A New Beginning presents a great book to show you how to easily share the gospel by Pastor Greg Laurie. The book is called Tell Someone You Can Share the Good News. And I wrote it with this thought in mind. I acted as though I were sitting down with an individual and sharing truths I've learned about evangelism. And it's something that is really important to me.
And I want to share what I've learned with you in this book, Tell Someone. Yours for a gift of any amount at harvest.org. We may not go out looking for sin. But it sure seems sin is out looking for us. Coming up today, Pastor Greg Laurie points out how to be prepared.
You can't stop. being exposed to some things.
Sometimes there are images that come Into our view that we then choose to view. It could be when you're scrolling on your phone, whoa, there it is. But you choose what you will do in response to that. You decide what happens next. Stop, stop now.
This is the day when the lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. Oh, can you hear all the angels are singing? This is the day, the day will I begin.
Some of the most encouraging words in the Bible are found in the Psalms. They're heartfelt. They deal with expressions of joy and of sorrow. No matter what emotions are weighing heavily on you, You'll find words that speak to your heart. Today on a new beginning, Pastor Greg Lori takes us to Psalm 32, as the psalmist David is in serious need of forgiveness.
We can learn a lot for our times of regret. I discovered that God welcomes those who come to Him in contrition. Question. How many of you have messed up horribly in life? Raise your hand.
Okay. Wow, what a bunch of losers. What a. Who are you people? No, my hand goes up to.
We've all messed up. in some way, shape, or form. horribly in our lives. And there have been times where some of us have sunk so low. We thought we couldn't go any lower, but somehow we did.
Or you sinned so badly you thought there was just no hope for you?
Well, if so. I have good news for you. Our God gives second chances. And third chance is And fourth chances and fifth chances, and pretty much as high as you can count. And this is beautifully illustrated.
In this story before us from the life of David, because here we're looking now at a man who desperately needed forgiveness. When you think of David, usually, two other names come to mind. You think of David and Goliath, and David and That's it.
So one was his greatest victory with Goliath, the 9-foot, 6-inch Philistine that he killed in the Elah Valley. And then Bathsheba. And that's the story we're going to look at now. One was his greatest triumph, the other was his worst defeat.
So we're looking at 2 Samuel chapter 11. I read verses 1 through 5 from the New Living Translation. Read along with me if you would. The following spring, the time of the year when kings go to war, David sent Joab, that would be his general, and the Israelite army to destroy the Ammonites, and in the process they laid siege to the city of Rabbah. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem.
Late one afternoon, David got out of bed. Late one afternoon. Sleeping in. After taking a nap, and went for a stroll on the roof of the palace, and he looked out over the city, and he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. He sent someone to find out who she was and he was told.
She's Bathsheba. the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Then David sent for her, and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. Then she returned home. And when Bathsheba discovered she was pregnant, she sent a message to inform David.
We'll stop here.
So David was around 50 years old at this point. And it all started with a red Ferrari chariot he was riding around in. No, I'm kidding, but David was having what some people might call a midlife crisis, which to me is kind of an excuse for just maybe some bad decisions a person could make in life. But he had been on a roll up to this point. He had distinguished himself in so many ways.
as a man of God, a skilled musician, a gifted poet. Writing beautiful psalms of praise to God. a seasoned ruler. And also a courageous warrior. He was on an absolute roll, and he lowered his guard.
And this is often what can happen to us: we lower our guard because we think we're doing so well spiritually.
So I want to give you 10 principles. About how we fall into sin and how we can also recover. Here's principle number one: if you're taking notes. And you should be. Or do you memorize all this stuff?
If so, I'm very impressed by your memory. I find that when I write something down, it really helps me to remember it. Number one, David's fall came after a great spiritual success. David's fall came after a great spiritual success. A case in point, when Jesus was beginning his public ministry, he went down to the Jordan River and he was baptized by his cousin John.
The Holy Spirit came upon him in the form of a dove, and God said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Pretty epic moment. We could definitely call that a blessed moment. And what happens after that? Immediately, the Bible says Jesus went into the wilderness to be tested by the devil for 40 days and 40 nights.
So, after the dove came the devil, after the blessing came the attack. That's often what happens in our lives. The devil sizes us up and he looks for our vulnerabilities. And everybody has a weakness or weaknesses. And so, the devil sizing up David.
And David was setting himself up for this. Bringing me to point number two: the sins we commit today may come back to haunt us tomorrow. Again, the sins we commit today may come back to haunt us tomorrow. Here's the thing. David didn't just fall into this sin.
He had been setting the stage for it. 2 Samuel 5 tells us that in direct disobedience to God, David took concubines after he became king. And in Deuteronomy 17, it says, A king should never do this. He should never have multiplied wives, or his heart will turn away from God. And that's exactly what was happening to David.
His heart was turning away from God slowly but surely. This is a man who was allowing lust. to consume his life.
Now he might have justified it and said, Well, I have a strong sexual drive, and if I have all these women, that will satisfy me. But his drive only increased because it was not a God-given sexual drive. Look, God places in you a sexual drive, there's nothing wrong with sex. You wouldn't be here if there wasn't sex. God invented sex.
Sex is not merely for reproduction, though it does include that. Sex can be for pleasure, fulfillment, and expressing that sense of oneness when a man and a woman come together. But there's only one place where God will actually bless sex, and yes, he can and will do that. And the only place where he will bless it is in a Marriage relationship. Where the husband and wife are loving each other, he'll never bless premarital sex, or extramarital sex, or homosexual sex, or any other variation, and there's many variations these days.
It's a man and a woman in marriage in a monogamous, faithful relationship. But David was not doing that. Way outside of these boundaries. And he was basically setting the scene for this problem that was about to happen. The Bible says: Can you take fire in your lap and not get burned?
When I was a little kid, I used to love to set army men on fire. We used to buy these little packages of army men. They were all green. Do any of you remember this? And uh and they would be in various positions.
There was a guy holding the rifle and And there was another guy with binoculars, a little binoculars guy. And then, you know, so the various army men, so I would set them on fire. And I like to start with the guy holding the rifle because I would light the edge of his rifle and he'd be there and he'd slowly melt into a little green puddle. I thought that was cool.
So I was burning my army men on newspaper. That was my first problem. And uh and suddenly he melts into a little green puddle. It has flames coming off it. The whole paper is on fire.
Now I have a paper filled with burning plastic, and I run over and I throw it into a trash can made out of bamboo, and the trash can catch on fire.
Okay, so a problem is developing. Thankfully, I was able to put the fire out, but here's my point. Little fires can turn into big fires really quickly. And the same is true of lust. What David was doing is The way he was living, he was feeding his lust.
It was sort of like pouring gasoline on a fire. It's not going to extinguish it, it's going to multiply it.
So it was getting worse and worse. And there's ways we can do this. Obviously looking at pornography. Looking at things that will stimulate this sort of thing.
So he's living really in a moral lifestyle before he even lays his eyes on Bathsheba.
So while his army was at war, David was taking a nap. David was basically sleeping when he should have been fighting. By the way, there's nothing wrong with sleeping. There's nothing wrong with taking a nap. I like to take naps.
But here's the thing. You can go into a spiritual sleep. Romans 13 says, It's later than it's ever been. Our salvation is nearer than it's ever been. The night is far spent.
The day is at hand. Let us therefore wake up from our sleep and cast off the works of darkness and be Christ's men from head to foot and give no chances for the flesh to have its fling. That's a Phillips translation of Romans 13. And we can be asleep. Spiritually, and that's exactly what David was doing.
He was idle when he should have been leading his troops into battle. It's good to take some time for rest. Even Jesus said to his own disciples, Come apart by yourselves to a deserted place and rest for a while. For many were coming and going, and they didn't even have time to eat. He said, come apart.
If you don't come apart and rest, you might come apart spiritually. It's okay to take a day off. It's a good thing, even. It's okay and a good thing to take a vacation and spend time with family and friends and recharge. Nothing wrong with that whatsoever.
But that's not what David was doing, he was idle. His armor was off in more ways than one. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. It's such a blessing to hear from listeners who take time to express their appreciation. I just want to say thank you to Pastor Greg.
I would love to shake your hand someday. You take me back to my childhood with Billy Graham. You explain things so easily where either the brightest person in the world or the dumbest person in the world is going to get what you're saying. I just want to thank you. Be blessed.
If you have a story to share, why not call us and give us all the details? Here's the number: 1-866-871-1144. That's 866-871-1144.
Well, today Pastor Greg is highlighting 10 principles for how we fall into sin and how we can recover. Let's continue. Point number four: Our greatest battles don't necessarily come when we're working hard. He was bored. He had too much time in his hands.
Alan Redpath, a great British preacher and a wonderful guy, Said, quote, times of leisure are to be more dreaded than those of the most strenuous toil, end quote.
So here he is on his rooftop palace.
Now, I've had the opportunity to go to Israel many times, and they have what they call the city of David.
So they're in Jerusalem. They have the ancient Jerusalem. Or where David would have ruled from when he was king. And so we went to the area where his palace would have been. And on top of the palace, they would effectively have a rooftop patio, right?
And his patio was elevated above the rest of the city, so he would have a great view of everything going on.
So, you know, he's sleeping in, gets out of bed, plays a couple video games. Wandering around on his balcony, and he is wiping the sleep from his eyes, and he looks out. And sees the beautiful Bathsheba. Bathing herself. That would have been a temptation for any man to see a woman of her.
Exceptional beauty bathing herself. But for David, man, it was just like... A fire to dead leaves. He was already going down this path. And look, you can't stop.
Being exposed to some things.
Now, you can keep yourself from certain things in life, absolutely. But on the other hand, sometimes there are images that come into our view that we then choose to view. It could be on a billboard, it could be in a television screen, it could be when you're scrolling on your phone. Whoa, there it is. But you choose what you will do in response to that.
You decide what happens next. So, if temptation comes knocking at your door, you don't have to answer the door, and you certainly don't have to invite it in for coffee. Leave the temptation outside, but the problem is we let it in. We take the test drive, so to speak. We try the free sample and we'll say all along, well, I would never do this, but certainly I can.
Find out what it's all about. And David did that and more. And he he misuses his office as king. And gives an order. Go get that woman and bring her up to my palace.
2 Samuel 11:3, a servant who I have to really admire for his boldness. He says to the king, She's Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. You know, kudos to this guy, David. She's married. Off limits.
You should know this.
Well, David Could care less. Bringing me to point number five: when deluded by sin, we don't think clearly because sin makes us stupid. Sin makes us stupid. You understand what I'm saying? We don't think rationally when we're under the influence of sin.
Yeah, whatever, David thought. Bring her up here, I said. And so now they have this relationship that's sexual. Encounter And now, this whole thing is in process.
Now, people justify things like this. They say, well, you know, I'm not happy in my marriage. And uh or I work really hard and I deserve this. Or everyone else is doing it, why shouldn't I? I love this one.
I'm human like everyone else, and we all make mistakes. You know what? Nobody falls into adultery. It's a series of steps one must take. And God was putting roadblocks up in the life of David because he loved him, because he's his child.
Roadblock number one: she's married. Stop, stop now. You know, maybe you've tried to go down a road that you should not go down, and the Lord put a roadblock up, something to stop you, something to arrest your attention. That's what was happening to David. And he just keeps going.
and then they were together that night. And now the repercussions are going to come as a result. But instead of confessing his sin, David tried to hide his sin. The Bible says, Your sin will find you.
Okay, so. Bathsheba sends word back to David, I'm pregnant.
Okay, so Roblox Two, man. Stop. Stop, repent. But David starts plotting on how to cover up his sin.
Now, let me just say this: what David did after this was so awful because it resulted in the death of an innocent man, and that would be. The husband of Bathsheba, Uriah the Hittite. You know, sometimes women Young women. Find themselves pregnant. As a result of a relationship or some encounter with the guy.
And then often what happens tragically is they get an abortion. And let me just say this: if I'm talking to a woman right now that finds herself pregnant, absolutely don't add to your immoral sin the sin of taking the life of an innocent child. That child deserves to live, okay? They're loved by God. He has a plan for their life.
And by the way, I was the result of a one-night stand. I've told you this before. I thought a certain man was my biological father because his name was on my birth certificate. I found out like 35 years later, he wasn't my dad. And my mom finally admitted she had a fling with some guy she met in Long Beach, and voila, here I am.
Now my mom was not a great mother. But I thank God she brought me into this world and let me live. And so This is how I feel. The child is innocent.
Well, I can't afford to have a child.
Well, I think you might be able to adapt to it more easily than you realize, but let me say this. There are many Christian families just looking for a child to adopt right now. Let the child live. For sure. You might say, well, Greg, I know there's different ways we look at it.
Well, you can look at it any way you want, there's only one way the Bible looks at it. Life begins at conception. And There's only one position for the Bible-believing Christian, and that is the pro-life position. There are no others. Very important.
Well, I don't agree. Then you're wrong. Because you're disagreeing with the Bible. But Bathsheba sends word now to David.
Okay, so what David should have done was repented. Lord, I've sinned. I'm sorry, but now he comes up with this idea.
Okay, let's see.
Okay, what's her husband's name again? Uriah. Where is he? He's serving you in your army. He's out fighting for you right now.
Oh, interesting.
Okay. Well, hey, um. Tell him to come to the palace.
So here's Uriah. He doesn't know David. He's just a soldier in the king's army. And he gets a message: David, the king, wants to see you in the palace immediately. What must he have thought?
What? He wants to see me? The man after God's own heart, the sweet psalmist of Israel, the giant killer, David, wants to see me? Yes, he wants to see you in his palace.
So Uriah appears before the king. King has a little small talk with him. How's it going? What's up?
Okay, now, hey, man, you've been out there fighting for our kingdom. Appreciate that. Why don't you go home and have a nice evening with your wife? Nod, nod, wink, wink.
Well, Uriah thought, I can't do that while all of my fellow soldiers are out there risking their lives.
So he literally slept outside of his house that night. See, David's idea was if Uriah slept with his wife, then he would think that that was his child. And so David hears about this, and this time he gets Uriah drunk, sends him home. Again, Uriah will not sleep with his wife, so David comes up with this idea: I'm going to have Uriah killed. And then I'll marry his wife.
So he sends a letter to Joab and has Uriah deliver it to him. Here's Uriah walking around with his death sentence. And a sealed message from the king. He gives it to Joab: Dear Joab. Uh I need Uriah to die.
He didn't say it that plainly, but in so many words.
So. Get him in the battle there, have the other guys back off. And this is what I need to happen. I need him to be gone. Sign David, the man after God's own heart is.
That's exactly what happened.
So a message came back to David from Joab: oh, yeah, we had this military encounter, and a number of soldiers died, including Uriah the Hittite. Pull it off. And he married Bathsheba. Awesome. covered up his sin.
But here's the problem. The Bible says your sin will find you out. Um Straightforward truth from God's Word today on a new beginning. Pastor Greg Laurie with a frank message called The God of Second Chances. And there's more to come from this study.
Pastor Gregg, if somebody is listening today and they've committed some sins of their own, they know they need God's forgiveness and they want to make things right with the Lord, what would you say to them? I would say that God is just a prayer away. You know, it doesn't take years to become a Christian, it doesn't take months. Frankly, it doesn't even take hours. It can happen so quickly.
It just starts with You saying to God, I am I know I'm a sinner, but I know that You love me? I know that you sent Jesus to die on the cross for my sin and pay for those sins and then to rise again from the dead. And I want him to come into my life.
So here's my question to you: Have you done that yet? Because Jesus, who did die on that cross and rose again from the dead three days later, is alive and standing at the door of your life right now, and he's knocking. And he's saying, If you'll hear my voice and open the door, I will come in. Would you like your sin forgiven? Would you like to know that when you die you will go to heaven?
Do you want Christ to come into your life right now? If so, why don't you just stop whatever it is you're doing and pray this prayer with me? You could pray it out loud, you can pray it in the quietness of your own heart. But pray this prayer. to God.
Say, Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. But I know that you are the Saviour. who died on the cross for my sin. and rose again from the dead. I'm sorry for my sin and I turn from it now, and I choose to follow you From this moment forward, it is I ask all of this in Jesus' name.
Amen. Listen, if you just prayed that prayer, the Bible promises that God has heard your prayer and has answered that prayer. The Bible says that we will confess our sin, He s faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God bless you. You've made the right decision.
The decision to follow Jesus Christ. Yeah, yeah, that's right. And Pastor Greg would like to help you start off right living for the Lord. He'd like to send you his New Believer's Bible. It features hundreds of helps for new believers, and it's written in an easy-to-understand translation.
So contact us for your free copy of the New Believer's Bible. Call us at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or write a new beginning box 4000, Riverside, California, 92514. Or go online to harvest.org and click Know God.
And then, thank you for partnering with us to help these daily studies continue. Your investments have eternal benefits. Why not make this a part of your personal ministry to partner in an effort that's making a real difference with the gospel of Jesus Christ? Thank you for your prayers and for prayerfully considering how God might lead you to help tangibly. Online, you'll find us at harvest.org, and there you'll see the way we'd like to thank you for your donation right now.
That's harvest.org. Or write us at a new beginning box 4000, Riverside, California, 92514. Or call us at 1-800-821-3300. We're here around the clock to take your call, again at 1-800-821-3300.
Well, next time, more insight about God's grace and mercy in the message, The God of Second Chances. Join us here on A New Beginning with Pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie. This is the day, the day when life begins.
