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The Attitude Behind Adultery, Part 2 · CCC West Covina

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Father God, we thank you for tonight and the opportunity to
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be together. Thank you Lord for for today.
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Lord, you are a great God and you have given us the stay to
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live and our prayer would be that you would have been
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glorified in our lives. We think of where we are today
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and our walk with you and pray that the things that we learned
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tonight will enable us to live even closer to you in days and
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weeks and months ahead. We realize, Lord, that life is
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but a vapor. We don't last forever on this
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planet. We want to live for the glory of
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our Lord. So we just pray that the things
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that we learned this evening would stick with us and that our
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hearts should be challenged and changed.
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That Lord, you'd use us and our families to be a testimony for
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Your glory and that you use in the workplace to stand and
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represent You and our schools, our neighborhood, no matter
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where we're at. Father, we would stand strong on
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the truth of your word. And those who come in contact
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with us would know that Jesus Christ reigned supreme in our
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heart and life. That's our prayer.
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Father, in Jesus name, Amen. Take your Bible and turn with
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me, if you would, to Matthew chapter 5.
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Matthew chapter 5. You know, when I think about
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this sermon and I read it over and over again, I'm taken back
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by the fact that that we have the record of, of a sermon that
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Jesus preached. I know the whole Scripture is
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God inspired and God breathed. I understand that.
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And it's not that the, if you have a red letter edition, that
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the red letters are more inspired than the black letters.
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That's not the case. It's all inspired by by the
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Lord, but but to be able to see how he says what he says.
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So you are paralyzed or you are blind or you are lame or you are
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deaf or dumb and and you need healing.
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So you go to to this, this Carpenter, this Messiah like
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person, this individual who is sweeping all of Judea, all of
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Galilee, He's surrounded the capitalist, he's in Jerusalem,
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he's everywhere and you want to be healed.
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So you go to him and you are and you are in a Matthew chapter 4
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tells us that that a large crowd was following him and it talks
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about those regions that I just mentioned.
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They're in the thousands, not the hundreds.
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And they, they are all overwhelmed by what Christ has
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done. And yet Christ knows that at the
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heart of everything is, is their hearts that are not right with
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him. And so he's concerned about
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their spirituality, not their physicality.
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Although He's compassionate, kind, merciful, loving, and he
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heals them all, He's more concerned about their heart.
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That's his burden. And so while they're all there
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and they're all excited about being healed and they're all
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excited about being able to walk and run and see and hear and and
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everything is is better, life's good.
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He sits down and says, I want to tell you about real blessing,
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real joy, real contentment. Do you think life is good now?
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Wait till your heart is right. So He begins to talk to them
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about blessing. He offers them satisfaction, He
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offers them joy, He offers them contentment and goes through the
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Beatitudes in the 1st 12 verses of Matthew chapter 5.
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That's how He begins his sermon. He begins it with blessing.
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And yet it's unlike anything they had ever heard or or seen
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before. This is different and Christ
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knows it's different for them. So he lets them know that the
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people who live this way, that they become salt in the world
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that's decaying, they become light in the world that's dark.
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And then he says, do not think, do not imagine, don't even
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wonder whether or not I've come to fulfill the law of the
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prophets. I have, I've not come to abolish
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anything. I've, I've come to fulfill
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everything that Moses said, everything the prophet said,
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because I know that in the back of your mind you're thinking,
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what is he saying? Because what are you saying?
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We have not heard before because the, the tradition of Judaism
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has reigned supreme over the truth of the gospel.
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And so he says, I did not come to abolish what Moses said or
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what the prophet said. No, I came to fulfill it, so
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much so that you need to know that if, if your righteousness
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does not exceed those of your religious leaders, you'll never
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be a child of the king, which had to take them back in such a
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way that they were flabbergasted.
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What do you mean? Our righteousness exceed that of
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the scribes and Pharisees? They are holy men of God, but he
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says that their their righteousness was one that was
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was achieved humanly. But my righteousness is one
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that's that's accomplished divinely.
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It can only happen through me. And so while their righteousness
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is a bunch of about a bunch of do's and don'ts, my
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righteousness is that inward righteousness.
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It affects the heart. He knows that, so he begins with
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these six different illustrations to drive home the
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point that what is happening on the outside is not necessarily
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what's true on the inside, because he's all concerned about
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the heart. Man looks on the outward
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appearance, but God looks upon the heart.
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Solomon would say is a man thinks in his heart, so is he.
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He would go on to say guard your heart, because out of your heart
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flow all the issues of life. Everything about life comes from
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the inside. So guard your heart, protect
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your heart. So the Lord begins to attack the
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tradition that they've been taught, and he begins with the
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whole illustration of murder. Now you've heard that it was
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said you shall not murder. They were like, yeah, who does
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that? Not us, but I say unto you,
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those great but ologies of Scripture, no one says it better
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than Christ. But I say unto you, let me give
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you the real understanding of the law of God.
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You've been taught this to your tradition, but this is what the
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law of God really is all about. That if you have silent anger in
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your heart, if you have have a a spoken anger that proceeds from
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your heart, if you have a slanderous anger, hell is your
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destiny because you're a murderer on the inside.
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And then it comes to the illustration about adultery.
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You've heard that it was said you should not commit adultery.
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And they were like, of course not, we understand that we're
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not sleeping with somebody else's wife.
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We're not going to do that. Because you see, everything was
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about the externals for the religious establishment.
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As long as they didn't sleep with somebody else or murder
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somebody else, they were righteous, they were good, they
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had a good standing with God. But the Lord says it's not that
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way. In fact, let me read to you what
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He says. You've heard that it was said
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you shall not commit adultery, but I say to you that everyone
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who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed
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adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye makes you
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stumble, tear it out. Fill it from you, for it's
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better for you to lose 1 of the parts of your body than for your
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whole body to be thrown into hell.
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If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it
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from you, for it's better for you to lose 1 of the parts of
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your body, then for your whole body to go into hell.
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I mean, if you're on the northern slopes of the Sea of
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Galilee and you're hearing these things, it's contrary to what
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they've been taught. So our outline is the same as it
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was for murder and will be throughout the next 4
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illustrations that there is a rabbinical tradition you need to
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understand and then you need to understand the biblical teaching
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and then we'll get to the personal transformation.
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But that won't be till next Wednesday night this week.
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It's just a rabbinical teaching and the OR the rabbinical
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tradition and the biblical teaching.
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Christ is quoting the 7th commandment, and they would know
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it well because they wanted to abide by the law of Moses.
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And yet the rabbinical tradition was always focused on the deed
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and they would forget or forgo the desire.
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And so Christ wants to hit them in their hearts.
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He wants them to understand the reality of their sin, the
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depravity of their lives, the iniquity that reigns supreme,
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that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked so they would
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not be deceived about the true condition of the inner man.
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You've heard that it was said you should not commit adultery.
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Why? Because adultery is punishable
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by murder. Read the book of Leviticus.
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Read the book of Deuteronomy, You commit adultery, you, you
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deserve death. And they didn't want to die, so
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they wouldn't commit the external act of adultery.
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It would be wrong to do that. And so they made sure that
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didn't happen. In fact, turn over to John
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chapter 8. You know the story.
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It's about the story of the woman caught in adultery.
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Very interesting about the story.
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Is that the man that she was in bed with was not brought before
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Jesus. In other words, it was a setup.
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They brought the woman, but not the man.
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It says in verse #1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives
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early in the morning. He he came again to the temple
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and all the people were coming to him, and he sat down and
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began to teach them. Scribes and the Pharisees
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brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in
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the center of the court, they said to him, Teacher, this woman
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has been caught in adultery. In the very act now in the law
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of Moses commanded us to stone such a woman.
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What then do you say here is Jesus teaching, and what he is
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teaching we do not know. But to the Pharisees and the
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scribes, they could care less what he was teaching.
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They had a point to make. We are followers of the law of
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Moses. Are you trying to discredit the
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authority of the Messiah? So they bring this woman who was
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caught in the act of adultery, she's in bed with this guy and
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they RIP her out of bed and bring her to the presence of of
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Christ. But not the man, just the woman.
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They were saying this testing him.
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It says in verse 6 said they might have grounds for accusing
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him, but Jesus stooped down and with his finger wrote on the
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ground. Now interesting he doesn't tell
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us what he writes, but he didn't say anything doesn't respond to
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them. He just begins to write on the
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ground. But when they persisted and
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asking him, he straightened up and said to them, He who is
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without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at
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her. Again he stooped down and wrote
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on the ground. Somewhat tend to believe that
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what he was writing was the the private sins of those who
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accused her. And maybe he was writing those
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in the ground associated with their names because he would
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know their names. He who is without sin.
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In other words, you maybe not have committed adultery, but in
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your heart you've lusted after this woman or or that woman who
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knows what he wrote. But read on.
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It says when they heard it, they they began to go out one by one,
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beginning with the older ones. And he was left alone.
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And the woman where she was in the center of the court, one by
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one, they all begin to walk away.
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Why were they convicted? Were they confronted do they see
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in the writings of Christ on the ground their name with their
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sin, but they began to walk away 1 by 1 and it says straighten
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up. Jesus said to her, woman, where
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are they didn't no one condemn you?
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She said no one Lord and Jesus said I do not commit condemn you
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either. Go from now on sin no more.
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She was a forgiven person. She had received the forgiveness
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and the to prove that she would go and no longer commit the sin
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of adultery. She would live a a pure and holy
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life. But you see, the the tradition
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of the of the rabbis was so thick and so strong, it was all
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centered around the externals. See, Christ was interested in
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the source of sin, not necessarily the showing of sin,
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because the source is what matters.
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And the whole new covenant promise was about giving you a
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new heart, a new spirit, so you could be able to keep my
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statutes. Just because you methodically
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keep the 10 commandments doesn't mean you're going to go to
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heaven. Anybody could do that.
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They could control the external acts talked about this last
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week. They can make sure they didn't
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kill anybody and they can make sure they didn't commit adultery
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with anybody. But they could not control the
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internal aspect. They could not control the anger
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in their hearts. They could not control the
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lustful attitudes in their hearts.
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They needed a clean heart. They needed a new heart, but
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that wasn't what they were interested in.
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And so when you look at the rabbinical tradition, he talks
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about adultery and several times throughout the Scripture it
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speaks about that. In fact, he was 13.
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Verse #4 says that the marriage bed is undefiled, but
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fornicators, the adulterers, God will judge and He will.
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In the Ephesians 5 and in Galatians 5 and the 1st
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Corinthians 6 and Revelation chapter 22, it speaks about
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adulterers not entering the Kingdom of heaven, but those are
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the ones who persist in their adulterous lifestyle.
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Adultery is is when a married man commits sexual sin with a
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married woman or vice versa, or one who was married commit
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sexual sin with someone other than their partner.
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But Christ broadens that when he says a woman and everyone.
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So he's going beyond the marriage bound to speak about
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any woman and everyone involved. So specifically, he's talking
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about adultery, but generally he's talking about purity and
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holiness and the, the, the kind of lifestyle that abstains from
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any kind of sexual immorality. That's the that's the emphasis.
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He wants to understand that, that you've been taught a
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rabbinical tradition about adultery, but it goes way beyond
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that to a pure and holy lifestyle.
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But they would, they would forget about the desire.
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They shouldn't listen to Job. Job chapter 31 Job was a
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contemporary of Abraham. Job lived before the 10
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Commandments. Job was a blameless and upright
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man. Job walked with God and listen
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to what Job says. Job 31 verse #9 If my heart has
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been enticed by a woman, or I have lurked at my neighbor's
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doorway, may my wife grind for another and let others kneel
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down over her, for that would be a lustful crying.
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Moreover, it would be an iniquity punishable by judges.
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So here is Job, living before the 10 Commandments, living
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before the law is ever given, knowing that the heart is the
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center of sinful behavior. Job knows this.
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Job knows that the inner man needs to be cleansed.
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Job knows that that lustful desire and passion for another
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woman is punishable by judgment. How does he know that?
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Simply because God is always concerned about the heart of a
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man. That's always His concern.
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So in Mark 7, Christ says that which proceeds out of the man,
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that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the
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heart of a men, men proceed evil thoughts, fornications, thefts,
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murders and adulteries. Some of the Pharisees missed
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that or they didn't want to have anything to do with that.
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They wanted to to squelch what was happening in their hearts
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and minds and just focus on the external acts because that they
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can control that. And I think you control that
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they they earned great standing with God and great standing in
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the community with people. But the Lord was always
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concerned about the heart. So you move from the rabbinical
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tradition to the biblical teaching.
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And Christ says these words very simply, He says, But I say to
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you that everyone who looks at a woman, anyone matter who you
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are, at any woman at all, with lust for her, has already
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committed adultery with her in his heart.
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The word for looks is a not not a casual glance.
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It's not an inadvertent glance. It's a it's a longing for, it's
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an intense glare. It's a continual stare.
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It's not an involuntary glance. It is a purposeful fixation, a
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repeated gazing. He looks at a woman and lusts
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for her. That's the purpose of his
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looking, to fulfill the desires of his his lustful heart.
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His lustful heart causes him to to look upon her.
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Note that the looking at the woman lustfully does not cause
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him to commit adultery in the thoughts.
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He already has committed adultery in his heart.
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The lustful looking doesn't cause the sin in the heart, but
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the sin in the heart causes the lustful looking.
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The lustful looking is but an expression of a heart that has
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already immoral and adulterous. He says it's in the heart.
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It's the heart that's that's that's moving you this way.
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This sounds. James says that we read this
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last week. I think this is so important,
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James is it this way each one verse 14 is tempted.
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Now temptation's not the sin. Temptation's not sin.
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Christ was tempted yet without sin, right?
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Temptation is not sin because you can not succumb to
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temptation. But he says this.
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But each one is tempted when he is carried away, not if he is
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carried away, but when he is carried away and enticed by his
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own lusts. The word entices.
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A is a word that means to to catch with bait.
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It's a fishing term where you want to go fishing and so you,
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you put the best bait on, on the hook possible to draw out all
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those fish to come after you. Very deceiving, right?
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And each man, each man, when he's carried away and enticed by
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his own lusts, his own desires, OK, he's deceived by the bait
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that is there. Then one then, when lust has
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conceded, gives birth to sin. And when sin is accomplished, it
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gives or brings forth death, death, a death like existent.
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The way to sin is death. And James makes it very clear.
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So, So how can we best illustrate this for you?
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How can we help you understand how this happens?
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I'm going to give you an illustration that I've given to
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you before, but I want to give it to you again because you need
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to understand this downward spiral that takes place in
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someone's life, in someone's heart.
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How does all this take place? How does no, nobody just wakes
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up on on Monday and says I'm having an affair today.
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I'm sleeping with my neighbor's wife today.
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No one just wakes up and does that.
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What? What is it that moves people to
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that? What moves people to sexual sin?
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What moves a man or woman to have an adulterous affair?
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What is it that moves them inwardly that that would cause
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them to go that direction? Well, turn back with me, if you
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would, to a very familiar story. You know it well to Second
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Samuel, Chapter 11, the story of David and Bathsheba.
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David is 50 years old. David has been king for 20
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years. The nation's going great.
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Everything is well. Israel is a powerhouse.
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David is a warrior and he is able to organize the nation,
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lead the nation, and the nation is at the best place it's ever
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been. By the time you come to Second
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Samuel Chapter 11. And I want you to notice
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something that David the king survived every assault by Saul.
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David survived every assault by Saul, but David succumbed to the
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attacks on his soul. He was able to survive every
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assault by salt, but he succumbed to the attack on his
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soul. How does this great king of
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Israel, this man after God's own heart, end up sleeping with
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Bathsheba? At this point he has seven
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wives. He has a myriad of concubines.
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We know of seven because the Bible tells us that.
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But Second Samuel 5 verse #13 tells us that he had other wives
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and more concubines while in Jerusalem.
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So he probably had more than just seven wives.
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But then the Bible gives us 7UP to this point.
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Bathsheba then becomes #8 she becomes the last in the list of
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those that are named. OK, so, so how does he get here?
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What happens? Well, Proverbs 1315 says that
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the way of the transgressor is hard.
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You need to remember that the way of the transgressor is hard.
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It's difficult, it's painful. The Bible says in Hebrews 11/25
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that sin is pleasurable, but only for a season.
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Not forever, only for a while, but not very long, only for a
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season. In Second Samuel 11, we have a
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king who gets enveloped in this downward spiral that seems to
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race faster and faster and faster.
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And the question comes, how does this happen?
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So I'm going to give you 15 words that will show you the
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downward spiral of his life. First word is carelessness.
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Carelessness. For David, this is where it
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begins. His moral failure didn't just
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happen on the balcony of his palace by looking at Bathsheba.
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No, he had already violated God's standards by accumulating
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many wives. Let me read to you the standard.
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Deuteronomy chapter 17 says this verse 14.
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When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, and
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you possess it and live in it, and you say, I will set a king
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over me, like all the nations around me, you shall surely set
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a king over you. Whom the Lord your God chooses
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one from among your countrymen, you shall set as king over
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yourselves. You may not put a foreigner over
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yourselves who is not your countrymen.
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Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he
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cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses.
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Since the Lord has said to you, you shall never return again
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that way. Verse 17 of Deuteronomy 17 He
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shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will
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turn away, nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for
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himself. God says when I choose the king
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for you, remember they chose Saul, the Lord.
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God chose David. When I choose the king for you,
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he should not multiply horses. He should not encourage you to
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return to Egypt to multiply horses, and he shall not
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multiply wise. If he does, they will turn his
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heart away from me. David was very careless with
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that. You see, when you become
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careless in any aspect of God's Word, you have begun a process
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that's very dangerous in your life.
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It says this in verse 18 of Deuteronomy 17.
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Now should come about when he sits on the throne of his
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Kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a
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scroll in the presence of the Levitical priest.
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It shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of
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his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by
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carefully observing all the words of this law and these
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statutes. That his heart may not, cannot
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be lifted up above his countrymen, and that he may not
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turn aside from the commandment to the right or to the left,
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said he, and his sons may continue long in his Kingdom in
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the midst of Israel. His job as king is to write in
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the presence of the Levitical priesthood, the law of God, so
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that he will observe that law all the days of his life.
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In other words, what the word of God says, you must obey, you
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must keep it. You're the king, you set the
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example, you're the one who is the prime leader of your of your
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Kingdom. If you can't set the example,
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whose, what example will they have to follow?
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This is your job as a king. The question is, was David doing
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that? Was he writing the law in front
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of the Levitical priests? Well, evidently he wasn't
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because he was multiplying for himself wives.
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So he became very careless in the commands of God.
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When you become careless with any of God's command, it will
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allow you to become careless in other commands that God gives.
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It's a downward spiral and this is where it begins with David.
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Discipline is so important in the Christian life.
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Discipline will always lead to delight.
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A lack of discipline will always lead to disaster, IE Second
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Samuel 11. David, so important, so
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carelessness, will always lead to #2 idleness.
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Listen to what the text says. Then it happened in the spring,
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at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and
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his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the
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sons of Ammon and besieged the Rabah.
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But again, another but ology in Scripture.
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But David stayed at Jerusalem. Idleness.
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David is a warrior. That's what he's known for.
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But David didn't go to war. He decided to stay home and
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remain idle, not fulfilling his duty nor his responsibility.
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Duty and it's fulfillment will protect you from delinquency,
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but if you're not responsible and you become idle, then the
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problem is you lack discipline. And discipline always leads to
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disaster or lack thereof. So here he is.
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When kings go out to war, where is the king?
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He's in Jerusalem, he should be going to war, leading his men to
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war, but he's not. You see, when you're careless in
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anyone aspect of God's law, it'll affect everything else you
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do. And the sad thing about it is,
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is that we don't even recognize it.
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So carelessness led to idleness, and idleness led to laziness.
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Look what it says now. When evening came, David arose
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from his bed. Stop right there.
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What's David doing in bed in the evening time?
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Why is he not out of bed? Why is he napping in the late
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part of the day? Unless, of course, you're lazy,
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and David was lazy. When you're idle and you have
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nothing to do, what do you do? You get really sleepy, Lay down
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in your bed, take a nap, relax, put your feet up.
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And carelessness led to idleness, and idleness led to
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laziness. He's in bed, but he awakes.
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He gets up, says and walked around on the roof of the King's
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house. Laziness always leads to
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mindlessness. What's he doing walking around
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the King's house? What's he thinking about?
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What's he's doing? He, he hasn't fulfilled his
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responsibility. He's not doing his normal duties
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as king. No, he stayed back and was very
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idle. That idoless led to laziness.
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That laziness caused him just to get up and walk around the
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house. He couldn't turn on Netflix.
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He couldn't turn on Prime Video. He, he couldn't peruse the
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Internet to think of something to buy off of Amazon.
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He couldn't do. He just walked around the house.
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He could have began to or began to write the law of God, as
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Deuteronomy 17 said. He could have sat down and began
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to read the law of God to keep his mind active.
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But no, he became mindless because he was lazy, because he
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was idle. This is the the downward spiral
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of someone who's about to live a life of complete and total
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disaster. You know the Bible says need to
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be watchful and prayerful, right?
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Christ says in the garden to his men, watch and pray lest you
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enter into temptation. Did they watch and pray?
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Nope. What do they do?
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You got lazy and went to sleep. They weren't watchful.
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They weren't prayerful. Colossians 42, Paul says be
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devoted to prayer while always having this attitude of
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alertness, watchfulness, very important.
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David could have got up from his bed and dropped to his knees and
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began to pray, be alert, but he wasn't.
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And so he goes, some carelessness, which was a habit
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pattern of his life because he collected many, many wives over
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a long period of time. That carelessness led to
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idleness, and idleness led to laziness, and laziness led to
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mindlessness, and mindlessness led to feeble mindedness.
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In other words, he impaired his intellect.
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And it says Now when the evening came, David arose from his bed
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and walked around on the roof of the King's house, and from the
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roof he saw a woman bathing. Feeble mindedness.
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His intellect was not sharp because he had been asleep.
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His intellect was not sharp because he was not watchful and
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prayerful, right. We saw a woman.
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And if you've been to Israel with me and you've been in the
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King's, the King's palace, you know how very easily this could
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happen because at the top of Mount Zion is the King's palace.
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And he would oversee the the city of Jerusalem.
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And he would be able to look down and see the different
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rooftops of all the different homes.
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And a lot of commentators want to blame Bathsheba here.
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I'm not. Unless quite sure you can do
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that. I mean, they do, but I'm not so
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sure you can. Why?
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Because everybody's gone. They're all gone to war.
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No one's home except the women. So what difference does it make
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for? I bathe, right?
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It's like you go into your your bathroom and turn in your shower
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and shut the door. It wasn't like that.
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See, so I'm, I'm not too quick to blame Bathsheba here, but I'm
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quick to blame David for his feeble mindedness.
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He just wasn't intellectually astute at all.
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Because, you see, each man is, is is tempted when he is drawn
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away and enticed by his own lusts, See, And because he
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wasn't watchful, nor was he prayerful, then he could not
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overcome the longing and the temptation in his heart.
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This was the time to flee youthful lusts.
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Second Timothy 222 But he didn't.
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Why? Because you see, if you're
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careless in one avenue of Scripture, you'll be careless in
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other avenues of Scripture, correct?
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And so because he wasn't astute to write the law of God and to
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and to meditate on the law of God and to follow the law of God
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every single day as was prescribed for the king, he
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wasn't scripturally and biblically astute.
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And so because he was careless in multiplying wives, then he
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become careless with the situation with Bathsheba.
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See, things are going for well for David.
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Things are going great in the Kingdom.
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People are happy, the nation's successful, the nation's
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growing, everything's good. Even though David has been very
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careless in obeying the laws of God, God blesses more so in
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spite of us than because of us, because God is graceful.
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But David dishonored his God by not being obedient to the word
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of God. That feeble mindedness led to
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his lustfulness. It says he saw a woman bathing
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and the woman was very beautiful in appearance.
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He had to look long and hard to determine a beauty.
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That lustfulness came because of his feeble mindedness, which
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became because of his mindlessness, which developed
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because of his laziness, which came from his idleness, which
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came from his carelessness. It was a downward spiral of sin
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that would ensnare him, entrap him, and at any moment he could
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have been watchful into prayer. At any moment he could have fled
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youthful lusts. At any moment he could flee
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immorality. He could be a modern day Joseph
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at any moment. But he wasn't.
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The Bible says in Psalm 11937 Turn away my eyes from looking
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at vanity. The Bible says in Hebrews 12/2
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look unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.
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Isaiah 13, Excuse me? Isaiah 3315 says He who walks
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righteously shuts his eyes from seeing evil.
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He who walks righteously shuts his eyes from seeing evil.
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David wasn't walking righteously.
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Why? Because he was careless when it
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came to obedience to the Word of God.
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And therefore when it came to fulfill his responsibility as
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king, he stayed home, became idle.
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The idleness led to his laziness.
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That laziness led to his mindlessness, which led to his
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feeble mindedness, which led to his lustfulness, which led to
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his foolishness. Look what the text says.
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So David sent and inquired about the woman.
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That's just plain foolishness. Dude, you're married.
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You married 7 times over, you got concubines.
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What more could you possibly want?
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But to him, to him who wants more than enough is never
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enough. And here is David since, since,
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since and inquires about her. And one said, is this not
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Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah?
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Well, that should that should be obvious to say, oh, OK, great,
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we're done. But you see when, when you're
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when you're careless with the law of God, when you're careless
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with the word of God and you say, you know what, I'm just not
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going to do that. I'm not going to spend my time
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doing this or do it. Next thing you know, it's so
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easy to say, you know what, I'm not going to do that either.
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You know what? And that command, you know what,
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I'm not doing that one either. And you know what, I've gotten
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away with it. The kingdom's flourishing.
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This is great. It's OK.
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And we think that the consequences will will not
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happen to us because our Lord is long-suffering and patient.
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And Jeremiah 414 says how long will your vain thoughts remain
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within you? Empty thoughts.
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Here is David, he inquired about the woman they said she's
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married the wife of Uriah. Foolishness on David's part to
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think that it should not end. And so the text says, David sent
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messengers and took her. Wow, wow, covetousness.
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David wanted another man's wife. Exodus 20 tells us Thou shalt
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not covet thy neighbors wife. But he did.
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To whom little is not enough, nothing is really enough.
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And therefore disobeying this command, thou shalt not commit
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adultery. Well, he was careless with the
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other commands. What's wrong with being careless
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with this command as well? He's gotten away with not doing
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what was prescribed for the king.
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Why would I not get away with this?
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I mean, after all, everybody's gone.
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As foolishness leads to covetousness, as covetous leads
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to stubbornness. It says these words.
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David sent messengers and took her.
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Say he took her anyway, in spite of her marriage, in spite of the
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7th Commandment, in spite of anything else.
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He took her anyway. That's just plain stubbornness.
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And that stubbornness led to fearlessness.
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Look what it says. And when she came to him, he lay
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with her shamelessness, which led to lawlessness.
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She came to him no shame, even though his messengers knew no
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shame. And that shamelessness led to
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lawlessness with sin. All sin is lawlessness.
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They took her and she came into him, and he lay with her.
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Well, it says he didn't fear the law of God, and so he just did
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what he wanted, in spite of what God's Word had said.
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But remember, when you are careless with one part or any
50:17
part of God's law, this is the downward spiral that begins to
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take place in a person's life. You rationalize disobedience.
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You rationalize doing what you want to do.
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Your stubbornness, your covetousness, your, your, your
50:35
lustfulness. You can rationalize it all the
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way, but God is watching and God knows.
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So that stubbornness that led to fearlessness led to lawlessness,
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led to shamelessness, because it says very simply this.
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And when she had purified herself from her uncleanness,
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she returned to her home. No shame, no embarrassment, no
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sadness. Get up, clean yourself off.
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Go home, David. Clean himself off.
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Remain king. No shame.
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Why? Because he was stubborn.
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Why? Because he was foolish.
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Why? Because he was covetous.
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Why? Why?
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Because the downward spile of one man who decides, you know
51:37
what? I'm not going to do that part of
51:39
the law. I'm going to multiply for myself
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many wives, even though I'm not supposed to do that.
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And it'll be OK because after all, it is legal.
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Was it moral? But it was legal.
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So he rationalized his morality because he subjected it to
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legalities and thought it was OK.
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Well, that shamelessness led to deceitfulness, thinking nothing
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would happen, Everything is going to be OK, one night stand,
52:18
no big deal, deceitfulness. And that deceitfulness led to
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the relentless pattern of sinfulness through the whole
52:31
episode with Uriah, his being murdered, David lying.
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David broke every commandment which led to his brokenness.
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David broke every commandment, all ten of them in these few
52:54
verses in Second Samuel Chapter 11.
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Because in his heart he hated Uriah or he wouldn't have slept
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with his wife. But he murdered him, had him
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killed, He lied, he stole, he coveted, he was idolatrous
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because all idolatry is covetousness.
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He didn't love the Lord with all of his heart, soul, mind and
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strength. Listen, he even broke the 4th
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commandment, which is remember the Sabbath day and keep it
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holy. The Sabbath day is about
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holiness and purity and sanctity.
53:39
The reason there's a Sabbath day is so that you will be holy.
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David was unholy. He broke all 10 commandments.
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And so in Psalm 32 says these words verse #1 how blessed is he
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whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered?
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How blessed is the man whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,
54:05
and in whose spirit there is no deceit?
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When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my
54:15
groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was
54:18
heavy upon me. My vitality was drained away as
54:22
with the fever heat of summer. This was his nine months of of
54:32
Bathsheba's pregnancy before he really truly repented of his
54:36
sin. Verse 5I acknowledge my sin to
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you in my iniquity. I did not hide.
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I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and
54:44
you forgave the guilt of my sin. Took David a long time to get
54:51
there, but that's why he's a man for God's own heart, because he
54:56
was a repentant man. I would like to say to you that
55:01
that things were really good for for David, but the sword never
55:05
left his home. His family was in shambles.
55:08
It was a mess. He was a great king.
55:11
He was a horrible father and a horrible husband, but he was a
55:17
great king. And so we learned from this
55:22
story that it's the heart of a man that matters, right?
55:28
It's all that matters. And once our heart says, you
55:32
know what, I'm not going to do what God says.
55:37
Even though it's not that big a deal, it is a big deal because
55:43
it begins to balloon in other areas of my life.
55:48
That's why it's so important for you to understand the word of
55:50
the Lord and hold on to it and cling to it.
55:54
How should a young man keep his way pure by taking heed to the
55:59
Word of God? David did not do that by word.
56:04
I've hid my heart that I might not sin against thee.
56:07
David didn't do that either, because he was supposed to read
56:12
the Word, write the Word, and observe the law of God all the
56:18
days of his kingship. And he didn't.
56:21
It cost him. But he would soon write the
56:26
Psalms and begin to tell us about his confession and the
56:30
importance of the Word of God in his life, having come to realize
56:35
that when you're careless with it, it will cost you greatly.
56:40
The attitude behind adultery is everything.
56:43
It's all in the heart. We can say we don't do this and
56:47
we don't do that, but we do do this and we do do that.
56:50
God doesn't care. God wants a clean heart, a pure
56:54
heart, a heart after Him. And the hope is, and it's true
57:02
that Christ always provides a way of cleansing.
57:06
You're never so filthy that you cannot be cleansed by the blood
57:10
of the Lamb. Christ cleanses man from a sin,
57:14
and David's a perfect example of that.
57:17
God forgave him the guilt of a sin, not just a sin, but all
57:20
that was on the inside that he felt guilty about.
57:24
And that's the good news about this lesson.
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It's a very valuable lesson for us.
57:30
We raise our children, try to provide for them.
57:33
A biblical example of purity and holiness.
57:37
So important. And next week we'll we'll talk
57:40
to you about our personal transformation.
57:45
What needs to happen in my life so I don't begin this downward
57:49
spiral that causes me to lose control and engage in sinful
57:55
behavior? What does God's word say about
57:58
that? We'll pick that up next week.
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Let me pray with you, Father. Thank you, Lord, for tonight and
58:05
a chance to be with your people. Thank you, Father, for a chance
58:09
to be in Your word. Thank you for the reminder that
58:13
Your Word is true. And I pray that all of us would
58:17
realize the the necessary elements of being in the Word
58:22
everyday, memorizing, obeying, teaching, reading the Word of
58:30
God. It's we.
58:33
We've been made clean through the word which you've spoken to
58:36
us. John 15.
58:39
Lord, help us to be cleansed on the inside.
58:43
Help our hearts be right for you.
58:46
You are a forgiving God. You are a God that cleanses us
58:49
from all of our sin. May we leave here today not
58:53
thinking that we cannot be forgiven.
58:56
We can be. All we have to do is come to you
59:01
and you forgive because that's who you are and we thank you in
59:06
Jesus name, Amen.