Putting Away Our Childishness

Have you ever seen a misbehaving child? I don't know. We just don't see those anymore, do we? My children never misbehaved. And certainly I didn't. Mother had another word for it. But anyway, I'm sure we have all seen children, and we have probably been one of those children who have misbehaved. It happens. You know, oftentimes, I still see it, oftentimes, though, while shopping or at parks or waiting rooms, I've seen parents with their children.

And maybe you're like me, and I recognize who's really in charge. It's the children. The children oftentimes are in charge of the situation. And so often, I've seen children acting up, whining, fussing, squalling, because they want something. Maybe they want a toy. Maybe they want a cookie. And mommy and daddy often, not always, but often cave in and let the child have its way. It's not uncommon.

Sometimes I've done it, and maybe you've done it, too. It happens. We're human. And we can't really handle so much squalling. You know, one of the best things about shopping with my kids, especially when they were little, was the chance to see another kid acting all spoiled and bratty. It was really kind of fun. My two would be staring at the spoiled kid with their mouths all open in a gape, like a codfish.

They couldn't believe what they were hearing and seeing. Then they'd look up at me and I'd look down at them, and I'd say the classic phrase, Don't you ever act like that! Am I the only one that did that? No. A curse name. And they'd nod their little heads, yes. And on we go. And that was the best lesson ever in teaching my children how not to misbehave. But in recent years, we might wish if only people in general would stop behaving like spoiled children. Unlike popular sayings, eating sweets of themselves will not spoil you.

Neither will buying a new car or being treated with kindness spoil you, per se. However, always getting what you want and always having your way, that will spoil you. That will spoil our children. What is the meaning of being spoiled? Well, to be spoiled means to have our desires fulfilled without any restraint. It means to get whatever we want, whenever we want. To be spoiled oftentimes requires that one's desires be indulged or pampered by others. And so, typically, we have heard of children spoiled or pampered by their parents, or even by their grandparents.

However, it shouldn't take too much thought to realize that we can also spoil ourselves, can't we? We can also spoil ourselves, pamper ourselves with whatever it is we strongly desire or even covet. In fact, perhaps the essential element of childishness or of acting like a child is to get what we want and always to get what we want. Now, before we nudge our spouse or give our children that special knowing look that we have, and before we even begin to cast our thoughts towards somebody else's kids, there's no need to do that.

My message today is not a parenting sermon per se, although it does relate to parenting. And though we'll consider being spoiled in childishness, this sermon is for all of us individually. Adults, teens, and children. It's for all of us. My purpose today is to clarify for us the childish aspects of our human nature.

I want to clarify for us the childish aspects of our human nature so that we might better identify and resist our own spoiled in childish ways. Have you ever thought of that? We might better identify our own spoiled in childish ways. Now, again, what makes a person spoiled? The person, even us, becomes spoiled when we always get what we want, or with very little restraint. But when that happens, it ruins one's character.

Always getting what we want inevitably will ruin our character. Indulgence and pampering of our every whim and desire, you see, is exactly what our carnal human nature wants, doesn't it? Don't we always want to be happy and feel good and be content? But when others or even ourselves continually give in to our desires, then our character is weakened in damage, and we can become very miserable and very miserable for others to be around as well.

But far more critical than that, spiritually speaking, being spoiled will keep us from achieving salvation. Being spoiled will keep us from achieving salvation. So just as much as we dislike spoiled behavior in children, so God does dislike it. God dislikes seeing spoiled behavior, and especially in those whom he has called. We need to grow up spiritually. That spoiled human nature exists within each of us and within every human being.

And whether we're young or old, God's desire is to help us learn to rule over it, so that we might be happier in our lives today, and especially in the kingdom of God. In the book of Romans, and you could be turning there to Romans chapter 1, in the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Rome of his day, describing in summary fashion the way of humanity. And nothing about humanity has really changed at all in the nearly 2,000 years since Paul first transmitted his words.

In short, Paul warns against blindly following the ways of humanity apart from God. Let's read a little bit, the whole chapter is so very rich in details and warning. Let's read Romans 1 and verses 28-32. Paul wrote, They are whispers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful, who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them. And there we stop.

Now, perhaps today, more than any other time since the flood, we see more and more people blatantly flaunting their ungodly behavior while demanding that whatever they desire be wholly accepted and even celebrated by everyone. We've heard a little bit about that in the sermonette today. We now live in a nation which increasingly supports indulging the sinful whims and desires of the people.

It's only been over the last two years. It seems longer than that some days. But over the last two years alone, we've witnessed the legalization of same-sex marriage, the advance of transgender issues on many fronts, and even as the news item today mentioned, they're coming after all the conservatives that are bulking at the idea. We see more states now legalizing the sale and use of marijuana. And then there's also the selective cherry-picking, I call it, the cherry-picking of which laws of the land they're going to enforce and which they're going to ignore.

Justice. And as far as I know, on this very day, Oregon, the state of Oregon, is preparing to enact a law that would enforce I'm reading now from the National Review, Oregon is preparing to enact a law that would force all Oregon insurers to cover abortions, whatever the reason, and at no cost to patients.

It's known as free abortions upon demand. And they're just waiting the governor's signature, and she has already expressed that she will sign it. Just over the last two years. And so it's difficult not to believe, isn't it, that whatever the loudest, most strident, and most politically correct voices in our society demand nowadays, that they will inevitably get it, just like a spoiled child. Their every demanding and their every receiving epitomizes the very meaning of spoiled.

The moral qualities of our nation and its people are being permanently damaged, just as if it were a child being spoiled by its well-meaning parents. And sadly, our nation is increasingly a nation of childish adults who we know, they do not know what they do. They really don't understand the depth of the terrible things they are doing. It's critical, then, that we especially not give in to the world, that we not give in to its carnal ways.

We must be spiritually mature, even as those around us become less mature and increasingly defiant of God, and of all God's ways. If you turn with me to 1 Corinthians 13, verse 11. I hear the Twitters of a little child out there. He's not spoiled, is he? No, I know he's not. In 1 Corinthians 13, verse 11, Paul makes a statement here that I'm sure we all recognize. 1 Corinthians 13, verse 11, Paul states, When I was a child, I spoke as a child.

I understood as a child. I fought as a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things. According to the context of the larger chapter here, chapter 13, Paul is not directly addressing a true need of ours, our need to grow up, but he's actually making a comparison.

In the larger context of this verse, Paul is saying that just as what we know now as adults is so far beyond what we knew as mere infants, so is what we will know of God and his kingdom then compared to what we understand now. It's that depth of distance. It's that depth of distance between what we can understand about the kingdom now and what we will finally grasp of it then.

But we've got to grow from childhood to adulthood. We will not be a part of God's kingdom if we do not remain committed to God, if we do not grow and mature spiritually, continually striving against Satan and the world's influence. And we have got to resist our carnal human nature and allow God's nature and Jesus Christ, that new man in us, to rule in our hearts and our minds through his Holy Spirit. That's our commitment at baptism. With society's push to ruin itself like a spoiled child, though, each of us, no matter how young or old you are, we each need to consider whether we ourselves are behaving like spiritually mature adults, or perhaps unbeknownst to us, we're behaving more like spoiled children.

Now, of course, if you're a child, then being a good child is most appropriate and expected, isn't it? But for adults to be childish, that is not something to admire, either in ourselves or in others. So, what behaviors indicate whether or not one is a childish adult?

Hence, I gave you a handout, and that's the point we're coming to now. Now, we each may have our own opinions about what makes an adult childish or immature or not, but doctors and psychologists, therapists, MDs, school teachers, and many others have been trying to define some common behaviors that help to identify, not just based on opinion, but by actual behavior, behaviors known as being childish for adults.

And so, I've created a list. There are many other items. I only have eight items here. I've narrowed it down from many, down to eight, strictly for the purpose of this sermon. If you get online, you're going to find shorter lists, longer lists, and all that. But here, I want to share with you eight behaviors of a childish adult, and then I've included a brief description for each.

I'm going to go ahead and go through this for those of you at home or listening later. I did this as a service to you, so you don't have to madly get writer's cramp and hurt your fingers typing, and you can listen a little bit more and think about a little bit more what I'm going to read here in this list.

Eight behaviors that identify a childish adult. Let's think about these as I go through it. The first behavior, behavior one, of a childish adult is emotional manipulation. What each item does is sets up what children do, contrasts with what adults do, and then we can decide, are we doing more of the adult thing or more of the child thing?

It's very helpful. Emotional manipulation. Young children often cry, get mad, look petulant, and pouting. They pout. But adults sell them due. That's not what adults do.

Behavior two. These are brief items. Behavior two. Childish adults blame others. They blame others. When things go wrong, young children look to blame somebody else. Sometimes it's the dog. The dog did it, right? Or, I don't know why I did it. They try to find blame elsewhere. So children look to blame someone, but adults look to fix the problem. They try to come to a resolution. Third behavior. Third behavior is lie, L-I-E, or hide. Childish adults will lie or hide. Of course, we know children might lie to stay out of trouble. They often run or hide away. One of the terrible things about children in a fire, they get scared. Do you know where they hide? They hide under the bed or in a closet. They don't know what to do. They have that immediate response, the fleeing response. The children might lie to stay out of trouble or simply run or hide away. But adults don't do that. Adults deal with reality. And they don't lie. They reliably speak the truth.

They reliably speak the truth. Behavior four, childish adults have poor impulse control. Impulse. They've got to do things. Children, for example, strike out impulsively when they feel hurt or mad without ever pausing to think about the potential consequences. That's why fights in the playground can happen so quickly. You scuff someone's shoe and all of a sudden there's a big fight. But I've seen it not just in little children, I guess I should add. Adults, on the other hand, know how to control their impulses. Adults will pause. Adults will calm themselves. They'll resist that impulse to retaliate, to strike back. And they'll think through the problem. Behavior five is called bullying. A child will use its physical strength or embarrassing information or even its popularity with others to control, to harm others. I've seen children threaten each other that way. It's called bullying. And, of course, if you're a parent with kids in school, you've probably heard a lot about it in handouts and all that. It's a major problem in our schools, they tell us. On the other hand, adults do not bully others. Adults respect boundaries. The idea being, yours is yours, I respect yours, and mine is mine. You respect me. That's the way grown-ups behave. Behavior six, we've probably heard this word before. We've heard sermons on this. Narcissism. Behavior six is narcissism. It's understandable in children. Children tend to focus on themselves. Behaviorally, that's where they're at. Certain age, and they grow out of it. Children tend to focus on themselves. That's why whatever they want, they take it. They just grab it. It doesn't matter if they already have six cookies on the plate, they're going to grab another one. It's all about me as a child. It's all about me. Of course, adults listen to others. Adults will seek to understand. An adult will know and practice that idea that it's not all about me. It's not all about me. In fact, to begin to understand, it's about us. Sometimes it's about you. Behavior seven. Childish adults have immature defense mechanisms. They have immature defense mechanisms. Children will tend to attack anyone who expresses a viewpoint different from what they want. If they don't hear what they want, they don't get what they want, they're going to let you know about it. Another one of the child's defense mechanisms is denial. A child will flat out say, I didn't say that. I never did that. When in fact, they did say and do that. We might even have seen them do that. But that's what children do. That's what children do. Adults, on the other hand, use defense mechanisms such as listening. They will actually listen to other people's concerns as well as listening to their own concerns. They will then engage in collaborative problem solving. That means they get together and try to come out with an equitable, reasonable solution to the problem. Then Behavior 8. This one is called the Observing Ego. The Observing Eagle, the idea of watching and learning. Children, we are told, children who have not yet developed a sense of right and wrong, so these could be very young children, children who have not yet developed a sense of right or wrong or of good or bad, may observe their behavior as normal. It's just what it is. This is all they know. It's neither good or bad. They're just doing it. They're too little to understand yet what grown-ups do about right and wrong, appropriate behavior. When adults, on the other hand, behave inappropriately, adults will use hindsight. They'll use their hindsight to realize that their behavior was inappropriate with their value system.

Really mature adults will recognize they need to fix what they did wrong. They need to repent. They need to make it right.

These are eight items. There are others. These are eight behaviors. Eight behaviors that are common to childish adults or to adults, you might say, who are emotionally immature. I'd encourage us to think about these eight behaviors. I do. I've thought about them. As we think about these, we might notice that we may have some of those issues. What I hope we'll see is that we used to, and we've grown beyond that. Perhaps we see something we might help our own children to deal with or people we love. Information is power. Knowledge is power. We can use it for very good use. But as we look at these eight behaviors and think about them, as you think about them, you might also notice that most, if not all, are rooted. Are they not? Are they not all rooted in our carnal human nature? A lot of them relate to how we react carnally, selfishly. Typically, most of these are things we need to be repenting of when we do behave that way, especially if we're old enough, mature enough to know better. Does the Bible record any examples of adults behaving like children? Any childish adults there? Sure. Quite a few, actually. Let's turn to a few examples. It's always good to do the telling part. Now let me show you a bit of what God has made sure is recorded for us to learn from. Let's turn back to 1 Kings 21. If I were to ask you, can you give me an example of what you've learned from the Bible? I asked myself that question. This is the first person I thought of. Perhaps you did, too. In 1 Kings 21, we find the account of Ahab. King Ahab. Ahab was king of the northern tribes of Israel. Ahab was king of the northern tribes of Israel. Ahab was king of the northern tribes of Israel. King Ahab. Ahab was king of the northern tribes of Israel.

The story goes here, an account. It wasn't a story, it was a historical account. The account goes that King Ahab once desired the vineyard of his neighbor. His neighbor's name was Naboth. He wanted his vineyard because Ahab wanted to plant a vegetable garden. Interesting. Kings back then had gardens. Naboth, however, politely, I'm sure, refused the king's offer because the vineyard belonged to his family. It was part of the family's inheritance. He could not sell it. Let's look at 1 Kings 21, verse 4.

How did Ahab respond to this rejection?

He was told, essentially, No. No, you can't have it. Verse 4. So Ahab went into his house, stolen, and displeased, because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him. For he had said, I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers. And Ahab lay down in his bed and turned away his face and would eat no food. And we all can do a little collective awe. Now the New English translation reads this way. This is the New English translation. So Ahab went into his palace, bitter and angry that Naboth the Jezreelite had said, I will not sell to you my ancestral inheritance. He lay down on his bed, pouted, and would not eat. Yeah. King of Israel pouting like a little child. It was a childish response for an adult, especially a king, to have. Now I don't know if any of you have seen this movie or your kids probably have.

Ahab reminds me of a character in Walt Disney's movie. Here's the animated movie Robin Hood. There's a movie Robin Hood. In that movie, the children may know it, all the characters in that movie are animals. And there's a mean old prince there, Prince John, and he's a terribly spoiled lion. And Ahab reminds me a lot of that character in that movie. Prince John in the movie always must have his way. And when he does not, you see that? Remember what he does? He throws a temper tantrum. He pouts, and he holds his ear like this, and he sucks his thumb and says, I want my mommy. That's in the Disney movie Robin Hood. We always get a kick out of it because kids and I, we could easily see, what a great example of somebody that's acting spoiled like a little brat. It's actually a good service they provided to children in that movie, in that part of it anyway. Ahab strikes me as acting much the same way. But of course, Ahab's childish response would really be silly and quite cartoonish as well, if he and his wife Jezebel not been so terribly wicked and just evil. Let's look at verse 5-7. When Jezebel his wife came to him, and said, but Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, Why is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food? And he said to her, thinking to mommy again, because I spoke to Naboth, and Jezreel lied, and said to him, Give me your vineyard for money, or else if it please you, I'll give you another vineyard for it. And he answered, I will not give you my vineyard. Well then Jezebel his wife said to him, You now exercise authority over Israel. Well arise, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful. I will give you the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreel lied. So here comes his wife to the rescue. She's an enabler and enabler. Verses 8-13 go on to explain how Jezebel twisted the law, Jezebel twisted justice in her own malicious way so that her precious Ahab could get what he wanted. And with the help of false witnesses, she had Naboth accused of blaspheming God and of blaspheming King Ahab. Thereupon Naboth was quickly executed by stoning.

He was quickly executed by stoning. Now in verse 15, And then it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Ahab, arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreel lied, which he refused to give you for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead. And so it was when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreel lied. Ahab got what he wanted. He got what he wanted, but at a very terrible cost to Naboth and his family.

Because you see, in 2 Kings 9.26, you don't have to turn there, but in 2 Kings 9.26, we learned that the sons of Naboth were also executed. They were also executed. What's really terrible is Ahab never expressed any interest from what we can tell in Naboth's death, nor about how he could possibly take ownership of this ancestral land. He doesn't even ask about it, what we read here. You see, for Ahab, it was all about me. It was all about him. He had no regrets. He saw what he wanted, and he took it. And fully enabled by Jezebel, his loving wife, spoiled Ahab, got what he wanted.

Now, if we go back to 2 Samuel 13, we find another example of how cunningly deceitful and wicked our childish human nature can be. 2 Samuel 13.

This is really another terrible thing, a travesty of justice, due to human selfishness. 2 Samuel 13. Here we find the account of the rape of Absalom's sister Tamar by their half-brother Amnon. All were the children of King David. All three of them. In 2 Samuel 13, verse 2, we're told that Amnon was so distressed over sister Tamar that he became sick. Distressed because, you see, he loved her. He loved his half-sister Tamar. But as verse 2 tells us, he became sick, distressed over her, wanting her, for she was a virgin. And it was improper for Amnon to do anything to her. It was taboo. It was forbidden.

So again, we find here an example of a man who desires and more accurately lusts for something he cannot have. He even makes himself sick over it. Sick with desire. I've heard a lot of rock and roll songs and country songs about that. The gist of the story goes along like this.

Amnon then, with the help of his cousin, his best friend, Amnon plotted to have Tamar alone with him. And so he pretended to be ill. Just summarizing, he pretends to be ill. And when King David, his father, visits him, Amnon persuades his father to send Tamar to him so that she could make cakes for him. Help make him feel better. Comfort him a bit in his pretended illness. Let's pick up the account now, a little bit here in verse 8. And so Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house, and he was lying down. Then she took flour and kneaded it, made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes. And she took the pan and placed them out before him, but he refused to eat. Then Amnon said, Have everyone go out from me? And they all went out from him. And then Amnon said to Tamar, Bring me the food into the bedroom that I may eat from your hand. Tamar, obviously she didn't suspect anything, 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.

But she answered him, No, my brother, do not force me, for no such thing should be done in Israel. She was the adult in this situation.

Do not do this disgraceful thing.

If you do, she says, and where could I take my shame? And as for you, you would be like one of the fools, one of the ungodly, in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you. Sounds like she's getting desperate, suggesting talk to David, talk to her father. Perhaps something could be worked out. She's trying to keep him from doing what he wants to do. Verse 14, however, he would not heed her voice, and being stronger than she, he forced her, he overpowers her, and lay with her.

But that's not the worst of what he does.

Next, Amnon does something really heartless. And we've probably seen something like this before.

We've probably seen something like this before. We've seen it when children, spoiled children, finally get the toy that they so desperately wanted, and they were whining and pining away for. Perhaps you've seen it. And then once they get it, if you notice what can happen sometimes, once they get what they always wanted, they rather quickly decide they don't like it. They don't want it. And they toss it aside, typically with a pile of other things they've tossed aside.

In a similar way, that's how Amnon cruelly treated Tamar. Verse 15, So after he has his way with her, Amnon hated her exceedingly, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. His hate overruled the love. And Amnon said to her, Arise, and be gone. And so she said to him, No, indeed. This evil of sending me away is worse than the other that you did to me. But he would not listen to her. And then he called his servant, who attended, and said, Here, put this woman out, away from me, and bolt the door behind her. And so the servant did, as he was told.

And Amnon, who had so misused her and ruined her, noticed how he would not stoop to do anything with her himself. He wouldn't even show her to the door. Verse 19, Then Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore her robe of many colors that was on her, the sign of the virgin daughters of King David, and laid her hand on her head, and went away crying bitterly. Now, the outcome of Amnon's childish adult indulgence, this indulgence of his lust, has no happy ending. If we continue reading, it is sobering reading. In Absalon, we see later a vengeance, Tamar's rape, by murdering Amnon. And because King David, their father, from what we can tell, did little or nothing to punish Amnon, it seems the seeds were sown of Absalon's later rebellion and attempted seizure of David's throne.

If only Amnon had ruled over his childish human nature. It's a very serious lesson for us to think about. If only he had controlled his childish human nature. And, of course, David himself struggled with the very same nature, didn't he? A few pages back, 2 Samuel 11, just a few pages back, we find the account of David's illicit affair with Bathsheba and his part in the murder of her husband. We know the story pretty well, I believe. David couldn't sleep one night, so he took a stroll on the roof of his house. And from there he happened to see Bathsheba bathing next door, attempting to have some privacy.

She was a beautiful wife of Uriah the Hittite, and he was one of David's best and mightiest warriors. He was among the 30 mighty ones.

But instead of ruling over his carnal desire and lust, David gave in to the temptation, and like a child thinking only of itself, he took her. That's one of the traits on the handout I gave you. He took what he wanted, and he committed adultery. Here in verse 4, 2 Samuel 11, verse 4, David sent messengers, took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity, and she returned to her house, and the woman conceived. Bathsheba conceived, and so she sent and told David, and said, I am with child. The child was a complication. Now it's going to be very hard to hide what they did. There's a baby coming, and there's no way it was Uriah's. Now, instead of repenting and confessing his sin to God, and then to Uriah as well, her husband David lied in many ways and attempted to hide his sin, especially about Bathsheba's child by him. Then, when all his deceitful plans, once I won, fail, David took the incredible step of arranging for Uriah's murder so that he could then marry Bathsheba and take care of her child, effectively hiding the sin. In verse 14 here, In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah, and he wrote in the letter, saying, Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die. And, of course, Joab was an enabler. He was willing to help his king with the shameful plan, and it worked. Uriah was killed. David got what he wanted, but not for very long. Incredibly, it seems, David didn't... He really didn't seem to think that God would know, or else he thought God wouldn't really care. Maybe he thought, well, I'm king.

Sometimes we as children think the same way. Sometimes we convince ourselves that dad and mom will never discover the terrible thing we did. Or we even trick ourselves into thinking, oh, they won't care. They won't care that I broke the lamp.

Or whatever it is, they do it anyway. It's never a good idea to disrespect parents that way. Never a good idea to disrespect parents that way. And that's certainly true of disrespecting God. And yet that's what David did, and David would learn that lesson. God cannot be deceived. It's impossible. And yet, David tried. Before we finish the story of David, it's one of the wonderful things about David, and why, despite his obvious flaws, he remains, in many ways, in the good ways, a good example for us to follow. What's wonderful about David is that he could and did look back. He needed a little prodding. He needed a little prodding, but David could, and he did look back in hindsight to recognize his terrible behavior, and he did repent.

And so he did, when God inspired Nathan the prophet to confront him with his sin. Like I said, he needed a little help in prodding. When Nathan confronted him, David did not try any more tricks. He did not respond with any more childish tricks or excuses. David did not lie. He did not blame Bathsheba, which would have been an easy thing. David did not yell or get mad. He did not pout, either. Neither did he try to bully and bluster his way out of his own problem. David actually acted responsibly at that moment, in this matter, like an adult. He confessed his sin before God. And, of course, I'm not going to turn there now, but we ought to read Psalm 51 to grasp the profound depth of David's remorse over his sin, his profound repentance, when he finally got it, when he finally realized what he did. But, for now, let's notice David's simple, yet heartfelt confession here in 2 Samuel 12-13.

Nathan reproached him with his behavior. David is accepting it, and now David says to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, almost that quickly, the Lord has also put away your sin. You shall not die.

Immediately, David recognized his guilt, his sin, and immediately he sought repentance.

Whenever we give in to our childish human nature and sin before God, we must be quick to judge ourselves as well. We must be quick to repent and seek God's mercy and forgiveness. I do not recommend that we hold off days and days like David did. It's better to get it over with as soon as possible for worse things to happen. David knew, and we must never forget, that God knows our hearts. Let's turn to 1 Chronicles 28-9. Lest we forget, lest we are carnal human nature, that childish naturness causes us to forget something very important. 1 Chronicles 28-9.

Let's read here 1 Chronicles 28-9, what David had come to understand.

He knew, but he really came to understand. Among the final things David told Solomon when Solomon became king was this. 1 Chronicles 28-9. As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father and serve him with a loyal heart and a willing mind. For the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intents of the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you. But if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. The New English translation reads like this. And you, Solomon, obey the God of your father and serve him with a submissive attitude and a willing spirit. For the Lord examines all minds and understands every motive of one's thoughts. If you seek him, he will let you find him. But if you abandon him, he will reject you permanently. It's pretty terse, pretty serious.

God knows our every motivation. We may deceive those around us.

We can be pretty good as human beings. We can be pretty deceitful. We may deceive those around us, but we will never deceive God.

We must never allow ourselves to indulge in telling lies or any twisted variation of the truth. The half-truth is a whole lie. We'd be wise not to try and play games of deceitfulness like that with God. And certainly, I'd warn us not to try pulling it upon his people. God loves his people very much. Wrongfully manipulating God's people will never do us well. Instead, we must strive always to live by God's commandment, that way of sincerity and truth. We must be adults in controlling our childish ways, those childish ways of human nature.

And we could be strong in God when we turn to him and seek the help of his Holy Spirit. He's there immediately, easy to be found. We have to seek him.

Now, the Bible also offers positive examples. The Bible provides positive examples of how we can rule over what are demanding and rather spoiled childish nature. We can do it with God's help. Let's just consider a few examples of what the people of God had to do in times past. For example, I want to elaborate a little bit on Acts 5. Positive examples. What our predecessors did and what we can do as well. In Acts 5, this chapter, this is a moment towards the latter part of the chapter, Acts 5, after Peter and the apostles were arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin. You remember that, and then they were ordered. Remember what they were ordered? They were ordered by the Sanhedrin not to teach in the name of Jesus.

Now, I don't know. I thought about what I'd like to have been like in that situation. I'd like to have done exactly what they did. When they were ordered not to teach in the name of Jesus, I wonder, do you suppose they must have been suppressing that frightened inner voice within them? That frightened inner voice of their human nature that said, Save yourselves! Give them what they want! Give in to their terrible threats! Isn't that what human nature would be telling us?

But the apostles did not do that, did they? Look in verse 29. Instead, the apostles courageously declared, in verse 29, I love this sentence, We ought to obey God rather than men. And although many in verse 33 in the Sanhedrin were furious and plotted to kill them, right there on the spot, the wise Pharisee Gamaliel persuaded them against it. Instead, the disciples were then beaten and flogged with a whip. That's what beaten means. They were whipped. In verse 41-42, And how did they leave? Were they pouting? Were they sorry for themselves? They departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. This entire account to me is just really inspiring, incredibly inspiring. Especially for those of us, all of us here, are daily confronted with a society that is pushing us and urging us to ignore God, and to ignore stupid old stories like this, this one we just read. It's junk, don't worry about it. That's what they're telling us.

We're not going to believe them. And just as inspiring is how the apostles subdued that whimpering child within themselves and found there instead, you see, they found instead the strength of God's Holy Spirit to stand up and boldly declare before the Sanhedrin, we will not do what you tell us.

Brethren, we can do the same. We can do the same.

Now, we also know that disagreements did arise at times among God's servants in the past, and they still do from time to time. Let's turn to Acts 15. We are human, after all. Acts 15, verse 37. Acts 15, verses 37-41 records, what we're told here is a sharp disagreement between Barnabas and Paul, between Barnabas and Paul about Mark. We'll read it here. Acts 15, verse 37. Now, Barnabas was determined to take with them John, called Mark. They're going on a tour. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. Then the contention, or disagreement, became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Again, not even the apostles were without their differences of opinions. Here, either Barnabas or Paul could have readily let loose their human nature. Couldn't they? Couldn't they just let it rip, as we say? They could have thrown a temper tantrum. One of them could have bullied the other into submission, I'm sure. But they didn't do that, did they? And the outcome of their disagreement was something far more beneficial to the church. Instead of one church visiting tour, there would now be two. There would be two allowing even more brethren to be visited and edified. Isn't that interesting? These two strong-willed men ruled over their carnal nature, didn't they? And they reconciled their differences, and they humbly yielded to the wisdom of God, and they did the right thing.

They refused to be divisive. And surely, brethren, we can do the same. We can do the same.

Now, learning to control and rule our spoiled and childish nature, it's critical. It's critical for us to be serving, if we want to be serving one another in a godly manner. And no matter who we are, whether we're ordained or not, when we're striving to love our neighbor, we know that others can always find reasons to criticize what we do or how we do it. That's just the way it is.

There will always be differences in opinion in how we do things. We're all human, after all. And there's a lot not to like about each one of us. There's a lot not to like about each one of us.

Even so, knowing that we're not well regarded by others, even despite our best efforts, it can hurt our feelings sometimes, can it? It can really aggravate our ego. And then, before we know it, out pops our bratty human nature, and it tries to take over the situation and act out in a way that's not appropriate. Let's look in 1 Timothy 4.12. In 1 Timothy 4.12, there's a meaningful lesson here. 1 Timothy 4.12.

Here Paul warns Timothy of just this sort of predicament. Paul tells Timothy, 1 Timothy 4.12, Let no one despise your youth. Let no one despise your youth. New English translation puts it this way, Let no one look down on you because you are young. The New Living Translation says, Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Paul was encouraging Timothy to not allow the disapproval of others to keep him from his God-given task. Don't let the naysayers get you down. Now, Paul was the best person to encourage Timothy in just this way. Paul understood how people could be.

He knew exactly how it felt to be despised. Paul did. The book of Acts and Paul's letters are filled with testimony of how much he himself had been hated and rejected by people, including brethren. Paul also well understood the depth of commitment to God necessary, that mindset and the humility needed in order to serve God's people.

Any servant of God, and that is what we're all called to be, any servant of God must practice godly love towards all people, and especially towards fellow believers. But it will be difficult for people to look up to us or to admire us and respect us if they do not see us living by faith in obedience to God, if they do not see Christ living in us. No matter what, we've got to live and act with Christ living in us. So whatever reason people may have not to respect us, maybe it's because we are too young, maybe it's because we're too old, maybe it's because we're too homely or too country, or maybe we're just quirky in some way. People will look beyond that and see Jesus Christ in us if we keep to the task, if we keep focused on what we're to be doing. But it will take time and endurance to bear with if we're striving to practice God's love. We have to put up with things sometimes and become very patient, and it all works out in the end. And so here Paul exhorts Timothy not to indulge in self-pity or resentment because some believers may not respect him. And Timothy could have reacted, of course, with indignation. He could have demanded respect, but that would have been rather childish on his part. Instead, in verse 12, Paul was telling Timothy, and he tells us now, that no matter how others may regard us personally, our task is to strive to be and to remain unwavering examples of godliness in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in impurity. We can do that too, brethren. We can do that. When we remain steadfast with God and we give way to God's Holy Spirit in us, we can do it. Others have, and so can we. So, brethren, God has called us to rule as kings and priests in his soon-coming kingdom. But to be found worthy of entering in, we cannot be indulging ourselves in the sinful things that our human nature, that big bratty spoiled child, yearns for and demands. God wants a relationship with individuals who, with his help, are putting aside childishness, who are learning to rule over their carnal nature, who are learning to become mature men and women of God. Will we allow our childish human nature to rule over us and to exclude us from the best thing that can ever happen to us? That being salvation, eternal life in the kingdom of God? I hope not. So, let us control, then, our unruly and childish human nature, so that in due time, and according to God's will, we will be spirit-born children of God.