God qualifies repentant sinners, not perfect people

Unqualified

TLK 4

Bottom Line: God qualifies repentant sinners, not perfect people

Intro

Unqualified series→ God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called

Two reasons for this series→ 1) stir us on to walk in the calling God has for us as individuals and the church… 2) to expose/root up anything that could be getting in the way of us living out the call

This week we are taking a little bit of a different approach→ How does God qualify people? Who does He qualify?... I think we will find ourselves coming face to face with the very thing that actually disqualifies every single one of us… we are also going to find ourselves at the point of decision making with what we will do with this disqualification…. Here is the underlying question that we are going to grapple with today…. What do I do when my sin is exposed?

This is the moment we find our person of interest today→ david

The same guy who was an overlooked shepherd boy, who was chosen by God to be king of His people, who slayed Goliath, who was known to be a man after God’s own heart

Truth

2 Samuel 11→ 1000 BC, during David’s reign as king… at this moment in history David has united the northern and southern tribes of Israel, Jerusalem is the capital city of the nation, God’s presence is there in that city, God had made a covenant with David securing David’s legacy and dynasty, Israel is conquering and prospering… from the outside looking in, David is a blessed man, lacking nothing…. But something is going on on the inside of David that is about o be brought to light

Summarize 2 Samuel 11→ David is not where he is supposed to be… on the roof instead of at war… He sees Bathseba… Lusts after her, knowing she is married, has her come into his bedroom… sleeps with her… then eventually send her home… She becomes pregnant… David tries to get Uriah to sleep with her… doesnt work so has him murdered

Ladies and gentlemen, the man after God’s own heart! We have named our sons after this guy!

We find David in the middle of something called a sin-cycle→ 1 leads to 2 leads 3… it just keeps piling up… starts with not being where he is supposed to be and ends in adultery, cover up and murder… David is in it so deep, he doesn't even realize it

2 Samuel 12:1-6→ that man is the son of death→ Dead man walking…. David is describing not only what should physically happen to this man but also the spiritual condition of someone enslaved by their sins→ Ephesians 2:1-3→ the same death sentence David proclaim mentioned by Paul here

2 Samuel 12:7→ the death sentence was actually on David himself→ His sin has been exposed

2 Samuel 12:8-12→ boy does his sin get exposed… if anyone deserves to be disqualified it is David… But here is where we need to pause… that same sentence on David… We deserve as well→ back to Ephesians 2:1-3→ we are dead, disqualified, unfit→ because of our sin we find ourselves exactly where David is… exposed…with a decision to make… How will I respond when my sin is exposed?

2 Samuel 12:13a→ I am a sinner→ David does something that is so against human nature… He does not make an excuse… doesn't try to keep covering it up… he confesses his sin… but he does more than that…. He journals about it

Psalm 51→ David repents, turns away from his sin and towards the God who saves… in this he gives us the blueprint to repentance

V. 1-2) Repentance begins with the right view of God

Describes God→ gracious, faithful love (same word as Rahab used last week), compassionate

David feared the Lord because he knew who God was

V. 3-6) Repentance takes full responsibility

Owns his sin… uses my, me

No blame shifting… understands what sin ultimately does… offends God

V. 7-12) Repentance seeks transformation, not consequence relief

David still faced consequences… But his heart was changed→ hyssop was used in cleansing ceremonies… More than get out of jail card

V. 11) Repentance longs to be in God’s presence

David was not worried about loss of salvation… he was worried about loss of intimacy with God… When you are in Christ, your sin no longer separates you for eternity, it separates your intimacy with God before eternity… on Earth…. Confession and repentance are not just a one time thing done at salvation

V. 13-15) Repentance reignites the mission

David is reignited to be used by God…. He is refocused… reoriented to reality… it stirs him to pursue what God is calling him to… and God responds

2 Samuel 12:13b→ He is forgiven… restored… redeemed… God continues to use David… so much so that he is a big player in the redemptive plan of God for humanity… Son of David… All because David was willing to allow his sin cycle to be exposed and dealt with through repentance and faith that God can save… Here is where we find the answer to our first question…

How does God qualify people? → through repentance and faith in the one who saves→ ephesians 2:4-10→ gospel→ which brings us to the answer of our second question

Who does God qualify? God qualifies repentant sinners, not perfect people

Following Jesus, being used to build His kingdom is not based on pursuing perfection→ behavior modification is an idol that does not save a single soul… a repentant heart is all God needs to save you and use you! Repentance realigns your heart, mind, and soul with God… it breaks the cycle of sin in your life and restores that intimacy

Application

How do I expose a sin cycle in my life so that I can repent?

3 questions

Where am I hiding? → Davids first response to sin was to conceal… sin loves to hide in dark places… What needs to be brought to light? (marriage, bitterness, pornography, anger, addiction, pride etc…) For me… pride and anger… i needed to confess it and repent

Where am I making excuses? → David stopped with the excuses… sin loves excuses… we relabel sin as stress, personality, bad day… stop… tell the truth

Where Have I mistaken conviction for condemnation? → Romans 8:1→ Conviction is the sweet invitation to repentance and restoration… you have been given grace!

What would happen if we decided to stop playing in our cycle of sin? → family, marriage, work, the church, the community…. How could we see God use us to usher in a portion of His kingdom… to be used by him!

He is calling… He desires intimacy… It starts with repentance!

Taste the sweet reward for repentance… restoration.