Episode 91- Heart Lessons – The Repentant Heart

Speaker 1 (00:00):

Life is hard at times. Our hearts often get bruised and battered yet God offers us words that help and heal those hearts when we turn to him. Welcome to the Sweet Selah Moments Podcast, where we study his word and find strength for the day. The Sweet Selah Moments Podcast is a cooperative production of Word Radio and Sweet Selah Ministries.

Nicole (00:29):

Welcome to the Sweet Selah Moments Podcast. This is episode 91, The Repentant Heart. Sharon, we left David in a terrible place last week.

Sharon (00:37):

We did.

Nicole (00:38):

He had committed adultery, murdered a man and tried to cover it up. He surely had some big repenting to do. What does it mean to repent anyway? And why is it so hard?

Sharon (00:47):

Oh, the second question’s harder to answer than the first. Well, the dictionary definition just simply states ‘we feel remorse for an action’. (Nicole: Okay) But the biblical definition is much more complex. So, here’s what Got Questions has to say. The word repentance in the Bible literally means ‘the act of changing one’s mind’. So it’s very much an internal thing.

Nicole (01:10):

I like that better.

Sharon (01:11):

True biblical repentance goes beyond remorse, regret, or feeling bad about one’s sin. It involves more than merely turning away from sin even. Eerdman’s Bible Dictionary includes this definition, which I think is excellent ‘in its fullest sense it is a term for a complete change of orientation involving a judgment upon the past and a deliberate redirection for the future’.

Nicole (01:36):

Oh, that is good.

Sharon (01:37):

I mean, this is like a life decision. (Nicole: Yeah). And that’s why most of the time repentance doesn’t work well, if it’s half done, it’s like, Oh, I wish I hadn’t done that. You know?

Nicole (01:47):

Right.

Sharon (01:47):

But there’s no determination that, that’s it, I’m done. I am not doing this again and the turning away. So, and actually I’m reminded of the old, I think it’s Fireproof movie, where the guy’s so mad at his computer cause he keeps going back to pornography. So he kills the computer.

Nicole (02:07):

He smashes it to bits.

Sharon (02:09):

He smashes it with an ax, or I don’t know what he smashed it with, but that’s repentance.

Nicole (02:14):

It is.

Sharon (02:14):

I hate this sin. I do not want it anymore. I’m turning, I’m reorienting.

Nicole (02:19):

To make it difficult to go back to it. Yeah.

Sharon (02:21):

Oh yeah. Absolutely.

Nicole (02:23):

Well, that’s good.

Sharon (02:24):

So it also makes me think of though, the Sermon on the Mount, cause Jesus has some really good things to say about a total repentance, a total turning, and also sort of the understanding that a sin is just not a surface thing. It starts in the heart, which we did talk about last week. So why don’t you start with Jesus’ words about murder, one of the Big Ten, the Ten Commandments, in Matthew 5:21-22.

Nicole (02:50):

All right. “You have heard that our ancestors were told, you must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment. But I say, if you are are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment. If you call someone an idiot, you’re in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you’re in danger of the fires of hell.”

Sharon (03:09):

Okay. So that’s …clear.

Nicole (03:11):

No mincing words there. So it feels like Jesus is trying to explain here that the law, there’s the law, which is good, but Jesus really cares more about what’s happening inside our hearts, our intentions, not just our actions.

Sharon (03:24):

Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, just because we haven’t murdered doesn’t mean we (didn’t) wish someone would be dead. And that itself is sin.

Nicole (03:32):

Isn’t that so convicting though?

Sharon (03:34):

Yes. It is.

Nicole (03:35):

Even thinking and dwelling on something is just as bad as doing it.

Sharon (03:38):

Yeah. Imagining them dying a torturous death cause you’re mad at them. You know, that’s bad. That’s like committing murder, because God sees the heart and God, I mean, this is Heart Lessons. This entire series is on the heart lessons and God sees our heart. So even that, Oh man. Well, moving a little further down in Matthew 5, Jesus has words about adultery too, which is particularly pertinent to David (Nicole: Yes) seeing he did not avert the eyes from the bathing Bathsheba. So I’m gonna read verses 27 to 30. “You have heard the commandment that says ‘You must not commit adultery’. But I say anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. So if your eye, even your good eye, causes you to lust, gouge it out, throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your hand, even your stronger hand causes you to sin, well cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” Okay.

Nicole (04:49):

Again, some pretty heavy language.

Sharon (04:51):

That’s some crazy language. Yes. Jesus is super serious about sin and the consequences. (Nicole: Yeah) He knows hell. (Nicole: Yeah) We don’t, we don’t even like thinking about hell. (Nicole: No) I don’t dwell on hell. But he knows it. And he’s like, You don’t want to go there. It would be better to be without an eye or a hand, anything, to stay away from evil. Please stay away from evil. So, even looking at someone lustfully, is disrespectful to them and to their body. (Nicole: Yeah) It’s a misuse of their body and it must not happen. So if we obeyed, literally, of course, most of us would be without an eye or a hand.

Nicole (05:38):

Oh my goodness.

Sharon (05:38):

For something that we thought of in our hearts.

Nicole (05:41):

Right.

Sharon (05:41):

So talk to me, why is God using this kind of language when talking about sin? Mm.

Nicole (05:46):

I think you touched on it, even though it sounds a bit gruesome. He knows how devastating the consequences of sin are. And I think he just wants to show us that it is important to avoid sin at all costs. I don’t think we should actually go around chopping off our hands, but this language is so strong, it just shows us how incredibly important it is to try to flee from sin whenever it first presents itself to us. (Sharon: Yes!) You know?

Sharon (06:08):

Yes, yes, yes.

Nicole (06:09):

It’s, you know, and as for our eyes, they really are the first things on our body to be tempted. We see something, then we want, then we dwell, then we lust, et cetera. But we need to be super careful what we allow our eyes to see.

Sharon (06:22):

Right. Because it’s the beginning of being off that path we talked about last week. (Nicole: It is.) It’s just we can’t be doing that. We can’t. And I think the other thing is, sometimes we say we can’t stop. Right? (Nicole: Mm-hmm). Oh, I just can’t help it.

Nicole (06:33):

It’s just who I am, or whatever.

Sharon (06:35):

Yes. So Jesus is like, All right, then cut off your hand.

Nicole (06:37):

Right. No excuses.

Sharon (06:38):

You’re, No wait. No wait.

Nicole (06:41):

Maybe I’ll try to stop.

Sharon (06:41):

I can stop. So sometimes we fool ourselves.

Nicole (06:45):

Yeah. That’s a great point.

Sharon (06:47):

Oh boy. Oh boy. So I think what we’re learning here is that to really repent one has to hate the sin and want nothing to do with it. That total reorientation, I don’t want this, I am done. (Nicole: Mm-hmm) I wanna change direction no matter what the personal cost is.

Nicole (07:03):

Right.

Sharon (07:03):

You know, even to losing a hand. Although I don’t believe that Jesus, literally, I think he was saying, we can do this.

Nicole (07:10):

Right.

Sharon (07:11):

So don’t say you can’t.

Nicole (07:12):

You can change before you lop off your hand. So get to it.

Sharon (07:14):

Yeah. So I think I need to pray more that God helps me see the serious damage sins cause.

Nicole (07:20):

Oh yeah.

Sharon (07:20):

You know? If we saw the damage, that would help too. I’ve talked before about that sin of bitterness in my own life that made it harder for my daughters to love and trust God. Here I was saying, we should love others, mouthing all the right words, and yet bitter, angry words were coming out of my mouth concerning the person who I thought had mistreated Katherine back in her high school days. (Nicole: Oh) sin has consequences beyond what we can imagine. (Nicole: Mm-hmm) It’s kinda like the pebble dropped in a pond where the ripples go on and on and on. Hmm. So can you think of a current example, Nicole, of a far reaching consequence of sin?

Nicole (07:56):

Yeah. Kind of, well, parents, we play such an important role and I think of a more dramatic example of a family in extreme brokenness where there’s abuse or alcoholism that can stretch for generations.

Sharon (08:07):

It can.

Nicole (08:07):

I’ve seen it in my own family and it’s devastating.

Sharon (08:10):

Yeah. Yeah.

Nicole (08:11):

And you think also you hear so much about school shootings and you think about that child that started playing a violent video game and it was just a game. But the more that they played it, the more immune they were to the violence and maybe they were bullied or saw someone they didn’t like and those thoughts started festering and building and then, you know, the consequences are death. (Sharon: Yeah) For, you know,

Sharon (08:30):

For innocents.

Nicole (08:31):

For small children.

Sharon (08:32):

Yes.

Nicole (08:32):

Yeah.

Sharon (08:32):

Yes.

Nicole (08:33):

So, we don’t know. Some, most big sins start out small and they’re so dangerous. It’s Oh, just a video game, just a drink, just a date with someone who isn’t my husband or whatever.

Sharon (08:44):

Right.

Nicole (08:44):

And it turns into devastating consequences.

Sharon (08:46):

Yes. And not just us, it affects children. It affects (Nicole: Oh yes) generations. It affects other people.

Nicole (08:51):

Yeah. Absolutely.

Sharon (08:52):

So we all have blind spots though, you know?

Nicole (08:55):

Yeah.

Sharon (08:55):

Where we don’t realize where sin is leading. I felt so justified at being angry at this girl who had mistreated my daughter.

Nicole (09:03):

Absolutely.

Sharon (09:05):

So for a while it didn’t feel like sin to me. I just felt so justified. It wasn’t until later when my daughter shared with me how it devastated her to see me so angry and bitter. Cause you know what? It starts to take over your life. (Nicole: Yeah) I had snide comments all the time about her. Well that’s just ugly. (Nicole: Yeah) It is. And I became a not nice person. Okay. Well, let’s get back to David.

Nicole (09:27):

It’s time … yes.

Sharon (09:27):

Nicole, he sinned so big and we talked about the little steps that led up to it that he must have known and felt it. And yet apparently he carried on for quite a while pretending that, Oh, he just happened to marry Bathsheba, perhaps as a kindly gesture after her husband died so unfortunately. And then what? Look at that. She got pregnant very quickly after the marriage. Right?

Nicole (09:50):

Right.

Sharon (09:51):

But what do you think was going on inside his head?

Nicole (09:53):

Oh my goodness. I mean, like you said, he must have known this was wrong. He’s walked with God since he was a little boy in the fields playing his little harp. You know, he, he knows. But you know, as, as we all know, when we stray from the path, sometimes we try to fix it on our own?

Sharon (10:07):

Yes.

Nicole (10:08):

Or do something to appease our guilty conscience in order to hide from the truth. I know I try to do that too. And or just to avoid God for a bit. That, you know, I wonder if he felt a bit like a hero swooping in to save this widow quote ‘marked’ from shame.

Sharon (10:22):

You know, he helped to justify it that way. Well, I’ve got to help her now. I’m noble.

Nicole (10:26):

Right. Yes. And now I’ll give her a home in my palace. And Yeah. I wonder if that was part of it.

Sharon (10:30):

Now, without the prophet Nathan and without David’s willingness to repent, this story would have even a worse ending than it does. So we’re gonna read Nathan’s clever way of helping David see what it was he did.

Nicole (10:43):

Hmm. This is interesting. Okay. We’re gonna be reading from 2 Samuel. We’ll reread the last verse in chapter 11 and then move on to chapter 12. And I’ll start. “When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him.”

Sharon (10:56):

“And when the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace. And she became one of his wives.”

Nicole (11:03):

One. Poor thing.

Sharon (11:04):

(Oh man) “Then she gave birth to a son. But the Lord was displeased with what David had done.”

Nicole (11:11):

Nathan Rebukes David “So the Lord sent Nathan the Prophet to tell David this story. There were two men in a certain town. One was rich and one was poor'”

Sharon (11:20):

“The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle.”

Nicole (11:23):

“The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised the little lamb and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man’s own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter.” (Ohhh)

Sharon (11:34):

Okay. So this is a pet.

Nicole (11:36):

This is a very loved sheep. Yeah.

Sharon (11:38):

Yeah. Very lucky little sheep.

Nicole (11:40):

I know.

Sharon (11:41):

“One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest.”

Nicole (11:52):

“David was furious. As surely as the Lord lives, he vowed, any man who would do such a thing deserves to die.”

Sharon (11:58):

“He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity.”

Nicole (12:04):

“Then Nathan said to David, You are that man, the Lord the God of Israel, says, I anointed you King of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul.”

Sharon (12:12):

“I gave you your master’s house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would’ve given you much, much more.”

Nicole (12:23):

“Why then have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife.”

Sharon (12:32):

“From this time on your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own.”

Nicole (12:40):

“This is what the Lord says, Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man before your very eyes and he will go to bed with them in public view.”

Sharon (12:52):

“You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel.” Oh wow. What a way to make him see.

Nicole (13:02):

Yikes. Yeah.

Sharon (13:03):

David’s getting all riled up about that little sheep (Nicole: I know) and furious. He probably was so used to getting his own way. He didn’t even realize the story was about him until Nathan said, You are that man.

Nicole (13:14):

Wow. I didn’t even think about that.

Sharon (13:16):

And that story just shook him up. And then he realized he’d just condemned himself. (Nicole: Mm-hmm) You know?

Nicole (13:22):

Oh man.

Sharon (13:22):

As well he should.

Nicole (13:24):

Mm-hmm.

Sharon (13:24):

I love how God uses stories to teach us. It’s not the only time in scripture, is it?

Nicole (13:29):

No, he does. Jesus taught in parables and it was the same, you know, there. The Parable of the Good Samaritan made listeners realize that they could be the bad guys in the story.

Sharon (13:38):

Yes, they could.

Nicole (13:39):

Simply by walking by a person in need. That it was a Samaritan that helped out probably shamed them a bit, you know, and made them realize their prejudice against Samaritans too.

Sharon (13:49):

Yes. Yeah. Or the story of The Prodigal Son, where everyone’s all upset with the younger son and then wow, the older son behaves badly too. Zing.

Nicole (13:57):

Yep.

Sharon (13:58):

Right?

Nicole (13:58):

That one always gets me.

Sharon (13:59):

Yeah. Stories get the point across. And this one did. So what was God’s point?

Nicole (14:05):

Mm. I think in this story, God is trying to remind David of all that he had given him, you know, and asking David to examine his heart and wonder why he was still searching for more instead of focusing on the blessings that God had already given him, and to see where God had brought him. And Oh, Sharon, where was this heart of the king that was praising God for bringing him into this beautiful palace a few verses back?

Sharon (14:27):

I know, boy, things can change on a dime, can’t they?

Nicole (14:31):

Yeah. So quickly. Comfort sometimes just lulls us into a sense of like, well, I don’t need God.

Sharon (14:36):

Yeah, yeah. Sometimes the good times are the scary ones because you get lulled.

Nicole (14:39):

Yes.

Sharon (14:40):

We have to always be vigilant.

Nicole (14:42):

Absolutely.

Sharon (14:42):

I always pray, Lord, help me to remember you in the good times.

Nicole (14:46):

Yes.

Sharon (14:47):

I want to be good in them too. I don’t wanna forget you.

Nicole (14:50):

Right. Cause when we’re in the hard times, we’re praying and striving and struggling to get to that good place. And we’re there and it’s like, we just go, Oh, and collapse and lay down arms.

Sharon (14:58):

Yeah, I’ve got it now. You know? Yeah.

Nicole (14:58):

We’re good, thanks God. I’m just gonna sit here. And he’s like, Oh, no.

Sharon (15:03):

No. You still need to be with me.

Nicole (15:04):

You wander off the path. Yes.

Sharon (15:06):

Yes. Well, let’s talk now about those last few verses. The consequences of David’s sin are going to be super severe. (Nicole: Yeah) His own whole household will rebel against him. We’re gonna talk about that next week when David’s son tries to attack him and take the kingdom from him by force. And yes, that second ugly part about another man taking David’s wives comes true as well. As his own son now does that in the next episode.

Nicole (15:30):

Yeah. Stay tuned for more.

Sharon (15:31):

Yeah. How horrible. David’s lack of respect for women and his own wives and kids in his behavior was going to affect the next generation. It’s so, so sad.

Nicole (15:40):

It is. We need to be so careful, Sharon, that we don’t let sin get a foothold in our lives. And goodness, that’s a sobering thought.

Sharon (15:46):

It is.

Nicole (15:47):

When I think that my sin can hurt and harm my children it actually really helps me want to do better.

Sharon (15:52):

Doesn’t it?

Nicole (15:54):

More than anything else.

Sharon (15:54):

Because of the consequences. Yes.

Nicole (15:56):

I don’t want them to suffer for my sin.

Sharon (15:56):

Yeah. Oh man. Well, David, when Nathan talked to him has been slammed, but good. He really has. So let’s keep reading to see how he responds to this chastisement. I’m gonna continue in chapter 12, I’m gonna read verses 13 and 14, and then we’re going to switch gears and go to the Psalm David wrote about this horrible time. (Nicole: Mm-hmm) So this is what David said. “David confessed to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord.” And you know, that’s where one of the verses we just read really kind of brought that home to me. Um, I don’t know if I can find it again, but it was like God was saying, Why’d you do this to me? I gave you so much, you know. So anyways, moving on. “Nathan replied, Yes, you have sinned against the Lord, but the Lord has forgiven you and you won’t die for this sin. Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the word of the Lord by doing this, your child will die.”

Nicole (16:57):

So that was simple. He confessed and he knew that he had not only sinned against Bathsheba and Uriah and the other soldiers who died when David said to put them in a dangerous spot, he had sinned against God, the one he had loved since he was a small boy.

Sharon (17:10):

Yeah. God told him, Don’t commit adultery. (Nicole: Yeah) Don’t murder. That’s pretty clear.

Nicole (17:15):

Yeah.

Sharon (17:16):

And he did it.

Nicole (17:17):

Yeah.

Sharon (17:17):

So he willfully walked away from what God said. You know, the line that really intrigued me was the ‘I have sinned against the Lord’. It’s like David is fully aware of that broken relationship finally and horrified by it. (Nicole: Mm-hmm) Oh God, I’ve sinned against you.

Nicole (17:31):

Yeah.

Sharon (17:32):

I mean, I already kind of knew I sinned against everybody else, but I broke your heart.

Nicole (17:36):

Yeah. He wasn’t like, Oh, I made a mistake.

Sharon (17:38):

Yeah.

Nicole (17:38):

I’ve sinned against you.

Sharon (17:40):

You. Right. So Psalm 51 expands on that. It’s a great psalm to read when you need to do some serious repenting.

Nicole (17:47):

Yes.

Sharon (17:47):

So let’s read it together.

Nicole (17:49):

Yes.

Sharon (17:49):

And hear the full extent of David’s repentant, grieving heart. Why don’t you start?

Nicole (17:55):

All right. I love the titles. It’s so specific, “For the choir director, a psalm of David, regarding the time Nathan the Prophet came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.”

Sharon (18:05):

So we’re not left in doubt!

Nicole (18:07):

So we’re very clear when this was written.

Sharon (18:09):

Yes, yes. And again, all of Israel and all the Christian world knows what David did.

Nicole (18:14):

Oh, that’s right. Oh, no.

Sharon (18:15):

Poor David.

Nicole (18:16):

I know.

Sharon (18:16):

We all know it.

Nicole (18:17):

Write a psalm about it. (Sharon: Yeah) Even to this day.

Sharon (18:20):

Yes, Yes.

Nicole (18:21):

All right. Verse one, “Have mercy on me. Oh God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.”

Sharon (18:30):

“Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.”

Nicole (18:34):

“For I recognize my rebellion. It haunts me day and night.”

Sharon (18:38):

“Against you and you alone have I sinned. I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say and your judgment against me is just.”

Nicole (18:48):

“For I was born a sinner. Yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.”

Sharon (18:52):

“But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there.”

Nicole (18:57):

“Purify me from my sins and I will be clean. Wash me and I’ll be whiter than snow.”

Sharon (19:01):

“Oh, give me back my joy again. You have broken me. Now let me rejoice.”

Nicole (19:07):

“Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.”

Sharon (19:11):

“Create in me a clean heart, Oh God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.”

Nicole (19:16):

“Do not banish me from your presence. And don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.”

Sharon (19:20):

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and make me willing to obey you.”

Nicole (19:24):

“Then I will teach your ways to rebels and they will return to you.”

Sharon (19:28):

Forgive me for shedding blood, Oh God who saves. Then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.”

Nicole (19:35):

“Unseal my lips, Oh Lord. That my mouth may praise you.”

Sharon (19:38):

“You do not desire a sacrifice or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering.”

Nicole (19:44):

“The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, Oh God.”

Sharon (19:50):

“Look with favor on Zion and help her rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.”

Nicole (19:55):

“Then you’ll be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit, with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.”

Sharon (20:04):

Oh my goodness. There’s so much in this, isn’t there?

Nicole (20:06):

Yeah. This is a beautiful psalm.

Sharon (20:07):

Yes, it is. And you can hear his grief in it. (Nicole: Mm-hmm) You can hear his acknowledgement of his guilt. The begging for God to forgive and restore him.

Nicole (20:16):

Ohh, I know.

Sharon (20:17):

I want you back, Lord.

Nicole (20:18):

It chokes you up a bit.

Sharon (20:20):

Yes. Ah. Which one’s your favorite verse? There’s a lot of ones to choose from.

Nicole (20:24):

That’s so hard.

Sharon (20:24):

So what’s your favorite?

Nicole (20:25):

There’s a couple of very familiar ones I love. The ‘create in me a clean heart. Oh God’, that’s a good one to remember to pray ourselves.

Sharon (20:31):

Yes.

Nicole (20:31):

But the one that really struck me was verse four, where he says, ‘Against you and you alone have I sinned. I have done what is evil in your sight. You’ll be proved right in what you say and your judgment against me is just.’ This judgment was the loss of his son. And he accepted that. (Sharon: Yeah!) His repentance, I think that verse shows how deep his repentance really was. He acknowledged he sinned against God. (Sharon: Right) He acknowledged that God knew more than he did, and then he accepted the consequences.

Sharon (20:59):

He received the punishment.

Nicole (21:00):

Whoa, I don’t know if I would’ve been so gracious.

Sharon (21:02):

No, I know.

Nicole (21:03):

God, anything else please. But not the baby. But he, I’m just struck by his heart of utter repentance and accepting of what God gave him next.

Sharon (21:11):

Right. Right, right. Yeah. Such a severe consequence for Bathsheba too. Bless her. She lost that first little baby. But it’s one of the places in scripture, we didn’t read it, but it’s one of my favorite promises, kind of where David says, I will see him again.

Nicole (21:28):

Yes. I love that verse.

Sharon (21:29):

He won’t come to me and I, but I will go to him. Is that it?

Nicole (21:32):

Yep.

Sharon (21:32):

Yeah.

Nicole (21:33):

And he stopped crying and he got right up because he had, I dunno, it seemed like he had faith and confidence that he knew where his infant son was.

Sharon (21:39):

His little infant son was. And that little infant son, in one sense was protected from the vicious gossip that would’ve followed him all the days of his life.

Nicole (21:48):

Oh, that’s true. And also this bloodshed that was about to come through (Sharon: Oh my goodness) David’s household.

Sharon (21:53):

He might have died a worse death, you know? I don’t know.

Nicole (21:56):

Yeah, so maybe we don’t know, but God is just, and David’s acknowledging that.

Sharon (21:59):

David acknowledged that.

Nicole (22:01):

Yeah. That’s big.

Sharon (22:02):

Yeah, yeah. And he finally realized he hadn’t just hurt other people. He’d hurt the King, the God of the universe. (Nicole: Yea) Yeah. And whoa, just, whoa. So, well, I could choose half a dozen favorites, too. But the one that stands out to me is verse 17. “The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, Oh God.” (Nicole: Mm-hmm) To truly repent is to break in some ways appalled at what you’ve done. No pride, no justifications.

Nicole (22:32):

No excuses.

Sharon (22:34):

Just a total acknowledgement that without God you’re sunk. It’s actually only when we reach the end of our pride and self-centeredness and speak openly of our great neediness when we’ve sinned, to be made clean, that we really can do that full repentance that the Bible talks about.

Nicole (22:49):

Yes.

Sharon (22:49):

We have to be disgusted first.

Nicole (22:50):

Yes. And willing to leave it at all costs.

Sharon (22:52):

Yes. At all costs. Leave it and redirect, you know, towards the Lord. again. I think that that sometimes helps me when I have a hard time with some of the worst criminals in the world, you know, and the viciously horrible things they’ve done. I’m like, How could you forgive someone like that, Lord, that has been so cruel?

Nicole (23:13):

Yeah.

Sharon (23:15):

But, but if they ask forgiveness, the real forgiveness that comes, they’re broken. They’re not swaggering people that God’s forgiven.

Nicole (23:24):

Right.

Sharon (23:24):

They’re on their faces going, What have I done? Right?

Nicole (23:29):

Mm-hmm. Right.

Sharon (23:29):

And that kind of brokenness is what God’s looking for. That the loss of everything that you can use to justify behavior to make yourself look good. (Nicole: Mm-hmm) The knowing that without God you’re sunk.

Nicole (23:44):

Yeah.

Sharon (23:45):

Right. You gotta have that.

Nicole (23:46):

And that’s the place he wants us to be.

Sharon (23:49):

That’s where he wants us to be.

Nicole (23:49):

Cause that’s when he can heal our broken hearts. When we dig out that bullet.

Sharon (23:54):

Yes, don’t just bandaid it

Nicole (23:55):

Right. You say, God, it’s right here, it’s disgusting. Pull it out of me.

Sharon (23:59):

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nicole (23:59):

We let him and it hurts.

Sharon (24:00):

It does hurt.

Nicole (24:02):

It hurts a lot. But, we need to do it in order to survive.

Sharon (24:04):

We need to do it. We do. And that’s the offering God receives. It’s so easy to continue to do the rituals and the rituals in David’s day, were offering sacrifices, right?

Nicole (24:15):

Right. Right.

Sharon (24:16):

You, you do your sacrifices once a year. You put the sins on the goat and the goat runs away.

Nicole (24:20):

Yeah. People see you doing that. Oh, you’re clean, you’re justified.

Sharon (24:23):

Yep. You’re fine. You’re all done. (Nicole: Yep) But, no, he wants a heart change. God always wants a heart change and a reorientation and a disgust and a ‘I hate this sin’.

Nicole (24:35):

I will no longer pursue it.

Sharon (24:37):

I’m walking away from it totally. (Nicole: Yeah) And that involves knowing that we can do nothing without Christ.

Nicole (24:41):

I was gonna say, we cannot do this on our own.

Sharon (24:44):

No. No. No.

Nicole (24:44):

We have to get on our face before God and say, I cannot get away from this sin. I need you.

Sharon (24:48):

Yeah, yeah. Clean me. David says that, Clean me, wash me clean.

Nicole (24:52):

He says it several times and then he is like, I’ll be whiter than snow. So he knows that only God can.

Sharon (24:55):

Yeah. Yeah. Purify me. I feel filthy, you know? And God does!

Nicole (25:00):

I know.

Sharon (25:00):

He takes us when we’re a mess and we’re yuck! And he robes us in robes of righteousness instead. It is such a stunning thing that God can do.

Nicole (25:11):

It’s a definite upgrade from the nasty sin we were living in. It doesn’t seem like a fair exchange to give him our gross sin.

Sharon (25:17):

I know it.

Nicole (25:17):

And then he makes us pure and whiter than snow.

Sharon (25:19):

Right. He does. (Nicole: It’s beautiful) And the cost was the death that God took on our behalf. The cost was, the punishment was paid by someone else. You know, still a cost, but Jesus paid it.

Nicole (25:29):

Well we forget that. I think it’s in James where he talks about sin and when it gives birth, it’s death, like sin leads to death.

Sharon (25:37):

Yeah. It does.

Nicole (25:37):

Always. (Sharon: It does) Never just even a little white lie. Every sin equals death. (Sharon: Yeah) And Jesus spared us from the ultimate death if we accept his salvation. But sin still has a nasty effect in our lives, even if we don’t immediately die from it.

Sharon (25:52):

Right.

Nicole (25:53):

We are dying slowly. I think there’s an internal death.

Sharon (25:55):

Well, God was, believe it or not, absolutely right when he said to Adam and Eve, You eat of that, you’re gonna die.

Nicole (26:00):

Yes. Yep. It was a slow death. But it was a nasty death though.

Sharon (26:04):

Yep. They did. So, Wow. Wow. Wow, wow. Wow. Okay. Well, God did honor that prayer of David’s. God did cleanse David. (Nicole: Yes) And we’re gonna see amazing grace on display next week as we finish out this series. God saw in David a heart that yearned to be close to him once more. You know, the part that I like too in Psalm 51 was when David says, Don’t withdraw your presence from me, please. (Nicole: Yeah) Just don’t leave me.

Sharon (26:29):

Oh Lord, don’t leave me.

Nicole (26:30):

Yes. Anything but that.

Sharon (26:32):

Anything but that. Right. I know it. And he did that full turning from his sin. May we do the same.

Nicole (26:38):

Yes. Yes.

Sharon (26:39):

So let’s pray. Father, it is sometimes so hard to strip ourselves of pride and justifications and reasons and excuses. Thank you for this psalm. Thank you for this incredible story. Teach us to repent fully and then to receive what you give Lord so graciously, a purification, a cleansing, a washing, a new start. Father, we don’t deserve it. And yet what a blessing you give to us when you give us fresh starts. I thank you Lord. And if there’s anyone listening who has to do some serious repenting, Lord, wash them clean. Show them that they’re still useful in your kingdom, that they are robed in righteousness. Give them the joy of their salvation once more, please. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Nicole (27:37):

Amen. Hard as it was for David to repent I am sure he felt such a relief and a cleansing when he finally turned back to God asking for forgiveness. Let’s try to remember these lessons and confess sin quickly so we don’t drift away from God who loves us. I can’t wait to look at David next week in episode 92, The Steadfast Heart. In the end, David’s heart becomes steadfast looking to God in all circumstances. We’ve enjoyed this series with you so much and can’t wait to conclude it next week and then move on to a couple of very special Christmas episodes designed to be practical and helpful. We’d love it if you would pop on over to SweetSelah.org/podcast and say hello to us. Review the podcast and share it please. And we always appreciate donations to help with the costs. God bless you and thanks for listening.

Speaker 1 (28:25):

We are so glad you stopped for a while with us. The Sweet Selah Moments Podcast is a cooperative production of Word Radio and Sweet Selah Ministries. More information about this podcast can be found @SweetSelah.org. Thank you for joining us.