Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:05] Hi, everybody. Pastor Chuck Allen here with another weekday podcast. And today I want us to talk about an interesting character found in the word of God, and that is King David. Now, when you think about King David, we always think about, you know, David and Goliath, or we think about David killed the bear and the lion, or we think about, you know, David, you know, with the, you know, the harp, all the things.
[00:00:32] But when I think about David and mulligans and second chances, it's. Cause if anybody ever needed a mulligan, it was David.
[00:00:40] Now if you didn't grow up around golf, and just another reminder, we've been talking about mulligans a lot lately. A mulligan is just a do over. You mess up your shot, you get a free one. Erase the last swing, forget the embarrassing weft, you try again. Wouldn't it be great if life always worked that way? King David, ancient Israelite king, poet, warrior, sometimes a disaster. The guy who wrote the Lord is my shepherd also wrote let's the messiest chapters in the Bible. He finds himself on the palace roof when he should have been out leading his army, and he sees Bathsheba taking a bath. The story spirals down from there. A bad decision, then another, then another. Adultery, deceit, a murder to cover it all up. And this was the guy after God's own heart.
[00:01:23] If you read in the message, which I love to read, I love how it paints David's prayer in Psalm 51 after his buddy Nathan calls him out. I mean, if you remember Nathan said, you know, all these things that you have said is so bad, you are that guy.
[00:01:38] But Psalm 51 in the message reads like this. Generous in love, God, give grace, huge in mercy. Wipe out my bad record, scrub away my guilt, soak out my sins in your laundry. I know how bad I've been. My sins are staring me down. Did you hear that? My sins are staring me down.
[00:01:57] David's wide open, honest, no hiding, no spin, just God, I blew it. I need a do over. I need a mulligan. I mean, come on. David had it all. Power, influence, a relationship with God. And still he wrecked his integrity.
[00:02:15] He knows you can't just undo your actions. He knows there are consequences, there's pain. But David also knows grace.
[00:02:24] God's scandalous, illogical, undeserved new beginning. Here's the deal. Some of us right now are living with the memory of a bad swing. A moment we give anything to erase. Maybe you hurt somebody that you care about. Maybe you gave in to something you swore you'd never do. The guilt, the regret, the ache that you can't fix it on your own. It clings to the soul like a stain that won't wash out. But instead of hiding, David brings it to God. In Psalm 51:10, he says, God, make a fresh start in me shape a Genesis week from my chaos of life. In other words, start a brand new season for my life.
[00:03:09] A Genesis week that means out of chaos, confusion, and even failure, God creates something brand new. A new beginning, a spiritual do over.
[00:03:21] Here's where it gets really good. You don't have to be perfect. You don't have to have it all figured out. You just have to be willing to bring your worst to the one who gives fresh starts, who hands out mulligans. Not just one.
[00:03:34] Not just as a last resort, but as a way of life. Friends, we all need a mulligan. King David did. I do? Maybe you do.
[00:03:42] And the beautiful, messy, gray soaked truth is this.
[00:03:46] God gives them with open arms. So whatever you're carrying today, know this. Our failures are not the end of the story.
[00:03:54] Grace is bigger than your mess.
[00:03:57] Always.
[00:03:58] Thanks for joining me on today's weekday podcast. Did this help you out? Share it with a friend who needs a second chance kind of day. This is Chuck Allen. I'll see you next time on the weekday podcast. God bless you. Bye now.
