[0:00] You can have a seat. Anybody else hit that note with Russ? All right, let's get out the Word of God and get into something holy.
[0:12] Let's find Proverbs chapter 24. I want to just briefly review the passage that we were in two Sundays ago. Proverbs 24.
[0:30] And I'll just read a portion of what we were in last time. Verse 30 is where we'll begin. And we kind of likened it to taking a walk with Solomon as he went by the field of the slothful.
[0:44] Verse 30. I went by the field of the slothful and by the vineyard of a man void of understanding. And lo, it was all grown over with thorns and nettles had covered the face thereof and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
[0:57] Then I saw and considered it well. I looked upon it and received instruction. Last time we took that walk with Solomon and where his attention was arrested at this scene in front of him of this field of the slothful man, this vineyard of the man void of understanding.
[1:16] We considered it well with him and realized that a life that's filled with sin and a life that allows sin to get in and it goes unchecked, it'll end up destroying and ruining the life.
[1:30] And two weeks ago we preached about a ruined life. And where there should be fruit abounding in a vineyard, there's not. There's a stone wall that should be erected and standing strong and keeping things out and it's not.
[1:43] And the inside of that man's life looks just like the world outside and they should look completely different. But that scene there, sin got in, sin wasn't checked, it wasn't taken care of and it overtook.
[1:56] Now turn to Proverbs 28 this morning. And I want to take a look at a verse here and I want to deal with the remedy for such a situation. The remedy.
[2:08] And the remedy you might think, well yeah, just don't sin, right? That's easy enough. And that's easy to say. And some people will stand and put that kind of pressure on you that you're in Christ and every sin you commit is of your own free will.
[2:22] And put it all, it's true, but it'll almost try to put something on you that you can't bear. And the truth is that we're sinners. And I'm not going to put forth the remedy is that just never sin.
[2:35] Although wouldn't that be wonderful? And one day, hallelujah, it will be wonderful. But for today, we need to learn how to deal with the sin that is in our hearts. And when it shows up, not allow it to overtake us and ruin us.
[2:50] And it always starts small. Always. It never starts big. It always starts small and grows. And even if you have some fruit that's abounding in your life, still weeds can grow underneath that need to be dug out and taken care of.
[3:03] And we need to look at that this morning. You can even build your wall up like we preached the other week. But sin can still show up on the inside because you've got this wicked flesh that you're just not going to be able to get rid of until Jesus Christ gets rid of him for all.
[3:18] Now, Proverbs 28, I want to read verse number 13. Let's look at this together. Verse 13, the Bible says, He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
[3:34] Now, I understand the Old Testament application here and what salvation, supposed salvation was like in the Old Testament. I understand that. Some will say, well, 1 John 1, 9, all we have to do is confess our sins and he'll forgive us our sins.
[3:50] And I understand that as well. But I believe we can discover this verse here very applicable to practical Christianity and to keeping the sin out. So I want to analyze this verse and point out a few things.
[4:04] And the first thing is, by way of just getting into this, in verse 13 it says, He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them, his sins, shall have mercy.
[4:18] It's not even talking about one particular sin, is it? It's talking about his sins, plural, because this man has them. But there's a remedy for the man that has sins.
[4:30] And that's a great thing to know. Because you've got sins. You're this man. You say, oh no, yes, you. Let's start right there.
[4:41] It's taken for granted that a man will sin or have sins. And that's great because that's us. That's every one of us here this morning.
[4:52] Every one. From the youngest to the oldest. From the platform to the back row. We have sins in our hearts. My son has sins in his hearts.
[5:06] And we want to get him out this morning. You know where he got them, though? He got them from his daddy. His daddy was a sinner. And most of them probably from his mother. But it took the two of us to bring those children into the world.
[5:20] And they came up sinners. And as much as we don't want the sin in them, it's in them. And it's in you too. And so because we have, it's like it's a part of our fallen nature.
[5:32] It's our flesh. It's a piece of who we are in the flesh. The Apostle Paul said, we'll see it in a little bit, sin dwelleth in me. The Apostle Paul said that. So let's eliminate anybody pious in here that's going to come in with their nose up in the air and say, well, I've been saved and I don't live like that and like them.
[5:51] I don't care. I know something that you don't know about yourself. You've got sins in your heart right now, today. And so that verse shows us, he that covereth his sins, you've got them, shall not prosper.
[6:05] And by the way, that's why Jesus Christ came. He came, the Bible says that he died for the ungodly. The Bible says that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
[6:15] Christ died for our sins. And if we could be cleansed of our sins, he would have had to die for our sins. And I'm not here to beat you up because you're a sinner.
[6:26] You are a sinner. And apart from Christ, the Bible says in Romans 6, you're a servant to sin. That's what you are. And I'm not here to beat you up about that. It's what we do.
[6:37] As sinners, we sin. And we're pretty good at it. And we're not going to have a brag fest this morning. But if we wanted to go that direction, we could all stand up and talk about how good we are at sinning.
[6:49] And for some filthy reason, we like to do that. It's something in us that likes to tell everybody what we used to do, how bad of a person we are. That's just, it's not part of the new man, I can tell you that.
[7:03] But the world loves to brag about their sin. We shouldn't want to, but it's in us. Sometimes you might see a filthy sinner and see, I know how you got there. You chose this. You went down that road.
[7:14] And we look at them. And again, I'm trying to tell you, don't kid yourself. The stench of your sins before a holy God, the cleanest one in here. If we could judge ourselves, the purest one in here.
[7:27] Your sins bring a stench before God he has no interest in. You repulse him in his holiness. Your sins. He could not commune with you the way you are.
[7:41] And he couldn't allow you near you. That's why Christ had to die for our sins. So what can we do about it, though? What can we do about it? We don't want to end up like that guy that we saw in Proverbs 24.
[7:54] And so I know we have sins, and I know that's a fact, but I believe it would behoove us as Christians this morning to know what we can do about it. So let's take a look at this passage here.
[8:05] And I want to see a few things that we can do about our sins. The first one's right at the beginning of the verse. Look at it. In verse 13, it says, He that covereth his sins.
[8:17] First thing you can do with your sins is cover them. But according to God, you're not going to prosper. In other words, you won't be successful at covering your sins.
[8:30] No one ever has been. The human race has never figured out a way to cover their sins. And there's a reason why. Sin has a way of getting itself uncovered. And I want to explain something about that to help you.
[8:44] Sin is not an item that you can just go put in a closet and get out when you want to get it out. You can hide it away and it stays there. Sin is not dormant.
[8:55] Sin is alive. Sin has a nature about it that it's deceiving. I'll show you that in the Bible, of course. Sin will not obey you. And sin is not at your mercy.
[9:07] As much as you might think in your mind, and that's where the deception comes in, that I can control this and it's at my mercy. I'll choose when and where and if I choose. No. Sin doesn't work like that.
[9:19] Sin, you're rather at sin's mercy. Sin is not lifeless. And it can't be manipulated by you. Keep your place in Proverbs. But let me take you to the Bible here in Romans chapter 7 and give you some scripture on this.
[9:33] And let you see this, something maybe you never considered. But the holy words of this book teach something about sin. And when you watch it carefully and when you read it carefully, you learn something.
[9:48] And in Romans 7, the Apostle Paul gives a little bit of a discourse about sin. And I want to make something, some form of a point here.
[9:59] Why you can't cover your sins. And Romans chapter 7, I'm going to begin in verse 7 and kind of read through a little bit here. And when I'm reading, I want you to notice when sin is the subject and the action that sin is doing.
[10:16] I want you to notice that. Rather than thinking that I'm doing the action. Just notice how the scripture shows sin performing the action. Verse number 7. What shall we say then?
[10:27] Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin but by the law. For I had not known lust, except the law had said, thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence.
[10:43] Concupiscence meaning lusts and forbidden desires. What did the Bible say? What did Paul say it does? Sin wrought in me. Wrought means it worked or it brought out all manner of ungodly things.
[11:02] Sin in him brought out a whole lot more inside of him than he thought or knew was in him. It was in him. And sin brought it out.
[11:13] Sin wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law, sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once. But when the commandment came, sin revived.
[11:24] There's the verb. And I died. Sin's living. But he spiritually is dead. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
[11:36] For sin, here it is again, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me. What deceived Paul? According to him? According to the word of God? Sin deceived him.
[11:46] And by it, by the law, slew me. Sin deceived him. Sin slew him. Spiritually speaking. And so ye must be born again.
[11:57] Verse number 12. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was in that which is good made death unto me? Speaking about the law? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me, that by that which is good, that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
[12:18] And he goes on, we are, we know that the law is spiritual, I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do, I allow not. For what I would, that do I not. But what I hate, that do I.
[12:31] If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it. But look at verse 17. But sin that dwelleth in me.
[12:43] Again in verse, or that's verse 17. Sin is dwelling. It's alive. It slew him spiritually. It brought about all manner of concupiscence and filthiness in his life.
[12:56] It deceived him. All right, he goes in verse 18. I know that in me, that is in my flesh. You need to know your Bible and know the two natures of the believer to get this doctrine. Otherwise you're going to go off the rail here and try to be something you'll never be able to be.
[13:12] That is in my flesh. Dwelleth no good thing, for the will is present with me. But how to perform that which is good, I find not. Verse 20 again at the end says, sin that dwelleth in me.
[13:24] And one more verse I want to point out is verse 23. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity of the law of sin. Which is in my members.
[13:34] Sin therefore, then that verse is warring against the old man and the new man. But in the old man, sin is dwelling. Sin is warring against the working of God.
[13:45] It's fighting. It's withstanding. It's promoting the things that he knows he's not supposed to do. It's working death in him. The law is illuminating the sinner to sin.
[13:57] But the sin is working death in him. Sin is alive. Sin is deceitful. Deceiving your mind thinking, I got this. I can do this when I want to.
[14:09] I can stop it when I want to. And you're fooled. You're a Christian, huh? You have the word of God. I can confess it to God and just keep going on my way. And you're deceived in your mind thinking you can control sin.
[14:21] Once it gets in, it's going to take root. It's destructive. It's uncontrollable. And sin is never satisfied. And it will never obey you. Sin will take over and it will make you submit to it.
[14:35] You can cover it. But it won't stay covered for long. Allowing sin in your heart is like bringing a snake into your home. You know there's some people that have serpents as their pets.
[14:48] They're not married. That's a given. If anybody's in here that does that, I'm sorry. That's just the way it is. You're a little different than the rest of us.
[14:59] I read about a guy who had 124 snakes in his house. And they found him dead. Bitten by one of his pets.
[15:10] I read about a guy in Virginia. Just this March. That he was rushed to the hospital. Because he was bit by his own pet viper. And it was a viper that wasn't local to the area at all.
[15:24] And so finding the anti-venom was just not something they had at CVS. So off they had to fly him to Richmond. And finally they were able to get a dose in him. And then he recovered. He recovered but almost died.
[15:35] Because he brought something into his home that wanted to kill him. And thought it was cute. And thought he could put it in a cage. And found out that thing has a way of getting out.
[15:47] And it has a way of doing what it's naturally prone to do. Sin is not something you keep in a cage. Sin is not something you can just hide away. And control it. And get it out to show somebody when it's time.
[16:00] When you feel like it. It will get out. And it will bite. And sin like those vipers is going to kill you. You can cover your sins. But you're not going to prosper.
[16:11] Because sin is a living entity. It will not allow you to get away unscathed. Come back to Proverbs again now. Verse chapter 28. Sin. The first thing you can do is cover it.
[16:22] But I got news for you from the word of God. You won't prosper doing that. As a teenager there was things I was getting involved in.
[16:33] With friends of mine. And I'd keep them hidden from my parents. But inevitably. Three months. Six months. Just in any matter of time. I got caught.
[16:45] And I was pretty sneaky. I was pretty smart. I'm being a liar and deceitful. And I despise that about myself. But I'm a good liar. Just like many of you. I'm a good snake.
[16:56] Because I got such a wicked man inside of me. And as a kid. I used to hide stuff from my parents. And just time would go by. And boop. I'd slip up.
[17:07] Or I'd get caught. It just has a way. The more I allow it in. The more it takes over me. And I can't cover it. And cover it. And cover it. And cover it. Until finally. Busted. That's what sin does.
[17:17] It doesn't just stop. It grows. The second thing you could do. About your sin. Is confess it. Look at verse 13. He that covereth his sins. Shall not prosper. But whoso confesseth. And forsaketh them.
[17:28] Shall have mercy. Now I realize that. The confession in verse 13. Is accompanied with forsaking. And we'll get to that in a minute. But realize that some. Will only confess their sins.
[17:41] They'll try to cover their sins. And then when they get caught. Their instinct of course is to lie. Or to justify. Well this is why. Or they made me. Or just you know. Try one more last ditch attempt.
[17:52] At it not being your fault. And then they'll finally confess. Yeah I did it. And confessing a sin. Is really just admitting guilt.
[18:03] It's admitting in some ways. Something that's already out in the open. You're just admitting it. And I know that you're going to think. Well the Bible says in 1 John 1.9. We confess our sins.
[18:14] We forgive. I get that. Just stay with me for a second. And think on this. Somebody can confess his sins only. And not find mercy. According to this verse.
[18:25] And there's plenty of biblical examples of this. And I'd like to show that to you. Come to Joshua chapter 10. Or sorry. Joshua 7. Joshua 7.
[18:37] It's easy to confess a sin. After you've been caught. It's easy to confess. Fess up. After the evidence is open. And in view of everyone.
[18:49] You can lie about it initially. But when everybody knows it. When it's out in the open. It's easy to come clean then. And that's not necessarily the time. That you're going to find mercy. Watch this in Joshua 7.
[19:01] We're talking about getting sin out. Joshua 7. I don't want to read the chapter. Back in chapter 6. They're told that when they go.
[19:11] And take over Jericho. That they're not to touch. Of what's in verse 18. Is called the accursed thing. Keep yourselves from the accursed thing. And he talks about their silver.
[19:22] And their gold. And their vessels of brass and iron. And things. And they were. Things were to be dedicated to the Lord. Things were to be slaughtered. And sterilized this land. Of all these filthy heathen. And in Joshua chapter 7.
[19:33] In verse 1. But the children of Israel committed a trespass. In the accursed thing. For Achan. The son of Carmi. The son of Zabdi. The son of Zerah. The tribe of Judah. Took of the accursed thing. And the anger of the Lord.
[19:44] Was kindled against the children of Israel. So he took something. And he literally. Covered. His sin. But come down. The Lord is not with them.
[19:55] As they go up to the next battle. To Ai. And they're defeated. Before their enemies. And Joshua's falling on his face. Before God. Saying what is going on? Why is Israel not able to stand. Before their enemies? And the Lord's like.
[20:06] Joshua get up off your face. There's sin in the camp. That's why. And as he goes down. The Lord. The way he did it. Pulls the families. In verse 16.
[20:17] He pulls the tribe of Judah. And they're kind of narrowing it down. Of where the sin fell. And he finds the tribe of Judah. He finds the family. And he finds man by man.
[20:28] Until verse 17. Zabdai was taken. And then he narrows it down further. To his son. And then narrows it all the way down. To Achan. The one guilty. And verse 19. Joshua said unto Achan.
[20:39] After they've already brought it. The Lord's brought forth. Who committed the sin. Of the millions of Israel. He's hiding amongst the millions. The stuff is buried.
[20:52] In his tent. And yet God singles him out. And brings him all the way to the front. Now he's not getting out of this. It's not a coincidence. It's not a flip of a coin.
[21:03] He's found out. And Joshua said unto Achan. Verse 19. My son. Give I pray thee. Glory to the Lord God of Israel. Make confession unto him. And tell me now. What thou hast done. Hide it not from me.
[21:14] And Achan answered Joshua. And said. Indeed. I have sinned. Against the Lord God of Israel. And thus and thus have I done. When I saw among the spoils. A goodly Babylonian garment. Two hundred shekels of silver.
[21:25] And a wedge of gold. Of fifty shekels weight. Then I coveted them. And took them. And behold. They are hid. He covered them up. All right. In the midst of my tent. And the silver under it. And so this man ends up getting stoned.
[21:38] And many with him. But he confessed. Didn't he? Why didn't he find mercy? Because confession alone. Is not what God's looking for. And it's too late at that point.
[21:49] It's easy to confess. After you've been caught. Ai's been defeated. Or defeated Israel. The tribes. The families. The fathers. All the way down. Now that he's exposed. He confesses.
[22:00] But there's no mercy to be found. Look at first Samuel fifteen. I'll give you one more example. Of when confession. Just doesn't seem to work. First Samuel fifteen.
[22:10] First Samuel fifteen.
[22:21] And this is Samuel telling Saul. That the Lord has called him. To defeat Amalek. And to destroy him. For what he did.
[22:31] What we studied weeks ago. And at verse three. This is his commandment. That he's receiving from the prophet. Now go and smite Amalek. And notice.
[22:41] Utterly destroy. All that they have. So Saul goes out to battle. And he does. He defeats them. And it says in verse.
[22:53] Eight. And he took Agag. The king of the Amalekites alive. And utterly destroyed all the people. With the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag. And the best of the sheep.
[23:05] And the oxen. And the fatlings. And the lambs. And all that was good. And notice. And would not utterly destroy them. Go and smite Amalek.
[23:15] And utterly destroy. All that they have. Would not utterly destroy them. So did he obey? Well he thinks he did.
[23:27] Or he claims to have obeyed. Later he meets Samuel. And Samuel confronts him. And he tells them. In verse 17.
[23:37] Verse 18. He's like. The Lord told you. Go and utterly destroy the sinners. Fight against them. Until they be consumed. In verse 19. Or verse 20. After being confronted. Samuel said unto Saul.
[23:48] Yea. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. And have gone the way. Which the Lord sent me. Did you? I have. Oh verse 21. But the people took of the spoil.
[23:59] Shift the blame. Push it on them. Justify himself. And Samuel won't have anything to do with it. You're guilty. He proclaims. And just skimming through the passage. He lets them know.
[24:11] What God thinks about obedience. Versus. Keeping some stuff around. A sacrifice to the Lord. And he calls it. The sin of witchcraft. He calls it iniquity. And idolatry. Rejecting the word of the Lord.
[24:22] And then he pronounces. At the end of verse 23. The Lord's rejecting you. Saul. Thee. From being king. So what does Saul do to that? Verse 24. Saul said unto Samuel.
[24:33] I have sinned. For I have transgressed. The commandment of the Lord. And thy words. Because I feared the people. He's still justifying it. And obeyed their voice.
[24:45] And he said. Please pardon my sin. Turn to the ground. Worship the Lord with it. He won't do it. Samuel said. No. I'm not doing it. He eventually does it. When Saul breaks down even more. But you can see his attitude. Is he blames the people.
[24:56] He thinks he's done right. Finally he's caught in it. He gets the prophet Samuel. That anointed him. Telling him that God has rejected you. From being king. Those are sobering words.
[25:07] For this man. And now he knows. It's over. I did sin. And he admits it. Confesses it. But he's still saying. The people. I was afraid of them.
[25:18] Trying to say. I'm just a man. And blah, blah, blah. After lying about it. After blaming the people. He's rejected. And did he find mercy? He lost that kingdom.
[25:29] He lost it. And he gave it to another. That was greater than him. You can read about Pharaoh. Repeatedly. Coming. When Moses and Aaron. Would tell him. God. Let my people go.
[25:40] And go out and serve him in the wilderness. And he won't let him go. And then a plague comes. And then Pharaoh calls him back. Says. I have sinned. Just now pray the Lord for me. And get this. Get these frogs out of here.
[25:51] Get this lice out of here. Take care of these flies. And so they would. And then his hard heart. Wouldn't let him go. And he'd confess. That he was wrong. He confessed.
[26:01] I should have let him go. I did wrong. I've sinned. But there was no mercy to be found. And so Christian. When it comes to our sin. God's not looking for us. Just to admit.
[26:12] That we sin. Just admit it. Yep. Messed up. Yep. Sinned again God. Confessing sometimes is done. In hopes of getting off. Isn't it?
[26:24] Don't criminals say. Well I'll confess. If you. Give me a deal. I'll admit to everything I did. But I want something in return. I want mercy. Have you.
[26:36] I've heard this. I'm sure you have. When you get pulled over. By the police. For speeding. What should you do? Admit that you're guilty. And be polite.
[26:48] And acknowledge everything. Yes sir officer. Yes sir. And why does somebody admit. That they're guilty. And confess to their crime. Because they're hoping to get off. They're hoping to find mercy.
[27:00] With the officer. Your instinct is to cover it up. But when you're caught. You're willing to admit it. To confess to it. Because you want to get off easy.
[27:11] We do it. And the reason we do it. Is we don't have any intention. Of not speeding away. As soon as he lets us go. We don't have any intention. Of changing. We just want to get off easy.
[27:23] So we'll admit it. That's the confession alone. That's a problem. Because God's not interested. In just confession. He wants to get the sin. Out of us.
[27:34] He wants to clean the ground up. And clean it all out. At the roots. And bring forth fruit unto him. That can glorify him. He wants us to repent. Of our sins.
[27:47] Repentance is not displayed. By confession alone. I believe it goes deeper. There's more involved. So back in Proverbs 28. We'll finish reading that verse. And see then.
[27:57] The third and final thing. That you can do with your sins. Proverbs 28. I'll begin at the verse 13.
[28:08] Again. He that covereth his sins. Shall not prosper. But whoso confesseth. And forsaketh them. Shall have mercy. That's where the mercy comes in.
[28:19] It's a two part. It's a biblical recipe. For obtaining mercy from the Lord. For our sins. Confess and forsake. It's not covering. Your sins.
[28:30] Because that doesn't work. It's not just confessing. To get out of it. That's missing something. I said. Repentance is not displayed. By confession alone. That it goes deeper. There's an attitude involved.
[28:42] There's an attitude of humility. There's a willingness. To receive the consequences. For your sins. I'm guilty. Lord lay it on me. I deserve it. I want to get this passed.
[28:53] I want to get it behind me. And move on for Christ. It's not trying to cover it up. Or sneak by. It's desiring an end of this sin. In my life. And I want to give you three examples.
[29:05] Biblical examples. That are going to point this out to you. Better than me just talking about it. Go to Judges chapter 10. And look at Judges chapter 10. I want to show you. From the word of God.
[29:17] Let this be our source. Of confessing and forsaking. And show you that confession alone. Doesn't quite do the job.
[29:29] Doesn't quite bring the mercy. Judges chapter 10. Here we are in the middle of this cycle. Of Israel.
[29:40] Sinning. Falling into God's judgment. And the enemies coming and overtaking. Defeating them. And then them crying out to God for help. He sends a judge. A deliverer to them.
[29:51] And then just round and round they go. All through the book. And in chapter 10. We find them here. Where they. Verse 6. They did evil again in the sight of the Lord. And served Balaam.
[30:03] And Ashtaroth. And the gods of Syria. And the gods of Zidon. And the gods of Moab. And the gods of children of Ammon. And the gods of the Philistines. And forsook the Lord. And served not him. They forsook the Lord.
[30:15] We're talking about sins. Confessing and forsaking them. So notice. They're forsaking God. So they can have their sins. And therefore the anger of the Lord. In verse 7. Is hot against Israel. He sold them in the hands of Philistines.
[30:26] In the hands of the children of Ammon. And they vexed them. Things are bad. Now the children of Israel cry to the Lord. In verse 10. And just look at God's response here. His attitude toward his own people.
[30:38] Because of their. Acknowledge. Just their confession alone. The children of Israel cried unto the Lord. In verse 10. Saying we have sinned against thee. Both. Because we have forsaken our God.
[30:48] And served Balaam. That's that confession only. That's that regret. But not repentance. And in verse 11. The Lord said unto the children of Israel. Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians. And from the Amorites.
[30:59] From the children of Ammon. From the Philistines. The Zidonians also. And the Amalekites. And the Manites. Did oppress you. And you cried to me. And I delivered you out of their hands. Yet ye have forsaken me. And served other gods.
[31:11] Wherefore. I will deliver you no more. Go and cry unto the gods. Which ye have chosen. Let them deliver you. In the time of your tribulation. That's God's attitude.
[31:22] And he's right to say that. And in verse 15. The children of Israel said unto the Lord. We have sinned. Sinned. Now notice the attitude different here. The repentant heart. Do thou unto us.
[31:35] Whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Deliver us only. We pray thee this day. They're willing to pay up. They're willing to receive the consequences.
[31:46] We just want to put this behind us. We want to move on. We don't just want a quick fix. We're willing to accept the consequences. That's a big difference. Than just saying.
[31:57] I've sinned. So can I get off? Verse 16. Notice. They put away the strange gods from among them. And served the Lord.
[32:08] So they forsook their sins now. And went back to God. And his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. And what God had done.
[32:18] And brought up those enemies against him. He couldn't. He just couldn't look at it anymore. In other words. This wasn't just overnight. Snap of the fingers. This thing took some time.
[32:30] And time had passed. Where God had observed them. Forsaking their idols. And serving him. The sacrifices were being done in the right place. On the right altar.
[32:40] To him. By the right people. And as his prescription in the law. They're following his word. They're calling on his name. They've forsaken their gods.
[32:51] Well he just can't. He can't let those enemies come in here. And do that anymore. He can't let it go. They forsook the Lord at first. To serve Balaam. But now they're forsaking Balaam.
[33:03] To serve the Lord. They confessed and forsook. And you know what they found? They found mercy. And mercy. Dear sinner. There is such a sweet thing to find.
[33:14] From the Lord. In chapter 11. He raises up a judge. And off they go. Let me show you another one. Look at. Well we'll go. Go in order here. How about that?
[33:24] 2 Samuel 24. This is the King David. As he sins against the Lord. In numbering the people. Something he was not to do. And yet he chose to do it.
[33:38] Ignoring the word of God. And he found himself guilty. And in chapter 24. The end of this book. Verse 10. David's heart smote him.
[33:49] After that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the Lord. I have sinned greatly. And that I have done. And now I beseech you. O Lord. Take away the iniquity of thy servant.
[33:59] For I have done very foolishly. So he's confessing. And the prophet comes. And he says. God's going to give you a choice. It's going to be one of three things. Your punishment.
[34:10] You're going to get it for that sin. I'm not going to let it go. And David chose in verse 14. To fall into the hand of the Lord. For his mercies are great. And he didn't want to fall into the hand of man.
[34:21] So the Lord sent a pestilence. And there's something about David's attitude here. When he sees the angel. Destroying. In Jerusalem. He says in verse 17. David spake unto the Lord.
[34:31] When he saw the angel that smote the people. And he said. Lo I have sinned and done wickedly. But these sheep. What have they done? Let thine hand I pray thee be against me. Isn't David taking responsibility for his sin?
[34:46] Hasn't he confessed it? But isn't he willing now to deal with the consequences? And doesn't want the innocent people to deal with the consequences. It's my sin. Furthermore. He's instructed to rear an altar unto the Lord.
[34:59] In a specific place. Which is very significant in your Bible. And as he does this. The man wants to give it to the king. This man that had the property.
[35:11] Later in the passage. You can see that. And the king says in verse 24. Nay. But I will surely buy it of thee at a price. I will not accept a gift. Because why? Because it has to cost me something.
[35:23] As he says that. I will not offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God. Of that which doth cost me nothing. And so David pays the price. Because it was his sin. And it's his way of getting sanctified and cleared.
[35:36] And finding mercy of God. David's willing to pay for it. David's willing to bear the punishment. And he knows that he deserves it. It's evidence that the sin is being forsaken.
[35:47] Because he's willing to pay up. One more example. Luke chapter 15. And we're almost finished. This is our last passage to turn. Luke 15. And here we have the story here.
[36:09] Of what we call the prodigal son. A young man that takes off. Leaves his godly home and heritage. To go live it up in the world.
[36:21] And just let sin abound in his life. And he gets it. He finds out what sin will do to him. And he's in a bad spot. I'm trusting you're familiar with this story.
[36:32] If not you'll have to read it on your own time. But the young man. I'll just pick it up in verse 14. When he had spent all. There arose a mighty famine in that land.
[36:43] He began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country. And he sent him into his fields. To feed swine. Which is an unclean animal to any Jew. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husk that the swine did eat.
[36:57] And no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself. He had said. How many hired servants of my father's. Have bread enough and to spare. And I perish with hunger.
[37:09] So he hatches a plan in his mind. And in his heart. Verse 18. I will arise and go to my father. And will say unto him. Father. I have sinned against heaven and before thee. And am no more worthy to be called thy son.
[37:22] Make me as one of thy hired servants. And so you know the story. He goes. And of course his father didn't receive him like that. Which is a great picture of our merciful.
[37:33] And kind and patient. Heavenly father. But this this young man sin taught him a lesson. And he wanted to get out. He wanted to be done with this lifestyle.
[37:44] So what did he do? He humbled himself. And he wasn't seeking restoration with his father. Let me back into my room. Let me back into my position. No he wasn't seeking that at all.
[37:55] He was willing. To humble himself. And just be a hired servant. He's just trying to survive. He's not looking for a quick fix. His repentance said in him.
[38:08] I'm not worthy to be called thy son. A servant is fine with me. I will serve with all the rest of the servants. Just as long as I have a place to stay.
[38:19] And food in my belly. I don't deserve it. I blew it. I'm guilty. This sinner here shows repentance. I'll take what I deserve is what he's saying.
[38:31] We're sinners right here. Right in this room. And evidence that sin is being forsaken in our lives is when we're willing to pay up. Whether it's David and his sins willing to pay money for the land, for the altar, for the sacrifice.
[38:46] As well as take the consequences on himself and not on others. Whether it's this prodigal that doesn't deserve to be reinstated as a son. But I'll just stay down here. I blew it.
[38:57] And that's fine with me God. That's humility. I'll take what I deserve because I'm guilty. Or whether it's the nation of Israel telling God that do whatever seems good to you. We're guilty.
[39:08] We deserve your wrath. And that's fine with us. Just please deliver us. Please let us come back to you. The evidence is that they're not trying to get off easy. That's the difference between confessing when you're caught and confessing and forsaking.
[39:23] And then you find mercy. So folks, we sin. We shouldn't. But we sin. We sin. And there's a recipe in this book for obtaining mercy from God when it comes to our sins.
[39:36] And I believe from these examples when we're broken, when we're repentant, when we're not just seeking to get away with it and get over it and just move on and back to our lives. When we're willing to face the consequences head on, that's what it takes to clear it.
[39:52] That's what it takes to find that mercy and put it behind us. Now, if you're here this morning and you've never been saved, then you're in trouble.
[40:05] You're in trouble because like the rest of us, you're a sinner. But you're going to die in your sins. You're going to die and face a holy God with sin all over you.
[40:17] And would you consider with me, if you sin one time a day, that's 365 a year. That's thousands and thousands upon just one a day.
[40:30] That's being pretty low, isn't it? If we were more like a dozen, your sins are making a stack that you can't erase. You can't climb above it with your goodness.
[40:41] You don't realize how filthy you are before God. The Bible says that Christ, that he's the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world. Imagine the sins that you've committed multiplied by the 8 billion that are alive today.
[40:57] If everybody sins once, that's 8 billion sins before God. 8 billion today, just one sin. 10, that's 80 billion. Can we even understand the amount of sin that God is, that Jesus Christ paid for?
[41:15] Can we even fathom that? It's beyond me. But if you're not saved, you're going to die in your sins and you're going to suffer for them.
[41:26] And it's not something I want you to do. And it's not something that Christ wants you to do. Jesus Christ died for your sins and he paid for them in full. And he's willing and offering to forgive you of all of them and wipe the slate clean.
[41:42] He wants you to confess that you're a sinner and that you need a savior. He wants you to forsake whatever it is that you're trusting in. If you think you're good or you think you believe in God, so that's okay.
[41:54] He wants you to forsake that and trust him. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ this morning. Trust him alone for salvation. If you're a Christian and if you're struggling with sin or if you're going to get honest and admit, it's in my heart.
[42:10] And there's something that God's been dealing with my heart about and I have not forsaken it. I have not gotten past it. I just confess it. I just say, God, I'm sorry.
[42:21] You can't win. And I know, again, I'm not trying to beat you up with this and put something too heavy on you to bear. But there's some things and the Holy Spirit can bring it to your mind right now.
[42:32] There's some things that between you and the Lord that you know that you're guilty of. That you should not have in your life. That you've allowed to get in and you haven't made the attempt to get out.
[42:42] But there's a recipe in this book for obtaining mercy of the Lord. And I think it starts with you getting honest with God. And that's a tough thing for Christians to do sometimes.
[42:54] Is to be 100% open and honest before God. And bow down and say, God, I want to be clean. I want this out.
[43:05] I'm allowing it. I'm justifying it. We both know it. And it's time to get right. If you don't get that sin out. If you don't confess and forsake it.
[43:15] It's going to stay. And it's going to grow. And it's going to deceive you. And you think you can control it. We sin. Every one of us in here has it.
[43:26] Every day. It just something comes up. It keeps trying to grow up. It tries to get a part of us. It's your job to stay humble before the Lord and confess and forsake.
[43:37] I wonder if somebody in here needs to open their heart before God and stop covering it up. Stop justifying it. Stop throwing up confessions at God and then running right back to it.
[43:48] And saying, well, Christ died for it. I'm okay. Christ did die for it. But you'll be a whole lot more okay if you'll forsake it.
[44:00] And through the power of God's Son and His Spirit inside of you, live a clean life. And you could confess your sin to God. You could forsake it before Him. And you could walk in newness of life with victory in the Spirit.
[44:15] But that's a choice you'll have to make. Like I said, you'll have to humble yourself. Be willing to face the music. I know the way God deals with me deals with you the same way. He brings it to your mind. He even gives you exactly what you need to do.
[44:27] It's up to you to humble yourself and obey Him. Father, as we close this service this morning, we're thankful for this recipe, for this truth. Lord, I don't want to see anybody in this church have a ruined life like that man we studied the other week.
[44:43] And Lord, help us to fear sin and to take it serious and to do our part in staying away from it, in rebuking it, in cleansing ourself from it.
[45:00] Lord, reveal to our minds where sin is deceiving us. Reveal to us where we think we've got something controlled and we don't. Lord, I pray you'll give courage as well as allow someone the humility and the honesty to deal with that sin which doth so easily beset.
[45:19] We thank you for the holy word of God that illuminates us to these truths. Thank you for not leaving us blind in this life to just try to guess and figure it out. Lord, we pray we'd be in submission to these words this morning.
[45:32] And before we stand and sing with your heads bowed and eyes closed, I just want to ask the question. I mentioned if you died today, I mentioned if you're not saved that, I mentioned that you're in trouble.
[45:46] And that's an understatement. And I wonder, is there anybody in here with nobody looking around, anybody in here that would say, I'm not sure if I'm saved. And I'm not sure about it, but I want to be.
[45:57] You're in trouble, but you can get out of trouble. Well, Jesus Christ made a way for you to get out of that trouble. The wrath of God is going to be on you for eternity in hell because of your sin.
[46:11] But Jesus Christ made a way for you to escape. And I'd love to be able to show that to anybody here. I would love to be able to take this Bible and show you what God requires of you to trust Jesus Christ for your salvation.
[46:24] But anybody in here slip their hand up real quick with nobody looking. Just slip it up and say, I'm not sure that I'm on my way to heaven, but I'd like to be sure. Then Christian, this next part's for you.
[46:39] Are you confessing and forsaking your sin? Have you grown? Have you gotten victory over sins in your life since you've been saved? Or is it just the same old, same old, beating you down, keeping you guilty, keeping you feeling low?
[46:58] These examples today were people that were willing to suffer the consequences because they wanted to get it behind them. They wanted to put it away once and for good.
[47:08] And they found mercy. God will give you mercy. This morning you might need to get before that throne of grace to obtain mercy. That's what it's there for.
[47:20] I invite you to come. Nobody's going to bother you. Nobody's going to suspect anything. You just talk to the Lord if you want to do business with him. Let's sing together number 310. Please join me in standing. Three, one, zero, wider than snow.
[47:33] The altar's open. If the Lord's dealing with you.