HeartQuest 101

On Tuesday, April 20, 2010, there was an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed eleven workers, devastating eleven families from Day One. I’ve read this is the worst environmental disaster in US history, but just how big is the spill? Imagine if the spill was in Virginia Beach, how far would it reach? Click here to find out, (or to type in your city and state).

Today, this event in the Gulf is on Day 56, completing eight full weeks of disaster for the Gulf coast. I read an interesting detailed list of the President’s activity during this national crisis. But on a serious and spiritual note, I have a few questions to ask…

How is our sin like an oil spill? Let me suggest that as the oil comes from deep inside the earth and gushes out to destroy life and the environment, our personal sin comes from the deepest and darkest regions inside of us and also leads to a similar destruction of life and family.

How do we tend to deal with that sin? The experts at BP and the US government have tried numerous methods to cap the well and stop the flow of oil. One method after another has failed and we wonder if the oil leak will ever be stopped. What are some ways that we try to cap the sin spillage in our lives? We try one thing after another until we discover that there is only one way to cap the sin problem we have, the perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross (John 14:6, Romans 5:8). The bottom line is that we try to cap the well on our own, with little success. When a relationship is breached, the only way to mend the relationship is to follow the prescription of the offended one. We cannot come to him on our own terms.

How can we clean up the mess we have created? BP is utilizing thousands of employees and volunteers to help clean up this oil spill. When it comes to getting rid of sin, if we could clean up on our own, we would not really need Jesus or the Holy Spirit to work through us. The goal of the believer is to conform to the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29) and the Spirit is called our Helper (John 15:26). Let’s work in partnership with the Holy Spirit to conform to the image of the Son. That’s what sanctification is all about, becoming more and more like Jesus in thought, word and deed. So, for those who have trusted Christ, the gospel has effectively capped our rampant sin spillage.

How does sin impact the lives of others? Just as this oil spill has affected hundreds of thousands of people and communities, sin also has a lasting effect on others. Think about how your sin has affected those around you; your relationships at work, with your wife, your business dealings, your peace. The dark oil of sin is lurking just off the coast ready to destroy whatever it can cover. We can set out a boom, but the source of the leak needs to be capped.

Why do we often feel so helpless? Romans 1:16 tells us about the power that is available to us, to save everyone from the looming oil spill of sin. Tony Hayward said in the BP public relations commercial that “we will make this right.” The “good news tells us how God makes us right in his sight.” (Romans 1:17) Praise God that he has been in charge from Day One and gets the job done for those who know they cannot survive without him.

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This Sunday we continue in the life of David with this somewhat humorous episode of what happens to David’s servants as they deliver condolences to the Ammonite king; then we will look at the wages of sin from the Bathsheba era in his life. 

1. Why does David send his servants to Hanun, king of the Ammonites? 10:1-2
2. How does Hanun treat the servants? 10:4 (too funny, we can laugh now, such a picture), but we can learn…
   • Lesson 1 – David shows active sympathy for the suffering, 10:2
   • Lesson 2 – David’s intentions were misunderstood, 10:3, 5
   • Lesson 3 – David is fiercely loyal and protective to his people, 10:5
   • Lesson 4 – David took on their enemy himself, sending Joab and his mighty men, 10:7
3. What is the outcome of the inevitable battle? 10:13, 14
4. Introduction:
   • What is your favorite springtime activity?
   • How soon do you believe people begin sunbathing in Virginia Beach?
   • Who was your “girl next door” or “big man on campus?”
5. What significance do you see in the timing of David’s sin? 2 Samuel 11:1, 2
   • What was he supposed to be doing? 2 Samuel 11:1
   • What three specific actions did David take toward his sin? 2 Samuel 11:3, 4
6. Where did David go wrong?
   • Lesson 1 – He was in the wrong place at the wrong time 2 Samuel 11:1, 2 (he was at home rather than in battle, and he got up from his bed, open to boredom and temptation.
   • Lesson 2 – He failed to protect himself with a network of accountability, answering to no one, he grew accustomed to wanting and getting.
   • Lesson 3 – He was lonely and made a plan (note the three actions of #5. b.)
     • Sinned in thought – 2 Samuel 11:2
     • Sinned in word – 2 Samuel 11:3
     • Sinned in deed – 2 Samuel 11:4
7. Could Bathsheba have prevented this from happening?
8. What superior character qualities do you see in Uriah? 2 Samuel 11:9, 11, 13 (Deuteronomy 23:9-10).
   • What does this reveal about David?
   • Where do you see the first hint of fear in David? About Uriah? About Joab?
   • Have you ever felt someone was faking an interest in you for an ulterior motive?
   • How did David involve Joab in his sin?
   • How would you describe David’s heart at this point? 2 Samuel 11:25
9. How far away is David’s heart? God’s commentary is 2 Samuel 11:27
   • Lesson 1 – He resisted opportunities to repent, but chose to stay in this revolving door of deception. 
     • How could he have repented or acted with integrity?
     • Why did he NOT repent
   • Lesson 2 – He was unmoved by Uriah’s integrity.
   • Lesson 3 – He tried to cover his own sin, rather than confess it. (Psalm 32:1)
   • Lesson 4 – He involved a lot of others in his sin.
10. What is Bathsheba feeling as her identity changes from Uriah’s wife, to David’s lover, to Uriah’s widow, to David’s bride? 2 Samuel 11:26-27
11. Why does Nathan the prophet speak to David using a parable? 2 Samuel 12:1, 2, 3, 4
    • Why did he use a sheep in his story?
    • Why does the absence of justice and mercy in Nathan’s story enrage David? 2 Samuel 12:5-6
    • What is Nathan’s perspective on gratitude? 2 Samuel 12:7-9
    • What three sons will meet a violent death in this prophecy? 2 Samuel 12:10
      • 2 Samuel 13:28-29
      • 2 Samuel 18:14-15
      • 1 Kings 2:24-25
12. How did the prophecy of 2 Samuel 12:11, 12 come to pass? 2 Samuel 16:21, 22
13. What toll did this sin take on David? Psalm 32:3, 4, 5
14. How does David’s response to rebuke compare to Saul’s response in a similar situation? 2 Samuel 12:13, Psalm 51 (1 Samuel 13:11-12, 15:13-26).
15. How did David respond to the child’s sudden illness? 2 Samuel 12:15-25
16. Notice God did not do what David asked (2 Samuel 12:16) but died (2 Samuel 12:18). Since prayer did not change the child’s health, what did change?
    • Lesson 1 – David’s plea forced him to a place of dependence on God.
    • Lesson 2 – David’s plea satisfied his spirit (the child did not die because he did not ask God to spare him).
    • Lesson 3 – David’s plea ensured his survival through this tragedy he and his wife would suffer (enabling him to comfort his wife 2 Samuel 12:24-25).
    • Lesson 4 – David’s plea touched God’s heart, He disciplines those whom He loves (Hebrews 12:6). Solomon was called, Jedidiah, which means “beloved of the Lord,” the successor to the throne.
17. No relief like repentance – Psalm 51
    • Psalm 51:1 – have mercy, according to Your love and compassion
    • Psalm 51:2 – wash and cleanse from sin
    • Psalm 51:3 – I know my sin, you can live without it, give it up
    • Psalm 51:4 – sin is against God alone; the biggest heartbreak
    • Psalm 51:5 – sinful at birth; it is a part of me
    • Psalm 51:6 – God desires truth; even when we don’t want to believe it
    • Psalm 51:7 – cleanse me with hyssop (Exodus 12:22-23) I’ll be whiter than snow
    • Psalm 51:8 – let the bones You have crushed rejoice; the pain of confessing and repenting will bring healing
    • Psalm 51:9 – hide Your face from my sin; our total depravity keeps us from looking to God, shame, embarrassment, He wants to forgive
    • Psalm 51:10 – create in me a pure heart; create is bara, like in Genesis 1:1, which only God can do for us
    • Psalm 51:11 – don not take the Holy Spirit from me; a fate worse than death
    • Psalm 51:12 – restore the joy of Your salvation
    • Psalm 51:13 – I will teach others and they will return to God; the forgiven become evangelists to God’s goodness

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Today I will begin a series about men who are in a wrestling match with God. Wrestling is a popular spectator sport for many men and young people. I’ve seen the commercials and the crowds; there are a lot of pro wrestling fanatics out there! Men today are in a wrestling match for their lives and many don’t even know it.

In any group of men there is every sort of need, weakness and struggle. Rather than waiting for a more opportune moment, today is the day we need to get our act together! We must confront ourselves with the enemy within each one of us. What is the enemy within me? Take a look at Romans 1:28-29, 30-32.

There are other lists that deal with sorcery, witchcraft, demonology, astrology but that is not where I find many men today. Crime affects us, and I’m concerned about crime, but I’m not as concerned about the mugger, the rapist and the conman on the street. I’m concerned with the enemy within me; it is the same enemy that is within each of us. We must each intentionally and willfully confront this enemy before we are ruined by it.

When a man ignores the commandments of God and refuses to acknowledge Him or His call to godly living, the worst punishment God can do on earth is to give that man over to himself (Romans 1:28). Men can become slaves to their own reprobate mind. Burger King used to have an ad campaign with the slogan, “Have it your way,” but the problem with men is that when we have it our own way, we self-destruct!

I am amazed that one man can look at another man and arrogantly say that “I’m better than that other guy.” The fact is that we are all just one step away from self-destruction; you can fill in the blank and name your weakness or your enemy. We then try to justify that our sin is not as bad as that other guy’s sin… but we miss the fact that we have all sinned (Romans 3:23).

We have the capacity to commit every kind of sin. We may not have done it, but odds are that we have thought about it. Even if we have not done it yet, given the right situation and the right circumstance, we will think about it and possibly even do it.

In my library I have a book called Situation Ethics. The premise is that a person will sacrifice a certain value to uphold what we believe to be a higher value. A gunman comes in to your office seeking to kill Joe Blow, and you lie to the gunman telling him Joe Blow is out sick today (knowing that he is really down in the break room). You value life higher than truthfulness in this situation. Knowing suicide is wrong, a 13 year old Amish girl named Marian Fisher told the gunman to shoot her first, hoping to save the lives of the younger children in that Lancaster County schoolhouse. Would not a passivist do whatever he could to stop an intruder from going after his wife or teenaged daughter? Would not a starving man who came across a cart filled with food turn into a thief to feed his family?

Human nature is depraved. We all have a terrible capacity toward sin. Each of us must face the enemy within us is order to become victorious over it. The Bible says we are not to be slaves of sin, and if we commit sin, we are slaves to it (Romans 7:14, 7:25, 2 Peter 2:19, 1 John 1:8).

That is why Men of Steel is so important. There is strength in numbers, there is safety in numbers, and there is victory in accountability to one another. It’s not bearing your soul before a group, that’s not what we do on Saturday, but it is finding another man who’s got your back. We just spent a few weeks looking at the Lame Man at the Gate; to know your weakness (that which makes you lame), to know why you come to church (not just hanging out at a “beautiful gate”), to not be distracted (but focusing on Christ and His Word).

Who do you know who might benefit from joining us on Saturdays?

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