The Four Seasons of Failure-Part A

You may have heard of this book is been around for a few years.

It is called every man's battle. The authors of this book right.

Our maleness brings a natural ability to sexual sin was David that and when David should've been out fighting different battles. He was at home losing this our culture is saturated with sex unit movies, TV, billboards, so how can we make sure we don't get ensnared by lust today on connect with Skip Heitzigs, Skip talks about King David's crash and burn in his battle with lust you some tools to help you triumph over the sin.

Now we want to tell you about strips that will help you live in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is mysterious in the Bible. Jesus even said moves like the wind, so Christians are instructed to know sensitive and his health, counsel and comfort as I think reminds us, you can't neglect the Holy Spirit as the Scripture is of the Holy Spirit from beginning to and from Genesis to Revelation.

Not only is the Bible full of the Holy Spirit candy to the Holy Spirit is a divine person who helps us how many of you think you need all the help you can get the litter? Yeah I'm I'm with you. We need help discover the Holy Spirit is faster. Skip DVD study expound Holy Spirit and for a limited time you can also get a copy of Lenny Isaac's booklet called empower discover your spiritual gifts. Both resources are our things, your gift of $25 or more to help expand Bible teaching outreach to get online securely connectwithskip.com/offer or call 800-922-1888 second Samuel chapter 11 Skip Heitzigs extorts today's there was a story told a few years ago was I believe that on ABC night. The about a very strange piece of art was a chair next to the chair was a shotgun that was loaded and on a timer. That is, it would go off some time in the next 100 years shotgun could go off immediately in a week. 20 years hundred years. The way the art was viewed it was to be viewed by sitting in the chair and staring right down the barrel of that shotgun for one minute that you might think that nobody would want to see that thing right you be surprised to know that there were lines of people who were waiting to have their one minute in the chair because they were gambling on the idea that well it's going to go off but it won't go up while I'm in the chair, what we essentially have in Chapter 11 of second Samuel is David's one minute in the chair only while he's in it. The gun goes off and everything that he knew especially his reputation is ruined second Samuel chapter 11 verse one. It happened in the spring of the year. At the time when the kings go out to battle the David sent Joab and his servants with them and all of Israel and they destroy the people of Ammon to besiege Rob but David remained in Jerusalem that it happened one evening the David arose from his bed, walked on the roof of the king's house from the roof he saw a woman bathing and the woman was very beautiful to behold. So David sent, and inquired about the woman and someone said is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of a lie am the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Then David sent messengers and took her and she came to him and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity and she returned to her house and the woman conceived so she sent and told David, I am with child.

I brought a book with me today. You may have heard of this book. It's been around for a few years. It is called every man's battle every man's battle and the subtitle is winning the war on sexual temptation. One victory at a time to book this designed to help men who struggle with lust but also to help women understand a man struggle. The special target of the book is especially men who feel trapped and feel desperate but what is most noticeable is the title suckled one man's battle or a few dudes problem. Isn't it interesting that is called every man's battle that should tell you something. As the authors of this book right. Our maleness brings a natural vulnerability to sexual sin. That was David's battle and when David should've been out fighting different battles. He was at home losing this one and here's what's remarkable. This is David the one after God's own heart. This is the David who went out after Goliath and one this is David who became the commander of Saul's army.

This is David, of whom the song was written, Saul is slain his thousands, but David has slain his tens of dollars. This is David, the sweet psalmist of Israel. This is David who has a city named after him. They call Jerusalem the city of David. To this day, the Israelis verified blue-and-white flag and on that flag is the star of David, this is that David, who is tempted, Oscar Wilde, the Irish playwrights that I can resist anything except temptation. David could've written that line. What we have in second Samuel 11 is the Old Testament version of Humpty Dumpty, we might say Humpty David sat on the wall Humpty. David had a great fall.

There is David looking over the walls of Jerusalem. The view from his pinnacle was of the kingdom that he ruled and reigned over, but he had a great fall and he would never be the same. After this fall, oh he'll be forgiven, but he'll never be the same. What you need to keep in mind is what were reading about is not some sexual pervert or someone while guy at a party, but were looking at a middle aged leaders one minute in the chair.

I called this message the four seasons of failure because I've outlined it. According to the seasons of the year, spring, summer, fall and winter and I done that because temptations often are like seasons in the year.

The warm, alluring breezes that temptation sends forth that draw us into its allure will leave us with that cold. I see winter read distance from people that we love and from God before seasons of failure.

Something else that I think is important before we jump into the text and examine it is what we are reading about did not happen all of a sudden was severe but it was not sudden anymore than a tree doesn't rot suddenly or a couple gets divorced.

Suddenly their underlying overriding factors that have been going on that lead to a culminating moment is FB Meyer wrote, no man suddenly becomes base so we could begin in the springtime because that is where the text takes us at springtime in Jerusalem and the city of David says in verse one it happened in the spring of the year. At the time and the kings go out to battle the David sent Joab and his servants with them and all Israel, and they destroy the people of Ammon to besiege Rob but but you could underline that word David remained at Jerusalem. You can immediately see the problem why if it's spring and spring is the time the kings go to war. Why does this King not go to war was a stay home.

David, the king stays home when kings go to war not just a little note about that little phrase because it sounds odd to us. It springtime in a sort of like oh it's baseball season notes fighting season is wartime. The rains fell in the wintertime and the roads for chariots became very soft and muddy. So you'd want to wait till the latter rains were finished. So sometime the end of April beginning of May was fighting time and if you know anything about David at all. Besides being a psalmist. He was a fighter.

It was his wheelhouse.

He was a man of the battlefield. Listen to his resume. First Samuel chapter 17 David fought against Goliath and the Philistines. First Samuel chapter 18 David is given a high ranking. Saul's army first Samuel 18 verse 13 David is given charge of a thousand men. First Samuel 22. He gathers a ragtag army of malcontents around them. This is when Saul pursues him to kill him first Samuel 23, he attacks the Philistines and saves Katie law first Samuel 25.

His army grows to several hundred men first Samuel 27 David and his men flee to Gath.

He is given the city of Z glad to settle in and from there he conducts raids against the just rights the gear sites in the Amalekites. First Samuel chapter 30 David defeats the Amalekites second Samuel chapter 5, David becomes king of Israel and conquers Jerusalem, the city of David second Samuel chapter 8. He is a war against the Philistines, the Moabites, the Syrians, the Edomites, what's my point. Simply this, David belonged among the soldiers. What he did.

The Bible records him among all the things that he did as a man of the battlefield. It was a warrior. It is the very reason God wouldn't allow him to build the temple because he was called a man of blood. David, you have blood on your hands. I don't want you to touch my temple so why does he stay back on her.

My profound answer.

I have no idea what I told why.

I can only guess we know he's older now is middle-aged and maybe he's thinking what I thought enough battles. I'm older now that the young man's game.

I'll stay home.

Let them take care of number two.

He's got used to the soft life.

He's a king he's in the palace when you're surrounded by wealth and posthumous you no longer be on a tent in a sleeping bag in the battlefield. He's got a little softer or number three, perhaps he's thinking. Since Robert isn't too far from Jerusalem. I can manage the battle from here I can get people to run up and run back to the battle lines and I can get and give information and conduct about a long-distance I don't know why but I know this if David would've been on the battlefield with his men he would not of been in bed with a woman and here's the point. Your greatest battles don't come when you're busy becoming your board on the risk of sounding like your grandmother, beware of idleness.

You heard your grandma or your grandpa say an idle mind is the devil's workshop. One thing we know is that up to this point David was always busy doing something using Shepherd after Shepherd. He was a musician that he returned to the sheepfold to be a shepherd than he was an errand boy for the king. Then he was a soldier than he became a commander than he became a fugitive and now he's the king slows down, he stops, he puts it all away and he stays back, I mentioned that he's older now is in middle-aged by Chapter 11 and maybe you think that the older you get, the easier it gets in terms of temptation that every man's battle gets easier as every man gets older.

If you think that your mistaken the author the authors of this book right this. Perhaps you've mustered the hope that you would someday be free from sexual sin expected to grow out of it as naturally as you grew into it like outgrowing acne. Perhaps you waited each birthday for your sexual purity to clear up but it never did.

Later you assumed you be free, naturally through marriage but as for many of us that didn't happen either.

Didn't happen for David. David was married get seven wives and 10 concubines hit 17 women in his life.

Then clear up for him and he's known is middle-aged with several women. So we go from springtime and David city to summertime and David site. Things are sizzling inside his mind.

His heart what he sees verse two. Then it happened one evening the David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house and from the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful to behold. My guess is David couldn't sleep. Stop thinking about the battle or is thinking about expanding the kingdom. So he gets up and he takes a walk on his house. Now Jerusalem is built on hills and guess where kings live top of hill. The only thing higher than his house was God's house. The temple was a little bit higher, but just next to the temple down on a little precipice was the palace of the king. Many of us stood in David's palace or the foundations of it. Just months ago. From there, the city drops off very steeply so that from the king's house, you can virtually see every house around you in plain view roof tops are flat people will often be out there. So David's on his rooftop, looking down at every other rooftop in the Valley and he saw something something entered his view that every man, every man can understand. He saw a woman very beautiful to behold. I suppose if this were written in modern times might say that David was sitting on the couch with his TV remote late at night or David was sitting in front of his computer screen sort of aimlessly searching and surfing the Internet but David, the king of Israel was on his house and he was looking out now there's two words in verse two. I want you to compare. I'm glad you brought your Bibles to see this notice the two words. The first is he saw a woman and that she was very beautiful to what was an expert. Behold see those two words saw, and behold all those words are different. The first word suggests a glance. He just saw her he noticed her couldn't help that what he saw became a dues view, but the second word suggests a gaze not a glance. He went from seeing to be holding this and he couldn't help the first lockets. The double take the children what and he stayed looking and fixated and it turned into a lustful look. Jesus said in Matthew five you've heard it was said to those of old, you shall not commit adultery but I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust after her in his heart has already committed adultery with her in his heart. As I said David's sin wasn't the look was the lingering look men, every man men have a visual ignition switch that is the pleasure centers of the male brain are turned on revved up by simply seeing someone like David so by the way those pleasure centers are indiscriminate. It could be any woman, and that this is where the battle is won or lost because once you see something it's now what do you do with what you see. Do you keep on seeing you go from seem to be holding or do you turn away and see something else. David should've done that with David should've done couldn't help the first lucky notice of books out here me.

Joseph literally ran from his situation. Genesis 39 Potiphar's wife grabs him and says come to bed with me and he didn't stay around the well and we pray about that. He just ran away. So can you. Job understood the power of the look.

That's why in Job chapter 31 verse one.

He says I made a covenant with my eyes that I will not look upon the young woman, a wise driver once said he who look upon a woman loose at the fender. I'll tell you a true story, honest confession I was 15, maybe 16 years of age. I went from a permit to a drivers license Southern California. My motor transportation was a Honda 305 motorcycle and I the first. The only accident I've ever been in, where I got in an accident while I was driving was this one my motorcycle driving on the street almost home following the car but I'm distracted by beautiful girl the side of the road and my eyes followed her. I'm following her and follow her. I'm supposed to be driving and what I don't notice the car in front of me is now slowing down to make a turn.

I plow into the back of the car. I fly over the car and land on the street in front of the car. Talk about a wake-up call in this area that did it. Now we are naturally focus on David and David's lost in David's sin but I do have to say something about Bathsheba. If Bathsheba wasn't taken a bath out on the top of her rooftop in plain sight it sure would've helped. She had to have known the vulnerability of that situation.

Given the topography of Jerusalem. If you can walk out in your roof and see it that easily. She had to Venona so I just want to say women try to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Help us out here a little bit you know what I'm saying. Your physical appearance can be a snare, don't give us something to lust after. Don't make it easy AW Pink Arthur Pink rights if lustful looking is so grievous of sin than those who dress and expose themselves with a desire to be looked at and lusted after or not less, but perhaps more guilty in this matter. It is not only too often the case that men sin, but women tempt them to do so.

How great Dan must be the guilt of a great majority of modern Mrs. who deliberately seek to arouse the sexual passions of young men Bathsheba take it inside.

So now we go down to verse three and we go from the springtime in David's city summertime. In David's site for the fall. This is the fall. This is Humpty Dumpty falling. This is fall time in David's sanctity so David sent, and inquired about the woman seems innocent at first I just want to ask a few questions.

Find out a few facts just one little step toward Sodom like lot just find out. He inquired about the woman and someone said is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of a lion, the wife of Uriah the Hittite than David sent messengers and took her and she came to him and he lay with her. Oh I hate reading this it's so quick it's so cold there's no love here. This is just pure passion raw sex for she was cleansed from her impurity and she returned to her house and the woman conceived and she said and told David and said I am with child, you probably know the kings in those days could take anything they wanted anyone they wanted they would develop a harem, but but this is a different King.

This is God's kingdom is the kingdom of Israel, and according to the law of Israel.

There should be one man and one woman for one lifetime and kings especially were told in the Scriptures to not multiply wives unto themselves that Skip the message from the serious crashing before we go weeding the stories of the Bible is a very good thing. Walking where the stories took place is at a whole another level Skip Heitzig is planning his next tour and you can be on it. Here's the invitation from Skip urine for an incredible time as we travel throughout Israel and experience the culture that's so unique to that country.

Now I've been to Israel and number of times over the years and I can honestly say that visiting the places where the events of the Scriptures unfolded where Jesus lived taught and healed. It just never gets old will start on the Mediterranean Sea and head north. Seeing places like Caesarea and Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River will spend several days in and around Jerusalem and see the temple mount Calvary, the garden of Gethsemane and the Mount of olives and much more. This remarkable itinerary is made richer with times of worship, Bible study, and lots of fellowship. The Bible will come alive to you in a way never has before. I hope you'll join Lenny and me on what is always an unforgettable trip.

I can't wait to see you in is this dream can come true for you.

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Cruises.com/C BBQ that's inspiration cruises.com/2. Tune in tomorrow as Skip Heitzig of shares your desires to God's divine relationship so Skip presentation of connection communications go through ever-changing time