Sermon for 8/1/21 14 Minutes - "Prayer for Forgiveness"

Psalm 51:1-12

This morning I'll be reading Psalm 51 verses 1 through 12. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Psalm 51:1-12 This psalm was written by David after Nathan the Prophet had confronted him about his sinful acts with Bathsheba. Psalm 51:1–12 (HCSB) — 1 Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithful love; according to Your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion. 2 Wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against You—You alone—I have sinned and done this evil in Your sight. So You are right when You pass sentence; You are blameless when You judge. 5 Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. 6 Surely You desire integrity in the inner self, and You teach me wisdom deep within. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice. 9 Turn Your face away from my sins and blot out all my guilt. 10 God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not banish me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore the joy of Your salvation to me, and give me a willing spirit. God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. -----------------------------------------------------------

We are beginning a new month today,,, and it makes me wonder where last month went.

And just like the days of the month and year,,, that are ending quicker than we can keep up with,,, so are our days on earth.

And we need to be sure that we are ready,,, at all times,,, because of our quickly,,, fading time,,, here.

Last Sunday we looked at Ephesians 3:14-21,,, and the prayer from Paul to the Christian church for “Strengthened Love”.

And the way that we receive that “Strengthened Love” by the Holy Spirit.

Because it’s only through God’s love for us that we have the strength to accomplish,,, whatever He has,,, for us to do.

This morning we will look at another prayer,,, but this time it’s a prayer of David,,, after his sin with Bathsheba,,, and the murder of her husband,,, Uriah.

Let’s look at these verses this morning,,, and see how they will help us in our walk with God this week.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 1 -3 say: 1 Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithful love; according to Your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion. 2 Wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me.

My first impression when reading this earlier in the week was the difference between David’s reaction when confronted with his sin compared to the sins of Saul.

This was a terrible sin,,, in our eyes today,,, and then!

Saul’s sins were bad too,,, but,,, they weren’t anything that God wouldn’t have forgiven him for,,, in other words,,, Saul’s sins weren’t worse than David’s,,, it was their personal answer to sin that was different.

Saul was always worried about the way that he looked in peoples eyes,,, not God’s!

Go back and read about Saul’s reign as king beginning in 1 Samuel chapter 8 until his death at the end of 1 Samuel,,, and you will see that he was never worried about how his sin looked to God,,, just how it looked to those around him.

Compare his reaction to his sin compared to David’s reaction,,, and I think that you will agree,,, that David had the right reaction.

Really,,, if you think about it,,, David’s sins were terrible,,, unthinkable,,, things that if anyone did around us,,, we wouldn’t have anything to do with them anymore.

But yet,,, David was called,,, “A man after God’s own heart”!

That seems hard to understand,,, if you don’t understand God’s love for us,,, and the love,,, that David undoubtedly had,,, for God.

David’s repentance continues to be something that we can use to guide us today when we fail God.

Just as David did,,, in this psalm.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 4 says: 4 Against You—You alone—I have sinned and done this evil in Your sight. So You are right when You pass sentence; You are blameless when You judge.

David understood,,, just like Joseph,,, that he had sinned against God.

If you remember the story of Joseph evading Potiphar’s wife when she tempted him to commit adultery,,, his first thought was not sinning against the Lord.

Joseph told Potiphar’s wife in Genesis 39:9: “How then can I do this wickedness,” he said, “and sin against God?”

Joseph was able to keep his eyes on God,,, and was able to resist the temptation better than David,,, but now,,, David knows and understands,,, that this was against God,,, and he would have to answer to Him one day!

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 5 says: 5 Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.

David knew that he was born with a sinful nature and just like us today,,, without the Holy Spirit guiding us,,, we cannot make it on our own.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 6 says: 6 Surely You desire integrity in the inner self, and You teach me wisdom deep within.

David,,, is saying that God hated sin,,, and loved faithfulness in a man’s inward being,,, so he is asking God to teach him wisdom.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 7 through 9 say: 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice. 9 Turn Your face away from my sins and blot out all my guilt.

Hyssop was used in the cleansing of a leper so that he would be ceremonially clean,,, so David is saying,,, I’ll take the place of a “moral” leper,,, and you can make me clean.

Verse 8 refers to the fact that he has lost his joy and gladness and he wants to hear the music of rejoicing again.

If you remember when they had brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem,,, David danced in the streets in joyful celebration,,, he wants that joy back.

(2 Samuel 6:14)

He feels like his bones have been crippled and he could no longer dance.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 10 says: 10 God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

David is looking back,,, and he realizes that the trouble started in his mind,,, by the evil thoughts that he had when he seen Bathsheba from the rooftop,,, and he continued until he committed sin,,, so now he’s asking God to create a clean heart and renew his inner self so that it will be steadfast in guarding against future outbreaks of sin.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 11 and 12 say: 11 Do not banish me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore the joy of Your salvation to me, and give me a willing spirit.

David is begging the Lord,,, don’t give up on me,,, or banish me.

He can’t stand the thought of being unable to be with God,,, or,,, having the Holy Spirit taken away.

He knows what happened to Saul,,, and he doesn’t want to go through that.

Again,,, he has lost his joy,,, the joy of Your salvation,,, and now that he has come to God in repentance,,, confession,,, and,,, forsaking of sin,,, he is asking God to restore the Holy Spirit,,, to make sure that he is obedient in the future.

----------------------------------------------------------- David was “a man after God’s own heart”,,,,,, even though he had committed terrible sins!

David was far from perfect,,, and you might be tempted to think that the writers made a mistake by allowing these terrible things for us to read,,, but,,, they should give us hope!

If David can be called,,, “a man after God’s own heart”,,, after the many times,,, and ways that he sinned,,, then we can see that we stand a chance as well.

Saul could have received forgiveness as well,,, but he never truly considered it,,, to me.

The key,,, was repentance,,, confession,,, and,,, forsaking of sin,,, all three are things that we see many people lack when they come to acceptance of Jesus Christ today.

Instead,,, they want to continue with their lives the same way that they were before they came to Christ,,, and that just doesn’t work.

We must change,,, turn away from our sins,,, and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us so that we can live a better life than before.

A life that we pray will be pleasing to God,,, and that gives us the peace of God,,, to face anything,,, no matter what we are going through.

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So hopefully,,, we can remember the verses in this psalm,,, “this prayer for Forgiveness”,,, and the way that David became “a man after God’s own heart”,,, in spite of the terrible sins that are recorded for us to learn from.

And,,, to help us understand,,, that just because we fall short today,,, it doesn’t mean that we can’t be someone,,, that is referred to later,,, as,,, “a man,,, or woman,,, or child,,, after God’s own heart”!

----------------------------------------------------------- Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------