Title: Live for Something Greater Than Yourself
Scripture: Psalm 51 NKJV
1
Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
2
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.
3
For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
4
Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight—
That You may be found just [a]when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.
5
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
6
Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
7
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8
Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
9
Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.
10
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11
Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
13
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You.
14
Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
The God of my salvation,
And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
15
O Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
16
For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.
18
Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion;
Build the walls of Jerusalem.
19
Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness,
With burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.
Message
Jesus said, “Unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone.
But its death will produce many new kernels.”
Someone has estimated that one kernel of wheat will produce a stalk bearing three heads of wheat.
In each head three are fifteen to thirty kernels, altogether producing close to a hundred kernels from a stalk.
After they are planted, these kernels will produce ten thousand kernels.
When those are replanted they will produce a million kernels.
And if you keep going, you will cover the whole earth with wheat!
It’s amazing what one person can do when they commit their life to Christ and start where they are.
D.J. Moody once said, “The world has yet to see what God can do with one man for one woman who is fully consecrated to Him.”
He decided to be that person and ended up impacting the world for Christ.
When Peter, James, and John met Jesus, their goal in life was to make a living.
Then Jesus invited them to follow Him and make a difference.
And today He’s inviting you to do the same thing.
He’s inviting you to find a need that no one is meeting and give yourself to it.
He’s asking you to find a cause greater than self-interest, namely His cause, and pour your life into it.
When Jesus asked the disciples to leave their jobs and their security, He was turning their world upside down.
But when they said yes to Him, they became so successful that their enemies accused them of “turning the world upside down” (Acts 17:6).
So, my question you is their my brother and sister, “Are you willing to take and step out and become a soldier of Christ and begin turning the “world upside down for Christ?”
Today you can make that decision by coming and joining us as that soldier with Chaplains International and be a part of our team and being that soldier who can make the difference.
The door is open to you right now! Email me at salexander@archsh.org today to get started!
And with that being said, let’s further dig into the Word of God and how Scripture is talking to us today as we reflect on Psalm 51.
51
Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Reflection: (Psalm 51:1)
This psalm expresses one of the clearest examples of repentance in all of Scripture.
Countless broken sinners have found in these words an exquisite expression of their deeply felt need for God’s mercy and forgiveness.
David’s confession has helped people examine excuses, half-hearted repentance, and lack of sorrow over sin that can keep them from experiencing pardon.
David’s words also demonstrate the place of hope within confession.
Use this psalm as a starting point when dealing with a dense of distance or with guilt that is affecting your relationship with God.
It will help you identify and rectify sin in your life through confession and repentance.
2
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.
3
For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
4
Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight—
That You may be found just [a]when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.
Reflection: (Psalm 51:4)
Although David had sinned with Bathsheba, David said that he had sinned against God.
When someone steals, murders, or slanders, it is against someone else – a victim.
According to the world’s standards, extramarital sex between two consenting adults is acceptable if nobody gets hurt.
But people do get hurt – in David’s case, a man was murdered, and a baby died.
All sin hurts us and others, but ultimately it offends God because sin in any form is rebellion against God’s way of living.
When you are tempted to do wrong, remember that you will be sinning against God.
That may help you avoid the danger.
5
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
6
Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
7
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Reflection: (Psalm 51:1-7)
David was truly sorry for his adultery with Bathsheba and for murdering her husband to cover it up.
He knew that his actions had hurt many people.
But because David repented of those sins, God mercifully forgave him.
No sin is too great to be forgiven!
Do you feel that you could never come close to God because you have done something terrible?
God can and will forgive you of any sin.
While God forgives us, He does not always erase the natural consequences of our sin.
David’s life and family were never the same as a result of what he had done (See 2 Samuel 12:1-23).
8
Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
9
Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.
10
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Reflection: (Psalm 51:10)
Because we are born sinners (Psalm 51:5), our natural inclination is to please ourselves rather than God.
David followed that inclination when he took another man’s wife.
Like David, we must ask God to cleanse us from within (Psalm 51:7), filling our hearts and spirits with new thoughts and desires.
Right conduct can come only from a clean heart and spirit.
Ask God to create a pure heart and spirit in you.
11
Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
Reflection: (Psalm 51:12)
Do you ever feel stagnant in faith, as though you are just going through the motions?
Has sin ever driven a wedge between you and God, making Him seem distant?
David felt this way.
He had sinned with Bathsheba abd had just been confronted by Nathan the prophet.
In his prayer he cried, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation.”
God wants us to be close to Him and to experience His full and complete life.
But sin that remains unconfessed makes such intimacy impossible.
Confess your sin to God.
You may still have to face earthly consequences, as Daivd did, but God will give back the joy of your relationship with Him.
13
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You.
Reflection: (Psalm 51:!3)
When God forgives our sin and restores our fellowship with Him, we want to reach out to others who need this forgiveness and reconciliation.
The more you have felt God’s forgiveness, the more you will desire to tell others about it.
14
Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
The God of my salvation,
And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
15
O Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
16
For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.
Reflection: (Psalm 51:17)
God wants a broken spirit and a broken and repentant heart.
You can never please God by outward actions – no matter how good – if your heart attitude is not right.
Are you sorry for your sin?
Do you genuinely intend to stop?
God is pleased by this kind of repentance.
18
Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion;
Build the walls of Jerusalem.
19
Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness,
With burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.