How Failures Should Pray Part Ii

Purpose: To describe the proper goals for repentance.

Aim: I want the listener to pursue inner holiness.

INTRODUCTION: King David was a great sinner who needed great forgiveness. Last time we looked at God’s pathway to forgiveness. When we ask for forgiveness God’s way, we are forgiven. Period! At that point God declares that our sins are washed away and forever gone. Colossians 2:14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. (NAU)

Psalm 103:11-14 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13 Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. 14 For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. (NAU)

Who wouldn’t want God’s forgiveness? It’s free, forever, and complete. If Jesus is offering this kind of forgiveness for anybody, then why is He shunned and hated so much? Some public prayers are tolerated in our society as long as they don’t mention the name "Jesus". Why is that? Our text today will answer that question for us. Even though forgiveness is freely offered, forgiveness is a package deal.

REVIEW:

Vs.1-4 I. Ask God for Forgiveness

Vs.1a A. Look for grace alone "gracious...lovingkindness...compassion"

Vs.1b-3 B. Expect complete forgiveness "blot out...wash me...cleanse me"

Vs.4 C. Realize that sin insults God "Against you...I have sinned"

Vs.5-9 II. Admit Your Lack of Holiness

Vs.5 A. Your nature is to sin "brought forth in iniquity"

Vs.6 B. Surface holiness is not enough "truth in the innermost being"

Vs.7-9 C. Radical cleansing is required "Purify me...Wash me...Make me"

LESSON:

➽Vs.10-13 III. Look to God for a New Beginning

The rest of this Psalm shows us that there is more power in forgiveness than first meets the eye. When God forgives us He also changes us. There is no middle ground. God will either transform us from the inside out or He won’t change us at all.

Do you want your life improved or completely changed?

I would like to buy 3 dollars worth of God, please

Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep,

but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine.

I don’t want enough of him to make me love [someone of a different color] or pick beets with a migrant.

I want ecstasy, not transformation.

I want the warmth of the womb not a new birth.

I want about a pound of the eternal in a paper sack.

I’d like to buy 3 dollars worth of God, please [By Wilber Reese]

Charlie brown asks Linus "What would you do if you felt that nobody liked you?" Linus responds "Well Charlie Brown I guess I would take a real hard look at myself, ask if I am doing anything that turns people off, How can I improve myself? Do I need to change in some way? Yep that’s my answer Charlie Brown." Charlie Brown says, "I hate that answer."

➽Vs.10 A. We need godly desires "clean heart...steadfast spirit"

Notice that forgiveness is done by God alone. Every one of the verbs in verses one through ten points to what God has done for us. He cries out to God, Be gracious to me (v.1) Wash me (v.2) Purity me, Wash me (v.7), Make me hear joy (v.8), Blot out my iniquity (v.9), Create in me, Renew a steadfast spirit (v.10), Restore to me, Sustain me (v.12) Deliver me (v.14).

Paul told us, 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ... (NAU)

Here David uses the same Hebrew word CREATE ("to make out of nothing") that was used of God in Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (NAU) Our hearts are so corrupted by sin that we need God to create a total newness. 2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (NAU)

Jesus said, Matthew 5:8 blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (NAU)

What we need is for God to change us on the inside so that we WANT what He wants. Psalm 37:4-5 4 Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. (NAU)