God Does With Our Sins
You the Man!!
Psalms 52
Intro:
Israel’s favored king and Gods man David finds himself in a yearlong battle. The battle was in his heart and the fight was for his life. 2 Samuel 12:13
[1] I. David the King “You are the man”
What followed was the most infamous political sex scandal in human history, involving both adultery, cover-up, and murder.[2]
2 Samuel 11-12: -Nathan confronts David with his sin and David response with anger. That is not the response that Nathan had in mind. But God opened his eyes so that he could see is sin. We must pray that we see our sin.
1. How people response to their sin makes a difference.
It’s amazing how blinded we can sometimes be to the sinfulness of our own behavior. One of the reasons few people felt any sympathy for Timothy McVeigh is because he seemed to have no remorse for his killing of 168 innocent people in the terrorist bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. The last thing he did was to quote the defiant poem, "Invictus," which says "My head is bloody but unbowed." We ask, "How can a person kill 168 people and not feel guilty?"[3]
A. David’s responses to Nathans words.
He was anger with this rich man. How could someone do this . It seems that he had no idea that he was the evil man.
7 2sam 12:13 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. [4]
Recently several people have told me how they still struggle in various ways with the recollection of bad choices they had made earlier in life. One man said, "I sowed my wild oats, and now I have a harvest of bitter memories." Another said, "I’ve always been faithful to my wife, but my mind can’t get rid of all the images of things I did before I met her. How can I get those pictures out of my mind?"
Guilt is a very persistent force in our souls. There was an article in the newspaper the other day about a letter that arrived at the finance department at Bradford City Hall in West Yorkshire, England, with a check for ten pounds. In the letter, the man confessed that during World War II he had jumped on a train without paying his fare, and now, fifty years later, he wanted to make peace with his conscience.
Example of the right response: Germany-
I saw another scene of forgiveness acted out on the international stage when East Germany first started coming back together with West Germany. There was a period of time before they joined when they were not a Communist state, but they elected their parliament. Do you know what their first act as parliament was? I'll read it to you. The very first act that East Germany passed was this:
"We, the first freely elected parliamentarians of the German Democratic Republic, on behalf of the citizens of this land, admit responsibility for the humiliation, expulsion and murder of Jewish men, women and children. We feel sorrow and shame and acknowledge this burden of German history. We ask all the Jews of the world to forgive us."
That was their first act as a nation. For fifty years their leaders had been telling them, "You didn't do that. Those were your West German brothers. We weren't Nazis." We didn't do this evil, but down deep the guilt was still there. It was still a stranglehold on them. When they finally became a country freely elected, the first thing they wanted to do was to break that stranglehold, turn it back over.
A. The joy for life that David knew was gone
B. Sin had taken its toll on his heart
C. What can you do with Sin
1. You can shove down deep-pretend it not there
2. You can blame it on someone else
3. You can it to Jesus
II. David’s answer to his Sin
2 Samuel 12:13 “forgive me”!
1. He wanted his sins removed
A. vs. 1 Blot it out- rub it off, erase it from the heart
B. vs.2 Wash it away- he need some dirty laundry that needed to be washed!
D. vs. 7, Clean me he asked with hyssop
What is hyssop? This plant was used in many places in the o.t.
Exodus 12-the Israelites were to dip the hyssop into blood and cover their door post
It was like a paintbrush. David said that your bush and dip it into the blood and make me clean.
Example: cleaning my heart
Recently I read the biography of a missionary to Africa named Mary Saunders who was called "Mama John." She told of working in a seminary in Tanzania. One of the students approached her one day and said, "Teach me to pray, Mama John."
Mama John began, "In the Bible we are given an example from the Psalms. Like David of many years ago, you and I can ask God to create a clean heart in us, and renew a right spirit within us in order that our hearts might be ready for prayer."
They spoke a few more minutes, then the two women bowed their heads in prayer. The African woman began: "God, get a broom and sweep out my heart. Sweep it good so that you get every corner. Then I can be clean. Amen."
[5]
III. What can God with our sin?
One lady said this: what God Does With Our Sins. Then as she searched through the scriptures, she compiled this list of seventeen truths:
1. He lays them on his Son-Jesus Christ. Isa 53:6
2. Christ takes them away. Jn 1.29
3. They are removed an immeasurable distance-as far as East is from West. Psalm 123:12
4. When sought for are not found. Jer 50:20
5. The Lord forgives them. Eph 1:7
6. He cleanses them ALL away by the blood of his son. 1 Jn 1:7
7. He cleanses them as white as snow or wool. Isa 1:18; Psm 51:7
8. He abundantly pardons them. Isa 55:7
9. He tramples them under foot. Mic 7:19
10. He remembers them no more. Heb 10:17
11. He casts them behind his back. Isa 38:17
12. He casts them into the depths of the sea. Mic 7:19
13. He will not impute us with sins. Rom 4:8
14. He covers them. Rom 4:7
15. He blots them out. Isa 43:25
16. He blots them out as a thick cloud. Isa 44:22
17. He blots out even the proof against us, NAILING IT TO HIS SON’S CROSS. Col 2:14
Charles Wesley just put it this way:
He breaks the power of canceled sin
And sets the captive free.
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me.
Con: today we all sit here like David of old “we are the ones” sin has been found in all of us today. Some of us today need to say with David “God you and you alone have I sinned against” God is ready today just like he was then ready to forgive and let you find your life.
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[3]Robert Bennett. (2008). Sermons of Robert Bennett.
[4]The New King James Version. 1982 (2 Sa 12:7). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[5]Robert Bennett. (2008). Sermons of Robert Bennett.