Necessary Steps On The Way Back Home (Part I)
Psalm 51:14-17
Some weeks back there was a post on Facebook about a young man who was lost and could not find his way back home. Tricia El-Sharkaway posted a picture with this description: "My children and I have known (this young man) for several years and taken him food, clothes, and blankets. Sean is special needs. He can't read or write and sounds like an 8 year old child when he talks. He recently told me that he is here because he got lost and can't find his way home. He was on a Greyhound Bus to visit someone and got on the wrong bus at a rest stop. He's been lost ever since. He thinks he's from Springfield, Missouri. Someone has to be looking for him. He's such a harmless, gentle soul. Please pray for him."
There was another story of an elderly couple who were both in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's who left home and went missing for a couple of days. There story was a bit different. They were lost but they didn't realize it.
Both of these stories illustrate the spiritual conditions of certain people: Some are lost and don't know how to get back home. And some have wandered away from the Father and don't even know it. Then there are some who have turned from the Father and they know that they have...furthermore they know what steps are necessary to return, they simply refuse to take those steps.
In the Bible we are told of many individuals who took steps in the wrong direction.
- Moses was disobedient and suffered severe consequences
- Elijah came to a point where he asked God to take his life from him.
- King Saul failed the Lord on several occasions
- Jonah refused to go where the Lord sent him and went in the opposite direction.
- Peter denied the Lord 3 times.
- John Mark abandoned Paul, Barnabas and the ministry.
- Demas forsook Paul out of his love for the things of the world.
- Even David, a man after God's own heart (for a time) took his life in his own hands.
He rebelled and found himself far away from His Heavenly Father. Maybe you can relate to King David! Maybe you have fallen into sin and instead of taking those steps toward restoration, you have turned and gone further into your rebellion. It is my prayer that like David you will come to the realization that you can return. In fact, your Heavenly Father desires that you return right here right now!
- In Luke 15 we are told the story of the Prodigal Son. He had rebelled and left his father's house. He found himself in a bad situation and decided that he would return to his father and beg him to make him as one of the hired servants. We find that before he even made it to his father's house, the father saw him a long way off. (because he was looking for him) He ran to him, kissed him, put a ring on his finger, wrapped a robe around him and threw a welcome home party. - And Jesus tells us in that very chapter that "... there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth" - Luke 15:10
I can promise you... your Heavenly Father will rejoice if you return to Him today. I invite you to join me in Psalm 51 as we see the...................... "Necessary Steps On The Way Back Home". There are some specific steps that are necessary if you desire to return to a right relationship with the Father. David took each of these steps in his journey of restoration and if you are going to be restored, you must do the same. Let's look at verse 3 and see:
STEP #1 - REVELATION - Psalm 51:1 "a A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba"
This Psalm of repentance was a result of David's sin being revealed to him. There is no question that David knew he had sinned. This was God's man! But this was a time of pride and rebellion. This was a time where his heart had grown cold and hard. And God in His loving mercy sent Nathan the prophet to confront David's sin.
David was hand picked by the Lord to be the King of Israel. King Saul had disobeyed the Lord and He sent Samuel with a message for Saul - 1 Samuel 13:14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people,
God truly blessed David , He gave him more than any man could have asked for. But that wasn't enough for David. David was on the roof of the palace and he saw Bathsheba bathing and he lusted after her. He knew she was married but he sent for her and he committed adultery with her. Some time later he finds that she is with child. David then arranges the murder of her husband Uriah. Afterwards he takes her as his wife and for almost a year he lived in rebellion against his God. Everyday he went further and further away from the Father. He had countless opportunities to repent and be restored but he refused. Then God in His love and mercy sent the prophet Nathan to confront David's sin.
In II Samuel 12 we find the details of that confrontation - 2 Samuel 12:1 And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. 2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: 3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. 4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. 5 And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: 6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. 7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.
Right there at that moment. David's sin was revealed! His hard heart was broken. He realized the extent of what he had done. All because his Heavenly Father loved him enough to reveal his sin to Him. And my dear friend if you are truly one of God's children you cannot sin and get by! Some of you have wandered far away from the Lord, some of you have been living in rebellion for some time. Your heart has grown cold and hard as a result of your sin and there will be a day (possibly this very moment) when it will be revealed unto you! Just as God sent Nathan with a message for David, He has sent me with a message for you! You have sinned and He desires that you return!
There are 2 ways that the Father will reveal your sin to you:
A. Your Sin Will Be Reveled Through The Conviction Of The Holy Spirit
We are told in 1 Corinthians 3:16 that "we are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in us." When those who are TRULY saved fall into sin, the Holy Spirit will convict them. This is one of the greatest evidences of our salvation. When we are convicted of our sins we become mindful of how much our sin dishonors God. If you are truly saved but living in rebellion...YOU KNOW THAT YOU NEED TO REPENT and YOU KNOW THAT YOU NEED TO RETURN! And if you think that you are saved and you can sin all you want and live however you like, then you are sadly mistaken. - Hebrews 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. - If you are not convicted when you sin, then the best thing for you to do is surrender to Jesus and be saved today!
Not only will your sin be revealed through the Holy Spirit:
B. Your Sin Will Be Revealed Through The Truth Of The Holy Scriptures - Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The Word of God is the Divine mirror in it man reads the secrets of his own guilty soul and sees the vileness of his own evil nature. The Scriptures discern the thoughts and intents of the heart . Through the Word of God our sin, transgressions and rebellion are revealed. As in the case of King David, God has a way of getting His point across to His children. And this is encouraging, for the first necessary step in being restored is initiated by God. This shows us that it is our Father's desire for us to return to Him! You see, David did not just realize that he had sinned, he realized that his Heavenly Father was calling him to return to Him. And I pray that the same thing happens to you today.
Notice with me if you will:
STEP # 2 - REALIZATION - v1b Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
Before David could take the proper steps to return to God, he had to first realize that he had wandered away from Him.
- A while back I was going to St. Vincent's hospital in Birmingham. I got in the car and headed that way. I got on I-20 and made my way towards the hospital. I arrived and went into the parking deck, found a place to park and was about ready to head toward the elevator. Then I realized there was a problem, I was at Trinity Medical Center. Before I could take the steps to make things right, I first had to realize that something was wrong.
There may be someone here who has taken a wrong turn on their spiritual journey. Instead of going closer to God you are getting further and further away. Maybe as a result of listening to David's story you have had that realization that you too need to alter your course. There are actually several things you need to realize if you are going to take the necessary steps to return home today.
A. YOU MUST REALIZE THE CAUSE OF YOUR REBELLION
- Years ago I worked in the maintenance department for a large construction company. I was over all maintenance on the equipment. When we would have an equipment failure we would do what is called a "root cause failure analysis". The goal was not only to fix the problem, but to identify it so we could prevent it from happening again.
It is vitally important that you identify what has caused you to rebel against God and then to prevent it from happening again!
There are 4 common factors in someone's rebellion. The first is:
1) SIN
*Ultimately, sin is the reason for your backslidden condition. Sin is defined as "the transgression of the law of God" - 1 John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
*Deuteronomy 9:7 says that sin is "rebellion against God"
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Have you ever told your child not to do something and then they do it anyway? ...That is rebellion! Many times that child knows what he/she is doing is wrong, they know that there will be consequences but they do it anyway! The same is true for God's children some times. They know what they are doing is wrong. They know that there will be chastisement. But they continue on that path of disobedience! And because of our sin, we find ourselves further and further from the Lord.
Another "Cause of our Rebellion" is:
2) SATAN
Satan did not and could not force David to commit adultery and murder. But you better believe he was whispering in his ear encouraging him to do what he did. I can just see him as he prodded David into walking to that ledge and looking out over the city. I can hear him as he says to David "hey look at that!" No doubt Satan sought to convince David that he deserved Bathsheba and he most likely put the thought in David's mind that no one would ever find out. When God's man failed, this gave Satan a great victory! I am sure he celebrated with delight at the fall of God's hand picked ruler of Israel.
Satan's tactics have not changed today. He will tempt you like he tempted David, and like he tempted Eve and like he tempted Jesus. He will promise you the world, he will convince you that you deserve to do whatever it is you are being tempted with. He will tell you that no one will ever have to know! And many of you have already fallen into his trap. You are living in rebellion against your Heavenly Father today! And it is time for you to take the necessary steps to return home!
As much as we would like to, we cannot put all of the blame on Satan, another prominent factor in the rebellion in the life of a child of God is.....
3) SELF
Satan may have had a hand in tempting David, but David did what David wanted to do! David had the Kingdom, and wives and concubines and all that he could ask for, but that wasn't enough! That is the way sin is... you will never be satisfied, you will always want more! And when confronted with his sin, David didn't blame Satan. He knew the source of his sin, He said "LORD, I HAVE SINNED AGAINST YOU"
And if you find yourself away from God today, it is because you have followed you own natural, carnal, selfish, fleshly desires! - James 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
If you want to know the cause of your rebellion, take a long hard look in the mirror! David was away from God because he made the conscious decision to walk away from God And if you are away from Him today, it is because you left Him! He is right where He has always been, and He desires that you return today!
Sin, Satan and Self are all causes of your rebellion but we will also see that Separation is a cause of rebellion.
4) SEPARATION
David sinned with Bathsheba and instead of making things right with God he took matters in his own hands. And this lead to murder and then things spiraled downward and kept getting worse. And for the period of almost a year, David was separated from his Heavenly Father. - Separation is a cause AND a consequence of rebellion against God. Maybe you are here and you have fallen into sin. You have taken control of your life and rebelled against God. You are at a place where you have been separated from your Heavenly Father for some time. Consider what Isaiah said in - Isaiah 59:2 ...your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Dear friend, God sent Nathan with a message for David. God wanted His man to return home. And God cared enough to confront David's sin. He cares enough to do the same for you! He has sent me with the same message today. Just as Nathan said "thou art the man". I stand before you today and say "YOU ARE THE MAN!" and "YOU ARE THE WOMAN!" You once walked with the Lord! You rejoiced and praised Him for His salvation... You lived a life of service...You told others about His saving grace... You longed to grow and mature in the faith...But now you are far from Him.... You feel all alone.... It seems that He doesn't hear your prayers.... Maybe you are too ashamed to even pray to Him. Perhaps you are at a place where you are uncomfortable in His house...You don't have a desire to be near His people. You are angry...You are bitter... You are hateful... You are rebellious... Your heart is hard and cold. You are doing things in your life that you never thought you would do! You know you need to repent but you refuse. You are listening to the Enemy when he whispers that you are too far gone. Remember what Isaiah said in - Isaiah 59:1 Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
If you will cry out to Him in repentance HE WILL HEAR, and HE WILL FORGIVE!!! For the sake of time, I am going to close this sermon and we will pick back up this evening, But I will go ahead and give you tonight's outline. This morning we have seen 2 of the necessary steps on the way back home... Revelation & Realization. Tonight we will see the next 2 necessary steps on the way back home... Repent & Return
Maybe you are here and God has revealed your sin and rebellion to you... that is the first necessary step on the way back home! Maybe you have realized just how far you have wandered from the Father house...that is the second necessary step on the way back home! Look at it this way...YOU ARE ALREADY HALFWAY HOME!! Why not take those next two necessary steps and REPENT AND RETURN? The Father is waiting with outstretched arms... HE IS INVITING YOU TO COME BACK HOME RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW!!
The Father is standing with outstretched arms waiting to welcome you home right now... wont you come? Will you take the Necessary Steps On The Way Back Home?
