Sermon Notes
Pastor Jeff Stanfill

"An Honest to God Problem"
King David
August 20, 2006 - AM Service

AN HONEST TO GOD PROBLEM
TEXT: 2 SAM. 15-18; PSALM 3
INTRO:
Have you ever gotten the impression that God is only interested in "spiritual problems"? Have you thought that once sin is addressed, then God's not that much of a help with anything else? (Isn't that an ironic thought since sin is so little addressed by churches today?) Or have you been tempted to think that if it's a spiritual problem then I'll go to God with it. If it's a financial problem I'll go to the bank with it. If it's a family problem I'll go to the counselor with it. If it's a school problem I'll go to the principal with it. If it's a little problem I'll handle it myself.

Well, hopefully you'll reconsider as we look at the problem King David had. What makes King David's problem interesting is that he created the problem himself. If you are so pro-King David that you can't imagine him ever making those type of mistakes then perhaps you can agree that he significantly contributed to his problem.

What was his problem? A rebellious son. Not a rebellious boy or rebellious teen but a rebellious adult son who was in pursuit of him to kill him and take over not the family business but the kingdom's crown.

A brief history of David and Absalom's relations will be helpful right now. Absalom was a handsome man with a winning personality (perhaps manipulative is more accurate). Let me catalog how David contributed or created his problem with Absalom's rebellion.
1. David was inattentive toward Absalom and David's other children (2 Sam. 13).

2. David was uninformed about his kids and because of that at times lacked perception about them (2 Sam. 15, 30-33).

3. David was at times uninvolved in their lives (2 Sam. 13:24).

4. David acted out of misplaced priorities with his kids (2 Sam. 13:25).

5. David was neglectful and had too many unfulfilled good intentions (2 Sam. 38-39).

We often contribute or create our own problems when we are inattentive and uninformed about what is important, when we are uninvolved in the right things, act with misplaced priorities, and while intending to do something we simply never do and that creates a problem. While all of these contributions can be made in the context of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ, they are the gremlins that can sabotage any area of our lives.

Psalm 3 is a prayer written by David being honest to God with his problem. (Explain superscription) Walk through this time in David's life with me using Psalm 3 as a guide.

I. PROBLEMS CAN GROW TO OVERWHELMING SIZE.
1. David addresses his Lord with a problem that is growing in size. Did you notice that several times he says "many"? In the history books, Absalom's rebellion was a growing problem that became overwhelming. In 15:1 we have fifty men entourage for Absalom. Absalom's intention is shown in 15:6 - to steal the hearts of the population. In 15:12 the conspiracy is gaining in strength and so are the numbers of followers until verse 13 records that the hearts of the population is with Absalom.

2. David did not necessarily sin. His problem wasn't wicked behavior or evil in his heart. He simply had an overwhelming problem.

3. Ever had a problem pile on you? It was a small cut until staph infection set in. It was a little misunderstanding until, neglected, it grew into a division within the family. Maybe you did recognize an issue in your life but like David your unfulfilled good intentions became a perfect hothouse for the problem to grow into overwhelming size and now you are running away from it. What do I do with an honest to God problem?

II. I CAN LOOK AT GOD AND NOT MY PROBLEM.
1. Problems tend to be hypnotic. Our entire focus is captured by them. We can't sleep at night. Our dreams are restless and fearful. We can't concentrate on our work and school. Other things of life go by us and we never see them. Have you ever been in such deep thought about a problem that you walk by a friend and never saw them? The problem is all we can see. Failure is all we can imagine. Many have been the times that I looked at my problems and thought this is it. Jeff Stanfill will be spoken of as just another perhaps gallant but failed effort. "The plane is going down fellas!" David did the same - READ 15:14.

2. David's hypnosis was broken by looking at God and away from the problem! READ PS. 3:3-4. These words do not fit the situation as we read of it. READ 2 Sam. 15:30-31. Weeping, barefoot David looks at God and understands God bestows glory upon him and lifts up his head. There is a clever line in verse 4b. The holy hill is Jerusalem, the capital city David is fleeing from and Absalom had marched into. Once David's royal decrees came from the city of the holy hill, Jerusalem. But now will not Absalom's traitorous decrees come from the capital? No! It's not my problem, not my inattentiveness, not my misplaced priorities, not my neglect that answers from the holy hills but it is my Lord God YWHW that answers me.

3. My problem may cover my head, cause me to weep, and steal my shoes but I will look to God who will bestow upon me glory and will lift up my head! I can look to God and not be hypnotized by the problem.

III. LOOKING TO GOD CHANGES ME.
1. 16:14 - I wonder if it was here that David wrote this psalm? Was it here that he awoke from the hypnotic effect of his problem and looked to God? For after looking to God David was changed. READ PS. 3:5-6.

2. David becomes a man of tranquility and courage. When David writes of himself in verses 1-2, he sees the many foes, he is measuring the rising numbers against him, and he hears libel against the character of God. But after looking to God, he sleeps and wakes up the next day still alive.
3. Honestly, the problem has gotten worse during this time. In verse 1 the numbers are rising against him, and in verse 6 they are drawing up against him. Looking to God is not escapism. David is realistic about the problem and its severity. But he is more realistic about his God and His God's sustaining power.

4. You must read the rest of the story in 2 Samuel 15-19 this afternoon. It has espionage, narrow escapes, battles, behind the scenes political maneuvering, courage and loyalty - everything for a great story. We don't have the time to read it all this morning so I'll come to the final scene.

IV. A CHANGED ME LOOKS AT THE PROBLEM IN A CHANGED WAY (LOOKING TO GOD CHANGES MY PROBLEM)
1. Don't let the honest language of a prayer sidetrack you in verse 7. David is not so much calling for his enemies to be slapped and made toothless as he is pouring out his frustration with the problem. David is aggressive with the situation now. He has seen God. The bondage has been broken within him and he is now ready for the bondage to be broken around him. No longer is this problem overwhelming. No longer is this problem growing. No longer is he pressed against on every side. He is a free man.

2. David is now praying for the Lord's victory - not only his own success. It is the Lord's victory over this problem that David desires and petitions for. David is not looking to his own ingenuity and creativity for a solution to this problem though David was a creative man. He is not relying on the wisdom of all his consultants though he did have godly advisors around him. David is not counting the numbers of armed warriors and saddled horses though he had a small army around him. And it is a good thing he is not because nothing is different than before - he had all of that before and he was running for his life.

3. It testifies that it is from the Lord that deliverance comes. It may be a problem of my own creation but as a covenant child of God it is God's problem. And it will be God's victory!

CONCL:
1. To be honest to God with a problem is not escapism but faith. Often we hear sermons like this and think that it is a pep talk to help us feel better coping with our problems. It's like the cheerleaders for a 0-14 football team. The cheerleaders keep calling out the chants and trying to hype the crowd but in the end it accomplishes nothing. Everyone knows the boys are going to lose. That is attempts to escape. But faith is realistic about the problem -- it is growing, it does surround me now. But faith believes God is able and trusts Him to act.

2. To be honest to God with a problem is believing God to be sovereign, not the problem. Who is in charge of your life? Is your Absalom calling the shots? Is your problem on the throne? Or is God the one who has things under His control? This morning be strengthened by the truth that God has the final say, He makes the final verdict. It is He who sits on the holy hill. Isn't that encouraging!

3. To be honest to God with a problem is to put faith in action. David did not sit under a tree bemoaning what happened. He established lines of communications back with Jerusalem. He assembled people around him. He organized and strategized for a battle. His faith was in action. Often we are held by our problem because we do nothing about it. That is not faith. Faith does something about it while trusting that God is going to make the plan work. You can't simply pray, "Father, make me good at French" and not study. We can't pray "Father, provide for my retirement" and not save and invest. We can't pray "Father, restore my family and home" without practicing communication and forgiveness. At the same time, our studying, planning, and talking are to no avail unless God works in it. Ps 127:1. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.

Put your faith in action today.
Act on a plan to address your problem.
Trust God to resolve it.