1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:02,400 Well, good morning St. City, how we doing today? 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:05,520 Well, if I don't know you, my name is Brandon. 3 00:00:05,520 --> 00:00:09,000 I get to serve on the teaching team here at the church and also 4 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:10,360 get a service one of our pastors. 5 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:14,080 And so thankful to be with you in this Christmas season and 6 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:17,440 celebrating Jesus arrival to planet earth in the form of a 7 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:19,560 baby. And we are just so grateful for 8 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:20,840 each and every Sunday that we gather. 9 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:24,080 We're just a, you know, baby church plant here in Tempe. 10 00:00:24,080 --> 00:00:26,320 We've only been around for a few months, but we are excited about 11 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:28,200 what God is doing in and through our people. 12 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:30,600 And we just want to invite you to join in on that as much as 13 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:32,520 you can. That His word is what we believe 14 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:33,720 in. It's what we trust to keep 15 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:36,920 sanctifying and changing us from the inside out to be more and 16 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:38,960 more like His Son. And so I want to invite you to 17 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:42,320 turn your Bibles to Psalm chapter 51, as we're going to be 18 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:45,960 today, Psalm chapter 51. We are in this series called the 19 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:50,160 Mothers of Jesus, looking at the women in the genealogy in 20 00:00:50,160 --> 00:00:54,840 Matthew where there are five women listed, 5 mothers of Jesus 21 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:58,840 who are unique in each and every one of them. 22 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:02,720 Presents for us an inside look at who God is and how he loves 23 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:08,280 people and why Jesus came on Christmas for people like Tamar, 24 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:10,560 people like the mother. We're going to learn about 25 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:18,520 Bathsheba here in Psalm 51. She was 22 years old and she was 26 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:25,080 in love. She was in love with a man that 27 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:27,880 shouldn't have been hers to love. 28 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:38,720 And then the shame came. The national public humiliation 29 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:43,840 followed and in the 90s we met a young woman named Monica 30 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:48,160 Lewinsky. Years later she would film a Ted 31 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:52,600 talk, one of the most viewed Ted talks of all time. 14 million 32 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:56,680 views later, we would get a behind the curtain view into the 33 00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:59,560 price of shame that Monica Lewinsky paid. 34 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:03,960 In a gut wrenching confession, she says in that Ted Talk that 35 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:08,600 she felt like she lost her reputation and her dignity. 36 00:02:09,479 --> 00:02:16,800 I lost everything. And I was deeply, deeply ashamed 37 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:21,520 at the very worst version of myself. 38 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:29,120 And that's what shame will do. Now, shame is complex. 39 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:31,400 It's layered. It's not just what we've done. 40 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:33,240 It's what sometimes we experience. 41 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:36,040 It's sometimes what we carry from how we were made. 42 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:38,120 But today I want to talk to you about this. 43 00:02:38,640 --> 00:02:41,080 The shame that comes from our sinful choices. 44 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:48,400 The shame that gets you to a painful belief that not only did 45 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:54,400 you do something wrong and are guilty, but that something is 46 00:02:54,400 --> 00:03:01,320 wrong with you and nobody could ever love you or ever accept 47 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:05,200 you. That you'd be rejected by people 48 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:09,760 because you're stuck in rehearsing the situation, frozen 49 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:13,200 in a self-assessment That you are defined by the worst version 50 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,520 of yourself. You are left guilty and ashamed. 51 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,520 Now imagine for a moment how good it would be if you could 52 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:26,760 stand before a holy God without blemish, without that situation, 53 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:29,640 without that version of yourself coming to mind. 54 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:33,680 That God could not only see you, not only be near to you, but you 55 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:39,840 would feel the joy of being without a stain, without shame 56 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:44,240 altogether, and that God could love you despite the worst 57 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:48,160 version of you. The problem is that many of us 58 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:51,760 don't actually realize this is a benefit of following Jesus 59 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:55,280 Christ. This is the power of the gospel. 60 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:58,920 Because we've let an unnamed enemy until now, shame, crush 61 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:02,160 our relationships and distort our relationship with God. 62 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:04,960 We feel unclean with God, therefore we feel unclean with 63 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:09,040 people, and therefore we hide ourselves. 64 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:13,000 But you have to name an enemy in order to fight it. 65 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:19,240 And today I want to help you lay aside the spiritual weight of 66 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:24,400 shame to crush this enemy that in the story of Bathsheba that 67 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:28,320 we're looking at today, AKA known as the wife of Uriah in 68 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:32,400 the genealogy, that she is a woman who is sinned against by 69 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:35,800 King David. In the story in the Bible, in 70 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:39,040 Second Samuel 11 and 12 depicting what happened, there 71 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:42,760 isn't really all much about her. And so I think what we can 72 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:44,880 discover together, what we can learn together in this Old 73 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:48,800 Testament passage about Christmas, about Jesus, is 74 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:51,680 something profound about our shame and the nature of it. 75 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:56,800 We're going to be in Psalm chapter 51, Psalm chapter 51. 76 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:03,280 And here's what the Bible says. Have mercy on me, O God, 77 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:10,080 according to your steadfast love, according to your abundant 78 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:13,760 mercy. Blot out my transgressions. 79 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:20,800 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my 80 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:25,160 sin, for I know my transgressions, and my sin is 81 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:30,080 ever before me against you. You only have I sinned and done 82 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:34,160 what is evil in your sight, so you may be justified in your 83 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:36,320 words and blameless in your judgement against me. 84 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:39,960 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my 85 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:43,200 mother conceive me. But behold, you delight in truth 86 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:46,720 in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret 87 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:50,200 heart. Purge me with hyssop and I shall 88 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:53,080 be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter 89 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:56,880 than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness. 90 00:05:57,040 --> 00:05:59,800 Let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 91 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:03,680 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all of my iniquities. 92 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:08,560 Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit 93 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:11,520 within me. Cast me not away from Your 94 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:14,040 presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. 95 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:16,520 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation. 96 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:20,960 Uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors 97 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:23,960 your ways, and sinners will return to You. 98 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:27,520 Deliver me from blood guiltiness, oh God, oh God, of 99 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:29,960 my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of Your 100 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:33,680 righteousness. Oh Lord, open my lips and my 101 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:38,240 mouth will declare Your praise, for You will not delight in 102 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:43,320 sacrifice or I would give it. You will not be pleased with a 103 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:47,760 burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a 104 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:50,640 broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. 105 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:55,040 O God, you will not despise. These are God's words for us 106 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:58,760 today and I want to help you connect the dots on how what 107 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:01,120 they mean for your life and what they mean regarding Christmas. 108 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:04,800 I'm calling this message the Confession of Christmas, the 109 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:07,920 confession of Christmas, that when Jesus came to planet earth, 110 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:10,920 he was teaching us something about himself and about his 111 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:13,480 family that he came to save, people like us that he came to 112 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:15,160 save. And the confession of Christmas 113 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,440 teaches us this big idea right here in Psalm 51, the story of 114 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:21,600 David and Bathsheba, that the confession of Christmas doesn't 115 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:23,840 bring perfection, it brings peace. 116 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:30,280 That it's not, it's not just that Jesus came to planet earth 117 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:33,600 that you believed he came, but you're believing something about 118 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:37,400 why he came. You're assigning A significance 119 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:40,960 to his arrival on planet earth. And you're confessing, you're 120 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:44,320 agreeing with God about something that it is not your 121 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:48,440 perfection that gets you in relationship with God, but it's 122 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:51,720 with God how he brought peace through the world, was his 123 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:54,080 arrival, and his Son, Jesus Christ. 124 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:57,320 There's a lot of talk around Christmas time about being on 125 00:07:57,320 --> 00:08:00,360 the naughty or nice list. My kids are obsessed with all 126 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:02,360 the Christmas movies, so we're just watching them all the time. 127 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:05,360 You know, the Santa Claus, elf, all these things, right? 128 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:09,160 And I think when you're growing up around a Santa Claus culture 129 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:12,240 like we are, that there's a misconception about what it 130 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:14,440 looks like to be a good person or a bad person. 131 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:17,120 That to be on the nice list or the naughty list. 132 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:22,120 That many of us are convinced that the way to clear our guilt, 133 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:25,720 to clear our shame from the Ledger with God, to get on the 134 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:28,960 nice list is by doing more good deeds. 135 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:33,799 That more perfection in our life, more obedience is what 136 00:08:33,799 --> 00:08:35,840 makes God love us more and like us more. 137 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:38,799 But make friends. Don't listen to the world, 138 00:08:38,799 --> 00:08:43,640 listen to God. That the way to be spiritually 139 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:50,080 clean is not by stacking up more good deeds, it's by surrendering 140 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:53,320 to the Savior and confessing and agreeing with Him. 141 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:55,440 That is how you erase your guilt and shame. 142 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:58,600 Because shame can die and peace can live in your relationship 143 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:00,960 with God and with man. And here's what the Bible's 144 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:03,960 going to teach us through these confessions of Psalm 51. 145 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:06,360 There are going to be 3 confessions that are going to 146 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:08,960 kill the shame in your life. So shame. 147 00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:10,160 Write it like this. Shame dies. 148 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:14,280 And I confess first that what I've done is sinful. 149 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:20,520 Shame dies when I confess that what I've done is sinful. 150 00:09:20,640 --> 00:09:23,800 Look back at the text with me. Psalm 51 at the headline of your 151 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:27,520 Bible will say this to the choir master, a Psalm of David when 152 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:31,200 Nathan the prophet went to him after he had gone in to 153 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:35,520 Bathsheba. So this is David's confession to 154 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:41,240 what happened. This is David's inside. 155 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:45,120 Look at his heart about what's going on after the mess of 156 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:49,240 Second Samuel 11, because what David did is sinful. 157 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:51,920 Look at Second Samuel with me 11 one through 5. 158 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:53,920 I just want to read it for you. So you know what happened with 159 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:57,880 him and Bathsheba that in the spring of the year, the time 160 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:01,320 when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab. 161 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:04,080 So verse one's telling us David's not where he's supposed 162 00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:05,520 to be. He's supposed to be out in 163 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:08,360 battle. He's out at his house with his 164 00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:11,520 servants beside him, and all Israel and the armies, they're 165 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:13,200 ravaging their enemy, the Ammonites. 166 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:15,000 They besiege them. And David's remaining at 167 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:18,400 Jerusalem. And verse 2, it happened late 168 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:22,120 one afternoon when David arose from his couch and was walking 169 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:25,640 on the roof of the house that he saw from the roof a woman 170 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:28,920 bathing. And the woman was very 171 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:32,160 beautiful. So what did David do? 172 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:33,760 He didn't just see somebody beautiful. 173 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:37,640 Next verse verse three, he sent and inquired about the woman and 174 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:40,680 one of his messengers said that is this not Bathsheba, the wife 175 00:10:40,680 --> 00:10:44,680 of Uriah, the daughter of Elium? So David sent messengers and 176 00:10:44,680 --> 00:10:48,440 took her. He sent and he took after he saw 177 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:52,840 which in the Bible is always code for that's the Sinner when 178 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:55,960 he saw something and he took it, just like Eve saw the apple and 179 00:10:55,960 --> 00:11:00,480 took it just like last week we saw Judah saw and took Tamar. 180 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:04,560 David saw Bathsheba, he took her, a woman who was not his 181 00:11:04,560 --> 00:11:08,240 wife, and she came to him and he lay with her. 182 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:12,440 Then she returned her house and the woman conceived and she sent 183 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:16,600 and told David, I am pregnant. David commits 3 sins right there 184 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:20,440 in those three 5 verses 3 sins. He breaks three of the 10 185 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:22,120 commandments. First, he covets a woman that is 186 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:24,280 not his wife. That's one of the 10 commands 187 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:26,600 you shall not covet that is not his wife. 188 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:29,320 He sees her, he covets her, and then what does he do? 189 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:32,040 He commits adultery with her. David is married, she is 190 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:35,720 married. He commits adultery with her and 191 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:39,640 to cover that sin, to cover his shame of committing that sin, 192 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:43,360 David goes crazy. He finds out she's pregnant. 193 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:46,040 And then the next 10 verses we find out here's how I'm going to 194 00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:48,760 solve that problem. I'm going to kill not, I'm not 195 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:50,760 only going to kill her first, I'm going to try to get her 196 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:53,200 husband to sleep with her so that it looks like it's his 197 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:55,840 baby. So he gets the guy home and he's 198 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:57,920 like, hey, let me get you drunk and let me you sleep with your 199 00:11:57,920 --> 00:11:59,760 wife. And then then it won't look like 200 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:01,240 I got her pregnant. It'll look like you got her 201 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:03,600 pregnant. And that doesn't work because 202 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:05,040 Uriah has more character than David. 203 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:09,760 And then eventually David's left with no option in his mind but 204 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:12,920 to murder Uriah Bathsheba's husband. 205 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:18,360 And in his shame, it drove him to make more sinful choices 206 00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:21,440 after more sinful choices after more sinful choices. 207 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:25,920 And then we get to Psalm 51, and David is telling us what he's 208 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:28,120 thinking. God, have mercy on me. 209 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:32,320 Verse one, have mercy on me according to your covenant 210 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:36,880 steadfast love, according to who you are, according to the God 211 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:38,480 you introduced yourself as to us. 212 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:41,600 Have mercy on me. Don't give me what I do deserve. 213 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:45,280 Withhold your judgement upon me is what mercy is saying. 214 00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:48,680 It's miraculous. And David is pleading with God 215 00:12:48,680 --> 00:12:51,880 in verse one, according to your steadfast love, according to 216 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:55,040 your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions. 217 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:58,720 Give me a cosmic white out over my sins. 218 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:02,520 Blot it out. Wash me from my iniquity because 219 00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:06,320 I feel dirty and unclean. Cleanse me from my sin. 220 00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:12,040 What David did is sinful. He saw a woman who wasn't his 221 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:13,800 wife. He committed adultery with her, 222 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:19,000 and then he committed murder. And in verse 4, David said 223 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,120 something very interesting in the midst of his sin. 224 00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:25,120 Against you, Lord, and you only have I sinned. 225 00:13:25,680 --> 00:13:29,720 That's interesting because he definitely sinned against 226 00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:31,520 Bathsheba. He definitely sinned against 227 00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:32,560 Uriah. Would you agree? 228 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:35,720 Yes. But what David is highlighting 229 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:38,560 for us that in the moment of your repentance, in the moment 230 00:13:38,560 --> 00:13:42,040 of your confession, the person most egregiously sinned against 231 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:44,520 is not the person you see on planet earth. 232 00:13:44,680 --> 00:13:48,000 It is the God. You cannot see that the first 233 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:50,480 thing to get right in the midst of your shame is not getting 234 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:52,200 right with others. But you have to get right with 235 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:57,080 God because he's the person most violated by your sin against 236 00:13:57,080 --> 00:14:01,040 you, and you only have I sinned. David is right sizing his sin 237 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:05,920 before a holy and big God, and we must do the same. 238 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:10,200 He's confessing the deepest reality that every sin is first 239 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:14,800 rebellion against God himself. Now you might be thinking to 240 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:18,040 yourself right now like, OK, so David is obviously sinful. 241 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:19,560 I've heard about King David in the Bible. 242 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:22,640 I maybe have not read this story in a long time or this chapter, 243 00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:24,360 and I didn't realize just how bad he was. 244 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:25,920 I ain't as bad as that guy, right? 245 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:29,200 Maybe you're not putting yourself in the same category as 246 00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:33,240 David, but listen to me. Sin is not something that's a 247 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:35,240 lot is needed to contaminate the whole thing. 248 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:40,920 If I this is going to be graphic intentionally so brace yourself. 249 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:45,760 If you were to have a soda and somebody would leave a drop of 250 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:49,640 urine inside of it, is that whole thing contaminated? 251 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:52,640 Would you drink it? If you say yes, leave. 252 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:58,200 OK, like it's it's not a lot needed to contaminate the whole 253 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:00,960 thing. Sin is the same way. 254 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:06,520 Sin is the exact same way that it actually breaks the entire 255 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:09,680 thing. It contaminates the whole being. 256 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:16,920 That one sin makes you eternally sinful, eternally worthy of 257 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:21,320 judgement before a holy God. Once it's unclean, it is forever 258 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:22,440 unclean. But listen to me. 259 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:27,640 That is why Jesus came, because there is no hope of you cleaning 260 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:30,640 yourself up. Perfection is not the answer for 261 00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:32,520 peace. Perfection is not the way for 262 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:34,240 God to be in relationship with you. 263 00:15:34,880 --> 00:15:38,200 You won't be able to do that. That's not your way of through 264 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:43,720 it and there isn't. It happened in your life like 265 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:46,680 David, a sin that you've committed, a pattern that you go 266 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:49,840 back to, a struggle that you keep falling into. 267 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:54,680 That you might not have committed adultery, but you 268 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:56,120 might have lusted after somebody in your heart. 269 00:15:57,360 --> 00:15:59,920 You might not have committed murder, but you might have 270 00:15:59,920 --> 00:16:02,120 committed character assassination with your words. 271 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:05,920 That that's the nature of sin. It goes beyond just what we do 272 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:09,600 on the external, that it goes so deep internally in our life, in 273 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:13,880 our heart, that we need a miraculous solution. 274 00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:18,040 We need a real savior. Otherwise, how the heck are we 275 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:20,760 going to have peace with God? How are we going to be free from 276 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:22,960 shame? How are we going to get that sin 277 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:26,360 out of our cup? I think we do a few things to 278 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:29,800 try to get around with our sin other than turning to Jesus. 279 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:32,920 One thing we try to do is we try to hide our sin. 280 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:35,320 We don't let others see it or we try to hide it from God. 281 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:38,720 And this is a self protection. We make it look like we have it 282 00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:41,480 all together, like we've got it figured out, like we don't even 283 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:43,880 really sin that much. That's self protection. 284 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:47,600 We try to wash it ourselves. That's self righteousness. 285 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:53,680 David tells God wash me, but we try to wash ourselves with doing 286 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:56,160 more good deeds, stacking them up, saying God look at me, I'm 287 00:16:56,160 --> 00:17:00,080 doing a lot of good things. Or we try to cancel it 288 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:03,000 ourselves, which is self justification. 289 00:17:04,079 --> 00:17:07,839 We rationalize it saying it wasn't that bad or that's just 290 00:17:07,839 --> 00:17:10,319 the way that I am. That's just how I respond to 291 00:17:10,319 --> 00:17:15,280 stressful situations. We hide it, we wash it or we 292 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:17,480 cancel it. But there is a better way, and 293 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:20,480 it's to fall on God's mercy and confess it. 294 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:26,599 That we confess our sin as sinful. 295 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:30,360 That this verses one through 4 are not just about having an 296 00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:34,880 affair or committing murder. This is about sins of the heart, 297 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:38,000 your selfishness, your pride, your greed. 298 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:42,320 That you need to be this broken over your sin. 299 00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:49,520 Shame dies when I confess that what I've done is sinful, But 300 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:52,520 not only that second point. Sin dies when I confess that 301 00:17:52,520 --> 00:17:55,840 what I've done is not only sinful, but shameful. 302 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:00,760 Sin dies when I confess that what I've done is shameful. 303 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:05,920 Shame ruins relationships. It ruins our reputation. 304 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:08,320 That's why we want to hide. Like in the Garden of Eden when 305 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:10,800 they first sinned, they were naked and unafraid before they 306 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:12,280 sinned. And then the first thing they do 307 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:16,240 is they try to cover themselves in their shame because they want 308 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:18,840 to hide from God their sinfulness. 309 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:26,480 It disrupts your sense of being clean and pure and righteous, 310 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:30,160 that when you commit sin, that's what happens. 311 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:34,160 And David gets a right sense of the shamefulness of his sin. 312 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:39,360 And first, second Samuel 11, the end of the chapter, it says that 313 00:18:39,360 --> 00:18:42,600 the thing David had done had displeased the Lord. 314 00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:54,880 Yes, your sin is sinful, but it is also shameful that one of the 315 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:58,720 consequences, one of the consequences of sin is the 316 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:04,320 experience of shame that you're intended. 317 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:09,480 Actually that when you read when sin happens in your life, that 318 00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:13,360 that's one of the things that breaks, that's one of the things 319 00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:18,440 that fractures is that you feel shame because of sin you did, 320 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:21,560 which was shameful. And so David comes to a 321 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:23,120 theological conclusion in verse 5. 322 00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:28,720 He said, behold, I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin did 323 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:31,920 my mother conceive me. David has a conclusion here 324 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:34,880 that's helpful for us, is going to teach us about the nature of 325 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:37,440 being a human being. It is this that you are not a 326 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:42,240 Sinner because you sinned, but rather you sin because you're a 327 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:46,520 Sinner, that you were born in iniquity. 328 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:51,320 The thing that made you a Sinner was not because you did the 329 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:53,040 sinful thing. You are a Sinner. 330 00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:54,520 That's why you did the sinful thing. 331 00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:57,840 That means new behavior isn't going to fix it. 332 00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:02,000 Your shame probably doesn't get fixed by doing more good things, 333 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:04,120 by being more perfect. Peace won't come to your life 334 00:20:04,120 --> 00:20:06,800 through that way. You need a new heart. 335 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:09,880 You need a new mind. You need to be brought from 336 00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:14,480 death to life, reborn. That's why if David says in 337 00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:17,760 verse 6, Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and 338 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:22,120 you teach me wisdom in the secret heart, then he goes 339 00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:26,000 through a list of things about asking God to clean him from his 340 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,760 shamefulness. He says, purge me in verse 7 and 341 00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:31,480 I shall be clean. Wash me and I'll be whiter than 342 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:34,480 snow. Let the bones you have broken 343 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:38,560 rejoice. Let God, would you hide your 344 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:41,280 face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. 345 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:45,320 This is the man confessing the shameful nature of the things he 346 00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:49,240 has done. And I'm sure David, like many of 347 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:55,120 you, that when he was taking advantage of Bathsheba, he was 348 00:20:55,120 --> 00:20:59,080 not considering how guilty, how dirty and how broken he was 349 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:02,880 going to feel from his actions. That's not what was on his mind, 350 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:06,440 but it was the outcome of his sin. 351 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:11,480 And that's what sin will do. It'll sound good at the moment 352 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:14,520 to lash out in anger. It'll sound good at the moment 353 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:16,400 to look at that thing on your phone you shouldn't be looking 354 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:18,520 at. It'll sound good to type that 355 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:22,120 comment on social media That'll make you feel better because you 356 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:24,960 once again, you're just getting angry at somebody and you dunked 357 00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:26,440 on them. You felt self-righteous in it. 358 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:29,760 It'll feel good in the moment. But in the end, here's what sin 359 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:34,360 does. It steals your joy, it kills 360 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:37,920 your peace, and it destroys your life. 361 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:46,320 Sin wants to take you out and take you down, and God wants 362 00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:49,160 shame from that sin to die in your life. 363 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:52,000 He just wants you to live trapped in that prison cell. 364 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:57,360 Now you might be asking yourself if, if God wants me to feel free 365 00:21:57,360 --> 00:22:00,520 from shame, why should I look at my sin then as shameful? 366 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:03,480 Because there's a difference between conviction and 367 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:06,080 condemnation. There's a difference between 368 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:09,040 conviction and condemnation. Conviction is having a sense of 369 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:13,360 guilt before holy God for what you've done, and it brings 370 00:22:13,360 --> 00:22:16,760 freedom. Condemnation is having a sense 371 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:23,080 of guilt for who you are. Condemnation goes hand in hand 372 00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:27,800 with shame because if you're in Christ, you keep going back to 373 00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:32,360 the old you, not the fact in reality of Romans 81, that 374 00:22:32,360 --> 00:22:34,640 therefore there is now no condemnation for those of us in 375 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:37,840 Christ Jesus, that Jesus paid for your shame. 376 00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:41,360 And so the believer is not meant to live under condemnation. 377 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:43,800 You are free from that. You're free from shame. 378 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:50,240 And conviction is actually the moment where you actually look 379 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:52,920 at your sin and realize that it's sinful and shameful what 380 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:55,480 you did before. Holy God, that's different. 381 00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:58,840 Conviction is the violent sweetness of God. 382 00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:05,440 It cuts to your heart and it makes sure that sin doesn't lie 383 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:11,400 comfortably in your life and you have to have a gross view of 384 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:12,800 sin. You have to think it's terrible, 385 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:15,880 like it's urine in the cup terrible for you. 386 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:21,840 Conviction is the difference. Excuse me, conviction and and 387 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:24,240 condemnation is the difference between an athlete getting to a 388 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:29,680 post game interview and he goes, hey, I made a bad play versus 389 00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:34,120 I'm an embarrassment. Conviction. 390 00:23:34,120 --> 00:23:36,640 I did a bad thing, I made a bad play. 391 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:39,480 Condemnation. I'm an embarrassment 392 00:23:40,120 --> 00:23:42,640 internalizing it. And the believer is not meant to 393 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:45,040 be there. We are meant to be free from 394 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:48,480 that because apart from grace, condemnation is where all the 395 00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:51,960 world sits under judgement, under wrath, needing God's 396 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:54,360 mercy, needing to be free from our shame and guilt. 397 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:57,920 But condemnation is the prison cell of unforgiveness in your 398 00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:00,440 life. God does not want you to live 399 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:04,000 there in unforgiveness. It is the result of it. 400 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:07,480 And here's what I know because I've been there, that that it 401 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:09,760 happened one day phrase. You haven't. 402 00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:12,760 It happened one day phrase in your mind and in your heart. 403 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:18,640 And it'll hide in a comment like this that you'll say, man, I 404 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:20,360 just can't forgive myself for that. 405 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:24,680 I just can't forgive myself for that. 406 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:27,920 That you know what you did is sinful. 407 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:29,240 You know what you did is shameful. 408 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:31,600 That's not actually something you need to agree with or 409 00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:34,800 confess. But freedom. 410 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:38,040 Listen to me, person saying that freedom isn't on the other side 411 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:43,560 of you forgiving yourself. Freedom, peace is on the other 412 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:46,840 side of God forgiving you. That you need to receive the 413 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:49,880 forgiveness of God. He needs to wash. 414 00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:52,680 He needs to purge. He needs to blot out your 415 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:55,400 iniquity. That is not your responsibility. 416 00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:58,960 Your responsibility is to confess that Lord, what I've 417 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:02,640 done is shameful and sinful and I'm in desperate need of your 418 00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:05,280 grace and your love and your forgiveness. 419 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:14,000 That is the cleansing you need. That's why in verse 7 he says 420 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:17,720 purge me with hyssop. Now hyssop is a word I would 421 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:21,200 assume you're not very familiar with unless you like trees. 422 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:26,160 I don't like trees. Hyssop was what was used in the 423 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:28,640 Bible by priests for purity rituals. 424 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:32,000 OK, and this was Dave. It's a little branch that they 425 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:36,760 would use to wipe blood. Interestingly, in Exodus, it one 426 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:40,840 of the greatest miracles in all the Bible at the Passover in 427 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:44,400 Exodus chapter 12, that they, the Israelites, actually used 428 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:47,640 hyssop to take the blood of the lamb and to spread it across the 429 00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:51,320 doorpost of their house. That that's what hyssop was used 430 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:54,120 for. So when David's saying that he's 431 00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:56,480 saying hey Lord, Passover my sins. 432 00:25:56,840 --> 00:26:00,880 Hey Lord, look past my sins, purge me with hyssop. 433 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:05,800 Clean me like you would in a priestly ritual not realizing 434 00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:08,640 David is at this point in time. He's not realizing he is 435 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:11,720 foreshadowing something incredibly true of the Bible. 436 00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:16,560 That the same instrument of protection in Psalm 51 hyssop is 437 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:19,360 the people need. An exodus was the blood stained 438 00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:23,680 branch of a lamb. I bet you can already see it 439 00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:27,880 that Jesus is actually the true hyssop that you need, the true 440 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:30,640 cleansing that you need. That the confession of Christmas 441 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:33,480 is not that you have perfect and that you can clean up your own 442 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:37,280 life, but rather you need Jesus's blood to cover your life 443 00:26:37,360 --> 00:26:39,480 so that you would be forgiven, so that your iniquities be 444 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:42,240 blotted out, so that God would hide His face from your sins. 445 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:45,600 You would be stuck in sin, stuck in shame if not for Jesus 446 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:48,200 Christ. He is the only hope for anyone 447 00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:50,960 on planet earth for their sins to be taken care of. 448 00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:55,680 That's it. This is how The Dirty are made 449 00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:57,840 clean. How the ashamed become 450 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:01,800 unashamed. It's Jesus Christ, the true 451 00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:04,200 hyssop. Because shame will tell you that 452 00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:08,320 you need to hide from God because you feel dirty, you feel 453 00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:14,720 gross, you feel ugly, and guilt will tell you that you did 454 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:17,880 something wrong. Shame will say because I did 455 00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:23,360 wrong, I am unlovable. Condemnation will say there's no 456 00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:28,680 way back, but listen to me. Conviction says this, I did 457 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:33,040 wrong, yes, I am guilty, yes, but there's only one way to 458 00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:37,480 peace, only one way to God, only one way to be washed as white as 459 00:27:37,480 --> 00:27:39,920 snow. It's Jesus. 460 00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:48,280 It's Jesus. And it is hard to imagine that 461 00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:52,960 when God looks at me, that's what he sees, because I'm deeply 462 00:27:52,960 --> 00:28:00,240 aware I am not as white as snow. But that's the confession of 463 00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:04,360 Christmas. That's what Jesus does in his 464 00:28:04,360 --> 00:28:09,280 mercy and his love. He cleans us from the inside 465 00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:11,840 out. He purges us. 466 00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:17,760 And that's just a great thing about the Bible that it doesn't 467 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:20,160 actually sanitize its heroes like King David. 468 00:28:21,120 --> 00:28:22,920 That's not the story God's interested in writing. 469 00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:26,280 Like, if I were writing a story, I'd probably elevate David a 470 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:29,480 bit, probably hide some of this story, you know, make sure my 471 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:31,480 hero looks more like a hero instead of an antihero. 472 00:28:35,360 --> 00:28:37,640 But this is King David, the man after God's own heart. 473 00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:41,520 This is King David, the one who slayed Goliath, who spared his 474 00:28:41,520 --> 00:28:44,600 greatest enemy's life, the one who's the primary author of the 475 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:46,040 book. We're reading Psalms right now. 476 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:50,040 That's him. This is Israel's best king, and 477 00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:53,040 he still falls short of Jesus by a lot. 478 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:57,200 That's the story of the Bible. There's no earthly achievement 479 00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:01,360 that you can do to get to God. But God came to you because you 480 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:05,240 needed him to. You needed Jesus to save you. 481 00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:07,040 You. He is the hero you were looking 482 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:09,760 for, the hyssop that you need to clean your soul. 483 00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:13,720 Because like you, like I, David needed cleaning. 484 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:19,440 He's a Sinner in need of freedom from his shame, from King Jesus. 485 00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:20,640 He looked forward to him in faith. 486 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:27,200 We look back to Jesus in faith. Saint City, the Gospel frees you 487 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:30,160 from the prison, from the chains of having to be perfect. 488 00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:34,400 That's what confessing that your sin is shameful does. 489 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:36,960 You are not perfect. Even the week past you committed 490 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:40,600 sinful and shameful acts. But let me announce to you once 491 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:44,520 and for all that Jesus is the perfection your heart needs and 492 00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:48,560 your soul longs for. Would you let him adopt you? 493 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:51,800 Would you let him cover you with his forgiveness? 494 00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:56,120 You need not live a perfect life, but you can't live a life 495 00:29:56,120 --> 00:30:01,720 with a peaceful conscience, even from your worst decisions, that 496 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:05,080 the step of a life free of shame is admittance and confession. 497 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:08,160 That you are a Sinner who has done a shameful thing and in 498 00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:11,080 desperate need of a good and merciful God. 499 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:17,840 Shame dies the moment you confess that no achievement you 500 00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:20,840 can hang your hat on, no other righteousness to claim just 501 00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:25,120 Jesus. So confess that it happened to 502 00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:27,560 God. As shameful that's a true 503 00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:30,400 confession is, it's naming and owning your sin to God. 504 00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:35,360 Name it as sin, own it as your sin and avoid the temptation to 505 00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:38,280 blame shift. Avoid the temptation to sanitize 506 00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:40,560 it. Name your sin, Own your sin, 507 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:43,120 Lord. It was shameful and sinful when 508 00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:46,520 I sought pleasure and sexual intimacy outside of my marriage. 509 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:49,760 That was me, Lord. It was sinful and shameful when 510 00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:51,840 I pridefully judged my coworkers. 511 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:54,400 That was me and I own that, Lord. 512 00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:57,560 It was sinful and shameful when I went throughout my day being 513 00:30:57,560 --> 00:31:00,960 prayerless. I own that. 514 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:06,840 That was sin and it has to break your heart because it killed 515 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:09,880 your Christ. That's what sin did. 516 00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:13,960 It put Him on the cross to die for and it was the grace and 517 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:18,960 mercy of Jesus that held him there to cover a multitude of 518 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:23,120 sins. He has cast them as far as the 519 00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:29,720 east is from the West. And when you realize that, and 520 00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:32,560 you draw close to God instead of running from Him in your shame, 521 00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:37,320 you can marvel at the mystery that the shamefuls can stand 522 00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:42,720 unashamed before God. So shame doesn't have to have 523 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:45,720 the last word in the story. Yes, what you did is sinful. 524 00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:49,080 Yes, what you did is shameful. But what else do we confess? 525 00:31:50,400 --> 00:31:51,960 We don't just have to confess our sin. 526 00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:54,480 We have to confess the truth, which is this, the Third Point. 527 00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:56,520 Shame dies. And I confess that what I need 528 00:31:56,520 --> 00:31:59,920 is God's mercy. That's what you need most in 529 00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:04,480 your life. I thought I needed most of the 530 00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:06,720 Bears to beat the Packers, and it was great last night. 531 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:09,000 It was awesome. Hear me out. 532 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:14,000 And it was a good Saturday. But what I need is the new mercy 533 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:19,040 of God each morning. That's never ending, that never 534 00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:24,280 ceases, that never stops. God's mercy is what you need 535 00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:26,680 most. David had every reason to be 536 00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:31,280 stuck in an eternal cycle of shame, of guilt and regret, 537 00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:34,760 every reason to feel unacceptable before God. 538 00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:38,280 But mercy is what frames his whole confession. 539 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:41,680 Look back at verse one. Have mercy on me, O God, 540 00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:45,360 according to your abundant mercy. 541 00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:50,040 That means God's got a mercy spending account that never runs 542 00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:54,640 dry. That as much mercy as you need. 543 00:32:54,760 --> 00:32:56,640 He's got plenty of it and then some. 544 00:32:57,800 --> 00:33:01,800 That's why in verse 14 David can say deliver me God from my blood 545 00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:04,440 guiltiness before you. I am guilty. 546 00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:08,600 What I did was sinful was shameful, but God, you're the 547 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:11,640 one who saves and I'm going to single out of your 548 00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:14,440 righteousness. I'm going to open my lips and my 549 00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:19,120 mouth will declare your praise for you will not delight in 550 00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:22,760 sacrifice or I would give it. Think about David's a king. 551 00:33:23,200 --> 00:33:25,680 There's a lot of money he doesn't have in this moment, no 552 00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:27,840 amount of cattle he couldn't kill off for a sacrifice. 553 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:33,520 But he realizes something. It's not a sacrifice that you're 554 00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:36,280 looking for, God. You're not going to be pleased 555 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:38,440 with the burnt offering, the sacrifice that you're looking 556 00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:40,120 for. In the moment of my repentance, 557 00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:43,040 God, in the moment of my confession, in the moment that 558 00:33:43,040 --> 00:33:46,240 I'm trapped in my shame, trying to be free and trying to want 559 00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:49,680 peace for my life instead of this debilitating, crushing 560 00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:54,080 memory of what I've done. What does he call out to that? 561 00:33:54,080 --> 00:33:57,520 The sacrifices of God are broken spirit and a broken, contrite 562 00:33:57,520 --> 00:34:00,040 heart. Oh God, you will not despise. 563 00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:04,200 Mercy is not getting what you do deserve. 564 00:34:05,080 --> 00:34:12,679 David does deserve judgement. What he did was terrible and 565 00:34:12,679 --> 00:34:16,480 shame would say that David is unacceptable because of who he 566 00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:21,639 is or what he has done. Make him not want to go to God 567 00:34:21,639 --> 00:34:23,360 right now, make him want to hide. 568 00:34:24,199 --> 00:34:31,280 But mercy who God is says because of Jesus I am not who I 569 00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:41,159 am or what I've done, but rather I am in Christ and because of 570 00:34:41,159 --> 00:34:47,880 him I can run to God. I think of the Apostle Peter, 571 00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:54,000 one of Jesus best friends who denied him, denied him after 572 00:34:54,000 --> 00:35:02,640 spending years with him, that he was on a beach. 1 morning Jesus 573 00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:06,480 was on a beach and Peter's out in the water and he sees his 574 00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:10,960 resurrected friend Jesus, and he runs to him, runs to him. 575 00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:18,560 And Jesus, after the moment of Peter's worst mistake where he 576 00:35:18,560 --> 00:35:22,040 was running from Christ at the end of the Gospel of John, he 577 00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:26,880 runs to him and Jesus receives him with open arms and some fish 578 00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:32,320 tacos. That's who Jesus is, is my 579 00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:35,040 point. Shame would want you to run away 580 00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:37,560 from him. Shame would want you to stop 581 00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:40,520 going to Jesus, thinking that it would ruin the relationship 582 00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:44,160 forever. But Jesus is not fragile. 583 00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:50,240 He doesn't reject you, He welcomes you and says in your 584 00:35:50,240 --> 00:35:53,960 confession, your repentance come to me, all who are weary, all 585 00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:56,560 who are heavy laden and I will give you rest. 586 00:36:01,890 --> 00:36:04,890 Mercy is shocking to us because we feel like we have to earn it, 587 00:36:07,610 --> 00:36:10,850 that we have to earn it, which is why many of us feel stuck in 588 00:36:10,850 --> 00:36:13,480 our shame. We feel like we have to earn it 589 00:36:13,720 --> 00:36:15,440 and that we don't deserve it. But you know what? 590 00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:18,200 Like if God would just let us try harder, we could get to a 591 00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:20,920 spot where we feel like we're worthy of His mercy and His 592 00:36:20,920 --> 00:36:25,160 grace in our life. But some of us are stuck there 593 00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:28,240 because we've never repented of why we're unashamed to begin 594 00:36:28,240 --> 00:36:31,320 with. You see, many of you are living 595 00:36:31,320 --> 00:36:33,400 ashamed in your life right now, not because you've sinned 596 00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:37,880 against God in an action that you committed, but rather in 597 00:36:37,880 --> 00:36:42,520 your heart you've lost favor with your false God, human 598 00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:45,760 approval. Here's what I mean. 599 00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:49,160 Some of you here, you're living in shame because you are living 600 00:36:49,160 --> 00:36:52,640 for the God of human approval. And that heaven for you is not 601 00:36:52,640 --> 00:36:54,560 about being with God, it's about being raved about. 602 00:36:56,920 --> 00:37:02,200 And hell is people disapproving of you and that on the altar of 603 00:37:02,200 --> 00:37:06,440 your worship of approval, you're the one who gets sacrificed 604 00:37:08,080 --> 00:37:09,920 because something has to get sacrificed for a God. 605 00:37:10,640 --> 00:37:12,120 So you put yourself on the altar. 606 00:37:12,600 --> 00:37:15,960 And what leaves you ashamed is that you keep coming up short. 607 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:18,440 You can't get enough people to like you. 608 00:37:19,240 --> 00:37:22,600 You can't, you can't go about your life and everybody worship 609 00:37:22,600 --> 00:37:24,800 you. You don't even really want the 610 00:37:24,800 --> 00:37:25,920 worship. You just want to be liked and 611 00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:27,600 loved and seen. And so you feel ashamed because 612 00:37:27,600 --> 00:37:31,840 you feel rejected by people. You don't feel approved by them. 613 00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:35,200 And here's how you can know this is you, that when the first 614 00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:37,480 time, when you sin, here's the first thought that goes through 615 00:37:37,480 --> 00:37:40,440 your head is what are people going to think about me? 616 00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:44,960 This is how you know you're not, you're not in a place where your 617 00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:47,960 conviction is going towards God, but it's going towards people 618 00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:52,360 that you're caring less about getting right with God and 619 00:37:52,360 --> 00:37:54,040 caring more about what others think of you. 620 00:37:54,160 --> 00:37:56,560 Listen to me, friends, The first thing that you have to do in 621 00:37:56,560 --> 00:37:59,080 confessing and the first truth that you need to know is that 622 00:37:59,080 --> 00:38:01,880 you need God's mercy and the sinful shameful thing. 623 00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:05,160 You confess that to God and you care about getting right with 624 00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:08,160 God, and God takes care of your relationships. 625 00:38:08,240 --> 00:38:09,840 He takes care of your reputation. 626 00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:12,320 He takes care of the rejection you thought you would receive 627 00:38:12,320 --> 00:38:14,080 from others. You don't need it because you've 628 00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:16,480 been approved by God because of what Christ has done for you. 629 00:38:18,960 --> 00:38:22,440 That is the best place to live on planet earth, which is God's 630 00:38:22,440 --> 00:38:26,920 unending mercy. It is not a hotel that He 631 00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:29,400 visits. It's a home that He lives in. 632 00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:34,360 God's mercy doesn't visit our deepest shame and our guilt and 633 00:38:34,360 --> 00:38:36,880 regret and just pass through like a hotel. 634 00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:39,240 That's not how Jesus does it with mercy. 635 00:38:39,920 --> 00:38:43,600 But it's the home that we live in with Him that every time you 636 00:38:43,600 --> 00:38:47,000 go to Jesus, guess what? He has mercy upon your shame, 637 00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:53,080 mercy upon your sin. Mercy had Him running toward us 638 00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:58,000 when we would run away. It means our haunting shame is 639 00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:03,600 not a problem for Him, but it's the very thing he loves most to 640 00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:09,120 work with. Our sins cause his love to surge 641 00:39:09,280 --> 00:39:16,680 toward us, not away. That's why in verse 10, the 642 00:39:16,680 --> 00:39:18,520 title of the chapter in your Bible says this. 643 00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:22,320 Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit 644 00:39:22,320 --> 00:39:26,280 within me. David realizes that mercy isn't 645 00:39:26,280 --> 00:39:28,440 just him needing a second chance. 646 00:39:29,000 --> 00:39:31,920 It's not him needing God to fix his behavior. 647 00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:36,520 What David needs is a new clean heart. 648 00:39:40,120 --> 00:39:42,720 You need God to breathe on your life. 649 00:39:45,080 --> 00:39:47,440 That's Christianity. And that's what Jesus died to 650 00:39:47,440 --> 00:39:50,440 give. A righteousness that outweighs 651 00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:57,400 every mistake you've ever made. And sin won't taste bitter. 652 00:39:57,400 --> 00:40:01,440 It won't be awful until Jesus tastes better. 653 00:40:03,880 --> 00:40:05,800 And mercy is what Jesus gives as a gift. 654 00:40:05,800 --> 00:40:09,680 So how are we going to receive God's mercy? 655 00:40:09,680 --> 00:40:12,600 It's as easy as ABC. I'm not an elementary school 656 00:40:12,600 --> 00:40:15,160 teacher, I promise you, but I'm wanting to make it memorable for 657 00:40:15,160 --> 00:40:16,280 you. How do you receive God's mercy 658 00:40:16,280 --> 00:40:18,720 for your life? God's mercy rushes toward us 659 00:40:18,720 --> 00:40:20,600 first when we admit our brokenness. 660 00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:24,640 How do you receive God's mercy? You admit your brokenness. 661 00:40:25,640 --> 00:40:28,200 You look at your life and you realize just how fractured it's 662 00:40:28,200 --> 00:40:30,000 become because of your sinful choices. 663 00:40:30,280 --> 00:40:34,480 And you say I am a Sinner, broken and ashamed, in need of 664 00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:37,960 rescue. God, I admit my brokenness. 665 00:40:38,840 --> 00:40:42,040 Second, God's mercy rushes toward us when we believe in his 666 00:40:42,040 --> 00:40:45,600 Son, that we look at Jesus as our true hyssop. 667 00:40:46,120 --> 00:40:48,440 Who is going to purge us? Who's going to clean us? 668 00:40:49,080 --> 00:40:52,080 Who's going to give us righteousness when we couldn't 669 00:40:52,080 --> 00:40:58,240 have it ourselves? Admit, believe in Jesus Christ, 670 00:40:58,360 --> 00:41:02,280 believe in his bloody cross, his empty tomb, the occupied throne 671 00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:05,080 he sits on and say that is the only hope for my brokenness. 672 00:41:05,240 --> 00:41:09,160 The only hope of rescue from my shame is Jesus Christ. 673 00:41:09,400 --> 00:41:13,360 And that will bring in my life peace, A conscience that is 674 00:41:13,360 --> 00:41:16,640 clear, a reputation that is clean. 675 00:41:16,960 --> 00:41:19,600 Why? Because of a Christ has done for 676 00:41:19,600 --> 00:41:26,200 you on a cross. And finally, when we confess 677 00:41:28,600 --> 00:41:32,360 that mercy isn't a one time moment in your life where you 678 00:41:32,360 --> 00:41:34,200 turn from your sin and you get saved. 679 00:41:34,520 --> 00:41:38,280 That's not it. Mercy is non-stop. 680 00:41:39,240 --> 00:41:42,280 You need God's mercy just as much today as the day when you 681 00:41:42,280 --> 00:41:46,200 got saved. So go to him, confess and 682 00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:50,720 confess and confess, because God draws near to the broken 683 00:41:50,720 --> 00:41:54,560 hearted. He wants your broken heart over 684 00:41:54,560 --> 00:41:57,600 your sin. He wants your contrite spirit, 685 00:41:59,760 --> 00:42:03,480 that this is the one to whom God looks, the one who is humble and 686 00:42:03,480 --> 00:42:07,800 contrite in spirit, the one who trembles at his word, says 687 00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:12,560 Isaiah. So don't leave today stuck 688 00:42:12,720 --> 00:42:17,000 chasing perfection when peace is ready and promised for you. 689 00:42:18,280 --> 00:42:21,880 That the biblical opposite to shame in the culture, that it 690 00:42:21,880 --> 00:42:25,280 was written in honor, but in our soul. 691 00:42:25,280 --> 00:42:26,760 You know what the opposite of shame is? 692 00:42:27,200 --> 00:42:31,440 It's peace. It's right relationship with God 693 00:42:31,800 --> 00:42:33,240 and right relationship with people. 694 00:42:34,120 --> 00:42:37,800 It's a clear conscience because the guilty stain has been 695 00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:43,880 removed from your life. I can say that one of my 696 00:42:43,880 --> 00:42:47,600 greatest battles in the faith has been walking through the 697 00:42:47,600 --> 00:42:51,720 shame of my past. That when I'm in worship over 698 00:42:51,720 --> 00:42:56,360 there, the thing that's hardest to find joy in is when I look 699 00:42:56,360 --> 00:43:00,800 back and I see all the sinful things I've done, all the sinful 700 00:43:00,800 --> 00:43:05,080 comments I've made, all the selfish choices I've done, all 701 00:43:05,080 --> 00:43:08,280 the stain of my sin. All I sense at times is my 702 00:43:08,280 --> 00:43:12,560 dirtiness before a holy God. But the thing that gives me joy, 703 00:43:12,720 --> 00:43:16,400 the thing that pulls worship out of me, is that I have a Christ 704 00:43:16,480 --> 00:43:20,320 who washed me clean. I have a Christ who took away my 705 00:43:20,320 --> 00:43:22,440 shame, who paid for it with his blood. 706 00:43:23,240 --> 00:43:26,360 That I have a Savior who I look to the founder and perfector of 707 00:43:26,360 --> 00:43:31,120 my faith, who for the joy set before Him, went to the cross 708 00:43:31,120 --> 00:43:35,560 for my sake, despising the shame, so that I may have life 709 00:43:35,720 --> 00:43:38,440 with Him. And I can lay aside every single 710 00:43:38,440 --> 00:43:42,600 weight that entangles so close to me and keeps me from running 711 00:43:42,600 --> 00:43:46,360 as hard as I can after Jesus. And in those moments, there's a 712 00:43:46,360 --> 00:43:48,880 song that always comes to mind for me because I just can't 713 00:43:48,880 --> 00:43:51,680 believe this is how God sees me. Would you listen to the words 714 00:43:51,680 --> 00:43:58,000 that all my days I've been wearing, the mistakes I've made, 715 00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:04,240 like a coat I could have thrown away. 716 00:44:04,760 --> 00:44:11,640 I should have brought it to you. And so, God, show me what you 717 00:44:11,640 --> 00:44:16,040 see when you look at me. Show me what is real more than 718 00:44:16,040 --> 00:44:19,520 what I feel. Because I have stains, it's 719 00:44:19,520 --> 00:44:21,280 true. But when your light shines 720 00:44:21,280 --> 00:44:25,960 through, oh God, we all look like stained glass windows to 721 00:44:25,960 --> 00:44:32,680 you. No more stains, no more chains, 722 00:44:33,720 --> 00:44:37,040 no more shame. That's what the mercy of Jesus 723 00:44:37,080 --> 00:44:39,560 does. The confession of Christmas 724 00:44:40,080 --> 00:44:43,800 doesn't bring perfection, it brings peace. 725 00:44:44,440 --> 00:44:48,160 Would you pray with me, Lord? Thank you for the grace and 726 00:44:48,160 --> 00:44:57,280 mercy of God that washes us clean, that purges us, that 727 00:44:57,280 --> 00:45:01,240 blots out the sin that we know is there, that is sinful and 728 00:45:01,240 --> 00:45:04,240 shameful, but we have a Savior who's bigger than it. 729 00:45:06,040 --> 00:45:08,920 Oh God, will we not try this Christmas to be more perfect, to 730 00:45:08,920 --> 00:45:12,080 be more righteous, but rather God, will we look to Jesus 731 00:45:12,080 --> 00:45:15,400 Christ, the one who is perfect, the one who had mercy, the one 732 00:45:15,400 --> 00:45:17,760 who loved us to set us free from our sin and shame? 733 00:45:17,960 --> 00:45:20,880 And God, would you set us free from the prison of it? 734 00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:25,480 That is not intended to be a place where we live. 735 00:45:25,480 --> 00:45:29,240 God, that you paid for that with your life. 736 00:45:29,760 --> 00:45:32,760 And so, Lord, would we not run from you, but we run to you in 737 00:45:32,760 --> 00:45:39,760 our sin, that when we fall, when we fail, when we do the thing 738 00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:45,760 that we wish we had never done, we run to you instead of a way. 739 00:45:47,280 --> 00:45:51,160 Jesus, we love you, we worship you now. 740 00:45:51,960 --> 00:45:52,200 Amen.