What Do You Do After an Epic Fail?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qauIcrQd7XE

Marcus Williams.  Defined by one play in play off History.  Death Threats. 

Epic Fail.

Tyler Hilinski.  Quarterback of Washington State for the Holiday Bowl.  Dead.  Committed Suicide.  He was a former 4 star recruit but had a lost and couldn’t quite get over it.

Or think of Judas vs. Peter. Epic Fail. One starts the church and the other ends his life.

Epic fails happen. 

Sin.

Death.

Firing or Being Laid Off. 

Divorce.

Suspension.

Though I am not encouraging this, there has to be a better way of dealing with it.  If we are to live redeemed in 2018 and these things might happen how do we quit living behind “fig leaves” if you would and get the healing that you need.

And so, I turn to a story of one of the most redeemed Epic fails (though there were still consequences) that I have ever seen in the bible. The story of David.   A giant killer.  King.  anointed and yet an epic fail in his life. When Kings usually go out to battle, He stays home.  He catches a glance of another man’s wife taking a bath and has to have her.  She gets pregnant and he is caught, but he thinks of a way out.  Bring her husband home from the Army, have him sleep with her and it will all be good.   Except it isn’t because he refuses to sleep with her because his men are out to battle.  David gets him drunk and it still doesn’t help.  So David has him killed in battle and he takes his wife to be her own.

Epic Fail.

Though he thinks he gets away with it here comes a prophet.  Because that is what prophet do.

This prophets name is Nathan and he exposes David for who he really is and releases all kinds of consequences for his sin that affect him and his family.  And this is where we take up the story.

What do you do when you have an epic fail?

2 Samuel 12:15-23

David's Child Dies

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. 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.” ²⁰ Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. ²¹ Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” 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.”

Get away with the Lord

David fasted and got away with the Lord. Seven days of fasting and getting away with the Lord. 

Epic fail means epic time in his presence.  Epic hurt means epic time in his presence. 

David understood this.  At the moment that his sin is recognized.

At the moment of pain and failure. GET AWAY WITH THE LORD.

I always remember the story of Darlene Chezke of Hillsongs who wrote Shout to the Lord and her story of losing her child through miscarriage and after going through the time at the Hospital got the keys to her church and spent the night in the Sanctuary of that megachurch and did business with her Lord.

Its where healing and forgiveness happens.  And this happens over and over and over.

Sign up for 24 hour prayer.  Spend an extended time with the Lord.

I’m repetitive in this because the biblical examples are astounding, Moses, Joshua, Prophets, Jesus, Paul

Arise from the Earth and washed and anointed himself

You were not meant to stay in your sin.  In your problems.  In your mourning.

There always has to be an arising and washing and anointing. 

In the middle of this time with the Lord after being discovered by Nathan the prophet, David pens Psalm 51 a Psalm of forgiveness and washing and arising.  This is always a great Psalm to read in the middle of confession and forgiveness.

Psalm 51:7-17

7Purge 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.
¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right^[b] 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.

Change your Clothes

This is where it gets harder. 

We have spent time with the Lord. 

Our sins have been forgiven but it wears off.  The honeymoon experience if you would.

And we go back to the things that we know because those are the things that we know.

Proverbs 26:11  “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool returns to folly.”

Then Peter writes in his letter stealing from the Proverb to people

2 Peter 2:19-22  They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves^[h] of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. ²⁰ For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. ²¹ For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. ²² What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

Change your clothes.

Your people.

Your environment.

God spoke to you, follow through in what HE said.

Don’t get entangled again in watching that thing, being with that environment, be a slave of righteousness.  Don’t return to your vomit or to your muck and mire.  You can’t handle it there.

And then…

Commit yourself to the House of the Lord

Again, I feel like a broken record, but the broken record is good. 

Here at Hope Community I feel like three things are essential,

Our Sunday Morning Gathering, The presence of a risen savior, Gathering Together, Encouraging

Then one form of discipleship…

Monday night Al-Anon, Grief Share, or Hope Fitness

Wednesday Night D groups, Bible College 101, Video Series

Sunday Morning Basic Classes or other Classes

Something Smaller

And then one way to serve, Nursery, Greeter, Education Volunteer, Hope Serves, Dnow, Spanish to English or English to Spanish Classes, Feeding the Homeless someway that you can be a part of advancing the Kingdom of God. 

You are not lost in your problems, but you are overcoming your problems with serving.

I don’t know how you get over epic fail but check out this picture of Drew Brees the day after losing to the Minnesota Vikings. Doing the things that matter.  Overcoming failure by serving his little daughter.

Today Epic Failure does not have to define you.

Epic Failure does not have to define Marcus Williams.  He is just 21.

He is to young to have his whole future go down. 

So are you.  There is to much at stake.  Too much to redeem.

Make this your year of God using your story for His glory.