Psalm 51 is a beautiful and heart-breaking prayer of repentance, written by David after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan regarding his sin against Bathsheba, Uriah, and, most of all, God. David pours out his heart in confession, declaring his great sorrow for sin.
What about you? How do you respond when confronted by the Holy Spirit about your sin?
All of us struggle with sin. Human nature pulls us down just as gravity does, yet God has made us and saved us to lift us up (1 John 1:5-2:6). There are three ways we may deal with our sins.
Cover them. We cover our sins with our words. This is lying: deceiving others and ourselves, and lying to God. Lies are darkness, whereas God’s truth is light. When we cover sin, we lose God’s light, fellowship and character.
Confess them. Admit and judge them. Agree with God about your sin. This involves the heart and the will. Some people have died because they repeatedly, willfully, proudly, and arrogantly defied the will of God. Admit you are a sinner, say what is wrong, and then come to Him and name it. (Confess your sin in the circle of those influenced by it – individuals or family. Don’t become an exhibitionist with the public.) Confession brings release, freedom, forgiveness, and a new beginning.
Conquer them. Jesus is in heaven today as our Advocate, as a Lawyer before the Father. Abide in Him, love Him, walk with Him in the light of His Word. Obey His word. Receive the support of Christian brothers and sisters. Don’t be too proud or embarrassed to accept it.
Are you covering sin or confessing and conquering sin in your life? Confess your sin and ask God to clean your heart. He desires to forgive you so He can restore fellowship with you.
Thankfully, the Holy Spirit is faithful to convict us of sin. Jesus promised His disciples and us (John 16:7-8), “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment….”
We must listen to and not reject the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. If we continually ignore His warnings, eventually we will not hear Him, and that is a bad place to be. One of the tools the Holy Spirit uses to convict you is through your conscience. Paul warns Timothy (1 Timothy 4:2) that some people have had their conscience “seared as with a hot iron.” Ouch!
There is a major difference between the work of the Holy Spirit and the devil regarding sin. The Holy Spirit convicts you of sin. The goal is for you to experience godly sorrow which leads to repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10). David’s passionate prayer in Psalm 51 is a powerful example of this. Thankfully, “If we confess our sins, he (Jesus) is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify (cleanse) us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
The devil’s strategy is much different. His purpose is to condemn you of sin; his goal is to destroy you. Jesus declared, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Choose repentance!
This Sunday, August 6, we will continue our teaching series, “Summer in the Psalms”, with the beautiful prayer of David in Psalm 51, “Cleanse me, O God!” Please invite someone to join you at 10:35am either in the building or online for the Live broadcast on Facebook (Honolulu AG) or our YouTube channel (Honolulu Assembly of God). We Livestream every Sunday at 10:35am to both locations.
Our next Drive-Through Prayer outreach will take place in the church parking lot this Saturday, August 5, from 11am-1pm. Please join us as a prayer partner that day to meet with people from our community who are in need. We never know what will happen at these events, but lives and needs are brought to the Master for His intervention.
Aloha ke Akua!
Comments