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When You are Truly SORRY Part five in a five part series: Games People Play Presented by Pastor Paul Newell September 28, 2003 |
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It could all come from the political headlines or maybe a new Fall TV series…but would it surprise you to know that it all came out of the Old Testament book of Samuel? It’s an event in the life of King David, the second king of the nation of Israel. David was specifically chosen, appointed by God to be the leader of Israel. And David was at the top of his game. The nation was growing in size, in power and in wealth. Through his leadership Israel had conquered most of the bordering enemies that threatened their small nation. David was in the final stages of building a great capital and palace. He was beginning to plan for a magnificent temple where all of the nation would gather to worship God. On top of that God had just given King David a direct promise that David’s family, his offspring, would rule the nation of Israel forever! (That’s pretty good job security!) Things were going better than better…but then he slipped. In the book of Second Samuel the events are recorded for us to consider. (2 Samuel chapters eleven and twelve) As I said, most of Israel’s enemies had been defeated, but there were a few small problems that stilled needed to be addressed. Nothing they couldn't easily handle. The problems seemed so small that David did not even go with his armies when they went off to battle. Instead he stayed home and rested. He decided that he had the luxury of not focusing on his kingly duties. That’s when the slide began. Second Samuel chapter eleven tells us that during “the time of year when kings go to war” that David sent his commander and army out to battle, but he stayed home. One afternoon while taking a walk on his palace roof he noticed his neighbor’s wife taking a bath. Bathsheba was beautiful, and instead of turning away, David decided to keep watching. The looking turned into wondering. The wondering turned into lust; and the lust into action when David sent for Bathsheba. Even though he knew Bathsheba was married, David brought her into his bedroom and committed adultery with her. It was not long afterward when Bathsheba sent word back to David that their little rendezvous had conceived a child; she was pregnant and David had to be the father. Her husband Uriah was off with the army fighting David's battles. What was David to do? What if the people of Israel found out? So David stooped lower. He attempted to cover-up his involvement with Bathsheba by bringing her husband, a leader in his army, home from battle to be with his wife. David’s plan backfired when Uriah refused to sleep with his own wife while the rest of his soldiers where still risking their lives for their country. Then David stooped to the lowest point in his life. He conspired to have Uriah murdered during a battle with Israel’s enemy. It looked so innocent, no one but David would know for sure why he asked for such a thing to happen: in the heat of the battle the troops, when fighting was heavy, the troops were pulled back leaving Uriah alone. An arrow killed him, but it might as well have been David’s own hand. And nobody knew. Nobody, that is, except God. Time passed. David married the widow Bathsheba and a baby boy is born. All seem to be forgotten in the joy of a new child. Then God intervenes. A prophet of God appears on the scene – the prophet Nathan. Nathan confronts David with the facts – there is no escaping the truth and King David is devastated. Not just because he had been caught, but because the full weight of what he had done came down on him. David had not just sinned against Bathsheba, Uriah, and his nation. David had sinned against God. God had been generous, gracious, powerfully on David’s side. Yet David had turned his back on God and done the very things he knew would hurt God. Second Samuel says that what David really did was to “despise God”…to loath, hate, fight God and God’s plan for David’s life. David was crushed. His confession to the Prophet Nathan was just six words, six powerful words: “I have sinned against the LORD!” As a result of David’s sin his family was never the same. His kids were messed up, his plans never came to complete fulfillment and tragically the little boy that had been born died.
All of that and
David was still considered a man after God’s on heart
(Acts 13:22; Now why did we take the time to review all of that story? Here’s the point: If David, a man after God’s own heart can blow it, what makes us think we are any different? And if God can forgive and restore David after such a series of terrible sins – can’t God do the same in your life and mine? This morning we’re talking about SORRY! When you are truly sorry. We’re not talking about being sad. We’re not talking about feeling sorry because we’ve been “caught”. We’re talking about being genuinely sorry – sorry to the point that we are willing to REPENT. There’s a word we don’t hear very often, but it’s one we need to be aware of every day: REPENT. I told you that David’s response to Nathan was just six words: “I have sinned against the LORD”, but that’s not the end of the story. David’s words to Nathan were just six, but his words to God were over three hundred. Three hundred of the most profound and direct words dealing with repentance and renewal. Look at Psalm 51 with me this morning. We won’t take time to read the entire passage together, but you have it there before you. 323 words pleading with God to do something in his life. To change what David could not change on his own. 323 words when sorry isn’t enough. The key phrase to the entire prayer is found in verse seventeen:
The
sacrifice you want is a broken spirit. When we fail God does not want show – He wants submission. He doesn’t want a lot of outward “I’m sorry” – He wants a true, from the heart repentance. We’ve used that word now a few times, so let’s define it. Repentance simply means to turn – to make a 180-degree turn, an about face. What God wants when we sin for us to be broken over our sin (that’s the genuine “sorry” part) and then to turn from our sins. Proverbs 28:13 says it this way: “People who cover over their sins will not prosper. But if they confess and forsake them, they will receive mercy.” So how do we repent? How do we turn around when we are genuinely sorry? David’s prayer in Psalm 51 gives us five keys to repentance. The first key is found in the very first phrase of the Psalm. “Have mercy on me, O God…Because of your great compassion” When you’ve blown it and are genuinely sorry you need to I. APPRECIATE AND ACCEPT GOD’S MERCY. Realize that God is ready and willing to “blot out the stain of [your] sins”. The beginning place is to realize and accept God’s mercy. Mercy is what you get when you don’t deserve it. There’s nothing you can do to deserve God’s mercy and forgiveness. Stop trying to win God’s approval on your own. Simply admit to God that you need His mercy. You can’t be good enough. The Bible tells us that we are all sinners. We’ve all done bad. There’s no use comparing yourself with anyone other than Jesus. And compared to Jesus, compared to God, none of us are good enough! But the good news is God is a compassionate God just waiting to show you His mercy if you will come to Him and ask for it. Accept God’s Mercy. But God’s mercy is not a “blanket mercy”. It may surprise you to know that God does not forgive everyone of their sins. God only forgives those who genuine seek his forgiveness. That’s why the second key to genuine repentance is found in verse three: “For I recognize by shameful deeds”.
One translation says
it this way: You need to... II. TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR SINS Far too often we want to blame everyone else for our sins and failures. Repentance means taking full responsibility for our own sins. “I may be wrong, but it’s not my fault.” That’s our theme song these days, isn’t it? That’s not what David prayed…he told God that he recognized [his] sinful deeds…they were staring at him! Repentance – a true turn-around - begins when we admit to the truth of our failures, our sins. It really is our fault. It’s not someone else’s. It’s ours. No matter who or what contributed to the situation – we were the ones who chose to do wrong and sin! God will only forgive those who come seeking His mercy and forgiveness. And you will never seek His mercy until you are willing to first admit that you need it! Take responsibility for your sins! Then you need to III. SEEK PURITY! It’s one thing to say you are sorry and seek forgiveness. It’s quite another to stop doing it! Notice David’s prayer: “Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” (verse 7). David cries out to God to purify him. Purity is something only God can bring. God is the one who cleans us. I John tells us: But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. (1 John 1:9) Once we take responsibility for our sins we can go to God and ask Him to cleanse us of those sins. Notice that David does not say “help me get over how I feel about my sin” or “help me forget that I sin” or even “help me get over the guilt of my sin”. He asks God to completely cleanse the sin from his life. “Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow”. David had had enough of the sin, the guilt, the hurt of sin – he wanted it completely gone from his life! This is more than seeking forgiveness – it’s asking God for the power to REMOVE the sin from your life! This is the 180-degree turn. To purify means to get rid of the corruption. It means to cleanse it out of your life. You can’t seek God’s mercy and forgiveness and not allow Him to remove the sinful actions from your life. You can’t have forgiveness without repentance; they go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other. It’s simply impossible. That’s why the key phrase, verse 17, tells us, “a broken and repentant heart” is what God desires – nothing less. It’s an inside out process. You can’t do it on your own. You need God’s power. That’s why verse six tells us “ you desire honesty from the heart, so you can teach me to be wise in my inmost being”. God wants to change you from the inside out. It’s your heart He wants to change, your actions will follow. And only God can change your heart. That’s why the fourth key to repentance is to IV. ALLOW GOD TO CREATE A NEW HEART & SPIRIT IN YOU “Create in me a clean heart. O God…” (David prays) “Renew a right spirit within me.” David refers back to God’s original creation. If God has the power to create something out of nothing, then He certainly has the power to create a clean heart out of the chaos our sins have caused. You have to allow God to create something new inside you. You have to allow Him to work in your life – to clean it up and create something new. “Renew a right spirit within me”. Wouldn’t you like to face each morning knowing that your spirit and God’s were “right” with each other? The thought here is to be able to stand tall, face-to-face with God because everything is “right” with Him. He has forgiven our sins…but we have also allowed Him to get rid of the sinful acts and attitudes from our life. Key three deals with our attitude about repentance – we’re asking God to cleanse us. Key four is all about action – giving up and making room for God to create something new inside us. Making room by letting go of the sins and excuses. Allowing God to work means cooperating with God in the process.
It means focusing on the things that will cause you
to grow in your relationship with Him. What does it mean to truly repent? It means… Accepting God’s mercy Taking responsibility for your sins Seeking purity Allowing God to create a new heart and spirit inside you. And finally, it means to V. Enjoy the joy! Throughout this prayer of repentance, David asks for joy. “Restore to me again the joy of your salvation…” (verse 12) “Oh, give me back my joy again.” (verse 8) “Renew a right spirit within me.” (verse 10) Sin robs us of our joy. It’s hard to live happy and joyfully when you know what you are doing is wrong and hurts. We lie to ourselves and tell ourselves that sin will make us happy. Then, when it does the opposite and enslaves us, hurts us – we lie again and tell ourselves that more sin will get us out of the hurt and sadness. It doesn’t work! Joy only comes when we are living obediently before God. Look at verse 12 again… “Restore to me again the joy of your salvation…make me willing to obey you.” (verse 12) Accept God’s mercy Take responsibility for your sins Seek purity Allow God to work in you – cooperate with Him in the process, don’t fight it. Then enjoy the joy!
Don’t go backwards and live in the guilt of things God has forgiven you
for.
Accept God’s mercy
Take responsibility for your sins,
Realize that with purity
There is an incredible joy Enjoy the joy God wants to give you. That joy will never come until you are willing, honestly, truly SORRY for the sinful acts and attitudes in your life, SORRY enough to genuinely REPENT. This morning you can begin that process of repentance by being honest with God. If you have yet to begin a real relationship with Jesus Christ by accepting His forgiveness and making Him your Boss (your LORD) – then that’s where you need to begin. Go to Jesus and repent of your sins. Tell Jesus that you are willing to turn from running your own life your own way and are willing to turn to Him. Tell Jesus that you willing accept His offer of forgiveness of your sins and that you want Him to be your LORD, the Boss of your life. For more information on beginning a relationship with Jesus click here. Many of you here this morning have already accepted God’s offer of eternal life. You’ve given your heart and life to Jesus. But like King David, you’ve blown it along the way. Remember – if God can restore David after all David did, He can restore you. But your part is to repent of the things that have drawn you away from a right relationship with Jesus. Accept God’s mercy Take responsibility for your sins Seek purity Allow God to work to create a new heart and spirit inside you. Then enjoy the joy of that right relationship with Jesus!
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(c) Paul Newell 2003 FamilyFellowship Church P.O. Box 465, Beaumont, CA 92223 |
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