author: Ryan Hayden Take your Bibles with me and turn to 2 Samuel 11. 2 Samuel 11. We are going to read this story in a moment, it is one of the saddest stories in the whole Bible. I don't want to read it to you. I want to look away. I don't want to talk about this, but I have to, for your good and my own.

On February 1, 2003, one of our space shuttles was returning from a mission to the international space station. Space Shuttle flights had become fairly routine. This mission was the 28th time to space for that particular shuttle and the 113th space shuttle flight.

But that morning, as the Columbia was returning to orbit, the ship disintegrated as it came back into the atmosphere, killing every single one of the astronauts on board.

Within 2 hours after this terrible accident, NASA had put together a board of people to investigate the disaster and make sure that it never would happen again. That board studied the disaster for months, finding many things about the mission that could have stopped the disaster from happening.

Here in our text today, we are going to read about a disaster. We've been talking about David - and so far David has been going up and up. God had blessed him and he was the greatest king in Israel. But in today's story, he's going to come back down, crashing hard, and it kind of feels like we are the board after the Columbia disaster - trying to pick up the pieces and figure out what went wrong so we can make sure it doesn't happen to us.

Let's read the whole chapter shall we?

[!bible] 2 Samuel 11:1-27 - KJV

1. And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.
2. And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
3. And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
4. And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
5. And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
6. And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.
7. And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered.
8. And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king’s house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.
9. But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.
10. And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?
11. And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.
12. And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.
13. And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
14. And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15. And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.
16. And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.
17. And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
18. Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war;
19. And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king,
20. And if so be that the king’s wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall?
21. Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.
22. So the messenger went, and came and shewed David all that Joab had sent him for.
23. And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entering of the gate.
24. And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and some of the king’s servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.
25. Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.
26. And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
27. And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.

That was hard to read. Let's be clear about what happens here:

David. The hero of Israel. The righteous king. The man who wanted to build God a house. The man who danced before the Lord. The man who stood up to Goliath for the honor of God. The man who wrote the Psalms.

David steals another man's wife, then murders her husband.

It's like watching a space shuttle crash. Just bits and pieces left over from what was once a great man. His reputation is ruined.

And what is sadder is just how common this type of sin is. Adultery has affected our church. There probably isn't many families in our church who can't say it's affected their families.

I sat down today and thought of ten pastors without even trying hard who I have looked up to at various times - and even sat under - who have destroyed their families and their reputations, and their ministries with adultery.

In my own family I've had to have the heartbreaking conversations after a brother blows up his family for a fling.

Sexual sin is a pervasive problem. It has overtaken our whole society. Like kudzu in the south, it's entangled its way into everything we do.

Listen to some of these statistics:

• Almost 1 in 4 married men and 1 in 7 married women have admitted to committing adultery.
• 60% of U.S. Adults have admitted to pornography addiction.
• 95% of Americans have had sexual relations outside of marriage.
• 40% of all babies born in the U.S. are born to unmarried women.

It's everywhere people. And if someone as righteous as King David fell into sexual sin, then maybe we need to consider our own selves.

As we think about this story, there are two things I want us to think about:

• First, I want us to consider the destruction of sexual sin.
• Second, I want us to consider what we can do to avoid sexual sin.

Actually, most of what we are going to talk about tonight applies to all sin - not just sexual sin. So let's just talk about the destruction of sin and the avoidance of sin.

Let's pray and we'll get into it.

So the first thing I want us to do tonight as we consider this story is to think about...

1. The destruction of sin

What can we learn from this story about how sin destroys? Let me give you four thoughts:

1. Sin always grows out of control.

David's sin started somewhat small. Somewhat contained. Our modern world would plug their fingers in their ears and say "two consenting adults."

But sin doesn't stay contained. Sin is like a wildfire that jumps out of bounds and grows and grows.

In this story, what started as a fling between the king and a married woman, which could have been forgotten forever, changed into something else when she messaged back and said "I'm with child."

A little leak in the dam seems harmless, until it bursts and floods the whole area. David let this little sin slip, really he started down this path when he started multiplying wives, but the little sin turned into a bigger sin and flooded his life with chaos.

[!bible] Galatians 6:7 - KJV 7. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

When you sow sin seeds, you will always get a harvest.

1. Sin always grows out of control.

2. Sin can't be hidden

David thought he could hide his sin by bringing Uriah home and sending him to visit with his wife. But Uriah had more courage and character and honor than David had.

He refused to take it easy when his brothers and arms were out on the battlefield. That should have been a slam on David. That's exactly what David was doing.

So David tried to get him drunk. That didn't work either. Drunk Uriah had more loyalty and honor that sober David at this point.

David thought he could hide his sin - but God doesn't let us hide our sin for long.

"Be sure your sin will find you out." (Numbers 32:23)

Sin is like leprosy. Maybe you can keep it covered up for a little while, but before long it spreads so much that it is obvious.

Don't be like Adam and Eve, trying to hide their sins from God's eyes with fig leaves. Don't go hiding in the bushes. God sees right through it.

If you are hiding sin bring it to the Lord - He sees it already.

1. Sin always grows out of control.
2. Sin can't be hidden

A third thing we learn in this story is...

3. Sin leads to more sin.

David might have thought that he could keep his sin to just this one thing: adultery. But sin leads to more sin. It's a slippery slope. His looking and gazing led to adultery. His adultery led to trickery. His adultery led to murder.

It didn't just stay with David. Bathsheba was complicit. Joab was complicit.

Sin is like a plague - it's contagious. It doesn't just affect us. It affects our family. It affects our friends. It affects our church members.

1. Sin always grows out of control.
2. Sin can't be hidden
3. Sin leads to more sin.

One more thing we can learn from this story is...

4. Sin leaves a path of destruction in its wake.

David's sin killed Uriah. It grieved Bathsheba. It cost their child's death. It put a further wedge between David and Joab.

We are going to learn in the next chapter that David's sin fractured his family. It led to the worse sexual sins among his children. His murder turned to murder in his family.

Church, sin destroys. Sin is death. Sin seems so small until it's like a tornado that rips through our life, destroying everything in its path.

• I wish I could take every cheating man and bring him to some of the places I've been.
• I wish I could show him how his kids would lose all respect for him.
• I wish I could show him how devastated he would make his wife.
• I wish I could show him how much it would cost him. I wish I could show him what he would do not just to himself and his family, the life of the person he is cheating with.
• I wish I could show him how much it will cost him financially.
• How much it will cost his kids.

Here's something to do, here is a to do for you. Take out a piece of paper sometime and write down all of the people who would be affected if you cheated on your spouse. Your wife. The family of the person you cheated with. Your kids. Your grand kids. The people in this church. The people in your neighborhood.

Think about what it will be like dad when your daughter wants someone else to walk her down the aisle.

You go down that road and you are playing with fire and it will burn you and scar you in ways that will last for the rest of your life.

This story should warn us about the destruction of sin. Yes there is pleasure in sin for a season, the but the price is one you would never pay.

The destruction of sin. That's depressing isn't it? Fortunately, we don't have to end here. I think there is more we can take from this story than just destruction. I think we can learn from David's mistakes and apply them to our life.

Sometimes, a negative example is just as valuable as a positive one. We can learn a lot from David about what not to do.

So I want us to consider this story from that angle and talk about...

2. The avoidance of sin

Let me quickly give you six lessons we can learn from David's life that hopefully will keep us from following him into sin and its consequences.

How do we kill sin? First,

1. We kill sin by positive action.

You see, in the very first verse of our chapter it says:

[!bible] 2 Samuel 11:1 - KJV

1. And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab,

In Bible times the people wouldn't do a lot of warring and fighting in the winter time. Too much rain. Too much weather. So winter was a break from fighting.

When this break was over, David decided that he would just extend it. He would stay home and take it easy and let Joab do the dirty work.

In other words, David's sin came at a time when he wasn't doing what he was supposed to be doing.

And I want to tell you the lesson for us is this: If you are doing what you are supposed to be doing, it's much less likely that you will fall into sin.

[!bible] Galatians 5:16 - KJV 16. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

The key to not fulfilling the lust of the flesh is to walk in the Spirit. If you are letting God lead you, He isn't going to lead you into sin.

It is when we take it easy. It is when we insist on being comfortable. It is when we shrink from our God-given duty - that is when sin overtakes us.

So here is a question for you - do you have too much free time? Is there too much space for sin to grow and temptation to grow in your life? Maybe that means God has more for you. Maybe you need to rise up.

Serve God. Love your wife. Love your kids. Do your best work. Put 16 hours of life into every day. Don't give the devil any room for temptation.

Kill sin with positive action.

A second lesson we can learn from what David didn't do here is this:

2. Kill sin by starving the flesh.

Do you know that sin thrives when you feed it? Some people think that the reason they lust is they just haven't scratched that itch enough yet - but David shows us otherwise.

At the time of this sin with Bathsheba, David already had a harem. He already had lots of wives. Do you know what, none of them satisfied him. He had to have more.

Listen, if you want to kill sin, you have to stop feeding it. Just like fire goes out where there is no wood, lust goes out when you stop fueling it.

Men, if you are secretly viewing pornography - it's just a matter of time before that sin grows and destroys your life. Don't feed the flesh.

[!bible] Romans 13:14 - KJV 14. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

[!bible] 1 Peter 2:11 - KJV 11. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

You kill sin by doing what you are supposed to do. You kill sin by refusing to feed it.

A third thing:

3. You kill sin by running from it.

You know, there is another story in the Bible where a hero was tempted with adultery - its the story of Joseph. And what did Joseph do? He ran away. He ran away.

[!bible] 2 Timothy 2:22 - KJV 22. Flee also youthful lusts

Church, you don't play patty cake with sin - you run from it. You run as far and as fast as you can.

If you are hiking and see a rattlesnake on the trail. You don't negotiate. You don't play with it. You run! Treat sin like the rattlesnake. Run away.

That girl at the office getting flirty - run away! You starting to imagine what life would be like with that man instead of the one God gave you - run away!

Run. run. run.

David could have ended this whole thing by going back inside. But he didn't run. He kept going further and further.

• You kill sin by doing what you are supposed to do.
• You kill sin by refusing to feed it.
• You kill sin by running from it.

Number 4:

4. You kill sin when it is small.

There was this guy in South Africa who took in this baby hippo. He loved this hippo. He fed this hippo. He swam with this hippo. He played with this hippo. He named the hippo "Humphrey" and said he loved it like a son. He even made youtube videos about his special relationship with the hippo.

Until one day the hippo grew up and killed him. It mauled him and bit him many times with its powerful jaws and drug him into the river where he rescued him and drowned him.

Church, don't treat sin like "humphrey the hippo." Don't feed it when its small. Kill it when its small. Because that cute little sin turned into something ugly and dangerous and destructive.

David had many opportunities to kill this sin when it was small but he kept going.

Let me urge you to confess sins to God while they are small.

• You will never be involved in adultery if you take a zero tolerance policy on lustful thoughts.
• You will never kill a man if you don't let anger go in your heart.
• You will never steal and embezzle if you kill greedy and jealousy and envy in your heart.

You have to kill the sin when it is small.

• You kill sin by doing what you are supposed to do.
• You kill sin by refusing to feed it.
• You kill sin by running from it.
• You kill sin when it is small.

Let me give you a fifth thing - and this one applies particularly to sexual sin:

5. You kill (sexual sin) by humanizing it.

Do you know what David could have done with Bathsheba, he could have stopped and thought about who she was as a person - instead of objectifying her.

He could have thought about his friend Ahiphothel - a trusted advisor - who was Bathseba's grandad.
He could have thought about Eliam - one of his mighty men - and how she was his beloved daughter. He could have thought about Uriah - another one of his mighty men - and how she was his beloved wife.

But David didn't think of any of those things - he thought only of his lust.

Men, when you encounter an attractive woman, stop and look at her face. Think about her life. Think about how she may be a good mother. Think about how she is someone's daughter. Think about the life you may ruin with your lust.

Men, this isn't just some made up thing. This is what the Bible tells us to do. 1 Timothy 5:1 says:

[!bible] 1 Timothy 5:1 - KJV

1. Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;

We are to treat elder men like fathers, younger men like brethren - then verse 2 says:

[!bible] 1 Timothy 5:2 - KJV 2. The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.

• You kill sin by doing what you are supposed to do.
• You kill sin by refusing to feed it.
• You kill sin by running from it.
• You kill sin when it is small.
• You kill sin by humanizing it.

Let me say one more thing and I'm done:

6. You kill sin by considering the consequences

We talked about the consequences of David's sin in the beginning. Let me just remind you, sin is always a bad deal. You always get much more than you bargained for.

Consider the harm that will be done when you sin. Look at where that train is going before you hop on. I've seen where it goes - it's not anywhere you want to go.

Conclusion

This has been a heavy message tonight, but I want to end it on one positive note.

The Psalm we've been reading aloud this month - it was written AFTER David committed this sin. God wasn't through with David - he had consequences yet - but God's grace met him in his sin.

Someone said this story should serve two purposes in the life of the believer:

• It should serve as a warning - any of us can fall if we play around with sin.
• But it should also serve as an encouragement to the fallen - God's grace is bigger than your sin.

Church, I'm sick of the brokenness of sin. I'm sick of the destruction of sin.

Please head this warning tonight. Let's stand for prayer.