1. Johnny and the Duck (1)
A young boy who had just rec'd a slingshot for his birthday. He'd spend hours shooting rocks at various target/but he never seemed to be able to hit his target. One day he was in his Grandmother's house and he watched as her pet duck waddled by. On impulse he took aim with his slingshot and let fly. And he hit it... and the duck died.
"The boy panicked and hid the bird in the woodpile, only to look up and see his sister Sally watching.
After lunch that day, the Grandmother told Sally to help with the dishes. Sally responded, "Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today. Didn't you Johnny?"
And then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck!" So, Johnny did the dishes. For the next several weeks he was often at the kitchen sink, sometimes for his duty, sometimes for his sin. And whenever he was tempted to object, his sister reminded him "Remember the duck."
What else could he do? His grandmother had loved him. But now he'd done a terrible thing and if grandma ever found out... she'd never forgive him. He DIDN'T DESERVE her love. And so... he did the only thing he could think to do... (pause...) He hid his sin. He buried the duck in the wood pile hoping that no one would ever find out
2. Our Tendency to Hide sin Adam and Eve; David's Sin and Cover-up -- 2 Samuel 11
a. Steals Bathsheba
b. Commits Adultery
c. Murders Uriah
3. The Exposure -- 2 Samuel 12
a. Nathan's Courage (12.7)
b. David's Responses -- 12.5-6; 13
4. Psalm 51 -- from this incident
a. His Prayer
b. His Penitence
c. His Possibilities
I. God is the Creator of Clean Hearts
[Last week we spoke from Ezekiel 36 and how God removes stone hearts and replaces with hearts of flesh; this week he CREATES clean hearts
A. CREATION, Not Remodeling
Did you hear the story about a group of scientists who got together one day and decided that man had come a long way and no longer needed God? So they picked one scientist to go and tell God that they were done with Him.
The scientist walked up to God and said, "God, we've decided that we no longer need you. We're to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don't you just go on and get lost."
God listened very patiently and kindly to the man and after the scientist was done talking, God said, "Very well, how about this, let's say we have a 'man-making' contest." To which the scientist replied, "OK, great!"
God added, "Now, we're going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam." The scientist said, "Sure, no problem" and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt.
Then, God looked at him and said, "No, no, no. You go get your own dirt!"
The point is that, even if man can get to the point where he thinks he can be on the level of God, he hasn't even come close. Only God has the power to speak and bring this world into existence. Only God can create.
2. David chose to use the same word as in the Creation account in Genesis 1 -- "Bara"
B. We are Incapable of Creating a Clean Heart on Our Own
1. 2 Bachelors (2)
I heard about two bachelors (they may even have been ASU students) who were talking one day, and their conversation drifted from politics to sports to cooking.
One of them said, "I got a cookbook once, but I could never do anything with it."
The other one said, "Too much fancy work in it, huh?"
You first one said, "Yeah, it sure was. Every one of the recipes began the same way - 'Take a clean dish.'"
The problem with our relationship with God is much the same. God says, "Take a clean life", and we go, "Wait a minute, that's a problem. Because, as Paul said in Romans 3:23, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." And because we have all sinned, we're all in need of forgiveness.
2. Proverbs 20.9
Who can say, "I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin"?
C. Pure in Heart -- Matthew 5.8
1. Blessed to see God
2. Have Encountered God
II. Man Cooperates with the Creator of Clean Hearts
A. With a Spirit of Contrition (Remorse/Repentance)
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart -- These, O God, you will not despise." (Psalm 51:17).
1. I read once about a man who wrote a letter to the Internal Revenue Service saying, "I haven't been able to sleep lately because last year, when I filled out my income tax forms, I deliberately misrepresented my income. I am enclosing a check for $150.00, and if I still can't sleep, I'll send you the rest." That's not at all an attitude of contrition.
2. Our tendency is to rationalize or explain or excuse or defend or justify our sin. A contrite heart does not seek to blame circumstances or other people or God for our own failure. You don't see David blaming God or Bathsheba: "Lord, if you hadn't had me king I wouldn't be walking on this palace roof in the first place. And besides, did you see what she wasn't wearing?"
B. With the Sound of Confession
"For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight." (Psalm 51:3-4a).
8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1.8-9)
1. Confession Level #1 To Himself
2. Confession Level #2 To God
3. Confession Level #3 To US/Others
Rolls Royce and Forgiveness
You see, that great British automaker takes great pride in the reliability of their handcrafted automobiles. An obviously wealthy owner of a Rolls Royce took it to Europe on an extended trip. While traveling in France the car had some mechanical problem. He called the Rolls Royce factory and asked that they send out a mechanic immediately to fix the problem. The company responded in royal fashion. They put a mechanic on a private jet with all of the necessary tools and flew him over to France to make the repairs. The owner was so wealthy that he wasn't at all concerned about the cost, and would spare no expense to make sure that his beloved Rolls Royce was properly repaired.
However, after several months he realized that he had not received a bill. He had his secretary contact the Rolls Royce factory to inquire about the bill. He received this reply from the Rolls Royce company: In typical British fashion, it said simply, "We have no recollection or record of any Rolls Royce having ever had a breakdown or being in need of repair anywhere in France."
That reminds me of how God treats us when he forgives us of sin. Sometimes we have a harder time forgiving ourselves than does God. We sometimes feel weighed down with the burden of guilt long after God has removed the burden of sin. We need to follow God's instructions to find forgiveness, then trust that God has kept his promise to forgive.
III. Man Completes the New Creation with Action (8 Spirits of Luke 11.24-26)
A. The Recreated Heart Shares the Teachings of God -- 51.13
B. The Recreated Heart Sings Praises -- 51.14-15
C. The Recreated Heart Sacrifices Properly -- 51.17-19 (Romans 12.1-2)
1. Johnny and the Duck (2)
Johnny continued feeling guilty for his crime of killing his grandmother's duck. After several days of guilt and doing both his chores and Sally's, he couldn't stand it. He confessed to Grandma that he'd killed her duck. "I know, Johnny," she said, giving him a hug. "I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgave you! I wondered how long you would let Sally make you a slave."
2. In Hinduism there is a sense of paying for one's own sins. The Grand Rapids Press once carried this story about a West German businessman who completed his conversion to the Hindu faith by piercing himself through the cheeks with a 1/4-inch thick, 4-foot-long steel rod, and pulling a chariot for 2 miles with ropes attached to his back and chest by steel hooks.
Others have been known to walk through 20-foot-long pits of fire, wear shoes with soles made of nails, or hang in the air spread-eagle from hooks embedded in their backs."
Why would they do that? Because they sense that there's a price that needs to be paid because of their sins.
3. The price has been paid for our sins. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16
4. C. S. Lewis: "We have a strange illusion that mere time cancels sin." Time is not the answer to sin. Christ is the answer to all sin.
