MANIFESTO- Week 6: LUST

I remember a sleepover when I was a child...the stork... all agreed, we wanted to be married, we wanted to have kids, but none of us wanted to go through the messy awkwardness of sex.

I remember as a teenager me and most of my friends were thinking I’m not sure if I want to go through all that messiness of marriage and having kids, but you know, that sex part seems like it might be alright...

I remember thinking, I can’t wait until I’m married and then I won’t have to worry about LUST anymore...

I remember getting married, and how then, for the first time really, an appetite was awakened in me. And I never really struggled with lust UNTIL that appetite was awakened. And I knew that if I was going to have a good and Godly sex life, and if I was not going to be consumed and driven by lust, that I was going to have to go deeper, that I was going to have to go to God, and talk with Robin, and get advice from good men...

Now that I’m in my 30’s I’m eager to get to my 40’s because I figure that certainly by then I won’t have to struggle with lust anymore because my sex drive will have so drastically diminished...

Today we are talking about lust. We are working our way through Matthew 5-7, SoM, MANIFESTO. Jesus has begun walking through a change in life so powerful, so deep, so all encompassing, that it turns lives, and our world, upside down and inside out. A change so pervasive I have been calling it deep religion, although the better word is deep relationship. He is starting at the surface level of what religion has become. What has it become? “You have heard that it was said....” Jesus uses laws, or teachings form the law, to talk about contempt, lust, divorce, lying, revenge and war and peace. No Jesus says, i want to take you deeper in each. Deeper to the heart of darkness. He goes deeper and deeper and deeper- from the anger that lives in each of us, to the lust thats that it can breed, to the breakdown of what is supposed to be the unbreakable relationship we have in this world, to the breakdown of the truth of our own words and vows... deeper and deeper and deeper we go.

We could spend the rest of the summer going deeper, just like we could have spent the whole summer on the beatitudes. But today I want to tell you a story. A story that i can’t help but think that Jesus may have had in mind when he taught this message. A story that would seem so far fetched if it wasn’t in fact so common in or world. A story of a man and a woman who walks down this path of destruction, but who, at their darkest hour, are able to make a turn, and begin a long slow crawl back out- broken, battered, changed forever, but still alive, and eventually, able to even thrive. It’s a a scathing tale, but ultimately, one of hope.

I want to begin with the end- the inevitable destination that lust will drive us toward. Then we’ll work out way out.

The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4 "Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him."
5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity."
7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man!

The story of David spans the course of 4 books in the bible- from his first mention in Ruth, through 1 and 2 Samuel, into 1 Kings. David was the 8th of eight sons. In our time often the baby of the family gets special treatment. I know, I’m the baby in my family. It’s not a bad gig. Not so in ancient times. By the time you got to number 8 you were so far down the line in the peeking order, you were literally left the scraps and crumbs.

David is left to tend his family sheep out in the wilderness. With a sling in one hand to protect himself and the flock, and a flute in the other to pass the time, David was pretty much left alone to soak in the beauty of his surrounding, and to live in his imagination. He must have developed a wonderful appreciation for God’s creation and beauty, and a wonderful way with words, for later in life he would write some of the worlds most inspired, uplifting and well know poems.

David was minding his work one day when a messenger comes to bring him to his fathers house. There waiting, standing, was his father Jesse, his 7 older, bigger, stronger, meaner looking brothers, and a man named Samuel. everyone knew Samuel, the prophet, the boy given to God, the man who anointed Saul King over Israel. Before David probably even knew what was unfolding before him, his is standing before Samuel, and he is anointed king over all of Israel.

What a head trip- can you imagine what it would be like, as a teenager, a boy, to be told that you will be king over your entire nation? And to add to the surreal nature of this event, there is already a king in power, who has his own sons waiting to take the throw. Not only is he in power, he seems to have gone a bit corrupt, a bit mad, from the power of the throne.

Fast forward through the years- David learns of a giant named Goliath mocking God and holding the people in a grip of fear, and so he goes out to the battle field and literally slays the warrior with a sling and stone. He fame begins to grow. He becomes a servant in the house of king Saul. He takes the kings daughter as his wife. He becomes best friends with Saul’s own son. He wins victory after victory. Everything he touches turns to gold. It seems he can do no wrong. Everyone loves him it seems, except Saul. Saul get a bit jealous. I can relate to that.

David rises to power, but it is a long a rough road, filled with fighting, pain, trial and temptation. It is not until he is 30 years old that he finally takes the throne. He has followed this path well- he did not subvert the plans of God,he did not take short cuts, he did not take the easy road. He truly demonstrated that God’s spirit was with him, and he was a man after God’s own heart. But even a Godly man can have lusts.

It was the spring, the time for love, the time to plant in fertile ground, but also the time to take new ground. The Ammonites sacked a city not far from Jerusalem. The first punch had been thrown, and war was declared. But for the first time ever in his life David, King David, did not lead the charge into battle, but instead, stayed home, in his palace, in Jerusalem. Why didn’t he go? Who knows what all was going through his head. Maybe he didn’t feel well. Maybe he felt there were more pressing matters that he, the king should attend. maybe he wanted to empower Joab, his second in command, with more responsibility. Maybe he was just starting to enjoy the business lunches and comforts of the kingdom a little too much. Whatever the mix of maybe and reasons, he stayed behind.

And one night he got up from his bed, he went out to the roof of his palace, a common thing for a king to do to look upon his city. Many nights David would have walked his roof, inspired by the beauty of the city of Jerusalem,a city set on a hill with an awe inspiring view over the Promised Land. A view that inspired him to writes psalms and poems about the city built for God. Many night he would have come up to the roof to stand in awe of the moon and stars, countless as they are. But that night it wasn’t the beauty of the city or patterns of stars splashed across the sky that captured David’s eyes. His eyes were focused much lower that night, much more to the what might be found in the city.

That night a woman named Bathsheba was out on her roof. Bathsheba means she who takes a bath on the roof- her parents should have known better. Just kidding. David was shocked when he saw her naked figure glistening in the moonlight. He instinctively turned his head in shame for what he saw and what he began to think... He did no such thing.

When we are young the naked form holds no particular shame or interest for us. We are comfortable in our own skin and with our own parts. And we are comfortable with others skin and their parts. In fact, if there anything that the naked form evokes from the eyes of children, it’s laughter. There’s a certain silliness, a goofiness, a vulnerability to the naked form.

But over time our view of ourselves begins to change. Our view of others begins to change. The age of Aquarius so to speak. The age of awareness- and awareness of what the parts are there for. The awareness of what the parts can do, and the pleasure they can bring.

David was more than aware. He was now aware of his own position. His own power. And so that night he didn’t turn. And that night Bathsheba didn’t hide herself as well. For surely she knew she was a desirable woman. Sure she knew she was in full view of the palace. Surely she knew David had not lead the charge to battle this time. Surely she knew David’s habits, everybody knew David’s habits. And so the journey into the darkest places that human lust and desire can take two people began to swallow David and Bathesheba.

Who is she? David asks. Bathsheba, wife of Uriah. Oh, that must have hurt, for at least a moment. Uriah, not an unknown name to David. Not some nameless soldier, expendable, and replaceable. Uriah, who we find out later, was one of David’s mighty men, an elite group of men who had proven themselves extraordinarily gifted, strong, and above all loyal to David and God. There was an actual pecking order to the soldiers, and he was in the top tier. Uriah was in fact a trusted friend of David.

Still, David sends for her. She comes. They indulge the lust that has brought them this far. She goes home. And a short while later David gets a special delivery. It’s a little white stick with a window on the end and in that window he sees a plus sign. She’s pregnant.

What unfolds now is nothing less that the most graphic playing out of the consequences of lust at it’s worst. What plays out demonstrates the worst in David, the worst in Bathsheba, the worst in human nature, positioned right next to the best, most loyal, most trusting, most noble that any man could ever hope to be. The story gives all the sorted details. David sends for Uriah to come home from the battle field, to give a report, how was Joab doing as commander, how’s the battle going, what the moral of the men? Great job Uriah, you’re a good man, why don’t you go home now, spend the night, wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more. Uriah sleeps on the steps of the palace because no committed soldier would ever dream of sleeping in a bed and making love to his wife while his fellow soldiers are on the field of battle!

Uriah, wait, don’t go back, I have, uh, more I want to tell you. Have a drink while you’re here. have another drink, and another, and another, as many as you want. And again he sleeps on the steps of the palace.

Oh Uriah, you’re not going to make this easy are you. And so David’s hand is forced. What else can he do? He sends a message with Uriah for Joab. He delivers them just as he was told, just like a noble, loyal, fully devoted soldier would do. He delivers his own death warrant.

Bathsheba goes through the customary mourning period. David, noble, good, Godly king that he was, does the only honorable thing, he has pity on this poor widow, and takes her as his own wife, and she gave birth to a son. And the chapter ends with these words: “But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.” 2 Sm 11:27

And so Nathan says to David, you are the man. You have spun that tale of lies and deceit, of broken vows and and late night liaisons, of lust, and anger, and finally, murder. And the tale would seem far-fetched and far removed from the realm of possibility if only, if only we didn’t see it played out with different names, and different details, but with the same ending, over and over and over again.

“But why is it wrong if it isn’t hurting anyone,” we tell ourselves. And if only that were the case. But it is hurting countless lives. It is hurting men and women, young and old. It is hurting marriages and destroying families. It has lead to the downfall of empires.

What is lust...
Lust by definition desires what is forbidden.
The very fact that it cannot have it, feeds the lust even more.
It feeds it and drives it until it finds away.
And then we find ourselves doing things we woudl have never imagined.
Sneaking around. Hiding bills. Lurking in the shadows. Craving the cover of night.

Along the way lust exacts a terrible price.
Lust degrades the object of desire.
It turns him or her into it.
It takes removes everything messy for the equation- love, commitment, marriage.
It removes relationships.

Finally, lust degrades the luster.
It separates us form our emotions, our commitments, our relationships
It compartmentalizes us.
It creates 2 people living in one body

Lust is an appetite that grows when fed. Our body grows when fed. Many people will fool themselves and say I’ll just go on this one binge and get it out of my system. Sorry folks, doesn’t work that way. Indulge and appetite and it will only grow stronger.

Jesus drives us to the heart of the appetite. He says...
27"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'[e] 28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

I don’t want anyone here thinking that the solution to lust is to begin cutting out and cutting off the parts of our body that are involved. Because when you keep going down this path, to simply cut out and cut off any part of our body that leads us into sin we will cut our both eyes, and both hands, and both legs, and will still not cut our the problem. We will have to cut out imagination, as if that was possible. We would have to take this all the way to our heart, and say Jesus, Jesus, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to actually cut out my heart and give it to you so that you can I can be free from lust and sin?

Yes. That is exactly where Jesus is taking us. God says I look to the heart. And I know what goes on in the hearts of men and women. And if we are going to do something about this sin issue- the anger, the lust, they lying, the revenge, all this stuff, we have to go deep, as deep as we can possibly go, deep down. I need your heart. I need to change you from the inside out. I don’t want to treat the symptoms, I want to cut out the cancer.

Jesus says this is only going to work if you have a bigger picture of me, your God, if you have a bigger picture of you life and how valuable it is to me, and if you will embrace a kingdom perspective, a heavenly perspective. A perspective that says, in light of the relationship that jesus is inviting me into right now, in light of the kinds of relationships he is guiding me into, in light of the glorious riches of an eternity with God, this appetite is not worth it. It is just not worth my God, my family, my life!

And the great news today is that this is exactly what God did for David. At what could have been David’s worst moment, he turned, and it became one of his greatest moments. When he got busted, he didn’t lie or defend himself or laugh it off or go down that path of murder once more. He stopped. He repented. he confessed his sin. he fasted. He prayed. he wept. his life was forever changed. He was an adulterer now. A murderer. A liar. A deceiver. He was scarred for life and his family was scarred for life. He was never the same man again. He learned about heart change the hard way, and given the choice, given the choice, I can guarantee you he would have taken a different path.

Today I hope if you have not gone done a path of hard lessons learned, you’ll stay off that path. I hope that you’ll trust God with your heart and let him workout all anger and lust and lies and deceit before any of them destroy your life and the lives of those you love and your relationship with God.

But if you have gone down that path, can you just say today I’m busted. God has caught you with your pants down. God walked in and saw you on that website, he saw you watching that porno. He saw you in that hotel room. He saw you peering through that window. He knows what’s stored in the secret caches of your computer. Can you just say I’m busted and I want to repent, and I want a new heart, a new beginning, and I will do everything I can to make that heart change evident.

let God have you and change you from the inside out. let him do his work on your heart that he might root out every seed of lust that would destroy your love and your lives and the lives of those you love. Then make the outward changes necessary. Again, let me say, do not go to the extreme of self-mutilation. That is not the point. But Jesus does want us to go to an extreme.

If you need to confess, do it. If you need counseling, get it. If you need get to off the internet- get rid of it. Stop walking around on the roof at night trying to catch a glimpse, stopped taking baths on your roof at night. The evidence of a heart change is going to be changes in what we do with the lust and temptations that lurk in the dark. There are men and women here today that are walking rooftops and taking baths. If you keep walking long enough, if you keep baiting that hook, you are going to catch what you are fishing for. That door is going to open, that invitation will arrive.