Bible Text: 2 Samuel 11 | Preacher: Pastor Steve | Series: David: Abiding in the Lord
Learning to be SELF-AWARE of our vulnerabilities in order to protect our physical, emotional, relational and spiritual health.
King David was experiencing the best blessing personally and professionally
He was resting and relaxing and enjoying his position as a successful King of Israel
He was the King and he could do whatever he wanted and get whatever he desired
He was bored and restless
He had violated God’s law by having multiple wives and concubines
Deuteronomy 17:17 The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord. And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.
2 Samuel 11:1-3 In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites.
…Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.
1 Corinthians 10:11-12 These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age. If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.
David’s first sin was to stop serving the Lord and he was becoming SELF-FOCUSED rather than GOD-FOCUSED!
2 Samuel 11:4-5 Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home. Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message, saying, I’m pregnant.
David SAW a beautiful woman bathing
David SENT someone to inquire about the woman
David SENT someone to get the woman
David SLEPT with the woman
David allowed temptation to become sin
Proverbs 6:23-29 For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light…to keep you from the evil woman…Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor let her allure you with her eyelids. For by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a crust of bread; and an adulteress will prey upon his precious life. Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be seared? So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; whoever touches her shall not be innocent.
2 Samuel 11:6-26
Ignore the Word of God and pay a high price!
He put God into a box, packed Him onto a shelf and put God OUT OF SIGHT IN HIS LIFE!
1 John 1:8-9 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Plan #1: Then he told Uriah, Go on home and relax. David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace. But Uriah didn’t go home
Plan #2: Then David invited him to dinner and got him drunk. But even then he couldn’t get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again he slept at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard.
Plan #3: So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. The letter instructed Joab, Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.
2 Samuel 11:26-27 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. When the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the Lord was displeased with what David had done.
Matthew 15:19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.
By not ABIDING IN THE LORD and allowing Jesus to purify, empower our hearts through His Holy Spirit we will end up on the road of compromise.
Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
The principles that you need to know:
Never rely on your past success as protection from future failure
Avoid boredom and getting out of focus with God
Success can lead to vulnerability that can lead to rationalization that can lead to sin
Guard your life against a sensuous and sexual lifestyle
Don’t allow temptation to turn into sin
Do not cover up or hide sin; secret sin has power
Ask the Lord to help, heal you of your fear, anger, guilt, depression and anxiety
God’s grace is never cheap grace and we cannot take advantage of God
The greater our responsibility the greater our accountability
No matter what the sin and its consequences, confess the sin, repent and then do what is right before the Lord