TITLE: 2 Important Safeguards in Life
WELCOME: Good morning! Welcome to Olathe Life Fellowship. Thank you for choosing to spend a part of your weekend with us here this morning.
The ushers are coming down the aisle to pass out our Sunday morning attendance sheets. If you are a first time guest with us this morning ¡V you can relax¡K we have a ¡§NO HASSEL¡¨ guarantee¡K we¡¦re not going to send people to your house on 10-speeds to deliver fruit cake or anything.
Regular attendees please look for NEW people in your row so you can introduce yourself after the service!
If you are NEW here I would recommend you go through our web site to get all your questions answered. And if you still have questions after reading through the web site please feel free to call us we¡¦d love to help you any way we can. Thank you!
INTRODUCTION: I hope everyone here realizes that God loves you. No matter how messed up you think your life is, or how bad you have been¡K He still loves you and He wants to help you live a fulfilled and happy life.
I think we wonder, ¡§Well if that is true then ¡§WHY¡¨? Why is this happening to me, or why did that happen over there¡K?¡¨
I think we think its automatic¡K and we forget that a BIG part of us living the Life God has intended for us depends on us, and those we¡¦ve surrounded ourselves with and our willingness to change. Like I mentioned last week¡K we need to take responsibility for our lives.
So, we finished up our series, THE GOOD LIFE last week and we are onto a new series called, STUFF WE NEED TO KNOW.
So today we are going to talk about; 2 VERY IMPORTANT SAFEGUARDS IN LIFE.
Two things that we need to have in our lives to protect us from ruining our lives¡K or derailing our lives.
So many times we find ourselves derailed, and typically it¡¦s because we didn¡¦t listen to the safeguards¡K the things that could have protected us from the pitfall.
Sometimes we look at safeguards as hindrances, restrictive, obtrusive, limiting¡Kwe say, ¡§it¡¦ just slows us down.¡¨ That¡¦s a lie we all fall victim to.
Speed limits are an example of safeguards¡K and when we ignore them (though I never do ¡V laugh) we pay the price¡K safeguards are in place to protect us.
Here is the truth ¡V WE ALL NEED SAFEGUARDS.
Why? Many times we make choices that we would condemn others for making. It is helpful to ask ourselves how God and others see our actions. Unfortunately we all have a huge capacity to lie to ourselves. God still provides 2 safeguards against self-deception ¡V His Word & True Friends.
The tough part is allowing these 2 safeguards to speak to us¡K because many times it can be painful ¡V as they say, ¡§truth hurts!¡¨
John 8:32 ¡§Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.¡¨
THEME: Accountability ¡V God¡¦s Word & True Friends
MAIN POINT: All of us need safeguards, or checks-n-balances in our life to keep us on track! Also this morning I hope to heighten in you a desire or hunger to read the Bible¡K not so you can say, ¡§I read the Bible today¡K¡¨ and you get a sticker! (laugh)¡K but for what it will make of you!
2 SAFEGUARDS
1.) The WORD of God. (The Bible)
„Ï Psalms 119:105 ¡§Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.¡¨
The words of God offer us direction; it is a guide to help our lives be the best it can be.
This is why they put the word ¡§bible¡¨ after a title¡K the Cooking bible¡K why? To communicate in a title that this cookbook will tell you everything you need to know about cooking¡K a guide to being a better cook!
The Bible is just that¡K a guide to being a better person¡K to have a better life¡K logically it makes since that the Bible would be helpful, since God created life, then spoke to and through men of old who then wrote down what God said¡K and if we¡¦d study the writings found within we¡¦d be guided better in this life.
James 1:22-24 ¡§Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.¡¨
2.) True FRIENDS.
Scripture qualities of a friend¡K
„Ï Proverbs 17:17 ¡§A friend loves at all times¡K¡¨
„Ï Proverbs 17:9 ¡§He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.¡¨
„Ï Proverbs 10:12 ¡§¡Klove covers over all wrongs...¡¨
SET THE STAGE: This morning we are going to look at a fascinating story of a famous King; King David and a prophet, or Pastor ¡§man of God¡¨ if you will¡K and a friend to David; Nathan¡K Nathan was a fearless friend, and counselor to David and we¡¦ll see how in their story that SAFEGUARDS saved David from even more trouble in his life and helped David receive God¡¦s FORGIVENESS.
In the verses I am going to read to you come as a result of David¡¦s great sin with Bathsheba. But it gets worse¡K David no only had an affair with another man¡¦s wife; he then to cover his sin up had Uriah, Bathsheba¡¦s husband sent to the front lines of war (where the fiercest fighting was taking place) so that he would be killed. And he was.
There is a lot more to the story¡Klies, deception, and cover up in the story¡K would make for a great soap opera¡K ¡§AS THE BIBLE TURNS¡¨. (laugh)
So this is why Nathan is being sent to King David¡K to deal with all that stuff¡K
TEXT: 2 Samuel 12:1-7 ¡§The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
"Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him."
David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity." Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man!
PRAY
¡§God speak to us this morning, help each of us to open our ears to hear and open our hearts to receive¡K we want to be changed for the GOOD of others, ourselves, our families¡K we want to leave this morning better people for having heard this message. In Jesus name Amen!¡¨
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THIS STORY?
1.) God often SENDS people to us to HELP us.
2 Samuel 12:1-7 ¡§The LORD sent Nathan to David.
a. God doesn¡¦t want to leave us where we are.
b. God knows what we need.
2.) Don¡¦t JUDGE; our goal should be to RESTORE.
Galatians 6:1 ¡§Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.¡¨
a. Nathan was trying to get David to recognize his own sin¡K so he would repent¡K not just feel bad.
b. It difficult not to judge sometimes¡K because it makes us feel superior or better.
3.) This should be done in CONFIDENCE.
Proverbs 11:13 ¡§A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.¡¨
Proverbs 16:28 ¡§A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends.¡¨
Proverbs 20:19 ¡§A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much.¡¨
Proverbs 26:20 ¡§Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.¡¨
a. When we go to someone to restore them, it¡¦s between you, them and God.
b. Love covers a multitude of sins.
Matthew 18:15-16 ¡§If your brother sins against you go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ’every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.¡¨
This is different then a public sin, like what we are hearing about on the NEWS over the last few days. Someone who stands in the public eye is responsible to the public. That is part of the high price of living a life in front of others.
Our sin or sins affect others... sin is not a solo act. We sometimes think that we are only hurting ourselves, but our sin hurts others! And the more you are known, the more people who are affected by your life ¡V Good or Bad!
CONCLUSION: I hope today we will not live our lives without help¡K SAFEGUARDS (the Word of God & True Friends) that when in their proper place will help guide, guard and direct us in the direction that is best for us and others.
BOTTOM LINE/CHALLENGE:
1.) READ THE BIBLE EVERYDAY THIS WEEK!
2.) PRAY THAT GOD WOULD SEND YOU A TRUE FRIEND (if you do not already have one!)
