A Lesson on Repentance

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:03.839 Your son, that we might have rested in his name, that we might 2 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:08.439 come as sinners, poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore, 3 00:00:08.480 --> 00:00:12.880 and find everything that we need in him. We asked that you would 4 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:16.519 impress these truths on our heart now, as we come to the reading and 5 00:00:16.559 --> 00:00:22.960 preaching of your word, and that as and that your blessing might fill it, 6 00:00:23.239 --> 00:00:28.839 that we might be called blessed, that we might enjoy these benefits that 7 00:00:28.920 --> 00:00:35.439 come to us through Christ. We pray this in his name. Men well, 8 00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:38.799 please remain standing if you're able, and let's turn our attention to psalm 9 00:00:39.079 --> 00:00:43.280 thirty two. I'm feel free to listen as I read or turn in your 10 00:00:43.320 --> 00:01:18.879 own scriptures to Psalm thirty two. Psalm thirty two, blessed is the one 11 00:01:18.920 --> 00:01:25.200 who's transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against 12 00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:29.840 whom the Lord counts no iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 13 00:01:30.920 --> 00:01:34.879 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day 14 00:01:34.920 --> 00:01:41.200 long, for day and night, your hand was heavy upon me, my 15 00:01:41.359 --> 00:01:46.200 strength was dried up, as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my 16 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:49.760 sin to you and I did not cover my iniquity. I said I will 17 00:01:49.840 --> 00:01:56.680 confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave if the iniquity of my 18 00:01:56.760 --> 00:02:00.359 sin. Therefore, let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a 19 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:05.239 time when you may be found. Surely, in the rush of great waters, 20 00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:07.360 they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me. 21 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:14.400 You preserved me from trouble. You surround me with shouts of deliverance. I 22 00:02:14.439 --> 00:02:16.960 will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will 23 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:22.199 counsel you with my eye upon you. Be Not like a horse or a 24 00:02:22.280 --> 00:02:27.000 mule without understanding, which must be curbed with a bit or a broughten bridle, 25 00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:30.080 or it will not stay near you. Many are the sorrows of the 26 00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:36.080 wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts the Lord. Be Glad 27 00:02:36.120 --> 00:02:40.199 in the Lord and rejoice so righteous and shout for Joy, all you upright 28 00:02:40.319 --> 00:03:12.039 in heart. Amen. You may be seated. Psalm thirty two is kind 29 00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:16.199 of like sitting down with a friend who is going to talk from their personal 30 00:03:16.199 --> 00:03:24.759 experience with the Lord and then give you some advice. And this friend is 31 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:31.800 very reliable, because here in Psalm thirty two. These are the inspired words 32 00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:38.479 of God, totally trustworthy, totally authoritative in every way. We don't need 33 00:03:38.560 --> 00:03:42.639 to come to Psalm thirty two and say, well, you know, that's 34 00:03:42.680 --> 00:03:47.360 your truth. I don't know about for me. No, this is God's 35 00:03:47.400 --> 00:03:53.039 truth and it comes to us in this way so that we might hear it 36 00:03:53.120 --> 00:04:00.840 and receive it. The lessons of it, or the desire of our friend 37 00:04:00.879 --> 00:04:05.520 to teach us, is expressed pretty clearly in verses eight and nine. Right, 38 00:04:06.039 --> 00:04:11.960 imagine, you know, you're sitting at the table and your dining room 39 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:15.439 or your kitchen and your friend leans in and says, I'm going to instruct 40 00:04:15.480 --> 00:04:19.759 you now, I'm going to teach you how you should go. I'm going 41 00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:23.959 to counsel you with my eyes on you. I know you, I know 42 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:27.079 who you are, I know what you're like, and you need to listen 43 00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:30.319 to this. Okay, you're ready. Don't be like a horse or a 44 00:04:30.439 --> 00:04:34.399 mule without understanding. The has to be curbed with a bit and bridal. 45 00:04:34.480 --> 00:04:39.680 Don't be stubborn about this. Okay, this is really important and you need 46 00:04:39.720 --> 00:04:43.879 to hear it. On top of that, if you don't listen, many 47 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:47.560 are the sorrows of the wicked the consequences of failing to live, failure to 48 00:04:47.639 --> 00:04:53.480 listen to this advice, are bad verse ten many are the sorrows of the 49 00:04:53.480 --> 00:05:00.279 wicked, but the steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. 50 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:03.160 Listen to me, brother, listen to me, sister. If you trust 51 00:05:03.240 --> 00:05:09.439 in the Lord, you are surrounded, you are protected, and I've experienced 52 00:05:09.480 --> 00:05:14.000 this myself, the psalmist says, and I'll say to you is your pastor. 53 00:05:14.040 --> 00:05:17.040 I've experienced this myself, and there are brothers and sisters all around you 54 00:05:17.120 --> 00:05:25.160 have experienced this themselves, generations after generations of the steadfast love of the Lord 55 00:05:25.160 --> 00:05:30.600 on display all throughout the Lord, person after person after person. Who can 56 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:39.199 testify and sing with the Psalmist of these words? What is the words that 57 00:05:39.240 --> 00:05:42.600 he would have US know? What are the things that bring us safety? 58 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:46.360 What are the things that, if we reject, plunge us into all kinds 59 00:05:46.439 --> 00:05:54.279 of trouble? Well's message all surrounds the blessing of forgiveness and of repentance. 60 00:05:55.800 --> 00:06:00.079 Let's look at that. Let's hear what our our friend, are our holy 61 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:05.600 helper, has to say to us. The first thing he tells us is 62 00:06:05.639 --> 00:06:11.800 what forgiveness is like, what it likes, what it's like to be a 63 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:16.800 person who's forgiven, and he uses one word and then some other descriptions to 64 00:06:16.879 --> 00:06:23.800 describe that. He says in verse one, blessed is the one whose transgression 65 00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:28.759 is forgiven. In verse two, blessed is the man against whom the Lord 66 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:39.879 counts no iniquity. Being blessed in the scriptures is a description of of joy, 67 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:47.720 of happiness, of pleasure, of peace and safety and satisfaction. blessedness 68 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:55.240 at its highest form is the thing that we all want. It's the thing 69 00:06:55.279 --> 00:07:01.360 that we all strive after. Is the reason why the news is so anxious, 70 00:07:01.439 --> 00:07:08.759 because we don't have that is the reason why philosophers go into their writing 71 00:07:08.879 --> 00:07:13.800 sheds and caves and deserts and spend time trying to figure out how we can 72 00:07:13.920 --> 00:07:19.399 get that thing that we want. WHAT IS UTOPIA? How can we enter, 73 00:07:19.639 --> 00:07:24.319 as a not just individually, but as a society, as a people, 74 00:07:24.439 --> 00:07:31.439 into a place of blessedness? Our shorter catechism, one of the confessions 75 00:07:31.480 --> 00:07:39.560 of our Church, describes that as as glorifying God and enjoying him forever. 76 00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:46.399 That's what blessedness is. It's all of us together glorifying him, being in 77 00:07:46.439 --> 00:07:51.079 a perfect relationship with him and enjoying him. Right. It's a it's a 78 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:58.279 thing that fills us with with love and pleasure, of delight and happiness. 79 00:07:58.360 --> 00:08:05.639 It's a state of blessing. RIGHT TO DESCRIBE IT? And there are lots 80 00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:09.680 of ways we could describe it. From one place, we might look as 81 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:13.759 Psalm one, if you want to turn there with me, or at least 82 00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:20.720 listen. Psalm one describes another person who is blessed. That Psalm begins that 83 00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:26.519 way. Blessed is the man, and then it describes him in verse three. 84 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:33.320 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit 85 00:08:33.320 --> 00:08:39.360 in its season and its leaf does not wither. Now we know something about 86 00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:46.279 this, living in the desert. Right, if you if you go up 87 00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:48.639 high, let's say you are go on a trip and you take off from 88 00:08:48.679 --> 00:08:54.039 the airport and you look down right on our city, you can see really 89 00:08:54.159 --> 00:09:00.039 fast where the water is right without ever seeing any water, because you just 90 00:09:00.120 --> 00:09:03.519 look at the trees and wherever you see big patches of green, that's where. 91 00:09:03.559 --> 00:09:09.679 That's where the water is right, that happy tree right just being what 92 00:09:09.720 --> 00:09:13.559 it's supposed to be. It's not trying to be anything else, it's not 93 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:20.799 striving to turn itself into anything else. It just is and it's resting there 94 00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:26.120 and it's happy there and it's just drinks up the water. It drinks it 95 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:31.720 up and it and it is satisfied, it finds pleasure, it's it's happy, 96 00:09:31.799 --> 00:09:35.639 it's blessed, it's productive. Other pictures of trees in the state and 97 00:09:35.720 --> 00:09:43.279 the scriptures describe birds resting in their branches, people enjoying their shade and their 98 00:09:43.320 --> 00:09:46.639 fruit. There's this way in which these these happy trees in this picture of 99 00:09:46.679 --> 00:09:52.559 blessedness not only are satisfied in themselves, they have all that they need, 100 00:09:52.559 --> 00:10:00.000 but then they also are productive and provide for others as well. This s 101 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:07.000 state of blessedness is is wonderful. The opposite helps us to understand what blessedness 102 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:11.840 is. Psalm one has some of these descriptions, and Soda Psalm Thirty two. 103 00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:18.039 In Psalm one we have an inverse for the contrast. The wicked are 104 00:10:18.120 --> 00:10:24.679 not so. They're like chaff that the wind drives away. Chaff is waste 105 00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:30.279 material, it's it's very light. Right. For a while, while I 106 00:10:30.279 --> 00:10:35.000 was roasting my own coffee and then there'd be chaff left over right. And 107 00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:37.080 to be careful, because if you roasted this in the House, I don 108 00:10:37.320 --> 00:10:41.639 get everywhere because it just blows away so easily. But if you take it 109 00:10:41.639 --> 00:10:46.320 outside and you blow on it and it's gone, you don't really care where 110 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:48.399 it goes, what happens to it. It's just. It doesn't matter, 111 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:54.039 it's not important. It's gone. You want it gone. This is this 112 00:10:54.120 --> 00:10:58.039 is like this. The chaff is just it's gone. Worse than that. 113 00:10:58.120 --> 00:11:03.240 In verse five of Psalm One, it says the wicked will not stand in 114 00:11:03.279 --> 00:11:07.000 the judgment. It's not just that they disappear, but the wicked, those 115 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:15.320 who have sinned, come under the judgment of God and they perish, they 116 00:11:15.320 --> 00:11:18.919 are destroyed. Psalm too goes on to describe some of that. It describes 117 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:26.039 the wicked plotting in vain, sneaking around, whispering, scoffing at the Lord, 118 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:31.000 and the Lord just laughs at them. The Lord laughs at them. 119 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:35.639 In verse four, He who sits in heavens this is psalm to laughs and 120 00:11:35.720 --> 00:11:37.600 holds them in derision. He will speak to them in his wrath, he 121 00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:41.159 will terrify them in his fury, saying, as for me, I have 122 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:46.720 set my King on Zion, my Holy Hill. He then says in verse 123 00:11:46.840 --> 00:11:50.919 nine, of this son of his, you shall break them with a rod 124 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:56.320 of iron and dash them in pieces like a Potter's vessel. Have you ever 125 00:11:56.440 --> 00:12:03.799 dropped a dish or a glass, some sort of vessel in the kitchen? 126 00:12:03.840 --> 00:12:09.000 You're moving around and it just it's dramatic right, it just shatters million pieces 127 00:12:09.039 --> 00:12:13.519 all over. It's like that's the description of what the Lord will do to 128 00:12:13.639 --> 00:12:18.879 those who in who sin against him, who don't glorify him, who don't 129 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:24.679 enjoy him but instead fight against him, disobey him, hate him. It 130 00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:33.600 says he will take his rod of iron and smash them. It's a picture 131 00:12:33.639 --> 00:12:39.000 of judgment in Psalm thirty two. In Psalm thirty two, this is why 132 00:12:39.080 --> 00:12:45.159 David says, or the Psalmist says, yes, David, in verse ten. 133 00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:50.799 Many are the sorrows of the wicked. It's a dangerous thing to fall 134 00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:56.600 into the hands of a living God whom you have been sinning against, whom 135 00:12:56.639 --> 00:13:01.399 you have been fighting against. And if you're going down the road and you're 136 00:13:01.440 --> 00:13:03.639 going too fast and you see the lights in your ear of your mirror, 137 00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:09.519 you you say, oh no, you might get a ticket. Can you 138 00:13:09.559 --> 00:13:13.120 imagine what it might be like if, your entire life, from the moment 139 00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:20.120 of your conception, you have been sinning not against a temporal authority but against 140 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:26.080 the very one who made you? Can you imagine what the punishment would be 141 00:13:26.120 --> 00:13:33.440 like if if God took every single thought, action, word intension and said, 142 00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:37.759 all right, let's tally it up, moment by moment, day by 143 00:13:37.840 --> 00:13:41.440 day, let's list them out, let's see what it all adds up to. 144 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:48.159 One sin is enough to earn us God's wrath, for his perfect holiness 145 00:13:48.200 --> 00:13:54.120 is perfect righteousness. One sin is enough to bar us from that place of 146 00:13:54.200 --> 00:14:01.320 perfection. His presence is heaven, his kingdom. When we hope in Utopia, 147 00:14:01.399 --> 00:14:05.440 when we hope in the Kingdom of God, when we hope and blessedness, 148 00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:11.159 how much sin do we want there? My Dad always used to say, 149 00:14:11.159 --> 00:14:16.159 how much of a cockroach do you want in your milkshake? None, 150 00:14:16.360 --> 00:14:20.159 Hey, not a little bit, not not a little leg, not a 151 00:14:20.200 --> 00:14:24.840 little antenna, it's not big. None. None, was the point that 152 00:14:24.879 --> 00:14:30.879 he would impress upon us. It's like that when we want this for ourselves, 153 00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:33.639 when we think about blessedness. How much of your blessedness. And how 154 00:14:33.720 --> 00:14:41.799 much of your perfected, glorious state do you want infected by sin? How 155 00:14:41.879 --> 00:14:46.919 much do you want? You want a little bit of betrayal, a little 156 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:54.360 bit of anger, maybe just one murder every now and then? Of course, 157 00:14:54.440 --> 00:14:58.919 none is the answer. That's a whole point about perfect blessedness, perfect 158 00:15:00.120 --> 00:15:05.039 and glory, being perfectly in the presence of the Lord. It's it's perfect. 159 00:15:05.360 --> 00:15:11.840 We are perfectly who God made us to be, this destiny that he 160 00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:20.279 called US toward with no more sin. And so when we sin, we 161 00:15:20.360 --> 00:15:26.159 automatically bar ourselves from that, and it couldn't be anything less than that. 162 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:31.840 And so we not only bar ourselves from that, but we come under God's 163 00:15:31.960 --> 00:15:37.840 righteous wrath. We are expelled, we are kicked out, we are put 164 00:15:37.879 --> 00:15:46.720 into a place that is deserving for us as sinners. Jesus describes hell as 165 00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:52.519 a place of terror, of Wrath, of punishment, of pain and suffering 166 00:15:52.039 --> 00:16:00.120 that is eternal. It is the exact opposite of this position of blessedness. 167 00:16:00.919 --> 00:16:07.759 This anti picture is experienced in a way, a kind of many hell, 168 00:16:07.799 --> 00:16:15.000 a foretaste of hell, is what David experiences and describes in verse three. 169 00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:19.480 He says when I kept silent and I didn't confess my sins. My bones 170 00:16:19.720 --> 00:16:26.919 wasted away through my groaning all day long, for day and night. Your 171 00:16:26.919 --> 00:16:32.360 hand was heavy upon me. My strength is dried up, as by the 172 00:16:32.440 --> 00:16:38.279 heat of summer. You get a sense of this, this anti picture, 173 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:44.080 instead of this tree that is healthy and alive, that is full and productive 174 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:48.679 and active. You know the picture of a man who's wasted away because he's 175 00:16:48.759 --> 00:16:52.159 kept his sins to himself, because he thinks he can hide them from the 176 00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:56.320 Lord and from others, because he's going to keep silent and handle things on 177 00:16:56.399 --> 00:17:03.400 his own. He's exhausted. Have you ever gone on a long hike or 178 00:17:03.480 --> 00:17:07.559 been playing sports out in the sun or something like that and you've not been 179 00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:14.240 good enough water and you just like you dizzy, you can't catch your breath 180 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:18.000 and you're you're feeling off and maybe you throw up and it's just like you're 181 00:17:18.119 --> 00:17:23.880 wasting away, you're falling apart. This is what David describes this kind of 182 00:17:23.960 --> 00:17:33.440 heat exhaustion, not because of a physical heat, although he's experiencing this in 183 00:17:33.480 --> 00:17:40.079 his body. It's a spiritual cause for these physical things, right, he 184 00:17:40.319 --> 00:17:45.920 says, I kept silent and then I felt like this right. It reminds 185 00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:51.440 us of how our bodies and our on, our souls are very interconnected. 186 00:17:51.960 --> 00:17:56.559 They affect each other, where whole creatures made. I'm in this way. 187 00:17:56.279 --> 00:18:00.680 And when he kept silent, he be he ex feerience these things not only 188 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:04.920 in his heart and in his emotions and it, but in his body as 189 00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:11.039 well. He was wasting away, he was dried up, his strength was 190 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:15.759 gone. It was awful, he says, he, he says he was 191 00:18:15.039 --> 00:18:23.240 groaning all day long. And I know that you all have experienced this as 192 00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:29.319 well, because you, like me, have sinned and you know what it's 193 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:32.960 like to keep things hidden, to keep things on your conscience, to not 194 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:36.960 express them, to not and not just express them, but confess them, 195 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:41.240 to tell them to the Lord, to seek for His forgiveness or the forgiveness 196 00:18:41.279 --> 00:18:48.079 of others that we've harmed. And it just it's it's black, it's dark, 197 00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:52.640 it covers us at it holds us down, it makes us feel terrible 198 00:18:53.119 --> 00:18:59.000 and we cry and we mourn. It gets it gets into our into our 199 00:18:59.079 --> 00:19:04.039 bones. Maybe some of you are experiencing that even now, feeling the weight 200 00:19:04.119 --> 00:19:08.799 of your sin, feeling no relief, feeling in your very body is the 201 00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:15.720 the shakiness and the frustration and the dangers even holding on to your sin, 202 00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:22.279 when you tell yourself, well, maybe later, all confess it someday or 203 00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:26.119 when the time is right, or all take care of it first, or 204 00:19:26.119 --> 00:19:30.079 I'll handle it, or it's not so bad. But you know these are 205 00:19:30.119 --> 00:19:37.440 just lies and you know it's just getting worse and worse worse. That's not 206 00:19:37.559 --> 00:19:45.000 blessedness. That's a kind of many hell. It's a it's a feeling and 207 00:19:45.079 --> 00:19:48.640 a foretaste of the worst things that are to come. If you do not 208 00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:53.119 confess, if you don't find forgiveness, if you don't find relief, if 209 00:19:53.119 --> 00:19:57.240 you don't come into the state of blessedness, you will stay in this spot 210 00:19:57.279 --> 00:20:04.119 and it will get worse and worse. If David experiences this in his life 211 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:08.279 at this moment in time, can you imagine what it will be like for 212 00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:18.960 all eternity to have God's hand heavy upon you for your sins? That is 213 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:26.039 the anti picture of blessedness and it's not just a picture, it's a reality. 214 00:20:26.200 --> 00:20:30.200 It's the experience here of our friend WHO's trying to help us, who's 215 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:36.119 trying to say you have to confess your sins. You must forget, confess 216 00:20:36.119 --> 00:20:41.200 your sins, and when you do, you will be blessed, you will 217 00:20:41.240 --> 00:20:47.200 be happy, you will be at peace. Don't hold on to them any 218 00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:53.279 longer. So that's the condition that we receive. This is the the the 219 00:20:53.400 --> 00:20:57.559 what it's like when we are forgiven and what it's like when we are not. 220 00:21:00.119 --> 00:21:03.279 We are blessed. This is the place to be, this is the 221 00:21:03.319 --> 00:21:07.160 thing that you want to be blessed. Well, how do we receive that? 222 00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:11.799 What is the nature of our forgiveness? First of all, what does 223 00:21:11.839 --> 00:21:15.240 it mean to be forgiven? Why does it bring us into this state of 224 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:22.359 blessedness? Well, David describes it in this way. He says Transgression is 225 00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:27.240 forgiven, sin is covered. In verse two, he says blessed is the 226 00:21:27.279 --> 00:21:34.880 man against the whom, against whom the Lord counts no iniquity. This is 227 00:21:34.920 --> 00:21:44.119 a judgment. Right. To not count iniquity against a person means to not 228 00:21:44.319 --> 00:21:52.000 hold them liable for the things that they have done. Right, imagine that 229 00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:56.039 you owe money to someone and the person comes to you and says, I 230 00:21:56.079 --> 00:22:03.039 want you to know the debt is forgiven. I am not going to hold 231 00:22:03.160 --> 00:22:11.200 you liable for this amount. You don't have to pay it back because you're 232 00:22:11.240 --> 00:22:15.759 not liable to it anymore. I'm not going to count it against you. 233 00:22:15.960 --> 00:22:21.480 Or imagine you do something at work that really was something you should not have 234 00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:26.319 done, and you come into your annual job review or something like that, 235 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:30.160 and your manager sits down with you and says, Hey, you know, 236 00:22:30.200 --> 00:22:32.680 I had it. We got you got written up for this and for this 237 00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:37.519 and for this. I want to tell you that I'm not going to hold 238 00:22:37.559 --> 00:22:42.559 it against you, I'm not going to count it against you. What a 239 00:22:42.599 --> 00:22:48.960 relief, right, what a wonderful thing to expect and to know that you 240 00:22:49.119 --> 00:22:55.680 deserve punishment, to deserve, know that you deserve to have the consequences, 241 00:22:55.720 --> 00:23:00.480 to pay the debt or whatever it is. But the Lord will count no 242 00:23:00.559 --> 00:23:07.720 iniquity. He is going to remove the debt that you owe, he is 243 00:23:07.759 --> 00:23:11.759 going to cover it up, he's going to take care of it, and 244 00:23:11.799 --> 00:23:18.960 what that means is that in his eyes, you are no longer a guilty 245 00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:26.960 person, even though you sinned. Might Imagine, for example, you got 246 00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:30.880 a traffic ticket or something like that, and then, let's say the government 247 00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:37.200 for some reason decided to expunge all records of traffic tickets for a year. 248 00:23:37.240 --> 00:23:40.559 It was a hard year. Everything's forgiven, all right. And then you 249 00:23:40.839 --> 00:23:45.920 imagine you come back the next year into the court to pay your ticket. 250 00:23:47.079 --> 00:23:49.119 Right. You say, I'm here, I got a ticket on such and 251 00:23:49.160 --> 00:23:52.039 such a day. I was speeding. I'm here to pay the ticket. 252 00:23:52.079 --> 00:23:59.000 What would the court say? The say you owe nothing. You're like, 253 00:23:59.079 --> 00:24:00.480 but yeah, I know, but I at this ticket. I was there 254 00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:04.400 on the day. The officer handed it to me, told me how much 255 00:24:04.400 --> 00:24:07.279 I was speeding and it was all true. I did it. I'm ready 256 00:24:07.319 --> 00:24:14.079 to pay. There's nothing to pay. We your debt was forgiven. There's 257 00:24:14.160 --> 00:24:18.920 nothing here. You can leave now, please leave now, right right. 258 00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:23.559 They they wouldn't understand you being there. It wouldn't make sense because the iniquity 259 00:24:23.640 --> 00:24:32.359 had been forgiven. You are no longer guilty. No one's coming after you 260 00:24:32.400 --> 00:24:37.400 know, there's no threat of of not paying. And it's just like that 261 00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:41.920 with the Lord. When he forgives our sins, when he covers them up, 262 00:24:41.960 --> 00:24:48.240 when he takes care of them, there's nothing that needs to remain in 263 00:24:48.279 --> 00:24:52.160 our minds as say, what if he changes his mind? What if he 264 00:24:52.200 --> 00:24:56.119 comes again? Or what if he he decides that he is going to hold. 265 00:24:56.200 --> 00:25:02.279 No, no, the Lord's not a liar. He said your sin 266 00:25:02.440 --> 00:25:07.720 is forgiven. He said your iniquity is not counted against you. It's over, 267 00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:15.440 it's done. This is the life we live as Christians. We live 268 00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:19.079 as forgiven people. Because we're forgiven people, we can confess to the things 269 00:25:19.119 --> 00:25:22.319 that we've done, and we should confess to the things we've done. We 270 00:25:22.400 --> 00:25:27.200 don't hide them or blanket over them or pretend like they're not there. We 271 00:25:27.240 --> 00:25:33.279 say, yeah, I did it, but also I've been forgiven of it. 272 00:25:33.720 --> 00:25:37.799 We are in a new state, we're in a new position. We 273 00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:42.880 are those who were guilty and in fact do those things, but against whom 274 00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:49.759 that is no longer counted against us. That's the nature of this benefit and 275 00:25:49.799 --> 00:25:53.839 it's so comprehensive. The scriptures tell us that when God forgives our sins, 276 00:25:53.880 --> 00:25:59.640 it's everything, everything that we could do past, present in future. And 277 00:25:59.680 --> 00:26:02.119 if you have any doubt about that, you can just look at some of 278 00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:07.680 the examples of scripture. Think about David himself, murder, adultery. Think 279 00:26:07.720 --> 00:26:15.480 about Peter Denying the Lord three times after saying he wouldn't, on the very 280 00:26:15.640 --> 00:26:21.599 night Jesus was crucified, after saying he would never do this and would you 281 00:26:21.640 --> 00:26:29.720 know, die for him. The Lord forgave it. The Lord Forgave Paul 282 00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:36.279 after persecuting his church, after persecuting him, is how Jesus put it. 283 00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:41.960 He forgave Paul. Can you imagine somebody who is essentially a terrorist to the 284 00:26:42.039 --> 00:26:45.880 church all of a sudden becoming one of the leaders in the church? How 285 00:26:45.920 --> 00:26:53.240 does that happen? Through the forgiveness of God. In these examples, of 286 00:26:53.279 --> 00:27:00.480 many others. We could think about the thief on the Cross right I'm was 287 00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:07.119 running out for this man. He is actively dying a tortuous death next to 288 00:27:07.240 --> 00:27:17.319 Jesus. He didn't ask for forgiveness. You know, five years back this 289 00:27:17.559 --> 00:27:23.640 was the last moment, the last opportunity, and he took it and he 290 00:27:23.720 --> 00:27:30.079 believed in Jesus said to him today, you will be with me in paradise. 291 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:37.480 There's no history too long, no sins so awful that the Lord won't 292 00:27:37.519 --> 00:27:45.960 forgive this. There's no thing that you have done that he can't take and 293 00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:51.319 cleanse it away, forgive it and bring you out of the death and the 294 00:27:51.400 --> 00:28:00.079 misery and the the the wrath and the judgment into this happy, blessed state 295 00:28:00.920 --> 00:28:07.880 that's the nature of this forgiveness that we receive. It's life changing in every 296 00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:15.640 way. It changes our eternal life as well. It's why, as Christians, 297 00:28:15.640 --> 00:28:21.559 everything centers around this. It's not just this aspect that sort of we 298 00:28:22.039 --> 00:28:26.640 incorporate into our lives. It is at the very center. Well, how 299 00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:30.359 does it come to us? Well, all, it comes to us through 300 00:28:30.480 --> 00:28:34.039 the Lord himself. Notice the Lord's work and all of this in the Psalm. 301 00:28:36.200 --> 00:28:41.880 This is my third of four points. The Lord says it is his 302 00:28:41.920 --> 00:28:45.359 work. First of all, it is he who counts no iniquity. You 303 00:28:45.400 --> 00:28:48.799 can even ask where does this repentance come from, and you can point to 304 00:28:48.880 --> 00:28:53.839 the Lord, whose hand was heavy upon David as he suffered. It was 305 00:28:53.880 --> 00:28:59.039 the Lord. Where does our change of heart come from? Where does our 306 00:28:59.079 --> 00:29:03.400 our our our change of attitude and and a desire to just let go of 307 00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:07.400 all the pain and the suffering and to give ourselves over to the Lord come 308 00:29:07.480 --> 00:29:11.880 from? It comes from him. It was his hand that was heavy upon 309 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:15.759 him. It was the Lord who did the work of changing his heart and 310 00:29:15.880 --> 00:29:21.599 turning him to himself. It was the Lord who will save him, the 311 00:29:21.599 --> 00:29:26.640 Lord who will preserve him. Listen to verse seven. You are a hiding 312 00:29:26.720 --> 00:29:30.960 place for me. You preserve me from trouble, you surround me with shouts 313 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:37.640 of deliverance. You ever seen a little animal or hug or something like that 314 00:29:37.680 --> 00:29:41.519 go into hiding? We ever tried to get one that was in hiding and 315 00:29:41.559 --> 00:29:44.799 it's really hard to reach like it. Can't get your fingers in there because 316 00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:49.160 they're all backed in and protected. It's amazing thing to be sheltered, to 317 00:29:49.160 --> 00:29:53.359 be preserved and protected, and that's what the Lord does for us when we 318 00:29:53.359 --> 00:29:57.720 come to him. The rush of great waters shall not reach him, this 319 00:29:59.000 --> 00:30:03.559 great flood of judgment, like like Noah or like the Egyptians in the Red 320 00:30:03.599 --> 00:30:08.880 Sea. No, God will protect, he will he will hold fast, 321 00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:14.759 he will preserve and more than that, on the other side of that there 322 00:30:14.759 --> 00:30:21.319 will be shouts of deliverance. This baptism through the Red Sea, which brought 323 00:30:21.440 --> 00:30:26.079 judgment on the Egyptians, brought salvation for Israel. And then we have Miriam 324 00:30:26.240 --> 00:30:32.039 and all of Israel praising God, shouts of deliverance on all sides. We 325 00:30:32.119 --> 00:30:37.839 don't just hunker down, we celebrate, we praise, we rejoice, we 326 00:30:37.039 --> 00:30:42.400 cry out. Verse Eleven. Similarly, be glad in the lawyered Lord, 327 00:30:42.440 --> 00:30:48.519 and rejoice, O righteous and shout for Joy, all you upright in heart 328 00:30:48.759 --> 00:30:52.400 again, because this is at the very center of our lives. We don't 329 00:30:52.440 --> 00:30:56.799 just say, well, that was a really nice thing to be forgiven of 330 00:30:56.839 --> 00:31:02.599 that traffic ticket. Right. All of our sins against the holy and righteous 331 00:31:02.680 --> 00:31:06.599 God have been forgiven. We are no longer going to hell, but we 332 00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:11.400 are going to be resurrected to the newness of life in the Kingdom of heaven 333 00:31:11.440 --> 00:31:17.480 forever to enjoy a utopia and a blessed state in the Lord, glorifying and 334 00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:23.200 enjoying him forever. But shout for joy, let's say our men, let's 335 00:31:23.240 --> 00:31:30.000 Sing Hallelujah, let's praise God with all of our hearts all of our strength, 336 00:31:30.319 --> 00:31:37.160 because we've been saved, we've been rescued. What a wonderful, wonderful 337 00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:42.039 thing it is. And this comes to us again through the Lord, through 338 00:31:42.079 --> 00:31:51.160 the Father, giving his only begotten Son, placing him in this world to 339 00:31:51.200 --> 00:31:56.799 take on human flesh, to become like one of us, to become a 340 00:31:56.880 --> 00:32:01.720 representative for us, so that he might die for us. If you want 341 00:32:01.839 --> 00:32:07.799 to know what forgiveness costs, just look at the cross. If you want 342 00:32:07.839 --> 00:32:13.759 to know how serious are sins against God are? Just look at the Cross. 343 00:32:14.359 --> 00:32:21.440 Look at what God had to do to cover our sin. The son 344 00:32:21.559 --> 00:32:25.119 of God came into this world and lived the life that we were not able 345 00:32:25.200 --> 00:32:31.039 to because of our sin, and die to death we could never endure, 346 00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:38.039 so that you could be forgiven. Listen to how the author of Hebrews describes 347 00:32:38.119 --> 00:32:42.960 this in chapter two. Let me turn there and read this to you. 348 00:32:43.480 --> 00:32:50.400 Hebrews two, verses fourteen and fifteen. Since, therefore, the children share 349 00:32:50.559 --> 00:32:54.480 in flesh and blood, he, that's Jesus, himself, likewise partook of 350 00:32:54.519 --> 00:33:01.880 the same things, flesh and blood, that through death he might destroy the 351 00:33:01.960 --> 00:33:07.240 one who has the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver 352 00:33:07.400 --> 00:33:13.119 all those who, through fear of death, were subject to life long slavery. 353 00:33:14.519 --> 00:33:17.599 What is it like to not have the forgiveness of your sins, to 354 00:33:17.640 --> 00:33:22.680 not confess, to not be forgiven, to not be blessed? It is 355 00:33:22.720 --> 00:33:29.480 to live in a life in fear of judgment and therefore to live as one 356 00:33:29.480 --> 00:33:35.559 who, through that fear of death, is a slave, crouching around, 357 00:33:35.559 --> 00:33:45.240 cowering around, constantly hiding, constantly afraid that fear the Lord breaks, he 358 00:33:45.319 --> 00:33:52.440 shatters it just like that pot, by having victory through his death, over 359 00:33:52.480 --> 00:33:58.480 that fear, over that slavery and over the Evil One, Satan, all 360 00:33:58.559 --> 00:34:04.160 those who gather with him. They are those people who hide in dark places, 361 00:34:04.160 --> 00:34:07.639 who snicker and mock at God and who will say we can do what 362 00:34:07.679 --> 00:34:12.599 we want, we can break apart the Lord's bonds and his annoint and he 363 00:34:12.679 --> 00:34:17.639 says will really no, you're not. And when Jesus went to the cross, 364 00:34:17.760 --> 00:34:22.840 it was exactly that. He said, Oh no, you won't, 365 00:34:22.480 --> 00:34:28.840 and he died to death and then he rose again from the dead, victorious, 366 00:34:28.880 --> 00:34:31.679 proving himself Victor, coreous over that death, so that all who put 367 00:34:31.719 --> 00:34:37.159 their faith in him would have their life in him. He is the way 368 00:34:37.199 --> 00:34:43.199 in which it comes to us. We can have confidence in the forgiveness of 369 00:34:43.199 --> 00:34:50.199 our sins, because Jesus, Christ, God the Son, died to forgive 370 00:34:50.320 --> 00:34:59.159 you of your sins, and nothing can take that away from you. On 371 00:34:59.199 --> 00:35:02.639 top of all of this, the Holy Spirit is given to us and fills 372 00:35:02.719 --> 00:35:07.719 US and unites us with Christ to assure us of these things, to bring 373 00:35:07.760 --> 00:35:12.639 about this a prepenence, to bring about this faith. And that brings me 374 00:35:12.719 --> 00:35:15.400 to my last point. Is How do we receive this? How do we 375 00:35:15.480 --> 00:35:21.400 become those who are forgiven? How do we receive this, this cleansing, 376 00:35:21.440 --> 00:35:29.400 in this forgiveness? But David tells us. He says acknowledge your sins, 377 00:35:29.519 --> 00:35:37.519 confess your sins and believe that your sins are forgiven. Imagine those picture the 378 00:35:37.599 --> 00:35:42.039 imagine those people, picture those people on the side of the road and on 379 00:35:42.079 --> 00:35:46.679 the roof of the house and various places throughout Jesus's life, who recognized they 380 00:35:46.679 --> 00:35:52.400 are needs and called out for him to help them. It's that simple. 381 00:35:53.599 --> 00:35:59.519 It's that simple. Jesus doesn't say if you will be saved. Here is 382 00:35:59.559 --> 00:36:02.760 a the a list of like fifteen objectives that I want you to complete with 383 00:36:02.840 --> 00:36:07.440 all of their subcategories, and once you do all of those things, then 384 00:36:07.519 --> 00:36:09.480 come to me and we'll check them all out, see how you've done, 385 00:36:09.480 --> 00:36:13.719 maybe go back, have you do them again. Then you come back again 386 00:36:13.760 --> 00:36:17.199 and we'll review and then, after all of that, will compare you against 387 00:36:17.239 --> 00:36:24.760 other people and then I'll forgive you. Let's say anything like that. What 388 00:36:24.840 --> 00:36:29.199 do we see? What do we see in these people who were who were 389 00:36:29.239 --> 00:36:35.400 helped by Jesus? They say things like Lord, help me, and he 390 00:36:35.400 --> 00:36:39.159 helps them. Say Lord. I've been sick for a long time, I 391 00:36:39.199 --> 00:36:43.960 can't get to the pool, I can't see, my ears don't work. 392 00:36:44.000 --> 00:36:49.400 My My, my, my relationships are broken. I've committed all of these 393 00:36:49.440 --> 00:36:54.599 sins. Your sins are forgiven. Stand up and walk now. You can 394 00:36:54.639 --> 00:37:04.199 see. That's it. It's deceptively simple and because it's so simple, and 395 00:37:04.239 --> 00:37:07.960 because of our pride and we want to contribute to all of this, we 396 00:37:07.000 --> 00:37:14.119 don't believe it. We say well, no, I'll get my you know, 397 00:37:14.800 --> 00:37:20.199 I'll get my sins forgiven another day. It's crazy. Can you imagine 398 00:37:20.239 --> 00:37:25.079 being one of these people who we who couldn't see, couldn't hear, limbs 399 00:37:25.199 --> 00:37:30.159 that didn't work, and then them saying, yeah, I can see that 400 00:37:30.199 --> 00:37:34.000 he heals, I can see that he's been healing people. I can see 401 00:37:34.039 --> 00:37:38.000 these people I know who have been healed. But as for me, I 402 00:37:38.039 --> 00:37:45.159 don't know. I just don't really like seeing. It's ridiculous right to say, 403 00:37:45.199 --> 00:37:49.119 well, it's been very painful and I'm hungry all the time and or 404 00:37:49.239 --> 00:37:52.719 the the weight of my sins and my broken relationships, that the weight on 405 00:37:52.760 --> 00:37:59.199 me is really heavy, but another day. You know, this is what 406 00:37:59.239 --> 00:38:05.039 we do, but this is not what we have to do. The Lord 407 00:38:05.079 --> 00:38:13.480 offers to each of us this opportunity. He calls to US and while there 408 00:38:13.679 --> 00:38:16.920 is time before the great judgment comes, and he says to us in this 409 00:38:17.000 --> 00:38:22.000 palm, confess your sins. Verse Five. I acknowledged my sin to you. 410 00:38:22.079 --> 00:38:27.079 I did not cover my iniquity. I said I will confess my transgressions 411 00:38:27.079 --> 00:38:35.079 to the Lord, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. He tells 412 00:38:35.159 --> 00:38:42.079 to us to acknowledge our sin while there is time. This one who has 413 00:38:42.159 --> 00:38:47.400 the power over death, Satan, who holds us in bondage. He does 414 00:38:47.440 --> 00:38:55.280 not want you to confess your sins. He wants you to be worried instead 415 00:38:55.280 --> 00:39:01.000 and just live your life and anxiety. He wants you instead to be distracted 416 00:39:01.000 --> 00:39:06.480 and just sort of cover it up, in a non permanent way, but 417 00:39:06.599 --> 00:39:12.239 just ignoring kind of way. Just keep scrolling, don't pay attention to it, 418 00:39:12.280 --> 00:39:16.480 don't feel it, let it go. He wants you to replace True 419 00:39:16.519 --> 00:39:25.280 blessedness and true happiness with false versions of it. He brings opportunities into our 420 00:39:25.280 --> 00:39:29.960 lives. He tempts us with various less the say this will help you to 421 00:39:29.960 --> 00:39:37.960 feel better, but you all know to a purse, that it's a sham, 422 00:39:37.760 --> 00:39:43.239 it's a lie, it doesn't work, and we end up, when 423 00:39:43.280 --> 00:39:47.599 we don't confess our sins and we fall into these tricks, plunging deeper and 424 00:39:47.719 --> 00:39:54.360 deeper into the darkness. But what this psalm promises to all of us, 425 00:39:54.800 --> 00:40:00.000 but the Lord's death and resurrection promises to all of us, is that we 426 00:40:00.039 --> 00:40:07.000 don't need to cover our sins anymore and that when we confess them, God 427 00:40:07.039 --> 00:40:14.880 forgives them. Why? Why would he do that? Why would he forgive 428 00:40:14.920 --> 00:40:20.960 the sins of people that don't deserve it, that haven't done anything for him, 429 00:40:21.000 --> 00:40:27.519 that have lived their lives against him? The scriptures tell us because he 430 00:40:27.639 --> 00:40:34.800 loved us. He loves you. He loves you before time began, he 431 00:40:34.880 --> 00:40:40.039 loves you when Jesus came into the world, he loves you now, and 432 00:40:40.199 --> 00:40:46.840 that's why he offers us to you. And so let's not be stubborn, 433 00:40:47.519 --> 00:40:53.519 let's not be ridiculous, let's not be hardhearted and prideful, let's not plunge 434 00:40:53.559 --> 00:41:00.320 ourselves deeper into sin, but instead, beloved, let's just reach out and 435 00:41:00.440 --> 00:41:07.440 confess our sin and receive the forgiveness that is promised. Blessed will you be 436 00:41:07.920 --> 00:41:15.519 let's pray, our heavenly father, as we consider this psalm and your promises 437 00:41:15.559 --> 00:41:22.920 to us, impress upon our hearts that there is nothing more important than this. 438 00:41:22.440 --> 00:41:29.440 There's no leftover task, there's no thing in our lives, eating itself, 439 00:41:29.719 --> 00:41:37.360 sleeping. Well, all of it is of lesser importance than finding forgiveness 440 00:41:37.480 --> 00:41:45.000 of our sins through Jesus Christ. Lord, open our silent mouths, soften 441 00:41:45.159 --> 00:41:53.719 our stubborn hearts that we might receive from you life and life everlasting. We 442 00:41:53.840 --> 00:41:59.119 thank you for the trouble that you lay upon us. We thank you for 443 00:41:59.159 --> 00:42:04.239 your heavy hand and for your teaching and for your discipline that does not let 444 00:42:04.320 --> 00:42:08.119 us stay where we are, but instead helps us to feel the pains of 445 00:42:08.119 --> 00:42:15.039 our sins so that we might turn to you and repent and find the free 446 00:42:15.079 --> 00:42:20.079 forgiveness of them in Jesus Christ. Well, Holy Spirit, I asked that 447 00:42:20.119 --> 00:42:23.559 you would work in our hearts, that you would impress these things upon us 448 00:42:23.599 --> 00:42:30.280 and help us to turn with faith to Jesus, knowing that he has the 449 00:42:30.320 --> 00:42:37.280 power to remove, by his own work and his mediation, all of our 450 00:42:37.320 --> 00:42:43.280 sins, past, present in future. And as we find forgiveness in him, 451 00:42:43.320 --> 00:42:46.119 Lord, we ask that you would help us to experience that blessedness here 452 00:42:46.159 --> 00:42:51.960 and now as a foretaste of the things to come, and that even in 453 00:42:51.960 --> 00:42:57.280 our trials, even in our repentance, even in our struggles in our souls, 454 00:42:57.320 --> 00:43:00.039 that you would be at work and we would see your blessing in it, 455 00:43:00.320 --> 00:43:05.000 your hand upon us. You're moving us, you're guiding us, you're 456 00:43:05.119 --> 00:43:09.880 changing US and helping us to grow into creatures are more and more like you 457 00:43:10.199 --> 00:43:17.280 and less and less like the sinful selves we were once were. We also 458 00:43:17.360 --> 00:43:21.000 ask, Lord, that is you do these things in our hearts, that 459 00:43:21.039 --> 00:43:24.760 you would help us not only to keep not only to help us to not 460 00:43:24.840 --> 00:43:31.760 just remain silent in our confession, but help us also to express ourselves in 461 00:43:31.920 --> 00:43:37.159 praise, that our hearts would be filled with gladness and rejoicing, that there 462 00:43:37.199 --> 00:43:42.920 would be times where we would shout for joy, that we would realize and 463 00:43:43.000 --> 00:43:50.440 recognize until all the world that we have been saved and that salvation is possible 464 00:43:50.440 --> 00:43:57.719 for all who believe. We pray this in Jesus name, the author and 465 00:43:57.760 --> 00:44:00.480 perfector of our faith. Amend