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| Rev Wendy Watson |
Sermon: The Temple of Pleasure Unveiled
Sunday 4th August 2013
Wesley Methodist Church
Calling a spade a spade
Speaking up for what is right
And telling us when what we are doing wrong!
Primarily: promiscous sex, adultery, fornication
And induced abortion (= murder)
Food
Entertainment
Bible Texts
2 Samuel 13:2
Proverbs 23:7
2 Corinthians 10:3
All too often sex, food, entertainment become our idols .
The truth about sex
It is more than physical.
It is a spiritual union between husband and wife,
in the presence of God.
Is a gift to us (husband and wife) from God.
But look at what Amnon did to Tamar.
She was his half sister.
He became obsessed by her
He must have fantasized about her.
He was love sick
He was LUST- sick
He was lust- CRAZED
He told his friend Jonadab about his obsession with Tamar.
Jonadab helped him hatch a wicked plan to trap and rape Tamar.
Stayed at home
Asked for food cooked by Tamar
Seized her and raped her.
"Its okay to have sex with her"
This was a satanic distortion of the truth:
One of the Hebrew words for sexual intercourse implies the mingling of the souls.
YET, in persuit of a hedonistic life style, seeking pleasure though sex, one playboy admits he remains tormented
Every TV show seems to reek of sex, with explicit sex scenes
Womens fashions: based on sex appeal
show more and more of the body
leaving little left to the imagination
Marketing of aphrodisiacs seems profitable.
Wanted it
Went out to get it
Don't care about the consequences!
There was a family precedence!
David wanted to have sex with Bathsheeba (Uriah's wife)
He wanted it
He went out to get it
He didn't care about the consequences!
But there was a costly price to pay.
Amnon wanted to have sex with Tamar (his half sister)
He wanted it
He went out to get it
He didn't care about the consequences!
But there was a costly price to pay.
He wanted sex with her.
He went out to get it
He didn't care about the consequences!
But there was a costly price to pay.WE are often guilty too
Want it
Go out to get it
Don't care about the consequences!
So much we sacrifice at the altar of sex
in worship of the false god
this idol.
We have momentary pleasure
We sacrifice our marriage
We sacrifice our relationship with God
Note the hedonistic paradox
Pleasure never satisfies
Love turns into hate
Amnon hated Tamar (after he had raped her)
more than he had loved her (before the fact).
We are not told why
Perhaps
Guilt?
Shame?
The bully now despises the weaker victim?
There is always a cost to pay for this transgression
The sacrifice on the altar of sex at the temple of pleasure
Tamar was ruined by Amnon's action
Amnon himself was later killed by Absalon (Tamar's full brother)
The father King David was filled with grief
(yet said nothing at each step of the drama: But that is another lesson)
There is indeed a high cost to pay for sacrificing at the altar of sex
David lusted for Bathsheba.
David wanted to have sex with Bathsheba
He did and she got pregnant.Uriah was recalled so that he could be blamed for the pregnancy
But Uriah refused to go home.
So King David instructed that Uriah be in front, in the thickest of the battle,
then the army to withdraw.
The ultimate withdrawal method.
Uriah paid the mortal price of David's sin.
David's son with Bathsheba conceived out of wedlock and in adultery,
was to die within a week
A television crime watch programme has a rewind section where the viewer is asked,
"Where could change of action/ behavior have altered the outcome?"
In the case of Amnon, perhaps he should have told Jonadab "shut up" when given bad advice.
Perhaps he should have taken Tamar's advice and asked King David for her hand in marriage.
But in each stage, he did not.
the choice is ours:
Do we choose God's way
or do we choose to follow the false idol of sex?
Abortion is a deadly issue
12,000 babies are murdered each year in Singapore
(Recorded reported numbers)
This is the result of worshiping the god of sexual pleasure.
There is another way
We dont have to choose idols
We can choose to hear God
To listen and to obey
To experience Him in our life
This is the ultimate satisfaction
Two possible responses today:
Perhaps you are guilty of the previous sin of abortion
Do not carry this burden of guilt anymore.
Come to the throne of grace
Confess
Be forgiven.
Perhaps you are guilty of worshipping the idol of sexual pleasure.
Break free.
Come to the throne of grace
Surrender this lust to God
Be cleansed.
Be empowered for joyful obedience.
Let those who are thirsty come.
The Lord's table is open
Let those who are hungry come.
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