Motives.

Most of us are familiar with the story of David. He was the runt of the litter, but God called him to be the King. He was arguably the most dynamic king that the Hebrew people had ever seen. He loved God and was passionate about pleasing God.

Unfortunately, David's beautiful legacy was not completely untarnished. One day, as he stood upon a roof gazing over the lands under his rule, and he caught a glimpse.

Let me pause here for a second and remind you that being tempted is not a sin. God promises us in His word (1 Cor. 10:13) that we will be tempted. He also promises us that He will give us a way out. That may mean for your life that you have to leave your cloak (think Joseph) and high-tail it outta there....

That glimpse David caught of Bathsheba taking a bath on the roof (which by the way was customary, she wasn't trying to seduce anyone) was not a sin. That glimpse was a temptation. The sin came when he took a second glance instead of going back inside.

Isn't that true for a lot of us? A split second. A choice.



To take a second glance at that computer screen or to turn it off and get accountability.

To listen to the gossip about the disrespectful kid in your class or to turn and walk out of the teacher's lounge.

To say a disparaging comment to your husband after he hurts your feelings or not to speak from your wounds.

To break confidence about a friend in the name of "prayer" or to keep your mouth shut.

we'll get back to that stuff...



So David takes a second look and begins a pattern of sin that costs him his integrity and the very lives of two people. David doesn't even realize how far he has fallen until Nathan comes to him and says "You da Man." (Again, Lauren Intn'l Paraphrase) With the awareness of his own sin comes great sorrow and disappointment for David. You can almost feel his sadness as you read Psalm 51 in its entirety. It was written by David in order to ask for forgiveness from God for the things he had done.


10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

I want to talk with you about motives today. Motives, good or bad, are what drive our actions. When we allow the Lord to search us (Psalm 139), we often find that the motivations behind even some of the "good things" we do (like that so-called prayer request I mentioned earlier?) are out of a cluttered, impure heart. So as we seek the Lord, if we will ask Him to pull back the curtain on what drives our hearts, He will show us the places in us that do things out of a less-than-pure goal. As we fix our eyes on Jesus, he encourages us to pursure righteousness and set our minds on things above.

Ladies, (just hang on for a moment, gents-you might cheer) can I be honest with you in much, much love???

We have the same struggle that Eve had in looking to men for what we need instead of looking to Jesus. This rares its head in many forms, including but not limited to emotional manipulation and immodesty. We need to guard our hearts (Prov. 4:23) against impure reasons for wearing what we wear and saying what we say and doing what we do. David desired that heart-check and we should desperately desire it too. Check your motives with Jesus if there's a question...and girls, we know when there's a question, so chances are it's gonna be when you don't want to check your motives that you need to the most!


11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
There will be days that we blow it. In fact, I blew it a little today already, and I haven't even been awake that long! I want to encourage you, because even when we blow it, God's faithfulness does not come and go with good days and bad days. In fact, in Paul's first letter to Timothy we see that even if God wanted to desert us (which He doesn't) He couldn't because that would deny His character. He won't cast us from His presence! He won't remove the Holy Spirit from us. We don't have to sacrifice to clean up after our misbehaved selves, either. Jesus did the work on the cross...."He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we might be called the righteousness of God..."
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
What is the joy of salvation? Here, for David it's the knowledge that he has been forgiven and made right in God's sight despite his undeservedness. What is a willing spirit? I think it's a spirit that is willing to be yielded to God's motives and not our own devices. A spirit that longs for a pure heart and that seeks purity in all situations. A heart that is continually transformed (Romans 12:2).