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)
When we come to Christ He begins making us to be more like Him. Ephesians 4:22-24 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. (NAU)
➽Vs.11 B. We need God’s closeness "Your presence"
David probably remembered what happened to Saul. King Saul rebelled against the Lord and God’s Spirit and blessings were removed from him. We don’t have to worry about losing our relationship with Christ because the Holy Spirit dwells permanently in believers ever since Pentecost. If we love Christ, then we will long to please Him and be with Him.
Robert Murray McCheyne wrote to Dan Edwards after Mr. Edwards was ordained as a missionary: "In great measure, according to the purity and perfections of the instrument, will be the success. It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God." [1]
1 John 1:7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (NAU)
Andrew Murray said, " May not a single moment of my life be spent outside the light, love, and joy of God’s presence and not a moment without the entire surrender of myself as a vessel for Him to fill full of His Spirit and His love."
➽Vs.12 C. We need the joy of forgiveness "joy of Your salvation"
Jesus promised that just His very presence would bring joy. John 16:22 "Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. (NAU)
No one robs you of your joy. You give it away.
Forgiveness is not "ours" it is God’s forgiveness. It belongs to Him.
Psalm 35:9-10 9 And my soul shall rejoice in the Lord; It shall exult in His salvation. 10 All my bones will say, "Lord, who is like You, Who delivers the afflicted from him who is too strong for him, And the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?" (NAU)
Psalm 100:2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. (NAU)
➽Vs.13 D. We need to focus on others "I will teach transgressors"
Praise converts sinners. Psalm 40:3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the Lord. (NAU)
God can use our failures to warn others. Jesus told Peter: Luke 22:31-32 31 "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; 32 but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." (NAU)
Don’t let your failures keep you from serving the Lord.
When we witness from our wounds, the wounded can identify with us. God can use our past failures to glorify Him.
➽Vs.14-17 IV. Claim a Clean Conscience
➽Vs.14-15 A. A clean conscience produces joy "joyfully sing"
David realizes that God deserves all of his thanks. Here David talks about God’s "righteousness" and God’s "praise." When we understand that our old smelly sinful clothes have been removed by God’s forgiveness and that He has given us a new set of perfect clothes we can’t help but rejoice. 2 Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (NAU) Romans 1:16-17 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed ... (NAU)
Our sin, when we turn from it, highlights the glory of God. Revelation 4:11 "Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created." (NAU)
Revelation 5:12 saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing." (NAU)
It is God’s righteousness that should be exalted. Psalm 31:1 In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed; In Your righteousness deliver me. (NAU)
➽Vs.16-17 B. A clean conscience starts with brokenness "broken... heart"
Spurgeon said, "None but God can give back this joy; he can do it; we may ask it; he will do it for his own glory and our benefit. This joy comes not first, but follows pardon and purity..." [2]
Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, "I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite. (NAU)
Psalm 34:18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit. (NAU)
Our lack of joy can be traced back to our blindness to our own sin. Luke 7:40-47 40 And Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he replied, "Say it, Teacher." 41 "A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 "When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?" 43 Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have judged correctly." 44 Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 "You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. 46 "You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. 47 "For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little." (NAU)
➽The more we understand how much we have been forgiven, the more we will rejoice.
Deuteronomy 32:3 For I proclaim the name of the Lord; Ascribe greatness to our God! (NAU)
2 Samuel 22:47 The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock; And exalted be God, the rock of my salvation, (NAU) Psalm 111:3 Splendid and majestic is His work, And His righteousness endures forever. (NAU)
Psalm 145:5 On the glorious splendor of Your majesty And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate. (NAU) Isaiah 12:5 Praise the Lord in song, for He has done excellent things; Let this be known throughout the earth. (NAU)
➽Vs.18-19 V. Restore Public Worship
➽Vs.18 A. Pray for public revival "do good to Zion"
"I recall hearing Stanley Collins tell pastors that if he were the devil he would do two things to the church: ’Discourage the leaders and divide the body.’ A renewed leader will renew a congregation." [3]
Our nation is in trouble. Are you part of the solution or part of the problem? Are you praying for God to work in our nation? Psalm 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord... (NAU)
➽Vs.19 B. Worship publicly "delight in righteous sacrifices"
In verse 16 David appeared to be against the sacrificial public worship. The problem was NOT the system of worship. The problem was hypocritical worship.
God hates insincere worship. Psalm 5:9 There is nothing reliable in what they say; Their inward part is destruction itself. Their throat is an open grave; They flatter with their tongue. (NAU)
Listen to how Jesus describes the most religious leaders of His day: Luke 11:39 But the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness. (NAU)
God wants to implant a desire for holiness in each of us. Jeremiah 31:33 "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the Lord, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (NAU)
John 4:23 But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. (NAU)
When we are right with God we will want to worship God publicly.
CONCLUSION: Do you have joy or a sense of guilt and depression? When there is a lack of warmth in your heart toward God, start looking for a sin in your life. When God’s people get right with God the glory of God is exalted.
Revival cannot be organized, but we can set our sails to catch the wind from heaven when God chooses to blow upon His people once again. - G. Campbell Morgan [4]
[1] Leading the Way by Paul Borthwick, Navpress, 1989, p. 65
[2] The Treasury of David, Psalms 1-57 By C. H. Spurgeon
[3] Williams, D., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1986). Vol. 13: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 13 : Psalms 1-72. Formerly The Communicator’s Commentary. The Preacher’s Commentary series (394). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.
[4] 10,000 sermon illustrations. 2000 (electronic ed.). Dallas: Biblical Studies Press.
