In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of not living isolated lives and the need for companionship and friendship. He refers to the Genesis account of creation, where God saw that it was not good for man to be alone. The speaker also shares the story of David and Bathsheba from 2 Samuel, highlighting the consequences of David's isolation and lack of accountability. The sermon concludes with an invitation for individuals to come to God with their sins and struggles, and the availability of OM leaders for support and guidance.

And they go to work at six. The Irish are different. The Spanish are certainly different. The Spanish don't really wake up until about ten o'clock at night. By which time, the Austrians have already gone to sleep. We must be very sensitive and careful of each other. So let's together commit ourselves to a really considerate how shall I say, sleeping time for the rest of the conference. And that's, I think, all I have to say. I don't know why I went on so long about that. Tonight, Peter Maiden is bringing us the message again that he has to leave later on tonight. We might pray for him as he goes back through the night, back to responsibilities in Britain. Let's just pray together. As a prayer, I want to read you some verses of a well-known hymn. Oh, teach me, Lord, what it meaneth, that cross uplifted high, with one, the man of sorrows, condemned to bleed and die. Teach me what it cost thee to make a sinner whole. And teach me, Saviour, teach me the value of a soul. Teach me what it meaneth, thy love beyond compare, the love that reaches deeper than depths of self-despair. Teach me, Lord, till there gloweth in this cold heart of mine some feeble, pale reflection of that pure love of thine. Lord, teach us again from your most holy, life-giving word this evening. For the glory of your name. Amen. I'm actually in a bit of a state of shock tonight, especially after Nigel's bedroom descriptions, because I also sleep in that room and I knew nothing of what was going on. It's very worrying to realise that all that can go on around you when you sleep. I'd like you to turn with me to two passages, firstly in 2 Samuel, and the 11th chapter. We're going to read verses 1 to 5, and then verses 14 to 17. I'll read this one in English, you can follow in your own language, and I'll ask Andreas to read the second passage we're going to read from Matthew in German. So this is 2 Samuel, chapter 11, and verse 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 Rabah, but David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of his palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful 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? 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. The woman conceived and sent word to David saying, I am pregnant. Verse 14. In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. That, of course, is the husband of Bathsheba. In it he wrote, Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so that he will be struck down and die. Now over to Matthew's Gospel and chapter 5. And I'll ask Andreas to read from verse 27 to verse 30 of this chapter. In Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 14 we read, Make every effort to be holy, because without holiness no one shall see the Lord. Then earlier in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 8 Jesus says, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. So true blessing, real happiness for God's children is for those who are pure in heart. But what is holiness? What is purity? In practice it simply means being of one mind with God. God's mind, of course, is revealed in this book. So quite simply to be holy is to live in accordance with the Holy Bible. Another way of understanding holiness is to live as the Lord Jesus lived when He was on this earth. Another way to understand holiness is to live in the fear of God. Not the fear of a slave, but the respect of a child who loves his father. Now we're going to think tonight about holiness in one particular area of our lives. We're going to think about moral or sexual purity. We want to know what God's mind is on that subject so that we can be holy. We want to know how Jesus lived in this area and how He taught. We want to live this area of our lives in the fear of God. Now you'll not be surprised that I've got some books with me tonight. I'm encouraged with the way you're buying books, but there's some left. One of the best basic treatments of the subject of holiness I've read is this book. Written by a man who I think last year went as one of our Bible teachers all over India. He's an Anglican vicar in Kent. His book is called The Way of Holiness. An excellent explanation of how we can become holy as Christians. Then we have quite a number of books on the specific area that we're looking at tonight. This book has helped me and helped many. Eros or Eros Defiled by John White. You've read Roy Hessian's Calvary Road, I'm sure. Here's another by him, Forgotten Factors, an Aid to Deeper Repentance. I haven't read this book personally. I skimmed it earlier today, in fact. It's called Sexual Understanding Before Marriage. Often when we look at this subject, we realize just how real spiritual warfare is. Born for the Battle by Arthur Matthews is 31 studies on spiritual warfare. They're brief studies, the kind of thing you can just read one before you go to bed at night. Very, very challenging material indeed. Then this book by David Seamans, Healing for Damaged Emotions. I think this is one of George Verwer's favorite books. He's been pleading with me to read it for about two years. I haven't managed it yet. But I've listened to this man preach on tape. And he's an excellent preacher. If his writing is anything like his preaching, I'm sure this is well worth reading. You read it, Nigel? For three years. It's not getting very far in his pleadings, Brother George. One book which has got nothing to do with our subject tonight, but I just love this book. It's Mountain Rain. And it's a biography of James Fraser of China, Lisu Land in China. I talked a little bit last night about prayer and some of you got very enthusiastic in your conversations afterwards about living a life of more prayer. That's a thrilling testimony of a man of prayer. But not only do we have books, we have a large table of free literature. Nigel's mentioned that tomorrow night we're going to be having an extended time of prayer. And for some of you, this might be a first time and you'll want to prepare yourself for it. Nigel's mentioned one very practical way of preparation, get some sleep. There's four excellent leaflets on that table on prayer. How to Spend a Day in Prayer by Lorne Sanney. Why We Believe in Extended Times of Prayer which was written by George Miley. Whatever Happened to the Prayer Meeting, another one by George Verwer. That's been published in magazines and as a piece of free literature in many, many languages and has been tremendously helpful to many people. And some of us are still struggling in this area of seeing money come in. A leaflet by George releasing finance through intercessory prayer. And then one of the real bargains of the conference. Absolutely free, these copies of the Westminster Record. It amazes me, they've been around for years and people haven't picked them up. Each one of these is a sermon by Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones. Certainly one of the greatest preachers in my opinion of our century. And it's absolutely free, you just have to go and pick it up from the table. Get the polythene bag as well and you've seen with the weather how useful that could be in the future. So make use tonight again both of the book table and the free literature table which is right opposite there in the corridor. Now if you read the Genesis account of creation you'll find that punctuating the account right through the account of these words God saw that it was good. But in Genesis chapter 2 and verse 18 you read something different. This time the Lord God said it's not good. Now what wasn't good? It wasn't good, said God, for man to be alone. God never intended that you and I should live isolated lives. Now some people attempt to live that kind of life in monastic seclusion. But we are simply not equipped to walk alone. Remember Paul Simon's song, I am a rock. He sang, I have no need of friendship. Sorry. I have no need of friendship. Friendship causes pain. When Paul Simon was singing that and believing that he was trying to become something God never created us to be. Whether we recognize it or not within each one of us there is a very powerful longing to create a deep relationship with at least one other individual. Now why is that longing there? You find some people fighting against that longing. They say, why am I like this? Why can't I be a loner? That longing is there because God put it there. Love comes from God, says the Apostle John. So the need for love, the need to be loved is not only normal, it's implanted by God, it's spiritual, it's human. Now a part of this powerful longing which God has put in us is sexual longing. There was a home in which there was a 13 year old boy and the mother in this home was very concerned that her son should be taught the facts of life. So she said to her husband, it's your responsibility, you get it done. He was very nervous and very embarrassed by the prospect. But eventually he plucked up courage and one day he said, son, please come to my office. The boy went along to his office at 10 in the morning. He locked the office door. He sat the boy down. He said, are you comfortable, son? Would you like coffee? Gave him coffee. Eventually he said, son, I think it's time we talked about the facts of life and where babies come from. And the boy said, yeah, dad, what do you want to know? It's a changing world, isn't it? Sex used to be a subject no one mentioned in public. Now on the television, in the newspapers and in conversation, it's one of the most common subjects of all. But why did sex used to be the unmentionable subject? There was a common feeling that sex was dirty and this is still a big problem among some Christians. Some Christians have a totally unbiblical view of sex. Now just try a little exercise for a moment. Ask yourself, was Jesus sexually tempted? When I ask that question to some Christians, I find they are outraged by the thought. But if he wasn't, you know what you're saying, don't you? You're saying that Christ had every emotion except the greatest emotion of all. He was hungry. He was thirsty. He was tired, but never touched by sexual desire. If your theology of the Incarnation is to be at all biblical, that's totally unacceptable. Jesus was a real man and he was tempted in every point just as we are. So you can praise God tonight that as Jesus sits at his right hand, he understands fully the subject we're talking about. But it's amazing how difficult some of us find it to get rid of the idea that sex is dirty. Joyce Huggett was the author of this book, Just Good Friends. Now sadly we don't have it on the book table, but if you can get your hands on it, it's really good. And in the book she describes an experience she had when she was actually writing it. She went to the island of Cyprus actually to think about writing the book. Must be nice. One day she was in the bath and there was an earthquake. She didn't realize it was an earthquake as she ran out of the bathroom into the living room. As she ran, the thought came into her mind, Jesus has come. The pre-millennialists were right after all. Jesus has come. And then this is what she says in her book. The initial sense of excitement evaporated. I looked down on my naked body. Oh no, he can't choose this minute to come. I'm naked, I'm naked. And I'm still dripping wet. The lesson for her was though that she'd been preaching about sex and about accepting your sexuality and accepting your body for years, she hadn't matured in that area. So what does the Bible actually say? As we've seen, your sexual desire and mine is God given. God made our body and that includes the sexual parts of our body. And so the physical pleasures of sex are designed by God. They're His gift to us. Now life itself is His gift. In His hand is the breath of all mankind. Salvation is His gift. We hear much today about the gifts of the Spirit. Well here is another divine gift to us. The gift of sexuality. The gift of sexual pleasure. I was once given a tremendous gift. It was a super car, free. Motor car, vehicle. But with that car came an instruction manual. I was told for example to put petrol in the petrol tank and oil in the engine. Now why? Was the manufacturer trying to restrict my freedom by giving me that manual? I could have responded, I'm not keeping to this. I'm going to put oil in the petrol tank and petrol in the engine. That would certainly have restricted the movement of that vehicle. No, the manufacturer wasn't trying to restrict me. He was trying to help me to get the maximum out of the car. When God gave us the gift of life, He gave us an instruction manual. He didn't give us this to restrict us in any way. He gave you and I this that we might get the absolute maximum out of life. If you look into that manual, you'll find that the Bible definitely restricts sex to within the marriage relationship. But that's not because sex is bad. That's because it's so good that it can only be fulfilled within that relationship of absolute trust and absolute confidence which is the basis of Christian marriage. All through the Old Testament you've got that great Hebrew verb to know, to know. Now the same word, exactly the same word is used to refer to both sexual intercourse and to the knowledge of God that we were talking about last night. And the reason is because both of those things, sexual intercourse and the knowledge of God require total commitment. So the gift of a sexual relationship was designed by God to be enjoyed within the total commitment of marriage. This is how Jeanne Andrews puts it writing to sisters. Sleeping with a man, she writes, is not enough. We want to really belong to him. We hunger for permanence. That's because that's the way God built us. That was God's design that within the permanence of marriage sex should be enjoyed. And so Hebrews 13 and verse 5 says marriage should be honoured by all the marriage bed kept pure but God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Now brothers and sisters if you want to live by God's manual you've got to be very careful at this point. You've got to be aware particularly of rationalisation at this point. Don't be like that couple who intend to get married and they say what difference does a piece of paper make? We're in love, we're going to be married, we're committed to each other. Why shouldn't we enjoy sex now? I want to ask you what makes a person married? Is it merely being in love with another person? Is it having sexual relationships with another person? No, of course it isn't. Under God and under almost every society in the world what makes a marriage is a public declaration. No two people are married unless a third person knows about it. So the marriage declaration involves the couple and the public. The couple declare that their love is mutual and exclusive. For the Christian couple of course they do this in the sight of God. But they must also do it in the sight of the congregation. And the public see this and they seal it. And they see that this couple are no longer available to anyone else. They're committed to each other. Now that's God's order for marriage. And he says because I love you and because I want the maximum for you in life my command is that sexual relationships should be limited to within marriage itself. Now I'd be very surprised if anyone in this meeting hasn't agreed with me right up to this point. Let's summarize what I've said and if you don't agree with me you can come and see me afterwards. What we said is that God made us with a deep longing for a relationship with at least one other person. We've said that part of that longing is our sexual desire. We've said that's a gift to us from God. And we've said that according to God's manual it's to be used within the marriage relationship. So what's all the fuss about? Why all these books? Why a message on moral purity? Well of course the problem is that all over the world and all over the church Satan has warped this God-given desire for relationship. And because of that some of us in this meeting tonight are finding it extremely difficult to cope with our sexual desire. And rather than being able to praise God for it we just wish long that we didn't have to constantly cope with it. This is how Peter Marshall put it. Next to hunger the most powerful of human instincts is that of sex. You can't escape from it. You're made that way. It pulses in your blood, sings in your throat, shines in your eyes. And sex will either be the nicest thing in your life or the nastiest thing and it depends on whether you use it or abuse it. Let's look at a question first. Why do we have to struggle with these problems? Maybe some of you tonight are going through torment for example over masturbation. And sometimes you cry out Lord, why? Why does this go on? And others are going through a different kind of torment. You know that God did give you this deep inner longing for relationship. But you find such relations extremely difficult and really you're a very lonely person. And you cry out to God Why? Why can't we just be saved and go right through to heaven? Well like all gifts, the gift of sex was given to develop our character. You know I give gifts to my children for exactly the same purpose. I was introducing some books to the English group this morning. And I got one of them mixed up. I introduced a book by Patricia Syngin. I bought it with real money by the way off the book table here to give to my daughter when I get home. Now I'm going to give her that gift to build up her character I believe in the message in the book. When my son was two and a half I bought him a cricket bat. Cricket! You don't understand cricket do you? I see some confused people. You know that could really hurt me personally. Being an Englishman you don't understand cricket. It's the greatest game in the world. And I want my son we could have a seminar on it. Yes Nigel and I could take that quite nicely. But I love cricket and I played cricket and I wanted my son to enjoy cricket as well. Now every one of you is either going to be given the gift of marriage or of singleness. Both are a gift from God and both were designed as we saw last night to conform us to the image of Christ. Marriage is given to some to develop their character in a particular way. Singleness to some to develop their character in a particular way. I could keep you here a long long time telling you how marriage develops character. Totally changes a person. In some very simple words. You know I I have very little time for clothes. So before I was married I would often have a blue pullover and a pink no not pink white no black trousers green socks grey shoes it didn't matter. And actually as soon as I get home away from home as you can probably see if you look more closely afterwards I soon revert back to the original way. Do you know when I'm at home I find that everything matches. It's my wife's influence. Before I got married when I got undressed at night you know you just take your clothes off don't you and you drop them by the bed. You know how you take your trousers off don't you fellas. I'm not going to give you any demonstration but you just you just allow them to drop and you leave them there. It is by far the most efficient way because next morning you step right back into them. You see marriage it changes things. And God gives the gift of sex to develop our character in certain ways. A gift which at some times can appear to be almost overwhelming. But he gives it to us because he loves us and he wants us to be like Jesus. But I want to assure you tonight that God doesn't just give you this this gift which can be an overwhelming desire and leave you without help. Help to control it help to channel it for his glory. So what is the great secret of controlling and channeling your sexual desire for God's glory? According to Jesus the whole key is your mind and your heart. That's what we saw in Matthew chapter 5 isn't it? Jesus shows us there that the problem is much much more than adultery. Jesus says as you've heard that it was said don't commit adultery but I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully he's already committed adultery with her in his heart. In fact the whole emphasis of Jesus in the sermon on the mount is on the heart and the mind. If we can win the battle of the mind we're well on our way to winning the battle of life. But if you lose the battle of the mind everything is lost. Now the instruction which the Bible gives for those who want victory in the battle for the mind is quite clear. You'll find it in Colossians 3 and I think it's so important I'm going to ask you to turn to it. You'll see it in verse 2 and you'll see it in verse 5. First of all verse 2 Set your mind on things above not on earthly things. That word set means fix. Definitely make a decision to put your mind on heavenly things. Equally you can see in verse 5 you have to put to death you have to be absolutely ruthless about other things. Whatever belongs to your earthly nature says Paul you have to be absolutely ruthless about. And then he gives us a list. Be ruthless about sexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and so on. I want to give you a couple of other scriptures please don't turn them up just write the notes down. Philippians 4 and verse 8 You know that verse whatever is true and noble and right think about it. That's a command of God. He said I want you deliberately to choose to think about these things. And then Isaiah has a marvelous promise for us. The promise is that God will keep us in perfect peace if our mind is fixed on Him. So there's a command and a promise. Deliberately to choose about certain things. To think about certain things. And God says I assure you you will have peace in your life. So if we want to be holy we must ask ourselves what is destroying the purity of heart and mind. Now maybe it's certain films it could be certain magazines it could even be a friendship. If you want to win the battle of the mind Jesus just says control what comes into your mind. Don't feed your fantasies. Put to death ruthlessly anything that's destroying purity in your mind. You must hunger and thirst for righteousness if you want purity in your heart. It was A.W. Tozer who simply said you will be as holy as you want to be. That's worth writing down and thinking about. But let's go a step further here. Not only should you and I be seeking victory for ourselves at this point but you should be earnestly seeking to help your brother and sister in Christ at this point. You see an unwise sister can really cause a brother to stumble in this area. And an unwise brother can do exactly the same for a sister. And if you're careful you'll find that this is particularly true on O.M. teams where you're often thrown very closely together. You have to be extremely careful. Now generally I don't want to generalize but often men and women are aroused by different things sexually aroused by different things. A man is normally aroused by what he sees. So you've got David on the rooftop you've got Bathsheba bathing in the wrong place and zonk that's enough. But women generally are much more aroused by relationships than by what they see. When a woman senses that person's taking a special interest in me especially concerned about me that can be very arousing. So sisters if you really want to help your brothers to be pure in heart you'll be careful how you dress won't you? If you all come in tomorrow morning with ankle length brown skirts I'll be devastated. Don't do it. Please don't go to extremes but please be sensible and careful. What about you brothers? How can you help? I'm really worried of extremes even as I make this point. You've all heard of the infamous social policy of O.N. I once visited an O.N. team it was a terrible experience. I don't know what manual the brothers had got this social policy from but it was almost as if if they walked into a room and there was a girl in the room they would keep their eyes tunnel vision they wouldn't look right through the room. We are very enthusiastic indeed about normal male and female relationships on our teams. If you've ever heard anything else it's wrong. The Bible speaks Proverbs 1st Timothy about brother sister relationships it's great in the body of Christ. And I plead with you not to get all uptight about this about this. Nothing can look more cultic than when people get uptight and crazy in this area. All I ask is just be careful. Think about your sister. The touch especially can be extremely arousing. That's just minister to one another in the days ahead. Let me just mention two further areas where I find lots of Christians struggling. Masturbation. Is it a sin or is it not? Can there ever be victory from it? Dr. Leslie Weatherhead was once asked is masturbation a sin or is it not? This was his reply. He said it depends about the picture on the screen in your mind at that time. Would you be willing to show that picture to the Lord Jesus without feeling any shame at all? But fantasizing is not the only problem when it comes to masturbation. For many it becomes an obsession. It can become compulsive or even addictive. And as such it's obviously a kind of bondage. It's holding you in its grip and surely no Christian can be content with that. The Lord Jesus Christ died. So it is blood was shed to set you free from all bondage. Another problem is that masturbation can be love turned in on itself. Sexual desire we've said is part of that desire for relationship. Masturbation is so often the cry of absolute loneliness. Is there victory? Yes, there is. I, like 99% of all men and 75% of all women according to Dr. Kinsey have struggled in this area. I've been through the obsession struggle myself. But gradually over a number of years the Lord gave more and more and more victory. And really you know it's like that isn't it? In all of our struggle against sin. We don't really expect immediate deliverance from pride and laziness do we? But for some reason we feel that God must deliver us now and forever more from masturbation. I think what we would want to say is get your masturbation problem in perspective. Don't minimize it but don't sensationalize it. And trust in God who can and does deliver. Now the other area I wanted to mention was homosexuality. Now the Bible has very strong things to say about this. For example 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verses 9 and 10. Don't you know says Paul the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God. Don't be deceived neither the sexually immoral nor the idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders will inherit the kingdom of God. That's one of many very strong verses on this subject. Now let me tell you of two personal experiences that I've had. I've worked with a number of evangelists over the years. Two of us traveling together around the country. When I was 18 and a half I went on my first evangelistic crusade with another evangelist. Long enough ago for me to tell you this story without embarrassing anybody. The first night of our campaign when we finished the meeting and we went back to the house to go to bed I was sleeping in the same room as this senior evangelist. He said to me look Peter I want to just talk to you for a few minutes. He said I'm 52 and I've been struggling with homosexual desire as a Christian for over 30 years. He said you could help me or hinder me. He said just be careful how and where you undress. That'll help me tremendously if you're careful there. You know that man was living in glorious victory. He wasn't yielding to temptation and God was using his life and his preaching to bring many people to Christ. Not too long ago less than a year ago I went to a church in England for a series of meetings. Last time I was at that church I met a young man in his early thirties. He was a fine preacher. One of the best Bible teachers I've ever heard. I was looking forward to meeting him but he didn't appear at any of the meetings. I asked one of the elders what's happened do you know where he is? No they said he hasn't been around for three months and sadly they hadn't been to visit him either. So I went the next day and I knocked his door and he came and I said Eric what's wrong? I've missed you the last three nights. He said sing you're asking come in and I'll tell you. He said I'm homosexual. He said I've never practiced as a homosexual but he said I've struggled with these desires for over ten years and he said three months ago I decided I wasn't struggling any longer and if an opportunity came for me to practice homosexuality I'd take it. He said I don't even know any longer whether God exists. If he does why have I struggled like this? Has anyone ever shared your problem with another Christian friend and he hadn't? For ten years he'd struggled and struggled alone. The difference with that young man and the evangelist I was working with was that the senior evangelist was willing to recognize his problem. He was willing to recognize that God could overrule and actually work in his life through it and he was willing to share his problem confidentially and carefully with at least one other believer. The Bible clearly and absolutely condemns homosexual practice but the Bible calls you and calls me to be immensely compassionate. Compassionate with the Christian who may be struggling in this area. I'd ask strong advice to you brother or sister if you are struggling in this area and I realize in a congregation of this size there are many many struggling in this area. Our advice would be that you would share that struggle carefully with at least one OM leader. It's not for the cause of gossip I can assure you. We kept in absolute confidence that we want to help. We want to minister in any way we possibly can. Well that's really about all I want to say. But what if you've fallen? What if you've fallen? Fallen into some kind of sexual sin? I guess there's no more guilt being carried by Christians some of it falsely than sexual guilt. I want to remind you of last night's story. Remember the man who came home and his house had been burgled? He got out his insurance policy. And he went right round the house wanting to know what items were covered by the policy. And we said that atonement is a word used in the insurance world. When Christ died upon that cross he covered, he atoned for all our sins. Everything is covered by Calvary. Now you talk to some Christians and they think everything but sexual sin. In those verses in 1 Corinthians 6 after that long list of sexual sinners which Paul describes for us. He says to the Corinthians and such were some of you, but you adulterers, you male prostitutes, you homosexual offenders, you are washed. You, you are justified. It's just as if you and I had never sinned if we confess those sexual sins to the Father. And so we want to plead with you not to go into this summer campaign without dealing with sin in this area. Don't go limping on from this conference into the summer campaign in defeat. You've got to be preaching a gospel of forgiveness. Are you experiencing forgiveness yourself? You've got to be preaching a gospel that Jesus satisfies. Are you proving his satisfaction in your own life? Can the gospel really be true for you if you don't get these areas of your life dealt with? I want us to close by just looking at that passage in 2 Samuel chapter 5. I want us to see how David fell and what he did after he fell. To see the beginning of David's dreadful fall into sin, you have to look at 2 Samuel chapter 5 and verse 13. Or is it 1 Samuel? No, it isn't. 2 Samuel chapter 5 and verse 13. I'm sorry, I'm very confused. Chapter 11, no, sorry, it is chapter 5, sorry, and verse 13. Not the Bathsheba incident. 2 Samuel chapter 5 and verse 13. That's where the defeat begins. In this 5th chapter, David conquers Jerusalem. And once he's established there, you can see what he does. Verse 13, 2 Samuel 5. After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem. Now later in the night, maybe, you will want to read Deuteronomy chapter 17 because there God lays down specific laws for the persons who were to become kings of His people. And verse 17 of Deuteronomy 17 says this. He must not take many wives or his heart will be led astray. Verse 16 says he mustn't acquire a great number of horses. He's also told that he mustn't accumulate great wealth, silver and gold. Now David in his battles was very faithful when it came to the horses and the gold. Very faithful. But when it came to the matter of the opposite sex, David chose not to live in accordance with God's manual. I don't think it's going too far to assume that David had a weak spot in his life. He had a chink in his armour and he wasn't sufficiently careful at that point and suffered the consequences. One of the first things we teach our children is about the fire, isn't it? We put a guard around the fire. It's dangerous. But sometimes in our spiritual growing up we're far less sensible. We all have weak areas in our lives and sometimes we don't put a guard around them. When David took these extra wives he wasn't being careful at a weak point and he got badly burnt. But what did David do after he fell? Apparently very little, nothing possibly. For nine months he lived with unconfessed sin in his heart. The baby was born before Nathan, God's prophet, came. It was only then that David repented and turned from his sins. Now how did David feel in those nine months? Nine months of unconfessed sexual sin. Well many people think that David wrote the 32nd Psalm during that period of his life. I want to just read verses three and four to you. When I kept silent my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. Day and night your hand was heavy upon me. My strength was sapped as in the heat of the summer. I wonder if there's someone in our meeting and that just describes your life tonight. You know what it is to have your spiritual strength sapped. You know what David meant when he said God's hand is heavy upon me. You know unconfessed sin did something to David. It began to alter David's character. Do you remember when Nathan eventually came to talk to David about his sin? He told him a story. The story of a rich man who had a great number of cattle and a poor man who had just one. He had just one ewe lamb, the poor man. One day a traveller came to the house of the rich man. The rich man bypassed all his own cattle and sheep and took the poor man's lamb and killed it to give a meal to the traveller. Listen to David's reaction to that story. David burned with anger against the man. He said to Nathan, As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die. If ever there was an overreaction in the Bible, there it is. The Old Testament laid down a very clear law for what should have happened. The person who did such a thing, the Old Testament says, has to give back fourfold. David says, No, he must die. See what unconfessed sin does to your life? It hardens your heart and your spirit. It takes away that sensitiveness, that compassion. Some of you know, don't you, that deadly process in your life. It's because you just haven't dealt with sin in these areas. Dr. Alan Redpath once said this, Dr. Alan Redpath, the quality of our Christian life is largely governed by the time lapse between our sin and our confession. A time lapse of nine months almost destroyed David. But eventually Nathan came. And when Nathan explained David's sin to him, his repentance was immediate and it was simple. He said to Nathan, I've sinned against the Lord. You know, I think the tears began to flow from David's eyes. He began to weep his way back into fellowship with God. You can see it there in the 51st Psalm. Read it sometime. He says, Let me hear joy and gladness. Let the bones you've been crushing rejoice. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. You can imagine as the tears flowed the joy returned. David once more began to enjoy fellowship with God and effectiveness in Christian service. So our appeal to you tonight is don't limp in to the coming summer campaign without dealing in these areas of your life. God, God loves you just as you are right now. And He's just waiting for some of you to come with your sin of mind and body with your guilt and lay it at His feet. And we trust and pray that God is going to deal in some of our lives tonight in that way. I'm going to close in prayer and I'm going to ask you to do something rather different tonight. After I close in prayer, I'm going to ask you not to talk. And if you want to, I want to ask you to very quietly leave the chapel. But if you sense that God has been speaking to you tonight and you want to do something about what God has been saying, we just want you to wait behind in your seat. Now maybe you won't need any help, you just want time to be with God and deal with these things yourself. But I've asked all the UN leaders, male and female, to come here about now. And they're going to be available if you want help just to sit with you and talk through any of these issues. So I'd really appreciate it if you would do those two things. Either sit, wait quietly in God's presence, or if you just want to go and be in your room, please leave quietly without discussing before you've left the building.