JUL 14 2019 | Shame of Thrones: The Story of David & Bathsheba S1E5 | New Hearts

Sea Change Church · Shame of Thrones: The Story of David & Bathsheba · "New Hearts" Pastor Adam Stadtmiller · July 14, 2019
Automated transcript. Not reviewed for accuracy.

I never get tired of hearing Olin playing the guitar. Thank you. Good morning. My name is Bonnie O'Keefe and I am so thankful to have been part of this worship ministry for about the past seven years. So our scripture reading this morning is Psalm 51 verses 1 to 12. And this is a psalm of David when the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love, according to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions.

Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin, for I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. So you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb. You taught me wisdom in that secret place. Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be clean.

Wash me and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness. Let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins. Blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, God. And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation. And grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. The word of the Lord. We'll have you do that again.

That was solid. Goodness gracious. Come or read bedtime stories to my family. Can you do that? And then the little bear came home. I'll just like fall asleep with some chamomile. So good. Love it. Looking at David now as we come in for a landing on this sermon series. And we've gotten to the point of repentance. Repentance. Which is a really good place to be. We've seen David. We've seen these mistakes that he's made.

We've seen his errors. But repentance is something that David gets right. And I would say that if God is the most powerful force in the universe. And that includes actually beyond the universe. Because God is outside of time and space. But he's in it as well. He's in the darkness of space. In the depths of it he reigns. In the midst of God being the greatest force. Which includes his love, grace, ultimate forgiveness.

Is a second penultimate power. And that penultimate power would be the power of repentance. If God is the ultimate force in the universe. The way to get in contact with that power. The only way to actually get in full contact. Because God, while we were yet sinners, it says in Romans 5.8. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. So he was reaching out to us. And there was contact because God had to reveal himself to us.

But in order to get in ultimate contact. With the supreme power of the universe. The only way to do that is through repentance. And so it could be argued. That the second greatest power. The penultimate power in the universe and beyond. Is repentance. And repentance is something David knew how to do. He was a sinful man in many ways. And when it came to sin. He sinned greatly. But he also knew how to repent. And knowing how to repent is something that I don't think is taught on often.

And something that I think believers need to have in their bat belt. Of superhero weapons. In order to face a life of mistakes. And so we're told often that we should repent. And people are asked to repent. But rarely are we given a roadmap for repentance. David gives a roadmap of repentance here. David in Psalm 51. Perhaps has the greatest portion of scripture. Maybe even literary aspect. Or literary journal on repentance that has ever been penned.

There might never be another portion or pericope of scripture. Or anywhere else in Proverbs. Or any other wisdom literature. That shows how to repent. As well as this. Rembrandt has his paintings. Michael Angelo has his David in his Sistine Chapel. But in regard to repentance. Perhaps this scripture stands in the hall of great scriptures. In regard to perhaps arguably the greatest scripture in regard to repentance. And if you want to live a life that is free from guilt and shame.

That ties into the forgiveness as we'll see in a moment. That has already been given to you. Um, this wouldn't be a bad scripture to have in your canon of scriptures. Uh, I like to have a canon of scriptures that are my go-tos. Perhaps you would have a Jeremiah 29 might be in there. Perhaps a, uh, you know, 1 Corinthians 13. Or a Hebrews 11, the hall of faith. Or if you want to know about heaven in the end. Things that encourage you.

Recently in my praying for my wife. I've been trying to pray more scripture. I don't want to just come up with stuff on my own. Which God listens to as well. But it says that scripture is living and active. And so part of the corpus of scriptures that I've been praying for my wife. Is Colossians chapter 1. And I remove the names of the church. And I put her name in there where appropriate. Colossians 1. Ephesians 1. And Proverbs 31.

Are three chapters I've been praying every single day. And actually seeing tangible results. One of the things you'll see as you do this. You'll see tangible results. Back to this scripture. If you want to see tangible results that remove fear, shame, guilt from your life. Then adding this scripture to the corpus of scriptures. That you perhaps pray every single day. Not in a rote or liturgical way. But in something that is life-giving to you.

And then when it's no longer life-giving to you. Switch it out with another scripture. But this Psalm 51 is a masterpiece of repentance. And something that David gets right. But it is his ability to repent that keeps him from being destroyed by God. And we see that. It says God is not going to kill you. As it says in the scripture. Well that's a nice thing God. I appreciate that. Imagine that. If you repent. And he says well you know what?

Not going to snuff you out. But things are going to happen. And you are forgiven. We're going to see quickly in a moment. How good. One of the things that shows David's aptitude for forgiveness. Is how quickly he asks forgiveness after sinning. He doesn't stay you know away from God. Because he feels guilty or whatever. He immediately once he sees a need for it. Repents. And we'll see how quickly God forgives him in just a moment.

Before we do that. I added to the chagrin of Jeff Edwards. My media guy up the front. Who says I don't want you to add things to the notes. That aren't on the notes. But I do it every week anyways. And I'm not going to stop. Because I'm a little rebel in the pulpit. But I added four things here. And that I just wanted to say quickly. Before we start into the notes. The first is this. Well I already said one of them. Repentance is perhaps the second greatest force in the universe.

The second one is. You can mature in repentance. Now a lot of us as believers. Have never seen maturing in our ability to repent. As part of the discipleship journey. We know that we need to repent. But we don't really work on it. It's something we think it's a lever. We ask forgiveness. And we move on. But you can actually grow in repentance. You can grow in how long it takes you to repent. How quick are you to the trigger of repentance.

Or do you feel that when you've sinned. You have to walk around in guilt. For three months. Because God hates you now. And he's angry at you. Let me say the scripture is very clear. That all the anger of God's wrath was put on Jesus. And God is no longer angry. You are not under the wrath of God. At all. So you can immediately come boldly. It says to the throne of God. Immediately. Quickly. Like David does here. And not worry about God being mad to you.

That is one way that you can mature in repentance. Repentance. The other thing you can do. Is actually mean it when you repent. I don't know about you. But when I was getting sober from alcohol. I repented many many times. But I had a plan B. Because I knew I really didn't want to repent. I just didn't want to feel guilty anymore. But I kind of knew I had a plan B. That there was a party a month away. That I planned on going to.

Or maybe it was. You know. You repent. You want to get sober. And let's just use. You know. My drug of choice. You know. One of them. Alcohol. You would think. Hey. I'm going to repent God. But Coachella is next month. And in the back of your head. You know you got to get your festival on. You know what I'm saying. So you're kind of thinking. Coachella. Hanging out. You know. Beyonce. That was last year. Whatever. But in the back of your mind.

You know you're not really repenting. David never did that. Matter of fact. For all the things that David did wrong in his life. He never repeated the same mistake. Ever. There's nowhere in scripture. In the life of David. As bad as it was. Now granted. He was disobedient. All sins disobedience. He repeated disobedience. But in regard to the same mistake. He didn't repeat the same mistake. Now. I don't want you to nod your head.

Accidentally. So. Get ready not to nod your head. Yes or no. But is that true for you? So I have to warn people. Because they go. Oh yeah. No. That's not true for me. And they're like. Oh. I outed myself. Is that true for you? David. Grew in repentance. And so the thing is. One of the two ways to grow in repentance. How quickly do you repent? And does it have staying power? Do you have a willingness to never do that again?

This is ways you can grow. Do you need to grow in repentance? Add that to your cache of discipleship materials that you can work on. The other thing is. Jesus has already. Now this is clutch. You need to know this. And this will blow some of your minds. Jesus has already forgiven you for the sins you haven't committed yet. Why is that? Because Jesus died once and for all. For what? All sin. Reaching back. This is why Abraham can be saved from his sins.

Because God from the cross. Jesus from the cross. He believed in faith. And he looked forward. And Jesus from the cross reaches back and forgives him. But Jesus also forgives all sin. In perpetuity. Till the end of time. Now. Which means every sin that you are going to commit. Has already been paid for. The question is. Are you going to receive that forgiveness? Now. As a believer. Once you step into grace. You no longer need to ask for forgiveness.

Hear me out. I'm not done yet. You need to receive forgiveness. Which means you don't need to ask for it. Because it's already been granted. Matter of fact. When you sin. It's already covered by the blood of Christ. What you need to do. The reason we still confess sin. Because it says in 1 John 1.9. If we confess our sin. He is what? Faithful and just. To forgive us of our sins. And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

But it is from. A covering that has already covered sin. All of your sin is paid for. Even the sin you're going to commit. Commit next week. We do need to receive it. But this is one reason you don't need to walk. In guilt and condemnation. We're going to talk in a moment about unfriending sin. And shame. And guilt. Other thing we have here before we get into the notes. Is this. Separate. That forgiveness needs to be separated from consequence.

That you can have forgiveness given to you. But there is still. Are still consequences that come. From perhaps living a life of 30 years. In a broken fashion. Many people get saved. And they go back to their family. Which they you know. Basically terrorize for 20-30 years. And they immediately tell them that they have Jesus. And they want back in. And they expect. The spiritual truth. That they are completely forgiven.

To be perfectly reflected in the human relationships. That doesn't always happen. It might happen. It might be a miracle. Where some people can do that. But we're not God. And there are consequences. Perhaps if you committed fraud in the banking industry. The consequence might be that you lose your license. And never get to trade stocks again. There are consequences. And one of the things that I really want us to do.

As we mature as believers. And one way I think that sets the church apart from the world. Is stepping up to our sin. Not acting like we're a victim of it. And at the same time. Standing up and taking personal responsibility. And being willing to stand up to the consequences. This is one thing David was really good at. When he sinned. He knew he was forgiven. He walked with his head high. But he was willing to accept the consequences.

He knew that he deserved the consequences. And that's what we're talking about next week. Because there's a very problematic scripture in here. At the very end. That says your son. The child will not live. Now why is it the child's fault? Why does the child have to pay the consequences of David's sin? We're going to talk about consequences next week. But this week we're talking about being freed. From shame and guilt.

And then also understanding. That consequences are part of sin. That if you're going to walk with sin. That you are going to probably also have shame and guilt. Now I said last week. And we'll say in just a moment. That you never need to experience guilt and shame. Because of sin. You never need to. Unless you decide to walk in sin. Because you have been freed. And Jesus freed you from guilt. From shame. Because it says in the scripture.

There is no what? Condemnation. In Christ Jesus. Well guilt. Condemnation comes after what? After you've been proven what? Guilty. Well we're no longer guilty. So there's no condemnation. So there is no condemnation. There needs to be no guilt. How do we walk then in a way that we are free? Christ says it is for freedom. You've been what? Set free. The enemy wants you to be. He doesn't want you to be free. But if you are free.

He wants you to walk around in fetters. He wants you to walk around in a straitjacket of shame, fear, and guilt. Moving to the notes. First question is. And I love. I hope you question the text. And if someone. You're in a conversation with somebody that questions. You know. Your faith. I think one thing is to admit problematic things. Is a real healthy tool. Another is to say. I have that same question. And I'm not sure about it yet.

And the other thing too. Is to begin to question other people on where they stand. You know. Asking people questions themselves. One of the great things Christianity has lost. Is the ability to be apologetic. Which is meaning. Not apologetic. Like I'm so sorry. I'm a Christian. But like C.S. Lewis. Ask really hard questions. Of other faiths. Of other beliefs. Of other philosophies. And so one of the great questions is this.

Should David have been forgiven? This is subjective. Because when it came to God. Obviously the answer was yes. And we'll talk about that in a moment. But each of you. Depending on your history. Will have a different understanding. Of how much David should have been forgiven. Or if he should have been forgiven at all. I mean he was a victimizer. I mean imagine somebody empowered today. In the high. Whether in sports.

Or the industry. You've actually seen it play out in the headlines. How would David have been. If he would have known. That he would have murdered somebody. Taken a 16 year old girl. Taken him as his wife. You know. Committed adultery. Possibly rape. We don't know. It is you know. Assumed. That is a possibility. And then all of a sudden. You know. Comes to a place. Where God forgives him. Of all his transgressions. Now there were consequences.

And David would pay mightily. For these consequences. But in regard to your level of judgment. And you know. I don't ask you to nod. Or whatever. But do you think he should. Have been forgiven. Let's look at this really scandalous passage. Because to forgive somebody like David. Is absolutely scandalous. To allow somebody who is like this. And think of your. Your. You know. Your archetypal. Dictators. Throughout history.

You can. I won't name any. Because sometimes it's too triggering. But if you can think of the. The worst people you can think. Do they deserve forgiveness. And not only forgiveness. Do they. Do they deserve. To never experience. Guilt. Fear. Or shame. Or. Are you willing. To let them. Back on the team. As long as they pay for it. The rest of their lives. With guilt. Fear. And shame. Should. One of the worst. You know.

Uh. Abusers. Of. Or. Someone who committed genocide. Be able to walk with their head high. In regard to God. And feel no guilt about what they did. Should that be allowed. I got to tell you. Our flesh is going to say no to that. Because our flesh doesn't judge. In the way that God judges. Because we also don't have the love. That God has. And it says that mercy. Triumphs. Over judgment. And the only time. We really want someone.

To be completely free from sin. When they've been the victimizer. Is when it's us. When you're the one that's done it. We have a lot more grace. Than the person. Who. Uh. Who has done it. That is not. Uh. So the question is. Should they have even been. Forget. Forgot. Forgiven. Let's look at verse five. Verse five is a powerful verse. And this. Is a verse that talks about. Um. Uh. Christianity. And theologically. Which allows Christianity.

To stand apart. From many other world religions. And also from the zeitgeist of the world today. The world will tell you. That we're all pretty good. And we're all moving towards goodness. And there's some bad. You know. And there is a separation now. Between they're trying to separate good. From evil people. And you. You know. You cast the gate. The evil. And you. You cast them away. And there is no road back. I don't know if you're seeing that.

We're living in a society today. Where there's not a road back. Or if there is. It is. You. You were never allowed fully back. In the church. You are allowed fully back. Now. If you. Committed fraud on wall street. And you come into the church. You're probably not going to be the church treasurer. There is going to be some consequences. Right. Uh. There are going to be some. Some rules. And some boundaries. In regard to that.

But in the church. And this is what makes grace scandalous. No matter what you've done. And Jesus. This is why they hated Jesus. No matter what you've done. There is a place for you. The question is. Are you okay with a. With a faith like that? No matter what they've done. No matter who they've harmed. That if they fully repent. That there is a place. For them. It's a great question. In 2 Samuel. It says. Then David said to Nathan.

After he was called out. I have sinned against whom? The Lord. Talk about that in a second. Nathan replied. Now this is interesting. In about. What is that? About 15 words there? 20 words? Look at the spiritual transaction. That happens in about 20 words. You want to talk about. A. The. Not only David's ability. To immediately repent. But God's desire. To immediately forgive. It says right here. That. Nathan. Uh. David replied.

David said to Nathan. I have sinned against the Lord. Nathan replied. The Lord has taken away your sin. You're not going. To die. Wow. That's powerful. It isn't like God said. You know what? Let me think about it. And gave David the silent treatment. For like. Two weeks. Put a bunch of guilt on him. And then said. You know. Hey. You know. Date night's off on Friday. You know. You got to wallow in it for a while. No. Immediately.

David. Is forgiven. That is scandalous. Do you want to be part of a religion? Do you want to follow a Jesus? Who forgives people of that kind of atrocity. Immediately. It's a great question. And it is why the gospel is a stumbling block. And I got to say. I do want to be part of that. I want to be part of it. Now. I understand that there's consequence. And I understand that we have this justice thing. And we're going to talk about God's justice.

Next week. And about the consequences. Because God knew. The reason that God could say this to David. Is because he knew looking forward. That his son was going to pay the price. You see. David was forgiven. Because of Jesus work on the cross. David was not forgiven. Because God liked him a lot. Because he was a man after God's own heart. David was forgiven. And the reason God had such great grace. To forgive David immediately.

Was not only because of his ability to repent. Which I believe is a secondary power in the universe. Because it opens up the primary power. But it's because of Jesus on the cross. Going forward. If you want to understand how that works. Read Hebrews chapter 11. It'll talk about this hall of faith. That was looking forward. So the question is. The Lord has taken away your sin. And that's a phenomenal transaction. And I want to say.

Not only has that transaction happened for David. It's happened for you. And all of your sins. Whether you receive them or not. Even people that die and go to hell. And that's another stumbling block. Because I do believe in an eternity of hell. And that's a stumbling block for many people. Is a classic Christian theology. And doctrine. And one I don't understand. But even those people that walk away from God. Are doing it with their sins forgiven.

They never received the forgiveness of their sins. But their sins were forgiven. All sin was forgiven. It just was not received. And that's the difference. And what makes things different. For those that turn away from God. And that also breaks his heart. Verse 4 is also interesting. Or excuse me. Verse 5. Verse 5 says. As you see. That surely I was sinful at birth. He's talking about sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

It's another core doctrine that shows that we have. That the stain of sin. Like I said a moment ago. And the society is against us. Is on us from the moment of conception. It is passed down. Even the cutest baby. As much as they coo. Are marred with the sin. The stain of sin. And that is a choice that mankind made. This is why it is scandalous. And many people don't want to follow Christ. But the other thing in verse 5.

Excuse me. In verse 4. Which is interesting. Is that whenever you sin. And I said this a moment ago. You don't sin against somebody else. Although that says you can sin against your brother in the scripture. All sin is sin against God. And the reason you're able to sin against your brother. Is because it is something that God considers a sin. So when you sin against your brother. Or your sister. It's because you've besmirched one of the laws of God.

Now let me tell you why it works this way. Because everything that God has designed. Has a purpose that glorifies him. And that thing shows the purpose of God. Romans chapter 2. I believe it says. It says all of creation has a. You know. Reveals the invisible qualities. And the divine nature of God. When you break the desire of a thing. For instance. Let's go back to alcoholism. God has not created us to destroy our bodies.

Our bodies are meant to glorify him. It talks about that as the temple of the Holy Spirit. And that shows the truth of God. When you use addiction to destroy your body. The reason it is a sin. Is because what you're doing is using your body. In a way that is antithetical to the purpose of God. Which basically besmirches the narrative. Or the testimony. That your body is supposed to tell. If that makes sense. That's what sin is.

Sin is breaking God's design. Sin is going against something that God created. For a purpose and a reason. Everything God created is for a reason. And that reason will tell you about him. When you again to use the word besmirch the purpose. Then it tells a different story about God. It tells a different story. And when you tell a different story. That story becomes a lie. And that is why sin is sin. David understood this.

David. Now. And once again. Scandalous. How do you think Bathsheba would hear this? I haven't sinned against anybody but God. How would Bathsheba hear that? You wouldn't want to hear that. How would Uriah the Hittite's family hear that? How would the mighty men who he sinned against hear that? They wouldn't want to hear that. But actually it's true. While we have to ask forgiveness of each other. We need. If you know.

It says if you know your brother has something against you. You go to them. We need to keep relationships. And ask forgiveness. And we can be like God. In that we offer forgiveness. That's one of the best ways that you can be like God. Don't be a walking mat. You know. There has to be consequences sometimes. It can be yes I forgive you. But no I'm not going to hang out with you no more. Like that's okay. I want to tell you that.

Or at least for a while. Or I need some separation. Or whatever that is. This is part of the consequence. But as we move forward. And we see that God is a God of love. That wants to move us. In the direction of this forgiveness. Keep looking down at your notes. Because God says. In verse 1. David says in verse 1. Have mercy on me oh God. According to what? Your unfailing love. Blot out my transgressions. Once again. When you sin.

You sin only against God. Ultimately. Now granted. You can sin like I said a moment ago. Against somebody else. But you sin ultimately. Against God. Which means. The reason you can be forgiven. Is because the one you're sinning against. Is the only person that can forgive you. This is why people that have committed the worst atrocities. Can be forgiven. Because it isn't the atrocity. That we're measuring. And when you are looking at sin.

We need to realize. Like say someone sins. Let's say they lie about you. We have a tendency. To look at the lie. And say they lied about me. They lie. They shouldn't have lied about me. I was lying. And you're focusing on how you were sinned against. That is just the secondary landing spot. For the true sin. What they actually did. Was they sinned against God. By lying about you. But we tend to get stuck. On how we were sinned against.

And we lose our place. In the narrative. That it is actually God. And when you realize. That it's God being sinned against. And you are secondarily being sinned against. Because God was sinned against first. It changes the whole mindset. Of when you are attacked. It changes your whole mindset. Of how you receive. Someone doing something against you. And sinning against you. And it also realizes you. Why they deserve forgiveness.

Because if God is the one that sinned against. He's the one that can give forgiveness. And he has already given forgiveness. God has given forgiveness. To the entire world. And every sin that has been created. Committed. Or will be committed. Has been paid for. Now. Why do I set all that up? Because. We often need to. As you'll see in your notes. Redefine our relationships. To sin. Guilt and shame. I was talking to somebody this week.

And they said. Hey I got this guy. They were talking about this. This dude. Nobody at the church here. So don't worry. I was talking about this dude. And. I said. Oh. Is it a. Is it a new bow? You know. I'm using antiquated. The antiquated. 1980. Or 1800s language. You got a new bow. And they said. Well no. Not really. I'm trying. I'm trying to friend zone him. And I was like. Oh. Friends. Okay. That's kind of a cool term.

Tell me about friend zone. Yeah. It means. You've heard that. But I don't really want a relationship. And he contacts me too much. But I'm. He's just not getting the point. That I want to put him in the friend zone. And I thought. Man. I was friend zoned. It's so many times. It was a bummer. Especially in high school. And. I never wanted to be put in the friend zone. When I. You know. I didn't mind putting somebody in the friend zone.

But I mean. You don't want to be put in the friend zone. If you like somebody. Right. So. I remember. You know. Thinking to myself. I never wanted that. Well. You know. It's so interesting. So many of us. Have taken. Sin. And shame. And guilt. And we've put it in the friend zone. Meaning. We haven't completely said. You know. I don't want you in my life at all. I want no relationship with you. But we've actually allowed it to stay in our life.

Now. This is. For two reasons. One. If you're sinning. And you're choosing not to repent completely. Like David did. Then you are going to have sin. You're going to have guilt and shame. Because they come along for the ride. You cannot be in sin. And not have guilt and shame. Unless you're completely hardened. Which is possible as well. Where you no longer feel it. And the Bible speaks about that as well. But. If you have repented.

And you have received the forgiveness that God gives you. Then. The only reason you should feel guilt and shame. Is because you choose to. Guilt and shame is a choice. And I had this. As I think I said at the beginning of this service. Guilt is. Something the flesh loves. Because guilt is a way to pay for your own sin. When you feel guilty. It actually feels good. It doesn't feel good. If you understand me. It feels good because you know.

That you are doing something. To suffer. For the thing that you did wrong. And we want to always pay for our own sin. And what the scripture says. Is you can't do that. Scripture says that Jesus died for guilt and shame. We talked about that early in the sermon. And that it no longer exists. What is so interesting about David. Is the moment David. Understands and receives forgiveness. He goes and grieves. And begs God for that kid to live.

And he puts on sackcloth and ass. But once the child dies. He washes his face. He puts his head up. And he walks out. As if nothing happened. Now. I know that sounds pretty tragic. But in a spiritual sense. He was completely forgiven. And he understood it. He went back to being king. Now. Today. You know. It's a different society. He'd be put in jail. And there'd be other consequences. God gave him consequences. We're talking about consequences next week.

So. If you are concerned about him getting off for free. Nobody gets off for free. Even Jesus had to pay the price for that. But. The thing is. Is he was able. To stand up and walk out. Without. Sin. Guilt. Or shame. And I say. Some of us. Have decided that. That we want. Shame. And guilt. In our life. Or maybe not want. But we've. Befriended it. And it has become part of your narrative. You walk around in guilt. You walk around in shame.

And I'm going to say. It's time to unfriend. Sin. But not only just sin. Guilt and shame. If you turn your notes over. I think it's on the. The next page. It's a sentence I thought was. Solid. I wrote down. It says. If Satan cannot convince you. To abandon Jesus altogether. Which he's constantly trying to convince people. Then the next best option. Plan B. Next best option. Is to have you follow Jesus. While mired in.

You can even cross out. Sin. Let's just say you're forgiven. In shame and guilt. He does not want you to be free. The scripture says. It is for freedom. That you have been what? Right. It's for freedom. That you've been set free. Which is so redundant. What does that mean? Christ set you free already. This is what I'm saying. Now you've been set free. So that you can go be free. I say. If you are. If you are regularly experiencing guilt.

If you are regularly experiencing shame. But you have walked away from sin. Then you are not understanding. And you've not yet received. What Christ is offering you. You know. What is also scandalous. If you were to say to this society. If they were to say. What do you think? You're perfect. The answer is yes. Not in. I'm perfect. I never make mistakes. But in regard to my account of sin. Do I have sin? If people say.

You know. Do you have sin? Well. I've confessed my sins. The answer is no. Right. If you confess your sin. You have zero sin. You still have a flesh. That wants to sin. Which we will never get rid of. Until the end of time. But you are sin free. What does it look like. If you walk around. And I gave a prescription. Last Sunday. To try to have a day. Where you walk around. And say. I am completely sin free. I have no sin.

Because that's a biblical truth. The world hates that. You know. The world hates that. The world hates for anyone to say. And not in an arrogant way. But just in the truth of scripture. That you have no sin. If you are under the blood of Christ. That's a powerful way to live. I woke up this week. And I had some dark thoughts one morning. And you know. Some of you might be like. That's every day. You know. But about. You know.

A couple times a week. I'll wake up. And I'll just wake up with the temptation. To start the day with dark thoughts. You know. You're going to. You stink. You're a horrible person. Whatever it is. You just get it. It shows up. And I just got out of bed. And I thought. I'm going to take my own prescription. And I just got up. I said. No way. I'm sin free. Before Jesus. I'm completely just. If you only have that in life.

You don't need anything else. If you walk. In a sense of freedom. That I have no guilt. I have no shame. The blood of Jesus covers me. And besides that. I'm not only just a child of God. I'm a beloved child of God. It isn't like. I'm just some manager in the shop. That he. That I'm sin free. Not only am I the manager in the shop. I'm the son who inherits the shop. I'm the beloved of God. If you walk in that. I got to say.

Your life is going to change. And it is going to. You're going to have to fight tooth and nail. To get that reality in your life. Because the flesh loves death. Why? Because your flesh is dying. The flesh will. That's why we'll be given new bodies. We want to get in alignment with our spirit. Not live according to the flesh. But live according to the spirit. And making that transition is difficult. Especially if you love the flesh.

And I say. How do we get to a place. Where we don't love the flesh. Coming in for a landing. I want to look at this one scripture. Because I've been just binging on Colossians. I told you. If you. You know. Maybe some of you have been. Binged watching some Netflix subscription service. There is a free subscription service. It's called the Bible. You can get it. It's online. And you can binge listen. And I want to encourage you.

You know. Binge listen to a whole series. You know. A whole series of minor prophets. You know. I'm going to watch the minor prophets. I've been binge listening to Colossians. Over and over again. Man. Colossians is a great book. Look at this scripture. This is so meaty. When you were dead in your sins. And in the uncircumcision of your flesh. God made you alive with Christ. He forgave. What? What's the word there? All.

Of our sins. Having what? Canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness. Which stood against us. And condemned us. You're no longer condemned. He's taken it away. Nailing it to the cross. Having disarmed the powers and authorities. He made a public spectacle of them. Triumphening over them by the cross. Man. Boom. That is so powerful. That's the reality of scripture. And it is what the world hates. The world has no palette for that.

The world wants to live in the flesh. And not call it the flesh. They want to call sin goodness. And goodness sin. And they don't need repentance when sin doesn't exist. And we're in a society that is erasing sin. And it's trying to erase sin. Because if you erase sin. And you no longer feel that you sin. Because whatever you want is most important. And whatever you want is your truth. Then you don't need repentance.

Do you see the ploy of the enemy? If you can live according to your truth. And your truth is never sin. Then you never need to repent. And if you don't repent. You're under the wrath of God. And if you don't receive forgiveness. You spend eternity with Satan in hell. That's the plan. And it's a message people don't want to hear. But we want to offer freedom. The freedom that Christ has in repentance. That Colossians verse is so powerful.

And then finally the last two things quickly. And we're done. First of all. Don't let the past sins shape your present existence. And then relentlessly pursue a willing spirit. Two minutes on this and we'll be done. I want to say. Everyone loves the story last week. Or two weeks ago. When you take somebody like Bathsheba. And you say. She was victimized. And she didn't let that victimization define her. She becomes in the line of Jesus.

Jesus is born through her line. Interesting choice by God to choose that. She is one of the major creators of the Proverbs. Solomon says. Listen to your mother. And over again he talks about his mother. Who's his mother? Bathsheba. Probably the greatest voice of wisdom. In all of history. Is the voice that Bathsheba gave. No other woman in the world has had so much recorded wisdom. As Bathsheba. And powerful wisdom. You look at this story.

And you say that she was not defined. And then she gets a royal. You know. She gets to sit on a throne. And we love that story. That she can be completely redeemed. And rise above. And not walk in the shame of that moment. But what about the victimizer? Do we like the story as much? When it's the human trafficker. When it's the serial abuser. Do we like the story as much? Probably not. Do we like the story when it's David?

Do we believe in a gospel that's grace is so scandalous. That it offers the same amount of freedom to Bathsheba who was victimized. As it does to the victimizer. That is a stumbling block. And I don't like it. It's not something I like. But the love of God is gracious. And lavish. And he wants the story of redemption. And I gotta say. Death row. And the people that deserve to be there. Because I know no one deserves to be there.

Right? But for the people that actually deserve to be there. The gospel has to have a place on death row. The gospel has to have a message to the person who is the furthest out. You know. Person who has created the worst atrocities. And if you look at the scripture. Moses was a murderer. Paul was a murderer. On and on is these stories of the victimizer. And I have to say. We have to get more comfortable with allowing repentance for all.

Now there's still consequences. And there will still be boundaries. And somebody might need to spend the rest of their life in prison. As a forgiven believer. Because of the things that they did. We're not removing that. But I will say that you will never experience grace for yourself. In the way that God wants you to. If you can't get to a place where we begin to extend it to all people. Some of the greatest stories of forgiveness you see.

Are when someone has been victimized. And you're in the courtroom. And they give forgiveness. That is so powerful. I say it is so powerful. This is the gospel that you're signing up for. And you have to decide. Do I want it? And I say some people just don't want it. Because it's too scandalous. Final verse is this. And this is the thing that was biggest for me. Relentlessly pursue a willing spirit. I love what David says in the end of verse 12.

Not only restore to me the joy of your salvation. But grant me a willing spirit. I say what I have lacked oftentimes is a willing spirit. That when I have asked forgiveness. I knew in the back of my mind. I didn't really want to stop doing what I was doing. But I knew I didn't want to live in the guilt anymore. So I needed momentary forgiveness. So I could walk a few steps. And so I got to go do what I wanted to do again.

To get to a place where you no longer want to do that. Is maturity and repentance. And David shows a road map. To begin to pray and ask God. To say give me a willing spirit. To all of a sudden. To the things that were tasteful to me. The things that I desire to taste upon my lips. Are no longer. You know luxurious to my spirit. Are no longer things that I want anymore. That I want to move away from. I've begun to pray more and more.

God give me a willing spirit to want this. This is a road map. In one of the most classic scriptures on repentance. Of all time. And the final thing David says in the end in Psalms. Is I love your law. How do you. How many people love the law. Right. But imagine every time you drove 65 miles an hour. On the freeway. You pulled your car over. And the cop pulled up and said. Hey great job. You get a 500. You get 500 bucks.

You're like. Awesome. You'd be following that law all the time. Why? Because it gives you a blessing. You'd be like just. You know. Putting it on cruise control. Driving 65. Pulling over. Getting your 500 bucks. Every single time. That's how the law of God is. God didn't. Didn't give you the law. So you couldn't. You know. Get your party on. God gave you the law. So you would be blessed. By being in alignment with his commands.

And his blessings. The question is. Do you want it? Repentance is something you can grow in. And something that gives you freedom. Amen. Amen. Let's stand. As the band comes forward. They lead us in this song of freedom. Before we go out of this place. I want to give you an opportunity. To step away from guilt and shame. And all those things. That move us. In a direction away from God. As we sing. Lead us away Deborah.

Who the Son sets free. Oh is free indeed. I'm a child of God. Yes I am.