Saturday, April 8, 2017

Purity

In case you don't know the story of David and Bathsheba, it is found in 2 Samuel.
“In the spring, when kings go out to war, David sent Joab, his officers, and all the Israelites out to destroy the Ammonites. Joab’s army surrounded their capital city, Rabbah. David stayed in Jerusalem."
David was out of place. He put himself "out of place. Mark used to be a vice-principal when we lived in Vicksburg, MS. When students came to his office for a discipline issue, he always discovered that they were "out of place." When we stay where we need to be, we will be less likely to stray and do the wrong things.
"One evening he got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of his house. From there he saw a woman bathing. She was very beautiful,”
‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭11:1-2‬ ‭ERV‬‬
I would guess that David knew ahead of time that when he stood on the roof of his house he would see women bathing. This was not the first time. He put himself into a situation where he would be tempted. We often put ourselves into a situation where we already know that we will be tempted. It was only a matter of time before he would give in to the temptation.
Look what God said to David....
"When you took Uriah’s wife, you showed that you did not respect me."
"But you did things that made the Lord ’S enemies lose their respect.”
‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭12:10, 14‬ ‭ERV‬‬
“I let you take his family and his wives, and I made you king of Israel and Judah. As if that had not been enough, I would have given you more and more. So why did you ignore my command? Why did you do what I say is wrong? You let the Ammonites kill Uriah the Hittite, and you took his wife. It is as if you yourself killed Uriah in war.”
‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭12:8-9‬ ‭ERV‬‬
When we ignore God's command to have purity, we disrespect Him and we cause the world to disrespect Him. He said to David, "I gave you everything but it wasn't enough!" God has given us literally everything we need but we decide, just like Eve, that God did not let us eat out of the one tree and that He is not taking care of us. We decide that God is holding out on us and we take matters into our own hands.
If you are struggling with sexual temptations and giving in to them, get help. Do you need an accountability partner? Do you need to join a group.  You won't be the first one to join. You won't be the last one to join.


This is definitely an area where you cannot "conform to the world." The world says that it is okay to have sex outside of marriage. God says it's not. If pornography is the issue, quit "climbing on the roof of your house."

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