What is Repentance?: Psalm 51

You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in practical ways. Hey, good morning. If it's morning and we are the Bible Guys, and we welcome you to another episode. We're super excited to be here. Yes, and we. Have a commitment to our long time listeners. And if you're a new time listener, we're so grateful. Make sure you click subscribe and help us get the word out. If you are a long time listener, you've not subscribed yet, we know who you are and we're coming for you. That's not true. It's not true. It's not. We don't know who they are. Well, we wanted to know. Think think we can track you somehow track you can. We do know this, it's not true. But you know, we can't even know. We don't. We don't. We don't even know this. We don't know anything. We don't. Okay, all right, okay, So anyways, if you're a long time or you know that our commitment are our staunch commitment. Yes to the truth, to the news and to the finest news. I don't know where you found your fake numbers. Possible, that's right. The finest news possible, and so we have we have some information I think that is really relevant and incredibly important to most of our listeners today. And of course you know, we scour the Internet for the best sources, and so far we think the best news source on the entire Internet is the Babylon b. Yes we do, don't we Yes, yes, So if you don't know, the Babylon b is a satire website. It's our favorite source of news. And this article today that we're bringing to you is Heaven confirms God keeps list of people who leave church early to watch football games. So this is really relevant to most of our listeners. I think, well, especially now. I mean so in Detroit, by the way, because the lines are good. There you go, that's right. So eternal glory dateline, eternal glory. Yeah. Confirming fear is long held by Christian sports fans, an announcement from Heaven confirmed that God keeps a list of people who leave church early to watch football games. Though suspected for many years, it was never known for sure if a record was kept to identify individuals who chose the NFL over church. Heaven's press release sent shock waves through Christian circles as the new football season was set to begin. Yes, it's true, set a spokes angel. This isn't something new. God's been keeping track of this since the beginning. Depending on which time zone you live in, there's always a temptation to leave church early so you can make it home in time for kickoff. The Lord keeps a detailed list of these things, and he knows, and you will be judge accordingly. Churchgoers reached for comment were simultaneously fearful and resigned to their fates. I've always wondered about this, said professing Christian and football fan Bill Garrison. As long as I've been skipping out on the end of sermons to make sure I see the start of every Raiders game, I've worried that there would be consequences. It's troubling to hear, but I get it. Go Raiders, though, right. Right. Though the announcement did not detail any punishment someone would receive for being on the list, the spokes angel clarified that the list would be used for something. He doesn't ever do anything without a reason. The angel said, the people on this list will be on the receiving end of something. They'll just find out when they get here publishing time, unconfirmed rumors circulated that God felt a Raiders fan was punishment enough for anyone. That's funny. Being a Rangers fan was punishment. That's really good, very funny. I love that, you know, So watch out. That's all we're saying. We feel obligated to warn people choice. Now, this may be funnier for church workers than the average person, right, Well. The average person's hoping nobody notices. Well, yeah, the average person lives in their own little bubble, which is either they leave early or they don't. And and and honestly, if some people leave early and they don't, they really don't notice, probably all that much. But we're standing on stage watching you leave, yes. Yes, or we're in the back because there's another moment happening, and uh and I've and i've you know, I'm in the back of that tournament. People just get up and they just start filing out and uh. Now, granted, you know, like the parking is when you're in a church that's really busy, the parking could be pretty cruel. You could easily take seven or eight minutes to get out of the parking lot, easily longer than you would anticipate it. It's it's it's horrific. I don't know how people survive it, to be honest with you, it is so funny. I have old age sitting in the parking lot. That's so good. Yeah. Yeah, But people don't like traffic. There's there's an anxiety thing that happens, Jeff, Yeah, you know, and sometimes they want to be first at the restaurant. That same person has a whole pocket full of xanax. Just take one to sit in the parking lot for five more minutes. That's how I feel about it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that person is a pocket wow. King David, I am, yeah, I am. I am not merciful when it comes to this. Yeah. So, so I'm all about show up on time yep, and then stay to the end. Yeah. Well, And honestly, it's. Because it's not people spent their entire week getting ready for you, and that they planned out all those minutes right right right, and literally at Heritage Church it's one hour in five minutes max max. Most of the time, it's less than one hour five minutes right most of the time. Yep. So, boy, you're so good to God giving him those fifty seven minutes. God is so grateful to you. Wow, the hammer's coming down. It's just silly. It's a silly thing. Now, I do have mercy on the people that drank three cups of coffee that we gave away for free in the lobby. Yes, and they're hustling out not to get to the car, but they're hustling out because they're bladder is about to burst. Everybody's going to be embarrassed if that happens. Right, And let me say this too, and that is as a person who is you know, oftentimes in charge of the moments that we that. People walk out on. Right, I'm in charge of sometimes planning those moments, right, Like this song we chose. For well, maybe it's your fault in another I think about it, plan to that moment. Listen. So sometimes sometimes we chose a song thinking myself to ourselves. Okay, when someone hears the word of God and you know they're confronted with this truth, then they're going to be able to use this song least three and a half minutes to reflect on Man, what does that mean for me? So like the song will like put an exclamation point on it. It'll give them a time to process it, because oftentimes, you know this, if we hear something, we're like wow, and then as soon as we get up and we're off with our day, we. Forget about those things. But if you spend those extra three minutes, you know, listening to the lyrics of the song, which by the way, is incredibly challenging and gives you time to go, I know what this means for me? Or whow god, you are correct. I mean those three minutes are a solidifying, reflective, even repentive kind of a kind of a moment that is planned and there and it could be really, really really powerful. And so it's like, okay, yeah, we've planned all this, people have worked hard, they've practiced, and then all of a sudden, somebody gets up because they want to be the first that Bob had. Us and because you know, Christianity is all about you, right, So if this next song doesn't feel relevant to you, just go ahead and interrupt everybody else. Excuse me, excuse me? I wonderuse me? Was time over them? I wonder if Desiree chose this article because she knew would go to this direction, right. Right, So interrupt everybody else because it couldn't be for anybody else either. If it's not for you, it's not for the other seven hundred fifty people in the room either. Right, right, that's right, that's right. Anyways, that man a life. Did I sound bitter? Well, no you lightened up? Or no, no, no, you lit up. That's what it was. I didn't lighten up. But all. You've come alive, Jeff, No, so so, sarcasm is one of my spiritual gifts. Yes, so you know I'm joking to flush some But what makes the sarcasm funny is it's kind of true, right, that's what's funny. Buzzing, Yes, yeah, kind of true. It can be funny if you don't if if the fire's not burning down, I mean, if the building's not burning down, if you don't have a body part hanging on, I'm going to say something else. If if the building's not burning down, you don't have a body part hanging off, and you're not about what to wet our seats, you can wait five more minutes, so you really can. Okay, anything else? One more thing, Jeff is really passionate. I just think it's it's bad manners. Okay, here we go. You did say something else? There you go, I'm sorry. That's so great. Okay, well, how do you transition to this this is gonna sad psalm. I could say I'm sorry. I could say I'm sorry, and maybe I crossed the line there. Maybe it's because this, this whole, this whole uh psalm we're gonna read is David saying he's sorry. Okay, yeah, okay, all right, so you can say you're sorry. Speaking of saying. Sorry, yeah, yeah, on a whole other level speak, maybe maybe one of the most beautiful passages in the entire Bible. Yes, by far, one of the top three or four most beautiful passages David writes is Psalm fifty one. And by the way it announces it says the author is David. It says for the choir director, a psalm of David, regarding the time Nathan the Prophet came after him, David had committed adulter of Isheba. So this is directly that's a note David probably wrote on this song to say, here's why I wrote it, and he gives it to the choir director. This is really profound. So he says in Psalm fifty one, have mercy on me, oh God, because of your unfailing love, because of your great compassion. Blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt, and purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion. It haunts me day and night. Against you and you alone. Have I sinned done. I have done what is evil in your sight. And you will be proved right in what you say. And your judgment against me is just, for I was born a sinner, yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there. Purify me from my sins and I will be clean. Wash me and I'll be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again. You've broken me. Now let me rejoice. Don't keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don't take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and make me willing to obey you. And then I will teach your ways to rebels and they will return to you. Forgive me for shedding blood, Oh God who saves, And then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness. Unseal my lips, o Lord, that my mouth may praise you. You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want to burn offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repent heart. Oh God, look with favor on Zion and help her rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. And then you'll be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit, with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar. Well, it's a hard one. It is a hard one, and it's amazing, and it is a model for us when we are to go to God with repentance. Have mercy, I mean every single verse. I mean, for crying out loud, this is beautiful. Have mercy on me, Oh God, because of your unfailing love. Even that opening line, right, your unfailing love. Continue to give me mercy because your love never fails. You have great compassion. And then he admits the blotting out the stain of my sins wash me free from what my guilt. He's owning this from the very beginning where I've recognized my rebellion. It says it haunts me. Night, which means, you know what there's value in, you know, having remorse and guilt. However, I want to throw out there and that God never intends us to live in guilt. God, you can use guilt as a very powerful weapon, but once guilt leads to repentance or excuse me, I'm sorry, did I say weapon? Ye? I meant yeah, he uses guilt as a tool. Ah, yeah, I don't know why I say weapon, but he uses it a powerful tool. But once we repent, and once we understand that God forgives our sins, then God never intends for us to beat ourselves up because guilt does not have any place after God's forgiveness. But guilt does have a place in the midst of our sin, doesn't it. Yeah, So so guilt that leads you into some kind of you know, bad pattern that that that buries you in depression and those kinds of things and blocks you from moving forward with your life. God doesn't intend for that, right, But from that day forward, every time his sons rose up and rebelled against him. He knew he had to take responsibility. Sure, there's always some measure of guilt, isn't that right? Well, so his guilt never went away, he was forgiven for it. There's a difference between those two things. But what he said was God, from this day forward, I'm going to serve you God, from this day forward. I'm going to tell everybody. I'm going to use this as a testimony to teach other rebels. That's what he says, Right, I'm not going to just stay home and sit in my bed and cry anymore. I'm not going to let the guilt that I'm carrying trap me. Instead, I'm going to use what I've done, what I'm talking about, Right, that's what you're talking about, because that's what a lot of people do, is that I'm guilty, so I can never serve God. They think they deserve their punishment. They beat themselves up because they because nobody else want to beat them up, right, So they punish themselves. They disqualify themselves. And so David Acknowledge is throughout the rest of his life that this is that my son rebelling against me is my fault, that my family problems are my fault. I did this, and that is a big part of repentance is accepting the fact that you are responsible for your bad choices, for your sins, and so there's that. But God uses guilt, but he doesn't want us to walk around feeling guilty. There's a difference between those two things. Understanding my responsibility is different than me walking around and saying because I'm guilty, I can never serve God again. Right Instead, David says, restore to me the joy of my salvation and make me willing to obey you, and then I'll teach your ways to rebels and they'll return to you. He says, forgive me for shedding blood, and I'll joyfully sing of your forgiveness. Unseal my lips, and I'll praise you. You know, he was one of the main worship leaders for the whole nation. He led the people in worship, and he said, I'll get back out there again. As a matter of fact, he writes this song and gives it to the head song leader, going use my story as a testimony to others, right right, So God will use your messages your greatest message. He sure did. Yeah, he wrote this. He wrote this with that intent. He didn't write it and then go, hey, you can go ahead and use that. So I'll give you permission you use that song. He wrote it for this purpose. He wrote it to let the whole nation know this is how you repent, and then God will restore you. You sir. So what he did is he let God use his mess to become his message, and he stepped back into ministry. The kind of guilt you're talking about is the kind of guilt where you retreat from ever trying to serve God anymore because of the things that you've done. So acknowledging that the consequences of your sin rests on your shoulders is one thing. But he's also appealing to God's grace here, right, and God's mercy. Verse six is a reference to life in the womb. Life begins in the womb, yep. But you desire honesty for me in the womb, teaching me wisdom even there, acknowledging basically life. He's acknowledging life. And I was born a sinner from the moment my mother conceived me. So he's saying at conception, I was a sinner. At conception, I was That's right, that's significant. Yep, that's right, right, that's right. And then and then he goes on. And now I've always said this, my wife already knows exactly what I'm going to say. She already knows. She knows me so well. But what I'm going to say next is, I'm going to say most people when they think of Psalm fifty one, the verses that are highlighted the most are what verses verses number ten and eleven right in twelve, right, because those are the verses in the songs. I think I know three songs that say created me a clean heart, O God, renew a loyal spirit within me, right, And I know three different melodies for those types of songs. But I always think that the most powerful verses in this whole chapter are not ten, eleven, and twelve, because that is a great prayer to pray, but you know, that's saying, Okay, God, create something that happens in me. I think the more powerful verses are verses sixteen and seventeen, where he says, you do not offer you do not desire a sacrifice, or else I'd offer one. You do not want a burn offering. And you know what he's saying. He's saying, if right now, I could snap my fingers and offer a thousand rams, I could snap my fingers and offer a thousand you know, lambs or sheep, And he says, but that's not what you want from me, That's what he's saying. He's saying, you don't want a big offering. Hey, you don't want me to write a check for a million dollars, right, even though a million dollars and a burn offering of a thousand rams are good things. What he's saying is that's really not the heart of what you want. The thing you want first is you want me to have a broken and repentant heart, because these things you will not despise. So God wants us And what does the King James say? A broken and contrite heart, contrite heart, broken spirit and a contract heart and or whatever contrayte spirit, whatever it says. But the idea. Is is that God wants your heart first before your service. And that's what God wants. God wants you to acknowledge who he is. He wants you to surrender, to repent, to love him. God wants your heart before anything else. So yeah, you can go ahead and serve God. You can serve it a food pantry or write a big check, but that's not really what God wants first. God wants your heart first, and then as an overflow, all those things will come next. Yeah, it's interesting. He starts off, pleading to God's mercy. Yep, right, because of his unfailing love. God is merciful because God is love. Right. And then he says, because of your great compassion, blot out the stains of my sins and wash me clean, purify me. He said, I recognize my rebellion. It haunts me day and night. There's that guilt thing again, right, it's haunting me. So my only hope is your grace. My only hope is your mercy. My only hope is your compassion. And sometimes it's important for us to remember it's against Him and him alone that we sin. Sometimes as Christians, we we we concentrate so much on God's grace that we think, oh, God's gonna understand, And David does not come to the conclusion God understands. Sometimes you know, boys are going to be boys, boys do what boys do. Oh well, thank God for his grace and mercy right right. Sometimes in our in our Christian culture today in America, young people, old people, whatever. Will will say, well, you know God's merciful. Yeah, yeah, we're all sinners. That's not David's attitudes. Dad's attitude is not, well, we're all sinners, Thank God for his mercy and grace. Instead, David is like, it's haunting me God because of what I've done to you, and I'm pleading for your mercy and grace, not assuming your mercy and grace. There's a big diferen between those two things, right, And so Paul kind of talks about this a little bit in the Book of Romans. He goes, Hey, well, if if if sin is is what causes God to expresses grace to us, then let's just keep sinning, right, so that grace may abound. That's what he says. And so Paul says, God forbid, because of his grace, we should stop sinning, or we should try stop sinning, right, we should walk away from those things. Because he's acknowledging the flip side of what David's acknowledging. David's acknowledging God, I have no reason to expect your mercy. I'm pleading for it. I have no reason to expect your compassion. I know you're compassionate, but I don't deserve it. And so, God, this haunts me what I've done because I've offended you. And so many times I hear people talk about sin in our Christian culture where they're like, there's an expectation that God's grace is coming, so oh well, oops, ah ah right. A lot of times that well, you know, I know I shouldn't be living with my boyfriend or girlfriend, but you know, thank God for his grace. I know I shouldn't be doing these things, but thank God for his grace. And I'm telling you, I'm not sure that there's an ex expectation for grace and compassion in that moment. God's good and he might not be smacking you too, heart, but buddy, it's coming, right, And in this situation, he has exactly the opposite view. God, I don't deserve it, I'm thankful for it. And then you find him saying through the whole rest us, I don't want to do that anymore. I don't want to be that guy. Right might have a broken and contrite heart. I have a spirit that's that's coming to you. I'm repenting and you will accept my repentant heart. Repentance means that I was going one way and I turn and go the other way. So I made a bad choice. I've changed my mind. I'm going your way now. And he says, you'll accept that heart and that spirit. So we don't want to abuse grace. But man, thank God for it. Yeah, that's great right by the way. You know, as I was sitting here thinking, do you know the tune to create me a clean heart? Do you know a tune to that? I don't know. You can't think of a Okay, so you know a lot of times we know the same songs right right, growing up. Uh, there's there's three that I know. But the one that follows this, the closest goes creating. Me a clean heart, Oh God, and renew red spirit within me. You don't know that one. Cast me out away from thy presence, O Lord, take not thy holy spirit from me, restore unto me the joy of my salvation, and renew red spirit within me. You don't know that one anyway. It's really good. But we love it now. Well, it's it's one of the Bible Guy's top hits. Now they're gonna put in I think maybe the only one that I've saying. You've sung a bunch of songs. Well not through the whole thing. Listen, here's here's why I did it, because. That's what this was. It was a song. That's exactly right. I was gonna say, uh, there is value and learning the scripture with songs. Yeah, there's value in it, right, because you'll remember it forever. That's right. And you know I could I could quote you so many verses. In fact, the staff meeting, the staff meeting. Just yesterday, you were at the staff meeting and you're like, hey, everybody, take take out your Bibles and look up Matthew Sikes thirty three. And what did I do? I started loving minute. I started loving it. And I'm like, I don't need to look it up. I know exactly this verse. Well, so people listening, that's the importance of putting things to song. Those are you that in your fifties, sixties, seventies you still remember song lyrics from when you were a teenager, But you can't remember history lessons, right, you can't remember grammar lessons. Well, even if there. Are people who even have Alzheimer's who can't remember anything, but you can still do. I can still do music. Yeah, yeah, yeah, So there's a benefit to that. Also, I was going to say one other thing. For many people. I'm not this guy necessarily, but for many many people that I know, writing out your prayers like in a journal. So if you're a journal type person, if you're a thought full person, there can be great benefit to writing out your prayers, and then if you're a musical person, put a tune to it. Did you know most of Martin Luther's songs he wrote out the lyrics, He wrote them out like a prayer, but then he just put him to tunes that were already popular. They were singing them in the taverns and stuff, and he just put them to common tunes. You know, Mary had little lamb. Can you could write out your prayer, put it to a tune, and it'll be amazing how much easier it'll be to remember that prayer. When I was on staff with like twenty pastors on a big, really big church staff, there's three hundred and ninety seven people on our staff, the lead pastor said, can anybody here quote all the Old Testament books in order? And I was the only one because I crammed for that test in Baba College, and I stayed up and I put it. To the tune of one Little, two little three little Indians. Oh yeah yeah. I was like, yeah, I can do it. Genna says Exus, Leviticus, numbers, Romy, Jush, Judges, Ruth first thing first, second, Samuel first, first and second, Chronicles and Esther job's all proverbs because yes he sung a Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremy, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniels, Joel. So anyway, I did that, and it's like that's how I know them. And so every time when. I flush it, now, amos Ob, yeah, amos. Obde Jonah, make a name a back exeph and I had guy. Then comes Zecher, Right, don't forget Malachai. These are the books of the Old Testament. I had to make it work. There wasn't enough. So you had three hundred ninety six people on your staff church staff. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the only one. I was the only one who stood up and said. We should do that, we should do that test in our staff. Yeah, creon, Okay, well, hey that's our time. So hey. We had a lot of fun and then at the same time there was a lot of heavy reflection. So hey, the best of both worlds. We'll see you next time on the bibble guys,