Preach the word, preach the cross, preach redemption to a lost and dying world. Lift your voice, unashamed, of the gospel of His name. Well, it is a joy to be back. It almost seems that I need to introduce myself and because I've taken, if you don't know, I've taken two consecutive Sundays off and that's the first time I've ever done that since I've been a pastor. And I liked it so much I may do it again next year. But it is a joy to be back and looking forward to just this day of being with you all and our fellowship to come. After the service if you would take your Bible and turn with me to Proverbs chapter number one Proverbs chapter number one and if you are able If you would please stand as we read the word of God together Proverbs chapter number one and we begin reading in verse number eight The father says my son hear the instruction of thy father and forsake not the law of thy mother For they shall be as an ornament of grace into thy head and chains about thy neck. My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. If they say, come with us, let us lay wait for blood. Let us look, lurk privately for the innocent without cause. Let us swallow them up alive as the grave and and whole as those that go down into the pit. We shall find all precious substance. We shall fill our houses with spoil, cast in thy lot among us, and let us all have one purse. He says, My son, walk not thou in the way with them. refrain thy foot from their path. For their feet run to evil and make haste to shed blood. Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird. And they that lay wait for their own blood, they lurk probably for their own lives. So are the ways of everyone that is greedy of gain. which taketh away the life of the owners thereof." I want to speak to you this morning on this thought. When sinners entice you, when sinners entice you, you may be seated. May the Lord bless the preaching of His holy and infallible Word. 300 years before Christ, the Greek philosopher Zeno made a statement that he never dreamed would have become a powerful weapon for parents everywhere. And maybe your parents quoted Zeno's words when maybe as a child you talked too much. But Zeno said this, he said, the reason we have two ears and only one mouth is that we may listen more than and talk less." He said again, the reason why we have two ears and only one mouth is that we may listen more and talk less. Now if ancient Greece had been as noisy as our world is today, Zeno might have changed his mind and just covered up his ears, right? Well, listen, the Greeks of old, as we know, did not have the necessities of life that we have today that are so noisy. Things like the radio and television, things like the telephone and movies and planes and trains and automobiles, all those things. Zeno never heard of a jet airplane. He never sat for hours on end on a lawnmower or a tractor. Zeno never did he stop at a red light next to a vehicle that had the bass speakers turned up that it literally shook your vehicle Y'all know what I'm talking about And listen Zeno never spent a day at the Lynch household. I promise you that He never heard my toddlers scream at such a high pitch that it nearly breaks and shatters glass. He never did those things. But understand this, the greatest tragedy of life is not that some people get on our nerves because they nearly blow our eardrums out. The greatest tragedy of life is that there's so much noise that people can't hear the things that they really need to hear. I mean, listen, there are folks here this morning that will not hear the voice of wisdom today from God's Word because all you are hearing right now are all the things that are going on in your head that has nothing to do with what I'm saying. You see a similar situation existed back in ancient Israel when Solomon wrote Proverbs. God was speaking to the people in Solomon's day, but they were not listening. As you know, if you've attended here during the summer months, that this summer we have been looking at a series entitled Wisdom for the Family. And every sermon has primarily been taken out of the book of Proverbs. The word wisdom is the predominant word in the book of Proverbs. The primary message of the book is the call for you to get wisdom, to acquire wisdom, to get understanding. And one of the reasons we're preaching through this book and through this series of Wisdom for the Family is because life is made up of a series of making various decisions. Life is made up of a series of where you have to make various judgment calls. And because of that, we need desperately to hear the voice of wisdom. Now, I do realize that yes, most of the decisions that we make throughout an ordinary day are small and insignificant. However, there are other decisions that are big. And they're life-changing. They have life-changing consequences that affect our life or the good or the bad. But listen to me, if you cannot make wise decisions in the basic, seemingly small decisions of life, how are you ever going to make wise decisions in the big decisions of life? In Proverbs chapter 1, Here in verses 8 through 19, we really are hearing two voices. We hear the voice of wisdom that is based on reality. The father here, he's not telling his son what could happen. He's telling him what will happen. Sinners are going to entice you. So we hear the voice of wisdom that is based on reality, but we also hear the voice of foolishness, where they're acting out their feelings, they're acting out on their emotions. Wisdom's voice flows from the lips of a loving father. The other voice we hear flows from the lips of fools, where they are inviting this one to the ways of death and destruction. But God is calling us to choose a life of beauty, a life of peace. I want us to look at something and notice and understand that as we look at Proverbs 1 in verse 8, we must ask the question, just who are the sinners? that the father here is speaking about. When he says, my son, if sinners entice you, who are the sinners? Now we know the Bible tells us that every one of us is a sinner, right? Even the wise father who is speaking here is a sinner. Romans 3, 23 says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So who are the sinners that the father is warning his son against? Well, the structure of the word sinner is picturing a person or persons who habitually sins. He's speaking of someone who is a chronic sinner. We could say in the extreme, the word sinner here in verse 8 is describing the kind of person who is a professional criminal. Much like this person here in verse 8 who are the sinners, they're much like the characters in the old movie, The Godfather. They were bad dudes. But they are the sinners of whom we must be aware. And listen to me, they are out there. So what the father is saying to his son, beware of them, they're going to come to you, they're going to entice you. You will encounter them and they will entice you. I want us to find an illustration in the Bible. this morning of someone who was enticed by a sinner. An illustration that will help explain and expound this particular scenario of when sinners entice you. I want us to look at, in the Old Testament, 2 Samuel chapter 13. It should be on the screen. But it is a story and a very sad example of a young man who allowed a sinner to entice him. As a matter of fact, in the whole story in 2 Samuel 13, we find one of the most disturbing stories ever found in Scripture. It is a story that will deeply affect some of you this morning. There are five main characters before we read the story that I want you to notice. The five main characters of this story. First of all, there is David. We all know David quite well throughout the scriptures. He wrote most of the Psalms that we read. He was God's chosen king over God's chosen people, Israel. We do know that a promise had been made to this king by the Lord. The Bible tells us in 2 Samuel chapter 7, I believe in verse 16, it says, your house, God's saying this to David, your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. And we think about that God is promising here that David's kingdom will have no end. But then we read about and we know about his adultery and his really being responsible for murder and we get a little disillusioned when we think about the promise that God has made him. But that's the first character. The second character in the story is a young man by the name of Amnon. He is David's oldest son. When we meet Amnon, we cannot help recalling God's word to David in verse number 12, 2 Samuel 7, verse 12. God says to David, when your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, In other words, God saying, David, when you die, when they put you in the ground, I will raise up your offspring after you who shall come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. And so Amnon being the oldest son of David was the most obvious son who would inherit David's throne. The third character that we see in this story is David's other son, Absalom. Absalom was apparently the second oldest surviving son of David. It appears, as we read in 2 Samuel 3 in verse 3, that David had a second son, but it appears that his second son perished, died, passed away. And so Absalom was, by this time, the second, the son who was second in line to the throne. Now we must understand, we must know that Amnon and Absalom both were David's sons. But they had different mothers. And so they were half brothers. There's Absalom, the fourth character. that we're going to see is the name Tamar. She was David's daughter. She was Absalom's sister. And she was therefore Amnon's half-sister. A fifth character, a seemingly minor character, is a young man by the name of Jonadab. He was a son of David's brother, Shemar. He was therefore David's nephew, and that makes Amnon an Absalom, Jonadab's cousin. And as we shall see, he is described in the story as a friend to Amnon. But what we're going to see is that this story is so carefully and brilliantly told as it builds to a very sinful scene and as we see even the aftermath of it. Let's read it together. 2 Samuel chapter 13 and verse 1. It says, after this, Absalom the son of David had a lovely sister. whose name was Tamar. And Amnon, the son of David, loved her. Amnon was so distressed over his sister Tamar that he became sick, for she was a virgin. And it was improper for Amnon to do anything to her. But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shema, David's brother. Now Jonadab was a very crafty man. And he said to him, why are you, the king's son, becoming thinner day after day? Will you not tell me? Amnon said to him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister. So Jonadab said to him, lie down on your bed Pretend to be ill. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, please let my sister Tamar come and give me food and prepare the food in my sight that I may see it and eat it from her hand. Now, why would he do such a thing? Because he is allowing a sinner to entice him. The first thing I want you to notice with me this morning is that this story is a forgotten story. It is a forgotten story. We see that what we have just read, Amnon cannot sleep. He cannot eat. He can't think. And just like the devil's delivery boy that he is, Jonadab comes up to him and says, hey, what's wrong with you? Man, you are losing weight. What is up with you? You look so tired. Man, tell me what's going on. And Amnon tells him. And you just imagine that Jonadab just kind of laughs at him. And says, oh man, is that all? Is that what's upsetting you? Amnon, here's what you need to do. Here's what you need to do. As we saw in the first five verses, that's exactly what Amnon did. The Bible tells us in verse 6, 2 Samuel 13 verse 6 says, Then Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. And when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, Please let Tamar, my sister, come and make a couple of cakes for me in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.' And David sent home to Tamar, saying, Now go to your brother Amnon's house, and prepare food for him.' And so Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house, and he was laying down. And then she took flour and kneaded it, made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes. And she took the pan and placed them before him, but he refused to eat. Then Amnon said, Have everyone go out from me.' And they all went out from him. Then Amnon said to Tamar, Bring the food into the bedroom that I may eat from your hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made and brought them to Amnon her brother in the bedroom. Now when she had brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, come, lie with me, my sister. And she answered him, no, my brother, do not force me, for such things should never be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing. And I, where I could take my shame. And as for you, you would be like one of the fools in Israel. Now, therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you. However, he would not heed her voice. And being stronger than she, he forced her and lay with her. One of the most awful stories in all the Bible. No doubt many of you here today have never heard this story, and you may be thinking right now, I can't believe that the Lord even allowed this story to be written. But understand, the reason that it is, is because as Paul said in the book of Romans, that the Old Testament was written for our instruction. It was written for our admonition. And what we see here is that the Bible does not describe, it is not only just describe to us how life ought to be. It tells us in black words on white paper just how life really is. It shows us the fact that even in a godly home, family members can make some very stupid and downright evil decisions. As the old writer Matthew Henry said years and years ago, he was right when he said godly parents have oftentimes been afflicted with wicked children. And he said grace does not run in the blood, but corruption does. We see that truth here. Here is David dealing with something that he never thought he'd have to deal with. And here's a very terrifying thought. The faults and failures of parents are many times reproduced in the lives of the children. You see, good looks and brains are not the only things that are passed on from one generation to the next. As parents, we shape our children in many ways in our own image. And sometimes we take pride in that, right? But at other times when we think about our own weaknesses, When we think about those things that we know are weakness to us, it's a very terrible thought, terrifying thought, that those same weaknesses could be passed down to our children. But it's hard for us to think about something like this being in the Bible. Here is Amnon, King David's son, who lusted after his own sister, King David's daughter. Verse 5, we saw that he thought about what he wanted to do to her, but the Bible tells us that he thought it hard, or he thought it very improper to do anything to her. In other words, he was willing. In other words, he knew what he wanted to do, but he also knew what he should never do. Now the question is, why didn't he act upon it at the very beginning of this chapter? Why did he stop? Why did he think it was improper to do such a thing? You know, we live in a day where the motto is, if it feels good, do it. Right? That's the day that we live in. But let me say to you this morning, if it feels good, you probably don't need to do it. And if there's any doubt about it, just do without. If there's any doubt, just do without. But Amnon, he stopped at the very beginning. He thought about it, but he did not act upon it. Why did he stop? Well, I think there's a few reasons. First of all, I think he thought about his connection, who he was connected to. Listen, he was David's son. He was the king's boy. And when he thought about who his father was, it must have stopped him from doing what he knew what was wrong and dirty and sinful and sick. But he never would have done such sinful things. The Bible says, but Amnon had a friend, Jonadab. John and Deb was a very subtle man. He was a very crafty man. Another reason he didn't act upon his sinful desires because of the fact that at least he had some character about him. He had a decent moral character about him. He at least had some strength in his moral fiber to resist acting upon such things. And he never would have acted upon such things, but Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab. And Jonadab was a subtle, crafty man. Another reason he did not act upon this sinful desire at the start is because of the fact that he had a working conscience that warned him not to act in such a way that as he had a sense of moral awareness about him. So much so that he resisted acting out his sinful desire. And he would have stayed stopped. But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, and Jonadab was a subtle, crafty man. So it's a forgotten story. But we also see it is a very tragic story. It's a tragic story. First of all, we see it's a very tragic story As we think about Tamar, we see Tamar's tragedy. Notice in 2 Samuel 13 and verse 15. It says, then Amnon hated her with very great hatred after he did this thing to her. After he forced her, it says, then Amnon hated her with a very great hatred, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, get up and go. Now let me just pause there just for a moment. Now remember at the beginning of this chapter, Amnon wanted Tamar badly. I mean, so bad it is making him sick. But what happened from that point to verse 15? Why did he all of a sudden hate her? Well, listen to me this morning. You better be careful about wanting or desiring certain things that you think that you just cannot live without. Because the time may come when you despise the very thing that you are so desperately seeking after. That's what we have here. The Bible says that the hate that he had for her was now greater than the love he had for her. By the way, he never truly loved her. He just lusted after her. Big difference. So what happened? Well, it reminds me of Psalm 106, where it talks about how the children of Israel, they did not They did not heed God's counsel to them. And they soon began, as they were in the wilderness, they soon began to greatly desire the things they left behind in Egypt. And they tempted God and sought after those things they thought they desperately needed. Well, Psalm 106 and verse 15, Says this, and he or God gave them the request. But notice the conjunction. But. But sent leanness to their soul. Hey, listen to me this morning. Listen to your pastor. You better be careful for what you ask for. You better make sure that it is of God, because the Lord may actually give you what you always wanted, but you may end up not wanting what you got. Amnon got what he wanted, but he did not like what he got. We see that Amnon in verse 15 just snapped. I mean, he lost it. I mean, his words to her are so brutal and so rough. And when you think about it, earlier in the chapter, he said to her, come. But now in verse 15, he says to her, go. Earlier in the chapter, he said to her, lie with me. And now in verse 15, he says to her, get up. And let me just say that she wasn't the problem. Don't you think for a moment that she was a reason for his hatred towards her? It's not because of something that she did, that he hated her. No, here it is. The reason why he hated her, It was because of the guilt that he had when he looked at her. He knew that he robbed his own sister of her innocence. He knows he's messed up. He knows he's sinned against the family that he's in. He knows he's sinned against The Lord. He's raped his own sister. And when he looks at her. He sees his sin. But instead of hating his sin. He hates his sister. But do you see? Here in verse 15. Do you see that this is the way the devil always operates. You see, Satan never shows us the end result of our sin before we sin. He never shows us the destruction and the damage that our sin brings before we sin. Oh, listen to me. Oh, how I wish every person who is tempted to use drugs could see where using drugs would lead them. Amanda and I went to a young man's funeral yesterday, 37 years old. And I wish so badly that he could have seen his own coffin before he ever popped his first pill. Oh, but Satan does not show us the end result of sin. We must see the end result of sin by heeding the voice of wisdom. Notice verse 16. But she said to him after he told her to get out, she said, No, my brother, for this wrong for this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other of what you did to me. But he would not listen to her. He called the young man who served him and said, Put this woman out of my presence and both the door after her. Now she was wearing a long robe with sleeves, for thus was the attire of the virgin daughters, the virgin daughters of the king, with the king's, how they dressed. And so his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long robe that she wore. And she laid her hand on her head and went away, crying aloud as she went." Can you just hear her? Do you see the anguish that she's in? In verse 20 it says, And her brother Absalom said to her, Has Amnon your brother been with you? Now hold your peace, my sister. Here is your brother. Do not take this to heart. So Tamar lived a desolate woman in her brother Absalom's house. Did you catch really the tragedy that is seen in verse 20? Now Amnon has a sister that cannot or will not ever live a normal functioning life. The Bible says in the last part of verse 20 that Tamar lived or remained or dwelt alone in her brother Absalom's house. That means that she never fell in love. She never married. She would never have a child. Why is that? Because she was so emotionally and mentally and physically scarred by the sin of her own brother attacking her and assaulting her that it literally ruined her life. All because Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab and Jonadab was a subtle crafty man Now not all the blame goes on Jonadab But if he was a real friend He would have warned him against acting so foolishly So we see Tamar's tragedy. We see also here Amnon's tragedy The Bible tells us that Amnon himself is killed by his own brother Absalom. Absalom hates his brother so much because of what he did to Tamar that he takes a pair of sheep shears, which are like two long daggers, and he thrusts them into the heart of his own brother. And now Amnon goes to an early grave, all because he had a friend whose name was Jonadab, and Jonadab was a very subtle man. Then you know the story, Absalom then rebelled against his father. And I believe one of the reasons why he rebelled against his father was because David did nothing to Amnon. The Bible says in verse 21, that David was very angry with Amnon, but David does nothing. He does not do anything to Amnon. And in verse 23, it says that Absalom waits for two years. For David to act, and when David does not act, Absalom did. I believe the reason why David never took care of this matter with Amnon is because David lost his moral authority. How could he get on to Amnon for doing something so perverted when David himself had an affair with Bathsheba and even was responsible for Bathsheba's husband's death in order to try to cover up his sin? And if you keep reading throughout the aftermath, Absalom, his second oldest living son, is killed. Oh, listen to me. If I had one message to preach to young people, it would be this. You are right now, or soon you will be what your friends are. You are right now, or you soon will be what your friends are. Proverbs 13, 20. says, he who walks with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. First Corinthians 15, 33 says, do not be deceived, bad company ruins good morals. And listen, you go to any prison that you want to go to, and if you were to ask 100 prisoners, if you were to ask them, where did it all start? Where did you start going wrong? I guarantee you that 90% of them will say something like this. Well, when I was young, you see, I had a friend. You see, Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab. Jonadab was shady, so Amnon became shady. Jonadab was sneaky, so Amnon became sneaky. Jonadab was filthy-minded, so Amnon became filthy-minded. Jonadab was perverted, so Amnon became perverted. You show me your friends, and I'll show you where you stand spiritually. You show me your friends, and I'll show you where you are headed. Because right now, you are right now, or soon you will be what your friends are. Let me ask you a question this morning. Who's your friend? Who's your friend? Proverbs 18, 24 says there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. I'm thankful that Jesus was called a friend of sinners. Jesus is truly the friend who sticks closer than a brother, and blessed are those who have him as their friend. I love what John 15 and verse 13 says as Jesus is speaking here. He says, greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. And then Jesus said this, you are my friends. if you do what I commanded you. As we sing about this morning, it is so true. What a friend we have in Jesus. You say, Brother Wade, why in the world was this story written for us today? Why was it placed into the canon of scripture? Listen. The same reason any story has been recorded in Scripture. It was written for our good. It is profitable. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3, verse 16, that all Scripture is what? Profitable. All Scripture. You say, Brother Waite, how is this story so profitable? Well, I believe there are very obvious reasons why this story is so profitable for us. even as unpleasant it is to hear it. One reason it is profitable is because it gives us a glimpse as to what sin can do. Do you know it is a grace that God gives us when He allows us to see the outcome of sin? It's a grace that God allows us to see this picture of what sin can do, the damage and the destruction it brings. We also see in this story the profitability of knowing how deceptive temptation can be, especially sexual temptation. Listen, you better be careful. You better be careful. The Bible says, can a man take fire into his bosom and not be burned? It's a rhetorical question. We see here in this story also the profitability as we see the deafness of Amnon. Amnon was deaf to reason. in his determination to satisfy his sinful desire. We also see here the misery that it brought to everyone, not just Amnon, not just Tamar, but really the whole household of David. And so it is a story that is written for us by God for us to look and to learn. Look and learn. Hey, friend, listen, this is God's world. We are God's creatures. And what we learn in this story is that if we defy God's ways, we will reap the horrible consequences that fall upon ourselves and upon others. We also learn that we're free to choose. But we're not free to choose the consequences of our choice. Look and learn. As we keep reading in the chapters, if you were to keep reading throughout the chapters that follow, you see David's entire family being torn apart by the hatred that is unleashed by this terrible, in this terrible episode. And when you think about it, has there ever been a family that was so wrecked by hatred and violence than by King David's family? And will anyone here tell me today, will you tell me that it has nothing to do with the fact that David was an adulterer and a murderer? It's a warning. Look and learn. Parents, you better look and learn. You better read and heed. Listen, if you care for your children, and God knows David did so, and probably to a fault, but if you care for your children, then guard your own integrity. Guard your own truthfulness and character. I mean, you look at how the earlier wickedness of David seems to have produced a weakness in him teaching and raising his own children. He loved his sons, but he seemed powerless to curb their wickedness. Well, listen, the scriptures are not only meant to be profitable in teaching us Very vital life lessons. But they are also, as the Bible tells us, able to make you wise unto salvation through Jesus Christ. Listen, as awful as this story is, the Lord kept his promise to David. He restored David. He cleansed David from his sins. And God promised David, as I said in 2 Samuel chapter 7, that the Messiah would actually come out of the lineage of David. And the Bible tells us in Matthew chapter 1 and Luke chapter 3, as we look at the genealogical records, that the genealogical proof there is that Jesus was a direct descendant of David. Matter of fact, Jesus himself said in Revelation chapter 22 and verse 16 that he said, I am the offspring of David. As we hear this awful story of David's son Amnon, we are amazed that God's promise concerning his kingdom has still been fulfilled. Who is the ultimate son that came out of the lineage of David? Jesus Christ, the ultimate son of David, Jesus Christ has come. And listen, he did not inherit. His father, David's flaws, he did not inherit his father, David's failures. No, listen, he came to call us into a kingdom where corruption. Even like that of Amnon can be washed clean. So we learn from this story that no matter how dirty your past is, God can save you and wash away your sin record. I'm going to close by reading this verse. First Corinthians chapter six, verse nine. Paul is writing and he says, do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? He says, do not be deceived, neither the sexual immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. But notice what it says. It says, but such were some of you. In other words, he's speaking to people that have been saved out of that. He says, but you are washed. You were sanctified. You were justified. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the spirit of our God. The profitability of the story. that the scripture is written and it is able, we're able to see the example of salvation. If you're here this morning and you know not the Lord Jesus Christ, you need to come to Him today. If you know that the Holy Spirit is dealing with your heart about this thing of salvation, you need to come, humbly bow yourself before His Lordship. Repent of your sin, turn from your sin and turn to Him by faith. You need to do that. If you're here and you are in sin, You better heed this story. I don't care if you're a young person or an old person. If you're here in sin, it's not going to end well with you. It's not going to end well with your family. You need to come and repent. And young people, listen to me, you're going to be starting school in just a couple of weeks. You better watch your friends. You better be careful who your friends are. Very important. Let's pray, our Father. I pray, Lord, that you would use this forgotten and tragic story for your glory this morning. Lord, as we had talked about, the scriptures are written and to make us wise unto salvation. And father, I pray. That Lord, those that are here that. Do not know your son, Jesus, that they would come today. And be saved. Father, I pray for our young people. Oh God, I pray that you'd build a hedger protection around them. We know Satan's desire is to sift them as wheat. So God, I pray that they would heed the voice of wisdom. Every parent here, we take to heart the heartache and the pain that David went through. Father, we pray that you just bless this time of response. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Lift your voice, I'm ashamed Of the gospel of His name