Search This Blog

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Repenting

Repent Before The Lord

Psalms 51


There can be no doubt the purpose of this Psalm.

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

This Psalm is about King David begging for mercy because of his sin with Bathsheba.

What was David's sin? He despised the commandment of the Lord.

2Sa 12:9  "Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight"? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

God said "there is a way that seems right to man, but the end there of are the ways of death".

What is personal accountability?

We simply do not want to own our own sin.

We will try our best to make excuses for our sin.

We will try our best to blame our sin on some other thing or on some other person.

But sin is a choice!

Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; "but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened".

The Bible relates sin in at least three different ways.

1) Sin means missing the mark.

Our standard is our sinless Lord Jesus Christ. God expects us to come as close as we can to this standard. When we sin we miss the mark but we are not alone.

Jesus Christ is the glory of our Father in Heaven but God says this about all humans.

Rom 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

2) Sin is described as a transgression.

Transgression is human rebelliousness. We know what God's commandments require of us, yet we choose to disobey.

1Jn 3:4  Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

3) Sin is described as iniquity.

Iniquity points out disobedience but iniquity also points out the guilt that comes from that iniquity.

Psa 31:10  For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed.

And what are the consequences of sin?

Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let's begin:

*****Psa 51:1  Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

We know from this story of David that for over a year David had carried this sin in secret. It had eating away at him to the point of causing him physical and emotional problems.

When Nathan, the prophet of God confronted David with his sin, David quickly realized there are no secrets that can be kept from God and it was by God's "Grace" that He had sent Nathan to confront David.

God was allowing David space to repent but he had not repented!

David quickly understood his failure and immediately appealed to the mercy of God.

David ask for mercy before he mentioned his sin.

It is important for us to tell God what sin we have committed, God expects us to realize what He considers sin but like David we may first want to ask for mercy.

God already knows about our sin but God wants us to be sure that we know His Word and what His Word teaches us about sin.

The sight of mercy is good to see after a strained relationship with the Lord!

The "pardon" of our sin is a pure act of mercy on the part of Our Lord!

We must remember what to be pardoned means. To pardon means to reverse a sentence of guilty.

To be pardoned is like that sin never even happened!

Thank goodness we have a God that is merciful!

Mic 7:18  Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.

We are the foolish ones when we do not use the opportunity to repent to get back in God's favor!

Isa 55:7  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

It is embarrassing to fall into the traps of Satan but it is refreshing to be restored to our Father!

That embarrassment ends when we realize that that sin has been blotted out of God record book!

Act 3:19  Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
Act 3:20  And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:

*****Psa 51:2  Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
Psa 51:3  For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

We must remember it is not enough to just blot out our sin, our soul is housed in defiled flesh and that flesh contains the sin nature of Adam.

We need a good cleansing!

That washing must be thorough.

That washing must be repeated over and over again until we get home to the Lord's house.

Chastisement must be looked upon as God removing our defective parts!

We need at least a daily washing to stay as clean as we possibly can be until the Lord comes to take us home.

***Sin is like pollution that has polluted our entire nature.

We own our sin!

Sin is that debt that we owe ourselves!

No one else owns our sin and no one else can pay our sin debt!

Sin is a deviation from the straight path of God!

Jas 4:16  But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
Jas 4:17  Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

How are we washed clean of our sin?

Tit 3:5  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Tit 3:6  Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

***Sin is lawlessness and it becomes rebellion and leads to a bad attitude before a Holy God!

We must acknowledge our transgressions.

Remember transgressions mean we know what the Word of God says but we refuse to obey it.

And to sin means we have come short of the standard set by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Joh 15:22  If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.

When David sinned, he sinned against Uriah, he sinned against Bathsheba, he sinned against his wife and he sinned against his entire family but most important he sinned against the Lord and we must acknowledge all these things to Him.

*****Psa 51:4  Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

When we realize how our sin has affected the life of others we will have that increased feeling that we have sinned against God.

When we cause injury to those around us it is because we have gone against the Word of God!

***To sin is a choice we make and in doing so we have placed our own selves higher than anyone in this world and before our Savior from the glory world.

I find it truly embarrassing to face my Father in Heaven knowing I have done wrong and knowing He has witnessed me doing that wrong thing!

We must realize we have no excuse and no means of argument against the truth of God.

We must also realize that God has every right to chastise us when we have gone against His Word.

Our God is a righteous God and He gets no pleasure out of seeing our sin and He also gets no pleasure in His chastisement but that chastisement must come because of God's righteousness.

BUT, God takes great pleasure in forgiving sin because He is faithful to the work of His Son on Calvary's cross!

*****Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

There is no sin in the act of conception when it is carried out in the bond of marriage.

We are not sinners because we sin, "we sin because have a sin nature"!

This is the sin nature passed down from Adam.

Adam yielded to the assaults of temptation and all mankind since that time have to face the temptations of this world and we all fail.

This is not an excuse to sin, it is a reality of who we are!

We cannot be saved until we know are sinners in need of our Savior.

We cannot be forgiven until we realize the sinful things we do and ask for forgiveness and that forgiveness is promised.

1Jn 1:8  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

The reality of these things is we must desire the truth!

God's Word Is True!

*****Psa 51:6  Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

To behold is to give this matter of sin great consideration!

God not only requires us to be obedient to His Word but God also requires us to know the truth of how far we come up short of His ideals.

We must not ever forget our example in this life is Jesus Christ who was sinless!

What are God's demands for us? God demands sanctification!

Sanctification is the process of being made holy. It is only the work of Jesus Christ on that cross that makes it possible for us to move from being in sin to being holy in the eyes of God!

God says:

Lev 20:7  Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.
Lev 20:8  And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.

*****Psa 51:7  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Hyssop was a small shrub that was used to sprinkle blood and water over the cleansed leper, symbolizing his purification and cleansing.

It was also the hyssop that was used to in the sprinkling of blood on the door post of the Israelites on that first Passover.

Lev 14:6  As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:
Lev 14:7  And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.

We must realize it is only by the blood of Jesus that the stain of sin can be removed!

Who are the ones who will make it to God's Heavenly Home?

Wash me Lord, make me clean!

Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

*****Psa 51:8  Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

When we are in distress because of our sin, the only thing that will bring joy is forgiveness!

The salvation by the Lord Jesus is a certain and permanent thing but when we carry sin in our heart we will lose the joy of our salvation until we repent and return to the Lord.

God's voice of peace is the sweetest music we can hear!

When we carry the weight of sin, it will become a burden that we cannot over come.

The Lord Jesus Christ has already carried that burden of sin to the cross, we are foolish to try to carry any burden of sin during our life time.

It took the death of Jesus to pay our sin debt. Sin will break your bones as it breaks your life!

Psa 55:22  Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

We need to cast that burden upon the Lord.

*****Psa 51:9  Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

***What is the one main thing that comes between us and God in our relationship? It is sin!

Here David is saying "Lord do not look upon my sin". "Do not allow my foolishness to come between us".

Nothing but a complete pardon will ever satisfy this request!

And how loving is our God?

Mic 7:18  Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
Mic 7:19  He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

We should all pray, please God don't just blot out my transgression of today but blot out all my iniquities, the sin I know I have done all my life.

And how loving is our God?

Col 2:14  Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

For only then can we be "Born Again"!

*****Psa 51:10  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Jesus had these words for Nicodemus:

Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Only God can create in the sense of making something out of nothing. This is exactly what happened when God created our world!

Heb 11:3  Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

When we pray the sinners prayer we are asking the Lord to create something new that is not within us.

When we come into this earth we do not have a clean heart.

When we come into this world we do not have the right spirit.

We must be "Born Again" and our spirit must be renewed!

Eph 4:22  That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Eph 4:23  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Eph 4:24  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

*****Psa 51:11  Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Psa 51:12  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

In the time of Adam, his son Cain was banished from the presence of his family.

Being "Born Again" by the blood of Jesus, we will never be banished, we will always have access to our new family and to all our own family that have gone on before us, when we all gather together in Heaven.

This is a great privilege that God has allowed us.

1Co 13:12  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Besides the supreme privilege of seeing the Lord Jesus Christ, there is great joy in salvation knowing that we will once again see our loved ones who have gone on before us!

Our salvation is eternal! If God has the power and ability to save us, then He certainly has the power and the ability to hold onto us!

Rom 8:30  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Once "Born Again", having been justified, we begin that time of sanctification and when the Lord calls us up to meet Him in the clouds we will all be glorified!

No one will be left behind, except those that belong to Belial!

1Jn 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

What are we to be doing today?

*****Psa 51:13  Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

David knew that even though he was King of Israel, he had another more important job to do also.

David was also a prophet of God.

Act 2:29  Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
Act 2:30  Therefore "being a prophet", and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
Act 2:31  He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.

We sometimes forget that we are also sinners, saved by the "Grace" of God.

1Co 6:9  Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
1Co 6:10  Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
1Co 6:11  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

It is our own salvation experience that can be used as an example and a testimony to others who are still doing what we have been saved from doing.

And God says:

Jas 5:19  Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
Jas 5:20  Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

Pro 11:30  The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

This is the same job we all have after we are saved!

*****Psa 51:14  Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

As we know from our other studies, David was guilty of the death of Uriah, a true national hero of the Jews.

David is confessing that fact.

David also knew that committing the sin of adultery was a capitol offense under Jewish law.

David knew he deserved death!

David knew that God hates these actions from any man! David had also written Psalms 6.

Psa 5:6  Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

To be hated of God is an awful thing and no human being can escape the law of God!

But Nathan had also given David a warning.

2Sa 12:10  Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

Our sin will almost always affect our families!

David was seeking to be free from the guilt and the condemnation of this sin.

***We must realize just how terrible sin is and how it can affect our lives just to realize just how wretched we are!

The Apostle Paul also realized these same things:

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

SO, What does true confession bring about?

Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

This is our greatest reason to praise the Lord!

*****Psa 51:15  O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

When we face the Lord with our sin, there can be no excuses. To sin is a choice that we make. We must confess our sin before the Lord and then we must remain quiet until we hear the judgment of the Lord.

***Our God is faithful to be obedient to His own Word!

1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If God opens our mouths by removing our sense of guilt then He expects something in return!

How can we not praise Him!

*****Psa 51:16  For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
Psa 51:17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

The praise from our mouths is far better than any sacrifice we could offer.

To praise the Lord shows our faith that we have been forgiven.

To praise the Lord shows our love for Him and glorifies Him.

If God required anything else, we would be foolish to not get it for Him for such a forgiveness.

This would then be a works doctrine and God is not about works, God is all about "Faith"!

To offer up a burnt offering, meant that some animal was taken to a priest and that priest would offer up the animal in your name.

That animal already belonged to God!

It is foolish to believe that we could offer any other sacrifice "than ourselves" that would be pleasing to the Lord!

The sacrifice that God requires are a "broken spirit" because of our sin!

Psa 34:18  The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

The broken and the contrite heart because of sin are not despised by the Lord!

They are accepted as a suitable sacrifices through the Lord Jesus Christ and will bring an everlasting salvation!

The Word of God delivered by the Holy Spirit will break the heart of a sinner and only then will God save them!

Once we have repented and are back in favor with God we can then be a blessing to others.

*****Psa 51:18  Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

It was on the hill called Zion where David had determined to build the Temple that Solomon did build after the death of his father, King David.

David requested that God not allow his personal sin to interfere with the construction of the Temple.

As Christians we should pray that God not allow our sin to hinder the Church in any way.

When we fall into the snares of the devil, our own actions can become a stumbling block to those around us, especially to our own families.

Salvation is our wall between us and this evil world we live in.

And we must offer up ourselves as spiritual sacrifices!

1Pe 2:4  To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
1Pe 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

These are the sacrifices that please God!

*****Psa 51:19  Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

As the saved children of God we expect for our prayers to be answered but God is only pleased with us when we bring our best.

The Lord Jesus Christ paid our sin debt. There are no more sacrifices that can be offered for our sin!

Eph 5:1  Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
Eph 5:2  And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

Just like David we must follow the proper way of confession of our sins and we must then repent.

Sometimes it is the preaching of God's Word that will wake us up to confession of our sin.

Sometimes it is God's Heavenly Hickory that will wake us up to confession of our sin.

Sometimes it is Holy Ghost conviction that will wake us up to confess our sin.

God will always provide a means of and a method of confession and that will lead us to repentance because this is the only reason God came to this earth to begin with!

Mat 9:12  But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
Mat 9:13  But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Jesus did not die just so He could heal the sick.

Jesus died on that cross to save all of us that know we are sinners in need of a Savior!

Questions?

Let's Pray!

No comments: