>>Announcer: It has
stood the test of time....
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God's book, The Bible
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Still relevant in
today's complex world
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It Is Written
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Sharing messages of
hope around the world
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>>BILL: Welcome to the It
Is Written Canada television
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program, my name is Bill Santos,
thank you so much for joining
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me. It was almost unthinkable:
players throwing the World
Series? Yet, that's what
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happened--or maybe didn't
happen--in the fall of 1919. The
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players on the Charles
Comiskey's 1919 Chicago White
Sox team were a irritable lot.
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The club was divided into two
"gangs" of players, each with
practically nothing
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to say to the other. Together
they formed the best team in
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baseball--perhaps one of the
best teams that ever played the
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game, yet they--like all ball
players of the time--were paid a
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fraction of what they were
worth. Because of baseball's
reserve clause, any player who
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refused to accept a contract was
prohibited from playing baseball
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on any other professional team.
The White Sox owner paid two of
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his greatest stars, outfielder
"Shoeless Joe Jackson" and third
baseman Buck Weaver,
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only $6000 a year. Comiskey's
decision to save expenses by
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reducing the number of times
uniforms were laundered gave
rise to the original
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meaning of "The Black Sox."
Comiskey has been labeled the
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tyrant and tightwad whose stingy
practices made his players
especially willing to sell
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their baseball souls for money,
but in fact he was probably no
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worse than most owners--in fact,
Chicago had the highest team
payroll in 1919. In
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the era of the reserve clause,
gamblers could find players on
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lots of teams looking
for extra cash--and they did.
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The 1919 World Series resulted
in the most famous scandal in
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baseball history. Eight players
from the Chicago White Sox
(later nicknamed the Black
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Sox) were accused of
throwing the series against the
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Cincinnati Reds. Details of the
scandal and the extent to which
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each man was involved have
always been unclear. It was,
however, front-page news across
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the United States and, despite
being acquitted of criminal
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charges, the players were banned
from professional baseball for
life. Included in that
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group of disgraced ballplayers
was the great "Shoeless" Joe
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Jackson. The controversy
surrounding the 1919 World
Series is most confusing
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in regards to Shoeless Joe
Jackson. The facts indicate that
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Jackson had no involvement with
the fix other than being aware
that it was going on. In
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1919, known for his natural
abilities on the field and his
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extraordinary home runs, Jackson
was well on his way to becoming
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a baseball legend. Today,
however, he is remembered for
his association with the Black
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Sox.
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Jackson played in that World
Series and always pointed to his
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record as proof that he played
to win. The real conspirators
made intentional errors to
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lose the games. Their records
show a combination of poor
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hitting, numerous fielding
errors, and second-rate
pitching. Jackson's performance,
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in contrast, was blemish-free.
He had more hits than any player
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on either team. He scored
five runs and drove in six. His
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batting average was .375 and his
twelve hits set a World Series
record. In the field,
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thirty balls came to Jackson and
he made no errors. Legend has it
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that as Jackson was walking
through a parking lot after
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testifying to a grand jury on
his involvement in the scandal,
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a small boy came up to Jackson
and said, "Say it ain't so,
Joe." Jackson was quoted as
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replying "It's so kid, it's so."
Shoeless Joe was thirty-three
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when his professional baseball
career abruptly ended. Many
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attempts have been made to have
Jackson inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame in
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Cooperstown, New York, all
attempts until now have been
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denied. During his grand
jury testimony White Sox pitcher
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Eddie Cicotte, a teammate of
Jackson's, made the following
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comment: "I don't know why I did
it." That can be an all too
familiar refrain for
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many. All of sudden you are all
caught up in this web of sin,
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with no apparent recourse for
breaking free. The Bible says in
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Romans 3:23 . All of us have
made mistakes, all of us have
sinned, but Jesus Christ
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in His endless love for a fallen
humanity came and died to set us
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free from the bondage of sin
into a life of happiness because
we know that our sins are
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forgiven.
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If the Bible had been written
by an image consulting firm, I
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suspect that many of the stories
that we find in the Bible would
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not have been included. But God
wanted us to have a pattern for
living that we could
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relate to, the stories in
the Bible had to be relevant and
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speak to each of us where we
are. One such story is taken
from the life of David. We have
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spent the last few weeks
studying the life of David and
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pulling from his example
some practical life lessons.
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This particular event in David's
life is probably one of the
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darkest episodes, if not
the darkest episode, in David's
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"rollercoaster" existence. We
want to cringe and cry out "Say
it ain't so, David!" I
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believe this experience is
included in the Bible to warn us
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of sin's destructive power, even
in those who love the Lord.
David is 50 years old now,
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and has been king for about 20
years. He has fused Israel into
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a solid and powerful nation. He
had set himself apart as a
mighty warrior, a talented
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musician and a visionary man of
God. Yet David is faced with the
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unrelenting pounding of
temptation and the seawall of
his life is about to give.
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Although David had been
following the cultural standard
of his day for monarchs of
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accumulating wives and
concubines, he was, nonetheless,
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violating God's standard. In
Deuteronomy 17:17 God made it
clear that Israel's
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king should not
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No one confronted David about
his sin. Maybe people felt that
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as long as his leadership was
causing the economy to expand
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and the nation remained strong
and healthy what difference did
it make if he had a
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few "indiscretions" in his
personal life, after all his
life is his business.
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But these seemingly harmless
"indiscretions" were laying some
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wicked roots in David's heart.
In the book Patriarchs and
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Prophets p. 718 Flattery and the
subtle allurements of luxury and
power were not without
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there influence of David. Crimes
that would not be tolerated in
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the subjects would go completely
unmentionewhen they were
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committed by the ruler.
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The monarch was under no
obligation to restrain himself
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as were his subjects. This
caused David to begin to lose
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sense of his own sinfulness.
Rather than draw closer to
Jehovah in humility he began to
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trust his own wisdom and might.
Never are we more vulnerable to
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the temptations of pride, and
self-indulgence then when we
have it strayed from
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God, and David was no exception.
Before the conclusion of the war
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with the Ammonites, David, left
the command of the army to Joab,
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and he returned to his palace in
Jerusalem. The Syrians had
already surrendered to Israel,
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and the complete overthrow
of the Ammonites imminent. Maybe
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David felt that after 20 years
of plodding through battlefields
he deserved a rest. His army
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was well trained and they
were in the hands of a competent
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commander. Back in Jerusalem
David was surrounded by the
fruits of victory and the honors
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of his wise and able rule,
and rather then doing like most
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kings and fighting alongside his
men he decided he would delight
in the pleasures of his
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success. It was now, while he
was at ease and unguarded, that
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Satan seized the
opportunity to occupy his mind.
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The fact that God had
brought David into so close a
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relationship and had done so
much for him should have been,
you would think, a strong
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incentive for David preserve his
character unblemished. The book
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Patriarchs and Prophets says.
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We begin the
story in 2 Samuel 11:2
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The woman bathing catches
David's eye, and he stops to
look, and he continues
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looking. He loses all awareness
of who he is and the danger that
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lies ahead. Dietrich Bonhoeffer,
in his book Temptation p.33,
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wrote the following .
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David forgot everything, his
family, his kingdom and even his
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God. 2 Samuel 11:3
00:14:08.83\00:14:10.46
David is so numbed by his lust
that his servants warning that
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Bathsheba is married to one
of David's elite warriors has no
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impact on David whatsoever.
Within a short time the woman is
standing before the king. 2
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Samuel 11:4
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The affair is a short one,
probably best described as a
"fling" or a "one-night
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stand", what's the big deal.
David has violated God's law,
00:15:01.70\00:15:08.73
and as God's appointed leader
for the nation, the one called
upon to uphold God's law,
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David should have known better.
00:15:13.56\00:15:15.30
David abused his power, he took
advantage of the privilege that
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God had given him and he
betrayed the trust that his
people, his family and His God
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had placed in him. I don't think
Bathsheba should be let off the
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hook completely, she probably
needs to bear some of the blame.
00:15:31.60\00:15:35.83
She could have called out for
help, or maybe done something,
but nonetheless, David was the
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king, he was God's chosen king
and he had the obligation to
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uphold God's law. The
story continues . 2 Samuel 11:5
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Now the consequences of David's
act are starting to hit home,
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now the reality of what happened
begins to set in. But instead of
00:16:06.36\00:16:10.76
facing his sin and coming before
God in repentance and humility,
for the first time in his
00:16:10.76\00:16:15.10
life David tries to sweep his
sin under the rug. You see
Bathsheba was the wife
00:16:15.10\00:16:22.93
of Uriah the Hittite, one
of David's bravest and most
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faithful officers. What would
happen if word of David's affair
was to get out? God's Law
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prescribed the death penalty for
the adulterer, and what might
00:16:37.80\00:16:44.26
Uriah do, after all he had been
wronged, he might want avenge
00:16:44.26\00:16:52.20
himself by taking the life of
the king or by inciting a
revolt. Something had to be
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done. 2 Samuel 11:6 - 8
00:16:59.63\00:17:01.83
It does not take a rocket
scientist to see what David's
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plan is here. He is not
interested with how the war is
progressing, he is simply
00:17:33.73\00:17:39.03
concerned about getting Uriah
home to his wife. But the king
underestimated this
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warrior's strength of character.
Rather than going home to his
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wife, this soldier sleeps
alongside David's servants at
the door to the palace.
00:17:50.10\00:17:56.46
When asked by the king
why, he replies . 2 Samuel 11:11
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The Commander-in-Chief is taught
a lesson in integrity by one of
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his soldiers. Uriah is
completely dedicated to his
country, to his king
00:18:31.63\00:18:36.40
and to his Lord.
00:18:36.40\00:18:38.26
David makes one last attempt
to get Uriah to go home to his
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wife. David decides he will get
Uriah drunk, but even in a
drunken state, Uriah shows
00:18:43.63\00:18:49.43
more self-control than David,
and Uriah refuses to go home.
00:18:49.43\00:18:56.00
What was David to do? Every
attempt to conceal what he had
done proved unavailing. David
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had betrayed himself into the
power of Satan, the situation
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around him was a dangerous one,
he was facing a dishonor more
vicious than death. There
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appeared but one way to get out
of this predicament, and in his
00:19:17.13\00:19:21.46
desperation he was about to add
murder to adultery. By Uriah's
00:19:21.46\00:19:30.40
own hand David sends Joab a
message to put Uriah on the
front line of battle and abandon
00:19:30.40\00:19:36.43
him there where he will surely
die. This time the plot works,
00:19:36.43\00:19:43.36
Uriah is killed and along
with him other soldiers also. 2
00:19:43.36\00:19:49.56
Samuel 11:24 If the adultery
alone was not difficult enough
to cover up, now David has
00:20:02.36\00:20:06.00
not only the adultery but the
innocent blood on his hands.
Joab sent word that
00:20:06.00\00:20:12.43
Uriah had been killed in battle
with some soldiers, David offers
00:20:12.43\00:20:17.30
a deceitful
reassurance . 2 Samuel 11:25
00:20:17.30\00:20:20.80
David now moves to final phase
of his plot . 2 Samuel 11: 26 -
00:20:42.66\00:20:48.86
27 Bathsheba observed the
customary days of mourning for
her husband; and at
00:21:09.46\00:21:15.06
their close "David sent and
brought her to his house, and
00:21:15.06\00:21:19.30
she became his wife." The same
David whose conscience would not
permit him, even when his
00:21:19.30\00:21:26.16
life was in peril, to put
forth his hand against Saul, the
00:21:26.16\00:21:31.26
Lord's anointed, this same David
had so fallen that he could
wrong and murder one of his most
00:21:31.26\00:21:40.06
faithful and most valiant
soldiers, and hope to enjoy
00:21:40.06\00:21:48.13
undisturbed the
reward of his sin.
00:21:48.13\00:21:51.13
David must have sighed in relief
thinking that he had gotten away
00:21:52.90\00:21:56.06
with murder, literally. But
God sees things differently . 2
00:21:56.06\00:22:03.16
Samuel 11: 27 With that sobering
statement of God's justice, this
00:22:10.96\00:22:16.63
dark episode in David's life
comes to an ominous end. The
fact that a godly man like
00:22:16.63\00:22:22.80
David would succumb to such
ungodly desires gives us much to
00:22:22.80\00:22:30.33
ponder. According to Maggie
Scarf, author of "Intimate
Partners", first published
00:22:30.33\00:22:36.76
in 1987 by Random House,
re-issued in 1996 by Ballentine.
00:22:36.76\00:22:44.43
A few years ago USA
Today ran this article.
00:23:06.83\00:23:10.06
No matter which stats you choose
to accept the undeniable fact is
00:24:05.26\00:24:13.10
that we have a crisis on our
hands. Scripture gives us two
important principles
00:24:13.10\00:24:20.00
on this matter. Romans 13:14
00:24:20.00\00:24:24.46
The second one is
found in . 2 Timothy 2:22
00:24:29.60\00:24:32.73
Here are a few practical
things that can help put these
00:24:45.43\00:24:50.10
principles in
practice in your life.
00:24:50.10\00:24:52.53
1. Establish boundaries that
keep you out of compromising
00:24:53.30\00:24:58.16
situations. Do not put yourself
into situations where you are
likely to be tempted.
00:24:58.16\00:25:02.60
2. Do things with your spouse,
make time for yourselves.
00:25:03.23\00:25:08.60
3. Have a friend, someone
you trust, hold you to your
00:25:09.06\00:25:15.23
standards. 4. Do as the Bible
suggests in Philippians 4:8
00:25:15.66\00:25:23.36
Be conscious of what you
are feeding your mind. We become
00:25:42.83\00:25:48.53
what we behold. Be selective in
the movies you watch, books you
read, and the places you
00:25:48.53\00:25:52.73
frequent.
00:25:52.73\00:25:54.36
5. Most importantly, cling
to God in daily dependence. Take
00:25:55.36\00:25:59.66
hold of God's hand and never let
go regardless of how Satan might
tempt you. Make your
00:25:59.66\00:26:05.16
communion with God the first and
most important activity of your
00:26:05.16\00:26:10.23
day. No matter what other
obligations try to snatch this
previous time away,
00:26:10.23\00:26:16.73
make it a priority to
pray, and study your Bible.
00:26:16.73\00:26:23.60
If someone had told David when
he was a boy that he would one
00:26:24.56\00:26:31.30
day commit adultery, father
an illegitimate child and murder
00:26:31.30\00:26:36.13
and innocent man, David would
have exclaimed, "Never!" Yet it
happened. We are never to
00:26:36.13\00:26:42.30
old to sin, as long as our flesh
is alive we have the potential
00:26:42.30\00:26:49.13
of committing the worst sins,
join me know as we pray that God
may protect us against
00:26:49.13\00:27:00.63
moral failure.
00:27:00.63\00:27:02.36
Father in heaven we thank
you for the guidance you provide
00:27:03.73\00:27:08.53
for our lives through Your Holy
Word in the examples of men like
00:27:08.53\00:27:13.96
David. May each viewer today
submit their lives entirely to
You, help us to make time
00:27:13.96\00:27:18.80
to pray and study Your
Word, help us to resist Satan's
00:27:18.80\00:27:26.16
temptations and forgive us for
where we have failed, in Jesus
00:27:26.16\00:27:36.10
name, Amen >>BILL: I've put all
of the messages into a small
book called "David friend
00:27:37.60\00:27:42.63
of God". If you would like to
get a free copy here is the
information you need.
00:27:42.63\00:27:47.93
>>BILL: Let me thank you
for joining us here. Remember to
00:28:11.46\00:28:14.80
visit our web site
www.ItIsWrittenCanada.ca Go to
00:28:14.80\00:28:19.33
our Facebook page and "Like" us.
We hope we can be together again
next time. Until then remember,
00:28:19.33\00:28:25.86
It IWritten man shall not live
by bread alone, but by every
00:28:25.86\00:28:32.20
word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.
00:28:32.20\00:28:34.50