CONSIDER OTHERS
Matthew 18:6-10,
“6 But whoso shall offend one
of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a
millstone were hanged about his neck, and that
he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe unto the world because of offences!
for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the
offence cometh! 8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off,
and cast them from thee: it is better
for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two
feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it
out, and cast it from thee: it is
better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to
be cast into hell fire. 10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little
ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face
of my Father which is in heaven.”
Jesus is not a legalist. He is a realist. He says, “Woe to the world because of stumblingblocks for it must
needs be that stumblingblocks come but woe to the person by whom the
stumblingblock cometh.”
This verse makes it plain that what we do
effects others. We should be willing to
get rid of the most important things to prevent our own fall and the fall of
others.
We must not despise others and not care if
they stumble. We must consider the
nature of others lest they also be tempted.
I am going to illustrate this with the event
of Bathsheba and David.
LOOK AT
THE STORY. I
Samuel 11 – 12
1.
David SENT Joab and his army off to war – vs
1.
2.
David SENT to inquire of Bathsheba – vs 3.
3.
David SENT for Bathsheba – vs 4.
4.
Bathsheba SENT message to David that she was with
child – vs 5.
5.
David SENT message to Joab to send for Uriah
– vs 6.
6.
Joab SENT Uriah home to David – vs 6.
7.
David tried to
SEND Uriah home to Bathsheba – vs 8.
8.
David SENT letter by Uriah to Joab to get him
killed – vs 14.
9.
Joab SENT David a messenger that Uriah was
dead – vs 22.
10.
David SENT message to Joab, Do not let it
bother you, the sword devours one as well as another – vs 25.
11.
David SENT for Bathsheba to be his wife –
vs 27.
12.
The Lord SENT Nathan the prophet to David to
announce his judgment – 2:1-11.
The
judgement was twofold.
1. For Murder
Violence
would not leave David’s house and God would raise up evil out of his own house
because “You despised me,”
2.
For Adultery
David’s
wives would be raped and the child born of Bathsheba would die.
Now
we heard how that David Misused:
1.
His
time.
He
was supposed to be at war at that time.
2.
People
Neighbor,
friends, officers, family, armies
3.
His
office
He
used his authority to get her and to move Joab to use the sword of Ammon to
kill Uriah.
But
what led him to do all this evil? A
careless bath!!!
As
far as I know her part was unintentional, careless, and thoughtless. However, she was not blameless even though
she never purposely, flirtingly, wantonly threw herself at him.
They
had courtyards and probably no one walking by could have seen her. But to bathe outdoors in her courtyard,
someone may see her. Someone did see
her. She caused David to stumble. She did not consider the nature of men.
But
you say, “It was David’s fault”. I
agree. But she too is to blame.
Is
not a person who leaves his keys in his car responsible before the law if a kid
steals it and kills himself?
Or,
a father who leaves a pistol out for a teenager to accidentally kill his
friend?
The
law says yes.
Well
you can tell David had problems. God
has said for kings not to multiply wives in Deuteronomy 17:17 and he had 7 wives and 10 concubines. True. So she was aware that her neighbor, David,
had a problem with lust.
Hers
would be considered a small sin to most.
But as someone has aptly said, “Tremble before the minor sin lest it
lead you to a greater sin.”
The
smallest grain of sand will hinder the workings of the mechanism of a fine
watch.
What
we do effects what others do…think….imagine.
But
remember, stumblingblocks are going to come but WOE to him by whom it cometh.
Remember,
a little match can set on fire a huge forrest.
What
did her forgetting “the nature of men being turned on by sight” cost?
What
did forgetting that some men are not content with one woman in their life cost?
What
does it cost when women will not listen to Christian men telling them that a
woman’s passion is not the same as a man’s passion?
What
did it cost Bathsheba?
ü It
cost her purity or innocence.
ü It
cost her husband’s life.
ü It
caused her King to lust, covet, steal, commit adultery.
ü It
caused David to get another man drunk and then murder him.
ü It
cost David his son’s respect and probably kept him quiet in his rebuke of them.
ü It
cost David’s daughter her virtue by Ammon.
David’s son raped her.
ü It
cost Ammon his life by Absalom killing him in revenge for his sister’s rape.
ü It
cost Absalom to be banned from home and become hateful.
ü It
cost a war, which caused many men’s deaths in the battles between Absalom and
David’s armies.
ü It
cost Joab to compromise himself in the complicity of Uriah’s murder and in the
killing of Absalom against King David’s order.
ü It
caused Ahithophel, David’s counselor and Bathsheba’s grandfather, to be a
traitor to David’s throne and to finally commit suicide.
ü It
caused the enemies of God to blaspheme.
ü It
cost her the life of her child.
è TO THE LADIES ç
Remember
Bathsheba neither designed, desired or deserved the affair.
I
want to remind you that your passions are not like a man’s passion.
I want to remind you that it is not only dirty old men that lust, but men who
are trying to be men after God’s own heart who fall into this sin.
I
want to remind you that some men are not content with one woman.
I
want to remind you that some men have eyes full of adultery and are looking for
a way to please their eye (pornography is
big business).
I
want to warn you about enjoying the approving looks of men reminding you what
Jesus said, “He that looketh to lust is guilty already of adultery.” It can be your fault that men do so.
You
must not dress to allure and attract but try to avoid being a
stumblingblock. (Now don’t go out
saying that I say you ought to look like a dumpy old hag…)
Your
clothes should not be:
Ø Too
low
Ø Too
high
Ø Too
tight
Ø Too
revealing
Ø Too
suggestive (like slit skirts), nor
Ø Too
sheer
Do
not dress before the mirror of the world.
Style and fads can lead you to wear the wrong thing and cause your
brother and sister to stumble.
You
need to remember Adam and Eve made aprons;
God gave them coats.
Sin
is not hurtful because it is forbidden; it is forbidden because it is hurtful.
As
a Christian woman, you do not need to help Satan cause men’s minds to wander
into lust.
Remember
the instruction of Romans 14:21, “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to
drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy
brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.”
è TO
THE MEN ç
You
need to do what Job did and make a covenant with your eyes so you do not look
upon a maid.
You need to see the
truth of James 1:14-15, “14 But
every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is
finished, bringeth forth death.”
How David’s sin
illustrates that verse.
You need to keep the
birds from building a nest in your hair even though you cannot keep them from
flying over your head. Lust will
snowball on you like it did Ted Bundy.
You must not feed that
little gland on your brain that secretes a narcotic that makes you want to see
more and more.
Looking at pornography
is like pouring sand in your car engine.
When tempted:
ü Pray
for them – you cannot pray for them and lust.
ü Imagine
them 50 years older. That will cool your lust.
ü Avoid
books, movies, and magazines that you know are suggestive.
ü Pray
like David did after he repented. Only
do it before you fall. (Create in me a
clean heart, oh God.)
CONCLUSION
Carpet cleaners offer
a special service for removing pet urine.
In a dark room, a black light shows the urine crystals. When people see their home in the dark they
beg for the cleaner to turn it off.
They see every little
drop on walls, furniture, carpet and even lampshades.
It was there but it
could not be seen until the special light is turned on. God’s Word should expose your sin.
If you’re guilty of
sex sins, God has a cleaning agent….it is His Son’s Blood. You need washed in the blood of the Lamb.