Sunday Sermons
How Did I Get Here?
When kings go out to battle: 2 Samuel 11:1ff
While Israel was winning a battle on foreign soil, David would lose a battle against temptation at home. This section of Scripture is a warning against presumption upon position and status, and remains us that all people are vulnerable, and that none is above God’s law. “The greatest victories are sometimes annulled by foolish mistakes. David’s unparalleled success had made it possible for him to enjoy all the comforts of royal life. No longer did he need to be in the field of combat since Joab provided capable leadership and there were no more immediate serious threats to the kingdom. It was in these circumstances that David’s greatest failure occurred. It was tragic indeed that such a brilliant career should be marred in this manner; however, it is well known that Satan is most effective in his approaches when the believer is comfortable and successful” (Davis p. 141). 11:1 “But David stayed at Jerusalem”: “David now had leisure he was not equipped to enjoy. He was a man of action with a bit of time on his hands, a warrior who now took naps in the afternoon” (Chafin p. 301). 11:2 “Saw a woman bathing”: David probably saw her by mere accident. David could have resisted this temptation by simply turning away and re-focusing his mind on what is right and true (Philippians 4:8). In addition, he had a number of wives to choose from, so he was not deprived in any sense of the word. But David does more than look, he inquires, and at this point he is being drawn away by his own lust (James 1:14). This portion of the story will end with David committing adultery, and then trying to cover up his sin by first deceiving Uriah and then having him killed. Please note that when David woke up on this eventual day, he did not say to himself, “I am going to sin today”. If David, a man who had been a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), had trusted God so completely and written such beautiful words in the Psalms, if he could do such horrible things, then no one is impregnable when it comes to temptation.
Small Steps
As I previously noted, David had not started this day with the thought of committing adultery and murdering a trusted soldier. Rather, the downfall came through small steps. A look that lasted too long, a lustful thought that lingered and was not removed immediately, and an inquiry and private meeting that was rationalized. I am reminded of the same truth when I remember that no one is born sinful (1 Corinthians 14:20), and yet hell is filled with former sinless infants that grew up. Notice the people inMatthew 7:22-23 or the unfaithful Christians in 2 Peter 2:20-22. When former faithful Christians stand before the Lord at the Judgment and are condemned, how many will ask themselves, “How did I get here?” Or, “How did this happen?” Typically, it happened because someone made one small compromise with sin or error after another. Remember, people are not faithful one day and unfaithful the next. Falling away is a process, whether that falling away is moral, doctrinal or both. Before a person falls away there has been deterioration, a loosing and weakening of the resolve and conviction on the inside (Hebrew 3:12). Thus we must always guard our hearts and refuse to believe any thing that is untrue.
Dangerous lies
· The consequences for disobeying God should be a strong incentive against temptation, yet one writer noted, when people are selfish, we have a capacity to lay all these consequences aside. We convince ourselves that God will forgive (even when we do not repent), we ignore our guilty conscience, and the pain is lessened by the comfort of either an immoral relationship or a lifestyle of unfaithfulness.
· People have an amazing way of convincing themselves that “all is well” when they are on the way to destruction (1 Thessalonians 5:3; Jeremiah 8:11).
· We are having such a “good time” that this cannot possibly be wrong.
· Refusing to acknowledge sin as sin (Genesis 39:9).
· “I’m only human”: This rationalization for yielding to temptation or remaining in sin is really an accusation against God, because He created us as human beings and yet still demands holiness and obedience (Matthew 7:21; 1 Peter 1:14). To say that I yielded to sin or remain in it because I am human is claiming that God created us sinful creatures or has unrealistic expectations. Please note that human law courts do not even except the excuse, “I am only human”. Our courts still impose stiff fines on human beings or send them to prison for committing various crimes. The thief who says, “I am only human” still ends up in jail. Yet when it comes to immorality or doctrinal apostasy we seem to think that beinghuman is an excuse that God will accept. Yes we are human, but being human means that we have both a body and aspirit. We are not animals that are controlled by instinct; rather we are created in God’s image and have free will.
Immorality: Warning signs
Remember David was a man after God’s own heart. Even men and women who are very spiritual still need to flee sexual temptations. Even Paul commanded Timothy, who was no slacker, to do the same (2 Timothy 2:22).
· Refrain from asking someone of the opposite gender personal or emotionally intimate questions about their marriage, the loneliness of being single, or how they are successful against temptation.
· Do not listen to complaints about their spouse. Unhealthy involvement can happen when you listen to a married person who is complaining about their spouse. Even Christians can get lured into thinking as they hear someone complaining about their mate, “I could make this person happy”. If you are a woman and a man is complaining about his wife, suggest that he talk to another man.
· Do not fish for compliments. One woman writes, “When I was in a loving marriage relationship, I could not understand what drove believers to immorality. Now that I have spent years alone, I better understand what it means to be famished. What we must recognized is that selling our birthright (soul) for mere stew (the false intimacy of immorality) is not the answer” (The Snare, Lois Mowday Rabey p. 181).
“At sated man loathes honey, but to a famished man any bitter thing is sweet” (Proverbs 27:7). “It is a lie to believe that our needs for intimate love that are met temporary by someone else’s husband or wife can satisfy our deep inner longings and will somehow go unpunished (Hebrews 13:4)” (pp. 181-182).
· Flee if you sense “electricity”: Electricity can also be defined as feeling flushed or warm in the face, it is the same type of feeling that you had years ago when you fell in love for the first time. Please note that infatuation can happen at any age!
· The prolonged stare: There is nothing wrong with eye contact when speaking to someone of the opposite sex, but when special feelings are developing for the other person, this is signaled by a prolonged stare.
“Do not desire her beauty in our heart, nor let her capture you with her eyelids” (Proverbs 6:25). Do not even start to lust after her—guard your heart! (4:23) “Men who have fallen into the sin of adultery have often begun with lustful looking. If a man looks at such a woman, she may seek to captivate him with her flirting eyes” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 918). Compare withJames 1:13-15 . “Playing with temptation is only the heart reaching out after sin” (Gaebelein p. 937). (Matthew 5:28).
· The lingering touch: This is when you shake hands with one of the opposite sex and the hands are held longer than usual. “If a man comes by your desk and puts his hand on your arm or shoulder just a little too long, he is telling you something. You are telling him something, if you do it to him” (p. 182).
Temptation and the office
· Understand the way your spouse is perceived: “I have heard many married women who are at home describe their husbands in the dullest terms. ‘Oh, no one would ever be interested in him’, they express with incredible naiveté. I can almost hear, ‘But you don’t live with him’. Exactly right. And neither do the women he works with. Everyone but a man’s wife (or a woman’s husband) perceives him without flaws that intimacy reveals” (pp. 184-185).
Tips for professionals
· Never dine alone with someone in your same general age range of the opposite gender.
· Be careful when touching. Embrace only dear friends or relatives and that in front of others.
· Be careful with compliments, and if you compliment someone do so on the work they have done rather on their person.
· Avoid flirtation or suggestive conversation, even in jest (Ephesians 5:4).
· Remind your mate often in writing and in oral compliments how much you love them and how committed you are to them.
· When you are home, spend time on your marriage and the relationship with your children. Continue to court and date our mate, instead of courting and dating a career or material success. Be married to your wife and not to your job. Remember, quitting a company and looking for a new job is not a sin, but a divorce is (Malachi 2:16).
· Be aware that traveling has its own set of temptations. “We can tend to feel like ‘little islands’ when away from home. Hotels are full of business travelers who are there for a night and gone. The loneliness of travel draws people together. Flying alone, dining alone, stressful meetings, and alone again. The scene is set for temptation. Hotels have an atmosphere of intrigue and romance. Travel places one in a vulnerable position. Weariness, loneliness, seductive surroundings” (p. 148). (See 1 Corinthians 10:12).
“The secret of success” is actually simple and yet it is often what we do not want to hear. The secret is reading the Scriptures, prayer, and being with other Christians (Romans 10:17; Hebrews 5:14; 10:24; Philippians 4:6). When we are depressed, lonely or tempted often the above is the last thing we want to do—but it works. It may not make us feel immediately better, but the Christian life is not one of feeling better instantly or all the time, but is one of obedience (Hebrews 5:9).
