Receiving the Gift of Forgiveness
December 16, 2012 – AM Sermon
Psalm 51:1-4; 8; 10; 12
The Christmas season is a joyous time of year. We sing “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” when in reality, it is often one of the most stressful/miserable times of the year. One thing that holds the joy of many this time of year is strained relationships. Strained relationships with others (family members, co-workers, acquaintances) and a strained relationship with God. All of which could be solved by a simple gift. The gift of forgiveness.
“To be forgiven is such sweetness that honey is tasteless in comparison with it. But yet there is one thing sweeter still, and that is to forgive. As it is more blessed to give than to receive, so to forgive rises a stage higher in experience than to be forgiven” – Charles Spurgeon
Forgive definition: to give up resentment, to grant relief, to cease to feel resentment against an offender. To pardon – to forgive one’s enemies.
Today, we look at the story of a man after God’s own heart – King David. David was not perfect – he was a man. He made mistakes – often times aggregious mistakes. However, he always tried to come back to God and His Will for his life. The story takes place in 2 Samuel 11 when David set his eyes upon Uriah the Hittite’s wife Bathsheba. Lust entered his heart and led to action. David and Bathsheba had relations, she conceived a child. To cover his tracks, he had Uriah the Hittite killed. David felt that he had everything covered – until his plan was revealed. Nathan the prophet confronted David in chapter 12 and led David to a confession in verse 13, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Ultimately the son died that was conceived in sin. During that time, David cried out for forgiveness in this morning’s text.
TEXT
51 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
4 Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
And blameless when You judge.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
9 Hide Your face from my sins
And blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
NOTE the request of David – besides requesting to have his sin washed away and to be given a clean heart, David also asked God to let him experience “joy and gladness”, the renewal of “a steadfast spirit within me,” and the restoration of “the joy of Thy salvation”
This Christmas season – are you tired of holding on to something you should’ve let go of a long time ago? Listen to the words of Psalm 32, when David was released:
32 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit!
The same gift of forgiveness is available to you and I – here’s how:
I. Honestly Evaluate Your Relationship with God
a. Before we can be released from our guilt and issues, we must first ask God to reveal to us where we have failed.
• Psalm 139:23-24
o Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.
b. Ask God to reveal where you have failed in the following areas:
i. Your relationship with God – unconfessed sin, unkept promises
ii. Your relationship with your parents or siblings – conflicts
iii. Your relationship with your spouse – harsh words, selfish attitudes, or ingratitude
iv. Your relationship with your children – failure to spend time with them, failure to provide spiritual leadership for them
v. Your relationship with others – immoral relationships, people you have offended
vi. Your habits – immoral or slothful habits that are displeasing to God
vii. Your possessions – trusting in money, dishonest business dealings, failure to be a good steward.
II. Acknowledge your failure to God
a. Psalm 51:4
i. “Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy sight”
1. We must recognize what we’ve done wrong and why it’s wrong
2. We must truly be sorry for our sin, and we must express our intent to turn away from it.
• 2 Corinthians 7:10
o “Godly sorrow brings repentance”
• Psalm 51:17
o “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise”
• Matthew 26:75
o 75 And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.
3. We must show willingness to make amends plus willingness to do whatever we must to avoid repeating the sin.
a. Whatever it takes – we must be willing to do!
III. Receive God’s Forgiveness
a. God Delights in offering forgiveness
b. Forgiveness from God is not “For a Limited Time Only, While Quantities Last”. Forgiveness is always available to those who ask for it!
• 1 John 1:9
o “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
o Because we repent, we’re forgiven. Because we’re forgiven, we’re to forgive. And because we forgive, we’re given the grace to recognize that it’s already time to repent again – Shirley Dobson
IV. Refuse to Allow Satan to Paralyze You with Guilt
• Colossians 2:13-14
o And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled our the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it our of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
We’ve concentrated heavily on God’s forgiveness toward you and I – but – there’s more. If you’ve been forgiven by God – you and I must forgive others – and ultimately – you and I must forgive ourselves. Notice what Scripture says:
• Matthew 6:12
o Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors
• Colossians 3:13
o Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (NIV)
• Lewis B Smedes in his book, Forgive and Forget
o “When you release the wrongdoer from the wrong, you cut a malignant tumor out of your inner life. You set a prisoner free, but you discover that the real prisoner was yourself”
We’re to forgive others because Christ has forgiven us!
• Matthew 6:14-16
o For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (NIV)
CONCLUSION
Forgiveness is a gift – that God freely gave through His Son Jesus on the cross of Calvary. Allowing His Son to endure the suffering and the shedding of blood so that we may have the forgiveness of our sin.
Forgiveness is a gift that we give other who may have wronged us in the past. Bitterness, wrath and clamour have no place in the new transformed man and woman. We must forgive
Forgiveness is a gift that we must experience ourselves – We repent and stay away from what led us down the wrong paths.
This gift is available this morning – the question is this – are you and I willing to do what it takes to receive this gift?
