WEBVTT 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:14.880 Psalm 51, we'll be reading verses 18 and 19 this 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:21.379 morning. By your favor, do good to Zion. Build 00:00:21.379 --> 00:00:25.399 the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will delight 00:00:25.399 --> 00:00:30.600 in righteous sacrifices and burnt offerings and 00:00:30.600 --> 00:00:33.939 whole burnt offerings. Then young bulls will 00:00:33.939 --> 00:00:41.280 be offered on your altar. As we continue to consider 00:00:41.280 --> 00:00:49.100 Psalm 51, we've been making our way through David's 00:00:49.100 --> 00:00:55.079 journey back to fellowship with God as a justified 00:00:55.079 --> 00:01:03.340 man. David has been a backslidden saint. He spent 00:01:03.340 --> 00:01:09.569 a great deal of time in sin. Willingly. And finally, 00:01:09.569 --> 00:01:12.489 he was brought to the point of repentance through 00:01:12.489 --> 00:01:17.629 the prophet Nathan. Here we come to the culminating 00:01:17.629 --> 00:01:23.090 point, the final place where David is brought 00:01:23.090 --> 00:01:28.629 back to fellowship with God. In verses 18 through 00:01:28.629 --> 00:01:33.230 19. There's three things that I would like us 00:01:33.230 --> 00:01:38.180 to consider this morning. in this text. We'll 00:01:38.180 --> 00:01:42.480 begin with the first, David's renewed concern 00:01:42.480 --> 00:01:50.739 for the people of God. Notice in verse 18, he 00:01:50.739 --> 00:01:57.060 says, by your favor, do good to Zion. Then he 00:01:57.060 --> 00:01:59.640 says in the second half of this, he says, build 00:01:59.640 --> 00:02:07.159 the walls of Jerusalem. David's concern in verse 00:02:07.159 --> 00:02:14.900 18 and in verse 19, his care, the priority of 00:02:14.900 --> 00:02:20.520 David's heart in this verse is the covenant people 00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:28.479 of God. It's Zion. It's Jerusalem. It's the people 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:33.400 of God whom God has covenanted with. Zion and 00:02:33.400 --> 00:02:37.319 Jerusalem, their places and their terms that 00:02:37.319 --> 00:02:39.840 can reference other things other than the people, 00:02:39.939 --> 00:02:45.500 but the essential meaning of Zion and Jerusalem 00:02:45.500 --> 00:02:49.919 is the people of God whom God has covenanted 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:56.240 with. David is concerned with the people of God 00:02:56.240 --> 00:03:00.960 in this text. But what is the nature? of his 00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:06.620 concern in verse 18. Well, it seems at first 00:03:06.620 --> 00:03:10.159 that he simply appeared with national Israel 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:14.800 or the national people of God. That's obviously 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:19.479 why he says, build the walls of Jerusalem. And 00:03:19.479 --> 00:03:22.900 in an appeal for God to build the walls, he's 00:03:22.900 --> 00:03:27.090 saying, God... I'm interceding on behalf of the 00:03:27.090 --> 00:03:29.430 people. I'm praying for the people that you would 00:03:29.430 --> 00:03:33.610 protect them, that you would strengthen them, 00:03:33.729 --> 00:03:35.889 and that you would preserve them by building 00:03:35.889 --> 00:03:40.750 their walls. He's asking God to protect the people 00:03:40.750 --> 00:03:45.689 of God from enemies. from dangers, from threats. 00:03:45.930 --> 00:03:49.289 He's asking God to strengthen and fortify the 00:03:49.289 --> 00:03:52.250 people of God that they might be strong in the 00:03:52.250 --> 00:03:54.569 face of those enemies. And he's asking God to 00:03:54.569 --> 00:04:00.189 preserve them, to continue to build the walls. 00:04:01.930 --> 00:04:07.689 But it's not merely physical or national Israel 00:04:07.689 --> 00:04:12.389 that David is concerned about. It's not just... 00:04:12.520 --> 00:04:15.120 their national well -being that he's talking 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:18.560 about. He says, by your favor, by your grace, 00:04:18.819 --> 00:04:24.779 do good to Zion. Then he parallels this doing 00:04:24.779 --> 00:04:28.579 good with the building of the wall. So in some 00:04:28.579 --> 00:04:32.079 way, God builds the walls of Jerusalem by, in 00:04:32.079 --> 00:04:36.199 his grace, doing good to Jerusalem and doing 00:04:36.199 --> 00:04:41.509 good to Zion. But we also see that this work 00:04:41.509 --> 00:04:45.170 that David appeals to God for in verse 18 produces 00:04:45.170 --> 00:04:51.029 righteous sacrifices in verse 19. It produces 00:04:51.029 --> 00:04:55.490 true and right and acceptable worship. If he's 00:04:55.490 --> 00:04:59.189 asking God merely to build the walls of physical 00:04:59.189 --> 00:05:04.750 and natural and national Jerusalem, that does 00:05:04.750 --> 00:05:10.540 not guarantee pure, holy. righteous, acceptable 00:05:10.540 --> 00:05:15.160 worship. What David is interceding for, what 00:05:15.160 --> 00:05:17.639 David is asking God for on behalf of the people 00:05:17.639 --> 00:05:24.100 of God is something that produces faithful worship 00:05:24.100 --> 00:05:29.199 unto God. He's asking God to do something in 00:05:29.199 --> 00:05:31.600 the life of the people that brings about righteousness 00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:35.500 and uprightness so that they're giving sacrifices 00:05:35.500 --> 00:05:43.079 to God in truth and sincerity from faith. He's 00:05:43.079 --> 00:05:46.100 saying that he wants God to do something more. 00:05:46.180 --> 00:05:50.439 He wants God to treat them in another way. It's 00:05:50.439 --> 00:05:54.579 not simply national Israel that he's concerned 00:05:54.579 --> 00:05:58.040 about, but it's a spiritual well -being of the 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:00.819 people of God that David is concerned about. 00:06:02.540 --> 00:06:05.459 Yes, he wants God to, according to his grace, 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:10.199 do good to the people of God. Yes, he wants God 00:06:10.199 --> 00:06:12.560 to build the walls of Zion, to build the walls 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:16.519 of Jerusalem. But he wants God to protect the 00:06:16.519 --> 00:06:22.339 people spiritually. He wants God to protect them 00:06:22.339 --> 00:06:27.180 from dangers and threats in their hearts, in 00:06:27.180 --> 00:06:30.819 their souls. He wants God to strengthen them 00:06:30.819 --> 00:06:33.699 and fortify their souls so that they're strong 00:06:33.699 --> 00:06:36.139 in the face of sin, so that they're strong in 00:06:36.139 --> 00:06:38.560 the face of doubt, so that they're strong in 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:42.680 the face of enemies from the devil, from the 00:06:42.680 --> 00:06:44.959 dangers outside of themselves, from their own 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:47.959 transgression, their own iniquity. David is concerned 00:06:47.959 --> 00:06:51.000 about the spiritual well -being of the people 00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:53.759 of God. He's concerned about the church of God. 00:06:55.240 --> 00:06:57.579 That's what David's worried about, brothers and 00:06:57.579 --> 00:07:02.899 sisters. This is only appropriate. That David 00:07:02.899 --> 00:07:05.819 is concerned about the people of God and their 00:07:05.819 --> 00:07:11.959 well -being, isn't it? After all, hasn't David 00:07:11.959 --> 00:07:16.639 brought harm to the people of God through his 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:24.860 sin? Hasn't David disturbed and hurt? and brought 00:07:24.860 --> 00:07:30.759 violence to the household of God? Isn't it only 00:07:30.759 --> 00:07:34.680 appropriate that David be concerned for the people 00:07:34.680 --> 00:07:40.959 he is king over? It is. But we have to remember 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:49.120 that David failed Israel. He sinned. He broke 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:52.040 his covenant with God. He failed the people of 00:07:52.040 --> 00:08:01.980 God. King David failed Zion. King David failed 00:08:01.980 --> 00:08:05.860 Jerusalem. He failed to protect them. He failed 00:08:05.860 --> 00:08:08.399 to strengthen them. And he failed to preserve 00:08:08.399 --> 00:08:12.199 them because he couldn't do it. But brothers 00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:14.439 and sisters, we have to be reminded of something 00:08:14.439 --> 00:08:17.819 in this text. In David's failure as king over 00:08:17.819 --> 00:08:21.279 the people of God, we are pointed to our great 00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:28.449 and mighty king. who never will fail us. The 00:08:28.449 --> 00:08:32.490 Lord Jesus Christ has never done anything that 00:08:32.490 --> 00:08:37.870 has brought harm to the people of God. The Lord 00:08:37.870 --> 00:08:42.629 Jesus Christ always protects, always strengthens, 00:08:42.629 --> 00:08:45.629 and always will preserve the people of God and 00:08:45.629 --> 00:08:50.129 their souls and their salvation. Christ will 00:08:50.129 --> 00:08:54.840 never fail us. His church. The Lord Jesus Christ. 00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:58.960 If you are a believer in Jesus Christ. He will 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:04.600 not fail you. He is a great king. And he will 00:09:04.600 --> 00:09:09.059 protect your soul from the devil. He will protect 00:09:09.059 --> 00:09:12.659 your soul from hell. He will protect your soul 00:09:12.659 --> 00:09:17.700 from sin. He is a good king that does not fail. 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:20.559 He only wins and he only succeeds and he only 00:09:20.559 --> 00:09:24.740 does what he sets out to accomplish. So in David's 00:09:24.740 --> 00:09:30.620 failure, we're reminded of Christ's great and 00:09:30.620 --> 00:09:35.279 mighty success. And not only is our king, the 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:38.000 Lord Jesus Christ, the king, but he is the prophet, 00:09:38.039 --> 00:09:41.620 the priest, and the king. And it's not just in 00:09:41.620 --> 00:09:44.580 his work as king that he has succeeded, brothers 00:09:44.580 --> 00:09:47.419 and sisters. It's in his work as a prophet and 00:09:47.419 --> 00:09:51.740 as a priest that he always succeeds. He never 00:09:51.740 --> 00:09:56.879 fails his people. If we think about Adam, he 00:09:56.879 --> 00:10:02.759 was tested. He was tempted. He failed. If we 00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:07.259 think about David, he was tested. He was tempted. 00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:12.159 He what? Failed. If we think about the Lord Jesus 00:10:12.159 --> 00:10:18.279 Christ, he was tested. He was tempted. Yet he 00:10:18.279 --> 00:10:24.519 succeeded. And he always will succeed. That's 00:10:24.519 --> 00:10:28.620 what we must be reminded of. He overcame on the 00:10:28.620 --> 00:10:32.600 cross. He overcame in his life. He overcomes 00:10:32.600 --> 00:10:38.860 as king. That is our king. And in David's failure, 00:10:38.860 --> 00:10:42.519 we must always remember that. In some way, shape, 00:10:42.539 --> 00:10:46.960 or form, we see that David's sin caused him to 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:52.840 neglect his kingly duties. His sin with Bathsheba 00:10:52.840 --> 00:10:56.340 weakened and diminished his sense of obligation 00:10:56.340 --> 00:11:04.779 to the people. But here, in this text, amazingly 00:11:04.779 --> 00:11:10.009 enough, we see a renewal of that sense of duty 00:11:10.009 --> 00:11:13.370 to the people of God. He's caring for God's people 00:11:13.370 --> 00:11:17.370 again. He's thinking about them. He's interceding 00:11:17.370 --> 00:11:19.970 for them. And he's actually seeking out their 00:11:19.970 --> 00:11:24.690 good by praying for them. What's happened? What's 00:11:24.690 --> 00:11:28.129 changed in David's heart and David's soul? It's 00:11:28.129 --> 00:11:33.889 almost like he's forgotten about his sin and 00:11:33.889 --> 00:11:37.820 his guilt. And he's concerned about the people 00:11:37.820 --> 00:11:43.360 of God and God himself. This leads us to the 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:47.759 second thing we must see in this text. David's 00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:55.679 renewed concern for God himself. Why does David 00:11:55.679 --> 00:12:01.860 need his concern for the people of God and his 00:12:01.860 --> 00:12:05.580 concern for God himself to be renewed? Well, 00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:10.679 think about it. He was concerned for God himself. 00:12:11.820 --> 00:12:17.000 And he was concerned for his people before his 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:21.379 sin. Before his sin, he was a faithful king. 00:12:21.539 --> 00:12:26.220 He wasn't perfect. But before his sin, he did 00:12:26.220 --> 00:12:28.700 have great concern for the people of God. And 00:12:28.700 --> 00:12:31.299 he did care for God himself. He did have concern 00:12:31.299 --> 00:12:35.330 for God and his glory and his worship. And then 00:12:35.330 --> 00:12:41.149 in came his sin and his unwillingness to repent, 00:12:41.409 --> 00:12:47.590 his selfishness, his transgression, his concealment 00:12:47.590 --> 00:12:55.710 of his iniquity. And because of that, now we 00:12:55.710 --> 00:13:02.190 find his desires and his affections need reoriented. 00:13:03.500 --> 00:13:07.740 They need change because of the sin he has been 00:13:07.740 --> 00:13:13.139 in. What's in David's forefront at this moment? 00:13:14.120 --> 00:13:16.360 Well, what's been in David's, the forefront and 00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:18.179 prominence of David's mind up to this point? 00:13:19.220 --> 00:13:26.279 His guilt. His need for forgiveness. His shame 00:13:26.279 --> 00:13:29.860 and his sorrow, his brokenness. His need for 00:13:29.860 --> 00:13:33.000 purification, the absence, the conscious absence 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:35.539 of the Spirit of God in his life and his gracious 00:13:35.539 --> 00:13:37.779 influence. These have been the things that have 00:13:37.779 --> 00:13:42.000 dominated his conscious life, his mind, his heart. 00:13:43.659 --> 00:13:49.600 Because sin was so prominent and took such a 00:13:49.600 --> 00:13:52.740 prioritized place in his heart and his mind and 00:13:52.740 --> 00:13:57.879 his life for so long. And when that happens, 00:13:57.960 --> 00:14:01.419 everything else is pushed to the side or pushed 00:14:01.419 --> 00:14:09.100 to the back. When sin and the object of sin are 00:14:09.100 --> 00:14:15.779 given prominence, God in Christ, his commands, 00:14:16.019 --> 00:14:19.600 his law, his requirements, they are pushed down 00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:28.379 and they are pushed out, away. From us. So David 00:14:28.379 --> 00:14:32.620 needs. To have his concern for God. Renewed. 00:14:33.700 --> 00:14:36.379 Enlivened again. And here we see that it has 00:14:36.379 --> 00:14:42.779 in fact. Been. Enlivened again. We see his concern 00:14:42.779 --> 00:14:47.519 for God. Himself. In a few ways in this text. 00:14:48.259 --> 00:14:52.379 First we see it in that it is God's. Work. That 00:14:52.379 --> 00:14:56.210 he's appealing for. He's crying out that God 00:14:56.210 --> 00:14:59.850 himself, by his favor, would do good to Zion. 00:15:00.769 --> 00:15:04.009 He wants God's work in the life of God's people. 00:15:04.289 --> 00:15:07.289 He's concerned that God would build the walls 00:15:07.289 --> 00:15:10.350 of Jerusalem, that God would protect and strengthen 00:15:10.350 --> 00:15:13.990 and preserve the people of God. The work of God 00:15:13.990 --> 00:15:18.750 is prominent in his thinking, is prominent in 00:15:18.750 --> 00:15:23.299 his heart at this moment in his prayer. It is 00:15:23.299 --> 00:15:26.399 taking the lead. But it's not just the work of 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:28.919 God that's prominent and exalted in his mind 00:15:28.919 --> 00:15:32.179 and his heart and his thoughts. But it's the 00:15:32.179 --> 00:15:38.620 worship of God. We see this in verse 19. Then 00:15:38.620 --> 00:15:42.940 you will delight in righteous sacrifices and 00:15:42.940 --> 00:15:45.820 burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then 00:15:45.820 --> 00:15:49.240 young bulls will be offered on your altar. He's 00:15:49.240 --> 00:15:55.679 speaking of true. Faithful worship to God. And 00:15:55.679 --> 00:16:00.539 David is concerned about this. Yes, he's concerned 00:16:00.539 --> 00:16:02.679 about the people of God. But what is his great 00:16:02.679 --> 00:16:07.580 concern? God himself. He wants the people of 00:16:07.580 --> 00:16:10.120 God to give righteous sacrifices. But who are 00:16:10.120 --> 00:16:12.639 those righteous sacrifices to be pleasing to? 00:16:14.019 --> 00:16:18.779 God himself. He wants the people of God to offer. 00:16:19.340 --> 00:16:22.820 Burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Who 00:16:22.820 --> 00:16:26.960 is the smoke to ascend to, to be a pleasing aroma 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:32.399 to? God himself. He wants the people of God to 00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:35.960 give sacrifices and worship to God as tokens 00:16:35.960 --> 00:16:39.820 of their faith and true obedience. And who is 00:16:39.820 --> 00:16:45.240 it that they would be believing in? God himself. 00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:49.750 Who is it that they would be obedient? And whose 00:16:49.750 --> 00:16:52.470 commands would they be in compliance with and 00:16:52.470 --> 00:16:57.809 they'd be obedient to? God himself. Do you see 00:16:57.809 --> 00:17:04.549 how David has a renewed concern for God and his 00:17:04.549 --> 00:17:12.890 people in this text? God and his work, God and 00:17:12.890 --> 00:17:17.529 his people has returned to the rightful place. 00:17:18.200 --> 00:17:22.200 in David's heart, in David's mind, in David's 00:17:22.200 --> 00:17:28.740 thinking. It's almost like he's been cleansed 00:17:28.740 --> 00:17:33.319 of his corruption. It's almost like he's been 00:17:33.319 --> 00:17:36.180 cleansed of the active pollution from his sin. 00:17:36.420 --> 00:17:39.160 It's almost like the guilt has been washed away 00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:42.839 from his conscience. It's almost like his sins. 00:17:43.549 --> 00:17:46.730 have been forgiven. It's almost like he has in 00:17:46.730 --> 00:17:52.490 fact been restored by God. This leads us to the 00:17:52.490 --> 00:17:56.309 third thing in this text. David's restoration 00:17:56.309 --> 00:18:02.589 that renewed these concerns. When we think about 00:18:02.589 --> 00:18:07.069 this text, we look at it and we read it. We recognize 00:18:07.069 --> 00:18:11.400 that it's a vastly different character. than 00:18:11.400 --> 00:18:14.160 what came before it. We look at this text and 00:18:14.160 --> 00:18:19.660 it almost seems totally out of place. I mean, 00:18:19.700 --> 00:18:22.960 David's not praying that this will come about. 00:18:23.019 --> 00:18:26.940 He's actually praying for the people of God now. 00:18:27.660 --> 00:18:31.460 He's actually seeking their good by seeking the 00:18:31.460 --> 00:18:35.420 face of God on their behalf. His longings and 00:18:35.420 --> 00:18:39.539 his affections are set on the people of God and 00:18:39.539 --> 00:18:45.440 on... God, why is he so different? What has changed 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:50.420 within him that now he's freely and in an unhindered 00:18:50.420 --> 00:18:52.900 manner praying on behalf of the people of God, 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:56.740 wishing and desiring and longing good from God 00:18:56.740 --> 00:19:02.299 to them? Well, he's praying differently because 00:19:02.299 --> 00:19:07.400 he is different. He's praying like a restored 00:19:07.400 --> 00:19:12.410 man. He's praying like a man who's in good and 00:19:12.410 --> 00:19:18.430 right fellowship with God. So all of this time 00:19:18.430 --> 00:19:23.109 we've been referencing David's restoration, David's 00:19:23.109 --> 00:19:27.650 appeals, David's request, but what is restoration? 00:19:28.549 --> 00:19:32.150 We've thrown brief definitions here and there, 00:19:32.329 --> 00:19:37.609 but here we find that David is in fact restored, 00:19:37.789 --> 00:19:43.230 I believe. Restoration is where God receives 00:19:43.230 --> 00:19:48.910 the true repentance of the saint and restores 00:19:48.910 --> 00:19:54.990 them back to good fellowship with himself. This 00:19:54.990 --> 00:20:00.210 would include the forgiveness of sins. This would 00:20:00.210 --> 00:20:04.910 include cleansing from corruption and pollution. 00:20:05.089 --> 00:20:11.049 This would include... God's pardoning grace and 00:20:11.049 --> 00:20:16.650 his purifying grace. This would include the restoration 00:20:16.650 --> 00:20:22.650 of joy, the renewal of a steadfast spirit, the 00:20:22.650 --> 00:20:27.029 return of a willing spirit. This would include 00:20:27.029 --> 00:20:32.009 David's concern for the people of God and for 00:20:32.009 --> 00:20:38.109 God himself. We have to conclude. From this text. 00:20:42.130 --> 00:20:49.410 That his restoration results in a change in his 00:20:49.410 --> 00:20:54.650 affections with regards to God and his people. 00:20:55.650 --> 00:20:58.809 So we must look at this and we must examine David's 00:20:58.809 --> 00:21:03.230 life. We must think this is a final fruit of 00:21:03.230 --> 00:21:08.000 true repentance. But also, we must also recognize 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:12.240 that this is the ultimate result of restoration 00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:18.900 with God. What would it be? That true repentance 00:21:18.900 --> 00:21:26.920 leads to concern for God and others, particularly 00:21:26.920 --> 00:21:30.779 his people. And that restoration always results 00:21:30.779 --> 00:21:39.359 in love for God. and love for neighbor, particularly 00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:45.799 the people of God. I want to offer a few applications 00:21:45.799 --> 00:21:50.740 for this text. Just a few things for us to consider 00:21:50.740 --> 00:21:56.359 as we think about restoration and think about 00:21:56.359 --> 00:22:02.259 God's restoration of David upon David's true 00:22:02.259 --> 00:22:05.880 and genuine repentance. Let me offer us a couple 00:22:05.880 --> 00:22:08.119 of lessons with regards to the nature of sin. 00:22:09.640 --> 00:22:12.180 And then let me offer us a couple of lessons 00:22:12.180 --> 00:22:16.059 with regards to the nature of restoration. We 00:22:16.059 --> 00:22:21.240 have to take away from this text that sin is 00:22:21.240 --> 00:22:28.619 detrimental to others. That sin is not just harmful 00:22:28.619 --> 00:22:33.480 to ourselves, but it's harmful. to other people 00:22:33.480 --> 00:22:37.740 in our life. Yes, this was in a much larger extent 00:22:37.740 --> 00:22:40.400 to David because he was king over the people 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:43.200 of God and he had a covenant with God with regards 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:45.859 to that. And then it affected and influenced 00:22:45.859 --> 00:22:48.599 those underneath him. The sword would never leave 00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:51.759 his household is what the Bible says. But the 00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:57.599 same is true for us. When we sin, when you sin, 00:22:59.210 --> 00:23:05.670 It's never in isolation from other people. It 00:23:05.670 --> 00:23:10.009 always affects those closest to you. It always 00:23:10.009 --> 00:23:13.430 affects those around you. And it always affects 00:23:13.430 --> 00:23:18.230 the church of the living God. So you're not just 00:23:18.230 --> 00:23:23.730 sinning yourself. It affects your wife. It affects 00:23:23.730 --> 00:23:26.829 your husband. It affects your children negatively. 00:23:28.519 --> 00:23:31.660 It strips you of your vital and godly influence 00:23:31.660 --> 00:23:34.259 in their life. It strips you of your desire and 00:23:34.259 --> 00:23:37.000 your longing to do good to them with the gospel 00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:45.079 because of sin. It's detrimental to others. We 00:23:45.079 --> 00:23:48.779 never sin without there being ripple effects 00:23:48.779 --> 00:23:53.220 in the life of other people. When undealt with, 00:23:53.299 --> 00:23:57.319 sin remains in our life. How does that affect 00:23:57.319 --> 00:24:01.039 the people of God? What happens when you come 00:24:01.039 --> 00:24:05.539 to the worship of God on the Lord's Day and you 00:24:05.539 --> 00:24:10.480 have undealt with sin in your life? Do you worship 00:24:10.480 --> 00:24:14.539 as you ought to? Do you fellowship as you ought 00:24:14.539 --> 00:24:17.119 to? Do you edify and build up and encourage as 00:24:17.119 --> 00:24:25.069 you ought to? No. It's detrimental to... Those 00:24:25.069 --> 00:24:30.529 around you. It's selfish. That's what sin is. 00:24:31.470 --> 00:24:35.609 It's being selfish. And it takes our eyes off 00:24:35.609 --> 00:24:40.049 of others. It takes our eyes off of God himself. 00:24:40.250 --> 00:24:43.250 Off of Christ and redemption. And it puts them 00:24:43.250 --> 00:24:51.470 on us and our sin. Sin makes us more selfish 00:24:51.470 --> 00:24:57.980 than we already are. It takes us down a dark, 00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:05.460 dark rabbit hole. Sin is selfish, and it diminishes 00:25:05.460 --> 00:25:15.720 our sense of duty to God and his people. Our 00:25:15.720 --> 00:25:18.480 duty and our obligation to God and his church 00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:27.109 remains even when we are in sin. However, when 00:25:27.109 --> 00:25:30.509 we are in sin and we refuse to deal with sin 00:25:30.509 --> 00:25:36.029 in our life, we have an unwillingness to fulfill 00:25:36.029 --> 00:25:39.170 those obligations and those duties to God and 00:25:39.170 --> 00:25:42.509 his people because the sin has stripped us. It's 00:25:42.509 --> 00:25:45.230 diminished. It's decreased. It's taken away from 00:25:45.230 --> 00:25:48.130 our desire, our sense of obligation and duty 00:25:48.130 --> 00:25:52.309 to God. Have you ever experienced that in your 00:25:52.309 --> 00:25:56.319 life, brothers and sisters? That when you refuse 00:25:56.319 --> 00:26:00.460 to deal with your sin, you don't want to give 00:26:00.460 --> 00:26:02.900 your duty and your service and your honor to 00:26:02.900 --> 00:26:07.220 God and Christ. That's what it does. That's what 00:26:07.220 --> 00:26:09.559 it did to David, and that's what it does to us. 00:26:15.400 --> 00:26:22.779 It exalts all kinds of things into prominence 00:26:22.779 --> 00:26:30.460 in your life. that ought not to be there. It 00:26:30.460 --> 00:26:35.420 makes all kinds of things in this world to be 00:26:35.420 --> 00:26:38.740 exalted and to be prominent and to take the forefront 00:26:38.740 --> 00:26:42.180 of our mind, our heart, and our lives when God 00:26:42.180 --> 00:26:46.940 and Christ and his word ought to be there. That's 00:26:46.940 --> 00:26:50.099 what sin does. It exalts all kinds of things 00:26:50.099 --> 00:26:54.369 right to the centerpiece of our lives. To such 00:26:54.369 --> 00:27:00.950 an extent that we push everything out. Sin exalts 00:27:00.950 --> 00:27:09.250 the world, the flesh, and the devil into a prominent 00:27:09.250 --> 00:27:14.609 and a well -known place in our hearts. It takes 00:27:14.609 --> 00:27:17.490 our priorities and it leads us all over the place, 00:27:17.589 --> 00:27:19.809 all over the land, and it brings us to places 00:27:19.809 --> 00:27:21.910 we don't want to go and we didn't want to be. 00:27:29.319 --> 00:27:36.720 Sin exalts even good things to the place where 00:27:36.720 --> 00:27:41.079 they shouldn't be. It exalts family members. 00:27:41.099 --> 00:27:45.240 It exalts loved ones. It exalts children. It 00:27:45.240 --> 00:27:48.180 exalts the world. It exalts the culture. It exalts 00:27:48.180 --> 00:27:51.809 all kinds of activities and entertainment. Everything. 00:27:51.809 --> 00:27:54.789 It can take anything and morph it and shape it 00:27:54.789 --> 00:27:57.329 and place it right square in the middle of your 00:27:57.329 --> 00:28:01.309 life and make you worship it. That's what sin 00:28:01.309 --> 00:28:06.109 does. It exalts and gives prominence to all kinds 00:28:06.109 --> 00:28:09.470 of things that ought not take priority in your 00:28:09.470 --> 00:28:13.329 life. To where you take your affections and your 00:28:13.329 --> 00:28:15.410 heart and your desires and your longings and 00:28:15.410 --> 00:28:19.920 they're set squarely on that object. That's what 00:28:19.920 --> 00:28:30.259 sin does. It dries up our love for others. That's 00:28:30.259 --> 00:28:35.539 what sin does. It causes us to love ourselves 00:28:35.539 --> 00:28:39.700 or something else, all the while we forget to 00:28:39.700 --> 00:28:46.720 love our neighbor. We forget to love God. Because 00:28:46.720 --> 00:28:50.019 our affections are tied up, with this thing we've 00:28:50.019 --> 00:28:53.980 exalted and placed prominence on. We don't love 00:28:53.980 --> 00:28:56.359 our fellow man and we don't love the church of 00:28:56.359 --> 00:28:59.960 God when we are not dealing with sin in our lives. 00:29:08.220 --> 00:29:14.519 It dries up our love for our wives, our children, 00:29:14.720 --> 00:29:19.809 our husbands, our neighbors. our church, our 00:29:19.809 --> 00:29:25.890 father, our mother. It makes us think about ourselves 00:29:25.890 --> 00:29:28.910 and our sin to the extent that we don't love 00:29:28.910 --> 00:29:33.410 others as we ought to. Brothers and sisters, 00:29:33.450 --> 00:29:37.650 sin does all of these things. It's dangerous. 00:29:39.769 --> 00:29:43.150 It's not to be held on to. It's not to be played 00:29:43.150 --> 00:29:47.480 with. It's not something that you coddle and 00:29:47.480 --> 00:29:51.099 you keep up with, that you just push to the side. 00:29:52.900 --> 00:29:56.380 Sin is something that we repent of, and then 00:29:56.380 --> 00:30:00.799 we ask for the forgiveness of our sins. Sin is 00:30:00.799 --> 00:30:04.019 something we confess to God as unrighteous and 00:30:04.019 --> 00:30:07.599 wicked, as deceitful. It's something we bring 00:30:07.599 --> 00:30:11.099 to God as iniquity and evil, and we cry out to 00:30:11.099 --> 00:30:18.650 Him, Father, forgive me for my sin. Sin does 00:30:18.650 --> 00:30:21.130 all of these things in our hearts, and we let 00:30:21.130 --> 00:30:28.730 it. We allow it to do these things. But thank 00:30:28.730 --> 00:30:32.430 God it doesn't stop there. We can be restored 00:30:32.430 --> 00:30:38.470 by God through Jesus Christ. Let me offer us 00:30:38.470 --> 00:30:42.930 a few lessons or thoughts on the nature of restoration. 00:30:45.090 --> 00:30:51.950 Restoration is always available and always effective 00:30:51.950 --> 00:30:57.130 for those who will repent of their sin. As I've 00:30:57.130 --> 00:31:01.930 said in previous messages on this text, God is 00:31:01.930 --> 00:31:07.670 willing and ready to forgive you and me of my 00:31:07.670 --> 00:31:12.789 sins if we'll just go to him and forsake our 00:31:12.789 --> 00:31:17.640 sin. It's always there and it's always effective 00:31:17.640 --> 00:31:21.059 in our life. He will forgive your sins. He will 00:31:21.059 --> 00:31:24.759 cleanse your conscience of guilt. He will purge 00:31:24.759 --> 00:31:28.819 you of your iniquity, your pollution, your corruption. 00:31:29.039 --> 00:31:31.619 He will take away your shame and your sorrow. 00:31:31.700 --> 00:31:35.119 He will pardon your sins if you'll go to him 00:31:35.119 --> 00:31:40.519 and confess them. If you'll go to him and ask 00:31:40.519 --> 00:31:45.920 him to forgive you. He's always willing. He's 00:31:45.920 --> 00:31:50.680 always ready. Nothing's keeping him back except 00:31:50.680 --> 00:31:57.019 the absence of true and genuine repentance, which 00:31:57.019 --> 00:32:00.960 comes from us, brothers and sisters. It's always 00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:04.079 there, it's always available, and it's always 00:32:04.079 --> 00:32:08.140 effective. And when we truly repent, restoration 00:32:08.140 --> 00:32:12.980 is always effective in our lives as well. Meaning 00:32:12.980 --> 00:32:17.420 God always brings us back into fellowship with 00:32:17.420 --> 00:32:20.680 him because of the Lord Jesus Christ, because 00:32:20.680 --> 00:32:24.299 of our faith in him, because of a sacrifice. 00:32:24.640 --> 00:32:30.279 And when we are restored because of Christ. Just 00:32:30.279 --> 00:32:33.960 as our sin was detrimental to the people of God 00:32:33.960 --> 00:32:36.660 and detrimental to those around us, our restoration 00:32:36.660 --> 00:32:40.299 results in positive influence and impact through 00:32:40.299 --> 00:32:42.839 vital godliness and holiness in the lives of 00:32:42.839 --> 00:32:47.220 those around us once again. So it's not just, 00:32:47.400 --> 00:32:50.700 brothers and sisters, that our sin affects people 00:32:50.700 --> 00:32:54.619 around us, but your return to God affects those 00:32:54.619 --> 00:33:04.019 around you as well. Impact on your family. Your 00:33:04.019 --> 00:33:06.980 holiness and your godliness actually impacts 00:33:06.980 --> 00:33:09.220 the people around you. When the Spirit of God 00:33:09.220 --> 00:33:11.819 is graciously influencing you and working in 00:33:11.819 --> 00:33:16.440 your heart, that impacts people. That affects 00:33:16.440 --> 00:33:20.740 people in your life. So don't just turn from 00:33:20.740 --> 00:33:23.400 your sin and be restored for yourself, but turn 00:33:23.400 --> 00:33:26.039 from your sin and be restored with God and in 00:33:26.039 --> 00:33:28.609 good fellowship with Him. For the sake of your 00:33:28.609 --> 00:33:33.650 family. For the sake of those around you. For 00:33:33.650 --> 00:33:35.970 the sake of your church. For the sake of God. 00:33:37.630 --> 00:33:40.089 For his glory and his worship and his goodness 00:33:40.089 --> 00:33:45.710 and his honor. You are keeping back your vital 00:33:45.710 --> 00:33:48.230 godliness and your holy influence in the lives 00:33:48.230 --> 00:33:50.509 of people because you won't give up your sin. 00:33:51.670 --> 00:33:57.779 Because I won't give up my sin. So our... affects 00:33:57.779 --> 00:34:06.059 those around us as well, just like our sin did. 00:34:07.519 --> 00:34:18.440 Sin leads us. Restoration leads us beyond ourselves. 00:34:20.639 --> 00:34:27.340 Where does it lead us? It leads us not to selfishness, 00:34:27.400 --> 00:34:32.000 but being restored with God because of Christ 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:35.639 and his glorious sacrifice, actually leads us 00:34:35.639 --> 00:34:44.340 to be unselfish. It leads us to sacrificial love. 00:34:45.599 --> 00:34:50.019 It leads us to self -denial in loving others. 00:34:51.119 --> 00:34:53.739 It doesn't take, it doesn't take away from people. 00:34:53.880 --> 00:34:56.719 It doesn't get consumed with itself. It places 00:34:56.719 --> 00:34:59.400 God in the place he ought to be. And then we 00:34:59.400 --> 00:35:03.199 love others as we ought to because we're restored 00:35:03.199 --> 00:35:06.980 through Jesus Christ and in good fellowship with 00:35:06.980 --> 00:35:13.679 God. It leads us beyond ourselves to God and 00:35:13.679 --> 00:35:19.619 his people. Now, The restored man, the restored 00:35:19.619 --> 00:35:24.059 woman, the restored young person can rightly 00:35:24.059 --> 00:35:30.300 edify, encourage, exhort, and worship God because 00:35:30.300 --> 00:35:33.440 they're free from the hindrance of sin and corruption 00:35:33.440 --> 00:35:35.860 and pollution and guilt in their life. You can 00:35:35.860 --> 00:35:39.500 come to worship on the Lord's Day and you can 00:35:39.500 --> 00:35:42.039 love those people you're sitting next to as you 00:35:42.039 --> 00:35:45.889 ought to. That's the glorious reality associated 00:35:45.889 --> 00:35:48.090 with restoration, and it's always available. 00:35:49.170 --> 00:35:52.989 God will always restore you. He will always cleanse 00:35:52.989 --> 00:35:57.590 your corruption, your conscience of guilt. It 00:35:57.590 --> 00:36:01.190 will go to him. It leads us beyond ourselves, 00:36:01.510 --> 00:36:09.690 and it leads us to impact others. It strengthens 00:36:09.690 --> 00:36:17.659 our duty. to God and his church. Just as David's 00:36:17.659 --> 00:36:22.780 sin weakened and diminished his kingly duties 00:36:22.780 --> 00:36:25.719 and obligation to care for the people of God, 00:36:25.920 --> 00:36:30.780 what did David's restoration produce and do with 00:36:30.780 --> 00:36:33.940 regards to his kingly duties and his obligation 00:36:33.940 --> 00:36:41.579 to God? It strengthened it. So if you want... 00:36:45.389 --> 00:36:50.010 To be more obedient and more faithful to God 00:36:50.010 --> 00:36:55.130 and the church. As a member of his kingdom and 00:36:55.130 --> 00:37:03.550 unto him. What does that mean? It means asking 00:37:03.550 --> 00:37:07.750 for the forgiveness of your sins and being restored. 00:37:09.130 --> 00:37:13.389 That your sense of duty to the people of God 00:37:13.389 --> 00:37:17.679 and to God himself. can be strengthened and edified 00:37:17.679 --> 00:37:22.440 and built up by the Spirit of God at work in 00:37:22.440 --> 00:37:29.280 our lives. Most importantly, I think, in all 00:37:29.280 --> 00:37:36.820 of these, restoration results in giving Christ 00:37:36.820 --> 00:37:42.420 in redemption, God himself, that place of prominence. 00:37:44.039 --> 00:37:48.739 and exaltation in our thinking, in our heart, 00:37:48.820 --> 00:37:54.920 and in our lives. It leads us to push other things 00:37:54.920 --> 00:37:59.119 to the wayside, other things out, other things 00:37:59.119 --> 00:38:02.119 down, and where does Christ and redemption go 00:38:02.119 --> 00:38:04.539 with regards to our heart? Right smack in the 00:38:04.539 --> 00:38:11.280 middle. That's what repentance brings in our 00:38:11.280 --> 00:38:15.360 life. That's what... Restoration results in giving 00:38:15.360 --> 00:38:18.699 Christ the rightful place in our hearts and in 00:38:18.699 --> 00:38:23.500 our lives. To where our thoughts circulate around 00:38:23.500 --> 00:38:29.219 him. To where our lives are involved with God 00:38:29.219 --> 00:38:32.639 and Christ in everything we do. We see the people 00:38:32.639 --> 00:38:35.119 of God, but it's always in light of God himself. 00:38:36.880 --> 00:38:40.159 We see our activities and we see our job and 00:38:40.159 --> 00:38:42.139 we see our work and we see our focus for the 00:38:42.139 --> 00:38:44.719 day, but it's always with a view to our greater 00:38:44.719 --> 00:38:50.420 concern, which is Jesus Christ. He's not diminished 00:38:50.420 --> 00:38:53.579 or weakened or set aside. He's exalted and lifted 00:38:53.579 --> 00:38:57.179 up because of restoration through Jesus Christ. 00:38:58.460 --> 00:39:04.719 That's the reality. And just as sin dries up 00:39:04.719 --> 00:39:10.739 our love, For our fellow man, restoration leads 00:39:10.739 --> 00:39:16.059 us to care for the souls of others. If we think 00:39:16.059 --> 00:39:20.280 about David, think about what he has experienced 00:39:20.280 --> 00:39:26.280 in his restoration. And this glorious path back 00:39:26.280 --> 00:39:30.239 to fellowship with God in repentance. He has 00:39:30.239 --> 00:39:33.000 experienced the grace of God at work in his soul. 00:39:34.699 --> 00:39:37.039 He has experienced the forgiveness of sins. He's 00:39:37.039 --> 00:39:39.539 experienced pardoning grace and he's experienced 00:39:39.539 --> 00:39:46.719 purifying grace. Now somebody who's experienced 00:39:46.719 --> 00:39:51.260 the grace of God to such a degree, to somebody 00:39:51.260 --> 00:39:54.159 who God has been so gracious and so merciful 00:39:54.159 --> 00:39:57.719 and so compassionate and so kind to, how can 00:39:57.719 --> 00:40:03.739 that person not want others to experience that 00:40:03.739 --> 00:40:09.579 same? To know that same God who is so gracious 00:40:09.579 --> 00:40:15.780 and so kind and so merciful. Restoration leads 00:40:15.780 --> 00:40:19.960 us to love other people so that we're concerned 00:40:19.960 --> 00:40:25.639 for their soul. Being right with God with regards 00:40:25.639 --> 00:40:33.190 to fellowship leads us to wanting others. to 00:40:33.190 --> 00:40:38.530 know God as we know him. We want them to be in 00:40:38.530 --> 00:40:41.989 possession of the experiential religion in our 00:40:41.989 --> 00:40:45.949 own heart, in their hearts, that we have in our 00:40:45.949 --> 00:40:49.929 hearts. We want them to experience his work in 00:40:49.929 --> 00:40:56.889 their life as we have. Really, somebody who's 00:40:56.889 --> 00:41:02.179 been truly repentant and truly restored. They 00:41:02.179 --> 00:41:06.960 can't help but be concerned for others because 00:41:06.960 --> 00:41:11.519 of the grace that they themselves have been shown 00:41:11.519 --> 00:41:16.780 through Jesus Christ. So we've seen that David 00:41:16.780 --> 00:41:20.659 has a renewed concern for the people of God. 00:41:21.739 --> 00:41:25.119 We've seen that David has a renewed concern for 00:41:25.119 --> 00:41:29.900 God himself. And we see why. We see the basis 00:41:29.900 --> 00:41:33.349 for this. the fact that he's been restored to 00:41:33.349 --> 00:41:38.409 fellowship with God. The same can be true for 00:41:38.409 --> 00:41:44.969 all of us. The same is true for those who turn 00:41:44.969 --> 00:41:49.650 from their sin, trust in Christ, and look to 00:41:49.650 --> 00:41:50.710 him for life.