Hold My Beer | Sunday, September 5, 2021

It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 11:1)

When we hand God our beer and say "I've got this," the results are as disastrous as any internet stunt—but David's story shows the way back to godly decisions.

A World With a "Hold My Beer" Mentality

We've all seen the videos that begin with someone saying, "Hold my beer." They hand it off and then do something idiotic and dangerous, usually hurting themselves or others. The world seems to have that same mentality, and unfortunately, even believers can fall into it. We tell God, "Hold my beer, Lord—we'll handle this our way," and it ends in disaster.

Look at the decisions being made around the world and in the news, and you have to wonder. We see policies and choices that lack God's methods, God's influence, and God's wisdom. The world needs Christian leadership—people who will avail themselves of God's wisdom, His word, and His methods. If we're ever to find a solution to the perilous times we live in, this is the period we're called to influence.

A Personal Window Into the Stakes

Before I was a pastor, I was actually an international arms dealer. Through the company we owned, we shipped firearms all over the globe, and the process was heavily regulated. We obtained an import certificate from a foreign customer, filled out the required paperwork—a form called a DSP-83—and submitted it to the U.S. Department of Defense Trade Controls. They examined the end user, the end use, and us as a licensed dealer, then gave us a yes or no. Only known, investigated entities received those arms, and they were tracked so they wouldn't be diverted.

So when I see the heartbreak unfolding in Afghanistan—over 600,000 small arms alone, plus tanks and more than 20 million rounds of ammunition, falling into the hands of a known terrorist group with no oversight—I understand the potential for world-changing disaster. It causes you to look up and recognize that we need the Lord, His methods, and His wisdom. Good people make bad decisions, and those mistakes don't just affect them—they affect all of us. If ever there was a time for Christians to step up and make good decisions, it is now.

A Man After God's Own Heart

David was a shepherd boy who loved God, communicated with God, and worshiped Him when nobody was watching. He was called a man after God's own heart—someone God loved deeply. He was also a man who made mistakes. He was called to great bravery, facing a giant in a way that made him famous throughout Israel. Like us, he tended to depend on God and rise to the occasion when he faced giants.

But later, as king, he suffered from something I'd call affluenza. Facing giants is one thing; facing success, comfort, and the absence of big challenges is one of the toughest spiritual battles we'll ever fight, because we drift away from dependence on God. We start to think we have it figured out. Hold my beer—we've got this. The incident with Bathsheba is the most famous of David's failures. He sees her, purposes adultery in his heart, commits the act, tries to cover it up, and finally resorts to murder—and still God knows and calls him out. I'm thankful God allows these mistakes to be written down so that you and I can learn from them.

Am I in a Place of Obedience?

Bible commentators agree that David was not supposed to be in the palace—he was supposed to be at war. So the first question when facing a big decision is: Am I in a place of obedience? You need to step back, look at your overall spiritual well-being, and ask whether you're fit and focused to make this decision. David clearly was not. He was off mission.

David was a warrior king, not a country club king. His fame came from slaying Goliath, and the people sang, "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands." His mission was to conquer, defend, and unite Israel. When people sent their sons off to battle with David, they had confidence because God's anointed king would be with them. We see this was his mission later, too, when David wanted to build God a temple. Everyone thought it was a great idea, but God stopped him, saying he had blood on his hands—he was a warrior, and that was his calling.

How Obedience Shapes Us

Our obedience affects our interior—how we view God and ourselves. Hebrews 10:26 is telling:

For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.

When we live in disobedience after knowing the truth, we carry a guilty conscience that taints how we view everything. We get a warped picture of God, seeing His commands as a burden rather than a blessing. It also impairs our judgment—like driving under the influence. Under the influence of sin, our judgment falls out of line with God's word.

It affects our external life as well. It's a refreshing thing to see a man or woman walk into a room and know they are anointed and appointed, blameless before the Lord through Jesus Christ. The enemy has nothing on them. People can see God's blessing on their work and conduct—not self-righteous, but righteous. "Wisdom is justified by her children." David exuded that confidence as a young boy, driving off a lion and a bear to protect his father's flock, because God had already built that confidence into him before he ever faced Goliath. Hebrews 11:16 says of the patriarchs, "God is not ashamed to be called their God." I never want to be in a position where God is, in a sense, ashamed to be called my God.

Am I Seeking and Heeding Wise Counsel?

David, idle in Jerusalem while others did his work, arose from his bed, walked on the roof, and saw a woman bathing. When he inquired, someone said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" That servant was trying to throw his boss a bone—using that simple four-letter word, wife, as a trigger to warn David not to go there.

So a second question: Am I seeking and heeding wise counsel? Proverbs 11:14 says, "Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety." Getting counsel before a decision is vital. One of the great blessings in my life is that I've always had good counselors. I've never seen it as a failure to ask advice from someone who knows more.

How do you pick a counselor? When my wife and I were raising children, there was no shortage of advice. I would seek out parents whose end product I admired—kids who were respectful, normal, joyful, and balanced—and ask what they did. And, frankly, I'd also ask people whose children were hellions, so I'd know what not to do. I cannot stress enough the importance of seeking wise counsel—from godly, experienced people and from God's word—in finances, parenting, marriage, and every big decision. Without a biblical method and standard, you will never get a biblically based, blessed result.

Am I in Agreement With God's Word?

David was warned, and he made a bad choice:

Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her... And the woman conceived; and sent and told David, and said, I am with child. (2 Samuel 11:4–5)

The problem just got bigger. So ask: Am I in agreement with God's word? For David this was simple. He knew the rules. Exodus 20:14 says plainly, "You shall not commit adultery." Exodus 20:17 says, "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife." Yet over the course of this story, David proceeds to break all ten commandments. He never intended that. If he had paused to pray and bring it before the Lord, he never would have done it—but he didn't take the time. He went with what was in his heart, and "the heart is the wellspring of life; guard it with all diligence."

Our decisions made in opposition to God's word have catastrophic results—for us and for our families, friends, and employers. God gives us His commands not as fences to box us in but as loving curbs to keep us on the straight and narrow. Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." God's word sheds light on the potholes we'd otherwise stumble over, sparing us and others much heartache.

Am I Needing to Repent?

When Bathsheba turned up pregnant, David hatched a plan. He summoned Uriah from the battlefield and urged him to go home to his wife, hoping to make the child appear to be Uriah's. But Uriah refused:

The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents... shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife?... I will not do this thing. (2 Samuel 11:11)

I suspect—and this is speculation—that someone told Uriah what had happened. People find it hard to stay silent about injustice by their leaders. Either way, God used Uriah's honor to press David toward a decision. And here is the question: Am I needing to repent? David could have confessed, apologized, and asked forgiveness, and this story would have turned out very differently. Instead he tried to cover his tracks and look good before others. But God knew.

In aviation there are the four C's, taught for when you're lost: confess the problem to the tower, communicate your situation, climb to get out of harm's way and improve tracking, and comply with instructions. That's good advice for repentance, too. Confess your sin to God and to those you've wronged. Communicate honestly, pouring out your heart. Climb—let your attitude match your altitude and take a God's-eye view. And comply—do specifically what God's word requires to make things right. Anybody can make a mistake; it's how you handle it afterward that reveals your character.

Am I Making a Decision That Will Affect Others?

David escalated instead of repenting. He sent Uriah back carrying his own death warrant:

Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die. (2 Samuel 11:15)

Uriah died. David took Bathsheba into his house and she became his wife. "But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord." On the outside, David likely looked like a hero, taking in a fallen soldier's pregnant widow. Inside, David knew, and God knew.

So ask: Am I making a decision that will affect others? David's choice affected Bathsheba, whose life was never the same; Uriah, betrayed and killed by the man he served; the servants drawn into a web of lies; and Joab, whose trust in his king was shattered. It affected the child who perished under God's judgment. And it cursed David's family for years—one son raped a half-sister, another murdered that son in revenge, and another later seized the kingdom and lay with David's wives in the sight of all Israel. All of it stemmed from this sin.

Our decisions affect people. Through the months of the pandemic, the leadership of this church wrestled with how to care for our people and our community. We desperately wanted to open, but we moved forward prayerfully, knowing we would affect others. We're part of this community, ministering to first responders and the public sector in Escondido. We wanted to represent God's care for the sheep, to be part of the solution and not the problem, taking the time to do what we believed God would do.

Am I Bringing Glory or Dishonor to the Lord?

About a year later, God sent Nathan the prophet with a parable about a rich man who stole a poor man's beloved ewe lamb. David's anger burned, and he declared the man deserved to die. Then Nathan said:

You are the man... Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword... Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house. (2 Samuel 12:7, 9–10)

David thought he had gotten away with it; instead God called him out, and his sin would be made public. So the question is: Am I bringing glory or dishonor to the Lord? Our reputation matters in the community and the world because God's name matters.

We can honor God through thankfulness—a thankful person is so noticeable and gives the glory to the Lord. Notice that David's sin looked obvious when it belonged to "someone else": the rich man did this "because he had no pity," no compassion. That was David's sin—he failed to reflect the compassion of our compassionate God. Our conduct as Christians says volumes about our Creator. What grieved God most was that David's actions gave "great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme"—his dishonorable conduct gave the world cause to speak against God's name.

The Only Answer Is the Gospel

So where does this leave us? If we've messed up, trespassed, and made bad decisions, know this for certain: there is forgiveness and grace in Jesus Christ if He is your Lord and Savior. These things can be gone eternally. That doesn't mean we won't face real repercussions, which is why we should put real effort into not transgressing in the first place. But there is eternal forgiveness, and we can go to be with our Lord.

Every generation thinks its times are the most perilous, but these are the times we live in—and the answer to the world's problems is Jesus Christ. We can spend $8 billion over 20 years and countless lives trying to Americanize and change other nations, and it won't transform a single heart. What transforms is the gospel. Where the gospel of Jesus Christ seeps into every corner of the world, there is no ISIS, no Taliban, no terrorism—because such things are foreign to a heart changed by Christ.

This is a spiritual battle, not a battle over arms and guns. The way we will lead people in the coming months and years is for the church to take up that one answer and move forward in it. The only way this world will be fixed is the gospel of Jesus Christ—getting that good news into as many hearts and minds as we can through evangelism and making disciples. That is what will change the world, and it is up to us to avail ourselves of the Lord, His methods, His wisdom, and His word to lead that charge.

God bless you. I pray you are refreshed, encouraged, and given direction. See you next week.