OPENING STATEMENT: What life would be like if we had no warning signs at all?

• Paying attention to a warning sign can save your life.
• Along life’s journey, God has placed lots of warning signs for us: Nature, finances, our bodies, the word.

So we must LISTEN VERY CAREFULLY to the TRUTH we have heard (Pay attention to the word, the warning signs), or we may DRIFT AWAY from it. (Hebrews 2:1 NLT)

• Drifting happens so slowly that sometimes you don’t even notice it.
• If you miss one warning sign, the tendency to miss another is even stronger.

#1 Warning: Abandonment of Duty (2 Samuel 11:1)

In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. HOWEVER, DAVID STAYED BEHIND IN JERUSALEM. (2 Samuel 11:1 NLT)

• Springtime was war time for kings. It was David’s duty and responsibility to go out to war with his men.

Why did David stay behind?

• Now the Bible does not give us any clear indication on David’s frame of mind, but we can easily reach into his humanity: tired, sick, injured, bored. How about this one? Too casual with his relationship with God.
• Could that also mirror our sentiments when we shy away from our duties and responsibilities?
• David drifted into making this decision by ignoring warning signs from the Holy Spirit.
• Rather than leading his men into war, David sent Joab to do battle in his place.

Lesson here for us: Don’t ignore the warning signs!

• If you are given a responsibility, you need to fulfill it.

#2 Warning: Act of Selfishness (2 Samuel 11:2-5)

Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace.

As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home.  Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message, saying, “I’m pregnant. (2 Samuel 11:2-5 NLT)

• The red flag or the warning sign: David selfishly stayed home.
• David selfishly misused his power and authority.

The lesson here for us: Don’t ignore the warning signs!

• Selfishness leads to disorder and evil practice.

For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. (James 3:16 NIV)

#3 Warning: Lack of Transparency (2 Samuel 11:6-11)

⁶ Then David sent word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent him to David. ⁷ When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab and the army were getting along and how the war was progressing. ⁸ Then he told Uriah, “Go on home and relax.” David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace.

 ¹¹ Uriah replied, “The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents, and Joab and my master’s men are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I would never do such a thing.” (2 Samuel 11:6-11 NLT)

• Uriah’s sense of duty and responsibility kept his heart pure.
• David on the other hand, abandoned his duty, acted selfishly, and now his lack of transparency is leading him to the dark side.

Lesson here for us: Don’t ignore the warning signs!

• Without transparency, we will ignore the warning signs.

#4 Warning: Destruction of Those Around Us (2 Samuel 11:14-17)

So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. The letter instructed Joab, “Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.” So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy’s strongest men were fighting. And when the enemy soldiers came out of the city to fight, Uriah the Hittite was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers.

(2 Samuel 11:14-17 NLT)

• David now had innocent blood on his hands.
• He destroyed many lives including the life of Bathsheba.

When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. When the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. (2 Samuel 11:26-27 NLT)

• Unfortunately, the baby also died
• The account here ends sadly for David

But the Lord was displeased with what David had done. (2 Samuel 11:27 NLT)

Lesson here for us: Don’t ignore the warning signs!

• Ignoring warning signs leads drifting. Drifting leads to death and destruction.

CONCLUSION:

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?