1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,280 or contact us at my libertybaptist.org or just look 5 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,760 us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,080 message from God's Word will be a blessing to you. 7 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:26,720 And I don't know if you've ever done this before. 8 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:28,760 I've read enough books where I know that I have. 9 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:31,280 Over the years, have you ever just gotten really engrossed in 10 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:32,600 a book? You're reading a book, you're 11 00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:34,720 really into it. You're into the characters, 12 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:36,360 you're into decisions that they make. 13 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:38,640 And you start to realize that they're making some bad 14 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:40,600 decisions. In fact, they're making a bad 15 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:43,280 decision, something so bad that you know it's going to change 16 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:45,560 the trajectory and the story of the book. 17 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:48,280 And you almost get so agitated. You're so into reading it, 18 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:52,680 you're like, no, no, stop that. Like as if you saying that is 19 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:54,480 actually going to change anything in the book, you know, 20 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:57,000 but like don't do that. What's the matter with you? 21 00:00:57,160 --> 00:00:58,920 Why would you make that kind of decision? 22 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:01,560 And you know, if there's someone else in the house and like, are 23 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:03,120 you talking to yourself? No, I'm not talking about 24 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:04,959 something like crazy. I'm talking to a book like, oh, 25 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:06,120 well, that's a lot better. OK. 26 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:10,720 But you know, sometimes you get to that place where you just get 27 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:13,560 so engrossed in it. You want to tell them to stop. 28 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:16,040 But you know that you can't. No one to remind you this 29 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:17,480 evening. I know what group I'm with here 30 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:19,560 tonight, but I do want to remind you that when we're looking at 31 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:22,200 the word of God, we're not talking about a storybook, We're 32 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:24,240 not talking about a fairy tale, We're not talking about a work 33 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:26,040 fiction. These are real people. 34 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:29,440 And this is the very word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit that 35 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:30,600 we have in front of us this evening. 36 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:34,760 But I will tell you, although this account took place 37 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:40,000 somewhere around 3000 years ago, it hurts to read it if you know 38 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:41,840 where we're at. We're talking about David and 39 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:44,720 Bathsheba. You read it. 40 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:49,240 You want to say, David, stop, stop, don't do it. 41 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:52,560 What do you, What do you think you're going to accomplish here? 42 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:56,600 But no matter how much you try, you can't change what the word 43 00:01:56,600 --> 00:02:00,960 of God says and the events that took place over 3000 years ago. 44 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:06,000 David's story is a story of adultery and murder. 45 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:10,320 And because of that, oftentimes if we look at it, we can think 46 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:14,280 it has nothing to do with us because it's a story of adultery 47 00:02:14,640 --> 00:02:17,080 and murder. But I would submit to you that 48 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:20,080 perhaps even greater than the idea that this is a story of 49 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:24,600 adultery and murder, it's the story of the steps that got him 50 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:28,920 to adultery and murder. You know, you and I, we may not 51 00:02:28,920 --> 00:02:31,960 be in the places where we have committed those types of sins, 52 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:36,040 but I will tell you this, the steps that get us to sin are 53 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:39,160 just as important for us to understand as the sin 54 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:40,560 themselves. Because if we don't take those 55 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,240 steps, guess what? We don't commit the sin. 56 00:02:43,640 --> 00:02:46,920 And David tonight is going to meet his greatest nemesis and 57 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:49,240 we're going to look at that tonight by the grace of God. 58 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:51,200 So why don't you remain seated this evening? 59 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:53,480 There's, there's quite a few verses that I want you to read. 60 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:57,120 So I want you to focus in. We're going to read verses #1 61 00:02:57,120 --> 00:02:58,680 through 17. And then we're also going to 62 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:00,640 read the end of the chapter. But I feel it's important that 63 00:03:00,640 --> 00:03:02,920 we read all of it. And I do want to encourage you, 64 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:06,520 kind of like as we were encouraged when we looked at 65 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:08,960 David and Goliath, First Samuel 17. 66 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:11,800 I know that was many months ago, but there are times that you are 67 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:14,800 very familiar with the Bible passage and we can read it and 68 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:17,640 you just kind of let it go over your head as we're reading it 69 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:19,960 because you know what's about to happen. 70 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,320 Can I encourage you pay attention to every word, pay 71 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:26,800 attention to every decision. This is the word of God and 72 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:29,280 allow it to speak to you afresh and a new tonight. 73 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:31,440 Not that we're going to find anything new in the word of God. 74 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:33,440 Well, there is nothing new in the word of God is there? 75 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:36,240 It's preserved for us. It's not new, it's timeless as 76 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:38,800 we've talked about several times over the last few weeks, but 77 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:42,080 would you allow God to speak to you afresh and a new from this 78 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:44,560 book here this evening. So it says this, And it came to 79 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:47,600 pass after the year was expired, and the time when kings go 80 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:50,400 forth, the battle that David sent Joab and his servants with 81 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:53,160 him, and all Israel, and they destroyed the children of Ammon 82 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:56,800 and besieged Rabba. But David tarried still at 83 00:03:56,800 --> 00:03:59,240 Jerusalem. And it came to pass in the 84 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:03,000 evening tide that David arose from off his bed and walked upon 85 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:05,880 the roof of the King's house. And from the roof he saw a woman 86 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:09,200 washing herself, and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. 87 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:13,120 And David sent inquired after the woman, and one said, is not 88 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:17,560 this Bathsheba the daughter of Elium, the wife of Uriah the 89 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:19,800 Hittite? Now I would remind you that 90 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:22,360 Uriah the Hittite is one of his mighty men. 91 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:25,040 Remember we saw the mighty men for the first time last week. 92 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:29,920 This isn't just any soldier. This is one of his chiefest and 93 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:32,800 one of his bravest men. And David sent messengers, and 94 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:36,560 took her, and she came in unto him, and he lay with her, for 95 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:39,160 she was purified from her uncleanness, and she returned to 96 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:42,600 her house. And the woman conceived and sat, 97 00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:45,640 and told David, and said, I am with child. 98 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,800 And David said to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. 99 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:53,760 And Joab sent Uriah to David, And when Uriah was come unto 100 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:57,200 him, David demanded of him how Joab did, how the people did, 101 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:00,640 and how the war prospered. And David said to Uriah, Go down 102 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:03,560 to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the 103 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:06,320 King's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the 104 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:08,360 king. But Uriah slept at the door of 105 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:11,080 the King's house with all the servants of his Lord, and went 106 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:14,000 not down to his house. And when they had told David, 107 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:16,200 saying, Uriah went not down to his house. 108 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:19,240 And David said unto Uriah, Cameest thou not from thy 109 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:22,440 journey? Why did sought thou go down unto 110 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:25,000 thine house? And Uriah said unto David, The 111 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:29,760 ark and Israel and Judah abide in tents, and my Lord Joab and 112 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:31,920 the servants of my Lord are encamped in the open fields. 113 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:36,040 Shall I then go into mine house to eat and to drink, and to lie 114 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:38,240 with my wife? As thou livethest and as thy 115 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:41,560 soul livethest, I will not do this thing. 116 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,640 And David said to Uriah, Terry here today also, and tomorrow I 117 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:48,680 will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that 118 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:51,800 day and tomorrow. And when David called him, he 119 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:53,800 did eat and drink before him. And he made him. 120 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:57,760 Drunk and even, he went out to lie on his bed with the servants 121 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:00,960 of his Lord, but he went not down to his house. 122 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:03,920 I came to pass in the morning that David wrote a letter to 123 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:06,120 Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 124 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:08,960 And he wrote in the letter saying, Set you Uriah in the 125 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:12,920 forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye him from and 126 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:16,520 retire from him, that he may be smitten and die. 127 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:19,400 It came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he 128 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:21,640 assigned Uriah into a place where he knew that the valiant 129 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:23,640 men were. And the men of the city went out 130 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:26,480 and fought with Joab, and there fell some of the people of the 131 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:30,480 servants of David and Uriah the Hittite also died. 132 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:34,840 A drop down to verse #26 And when the wife of Uriah heard 133 00:06:34,840 --> 00:06:38,520 that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. 134 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:41,320 And when the morning was. Passed David sat and fetched her 135 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:44,800 to his house, and she became his wife and bear him a son. 136 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:48,880 But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. 137 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:51,800 This is the man after God's own heart. 138 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:57,080 This is the man that we've seen show kindness to his enemies, to 139 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:01,960 show kindness to his friends, to show thought of love and 140 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:04,240 appreciation for all that God has done for him. 141 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:08,280 And then we see this. Well, how did it get here? 142 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:13,280 What do we need to diagnose tonight to make sure the same 143 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:15,640 does not happen to us? No, no, not necessarily 144 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:18,400 committing adultery and murder. I I'm not insinuating that 145 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:20,920 tonight. But you can make life altering, 146 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:26,360 life changing bad decisions by following the exact same process 147 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:30,160 of steps that David did here in second Samuel Chapter 11. 148 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:31,800 And I want to look at that here tonight. 149 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:34,800 Heavenly Father, I do thank you for this night, and I do pray 150 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:37,200 you would help me to convey the seriousness of this message. 151 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:41,040 Lord, there's really nothing funny about what we see here 152 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:43,040 tonight. And Lord, certainly to have a 153 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:45,960 merry heart does good like a medicine, your word says. 154 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:47,840 But there's also a time of appropriateness. 155 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:50,120 And I see the serious as this text tonight. 156 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:54,320 Know that while it shows the fall of David in so many ways, 157 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:57,680 it also shows us the steps that we can avoid within our own 158 00:07:57,680 --> 00:07:59,720 life. And so, Lord, do help us as we 159 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:02,360 look at this text and help us to discern these own things in our 160 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:04,600 own life before they get far out of hand. 161 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:06,640 And we do ask it all in Jesus name. 162 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:09,760 Amen. Again, tonight's text is 163 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:12,880 probably very familiar to you this evening, but it requires us 164 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:15,280 to take a look at the details nonetheless. 165 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:18,760 And really, we can see David's decisions can be broken down 166 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:21,640 into three separate parts. There's the carrying out, 167 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:24,480 there's the cover up, and there's the completion. 168 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:28,680 We see the carrying out, the covering up, and the completion. 169 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:32,480 Verses #1 through 5 talk about David carrying out this act. 170 00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:35,919 Verse number one said that David should have been out with the 171 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:38,200 kings when there was the time of war. 172 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:41,200 Did you see that verse #1 it says, and it came to pass after 173 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:45,400 the year was expired at the time when kings go forth to battle. 174 00:08:45,560 --> 00:08:48,720 And then at the end of the verse it says, but David tarried still 175 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:51,920 at Jerusalem. David's first problem here was 176 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:53,880 he wasn't where he was supposed to be. 177 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:57,320 David will put himself in a very bad position. 178 00:08:57,320 --> 00:08:59,520 You know a good way to make sure you don't drink alcohol? 179 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:02,440 Don't go to a bar. You don't make good way to make 180 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:04,760 sure that you don't drink alcohol, don't go to a paki. 181 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:08,280 That's a good way to make sure. And here is David, you know, a 182 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:09,840 good way to make sure he stayed out of trouble. 183 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:12,120 Be on the battlefield where you're supposed to be. 184 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:15,160 But David was negligent. A man who had always been on the 185 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:18,280 battlefield now is deciding that he is going to stay home and 186 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:21,440 allow Joab to do the work that he is supposed to be doing. 187 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:25,080 And it says at the evening tide that he is awake and he goes out 188 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:27,280 onto the porch. Now understand this, this 189 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:31,080 evening tide is likely twilight. It was probably dusk, if you 190 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:32,440 will. And that's because there was 191 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:35,400 obviously enough light to be able to see what was taking 192 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:37,520 place. And David's palace would have 193 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:40,880 been higher likely than any of the other homes that would have 194 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:42,440 been there. And it wasn't uncommon 195 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:45,840 necessarily that someone was to wash on a housetop. 196 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:49,160 That was not an uncommon thing. But typically, because other 197 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:51,680 people's homes would have been about the same height, that 198 00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:55,120 there will be ways that you could maybe block out other 199 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:56,920 people seeing you while you're washing. 200 00:09:56,920 --> 00:10:00,920 But David having, if you would, a bird's eye view over the city, 201 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:03,920 would have been able to see Bathsheba in this very 202 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:07,280 compromising position as she was washing herself. 203 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:10,360 And the Bible itself says that she was very beautiful to look 204 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:13,600 upon, that Bathsheba was a very beautiful woman. 205 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:16,800 And David, in that moment, instead of saying, as he goes 206 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:20,200 out into his porch, there's a woman in a state of undress, I 207 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:22,760 ought not to be looking at her, which is all that should have 208 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:25,000 happened, by the way. Could I just make something 209 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:26,560 clear this evening before we get too far? 210 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:31,440 The idea of David's temptation here, It's not a sin to be 211 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:34,320 tempted. Well, that's pretty quiet. 212 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:37,120 I don't know that everyone's tracking with me, but I'm gonna 213 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:39,720 say it again. It is not a sin to be tempted. 214 00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:41,600 And you say, why would that be the case? 215 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:43,960 Pastor, may I remind you? That Jesus was tempted for 40 216 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:46,360 days in the wilderness, and Jesus was without sin. 217 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:50,240 He was tempted 3 specific times, but he wasn't just tempted those 218 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:52,680 three times. The Bible says for 40 days he 219 00:10:52,680 --> 00:10:55,680 was tempted in the wilderness. If temptation itself was a sin, 220 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:58,600 we would find this that Jesus himself would have sinned. 221 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:01,400 No, no. The idea of the temptation, the 222 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,960 idea of David going out onto the rooftop and seeing a woman, that 223 00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:09,320 in and of itself would not have been a sin if he had said I got 224 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:12,120 to go back inside. I not think about this. 225 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:14,680 I ought not dwell on this. I ought not to ask who this 226 00:11:14,680 --> 00:11:17,160 woman is. I need to discard this like a 227 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:19,440 rotten apple core. You know, when you you get a 228 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:21,200 rotten apple core. You don't think, should I eat 229 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:23,800 this? I know it's that time of year 230 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:25,800 where everyone goes apple picking, where we spend five 231 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:28,520 times as much as the apples cost in the store to go out and do 232 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:31,080 the work that we have to do and then we have to pay more. 233 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:33,600 It seems like it's backwards to be able to do that, quite 234 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:35,200 honestly. But if you go apple picking, 235 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:37,360 you'll find apples all over the ground and some of them look 236 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:39,720 good and you pick it up and you find out that it's rotten 237 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:41,320 because it's been sitting on the ground forever. 238 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:43,080 You probably don't think, you know, there's a part of this is 239 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:45,640 pretty good. There's not even a thought 240 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:46,960 process. You see it's rotten. 241 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:49,880 You see there's worms inside of it and disease inside of it. 242 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:51,240 You just cast it off to the side. 243 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:54,560 Listen, when temptation comes your way, it's that rotten apple 244 00:11:54,560 --> 00:11:55,680 cord. Here's what you need to do. 245 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:58,320 Just discard it. Just put it off to the side. 246 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:00,120 You know, I don't want this. I don't need this. 247 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:02,040 This isn't something that I should have in my life. 248 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:06,240 But David, in that moment of temptation, decides to not 249 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:11,840 discard, but to dwell upon it. And he starts to think that is a 250 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:14,400 beautiful woman, and I like beautiful women. 251 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:17,600 I am the king, and who could stop me? 252 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:22,640 Who's to say that I can't have something of which I want and 253 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:25,240 which I desire? And in that moment, instead of 254 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:28,240 discarding, he starts to dwell on the thought and he starts to 255 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:29,880 ask questions. Who is this woman? 256 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:32,320 And again, his friends, his advisors. 257 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:35,280 Someone should have said, David, what are you thinking, David? 258 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:37,520 Don't even ask David. Forget about it. 259 00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:39,240 Pretend you never even saw her. But they said, oh, that's 260 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:41,400 Bathsheba. By the way, she's husband to 261 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:46,120 Uriah the the Hittite. And David sent the messengers 4 262 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:50,560 and fetched her and brought her. And what happened? 263 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:53,560 Not only did they lie together, but the Bible says this, that a 264 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:58,040 baby is involved. So that's the carrying out of 265 00:12:58,040 --> 00:13:00,240 the event that we are very familiar with. 266 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:03,360 But then there's the covering up that takes place next. 267 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:06,000 That the covering up takes place from verse number six to verse 268 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:11,640 #25 David realizes if I can get Uriah home, if I can get him off 269 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:14,840 the battlefield and if I can get him to lay with his wife, well 270 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:17,520 then what will take place that people will have see that baby 271 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:20,200 and realize that baby is your wife is not ever knowing that 272 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:24,680 the baby belongs to the king. And so he calls Uriah and he 273 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:27,640 talks to about the battle and he says why don't you go home and 274 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:29,400 wash your feet. And the connotation there has 275 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:32,080 nothing to do with him going home and simply taking care of 276 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:34,720 himself and cleaning himself up because he could have done that 277 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:37,640 very well in the palace. In fact, David reveals later 278 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:42,120 that why he desires her to go, go spend some time with your 279 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:46,360 wife. And Uriah in its moment in time 280 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:50,160 is more honorable than David is because he comes back and he 281 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:52,600 says this the next day, why didn't you, why didn't you spend 282 00:13:52,600 --> 00:13:55,560 time with your wife? He says, listen, could I spend 283 00:13:55,560 --> 00:13:59,120 time with my wife when all of Israel, the soldiers are out 284 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:03,320 there on the battlefield and I'm to be found in my wife's arms as 285 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:05,200 that can't be. In fact, he says something very 286 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:10,320 interesting in verse #11 he says unto David, the ark of in Israel 287 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:14,040 and Judah abide in tents. Now we understand the thought of 288 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:15,440 tents. You know, they're out in these 289 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:18,040 temporary dwelling places. Do you remember who else had 290 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:21,800 this idea of, of, of something dwelling in a tent not that long 291 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:24,680 ago? It was David when David's heart 292 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:27,000 was tender. He says should I be dwelling in 293 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:30,880 a House of cedar and the Ark of the covenant be dwelling in a 294 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:34,440 Tabernacle of curtains. He had this thought process of 295 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:39,000 look at how much ease I have and look at where the Ark of the 296 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:39,680 Covenant. Is, he says. 297 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:43,280 This ought not to be, but now it's Uriah, the one who's 298 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:46,560 saying, look, I ought not to have comfort and ease when the 299 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:50,520 tat when the the Ark of the Covenant, when my friends, all 300 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:53,520 these people, they're intense and I'm going to be able to go 301 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:54,760 home to my wife. I won't do it. 302 00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:59,640 So David gets him to a place where he finds him to be 303 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:02,840 intoxicated. David encourages intoxication. 304 00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:05,720 He becomes intoxicated. But even in your eyes, you talk 305 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:08,320 intoxication. He refuses to go home and then 306 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:10,480 just sleeps with the servants of David that night. 307 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:14,040 And David realizes he's not going to go home. 308 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:16,640 And So what do we ask? What does he have to do? 309 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:18,960 The only choice in his mind is murder. 310 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:21,280 Now, did David take a sword and kill him? 311 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:23,360 No. But. 312 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:26,640 The orders he gave be clear about this. 313 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:30,600 David was the one who caused his execution, and that's what it 314 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:33,040 was. He told Joab, he says get him 315 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:37,400 out front and then have everyone retreat and he'll be out by 316 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:41,120 himself and be part of the text that we did not read is, is Joab 317 00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:43,400 recounting exactly that taking place? 318 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:45,480 And what happens after that takes place? 319 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:48,560 Well, it ends up that Uriah does die. 320 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:51,520 He dies violently in battle, but dies nonetheless. 321 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:54,800 So now. Uriah is out of the picture. 322 00:15:55,760 --> 00:15:58,720 So we have the carrying out, we have the covering up, but then 323 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:01,160 we see the completion. Those are the last two verses 324 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:04,520 that we read. And when the wife of Uriah heard 325 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:09,400 that Uriah, her husband was dead, she mourned that her 326 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:11,200 husband was dead. I'm sorry. 327 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:13,280 She mourned for her husband. And when the mourning was 328 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:16,920 passed, David sat and fetched her to his house, and she became 329 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:20,760 his wife and bare him a son. But the thing that David had 330 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:24,440 done. Displeased the Lord that last. 331 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:26,560 Sentence is the most important, isn't it? 332 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:30,520 In the completion, David has this thought process. 333 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:33,880 I did it. In fact, I would submit to you 334 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:37,160 that both David and Bathsheba have thought they'd gotten away 335 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:38,920 with one. But why is that? 336 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:44,040 David has now acquired this wife, this woman, Bathsheba. 337 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:47,640 And no one will ever know when that child is born that the 338 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:49,480 child is his. They'll just assume. 339 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:51,520 Well, they will know, but they will know. 340 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:52,880 But it's because they're married now. 341 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:55,160 That's that's what is. They won't know of the adultery 342 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:58,560 that took place before. And for a Bathsheba, she went 343 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:00,920 from becoming adulterous to becoming a queen. 344 00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:03,920 They both got everything they wanted. 345 00:17:04,599 --> 00:17:06,920 It's like they got one over on God. 346 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:10,560 But can I remind you this evening that the God of all 347 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:14,920 heaven knows all, sees all. He knows your innermost 348 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:17,079 thoughts. You can't pull the wool over his 349 00:17:17,079 --> 00:17:20,400 eyes. Listen, He created the wool, and 350 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:22,960 his eyes look to and fro, the Bible says, over the whole 351 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:24,920 earth. There's nothing that you can do. 352 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:26,440 There's nothing that you can say. 353 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:29,480 There's nothing that you can think that you can pull the wool 354 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:32,760 over God's eyes. And David, as powerful as he 355 00:17:32,760 --> 00:17:36,280 was, he thinks I've gotten to the place where now Uriah is out 356 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:38,240 of the picture. She belongs to me. 357 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:41,560 No one will know that the baby of mine was committed. 358 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:44,720 It was was conceived in the midst of adultery. 359 00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:47,560 They won't know what took place. Nobody would know. 360 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:49,880 But there's one entity that did, and that's God. 361 00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:53,160 And God knew. And listen, you can hide your 362 00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:55,400 sin from the entire world, but you can't hide your sin from 363 00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:57,640 God. You can hide your sin from your 364 00:17:57,640 --> 00:17:59,440 church, but you can't hide your sin from God. 365 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:02,480 You can hide your sin from your from your spouse, but you can't 366 00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:04,880 hide your sin from God. You can hide your sin from your 367 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:07,000 children, but you can't hide your sin from God. 368 00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:10,480 You can hide your sin listen from society because it seems 369 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:13,040 like a lot of our sin society doesn't even care about. 370 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:20,240 But you can't hide it from God. God sees, God knows, and God 371 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:24,320 judges sin. So that gets me to the place 372 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:26,760 where we look at David's greatest nemesis tonight. 373 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:30,720 And I think it's no surprise to you who greatest, David's 374 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:33,080 greatest nemesis is. But I do think when you think 375 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:36,080 about it, it does cause a little bit of of wonderment. 376 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:38,920 Because you might think at first, if maybe we weren't 377 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:42,360 looking at this text and you would say just in general, who 378 00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:44,600 do you think David's greatest nemesis was? 379 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:46,160 A lot of people would say Goliath. 380 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:48,240 I think a lot of people would say that they didn't know the 381 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:49,440 text. They didn't know where they were 382 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:51,160 reading. You just said, look from David's 383 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:52,640 life. Who is David's greatest 384 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:54,280 opponent? They'd say, well, Goliath. 385 00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:57,800 Was it Goliath? Oh, it must have been Saul. 386 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:02,000 Well, it wasn't Saul. Maybe they take a deeper cut and 387 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:03,720 they say was it Ishbashaf? No. 388 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:05,760 Was it Abner? No. 389 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:09,600 Maybe some of you were wondering this evening, was it Bathsheba? 390 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:16,360 And the answer is no. But David's greatest nemesis, it 391 00:19:16,360 --> 00:19:19,880 was David, your greatest nemesis. 392 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:24,880 And my greatest nemesis is the one that looks us in the mirror. 393 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:29,440 Pastor What about the devil? What about the devil? 394 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:32,280 Pastor Well, the devil is powerful. 395 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:36,160 There's no doubt the devil is not weak and the devil is 396 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:38,040 powerful. But I will also say this. 397 00:19:38,040 --> 00:19:41,920 He's not omnipresent as God is. You know, God is everywhere at 398 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:43,120 all times. Can you hide from God? 399 00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:45,440 Can you go somewhere where God is not? 400 00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:49,720 Does Satan have that capability? Is Satan omnipresent? 401 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:52,160 Is he everywhere at all times? I think the Bible makes it clear 402 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:53,960 that is not the case about Satan. 403 00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:58,000 But do you know who I have to live with 24 hours a day, seven 404 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:00,680 days a week? Myself? 405 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:04,920 And this flesh. And you know what this flesh 406 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:06,920 wants to do? This flesh. 407 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:11,680 Wants to sin, say Pastor, but I'm saved now. 408 00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:15,920 And the answer to that is Amen. Praise the Lord that you're 409 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:17,880 saved. Praise the Lord for the day that 410 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:19,440 you trusted Jesus Christ your Savior. 411 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:22,880 Thank the Lord for even today. Someone here passing from death 412 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:25,120 unto life. We remarkable. 413 00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:27,160 It's remarkable the day that you got saved. 414 00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:29,600 But wouldn't it be great if the day you got saved was the day 415 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:33,720 you stopped struggling with sin? Sometimes it seems like the 416 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:35,280 struggle is more hot once you get saved. 417 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:37,400 You know why? Because before you just gave 418 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:38,760 into it. You didn't think about it, you 419 00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:41,160 didn't care. You just went headlong into sin. 420 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:44,440 But now that you're saved, the Holy Spirit lives inside it and 421 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:45,680 He won't let you sin. Why? 422 00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:49,120 Because he's a holy God. You know, I would say when He 423 00:20:49,120 --> 00:20:50,960 won't let you sin, He's not going to constrain you or 424 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:54,120 restrain you from it, but He won't let you have the pleasure 425 00:20:54,120 --> 00:20:57,040 that you once did. Because now all of a sudden, as 426 00:20:57,040 --> 00:20:58,680 you're in the midst of sin, what does the Holy Spirit say? 427 00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:00,880 Don't do that. You shouldn't do that. 428 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:04,720 Don't get involved in that. So now all of a sudden the 429 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:09,080 pleasure that you had before diminishes greatly because the 430 00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:12,760 Holy Spirit inside, he won't let you sin without talking to you 431 00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:14,440 about it. Read Hebrews chapter 12. 432 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:15,520 You have any questions about that? 433 00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:19,240 You belong part of the family. He's going to chasten those who 434 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:22,360 are part of the family. And he said, well, he didn't 435 00:21:22,360 --> 00:21:23,560 chasten me. I got saved. 436 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:25,280 He never chastens me. Well, the Bible says that you're 437 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:28,720 not part of the family. Because he chastens his own, he 438 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:30,720 corrects his own. That's something to be proud of. 439 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,320 In fact, that's something that I would worry about your 440 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:35,320 situation. No, no, I'm not trying to 441 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:38,160 question you this evening, but I'm just saying this is that he 442 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:41,440 loves you so much that when you're saved, he's telling you 443 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:44,680 don't do that. I want you to live. 444 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:48,640 A better way, a different way, and avail yourself to the Spirit 445 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:51,800 lives inside of you. If you have any questions about 446 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:53,200 this, I'll give you some homework tonight. 447 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:56,440 Go home and read Romans chapter 6, Romans Chapter 7, and Romans 448 00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:59,640 chapter 8. And read what it says about 449 00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:03,840 mortifying the flesh and being dead unto sin, but alive unto 450 00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:05,920 God. This is what we are called to be 451 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:08,520 as believers today. That that we are no longer to 452 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:11,720 live unto sin, but rather we're to live unto the very 453 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:14,680 righteousness of God. That we have a not just a new 454 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:17,840 home in heaven, but that we have a new way of living the day we 455 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:21,160 got saved. And as God's people, we must do 456 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:26,040 better than to be saved people living as we did. 457 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:29,760 Before we got saved, God wants so much for you. 458 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:34,120 He wants so much better for you. And as I've told you before, 459 00:22:34,120 --> 00:22:36,760 there are people who say, well, God loves me just the way I am. 460 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:40,200 And while that certainly is true, God loves you far too much 461 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:44,480 to leave you that way. He wants you to be right with 462 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:46,920 Him. Ephesians 21 and through three 463 00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:48,720 says this. And you hath he quickened, who 464 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:50,520 were dead in trespasses and sins. 465 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:52,760 We're in time past. You walked according to the 466 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:55,120 course of this world, according to the Prince of the power of 467 00:22:55,120 --> 00:22:57,400 the air, the spirit that now working on the children with 468 00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:00,800 disobedience, among whom also we had our conversation in times 469 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:04,520 past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the 470 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:07,160 flesh and of the mind. And we're by nature the children 471 00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:11,040 of wrath, even as others listen. We lived in the old life trying 472 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:13,920 to fulfill the lust of the flesh, the desires of the flesh, 473 00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:16,040 the desires of the mind. But he says this. 474 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:20,040 You have a new calling now. You have a new way of living. 475 00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:26,280 Don't live that old way. Now, let's be clear about 476 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:31,440 something this evening. David not going to battle was 477 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:34,560 not a wise thing. David should have gone to 478 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:36,480 battle. There's no doubt in my mind that 479 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:39,160 would have. Been the case, but even if David 480 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:42,920 had gone to battle, he was already in a very, very 481 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:47,560 precarious place in his life. Why is that? 482 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:53,680 We are expecting David to act with sexual purity here, but 483 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:57,840 we're also looking at a man who had decided many years ago that 484 00:23:57,840 --> 00:23:59,480 he was going to have more than one wife. 485 00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:07,080 You know that David has already has more wives than God has told 486 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:09,240 anyone to have. You know a husband should have 487 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:10,840 one. That's plenty. 488 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:13,880 Amen. They came out in a way I didn't 489 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:17,840 mean it to be OK. 1 is what is wonderful. 490 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:20,920 What is wonderful? Yes, she's taking her glasses 491 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:21,880 off to look at me. All right? 492 00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:27,120 1 is a wonderful thing. But listen in David's life. 493 00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:30,520 If one woman wasn't going to be enough, listen, none were going 494 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:33,440 to be enough. I'll say that again. 495 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:37,280 If one woman wouldn't be enough, there will be no number that 496 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:40,160 will be enough. You know who illustrated this? 497 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:44,880 His son. His son 1000 wives and 498 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:48,080 concubines and he writes the book of Ecclesiastes and he says 499 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:49,160 this, what's the point of it all? 500 00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:54,280 I can acquire, I can have, I can take whatever I want and it's 501 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:57,240 all folly. It's all foolishness, it's all 502 00:24:57,240 --> 00:24:59,440 vanity. What's the point of it all? 503 00:25:00,120 --> 00:25:03,360 You know, Proverbs 27, verse 20 says this hell and destruction 504 00:25:03,360 --> 00:25:06,440 are never full. So the eyes of man are never 505 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:09,720 satisfied. Listen, if you want to fulfill 506 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:12,880 the lust of the flesh, it will never fulfill you. 507 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:15,560 You'll need more and you'll need more. 508 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:17,560 And by the way, we're not just talking about adultery. 509 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:21,400 We're talking about anything that is contrary to God and His 510 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:23,160 Word. If you think that you can take 511 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:25,600 it into your life and it will be enough, it won't be enough. 512 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:27,520 A little. Bit of gossip will never be 513 00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:29,600 enough. A little bit of lying will never 514 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:31,640 be enough. A little bit of theft will never 515 00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:33,640 be enough. A little bit of pride will never 516 00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:35,480 be enough. A little bit of arrogance will 517 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:38,000 never be enough. A little bit of sin will never 518 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:40,680 be enough. You'll need more and more and 519 00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:43,520 more, and the more you consume, the more you'll want. 520 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:47,040 That's why it says in Proverbs 30 verses 15 and 16 the horse 521 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:50,520 Leech have two daughters crying give give. 522 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:53,680 One of my favorite verses in the Bible and probably one of the 523 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:55,040 most obscure verses in the Bible. 524 00:25:55,680 --> 00:26:00,280 The horse Leech has two daughters crying out give give 525 00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:04,520 the horse Leech. Now if you know anything about 526 00:26:04,520 --> 00:26:07,960 leeches, well they are blood sucking creatures. 527 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:11,640 I have encountered leeches before. 528 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:14,520 I remember when I lived in Missouri and I went fishing once 529 00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:16,960 and I didn't realize that when people go into a pond they use 530 00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:19,760 waders to go in the pond and I didn't catch a lot of fish that 531 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:20,720 day. Actually, that seems a common 532 00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:22,080 theme for my stories today. I. 533 00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:24,800 Didn't catch a lot of fish, but I caught something else. 534 00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:28,200 Leeches on the legs. And I'll tell you this, that 535 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:30,600 helped me realize waders are good. 536 00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:34,240 Not just going into the water and just stand in there. 537 00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:37,400 Yeah, have some protection on your legs because those leeches, 538 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:41,200 I had to fry them off of me. And how awful and gross that 539 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:43,640 was. But you know what's amazing 540 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:46,320 about this horse Leech? And you can go home and study 541 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:48,080 the horse Leech. You can look it up online. 542 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:51,360 A horse Leech is a specific type of Leech that will get into the 543 00:26:51,360 --> 00:26:54,960 nostrils of livestock. And the horse Leech will start 544 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:58,080 to draw blood inside the nostrils of the livestock. 545 00:26:58,360 --> 00:27:00,840 But it has two daughters. The Bible says that's really the 546 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:03,800 two suckers that it's talking about, that both will take of 547 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:07,640 the blood, and as it does so, it gorges itself. 548 00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:10,440 And. Science shows us that that horse 549 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:14,160 Leech can get to two to three times its original size as it 550 00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:17,200 continues to take blood from the cow, from the horse. 551 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:20,040 But as it does so and it cries, give, give meaning. 552 00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:23,200 I want more. I want more, I want more, I want 553 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:25,280 more. As it continues to grow and grow 554 00:27:25,280 --> 00:27:28,960 and grow, it grows so large that those suckers can't actually 555 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:33,200 hold on to the horse anymore. So it drops to the ground and 556 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:37,240 it's. Trampled by the horse, but its 557 00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:42,640 appetite was so great that it wanted more and more and more. 558 00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:46,480 And it was that very appetite that led to its downfall. 559 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:51,680 You know what sin does? It never says, hey, just take a 560 00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:55,640 little bit and you'll be fine. It's like the old potato chip 561 00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:57,080 commercial, but you can't eat just one. 562 00:27:57,080 --> 00:28:01,360 Eat a little bit more and a little bit more. 563 00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:03,680 But we're not talking about adding a little bit to our 564 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:06,760 waistline. We're talking about your 565 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:09,440 destruction, not your soul being taken away. 566 00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:11,920 No, no, Satan has no power to take away your salvation. 567 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:14,240 But I will say this, He will take away your joy. 568 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:15,480 He'll take away your effectiveness. 569 00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:18,040 He'll take away your testimony. He'll take away your ability to 570 00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:20,640 be able to witness. To those family and friends who 571 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:23,960 saw Christ in you, but now they see you in the throes of sin, 572 00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:26,560 the very sin that you're telling them that they should get out 573 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:28,160 of. No, no, What do you need to do? 574 00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:29,760 Abstain. Stay away. 575 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:32,920 Don't be part of it. Realize that if the Bible says 576 00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:38,280 don't do it, don't do it. Because if you do it, you keep 577 00:28:38,280 --> 00:28:42,400 going and going and going and like the horse Leech, the very 578 00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:46,920 thing you consume will be your destruction, David said. 579 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:49,920 One more wife can't hurt. One more woman can't hurt. 580 00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:52,720 A little bit more fun won't. Hurt. 581 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:57,320 Then what happened? Well, before he knew it, it was 582 00:28:57,320 --> 00:28:59,680 too late and the damage had been done. 583 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:04,040 As I mentioned a few moments ago, the danger with a message 584 00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:07,120 like this is that if you're not careful, you could just tune out 585 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:10,040 because you say, well, Pastor, adultery and murder. 586 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:13,400 I'm not adulterous and I haven't murdered. 587 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:15,480 So a message like this doesn't matter to me. 588 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:19,440 But as I mentioned to you a few moments ago, David just didn't 589 00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:24,240 wake up desiring Bathsheba. There were things that took 590 00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:26,280 place far before that ever took place. 591 00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:30,280 You know, Judas didn't just wake up one day and desire to betray 592 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:33,000 Jesus. There were a lot of small 593 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:36,480 decisions that got taken place before that ever happened. 594 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:39,560 Ananias and Sapphira didn't just wake up one day and said, hey, 595 00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:41,160 you know what we ought to do? We ought to lie to the church 596 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:42,520 about how much money we gave the church. 597 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:45,600 You know, there were some decisions that they had made 598 00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:49,000 about truthfulness and about God's church and their heart far 599 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:52,360 before that day when both of them died because of what they 600 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:54,960 said. Joseph brothers didn't just wake 601 00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:56,520 up one day and say, yeah, you know what we should do for 602 00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:58,160 recreation today? Throw a brother in a pit. 603 00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:03,320 Hatred had built up. And by the way, their 604 00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:07,320 ungodliness had built up over time, and they were ungodly men. 605 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:10,800 And that brought them to the place where they decided, yeah, 606 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:12,960 we're going to throw them in a pit. 607 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:16,040 Samson didn't just wake up one day and say, you know what I 608 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:17,800 want to do? I want to spend time with a 609 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:20,480 prostitute. I don't even talk about Delilah. 610 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:23,400 I'm talking about far before when he went to Gaza and took a 611 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:27,560 prostitute. And I heard this recently, this 612 00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:34,600 idea that Samson took 56,250 steps to get him to the place of 613 00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:35,960 where he spent time with that prostitute. 614 00:30:35,960 --> 00:30:38,880 You say 56,250 steps. How does that make sense? 615 00:30:39,360 --> 00:30:44,520 Well, the 25 miles that he would have walked to be able to get to 616 00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:49,520 Gaza, every single step brought him closer to that prostitute. 617 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:52,880 I'm not trying to be course or crude this evening, but I will 618 00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:54,720 say this. She didn't just jump in his bed 619 00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:59,720 that he made a decision that I am going to do this because this 620 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:04,000 is what I want to do. And God had such great plans for 621 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:07,240 Samson, his life, but he kept running afoul of those plans 622 00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:10,320 over and over again until the greatest day of victory in 623 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:13,120 Samson's life was the day that he took his own life. 624 00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:15,680 Was that ever God's plan for him? 625 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:18,080 Now, did God know that's what would happen? 626 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:19,560 Yes. And God's omnipotence, he knew 627 00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:21,480 exactly what Samson's decisions would be. 628 00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:25,160 But did God have much greater plans for Samson? 629 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:29,640 You better believe it. There's some steps that we need 630 00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:32,240 to make sure we don't take. Oh no, we may not be in adultery 631 00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:36,000 or murder, but isn't it interesting that we look at 632 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:38,840 adultery and murder here in Second Samuel Chapter 11? 633 00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:41,600 And what are the two sins that Jesus talks about in the Sermon 634 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:44,600 on the Mount of which we say, well, it's not like I killed 635 00:31:44,600 --> 00:31:46,880 anyone. Well, it's not like I've stepped 636 00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:51,160 out and cheated on anyone. And he says, have you had hatred 637 00:31:51,160 --> 00:31:54,680 in your heart? Have you lusted in your heart 638 00:31:55,720 --> 00:32:00,680 and equates that with the steps of murder and adultery? 639 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:03,000 Do you think that's a coincidence? 640 00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:07,320 I don't think it is because it's very easy for us to cast those 641 00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:08,920 off to the side, say, well, I don't deal with that. 642 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:11,200 It's not a big deal. And what Jesus is saying, 643 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:14,040 listen, if you had the opportunity, you would if you 644 00:32:14,240 --> 00:32:15,560 harbor those thoughts in your heart. 645 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:17,400 So don't even harbor those thoughts in your heart. 646 00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:20,680 It's not about the ACT. It's about thinking about the 647 00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:23,840 act and being willing to act upon the ACT if you had the 648 00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:28,440 opportunity to do so. David, Judas, Ananias, Sapphira, 649 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:32,600 Joseph's brothers, Samson. They didn't just wake up and do 650 00:32:32,600 --> 00:32:34,640 those things. But I would also say this Nobody 651 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:36,400 just wakes up and decides to split a church. 652 00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:40,200 Nobody just wakes up and decides to. 653 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:43,600 Ruin a marriage. Nobody wakes up and decides to 654 00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:47,640 partake in harmful substances. Nobody just wakes up and decides 655 00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:50,960 to push away a godly friend. No one just wakes up and decides 656 00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:52,480 to gossip. No one just wakes up. 657 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:55,600 And that's why we use these weird terms like, well, he just 658 00:32:55,640 --> 00:32:57,840 fell into sin. No, no, he didn't fall into sin. 659 00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:00,480 He was tracking it and he jumped right in. 660 00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:04,080 You know how I know that? Because that's what I've done in 661 00:33:04,080 --> 00:33:06,320 my life. And let's be honest, that's what 662 00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:08,120 you've done in your life. When you've made the decisions 663 00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:10,160 you know you ought not to. It wasn't just what? 664 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:14,520 But, Your Honor, I had no idea that I wasn't supposed to. 665 00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:18,960 No, you knew exactly what you were doing and I knew exactly 666 00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:22,040 what I was doing. Eyes wide open, What do we do? 667 00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:24,480 Our greatest nemesis looks us in the mirror. 668 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:28,560 You want to take those steps? He says, don't take those steps. 669 00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:30,960 Follow in the footsteps of Jesus. 670 00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:34,200 That's the steps that you need to take, and that's what I need 671 00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:36,880 to do. Where does this all start? 672 00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:41,080 It starts in the heart. Proverbs 423 says this. 673 00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:43,880 Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it come 674 00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:46,800 the issues of life here in Easton. 675 00:33:46,800 --> 00:33:48,880 A few years ago, probably about three or four years ago, they 676 00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:51,600 detected some harmful chemicals in the water. 677 00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:53,920 And Easton's always had great water over the years. 678 00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:55,920 In fact, I it's one of the things that people told us when 679 00:33:55,920 --> 00:33:57,520 they moved here. One of Easton's claim to fame 680 00:33:57,520 --> 00:33:59,120 was the public water is so great. 681 00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:03,360 And being from Florida where the water tasted like sand, all the 682 00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:05,440 water tasted really great here, to be quite honest with you. 683 00:34:05,840 --> 00:34:08,280 But there were some harmful chemicals that were in our water 684 00:34:08,280 --> 00:34:11,600 supposedly. And so Easton had to build a new 685 00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:14,159 filtration system from the ground up. 686 00:34:14,880 --> 00:34:16,880 Because the old. Filtration system did not get 687 00:34:16,880 --> 00:34:19,520 all these chemicals out and so they had to build something new 688 00:34:19,719 --> 00:34:21,520 to make sure the water could go through so that it would be 689 00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:24,159 helpful and it would be exactly what it was supposed to be. 690 00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:31,400 You realize that your filtration system in your heart should be 691 00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:35,080 the blood of Jesus Christ. That is your filtration system. 692 00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:42,280 To realize, is this something that Jesus Christ died for, that 693 00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:45,360 I shouldn't partake in it? He doesn't want us to be 694 00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:50,000 involved in sexual immorality. Listen, don't watch things 695 00:34:50,239 --> 00:34:52,600 online that you know you ought not to watch. 696 00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:57,040 Don't look at things online that you know you ought not not to 697 00:34:57,040 --> 00:34:59,440 look at. If you wouldn't participate in 698 00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:00,960 the ACT, don't watch someone else doing it. 699 00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:06,920 Don't have any part in it. God has called us to sexual 700 00:35:06,920 --> 00:35:09,760 purity. He has said that God's plan is 701 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:12,400 for one man and one woman for one lifetime. 702 00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:16,760 That's His plan, and we are not to be able to alter that or 703 00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:20,200 change that whatsoever. It's not popular in the world 704 00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:22,680 today, but it doesn't matter if it's popular in the world today, 705 00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:26,680 because it's God's Word. He, he says that this that that 706 00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:29,600 that sexual relations are to be found within the confines of 707 00:35:29,600 --> 00:35:32,240 marriage and that we're not to step out from among that. 708 00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:34,800 And don't take the steps to go that direction. 709 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:37,280 And if you're going that direction, take the steps to 710 00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:40,320 filter it out through the blood of Jesus Christ, because it 711 00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:42,280 won't end there. If you have such blatant 712 00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:44,080 disregard for God's word, listen. 713 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:50,720 When will you stop? You'll never stop so confess it 714 00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:56,680 by the blood of Jesus Christ, whether it's alcohol, 715 00:35:57,720 --> 00:36:02,600 cigarettes, harmful substances, all of these these intoxicating 716 00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:04,040 substances that are out there today. 717 00:36:04,040 --> 00:36:08,560 Friend, be wise, but with the Bible says your body being the 718 00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:11,840 temple of the holy. Ghost don't partake in it don't 719 00:36:12,040 --> 00:36:16,120 don't partake it the things that are out there today even with 720 00:36:16,120 --> 00:36:18,600 with the dangers of nicotine and and all of these things that are 721 00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:21,240 proliferating everywhere you know Fred get. 722 00:36:21,240 --> 00:36:24,840 Away from it, don't partake in it. 723 00:36:25,720 --> 00:36:27,360 Well, listen, pastor, it's not like I'm smoking. 724 00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:30,880 It's just a pack of nicotine. So if you don't care for your 725 00:36:30,880 --> 00:36:33,600 body and the way that God has told you to, will it just stop 726 00:36:33,600 --> 00:36:37,760 there or will it go to something else and it's something else? 727 00:36:37,960 --> 00:36:39,960 Well, I gamble, but it's not like it's a lot of money, 728 00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:42,800 pastor. And gambling has exploded in our 729 00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:44,480 state, in our country the last few years. 730 00:36:45,720 --> 00:36:47,200 Pastor, we're not talking about big money. 731 00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:51,640 Well, it's not big money today, but if you're OK with it today, 732 00:36:52,520 --> 00:36:54,320 what's stopping you for it to be bigger money tomorrow? 733 00:36:55,440 --> 00:36:59,080 And it's really the issue whether how much money we put on 734 00:37:00,200 --> 00:37:05,360 the sports, big gambling or on the Lotto or whatever it is or 735 00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:08,440 the issue really, this God doesn't want me to do this. 736 00:37:08,640 --> 00:37:11,920 It doesn't matter how much it is, whether it's a penny or a 737 00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:12,920 $30 scratch. Off. 738 00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:15,800 Did you know, out of the 50 states of the Union, you can 739 00:37:15,800 --> 00:37:18,520 look this up later, Massachusetts spends more per 740 00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:22,360 capita on the Lotto and Lotto related activities than any 741 00:37:22,360 --> 00:37:25,560 other state in the Union. That's not something to be proud 742 00:37:25,560 --> 00:37:28,800 of. That's money that people are 743 00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:31,880 just giving away to the government that we should have 744 00:37:31,880 --> 00:37:35,000 in our own pockets instead of gambling it away hoping to get 745 00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:37,840 something for free, some free money. 746 00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:40,600 It's not free. You've lost a whole lot more 747 00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:43,520 than you gained a whole lot more than you've gained. 748 00:37:44,560 --> 00:37:45,720 Pastor. Why are you preaching all this 749 00:37:45,720 --> 00:37:48,160 is Was this just hot button issue night, Pastor? 750 00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:56,480 No, it's this sin is grotesque and we need to look at it as 751 00:37:56,480 --> 00:37:59,160 grotesque. We don't need to try to make it 752 00:37:59,160 --> 00:38:01,280 look pretty. We don't try to make it look 753 00:38:01,280 --> 00:38:03,480 beautiful. Listen, Bathsheba was beautiful, 754 00:38:04,080 --> 00:38:07,560 but the sin was gross. And all David will see is this 755 00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:10,040 beautiful woman, the allure of beautiful woman. 756 00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:15,680 But if he could have seen the unanticipated pregnancy, if he 757 00:38:15,680 --> 00:38:20,480 could have seen the dead baby, if he could have seen his 758 00:38:20,480 --> 00:38:27,120 daughter raped by his son, if he could have seen his son trying 759 00:38:27,120 --> 00:38:31,600 to take over his Kingdom, if he could have seen that the sword 760 00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:35,440 never left his house. Those are the words we're going 761 00:38:35,440 --> 00:38:37,240 to see in Second Samuel chapter 12. 762 00:38:38,560 --> 00:38:41,120 If he could have seen it, do you think she would have looked so 763 00:38:41,120 --> 00:38:44,440 beautiful? In fact, I would say that she 764 00:38:44,440 --> 00:38:47,960 would have looked further grotesque if he had known what 765 00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:50,360 was to come. And that's really what this 766 00:38:50,360 --> 00:38:53,160 comes down to. I mentioned there was that 767 00:38:53,440 --> 00:38:55,840 there, there was the carrying out, there was the covering up, 768 00:38:55,840 --> 00:38:58,880 there was the completion. But there was also one thing 769 00:38:58,880 --> 00:39:02,000 that I didn't mention, the consequences. 770 00:39:03,880 --> 00:39:06,840 The consequences start in the very last sentence. 771 00:39:07,440 --> 00:39:13,920 But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord #3223 772 00:39:13,920 --> 00:39:17,720 says this. Be sure your sins will find you 773 00:39:17,720 --> 00:39:21,280 out. You can choose your sin, but you 774 00:39:21,280 --> 00:39:24,760 cannot choose your consequences. You can choose your sin. 775 00:39:25,120 --> 00:39:27,600 You cannot choose your consequences. 776 00:39:28,680 --> 00:39:30,640 Say, Pastor, are you angry at all of us tonight? 777 00:39:30,640 --> 00:39:32,920 And the answer is, I am very angry at all of you tonight. 778 00:39:32,920 --> 00:39:35,320 That's absolutely true. I'm so angry at you. 779 00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:38,720 No, I'm not angry at you. I'm passionate about the fact 780 00:39:38,720 --> 00:39:45,440 that sin harms homes, it breaks up marriages, it destroys 781 00:39:45,440 --> 00:39:49,800 churches, it takes children who should be growing up in the 782 00:39:49,800 --> 00:39:52,640 nurture of admonition the Lord and turns them against God. 783 00:39:54,280 --> 00:39:58,080 It ruins societies. It's the downfall of nations. 784 00:39:59,240 --> 00:40:04,960 My passion tonight is this. Don't allow your own self to be 785 00:40:04,960 --> 00:40:08,160 taken in by what the Bible calls the deceitfulness of sin. 786 00:40:09,680 --> 00:40:13,000 Don't allow your own. Don't allow yourself to become 787 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:15,760 your own greatest nemesis. Listen, David's flesh did what 788 00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:18,720 Goliath couldn't do. David's flesh did what Saul 789 00:40:18,720 --> 00:40:21,320 couldn't do. David's flesh did what all of 790 00:40:21,320 --> 00:40:24,400 these heights, the Amorites and the Hittites and all. 791 00:40:24,560 --> 00:40:30,800 He did what they couldn't do. He did it to himself and in the 792 00:40:30,800 --> 00:40:33,600 end he had to pay for it the rest of his life. 793 00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:38,040 I leave you with hope though. Is there forgiveness in Jesus 794 00:40:38,040 --> 00:40:38,560 Christ? Yes. 795 00:40:39,920 --> 00:40:41,960 There's forgiveness of Jesus Christ. 796 00:40:42,760 --> 00:40:46,280 We don't deserve it. But He gives it nonetheless. 797 00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:50,040 If you've been taking some steps down the wrong Rd. you know what 798 00:40:50,040 --> 00:40:52,040 you need to do tonight. Don't wait till you get to the 799 00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:56,160 end of the road and then try to fix it, because you don't know 800 00:40:56,160 --> 00:40:58,480 where that road ends. You think you know, but you 801 00:40:58,480 --> 00:41:00,760 don't know. You come down to the altar 802 00:41:00,760 --> 00:41:03,160 tonight. Say, Lord, I haven't acted on 803 00:41:03,160 --> 00:41:08,480 this outwardly, but I know it's in my heart and that alone that 804 00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:11,760 I've harbored this thought as a sin, that I'm harboring it. 805 00:41:11,760 --> 00:41:13,720 I'm thinking about it, I'm dwelling on it. 806 00:41:14,200 --> 00:41:16,480 It's not right. I just ask you to forgive me 807 00:41:16,960 --> 00:41:21,400 because it will come up at the worst time possible if you don't 808 00:41:21,600 --> 00:41:26,600 confess it before the Lord says. The secret and deadly power lies 809 00:41:26,600 --> 00:41:29,920 hidden beneath the ground of Belgium's Flanders Field, one of 810 00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:32,000 the bloodiest battlefields of World War One. 811 00:41:32,400 --> 00:41:35,480 Unexploded artillery shells are surfacing there more than 80 812 00:41:35,480 --> 00:41:38,760 years after they are fired. Still unexploded, many are 813 00:41:38,760 --> 00:41:42,080 capable of killing. Some 3000 shells are unearthed 814 00:41:42,120 --> 00:41:45,120 each year by farmers and construction workers, while 815 00:41:45,120 --> 00:41:47,200 others simply work their way up through the soil. 816 00:41:48,120 --> 00:41:50,760 The problem is immense. Dozens of full time workers 817 00:41:50,760 --> 00:41:53,240 cannot keep up with it. Even worse, thousands of these 818 00:41:53,240 --> 00:41:56,800 projectiles contain poison gas. It is so prevalent, they even 819 00:41:56,800 --> 00:42:00,240 have a term that they use for it that every spring and every 820 00:42:00,240 --> 00:42:03,800 fall, as the soil gets turned, they call it the iron harvest 821 00:42:04,400 --> 00:42:08,120 because so many of these projectiles unexploded, keep 822 00:42:08,120 --> 00:42:10,040 coming up all of these years later. 823 00:42:10,640 --> 00:42:14,720 Listen, when it comes to your sin, you can try to push it down 824 00:42:15,320 --> 00:42:17,840 and push it down and hope nobody ever sees it. 825 00:42:18,800 --> 00:42:21,840 But I will tell you this, you're not going to pull the wool over 826 00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:24,120 God's eyes. Confess it. 827 00:42:24,680 --> 00:42:27,680 He will not just forgive you, but He will help give you 828 00:42:27,680 --> 00:42:32,840 victory over that sin. David, his life will never be 829 00:42:32,840 --> 00:42:36,400 the same, but I will tell you this, God still used them. 830 00:42:37,320 --> 00:42:40,680 We don't have time to look at it tonight, but God gave him Psalm 831 00:42:40,680 --> 00:42:47,960 51, a Psalm of hope and redemption after sin and God can 832 00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:49,520 use. You even if you. 833 00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:51,400 Were at a place where you've taken steps you ought not to 834 00:42:51,400 --> 00:42:54,360 stake, but do this first. Confess him before the Lord and 835 00:42:54,360 --> 00:42:57,760 allow him to use you before the consequences become dire. 836 00:42:58,400 --> 00:43:01,040 Thank you for listening to the sermon from the pulpit of 837 00:43:01,040 --> 00:43:03,960 Liberty Baptist Church. If this message was a blessing 838 00:43:03,960 --> 00:43:07,440 to you, or if there's any way we can serve you, please let us 839 00:43:07,440 --> 00:43:12,040 know by contacting us at info@mylibertybaptist.org. 840 00:43:12,320 --> 00:43:16,840 Or you can visit us this Sunday at 800 Washington St. in Easton, 841 00:43:16,840 --> 00:43:19,680 MA. May the Lord bless you as you 842 00:43:19,680 --> 00:43:20,880 grow in His Word.