The Church of Joy, Williamson Ga

The Bible is full of ordinary people that God has walked with, encouraged, and empowered through hard times and places, in order that His name be made great. These were ORDINARY people. But with God, they did extraordinary things. Their lives have been recorded for us to see, examine, and find encouraging insight for our daily lives. In this series we will look at many ordinary people who God used.

Today we will look at David. Not the good stuff, but the bad side of David. Fighting Goliath was "faith in action" and God was victorious. But what about when man isn't walking in relationship with God anymore and really messes up? What does REPENTANCE look like? Let's look at this part of David's life today and see what God has for us.

Highlights:
>David sees Bathsheba on roof
>David pursues her, commits adultery, she’s pregnant
>David has her husband, Uriah, killed
>David marries Bathsheba
>God is not pleased with David

Key Points:
>David is confronted about his sin.
>There are two very significant phrases I want to point out in this story:
1. verse 7 “You are the Man”
2. verse 11 “I have sinned against the Lord”

I think that we all get to that point in our faith at one time or another – it might not be as disastrous a sin as adultery and murder, but at some point we hear the words “you are the man” and they strike deep with in us – we look at ourselves and are horrified at what we’ve done, who we’ve become.

At that point we are ready for repentance – turning our hearts back to God. In the story, David says “I have sinned against the Lord.” But in the Psalms we find out that those words were just the beginning: true to form, David wrote a song to sing out his grief, shock, and his desire to return to God. We have this song in Psalm 51 – the words, not the music. And it teaches us how to respond when we are drawn into repentance.

This promise is fulfilled in Jesus and the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

NOTE: The heart of this Psalm is in verse 12: RESTORE – it is not about ducking the lightning bolt, it is about relationship – David’s relationship with God is so precious to him – he can’t bear to lose it.

Once David is freed from the bondage of sin and shame, his heart desire is to reveal the love and the forgiveness he received. Imagine experiencing something that renewed your joy and you saw others around you without joy, without hope… wouldn’t you share? help them? David commits to declaring God’s praise.

>God doesn’t want the ritual of a one whose heart is unclean. He wants a broken heart.
God is not too impressed with sacrifice or extravagant giving if it is just there to cover a heart that is far from him.

You can’t buy God off – you can’t give enough to him to make it all go away… he already owns everything – you can’t give him what he already owns! What he wants is your surrendered will. He wants a life that brings Him glory.

Verse 18 and 19 are the responses of the righteous - not the sinner. For the righteous, God delights in their offerings. For the sinner, God doesn’t want their outward sacrifice but their repentance as a sacrifice.

God wants RESTORATION.
This is repentance – a focus on God and his mercy, a focus on healing the broken relationship, a brokenness over who you are and what you have done.

The good news is that God does not leave us to wallow in our guilt – he wants a restored relationship as much as we do: even more than we do!

Where is your life at today? Are you holding on to sin and excuses? Have you come to terms with that sin? Can you honestly say “I am the man,” "I am the one"… "I am a sinner" or "I am sinning."
Where is your relationship with God?

Jesus is waiting to lead you to the Father, pray, call out to Him today and meet His kindness and love. He is waiting… He wants to forgive us and purify us. He wants our lives to reveal His love and our hope.