FROM AN OSTRICH TO AN EAGLE
2 Samuel 12:11ff, Psalm 51
by Pastor Robin O'Hare
David had
- lusted in his heart
- committed adultery and caused another to commit it with him
- lied and hidden his sin (even from himself)
- conspired to murder Uriah to cover up Bathsheba�s pregnancy
- laid his guilt and anger upon the man in Nathan�s story
David was an ostrich�ignoring his sin and believing that, with the death of Uriah, it was hidden from everyone including God.
BUT . . .
God sees our hearts as we truly are
- v. 6 - �truth� from whom? We don�t need to tell God because He sees us . . . truth for ourselves . . . to see us as we are and as He sees us - Isaiah 61:10
- v. 6 - hidden parts � from whom are they hidden? From us, for God sees - Psalm 44:21
- God wants to teach us to see ourselves as He sees us � forgiven and righteous because of Christ, submissive because of His love - Rom. 3:21-26
Why did David refuse to see himself as God saw him?
HE HAD HIS HEAD IN THE SAND
- He didn�t wanted to give up his sin
- He didn�t want to acknowledge that God would now see him as sinful (and therefore reject him?)
- He was an ostrich !
How do we look at ourselves?
- Confess � I John 1:9: The Greek means to assent, i.e. covenant, acknowledge: confess; profess, confession is made, give thanks, promise. This is the same word used in Matthew 10:32. In essence, this is a strong statement that something is true, that you acknowledge its truth in your life, that there is a relationship between you (your life) and the thing of which you are confessing. Psalm 32:5
- Repentance: Acts 3:19; The Greek word is to think differently or afterwards, i.e. reconsider (mor. feel compunction): repent. �To think differently, to reconsider.�
confession (to admit the truth and your relationship to it) and repentance (to think differently, to reconsider) are connected together
- Accept HIS Forgiveness: I John 1:9 (God forgives and cleanses)
East from the West (not North from the South); Micah 7:19 (depths of the sea)
- Cleansing: Zech. 3:4: God makes us completely new (doesn�t simply �clean us up�)
God wants us to look at our sin through His promises � 1 John 1:9
God wants us to become eagles -- Isaiah 40:28-31, Psalm 103:1-5