Love That Covers a Multitude of Sins - 4

Love That Covers a Multitude of Sins - 4

Subject: Love Like You Have Never Been Hurt

by Rick Welborne

1 Peter 4:7-8 (NLT2)
⁷  The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.
⁸  Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:7-8 (NCV)
⁷ The time is near when all things will end. So think clearly and control yourselves so you will be able to pray.
⁸  Most importantly, love each other deeply, because love will cause many sins to be forgiven. 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT2)
⁴  Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud
⁵  or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
⁶  It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
⁷  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 

--November 6, 2018 the elections…the midterms are coming and it is imperative that all of us vote and it is imperative that all of us pray…I hope you are praying without ceasing. 

--Just in case you have been wondering if it matters whether you vote or not…it matters. Look at those around you and say, “It matters!” 

Proverbs 29:2 (NLT2)
²  When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan. 

--Last week I encouraged you to vote for what the Bible tells us we should love…we should love and pray for the nation of Israel, biblical marriage, and for babies still in their mother’s wombs. Last week:

1. We love and bless Israel, therefore God loves and blesses us.

Genesis 12:3 (NKJV) 

3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." 

2. We love and we bless traditional biblical marriage and God blesses our families when we do.

Matthew 19:4-6 (NKJV)
⁴  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,'
⁵  and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?
⁶  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."

3. We love and we bless the unborn, and God blesses those who protect the innocents. 

--Last week after my sermon a very intuitive lady came up to me and asked could she address something about the abortion issue. I said, Of course. She said, what about the men who pressure the women to get abortions. The men responsible for the women being pregnant. 

--Don’t they need God’s forgiveness because of what they have done…Absolutely! I promised her I would address that this week so I am addressing it. Men, God’s forgiveness is available for you if you will but ask!

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NKJV)
¹⁹  I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
²⁰  that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

--When you go to vote…choose life…choose the life of the unborn…choose the life of traditional marriage… choose the life of Israel! Amen! This love will cover a multitude of sins! Today:

1. We love and we bless those who love, bless, and protect our country.

--I want my family, my children, my county, my state, and my country to be protected from those who would come here to do harm to us. God has given us people to protect us. They are called…the authorities.

Romans 13:1-5 (NKJV)
¹  Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
²  Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
³  For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.
⁴  For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.
⁵  Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake. 

--We love our law enforcement officers and firefighters; we love those who serve in the military (in all branches); we love the leaders of our country! Why? God's ministers to you for good. Appointed by God.

--I hope you love, you bless, and you pray for all those who are serving to keep us protected and that you are voting for the platform or the individuals who support them. They are not our enemies!

--I make no apology for our patriotism here at Life Church (many veterans) and I declare it loudly and proudly. My heart breaks any time I hear of any of them losing (really laying) down lives for us. No greater love!

--But why do we need a wall, Pastor Rick? Don’t we want the countries of the world to know that they have a refuge here in the US? Of course, but it must be done legally and according to laws already on the books.

--I don’t know if you are aware of this…there are evil people with evil intentions crossing our borders instead of just needy people. Drugs, gangs (MS 13), and even terrorist who do not have our good in mind.

--I always come back to this with issues…is there a biblical precedence? Does the Bible make any reference to a country or a city having a wall to protect its people? Yes…Nehemiah. What about Jerusalem?

Nehemiah 1:3-4 (NKJV)
³  And they said to me, "The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire."
⁴  So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 

--Nehemiah was broken and upset that Jerusalem was in great danger…why? Its walls were broken down and its gates were burned with fire. The people were not safe from their enemies. After he inspected the walls:

Nehemiah 2:17-18 (NKJV)
¹⁷  Then I said to them, "You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach."
¹⁸  And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king's words that he had spoken to me. So they said, "Let us rise up and build." Then they set their hands to this good work.

--They set their hands and hearts to build the walls and to build the city. Was there opposition? Yes! Nehemiah felt like he had a mandate from God to protect God’s people. God help our leaders! It is a fight! The Caravan! 

Nehemiah 4:15-18 (NLT2)
¹⁵  When our enemies heard that we knew of their plans and that God had frustrated them, we all returned to our work on the wall.
¹⁶  But from then on, only half my men worked while the other half stood guard with spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. The leaders stationed themselves behind the people of Judah
¹⁷  who were building the wall. The laborers carried on their work with one hand supporting their load and one hand holding a weapon.
¹⁸  All the builders had a sword belted to their side. The trumpeter stayed with me to sound the alarm.

--Why should we vote? Because we love our country and we love our families, we have to be willing to fight. We fight on our knees (even if they kick us), we carry the sword (Word of God), and vote! Motto!

V O T E – Victory Of The Evangelicals!

Evangelical - pertaining to or in keeping with the gospel and its teachings - belonging to or designating the Christian churches that emphasize the teachings and authority of the Scriptures, especially of the New Testament which states as paramount the tenet that salvation is achieved by personal conversion to faith in the atonement of Christ.

--It is time that every pastor and every person who calls themselves Christians get in the fray. We have sat on the sidelines way too long and been way too passive! Vote for the platform that will protect us! VOTE!

2. We love and we bless those who love and bless the Church of Jesus Christ.

--I am not sure if you are aware of this but in 2016 we were very close to losing religious freedom in our country like never before. The attacks were getting more and more vicious.

--Let me make this clear…Separation of church and state was implemented to protect the church, not the state. It was never the intention of the creators to keep the church out of every part of our government.

--Our founding fathers of the US were men who acknowledged God and trusted Him for His help as we sought religious freedom. 

President John Adams - "Suppose a nation in some distant Region should take the Bible for their only law Book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love, and reverence toward Almighty God ... What a Utopia, what a Paradise would this region be."

Thomas Jefferson - "God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God?

--Our IRS was targeting faith based organizations and were not letting them get their approval to be tax free. They were not being approved to operate or were delayed for years.

--So what happened in 2016. The church prayed and the church voted! It was the Victory of the Evangelicals! The church was so stirred that it got on its knees and prayed! We voted! God answered!

2 Chronicles 7:12-15 (NKJV)
¹²  Then the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: "I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.
¹³  When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people,
¹⁴  if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
¹⁵  Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.

--Every vote from now on will be an indicator of how much we love the church Jesus gave His life for. I am ready for a “Red Wave” but it is the wave of the blood of Jesus Christ! Lord, send revival!

--Make no mistake about the vicious onslaught against Judge Kavanagh…it was a battle not just between two political parties but it was a battle between good and evil. 

--In 2012 at the DNC they did something no one would have ever dreamed of here in the US. In an article from One News Now…Franklin Graham laments what has happened to that party.

--Before Former President Barack Obama’s second term – The DNC booed after it was announced that God was being reintroduced to their party’s platform. I watched it! Shocked! 

Franklin - “Thousands of bloggers are reporting this morning that delegates at the DNC in Charlotte booed when God was reintroduced into their party’s platform,” CatholicCulture.org reported in September 2012. “In drafting the original platform, DNC leaders had removed references to God – and to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. They didn’t merely forget to mention God – in updating previous party platforms, they made a conscious decision to remove Him.”

--I don’t know about you but that is disconcerting…recently in the news a key leader was forced to resign his position as working for the DNC…listen to what he said that got him booted:

United States Marine and Gulf War veteran Mark Salvas - “I stand for the flag, I kneel at the cross,” 

--Not sure how that is controversial but he was labeled a racist and let go. I want those who lead me to protect my right to worship God whenever and however I choose. In our Constitution:

1^St Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

--We (the church and pastors) have been told for years to not say anything about politics and to just stick to preaching the Bible…thanks for their permission…I will keep preaching the truth of God’s Word! Why?

Hebrews 4:12-14 (NLT2)
¹²  For the Word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
¹³  Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes, and He is the One to Whom we are accountable.
¹⁴  So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 

Love That Covers a Multitude of Sins - 3

Love That Covers a Multitude of Sins - 3

Subject: Love Like You Have Never Been Hurt

by Rick Welborne

1 Peter 4:7-8 (NLT2)
⁷  The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.
⁸  Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:7-8 (NCV)
⁷ The time is near when all things will end. So think clearly and control yourselves so you will be able to pray.
⁸  Most importantly, love each other deeply, because love will cause many sins to be forgiven. 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT2)
⁴  Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud
⁵  or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
⁶  It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
⁷  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 

--November 6, 2018 the elections…the midterms are coming and it is imperative that all of us vote and it is imperative that all of us pray…I hope you are praying without ceasing. 

--Just in case you have been wondering if it matters whether you vote or not…it matters. Look at those around you and say, “It matters!” 

--Please understand that I am aware that in many circumstances that we are not voting for people who have a personal relationship with Jesus the way we want them to.

--I understand that many who are in power right now have not, and maybe do not, live a biblical lifestyle that would meet a standard that is pleasing to the Assemblies of God. This I do know:

Proverbs 29:2 (NLT2)
²  When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan. 

--Again I am not naïve about those who are in authority and I am not their judge. What I do see right now is an administration that is sensitive to the church and the church’s concerns. This encourages me.

--I have seen a deep concern again for the church and what happens to it. I have even seen an engagement to the National Day of Prayer…instead of totally shunning it or engaging in a Muslim day of prayer. 

--I have seen a president who will meet with Christian pastors and hear their concerns, and then, on several occasions, allow them to lay hands on him and pray for him. Pastor Brunson and his wife.

--Let me make sure that all of you know this, you hear just worship God…There is a difference between the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…the Lord Jesus Christ…Lord of Christians than the god of the Muslims. 

Psalm 33:12 (NCV)
¹²  Happy is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his very own. 

--America was founded on Judea-Christian principles and when we stick to them, we are blessed, and when we turn away we are cursed.

Deuteronomy 31:16-18 (NLT2)
¹⁶  The LORD said to Moses, “You are about to die and join your ancestors. After you are gone, these people will begin to worship foreign gods, the gods of the land where they are going. They will abandon me and break my covenant that I have made with them.
¹⁷  Then my anger will blaze forth against them. I will abandon them, hiding my face from them, and they will be devoured. Terrible trouble will come down on them, and on that day they will say, ‘These disasters have come down on us because God is no longer among us!’
¹⁸  At that time I will hide my face from them on account of all the evil they commit by worshiping other gods.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NLT2)
¹⁴  Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

--Okay, Pastor Rick, what does this have to do with love covering a multitude of sins? I am so glad you asked. You see, how you vote will tell what you love and how you want to protect what you love.

--Today I am going to encourage you to vote for what the Bible tells us we should love…we should love and pray for the nation of Israel, biblical marriage, and for babies still in their mother’s wombs.

--The party whose platform loves and protects these three things will always have my vote…I am not as much a political voter as I am a biblical voter…Which platform sticks the most closely to godly values. The Bible.

1. We love and bless Israel, therefore God loves and blesses us.

Genesis 12:13 (NKJV) 

1 Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. 

2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 

3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." 

A. God promises to bless those who bless Israel.

–I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. Do you see how God makes this so personal...I will bless “those” who bless you but I will curse “him” who curses you.

–This is God’s promise to Abraham and to the Jewish people for generations to come. God has promised to bless nations, churches, and individuals who choose to pray for, to bless, to do acts of kindness to bless Israel.

Luke 7:15 (NKJV) 

1 Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. 

2 And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. 

3 So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. 

4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, 

5 "for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue." 

–A Roman centurion who was kind to the Jewish people and who had built them a place of worship has a servant who needs healing...we know the story...Great faith...healed.

John Hagee: The reason for unprecedented blessings on Cornerstone Church are tied to our thirty-year history of showing kindness to the Jewish people.

B. We should support Israel because we are commanded to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

–Again, it is not a request but a command to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. 

Psalm 122:69 (NKJV) 

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you. 

7 Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces." 

8 For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, "Peace be within you." 

9 Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good. 

Dr. Graham Lacey: As long as there is Jerusalem there is God; and as long as there is God there is Jerusalem. 

C. We should support Israel because we are commanded to be watchmen on the walls of Israel.

Isaiah 62:1 (NLT) 

1 Because I love Zion, I will not keep still. Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch. 

–We are commanded as watchmen to speak up for Israel and to defend the Jewish people whenever they are slandered, attacked by their enemies, or are subjected to anti-Semitic attitudes. They are being attacked now!

–We need to pray for our President and leaders that they will always support Israel. Thank God President Trump moved the embassy to Jerusalem! Could be why he is accomplishing so much so quickly. Blessed!

2. We love and we bless traditional biblical marriage and God blesses our families when we do.

--We must love what God loves and we must hate what God hates! God is the originator and the designer of marriage and to have His blessings we must follow His instructions. 

--We propose that marriage be defined according to the Holy Scriptures as being between one man and one woman…we must support platforms that adhere to biblical marriage not what feels right.

--Any platform or political party that promotes or pushes anything else other than biblical marriage does not love the family…Oh, Pastor Rick, what does it matter as long as they love each other. It matters.

Romans 1:24-28 (NKJV)
²⁴  Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,
²⁵  who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
²⁶  For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.
²⁷  Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
²⁸  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;

--So what does biblical marriage look like? As Christians we have an obligation to support those who stand for these truths. If you love the family vote for someone who is for marriage between one man and one woman.

Matthew 19:4-6 (NKJV)
⁴  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,'
⁵  and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?
⁶  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."

3. We love and we bless the unborn and God blesses those who protect the innocents. 

--It is so in-humane to separate children from their parents as they come into our country illegally. Okay, let’s look at that. When someone here breaks the law and officers come to pick up the parent. Where’s the outcry?

--I have been out with Fruitland Park Police when they have raided a home with a parent who is dealing drugs and many other crimes. They separate the kids and the parents. Why? Someone broke the law. So cruel!

--What about young men and women who join the military and they are deployed, they are separated from parents, kids, spouses, and friends and they may not come home. Where’s the outcry. Stay with me!

--Where’s the outcry when a doctor separates a child from the mother and then kills the baby! Oh yes, maybe he will throw the baby in a waste container to let the baby die. Let’s get more drastic.

--Partial birth abortion…separate the baby from the mom (everything but the head and then stick a suction in behind the baby’s head and literally kill a baby who is almost full term. God says…You shall not kill!

--Pastor, I am pro-choice. Don’t you love that! Choice is the act or the power of choosing. Let’s just say it, those who claim to be pro-choice are really pro-abortion. 

--Planned Parenthood…sounds good doesn’t…they do not plan on you being a parent…they plan on making it easy to kill your baby. They are fighting organizations now who are trying to truly give women alternatives.

--I just got thru signing a petition with Jay Sekulow’s organization fighting against Planned Parenthood trying to make sure every organization who helps women has to offer abortion as an alternative…why do they kill?

--Back to being pro-choice…if you are so much for choice…why can’t biblical abstinence be a choice. Why can’t living purely before God and man be a choice until the couple gets married? The church should repent!

--I am going to choose my lifestyle and no one is going to tell me any different. Why make abortion your means of birth control. Think about it…with so many alternatives for birth control…you choose the death of a baby.

--Don’t try to tell me that it is not a baby in your womb. I have been looking at ultrasounds of my grand baby. God help us! We have made a choice for conscious sake to not believe that. It is a baby human.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NKJV)
¹⁹  I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
²⁰  that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

--When you go to vote…choose life…choose the life of the unborn…choose the life of traditional marriage… choose the life of Israel! Amen!

God’s Path Finders - 3

God’s Path Finders - 3

Subject: Finding God’s Divine Direction in Our Lives

by Rick Welborne

Proverbs 3:1-10 (NKJV)
¹  My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands;
²  For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you.
³  Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart,
⁴  And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man.
⁵  Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
⁶  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
⁷  Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.
⁸  It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.
⁹  Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase;
¹⁰  So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine. 

Review:

1. To find God’s direction we must daily weigh the options before us.

--Neurologist tell us that the first time we think about a decision, our brain starts weighing options, eliminating one possibility after another, until we settle on the one we feel is the best choice for us. 

Psalm 119:9-11 (NKJV)
⁹  How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.
¹⁰  With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
¹¹  Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You! 

2. To find God’s direction you must be willing to pass the multiple choice test.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NKJV)
¹⁹  I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you, life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
²⁰  that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

Insanity – doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

James 4:17 (NKJV)
¹⁷  Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

3. To find God’s direction you must realize the choice is yours. 

Groeschel – You can’t change your past, but God can help you rewrite your story and change your future. 

Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV)
¹¹  For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
¹²  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
¹³  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Tonight’s Message:

1. To find God’s direction you must avoid that one stupid mistake. 

Psalm 118:24 (NKJV)
²⁴  This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. 

--This is the day…everyone say that…this is the day…the Lord made this day and He made it for me. No matter what your past looks like. Today you can decide to start new and fresh.

--Pastor, I have started over so many times and I have failed every time. Everyone who has ever accomplished anything of significance have failed and started over many times.

--More than one time every pastor has someone sitting in their office saying…I made just one stupid mistake and it is costing me everything. 

--A man goes on a business trip and has dinner with a few clients…he has a couple of drinks with them to fit in. He should have gone to his room but thinks, I will just have one beer and then off to bed.

--A lady is at the bar alone drinking so you strike up a conversation…more drinks…most of us can figure out the rest of this story. His wife finds out and now he is separated from his wife and kids…has to move out.

--Pastor, one stupid mistake…really? More than one bad decision was made that night…compromising by drinking, not going straight to your room, going to the bar, more alcohol, talking with the woman…etc. 

--How far could we go back in this person’s life to find out many bad mistakes and bad decisions, one after another…they pile up and so does the sin. Example of David.  

2 Samuel 11:1-5 (NKJV)
¹  It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
²  Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.
³  So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"
⁴  Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house.
⁵  And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, "I am with child." 

--In a time when kings go out to war…other translations say in a time when kings normally go out to war, David was home lounging. He was getting lazy…it is a choice.

2 Samuel 11:2 (NLT2)
²  Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath.

--Late one afternoon he gets out of bed and goes on the roof (a good view) to watch HBOB – Hello Bathsheba Oh Baby network…probably came on at that same time every day. Most likely premeditated. 

--He looked, he lusted, he called for her, he slept with her, she became pregnant, and he had her husband put up at the front lines of the battle to have him killed…he did the noble thing and married her…wow!

--He made many bad choices but if there was one stupid mistake…it was staying home during a time when kings go out to war. Do you see the domino effect? I love that there was a prophet willing to deal with David.

2 Samuel 12:1-12 (NLT2)
¹  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.” 

2. To find God’s direction you must start where you are. 

--It has been said that two of the biggest mistakes you can make in life are not starting and not finishing. If you are like most people, you have good intentions to start new habits or a new life.

--It is pretty safe to say that many of us never followed through with those good intentions. Also, many of us are guilty of starting that new life or new habit, just to quit…to not finish. It is easy to feel like a failure.

--We must somehow find the strength to see and to even know that God is our beginning and He is our ending. Also, He is everything in between.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV)
¹  Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
²  looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

--If you are to start where you are, you must first look to Jesus, the author and the finisher of your faith. Our motivation to start over has to be what He did on the cross…His suffering for us gives us hope. 

Revelation 1:8-17-18 (NKJV)
⁸  "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

¹⁷  And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.
¹⁸  I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. 

--Jesus says I am the Author and Finisher, I am the Alpha and Omega, I am the Beginning and the End, I am the One Who was, Who is, and Who is to come, the Almighty!

--He says I am the First and the Last, I am He Who lives and was dead, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death…I am Everything from A to Z!

--How easy should it be to start…to start over…to start afresh? Start today, start again tomorrow, and start every day after that. Pastor, I need a new heart! OK!

 Ezekiel 36:25-27 (NIV)
²⁵  I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.
²⁶  I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
²⁷  And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

3. To find God’s direction you must start flossing.

--Say what…sometimes we get the strangest answers in the most unusual places. I had horrible gums. My dentist said I could lose all my teeth. I was sitting in the dentist chair when I looked up on the ceiling.

--As I contemplated being toothless, I looked up and there was an answer and a challenge to my teeth and gums. You do not have to floss all your teeth, just the ones you want to keep!

--I started that day and have never stopped. It is one of my greatest commitments. Within weeks my gums started improving and improving rapidly. When I went back to the dentist in 3 months, he was shocked.

--My gums were almost perfect. Most of the issues I was having with cavities went away also. It felt like a miracle! My dentist thought it was! He wanted to use me as a poster child for flossing. 

Zechariah 4:6-10 (NKJV)
⁶  So he answered and said to me: "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts.
⁷  'Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of "Grace, grace to it!" ' "
⁸  Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying:
⁹  "The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know That the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.
¹⁰  For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth." 

--Catch what the Lord is saying in your situation…What you are believing God for will not happen by your own strength or power but by Holy Spirit. He will remove the mountains in your way as He applies His grace.

--Phil.1:6 – You can have confidence that what God has started in you, He will complete…you will finish well. Do not despise a small beginning…God has this!

--Start flossing! Get started with what God called you to do!