The Sin Of The King Series

*Jeremiah 3:1 "If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again*Would not the land be completely defiled?” (NIV)

The temptations of kings…

*‘He must not acquire many horses for himself ….and he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.’ Deut 17:16-17

*‘Power, sex and money’- sound familiar?

*David indulged his lust by marrying lots of women

*‘And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem….’(2 Sam 5:13)

*Marriage is not a guarantee of freedom from lust

*Feeding the monster of lust does not quell it

The Slippery slope to sin

*Laziness- David did not go to war, and was on his couch instead.

*Sometimes the most helpful thing we can do for people is help them to become active

*‘Without work all life goes rotten…… unemployment is associated with early death, divorce, family violence, accidents, suicide, higher mortality rates in spouse and children, anxiety and depression, disturbed sleep patterns and low self-esteem’ (BMJ)

The Slippery slope to sin

* David was on his own- togetherness kills sin

*Forgot his bible-

*Leviticus 20:10 “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbour, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.”

The sin began with his eyes

*“I have made a covenant with my eyes;how then could I gaze at a virgin*(Job 31:1)

*“Lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes” (1Jn 2:16)

*Lust is never satisfied, instead perversion increases

*“I am ashamed of my inability to turn away from pornography. It is a sin that plagues me” -Christian Internet user

*Even sexual images seen by chance can be burnt onto men’s minds for years

*Surveys suggest the majority of Christian men struggle with internet porn

Do you rationalise ‘minor porn’?

*44% of the sample struggled with lust on a daily basis

*Viewing sexual nudity is surely unacceptable

*Lust depersonalises the victim

*The opposite sex are not objects for pleasure

* Would you want your daughter or wife to feature in the film / website you are viewing?

*Lust is the perversion of a godly desire for happiness and satisfaction

How to deal with sexual sin

* 1 Co 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality.

*Ro 13:13-14 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarrelling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires

*"Be killing sin, or it will be killing you." John Owen.

*The goal- not even a hint!

Practical tips

*Exercise caution in all relationships with the opposite sex

*Introduce work colleagues to your wife/husband

*Take radical action about what you feed your eyes with

*Vigorously seek pleasure elsewhere

*If possible marry, but don’t see that as your salvation

*Run from situations that cause you temptation

*I can imagine one of the servants walking outside the house when suddenly, whoosh! A human-shaped blur flashes out the door at world-class speed.- “What was that?” Joseph. The man of God. Running for his life. “Lord!” he pants at the half-mile mark, “help me!” “I am. Just keep running. You get away from that woman as far and as fast as you can.” It’s smart to run from temptation. It’s idiotic to stand there and try to stare it down. And yet some would have responded to Joseph’s situation this way: “God, I sense temptation beginning to develop. I call upon you, Lord. Please deliver me from this situation.” “I am going to deliver you,” God says. “Run!” C.J.