We deal with sin WITH God, not apart from Him. Without God, the problem of sin can never be resolved.
• Last week we saw God initiating the move to confront David of his sin.
• Nathan enlightened David, recounted the facts and stated the consequences.
David saw the light and repented immediately. “I have sinned against the Lord.” (12:13a). No denial, no excuses, and no beating around the bush.
• Nathan’s reply was equally immediate: “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.” (12:13b)
• That was God’s ultimate purpose – not to condemn him but to restore him. He repented and God forgave him.
David expresses this reality in his Psalm 32:1-5.
• 1 “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2 Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.
• 3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. [Selah]
• 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD" - and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”
• 6 Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found…”
We learnt from David first-hand how to RECOVER from sin, from the prayer he made to God after Nathan’s visit, in PSALM 51.
Psalm 51:1-6
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. [sinful nature]
6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
(1) TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR SIN
This is the first and most important step. Without this, there is no healing. Everything will be status quo. He ACKNOWLEDGED his sin and then…
Psalm 51:7-9
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
* Hyssop is an herb (in the mint family) used for purification and cleansing.
(2) ASK FOR GOD’S FORGIVENESS Confess/Repent
David asks God to do what only GOD can do – cleanse, wash, and blot out.
• God alone can forgive sin, and remove sin. The only solution we have with sin is to bring it to God. Healing starts when forgiveness flows.
• Hiding sin, David says In Psalm 32 “his bones were crushed through his groaning all day along” but when he confess and receive forgiveness, “let the bones you have crushed rejoice”.
Confess and repent, and ask God to forgive you. A prayer we need to make when we sin, and God will remove the stain of sin from our lives.
• He does that through sacrifice of Jesus Christ, His Son. It is effective and it is the only way. Can we TRUST God for this? Will we repent?
To the church in Laodicea - Rev 3:19-20 “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.”
(3) BELIEVE IN GOD’S INTERVENTION Rely on God
Psalm 51:10-12
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
You are not alone in this. It is not about rehabilitation, or reformation. It is the work of God. We cannot do this alone.
Listen to the Word of God to Ezekiel 36:25-28
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
I WILL, I WILL, I WILL. God will step in, if you allow Him. He can change you.
• David says “Grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” (51:12) Even the “willingness” is something we can pray for.
• So we (1) take responsibility for our sin, we (2) ask God for forgiveness, (3) believe in God’s work in our lives…
(4) RESOLVE TO SERVE GOD AGAIN Don’t Quit Serving
Psalm 51:13-15
13 THEN I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
After we are being restored, David says he is going to TEACH others and WORSHIP Him.
• The sin does not mean the end of us. We can “teach transgressors God’s ways and turn sinners back to God.” And “open our lips and our mouths to declare His praise.”
• We will continue to SERVE God. Our past sins need not destroy us for good, if we deal with sin the right way.
• We come to God, repent of it, receive God’s help and start afresh again, this time with the wisdom to “teach transgressors God’s ways and turn sinners back…”
Sin cannot destroy David for good, if he does not allow it.
• Jesus said to Peter (knowing that he would soon deny knowing him) - Luke 22:31-32
31"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. 32But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."
• God still has great works for Peter to do and for David too. Their sin cannot not destroy their future, if they do not allow it.
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(1) Take responsibility for your action. (2) Ask God to forgive you.
(3) Believe that God will intervene and help you. (4) And resolve to serve God again.
Psalm 51:16-19
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
What God delights to see is our repentant heart – the broken and contrite heart He will not despise. That’s key to recovering from our sin.
David will still have a great future with God. His past will not destroy his future.
• So don’t stay beaten down in sin. Satan will be most happy seeing that.
• We repent and return to serving God again, because we treasure God’s grace and forgiveness.
Be a PETER, not a JUDAS. Both cried but only Peter repented.
• God used David to establish Israel, God used Peter to establish His church.
• Be determined, by God’s grace, to get rid sin and serve God again. We don’t want to waste our precious lives away.
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ARE THERE CONSEQUENCES TO SIN? Yes, naturally.
• From Nathan’s words, there are consequences to David’s sin. He will face many calamites within his own household.
• And the child that David had with Bathsheba will fall sick and eventually die.
Consequences are the result of God’s JUSTICE and God’s DISCIPLINE.
JUSTICE
• If God allowed David to get away with this sin, then those who did not know Jehovah God would conclude that God was soft on sin and unfair in His judgement of sin.
• God is just, we reap what we sow.
DISCIPLINE
• Heb 12:6 “… the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”
• Heb 12:10-11 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Some consequences may seem harsh to us, and when we compare with others, some “punishment” may seem unfair, but that’s our limited perspective.
• Rest assured that God’s dealing with us is always right and justified.
David in Psalm 51:4 “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.”
• When God speaks (which is the truth), it is always right. When God judges, He is always justified.
• God says in Jeremiah: “I will discipline you only with JUSTICE.” (Jer 30:11, 46:28)
(1) Take responsibility for your action
(2) Ask God to forgive you
(3) Believe that God will intervene and help you
(4) And resolve to serve God again
