When the fire goes out (Part 2)

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. Look at 2 Samuel 11 verse 1. 2 Samuel 11 verse 1. And it happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel.

And they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. So notice this, David sends Joab, the servants, and all of Israel, but what? David remained back in Jerusalem. Okay, so that's the first problem right here.

The king is supposed to go out and lead. He's supposed to lead in battle. And we could say maybe this is symbolic for the spiritual battle. Instead of fighting, David decides, eh, I'll just stay home.

Verse 2. Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house. Okay, this is problem number 2. David apparently had gotten a little lazy. Now, when a person works hard all day, and of course that's difficult in the culture we live in where a lot of jobs, you're just sitting at a keyboard all day, so it's a hard thing.

But when a person works hard all day or they exert a lot of energy, they sleep like a rock, right? Typically. But when you're not really doing anything, you're just kind of hanging around or whatever, you don't sleep very good.

And I don't even think it's a problem with David not being able to sleep because apparently it's still light out. And what's David doing? You know, he's laying around in bed at 730 at night or whatever it is.

Now look at verse 2. Or verse 2 again. Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing. And the woman was very beautiful to behold.

So David sent and inquired about that woman. And of course that's the third mistake. So let's just give David the benefit of the doubt. Let's just say that he didn't actually go up on the roof looking around to see this.

Let's just give him that, I don't know. But let's just say he wasn't looking for Bathsheba. That he didn't know this was going to happen. This is all a mistake. Okay, when he saw her, what should he have done?

Turn around, turn away, go take a cold bath or whatever you have to do. But what does he do? He inquires about her. So David is setting in motion a chain of events that will essentially ruin his life.

Hurt David and hurt everyone around David. Never mind the whole nation was harmed. And it says, and someone said, so he inquires. And someone said, is this not Bathsheba? The daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.

Now at this point, David knows that she's a married woman. He really needs to stop at this point. And yet in verse four, then David sent messengers and took her and she came to him. And he lay with her where she was cleansed from her impurity.

And she returned to her house and the woman conceived. So she sent and told David and said, I am with child. And keep in mind, she's sending this through a messenger. So people know about it, even if it's just a couple people.

And we know the rest of the story, right? David comes up with one plan after another to try to cover things up. And this is why backsliding, you know, all you have to do is tell one lie. And then you got to tell another lie to cover up this lie and another lie to cover up those two.

And on and on it goes. So he's trying to cover this up because Uriah, her husband, is deployed with the military. So if his wife gets pregnant when he hasn't been around, well that's not too hard to figure out that she had been unfaithful.

The palace guards know something about this. And every step of the way David is drawing more and more people into this conspiracy. So more and more people are finding out about it. None of David's plans work.

So having the kind of absolute authority that a king would have, to make a long story short, what does he do? He has Bathsheba's husband killed. Where did it start? Adultery, murder, where did it start?

David has got a little lazy. And you say, well that's not a big deal. You're not backsliding just because you're a little lazy. Okay, that may be true. But physical laziness can turn into spiritual laziness.

Remember, it's about restraining the flesh. If David didn't stay home, he wouldn't have been laying around on his bed. If he were busy doing, the king has a lot of things to do, right? You would assume, instead of walking around on his roof, peeking at nude women.

But he did it. And if David wasn't in this weakened condition, he might have actually been able to overcome that temptation. So clearly, one thing leads to another. Now turn to Psalm 32. And of course, David doesn't get away with this.

Confession, Forgiveness, and the Joy David Lost

He's confronted by Nathan the prophet. Only then does he make things right. And there's so much suffering that resulted from this whole event. And again, it didn't just hurt David. It hurt his loved ones.

It hurt other people. And sometimes when we talk about backsliding, you might think the focus is just on the backslider. But it affects so many other people. Now again, this is the kind of sermon that you're not going to hear in some churches.

It's the kind of sermon that... This is the first time. I'm not lying to you. This is the first time I ever wrote a sermon and I had second thoughts like, I don't want to preach this. Not just because I think someone might get mad at me or something, but I felt like I don't want to preach this sermon.

Part of that is how it's received. But I also knew I couldn't stand up in the pulpit this morning ignoring my own things and not dealing with those and then preach to you. So I knew that was not an option.

But it's the kind of sermon that some pastors don't want to preach. Certainly the kind that some congregants don't want to hear. But hey, the more we can fix, the earlier on that we fix it, the more pain and suffering we can avoid.

Right? And there's a spectrum of people listening right now. Some of you, right now, you are on top of your spiritual game. You have never been in a better place spiritually. That's probably the case for some people.

And praise the Lord for that. Amen? But then maybe there's others that's not the case. And that doesn't necessarily make you backslidden. Certainly not all the way backslidden. But maybe your walk with God, this does happen to everybody, where that fire is not burning as bright as it once was.

This happens to everybody. But are we going to deal with it? Are we just going to ignore it? This is the sermon where the Holy Spirit, not me, don't take this as me saying it. Take this, whatever the Holy Spirit is saying to your heart, but this may be the sermon that says to someone, you need to deal with this.

You need to fix this. Here's another thing that leads to backsliding. Procrastination. Right? Well, I'll deal with this tomorrow. I'll deal with that tomorrow. Only the problem is, tomorrow never comes, because it's always a day away.

So the danger is, you put it off, you put it off. One thing leads to another, leads to something else. Then all of a sudden, nobody from the church has heard from you in a few months. A few months turns into a year, a year, and on and on and on it goes.

Then it gets to the point where nobody would even know you were a Christian anymore. If they did, there's very little evidence of it. This happens, and some of you have been through this. You've been through this already, years ago.

But you overcame it. Right? You went through it, you know what it's like, but you overcame it. Look at what the Apostle Paul says. I told you to turn to the Psalms, but Paul said in 2 Corinthians 13, verse 5, Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith.

A backslider might say, yeah, but I know I'm saved. I know I'm saved. Well, then prove it by making things right. Backsliding, it doesn't just hurt you, it hurts the people that you care about. Now, as far as David, you're in Psalm 32, right?

Right. Okay. I don't know how long David had been in this state of backsliding. But look at what he wrote in Psalm 32, because he did make things right. This Psalm and Psalm 51 are his prayers, his writings after he had made things right.

He says, Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. But now he's describing what he went through.

When I keep silent, or when I kept silent, my bones grew old. Through my groaning all the day long, for day and night your hand was heavy upon me. My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. That's how he felt.

And that's relatable. Verse five,. But then I acknowledged my sin to you, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

That's the grace of God. That's available to everyone. And then look at how he ends the Psalm in verse 11. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, you righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

When you're down in the valley, in the muck, and in the mire, you can't shout for joy in the Lord, can you? My friends, backsliders can have fun. Backsliders can experience pleasure. One thing backsliders will not experience is true happiness and the joy of the Lord.

Proverbs 14, verses 12 through 14, you can just make a note of this. You know, this was one of the verses, verse 12, that I had memorized very early on. And I never, I don't know if I never kept reading, but this is associated with the backslider.

The scripture says there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Even in laughter, the heart may sorrow, and the end of joy may be grief. And here it is. The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied from above.

The Lord wants to give his children joy and peace and blessings. What's the fruit of the spirit? Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. This is what God wants for his children.

But when we turn away, what do we get? We get the opposite. So in conclusion, one final thing. You know, backsliders are not just people that are at a church. I mean, that's kind of the thing that people think of, and that's kind of the mark where it might be more obvious.

But that's not it. That's not the whole thing. You can be backslidden from the church pew every single Sunday. This is something that each person needs to be honest with God about. And if it doesn't apply to you, praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord. But again, maybe it's not even a condition of being in a full backslidden state. But what brings backsliding on? A major sin like adultery and murder? Certainly that could do it. Noah and his drunkenness and just being ashamed in front of his whole family?

Certainly that can do it. There's usually a catalyst. But sometimes it's just something that happens in your life. If something didn't go the way you thought it would, something happens. And you know that it's hindering your relationship with God.

Well, listen, if you're a child of God, you know the promise. Jesus said, the Lord said, I will neither leave you nor forsake you. Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Corner Church.

If you'd like to listen to the complete message or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, MorrisCornerChurch .com. And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett.

Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.