Get the Right Treatment

1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:06,980 You’re listening to a sermon from Pastor Colin Smith of Open The Bible. 2 00:00:06,980 –> 00:00:14,960 To contact us call us at 1-877-OPEN-365 or visit our website openthebible.org. 3 00:00:14,960 –> 00:00:17,280 Let’s get to the message. 4 00:00:17,280 –> 00:00:19,120 Here is Pastor Colin. 5 00:00:19,120 –> 00:00:26,400 Last week we began our exploration of how to get right when you know that you have gone 6 00:00:26,400 –> 00:00:27,400 wrong. 7 00:00:27,500 –> 00:00:34,380 We saw together that the first issue is always the issue of correct diagnosis. 8 00:00:34,380 –> 00:00:40,599 Nobody can begin to talk about recovery until we have a full understanding of the nature 9 00:00:40,599 –> 00:00:42,480 of the problem we face. 10 00:00:42,480 –> 00:00:45,700 We explored that together in Psalm 51. 11 00:00:45,700 –> 00:00:51,439 I hope you’ll have that part of the scripture open in front of you again this morning. 12 00:00:51,439 –> 00:00:56,759 We saw last time, you’ll remember if you were here, that there are really three words 13 00:00:56,860 –> 00:01:03,860 that are used in the scripture to describe our condition of sinfulness. 14 00:01:03,939 –> 00:01:08,019 First there is that word trespass, transgression. 15 00:01:08,019 –> 00:01:13,760 Each of us has stepped repeatedly over the line of the boundaries that God has set for 16 00:01:13,760 –> 00:01:15,620 our lives. 17 00:01:15,620 –> 00:01:16,720 Then there is the word sin. 18 00:01:16,720 –> 00:01:21,480 We fall short of the target that God has set for us. 19 00:01:21,480 –> 00:01:26,580 Look at any area of your life, whether it be work or marriage or conversation or ministry, 20 00:01:26,580 –> 00:01:32,379 and you’ll find that you’re a long way short of the perfection of a holy God. 21 00:01:32,379 –> 00:01:38,339 Then David uses that word iniquity, which speaks of twistedness that is in every one 22 00:01:38,339 –> 00:01:43,239 of us, and that is the spring of these other two problems. 23 00:01:43,239 –> 00:01:47,839 The reason that we sin and the reason that we transgress is that there is something that 24 00:01:47,839 –> 00:01:50,459 is fundamentally wrong in the human heart. 25 00:01:50,459 –> 00:01:52,180 Our thinking is skewed. 26 00:01:52,180 –> 00:01:54,099 We love the wrong things. 27 00:01:54,120 –> 00:01:59,459 Our desires are too often pulled in the wrong direction. 28 00:01:59,459 –> 00:02:02,339 We have broken God’s laws. 29 00:02:02,339 –> 00:02:08,460 We have failed to reach God’s standards and the reason is that there is something twisted 30 00:02:08,460 –> 00:02:09,779 inside. 31 00:02:09,779 –> 00:02:14,539 That’s the diagnosis of the problem as it’s laid out for us in the Scriptures. 32 00:02:14,539 –> 00:02:19,360 Now, just by way of review so that that learning is clear for us, I’d like you just to glance 33 00:02:19,360 –> 00:02:21,899 for one moment at the worship folder. 34 00:02:21,899 –> 00:02:26,759 If you look there at the As We Prepare For Worship section, you’ll find that there is 35 00:02:26,759 –> 00:02:33,160 a prayer which comes all the way from the sixteenth century. 36 00:02:33,160 –> 00:02:37,740 It’s part of the Liturgy of the Church of England. 37 00:02:37,740 –> 00:02:42,759 You’ll notice there that there are three phrases that describe the problem of the human condition. 38 00:02:42,759 –> 00:02:45,500 I’m reading from the middle of the fourth line. 39 00:02:46,240 –> 00:02:48,500 First of all, the General Confession includes these words, 40 00:02:48,500 –> 00:02:54,100 we have left undone, those things that we ought to have done. 41 00:02:54,100 –> 00:02:55,979 Now, that’s sin, isn’t it? 42 00:02:55,979 –> 00:02:57,779 We’ve missed the mark. 43 00:02:57,779 –> 00:03:02,539 We’ve not gone up to the mark in the things that God called us to do. 44 00:03:02,539 –> 00:03:08,619 But then it says we have done those things that we ought not to have done. 45 00:03:08,619 –> 00:03:10,160 That’s transgression. 46 00:03:10,160 –> 00:03:11,759 Trespass. 47 00:03:11,759 –> 00:03:14,339 Stepping over the boundaries. 48 00:03:14,479 –> 00:03:22,880 Then, says the General Confession, there is no health in us. 49 00:03:22,880 –> 00:03:24,940 That’s iniquity. 50 00:03:24,940 –> 00:03:31,240 So here is the biblical analysis of the human condition. 51 00:03:31,240 –> 00:03:35,720 And we saw, you remember from Psalm 51, that this wasn’t something unique to David, the 52 00:03:35,720 –> 00:03:40,699 result of some bad experiences in his early life, or anything like that, nor says David, 53 00:03:40,699 –> 00:03:45,940 this problem in me goes right back to my very conception. 54 00:03:45,940 –> 00:03:49,539 It goes back to the day of my birth. 55 00:03:49,539 –> 00:03:51,440 It’s been with me from the beginning. 56 00:03:51,440 –> 00:03:56,559 This sin thing is programmed into my very nature, I was born with it, and it is no small 57 00:03:56,559 –> 00:04:02,699 issue, because sin is offense against God, and I stand before God with absolutely no 58 00:04:02,699 –> 00:04:03,940 excuse. 59 00:04:03,940 –> 00:04:05,419 So there is the issue of diagnosis. 60 00:04:05,419 –> 00:04:08,220 It’s not good news. 61 00:04:08,259 –> 00:04:10,779 Many people do not want to hear it. 62 00:04:10,779 –> 00:04:15,639 Many persist in the belief that human beings are basically okay. 63 00:04:15,639 –> 00:04:20,299 If there are imperfections, none of us are perfect, it’s merely a surface problem. 64 00:04:20,299 –> 00:04:25,920 But the Bible takes us deeper, and the importance of understanding this is if you don’t grasp 65 00:04:25,920 –> 00:04:30,420 the problem, you will never understand the solution. 66 00:04:30,700 –> 00:04:37,100 Only when we understand sin can we really appreciate the cross. 67 00:04:37,100 –> 00:04:41,239 For Christ came to save sinners. 68 00:04:41,239 –> 00:04:42,820 Now today we’re going to move on. 69 00:04:42,820 –> 00:04:53,679 A serious problem needs a radical solution, and if a doctor gives you a serious diagnosis, 70 00:04:53,679 –> 00:05:00,279 your first question instinctively is always, what can be done about it? 71 00:05:01,160 –> 00:05:05,019 Last week we were introduced to the patient and his problem. 72 00:05:05,019 –> 00:05:12,920 Today we’re going to be introduced to the great physician and his prescription. 73 00:05:12,920 –> 00:05:19,679 Psalm 51 not only gives us the diagnosis, but it takes us forward in understanding the 74 00:05:19,679 –> 00:05:21,100 cure. 75 00:05:21,100 –> 00:05:27,640 Christ is the physician who brings hope for every soul and his prescription, I want us 76 00:05:27,640 –> 00:05:30,880 to understand this morning touches three areas. 77 00:05:30,880 –> 00:05:33,160 First it deals with the issue of guilt. 78 00:05:33,160 –> 00:05:36,000 Second, it deals with the problem of pollution. 79 00:05:36,000 –> 00:05:42,380 Thirdly, it deals with the power that lurks because of our sinfulness. 80 00:05:42,380 –> 00:05:49,600 It’s important that we distinguish between true guilt and false guilt. 81 00:05:49,600 –> 00:05:56,500 True guilt is when I have offended God through some word or thought or action. 82 00:05:56,600 –> 00:06:04,200 False guilt is when I am worrying myself about something that is not offensive to God. 83 00:06:04,200 –> 00:06:08,920 I think of how often in earlier years of ministry, I would have worked flat out in pastoral 84 00:06:08,920 –> 00:06:14,160 visitation, and come home not with any satisfaction of what was done, but with a sense of burden 85 00:06:14,160 –> 00:06:15,399 of all that was not done. 86 00:06:15,399 –> 00:06:18,200 That was just false guilt. 87 00:06:18,200 –> 00:06:20,799 And there’s a lot of it about in Christian circles. 88 00:06:20,799 –> 00:06:23,779 It’s important that we can tell the difference between these two. 89 00:06:24,220 –> 00:06:29,179 They are different in their origin, and they’re different in the strategy that we use to confront 90 00:06:29,179 –> 00:06:30,980 them. 91 00:06:30,980 –> 00:06:37,160 True guilt is brought to our attention by the Holy Spirit, and the response should be 92 00:06:37,160 –> 00:06:40,459 confession and repentance. 93 00:06:40,459 –> 00:06:45,380 But false guilt is engendered within us by the devil. 94 00:06:45,380 –> 00:06:49,940 And our response to that should be confrontation and resistance. 95 00:06:49,940 –> 00:06:54,619 So, if anyone comes and says, pastor, I’m struggling with guilt, my first question is 96 00:06:54,619 –> 00:06:57,380 always, well, is it true guilt or false guilt? 97 00:06:57,380 –> 00:07:00,359 Let’s distinguish between these two. 98 00:07:00,359 –> 00:07:05,640 But then secondly, there is the guilt that we feel, and there is some guilt that we do 99 00:07:05,640 –> 00:07:07,899 not feel. 100 00:07:07,899 –> 00:07:12,640 There are times when we feel the burden of something we shouldn’t be carrying. 101 00:07:12,640 –> 00:07:19,200 There are other times when we are insensitive to something in our lives that really is offensive 102 00:07:19,200 –> 00:07:20,200 to God. 103 00:07:20,200 –> 00:07:24,739 If we put these two things together, we’ll see fairly quickly that there are two things 104 00:07:24,739 –> 00:07:29,380 that are healthy when it comes to this matter of guilt. 105 00:07:29,380 –> 00:07:35,239 The first is that we do feel the weight off our real offenses against God. 106 00:07:35,239 –> 00:07:40,119 That is obviously right, and it is the work of the Spirit to bring us to that point. 107 00:07:40,119 –> 00:07:47,440 Secondly, it is healthy that we should not feel the burden of false guilt, and it is 108 00:07:47,459 –> 00:07:53,859 the work of the Spirit to set us free in those areas of our lives. 109 00:07:53,859 –> 00:07:58,500 But equally it should be very obvious to us that in the other two boxes there is an area 110 00:07:58,500 –> 00:08:00,640 of problem. 111 00:08:00,640 –> 00:08:06,459 If we are weighed down with false guilt, with burdens that God never called us to bear, 112 00:08:06,459 –> 00:08:08,859 something needs to be done about that. 113 00:08:08,859 –> 00:08:14,019 And if we are insensitive to our true offenses against God, something needs to be done about 114 00:08:14,019 –> 00:08:15,019 that. 115 00:08:15,019 –> 00:08:17,380 The brothers and sisters, the beautiful thing is that it is the work of the Holy Spirit 116 00:08:17,380 –> 00:08:20,380 to help us in both of these areas. 117 00:08:20,380 –> 00:08:22,559 And He does it through the truth. 118 00:08:22,559 –> 00:08:28,880 It is through the truth that sets us free, that the Holy Spirit releases us from those 119 00:08:28,880 –> 00:08:33,900 burdens of false guilt that no human being should carry. 120 00:08:33,900 –> 00:08:39,700 But it is equally by the word of His truth that the Holy Spirit brings us from insensitivity 121 00:08:39,700 –> 00:08:46,900 about our real offenses into a position where we understand our true guilt before God. 122 00:08:46,900 –> 00:08:53,780 The Holy Spirit through the ministry of Nathan we saw last week has moved David from insensitivity 123 00:08:53,780 –> 00:09:01,919 about true guilt to the point where he realizes the gravity of his offenses before God. 124 00:09:01,919 –> 00:09:09,340 And every one of us has multiple entries in this box. 125 00:09:10,200 –> 00:09:14,400 And when that is diagnosed, the question, of course, is what can be done about it. 126 00:09:14,700 –> 00:09:19,340 Well, look at David’s prayer in verse 1 as it relates to the guilt of sin. 127 00:09:19,960 –> 00:09:26,359 Have mercy on me, he says, Oh God, according to your unfailing love, 128 00:09:26,359 –> 00:09:32,760 according to your great compassion, blot out all of my transgressions. 129 00:09:32,880 –> 00:09:37,919 David discovers that God is merciful. 130 00:09:39,940 –> 00:09:50,340 And grasp this this morning, you will never begin to change until you discover the mercy of God. 131 00:09:51,479 –> 00:09:52,619 It’s a crucial principle. 132 00:09:54,320 –> 00:10:01,219 Think about the prodigal son and how it was, the Bible tells us, that he began the process of change. 133 00:10:02,159 –> 00:10:04,340 Remember, he also has real guilt. 134 00:10:05,179 –> 00:10:06,679 He has disgraced the family. 135 00:10:06,719 –> 00:10:08,820 He’s blown the trust that’s been placed in him. 136 00:10:09,020 –> 00:10:11,440 He’s wasted the resources that have been given to him. 137 00:10:11,679 –> 00:10:13,599 And finally he comes to the end of his rope. 138 00:10:14,840 –> 00:10:16,820 But then two things happened, the Bible tells us. 139 00:10:17,020 –> 00:10:19,679 The first is he comes to his senses. 140 00:10:20,799 –> 00:10:24,840 He realizes for the first time that the direction of his life has been wrong. 141 00:10:25,599 –> 00:10:27,080 He hadn’t thought that before. 142 00:10:27,340 –> 00:10:29,219 The party was in full swing. 143 00:10:29,419 –> 00:10:30,520 He was full of joy. 144 00:10:30,700 –> 00:10:34,260 But now he moves into the box of realizing real guilt. 145 00:10:34,419 –> 00:10:39,219 He feels the weight of it, and that’s the work of the spirit. 146 00:10:41,119 –> 00:10:45,020 But God never wants any one of us to stay there. 147 00:10:46,859 –> 00:10:51,679 God never wants us when we get into that box to be sitting like the prodigal son with our 148 00:10:51,679 –> 00:10:55,460 head as it were between our knees merely feeling our misery. 149 00:10:57,760 –> 00:10:59,159 No, there’s something else that happens. 150 00:10:59,159 –> 00:11:04,299 He says, I will arise and go to my father. 151 00:11:06,059 –> 00:11:10,780 And you see the root of that decision was that deep in his mind, even though a strange form his 152 00:11:10,780 –> 00:11:18,059 father, he had the sense that if he went back he would be well received. 153 00:11:20,700 –> 00:11:25,460 Perhaps he will make me one of his hired servants. 154 00:11:26,400 –> 00:11:32,840 Now you see no matter how much the prodigal’s conscience may be stung, no matter how much he 155 00:11:32,840 –> 00:11:39,960 may feel the misery of his condition, he will just keep running from father unless and until 156 00:11:39,960 –> 00:11:50,140 he feels his father will receive him back. He needs the awareness of his misery to give him 157 00:11:50,140 –> 00:11:58,179 the desire to come back but he also needs the assurance of a welcome to give him the confidence 158 00:11:58,179 –> 00:12:07,419 to come back. Put these two things together and you have the dynamic of the movement that the 159 00:12:07,419 –> 00:12:15,219 Bible calls repentance. If the prodigal had reckoned that the father’s primary interest was 160 00:12:15,419 –> 00:12:22,260 justice and that coming back home would mean years of raking over the coals, prolonged investigation 161 00:12:22,260 –> 00:12:29,559 and years of tension, he would just have kept running. But as he thinks about his father, 162 00:12:29,559 –> 00:12:36,359 he has better thoughts – perhaps he will make me one of his hired servants. 163 00:12:36,359 –> 00:12:43,599 John Calvin has a brilliant comment about this that I found so helpful. He says, 164 00:12:43,599 –> 00:12:53,119 the beginning of repentance is a sense of God’s mercy. It is only when a man 165 00:12:53,119 –> 00:13:00,960 is persuaded that God is ready to forgive that he begins to gather the courage to repent. 166 00:13:00,960 –> 00:13:08,840 Great phrase. It’s when you realize that God stands ready to forgive that you’ll begin to 167 00:13:09,400 –> 00:13:19,479 the courage to repent. Sinners always run away from justice, but they will be drawn by mercy. 168 00:13:19,479 –> 00:13:24,820 And there’s so much for us in our relationships to learn from the way in which God deals with us. 169 00:13:24,820 –> 00:13:30,719 Is there someone who’s running from you? Could it be that the reason is that they 170 00:13:30,719 –> 00:13:34,320 think your primary issue is sorting out the truth and establishing justice? 171 00:13:34,599 –> 00:13:40,380 Find a way of conveying to them that if and when they choose to turn, 172 00:13:40,380 –> 00:13:49,460 there’s a welcome. You see, the sense of sin without the knowledge of mercy makes a man 173 00:13:49,460 –> 00:13:54,840 keep on running. But David’s repentance begins at this point. He says, 174 00:13:54,840 –> 00:14:06,219 let me tell you about the mercy of God. There is a great physician, there is a God in heaven 175 00:14:06,219 –> 00:14:12,419 revealed throughout the bible and focused in His revelation in Jesus Christ, and He 176 00:14:12,419 –> 00:14:21,299 is big in mercy. He does not pursue mercy at the expense of justice. All our entries 177 00:14:21,479 –> 00:14:29,979 the box of real guilt have consequences. And that is why Christ came into the world. God 178 00:14:29,979 –> 00:14:38,260 became man in Christ Jesus and He said, I will bear the consequences of your sin in 179 00:14:38,260 –> 00:14:45,260 my own body. And here is the mystery of the gospel, God lays the guilt of our sin upon 180 00:14:45,260 –> 00:14:54,500 His Son. He takes our sin upon Himself and God says I will not pursue justice with you, 181 00:14:54,500 –> 00:15:06,659 but I will pursue justice with my Son on your behalf. So God pours out His justice on Christ 182 00:15:06,659 –> 00:15:10,919 so that He may show mercy to all who are in Christ. 183 00:15:11,719 –> 00:15:17,760 And David begins to rebuild his broken world. As we will begin to rebuild ours with the 184 00:15:17,760 –> 00:15:27,159 discovery that God is merciful, God is full of compassion, God pours out unfailing love. 185 00:15:27,159 –> 00:15:36,400 Let me introduce you to the great physician. He is full of mercy, and that’s the first part of 186 00:15:36,479 –> 00:15:44,700 proscription. Sin makes us guilty, really guilty, and we need the merciful forgiveness of God. 187 00:15:44,700 –> 00:15:50,760 But there’s a second part to the prescription that we’re looking at this morning. There’s not 188 00:15:50,760 –> 00:15:56,719 only that God forgives the guilt of our sin, but David goes on to explore this dimension that God 189 00:15:56,840 –> 00:16:09,559 cleanses the pollution of our sin. Some of you will remember back on the 17th of March 1978, 190 00:16:09,559 –> 00:16:18,479 twenty years ago, a super-tanker by the name of the Amoco Cadiz ran aground off the coast 191 00:16:18,479 –> 00:16:23,799 of Brittany. It’s really hard to imagine the scale of this. But this tanker was carrying 192 00:16:23,799 –> 00:16:33,880 233 million tonnes of crude oil. Nearly a quarter million tonnes of oil. And it runs 193 00:16:33,880 –> 00:16:41,719 aground, twenty years ago, off the coast of Brittany, tipping tonnes of this crude oil 194 00:16:41,719 –> 00:16:47,960 into the Atlantic Ocean. Now as the disaster progressed, oil was swept up onto more than 195 00:16:47,960 –> 00:16:56,719 130 beaches on the coast of Brittany, some of them were covered with crude oil up to 196 00:16:56,719 –> 00:17:10,959 one foot deep. An amazing disaster. The damage was incredible. But when you think about that, 197 00:17:10,959 –> 00:17:17,459 you see a disaster like this gives rise to more than one problem, doesn’t it? I mean 198 00:17:17,459 –> 00:17:21,060 for a start, there’s obviously the issue of compensation. There are legal issues which 199 00:17:21,060 –> 00:17:26,459 actually were dealt here with here in Chicago where a judge awarded damages against the 200 00:17:26,459 –> 00:17:34,540 company of 85.2 million dollars. There were legal issues and costs to be dealt with. But 201 00:17:34,540 –> 00:17:41,560 there are other problems to be addressed. Justice may be served in the courts, but there 202 00:17:41,560 –> 00:17:48,099 is still a massive cleanup to be done on the beaches. It is one thing to pay compensation. 203 00:17:48,099 –> 00:17:56,339 It is another thing to deal with the mess. Now when God deals with our sin problem, you 204 00:17:56,339 –> 00:18:04,060 see, He not only deals with the cost, the penalty, sin and forgiveness, He also deals 205 00:18:04,060 –> 00:18:10,579 with the issue of pollution and cleansing. Remember how it is beautifully brought together 206 00:18:10,579 –> 00:18:17,459 in 1 John, chapter 1 in verse 9. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive 207 00:18:17,459 –> 00:18:25,180 us our sins. He deals with these matters of justice, mercy. He clears the record. Nothing 208 00:18:25,180 –> 00:18:33,140 to pay. But remember what goes on. Not only that, he will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 209 00:18:33,140 –> 00:18:39,260 And these are distinct things. Sin causes an offense against God, which leaves a price 210 00:18:39,260 –> 00:18:47,920 to be paid that was paid by Jesus. But sin also causes pollution in our hearts. A pollution 211 00:18:47,920 –> 00:18:53,979 that only God can cleanse. And God always acts in these two spheres together. They’re 212 00:18:53,979 –> 00:19:02,020 part of the same prescription. You cannot have forgiveness, if you do not also want 213 00:19:02,020 –> 00:19:07,060 to be clean. Notice how David puts it here in verse 7, 214 00:19:07,060 –> 00:19:12,300 having explored the mercy of God that leads to forgiveness. He now comes in verse 7 and 215 00:19:12,300 –> 00:19:20,140 he says, cleanse me with hissep and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than 216 00:19:20,140 –> 00:19:27,739 snow. You see, he’s saying to himself, Lord, it’s not just that I’m guilty, it’s that I 217 00:19:27,739 –> 00:19:37,900 feel dirty. I find it hard to stand with joy before you because I know I’ve offended you 218 00:19:37,900 –> 00:19:42,540 but there’s another problem, God, I find it hard to live with myself because of what I 219 00:19:42,540 –> 00:19:49,859 know I’ve done. That’s why we read from Zechariah 3 this morning. Isn’t that a powerful picture 220 00:19:49,859 –> 00:19:56,800 of this man standing dressed in filthy clothes? Most of you look pretty well dressed this 221 00:19:57,060 –> 00:20:01,880 morning, but imagine yourself for a moment in filthy clothes. Imagine yourself spending 222 00:20:01,880 –> 00:20:08,400 an afternoon trudging through one of the Brittany beaches 20 years ago, a foot deep in crude 223 00:20:08,400 –> 00:20:15,400 oil, and after one afternoon the stench of it is through all your clothes. The stain 224 00:20:15,839 –> 00:20:22,839 of it is up to your knees. You look at your clothes and you think they could never be 225 00:20:23,459 –> 00:20:30,459 made clean. They’re only fit to be burned. It’s something of how David feels, as this 226 00:20:35,119 –> 00:20:42,119 filth seems to cling to his conscience. He says, Cleanse me with hyssop. Hyssop was used 227 00:20:42,119 –> 00:20:49,119 as part of the ritual of cleansing of lepers. And I think the fact that he makes that reference 228 00:20:54,300 –> 00:21:00,959 just gives you an indication of how he feels. I feel like a leper. 229 00:21:00,959 –> 00:21:07,339 If the first problem with sin is what it Does as an offense to God, the second problem is 230 00:21:07,479 –> 00:21:14,479 what it Does to you and me. It pollutes our hearts. Think of the beauty of a line of sandy 231 00:21:19,500 –> 00:21:26,500 beaches. Think of crystal clear water lapping up. Think of the joyful life of birds and 232 00:21:27,199 –> 00:21:34,199 plants and fish. And now think of that pumping crude oil, spewing out the side of the tanker 233 00:21:44,459 –> 00:21:51,459 and devastating the beauty. It’s what sin does. It does that in our minds, 234 00:21:51,459 –> 00:21:58,459 and it does that in our hearts. It spoils who we are, and that’s why when we get into 235 00:22:04,180 –> 00:22:11,180 it we feel dirty. Sometimes you look at the stain, you look at your own life, and you 236 00:22:14,560 –> 00:22:19,060 sense some of these feelings that are part of the conviction of sin. And you say, can 237 00:22:19,060 –> 00:22:26,060 I ever be clean? Oh, David must have said that. To make a man clean after this sort 238 00:22:26,160 –> 00:22:33,160 of thing will take a miracle. And that’s exactly what David is asking for. Cleanse me! See, 239 00:22:33,680 –> 00:22:39,920 what he’s saying, Lord, if I could just look at that Lady Bathsheba, and looking at her 240 00:22:39,920 –> 00:22:46,920 could lead me to what I did, God I need you in that case to scrub my mind. 241 00:22:47,680 –> 00:22:54,680 And, if seeing this difficulty with Uriah could lead me to a scheme that was designed 242 00:22:56,599 –> 00:23:03,599 to put an end to him, Lord, I need to have you purge my heart. This word, cleanse or 243 00:23:06,979 –> 00:23:13,979 purge, literally means desin. Like the idea of detoxification. Lord, I need you to desin 244 00:23:14,979 –> 00:23:21,979 me. There’s stuff sticking to me that I need you to deal with. But, think of the miracle. 245 00:23:28,140 –> 00:23:35,140 Cleanse me with hyssop, he says, and I shall be clean. Can a man who has done what David 246 00:23:35,959 –> 00:23:42,959 did ever be clean? David says, let me introduce you to the great physician. There is a God 247 00:23:43,780 –> 00:23:50,780 in heaven, and he is not only big in mercy, but he can clean the foulest stains. Wash 248 00:23:53,560 –> 00:24:00,560 me, he says, and if you wash me, if you wash me, even I will be clean. God never does anything 249 00:24:05,079 –> 00:24:08,579 by halves. I shall be whiter than snow, he says. 250 00:24:09,099 –> 00:24:14,020 And the great physician is able to cleanse the mind and the conscience. The blood of 251 00:24:14,020 –> 00:24:21,020 Jesus Christ cleanses us from every sin. When God forgives, he also cleanses. And we need 252 00:24:24,859 –> 00:24:27,540 to understand this. Let me ask this honest question this morning. 253 00:24:27,540 –> 00:24:34,540 Is there anyone in this congregation who feels dirty? Perhaps for some, and to help us punish 254 00:24:38,579 –> 00:24:44,699 an area of sexual sin, and you have confessed it to God and yet what we’ve described here 255 00:24:44,699 –> 00:24:51,699 is exactly where you’re at. Perhaps someone in the aftermath of an abortion. You’ve asked 256 00:24:53,099 –> 00:24:58,880 God’s forgiveness, but, oh, you’re struggling to live with yourself. 257 00:24:58,880 –> 00:25:05,880 See, this is what we’re talking about. David says, I feel dirty. But I’ve discovered that 258 00:25:06,760 –> 00:25:13,760 if God washes me, I can live with myself again, I can be clean, and this is why Jesus went 259 00:25:18,359 –> 00:25:25,359 to the cross. The blood of Jesus Christ was spilled to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. 260 00:25:27,640 –> 00:25:34,640 It’s part of the proscription, and it is His wonderful gift to all who will place their 261 00:25:36,119 –> 00:25:43,119 selves holy in the hand of the great physician. He breaks the power, says the hymn writer, 262 00:25:43,760 –> 00:25:50,760 of canceled sin. He sets the prisoner free. His blood can make the foulest clean. His 263 00:25:55,400 –> 00:26:02,400 blood availed for me. So he will forgive the guilt of sin. He will 264 00:26:03,319 –> 00:26:06,199 He will cleanse the pollution of sin. 265 00:26:08,040 –> 00:26:14,439 Then there is one third thing. He will subdue the power of sin. 266 00:26:17,000 –> 00:26:21,719 Now think again for a moment of that image of the Amoko Kadiz off the coast of Brittany. 267 00:26:22,880 –> 00:26:29,560 Oil begins to leak from this supertanker, a little at first and then more, and then a lot. 268 00:26:29,560 –> 00:26:32,199 And then, the television cameras come in, and they’re focusing 269 00:26:32,199 –> 00:26:38,520 on the devastation of the beaches. And the cleanup is beginning. But actually, 270 00:26:38,520 –> 00:26:44,760 there are still something like 200 million tons of crude inside that cracked hull. 271 00:26:48,599 –> 00:26:50,760 Not all the oil has come out straight away. 272 00:26:52,760 –> 00:26:58,119 So, there is not only the problem of the effects of this disaster. 273 00:26:58,119 –> 00:27:07,160 There is also the issue of the source that is continuing to produce more and more and more 274 00:27:07,160 –> 00:27:14,760 devastation. What’s the point in cleaning up what has leaked out already if we do not at 275 00:27:14,760 –> 00:27:22,040 the same time deal with the stricken vessel itself, from which more crude is continuing to pour? 276 00:27:22,040 –> 00:27:33,439 That’s the issue David comes to in verse 10, you see. Create in me a pure heart, O God. 277 00:27:33,439 –> 00:27:40,400 He’s moving to another dimension. I need forgiveness for the guilt of what I’ve done. I 278 00:27:40,400 –> 00:27:49,800 need cleansing for the effects of what I’ve done. But God, I need You to deal with the very source 279 00:27:49,800 –> 00:27:58,400 of what I have done. It’s not just cleaning up what’s out there, it’s cleaning up what is in 280 00:27:58,400 –> 00:28:04,400 here. Because if something doesn’t happen in here, in ten years’ time I’m going to do the same thing 281 00:28:04,400 –> 00:28:13,599 again and probably sooner. This takes us to the heart of repentance. David is concerned not only 282 00:28:13,599 –> 00:28:19,040 with what he’s done, and not only with the effects of what he has done, but with the reason for what 283 00:28:19,280 –> 00:28:25,359 he has done. Why did I do it? He knows that the problem is in the heart. 284 00:28:25,359 –> 00:28:33,079 Listen to these words of Jesus from Mark in chapter 7. Jesus said, 285 00:28:33,079 –> 00:28:42,479 What comes out of man is what makes him unclean. It is from within, 286 00:28:43,380 –> 00:28:50,839 out of men’s hearts come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, 287 00:28:50,839 –> 00:28:55,640 theft, murder and adultery. See what he’s saying? These things don’t just happen, 288 00:28:55,640 –> 00:29:01,199 they’re not accidents. Don’t fool yourself. They come out of the heart, 289 00:29:01,199 –> 00:29:11,020 says Jesus. As does greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, 290 00:29:11,599 –> 00:29:18,660 envy, slander, arrogance, folly. All these evils, says Jesus, 291 00:29:18,660 –> 00:29:27,439 come from inside. And they make a man unclean. So, you see, 292 00:29:27,439 –> 00:29:33,540 the Christian is never content simply to be forgiven. If you’ve understood 293 00:29:33,540 –> 00:29:37,140 the issue of sin and you’ve understood what Christ has come to do, 294 00:29:37,140 –> 00:29:40,579 you will never be content just to know that God won’t hold the deed 295 00:29:40,579 –> 00:29:46,900 against you. The deeper question than what I did is why did I do it? 296 00:29:46,900 –> 00:29:50,939 And David knows it was a choice of the heart. And all our sins 297 00:29:50,939 –> 00:29:56,219 are choices of the heart. Sin has an addictive quality to it, 298 00:29:56,219 –> 00:29:59,939 and the heart forms its own habits. How am I going to break the habit, 299 00:29:59,939 –> 00:30:05,300 is his question. He is not content merely to be a forgiven 300 00:30:06,060 –> 00:30:12,160 of the same man. You see, repentance is much more than saying 301 00:30:12,160 –> 00:30:18,380 sorry. A Christian is never content merely to be 302 00:30:18,380 –> 00:30:24,180 forgiven and to go on into the same patterns of behavior. 303 00:30:24,180 –> 00:30:30,920 Create in me a pure heart, oh god. Literally it means an undivided 304 00:30:30,920 –> 00:30:36,520 heart because lord I do love you but there was enough split in this heart 305 00:30:36,520 –> 00:30:42,920 for me to love this other thing more. It’s interesting that David uses the 306 00:30:42,920 –> 00:30:49,900 word create. God, you know what I need? I need you to put something in me that is 307 00:30:49,900 –> 00:30:56,520 not there right now. I need something new. And the only hope for me is if you who 308 00:30:56,520 –> 00:31:01,719 created the world out of nothing and you who formed me in my mother’s womb if 309 00:31:01,719 –> 00:31:09,020 you should create in me something that has not been there—a pure heart. 310 00:31:10,819 –> 00:31:17,160 And that is the fundamental need of every life—an operation of God at the 311 00:31:17,160 –> 00:31:23,859 center of our being. See, this is the New Testament gospel, isn’t it? See, the 312 00:31:23,959 –> 00:31:29,459 gospel—becoming a Christian—is not just about changing behavior, it is about 313 00:31:29,459 –> 00:31:35,500 changing nature. It is about being crucified with Christ and about knowing 314 00:31:35,500 –> 00:31:41,500 the power of a new life within. Dr. Lloyd-Jones puts this so clearly in one 315 00:31:41,500 –> 00:31:47,599 passage where he asks the question, why did Christ come into the world? Did he 316 00:31:47,599 –> 00:31:53,739 come so that you and I might be forgiven and then go on sinning? Did he come so 317 00:31:53,739 –> 00:31:58,760 that we should sin and come back, and then live from sin to repentance, and 318 00:31:58,760 –> 00:32:04,420 then repentance back to sin again, and then somehow just slink into heaven, he 319 00:32:04,420 –> 00:32:11,599 says, barely avoiding the consequences of hell and the awfulness of judgment? And 320 00:32:11,760 –> 00:32:15,839 he answers that is a blasphemous thought. 321 00:32:15,839 –> 00:32:30,000 He went to the cross so that you should be forgotten. He went to the cross so 322 00:32:30,000 –> 00:32:35,359 that you should be clean. He went to the cross 323 00:32:35,680 –> 00:32:41,760 so that you should be different. 324 00:32:41,760 –> 00:32:46,780 And in Psalm 51, David takes us through these dimensions of repentance 325 00:32:46,780 –> 00:32:51,119 that are opened up to us because of the mercy of God, 326 00:32:51,119 –> 00:32:55,359 because of the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus, 327 00:32:55,359 –> 00:32:59,839 and because of the renewing power of the Holy Spirit 328 00:32:59,839 –> 00:33:06,479 within us. Oh, says David, there is a great physician 329 00:33:06,479 –> 00:33:11,760 and if he can do what he’s done for a man who did what I did, 330 00:33:11,760 –> 00:33:15,119 then what could he not do for you? 331 00:33:15,599 –> 00:33:23,920 So come to him. Ask him to break the power of sinful habit. 332 00:33:24,079 –> 00:33:27,119 Talk to the physician about your problem. 333 00:33:27,280 –> 00:33:34,319 Talk to him about your pride. Talk to him around the table about your lust. 334 00:33:34,319 –> 00:33:41,839 Talk to him about your crippling fear. Tell him about the habits of your heart. 335 00:33:41,839 –> 00:33:46,000 Tell him about the power of greed that you struggle with. 336 00:33:46,000 –> 00:33:49,920 Tell him about bitterness and how your heart is divided 337 00:33:49,920 –> 00:33:55,760 and how you need him to create something new within him. And ask him 338 00:33:56,079 –> 00:34:05,359 create within me a pure heart, and renew a right spirit within me. 339 00:34:05,359 –> 00:34:10,879 That’s the prescription. In Christ there is forgiveness. 340 00:34:10,879 –> 00:34:17,280 In Christ there is cleansing. And in Christ there is the power to be 341 00:34:17,280 –> 00:34:19,760 different. 342 00:34:20,320 –> 00:34:24,639 Now we ended last week by asking the simple question, 343 00:34:24,639 –> 00:34:28,639 are you interested in diagnosis? 344 00:34:28,879 –> 00:34:36,719 And I end today by asking this question, will you take the prescription? 345 00:34:38,080 –> 00:34:45,760 You see, God does not offer to us the weak pills of religion. 346 00:34:46,239 –> 00:34:52,639 He offers to us the radical surgery of the Holy Spirit. 347 00:34:52,959 –> 00:34:56,479 Will you take the prescription? 348 00:34:57,120 –> 00:35:01,919 But for anyone who has understood the diagnosis of human sinfulness, 349 00:35:01,919 –> 00:35:06,159 what God offers to us in Christ is the most wonderful, 350 00:35:06,159 –> 00:35:15,199 good news. The surgery may be painful, but it does lead to life, 351 00:35:15,199 –> 00:35:21,040 and God has never yet failed with a patient. 352 00:35:21,040 –> 00:35:26,320 Will you put yourself in the hands of the great 353 00:35:26,320 –> 00:35:28,959 physician? 354 00:35:29,679 –> 00:35:32,479 Father, 355 00:35:33,600 –> 00:35:37,040 we’re realizing disturbing truth about the extent 356 00:35:37,040 –> 00:35:42,959 of our problem and our fallen condition. 357 00:35:43,600 –> 00:35:48,639 But our hearts are renewed in hope as we look up to you. 358 00:35:48,719 –> 00:35:53,120 Thank you that you are big in mercy. 359 00:35:53,120 –> 00:35:58,639 Thank you that you treated your son with justice on our behalf. 360 00:35:58,639 –> 00:36:03,199 That there may be mercy for us who are in him. 361 00:36:03,360 –> 00:36:09,360 Thank you that you are able to cleanse. Thank you that pollution of the mind and 362 00:36:09,360 –> 00:36:14,000 the heart that looks impossible ever to clean 363 00:36:14,000 –> 00:36:19,919 can be washed by the power of the blood of Jesus. 364 00:36:21,040 –> 00:36:24,639 Thank you that you’re able to make us different. 365 00:36:24,639 –> 00:36:27,760 Thank you for the power of the Spirit. Give us 366 00:36:27,760 –> 00:36:32,879 that faith that knows that you can move us forward 367 00:36:32,879 –> 00:36:37,919 and change even the habits of the heart. 368 00:36:38,000 –> 00:36:43,760 But save us we pray from hearing about the prescription 369 00:36:43,760 –> 00:36:49,280 and choosing to avoid the operation. As we come now in these moments of 370 00:36:49,280 –> 00:36:54,159 singing and response and receiving from your hand 371 00:36:54,159 –> 00:36:59,120 we ask your help that in the realities of our lives 372 00:36:59,120 –> 00:37:03,840 we may place ourselves in the hand of the Great Physician 373 00:37:03,840 –> 00:37:10,399 for forgiveness and cleansing and renewing power. 374 00:37:10,399 –> 00:37:14,320 Heal us for Christ’s sake. Amen. 375 00:37:16,399 –> 00:37:20,479 You’ve been listening to a sermon with Pastor Collin Smith of Open the Bible 376 00:37:20,479 –> 00:37:25,360 To contact us call us at 1-877-OPEN365 377 00:37:25,360 –> 00:37:29,280 or visit our website openthebible.org