A Restored Heart
Notes
Transcript
Scripture: Psalm 51:1-10
Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight— That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Introduction: Two weeks ago we looked at the life of David, and how he was a man after God’s heart. We really focused on how God looks at the heart. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.
We went through 3 steps necessary to get our hearts right with God. We take responsibility, We embrace God’s grace, and We are a catalyst for others.
This morning I want us to look at what David asked God to do to restore his heart completely.
I want to tell you something this morning. Satan wants to use your failures like an anchor to drown your Christian testimony. And, he will if you allow him to. David’s testimony could have been that of a failed king who sinned against God. Instead we know him as a man after God’s own heart. How is that possible? He did not allow his sin to name him, he let God write his story. Listen to Proverbs 24:16
For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.
How does a righteous man get up from a fall?
You may say wait, did you just call an adulterer and murderer a righteous man? Yes I did.
Righteousness does not mean we never fail. It is the attitude we take towards failure, how we respond to failure, and what we depend upon for righteousness. So, as we think about this, how does God restore our hearts? First, lets look at sins affect on the heart.
Sins Affect on the Heart
Sins Affect on the Heart
To think that being a Christian gives us the right to sin is foreign to scripture. In fact, the Bible says that we are dead to sin in Romans 6:1-2. Sin is no longer our Lord. That person has died and we are a new creature in Christ Jesus. So, when sin is introduced into our conscience, it is a foreign object.
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
In Psalm 51:2-4 David paints picture of the effects of sin.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight— That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.
Notice that sin first dirties us. David ask God to cleanse him and make him clean.
It makes us feel dirty and in fact leaves a stain upon our conscience.
Charles Spurgeon stated that Sin is not a splash of mud on a man’s exterior; it is filth generated within himself.
Second, sin leaves a feeling of guilt. “My sin is always before me.” Against You, and You only have I sinned.” “Make me hear joy and gladness.”
Martin Luther the great reformer said, The devil seduces us at first by all the allurements of sin in order thereafter to plunge us into despair.
An anonymous quote is: He who swims in sin will sink in sorrow.
Third, sin causes us to feel separated from God. Listen to Psalm 51:4
Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight— That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.
Sin is contrary to the holiness of God. We realize in our conscience that we placed something between us and God. That’s the nature of sin.
The essence of sin is my right to my claim to myself.
Oswald Chambers (Lecturer and Missionary)
Last, sin not repented of leads to death. James 1:13-15
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
Death in the sense of a seared or dead conscience toward God.
I believe physical death.
Death to our testimonies.
Death to our potential to glorify God.
Sin destroys our hearts, but God restores our hearts. How?
Sin destroys our hearts, but God restores our hearts. How?
God Restores Through Creating a Clean Heart
God Restores Through Creating a Clean Heart
In Psalm 51:6 David realized that restoration begins inwardly rather than outwardly.
Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
All sin is an act of idolatry against God. We value or someone or something above the glory of God. That is why David later advises his son Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28:9 to have a loyal heart to the Lord
“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.
If we try to clean the outside before God cleans the inside, we will constantly be reminded of our sin and failure.
We must first get before God and be confident that our heart has been cleansed by Him before we move forward.
This is why the Gospel is so important to us as believers.
I can imagine that there was always those who reminded David of his failures. And I’m sure that they would have loved to see him fold under the pressure. And if he walked around with a guilty, uncertain heart he would have caved.
God must create in us a clean heart through the truth of the Gospel, but listen that’s not all. There’s another part that goes with that. God must renew in us an awareness of dangers of sin.
John Owen recognizing the affect of sin on the conscience said: The indulgence of one sin opens the door to further sins. The indulgence of one sin diverts the soul from the use of those means by which all other sins should be resisted.
Once we have fallen to a sin, especially to one of this caliber, we must have a renewed defense toward sin. David ask God to restore him through renewing within Him a steadfast spirit.
God Restores Through Renewing a Steadfast Spirit
God Restores Through Renewing a Steadfast Spirit
What is a steadfast spirit that David speaks of in Psalm 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Steadfast is the ability to stand in the face of adversity and temptation.
David is asking God to renew within him the desire and spiritual fortitude to stand against the sins that he is most allured by.
David had long been plagued by his attraction to women and the battle that David missed in 2 Samuel 11:1 was more than just a physical battle. It was a spiritual battle and an opening for the enemy.
It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
David is asking God for a renewed spirit of awareness, watchfulness, battle readiness, and God-glorifying holiness.
Let me close with this:
Let me close with this:
God is a rescuing and restoring God. How do we know that? Well there is plenty of OT and NT text that state it, but I particularly love Romans 5:6-11
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
This text reminds us that God is our redeemer, savior, justifier, reconciler, and rescuer. Not because we were good, godly, or righteous, but because of His own glory, goodness, graciousness, and love.
This morning I want to ask how long will you go on with a guilt-ridden heart?
How long will your past transgression hold you back?
How long will you just give in to the sins that Lord over you?
Come to the savior that can give you life and set you free.
