The Abused Series

“The Perversion of Love”

The Abused

• This morning I want to preach a sermon to shed a different light on why Jesus came to die on a Cross for sin!

II Sam 13:6-

So Amnon lay down, and pretended to be ill; and when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Pray let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.” 7 Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, “Go to your brother Amnon’s house, and prepare food for him.” 8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, where he was lying down. And she took dough, and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes. 9 And she took the pan and emptied it out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, “Send out every one from me.” So every one went out from him. 10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the chamber, that I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the cakes she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother. 11 But when she brought them near him to eat, he took hold of her, and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.” 12 She answered him, “No, my brother, do not force me; for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this wanton folly.

• I would rather people hear the truth from the pulpit than to buy into a lie from the world! X 2

• As we are in the midst of the season of Lent; I was asked why would I deal with such a story. Because Lent is all about making preparation in receiving.

• But Church it is imperative that we not only make preparation to receive Christ as the Church, but we seek to prepare ourselves to receive the brokenness of people whose idea of love is so perverted.

• It is really important to catch this thought this morning.

• It is so difficult for anyone who has been the subjected to the abuse at the hand or hands of a man to be able to conceive the idea that Jesus being a man would be anything different.

• JB Phillips wrote a book entitled “Your God is to Small” and in the book he says somethething that is so prolific. He said “The way that you view your earthly father is the same as you will view your Heavenly Father.”

• If your father was distant,then your Heavenly Father is distant

If your father was condemning, then God will be condemning

If your father was angry, then God is always angry

If your father was verbally, physically or sexually abusive

The God’s way of relating to you will follow suit!

• And you will react the same way towards your Heavenly Father because it is an involatary response

• But this morning, you can be healed from the wounds of being abused because Jesus went to the Cross of Calvary to die for the sins of man both the sins we commit and the sins committed against us.

• We as the church need to be prepared in how we receive people in a broken world! I believe that God wants to “pull the veil back” and allow us to see the brokenness and perversion of what the world identifies as love that exists in the lives of people. And we as the church need to learn how speak to them and make connection that reveals the real love of Christ that was demonstrated on the Cross of Calvary.

• 5 Identities: Jon-adab; Ammon; Tamar; David, and Absalom

• This morning I want to deal with Tamar- The Abused

II Sam 13:11-12

But when she brought them near him to eat, he took hold of her, and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.” 12 She answered him, “No, my brother, do not force me; for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this wanton folly.

• Church; this is some heavy stuff. But whether we like it or not; this is God’s Word; and God speaks to the issues at hand whether it is uncomfortable or not. This is the message of the Gospel, this is why Jesus had to die for sin

• The uncanny truth here is that Jesus was present in the Old Testament, His sacrifice was made available in the NT, and Jesus is still relevant for the sin committed today.

God want us to respond to those that have been abused by…..

1.) Listening to the No!

• She said “NO!!!!!” x3

• According to The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network: 44% of victims so sexual assault happen to those who are 18 years old and younger. 80% are under the age of 30. Every 107 seconds someone is sexually assaulted; 293,000 people are as assaulted every year; 68% of sexual assaults are never reported to police; 98% of perpetrators never spend a night or day in jail; 4/5 assaults are committed by people that the victims know and 47% of rapists are a friend, family member or acquaintance.