Crying Out in Confidence

// INTRO

Turn in your bible to Exodus 33.12.

Series: Sacred Tears - A Sermon Series on Lament

Lament Is…

Lament is the minor side of worship.

Lament is an honest cry of a heart still turned towards God.

Lament is NOT grumbling or complaining; but faithful prayer while living in the gap between pain and promise.

Lament can be personal and communal.

Absence of Lament causes us to leave wound unhealed and unresolved, thus resulting in triggering traumas every time that wound is touched.

Path Through Lament

Turn to God

Complaint

Ask

Trust placed in God

Praise unto God

The Tear Jar

The tear jar reminds us that we can bring our pain as worship unto the Lord.

Psalm 56:8 ESV

8 You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?

The Lord cares about our pain and has created this beautiful process of Lament for us to continue worship at His feet.

“I will bow before the Lamb on the Throne in awe, and worship Him forever, but never will I have the face to face chance to do that while I'm in pain, so in this moment I choose to do that.”

Bill Johnson; upon the passing of his wife.

Through lament, we draw near to God instead of drifting from Him, even in our pain.

Today’s Message: Crying Out in Confidence

Pray

THE CHARACTER OF GOD

Character Defined

Character is who you are when no one is watching — the consistent pattern of your thoughts, choices, and actions that reveals what you truly value.

The following is the unchangeable character of God.

It’s who He is.

Consistently throughout the narrative that we find in scripture.

God’s Character Revealed in Passing

Exodus 34:5–7 ESV

5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

As you read through God’s narrative (scripture), you will find aspects of His character sprinkled throughout.

Merciful, Gracious, Slow to Anger, Abounding in steadfast love & faithfulness, Does NOT forsake, Relents from disaster.

God Does Not Change

When we read these characteristics (unchanging aspects) of God, it can be misaligned with our perspective of him while we are in the pit of pain.

With Lament being the place between pain and promise, God is no different in the pain than in the promise.

Malachi 3:6 ESV

6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

Hebrews 13:8 ESV

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

James 1:17 ESV

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Numbers 23:19 ESV

19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

Psalm 102, which happens to be a Psalm of Lament, states this…

Psalm 102:25–28 ESV

25 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 26 They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, 27 but you are the same, and your years have no end. 28 The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you.

Turn to 2 Samuel 12.

CRYING OUT

In 2 Samuel 12, we find King David facing the outcomes of a series of selfish, fleshly, bad, decisions.

In the previous months, David chose to remain at home, instead of being at battle. This led to him lusting after a woman names Bathsheba, that was not his wife (one of his wives). Bathsheba was married to one of David’s soldiers, who was away at war where he was to be.

David calls Bathsheba to his residence, sleeps with her, she becomes pregnant, he then tries to cover up the adultery and it results in the murder of her husband, Uriah.

2 Samuel 11:26–27 ESV

26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. 27 And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

For a season, David lived as if the crown (his strength) could cover his compromise, as if silence could erase his sin.

He thought the matter was buried—but nothing is hidden from the eyes of God.

2 Samuel 12:1–3 ESV

1 And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him.

The Lord sends Nathan (gift) to David

Nathan was a trusted voice in David’s life, he was a known and tested Prophet. Nathan knew how to get in the presence of God, hear His voice, and deliver the message without his own interjections. (Healthy Prophetic)

David then uses a parable that relates directly to David’s heart, shepherding.

2 Samuel 12:4–6 ESV

4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

We burn with anger at the injustice in someone else’s story—until the mirror turns, and we realize the story is our own.

2 Samuel 12:7 ESV

7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.

A judgment is issued against David’s actions and at first glance it would appear to be finite and devastating.

2 Samuel 12:13–15 ESV

13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.” 15 Then Nathan went to his house. And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick.

put away – hb. abar

:: to pass over

I want us to think of the Passover in Exodus where God “passed over” those that had the blood on their doorposts.

Again, we see the character of God showing up through and though.

The pain of this world, where all roads lead to death and destruction; colliding with the mercy of God, holding back the full measure of consequence, ever relenting from disaster.

David Laments IN the Pain

2 Samuel 12:13–17 ESV

13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.” 15 Then Nathan went to his house. And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick. 16 David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17 And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them.

While in the pain, David acknowledges the wrong, repents for his actions, pleads on behalf of his son, and trusts in the Lord.

2 Samuel 12:18–19 ESV

18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” 19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.”

2 Samuel 12:22–23 ESV

22 He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

In the midst of immense pain, David leans in evermore to the Lord.

He knew that he could not bring his child back, but that he would be reunited with his child in the future.

Psalm 51 is a Psalm of Lament, written after his encounter with Nathan the Prophet, regarding the adultery & murder.

Psalm 51 is apart of Book II in the Psalms, which correlates to the book of Exodus - God’s deliverance and rescue in action.

Psalm 51 ESV

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. –– Cleansing –– 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. –– Restoration –– 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; 19 then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

In the midst of intense exposure & pain, David cries out to the Lord in confidence.

We have the same ability and are even encouraged to cry out in this same manner.

We Cry Out in Confidence

Jeremiah 17:7 ESV

7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.

Psalm 56:3–4 ESV

3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?

Ephesians 3:12 ESV

12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

Proverbs 3:26 ESV

26 for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Romans 15:13 ESV

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

2 Corinthians 3:4–5 ESV

4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God,

Psalm 20:7 ESV

7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses (man’s plan and strength), but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

Hebrews 4:16 ESV

16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Proverbs 14:26 ESV

26 In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.

WORSHIP IN PAIN (LAMENT) RESULTS IN PRAISE & THANKSGIVING

David’s response in the pain did not make sense to those around.

I want to remind us that many will not understand your actions of lament.

Lament can be personal and communal.

When it is personal, many will not understand.

2 Samuel 12:24–25 ESV

24 Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the Lord loved him 25 and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord.

Out of the season of pain, lament is given, promise is found.

Solomon = peaceful

Jedidiah = beloved of God

I’m not sure when David wrote Psalm 32, but I believe it to be fitting as he moves from pain > promise.

Psalm 32 ESV

A Maskil of David. 1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah 5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah 6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. 7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah 8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. 9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. 10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. 11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Salt in the Tear Jar

One of the aspects of the tear jar was allowing the tears that were shed due to pain, sorrow, grief, injustice, to dry up.

This would show symbolically that the time for sorrow had ended.

I THINK HE IS

Artist: Rita Springer

Song: I Think He Is

Album: Fed By Ravens

Got more questions than answers now Like why some mountains move and how? This time, this time You didn't lead me out Heard Your arms aren't too short to save But You seem to be okay With letting me sit and wait

You know me, You see my faith Even as you give and you take away I'm sorry that I'm this way But I'd rather be honest than lie to Your face

Standing in the desert, shaking my fist Is God still good? Oh, I think He is Find me in the wreckage with praise on my lips Is God still good? Oh, I think He is, I think He is I think He is, I think He is Oh, I think He is

Though you slay me, I'll trust Your heart You don't fail and You'll never start I know I know who You are, who You say You are

I'm standing in the desert shaking my fist Is God still good? Oh, I think He is Find me in the wreckage with praise on my lips Is God still good? Oh, I think He is, I think He is Oh, I think He is, I think He is I think He is, I think He is

You would never lead me To a place You'd ever leave me No, You would never lead me To a place You'd ever leave me

Standing in the desert, shaking my fist Is God still good? Oh, I know He is Find me in the wreckage with praise on my lips Is God still good? Oh, I know He is, I know He is Oh, I know He is, I know He is I know He is, oh, I know He is