As an adolescent David defeated the giant Goliath. As a man he practiced repentance on an ongoing basis. As king he learned the hard way that obedience is not a natural human tendency.
Like King David, we all have allowed our flesh to rule our lives at one time or another by lying to ourselves. Believing our sin will not hurt others and will remain a secret.
King David eventually realized the error of his ways and publically repented. Confessing his sin. Psalm 51 is this declaration of repentance.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him after he had sinned with Bathsheba. Psalm 51: Subtitle
The acknowledgment of sin is the first step of repentance. You must submit therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands and purify your hearts. Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. James 4:7-10
Only then can God’s righteousness purify you.
Alone you are powerless to withstand the devil’s arsenal of deceptive lies. If you want to win the battle for your soul, then you must resolve in your heart that God’s truth is your shield and armor.
Have mercy upon me O God. According to Your steadfast love. According to the multitude of Your tender mercy and loving kindness. Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly and repeatedly from my iniquity and guilt and cleanse me and make me wholly pure from my sin! Psalm 51:1-2
It is God’s mercy and love— Jesus Christ who washes the evil from our souls. Even before the world was made. God had already chosen us to be His through our union with Christ so that we would be holy and without fault before Him.
Because of His love God had already decided that through Jesus Christ He would make us His children. This was his pleasure and purpose.
Let us praise God for His glorious grace. For the free gift He gave us in His dear Son! For by the blood of Christ we are set free. That is, our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God. Which He gave to us in such large measure!
In all His wisdom and insight God did what He had purposed, and made known to us the secret plan He had already decided to complete by means of Christ. This plan, which God will complete when the time is right is to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth, with Christ as head.
All things are done according to God’s plan and decision. God chose us to be His own people in union with Christ because of His own purpose. Based on what He had decided from the very beginning.
Let us then who were the first to hope in Christ. Praise God’s glory!
You also became God’s people when you heard the true message. The Good News that brought you salvation. You believed in Christ, and God put His stamp of ownership on you by giving you the Holy Spirit He had promised.
The Spirit is the guarantee that we shall receive what God has promised His people. This assures us that God will give complete freedom to those who are His.
Let us praise His glory! Ephesians 1:4-14
Return next week for the conclusion of the repentance series.
Be a VOICE shouting into the wilderness.
“CHRIST is returning!”
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