February 18, 2024 NOTES
NOT EDITED
Series: The Habits of a Healthy
Heart
Sermon: Pt 1, The Habit of Self-Examination
Primary Text: 2Samuel 11; Others: Psalm 51:10; Psalm 139: Jer. 17:9
SIS: Self-Examination is a habit that will keep your spiritual heart healthy and tuned into the will of God.
To say the human heart is incredible is a massive understatement. An
adult heart weighs about 10 oz. A little less for women. That’s about the
weight of two baseballs. The heart is about the size and relative
shape of a clenched fist and
can be as large as 11/2 to two fists. Over a typical lifetime the heart will pump
about 63 million gallons of blood or the equivalent of six semi-truck
tankers or a typical ocean tanker. The heart pumps blood everyday through 60,000 miles of
blood vessels in our body. That’s enough blood vessels to wrap around the earth
just under three times! In a typical lifetime, the heart will pump 2.5 billion times.
Each time the force is equivalent to squeezing a tennis ball—not particularly easy to
do.
So important is the heart to life that it becomes a metaphor for the essence of man, or what we call the “Inner Man.” Just as the heart is “essential” to human life, the heart is a metaphor for the essence of life. For example, Proverbs 4:23 says, (NIV84) Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
As we have seen, the physical heart is nothing short of amazing and wonderful, and absolutely essential. When it comes to the “spiritual heart of man” the matter gets darker and less wonderful. Jer. 17:9 says, (NIV84) The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
Because the spiritual heart of man is so deceitful, and so powerful, this is why we must “guard our hearts” as we heard a minute ago.
Because man’s (and women’s) heart is so deceitful lying is a natural operation of an “unguarded heart.” In fact, a “lying tongue” is named as one of the seven deadly sins in the Bible.
As we will learn this morning, King
David fell into a sad state of affairs because he lied to himself thinking a “little
sin was no big deal.”
Today, we are going to examine one
of the greatest failures of one of the greatest
men of God in the Bible. David will fall from the grand height of the most potential
of any King in Israel’s history into a deep cesspool of adultery and murder.
Upon being confronted by the prophet
Nathan, David will examine his own heart, repent with deep contrition,
and cry out for full restoration. It is through this difficult
SELF-EXAMINATION that David will experience once again the “joy of God’s salvation.” Let’s read together the
INTRODUCTION to this sordid, sorry, sinful experience in the life of King
David. 2 Samuel 11:1–5 (NIV84)
1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. 2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”
As we continue to follow this sordid saga of sin in the life of David we will see these different aspects of salvation: the Slippery Slope of Self-Deceit; the Sad Consequences of Sin; the repentant plea in the Sinner’s Prayer; and the Saving Grace of Self-Examination.
1. The Slippery Slope of Self-Deceit
Let’s continue the story of David’s adulterous
affair with Bathsheba.
6 So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the
Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him
how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David
said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the
palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. . . . . 14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it
with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting
is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.” 16 So
while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the
strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought
against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite
died. . . . . 26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead,
she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her
brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing
David had done displeased the LORD.
The noted novelist of the 18th century, Sir Walter Scott summed up the slippery slope of sin when he penned these words:
“O
what a tangled web we weave/When first we practice to deceive.”
One commentator describes this wonderfully worded aphorism. He says it means, “ that when you lie or act
dishonestly you are initiating problems and a domino structure of
complications which eventually run out of control.”
David lied to himself when he determined that he was above sin and a little tryst with a married woman was no big deal. Lying as we have noted is one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Children, almost as soon as they
learn to speak, lie to adults. Children lie to parents. Adults lie to employers. It’s a sunny day and
the fish are biting. You call in and say, “Hey Boss. I’m not feeling well
today.” Criminals
lie to the police. The police,
sadly, lie on the witness stand. And of course, politicians lie in such a way it rises
to the level of an Olympic sport. I
learned this week something
people would not expect. According to some very extensive research the
number one person that people lie to is . . . our selves! They greatest deceit is self-deceit.
We lie to ourselves when we say, “I’ll
do that tomorrow,” knowing we have no intention of doing so. We lie to ourselves
when we say, “It’s just a little sin, nobody will notice.” We lie to ourselves
when we say, “It’s a temptation for others, but I can handle it.” Or, we lie to
ourselves when we indulge in sin, or over indulge in activities saying, instead
of sacrificing to serve others when we say, “I work hard. I deserve a treat for
myself.” We lie to ourselves all the time.
Most devastating
is when we lie to ourselves saying, “Jesus
means more to me than anything else,” and yet, just about anything else
can divert our attention and devotion away from the Lord..
Self-Deceit starts us down a Slippery Slope of Sin. Self-deceit is like a deadly whirlpool in a mighty river. The swirling waters spin feverishly and once you enter the whirlpool you are drawn deeper and deeper into the vortex until you drown.
Sin is always a “downward spiral” with more devastation and disaster building with each pass. We see that spiral in David’s sin with Bathsheba. First, he dodges his duties to indulge his pleasures. He was on the roof of his palace instead of on the battle field with his men. Then, his eye catches a woman bathing on a portico in the house below. Something quite common. Then his mind examines her beauty. Then he investigates her availability. Going further he invites her into his palace. Then indulges his lust and fully consummates his sin. The Slippery Slope of Self-Deception is not at an end. David invokes his power as King and engineers a plan to cover up his adultery with murder. This is almost unthinkable, but David is KING. As we will see in a moment, this Slippery Slope of Self-Deceit descends into a chaotic quagmire of trouble for the rest of David’s life.
As I have stated many times before something I heard in a sermon years ago, “Sin will always take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay and cost you more than you intended to pay.”
This twisted web of deceit began
when David enjoyed the leisure of his power and position instead of engaging in
the duties required of such a high place of honor and authority.
Notice again verse 1. In a “time when King’s go off to
war,” David is basking in the luxuries of his position, “on the roof of the palace.” Often, high
places in Scripture, like David’s palace roof top, are associated with temptation.
When we are safe and secure in our luxury we are most vulnerable to the ravages
of our own self-deceit.
Remember, when Satan sought to tempt the Lord the second time, he took Jesus to “the highest point of the temple” (Mt. 4:5). Then,
in a third attempt to entice Jesus to disregard His duties to the Father and indulge
the privileges of His deity, the Devil “took
Jesus to a very high mountain” (Mt. 4:8).
High places in life are dangerous
place. It is from places of privilege that self-deceit calls to us to disregard our duties and indulge our
desires. Verse 1 when viewed in light of Nathan’s mention of David’s
privileged position more than implies that sin lurks in the shadows cast by
times of great fortune when duty gives way to desire.
And the slippery slope of sin began. First with David’s glance downward to the
portico of a neighbor. Then, David slid further in his pursuit to know more
about this bathing beauty. David pushes past his conscience when he finds out
she is married. His conscience seared by lustful desire he engages in adultery.
Then, considering his great power as King he adds sin to sin and attempts to
cover-up adultery with murder. That’s the
Slippery Slope that Sin always takes. David’s Self-Deceit led to compounded catastrophes. Next, we must painfully observe the
2. Sad Consequences
of Casual Sin (12:1, 10, 11, 19)
While David may have adopted a
casual attitude toward his sin, God did not. Verse 12:1 says, (NIV84) The LORD sent Nathan to
David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one
rich and the other poor.
Nathan told David the story of two men. One man was very rich and had many sheep and cattle. The other man was very poor and only had one small lamb, that was like a part of the family. When a traveller came to town the rich man set about to prepare a meal according to the custom of the day. Instead of taking one of his many livestock to prepare the meal, the rich man took the poor man’s beloved pet. David was infuriated at such behavior and declared to Nathan, “The man who did this deserves to die!” (12:6). Nathan looked David straight in the eye and said, “You are that man!” (v7)
Then, continuing through chapter 12, Nathan outlines the Sad Consequences of David’s Casual Attitude Toward Sin.
V11:14: Joab becomes
a conspirator to commit murder
V11:17: Uriah died
Vv12:10: David would constantly be at war throughout his life
V12:11: David would
constantly have calamity involving his servants having affairs with his
concubines, including one son, Amnon, raping his daughter Tamar and Absalom,
another son, killing his brother Amnon. Absalom would later rise up in
rebellion against David and killed by David’s general, Joab.
V12:18: Perhaps the saddest tragedy of all is that the love-child the child of Bathsheba and David died.
Because of his sin with Bathsheba, David became a “disaster magnet” and trouble circled him like gnats circling someone’s head at a picnic. Many of the Psalms contain David’s lifelong laments over his transgressions of adultery and murder. Some scholars suggest that David’s lascivious ways and polygamous household may have contributed to a venereal disease. For certain, Psalm 38 outlines clearly health problems David attributes to his sinful behavior. You might want to add that to your reading list.
Sin is personal, but seldom, perhaps never, private. Many lives become entangled
in the web of our sinful deceit. Sin always leads to a Downward Spiral Into
Unintended Consequences. As a wise man once warned:
Perhaps you have been following the three-years long saga of the L.A. County
socialite, Rebecca Grossman. She is the wealthy wife of the physician and
founder of the Grossman Burn Center, Dr. Peter Grossman. On Septermber 29, 2020, Grossman was racing
on Triunfo Canyon Road in Agoura Hills, I believe, after having drinks with the former MLB player she was having an
affair with. Speeds were clocked at somewhere just under 90 mph when she struck
two little boys in a cross walk literally obliterating their bodies and killing
them instantly.
Adultery, drinking, and reckless driving has not only devastated her life, but
imagine the pain of that even being played out in the mother’s, father’s, and even
the younger siblings life. Think of all the sad consequences of Rebecca Grossman’s
casual attitude toward sin.
3. Consider, praise God, the Saving Grace of Self-Examination
(NIV84)12:13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.”
Those three words spoken with true repentance and a deep sorrow for his sins form the foundation for what has come to be known as, The Sinner’s Prayer.
Billy Graham, perhaps more than any other (and there were and have been many others) popularized a version such as:
""Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name. Amen.""
Critics are quick to point out that these particular words do not appear in the Scripture Text. That is true. For one thing, they are English words and the Scripture Text is primarily Hebrew in the Old Testament and Greek in the New.
However, the "concept" of a Sinner's Prayer leading to salvation occurs in both the Old and New testaments in various forms. The simplest Sinner's Prayer in the Bible might be the Thief on the Cross: "Lord, remember me when you come into Your Kingdom" (Lk. 23:42-43). Or perhaps, the Publican, "God, have mercy upon me a sinner" (Lk. 18:13).
In these two cases as also with
David the basis for salvation is not the structure of their prayers or the words used, but the genuine repentance
that proceeded it, or if you don't take a chronological approach to
the ordo salutis (order of salvation), the repentance that
"encapsulates or attends" the prayer. Repentance is more than
changing your mind about your sin. It is a complete turning away from sin and
the creation of a new heart, that we will speak of in a minute.
The longest and most complete, “Sinner’s Prayer,” we find in the Bible is Psalm 51. As you will
see from the Ancient Title associated with the Psalm it is related to David’s
sin with Bathsheba. All the elements of a saving pra;yer
are present: consiousness of sin
(guilt); confession; repentance; reliance on the grace of
God. It is all there in some detail. It is a lengthy description of what I am
calling, “The Habit of Self-examination.” We could refer to it as the “Habit of Confession” but
that could be confused with the Catholic practice and not the Biblical one. Biblical confession, or self-examination, leads
to a “Healthy Heart” no longer imprisoned by sin but captive to grace.
I hope you will take time to read it this Psalm this afternoon. It would help
you better understand the “Habit of Self-Examination.”
But the essence of the salvation associated with a true, repentant “Sinner’s
Prayer” in verse 10 of Psalm 51 (NIV84)
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
As I have already said, salvation is not a matter of changing our mind about sin, but a matter of God “creating a new heart free from sin.” Changing our mind is something we can do in regard to our sin, but creating a new heart is something ONLY GOD CAN DO.
Do you remember Judas Iscariot? He was a member of the Twelve Disciples who were with Jesus for three years. He was also the one that betrayed Jesus to the authorities for thirty pieces of silver (a hefty amount). This is what became of Judas: Matthew 27:3–5 (NIV84)
3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse [regret] and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” 5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
The word, “remorse,” (v3) has a similar spelling in Greek
to the word for “repent” but is
distinctively different in meaning. Judas had a “change of mind” which brought
regret. David had a ”change of heart” that brought restoration and salvation.
Saving Grace is the result of a genuine repentance reflected in a true “Sinner’s
Prayer.” David knew that merely “changing his mind” about how he had lived his
life would never result in the “joy of God’s salvation.” David cried out: “Create
in me a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
This is what Paul is referring to in 2Cor 5:17. (KJV 1900) Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Self-Examination with keep your
spiritual heart healthy. It isn’t easy, and it rarely is altogether pleasant. Heart
surgery is about as serious as surgery gets. Maybe it is rivaled by brain
surgery. For doctors to repair the heart, they have to get right into the
middle of things—no pun intended. Right there, in the very middle of your chest
is that ten ounce muscle protected by the thick sternum. Heart surgery, like
self-examination, is very serious business.
I know how serious a “heart
examination” really is. Just over thirteen years ago,
an ambulance picked me up (reluctantly I might add, but at the insistence of my
lovely wife) from my office for a trip to Los Robles hospital a couple miles
down Janns Road. I was conscious and talking when I left, but by the time I got
to the emergency room everything was a blur. Shari said asked the nurse, “What’s
happening?” She replied, “He’s having heart attack.” Shari excitedly said,”Well,
what are you going to do about it?” The nurse calmly replied, “We are going to
try to stop it.” Off I went into the heart surgery suite for the doctors and
nurses to place springs in my heart arteries to try to get them open.
That was the most invasive and serious surgery I’ve had to date. It wasn’t
pleasant, though I was out for most of it. It went about as deep into my
physical body as I care to have doctors go. (PS—I’ll refrain from discussing my
colonoscopy since we are talking about “Habits of a Healthy HEART!)
Nathan forced David to examine himself and what David saw was a heart darkened to the Presence of God by David’s self-deceit. Self-examination was not pleasant for David but it is only through such regular and sincere self-examination that we can live holy, productive lives that bring honor and glory to Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior.
Decide today: I am going to practice
the habit of regular and sincere SELF-EXAMINATION so that I can have a “Healthy
Heart.”
