grass of the  field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will  he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Introduction

This is our last week looking at our divine design. If you feel like you’ve made a little progress on discovering your divine design but you’re not there yet, I do have a multi-week intensive course I can offer with a ton more useful tools that we haven’t covered in any of our sermons, Bible studies, or discussion groups. If you’re interested in a more intensive course on discovering your purpose and your divine design, email me at cody@fpcl.org.

Next week we’re trying something different for our sermon. It’s going to be a Biblical, pastoral conversation rather than a formal sermon. Blakeley Winslow and his wife Melissa are part of our church, and Blakeley is a campus pastor at School of Mines. Blakeley and I are studying Mark 16 on our own, and then we’re going to record our conversation about the text. I’m pretty excited about this, I think it will be a nice change of pace.

But first, let’s wrap up our time with Jeremiah. A couple of weeks ago we heard Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles, and in that letter God promised to restore them after 70 years. God instructed them to multiply and thrive in their exile. God’s mid-range promise was to restore them after 70 years.

Today, we see God’s long-range promise. Another way to think about this is to think about legacy. What’s God’s legacy? This text gets quoted in the New Testament because Jesus fulfilled these promises in ways no one would have ever guessed when they heard it at the time. Let’s hear what God said about his plans for his legacy through Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 33:14-26

14The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15In those days and at that time I will  cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute  justice and righteousness in the land. 16In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”  17For thus says the Lord: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, 18and the levitical priests shall never  lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to make grain  offerings, and to make sacrifices for all time. 19The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 20Thus says the Lord:  If any of you could break my covenant with the day and my covenant with  the night, so that day and night would not come at their appointed  time, 21only then could my covenant with my  servant David be broken, so that he would not have a son to reign on his  throne, and my covenant with my ministers the Levites. 22Just as the host of heaven cannot be  numbered and the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will increase  the offspring of my servant David, and the Levites who minister to me. 23The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 24Have you not observed how these people say, “The two families that the Lord chose have been rejected by him,” and how they hold my people in such contempt that they no longer regard them as a nation? 25Thus says the Lord: Only if I had not established my covenant with day and night and the ordinances of heaven and earth, 26would I reject the offspring of Jacob  and of my servant David and not choose any of his descendants as rulers  over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will restore  their fortunes, and will have mercy upon them.

Legacy as Story

In my office here at the church, I have two drink coasters. They’re thick. They’re heavy. They’re old. And emblazoned in the middle of them in brass is the state of Texas. Now, my wife will confirm that I am most definitely NOT a sentimental person. I’m very practical. But I have these two old Texas-themed coasters because they are part of my family story.

My grandfather, Charles Sandahl, was in the Texas House of Representatives from 1953-1963. And somewhere along the way he walked out of the Texas capitol building with these coasters. While he died when I was pretty young, I have very fond memories of him. My oldest child is named Charles. He’s like a touchstone for my internalized family narrative. He had perseverance. Intelligence. And apparently a penchant for stealing coasters from the Texas House of Representatives.

I always like to confirm my family stories before I share them with you, so I texted my dad to confirm the origin story of these two coasters. And…he didn’t remember. He said it sounded like the kind of thing my grandfather would have kept from his time in the House, but he couldn’t confirm it. So either these two coasters represent six or seven decades of family history. Or, they’re just Texas-themed coasters. I don’t know for sure.

Do you have any family heirlooms? Any furniture or objects that have been passed down through the generations? Why do you keep it? It’s probably not the best fit for your house. You could probably get something better. But you still have it. Why? Because of the story.

My coasters are only noteworthy if they’re part of a story. Otherwise they’re just coasters. The story determines the legacy. The story determines whether they’re coasters or heirlooms.

In our text today, God lays out a story. A big story. A legacy. We see in verse 20, “Thus says the Lord: If any of you could break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night would not come at their appointed time, ONLY THEN could my covenant with my servant David be broken.”

God’s story won’t be broken by the destruction of Jerusalem. God’s story won’t be broken by the destruction of the Temple. God’s story won’t be broken by his people going into exile in Babylon. God’s story won’t be broken by the Persians in the book of Esther. God’s story won’t be broken by the Jesus’ crucifixion. God’s story won’t be broken by persecutions throughout the ages. God’s story won’t be broken by the Spanish Flu in 1918. God’s story won’t be broken by the horrors of World War II. God’s story won’t be broken by COVID-19. As God says in our text today, unless you can move the earth from its orbit around the sun, unless you can move the moon from its orbit around the earth, unless you can reshape the heavens themselves, you can’t break God’s story. God’s story won’t be broken. Can I get an Amen on that?!? God’s story won’t be broken.

And you and I are a part of that unbreakable story. You and I are a part of God’s legacy. You and I, we’re not just coasters. We’re family heirlooms. We’re part of the story. We’re part of God’s legacy. None of the weird things thrown at us by 2020 change that.

I mean, most years it’s hard to identify with the defeated and exiled Israelites in the book of Jeremiah. But this year, we should totally get where they’re coming from. Their context was different, but we have quite a few similarities. They weren’t at church in-person. Their church had been destroyed. And they weren’t even at home – they were in a foreign land. Some of their most cherished traditions were interrupted. Some of their core ideas about their identity were shaken. They wanted it all to be over. They wanted to get back to normal as quickly as possible. But God told them it would be 70 years, and even then things would be different.

I guess it’s a little perspective for us. We are experiencing several months of significant disruption to “normal.” Our church worship services are at lower capacity, meeting less frequently, it’s harder to see people, we probably have some number of months of disruption ahead of us on some level. It’s very annoying! It’s very challenging! It’s very draining! I’m ready to hear Auld Lang Syne to bring in 2021.

But we’re reading about a time when God’s people had no place to worship because it was destroyed. We’re reading about a time when God’s people couldn’t see each other at all because they were in Babylon or they were dead from the siege. We’re reading about a time when God’s people couldn’t expect light at the end of the tunnel for 70 years!

Even then – I said even THEN – God’s story wasn’t broken. God’s people weren’t broken. Are we made of that kind of stuff? Can we remain faithful even through our own version of exile? God’s story hasn’t been broken by anything 2020 has thrown at it. We’re still part of that story. We’re still part of that legacy. We’re still family heirlooms, not coasters.

Choosing a Legacy

This chapter of Jeremiah is an invitation. It’s an invitation to see our own story as part of God’s unbreakable story. It’s an invitation to see our own legacy as contributing to God’s eternal legacy.

God has a legacy as the Creator of all things good. God has a legacy as the one who gave us another chance after Noah and the flood. God has a legacy as the one who chose one family, Abraham and Sarah, as the cornerstone of his eventual people. God has a legacy as the one who took a bunch of slaves out of Egypt and forged the Chosen People. God has a legacy as the one who took a shepherd boy and turned him into King David. God has a legacy as the one who sent prophet after prophet to speak the truth to his people. God has a legacy as the one who preserved a remnant to start over once again during the time of Jeremiah. God has a legacy as the one who sent his son to fulfill the promises made in our text today. God has a legacy as the one who sent the Holy Spirit to empower the followers of Jesus after his death and resurrection. God has a legacy as the one who has preserved the church through its faithfulness and its follies, through its exhibitions of the kingdom of God and its temptations to be like the kingdoms of man. God has a legacy as the one who created you and me. God’s legacy isn’t done, and his story is unbreakable.

Where will you fit your legacy inside God’s legacy? Where will you fit your story inside God’s story? That’s the invitation given to us through our text today.

One morning in 1888 a famous man named Alfred opened the newspaper to a disconcerting headline. It was an obituary. His obituary. Alfred’s brother had recently died, and the newspaper got confused and thought Alfred had died. As a famous man, it would have been newsworthy if he died. The newspaper’s mistaken obituary proclaimed Alfred “the merchant of death.” Alfred NOBEL was the inventor of dynamite. In addition to its many uses in construction, mining, and engineering, his chemistry discovery also increased the deadliness of cannons. That’s what made him rich and famous.

Alfred Nobel was shocked by this framing of his legacy, and he responded. He said, “Every man should get the chance to rewrite his own obituary.” And that’s what Alfred did. He gave away most of his wealth and established prizes in chemistry, physics, physiology, medicine, economics, literature, and PEACE. The Nobel Prizes are still awarded today – in fact they’ve been rolling out over the last couple of weeks.

Alfred Nobel made a conscious decision to alter his legacy. He made a conscious decision to tell a better story with the rest of his life. He decided he wanted to get ahead on what he wanted to leave behind.

What do you want to leave behind? What legacy do you want to have? How does that fit within God’s legacy and God’s story? And how can you get ahead on what you want to leave behind? Neil Cole said, “Finishing well is not what we do at the end of our lives; it’s what we do every day of our lives.”

Ultimate Contribution

Alfred Nobel demonstrates the first tool I want to give you as you think about how your legacy could be a part of God’s legacy. The first tool is thinking about your ultimate contribution. Nobel was shocked to see that his ultimate contribution was becoming the merchant of death. So he decided to make a different contribution to the sciences and to peace. What’s your ultimate contribution?

Your ultimate contribution might be a community to grow. That might be your role as a parent, or a philanthropist, or a mentor. If that community honors God, it’s part of God’s legacy, too.

Your ultimate contribution might be a culture to enrich. That might be your ability to invent, or paint, or entertain. If the culture you enrich honors God, it’s part of God’s legacy, too.

Your ultimate contribution might be an organization to lead. Maybe you’re a founder, or a stabilizer, or a multiplier. If that organization or its mission honors God, it’s part of God’s legacy, too.

Your ultimate contribution might be an idea to conceive. That might be a new discovery, or a new way to present or compile knowledge, or communicating truth. If that idea honors God, it’s part of God’s legacy, too.

Your ultimate contribution might be a change to activate. You might be a role model, or a catalyst, or a leader. If that change you embrace honors God, it’s part of God’s legacy, too.

What’s your ultimate contribution?

Some of you might be thinking, “I’ve already lived a lot of my life. I think I’ve already made my ultimate contribution.” That might be true. Is there a way to reinforce that contribution? Or does God have a different contribution in mind for this phase of life? Maybe you created an organization that honors God earlier in life. That might be your ultimate contribution. But maybe God now wants you to invest in others as a mentor or being a role model to younger generations.

Three workers were making bricks. The first worker was asked what he was doing. He said, “I am making bricks.” Fair enough. The second worker was asked what she was doing. She said, “I am building a wall.” Interesting. The third worker was asked what he was doing. He said, “I am building a beautiful cathedral.” All three were making bricks. But the third worker saw how those bricks were part of a grander story. That’s an ultimate contribution.

What’s Stopping You?

Our second tool is pretty simple. We’ve spent most of this series trying to equip you to think of what you can do to live God’s dreams for you during this phase of life. So here’s a different angle: what’s stopping you?

Really, think about that. If you want to make a contribution to your legacy inside of God’s greater legacy during this phase of life, what’s stopping you? I don’t mean that rhetorically. I mean that literally. Write it down.

Is it a lack of ability? Is it a lack of opportunity? Is it a lack of willpower or motivation? Is it a lack of health? Is it a lack of transportation? Is it a lack of funds? Is it a problem with a relationship? Is it hard to do anything because you’re depressed? Is it a distraction? What’s stopping you? Write it down!

My mom is a counselor, and she asks that question sometimes. She told me that most people have one of two reactions by actually writing down the barriers that stop them from making the change they want to make. Either they realize that the barriers are much smaller than they imagined, or they realize there are ways around those barriers. The act of writing down what’s stopping you moves them from pure anxiety to actionable obstacles.

So what’s stopping you?

Summary

Sisters and brothers, you and I are part of God’s unbreakable story. We are part of God’s unbreakable legacy. The people were pushed to their very limit, but nothing the Babylonians could muster could break God’s story. Many people are being pushed to their very limit, but nothing 2020 can muster can break God’s story.

How can your remaining story be a part of God’s unbreakable story? What contribution can you make that honors God? And what’s actually stopping you from making that contribution?

No matter how useless you feel, no matter how defeated you feel, you aren’t just a coaster. You’re a precious family heirloom because you’re a part of God’s unbreakable story. Amen.

View the Sermon

First Reading = Luke 14:25-35

25Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, 26“Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. 27Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. 33So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. 34“Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? 35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; they throw it away. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”

Introduction

We are continuing our series using the experiences of the prophet Jeremiah to try to help us discover our own personal, unique, divine design. If you have been using any of the tools we’ve mentioned in the sermons or been going deeper with one of our groups, I bet you’ve gained a few insights on what kind of life God dreams for you during this phase of your life.

Now, if you rewind a few weeks (and I know all of you can remember all of my sermons for several weeks), perhaps you’ll remember that I said your divine design doesn’t have to be something as grand as Luke Skywalker destroying the Death Star. But let’s run with Luke Skywalker for a moment. Do you remember his first response when Obi Wan invites him to join him on the adventure? Luke refuses! He says he can give Obi Wan a ride to a nearby city, but that’s it. It’s all “too far away.” It’s only when his uncle and aunt are killed by the empire that he actually commits to his journey. His first instinct was to DO NOTHING!

And we are often prone to do the exact same thing: nothing. If you’ve gotten a clearer glimpse of the true you, if you’ve gotten a clearer understanding of God’s dreams for you during this phase of life, NOW WHAT?

In our text today, Jeremiah’s prophesies of doom were coming true right before the eyes of the people who had mocked and derided him for so many years. The Babylonians (called the Chaldeans in the text) have encircled Jerusalem and the city is out of food. The king asked Jeremiah what they should do since he had called this way ahead of time. And Jeremiah told him that God wouldn’t save them, so just surrender and get it over with. The king didn’t like that. So he locked Jeremiah up yet again. But in his confinement in the middle of a brutal siege right before the Babylonians would break into the city and destroy everything, the word of the Lord came again to Jeremiah. It’s a strange one. So strange, that even Jeremiah wasn’t sure it was from God until it came true. What was too weird for even Jeremiah to believe it? Let’s find out.

Jeremiah 32:1-15

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar. 2 At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was confined in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah, 3 where King Zedekiah of Judah had confined him. Zedekiah had said, “Why do you prophesy and say: Thus says the LORD: I am going to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it; 4 King Zedekiah of Judah shall not escape out of the hands of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye; 5 and he shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I attend to him, says the LORD; though you fight against the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed?” 6Jeremiah said, The word of the Lord came to me: 7Hanamel son of your uncle Shallum is going to come to you and say, “Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.” 8Then my cousin Hanamel came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the Lord, and said to me, “Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord. 9And I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. 10I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. 11Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions, and the open copy; 12and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. 13In their presence I charged Baruch, saying, 14Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long time. 15For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.

Change Investment or Environment?

Well have I got a deal for you?!? What would you say if I told you I could make you lose weight without dieting or exercising? Magic, you say? No no! All you need is Ayds!

Everyone wants Ayds, right? Don’t you want Ayds? Oh, I guess I should clarify. I’m talking about A-Y-D-S, the dieting candy that claimed to reduce your appetite. Even though some of you remember Ayds the dieting candy, I bet you were thinking of something else in your mind. AIDS the disease, right?

When AIDS the disease began to enter the public consciousness, Ayds the candy experienced a massive drop in sales. It’s kind of like how Corona beer hasn’t done well in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

But this is fascinating. The marketing team approached the executives and told them they needed to change the name of Ayds the candy. And here was the response: “We had the name first. Tell them to change the name of the disease.” I didn’t make that up! In fact, someone told me about that and I had to look it up to confirm it! “We had the name first. Tell them to change the name of the disease.”

Eventually as the sales continued to plummet they agreed to change the name to Diet Ayds. That didn’t help, unsurprisingly. The executive wanted the rest of the world to rename a disease so he didn’t have to change the name of their product.

Now, we might laugh at that example. We might slap our foreheads at that. Why didn’t they change something? Why didn’t they invest in a new name and new marketing and new branding? Why did they poke their heads in the sand and just hope that the world would change instead of investing in a new name?

We might laugh at them. But most of us have done the same thing in our faith. Have you ever prayed for God to change your circumstances? Have you ever prayed for God to change something in our city or state or country or world? Those are fine prayers. But here’s the catch. Did you do anything different in your life to be a part of what you prayed God would do? Did you change your own investment, or just pray for God to change the world around you?

There was a song a few years ago that started off like this. “I woke up this morning; Saw a world full of trouble now; I thought, “How’d we ever get so far down?” And “How’s it ever gonna turn around?” So, I turned my eyes to Heaven, I thought, “God, why don’t You do something?” Well, I just couldn’t bear the thought of People living in poverty, Children sold into slavery. The thought disgusted me. So, I shook my fist at Heaven, I said, “God, why don’t You do something?” He said, “I did.” Yeah. “I created you.”

If God dreams for you to invest in the faith of your children or grandchildren, please pray for God to make it happen. And then ask God to help you know how to change how you invest your own time to aid in the process.

If God dreams for you to develop or reclaim a more Christ-like character trait – love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, self control, whatever – please pray for God to cultivate that trait in your heart. And then ask God to help you know how to change how you invest your own time to aid in the process.

It is totally fine to pray that God would change the environment around you or change something within you. But that has to be partnered with a willingness to change your own investment in the process.

I’m from Austin, and do you know what happens when it snows in Austin? There’s a quarter inch of snow! It’s the Snowpocalypse! Here in Littleton my kids have gone to school after eight inches of snow fell. What’s the difference? Investment! Austin has zero infrastructure for snow. Littleton does. If it’s starting to metaphorically snow a lot more in your life, might I suggest investing in some metaphorical snow plows and road salt? How can you change your investment if you want to change your environment?

Today Reveals Your Belief About Tomorrow

Do you remember a few weeks ago when we got that random snow? Did you shut off your sprinklers for the winter, or did you keep them on? Did you abandon your plants and flowers, or did you try to save them? Did you pack up all of your shorts and short-sleeved shirts, or did you keep them handy? I’m guessing that you saw that storm as a random blip, not a sign that winter was coming in August and was sticking around for good. Am I right?

You believed that snow storm was a blip rather than an indicator of how the next several weeks would be. And because of that belief about the future, you probably didn’t give up hope on your shorts or your plants or your grass just yet.

Will Mancini said, “How we behave today is the best indicator of what we believe about tomorrow.” If you left your sprinklers on, if you kept your warm weather clothes handy, if you tried to save your plants, your behavior showed what you thought about our weather in the near future. Are you with me?

If we’re going to understand the utterly shocking actions from Jeremiah in our text today, we have to understand what Will Mancini said. “How we behave today is the best indicator of what we believe about tomorrow.” So let’s see what Jeremiah did today and what it said about tomorrow.

But first, I’ve got another deal for you! I know you didn’t like my offer of Ayds, but I have something even better to offer you. I have this land, you see, and I need to unload it fast and cheap! This land can be had for just pennies on the dollar! It’s in a beautiful mountain town far from the hustle and bustle and distractions of modern society. And did I mention it’s real cheap! Are you interested? One, small, really negligible caveat: it’s in Taliban-held territory in Afghanistan. Still interested? No? Please? Come back!

That’s the kind of land Jeremiah’s cousin Hanamel offered him in our text today. Jeremiah’s family came from Anathoth. That was the land given to their tribe and clan and house by the Living God! Land wasn’t just land to the Israelites. It was part of their identity as the Chosen People. So Hanamel tracked Jeremiah down in prison and told him about the family land that had recently come available for purchase…due to a death in the family. But, it should be mentioned, they were in the middle of a deathly siege. And one of the main encampments of the Babylonians was located in…you guessed it…Anathoth!

Hanamel was offering Jeremiah the chance to purchase land that was occupied by a foreign army intent on killing everyone inside the city where Jeremiah was imprisoned. Can you say hard pass on that offer?

In our text today, Jeremiah wasn’t even sure if God had really told him to purchase this crazy plot of land until Hanamel showed up with the exact same words God had foretold. He followed God’s directions, purchased the land, and this is how Jeremiah explains it:

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long time. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.”

Jeremiah’s behavior today – buying a plot of land currently being used by a foreign army as it destroyed Jerusalem – revealed his belief about tomorrow. This battle would be lost. But one day – some day – maybe a long time from now – houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land. Talk about changing your investment! Wow! He could have just prayed that God would give people extra hope to emotionally survive this defeat. But instead he changed his investment. He bought a field to give people hope. So…umm…now are you ready to buy that mountain land in Afghanistan from me to be like Jeremiah? Please?

What can you do today to show what you believe is possible tomorrow due to God’s dreams for you during this phase of life? What can you do today to reveal what you believe is possible tomorrow with God?

Tools

We’ve tried to give you tools to move ideas into your actual life each week, so here are some ways to think about changing your investment to participate in what God is doing.

The first tool is inspired by the Psalms. There are different kinds of psalms for different phases of life. Some psalms are about just surviving. Others are about reviving. And others are about thriving. So the first tool is to think about the major areas in your life – maybe that’s family, personal fulfillment, work, faith, God’s dreams and your dreams. Think about the major areas or themes of your life and think about where they are right now within that psalm framework.

For example, is your family surviving right now? Are you looking for some semblance of hope while you are standing in the darkness? Or is your family reviving right now? Are you looking toward the hope you’ve found walking closer and closer to that light at the end of the tunnel? Or is your family thriving right now? Are you celebrating your hope while you’re standing in the light? Think about the different areas or themes in your life, and are they surviving, reviving, or thriving right now? If it’s surviving, how can you cultivate the hope of the Lord even in that darkness? If it’s reviving, how can you invest in keeping the renewal process going strong? If it’s thriving, you might invest your time elsewhere or you might want to invest in celebrating what’s working. After all, businesses say that what gets celebrated gets repeated!

So that’s the first tool – ranking the major areas in your life by whether they’re surviving, reviving, or thriving, and asking how you can invest in Godly hope from that point.

The second tool to consider is to consider your resources. Is there a resource you can leverage to increase some other needed resource?

What kind of spiritual capital do you have? Wisdom, power, and authority.

What kind of relational capital do you have? Friends, family, or followers.

What kind of physical capital do you have? Time, health, and energy.

What kind of intellectual capital do you have? Knowledge, intelligence, creative capacity.

What kind of financial capital do you have? Cash, assets, investments.

Once you know where you are blessed and where you are lacking, how can you leverage what God has given you to invest in God’s dreams for you during this phase of life? For example, you might need financial capital to afford to get trained in something or to afford to go see someone. Or you might need to leverage your friends to find and grow in wisdom.

That’s the second tool – considering your various resources and how you can leverage them in pursuit of God’s dreams for you during this phase of life.

The third tool is a bit different. My family was just in Michigan to see my wife’s family. That’s a long drive, and we had to stop in Omaha overnight. When we pulled in, we were low on gas. But we were tired, so we decided to just wait until morning to get gas. The next morning, we pulled out and started back on our merry way. Until the car started showing a warning message. We forgot to fill the tank! Luckily we were in a populated area instead of that stretch of Colorado where there isn’t a gas station to be seen for miles!

The third tool is to consider where you need replenishment. What fills your tank? Sometimes you have to fill your tank before you can use your tank. Time to be refilled usually doesn’t come easily in our society. It doesn’t seem productive or useful, so it’s often the first thing to go. If you’re feeling totally burned out right now, and that’s kinda going around during 2020, you might need to intentionally invest in some life rhythms that refill your tank. You might need alone time. Or you might need friend time. You might need time to be creative. Or you might need time to do nothing! If you don’t know what fills your tank, try things out and see if you feel more energetic or refreshed or at peace than before you did it.

Summary

Sisters and brothers, we can certainly pray for God to change our environment or change things within us. But we should also be willing to invest our own time and resources in making that change happen. When we change our behavior today, we cultivate the hope that God’s tomorrow will happen.

You might want to consider what areas of your life are surviving, reviving, or thriving. You might want to consider your various resources and how you can leverage them for God’s dreams. Or you might want to intentionally invest in replenishment.

Let’s break it down even simpler. Instead of just surviving for another day, I encourage you to choose at least ONE way you are going to invest in the future that God dreams for you, or for this church, or for this community.

I have a lot of things I need to figure out. So I know that I need to invest in time to quietly converse with the Holy Spirit in discernment. I don’t have the time to do that. But I need to make that time if I actually want to figure these things out. So that’s what I’m going to do this week – I’m going to make the time for quiet conversation and discernment with the Holy Spirit. With so many things unclear, I need to listen to the Creator who has a much better perspective than mine.

What can you do to invest in the future that God dreams for you, or for this church, or for this community?

It’s interesting to think about Mancini’s quote: “How we behave today is the best indicator of what we believe about tomorrow.” It’s interesting because God has been investing in you for your entire life! God has invested in you every day because of what he believes about your tomorrow. Let that sink in.

God, your Chief Investor, believes something about your tomorrow. God, your Chief Investor, sees you as a valuable investment. What can you do to prove him right? Amen.

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1 Kings 19:9-18

9At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” 11He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” 15Then the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. 17Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. 18Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Introduction

This is the third week in our Younique series. We are trying to equip you to discover and live your divine design. Last week we tried to uncover the true you by having unflinching honesty with ourselves. So in week one we tried to discover our destination – where we’re going in this phase of life. In week two we tried to admit our starting point – where we are today…really. For week three, we’re trying to learn and grow even when things go…poorly.

And this leads me to a big misconception. Many people believe that smooth success is indicative of God’s presence. That is hogwash, baloney, and false all wrapped into one. In our first text, we heard from the greatest prophet of the Old Testament, Elijah. He had just won a HUGE victory, and yet his life was threatened and he ran away despondently. It wasn’t all smooth success.

We’ll hear in our text today that Jeremiah’s faithfulness to his calling from God did not win him admiration and support and riches and fame. It earned him infamy. It earned him derision. In our text today, his faithfulness is rewarded by getting beaten and thrown into stocks for people to mock. That’s not all smooth success.

Paul was imprisoned for his faith. John was trapped on Patmos when he wrote Revelation. That’s not all smooth success.

You really can’t measure your faithfulness by how smooth or successful your path is. There are way too many Biblical examples of faithful people experiencing bumpy and downtrodden paths. So if you’re experiencing smooth success right now, be careful about assuming that means God is on your side. And if you’re experiencing a bumpy and downtrodden path right now, know that it doesn’t mean God is against you. Maybe Jeremiah’s experience in our text today will shed some light.

For a little context, Jeremiah was prophesying up a storm! He had delivered countless powerful messages from God. But the most recent one had really raised the ire of the leaders. Let me give you the choicest little tidbit from Jeremiah’s most recent message from God: “I will make this city a horror, a thing to be hissed at; everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its disasters. And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and all shall eat the flesh of their neighbors in the siege.”

So, I gotta admit. I kinda understand the extreme negative reaction this message inspired within people. Telling people things are going to be so bad they’ll eat their sons and daughters and neighbors, that’s not even extreme. That leaves extreme in the dust on the far horizon. That’s gross and downright offensive, right?!? But it was God’s message to the people. And Jeremiah’s purpose was to speak the words God gave him. And so he did it. Listen to his reward for his faithfulness.

Jeremiah 20:1-14, 18

20Now the priest Pashhur son of Immer, who was chief officer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. 2Then Pashhur struck the prophet Jeremiah, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the Lord. 3The next morning when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, The Lord has named you not Pashhur but “Terror-all-around.”

4For thus says the Lord: I am making you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon; he shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall kill them with the sword. 5I will give all the wealth of this city, all its gains, all its prized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them, and seize them, and carry them to Babylon. 6And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house, shall go into captivity, and to Babylon you shall go; there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely.

7O Lord, you have enticed me, and I was enticed; you have overpowered me, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me. 8For whenever I speak, I must cry out, I must shout, “Violence and destruction!” For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. 9If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. 10For I hear many whispering: “Terror is all around! Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” All my close friends are watching for me to stumble. “Perhaps he can be enticed, and we can prevail against him, and take our revenge on him.” 11But the Lord is with me like a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they will not prevail. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten. 12O Lord of hosts, you test the righteous, you see the heart and the mind; let me see your retribution upon them, for to you I have committed my cause. 13Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers. 14Cursed be the day on which I was born! The day when my mother bore me, let it not be blessed!

18Why did I come forth from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?

Bad Days

Alexander was a school-age boy, and his day started off a little rough. He forgot to spit out his bubble gum before going to sleep, and now it was tangled in his hair. At breakfast, his brothers found prizes in their cereal boxes, but poor Alexander just had cereal with no prize at all. At school, his teacher didn’t appreciate his drawing and disqualified him from the drawing contest. Alexander said it was an invisible castle! The teacher said it was a blank piece of paper. At lunchtime, all of his friends had yummy desserts in their lunches. But Alexander’s mom forgot to pack a dessert in his. In light of his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, Alexander figured the only way to fix things would be to move to Australia where everything is obviously better.

Those are some of the highlights of the classic children’s book, “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” In our text today, Jeremiah could identify with Alexander, because he was having his own terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Jeremiah was arrested. He was beaten. He was placed in stocks where everyone passing by could mock him. He was ostracized from his community. He spoke the truth but no one believed him. He followed his calling from the Almighty God, but this was his reward. Jeremiah was truly experiencing a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

In fact, Jeremiah wanted to just give up. In our first text today, Elijah also wanted to give up. Both of them cursed the day they were born. Jeremiah said in our text today, “Why did I come forth from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?” That’s about as direct and succinct as you can get. Maybe some of you can relate to that sentiment.

Nowhere Else to Go

Obviously, since we’re reading this prayer, Jeremiah didn’t give up. Why? Well he tells us in our text today. He says he tried to stop telling people God’s messages. He says he tried to stop caring about the injustice around him. He says he tried to stop caring about the religious hypocrisy around him. He says he tried to just fit in. But he couldn’t do it. He says when he tried to stop being who God made him to be, “then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.”

In other words, he had nowhere else to go. No one else to turn to. Where else could he find such certainty of purpose? What else could fill the hole within his soul? Who else could address the issues around him and within him other than God? He had nowhere else to go. He had no one else to turn to. He was weary from the consequences of following God, but he knew that God was the only one who could restore him.

There’s a song on Christian radio right now that says this to God: “You turn mourning to dancing. You give beauty for ashes. You turn shame into glory. You’re the only one who can. You turn graves into gardens. You turns bones into armies. You turn seas into highways. You’re the only one who can.”

When we’re having our own terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days, nothing else and no one else can actually meet us where we are and keep us afloat other than God. One more TV show won’t do it. One more video game won’t do it. One more website won’t do it. One more bowl of ice cream won’t do it. One more glass of wine won’t do it. Our Creator is the only one who can refill our empty souls. Maybe you’re trying to fill the hole in your soul with something else. Is it working? Or are you just as empty today as you were yesterday?

Our God is the only one who can turn mourning to dancing. Our God is the only one who can take our ashes and create beauty. Our God is the only one who can turn graves into gardens. He’s the only one who can. Jeremiah knows this. He’s not happy about it. But he knows it.

In fact, at the bottom of this dark well, Jeremiah rediscovered his calling. The handful of things he had left when he was this low reminded him of his purpose and calling. Those things he couldn’t stop doing – they were his true calling. He couldn’t stop sharing the truth that God gave him. He couldn’t stop caring about his society. He couldn’t stop caring about the faith or lack thereof of the people around him. He couldn’t stop speaking with God in prayer. Your true calling is something you can’t stop doing even if you try – and Jeremiah tried to stop. He just couldn’t stop. Jeremiah’s crisis of faith revealed timeless truths about himself.

And in fact, that’s our first tool for discovering and living the life that God dreamed for us in this phase of life. What are the things you can’t stop doing? If they are God-honoring instead of just pet peeves, they’re probably part of your calling.

For me, I can’t stop learning new things. I feel dead when I’m not learning a new idea, a new perspective, or a new skill. Learning is part of my divine design. Some people find their calling in having the courage to take risks for God. Others can’t stop being a blessing to those who are less fortunate. Others can’t stop providing encouragement to those around them. Some people can’t stop praying for people or praying for this world. Those things you can’t stop? If they are God-honoring instead of pet peeves they’re probably part of your divine design.

Michelangelo said, “The sculpture is already complete within the marble rock, before I start my work. It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.” What’s left in your sculpture when everything superfluous has been chiseled away? What’s endemic to your being? What can you not stop doing? What must you do even if you don’t feel like it today? Or maybe what’s something you miss? Who were you earlier in your life, and why do you miss that aspect of who you were? Thinking about those things we must do, or can’t stop doing, or miss when we do stop them – that’s our first tool this week.

Next Right Thing

In the movie Frozen 2, Anna had just lost her sister and her best friend. She was alone, tired, hopeless. She was also having one of those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days. But this was part of her song in that moment.

“I’ve seen dark before, but not like this. This is cold, this is empty, this is numb. The life I knew is over; the lights are out. Hello darkness: I’m ready to succumb…How to rise from the floor, When it’s not you I’m rising for. Just do the next right thing. Take a step, step again. It is all that I can to do. The next right thing. I won’t look too far ahead. It’s too much for me to take. But break it down to this next breath, this next step. This next choice is one that I can make.” I don’t have the vocal talent to attempt to sing that for you. Be grateful that I know my limitations.

But I think there’s great wisdom in that song. Just do the next right thing. Don’t look too far ahead. Don’t get caught up in step two, three, four, and fifty. Just do the next right thing.

That’s eventually what Jeremiah decided to do. Once he realized that he couldn’t stop sharing God’s messages, that he couldn’t stop caring about certain things, he just decided to share the next message God gave him. And that’s what he did to get back in the game after his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. He just did the next right thing. He had to know what was at his core. He had to know how to define “the next right thing” by understanding his divine design. But the clarity he received in his darkness gave him just enough light to confidently take that single next step. That’s all.

An archer focuses their eyes on the very center of bull’s eye, because when you aim small you miss small. They don’t focus on the target – that’s too big. They don’t even focus on the bull’s eye – that’s still too big. They focus on a particular spot within the bull’s eye. One spot. Focus on just one spot. Focus on the next right thing. Aim at that small target, because if you aim small, you’ll miss small.

Our second tool this week is thinking about that one next right thing. If you have gained any clarity around your divine design during this series, what’s the next right thing God dreams for you during this phase of life? Just one thing!

As the great American cowboy philosopher Curly said in the movie City Slickers, “One thing, just one thing. You stick to that, and everything else don’t mean squat.” When he was asked, “But what’s the one thing?” Curly replied, “That’s what you’ve gotta figure out.”

Maybe for you that’s something in your faith – a spiritual practice to renew or add. Maybe for you that’s a God-honoring conviction to follow – finishing well or demonstrating kindness or speaking the truth in love. Maybe for you that’s an activity to commit to – learning and applying something God-honoring or investing in a particular relationship. What’s that one thing for you? What’s the next right thing? That’s our second tool this week.

Summary

Sisters and brothers, sometimes it is when we have nowhere else to go and no one else to turn to that we gain greater clarity around our divine design. Jeremiah discovered he couldn’t stop sharing God’s messages, and he couldn’t stop caring about justice and faithfulness in his society. And he couldn’t stop communicating with God.

What are some of your core convictions like that? What can’t you stop doing or caring about, even if you tried? Is that God-honoring, or just a pet peeve? And with that greater clarity around your divine design and your God-honoring convictions, what’s the next right thing? Just one thing! What’s the next right thing? I’d love to hear what your next right thing is so I can be praying for you. If everyone hearing this did one right thing, a lot of right things will have happened this week. I hope you’re one of them. Amen.

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First Reading = Matthew 18:6-9

6“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea.

7Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes! 8“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell of fire.

Introduction

This is our second week in our series trying to discover our divine design – how we can live the life God dreamed for us during this phase of life. Last week we talked about gaining clarity around our purpose from God during this phase of life, and it doesn’t have to be big and grand. The two tools I gave you were imagining what you dream would be true about your life when someone writes your headstone, and then dreaming about your three year horizon.

This week we are looking at uncovering the true you. If last week was about where you’re going, then this week is about where you’re starting from today. And the key this week is to engage in extreme honesty with yourself. The famous physicist Richard Feynman once said, “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.”

So this week is an invitation to look unhaltingly, unwaveringly, unerringly at who and where and what you are today. No matter what you tell yourself, God isn’t fooled. So today let’s try to stop fooling ourselves and see what God sees.

In our text today, Jeremiah is passing along God’s admonishment and invitation to the people of Judah. God challenges them to return to him wholeheartedly, not just with their lips but with their whole beings. God acknowledges that it will be difficult and painful for them to put down some of their treasured sins and little white lies and diverging priorities and self-centered practices. But that wholehearted return is what God asks.

Jeremiah 4:1-4

4If you return, O Israel, says the Lord, if you return to me, if you remove your abominations from my presence, and do not waver, 2and if you swear, “As the Lord lives!” in truth, in justice, and in uprightness, then nations shall be blessed by him, and by him they shall boast.

3For thus says the Lord to the people of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns. 4Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, remove the foreskin of your hearts, O people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or else my wrath will go forth like fire, and burn with no one to quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

Admitting Mistakes

Twenty-four years later, I still count this as one of the greatest commercials I have ever seen – especially since I still remember the product it was advertising. The commercial shows a montage of a man painstakingly painting the grass in the end zone of a football stadium. In fact, it’s the end zone of the Kansas City Chiefs, with their iconic red background and large block white lettering. The man looks at his completed work with a satisfied grin. And then one of the football players comes up and pats him on the back and says, “That’s great…but…who are the Chefs?” As the man realizes he left out a letter in the “Chiefs,” all he can say is, “Great googily-moogily” and shake his head.

Is it going to work if that man said, “Maybe no one will notice?” Of course not! Or would it work if he did what my son does what I tell him he skipped a letter in a word he’s learning to write? He slides a super skinny, tiny version of the letter in between the other letters. Could the painter slide a tiny little “I” between the “h” and “e”? That’s not going to look right come game time! Or could he, being unwilling to change anything, petition the NFL to rename the team to the “Chefs” before the game on Sunday to accommodate his own preference to not start over on the end zone painting?

No, his only course of action is to start over. It’s painful. It’s annoying. It’s time-consuming. But admitting the reality of his missing “I”, admitting that he wrote “Chefs” instead of “Chiefs”, and then fixing it – that’s his only way forward that has any value. Other people will notice if he just pretends it’s not true. Other people will notice if he just tries to slip a tiny little “I” in there to fix it shoddily. And the whole NFL won’t change the name of the team just because of the end zone painter’s preferences.

Now, that may sound pretty silly. It may seem silly to imagine the painter saying, “That doesn’t say Chefs! I don’t have a problem!” It may seem silly to imagine the painter saying, “Easy fix! I’ll just slap a little ‘I’ in there. That’ll be good enough. It could be worse!” It may seem silly to imagine the painter saying, “Well I think they should be renamed to the ‘Chefs!’”

It seems silly, doesn’t it? And yet…and yet…have you ever thought to yourself, “I don’t really have a problem?” Have you ever thought to yourself, “Well, what I’m doing isn’t right, but it could be worse!” Have you ever thought to yourself, “I don’t think God should do that or be that way! If God were truly loving…if God were truly just…if I were God…?” When I catch myself thinking thoughts like those, and those are pretty common thoughts, I try to imagine it coming from that end zone painter. Because I bet that’s just how silly I sound when looking at myself from God’s perspective.

As I said to start, this week is an invitation to look unhaltingly, unwaveringly, unerringly at who and where and what you are today. No matter what you tell yourself, God isn’t fooled.

So what do we need to do to uncover the true you? What do we need to do to get the excuses out of the way? What do we need to do to get the masks and the camouflage out of the way? What do we need to do to uncover the true you?

I live within walking distance of a trail. And when it dumps a foot of snow, I like to head out on the trail at night with my snowshoes. No one else is crazy enough to be out there. And everything is so calm, so serene, so smooth with all that snow on top of it. But if I didn’t know the terrain already, I would be taking a huge risk doing that. Because it may look smooth with a foot of snow on top of it, but under the surface there are holes, rocks, tree branches, and all manner of things that can trip me up.

What’s under the surface of your life and your soul? What looks OK on the surface, but maybe a foot down it’s a jumbled mess? Let’s be honest with ourselves since we’re not fooling God anyway.

God Cares About the Separation

And let’s also be honest with ourselves about another thing – God cares. God cares when we do things that lead us further from his presence. We know we have forgiveness in Jesus, but God still cares about we do, what we feel, and what we think.

It’s pretty obvious that God cares in our text from Jeremiah. Listen to how it starts. “If you return, O Israel, says the Lord, if you return to me, if you remove your abominations from my presence, and do not waver, and if you swear, “As the Lord lives!” in truth, in justice, and in uprightness, then nations shall be blessed by him, and by him they shall boast.” That’s pretty obvious, right? God cares.

But what’s less obvious is the breadth and depth of how God cares. God cares about the abominations – the big, obvious, headline-grabbing sins. But keep reading. God also cares about our faith, that we can swear “As the Lord lives!” So it’s not just right behavior, it’s also right faith.

But keep reading. God also cares about “truth…justice…uprightness,” our text says. So God cares about our personal actions and also our society and how we contribute to that society.

But keep reading. Who receives a blessing if the people get rid of the headline-grabbing sins, if the people return in faith to God, if the people invest in personal and societal truth, justice, and uprightness? Who benefits? The text says, “then the nations shall be blessed by him.” So God cares about Judah. God cares about Israel. But God also cares about all the nations, not just his chosen people.

If you’re keeping score at home, texts like this one contributed greatly to Jeremiah’s distinct lack of popularity. No one wants to hear how they need to get rid of their own abominations. People like to point out other people’s abominations, but not their own. No one wants to hear how they haven’t upheld God’s truth, how they haven’t invested in creating God’s justice on earth, how they haven’t lived an upright life in the eyes of the all-seeing Creator.

But in Jeremiah’s time they really didn’t like hearing how God cared about the nations. They wanted to hear about how God cared about their nation. They wanted to hear about how they were the chosen people in the promised land. They wanted to hear about how they were the shining beacon of faithfulness in a pagan world. They wanted to hear about how they were special – unique – as a nation. And yet we heard last week that Jeremiah was appointed to be a prophet to the nations, not just Judah or Israel. Jeremiah was repeatedly thrown in prison, ostracized, and attacked because people thought he wasn’t patriotic enough when he said God cared about the nations.

Jesus got the same reaction from people for many of the same reasons. In our first text today, we heard Jesus reaffirm that God still cares. “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell of fire.”

Later in Matthew, Jesus addresses the religious leaders with an unpopular message. In Matthew 23 he says, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin, but you have disregarded the weightier matters of the Law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” I love this image! Jesus is saying they’re so outwardly religious, they make sure to account for their home gardens when they tithe to the temple. Can you imagine making a trip to church to give a portion of your herb garden to the offering plate? It would certainly smell nice!

But he calls out the gap between their outward religiosity and their actual contributions to the things God cares about. They did what was visible and personal, but neglected the internal and the social. So God cares about religious hypocrisy. No one wants to hear about that, either. Jesus calling them out like this was one of the reasons the leaders killed Jesus.

So let’s recap some of the things God cares about. God cares about our faith in him above all else. God cares about about the big headline-grabbing sins. God cares about our commitment to the truth. God cares about our individual contributions to justice as a society. God cares about the uprightness of our internal life. God cares about what we do. God cares about what we see. God cares about what we say. God cares about what we think. God cares about Judah, Israel, and all nations. God cares about our faithful spiritual practices. And God cares about our religious hypocrisy.

Does anything on that list sting? Should anything on that list sting? It may hurt to look this honestly, but God used the image of plowing a field in our text from Jeremiah today. Plowing a field is literally tearing a hole in the soil and turning the surface soil upside down. It’s hard and destructive work. But it enables new life, new growth, a new harvest. Are you willing to plow the field even if it hurts? Because God cares about all of that and more!

Tools

But remember that our goal this week is to uncover the true YOU. We aren’t trying to uncover the true THEM! I bet when you heard that list of things God cares about, you could picture other people who do those things. I bet you know people who you believe are committing headline-grabbing sins, or disregarding the truth, or neglecting justice, or failing to live an upright internal life, or showing religious hypocrisy.

That may be true. But knowing what’s separating THEM from God doesn’t help YOU draw closer to God. Where do you need to return to God? Where do you need to care about something God cares about? Where do you need to be faithful to Jesus instead of being a modern-day Pharisee? We’re looking in the mirror, not looking through the window today. And yes, I know that’s uncomfortable. It’s uncomfortable for me, too. Some things on that list sting for me, too.

Each week we’re going to give you tools to actually apply these concepts to your life. So here are a few tools to help you uncover the TRUE you as God sees you – the ups and the downs, the well-done’s and the warts, the sinner and the saved.

For the first tool, consider the different major chapters of your life. Those chapters could be chronological or thematic – you can decide how to divide up your life. Within each chapter, consider what lies you were living and what Gospel truths were trying to set you free.

For example, when I was in high school I believed several lies about who God is. I believed that my emotions were negative, so I tried to squash them into nothingness. That’s a lie. I also believed that God would only accept me if I achieved perfection or something really close to it. That’s a lie. I battled with hopelessness. That’s a lie.

But I also had a firm foundational belief that Jesus was God. I had a firm foundational belief that I could talk with Jesus and that he would interact with me and my life rather than being distant and uninterested. Those are Gospel truths that were trying to set me free from the lies I was living.

What lies were you living in the chapters of your life? What Gospel truths were trying to set you free in the name of Christ? And once you’ve trained yourself to think that way, apply it to your current chapter of life. What lies might you be living right now? And what Gospel truths are trying to set you free in the name of Christ? Lies and truths – that’s the first tool.

The second tool is pretty simple. If you want to uncover something that is separating you from God and separating you from the life that God dreamed for you, just look for this internal thought. Whenever you hear yourself thinking about something you’re doing, “Well it could be worse…” that’s an alarm bell. Jesus said we should pluck out our eye if it causes us to sin. I can’t imagine him saying, “that thing you’re doing is OK, because at least you’re not doing it as bad as those eight people over there.” That’s not how God works. Jesus grants us forgiveness, but he still calls us to change our lives and live as God dreamed for us. An action that could be worse can still pull you away from God. A hurtful thought that doesn’t make it’s way out of your mouth can still poison your heart. So the second tool is to watch out for “it could be worse” and bring that to God in prayer intentionally.

Summary

Sisters and brothers, remember what Richard Feynman said: “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.”

This week is an invitation to look unhaltingly, unwaveringly, unerringly at who and where and what you are today. No matter what you tell yourself, God isn’t fooled. So today let’s try to stop fooling ourselves and see what God sees. Even if “it could be worse,” God still cares. So I invite you to take some time this week to consider what separates you from God. We’re not wondering what other people are doing, we’re pointing our finger through the window, we’re looking at ourselves in the mirror.

What do you see in the mirror? What does God see in the mirror? Amen.

View the Sermon

First Reading = Mark 9:2–8

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and  led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was  transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us  make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

Introduction

This is the final week of our series looking at the Gospel According to David. Last week we heard that David lived life to the fullest. Next week we’re going to try something a little different. We’re going to try a “stump the pastor” Sunday! This is like an “ask me anything” for church. So email me a faith question by this Friday, and I’ll draw them out of a basket and address them right then to the best of my ability. So email me a question – cody@fpcl.org by Friday August 28 to be included.

But for this final week in our series about David, we’re going to look at one of David’s defining characteristics: his commitment to relationships. Jesus had this same characteristic. And we often talk about how we want our church to be defined by a commitment to relationships as well.

In our main text today, we’re back in 1 Samuel – before David was king. This text marks a transition for David. Before this, he was married to Saul’s daughter Michael. He was best friends with Saul’s son Jonathan. He had fame and respect after defeating Goliath. He was an honored part of the king’s household. But then Saul realized that David might become king instead of his own son Jonathan. So Saul decided to kill David while he still could. Listen to how David’s commitment to relationships change the course of events.

Main Reading = 1 Samuel 19:1-24

Saul spoke with his son  Jonathan and with all his servants about killing David. But Saul’s son  Jonathan took great delight in David. 2Jonathan told David, “My father Saul is  trying to kill you; therefore be on guard tomorrow morning; stay in a  secret place and hide yourself. 3I will go out and stand beside my father  in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you; if I  learn anything I will tell you.” 4Jonathan spoke well of David to his  father Saul, saying to him, “The king should not sin against his servant  David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds  have been of good service to you; 5for he took his life in his hand when he attacked the Philistine, and the Lord  brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced;  why then will you sin against an innocent person by killing David  without cause?” 6Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan; Saul swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.” 7So Jonathan called David and related all  these things to him. Jonathan then brought David to Saul, and he was in  his presence as before.

8Again there was war, and David  went out to fight the Philistines. He launched a heavy attack on them,  so that they fled before him. 9Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing music. 10Saul sought to pin David to the wall  with the spear; but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the  wall. David fled and escaped that night.

11Saul sent messengers to David’s  house to keep watch over him, planning to kill him in the morning.  David’s wife Michal told him, “If you do not save your life tonight,  tomorrow you will be killed.” 12So Michal let David down through the window; he fled away and escaped. 13Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed; she put a net of goats’ hair on its head, and covered it with the clothes. 14When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” 15Then Saul sent the messengers to see David for themselves. He said, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” 16When the messengers came in, the idol was in the bed, with the covering of goats’ hair on its head. 17Saul said to Michal, “Why have you  deceived me like this, and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?”  Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go; why should I kill  you?’”

18Now David fled and escaped; he  came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. He  and Samuel went and settled at Naioth.

Divisions

I don’t know about here in Colorado, but in Texas there is a time-honored tradition. Many fathers of high school-aged daughters have a ritual they perform before every one of their daughter’s first dates. The details differ, but the basic goal is to provide the high school boy with some …disincentives for certain behaviors on the date. Some dads who are hunters take the boy to their room showcasing all of their kills. Others are cleaning their weapon while talking. Others are more subtle. I don’t know if that’s a thing everywhere, but in rural Texas it was definitely a part of the culture.

Now I share this, because I think Saul in our text today got things a little backwards. I mean, he gave it a good try. He threatened David with a spear. That would’ve gotten my attention before a first date! But he didn’t threaten David with a spear until after he had already married Saul’s daughter Michal. I think the horse has left the barn already, Saul!

I mean, you might think your family has some dysfunction. But Saul is on a whole other level, right? Our text says, “Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear; but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall.” And our text tells us that the source of his murderous intent is fairly simple: David keeps winning battles and getting the credit for it. Saul is jealous of how the people see David, pure and simple. He also sees the writing on the wall for his own lineage. If David is alive when Saul dies, he knows that David will wind up on the throne instead of his own son Jonathan. Jealousy. Fear of losing power. That’s a dangerous combo. Those are some serious divisions.

In fact, there are quite a few divisions that are or could be present. David would be well within his rights to strike back at Saul for trying to pin him on the wall with a spear. Jonathan would be well within his rights to undermine David as a potential rival. For Michal, it would be easy to see her side with her brother and father and her clan instead of her newly minted husband. At the end of the text, Samuel could easily have sided with Saul – who was Samuel’s own pick to be king – instead of David – who was God’s pick rather than Samuel’s.

Jonathan cares more about his deep abiding friendship with David than holding onto his own power. And in his dialogue with his father, he appeals to doing what’s right instead of doing what’s expedient. He was united with David in more important ways than he was divided.

Michal is in a tight spot. But she finds a way to help her husband without abandoning her father. She sees that she is united with David and Saul in more important ways than she is divided.

David had opportunities throughout the stories we’ve read in this series to kill Saul. But he never did. He was committed to the Lord, committed to Israel’s ability to defend itself against the Philistines, committed to his friendship with Jonathan. Those things were more important to him than the divisions between himself and Saul. Now, David was no fool. He ran away rather than sticking around for some more spear-throwing sessions. But he believed in certain things above and beyond the divisions between himself and Saul.

One of the biggest questions embedded within this text and indeed embedded within David’s life is simple to ask but hard to answer: do our reasons for being united outweigh our reasons for being divided? Or do our reasons for being divided outweigh our reasons for being united? On balance, are we more united or more divided?

David had to answer that question with someone who was literally chucking spears at him. And, interestingly, he decided he was more united with Saul than he was divided. Why? What on earth could be more uniting than a spear is dividing?

The Most Important Things

Well, some of that answer isn’t on earth. I’m pulling from other parts of David’s life, but when he spared Saul’s life multiple times, David called Saul “the Lord’s anointed.” David saw their shared faith as the greatest source of unity. And he repeatedly refused to change God’s timing. He saw his faith – which he shared with Saul – as the most important thing. Everything other division paled in comparison to the unity they had in their faith.

And yes, I think we can say that David had a much more real and meaningful faith than Saul did. Saul was very self-centered. Saul tried to use God for his own purposes. But he still worshiped the Lord instead of someone else. That was enough for David to see himself as being on the “same side” in many respects as Saul.

We see in our text today that David is willing to continue fighting against the Philistines – even after getting some pointy objects thrown at him by the king. After their shared faith, David also saw their shared nationality as a great source of unity. There were some things just naturally important to all Israelites, and sometimes that meant he had to put down his hurt feelings and put down the internal divisions so he could support those bigger, shared things.

We also see in our text today that David saw his deep and meaningful relationships as more meaningful and durable than the divisions that might push them apart. He was more committed to Jonathan as a friend than he was committed to getting his own way.

So David found unity in things that he saw as more important than the divisions. He found unity in his shared faith. He found unity in his commitment to relationships. And at a more base level he found unity on some things with all Israelites – even the one who was chucking spears at him.

The question then turns around to face us: do we find more reasons to be united or more reasons to be divided? Some of that depends on where we are placing our focus.

The comedian Emo Philips tells of a time when he saw a guy laying down in the gutter, looking completely distraught. Worried that he might harm himself, Emo went up to him. Here’s how that conversation went.

“I said, “Tell me what’s wrong!” He said, “Nobody loves me.” I said, “God loves you. Do you believe in God?”

He said, “Yes.” I said, “Are you a Christian or a Jew?” He said, “A Christian.” I said, “Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?” He said, “Protestant.” I said, “Me, too! What franchise?” He said, “Baptist.” I said, “Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?” He said, “Northern Baptist.” I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?”

He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist.” I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?” He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region.” I said, “Me, too!”

Northern Conservative†Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?” He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.” I said, “Heretic!” And I pushed him back down into the gutter.”

That may be a joke, but it also hits pretty close to home. In theory, Christians everywhere should feel far more united than divided. We share an eternal destination. We share an unfathomable and undeserved love. We have been adopted into the same family through Jesus.

But that’s just the theory. Historically, we as Christians have not been all that great at seeing what unites us. Wars have been fought over church structure. People have been executed for having different views of Communion. When I was in seminary, one of the professors warned us that you can jeopardize your role as pastor of a church if you change the color of the carpet in the sanctuary. Incidentally, that’s one of the things we’ve looked at as part of our building renovation plan, so maybe my days are numbered here! The royal blue camp is going to have my head if I favor the forest green option!

Jesus himself framed this pretty directly. In John 13:34-35 Jesus said, “A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so also you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” We are commanded by Jesus to love one another AS HE LOVED US! That’s a VERY high bar! Our love for one another is supposed to be our #1 witness to the world.

That has historically not been the case within Christianity. But may it be true of us! Maybe love for one another is not true elsewhere, but MAY IT BE TRUE OF US RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW! May they know we are Christians by the love we have for one another.

We have been a church where people don’t all think alike. We have been a church with a diversity of thought. That’s not easy to find these days, and I can tell you that it’s not easy to maintain these days. Our church leadership articulated this as one of the values of our church: to “demonstrate the love of Christ at all times, even when politics or theology might divide us.” May that be true of us.

We have a significant number of people in our church who will vote on opposite sides in this election cycle. Nevertheless, may they know we are Jesus’ followers by the love we have for one another.

We have a significant number of people in our church who focus on different parts of the Bible to come to different theological stances on the hot button issues facing the global church. Nevertheless, may they know we are Jesus’ followers by the love we have for one another.

We have a significant number of people in our church with completely different takes on how safe it is to worship in-person right now during COVID-19. Nevertheless, may they know we are Jesus’ followers by the love that we have for one another.

Christianity hasn’t been great historically at demonstrating love despite our differences. Many churches and many Christians right now aren’t demonstrating love despite our differences. Nevertheless, may they know we at First Pres Littleton are Jesus’ followers by the love that we have for one another. May that be true of us!

This is not an easy task. But David stuck with his bigger values even when he had a spear chucked at him. Are we made of that kind of stuff?

Walking away from each other is easy. Seeing our differences as greater than our shared faith in Jesus is easy. Turning on each other is easy. Only talking with those who agree with you is easy. But Jesus didn’t call us to “easy.” Demonstrating the love of Christ isn’t easy. In Matthew 7, Jesus told us, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” May we find the narrow gate together here at First Pres Littleton. May the narrow way be our way. May it be true of us.

As most of you know, the New Testament was written in Greek. You might have heard before in your life of sermons that the Greek word for fellowship is “koinonia.” It’s the word used to describe the life of the early church. And it very literally means “a relationship among fellows.” But it is only possible if you can see others as your “fellows.” There must be something or some things that form a common bond larger than the things that might divide you. The early church was the fellowship of Jesus. Jesus was the one thing that united the wealthy widow patrons, the wandering refugees, the craftsmen, the slaves, the thinkers, and the outcasts. Those people wouldn’t mix and mingle with each other in a thousand years without their faith in Jesus. But through Jesus they became “fellows” and became part of a world-changing “fellowship.” May that “koinonia,” may that “fellowship” be true of us here at First Pres Littleton.

Summary

Sisters and brothers, David was committed to his bigger values even when Saul was chucking a spear at him. Even then, he saw their shared faith in the Lord, their shared status as Israelites, and their shared relationships outweighing the divisions between them.

Jesus said that the world would know we are his followers by loving one another AS HE LOVED US!

Does our shared faith in Jesus outweigh the spears we might want to throw at one another? I believe it does. But I hope that we don’t just think that. May it be true of us right here and right now. Amen.

Watch the Sermon

First Reading = 2 Samuel 11

11In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. 2It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. 3David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, “This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4So David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house. 5The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

6So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the people fared, and how the war was going. 8Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house, and wash your feet.” Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king. 9But Uriah slept at the entrance of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “You have just come from a journey. Why did you not go down to your house?” 11Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah remain in booths; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field; shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do such a thing.” 12Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day. On the next day, 13David invited him to eat and drink in his presence and made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

14In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so that he may be struck down and die.” 16As Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant warriors. 17The men of the city came out and fought with Joab; and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite was killed as well. 18Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting; 19and he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling the king all the news about the fighting, 20then, if the king’s anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21Who killed Abimelech son of Jerubbaal? Did not a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead too.’” 22So the messenger went, and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. 23The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us, and came out against us in the field; but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. 24Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall; some of the king’s servants are dead; and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” 25David said to the messenger, “Thus you shall say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter trouble you, for the sword devours now one and now another; press your attack on the city, and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.” 26When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she made lamentation for him. 27When the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord,

Introduction

We are still in our series about the Gospel According to David. David demonstrated, received, and desperately needed the grace of God just as Jesus’ disciples did so many years later. Last week we heard how David demonstrated unmerited grace and favor to someone who was heckling him. We were encouraged to choose someone who was pestering us or getting under our skin and choose to show them unmerited grace for one week.

As I promised, this week we are looking at how we need and receive the grace of God. And David demonstrates this in spades in our text today. In our first text, we heard the depth of David’s sins. You probably already knew that David had an affair with Bathsheba. But David was just getting warmed up!

He tried to trick Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah the Hittite. And the text notes how Uriah, a foreigner, was faithful to the Lord while David, the king of Israel, was trying to get away without getting caught in his sins. He then sent Uriah back to the army carrying his own death sentence in a sealed letter. To carry out David’s instructions to kill Uriah, the commander of Israel’s army had to send several soldiers to their deaths.

Just to add a little spice to the story, as if it needed more spice, Uriah was one of David’s Mighty Men. We heard about them last week. They were his most loyal soldiers and each of them, including Uriah, were famed for their prowess in battle.

This would be like Jason throwing away the lives of his Argonauts to save face. This would be like Odysseus killing some soldiers who went with him on the Odyssey to avoid being embarrassed. Or imagine if an American general had sacrificed an armored platoon to cover up some of his own shady dealings. How would that go over once it was discovered?

And that’s where our main text picks up the story. David thinks he got away with murder…literally. But there’s one person you can’t ever hide from… This is a bit of a long text, so try to hang with me.

Main Reading = 2 Samuel 12:1-25

12and the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2The rich man had very many flocks and herds; 3but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meager fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. 4Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.” 5Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; 6he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.” 7Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul; 8I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more. 9Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. 11Thus says the Lord: I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this very sun. 12For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.” 13David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan said to David, “Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child that is born to you shall die.”

15Then Nathan went to his house. The Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became very ill. 16David therefore pleaded with God for the child; David fasted, and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17The elders of his house stood beside him, urging him to rise from the ground; but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, “While the child was still alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us; how then can we tell him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” 19But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, he perceived that the child was dead; and David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” 20Then David rose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He went into the house of the Lord, and worshiped; he then went to his own house; and when he asked, they set food before him and he ate. 21Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while it was alive; but when the child died, you rose and ate food.” 22He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me, and the child may live.’ 23But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” 24Then David consoled his wife Bathsheba, and went to her, and lay with her; and she bore a son, and he named him Solomon. The Lord loved him, 25and sent a message by the prophet Nathan; so he named him Jedidiah, because of the Lord.

Accepting the Rebuke

I was just on the outskirts of a small Texas town. I was parked on the side of the road. I rolled down my window with a grimace on my face. “Did you know that you were doing 55 miles per hour when the speed limit was 30?”

“Well, officer, I knew I was going 55. I didn’t know the speed limit was 30. I thought it was still 55. I must’ve missed the speed limit sign,” I said venomously.

Unmoved by my explanation, the officer replied, “I need to see your license and registration.”

At this point, I realized that my anger was being a bit misdirected. So I took a deep breath to calm down, and I told the officer, “I’m sorry that I’m coming across as angry. I’m angry at myself for missing the sign, I’m not angry at you for doing your job.” He nodded to me and said, “I appreciate that.”

Now a really great ending to this story would be that he converted my sizable speeding ticket into a warning. But that’s not my story.

He decided to only write me up for going ten miles per hour over the speed limit instead of 25. That’s a big difference on the fine, let me tell you! And if you ever find yourself in the car with me…don’t worry, this was not a recent event. I’m twice the age I was when this happened.

Have you ever been called on the carpet to answer for something? Maybe it was a traffic ticket. Maybe it was a botched project at work. Maybe you let a secret slip and a friend confronted you. Maybe it was a family conflict – those are the biggest powder kegs of all.

If you’ve ever been called on the carpet to answer for something, how did you respond emotionally? Did you lash out at the other person? Did you deny it? Did you accept it right away, or did it take some time like me interacting with the police officer?

When I was trained in restorative practices, I learned that there are generally four automatic, knee-jerk reflex reactions when we’re called out like that. Some of us attack others. Some of us attack ourselves. Some of us avoid the problem and try to sweep it under the rug. Some of us withdraw and try to get away from the confrontation. Since it’s a reflex, the definition of a “healthy” reaction is based on how long you spend in your reflex versus how quickly you can get back under control.

We don’t know what David’s face looked like when Nathan cried out, “You are the man!” We don’t know what David was doing while Nathan delivered his message of rebuke from God. Maybe David was reaching for his sword to cut down Nathan. Maybe he was looking around for somewhere to hide. We don’t know.

But we do know how he replied at the end of Nathan’s message. It’s simple. It’s direct. “I have sinned against the Lord.”

Now, let’s imagine that Nathan and David had lived inside of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. There’s a scene where Sampson bites his thumb at Abraham as a sign of disrespect. Abraham says, “Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?” “I do bite my thumb, sir.” It goes on like this for a while until they draw swords and fight each other over the “dishonor” of a rude gesture.

David could have done that to Nathan. But he didn’t.

How many rulers would accept that public criticism and admit their failure? How many kings would sit there and take it instead of killing the audacious prophet standing in front of them? How many bosses or co-workers or family members or friends have you had who would raise their hand and say, “You’re right. It was me. I’ve sinned against the Lord.”? Not many, I bet. Some would get there eventually, but that was David’s first reply.

So let’s give David a little credit here for being willing to accept the public rebuke. Most people aren’t quite that composed when they’re called onto the carpet to answer for their sins.

Has someone been trying to tell you something, but you haven’t been willing to hear it? Is God trying to tell you something, but you haven’t been willing to hear it? If so, I encourage you to listen as David did to Nathan’s message from the Lord.

Consequences

So we gave David his credit. But admitting your fault doesn’t usually get you out of adultery, abuse of power, misuse of the the army, callous disregard for the lives of soldiers, and – lest we forget – murder. In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the knight Lancelot charges into battle to rescue a supposed damsel in distress. In his wake lie dozens of people in their finest clothes. A man shouts at him, “This is a wedding! You killed eight wedding guests! You killed the father of the bride, that’s all!” And Lancelot replies, “Very sorry. You see, I didn’t mean to…Is he all right?”

Sometimes, “Sorry” doesn’t cut it!

And sometimes, even admitting, “I have sinned against the Lord” doesn’t get rid of all the consequences of our actions. Sometimes when God forgives us and restores us, God says to us, “I still love you, but I’m not going to save you from the dominoes you started knocking down.” Just as the police officer reduced my fine but didn’t eliminate all the consequences of my unintentional speeding, sometimes we have to face the music.

That’s what happens to David in our text today. Nathan summarizes it well, “Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child that is born to you shall die.” And Nathan also shares that God will raise up trouble from within David’s own household, and violence will pervade his family.

If you remember last week we talked about the rebellion of David’s son Absalom. That rebellion essentially fulfilled much of what the Lord foretold today. David prevailed, but at the cost of several members of his family and he lost the respect of many in Israel.

In a similar way, I know families who have had to tell a child or a spouse with an addiction, “I love you and I’ll be there for you, but I can’t have you in this house. It’s too dangerous for everyone else to have you here.” That’s gut-wrenching for all involved, but sometimes it’s necessary. Love can restore a relationship, but it doesn’t always get rid of the natural consequences of someone’s actions. God demonstrates that with David in our text today.

Receiving Grace

So to recap, David gets a little credit because he accepted the rebuke and admitted that he “sinned against the Lord.” But, like Lancelot wiping out the wedding guests in Monty Python, sometimes, “I’m sorry” doesn’t cut it. God did not abandon him, but God also made David face the consequences of his actions.

Now for the good news part of this sermon. Are you ready for that switch? I am. There are two very big pieces of good news.

First piece of good news. When I was a child, I could have the greatest day. I could go to an arcade, get ice cream, and somehow convince my parents to buy me a cheap plastic sword at the toy store. But then when that plastic sword inevitably broke, I would bluster, “I’m just having a bad day!” All the good didn’t matter, because something bad happened!

In our text today, bad things happened. Lots of bad things happened. Let’s move our focus away from David and ask Bathsheba to recap her year. She had an adulterous relationship with the king. Her husband was murdered by that king. Her child born out of wedlock died. That’s a bad year for Bathsheba – even by our crazy 2020 standards!

But the bad news didn’t get the last word. The bad news – and it was very bad news – wasn’t the end of the story. Like Jesus’ death on Good Friday, Bathsheba’s terrible year wasn’t the end of the story. There was new life, new grace, to be experienced. God wasn’t done with her yet.

Her next child with David was Solomon. Out of David’s many, many children, do you know who became the next king? Solomon. This wasn’t grace toward David. This was grace toward Bathsheba, in my eyes. She who had been lowered so far was elevated in the end. That’s the first piece of good news. The bad news doesn’t get the last word with our God. Friday isn’t the end of the story, because Sunday is coming. You may be in the middle of bad news – real, very bad news. Your relationship with Jesus doesn’t make that bad news good somehow. Instead, your relationship with Jesus helps you see that your bad news doesn’t define you and it isn’t the last word on you or your life. Jesus defines you. Jesus gets the last word on your life. And that word is “Loved,” not “Condemned.” If you’re in the midst of bad news right now, hang on to that piece of good news for dear life.

Confession

Now for the second piece of good news. As a pastor, I pretty regularly hear from people that they don’t know if God can forgive them for something they did. I pretty regularly hear from people that they don’t believe that God will still want to hear from them or see them because of something they did. Maybe you’ve felt that way before. Maybe you know someone who feels that way.

Consider this. We see in our text today how God speaks to David through Nathan, “Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die.” So David was granted forgiveness and even grace. The vast, vast majority of us have never done anything from a human perspective that even approaches what David did in our text today. I mean, David could be facing the death penalty in some states if he were to do these things today! I’ve messed up a lot in my life, but I haven’t done anything that could get me the death penalty. Most of us haven’t. But we see that even if our actions approach the level of David’s abhorrent actions, God can still restore us to right relationship with him.

The consequences usually don’t go away. But our relationship with God isn’t destroyed even by such terrible actions as David’s. As long as we can say, like David, “I have sinned against the Lord.” If we can admit that, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is available. That’s good news.

If you are willing to receive the Lord’s honest reply and the Lord’s unending love, if you have those two things, then you can’t out-sin Jesus’ forgiveness and grace. Let me sit there for a second. If you are willing to hear the Lord’s honest evaluation of your actions and you are willing to let Jesus love you, then you can’t out-sin Jesus’ forgiveness and grace.

So are you willing, like David, to receive God’s honest thoughts about your actions? Are you willing to say, “I have sinned against the Lord?” And are you willing to let Jesus love you? Are you willing to say, “I don’t understand it, but I trust that Jesus loves me?” If you are willing, God is willing. Your sins cannot outpace the love of Jesus Christ. So even if you are the source of your own bad news, Jesus still says, “Loved” instead of “Condemned.” That’s pretty good news.

Many years ago, I interviewed at a church where they didn’t have a time of confession and assurance of pardon during their worship services. I asked the pastor about that, and he told me that confession didn’t really gel with the culture of the area. That’s when I knew I couldn’t go to that church.

Because confession isn’t about what “gels” with our culture. And confession isn’t about ensuring that we feel properly bad about all of our mistakes. That’s a common misconception.

No, confession is about claiming the shocking freedom that is found in Jesus. Just about every other religion in the world requires people to earn their way into their god’s favor.

But Jesus takes our weakness and replaces it with his strength. Jesus takes our sin upon himself and replaces it with his right standing with God. Jesus takes our lies and our failings and our missteps and replaces them with his love. Confession isn’t about feeling bad about things so that Jesus will forgive you. Confession is about opening the windows of our souls and letting the love of Jesus blow in some fresh air. Confession is like ventilation. Confession is a cross-breeze. It’s a breath of fresh air – the very breath of God.

I was once working on a project in our basement. I was trying to figure out how to turn discarded plastic bottles into feed stock for my 3D printer. And I learned something that day. Some plastics have to be treated very carefully when they’re recycled. If you don’t handle them properly, they have this unfortunate tendency to explode and catch fire. After I learned this lesson, my entire basement smelled like burned plastic. The fumes were also very toxic, but who’s counting?

Would it have been useful for me to pretend that the fumes weren’t toxic? Would it have been useful for me to pretend that the basement didn’t smell like burned plastic? “No honey, I can’t smell that! I don’t know what you’re talking about!” When the basement stinks, you need to get some fresh air. That’s confession. In confession, we acknowledge what stinks so Jesus can bring some fresh air into our souls.

So to close today, I’m going to give all of us a chance to let in a little fresh air – to breathe some of the breath of God in our souls. I’m going to give you 30 seconds – it’ll feel like an eternity, but it’s just 30 seconds – to consider what stinks and ask Jesus to ventilate that part of your soul. What do you need to confess? Whatever it is, you can’t out-sin Jesus’ love. Take the next 30 seconds to bring in that fresh air.

[PAUSE 30 SECONDS]

Sisters and brothers, our bad news doesn’t get the last word. Jesus gets the last word. And he says, “Loved,” not “Condemned.” That’s the grace of God. And like David, we all need it. Receive it today. Amen.

First Reading = 2 Samuel 4:4, 9:1-13

4Saul’s son Jonathan had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled; and, in her haste to flee, it happened that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.

9David asked, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and he was summoned to David. The king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “At your service!” 3The king said, “Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” Ziba said to the king, “There remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” 4The king said to him, “Where is he?” Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” 5Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. 6Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David, and fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, “Mephibosheth!” He answered, “I am your servant.” 7David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always.” 8He did obeisance and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon a dead dog such as I?”

9Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson. 10You and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him, and shall bring in the produce, so that your master’s grandson may have food to eat; but your master’s grandson Mephibosheth shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do.” Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons. 12Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants. 13Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.

Introduction

We are continuing our series looking at the Gospel according to David. In this series, we are looking at how David receives, grants, and desperately needs the grace of God – just like Jesus’ disciples. Last week we heard how David had a strong sense of calling – he knew his purpose as defined by God. This week we are watching how David responds when he has opportunities for vengeance. In our first text, we heard how he honored Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth out of his great friendship for Jonathan – even though Mephibosheth and his family could be seen as threats to his own rule since they were descendants of the previous king.

In our main text today, we are jumping way ahead in the story. David is returning after one of the darkest periods of his life. His son, Absalom, led a rebellion and David was forced out of Jerusalem and into hiding. As David was leading his loyal army out of town, various people took the opportunity to kick him while he was down.

One such heckler was Shimei son of Gera. He was from the same tribe as Saul, the previous king, and he was steaming mad that David had taken the throne. Shimei saw David’s retreat as evidence that God had turned against David. And, interestingly, David does not dispute this interpretation.

So we’ll watch Shimei give David some good old-fashioned heckling, and then we’ll jump ahead several chapters to David’s return. David eventually emerged victorious over Absalom, and the second half of our text is David’s return to power. He went right back up those same streets he had used to flee Jerusalem. He saw the same people, but now he was riding high instead of slinking away. Let’s see how David responds to Shimei in both instances.

Main Reading = 2 Samuel 16:5-14, 19:16-23

5When King David came to Bahurim, a man of the family of the house of Saul came out whose name was Shimei son of Gera; he came out cursing. 6He threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David; now all the people and all the warriors were on his right and on his left. 7Shimei shouted while he cursed, “Out! Out! Murderer! Scoundrel! 8The Lord has avenged on all of you the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, disaster has overtaken you; for you are a man of blood.” 9Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.” 10But the king said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord has said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’” 11David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own son seeks my life; how much more now may this Benjaminite!

Let him alone, and let him curse; for the Lord has bidden him. 12It may be that the Lord will look on my distress, and the Lord will repay me with good for this cursing of me today.” 13So David and his men went on the road, while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went, throwing stones and flinging dust at him. 14The king and all the people who were with him arrived weary at the Jordan; and there he refreshed himself.

[Now we’re jumping ahead to chapter 19 where David is returning to Jerusalem after defeating the rebellion.]

16Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite, from Bahurim, hurried to come down with the people of Judah to meet King David; 17with him were a thousand people from Benjamin. And Ziba, the servant of the house of Saul, with his fifteen sons and his twenty servants, rushed down to the Jordan ahead of the king, 18while the crossing was taking place, to bring over the king’s household, and to do his pleasure. Shimei son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was about to cross the Jordan, 19and said to the king, “May my lord not hold me guilty or remember how your servant did wrong on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem; may the king not bear it in mind. 20For your servant knows that I have sinned; therefore, see, I have come this day, the first of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.” 21Abishai son of Zeruiah answered, “Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord’s anointed?” 22But David said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should today become an adversary to me? Shall anyone be put to death in Israel this day? For do I not know that I am this day king over Israel?” 23The king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king gave him his oath.

Grace or Judgment

Well I have two main memories of my English literature class at the University of Texas. First, I got hooked on a 12,000 page novel series during that semester and decided to read my novels instead of the assigned readings for the entire semester. I read plenty of English literature, just not what the professor thought I should read. And second, I vividly remember this exercise in my breakout group.

We were each handed a series of short essays. Each essay was from a real student’s application to the University of Texas. Identifying information was removed, of course. And after we read the applications, the TA asked us to decide the fate of each student’s application based on their essay. And then we had to share our reasons with the breakout group.

I was willing to let all of them in if they met the other requirements for entry. Some of my classmates had a bone to pick with one or another of the essays. And then the last guy to share his thoughts told us in a very ominous tone, “I wouldn’t let any of them in! The University of Texas is a prestigious university, and I don’t believe any of these are up to our standards!”

I don’t think he would’ve liked my application essay, either. I tried to be funny. That’s not very prestigious.

What an interesting exercise, though, right? It reveals so much! Some of us were just making sure someone could clear the established minimum bar. Some had a few buttons that could be pushed. And then that guy, who clearly saw his role as a gatekeeper. A kind of judge on someone’s worthiness. “You get what you deserve! Good people like me get good things, and bad people like you get bad things!”

Let us contrast that mentality with what David does in our text today. I mean, you’ve gotta hand it to Shimei. He’s shouting and cursing David, who, even though he’s retreating, is still at the head of an army that includes a group known as “the Mighty Men.” Verbally attacking the Mighty Men seems…unwise. Shimei has some chutzpah for insulting the Mighty Men! And one of them, Abishai, wants to make that point. Literally. “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.”

But what is David’s reply? “Let him alone, and let him curse; for the Lord has bidden him. It may be that the Lord will look on my distress, and the Lord will repay me with good for this cursing of me today.”

And lest we think that David is only showing grace when he’s afraid of God’s judgment, let’s see the exchange between Abishai and David on their triumphal return. When Shimei begs for forgiveness, Abishai says, “Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord’s anointed?” But David says, “Shall anyone be put to death in Israel this day? For do I not know that I am this day king over Israel?” And David gives Shimei his oath that he will not kill him.

Now, David’s no fool. When his son Solomon succeeds him as king, David gives him a warning to watch Shimei like a hawk. But given two very easy opportunities to take out his frustration on Shimei, who was absolutely tempting fate by insulting an army, David decides to grant him unmerited grace. He doesn’t just forgive him, David grants Shimei an oath not to kill him. That’s above and beyond. That’s not just forgiveness, that’s grace.

And the Mighty Men can’t believe it. “Shimei doesn’t deserve forgiveness, let alone grace! Shimei doesn’t deserve to live,” as Abishai makes clear. They have a hard time understanding David’s forgiveness, and they are completely dumbfounded by this extra step of grace.

The Gospel of Grace

This reminds me of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, during his betrayal by Judas. Peter grabs his sword and chops off the ear of one of the people who came to seize Jesus. But Jesus stops him and heals the ear of the man who has come to arrest him. Jesus didn’t just forgive those who arrested him, he went above and beyond to heal one of them. That’s unmerited grace.

That same Peter denied Jesus three times, and yet Jesus personally restored him after Jesus’ resurrection. That’s not just forgiveness. That’s unmerited grace.

Jesus on the cross prayed for those killing him, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And Stephen mimicked Jesus when a crowd was stoning him to death. He prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Praying for those who are killing you unjustly? That’s unmerited grace.

Next week we’ll talk about needing and receiving grace ourselves. But this week we’re talking about showing grace to others. This is at the very epicenter of our faith. Jesus told us that if someone strikes you on the cheek, turn the other cheek. If someone places a burden upon you for one mile, carry it another mile. Jesus told us to pray for those who persecute us, to bless our enemies. Jesus wants us to demonstrate the Gospel of grace, just as David did with Shimei in our text today.

Not just forgiveness, but unmerited grace and favor. This is hard to accept. This doesn’t feel right. This doesn’t feel proper for such a prestigious establishment as ours. We should be able to punch back, to get even, to take the Shimeis in our lives and let Abishai have his way with them! Bring on the sword for such insolence!

But that’s not the Gospel. That’s not Jesus. That’s not grace as Jesus showed us and taught us and expected us to demonstrate. If you want to follow Jesus, you’re going to run into this difficult concept of demonstrating grace.

D.A. Carson imagines this as our internal desire for our faith.

“I would like to buy about three dollars worth of gospel, please. Not too much – just enough to make me happy, but not so much that I get addicted. I don’t want so much gospel that I learn to really hate covetousness and lust. I certainly don’t want so much that I start to love my enemies and cherish self-denial…I want ecstasy, not repentance; I want transcendence, not transformation. I would like to be cherished by some nice, forgiving, broad-minded people, but I myself don’t want to love those who are different from me – especially if they smell. I would like enough gospel to make my family secure and my children well behaved, but not so much that I find my ambitions redirected or my giving too greatly enlarged. I would like three dollars worth of gospel, please, three dollars worth of gospel.”

You see, grace sounds great. Until there’s a Shimei hurling insults at us. Grace sounds great. Until we’re stuck inside for months and it’s starting to get on our nerves. Grace sounds great. But you won’t believe what he said…, or you won’t believe what she did…, or you won’t believe what I read today…

Grace sounds great. Until it demands more than three dollars worth of gospel from us. Grace is difficult in the best of times, and we are not in the best of times. And I’m using “we” here very intentionally. I need to hear this, too. My fuse is shorter. My patience is thinner. My awareness of shortcomings is much greater. Grace during this time takes far more than three dollars worth of gospel.

Summary

So here’s my challenge for all of us this week. Pick one person – just one person – to be your Shimei this week. No matter what they say. No matter what they do. No matter how they insult you. No matter what they deserve. Grant them unmerited grace. Unmerited favor. Like David to Shimei, like Jesus to so, so many, like Stephen to the crowd who were killing him, demonstrate unmerited grace to your Shimei this week. Who would that be? Think about that for a moment.

A quick side note, here. In our text today, Shimei couldn’t actually hurt David. David was a warrior surrounded by warriors. Shimei was basically throwing his shoe at a soldier. He couldn’t actually hurt David. So if there’s someone who’s actually hurting you, that’s not a Shimei. That’s a situation where you might need to retreat like David. Shimei couldn’t hurt David, so he showed him grace. Absalom could hurt David, and so he retreated. Keep that in mind. A Shimei isn’t someone who is physically hurting you. A Shimei is someone who annoys you or gets under your skin. Keep that in mind when you pick your Shimei this week to show unmerited grace.

Sisters and brothers, demonstrating grace to the Shimei’s in our lives requires far more than three dollars worth of gospel. How much gospel do you want in your life? And will you demonstrate that gospel – even to the Shimei’s of the world? Amen.