Participants: Eric Garloff, Teresa Garloff
Series Code: WWJ
Program Code: WWJ000003
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00:15 Welcome, I'm Eric Garloff, your host for Walking With Jesus.
00:18 In our first two programs we spoke about God's enduring love 00:22 for man and our great need for Jesus. 00:25 We closed our last program with prayer, and if you prayed that 00:29 prayer with a sincere heart, God has forgiven you of your sins, 00:33 and given you the robe of Christ's righteousness. 00:36 In today's program titled, What Is Repentance, 00:40 we're going to take a look at how we can continue our walk 00:43 with Jesus and draw closer to Him every day. 00:47 I'd like to begin by sharing with you a passage from 00:51 Matthew 21:28-30. 00:53 In this passage Jesus is asking a question. 00:56 He says, 01:17 Well, of course, it was the first son. 01:19 The one who said he would not go, but then afterward repented, 01:23 and went to work in his father's vineyard. 01:26 Concerning repentance, the book Steps to Christ on page 12 01:29 says the following: 02:41 Now that makes things so much clearer. 02:43 True repentance is not being sorry, as to avoid the 02:47 punishment for some wrong doing, but rather it's being sincerely 02:51 sorry for the act of doing wrong itself. 02:55 Perhaps one of the best examples of repentance found in the Bible 02:59 comes to us through one of King David's prayers found in 03:02 Psalms 51:1-14. 03:06 This psalm says: 03:52 Wow! 03:53 As you read this prayer of David's you can really tell that 03:56 David was sincerely sorry for what he had done, 03:59 and in just a few minutes we're going to examine his prayer 04:03 a bit more deeply to see what we can learn from it. 04:06 But before we do this it's vitally important to understand 04:10 that a repentance like David's is not humanly possible. 04:14 Now I'm not saying you can't repent like him, I'm saying it's 04:17 not humanly possible. 04:18 The only way that David could have had such a repentance as 04:21 this is to be connected with God, as He is the one who gives 04:25 us repentance. 04:26 Take some time to think about this because many people today 04:29 think that they first must repent before coming to God. 04:33 If that were the case none would ever come to Him 04:36 because repentance is a gift from God. 04:38 Now it's true that repentance must take place before our sins 04:42 can be forgiven, but repentance is not to be an obstacle 04:46 standing between the sinner and the Savior. 04:50 It is Christ which leads us to genuine repentance, therefore, 04:55 if we don't come to Him first, then we won't be led to 04:58 repentance. 04:59 Acts 5:31 makes it clear while speaking of Jesus. 05:01 It says: 05:07 This text clearly says that Jesus gave repentance to Israel. 05:12 Another passage from the book, Steps to Christ, on page 15 05:15 states the following: 06:03 Thus we see that by beholding what Christ has done for us, 06:07 we are drawn to Him, and if we don't resist that drawing, 06:11 our hearts will be softened and changed. 06:13 We have also seen that a person can't truly repent unless God 06:18 has been working in his, or her, heart to give them repentance. 06:21 We've also seen that a person doesn't wait to have repentance 06:26 before coming to God because that would be putting the cart 06:29 before the horse. 06:30 We must first come to God, or be drawn to Him by His Holy Spirit, 06:35 in order to receive repentance from Him, because it is God who 06:40 works on our heart and gives us repentance. 06:44 A few minutes ago we read King David's prayer of repentance 06:48 from Psalm 51. 06:49 And now I'd like to dig into his prayer of repentance 06:52 and see what gems of truth we can learn and apply to our 06:55 own lives. 06:56 This prayer of David's was uttered after Nathan the prophet 06:59 disclosed to David that God knew all about what he did; 07:03 namely coveting his neighbors wife, Bathsheba, then plotting 07:07 to have her husband Uriah killed so he could marry her and cover 07:11 up her pregnancy. 07:12 When I break down this prayer of repentance, I tend to see 07:16 twelve different characteristics, or components, 07:19 of David's repentance. 07:20 Some may see more, others, perhaps, see less. 07:23 The number isn't important. 07:25 What is important is an understanding that all of these 07:29 things are mingled, and entertained, in David's prayer 07:32 as a result of David's sin, and of God's righteousness, mercy, 07:37 and justice. 07:38 What's important is that we learn something from David's 07:42 prayer of repentance. 07:43 The first line I'd like to consider in David's prayer says: 07:47 Have mercy upon me, Oh God, according to thy 07:50 loving-kindness. 07:51 David doesn't say, Have mercy on me God because I'm, 07:54 basically, a good guy at heart. 07:56 He's not trying to make any excuses for what he's done. 08:00 No, David lays open the truth of the matter fully conscious 08:05 of his great sin against Uriah and Bathsheba, and so he cries 08:10 out for mercy to the God of loving kindness. 08:13 David says, According to the multitude of your tender 08:15 mercies, blot out my transgressions. 08:18 Here David's pleading with the Lord, in His infinite mercy, 08:23 to remove his sins from the record book which has recorded 08:26 his sinful actions. 08:31 Continuing, David says, For I acknowledge my transgressions, 08:35 and my sin is ever before me. 08:38 The knowledge of his wrong doing, his plotting, 08:41 and deliberate actions are pressing down hard on his mind, 08:46 not giving him any rest. 08:48 It's a burden. 08:49 It's a burden of guilt. 08:50 The guilt of his sin is weighing him down so he cries out to God 08:54 in his prayer. 08:55 Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. 08:58 Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. 09:01 Hyssop was used in ceremonial cleansing, and so David, 09:05 seeking to be clean from the depths of the sin that he has 09:08 marred himself with, uses the language which employs the 09:11 strongest symbol of cleansing power for his defilement. 09:15 He then says, Create in me a clean heart, Oh God, and renew 09:19 a right spirit within me. 09:21 David understood that before a new spirit could be placed 09:24 within him, that he would first need to have a clean vessel 09:29 in which to contain it. 09:31 His heart, the thoughts of his mind, would not be cleansed by 09:35 any power of his own. 09:37 They could only be cleansed by the power of God. 09:40 And God is the only one who could then renew a right spirit 09:44 within him. 09:45 He is the only one who could give him a just and steadfast 09:49 spirit; one which would lead him to obedience, justice, love, 09:54 and mercy within his own life. 09:58 The consequences of not having a renewed heart is that sin 10:03 separates the sinner from God, therefore David cries out to God 10:06 and says, Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy 10:11 Holy Spirit from me. 10:12 Although he knew that his actions had grieved the 10:16 Holy Spirit, he could not bear the thought of not having God's 10:20 Spirit to lead him and guide him. 10:22 And so he asks to be restored with these words: Restore unto 10:26 me the joy of thy salvation. 10:29 True joy and happiness is only found when a person is walking 10:33 with God. 10:34 Thus he shows his desire to return to that experience of joy 10:38 which he shared with God before he sinned. 10:41 He goes on to say, And uphold me with thy free spirit. 10:45 The words, free spirit, here, are better translated as 10:49 willing spirit. 10:50 In other words, David desires to have a frame of mind that is 10:54 ready and willing to obey God, and to be willing to serve God 10:58 in whatever He asks him to do. 11:02 Next is a phrase, deliver me from blood guiltiness Oh God. 11:06 This appears to be a direct reference to the blood on 11:08 David's hands from plotting the death of Uriah, and he follows 11:12 the phrase, deliver me from blood guiltiness, Oh God, 11:15 with, thou God of my salvation. 11:17 David realizes that what he had done under the law would also 11:22 require his own death, and here he pleads with God that he would 11:26 be delivered from his guiltiness and retain salvation, 11:30 which is only found in God. 11:31 Then David says, And my tongue shall sing aloud 11:35 of thy righteousness. 11:36 This is the natural response for one who has experienced 11:40 the love, mercy, and forgiveness of God. 11:42 The desire to let others know what God has done for you 11:46 is natural, and God is pleased to see you share the stories 11:50 of His love and mercy with others. 11:52 Now the beauty of this passage is that God did forgive David, 11:56 and he was restored with a new heart, and he once again found 12:02 the joy of God's salvation. 12:03 The scriptures say in 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, 12:07 he is faithful and just to forgive to forgive us our sins, 12:10 and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 12:12 This is a promise, and the strength of a promise is based 12:16 on the one who gives it. 12:18 Therefore, you can know that your sins will be forgiven 12:21 when you come to Him in repentance. 12:24 From the book, Steps to Christ, page 19, we read this passage 12:29 concerning procrastination: 12:59 II Corinthians 6:2 says: Behold, now is the accepted time. 13:04 Behold, now is the day of our salvation. 13:07 In Hebrews 3: 7, 8 says: Today, if you will hear his 13:11 voice, harden not your hearts. 13:13 As I begin to close, I'd like to ask you to study the 13:17 Bible prayerfully. 13:18 It's God's word speaking directly to your soul. 13:21 That word presents you with the law of God 13:24 and the life of Jesus. 13:26 These convict us of sin, and reveal to us the way 13:29 of salvation. 13:30 May your prayer be the prayer of David found in Psalms 51. 13:33 Create in me a clean heart, Oh God, and renew a right spirit 13:37 within me. 13:38 Now may God's rich blessings be upon you and your loved ones. 13:43 Walking with Jesus is most rewarding. 13:48 In Him we find eternal life. 13:51 We pray you draw close to Jesus every day as you study 13:55 the Bible. 13:56 Visit with us again when we ask the question, If God already 14:01 knows, why confess? |
Revised 2014-12-17