## When You Are Truly Sorry Repentance

## Psalm 51

Over the last few weeks we have been using as our theme for consideration the "Games People Play". Last week we discussed what we needed to do when our home became like a BATTLESHIP. We also have considered LIFE and MONOPOLY.

This morning we will look at another game and hopefully make the application for our lives. SORRY is one of those games where you move your game piece around the board, and sometimes accidentally and sometimes intentionally, you land on another's spot and send them back to the beginning!

When my grandson Riley was three or four, he quickly picked up on the use of the word 'Sorry'. If he dropped something, or did something, he would reply, 'Sowwy, Pa'. He was so cute; you couldn't get upset with him. Of course that has all changed!

I want to challenge you this morning with one thought…what should we do if we are really sorry? We will turn again to the Word of God to find examples and principles that apply to our lives today! Voyeurism… Adultery… Pregnancy… Cover-up… Conspiracy… Murder... Exposure…

Wow! It could all come from the today's headlines or maybe a new reality TV show…but would it surprise you to know that it came directly out of the Old Testament? It's an event in the life of King David, the second king of the nation of Israel.

David was specifically chosen, appointed by God to be the leader of Israel. And David was at the top of his game. The nation was growing in size, in power and in wealth. Through his leadership Israel and conquered most of the bordering enemies that threatened the nation. David was in the final stages of building a great capital and palace and beginning to plan for a magnificent temple where all of the nation would gather to worship God. Things were going better than better…but then he slipped.

Briefly tell the story of David and Bathsheba. Now thankfully the story doesn't end there. God in His great mercy, sent the prophet Nathan to confront the king, and David repented! He was sorry, but there is more that is necessary than just to be sorry! God calls us to repentance! Read: Ps. 51:1-19

I. Basic Considerations.

A. Definition of Repentance.

1. Repentance is not an emotion, but is an attitude that leads to a specific action.

2. It is an attitude that chooses to confront sin rather than to ignore it.

3. It is not just a one-time action concerning our salvation...it is an attitude that confronts and deals with failure in every area of our lives.

4. It isn't very popular today, because it requires us to honestly confront sin.

B. Guilt comes when we fail to repent.

1. Guilt is an emotion that can have devastating effects upon us.

2. It affects us physically, emotionally, and mentally.

a. Note the example of David.

(Psa 32:3-4) "When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. {4} For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah."

b. Many psychiatrists and psychologists recognize that awareness of wrongdoing often produces prolonged feelings of remorse and self-condemnation.

c. Note the example of the physical affects of depression.

(2 Cor 7:10) "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death."

3. Failure to repent means we carry guilt over our sin and suffer the consequences of it.

4. Guilt changes or often breaks our relationship with others.

5. For the believer it will cause us to avoid God out of fear of punishment.

(Gen 3:10) "And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."

II. How Do We Repent?

A. Identify areas of sin. (where we fail to meet God's standards)

(Psa 139:23-24) "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: {24} And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

1. These could be our relationship with God.

2. Our relationship with our parents or brothers and sisters.

3. Our relationship with our husband or wife.

4. Our relationship with our children.

5. Our relationship with others.

B. Acknowledge Our Sin before God.

1. Whether our guilt involves others or not, it certainly involves God.

2. All sin is against God.

(Psa 51:4) "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest."

3. We must humble ourselves before God and acknowledge our sin and our need for forgiveness.

(1 John 1:9) "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

C. Accept His Forgiveness.

1. The greatest truth in the verse we just read is that God always is faithful.

2. His forgiveness is unconditional.

3. The devil will try to convince us that God could never forgive us for what we have done, but God said just the opposite!

(Psa 32:1-2) "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. {2} Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile."

4. For the believer who truly repents, there is no record kept of the debt that God erases!

(Psa 103:12) "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us."

D. Make restitution where necessary.

1. If we have wronged another person, it is necessary for us to seek that person's forgiveness.

(Mat 5:23-24) "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; {24} Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."

2. That isn't easy, but it is always best for us.

3. Perhaps monetary restitution is in order; like Zaccheus who realized that he had cheated many and sought to make things right with them.

4. Remember, true repentance is more than an emotion, it is a change of our thinking that will lead to a change in our behavior.

E. The final step of repentance is the actual turning away from known sin.

1. It is possible to do all of the other things we have talked about and really not repent.

2. Repentance involves a turning away from evil.

3. It is a change of thinking that always results in a change of direction in our lives.

4. When David asked for God's forgiveness he also asked that God do something else for him.

(Psa 51:10) "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."

5. Keep in mind that David is not the example for us to pattern our lives after…

a. David had more than one wife.

b. His son, Solomon had 300!

c. So don't let Satan try to convince you that we can get away with a particular sin, just because we may see it in the life of an O.T. character.

d. God's Word, is the handbook for our life…in its entirety!

6. We have the greater revelation today, so we also have greater responsibility to live our lives in accordance with God's revealed Word!

When we are truly SORRY in our lives, let's do more than just say so. Let's determine to be obedient to the Word of God, and repent of our sin.

When we truly repent, God will forgive and cleanse us from our unrighteousness. Let's quit playing games with God