ECCLESIASTES
4:9-12
These past few days we
have called the church to go “all in” on living in Christian Community. In
Sunday’s devotional I gave you some connection opportunities. Here are a couple
more that some of you may want to take advantage of (especially those of you
living in the Mesquite area):
Saturdays at 6:00 PM |
2728 Spring Rain Drive Mesquite, TX 75181 | Craig and Socorro Brey 214-478-8299
Young Married Couples |
Sunday Twice a Month | Next Meeting is THIS Sunday, January 25 | 2520 Woodcreek
Mesquite, TX 75181 | Pastor Karl Tingle 214-448-1396
Today I want us to examine
the theme of accountability. Some of you reading this are new to the Christian
faith and may not understand exactly what “accountability” is. In short,
accountability is the practice of Christians “looking out” for one another
spiritually. This could be something as simple as checking in with someone to
see if they are maintaining a healthy habit of prayer and Bible study, or
something as aggressive as confronting someone about an egregious sin in their
life. The truth is we all have the propensity to fall into apathy and
compromise. Even the most committed among us need someone standing guard over
their soul. While some Christians are resistant to the idea of needing
accountability, the Bible is clear that even the godliest man or woman can fall
prey to temptation. As Henry Ward Beecher says, “All men are tempted.
There is no man that lives that can't be broken down, provided it is the right
temptation, put in the right spot.”
I think this truth is most
notably played out in the life of King David. Many people recognize David as
the young shepherd boy who defeated a Philistine giant named Goliath. While
this definitely looks good on David’s resumé, there is something else that is
even more impressive. David has received the mother of all compliments from
none other than God Himself. God, speaking of David, refers to him as “a man
after my own heart (see 1 Samuel 13:13, Acts 13:22).” Wow! Is there
any greater compliment in this life than to have God declare that your heart
reminds Him of His own? Forget winning a Grammy or an Oscar. Forget the
Nobel Prize. There is no greater honor that could be bestowed upon humanity.
David’s heart is so God-like, that God can’t help but promote David from
shepherd to warrior to king.
So what was it about David
that caused God to look upon him so favorably? That’s an interesting thing to
ponder because David is somewhat enigmatic. On the one hand he is a rough and
rugged warrior. As a shepherd he killed lions and bears. On a stage bigger than
a UFC headliner he absolutely destroys Goliath. It wasn’t enough to kill Goliath
with a stone to his forehead. David followed it up by cutting Goliath’s head
off with Goliath’s sword. Then as a warrior in the Israeli army, David becomes
a legend. So awesome is David at kicking the butts of God’s enemies that people
literally sing songs about how “David has killed his tens of thousands.” So
I think we can all agree at this point that David is a man’s man. And yet this
Braveheart is also a passionate lover of God. He is a worshiper. Wielding his
harp, he composes beautiful songs to the Lord. David is Jason Bourne and Chris
Tomlin melded into one man. And God loves this warrior-poet.
So let’s jump ahead in the
story. As the King of Israel, David has experienced phenomenal success. His
kingdom is thriving. His subjects love him and his enemies fear him. He is at
the top of his game. Success is all he has known. But then the story takes a
dramatic turn. All of David’s victory has caused him to become prideful and
overly confident. Not only has he never backed down from a fight, he has never
lost one. But on one spring afternoon he will be defeated by an enemy he
never saw coming—his own lust. Instead of fighting on the field of battle,
David decides to “sit this one out” and hang back at the palace. In this
ego-driven state he takes notice of his married neighbor bathing. David doesn’t
look away. No—he grabs his binoculars, throwing gasoline on the flames of his
lust. He sends for her, then sleeps with her. He sends her away thinking his
“dirty little secret” won’t be revealed. Wrong. Bathsheba is pregnant. David
has to cover this up, so he summons her husband off the battlefield. When Uriah
returns home to Bathsheba he will surely make love to her, right? Wrong. Uriah
sleeps on the steps of his home. He does not have it in him to sleep in his own
bed when his buddies are living in tents on the battlefield. David learns of
this and makes another attempt at it. This time he throws a party and gets
Uriah drunk. Surely any red-blooded man who is good and “liquored up” will go
home to his wife, right? Wrong. Even in his drunken state, Uriah has more
character than the king he serves. He again sleeps outside his front door. So
now David has to bring out the big guns. He will send Uriah back to the
battlefield. Before he leaves, David gives him a sealed letter and asks him to
pass it on to the commander of the army, Joab. Uriah is unknowingly carrying
his own death certificate. David has written to Joab, instructing him to have
Uriah struck down in battle. Joab sees to it and Uriah is dead. So now David is
safe, right? Wrong. God speaks to a prophet named Nathan, revealing the secret
sin that David has committed. Let’s pick up in 2 Samuel 12:1-12:
So the LORD sent Nathan
the prophet to tell David this story: “There were two men in a certain town.
One was rich, and one was poor. 2 The rich man owned a great many sheep and
cattle. 3 The
poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little
lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man’s own plate and
drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. 4 One day a
guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal
from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it and
prepared it for his guest.”
5 David
was furious. “As surely as the LORD lives,” he vowed, “any man who would do
such a thing deserves to die! 6 He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the
one he stole and for having no pity.”
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are
that man! The LORD, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and
saved you from the power of Saul. 8 I gave you your master’s house and his wives and
the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have
given you much, much more. 9 Why, then, have you despised the word of the LORD
and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the
sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife. 10 From this time on, your family will
live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be
your own.
11 “This
is what the LORD says: Because of what you have done, I will cause your own
household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man before
your very eyes, and he will go to bed with them in public view. 12 You did it
secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all
Israel.” 13 Then
David confessed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
You want an unedited image
of what accountability looks like? Here you have it. One believer is boldly
confronting the other. Nathan crafts an incredible “tale” of a man who stole
something very valuable from another man—his single beloved lamb. David is
enraged! “This man must die!” he exclaims. But then the prophet turns the
tables on him. “You are that man!” David is busted. There is no tip-toeing
around it. No more hiding. His sins have found him out (see Numbers 32:23).
So finally he quits hiding, pretending, and covering up. He comes clean and
confesses.
Let’s land the plane. What
is the take-away from all of this? It’s really simple actually. First off,
all of us are capable of falling into sin. All of us includes YOU. If you
are reading this and think you are incapable of falling into sin, can I
lovingly tell you that you are thinking foolishly? Only a pride-filled person
would believe that. The Bible warns us about the danger of our pride preceding
our fall (see 1 Corinthians 10:12). And besides all that, didn’t we just
read a story about a man “after God’s own heart” who fell into grievous sin?
Don’t think that you are untouchable. Secondly, we see our need for people
who will get in our face and confront our sin. Do you have anyone in your
life who will love you this way? Or have you surrounded yourself with cowards
who are more worried about you liking them? It takes a TRUE friend to call
you out when you are sinning. That’s TRUE LOVE. Someone who sees you
sinning and doesn’t speak up does not love you at all. Would you call someone a
good parent if they let their child play in a busy street? Why would you
call someone a “good friend” if they sat quietly while you play Russian
Roulette with sin?
If a “man after God’s own
heart” needed tough love and accountability, what makes us think we don’t? The
great irony is that often times we get angry at people who see us drifting into
sin and speak up. We claim they are “self righteous” or “judging us”. That
could very well be. OR, and more likely, they are speaking up because they love
you and don’t want to see you make a mess of things. Don’t resist
accountability. You need it! I need it! One of the greatest gifts God
can give you is someone who has the courage to speak up when they see you
slipping. Do you have a Nathan in your life? Is there anyone who loves your
soul at that level?
This is yet another reason
to get connected to a small group. You need to be known. Can I echo what I said
on Sunday—you will not find someone like this if you are on a “Sunday mornings
only” plan. Take that next step and go all in on being more connected.
“Two people are better
off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the
other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble
(Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).”
