Participants: Shelley Quinn
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000099
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00:20 Hello, I am Shelley Quinn,
00:21 and we welcome you to A Sharper Focus. 00:24 This is the Wednesday night Bible study 00:26 that comes to you straight 00:27 from our Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:30 And we're so glad that you're joining us, 00:32 whether you're watching on television, 00:34 or the internet, 00:35 or if you're listening on the radio. 00:37 And tonight, 00:39 I am actually standing in for Pastor John Lomacang. 00:42 He is travelling, 00:43 so, I know that you all are doing a study 00:46 on judgment, 00:47 and I've really been praying, Lord, 00:49 what do You want me to speak on tonight 00:51 because I didn't want to get you too far off the track, 00:54 but what I thought we would do 00:56 is talk about a topic that is kin to judgment 01:01 and that topic is, of course, repentance. 01:04 So tonight what we're going to do is, 01:06 we're gonna be in our Bibles 01:08 and our focus will be Psalm 51. 01:12 We're gonna tell the story, 01:14 read the story of sin and sincere repentance, 01:18 and the story of David 01:20 as he receives divine forgiveness. 01:23 But before you turn to Psalm 51, 01:25 let's have a prayer 01:27 'cause we're actually gonna start somewhere else. 01:29 So let's pray. 01:30 Heavenly Father, we come to You 01:32 in the name of Jesus, 01:33 thanking You for this time 01:36 to worship You in the word. 01:38 We thank You, Father, 01:40 for Your grace, we thank You, Father, 01:42 for the gifts of Jesus Christ, 01:44 Your Holy Spirit and Your Word. 01:47 And, Father, 01:48 I pray in the name of Jesus that forgive me 01:51 if am not surrendered right now. 01:53 I just wanna surrender to You 01:55 and I ask that You would speak 01:58 through Your scriptures as I present them tonight. 02:02 And just hide me behind the cross, 02:04 I pray in Jesus' name, amen. 02:07 Why don't we begin 02:09 by turning to 2 Samuel Chapter 11, 02:14 2 Samuel Chapter 11. 02:17 Now, I have to warn you 02:18 that I only had three hours sleep last night. 02:20 So if I fall asleep while I am talking, 02:24 you all just keep on listening, okay, is that a deal? 02:27 And we're going to start, 02:29 before we get to Psalm 51, 02:30 we wanna see the back story. 02:33 Many of you are familiar with this, 02:35 but I hope that as we go through the scripture 02:38 that God will really bring out some new nuggets of truth 02:42 that will bless us and as I said, 02:45 I prayed there were several ways 02:46 that I could have gone tonight but just this afternoon, 02:49 the Lord impressed me to share this information, 02:52 so there is somebody out there 02:54 that really needs to hear it. 02:56 So let's begin with 2 Samuel 11:1. 03:02 We are going to hear a story about a man 03:05 after God's own heart. 03:07 That's what God called David, didn't He? 03:09 And the scripture reads, 03:11 "It happened in the spring of the year..." 03:13 This was after the rainy season of winter. 03:16 "The spring of the year, 03:18 at the time when kings go out to battle, 03:20 that David sent Joab and his servants with him, 03:23 and all Israel, 03:25 and they destroyed the people of Ammon 03:27 and besieged Rabbah. 03:29 But David remained at Jerusalem." 03:32 Do you see a problem? 03:35 There is a problem here. 03:37 This is a time when kings should be going out to battle, 03:42 but David is at the height of his power right now. 03:46 All of his enemies have been subdued 03:49 except for this remnant of Ammonites. 03:53 And his treasuries, his coffers are overflowing, 03:57 and David is feeling very self-confident, 04:00 very self- reliant, and he shirks his duty as king. 04:04 He doesn't go out with his troops. 04:09 He has become apathetic. 04:11 And apathy is a very dangerous heart condition. 04:15 It's dangerous in our physical realm, 04:17 it's also dangerous in the spiritual realm. 04:20 Verse 2, "Then it happened one evening 04:23 that David arose from his bed 04:25 and walked on the roof of the king's house." 04:28 Now, he's walking where he shouldn't be walking. 04:30 Well, you say why? 04:32 I mean to walk on the roof, this was common. 04:34 I mean there's, there're flat top roofs 04:36 with gardens on them, 04:38 but he should have been in battle. 04:40 So he's somewhere 04:41 where he shouldn't be right now. 04:43 "And from the roof he saw a woman bathing 04:47 and the woman was very beautiful 04:49 to behold." 04:50 Now, unlike Job, do you remember what Job, 04:54 the covenant that Job said he made with his eyes. 04:59 Job said," I've made a covenant with my eyes 05:03 not to lust after a woman." 05:06 But unlike Job, 05:08 David is inflamed with lust 05:11 and he succumbs to the temptation. 05:15 He doesn't pray, get behind me Satan, 05:18 he doesn't pause to pray at all, 05:21 he just acts on the passions of his flesh 05:26 without thinking about God. 05:29 This is the man that God described 05:32 as a man after my own heart. 05:34 So now verse 3, 05:37 "David sent and inquired about the woman. 05:39 And someone said, 05:40 'Is this not Bathsheba, 05:42 the daughter of Eliam, 05:44 the wife of Uriah the Hittite?' 05:46 Then David sent messengers, 05:49 and he took her," or they took her. 05:51 Now this isn't an indication that they took her by force. 05:55 Actually if Bathsheba had resisted or said no, 06:00 she wouldn't have had to go 06:02 but, you know, she was a beautiful woman, 06:05 her husband had been gone to battle for a long time. 06:08 Maybe she felt a little bit flattered 06:11 by the king's attentions. 06:13 Maybe she thought she could have a night 06:16 of innocent flirtation with the king. 06:19 But let me tell you something, 06:20 there is no such thing as innocent flirtation. 06:25 So this is a toxic combination, 06:28 temptation and flirtation. 06:30 "She came to him, 06:32 and he lay with her, 06:34 for she was cleansed from her impurity, 06:36 and she returned to her house. 06:39 And the woman," what? 06:43 "She conceived." 06:45 This is the game changer. 06:48 There are always, please hear me, 06:50 there are always consequences to sin. 06:54 "So she sent and told David, and said, 'I am with child.' 06:59 Then David sent to Joab, 07:01 his captain saying, 'Send me Uriah the Hittite.'" 07:05 Uriah is Bathsheba's husband. 07:08 "Joab sent Uriah to David 07:09 and when Uriah had come to him, 07:11 David asked how Joab was doing, 07:13 and how the people were doing, 07:15 and how the war prospered." 07:17 David's buttering up Uriah right now. 07:21 "David said to Uriah, 'Go down to your house 07:23 and wash your feet.'" 07:25 What does that mean? 07:26 They washed their feet 07:27 before they entered into their home. 07:29 So he's sending him home. 07:31 David's thinking, he is trying to cover his sin. 07:35 So he's sending Uriah home 07:37 hoping that Uriah, 07:40 who's been to battle will lay with his beautiful wife 07:43 and when the baby comes along, 07:45 no one will know it's David's. 07:48 But Uriah slept at the door... 07:50 Oh, let me read this. 07:52 "'Go and wash your feet,' 07:54 So Uriah departed from the king's house, 07:56 and a gift of food from the king followed him." 08:00 David wanted this to be some feast 08:02 at their home. 08:04 Verse 9," But Uriah slept at the door 08:06 of the king's house 08:08 with all the servants of his lord, 08:10 and did not go down to his house." 08:13 Uriah was a faithful and loyal soldier, 08:19 and he felt it was wrong 08:21 to go and to sleep with his wife 08:23 when all the rest of the troops 08:25 are still out at war. 08:28 So, verse 11," Uriah said to David..." 08:32 Let me back up, verse 10, 08:34 "So when they told David, saying, 08:36 'Uriah did not go down to his house,' 08:39 David said to Uriah, 08:41 'Did you not come from a journey? 08:43 Why did you not go down to your house?' 08:45 And Uriah said to David, 08:47 'The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, 08:51 and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord 08:53 are encamped in the open fields. 08:55 Shall I then go to my house 08:57 to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife? 09:00 As you live, and as your soul lives, 09:03 I will not do this thing.' 09:06 Then David said to Uriah, 09:08 'Wait here today also, 09:10 and tomorrow I will let you depart.' 09:12 So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day 09:15 and the next.'" 09:16 Now when David called him again, 09:19 verse 13," He ate and drank before him, 09:24 and he made him drunk." 09:27 David thought, okay, this man's got high morals, 09:31 he's got high standards 09:32 but you know what liquor does to morals and standards, 09:36 it kind of loosens people up. 09:38 He thinks, if I can get him drunk, 09:40 he'll go lay with his wife. 09:42 "And at evening 09:43 Uriah went out to lie on his bed 09:45 with the servants of his lord, 09:47 but he did not go down to his house." 09:53 Do you see what's happening here? 09:55 Guilt and pride are causing David 10:00 to up the ante, 10:01 to increase his efforts, 10:03 to cover his sin 10:05 and you know, this is what happens 10:07 with so many people. 10:08 You start off telling a little lie to cover a sin 10:11 which becomes a bigger lie. 10:13 We see that so many people go down this path. 10:16 There was no remorse in David's heart. 10:18 He wasn't thinking about the Lord 10:20 and, "In the morning it happened 10:22 that David wrote a letter to Joab 10:25 and he sent it by the hand of Uriah." 10:30 Uriah did not know 10:33 that he was carrying his own death decree. 10:39 What David wrote in the letter, saying, 10:43 "Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, 10:47 then retreat from him, 10:49 that he may be struck down and die." 10:54 Can you imagine, here is faithful Uriah 10:58 carrying the letter to the Captain Joab 11:02 and David has planned his death. 11:06 Said, put him out there in the front of the battle, 11:08 then you all retreat 11:10 and leave him there 11:11 so that he will be struck down and die. 11:14 Mercy. 11:16 In the morning, verse 14, it happened, 11:20 excuse me, verse 17, 11:21 then the men of the, 16, thank you, 11:24 I am so glad somebody I talked to aren't sleepy. 11:27 So it was verse 16, 11:29 "While Joab besieged the city, 11:31 that he assigned Uriah to a place 11:34 where he knew there were valiant men. 11:37 Than the men of the city came out 11:39 and fought with Joab. 11:40 And some of the people of the servants of David fell 11:43 and Uriah the Hittite died also." 11:48 Wow, what a story, 11:50 a man after God's own heart. 11:54 Do we see 11:56 how Satan will set a trap for our feet 11:59 and take us lower and lower and lower. 12:03 But now, God, in his mercy, 12:06 sends Nathan, the prophet, to sound the alarm. 12:09 Let's look at 2 Samuel Chapter 12, 12:13 and we'll begin with verse 1, 12:16 So God, sends the prophet Nathan to David. 12:21 And he came to him, and said to him, 12:26 this is Nathan speaking, 12:28 he's gonna tell story. 12:30 King David, 12:32 "There were two men in one city, 12:34 one rich and the other poor. 12:36 The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 12:41 But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb 12:45 which he had bought and nourished, 12:48 and it grew up together with him 12:50 and with his children. 12:52 They would actually have the lamb 12:54 In the house with them. 12:56 It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup 12:59 and lay in his bosom 13:01 and it was like a daughter to him. 13:04 Now a traveler came to the rich man," 13:07 some friends travelling by, 13:09 a merchant that's travelling by, 13:10 we don't know, 13:12 "who refused to take, 13:14 the rich man refused to take from his own flock 13:17 and from his own herd 13:18 to prepare one for the wayfaring man 13:21 who had come to him, 13:22 but he took the poor man's lamb 13:25 and prepared it for the man who had come to him." 13:31 This story that Nathan is telling is an illustration, 13:36 David had all these riches, he had the wives, 13:40 he had the concubines, 13:41 but Uriah the Hittite only had 13:45 the one dear woman in his life. 13:48 Now when David hears this, 13:50 I love this, this is so human. 13:54 Verse 5, "So David's anger 13:57 was greatly aroused against the man, 14:00 and he said to Nathan, 14:02 'As the Lord lives, 14:03 the man who has done this shall surely die! 14:07 And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, 14:09 because he did this thing 14:11 and because he had no pity.'" 14:14 He was enraged, 14:16 but he was also blinded to his own condition. 14:19 He did not know this story was being told about him. 14:23 He was quick to pass judgment, wasn't he? 14:27 He was ready to have this rich man 14:29 put to death. 14:30 Now look at verse 7, 14:32 "Then Nathan said to David, 14:36 'You are the man!'" 14:40 Can you imagine the abrupt reversal 14:42 of David's fury 14:44 when he hears Nathan say, 14:46 you are the man, 14:49 Now, he goes on, 14:52 continuing in verse 6, 14:54 this is what Nathan is saying, or verse 7, 14:57 this is what Nathan is saying, 14:59 "Thus says the Lord God of Israel..." 15:01 God had given him a message to deliver. 15:06 "Thus says the Lord God of Israel, 15:08 'I anointed you king over Israel, 15:11 I delivered you from the hand of Saul, 15:13 I gave you your master's house 15:15 and your master's wives into your keeping, 15:17 and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. 15:19 And if that had been too little, 15:22 I also would have given you much more!'" 15:26 "In other words, 15:27 David, you found favor in my eyes. 15:30 I gave you everything you could want 15:31 and anything you had asked me for, 15:34 I would have given it to you. 15:37 Then verse 9, 15:38 God is still speaking, 15:40 "Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, 15:43 to do this evil in His sight? 15:46 You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, 15:50 you have taken his wife to be your wife, 15:52 and have killed him with the sword 15:53 of the people of Ammon. 15:55 Now therefore," 15:57 there's always consequences to sin, 16:00 "the sword shall never depart from your house, 16:02 because you have despised Me, 16:04 and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite 16:08 to be your wife. 16:09 Thus says the Lord: 'Behold, 16:11 I will raise up adversity against you 16:13 from your own house 16:15 and I will take your wives before your eyes 16:19 and give them to your neighbor, 16:21 and he shall lie with your wives` 16:23 in the sight of this sun. 16:25 For you did it secretly, 16:27 but I will do this thing before all Israel, 16:30 before the sun, the S-U-N.'" 16:33 Verse 13, now, 16:37 let me stop here and say this. 16:39 Wasn't Nathan bold to go before the king 16:44 and deliver this message that God sent. 16:47 A hotheaded king could have said, 16:49 "Off with your head." 16:50 Nathan could have lost his life, 16:55 but what happened was David's eyes 16:59 were opened to his lawlessness 17:01 and look what he says, 17:04 verse 13, "David said to Nathan, 17:08 'I have sinned against the Lord.'" 17:12 He recognized his sin. 17:15 He was seized by remorse. 17:18 He's confessing his sin against God 17:20 and we're gonna see how he repented 17:23 because his repentance 17:24 from this is written in Psalm 51. 17:28 "Now Nathan said to David, 17:30 'The Lord has also put away your sin, 17:33 you shall not die.'" 17:34 You see, David's sin was so severe. 17:39 There were no sacrifices 17:42 that could be made for his sin. 17:44 Premeditated murder, 17:47 the result 17:49 or the punishment was death. 17:52 Adultery, 17:54 these were called high hand sins. 17:59 They were sins of defiance 18:02 and they had to be cut off from the community 18:06 and often even adultery ended in the penalty of death. 18:11 Now, the last verse14, 18:15 "However, because by this deed you have given great occasion 18:19 to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme..." 18:22 Did you get that? 18:24 David gave occasion to God's enemies 18:28 to blaspheme the name of God. 18:31 As a Christian, when we're out, 18:33 if we do something that is unchrist like, 18:39 unlovely, if we openly sin in front of someone, 18:43 we are giving people the opportunity 18:47 to blaspheme God's name. 18:51 So now, we're gonna follow the story, 18:53 here's what's happened, 18:55 but the reason God did not kill David 18:59 is because David was seized by sincere remorse 19:04 and he repented. 19:06 I'm gonna say this quickly and we'll see it in Psalm 51. 19:10 There are five steps to repentance. 19:13 There's recognition of sin, 19:15 there's godly sorrow, 19:17 confession of sin, 19:19 but then you must receive God's forgiveness 19:24 and change your behavior, change your conduct. 19:27 So now, that's the back-story, 19:29 let's get into Psalm 51 19:33 because that is our study tonight. 19:35 And this has the historical background 19:39 of the story that we just read 19:41 because this is the record of David's repentance 19:45 after Nathan said, "You're the man". 19:48 Psalm 51:1, "To the Chief Musician. 19:52 A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, 19:56 after he had gone in to Bathsheba." 19:59 Now these are David's words, 20:01 "Have mercy upon me, O God, 20:05 according to Your loving kindness, 20:08 according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, 20:11 blot out my transgressions." 20:15 Blot them out from where? 20:17 From the heavenly record book 20:19 where the record of our sins are kept. 20:23 You know what I love about Psalm 51, 20:25 this is, if you wanna learn how to repent 20:28 and you don't know how to, 20:29 even confess your sin before God, 20:31 just pray Psalm 51. 20:34 This is so amazing. 20:35 David, look at the words he's saying about God. 20:39 He's appealing to, he recognizes his sin. 20:43 I mean, this is true humility here. 20:45 He's not trying to blame somebody else. 20:48 He's not saying, oh Lord, 20:50 that beautiful woman was over there naked. 20:52 If she hadn't been there, I wouldn't have done that. 20:55 If she hadn't been bathing on her rooftop. 20:57 He doesn't try to blame anyone. 20:59 He accepts the guilt for his sin 21:02 and he recognizes his sin. 21:04 That's the first step of repentance. 21:07 His heart feels crushed 21:10 by the weight of his guilt 21:12 and he makes this heartbroken plea to God, 21:15 but he's pleading for God's mercy 21:18 but look at the words here. 21:20 He's relying completely on God's love. 21:23 Have mercy on me oh, God, 21:25 according to your loving kindness, 21:27 according to the multitude of your tender mercies, 21:32 blot out my transgression. 21:34 Verse 2, "Wash me thoroughly," 21:39 now the literal translation of this 21:42 is multiply to wash me. 21:45 He's saying, wash me thoroughly and repeatedly, 21:48 wash me as many times as it takes Lord. 21:51 "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, 21:54 and cleanse me from my sin." 21:57 These words blot out, 22:00 wash away and cleanse 22:03 are all terms for forgiveness. 22:06 Verse 3, David prays, 22:08 "For I acknowledge my transgressions 22:11 and my sin is always before me." 22:14 Here we see Godly sorrow 22:16 that second step of true repentance 22:19 and we see confession, the third step. 22:22 David is confessing 22:24 how he rebelled against God. 22:27 Now look at verse 4, 22:29 "Against You, 22:32 and You only, have I sinned." 22:35 Oh, wait a minute, 22:36 he committed adultery with Bathsheba, 22:39 he was the instigator, 22:41 he committed murder. 22:43 What does he mean against You 22:45 and You only have I sinned? 22:48 He doesn't mean that the affects of sin, 22:50 of his sin haven't hurt someone else, 22:53 but the bottom line is this, all sin... 22:57 Listen to what I am saying, 22:58 all sin is ultimately against God, 23:03 and David is recognizing that. 23:05 "Against You, You only, have I sinned, 23:09 and I've done this evil in Your sight 23:11 that You may be found just when You speak, 23:16 and blameless when You judge." 23:20 You see, when God condemns sin, 23:24 he is executing justice, 23:29 and David acknowledge 23:31 that God was blameless in judging him. 23:36 Now verse 5, 23:37 "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, 23:42 and in sin my mother conceived me." 23:45 Now this is, 23:50 there's no record that his mother 23:52 had committed adultery or done anything like this. 23:55 I think he's kind of overstating this. 23:58 He's recognizing his sin tainted condition at birth. 24:03 We're all born with a fallen nature, 24:05 aren't we? 24:06 We have that propensity towards sin 24:10 but the interesting thing is, 24:12 David is not going to use this 24:16 as an excuse for his actions. 24:19 He is only using it 24:21 as his recognition 24:25 of his total dependence upon God 24:28 and his desperate need for God's mercy. 24:32 Verse 6, 24:34 "Behold, David says, 24:37 You, Lord, desire truth in the inward parts, 24:42 and in the hidden part 24:44 You will make me to know wisdom." 24:49 God desires that we obey Him 24:52 with a heart of integrity. 24:55 We're not obeying Him 24:57 just because we've got to obey. 25:00 We're obeying God because we love Him. 25:04 We're obeying God being faithful 25:07 and we're being, 25:08 we have that heart of integrity. 25:10 And David here recognizes 25:14 that God is our source of wisdom 25:17 and what we must do 25:20 is allow God to communicate that wisdom, 25:24 that heavenly wisdom to our hearts. 25:26 Remember what James said, there's two kinds of wisdom, 25:30 there's heavenly wisdom 25:32 and then there is the earthly devilish wisdom, 25:35 but we've got to allow God 25:37 to communicate that to our hearts. 25:40 Verse 7, 25:42 David prays, "Purge me..." 25:46 Make an atonement for my sin, he's saying, 25:48 "Purge me with hyssop..." 25:51 Now, stalks of hyssop 25:54 have many little bunches of white flowers 25:59 and do you remember 26:01 where we first introduced in the Bible to hyssop. 26:04 At least I think it's our first introduction, 26:07 do you remember? 26:09 Hyssop was the brush that they used 26:12 on the first Passover that night 26:14 when they slayed the Paschal Lamb 26:19 and when God told them to... 26:22 When the angel of death was about to come over 26:24 and God told them to dip the hyssop 26:27 into the blood 26:29 and to mark their lintels, 26:31 and anywhere the blood of the sacrifice 26:33 was on the door, 26:35 the angel of death would pass over. 26:38 That's where we get the name Passover. 26:41 So what David is saying here, 26:44 you know, under the Levitical law, 26:46 hyssop was used in cleansing rituals, 26:50 going back to that first Passover. 26:54 This was God's way of teaching us 26:56 that it is the blood of the lamb, 26:59 the blood as Jesus died for our sins, 27:03 sacrificed on the cross. 27:05 It is by His blood that we're purged of sin 27:09 but please remember, 27:10 we have to personally apply that to our lives. 27:14 We have to receive Christ 27:16 not only as Savior, but as our Lord. 27:19 So he says, "Purge me with hyssop 27:23 and I shall be clean. 27:26 Wash me, 27:27 and I shall be whiter than snow." 27:31 Verse 8, "Make me hear joy and gladness." 27:36 He was longing to hear the Lord's sweet voice 27:39 tell him he is forgiven. 27:41 "Make me hear joy and gladness 27:43 that the bones You have broken may rejoice." 27:47 Now that terminology, bones, you've broken bone, 27:52 anytime there was suffering, in the Old Testament 27:56 they often used that word, the bones. 27:59 So, I love verse 9, 28:03 he says, "Hide Your face from my sins..." 28:09 This implies more than just forgiving, 28:13 this implies God forgetting his sin." 28:18 Hide your face from my sins 28:21 and blot out all my iniquities." 28:24 Again, another plea, 28:26 that his sins will be erased 28:29 from the record book. 28:33 Verse 10, "Create in me a clean heart, 28:37 O God." 28:39 Don't we all need to pray that? 28:41 Oh, create in me a clean heart. 28:45 See, the renewal of the heart 28:47 doesn't just represent forgiveness, 28:51 it represents a change, 28:54 it represents being empowered 28:58 to live in obedience to God's command. 29:02 In the process of forgiveness, 29:04 God does not merely cleanse our record, 29:07 cleanse our heart, 29:09 but He performs the act of a heart renewal 29:13 and sanctification. 29:15 So he says, "Create in me a clean heart, O God 29:19 and renew a steadfast spirit in me." 29:23 What does it mean to have a steadfast spirit? 29:26 It means we'll be steadfast in faith, 29:29 constant in obedience, 29:31 ready to change our conduct, 29:35 but recognizing our absolute total dependence 29:39 from God to do so. 29:42 You know, we also have to recognize 29:45 that repentance is a gift. 29:49 Did you know that? 29:50 Acts 5:31 says that 29:53 He, Jesus, 29:55 God exalted to be Lord and prince 29:59 that He might grant forgiveness, 30:02 that He may give forgiveness. 30:06 If you will understand 30:09 that we need to not only ask for forgiveness, 30:13 we need to pray that God will grant to us, 30:18 repentance. 30:20 I believe that's my purse that's ringing. 30:23 This happened one time on live as well, 30:25 I thought I turned that off. 30:28 So now, in Psalm 51:11, 30:31 he's prayed for a clean heart. 30:34 He's prayed that God will renew a steadfast spirit. 30:39 Now what he prays in verse 11 is, 30:43 do not cast me away from your presence. 30:47 You know, David was a man 30:49 who knew the true joy of being in God's presence. 30:54 He knew that that's the only place 30:56 you find true joy is being in God's presence. 30:59 He says, "Do not cast me away from Your presence 31:03 and do not take Your Holy Spirit 31:08 from me." 31:10 In the New Testament, 31:11 there's a number of sins that are listed, 31:14 that how we can sin against the Holy Spirit. 31:19 We can resist the Spirit of God, 31:22 we can grieve the Holy Spirit of God, 31:26 and we can quench the Holy Spirit of God, 31:30 and they kind of lead, 31:32 you resist, 31:34 you grieve him, and then you begin... 31:36 If you grieve him long enough, you can actually quench. 31:40 David recognized his great need for the Holy Spirit of God. 31:45 Only the Holy Spirit 31:48 can deliver us from the power of sin. 31:52 Only the Holy Spirit can give us victory. 31:55 So he's saying, 31:57 don't take your Holy Spirit away from me. 32:00 I need his guidance, I need his power. 32:04 Now, verse 12, he says, 32:07 "Restore to me 32:09 the joy of Your salvation, 32:12 and uphold me by Your generous Spirit." 32:17 He is longing for the joy of the Lord 32:20 that he experienced before his great sin. 32:24 Do you remember the joy of salvation 32:27 that you felt when you first accepted Christ 32:31 as your Savior? 32:32 Do you remember that? 32:34 Do you remember how excited you were to know 32:37 that you've been washed and cleansed, 32:39 to know that Jesus was your Lord? 32:42 I mean, I can remember it so clearly, 32:45 I was walking on cloud nine. 32:48 And you know, 32:49 sometimes it's kind of like a honeymoon phase, 32:53 I guess you could say. 32:54 You know, when you, I love JD with all of my heart 32:58 and I can remember feeling that way 33:00 and sometimes, 33:02 you just get so comfortable with each other, 33:04 it's not that same, you know, your stomach doesn't flip, 33:07 you don't get butterflies 33:10 but there's a beautiful thing 33:12 and there's a more, it's a much more intimate thing 33:15 but what can happen in a relationship, 33:20 is that you let it go 33:22 from that joy to just being comfortable, 33:27 to just being apathetic. 33:30 You can end up being married to someone 33:34 who becomes like your roommate, 33:39 you're two ships passing in the night. 33:41 There's no intimate conversation. 33:43 And this can happen 33:44 in our relationship with the Lord, 33:46 and I believe that's exactly what happened to David. 33:49 I believe when God said 33:51 he was a man after His own heart. 33:54 I believe that David loved God with all of his heart. 33:59 He had that joy of salvation. 34:01 But then, he got busy doing things 34:05 that kings do. 34:08 It didn't mean that he didn't, 34:10 I mean, God said he was a man after My own heart. 34:13 I keep saying that because it's such, you know, 34:17 the juxtaposition of that is amazing to me 34:20 that a man after God's heart 34:23 could then fall to the point of committing adultery 34:26 and murdering someone. 34:28 Amazing, 34:30 but that's where that apathy started settling in 34:34 and he began to be so comfortable with the Lord 34:38 that he began to kind of exclude God 34:43 from his life. 34:45 "Restore to me the joy of your salvation, 34:48 and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. 34:53 Verse 13, 34:54 "Then I will teach transgressors Your way, 34:59 and sinners shall be converted to You." 35:04 David's now making God a promise 35:06 that he'll go out, 35:08 just restore me, restore me, Lord, 35:11 and I'll go out and share the good news 35:13 of the gospel of grace. 35:14 I'll turn others away from evil 35:17 and back to you, Lord, 35:19 so that they can find mercy 35:21 and forgiveness and joy. 35:23 Verse 14, 35:25 "Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, 35:28 O God, the God of my salvation." 35:31 Ah, it's interesting, how's he addressing God? 35:35 The God of my salvation. 35:37 "Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed 35:40 and my tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness. 35:44 O Lord, open my lips, 35:47 and my mouth shall show forth Your praise." 35:51 The only way our lips can be opened to praise 35:56 is when we have a clear conscience. 35:59 If we don't have a clear conscience, 36:01 we're not running around praising the Lord. 36:03 And what David is saying here is, 36:06 Lord, if You will open my lips, 36:10 if you will deliver Me from this guilt 36:13 and open my lips, 36:15 my mouth will show forth Your praise. 36:18 Verse 16," 36:19 For You do not desire sacrifice, 36:21 or else I would give it. 36:23 You do not delight in burnt offering." 36:25 Now as I've already said, 36:28 there was no sacrifice for premeditated murder. 36:32 The penalty was death, but I think David 36:35 is kind of going a little further here. 36:38 I don't think he's just saying, 36:40 hey, there's nothing in the Levitical law 36:44 that I can do 36:45 because look what he says in the next verse, 36:50 verse 17, 36:51 "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, 36:56 a broken and a contrite heart, 37:00 these, O God, You will not despise." 37:04 See, this is what God approves. 37:08 He approves a heart 37:10 that recognizes its sin, 37:12 a heart that is sorrowful for its sin. 37:17 He approves someone 37:19 who is humbly willing to repent. 37:23 Then verse 18, 37:26 "Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion, 37:30 build the walls of Jerusalem." 37:33 In the middle of all of his repentance 37:37 and confession, 37:39 here he comes, do good in your good pleasure to Zion, 37:42 build the walls of Jerusalem. 37:44 What was he saying here? 37:46 See, Zion was the city of David's heart. 37:50 It was the sacred place 37:53 where God dwelled and David loved Zion 37:57 and it is very characteristic of David 38:00 if you read the Psalms, 38:02 to suddenly be interceding, 38:04 he includes prayers for others. 38:06 And now what he is asking here 38:09 is that God will not punish Zion, 38:13 that he will not punish Jerusalem, 38:16 the city for David's sin. 38:19 And when he says build the walls of Jerusalem, 38:22 that's probably a reference 38:23 to God blessing Zion with His favor. 38:28 And then the concluding verse, he says, 38:30 "Then You shall be pleased 38:31 with the sacrifices of righteousness, 38:34 those that are offered 38:35 with a sincere spirit and a proper motive, 38:38 with burnt offering and whole burnt offering, 38:40 then they shall offer bulls on Your altar." 38:46 Is that the end of the story? 38:48 No, 38:50 we followed the story from his sin 38:53 to when Nathan comes in 38:56 to tell him of his sin, 38:59 David repents, 39:00 Nathan says okay, you're not gonna die, 39:02 there's gonna be these other consequences 39:04 but you're not gonna die. 39:06 What is the end of this story? 39:09 Please turn in your Bibles 39:11 to 1 Kings 14:8. 39:17 This is where the story gets exciting to me. 39:22 It is exciting, 39:24 you will find this so exciting. 39:26 There are people out there who feel that you have sinned 39:29 in such a way 39:31 that God cannot forgive you 39:33 but I'll tell you what, 39:35 turn to Psalm 51, 39:37 pray that psalm, 39:39 oh, Lord, blood out my transgressions, 39:43 cleanse me thoroughly and repeatedly, 39:46 wash me thoroughly and repeatedly, 39:49 Lord renew a steadfast spirit in me. 39:52 You pray to the God of love, 39:55 you pray for God's mercy 39:57 and let me show you what God will do. 40:01 This is so exciting to me. 40:04 1 Kings 14:8, 40:07 let me set this up. 40:09 God has told the prophet Ahijah 40:13 to deliver a message to King Jeroboam. 40:17 He's prophesying 40:19 the destruction of Jeroboam's home, house, 40:22 the house, his kingdom. 40:26 And here's what God says 40:29 at 1 Kings 14:8, 40:34 the reason, basically he's saying, 40:36 the reason I'm gonna destroy your house 40:39 is because "You have not been 40:44 as My servant David 40:46 who kept My commandments 40:49 and who followed Me with all of his heart, 40:53 to do only what was right in My eyes." 40:58 See the king did not follow God 41:00 with all of his heart like David. 41:03 Whoa, whoa, whoa! 41:05 Wait a minute, 41:07 this is written after David's death. 41:11 This is a quote from God. 41:14 You have not been as my servant David, 41:18 who kept My commandments, 41:21 who followed Me with all of his heart 41:24 to do only what was right 41:28 in my eyes. 41:30 Why would God say this? 41:32 Why would He say it about someone 41:34 who had committed adultery? 41:36 Why would He say such words about someone 41:40 who was guilty of murder? 41:43 How could He say, 41:44 what did James say, you break one commandment, 41:47 you break them all. 41:48 The Ten Commandments are unit, 41:50 you break one, you break them all. 41:54 He was guilty of breaking them all 41:57 and God is saying, 41:58 he did only what was right in My eyes. 42:03 Huh, 42:05 you want me to tell you what it is? 42:09 God forgets 42:12 what we ask Him to forgive. 42:15 Oh, let me repeat that. 42:17 If you are sitting at home, 42:19 and maybe you have confessed a sin 42:21 over and over. 42:22 I had a little lady call me 42:24 a couple of years back. 42:26 She was in her 80s 42:29 and she called me weeping, 42:32 saying, I had an abortion. 42:35 I went to Mexico and had an abortion 42:38 when I was 17 years old. 42:41 She said, I was a pastor's daughter, 42:43 my parents sent me to Mexico, 42:46 they didn't want anyone to know and she said, 42:49 "I am guilty of murder," and she said, "Oh, 42:51 I prayed over and over and over to be forgiven." 42:55 See, we get this in our mind. 43:00 Somehow we let our judgment overrule 43:04 what the Bible says about God. 43:07 The Bible clearly, this implies, 43:09 God forgets what we ask Him to forgive. 43:13 You can let go of that burden, 43:16 He will cut you free from the code of the wicked 43:20 that's binding you 43:21 and those old things that are hanging on, 43:25 they bind you up. 43:27 Now, let me prove something to you, 43:29 I love this scripture, 43:31 because to me, it proves the authenticity of scripture. 43:35 When someone is quoting God, 43:38 they were very careful 43:40 to quote just what God would say. 43:44 Any man who wrote this would have said, 43:47 "You've not been as my servant David 43:49 who kept My commandments, 43:50 who followed Me with all of his heart 43:52 to do only what was right in my eyes 43:53 except when he committed adultery with Bathsheba 43:58 and when he murdered Uriah the Hittite." 44:01 Don't you agree? 44:03 I mean we would never talk about David 44:05 like this and I'm gonna prove to you in the Bible. 44:07 Turn to the next chapter, 44:10 1 Kings 15:4, 44:15 I think this is so exciting. 44:18 1 Kings 15:4, now, 44:22 the author is not quoting God. 44:24 Now he is recounting the story, verse 4, 44:28 "Nevertheless for David's sake, 44:32 the Lord, his God, gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, 44:35 by setting up his son after him 44:37 and by establishing Jerusalem." 44:41 Because David did what was right 44:44 in the eyes of the Lord, 44:47 had not turned aside from anything 44:50 that he commanded him, 44:51 all the days of his life except 44:56 in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. 45:02 That's man's record, that's man's record. 45:06 Turn back again, let me go over 1 Kings 14 again 45:09 'cause you guys ought to be getting really excited 45:11 right about now. 45:13 If we realize God forgets 45:17 what we ask Him to forgive. 45:19 Here David had prayed Psalm 51 and after David died, 45:24 these are the words, 45:27 the word of the Lord about David. 45:29 He is talking to, 45:31 a message to King Jeroboam and saying, 45:33 "Jeroboam, you've not been like My servant David." 45:37 But now he's talking about David, 45:39 "My servant David, 45:41 who kept My commandments, 45:44 who followed Me with all of his heart 45:47 to do only what was right 45:51 in My eyes." 45:53 God is not a man that He could lie. 45:56 The only reason that God could declare 45:59 David's absolute innocence 46:01 is because God forgets the sins we ask Him to forgive. 46:06 Psalm 103:12 says, 46:12 "As far as the east is from the west, 46:17 so far has He removed our sin." 46:21 How exciting? 46:23 Write that in scripture reference down 46:26 and listen to Isaiah 43:25. 46:32 Isaiah 43:25, 46:38 this is the Lord speaking, 46:41 I still hear pages turning, 46:44 God says, 46:45 "I, even I, 46:47 am He who blots out." 46:51 And in the Amplified Version says, 46:53 "And cancels your transgressions," 46:55 that's what that word blots out means, 46:57 it's like to race it and he says, 46:59 "For My own sake, 47:01 and I will not remember your sins." 47:06 Hallelujah. 47:09 Now since you're in Isaiah, turn over to Chapter 44, 47:13 let's look at what God says 47:15 in verse 22. 47:20 He says, "I have blotted out, 47:24 like a thick cloud, your transgressions, 47:27 and like a cloud, your sins. 47:31 Return to Me, 47:32 for I have redeemed you." 47:36 Have you been redeemed by the Lord? 47:39 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. 47:42 God has blotted out like a thick cloud, 47:45 your transgressions. 47:46 You know, this is all part, 47:49 these are old Testaments but turn to Hebrews Chapter 8. 47:53 Hebrews Chapter 8, 47:58 this is part of the new covenant, 48:00 this is new covenant language as well. 48:06 God didn't have, He doesn't have favorites. 48:10 God didn't just blot out the sins of David. 48:14 Listen to Hebrews Chapter 8 48:16 and we're gonna look at verse 8. 48:19 That's where we will begin. 48:20 Actually I think I've got mine, try to follow me 48:23 'cause I have a little ellipse in here, 48:26 so that means I've left something out 48:27 but Hebrews 8:10, 48:31 "This is the covenant," God has said, 48:33 "I'm gonna make a covenant after these days, 48:36 a new covenant with a new covenant people. 48:39 I am going to make the covenant and this is the covenant. 48:44 I will put My laws in their minds. 48:48 I will write them on their hearts." 48:51 They are not just gonna be commandments on stone anymore, 48:55 "I will put them in their mind 48:59 and write them on their hearts. 49:01 I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 49:05 Their sins and their lawless deeds, 49:10 I will remember no more." 49:13 Did you know that the Ten Commandments 49:17 are written in the future tense? 49:20 You know what the significance of that is? 49:23 They are written in a future tense 49:24 in a double negative, that means they are a promise. 49:28 When God began the Ten Commandments, 49:31 what is the preamble to the Ten Commandments? 49:34 "I am the Lord, your God, 49:36 who brought you out of Egypt. 49:38 I brought you out 49:41 of this place of slavery to sin 49:44 and he says, 49:46 therefore, I mean, this is covenant love language. 49:51 I am your God, I've redeemed you, He said. 49:54 Therefore, 49:56 you shall have no other gods besides Me. 50:00 You will not bow down to worship idols. 50:05 You will not take My name in vain. 50:08 You will just be so excited to spend the Sabbath with Me, 50:13 to have this time with Me. 50:16 You will honor your mother and your father. 50:19 You will not murder, you will not commit adultery, 50:24 you will not steal, 50:26 you will not bear false testimony." 50:29 Why? 50:30 Because that's what living 50:33 in covenant relationship with Me is all about. 50:37 Now God says, 50:39 "I'm gonna write these, not just on stone 50:42 but by the power of the Holy Spirit, 50:43 I'm gonna put these laws in your mind 50:45 and write them on your hearts, 50:48 and I'll be your God, you will be My people." 50:51 Do you hear this love language? 50:53 And then He says, 50:54 "Their sins and their lawless deeds 50:57 I will remember no more," 50:58 because as we come to God, confessing our sins, 51:03 when we recognize our sins and we confess our sins, 51:07 in sincere hearted repentance. 51:09 God applies the blood of Jesus to blot out our sins 51:14 and then, 51:15 as we receive His forgiveness, 51:20 it is God who grants us that forgiveness, 51:24 who empowers us to change our conduct, 51:27 to turn away from that sin 51:30 but He blots out that sin, they're covered, 51:33 and they are cancelled in the memory of God. 51:36 When He looks on our record, 51:38 all He sees is the blood of Jesus. 51:41 So, let's... 51:43 I wanna see, 51:44 I am having a little eye problem tonight, 51:47 that's why I had typed those up 51:50 in a little bit larger font 51:56 but let's... 51:58 And I wanna see, I don't know, I don't think you can get that, 52:02 here it is, in my Bible at Psalm 51, 52:05 I have a reference 52:08 which is where God said about David after he repented, 52:14 which is what man would still say about David. 52:16 But let's read what the Bible says, 52:20 "Have mercy upon me O God..." 52:23 This is confession in the forgiveness of sin. 52:26 Have mercy upon me O God, 52:30 according to Your loving kindness, 52:32 according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, 52:35 blot out my transgressions. 52:37 O Lord, wash me, thoroughly, from my iniquity, 52:42 cleanse me from my sin, 52:43 for I acknowledge my transgressions, 52:46 and my sin is always before me. 52:49 Against you and you only have I sinned 52:53 and done this evil in your sight 52:55 that you may be found just when you speak 52:57 and blameless when you judge. 53:00 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity 53:03 and in sin my mother conceived me, 53:04 behold, you desire truth in the inward parts 53:09 and in the hidden part, 53:10 you will make me to know wisdom. 53:13 O Lord, purge me with hyssop, and I shall be cleaned. 53:19 Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. 53:23 Make me hear joy and gladness 53:26 that the bones you have broken might rejoice. 53:29 Hide your face from my sins, 53:32 blot out all my iniquities, 53:34 create in me a clean heart O God, 53:36 and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 53:40 O Lord, do not cast me away from Your presence 53:43 and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 53:48 Restore to me, the joy of Your salvation, 53:52 and uphold me by Your generous spirit, 53:56 then, I will teach transgressors your ways, 54:01 and sinners shall be converted to you. 54:04 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, 54:07 the God of my salvation, 54:09 and my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. 54:13 O Lord, open my lips 54:16 and my mouth shall show forth Your praise, 54:20 for You do not desire sacrifice, 54:22 or I would give it. 54:24 You do not delight in burnt offering. 54:26 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, 54:30 a broken and a contrite heart, 54:34 these, O God, You will not despise. 54:37 Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion, 54:40 build the walls of Jerusalem, 54:43 then You shall be pleased 54:45 with the sacrifices of righteousness 54:48 with burnt offering and whole burnt offering, 54:53 and then they shall offer bulls on your altar. 54:56 I just want to encourage you, 55:00 there's a sermon I did once at camp meeting. 55:05 It was titled The Joy of Repentance, 55:09 and I had a lot of people who said to me, 55:12 "The Joy of Repentance." 55:16 Repentance is a gift from God to be received with joy. 55:21 All He asks of us 55:24 is that we be quick to recognize our sin, 55:27 and we're not always so quick, are we? 55:30 How do we recognize sin? 55:32 I want to tell you, 55:33 the more you get this word in your heart, 55:35 the more time you spend in this word, 55:38 the more you will recognize when you were displeasing God. 55:41 But it's also a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. 55:45 When we ask day by day, 55:48 "O Lord, fill me with Your Spirit." 55:51 I pray that every day, 55:53 because I can only be filled to the degree I am surrendered 55:56 and sometimes I am not surrendered. 55:59 So I needed a fresh filling everyday 56:03 and then if the Holy Spirit is in me, 56:08 when He begins to let me know, 56:11 whoops, this is wrong, 56:13 then I know, you know, I pray, 56:15 O Lord make me quick to recognize 56:18 when I am not. 56:20 But the Holy Spirit brings godly sorrow. 56:23 You know, sin is not without sorrow, 56:24 even forgiven sin is not without sorrow. 56:28 But He gives me that, 56:30 and then, after that godly sorrow, 56:33 I confess my sins, 56:35 and the most important thing in is to open up your heart 56:38 to receive God's forgiveness 56:40 because He not only will forgive you, 56:43 but He will forget what He forgives. 56:46 And then, of course, 56:48 we are totally dependent upon God 56:50 to change our behavior. 56:52 Are we not? 56:53 The Bible says in Jeremiah 56:56 that we can't change ourselves anymore 56:59 than a leopard can change it spots, 57:02 or a Ethiopian can change his skin. 57:06 We've got to recognize our dependence upon God. 57:11 We've got to recognize that God loves us so much, 57:15 and as David did, 57:17 we should appeal for God's mercy, 57:20 and depend totally upon His love, 57:23 because God loves you so much. 57:27 You're worth to him, 57:29 you're worth nothing less to Him 57:31 than the price that He paid for you, 57:33 with the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. 57:37 What a God! 57:39 We just want to thank you so much 57:40 for joining us tonight 57:42 with the Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist 57:46 Bible study here in Thompsonville. 57:48 This program is called A Sharper Focus 57:51 and it has been our joy to study with you. 57:54 We hope that God has blessed you. 57:57 Now, may the Lord fill you full of His Spirit, 58:02 and may you find His love, always. |
Revised 2019-06-20