Intro Option 1
Last week we looked at the six fold process of temptation and the opportunities to obey at
each given stage. The authentic Christian chooses to practice faithful obedience.
Without looking at your notes can you give me the 6 stages. I showed you the tackle box
of desires(my own personal desires, each of you have your own evil desires, your own
tackle box that you go fishing with) For the sake of review I will pull out the most
common desire among men the lust of the eyes. Pretty woman walks by you.
Illustrating the stages of temptation leading to sin:
Lusting after a woman- Thinking: object of beauty, desirable shape,
aesthetically pleasing, nice legs, (your perception of beauty, and attraction)
Imagination: wonder what she would look like naked, pleasing, gratifying to
touch Desire: I want to look intently, flirt, be around them, initiate conversation,
explore, hunt, investigate, your passions are aroused, heart starts pumping Will:
(conscience) I‘m a married man how can I sin against my spouse or my future
spouse if you are unmarried,(Hew 13:4) Will Justifies -it‘s only looking, they
dressed that way they invited me to look, I will only speak with her once, It‘s only
a huge, Choice: I look intently as to have, gratify my sensual desires, I pursue that
which is ungodly, Consent to the sin that enticed me to be disobedient
Read ―I kissed dating good bye‖ p.144
Lusting after a man- thinking: I have unmet needs in my life, insecurities,
what would they think about me, comparing looks with others, I want to feel
valuable, Emotionally desire gentleness/kindness, attention, comforted, protected,
I need to feel needed Imagination: what would it be like to be the object of his
affection, his attention, romanced by him, loved by him by his giving of gifts,
quality time, physical touch, words of affirmation, acts of service, day dream or
read a romance book creating the Desire: I want to be loved by him, to be desired
by him, be his lover, to share intimately with him, feel emotionally connected
(after all in the romance novels-always a gentleman, perfect, flaws work out in the
end, leaves me discontent with reality) tempts your heart with discontentment, I
wish my husband was like that Will: I‘m married my emotions are attached to my
husband, faithfulness of mind, body and spirit, the object of your affection should
be on your husband, justify-not getting it at home, I‘ve lost that loving feeling, it‘s
gone, gone, gone, long gone, I don‘t feel important, he doesn‘t meet my need for
self esteem, It‘s only a book, it‘s Christian fiction I enjoy reading, better than
watching it, imagination can‘t hurt anybody, begin rationalizing relationships, I
only think of them as a friend, become discontented with reality, thoughts are
comparing reality and imaginary which will you choose? Choice: pursue
friendship, pursue attention, opportunities to be with them, entertain thoughts of
leaving, play the game of pursuit without being noticed/deceiving your own heart,
run away to the imaginary Consent: to give into the sin that tempts your security.
Akin to this evil desire is((lures) dark side
Divorce should never be a part of your mental vocabulary and certainly never your verbal
vocabulary, gives room for imagination, paving the way for desire, you will justify your
discontentment and your choice will be to stop loving and you will consent to divorce.
(Guard your heart) obediently think godly, we could map out many other desires in your
tackle box but we need complete what we have started
We left you consenting to sin but where the process of sin stops is where the
process of restoration begins
Pray- I‘d like to have you pray a simple prayer this morning, ―If there is anything
you want me to hear this morning I am willing to listen.‖ God if there is anything you
want me to say this morning will you please use me to say it. AMEN
Option 2
Dad had heart surgery when I was 5 years old he had a bad valve, replaced it with
a plastic one. They say that people who have heart surgery become tender and are easily
brought to tears, become more sensitive. I find that true of my dad and others I know. In
reality God has done radical heart surgery on us if you have been born again. Eze 36:2527 prophesy concerning today ‗I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all
your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the
heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within
you‖, As a believer you have a heart of flesh, the Spirit of God living inside of you. It is
tender, pliable, it is sensitive, it is living, You now have a love inside of you that wants to
obey God. God of love lives inside your heart, Regenerate, washed, intimately connected
to God, power over the flesh, No longer cold, rebellious toward God. No longer
displaying sin in your life but godliness. No longer rebellious and stubborn but quick to
make things right ―The good news of the gospel is that the Great Physician has made
available a cure for our deceived, diseased hearts. Jesus came to do radical heart surgery
to cleanse and transform us from the inside out, by the power of His death and
resurrection. You have disobediently fallen into sin. Because of the new heart you have
been given you aught to respond to the desires within you for restoration.
Psalm 32 and 51 are penitential psalms (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143) they contain
the ingredients of true forgiveness and restoration. I want to share with you the 6 stages
or processes of forgiveness that lead to a revived heart that God restores. Renewed heart
of joy and peace.
I will be using Ps 32 and 51 because they are the most familiar to us and most
pointed to the stages of restoration. A reflection on David‘s sin with Bathsheba
6 stages or processes of forgiveness
1. Conviction 32:4-5; 51:3 (be real with your conscience)
Conviction- being convinced, strong belief,
Convince-to persuade by argument or evidence, to feel sure
Convict –to prove or find guilty
We‘ve consented to sin. We‘ve rebelled against God stepping over obedience a number
of times and we have blown it. God is gracious to us and makes it hurt. Just like pain to
the body. ―Guilt is to the conscience what pain is to the body; it tells us that something is
wrong and must be made right or things will get worse‖ Wiersbe God, tells us something
is wrong, it is bad for us. Sin separates us from God and each other, conviction is a grace
of God to draw us back to Him.
What‘s it look like?
32:[4] Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.
My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.
[5] Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
and stopped trying to hide my guilt.
I said to myself, ―I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.‖
51:[3] For I recognize my rebellion;
it haunts me day and night.
Recognized his rebellion through the conviction of sin. (definition)
How did the Psalmist respond? Lied to himself, Hiding, running away, put it off,
ignoring, justify, blame shift, stubborn but he couldn‘t God loved him to much 51:3 sin is
always facing me, can‘t run from it, conviction comes from the hand of God revealing
your wayward heart, often times external reactions comes from the internal confrontation.
God is confronting your heart.
Charles Spurgeon said ‖God does not permit his children to sin successfully‖
-he was dried up like a plant during drought(38:2, 39:10), a worried mind‖ when
will I be found out
What are you going to do about it?
Your life is dried up, you are parched, the heat of guilt is drying you out.
Illustration of humidifier –beef jerky
-listen to your conscience which leads you to the next step
2. Admit/Acknowledge/Confess 32:3-5; 51:3-6(be real with yourself + God),
Acknowledge –to Admit as true, to recognize the authority or claim of, to respond to
Admit-to recognize as genuine or valid
Confess –to admit or acknowledge, (a fault crime belief), to tell(one‘s sins)to God or others
Ps 32:3-5 [3] When I refused to confess my sin,
my body wasted away,
and I groaned all day long.
[4] Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.
My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.
Interlude
[5] Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
and stopped trying to hide my guilt.
I said to myself, ―I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.‖
- I will not justify my actions, make excuses, call it for what it is, wont try to run
any longer, I confess, acknowledge my rebellion, I‘ll be real with you God and I‘ll have
to be real with others with my sin
Ps 51:3 [3] For I recognize my rebellion;
it haunts me day and night.
[4] 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. *
[5] For I was born a sinner—
yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
[6] But you desire honesty from the womb, *
teaching me wisdom even there.
-I know my transgression, my sin is in my lap, vs 4 I‘ve done evil, you are right I
am wrong, I need to be honest with everyone
To truly admit you must be honest with yourself, with God & with others.
Don‘t be like the house or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.‖
Psalms 32:9 (NLT) Stop being wayward, rebellious, stubborn, desiring own will,
arrogant, prideful, unrelenting, callused to the masters will, gratifying own pleasures,
cause it‘s only going to get worse
-I confess I was in the wrong, I did sin against you, I sinned against my bro/sis, I
own my guilt, be real with yourself with God and with others (even if you view yourself
as only 20% responsible or 80%) Deal with your heart, Take care of your log and most
likely God will deal with the spec in the other person‘s eye.
3. Brokenness and sorrow 51:4, 17 (be real with your pain/emotions)
Broken –I am splintered, fractured, not in working order, ruined! Please help!
Sorrow -mental suffering caused by loss, disappointment, grief
Ps 51: [4]
Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
51:[17] The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
-I am distraught over my sin, I am crushed, I am remorseful, I am broken I need to
go to the one who can fix me. Sin is ultimately a rebellion against God but sin also
impacts others breaking that relationship as well, a broken spirit grieves over the sin
committed,
Brokenness removes pride, removes blame shifting, removes arrogance, it calls me to
humility, calls me to deal with reality, godly sorrow leads to repentance
2 Cor 7:[8] I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you(1 Cor), though I was sorry
at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. [9] Now I am glad I sent it, not
because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It
was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in
any way. [10] For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin
and results in salvation. There‘s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow,
which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.
[11] Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to
clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and
such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary
to make things right.
-Not crying but deeper repentant sorrow, change of heart
4. Repentance and turning from sin 51:10 (be real with your mind)
Repent –to feel sorry for error, (sin) to feel such regret over(an action, intention) as to change
one‘s mind, turn away from sin and resolve to reform one‘s life
-basically you change the way you think about the sin you‘ve committed, turn 180
degrees in your understanding of the sin of your heart.
Ps 51:[10] ―Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.‖
Loyal or Right =A verb meaning to set up, to make firm, to establish, to prepare.
The primary action of this verb is to cause to stand in an upright position, I want to
actively move myself to an upright position with you.
-I want to change, I don‘t want to sin again. I want to be loyal to you, the right
spirit is a loyal spirit. I don‘t want to go here again. Repentance is really internal, it is
heart changing, It is not vocabulary but mental fortitude to change the way you think,
Brokenness and repentance of action follow the heart of changed thinking. The
proper heart before God brings the proper response in life before God
Josh Harris in ―I kissed dating good bye‖ p.112 ―The Bible uses the word repent to
describe turning from what‘s wrong and pursuing what‘s right. Repentance is a change
of direction based on a change of heart.‖ It is turning a 180 degrees in your thought
process
(My heart has changed its mind, I now seek to implement my new course of action which
leads us to)
5. Reconcile and making amends 51:11, 16-17 (be real with consequences)
Reconcile –to make friendly again, to settle(a quarrel), to make consistent, to make right, to correct
Ps 51:[11] Do not banish me from your presence,
and don‘t take your Holy Spirit * from me.
51:[16] You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
You do not want a burnt offering.
[17] The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
[18] In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.
[19] Then there will be righteous sacrifices,
whole burnt offerings to delight you;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Sacrificial system of reconciling your account, sin had to cost you
something(sacrifice), You had to make it right with God in performing a religious duty
bringing or buying something to offer to God to reconcile your sin, David says it‘s not
the act but the attitude but it still cost you something.
There is a payment for sin big or small, there is a pay back, to make things right,
Jesus paid it once for all but you are not your own 1 Cor 6 [18] Flee from sexual
immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually
sins against his own body. [19] Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy
Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; [20]
you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
Your sin wasn‘t cheap it was the blood of Christ that reconciled you to God
therefore don‘t treat grace cheaply.
Rom [12:1] Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's (reconciling) mercy, to
offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual *
act of worship. [2] Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind(thoughts). Then you will be able to test and
approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
-we should always be willing to payback our debts, willing spirit to correct the
wrong, willingness to make right the wrong, give back what was broken or taken
Examples: Zackeus deterrent from returning to sin,
Lk 19:[8] Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, ―I will give half my
wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them
back four times as much!‖ Money caused him to stumble! Made it hurt
Philemon, put it on my account Paul says regarding Onnessimous
-Go and reconcile Matt 5:24[23] ―So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar
in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, [24]
leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and
offer your sacrifice to God. (context of anger, friction, hostility)
We need to say I‘m sorry but show you are sorry, humility, teach yourself a lesson so you
don‘t go there again. Make a deterrent to sin, go the extra mile, discipline yourself.
It could be as simple as an apology, to physically giving or doing something, Go
to that person and make it right! Reconcile make things right which leads to…
6. Restoration to Peace and Joy 32:1, 2, 5, 10,11; 51:7-8, 14, 12 (be real with each other)
Restoration –being restored, something being rebuilt
Restore –to return to former or natural state, position, rank, use, bring back to health and strength
Returning to peace and Joy in the Lord
[32:1] Oh, what joy for those
whose disobedience is forgiven,
whose sin is put out of sight!
[2] Yes, what joy for those
whose record the LORD has cleared of guilt, *
whose lives are lived in complete honesty!
[5] Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
and stopped trying to hide my guilt.
I said to myself, ―I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.‖
And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.
[10] Many sorrows come to the wicked,
but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the LORD.
[11] So rejoice in the LORD and be glad, all you who obey him!
Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!
51:7 Purify me from my sins, * and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
[8] Oh, give me back my joy again;
you have broken me—
now let me rejoice.
[14] Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves;
then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.
[12] Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you.
Oh to be renewed, brought back into proper relationship. Unified again with God and
others through the process of restoration. The heart of God smiles as He sees Himself
lived out in our lives. God‘s restored us to himself through Jesus. Our hearts should be
in tuned with His heart of restoration, reconciling with others. The harmony, unity of the
saints should be coveted by the world. We live as Jesus lived in perfect harmony with the
Father.
Application
If you are a believer here today God has done radical heart surgery on you. You aught to
have a heart of flesh within you
Illustration (Rock and beef jerky, fresh meat)(Rock, dehydrator, George Forman grill,
cooler)
God wants to perform heart surgery on all of us, he wants to put a heart of flesh in
every person. Yes it hurts a little like it did my dad but humility is the requirement of
Salvation that comes through faith. You need to follow this process of restoration with
God asking Jesus to forgive you of your sin. Conviction, admit, be broken/sorrowful,
repent change your mind, reconcile ask God to come into your life to make things right,
be restored to a right relationship with God.
For the believer you have the heart of flesh but sin can put the heat on you.
You‘ve been lead away by your own evil desires and you don‘t want to be obedient
children. Problem is that sometimes our heart of flesh gets a little dried out callused by
sin.
-some are in the fast cooker, sizzling, rebellious, downward spiral, lost your first
love, on your way to being burt to a crisp, sin is sizaling away at the heart of flesh. You
must learn to keep short accounts. Don‘t let your heart be cooked by sin, keep it tender,
keep it fresh, deal with sin right away so that you do not become hardened.
-some are in the slow cooker of sin, frog in a pot, conscience what is that? Over
time you‘ve become tougher than raw hide. Desensitized by sin(justified it long enough
that you don‘t feel anything), Sin kind of creeps into your life almost unaware, drying
you out slowly. Entertainment, habitual sin, your heart is dried out, toughened by sin
God wants to restore you. Some back change your mind and repent.
Sometimes we put on a religious mask and pretend all is OK, good. But we need to get
real with ourselves, God and others doing business with sin. Making amends when
necessary, correcting wrong behavior, desiring unity and fellowship, The Christian life is
not a religious act or behavior rather a broken heart, humbled and contrite walking in
unity with the saints and with God. (Eph 4:3)
I would encourage you to begin to pray, Oh God make me aware of my sin, the errors of
my thought life, Change the way I think about things help me to conform my thoughts to
your thoughts. Turn it over, say God I need your mind concerning this area of my life.
Concluding verses:
Prayer 1 -Ps 51:[12] Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you.
-I don‘t want to start the process of temptation: make me willing to obey you so
that I will not sin. Make my thinking conform to your thinking I don‘t want to be caught
up by my own evil desires….
Prayer 2 -Ps 139:[23] Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
[24] See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Return to me a heart of flesh moldable pliable useable, yielded to your will, I want to be
obedient out of love for you. Restore me to joy and contentment and peace with you and
with others. Don‘t let me be callused by sin. I want to be holy as you are holy.
Song: Create in me a clean heart! Ps 51:[10] Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence O God take not
your holy spirit from me restore unto me the joy of your salvation and renew a right spirit
within me.
We need to bring down the house around our hearts that we hide in, roof come off
(brokenness toward God, walls come down brokenness toward others. Renewed spirit
focused on obedience and committed to purity of heart and mind.
Restoration of our century home. Gut it, tear things apart, sweet and heard work. To
restore your heart is hard work, the process of restoration in any persons life Christian or
unbeliever is forgiveness. Grace in action. But we need to put it to work and work at it.
Application
Describe a time in the last month when you were convicted? How did you respond? Godly or
fleshly? Why?
~What are some things in your life that numb you to the seriousness of sin?
~Is there something in your life that is displeasing God or hindering your relationship with
others?
~ What kind of heart does it take to acknowledge and admit sin in your life?
~Why is admitting sin so hard?
-Grief for sin is a result of an attitude, what is the attitude?
-Counterfeit brokenness is sold as emotional sorrow, brokenness means you need fixed, Where do
you turn to get fixed and what is the process of being fixed?
-Is there a sin in my past that I think God cannot forgive? What do these passages prove?
-How does David describe God in these passages(characteristics, descriptions)?
~ Repentance means changing your mind, transitioning to putting an attitude into action, What actions will
you have to take to turn away for the sin that the Holy Spirit is conviction you of? What areas of your life
are you not trusting God with and rebelling against repentance?
Why is it important to reconcile?
~ Whom do you need to reconcile with? What‘s your game plan?
Do I have peace + joy because of God‘s forgiveness? If yes, explain. If no, why not?
-It is essential to restore to proper relationship with God and others, what have you done and
what do you need to do when you get home?
Ps 51
Cleanse me vs 1-7
Restore me vs 8-12
Use me vs 13-19