Church Notes: Roadmap to Repentance

Message Date: 7/19/2020

Passage: Psalm 51

There’s many reasons you may choose not to attend church. Maybe you’ve been burned by a brother or sister, or you believe Christians are hypocrites, or maybe you don’t even believe in God. Regardless of your reasons for not attending, I believe God still might have something for you. If you’ve ever been curious about what they teach in church, or you just want to test the waters without having to jump right in, I’ve compiled my notes from today’s message at my church. Our pastor delivered many good words of conviction and encouragement.

With prayers for you,

Steven

Notes:

The context of the Psalm is from David’s hiding following his adulterous act with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder of her husband Uriah written about in 2 Samuel 11.

Pastor explains his past struggles with drugs and alcohol which opened us up to his own journey on the “Road to Repentance.” My own story is similar to his, and I’ve experienced the same joy in God’s presence that he has following my own repentance.

We are ALL in constant need of a heart of repentance. New Christian, old Christian, young person, child, the elderly, ALL-OF-US.

Read Psalm 51 (don’t have a Bible? Check your preferred App Store, there are many good bible apps available for free)

1. Sin isn’t a matter of “if” it’s a matter of “when” and it’s something we have to prepare ourselves for.

   1. In extreme sports like snowboarding, skateboarding, etc, you know it’s only a matter of time until you get hurt.

   2. Our flesh is the same. We will always need to be prepared for the spiritual battles against sin because it’s only a matter of time before we fall into it.

   3. David didn’t make excuses for himself in this Psalm, he proclaims it to God that he KNOWS he’s a sinner.

   4. As Christians, we constantly travel down the road of repentance. It’s not just one and done when we accept the Lord’s invitation - sin is a constant affliction that needs to be dealt with regularly.

   5. No need for perfectionism, we all sin. We all fail, Jesus expected it. It’s why he went to the cross.

   6. If being good was the plan, Jesus wouldn’t have needed to come.

   7. We have to FIGHT for holiness and sanctification.

2. Acknowledgement is the first requirement

   1. See Verse 1

   2. David owns up. Confesses. Acknowledges what he did, right off the bat. He calls it sin, he calls it evil

   3. David didn’t try to shift blame on anyone else - like many of us our guilty of. He didn’t blame Bathsheba for being in a bath.

   4. Maybe the Lord is calling you on the road to repentance right now. Don’t hesitate!

   5. Getting on the road to repentance always starts with acknowledging what we’ve done wrong. It’s okay to own up.

   6. “When we deal seriously with our sin, God will deal graciously with us.” - Charles Spurgeon

   7. Read 1 John 1:9

   8. David didn’t even start with repentance, at first he tried to ignore it. He was unrepentant at first. Psalm 33:3-4 eludes to this.

3. Refusal by us, results in resistance towards us

   1. See Proverbs 28:13

   2. David talks about how serving God was leaving him unfulfilled because he had an unrepentant heart.

   3. Pastor says he has experienced this. I certainly have too.

   4. The spirit of God is like a mom repeating herself. She repeats until you get it right! Lol That’s what the tugging on our heart is from the Holy Spirit.

   5. See Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6, Peter 5:5

   6. The Greek word for resist in James 4:6 literally translates to a military style of setting yourself in battle against something. We are acting in pride when we refuse to repent.

   7. If you feel the hand of God resisting against you, the solution is simple: repent.

4. Remembering who God is will put what we’ve done into perspective

   1. David’s mind isn’t focused on himself, he’s focused on the throne of grace

   2. He goes deeper and deeper throughout the psalm, completely focused on God

   3. Our sin becomes more real as we reflect upon the throne of God

   4. Just as you become tanned after spending time in the sun, you become more holy as you spend time in Gods presence

5. It’s not what I can do; it’s what He has the power to do

   1. See Verses 10, 12, 14

   2. David is petitioning to God for 5 things

      1. Create a clean heart

      2. Renew a steadfast spirit

      3. Restore to me the joy of your salvation

      4. Uphold me by your generous spirit

      5. Deliver me from the guilt that I’m experiencing

   3. We are incapable of doing these 5 things for ourselves. We need Jesus to do this for us. Ask him and it will be given.