WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.639 Father God, we thank you for the opportunity this morning to gather and to sit under your word, 00:00:04.700 --> 00:00:08.919 and we ask that you would speak to us in such a way that we are different as a result. 00:00:09.400 --> 00:00:15.419 Please change our hearts, as David prayed, that we may love you as you deserve. Amen. 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:22.699 What do you do when you know that you've done the wrong thing? What's your first reaction? 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:27.800 I'm going to be a little bit self-indulgent right now, and I want to stick a photo of the cutest 00:00:27.800 --> 00:00:33.079 young man in the world up on the screen. I don't get to show him off in the morning very often, 00:00:33.579 --> 00:00:37.060 so I thought this was a good opportunity, because over the last 18 months, 00:00:37.560 --> 00:00:41.380 my son has taught me a lot about how to react when you do the wrong thing. 00:00:42.219 --> 00:00:46.480 He is 18 months old, but it is amazing how many wrong things he can do already. 00:00:47.060 --> 00:00:51.480 I say, don't touch this, and he touches it. I say, stop eating possum poo that you find in the backyard, 00:00:51.640 --> 00:00:56.019 and he continues to try and eat possum poo that he finds in the backyard. I say, share that toy, 00:00:56.020 --> 00:01:03.840 and he pushes the other child away and holds onto it. He has multiple options at his discretion when 00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:10.980 he knows he's been caught out doing the wrong thing. His favourite is to act casual. I say, 00:01:11.180 --> 00:01:16.300 don't touch the dishwasher, and he stands next to the dishwasher, leaning on it. He's not using his 00:01:16.300 --> 00:01:20.359 hands, just, I'm not doing anything wrong, and then he's just waiting for you to turn away so he can 00:01:20.359 --> 00:01:25.620 continue pressing buttons. He occasionally goes for the sheepish, where he knows he's in trouble and 00:01:25.620 --> 00:01:30.040 kind of comes over and sucks up and looks for a hug or something like that. And every now and then, 00:01:30.120 --> 00:01:34.580 he goes for the classic devastated, where he just breaks down in tears and can't believe that he's 00:01:34.580 --> 00:01:40.939 done the wrong thing and just wants a hug and so on. And funnily enough, as I've been watching him, 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:46.680 I've realised that I actually do really similar things. Not exactly the same, but an 18-month-old 00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:54.760 and a 30-year-old process guilt in really similar fashion. Not so long ago, a little while ago now, 00:01:54.860 --> 00:01:59.840 but I remember being caught for speeding. And I don't mean at the point where I was pulled over by 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:03.280 the police and they were filling out a ticket. I'm in the point where I'm driving along at a speed 00:02:03.280 --> 00:02:08.860 slightly in excess of the limit, and I see the police car coming the other way. The processes that my brain 00:02:08.860 --> 00:02:15.420 go through in that split second are pull over and, you know, face the consequences, turn down the next 00:02:15.419 --> 00:02:20.959 street as quick as I can and try and hide, or accelerate and see if I can outrun them. I won't 00:02:20.959 --> 00:02:25.859 tell you what I did. But the point is, in that moment where you've done the wrong thing, you do 00:02:25.859 --> 00:02:31.579 actually need to make a decision. What do I do now? Do I face the consequences? Do I try and cover it up? 00:02:31.659 --> 00:02:39.579 Do I just go blank and cop what's coming? I wonder when it comes to God, what you do when you know you've 00:02:39.579 --> 00:02:45.299 let him down. When you know that you've sinned against God, when you know that in his eyes, 00:02:45.419 --> 00:02:50.199 what you have done, what you have thought, what you have said is wrong, how do you react? 00:02:51.280 --> 00:02:58.179 What's the right response in that moment? Because the Bible is full of examples of good people that 00:02:58.179 --> 00:03:02.899 we're supposed to imitate. There's lots of great instructions of what we should do and shouldn't 00:03:02.899 --> 00:03:08.599 do, but what about the moment when you fail? There's instructions to how we should speak, 00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:13.099 to how we should use our money, all that sort of stuff. There's examples of people to imitate. 00:03:13.099 --> 00:03:19.219 But today I want to show you a story from Scripture of one of Israel's greatest kings 00:03:19.219 --> 00:03:25.180 stuffing up spectacularly. Ken pointed us to it just a second ago as he introduced the reading. 00:03:25.699 --> 00:03:32.219 David is pretty much the pinnacle of kingship when it comes to Israel. He's as good as it gets. He's a 00:03:32.219 --> 00:03:39.439 key figure when it comes to the promises that God has made to his people, but he falls spectacularly. 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:45.479 Now, in the interest of time, I'm going to give you the Sam Lowe paraphrased version of 2 Samuel 11 and 12. 00:03:45.659 --> 00:03:51.900 So stick with me. Basically, David has been king for a little while and he's been doing what God 00:03:51.900 --> 00:03:55.599 asked him to do. He's been fighting battles and he's been winning battles left, right and center. 00:03:55.659 --> 00:04:00.039 And it gets to the point where he has won the big battles and there's just a few little skirmishes on 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:04.719 around the place. So he decides this spring, instead of going off to battle, he's going to sit back in his 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:10.120 palace and take a well-earned rest. Sends the army out, does his own thing and as he is wandering 00:04:10.120 --> 00:04:16.120 around on the roof of his palace, probably feeling pretty happy with how his life is going, he spots 00:04:16.120 --> 00:04:21.980 something off in the distance, something that's appealing to his eye. Spots an attractive female 00:04:21.980 --> 00:04:28.699 taking a bath. Now, rather than maybe appropriately looking the other way, he looks, he's impressed, 00:04:28.699 --> 00:04:35.920 he desires and he sends one of his aides to go and find out about this woman. His aid returns with 00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:42.639 the sad news that this is Bathsheba. She's the wife of Uriah. Now you would think, end of story, 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:49.539 he looked, he can move on and get on with his life. Unfortunately, his solution is, Uriah's off in 00:04:49.539 --> 00:04:56.019 battle, go get her anyway. He's the king, how's she going to say no? He gets Bathsheba, he brings her to 00:04:56.019 --> 00:05:01.599 his bed, he sleeps with her, he sends her back to her house, end of story. He's the king. The people 00:05:01.599 --> 00:05:09.399 who know about this can keep secrets, he figures it will be fine. But unfortunately, Bathsheba sends 00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:16.779 a message to David explaining that she's now pregnant. Problem. Bathsheba's husband is not in town, 00:05:16.779 --> 00:05:23.859 how did she get pregnant? Now, this could be the moment of truth where David concedes, confesses, 00:05:23.860 --> 00:05:32.759 faces the consequences, but instead he comes up with a plan. He invites Uriah back from the front 00:05:32.759 --> 00:05:39.000 line, invites Uriah to the palace, under the ruse that he wants to hear how the battle's going, 00:05:39.520 --> 00:05:44.340 and then he sends Uriah home, hoping that he would sleep with his wife. I mean, he's been away, 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:49.560 he's been at battle, he hasn't seen her, surely. You know, it's almost inevitable, and then he can just 00:05:49.560 --> 00:05:56.680 pretend that was the night she got pregnant. Uriah has more honour than David does, and refuses to go 00:05:56.680 --> 00:06:02.060 into his own home while the rest of his fellow soldiers are still in battle. So instead, he sleeps 00:06:02.060 --> 00:06:07.939 on the side of the road at the entrance to the city, and heads back out to battle. So again, moment of 00:06:07.939 --> 00:06:14.920 truth. Does David concede now? He's tried to cover it up, it hasn't worked? No, he doesn't. Instead, 00:06:14.920 --> 00:06:21.740 David sends instructions out to Uriah's commanders to put him where the fighting is the fiercest, 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:27.400 and then just when it gets really intense, to instruct the soldiers around Uriah to step backwards 00:06:27.400 --> 00:06:36.160 so that he's killed. And sure enough, that's what happens. David's solution? Uriah's dead now, 00:06:36.220 --> 00:06:44.560 so I guess Bathsheba is available, and she becomes his wife. So did you get that? God's anointed king 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:50.180 commits adultery, then tries to trick her husband into sleeping with her so that he'll think it's 00:06:50.180 --> 00:06:56.319 his baby. When that doesn't work, he kills him. It's just so that he won't get found out for 00:06:56.319 --> 00:07:02.000 committing adultery in the first place. See how it begins to escalate. David goes to these massive 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:07.720 lengths so that his first mistake isn't found out. But unfortunately, he's digging himself 00:07:07.720 --> 00:07:14.800 deeper and deeper. Now it seems like it works on one level. Uriah is dead. Bathsheba is now living 00:07:14.800 --> 00:07:20.280 with David, and they will have a child. It looks like they're a family. And all the people who know 00:07:20.280 --> 00:07:24.860 what's going on are smart enough to know that you don't tell the king he's done the wrong thing. 00:07:25.280 --> 00:07:33.100 Otherwise, you end up like Uriah did. So it seems like David's secret is safe. But the problem is, 00:07:33.100 --> 00:07:39.740 two people still know what happened. And that problem is the same problem for you and me. 00:07:41.020 --> 00:07:47.600 When you sin, and when I sin, we can try and cover it up. We can pretend it didn't happen. 00:07:48.360 --> 00:07:54.500 We can pretend that we will deal with it in some way. But it did happen, and there are two people 00:07:54.500 --> 00:08:01.980 who will always know that it happened. David still knows what he did. Verse 3 of Psalm 51, 00:08:02.579 --> 00:08:09.800 I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. No matter how elaborate the cover-up is, 00:08:09.879 --> 00:08:14.500 no matter how convincing it is for everyone else, you will always know what you have done. 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:19.459 You will always be aware of the decisions you've made and the consequences that went with it. 00:08:19.459 --> 00:08:25.579 No amount of lying will actually trick yourself into thinking, I shouldn't feel guilty. I haven't 00:08:25.579 --> 00:08:29.599 done the wrong thing. I mean, you can see what guilt drove David to do. 00:08:32.699 --> 00:08:38.299 When you dishonor God with your actions, it doesn't matter how many other people know about it. 00:08:39.299 --> 00:08:44.279 Even the secret sins carry guilt with them, and you know that to be true in your own life. 00:08:44.279 --> 00:08:50.860 There are things that you've done that no one else knows about, but you know, and you still carry 00:08:50.860 --> 00:08:54.579 that burden, maybe even that fear of what if somebody does find out? 00:08:56.879 --> 00:09:02.459 There's no point trying to ignore it or pretend it didn't happen, because that'll just make you trapped 00:09:02.459 --> 00:09:11.939 by guilt and fear. Plus, even if you're really good at keeping your secret, even if you can actually 00:09:11.940 --> 00:09:17.860 hide it from every other person you know for your whole life, you will still know, and God will 00:09:17.860 --> 00:09:26.120 still know. Verse 4 of Psalm 51, against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. 00:09:27.580 --> 00:09:35.380 The Bible tells us that God knits us together in our mother's womb, that God numbers the hairs on our 00:09:35.380 --> 00:09:41.900 head. God knows us more intimately than we even know ourselves. And to somehow think that we 00:09:41.899 --> 00:09:47.419 can trick him into thinking that we're better than we are, to somehow think that we can keep a secret 00:09:47.419 --> 00:09:56.519 from him, is not only foolish, it just doesn't work. He knows what we do before we even do it. 00:09:57.079 --> 00:10:03.120 He knows our thoughts and our words before they come out. To try and hide our mistakes will not work. 00:10:03.459 --> 00:10:07.779 And the end of 2 Samuel chapter 11, which I encourage you to have a look at maybe when you go home, 00:10:07.779 --> 00:10:14.659 tells us that the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. I'm fairly confident that 00:10:14.659 --> 00:10:20.339 that's the sanitized version of what God was feeling at that particular point. His chosen king, 00:10:20.339 --> 00:10:25.139 instead of doing what his chosen king should have done, has just cheated and committed murder to cover 00:10:25.139 --> 00:10:32.679 it up. I imagine God was more than displeased. God was angry and rightly angry. God would have been 00:10:32.679 --> 00:10:42.579 straight up ticked off with David. And yet you and I do exactly the same thing. God wouldn't have just 00:10:42.579 --> 00:10:47.339 been annoyed that David had gone and slept with this woman. God wouldn't have even just been annoyed 00:10:47.339 --> 00:10:54.839 that he had then killed her husband. The issue is, as well as doing them, he has the arrogance to 00:10:54.840 --> 00:11:03.240 presume that he can hide it from God. He has the ignorance to think that God won't know if he just 00:11:03.240 --> 00:11:10.540 keeps it quiet amongst his advisors. And yet you and I do exactly the same thing. Every day we make 00:11:10.540 --> 00:11:16.360 decisions that dishonor God. Every day we make choices that mean our needs are more important than 00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:22.080 what God wants for us. The way we treat people, the way we talk about people, the way we use our money. 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:31.280 Those are choices that say to God, you're actually not in control. I'm the one who makes decisions here. 00:11:32.480 --> 00:11:37.900 And then when the guilt sets in, we do anything but admit that we've done the wrong thing. 00:11:38.600 --> 00:11:45.639 That doesn't even enter our minds. We go for the play casual and just pretend we weren't doing the 00:11:45.639 --> 00:11:52.060 wrong thing. We flat out deny it. Or if we're really feeling guilty, we try and cover it up by doing 00:11:52.059 --> 00:11:57.899 lots of good things to balance it out. But God knows. You know. 00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:06.339 In our story, David doesn't get away with it. God sends Nathan, a prophet, to confront him. Nathan 00:12:06.339 --> 00:12:13.219 tells an elaborate story. And sure enough, David realizes just how disgusting his sin is before God. 00:12:13.619 --> 00:12:19.699 He realizes how he cannot hide it from God anymore and he has to face up to God. And from that point, 00:12:19.700 --> 00:12:26.000 when David realizes that he can't run. When God gets the sin and puts it right in front of David's face 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:31.620 and says, there's nothing you can do to get away from this, from that point, he writes this psalm to God. 00:12:32.120 --> 00:12:37.259 He pours out his heart. And this psalm is a gift to us because I think it shows us 00:12:37.259 --> 00:12:43.540 what God wants from us when it comes to making mistakes, when it comes to our sin. 00:12:43.539 --> 00:12:49.279 Make sure you've got Psalm 51 in front of you. And I want to show you four steps that you need to 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:54.219 go through when God confronts you with parts of your life that don't honor him. 00:12:55.719 --> 00:12:58.759 The first step is you need to face your guilt. 00:13:00.319 --> 00:13:06.139 You need to acknowledge that you have sinned. You need to recognize that you have done what is wrong. 00:13:06.139 --> 00:13:11.179 Because no matter what else is going on around you, no matter how great people tell you you are, 00:13:11.559 --> 00:13:17.439 no matter how great you tell yourself that you are, before God, you have failed. 00:13:18.740 --> 00:13:21.799 Against God, you have sinned, just like David said. 00:13:23.199 --> 00:13:27.620 Verse 4, against you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. 00:13:28.039 --> 00:13:31.840 So God is right in his verdict and he is justified when he judges. 00:13:31.840 --> 00:13:34.820 Even if you're struggling with a personal sin. 00:13:35.660 --> 00:13:39.160 Even if your issue is in your mind and nobody else hears about it. 00:13:39.180 --> 00:13:44.720 If your issue is that you look at somebody as annoying and frustrating and not worth the effort 00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:49.720 and not important and not valuable, God still knows. 00:13:51.420 --> 00:13:55.920 And we need to have the humility to say, God, I am doing what is wrong. 00:13:57.200 --> 00:13:59.920 To say, God, I have sinned. I know I have sinned. 00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:01.719 And I carry the guilt of that. 00:14:01.819 --> 00:14:05.079 You will never escape guilt by pretending that you're better than you are. 00:14:07.240 --> 00:14:12.039 One John in the New Testament reminds us, if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves. 00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:14.539 And we just perpetuate the cycle, like David. 00:14:15.079 --> 00:14:18.559 We say, God's, you know, he does it no best, I know best, and I've got no sin. 00:14:19.219 --> 00:14:22.679 We make God out to be a liar by pretending that we are good, 00:14:23.319 --> 00:14:25.299 when in reality, we are wicked. 00:14:25.299 --> 00:14:34.500 So the first step, you must admit your guilt, just like David did, eventually, when he was confronted by Nathan. 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:39.819 David fell before God and he poured out his guilty heart in confession. 00:14:41.019 --> 00:14:42.259 Here's the challenge, though, for you. 00:14:42.339 --> 00:14:44.559 You may not have a Nathan come and tell you. 00:14:44.559 --> 00:14:50.419 God may not provide a prophet to point to the things in your life that are inadequate, 00:14:51.179 --> 00:14:55.559 that are rebellious, that are wicked, but he has provided his word. 00:14:56.899 --> 00:15:02.099 When you open it and the Bible points to something in you that is not where it needs to be, 00:15:02.679 --> 00:15:03.519 how do you respond? 00:15:04.919 --> 00:15:06.379 Do you try and play it casual? 00:15:06.379 --> 00:15:13.340 Or do you acknowledge your guilt and your sin before God? 00:15:14.519 --> 00:15:17.740 Second thing David does, he acknowledges God. 00:15:18.340 --> 00:15:19.220 Look at verse 1. 00:15:19.220 --> 00:15:25.059 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love, according to your great compassion. 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:30.500 Blot out my transgressions, wash away all my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 00:15:30.500 --> 00:15:37.120 For I know my transgression, and my sin is always before me against you, and you only have I sinned. 00:15:37.659 --> 00:15:39.159 He appeals to God. 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:42.879 Now, his sin affected people. 00:15:43.940 --> 00:15:47.600 His sin affected Bathsheba because he pulled her out of a marriage. 00:15:48.379 --> 00:15:51.159 His sin affected Uriah because he ended his life. 00:15:51.620 --> 00:15:56.460 His sin affected the people that he dragged into his sordid web to go and fetch this woman for him. 00:15:56.460 --> 00:15:59.379 To the people that he insisted had to carry his lie. 00:15:59.379 --> 00:16:05.320 But his main port of call when he confesses is God. 00:16:06.899 --> 00:16:08.759 His emphasis is God. 00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:11.439 Against you and you only have I sinned. 00:16:11.639 --> 00:16:13.980 He knows that it's God's laws that he's broken. 00:16:14.539 --> 00:16:16.620 Now, it's not that he hasn't hurt these people. 00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:18.279 It's not that that's not an issue. 00:16:18.919 --> 00:16:21.159 But it's that God is the main issue. 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:24.240 To break relationship with his creator. 00:16:25.159 --> 00:16:27.840 To sin against the one to whom he is accountable. 00:16:29.379 --> 00:16:35.779 And he knows that it is God alone who he has rejected that can forgive him. 00:16:36.500 --> 00:16:39.700 God is the only one who can deal with what he has done. 00:16:40.259 --> 00:16:45.019 When we sin, it's much, much easier to try and address the effects of sin in our life. 00:16:45.019 --> 00:16:50.000 If I was to start gossiping about somebody. 00:16:50.539 --> 00:16:54.019 Start spreading rumors about that person and eventually it came out. 00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:58.960 It's easier for me to go to that person and try and fix the issue that everyone can see. 00:16:59.779 --> 00:17:07.299 But you've got to understand that by undermining that person, by devaluing that person, what I've done is I've dishonored God. 00:17:07.299 --> 00:17:10.119 It's God's law that I've broken. 00:17:10.379 --> 00:17:12.379 It doesn't mean that this relationship doesn't matter. 00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:17.139 But so often we deal with sin only at the level of its effects. 00:17:18.180 --> 00:17:23.220 But sin fundamentally is a break in my relationship with God. 00:17:24.220 --> 00:17:26.960 Sin is an issue between creator and creation. 00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:30.740 And the effects of it are real and painful. 00:17:31.799 --> 00:17:35.340 But what sin does is break the relationship with God. 00:17:36.140 --> 00:17:39.519 And so the only one who can fix that is God. 00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:46.460 You must come before him confessing your sin and acknowledging his right to judge you. 00:17:48.079 --> 00:17:50.539 Confession shouldn't sound like, 00:17:50.720 --> 00:17:54.220 Dear God, I've done something wrong, but you have to forgive me because that's what you're like. 00:17:54.840 --> 00:17:55.799 That's not David's prayer. 00:17:55.799 --> 00:17:58.480 He does request forgiveness. 00:17:58.700 --> 00:18:00.000 He does desire mercy. 00:18:00.859 --> 00:18:03.879 But he says, God, please have mercy because you are so loving. 00:18:05.639 --> 00:18:08.480 Even though I don't deserve it, please have mercy. 00:18:09.559 --> 00:18:12.740 When you sin and reject God, he's the one you need to acknowledge. 00:18:12.980 --> 00:18:18.099 He's the one you need to seek for forgiveness because his desire is to give you good things. 00:18:18.980 --> 00:18:21.079 And it's him alone who can forgive you. 00:18:21.659 --> 00:18:24.359 If I was to step forward and punch Chris in the face, 00:18:24.359 --> 00:18:27.740 It's not much good for me to then wander across and ask Wendy to forgive me. 00:18:29.259 --> 00:18:31.439 Sin is between you and God. 00:18:31.939 --> 00:18:33.659 The effects will be broader. 00:18:34.479 --> 00:18:38.979 But the only person who can forgive you for breaking God's law is God. 00:18:38.980 --> 00:18:46.720 Your first port of call when you are confronted with sin in your life must be to go to the one who can forgive you. 00:18:46.960 --> 00:18:48.720 To the one who you are accountable to. 00:18:49.420 --> 00:18:51.799 The third thing David does is he repents. 00:18:52.360 --> 00:18:52.960 Verse 7. 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:55.620 Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be clean. 00:18:56.019 --> 00:18:57.740 Wash me and I will be whiter than snow. 00:18:58.240 --> 00:18:59.860 Let me hear joy and gladness. 00:18:59.980 --> 00:19:01.720 Let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:05.519 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 00:19:05.940 --> 00:19:07.200 And key couple of verses here. 00:19:07.640 --> 00:19:09.819 Create in me a pure heart, O God. 00:19:09.940 --> 00:19:11.819 Renew a steadfast spirit within me. 00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:15.579 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 00:19:16.140 --> 00:19:18.259 Restore to me the joy of your salvation. 00:19:18.900 --> 00:19:21.660 And grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:25.240 David doesn't come back to God at this point and go, look, I'm really sorry. 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:28.800 And you know, reality is it's probably going to happen again. 00:19:28.900 --> 00:19:30.900 There's a lot of beautiful women who bathe around my palace. 00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:32.800 And I like to walk around up there. 00:19:33.080 --> 00:19:35.920 But if you can forgive me, that would be helpful so I'm not feeling bad. 00:19:36.380 --> 00:19:38.540 And then we'll deal with the next one when it comes up. 00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:39.940 It's not his prayer. 00:19:40.820 --> 00:19:43.360 His prayer is, God, I'm sorry. 00:19:44.040 --> 00:19:47.300 Please take away the bits in me that make me do these things. 00:19:47.480 --> 00:19:50.620 Take away the desire in me that leads me into these situations 00:19:50.619 --> 00:19:54.219 where I choose things that are less than what you've designed for me. 00:19:55.519 --> 00:19:57.199 He wants to be changed. 00:19:58.299 --> 00:20:00.519 Repentance is so much more than just sorry. 00:20:01.339 --> 00:20:02.939 He says, Father, fix me. 00:20:03.579 --> 00:20:05.199 Don't let me end up in this same situation. 00:20:05.959 --> 00:20:07.779 Don't let me fall into this same sin. 00:20:08.899 --> 00:20:09.419 Fix me. 00:20:09.420 --> 00:20:14.759 It's not just a matter of admitting that you've done the wrong thing 00:20:14.759 --> 00:20:16.120 and feeling sorry for yourself. 00:20:16.779 --> 00:20:20.500 It's about admitting it and then turning away from the things in your life 00:20:20.500 --> 00:20:22.600 that led you down that path in the first place. 00:20:23.480 --> 00:20:26.039 Sin is you wandering away from God and his will. 00:20:26.800 --> 00:20:29.460 Repentance is saying sorry, begging for forgiveness, 00:20:29.460 --> 00:20:33.779 and then running back to the God whose strength will sustain you, 00:20:34.920 --> 00:20:38.259 who will give you the strength to make better choices, 00:20:38.620 --> 00:20:40.180 to resist temptation. 00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:41.600 It's there in the end of verse 12. 00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:44.600 Grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. 00:20:45.500 --> 00:20:49.660 God, give me the strength to actually fulfill my desires, 00:20:50.360 --> 00:20:53.299 to actually obey you, to follow you as you deserve. 00:20:53.299 --> 00:20:55.559 He confesses his sin. 00:20:55.680 --> 00:20:56.779 He acknowledges God. 00:20:57.099 --> 00:20:57.859 He repents. 00:20:58.379 --> 00:21:02.899 And lastly, verse 13, he trusts in God's forgiveness. 00:21:04.339 --> 00:21:06.980 Then I will teach transgressors your ways 00:21:06.980 --> 00:21:09.460 so that sinners will turn back to you. 00:21:10.279 --> 00:21:14.200 So confident in his forgiveness is David that he says, 00:21:14.299 --> 00:21:16.599 when it happens, I'm just going to start telling people. 00:21:17.379 --> 00:21:18.319 Because I'm ready for it. 00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:20.399 I'm going to be an example of your incredible love. 00:21:20.399 --> 00:21:22.980 God's design for you isn't that you spend your life 00:21:22.980 --> 00:21:23.640 feeling guilty. 00:21:24.440 --> 00:21:26.839 You will spend your life making mistakes. 00:21:27.640 --> 00:21:30.180 Until Jesus comes back, that is the sad reality 00:21:30.180 --> 00:21:32.019 for all who try and follow Jesus. 00:21:32.140 --> 00:21:34.160 But God's desire is not that you walk around 00:21:34.160 --> 00:21:36.000 with this weight of guilt on your shoulders. 00:21:37.140 --> 00:21:39.759 He does not, when we come to him with something to be forgiven, 00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:41.420 go, thank you, you're forgiven, 00:21:41.740 --> 00:21:44.099 and then I'm going to remind you about it next time you come back. 00:21:44.819 --> 00:21:46.599 You said you weren't going to do this anymore, but remember? 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:51.579 The Bible promises that as far as the east is from the west, 00:21:51.579 --> 00:21:55.199 so far has God removed our sins from us. 00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:58.119 When you go to him and confess your sin, 00:21:58.659 --> 00:22:00.740 Scripture promises us in 1 John 1 again, 00:22:01.119 --> 00:22:03.859 he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins 00:22:03.859 --> 00:22:07.460 and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:12.699 God sent Jesus to die on a cross so that we could be forgiven. 00:22:12.700 --> 00:22:18.400 And if we confess, his death and his resurrection are sufficient 00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:21.120 for us to be completely clean. 00:22:22.200 --> 00:22:25.200 No matter what you've done, no matter how bad you think it is, 00:22:26.019 --> 00:22:30.700 the blood of Jesus is more than enough to deal with your guilt. 00:22:31.500 --> 00:22:33.980 More than enough to wash the stains in your life 00:22:33.980 --> 00:22:36.799 and the power of his resurrection is more than enough 00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:38.840 to free you and redeem you, 00:22:38.839 --> 00:22:42.179 to take you from being one under the judgment of God 00:22:42.179 --> 00:22:45.639 to being a precious, treasured possession. 00:22:47.259 --> 00:22:49.000 And today God is saying to you, 00:22:49.220 --> 00:22:50.359 no matter what you've done, 00:22:51.199 --> 00:22:53.459 if you would just admit it, 00:22:54.259 --> 00:22:55.859 if you would acknowledge God, 00:22:57.459 --> 00:23:00.699 if you would repent and commit your life to him, 00:23:01.220 --> 00:23:02.639 he will forgive you. 00:23:02.640 --> 00:23:07.540 I love this psalm because David goes from at the beginning 00:23:07.540 --> 00:23:09.520 being in a place of incredible darkness, 00:23:10.200 --> 00:23:11.460 begging for God's mercy, 00:23:12.080 --> 00:23:15.040 to finishing up praying for the strength to stay pure 00:23:15.040 --> 00:23:18.100 and finally rejoicing in the forgiveness 00:23:18.100 --> 00:23:20.780 that he knows God will give him. 00:23:21.520 --> 00:23:24.840 So confident is he in God's power and mercy 00:23:24.840 --> 00:23:27.940 and he doesn't even know about Jesus and the cross yet. 00:23:27.940 --> 00:23:32.900 So confident is he in the merciful character of his God 00:23:32.900 --> 00:23:36.080 that he can pray and leave this guilt with God 00:23:36.080 --> 00:23:37.380 knowing that it is dealt with 00:23:37.380 --> 00:23:39.960 and he doesn't even know about Jesus yet. 00:23:42.100 --> 00:23:45.720 Jesus is the incredible answer to this prayer in Psalm 51. 00:23:47.720 --> 00:23:50.420 David prays for forgiveness and cleansing 00:23:50.420 --> 00:23:53.220 and in the blood of Jesus he gets both. 00:23:54.420 --> 00:23:57.120 David prays for a willing spirit to sustain him 00:23:57.119 --> 00:23:59.699 and in the sending of the Holy Spirit 00:23:59.699 --> 00:24:03.619 he receives the power to follow and obey his God. 00:24:05.459 --> 00:24:09.679 Today Greg and Clarice did something really significant up the front 00:24:09.679 --> 00:24:12.500 and I don't know if you've realised this 00:24:12.500 --> 00:24:16.459 but baptism is amazingly similar to Psalm 51. 00:24:18.539 --> 00:24:23.739 Baptism is not primarily about what Greg and Clarice had to say. 00:24:23.740 --> 00:24:27.259 That's a big part of it. 00:24:27.759 --> 00:24:29.599 They expressed a desire to be washed. 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:32.440 They expressed a desire to follow God. 00:24:33.240 --> 00:24:35.620 But the answer to Psalm 51 and the answer 00:24:35.620 --> 00:24:38.859 to the prayers and words that were said here is Jesus. 00:24:40.819 --> 00:24:42.380 Their desire to be forgiven, 00:24:42.740 --> 00:24:45.039 their desire to turn to Christ is only possible 00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:46.900 because of the blood of Jesus. 00:24:46.900 --> 00:24:50.580 Their ability to stand true till their life's end 00:24:50.580 --> 00:24:52.320 is only possible because of the power 00:24:52.320 --> 00:24:54.360 of Jesus' Holy Spirit in them 00:24:54.360 --> 00:24:57.880 as a result of the forgiveness that has been won on the cross 00:24:57.880 --> 00:25:00.340 and in Jesus' death and resurrection. 00:25:01.620 --> 00:25:03.759 David prayed this prayer confidently 00:25:03.759 --> 00:25:06.319 and Greg and Clarice, 00:25:06.879 --> 00:25:09.019 you can speak these words today confident 00:25:09.019 --> 00:25:11.559 because God has answered 00:25:11.559 --> 00:25:13.980 in Jesus' death and resurrection. 00:25:16.460 --> 00:25:18.440 And for those of us sitting in this room 00:25:18.440 --> 00:25:19.559 who maybe aren't at a point 00:25:19.559 --> 00:25:20.619 where we have made a commitment 00:25:20.619 --> 00:25:22.379 like what Greg and Clarice did today, 00:25:23.379 --> 00:25:24.819 God's word is this. 00:25:25.819 --> 00:25:27.420 Stop carrying your guilt. 00:25:27.420 --> 00:25:31.039 Confess your sin 00:25:31.039 --> 00:25:35.620 and find joy and forgiveness in Jesus. 00:25:37.340 --> 00:25:37.820 Amen.