David: Repentance Leads to Confession

Good morning and welcome

Last week we finished up the power of forgiveness sermon series

I pray that the Holy Spirit moved mightily in your lives during that series

As always you can go back and watch or re-watch any of those messages on our website or app

Today we start a new 6 week sermon series on Repentance called Turn: The Heart of Repentance

Repentance

Repentance is a must to be saved.

One is lead to salvation by repentance

Repentance is the desire of God’s heart

2 Peter 3:9

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“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

If that is God’s desire and example then it must also be your desire as a Christian as

God’s blood bought

redeemed child

Repentance leads to becoming God’s child

one is only God’s child through salvation

one is only saved after being lead to salvation through repentance

Repentance is a big deal yet repentance is not the focus of the church today

Christians must live a repentant lifestyle

i was lead to this series because I want us to be a truly repentant church and people

in this six week series we will explore the gift of repentance by considering moments of genuine sorrow in the Bible

you will be challenged to look for the fruits of repentance in your own life as we move through this series together

Lets Pray

As I said last week this morning we would be diving into Psalm 51 in much more depth and detail

I pray you spent some quality time looking at these scriptures this past week

I want to say this while we are here....being a Christian is a lot of hard work

Anything worth doing is worth doing well and to do something well you must prepare

it takes hard work and dedication to be successful in life

for example.....as many of you know JR Sr High youth camp is coming up quickly June 1-6....I am going....

my beautiful bride is going....

Logan and Claire aka Princess are both going....

Kinley is going....

Jaycee is going and I am sure others......

see me if you have a jr or sr high student that wants to attend

camp is coming up and the praise team met last Sunday afternoon right here to begin to prepare....

we practiced.....

this afternoon we are meeting again to practice.....prepare....

this is after Emme our fearless leader has spent countless hours in prayer seeking God in the songs we are working on

your Christian walk is no different

you must prepare

how do you prepare

studying God’s Word daily

being in prayer constantly but also setting aside time for intentional prayer seeking God and His will for your life

Being a true Christian takes work......

you worked hard at being a sinner you must work hard at dying to that sinful nature and walking in the newness of life

Repentance is preparation

it prepares you to be who God created you to be

This morning we are turning to David to look at confession....a major part of repentance

Repentance leads to confession

i pray when you leave here this morning you will, through the Holy Spirit see that David trusted God’s forgiveness and praised God before, during, and after confession

I pray that the Holy Spirit will drive home and apply that you can trust that God will extend forgiveness when your heart is truly repentant

Psalm 51

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King James Version Psalm 51

1  Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness:

According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

2  Wash me throughly from mine iniquity,

And cleanse me from my sin.

3  For I acknowledge my transgressions:

And my sin is ever before me.

4  Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,

And done this evil in thy sight:

That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest,

And be clear when thou judgest.

5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity;

And in sin did my mother conceive me.

6  Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts:

And in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

7  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean:

Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8  Make me to hear joy and gladness;

That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

9  Hide thy face from my sins,

And blot out all mine iniquities.

10  Create in me a clean heart, O God;

And renew a right spirit within me.

11  Cast me not away from thy presence;

And take not thy holy spirit from me.

12  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;

And uphold me with thy free spirit.

13  Then will I teach transgressors thy ways;

And sinners shall be converted unto thee.

14  Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation:

And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

15  O Lord, open thou my lips;

And my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

16  For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it:

Thou delightest not in burnt offering.

17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit:

A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

18  Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion:

Build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

19  Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering:

Then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

Again just a quick reminder of the background here

I went into quite a bit of depth with this background last week so will just highlight for anyone who may not have been here last week

II Samuel 11 and 12 tell us of the story of David and Bathsheba

Bathsheba was married to Uriah one of David’s soldiers

David was to be at war with his soldiers but stayed back

He sees the beauty of Bathsheba and sleeps with her.....has an affair with her....commits sin with her

He calls Uriah home hoping that he would cover up the affair but Uriah would not sleep with his wife because his fellow soldiers were at war

David sends him back with a note to place Uriah on the front lines and pull back so he would be killed

David allowed Bathsheba to mourn and then went right on about his life until God sent conviction to him through the prophet Nathan

Psalm 51 is Davids response to that conviction

Notice how David approaches God

His repentance leads him to have a true view of God and leads him to praise

Have mercy on me......

God is the only one who can grant true spiritual mercy

God’s mercy is also due to His loving kindness and tender mercies that blot out David’s and your transgressions

Davids repentance lead him to go to God and ask God to wash him throughly and cleanse him for his sin

Here are a few things you can take away when you need to confess

1. Don’t hide your sin

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David didn't hide his sin.

David, at this point, was done running from his sin

Maybe that is where you are this morning.....done running from your sin

He owned his sin

When you are tired of running from your sin you must stop and own it

listen some of you needed help getting here this morning....alcohol....drugs....cigarettes...vapes...whatever

you are here......God wants to deliver you from those things but He won’t until you own them

2. Don’t justify your sin

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David didn’t justify his sin as he confessed his sin

he didn't make excuses

he didn't try to blame someone else

quit justifying your sin because the truth of the matter is there is no justification for your sin

3. Don’t make excuses

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you just don’t know my background and upbringing

you don't know what they did to me

you can’t relate you have never been there

it is just who am i am and the way i am

stop making excuses

no one buys them but you and most of the time you know you are lying when you say them

4. Own your sin

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You have to own your sin

There is no repentance until you own your sin

Psalm 51:3

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“For I acknowledge my transgressions: And my sin is ever before me.”

acknowledge your sin

you know your sin

God knows your sin

and even though you lie to yourself most of the people who know you know your sin....

you like to think you keep it hidden....wrong.....

own your sin.....you cannot repent if you refuse to own your sin

here we see David do just that

that is what the altar is for......it is a place to own your sin

a place to acknowledge your transgressions

a place to get with God and deal with your sin

Then David makes some very specific statements that point to relationship

why is relationship important.....because

Repentance repairs relationships

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Psalm 51:9

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“Hide thy face from my sins, And blot out all mine iniquities.”

David knew God.....remember the preparation I spoke of earlier

the more you are in God’s Word the more you know God

That is really why you study God’s Word is to KNOW Him

The more you walk in the newness of life with God the more you know God

one of the things that causes most people the most guilt is broken relationships

you did something

you hurt them

they left

they want nothing to do with you

that hurts

deep pain

David was fearful because of his sin that God would leave him

Hide thy face from my sins.....blot out my transgressions

Listen to the relationship in that

David is talking to a God he knows and a God he desires to be a part of his life

Psalm 51:10

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“Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me.”

One of the reasons repentance leads to salvation is repentance comes from a realization of who you are without Jesus

the Holy Spirit removes the scales from your eyes

He lifts the curtain and reveals your nasty

evil

sinful nature

a sinful nature that hates God

a sinful nature that lives in defiance of God

a sinful nature that is going to die and go to hell and it would be very well deserved because of your sin

you see that ugly nasty picture and realize Jesus is the only way and you repent

you desperately want a clean heart

you desperately want a right spirit

that is repentance that leads to salvation

those of us who have tasted that salvation need to continue to be here when we sin

Sin creates a nasty evil dirty heart

Sin creates a nasty evil dirty spirit

When you realize that you chose sin over God and Jesus you are desperate to have that heart cleansed and that spirit renewed....that is repentance

If not do you truly know Jesus as your Savior

Jesus is the only thing that matters......your sin caused you to put an issue between you and Jesus

your sin and my sin was the reason Jesus died on the cross

your sin and my sin is what Jesus became on that cross so He could die for that sin and offer us forgiveness

when you realize you have sinned

repentance...complete brokenness is your only appropriate response

Psalm 51:11

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“Cast me not away from thy presence; And take not thy holy spirit from me.”

David knew where he came from........God

David knew God saved him and he also knew in that moment he told God that God was not enough for him

That is what you tell God when you sin by the way....

God you are not good enough for me I am going to go do my own thing I don’t care that you call it sin

I don’t care you sent Jesus to earth

I don’t care that it cost Jesus His life

I don’t care it puts a barrier between you and me

I am going to sin......

That should crush you

Is your relationship with God deep enough that when you sin it crushes you because it crushes God?????

When you realize that is what you have done and said you, like David, will beg God to not cast you out of His presence

One of the wonderful blessings of salvation is the Holy Spirit

Ephesians 1:13–14

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“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”

God in the Holy Spirit seals you

He lives inside of you

He guides you

He directs you

He convicts you

He encourages you

He consoles you

Every time you sin you are telling the Holy Spirit He is not enough for you

You quench Him and His work in and through you

That should terrify you and every time you realize you sin you should repent and beg God to not remove His Holy Spirit from you!!!!!

So many Christians today don’t experience such a closeness with God

when they sin they just keep right on going

never really even batting an eye at it

oh well...just the way I am

I know it was sin but everyone does it

they deserved it..they made me mad

stop making excuses and own your sin

Many never even try to truly be in God’s presence let alone beg God to not cast them out of His presence

Most Christians find it hard to dawn the door of a church week in and week out let alone care about God’s presence

Church we are to live counter-culturally as Christians

For many this place is not important

Sunday School is not important

Men’s and Women’s discipleship groups are not important

Bible study is not important

if it was important you would be here

You make excuses to be many places during the week but Church is usually not one of them

Many make lots of excuses to not be here but few make an excuse to be here

For me God made church non-negotiable about 9 years ago...long before I was a pastor

Your secret place time should also be in this same category....i struggle here if I am honest and need to do much better

Make an excuse to be in Gods presence

Psalm 51:12

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“Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; And uphold me with thy free spirit.”

again a desire to be back in that place where Jesus is all that matters

restore the joy of thy salvation

remember when you were first saved

the joy

the excitement

you couldn't contain it

sin removes that joy

where are you?

I love how David closes this Psalm

Repentance leads to evangelism

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Psalm 51:13

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“Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; And sinners shall be converted unto thee.”

God I get it....

i am wrong and my sin put me in a horrible place

Not only will i enjoy being back in right standing with you but I will teach others about sin and the consequences of that sin

we fail as Christians at this

the corporate church fails at this

when was the last time you honestly talked with someone about the consequences of sin

when was the last time you taught a transgressor God’s ways

this takes courage

this takes discernment

most of all this takes love

If you love them why would you want them to be speeding out of control heading right for hell

Psalm 51:14

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“Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.”

You and I are guilty of the blood of Jesus

you killed Him

I killed Him

He died because of our sin

His blood is on us

God is so righteous and holy that because of sin He sent His own Son to die

why

because the penalty must be paid because He is righteous

If Jesus blood does not cover your sins you will die as the penalty

it is not just a little white lie it is sin

You and I must start taking sin as seriously as God does

when you realize just what salvation means

when you have repented and are cleanses of you unrighteousness you have no other option but to worship

that is why we worship because God is so good and we owe everything to Him!!!!

God doesn't want your religion

He wants your love and devotion

Psalm 51:17

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“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

Your sacrifice is a broken and contrite heart

we get broken.....but it must be broken for the right reasons

when I would discipline my boys and they would cry I would always say I pray those tears are because you know what you did was wrong not because you got caught

God wants you broken because you realize your sin destroys your relationship with Him

if you are broken because of the consequences of your sin you miss it the entire point

I don't know where you are but you do and God does

Is repentance your lifestyle

do you take sin as seriously as God does

if not come

get with Him and get that fixed

I am here for you......come to me if you want or need to talk to me

If you don’t need to talk to me go straight to the altar and I will pray over you whatever God puts on your heart

invitation