Finding Forgiveness

This edition of PowerPoint with Jack ran a little later in the program will tell you how you can get a copy of Dr. Graham's book man of God first hears the message finding forgiveness can't discuss David's life without talking about his great sin. David's sin committing adultery with Bathsheba's ultimate cover-up killing Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, and the 12 months of living in guilt rather than receiving grace practically killed the king and David's sin in many way damaged his life in a way that he could never escape. But I do not believe because of David's ultimate response to the sin in his life that it defines date as an adult when I think of David.

I don't think of a man whose life is defined by adultery because the Scripture says he was a man after God's own heart and in fact turn your Bibles were to look at several scriptures. But before we go there first Kings chapter 15 verse five, David has ascended to the throne. Finally, after being a fugitive and so David ascended to the throne. He he's leading he is guiding the nation and he did it with a skillful mess of his hands and the integrity of his heart, but the Bible says in the book of Psalms. But but look at verse five of first Kings chapter 50 says because Dave David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not turned aside from anything that he commanded him all notice all the days of his life except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite and of course the matter of Uriah the Hittite was the matter of his adultery with Uriah's wife and that the conception of the child and the cover-up and setting up Uriah to be killed in battle.

The king was blood guilty of this sin.

But here's what you could say about David. He did right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of his life except in this instance.

This grievous sin.

This was an exception in David's life and not the rule. And that's the difference in the same manner lost management meeting.

Can a Christian sin yes can get a Christian sin grievously. Yes, but a Christian does not continually practice sin.

Sin does not define the Christian's life. Salvation defines the Christian life. Jesus defines the Christian's life. We know from passages in the Scripture, as in first Corinthians. For example, that no adulterer will inherit the kingdom of God is black ink on white paper.

What is that mean if you ever commit adultery. You can't go to heaven. Now, it means that in adulterer one.

His life is defined by adultery. His pattern of life and of living is adultery and womanizing and and so on.

That person is not a safe person.

A person who practices continually sin in his or her life.

It is simply giving evidence that that person is not born again is not living the new life in Jesus Christ.

And if your religion hasn't change your life, you better change your religion and come to faith in Jesus Christ because only Jesus can change your life and only Jesus can create purity where there is defilement and sin so David is not defined by his adultery. That was an exception. A terrible episode in his life and there were consequences of David's sin all the days of his life that he was never quite the same. He he bore the scar tissue of sin. The rest of his days never quite the same in David's life after after this episode. Sorry. Sensual sexual episode of his life. He were going to see that David is more defined by his repentance than by his sin, but the consequences of sin remain there are terrible consequences of committing sin. But what I want to emphasize. Having said that, is that David's life should not be characterized as a failure. He was not a failed man is life should be characterized as a forgiven man so that's why what you turn to Psalm 51. What is so appealing about David is the attitude of his heart. He was a man after God's own heart. And here we see that David had a repentant heart, repentant heart, what is the most valuable thing in heaven and earth will Jesus told us what should it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his own so the most valuable thing so because your soul will be living timeless and lives in eternity either separated from God in hell are with God forever in heaven. Your soul is immortal and eternal. So most valuable thing on earth.

That's what Jesus said but you might say the most costly thing on earth is sin, and David discovered that an intake for just a few moments about the process of committing sin.

Sin isn't typically an explosion in a person's life, but in particular this is true with sexual sin is in David's case, but it is typically a slow leak in which the seeds of sin have been planted and ultimately they grow. What is Galatians 67 say, do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for what ever a man sows, he reaps and somewhere along the way, David began sowing seeds of sin in his life.

He began to neglect his spiritual duties and he began to turn his head and in a day in which he was, rather than with his troops in the battle he was he was ordering about the palace.

That's what he saw Bathsheba.

That's when he looked us when he lusted is when he took her with the bed with her. She can see that a baby he knew he was in trouble, so he tried to hide it thought well I'll hit you know I'll send her husband out to the front lines of the battle get him killed, which he did and then married � even no one will know. I'm sure David himself could never imagine he would've failed and fallen like that sin will take you farther than you want to go. It will keep you longer than you want to stay in it will cost you far more than you ever anticipated to pay and that's what happened to David so after 12 months of hiding and juking and covering up God sent Nathan the prophet because God knew God sent Nathan the prophet Nathan the prophet stuck a long bony finger in the king's face and said David you're the man confronted with his sin, confronting with his sin and then David repented and he said I have sinned against the Lord now. What was the standard Psalm 51. This is David's prayer of repentance that was written about this same time when David is repenting of his sin, he said, have mercy upon me all God according to your lovingkindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies blot out my transgressions know that were blocked wash me there's another word wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. Now notice there are three words here which describes sin.

One is the word transgression blot out my transgressions and in the word transgression there means rebellion. David was the friend of God. David was a man after God's own heart is now a rabble against God, God said, you shall not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill. And yet he committed both adultery and murder. So sin is a defiance against God. David had send against the nation when he committed the sin David had sinned against that she committed the sin David had send against Uriah the Hittite David sinned against himself because there were terrible consequences of sin.

Send information to send against self and sin against family, but ultimately sin is against God. You are listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham in today's message finding forgiveness our world desperately needs men of God strong man who model gentleness lead with humility and speak the truth in love, we want to help you identify the traits of a real man of God by sending you Dr. Jack Graham's insightful book man of God.

Our thanks for your gift today. Dr. Graham gives you biblical insight to what a true man of God, looks like the spouse. His family and the world. This is the last week in this office a call today: 800-7954 627-1800 795-4627. You can also text PowerPoint to 59789 and don't forget to visit Jack Graham.org where you can shop our E store. Give a gift online or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily email devotional our website again is Jack Graham.4G now it's Qu�bec. Today's message finding forgiveness.

It was a ration against a holy God. But then notice he also describes sin in verse two is with the word iniquity, which literally means crooked.

So sin is not only the appliance, it is also a distortion or a deviation. It deceives and distorts the character. The thing that you could say about David that he was a man of character, the integrity of his heart.

And yet, sin now has taken a straight man a good man and made him a crooked man but then he uses the word Cindy says cleanse me from my sin down in verse two board sin. There means to miss the mark to fall short of Romans 323 for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So sin is a distance. It is a failure. It separates us from God keeps us from achieving God's best in God's standard for your life. We can rationalize sin, we can redefine it. You can excuse sin but it is still sin and David fell short of the standard of God, and he missed the mark he failed and he went down in flames because of sin.

Sin is also a debt see that word in verse one blot out my transgression blot out is the picture of blotting out a debt. The cost of said you pay the price.

David was a man he was enjoying the riches of the kingdom.

Just as we are enjoying the riches of the kingdom of God. You are a child of the key and yet David threw away all of this all the riches of the king in the kingdom and he became a debt he was spiritually bankrupt because of his sin. Sin is a debt and then sin is a defilement for he said, wash me look on hers to wash me thoroughly from my iniquity.

David was a man who was clean but now he's filthy.

He's dirty with his sin, his heart was full of fail and then sin is a disease, cleanse me from my sin. And that's a word which literally means to to cleanse me from my my disease of sin. So get this picture.

The picture of sin. It is a debt. It is a defilement. It is a disease. It is the distance between man and God. It is a disturbance, a distortion in the spiritual life and it is a terrible price to pay for Christian. So a simple question. David was it worth you know there is pleasure in sin for a season and you eat, you can say well David you know it was a sin of passion you know David was having a bad day and it was a set of passion and his testosterone was rock 'n' roll linen you just get out he was a man in he failed.

Yes, it was a set of passion, but it became more than that. Did it it was it was not just a passionate sin. It was a premeditated sin, especially the premeditation of the murder of Uriah the Hittite and so you can't really cut David is much as you we might want to you can't cut David any slack in the and and you really can't cut yourself any slack in this because it is a terrible thing to sin against a holy God. And this is a deterrent for us. Several things that keep us from sin and one is the holy fear of God, but another should be the holy fear of sin because notice what what happened the day that he was a friend of God. Now is a fugitive running from God he was he was walking the straight path and now he's crooked heat. He was meeting his goals and in God and set the standard of the kingdom, but now he's a failure in an he's fallen short of God's standards, much less his own standards. He was he was wealthy spiritually. And now he's impoverished. He was clean and now he was dirty he was spiritually healthy and and now he is disease so he covers his sin and in the pain that resulted is what is so remarkable here. Look at Psalm 51 again. Now about verse eight make me hear joy and gladness that the biology of broken may rejoice hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities click create in me a clean heart of God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me by your generous spirit, then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will be converted to you.

He said my sin was ever before me. Psalm 51 a. Hide your face from my sins and make me hear joy and gladness. Again, it affected his eyes affected his mind affected his ears make me hear joy and gladness again affected his bones. Somebody want a physically he was a wreck. It affected his heart created me a clean heart, O God, me so his mind is impacted his ears make me hear joy, gladness again. His hands looked down verse 14 deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, and then my tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness, overlord, open my lips, and my mouth shall praise set forth your praise. Deliver me from the blood guilty miss of my hands. His hands were affected. His eyes were affected in the ears were affected.

His bones were affected. This man is falling apart. When you say and it was all because he was covering up his sin. The proverb says whoever covers his sin will not prosper. No way can you sin and win spiritually, emotionally, mentally, physically, he suffered.

Now you can suffer without sinning but you cannot sin without suffering and David is suffering in ways that he can never imagine you know sin makes no sense does particularly this sin you talk to guys in particular about sexual sin. There something about this sin that just short-circuits the brain is a distortion of the mind and the way we begin to think and the dumbest thing is is a Christian trying to cover up his sin. You know why because were not any good at it. Now tell you something else.

There's nothing more miserable than a Christian out of fellowship with God because he lost his fellowship.

He's lost his joy said restore to be the joy of my salvation is verse 12 he lost his testimony. He's lost his ability to worship God is all right here in this passage I mean he is losing his spirit is affected his fellowship is affected his joyous testimony is worship his life is in a shambles because he is, he has sinned and he is not repented. This point so what happened the day. Well, he must've fallen out of grace well. Thank God he didn't fall out of grace, he fell in the grace which is a good time to say that a Christian can lose fellowship with God, but you can never lose your son ship with. He wasn't suggesting there that he was losing his salvation but he even want to lose the anointing of the Spirit upon his life, and in he felt that that was happening. And so David, you see, was was just so beaten down by his own sin. The consequences of sin that he falls into the grace of God. That's what I read in the Bible. People fall out of grace they fall into grace when you're in grace for the same Scripture that says whoever covers his sin will not prosper tells us that whoever confesses and forsakes his sin will prosper.

So David said I have send against God, and you can hear and read. As you can see the repentance here so that that brings us to the final chapter here, which is the power of confessing sin, confession, first John 19 is is a great Scripture. If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all on righteousness.

Now, what does it mean to confess our sin it means to be sincere is not the attitude which says well if I said I'll just confess my sin to go on do what I want to live my life if you come with confession. With that kind of attitude that what I did. Didn't matter and I'll just go maybe do it again. I don't know that's not confession confession is coming to God and being honest with God and asking him to forgive us our sins, that was David's attitude it was.

He came with a repentant heart and repentance is not tenant's is not just you know paying repentance and and and and then going on and not being changed. Repentance literally means to change. He was broken but now he is restored.

What is a Scripture say a broken and contrite spirit. God will not despise.

He is truly broken by his sin and that's why he says down their enemies just praying for forgiveness. But look back at Psalm 51 verse seven perjury with hyssop, and I shall be clean, wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. How we may violence hello, how you plan sin blood of Christ. God son you're listening to PowerPoint project and in today's message finding forgiveness based culture has so distorted the concept of masculinity that some even reject it as toxic better world doesn't need less manly men 20 more men of God, men who love Jesus make a letting husbands and fathers and lead as servants would like to help you uncover what God says about true masculinity by sending you Dr. Graham's book man of God, you'll gain difficult insight into how you with the men in your life can live with purpose and passion putting Christ first in living radically for him. Men of God is our thanks for your gift to help proclaim God's word to PowerPoint. This is the last week of this office a call today: 800-7954 627-2000 795-4627 also takes PowerPoint to 59789 and don't forget to visit Jack Graham.org where you can shop our E store. Give a gift online or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily email devotion our website again is Jack Graham.Margie Hester what is your PowerPoint for today.you never know.

And that's what's so amazing really about Christian radio and the opportunity we have each week, each day to bring the message of Christ and of hope and forgiveness to people who desperately need it. And I certainly don't know who's listening or what's going on inside your heart today. But this I know whenever I address the subject of adultery and retail David story. People began to let their secrets go they get so tired of suppressing the deceit and the deceitfulness and they want nothing more than to know God's cleansing mercy and the fullness of his power and his grace to say if I'm talking to you right now. Let me urge you don't smother or try to suffocate that lie any longer. Don't brush it off and pretend it's not there. There's no one more miserable than a disobedient and defiant Christian and that's exactly what your disobedience and your defiance brings misery is that you keeping a secret that you need to tell to God.

If you want the release and the relief and yes the redemption that comes from forgiveness.

You need to start with repentance, so let me encourage you to take a page out of David's Journal. Let me read a portion of Psalm 51 again just for you creating me a clean heart of God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with your generous spirit today when you get an opportunity I want you to take a long look at Psalm 51 do this on your own. Do this for your soul. You will get a sense of David's contrite and repentant attitude and of the grace and the goodness of God to forget I challenge you make David's heart and prayer your own trust God's forgiveness. When you turn from your sin and you will receive a restoration from Christ.

Repentance is opening up your heart in your life to the forgiveness and the grace of God, take this step today. Make it your prayer today.

This is what a champion does do it right now he is ready to make your life brand-new to take away your misery and to restore the joy of your salvation, and that yesterday's PowerPoint remember when you give a gift of PowerPoint will send you Dr. Graham's book man of God is our thanks. Call 1800-795-6271 800-795-4627 also text the word PowerPoint to 5978. Join us again next time.

Dr. Graham brings a message about how you can be a champion at life when you give your life away. God's next time on PowerPoint which I PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint ministries