CLEANING THE CARPET
Open In Prayer
I. Introduction:
A. Picture for a moment carpet in your family room or any high traffic area. This carpet accumulates dust, dirt, and grime, etc.
1. Most carpets have a stain resistant chemical on it to help protect it but it still needs cleaned periodically, with a carpet scrubber.
B. Now picture your soul as this carpet. You accumulate dust, dirt and grime, etc., these things are your sins.
1. You, just like the carpet, have a stain resistant protector. It is the blood of Jesus. You have been covered by the blood.
C. After you clean your carpet, you must maintain it.
1. You must run the sweeper over it daily to pick up the dust that is drug in off your shoes.
2. Your soul is the same way. It, your soul, still needs to be maintained, it needs cleaned daily.
II. Read: Isaiah 1:16
A. We are washed, by asking forgiveness of our sins.
1. We must ask forgiveness, of our sins, EVERY single day.
B. But it doesn’t stop their. We must “cease to do evil”
1. That means to stop living in sin!
2. Stop repeating the same sins over and over. You know it’s a sin, God has convicted you of it. He has told you to stop doing it. But you continually DIS-OBEY Him.
C. You are responsible for your sins. No one else! Not your Pastors, not Mom, not Dad, not your brother or sister, not your spouse, and not your kids. No one BUT YOU!
III. Read: Psalms 139:23-24
A. Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts
1. Search me throughly, look deep within me.
2. Know my heart, examine me
B. ...see if there be any wicked way in me,
1. Test me, see if there is any hidden sins.
C. and lead me in the way everlasting.
1. So that it may be confessed, and forgiven
2. The way that leads to everlasting life.
D. Sometimes, we need God to point our sins out to us, so they can be dealt with effectively.
IV. Read: 1 John 1:7-10
A. If one walks in the light, then he can have fellowship with the Lord Jesus and with his fellow Christians.
1. As far as John is concerned in this passage, a man is either in the light or in darkness.
a. If he is in the light, he is a member of God’s family.
b. If he is in darkness, he does not have anything in common with God because there is no darkness in God at all.
(1) Darkness is “sin”
B. Fellowship with God requires that we acknowledge the truth concerning ourselves.
1. For instance, to deny that we have a sinful nature means self-deception and untruthfulness.
C. Proverbs 28:13 tells us: “He who covers his sins will not prosper: but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy”.
1. Even the best Christians will sin.
a. No one is perfect. And it doesn’t matter how long you have served God, you can still fall into sin.
2. We all must confess our sins, and repent DAILY.
a. Some people will hide their sins, from themselves.
b. You cannot hid your sins from God.
3. We must repent daily in order to claim the promise that He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
D. It’s really that simple. Repent with a sincere heart, and Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and He will cleanse you.
1. Let me ask, “Have you cleaned your house lately?”
E. Vs. 10 tells us, that if we say we have not sinned, we make God a liar.
1. To say this, is a complete contradiction of His Word.
2. It is a complete denial of the reason the Lord Jesus came to suffer, bleed, and die.
a. In several places, God’s Word tells us we are sinners.
(1) We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. (Rom 3:23)
3. The denial of our sin not only deceives ourselves, but reflects dishonor upon God.
4. God’s Word is true, and God is so pure and Holy, He cannot tell a lie.
5. The phrase, “The Word of God is not in us,” means we do not know Him as our Lord and Savior.
V. Read: Psalm 51:1-3
A. David had participated in sin.
1. I am not going to get in to what that sin was. Because I don’t want you to dwell on the sin. A sin is a Sin.
2. David lived in that sin for 9 months without remorse, and without repenting.
a. After that nine months had went by, God sent Nathan to David and pointed out to David, David’s sin.
B. No one likes to have their sins pointed out to them. It may embarrass them, or even anger them:
1. And I’ll tell you no one likes to go to the other person and point their sins out to them either.
a. Sometimes God will have the Pastors do that.
2. It is generally after God has already been dealing with you about it, but you have been ignoring Him.
3. Church, if your living in sin, you had better make it right. Because GOD IS WATCHING YOU!
4. There are NO SECRETS WITH JESUS CHRIST! He sees everything you do.
C. After David’s eyes were open to his sin, he poured out his soul to God asking for mercy and forgiveness.
1. Vs 1. Have mercy upon me O God, according to thy lovingkindess:.....
2. David new he had a Merciful Father in heaven. And he cried out to Him.
a. Have mercy on me God.
b. I know I don’t deserve it, but have mercy on me.
3. He reminded God of His tender mercies and he ASKED God to forgive him of his transgressions.
a. He humbled himself before God
4. Blot out my transgressions a plea that his sins be blotted out, as from a register, a record book of sin accurately kept by God
a. God keeps track of our sins, this is why we must repent and die to self daily.
b. We must do full self-evaluations of our sins and our relationship with Christ.
D. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
1. Wash me throughly. Leaving nothing behind.
2. David is acknowledging his sins. He is saying yes Lord, I am a sinner. I see my sins and I am SORRY for them.
VI. Read: Psalm 51:7-12
A. “Purge me with hyssop”,
1. David is saying, “Pardon my sins” and let me know they are pardoned that I may be restored unto your righteousness.
B. Hyssop is a plant that they mixed with water and blood it would then be sprinkled over people in a ceremonial cleansing.
1. Cleansing against contact with a corpse or the defilement of Leprosy.
2. Paul, would refer to the cleansing by the sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus (Heb 12:24)
a. It is now the Blood of Christ, that purges us white as snow.
3. David prayed, “wash me and I may be whiter than snow.”
a. He knows his God. He knows that his God is powerful and merciful enough to cleanse his sin’s away that they become non-existence.
C. Vs 8 David realizes that there is something missing in his life. He feels the emptiness he has had without God, while in his back-sliden condition.
1. He cries out to God to “make me hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.”
2. David didn’t have real broken bones. He is speaking of the broken-ness in his heart.
3. He realizes that without God, he has no joy.
a. True joy comes from God.
b. Joy we experience from things of this earth are temporary. Joy with God is eternal.
D. Vs 9 David knows that God cannot look upon sin. So he say’s hide thy face from my sins and blot out all mine iniquites.
1. Turn away Your face from looking on my sins in judgment and punishment.
2. In other words, “blot out my sin from your record books, so that you can look upon me again.”
E. Vs 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
1. Lord once you have wiped my sins away. Cleanse me and renew my Spirit. Refreshen me Lord!
2. Create in me a clean heart shows that David is interested in more than just forgiveness of sins.
3. He is interested in the creative power of God making him a new creature with a new, clean heart
4. Renew my entire inner self so it will be steadfast in guarding against future outbreaks of sin.
5. Repair the damage this sin has caused in my spiritual strength, my spiritual walk with You.
F. Vs 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
1. Don’t give up on me Lord. I need You. Forgive me! Don’t leave me! Don’t forsake me!
a. In David’s day, God would leave.
b. The Spirit of the Lord, had departed from David.
c. David was miserable, and after Nathan had spoken to him, he realized why he was so miserable. And he cryed out to God.
2. But we have a reprieve, in that Jesus was the final sacrifice.
a. God will not FORSAKE ANYONE!
b. However, we can push Him away.
3. We leave Him. He doesn’t leave us. We are the ones who let sin into our lives. We are the ones who walk away from God.
4. And like David, we can and must cry out to Him and ask His forgiveness.
G. Vs 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit.
1. When you cry out to God with a SINCERE heart, and God does know the difference, God will restore unto you your salvation.
2. The “joy of thy salvation”
a. There is joy in Salvation.
b. There is joy in knowing you have Eternal Life.
c. There is joy in knowing that God is walking with you.
d. There is joy in knowing that you are never alone.
e. There is joy in knowing that Jesus is with you in the darkest hours of your life.
3. God will uphold you with His free Spirit.
a. If left to our selves, we will sink.
b. Uphold me, means God you take over
(1) I give myself willingly to you once more.
(2) The Holy Spirit will enter in and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. He will rise up within you and restore your soul.
4. Let me find favor in Your eyes!
a. Can God look down upon you with out turning His face away?
b. If you havn’t repented than God cannot look upon you, He cannot walk with you.
c. God cannot dwell in a body of sin.
d. Sin and God cannot dwell in the same household.
VII. John 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
A. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1. It’s really that simple.
a. We have all sinned, and we all must repent.
B. Repent with a sincere heart, and Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
1. Have you cleaned your house lately?
C. It doesn’t matter if you have been a Christian for the last 50 years or if you just converted yesterday.
1. We all must repeatedly repent DAILY.
2. Sin is in the world, and we all fall in the trap of sin on a daily basis.
D. If this were the Judgment day, and that day will come sooner than you think, and you were to find yourself standing before God and the Lambs Book of Life, would your name be found written within?
1. Rev 20:11-15 tells us that we will all stand before God for judgement.
a. And if your name is not written in the Lambs Book of Life you will be cast into the lake of fire for eternal damnation.
(1) Where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth”
2. Don’t leave this place with any doubt of your name being found in the Lambs Book of Life.
E. I am giving you an invitation, every head bowed, and every eye closed, that if you don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, now is the time to come and we will pray.
1. Please do not leave here, without knowing Jesus this morning.
F. Maybe you already know Jesus, maybe you just haven’t been living quite right, maybe you just need a refreshing of the Holy Spirit. Now is the time to come.
1. Please do not leave here with things unsettled in your Spirit.
2. No sin is too great for God to forgive. And time is running out
3. Now is the time to do a spiritual cleaning of the temple of God.
G. Please do not leave here like you came this morning. Does anyone want prayer for anything? Or maybe you just want to spend sometime at the alter and want to pray by yourself that is okay to. The alter is open.
