The Voice Who Are You?

That one thing I can't escape

I believed what I heard Over and over growing up

They won't let me Move on and change

You are not what They say about you (Pretty boy)

(Victim) You are not what Has been done to you

You are not What you’ve done

What we allow to define us Limits us And keeps us from God's best for us

If Only… Not God's voice…

Even Now… The voice of your Jesus

David is now a King And has a great start As a good King

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war,

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

The wrong place At the wrong time Rarely leads to the right thing

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace.

From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her.

The man said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” Hint, Hint!

Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.)

That's why you don't Indulge lust in the first place

Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant” - 2 Samuel 11:1-5

The litter box

The litter box David tries to get Uriah drunk

The litter box Then he involves his own men in a plot to have Uriah killed

This righteous King Who represents God… Involves his men In a murder plot

Litter boxes have to be emptied sometime

This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: "I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms.

I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more"

It all came from ME Undeserved, as a gift

The two lies: I did this by my own strength So I deserve…

The two lies: God won't give it to me But I can still get it Without consequences

If I can't ask God for it That's a pretty good indicator That it's not his will for me

"Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes?

"Do not commit adultery" "Do not covet Your neighbor's wife" "Do not murder"

But…I'm a King Those were written Long ago But this is different…

You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites"

"Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own" - 2 Samuel 12:8-10

All sin is ultimately against God And God takes it personally

Did David screw up?

Did David screw up? God forgives And announces consequences

This is David's moment to Accept forgiveness And move on

What they called him Didn't define him What he suffered Didn't define him

What he did Began to define him

Amnon and Tamar- forced

Amnon and Tamar- forced David does…nothing

Amnon and Tamar- rape Absolom- murder

David does…nothing

When we let our past define us We lose the ability to deal Effectively with our present

We lose the ability to deal effectively with our present It's an "If only" without an "Even now"

The Story of David

David is defined by family He chooses to allow God to define him Even though they keep talking…

Who am I allowing to define me? Why? What does God say about me? Will I believe it and let it change me?

Do I need the approval And affirmation of others? Why?

David is hunted down To be killed unjustly He chooses to let God be his justice He's not defined by victimhood Or by bitterness

What unforgiveness and bitterness Am I holding onto? Why? Do I trust that God will be my justice? Will I let him?

David is defined by his sin And it becomes a snare And a trap That ruins his family And his kingdom

Have I asked forgiveness For the big thing I did? Have I repented? Am I still believing I'm not forgiven? Why?

"If onlys" are regrets Based on things We can't change They place a period Where God wants a comma

"If onlys" are a lie From the enemy That you can't now because of What happened then

"Even nows" are declarations of faith that what we can't see with our eyes or understand with our minds We will believe in our hearts And act on in our lives

An "even now" killed Goliath An "even now" kept David strong An "even now" set the tone for his Kingdom by mourning his enemy's death

Never put a period Where God has Placed a comma

The cross is An exclamation point Much greater than Your "If only"

The cross is an Even now!

God wants more for you Than where you've been What your past says about you What people continue to say

God makes all things new His mercies are new every morning If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. Old is gone. The new has come.