How a Blizzard Can Remind Us of Our Need of Jesus

1 Kings 15:5 gives a tragic summary of David’s life saying that David always did what was right in the eyes of God … except one time with Uriah the Hittite (speaking of his sin with Bathsheba).

How quickly a man of righteousness who had sweet intimacy with God fell to dreadful depths of sin and depravity.

While we can quickly write it off as one more leader who had moral failure, we must allow God to remind us that we too are susceptible to sin and we too can quickly fall, if we turn our gaze from Christ. We are not to have open windows or doors to sin in our lives, allowing the blizzard of sin to creep into our souls.

Using the changing of weather as an illustration, we briefly discuss David’s downfall and our desperate need for Jesus every moment of every day.

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Show Notes / Additional Resources

• 1 Kings 15:5 – David did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
  
• A.B. Simpson – It is frightful to see how speedily and how utterly the sensitive, spiritual nature of this man of God was paralyzed and petrified by one brief hour of sin.
• Proverbs 16:18 – Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.
• Romans 8:37 – Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
• 1 Peter 5:8 – Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
• 1 Corinthians 16:13 – Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.

John Stam’s 7 Steps Upward and 7 Steps Downward

• Learn more about John Stam and the 7 Steps
• There is a platform known as exposure to temptation, and all men stand there. From it, each one goes either up or down.
• 7 Awful Steps Downwards
  1. Trifling [adopting a careless attitude] with sin.
     
  2. Yielding to sin.
     
  3. Habitual yielding to sin.
     
  4. Abandonment to sin. (Ephesians 4:19).
     
  5. Abandonment of God to sin. (Romans 1:28).
     
  6. Entering into alliance with the devil to tempt others to sin (being a tool in the hands of the enemy).
     
  7. Hell: and you do not have to die in order to get there. Hell is character, as well as a location. The man who hates everything that God loves is in hell now, and hell is in him.
• 7 Glorious Steps Upward
  
  1. Resistance as an attitude: determining that sin shall not have dominion over you [taking sin seriously, having a fear and hatred of sin].
     
  2. Overcoming sin by faith in Christ.
     
  3. Habitual victory over sin. The strength that comes from the victory helps in overcoming the next temptation.
     
  4. Learning the secret of a victorious life, a life “hid with Christ in God.”
     
  5. Taken up by God into deeper fellowship.
     
  6. Made a succorer of others [that which gives assistance or relief]: like “the Shadow of a great rock in a weary land” (being an instrument of righteousness in the hands of God. You are set apart for His enjoyment and for His service).
     
  7. Heaven: And you do not have to die in order to get there. Heaven is character as well as location. The person who devotedly loves everything that God loves is in heaven now, and heaven is in him or her.

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About NRJohnson & the Deeper Christian Podcast

NRJohnson (Nathan Johnson) is a Christian who has an overwhelming passion for Jesus, the Gospel, and Studying God’s Word. He is a writer, teacher, and communicator who helps other believers understand and apply the Bible as they grow and mature in their faith—desiring that they gain greater intimacy with Christ, experience the victorious Christian life, and transform the world through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Read more about him here.

The Deeper Christian Podcast is the podcast to help you study God’s Word, know Jesus intimately, and discover how you can build your life around Jesus Christ. This weekly audio program, hosted by NRJohnson, dives into Scripture and encourages Christians to keep their focus upon Jesus Christ—equipping believers in how to study the Bible and know God’s Word, grow in their spiritual lives, and change the world. Main discussion topics center around practical advice on Christian living, Bible study, prayer, the Gospel, freedom from sin, evangelism and how to share your faith, the Christian disciplines, and the lives and messages from the Christian heroes from yesteryear such as A.W. Tozer, Charles Spurgeon, Major Ian Thomas, Oswald Chambers, Hudson Taylor, Amy Carmichael, Corrie Ten Boom, C.T. Studd, George Müller, Andrew Murray, Leonard Ravenhill, E.M. Bounds, and others. Learn more about the deeper Christian life.